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For a radiation detector that is not isotropic, a directional detector response is needed to accurately account for the variation in a detector’s behavior depending on the incoming particle...

In this paper, we describe two case studies of research projects that attempt to scale up HCI research beyond traditional small evaluation studies. The first of these projects focused on evaluating an interactive web application for promoting problem-solving in self-management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a randomized clinical trial; the second one included deployment in the wild of a smartphone app that provided individuals with T2DM with personalized predictions for changes in blood glucose levels in response to meals. We highlight lessons learned during these two projects and describe four different design considerations important for large scale studies. These include designing for longevity, diversity, adoption, and abandonment. We then discuss implications for future research that targets large scale deployment studies.

The chemical industry is increasingly looking to develop bio-based alternatives to petroleum-based platform chemicals, in order to reduce dependence on diminishing fossil resources and to decrease GHG emissions. 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) and 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) are two examples of bio-basedchemicals which could allow for the synthesis of a wide range of chemicals and materials, particularly polymers, from renewable feedstocks. This review paper summarises and critically evaluates results from existinglife cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic analysis (TEA) studies of HMF and FDCA synthesis and, bydoing this, provides several points of advice for future investigations and assessments of synthetic routestowards these bio-based products. Chemical considerations such as choice of solvent system, catalyst andenergy production are reviewed; and methodological issues in LCA, such as treatment of biogenic carbonand allocation methods, are discussed. Overall, results suggest that the production of HMF and FDCA-basedproducts may offer lower impacts from CO2 emissions than their fossil-based counterparts, but this oftencomes with an increase in environmental impacts in other impact categories. Higher operating costs fromexpensive fructose feedstocks and high energy demands also make HMF and FDCA less economicallyviable than current chemicals. Moving forwards, further investigation into different lignocellulosic feedstocks, energy production units and the development of new catalytic systems may help in making HMFand FDCA production more favourable than the production of fossil-based counterparts.

An eight-year-old female spayed Boston Terrier presented to the North Carolina Veterinary Hospital with glaucoma in the left eye (OS). Initial ophthalmic examination revealed moderate ocular hypertension, a diffusely and markedly shallow anterior chamber with anteriorly displaced iris and lens, vitreal prolapse, and a normal iridocorneal angle (ICA) morphology. The patient displayed a paradoxical response to topical latanoprost with an increase in intraocular pressure. These examination findings led to a putative diagnosis of spontaneous aqueous humor misdirection syndrome (AHMS). The patient was successfully managed with topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (CAIs) and apraclonidine for eight months until progressive ulcerative keratitis necessitated enucleation of the affected globe. Histopathology and high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the enucleated globe did not identify an underlying cause for the glaucoma. This case suggests that AHMS should be considered in dogs presenting with a shallow anterior chamber, vitreal prolapse, increased intraocular pressure, and no other causes of glaucoma.

Although congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) has been described in a Japanese beagle dog research colony, certain clinical correlates with human CSNB have not yet been described, nor has an estimate of frequency of the condition been made in inbred and outbred beagle populations. A beagle with CSNB obtained from a commercial research dog supplier in the USA and matched control dogs (n = 3) underwent examination, refraction, ocular imaging, assessment of visual navigation ability and detailed electroretinography (ERG). Retrospective review of ERGs in two independent groups of inbred (n = 15 and 537, respectively) and one group of outbred dogs (n = 36) was used to estimate CSNB frequency in these populations. In the affected dog, there were absent dark-adapted b-waves in response to dim-light flashes, severely reduced dark-adapted b-waves in response to bright-light flashes, and normal light-adapted b-waves with a-waves that had broadened troughs. Long-flash ERGs confirmed a markedly reduced b-wave with a preserved d-wave, consistent with cone ON-bipolar cell dysfunction. There was evidence of normal rod photoreceptor a-wave dark adaptation, and rapid light adaptation. In the wider beagle populations, five inbred beagles had a b/a wave ratio of

Time since intercourse (TSI) expectations are dependent on the method used to recover spermatozoa from vaginal swabs. TSI data following Sperm Elution™ is presented from a large scale study of 2269 cases of penile–vaginal penetration sexual assault allegations analysed by Cellmark Forensic Services and is compared to published TSI data generated using two different water-based elution methods Sperm Elution recovered spermatozoa in 32% of cases analysed where the alleged offence had occurred 3–4 days previously, significantly above the level detected using other elution methods. The improvements afforded by Sperm Elution in the ability to generate clearly distinguishable male DNA profiles from samples containing low levels of spermatozoa, and the recovery of further spermatozoa from swabs previously subjected to water-based elution methods are also discussed.

ObjectiveTo develop and test a visual analytics tool to help clinicians identify systematic and clinically meaningful patterns in patient-generated data (PGD) while decreasing perceived information overload.MethodsParticipatory design was used to develop Glucolyzer, an interactive tool featuring hierarchical clustering and a heatmap visualization to help registered dietitians (RDs) identify associative patterns between blood glucose levels and per-meal macronutrient composition for individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Ten RDs participated in a within-subjects experiment to compare Glucolyzer to a static logbook format. For each representation, participants had 25 minutes to examine 1 month of diabetes self-monitoring data captured by an individual with T2DM and identify clinically meaningful patterns. We compared the quality and accuracy of the observations generated using each representation.ResultsParticipants generated 50% more observations when using Glucolyzer (98) than when using the logbook format (64) without any loss in accuracy (69% accuracy vs 62%, respectively, p = .17). Participants identified more observations that included ingredients other than carbohydrates using Glucolyzer (36% vs 16%, p = .027). Fewer RDs reported feelings of information overload using Glucolyzer compared to the logbook format. Study participants displayed variable acceptance of hierarchical clustering.ConclusionsVisual analytics have the potential to mitigate provider concerns about the volume of self-monitoring data. Glucolyzer helped dietitians identify meaningful patterns in self-monitoring data without incurring perceived information overload. Future studies should assess whether similar tools can support clinicians in personalizing behavioral interventions that improve patient outcomes.

To investigate factors associated with long-term visual outcome in cats with hypertensive chorioretinopathy.Eighty-eight client-owned cats diagnosed with hypertensive chorioretinopathy.Medical records from cats with systemic hypertension and associated retinal lesions were reviewed.Most cats (61%) were blind in both eyes at presentation. Presence of menace response at last follow-up evaluation was positively correlated with presence of menace response at presentation (P = .0025), time to complete retinal reattachment (P.0001), and gender (P = .0137). Seventy-six of 132 eyes (57.6%) that were blind at presentation regained some vision following treatment. At the time of last evaluation, 101/176 eyes (60%) had a positive menace response, while 34/46 (74%) eyes with a follow-up of6 months had a positive menace response. Eyes that had a menace response at presentation were 17 and 37 times more likely to have a menace response at last examination compared to eyes blind for less than 2 weeks and eyes blind greater than 2 weeks, respectively. Female cats were overrepresented (62.5% of cases), and male cats were 4.2 times more likely to be visual at time of last examination compared to female cats.With treatment, the prognosis for long-term vision in cats with hypertensive chorioretinopathy, even following complete retinal detachment, is good.

