Separation of upslope flow over a plateau

A laboratory study was conducted in order to gain an understanding of thermal convection in a complex terrain that is characterized by a plateaued mountain. In particular, the separation of upslope (anabatic) flow over a two-dimensional uniform smooth slope, topped by a plateau, was considered. The working fluid was homogeneous water (neutral stratification). The topographic model was immersed in a large water tank with no mean flow. The entire topographic model was uniformly heated, and the width of the plateau, the slope angle, and the heating rate were varied. The upslope velocity field was measured by the Particle Tracking Velocimetry, aided by Feature Tracking Visualizations in order to detect the flow separation location. An analysis of the resulting flow showed a quantitative similarity to separating the upslope flow over steeper slopes, in the absence of a plateau when an effective angle that incorporates the normalized plateau width, the slope length, and the geometric slope angle, was used. Predictions for the dependence of the separation location and velocity on the geometry and heat flux were presented and compared with the existing data

Effect of ruboxistaurin in patients with diabetic macular edema: Thirty-month results of the randomized PKC-DMES clinical trial

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of orally administered ruboxistaurin (RBX) as a mesylate salt in patients with diabetic macular edema (DME). 1 Design: Multicenter, double-masked, randomized, placebo-controlled study of 686 patients receiving placebo or RBX orally ( 4, 16, or 32 mg/d) for 30 months. At baseline, patients had DME farther than 300 mu m from the center of the macula, an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study retinopathy severity level from 20 to 47A without prior photocoagulation, and an Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study visual acuity of 75 or more letters in the study eye. The primary study outcome was progression to sight-threatening DME or application of focal/grid photocoagulation for DME. Main Outcome Measure: Masked grading of stereoscopic fundus photographs. Results: The delay in progression to the primary outcome was not statistically significant ( 32 mg of RBX vs placebo, P=.14 [unadjusted]; Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for covariates, hazards ratio=0.73; 95% confidence interval, 0.53-1.0; P=.06). However, application of focal/ grid photocoagulation prior to progression to sight-threatening DME varied by site, and a secondary analysis of progression to sight-threatening DME alone showed that 32 mg of RBX per day reduced progression, compared with placebo (P=.054 [ unadjusted]; Cox proportional hazards model, hazards ratio= 0.66; 95% confidence interval, 0.47-0.93; P=.02). Conclusions: Although progression to the primary outcome was not delayed, daily oral administration of RBX may delay progression of DME to a sight-threatening stage. Ruboxistaurin was well tolerated in this study