233 research outputs found
Wind Tunnel Testing of Directionally Sensitive Meander Metasurface and Sub-Resonant Sensor Arrays
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics via the DOI in this recordLocating a sound source through the disruptive turbulent boundary layer’s pressure
fluctuations is of great difficulty in aero/hydroacoustic applications. Conventional phased
microphone arrays have trouble with this task because their diaphragms are exposed to the
excess noise presented by these pressure fluctuations. In this paper, a meander-style metasurface
was modified to make it flow-compatible. A sub-resonant sensor array was also designed to
filter out convective pressure fluctuations and improve signal to noise ratio. These novel array
designs were tested alongside a conventional phased array in Virginia Tech’s Stability Wind
Tunnel. The metasurface array proved its ability to detect sound sources through a turbulent
boundary layer although it was less accurate than the other two arrays. The sub-resonant sensor
array displayed similar accuracy to the conventional phased array and provided insight into
the design of through-cavities for convective pressure filtering. In combination, these results
show promise for the development of novel acoustic array designs which can perform optimally
through a turbulent boundary layer.Office of Naval Researc
Genome-Wide Association of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Activation With Life-Threatening Arrhythmias
OBJECTIVES: To identify genetic factors that would be predictive of individuals who require an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), we conducted a genome-wide association study among individuals with an ICD who experienced a life-threatening arrhythmia (LTA; cases) vs. those who did not over at least a 3-year period (controls). BACKGROUND: Most individuals that receive implantable cardioverter-defibrillators never experience a life-threatening arrhythmia. Genetic factors may help identify who is most at risk. METHODS: Patients with an ICD and extended follow-up were recruited from 34 clinical sites with the goal of oversampling those who had experienced LTA, with a cumulative 607 cases and 297 controls included in the analysis. A total of 1,006 Caucasian patients were enrolled during a time period of 13 months. Arrhythmia status of 904 patients could be confirmed and their genomic data were included in the analysis. In this cohort, there were 704 males, 200 females, and the average age was 73.3 years. We genotyped DNA samples using the Illumina Human660 W Genotyping BeadChip and tested for association between genotype at common variants and the phenotype of having an LTA. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We did not find any associations reaching genome-wide significance, with the strongest association at chromosome 13, rs11856574 at P = 5×10⁻⁶. Loci previously implicated in phenotypes such as QT interval (measure of the time between the start of the Q wave and the end of the T wave as measured by electrocardiogram) were not found to be significantly associated with having an LTA. Although powered to detect such associations, we did not find common genetic variants of large effect associated with having a LTA in those of European descent. This indicates that common gene variants cannot be used at this time to guide ICD risk-stratification. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00664807
Excitation of airborne acoustic surface modes driven by a turbulent flow
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from AIAA via the DOI in this recordThis experiment demonstrated the generation of trapped acoustic surface waves
excited by a turbulent flow source through the coupling of pressure fluctuations at
the interface between an acoustic metamaterial and a flow environment. The
turbulent flow, which behaves as a stochastic pressure source, was produced using a
fully developed turbulent wall jet. The plate in the wall jet was perforated with a
single cavity. On the flow-side it was capped by a Kevlar weave to ensure the cavity
did not significantly disturb the flow, whilst on the adjacent side the cavity was open
to the quiescent (static) environment. The through-cavity opening, on the quiescent
side, was flush with an acoustic metasurface waveguide, which, through evanescent
diffractive coupling of the pressure field, produced an acoustic surface mode. This
acoustic mode was trapped at the plate surface, with its mode dispersion determined
by the surface geometry. The results of two different metasurface geometries are
discussed; (1) a slotted cavity array, and (2) a meander connected cavity array, each
demonstrating a different trapped surface wave dispersion behavior. Fourier
transform and correlation analyses of spatially-resolved temporal acoustic signals,
measured close to the metamaterial surface, were used to construct the frequency
and wave vector-dependent acoustic mode dispersion. Results demonstrated the flow
can indeed be used to excite these acoustic modes and that their mode dispersion can
be tailored towards realizing novel control of turbulent flow through acoustic-flow
interactionsDefence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL
Phosphine-Catalyzed Formation of Carbon-Sulfur Bonds: Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of gamma-Thioesters
Supporting Information Available: Experimental procedures and compound characterization data. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.A method for catalytic asymmetric γ sulfenylation of carbonyl compounds has been developed. In the presence of an appropriate catalyst, thiols not only add to the γ position of allenoates, overcoming their propensity to add to the β position in the absence of a catalyst, but do so with very good enantioselectivity. Sulfur nucleophiles are now added to the three families of nucleophiles (carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) that had earlier been shown to participate in catalyzed γ additions. The phosphine catalyst of choice, TangPhos, had previously only been employed as a chiral ligand for transition metals, not as an efficient enantioselective nucleophilic catalyst.National Institutes of Health (U.S.)National Institute of General Medical Sciences (U.S.) (R01-GM57034)Merck & Co.Novartis (Firm
Genotype-informed estimation of risk of coronary heart disease based on genome-wide association data linked to the electronic medical record
