An Analytical Study of Weakly Nonlinear Dynamics of a Walters'' Liquid B around a Flexible Sheet undergoing Super Linear Stretching

The paper discusses the boundary layer flow of Walters'' liquid B over a stretching sheet. The stretching is assumed to be a quadratic function of the coordinate along the direction of stretching. The study encompasses within its realm both Walters'' liquid B and second order liquid. The velocity distribution is obtained by solving the nonlinear governing differential equation. Analytical expressions are obtained for stream function and velocity components as functions of the viscoelastic and stretching related parameters. It is shown that the viscoelasticity goes hand in hand with quadratic stretching in enhancing the lifting of the liquid as we go along the sheet

Improved model predictive control for three-phase inverter with output LC filter

International audienceThe control of inverters with output LC filter has a special importance in applications where a high quality voltage is needed. However, the controller design becomes more difficult. A model predictive control (MPC) is used for voltage control of a three-phase inverter with output LC filter. The controller uses a model of the system to predict the behaviour of the variables for a given voltage vector sequence until a certain horizon of time, then a cost function is used as a criterion for selecting the switching state that will be applied during the next sampling interval. This paper presents the effect of considering different number of prediction steps in terms of THD and the number of cycles or the settling time to reach steady state operation. The simulation results for MPC with only one prediction step and the improved MPC with two prediction steps are presented and compared, under linear and nonlinear loads, using MATLAB/Simulink tools. The simulation results show that the improved MPC improves the THD for nonlinear loads and make it constant for different resistive loads. Moreover, the settling time can be considered constant for various linear and nonlinear loads

Gene-gene Interaction Analyses for Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a heritable disease that affects more than thirty million individuals worldwide. Extensive efforts have been devoted to the study of genetic determinants of AF. The objective of our study is to examine the effect of gene-gene interaction on AF susceptibility. We performed a large-scale association analysis of gene-gene interactions with AF in 8,173 AF cases, and 65,237 AF-free referents collected from 15 studies for discovery. We examined putative interactions between genome-wide SNPs and 17 known AF-related SNPs. The top interactions were then tested for association in a

Genetic Interactions with Age, Sex, Body Mass Index, and Hypertension in Relation to Atrial Fibrillation: The AFGen Consortium

It is unclear whether genetic markers interact with risk factors to influence atrial fibrillation (AF) risk. We performed genome-wide interaction analyses between genetic variants and age, sex, hypertension, and body mass index in the AFGen Consortium. Study-specific results were combined using meta-analysis (88,383 individuals of European descent, including 7,292 with AF). Variants with nominal interaction associations in the discovery analysis were tested for association in four independent studies (131,441 individuals, including 5,722 with AF). In the discovery analysis, the AF risk associated with the minor rs6817105 allele (at the PITX2 locus) was greater among subjects ≤ 65 years of age than among those > 65 years (interaction p-value = 4.0 × 10-5). The interaction p-value exceeded genome-wide significance in combined discovery and replication analyses (interaction p-value = 1.7 × 10-8). We observed one genome-wide significant interaction with body mass index and several suggestive interactions with age, sex, and body mass index in the discovery analysis. However, none was replicated in the independent sample. Our findings suggest that the pathogenesis of AF may differ according to age in individuals of European descent, but we did not observe evidence of statistically significant genetic interactions with sex, body mass index, or hypertension on AF risk

Fifteen Genetic Loci Associated with the Electrocardiographic P Wave

The P wave on an ECG is a measure of atrial electric function, and its characteristics may serve as predictors for atrial arrhythmias. Increased mean P-wave duration and P-wave terminal force traditionally have been used as markers for left atrial enlargement, and both have been associated with increased risk of atrial fibrillation. Here, we explore the genetic basis of P-wave morphology through meta-analysis of genome-wide association study results for P-wave duration and P-wave terminal force from 12 cohort studies. Methods and Results - We included 44 456 individuals, of which 6778 (16%) were of African ancestry. Genotyping, imputation, and genome-wide association study were performed at each study site. Summary-level results were meta-analyzed centrally using inverse-variance weighting. In meta-analyses of P-wave duration, we identified 6 significant (P<5×10-8) novel loci and replicated a prior association with SCN10A. We identified 3 loci at SCN5A, TBX5, and CAV1/CAV2 that were jointly associated with the PR interval, PR segment, and P-wave duration. We identified 6 novel loci in meta-analysis of P-wave terminal force. Four of the identified genetic loci were significantly associated with gene expression in 329 left atrial samples. Finally, we observed that some of the loci associated with the P wave were linked to overall atrial conduction, whereas others identified distinct phases of atrial conduction. Conclusions - We have identified 6 novel genetic loci associated with P-wave duration and 6 novel loci associated with P-wave terminal force. Future studies of these loci may aid in identifying new targets for drugs that may modify atrial conduction or treat atrial arrhythmias

