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<p dir="ltr">Irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of austenitic stainless steels (SSs) remains one of the most critical material degradation issues in light water reactors (LWRs). This study presents new alloy design strategies and mechanisms to develop IASCC-resistant stainless steels. Additive manufacturing provides not only new mechanisms to suppress IASCC but also high-throughput means to support alloy exploration. New SS design concepts are demonstrated to significantly enhance IASCC resistance, and mechanistic insights are proposed.</p><p dir="ltr">In the first part of this study, we systematically explored the root cause of the superior IASCC resistance of additively manufactured 316L SS after the hot isostatic pressing (HIP) in high-temperature water, compared to 316L SS in other forms. It was found that the overall radiation hardening was not an accurate measure of IASCC susceptibility. A decreased strain localization along grain boundaries, caused by dislocation channel broadening, was identified as the main reason for the IASCC resistance. The phenomenon was further confirmed through <i>in situ</i> straining tests under the TEM. The second part developed a high-throughput approach utilizing directed energy deposition (DED) to accelerate alloy design and testing for improving IASCC resistance. We explored the effects of reactive elements (REs), such as Hf, Ti, and Y, on the IASCC of 316L SS. All of these REs suppressed the radiation hardening, radiation damage, and IASCC of 316L SS, although their contributions varied with concentrations. It is suggested that radiation-induced segregation is not necessary to cause IASCC, while hardness and strain localization exhibited a stronger correlation to the IASCC. Finally, based on the roles of these reactive elements, a new type of SS was developed, which exhibited superior resistance to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) and IASCC. The low level of radiation damage and high corrosion resistance were considered the primary factor.</p>

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos dos níveis de contagem de células somáticas (CCS) sobre as características físico-químicas e microbiológicas do leite semidesnatado e do creme de leite pasteurizados, ao longo de 28 e 30 dias de estocagem sob refrigeração. As frações protéicas do leite semidesnatado e o perfil de ácidos graxos do creme de leite pasteurizados foram pesquisados nos dias 1, 7, 14, 21 e 28 e 1, 10, 20 e 30 dias após a produção de cada produto. Foram definidos três grupos experimentais com baixa (< 100.000 cél.mL-1), intermediária (400.000 a 500.000 cél.mL-1) e alta (>750.000 cél.mL-1) CCS. O leite utilizado para compor cada grupo, em quatro repetições, foi coletado na granja leiteira da Fazenda da Aeronáutica, na cidade de Pirassununga-SP. O leite in natura de cada grupo foi submetido a desnate para obtenção do creme e do leite semidesnatado, tratados termicamente por pasteurização lenta e rápida, nesta sequência, seguido do envase asséptico em garrafas de polietileno de alta densidade (PEAD). No leite in natura, o percentual de gordura foi menor (P<0,05) no grupo com baixa CCS em relação aos demais grupos. Observou-se, ainda para o leite in natura, maior teor de proteínas (3,42%) no grupo de alta CCS. Para as frações protéicas do leite semidesnatado, não foram observadas diferenças significativas (P>0,05), com exceção da &beta;-caseína que apresentou maior concentração nos grupos de baixa e alta CCS (P<0,05). No grupo de CCS intermediária, o leite semidesnatado apresentou 8,98, 10,17 e 6,14 mg.mL-1 das frações &alpha;-caseína, &beta;-caseína e &kappa;-caseína, respectivamente. A participação da &alpha;S2-caseína, fração protéica verificada em menores proporções neste estudo, foi de 9,89; 10,59 e 14,97% em relação ao total de caseína, nos grupos de baixa, intermediária e alta CCS. Houve predominância dos ácidos palmítico (C16:0), esteárico (C18:0), oléico (C18:1) e mirístico (C14:0), em todos os grupos de contagem de células somáticas e nos tempos utilizados para avaliação do creme de leite. No entanto, a concentração de ácido oléico (C18:1) foi menor nos cremes com CCS intermediária e alta (P<0,05), em relação ao grupo de baixa CCS. Os ácidos saturados apresentaram variação de 53,9 a 58,1% em relação aos insaturados. Os ácidos de cadeia curta estiveram presentes no creme de leite em