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Susceptibility variants identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have modest effect sizes. Whether such variants provide incremental information in assessing risk for common 'complex' diseases is unclear. We investigated whether measured and imputed genotypes from a GWAS dataset linked to the electronic medical record alter estimates of coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Study participants (<it>n </it>= 1243) had no known cardiovascular disease and were considered to be at high, intermediate, or low 10-year risk of CHD based on the Framingham risk score (FRS) which includes age, sex, total and HDL cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking status. Of twelve SNPs identified in prior GWAS to be associated with CHD, four were genotyped in the participants as part of a GWAS. Genotypes for seven SNPs were imputed from HapMap CEU population using the program MACH. We calculated a multiplex genetic risk score for each patient based on the odds ratios of the susceptibility SNPs and incorporated this into the FRS.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean (SD) number of risk alleles was 12.31 (1.95), range 6-18. The mean (SD) of the weighted genetic risk score was 12.64 (2.05), range 5.75-18.20. The CHD genetic risk score was not correlated with the FRS (<it>P </it>= 0.78). After incorporating the genetic risk score into the FRS, a total of 380 individuals (30.6%) were reclassified into higher-(188) or lower-risk groups (192).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A genetic risk score based on measured/imputed genotypes at 11 susceptibility SNPs, led to significant reclassification in the 10-y CHD risk categories. Additional prospective studies are needed to assess accuracy and clinical utility of such reclassification.</p
Circulating endothelial cell count: a reliable marker of endothelial damage in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation
The physio-pathologic interrelationships between endothelium and GvHD have been better elucidated and have led to definition of the entity 'endothelial GvHD' as an essential early phase prior to the clinical presentation of acute GvHD. Using the CellSearch system, we analyzed circulating endothelial cells (CEC) in 90 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) patients at the following time-points: T1 (pre-conditioning), T2 (pre-transplant), T3 (engraftment), T4 (onset of GvHD) and T5 (1 week after steroid treatment). Although CEC changes in allo-HSCT represent a dynamic phenomenon influenced by many variables (that is, conditioning, immunosuppressive treatments, engraftment syndrome and infections), we showed that CEC peaks were constantly seen at onset of acute GvHD and invariably returned to pre-transplant values after treatment response. Since we showed that CEC changes during allo-HSCT has rapid kinetics that may be easily missed if blood samples are drawn at pre-fixed time-points, we rather suggest an 'on demand' evaluation of CEC counts right at onset of GvHD clinical symptoms to possibly help differentiate GvHD from other non-endothelial complications. We confirm that CEC changes are a suitable biomarker to monitor endothelial damage in patients undergoing allo-transplantation and hold the potential to become a useful tool to support GvHD diagnosis (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02064972).Bone Marrow Transplantation advance online publication, 11 September 2017; doi:10.1038/bmt.2017.194
Assessing Perceived Risk and STI Prevention Behavior: A National Population-Based Study with Special Reference to HPV
Aim: This thesis aims to provide a multidimensional assessment of infection risks and
to evaluate strategies for HPV prevention including vaccination with quadrivalent HPVvaccines,
dose-level vaccine effectiveness and condom use in high STI risk situations.
Methods: Multiple population-based registers and questionnaire responses provided data
for this thesis. Various multivariable and univariate regression models were fit.
Findings: Overall, quadrivalent HPV-vaccination was highly effective against genital
warts (GW) also referred to as condyloma, which is the first HPV disease endpoint
possible to measure. However, effectiveness was contingent upon young age-at-first
vaccination, with effectiveness declining steadily the older the age-at-first vaccination.
Among women above 20 years of age there was low to immeasurable effectiveness and
suggestive evidence vaccinations in this age group tended to reach women at high GW
risk. There were marked socioeconomic disparities in the opportunistic (on-demand with
co-pay) vaccination strategy evaluated, with women and girls who have parents with
the highest education level compared to the lowest having a 15 times greater likelihood
to be vaccinated (Study III). Once vaccination was initiated, however, high parental
education level was unrelated to vaccination completion. Maximum protection against
GW was found among girls vaccinated under the age of 17 who had received three doses
of the vaccine. No differences in effectiveness were found for girls who received twodoses
between ages 10-16 with that of those who received three-doses between ages 17-
19 (Study IV). GW affects more men than women in Sweden as of 2010 with 453 per
100 000 men and 365 per 100 000 women treated. A decline between 25-30% was seen
between 2006 and 2010 among women in the age groups with the highest vaccination
coverage. No decline was found amongst men and their GW incidence has steadily
increased between 2006 and 2010 (Study II). Reported condom use in high risk situations
was low among both men and women, with 41% of men and 34% of women reporting
always/almost always condom use with temporary partners. STI risk perception was also
low, with approximately 10% of sexually active respondents considering themselves at
large risk of contracting an STI. There was no association between men’s condom use and
their STI risk perception but there was an association for women (Study I).
Conclusions: Results suggest that males bear a substantial burden of HPV-related
condyloma where incidence has dropped among women. When planning HPVvaccination
among females, efforts should target girls under age 14 for maximum
effectiveness. Quadrivalent HPV-vaccination offers most protection against condyloma at
three doses. Gross social inequity was found with opportunistic HPV-vaccination. There
were large gender differences in factors associated with condom use in high risk situations
and STI risk perceptions
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