Bedded Pack Management System Case Study

Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management,

A COBRA/TRAC, Best-Estimate Analysis of a Large-Break Accident in a PWR Equipped with Upper Head Injection

This report is about the Best-Estimate Analysis of a Large-Break Accident in a PWR Equipped with Upper Head Injection. It also documents about the simulation of a double ended (200 percent), cold leg break, loss-of-coolant accident in a PWR Equipped with Upper Head Injection

A COBRA/TRAC, Best-Estimate Analysis of a Large-Break Accident in a PWR Equipped with Upper Head Injection

This report is about the Best-Estimate Analysis of a Large-Break Accident in a PWR Equipped with Upper Head Injection. It also documents about the simulation of a double ended (200 percent), cold leg break, loss-of-coolant accident in a PWR Equipped with Upper Head Injection

Practical Implementation of a General Numerical Lifting-Line Method

A general numerical lifting-line method provides corrections to overcome the singularities inherent in the lifting-line downwash integrals in certain cases. These singularities have previously limited the scope of lifting-line theory to straight wings not in sideslip; in all other cases, more traditional numerical approaches to solving Prandtl\u27s hypothesis fail to grid converge. However, this general numerical lifting-line method grid converges even for swept wings and wings in sideslip. In the current work, we apply the general numerical lifting-line method to any number of wings with arbitrary geometry. We also provide a dimensional derivation of the basic general numerical lifting-line equations and discuss how airfoil section properties can be corrected for sweep. We develop a linearized system of equations and a nonlinear improvement method to solve the general numerical lifting-line equations. Results show that placing the lifting-line on the wing locus of aerodynamic centers, as done by others, may not yield the most accurate results. Comparisons with published data reveal that the general numerical lifting-line method can accurately predict the lift distribution for swept wings

67/12/12 Oral Arguments before the US Supreme Court

Tuesday, December 12, 1967 oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court

Dynamics of high viscosity contrast confluent microfluidic flows

The laminar nature of microfluidic flows is most elegantly demonstrated via the confluence of two fluids forming two stable parallel flows within a single channel meeting at a highly stable interface. However, maintenance of laminar conditions can become complicated when there is a large viscosity contrast between the neighbouring flows leading to unique instability patterns along their interface. Here, we study the dynamics of high viscosity contrast confluent flows - specifically a core flow made of highly viscous glycerol confined by sheath flows made of water within a microfluidic flow focusing system. Our experiments indicate the formation of tapered core structures along the middle of the channel. Increasing the sheath flow rate shortens the tapered core, and importantly induces local instability patterns along the interface of core-sheath flows. The dynamics of such tapered core structures is governed by the intensity of instability patterns and the length of the core, according to which the core structure can experience stable, disturbed, broken or oscillated regimes. We have studied the dynamics of tapered core structures under these regimes. In particular, we have analysed the amplitude and frequency of core displacements during the broken core and oscillating core regimes, which have not been investigated before

An automated optofluidic biosensor platform combining interferometric sensors and injection moulded microfluidics

A primary limitation preventing practical implementation of photonic biosensors within point-of-care platforms is their integration with fluidic automation subsystems. For most diagnostic applications, photonic biosensors require complex fluid handling protocols; this is especially prominent in the case of competitive immunoassays, commonly used for detection of low-concentration, low-molecular weight biomarkers. For this reason, complex automated microfluidic systems are needed to realise the full point-of-care potential of photonic biosensors. To fulfil this requirement, we propose an on-chip valve-based microfluidic automation module, capable of automating such complex fluid handling. This module is realised through application of a PDMS injection moulding fabrication technique, recently described in our previous work, which enables practical fabrication of normally closed pneumatically actuated elastomeric valves. In this work, these valves are configured to achieve multiplexed reagent addressing for an on-chip diaphragm pump, providing the sample and reagent processing capabilities required for automation of cyclic competitive immunoassays. Application of this technique simplifies fabrication and introduces the potential for mass production, bringing point-of-care integration of complex automated microfluidics into the realm of practicality. This module is integrated with a highly sensitive, label-free bimodal waveguide photonic biosensor, and is demonstrated in the context of a proof-of-concept biosensing assay, detecting the low-molecular weight antibiotic tetracycline

