•The small punch test was used with a broad range of metallic materials.•Expressions valid to predict the yield strength by means of SPT have been validated.•Expressions valid to predict tensile ...strength by means of SPT have been validated.•Expressions valid to predict fracture toughness by means of SPT have been validated.•The influence of the specimen thickness has been revised.
It is sometimes very convenient to use miniature tests for the mechanical characterization of materials, making use of very small specimens which may be extracted from the components during their normal service life. One of these tests is the small punch test (SPT). Nevertheless, different expressions for estimating the tensile and fracture properties of metallic alloys by means of the small punch test (SPT) were proposed and their applicability was assessed in this paper after experimental testing a wide range of metallic materials and the application of a numerical model developed to study the effect of specimen thickness on these proposals.
The best estimation of the yield strength was obtained employing the SPT yield load assessed as the crossing point between the SPT curve and a straight line parallel to the initial slope of the graph, with an offset displacement of t/10. The most suitable relationship for estimating the ultimate tensile strength was obtained by dividing the maximum SPT load by the product of the thickness and the displacement at maximum load (dm). However, a suitable relationship between the SPT displacement at maximum load and the tensile elongation was not obtained in the investigated materials, but it was demonstrated that the fracture toughness of non-brittle steels can be estimated from biaxial fracture strain (εqf), when εqf>0.8.
Studies of the resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum have revealed some of the mechanisms which these desiccation-tolerant plants use to survive environments with extreme dehydration and ...restricted seasonal water. Most resurrection plants are polyploid with large genomes, which has hindered efforts to obtain whole genome sequences and perform mutational analysis. However, the application of deep sequencing technologies to transcriptomics now permits large-scale analyses of gene expression patterns despite the lack of a reference genome. Here we use pyro-sequencing to characterize the transcriptomes of C. plantagineum leaves at four stages of dehydration and rehydration. This reveals that genes involved in several pathways, such as those required for vitamin K and thiamin biosynthesis, are tightly regulated at the level of gene expression. Our analysis also provides a comprehensive picture of the array of cellular responses controlled by gene expression that allow resurrection plants to survive desiccation.
Yellow pigment content, mainly due to the accumulation of carotenoids, is a quality trait in durum wheat grain as it confers the bright yellow color to pasta preferred by consumers. Also, carotenoids ...are essential nutrients exerting important biological functions in human health. Consequently, biofortification strategies have been developed in many crops to increase carotenoid content. In this context, carotenoid esterification is emerging as a new breeding target for wheat biofortification, as carotenoid esters have been found to promote both carotenoid accumulation and stability. Until recently, no carotenoid esters have been identified in significant proportions in durum wheat grains, and interspecific breeding programs have been started to transfer esterification ability from common wheat and Hordeum chilense.
IntroductionIt is estimated that the prevalence of severe Intellectual Disability (ID) is 6 per 1,000 people. ID is sometimes the cause of Behavioral Disorders (BD) with aggressive and impulsive ...behaviors that make family and social life difficult. However, despite its high prevalence, the number of studies on it is very scarce.When BD appears, it should be evaluated if there is a physical or psychiatric cause that causes it and assess non-pharmacological treatments. If they are insufficient, treatments such as risperidone are used to manage BD. When these are ineffective, the use of drugs with greater difficulties in their effects and clinical management, such as clozapine, is required.ObjectivesThe objective is to describe the use of clozapine in patients with severe ID associated with BD.MethodsRetrospective descriptive study. Patients older than 18 years with severe ID and BD, treated with clozapine for at least two years were included. Those with medical or psychiatric comorbidity were excluded.ResultsThe sample consisted of 12 patients, 16.67% women (n=2) and 83.33% men (n=10), aged 47.57±9.27 years. Prior to the introduction of clozapine, a mean of 2.67±1.21 antipsychotics had been tested. The mean dose of clozapine was 264.24±70.50 mg/day. The patients had received treatment for 51.57±25.67 months, following the usual controls. None had hematological adverse effects or other serious adverse effects.ConclusionsClozapine can be an effective and safe therapeutic alternative in the treatment of BD in intellectual disabled patients which do not respond to other treatments. The clinical benefits of clozapine treatment seem to outweigh the potential risks associated with the treatment. However, more studies are needed to evaluate the effects of clozapine in patients with intellectual disabilities.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared
Frailty is a predominant predictor of poor outcomes in older populations. This article presents a review of the concept of frailty and its role for prognostication among geriatric trauma and surgery ...patients. We discuss models of frailty defined in the scientific literature, emphasizing that frailty is a process of biologic aging. We emphasize the importance of screening, assessment, and inclusion of frailty indices for the development and use of prognostication instruments/tools in the population of interest. Finally, we discuss best practices for the delivery of prognostic information in acute care settings and specific recommendations for trauma and surgical care settings.
