Guest editorial–special issue on ground control in mining in 2020

正Ground control is the science of studying and controlling the behavior of rock strata in response to mining operations.Ground-control-related research has seen significant advancements over the last 40 years, and these accomplishments are well documented in the proceedings of the annual International Conference on Ground Control in Mining (ICGCM)[1].     

Void reactivity coefficient benchmark results for a 10 × 10 BWR assembly in the full 0–100% void fraction range

A boiling water reactor SVEA-96+ fresh fuel lattice has been used as the basis for a benchmark study of the void reactivity coefficient at assembly level in the full voidage range. Results have been obtained using the deterministic codes CASMO-4, HELIOS, PHOENIX, BOXER and the probabilistic code MCNP4C, combined for almost all cases with different cross section libraries. A statistical analysis of the results obtained showed that the void reactivity coefficient tends to become less negative beyond 80% void and that the discrepancies between codes tend to increase from less than 15% at voidages lower than 40% to more than 25% at voidages higher than 70%. The void reactivity coefficient results and the corresponding differences between codes were isotopically decomposed to interpret discrepancies. The isotopic decomposition shows that the minimum observed in the void reactivity coefficient between 80% and 90% void is largely due to the decrease in the relative importance of the ¹⁵⁷Gd(n, γ) rate with increasing voidage, and that the fundamental discrepancies between codes or libraries are mainly governed by the different predictions of the ²³⁸U(n, γ) variation with voidage.     

Rerandomization tests for analyzing correlated data from dental studies

Dental research studies often produce relatively small data sets in which observations are serially or spatially correlated. Rerandomization tests are presented as alternatives to analysis of variance and multivariate analysis for assessing group differences using such data. Rerandomization tests are particularly useful when the investigator is unwilling to make strong assumptions about the nature of the serial correlation or the distribution of the data. Two examples are discussed that demonstrate these techniques.     

Hematopoietic Progenitors and the Bone Marrow Niche Shape the Inflammatory Response and Contribute to Chronic Disease

It is now well understood that the bone marrow (BM) compartment can sense systemic inflammatory signals and adapt through increased proliferation and lineage skewing. These coordinated and dynamic alterations in responding hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), as well as in cells of the bone marrow niche, are increasingly viewed as key contributors to the inflammatory response. Growth factors, cytokines, metabolites, microbial products, and other signals can cause dysregulation across the entire hematopoietic hierarchy, leading to lineage-skewing and even long-term functional adaptations in bone marrow progenitor cells. These alterations may play a central role in the chronicity of disease as well as the links between many common chronic disorders. The possible existence of a form of “memory” in bone marrow progenitor cells is thought to contribute to innate immune responses via the generation of trained immunity (also called innate immune memory). These findings highlight how hematopoietic progenitors dynamically adapt to meet the demand for innate immune cells and how this adaptive response may be beneficial or detrimental depending on the context. In this review, we will discuss the role of bone marrow progenitor cells and their microenvironment in shaping the scope and scale of the immune response in health and disease.     

Aleatory Construction Based on Jamming: Stability Through Self-Confinement

The physical process of jamming could take architectural sustainability/recyclability to a whole new level. It involves achieving structural rigidity through the crowding of particles within a confined space, rather than by permanent bonding. Project Z-Form, a collaboration between a team of physicists from the JaegerLab at the University of Chicago – including PhD students Kieran Murphy and Leah Roth and professor Heinrich Jaeger – and artist Dan Peterman , sets out to develop a pourable material that not only self-supports but can also bear loads. Here they explain the project and the concepts behind it.     

