Numerical Method for Shock Front Hugoniot States

We describe a Continuous Hugoniot Method for the efficient simulation of shock wave fronts. This approach achieves significantly improved efficiency when the generation of a tightly spaced collection of individual steady-state shock front states is desired, and allows for the study of shocks as a function of a continuous shock strength parameter, $v_p$. This is, to our knowledge, the first attempt to map the Hugoniot continuously. We apply the method to shock waves in Lennard-Jonesium along the $$ direction. We obtain very good agreement with prior simulations, as well as our own benchmark comparison runs.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, from Shock Compression of Condensed Matter 200

Coating thickness and coverage effects on the forces between silica nanoparticles in water

The structure and interactions of coated silica nanoparticles have been studied in water using molecular dynamics simulations. For 5 nm diameter amorphous silica nanoparticles we studied the effects of varying the chain length and grafting density of polyethylene oxide (PEO) on the nanoparticle coating's shape and on nanoparticle-nanoparticle effective forces. For short ligands of length $n=6$ and $n=20$ repeat units, the coatings are radially symmetric while for longer chains ($n=100$) the coatings are highly anisotropic. This anisotropy appears to be governed primarily by chain length, with coverage playing a secondary role. For the largest chain lengths considered, the strongly anisotropic shape makes fitting to a simple radial force model impossible. For shorter ligands, where the coatings are isotropic, we found that the force between pairs of nanoparticles is purely repulsive and can be fit to the form $(R/2r_\text{core}-1)^{-b}$ where $R$ is the separation between the center of the nanoparticles, $r_\text{core}$ is the radius of the silica core, and $b$ is measured to be between 2.3 and 4.1.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Forces between functionalized silica nanoparticles in solution

To prevent the flocculation and phase separation of nanoparticles in solution, nanoparticles are often functionalized with short chain surfactants. Here we present fully-atomistic molecular dynamics simulations which characterize how these functional coatings affect the interactions between nanoparticles and with the surrounding solvent. For 5 nm diameter silica nanoparticles coated with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) oligomers in water, we determined the hydrodynamic drag on two approaching nanoparticles moving through solvent and on a single nanoparticle as it approaches a planar surface. In most circumstances, acroscale fluid theory accurately predicts the drag on these nano-scale particles. Good agreement is seen with Brenner's analytical solutions for wall separations larger than the soft nanoparticle radius. For two approaching coated nanoparticles, the solvent-mediated (velocity-independent) and lubrication (velocity-dependent) forces are purely repulsive and do not exhibit force oscillations that are typical of uncoated rigid spheres.Comment: 4 pages, 3 fig

Religious but not ethical: The effects of extrinsic religiosity, ethnocentrism and self-righteousness on consumers' ethical judgements

The current research investigates how religiosity can influence unethicality in a consumption context. In particular, considering the link between extrinsic religious orientations and unethicality, this research clarifies why and when extrinsic religiosity leads to unethical decisions. Across two studies, findings show that ethnocentrism is both a mediator (Study 1) and a moderator (Studies 1 and 2) of the effects of extrinsic religiosity on consumers’ ethical judgments. This is because extrinsic religiosity leads to ethnocentrism, and in-group loyalty manifested through ethnocentrism increases support for unethical consumer actions, thus establishing ethnocentrism as a mediator. At the same time, different levels of ethnocentrism can also influence how extrinsic religiosity leads to supporting unethical consumption via self-righteousness, thus establishing ethnocentrism as a moderator. The findings from this research have significant implications for diverse stakeholders who have an interest in religiosity and consumer behavior

The peripheral blood transcriptome in septic cardiomyopathy: an observational, pilot study.