Display Omitted Self-monitoring data can enable discovery and insight.We study discovery with data in diabetes self-management.Discovery focuses on patterns of associations between activities and changes in blood glucose.We outline steps of the discovery process.We further describe new design directions for interventions for discovery. ObjectiveTo outline new design directions for informatics solutions that facilitate personal discovery with self-monitoring data. We investigate this question in the context of chronic disease self-management with the focus on type 2 diabetes. Materials and methodsWe conducted an observational qualitative study of discovery with personal data among adults attending a diabetes self-management education (DSME) program that utilized a discovery-based curriculum. The study included observations of class sessions, and interviews and focus groups with the educator and attendees of the program (n = 14). ResultsThe main discovery in diabetes self-management evolved around discovering patterns of association between characteristics of individuals activities and changes in their blood glucose levels that the participants referred to as cause and effect. This discovery empowered individuals to actively engage in self-management and provided a desired flexibility in selection of personalized self-management strategies. We show that discovery of cause and effect involves four essential phases: (1) feature selection, (2) hypothesis generation, (3) feature evaluation, and (4) goal specification. Further, we identify opportunities to support discovery at each stage with informatics and data visualization solutions by providing assistance with: (1) active manipulation of collected data (e.g., grouping, filtering and side-by-side inspection), (2) hypotheses formulation (e.g., using natural language statements or constructing visual queries), (3) inference evaluation (e.g., through aggregation and visual comparison, and statistical analysis of associations), and (4) translation of discoveries into actionable goals (e.g., tailored selection from computable knowledge sources of effective diabetes self-management behaviors). DiscussionThe study suggests that discovery of cause and effect in diabetes can be a powerful approach to helping individuals to improve their self-management strategies, and that self-monitoring data can serve as a driving engine for personal discovery that may lead to sustainable behavior changes. ConclusionsEnabling personal discovery is a promising new approach to enhancing chronic disease self-management with informatics interventions.

INTRODUCTION: Complement factor D is the rate-limiting enzyme for activation of the complement alternative pathway (AP). Targeting factor D is therefore an attractive therapeutic strategy for treatment of AP-mediated diseases including paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), C3 glomerulopathy, and atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome. BCX9930 is a potent and selective orally bioavailable inhibitor of factor D in development for the treatment of PNH and other complement-mediated diseases. PNH is an acquired, chronic, non-malignant disorder of hematopoietic stem cells that is characterized by clonal deficiency of AP regulatory proteins CD55 and CD59, resulting in dysregulated AP amplification, opsonization, membrane attack complex (MAC) formation, and hemolysis. The approved intravenously (IV) administered C5 inhibitors eculizumab and ravulizumab inhibit MAC formation and intravascular hemolysis, but do not inhibit opsonization, leading to extravascular hemolysis and potentially incomplete treatment response. Inhibition of factor D is expected to prevent both intravascular and extravascular hemolysis in PNH, a distinct advantage over currently available parenteral therapies. METHODS: This abstract describes preliminary data in healthy subjects enrolled in the single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) evaluations of Study BCX9930-101 (NCT04330534), an ongoing first in human (FIH) study that includes randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluations of the safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK), and pharmacodynamics (PD) of BCX9930 in healthy subjects. Safety and tolerability are evaluated via clinical and laboratory monitoring. Plasma concentrations of BCX9930 are measured using a validated liquid chromatography-dual mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) assay; PD effects are assessed using multiple assays, including inhibition of AP activity in the AP-specific Wieslab (AP-W) and AP Hemolysis ([AP-H], lysis of rabbit red blood cells [RBCs] by human serum) assays. RESULTS: To date, 48 subjects have been enrolled into 6 SAD cohorts (n = 6 BCX9930, n = 2 placebo per cohort), with doses ranging from 10 to 1200 mg. Sixty subjects have been enrolled into 5 MAD cohorts (n = 10 BCX9930, n = 2 placebo per cohort), with doses ranging from 50 mg every 12 hours (Q12h) to 400 mg Q12h. The mean age of all enrolled subjects was 34.3 years and 50.9% were male. BCX9930 was safe and generally well-tolerated at all doses evaluated. There were no serious adverse events or dose-related safety signals. Mild headache was the most frequent treatment-emergent adverse event and showed no correlation with dose. A benign maculopapular exanthem attributed to study drug was observed following MAD administration. These events were mild or moderate in severity and resolved in a median of 5 days. BCX9930 exposure was approximately linear and dose-proportional across all evaluated SAD and MAD doses. Mean BCX9930 concentrations at 12 hours post dose were ≥ 8 to 10 times the factor D half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) for SAD doses ≥ 300 mg and for MAD doses ≥ 100 mg Q12h at steady-state. Rapid, dose-dependent AP suppression was observed following SAD and MAD, as measured by the AP-W and AP-H assays (Figure 1). AP suppression > 98% was observed in both assays at steady state for MAD doses ≥ 200 mg Q12h. Duration of complete suppression increased with dose and was ≥ 12 hours for MAD doses ≥ 200 mg Q12h. Doses ≥ 200 mg Q12h showed greater, more durable, and more consistent inhibition across subjects compared with doses ≤ 100 mg Q12h. PK/PD modeling of AP-H and AP-W demonstrates a clear concentration-response, with estimated EC50 values between 21.7 and 40.7 nM. These estimates are consistent with the in vitro IC50 for inhibition of proteolytic activity against the natural substrate C3bB of 28.1 nM. CONCLUSIONS: BCX9930 is a potent and selective orally bioavailable inhibitor of human complement factor D. In this preliminary analysis of an ongoing FIH study, BCX9930 displayed a promising safety and tolerability profile. Exposure was approximately linear and dose-proportional across a wide dose range, and complete and durable suppression of the AP was achieved. Together, these findings support further evaluation of BCX9930 in patients with PNH and other AP-mediated diseases. Disclosures Davidson: BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Mathis:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Mair:Quotient Sciences:Current Employment.Gesty-Palmer:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months.Cornpropst:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Sheridan:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Chen:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Reynolds:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Parker:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Babu:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.

