For the inf‐sup condition on mesh‐dependent norms on a nonconvex polygon

It is shown that the inf‐sup condition, called the Babuska–Brezzi condition, is valid for certain mesh‐dependent norms on a nonconvex polygonal domain. A bilinear form that is derived by inserting the corner singularity expansion into the Laplace equation is considered. A mesh‐dependent fractional norm related to the least order of the corner singularity at a concave vertex is considered. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2008     

Uncertainty evaluation of the thermal expansion of simulated fuel

Thermal expansions of simulated fuel (SS1) are measured by using a dilatometer (DIL402C) from room temperature to 1900 K. The main procedure of an uncertainty evaluation was followed by the strategy of the UO₂ fuel. There exist uncertainties in the measurement, which should be quantified based on statistics. Referring to the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) guide, the uncertainties of the thermal expansion are quantified in three parts—the initial length, the length variation, and the system calibration factor. Each part is divided into two types. The A type uncertainty is derived from the statistical iterative measurement of an uncertainty and the B type uncertainty comes from a non-statistical uncertainty including a calibration and test reports. For the uncertainty evaluation, the digital calipers had been calibrated by the KOLAS (Korea Laboratory Accreditation Scheme) to obtain not only the calibration values but also the type B uncertainty. The whole system, the dilatometer (DIL402C), is composed of many complex sub-systems and in fact it is difficult to consider all the uncertainties of sub-systems. Thus, a calibration of the system was performed with a standard material (Al₂O₃), which is provided by NETZSCH. From the above standard uncertainties, the combined standard uncertainties were calculated by using the law of a propagation of an uncertainty. Finally, the expanded uncertainty was calculated by using the effective degree of freedom and the t-distribution for a given confidence level. The uncertainty of the thermal expansion for a simulated fuel was also compared with those of UO₂ fuel.     

Microbiota-derived lactate promotes hematopoiesis and erythropoiesis by inducing stem cell factor production from leptin receptor+ niche cells

Although functional interplay between intestinal microbiota and distant sites beyond the gut has been identified, the influence of microbiota-derived metabolites on hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) remains unclear. This study investigated the role of microbiota-derived lactate in hematopoiesis using mice deficient in G-protein-coupled receptor (Gpr) 81 (Gpr81^−/−), an established lactate receptor. We detected significant depletion of total HSCs in the bone marrow (BM) of Gpr81^−/− mice compared with heterogenic (Gpr81^+/−) mice in a steady state. Notably, the expression levels of stem cell factor (SCF), which is required for the proliferation of HSCs, decreased significantly in leptin receptor-expressing (LepR⁺) mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) around the sinusoidal vessels of the BM from Gpr81^−/− mice compared with Gpr81^+/− mice. Hematopoietic recovery and activation of BM niche cells after irradiation or busulfan treatment also required Gpr81 signals. Oral administration of lactic acid-producing bacteria (LAB) activated SCF secretion from LepR⁺ BM MSCs and subsequently accelerated hematopoiesis and erythropoiesis. Most importantly, LAB feeding accelerated the self-renewal of HSCs in germ-free mice. These results suggest that microbiota-derived lactate stimulates SCF secretion by LepR⁺ BM MSCs and subsequently activates hematopoiesis and erythropoiesis in a Gpr81-dependent manner.Subject terms: Immunology, Stem-cell research     

Regularity of Solutions to the Navier-Stokes Equations for Compressible Barotropic Flows on a Polygon

The Navier-Stokes system for a steady-state barotropic nonlinear compressible viscous flow, with an inflow boundary condition, is studied on a polygon D. A unique existence for the solution of the system is established. It is shown that the lowest order corner singularity of the nonlinear system is the same as that of the Laplacian in suitable L ^q spaces. Let ω be the interior angle of a vertex P of D. If \(\) and \(\), then the velocity u is split into singular and regular parts near the vertex P. If α < 2 and \(\) or if α > 2 and 2 < q < ∞&;, it is shown that u∈ (H ^{2, q} (D))².     

