COMPUTATIONAL SIMULATIONS FOR HOMOGENIZATION OF MASONRY STRUCTURES

In this paper proposed the application of two-parameters damage model, based on non-linear finite element approach, to the analysis of masonry panels. Masonry is treated as a homogenized material, for which the material characteristics can be defined by using homogenization technique. The masonry panels subjected to shear loading are studied by using the proposed procedure within the framework of three-dimensional analyses. The nonlinear behaviour of masonry can be modelled using concepts of damage theory. In this case an adequate damage function is defined for taking into account different response of masonry under tension and compression states. Cracking can, therefore, be interpreted as a local damage effect, defined by the evolution of known material parameters and by one or several functions which control the onset and evolution of damage. The model takes into account all the important aspects which should be considered in the nonlinear analysis of masonry structures such as the effect of stiffness degradation due to mechanical effects and the problem of objectivity of the results with respect to the finite element mesh. Finally the proposed damage model is validated with a comparison with experimental results available in the literature

Folate receptor-mediated cervical staining as an adjunct to colposcopy which can improve the diagnostic accuracy of detecting high grade squamous intraepithelial lesions

Objectives: Cervical cancer is rated fourth in terms of incidence and cancer-related mortality in women. Cytology-basedscreening programs and colposcopy provided insufficient rates of detecting cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) promptingresearchers to develop new tools. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether folate receptor-mediated staining isuseful in detecting CIN2+ during gynecological examination with colposcopy.Material and methods: In total 96 women with abnormal cytology findings were enrolled. The study was conducted on thePolish population. The diagnostic process consisted of colposcopy, receptor-mediated diagnosis (FRD), and histopathologyexamination. All women were subjected to the same diagnostic procedure.Results: The patient mean age of 96 women was 38 ± 14.5 years. On colposcopy, high-grade lesions were detected in83 women. The FRD gave positive results in 63 women. Histopathology revealed 1 case of carcinoma plano epithelial akeratodes,21 cases of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, 13 cases of low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. A totalof 61 cases presented no pathology. FRD as an adjunct to colposcopy gave the following test results in detecting CIN2+lesions: sensitivity — 94.29%, specificity — 46.67%, PPV — 50.77%, NPV — 93.33%, and accuracy — 64.21%. Using bothtechniques provided better results than using each of the tests alone.Conclusions: FRD is a promising test for the diagnosing CIN2+ cervical pathologies because it can increase the probabilityof detecting CIN2+ without any additional burden posed on patients. Further studies should be conducted on large andvarious populations to complement current evidence

Use of electrical impedance spectroscopy as an adjunct to colposcopy in a pathway of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia diagnostics

Objectives: Screening with cytology decreases cervical cancer burden, but new methods have emerged. We assessed the diagnostic value of electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in the real-world gynecological setting. The study aimed to determine the diagnostic usefulness of EIS used as an adjunct to colposcopies in the diagnosis of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in women with abnormal cytology findings. Material and methods: A cross-sectional, single center, observational study considered 143 women. All were subjected to a colposcopy and EIS with ZedScan. ZedScan-guided or colposcopically-guided biopsies were carried out. Results: Data from 118 women were analyzed. The average age of the included women was 38.29 } 12.52 years (range: 22–86 years). Overall, 27 had a diagnosis of CIN2+ and above on histopathological examination, 99 had low-grade colposcopy results, 18 had high-grade colposcopy results, and 80 had positive ZedScan examination. No adverse events related to the examination with ZedScan were observed. EIS used as an adjunct to colposcopies showed sensitivity of 96.30% (95% CI: 81.03–99.91) and specificity of 39.56% (95% CI: 29.46–50.36), and accuracy of 52.54% (95% CI: 43.15–61.81). The procedure allowed to detect 11 additional cases with positive histo-pathological result in comparison to colposcopies alone. Conclusions: Colposcopies performed with ZedScan as an adjunct were effective in detecting high-grade cervical lesions. Advantages of ZedScan include real-time result display, no additional diagnostic burden posed on the patient, and good safety profile. Studies on large patient cohorts are needed for further evaluations of this diagnostic procedure and factors which may affect its diagnostic accuracy

Enhancing Positioning Accuracy in Urban Terrain by Fusing Data from a GPS Receiver, Inertial Sensors, Stereo-Camera and Digital Maps for Pedestrian Navigation

The paper presents an algorithm for estimating a pedestrian location in an urban environment. The algorithm is based on the particle filter and uses different data sources: a GPS receiver, inertial sensors, probability maps and a stereo camera. Inertial sensors are used to estimate a relative displacement of a pedestrian. A gyroscope estimates a change in the heading direction. An accelerometer is used to count a pedestrian’s steps and their lengths. The so-called probability maps help to limit GPS inaccuracy by imposing constraints on pedestrian kinematics, e.g., it is assumed that a pedestrian cannot cross buildings, fences etc. This limits position inaccuracy to ca. 10 m. Incorporation of depth estimates derived from a stereo camera that are compared to the 3D model of an environment has enabled further reduction of positioning errors. As a result, for 90% of the time, the algorithm is able to estimate a pedestrian location with an error smaller than 2 m, compared to an error of 6.5 m for a navigation based solely on GPS

Comparisons of Daily Behavior Across 21 Countries

While a large body of research has investigated cultural differences in behavior, this typical study assesses a single behavioral outcome, in a single context, compared across two countries. The current study compared a broad array of behaviors across 21 countries (N ¼ 5,522). Participants described their behavior at 7:00 p.m. the previous evening using the 68 items of the Riverside Behavioral Q-sort (RBQ). Correlations between average patterns of behavior in each country ranged from r ¼ .69 to r ¼ .97 and, in general, described a positive and relaxed activity. The most similar patterns were United States/Canada and least similar were Japan/United Arab Emirates (UAE). Similarities in behavior within countries were largest in Spain and smallest in the UAE. Further analyses correlated average RBQ item placements in each country with, among others, country-level value dimensions, personality traits, self-esteem levels, economic output, and population. Extroversion, openness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, selfesteem, happiness, and tolerant attitudes yielded more significant correlations than expected by chance