STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS DRIVEN SHOULDER ARTHROPLASTY

Shoulder arthroplasty, the most common treatment option for patients diagnosed with end-stage glenohumeral osteoarthritis, is able to provide pain relief and restore some functionality. However, this highly advanced surgical procedure often suffers from a major complication of glenoid prosthesis loosening. The problem is magnified during repeat surgeries mainly due to the minimal quantity of bone in the glenoid vault. The goals of this dissertation were to perform structural analysis of normal and osteoarthritic glenoid, evaluate glenoid design variable effects on restoring long-lasting functionality to damaged shoulders, and create a finite element model (FEM)-based simulation process for computing subject-specific internal glenoid bone remodeling.3D computer models of normal and osteoarthritic scapulae were created using high-resolution volumetric computed tomography images. The computer models were used for glenoid structural analyses. The morphological measurements were comparable to prior studies. The glenoid was found to be approximated by geometric analogs. The osteoarthritic scapula was highly retroverted compared to the normal, and had relatively higher glenoid bone density. Internal glenoid morphology was quantified for the first time. Two and three dimensional stress analysis was used to compare glenoid prosthesis design variables. A custom program assigned location-specific material properties to the bone elements, based on the computed tomography data, making the FEMs similar to the actual scapula. Cemented or uncemeneted polyethylene pegs, compared to metal, gave stresses comparable to intact scapula.Two dimensional FEM based simulation process for normal glenoid bone remodeling was successfully created and validated. The "element" approach better predicted the actual specimen bone density distribution than the "node". Some of the findings agreed with past studies that is, obtaining "checkerboard" pattern in the "element" approach. The various combinations of multiple loads had minimal effect on the predicted bone density distribution.The computer modeling, numerical stress analysis, and the simulated bone remodeling allowed successful glenoid structural analysis. The approach adopted improved our understanding of the glenoid prosthesis and successful shoulder arthroplasty

Dynamics of warm power-law plateau inflation with a generalized inflaton decay rate: predicctions and constraints after Planck 2015

In the present work we study the consequences of considering a new family of single-field inflation models, called power-law plateau inflation, in the warm inflation framework. We consider the inflationary expansion is driven by a standard scalar field with a decay ratio $\Gamma$ having a generic power-law dependence with the scalar field $\phi$ and the temperature of the thermal bath $T$ given by $\Gamma(\phi,T)=C_{\phi}\,\frac{T^m}{\phi^{m-1}}$. Assuming that our model evolves according to the strong dissipative regime, we study the background and perturbative dynamics, obtaining the most relevant inflationary observables as the scalar power spectrum, the scalar spectral index and its running, and the tensor-to-scalar ratio. The free parameters characterizing our model are constrained by considering the essential condition for warm inflation, the conditions for the model evolves according to the strong dissipative regime, and the 2015 Planck results through the $n_s-r$ plane. For completeness, we study the predictions in the $n_s-dn_s/d\ln k$ plane. The model is consistent with a strong dissipative dynamics and predicts values for the tensor-to-scalar ratio and for the running of the scalar spectral index consistent with current bounds imposed by Planck, and we conclude that the model is viable.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in EPJ

Effect of Training on Physiological and Biochemical Variables of Soccer Players of Different Age Groups

Purpose: To find out the effect of training on selected physiological and biochemical variables of Indian soccer players of different age groups.\ud \ud Methods: A total of 120 soccer players volunteered for the study, were divided (n=30) into 4 groups: (i) under 16 years (U16), (ii) under 19 years (U19), (iii) under 23 years (U23), (iv) senior (SR). The training sessions were divided into 2 phases (a) Preparatory Phase (PP, 8 weeks) and (b) Competitive Phase (CP, 4 weeks). The training program consisted of aerobic, anaerobic and skill development, and were completed 4 hrs/day; 5 days/week. Selected physiological and biochemical variables were measured at zero level (baseline data, BD) and at the end of PP and CP.\ud \ud Results: A significant increase (P<0.05) in lean body mass (LBM), VO2max, anaerobic power, grip and back strength, urea, uric acid and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C); and a significant decrease (P<0.05) in body fat, hemoglobin (Hb), total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were detected in some groups in PP and CP phases of the training when compare to BD. However, no significant change was found in body mass and maximal heart rate of the players after the training program.\ud \ud Conclusion: This study would provide useful information for training and selection of soccer players of different age groups.\u

Longitudinal detection of radiological abnormalities with time-modulated LSTM

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been successfully employed in recent years for the detection of radiological abnormalities in medical images such as plain x-rays. To date, most studies use CNNs on individual examinations in isolation and discard previously available clinical information. In this study we set out to explore whether Long-Short-Term-Memory networks (LSTMs) can be used to improve classification performance when modelling the entire sequence of radiographs that may be available for a given patient, including their reports. A limitation of traditional LSTMs, though, is that they implicitly assume equally-spaced observations, whereas the radiological exams are event-based, and therefore irregularly sampled. Using both a simulated dataset and a large-scale chest x-ray dataset, we demonstrate that a simple modification of the LSTM architecture, which explicitly takes into account the time lag between consecutive observations, can boost classification performance. Our empirical results demonstrate improved detection of commonly reported abnormalities on chest x-rays such as cardiomegaly, consolidation, pleural effusion and hiatus hernia.Comment: Submitted to 4th MICCAI Workshop on Deep Learning in Medical Imaging Analysi

Produción de bioetanol e proteínas recombinantes a partir de soro de leite e molasas

Traballo fin de mestrado (UDC.CIE). Bioloxía molecular, celular e xenética. Curso 2013/201

