Theoretical and numerical methods uses as design tool for an aircraft : application on three real-world configurations

The mathematical models needed to represent the various dynamics phenomena have been conceived in many disciplines related to aerospace engineering. Major aerospace companies have developed their own codes to estimate aerodynamic characteristics and aircraft stability in the conceptual phase, in parallel with universities that have developed various codes for educational and research purposes. This paper presents a design tool that includes Derivatives code, the new weight functions method and the continuity algorithm. FDerivatives code, developed at the LARCASE laboratory, is dedicated to the analytical and numerical calculations of the aerodynamic coefficients and their corresponding stability derivatives in the subsonic regime. It was developed as part of two research projects. The first project was initiated by CAE Inc. and the Consortium for Research and Innovation in Aerospace in Quebec (CRIAQ), and the second project was funded by NATO in the framework of the NATO RTO AVT–161 « Assessment of Stability and Control Prediction Methods for NATO Air and Sea Vehicles” program. Presagis gave the « Best Simulation Award" to the LARCASE laboratory for FDerivatives and data FLSIM applications. The new method, called the weight functions method, was used as an extension of the former project. Stability analysis of three different aircraft configurations was performed with the weight functions method and validated for longitudinal and lateral motions with the root locus method. The model, tested with the continuity algorithm, is the High Incidence Research Aircraft Model (HIRM) developed by the Swedish Defense Research Agency and implemented in the Aero-Data Model In Research Environment (ADMIRE)

Romania and the local development policy

Romania's regional development involves boosting and diversifying economic activities, stimulating investments in the private sector, the contribution to reducing unemployment, along with improving living standards. In order to implement the policy of regional development, were established eight development regions comprising the entire territory of Romania, each regional development, including several counties and, not being administrative-local units, do not legal personality. Regional development policy concerns all measures planned and promoted by public authorities, private factors, volunteers for economic growth

Aplicațiile inteligenței artificiale în oftalmologie

Department of Ophtalmology, “Grigore T. Popa” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi,Romania, Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Protection 11 “Cristofor- Simionescu”, Department of Chemical EngineeringRezumat. Instrumentele inteligenței artificiale și, îndeosebi, rețelele neuronale artificiale, sunt tot mai des implicate în diagnosticul și managementul personalizat al bolilor oftalmologice. Imaginile OCT sunt utilizate pentru diagnosticul precoce, monitorizarea și managementul bolilor retinei, cum ar fi edem macular diabetic (EMD) și degenerescență maculară legată de vârstă (DMLV). Citirea automată a OCT a avut rezultate promițătoare în EMD și în identificarea formelor exudative ale DMLV. Cea mai frecventă utilizare a rețelelor neuronale în oftalmologie a fost în stabilirea precoce a diagnosticului de glaucom, atunci când sunt dubii de diagnostic. Rețelele neuronale au avut un rol important în stabilirea necesităţii iniţierii terapiei precoce antiglaucomatoase pentru a preveni progresia bolii. Numeroase studii din literatura de specialitate demonstrează folosirea cu succes a acestor instrumente ale inteligenței artificiale în oftalmologie, pe direcții cum ar fi: evaluarea câmpului vizual, a nervului optic, a stratului fibrelor nervoase retiniene, oferind astfel o mai bună precizie în identificarea progresiei în glaucom şi a modificărilor retiniene în diabet. În oftalmologie, Inteligenta artificiala are potențialul de a crește accesul pacientului la screening / diagnostic clinic și la scăderea costurilor enorme solicitate de asistența medicală, mai ales atunci când riscul apariției bolii este ridicat sau comunitățile se confruntă cu resurse financiare reduse. Reţelele neuronale artificiale sunt utile în stabilirea diagnosticului diferitelor boli, însă informaţiile obţinute au rolul de a ajuta decizia finală care va fi luată de clinician, dar nu va înlocui rolul acestuia.Artificial intelligence tools, and especially artificial neural networks, are increasingly involved in the diagnosis and personalized management of ophthalmic diseases. OCT images are used for early diagnosis, monitoring and management of retinal diseases such as diabetic macular edema (EMD) and age-related macular degeneration (DMLV). Automatic reading of OCT has had promising results in EMD and in identifying exudative forms of DMLV. The most common use of neural networks in ophthalmology has been in early diagnosis of glaucoma, when there is doubt about the diagnosis. Neural networks have played an important role in determining the need for early antiglaucoma therapy to prevent disease progression. Numerous studies in the literature demonstrate the successful use of these tools of artificial intelligence in ophthalmology, in directions such as: assessment of visual field, optic nerve, retinal nerve fiber layer, thus providing better accuracy in identifying progression in glaucoma. and retinal changes in diabetes. Conclusions. In ophthalmology, Artificial Intelligence has the potential to increase patient access to screening / clinical diagnosis and to reduce the enormous costs required by healthcare, especially when the risk of disease is high or communities face limited financial resources. Artificial neural networks are useful in diagnosing various diseases, but the information obtained is intended to help the final decision that will be made by the clinician, but will not replace his role

