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Material decay in bearing steels under rolling contact fatigue (RCF) leads to fatigue initiation and failure. This study examines the local structure-property relationship in decayed material through in-situ compression testing of micropillars prepared from a dual-hardening martensitic bearing steel (Hybrid 60) before and after RCF testing. The results demonstrate a pronounced enhancement in local yield strength for decayed regions (2200–2340 MPa) as compared to non-decayed regions (1755–1780 MPa). The higher initial stress for dislocations glide in the decayed regions and their discontinuous yield behavior are attributed to the presence of ferrite microbands. Crystal plasticity simulations corroborated these findings, showingincreased critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) and reduced strain hardening in decayed samples.

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a valuable method for the analysis of phase decomposition in Fe-Cr alloys; however, quantification of the decomposition requires careful modeling of the scattering data considering factors such as interface character and short-range order. Here, we quantify the phase decomposition in a high-performance super duplex stainless steel in situ during accelerated aging in the early stage of decomposition by modifying a previously suggested quantitative SANS data modeling method. The proposed revised method can accurately model the SANS data and paves the way for revisiting the detailed phase decomposition kinetics in situ during aging in various Fe-Cr-based alloys.

Inconclusive findings have been reported regarding the influence of smoking on disease outcomes in established rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was undertaken to investigate the influence of smoking habits on disease activity and health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) in RA patients. Patients with newly diagnosed RA (n = 1,531) from the population‐based case–control Epidemiological Investigation of Rheumatoid Arthritis study were followed up for up to 3 years after recruitment. Using logistic regression models, the risks of unfavorable outcomes in patients with different smoking habits were compared using self‐reported swollen and tender joint counts, the Short Form 36 health survey, the Health Assessment Questionnaire, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale by calculating odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals. At 1‐year and 3‐year follow‐up, current smokers reported higher disease activity and lower HRQoL life compared to non‐smokers, regarding both physical and mental aspects. Patients who stopped smoking within 1‐year post‐baseline had less disease activity measured as swollen joint counts at 1‐year follow‐up compared to those who continued smoking. Patients who stopped smoking after the 1‐year follow‐up had higher disease activity and lower HRQoL at baseline than smokers who did not quit, and late smoking cessation was not associated with more favorable outcomes compared to continued smoking. Current smoking is associated with increased disease activity and lower HRQoL among RA patients. Smoking cessation within the first year after baseline appears to have a favorable effect on disease activity.

There is increasing evidence of crosstalk between organs. The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a peripheral chemical synapse whose function and morphology are sensitive to acetylcholine (ACh) release and muscle depolarization. In an attempt to improve our understanding of NMJ plasticity and muscle crosstalk, the effects of unilateral direct electrical stimulation of a hindlimb muscle on the NMJ were investigated in rats exposed long‐term post‐synaptic neuromuscular blockade. Sprague Dawley rats were subjected to post‐synaptic blockade of neuromuscular transmission by systemic administration of α‐cobrotoxin and mechanically ventilated for up to 8 days and compared with untreated sham operated controls and animals exposed to unilateral chronic electrical stimulation 12 h/day for 5 or 8 days. NMJs produced axonal and glial sprouts (growth of processes that extend beyond the confines of the synapse defined by high‐density aggregates of acetylcholine receptors [AChRs]) in response to post‐synaptic neuromuscular blockade, but less than reported after peripheral denervation or pre‐synaptic blockade. Direct electrical soleus muscle stimulation reduced the terminal Schwann cell (tSC) and axonal sprouting in both stimulated and non‐stimulated contralateral soleus. Eight days chronic stimulation reduced (P< 0.001) the number of tSC sprouts on stimulated and non‐stimulated soleus from 6.7 ± 0.5 and 6.9 ± 0.5 sprouts per NMJ, respectively, compared with 10.3 ± 0.9 tSC per NMJ (P< 0.001) in non‐stimulated soleus from rats immobilized for 8 days. A similar reduction of axonal sprouts (P< 0.001) was observed in stimulated and non‐stimulated contralateral soleus in response to chronic electrical stimulation. RNAseq‐based gene expression analyses confirmed a restoring effect on both stimulated and unstimulated contralateral muscle. The cross‐over effect was paralleled by increased cytokine/chemokine levels in stimulated and contralateral unstimulated muscle as well as in plasma. Motor axon terminals and terminal Schwann cells at NMJs of rats subjected to post‐synaptic neuromuscular blockade exhibited sprouting responses. These axonal and glial responses were likely dampened by a muscle‐derived myokines released in an activity‐dependent manner with both local and systemic effects.

