Automated setup for non-tactile high-precision measurements of roundness and cylindricity using two laser interferometers

An automated setup for non-tactile high-precision measurements of roundness and cylindricity of ring gauges is presented in this paper. The aim is to overcome classical problems of tactile and radial roundness measurements such as the error influences of the used rotary table and the work piece alignment and thus to increase the accuracy and reduce the measurement time. To achieve those aims a double interferometer concept was chosen and combined with a measurement system for the work piece alignment, a high precision rotary table and an automated four-axes adjustment unit. The main alignment errors of the work pieces (e.g. ring gauges) such as eccentricity and tilting are either suppressed or directly detected and consequently reduced by the automated four-axes adjustment unit. Due to the non-tactile measurement concept and the contactless energy supply of the four-axes adjustment unit, the radial run of the rotary table is not affected. Index Terms – roundness and cylindricity measurement, non-tactile, interferometer, automated, high-precisio

Application of Proper Orthogonal Decomposition Methods in Reactive Pore Diffusion Simulations

Reactive pore diffusion is an important process in automotive exhaust-gas aftertreatment modelling the overall conversion of pollutants. It features highly nonlinear source terms from chemical reactions coupled with transport processes. This work examines the application of model reduction by proper orthogonal decomposition. It is shown that this technique can be successfully applied to the system using separate bases for each species. Using a basis obtained for baseline conditions, predictions can be made for species profiles within a pore system for different conditions, potentially leading to significantly reduced computational requirements

The Giant Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas) as a modern analog for fossil ostreoids: Isotopic (Ca, O, C) and elemental (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Mn/Ca) proxies

Modern analogs are an essential part of palaeoclimate studies, because they provide the basis for the understanding of geochemical signatures of fossils. Ostreoids are common in many sedimentary sequences and because of their fast growth, high temporal resolution sampling of past seasonal variability is possible. Here, two shell structures of modern Giant Pacific Oysters (Crassostrea gigas), the chalky substance and foliate layers, have been sampled for trace element distributions (Mg, Sr, Mn) and stable isotope variability (C, O, Ca). Oxygen isotopes exhibit a clear seasonal signature. Mean carbon isotope values of different oysters agree within 0.1‰, but ontogenic variability is complicated by shell growth patterns and potential small vital effects. The calcium isotope ratios are found to be constant throughout ontogeny within analytical precision at a value of δ44/40Ca = 0.68 ± 0.16‰ (2 sd) SRM–915a which is consistent with other bivalve species. Calcium isotope ratios in oyster shell material might thus be a possible proxy for palaeo seawater calcium isotope ratios. Element/Ca ratios are significantly higher in the chalky substance than in the foliate layers and especially high Sr/Ca and Mn/Ca ratios are observed for the first growth season of the oysters. Mg/Ca ratios in the chalky substance show a negative correlation with δ18O values, compatible with a temperature dependence, whereas this correlation is absent in the foliate layers. Seasonal changes of Sr/Ca are controlled by metabolic processes, whereas for Mn/Ca an additional environmental control is evident

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Dispersion of the Valence Electron Energy Loss in Thin Amorphous Carbon Films deposited by Ion Assisted Evaporation of Graphite

The dispersion of electron energy loss with transferred wave vector $q$ has been measured for amorphous, non-hydrogenated carbon films. The peak energies for both the loss peak related to the main plasmon loss and for that brought about by the $\pi\rightarrow\pi^{\ast}$ interband transitions are found to follow a power law in $q$. The films exhibited differences of the exponents which may be related to structural differences. For the material deposited with very small ion flux, which is quite similar to ordinary evaporated carbon, a dispersion of the two low loss peaks with $q^{1.6}$ and $q^{1.9}$, respectively, has been found whereas in the case of the other two films, the dispersion appears to be nearly linear in $q$

Quantification of Intestinal Bacterial Populations by Real-Time PCR with a Universal Primer Set and Minor Groove Binder Probes: a Global Approach to the Enteric Flora

The composition of the human intestinal flora is important for the health status of the host. The global composition and the presence of specific pathogens are relevant to the effects of the flora. Therefore, accurate quantification of all major bacterial populations of the enteric flora is needed. A TaqMan real-time PCR-based method for the quantification of 20 dominant bacterial species and groups of the intestinal flora has been established on the basis of 16S ribosomal DNA taxonomy. A PCR with conserved primers was used for all reactions. In each real-time PCR, a universal probe for quantification of total bacteria and a specific probe for the species in question were included. PCR with conserved primers and the universal probe for total bacteria allowed relative and absolute quantification. Minor groove binder probes increased the sensitivity of the assays 10- to 100-fold. The method was evaluated by cross-reaction experiments and quantification of bacteria in complex clinical samples from healthy patients. A sensitivity of 10(1) to 10(3) bacterial cells per sample was achieved. No significant cross-reaction was observed. The real-time PCR assays presented may facilitate understanding of the intestinal bacterial flora through a normalized global estimation of the major contributing species