aproximadamente 8,15%, enquanto os de cadeia média e longa participam com cerca de 47 e 44%, respectivamente. A CCS influenciou na concentração de &beta;-caseína do leite semidesnatado, ao passo que, no creme de leite, a diminuição do teor de ácido oléico associada ao aumento da CCS indicou maior atividade lipolítica sobre os ácidos graxos de cadeia longa durante o período de 30 dias de estocagem. / The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of somatic cell counts (SCC) levels on the physic-chemical and microbiological characteristics of both pasteurized semi-skimmed milk and milk cream, over 28 and 30 days of refrigerated storage. The semi-skimmed milk protein fractions were checked on days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28, whereas the pasteurized milk cream fatty acids profile was checked on days 1, 10, 20 and 30 after each production. Three experimental groups were defined with low (<100.000 cel.mL-1), intermediate (400.000 to 500.000 cel.mL-1) and high (>750.000 cel.mL-1) SCC. The milk used in each group, with four repetitions, was collected in the Air Force dairy farm in Pirassununga, São Paulo state, Brazil. The raw milk in each group was skimmed to obtain the cream, thermally treated by slow pasteurization, and the semi-skimmed milk (fast pasteurization), followed by aseptic bottling in high density polyethylene bottles. In the raw milk, significant differences were verified by the Tukey test (P<0,05) for the parameter fat in the level of low SCC in relation to the other groups. It was also observed for the raw milk a higher rate of proteins (3,42%) in the group of high SCC, while the low count group presented 2,83% protein. For the protein fractions in the pasteurized semi-skimmed milk, with an exception of the &beta;-casein which presented statistical difference for the 5% significance level between the low and high SCC groups, no other significant differences were observed. In the intermediate SCC group the pasteurized semi-skimmed milk presented 8,98 mg.mL-1 for &alpha;-casein, 10,17 mg.mL-1 for &beta;-casein and 6,14 mg.mL-1 for &kappa;-casein fractions. The &alpha;s2-casein was the protein fraction with the lowest proportions in this study, with 9,89% (low SCC), 10,59% (intermediate SCC) and 14,97% (high SCC) in relation to the casein total. There was predominance of palmitic acids (C16:0), estearic (C18:0), oleic (C18:1) and miristic (C14:0) in all somatic cell counts groups and the times used to evaluate the pasteurized milk cream. However, lower levels of oleic acid (C18:1) were observed in creams with high and intermediate SCC, when compared with the lower SCC cream. The saturated acids presented variation of 53,9 to 58,1% in relation to the unsaturated ones. The short chain acids were found in the pasteurized milk cream with about 8,15%, while the ones with medium and long chains were 47% and 44% respectively. The SCC influenced the concentration of &beta;-casein in semiskimmed milk, while the decrease in oleic acid as observed in the cream samples containing higher SCC indicated higher lipolytic activity on the long-chain fatty acid in the product during 30 days of storage.

GraphQL is a database handling API created by Facebook, that provides an effective al-ternative to REST-style architectures. GraphQL provides the ability for a client to spec-ify exactly what data it wishes to receive. A problem with GraphQL is that the freedomof creating customized requests allows data to be included several times in the response,growing the response’s size exponentially. The thesis contributes to the field of GraphQLanalysis by studying the prevalence of simple cycles in GraphQL schemas. We have im-plemented a locally-run tool and webtool using Tarjan’s and Johnson’s algorithms, thatparses the schemas, creates a directed graph and enumerates all simple cycles in the graph.A collection of schemas was analysed with the tool to collect empirical data. It was foundthat 39.73 % of the total 2094 schemas contained at least one simple cycle, with the averagenumber of cycles per schema being 4. The runtime was found to be on average 11 mil-liseconds, most of which consisted of the time for parsing the schemas. It was found that44 out of the considered schemas could not be enumerated due to containing a staggeringamount of simple cycles. It can be concluded that it is possible to test schemas for cyclicityand enumerate all simple cycles in a given schema efficiently.

