162 research outputs found
Determination of Corresponding Temperature Distribution within CFRP during Laser Cutting
AbstractLaser cutting of carbon fiber reinforced plastics as a thermal process results in a thermal load on the material. Due to the high thermal conductivity of carbon fibers, residual heat is conducted along the fibers, away from the laser interaction zone. Common temperature measurement techniques, such as pyrometry and infrared thermography only allow for observation of the temperature development on the surface of the material. In order to achieve information about the temperature distribution within the material during the cutting process, thermochromes and thermocouples were implemented during the laminating process of CFRP. The cutting tests were performed with a single mode fiber laser emitting a continuous wave and at a wavelength of λ = 1080 nm
Robot based remote laser cutting of three-dimensional automotive composite parts with thicknesses up to 5mm
With the intention to develop a robot based laser cutting process for automotive 3D parts with varying thickness consisting of carbon fibre reinforced plastics (CFRP), strategies of 2D investigations were adapted. The used setup consist of a fibre guided nanosecond pulsed laser with an average power of P L = 1.5 kW, a 6-axis robot and a 3D programmable focusing optic (I-PFO). In a first instance strategies for the remote cutting of material with a thickness of d = 5 mm were developed and optimized concerning cutting efficiency and quality. In a second step the results were transferred to a robot based 3D cutting process. Main challenges are the consideration of the correct angle of incidence, the geometric constancy and the accessibility of the cutting geometry by the I-PFO for complex shaped 3D parts. Therewith, âcutting-on-the-flyâ strategies were realized for automated trimming and drilling of large automotive structures
Uveitis manifestations in patients of the Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Study.
The knowledge about risk factors for the onset of uveitis manifestations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still limited. Here, we aimed to provide an overview of the clinical factors associated with the onset of uveitis in the Swiss IBD Cohort Study (SIBDCS).
We included epidemiological and clinical data from 1840 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 1426 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) followed up in the SIBDCS between 2006 and 2018. Associations between disease characteristics and uveitis were assessed in univariate and multivariate analyses.
Overall, we identified 285 patients with uveitis. Uveitis was more frequent in patients with CD (11.1%; 205 of 1635) than UC (5.6%; 80 of 1346; odds ratio 2.11, p < 0.001). The occurrence of uveitis manifestations in patients with UC and CD was significantly associated with the onset of other extraintestinal manifestations, also in multivariate analyses. The onset of uveitis was associated with the hallmark features of severe disease in both CD and UC, including a higher clinical disease activity index and the use of immunomodulators or calcineurin inhibitors. In CD, uveitis was more frequent in females and showed a positive correlation with a positive family history of IBD.
Our data demonstrate that uveitis in IBD occurs more often in CD as well as in women and is associated with a more severe disease course. This might guide physicians' awareness in at-risk patients to the presence of uveitis extraintestinal manifestations and help to improve patient care
Anticipatory anti-colonial writing in R.K. Narayan's Swami and Friends and Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable
This article uses the term âanticipatory anti-colonial writingâ to discuss the workings of time in R.K. Narayanâs Swami and Friends and Mulk Raj Anandâs Untouchable. Both these first novels were published in 1935 with the support of British literary personalities (Graham Greene and E.M. Forster respectively) and both feature young protagonists who, in contrasting ways, are engaged in Indian resistance to colonial rule. This study examines the difference between Narayanâs local, though ironical, resistance to the homogenizing temporal demands of empire and Anandâs awkwardly modernist, socially committed vision. I argue that a form of anticipation that explicitly looks forward to decolonization via new and transnational literary forms is a crucial feature of Untouchable that is not found in Swami and Friends, despite the latterâs anti-colonial elements. Untouchable was intended to be a âbridge between the Ganges and the Thamesâ and anticipates postcolonial negotiations of time that critique global inequalities and rely upon the multidirectional global connections forged by modernism
Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease
Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1ÎČ, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1ÎČ innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.
Getting to the heart of the matter: Does aberrant interoceptive processing contribute towards emotional eating?
According to estimates from Public Health England, by 2034 70% of adults are expected to be overweight or obese, therefore understanding the underpinning aetiology is a priority. Eating in response to negative affect contributes towards obesity, however, little is known about the underlying mechanisms. Evidence that visceral afferent signals contribute towards the experience of emotion is accumulating rapidly, with the emergence of new influential models of âactive inferenceâ. No longer viewed as a âbottom upâ process, new interoceptive facets based on âtop downâ predictions have been proposed, although at present it is unclear which aspects of interoception contribute to aberrant eating behaviour and obesity. Study one examined the link between eating behaviour, body mass index and the novel interoceptive indices; interoceptive metacognitive awareness (IAw) and interoceptive prediction error (IPE), as well as the traditional measures; interoceptive accuracy (IAc) and interoceptive sensibility (IS). The dissociation between these interoceptive indices was confirmed. Emotional eaters were characterised by a heightened interoceptive signal but reduced meta-cognitive awareness of their interoceptive abilities. In addition, emotional eating correlated with IPE; effects that could not be accounted for by differences in anxiety and depression. Study two confirmed the positive association between interoceptive accuracy and emotional eating using a novel unbiased heartbeat discrimination task based on the method of constant stimuli. Results reveal new and important mechanistic insights into the processes that may underlie problematic affect regulation in overweight populations
On the validity of the13C-acetate breath test for comparing gastric emptying of different liquid test meals: a validation study using magnetic resonance imaging
Decision making for osteoporotic treatment using FRAX or DVO risk algorithms in a clinical setting
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