BACKGROUND:Septic cardiomyopathy (SCM) is common in sepsis and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV GLS), measured by speckle tracking echocardiography, allows improved identification of impaired cardiac contractility. The peripheral blood transcriptome may be an important window into SCM pathophysiology. We therefore studied the peripheral blood transcriptome and LV GLS in a prospective cohort of patients with sepsis. RESULTS:In this single-center observational pilot study, we enrolled adult patients (age > 18) with sepsis within 48 h of admission to the ICU. SCM was defined as LV GLS > - 17% based on echocardiograms performed within 72 h of admission. We enrolled 27 patients, 24 of whom had high-quality RNA results; 18 (75%) of 24 had SCM. The group was 50% female and had a median (IQR) age of 59.5 (48.5-67.0) years and admission APACHE II score of 21.0 (16.0-32.3). Forty-six percent had septic shock. After filtering for low-expression and non-coding genes, 15,418 protein coding genes were expressed and 73 had significantly different expression between patients with vs. without SCM. In patients with SCM, 43 genes were upregulated and 30 were downregulated. Pathway analysis identified enrichment in type 1 interferon signaling (adjusted p < 10-5). CONCLUSIONS:In this hypothesis-generating study, SCM was associated with upregulation of genes in the type 1 interferon signaling pathway. Interferons are cytokines that stimulate the innate and adaptive immune response and are implicated in the early proinflammatory and delayed immunosuppression phases of sepsis. While type 1 interferons have not been implicated previously in SCM, interferon therapy (for viral hepatitis and Kaposi sarcoma) has been associated with reversible cardiomyopathy, perhaps suggesting a role for interferon signaling in SCM

Pembelajaran Tari Di SMP N 3 Mlati Dan SMA N 1 Seyegan (Studi Kasus: Sosialisasi Tari Peksi Eka Kapti Di Kabupaten Sleman)

Tari Peksi Eka Kapti merupakan tari yang terinspirasi dari satwa identitas Kabupaten Sleman yaitu Burung Punglor. Tarian ini diciptakan pada tahun 2014 oleh Mila Rosinta.Tari Peksi Eka Kapti adalah aktualisasi seekor burung sebagai simbol keseimbangan ekosistem dalam konteks satu kekuatan dan kebersamaan. Tarian ini diharapkan bisa diapresiasi masyarakat khususnya pelajar SD, SMP, dan SMK/SMA agar ikut berperan serta dalam upaya melestarikan aset identitas Kabupaten Sleman sebagai pembelajaran atau ekstra kurikuler di sekolah maupun di sanggar. Oleh sebab itu Pemerintah Kabupaten Sleman membuat sebuah program pengenalan dan pelestarian identitas daerah salah satunya dengan membuat sebuah karya tari yang inspirasinya dari Burung Punglor.Permasalahan yang ingin dikaji dalam penelitian ini adalah bagaimana pembelajaran tari di SMP N 3 Mlati dan SMA N 1 Seyegan (Studi Kasus: Sosialisasi Tari Peksi Eka Kapti di Kabupaten Sleman). Untuk membantu menemukan jawaban dari permasalahan adalah dengan menggunakan pendekatan multidisiplin sosiologi dan pendekatan koreografi. Tari Peksi Eka Kapti diajarkan di SMP N 3 Mlati dan SMA N 1 Seyegan sebagai sebuah ekstra kurikuler atau pengembangan diri sekolah dengan menggunakan metode-metode pengajaran yang cukup baik yaitu metode analisis, global, imitasi dan campuran yang diharapkan bahwa siswa yang berlatih bisa mencapai kualitas seperti yang dicontohkan. Strategi pembelajaran yang dilakukan kedua sekolah tersebut sama yaitu guru atau pengajar bercerita tentang tarian tersebut, memutar dokumentasi, mempraktekkan dan menjelaskan motif maupun transisi pada tarian (tahap penyampaian materi), memperkenalkan tehnik penjiwaan, pendalaman materi dan tahap yang terakhir adalah ujian hasil pembelajaran tari

Best emollients for eczema (BEE) – comparing four types of emollients in children with eczema: protocol for randomised trial and nested qualitative study