Os carcinomas de cabeça e pescoço correspondem a 10% de todos dos tumores malignos, destes aproximadamente 40% se manifestam na boca e 90% correspondem ao carcinoma espinocelular. Os principais agentes carcinogênicos relacionados ao câncer bucal são o tabaco e o álcool. A cirurgia é o tratamento de eleição para o carcinoma de boca seguido dos tratamentos quimio e radioterápicos. O uso de lipossomas como vetor de quimioterápicos abre grandes perspectivas para o tratamento do câncer, pois possibilitam maior eficácia, reduzindo a toxicidade e a dosagem do fármaco. Neste projeto foram avaliados os efeitos pró apoptóticos \"in vitro\" da fosfoetanolamina sintética (FOS) e da sua formulação lipossomal DODAC/FOS em duas linhagens celulares de carcinoma espinocelular de língua humano, SCC-9 e SCC-25. A FOS, a formulação lipossomal DODAC/FOS e o carreador DODAC vazio apresentam diferentes significados em seu potencial citotóxico. A FOS aumentou significativamente a formação de lipoperóxidos pela membrana celular nas maiores concentrações estudadas. A análise das fases do ciclo celular mostrou aumento significativo da população de células com DNA fragmentado em ambas as linhagens celulares induzindo a morte celular por apoptose com aumento da expressão de Bad, Bax, citocromo c e diminuição de Bcl-2, como também alterou o potencial elétrico mitocondrial promovendo a ativação da caspase-3. A FOS e a formulação lipossomal DODAC/FOS induziram retração dos filamentos de actina e fragmentação do DNA. O conjunto de resultados mostra que o composto FOS e a sua formulação lipossomal DODAC/FOS atuam nos efeitos citotóxicos e antitumoral promovidos por estes alquilfosfoésteres, sendo capazes de induzir a morte celular por apoptose em diferentes apresentações / Head and neck carcinomas account for 10% of all malignant tumors, approximately 40% of these tumors manifest in the mouth and 90% correspond to squamous cell carcinoma. The main carcinogenic agents related to oral cancer are tobacco and alcohol. Surgery is the treatment of choice for oral carcinoma followed by chemo and radiotherapeutic treatments. The use of liposomes as a vector of chemotherapy offers great prospects for treatment of cancer, as they allow greater efficacy, reducing the toxicity and the dosage of drug. In this project, in vitro pro apoptotic effects of synthetic phosphoethanolamine (Pho-S) and DODAC/Pho-S liposomal formulation were evaluated in two human tongue squamous cell carcinoma cell lines, SCC-9 and SCC-25. Pho-S, DODAC/Pho-S liposomal formulation and the empty DODAC carrier have different meanings in their cytotoxic potential. Pho-S significantly increased the formation of lipoperoxides by cell membrane in higher concentrations studied. Analysis of the cell cycle phases showed a significant increase in the cell population with fragmented DNA in both cell lines inducing apoptosis cell death with increase expression of Bad, Bax, cytochrome c and decrease of Bcl-2, as well as altered the potential mitochondrial activation promoting caspase-3 activation. Pho-S and the DODAC/Pho-S liposomal formulation induced retraction of the actin filaments and DNA fragmentation. The set of results shows that the Pho-S compound and its liposomal formulation DODAC/Pho-S act on the cytotoxic and antitumor effects promoted by these alkylphosphoesters, being able to induce cell death by apoptosis in different presentations

Genetic changes are hallmarks of cancer development involving the activation and/or inactivation of oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes, respectively. In non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) development, the initiation of genetic mutations results from exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation. Non-melanoma skin cancers are comprised of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Several related cutaneous lesions also exist, of which solar keratoses (SK) are widely accepted as a precursor dysplasia to SCC development. The study of recurrent genetic changes present within NMSC and SK should help reveal causative mutations in skin cancer development. Such analysis could also elucidate links in the genetic similarity of these dysplasia. The rapid screening of numerical changes in DNA sequence copy number throughout the entire genome has been made possible by the advent of comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH). This technique enables the identification of net gains and loss of genetic material within a tumour DNA sample. Chromosomal regions of recurrent gain or loss identify loci containing putative oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes, respectively with potential roles in NMSC tumourigenesis. Used in conjunction with tissue microdissection and universal degenerate PCR techniques this can enable the elucidation of aberrations in small histologically distinct regions of tumour. Such a technique can utilize archival material such as paraffin embedded tissue, which is the major source of