Background: Informing individuals about their risk of cancer can sometimes have negative consequences, such as inflicting unnecessary worry and fostering stigma. This study aims to explore how patients diagnosed with breast or colorectal cancer perceive and experience risk communication, particularly concerning the increased focus on lifestyle behaviors as the cause of cancer. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted during autumn 2023, with 23 Swedish individuals, aged 34 to 79 years, diagnosed with breast or colorectal cancer. The collected data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis described by Braun & Clark. The study adopted an experiential orientation grounded in critical realism. Results: Five themes with ten sub-themes were identified: Thoughts and feelings about the causes of cancer, Moralizing messages and negative encounters, The need to take action, Balancing uncertain risks and a fulfilling life, and Societal benefits of risk communication. The participants expressed that knowledge of the the cause of cancer is closely related to the possibility of taking preventive action against relapses. Ability to take action was also perceived important for their well-being. Therefore, risk information entails both feelings of self-blame and hope for the future. Participants asked for both information and lifestyle support from healthcare professionals. Lifestyle interventions and patient support groups were solicited and perceived as an important aspect of cancer survivals’ well-being, and may help to reduce the cancer-related stigma. Conclusion: Individuals that have or have had breast or colorectal cancer, including those leading healthy lifestyles, found moralistic risk information offensive, leading to feelings of shame when thinking about other peoples thoughts. Balancing information involves providing transparent, evidence-based information while considering individual and social contexts, avoiding stigmatization and blame, and supplementing information with support.

Critical illness myopathy (CIM) is a consequence of modern critical care resulting in general muscle wasting and paralyses of all limb and trunk muscles, resulting in prolonged weaning from the ventilator, intensive care unit (ICU) treatment and rehabilitation. CIM is associated with severe morbidity/mortality and significant negative socioeconomic consequences, which has become increasingly evident during the current COVID‐19 pandemic, but underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Ten neuro‐ICU patients exposed to long‐term controlled mechanical ventilation were followed with repeated muscle biopsies, electrophysiology and plasma collection three times per week for up to 12 days. Single muscle fibre contractile recordings were conducted on the first and final biopsy, and a multiomics approach was taken to analyse gene and protein expression in muscle and plasma at all collection time points. (i) A progressive preferential myosin loss, the hallmark of CIM, was observed in all neuro‐ICU patients during the observation period (myosin:actin ratio decreased from 2.0 in the first to 0.9 in the final biopsy, P< 0.001). The myosin loss was coupled to a general transcriptional downregulation of myofibrillar proteins (P< 0.05; absolute fold change >2) and activation of protein degradation pathways (false discovery rate [FDR] <0.1), resulting in significant muscle fibre atrophy and loss in force generation capacity, which declined >65% during the 12 day observation period (muscle fibre cross‐sectional area [CSA] and maximum single muscle fibre force normalized to CSA [specific force] declined 30% [P< 0.007] and 50% [P< 0.0001], respectively). (ii) Membrane excitability was not affected as indicated by the maintained compound muscle action potential amplitude upon supramaximal stimulation of upper and lower extremity motor nerves. (iii) Analyses of plasma revealed early activation of inflammatory and proinflammatory pathways (FDR < 0.1), as well as a redistribution of zinc ions from plasma. The mechanical ventilation‐induced lung injury with release of cytokines/chemokines and the complete mechanical silencing uniquely observed in immobilized ICU patients affecting skeletal muscle gene/protein expression are forwarded as the dominant factors triggering CIM.

