An assessment of artificial damping models for aeroacoustic calculations

We present a study of the effect of artificial dissipation models on nonlinear wave computations using a few high order schemes. Our motivation is to assess the effectiveness of artificial dissipation models for their suitability for aeroacoustic computations. We solve three model problems in one dimension using the Euler equations. Initial conditions are chosen to generate nonlinear waves in the computational domain. We examine various dissipation models in central difference schemes such as the Dispersion Relation Preserving (DRP) scheme and the standard fourth and sixth order schemes. We also make a similar study with the fourth order MacCormack scheme due to Gottieb and Turkel

Numerical Simulation of a High Mach Number Jet Flow

The recent efforts to develop accurate numerical schemes for transition and turbulent flows are motivated, among other factors, by the need for accurate prediction of flow noise. The success of developing high speed civil transport plane (HSCT) is contingent upon our understanding and suppression of the jet exhaust noise. The radiated sound can be directly obtained by solving the full (time-dependent) compressible Navier-Stokes equations. However, this requires computational storage that is beyond currently available machines. This difficulty can be overcome by limiting the solution domain to the near field where the jet is nonlinear and then use acoustic analogy (e.g., Lighthill) to relate the far-field noise to the near-field sources. The later requires obtaining the time-dependent flow field. The other difficulty in aeroacoustics computations is that at high Reynolds numbers the turbulent flow has a large range of scales. Direct numerical simulations (DNS) cannot obtain all the scales of motion at high Reynolds number of technological interest. However, it is believed that the large scale structure is more efficient than the small-scale structure in radiating noise. Thus, one can model the small scales and calculate the acoustically active scales. The large scale structure in the noise-producing initial region of the jet can be viewed as a wavelike nature, the net radiated sound is the net cancellation after integration over space. As such, aeroacoustics computations are highly sensitive to errors in computing the sound sources. It is therefore essential to use a high-order numerical scheme to predict the flow field. The present paper presents the first step in a ongoing effort to predict jet noise. The emphasis here is in accurate prediction of the unsteady flow field. We solve the full time-dependent Navier-Stokes equations by a high order finite difference method. Time accurate spatial simulations of both plane and axisymmetric jet are presented. Jet Mach numbers of 1.5 and 2.1 are considered. Reynolds number in the simulations was about a million. Our numerical model is based on the 2-4 scheme by Gottlieb & Turkel. Bayliss et al. applied the 2-4 scheme in boundary layer computations. This scheme was also used by Ragab and Sheen to study the nonlinear development of supersonic instability waves in a mixing layer. In this study, we present two dimensional direct simulation results for both plane and axisymmetric jets. These results are compared with linear theory predictions. These computations were made for near nozzle exit region and velocity in spanwise/azimuthal direction was assumed to be zero

An outflow boundary condition for aeroacoustic computations

A formulation of boundary condition for flows with small disturbances is presented. The authors test their methodology in an axisymmetric jet flow calculation, using both the Navier-Stokes and Euler equations. Solutions in the far field are assumed to be oscillatory. If the oscillatory disturbances are small, the growth of the solution variables can be predicted by linear theory. Eigenfunctions of the linear theory are used explicitly in the formulation of the boundary conditions. This guarantees correct solutions at the boundary in the limit where the predictions of linear theory are valid

High order accurate solutions of viscous problems

We consider a fourth order extension to MacCormack's scheme. The original extension was fourth order only for the inviscid terms but was second order for the viscous terms. We show how to modify the viscous terms so that the scheme is uniformly fourth order in the spatial derivatives. Applications are given to some boundary layer flows. In addition, for applications to shear flows the effect of the outflow boundary conditions are very important. We compare the accuracy of several of these different boundary conditions for both boundary layer and shear flows. Stretching at the outflow usually increases the oscillations in the numerical solution but the addition of a filtered sponge layer (with or without stretching) reduces such oscillations. The oscillations are generated by insufficient resolution of the shear layer. When the shear layer is sufficiently resolved then oscillations are not generated and there is less of a need for a nonreflecting boundary condition

Towards Perfectly Absorbing Boundary Conditions for Euler Equations

In this paper, we examine the effectiveness of absorbing layers as non-reflecting computational boundaries for the Euler equations. The absorbing-layer equations are simply obtained by splitting the governing equations in the coordinate directions and introducing absorption coefficients in each split equation. This methodology is similar to that used by Berenger for the numerical solutions of Maxwell's equations. Specifically, we apply this methodology to three physical problems shock-vortex interactions, a plane free shear flow and an axisymmetric jet- with emphasis on acoustic wave propagation. Our numerical results indicate that the use of absorbing layers effectively minimizes numerical reflection in all three problems considered

Parallel Navier-Stokes computations on shared and distributed memory architectures

We study a high order finite difference scheme to solve the time accurate flow field of a jet using the compressible Navier-Stokes equations. As part of our ongoing efforts, we have implemented our numerical model on three parallel computing platforms to study the computational, communication, and scalability characteristics. The platforms chosen for this study are a cluster of workstations connected through fast networks (the LACE experimental testbed at NASA Lewis), a shared memory multiprocessor (the Cray YMP), and a distributed memory multiprocessor (the IBM SPI). Our focus in this study is on the LACE testbed. We present some results for the Cray YMP and the IBM SP1 mainly for comparison purposes. On the LACE testbed, we study: (1) the communication characteristics of Ethernet, FDDI, and the ALLNODE networks and (2) the overheads induced by the PVM message passing library used for parallelizing the application. We demonstrate that clustering of workstations is effective and has the potential to be computationally competitive with supercomputers at a fraction of the cost

