Impact Of Surface And Pore Characteristics On Fatigue Life Of Laser Powder Bed Fusion Ti–6Al–4V Alloy Described By Neural Network Models

In this study, the effects of surface roughness and pore characteristics on fatigue lives of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) Ti–6Al–4V parts were investigated. The 197 fatigue bars were printed using the same laser power but with varied scanning speeds. These actions led to variations in the geometries of microscale pores, and such variations were characterized using micro-computed tomography. To generate differences in surface roughness in fatigue bars, half of the samples were grit-blasted and the other half were machined. Fatigue behaviors were analyzed with respect to surface roughness and statistics of the pores. For the grit-blasted samples, the contour laser scan in the LPBF strategy led to a pore-depletion zone isolating surface and internal pores with different features. For the machined samples, where surface pores resemble internal pores, the fatigue life was highly correlated with the average pore size and projected pore area in the plane perpendicular to the stress direction. Finally, a machine learning model using a drop-out neural network (DONN) was employed to establish a link between surface and pore features to the fatigue data (logN), and good prediction accuracy was demonstrated. Besides predicting fatigue lives, the DONN can also estimate the prediction uncertainty

Hybrid Approach in Microscale Transport Phenomena: Application to Biodiesel Synthesis in Micro-reactors

A hybrid engineering approach to the study of transport phenomena, based on the synergy among computational, analytical, and experimental methodologies is reviewed. The focus of the chapter is on fundamental analysis and proof of concept developments in the use of nano- and micro-technologies for energy efficiency and heat and mass transfer enhancement applications. The hybrid approach described herein combines improved lumped-differential modeling, hybrid numericalanalytical solution methods, mixed symbolic-numerical computations, and advanced experimental techniques for micro-scale transport phenomena. An application dealing with micro-reactors for continuous synthesis of biodiesel is selected to demonstrate the instrumental role of the hybrid approach in achieving improved design and enhanced performance

Essential Medicines at the National Level : The Global Asthma Network's Essential Asthma Medicines Survey 2014

Patients with asthma need uninterrupted supplies of affordable, quality-assured essential medicines. However, access in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited. The World Health Organization (WHO) Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Global Action Plan 2013-2020 sets an 80% target for essential NCD medicines' availability. Poor access is partly due to medicines not being included on the national Essential Medicines Lists (EML) and/or National Reimbursement Lists (NRL) which guide the provision of free/subsidised medicines. We aimed to determine how many countries have essential asthma medicines on their EML and NRL, which essential asthma medicines, and whether surveys might monitor progress. A cross-sectional survey in 2013-2015 of Global Asthma Network principal investigators generated 111/120 (93%) responses41 high-income countries and territories (HICs); 70 LMICs. Patients in HICs with NRL are best served (91% HICs included ICS (inhaled corticosteroids) and salbutamol). Patients in the 24 (34%) LMICs with no NRL and the 14 (30%) LMICs with an NRL, however no ICS are likely to have very poor access to affordable, quality-assured ICS. Many LMICs do not have essential asthma medicines on their EML or NRL. Technical guidance and advocacy for policy change is required. Improving access to these medicines will improve the health system's capacity to address NCDs.Peer reviewe

Next-generation ARIA care pathways for rhinitis and asthma: a model for multimorbid chronic diseases

Background In all societies, the burden and cost of allergic and chronic respiratory diseases are increasing rapidly. Most economies are struggling to deliver modern health care effectively. There is a need to support the transformation of the health care system into integrated care with organizational health literacy. Main body As an example for chronic disease care, MASK (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK), a new project of the ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) initiative, and POLLAR (Impact of Air POLLution on Asthma and Rhinitis, EIT Health), in collaboration with professional and patient organizations in the field of allergy and airway diseases, are proposing real-life ICPs centred around the patient with rhinitis, and using mHealth to monitor environmental exposure. Three aspects of care pathways are being developed: (i) Patient participation, health literacy and self-care through technology-assisted "patient activation", (ii) Implementation of care pathways by pharmacists and (iii) Next-generation guidelines assessing the recommendations of GRADE guidelines in rhinitis and asthma using real-world evidence (RWE) obtained through mobile technology. The EU and global political agendas are of great importance in supporting the digital transformation of health and care, and MASK has been recognized by DG Sante as a Good Practice in the field of digitally-enabled, integrated, person-centred care. Conclusion In 20 years, ARIA has considerably evolved from the first multimorbidity guideline in respiratory diseases to the digital transformation of health and care with a strong political involvement

The looming epidemic of diabetes-associated tuberculosis: learning lessons from HIV-associated tuberculosis.

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing at a dramatic rate, and countries in Asia, particularly India and China, will bear the brunt of this epidemic. Persons with diabetes have a significantly increased risk of active tuberculosis (TB), which is two to three times higher than in persons without diabetes. In this article, we argue that the epidemiological interactions and the effects on clinical presentation and treatment resulting from the interaction between diabetes and TB are similar to those observed for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and TB. The lessons learned from approaches to reduce the dual burden of HIV and TB, and especially the modes of screening for the two diseases, can be adapted and applied to the screening, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diabetes and TB. The new World Health Organization (WHO) and The Union Collaborative Framework for care and control of TB and diabetes has many similarities to the WHO Policy on Collaborative Activities to reduce the dual burden of TB and HIV, and aims to guide policy makers and implementers on how to move forward and combat this looming dual epidemic. The response to the growing HIV-associated TB epidemic in the 1980s and 1990s was slow and uncoordinated, despite clearly articulated warnings about the scale of the forthcoming problem. We must not make the same mistake with diabetes and TB. The Framework provides a template for action, and it is now up to donors, policy makers and implementers to apply the recommendations in the field and to 'learn by doing'