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1. Recovering phosphorus as a coproduct from corn dry grind plants: A techno‐economic evaluation

   https://doi.org/10.1002/cche.10260  

   Juneja, Ankita; Cusick, Roland; Singh, Vijay (February 2020, Cereal Chemistry)

   Abstract Background and objectivesThe coproduct of ethanol industry, dried distiller's grains with solubles (DDGS), has phosphorus content in excess of the animal diet requirement, which leads to excess P in manure and causes environmental concerns. The objective of this study is to determine the technical and economic feasibility of recovering this excess P as a coproduct. FindingsThe amount of P was observed to reduce from 9.26 to 3.25 mg/g (db) of DDGS, which is consistent with the animal diet requirement of 3–4 mg P/g animal diet. For an existing dry grind plant of 40 million gallon ethanol capacity, an additional fixed cost of $5.7 million was estimated, with an operating cost increase of $1.29 million/year. ConclusionsThe total phosphorus recovered from the plant was estimated as 1,676 kg P/day, with an estimated operating cost of $2.33/kg P recovered. Significance and noveltyApproximately 37 million MT of DDGS is produced annually as animal food containing excess P, which is a serious concern for the environment. This study provides with an economically feasible solution to recover the excess P as a coproduct, which has a potential to be used as fertilizer on more than 56,000 acres of land annually, growing corn and soybean. 

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2. Plasticity Bridges Microscale Martensitic Shear Bands in Superelastic Nitinol

   https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-025-01161-6  

   Christison, A.; Paranjape, H_M; Daly, S. (February 2025, Experimental Mechanics)

   Abstract BackgroundSuperelastic shape memory alloys (SMAs) such as nickel-titanium, also known as Nitinol, recover large deformations via a reversible, stress-induced martensitic transformation. ObjectivePartitioning the deformation into the contributions from superelasticity and plasticity and quantifying the interaction between these mechanisms is key to modeling their fatigue behavior. MethodsWe capture these microscopic interactions across many grains using a combination of scanning electron microscopy digital image correlation (SEM-DIC) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD). Modeling our data as a statistical distribution, we employ a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) soft clustering framework to understand how these mechanisms interact and evolve as a function of global strain. ResultsOur findings show that, under globally-applied uniaxial tensile loading, plasticity bridges deformation in regions where competing positive and negative martensitic shear bands intersect. Early stage transformation-induced plasticity is concentrated at these intersections and forms concurrently with the Lüders-like martensitic transformation front, often appearing with a zig-zag pattern that is linked to compound twinning at the martensite-martensite interface. At higher strains, austenite slip is activated as a second mechanism of plastic deformation. ConclusionsWe propose that this plastic bridging mechanism underpins the prestrain effects previously reported in the literature, where higher prestrains can enhance the fatigue strength of superelastic materials within a given loading mode. 

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3. miniMDS: 3D structural inference from high-resolution Hi-C data

   https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btx271  

   Rieber, Lila; Mahony, Shaun (July 2017, Bioinformatics)

   Abstract MotivationRecent experiments have provided Hi-C data at resolution as high as 1 kbp. However, 3D structural inference from high-resolution Hi-C datasets is often computationally unfeasible using existing methods. ResultsWe have developed miniMDS, an approximation of multidimensional scaling (MDS) that partitions a Hi-C dataset, performs high-resolution MDS separately on each partition, and then reassembles the partitions using low-resolution MDS. miniMDS is faster, more accurate, and uses less memory than existing methods for inferring the human genome at high resolution (10 kbp). Availability and implementationA Python implementation of miniMDS is available on GitHub: https://github.com/seqcode/miniMDS. Supplementary informationSupplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. 

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4. Climatic stability recorded in speleothems may contribute to higher biodiversity in the Cape Floristic Region

   https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14592  

   Braun, Kerstin; Cowling, Richard M.; Bar‐Matthews, Miryam; Matthews, Alan; Ayalon, Avner; Zilberman, Tami; Difford, Mark; Edwards, R. Lawrence; Li, Xianglei; Marean, Curtis W. (March 2023, Journal of Biogeography)

   Abstract AimThe geography and genesis of diversity remain an enduring topic in ecology and evolution. Mediterranean Climate Ecosystems (MCEs), with their high plant diversities in winter rainfall climates, pose a challenge to popular hypotheses evoking high water availability and temperature as necessary for the evolution of high diversity. We test the hypothesis of environmental stability as a driver for the evolution of regional‐scale floristic diversity using speleothem oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and carbon (δ¹³C) isotopic values as proxies for past climatic variability in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) and other MCEs. Locationsouth‐western Africa, California, Mediterranean Basin. TaxonPlantae. MethodsWe present new speleothem δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C records from a cave near Robertson in the western CFR. Stable isotope samples included in the analyses cover the time intervals between 240 and 670 ka BP with hiatuses at 630–500 ka and 360–310 ka. The dispersion of these stable isotope records is used as a measure for climatic variability. We compare our new analyses to speleothem records that cover full glacial and interglacial conditions in other MCEs (California and the Mediterranean Basin) as well as in eastern regions of the CFR. All sites used in this comparison have lower vascular plant biodiversity than the western CFR. ResultsAnalyses of the dispersion of the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C datasets suggest that the highly diverse western CFR experienced climatic stability across several glacial–interglacial cycles, compared with the less diverse regions within and outside of the CFR. Main ConclusionThis result provides support for the hypothesis that lower extinction rates associated with Pleistocene biome stability may explain the higher diversity in the CFR relative to other MCEs. 

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5. Specifying a target trial protocol to estimate the effect of preconception treatment of periodontitis on time‐to‐pregnancy: A commentary and applied example

   https://doi.org/10.1111/cdoe.13000  

   Bond, Julia C; Heaton, Brenda; Garcia, Raul I; Rothman, Kenneth J; Wise, Lauren A; Fox, Matthew P; Murray, Eleanor J (August 2024, Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology)

   Abstract BackgroundThe target trial framework was developed as a strategy to design and analyze observational epidemiologic studies with the aim of reducing bias due to analytic decisions. It involves designing a hypothetical randomized trial to answer a question of interest and systematically considering how to use observational data to emulate each trial component. AimsThe primary aim of this paper is to provide a detailed example of the application of the target trial framework to a research question in oral epidemiology. Materials and MethodsWe describe the development of a hypothetical target trial and emulation protocol to evaluate the effect of preconception periodontitis treatment on time‐to‐pregnancy. We leverage data from Pregnancy Study Online (PRESTO), a preconception cohort, to ground our example in existing observational data. We discuss the decision‐making process for each trial component, as well as limitations encountered. ResultsOur target trial application revealed data limitations that precluded us from carrying out the proposed emulation. Implications for data quality are discussed and we provide recommendations for researchers interested in conducting trial emulations in the field of oral epidemiology. DiscussionThe target trial framework has the potential to improve the validity of observational research in oral health, when properly applied. ConclusionWe encourage the broad adoption of the target trial framework to the field of observational oral health research and demonstrate its value as a tool to identify directions for future research. 

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