Computed tomography assessment of temporomandibular joint position and dimensions in patients with class II division 1 and division 2 malocclusions

This study aimed to investigate and compare the positions and dimensions of the temporomandibular joint and its components, respectively, in patients with Class II division 1 and division 2 malocclusions. Computed tomography images of 14 patients with Class II division 1 and 14 patients with Class II division 2 malocclusion were included with a mean age of 11.4 ± 1.2 years. The following temporomandibular joint measurements were made with OsiriX medical imaging software program. From the sagittal images, the anterior, superior, and posterior joint spaces and the mandibular fossa depths were measured. From the axial images, the greatest anteroposterior and mediolateral diameters of the mandibular condyles, angles between the long axis of the mandibular condyle and midsagittal plane, and vertical distances from the geometric centers of the condyles to midsagittal plane were measured. The independent samples t-test was used for comparing the measurements between the two sides and between the Class II division 1 and 2 groups. No statistically significant differences were observed between the right and left temporomandibular joints; therefore, the data were pooled. There were statistically significant differences between the Class II division 1 and 2 groups with regard to mandibular fossa depth and anterior joint space measurements. In Class II patients, the right and left temporomandibular joints were symmetrical. In the Class II division 1 group, the anterior joint space was wider than that in Class II division 2 group, and the mandibular fossa was deeper and wider in the Class II division 1 group

Audit Quality: A Bibliometric Analysis (1981-2020)

The increase in the number of studies on audit quality and the interest of both researchers and authorities in the subject in recent years has been the motivation of the study. Bibliometry was chosen as a method in the study because it provides the opportunity to look at the literature of the area studied from a broad perspective. The study aims to make a bibliometric analysis of studies published in English in the field of social sciences in the Scopus database on audit quality (AQ). This analysis covers 1419 articles from 1981 to March 2020. It has been determined that academic research on AQ has increased dramatically since the 2000s. ‘Audit quality’, ‘audit fees’, ‘earning management’ issues are up-to-date in the studies carried out; Researches on ‘Public Company Accounting Oversight Board' (PCAOB), ‘financial reporting’ and ‘audit committee’ turned out to be on the rise. The country that gets the most citation on the subject is USA. It was also concluded that numerous non-authors frequently collaborated amongst them to contribute to the development of the field. In addition, although there are publications using a qualitative research method with the increasing number of publications with AQ, it is the first bibliometric and social network analysis in the study area. While this study helps to create the conceptual framework that still causes controversy in the field of AQ; It can be a guiding resource in determining future studies and regulations.JEL Codes - C00; M4

They told me they couldnt help me: Protection Risks Facing Non-Ukrainian Asylum Seekers and Refugees Fleeing Ukraine to the EU

Thousands of non-Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers who fled Ukraine following Russia's invasion continue to face significant barriers to protection and integration across the European Union, according to new research from HIAS and its Ukrainian partner Right to Protection (R2P). The research finds that, while the EU and its member states have delivered commendable protection for Ukrainians forced to flee, third country nationals and stateless people have fallen through the cracks of the EU's asylum policy

Temporary Refuge from War: Customary International Law and the Syrian Conflict

The rule of temporary refuge forms the cornerstone of states’ response in cases of large-scale influx of refugees. In the context of civilians fleeing armed conflict, this legal rule imposes a positive obligation on all states to admit and not to return anyone to a situation of risk to life, and to provide basic rights commensurate with human dignity. Also implicit in the rule is the expectation of shared responsibility for large numbers of refugees and international cooperation towards durable solutions. This article examines the customary international law of temporary refuge (also known as temporary protection) in relation to the Syrian conflict. It discusses implementation of the rule in the practices of three neighbouring countries to Syria, and in the EU. It finds Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan to have engaged in practices consistent with the rule of temporary refuge. However, the EU decided not to use the Temporary Protection Directive; instead individual member states have relied on the Refugee Convention and EU law, combined with various other measures not pertinent to temporary protection. It concludes that shared responsibility is the linchpin of temporary refuge. Absent this keystone, the rule of temporary refuge is likely to continue being implemented primarily in a regional context by countries the nearest to the country affected by conflict, as seen in the case of Syria

Customising games for non-formal rehabilitation

The field of rehabilitation has increasingly adopted commercially available games using perceptual interfaces as a means for physically training patients. The adaptability of such systems to match each person’s need and rehabilitation goal remains problematic. This paper presents a rapid prototyping approach for customising gaming technology using various affordable commercial devices and open source software. We first demonstrate how a freely available game is adapted for training disabled people through different sensors and control modes. We then show how an open online virtual world such as Second Life® offers sufficient conditions for quickly building custom content for testing with interactive devices. When presented with these prototyping possibilities, people from the target groups (healthcare professionals, patients, people with disabilities, older people, families) related such systems to their needs and further elaborated on the use of such systems. Our research indicates how availability of simple prototyping platforms expands upon the possibilities for developers and practitioners

Collaboration with agents in VR environments

Virtual reality is gaining on importance in many fields – scientific simulation, training, therapy and also more and more in entertainment. All these applications require the human user to interact with virtual worlds inhabited by intelligent characters and to solve simulated or real problems. This thesis will present an integrated approach to simulated problem solving in virtual reality environments, with the emphasis on teamwork and the ability to control the simulations. A simulation framework satisfying these goals will be presented. A unified approach to the representation of semantic information in virtual environments based on predicate calculus will be introduced, including the representation of the world state, action semantics and basic axioms holding in the simulated world. Afterwards, the focus will be on the collaboration model based on task delegation and facilitator-centric architecture. A simple but efficient facilitator design will be presented. The issues of the collaborative problem solving will be examined. A new technique using propositional (STRIPS-like) planning with delegated actions and object-specific planning will be described. A control technique for virtual characters/objects will be detailed, enabling run-time exchange of control and control sharing over a virtual entity between multiple autonomous agents and/or human users. Finally, a set of case studies will be shown, illustrating the possible applications of the techniques developed and described in this dissertation