Final Level Research Articles

Low clock skew superconductor adiabatic quantum-flux-parametron logic circuits based on grid-distributed blocks

Adiabatic quantum-flux-parametron (AQFP) is a promising superconductor logic family exhibiting extremely low switching energy. Traditional excitation of AQFP circuits depends on a pair of ac sources (i.e., four-phase clocking), whose currents are propagated throughout the chip to excite and clock each gate sequentially. This scheme, however, produces a considerably large clock skew due to the long propagation of the current pair and will heavily limit the scalability of an AQFP circuit. In this work, a global clocking scheme for low skew AQFP circuits is proposed based on microwave H-tree excitation networks and grid-distributed blocks. The H-tree network starts with a single transmission line (TL) but is exponentially split to several levels of TLs by using passive splitters, creating multiple leaves at the final level. A large-scale AQFP circuit can thus be distributed into several local blocks and clocked synchronously by the split currents from these leaves. Therefore, the accumulation of clock skew is limited to a small value only within each local block. For validation, a test circuit comprising four blocks with data interconnections between each other, and a 1-to-4 H-tree excitation network is demonstrated, where we obtain correct operation and wide excitation margins at gigahertz frequencies. The proposed clocking scheme is advantageous for the realization of very large-scale adiabatic superconductor logic circuits in the future.

Experiences of Patients and Therapists Testing a Virtual Reality Exposure App for Symptoms of Claustrophobia: Mixed Methods Study.

The effectiveness of virtual reality exposure (VRE) in the treatment of anxiety disorders is well established. Several psychological mechanisms of VRE have been identified, whereby both emotional processing and the sense of presence play a key role. However, there are only few studies that contribute to our knowledge of examples of implementation in the case of VRE for claustrophobia based on patients' experiences and the perspective of therapists. This study asks for key elements of a VRE app that are necessary for effective exposure for people with claustrophobic symptoms. A mixed methods design was applied in which patients (n=15) and therapeutic experts (n=15) tested a VRE intervention of an elevator ride at 5 intensity levels. Intensity was varied by elevator size, duration of the elevator ride, and presence of virtual humans. Quantitative measures examined self-reported presence with the Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ) ranging from 0 to 6 and 15 Likert-scaled evaluation items that had been developed for the purpose of this study, ranging from 1 to 5. In both measures, higher scores indicate higher levels of presence or agreement. Think-aloud protocols of the patients and semistructured interviews posttreatment of all participants were conducted to gain in-depth perspectives on emotional processes. The intervention induced a feeling of presence in patients and experts, posttreatment scores showed a high IPQ presence score (mean 3.84, SD 0.88), with its subscores IPQ spatial presence (mean 4.53, SD 1.06), IPQ involvement (mean 3.83, SD 1.22), and IPQ experienced realism (mean 2.75, SD 1.02). Patients preferred a setting in the presence of a therapist (mean 4.13, SD 0.83) more than the experts did (mean 3.33, SD 1.54). Think-aloud protocols of the patients revealed that presence and anxiety both were achieved. Qualitative interviews of patients and experts uncovered 8 topics: feelings and emotions, personal story, telepresence, potential therapeutic effects, barriers, conditions and requirements, future prospects, and realization. The intensity levels were felt to appropriately increase in challenge, with ambivalent results regarding the final level. Virtual humans contributed to feelings of fear. Key elements of a VRE app for claustrophobic symptoms should include variation of intensity by adding challenging cues in order to evoke presence and anxiety. Virtual humans are a suitable possibility to make the intervention realistic and to provide a sense of closeness; however, some of the fears might then be related to symptoms of social phobia or agoraphobia. Patients may need the physical presence of a therapist, though not all of them share this view. A higher degree of sophistication in the intensity levels is needed to deliver targeted help for specific symptoms of anxiety.

