Special Joint Research Articles

Militia Counterinsurgency: Perspective on the Motivations of Civilian Joint Task Force Militia Participation in Northern Nigeria

Since the year 2013, Nigeria’s northeastern region epicenter of the Boko Haram Islamist insurgency waging war for the establishment of an Islamic State has witnessed mass participation of people in a civil militia group. The militia group colloquially describing itself Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) was formed to combat the Boko Haram rebellion. Perhaps, the participation of the CJTF in the combating activities was reportedly influential in reducing the Boko Haram hostilities in most communities. Prior to the CJTF, the counterinsurgency approaches of the Nigerian governments’ Special Joint Task Force and the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Member States of Lake Chad Basin Commission was faced with lackadaisical performances. Whereas the CJTF was reportedly successful, however, the interrupted participation of the people despite the attendant human and material cost has risen suspicion among the population and the critical literature about the groups’ true motivation. This article, therefore, investigated the motivations of the CJTF in northeastern Nigeria. The study was conducted through a qualitative approach designed in a case study. The data was collected from thirteen informants from three groups - CJTF, Community Leaders and State/Local Government authorities. The technique of data collection is in-depth interviews and non-participant observation. The finding revealed personal incentive factors of monetary/material gains, and the futuristic interest of employability drives peoples’ participation. To address the economic interests of the CJTF and as a panacea to prevent the manifestation of the security threats associated with the CJTF group, the study recommends for the establishment of charity centers to receive contributions from well to do citizens to ameliorate the economic needs of the participants. The government should also propound strong legal mechanisms to regulate the activities of the CJTF militia.

Identifying hazards at residential and commercial pools: An interactive session

This special joint session with shared interest from multiple technical groups (Children’s Issues Technical Group, Forensics Professional Group, and Safety Technical Group) provides audience members with an opportunity to discuss multiple case examples of fatal incidents involving children and pools. Participants will first hear several examples of human factors forensic analyses of different cases. The audience will then perform a safety audit for a pool owner, working in teams, identifying potential hazards and ways the owner can mitigate the hazards. Teams will present the findings of the safety analysis. After team presentations, the facts of an incident involving the subject pool will be presented to determine if their safety analysis recommendations could have prevented the specific incident. This session will emphasize the broad application of human factors for forensic incidents involving children and pools as well as safety analyses to educate owners and potentially help to prevent incidents.

The Novel Use of a Commercially Available Video-Conference Platform to Facilitate Multidisciplinary Target Volume Review and Delineation for Skull-Base Radiation Therapy During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Multidisciplinary involvement in radiation therapy (RT) treatment planning is currently underused. A radiation oncologist sought input for generating target contours from a neuro-radiologist (NR) and otolaryngologist (OL) for 3 patients requiring skull-base RT during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. A Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliant virtual meeting between the radiation oncologist, NR, and OL was arranged. Involvement of the OL and NR led to significant changes in the clinical target volume for all patients. Our experience highlights the feasibility of using commercially available video-conference platforms for multidisciplinary target volume delineation for complex RT cases. Further applications include interdisciplinary contour review for RT cases requiring special expertise and joint attending/resident physician contour review for resident education. The video-conference platform technology has demonstrated benefit during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, and we believe it will remain an integral component of our field moving forward.

Evaluation of Normal Morphology of Mandibular Condyle: A Radiographic Survey.

Objectives:The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a complex, highly specialized joint. Along with the teeth, these joints are considered to be a “tri-joint complex.” Mandibular condyle morphology is characterized by a rounded bone projection with an upper biconvex and oval surface in axial plane. Anatomical knowledge of the TMJ is one of the basic foundations of clinical practice, allowing the understanding of TMJ pathologies and fabrication of condylar prostheses. The cross-sectional descriptive study was undertaken to evaluate normal variation in the condylar morphology on radiographs in persons without TMJ symptomatology and its relation to age, gender, dentition status, chewing habits, parafunctional habits, history of orthodontic treatment, and denture wearing was assessed.Material and Methods:A total of 350 subjects without TMJ symptomatology included in the study were further grouped by age, gender, dentition status, chewing habits, parafunctional habits, history of orthodontic treatment, and denture wearing history. Panoramic radiograph was taken for the assessment of condylar morphology.Results:A significant association between dentition status and bilaterally similar condylar morphology was noticed. Bilaterally similar condyles were seen in 81.4% of subjects. Round-shaped condyles were seen in 176 (62%) persons. Loss of bilateral occlusion tends to alter the condylar morphology. Association between normal chewing habits and bilaterally similar condyle shapes was significant.Conclusion:The study describes the normal morphology of mandibular condyles in a population attending the tertiary dental care center, Kozhikode. The dentition status and chewing habits of individuals had a significant role in determining condylar morphology.

