A Parametric Sizing Model for Molten Regolith Electrolysis Reactors to Produce Oxygen from Lunar Regolith

We present a parametric sizing model for a Molten Electrolysis Reactor that produces oxygen and molten metals from lunar regolith. The model has a foundation of regolith material properties validated using data from Apollo samples and simulants. A multiphysics simulation of an MRE reactor is developed and leveraged to generate a vast database of reactor performance and design trends. A novel design methodology is created which utilizes this database to parametrically design an MRE reactor that 1) can sustain the required mass of molten regolith, current, and operating temperature to meet the desired oxygen production level, 2) can operate for long durations via joule heated, cold wall operation in which molten regolith does not touch the reactor side walls, 3) can support a range of electrode separations to enable operational flexibility. Mass, power, and performance estimates for an MRE reactor are presented for a range of oxygen production levels. The effects of several design variables are explored, including operating temperature, regolith type/composition, batch time, and the degree of operational flexibility

Coffee and tea consumption in the early adult lifespan and left ventricular function in middle age: the CARDIA study

AIMS: The long-term impact of coffee or tea consumption on subclinical left ventricular (LV) systolic or diastolic function has not been previously studied. We examined the association between coffee or tea consumption beginning in early adulthood and cardiac function in midlife. METHODS AND RESULTS: We investigated 2735 Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study participants with long-term total caffeine intake, coffee, and tea consumption data from three visits over a 20 year interval and available echocardiography indices at the CARDIA Year-25 exam (2010-2011). Linear regression models were used to assess the association between caffeine intake, tea, and coffee consumption (independent variables) and echocardiography outcomes [LV mass, left atrial volume, and global longitudinal strain (GLS), LV ejection fraction (LVEF), and transmitral Doppler early filling velocity to tissue Doppler early diastolic mitral annular velocity (E/e )]. Models were adjusted for standard cardiovascular risk factors, socioeconomic status, physical activity, alcohol use, and dietary factors (calorie intake, whole and refined grain intake, and fruit and vegetable consumption). Mean (standard deviation) age was 25.2 (3.5) years at the CARDIA Year-0 exam (1985-1986), 57.4% were women, and 41.9% were African-American. In adjusted multivariable linear regression models assessing the relationship between coffee consumption and GLS, beta coefficients when comparing coffee drinkers of \u3c 1, 1-2, 3-4, and \u3e 4 cups/day with non-coffee drinkers were beta = -0.30%, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.35%, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.32%, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.40%, P \u3e 0.05; respectively (more negative values implies better systolic function). In adjusted multivariable linear regression models assessing the relationship between coffee consumption and E/e , beta coefficients when comparing coffee drinkers of \u3c 1, 1-2, 3-4, and \u3e 4 cups/day with non-coffee drinkers were beta = -0.29, P \u3c 0.05; beta = -0.38, P \u3c 0.01; beta = -0.20, P \u3e .05; and beta = -0.37, P \u3e 0.05, respectively (more negative values implies better diastolic function). High daily coffee consumption ( \u3e 4 cups/day) was associated with worse LVEF (beta = -1.69, P \u3c 0.05). There were no associations between either tea drinking or total caffeine intake and cardiac function (P \u3e 0.05 for all). CONCLUSIONS: Low-to-moderate daily coffee consumption from early adulthood to middle age was associated with better LV systolic and diastolic function in midlife. High daily coffee consumption ( \u3e 4cups/day) was associated with worse LV function. There was no association between caffeine or tea intake and cardiac function

Association of smoking and right ventricular function in middle age: CARDIA study

Objective: To evaluate the association of cigarette smoking and right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic functions in a population-based cohort of individuals at middle age. Methods: This cross-sectional study included participants who answered the smoking questionnaire and underwent echocardiography at the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adulthood year 25 examination. RV systolic function was assessed by echocardiographic-derived tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and by right ventricular peak systolic velocity (RVS\u27), while RV diastolic function was evaluated by early right ventricular tissue velocity (RVE\u27). Multivariable linear regression models assessed the relationship of smoking with RV function, adjusting for age, sex, race, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, diabetes mellitus, alcohol consumption, pulmonary function, left ventricular systolic and diastolic function and coronary artery calcium score. Results: A total of 3424 participants were included. The mean age was 50+/-4 years; 57% were female; and 53% were black. There were 2106 (61%) never smokers, 750 (22%) former smokers and 589 (17%) current smokers. In the multivariable analysis, current smokers had significantly lower TAPSE (beta=-0.082, SE=0.031, p=0.008), RVS\u27 (beta=-0.343, SE=0.156, p=0.028) and RVE\u27 (beta=-0.715, SE=0.195, p \u3c 0.001) compared with never smokers. Former smokers had a significantly lower RVE\u27 compared with never smokers (beta=-0.414, SE=0.162, p=0.011), whereas no significant difference in RV systolic function was found between former smokers and never smokers. Conclusions: In a large multicenter community-based biracial cohort of middle-aged individuals, smoking was independently related to both worse RV systolic and diastolic functions

