An experimental study of a plunging airfoil in the post stall region

Paper presented at the 5th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, South Africa, 1-4 July, 2007.A series of low speed wind tunnel tests were conducted to study the unsteady flow events on an airfoil oscillating in plunge mode beyond its static-stall angle of attack. Data were acquired at a Reynolds number of 0.42*106, over a range of reduced frequencies, k=0.03-0.1 and plunging amplitude of ±15cm. It was found that in the post stall region, there existed a fully separated flow over the upper surface of the airfoil and the dynamic stall vortex formed in the vicinity of the leading edge region. Also, the effect of the reduced frequency was investigated.cs201

Caracterização da cadeia produtiva da carne ovina em Tauá (CE).

Resumo: O presente artigo apresenta a descrição analítica da cadeia produtiva da carne ovina no município de Tauá (CE). A ovinocultura de corte é uma atividade em fase de desenvolvimento e consolidação em diversos locais no Brasil, no entanto ainda enfrenta desafios que precisam ser superados. Dentre os principais entraves para a sua consolidação está a predominância da informalidade nas atividades de abate e de processamento dos ovinos. A caracterização da cadeia produtiva foi realizada por meio de aplicação de questionários junto a 336 produtores rurais criadores de ovinos no município e pela realização de entrevistas com roteiro semiestruturado com sete atravessadores e marchantes que atuam comprando e vendendo ovinos vivos e carne ovina no município. Foram mapeadas as transações realizadas pelos produtores rurais e os principais canais de comercialização por eles utilizados. Constatou-se que 16,7% dos produtores realizam o abate de ovinos com o intuito de comercializar a carne produzida, enquanto 83,3% costumam vender os ovinos vivos para os atravessadores ou para os marchantes. Os produtores rurais são responsáveis pelo abate de 9,9% dos ovinos produzidos e comercializados no município de Tauá, indicando que a maior parte dos abates não inspecionados é realizada por agentes localizados nos estágios pós-porteira da cadeia produtiva da ovinocultura de corte. [Characteristics of lamb meat production chain in Tauá (CE)]. Abstract: This paper presents an analytical description of the production chain of lamb meat in the municipality of Tauá (CE). The production of lamb meat is an activity under a development process and consolidation in several locations of Brazil, but still faces challenges that must be overcome. Among the main obstacles to their consolidation there is the prevalence of informality in the activities of lamb slaughtering. The characterization of the production chain was performed by applying questionnaires from 336 lamb farmers in the municipality, and conducting semi-structured interviews with seven butchers and middlemen that act buying and selling live lamb and lamb meat in the city. It were mapped the transactions carried out by the farmers and the main marketing channels used by them. It was found that 16.7% of producers perform the lamb slaughter on the farm in order to sell the produced meat, while 83.3% usually sell live for middlemen or for the butchers. The farmers are responsible for the slaughter of 9.9% lamb produced and marketed in the municipality of Tauá. This indicates that most of the non-inspected slaughters are performed by agents located in the off-farm stages of this production chain

Patient safety culture in hospitals of Iran: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Nowadays, for quality improvement, measuring patient safety culture (PSC) in healthcare organizations is being increasingly used. The aim of this study was to clarify PSC status in Iranian hospitals using a meta-analysis method. Methods: Six databases were searched: PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Magiran, SID and IranMedex using the search terms including patient safety, patient safety culture, patient safety climate and combined with hospital (such as "hospital survey on patient safety culture"), measurement, assessment, survey and Iran. A total of 11 articles which conducted using Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC) questionnaire initially were reviewed. To estimate overall PSC status and perform the meta-analyses, Comprehensive Meta-Analysis (CMA) software v. 2 was employed. Results: The overall PSC score based on the random model was 50.1. "Teamwork within hospital units" dimension received the highest score of PSC (67.4) and "Non-punitive response to error" the lowest score (32.4). About 41 of participants in reviewed articles evaluate their hospitals' performance in PSC as 'excellent/very good'. Approximately 52.7 of participants did not report any adverse event in the past 12 months. Conclusion: The results of this study show that Iranian hospitals' performances in PSC were poor. Among the 12 dimensions of HSOPSC questionnaire, the "Non-punitive response to error" achieved the lowest score and could be a priority for future interventions. In this regard, hospitals staff should be encouraged to report adverse event without fear of punitive action

Penglibatan wanita yang mengikuti Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) dalam industri Oil & Gas

