Mechanical behavior of nylon 66 tyre cord under monotonic and cyclic extension: Experiments and constitutive modeling

Many industrial products are made of cord-rubber composite materials. Their mechanical behavior not only depends on rubber but also depends on cord. Nylon 66 cord is one of the most important reinforcement in these products. This paper research the mechanical behavior of nylon 66 cord under various load cases. A series of experiments were carried out to obtaining stress-strain curves under different load cases. Complex changes of the modulus and Mullins effect can be found in monotonic and cyclic tension, respectively. Mechanism of these behaviors has been analyzed considering both the twisted structure and material. A phenomenological constitutive model, accounting for different loading conditions, has been firstly proposed base on strain energy density function and damage mechanics method. The proposed model has been verified by comparing the predicted results with experimental data. It has been found that the proposed model predicted the stress-strain curves that were consistent with the experimental data. The proposed model can be implemented in finite element software for engineering design and application.     

Novel insights into the marine phase and river fidelity of anadromous twaite shad Alosa fallax in the UK and Ireland

1. Most research on anadromous fishes has been invested in their freshwater life‐phases, resulting in a relatively sparse understanding of their spatial ecology during marine life‐phases. However, understanding the marine dispersal of anadromous fishes is essential to identify threats and to implement conservation measures that fully encompass their lifecycle.
2. The twaite shad Alosa fallax is an anadromous fish increasingly imperilled across its range due to pollution, harvesting, and impediments to freshwater migration, but little is known about its distribution and movements during its marine life‐phase. Here, the application of acoustic telemetry provided novel insights into the coastal dispersal of twaite shad in the UK and Ireland during 2018–2019, and the freshwater entry of individuals during the 2019 spawning season.
3. Of 73 twaite shad acoustic‐tagged during their upstream migration in the River Severn in May 2018, 58 emigrated from the river. Twelve were subsequently detected 200 km to the south‐west at the Taw–Torridge Estuary between July 2018 and April 2019, where estuarine movements up to 5.8 km inland occurred in summer, winter, and spring. One was subsequently detected in the Munster Blackwater Estuary (Ireland) and then in the River Severn, indicating a minimum movement distance of 950 km. Thirty‐four (59%) of the emigrating individuals from 2018 re‐entered fresh water in the rivers Severn (n = 33) and Wye (n = 2) in April and May 2019.
4. These results suggest year‐round use of estuarine and nearshore habitats by at least a subset of the twaite shad population during their marine phase, providing evidence of potential range overlap between populations that spawn in different areas in the UK and Ireland, which may be facilitated by substantial dispersal. The results also highlight the potential of telemetry for estimating freshwater and marine mortality, and the benefits of sharing detection data across networks.

     

Oesophageal strictures in cats associated with doxycycline therapy

Four cases of oesophageal stricture subsequent to doxycycline administration are reported. All cases were young to middle age (median age 3 years; range 1-7 years), and either domestic shorthair or domestic longhair breed. In all cases the predominant clinical sign was regurgitation, which developed at variable times after doxycycline administration. In all cases the reason for doxycycline use was treatment or prophylaxis of suspected infections (Mycoplasma haemofelis, Chlamydophila felis or Bordetella bronchiseptica), and the duration of therapy was variable. In one case the stricture was definitively diagnosed at post mortem examination, in the three other cases, definitive diagnosis was by endoscopy. Balloon dilation was successful in the three cases that were treated. This is the largest case series, to date, of oesophageal disease in cats associated with doxycycline administration. Caution should be exercised when administering oral medication to cats, especially doxycycline, and should be accompanied either by a water or food swallow.     

Metastatic immune infiltrates correlate with those of the primary tumour in canine osteosarcoma