INTRODUCTION: PNH, a rare, chronic, life-threatening disease, is characterized by hemolytic anemia due to uncontrolled activity of the complement alternative pathway (AP), bone marrow failure, and thrombosis. Inhibition of C5 by intravenously administered eculizumab and ravulizumab reduces intravascular hemolysis, but PNH red blood cells (RBCs) become opsonized and susceptible to extravascular hemolysis (Risitano et al, Blood 2009). Only approximately half of PNH patients become transfusion independent with eculizumab treatment (Hillmen et al, NEJM 2006). BCX9930 is a potent, selective, orally administered inhibitor of complement factor D. Inhibition of factor D may prevent both intravascular and extravascular hemolysis in PNH. In healthy subjects, BCX9930 showed linear pharmacokinetics and dose-related AP suppression, and was safe and generally well-tolerated over a wide dose range. Here we describe safety and laboratory data establishing proof-of-concept for BCX9930 monotherapy in PNH patients in Study BCX9930-101 (NCT04330534). METHODS: Ongoing Study BCX9930-101 includes an open-label, dose-ranging evaluation of BCX9930 in PNH subjects who may either be naïve to C5 inhibitors (and receive BCX9930 as monotherapy) or have an incomplete treatment response to eculizumab or ravulizumab (with BCX9930 added to existing treatment). Up to 4 sequential cohorts each use a forced titration design for the first 28 days (Figure 1). Subjects enrolled in South Africa can participate in an individualized 48-week extension if they derive benefit at Day 28. Clinical benefit from BCX9930 is evaluated using laboratory monitoring and symptom assessment. Safety and tolerability are evaluated via clinical and laboratory monitoring, causality of adverse events is assessed by investigators, and the study is overseen by an independent Data Monitoring Committee. Data from Cohort 1 through 28 days is reported; data from the extension and subsequent cohorts will be subsequently summarized as available. RESULTS: To date, four C5 inhibitor naïve PNH subjects in South Africa have enrolled in Cohort 1. These subjects had PNH for a median of 4.5 years; 2 subjects had a history of transfusions in the past year; 1 subject each had a history of aplastic anemia or major thrombosis. Pre-treatment lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), total bilirubin, hemoglobin (Hb), reticulocyte count, and RBC PNH Type III clone size ranged from 3.7-11.1 × ULN, 0.61-3.3 mg/dL, 6.1-11.6 g/dL, 0.13-0.29 × 106/µL, and 41.4%-88.6% respectively. Treatment over 28 days with 50 mg twice daily (BID; Days 1-14) and 100 mg BID (Days 15-28) of BCX9930 produced dose-dependent, clinically meaningful improvements across hemolysis biomarkers (Figure 2). Decreases were observed in LDH (4/4), reticulocytes (4/4), and total bilirubin (2/2 subjects with elevated pre-treatment values). Increases were observed in Hb (3/4) and PNH RBC clone size (4/4). One subject showed an initial response to BCX9930 50 mg BID, followed by worsening indicators of hemolysis temporally associated with an upper respiratory tract infection (URTI; onset on Day 7). With an increase in dose to 100 mg BID and resolution of the URTI, LDH and reticulocytes fell and Hb rose. All four subjects reported one or more PNH-associated symptoms, including hemoglobinuria, jaundice, fatigue, erectile dysfunction, headache and abdominal pain, prior to enrollment. With the exception of one subject with persistent hemoglobinuria, all symptoms resolved by Day 28 on BCX9930. Three subjects experienced moderate headache that resolved in < 3 days after initiating BCX9930. One subject developed a rash during treatment with amoxicillin for an URTI; the rash resolved while continuing BCX9930 dosing. One subject on concomitant chronic corticosteroids and azathioprine had an unrelated fatal serious adverse event of disseminated varicella during the study extension. Based on review of safety data, Cohort 2 opened at doses of 200 mg BID and 400 mg BID and, in the 3 subjects who continued into the extension, the dose was titrated to ≥ 200 mg BID. CONCLUSIONS: Oral BCX9930 elicited rapid changes in laboratory parameters indicative of reduced hemolysis and clinical benefit and was safe and generally well-tolerated over a 28-day dosing interval. These interim results establish proof of concept for monotherapy with BCX9930 in the treatment of C5-inhibitor naïve PNH patients and support evaluation of higher doses. Disclosures Kulasekararaj: Alexion:Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel grants, Speakers Bureau;Ra Pharma:Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel grants, Speakers Bureau;BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Apellis:Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel grants, Speakers Bureau;Roche:Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau;Novartis:Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel grants, Speakers Bureau;Celgene:Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel grants, Speakers Bureau.Malherbe:Key Oncologics:Honoraria, Other: Conference sponsor;Novartis:Other: Conference sponsor;Astellas:Honoraria, Other: Conference sponsor;Takeda:Consultancy;Acino:Honoraria;Shire:Other: Conference sponsor;BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Consultancy;Janssen:Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Conference sponsor;Roche:Honoraria, Other: Conference sponsor.McDonald:venetoclax advisory board in South Africa (in CLL context):Consultancy;Alberts Cellular Therapy:Current Employment.Cornpropst:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Collis:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Davidson:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Chen:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Tower:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Gesty-Palmer:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Ended employment in the past 24 months.Sheridan:BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc.:Current Employment.Risitano:Alexion:Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Alnylam:Research Funding;Novartis:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau;Pfizer:Speakers Bureau;Achillion:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Apellis:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau;Biocryst:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;RA pharma:Research Funding;Amyndas:Consultancy;Samsung:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Roche:Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees;Jazz:Speakers Bureau.

The development of large medium-speed catamarans aims increasing economic viability and reducing the possible negative influence on the environment of fast sea transportation. These vessels are likely to operate at hump speed where wave-making can be the dominating component of the total resistance. Shallow water may considerably amplify the wave-making and hence the overall drag force. Computational fluid dynamics is used to predict the drag force of medium-speed catamarans at model and full scale in infinite and restricted water to study the impact on the resistance. Steady and unsteady shallow-water effects that occur in model testing or full-scale operation are taken into account using computational fluid dynamics as they are inherently included in the mathematical formulations. Unsteady effects in the ship-model response were recorded in model test experiments, computational fluid dynamics simulations and full-scale measurements and found to agree with each other. For a medium-speed catamaran in water that is restricted in width and depth, it was found that computational fluid dynamics is capable of accurately predicting the drag with a maximum deviation of no more than 6% when compared to experimental results in model scale. The influences of restricted depth and width were studied using computational fluid dynamics where steady finite width effects in shallow water and finite depth effects at finite width were quantified. Full-scale drag from computational fluid dynamics predictions in shallow water ( h/L = 0.12 – 0.17) was found to be between full-scale measurements and extrapolated model test results. Finally, it is shown that current extrapolation procedures for shallow-water model tests over-estimate residuary resistance by up to 12% and underestimate frictional forces by up to 35% when compared to validated computational fluid dynamics results. This study concludes that computational fluid dynamics is a versatile tool to predict the full-scale ship resistance to a more accurate extent than extrapolation model test data and can also be utilised to estimate model sizes that keep finite-water effects to an agreed minimum.