neoplastic material available for cancer research. This study used the CGH technique to investigate aberrations in BCC, SCC and SK samples. The screening of copy number abnormalities (CNAs) in BCC revealed that although these tumours were close to diploid and generally genetically stable, they did contain several recurrent aberrations. The loss of genetic material at 9q was identified in a third of BCC tumours studied. This is characteristic of inactivation of the PTCH tumour suppressor gene, a known attribute in some sporadic BCC development. Validation of this loss was performed via loss of heterozygosity, demonstrating good concordance with the CGH data. In addition the over-representation of the 6p chromosome arm was revealed in 47% of biopsies. This novel CNA is also commonly observed in other cutaneous neoplasias, including Merkel cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. This suggests a possible common mechanism in development and or promotion in these cutaneous dysplasias, the mechanisms of which have yet to be clearly defined. In contrast to BCC, numerical genetic aberrations in SCC and SK were much more frequent. Several regions of recurrent gain were commonly shared between both dysplasias including gain of 3q, 4p, 5p, 8q, 9q, 14q, 17p, 17q and 20q. Common chromosomal regions of loss included 3p, 8p, 9p, 11p, 13q and 17p. In addition loss of chromosome 18 was significantly observed in SCC in comparison to SK, a possible defining event in SK progression to SCC. The identification of shared genetic aberrations suggests a clonal and genetic relationship between the two lesions. This information further supports the notion for re-classification of SK to an SCC in situ or superficial SCC. Finally, the CNAs detected have been similarly observed in other squamous cell-derived tumours, for example cervical and head and neck SCC. This provides further evidence to common mechanisms involved in the initiation, development and progression of SCC neoplasia. This study has identified a number of recurrent chromosomal regions, some of which are novel in NMSC development. The further delineation of these loci should provide additional evidence of their significance and degree of involvement in NMSC tumourigenesis. The identification of the cancer-causing genes mapped to these loci will further demarcate the genetic mechanisms of BCC and SCC progression. An understanding of the events involved in skin cancer formation and progression should shed additional light on molecular targets for diagnostics, management and therapeutic treatment.

The introduction of fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) to the field of civil engineering has led to numerous research efforts focusing on a wide range of applications where properties such as high strength, light weight or corrosion resistance are desirable. In particular, FRP materials have been especially attractive for use as internal reinforcement in reinforced concrete (RC) structures exposed to aggressive environments due to the rapidly deteriorating infrastructure resulting from corrosion of conventional steel reinforcement. While FRPs have been successfully implemented in a variety of structural applications, little research has been conducted on the use of FRP reinforcement for short span slab bridges. Furthermore, the behaviour of FRP-RC flexural members cast with self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is largely absent from the literature. The present study investigates the behaviour of an all-FRP reinforcement system for slab bridges which combines lower cost glass FRP (GFRP) reinforcing bars with high performance carbon FRP (CFRP) prestressed tendons in SCC to produce a structure which is both cost-efficient and characterized by excellent structural performance at the serviceability, ultimate and fatigue limit states. An extensive experimental program comprised of 57 large or full-scale slab strips was conducted to investigate the effects of reinforcement type, reinforcement ratio, prestressing level and shear reinforcement type on the flexural performance of slab bridges under both monotonic and fatigue loading. The proposed reinforcement system was found to display excellent serviceability characteristics and high load capacities as well as significant deformability to allow for sufficient warning prior to failure. Lastly, the use of post-tensioned CFRP tendons limited the stresses in the GFRP reinforcing bars leading to significantly longer fatigue lives and higher fatigue strengths compared to non-prestressed slabs. Analytical models were used to predict the behaviour of the slab bridge strips at service and at ultimate. Where these models failed to accurately represent the experimental findings, simple modifications were proposed. The results from ancillary tests were also used to modify existing analytical models to predict the effects of fatigue loading on the deflection, crack width, shear resistance and flexural capacity of each of the tested slabs.

