The Concurrent Engineering Design Paradigm is Now Fully Functional for Graphics Education

Engineering design graphics education has come a long way in the past two decades.  The emergence of solid geometric modeling technology has become the focal point for the graphical development of engineering design ideas.  The main attraction of this 3-D modeling approach is the downstream application of the data base to analysis and manufacturing.  In parallel to this development, our group has been implementing a concurrent engineering design paradigm for engineering graphics education.  Many obstacles to full implementation of this educational paradigm have been encountered.  This paper discusses the two major obstacles, design analysis and low-cost rapid prototyping, that have now been overcome.  Thus it appears that, with current technology, the true long-term goal of “Art to Part” seems to now be fully realizable for engineering graphics education

Chemoprevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer: experience with a polyphenol from green tea.

Nonmelanoma skin cancer is extremely common and is increasing in incidence. It would be very useful to have forms of therapy that would prevent precancerous changes from going on to form cancer, or to reverse the precancerous changes. Epidemiologic evidence in humans, in vitro studies on human cells, and clinical experiments in animals have identified polyphenol compounds found in tea to be possibly useful in reducing the incidence of various cancers, including skin cancer. To examine the potential for a polyphenol from green tea, epigallocatechin gallate, to act as a chemopreventive agent for nonmelanoma skin cancer, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trial of topical epigallocatechin gallate in the prevention of nonmelanoma skin cancer was performed

Role of maternal diet in the risk of childhood acute leukemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Many studies have investigated the etiology of acute leukemia, one of the most common types of cancer in children; however, there is a lack of clarity regarding preventable risk factors. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize the current evidence regarding the role of maternal dietary factors in the development of childhood leukemia. All epidemiological studies published until July 2022 that evaluated maternal dietary risk factors for childhood acute leukemia were identified in two electronic databases (PubMed and Web of Science) without limits of publication year or language. A total of 38 studies (1 prospective cohort study, 34 case-control studies and 3 studies with pooled analysis) were included. The published risk estimates were combined into a meta-analysis, using the Generic Inverse Variance method. The maternal consumption of fruits (two or more daily servings vs. less) was inversely associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (odds ratio = 0.71; 95% CI, 0.59–0.86), whereas maternal coffee intake (higher than two cups per day vs. no consumption) was associated with an increased risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (odds ratio = 1.45; 95% CI, 1.12–1.89). Despite these findings, more high-quality research from cohort studies and the identification of causal factors are needed to develop evidence-based and cost-effective prevention strategies applicable at the population level. Review Registration: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42019128937

Early Life Nutrition Factors and Risk of Acute Leukemia in Children: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Acute leukemia commonly occurs in young children with peak incidence at the age of 2–5 years. However, the etiology is still unclear and many preventable risk factors still deserve to be reviewed. The focus of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to summarize the evidence concerning early life nourishment (breastfeeding, early life diet), neonatal vitamin K administration and the risk of acute leukemia. All epidemiological studies published up to June 2023 and assessing diet-related risk factors for childhood acute leukemia were identified in two electronic databases (PubMed and Web of Science), with no limits on publication year or language. A total of 38 studies (37 case–control studies and 1 study with pooled analysis) were included. The published risk estimates were combined into a meta-analysis using the Generic Inverse Variance method. The current evidence shows that breastfeeding (yes vs. no) has a protective effect against acute lymphoblastic leukemia (odds ratio = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76–0.94). Evidence related to the role of other studied factors (foods and supplements) is inconclusive. Further research into the potential role of diet in early life and the risk of acute leukemia is needed to develop prevention strategies at population level. Review Registration: PROSPERO registration no. CRD42019128937

The Association of Systemic Microvascular Changes with Lung Function and Lung Density: A Cross-Sectional Study

10.1371/journal.pone.0050224PLoS ONE712

Effectiveness of a Statewide Abusive Head Trauma Prevention Program in North Carolina

Abusive head trauma (AHT) is a serious condition, with an incidence of approximately 30 cases per 100 000 person-years in the first year of life

CD1a expression in psoriatic skin following treatment with propylthiouracil, an antithyroid thioureylene

BACKGROUND: The antithyroid thioureylenes, propylthiouracil (PTU) and methimazole (MMI), are effective in the treatment of patients with plaque psoriasis. The mechanism of action of the drugs in psoriasis is unknown. Since the drugs reduce circulating IL-12 levels in patients with Graves' hyperthyroidism, the effect of propylthiouracil on CD1a expression in psoriatic lesions was examined in biopsy samples of patients with plaque psoriasis. CD1a is a marker of differentiated skin antigen presenting cells (APC, Langerhans cells). Langerhans cells and skin monocyte/macrophages are the source of IL-12, a key cytokine involved in the events that lead to formation of the psoriatic plaque. METHODS: Biopsy specimens were obtained from six patients with plaque psoriasis who were treated with 300 mg propylthiouracil (PTU) daily for three months. Clinical response to PTU as assessed by PASI scores, histological changes after treatment, and CD1a expression in lesional skin before and after treatment were studied. RESULTS: Despite significant improvement in clinical and histological parameters the expression of CD1a staining cells in the epidermis did not decline with propylthiouracil treatment. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that the beneficial effect of propylthiouracil in psoriasis is mediated by mechanisms other than by depletion of skin antigen-presenting cells

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

An Experimental Analysis Of the Demand For Payday Loans

The payday loan industry is one of the fastest growing segments of the consumer financial services market in the United States. We design an environment similar to the one that payday loan customers face and then conduct a laboratory experiment to examine what effect, if any, the existence of payday loans has on individuals\u27 abilities to manage and to survive financial setbacks. Our primary objective is to examine whether access to payday loans improves or worsens the likelihood of financial survival in our experiment. We also test the degree to which people\u27s use of payday loans affects their ability to survive financially. We find that payday loans help the subjects to absorb expenditure shocks and therefore survive financially. However, subjects whose demand for payday loans exceeds a certain threshold level are at a greater risk than a corresponding subject in the treatment in which payday loans do not exist

Sustainable care for children with cancer: a Lancet Oncology Commission.

We estimate that there will be 13·7 million new cases of childhood cancer globally between 2020 and 2050. At current levels of health system performance (including access and referral), 6·1 million (44·9%) of these children will be undiagnosed. Between 2020 and 2050, 11·1 million children will die from cancer if no additional investments are made to improve access to health-care services or childhood cancer treatment. Of this total, 9·3 million children (84·1%) will be in low-income and lower-middle-income countries. This burden could be vastly reduced with new funding to scale up cost-effective interventions. Simultaneous comprehensive scale-up of interventions could avert 6·2 million deaths in children with cancer in this period, more than half (56·1%) of the total number of deaths otherwise projected. Taking excess mortality risk into consideration, this reduction in the number of deaths is projected to produce a gain of 318 million life-years. In addition, the global lifetime productivity gains of US$2580 billion in 2020-50 would be four times greater than the cumulative treatment costs of$594 billion, producing a net benefit of $1986 billion on the global investment: a net return of$3 for every $1 invested. In sum, the burden of childhood cancer, which has been grossly underestimated in the past, can be effectively diminished to realise massive health and economic benefits and to avert millions of needless deaths