Mode II intersonic crack propagation in poroelastic media

A crack is steadily running in an elastic isotropic fluid-saturated porous solid at an intersonic constant speed c. The crack tip speeds of interest are bounded below by the slower between the slow longitudinal wave-speed and the shear wave-speed, and above by the fast longitudinal wave-speed. Biot’s theory of poroelasticity with inertia forces governs the motion of the mixture. The poroelastic moduli depend on the porosity, and the complete range of porosities n ∈ [0, 1] is investigated. Solids are obtained as the limit case n = 0, and the continuity of the energy release rate as the porosity vanishes is addressed. Three characteristic regions in the plane (n, c) are delineated, depending on the relative order of the body wave-speeds. Mode II loading conditions are considered, with a permeable crack surface. Cracks with and without process zones are envisaged. In each region, the analytical solution to a Riemann–Hilbert problem provides the stress, pore pressure and velocity fields near the tip of the crack. For subsonic propagation, the asymptotic crack tip fields are known to be continuous in the body [Loret and Radi (2001) J Mech Phys Solids 49(5):995–1020]. In contrast, for intersonic crack propagation without a process zone, the asymptotic stress and pore pressure might display a discontinuity across two or four symmetric rays emanating from the moving crack tip. Under Mode II loading condition, the singularity exponent for energetically admissible tip speeds turns out to be weaker than 1/2, except at a special point and along special curves of the (n, c)-plane. The introduction of a finite length process zone is required so that 1. the energy release rate at the crack tip is strictly positive and finite; 2. the relative sliding of the crack surfaces has the same direction as the applied loading. The presence of the process zone is shown to wipe out possible first order discontinuities.     

A support vector machine integrated system for the classification of operation anomalies in nuclear components and systems

A support vector machine (SVM) approach to the classification of transients in nuclear power plants is presented. SVM is a machine-learning algorithm that has been successfully used in pattern recognition for cluster analysis. In the present work, single- and multiclass SVM are combined into a hierarchical structure for distinguishing among transients in nuclear systems on the basis of measured data. An example of application of the approach is presented with respect to the classification of anomalies and malfunctions occurring in the feedwater system of a boiling water reactor. The data used in the example are provided by the HAMBO simulator of the Halden Reactor Project.     

Molecular Subtyping of Invasive Breast Cancer Using a PAM50-Based Multigene Expression Test-Comparison with Molecular-Like Subtyping by Tumor Grade/Immunohistochemistry and Influence on Oncologist’s Decision on Systemic Therapy in a Real-World Setting

In intermediate risk hormone receptor (HR) positive, HER2 negative breast cancer (BC), the decision regarding adjuvant chemotherapy might be facilitated by multigene expression tests. In all, 142 intermediate risk BCs were investigated using the PAM50-based multigene expression test Prosigna® in a prospective multicentric study. In 119/142 cases, Prosigna® molecular subtyping was compared with local and two central (C1 and C6) molecular-like subtypes relying on both immunohistochemistry (IHC; HRs, HER2, Ki-67) and IHC + tumor grade (IHC+G) subtyping. According to local IHC, 35.4% were Luminal A-like and 64.6% Luminal B-like subtypes (local IHC+G subtype: 31.9% Luminal A-like; 68.1% Luminal B-like). In contrast to local and C1 subtyping, C6 classified >2/3 of cases as Luminal A-like. Pairwise agreement between Prosigna® subtyping and molecular-like subtypes was fair to moderate depending on molecular-like subtyping method and center. The best agreement was observed between Prosigna® (53.8% Luminal A; 44.5% Luminal B) and C1 surrogate subtyping (Cohen’s kappa = 0.455). Adjuvant chemotherapy was suggested to 44.2% and 88.6% of Prosigna® Luminal A and Luminal B cases, respectively. Out of all Luminal A-like cases (locally IHC/IHC+G subtyping), adjuvant chemotherapy was recommended if Prosigna® testing classified as Prosigna® Luminal A at high / intermediate risk or upgraded to Prosigna® Luminal B.     

Onion under Microscope: An in-depth analysis of the Tor Web

World Wide Web - Tor is an open source software that allows accessing various kinds of resources, known as hidden services, while guaranteeing sender and receiver anonymity. Tor relies on a free,...     

