AO Model Research Articles

Rescuing an Akreos 4-Point Haptic Intraocular Lens: A Novel Surgical Technique.

To present a surgical technique that allows rescue (repositioning) of a dislocated Akreos AO model intraocular lens using scleral sutures. The surgical technique is described with supplemental video. The technique was used in 4 eyes of 3 patients with 2 to 18 months of follow-up information. The intraocular lens was well positioned, and the visual acuity (as limited by other disease) was good, without adverse events. Scleral suture techniques for repositioning of the Akreos AO intraocular lens offer a suitable alternative to intraocular lens exchange.

Synergity Analysis of Advance Organizer and Project Based Learning Models with Improvements Sociology Learning Outcomes of High School Students

Abstract. This study analyzed the synergy of the AO and PBL models in constructing students' cognitive, affective and psychomotor structures. The objective to find out whether there is a significant effect of the synergy AO and PBL model on high school sociology learning outcomes. According to the characteristics of quantitative research methods using True Experimental Design with Pretest-Posttest Only Control Design. In this study, there were two groups selected at random. The experimental group was the treatment synergy group of the AO and PBL models, while the control group was the group that used the PBL model, each group consisting of 23 students. Material structure, lesson plans, pre-test and post-test learning outcomes, as well as observation are used as research data collection instruments. The data were analyzed using the N-Gain Test for the experimental group and the control group, after the Normality Test and Homogeneity Test were carried out. The last paired sample T-test was conducted. Research findings revealed 1) The average N-Gain score for the experimental group is 91.9 or 91.9% (Effective) compared to the average N-Gain score for the control group which is 67.89 or 67.8% (Effective enough). 2) The results of the Paired Sample T-Test concluded that there was a significant influence between the experimental group and the control group on the learning outcomes of sociology in high school. It is recommended that the synergy of the AO and PBL models can be implemented in education and teaching activities in high school.

Optimal task scheduling benefits from a duplicate-free state-space

The NP-hard problem of task scheduling with communication delays (P|prec,cij|Cmax) is often tackled using approximate methods, but guarantees on the quality of these heuristic solutions are hard to come by. Optimal schedules are therefore invaluable for properly evaluating these heuristics, as well as being very useful for applications in time critical systems. Optimal solving using branch-and-bound algorithms like A* has been shown to be promising in the past, with a state-space model we refer to as exhaustive list scheduling (ELS). The obvious weakness of this model is that it leads to the production of large numbers of duplicate states during a search, requiring special techniques to mitigate this which cost additional time and memory. In this paper we define a new state-space model (AO) in which we divide the problem into two distinct sub-problems: first we decide the allocations of all tasks to processors, and then we order the tasks on their allocated processors in order to produce a complete schedule. This two-phase state-space model offers no potential for the production of duplicates. We also describe how the pruning techniques and optimisations developed for the ELS model were adapted or made obsolete by the AO model. An experimental evaluation shows that the use of this new state-space model leads to a significant increase in the number of task graphs able to be scheduled within a feasible time-frame, particularly for task graphs with a high communication-to-computation ratio. Finally, some advanced lower bound heuristics are proposed for the AO model, and evaluation demonstrates that significant gains can be achieved from the consideration of necessary idle time.

Revisiting environmental degradation and economic growth nexus using autoregressive distributed lag approach

PurposeThe paper attempts to revisit the nexus between economic growth, carbon emissions, trade openness, financial effectiveness and FDI for a sample of seven developed and developing countries using curvilinear relationship as per environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis over long term.Design/methodology/approachThe authors determine the unit root properties of variables (using Clemente–Montañés–Reyes unit root test with double mean shifts and AO model and augmented Dickey–Fuller test) for structural breaks at different levels. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and error correction model (ECM) methodology was used to estimate long- and short-run parameters among the selected variables in sample countries from 1965 to 2016. Vector error correction (VEC) and Granger causality approach was used to determine the direction of causality.FindingsThe authors confirmed long-run relationship among the variables and highlighted high economic growth and energy consumption as the main causes of environmental degradation. While in India financial development and FDI inflows depict a negative association with environmental sustainability, however, such relationship was positive in the United Kingdom (UK), which is often considered as a benchmark for policymakers. The authors’ findings were in agreement with existing research insights in reporting FDI and financial development as the major contributors towards (unsustainable) sustainable environment through emissions in case of (developing country like India) developed country like UK. For other sample countries (China, Brazil, Japan, South Africa, United States of America (USA)), the authors’ model failed to capture financial development and FDI as significant contributors of carbon emissions. However, unidirectional causality running from energy to carbon emission was observed leading to the policy adoption of incentivizing alternative energy-based resources to increase energy efficiency across the energy value chain.Research limitations/implicationsManufacturing with renewable energy, in collaboration with private and foreign players, under an institutional framework is desirable. Policy instruments including mandatory administrative controls, economic incentives and voluntary schemes that promote energy efficiency building blocks need to be established. A sound legal system for implementing technological innovation, financial subsidy incentives, interest-free loan programmes and development of financial sector supports creation and thriving of energy efficient units, often a perquisite for accelerated development.Originality/valueBy undertaking a comparative analysis, the authors address the research gap through revisiting EKC hypothesis with different set of trade policy and financial development framework. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, earlier studies were limited to one-country data analysis and did not consider the comparative data set of developed and developing countries with reference to financial development and FDI components.