Persediaan wanita yang mengikuti TVET untuk menceburkan diri dalam industri oil & gas merupakan suatu masalah yang sering diperkatakan dikalangan wanita ketika ini. Permasalahan ini menjadi suatu persoalan dalam kalangan wanita tentang apakah persediaan yang perlu mereka lakukan dalam merencana kerjaya dalam industri oil & gas ini. Secara umumnya kajian ini adalah bertujuan mengenalpasti faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi pemilihan kerja dalam industri oil & gas, kesediaan diri wanita dari segi fizikal dan mental serta cabaran yang dihadapi dalam merealisasikan kerjaya mereka dalam industri oil & gas ini. Kajian ini telah dilakukan ke atas pekerja wanita yang telah berkhidmat dalam industri ini bagi zon selatan dan zon tengah. Seramai 110 sampel kajian yang terlibat dalam penyelidikan ini melalui pengedaran borang kaji selidik sebagai instrumen kajian. Data daripada 86 sampel kajian yang diperolehi dari soal selidik kemudiannya dianalisis dengan menggunakan perisian Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) versi 20.0. Hasil dapatan kajian menunjukkan faktor yang mempengaruhi wanita untuk menceburkan diri dalam industri oil & gas ini adalah faktor gaji iaitu skor min sebanyak 4.41 dan diikuti dengan kesediaan dari segi mental dengan nilai skor min pada tahap yang tinggi iaitu 4.392. Dapatan kajian juga mendapati cabaran semasa mendapatkan pekerjaan adalah perkara paling mencabar yang perlu dihadapi oleh wanita iaitu dengan dapatan skor min sebanyak 4.242. Ini membuktikan bahawa wanita perlu mempersiapkan diri dengan sebaiknya sebelum menceburi industri ini. Terdapat hubungan yang signifikan di antara faktor pemilihan kerja dan kesediaan diri wanita. Kesimpulannya, wanita perlu mempersiapkan diri bukan sekadar dengan memperolehi keputusan yang baik dalam akademik, tetapi kecenderungan dan minat dalam meletakkan diri untuk bersaing dengan lelaki bagi membuktikan wanita turut berkemahiran dan mempunyai jati diri yang tinggi untuk berkerja dalam bidang yang sungguh mencabar

Inhaled medications for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease predict surgical complications and survival in stage I non-small cell lung cancer

BACKGROUND: Lung function is routinely assessed prior to surgical resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Further assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using inhaled COPD medications to determine disease severity, a readily available metric of disease burden, may predict postoperative outcomes and overall survival (OS) in lung cancer patients undergoing surgery. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated clinical stage I NSCLC patients receiving surgical treatment within the Veterans Health Administration from 2006-2016 to determine the relationship between number and type of inhaled COPD medications (short- and long-acting beta2-agonists, muscarinic antagonists, or corticosteroids prescribed within 1 year before surgery) and postoperative outcomes including OS using multivariable models. We also assessed the relationship between inhaled COPD medications, disease severity [measured by forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)], and diagnosis of COPD. RESULTS: Among 9,741 veterans undergoing surgery for clinical stage I NSCLC, patients with COPD were more likely to be prescribed inhaled medications than those without COPD [odds ratio (OR) =5.367, 95% confidence interval (CI): 4.886-5.896]. Increased severity of COPD was associated with increased number of prescribed inhaled COPD medications (P\u3c0.0001). The number of inhaled COPD medications was associated with prolonged hospital stay [adjusted OR (aOR) =1.119, 95% CI: 1.076-1.165), more major complications (aOR =1.117, 95% CI: 1.074-1.163), increased 90-day mortality (aOR =1.088, 95% CI: 1.013-1.170), and decreased OS [adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) =1.061, 95% CI: 1.042-1.080]. In patients with FEV1 ≥80% predicted, greater number of prescribed inhaled COPD medications was associated with increased 30-day mortality (aOR =1.265, 95% CI: 1.062-1.505), prolonged hospital stay (aOR =1.130, 95% CI: 1.051-1.216), more major complications (aOR =1.147, 95% CI: 1.064-1.235), and decreased OS (aHR =1.058, 95% CI: 1.022-1.095). When adjusting for other drug classes and covariables, short-acting beta2-agonists were associated with increased 90-day mortality (aOR =1.527, 95% CI: 1.120-2.083) and decreased OS (aHR =1.087, 95% CI: 1.005-1.177). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with early-stage NSCLC, inhaled COPD medications prescribed prior to surgery were associated with both short- and long-term outcomes, including in patients with FEV1 ≥80% predicted. Routine assessment of COPD medications may be a simple method to quantify operative risk in early-stage NSCLC patients

Systematically missing confounders in individual participant data meta-analysis of observational cohort studies.

One difficulty in performing meta-analyses of observational cohort studies is that the availability of confounders may vary between cohorts, so that some cohorts provide fully adjusted analyses while others only provide partially adjusted analyses. Commonly, analyses of the association between an exposure and disease either are restricted to cohorts with full confounder information, or use all cohorts but do not fully adjust for confounding. We propose using a bivariate random-effects meta-analysis model to use information from all available cohorts while still adjusting for all the potential confounders. Our method uses both the fully adjusted and the partially adjusted estimated effects in the cohorts with full confounder information, together with an estimate of their within-cohort correlation. The method is applied to estimate the association between fibrinogen level and coronary heart disease incidence using data from 154,012 participants in 31 cohort

The Strength of Japanese Companies: A Proposed TQM Framework using Atlas.Ti

Total quality management (TQM) has been implemented because of strong global market rivalry. One of Japanese companies’ strength is TQM practices. Japanese companies have succeeded in global market mainly due to the effective adoption of TQM practices. It is proved that Japanese companies have dominated in much industry such as electrical and electronic, and automotive. Many previous studies discussed about comparing TQM performs between Japanese and non-Japanese companies. However, most of them were given less emphasis on exploring Japanese TQM strength based on relationship diagram amongst TQM, tools and techniques and business performance, which was identified as the theoretical gap. The main impact of this study is to identify the strength of Japanese companies through relationship diagram based on previous works. Qualitative study has been applied using Atlas.ti and meta-analysis. Based on the result, Japanese companies emphasise in application of tools and techniques and human resource developments in their companies. Tools and techniques have relationship between TQM and business performance to succeed higher impact of TQM practices on their business performance. Finally, authors have proposed a conceptual model for understanding the strength of Japanese companies