Multiple sclerosis and SARS-CoV-2 infection

Universitatea de Medicină și Farmacie „Grigore T. Popa” Iași, România, Clinica I Oftalmologie, Spitalul Clinic Județean de Urgență „Sf. Spiridon”, Iași, RomâniaSummary. We analyzed the case of a patient with multiple sclerosis associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The clinical appearance of the ophthalmologist does not justify the decrease in AV, which is why it is recommended to perform an MRI in an emergency. The patient accuses the decrease in visual acuity in the left eye. The appearance described is suggestive for multiple sclerosis. PCR testing was positive. After 14 days PCR test was negative but the ophthalmological evolution was unfavorable. Intravenous emergency treatment with Solumedrol was initiated for 5 days. The particularity of the case is due to the fulminant onset of multiple sclerosis in the context of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the unfavorable evolution in terms of AV, despite early treatment.Introducere. Pacientă, în vârstă de 16 ani, se prezintă în Clinica I Oftalmologie a Spitalului „Sf. Spiridon”, Iași, acuzând scăderea acuității vizuale la ochiul stâng cu debut acut. Pacienta nu prezintă alte antecedente personale patologice. AVOD=1 fc, AVOS= pmm., PIOAO=12mmHg. La examinarea polului anterior, nu se constată elemente patologice. La examinarea polului posterior, discul optic este normal colorat, are contur net, C/D=0,1, artere și vene cu calibru normal, maculă fără leziuni. Aspectul clinic oftalmologic nu justifică scăderea AV, motiv pentru care se recomandă efectuarea unui RMN în urgență. Se identifică leziuni în hipersemnal T2 și FLAIR cu restricție de difuzie localizată periventricular pe partea dreaptă, în contrast cu cornul posterior al ventriculului lateral drept cu diametru de 17/15 mm și două în centri senzoriali, una mai mare de 9,6mm parietal drept în substanța albă, periventricular, talamic drept, 9,6 mm în medulla oblongata de 13 mm. Aspectul descris este sugestiv pentru scleroză multiplă. Testarea PCR pentru SARS-CoV-2 a avut rezultat pozitiv, pacienta fiind asimptomatică. S-a format o echipă multidisciplinară alcătuită din oftalmologi, neurologi și medici infecționiști și s-a inițiat tratamentul în urgență intravenos cu Solumedrol timp de 5 zile, continuat cu Medrol per os. Evoluție. După 14 zile, testul PCR pentru SARSCoV- 2 s-a negativat, însă evoluția oftalmologică a fost nefavorabilă. Pacienta se prezintă după 3 luni, în urgență, acuzând percepția unui scotom central la OD. AVOD=0,6, iar AVOS a rămas pmm. La RMN leziunile au aspect staționar. După tratamentul intravenos cu Solumedrol 3 zile și per os cu Medrol, scotomul central de la OD se reduce în dimensiuni și AVOD se îmbunătățește la 0,8 fcnc. Discuții: Rămâne în discuție deschisă dacă infecția cu SARS-CoV-2 la persoane nevaccinate poate precipita debutul fulminant al unor patologii în stare latentă. Concluzii. Particularitatea cazului se datorează debutului fulminant al sclerozei multiple în contextul infecției cu SARS-CoV-2 și evoluției nefavorabile din punct de vedere al AV, în ciuda tratamentului instaurat precoce

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Effect of remote ischaemic conditioning on clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI): a single-blind randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Remote ischaemic conditioning with transient ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm has been shown to reduce myocardial infarct size in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). We investigated whether remote ischaemic conditioning could reduce the incidence of cardiac death and hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months. METHODS: We did an international investigator-initiated, prospective, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (CONDI-2/ERIC-PPCI) at 33 centres across the UK, Denmark, Spain, and Serbia. Patients (age >18 years) with suspected STEMI and who were eligible for PPCI were randomly allocated (1:1, stratified by centre with a permuted block method) to receive standard treatment (including a sham simulated remote ischaemic conditioning intervention at UK sites only) or remote ischaemic conditioning treatment (intermittent ischaemia and reperfusion applied to the arm through four cycles of 5-min inflation and 5-min deflation of an automated cuff device) before PPCI. Investigators responsible for data collection and outcome assessment were masked to treatment allocation. The primary combined endpoint was cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure at 12 months in the intention-to-treat population. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02342522) and is completed. FINDINGS: Between Nov 6, 2013, and March 31, 2018, 5401 patients were randomly allocated to either the control group (n=2701) or the remote ischaemic conditioning group (n=2700). After exclusion of patients upon hospital arrival or loss to follow-up, 2569 patients in the control group and 2546 in the intervention group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. At 12 months post-PPCI, the Kaplan-Meier-estimated frequencies of cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure (the primary endpoint) were 220 (8·6%) patients in the control group and 239 (9·4%) in the remote ischaemic conditioning group (hazard ratio 1·10 [95% CI 0·91-1·32], p=0·32 for intervention versus control). No important unexpected adverse events or side effects of remote ischaemic conditioning were observed. INTERPRETATION: Remote ischaemic conditioning does not improve clinical outcomes (cardiac death or hospitalisation for heart failure) at 12 months in patients with STEMI undergoing PPCI. FUNDING: British Heart Foundation, University College London Hospitals/University College London Biomedical Research Centre, Danish Innovation Foundation, Novo Nordisk Foundation, TrygFonden