Changes in hepatic nitrogen balance in plasma concentrations of amino acids and hormones and in cell volume after overnight fasting in perinatal and adult rat

Important regulatory factors of intrahepatic protein synthesis and proteolysis are amino acids, glucagon, insulin, and cell volume. We have investigated the changes in these factors with development and after an overnight fast and evaluated their contribution to changes in the hepatic nitrogen balance in vivo. In the fed state, glucagon levels were highest in suckling animals and gradually declined in older rats, whereas the concentration of insulin increased during development. The amino acid concentrations in liver and plasma declined during the suckling period to levels that in vitro are highly permissive for induction of autophagic proteolysis. In all age groups investigated, fasting was associated with a drop in hepatic protein content, together with a marked decrease in hepatocellular volume and insulin concentrations. On the other hand, glucagon concentrations and the concentration of many amino acids in plasma and liver responded to fasting with a pronounced decrease in perinatal and suckling animals, but this response had become blunted at weaning and had disappeared in adult animals. These findings suggest that insulin and/or hepatocellular volume are more likely candidates as short-term physiologic regulators of the hepatic nitrogen balance than are glucagon or amino acids. In glucose-supplemented fetuses, high levels of insulin could not compensate for a decreased hepatocellular volume in averting a catabolic state, suggesting that cell volume is the more important factor. Although our study cannot discriminate between the effects of fasting on protein synthesis and degradation, our findings show unequivocally that, for a rapid growth of the liver, suckling animals have to be fed around-the-clock.     

Fission yeast pak1+ encodes a protein kinase that interacts with Cdc42p and is involved in the control of cell polarity and mating

A STE20/p65pak homolog was isolated from fission yeast by PCR. The pak1+ gene encodes a 72 kDa protein containing a putative p21-binding domain near its amino-terminus and a serine/threonine kinase domain near its carboxyl-terminus. The Pak1 protein autophosphorylates on serine residues and preferentially binds to activated Cdc42p both in vitro and in vivo. This binding is mediated through the p21 binding domain on Pak1p and the effector domain on Cdc42p. Overexpression of an inactive mutant form of pak1 gives rise to cells with markedly abnormal shape with mislocalized actin staining. Pak1 overexpression does not, however, suppress lethality associated with cdc42-null cells or the morphologic defeat caused by overexpression of mutant cdc42 alleles. Gene disruption of pak1+ establishes that, like cdc42+, pak1+ function is required for cell viability. In budding yeast, pak1+ expression restores mating function to STE20-null cells and, in fission yeast, overexpression of an inactive form of Pak inhibits mating. These results indicate that the Pak1 protein is likely to be an effector for Cdc42p or a related GTPase, and suggest that Pak1p is involved in the maintenance of cell polarity and in mating.     

Effect of radiographic positioning on interpretation of cubital joint congruity in dogs

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain effects of x-ray beam centering and limb position on apparent congruity of a normal cubital joint (elbow). ANIMALS: 6 skeletally mature male Treeing Walker Coonhounds without physical, radiographic, or gross evidence of elbow abnormalities. PROCEDURE: Relative movement among humerus, radius, and ulna and measured joint space width on mediolateral and craniocaudal radiographic views was compared, using various x-ray beam centering and limb positions. RESULTS: Highest agreement and greatest certainty on subjective determination of congruity was for the flexed 90 degrees mediolateral radiographic view with the x-ray beam centered on the elbow. Distortion artifact of the proximal ulnar measurements was significant when the x-ray beam was centered on the midpoint of the radius. On the mediolateral view, the humeroradial joint space became significantly wide when the elbow was flexed. On the craniocaudal view, maximal humeroradial joint space width was obtained when the x-ray beam bisected the angle of the joint or was angled +30 degrees toward the humerus. CONCLUSIONS: Artifact distortion of joint width affected objective and subjective assessment of elbow congruity when the limb was placed in extreme flexion or extension or when the x-ray beam was not centered over the area of interest. Optimal visualization of the humeroradial joint space on the craniocaudal view was achieved when the x-ray beam bisected the angle of the elbow or was slightly angled toward the humerus. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Elbow congruity was best assessed on the flexed 90 degrees lateral radiographic view with the x-ray beam centered on the joint.