The nature of providing sample environment equipment and support is constantly evolving, as new technologies and experimental techniques are developed. To remain at the cutting edge of neutron scat...

Objective To investigate how individuals with diabetes and diabetes educators reason about data collected through self-monitoring and to draw implications for the design of data-driven self-management technologies. Materials and Methods Ten individuals with diabetes (six type 1 and four type 2) and 2 experienced diabetes educators were presented with a set of self-monitoring data captured by an individual with type 2 diabetes. The set included digital images of meals and their textual descriptions, and blood glucose (BG) readings captured before and after these meals. The participants were asked to review a set of meals and associated BG readings, explain differences in postprandial BG levels for these meals, and predict postprandial BG levels for the same individual for a different set of meals. Researchers compared conclusions and predictions reached by the participants with those arrived at by quantitative analysis of the collected data. Results The participants used both macronutrient composition of meals, most notably the inclusion of carbohydrates, and names of dishes and ingredients to reason about changes in postprandial BG levels. Both individuals with diabetes and diabetes educators reported difficulties in generating predictions of postprandial BG; their predictions varied in their correlations with the actual captured readings from r = 0.008 to r = 0.75. Conclusion Overall, the study showed that identifying trends in the data collected with self-monitoring is a complex process, and that conclusions reached by both individuals with diabetes and diabetes educators are not always reliable. This suggests the need for new ways to facilitate individuals’ reasoning with informatics interventions.

A novel CFD-based approach is presented that is used in conjunction with model test experiments to predict ship resistance at full-scale Reynolds and Froude numbers. It relies on verification using model scale experiments, including an agreement of integrated shear force with established model-ship correlation lines at model and full-scale, and includes surface roughness effects. One major advantage of the method is that the geometric dimensions of the CFD modelling remain at model scale. CFD simulation results were successfully verified considering the drag of two different catamarans at 1:22 and 1:50 model scale. Furthermore, it is shown that an identical near-wall mesh resolution can be used for both model and full-scale simulations without compromising the accuracy of the shear force component. At full-scale the deviation of resistance between CFD prediction, model test extrapolation and full-scale measurements was less than 5% at Fr=0.40 and 0.43, showing good agreement. For a novel 130 m catamaran it is shown that variations in full-scale drag for a smooth hull were as low as 5% when comparing extrapolated model scale experiments and CFD predictions. However, at such large Reynolds numbers CFD predictions for correlation and roughness allowance were significantly higher compared to estimates proposed in ITTC guidelines.

Introduction Self-monitoring technologies produce patient-generated data that could be leveraged to personalize nutritional goal setting to improve population health; however, most computational approaches are limited when applied to individual-level personalization with sparse and irregular self-monitoring data. We applied informatics methods from expert suggestion systems to a challenging clinical problem: generating personalized nutrition goals from patient-generated diet and blood glucose data. Materials and methods We applied qualitative process coding and decision tree modeling to understand how registered dietitians translate patient-generated data into recommendations for dietary self-management of diabetes (i.e., knowledge model). We encoded this process in a set of functions that take diet and blood glucose data as an input and output diet recommendations (i.e., inference engine). Dietitians assessed face validity. Using four patient datasets, we compared our inference engine’s output to clinical narratives and gold standards developed by expert clinicians. Results To dietitians, the knowledge model represented how recommendations from patient data are made. Inference engine recommendations were 63 % consistent with the gold standard (range = 42 %–75 %) and 74 % consistent with narrative clinical observations (range = 63 %–83 %). Discussion Qualitative modeling and automating how dietitians reason over patient data resulted in a knowledge model representing clinical knowledge. However, our knowledge model was less consistent with gold standard than narrative clinical recommendations, raising questions about how best to evaluate approaches that integrate patient-generated data with expert knowledge. Conclusion New informatics approaches that integrate data-driven methods with expert decision making for personalized goal setting, such as the knowledge base and inference engine presented here, demonstrate the potential to extend the reach of patient-generated data by synthesizing it with clinical knowledge. However, important questions remain about the strengths and weaknesses of computer algorithms developed to discern signal from patient-generated data compared to human experts.

Objective To characterize ocular and neurologic findings, causes, and treatment outcomes of dogs with optic neuritis. Procedure Medical records from dogs with a diagnosis of optic neuritis at North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Hospital between 1983 and 2016 were reviewed. Results Ninety-six cases (20 unilateral, 76 bilateral), comprised of 38 males and 58 females with a mean age of 6.1 ± 3.0 years (range 0.5-13), were identified. Seventy-four cases were presented for vision loss, and 42 had other concurrent neurologic abnormalities. Funduscopic findings included optic nerve head elevation (n = 92), peripapillary retinal edema or separation (n = 37), retinal hemorrhage or dilation of retinal vasculature (n = 23), and multiple inflammatory foci in the peripapillary region (n = 13). Retrobulbar optic neuritis was diagnosed in four cases. The final diagnoses included the following: multifocal meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology (MUE, n = 35), isolated optic neuritis (I-ON, n = 42), neoplasia (n = 10), microbial infection (n = 6), orbital inflammation (n = 2), and suspected ivermectin toxicosis (n = 1). Dogs with I-ON were more commonly male, and medium-to-large breed, when compared to dogs with MUE. Follow-up was available in 72 cases, 50 of which remained blind, 10 had partial visual improvement, and 12 were assessed as having normal vision in the affected eye(s). Conclusion Optic neuritis was most commonly associated with multifocal MUE or was isolated as the sole neurologic finding, with a similar incidence between the two groups. Findings suggest that a clinical syndrome of isolated optic neuritis, distinct from multifocal MUE, occurs in dogs.

Diabetes self-management continues to present a significant challenge to millions of individuals around the world, as it often requires significant modifications to one’s lifestyle. The highly individual nature of the disease presents a need for each affected person to discover which daily activities have the most positive impact on one’s health and which are detrimental to it. Data collected with self-monitoring can help to reveal these relationships, however interpreting such data may be non-trivial. In this research we investigate how individuals with type 2 diabetes and their healthcare providers reason about data collected with self-monitoring and what computational methods can facilitate this process.

