64 research outputs found
Assessment of Cavitating Flow Aggressiveness on a Hydrofoil: Experimental and Numerical Approaches
No full textInternational audienceThe aggressiveness of a partial cavity on a hydrofoil in a cavitation tunnel is investigated from a joint numerical and experimental analysis. The numerical approach is based on a homogeneous equilibrium model and a barotropic law for the liq-uid/vapor mixture [1,2] for cold water. The unsteady behavior of the cavity appears in good agreement with experiments although the maximum cavity length is underestimated and the cloud shedding frequency overestimated. The flow aggressiveness is estimated by using the energy approach proposed by Fortes-Patella et al. [3, 4]. The technique predicts a maximum in flow aggressiveness located in the region where the cloud cavity is shed and increases as a power of the flow velocity between 2 and 3. NOMENCLATURE c reference length equal to the chord length, c = 100 mm [mm] c min minimum speed of sound [m/s] E potential energy [J] f shedding frequency [Hz] g pixel gray level at an instant t [-] g mean mean gray level over the span at an instant t [-] h distance perpendicular to the wall [m] i incidence of the hydrofoil [ • ] l maximum cavity length [mm] p v vapor pressure [Pa] p up upstream pressure [Pa] * Address all correspondence to this author. † Institute of Engineering Univ. Grenoble Alpes p pressure in a cell [Pa] P potential power [W] P 3d potential power density [W.m −3 ] P 2d areal potential power density [W.m −2 ] P mean mean aggressiveness intensity [W.m −2 ] St Strouhal number St = f c/V (based on the chord length) or St = f l/V (based on the cavity length) [-] T temperature [ • C] T trans duration of the numerical transient [s] T a analysis duration [s] V flow velocity in the test section [m/s] V vap total vapor volume in the computational domain [m 3 ] V cell volume of a cell [m 3 ] α void fraction, α = (ρ l − ρ)/(ρ l − ρ v) [-] ∆S reference area [m 2 ] ∆t numerical time step ∆t = 0.2 * c/V [s] ∆z width of the central part studied experimentally [mm] ρ l liquid density [kg.m −3 ] ρ v vapor density [kg.m −3 ] ρ mixture density [kg.m −3 ] σ upstream cavitation number in the test section [-] INTRODUCTION For partial cavitation, the cavitating flow aggressiveness is connected to the unsteadiness of the cavity. In particular, Reis-man et al [5] pointed out that the cloud cavity shed by a cavity was responsible for cavitation erosion
Global research initiative for patient screening on MASH (GRIPonMASH) protocol: rationale and design of a prospective multicentre study
Get PDFIntroduction The prevalence of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) may be as high as 38% in the adult population with potential serious complications, multiple comorbidities and a high socioeconomic burden. However, there is a general lack of awareness and knowledge about MASLD and its progressive stages (metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and fibrosis). Therefore, MASLD is still far underdiagnosed. The ‘Global Research Initiative for Patient Screening on MASH’ (GRIPonMASH) consortium focuses on this unmet public health need. GRIPonMASH will help (primary) healthcare providers to implement a patient care pathway, as recommended by multiple scientific societies, to identify patients at risk of severe MASLD and to raise awareness. Furthermore, GRIPonMASH will contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of MASLD and improved identification of diagnostic and prognostic markers to detect individuals at risk.Methods This is a prospective multicentre observational study in which 10 000 high-risk patients (type 2 diabetes mellitus, obesity, metabolic syndrome or hypertension) will be screened in 10 European countries using at least two non-invasive tests (Fibrosis-4 index and FibroScan). Blood samples and liver biopsy material will be collected and biobanked, and multiomics analyses will be conducted.Ethics and dissemination The study will be conducted in compliance with this protocol and applicable national and international regulatory requirements. The study initiation package is submitted at the local level. The study protocol has been approved by local medical ethical committees in all 10 participating countries. Results will be made public and published in scientific, peer-reviewed, international journals and at international conferences.Registration details NCT05651724, registration date: 15 Dec 2022
Recovering Gabriel Alexander: Changing Bylines and the Transatlantic Circulation of William Wallace
No full textWilliam Wallace, popularized in the twentieth century through Mel Gibson’s portrayal in Braveheart, was a revolutionary hero who led the First War of Scottish Independence in the late thirteenth century. Before travelling to Hollywood, his tale had circulated in the 1840s from penny numbers in London to New York publishers Stringer & Townsend. By changing the byline, the American pair erased the actual Scottish author, replacing him with a much more familiar —and therefore marketable— name. This practice is common in cheap transatlantic reprinting.