Does global inflation help forecast inflation in industrialized countries?

SummaryCiccarelli and Mojon (CM; Review of Economics and Statistics, 2010, 92(3), 524–535) propose an inflation forecasting model incorporating a global inflation factor and show that it consistently beats several standard forecasting benchmarks. We show that CM's global inflation model does not improve upon the Atkeson and Ohanian (AO; Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly Review, 2001, 25(1), 2–11) naive benchmark. However, we find that augmenting the AO model with a global inflation factor improves forecast accuracy at longer horizons, supporting CM's claim about the usefulness of global inflation.

Association of MBL2 exon1 polymorphisms with high-risk human papillomavirus infection and cervical cancers: a meta-analysis

High-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection is the main known cause of cervical cancer. Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a recognition molecule that mediates phagocytosis and activates complement. We performed a meta-analysis to investigate the association of MBL-2 functional polymorphisms with HPV infection and cervical cancer (CC). The meta-analyses indicated an association between the MBL2 exon 1 polymorphisms and susceptibility to HPV infection in the recessive model (OO vs. AA+AO, p=0.042, 95% CI 1.02-3.15), and O/O vs. A/A mode (P=0.023, 95% CI 1.10-3.40) in Caucasian. Meanwhile, there was a significant association between MBL2 exon 1 polymorphisms and cervical cancer risk in AO vs. AA model (p=0.035, 95% CI 1.03-2.26), and Allelic model (O vs. A, p=0.022, 95% CI 1.05-1.96) as compared to HR-HPV-infected patients with CC vs. healthy controls in Caucasian. In addition, no an association was observed between MBL2 -550 H/L and -221 X/Y polymorphisms and HPV infection among Caucasians, but we found an association between the MBL2 -550 H/L polymorphism and susceptibility to HR-HPV infection in recessive model (HH vs. LL+LH, p=0.003, 95% CI 1.18-2.23), HH vs. LL model (p=0.021, 95% CI 1.07-2.19), and allelic model(H vs. L, p=0.042, 95% CI 1.01-1.40) in Asians. Collectively, we suggest that the MBL2 gene exon1 polymorphisms are associated with increased risk of high-risk HPV infection and cervical cancer development among Caucasians. Additionally, no significant association was found between the MBL2 -550 H/L or -221 X/Y polymorphisms and HPV infection in Caucasians, but there may be potential links in Asians.

Study on Manufacturing Materials with an Aspect-Oriented Modeling Method for Embedded Software Product Lines

For different Manufacturing Materials, various embedded software is often needed to use to configure and implement different functions during the processing of production. In order to improve the reusability of embedded software, this paper combines the software product line technology to present a software product line reference architecture OVM_AO model, gives a detail modeling of the modify code part, meanwhile, gives the rule of transform the model to AOP model, improves the efficiency of the software automate equipped with material.

Interactions between Solid Surfaces Mediated by Polyethylene Oxide Polymers: Effect of Polymer Concentration

Using total internal reflection microscopy (TIRM), we have systematically measured the interactions between a microsphere and a flat hydrophilic surface in the presence of polyethylene oxide (PEO) polymer solution. Our results reveal that PEO significantly mediates the interaction forces between the two surfaces. At low polymer concentration, the interactions between two surfaces in the presence of PEO are mainly dominated by repulsive forces, originating from diffuse layer overlap. At intermediate polymer concentration, a long-range and weak attraction sets in. This force is likely attributed to the depletion attraction due to the presence of free PEO chains in bulk solution; however, a simple hard-sphere AO model fails to precisely describe the attraction. At high polymer concentration where PEO chains overlap, the attraction disappears, and levitation of the microsphere probe is detected. We argue that at this overlapping region, the correlation length of PEO chains is much smaller than the size of single PEO molecule, leading to weakening and disappearing of the depletion attraction. Finally, at very high concentration, oscillatory structural force is obviously found, indicating the significant structural ordering of the PEO chains under confinement.

