Effects of various test regimes on fatigue behaviour of PMMA bone cement: a comparative study

Numerous testing regimes have been used in vitro to assess the fatigue behaviour of acrylic bone cements. While some attempts have been made to introduce an optimal protocol that measures the fatigue life of bone cement under similar stress conditions to those exist in vivo, the effects of specific testing variables such as test specimen specification and stress parameters are still questionable. These factors can be important since inconsistency in results have been reported regarding the precise effects of other variables such as the mixing method of cement components and the resultant porosity. For a given series of testing variables; namely, specimen cross sectional shape, surface production method and stress type and level (herein collectively termed testing regime), this study investigates the effect of each variable on both the fatigue life and the fatigue crack propagation properties (fatigue behaviour) of bone cement. Testing was constantly performed in 37˚C saline under stress-controlled conditions at a frequency of 3Hz (2Hz for the CT specimens). All specimens were produced after vacuum mixing of the cement components and soaked in 37˚C saline for 1- 6 weeks. Specimens were manufactured with two cross sectional shapes: rectangular (ISO 527-2) and circular (ASTM F2118), using two production methods: direct moulding or machining. Two different bone cements were used: SmartSet GHV and CMW1. For each specimen type, at least 10 specimens were fatigued to failure at a maximum stress of 20 MPa applying either fully reversed tension-compression (R= –1) or tension-tension (R= 0.1) loading, followed by Weibull analysis. For the fully reversed loading only, at least 5 specimens were tested for each group at other three levels: ±12.5, ±15 and ±30 MPa and the four stresses were compared using S-N curves. Behaviour of fatigue cracks were assessed based on the cyclic stress-strain responses. CT specimens were used to measure the crack growth rates in the two cements. The findings of this study have emphasised the important role of the set of a testing regime variables included in testing and identified the influence of each testing variable on the fatigue behaviour of bone cement. Machining of test specimens and applying high stress levels, in particular, can lead to irrelevant findings when considering the in vivo conditions, depending also on the cement composition. While these “inappropriate” testing variables can be considered as possible reasons for the variations in fatigue results reported in previous work, it is suggested to consider the effects of these variables in future work

Interconnection Networks Embeddings and Efficient Parallel Computations.

To obtain a greater performance, many processors are allowed to cooperate to solve a single problem. These processors communicate via an interconnection network or a bus. The most essential function of the underlying interconnection network is the efficient interchanging of messages between processes in different processors. Parallel machines based on the hypercube topology have gained a great respect in parallel computation because of its many attractive properties. Many versions of the hypercube have been introduced by many researchers mainly to enhance communications. The twisted hypercube is one of the most attractive versions of the hypercube. It preserves the important features of the hypercube and reduces its diameter by a factor of two. This dissertation investigates relations and transformations between various interconnection networks and the twisted hypercube and explore its efficiency in parallel computation. The capability of the twisted hypercube to simulate complete binary trees, complete quad trees, and rings is demonstrated and compared with the hypercube. Finally, the fault-tolerance of the twisted hypercube is investigated. We present optimal algorithms to simulate rings in a faulty twisted hypercube environment and compare that with the hypercube

Design of renewable energy system for a mobile office/hospital in an isolated rural area

This thesis proposes a standalone hybrid generation system by combining solar and wind energy with provision of a battery storage bank and diesel generator for back up usage. This thesis has discussed the optimization, sizing, and operational strategy of hybrid renewable energy system, which results in a minimum cost. Detailed AutoCAD drawings used in Energy3D and BEopt modeling which has been done for every component of the hybrid power system. The system dynamic model and simulations presented here was done in Matlab/Simulink, which is fast accurate software that includes dynamic and supervisory controllers. The proposed controller algorithm observes the available surplus/missing power in the system and regulates PV/Wind-Turbine and charging/discharging of the battery bank to maintain a stable system frequency. The simulation results obtained from Matlab/Simulink show that the overall hybrid framework is capable of working under the variable weather and load conditions

