Since the 1960s, it has been a common practice worldwide to pursue a homogeneous distribution of reinforcements within a matrix material, discontinuous metal matrix composites (DMMCs) in particular. ...Taking an overview of the worldwide activities in DMMC research, despite many favourable attributes such as improved specific strength, stiffness and superior wear resistance, DMMCs with a homogeneous microstructure tend to exhibit a very low room temperature damage tolerance even with a highly ductile matrix material such as aluminium. In this review, a range of uniquely multi-scale hierarchical structures have been successfully designed and fabricated by tailoring reinforcement distribution for DMMCs in order to obtain superior performance. A variety of specific microstructures that were developed in Al, Mg, Cu, Fe, Co and TiAl matrices indicate that there must be adequate plastic regions among the reinforcements to blunt or deflect cracks if one wants to toughen DMMCs. Following this path, aided by theoretical analyses, the most recent success is the design and fabrication of a network distribution of in situ reinforcing TiB whiskers (TiBw) in titanium matrix composites (TMCs), where a tailored three-dimensional (3D) quasi-continuous network microstructure displays significant improvements in mechanical properties. This resolves the brittleness surrounding TMCs fabricated by powder metallurgy. It is the large reinforcement-lean regions that remarkably improve the composite's ductility by bearing strain, blunting the crack and decreasing the crack-propagation rate. The fracture, strengthening and toughening mechanisms are comprehensively elucidated in order to further understand the advantages of such an inhomogeneous microstructure, and to justify the development of novel techniques to produce such inhomogeneous microstructures. This approach opens up a new horizon of research and applications of DMMCs and can be easily extended to general multi-phase composites with enhanced physical and mechanical properties.
Future weak lensing surveys potentially hold the highest statistical power for constraining cosmological parameters compared to other cosmological probes. The statistical power of a weak lensing ...survey is determined by the sky coverage, the inverse of the noise in shear measurements and the galaxy number density. The combination of the latter two factors is often expressed in terms of n
eff - the 'effective number density of galaxies used for weak lensing measurements'. In this work, we estimate n
eff for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) project, the most powerful ground-based lensing survey planned for the next two decades. We investigate how the following factors affect the resulting n
eff of the survey with detailed simulations: (1) survey time, (2) shear measurement algorithm, (3) algorithm for combining multiple exposures, (4) inclusion of data from multiple filter bands, (5) redshift distribution of the galaxies and (6) masking and blending. For the first time, we quantify in a general weak lensing analysis pipeline the sensitivity of n
eff to the above factors.
We find that with current weak lensing algorithms, expected distributions of observing parameters, and all lensing data (r and i band, covering 18 000 degree2 of sky) for LSST, n
eff 37 arcmin−2 before considering blending and masking, n
eff 31 arcmin−2 when rejecting seriously blended galaxies and n
eff 26 arcmin−2 when considering an additional 15 per cent loss of galaxies due to masking. With future improvements in weak lensing algorithms, these values could be expected to increase by up to 20 per cent. Throughout the paper, we also stress the ways in which n
eff depends on our ability to understand and control systematic effects in the measurements.
Fascia iliaca block or femoral nerve block is used frequently in hip fracture patients because of their opioid-sparing effects and reduction in opioid-related adverse effects. A recent anatomical ...study on hip innervation led to the identification of relevant landmarks to target the hip articular branches of femoral nerve and accessory obturator nerve. Using this information, we developed a novel ultrasound-guided approach for blockade of these articular branches to the hip, the PENG (PEricapsular Nerve Group) block. In this report, we describe the technique and its application in 5 consecutive patients.
Lack of directional bonding between two-dimensional crystals like graphene or monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides provides unusual freedom in the selection of components for vertical van der ...Waals heterostructures. However, even for identical layers, their stacking, in particular the relative angle between their crystallographic directions, modifies properties of the structure. We demonstrate that the interatomic coupling between two two-dimensional crystals can be determined from angle-resolved photoemission spectra of a trilayer structure with one aligned and one twisted interface. Each of the interfaces provides complementary information and together they enable self-consistent determination of the coupling. We parametrise interatomic coupling for carbon atoms by studying twisted trilayer graphene and show that the result can be applied to structures with different twists and number of layers. Our approach demonstrates how to extract fundamental information about interlayer coupling in a stack of two-dimensional crystals and can be applied to many other van der Waals interfaces.
