70 research outputs found
Alternative Energy Sources for MoDOT
This research investigates environmentally friendly alternative energy sources that could be used by MoDOT in various areas, and develops applicable and sustainable strategies to implement those energy sources
Alternative Energy Resources for the Missouri Department of Transportation
This research investigates environmentally friendly alternative energy sources that could be used by MoDOT in various areas, and develops applicable and sustainable strategies to implement those energy sources
Vitamin D and critical illness:what endocrinology can learn from intensive care and vice versa.
The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in intensive care units ranges typically between 40 and 70%. There are many reasons for being or becoming deficient in the ICU. Hepatic, parathyroid and renal dysfunction additionally increases the risk for developing vitamin D deficiency. Moreover, therapeutic interventions like fluid resuscitation, dialysis, surgery, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, cardiopulmonary bypass and plasma exchange may significantly reduce vitamin D levels. Many observational studies have consistently shown an association between low vitamin D levels and poor clinical outcomes in critically ill adults and children, including excess mortality and morbidity such as acute kidney injury, acute respiratory failure, duration of mechanical ventilation and sepsis. It is biologically plausible that vitamin D deficiency is an important and modifiable contributor to poor prognosis during and after critical illness. Although vitamin D supplementation is inexpensive, simple and has an excellent safety profile, testing for and treating vitamin D deficiency is currently not routinely performed. Overall, less than 800 patients have been included in RCTs worldwide, but the available data suggest that high-dose vitamin D supplementation could be beneficial. Two large RCTs in Europe and the United States, together aiming to recruit >5000 patients, have started in 2017, and will greatly improve our knowledge in this field. This review aims to summarize current knowledge in this interdisciplinary topic and give an outlook on its highly dynamic future
Cardiac outcomes after pregnancy in women with congenital heart disease
Objective: Women with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk for adverse cardiac events during pregnancy; however, the risk of events late after pregnancy (late cardiac events; LCE) has not been well studied. A study was undertaken to examine the frequency and determinants of LCE in a large cohort of women with CHD. Design: Baseline characteristics and pregnancy were prospectively recorded. LCE (\u3e6 months after delivery) were determined by chart review. Survival analysis was used to determine the risk factors for LCE. Setting: A tertiary care referral hospital. Patients: The outcomes of 405 pregnancies were studied (318 women; median follow-up 2.6 years). Main outcome measures: LCE included cardiac death/ arrest, pulmonary oedema, arrhythmia or stroke. Results: LCE occurred after 12% (50/405) of pregnancies. The 5-year rate of LCE was higher in women with adverse cardiac events during pregnancy than in those without (27±9% vs 15±3%, HR 2.2, p=0.02). Women at highest risk for LCE were those with functional limitations/cyanosis (HR 3.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 13.0), subaortic ventricular dysfunction (HR 3.0, 95% CI 1.4 to 6.6), subpulmonary ventricular dysfunction and/or significant pulmonary regurgitation (HR 3.2, 95% CI 1.6 to 6.6), left heart obstruction (HR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 5.2) and cardiac events before or during pregnancy (HR 2.6, 95% CI 1.3 to 4.9). In women with 0, 1 or \u3e1 risk predictors the 5-year rate of LCE was 762%, 2365% and 44610%, respectively (p\u3c0.001). Conclusions: In women with CHD, pre-pregnancy maternal characteristics can help to identify women at increased risk for LCE. Adverse cardiac events during pregnancy are important and are associated with an increased risk of LCE
Quiver Bundles and Wall Crossing for Chains
Holomorphic chains on a Riemann surface arise naturally as fixed points of
the natural C*-action on the moduli space of Higgs bundles. In this paper we
associate a new quiver bundle to the Hom-complex of two chains, and prove that
stability of the chains implies stability of this new quiver bundle. Our
approach uses the Hitchin-Kobayashi correspondence for quiver bundles.
Moreover, we use our result to give a new proof of a key lemma on chains (due
to \'Alvarez-C\'onsul, Garc\'ia-Prada and Schmitt), which has been important in
the study of Higgs bundle moduli; this proof relies on stability and thus
avoids the direct use of the chain vortex equations
Science from an Ultra-Deep, High-Resolution Millimeter-Wave Survey
Opening up a new window of millimeter-wave observations that span frequency
bands in the range of 30 to 500 GHz, survey half the sky, and are both an order
of magnitude deeper (about 0.5 uK-arcmin) and of higher-resolution (about 10
arcseconds) than currently funded surveys would yield an enormous gain in
understanding of both fundamental physics and astrophysics. In particular, such
a survey would allow for major advances in measuring the distribution of dark
matter and gas on small-scales, and yield needed insight on 1.) dark matter
particle properties, 2.) the evolution of gas and galaxies, 3.) new light
particle species, 4.) the epoch of inflation, and 5.) the census of bodies
orbiting in the outer Solar System.Comment: 5 pages + references; Submitted to the Astro2020 call for science
white paper
A Framework of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis for Alternative Energy Strategies
Strategies for implementing alternative energy sources are drawing growing attention as global environmental and other challenges raise concerns over energy consumption. Cost-effectiveness is an important criterion for assessing strategy applicability. Currently, few economic studies have been performed on alternative energy in a systematic approach. Thus, this article establishes a framework for such analysis that summarizes a consensus of anticipated changes resulting from the use of representative alternative energy types and presents an adaptive scheme of cost estimation. Consequently, it is able to provide a basis for systematic cost-effectiveness analysis of alternative strategy research and practice. A case study developed as part of this research project demonstrates the functionality of the framework and shows how it assists engineering managers, policy makers, and investors in asset acquisition, strategy deployment, or operations and maintenance
A Framework of Cost-Effectiveness for Sustainability Strategies
Strategies for implementing alternative energy sources are drawing growing attention as global environmental challenges have raised concerns over energy consumption. Cost-effectiveness is an important criterion for assessing the applicability of a strategy. However, few relevant studies have been performed on alternative energy in a systematic approach. This paper establishes a framework of cost-effectiveness analysis to assess sustainability strategies. The framework summarizes various effects and associated costs of using representative alternative energy sources. On the basis of the framework, this paper specifies guidelines for systematically performing a cost-effectiveness analysis for sustainability strategy research and practice. A case study developed as part of this research project is included in this paper to demonstrate the functionality of the framework
Strategies for Stationary and Portable Fuel Cell Markets
In the future, hydrogen-based stationary and portable fuel cell systems can help supply some or all of the power demanded with additional advantages of higher reliability, lower emissions, independence from the general grid, and cogeneration capability. In order to understand how to prepare the future for this technology, this paper describes a thorough investigation of past alternative stationary and portable power projects in order for an assessment of the opportunities for stationary and portable fuel cell markets, as well as interactions with transportation hydrogen systems. The lessons learned from the programs are used to establish best practices and recommendations for a hydrogen strategy that addresses opportunities for hydrogen in power generation systems, as well as to make recommendations for market transformation within the hydrogen fuel cell industry
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