Design Vulnerability as the Key Element of the Logistics Efficiency of a Product

The article highlights the importance of the influence a product itself has on the broadly understood logistics-related issues, referred to as the logistical efficiency of a product. It constitutes the foundation for the concept of design vulnerability of a product, along with its determinants. The paper shows the impact these determinants have on logistics processes on selected examples from the market. The authors of the article also suggest what actions might be undertaken in the strategic and operational sphere of the company logistics, depending on the design vulnerability of a product

Predicting Patterns of Distant Metastasis in Breast Cancer Patients following Local Regional Therapy Using Machine Learning

Up to 30% of breast cancer (BC) patients will develop distant metastases (DM), for which there is no cure. Here, statistical and machine learning (ML) models were developed to estimate the risk of site-specific DM following local-regional therapy. This retrospective study cohort included 175 patients diagnosed with invasive BC who later developed DM. Clinicopathological information was collected for analysis. Outcome variables were the first site of metastasis (brain, bone or visceral) and the time interval (months) to developing DM. Multivariate statistical analysis and ML-based multivariable gradient boosting machines identified factors associated with these outcomes. Machine learning models predicted the site of DM, demonstrating an area under the curve of 0.74, 0.75, and 0.73 for brain, bone and visceral sites, respectively. Overall, most patients (57%) developed bone metastases, with increased odds associated with estrogen receptor (ER) positivity. Human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) positivity and non-anthracycline chemotherapy regimens were associated with a decreased risk of bone DM, while brain metastasis was associated with ER-negativity. Furthermore, non-anthracycline chemotherapy alone was a significant predictor of visceral metastasis. Here, clinicopathologic and treatment variables used in ML prediction models predict the first site of metastasis in BC. Further validation may guide focused patient-specific surveillance practices.</jats:p

Design Vulnerability as the Key Element of the Logistics Efficiency of a Product

The article highlights the importance of the influence a product itself has on the broadly understood logistics-related issues, referred to as the logistical efficiency of a product. It constitutes the foundation for the concept of design vulnerability of a product, along with its determinants. The paper shows the impact these determinants have on logistics processes on selected examples from the market. The authors of the article also suggest what actions might be undertaken in the strategic and operational sphere of the company logistics, depending on the design vulnerability of a product

Bony Canal Method of Dexamethasone Injections in Aggressive Form of Central Giant Cell Granuloma—Case Series

Central Giant Cell Granuloma constitutes approximately 7% of benign tumors of the jaws. The aggressive form of CGCG clinically behaves like a classic semi-malignant neoplasm. In the literature, the suggested method of treatment of aggressive forms of CGCG is curettage or resection with the margin of 0.5 cm. Surgical treatment, especially in the developmental age, entails disturbances in the growth and differentiation of tissues and deforms and disturbs the functioning of the stomatognathic system. Alternative treatment methods of the CGCG presented in this article lead to the patient avoiding a mutilating procedure and improve their quality of life. The aim was to present alternative method of treatment of aggressive forms of Central Giant Cell Lesion of the jaws—injections of dexamethasone into the tumor mass through drilled bony canals. Here, we present the three cases of aggressive forms of CGCG of jaws treated with dexamethasone injections into the tumor mass. Two cases resulted in regression of the tumor, which was confirmed in histologic evaluation after remodeling surgery. Those two patients were uneventful and showed no signs of tumor recurrence at 8 and 9 years of thorough follow-up, respectively. The third patient was qualified for the mandible resection due to the enlargement of the lesion and destruction of the cortical bone. According to our observations, if the proper patient discipline, and thorough, careful clinical and radiological examinations are provided, the dexamethasone injections could be a recommended method of treatment of intraosseous giant cell granuloma. The indication is restricted to the cases with preserved bony borders despite deformation. Additionally, leaving vital teeth in the lesion is also possible

Midline lumbar fusion using cortical bone trajectory screws. Preliminary report

Introduction : Midline lumbar fusion (MIDLF) using cortical bone trajectory is an alternative method of transpedicular spinal fusion for degenerative disease. The new entry points’ location and screwdriving direction allow the approach-related morbidity to be reduced. Aim: To present our preliminary experience with the MIDLF technique on the first 5 patients with lumbar degenerative disease and with follow-up of at least 6 months. Material and methods: Retrospective analysis was performed on the first 5 patients with foraminal (4) or central (1) stenosis operated on between December 2014 and February 2015. Three patients were fused at L4–L5 and two at the L5–S1 level. Results: No intra- or post-operative complications occurred with this approach. An improvement regarding the leading symptom in the early postoperative period (sciatica 4/4, claudication 1/1) was achieved in all patients. The mean improvements in the visual analogue scale for low back and leg pain were 2.2 and 4.8 respectively. The mean Oswestry Disability Index scores were 52% (range: 16–82%) before surgery and 33% (range: 12–56%) at 3-month follow-up (mean improvement 19%). At the most recent follow-up, 4 patients reported the maintenance of the satisfactory result. The early standing and follow-up X-rays showed satisfactory screw placement in all patients. Conclusions : In our initial experience, the MIDLF technique seems to be an encouraging alternative to traditional transpedicular trajectory screws when short level lumbar fusion is needed. Nevertheless, longer observations on larger groups of patients are needed to reliably evaluate the safety of the method and the sustainability of the results

A prototype fully digital data acquisition system upgrade for the TOFOR neutron spectrometer at JET

A prototype of a fully digital data acquisition system upgrade for the TOFOR time-of-flight fusion neutron spectrometer at JET has been implemented and evaluated. The core of the system is composed of five fast PXIe waveform digitisers (1 GSPS, 12 bits) with large internal fast memory (1 GB). Due to the complexity and high requirements on timing precision of the spectrometer, the design and implementation of such a system poses numerous technical challenges, in particular regarding time alignment and synchronisation of signal paths and digitiser modules. These issues and their solutions, as pertaining to the TOFOR spectrometer, are presented in detail in the present paper. As a final assessment of the ability of the new data acquisition system to reproduce the capabilities of the original TOFOR system, a thorough comparison of results produced using both systems is presented. The comparison with TOFOR has been performed with satisfying results. Two immediate advantages of the new data acquisition system are significantly improved triggering dead time (from about 70 ns to 10 ns) and the ability to adjust the triggering thresholds as needed during the analysis step. The enhanced spectroscopic capabilities of the new data acquisition system will be reported on in future publications

Kinematic background discrimination methods using a fully digital data acquisition system for TOFOR

A fully digital, prototype data acquisition system upgrade for the TOFOR neutron time-of-flight neutron spectrometer at the JET experimental fusion reactor in Culham, England, has been constructed. This upgrade, TOFu (Time-of-Flight upgrade), enables digitization of associated time and energy deposition information from the TOFOR scintillator detectors, facilitating discrimination of spectral background due to unrelated neutron events based on kinematic considerations. In this publication, a kinematic background discrimination method is presented using synthetic data and validated with experimental results. It is found that an improvement in signal-to-background ratio of 500% in certain spectral regions is possible with the new DAQ system