Static Analysis of a Rotating Part

In this study, the composite orthotropic annular rotating part of carbon fibre reinforced polymer is investigated statically. Rotating structure is modeled in CATIA V5 and meshed in HyperMesh 13.0 to be analytically simulated in ANSYS 16.1 APDL. The static behaviour of the radial, circumferential and longitudinal stresses and deformations are obtained and analysed at six various angular velocities up to 2727.27 rad/s. It is noted that the simulated magnitudes of the hoop stress are higher than that of the radial and longitudinal stresses. However, the maximum displacements are found to be in the longitudinal and radial directions respectively. In addition, these stresses are observed to increase as the angular velocities increased

The use of FK-506 for small intestine llotransplantation: Inhibition of acute rejection and prevention of fatal graft-versus-host disease

Small intestine allotransplantation in humans is not yet feasible due to the failure of the current methods of immunosuppression. FK-506, a powerful new immunosuppressive agent that is synergistic with cyclosporine, allows long-term survival of recipients of cardiac, renal, and hepatic allografts. This study compares the effects of FK-506 and cyclosporine on host survival, graft rejection, and graft-versus-host-disease in a rat small intestine transplantation model. Transplants between strongly histoincompatible ACI and Lewis (LEW) strain rats, and their Fi progeny are performed so that graft rejection alone is genetically permitted (F1→LEW) or GVHD alone permitted (LEW→F1) or that both immunologic processes are allowed to occur simultaneously (ACI—»LEW). Specific doses of FK-506 result in prolonged graft and host survival in all genetic combinations tested. Furthermore, graft rejection is prevented (ACI→LEW model) or inhibited (rejection only model) and lethal acute GVHD is eliminated. Even at very high doses, cyclosporine did not prevent graft rejection or lethal GVHD, nor did it allow long-term survival of the intestinal graft or the host. Animals receiving low doses of cyclosporine have outcomes similar to the untreated control groups. No toxicity specific to FK-506 is noted, but earlier studies by other investigators suggest otherwise. © 1990 by Williams & Wilkin

Business Leadership Education: A Virtual Storytellers Exercise

Online courses are becoming popular in business education and require creative strategies to maintain students’ engagement and facilitate contextual and complex understanding of class concepts and theories. In this paper, we are proposing an exercise for online undergraduate Organizational Behavior courses to motivate students and enhance their understanding of class concepts through the use of storytelling. In this exercise, students work in teams to narrate stories that describe with rich detail different concepts and theories pertaining to team management in general and virtual team management in particular. The results suggest that students develop a higher level of critical thinking in virtual team management by storytelling and develop strong relations with other members of their virtual teams

Temporal trends of COVID-19 mortality and hospitalisation rates: An observational cohort study from the US Department of Veterans Affairs

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the temporal trends of 30-day mortality and hospitalisation in US Veterans with COVID-19 and 30-day mortality in hospitalised veterans with COVID-19 and to decompose the contribution of changes in the underlying characteristics of affected populations to these temporal changes. DESIGN: Observational cohort study. SETTING: US Department of Veterans Affairs. PARTICIPANTS: 49 238 US veterans with a positive COVID-19 test between 20 March 2020 and 19 September 2020; and 9428 US veterans hospitalised with a positive COVID-19 test during the same period. OUTCOME MEASURES: 30-day mortality rate and hospitalisation rate. RESULTS: Between 20 March 2020 and 19 September 2020 and in COVID-19 positive individuals, 30-day mortality rate dropped by 9.2% from 13.6% to 4.4%; hospitalisation rate dropped by 16.8% from 33.8% to 17.0%. In hospitalised COVID-19 individuals, 30-day mortality rate dropped by 12.7% from 23.5% to 10.8%. Among COVID-19 positive individuals, decomposition analyses suggested that changes in demographic, health and contextual characteristics, COVID-19 testing capacity, and hospital occupancy rates accounted for 40.2% and 33.3% of the decline in 30-day mortality and hospitalisation, respectively. Changes in the underlying characteristics of hospitalised COVID-19 individuals accounted for 29.9% of the decline in 30-day mortality. CONCLUSION: Between March and September 2020, changes in demographic and health characteristics of people infected with COVID-19 contributed measurably to the substantial decline in 30-day mortality and hospitalisation

Birth weight, early childhood growth and lung function in middle to early old age: 1946 British birth cohort

Background Findings from previous studies investigating the relationship between birth weight and adult lung function have been inconsistent, and data on birth weight and adult lung function decline are lacking. Few studies have investigated the relation between early childhood growth and adult lung function. Methods FEV1 and FVC were measured at ages 43 years, 53 years and 60–64 years in the 1946 British birth cohort study. Multiple linear regression models were fitted to study associations with birth weight and weight gain at age 0–2 years. Multilevel models assessed how associations changed with age, with FEV1 and FVC as repeated outcomes. Results 3276 and 3249 participants were included in FEV1 and FVC analyses, respectively. In women, there was a decreasing association between birth weight and FVC with age. From the multilevel model, for every 1 kg higher birth weight, FVC was higher on average by 66.3 mL (95% CI 0.5 to 132) at 43 years, but significance was lost at 53 years and 60–64 years. Similar associations were seen with FEV1, but linear change (decline) from age 43 years lost statistical significance after full adjustment. In men, associations with birth weight were null in multilevel models. Higher early life weight gain was associated with higher FEV1 at age 43 years in men and women combined but not in each sex. Conclusions Birth weight is positively associated with adult lung function in middle age, particularly in women, but the association diminishes with age, potentially due to accumulating environmental influences over the life course

Structural, elastic, vibrational and electronic properties of amorphous Sm₂O₃ from Ab Initio calculations

Rare earth oxides have shown great promise in a variety of applications in their own right, and as the building blocks of complex oxides. A great deal of recent interest has been focused on Sm2O3, which has shown significant promise as a high-k dielectric and as a ReRAM dielectric. Experimentally, these thin films range from amorphous, through partially crystalline, to poly-crystalline, dependent upon the synthetic conditions. Each case presents a set of modelling challenges that need to be defined and overcome. In this work, the problem of modelling amorphous Sm2O3 is tackled, developing an atomistic picture of the effect of amorphization on Sm2O3 from a structural and electronic structure perspective