Analysis of a High-Lift Multi-Element Airfoil using a Navier-Stokes Code

A thin-layer Navier-Stokes code, CFL3D, was utilized to compute the flow over a high-lift multi-element airfoil. This study was conducted to improve the prediction of high-lift flowfields using various turbulence models and improved glidding techniques. An overset Chimera grid system is used to model the three element airfoil geometry. The effects of wind tunnel wall modeling, changes to the grid density and distribution, and embedded grids are discussed. Computed pressure and lift coefficients using Spalart-Allmaras, Baldwin-Barth, and Menter's kappa-omega - Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence models are compared with experimental data. The ability of CFL3D to predict the effects on lift coefficient due to changes in Reynolds number changes is also discussed

A catalyst for educational change: the role of career and technical education in Georgia’s statewide educational improvement efforts

The Central Educational Center is a product of multiple visions, desires, and hopes. The ideal vision is outlined in a book entitled “The Eden Conspiracy” (Harless, 1997). Other perspectives include a requirement from local business that basic skills of high school graduates need to be rapidly improved, the desire of a growing local school system to provide costly industry-standard career-technical education to all high school students, the vision of a regional technical college to “dual enroll” high school students and make technical college a viable post-secondary option, and the hopes of a Governor looking for a viable model to support his desire to reform education partly through a new infusion of technical education opportunities

Comparison of the in vitro and in vivo susceptibilities of Burkholderia mallei to Ceftazidime and Levofloxacin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Burkholderia mallei </it>is a zoonotic Gram negative bacterium which primarily infects solipeds but can cause lethal disease in humans if left untreated. The effect of two antibiotics with different modes of action on <it>Burkholderia mallei </it>strain ATCC23344 was investigated by using <it>in vitro </it>and <it>in vivo </it>studies.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Determination of minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) <it>in vitro </it>was done by the agar diffusion method and the dilution method. The MICs of levofloxacin and ceftazidime were in the similar range, 2.5 and 5.0 μg/ml, respectively. Intracellular susceptibility of the bacterium to these two antibiotics in J774A.1 mouse macrophages <it>in vitro </it>was also investigated. Macrophages treated with antibiotics demonstrated uptake of the drugs and reduced bacterial loads <it>in vitro</it>. The efficacy of ceftazidime and levofloxacin were studied in BALB/c mice as post-exposure treatment following intranasal <it>B. mallei </it>infection. Intranasal infection with 5 × 10⁵CFUs of <it>B. mallei </it>resulted in 90% death in non-treated control mice. Antibiotic treatments 10 days post-infection proved to be effective <it>in vivo </it>with all antibiotic treated mice surviving to day 34 post-infection. The antibiotics did not result in complete clearance of the bacterial infection and presence of the bacteria was found in lungs and spleens of the survivors, although bacterial burden recovered from levofloxacin treated animals appeared reduced compared to ceftazidime.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Both antibiotics demonstrated utility for the treatment of glanders, including the ability for intracellular penetration and clearance of organisms <it>in vitro</it>.</p

Crossover from 2D to 3D in a weakly interacting Fermi gas

We have studied the transition from two to three dimensions in a low temperature weakly interacting $^6$Li Fermi gas. Below a critical atom number, $N_{2D}$, only the lowest transverse vibrational state of a highly anisotropic oblate trapping potential is occupied and the gas is two-dimensional. Above $N_{2D}$ the Fermi gas enters the quasi-2D regime where shell structure associated with the filling of individual transverse oscillator states is apparent. This dimensional crossover is demonstrated through measurements of the cloud size and aspect ratio versus atom number.Comment: Replaced with published manuscrip

Erroneously old radiocarbon ages from terrestrial pollen concentrates in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in [Schiller, C. M., Whitlock, C., Elder, K. L., Iverson, N. A., & Abbott, M. B. Erroneously old radiocarbon ages from terrestrial pollen concentrates in Yellowstone Lake, Wyoming, USA. Radiocarbon, 63(1), (2021): 321-342, https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.118.Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating of pollen concentrates is often used in lake sediment records where large, terrestrial plant remains are unavailable. Ages produced from chemically concentrated pollen as well as manually picked Pinaceae grains in Yellowstone Lake (Wyoming) sediments were consistently 1700–4300 cal years older than ages established by terrestrial plant remains, tephrochronology, and the age of the sediment-water interface. Previous studies have successfully utilized the same laboratory space and methods, suggesting the source of old-carbon contamination is specific to these samples. Manually picking pollen grains precludes admixture of non-pollen materials. Furthermore, no clear source of old pollen grains occurs on the deglaciated landscape, making reworking of old pollen grains unlikely. High volumes of CO2 are degassed in the Yellowstone Caldera, potentially introducing old carbon to pollen. While uptake of old CO2 through photosynthesis is minor (F14C approximately 0.99), old-carbon contamination may still take place in the water column or in surficial lake sediments. It remains unclear, however, what mechanism allows for the erroneous ages of highly refractory pollen grains while terrestrial plant remains were unaffected. In the absence of a satisfactory explanation for erroneously old radiocarbon ages from pollen concentrates, we propose steps for further study.This research was supported by NSF Grant No. 1515353 to C. Whitlock and sampling in Yellowstone National Park was conducted under permits YELL-SCI-0009 and YELL-SCI-5054

Host immunity in the protective response to vaccination with heat-killed Burkholderia mallei