A special thread design for failure prevention of expandable casing

Oil and gas exploration and development often encounter deep wells, ultra-deep wells, and special wells in complex formation. In these wells, the threaded joint of expandable casing face two problems: low connection strength and poor sealing effect. To solve the problems, this paper explores how the mechanical properties of expandable casing change dynamically downhole through corrosion test and tensile test. Based on the test results, the dynamic expansion of expandable casing was modelled, and used to analyze the mechanical behavior of threads in the expansion process. The analysis indicates that matching mode of thread joint affects the connection strength and sealing effect of the threads on expandable casing. Then, different matching modes, namely, interference fit and clearance fit, were subjected to sensitivity analysis. After that, a three-stage special thread joint was designed for expandable casing, and proved feasible through contrastive experiments. The research results provide a good reference for the thread design of expandable casing, and the application of expandable casing under complex conditions downhole.

Experimental Study and Application Prospect Analysis of Truss Heat Pipes for Space Optical Cameras

To meet the application requirements of space optical cameras, the concept of a truss heat pipe is proposed in this paper. This truss heat pipe is composed of multiple (two or more) heat pipe shells with inner capillary wicks connected to each other by special joints with additional inner capillary wicks. It can be assembled into a variety of truss structures according to the layout requirements of the structure. Truss heat pipes can be used as the supporting structure of space optical cameras and can simultaneously efficiently transfer heat and maintain an even temperature, conserving the thermal control resources of space optical cameras. The function and performance of truss heat pipes were verified through tests of a single T-joint prototype and a multi T-joint prototype. Two truss heat pipes were then applied to the thermal management of a space optical camera. The thermal vacuum test results show that as the supporting structure of the front lens barrel heat shields, the two truss heat pipes can transfer heat from the space optical camera heat source to the front lens barrel heat shield both efficiently and evenly. This indicates that truss heat pipes can meet the requirements of the structure-thermal integrated design and thermal management of space optical cameras. As a new thermal control technology and product, truss heat pipes have the potential for broad applications in many aerospace fields in the future.

Reduction in Medical Evacuations from Iraq and Syria Following Introduction of an Asynchronous Telehealth System.

While deployed, military medical personnel manage routine medical issues that fall under the category of Disease Non-Battle Injury (DNBI). The 86th Combat Support Hospital (CSH) partnered with Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) Surgeon Cell, and Special Operations Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve (SOJTF-OIR) Surgeon Cell, to introduce the Health Experts onLine Portal (HELP) telemedicine system to medical personnel in Iraq and Syria. HELP is an asynchronous (store and forward) online system that provides secure provider-to-provider teleconsultation services for routine patient care and medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) coordination. The goal was to reduce the need for MEDEVAC by providing expert consultation to medical providers in farther-forward deployed units. In June 2017, the 86th CSH launched HELP telemedicine services for Kuwait. Following the successful implementation of the telemedicine system in Kuwait, the 86th CSH leadership partnered with CJTF-OIR and SOJTF-OIR medical leadership in launching the system within Iraq and Syria as well as making the system available to all deployed locations in Central Command (CENTCOM). This was a prospective cohort study designed to determine if having convenient and secure access to remote subspecialty consultation would be associated with a reduction in routine MEDEVACs from far forward in the battle space. In August 2017, new-user training was completed and the program launched in Iraq and Syria. This study analyzes the baseline MEDEVAC rate in 3 months before the implementation of HELP telemedicine compared to 3 months following the implementation. Iraq and Syria cases in the HELP telemedicine system accounted for 17.2% (76) of total CENTCOM telemedicine case volume over the 7-month study period. Comparing the 3-month period before and after implementation of HELP, use of asynchronous telemedicine in Iraq and Syria was associated with a reduction in total MEDEVACs from 157 to 68 (56.7% reduction, p<0.001). DNBI represented the majority of the change, (65.0% reduction, p<0.001). MEDEVAC for battle-related injuries decreased slightly from 13 to 6 per 3-month period (p=0.03). This is the first prospective study to demonstrate an association between the initiation of asynchronous telemedicine capabilities in a combat zone and decreased MEDEVACs. Annualized numbers would predict a reduction of 328 MEDEVACs/year for each 10,000 personnel by utilizing asynchronous telemedicine. This represents a significant potential cost savings of $1.2 million/year through avoidance of routine medical movement of personnel and supports unit readiness by retaining service members in areas of combat operations.