Gabriel Alexander (1793-1854) wrote six novels in penny weekly numbers, mainly for John Dicks (1818-1881), the publisher of Reynolds’s Miscellany. When Alexander’s undated Wallace: the hero of Scotland crossed the Atlantic in 1849, it was attributed instead to the much younger and better known George W.M. Reynolds (1814-1879). In addition to owning and editing the penny weekly that bore his name, he also published historical romances with Dicks, making it probable that he would have written Wallace.
Alexander was in his mid-fifties when he became a regular contributor to Reynolds’s Miscellany in 1847. A Scottish advocate also writing for the periodical press in Edinburgh, he had moved to London in 1831 in his late thirties, was imprisoned for debt, wrote for the Metropolitan Magazine in 1833 and then to the Royal Literary Fund for financial aid in 1834. His partnership with John Dicks more than a decade later seems to have been the most stable literary employment he had in his life.
Alexander’s last serialized novel was published in the first half of 1854. He died at the end of the year, aged 62. This paper provides a case study of changing bylines in the transatlantic reprinting of early Victorian novels published in penny numbers and of the men and careers they obscured.
The audio was first uploaded to Soundcloud. The transcript and illustrations were published as a blog post on Price One Penny, new series.Podcast presentation read by Marie Léger-St-Jean, featuring Tom Clark, with audio editing by Dan St-Jean.
Excerpt from Braveheart uploaded to YouTube by Fox Home Entertainment UK on 9 May 2013:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIvRkjOd1f8
"Braveheart Theme Song" by James Horner uploaded to YouTube by ClassicAdden: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AN04imFDK
Effectiveness of an exercise training programme COPD in primary care: A randomized controlled trial
No full textBACKGROUND: Pulmonary rehabilitation is very effective in improving exercise capacity, dyspnea and quality of life in the small group of patients with moderate to severe COPD. Given that little is known about exercise training in the large group of patients with mild to moderate COPD, we assessed the effectiveness of an exercise training programme in primary care. METHODS: In this RCT, 90 patients with mild to moderate COPD (FEV1 74.2 ± 13.5%pred) participated in a 4-month exercise training programme or control treatment. Primary outcome was improvement in functional exercise capacity, assessed by the 6-min walking distance (6MWD). Secondary outcomes were breathlessness (MRC dyspnoea score), disease-specific quality of life (CCQ, CRQ), muscle strength and objective daily physical activity. There was a follow-up measurement at 6 months. RESULTS: At 4 months, we found a statistically and clinically relevant between-group difference in 6MWD of +26.6 m (95% CI: 4,3-49.0, p = 0.020). Shoulder strength significantly improved with a between-group difference of 23.9 Nm (p = 0.0350). At 6 months, there was a significant improvement in handgrip force and CRQ sub score mastery of respectively 1.9 KgF (p = 0.028) and 0.5 (p = 0.035). There were no significant between-group differences in breathlessness, quality of life, knee strength and daily physical activity. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that exercise training in primary care is particularly effective in improving physical fitness (exercise capacity and strength), but not in breathlessness, health-related quality of life and daily physical activity. A broader assessment for COPD patients in primary care might be a necessary condition to offer the most effective intervention.sponsorship: Funding of this study is provided by the MUMC MOVE programme of Maastricht University and an unconditional grant from BoehringerIngelheim, The Netherlands. (MUMC MOVE programme of Maastricht University, BoehringerIngelheim, The Netherlands)status: Published onlin
My Elvis Blackout and Neverland: Truth, Fiction and Celebrity in the Postmodernist Heterobiographical Composite Novel
No full textA PhD by publication comprising two of my books, My Elvis Blackout and Neverland, accompanied by a reflective and critical exegesis, which examines notions of truth, fiction and celebrity in the composite novel through a broadly analytical and practice-based methodology. The exegesis begins by exploring the links between the methodology of the fine artist and the new creative writer. It then demonstrates that My Elvis Blackout and Neverland represent an original contribution to knowledge in the way that they explore and develop literary form (the ‘composite’ novel), and, in their exploration of celebrity, myth-making and fictional hagiography, and that the two books function as performative critiques which probe the boundaries between fiction and the fabricated reality of celebrity culture. My exegesis analyses Linda Boldrini’s term ‘heterobiography’ (2012) with