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We performed initial cell, cytokine and complement depletion studies to investigate the possible role of these effectors in response to vaccination with heat-killed <it>Burkholderia mallei </it>in a susceptible BALB/c mouse model of infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>While protection with heat-killed bacilli did not result in sterilizing immunity, limited protection was afforded against an otherwise lethal infection and provided insight into potential host protective mechanisms. Our results demonstrated that mice depleted of either B cells, TNF-α or IFN-γ exhibited decreased survival rates, indicating a role for these effectors in obtaining partial protection from a lethal challenge by the intraperitoneal route. Additionally, complement depletion had no effect on immunoglobulin production when compared to non-complement depleted controls infected intranasally.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The data provide a basis for future studies of protection via vaccination using either subunit or whole-organism vaccine preparations from lethal infection in the experimental BALB/c mouse model. The results of this study demonstrate participation of B220⁺cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α in protection following HK vaccination.</p

C-Reactive Protein and the Disease Analog Model May Identify Predisposed Pre-Obese African-American Women

While the obesity rate in the Unites States has been reported to have hit a plateau, the overall percentage of obese Americans remains alarmingly high (27% self-reported, 33% population estimate). While the subgroup with the highest 2010 obesity rate is Black, non-Hispanic women (41.9%), there remains a disparity in the research with regards to this population group. The implication of an elevated obese population puts a strain on health care, overall quality of life, and is associated with a number of other co-morbidities. Given this background, pilot work to evaluate a disease analog model for obesity would be useful with the potential for identifying seemingly normal-weight individuals who are most susceptible to developing obesity

Dabrafenib, alone or in combination with trametinib, in BRAF V600–mutated pediatric Langerhans cell histiocytosis

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare, heterogenous, neoplastic disorder primarily affecting children. BRAF mutations have been reported in >50% of patients with LCH. The selective BRAF inhibitor, dabrafenib, in combination with the MEK1/2 inhibitor, trametinib, has been approved in select BRAF V600–mutant solid tumors. Two open-label phase 1/2 studies were conducted in pediatric patients with BRAF V600–mutant, recurrent/refractory malignancies treated with dabrafenib monotherapy (CDRB436A2102; NCT01677741) or dabrafenib plus trametinib (CTMT212X2101; NCT02124772). The primary objectives of both studies were to determine safe and tolerable doses that achieve similar exposure to the approved doses for adults. Secondary objectives included safety, tolerability, and preliminary antitumor activity. Thirteen and 12 patients with BRAF V600–mutant LCH received dabrafenib monotherapy and in combination with trametinib, respectively. Investigator-assessed objective response rates per Histiocyte Society criteria were 76.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 46.2-95.0) and 58.3% (95% CI, 27.7-84.8) in the monotherapy and combination studies, respectively. More than 90% of responses were ongoing at study completion. The most common treatment-related adverse events (AEs) were vomiting and increased blood creatinine with monotherapy and pyrexia, diarrhea, dry skin, decreased neutrophil count, and vomiting with combination therapy. Two patients each discontinued treatment with monotherapy and combination therapy because of AEs. Overall, dabrafenib monotherapy or in combination with trametinib demonstrated clinical efficacy and manageable toxicity in relapsed/refractory BRAF V600–mutant pediatric LCH, with most responses ongoing. Safety was consistent with that reported in other pediatric and adult conditions treated with dabrafenib plus trametinib

Protocol: Evaluating the impact of a nation-wide train-the-trainer educational initiative to enhance the quality of palliative care for children with cancer

Background: There are identified gaps in the care provided to children with cancer based on the self-identified lack of education for health care professionals in pediatric palliative care and in the perceptions of bereaved parents who describe suboptimal care. In order to address these gaps, we will implement and evaluate a national roll-out of Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Pediatrics (EPEC (R)-Pediatrics), using a 'Train-the-Trainer' model.Methods/design: In this study we are using a pre-post-test design and an integrated knowledge translation approach to assess the impact of the educational roll-out in four areas: 1) self-assessed knowledge of health professionals; 2) knowledge dissemination outcomes; 3) practice change outcomes; and 4) quality of palliative care. The quality of palliative care will be assessed using data from three sources: a) parent and child surveys about symptoms, quality of life and care provided; b) health record reviews of deceased patients; and c) bereaved parent surveys about end-of-life and bereavement care. After being trained in EPEC (R)-Pediatrics, 'Master Facilitators' will train 'Regional Teams' affiliated with 16 pediatric oncology programs in Canada. Each team will consist of three to five health professionals representing oncology, palliative care, and the community. Each team member will complete online modules and attend one of two face-to-face conferences, where they will receive training and materials to teach the EPEC (R)-Pediatrics curriculum to 'End-Users' in their region. Regional Teams will also choose a Tailored Implementation of Practice Standards (TIPS) Kit to guide implementation of a quality improvement project in their region; support will be provided via quarterly meetings with Co-Leads and via a listserv and webinars with other teams.Discussion: Through this study we aim to raise the level of pediatric palliative care education amongst health care professionals in Canada. Our study will be a significant step forward in evaluation of the impact of EPEC (R)-Pediatrics both on dissemination outcomes and on care quality at a national level. Based on the anticipated success of our project we hope to expand the EPEC (R)-Pediatrics roll-out to health professionals who care for children with non-oncological life-threatening conditions