• Deep data mining and deep learning are integrated for M s prediction. • The model trained by low alloy steel data achieves ∼30 K MAE in high alloy systems. • Data mined mechanism information improved the explainability of deep learning model. • Deep mechanism information helps deep learning to solve small sample problems. The martensite start temperature is a critical parameter for steels with metastable austenite. Although numerous models have been developed to predict the martensite start (M s) temperature, the complexity of the martensitic transformation greatly limits their performance and extensibility. In this work, we apply deep data mining of thermodynamic calculations and deep learning to develop a generic model for M s prediction. Deep data mining was used to establish a hierarchical database with three levels of information. Then, a convolutional neural network model, which can accurately treat the hierarchical data structure, was used to obtain the final model. By integrating thermodynamic calculations, traditional machine learning and deep learning modeling, the final predictor model shows excellent generalizability and extensibility, i.e. model performance both within and beyond the composition range of the original database. The effects of 15 alloying elements were considered successfully using the proposed methodology. The work suggests that, with the help of deep data mining considering the physical mechanisms, deep learning methods can partially mitigate the challenge with limited data in materials science and provide a means for solving complex problems with small databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical illness myopathy (CIM) is a debilitating condition characterized by the preferential loss of the motor protein myosin. CIM is a by‐product of critical care, attributed to impaired recovery, long‐term complications, and mortality. CIM pathophysiology is complex, heterogeneous and remains incompletely understood; however, loss of mechanical stimuli contributes to critical illness‐associated muscle atrophy and weakness. Passive mechanical loading and electrical stimulation (ES) therapies augment muscle mass and function. While having beneficial outcomes, the mechanistic underpinning of these therapies is less known. Therefore, here we aimed to assess the mechanism by which chronic supramaximal ES ameliorates CIM in a unique experimental rat model of critical care. Rats were subjected to 8 days of critical care conditions entailing deep sedation, controlled mechanical ventilation, and immobilization with and without direct soleus ES. Muscle size and function were assessed at the single cell level. RNAseq and western blotting were employed to understand the mechanisms driving ES muscle outcomes in CIM. Following 8 days of controlled mechanical ventilation and immobilization, soleus muscle mass, myosin : actin ratio, and single muscle fibre maximum force normalized to cross‐sectional area (CSA; specific force) were reduced by 40–50% (P< 0.0001). ES significantly reduced the loss of soleus muscle fibre CSA and myosin : actin ratio by approximately 30% (P< 0.05) yet failed to effect specific force. RNAseq pathway analysis revealed downregulation of insulin signalling in the soleus muscle following critical care, and GLUT4 trafficking was reduced by 55% leading to an 85% reduction of muscle glycogen content (P< 0.01). ES promoted phosphofructokinase and insulin signalling pathways to control levels (P< 0.05), consistent with the maintenance of GLUT4 translocation and glycogen levels. AMPK, but not AKT, signalling pathway was stimulated following ES, where the downstream target TBC1D4 increased 3 logFC (P= 0.029) and AMPK‐specific P‐TBC1D4 levels were increased approximately two‐fold (P= 0.06). Reduction of muscle protein degradation rather than increased synthesis promoted soleus CSA, as ES reduced E3 ubiquitin proteins, Atrogin‐1 (P= 0.006) and MuRF1 (P= 0.08) by approximately 50%, downstream of AMPK‐FoxO3. ES maintained GLUT4 translocation through increased AMPK‐TBC1D4 signalling leading to improved muscle glucose homeostasis. Soleus CSA and myosin content was promoted through reduced protein degradation via AMPK‐FoxO3 E3 ligases, Atrogin‐1 and MuRF1. These results demonstrate chronic supramaximal ES reduces critical care associated muscle wasting, preserved glucose signalling, and reduced muscle protein degradation in CIM.

