Evaluation of the System of Disaster Management Resulting from War Operations and Terrorism in Iraq

Nowadays the science of disaster and crisis management is considered as one of the important sciences all over the world. Therefore, disaster management is considered an important and common subject that requires great efforts. So continuous research is one of the important ways to establish the best methods to evaluate and develop the management of disasters and crises. Such methods are appropriate to deal with the suffering that many countries experience from natural and environmental disasters from time to time. This research aims to show the significance of disaster and crisis management in general. It also explores the current situation related to disaster response management in Iraq. This exploration focuses on the achievement of the basic functions of the management operation (planning, organizing, directing, controlling). In addition, it identifies the weaknesses and the strengths of the current administrative system in all its elements and analyses all the problems and the defects in every element, in order to treat and solve these problems and defects by making recommendations to improve the immediate response system to serve Iraqi disaster management in the future. In order to satisfy this aim, data collection included information obtained from literatures relating to disaster and crisis management. In addition, other information was obtained from a field survey of the directories of the civil defence in Iraq. Furthermore, collective and personal interviews with specialists related to disasters and crisis resulting from the war operations and terrorism were conducted. Analysis of the data results revealed many weak points in the current system and this was confirmed by the field survey. It showed us more clearly the areas where the weak points appear in the management function, especially in the planning and organization functions. One of the most important weak points is the absence of heavy equipment, as well as the shortage of specialist engineering staff and a dependence on assistance from other service departments. This is because of the local roles and the departmental management in the government. Finally, the study reached a set of conclusions and recommendations, including providing the directories of the civil defence with the heavy rescue equipment and providing specialist trained engineering staff to deal with the disasters and crises. Moreover, it sets in place an incentive scheme for the related members of the directories of the civil defence. Such schemes encourage them to continue working to face the unnatural circumstances that Iraq is experiencing and to create an environment similar to that of developed countries in the world. This contributes to overcoming the disasters of all shapes and reduces the damage to lives and property

