Charles Emmerson, 1913: In Search of the World Before the Great War, New York, PublicAffairs, 2013

Astăzi, anul 1913 este văzut prin prisma anului 1914: drept ultimul an înaintea războiului care a zguduit Europa din toate încheieturile, a distrus ordinea economică, micșorându-i drastic influența la nivel global. Privind retrospectiv, lumea acelui an se reduce la: teama de revoluții, rivalitățile nerezolvate dintre marile puteri, violența în Balcani. Odată cu împlinirea a 100 de ani de la începutul Primului Război Mondial, Charles Emmerson se întoarce în trecut și încearcă să descrie lumea, așa cum apărea ea contemporanilor în 1913

Exergetic Analysis of a Cogeneration System for Cooling and Heating

The paper deals with a heat pump system for the food industry characterized by two products - refrigeration and heating. The working fluid is ammonia, an ecological refrigerant harmless for the environment. For every apparatus, corresponding to its utility and operating field, the exergetic balance states the “product” and “fuel”. The work analyses the conduct of the system at the variation of the operating and constructive parameters. The exergoeconomic technique succeeds in pointing out for every dissipative zone the exergy destruction and losses

The DREAM Dataset: Supporting a data-driven study of autism spectrum disorder and robot enhanced therapy

We present a dataset of behavioral data recorded from 61 children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The data was collected during a large-scale evaluation of Robot Enhanced Therapy (RET). The dataset covers over 3000 therapy sessions and more than 300 hours of therapy. Half of the children interacted with the social robot NAO supervised by a therapist. The other half, constituting a control group, interacted directly with a therapist. Both groups followed the Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) protocol. Each session was recorded with three RGB cameras and two RGBD (Kinect) cameras, providing detailed information of children’s behavior during therapy. This public release of the dataset comprises body motion, head position and orientation, and eye gaze variables, all specified as 3D data in a joint frame of reference. In addition, metadata including participant age, gender, and autism diagnosis (ADOS) variables are included. We release this data with the hope of supporting further data-driven studies towards improved therapy methods as well as a better understanding of ASD in general.CC BY 4.0DREAM - Development of robot-enhanced therapy for children with autism spectrum disorders

THE IMPORTANCE OF ARTICULAR MOBILITY TESTING DURING TMJ CLINICAL EXAMINATION TECHNIQUE

Introduction The examination of the temporomandibular joint represents a primary phase in the clinical evaluation of any patient, weighing extremely heavy especially when diagnosing the dysfunctional syndrome. There are 3 directions of examination, but the last one in almost unknown, used neither, although is so important for complex oral rehabilitation. Goal So, we want to describe this method, to make aware all practitioners of its importance. During objective examination of TMJ, we must to do inspection, palpation, auscultation and also to explore the vertical mobility (open-close movements) or the horizontal mobility (propulsory, retropulsory, laterality, latero-pulsory movements). Knowing normal values of measured amplitudes, we can recognize TMJ pathology. Conclusion: Clinical examination of TMJ must be done correctly and following all steps, in this manner the practitioner will be able to detect all evident or less evident signs and to formulate the most precise diagnosis

Studies on the Short-Term Effects of the Cease of Pesticides Use on Vineyard Microbiome

In this chapter, an overview of the impact of phytosanitary treatments on the vineyard microbiome is provided, together with the results of the research we conducted. The studied plant material consisted of grapevine from the cultivars Sauvignon blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon, cultivated within the plantation of the Research Station for Viticulture and Enology from Murfatlar, Romania. For each cultivar, a treated plot and an untreated plot were established. For each of those, the phyllosphere microbiota was quantified using the epifluorescence microscopy method, followed by automated image analysis using CellC software. At the same time, the soil fungal diversity was evaluated in three stages during the year 2021, using microscopic morphological criteria. The results give useful information regarding the phytosanitary state of the studied plant, as well as the short-term effects produced by the ceasing of pesticide application on the grapevine microbiota

Sustainable Development of Human Society in Terms of Natural Depleting Resources Preservation Using Natural Renewable Raw Materials in a Novel Ecological Material Production

