The effects of growth hormone in children with a GH deficiency: a report of 5 cases

The authors describe 5 cases, 3 boys and 2 girls, with idiopathic growth hormone deficiency in prepubertal age, treated with human growth hormone. In four of five cases the response to treatment with GH was relevant. Only in one case (F1) the response was negative. The results of this study confirm that rhGH is a safe and effective therapy in children with GHD.     

Analysis of the validity of vaginal-cervical cytologic examination in 162 pre- and post-menopausal patients

The authors examine 162 cervico-vaginal smears of women in peri-menopause presenting cellular alterations (ASCUS). These patients were treated with a local topic therapy as the persistence of these alterations in 23 cases (14.2%) second level analyses were performed: gynecological visit, colposcopy and biopsy. In addition to inflammatory aspects 2 in situ carcinomas and 2 moderate dysplasias were recorded. We believe therefore that cytology could be a valid aid also in pre-menopausal women in the cervico-vaginal pathology.     

Non-convex fuzzy data and fuzzy statistics: a first descriptive approach to data analysis

LR-fuzzy numbers are widely used in Fuzzy Set Theory applications based on the standard definition of convex fuzzy sets. However, in some empirical contexts such as, for example, human decision making and ratings, convex representations might not be capable to capture more complex structures in the data. Moreover, non-convexity seems to arise as a natural property in many applications based on fuzzy systems (e.g., fuzzy scales of measurement). In these contexts, the usage of standard fuzzy statistical techniques could be questionable. A possible way out consists in adopting ad-hoc data manipulation procedures to transform non-convex data into standard convex representations. However, these procedures can artificially mask relevant information carried out by the non-convexity property. To overcome this problem, in this article we introduce a novel computational definition of non-convex fuzzy number which extends the traditional definition of LR-fuzzy number. Moreover, we also present a new fuzzy regression model for crisp input/non-convex fuzzy output data based on the fuzzy least squares approach. In order to better highlight some important characteristics of the model, we applied the fuzzy regression model to some datasets characterized by convex as well as non-convex features. Finally, some critical points are outlined in the final section of the article together with suggestions about future extensions of this work.     

Cervical pain and proprioceptive sensitivity

With the intent of estimating the proprioceptive sensitivity of the cervical rachis, the Authors subjected 17 healthy volunteers and 20 patients suffering from various cervical disorders to a clinical head positioning test, which was previously experimented upon by several french Authors was modified under certain aspects by our equipe. The test, consists in flexion and extension of the head after maximal rotations to the left and right, then repositioning the head at the starting point "0" which corresponds to the crossing point of two orthogonal axis of a target. The positions are marked on the target by a laser beam situated on the helmet worn by the subject undergoing testing. The results obtained corresponding to the errors committed regarding point "0", permit us to confirm the reliability of the test and significant definitions between the control group and the patients suffering from cervical disorders.     

Multigrid and sparse-grid schemes for elliptic control problems with random coefficients

A multigrid and sparse-grid computational approach to solving nonlinear elliptic optimal control problems with random coefficients is presented. The proposed scheme combines multigrid methods with sparse-grids collocation techniques. Within this framework the influence of randomness of problem’s coefficients on the control provided by the optimal control theory is investigated. Numerical results of computation of stochastic optimal control solutions and formulation of mean control functions are presented.     

Software assessment using metrics: A comparison across large C++ and Java systems

This paper presents an assessment method to evaluate the quality of object oriented software systems. The assessment method is based on source code abstraction, object–oriented metrics and graphical representation. The metrics used and the underlying model representing the software are presented. The assessment method experiment is part of an industrial research effort with the Bell Canada Quality Engineering and Research Group. It helps evaluators assess the quality and risks associated with software by identifying code fragments presenting unusual characteristics. The assessment method evaluates object–oriented software systems at three levels of granularity: system level, class level and method level. One large C++ and eight Java software systems, for a total of over one million lines of code, are presented as case studies. A critical analysis of the results is presented comparing the systems and the two languages.     

On the thermomechanical behavior of the European target assembly design of IFMIF-EVEDA lithium test loop under start-up transient scenarios

Uncoupled thermomechanical transient analyses have been carried out to investigate the behavior of IFMIF-EVEDA lithium test loop bayonet backplate target assembly under two selected start-up transient operational scenarios. The first transient scenario considered foresees that the target assembly, starting from the initial uniform temperature of 50 °C, is heated up uniquely by convective heat transfer with lithium, flowing from inlet to outlet nozzle at its reference nominal temperature and pressure, until its nominal steady state thermal field distribution is reached. The second transient scenario foresees, more realistically, that the target assembly, starting from the uniform temperature of 50 °C, is initially warmed-up by electric heaters mounted onto its main accessible surfaces and, subsequently, by convective heat transfer with lithium reference flow, until nominal steady state conditions are reached. Heaters have been supposed to operate in an on/off stepwise mode, resulting to be alternatively switched on and off in order to allow the target assembly thermal field to grow up minimizing thermal gradients. To this purpose, a parametric analysis has been performed to realistically assess, for each electric heater, its heat flux and duty-cycle. Numerical results obtained are presented and critically discussed.