Chocolate Bar Wrapping Machine

Gilbert Chocolates has proposed to manufacture a machine to wrap chocolate bars. This machine is intended to replace two people wrapping the chocolate bars by hand, which is a time consuming method. This is especially apparent between October and January when the workers are working long hours in preparation for the Christmas rush of customers. Currently wrapping a bar takes about a minute and Gilbert Chocolates wants this time reduced down to 20-30 seconds. The budget for this project is set at $1000, and is being funded by the company. This machine needs to fit in a cubic foot of space and weigh under 30 pounds for storage purposes. This device can be either purely mechanical with manual input, or it may use step motors and a controller. This project pulls from our knowledge in kinematics, dynamics, 3D modeling, tolerance analysis, material selection, manufacturing techniques, and design of components. From doing this project we will learn how to apply all of these concepts together to solve real world problems. This project will encompass the design, manufacturing of a prototype, and optimization of the chocolate bar wrapping machine in hopes that the price of manufacturing chocolate bars can be reduced for Gilbert Chocolates. The final presentation of this project will include a working prototype, a report, and a presentation. The project will be presented at the Engineering Senior Design Project day. The machine will be operated and displayed at this event

Calcitonin substitution in calcitonin deficiency reduces particle-induced osteolysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Periprosthetic osteolysis is a major cause of aseptic loosening in joint arthroplasty. This study investigates the impact of CT (calcitonin) deficiency and CT substitution under in-vivo circumstances on particle-induced osteolysis in <it>Calca </it>-/- mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used the murine calvarial osteolysis model based on ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) particles in 10 C57BL/6J wild-type (WT) mice and twenty <it>Calca </it>-/- mice. The mice were divided into six groups: WT without UHMWPE particles (Group 1), WT with UHMWPE particles (Group 2), <it>Calca </it>-/- mice without UHMWPE particles (Group 3), <it>Calca </it>-/- mice with UHMWPE particles (Group 4), <it>Calca </it>-/- mice without UHMWPE particles and calcitonin substitution (Group 5), and <it>Calca </it>-/- mice with UHMWPE particle implantation and calcitonin substitution (Group 6). Analytes were extracted from serum and urine. Bone resorption was measured by bone histomorphometry. The number of osteoclasts was determined by counting the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP) + cells.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Bone resorption was significantly increased in <it>Calca </it>-/- mice compared with their corresponding WT. The eroded surface in <it>Calca </it>-/- mice with particle implantation was reduced by 20.6% after CT substitution. Osteoclast numbers were significantly increased in <it>Calca </it>-/- mice after particle implantation. Serum OPG (osteoprotegerin) increased significantly after CT substitution.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>As anticipated, <it>Calca </it>-/- mice show extensive osteolysis compared with wild-type mice, and CT substitution reduces particle-induced osteolysis.</p

Bayesian Estimation of Animal Movement from Archival and Satellite Tags

The reliable estimation of animal location, and its associated error is fundamental to animal ecology. There are many existing techniques for handling location error, but these are often ad hoc or are used in isolation from each other. In this study we present a Bayesian framework for determining location that uses all the data available, is flexible to all tagging techniques, and provides location estimates with built-in measures of uncertainty. Bayesian methods allow the contributions of multiple data sources to be decomposed into manageable components. We illustrate with two examples for two different location methods: satellite tracking and light level geo-location. We show that many of the problems with uncertainty involved are reduced and quantified by our approach. This approach can use any available information, such as existing knowledge of the animal's potential range, light levels or direct location estimates, auxiliary data, and movement models. The approach provides a substantial contribution to the handling uncertainty in archival tag and satellite tracking data using readily available tools

The Downtown Area of Jonestown, Texas.

The objective was to assess Jonestown's value and potential using the Quadruple Net Value metrics.Three projects are focused on the city of Jonestown. The first being a Quadruple Net Value Analysis report generated by undergraduate Land and Property Development students. The second is a public sewer feasibility study to generate creative solutions to septic and environmental conditions by undergraduate capstone Civil Engineering students. Finally, a graduate student will complete a transportation plan for the city to address connectivity and walkability.Texas Target Communitie

Update on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic hepatitis B: AASLD 2018 hepatitis B guidance

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142904/1/hep29800.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142904/2/hep29800_am.pd

Induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy versus chemoradiotherapy alone as neoadjuvant treatment for locally recurrent rectal cancer: Study protocol of a multicentre, open-label, parallel-arms, randomized controlled study (PelvEx II)

Background: A resection with clear margins (R0 resection) is the most important prognostic factor in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer (LRRC). However, this is achieved in only 60 per cent of patients. The aim of this study is to investigate whether the addition of induction chemotherapy to neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation improves the R0 resection rate in LRRC. Methods: Thismulticentre, international, open-label, phase III, parallel-arms study will enrol 364 patients with resectable LRRC after previous partial or total mesorectal resection without synchronous distant metastases or recent chemo- and/or radiotherapy treatment. Patients will be randomized to receive either induction chemotherapy (three 3-week cycles of CAPOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin), four 2- week cycles of FOLFOX (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) or FOLFORI (5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan)) followed by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery (experimental arm) or neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy and surgery alone (control arm). Tumours will be restaged usingMRI and, in the experimental arm, a further cycle of CAPOX or two cycles of FOLFOX/FOLFIRI will be administered before chemoradiotherapy in case of stable or responsive disease. The radiotherapy dose will be 25 × 2.0 Gy or 28 × 1.8Gy in radiotherapy-naive patients, and 15 × 2.0Gy in previously irradiated patients. The concomitant chemotherapy agent will be capecitabine administered twice daily at a dose of 825mg/m2 on radiotherapy days. The primary endpoint of the study is the R0 resection rate. Secondary endpoints are long-termoncological outcomes, radiological and pathological response, toxicity, postoperative complications, costs, and quality of life. Discussion: This trial protocol describes the PelvEx II study. PelvEx II, designed as a multicentre, open-label, phase III, parallel-arms study, is the first randomized study to compare induction chemotherapy followed by neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation and surgery with neoadjuvant chemo(re)irradiation and surgery alone in patients with locally recurrent rectal cancer, with the aim of improving the number of R0 resections