Background
Studies suggest that non‐surgical periodontal treatment improves glycaemic control in patients with diabetes and periodontitis. The aim of this umbrella review is to summarize the effects ...of periodontal treatment on glycaemic control in patients with periodontitis and diabetes.
Methods
A systematic review of systematic reviews with or without meta‐analysis published between 1995 and 2015 was performed. Three independent reviewers assessed for article selection, quality and data extraction.
Results
Thirteen (13) systematic reviews/meta‐analysis were included for qualitative synthesis. A reduction (0.23 to 1.03 percentage points) in the levels of HbA1c at 3 months after periodontal intervention was found. This reduction was statistically significant in 10/12 meta‐analysis. One review with sufficiently large samples found a non‐significant reduction (−0.014 percentage points; 95% CI −0.18 to 0.16; p = 0.87). Only three studies separated the use of adjunctive antibiotics and found a reduction of 0.36 percentage points but the difference was not statistically significant.
Conclusions
Highly heterogeneous short‐term studies with small sample size suggest that periodontal treatment could help improve glycaemic control at 3 months in patients with type 2 diabetes and periodontitis. However, longer term studies having sufficient sample size do not provide evidence that periodontal therapy improves glycaemic control in these patients.
Year by year, the total demand for cement production has been growing. To be more competitive, cement producers have implemented new operating practices based on new eco–friendly raw materials. ...Lately, magnesia-dolomite refractories have been considered chrome-free refractories that might substitute magnesia–spinel and magnesia–chromite lining bricks for the cement industry with benefits to human health and the environment. However, their use is limited due to their low hydration resistance. In the present work, the hercynite's effect on the magnesia-dolomite properties (crystallographic, microstructural, physical, and mechanical) was studied. Refractory specimens were formed by uniaxial pressure, followed by a drying and fyring process, reaching a soaking temperature of 1600 °C. According to the XRD and SEM analysis, hercynite promotes hydration resistance and mechanical strengthening in the refractory body. These improvements are mainly due to brownmillerite formation. Brownmillerite diffuses through the grain boundary and triple points, forming a necklace-like microstructure (solidified liquid network) surrounding the magnesia and free-lime particles. Furthermore, it was observed that this structure avoids the progress of the expansive hydration process in the portlandite particles. Hercynite-containing refractory specimens exhibit superior physical and mechanical properties than conventional magnesia-dolomite refractories. By hercynite addition, an improvement of ∼35% in mechanical strength and ∼50% in hardness was found.
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•Brownmillerite forms a necklace-like microstructure, activating a coating effect.•The necklace-like structure surrounds the magnesia and free-lime particles.•The hydration resistance is almost directly proportional to the hercynite addition.•Hercynite addition resulted in an improvement of ∼35% in mechanical strength.•The magnesia-dolomite hardness was improved by ∼50% with hercynite addition.
The use of pulse-coded signals over each colour component on a colour shift keying (CSK) modulation is explored. This codification improves the time-synchronisation recovery capability on the IEEE ...802.15.7 PHY III standard and reduces the overall system complexity. Different symbol codification rates are studied so as to improve the symbol error rate while minimising the effect over the throughput of the whole system.
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