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Path pattern is one of the most significant parameters in the additive manufacturing (AM) process because it influences the specimen's final shape and residual stress distribution. Generally, the optimal path pattern is a computationally expensive, high-dimensional, and black-box permutation optimization problem. In this paper, we propose a combinatorial radial basis function surrogate-assisted genetic algorithm (CRBF-GA) to effectively generate the optimal path pattern by integrating the combinatorial radial basis function surrogate model (CRBF) with the genetic algorithm (GA). To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed CRBF-GA, a Ti-6Al-4V thin rod, a component of lattice, is chosen as the research object. Through numerical simulation, experimental verification, and error comparison analysis, the RBF-GA pattern is demonstrated to be the best path pattern among the random forest-assisted evolutionary algorithm (RF-EA), GA, spiral, and zigzag patterns, and it excels in achieving a more precise rod shape compared to the other patterns examined.

Abstract Objective Compare percutaneous cystolithotomy (PCCL) and open cystotomy (OC) for removal of bladder and urethral uroliths. Design Retrospective study. Animals Client‐owned dogs and cats that underwent PCCL (n = 41) or OC (n = 40) between January 1, 2014 and February 28, 2018 at a referral center. Methods Medical records of dogs and cats that underwent a PCCL or an OC were reviewed. History, signalment, physical examination, diagnostic tests, length of the procedure and anesthesia, complications, and duration of hospitalization were recorded. Results A total 17 cats (PCCL = 10; OC = 7) and 64 dogs (PCCL = 31; OC = 33) were included. There was no significant difference, regardless of species, in the mean surgical time (45 min [24‐160 min] and 48.5 min [15‐122 min] with P = .54 in dogs, P = .65 in cats) nor mean duration of anesthesia (90 min [50‐120 min] and 98 min [54‐223 min] with P = .87 in dogs, P = .08 in cats) in the PCCL and OC groups respectively. Number of uroliths did not affect duration of surgery in either group. Complete urolith removal was achieved in 98% of dogs and cats in both groups. The median hospitalization time was significantly shorter in the PCCL group for dogs (11.3 hours [range 4 to 51.3] in the PCCL vs 56.6 hours [range 7.3 to 96] in the OC group; P

Abstract Adolescent binge drinking represents a major public health challenge and can lead to persistent neurological and mental conditions, but the underlying pathogenic mechanisms remain poorly understood. Using a mouse model of adolescent binge ethanol treatment (ABET), we found that this treatment induced behavioral changes associated with demyelination in different brain regions. After ABET, adolescent mice exhibited anxiogenic behaviors with no change in locomotion on the elevated plus maze, and impaired spatial memory indicated by a significant reduction in spontaneous alternation in the Y maze test. Both effects persisted into adulthood. Anatomical studies further showed that ABET induced a significant reduction of parvalbumin-positive (PV+) GABAergic interneurons and myelin density in the hippocampus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). While these deficits in PV+ interneurons and myelin persisted into early adulthood in the hippocampus, the myelin density recovered in the mPFC. Moreover, whereas ABET mainly damaged myelin of PV+ axons in the hippocampus, it primarily damaged myelin of PV-negative axons in the mPFC. Thus, our findings reveal that an adolescent binge alcohol treatment regimen disrupts spatial working memory, increases anxiety-like behaviors, and exerts unique temporal and spatial patterns of gray matter demyelination in the hippocampus and mPFC.

Tailoring the thermal and mechanical properties plays an important role in manufacturing and designing functionally graded material (FGM) which is often applied in high temperature gradient environment. The present investigation will address the basics of thermoelastic problem solved by means of a specific meshless smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The inconsistency of the conventional SPH method was improved by introducing the symmetric SPH (SSPH) technique, where function derivatives can be approximated by the function values in the support domain. Hence, the heat conduction and balance equations become a series of algebraic equations, which can be solved efficiently. The result accuracy achieved by the proposed approach was demonstrated in solving several numerical examples in comparison to available results in the literature. The effect of the gradation indexes on the thermoelastic behavior was also considered.

The decline of cognitive function has emerged as one of the greatest health threats of old age. Age-related cognitive decline is caused by an impacted neuronal circuitry, yet the molecular mechanisms responsible are unknown. C1q, the initiating protein of the classical complement cascade and powerful effector of the peripheral immune response, mediates synapse elimination in the developing CNS. Here we show that C1q protein levels dramatically increase in the normal aging mouse and human brain, by as much as 300-fold. This increase was predominantly localized in close proximity to synapses and occurred earliest and most dramatically in certain regions of the brain, including some but not all regions known to be selectively vulnerable in neurodegenerative diseases, i.e., the hippocampus, substantia nigra, and piriform cortex. C1q-deficient mice exhibited enhanced synaptic plasticity in the adult and reorganization of the circuitry in the aging hippocampal dentate gyrus. Moreover, aged C1q-deficient mice exhibited significantly less cognitive and memory decline in certain hippocampus-dependent behavior tests compared with their wild-type littermates. Unlike in the developing CNS, the complement cascade effector C3 was only present at very low levels in the adult and aging brain. In addition, the aging-dependent effect of C1q on the hippocampal circuitry was independent of C3 and unaccompanied by detectable synapse loss, providing evidence for a novel, complement- and synapse elimination-independent role for C1q in CNS aging.