Desarrollo normal y anormal de las funciones visuales en niños

Aquest treball de fi de grau se centra en estudiar el desenvolupament de la funció visual en nens des del naixement fins als dos anys d'edat, establint les principals fites o avenços evolutius que experimenten els nadons durant els primers mesos de vida (concretament, centrant-se en els d'entre 0 mesos i 2 anys). Aquest anàlisi del desenvolupament de la funció visual permet identificar aquells aspectes anormals a través dels quals, es poden detectar precoçment diverses patologies que afecten la visió. Aquesta detecció precoç es pot dur a terme mitjançant la implementació de diferents tècniques (espectrometria infraroja propera, tècnica de potencials evocats visuals o magnetoencefalografia coherent), així com proves i tests de detecció precoç (test de Lang, cartesde Teller, Lea Grating Acuity, Hirshberg, Brückner o el test de seguiment. i fixació, entre d'altres) adaptades a l'edat i les característiques comunicatives dels nens d'entre 0 i 2 anys, així com a les seves habilitats visuomotores i visuoespacials. D'aquesta manera, es poden identificar les principals condicions de visió que redueixen la funció visual del nen. Entre les més frequents es troben l’ambliopía refractiva i l’estrabisme, sovint associats a anisometropies i errors refractius d’hipermetropía i astigmatisme elevats. A més, el coneixement sobre el desenvolupament embriològic del sistema visual ha permès identificar diverses alteracions que condueixen a la ceguesa en els nadons o a una discapacitat visual greu. En aquest cas, el coloboma, l'anoftàlmia, la microftàlmia, la persistència de la vasculatura fetal, el glaucoma i la catarata congènita s'identifiquen com algunes de les principals alteracions, que poden ser provocades tant per causes genètiques com ambientals (infeccions)El presente trabajo fin de grado se centra en estudiar el desarrollo de la función visual en los menores desde el momento del nacimiento hasta los dos años de edad, estableciéndose para ello los principales hitos o avances del desarrollo que experimentan los bebés durante los primeros meses de vida (concretamente, profundizando en aquellos entre los 0 meses y los 2 años de edad). Este análisis del desarrollo de la función visual permite identificar aquellos aspectos anormales a través de los cuales detectar de manera temprana diversas patologías que afecten a la visión. Dicha detección temprana puede llevarse a cabo implementando diversas técnicas electrofisológicas (espectrometría de infrarrojo cercano, técnica de potenciales visuales evocados o magnetoencefalografía coherente), así como pruebas psicofísicas y de detección temprana (test de Lang, cartas de Teller, Lea Grating Acuity, Hirshberg, Brückner, cover test, retinoscopia o el test de seguimiento y fijación, entre otros) adaptados a la edad y las características comunicativas de los menores entre 0 y 2 años, así como a sus habilidades visuomotoras y visuoespaciales. De este modo pueden identificarse las principales anomalías que pueden reducir la función visual del menor. Entre las más frecuentes se encuentran la ambliopía refractiva y el estrabismo, a menudo asociadas a anisometropías y errores refractivos de hipermetropía y astigmatismo elevados. Además, el conocimiento acerca del desarrollo embriológico del sistema visual ha permitido identificar diversas alteraciones que provocan la ceguera del bebé o una discapacidad visual grave. En este caso, se identifican el coloboma, anoftalmia, microftalmia, persistencia de la vasculatura fetal, glaucoma y catarata congénita como algunas de las principales anomalías que pueden originarse tanto por causas genéticas como ambientales (infecciones).This dissertation focuses on studying the development of visual function in children from birth to two years of age, establishing the main milestones or developmental advances experienced by infants during the first months of life (specifically, focusing on children up to 2 years of age). This analysis of the development of visual function makes it possible to identify those abnormal aspects through which various pathologies affecting vision can be detected early. This early detection can be carried out by implementing various techniques (near infrared spectrometry, visual evoked potentials (VEP) or coherent magnetoencephalography), as well as early detection tests (Lang, Teller acuity charts, Lea Grating Acuity, Hirshberg, Brückner or fix and follow test, among others) adapted to the age and communicative characteristics of children between 0 and 2 years and to their visuo-motor and visuospatial skills. In summary, the main vision conditions that reduce the child's visual function can be identified. Among the most common are refractive amblyopia and strabismus, often associated with anisometropia and refractive errors of high hyperopia and astigmatism. In addition, knowledge about the embryological development of the visual system has identified several disorders that lead to blindness or severe visual impairment in infants. In this case, coloboma, anophthalmia and microphthalmia, persistent fetal vasculature, glaucoma and congenital cataracts are identified as some of the main anomalies, which can be caused by both genetic and environmental causes (infections)

Power calculation algorithm for single-phase droop-operated inverters considering nonlinear loads and unsing n-order SOGI filtering

The average active and reactive powers, P and Q, are crucial parameters that have to be calculated when sharing common loads between parallelized droop-operated single-phase inverters. However, the droop method algorithm should employ low-pass filters (LPF) with very low cut-off frequency to minimize the distortion impact in the provide droop amplitude and frequency references. This situation forces the droop control to operate at a very low dynamic velocity, degrading the stability of the parallelized system. For this reason, different solutions had been proposed in literature to increase the droop velocity, but the issues derived from the sharing of nonlinear loads had not been properly considered. This work proposes a novel method to calculate P and Q based on the fundamental components of the inverter's output voltage and current and using the measured phase angle between the output voltage and current. The method is used under normal and highly distorting conditions due to the sharing non-linear loads. The fundamental components are obtained by means of the highly filtering capability provided by norder cascaded second order generalized integrators (nSOGI). The proposed method leads to faster and more accurate P and Q calculations that enhances the droop-method dynamic performance. Simulations are provided to validate the proposal.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

A new LPF-based grid frequency estimation for the SOGI filter with improved harmonic rejection

