Integrated aerodynamic-structural design of a forward-swept transport wing

The introduction of composite materials is having a profound effect on aircraft design. Since these materials permit the designer to tailor material properties to improve structural, aerodynamic and acoustic performance, they require an integrated multidisciplinary design process. Futhermore, because of the complexity of the design process, numerical optimization methods are required. The utilization of integrated multidisciplinary design procedures for improving aircraft design is not currently feasible because of software coordination problems and the enormous computational burden. Even with the expected rapid growth of supercomputers and parallel architectures, these tasks will not be practical without the development of efficient methods for cross-disciplinary sensitivities and efficient optimization procedures. The present research is part of an on-going effort which is focused on the processes of simultaneous aerodynamic and structural wing design as a prototype for design integration. A sequence of integrated wing design procedures has been developed in order to investigate various aspects of the design process

Toward forward-looking OCT needle tip vision of the spinal neuroforamen: animal studies

Neurologic complications have been reported with spinal transforaminal injections. Causes include intraneural injection, plus embolization occlusion of the radicular artery with subsequent spinal cord infarction. 1 Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive imaging modality, which is used to image tissue microstructure with very high resolution (less than 20 microns) in real-time. With a view toward needle tip OCT visualization of the spinal neuroforamen, we conducted animal studies to explore OCT imaging of paraspinal neurovascular structures. With institutional animal care committee approval, we performed ex-vivo and in situ OCT studies in a euthanized dog, pig, and rabbit. Image data was gathered on spinal nerve roots, dura, and brachial plexus. Two systems were used: frequency domain OCT imaging system developed at California Institute of Technology, and time domain Imalux NIRIS system with a 2.7 mm diameter probe. In a euthanized pig, excised dura was punctured with a 17-gauge Tuohy needle. FDOCT dural images of the puncture showed a subsurface cone-shaped defect. In a rabbit in situ study, puncture of the dura with a 26-gauge needle is imaged as a discontinuity. FDOCT imaging of both small artery and large arteries will be presented, along with H&E and OCT images of the brachial plexus

Genetic Alterations of Malignant Pleural Mesothelima

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a highly aggressive tumor that arises from the mesothelial cells lining the pleural cavity. Asbestos is considered the major factor in the pathogenesis of this malignancy, with more than 80% of patients with a history of asbestos exposure. MPM is characterized by a long latency period, typically 20–40 years from the time of asbestos exposure to diagnosis, suggesting that multiple somatic genetic alterations are required for the tumorigenic conversion of a mesothelial cell. In the last few years, advancements in next-generation sequencing and “–omics” technologies have revolutionized the field of genomics and medical diagnosis. The focus of this chapter is to summarize recent studies which explore the molecular mechanisms underlying this disease and identify potential therapeutic targets in MPM

Injury severity and serum amyloid A correlate with plasma oxidation-reduction potential in multi-trauma patients: a retrospective analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In critical injury, the occurrence of increased oxidative stress or a reduced antioxidant status has been observed. The purpose of this study was to correlate the degree of oxidative stress, by measuring the oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) of plasma in the critically injured, with injury severity and serum amyloid A (SAA) levels.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 140 subjects were included in this retrospective study comprising 3 groups: healthy volunteers (N = 21), mild to moderate trauma (ISS < 16, N = 41), and severe trauma (ISS ≥ 16, N = 78). For the trauma groups, plasma was collected on an almost daily basis during the course of hospitalization. ORP analysis was performed using a microelectrode, and ORP maxima were recorded for the trauma groups. SAA, a sensitive marker of inflammation in critical injury, was measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>ORP maxima were reached on day 3 (± 0.4 SEM) and day 5 (± 0.5 SEM) for the ISS < 16 and ISS ≥ 16 groups, respectively. ORP maxima were significantly higher in the ISS < 16 (-14.5 mV ± 2.5 SEM) and ISS ≥ 16 groups (-1.1 mV ± 2.3 SEM) compared to controls (-34.2 mV ± 2.6 SEM). Also, ORP maxima were significantly different between the trauma groups. SAA was significantly elevated in the ISS ≥ 16 group on the ORP maxima day compared to controls and the ISS < 16 group.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results suggest the presence of an oxidative environment in the plasma of the critically injured as measured by ORP. More importantly, ORP can differentiate the degree of oxidative stress based on the severity of the trauma and degree of inflammation.</p

