Implementation of the submarine diving simulation in a distributed environment

ABSTRACTTo implement a combined discrete event and discrete time simulation such as submarine diving simulation in a distributed environment, e.g., in the High Level Architecture (HLA)/Run-Time Infrastructure (RTI), a HLA interface, which can easily connect combined models with the HLA/RTI, was developed in this study. To verify the function and performance of the HLA interface, it was applied to the submarine dive scenario in a distributed environment, and the distributed simulation shows the same results as the stand-alone simulation. Finally, by adding a visualization model to the simulation and by editing this model, we can confirm that the HLA interface can provide user-friendly functions such as adding new model and editing a model

Automatic generation of equations of motion for multibody system in discrete event simulation framework

AbstractIn this paper, the development of a simulation program that can automatically generate equations of motion for mutibody systems in the discrete event simulation framework is presented. The need to analyze the dynamic response of mechanical systems that are under event triggered conditions is increasing. General mechanical systems can be defined as multibody systems that are collections of interconnected rigid bodies, consistent with various types of joints that limit the relative motion of pairs of bodies. For complex multibody systems, a systematic approach is required to efficiently set up the mathematical models. Therefore, a dynamics kernel was developed to automatically generate the equations of motion for multibody systems based on multibody dynamics. The developed dynamics kernel also provides the numerical solver for the dynamic analysis of multibody systems. The general multibody dynamics kernel cannot deal with discontinuous state variables, event triggered conditions, and state triggered conditions, though. To enable it to deal with multibody systems in discontinuous environments, the multibody dynamics kernel was integrated into a discrete event simulation framework, which was developed based on the discrete event system specification (DEVS) formalism. DEVS formalism is a modular and hierarchical formalism for modeling and analyzing systems under event triggered conditions, which are described by discontinuous state variables. To verify the developed program, it was applied to an block-lifting and transport simulation, and dynamic analysis of the system is carried out

The Correlation Between Electrodiagnostic Results and Ultrasonographic Findings in the Severity of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome in Females

Objective: To determine which ultrasonographic measurement can be used as an indicator reflecting the severity of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), by comparing electrodiagnostic results with ultrasonographic measurements in females. Many previous studies have tried to reveal that the ultrasonography (US) can possibility be used for diagnosis and severity of CTS. However, the criteria are different by gender. Thus far, there have been many efforts towards providing patients with a CTS diagnosis and severity prediction using US, but studies’ results are still unclear due to lack of data on gender differences. Methods: We collected data from 54 female patients. We classified the severity of CTS according to electrodiagnostic results. Ultrasonographic measurements included proximal and distal cross-sectional areas of the median nerve and carpal tunnel. Results: The severity by electrodiagnostic results statistically correlated to the proximal cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve and carpal tunnel. However, there was no relationship between the proximal and distal nerve/tunnel indexes and the severity by electrodiagnostic results. Conclusion: In female patients with CTS, the proximal CSAs of the median nerve and carpal tunnel increase. They correlate with the severity by electrodiagnostic findings. The CSA of the proximal median nerve could be particularly used as a predictor of the severity of CTS in female patients. However, the nerve/tunnel index is constant, irrespective of the severity of CTS

Protective Effect of the Fruit Hull of Gleditsia sinensis on LPS-Induced Acute Lung Injury Is Associated with Nrf2 Activation

The fruit hull of Gleditsia sinensis (FGS) has been prescribed as a traditional eastern Asian medicinal remedy for the treatment of various respiratory diseases, but the efficacy and underlying mechanisms remain poorly characterized. Here, we explored a potential usage of FGS for the treatment of acute lung injury (ALI), a highly fatal inflammatory lung disease that urgently needs effective therapeutics, and investigated a mechanism for the anti-inflammatory activity of FGS. Pretreatment of C57BL/6 mice with FGS significantly attenuated LPS-induced neutrophilic lung inflammation compared to sham-treated, inflamed mice. Reporter assays, semiquantitative RT-PCR, and Western blot analyses show that while not affecting NF-κB, FGS activated Nrf2 and expressed Nrf2-regulated genes including GCLC, NQO-1, and HO-1 in RAW 264.7 cells. Furthermore, pretreatment of mice with FGS enhanced the expression of GCLC and HO-1 but suppressed that of proinflammatory cytokines in including TNF-α and IL-1β in the inflamed lungs. These results suggest that FGS effectively suppresses neutrophilic lung inflammation, which can be associated with, at least in part, FGS-activating anti-inflammatory factor Nrf2. Our results suggest that FGS can be developed as a therapeutic option for the treatment of ALI