Considering medical assistance in dying for minors: the complexities of children’s voices

Medical assistance in dying (MAID) legislation in Canada followed much deliberation after the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling in Carter v. Canada. Included in this deliberation was the Special Joint...

Patellar Resurfacing Does Not Improve Clinical Outcome in Patients with Symptomatic Tricompartmental Knee Osteoarthritis. An RCT Study of 40 Patients Receiving Primary Cruciate Retaining Total Knee Arthroplasty.

There is some evidence that patellofemoral (PF) joint osteoarthritis (OA) causes anterior knee pain (AKP) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We hypothesized that patellar resurfacing in primary TKA for patients with symptomatic tricompartmental knee OA yields better clinical results after 2 years than non-resurfacing. A single center randomized controlled clinical trial comparing 40 patients receiving 42 cruciate retaining TKAs with (n = 21) or without patellar resurfacing (n = 21) was conducted. Primary outcome was the specific PF joint score HSS Baldini and secondary outcomes were the Knee Society Score (KSS) and the Knee Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale (KOOS). After 2 years no significant differences between both groups and between the groups in time for HSS Baldini, KSS, and KOOS were found. HSS Baldini score improved significantly after 6 weeks in both groups (p < 0.001) and did not improve in time afterward. At final follow-up the HSS Baldini mean score improved from a preoperative mean of 39 to 88 (difference of 49 points; p < 0.001)) for without patellar resurfacing group, and from a preoperative mean of 37 to 81 for patellar resurfacing group (difference of 47 points; p < 0.001). One patient in the patellar resurfacing group underwent a soft tissue re-alignment procedure because of patellar subluxation. Two patients in without patellar resurfacing group received secondary patellar button placement. Patellar resurfacing in primary TKA for patients with symptomatic tricompartmental OA has no beneficial effect over non-resurfacing and seems unnecessary. A special PF joint outcome measurement tool (HSS Baldini) and common knee scores showed no better knee function or AKP outcomes for with patellar resurfacing over without patellar resurfacing group in time and after 2 years of follow-up.

Stressed Skin Design Versus Braced Frame Design Through Efficient Numerical Modelling

Steel frame structures are traditionally designed with bracings that stabilize the main bearing structure. Another approach is to apply the “stressed skin design” where the cladding structure takes the role of the bracings. In this research, the two approaches were analysed and compared in order to find advantages of any. A typical steel frame structure was chosen, and for the cladding, trapezoidal sheet metal was selected. Optional bracings were also considered. All static analyses were done using the finite element method (FEM) and ANSYS Workbench software, including geometric and material nonlinearity. The structure was loaded perpendicularly to its gable, thus simulating typical wind action. Number of fasteners connecting the cladding and the frame is crucial for the “stressed skin design” concept, so this parameter was varied through the analysis. The stiffness of the fastener devices was simulated in two ways: (1) simplified, by merging of the adjacent nodes of the cladding and the frame, and (2) more accurately, using special joint elements with prescribed stiffness. Obtained stresses and deformations were compared, and they showed obvious advantages of the “stressed skin design” over braced frame design, both in structural, and in economical aspect. In addition, important practical guidelines for the “stressed skin design” using FEM were proposed.

Preconditions and Preparatory Steps of Implementing CLIL for Future Mathematics Teachers

This article focuses on the problem of implementing the integrated learning of Mathematics and English by future Mathematics teachers based on the Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) model. Our review of the literature confirms that this method is considered to be an effective approach to the formation and development of students’ subject knowledge and foreign language skills. This technology is significant for the professional training of future Mathematics teachers since they should be competent in both Mathematics and foreign language to effectively teach today’s schoolchildren. A student questionnaire was conducted and its analysis shows that students believe that CLIL will benefit them in the process of their professional training. Since the CLIL approach is multidimensional process, its implementation requires thorough preparation. This paper demonstrates and describes some specific steps in the preparatory stage for implementing the CLIL approach for the professional training of future Mathematics teachers: determining mathematical course, choosing its specific themes (units), planning for expected results, designing the organizational features of the educational process using the CLIL method and designing the appropriate teaching and methodological support. The possible variant for designing the preparatory stage for the integrated teaching and learning of “Number Theory” and English is suggested. It is demonstrated that the Mathematical and foreign language component of the expected educational outcomes need to be distinguished. The educational process should involve a special system of multilevel bilingual assignments. It also should have some special preconditions and joint activities of Mathematics and English teachers.

Preface

The 2019 Joint Cryogenic Engineering and International Cryogenic Materials Conferences were held from July 21 through July 25 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut. As at past conferences, the international scope of these meetings was strongly maintained with 24 countries being represented by 613 attendees who gathered to enjoy the joint technical programs, industrial exhibits, and special events.The program for the joint conferences included a total of 410 presentations in the plenary, oral, and poster sessions. Four plenary talks gave interesting in-depth overviews and discussions on the topics of the growing field of commercial application of hydrogen fuel-cells for specialized applications and large-scale semi-truck transportation, and recent 5x increase of liquid hydrogen production in the U.S.; Siemens’ perspectives on evolving hybrid-electric propulsion technologies for large commercial aircraft; the world-leading research opportunities with rare isotopes in nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, and the application of rare isotopes for society that the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FIRB) at Michigan State University will soon provide; and the impressive progress designing the next-gen SPARC fusion reactor 1st-ever utilizing 2nd-generation high-temperature-superconducting (HTS) wire. The attendees also convened for two Special Joint CEC-ICMC Symposia on i) Transportation, and ii) Quantum Computing, and seven Special-or-Focus Sessions were included in the programming emphasizing high-quality invited talks. Contributed papers covered a wide range of topics including many aspects in advances in cryogenics and superconductors, along with their applications. Both CEC and ICMC boards are encouraging student participation and career growth and provided registration support for 36 student applicants. In total, 207 papers were submitted for publication of which 190 are published in these conference proceedings.Full Preface information is available in the pdf.

Preface

The 2019 Joint Cryogenic Engineering and International Cryogenic Materials Conferences were held from July 21 through July 25 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, Connecticut. As at past conferences, the international scope of these meetings was strongly maintained with 24 countries being represented by 613 attendees who gathered to enjoy the joint technical programs, industrial exhibits, and special events.The program for the joint conferences included a total of 410 presentations in the plenary, oral, and poster sessions. Four plenary talks gave interesting in-depth overviews and discussions on the topics of the growing field of commercial application of hydrogen fuel-cells for specialized applications and large-scale semi-truck transportation, and recent 5x increase of liquid hydrogen production in the U.S.; Siemens’ perspectives on evolving hybrid-electric propulsion technologies for large commercial aircraft; the world-leading research opportunities with rare isotopes in nuclear physics, nuclear chemistry, and the application of rare isotopes for society that the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FIRB) at Michigan State University will soon provide; and the impressive progress designing the nextgen SPARC fusion reactor 1st-ever utilizing 2nd-generation high-temperature-superconducting (HTS) wire. The attendees also convened for two Special Joint CEC-ICMC Symposia on i) Transportation, and ii) Quantum Computing, and seven Special-or-Focus Sessions were included in the programming emphasizing high-quality invited talks. Contributed papers covered a wide range of topics including many aspects in advances in cryogenics and superconductors, along with their applications. Both CEC and ICMC boards are encouraging student participation and career growth and provided registration support for 36 student applicants. In total, 207 papers were submitted for publication of which 190 are published in these conference proceedings.Full Preface information is available in the pdf.