Tracing marine cryptotephras in the North Atlantic during the last glacial period: Protocols for identification, characterisation and evaluating depositional controls

Tephrochronology is increasingly being utilised as a key tool for improving chronological models and correlating disparate palaeoclimatic sequences. For many sedimentary environments, however, there is an increased recognition that a range of processes may impart a delay in deposition and/or rework tephra. These processes can affect the integrity of tephra deposits as time-synchronous markers, therefore, it is crucial to assess their isochronous nature, especially when cryptotephras are investigated in a dynamic marine environment. A methodology for the identification and characterisation of marine cryptotephras alongside a protocol for assessing their integrity is outlined. This methodology was applied to a wide network of North Atlantic marine sequences covering the last glacial period. A diverse range of cryptotephra deposits were identified and, based on similarities in physical characteristics (e.g. glass shard concentration profiles and geochemical homogeneity/heterogeneity), indicative of common modes of tephra delivery and post depositional reworking, a deposit type classification scheme was defined. The presence and dominance of different deposit types within each core allowed an assessment of spatial and temporal controls on tephra deposition and preservation. Overall, isochronous horizons can be identified across a large portion of the North Atlantic due to preferential atmospheric dispersal patterns. However, the variable influence of ice-rafting processes and an interplay between the high eruptive frequency of Iceland and relatively lower sedimentation rates can also create complex tephrostratigraphies in this sector. Sites within a wide sector to the south and east of Iceland have the greatest potential to be repositories for isochronous horizons that can facilitate the synchronisation of palaeoclimatic records

Effect of Hydrocortisone on Mortality and Organ Support in Patients With Severe COVID-19: The REMAP-CAP COVID-19 Corticosteroid Domain Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Evidence regarding corticosteroid use for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is limited. Objective: To determine whether hydrocortisone improves outcome for patients with severe COVID-19. Design, Setting, and Participants: An ongoing adaptive platform trial testing multiple interventions within multiple therapeutic domains, for example, antiviral agents, corticosteroids, or immunoglobulin. Between March 9 and June 17, 2020, 614 adult patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 were enrolled and randomized within at least 1 domain following admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) for respiratory or cardiovascular organ support at 121 sites in 8 countries. Of these, 403 were randomized to open-label interventions within the corticosteroid domain. The domain was halted after results from another trial were released. Follow-up ended August 12, 2020. Interventions: The corticosteroid domain randomized participants to a fixed 7-day course of intravenous hydrocortisone (50 mg or 100 mg every 6 hours) (n = 143), a shock-dependent course (50 mg every 6 hours when shock was clinically evident) (n = 152), or no hydrocortisone (n = 108). Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary end point was organ support-free days (days alive and free of ICU-based respiratory or cardiovascular support) within 21 days, where patients who died were assigned -1 day. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model that included all patients enrolled with severe COVID-19, adjusting for age, sex, site, region, time, assignment to interventions within other domains, and domain and intervention eligibility. Superiority was defined as the posterior probability of an odds ratio greater than 1 (threshold for trial conclusion of superiority >99%). Results: After excluding 19 participants who withdrew consent, there were 384 patients (mean age, 60 years; 29% female) randomized to the fixed-dose (n = 137), shock-dependent (n = 146), and no (n = 101) hydrocortisone groups; 379 (99%) completed the study and were included in the analysis. The mean age for the 3 groups ranged between 59.5 and 60.4 years; most patients were male (range, 70.6%-71.5%); mean body mass index ranged between 29.7 and 30.9; and patients receiving mechanical ventilation ranged between 50.0% and 63.5%. For the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively, the median organ support-free days were 0 (IQR, -1 to 15), 0 (IQR, -1 to 13), and 0 (-1 to 11) days (composed of 30%, 26%, and 33% mortality rates and 11.5, 9.5, and 6 median organ support-free days among survivors). The median adjusted odds ratio and bayesian probability of superiority were 1.43 (95% credible interval, 0.91-2.27) and 93% for fixed-dose hydrocortisone, respectively, and were 1.22 (95% credible interval, 0.76-1.94) and 80% for shock-dependent hydrocortisone compared with no hydrocortisone. Serious adverse events were reported in 4 (3%), 5 (3%), and 1 (1%) patients in the fixed-dose, shock-dependent, and no hydrocortisone groups, respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: Among patients with severe COVID-19, treatment with a 7-day fixed-dose course of hydrocortisone or shock-dependent dosing of hydrocortisone, compared with no hydrocortisone, resulted in 93% and 80% probabilities of superiority with regard to the odds of improvement in organ support-free days within 21 days. However, the trial was stopped early and no treatment strategy met prespecified criteria for statistical superiority, precluding definitive conclusions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02735707