Impact testing of a typical high-speed ship section has shown that the mode of vibration most likely to fall in the frequency range of excitation resulting from propeller or rotor blade passing is that where the ship frame rocks in a fore and aft direction about its base connection to the hull plate. This vibration has significant amplitude to either side of the keel and it is found that connection between the inboard and outboard sides is weak. As a consequence, vibration can occur in two modes in which the opposite sides of the hull either move together or in antiphase. This leads to the structural strain energy in the two modes being slightly different, the mode with rather less strain energy having slightly lower frequency. Because the frequencies of the two modes are close together, the transient response exhibits beating in which vibration energy is exchanged between the two sides of the hull at the low beat frequency. Vibration of the ship frames in this manner appears to have been the cause of minor weld cracking where the top of stiffeners pass through cutouts in the web of the ship frames within the fuel tank areas of the hull.

The slamming behaviour of a large high-speed catamaran has been investigated through the analysis of full-scale trials data. The US Navy conducted the trials in the North Sea and North Atlantic region on a 98 m wave piercer catamaran, HSV-2 Swift, designed by Revolution Design Pty Ltd and built by Incat Tasmania. For varying wave headings, vessel speeds and sea states the data records were interrogated to identify slam events. An automatic slam identification algorithm was developed, considering the measured rate of change of stress in the ship’s structure coupled with the vessel’s pitch motion. This has allowed the slam occurrence rates to be found for a range of conditions and the influence of vessel speed, wave environment and heading to be determined. The slam events have been further characterised by assessing the relative vertical velocity at impact between the vessel and the wave. Since the ship was equipped with a ride control system, its influence on the slam occurrence rates has also been assessed.

The performance of brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that continuously control upper limb neuroprostheses may benefit from distinguishing periods of posture and movement so as to prevent inappropriate movement of the prosthesis. Few studies, however, have investigated how decoding behavioral states and detecting the transitions between posture and movement could be used autonomously to trigger a kinematic decoder. We recorded simultaneous neuronal ensemble and local field potential (LFP) activity from microelectrode arrays in primary motor cortex (M1) and dorsal (PMd) and ventral (PMv) premotor areas of two male rhesus monkeys performing a center-out reach-and-grasp task, while upper limb kinematics were tracked with a motion capture system with markers on the dorsal aspect of the forearm, hand, and fingers. A state decoder was trained to distinguish four behavioral states (baseline, reaction, movement, hold), while a kinematic decoder was trained to continuously decode hand end point position and 18 joint angles of the wrist and fingers. LFP amplitude most accurately predicted transition into the reaction (62%) and movement (73%) states, while spikes most accurately decoded arm, hand, and finger kinematics during movement. Using an LFP-based state decoder to trigger a spike-based kinematic decoder [ r = 0.72, root mean squared error (RMSE) = 0.15] significantly improved decoding of reach-to-grasp movements from baseline to final hold, compared with either a spike-based state decoder combined with a spike-based kinematic decoder ( r = 0.70, RMSE = 0.17) or a spike-based kinematic decoder alone ( r = 0.67, RMSE = 0.17). Combining LFP-based state decoding with spike-based kinematic decoding may be a valuable step toward the realization of BMI control of a multifingered neuroprosthesis performing dexterous manipulation.

Objectives To determine the effects of tropicamide 1% on the refractive state of the adult equine globe and identify the most appropriate time period (in relation to mydriasis) to perform streak retinoscopy. Animals studied Eight university-owned mares of various ages and breeds. Procedures Topical tropicamide 1% was applied to one randomly selected eye from each of the horses to induce mydriasis and cycloplegia. The contralateral eyes served as controls. Streak retinoscopy and pupillometry were performed prior to, and every 5 min after tropicamide 1% installation for 90 min. Results All values are expressed as mean ± SD. Both horizontal (2.8 ± 0.74 mm) and vertical (7.3 ± 1.29 mm) mean pupil diameters increased significantly (P

Mycotoxins are naturally occurring environmental contaminants recognized worldwide in a variety of food and feed products. Produced as secondary metabolites by filamentous fungi, mycotoxins can have acute and chronic effects. Differing seasonal weather patterns and harvesting and storage conditions put corn grain at high risk for mycotoxin contamination. The objective of this study was to assess the risk of mycotoxin exposure posed to California livestock from whole corn. Random samples (n=50) of whole corn were collected and analyzed for 6 different mycotoxins, including aflatoxins, fumonisins, ochratoxins, trichothecenes (deoxynivalenol and T-2 toxin), and zearalenone. The samples represented a cross section of the corn entering California from various corn-growing states (n=43) as well as additional samples from California-grown corn (n=7). The experiment was a randomized sampling design. Over the course of a 6-mo period, 16 trains in California (100-110 railcars) and 5 California grain elevators were randomly sampled. Aflatoxins were detected in 14 samples, with 1 sample containing a concentration of 41.3 μg/kg (as-is basis), which was above the action level of 20 μg/kg for corn fed to dairy cattle. The average concentration of aflatoxins for the 13 samples below the regulatory action level was 8.69 μg/kg (range 4.67 to 13.82 μg/kg). Deoxynivalenol was found in 15 samples and averaged 553 μg/kg (range 340 to 1,072 μg/kg), which was below the federal advisory level of 5,000 μg/kg for grain fed to dairy cattle. Fumonisins were found in 38 samples and averaged 1,687 μg/kg (range 435 to 4,843 μg/kg), which was below the federal guidance level of 30,000 μg/kg in corn for dairy cattle. Ochratoxins, T-2 toxins, and zearalenone were not detected in any samples of whole corn. Fumonisins were the most prevalent mycotoxins found.

Medium-speed catamarans are under development as a new class of vessels to meet requirements for highly efficient sea transportation with low environmental impact. Reduced service speed and increas...