Bei dem Prozess einer Wasserstoffinduzierten Spannungsrisskorrosion (H-SpRK) handelt es sich um einen zeitabhängigen Vorgang, der zu einer Reduzierung der Duktilität und Widerstandskraft des Spannstahls führt und daraus resultierend ein sprödes und schlagartiges Versagen eines Spannbetonbauwerkes zur Folge haben kann. Der Prozess selbst und insbesondere auch die ihn beeinflussenden Parameter sind für die im Bauwesen verwendeten hochfesten Spannstähle älterer Produktion weitestgehend unerforscht. Die Relevanz für bestehende Bauwerke ist jedoch nicht zuletzt durch einzelne dokumentierte und untersuchte Schadensfälle nachgewiesen. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, die zur Verfügung stehenden Bauwerksuntersuchungen aus den zurückliegenden ca. 10 Jahren statistisch zu analysieren und auszuwerten. Auf dieser Basis war ein Berechnungsmodell wahrscheinlichkeitstheoretischer Basis zu entwickeln, mit dem die Gefahr eines spröden Bauwerksversagens für das Gesamttragwerk beurteilt und hinsichtlich der Auswirkungen auf das einzuhaltende Sicherheitsniveau bewertet werden kann. Es wurden insgesamt 31 Bauwerksuntersuchungen statistisch ausgewertet und beurteilt. Die zur Verfügung stehenden Daten wurden analysiert und hinsichtlich der Prüfqualität sowie der Quantität der Proben bewertet. Dabei war festzustellen, dass aufgrund fehlender konkreter Vorgaben im Regelwerk eine sehr heterogene Datenbasis vorliegt. Nicht alle Untersuchungsergebnisse konnten in die weitere Auswertung einbezogen werden. Die in ausreichender Datenqualität und Datenumfang geeigneten Untersuchungen wurden hinsichtlich ihrer Relevanz für den Prozess einer H-SpRK analysiert und die Auswirkungen einzelner Parameter bewertet. Im Ergebnis der materialtechnischen Untersuchungen und statistischen Auswertung der Bauwerksuntersuchungen wurde ein Berechnungsmodell vorgestellt, das den gleichzeitigen Ausfall von Spannstahl in allen Bereichen des Bauwerkes berücksichtigt. Zusätzlich zum Standardverfahren des beschriebenen Vorgehens wird das Modell um den Ansatz eines korrelierten Spannstahlausfalls erweitert. Außerdem wird für Bauwerke mit einem statisch unbestimmten Anteil der Vorspannung sowie für Konstruktionen mit gestaffelter Spannstahlbewehrung die Anwendung des Verfahrens konkretisiert. Neben der Erstellung des Berechnungsmodells wurden Vorschläge zu Vorgaben für die Bauwerksprüfung vorgestellt. Dazu zählen insbesondere die Festlegung von Prüfintervallen sowie einheitliche Vorgaben zu den verwendeten Prüfmethoden und -verfahren. Bezüglich der Festlegung von Mindestumfängen von Proben wird zwischen bestehenden und auch weiter zu nutzenden Bauwerken einerseits sowie Probennahmen im Rahmen von Rückbaumaßnahmen unterschieden.

