Experimental Study on Dry Friction Damping Characteristics of the Steam Turbine Blade Material with Nonconforming Contacts

An experiment system has been established to study the dry friction damping dynamic characteristics of the steam turbine blade material 1Cr13. The friction dynamic characteristics of the specimens with nonconforming contact surfaces are measured under different parameters. The experiment results are compared with that of the macroslip hysteresis model and the Mindlin microslip friction model in detail. The results show that the experimental result of the tangential contact stiffness is in good agreement with that of the theory result based on the fractal theory and the Hertz contact theory by Jiang et al., 2009. The dimensionless equivalent stiffness and equivalent damping obtained by the macroslip hysteresis model agree well with the experimental results when relative motion is relatively large. However, the results of the macroslip hysteresis model differ a lot from the experimental results when relative motion is relatively small. Compared with the macroslip hysteresis model, the Mindlin microslip friction model can predict the dimensionless equivalent stiffness and equivalent damping accurately during the whole measurement range. The linear regularities of dimensionless equivalent stiffness and equivalent damping are obtained, which decrease the difficulty of building the vibration analysis model of the blade with sufficient accuracy

Wetting Behavior of Inkjet-Printed Electronic Inks on Patterned Substrates

In inkjet printing technology, one important factor influencing the printing quality and reliability of printed films is the interaction of the jetted ink with the substrate surface. This short-range interaction determines the wettability and the adhesion of the ink to the solid surface and is hence responsible for the final shape of the deposited ink. Here, we investigate wetting morphologies of inkjet-printed inks on patterned substrates by carefully designed experimental test structures and simulations. The contact angles, the surface properties, and drop shapes, as well as their influence on the device variability, are experimentally and theoretically analyzed. For the simulations, we employ the phase-field method, which is based on the free energy minimization of the two-phase system with the given wetting boundary conditions. Through a systematic investigation of printed drops on patterned substrates consisting of hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas, we report that the printed morphology is related not only to the designed layout and the drop volume but also to the printing strategy and the wettability. Furthermore, we show how one can modify the intrinsic wettability of the patterned substrates to enhance the printing quality and reliability. Based on the present findings, we cast light on the improvement of the fabrication quality of thin film transistors

Genetic Association of Pulmonary Surfactant Protein Genes, SFTPA1, SFTPA2, SFTPB, SFTPC, and SFTPD With Cystic Fibrosis

Surfactant proteins (SP) are involved in surfactant function and innate immunity in the human lung. Both lung function and innate immunity are altered in CF, and altered SP levels and genetic association are observed in Cystic Fibrosis (CF). We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the SP genes associate with CF or severity subgroups, either through single SNP or via SNP-SNP interactions between two SNPs of a given gene (intragenic) and/or between two genes (intergenic). We genotyped a total of 17 SP SNPs from 72 case-trio pedigree (SFTPA1 (5), SFTPA2 (4), SFTPB (4), SFTPC (2), and SFTPD (2)), and identified SP SNP associations by applying quantitative genetic principles. The results showed (a) Two SNPs, SFTPB rs7316 (p = 0.0083) and SFTPC rs1124 (p = 0.0154), each associated with CF. (b) Three intragenic SNP-SNP interactions, SFTPB (rs2077079, rs3024798), and SFTPA1 (rs1136451, rs1059057 and rs4253527), associated with CF. (c) A total of 34 intergenic SNP-SNP interactions among the 4 SP genes to be associated with CF. (d) No SNP-SNP interaction was observed between SFTPA1 or SFTPA2 and SFTPD. (e) Equal number of SNP-SNP interactions were observed between SFTPB and SFTPA1/SFTPA2 (n = 7) and SP-B and SFTPD (n = 7). (f) SFTPC exhibited significant SNP-SNP interactions with SFTPA1/SFTPA2 (n = 11), SFTPB (n = 4) and SFTPD (n = 3). (g) A single SFTPB SNP was associated with mild CF after Bonferroni correction, and several intergenic interactions that are associated (p < 0.01) with either mild or moderate/severe CF were observed. These collectively indicate that complex SNP-SNP interactions of the SP genes may contribute to the pulmonary disease in CF patients. We speculate that SPs may serve as modifiers for the varied progression of pulmonary disease in CF and/or its severity

A General Model for Multilocus Epistatic Interactions in Case-Control Studies

Background: Epistasis, i.e., the interaction of alleles at different loci, is thought to play a central role in the formation and progression of complex diseases. The complexity of disease expression should arise from a complex network of epistatic interactions involving multiple genes. Methodology: We develop a general model for testing high-order epistatic interactions for a complex disease in a casecontrol study. We incorporate the quantitative genetic theory of high-order epistasis into the setting of cases and controls sampled from a natural population. The new model allows the identification and testing of epistasis and its various genetic components. Conclusions: Simulation studies were used to examine the power and false positive rates of the model under different sampling strategies. The model was used to detect epistasis in a case-control study of inflammatory bowel disease, in which five SNPs at a candidate gene were typed, leading to the identification of a significant three-locus epistasis

