High order sensitivity analysis of a mistuned blisk including intentional mistuning

Small deviations between turbine blades exist due to manufacturing tolerances or material inhomogeneities. This effect is called mistuning and usually causes increased vibration amplitudes and also a lower service life expectancy of bladed disks or so called blisks (bladed integrated disk). The major resulting problem is to estimate the maximum amplitude with respect to these deviations. Due to the probability distribution of these deviations, statistical methods are used to predict the maximum amplitude. State of the art is the Monte-Carlo simulation which is based on a high number of randomly re-arranged input parameters. The aim of this paper is to introduce a useful method to calculate the probability distribution of the maximum amplitude of a mistuned blisk with respect to the random input parameters. First, the applied reduction method is presented to initiate the sensitivity analysis. This reduction method enables the calculation of the frequency response function (FRF) of a Finite Element Model (FEM) in a reasonable calculation time. Based on the Taylor series approximation, the sensitivity of the vibration amplitude depending on normally distributed input parameters is calculated and therewith, it is possible to estimate the maximum amplitude. Calculating only a single frequency response function shows a good agreement with the results of over 1000 Monte-Carlo simulations

Shattered Dreams of Anti-Fascist Unity: German Speaking Exiles in Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia, 1937-1945

Between the late 1930s and early 1940s Mexico City and Buenos Aires became the centres of activity for the two most relevant anti-fascist organisations of German-speaking exiles in Latin America: the communist-inspired Free German Movement (Bewegung Freies Deutschland;BFD) and the social-democratic oriented The Other Germany (Das Andere Deutschland;DAD). Both organisations envisaged the creation of an anti-fascist front within Latin America, one which would allow for greater unity of action, and thus carried out extensive congresses at Mexico City and Montevideo in 1943. Due to crucial ideological and tactical differences, this dream of anti-fascist unity led to a power struggle between BFD and DAD, well illustrated in the impact it had on Bolivia. This article seeks a new perspective on how, thanks to the establishment of transnational networks, a continental debate on the meaning and methods of anti-fascism then took place, while also shedding light on the influence the Latin American context had in shaping the exiles' plans for a new Germany

Antifascismo: un espacio de encuentro entre el exilio y la política nacional. El caso de Vicente Lombardo Toledano en México (1936-1945)

This article puts forward an original interpretation of antifascism, understood as a transatlantic political culture, focusing upon the case of the union leader Vicente Lombardo Toledano. Between the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War, antifascism in Mexico acquired several meanings, centred on the reinvention of the Mexican Revolution’s legacy, while benefiting from the collaboration between European antifascist exiles and local left-wing circles. Making use of novel sources, this article vindicates the key role that Mexico was then able to enjoy internationally due to its ideological commitments.Este artículo propone una lectura original del antifascismo, entendido como una cultura política trasatlántica, a partir del caso del líder sindicalista Vicente Lombardo Toledano. Se discute la evolución del significado del antifascismo en México, centrado en la recreación del legado de la Revolución Mexicana, en el período comprendido entre la Guerra Civil española y la Segunda Guerra Mundial, enfatizando la colaboración entre el exilio antifascista europeo y los círculos izquierdistas locales. A partir de varios documentos inéditos, se reivindica el protagonismo que México ejerció entonces en virtud de su compromiso ideológico

Mucormycosis: an emerging disease?

ABSTRACTMucormycosis is the third invasive mycosis in order of importance after candidiasis and aspergillosis and is caused by fungi of the class Zygomycetes. The most important species in order of frequency is Rhizopus arrhizus (oryzae). Identification of the agents responsible for mucormycosis is based on macroscopic and microscopic morphological criteria, carbohydrate assimilation and the maximum temperature compatible with its growth. The incidence of mucormycosis is approximately 1.7 cases per 1000 000 inhabitants per year, and the main risk-factors for the development of mucormycosis are ketoacidosis (diabetic or other), iatrogenic immunosuppression, use of corticosteroids or deferoxamine, disruption of mucocutaneous barriers by catheters and other devices, and exposure to bandages contaminated by these fungi. Mucorales invade deep tissues via inhalation of airborne spores, percutaneous inoculation or ingestion. They colonise a high number of patients but do not cause invasion. Mucormycosis most commonly manifests in the sinuses (39%), lungs (24%), skin (19%), brain (9%), and gastrointestinal tract (7%), in the form of disseminated disease (6%), and in other sites (6%). Clinical diagnosis of mucormycosis is difficult, and is often made at a late stage of the disease or post-mortem. Confirmation of the clinical form requires the combination of symptoms compatible with histological invasion of tissues. The probable diagnosis of mucormycosis requires the combination of various clinical data and the isolation in culture of the fungus from clinical samples. Treatment of mucormycosis requires a rapid diagnosis, correction of predisposing factors, surgical resection, debridement and appropriate antifungal therapy. Liposomal amphotericin B is the therapy of choice for this condition. Itraconazole is considered to be inappropriate and there is evidence of its failure in patients suffering from mucormycosis. Voriconazole is not active in vitro against Mucorales, and failed when used in vivo. Posaconazole and ravuconazole have good activity in vitro. The overall rate of mortality of mucormycosis is approximately 40%