205 research outputs found

    Oral history interview with Robert W. Topping, 2008 May 8

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    Robert Topping was born in West Lafayette, Indiana. His father was on the faculty in the School of Electrical Engineering from 1903 to 1949. Topping talks about growing up in West Lafayette and graduating from Purdue in 1950 with a BS in Science. During the Korean War, he served as an Information Specialist in the US Air Force at Castle Air Force Base in Merced, California. After serving a stint on a newspaper in Michigan, he came to Purdue in 1962 as Assistant Director of the Bureau of Information. He served as Director of the University News Service until 1976. He then became Assistant to the Vice President for Advancement. Topping talks about the Office of Publications and its role in the university communication chain. Topping is the author of several publications about Purdue: The Hovde Years and A Century and Beyond: The History of Purdue University

    Vitronectin: growth factor complexes hold potential as a wound therapy approach

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    Topical administration of growth factors has displayed some potential in wound healing, but variable efficacy, high doses, and costs have hampered their implementation. Moreover, this approach ignores the fact that wound repair is driven by interactions between multiple growth factors and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. We report herein that complexes comprising IGF and IGF-binding proteins bound to the ECM protein vitronectin (VN) significantly enhance cellular functions relevant to wound repair in human skin keratinocytes in two- and three-dimensional in vitro cell models and are active, even in the presence of wound fluid. Moreover, these responses require activation of both the IGF receptor and the VN-binding av integrins. Further, we assessed the complexes as a topical agent in the treatment of deep dermal partial thickness burns in a porcine model. This pilot study revealed that the complexes may hold promise as a wound healing therapy. Critically, the significant responses observed in vitro and the encouraging preliminary data in vivo were obtained with nanogram doses of growth factors. This suggests that coupling delivery of growth factors to ECM proteins such as VN may ultimately prove to be a more effective strategy for developing a wound healing therapy.Zee Upton, Leila Cuttle, Anthony Noble, Margit Kempf, Gemma Topping, Jos Malda, Yan Xie, Julie Mill, Damien G Harkin, Olena Kravchuk, David I Leavesley and Roy M Kimbl

    Podcasts for Journal of Research in Nursing

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    Guest Editor Professor Annie Topping is in conversation with Journal of Research in Nursing author Lisa Sheeran to discuss the development and trial of a patient-led cancer care website. Lisa’s research is published in a special issue of the Journal with the focus ‘Impact of Technology on Practice’. This issue published as Volume 17, Number 6, 2012

    L-optimal transportation for Ricci flow

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    We introduce the notion of L-optimal transportation, and use it to construct a natural monotonic quantity for Ricci flow which includes a selection of other monotonicity results, including some key discoveries of Perelman [13] (both related to entropy and to L-length) and a recent result of McCann and the author [11]

    Topping-off technique prevents aggravation of degeneration of adjacent segment fusion revealed by retrospective and finite element biomechanical analysis

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    Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Topping-off technique in preventing the aggravation of degeneration caused by adjacent segment fusion. Methods: Clinical parameters of patients who underwent L5-S1 posterior lumbar interbody fusion + interspinous process at L4-L5 (PLIF + ISP) with the Wallis system (Topping-off group) were compared retrospectively with those of patients who underwent solely PLIF. Pre- and post-operative x-ray measurements, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores were assessed in all subjects. Normal L1-S1 lumbosacral finite element models were established in accordance with the two types of surgery in our study, respectively. Virtual loading was added to assess the motility, disc pressure, and facet joint stress of L4-L5. Results: There were 22 and 23 valid cases included in the Topping-off and PLIF groups. No degeneration was observed in either group. Both VAS and JOA scores improved significantly post-operatively (P < 0.01). The intervertebral angle and lumbar lordosis of L4-L5 were both significantly increased (t = -2.89 and -2.68, P < 0.05 in the Topping-off group and t = -2.25 and -2.15, P < 0.05 in the PLIF group). In the Topping-off group, x-ray in dynamic position showed no significant difference in the angulation or distance of the anterior movement of the L4-L5 segment. The angle of hyper-extension and distance of the posterior movement of L4 were significantly decreased. In the PLIF group, both hyper-flexion and hyper-extension and posterior movement were increased significantly. In finite element analysis, displacement of the L4 vertebral body, pressure of the annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus, and stress of the bilateral facet joint were less in the Topping-off group under loads of anterior flexion and posterior extension. Facet joint stress on the left side of the L4-L5 segment was also less in the Topping-off group under left flexion loads. Conclusion: Short-term efficacy and safety between Topping-off and PLIF were similar, whilst the Topping-off technique could restrict the hyper-extension movement of adjacent segments, prevent back and forth movement of proximal vertebrae, and decrease loads of intervertebral disc and facet joints.OrthopedicsSCI(E)[email protected]

