94 research outputs found
A Conjugate Heat Transfer Method Applied to Turbomachinery
No full textA Conjugate Heat Transfer (CHT) analysis allows the calculation of the heat transfer and temperature of a body placed in a fluid. The CHT analysis takes into account both the conduction in the solid and the convection in the fluid. Present paper describes a CHT method that uses two separate solvers: one CFD solver dedicated to the flow calculation and one Finite Element Analysis (FEA) solver for the computation of the heat transfer in the solid. Several methods, combining both codes in order to solve the CHT problem, are explained andevaluated. The CHT method is tested on two turbomachine applications
Accepted Author Publishing Agreement_13 FEBRUARY_2023_The Role of Earnings Management as Mediator The Effect of Male CEO Masculinity Face on Research & Development
No full textAccepted Author Publishing Agreement_13 FEBRUARY_2023_The Role of Earnings Management as Mediator The Effect of Male CEO Masculinity Face on Research & DevelopmentAccepted Author Publishing Agreement_13 FEBRUARY_2023_The Role of Earnings Management as Mediator The Effect of Male CEO Masculinity Face on Research & Developmen
Detecting deadlocks in the Ada accept...do and select constructs
No full textWe describe the representation of Ada programs containing the select and accept-do constructs, for use in safe and accurate static detection of deadlock in polynomial time. We describe a sync hypergraph program representation, which encompasses remote procedures including synchronization, conditional entries and entry calls, and else clauses and timeouts. We present a corresponding execution model for the sync hypergraph abstraction of Ada programs, and give constraints on valid deadlock cycles based on this execution model. We give full details of a deadlock detection algorithm, including lattice frameworks for deadlock cycle detection and proof of worst-case polynomial time bounds for convergence. As an intermediate step, we compute an approximate "can't happen together" (CHT) relation between rendezvous statements. This CHT relation has applications in other areas, notably in detection of unexecutable statements and in intertask data flow analysis.Technical report lcsr-tr-19
Truncating SLC5A7 mutations underlie a spectrum of dominant hereditary motor neuropathies.
No full textThis is the final version of the article. Available from Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins via the DOI in this record.Objective: To identify the genetic cause of disease in 2 previously unreported families with forms of distal hereditary motor neuropathies (dHMNs). Methods: The first family comprises individuals affected by dHMN type V, which lacks the cardinal clinical feature of vocal cord paralysis characteristic of dHMN-VII observed in the second family. Next-generation sequencing was performed on the proband of each family. Variants were annotated and filtered, initially focusing on genes associated with neuropathy. Candidate variants were further investigated and confirmed by dideoxy sequence analysis and cosegregation studies. Thorough patient phenotyping was completed, comprising clinical history, examination, and neurologic investigation. Results: dHMNs are a heterogeneous group of peripheral motor neuron disorders characterized by length-dependent neuropathy and progressive distal limb muscle weakness and wasting. We previously reported a dominant-negative frameshift mutation located in the concluding exon of theSLC5A7gene encoding the choline transporter (CHT), leading to protein truncation, as the likely cause of dominantly-inherited dHMN-VII in an extended UK family. In this study, our genetic studies identified distinct heterozygous frameshift mutations located in the last coding exon ofSLC5A7, predicted to result in the truncation of the CHT C-terminus, as the likely cause of the condition in each family. Conclusions: This study corroborates C-terminal CHT truncation as a cause of autosomal dominant dHMN, confirming upper limb predominating over lower limb involvement, and broadening the clinical spectrum arising from CHT malfunction.This work was supported by the Association Belge contre les Maladies Neuromusculaire (ABMM)—Aide à la Recherche ASBL and the EU FP7/2007 2013 under grant agreement number 2012—305121 (NEUROMICS), the Medical Research Council (G1002279 to A.H.C.), and the Neurosciences Research Foundation (to A.H.C. and E.L.B.). J.B. is supported by a Senior Clinical Researcher mandate of the Research Fund—Flanders (FWO)
Digital well-being under pandemic conditions: catalysing a theory of online flourishing
