Simulation of 3-D viscous flow within a multi-stage turbine

This work outlines a procedure for simulating the flow field within multistage turbomachinery which includes the effects of unsteadiness, compressibility, and viscosity. The associated modeling equations are the average passage equation system which governs the time-averaged flow field within a typical passage of a blade row embedded within a multistage configuration. The results from a simulation of a low aspect ratio stage and a one-half turbine will be presented and compared with experimental measurements. It will be shown that the secondary flow field generated by the rotor causes the aerodynamic performance of the downstream vane to be significantly different from that of an isolated blade row

How community pharmacy pharmacogenomics testing services around the world can inform their design and delivery in the UK

Introduction: Pharmacogenomics reduces the need for trial-and-error prescribing, and the chances of adverse reactions, and improves patient outcomes. With the cost of PGx testing falling rapidly, in line with the cost of other testing within the NHS, it is already being deployed by community pharmacists outside the UK.Aim: To learn from experiences of PGx delivery in community pharmacies in other countries to inform the set up and design of future UK pharmacy services.Method: A five-stage scoping review methodological framework was deployed. The research question was identified, and the relevant studies were selected from databases, using the search terms “Pharmacogenomics” OR “Pharmacogenetics” AND ‘Community Pharmacy’. A data extraction tool was used to collect the data which was subsequently charted into categories including barriers, enablers, patient orientated outcomes and recommendations for future research. The results were then collated, summarised and reported.Results: From the 15 papers reviewed, it was noted that community pharmacy based PGx services are becoming increasingly widespread, having been implemented in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands and Cyprus. Enablers for implementation of a PGx testing service in a community pharmacy setting included patient interest, pharmacist willingness and confidence to deliver the service, the service being comparable to existing pharmacy services (e.g., vaccination programmes) and prescriber acceptance of the results. Barriers included education and training of pharmacists, access to appropriate clinical resources, lack of patient-friendly resources and time capacity. Conclusion: Community pharmacy led PGx services have been reported in several different countries. For such services to work well, they need patient interest, pharmacist engagement, training and supporting information for pharmacists and prescriber acceptance of recommendations for any changes to patient prescriptions.<br/

Origins of the midlatitude Pacific decadal variability

Analysis of multiple climate simulations shows much of the midlatitude Pacific decadal variability to be composed of two simultaneously occurring elements: One is a stochastically driven, passive ocean response to the atmosphere while the other is oscillatory and represents a coupled mode of the ocean‐atmosphere system. ENSO processes are not required to explain the origins of the decadal variability. The stochastic variability is driven by random variations in wind stress and heat flux associated with internal atmospheric variability but amplified by a factor of 2 by interactions with the ocean. We also found a coupled mode of the ocean‐atmosphere system, characterized by a significant power spectral peak near 1 cycle/20 years in the region of the midlatitude North Pacific and Kuroshio Extension. Ocean dynamics appear to play a critical role in this coupled air/sea mode

Average-passage flow model development

A 3-D model was developed for simulating multistage turbomachinery flows using supercomputers. This average passage flow model described the time averaged flow field within a typical passage of a bladed wheel within a multistage configuration. To date, a number of inviscid simulations were executed to assess the resolution capabilities of the model. Recently, the viscous terms associated with the average passage model were incorporated into the inviscid computer code along with an algebraic turbulence model. A simulation of a stage-and-one-half, low speed turbine was executed. The results of this simulation, including a comparison with experimental data, is discussed

Computed tomographic assessment of individual paranasal sinus compartment and nasal conchal bulla involvement in 300 cases of equine sinonasal disease

Background: Computed tomographic (CT) imaging has allowed new anatomical studies and detailed clinical imaging of the complex, overlapping equine sinonasal structures. Despite the widespread use of CT, no study has specifically identified which compartments are most commonly affected with sinus disorders. CT has also shown the presence of intercurrent, ipsilateral nasal disorders, especially infection of the nasal conchal bullae (NCB) in many cases of sinus disease, but the frequency of intercurrent NCB infections has not been reported. Objectives: To identify which sinus compartments are most commonly affected in horses with clinical sinus disorders and to record the prevalence of NCB involvement in such cases. Study Design: Retrospective examination of CT images of horses with confirmed unilateral sinus disease. Methods: The CT images of 300 horses, from three different equine hospitals with clinically confirmed sinus disease [mainly dental (53%) and primary sinusitis (25.7%)] were retrospectively examined to determine which sinus compartments and NCBs were affected. Results: The rostral, more dependent sinus compartments were most commonly involved, i.e., the rostral maxillary sinus in 284/300 (94.7% affected) and the ventral conchal sinus (87% affected). The caudal maxillary sinus (65.3%), dorsal conchal sinus (52.7%), frontal sinus (26%), ethmoidal sinus (32%) and sphenopalatine sinus (28.7%) were less commonly affected. There was infection or destruction of the ipsilateral NCBs in 56% of horses with sinus disorders, including the ventral NCBs in 42.3%, dorsal NCBs in 29% and both NCBs in 18% of cases. Main Limitations: The horses with sinonasal disease that underwent head CT imaging include more problematic cases and horses of high value, rather than the general horse population. Conclusions: The more dependant (i.e., the RMS and VCS) sinus compartments are most commonly involved in sinus disorders, with the RMS involved in nearly every case. The more dorsally located sinuses (i.e., caudal group) are less commonly involved. Many horses with sinus disease also have disorders of their nasal conchal bullae and so the term sinonasal disease seems appropriate for these disorders