Analysis of the influence of L-PBF porosity on the mechanical behavior of AlSi10Mg by XRCT-based FEM

This work aims to present an XRCT-based FEM methodology to assess the influence of porosity defects on the mechanical behavior and failure of L-PBF AlSi10Mg components. Hence, the influence of defects on performance is estimated by means of XRCT scanning and analysis of porosity features, followed by mechanical FEM modelling of digitalized components. For this purpose, some test specimens with induced artificial porosity were manufactured by L-PBF, according to ASTM E8/E8M. Once this is done, inspection and defect characterization were carried out by means of XRCT. Porosity features such as void size, shape and location, apart from porosity percentage, were analyzed. Then, tensile tests were carried out, followed by further inspections by XRCT in order to research the relationship between the fracture level and the porosity of the as-built sample. Afterwards, virtual tensile tests of XRCT-ed specimens were modeled by FEM technique. Results obtained by the FEM model were well-correlated with the tensile experimental results to predict both ultimate tensile strength and elongation at fracture of each specimen, showing errors below 5.2%. However, the results of the final fracture level predicted by FEM analysis reveal that possibly underestimated and/or non-detected defects on the AlSi10Mg specimens seem to influence the accuracy of the fracture level prediction in some samples. Thus, XRCT arises as an ideal technology for the assessment of L-PBF-ed components.

Medical students' crisis-induced stress and the association with social support.

Medical schools are challenged to guard student wellbeing given the potential negative impact of the COVID-19 outbreak combined with an already high prevalence of mental distress. Although social support is generally associated with less crisis-induced stress, it is unknown whether this applies to medical students during the COVID-19 outbreak. The impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on perceived stress of medical students was assessed by comparing their perceived stress levels during the outbreak to both their own baseline and the previous cohort's pre-COVID-19 stress levels. Then, the association between social support and stress during the COVID-19 outbreak was assessed. Dutch Year-1 medical students of cohort 2019 (n = 99) completed the 14-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) at two time points: baseline (pre-COVID-19) and final measurement (COVID-19). Social support-emotional-informational support and club membership-was assessed during the final measurement. PSS and social support scores were compared to similar measurements of cohort 2018 (n = 196). Students' baseline stress levels, gender, and study performance were controlled for when comparing final stress levels. In cohort 2018 (pre-COVID-19), students' perceived stress levels did not differ significantly between the baseline and final measurements. Additionally, baseline stress levels of the two cohorts (2018 and 2019) were not found to be significantly different. Cohort 2019's final stress levels (COVID-19) were significantly higher compared to their baseline stress levels (paired t-test: t = 6.07, p < .001) and cohort 2018's final stress levels (linear regression: B = 4.186, p < .001). Only during the COVID-19 outbreak higher social support levels-i.e., emotional-informational support (B = -0.75, p < .001) and club membership (B = -3.68, p < .01)-were associated with lower stress levels. During the COVID-19 outbreak, medical students' perceived stress levels were higher-especially for students with lower social support levels. Our results suggest that medical schools should optimize social support to minimize crisis-induced stress.

A longitudinal analysis of depressive symptoms in relation to repeated measurements of regional tau

AbstractBackgroundDepressive symptoms are commonly observed early in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but their temporal association with progression along the AD continuum is less clear. We sought to determine if initial measurements of regional tau were predictive of increasing depressive symptoms, and if changes in depressive symptoms predicted later tau levels. We examined these relationships in a region of early tau accumulation (i.e., entorhinal cortex (EC)), and in regions of later neocortical tau spread commonly involved in affective regulation (amygdala and medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC, lOFC)).MethodParticipants (n = 257; mean age = 70.7; 61% female) came from the Harvard Aging Brain Study, a longitudinal observational cohort of cognitively unimpaired adults with no/low depression at baseline (mean years of follow‐up = 7.2). All participants completed the self‐reported 30‐item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) annually and tau PET imaging (Flortaucipir‐FTP) every 3 years. On average, initial tau PET scans occurred 2.3 years after enrollment and the latest available scan occurred 5.1 years after enrollment. Separate linear mixed effects models investigated relationships between longitudinal GDS and cross‐sectional regional tau (FTP PET SUVr), at initial scan and at the latest scan available, in the following regions of interest: EC, amygdala, mOFC, and lOFC. Covariates included age, sex, and education.ResultHigher initial FTP levels were associated with significant increases in GDS score over time in temporal cortex (amygdala: b = 0.29,p = 0.0002; EC: b = 0.21,p = 0.0006) and mOFC (b = 0.30,p = 0.004), with marginal significance in lOFC (b = 0.21,p = 0.07). However, the reverse temporal sequence was only observed between GDS scores over all time points and later measurement of amygdala FTP, such that increasing depressive symptoms over time preceded higher final amygdala tau levels (b = 0.15,p = 0.02).ConclusionHigher tau in EC, amygdala and OFC regions predicted increasing depressive symptoms over time in older adults. Only for the amygdala did we also observe the converse relationship: increasing depressive symptoms predicting higher final tau. These results suggest early tau proliferation in affective regions is associated with increased depressive symptoms, though the question of causality is still unclear. Further work is needed to dissect possible temporal relationships across whole brain voxels to better understand depressive symptoms in AD progression.