No full textThe COVID-19 pandemic has catalysed what may soon become a permanent digital transition in the domains of work, education, medicine, and leisure. This transition has also precipitated a spike in concern regarding our digital well-being. Prominent lobbying groups, such as the Center for Humane Technology (CHT), have responded to this concern. In April 2020, the CHT has offered a set of ‘Digital Well-Being Guidelines during the COVID-19 Pandemic.’ These guidelines offer a rule-based approach to digital well-being, one which aims to mitigate the effects of moving much of our lives online. The CHT’s guidelines follow much recent interest in digital well-being in the last decade. Ethicists of technology have recently argued that character-based strategies and redesigning of online architecture have the potential to promote the digital well-being of online technology users. In this article, I evaluate (1) the CHT’s rule-based approach, comparing it with (2) character-based strategies and (3) approaches to redesigning online architecture. I argue that all these approaches have some merit, but that each needs to contribute to an integrated approach to digital well-being in order to surmount the challenges of a post-COVID world in which we may well spend much of our lives online.Ethics & Philosophy of Technolog
Effects of childhood trauma and clinical features on determining quality of life in patients with bipolar i disorder
No full textPubMed ID: 24767014Çakmak, Duran (Arel Author)Background: We explored how childhood trauma (CHT) affects the clinical expression of disorder and quality of life in patients with bipolar I (BP-I) disorder. Methods Euthymic patients (n=116) who subsequently received a diagnosis of BP-I disorder were consecutively included and were interviewed using the following sociodemographic and clinical data forms; Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), Childhood Abuse and Neglect Questionnaire (CANQ) and the 36-item Medical Outcome Study Short Form Health Survey (SF-36). The quality of life of BP-I patients with and without a history of CHT were examined. Results The percentage of trauma was 61.2%. Patients who had CHT had higher frequencies of depressive episodes (t=-2.38, p=0.019), total episodes (t=-2.25, p=0.026), attempted suicide more often (?2=18.12, p=0.003) and had lower scores on the pain subscale of the SF-36 (z=-2.817, p=0.005). In patients with mixed or rapid-cycling episodes, SF-36 subscale scores except general health and pain were found to be lower. Limitations Our sample may fail to reflect the general BD population; the patients were included consecutively and consisted of a majority of female patients. Conclusions CHT plays an important role in the clinical expression of BP-I disorder and having mixed/rapid-cycling episodes negatively affects both physical and mental components, as measured by the SF-36. While both males and females reported experiencing sexual abuse, female BP-I patients complained about pain more often. It is suggested that treatment of BP-I patients with a history of CHT should differ from that provided for patients with no CHT history. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Life Balance, Stress, and Occupational Burnout in Occupational Therapy Assistant Students: An Exploratory Study
No full textThe United States healthcare worker burnout crisis demands immediate attention. College is critical for preparing occupational therapy assistant students (OTA) to address life balance, stress, and burnout as they transition into the workforce. However, little is known about these factors in this population. In this doctoral presentation, the primary author presents her doctoral project, which explored OTA students\u27 life balance and its association with their perceived stress and occupational burnout across employment status, residential status, years of study, and age. A cross-sectional Qualtrics e-survey was distributed to OTA students ages 18 and older, including a demographic survey, Life Balance Inventory (LBI), Perceived Stress Scale- Short (PSS-4), Single Measure of Occupational Burnout (SIMB) and open-ended questions about students\u27 perceptions of what is harmful or buffering to their life balance. Findings from 200 OTA students’ responses indicate occupational imbalance with an overall LBI score of 1.99. There were significant differences among the LBI subscales. Moderate, negative correlations were found between students’ life balance, perceived stress, and occupational burnout. No differences were observed across residential status, employment status, years of study, or age. Buffering effects on their life balance were associated with engaging in exercise, sleeping, or finishing assignments while lingering outside homework, lack of sleep, and limited dedicated time to relax were perceived as harmful. Findings suggest that addressing life balance and implementing strategies to mitigate stress and burnout are critical for their well-being and professional success. Further research is warranted to develop targeted support programs for OTA students.
Synopsis: This doctoral presentation focuses on a cross-sectional exploratory study that examined the life balance of occupational therapy assistant students in the US, supporting the need for well-being and professional success strategies and further research to develop targeted support programs.
Acknowledgments: Dr. Tom Reinsfelder, MSLS, Ph.D., Penn State Mont Alto Head Librarian, and Kristi Addleman Ritter, MSLS, Penn State Mont Alto Reference and Instructio
Why is there significant overlap in volume status between hypertensive and normotensive patients on dialysis?
