The Development of a Holistic Quality Score Using In-Situ Monitoring of Laser Powder Bed Fusion

Additive manufacturing processes allow for a great degree of flexibility in terms of part production. The process is autonomous once the part has started printing in that the operator generally does not need to intervene until the part is finished. One issue that this introduces, however, is an inability to determine part quality during the printing process. Once a part has started printing, the operator must either wait until the part is finished or regularly check on the part during the print to determine the part quality. Using data gathered from multiple sensors, a quality score can be used to estimate the part quality at any point during the printing process. The development of the score also observed several of the largest contributing ambient factors to both the surface roughness and the part porosity. The largest contributors to quality were the chamber temperature and the oxygen content for the surface roughness and porosity, respectively. Each build characteristic was plotted, and the best fit equations created the quality score. The score generated a zero to one hundred scale that can be easily viewed without intimate knowledge of the process

The functional correlates of older drivers' on-road driving test errors

The aim of this study was to determine the functional deficits that predict particular types of driving difficulties among older drivers. A sample of 90 drivers 60 years and older completed a battery of functional (psychological, visual, physical, cognitive, and attentional) tests and a standardized on-road driving test. Driving errors were classified into a set of 7 distinct categories (positioning, gap selection, incorrect speed, observation, speed of approach, mirror, and indicator), and correlation and regression analyses were used to determine the best functional predictors of specific error types. As expected, functional deficits were more strongly related to some error types (eg, positioning errors) than others (eg, failure to indicate). Measures of visual attention were associated with a broad range of error types, and particularly, with errors prompting an intervention from the driving instructor, suggesting that a deficit in visual attention is a key indicator of the likelihood of driving problems. Errors in speed of approach to intersections or before undertaking driving maneuvers appear to be related to problems with vision. Key words: aged, attention, automobile driving, fitness to drive visionMatthew R. J. Baldock, Angela Berndt and Jane L. Mathia

Salivary agglutinin and lung scavenger receptor cysteine-rich glycoprotein 340 have broad anti-influenza activities and interactions with surfactant protein D that vary according to donor source and sialylation

We previously found that scavenger receptor cysteine-rich gp-340 (glycoprotein-340), isolated from lung or saliva, directly inhibits human IAVs (influenza A viruses). We now show that salivary gp-340 has broad antiviral activity against human, equine and porcine IAV strains. Although lung and salivary gp-340 are identical in protein sequence, salivary gp-340 from one donor had significantly greater antiviral activity against avian-like IAV strains which preferentially bind sialic acids in α(2,3) linkage. A greater density of α(2,3)-linked sialic acids was present on the salivary gp-340 from this donor as compared with salivary gp-340 from another donor or several preparations of lung gp-340. Hence, the specificity of sialic acid linkages on gp-340 is an important determinant of anti-IAV activity. Gp-340 binds to SP-D (surfactant protein D), and we previously showed that lung gp-340 has co-operative interactions with SP-D in viral neutralization and aggregation assays. We now report that salivary gp-340 can, in some cases, strongly antagonize certain antiviral activities of SP-D. This effect was associated with greater binding of salivary gp-340 to the carbohydrate recognition domain of SP-D as compared with the binding of lung gp-340. These findings may relate to inter-individual variations in innate defence against highly pathogenic IAV and to effects of aspiration of oral contents on SP-D-mediated lung functions