Theoretical Analysis of Spherical Bearings Lubricated with Greases

The paper presents theoretical researches concerning the spherical bearings lubricated with greases, in rheostatic conditions: high loads and low velocities. This type of bearing is very appropriate for modelling the human joints (hip, knee), spherical joints from automotive industry (pivots, connecting rods) or special joints from petroleum industry. Spherical bearings may be of the “fitted” type or the “clearance” type. The fitted type of nonflat bearing pad surface is lappedin to fit the runner. When it is operating, the fitted pad will have a varying film thickness across the pad sill, between the pad and the runner. Similarly, in the clearance type the film shape will be non-uniform across the pad sill. The variation in film thickness across the bearing pad, for nonflat pads, influences the resulting pressure distribution in the bearing pad and, hence, its load carrying capacity. In this paper, the pressure distribution and the load capacity are determined for “clearance” type bearings, for two different cases: complete spherical bearings and partial spherical bearings. It has been found that the eccentricity ratio influences the angular position of the maximum pressure, which becomes nearer to the minimum angle of the bearing, once with the increasing of the eccentricity ratio.

ТРАНСПОРТ МОНГОЛИИ

A general review of the Mongolia’s transport sector’s development in 2000– 2019, including road, railway, civil air, water transport sub-sectors, main indicators of transport by types, new big projects are described. Mongolia’s transit transport facilities between Russia and China, as well as between East Asia and Europe are increasing. An economic corridor Russia- Mongolia- China is under construction. A Russian- Mongolian special purpose joint venture to be established for feasibility study of main gas pipeline from Russia to China across Mongolia.

Longitudinal Characteristics of Lymphocyte Responses and Cytokine Profiles in the Peripheral Blood of SARS-CoV-2 Infected Patients

Background: The dynamic changes of lymphocyte subsets and cytokines profiles of patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and their correlation with the disease severity remain unclear. Method: Peripheral blood samples were longitudinally collected from 40 confirmed COVID-19 patients and examined for lymphocyte subsets by flow cytometry and cytokine profiles by specific immunoassays. Findings: Of the 40 COVID-19 patients enrolled, 13 severe cases showed significant and sustained decreases in lymphocyte counts but increases in neutrophil counts than 27 mild cases. Further analysis demonstrated significant decreases in the counts of T cells, especially CD8 + T cells, as well as increases in IL-6, IL-10, IL-2 and IFN-γ levels in the peripheral blood in the severe cases compared to those in the mild cases. T cell counts and cytokine levels in severe COVID-19 patients who survived the disease gradually recovered at later time points to levels that were comparable to those of the mild cases. Moreover, the neutrophil-to-CD8+ T cell ratio (N8R) were identified as the most powerful prognostic factor affecting the prognosis for severe COVID-19. Interpretation: The degree of lymphopenia and a proinflammatory cytokine storm is higher in severe COVID-19 patients than in mild cases, and is associated with the disease severity. N8R may serve as a useful prognostic factor for early identification of severe COVID-19 cases. Funding Statement: This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81861138044, 91742114 and 91642118), the National Science and Technology Major Project (2018ZX10723203, 2018ZX10302206, 2017ZX10202201, 2017ZX10202202 and 2017ZX10202203), the Innovation Team Project of Health Commission of Hubei Province (WJ2019C003), the Integrated Innovative Team for Major Human Diseases Program of Tongji Medical College and the “Double-First Class” Project for the International Cooperation Center on Infection and Immunity, HUST, and a special joint project of University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen. Declaration of Interests: The authors disclose no conflicts of interest. Ethics Approval Statement: A written informed consent was regularly obtained from all patients upon admission into Wuhan Union Hospital, China. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