Nitro derivatives of PEEK‐WC

Nitrated poly(oxa‐p‐phenylene‐3,3‐phthalido‐p‐phenylene‐oxa‐p‐phenylene‐ oxy‐phenylene) (PEEK‐WC) with various average degrees of substitution was obtained by reaction with several nitrating agents. By working under controlled reaction conditions, little degradation of the parent polymer is observed. The nitro derivatives of PEEK‐WC show a high thermal stability, and are able to form membranes by means of phase inversion technique. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 80: 1037–1045, 2001     

An embedded optical tracking system for motion-corrected magnetic resonance imaging at 7T

Object

Prospective motion correction using data from optical tracking systems has been previously shown to reduce motion artifacts in MR imaging of the head. We evaluate a novel optical embedded tracking system.

Materials and methods

The home-built optical embedded tracking system performs image processing within a 7T scanner bore, enabling high speed tracking. Corrected and uncorrected in vivo MR volumes are acquired interleaved using a modified 3D FLASH sequence, and their image quality is assessed and compared.

Results

The latency between motion and correction of the slice position was measured to be (19?±?5)?ms, and the tracking noise has a standard deviation no greater than 10???m/0.005° during conventional MR scanning. Prospective motion correction improved the edge strength by 16?% on average, even though the volunteers were asked to remain motionless during the acquisitions.

Conclusion

Using a novel method for validating the effectiveness of in vivo prospective motion correction, we have demonstrated that prospective motion correction using motion data from the embedded tracking system considerably improved image quality.     

Synthesis of NASICON with New Compositions for Electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Sensors*

Powders and pellets of new NASICON compositions have been synthesized using a mixed inorganic-organic sol-gel synthesis, by the preliminary formation of a pre-hydrolized TEOS xerogel. The investigated compositions can be described by the general formula Na₃Zr_2-(x/4)Si_2-xP_1+xO₁₂, obtained by keeping the Na concentration constant (= 3) at the optimum value reported for ionic conductivity, with x = 0 (the usual NASICON composition), 0.667, and 1.333. The xerogels were calcined at various temperatures in the range 400–1200°C. The powder samples were analyzed by TG/DTA, BET measurements, XRD, and SEM. The powders calcined at 500°C were sintered into pellets at 1100°C for 6 h. The sintering behavior of the pellets was investigated by dilatometric measurements and SEM observations. The sinterability increased with increasing x value. Dense samples of the new compositions were obtained by sintering at only 1100°C. This is attributed to the occurrence of liquid phase sintering. The electrical conductivity of the NASICON sintered bodies was measured by ac impedance spectroscopy. The conductivity decreased with decreasing c₀ lattice parameter of the hexagonal structure or increasing x value. The CO₂ gas sensors, using as electrolyte the dense samples of the new NASICON compositions, showed good EMF response that was very close to the theoretical value, even for the sample with x = 1.333 that showed much lower conductivity.     

Reproducibility of MRI-based white matter tract estimation using multi-fiber probabilistic tractography: effect of user-defined parameters and regions

Objective

There is a pressing need to assess user-dependent reproducibility of multi-fibre probabilistic tractography in order to encourage clinical implementation of these advanced and relevant approaches. The goal of this study was to evaluate both intrinsic and inter-user reproducibility of corticospinal tract estimation.

Materials and methods

Six clinical datasets including motor functional and diffusion MRI were used. Three users performed an independent tractography analysis following identical instructions. Dice indices were calculated to quantify the reproducibility of seed region, fMRI-based end region, and streamline maps.

Results

The inter-user reproducibility ranged 41–93%, 29–94%, and 50–92%, for seed regions, end regions, and streamline maps, respectively. Differences in streamline maps correlated with differences in seed and end regions. Good inter-user agreement in seed and end regions, yielded inter-user reproducibility close to the intrinsic reproducibility (92–97%) and in most cases higher than 80%.

Discussion

Uncertainties related to user-dependent decisions and the probabilistic nature of the analysis should be considered when interpreting probabilistic tractography data. The standardization of the methods used to define seed and end regions is a necessary step to improve the accuracy and robustness of multi-fiber probabilistic tractography in a clinical setting. Clinical users should choose a feasible compromise between reproducibility and analysis duration.