Distributed Sensing and System Identification of Cantilever Beams and Plates in the Presence of Weak Nonlinearities

While the mathematical foundation for modal analysis of continuous systems has long been established, flexible structures have become increasingly widespread and developing tools for understanding their mechanics has become increasingly important. Cantilever beams and plates, in particular, have been extensively studied due to their practical importance as approximations of more complex structures. The focus of this thesis is on understanding the dynamics of vibrating cantilever beams and plates through analytical and experimental investigation. Various models for the mechanics of these structures, of varying physical fidelity, are described and compared. A fiber optic sensing system is utilized to experimentally acquire distributed strain measurements, which are used to estimate the mode shapes and natural frequencies for the cantilever structures. These experimental estimates are compared with analytical and numerical solutions corresponding to the models previously introduced. Next, a detailed case study is described which demonstrates the nonlinear response in a cantilever beam\u27s first mode and implements an empirical procedure for estimating a variable parameter model which accounts for its varying system parameters. By implementing the described identification methods, parameter variations due to a system\u27s nonlinear response are included in a modified linear model and significantly reduce the errors in predicted response. Based on this research, methods to experimentally estimate and validate the mode shapes and system parameters can be implemented for other beam- and plate-like structures

Overview of Game and Content Design for a Mobile Game that Will Prepare Students in Calculus and Physics Prerequisites to the Engineering Curriculum

As part of a research project which assists veterans as they exit the military, complete engineering degrees, and enter the workforce as engineering professionals, a range of serious games for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is under development. The current focus of this development is CAPTIVATE, a serious game to assist student veterans in mastering the calculus and physics skills that are necessary prerequisites to the main engineering curriculum. Building on the development and lessons learned from MAVEN, a game developed previously to help student veterans master precalculus skills, the design and initial implementation for CAPTIVATE involves careful consideration regarding game and instructional design. Many of the positive aspects from the design of MAVEN will be implemented in CAPTIVATE. First, the overall framework developed for MAVEN will be reused in CAPTIVATE. This modular framework involves both a model and process that combine game, instructional, and software design in a way that supports adaptability throughout the design and development cycle. Additionally by embedding concepts in game play similar to well-known board games such as Battleship, computer games such as Minesweeper, and console or mobile games such as Guitar Hero, students will use their calculus and physics skills to complete tasks in a familiar environment. In addition, the game itself will consist of a series of sub-games each focusing on a topic that students traditionally struggle to understand. Furthermore, students will be offered access to learning resources and assessed regularly as they progress through the game. CAPTIVATE will also overcome some shortcomings from the previous development. While MAVEN was developed for desktop deployment, CAPTIVATE is targeted for deployment on a variety of mobile device including Apple and Android phones and tablets to engage students in interactive games that support their endeavor to build a solid foundation in mathematics and science topics. Additionally by creating games that are short and easily accessible, students will be able to engage with the material at a time and place convenient for them. The development of CAPTIVATE supports student veterans as they transition from the military to engineering degree programs and helps to accelerate them through their STEM prerequisite courses

Prospectus, November 3, 2010

CHAMPAIGN-URBANA RANKS TOP 5 IN COLLEGE DESTINATIONS INDEX; Interested, but not smothering: Student-Parent relationships are continuing on in college; Chuck Shepherd\u27s News of the Weird; Human Pandora, Part 2: Death Cab Cor Cutie; Why you should tune in to PCTV, Autumn Learning Opportunities: Non-credit classes at Parkland; The Illinois Traction Society; Can Republicans rescind \u27Obamacare\u27?; Voters, beware a bum\u27s rush; DIY or DIE: Reconstructing Clothes; Public Symposium on Digital Technology in Champaign-Urbana; Prospectus Pick: MTV\u27s Daria; Quidditch dies off the page and onto campus fields; PCTV Broadcast Schedule: Novemberhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2010/1028/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, September 29, 2010

PYGMALION MUSIC FESTIVAL TAKES OVER C-U; Chuck Shepherd’s News of the Weird; Pygmalion Music Festival, until we meet again..; 45 Seconds with Fang Island; A chat with Pygmalion Music Festival founder Seth Fein; Interview with So Long Forgotten; Current competition among Internet companies is best path for consumers; The media as enabler; Pygmalion highlights in review; A Surgeon’s Wingman: Surgical Technicians; Meet Parkland’s President, Dr. Tom Ramage; Prospectus Pick: Scott Pilgrim; Odessa: interview with Dan Snaith of Caribou; Cobras Volleyball shines during home invitational; A word with Mike Kinsella of Owenhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2010/1023/thumbnail.jp

Prospectus, November 10, 2010

CAMPUS TECH TO TACKLE BANDWIDTH ISSUE; Snow Day Woes: What to do when mother nature forbids going out; Chuck Shepherd\u27s News of the Weird; Human Pandora Pt. 3: Arcade Fire; World of Science lectures peak the interest of many; Lenville Stelle: A Rare Find at Parkland College; Greyhounds: Racing to the grave; No free rides\u27 for athletes; Do you mind if the FBI tracks your online habits?; Healthy Mind, Healthy Body Image: How a positive view of your body can lift your self-confidence; Virtual Embodiment: Tom Boellstorff discusses placing the virtual body; New from Cee Lo Green and Kid Cudi; Prepare to Access Success ; The Beginning of the Endhttps://spark.parkland.edu/prospectus_2010/1029/thumbnail.jp

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Multiorgan MRI findings after hospitalisation with COVID-19 in the UK (C-MORE): a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study

