Probabilistic Approach to Predict Cracking in Lightly Reinforced Microconcrete Panels

The ultimate strength of structures made of brittle materials—such as microconcrete—strongly depends on microstructural defects, the structure size, and the loading pattern. Probabilistic approaches allow one to take account of such dependencies. By using a Weibull model, cracking of ferrocement panels is analyzed. Provided the behavior of the reinforcement remains elastic, it is shown that the Weibull parameters identified on unreinforced microconcrete samples tested in flexure may be used to predict multiple cracking in ferrocement panels tested in tension. A key aspect of the analysis is related to the understanding and modeling of the stress heterogeneity effect on the local failure probability of unreinforced as well as reinforced microconcrete by the use of a so-called Weibull stress.     

Neurotrophic control of ovarian development

Substantial evidence now exists indicating that the neurotrophins, a family of growth factors required for the survival, development, and differentiation of various neuronal populations of the nervous system, are also important for the development of nonneuronal tissues. Such a function was first suggested by studies showing the presence of high-affinity neurotrophin receptors in a variety of nonneuronal tissues including those of the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune, and reproductive systems. Within the latter, the gonads appear to be a preferential site of neurotrophin action as suggested by the presence in the mammalian ovary of at least four of the five known neurotrophins and all of the neurotrophin receptors thus far identified. While the various functions that the neurotrophins may have in the ovary are still being elucidated, it is now clear that in addition to recruiting the ovarian innervation, they play a direct role in the regulation of two different maturational periods that are critical for the acquisition of female reproductive function: early follicular development and ovulation. Neurotrophins facilitate the development of newly formed follicles by promoting the initial differentiation and the subsequent growth of primordial follicles. These actions appear to be related to the ability of neurotrophins to sustain the proliferation of both mesenchymal and granulosa cells, and to induce the synthesis of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) receptors. At the time of the first ovulation, neurotrophins contribute to the ovulatory cascade by increasing prostaglandin E(2) release, reducing gap junction communication, and inducing cell proliferation within the thecal compartment of preovulatory follicles.     

Functional and comparative study of lingual papillae in four species of bear (Ursidae) by scanning electron microscopy

The eight current species of bear (Ursidae) are widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and America. They are mainly encountered in the northern hemisphere, except for the spectacled bear and the sun bear, which are also found in the south of the equator. Adaptations of the masticatory apparatus (teeth, tongue, and musculature) to diet are one of the factors that imply the greatest structural changes in the cranium. This diet may be carnivorous, herbivorous, melliferous, or insectivorous, with one type of food predominating according to the time of year. The way in which food is eaten determines the morphology of the lingual surface; generally speaking, all bears put their mouth to the food, which, initially, they lick or they let the food stick to their tongue, as occurs when insects are eaten. As in all mammals, a distinction can be made between mechanical and gustatory papillae and the development and distribution of which depend on the species and their eating habits. In this study of the complete tongues of four species of adult bears, we describe the morphology of the lingual surfaces, the different types of papillae, their characteristics, and topographic distribution. It was seen that there were five main types of lingual papillae: filiform, conical, fungiform, foliate, and vallate. Morphology of the microgrooves and pores was similar to that observed in other mammals. In general, there were no great differences among the four species of bears studied, perhaps due to the similarity in the kind of food they consume in captivity.     

Controllability and observability of an artificial advection–diffusion problem

In this paper we study the controllability of an artificial advection?Cdiffusion system through the boundary. Suitable Carleman estimates give us the observability of the adjoint system in the one dimensional case. We also study some basic properties of our problem such as backward uniqueness and we get an intuitive result on the control cost for vanishing viscosity.     

Proteomics in the Diagnosis of Endometriosis: Opportunities and Challenges

The non‐surgical diagnosis of endometriosis is still challenging for the clinician. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging can be used to diagnose ovarian endometriotic cysts and deep infiltrating endometriosis; but their performance is poor in the diagnosis of initial stages of endometriosis. CA‐125 and other serum markers (such as CA 19‐9, serum protein PP14, interleukins, and angiogenetic factors) have been measured in women with endometriosis but they are not reliable for the diagnosis of the disease. Although several studies used proteomics technologies to identify plasmatic markers of endometriosis, the non‐invasive diagnosis of endometriosis is far from being achieved. In this issue, Manousopoulou et al. compare the integrated quantitative proteomic profile of eutopic endometrium and serum of women with endometriosis and controls. 1214 proteins are differentially expressed in the eutopic endometrium and 404 proteins in the serum of the two study groups. 21 proteins are aberrantly expressed in both eutopic endometrium and serum of women with endometriosis. More work is needed to assess if the differentially expressed proteins identified in this study can be used as clinical markers of endometriosis.     

Nanoconfined mixed Li and Mg borohydrides as materials for solid state hydrogen storage

Several mixtures of LiBH₄ and Mg(BH₄)₂ borohydrides in different stoichiometric ratios (1:0, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 0:1), prepared by high energy ball milling, have been investigated with X-ray powder diffraction and thermal programmed desorption (TPD) volumetric analysis to test the dehydrogenation kinetics in correlation with the physical mixture composition. Afterwards mixed and unmixed borohydrides were dispersed on high specific surface area ball milled graphite by means of the solvent infiltration technique. BET and statistical thickness methods were used to characterize the support surface properties, and SEM micrographs gave a better understanding of the preparation techniques. It has been observed by TPD volumetric measurements that the confinement of the reactive borohydrides on the nanoporous supports leads to a lower dehydrogenation temperature compared to unsupported borohydrides. Moreover, a further decrease of the dehydrogenation temperature has been observed by increasing the specific surface area of the support and the pores volume and by using the prepared mixtures instead of pure materials. The dehydrogenation process seems to be favoured by the heterogeneous nucleation on the graphite surface of decomposition products or intermediate phases from melted liquid borohydrides.     

Characterization and properties of blended cement matrices containing activated bamboo leaf wastes

The worldwide production of bamboo generates large volumes of leaf wastes, which are deposited in landfills or burned in an uncontrolled manner, with negative effects in the environment. The ash obtained by calcining of the bamboo leaf waste, shows good qualities as supplementary cementing material for the production of blended cements.The current paper shows a detailed scientific study of a Brazilian bamboo leaf ash (BLA) calcined at 600 °C in small scale condition, by using different techniques (XRF, XRD, SEM/EDX, FT–IR, TG/DTG) and technical study in order to analyse the behaviour of this ash in blended cements elaborated with 10% and 20% by mass of BLA. The results stated that this ash shows a very high pozzolanic activity, with a reaction rate constant K of the order of 10^?1/h and type I CSH gel was the main hydrated phase obtained from pozzolanic reaction. The BLA blended cements (10% and 20%) complied with the physical and mechanical requirements of the existing European standards.     

A spatial relation-based framework to perform visual information extraction

The Spatial Relation Query (SRQ) tool is a graphical software environment, supported by a SQL-like language, which enables users to perform information extraction driven by the visual appearance and the spatial arrangement of the information. The tool has been initially customised to work on specific application domains, like web pages and geospatial data. In this paper, we present the theoretical formalisation of the visual information extraction (VIE) task and accordingly the redesign of the SRQ tool, which is now a full-featured, general-purpose information extraction system. Moreover, we show a new application of the VIE framework to the analysis and visual information extraction from PDF files.