This paper proposes a new method for the estimation of the grid voltage frequency using a low-pass filter (LPF) approach. The estimated frequency is used to tune a second order generalized integrator (SOGI) filter commonly used for grid monitoring purposes and applications requiring parameter estimation from the grid. A first-order LPF is used first for the estimation that behaves identically to the reported normalized SOGI-FLL. A second-order LPF is proposed instead to overcome this circumstance. The behavior of this approach is dynamically analyzed and a linearized model useful for design purposes is derived. The behavior of the proposed system is checked with simulations, showing that the model matches well with the real system and has a smoother transient response to step frequency perturbations and also a better rejection to harmonic distortion than previous approaches.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Guidance on Noncorticosteroid Systemic Immunomodulatory Therapy in Noninfectious Uveitis : Fundamentals Of Care for UveitiS (FOCUS) Initiative

Supplemental material available at www.aaojournal.org. Supported by AbbVie, Inc., and the Fundamentals of Care for Uveitis Initiative National Faculty. This manuscript was developed subsequent to an AbbVie-sponsored literature review of noninfectious, nonanterior uveitis. The meeting was conducted to understand the available literature regarding the management of patients with noninfectious, nonanterior uveitis. The program involved a total of 139 experts from 28 countries, who were selected for participation by AbbVie. However, AbbVie was not involved in the development of the manuscript. The authors maintained complete control over the content and this manuscript reflects the opinions of the authors. AbbVie selected the discussion participants and reviewed the final manuscript draft for scientific accuracy, but the authors determined the final content. All authors made substantial contributions to the article or critically revised it for important intellectual content and approved the final manuscript. AbbVie provided funding to invited participants, including honoraria for their attendance at the meetings. Travel to and from the meetings was reimbursed. No payments were made to the authors for the development of this manuscript. Dhinakaran Sambandan, PhD, and Shula Sarner, PhD, of Lucid Partners, Burleighfield House, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, provided medical writing and editorial support to the authors in the development of this manuscript; financial support for these services was provided by AbbVie. AbbVie reviewed the manuscript, but was not involved in the methodology, data collection and analysis, or completion of this manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Photon correlations from the Mollow triplet

Photon correlations between the photoluminescence peaks of the Mollow triplet have been known for a long time, and recently hailed as a resource for heralded single-photon sources. Here, we provide the full picture of photon-correlations at all orders (we deal explicitly with up to four photons) and with no restriction to the peculiar frequency windows that enclose the peaks. We show that a rich multi-photon physics lies between the peaks, due to transitions involving virtual photons, and thereby much more strongly correlated than those transiting through the real states. Specifically, we show that such emissions occur in bundles of photons rather than as successive, albeit correlated, photons. We provide the recipe to frequency-filter the emission of the Mollow triplet to turn it into a versatile and tunable photon source, allowing in principle all scenarios of photon emission, with advantages already at the one-photon level, i.e., providing more strongly correlated heralded single-photon sources than those already known.Spanish MINECO under contract FIS2015- 64951-R (CLAQUE), Newton fellowship of the Royal Society, POLAFLOW ERC project No. 30813

Validated outcome of treatment changes according to International League Against Epilepsy criteria in adults with drug-resistant focal epilepsy.

OBJECTIVE: Although many studies have attempted to describe treatment outcomes in patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, results are often limited by the adoption of nonhomogeneous criteria and different definitions of seizure freedom. We sought to evaluate treatment outcomes with a newly administered antiepileptic drug (AED) in a large population of adults with drug-resistant focal epilepsy according to the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) outcome criteria. METHODS: This is a multicenter, observational, prospective study of 1053 patients with focal epilepsy diagnosed as drug-resistant by the investigators. Patients were assessed at baseline and 6, 12, and 18 months, for up to a maximum of 34 months after introducing another AED into their treatment regimen. Drug resistance status and treatment outcomes were rated according to ILAE criteria by the investigators and by at least two independent members of an external expert panel (EP). RESULTS: A seizure-free outcome after a newly administered AED according to ILAE criteria ranged from 11.8% after two failed drugs to 2.6% for more than six failures. Significantly fewer patients were rated by the EP as having a "treatment failure" as compared to the judgment of the investigator (46.7% vs 62.9%, P < 0.001), because many more patients were rated as "undetermined outcome" (45.6% vs 27.7%, P < 0.001); 19.3% of the recruited patients were not considered drug-resistant by the EP. SIGNIFICANCE: This study validates the use of ILAE treatment outcome criteria in a real-life setting, providing validated estimates of seizure freedom in patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy in relation to the number of previously failed AEDs. Fewer than one in 10 patients achieved seizure freedom on a newly introduced AED over the study period. Pseudo drug resistance could be identified in one of five cases