ABSTRACTThis article brings together research on civil wars and militarization with feminist scholarship on the household in order to push theorization on civil wars in new directions. By introducing the concept of militarized social reproduction to capture the multiple ways in which women’s everyday labour in both the household and the army underpins militarization processes, this article proposes that parastate armed conflict is enabled, at least in part, through women’s everyday gendered activities. It suggests that this labour is particularly important in parastates experiencing long-term civil wars. In these settings, public funds, to the extent that they exist, are diverted from social welfare services to enable the expansion, or simply survival, of military power. Under these circumstances, the duty to reproduce both the individual soldier and the army writ-large is placed disproportionally on the shoulders of women. Several general types of this gendered labour, though interrelated, can be distinguished from one another through a typology of militarized social reproduction. This typology considers not only physical labour, but also the emotional and symbolic labour used to resource and legitimize armed conflict in non-material ways. It is therefore not only the physical effects of the labour that have consequences for the war, but also the ways in which women are called upon to symbolize and legitimize warfare. Such a focus enables important insights into the nexus formed between the everyday space of the gendered household and conflict, and furthers knowledge about the relationship of gender to different modalities of militarization.

Background: Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) has been suggested to be associated with mortality in hip fracture patients, to the same extent as more expensive and time-consuming tools. However, even CCI might be too time-consuming in a clinical setting. Aim: To investigate whether the American Society of Anaesthesiologists score (ASA score), a simple grading from the anaesthesiologist’s examination, is comparable with CCI in the association with 1-year mortality after a hip fracture. Methods: The study population was patients 60 + years registered in the Swedish Hip Fracture Registry with a first-time hip fracture between 1997 and 2017 (N= 165,596). The outcome was 1-year mortality, and the exposures were ASA score and CCI. The association between comorbidity and mortality was described with Kaplan–Meier curves and analyzed with Cox proportional hazards models. Results: The Kaplan–Meier curves showed a stepwise increase in mortality for increasing values of both ASA and CCI. The Hazard Ratios (HRs) for the highest ASA (4–5) were 3.8(95% Confidence Interval 3.5–4.2) for women and 3.2(2.8–3.6) for men in the fully adjusted models. Adjusted HRs for the highest CCI (4 +) were 3.6(3.3–3.9) for women and 2.5(2.3–2.7) for men. Reference was the lowest score value for both tools. The correlation between the tools was moderate. Conclusions: Both ASA and CCI show a similar stepwise association with 1-year mortality in hip fracture patients, despite measuring different factors and capturing different individuals at risk. Since the ASA score is already accessible for health care staff, it might be preferable to aid in prioritizing vulnerable hip fracture patients at risk of adverse outcomes.

This article explores processes of place-making and space-making around the erection of the Aung San statue in Kayah state in Myanmar and draws out the competing visions of peace that are articulated through them. The raising of the statue unleashed widespread public protest, which was largely met by repression by the Myanmar authorities. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and documentary sources, we argue that the statue constitutes an attempt to establish a post-war political order centred on the reassertion of government authority in ethnic minority areas and the creation of unity through the imposition of one national identity. However, the statue has also been appropriated as a key site for the articulation of alternative visions of peace and development. The conflict around the statue thereby makes visible ongoing struggles over the meaning of peace and shows how these post-war struggles are fought on and through space and place.

The mechanisms of bacterial contact killing induced by Cu surfaces were explored through high-resolution studies based on combinations of the focused ion beam (FIB), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), high-resolution TEM, and nanoscale Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (nano-FTIR) microscopy of individual bacterial cells of Gram-positive Bacillus subtilisin direct contact with Cu metal and Cu5Zn5Al1Sn surfaces after high-touch corrosion conditions. This approach permitted subcellular information to be extracted from the bioinorganic interface between a single bacterium and Cu/Cu5Zn5Al1Sn surfaces after complete contact killing. Early stages of interaction between individual bacteria and the metal/alloy surfaces include cell leakage of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) from the bacterium and changes in the metal/alloy surface composition upon adherence of bacteria. Three key observations responsible for Cu-induced contact killing include cell membrane damage, formation of nanosized copper-containing particles within the bacteria cell, and intracellular copper redox reactions. Direct evidence of cell membrane damage was observed upon contact with both Cu metal and Cu5Zn5Al1Sn surfaces. Cell membrane damage permits copper to enter into the cell interior through two possible routes, as small fragmentized Cu2O particles from the corrosion product layer and/or as released copper ions. This results in the presence of intracellular copper oxide nanoparticles inside the cell. The nanosized particles consist primarily of CuO with smaller amounts of Cu2O. The existence of two oxidation states of copper suggests that intracellular redox reactions play an important role. The nanoparticle formation can be regarded as a detoxification process of copper, which immobilizes copper ions via transformation processes within the bacteria into poorly soluble or even insoluble nanosized Cu structures. Similarly, the formation of primarily Cu(II) oxide nanoparticles could be a possible way for the bacteria to deactivate the toxic effects induced by copper ions via conversion of Cu(I) to Cu(II).