Luxury wine brands as gifts: ontological and aesthetic perspectives

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to address the issues of luxury gift giving and the giving of luxury wines as gifts from a conceptual perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe article considers the OA (aesthetic and ontology) model as proposed by Berthon et al. that permits the integration of various conceptualisations of different authors in the area of luxury branding. The model offers a typology of luxury brands that draws on Heidegger's theory of arts and Whitehead's process philosophy. This means that one can differentiate luxury brands along two dimensions: aesthetics and ontology.FindingsThe paper contends that the four modes as set out in the AO model of Berthon et al. can be used as a typology of luxury wines, from both gift giving, and gift receiving, perspectives.Practical implicationsLuxury wine marketers can make use of the proposed typology to target wine gift givers effectively, by understanding where on the proposed matrix both the giver and the receiver are positioned. The four modes that emerge can be seen as different target markets, with different motivations and different behaviors with regard to luxury wines as gifts.Originality/valueBy applying the OA model to luxury wines and specifically to the giving and receiving of luxury wines, this paper offers wine marketers the insight to formulate different marketing mix strategies based on the different target markets that emerge from the proposed model.

Metabolomic profiling of asthma: Diagnostic utility of urine nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

The ability to diagnose and monitor asthma on the basis of noninvasive measurements of airway cellular dysfunction is difficult in the typical clinical setting. Metabolomics is the study of molecules created by cellular metabolic pathways. We hypothesized that the metabolic activity of children with asthma would differ from healthy children without asthma. Furthermore, children having an asthma exacerbation would be different compared with children with stable asthma in outpatient clinics. Finally, we hypothesized that (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) would measure such differences using urine samples, one of the least invasive forms of biofluid sampling. Children (135 total, ages 4-16 years) were enrolled, having met the criteria of healthy controls (C), stable asthma in the outpatient clinic (AO), or unstable asthma in the emergency department (AED). Partial least squares discriminant analysis was performed on the NMR data to create models of separation (70 metabolites were measured/urine sample). Some NMR data were withheld from modeling to be run blindly to determine possible diagnostic accuracy. On the basis of the model of AO versus C, 31 of 33 AO samples were correctly diagnosed with asthma (94% accuracy). Only 1 of 20 C samples was incorrectly labeled as asthma (5% misclassification). On the basis of the AO versus AED model, 31 of the 33 AO samples were correctly diagnosed as outpatient asthma (94% accurate). This is the first report suggesting that (1)H-NMR analysis of human urine samples has the potential to be a useful clinical tool for physicians treating asthma.

Rheological modeling of carbon nanotube aggregate suspensions

This paper is concerned with the rheological modeling of untreated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) suspended within an epoxy resin. The untreated CNT suspensions exhibited significant steady shear thinning and contained optically resolvable aggregate structures. A simple orientation model, based on a Fokker–Planck advection-diffusion description, failed to capture the experimentally observed rheological responses for untreated CNT suspensions. A new model named the “aggregation∕orientation” (AO) model has been developed to describe the experimental findings. The model integrated elements of both a standard orientation model and aggregation modeling concepts within the Fokker–Planck formalism. A hierarchy of states between CNTs that are free from entanglement and a complete CNT network was incorporated into the AO model, thereby enabling different microstructure populations to exist for different shear conditions. Using a small number of adjustable parameters, it was found that the experimental data could be fitted with reasonable precision.

The anti-oscillator model parameters linked to the apparent mass frequency response function

A finite element model of a structure provides a fine knowledge of the response but such a model may lead to a loss of a global comprehension of the structural behaviour. That is why the anti-oscillator model (AO model), that may be derived from a finite element model, was developed. The mass and stiffness matrices are required but they often can not be retrieved easily in the commercial softwares. This paper shows how to overcome this problem and finally how to avoid a numerical model of a structure to derive the AO characteristics.In fact, it is shown that the AO characteristics and the apparent mass frequency response function (FRF) are closely tied. Indeed, the AO mass are the residue of the partial fraction decomposition of this FRF, while AO frequencies are the poles. Consequently, the AO characteristics can easily be derived from an experiment which allow the determination of the apparent mass FRF.

