Conceptual Final Paper on the Preliminary Design of an Oblique Flying Wing SST

A conceptual Oblique Flying Wing Supersonic Transport Aircraft (OFW, or surfplane because of its shape) was first proposed in 1957. It was reintroduced in 1987 in view of the emerging technology of artificial stabilization. This paper is based on the performance and economics study of an M2 B747-100B replacement aircraft. In order to make a fair comparison of this configuration with the B747, an end-sixties structural technology level is assumed. It is shown that a modern stability and control system can balance the aircraft and smooth out gusts, and that the OFW configuration equals or outperforms the B747 in speed, economy and comfort

Life-long tailoring of management for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic heart disease, characterised by complex pathophysiology and extensive genetic and clinical heterogeneity. In most patients, HCM is caused by mutations in cardiac sarcomere protein genes and inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. The clinical phenotype ranges from severe presentations at a young age to lack of left ventricular hypertrophy in genotype-positive individuals. No preventative treatment is available as the sequence and causality of the pathomechanisms that initiate and exacerbate HCM are unknown. Sudden cardiac death and end-stage heart failure are devastating expressions of this disease. Contemporary management including surgical myectomy and implantable cardiac defibrillators has shown significant impact on long-term prognosis. However, timely recognition of specific scenarios – including transition to the end-stage phase – may be challenging due to limited awareness of the progression patterns of HCM. This in turn may lead to missed therapeutic opportunities. To illustrate these difficulties, we describe two HCM patients who progressed from the typical hyperdynamic stage of asymmetric septal thickening to end-stage heart failure with severely reduced ejection fraction. We highlight the different stages of this complex inherited cardiomyopathy based on the clinical staging pro-posed by Olivotto and colleagues. In this way, we aim to provide a practical guide for clinicians and hope to increase awareness for this common form of cardiac disease

Kinetic simulation of an extreme ultraviolet radiation driven plasma near a multilayer mirror

Future generation lithog. tools will use extreme UV radiation to enable the printing of sub-50 nm features on silicon wafers. The extreme UV radiation, coming from a pulsed discharge, photoionizes the low pressure background gas in the tool. A weakly ionized plasma is formed, which will be in contact with the optical components of the lithog. device. In the plasma sheath region ions will be accelerated towards the surfaces of multilayer mirrors. A self-consistent kinetic particle-in-cell model has been applied to describe a radiation driven plasma. The simulations predict the plasma parameters and notably the energy at which ions impact on the plasma boundaries. We have studied the influence of photoelectron emission from the mirror on the sheath dynamics and on the ion impact energy. Furthermore, the ion impact energy distribution has been convoluted with the formula of Yamamura and Tawara [At. Data Nucl. Data Tables 62, 149 (1996)] for the sputter yield to obtain the rate of phys. sputtering. The model predicts that the sputter rate is dominated by the presence of doubly ionized argon ions. [on SciFinder (R)

Effects of contractile protein phosphorylation on force development in permeabilized rat cardiac myocytes

The phosphorylation status of myofibrillar proteins influences the Ca2+ responsiveness of the myofilaments,but the contribution of and the interaction between the individual components is poorly characterized. Therefore, in Langendorff perfused rat hearts (n=30), the phosphorylation levels of cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C), troponin I and T (cTnI, cTnT) and myosin light chain 1 and 2 (MLC-1, MLC-2) were determined by 1- and 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Isometric force development, its Ca2+-sensitivity, the rate of tension redevelopment (ktr) and passive force (Fpas) were studied at optimal sarcomere length (2.2 μm) in mechanically isolated,permeabilized cardiomyocytes at 15 °C. Protein phosphorylation was varied by: 1) blocking spontaneous cardiac activity by lidocaine (0.35 mM; Quiescence); 2) electrical stimulation of the hearts at 5 Hz (Contraction) and 3. treatment of contracting hearts with Isoprenaline (1 μM). MLC-2 phosphorylation was increased in the Contraction group almost 2-fold, relative to the Quiescence group, whereas cMyBP-C and cTnI phosphorylation remained the same. Isoprenaline resulted in 3.7-fold increases in both cMyBP-C and cTnI phosphorylation, but did not result in a further increase in MLC-2 phosphorylation.No significant differences were found in maximum force and ktr between groups, both before and after protein kinase A (PKA) treatment. Ca2+-sensitivity in the Contraction and Isoprenaline groups was significantly reduced in comparison to the Quiescence group. These differences were largely abolished by PKA and Fpas was reduced. These results highlight the impact of PKA-dependent phosphorylation on Ca2+-sensitivity and provide evidence for an interaction between the effects of TnI and MLC-2 phosphorylation