The introduction of fibre-reinforced polymers (FRPs) to the field of civil engineering has led to numerous research efforts focusing on a wide range of applications where properties such as high strength, light weight or corrosion resistance are desirable. In particular, FRP materials have been especially attractive for use as internal reinforcement in reinforced concrete (RC) structures exposed to aggressive environments due to the rapidly deteriorating infrastructure resulting from corrosion of conventional steel reinforcement. While FRPs have been successfully implemented in a variety of structural applications, little research has been conducted on the use of FRP reinforcement for short span slab bridges. Furthermore, the behaviour of FRP-RC flexural members cast with self-consolidating concrete (SCC) is largely absent from the literature. The present study investigates the behaviour of an all-FRP reinforcement system for slab bridges which combines lower cost glass FRP (GFRP) reinforcing bars with high performance carbon FRP (CFRP) prestressed tendons in SCC to produce a structure which is both cost-efficient and characterized by excellent structural performance at the serviceability, ultimate and fatigue limit states. An extensive experimental program comprised of 57 large or full-scale slab strips was conducted to investigate the effects of reinforcement type, reinforcement ratio, prestressing level and shear reinforcement type on the flexural performance of slab bridges under both monotonic and fatigue loading. The proposed reinforcement system was found to display excellent serviceability characteristics and high load capacities as well as significant deformability to allow for sufficient warning prior to failure. Lastly, the use of post-tensioned CFRP tendons limited the stresses in the GFRP reinforcing bars leading to significantly longer fatigue lives and higher fatigue strengths compared to non-prestressed slabs. Analytical models were used to predict the behaviour of the slab bridge strips at service and at ultimate. Where these models failed to accurately represent the experimental findings, simple modifications were proposed. The results from ancillary tests were also used to modify existing analytical models to predict the effects of fatigue loading on the deflection, crack width, shear resistance and flexural capacity of each of the tested slabs.

Pieno ūkis – viena svarbiausių žemės ūkio šakų pasaulyje. Pagal statistiką, Lietuvoje vienam gyventojui tenka 563kg pieno, kas yra vienas didžiausių rodiklių pasaulyje, tad pieno ūkis yra viena svarbiausių žemės ūkio, tuo pačiu ir ekonomikos sričių. Siekiant gerinti pieno kokybę bei mažinti kaštus vis daugiau pieno melžimo įmonių investuoja ir taiko naujas technologijas - melžimo aparatai į liniją ir robotai. Lietuvoje pirmoji robotizuota sistema įdiegta 2007 m. Tiriamajame ūkyje ši sistema įdiegta 2009 m. Tyrimo tikslas buvo palyginti pieno sudėties ir kokybės rodiklius X ūkyje, melžiant karves melžimo aparatais ir robotais. Svarbiausios pieno sudėtinės dalys yra – baltymai, riebalai ir angliavandeniai (laktozė, mineralinės ir biologiškai aktyvios medžiagos, vitaminai, fermentai ir kitos). Melžimas turi didelę reikšmę karvių produktyvumo bei pieno sudėtinių dalių rodikliams, todėl būtina parinkti teisingą melžimo būdą. Buvo ieškota būdų – kaip pilnai pakeisti žmogų melžimo aikštelėse. Siekiant pagerinti karvių pieno kokybę ir padidinti primilžį, modernizuojant pieno ūkius inovatyviomis technologijomis, rekomenduojama robotizuoti karvių melžimą. Nustatyta, kad robotais melžiamų karvių pieningumas padidėja vidutiniškai 15 proc. Pieno gamybą skatina dažnesnis karvių melžimas ir geresnė jų savijauta. Mažuose pieno ūkiuose, kur karvių yra mažai naudojamas įprastas melžimo būdas, t. y. melžimas rankomis. Melžiant karves rankomis yra didesnė tikimybė pieną užteršti bakterijomis... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Dairy farming is one of the most important branches in agriculture worldwide. According to statistics in Lithuania there's 563 kg of milk produced per capita. That is one of the highest production rates per capita in the world. Dairy farming is crucial to local economy. In order to achieve higher milk quality and minimize expenditures more dairy farms are investing and adapting new technologies: milking pipelines and fully automated robotic milking. The first fully automated robotic milking line in Lithuania was used implemented in 2007. In the researched farm the system was implemented in 2009. The main goal of research was to compare milk composition and quality in the research farm X by milking cows to pipelines and using fully automated robotic milking. The main nutrients that compose milk are: proteins, fats and carbohydrates(lactose, minerals and biologically active materials, vitamins, enzymes and others). The way that cows are milked has high impact on milk yields and nutrients, so the best milking technology is essential for optimal results. The research on how to eliminate human labor during milking process has been done. In order to increase the quality and yields of cow's milk by modernizing the dairy farms and using the fully automated robotic milking. It was concluded that by using fully automated robotic milking milk yield increases by 15% on average. The milk production is increased by more frequent milking and cattle welfare. In the small dairy farms with... [to full text]