A longitudinal analysis of depressive symptoms in relation to repeated measurements of regional tau

AbstractBackgroundDepressive symptoms are commonly observed early in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but their temporal association with progression along the AD continuum is less clear. We sought to determine if initial measurements of regional tau were predictive of increasing depressive symptoms, and if changes in depressive symptoms predicted later tau levels. We examined these relationships in a region of early tau accumulation (i.e., entorhinal cortex (EC)), and in regions of later neocortical tau spread commonly involved in affective regulation (amygdala and medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC, lOFC)).MethodParticipants (n=257; mean age=70.7; 61% female) came from the Harvard Aging Brain Study, a longitudinal observational cohort of cognitively unimpaired adults with no/low depression at baseline (mean years of follow‐up=7.2). All participants completed the self‐reported 30‐item Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) annually and tau PET imaging (Flortaucipir‐FTP) every 3 years. On average, initial tau PET scans occurred 2.3 years after enrollment and the latest available scan occurred 5.1 years after enrollment. Separate linear mixed effects models investigated relationships between longitudinal GDS and cross‐sectional regional tau (FTP PET SUVr), at initial scan and at the latest scan available, in the following regions of interest: EC, amygdala, mOFC, and lOFC. Covariates included age, sex, and education.ResultHigher initial FTP levels were associated with significant increases in GDS score over time in temporal cortex (amygdala: b=0.29,p=0.0002; EC: b=0.21,p=0.0006) and mOFC (b=0.30,p=0.004), with marginal significance in lOFC (b=0.21,p=0.07). However, the reverse temporal sequence was only observed between GDS scores over all time points and later measurement of amygdala FTP, such that increasing depressive symptoms over time preceded higher final amygdala tau levels (b=0.15,p=0.02).ConclusionHigher tau in EC, amygdala and OFC regions predicted increasing depressive symptoms over time in older adults. Only for the amygdala did we also observe the converse relationship: increasing depressive symptoms predicting higher final tau. These results suggest early tau proliferation in affective regions is associated with increased depressive symptoms, though the question of causality is still unclear. Further work is needed to dissect possible temporal relationships across whole brain voxels to better understand depressive symptoms in AD progression.

Mildly Relativistic Perpendicular Multiple-ion GRB Shocks

Mildly relativistic perpendicular, collisionless multiple-ion gamma-ray burst shocks are analyzed using 2D3V particle-in-cell simulations. A characteristic feature of multiple-ion shocks is alternating maxima of the α particle and the proton densities, at least in the early downstream. Turbulence, shock-drift acceleration, and evidence of stochastic acceleration are observed. We performed simulations with both in-plane (B y ) and out-of-plane (B z ) magnetic fields, as well as in a perpendicular shock setup with φ = 45°, and saw multiple differences: while with B z , the highest-energetic particles mostly gain energy at the beginning of the shock, with B y , particles continue gaining energy and it does not appear that they have reached their final energy level. A larger magnetization σ leads to more high-energetic particles in our simulations. One important quantity for astronomers is the electron acceleration efficiency ϵ e , which is measurable due to synchrotron radiation. This quantity hardly changes when changing the amount of α particles while keeping σ constant. It is, however, noteworthy that ϵ e strongly differs for in-plane and out-of-plane magnetic fields. When looking at the proton and α acceleration efficiency, ϵ p and ϵ α , the energy of α particles always decreases when passing the shock into the downstream, whereas the energy of protons can increase if α particles account for the majority of the ions.

