Modeling steel corrosion in concrete structures - part 2: A unified adaptive finite element model for simulation of steel corrosion

Recently, numerical methods that can reliably predict the service life of reinforced concrete structures have attracted increasing attention. In this, the second of two companion papers, relevant literature on numerical modeling of steel corrosion is first reviewed. Then, a unified and straight-forward algorithm that is capable of performing different types of steel corrosion modeling using a single scheme is presented, based on the new inverse relation relating the current density with potential for the cathodic reaction proposed in the companion paper. Besides being significantly more efficient computationally arising from the selective mesh refinement feature of adaptive finite element modeling, the proposed algorithm can also efficiently model complex geometries and incorporate parameters that vary over the domain.© 2010 by ESG

Modeling steel corrosion in concrete structures - part 1: A new inverse relation between current density and potential for the cathodic reaction

Corrosion of steel reinforcement can seriously compromise the service life of reinforced concrete structures. Hence, service life prediction and enhancement of concrete structures under corrosion attack are of significant importance. As a result, numerical methods that can reliably predict the service life of concrete structures have attracted increasing attention. In this, the first of two companion papers, a simple and significantly improved inverse relation relating the current density with potential for the cathodic reaction is proposed. This enables the current densities to be determined accurately from the measured potentials. Equally importantly, the proposed inverse relation also enables the efficient and straight-forward nonlinear algorithm for modeling of steel corrosion in concrete structures to be developed. Such an algorithm is presented in the companion paper of this. © 2010 by ES

Modeling steel corrosion in concrete structures - part 2: A unified adaptive finite element model for simulation of steel corrosion

Recently, numerical methods that can reliably predict the service life of reinforced concrete structures have attracted increasing attention. In this, the second of two companion papers, relevant literature on numerical modeling of steel corrosion is first reviewed. Then, a unified and straight-forward algorithm that is capable of performing different types of steel corrosion modeling using a single scheme is presented, based on the new inverse relation relating the current density with potential for the cathodic reaction proposed in the companion paper. Besides being significantly more efficient computationally arising from the selective mesh refinement feature of adaptive finite element modeling, the proposed algorithm can also efficiently model complex geometries and incorporate parameters that vary over the domain.© 2010 by ESG

BeWith: A Between-Within Method to Discover Relationships between Cancer Modules via Integrated Analysis of Mutual Exclusivity, Co-occurrence and Functional Interactions

The analysis of the mutational landscape of cancer, including mutual exclusivity and co-occurrence of mutations, has been instrumental in studying the disease. We hypothesized that exploring the interplay between co-occurrence, mutual exclusivity, and functional interactions between genes will further improve our understanding of the disease and help to uncover new relations between cancer driving genes and pathways. To this end, we designed a general framework, BeWith, for identifying modules with different combinations of mutation and interaction patterns. We focused on three different settings of the BeWith schema: (i) BeME-WithFun in which the relations between modules are enriched with mutual exclusivity while genes within each module are functionally related; (ii) BeME-WithCo which combines mutual exclusivity between modules with co-occurrence within modules; and (iii) BeCo-WithMEFun which ensures co-occurrence between modules while the within module relations combine mutual exclusivity and functional interactions. We formulated the BeWith framework using Integer Linear Programming (ILP), enabling us to find optimally scoring sets of modules. Our results demonstrate the utility of BeWith in providing novel information about mutational patterns, driver genes, and pathways. In particular, BeME-WithFun helped identify functionally coherent modules that might be relevant for cancer progression. In addition to finding previously well-known drivers, the identified modules pointed to the importance of the interaction between NCOR and NCOA3 in breast cancer. Additionally, an application of the BeME-WithCo setting revealed that gene groups differ with respect to their vulnerability to different mutagenic processes, and helped us to uncover pairs of genes with potentially synergetic effects, including a potential synergy between mutations in TP53 and metastasis related DCC gene

Asian American Studies and the Fight for Worker Justice

This essay explores higher education–labor partnerships in the contemporary era between Asian American Studies (AAS), the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), and AAS community partnerships. With the intensified attacks on workers, unions, and Asian American, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color, the importance of higher education and labor and community partnerships will be a valuable resource to expand critical research and participatory education. These partnerships embody the community studies’ roots of AAS. Using three case studies, this essay highlights these partnerships and concludes with a discussion of the opportunities and challenges students can experience when working in labor union spaces and recommendations for building university-labor partnerships

The future of robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery

Introduction: Since the first revolution of robotic-assisted surgery officially happened in 2000, the healthcare service worldwide has transformed into a new era due to its superior technological advancements, particularly in laparoscopic surgery. Da Vinci which is seen as a master-slave system and Kymerax which is categorized as a hand-held device are commonly used in robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery. Whilst a conventional or open method requires a large incision to perform a surgery, laparoscopy - a minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is an advantageous surgical method which reduces an abdominal incision to a minimum, and effectively exploited with robots. Methods: Based on available articles with the object of robotic surgical surgery, two SWOT analysis for Da Vinci and Kymerax were formulated to understand strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of each system in comparison with the traditional laparoscopic surgery. From that, the future outlook is anticipated based on the scientific background. Results: Alongside technological advantages of Da Vinci mainly known as 6-degree of freedom, dexterity enhancement, stereovision, tremor filtering and especially minimal invasive surgery, it still has disadvantages that are not neglectable such as huge investment and lack of haptic feedback. Although the malfunction rate of Da Vinci is not significantly high, surgeons should be aware of it to fix or alter instruments in time. Kymerax is not as advanced as Da Vinci but it can fill in the gap of the Da Vinci which includes thelarge investment and bulky instruments. The Kymerax is the low-cost hand-held device allowing multiple degrees of freedom. It is an optimal combination between traditional performance and robotic performance allowing surgeons to manipulate in their hands and ensure haptic feedback. Conclusions: Both Da Vinci and Kymerax systems offer superior benefits for medical service due to the ongoing technological growth. The cost-effectiveness of Da Vinci system is currently a problematic issue when medical institutions consider to install them. The surgical instruments market, however, has become highly competitive which is likely leading to the decline of the costly investments. In the digital world nowadays, it will be a promising future for more integrated medical inventions