ABSTRACTThis article brings into conversation feminist political economy with critical studies in peace and conflict to examine how Myanmar’s transition is experienced though everyday gendered sites and with what consequences for women living in rural areas of the country, where lives are shaped as much by the actuality as the possibility of violence. The everyday is where these insecurities are felt, feared and negotiated. To illustrate this, I draw on the experiences of Agnes, a woman growing up within the context of prolonged conflict in rural Myanmar. I demonstrate how Agnes’s home, and her bodily labour and vulnerability, is at the locus of a gendered political economy (re)produced both within the home and at the national level. I show how the transition has for women like Agnes resulted in a continuation of insecurity, challenging the legitimacy of Myanmar’s neoliberal reform initiatives as a meaningful pathway towards sustainable peace and security.

AbstractFew intervention programmes focussing on increasing physical activity among children have been successful long term. It has also become increasingly common among scholars as well as politicians to advocate for organisations within a field to ‘join up’ to tackle social challenges. Research indicates that collaborative processes may entail challenges in implementing programmes informed by high quality knowledge. The aim of this study was, therefore, to examine partner organisations’ conceptions about objectives of an alternative sports programme, how such objectives are meant to be achieved, and how such conceptions may affect children’s development of a physically active lifestyle. Qualitative content analysis revealed three underlying lines of thought regarding alternative activities for children, as follows: they should increase the member base through modifications; they should awaken the inherent desire to move through targeting motor skills; and they should transform sports clubs by providing an exercise arena. The article discusses how activities fail to consider children’s predisposing factors and what implications this has for the work of promoting children's physical activity. Finally, we suggest that partnerships would benefit from applying a multi-leveled ecological model when designing programmes.

ABSTRACTThe coarsening of cementite in a martensitic Fe–1C–1Cr (wt-%) alloy upon tempering at 700°C is investigated. When considering that the main location of cementite is at grain boundaries, classical coarsening theory can accurately predict the mean size evolution, while the predicted size distribution evolution disagrees with the experimentally observed log-normal distribution maintained throughout the whole tempering (5000 h). We conclude that classical theory of coarsening, as given by Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner and included in the Langer–Schwartz Kampmann–Wagner numerical approach for modelling precipitation reactions, is not fully adequate to simulate coarsening of cementite for tempering in practice.

The coarsening of cementite in a martensitic Fe–1C–1Cr (wt-%) alloy upon tempering at 700°C is investigated. When considering that the main location of cementite is at grain boundaries, classical coarsening theory can accurately predict the mean size evolution, while the predicted size distribution evolution disagrees with the experimentally observed log-normal distribution maintained throughout the whole tempering (5000?h). We conclude that classical theory of coarsening, as given by Lifshitz–Slyozov–Wagner and included in the Langer–Schwartz Kampmann–Wagner numerical approach for modelling precipitation reactions, is not fully adequate to simulate coarsening of cementite for tempering in practice.

Electronic symmetry breaking by charge disproportionation results in multifaceted changes in the electronic, magnetic and optical properties of a material, triggering ferroelectricity, metal/insulator transition and colossal magnetoresistance. Yet, charge disproportionation lacks technological relevance because it occurs only under specific physical conditions of high or low temperature or high pressure. Here we demonstrate a voltage-triggered charge disproportionation in thin molecular films of a metal–organic complex occurring in ambient conditions. This provides a technologically relevant molecular route for simultaneous realization of a ternary memristor and a binary memcapacitor, scalable down to a device area of 60 nm2. Supported by mathematical modelling, our results establish that multiple memristive states can be functionally non-volatile, yet discrete—a combination perceived as theoretically prohibited. Our device could be used as a binary or ternary memristor, a binary memcapacitor or both concomitantly, and unlike the existing ‘continuous state’ memristors, its discrete states are optimal for high-density, ultra-low-energy digital computing.

