725 research outputs found
Partial compactification of monopoles and metric asymptotics
We construct a partial compactification of the moduli space, M_k, of SU(2) magnetic monopoles on R^3, wherein monopoles of charge k decompose into widely separated 'monopole clusters' of lower charge going off to infinity at comparable rates. The hyperKahler metric on M_k has a complete asymptotic expansion up to the boundary, the leading term of which generalizes the asymptotic metric discovered by Bielawski, Gibbons and Manton in the case that each lower charge is 1
Partial Compactification of Monopoles and Metric Asymptotics
We construct a partial compactification of the moduli space, Mk, of SU(2) magnetic monopoles on ℝ3, wherein monopoles of charge k decompose into widely separated 'monopole clusters' of lower charge going off to infinity at comparable rates. The hyperKähler metric on Mk has a complete asymptotic expansion up to the boundary, the leading term of which generalizes the asymptotic metric discovered by Bielawski, Gibbons and Manton when each lower charge is 1
Analysis of a turbine rotor containing a transverse crack at Oak Creek Unit 17
Transient increases in one, two and three per revolution vibration characteristics of a low pressure steam turbine were observed during steam temperature reduction operations. Vibration and fracture mechanics analyses suggested the presence of a transverse shaft crack which was eventually identified by ultrasonic inspection and confirmed by destructive sectioning. Signature analyses of vibration data recorded over a two-year period prior to crack identification are correlated with fatigue crack growth, which occurred intermittently during transient temperature decreases. The apparent increased response of the rotor to vibration is due to asymmetric stiffness changes introduced by the growing transverse crack. The vibration response is predicted to increase with increasing crack depths in excess of 10% of the shaft diameter. Fracture mechanics analyses predict that fatigue crack growth occurred during periods of steam temperature decrease, when high surface tensile stresses are present. These same transient thermal stresses are shown to have retarded and prevented subsequent fatigue crack growth during steady operation
Introduction of a pyramid guiding process for general musculoskeletal physical rehabilitation
Successful instruction of a complicated subject as Physical Rehabilitation demands organization. To understand principles and processes of such a field demands a hierarchy of steps to achieve the intended outcome. This paper is intended to be an introduction to a proposed pyramid scheme of general physical rehabilitation principles. The purpose of the pyramid scheme is to allow for a greater understanding for the student and patient. As the respected Food Guide Pyramid accomplishes, the student will further appreciate and apply supported physical rehabilitation principles and the patient will understand that there is a progressive method to their functional healing process
Perturbation theory for anisotropic dielectric interfaces, and application to sub-pixel smoothing of discretized numerical methods
We derive a correct first-order perturbation theory in electromagnetism for
cases where an interface between two anisotropic dielectric materials is
slightly shifted. Most previous perturbative methods give incorrect results for
this case, even to lowest order, because of the complicated discontinuous
boundary conditions on the electric field at such an interface. Our final
expression is simply a surface integral, over the material interface, of the
continuous field components from the unperturbed structure. The derivation is
based on a "localized" coordinate-transformation technique, which avoids both
the problem of field discontinuities and the challenge of constructing an
explicit coordinate transformation by taking a limit in which a coordinate
perturbation is infinitesimally localized around the boundary. Not only is our
result potentially useful in evaluating boundary perturbations, e.g. from
fabrication imperfections, in highly anisotropic media such as many
metamaterials, but it also has a direct application in numerical
electromagnetism. In particular, we show how it leads to a sub-pixel smoothing
scheme to ameliorate staircasing effects in discretized simulations of
anisotropic media, in such a way as to greatly reduce the numerical errors
compared to other proposed smoothing schemes.Comment: 10 page
The dynamic mass spectrometry probe (DMSP) - Advanced process analytics for therapeutic cell manufacturing, health monitoring and biomarker discovery
Spatially and temporally resolved in situ monitoring of biochemical cell culture environments, e.g., in application to therapeutic cell bioreactors, is of critical importance for facilitating the development of new and reliable quality control methodologies for cell therapies. Identifying and monitoring secreted biomolecular critical quality attributes (CQAs) to enable online feedback control will enable large scale, cost-effective manufacturing of therapeutic cells. These CQA biomarkers have varying concentrations within a bioreactor, both in time and space. Current methods for monitoring these diverse biomolecules are generally ex-situ, time consuming, destructive, provide bulk measurements, or lack the ability to reveal the complete secretome/metabolome composition. The Dynamic Mass Spectrometry Probe (DMSP) synergistically incorporates a sampling interface for localized intake of a small fluid volume of the cellular content, a micro-fabricated mass exchanger for sample conditioning and inline separation, and an integrated electrospray ionization (ESI) emitter for softly ionizing (i.e. preserved biochemical structure) extracted biomolecules for mass spectrometry (MS). ESI-MS via DMSP treatment enables both biomarker discovery and transient (~1 min) analysis of biochemical information indicative of cell health and potency. DMSP is manufactured using advanced batch microfabrication techniques, which minimize dead volume (~20 nL) and ensure repeatable operation and precise geometry of each device. DMSP treatment removes 99% of compounds that interfere with mass spectrometry analysis, such as inorganic salts, while retaining biomolecules of interest within the sample for ESI-MS analysis. DMSP has demonstrated the ability to substantially increase signal to noise ratio in MS detection of biomolecules, and to further enhance sensitivity for probing lower biomarker concentrations via introduction of ESI-MS enhancing molecules (i.e. proton donating chemicals, protein denaturing solvents, and supercharging agents) into the sample within the integrated mass exchanger. To exemplify the DMSP’s unique capabilities, Fig. 1 demonstrates detection of multiple low-concentration protein biomarkers sampled from a biochemically-complex cell media solution serving as a proxy to samples taken directly from cell growth bioreactors [1].