Clinical Investigation of Efficacy of Pemetrexed in 32 Patients with Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma after Failure to Chemotherapy and Gefitinib

Background and objective The relapse-free time of gefitinib as the second or third line therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was not satisfactory. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of pemetrexed in patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma after failure to chemotherapy and gefitinib. Methods A total of 32 relapsed patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma after failure to chemotherapy and gefitinib received pemetrexed 500 mg/m2 by the intravenous administration on the first day, with 21 days as a cycle. Dexamethasone, folic acid and vitamin B12 were applied to relieve the drug toxicity. The objective response rate was estimated by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) and the toxicity was estimated by National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria (version 3.0). Results For a total of 32 patients, 4 patients reached partial response (PR), constituting a total of 12.5%; 11 patients reached stable disease (SD), constituting a total of 34.4%; 17 patients reached progressive disease (PD), constituting a total of 53.1%. The median progression free survival (PFS) was 2.7 months. The median overall survival (OS) was 11.0 months. One-year survival rate was 37.5%. The most common adverse events (AEs) were myelosuppression with grade I and grade II toxicity. Other adverse events were tolerated. Conclusion Pemetrexed was clinically beneficial for the patients with pulmonary adenocarcinoma after the failure of chemotherapy and gefitinib

UWB Positioning Algorithm Based on Fuzzy Inference and Adaptive Anti-NLOS Kalman Filtering

To reduce the influence of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) errors in the ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning process, a UWB positioning algorithm based on fuzzy inference and adaptive anti-NLOS Kalman filtering (KF) was proposed in this paper. First of all, the NLOS errors of the channel impulse response (CIR) signal characteristics were estimated by the fuzzy inference algorithm and then initially mitigated. Next, an adaptive anti-NLOS KF algorithm was developed to perform a second mitigation on the ranging errors after mitigation of the NLOS errors with the fuzzy inference, thereby further raising the range estimation accuracy. At last, the range estimation information after error mitigation was taken as the ranging information of the LS positioning algorithm for target localization. In the static positioning experiment, the probability of producing an error range of less than 19.1 cm with the positioning algorithm combining fuzzy inference with adaptive anti-NLOS KF was 0.93, which was much better than the positioning algorithm based on fuzzy inference and the adaptive anti-NLOS KF positioning algorithm. In the dynamic positioning experiment, compared with the adaptive anti-NLOS KF positioning algorithm, the RMSE was reduced by 43.31% in the overall positioning. Furthermore, compared with those of the positioning algorithm based on fuzzy inference, the RMSEs in overall positioning were lowered by 12.89%. The positioning accuracy was improved significantly

Clinical Observation of Erlotinib as the First-line Treatment for Patients with Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Background and objective To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of erlotinib as the first-line therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods A total of 28 pathologically-confirmed NSCLC patients who could not receive willingly or tolerate traditional cytotoxic drugs chemotherapy were enrolled. Erlotinib was orally administered 150 mg daily until disease progression or the occurrence of intolerable toxicity. Results Among a total of 28 patients, the objective response rate (ORR) of erlotinib was 28.6%. The disease control rate (DCR) was 60.7%. The rate of symptom relief was 53.6%. The median progression free survival (PFS) was 3.2 (95%CI: 0.851-5.585) months. The median overall survival (OS) was 9.6 (95%CI: 7.179-12.021) months. One-year survival rate was 32.1%. The therapeutic effect was better in patients with rash. Most of the toxicities were grade I and grade II toxicity. The most common adverse events were rash (46.4%), diarrhea (32.1%), skin dry (25.0%), anorexia(17.9%), fatigue (10.7%) and increased transaminase (7.1%). Conclusion Erlotinib provided another choice for the patients who could not willingly receive or tolerate chemotherapy

UWB Positioning Algorithm Based on Fuzzy Inference and Adaptive Anti-NLOS Kalman Filtering

To reduce the influence of non-line-of-sight (NLOS) errors in the ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning process, a UWB positioning algorithm based on fuzzy inference and adaptive anti-NLOS Kalman filtering (KF) was proposed in this paper. First of all, the NLOS errors of the channel impulse response (CIR) signal characteristics were estimated by the fuzzy inference algorithm and then initially mitigated. Next, an adaptive anti-NLOS KF algorithm was developed to perform a second mitigation on the ranging errors after mitigation of the NLOS errors with the fuzzy inference, thereby further raising the range estimation accuracy. At last, the range estimation information after error mitigation was taken as the ranging information of the LS positioning algorithm for target localization. In the static positioning experiment, the probability of producing an error range of less than 19.1 cm with the positioning algorithm combining fuzzy inference with adaptive anti-NLOS KF was 0.93, which was much better than the positioning algorithm based on fuzzy inference and the adaptive anti-NLOS KF positioning algorithm. In the dynamic positioning experiment, compared with the adaptive anti-NLOS KF positioning algorithm, the RMSE was reduced by 43.31% in the overall positioning. Furthermore, compared with those of the positioning algorithm based on fuzzy inference, the RMSEs in overall positioning were lowered by 12.89%. The positioning accuracy was improved significantly