The Influence of Computational Mesh on the Prediction of Vortex Interactions about a Generic Missile Airframe

A research program has been underway for four years to study vortex interaction aerodynamics that are relevant to military air vehicle performance. The program has been conducted under the auspices of the NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO), Applied Vehicle Technology (AVT) panel by a Task Group with the identification of AVT-316. The Missile Facet of this group has concentrated their work on the vortical flow field around a generic missile airframe and its prediction via computational methods. This paper focuses on mesh-related effects and RANS simulations. Simulated vortex characteristics were found to depend strongly on the properties of the employed mesh, in terms of both resolution and topology. Predictions of missile aerodynamic coefficients show a great dependence on mesh properties as they are sensitive to computed vortex dynamics. Key suggestions about the desired mesh characteristics have been made. Based on these, a shared mesh was constructed to perform common analyses between the AVT-316 Missile Facet members. Mesh based uncertainties of the aerodynamic coefficient predictions were estimated via Richardson Extrapolation method

Suicidal Behavior and Alcohol Abuse

Suicide is an escalating public health problem, and alcohol use has consistently been implicated in the precipitation of suicidal behavior. Alcohol abuse may lead to suicidality through disinhibition, impulsiveness and impaired judgment, but it may also be used as a means to ease the distress associated with committing an act of suicide. We reviewed evidence of the relationship between alcohol use and suicide through a search of MedLine and PsychInfo electronic databases. Multiple genetically-related intermediate phenotypes might influence the relationship between alcohol and suicide. Psychiatric disorders, including psychosis, mood disorders and anxiety disorders, as well as susceptibility to stress, might increase the risk of suicidal behavior, but may also have reciprocal influences with alcohol drinking patterns. Increased suicide risk may be heralded by social withdrawal, breakdown of social bonds, and social marginalization, which are common outcomes of untreated alcohol abuse and dependence. People with alcohol dependence or depression should be screened for other psychiatric symptoms and for suicidality. Programs for suicide prevention must take into account drinking habits and should reinforce healthy behavioral patterns

ARTEFACTS: How do we want to deal with the future of our one and only planet?

The European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), decided to try working hand-in-hand with leading European science centres and museums. Behind this decision was the idea that the JRC could better support EU Institutions in engaging with the European public. The fact that European Union policies are firmly based on scientific evidence is a strong message which the JRC is uniquely able to illustrate. Such a collaboration would not only provide a platform to explain the benefits of EU policies to our daily lives but also provide an opportunity for European citizens to engage by taking a more active part in the EU policy making process for the future. A PILOT PROGRAMME To test the idea, the JRC launched an experimental programme to work with science museums: a perfect partner for three compelling reasons. Firstly, they attract a large and growing number of visitors. Leading science museums in Europe have typically 500 000 visitors per year. Furthermore, they are based in large European cities and attract local visitors as well as tourists from across Europe and beyond. The second reason for working with museums is that they have mastered the art of how to communicate key elements of sophisticated arguments across to the public and making complex topics of public interest readily accessible. That is a high-value added skill and a crucial part of the valorisation of public-funded research, never to be underestimated. Finally museums are, at present, undergoing something of a renaissance. Museums today are vibrant environments offering new techniques and technologies to both inform and entertain, and attract visitors of all demographics.JRC.H.2-Knowledge Management Methodologies, Communities and Disseminatio

Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

1- or 3-Month DAPT in Patients With HBR With or Without Oral Anticoagulant Therapy After PCI.

BACKGROUND The optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients on long-term oral anticoagulation (OAC) therapy is still uncertain. OBJECTIVES The aim of this analysis was to assess the effects of 1- vs 3-month DAPT in patients with and those without concomitant OAC included in the XIENCE Short DAPT program. METHODS The XIENCE Short DAPT program enrolled patients with high bleeding risk who underwent successful PCI with a cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stent. DAPT was discontinued at 1 or 3 months in patients free from ischemic events and adherent to treatment. The effect of 1- vs 3-month DAPT was compared in patients with and those without OAC using propensity score stratification. The primary endpoint was all-cause death or any myocardial infarction (MI). The key secondary endpoint was Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) types 2 to 5 bleeding. Outcomes were assessed from 1 to 12 months after index PCI. RESULTS Among 3,364 event-free patients, 1,462 (43%) were on OAC. Among OAC patients, the risk for death or MI was similar between 1- and 3-month DAPT (7.4% vs 8.8%; adjusted HR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.49-1.11; P = 0.139), whereas BARC types 2 to 5 bleeding was lower with 1-month DAPT (adjusted HR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.51-0.99; P = 0.046). These effects were consistent in patients with and those without OAC (P for interaction = NS). CONCLUSIONS Between 1 and 12 months after PCI, 1-month compared with 3-month DAPT was associated with similar rates of all-cause death or MI and a reduced rate of BARC types 2 to 5 bleeding, irrespective of OAC treatment

Prognostic Value of Quantitative Contrast-Enhanced Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance for the Evaluation of Sudden Death Risk in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common cause of sudden death in the young, although not all patients eligible for sudden death prevention with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator are identified. Contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance with late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) has emerged as an in vivo marker of myocardial fibrosis, although its role in stratifying sudden death risk in subgroups of HCM patients remains incompletely understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed the relation between LGE and cardiovascular outcomes in 1293 HCM patients referred for cardiovascular magnetic resonance and followed up for a median of 3.3 years. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) events (including appropriate defibrillator interventions) occurred in 37 patients (3%). A continuous relationship was evident between LGE by percent left ventricular mass and SCD event risk in HCM patients (P=0.001). Extent of LGE was associated with an increased risk of SCD events (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.46/10% increase in LGE; P=0.002), even after adjustment for other relevant disease variables. LGE of ≥15% of LV mass demonstrated a 2-fold increase in SCD event risk in those patients otherwise considered to be at lower risk, with an estimated likelihood for SCD events of 6% at 5 years. Performance of the SCD event risk model was enhanced by LGE (net reclassification index, 12.9%; 95% confidence interval, 0.3-38.3). Absence of LGE was associated with lower risk for SCD events (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.39; P=0.02). Extent of LGE also predicted the development of end-stage HCM with systolic dysfunction (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.80/10% increase in LGE; P<0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Extensive LGE measured by quantitative contrast enhanced CMR provides additional information for assessing SCD event risk among HCM patients, particularly patients otherwise judged to be at low risk