No full textBackground/Aim: Volume overload is believed to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of hypertension in dialysis patients. Although the extracellular water (ECW) content in hypertensive dialysis patients was significantly higher than in normotensive dialysis patients on the whole, there was considerable overlap in ECW between the two groups. Little is known about the hemodynamic characteristics in subgroups of patients with normotension but a high volume (HV) status or with hypertension but a normal volume (NV) status. We investigate the overlap in ECW between controlled and uncontrolled hypertension in dialysis patients. Methods: Fifty-two patients (mean age 62 years, 26 males and 26 females) on peritoneal dialysis were enrolled into this study. The ECW was assessed by bioimpedance analysis and normalized by individual height in meters (NECW). The mean value of NECW in both sexes was arbitrarily set to define NV status (lower than mean value) or HV status (higher than mean value). All patients were thus divided into four subgroups: controlled hypertension with NV (CHT-NV), controlled hypertension with HV (CHT-HV), uncontrolled hypertension with NV (UHT-NV) and uncontrolled hypertension with HV (UHT-HV). The stroke volume, cardiac output and total peripheral resistance were echocardiographically measured and their respective indices were calculated. Results: There were 12 (23%), 8 (15%), 14 (27%) and 18 (35%) patients in the CHT-NV, CHT-HV, UHT-NV and UHT-HV subgroups, respectively. The four subgroups were matched for sex, diabetes and age. The NECW in the CHT- HV group was higher than that in CHT-NV and UHT-NV groups (p < 0.01), but was comparable with that in the UHT-HV group. The stroke volume and cardiac output indices in the CHT-HV group were not significantly different from those in the CHT-NV and UHT-NV groups. The total peripheral resistance index in the CHT-HV group was lower than that in UHT-NV and CHT-NV groups (p < 0.05), but was comparable to that in the UHT-HV group. There was no difference in heart rate among the four groups. Conclusions: The overlap in ECW between controlled hypertension and uncontrolled hypertension in dialysis patients was related to a significant difference in total peripheral resistance index, but not to significant differences in stroke volume and cardiac output indices. The CHT-HV patients were characterized by lower total peripheral resistance indices. Copyright (C) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.Urology & NephrologySCI(E)PubMed7ARTICLE3508-5162
In vivo performance of chitosan/soy-based membranes as wound dressing devices for acute skin wounds
No full textWound management represents a major clinical challenge on what concerns healing enhancement and pain control. The selection of an appropriate dressing plays an important role in both recovery and esthetic ap- pearance of the regenerated tissue. Despite the wide range of available dressings, the progress in the wound care market relies on the increasing interest in using natural-based biomedical products. Herein, a rat wound- dressing model of partial-thickness skin wounds was used to study newly developed chitosan/soy (cht/soy)- based membranes as wound-dressing materials. Healing and repair of nondressed, cht/soy membrane-dressed, and Epigard -dressed wounds were followed macroscopically and histologically for 1 and 2 weeks. cht/soy membranes performed better than the controls, promoting a faster wound repair. Re-epithelialization, ob- served 1 week after wounding, was followed by cornification of the outermost epidermal layer at the second week of dressing, indicating repair of the wounded tissue. The use of this rodent model, although in impaired healing conditions, may enclose some drawbacks regarding the inevitable wound contraction. Moreover, being the main purpose the evaluation of cht/soy-based membranes’ performance in the absence of growth factors, the choice of a clinically relevant positive control was limited to a polymeric mesh, without any growth factor influencing skin healing/repair, Epigard. These new cht/soy membranes possess the desired features regarding healing/repair stimulation, ease of handling, and final esthetic appearance-thus, valuable prop- erties for wound dressings.The author Tircia C. Santos acknowledges the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for her PhD grant (SFRH/BD/40861/2007). This work was developed under the scope of the European Network of Excellence EXPERTISSUES (NMP3-CT-2004-5000283)
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The Responsibility to Protect Indigenous Peoples: A Study of R2P’s Potential Application in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh
No full textThis thesis analyzes the potential application of the United Nations principle of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in situations of mass atrocities committed against Indigenous peoples. R2P has never been applied in a situation of a mass atrocity committed against Indigenous peoples anywhere in the world and this thesis will question why that is, with reference to and analysis of the case study of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region of Bangladesh. The author argues that the conflict in the CHT is a clear case of ethnic cleansing of the area’s Indigenous peoples at the behest of the Bangladeshi government, making this an appropriate opportunity for the application of R2P. This thesis uses the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a normative framework through which the author assesses the Indigenous right to self-determination as it pertains to mass atrocity prevention and intervention in Indigenous communities. The author evaluates how R2P could be better shaped to address situations of mass atrocities involving Indigenous peoples, and how this paradigm shift may affect future iterations of the Responsibility to Protect as an evolving norm
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