Effect of weld microstructure on brittle fracture initiation in the thermally-aged boiling water reactor pressure vessel head weld metal

Effects of the weld microstructure and inclusions on brittle fracture initiation are investigated in a thermally aged ferritic high-nickel weld of a reactor pressure vessel head from a decommissioned nuclear power plant.As-welded and reheated regions mainly consist of acicular and polygonal ferrite,respectively.Fractographic examination of Charpy V-notch impact toughness specimens reveals large inclusions(0.5-2.5μm)at the brittle fracture primary initiation sites.High impact energies were measured for the specimens in which brittle fracture was initiated from a small inclusion or an inclusion away from the V-notch.The density,geometry,and chemical composition of the primary initiation inclusions were investigated.A brittle fracture crack initiates as a microcrack either within the multiphase oxide inclusions or from the debonded interfaces between the uncracked inclusions and weld metal matrix.Primary fracture sites can be determined in all the specimens tested in the lower part of the transition curve at and below the 41-J reference impact toughness energy but not above the mentioned value because of the changes in the fracture mechanism and resulting changes in the fracture appearance.     

A genome-wide approach accounting for body mass index identifies genetic variants influencing fasting glycemic traits and insulin resistance

Recent genome-wide association studies have described many loci implicated in type 2 diabetes (T2D) pathophysiology and β-cell dysfunction but have contributed little to the understanding of the genetic basis of insulin resistance. We hypothesized that genes implicated in insulin resistance pathways might be uncovered by accounting for differences in body mass index (BMI) and potential interactions between BMI and genetic variants. We applied a joint meta-analysis approach to test associations with fasting insulin and glucose on a genome-wide scale. We present six previously unknown loci associated with fasting insulin at P < 5 × 10(-8) in combined discovery and follow-up analyses of 52 studies comprising up to 96,496 non-diabetic individuals. Risk variants were associated with higher triglyceride and lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, suggesting a role for these loci in insulin resistance pathways. The discovery of these loci will aid further characterization of the role of insulin resistance in T2D pathophysiology.     

Common variants at 12q15 and 12q24 are associated with infant head circumference

To identify genetic variants associated with head circumference in infancy, we performed a meta-analysis of seven genome-wide association studies (GWAS) (N = 10,768 individuals of European ancestry enrolled in pregnancy and/or birth cohorts) and followed up three lead signals in six replication studies (combined N = 19,089). rs7980687 on chromosome 12q24 (P = 8.1 × 10(-9)) and rs1042725 on chromosome 12q15 (P = 2.8 × 10(-10)) were robustly associated with head circumference in infancy. Although these loci have previously been associated with adult height, their effects on infant head circumference were largely independent of height (P = 3.8 × 10(-7) for rs7980687 and P = 1.3 × 10(-7) for rs1042725 after adjustment for infant height). A third signal, rs11655470 on chromosome 17q21, showed suggestive evidence of association with head circumference (P = 3.9 × 10(-6)). SNPs correlated to the 17q21 signal have shown genome-wide association with adult intracranial volume, Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases, indicating that a common genetic variant in this region might link early brain growth with neurological disease in later life.     

Multi‐step forecasting in the presence of breaks

This paper analyzes the relative performance of multi‐step AR forecasting methods in the presence of breaks and data revisions. Our Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the type and timing of the break affect the relative accuracy of the methods. The iterated autoregressive method typically produces more accurate point and density forecasts than the alternative multi‐step AR methods in unstable environments, especially if the parameters are subject to small breaks. This result holds regardless of whether data revisions add news or reduce noise. Empirical analysis of real‐time US output and inflation series shows that the alternative multi‐step methods only episodically improve upon the iterated method.