Discrete element modelling of high aspect ratio sphero-cylinder particle packing

This paper presents Discrete Element Model simulations of packing of rigid sphero-cylinders. The method has been used before but this study considers higher aspect ratios, up to 30. This posed some modelling challenges in terms of stability which were overcome by imposing limits on the particle motion. The results show very good agreement with experimental data in the literature and more detailed in-house experiments for packing volume fraction. Model results on particle orientation are also shown. The model has the potential for predicting packing of fibrous particles and fibre bundles relevant to the preparation of preforms for the production of polymer and metallic matrix composites. Future model developments will include adding flexibility by connecting sphero-cylinders as subelements to describe a particle

Diurnal rhythm of plasma EPA and DHA in healthy adults

Knowledge of the diurnal variation in circulating omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) may be an important consideration for the development of dosing protocols designed to optimise tissue delivery of these fatty acids. The objective of the current study was to examine the variation in plasma concentrations of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) over a 24-h period in healthy adults under eating and sleeping conditions generally approximate to a free-living environment. Twenty-one healthy participants aged 25–44 years took part in a single laboratory visit encompassing an overnight stay. EPA and DHA were measured in plasma samples collected every two hours from 22:00 until 22:00 the following day, with all meals being provided at conventional times. Cosinor analysis was used to estimate the diurnal variation in each fatty acid from pooled data across all participants. A significant diurnal variation in the pooled plasma concentrations of both fatty acids was detected. However, evidence of distinct rhythmicity was strongest for DHA. The timing of the peak concentration of DHA was 17:43 with a corresponding nadir at 05:43. In comparison, the observed acrophase for EPA was delayed by three hours, occurring at 20:41, with a nadir at 08:41. This is the first time that the diurnal variation in these important bioactive fatty acids has been described in a sample of healthy adults following a normal pattern of eating and sleeping. In the absence of any dietary intake of EPA and DHA, circulating levels of these fatty acids fall during the overnight period and reach their lowest point in the morning. Consumption of n-3 PUFAs at night time, which counteracts this pattern, may have functional significance

Identifying the Role of Occupational Therapy in the Pediatric Palliative Care Team for Pediatric Cancer Patients

What is the role of occupational therapy in providing effective intervention during palliative care for pediatric cancer patients and their families during the transition to the end of life

Aligned Across Difference: Structural Injustice, Sex Work, and Human Trafficking

Feminist scholars and activists engage in meaningful, contentious debates about the relationships among sex, gender, power, and society. One of the most recent iterations of these arguments reinscribes the pleasure of sex positivity and danger of patriarchal exploitation onto new subjects: sex work and human trafficking. This paper brings together two separate empirically based research projects, one working with sex workers and the other working with members of the anti-trafficking community. As scholars working across these topics, we provide new normative propositions that may bridge these different approaches to resilience, survival, danger, and risk. We find that the real threat identified by our participants was the wide reach of the carceral state onto migrating, working, and trafficked bodies. Our projects find unexpected commonality in shared perceptions of pleasure, agency, and danger among sex workers, human trafficking survivors, and service providers working with trafficked persons. Current debates ignore the lived experiences of our participants, who attempt to find pleasure in context-specific agency and survival, and who locate danger in the looming forces of the security state, criminality, and structural inequalities