Research and development of a teaching model for the physical foundations of tribology

This article proposes to develop a method for the preparation of future physics teachers and for students to master tribology. In addition, the necessity of the above-mentioned proposal and the technological importance of tribology in the industry are emphasised and proven. To ensure the development of students' perspective on tribology, various scientific search methods were used, including the analysis, synthesis and comparison of visual research results with known achievements. The initial and final knowledge levels of students in the field of tribology were determined by the first tests and final tests published before and after the implementation process of the proposed programme. A book has been developed that contains educational and methodological complexes, such as laboratory studies, methodological guides, general and experimental physics course sections and test studies. An elective course about tribology was taken into the programme for physics students. Experiments were conducted related to elective course. Keywords: Tribology; experimental foundations; professional training, scientific centre, future physics, innovative education.

The Role of Saudi Universities in Developing Women's Attitudes toward Spreading a Culture of Social Entrepreneurship

The current study aims to activate the role of Saudi universities in developing women's attitudes toward spreading the culture of social entrepreneurship. It relied on the method of the social survey through the stratified random sample of female students in the final levels of Saudi governmental universities in Riyadh, and the sample reached 375 individuals, and the study reached results, the most important of which is that the level of Saudi universities ’role in developing women's attitudes towards spreading the culture of social entrepreneurship is high, Whereas, the level of Saudi universities' role in developing women's attitudes related to the emotional and cognitive component toward spreading the culture of social entrepreneurship is high, while the role of Saudi universities in developing women's attitudes related to the behavioral toward spreading a culture of social entrepreneurship is average. The results also indicate that there is no variance in the study sample's estimates of the role of Saudi universities in developing women's attitudes toward social entrepreneurship.

Hydroxyurea Dosing in Very Young Children with Sickle Cell Anemia: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial (HUGKISS)

Introduction: In the BABY HUG trial, fixed-dose hydroxyurea (20 mg/kg/day) was safe and effective in decreasing sickle cell anemia (SCA)-related complications in very young children (9-18 months). Nevertheless, children in the treatment arm of BABY HUG continued to experience vaso-occlusive symptoms and incur organ damage. In older children/adults with SCA, intensification of hydroxyurea to a maximum tolerated dosage, defined by mild to moderate myelosuppression, has been associated with improved laboratory parameters and clinical benefits compared to fixed lower dosing. However, relatively little has been published regarding hydroxyurea dose escalation in infants with SCA. We designed the Hydroxyurea Management in Kids: Intensive versus Stable Dosage Strategies (HUGKISS) to determine the feasibility of enrolling, randomizing, and treating very young children with SCA with either a fixed or intensified dose of hydroxyurea. Methods: We performed a single-blind, randomized, multicenter pilot trial of hydroxyurea in infants and toddlers (9-36 months old) with SCA to compare a "standard" treatment (20 mg/kg/day) with an "intensive" treatment defined by a goal absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of 1500-3000 cells/µL. Participants were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive "standard" or "intensive" therapy based on a block randomization and were stratified by clinical center and age (9 to <24 months or 24 to <36 months). In both the standard and intensive treatment arms, participants began hydroxyurea at 20 (±2.5) mg/kg/day. There was no dose escalation in the HUGKISS standard arm. Participants treated in the intensive arm were dose-escalated by 5 mg/kg/day increments (if tolerated) to a maximum of 35 mg/kg/day, adjusted every 8 weeks to maintain the goal ANC. Participants underwent clinical, laboratory, and medication adherence assessments every 4 (±2) weeks. The medical coordinating center staff and study center principal investigators were blinded to treatment allocation, while hydroxyurea volume was not blinded to participants or caregivers. Results: Twenty-six subjects were randomized to standard treatment and 25 to intensive treatment, with no statistical difference in the subjects' mean age at enrollment (12.8 months) or laboratory values at randomization. One year after randomization, 19 and 23 subjects were evaluable in the standard and intensive arms respectively. The mean hydroxyurea doses at exit were 27.2 mg/kg/day (intensive arm) and 18.8 mg/kg/day (standard arm). Significantly greater increases in fetal hemoglobin (HbF) were noted in the intensive versus standard arm (p=0.002, final levels, 38.8% vs 26.1%), and the median hemoglobin (Hb) (p=0.033, +1.2g/dl vs +0.4 g/dl). Significantly greater increases in mean corpuscular volume and greater decreases in reticulocyte count and ANC also occurred in the intensive arm. Significant differences were not seen in SCA-related adverse event rates. The intensive arm had more frequent neutropenic toxicity (ANC<1000 cells/µL) than the standard arm (52% versus 23%), but no serious infections occurred. Data from the BABY HUG treatment arm were pooled with our standard dose arm since both groups received the same dose of hydroxyurea and were of similar age. When the data were summarized and compared in longitudinal curves (Figure), similar differences from our intensive arm were found, often within 6 months of dose initiation. Conclusions: Intensive hydroxyurea treatment induced greater increases in HbF and Hb than standard dosing without significant toxicity in very young children with SCA, and may blunt or delay the fall in HbF seen after 6 months of therapy with lower doses. HUGKISS demonstrated the feasibility of treating very young children with SCA with intensive dose hydroxyurea. Figure 1View largeDownload PPTFigure 1View largeDownload PPT Close modal