Phthalate esters used as plasticizers in packed red blood cell storage bags may lead to progressive toxin exposure and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines

Phthalate esters (PE's) are plasticizers used to soften PVC-based medical devices. PE's are the most abundant man-made pollutants and increase the risk of developing an allergic respiratory disease or a malignancy. The leaching of PE's in donated packed red blood cells (PRBC) during storage was assessed. PRBC transfusion bags containing CPD/AS-1 (ADSOL) buffer were analyzed. Samples were collected on storage day 1 and day 42. Two PE's, di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), were measured by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LCMS). Interleukin-8 (IL-8) was measured by standard ELISA techniques. DEHP significantly increased from 34.3 µM (±20.0 SD) on day 1 to 433.2 µM (±131.2 SD) on day 42, a 12.6-fold increase. Similarly, MEHP significantly increased from 3.7 µM (±2.8 SD) on day 1 to 74.0 µM (±19.1 SD) on day 42, a 20.2-fold increase. Also, DEHP and MEHP increased the release of IL-8 from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The transfusion of older units of PRBC could lead to an accumulation of PE's possibly resulting in inflammation and other effects. This accumulation could be exacerbated due to the decreased metabolism of PE's since trauma patients have a lower esterase activity, the enzymes responsible for metabolizing PE's. The effect of oxidative stress caused by PE's is discussed as a potential mechanism for increases in inflammation caused by older units of PRBC

Orientational order on curved surfaces - the high temperature region

We study orientational order, subject to thermal fluctuations, on a fixed curved surface. We derive, in particular, the average density of zeros of Gaussian distributed vector fields on a closed Riemannian manifold. Results are compared with the density of disclination charges obtained from a Coulomb gas model. Our model describes the disordered state of two dimensional objects with orientational degrees of freedom, such as vector ordering in Langmuir monolayers and lipid bilayers above the hexatic to fluid transition.Comment: final version, 13 Pages, 2 figures, uses iopart.cl

Feedback factory : multiple faint radio jets detected in a cluster at z=2

We report the detection of multiple faint radio sources, that we identify as active galactic nucleus (AGN) jets, within CLJ1449+0856 at z = 2 using 3 GHz Very Large Array observations. We study the effects of radio-jet-based kinetic feedback at high redshifts, which has been found to be crucial in low-redshift clusters to explain the observed thermodynamic properties of their intracluster medium (ICM). We investigate this interaction at an epoch featuring high levels of AGN activity and a transitional phase of ICM in regards to the likelihood of residual cold gas accretion. We measure a total flux of 30.6 +/- 3.3 mu Jy from the six detected jets. Their power contribution is estimated to be 1.2 (+/- 0.6) x 10(44) erg s(-1), although this value could be up to 4.7 x 10(44) erg s(-1). This is a factor of similar to 0.25-1.0 of the previously estimated instantaneous energy injection into the ICM of CLJ1449+0856 from AGN outflows and star formation that have already been found to be sufficient in globally offsetting the cooling flows in the cluster core. In line with the already detected abundance of star formation, this mode of feedback being distributed over multiple sites, contrary to a single central source observed at low redshifts, points to accretion of gas into the cluster centre. This also suggests a 'steady state' of the cluster featuring non-cool-core-like behaviour. Finally, we also examine the total infrared-radio luminosity ratio for the known sample of galaxies within the cluster core and find that dense environments do not have any serious consequence on the compliance of galaxies to the infrared-radio correlation.Peer reviewe