In June 2015, a discussion meeting entitled ‘Catalysis improving society’ was held based around the research initiatives of the recently established UK Catalysis Hub. The title is very bold for a discussion meeting, and this is indeed true. However, it is hard to imagine the world today or indeed civilized society without the impact of catalysis on the fundamental aspects required for life, namely energy, food and water. Catalysis is a core area of contemporary science posing major fundamental and conceptual challenges. Traditionally, it lies at the heart of the chemical industry—an immensely successful and important part of the economy globally. Catalysis is generally associated with underpinning approximately 30% of gross domestic product in European economies. Catalysis is involved at some point in the processing of over 80% of all manufactured products. Hence catalysis is immensely important not only because it is an aid to economic success for the major world economies but also because it enables materials to be made that sustain society as we know it. Yet it is surprising that many outside of the field of catalysis science and engineering have no perception of its importance in their everyday lives. A central aim of the discussion meeting was to widen the awareness of the crucial importance of catalysis and also to set out where the future of this important field is heading. At the heart of the chemical processes operated so successfully around the world has been the design of catalysts, and innovation in catalysis is core to meeting many of the key questions facing society as a whole today. Moreover, commercial success can only be sustained and grown through an innovation-driven approach which is grounded in the fundamental science and engineering underpinning new catalyst development. Indeed, current catalytic science is notable for both conceptual and technical innovation and there is a constant need to generate new catalysts and to design more efficient versions of current catalysts. This can be considered the core area in which catalysts currently operate. However, there is a broader arena in which we consider catalysis can play a wider role and impact more directly on society. Of course, the main area of catalysis that society has an appreciation of is the automobile exhaust catalytic converters which have improved air quality around the world for several decades. We anticipate that catalysis in the future will have a wider impact on achieving clean water, clean energy and sustainable food supplies in a far greater way than it currently does. The UK Catalysis Hub, established in 2013, has its origins in addressing these key areas of research. The meeting addressed four key areas of current interest in catalysts: Catalyst design—is it possible to design new and improved catalysts? Catalysis and the environment—how can catalysis improve our use of resources? Catalysis and chemical transformations—how can we improve the scope, efficiency and selectivity of chemical processes? Catalysis and energy—how can we improve energy efficiency using catalysis? These discussion themes are based on the initial research themes established in the UK Catalysis Hub. An array of world leading scientists and engineers together with early career researchers took part in this discussion meeting attempting to answer some of these key questions. A satellite meeting followed the discussion meeting and this was entitled ‘Catalysis making the world a better place’. This was a discussion meeting addressing four key questions which we hoped will help steer the future direction of the UK Catalysis Hub and the field of catalysts research in general. The questions posed were: Is catalysis really sustainable? Can catalysts be designed using theory? Energy as a key resource—what role can catalysis play? Renewable resources—what role can catalysis play in their sustainability? Many present at these meetings have now written articles for this issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A. In bringing these articles together we aim to show how the breadth of current catalysis research is addressing the important issues that face society today. Our aim is to show the confluence of chemical, engineering and bioscience concepts and ideas that make catalysis the modern multidisciplinary field that it is today. ‘Catalysis improving society’ represents how new areas of this important contemporary field are addressing both the existing and new requirements of society.

The pontomedullary reticular formation (PMRF) of the monkey produces motor outputs to both upper limbs. EMG effects evoked from stimulus-triggered averaging (StimulusTA) were compared with effects from stimulus trains to determine whether both stimulation methods produced comparable results. Flexor and extensor muscles of scapulothoracic, shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints were studied bilaterally in two male M. fascicularis monkeys trained to perform a bilateral reaching task. The frequency of facilitation versus suppression responses evoked in the muscles was compared between methods. Stimulus trains were more efficient (94% of PMRF sites) in producing responses than StimulusTA (55%), and stimulus trains evoked responses from more muscles per site than from StimulusTA. Facilitation (72%) was more common from stimulus trains than StimulusTA (39%). In the overall results, a bilateral reciprocal activation pattern of ipsilateral flexor and contralateral extensor facilitation was evident for StimulusTA and stimulus trains. When the comparison was restricted to cases where both methods produced a response in a given muscle from the same site, agreement was very high, at 80%. For the remaining 20%, discrepancies were accounted for mainly by facilitation from stimulus trains when StimulusTA produced suppression, which was in agreement with the under-representation of suppression in the stimulus train data as a whole. To the extent that the stimulus train method may favor transmission through polysynaptic pathways, these results suggest that polysynaptic pathways from the PMRF more often produce facilitation in muscles that would typically demonstrate suppression with StimulusTA.

Oropharyngeal cancer is associated with lifestyle factors, including tobacco use, dietary habits, and alcohol consumption. Oropharyngeal cancers are one of the 10 most common types of cancers worldwide, and it is estimated that oropharyngeal cancers will have affected 30,990 men and women in the United States with a total of 7,430 deaths in 2008. The National Cancer Institute defines chemoprevention as "the use of drugs, vitamins, or other agents to try to reduce the risk of, or delay the development or reccurrence of, cancer." Chemopreventive agents such as antioxidants are derived from dietary sources, including fruits and vegetables. This review addresses the chemopreventive role of dietary intake of fruits and vegetables in the development of oropharyngeal cancers. It focuses on the variability of the incidence of oropharyngeal cancers and possible reasons behind this phenomenon as it relates to dietary factors, specifically fruits and vegetables.

Herbivorous insects and mites, plant diseases and weeds are major impediments to the production of food crops and are increasingly difficult to control with conventional chemicals. This paper focuses on microbial control agents with an emphasis on augmentation. There are marked differences in the availability of products in different countries which can be explained in terms of differences in their regulatory systems. Regulatory failure arises from the application of an inappropriate synthetic pesticides model. An understanding of regulatory innovation is necessary to overcome these problems. Two attempts at remedying regulatory failure in the UK and the Netherlands are assessed. Scientific advances can feed directly into the regulatory process and foster regulatory innovation.

Background The length of the first metatarsal relative to the second has been implicated in a number of different foot conditions, is commonly examined clinically, and has been analysed in the literature. Despite the interest in length differences, there is limited research that describes reliable, clinically applicable techniques of such foot measurements. Objective To develop and evaluate the retest reliability of three methods for determining relative first and second toe and metatarsal length differences. Method Both feet of 18 participants (mean age ± S.D., 29.6 ± 13.8 years) were measured using the three techniques on two occasions by one tester. Results Technique one, measuring the difference between the ends of the toes, displayed excellent test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.98) and good measurement precision (individual score 95% CI −1.66 to 1.86). Technique three, the method of measuring relative metatarsal lengths using a sliding caliper had good reliability, but greater measurement error (ICC = 0.76, 95% CI −4.91 to 4.43). Measurement of metatarsal length relative to a point outside the foot, technique two, showed only moderate reliability and poor precision (ICC = 0.67, 95% CI −5.81 to 5.67). Conclusion Two clinically relevant, inexpensive and non-invasive techniques for measuring relative first and second toe and metatarsal length have been identified. These methods have the potential to be used in future research, within the clinical setting and during screening sessions.

Large medium-speed catamarans are being developed to provide fuel-efficient fast sea transportation at Froude numbers between 0.25 and 0.50 correlating to speeds between 16 and 41 knots. A hull form family comprising lengths of 110 m to 190 m was derived with demihull slenderness ratios ranging from 9 to 15. The drag force for the full-scale vessels was determined by a novel approach using computational fluid dynamics. A demihull slenderness for lowest drag occurred between 11 and 13, however minimum drag can only be achieved if the transom immersion is small. Furthermore it was found that hull lengths of 150 m and above provide highest fuel efficiency for vessel speeds between 24 and 33 knots.

Whereas cancers grow within host tissues and evade host immunity through immune-editing and immunosuppression, tumours are rarely transmissible between individuals. Much like transplanted allogeneic organs, allogeneic tumours are reliably rejected by host T cells, even when the tumour and host share the same major histocompatibility complex alleles, the most potent determinants of transplant rejection. How such tumour-eradicating immunity is initiated remains unknown, although elucidating this process could provide the basis for inducing similar responses against naturally arising tumours. Here we find that allogeneic tumour rejection is initiated in mice by naturally occurring tumour-binding IgG antibodies, which enable dendritic cells (DCs) to internalize tumour antigens and subsequently activate tumour-reactive T cells. We exploited this mechanism to treat autologous and autochthonous tumours successfully. Either systemic administration of DCs loaded with allogeneic-IgG-coated tumour cells or intratumoral injection of allogeneic IgG in combination with DC stimuli induced potent T-cell-mediated antitumour immune responses, resulting in tumour eradication in mouse models of melanoma, pancreas, lung and breast cancer. Moreover, this strategy led to eradication of distant tumours and metastases, as well as the injected primary tumours. To assess the clinical relevance of these findings, we studied antibodies and cells from patients with lung cancer. T cells from these patients responded vigorously to autologous tumour antigens after culture with allogeneic-IgG-loaded DCs, recapitulating our findings in mice. These results reveal that tumour-binding allogeneic IgG can induce powerful antitumour immunity that can be exploited for cancer immunotherapy.

Presents a collection of slides covering the following topics: the safety story and challenges; electrification - EiS Area 1 of Great Western; application of CSM-REA; scope of risk assessment; hazard record management; key risks and mitigations; summary of risk assessments; programme interactions and conclusions.

Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems such as ALOS‐PALSAR and Radarsat‐2 can operate in many different modes. The use of additional polarizations may require additional time and operating power and it is important to justify this by increased classification accuracy. A fully polarimetric, dual frequency AIRSAR scene from a rice‐growing area in Japan was classified by a maximum likelihood method based on the Wishart distribution. It is shown how the measured covariance matrices determine the separation accuracy between two classes. Closed form expressions are then given for the expected single‐look accuracy of the maximum likelihood classifier as a function of the class covariance matrices. This can be used to quickly compare the high spatial resolution classification performance of different polarimetric systems to decide upon a particular operating mode.

The motor output of the pontomedullary reticular formation (PMRF) was investigated to determine the reticulospinal system's capacity for bilateral control of the upper limbs. Stimulus triggered electromyographic averages (StimulusTA) were constructed from muscles of both upper limbs while two awake monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) performed a reaching task using either arm. Extensor and flexor muscles were studied at the wrist, elbow, and shoulder; muscles acting on the scapula were also studied. Post-stimulus effects (PStEs) resulted from 435 (81%) of 535 sites tested. Of 1611 PStEs analyzed, 58% were post-stimulus suppression (PStS), and 42% were post-stimulus facilitation (PStF). Onset latency was earlier for PStF than PStS, duration was longer for PStS, and amplitude was larger for PStF. Ipsilateral and contralateral PStEs were equally prevalent; bilateral responses were typical. In the ipsilateral forelimb and shoulder, the prevalent pattern was flexor PStF and extensor PStS; the opposite pattern was prevalent contralaterally. Sites producing strong ipsilateral upper trapezius PStF were concentrated in a region caudal and ventral to abducens. The majority of muscles studied had no clear somatotopic organization. Overall, the results indicate the monkey PMRF has the capacity to support bilateral coordination of limb movements using reciprocal actions within a limb and between sides.

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical presentation and histopathologic findings on a series of cats with orbital fibrotic disease and compare the data to that of humans with sclerosing orbital pseudotumor. ANIMALS: A retrospective study was undertaken, which identified tissue samples from seven cats between 1997 and 2002 with a history of orbital mass effect and pathology characterized by fibrous tissue proliferation. PROCEDURE: Information was obtained from medical records for affected cats, including age, sex, clinical signs, management, and outcome, with histopathology re-examined. RESULTS: Six of seven cats presented with unilateral orbital involvement that progressed to bilateral orbital disease despite treatment. Onset was insidious, evolving over weeks to months and was associated with fixation of orbital structures. Owners of six of the cats opted for euthanasia because of disease progression and pain. Histopathology of affected orbital tissue included extensive fibrosis with encapsulation of normal tissues without characteristics of neoplasia. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical findings and histopathology of globes and orbital tissues in cats bore many similarities to idiopathic sclerosing orbital pseudotumor in humans. In cats, the prognosis for the globe appears to be poor but an elucidation of the pathogenesis and earlier diagnosis coupled with more aggressive treatment modalities as indicated in humans may be beneficial.

Prediction of design loads for small high speed commercial craft has traditionally been governed by classification society, rule based formulae. Larger high speed vessels, particularly those greater than 100m in length, require validation of rule based design loads. Validation methods include model tests or hydrodynamic studies using computer based motion and loads software. This paper presents the results of studies into the calculation of global loads for a 112m, Wave-piercing catamaran design. In particular, the preliminary design approach for assessment of loads is discussed. Longitudinal bending and pitch connection moment loads are derived from linear and non-linear motion and loads software packages FASTSEA, SWAN and BESTSEA. The computed results are compared with rule based loads and empirically derived loads based on full-scale measurements from similar craft. Local wet deck slamming loads are discussed with reference to current rule based formulae and results of full scale tests on similar vessels. The effect of high local slam loads is discussed and how these loads may influence the design process. Conclusions are drawn on the presented results concerning the interaction of global and local loads in the design of a 112m wave-piercing catamaran for Incat shipbuilders in Hobart, Australia.

Purpose: We report ophthalmic manifestations in four Jacobsen syndrome cases, review the literature, and suggest phenotype-genotype correlations. Methods: Chart review of Ocular Genetics Program patients at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada. Results: Four del11qter cases are presented. Hypertelorism/telecanthus, abnormally slanted palpebral fissures, abnormal retinal findings, nasolacrimal duct obstruction, anomalous extraocular muscles, amblyopia, and microcornea were found. Conclusions: We report typical findings and novel ocular presentations. Visual prognosis is generally good. Retinal dysplasia and coloboma seem associated with del11q23. ABCG4, NCAM, and Mfrp are candidate genes in this region that theoretically may be disrupted.