Age of Packed Red Blood Cells Transfused to Patients with Acute Leukemia: A Descriptive Analysis

Background: Patients with acute leukemia frequently present with disease-related severe anemia (hemoglobin <8 g/dL). Packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusions are standard of care for severe anemia, though cells' ability to transport oxygen decreases with prolonged storage time (maximum 42 days). Evidence exists to support a significant decline in available cells' ability to transport oxygen beyond 21 days, though no guidelines currently exist to inform use of PRBCs based on storage age. Characteristics of transfused PRBC units and hemoglobin (hgb) levels in patients treated for severe anemia during acute leukemia treatment has not been described. Methods: We sought to characterize PRBC units transfused during intensive induction chemotherapy treatment and associated hemoglobin levels following the initial transfusion based on PRBC unit age. We performed a pilot study via retrospective secondary analysis of pre-existing data from the University of Alabama at Birmingham O'Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center patient database and associated blood bank records. We included patients 18 years or older who were newly diagnosed with acute leukemia and required intensive induction chemotherapy treatment between December 2021-March 2022, who had a documented hgb consistent with the World Health Organization definition of severe anemia (<8 g/dL) during hospitalization, and who received at least one unit of PRBCs. Results: Patients (n=11) were primarily Caucasian (90.9%), female (72.7%), with a median age of 56 years (range 34-70) (Table 1). Most patients (72.7%) were diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Median duration of hospital stay for induction chemotherapy treatment was 26 days (range 13-56 days). Median hgb level was 8.9 g/dL (range 3.7-11.5 g/dL) on hospital admission; prior to the initial PRBC transfusion, median hgb was 6.7 g/dL (range 3.7-8.7 g/dL). After initial PRBC transfusion, median hgb increased to 7.7 g/dL (range 5.6-9.6 g/dL), representing a median increase in hgb of 1.1 g/dL (range -0.9-3.2 g/dL). Median age of the initial PRBC unit transfused was 27 days (range 13-32 days). Patients received a median of 9.5 PRBC units (range 0-18) during the intensive induction chemotherapy treatment period; median age of all PRBC units transfused was 23 days (range 3-41 days). Moderate positive correlation was noted between the change in hgb pre- and post-initial transfusion and PRBC age (r=0.55). Across hospitalization, median hgb level was 7.7 g/dL (range 7.3-9.1 g/dL); final hgb level prior to discharge was a median of 7.8 g/dL (range 7.2-9.5 g/dL). Conclusions: In our pilot study, patients undergoing intensive induction chemotherapy treatment for acute leukemia generally received older PRBC units (>21 days) both at their initial transfusion and throughout their hospitalization. PRBC unit age was positively associated with change in hgb. In general, patients did not achieve a normal hgb level prior to hospital discharge despite numerous PRBC transfusions. Our findings are limited by sample size and therefore not generalizable. It is possible that transfusion of older stored PRBCs may result in inadequately treated or prolonged anemia, impacting patients' physiological response to disease and treatment. Further investigation is needed to examine this relationship. Figure 1View largeDownload PPTFigure 1View largeDownload PPT Close modal

The Unique Predictive Value of Dynamic Assessment of Character Decoding in Reading Development of Chinese Children from Grades 1 to 2

