Final Report of the Cuyahoga County Election Review Panel

The Panel was charged with identifying the deficiencies in the May 2, 2006 Cuyahoga County election, ascertain the causes and contributing factors of those deficiencies and provide recommendations to remedy the deficiencies

Transient Plasma Ignition for Delay Reduction in Pulse Detonation Engines

45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit 8 - 11 January 2007, Reno, NevadaThis paper reviews the testing and evaluation of transient plasma for pulse detonation engine (PDE) ignition conducted at five laboratories. It also presents data showing significant reductions in times required for detonation. Critical to achieving functional levels of thrust are increased repetition rates, thus minimal delay to detonation times are an important parameter. Experiments have been conducted at the University of Southern California and in collaboration with researchers at the Naval Postgraduate School, Wright Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory, Stanford University, Ohio State University and the University of Cincinnati. In these studies it was observed that TPI significantly reduces delay times (factor of 2 to 9) in both static and flowing systems

Transient Plasma Ignition for Delay Reduction in Pulse Detonation Engines

This presentation reviews testing and evaluation at four laboratories of transient plasma for pulse detonation engine (PDE) ignition, and presents data showing significant reductions in times required for detonation. The aerospace community has ongoing interests in the development of propulsion technologies based on pulse detonating engines (PDE), and work is underway to determine whether this is a feasible technology. The PDE provides impulse through fuel detonation, and potential advantages include efficient operation at both subsonic and supersonic speeds. In theory a PDE can efficiently operate from Mach 0 to more than Mach 4 [1,2]. In order to achieve almost continuous thrust firing rates of 100 Hz or more are needed. Critical to achieving high repetition rates are minimal delay to detonation times. In work supported by the Office of Naval Research and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, transient plasma ignition (TPI) has consistently shown substantial reductions in ignition delay time for various fuels [3,4,5]. Experiments have been conducted at the University of Southern California and in collaboration with researchers at the Naval Postgraduate School, Wright Patterson Air Force Research Laboratory, Stanford University, the University of Cincinnati, and California Institute of Technology [6]. In these studies it was observed that TPI significantly reduces delay times in both static and flowing systems. Transient plasma ignition is attractive as an ignition source for PDEs because it produces reductions in ignition delay times, can reduce Deflagration to Detonation Transition (DDT) times, and has been shown to provide the capability to ignite under leaner conditions. This allows for high repetition rates, high altitude operation, and reduced NO, emissions [7,8]. The geometry of the discharge area is such that ignition is achieved with a high degree of spatial uniformity over a large volume relative to traditional spark ignition. The short timescale of the pulse ( < 100 ns) prevents formation of an arc, and a voluminous array of streamers is used for ignition. It is possible that energetic electrons in the highly non-equilibrated electron energy distribution of the streamers cause dissociation of hydrocarbon chain molecules, producing active radicals throughout the ignition volume [9]. A further advantage of TPI is that a smaller fraction of the electrical energy goes into thermal heating of the mixture. These effects allow for large numbers of active species to be generated throughout the volume

Oral History Interview with Frank A. Hoke, November 24, 1971

Interview with Frank A. Hoke, banker and attorney. The interview includes Hoke's personal experiences about being an employee of the Dallas regional office of the Home Owners Loan Corporation during the New Deal. Hoke talks about mortgage buying, loan amortization, insurance, home improvements, accounting procedures, politics and patronage, taxes and appraising, foreclosures, and loan servicing

Page 62

Background and objectives: Tolvaptan slows kidney function decline in patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) at risk of rapid progression. In the 3-year Tolvaptan Efficacy and Safety in Management of ADPKD and Its Outcomes (TEMPO) 3:4, 2-year extension to TEMPO 3:4 (TEMPO 4:4), and 1-year Replicating Evidence of Preserved Renal Function: An Investigation of Tolvaptan Safety and Efficacy in ADPKD (REPRISE) trials, aquaretic adverse events were common. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) elevations occurred in all three studies. Three patients met Hy Law criteria (ALT or AST more than three times and total bilirubin more than two times the upper limit of normal) for severe drug-induced liver injury (two in TEMPO 3:4 and one in TEMPO 4:4). In REPRISE, liver enzyme monitoring frequency was increased to monthly, with no Hy Law cases. A long-term, phase 3 safety study has further characterized tolvaptan safety. Design, setting, participants, & measurements: Subjects who completed TEMPO 4:4, REPRISE, or other tolvaptan trials could enroll in this prospective, multinational, open-label safety study. Assessments included monthly liver enzyme testing during the first 18 months of tolvaptan exposure and every 3 months thereafter. Results: Among 1803 subjects, median tolvaptan exposure during the extension was 651 days (interquartile range, 538-924), and cumulative exposure (extension and previous trials) was ≤11 years. Subjects entering from REPRISE placebo experienced more aquaretic adverse events compared with subjects from TEMPO 4:4 or REPRISE tolvaptan (i.e., patients with prior long-term tolvaptan exposure). Liver enzyme elevations also occurred more frequently in subjects from REPRISE placebo. Percentages experiencing ALT ≥3/≥5/ ≥10/≥20 times the upper limit of normal were 3.2%/2.1%/0.9%/0.7%, respectively, in subjects from REPRISE placebo and 0.6%-1.1%/0.0%-0.1%/0%/0%, respectively, in those from REPRISE tolvaptan and TEMPO 4:4. Percentages experiencing AST ≥3/ ≥5/≥10/≥20 times the upper limit of normal were 6.9%/3.8%/2.3%/0.8%, respectively, in subjects from REPRISE placebo and 0.9%-2.0%/0.0%-1.0%/0%/0%, respectively, in those from REPRISE tolvaptan and TEMPO 4:4. No Hy Law cases occurred. Conclusions: No new safety signals emerged during this long-term extension. Monthly liver function testing for the first 18 months of treatment appeared to enable effective detection and management of transaminase elevations. Clinical trial registry name and registration number: Open Label Extension of TEMPO 3:4, NCT02251275