Prognostic indicators of childhood acute viral encephalitis

Objective: To devise a set of clinical signs and laboratory parameters that would help clinicians assess prognosis in patients and plan appropriate management.Methods: Medical records of 147 paediatric cases (with a discharge diagnosis of acute viral encephalitis) admitted over a ten year period from 1987 to 1997 were reviewed and relevant information collected on a data extraction form.Results: Of 147 patients, 24 (16.3%) died and 48 (32.7%) were left with severe neurological deficits. A GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale) score between 6-10 had an association with poor outcome (OR = 2.62, Chi-square = 5.57, p-value = 0.018) and that a GCS score of \u3e or = 5 was even more strongly suggestive of poor outcome (OR = 5.49, Chi-square = 12.08, p-value = 0.0005). A history of having seizures, for more than 3 days, also showed a strong association with poor outcome (OR = 3.66, Chi-square = 5.46, p-value = 0.019).CONCLUSION: Patients with an increased risk of death and severe disability can be identified using a few guidelines. Of these, a history of seizures of \u3e 3 days and/or impaired consciousness (GCS \u3c or = 10), at the time of presentation to the hospital, constitute high risk. These cases must be identified promptly and aggressive therapy initiated in order to improve long term outcome

Laboratory investigation on virulence of three entomopathogenic fungi against the larvae of Aeolesthes sarta (Col.: Cerambycidae)

Sart longhorn beetle, Aeolesthes sarta Solsky (Col.: Cerambycidae) is one of the most destructive borers attacking many tree species in Iran and some Asian countries. Despite its high economic importance, little information is available on its biological control agents. In this research, pathogenicity of entomopathogenic fungi Lecanicillium muscarium (strain DAOM 198499), Metarhizium anisopliae (strain DEMI-001) and Beauveria bassiana (strain PTCC5197) were tested in the laboratory for the pathogenicity to A. sarta larvae. The survey was conducted to determine the efficacy of various treatments (105, 106, 107, 108 spore/ml) against the larvae of A. sarta. Larvae of the same age were individually treated with conidial concentrations of fungi for 30 sec. and placed in hand-made grooves (diameter of 1.5 cm and length of 10 cm) in the sapwood of poplar trunks (Populus nigra, Colon 56/32). After 15 days, the trunks were chopped and the mortality of larvae was determined. Furthermore, Probit analyses were conducted calculate LC50 and LC90 values for each fungus. The results indicated significant differences between treated and untreated individuals (p < 0.01). Estimated LC50 for L. muscarium, B. bassiana and M. anisopliae were 8.53 à 106, 3.65 à 107, and 8.7 à 104 spore/ml, respectively. There were significant differences among the mortalities of fungi and concentrations (p < 0.01). M. anisopliae with the mean of 50.99% and B. bassiana with the mean of 30.41% had the highest and the lowest mortality, respectively (p < 0.05). Also, the treatments 108 and 105 spore/ml caused the highest (68.57%) and lowest (38.64%) mortality, respectively. Finally, the comparison of means of interaction (treatment à fungus) showed that M. anisopliae treatment (108 spore/ml) with 78.9% had the highest and B. bassiana treatment (105 spore/ml) with 16.66% had the lowest mortality

Knowledge graph prediction of unknown adverse drug reactions and validation in electronic health records

Abstract Unknown adverse reactions to drugs available on the market present a significant health risk and limit accurate judgement of the cost/benefit trade-off for medications. Machine learning has the potential to predict unknown adverse reactions from current knowledge. We constructed a knowledge graph containing four types of node: drugs, protein targets, indications and adverse reactions. Using this graph, we developed a machine learning algorithm based on a simple enrichment test and first demonstrated this method performs extremely well at classifying known causes of adverse reactions (AUC 0.92). A cross validation scheme in which 10% of drug-adverse reaction edges were systematically deleted per fold showed that the method correctly predicts 68% of the deleted edges on average. Next, a subset of adverse reactions that could be reliably detected in anonymised electronic health records from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust were used to validate predictions from the model that are not currently known in public databases. High-confidence predictions were validated in electronic records significantly more frequently than random models, and outperformed standard methods (logistic regression, decision trees and support vector machines). This approach has the potential to improve patient safety by predicting adverse reactions that were not observed during randomised trials

The Co-Operonic PE25/PPE41 Protein Complex of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Elicits Increased Humoral and Cell Mediated Immune Response

BACKGROUND: Many of the PE/PPE proteins are either surface localized or secreted outside and are thought to be a source of antigenic variation in the host. The exact role of these proteins are still elusive. We previously reported that the PPE41 protein induces high B cell response in TB patients. The PE/PPE genes are not randomly distributed in the genome but are organized as operons and the operon containing PE25 and PPE41 genes co-transcribe and their products interact with each other. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: We now describe the antigenic properties of the PE25, PPE41 and PE25/PPE41 protein complex coded by a single operon. The PPE41 and PE25/PPE41 protein complex induces significant (p<0.0001) B cell response in sera derived from TB patients and in mouse model as compared to the PE25 protein. Further, mice immunized with the PE25/PPE41 complex and PPE41 proteins showed significant (p<0.00001) proliferation of splenocyte as compared to the mice immunized with the PE25 protein and saline. Flow cytometric analysis showed 15-22% enhancement of CD8+ and CD4+ T cell populations when immunized with the PPE41 or PE25/PPE41 complex as compared to a marginal increase (8-10%) in the mice immunized with the PE25 protein. The PPE41 and PE25/PPE41 complex can also induce higher levels of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and IL-2 cytokines. CONCLUSION: While this study documents the differential immunological response to the complex of PE and PPE vis-à-vis the individual proteins, it also highlights their potential as a candidate vaccine against tuberculosis