The European Union and Latin America: A Bi-regional Strategic Alliance

The European Union, as a sui generis political system, is a multi-faceted entity. It is intergovernmentality that fundamentally characterises the definition of the Union’s foreign and security policy, its ties to other parts of the world, as well as its activities to resolve international conflicts. Relations between the two regions – the European Community and Latin America with the Caribbean – have become quite intensive over the last quarter century, although dialogue between the Parlatino, the Latin-American Parliament representing the countries of the region and the European Assembly (functioning as the European Parliament from 1986) started as early as the 1960s. In the 1980s the European Parliament declared cooperation with the Third World, and especially with the South American continent, strategically important. After Spain and Portugal’s accession to the European Community this dimension took shape as an attempt to create a special joint status between the EU and the Latin American region, a tightening of economic, political, and cultural links, primarily negotiated via Spanish mediation. From the first Iberoamerican Summit, organized in 1999 in RiodeJaneiro, the strategic alliance between the European Union and Latin America has evolved in various institutional forms: bioregional summits, cooperation with the diverse subregional organizations (the Andean Community of Nations, Mercosur, Union of South American Nations) and interregional entities (Ibero-American Community of Nations), as well as diverse development programs with mutual participation. The strategic partnership between Latin American countries and the European Union is also consolidated by the common history, values, culture and political aims embraced by the partners, as well as the shared ambitions of protecting democracy and consolidating a multipolar international community. Currently, an important face to the strategic partnership is the ambition to attenuate the asymmetrical characteristics of economic relations between the partners. The intensification of bonds between the two regions also has a serious impact in the evolution of international relations.

GAS POTENTIAL OF THE DNIPRO GRABEN AND DONETSK FOLDED STRUCTURE JOINT AREA

The location of Karlivka depression is described in this article. The depression is considered as a special geodynamic joint area of the Dnipro graben and Donetsk folded structure. The Phanerozoic geodynamic scale is used together with structural-facial complexes (SFC) developed by V.K. Gavrysh for the Dnieper-Donets Rift. The geodynamic joint area has a crescent shape and is the center of anomalous Early Permian deposits first described by I.I. Demianenko. The Permian Earth’s crust development is the beginning of the Alpine stage of the Earth’s expansion, which rocks (the Early Permian) are characterized by remarkable storage capacity, as well as the further Late Triassic and Early Cretaceous beddings. The integrated processing of remote sensing data and seismic measurements allowed to divide into districts the regional seismic profile named Lozova-Shebelynka-Staropokrivka in accordance with gas potential.

DOA Estimation in Impulsive Noise via Low-Rank Matrix Approximation and Weakly Convex Optimization

Conventional direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimators are vulnerable to impulsive noise. In this paper, to tackle this issue, a class of weakly convex-inducing penalties is introduced for robust DOA estimation via low-rank matrix approximation, where $\ell _{2,1}$ -norm is adopted as the metric for suppressing the outliers. Two iterative algorithms are developed to construct the noise-free data matrix. To avoid determining the number of sources, the DOAs are estimated by exploiting the special joint diagonalization structure of the constructed signal covariance matrix. Compared with several existing algorithms, the proposed methods enjoy faster computation, similar DOA estimation performance against impulsive noise and requiring no a priori information of the source number. Numerical experiments are included to demonstrate the outlier-resistance of our solutions.

Gas tungsten arc welding of copper to stainless steel for ultra-high vacuum applications

Abstract The GTAW method was employed for the dissimilar joining of OFHC copper and AISI 304 stainless steel. The special weld joint design of a modified socked-weld flange with edge joints made on short-flanged edges was used. The butt joint of the flange edges was designed to have different height and thickness. The welding was done without filler metal using a DC current of 80 A with pre-heating of the joint at 200 °C. The cross-sectional image of the specimen clearly indicated the fusion zone as a semicircular-shaped bead with the molten region about 0.7 mm from the top. The micro XRF mapping image revealed the heterogeneous elemental distributions of Cu, Fe, Cr, Ni and Mn in the fusion zone. The highest Mn concentration appeared in the Cu-rich area. At the interface, SEM images show the formation of small granules of Fe on the Cu side while the dendrites form near stainless steel. The structures of Fe and Cu were not changed during the welding process as determined by the XAS.