particular reference to Michael Ondaatje’s The Collected Works of Billy The Kid (1981), which as a bricolage relies upon the reader’s pre-conceived recognition of the historicity of its protagonist and continually tests the boundaries between fact and fiction. In this section of the exegesis, I propose that what sets My Elvis Blackout and Neverland apart from Billy The Kid is that whilst Ondaatje’s book certainly does exploit the confusions between fact, fiction, autobiography and history, it remains firmly set within the timeframe that its historical protagonist inhabits. My Elvis Blackout and Neverland remain grounded within their readers’ expectations of American settings contemporary to their nominative protagonists, but both books also feature dilations in both historical and geographical setting. Through analysis I have come to perceive ‘the celebrity persona’ as an identikit image assembled by thousands of witnesses. A photo fit photomontage tiered with impressions of subjective provenance, each layered transparency filtered through the fears and desires of fans and critics. Whereas other historiographic metafictions use historical figures as singular characters, My Elvis Blackout and Neverland can be seen to be utilising an ‘identikit’ concept to present their respective protagonists as manyheaded Hydras, or multiple probability ‘versions’ from parallel universes. By a conflation of terms, Hutcheon’s ‘historiographic metafiction’ (1988) and Boldrini’s ‘heterobiography’ (2012), My Elvis Blackout and Neverland are in fact historiobiographic metafictions. The exegesis concludes by establishing my own works’ live impact on the overarching celebrity metanarratives, and their inevitable organic status
How to promote a healthy lifestyle among schoolchildren:Development of an intervention module (i-PROMISe)
No full textObjective: Lifestyle preferences are inculcated in childhood and once established, persist into adulthood. The Project PROMoting Health LIteracy in School (i-PROMISe) aims to promote a healthy lifestyle among students for the universal prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like diabetes.Study design: Qualitative study using focus-group-discussions (FGDs) and In-Depth Interviews (IDI).Method: Project was undertaken in two-phases in two private schools in New Delhi, India. In phase-one, FGDs with students (grades IV to VIII) and IDIs with teachers were conducted to ascertain their perceptions of diabetes prevention and management according to the Health Belief Model. The data was analyzed using a thematic framework method. In phase-two, the resources were pre-tested and participants' feedback was requested on the duration, quality, and understanding of the resources.Results: In total, 89 students and 17 teachers participated in phase-one (n = 54 [in FGDs] and n = 5 [in IDIs]) and phase-two (n = 35 students and n = 12 teachers in FGDs). In phase-one, themes that emerged included: diabetes was considered a disease of the elderly; misconceptions about susceptibility to these diseases were common; children were largely aware of measures to prevent these diseases, but barriers to adopting a healthy lifestyle existed. Based on the findings, a comprehensive module was developed, which consisted of a teacher's manual with interactive activities and short films. The resources (teacher's manual and short films) were well received and contributed to a better understanding of diabetes and other NCDs; myths/misconceptions were clarified.Conclusion: Development of resources using participatory approach can be effective in promoting and reinforcing healthy behaviours among school going children to prevent and control NCDs in schools.</p
Family Physicians Managing Medical Requests From Family and Friends
No full textPURPOSE Although guidelines generally state that physicians should not treat their family members or friends (nonpatients), physicians regularly receive medical requests from nonpatients. We aimed to explore junior and senior family physicians' experiences with and attitudes toward managing medical requests from nonpatients. METHODS We conducted a qualitative study with 7 focus groups with junior and senior physicians. We performed a thematic analysis during an iterative cycle of data collection and analysis. RESULTS When confronted with a medical request from a nonpatient, physicians first oriented themselves to the situation: who is this person, what is he or she asking of me, and where are we? Physicians next considered the following interrelated factors: (1) nature/strength of the relationship with the nonpatient, (2) amount of trust in his/her own knowledge and skills, (3) expected consequences of making mistakes, (4) importance of work-life balance, and (5) risk of disturbing the physician-patient process. Senior physicians applied more nuanced considerations when deciding whether to respond, whereas junior physicians experienced more difficulties dealing with these requests, were less inclined to respond, and were more concerned about disturbing the existing relationship that a person had with his/her own physician. CONCLUSIONS This study provides insight into the complexity that physicians face when managing medical questions and requests from nonpatients. Facilitated group discussions during which experiences are shared can help junior physicians become more confident in dealing with these complex issues as they formulate their own personal strategy regarding provision of medical advice or treatment to family and friends
Study protocol of a Dutch smoking cessation e-health program
No full textAbstract Background The study aims to test the differential effects of a web-based text and a web-based video-driven computer-tailored approach for lower socio-economic status (LSES) and higher socio-economic status (HSES) smokers which incorporate multiple computer-tailored feedback moments. The two programs differ only in the mode of delivery (video- versus text-based messages). The paper aims to describe the development and design of the two computer-tailored programs. Methods/design Respondents who smoked at the time of the study inclusion, who were motivated to quit within the following six months and who were aged 18 or older were included in the program. The study is a randomized control trial with a 2 (video/text) * 2(LSES/HSES) design. Respondents were assigned either to one of the intervention groups (text versus video tailored feedback) or to the control group (non-tailored generic advice). In all three conditions participants were asked to fill in the baseline questionnaire based on the I-Change model. The questionnaire assessed socio-demographics, attitude towards smoking, knowledge, self-efficacy, social influence, depression, level of addiction, action planning, goal actions, intention to quit smoking, seven-day point prevalence and continued abstinence. Follow-up measurements were conducted at six and twelve months after baseline. Discussion The present paper describes the development of the two computer-tailored smoking cessation programs, their components and the design of the study. The study results reveal different working mechanisms of multiple tailored smoking cessation interventions and will help us to gain more insight into effective strategies to target different subgroups, especially smokers with a lower socio-economic status. Trial registration Dutch Trial Register NTR3102</p
Intervenciones de reducción de alérgenos mono y multifacéticas para la prevención del asma en niños con alto riesgo de desarrollo de asma
No full textThe sustainability of practice-based research networks across the globe – insights from a worldwide qualitative study
No full textBackground: PBRNs emerged from partnerships between academics and primary care practitioners and functioned as primary care “laboratories”. In two previous scoping literature reviews, we presented the facilitators and barriers to building PBRNs linked to their internal and external environments. This article presents key insights from interviews with PBRN leaders worldwide about the sustainability of their networks. Methods: We used the consultation exercise component of the scoping review methodology to generate complementary/additional results to our previous studies. We conducted 56 semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of PBRN leaders using the contact information included in our earlier scoping reviews. We then expanded the sample to achieve balance and saturation in terms of PBRN developmental stage maturity, structure, focus, governance and involvement of other stakeholders. We applied inductive thematic analysis to 55 interviews (one was inaudible) and derived key elements, subthemes, and main themes from the codes. Results: The overarching thematic framework yielded 4 main themes, 18 subthemes, and 72 key elements. Main themes were Internal Environment, Stakeholders at the Intersection between the Internal and External Environment, the Impact and Value of PBRNs, and the External Environment. We found that PBRN leaders associated network sustainability with sufficient infrastructural support, collaborative relationships, a learning team environment culture, and agile management. They also considered that support and advocacy from organisations with global influence was essential for their sustainability. They also indicated that PBRNs have a positive impact on academic faculty, clinician education, primary care practice, community health and healthcare policy. Conclusion: While PBRNs have found various ways to develop and thrive and have influenced the primary care field, there remains a strong need for strategic development of network relationships, research portfolios, stable infrastructure support and intensified advocacy to further consolidate their role within the broader healthcare landscape nationally and globally
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