During the 1990s, ocean sampling expeditions were carried out as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS), and the Ocean Atmosphere Carbon ...Exchange Study (OACES). Subsequently, a group of U.S. scientists synthesized the data into easily usable and readily available products. This collaboration is known as the Global Ocean Data Analysis Project (GLODAP). Results were merged into a common format data set, segregated by ocean. For comparison purposes, each ocean data set includes a small number of high‐quality historical cruises. The data were subjected to rigorous quality control procedures to eliminate systematic data measurement biases. The calibrated 1990s data were used to estimate anthropogenic CO2, potential alkalinity, CFC watermass ages, CFC partial pressure, bomb‐produced radiocarbon, and natural radiocarbon. These quantities were merged into the measured data files. The data were used to produce objectively gridded property maps at a 1° resolution on 33 depth surfaces chosen to match existing climatologies for temperature, salinity, oxygen, and nutrients. The mapped fields are interpreted as an annual mean distribution in spite of the inaccuracy in that assumption. Both the calibrated data and the gridded products are available from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center. Here we describe the important details of the data treatment and the mapping procedure, and present summary quantities and integrals for the various parameters.
Summary
Background Some probiotics can ameliorate childhood atopic dermatitis (AD). Prebiotics have also shown some efficacy, although when combined with probiotics as synbiotics, their efficacy may ...improve.
Objective We compared the effects of Lactobacillus salivarius and fructo‐oligosaccharide (synbiotic) with fructo‐oligosaccharide alone (prebiotic) on children with moderate to severe AD.
Methods We randomly assigned 60 children aged 2–14 years with moderate to severe AD SCORing AD (SCORAD) > 25 to a treatment (synbiotic) or a control (prebiotic) group (30 per group). They received one capsule twice daily for 8 weeks containing either L. salivarius plus fructo‐oligosaccharide (treatment) or fructo‐oligosaccharide only (control). SCORAD indices were monitored at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 10 (post‐treatment). Laboratory results and AD medication use were also monitored.
Results Baseline demographic and clinical characteristics and SCORAD scores were similar between the two groups. At 8 weeks, the treatment group SCORAD scores (27·4 ± 12·7) were significantly lower than for the controls (36·3 ± 14·9) (P = 0·022); this difference remained at 10 weeks. At 8 weeks, treatment group AD intensity was significantly lower (P = 0·013); more children had mild AD in the treatment group (52%; 14/27) than the control group (30%; 8/27) (P = 0·024). Medication use frequency and eosinophil cationic protein levels were significantly reduced in the treatment group at 8 weeks compared with 4 weeks.
Conclusion A synbiotic combination of L. salivarius plus fructo‐oligosaccharide is superior to the prebiotic alone for treating moderate to severe childhood AD. However, continued follow‐up will be necessary to ascertain long‐term benefits.
Although treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors provides promising benefit for patients with cancer, optimal use is encumbered by high resistance rates and requires a thorough understanding of ...resistance mechanisms. We observed that tumors treated with PD-1/PD-L1 blocking antibodies develop resistance through the upregulation of CD38, which is induced by all-trans retinoic acid and IFNβ in the tumor microenvironment.
and
studies demonstrate that CD38 inhibits CD8
T-cell function via adenosine receptor signaling and that CD38 or adenosine receptor blockade are effective strategies to overcome the resistance. Large data sets of human tumors reveal expression of CD38 in a subset of tumors with high levels of basal or treatment-induced T-cell infiltration, where immune checkpoint therapies are thought to be most effective. These findings provide a novel mechanism of acquired resistance to immune checkpoint therapy and an opportunity to expand their efficacy in cancer treatment.
CD38 is a major mechanism of acquired resistance to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade, causing CD8
T-cell suppression. Coinhibition of CD38 and PD-L1 improves antitumor immune response. Biomarker assessment in patient cohorts suggests that a combination strategy is applicable to a large percentage of patients in whom PD-1/PD-L1 blockade is currently indicated.
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