Neural network modeling of pulsed-laser weld pool shapes in aluminum alloy welds

A model was developed to predict the weld pool shape in pulsed Nd:YAG laser welds of aluminum alloy 5754. The model utilized neural network analysis to relate the weld process conditions to four pool shape parameters: penetration, width, width at half-penetration, and cross-sectional area. The model development involved the identification of the input (process) variables, the desired output (shape) variables, and the optimal neural network architecture. The latter was influenced by the number of defined inputs and outputs as well as the amount of data that was available for training the network. After appropriate training, the best network was identified and was used to predict the weld shape. A routine to convert the shape parameters into predicted weld profiles was also developed. This routine was based on the actual experimental weld profiles and did not impose an artificial analytical function to describe the weld profile. The neural network model was tested on experimental welds. The model predictions were excellent. It was found that the predicted shapes were within the experimental variations that were found along the length of the welds (due to the pulsed nature of the weld power) and the reproducibility of welds made under nominally identical conditions

The distribution over time of costs and social net benefits for pertussis immunization programs

Pertussis immunization, Cost analysis of pertussis vaccination program, Total cost and total social net benefit over time, Acellular and whole-cell pertussis vaccines, Transfer function ARIMA model, C22, I12, I18,

Outcome of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and a low-risk score: allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the era of targeted therapy. A report from the EBMT Chronic Malignancies Working Party

Immunobiology of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and immunotherapy of hematological disease

Long-term survival of patients with CLL after allogeneic transplantation: A report from the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

PubMed ID: 27941763Even with the availability of targeted drugs, allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is the only therapy with curative potential for patients with CLL. Cure can be assessed by comparing long-term survival of patients to the matched general population. Using data from 2589 patients who received allo-HCT between 2000 and 2010, we used landmark analyses and methods from relative survival analysis to calculate excess mortality compared with an age-, sex- and calendar year-matched general population. Estimated event-free survival, overall survival and non-relapse mortality (NRM) 10 years after allo-HCT were 28% (95% confidence interval (CI), 25-31), 35% (95% CI, 32-38) and 40% (95% CI, 37-42), respectively. Patients who passed the 5-year landmark event-free survival (N=394) had a 79% probability (95% CI, 73-85) of surviving the subsequent 5 years without an event. Relapse and NRM contributed equally to treatment failure. Five-year mortality for 45- and 65-year-old reference patients who were event-free at the 5-year landmark was 8% and 47% compared with 3% and 14% in the matched general population, respectively. The prospect of long-term disease-free survival remains an argument to consider allo-HCT for young patients with high-risk CLL, and programs to understand and prevent late causes of failure for long-term survivors are warranted, especially for older patients. © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature