Effect of chitosan and Dysphania ambrosioides on the bone regeneration process: A randomized controlled trial in an animal model

The focus of this triple‐blind study was on evaluating the effect of chitosan combined with Dysphania ambrosioides (A) extract on the bone repair process in vivo. In total, 60 male Wistar rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) weighing between 260 and 270 g were randomly selected for this study and distributed into four groups (n = 15). Group C (chitosan), Group CA5 (chitosan + 5% of D. ambrosioides), Group CA20 (chitosan + 20% of D. ambrosioides), and Group CO (Control‐Blood clot). In each animal, bone defects measuring 2 mm in diameter were performed in both tibias for placement of the substances. After 7, 15, and 30 days, the animals were sedated and sacrificed using the cervical dislocation technique and the tissues were analyzed under optical microscope relative to the following events: inflammatory infiltrate, necrosis, osteoclasts, osteoblasts, fibroblasts, periosteal, and endosteal bone formation. The data were evaluated to verify distribution using the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, and variance, using the Levene test; as distribution was not normal, data were subjected to the Kruskal–Wallis and Dunn nonparametric tests (p < .05). A significant inflammatory infiltrate was observed in Group CA5 (p = .008) in the time interval of 7 days, and in Group C at 15 (p = .009) and 30 (p = .017) days. Osteoblastic activity was more significant in Group CA20 (p = .027) compared with CA5 in the time interval of 7 days. Group CA20 demonstrated a significantly higher endosteal and periosteal bone formation value in the time interval of 7 (p = .013), 15 (p = .004), and 30 days (p = .008) compared with the other groups. The null hypothesis was refuted, bone regeneration was faster in spheres with an association of chitosan and 20% extract, and complete bone repair occurred clinically at 15 days and histologically at 30 days. The spheres proved to be a promising method for the biostimulation of alveolar bone repair and bone fractures.     

Calibrating whole building energy models: An evidence-based methodology

This paper reviews existing case studies and methods for calibrating whole building energy models to measured data. This research describes a systematic, evidence-based methodology for the calibration of these models. Under this methodology, parameter values in the final calibrated model reference the source of information used to make changes to the initial model. Thus, the final model is based solely on evidence. Version control software stores a complete record of the calibration process, and the evidence on which the final model is based. Future users can review the changes made throughout the calibration process along with the supporting evidence. In addition to the evidence-based methodology, this paper also describes a new zoning process that represents the real building more closely than the typical core and four perimeter zone approach. Though the methodology is intended to apply to detailed calibration studies with high resolution measured data, the primary aspects of the methodology (evidence-based approach, version control, and zone-typing) are independent of the available measured data.     

Resilience and survivability in communication networks: Strategies,principles, and survey of disciplines

The Internet has become essential to all aspects of modern life, and thus the consequences of network disruption have become increasingly severe. It is widely recognised that the Internet is not sufficiently resilient, survivable, and dependable, and that significant research, development, and engineering is necessary to improve the situation. This paper provides an architectural framework for resilience and survivability in communication networks and provides a survey of the disciplines that resilience encompasses, along with significant past failures of the network infrastructure. A resilience strategy is presented to defend against, detect, and remediate challenges, a set of principles for designing resilient networks is presented, and techniques are described to analyse network resilience.     

Evolution of social learning when high expected payoffs are associated with high risk of failure

In an environment where the availability of resources sought by a forager varies greatly, individual foraging is likely to be associated with a high risk of failure. Foragers that learn where the best sources of food are located are likely to develop risk aversion, causing them to avoid the patches that are in fact the best; the result is sub-optimal behaviour. Yet, foragers living in a group may not only learn by themselves, but also by observing others. Using evolutionary agent-based computer simulations of a social foraging game, we show that in an environment where the most productive resources occur with the lowest probability, socially acquired information is strongly favoured over individual experience. While social learning is usually regarded as beneficial because it filters out maladaptive behaviours, the advantage of social learning in a risky environment stems from the fact that it allows risk aversion to be circumvented and the best food source to be revisited despite repeated failures. Our results demonstrate that the consequences of individual risk aversion may be better understood within a social context and suggest one possible explanation for the strong preference for social information over individual experience often observed in both humans and animals.     

Comparing the relative fit of categorical and dimensional latent variable models using consistency tests.

A number of recent studies have used Meehl’s (1995) taxometric method to determine empirically whether one should model assessment-related constructs as categories or dimensions. The taxometric method includes multiple data-analytic procedures designed to check the consistency of results. The goal is to differentiate between strong evidence of categorical structure, strong evidence of dimensional structure, and ambiguous evidence that suggests withholding judgment. Many taxometric consistency tests have been proposed, but their use has not been operationalized and studied rigorously. What tests should be performed, how should results be combined, and what thresholds should be applied? We present an approach to consistency testing that builds on prior work demonstrating that parallel analyses of categorical and dimensional comparison data provide an accurate index of the relative fit of competing structural models. Using a large simulation study spanning a wide range of data conditions, we examine many critical elements of this approach. The results provide empirical support for what marks the first rigorous operationalization of consistency testing. We discuss and empirically illustrate guidelines for implementing this approach and suggest avenues for future research to extend the practice of consistency testing to other techniques for modeling latent variables in the realm of psychological assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Market potentials for timber-concrete composites in Germany’s building construction sector

This article presents an explorative study analyzing the market potential for timber-concrete composites (TCC) in the German construction industry. Data from official statistics on building activity in Germany for 2014 and the period from 2010 to 2014 were evaluated in the analysis, and interviews with expert architects and planners were conducted. The goal of the study is to explore the market opportunities of TCC. The experts who were questioned consider TCC as the key to opening the market for types of buildings in which timber construction has had limited application until now (multi-family houses and residential-like/multi-story non-residential buildings). Possible market potentials are calculated with the aid of a scenario which can also be adapted in the context of individual scenarios based on the given data. The study makes it clear that TCC is not only to be evaluated technologically (R + D, standards etc.); market development depends at least as much on soft (social) factors. In part, this concerns the identity of timber construction itself, which must deconstruct the mindsets that have formed over decades in the wood-based sector and are communicated in marketing. At the same time, a co-operation between concrete and timber constructors becomes necessary, which experts call a “clash of cultures.”     

An integrated system solution for supply chain optimization in the chemical process industry

This paper considers a complex scheduling problem in the chemical process industry involving batch production. The application described comprises a network of production plants with interdependent production schedules, multi-stage production at multi-purpose facilities, and chain production. The paper addresses three distinct aspects: (i) a scheduling solution obtained from a genetic algorithm based optimizer, (ii) a mechanism for collaborative planning among the involved plants, and (iii) a tool for manual updates and schedule changes. The tailor made optimization algorithm simultaneously considers alternative production paths and facility selection as well as product and resource specific parameters such as batch sizes, and setup and cleanup times. The collaborative planning concept allows all the plants to work simultaneously as partners in a supply chain resulting in higher transparency, greater flexibility, and reduced response time as a whole. The user interface supports monitoring production schedules graphically and provides custom-built utilities for manual changes to the production schedule, investigation of various what-if scenarios, and marketing queries. RID="*" ID="*" The authors would like to thank Hans-Otto Günther and Roland Heilmann for helpful comments on draft versions of this paper.