Base Vibration Effects on Additive Manufactured Part Quality

Additive Manufacturing (AM) has opened the door for portable and self-sufficient fabrication. However, environments with base vibration degrade part quality during production. This work focuses on investigating and mitigating the effects of base vibration on AM part quality. Factors influencing part quality initiated the approach, followed by experiments on an extrusion-type printer to inspect and minimize vibration effects. Part roughness was used as the part quality metric based on preliminary experimental observations. A modal impact test identified the print bed and print head gantry as vibration-sensitive components at ≈ 40 Hz. These vibration modes were targeted with experiments to evaluate and reduce vibration effects. Vibration originating from machine operation and vertical base vibration were compared. Part quality was impacted by base vibration 600 × more than by machine operation. Part roughness correlated with vertical base vibration intensity as the roughness standard deviation increased over 85%, from 187.71 μ in to 349.01 μ in, for parts printed with base vibration compared to parts printed without. This result indicated base vibration as the primary vibration source that leads to part quality degradation. A passive vibration control scheme was implemented resulting in a 93% reduction in the relative motion between the print head and bed, from 23.71 to 1.75 g/g, and a 16% improvement in part surface roughness, from 1015.60 to 850.39 μ in. This research provides direction for extending AM to harsh operational environments

Efficacy of Female Rat Models in Translational Cardiovascular Aging Research

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women in the United States. Aging is a primary risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease as well as cardiovascular-related morbidity and mortality. Aging is a universal process that all humans undergo; however, research in aging is limited by cost and time constraints. Therefore, most research in aging has been done in primates and rodents; however it is unknown how well the effects of aging in rat models translate into humans. To compound the complication of aging gender has also been indicated as a risk factor for various cardiovascular diseases. This review addresses the systemic pathophysiology of the cardiovascular system associated with aging and gender for aging research with regard to the applicability of rat derived data for translational application to human aging

Chronic Paracetamol Treatment Influences Indices of Reactive Oxygen Species Accumulation in the Aging Fischer 344 X Brown Norway Rat Aorta

Previous reports have demonstrated that increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alterations in cell signaling characterize aging in the Fischer 344 X Brown Norway (FBN) rat aorta. Other work has suggested that increases in ROS may be related to vascular wall thickening and the development of hypertension. Paracetamol (acetaminophen) is a potent antioxidant that has been found to diminish free radicals in ischemia-reperfusion studies. However, it remains unclear whether chronic paracetamol administration influences signaling or ROS accumulation in the aging aorta. FBN rats (27 months old; n=8) were subjected to 6 months of treatment with a therapeutic dose of paracetamol (30 mg/kg/day) and compared to age-matched untreated FBN rat controls (n=8). Compared to measurements in the aortae of 6-month old animals, tunica media thickness, tissue superoxide levels, and protein oxidation levels were 38 ± 7%, 92 ± 31%, and 7 ± 2% higher in the aortae of 33-month control animals (p ≤0.05). Chronic paracetamol treatment decreased tunica media thickness and the amount of oxidized protein by 13 ± 4% and 30 ± 1%, respectively (p ≤0.05). This finding of diminished aortic thickening was associated with increased phosphorylation (activation) of the mitogen activated protein kinases and diminished levels of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2. Taken together, these data suggest that chronic paracetamol treatment may decrease the deleterious effects of aging in the FBN rat aorta

Predicting the Onset of Cavitation in Automotive Torque Converters—Part II: A Generalized Model

The objective of this investigation was to develop a dimensionless model for predicting the onset of cavitation in torque converters applicable to general converter designs. Dimensional analysis was applied to test results from a matrix of torque converters that ranged from populations comprised of strict geometric similitude to those with more relaxed similarities onto inclusion of all the torque converters tested. Stator torque thresholds at the onset of cavitation for the stall operating condition were experimentally determined with a dynamometer test cell using nearfield acoustical measurements. Cavitation torques, design parameters, and operating conditions were resolved into a set of dimensionless quantities for use in the development of dimensionless empirical models. A systematic relaxation of the fundamental principle of dimensional analysis, geometric similitude, was undertaken to present empirical models applicable to torque converter designs of increasingly diverse design parameters. A stepwise linear regression technique coupled with response surface methodology was utilized to produce an empirical model capable of predicting stator torque at the onset of cavitation with less than 7% error for general automotive torque converter designs

Generalization Mediates Sensitivity to Complex Odor Features in the Honeybee

Animals use odors as signals for mate, kin, and food recognition, a strategy which appears ubiquitous and successful despite the high intrinsic variability of naturally-occurring odor quantities. Stimulus generalization, or the ability to decide that two objects, though readily distinguishable, are similar enough to afford the same consequence [1], could help animals adjust to variation in odor signals without losing sensitivity to key inter-stimulus differences. The present study was designed to investigate whether an animal's ability to generalize learned associations to novel odors can be influenced by the nature of the associated outcome. We use a classical conditioning paradigm for studying olfactory learning in honeybees [2] to show that honeybees conditioned on either a fixed- or variable-proportion binary odor mixture generalize learned responses to novel proportions of the same mixture even when inter-odor differences are substantial. We also show that the resulting olfactory generalization gradients depend critically on both the nature of the stimulus-reward paradigm and the intrinsic variability of the conditioned stimulus. The reward dependency we observe must be cognitive rather than perceptual in nature, and we argue that outcome-dependent generalization is necessary for maintaining sensitivity to inter-odor differences in complex olfactory scenes

Comparison of the clinical and economic outcomes between open and minimally invasive appendectomy and colectomy: evidence from a large commercial payer database

Background: Appendectomy and colectomy are commonly performed surgical procedures. Despite evidence demonstrating advantages with the minimally invasive surgical (MIS) approach, open procedures occur with greater prevalence. Therefore, there is still controversy as to whether the MIS approach is safer or more cost effective. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed using a large commercial payer database. The data included information on 7,532 appendectomies and 2,745 colectomies. Data on the distribution of patient demographic and comorbidity characteristics associated with the MIS and open approaches were reviewed. The corresponding complication rates and expenditures were analyzed. Summary statistics were compared using chi-square tests, and generalized linear models were constructed to estimate expenditures while controlling for patient characteristics. Results: The patients undergoing MIS and open colectomy showed no significant variations in age distribution or marginal age differences for appendectomy. Significantly more patients experienced an infection postoperatively, and procedure-specific complications were more common in the open group for both procedures (P < 0.05). The postsurgical hospital stay was longer for the patients treated using the open techniques, differing an average of half a day for appendectomies and significantly more (4 days) for colectomy (P < 0.05). Readmission rates differed little between the two approaches. Procedures performed through an MIS approach were associated with lower expenditures than for the open technique, with differences ranging from $700 for appendectomy patients (P < 0.05) to$15,200 for colectomy patients (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Minimally invasive appendectomy and colectomy were associated with lower infection rates, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, and lower expenditures than open surgery

Parallel Mechanisms for Visual Search in Zebrafish

This research was funded by project grant G1000053 from the National Centre for the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animals in research (NC3Rs; UK) and by the Medical Research Council (MRC; UK). CHB is a Royal Society (UK) Research Fellow