Airfoil design utilizing parallel processors. II-Applications

Presented as Paper 95-0126 at the 33rd Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit January 9-12,1995 / Reno, NVThe article of record as published may be found at https://doi.org/10.2514/6.1995-126One test case and two airfoil design applications were performed utilizing a parallel optimization scheme coupled to different fiow solvers. Parallel processors use computational fluid dynamics to evaluate the aerodynamic performance of multiple geometries simultaneously. The test case designed an airfoil to match the pressure distribution corresponding to an airfoil of a known shape. A transonic design application varied an airfoil's shape to maximize its lift-to-drag ratio

Designing clinical trials for assessing the effects of cognitive training and physical activity interventions on cognitive outcomes: The Seniors Health and Activity Research Program Pilot (SHARP-P) Study, a randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The efficacy of non-pharmacological intervention approaches such as physical activity, strength, and cognitive training for improving brain health has not been established. Before definitive trials are mounted, important design questions on participation/adherence, training and interventions effects must be answered to more fully inform a full-scale trial.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>SHARP-P was a single-blinded randomized controlled pilot trial of a 4-month physical activity training intervention (PA) and/or cognitive training intervention (CT) in a 2 × 2 factorial design with a health education control condition in 73 community-dwelling persons, aged 70-85 years, who were at risk for cognitive decline but did not have mild cognitive impairment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Intervention attendance rates were higher in the CT and PACT groups: CT: 96%, PA: 76%, PACT: 90% (p=0.004), the interventions produced marked changes in cognitive and physical performance measures (p≤0.05), and retention rates exceeded 90%. There were no statistically significant differences in 4-month changes in composite scores of cognitive, executive, and episodic memory function among arms. Four-month improvements in the composite measure increased with age among participants assigned to physical activity training but decreased with age for other participants (intervention*age interaction p = 0.01). Depending on the choice of outcome, two-armed full-scale trials may require fewer than 1,000 participants (continuous outcome) or 2,000 participants (categorical outcome).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Good levels of participation, adherence, and retention appear to be achievable for participants through age 85 years. Care should be taken to ensure that an attention control condition does not attenuate intervention effects. Depending on the choice of outcome measures, the necessary sample sizes to conduct four-year trials appear to be feasible.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00688155">NCT00688155</a></p

Airfoil design utilizing parallel processors

The article of record as published may be found at https://doi.org/10.2514/3.46994An aerodynamic design scheme using parallel processors has been developed that significantly decreases the processing time required to optimize a desired performance. The parallel optimization scheme, when coupled with a flow solver, evaluates the aerodynamic performance of numerous geometries simultaneously.A test case was conducted utilizing the parallel optimization scheme and a similar sequential optimization scheme to design an airfoil to match the pressure distribution corresponding to a known shape. This design application demonstrates the practicality and versatility of aerodynamic design via optimization using parallel processors

Aerodynamic design using parallel processors

An airfoil design technique has been developed which decreases the computational processing time by more than an order of magnitude when optimizing aerodynamic performance. The practicality of airfoil design using parallel processors and Navier-Stokes flow solvers has been demonstrated. Typically, an airfoil is designed to meet certain criteria based upon its aerodynamic performance at set flight conditions. If an optimization technique is used for airfoil design, the shape of the airfoil is varied, and the aerodynamic performance of numerous airfoil geometries are evaluated using computational fluid dynamics. Multiple aerodynamic performance evaluations require the vast majority of computational processing time used in airfoil design optimization.http://archive.org/details/aerodynamicdesig1094539914Lieutenant, United States Navy.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

A Randomized Trial of a Multifactorial Strategy to Prevent Serious Fall Injuries.

BackgroundInjuries from falls are major contributors to complications and death in older adults. Despite evidence from efficacy trials that many falls can be prevented, rates of falls resulting in injury have not declined.MethodsWe conducted a pragmatic, cluster-randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a multifactorial intervention that included risk assessment and individualized plans, administered by specially trained nurses, to prevent fall injuries. A total of 86 primary care practices across 10 health care systems were randomly assigned to the intervention or to enhanced usual care (the control) (43 practices each). The participants were community-dwelling adults, 70 years of age or older, who were at increased risk for fall injuries. The primary outcome, assessed in a time-to-event analysis, was the first serious fall injury, adjudicated with the use of participant report, electronic health records, and claims data. We hypothesized that the event rate would be lower by 20% in the intervention group than in the control group.ResultsThe demographic and baseline characteristics of the participants were similar in the intervention group (2802 participants) and the control group (2649 participants); the mean age was 80 years, and 62.0% of the participants were women. The rate of a first adjudicated serious fall injury did not differ significantly between the groups, as assessed in a time-to-first-event analysis (events per 100 person-years of follow-up, 4.9 in the intervention group and 5.3 in the control group; hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.06; P = 0.25). The rate of a first participant-reported fall injury was 25.6 events per 100 person-years of follow-up in the intervention group and 28.6 events per 100 person-years of follow-up in the control group (hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.99; P = 0.004). The rates of hospitalization or death were similar in the two groups.ConclusionsA multifactorial intervention, administered by nurses, did not result in a significantly lower rate of a first adjudicated serious fall injury than enhanced usual care. (Funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute and others; STRIDE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02475850.)