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Bis(μ-2-tert-butylphenylimido-1:2κ2 N:N)chlorido-2κCl-(diethyl ether-1κO)(2η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)lithiumtantalum(V)
In the title compound, [LiTa(C10H15)(C10H13N)2Cl(C4H10O)], the TaV atom is coordinated by a η5-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) ligand, a chloride ion and two N-bonded 2-tert-butylphenylimide dianions. With respect to the two N atoms, the chloride ion and the centroid of the Cp* ring, the tantalum coordination geometry is approximately tetrahedral. The lithium cation is bonded to both the 2-tert-butylphenylimide dianions and also a diethyl ether molecule, in an approximate trigonal planar arrangement. The Ta⋯Li separation is 2.681 (15) Å. In the crystal, a weak C—H⋯Cl interaction links the molecules. When compared to the 2,6-diisopropylphenylimide analogue (‘the Wigley derivative’) of the title compound, the two structures are conformationally matched with an overall r.m.s. difference of 0.461Å
Combination therapy with reovirus and anti-PD-1 blockade controls tumor growth through innate and adaptive immune responses.
Oncolytic reovirus can be delivered both systemically and intratumorally, in both pre-clinical models and in early phase clinical trials. Reovirus has direct oncolytic activity against a variety of tumor types and anti-tumor activity is directly associated with immune activation by virus replication in tumors. Immune mechanisms of therapy include both innate immune activation against virally infected tumor cells, and the generation of adaptive anti-tumor immune responses as a result of in vivo priming against tumor-associated antigens. We tested the combination of local oncolytic reovirus therapy with systemic immune checkpoint inhibition. We show that treatment of subcutaneous B16 melanomas with a combination of intravenous (i.v.) anti-PD-1 antibody and intratumoral (i.t.) reovirus significantly enhanced survival of mice compared to i.t. reovirus (p<0.01) or anti-PD-1 therapy alone. In vitro immune analysis demonstrated that checkpoint inhibition improved the ability of NK cells to kill reovirus-infected tumor cells, reduced Treg activity, and increased the adaptive CD8(+) T cell dependent anti-tumor T cell response. PD-1 blockade also enhanced the anti-viral immune response but through effector mechanisms which overlapped with, but also differed from those affecting the antitumor response. Therefore, combination with checkpoint inhibition represents a readily translatable next step in the clinical development of reovirus
Dose Reduction in Standard Head CT: First Results from a New Scanner Using Iterative Reconstruction and a New Detector Type in Comparison with Two Previous Generations of Multi-slice CT
Purpose: Computed tomography (CT) accounts for more than half of the total radiation exposure from medical procedures, which makes dose reduction in CT an effective means of reducing radiation exposure. We analysed the dose reduction that can be achieved with a new CT scanner [Somatom Edge (E)] that incorporates new developments in hardware (detector) and software (iterative reconstruction). Methods: We compared weighted volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) and dose length product (DLP) values of 25 consecutive patients studied with non-enhanced standard brain CT with the new scanner and with two previous models each, a 64-slice 64-row multi-detector CT (MDCT) scanner with 64 rows (S64) and a 16-slice 16-row MDCT scanner with 16 rows (S16). We analysed signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios in images from the three scanners and performed a quality rating by three neuroradiologists to analyse whether dose reduction techniques still yield sufficient diagnostic quality. Results: CTDIVol of scanner E was 41.5 and 36.4 % less than the values of scanners S16 and S64, respectively; the DLP values were 40 and 38.3 % less. All differences were statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Signal-to-noise and contrast-to-noise ratios were best in S64; these differences also reached statistical significance. Image analysis, however, showed "non-inferiority” of scanner E regarding image quality. Conclusions: The first experience with the new scanner shows that new dose reduction techniques allow for up to 40 % dose reduction while still maintaining image quality at a diagnostically usable level
Modeled Health and Economic Impact of Team-Based Care for Hypertension
IntroductionTeam-based interventions for hypertension care have been widely studied and shown effective in improving hypertension outcomes. Few studies have evaluated long-term effects of these interventions; none have assessed broad-scale implementation. This study estimates the prospective health, economic, and budgetary impact of universal adoption of a team-based care intervention model that targets people with treated but uncontrolled hypertension in the U.S.MethodsAnalysis was conducted in 2014−2015 using a microsimulation model, constructed with various data sources from 1948 to 2014, designed to evaluate prospective cardiovascular disease (CVD)−related interventions in the U.S. population. Ten-year primary outcomes included prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension; incident myocardial infarction, stroke, CVD events, and CVD-related mortality; intervention and net medical costs by payer; productivity; and quality-adjusted life years.ResultsAbout 4.7 million (13%) fewer people with uncontrolled hypertension and 638,000 prevented cardiovascular events would be expected over 10 years. Assuming 22.9 billion, but 5.8 billion. Net costs were especially sensitive to intervention costs, with break-even thresholds of 450 (Medicaid), and $750 (Medicare).ConclusionsNationwide adoption of team-based care for uncontrolled hypertension could have sizable effects in reducing CVD burden. Based on the study’s assumptions, the policy would be cost saving from the perspective of Medicare and may prove to be cost effective from other payers’ perspectives. Expected net cost savings for Medicare would more than offset expected net costs for all other insurers
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