Ocular Implications in Patients with Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) is a condition characterized by recurrent episodes of total or partial collapse of the upper respiratory tract associated with daytime drowsiness that cannot be explained by other factors. SAS is a pathology that can cause ophthalmological damage both directly through the pathophysiological mechanism characteristic of the disease on the ocular system, and indirectly by promoting the development of other pathologies (cardiovascular, metabolic), which are a risk factor for ocular morbidity in the absence of sleep apnea syndrome. The aim of this paper is to highlight the ocular symptoms determined by sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), by analyzing literature over the past 20 years. Method: A mini-review that collected data from Pub Med Central, ResearchGate, GoogleScholar, DovePress, ScienceDirect, Elsevier, related to the ocular implications given by sleep apnea syndrome, with or without continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment. The study included articles that identified a number of eye conditions associated with sleep apnea, such as: dry eye syndrome and impaired ocular surface, glaucoma, non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, floppy eyelid syndrome, keratoconus, central serous chorioretinopathy, central vein occlusion, corneal neovascularization, and age-related macular degeneration. Sleep apnea syndrome is a pathology that can cause the onset or worsening of varying degrees of severity eye diseases by its pathophysiological mechanism, with a different impact on the quality of the individual’s life. On one hand, the purpose of this review is to identify studies in literature that associate sleep apnea syndrome with eye alterations; on the other hand, to inform the Romanian medical staff in different fields of the patients’ guidance diagnosed with SAS to an ophthalmology clinic since early and mild symptoms, so that these patients benefit from an ophthalmological approach and monitoring, in an attempt to diagnose and treat eye diseases in time and prevent their worsening

Weight Functions Method application on a delta-wing X-31 configuration

The stability analysis of an aircraft configuration is studied using a new system stability method called the weight function method. This new method finds a number of weight functions that are equal to the number of first-order differential equations. This method is applied for longitudinal and lateral motions on a delta-wing aircraft, the X-31, designed to break the "stall barrier". Aerodynamic coefficients and stability derivatives obtained using the Digital DATCOM code have been validated with the experimental Low-Speed Wind tunnel data obtained using the German–Dutch Wind Tunnel (DNW–NWB). Root Locus Method is used to validate the method proposed in this paper

Endogenous Endophthalmitis: A Review of Case Series Published between 2011 and 2020

This is a literature review of 31 case series of endogenous endophthalmitis (EE) published in the last ten years, identified from a literature search of several databases (PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library). While diabetes mellitus and malignancies remain the most frequently associated medical conditions, intravenous drug use is a significant risk factor (especially in the last years, in studies from Western countries). Ophthalmologic screening is recommended for candidaemia, but not in patients with sepsis of other aetiologies (however, the physician treating patients with sepsis must be well aware of EE). The most frequent Gram-positive microorganisms that cause EE are Staphylococcus and Streptococcus; the most frequent Gram-negative organism is Pseudomonas, and yeasts, probably Candida, usually cause fungal infections. In all-cause EE, prognostic factors of better visual outcomes are initial VA better than counting fingers, performing a pars plana vitrectomy (PPV), performing an intravitreal injection within the first 24 hours after clinical diagnosis, and the presence of a focal type of EE. In endogenous fungal endophthalmitis, more than 1/4 of patients have bilateral involvement. Blood samples have a low rate of positivity. Yeasts remain the most prevalent cause. Many authors report using azoles and echinocandins for systemic therapy (and voriconazole for intravitreal injections). Although PPV was performed in small proportions of eyes, the anatomical success rate is quite high. Klebsiella pneumoniae is an important cause of EE in Southeast Asia (and probably an emergent etiology in other regions), which is frequently associated with diabetes. There is a robust association with pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) (but in up to half of the cases, the diagnosis of EE precedes that of PLA). Blood cultures have a high diagnostic yield, while vitreous samples have a low yield. K. pneumoniae may carry antibiotic resistance. Anatomical and functional success rates are small, but they may be improved with PPV