Helicopter decks are common throughout the commercial and military shipping industries and also the offshore industry. Construction in steel and aluminum is common. Helicopter decks on high-speed craft are not common. The first known helicopter deck installed on a high-speed craft was on an Incat wave-piercing catamaran, HSV X1, Joint Venture, which saw service during the recent Gulf war and is currently still in service with the US Army. Following successful construction and NAVAIR certification of Joint Venture, a more advanced aluminum deck, certified also by NAVAIR and Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), has been fitted to HSV 2 Swift, which is the latest Incat 98 meter "SeaFrame" HSC. HSV 2 Swift is in service with the US Navy. This paper will focus on the design challenge that came about on HSV 2 Swift in the design of the deck to land and park skid type helicopters as opposed to a helicopter with pneumatic tires. High-speed craft are by their nature innovative, and new solutions to old problems are constantly being experimented with to ensure that the tenets of high speed and high efficiency are optimized. Weight minimization is the most critical performance aspect of a high-speed craft, and conservative or simplified analysis is not practical or economic. A high-speed craft relies on accelerating through hump or critical speed to obtain the high operating speeds of around 40 knots and greater. The ability to operate above hump speed is absolutely reliant on the weight of the vessel. Unnecessary weight on the vessel that does not have absolute mission or operation justification adversely affects the ability to operate above hump speed. Aluminum creates additional and very different challenges compared to a design in traditional steel. Alternative details and construction techniques are required for successful design in aluminum in terms of fatigue and ultimate strength. One innovation common in high-speed craft is aluminum extrusion of a top hat form. The top hat offers big savings in terms of ultimate strength and reduction in mass while keeping weight to a minimum. To aid in verifying the design of the Helo deck extrusion on HSV 2 Swift (Incat Yard 061) for the AH-1 and UH-1 helicopters (H-1 series skid type helicopters), analysis and physical testing were carried out. There had been some doubt that conventional hand calculations were suitable for a top hat style extrusion. The analysis and testing proved that extruded aluminum sections of top hat design are suitable for the H-1 series helicopter skid loading and that permanent deformation was negligible at the design load and even at significantly above the design load. The physical test is also further evidence to support the use of welded 6000 series extrusion in high-speed military vessels. Original design of the deck extrusion revolved around class rules, linear static finite element analysis (FEA), and military codes. Later analysis involved nonlinear FEA, further military code calculations, first principles hand calculations based on available text, and physical testing.

Objective To evaluate the ophthalmoscopic, fluorescein angiographic and light microscopic effects of diode laser retinopexy application in the tapetal and nontapetal fundus in the dog, and to ascertain appropriate laser power settings for production of photocoagulative lesions in these two regions. Animals studied Three adult female Beagle dogs. Procedures Laser burns were applied to selected areas in the fundus with an indirect headset delivery system using settings varying from 100 to 200 milliWatts (mW) and from 100 to 600 milliSeconds (mS) with total delivered energy ranging between 15 and 100 milliJoules (mJ). The dogs were then monitored by ophthalmoscopic examination and fluorescein angiography at regular intervals for 7–28 days. Histopathologic studies were performed at 7, 14 and 28 days after laser application. Results The diode laser produced ophthalmoscopically visible lesions in the nontapetal fundus with all laser settings used, and the appearance of these lesions corresponded to the energy levels used, and degree of pigment in the lased region. Gray-white colored lesions with minimal subsensory retinal edema were seen with settings as low as 100 mWatts/150 mSeconds. In the tapetal fundus, laser burns were more difficult to produce, less repeatable, and required higher energy levels. Laser burns appeared as bronze, dark green or black discolorations of the tapetum with varying degrees of subsensory retinal edema. Lesions were more reproducible and were achieved with lower settings in the tapetal area of the tapetal/nontapetal junction. Ophthalmoscopically, depigmentation and repigmentation of the RPE (nontapetal fundus) and degenerative changes in the overlying retina (tapetal fundus) developed in the laser burns over the 28-day study period. Fluorescein angiographic studies showed disruption of the blood–retinal barrier at the level of the RPE and fluorescein leakage into the subsensory retinal space was seen in most lesions at 24 h, was minimal at 3 days, and had resolved by 7 days. Histologically, grayish-white lesions in the nontapetal fundus, and bronze to small black lesions in the tapetal fundus were typically characterized by outer retinal necrosis and RPE migration. Gliosis was considered minimal, was confined to the retina, and no inflammatory cells were seen. Peripheral intense white lesions (nontapetum) and lesions with a black center (tapetal fundus) were characterized by more extensive panretinal and choroidal necrosis. Most of the nontapetal lesions and a few in the tapetal fundus showed the formation of a central retinal detachment. Conclusions The diode laser effectively produces lesions suitable for retinopexy in both the nontapetal, pigmented fundus and the tapetal fundus, although variably so in the latter region. Initial laser settings of 100–150 mW/200 mS for the pigmented fundus, and 150 mW/200–300 mS for the peripheral tapetal fundus are recommended, and the clinician should gradually increase time interval settings to achieve a grayish-white lesion in the nontapetum, and a bronze to slightly black lesion in the tapetal fundus. If possible, retinopexy should be applied to the peripheral tapetal area or tapetal/nontapetal junction.

An 8-year-old, castrated male Domestic Short-haired cat was referred for evaluation of a possible intraocular neoplasm following previous ocular trauma. The eye was blind, and uveitis and an iridal mass were noted on examination. An enucleation was performed and the mandibular lymph node excised. Histopathologic examination revealed neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells in the iris and lymph node. No other evidence of disseminated disease was detected. This is the first case reported of an intraocular extramedullary plasmacytoma in the cat. The variation in clinical manifestations and potential association with multiple myeloma are not known at this time. Disseminated metastasis from a primary plasmacytoma of the uveal tract could also involve the bone marrow and be indistinguishable from multiple myeloma. Early enucleation, as in trauma-associated sarcomas, may be indicated to prevent metastasis. Periodic systemic evaluation for evidence of multiple myeloma should be performed.

This paper proposes a new concept of decision analysis based on a multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) process. This is achieved through the provision of a systematic and generic methodology for the implementation of design improvements based on experience of past failures. This is illustrated in the form of a case study identifying the changes made to Concorde after the 2000 accident. The proposed model uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) mathematical model as a backbone and integrates elements of a modified failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA). The AHP has proven to be an invaluable tool for decision support since it allows a fully documented and transparent decision to be made with full accountability. In addition, it facilitates the task of justifying improvement decisions. The paper is divided as follows: the first section presents an outline of the background to the Concorde accident and its history of related (non-catastrophic) malfunctions. The AHP methodology and its mathematical representation are then presented with the integrated FMEA applied to the Concorde accident. The case study arrives at the same conclusion as engineers working on Concorde after the accident: that the aircraft may fly again if the lining of the fuel tanks are modified.