In the last few years, the building industry experienced a significant development as a response to the demographic growth of human society and to the increasing demand for housing. Their construction involves the traditional use of concrete as a material that provides added strength to the finished building. This is manufactured respecting standard recipes depending on the way of its use. Anyway, all concrete recipes involve the use of mineral aggregates extracted from the riverbed, as is happening in Romania, or rock blocks crushing, as reported in other countries. Under these conditions, the rationalization of the use of natural mineral resources and the identification of new possibilities to reduce their consumption through their replacement with vegetal waste has become an important research issue. In this study, two types of vegetal waste—namely, shredded corn cobs and sunflower stalks—were used to manufacture novel ecological concretes. The vegetal wastes, both in untreated and treated forms (with 20% and 40% of sodium silicate solution), were used to replace 50% of the river (mineral) aggregate volume. The obtained concretes were tested, and the values of some important parameters in the concrete characterization (such as bulk density, water adsorption capacity, compressive strength and splitting tensile strength) were compared with the concrete contains cement CEM II/A-LL 42.5R. The obtained results show that these vegetal wastes have the potential to be used in the manufacturing of new ecological concrete. In addition, this alternative material meets the requirements for the sustainable and healthy development of the environment, offering low-polluting solutions in the context of an increasing demand for constructions

New heterogeneous catalysts for mild oxidation of S-containing organic compounds

International audienceTitanosilicate (1.5 wt.% Ti) with very well-ordered MCM-48 mesostructure was synthesized using fumed silica and titanium isopropoxide as silicon and titanium sources, respectively. It was successfully used as new catalyst for the mild oxidation of Scontaining organic compounds with H2O2. Recent results obtained by our group in the sulfoxidation reaction usingW-, V- and Mocontaining layered double hydroxides as catalysts are also reviewed in this paper. The catalytic materials were characterized by appropriate techniques such as X-ray diffraction, N2 adsorption, thermal gravimetric analysis, diffuse reflectance ultraviolet spectroscopy in order to evaluate their textural properties and the nature of the metal species

CENTRIC RELATION BETWEEN CHIMERA AND REALITY- A NARRATIVE REVIEW

Introduction: The multitude of definitions for the centric relation (CR) has sparked extensive scientific debates, marking significant milestones in the evolution of concepts in these fields. The discourse surrounding CR has remained contentious for over a century, and there is still a persistent divergence of perspectives. Aim: This narrative review aims to unravel the evolutionary trajectory of CR definitions, seeking to untangle the existing confusion prevalent within specialized literature. Moreover, it endeavors to provide guiding principles within this contentious domain, offering valuable insights to practitioners, students, educators, and researchers. Discussion: Dentistry has not arrived at a consensus definition and concept of CR. Even in the era of evidence-based dentistry, CR still leaves room for controversy. Conclusion: The evolution of the CR concept and its definition, progressing from the exact specification of the maxillomandibular relationship, temporomandibular joint elements, and hinge axis and to its partial “abandonment” due to the individuality and particularities of the patients, should be contextualized within the functional and adaptable nature of the stomatognathic system

ASPECTS IN TREATING REDUCED EDENTULOUS STATUS BY MINIMALLY INVASIVE BRIDGE FOR A YOUNG PATIENT – CASE REPORT

Aim of the study. For a young patient it is important to re-establish the integrity and the functions of dental arches, quickly and efficient, in optimum conditions, with many advantages. Material and methods The study balanced the possibilities to fabricate a minimally invasive bridge for a young patient in order to appreciate the characteristics of a Maryland bridge in treating a reduced edentulous status. Results The study revealed that a minimally invasive bridge placed in the posterior area of a lower arch, fabricated on a metallic framework and an aesthetic part made by resin composite material represent a favourable option as a temporary reconstruction. Conclusions The precision of such minimally invasive bridges and the variability of the materials and technologies that can be used, determine the young patients to accept them as a treatment for reduced edentulous status

Estimation of the energy production of a parabolic trough solar thermal power plant using analytical and artificial neural networks models

The accurate estimation of a concentrated solar power plant production is an important issue because of the fluctuations in meteorological parameters like solar radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed, and humidity. In this work, three models were conducted in order to estimate the hourly electric production of a parabolic trough solar thermal power plant (PTSTPP) located at Ain Beni-Mathar in Eastern Morocco. First, two analytical models are considered. The first analytical model (AM I) is based on calculating the heat losses of parabolic trough collectors (PTCs), while the second analytical model (AM II) is based on the thermal efficiency of PTCs. The third model is an artificial neural networks (ANN) model derived from artificial intelligence techniques. All models are validated using one year of real operating data. The simulation results indicate that the ANN model performs much better than the analytical models. Accordingly, the ANN model results show that the estimated annual electrical energy is about 42.6 GW h/year, while the operating energy is approximately 44.7 GWh/year. The frequency of occurrence shows that 86.77% of hourly values were estimated with a deviation of less than 3 MW h. The developed ANN model is readily useable to estimate energy production for PTSTPP