Introduction: The multiorgan impact of moderate to severe coronavirus infections in the post-acute phase is still poorly understood. We aimed to evaluate the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities after hospitalisation with COVID-19, evaluate their determinants, and explore associations with patient-related outcome measures. Methods: In a prospective, UK-wide, multicentre MRI follow-up study (C-MORE), adults (aged ≥18 years) discharged from hospital following COVID-19 who were included in Tier 2 of the Post-hospitalisation COVID-19 study (PHOSP-COVID) and contemporary controls with no evidence of previous COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antibody negative) underwent multiorgan MRI (lungs, heart, brain, liver, and kidneys) with quantitative and qualitative assessment of images and clinical adjudication when relevant. Individuals with end-stage renal failure or contraindications to MRI were excluded. Participants also underwent detailed recording of symptoms, and physiological and biochemical tests. The primary outcome was the excess burden of multiorgan abnormalities (two or more organs) relative to controls, with further adjustments for potential confounders. The C-MORE study is ongoing and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04510025. Findings: Of 2710 participants in Tier 2 of PHOSP-COVID, 531 were recruited across 13 UK-wide C-MORE sites. After exclusions, 259 C-MORE patients (mean age 57 years [SD 12]; 158 [61%] male and 101 [39%] female) who were discharged from hospital with PCR-confirmed or clinically diagnosed COVID-19 between March 1, 2020, and Nov 1, 2021, and 52 non-COVID-19 controls from the community (mean age 49 years [SD 14]; 30 [58%] male and 22 [42%] female) were included in the analysis. Patients were assessed at a median of 5·0 months (IQR 4·2–6·3) after hospital discharge. Compared with non-COVID-19 controls, patients were older, living with more obesity, and had more comorbidities. Multiorgan abnormalities on MRI were more frequent in patients than in controls (157 [61%] of 259 vs 14 [27%] of 52; p<0·0001) and independently associated with COVID-19 status (odds ratio [OR] 2·9 [95% CI 1·5–5·8]; padjusted=0·0023) after adjusting for relevant confounders. Compared with controls, patients were more likely to have MRI evidence of lung abnormalities (p=0·0001; parenchymal abnormalities), brain abnormalities (p<0·0001; more white matter hyperintensities and regional brain volume reduction), and kidney abnormalities (p=0·014; lower medullary T1 and loss of corticomedullary differentiation), whereas cardiac and liver MRI abnormalities were similar between patients and controls. Patients with multiorgan abnormalities were older (difference in mean age 7 years [95% CI 4–10]; mean age of 59·8 years [SD 11·7] with multiorgan abnormalities vs mean age of 52·8 years [11·9] without multiorgan abnormalities; p<0·0001), more likely to have three or more comorbidities (OR 2·47 [1·32–4·82]; padjusted=0·0059), and more likely to have a more severe acute infection (acute CRP >5mg/L, OR 3·55 [1·23–11·88]; padjusted=0·025) than those without multiorgan abnormalities. Presence of lung MRI abnormalities was associated with a two-fold higher risk of chest tightness, and multiorgan MRI abnormalities were associated with severe and very severe persistent physical and mental health impairment (PHOSP-COVID symptom clusters) after hospitalisation. Interpretation: After hospitalisation for COVID-19, people are at risk of multiorgan abnormalities in the medium term. Our findings emphasise the need for proactive multidisciplinary care pathways, with the potential for imaging to guide surveillance frequency and therapeutic stratification

One thousand plant transcriptomes and the phylogenomics of green plants

Abstract: Green plants (Viridiplantae) include around 450,000–500,000 species1, 2 of great diversity and have important roles in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Here, as part of the One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes Initiative, we sequenced the vegetative transcriptomes of 1,124 species that span the diversity of plants in a broad sense (Archaeplastida), including green plants (Viridiplantae), glaucophytes (Glaucophyta) and red algae (Rhodophyta). Our analysis provides a robust phylogenomic framework for examining the evolution of green plants. Most inferred species relationships are well supported across multiple species tree and supermatrix analyses, but discordance among plastid and nuclear gene trees at a few important nodes highlights the complexity of plant genome evolution, including polyploidy, periods of rapid speciation, and extinction. Incomplete sorting of ancestral variation, polyploidization and massive expansions of gene families punctuate the evolutionary history of green plants. Notably, we find that large expansions of gene families preceded the origins of green plants, land plants and vascular plants, whereas whole-genome duplications are inferred to have occurred repeatedly throughout the evolution of flowering plants and ferns. The increasing availability of high-quality plant genome sequences and advances in functional genomics are enabling research on genome evolution across the green tree of life

Genomic reconstruction of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in England

AbstractThe evolution of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus leads to new variants that warrant timely epidemiological characterization. Here we use the dense genomic surveillance data generated by the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium to reconstruct the dynamics of 71 different lineages in each of 315 English local authorities between September 2020 and June 2021. This analysis reveals a series of subepidemics that peaked in early autumn 2020, followed by a jump in transmissibility of the B.1.1.7/Alpha lineage. The Alpha variant grew when other lineages declined during the second national lockdown and regionally tiered restrictions between November and December 2020. A third more stringent national lockdown suppressed the Alpha variant and eliminated nearly all other lineages in early 2021. Yet a series of variants (most of which contained the spike E484K mutation) defied these trends and persisted at moderately increasing proportions. However, by accounting for sustained introductions, we found that the transmissibility of these variants is unlikely to have exceeded the transmissibility of the Alpha variant. Finally, B.1.617.2/Delta was repeatedly introduced in England and grew rapidly in early summer 2021, constituting approximately 98% of sampled SARS-CoV-2 genomes on 26 June 2021.</jats:p