Synthesis of novel N-acyclonucleosides: Benzotriazole,benzothiazinone and pyridooxazinone acyclonucleosides

Some novel benzotriazole, benzothiazinone and pyridooxazinone acyclonucleosides containing 4-hydroxybutyl, 4-hydroxybutoxy, 4-iodobutyl, 2-oxopropyl and 2,3-epoxypropoxy groups as a side chain was prepared.     

Simulation of chlorination reaction behavior of hull wastes by using the HSC code

Nitrofurantoin (NFN) radiolabeling with technetium-99m (^99mTc) was investigated using different concentration of the NFN, sodium pertechnetate (Na^99mTcO₄), reducing agent (SnCl₂) at different pH ranges (5.1–6.00). The suitability of the ^99mTc-NFN was evaluated in terms of the radiochemical purity (RCP) yield, in vitro stability in saline, serum, in vitro binding with E. coli, biodistribution in E. coli infected model rat (ERT), and scintigraphic accuracy in E. coli infected model rabbit (EBT). The superlative radiochemical succumb at 2.5 mg NFN, 125 μL of SnCl₂ (1 μg/μL in 0.01 N HCl), 2.5 mCi of Na^99mTcO₄, at pH 5.2 at 30, 60, 90, and 120 min after reconstitution was 64.50 ± 0.11, 97.50 ± 0.16, 94.25 ± 0.10, 92.15 ± 0.14 and 90.75 ± 0.0.13%. The complex was found stable in saline and serum for 90% up to 120 min and showed 50–65% in vitro binding with E. coli. The absorption of the ^99mTc-NFN, primarily at E. Coli infected (ECT) muscle of ERT was lower but after 60 min it went up to 7.25 ± 0.17%. The absorption in the blood, liver, spleen, stomach, intestines, inflamed muscle (N.T1) and normal muscle (N.T2) went down while in the kidney and urine it went up with time. The ratio of the ECT/N.T1 was 7:1 and N.T2/N.T1 was 2:1. The Whole Body Static (WBS) imaging of the ERB confirmed the suitability of the ^99mTc-NFN as radiotracer. The superlative radiochemical succumb, significant in vitro stability in saline and serum, in vitro binding with E. coli, ideal biodistribution and scintigraphic accuracy confirmed the viability of the ^99mTc-NFN as radiotracer for infection.     

Effect of chlorinating reagents on Zr recovery from Zircaloy-4 hull wastes: reaction behavior simulation by using the HSC code

Chlorination reaction behavior of Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) was simulated by using the HSC code for three different chlorinating reagents of Cl₂, HCl, and CCl₄. Four major components (Zr, Sn, Fe, and Cr) of Zry-4 and their oxides which were produced during an oxidative decladding process were considered for the theoretical calculation. The simulation results revealed that Cl₂ might convert metallic Zr, Sn, Fe, and Cr into their chloride forms, while oxides might not react with Cl₂ at 380 °C. When HCl was employed as the chlorinating reagent, it was suggested that metallic Zr, Sn, and Cr might react with HCl while Fe and oxides might not. In the case of CCl₄, it was shown that CCl₄ could react with all of the metallic and oxide components to produce most amount of ZrCl₄ when compared with Cl₂ and HCl cases. Reaction behavior of the chlorinating reagents with residual spent nuclear fuel constituents (U₃O₈, MoO₃, Pd, BaO, Y₂O₃, SrO, Rh₂O₃, RhO₂, La₂O₃, CeO₂, and Nd₂O₃) was also performed, and it was revealed that Cl₂ and HCl might produce (PdCl₂, BaCl₂, SrCl₂, RhCl₃, LaCl₃, and NdCl₃) and (BaCl₂, YCl₃, SrCl₂, RhCl₃, LaCl₃, and NdCl₃), respectively. Although these by-products are produced, it was suggested that highly pure ZrCl₄(g) which contains FeCl₃(g) and SnCl₄(g) as impurities might be recovered when Cl₂ or HCl is employed as a chlorinating reagent because other by-products have higher boiling point than the reaction temperature of this study (380 °C). On the other hand, the theoretical calculation results showed that CCl₄ might react with all the residual spent fuel constituents to produce additional gaseous impurities of UCl₆ and MoCl₅ to reduce the purity of ZrCl₄ product.     

