Continuum Modeling of the Densification of W-Ni-Fe during Selective Laser Sintering

The purpose of this thesis is to effectively model the time history of the temperature distribution during the selective laser sintering process and use this information to investigate the resulting relative density. The temperature is a critical parameter of the process because it directly effects the overall quality of the part. First, an efficient, affordable, and reliable simulation was developed within the finite element software, Abaqus. Next, the results from the simulations were compared to the experimental results performed by Wang et al. (2016). The FEA model consisted of a 3 layer simulation. Multiple simulations at various laser recipes were conducted using W-Ni-Fe as the powder material. The P/v (laser power/scanning speed) was plotted against the resulting total time above the melting temperature for various simulation. It was concluded that a linear relationship exists between the P/v parameters used in the laser recipe and the resulting time above the melting temperature. The average R2 values for the W-Ni-Fe simulations for layer 1, 2, 3 were 0.962, 0.950, and 0.939, respectively. Additionally, the experimental results from the Wang et al. (2016) study confirmed that a linear relationship is present. Thus, it can be concluded that the P/v parameters used within the laser recipe has a direct relation to the resulting relative density of the SLS part

Determination of N-Linked Glycosylation Changes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and the Associated Glycoproteins for Enhanced Biomarker Discovery and Therapeutic Targets

With hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remaining as the fifth most common cancer in the world, causing more than 700,000 deaths annually, the need for reliable, early stage diagnoses and preventive treatments is crucial. While serum glycoproteins are hepatic in origin, making them excellent targets for HCC biomarkers, they can originate from both cancerous and non-cancerous regions and direct analysis of cancerous tissue itself is lacking. To counteract this, I hypothesized that direct tissue analysis combined with proteomic analysis could be utilized to identify more potential targets specific to HCC for early detection. This was done with a primary focus on glycosylation—as most clinically approved biomarkers are glycoproteins—and examined direct tissue glycomics in conjunction with glycoproteomic techniques through two specific aims: 1) Determining patterns of N-linked glycan changes in HCC tissue using MALDI imaging mass spectrometry to compare to previously published serum changes and 2) identifying glycopeptides containing changes in observed patterns of N- linked glycans in HCC samples using a targeted glycoproteomic approach. In Aim 1, HCC tissue was examined using MALDI imaging mass spectrometry to v verify changes in glycosylation via direct tissue analysis. Here, it was found that increased branching and fucosylation were directly associated with the cancerous tissue when compared to normal or cirrhotic. To further identify changes in glycosylation, two methods (one novel and one adapted for imaging) were implemented on tissue to further classify N-linked glycan isoforms through linkage analysis, specifically for sialic acids and core fucose. Again, it was shown that core fucose is most directly related to HCC tissue, thus confirming serum findings in the literature. For Aim 2, the novel method of determining core fucosylation was used in conjunction with glycoproteomic techniques to further elucidate the core fucosylated glycoproteins of interest. With the tag left behind following the enzymatic cleavage, targeted glycoproteomics was used to determine glycoproteins of interest while eliminating some biases inherent in the method, such as low ionization efficiencies for more complex N-glycans. This work outlines the first in-depth analysis of HCC tissue specifically regarding N- glycan changes, a novel application to determine N-glycan isoforms, and the application of these methods for glycoproteomic enhancement. With these findings, new trends in glycosylation related to the disease state could be further uncovered, as well as provide new biomarker candidates or therapeutic targets for future studies

Modeling of selective laser sintering/ selective laser melting

Selective laser sintering and selective laser melting are powder based additive manufacturing (AM) process that can rapidly manufacture parts with comparable mechanical properties to conventional manufacturing methods directly from digital files. However, the processing recipe development and design optimization of AM parts are often based on trial and error which erodes the benefit of AM. Modeling is a powerful tool to enable faster development cycle by significantly reducing the experimental efforts. In this paper we discussed the current status of selective laser sintering/melting modeling, in which the laser and powder interaction was studied to understand and predict the process and the properties of fabricated parts. A review of the current approach as well as future directions are presented

The Origins of Cooperative Bacterial Communities

Bacteria live in complex multispecies communities. Intimately interacting bacterial cells are ubiquitous on biological and mineral surfaces in all habitats. Molecular and cellular biologists have unraveled some key mechanisms that modulate bacterial interactions, but the ecology and evolution of these associations remain poorly understood. One debate has focused on the relative importance of cooperation among cells in bacterial communities. Some researchers suggest that communication and cooperation, both within and among bacterial species, have produced emergent properties that give such groups a selective advantage. Evolutionary biologists have countered that the appearance of group-level traits should be viewed with caution, as natural selection almost invariably favors selfishness. A recent theory by Morris, Lenski, and Zinser, called the Black Queen Hypothesis, gives a new perspective on this debate (J. J. Morris, R. E. Lenski, and E. R. Zinser, mBio 3(2):e00036-12, 2012). These authors present a model that reshapes a decades-old idea: cooperation among species can be automatic and based upon purely selfish traits. Moreover, this hypothesis stands in contrast to the Red Queen Hypothesis, which states that species are in constant evolutionary conflict. Two assumptions serve as the core of the Black Queen model. First, bacterial functions are often leaky, such that cells unavoidably produce resources that benefit others. Second, the receivers of such by-products will tend to delete their own costly pathways for those products, thus building dependency into the interactions. Although not explicitly required in their model, an emergent prediction is that the initiation of such dependency can favor the spread of more obligate coevolved partnerships. This new paradigm suggests that bacteria might often form interdependent cooperative interactions in communities and moreover that bacterial cooperation should leave a clear genomic signature via complementary loss of shared diffusible functions