The marketing of herd health and production management services on Dutch dairy farms: perceptions of dairy farmers and their veterinary surgeons

A questionnaire-based survey on veterinary herd health and production management services was conducted on 194 specialist dairy veterinarians and 466 dairy farmers. The farmers were randomly selected from greater than 6,000 farmer clients of the surveyed veterinarians. This paper reports these survey findings and the findings of an earlier survey conducted among the veterinarians. The survey included questions on the attributes of the service itself, the practitioners delivering the service, reasons for participation and the expected future of herd health and production management services. Reasons farmers participated in herd health and production management programmes included; access to routine screening of their herd; increasing profits; and receiving regular veterinary advice or solutions to remedy existing problems. Advantages of participation named included: good management support; higher profits; structural solutions to problems; and being better informed. Differences between farming styles were observed, pointing to the different needs and goals of farming styles. Farmers cited high costs and the time investment required as major disadvantages. The proportion of farmers citing these reasons was lower than expected by the veterinarians. In the future, preventive healthcare will be the main reason of farmers to participate. Farmers who are not using the service can potentially be encouraged to engage the services after gaining increased insight into the herd health and management service structure, the planning of activities, the cost-benefit of the service, veterinary surgeons being more co-operative with other farm advisors and veterinarians being more willing to pay attention to quality issues on the dairy farm

Improved Gastrointestinal Symptoms and Quality of Life after Conversion from Mycophenolate Mofetil to Enteric-Coated Mycophenolate Sodium in Renal Transplant Patients Receiving Tacrolimus

It is reported that a conversion from mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) to enteric-coated mycophenolate sodium (EC-MPS) relieves gastrointestinal (GI) symptom burden and improves health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, it is unclear whether renal transplant recipients using tacrolimus receive the same benefit from the conversion. In this prospective, multi-center, open-label trial, patients were categorized into two groups by their GI symptom screening. Equimolar EC-MPS (n=175) was prescribed for patients with GI burdens; those with no complaints remained on MMF (n=83). Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) and Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI) were evaluated at baseline and after one month. Patients and physicians completed Overall Treatment Effect (OTE) at one month. EC-MPS-converted patients had worse GSRS and GIQLI scores at baseline than MMF-continued patients (all P<0.001). Significant improvements in GSRS and GIQLI scores were observed for EC-MPS-converted patients at one month, but MMF-continued patients showed worsened GSRS scores (all P<0.05). OTE scale indicated that EC-MPS patients improved in overall GI symptoms and HRQoL more than MMF patients did (P<0.001). In tacrolimus-treated renal transplant recipients with GI burdens, a conversion from MMF to EC-MPS improves GI-related symptoms and HRQoL

Damage signature of fatigued fabric reinforced plastics in the pulsed ultrasonic polar scan

This study investigates the use of both the amplitude and time-of-flight based pulsed ultrasonic polar scan (P-UPS) for the nondestructive detection and evaluation of fatigue damage in fiber reinforced composites. Several thermoplastic carbon fabric reinforced PPS specimens (CETEX), loaded under various fatigue conditions, have been scanned at multiple material spots according to the P-UPS technique in order to extract material degradation in a quantitative way. The P-UPS results indicate that shear dominated fatigued carbon/PPS goes with a reduction of shear properties combined with large fiber distortions. The P-UPS results of the tension-tension fatigued carbon/PPS samples on the other hand reveal a directional degradation of the stiffness properties, reaching a maximum reduction of -12.8% along the loading direction. The P-UPS extracted damage characteristics are fully supported by simulations, conventional destructive tests as well as visual inspection. The results demonstrate the excellent capability of the P-UPS method for nondestructively assessing and quantifying both shear-dominated and tension-tension fatigue damage in fabric reinforced plastics

Treatment of mastitis during lactation

Treatment of mastitis should be based on bacteriological diagnosis and take national and international guidelines on prudent use of antimicrobials into account. In acute mastitis, where bacteriological diagnosis is not available, treatment should be initiated based on herd data and personal experience. Rapid bacteriological diagnosis would facilitate the proper selection of the antimicrobial. Treating subclinical mastitis with antimicrobials during lactation is seldom economical, because of high treatment costs and generally poor efficacy. All mastitis treatment should be evidence-based, i.e., the efficacy of each product and treatment length should be demonstrated by scientific studies. Use of on-farm written protocols for mastitis treatment promotes a judicious use of antimicrobials and reduces the use of antimicrobials