Guidance on noncorticosteroid systemic immunomodulatory therapy in noninfectious uveitis: fundamentals of care for uveitis (focus) initiative

Topic: An international, expert-led consensus initiative to develop systematic, evidence-based recommendations for the treatment of noninfectious uveitis in the era of biologics. Clinical Relevance: The availability of biologic agents for the treatment of human eye disease has altered practice patterns for the management of noninfectious uveitis. Current guidelines are insufficient to assure optimal use of noncorticosteroid systemic immunomodulatory agents. Methods: An international expert steering committee comprising 9 uveitis specialists (including both ophthalmologists and rheumatologists) identified clinical questions and, together with 6 bibliographic fellows trained in uveitis, conducted a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol systematic reviewof the literature (English language studies from January 1996 through June 2016; Medline [OVID], the Central Cochrane library, EMBASE,CINAHL,SCOPUS,BIOSIS, andWeb of Science). Publications included randomized controlled trials, prospective and retrospective studies with sufficient follow-up, case series with 15 cases or more, peer-reviewed articles, and hand-searched conference abstracts from key conferences. The proposed statements were circulated among 130 international uveitis experts for review.Atotal of 44 globally representativegroupmembersmet in late 2016 to refine these guidelines using a modified Delphi technique and assigned Oxford levels of evidence. Results: In total, 10 questions were addressed resulting in 21 evidence-based guidance statements covering the following topics: when to start noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory therapy, including both biologic and nonbiologic agents; what data to collect before treatment; when to modify or withdraw treatment; how to select agents based on individual efficacy and safety profiles; and evidence in specific uveitic conditions. Shared decision-making, communication among providers and safety monitoring also were addressed as part of the recommendations. Pharmacoeconomic considerations were not addressed. Conclusions: Consensus guidelines were developed based on published literature, expert opinion, and practical experience to bridge the gap between clinical needs and medical evidence to support the treatment of patients with noninfectious uveitis with noncorticosteroid immunomodulatory agents

An adapted heat transfer model for engines with tumble motion

In the last years, a growing interest about increasing the engine efficiency has led to the development of new engine technologies. The accurate determination of the heat transfer across the combustion chamber walls is highly relevant to perform a valid thermal balance while evaluating the potential of new engine concepts. Several works dealing with heat transfer correlations that consider the swirl motion are found in the literature; however, there is a lack of works dealing with heat transfer correlations which take into account the effect of the tumble movement. In this work, a new heat transfer model accounting for the tumble motion is presented. A two stroke HSDI Diesel engine with high tumble and no swirl is used to perform the theoretical study, the model development and its final calibration. Initially, a theoretical analysis of the gas movement phenomena is carried out based on CFD results and then, a model is developed and calibrated based on a skip-fire testing technique. Finally, a sensitivity study focused on evaluating the model robustness is performed. The results confirm an average RMSE reduction of 70% with respect to the Woschni model, being this consistent improvement qualitatively evidenced in the instantaneous heat transfer evolutionThe support of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (TRA2013-41348-R) is greatly acknowledged.Olmeda González, PC.; Martín Díaz, J.; Novella Rosa, R.; Carreño, R. (2015). An adapted heat transfer model for engines with tumble motion. Applied Energy. 158:190-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.08.051S19020215