University of Kansas

About: University of Kansas is a education organization based out in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 38183 authors who have published 81381 publications receiving 2986312 citations. The organization is also known as: KU & Univ of Kansas.

A Two-Dimensional, Two-Phase, Multicomponent, Transient Model for the Cathode of a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Using Conventional Gas Distributors

Abstract: A two-dimensional, two-phase, multicomponent, transient model was developed for the cathode of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Gas transport was addressed by multicomponent diffusion equations while Darcy's law was adapted to account for the capillary flow of liquid water in the porous gas diffusion layer. The model was validated with experimental results and qualitative information on the effects of various operating conditions and design parameters and the transient phenomena upon imposing a cathodic overpotential were obtained. The performance of the cathode was found to be dominated by the dynamics of liquid water, especially in the high current density range. Conditions that promote faster liquid water removal such as temperature, dryness of the inlet gas stream, reduced diffusion layer thickness, and higher porosity improved the performance of the cathode. There seems to be an optimum in the diffusion layer thickness at the low current density range. The model results showed that for a fixed electrode width, a greater number of channels and shorter shoulder widths are preferred. The transient profiles clearly showed that liquid water transport is the slowest mass-transfer phenomenon in the cathode and is primarily responsible for mass-transfer restrictions especially over the shoulder.

Sex differences in stroke recovery.

Abstract: Female patients in the study were older than male patients, with a mean age of 71 years for women vs 69 years for men. Female patients reported lower prestroke physical functioning than their male counterparts. Six months after stroke, women in the study were less likely than the men to achieve a score of ≥95 on the Barthel Activities of Daily Living Index (hazards ratio [HR] = 0.68; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.52–0.90), carry out eight of nine instrumental activities of daily living without assistance (HR = 0.46; 95% CI, 0.30–0.68), and score ≥90 on the SF-36 Health Survey physical functioning scale (HR = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.28–1.01). When age, prestroke physical functioning, stroke severity, and depressive status at baseline were controlled in the analysis, women in the study continued to be less likely (HR = 0.51; 95% CI, 0.32–0.79) than men in the study to be able to carry out eight of nine instrumental activities of daily living completely without assistance, but there were no observed sex differences in achievement of independence in basic activities of daily living or higher physical functioning. Conclusion Prestroke physical functioning and depressive symptoms are important factors in the investigation of sex differences in stroke recovery. Lower recovery of activities of daily living and physical functioning in women after stroke may be due to multifactorial effects of older age, poor physical function prior to stroke onset, and depressive status after stroke.

Prospective Long-Term Study of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Refractory Seizures

Abstract: Summary: Purpose: To determine the long-term efficacy of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) for refractory seizures. VNS is a new treatment for refractory epilepsy. Two short-term double-blind trials have demonstrated its safety and efficacy, and one long-term study in 114 patients has demonstrated a cumulative improvement in efficacy at 1 year. We report the largest prospective long-term study of VNS to date. Methods: Patients with six or more complex partial or generalized tonic-clonic seizures enrolled in the pivotal EOS study were prospectively evaluated for 12 months. The primary outcome variable was the percentage reduction in total seizure frequency at 3 and 12 months after completion of the acute EO5 trial, compared with the preimplantation baseline. Subjects originally randomized to low stimulation (active-control group) were crossed over to therapeutic stimulation settings for the first time. Subjects initially randomized to high settings were maintained on high settings throughout the 12-month study. Results: The median reduction at 12 months after completion of the initial double-blind study was 45%. At 12 months, 35% of 195 subjects had a >50% reduction in seizures, and 20% of 195 had a >75% reduction in seizures. Conclusions: The efficacy of VNS improves during 12 months, and many subjects sustain >75% reductions in seizures.

Venetoclax Combined With Low-Dose Cytarabine for Previously Untreated Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Results From a Phase Ib/II Study.

Abstract: PURPOSEEffective treatment options are limited for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who cannot tolerate intensive chemotherapy. An international phase Ib/II study evaluated the safety and...

Empathic joy and the empathy-altruism hypothesis.

Abstract: Three experiments tested whether empathy evokes egoistic motivation to share vicariously in the victim's joy at improvement (the empathic-joy hypothesis) instead of altruistic motivation to increase the victim's welfare (the empathy-altruism hypothesis). In Experiment 1, Ss induced to feel either low or high empathy for a young woman in need were given a chance to help her. Some believed that if they helped they would receive feedback about her improvement; others did not. In Experiments 2 and 3, Ss induced to feel either low or high empathy were given a choice of getting update information about a needy person's condition. Before choosing, they were told the likelihood of the person's condition having improved--and of their experiencing empathic joy--was 20%, was 50%, or was 80%. Results of none of the experiments patterned as predicted by the empathic-joy hypothesis; instead, results of each were consistent with the empathy-altruism hypothesis.