Nmnat3を介したNAD合成の亢進は食餌性，加齢性の肥満やインスリン抵抗性を改善する

富山大学・富医薬博甲211号・Maryam Gulshan・2016/9/28・★論文非公開★富山大

Book Review of Neighbours in Arms: An American Senator’s Quest for Disarmament in a Nuclear Subcontinent by Larry Pressler

As chairman of the US Senate s Arms Control Subcommittee, Larry Pressler advocated the now-famous Pressler Amendment, enforced in 1990. Aid and military sales to Pakistan were blocked, including a consignment of F-16 fighter aircraft, changing forever the tenor of the United States relationships with Pakistan and India, and making Pressler a temporary hero throughout India and a devil in Pakistan . This book reveals what went on behind the scenes in the years when the Pressler Amendment was in force, through a cast of characters that include presidents, prime ministers, senators and generals in the US, India and Pakistan. It exposes the enormous power wielded by the military-industrial complex, which the author terms Octopus , and how it controls significant aspects of the American presence in the Indian subcontinent

Integral estimation of activity of entrepreneurial universities: practical aspect

Investigated problem. Implementation of the concept of an entrepreneurial university necessitates the formation of a system of activity indicators of educational institutions. The main scientific results. It is specified that the activity of entrepreneurial universities and educational institutions that try to comply with this concept should be systematically rated. The author analyzes modern approaches to estimation of the activity of entrepreneurial universities. The own viewpoint to this evaluation on the basis of calculation of an integrated indicator is offered. The main stages of the algorithm for estimating the activity are described. An integrated activity indicator for five universities has been calculated. The ranking of educational institutions in accordance with the calculated desegregated measures and the concept of entrepreneurial university has been held. The results of the analysis showed that the studied educational institutions from the United States are more in line with the concept of the entrepreneurial university than European ones. The area of practical use of the research results. The practical results of the study can be used in the process of estimating the activity of entrepreneurial universities. Innovative technological product. The scientific approach to the evaluation of the activity of entrepreneurial universities proposed by the author allows to form their rating, to track the position of each educational institution in the dynamics. Scope of application of the innovative technological product: educational policy at the micro- and macroeconomic levels

Modeling, Simulation and Prediction of Vehicle Crashworthiness in Full Frontal Impact

Vehicle crashworthiness assessment is critical to help reduce road accident fatalities and ensure safer vehicles for road users. Techniques to assess crashworthiness include physical tests and mathematical modeling and simulation of crash events, the latter is preferred as mathematical modeling is generally cheaper to perform in comparison with physical testing. The most common mathematical modeling technique used for crashworthiness assessment is nonlinear Finite Element (FE) modeling. However, a problem with the use of Finite Element Model (FEM) for crashworthiness assessment is inaccessibility to individual researchers, public bodies, small universities and engineering companies due to need for detailed CAD data, software licence costs along with high computational demands. This thesis investigates modeling strategies which are affordable, computationally and labour inexpensive, and could be used by the above-mentioned groups. Use of Lumped Parameter Models (LPM) capable of capturing vehicle parameters contributing to vehicle crashworthiness has been proposed as an alternative to adopting FEM, while the later have been used to validate LPMs developed in this thesis. The main crash scenario analysed is a full frontal impact against a rigid barrier. Front-end deformation which can be used to measure crash energy absorption and pitching which could lead to occupant injuries in a frontal crash event are parameters focused on. The thesis investigates two types of vehicles; vehicle with initial structure intact is defined as baseline vehicle, while a vehicle that underwent unprofessional repairs on its structural members made of Ultra High Strength Steel (UHSS) is defined as a modified vehicle. The proposed novel LPM for a baseline vehicle impact is inspired by pendulum motion and expresses the system using Lagrangian formulation to predict the two phases of impact: front-end deformation and vehicle pitching. Changes in crashworthiness performance of a modified vehicle were investigated with a FEM; tensile tests on UHSS coupons were conducted to generate material inputs for this FEM. Further, a full scale crash test was conducted to validate the FE simulations. An LPM to conduct crashworthiness assessment of a modified vehicle has been proposed, it is based on a double pendulum with a torsional spring representing the vehicle undergoing a full frontal impact.publishedVersio

From domination to emancipation and freedom: reading Ernesto Laclau's post-Marxism in conjunction with Philip Pettit's neo-republicanism

© Bristol University Press 2019. In this paper, I bring Ernesto Laclau’s post-Marxist approach into conversation with the analytical thinker Philip Pettit, who has developed an influential neo-republican conception of freedom as ‘non-domination’. Both thinkers aim to reconfigure power and domination towards more democratic and egalitarian relations and I evaluate the political implications of their respective conceptions of domination/non-domination, emancipation and freedom. I show that despite these common points of reference, the two authors exhibit considerable differences which manifest in their respective conceptions of structure and agency. In the opening section, I compare Laclau’s and Pettit’s respective conceptions of ‘domination’ where I highlight the differences between them in two alternate readings of Henrik Ibsen’s play A Doll’s House. In the second section, I examine their respective understandings of ‘emancipation’ and ‘freedom’, and I demonstrate that Pettit does not model his conception of freedom as non-domination on the idea of emancipation. This stands in contrast to Laclau, for whom emancipation remains the focal point of political struggle, despite formal equality, and who maintains the idea of the possibility of a more radical transformation in the underlying structures of society. In the final section, I consider Laclau’s and Pettit’s alternative conceptions of politics where both thinkers place a premium on democratic contest in challenging and overturning arbitrary power. I show that for Pettit political freedom is a mode of contestability within the established institutions, while Laclau’s notions of emancipation and freedom functions at the level of competing hegemonic projects, and this facilitates a form of political struggle that might transcend the existing regime to instantiate a new institutional order. I conclude by amalgamating the respective strengths of both thinkers to provide a multi-layered analysis of contemporary forms of domination to better aid our understanding about the kinds of struggle needed to contest them