The interrelatedness of organizational ambidexterity, dynamic capabilities and open innovation : a conceptual model towards a competitive advantage

Purpose – Establishing a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic environment involves optimizing an organization’s exploration and exploitation strategy. This paper aims to explore how an open innovation strategy complements the organization’s ambidextrous strategy in attaining a competitive advantage. Organizational ambidexterity and dynamic capability theories are also explored to investigate the impact of open innovation on the organization’s ambidextrous strategy and competitive advantage – especially inbound and outbound open innovation. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a systematic literature review using Boolean search techniques, which was focused on the research fields of the sub-areas of general management, strategy, innovation, organization studies, information management, entrepreneurship, international business, marketing, and economics, supplemented by the snowball technique. Findings – Organizations that combine their ambidextrous strategy with open innovation attributes achieve a competitive advantage through developing their dynamic capabilities by which organizations change their value proposition. This study also shows that an ambidextrous strategy should no longer be viewed as a structural solution implemented by management, but also as a bottom-up intervention. Additionally, the authors found that the organization’s dynamic capabilities establish a feedback loop, which changes the organization’s ambidextrous strategy to resolve the efficiency–agility paradox. Originality/value – Previous research has focused on strategic orientation; however, hardly any research has investigated how the interrelatedness of open innovation, organizational ambidexterity and dynamic capabilities support a competitive advantage. The authors present a conceptual model that inspires new research avenuesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Prediction of length and diameter of hamstring tendon autografts for knee ligament surgery in Caucasians

Purpose: Prediction of hamstring tendon autograft size facilitates preoperative planning of knee ligament surgery and may reduce the need for a

Cardiomyocyte hypocontractility and reduced myofibril density in end-stage pediatric cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy amongst children (pediatric cardiomyopathy, pediatric CM) is associated with a high morbidity and mortality. Because little is known about the pathophysiology of pediatric CM, treatment is largely based on adult heart failure therapy. The reason for high morbidity and mortality is largely unknown as well as data on cellular pathomechanisms is limited. Here, we assessed cardiomyocyte contractility and protein expression to define cellular pathomechanisms in pediatric CM. Explanted heart tissue of 11 pediatric CM patients and 18 controls was studied. Contractility was measured in single membrane-permeabilized cardiomyocytes and protein expression was assessed with gel electrophoresis and western blot analysis. We observed increased Ca2+-sensitivity of myofilaments which was due to hypophosphorylation of cardiac troponin I, a feature commonly observed in adult DCM. We also found a significantly reduced maximal force generating capacity of pediatric CM cardiomyocytes, as well as a reduced passive force development over a range of sarcomere lengths. Myofibril density was reduced in pediatric CM compared to controls. Correction of maximal force and passive force for myofibril density normalized forces in pediatric CM cardiomyocytes to control values. This implies that the hypocontractility was caused by the reduction in myofibril density. Unlike in adult DCM we did not find an increase in compliant titin isoform expression in end-stage pediatric CM. The limited ability of pediatric CM patients to maintain myofibril density might have contributed to their early disease onset and severity

Task Force 7: Training Guidelines for Research in Pediatric Cardiology

Aim of the study. The aim of the study was to analyze the benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy in patients with vulvar cancer and a single positive node without extra capsular spread. Materials and methods. The Study population comprised data of 75 patients with vulvar cancer and one lymph node metastasis. The patients were treated in three different university centers in Amsterdam, Groningen and Rotterdam between 1984 and 2005. Results. Out of 75 patients, 31 (41%) were treated with adjuvant radiotherapy. Both disease-free survival (DFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were comparable between the groups who did and who did not receive adjuvant radiotherapy (HR 0.98, 95% CI 0.45-2.14, p=0.97 and HR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.42-2.47, p = 0.96). Conclusion. We could not demonstrate any beneficial effect of adjuvant radiotherapy in the group Of patients with one intra capsular metastasis. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved