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A finite element formulation and algorithm for calculation of shock-free compressible flows and design of shockless airfoils is developed. The formulation is conceptually similar to current finite difference methods in that it combines the use of a fictitious gas for a regularized compressible potential flow calculation, together with the method of characteristics in the supersonic pocket. The redesigned shock-free airfoil surface is determined from a subsidiary streamline calculation, In the present analysis, a variational finite element method is used and optimal control techniques are employed to compute the solution to the discrete problem. Numerical results and comparison studies with finite difference results for a representative case are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate the value of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), pediatric sequential organ failure assessment (pSOFA) and pediatric critical illness score (PCIS) in predicting mortality of pediatric sepsis in pediatric intensive care units (PICU) from Southwest China. Methods: This was a prospective multicenter observational study. A total of 447 children with sepsis admitted to 12 PICU in Southwest China from April 2022 to March 2023 were enrolled. Based on the prognosis, the patients were divided into survival group and non-survival group. The physiological parameters of SIRS, pSOFA and PCIS were recorded and scored within 24 h after PICU admission. The general clinical data and some laboratory results were recorded. The area under the curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare the predictive value of SIRS, pSOFA and PCIS in mortality of pediatric sepsis. Results: Amongst 447 children with sepsis, 260 patients were male and 187 patients were female, aged 2.5 (0.8, 7.0) years, 405 patients were in the survival group and 42 patients were in the non-survival group. 418 patients (93.5%) met the criteria of SIRS, and 440 patients (98.4%) met the criteria of pSOFA≥2. There was no significant difference in the number of items meeting the SIRS criteria between the survival group and the non-survival group (3(2, 4) vs. 3(3, 4) points, Z= 1.30, P= 0.192). The pSOFA score of the non-survival group was significantly higher than that of the survival group (9(6, 12) vs . 4(3, 7) points, Z= 6.56, P< 0.001), and the PCIS score was significantly lower than that of the survival group (72(68, 81) vs . 82(76, 88) points, Z= 5.90, P< 0.001). The predictive value of pSOFA (AUC=0.82) and PCIS (AUC=0.78) for sepsis mortality was significantly higher than that of SIRS (AUC=0.56) ( Z= 6.59, 4.23, both P< 0.001). There was no significant difference between pSOFA and PCIS ( Z= 1.35, P= 0.176). Platelet count, procalcitonin, lactic acid, albumin, creatinine, total bilirubin, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time and international normalized ratio were all able to predict mortality of sepsis to a certain degree (AUC=0.64, 0.68, 0.80, 0.64, 0.68, 0.60, 0.77, 0.75, 0.76, all P< 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with SIRS, both pSOFA and PCIS had better predictive value in the mortality of pediatric sepsis in PICU.