Retrospective investigation of enteric illnesses in pet animals

Recording and analysis of data are key elements to understand the epidemiology of various infectious and zoonotic diseases such as enteric pathogens and conditions. In this study, the clinical records of Alhelal Alazraq veterinary clinic in Tripoli were investigated for enteric diseases and illnesses in cats and dogs during the period of 2010–2015. The diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines within the Libyan veterinary system were also assessed and discussed based on the retrieved information and records. A total of 859 cases representing 528 (61%) from cats and 331 (39%) from dogs were retrieved and analysed using descriptive analysis. The cases were originated from five major areas from the center of Tripoli and the surrounding areas. Of these, 835/859 (97%) cases adopted antimicrobial based therapies and administered various antibiotic classes mainly and respectively using penicillin (652; 78%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (229; 27%). The current study is the first retrospective investigation that analysed clinical and medical information from a major veterinary clinic in Libya. Diagnostic and therapeutic guidelines in the veterinary settings in Libya should be carefully reviewed and addressed. Retrospective studies and research programmes that monitor and investigate the occurrences of zoonotic and emerging pathogens particularly in relation to antimicrobial resistance are warranted in the Libyan health and medical system

Mortality rates due to Bladder cancer in Iran during 2001-2007: A national cancer registry-based study

Introduction: Bladder cancer is the ninth common cause of cancers in both sexes worldwide. Nevertheless, little is known about the descriptive and analytic epidemiology of bladder cancer in Iran. The present study aimed to describe the nationwide distribution of death due to bladder cancer in Iran.Methods: This cross-sectional study used data of bladder cancer cases who were registered in the national cancer-registry system by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education during 2001-2007. Age-standardized mortality rates due to bladder cancer were presented according to nine geographic poles across the country.Results: The overall mortality rate of bladder cancer (per 100,000 population) was 2.26 in men and 1.36 in women; while the rates were constantly higher for men across all age groups.  The highest and lowest age-standardized mortality rates in provinces (per 100,000 population) belonged to Mazandaran (6.126) and Tehran (1.112), respectively.Conclusion: Death from bladder cancer seems to increase by age in Iran, mainly among men. This association might be partially due to increased life expectancy, altered high-risk lifestyle behaviors and/or improvement in cancer registration system. Information on the distribution of mortality due to bladder cancer could be useful for local prevention strategies, where specific profile of communities and patients is taken into account.

Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks - OMCO NET

The mini conference “Optimisation of Mobile Communication Networks” focuses on advanced methods for search and optimisation applied to wireless communication networks. It is sponsored by Research & Enterprise Fund Southampton Solent University. The conference strives to widen knowledge on advanced search methods capable of optimisation of wireless communications networks. The aim is to provide a forum for exchange of recent knowledge, new ideas and trends in this progressive and challenging area. The conference will popularise new successful approaches on resolving hard tasks such as minimisation of transmit power, cooperative and optimal routing

I Ran to Write: Travel, Translation, and Journalism on Persian Spaces

This thesis depicts three different modes of travel-writing on Iran: journalism, literary translation, and travelogue. With a comparative mindset that relates these modes of writing in the span of fifty years, I conceive of travel-writing in a broader sense, in order to think outside of its being a mere “genre.” Each mode of writing is a discipline on its own right, which is why each undergoes a distinct set of inquiries that suits their specific experience. The corpus chosen for this study are: fifteen journalistic reports on the uprising before the 1979 Iranian revolution, by Michel Foucault; two poems translated by Basil Bunting before and during World War II; and a travelogue by Robert Byron, published in 1937. These seemingly non-correlational discourses are lesser-studied works on Iran, and the inter-linkage between them will run concurrent with the individual study under question. In chapter one, Foucault’s reports will be studied in dialogue with his own philosophical evolution. Also, the reverberations of his “travelled ideas” will be traced in both his defenders and his critics, who praise or criticize him based on the aftermath of the events, not on his actual writings. In chapter two, I will turn to theories of translation to study Bunting’s political and poetic missions. These sometimes overlap, and therefore an in-depth analysis of his translated works are analyzed in relationship to his role in Iran as a British spy. While this chapter studies Bunting’s aesthetic and political missions in both his poetics and profession, I argue that literary translation functions as an aesthetic, ‘other’ place where he can freely write as a cultural double-agent. In chapter three, I explore Byron’s Road to Oxiana in relation to the ethics of travel, and his aesthetic and synaesthetic musings on the architectural sites of Central Asia. For Byron, Iran is not a site of exploration and appropriation; but is instead a way to escape from the banalities of the West and its then-looming collapse into World War II. On the other hand, his writing provides an ironic worldview whereby various forms of double standard in the culturally and politically contingent region are criticized