Manufacturing requirements

In recent years, natural laminar flow (NLF) has been proven to be achievable on modern smooth airframe surfaces over a range of cruise flight conditions representative of most current business and commuter aircraft. Published waviness and boundary layer transition measurements on several modern metal and composite airframes have demonstrated the fact that achievable surface waviness is readily compatible with laminar flow requirements. Currently, the principal challenge to the manufacture of NLF-compatible surfaces is two-dimensional roughness in the form of steps and gaps at structural joints. Results of recent NASA investigations on manufacturing tolerances for NLF surfaces, including results of a flight experiment are given. Based on recent research, recommendations are given for conservative manufacturing tolerances for waviness and shaped steps

The St. Lawrence polynya and the Bering shelf circulation : new observations and a model comparison

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2006. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 111 (2006): C09023, doi:10.1029/2005JC003268.Using 14 year-long instrumented moorings deployed south of St. Lawrence Island, along with oceanographic drifters, we investigate the circulation over the central Bering shelf and the role of polynyas in forming and disseminating saline waters over the shelf. We focus also on evaluating the Gawarkiewicz and Chapman [1995] model of eddy production within coastal polynyas. Principal results include: 1) The northern central shelf near-surface waters exhibit westward flow carrying low-salinity waters from the Alaskan coast in fall and early winter, with consequences for water mass formation and biological production. 2) Within the St. Lawrence polynya, the freshening effect of winter advection is about half as large as the salting effect of surface brine flux resulting from freezing. 3) Brine production over the Bering shelf occurs primarily offshore, rather than within coastal polynyas, even though ice production per unit area is much larger within the polynyas. 4) We find little evidence for the geostrophic flow adjustment predicted by recent polynya models. 5) In contrast to the theoretical prediction that dense water from the polynya is carried offshore by eddies, we find negligible cross-shelf eddy density fluxes within and surrounding the polynya and very low levels of eddy energy that decreased from fall to winter, even though dense water accumulated within the polynya and large cross-shore density gradients developed. 6) It is possible that dense polynya water was advected downstream of our array before appreciable eddy fluxes materialized.This work was supported by National Science Foundation grant OCE9730697 to the University of Alaska and grant OCE9730823 to the University of Washington. S. M. acknowledges the support of the National Science Foundation under OCE9811097 and of NASA under grant NNG04GM69G. The University of Hamburg contributions were funded by the Bundesminister für Bildung und Wissenschaft. Funding for the drifter deployment was made possible by the North Pacific Research Board, grant NPMRI T2130. Manuscript preparation was additionally supported by Office of Naval Research grants N00014-99-1-0345 and N00014-02-1-0305 to the University of Washington

How to develop, externally validate, and update multinomial prediction models

Multinomial prediction models (MPMs) have a range of potential applications across healthcare where the primary outcome of interest has multiple nominal or ordinal categories. However, the application of MPMs is scarce, which may be due to the added methodological complexities that they bring. This article provides a guide of how to develop, externally validate, and update MPMs. Using a previously developed and validated MPM for treatment outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis as an example, we outline guidance and recommendations for producing a clinical prediction model using multinomial logistic regression. This article is intended to supplement existing general guidance on prediction model research. This guide is split into three parts: 1) Outcome definition and variable selection, 2) Model development, and 3) Model evaluation (including performance assessment, internal and external validation, and model recalibration). We outline how to evaluate and interpret the predictive performance of MPMs. R code is provided. We recommend the application of MPMs in clinical settings where the prediction of a nominal polytomous outcome is of interest. Future methodological research could focus on MPM-specific considerations for variable selection and sample size criteria for external validation

Enhanced initial growth of atomic-layer-deposited metal oxides on hydrogen-terminated silicon

A route is presented for activation of hydrogen-terminated Si(100) prior to atomic layer deposition. It is based on our discovery from in situ infrared spectroscopy that organometallic precursors can effectively initiate oxide growth. Narrow nuclear resonance profiling and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry show that surface functionalization by pre-exposure to 108 Langmuir trimethylaluminum at 300 °C leads to enhanced nucleation and to nearly linear growth kinetics of the high-permittivity gate dielectrics aluminum oxide and hafnium oxide

L1CAM protein expression is associated with poor prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer

Background: The L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) is potentially involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). EMT marker expression is of prognostic significance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The relevance of L1CAM for NSCLC is unclear. We investigated the protein expression of L1CAM in a cohort of NSCLC patients. L1CAM protein expression was correlated with clinico-pathological parameters including survival and markers of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Results: L1CAM protein expression was found in 25% of squamous cell carcinomas and 24% of adenocarcinomas and correlated with blood vessel invasion and metastasis (p < 0.05). L1CAM was an independent predictor of survival in a multivariate analysis including pT, pN, and pM category, and tumor differentiation grade. L1CAM expression positively correlated with vimentin, beta-catenin, and slug, but inversely with E-cadherin (all p-values < 0.05). E-cadherin expression was higher in the tumor center than in the tumor periphery, whereas L1CAM and vimentin were expressed at the tumor-stroma interface. In L1CAM-negative A549 cells the L1CAM expression was upregulated and matrigel invasion was increased after stimulation with TGF-beta1. In L1CAM-positive SK-LU-1 and SK-LC-LL cells matrigel invasion was decreased after L1CAM siRNA knockdown. Conclusions: A subset of NSCLCs with vessel tropism and increased metastasis aberrantly expresses L1CAM. L1CAM is a novel prognostic marker for NSCLCs that is upregulated by EMT induction and appears to be instrumental for enhanced cell invasion

Biomass burning emission inventory with daily resolution: Application to aircraft observations of Asian outflow

Asian outflo

Non-specific chest pain and subsequent serious cardiovascular readmissions

Background: The rates of readmission for serious cardiovascular events among patients admitted with a diagnosis of non-specific chest pain are unknown. Methods: A national retrospective cohort study in the United States was undertaken to evaluate the rates, trends and predictors of readmission for serious cardiovascular events (acute coronary syndrome (ACS), pulmonary embolism (PE) and aortic dissection (AD)) after an inpatient episode with a primary diagnosis of non-specific chest pain. Results: Among 1,172,430 patients with an index diagnosis of non-specific chest pain between 2010 and 2014, 2.4% were readmitted with an ACS, 0.4% with a PE and 0.06% with an AD within 6 months of discharge. Predictors of ACS readmissions were diabetes (OR 1.49 95% CI 1.17–1.32), coronary artery disease (OR 2.29 95% CI 2.15–2.44), previous percutaneous coronary intervention (OR 1.65 95% CI 1.56–1.75), previous CABG (OR 1.52 95% CI 1.43–1.61) and discharge against medical advice (OR 1.94 95% CI 1.78–2.12). Female patients (OR 0.82 95% CI 0.78–0.86) and patients in whom a coronary angiogram was undertaken (OR 0.48 95% CI 0.45–0.52) were less likely to be readmitted for ACS. For PE, predictors of readmission were pulmonary circulatory disorder (OR 2.20 95% CI 1.09–4.43), anemia (OR 1.62 95% CI 1.40–1.86) and cancer (OR 4.15 95% CI 3.43–5.02). Peripheral vascular disease (OR 8.63 95% CI 5.47–13.60), renal failure (OR 2.08 95% CI 1.34–3.24) were predictors of AD. Conclusions: Non-specific chest pain may not be a benign condition as readmissions for serious cardiovascular events occur in 3% of patients within 180 days. Research is needed to define measures that may mitigate readmissions among these patients

Evaluation of ion exchange processes in drug-eluting embolization beads by use of an improved flow-through elution method.

n improved method for evaluating drug release behaviour of drug-eluting embolization beads (DEBs) was developed utilizing an open-loop flow-through system, in which the beads were packed into an occlusive mass within the system and extracted with a flowing elution medium over time. Glass beads were introduced into the beads mass in order to ensure laminar flow, reduce dead volume and improve reproducibility by compensating for swelling phenomena. The effects of glass bead ratio, elution medium flow rate and ion concentration, DEB size and drug concentration and drug type (doxorubicin and irinotecan) were evaluated using DEB composed of a sulfonate-modified polyvinyl alcohol hydrogel (DC Bead™) as the test article. The rate and amount of drug elution from the packed beads was affected by flow rate, the bead size and initial loading dose. The raw data from the concentration profile analysis provided valuable information to reveal the drug elution behaviour akin to the pharmacokinetic data observed for embolized beads (yielding in vitro Cmax and tmax data) which was complementary to the normal cumulative data obtained. A good correlation with historical reported in vivo data validated the usefulness of the method for predicting in vivo drug elution behaviour

Risk Factors for Post-ERCP Pancreatitis: A Prospective Multicenter Study

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75082/1/j.1572-0241.2006.00380.x.pd