    The canonical shrinking soliton associated to a Ricci flow

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    To every Ricci flow on a manifold over a time interval IR−, we associate a shrinking Ricci soliton on the space–time I. We relate properties of the original Ricci flow to properties of the new higher-dimensional Ricci flow equipped with its own time-parameter. This geometric construction was discovered by consideration of the theory of optimal transportation, and in particular the results of the second author Topping (J Reine Angew Math 636:93–122, 2009), and McCann and the second author (Am J Math 132:711–730, 2010); we briefly survey the link between these subjects

    The canonical shrinking soliton associated to a Ricci flow

    No full text
    To every Ricci flow on a manifold over a time interval , we associate a shrinking Ricci soliton on the space-time . We relate properties of the original Ricci flow to properties of the new higher-dimensional Ricci flow equipped with its own time-parameter. This geometric construction was discovered by consideration of the theory of optimal transportation, and in particular the results of the second author Topping (J Reine Angew Math 636:93-122, 2009), and McCann and the second author (Am J Math 132:711-730, 2010); we briefly survey the link between these subjects

    Numerical investigation of the effect of nappe non-aeration on caisson sliding force during Tsunami breakwater over-topping using OpenFOAM

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    During the 2011 Great East Japan Tsunami, the world’s deepest breakwaters in Kamaishi and Ofunato, which had been designed to reduce tsunami damage, partially failed after over-topping. The failure was due to a combination of sliding, over-topping induced foundation scour and foundation bearing capacity failure. Hindcasting this failure required detailed two-phase (air-water) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) (OpenFOAM in this case) simulation, though uncertainty in the turbulence model used had a large effect on the simulated forces on the breakwater. This study focuses on understanding the physics necessary to correctly model the problem of breakwater over-topping by the tsunami (Bricker et al. 2013). To correctly model the physical behavior of the system, physical model studies were carried out (Mudiyanselage 2017). However, validation of the numerical model will allow easy up-scaling of the flow physics. In order to have complete flexibility in the CFD code while at the same time have sufficient reliability, OpenFOAM will be used.As the physical model studies have already been carried out, this study will only focus on replicating the experimental results in the numerical model. A validation procedure will study the effect of grid size (using grid convergencestudy) and type of simulation (2-Dimensional/3-Dimensional) used to model the experiment numerically. The final goal of the study is to understand the relationship between the overflowing discharge and the additional force generated due to the non-aeration of the over-flow jet. The entrainment of air from the cavity under the over-flow jet is also of prime interest in this study.Overall, the numerical results indicate that non-aeration could provide about 17.85% additional force leading to failure by sliding/overturning. It was observed that the forcing on the caisson is not constant but cyclic. This isa key result from this study affecting the design of the caisson breakwater. Additionally, the aeration mechanism and overflow jet breakup during the flow were also investigated. A mechanism for aeration of the cavity has been proposed as observed in the numerical model results. However, due to the limited scope of the study and time constraints, further investigations with respect to the overflow discharges was not possible.Civil Engineering | Hydraulic Engineerin

    Flowing maps to minimal surfaces: Existence and uniqueness of solutions

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    We study the new geometric flow that was introduced in [11] that evolves a pair of map and (domain) metric in such a way that it changes appropriate initial data into branched minimal immersions. In the present paper we focus on the existence theory as well as the issue of uniqueness of solutions. We establish that a (weak) solution exists for as long as the metrics remain in a bounded region of moduli space, i.e. as long as the flow does not collapse a closed geodesic in the domain manifold to a point. Furthermore, we prove that this solution is unique in the class of all weak solutions with non-increasing energy. This work complements the paper [11] of Topping and the author where the flow was introduced and its asymptotic convergence to branched minimal immersions is discussed
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