Costs and benefits of wetland restoration of hydric cropland in Missouri: a preliminary assessment

This report presents a preliminary analysis of the benefits and costs of restoring hydric cropland sites to wetlands in Missouri. Potential social and private (landowner) benefits and costs were estimated for 25 sites in Livingston county and 23 sites in Linn county. Sites ranging in size from 36 to 68 acres were identified using a geographic information system. Social net benefits of wetland restoration for both counties were highest and positive ($431,248) with high benefits and low costs and negative and lowest (-$579,681) with low benefits and high costs. When wetland construction costs are fully subsidized and easement payments equal the opportunity cost of wetland restoration, private net benefits ranged from $629,905 (high landowner benefits) to$9,686 (low landowner benefits). It would be economically rational for a landowner to convert hydric cropland to wetland if the easement payment provided by the government is greater than or equal to the opportunity cost of wetland restoration, the cost of wetland construction is fully subsidized, and the income earned from the wetland equals or exceeds maintenance cost of the wetland. The first condition is likely to be satisfied for landowners who bid eligible cropland into the Wetland Reserve Program. The second condition would be satisfied under current cost-sharing provisions for wetlands. The third condition may or may not be satisfied.Project # G-2029-04 Agreement # 14-08-0001-G-2029-0

Interdecadal interactions between the tropics and midlatitudes in the Pacific Basin

Analysis of global climate model simulations and observations suggest decadal, midlatitude changes in and over the North Pacific cause decadal modulation of the El Niño‐Southern Oscillation. This coupling between the two geographic regions is via atmospheric, not oceanographic, teleconnections. In essence, large scale changes in the circulation of the atmosphere over the Pacific Basin, while largest in midlatitudes, have a significant projection onto the wind field overlying the equatorial regions. These low frequency wind changes precondition the mean state of the thermocline in the equatorial ocean to produce prolonged periods of enhanced or reduced ENSO activity. The midlatitude variability that drives equatorial impacts is of stochastic origin and, although the magnitude of the signal is enhanced by ocean processes, likely unpredictable

Hope: a new way to look at the HIV epidemic.

There is currently a shift towards embracing 'structural intervention' approaches in HIV prevention and HIV treatment. We offer the concept of hope as an important new framework for researching HIV prevention and HIV treatment. We argue first, that hope is linked to capacity for behaviour change and helps us understand how social environments enable as well as constrain risk reduction. Second, we argue that hope helps us understand HIV treatment engagement and impact, especially uneasy relations between treatment access expectation and the lived experience of treatment delivery in environments characterized by fragile treatment systems. We conclude that HIV prevention should seek to create the structural conditions conducive to sustaining hope in the future, while drawing attention to the often unforeseen local effects of global discourses of HIV treatment promise which may offer an illusion of hope in certain contexts. We draw specific attention to the urgent need for interventions to tackle the adverse psychological and social consequences of fragile treatment delivery. Hope is an under researched concept in the social science of HIV prevention and HIV treatment. It offers unrealized potential, particularly for thinking about structural interventions in relation to managing HIV as a chronic illness and for maximizing HIV risk reduction in resource-poor settings

Assessing Information Technology Use over Time with Growth Modeling and Hierarchical Linear Modeling: A Tutorial

Time is an important factor in the use of information technology. However, traditional information systems research methods cannot adequately account for the dynamic nature of time-based relationships often found in longitudinal data. This shortcoming is problematic when investigating volatile relationships that evolve over time (e.g., information technology use across users, departments, and organizations). Educational, sociological, and management researchers study the influence of time using a rigorous multilevel method called growth modeling. We demonstrate the use of growth modeling in this tutorial, which is based on a semester-long study of an actual web-based university-level course content delivery system. The tutorial provides guidance on preliminary data tests, the construction and analysis of growth models using hierarchical linear modeling, and the interpretation of final results. The tutorial also describes other unique advantages of using growth modeling for IS research

The ACPI Project, Element 1: Initializing a Coupled Climate Model from Observed Conditions

A problem for climate change studies with coupled ocean-atmosphere models has been how to incorporate observed initial conditions into the ocean, which holds most of the ‘memory’ of anthropogenic forcing effects. The first difficulty is the lack of comprehensive three-dimensional observations of the current ocean temperature (T) and salinity (S) fields to initialize to. The second problem is that directly imposing observed T and S fields into the model results in rapid drift back to the model climatology, with the corresponding loss of the observed information. Anthropogenic forcing scenarios therefore typically initialize future runs by starting with pre-industrial conditions. However, if the future climate depends on the details of the present climate, then initializing the model to observations may provide more accurate forecasts. Also, this ∼130 yr spin up imposes substantial overhead if only a few decades of predictions are desired. A new technique to address these problems is presented. In lieu of observed T and S, assimilated ocean data were used. To reduce model drift, an anomaly coupling scheme was devised. This consists of letting the model’s climatological (pre-industrial) oceanic and atmospheric heat contents and transports balance each other, while adding on the (much smaller) changes in heat content since the pre-industrial era as anomalies. The result is model drift of no more than 0.2 K over 50 years, significantly smaller than the forced response of 1.0 K. An ensemble of runs with these assimilated initial conditions is then compared to a set spun up from pre-industrial conditions. No systematic differences were found, i.e., the model simulation of the ocean temperature structure in the late 1990s is statistically indistinguishable from the assimilated observations. However, a model with a worse representation of the late 20th century climate might show significant differences if initialized in this way.This work was supported by the Department of Energy under grant DE-FG03– 98ER62505