Saffron, the dried stigmas of Crocus sativusL., is one of the most appreciated culinary spices because of its excellent seasoning capacity. Besides, it’s one of the most expensive spices in the world because of its harvest handmade processing. To this aim, a saffron powder has been developed to provide an economical alternative to saffron stigmas for culinary applications. In this work, a mellow rice with confit duck (hot dish) and a creamy cheesecake (cold dessert) were prepared with saffron stigmas and the saffron powder to compare the organoleptic properties and the acceptance of the saffron powder as an alternative to saffron stigma. The culinary study concludes that saffron stigmas and saffron powder were similar and well positioned in terms of overall linking, preference and purchase intention for both the rice and cold dessert dishes. In the case of mellow rice recipe, more than 40% of consumers say that both recipes were very similar, while in the cheesecake recipe only 26% found similarity in the recipes. However, after the informed preference test more than 50% of consumers would prefer saffron powder for cold dishes and more than 60% of consumers would prefer saffron powder for hot dishes.

Increased awareness of the negative effects of sanitary sewer overflow (SSO) events on human health and aquatic life led to the development of various control measures, of which implementation is impeded by the lack of information on SSO occurrences, flows and volumes. The collection of such information requires data acquisition systems, which can be costly and are fully utilized just during limited time periods of the year. In search for inexpensive approaches to SSO monitoring, the feasibility of using existing flap gate installations, serving for prevention of back-up flows into sewers, as constriction flow meters was investigated, with promising results. An experimental pilot-scale setup was designed to allow steady water flow through a flap gate built into a partition wall between two chambers. The stabilized water heads in the chambers and the flow rate through the flap gate were measured, for both dry and submerged flap gate conditions, and five flap gate sizes (200, 300, 400, 500 and 600 mm), with relatively heavy covers (6–102 kg). The measured data were used to develop flow rating curves, by non-linear regression, in the form Q = f (ΔH), where Q is the discharge through the flap gate and ΔH is the pressure differential upstream and downstream of the gate. The regression curves fitted the experimental data with high precision (R2>0.99). The use of flow rating curves for estimation of the SSO volume was discussed. This study demonstrated that the water head measurements upstream and downstream of the flap gate can provide a reliable, accurate and inexpensive method for quantification of the SSO discharges and volumes.

Oxide-derived copper electrocatalysts have been found to possess excellent selectivity toward the production of multicarbon products from CO2. The presence of subsurface oxygen in these catalysts has been confirmed experimentally, but the resulting amorphous structure has yet to be captured by theoretical models. In this study, the role of subsurface oxygen atoms is investigated with density functional theory, using a disordered oxide-derived Cu surface model (d-ODCu). The presence of subsurface oxygen atoms increases the maximum adsorption coverage of the important CO intermediate but decreases that of H atoms because of electronic and geometric effects. However, this has no significant influence on the free-energy activation barrier or endothermicity of the CO-dimerization reaction step, allegedly the key to multicarbon product formation.

Oxide-derived copper (OD-Cu) catalysts are promising candidates for the electrochemical CO2reduction reaction (CO2RR) due to the enhanced selectivity toward ethylene over methane evolution, which has been linked to the presence of subsurface oxygen (Osb). In this work, Osbis investigated with theoretical methods. Although Osbis unstable in slab models, it becomes stabilized within a “manually” reduced OD-Cu nanocube model which was calculated by self-consistent charge density functional tight binding (SCC-DFTB). The results obtained with SCC-DFTB for the full nanocube were confirmed with subcluster models extracted from the nanocube, calculated with both density functional theory (DFT) and SCC-DFTB. The higher stability of Osbin the nanocube is attributed to the disordered structure and greater flexibility. The adsorption strength of CO on Cu(100) is enhanced by Osbwithdrawing electron density from the Cu atom, resulting in reduction of the σ-repulsion. Hence, the coverage of CO may be increased, facilitating its dimerization.