Development of a Versatile Laser Ultrasonic System and Application to On-Line Measurement for Process Control of Wall Thickness and Eccentrictiy of Steel Seamless Mechanical Tubing

Researchers at the Timken Company conceived a project to develop an on-line instrument for wall thickness measurement of steel seamless mechanical tubing based on laser ultrasonic technology. The instrument, which has been installed and tested at a piercing mill, provides data on tube eccentricity and concentricity. Such measurements permit fine-tuning of manufacturing processes to eliminate excess material in the tube wall and therefore provide a more precisely dimensioned product for their customers. The resulting process energy savings are substantial, as is lowered environmental burden. The expected savings are $85.8 million per year in seamless mechanical tube piercing alone. Applied across the industry, this measurement has a potential of reducing energy consumption by 6 x 10{sup 12} BTU per year, greenhouse gas emissions by 0.3 million metric tons carbon equivalent per year, and toxic waste by 0.255 million pounds per year. The principal technical contributors to the project were the Timken Company, Industrial Materials Institute (IMI, a contractor to Timken), and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Timken provided mill access as well as process and metallurgical understanding. Timken researchers had previously developed fundamental ultrasonic analysis methods on which this project is based. IMI developed and fabricated the laser ultrasonic generation and receiver systems. ORNL developed Bayesian and wavelet based real-time signal processing, spread-spectrum wireless communication, and explored feature extraction and pattern recognition methods. The resulting instrument has successfully measured production tubes at one of Timken's piercing mills. This report concentrates on ORNL's contribution through the CRADA mechanism. The three components of ORNL's contribution were met with mixed success. The real-time signal-processing task accomplished its goal of improvement in detecting time of flight information with a minimum of false data. The signal processing algorithm development resulted in a combination of processing steps that can be set to generate no spoofs from noise, while simultaneously missing fewer than 10% of good trials. The algorithm leads to a 95% probability that the estimate of time of flight is good to within 4 time bins or fewer for laser excitations above 30 mJ for the first two echoes of the signal. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves for the algorithm indicate that the algorithm is very robust against errors for excitations above at 35 mJ and above, tolerable at 30 mJ and unacceptable below 30 mJ

Deqi sensations without cutaneous sensory input: results of an RCT

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Deqi is defined in relation to acupuncture needling as a sensory perception of varying character. In a recently published sham laser validation study, we found that subjects in the verum and the sham laser group experienced deqi sensations. Therefore, we aim to further analyze whether the perceptions reported in the two study arms were distinguishable and whether expectancy effects exhibited considerable impact on our results.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A detailed re-analysis focusing on deqi sensations was performed from data collected in a previously published placebo-controlled, double-blind, clinical cross-over trial for a sham laser evaluation. Thirty-four healthy volunteers (28 ± 10.7 years; 16 women, 18 men) received two laser acupuncture treatments at three acupuncture points LI4 (hégu), LU7 (liéque), and LR3 (táichong); once by verum laser and once using a sham device containing an inactive laser in randomized order. Outcome measures were frequency, intensity (evaluated by visual analogue scale; VAS), and quality of the subjects' sensations perceived during treatments (assessed with the "acupuncture sensation scale").</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both, verum and the sham laser acupuncture result in similar deqi sensations with regard to frequency (p-value = 0.67), intensity (p-value = 0.71) and quality (p-values between 0.15 - 0.98). In both groups the most frequently used adjectives to describe these perceptions were "spreading", "radiating", "tingling", "tugging", "pulsing", "warm", "dull", and "electric". Sensations reported were consistent with the perception of deqi as previously defined in literature. Subjects' conviction regarding the effectiveness of laser acupuncture or the history of having received acupuncture treatments before did not correlate with the frequency or intensity of sensations reported.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Since deqi sensations, described as sensory perceptions, were elicited without any cutaneous sensory input, we assume that they are a product of non-specific effects from the overall treatment procedure. Expectancy-effects due to previous acupuncture experience and belief in laser acupuncture do not seem to play a major role in elicitation of deqi sensations. Our results give hints that deqi might be a central phenomenon of awareness and consciousness, and that its relevance should be taken into account, even in clinical trials. However, further research is required to understand mechanisms underlying deqi.</p