Defining and characterizing team resilience in elite sport

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to develop a definition of team resilience and to identify the resilient characteristics of elite sport teams. Design and Method: Focus groups consisting of a total of 31 participants were conducted with five elite teams from a range of sports. An interpretive thematic analysis using inductive and deductive reasoning was employed to analyze the data. Results and Conclusions: Team resilience was defined as a dynamic, psychosocial process which protects a group of individuals from the potential negative effect of the stressors they collectively encounter. It comprises of processes whereby team members use their individual and combined resources to positively adapt when experiencing adversity. Findings revealed four main resilient characteristics of elite sport teams: group structure, mastery approaches, social capital, and collective efficacy. This study extends resilience research in sport psychology by providing greater conceptual clarity of resilience at a team level. The implications of the findings for those conducting research in this area and for those consulting with elite sport teams are discussed

Simulating end of life scenarios using interprofessional end of life communication

Introduction: Effective and compassionate End of Life (EOL) conversations between healthcare providers and patients and their families are an essential part of all medical care. However, many studies have found that medical students and residents often feel unprepared and uncomfortable to have EOL conversations with patients and their families. In addition, other healthcare providers such as nurses, respiratory therapists, and social workers feel unprepared to lead and participate in EOL conversations, especially early in their training. Evidence from previous studies points to a lack of consistent training in EOL conversations for healthcare providers. Caregivers receive irregular education, infrequent practice, and sporadic feedback on EOL conversations. Current medical educational practices and institutional culture in U.S. medical schools does not equip future physicians with the training and skills required for adequate EOL conversations. Training medical professionals to initiate and conduct effective and compassionate EOL conversations with patients and their families is crucial. Interprofessional simulation-based medical education was shown improve participant’s self-efficacy and perceived abilities relating to communication/teamwork and leadership/management of clinical scenarios. This study examines the effectiveness of an Interprofessional EOL Training and Simulation with intervention (specific) feedback versus control feedback in decreasing caregiver anxiety, enhancing knowledge of the role of each team member, promoting future interprofessional collaboration, and improving participants’ knowledge, skills, and performance during real EOL discussions.Methods: All APPs (clinical nurse specialists (CNS), doctor of nursing practice (DNP), master of nursing education (MSN), nurse practitioners (NP), physician assistants (PA)) and APP students, chaplaincy students/trainees, chaplains, child life specialists, medical students, nurses, nursing students, physicians (residents, fellows and faculty), pharmacists and pharmacy students, respiratory therapists, social workers and social work students (henceforth referred to as ‘caregivers’) at the University of Oklahoma are eligible for participation in this study regardless of year of training/experience, sex, gender, race, or religion. Participation in this study was voluntary. Randomized groups of participants were placed into intervention (I Group) or control group (C Group). Participants were scheduled for a 145–165-minute simulation sessions with a Didactic Module, Pre-Simulation Huddle, an EOL communication simulation, and Debrief and Feedback sessions.Results: The study team focused on interprofessional delivery of EOL news from participant simulations (n=18) and found that before feedback (n=10), 50% of EOL conversations were opened by the medical provider role, compared to 0% after feedback (n=8). Furthermore, prior to feedback 90% of EOL prognostic information was delivered by the medical provider role, compared to 100% following feedback. We found that teams with feedback were more likely to have a non-provider initiate EOL discussions with patients. However, teams with feedback were more likely to have the provider deliver the EOL news.Conclusion: Future directions of this overall study include using conversational analysis to determine the effectiveness of the intervention on caregiver’s knowledge, skills, and performance during EOL discussions. We will compare caregiver’s improvement in delivering EOL news based upon changes from Simulation 1 to Simulation 2 from Intervention (IECTT) versus Control (Gap Kalamazoo) feedback using qualitative subgroup analyses. The overall goal is to use findings to develop an educational framework for students from multiple disciplines of healthcare to effectively deliver EOL news and develop the skills required to initiate and lead EOL conversations with patients

Group Treatment for Aphasia

TB

Assessing the Quality of Goal Setting in Behavioural Support for Smoking Cessation and its Association with Outcomes

BACKGROUND: Smoking cessation behavioural support can be effective but practitioners differ markedly in effectiveness, possibly due to variation in the quality of delivery of key behaviour change techniques, such as goal setting (i.e. setting a quit date). OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to (i) develop a reliable method for assessing the quality of practitioners' support in setting quit dates and (ii) assess whether quality predicts initiation of abstinence as a first step to quitting. METHODS: A scale for scoring the quality of goal setting was developed from national guidance documents and applied to 85 transcribed behavioural support sessions. Inter-rater reliability was assessed. Associations between quality scores and quit attempts were assessed. RESULTS: The 10-item scale produced had good inter-rater reliability (Kappa = 0.68). Higher quality goal setting was associated with increased self-reported quit attempts (p < .001; OR = 2.60, 95 % CI 1.54-4.40). The scale components 'set a clear quit date' (χ (2) (2, N = 85) = 22.3, p < .001) and 'within an appropriate timeframe' (χ (2) (2, N = 85) = 15.5, p < .001) were independently associated with quit attempts. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to reliably assess the quality of goal setting in smoking cessation behavioural support. Higher quality of goal setting is associated with greater likelihood of initiating quit attempts