Defense Economics and Economic Warfare Revisited

In this paper we paint with a broad brush. Our purpose is to present an overview, a status report, and by implication, an indication of what needs to be done at this time. We first provide a survey of topics in the economics of defense and in economic warfare, then we comment on some naval aspects of these topics

Stops and MET: the shape of things to come

LHC experiments have placed strong bounds on the production of supersymmetric colored particles (squarks and gluinos), under the assumption that all flavors of squarks are nearly degenerate. However, the current experimental constraints on stop squarks are much weaker, due to the smaller production cross section and difficult backgrounds. While light stops are motivated by naturalness arguments, it has been suggested that such particles become nearly impossible to detect near the limit where their mass is degenerate with the sum of the masses of their decay products. We show that this is not the case, and that searches based on missing transverse energy (MET) have significant reach for stop masses above 175 GeV, even in the degenerate limit. We consider direct pair production of stops, decaying to invisible LSPs and tops with either hadronic or semi-leptonic final states. Modest intrinsic differences in MET are magnified by boosted kinematics and by shape analyses of MET or suitably-chosen observables related to MET. For these observables we show that the distributions of the relevant backgrounds and signals are well-described by simple analytic functions, in the kinematic regime where signal is enhanced. Shape analyses of MET-related distributions will allow the LHC experiments to place significantly improved bounds on stop squarks, even in scenarios where the stop-LSP mass difference is degenerate with the top mass. Assuming 20/fb of luminosity at 8 TeV, we conservatively estimate that experiments can exclude or discover degenerate stops with mass as large as ~ 360 GeV and 560 GeV for massless LSPs.Comment: Version submitted to journal with improved analysis and small fixes, 27 pages, 11 figures, 2 table

An extendable modular endoprosthetic system for bone tumour management in the leg

A modular endoprosthetic system has been developed at the Groningen University Hospital and the University of Twente. The system can bridge a defect resulting from the resection of a malignant bone tumour which has developed around the knee joint of a child. Since the other healthy leg continues to grow, the system includes an element whose length can be adjusted non-invasively by using an external magnetic field. In addition to this lengthening element, there are one hip and two knee components, connectors of various lengths, and fixation elements. The paper describes the elements of the modular endoprosthetic system. Tables are created by means of which the elemental composition of such an endoprosthesis can be determined for each individual patient

Bone fixation techniques for managing joint disorders and injuries:A review study

The majority of surgical procedures treating joint disorders require a technique to realize a firm implant-to-tissue and/or a tissue-to-tissue fixation. Fixation methods have direct effects on survival, performance and integration of orthopedic implants This review paper gives an overview of novel fixation techniques that have been evaluated and optimized for orthopaedic joint implants and could be alternatives for traditional implant fixation techniques or inspirations for future design of joint implantation procedures. Method: The articles were selected using the Scopus search engine. Key words referring to traditional fixation methods have been excluded to find potential innovative fixation techniques. In order to review the recent anchorage systems, only articles that been published during the period of 2010–2020 have been included. Results: A total of 57 studies were analyzed. The result revealed that three main fixation principles are being employed: using mechanical interlockings, employing adhesives, and performing tissue-bonding strategies. Conclusion: The development of fixation techniques demonstrates a transformation from the general anchoring tools like K-wires toward application-specific designs. Several new methods have been designed and evaluated, which highlight encouraging results as described in this review. It seems that mechanical fixations provide the strongest anchorage. Employing (bio)-adhesives as fixation tool could revolutionize the field of orthopedic surgery. However, the adhesives must be improved and optimized to meet the requirements of an anchorage system. Long-term fixation might be formed by tissue ingrowth approaches which showed promising results. In most cases further clinical studies are required to explore their outputs in clinical applications

Replacing temporomandibular joints

The masticatory system plays an important role during biting, chewing, swallowing, speech, singing and other functions, all directly affecting quality of life. For proper functioning, both temporomandibular joints and the connecting mandible, together with the masticatory muscles and contiguous tissue components, play a major role. In a healthy situation, the masticatory muscles supply the mandible with the required movements and biting and chewing forces, while the left and right mandibular condyles slide smoothly along their articular eminences. Disturbances of the masticatory system can lead to a wide range of both muscular and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) conditions and pathology, resulting in pain, limited mouth opening, headaches, clicking or popping sounds in the TMJ and impaired masticatory functioning. TMJ disturbances and muscle problems influence each other and may lead to chronic pain and functional impairment. The TMJ prosthesis design is a mixture of well-known and accepted techniques, and new inventions. Among the well-known techniques are screw fixation and the use of proven biocompatible materials. The main new developments are a double articulation, including an inferiorly located centre of rotation, a self-adjusting skull part that is built from stock parts and a rigid screw-prosthesis connection