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Steinernema hermaphroditum entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) and their Xenorhabdus griffiniae symbiotic bacteria have recently been shown to be a genetically tractable system for the study of both parasitic and mutualistic symbiosis. In their infective juvenile (IJ) stage, EPNs search for insect hosts to invade and quickly kill them with the help of the symbiotic bacteria they contain. The mechanisms behind these behaviors have not been well characterized, including how the nematodes sense their insect hosts. In the well-studied free‑living soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, ciliated amphid neurons enable the worms to sense their environment, including chemosensation. Some of these neurons have also been shown to control the decision to develop as a stress-resistant dauer larva, analogous to the infective juveniles of EPNs, or to exit from dauer and resume larval development. In C. elegans and other nematodes, dye-filling with DiI is an easy and efficient method to label these neurons. We developed a protocol for DiI staining of S. hermaphroditum sensory neurons. Using this method, we could identify neurons positionally analogous to the C. elegans amphid neurons ASI, ADL, ASK, ASJ, as well as inner labial neurons IL1 and IL2. Similar to findings in other EPNs, we also found that the IJs of S. hermaphroditum are dye-filling resistant. 

Fracturing in brittle rocks exhibits a significant nonlinear region surrounding the crack tip called the fracture process zone (FPZ). In this study, the evolution of the FPZ under pure mode II loading using notched deep beam under three-point loading was investigated. The experimental setup included the simultaneous monitoring of surface deformation using the two-dimensional digital image correlation technique to characterize various crack characteristics such as its type and FPZ evolution in Barre granite specimens. Both displacement and strain approaches of the two-dimensional digital image correlation were used to identify the mode of fracture under pure mode II loading. Both approaches showed that the crack initiation occur under mode I despite the pure mode II loading at the notch tip. The displacement approach was used for characterizing the evolution of the FPZ which analyzed the crack tip opening displacement and crack tip sliding displacement to identify the transition between the three stages of FPZ evolution, namely, (a) elastic stage, (b) formation of the FPZ, and (c) the macro-crack initiation. The results showed that the evolution of the FPZ of mode I fracture under pure mode II loading is similar to cases of pure mode I loading of the same rock. 

Fracturing in brittle rocks with an existing crack results in the development of a significant nonlinear region surrounding the crack tip called the fracture process zone. Various experimental and numerical studies have shown that the crack tip parameters such as the crack tip opening displacement (CTOD) and the fracture energy are critically important in characterizing the fracture process zone. In this study, numerical simulations of rock specimens with a center notch subjected to three-point bending were conducted using the extended finite element method (XFEM) along with the cohesive zone model (CZM) to account for fracture process zone. The input parameters of CZM such as the elastic and critical crack opening displacements were first estimated based on the results of three-point bending tests on the center notched Barre granite specimens. Displacements were measured using the two dimensional digital image correlation technique and used to characterize the evolution of the fracture process zone and estimate the parameters of the cohesive zone model. The results from the numerical simulations showed that CZM provided a good agreement with experimental data as it predicted all three stages of cracking from fracture process initiation to macro-crack growth. 

In wrought magnesium alloys, room temperature plasticity is largely controlled by limited slip systems such as basal slip and tension/compression twins. The insufficient number of active slip systems limits strength and ductility preventing broader structural applicability of Mg-alloys. Hence, we employ first-principle calculations to investigate the effects of Y and Al alloying elements on shearability and dislocation motion on various slip systems through ideal shear resistance and generalized stacking fault energy calculations. Yttrium is seen to lower the ideal shear resistance and dislocation motion energetics on all the slip systems. On the other hand, aluminum increases the ideal shear resistance but decreases the energy barrier for dislocation motion on various slip systems. The profound effects of solute addition result from the charge transfer between the solute atom and surrounding magnesium atoms. 

Fundamentally, material flow stress increases exponentially at deformation rates exceeding, typically, ~10³ s⁻¹, resulting in brittle failure. The origin of such behavior derives from the dislocation motion causing non-Arrhenius deformation at higher strain rates due to drag forces from phonon interactions. Here, we discover that this assumption is prevented from manifesting when microstructural length is stabilized at an extremely fine size (nanoscale regime). This divergent strain-rate-insensitive behavior is attributed to a unique microstructure that alters the average dislocation velocity, and distance traveled, preventing/delaying dislocation interaction with phonons until higher strain rates than observed in known systems; thus enabling constant flow-stress response even at extreme conditions. Previously, these extreme loading conditions were unattainable in nanocrystalline materials due to thermal and mechanical instability of their microstructures; thus, these anomalies have never been observed in any other material. Finally, the unique stability leads to high-temperature strength maintained up to 80% of the melting point (~1356 K).