ABSTRACT Purpose This 2-year longitudinal study examined the unique prediction of a dynamic assessment (DA) of character decoding on Chinese early reading development, and further explored whether learning potential, as assessed by DA, predicts subsequent character reading development in a sample of 135 native Mandarin-speaking Chinese students from first grade to second grade. Method Latent Growth Modeling was carried out to examine the prediction of DA administered in grade 1 for the character reading growth in Chinese children from grade 1 to 2. Growth Mixture Modeling was used to identify latent-class groups with varying learning potential based on the trial-by-trial progresses on DA, and predicted the distal outcome, Chinese character reading. Results DA uniquely predicted the final level and growth rate of character reading for Chinese children from grade 1 to 2 after controlling for traditional static predictors. Additionally, three latent groups were identified to characterize different responsiveness to graduated prompts in the DA task; the three latent groups showed significant differences in character reading over time. Conclusion The findings underscore the importance of DA in predicting Chinese children’s early reading development and the classification validity of learning potential subgroups of DA in differentiating early character reading development in Chinese children.

Application Research of CFD-MOEA/D Optimization Algorithm in Large-Scale Reservoir Flood Control Scheduling

Reservoir flood control has an important impact on flood protection and plays an important role in reducing the loss of people’s lives and property. In order to play an important role in flood control operation of large-scale reservoirs, a control flood dispatching multi-objective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition (CFD-MOEA/D) is proposed. The same type of multi-objective optimization algorithm (non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II)) is introduced, and CFD-MOEA/D, NSGA-II, and traditional MOEA/D algorithms are compared. The research results show that the CFD-MOEA/D algorithm can obtain the non-dominated solution of the higher water level in the upstream, and the solution obtained by the CFD-MOEA/D algorithm is more sufficient than the NSGA-II algorithm and the MOEA/D algorithm. When analyzing the HV value curve, the uniformity and convergence of the optimal solution obtained by the CFD-MOEA/D algorithm are better than those of the other two algorithms. The optimal dispatching scheme of the CFD-MOEA/D algorithm is compared with the actual dispatching scheme of the reservoir, and it is found that the maximum upstream water level and the final water level obtained by the CFD-MOEA/D algorithm are both kept at approximately 325 m, which is consistent with the actual dispatching scheme. The new feature of the algorithm is that it uses a decomposition method from coarse to fine and improves the hourly scheduling scheme to obtain higher scheduling efficiency.

RF10 | PMON204 Eucaloric High Fat Diet Does Not induce insulin Resistance But May Stimulate Fat Oxidation in Normal Weight Women

Abstract Obesity and metabolic syndrome are associated with defects in the hypothalamic pituitary ovarian (HPO) axis termed the reprometabolic syndrome. We have previously shown that lipid infusion induces insulin resistance and the reprometabolic syndrome of obesity in normal weight women. We hypothesized that the induced insulin resistance is the underlying cause of the attenuation of the hypothalamic pituitary ovarian (HPO) axis. 16 women of normal BMI (18-24.9g/m2), mean age 29.7 ± 6.4, were recruited for a study including a 30-day, prescribed, eucaloric, high fat (48% of calories from fat) dietary intervention. Diet was adjusted to ensure that participants remained weight stable throughout the study. Insulin sensitivity was measured by 2 stage euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp (8 and 40 mU/m2*min) pre and post diet. Final stage 2 glucoses were not different pre vs post diet (mg/dL, 86±7 vs 89±6, p=0.08). Muscle insulin sensitivity (glucose infusion rate, mg/kg*min) was different pre versus post diet (10.9±3.3 vs 10.6±3.5, p=0.013) after exclusion of one participant for multiple protocol deviations. Adipose insulin sensitivity as measured by fatty acid suppression during the low insulin infusion stage of the clamp was also not different pre versus post diet [final fatty acid level in µEg/L; median 115 (IQR 84, 224) vs 158 (IQR 67,274; p&amp;gt;0.99). However, the final high insulin stage 2 fatty acid suppression trended towards greater suppression after high fat diet [median 17.8 (IQR 9.8,33.8), vs 11.7 (IQR 7.7, 18.7) p=0.06]. This may reflect higher fatty acid oxidation on the high fat diet. We have previously reported that this diet, like the lipid infusion, did attenuate the HPO axis (reduced baseline early follicular LH and FSH and reduced LH response to GnRH). In contrast to lipid infusion, however, this dietary intervention did not induce the same degree of insulin resistance, possibly due to the emphasis on neutral energy balance, suggesting that the suppression of the HPO axis by high fat diet may be partially independent of insulin sensitivity. Presentation: Saturday, June 11, 2022 1:24 p.m. - 1:29 p.m., Monday, June 13, 2022 12:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Stability of vitamin A, E, C and thiamine during storage of different powdered enteral formulas