Dream time and anti-imperialism in the writings of Olive Schreiner

This article explores how Olive Schreiner utilizes politicized modernist aesthetics, specifically the manipulation of time through allegory and dream, to resist structures of empire. The claim that Schreiner’s work should be received and analysed as modernist builds on recent work in global modernist studies that views modernisms as multiple, and occurring across various temporalities and geographies, whilst responding to the drive in postcolonial studies to reshape modernism with an awareness of empire. Analysis of the repetitive dream cycles within and across Schreiner’s texts reveals how she disrupts the conventional chronologies and associated ideologies introduced by colonizers in South Africa in ways that can be interpreted as modernist. Beginning with close readings of the opening scenes in the novels Undine: A Queer Little Child (written 1870s) and The Story of an African Farm (1883), the article then considers the role of alternative temporalities associated with dreams in the short allegory “Three Dreams in a Desert” (1887), to suggest that Schreiner’s “dream time” offers a form of postcolonial resistance to the imposed “imperial clock time” of life under colonial rule

Upregulation of Circulating PD-L1/PD-1 Is Associated with Poor Post-Cryoablation Prognosis in Patients with HBV-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The programmed cell death-1 receptor/programmed cell death-1 ligand (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway plays a crucial role in tumor evasion from host immunity. This study was designed to evaluate the association between circulating PD-L1/PD-1 and prognosis after cryoablation in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, 141 HBV-related HCC patients were enrolled and of those 109 patients received cryoablation. Circulating PD-L1/PD-1 expression was tested by flow cytometry, and 23 patients were simultaneously evaluated for intratumoral PD-L1 expression by immunohistochemical staining. Circulating PD-1/PD-L1 expression was associated with severity of diseases in patients with HCC, and the circulating PD-L1 expression was closely correlated with intratumoral PD-L1 expression. Of the clinical parameters, PD-1/PD-L1 expression was associated with tumor size, blood vessel invasion and BCLC staging. Moreover, PD-1/PD-L1 expression dropped after cryoablation while being elevated at the time of tumor recurrence. Patients with higher expression of circulating PD-L1, as well as circulating PD-1, had a significantly shorter overall survival and tumor-free survival than those with lower expression. Multivariate analysis confirmed that circulating PD-L1 could serve as an independent predictor of overall survival and tumor-recurrence survival in HCC patients after cryoablation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Upregulation of circulating PD-L1/PD-1 is associated with poor post-cryoablation prognosis in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Nurses' perceptions of aids and obstacles to the provision of optimal end of life care in ICU

Contains fulltext : 172380.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Framingham score and LV mass predict events in young adults: CARDIA study

BackgroundFramingham risk score (FRS) underestimates risk in young adults. Left ventricular mass (LVM) relates to cardiovascular disease (CVD), with unclear value in youth. In a young biracial cohort, we investigate how FRS predicts CVD over 20 years and the incremental value of LVM. We also explore the predictive ability of different cut-points for hypertrophy.MethodsWe assessed FRS and echocardiography-derived LVM (indexed by body surface area or height2.7) from 3980 African-American and white Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) participants (1990-1991); and followed over 20 years for a combined endpoint: cardiovascular death; nonfatal myocardial infarction, heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, and peripheral artery disease. We assessed the predictive ability of FRS for CVD and also calibration, discrimination, and net reclassification improvement for adding LVM to FRS.ResultsMean age was 30±4 years, 46% males, and 52% white. Event incidence (n=118) across FRS groups was, respectively, 1.3%, 5.4%, and 23.1% (p<0.001); and was 1.4%, 1.3%, 3.7%, and 5.4% (p<0.001) across quartiles of LVM (cut-points 117 g, 144 g, and 176 g). LVM predicted CVD independently of FRS, with the best performance in normal weight participants. Adding LVM to FRS modestly increased discrimination and had a statistically significant reclassification. The 85th percentile (≥116 g/m2 for men; ≥96 g/m2 for women) showed event prediction more robust than currently recommended cut-points for hypertrophy.ConclusionIn a biracial cohort of young adults, FRS and LVM are helpful independent predictors of CVD. LVM can modestly improve discrimination and reclassify participants beyond FRS. Currently recommended cut-points for hypertrophy may be too high for young adults