Exposure to stress is recognized to be a triggering factor in several mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. There is very little understanding of why female subjects have a significantly higher risk for these conditions than males. Recent findings in male rodents indicated that prophylactic ketamine can prevent the development of a stress-induced depressive-like phenotype, providing a pharmacological tool to study the mechanisms underlying stress resilience. Unfortunately, none of these studies incorporated female subjects, nor did they provide a mechanistic understanding of the effects of ketamine on stress resilience. Our previous work identified the prefrontal glutamatergic and parvalbumin (PV) systems as potential molecular mechanisms underlying sex differences in susceptibility to stress-induced emotional deregulations. To further address this point, we treated male and female mice with a single dose of ketamine before exposure to a chronic stress paradigm to determine whether stress-resilience induced by a pre-exposure to ketamine is similar in males and females and whether modulation of the prefrontal glutamatergic and PV systems by ketamine is associated with these behavioral effects. Ketamine prevented chronic stress-induced changes in behaviors in males, which was associated with a reduction in expression of PV and the NMDA receptor NR1 subunit. Ketamine did not protect females against the effects of chronic stress and did not change significantly prefrontal gene expression. Our data highlight fundamental sex differences in the sustained effects of ketamine. They also further implicate prefrontal glutamatergic transmission and PV in resilience to chronic stress.

Abstract Understanding micro-seismicity is a critical question for earthquake hazard assessment. Since the devastating earthquakes of Izmit and Duzce in 1999, the seismicity along the submerged section of North Anatolian Fault within the Sea of Marmara (comprising the “Istanbul seismic gap”) has been extensively studied in order to infer its mechanical behaviour (creeping vs locked). So far, the seismicity has been interpreted only in terms of being tectonic-driven, although the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) is known to strike across multiple hydrocarbon gas sources. Here, we show that a large number of the aftershocks that followed the M 5.1 earthquake of July, 25th 2011 in the western Sea of Marmara, occurred within a zone of gas overpressuring in the 1.5–5 km depth range, from where pressurized gas is expected to migrate along the MMF, up to the surface sediment layers. Hence, gas-related processes should also be considered for a complete interpretation of the micro-seismicity (~M

Executive functions (EF) reached full maturity during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Human studies provide important information about adolescent developmental trajectories; however, little remains known about the neural circuits underlying the acquisition of mature EF. Ethical and technical considerations with human subjects limit opportunities to design experimental studies that allows for an in-depth understanding of developmental changes in neural circuits that regulate cognitive maturation. Preclinical models can offer solutions to this problem. Unfortunately, current rodent models of adolescent development have inherent flaws that limit their translational value. For instance, females are often omitted from studies, preventing the assessment of potential sex-specific developmental trajectories. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether cognitive developmental changes in rodents are similar to those observed in humans. Here, we tested adolescent and adult male and female mice in a neurocognitive battery of assays. Based on this approach, we assessed mice performances within distinct subdomains of EF, and observed similarities with human developmental trajectories. Furthermore, the sex-specific cognitive changes we observed were paralleled by molecular and neural activity changes demonstrating that our approach can be used in future research to assess the contribution of precise neural circuits to adolescent cognitive maturation. Keywords: Executive functions, Adolescence, Prefrontal cortex, Striatum, Mice

The adolescent brain is marked by functional and structural modifications, particularly within the inhibitory system of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). These changes are necessary for the acquisition of adult cognitive functions and emotion regulation, and impairments in these processes are associated with neuropathologies such as schizophrenia and affective disorders. The molecular mechanisms regulating this adolescent refinement of prefrontal inhibitory circuits remain largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that the transcription factor Npas4 plays a major role in this process. Using a series of behavioral, molecular, pharmacological and genetic approaches in mice, we demonstrate that deficiency in Npas4 affects adolescent expression of multiple markers of GABAergic transmission in the PFC, including parvalbumin and GAD67, in a sex-specific manner. This abnormal pattern of expression of GABAergic markers is associated with sex-specific cognitive and emotional impairments that occur only when Npas4 deficiency begins at adolescence but not post-adolescence. Finally, we show that chronic treatment with the GABA enhancing drug sodium valproate during adolescence is sufficient to induce long-lasting recovery of the molecular and behavioral abnormalities observed in Npas4 deficient mice. Altogether, we provide evidence for the involvement of the transcription factor Npas4 to the structural changes that affect prefrontal inhibitory circuits during adolescence. Further investigations of Npas4 role in the adolescent brain might provide new insights on the molecular mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders that emerge during adolescence.

In today’s scenario, numerous studies have shown a great interest on 3D woven structures like 3D warp interlock fabric as a fibre reinforcement for composite material to provide a better impact than 2D laminated fabrics with unlinked structures in the thickness. The impact energy absorption capacity depends on different and independent parameters, including the shape and speed of the projectile, the type of fibrous structure (geometry), the type and nature of the threads (raw material, linear density, and twisting value), and the type of impregnation of the composite material. As part of our research work on hard impact protection solutions, the interest of textile composite structures, in particular those integrating 3D warp interlock fabrics, has been revealed. Based on the result, protection solutions with such fabric structure revealed larger dynamic deformation capacity for absorbing the impact energy as compared with not only a ceramic material facing a 12.7 mm ammunition (mass 43 g) at 610 m/s but also those solutions made with metallic materials facing a FSP (diameter 20 mm, mass 54 g) at 630 m/s and 1600 m/s. For each of these different threats, a specific type of composite material has to be used. These composite material solutions are mainly defined to respond to the appropriate mode of impact behaviour.