Prediction of Tail-Off Pressure Peak Anomaly on Small-Scale Rocket Motors

Numerical studies intended to predict solid rocket motors anomalies are the major contributors when developing strategies to both limit expensive fire tests and to investigate and understand the physical phenomena from which anomalies can arise. This paper aims to present a mathematical–physical method to evaluate the pressure peak, namely Friedman Curl, occurring at the tail-off phase of small-scale rocket motors. Such phenomenon is linked to the grain solid particles arrangement (i.e., packing effect); indeed, those particles show a tendency to accumulate at a certain distance from the metallic case, implying a local burn rate increment and a combustion chamber pressure rise close to the tail-off phase. Comparisons between experimental and simulated combustion chamber pressure profiles are outlined to prove the effectiveness of the mathematical–physical approach. Simulations were carried out with an internal ballistic simulation tool developed by the authors of this work

Secondhand Smoke Exposure and Severity of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Preschoolers: A Pilot Investigation

Background: Less is known about the effects of secondhand smoke (SHS) on mental health as compared with other medical disorders.Objective: The aims of this study were to examine the following: 1) the association of SHS exposure with childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) and disruptive disorders; and 2) the association of maternal recall of a child’s SHS exposure and that child’s exposure as measured by bioassay.Method: Sixty children had their saliva collected and assayed for cotinine when they were 4 years old and again when they were 6 years old. Phone interview data were collected to assess maternal recall of the children’s exposure to SHS at these ages. The children were assessed annually for ADHD and disruptive disorders. Repeated measures analysis of exposure level by child characteristics was performed.Results: Greater ADHD and conduct disorder severity scores were associated with greater child smoke exposure (ADHD severity, P = .043; conduct disorder severity, P = .035). A large proportion of mothers reported that their children had no exposure to SHS, despite high levels of measured cotinine in the children’s saliva.Conclusions: An association between SHS exposure and ADHD and conduct disorder symptoms was found. Children and parents may benefit from parent education regarding the deleterious effects of SHS

ProFlex: A Probabilistic and Flexible Data Storage Protocol for Heterogeneous Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper presents ProFlex, a proactive data distribution protocol for heterogeneous wireless sensor networks (HWSNs). ProFlex guarantees robustness in data retrieval by intelligently managing data replication among selected storage nodes in the network. Contrarily to related protocols in the literature, ProFlex considers the resource constraints of sensor nodes and constructs multiple data replication structures, which are managed by more powerful nodes. Additionally, ProFlex takes profit of the higher communication range of such powerful nodes in the network and use the long link to improve data distribution. When compared with Supple -- a related protocol, we show by simulation that Proflex increases the network resilience under failures circumstances, decreases the overhead of transmitted messages, and decreases the number of hops to find a specific data in the network.Cet article porte sur la proposition d'un protocole de données proactif de distribution pour les réseaux de capteurs sans fil hétérogènes (HWSNs). Notre protocole, ProFlex, garantit la robustesse de la récupération des données grâce à sa gestion intelligente de la réplication des données entre les nœuds de stockage sélectionnés dans le réseau. Contrairement à d'autres protocoles dans la littérature, ProFlex considère les contraintes de ressources de capteurs et construit plusieurs structures de réplication des données, qui sont gérés par des nœuds plus puissants. En outre, ProFlex profite de la meilleure communication radio de ces nœuds plus puissants et utilise ces longues portée pour améliorer la distribution des données. Nous avons comparé ProFlex avec le protocole Supple et nous avons montré par simulation que Proflex augmente la résilience du réseau, même dans des circonstances des pertes de messages, diminue la surcharge de messages transmis, et diminue le nombre de sauts nécessaire pour trouver un ensemble de données spécifiques dans le réseau

Nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel: a big nano for the treatment of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer (GC) is the third cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Patients with unresectable GC can be treated with chemotherapy such as paclitaxel, which is a microtubule stabilizer. The use of nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel (nab-ptx) avoids hypersensitivity reactions due to the absence of solvent needed to dissolve paclitaxel and it can be administered at higher doses. The ABSOLUTE randomized phase-3 clinical trial showed the non-inferiority of the nab-ptx used every week compared to the solvent-based paclitaxel used every week. This review describes the current advancements of the use of nab-ptx in GC in preclinical and clinical study investigations. The possibility of combining nab-ptx with other medications to improve response of patients to their specific molecular needs will also be debated

First Tests of a New Fast Waveform Digitizer for PMT Signal Read-out from Liquid Argon Dark Matter Detectors

Abstract A new generation Waveform Digitizer board as been recently made available on the market by CAEN. The new board CAEN V1751 with 8 Channels per board, 10 bit, 1 GS/s Flash ADC Waveform Digitizer (or 4 channel, 10 bit, 2 GS/s Flash ADC Waveform Digitizer -Dual Edge Sampling mode) with threshold and Auto-Trigger capabilities provides an ideal (relatively low-cost) solution for reading signals from liquid Argon detectors for Dark Matter search equipped with an array of PMTs for the detection of scintillation light. The board was extensively used in real experimental conditions to test its usefulness for possible future uses and to compare it with a state of the art digital oscilloscope. As results, PMT Signal sampling at 1 or 2 GS/s is appropriate for the reconstruction of the fast component of the signal scintillation in Argon (characteristic time of about 4 ns) and the extended dynamic range, after a small customization, allows for the detection of signals in the range of energy needed. The bandwidth is found to be adequate and the intrinsic noise is very low

Pharmacokinetic study of gemcitabine, given as prolonged infusion at fixed dose rate, in combination with cisplatin in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

International audienc