The Cholecystectomy As A Day Case (CAAD) Score: A Validated Score of Preoperative Predictors of Successful Day-Case Cholecystectomy Using the CholeS Data Set

Background Day-case surgery is associated with significant patient and cost benefits. However, only 43% of cholecystectomy patients are discharged home the same day. One hypothesis is day-case cholecystectomy rates, defined as patients discharged the same day as their operation, may be improved by better assessment of patients using standard preoperative variables. Methods Data were extracted from a prospectively collected data set of cholecystectomy patients from 166 UK and Irish hospitals (CholeS). Cholecystectomies performed as elective procedures were divided into main (75%) and validation (25%) data sets. Preoperative predictors were identified, and a risk score of failed day case was devised using multivariate logistic regression. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to validate the score in the validation data set. Results Of the 7426 elective cholecystectomies performed, 49% of these were discharged home the same day. Same-day discharge following cholecystectomy was less likely with older patients (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), higher ASA scores (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.15–0.23), complicated cholelithiasis (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.48), male gender (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58–0.74), previous acute gallstone-related admissions (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.48–0.60) and preoperative endoscopic intervention (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.34–0.47). The CAAD score was developed using these variables. When applied to the validation subgroup, a CAAD score of ≤5 was associated with 80.8% successful day-case cholecystectomy compared with 19.2% associated with a CAAD score >5 (p < 0.001). Conclusions The CAAD score which utilises data readily available from clinic letters and electronic sources can predict same-day discharges following cholecystectomy

Upgrading of coker distillate under variable hydrotreating operating conditions

Studies on hydrotreating coker distillates, produced from a delayed coker unit were done using a commercially available CoMo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst, on which 0.2 wt% P2O5 was added in order to improve its characteristics. The experimental studies were conducted in a fixed-bed continuous-reactor (cata-test unit) at temperatures (300–400 °C) and total hydrogen pressure (40–65 bar). These conditions have affected the feedstock characteristics and great reduction of sulfur, aromatics and boiling ranges. Other improvements were obtained in diesel index (DI) due to hydrogenation reaction of aromatics and desulfurization of its sulfur contents

CFD analysis of flow fields for shrouded wind turbine’s diffuser model with different flange angles

The present study shows a development and analysis of 2-D axisymmetric CFD model of flanged diffuser that was used as a casing for developed small wind turbines to increase the generated power. The 2-D CFD diffuser model grids are developed by GAMBIT, while the flow field analysis has been carried out using commercial software FLUENT. This study focuses on the effect of flange’s angles as a varied parameter on velocity at diffuser entrance. All models have the same dimensions in diffuser length, entrance diameter, exit diameter and flange height but differ in flange angle. Flange angles of these tested models vary from −25° to +25°, where flange angles were measured to vertical axis. Present model verification indicates a good agreement between present numerical work and previous published experimental work. The numerical simulation shows the created vortices behind flange that cause pressure drop which increases mass flow rate through the diffuser. The results indicate also that the right flange angle at 15° is the optimum angle that accelerates flow at diffuser entrance. The increase of velocity at this optimum flange angles is higher than the case of normal angle, where the expected increase in the generated power by wind turbine can reach 5% more compared with normal flange

Performance improvement of power plants using absorption cooling system

In the present paper, an integration of a (Lithium Bromide–Water) absorption inlet air cooling scheme to a cooled gas turbine-based combined cycle was analyzed. The waste heat energy of the exhaust gas prior to the exit of the waste heat recovery steam generator was chosen to power the cooling system. Nubaria Power Station, 120 km South East of Alexandria has been selected as a reference plant for the present study. It includes 3 generation modules, each including 2 * 250 MW gas turbine and 250 MW Steam turbine. A thermodynamic model of the overall integrated scheme of the cooling and power cycles is introduced. A parametric study of the effect of different operational conditions, namely; ambient temperature, relative humidity, compressor inlet air temperature, and part load on performance parameters was carried out. The model shows an increase of 11% in the produced electricity when the inlet air was cooled from 30 °C to 10 °C, Also, harvesting of condensed fresh water at a rate of 3.5 gm per kg of inlet air at ambient relative humidity of 60%. The model results have been verified by observing the real performance of the plant at various ambient conditions to ensure the accuracy of the model predictions. Keywords: Absorption, Inlet air cooling, Combined cycle modeling, Waste heat recover