A jump discontinuity of compressible viscous flows grazing a non-convex corner

We show existence and regularity of solution for the compressible viscous steady state Navier–Stokes system on a polygon having a grazing corner and that the density has a jump discontinuity across a curve inside the domain. There are corresponding jumps in derivatives of the velocity. The solution comes from a well-posed boundary value problem on a polygonal domain with a non-convex corner. A formula for the decay of the jump is given. The decay formula suggests that density jumps can occur in a compressible flow with a non-vanishing viscosity.     

A Comparative Study of CT and MRI for Evaluating Hepatic Malignant and Focal Nodules Based on ROC Curves

The clinical use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and multiphase enhanced computed tomography (CT) with the contrast media (Gd-EOB-DTPA) for detecting hepatic malignant and focal nodules prior to operation was examined based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. This study included 70 patients with malignant and focal liver nodules who underwent MRI and multiphase CT scans before operation. Both scans for each patient were conducted within 1 month. For MRI, the T ₂-weighted image (single shot fast spin echo) and two-dimensional (2-D) and 3-D T ₁-gradient magnetic signals were obtained for all patients before administering the contrast media. The 2-D and 3-D T ₁-gradient magnetic signals were obtained in the same location after delivering the contrast media. For the CT scans, images of artery phase, portal phase, and delayed phase were obtained at a thickness of 5 mm or less after administering contrast similar to MRI. An ROC curve was used (paired-samples T test, P < 0.05) to evaluate the images. When the analysis was based on the ROC curve, MRI showed high values (P < 0.05) for area under curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity in terms of detection rates of small lesions (less than 2 cm and more than 2 cm) compared to multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) (for ≤2 cm, MRI: 0.928, 70, 93%, CT: 0.775, 30, 90%; for ≥2 cm, MRI: 0.744, 80%, 84%; CT: 0.692, 40%, 84%). Gd-EOB-DTPA contrast media-enhanced MRI scanner for detecting malignant and focal liver nodules before operation showed the higher detection rate of lesion and classification of lesion as either benign or malignant than multiphase enhanced MDCT when the ROC curve was used for analysis. Based on these results, we believe that analysis based on the ROC curve will provide guidelines for evaluating malignant and focal hepatic lesions prior to operation.     

Investigation of shear damage considering the evolution of anisotropy

The damage that occurs in shear deformations in view of anisotropy evolution is investigated. It is widely believed in the mechanics research community that damage (or porosity) does not evolve (increase) in shear deformations since the hydrostatic stress in shear is zero. This paper proves that the above statement can be false in large deformations of simple shear. The simulation using the proposed anisotropic ductile fracture model (macro-scale) in this study indicates that hydrostatic stress becomes nonzero and (thus) porosity evolves (increases or decreases) in the simple shear deformation of anisotropic (orthotropic) materials. The simple shear simulation using a crystal plasticity based damage model (meso-scale) shows the same physics as manifested in the above macro-scale model that porosity evolves due to the grain-to-grain interaction, i.e., due to the evolution of anisotropy. Through a series of simple shear simulations, this study investigates the effect of the evolution of anisotropy, i.e., the rotation of the orthotropic axes onto the damage (porosity) evolution. The effect of the evolutions of void orientation and void shape onto the damage (porosity) evolution is investigated as well. It is found out that the interaction among porosity, the matrix anisotropy and void orientation/shape plays a crucial role in the ductile damage of porous materials.