Endometrial Histology of Depomedroxyprogesterone Acetate Users: A Pilot Study

Objective. To obtain pilot data on the endometrial histology of Depomedroxyprogesterone acetate (Depo-Provera, DMPA) users experiencing breakthrough bleeding (BTB) versus users with amenorrhea. To compare the endometrial histology of patients who used DMPA continuously for 3–12 months versus those who used it for 13 months or more. Methods. Cross-sectional study. Endometrial biopsy was obtained fromall consenting patients who used DMPA for at least 3 months. Patients were divided into those with BTB in the last 3 months versus those with amenorrhea for at least 3 months. Histology results and duration of therapy were compared. Results. The proportion of women with chronic endometritis, uterine polyps, atrophic, proliferative, or progesteronedominant endometrium did not differ between those DMPA users with BTB versus those with amenorrhea. Duration of therapy did not correlate with symptoms of BTB or endometrial histology. Chronic endometritis was the most common histologic finding (10/40, 25%) and occurred more often in women experiencing BTB (35% versus 15%) (RR 1.62 CI 0.91–2.87). Moreover, 45% of women with BTB had received DMPA for more than 12 months. Conclusions. BTB was more common than previously reported in women using DMPA for more than 12 months. Chronic endometritis, which may indicate an underlying infectious or intracavitary anatomic etiology, has not been previously reported as a frequent finding in DMPA users, and may be related to ethnic or other sociodemographic characteristics of our patient population. Further study to elucidate the etiology of chronic endometritis in these patients is warranted

DBD Plasma Actuators for Flow Control in Air Vehicles and Jet Engines - Simulation of Flight Conditions in Test Chambers by Density Matching

Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Plasma actuators for active flow control in aircraft and jet engines need to be tested in the laboratory to characterize their performance at flight operating conditions. DBD plasma actuators generate a wall-jet electronically by creating weakly ionized plasma, therefore their performance is affected by gas discharge properties, which, in turn, depend on the pressure and temperature at the actuator placement location. Characterization of actuators is initially performed in a laboratory chamber without external flow. The pressure and temperature at the actuator flight operation conditions need to be simultaneously set in the chamber. A simplified approach is desired. It is assumed that the plasma discharge depends only on the gas density, while other temperature effects are assumed to be negligible. Therefore, tests can be performed at room temperature with chamber pressure set to yield the same density as in operating flight conditions. The needed chamber pressures are shown for altitude flight of an air vehicle and for jet engines at sea-level takeoff and altitude cruise conditions. Atmospheric flight conditions are calculated from standard atmosphere with and without shock waves. The engine data was obtained from four generic engine models; 300-, 150-, and 50-passenger (PAX) aircraft engines, and a military jet-fighter engine. The static and total pressure, temperature, and density distributions along the engine were calculated for sea-level takeoff and for altitude cruise conditions. The corresponding chamber pressures needed to test the actuators were calculated. The results show that, to simulate engine component flows at in-flight conditions, plasma actuator should be tested over a wide range of pressures. For the four model engines the range is from 12.4 to 0.03 atm, depending on the placement of the actuator in the engine. For example, if a DBD plasma actuator is to be placed at the compressor exit of a 300 PAX engine, it has to be tested at 12.4 atm for takeoff, and 6 atm for cruise conditions. If it is to be placed at the low-pressure turbine, it has to be tested at 0.5 and 0.2 atm, respectively. These results have implications for the feasibility and design of DBD plasma actuators for jet engine flow control applications. In addition, the distributions of unit Reynolds number, Mach number, and velocity along the engine are provided. The engine models are non-proprietary and this information can be used for evaluation of other types of actuators and for other purposes

An Intelligent Case-Based Help Desk Providing Web-Based Support for EOSDIS Customers

This paper describes a project that extends the concept of help desk automation by offering World Wide Web access to a case-based help desk. It explores the use of case-based reasoning and cognitive engineering models to create an 'intelligent' help desk system, one that learns. It discusses the AutoHelp architecture for such a help desk and summarizes the technologies used to create a help desk for NASA data users

A meta-analysis of biological variation in blood-based therapy as a precursor to bio-manufacturing

Currently cellular therapies, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), are produced at a small scale on a case-by-case basis, usually in a clinical or near-clinical setting. Meeting the demand for future cellular therapies will require a robust and scalable manufacturing process that is either designed around or controls the variation associated with biological starting materials. Understanding variation requires both a measure of the allowable variation (that does not negatively affect patient outcome) and the achievable variation (with current technology). The prevalence of HSCT makes it an ideal case study to prepare for more complex biological manufacturing with more challenging regulatory classifications. A systematic meta-analysis of the medical literature surrounding HSCT has been completed of which the key outcomes are the following: (i) the range of transplanted CD34+ cells/kg can be up to six orders of magnitude around the median for allogeneic procedures and four orders of magnitude for autologous procedures, (ii) there is no improvement in variation encountered over a period of 30 years and (iii) as study size increases, the amount of variation encountered also increases. A more detailed, stratified source from a controlled single-site clinical center is required to further define a control strategy for the manufacture of biologics

Quantification of variation in biological input materials and its effect on clinical outcome and manufacture

Using blood and blood-based products as a case study, this project will investigate and seek to manage biological input variation from a processing perspective by relating this to clinical outcome (i.e. patient benefit) and exploring the concerns due to input variation when manufacturing a biological therapeutic at multiple sites. • Hematopoietic stem cell transplants are used to treat blood-based cancer and immunological deficiency • Over 130,000 transplants were carried out in Europe between 1990 and 2000[1] • The living cell is the product, introducing more complexity and sensitivity than found in pharmaceuticals • Humans are the source of the raw material, and we are inherently variable • Variation affects the cost, the safety of the therapeutic and the efficacy of the treatmen

Quantification of biological variation in blood-based therapy – a summary of a meta-analysis to inform manufacturing in the clinic

Background and Objectives Biological raw materials, the basis for cellular therapies such as stem cells, have a significantly greater degree of complexity than their traditional pharmaceutical counterparts. This can be attributed to the inherent variation of its source – human beings. Currently, cell therapies are made in small, ad hoc batches, but larger scale production is a prerequisite to meeting future demand and will require a quality-by-design approach to manufacturing that will be designed around, or be robust to this variation. Quantification of variation will require understanding of the current baseline and stratification of its sources. Materials and Methods Haematopoietic stem cell therapy was chosen as a case study to explore this variation, and a PRISMA-guided (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) systematic meta-analysis was carried out for a number of predetermined cell measurements. Results From this data set, it appears that the extent of variation in therapeutic dose (in terms of transplanted total nucleated cells and CD34+ cells per kilogram) for HSCT is between one and four orders of magnitude of the median. Conclusions This is tolerated under the practice of medicine but would be unmanageable from a biomanufacturing perspective and raises concerns about comparable levels of efficacy and treatment. A number of sources that will contribute towards this variation are also reported, as is the direction of travel for 4 greater clarity of the scale of this challenge

Investigating UK Biobank blood metrics variation to inform cell therapy manufacturing process control [poster]

Investigating UK Biobank blood metrics variation to inform cell therapy manufacturing process control [poster

Becoming Critical Mathematics Pedagogues: A Journey

This session will report the findings of a study that explored the beginning transformations in the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college) who completed a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice, and how these transformations are compatible (or not) with reform mathematics education as suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in turn, the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only coresearchers, but also co-authors of the study. Data collection included reflective essays, journals, and “storytelling”; data analysis was a combination of textual analysis and autoethnography. The findings report that the teachers believed that the course provided not only a new language but also a legitimization to transform their pedagogical philosophies and practices away from the “traditional” and toward a mathematics for social justice—a mathematics that is, indeed, compatible with the reform movements of the NCTM and GPS

Roll for Initiative! 101 Just Leveled Up: Choosing Intentionality in Course Redesign

Background: As demand for the health sciences (HS) section of the Library\u27s introductory credit-bearing information literacy course outpaced available course seats and after a change to the course registration software made the section difficult to locate, a need was identified to update the coursework to be more relevant to HS students\u27 specific learning needs. Three HS librarians and the Libraries\u27 Office of Curriculum and Instructional Support (OCIS) collaborated to revamp this section to better meet the needs of future healthcare professionals. The revamped coursework was instituted beginning Fall 2021, and in Fall 2022 the section became its own unique class. Methods: The course revision used the ADDIE and backward design models (Wiggins and McTighe, 2005). We analyzed faculty demand and HS student information literacy needs. After reviewing the HS section content, we re-designed the course based on this analysis. OCIS assisted the HS librarians with course development and led the content implementation into Blackboard, our CMS. To evaluate, we reviewed Student Evaluation of Instruction (SEIs) pertaining to course design. We also used text-mining on the students\u27 end-of-course reflection reports; a sentiment analysis examined students\u27 emotional response to the course and topic modeling determined if topics found in the students’ reflections align with the course outcomes. Results: This presentation will present and discuss class assignments, analysis of SEIs and student reflections, and lessons learned through implementing the course. Conclusions: Moving forward, we will continue gathering feedback each semester on course successes and pain points. Small adjustments to wording and presentation of assignments have been implemented for Fall 2022. Next steps include creating project overview videos, a course glossary, and making room in the class for students to evaluate digitized historical patient education materials in preparation for creating their own

Paper 1: Becoming Critical Mathematics Pedagogues: A Journey

This session will report the findings of a study that explored the beginning transformations in the pedagogical philosophies and practices of three mathematics teachers (middle, high school, and 2-year college) who completed a graduate-level mathematics education course that focused on critical theory and teaching for social justice, and how these transformations are compatible (or not) with reform mathematics education as suggested by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and in turn, the new Georgia Performance Standards (GPS). The study employed Freirian participatory research methodology; in fact, the participants were not only co- researchers, but also co-authors of the study. Data collection included reflective essays, journals, and “storytelling”; data analysis was a combination of textual analysis and autoethnography. The findings report that the teachers believed that the course provided not only a new language but also a legitimization to transform their pedagogical philosophies and practices away from the “traditional” and toward a mathematics for social justice—a mathematics that is, indeed, compatible with the reform movements of the NCTM and GPS