Introduction Atopic dermatitis/eczema affects around 20% of children and is characterised by inflamed, dry, itchy skin. Guidelines recommend ‘leave-on’ emollients that are applied directly to the skin to add or trap moisture and used regularly, they can soothe, enhance the skin barrier and may prevent disease ‘flares’. However, the suitability of the many different emollients varies between people and there is little evidence to help prescribers and parents and carers decide which type to try first.Methods and analysis Design: pragmatic, multicentre, individually randomised, parallel group superiority trial of four types of emollient (lotions, creams, gel or ointments).Setting: general practitioner surgeries in England.Participants: children aged over 6 months and less than 12 years with mild-to-severe eczema and no known sensitivity to study emollients.Interventions: study-approved lotion, cream, gel or ointment as the only leave-on emollient for 16 weeks, with directions to apply twice daily and as required. Other treatments, such as topical corticosteroids, used as standard care.Follow-up: 52 weeks.Primary outcome: validated patient-orientated eczema measure measured weekly for 16 weeks.Secondary outcomes: eczema signs (Eczema Area Severity Index) by masked researcher, treatment use, parent satisfaction, adverse events, child and family quality of life (Atopic Dermatitis Quality of Life, Child Health Utility 9D and Dermatitis Family Impact).Sample size: 520 participants (130 per group).Analysis: intention-to-treat using linear mixed models for repeated measures.Nested qualitative study: audio-recording of sample of baseline appointments and up to 60 interviews with participants at 4 and 16 weeks, interviews to be transcribed and analysed thematically.Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval granted by the NHS REC (South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee 17/SW/0089). Findings will be presented at conferences, published in open-access peer-reviewed journals and the study website; and summaries shared with key stakeholders

Automated multi-beat tissue Doppler echocardiography analysis using deep neural networks

Tissue Doppler imaging is an essential echocardiographic technique for the non-invasive assessment of myocardial blood velocity. Image acquisition and interpretation are performed by trained operators who visually localise landmarks representing Doppler peak velocities. Current clinical guidelines recommend averaging measurements over several heartbeats. However, this manual process is both time-consuming and disruptive to workflow. An automated system for accurate beat isolation and landmark identification would be highly desirable. A dataset of tissue Doppler images was annotated by three cardiologist experts, providing a gold standard and allowing for observer variability comparisons. Deep neural networks were trained for fully automated predictions on multiple heartbeats and tested on tissue Doppler strips of arbitrary length. Automated measurements of peak Doppler velocities show good Bland–Altman agreement (average standard deviation of 0.40 cm/s) with consensus expert values; less than the inter-observer variability (0.65 cm/s). Performance is akin to individual experts (standard deviation of 0.40 to 0.75 cm/s). Our approach allows for > 26 times as many heartbeats to be analysed, compared to a manual approach. The proposed automated models can accurately and reliably make measurements on tissue Doppler images spanning several heartbeats, with performance indistinguishable from that of human experts, but with significantly shorter processing time

Multibeat echocardiographic phase detection using deep neural networks

Background Accurate identification of end-diastolic and end-systolic frames in echocardiographic cine loops is important, yet challenging, for human experts. Manual frame selection is subject to uncertainty, affecting crucial clinical measurements, such as myocardial strain. Therefore, the ability to automatically detect frames of interest is highly desirable. Methods We have developed deep neural networks, trained and tested on multi-centre patient data, for the accurate identification of end-diastolic and end-systolic frames in apical four-chamber 2D multibeat cine loop recordings of arbitrary length. Seven experienced cardiologist experts independently labelled the frames of interest, thereby providing infallible annotations, allowing for observer variability measurements. Results When compared with the ground-truth, our model shows an average frame difference of −0.09 ± 1.10 and 0.11 ± 1.29 frames for end-diastolic and end-systolic frames, respectively. When applied to patient datasets from a different clinical site, to which the model was blind during its development, average frame differences of −1.34 ± 3.27 and −0.31 ± 3.37 frames were obtained for both frames of interest. All detection errors fall within the range of inter-observer variability: [-0.87, −5.51]±[2.29, 4.26] and [-0.97, −3.46]±[3.67, 4.68] for ED and ES events, respectively. Conclusions The proposed automated model can identify multiple end-systolic and end-diastolic frames in echocardiographic videos of arbitrary length with performance indistinguishable from that of human experts, but with significantly shorter processing time