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Growing global energy needs and demand over imminent reductions of harmful greenhouse gas emissions, call for development of highly efficient, clean and reliable power generation from both renewable and fossil resources. A hybrid solid oxide fuel cell gas turbine (SOFC-GT) system is a promising candidate for fulfilling such need of a low emission, highly efficient power generation. This system can be applied to stationary, transportation, aviation, and maritime power generation applications. This study focuses on understanding operational characteristics of the pressurized SOFC as a key component for the successful design and construction of a highly efficient SOFC-GT hybrid system. Pressurization of an SOFC can cause improvement on electrode kinetics, stack lifetime and round-trip efficiency by cell integration with downstream components such as gas turbines and catalytic reactors (for electrolysis) [1-4]. However, literature data from experimental studies on the electrochemical behavior of the SOFC as a function of operating pressure is relatively scarce. This is presumably due to the complexity involved in the construction and operation of pressurized system. To address such research challenge, a pressurized SOFC test rig as shown in Fig. 1 has been constructed and commissioned at Tennessee Technological University (TTU) to allow tubular SOFCs to be characterized under a maximum operating pressure of 60 psia (~4 bar) and maximum operating temperature of 825oC. A detailed system set-up shown in Fig. 2. The power generation capacity for the test rig can be scaled up to 2.4 kW. For this study, performance of single anode supported SOFC tubes with H2 and CH4 fuels were examined by varying pressure from 1 bara to 4 bara and temperature from 675oC to 775oC, with fuel utilization held constant at 50% and an oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C) of 0.6 for the methane operation. The testing cells were gratuitously supplied by Special Power Sources (SPS) LLC, USA, with cathode/electrolyte outside-layers supported on the anode inner-layer as a 14”-long tube. Silver ink and wires are used for cell current collection from active surface area of ⁓100 cm2 . The connection fixture can be seen in Fig. 1. V-I curves of tubular SOFCs in Fig. 3 measured from step-wise electronic load profile indicate total performance gain of 13% as H2 pressure increases from 1 bara to 4 bara, with highest peak power density obtained at 0.61 Wcm-2. As comparison Fig.4 and 5 demonstrate pressurization suppressed gas diffusion limit for tubular SOFC at higher current density in CH4 fuel, leading to 44 % increase of peak power density to 0.51 Wcm-2 at 4 bara. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies were performed using a Solartron 1260/PAR 263 electrochemical testing system in 4-point connection measurement to understand effects of pressurization on the SOFC performance. SOFC impedance spectra as Nyquist and Bode plots in Fig.6 (b) and (d) indicate the tubular SOFC performance is mainly limited by anode mass transports, which are greatly improved by pressurization. From non-linear, least-square cell impedance fitting and previous findings on impedance of similar larger cells, an equivalent-circuit model (ECM) in Fig. 6(a) has been identified to best represent impedance responses from the most rate-limiting processes of tubular SOFCs. The Warburg component (Ws) in the ECM with resonance frequency around 10Hz typically corresponds to gas diffusion in porous electrode of tubular SOFC [3-5], while paralleled R-CPE component at References can be seen in the figure document. Figure 1

The State of Student Aid and Higher Education in Texas (SOSA) annual report from Trellis Research provides information helpful in informing policy and programs for higher education student financial aid. The report serves as a reference for colleges, universities, and policymakers, and provides a comparison of Texas state and federal student aid programs. A primary goal of the SOSA is to serve as a resource for generating healthy discussions based on a common understanding of the facts. For more than two decades, Trellis has made this complimentary report available to lawmakers and higher education institutions to help inform their work as they shape policies and programs affecting Texas students. This report highlights data on a variety of student finance topics, including higher education, demographic projections, college costs, student loan repayment outcomes, and higher education policy.

Trellis Company's Student Financial Wellness Survey (SFWS) provides institutions of higher education with a deeper understanding of the financial barriers facing their students. This report details aggregate findings from 38,000 undergraduate students at 78 colleges and universities across 20 states in the U.S. While not nationally representative, student respondents attended public universities, private colleges, and community colleges that range in size from fewer than 700 students to greater than 55,000 students.

Financial planning as an affluent college student has its challenges, but the consequences are ameliorated by familial support that is usually responsive to any sudden financial need. For low-income students struggling to meet basic needs, the stakes are higher and resources are far more limited. Budgeting becomes intellectually and emotionally strenuous when revenue fluctuates (e.g., erratic work hours or the seasonality of financial aid disbursements) and expenses seesaw (e.g., beginning of semester costs, car repairs, medical issues, etc.). With nearly two-thirds of college students in the Trellis Fall 2018 Student Financial Wellness Survey responding that they would have trouble getting $500 in cash or credit to meet an emergency within the next month, the margin for error appears slim (Klepfer et al., 2019). In the Trellis report, Studying on Empty: A Qualitative Study of Low Food Security Among College Students (Fernandez et al., 2019), we found that many students used food purchases as an indirect way to keep their budgets balanced, resulting in chaotic, unbalanced eating that jeopardized their success in school.

After decades of college costs outpacing inflation, institutions of higher education have become less able to meet the full financial need of students (Clark, 2015) (Walizer, 2018). For families trying to fill this gap, the Federal Direct PLUS for parents (PLUS) has been an increasingly popular, but problematic, financing option. The program enables parents to incur substantially larger amounts of education debt than their college student children even though the parents, unlike their children, receive no direct economic returns on the investment. Eligibility for PLUS entails only a modest check for adverse credit, not a more thorough – and common – check of credit worthiness that reflects ability to repay the debt. Consequently, some parents with low credit scores may borrow more than they could reasonably be expected to repay, but lack some of the programmatic repayment options and protections available to student borrowers. And, because loan counseling is not mandatory for PLUS borrowers, some parents may be less informed than student borrowers. For these reasons, Trellis conducted a study of parent borrower repayment patterns and a qualitative analysis of parent perceptions of the loan process and its effect on other financial experiences. In particular, Trellis examined the experiences of parents whose children borrowed while at either an Historically Black College or University (HBCU) or a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) since these schools serve a higher proportion of students from low-income families who might have lower credit scores. Additionally, these minority serving institutions (MSIs) historically have been underfunded and, consequentially, often lack the financial strength to meet the full financial need of its students whose parents, in turn, become more reliant on PLUS loans to gain access to higher education for their children. This study found similarities and differences in borrowing experiences between MSI parents and Non-MSI parents.

Objective To examine changes in outcome by the Leibovich score using contemporary and historic cohorts of patients presenting with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) Patients and Methods Prospective observational multicenter cohort study, recruiting patients with suspected newly diagnosed RCC. A historical cohort of patients was examined for comparison. Metastasis-free survival (MFS) formed the primary outcome measure. Model discrimination and calibration were evaluated using Cox proportional hazard regression and the Kaplan-Meier method. Overall performance of the Leibovich model was assessed by estimating explained variation. Results Seven hundred and six patients were recruited between 2011 and 2014 and RCC confirmed in 608 (86%) patients. Application of the Leibovich score to patients with localized clear cell RCC in this contemporary cohort demonstrated good model discrimination (c-index = 0.77) but suboptimal calibration, with improved MFS for intermediate- and high-risk patients (5-year MFS 85% and 50%, respectively) compared to the original Leibovich cohort (74% and 31%) and a historic (1998-2006) UK cohort (76% and 37%). The proportion of variation in outcome explained by the model is low and has declined over time (28% historic vs 22% contemporary UK cohort). Conclusion Prognostic models are widely employed in patients with localized RCC to guide surveillance intensity and clinical trial selection. However, the majority of the variation in outcome remains unexplained by the Leibovich model and, over time, MFS rates among intermediate- and high-risk classified patients have altered. These findings are likely to have implications for all such models used in this setting.

Objective: Indicative operative numbers have become a new benchmark for higher surgical training. The aim of the deanery-led audit was to assess our regional operative experience using trainee logbooks against indicative number standards and to develop a tool to help guide regional training. Subjects and methods: Annual logbook data were collected using a questionnaire from urology trainees in a single region. Logbook data were excluded for an incomplete entry or work at multiple trusts in the same year. Logbooks were assumed to be current and validated. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used for statistical analysis. Results: Altogether 24 trainees across 19 different training sites responded to the questionnaire. A total of 9777 indicative procedures were included in the analysis. Median annual operative numbers were lower than required for 10/13 procedures, but mean annual operative numbers were higher than required for only 1/13 procedures (andrology). Significant variation in annual operative numbers across training sites was observed for 6/13 procedures. Annual logbook data was used to rank training sites by procedure-specific volumes and likelihood of trainees to achieve the annual operative target. Conclusion: Trainee logbook data is useful for objective ranking of training sites. In our region, difficulty in surpassing indicative numbers would arise due to significant case number variation between training sites and not due to regional insufficiency in case numbers. Regular analysis of trainee logbooks would allow better management of regional training with respect to indicative numbers.

Thinning with removal of whole trees in a plantation or natural forest stand raises two main concerns – soil compaction from the ground-based machinery and nutrient depletion particularly with whole tree harvest as is often practiced for attendant fuels reduction. To address these concerns, two sets of experimental treatments were imposed in young ponderosa pine plantations. In the first set, we applied four treatments to test the effects of thinning with biomass removal using progressively more soil manipulations: (I) control, (II) thinning only with all biomass removed, (III) same as (II) but followed by sub-soiling in traffic lanes, and (IV) same as (III) but with nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization within traffic lanes prior to sub-soiling. In the second experiment set we applied four combination treatments to test the further effects of soil manipulations with wood chips and fertilizer on traffic lanes. In thinned stands: (i) the harvested trees were chipped, and spread onto traffic lanes followed by sub-soiling and rototilling, (ii) same as (i) but traffic lanes also received N and P with the chips prior to the sub-soiling, (iii) traffic lanes were sub-soiled, then thinning chips were returned to just the surface of traffic lanes, and (iv) same as (iii) but traffic lanes also received N and P fertilizer with the chips. Tree height and diameter were measured three times, starting immediately following treatments and again at 5 and 15 years post-treatment. In addition, soil bulk density was measured at 6 years and soil chemistry (C, N, and P) was measured at 6 and 16 years. Our results indicate: (1) thinning by itself with no subsoiling did not compact the soils, but increased growth rate of residual trees, although the periodic annual increment of basal area and volume was still higher in the control than other main-plot treatments; (2) neither subsoiling nor rototilling, both of which might mitigate soil compaction, enhanced tree growth; (3) short-term plantation growth was not improved with chip returns or chips with fertilization; (4) since thinning and soil treatments showed more insect damage and higher mortality, any management operations that involve cutting or damaging trees or roots should be avoided during active periods of bark beetle flight; (5) both thinning and soil treatments did not reduce carbon sequestration in the mineral soils. A lack of growth benefits from returning thinning chips, rototilling, and direct fertilization for a longer period appeals to further study.

Research suggests that the combination of high and rising college prices, stagnant family incomes, and increased enrollment of lower-income students leaves many college students struggling to meet their basic needs, including adequate, regular nutrition. This report explores the lived experiences of students with low food security, how students cope with its challenges, and how these strategies influence academic performance. Students in our study demonstrated commitment to their education through pronounced levels of sacrifice. They were more likely to approach their education aspirations once their basic needs were met.

Through medicinal chemistry lead optimization studies focused on calculated properties and guided by X-ray crystallography and computational modeling, potent pan-JNK inhibitors were identified that showed submicromolar activity in a cellular assay. Using in vitro ADME profiling data, 9t was identified as possessing favorable permeability and a low potential for efflux, but it was rapidly cleared in liver microsomal incubations. In a mouse pharmacokinetics study, compound 9t was brain-penetrant after oral dosing, but exposure was limited by high plasma clearance. Brain exposure at a level expected to support modulation of a pharmacodynamic marker in mouse was achieved when the compound was coadministered with the pan-cytochrome P450 inhibitor 1-aminobenzotriazole.

Cysts of the adrenal gland are rare and are usually discovered incidentally. Large adrenal cysts can however present with severe abdominal pain and can be complicated by haemorrhage, rupture or infection. Adrenal pseudocysts appear to result from haemorrhage within a normal adrenal gland and can expand to accommodate massive amounts of fluid. We report the case of a 39-year-old woman who presented with worsening right upper quadrant pain. An ultrasound scan of the abdomen confirmed a large 29 cm × 20 cm × 17 cm cyst that appeared to originate in the upper pole of the right kidney causing displacement of the liver and right kidney. Following complete aspiration the cyst re-accumulated and an MRI scan demonstrated a thickened and irregular cyst wall with haemorrhagic fluid. Laparoscopic right adrenalectomy was performed and the histopathological diagnosis was confirmed as an adrenal pseudocyst.

Pseudoaneurysm remains one of the rare complications of partial nephrectomy with reported rates of 0.4–1.4%. We add to the literature a case of asymptomatic pseudoaneurysm post laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) that was successfully treated with embolisation.

Subfrontal schwannomas are rare and usually misdiagnosed preoperatively. We present the third reported case of a schwannoma arising from the olfactory nerve. The neuroradiological and pathological features of the case, as well as the origin of the tumour are discussed.