Free vibration and buckling analysis of higher order laminated composite plates using the isogeometric approach

This research paper presents a higher order isogeometric laminated composite plate finite element formulation. The isogeometric formulation is based on NURBS (non-uniform rational B-splines) basis functions of varying degree. Plate kinematics is based on the third order shear deformation theory (TSDT) of Reddy in order to avoid shear locking. Free vibration and the buckling response of laminated composite plates are obtained and efficiency of the method is considered. Numerical results with different element order are presented and the obtained results are compared to analytical and conventional numerical results as well as existing isogeometric plate finite elements

Subjective and objective responses to caloric stimulation help separate vestibular migraine from other vestibular disorders.

BACKGROUND: Nystagmus generated during bithermal caloric test assesses the horizontal vestibulo-ocular-reflex. Any induced symptoms are considered unwanted side effects rather than diagnostic information. AIM: We hypothesized that nystagmus slow-phase-velocity (SPV) and subjective symptoms during caloric testing would be higher in vestibular migraine (VM) patients compared with peripheral disorders such as Meniere's disease (MD) and non-vestibular dizziness (NVD). METHODS: Consecutive patients (n = 1373, 60% female) referred for caloric testing were recruited. During caloric irrigations, patients scored their subjective sensations. We assessed objective-measures, subjective vertigo (SVS), subjective nausea (SNS), and test completion status. RESULTS: Nystagmus SPV for VM, MD (unaffected side), and NVD were 29 ± 12.8, 30 ± 15.4, and 28 ± 14.2 for warm irrigation and 24 ± 8.9, 22 ± 10.0, and 25 ± 12.8 for cold-irrigation. The mean SVS were 2.5 ± 1.1, 1.5 ± 1.33, and 1.5 ± 1.42 for warm irrigation and 2.2 ± 1.1, 1.1 ± 1.19, and 1.1 ± 1.16 for cold-irrigation. Age was significantly correlated with SVS and SNS, (p < 0.001) for both. The SVS and SNS were significantly higher in VM compared with non-VM groups (p < 0.001), and there was no difference in nystagmus SPV. VM patients SVS was significantly different to the SVS of migraineurs in the other diagnostic groups (p < 0.001). Testing was incomplete for 34.4% of VM and 3.2% of MD patients. To separate VM from MD, we computed a composite value representing the caloric data, with 83% sensitivity and 71% specificity. Application of machine learning to these metrics plus patient demographics yielded better separation (96% sensitivity and 85% specificity). CONCLUSION: Perceptual differences between VM and non-VM patients during caloric stimulation indicate that subjective ratings during caloric testing are meaningful measures. Combining objective and subjective measures could provide optimal separation of VM from MD

PACKING LINE EVALUATION FOR DROP IMPACTS ON PERSIMMON QUALITY "RAMA FORTE"

Excessive and inadequate handling of fruits and vegetables provides high incidences of physical damage, consequently, post harvest losses. The main goal of this work was to evaluate the impact magnitude in persimmon packing lines, "Rama Forte", and to determine, at the laboratory, its impact limits. For evaluating the critical points it was used an instrumented sphere of 76 mm of diameter (Technmark, Inc, Lansing, USA), which registered the impact magnitude in seven distinctive impact lines located in four packing houses. For determining physical damages, tests were carried out at the laboratory, where fruit drop was related to impact magnitude, physical damage incidence and fruit post harvest losses. At the packing lines, the values found varied from 21 to 87 G on the transfer points and the majority of registered impacts (over 94%) were down 50G. Drops from 20 cm caused an increase in weight losses after six days of storage at room temperature. Drops from 20 and 30 cm caused skin darkness (low L values), associated to a decrease in color intensity (chroma). Impact drop did not affect pulp fruit chemical features.29464265

Wetlands for wastewater treatment and subsequent recycling of treated effluent : a review