CYP2D6 Polymorphisms and Codeine Analgesia in Postpartum Pain Management: A Pilot Study

Background: Codeine, a common opiate prescribed for pain postcesarean section (c-section), is biotransformed by the highly polymorphic Cytochrome P450 enzyme 2D6 (CYP2D6). Ultrarapid metabolizers (UMs), individuals with multiple active copies of CYP2D6, can biotranform up to 50% more codeine into morphine than normal individuals can. In contrast, poor metabolizers (PMs), individuals who have no active CYP2D6 genes, convert almost no codeine into morphine and as a result may take multiple doses of codeine without attaining analgesia. Objective: The aim was to study the relationship between CYP2D6 genotype and codeine analgesia among women recovering from c-section. Methods: Forty-five mothers prescribed codeine provided a blood sample for CYP2D6 genotyping and recorded their pain level 4 times a day for 3 days immediately after a c-section. Codeine was used on an as-needed basis; doses and times were recorded. The relationship between CYP2D6 genotype, pain scores, need for codeine, and adverse events was studied. Theoretical morphine dose, based on CYP2D6 genotype, was estimated. Results: Women at the genotypic extremes reported codeine effects consistent with their genotype: the 2 PMs of codeine reported no analgesia as a result of taking codeine, whereas 2 of the 3 UMs reported immediate pain relief from codeine but stopped taking it due to dizziness and constipation. Much larger numbers are needed to study similar correlations among extensive and intermediate metabolizers. Conclusions: In this pilot study, the extreme CYP2D6 genotypes (PMs and UMs) seemed to predict pain response and adverse events. Larger sample sizes are needed to correlate the range of genotypes with pain response

Effects of Heave Washout Filtering on Motion Fidelity and Pilot Control Behavior for a Large Commercial Airliner

Due to the significant translational heave motion at the pilot station associated with changes in aircraft pitch attitude, themotion cueing for aircraft pitchmaneuvering typically requires significant heave washout filtering. Previous studies that attempted to motivate choices in the motion cueing strategy for pitch maneuvering based on measurements of pilot behavior. For the small conventional aircraft considered in these studies, the results indicated that, despite the fact that pilots were found to adapt their control strategy to changes in heave cueing, the pitch rotation had a dominant influence on pilot behavior during pitch tracking. For large commercial airliners, a relevant application of this research as a lot of commercial pilot training occurs on moving-base simulators, the location of the pilot station is significantly further from the center of aircraft pitch rotation, yielding more pronounced heave motion cues during changes in pitch attitude. This difference, in addition to typically slower pitch dynamics that require more lead equalization, implies the best choice in motion cueing for large aircraft may be significantly different from what would be optimal for smaller aircraft. In this paper, an experiment is described in which pilot behavior is measured in a pitch attitude disturbance-rejection task with a controlled element and motion cueing conditions that are representative for a Boeing 747 aircraft. Different third-order heave washout filter settings were considered, in addition to a variation in the presence of 1-to-1 rotational pitch motion. Significant effects of the applied variation in pitch and heave motion cueing are observed, even though the effect of heave motion feedback is indeed found to be comparatively more important for larger aircraft. Furthermore, a heave motion filter that combined a low gain with low filter phase distortion was found to yield the least effect on pilot behavior, while for heave motion filters with a relatively high gain and high break frequency significantly larger contributions of motion feedback to pilot behavior were observed.Control & OperationsAerospace Engineerin

The application of Reiki in nurses diagnosed with Burnout Syndrome has beneficial effects on concentration of salivary IgA and blood pressure

This study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of the secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), α-amylase activity and blood pressure levels after the application of a Reiki session in nurses with Burnout Syndrome. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design was conducted to compare the immediate effects of Reiki versus control intervention (Hand-off sham intervention) in nurses with Burnout Syndrome. Sample was composed of eighteen nurses (aged 34-56 years) with burnout syndrome. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either a Reiki treatment or a placebo (sham Reiki) treatment, according to the established order in two different days. The ANOVA showed a significant interaction time x intervention for diastolic blood pressure (F=4.92, P=0.04) and sIgA concentration (F=4.71, P=0.04). A Reiki session can produce an immediate and statistically significant improvement in sIgA concentration and diastolic blood pressure in nurses with Burnout Syndrome