Resolved Imaging of the HR 8799 Debris Disk with Herschel

We present Herschel far-infrared and submillimeter maps of the debris disk associated with the HR 8799 planetary system. We resolve the outer disk emission at 70, 100, 160 and 250 um and detect the disk at 350 and 500 um. A smooth model explains the observed disk emission well. We observe no obvious clumps or asymmetries associated with the trapping of planetesimals that is a potential consequence of planetary migration in the system. We estimate that the disk eccentricity must be <0.1. As in previous work by Su et al. (2009), we find a disk with three components: a warm inner component and two outer components, a planetesimal belt extending from 100 - 310 AU, with some flexibility (+/- 10 AU) on the inner edge, and the external halo which extends to ~2000 AU. We measure the disk inclination to be 26 +/- 3 deg from face-on at a position angle of 64 deg E of N, establishing that the disk is coplanar with the star and planets. The SED of the disk is well fit by blackbody grains whose semi-major axes lie within the planetesimal belt, suggesting an absence of small grains. The wavelength at which the spectrum steepens from blackbody, 47 +/- 30 um, however, is short compared to other A star debris disks, suggesting that there are atypically small grains likely populating the halo. The PACS longer wavelength data yield a lower disk color temperature than do MIPS data (24 and 70 um), implying two distinct halo dust grain populations.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures (6 color), accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Application of emerging sequencing and genomic technologies to diagnostic molecular genetics.

The advent of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) has provided much broader opportunities in the field of molecular genomics. Previously, sequencing approaches were limited to a small number of single genes or exons. MPS has enabled assessment of hundreds or thousands of genes associated with a particular phenotype simultaneously, providing the clinical scientist with more information than ever before. This thesis examines the processes and challenges of introducing whole exome sequencing (WES) technologies into a clinical laboratory in three families, each with a distinct segregation pattern of an undiagnosed clinical condition. The challenges associated with the sequencing, analysis and interpretation of sequence variants, as well as elucidating mechanism(s) of pathogenicity of detected variants, were the focus of this thesis. One family with five male siblings affected with intellectual disability were initially investigated for a suspected X-linked disorder. Although candidate variants were identified, the results did not ultimately detect any clearly pathogenic variants or therefore a diagnosis. In a second family, a single affected daughter presented with an undefined ageing disorder. We identified a novel de novo X-chromosome variant in the gene BCL-6 co-repressor (BCOR), a G to A transition at c.3907G (p.Gly1303Ser). Although functional studies were not performed and definitive pathogenicity was not established during the course of this work, the BCOR variant was considered a strong candidate for this phenotype. Skewed X-chromosome inactivation was identified in this individual which is suggestive of an X-linked disorder, further supporting the role of BCOR dysfunction in her symptoms. The bulk of this thesis then focused on the analysis of a third pedigree in which four children have acute alcohol sensitivity and pronounced cardiac fibrosis, two of whom died suddenly. Exome sequencing revealed compounding mutations in the PPA2 gene, inherited recessively in all four children. PPA2 had not been previously associated with human disease, however, the enzyme encoded by PPA2 localises to the mitochondria, which implicated this enzyme in this family's disorder. In silico algorithms supported a damaging effect of both variants upon the protein, and early functional experiments in yeast and zebrafish were suggestive that PPA2 was important in cardiac function. This finding led to the identification of three additional families with PPA2 mutations in collaboration with laboratories in Germany and Austria. The phenotype of affected individuals in the European families was more severe resulting in infantile death, whereas the NZ family experienced death in the second decade of life following ethanol exposure. This work has established PPA2 as a new cardiac disease gene, and ended a diagnosis odyssey for a NZ family. It has also instigated an ongoing investigation into the mechanism of PPA2-associated disease. Exome sequencing in these three families has highlighted both the power of MPS to provide a diagnosis, and the challenges associated with analysing such complex data. In particular, the work has established a pipeline for the clinical laboratory which will need an associated laboratory for extensive follow-up functional analysis of candidate variants where a clinically significant impact has not previously been proved

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a current problem that health professionals, such as pharmacists, should be aware of. This poster was created as a group project by pre-pharmacy majors and exhibited to faculty and graduate pharmacy students. The primary purpose of the project was to learn about human trafficking as a public health concern, increase awareness, and search for ways to reduce the problem. The poster highlights the different forms of human trafficking and what determinants of health apply to this problem. It also seeks to show how human trafficking relates to the pharmacy profession.https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/public_health_posters/1023/thumbnail.jp