Our lack of understanding of the immune microenvironment in canine osteosarcoma (cOSA) has limited the identification of potential immunotherapeutic targets. In particular, our ability to utilize readily available tissue from a dog's primary tumour to predict the type and extent of immune response in their pulmonary metastatic lesions is unknown. We, therefore, collected 21 matched pairs of primary tumours and pulmonary metastatic lesions from dogs with OSA and performed immunohistochemistry to quantify T‐lymphocyte (CD3), FOXP3+ cell, B‐lymphocyte (Pax‐5), and CD204+ macrophage infiltration. We found that T‐lymphocytes and FOXP3+ infiltrates in primary tumours positively correlated with that of metastatic lesions (ρ = 0.512, P = 0.038 and ρ = 0.698, P = 0.007, respectively), while a strong trend existed for CD204+ infiltrates (ρ = 0.404, P = 0.087). We also observed T‐ and B‐lymphocytes, and CD204+ macrophages to be significantly higher in a dog's pulmonary metastasis compared to their primary tumour (P = 0.018, P = 0.018, P = 0.016, respectively), while FOXP3+ cells were only significantly higher in metastases when all primary tumour and metastasis lesions were compared without pairing (P = 0.036). Together, these findings suggest that the metastatic immune microenvironment may be influenced by that of the primary cOSA, and that primary tumour immune biomarkers could potentially be applied to predict immunotherapeutic responses in gross metastatic disease. We, therefore, provide a rationale for the treatment of cOSA pulmonary metastases with immunotherapeutics that enhance the anti‐tumour activity of these immune cells, particularly in dogs with moderate to high immune cell infiltration in their primary tumours.     

Periodic pulsing of characteristic microearthquakes on the San Andreas fault

Deep fault slip information from characteristically repeating microearthquakes reveals previously unrecognized patterns of extensive, large-amplitude, long-duration, quasiperiodic repetition of aseismic events along much of a 175-kilometer segment of the central San Andreas fault. Pulsing occurs both in conjunction with and independent of transient slip from larger earthquakes. It extends to depths of approximately 10 to 11 kilometers but may be deeper, and it may be related to similar phenomena occurring in subduction zones. Over much of the study area, pulse onset periods also show a higher probability of larger earthquakes, which may provide useful information for earthquake forecasting.     

Lamellarin O,a Pyrrole Alkaloid from an Australian Marine Sponge,Ianthella sp., Reverses BCRP Mediated Drug Resistance in Cancer Cells

ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters, such as P-gp, BCRP and MRP1, can increase efflux of clinical chemotherapeutic agents and lead to multi-drug resistance (MDR) in cancer cells. While the discovery and development of clinically useful inhibitors has proved elusive to date, this molecular target nevertheless remains a promising strategy for addressing and potentially overcoming MDR. In a search for new classes of inhibitor, we used fluorescent accumulation and efflux assays supported by cell flow cytometry and MDR reversal assays, against a panel of sensitive and MDR human cancer cell lines, to evaluate the marine sponge co-metabolites 1–12 as inhibitors of P-gp, BCRP or MRP1 initiated MDR. These studies identified and characterized lamellarin O (11) as a selective inhibitor of BCRP mediated drug efflux. A structure–activity relationship analysis inclusive of the natural products 1–12 and the synthetic analogues 13–19, supported by in silico docking studies, revealed key structural requirements for the lamellarin O (11) BCRP inhibitory pharmacophore.     

The effect of introgressions of wheat D-genome chromosomes into 'Presto' triticale

Hexaploid triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack) (2n= 6x= 42, AABBRR) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (2n= 6x= 42, AABBDD) differ in their R and D-genomes. This produces differences in both agronomic and end-use quality characteristics. Our objective was to determine how introgressions of individual chromosomes from the D-genome of wheat affect these characteristics of a winter triticale 'Presto'. We studied the effects of 18 D-genome chromosome substitution lines, 15 sib-lines as controls, and five check cultivars at Lincoln, NE in 1996, using a randomized complete block design with two replications. The experiment was repeated at Lincoln and Mead, NE in 1997 and 1998 with 15 substitution lines that survived the first winter in Lincoln, along with their 12 control sibs and five check cultivars. Few D-genome chromosomes had positive effects. Chromosomes 2D, 4D, and 6D significantly reduced plant height when substituted for 2R, 4B, and 6R, respectively. No grain yield increases were associated with any of the D-genome chromosomes tested, but three substitutions decreased the grain yield. Depending on the allele of the hardness gene present, chromosome 5D increased or decreased kernel hardness when substituted for 5R or 5A, respectively. Introgressions of chromosomes 1D and 6D improved end-use quality characteristics of Presto. These results suggest that apart from beneficial effects of individual loci located on the D-genome chromosomes, no major benefit can be expected from D-genome chromosome substitutions.