Due to water scarcity challenges around the world, it is essential to think about non-conventional water resources to address the increased demand in clean freshwater. Environmental and public health problems may result from insufficient provision of sanitation and wastewater disposal facilities. Because of this, wastewater treatment and recycling methods will be vital to provide sufficient freshwater in the coming decades, since water resources are limited and more than 70% of water are consumed for irrigation purposes. Therefore, the application of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation has much potential, especially when incorporating the reuse of nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous, which are essential for plant production. Among the current treatment technologies applied in urban wastewater reuse for irrigation, wetlands were concluded to be the one of the most suitable ones in terms of pollutant removal and have advantages due to both low maintenance costs and required energy. Wetland behavior and efficiency concerning wastewater treatment is mainly linked to macrophyte composition, substrate, hydrology, surface loading rate, influent feeding mode, microorganism availability, and temperature. Constructed wetlands are very effective in removing organics and suspended solids, whereas the removal of nitrogen is relatively low, but could be improved by using a combination of various types of constructed wetlands meeting the irrigation reuse standards. The removal of phosphorus is usually low, unless special media with high sorption capacity are used. Pathogen removal from wetland effluent to meet irrigation reuse standards is a challenge unless supplementary lagoons or hybrid wetland systems are used

<i>ESR1</i> Mutations and Overall Survival on Fulvestrant versus Exemestane in Advanced Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer: A Combined Analysis of the Phase III SoFEA and EFECT Trials.

Purpose ESR1 mutations are acquired frequently in hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer after prior aromatase inhibitors. We assessed the clinical utility of baseline ESR1 circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis in the two phase III randomized trials of fulvestrant versus exemestane.Experimental design The phase III EFECT and SoFEA trials randomized patients with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer who had progressed on prior nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor therapy, between fulvestrant 250 mg and exemestane. Baseline serum samples from 227 patients in EFECT, and baseline plasma from 161 patients in SoFEA, were analyzed for ESR1 mutations by digital PCR. The primary objectives were to assess the impact of ESR1 mutation status on progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in a combined analysis of both studies.Results ESR1 mutations were detected in 30% (151/383) baseline samples. In patients with ESR1 mutation detected, PFS was 2.4 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 2.0-2.6] on exemestane and 3.9 months (95% CI, 3.0-6.0) on fulvestrant [hazard ratio (HR), 0.59; 95% CI, 0.39-0.89; P = 0.01). In patients without ESR1 mutations detected, PFS was 4.8 months (95% CI, 3.7-6.2) on exemestane and 4.1 months (95% CI, 3.6-5.5) on fulvestrant (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.81-1.37; P = 0.69). There was an interaction between ESR1 mutation and treatment (P = 0.02). Patients with ESR1 mutation detected had 1-year OS of 62% (95% CI, 45%-75%) on exemestane and 80% (95% CI, 68%-87%) on fulvestrant (P = 0.04; restricted mean survival analysis). Patients without ESR1 mutations detected had 1-year OS of 79% (95% CI, 71%-85%) on exemestane and 81% (95% CI, 74%-87%) on fulvestrant (P = 0.69).Conclusions Detection of ESR1 mutations in baseline ctDNA is associated with inferior PFS and OS in patients treated with exemestane versus fulvestrant

New targets for therapy in breast cancer: Farnesyltransferase inhibitors

Current systemic therapies for breast cancer are often limited by their nonspecific mechanism of action, unwanted toxicities on normal tissues, and short-term efficacy due to the emergence of drug resistance. However, identification of the molecular abnormalities in cancer, in particular the key proteins involved in abnormal cell growth, has resulted in development of various signal transduction inhibitor drugs as new treatment strategies against the disease. Protein farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) were originally designed to target the Ras signal transduction pathway, although it is now clear that several other intracellular proteins are dependent on post-translational farnesylation for their function. Preclinical data revealed that although FTIs inhibit the growth of ras-transformed cells, they are also potent inhibitors of a wide range of cancer cell lines that contain wild-type ras, including breast cancer cells. Additive or synergistic effects were observed when FTIs were combined with cytotoxic agents (in particular the taxanes) or endocrine therapies (tamoxifen). Phase I trials with FTIs have explored different schedules for prolonged administration, and dose-limiting toxicities included myelosuppression, gastrointestinal toxicity and neuropathy. Clinical efficacy against breast cancer was seen for the FTI tipifarnib in a phase II study. Based on promising preclinical data that suggest synergy with taxanes or endocrine therapy, combination clinical studies are now in progress to determine whether FTIs can add further to the efficacy of conventional breast cancer therapies