MOTIVATION FOR CHOOSING AN OFFICER CAREER

Changes in the security environment and opportunities in the modern world present increasing challenges for the armed forces of democratic states to staff their structures. The article examines the issues related to the motivation for choosing the military career of an officer. Based on a survey conducted with cadet candidates and a comparative analysis with previous research, the main variables influencing the choice of the officer profession and joining the armed forces are derived. The obtained results could contribute to the improvement of the current system for motivating military personnel and increase the image of the military profession.

MODEL FOR RECRUITING SERVICEMEN IN THE ARMED FORCES

In the decades of transition from conscript to professional armed forces, a number of unforeseen issues arose for the armed forces. One of the unresolved, but the most important and worrisome among them, is how the armed forces can attract and retain motivated personnel from the open labour market to fill the vacancy vacuum. Based on conducted research on the motivation of military personnel, the article examines a model for attracting them in the armed forces, analysing each of the elements that make it up and the interrelationships between them. This will contribute to enriching existing knowledge about work motivation and developing strategies for attracting and retaining military personnel

Structure of Motivation for Training in Engineering Specialties

This article researches the structure of motivation for training in engineering specialties as well as the satisfaction from it. It analyses the main factors that form students’ motivation for training and the interrelationships between them. A comparative analysis of the state of the motivational structure is carried out of the opinions of both lecturers and students in engineering specialties, taking into account the similarities and differences between them. The article identifies the specific factors that form the motivation for the students in the aforementioned specialties, the problems in their training, and gives guidelines for their overcoming in order to improve the quality of training. The results of the research would contribute to raising the interest in training in engineering specialties, attracting and retaining motivated learners, and meeting the growing shortage of engineers on the labour market. This work is licensed under a&nbsp;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.</p

Colorectal resections - clinical and immunological results

INTRODUCTION: Surgery induces a generalized state of postoperative immunosuppression responsible for a lot of complications in postoperative period. Magnitude and type of the intraoperative injury depend on the extent and duration of postoperative immune suppression. This study compared clinical outcomes and immune changes after minimally invasive and open colorectal resections in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).MATERIAL AND METHODS: Study included 40 patients with CRC who underwent colorectal resections in our clinic last year. Twenty one of them underwent minimally invasive surgery, with a mean age of 64.8 years (49-86). The rest 19 patients underwent conventional surgery, with a mean age of 66.2 years (56-84). Blood tests were performed 24 hours prior to surgery, 24 hours and 7 days after surgery. Analysis included full blood count, total protein, albumin and markers of inflammation (CRP, ESR, fibrinogen). T- (CD3+), B- (CD19+) and NK-cell lymphocyte populations were studied by means of flow cytometry, as well as activation of leucocytes, according to the expression of HLA-DR, CD38, CD279, CD163 and some clinical parameters. All data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.RESULTS: There was no significant difference in preoperative results between minimally invasive group and conventional group. At 24 hours after surgery there were significant decrease in lymphocyte percentages and increased leucocyte count, granulocyte percentages and CRP levels in conventional group. This ratio maintained at 7 days after surgery. Activated monocyte (CD 163+), total protein and albumin, eosinophiles, percentage of monocytes, lymphocytes and NKT-cells (CD3+ CD16/CD56+) were significant decrease in conventional group compared with minimally invasive group at first postoperative day.CONCLUSIONS: Minimally invasive colorectal cancer resection is a technically feasible option, with comparable results in terms of oncologic clearance, lesser degrees of tissue injury, surgical metabolic stress, and immunosuppressive response to conventional open surgery. Patients undergoing minimally invasive resections demonstrated improved clinical recovery and shorter hospital stay than patients undergoing open surgery. 