In this study, two different kinds of commercial enteral formulas were selected to evaluate the changes of vitamin A, E, C and thiamine during the different storage conditions of different temperature and relative humidity (60 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% for 5 and 10 days; 37 ± 1 °C, 75 ± 5% for 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 months; 25 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% for 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months). The results showed that as the temperature or time increased, the content of vitamin A, E and thiamine was gradually decreased whilst the level of vitamin C remained stable. The vitamins exhibited more stability at the storage of 25 ± 1 °C, RH 60 ± 5%. Vitamin A and thiamine decreased more in the polymeric formula (EFA) than that in the oligomeric formula (EFB), while, vitamin E decreased less in EFA than that in EFB. The kinetics of vitamin A, E and thiamine degradation during storage followed first order kinetic equations. Furthermore, the final levels of vitamins were higher than the minimum level recommended by legislation.

İslam Hukukuna Göre Hırsızlık: Zâhirî Mezhebi Örneği

Zarûrâtı hamse diye tabir edilen; can, nesil, akıl, din ve mala yönelik her türlü saldırıları yasaklayan İslam dini bu sayede insanın onur ve şerefini koruma altına almış, bunlara yönelik saldırıları önlemek amacıyla da bir takım caydırıcı önlemler getirmiştir. Mala yönelik bir suç olan hırsızlık eylemi, İslâm ceza hukukunda had suçları içerisinde yer almaktadır. İslam ceza hukukunda bu suçu işleyen faile el kesme cezası öngörülmektedir. Bununla birlikte İslâm hukukçuları hırsızlığa konu olan eylemin suç olarak kabul edilip cezai müeyyidenin icrası için; suça konu olan mal, bu malın bulunduğu yer, suçun yapılma şekli ve eylemi gerçekleştiren kişi ile ilgili birtakım şartlar aramışlar, bazı hususlarda farklı görüşler ortaya koymuşlardır. Bu makalede İslâm hukukunda nasların zahirlerindeki hükümlerle iktifa etmeyi prensip edinmesiyle ön plana çıkıp, fıkıhta içtihada başvurmanın ölçüsünün ne olduğu hususundaki görüş farklılığında re’y/kıyas karşıtlığının vardığı nihai seviyeyi temsil eden Zâhirî mezhebinin hırsızlık suçuna yaklaşımları ele alınmaya çalışılmıştır. Bu mezhebin zahirciliği, şer’î hükümlerin elde edilmesinde nasların yalnızca lafız anlamları ile yetinmeleri anlamına gelir. Zâhirîlerin bu özellikleri hırsızlık suçuna yaklaşımlarında net bir şekilde görülmektedir. Çünkü onlar hırsızlık suçu ile ilgili âyetin zahiriyle yetinmektedirler. Bu sebeple de hırsızlıkta malın yakın akrabadan, devlet hazinesinden veya korunaklı alandan çalınmış olması vb. durumlarında diğer mezheplerden farklı olarak hırsıza had cezasının uygulanması gerektiği görüşünü savunmuşlardır.