Fluid–fluid and fluid–solid phase separation in nonadditive asymmetric binary hard-spheremixtures

Very asymmetric mixtures of hard spheres naturally arise in the modellization of colloidaldispersions. Effective potentials have emerged as a powerful tool for describing thesesystems and have often been employed to extract the phase diagram in both theadditive and nonadditive cases. However, most theoretical investigations havebeen carried out by means of mean-field-like approaches, so their quantitativeaccuracy remains to be assessed. Here we employ previously determined effectivepotentials for nonadditive hard-sphere mixtures to study the fluid–fluid phasetransition by the hierarchical reference theory (HRT), which is designed to takerealistically into account the effects of long-range fluctuations on phase separation.Fluid–solid equilibrium is addressed by supplementing HRT with thermodynamicperturbation theory for the solid phase. We apply this approach both to a potential withadjustable nonadditivity parameter (Louis et al 2000 Phys. Rev. E 61 R1028) and to theAsakura–Oosawa (AO) potential, which represents an extreme case of nonadditivity. Ourresults for the phase diagram, including modified hypernetted chain (MHNC)calculations, are compared to those of other liquid-state theories and are found toagree nicely with available simulation data. Unlike commonly adopted liquid-statetheories, HRT is capable both of getting arbitrarily close to the fluid–fluid criticalpoint, and of giving nontrivial critical exponents. In particular, the fluid–fluidcoexistence curve is much flatter than that obtained via perturbation theory, inagreement with a recent finite-size scaling Monte Carlo analysis of the AO model.

Statistical mechanics of inhomogeneous model colloid—polymer mixtures

We describe two strategies for tackling the equilibrium statistical mechanics of inhomogeneous colloid—polymer mixtures treated in terms of the simple Asakura—Oosawa—Vrij (AO) model, in which colloid—colloid and colloid—polymer interactions are hard-sphere like, whereas the polymer—polymer interaction is zero (perfectly interpenetrating polymer spheres). The first strategy is based upon integrating out the degrees of freedom of the polymer spheres to obtain an effective one-component Hamiltonian for the colloids. This is particularly effective for small size ratios q = σp/σc < 0.1547, where σp and σc are the diameters of colloid and polymer spheres, respectively, since in this regime three and higher body contributions to the effective Hamiltonian vanish. In the second strategy we employ a geometry based density functional theory (DFT), specifically designed for the AO model but based on Rosenfeld's fundamental measure DFT for additive mixtures of hard-spheres, that treats colloid and polymer on an equal footing and which accounts for the fluid-fluid phase separation occurring for larger values of q. Using the DFT we investigate the properties of the ‘free’ interface between colloid-rich (liquid) and colloid-poor (gas) fluid phases and adsorption phenomena at the interface between the AO mixture and a hard-wall, for a wide range of size ratios. In particular, for q = 0.6 to 1.0, we find rich interfacial phenomena, including oscillatory density profiles at the free interface and novel wetting and layering phase transitions at the hard-wall-colloid gas interface. Where appropriate we compare our DFT results with those from computer simulations and experiment. We outline several very recent extensions of the basic AO model for which geometry based DFTs have also been developed. These include a model in which the effective polymer sphere—polymer sphere interaction is treated as a repulsive step function rather than ideal and one in which the depletant is a fluid of infinitely thin rods (needles) with orientational degrees of freedom rather than (non-interacting) polymer spheres. We comment on the differences between results obtained from these extensions and those of the basic AO model. Whilst the interfacial properties of the AO model share features in common with the those of simple (atomic) fluids, with the polymer reservoir density replacing the inverse temperature, we emphasize that there are important differences which are related to the many-body character of the effective one-component Hamiltonian.

Electron transfer in keV collisions: III. Experiments on initial orbital alignment dependence

This paper reports experimental results for the influence of target excitation and orbital alignment on the electron transfer process for the collision. The impact energy range is 1 - 45 keV. The total cross section parameters are found to depend sensitively on collision velocity. Agreement is good with theoretical predictions based on the 26-state AO model of Nielsen et al, and the 28-state MO model of Courbin and Machholm, except at the highest energies.