“There are things I want to say but you do not ask”: a comparison between standardised and individualised evaluations in substance use treatment

There has been an increasing call for service users to be more actively involved with the evaluation of treatment outcomes. One strategy to impove such involvement is to ask service users to contribute with their own criteria for evaluation by sharing their personal story and perspective about their clinical situation. In this cross-sectional study, we contrasted the contents elicited by service users completing two individualised measures against the contents of three widely used standardised measures. We also compared two methods to generate individualised data using self-report and interview-based instruments (PSYCHLOPS and PQ). Following a thematic comparison approach, we found that one quarter of the problems reported by patients in individualised measures were not covered by any of our standardised comparators. Also, half of our sample generated at least one problem whose theme was not covered by any of the three standardised measures. We also found that patients in this population have many other concerns beyond drug use. These included psychological (e.g. interpersonal relationships) and socio-economic (e.g. money) problems, which were frequently reported. Our study suggests that listening to service users’ stories allows us to capture issues of importance to service users in substance use treatment, which may be underestimated by standardised measures

Forward modeling of standing kink modes in coronal loops. I. Synthetic views

Kink magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves are frequently observed in various magnetic structures of the solar atmosphere. They may contribute significantly to coronal heating and could be used as a tool to diagnose the solar plasma. In this study, we synthesize the Fe ix λ171.073 emission of a coronal loop supporting a standing kink MHD mode. The kink MHD wave solution of a plasma cylinder is mapped into a semi-torus structure to simulate a curved coronal loop. We decompose the solution into a quasi-rigid kink motion and a quadrupole term, which dominate the plasma inside and outside of the flux tube, respectively. At the loop edges, the line of sight integrates relatively more ambient plasma, and the background emission becomes significant. The plasma motion associated with the quadrupole term causes spectral line broadening and emission suppression. The periodic intensity suppression will modulate the integrated intensity and the effective loop width, which both exhibit oscillatory variations at half of the kink period. The quadrupole term can be directly observed as a pendular motion at the front view

Randomised trials comparing different healthcare settings : an exploratory review of the impact of pre-trial preferences on participation, and discussion of other methodological challenges

BACKGROUND: We recently published a systematic review of different healthcare settings (such as outpatient, community or home) for administering intravenous chemotherapy, and concluded that performing conventionally designed randomised trials was difficult. The main problems were achieving adequate trial accrual rates and recruiting a study population which adequately represented the target population of interest. These issues stemmed from the fact that potential participants may have had pre-trial perceptions about the trial settings they may be allocated; such preferences will sometimes be strong enough for patients to decline an invitation to participate in a trial. A patient preference trial design (in which patients can choose, or be randomised to, an intervention) may have obviated these recruitment issues, although none of the trials used such a design. METHODS: In order to gain a better understanding of the broader prevalence and extent of these preference issues (and any other methodological challenges), we undertook an exploratory review of settings trials in any area of healthcare treatment research. We searched The Cochrane Library and Google Scholar and used snowballing methods to identify trials comparing different healthcare settings. RESULTS: Trial accrual was affected by patient preferences for a setting in 15 of the 16 identified studies; birth setting trials were the most markedly affected, with between 68 % and 85 % of eligible women declining to participate specifically because of preference for a particular healthcare setting. Recruitment into substance abuse and chemotherapy setting studies was also notably affected by preferences. Only four trials used a preference design: the proportion of eligible patients choosing to participate via a preference group ranged from between 33 % and 67 %. CONCLUSIONS: In trials of healthcare settings, accrual may be seriously affected by patient preferences. The use of trial designs which incorporate a preference component should therefore strongly be considered. When designing such trials, investigators should consider settings to be complex interventions, which are likely to have linked components which may be difficult to control for. Careful thought is also needed regarding the choice of comparator settings and the most appropriate outcome measures to be used