Original method of local stimulation for lumbosacral dorsopathies

The article is devoted to the mechanisms of action and effectiveness of the original technology, combining the blockade in accordance with Vishnevsky method and pharmacopuncture with the drug Alflutop.Materials and methods. 90 patients under 65 years of age with exacerbation of lumbosacral dorsopathy, who signed informed consent form were inсluded in observation. Along with clinical characteristics, the results of psychological tests, thermography and zonal rheovasography were evaluated. Patients were divided into 3 groups in which standard treatment was performed. In the 1st control group, they were limited to it, and in others, local stimulation was additionally performed. Methodically, up to 20 loci in the lumbar zone and 6–8 reflexology points in the lower extremities were selected. At the same time, the anesthetic Lidocaine was injected into the points of the lumbar zone, and the drug Alflutop (2nd group) or physiological solution (3rd) was injected into the distal points. The course of stimulation included 10 procedures performed every other day.Outcomes. Both variants of local stimulation significantly exceeded the effectiveness of basic therapy. However, despite the comparability of the rate of pain symptomatics reduction in these groups, the final level of pain was significantly lower in the case of Alflutop. These data were consistent with a clear tendency to normalize the mental and vascular background in patients of the 2nd group. This phenomenon can be explained by the points of application of medicines: rapid anesthesia due to blockade by anesthetic and the maximum effectiveness provided by pharmacopuncture.

Failure mode effects and criticality analysis (FMECA) using fuzzy logic for ship dynamic positioning (DP) systems

Predicting the failure modes effect and criticality analysis (FMECA) of a dynamic positioning (DP) system using fuzzy logic is the aim of this research. The identification of DP systems and subsystems, the classification of failure modes into critical and less-critical levels based on the Risk Priority Number (RPN) to depict the main root causes of failure in the DP system are some critical objectives in support of this goal. The analysis offers details on a number of issues, including the causes of failure modes and their effects on the functionality and dependability of equipment. Based on the information provided, it was determined that a number of failure modes produced identical RPN values, and that the ranking scale was erroneous. A new method was tested but could not really prioritize the failure modes with same RPN because of the few choices in the severity, occurrence and detection template. To compensate for this, excel ranking function was employed putting severity, occurrence and detection as key criteria for ranking. Due to the high severity and occurrence index, the RPN ranking results show that the faulty DP system component identified for the scenario SSTs (F1) is categorized as very critical. SSCs (F12), SSPr (F7), SSTs(F2), and SSPs(F15) are additional critical failures. In the study, data analysis and validation were done using a fuzzy rule system based on MATLAB. From the findings, it can be inferred that the failure modes F1, F2, F5, F6, F7, F8, F10, F11, and F15 have values of a similar type of RPN. According to the initial RPN risk level results; there are 19 failure modes in the medium risk level, 2 in the low risk level and 1 in the high risk level. In the final RPN-based risk level results, there are 18 failure scenarios in the low risk level and 4 in the medium risk level. In contrast, there are 5 failure modes in the fuzzy RPN low risk level and 17 failure scenarios in the medium risk level. Without fuzzy logic, the justification score on traditional FMECA can be given directly. This makes traditional FMECA ABS show greater risk than fuzzy FMECA. The failure modes with the highest RPN values were treated as critical parts, so it was recommended that the highest value of RPN be given special attention by making the necessary repairs or replacements in order to lengthen the equipment's lifespan.

Show and tell: approaches for effective figures

Show and tell: approaches for effective figures

A SVM-based implicit stochastic joint scheduling method for ‘wind-photovoltaic-cascaded hydropower stations’ systems

With the gradual expansion of the development scale of wind power and photovoltaic (PV) power plants, the multi-energy complementary power generation system, typically represented by hydro-PV/hydro-wind/hydro-wind-PV, has become an important part of modern power systems. Aiming at the joint operation of the cascaded hydropower stations after wind-PV grid connection, a medium- and long-term implicit stochastic joint dispatching function model for wind-PV-cascaded hydropower stations based on the SVM(support vector machine) method is developed in this paper, which selects the final water levels of the reservoirs as the dependent variables, and the initial water levels of the reservoirs, the reservoir inflow, the interval inflow as well as the wind and PV output are independent variables. First, the optimization of main parameters C (Penalty coefficient), g (Kernel function parameter) and p (Insensitive loss coefficient) of the model are achieved by particle swarm algorithm. The Gaussian radial basis function is then used to fit the scheduling function proposed in this paper. Finally, the rolling simulation calculation and correction of the obtained scheduling function are realized by C# programming language of VS2017 platform. The results show that the proposed scheduling function is an effective method for scheduling decision-making, and the revised water level process, output process as well as annual electricity production of the scheduling model are not significantly different from the optimal scheduling results. Moreover, the simulation results conform to the existing scheduling rules, which has shown it can be used to inform the operation of cascaded hydropower stations under the multi-energy complementary system.