Analysing Data with the R Programming Language to Control Machine Operation

This article describes the benefits offered by the analysis of data from production processes. With the correct processing, such dataallows issues to be identified both within the analysed process and in the ways machines are used. The paper presents an initialanalysis of data from the fragmentation process in a hard coal mine using longwall shearers. The analysis is described using Rprogramming language functions.

Fragmentomic cfDNA Patterns in Noninvasive Prenatal Testing and Beyond

The release of fetoplacental cell-free DNA (cfDNA) into the maternal bloodstream opened up new avenues towards noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for aneuploidies, hereditary DNA mutations and other pregnancy-related developmental disorders. Increasingly, cfDNA catches interest for its noninvasive screening value in other areas as well, including oncology. Although there are indications that cfDNA fragmentation is a non-random process, the etiology and different structural aspects of cfDNA are still not well known. The emerging field of cfDNA fragmentomics investigates the existence of tissue and disease specific cfDNA signatures and the chemistry and biology underlying the fragmentation process. This review sheds light on recent developments in cfDNA fragmentomics and illustrates their significance in NIPT improvement and beyond.We discuss aspects of fragment size distributions, epigenetic correlations and putatively enriched cfDNA fragment-end compositions. Combinatorial fragmentomic efforts have provided more insights into the roles of different enzymes that contribute to the fragmentation process in the tissue of origin and in the bloodstream. Altogether, these studies revealed multiple fragmentomic-related biomarkers that can be used to make noninvasive screening and other types of clinical use of cfDNA more robust, by raising its distinctive capacities. This includes multiple complementary approaches to determine the fetal fraction, a key determinant in NIPT. Furthermore, these developments translate to a better understanding of the encountered cfDNA patterns and will catalyze the expansion of screening possibilities in NIPT and beyond

The effect of fragmentation on spider richness (Arachnida: Araneae) in montane semideciduous seasonal forest

The fragmentation process that has altered natural environments has been widely discussed, as it causes changes in communities and compromises different environmental functions. In this sense, this study was based on the evaluation of fragmentation on araneofauna of semideciduous seasonal forest fragments, phytophysiognomy belonging to the Atlantic Forest. The study was conducted in three fragments in the municipality of Inconfidentes, southern Minas Gerais, from April 2014 to March 2015. The results showed that there is a similarity in the composition of spider species among the sampled fragments and that the size of the fragment is positively correlated with species richness. Our data show that smaller fragments must be preserved and that agricultural areas maintain the integrity of adjacent forest areas to benefit from the predation dynamics that spiders exert on pests that affect plantations.

Combined Finite-Discrete Element Modelling of Dynamic Rock Fracture and Fragmentation during Mining Production Process by Blast

A combined finite-discrete element method (FDEM) is proposed to model the dynamic fracture, fragmentation, and resultant muck-piling process during mining production by blast in underground mine. The key component of the proposed method, that is, transition from continuum to discontinuum through fracture and fragmentation, is introduced in detail, which makes the proposed method superior to the continuum-based finite element method and discontinuum-based discrete element method. The FDEM is calibrated by modelling the crater formation process by blast. The FDEM has well modelled the stress and fracture propagation and resultant fragmentation process. In addition, the proposed method has well captured the crushed zone, cracked zone, and the radial long crack zone. After that, the FDEM is employed to model the dynamic fracture and resultant fragmentation process by blast during sublevel caving process in an underground mine. Then the FDEM has well modelled the stress propagation process, as well as the fracture initiation and fragmenting process. Finally, the effects of borehole spacing and initial gas pressure are discussed. It is concluded that the FDEM is a value numerical approach to study the dynamic rock fracture process by blast.

Combined Quantum Monte Carlo – Effective Fragment Molecular Orbital Method: Fragmentation Across Covalent Bonds

The previously developed combined Quantum Monte Carlo – Effective Fragment Molecular Orbital (QMC-EFMO) method is extended to systems in which the fragmentation process cuts across covalent molecular bonds. The extended...