Heights on elliptic curves and the diophantine equation x4 + y4 = cz4

In this paper we give sharp explicit estimates for the difference of the Weil height and the Néron - Tate height on the elliptic curve $v^2 = u^3 - cu$. We then apply this in the proof of the fact that if c > 2 is a fourth power free integer and the rank of $v^2 = u^3 - cu$ is 1 then the equation $x^4 + y^4 = cz^4$ has no nonzero solutions in integer

Effect of the bone heterogeneity on the dose prescription in orthovoltage radiotherapy: A Monte Carlo study

AbstractBackgroundIn orthovoltage radiotherapy, since the dose prescription at the patient's surface is based on the absolute dose calibration using water phantom, deviation of delivered dose is found as the heterogeneity such as bone present under the patient's surface.AimThis study investigated the dosimetric impact due to the bone heterogeneity on the surface dose in orthovoltage radiotherapy.Materials and methodsA 220kVp photon beam with field size of 5cm diameter, produced by a Gulmay D3225 orthovoltage X-ray machine was modeled by the BEAMnrc. Phantom containing water (thickness=1–5mm) on top of a bone (thickness=1cm) was irradiated by the 220kVp photon beam. Percentage depth dose (PDD), surface dose and photon energy spectrum were determined using Monte Carlo simulations (the BEAMnrc code).ResultsPDD results showed that the maximum bone dose was about 210% higher than the surface dose in the phantoms with different thicknesses of water. Surface dose was found to be increased in the range of 2.5–3.7%, when the distance between the phantom surface and bone was increased in the range of 1–5mm. The increase of surface dose was found not to follow the increase of water thickness, and the maximum increase of surface dose was found at the thickness of water equal to 3mm.ConclusionsFor the accepted total orthovoltage radiation treatment uncertainty of 5%, a neglected consideration of the bone heterogeneity during the dose prescription in the sites of forehead, chest wall and kneecap with soft tissue thickness=1–5mm would cause more than two times of the bone dose, and contribute an uncertainty of about 2.5–3.7% to the total uncertainty in the dose delivery

SWIMRT: A graphical user interface using the sliding window algorithm to construct a fluence map machine file

(MLC) machine ” file for intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) fluence maps was developed using MATLAB ® and the sliding window algorithm. The user can either import a fluence map with a graphical file format created by an external treatment-planning system such as Pinnacle 3 or create his or her own fluence map using the matrix editor in the program. Through comprehensive calibrations of the dose and the dimension of the imported fluence field, the user can use associated image-processing tools such as field resizing and edge trimming to modify the imported map. When the processed fluence map is suitable, a “MLC machine ” file is generated for our Varian 21 EX linear accelerator with a 120-leaf Millennium MLC. This machine file is transferred to the MLC console of the LINAC to control the continuous motions of the leaves during beam irradiation. An IMRT field is then irradiated with the 2D intensity profiles, and the irradiated profiles are compared to the imported or modified fluence map. This program was verified and tested using film dosimetry to address the following uncertainties: (1) the mechanical limitation due to the leaf width and maximum traveling speed, and (2

Dosimetric dependence of the dimensional characteristics on a lead shield in electron radiotherapy: a Monte Carlo study

This study investigates the dosimetric dependence of the dimension of a lead (Pb) layer for shielding using clinical electron beams with different energies. Monte Carlo simulations were used to generate phase space files for the 4, 9 and 16 MeV electron beams produced by a Varian 21 EX linear accelerator using the EGSnrc-based BEAMnrc code, and validated by measurements using films. Pb layers with different thicknesses (2, 4, 6 and 8 mm) and diameters (2.5, 3, 3.5 and 4 cm) were placed at the center of an electron field on a solid water phantom. Beam profiles were determined at the depth of maximum dose (d m) using Monte Carlo simulations. The dose profiles under the Pb layer at d m, including the penumbra at the edge of the layer and relative dose at the central beam axis (CAX), were studied with varying thicknesses and diameters of Pb. It is found that 2 mm of Pb is adequate to provide 5 half value layer (HVL) attenuation for the 4 MeV electron beams, and the beam profiles at d m are dependent on the diameter but not the thickness of the Pb. However, for the 9 and 16 MeV electron beams, the relative dose at the CAX and d m depends on both the thickness and diameter of the Pb layer. For 8 mm thickness of Pb, 4 and 5 HVL attenuation of electron beams with energies of 9 and 16 MeV can be achieved at d m, respectively. Moreover, the beam profile under the Pb layer at