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During the forming process, variations in noise parameters can negatively impact product quality. To prevent waste from these fluctuations, this study suggests a method for the in-line optimisation of the deep drawing process. The noise parameter considered is the friction coefficient, assuming the variability in lubrication conditions at the blank–tool interface. The proposed approach estimates the noise factor variability during the process by tracking the draw-in of the blank at critical points. Using this estimation, the optimal blank holder force (BHF) is calculated and then adjusted in-line to modify blank sliding and prevent critical issues on the component. For this purpose, a Finite Element (FE) model of a deep drawing case study was developed, and numerical simulation results were used to construct surrogate models while estimating both the friction coefficient and optimal BHF. The FE model’s predictive capability was verified through preliminary experimental tests, and the control logic was numerically validated. Results show the effectiveness of this control type. By adjusting the BHF just once, a defect-free component is achieved. This method overcomes the limitations of feedback controls, which often need multiple adjustment steps. The time required to estimate the friction coefficient and the maximum time available for adjusting the BHF without causing defects was identified.

Since May 2022, the monkeypox (MPX) virus has represented an emerging issue due to outbreaks in non-endemic areas. This report presents the first case of paraphimosis caused by an MPX infection during the outbreak. The patient accessed the emergency department for a sudden onset of swelling of the penis and paraphimosis caused by MPX lesions that brought about stenosis of the foreskin. He therefore underwent a dorsal slit procedure with resolution. No antiviral therapy was required. A multidisciplinary approach should be preferred for the management of MPX, due to the possibility of uncommon and disseminated presentations.

This article explores the experiences and pathways of transfer students who attended community college before pursuing a bachelor's degree at a university. It challenges the common belief that transfer students spend two years at community college and then two years at a university, emphasizing that many students spend longer than four semesters at community college. The study focuses on the educational experiences, skill development, career goals, and persistence of transfer students. The researchers conducted interviews with transfer students at a Physics and Astronomy Department in a large, public, minority-serving institution and used a life grid methodology to track their experiences and career aspirations. The article includes examples of narratives that deviate from the assumed transfer student path. The study found that persistence was a shared characteristic among transfer students, defined as effort and progress towards goals. The researchers suggest that understanding the diverse pathways of transfer students can inform advising and support for them. [Extracted from the article]

Family courts address a multitude of issues when determining the rules of a child’s life after his or her parents divorce or otherwise seek court intervention on custody and visitation arrangements. Most states have enacted statutes setting parameters for custody and visitation determinations.However, the nature of these cases requires that trial courts retain significant discretion in weighing the various factors and crafting orders reflecting the best interests of the children before them. With the abundance of scientific evidence describing the dangers of exposure to secondhandsmoke or environmental tobacco smoke (secondhand smoke), particularly for children, and the increasing public awareness and understanding of these dangers, the issue of a child’s exposure to secondhand smoke is being raised more frequently in custody and visitation cases. Although there is nothing novel about a family court considering factors that affect a child’s health, the impact that secondhand smoke has on children generally and on a particular child in a custody proceeding are relatively new issues for most trial courts and family law attorneys. This Synopsis is designed to assist courts, practitioners and lay people who are faced with a custody or visitation proceeding in which a child’s exposure to secondhand smoke has been or may be raised.Section I presents a summary of the adverse health effects suffered by children who are exposed to secondhand smoke. Section II provides a general overview of the process by which family courts draft custody and visitation orders, and how this process permits consideration of secondhand smoke exposure. Section III discusses specific cases that involve the use of secondhand smoke exposure as a factor in custody or visitation decisions. Cases regarding children who are particularly susceptible to secondhand smoke exposure, as well as those concerning healthy children, are considered. Section IV discusses the use of judicial notice to introduce scientific data regarding the adverse health effects of secondhand smoke exposure. Section V explains why the consideration of parental smoking in custody and visitation disputes does not infringe upon the right to parental autonomy.

This article explores a Buddhist text in which numbers set the very stakes for liberation. In 1404, Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po (1382–1456), who was to become one of the most esteemed tantric commentators of the Tibetan Sakya tradition, composed his first polemical text, Dispelling Evil Misunderstandings of the Explanation of the Ground of Zung ‘jug Vajradhara. In this early work, Ngor chen grapples with the relationship between the path of perfections and of secret mantra as conduits to liberation. I illuminate the ways in which ritual, exegesis, and pedagogy converge in Ngor chen’s text to reveal larger implications for distinguishing the eleventh and thirteenth grounds (bhūmi) of Buddhahood in fifteenth-century Tibet. In concluding, I highlight the art of differentiation as a fundamental Tibetan scholastic enterprise and briefly engage Ngor chen’s acts of distinguishing sūtra and tantra in conversation with those of key Tibetan predecessors and contemporaries.

Gianni Paulis,1,2 Davide Barletta,3 Paolo Turchi,4 Antonio Vitarelli,5 Giuseppe Dachille,6 Andrea Fabiani,7 Romano Gennaro8 1Regina Apostolorum Hospital, Andrology Center, Albano L, 2Castelfidardo Medical Team, Peyronie's Disease Care Center, Rome, 3Department of Urology, Andrology Center, San Matteo Hospital, Pavia, 4Azienda ASL 4 Prato – Andrology Service, Prato, 5Department of Urology, University of Bari, 6Department of Urology, S Giacomo Hospital, Monopoli, Bari, 7Department of Surgery, Section of Urology and Andrology, Macerata, 8Department of Urologic Oncology, Section of Avellino, Italian League Against Cancer, Avellino, Italy Abstract: Peyronie's disease (PD) is a chronic disorder involving the tunica albuginea surrounding the corpora cavernosa of the penis. A conservative treatment is indicated in the first stage of disease. The aim of this study was to assess the therapeutic impact and possible side effects of treatment with pentoxifylline (PTX) in combination with other antioxidants in 307 patients with early-stage PD. Patients were subdivided into three groups: A, B, and C. Both groups, A and B, comprising of 206 patients, underwent treatment, whereas Group C was the control group (n=101). Treatment lasted 6 months and included the following: Group A: PTX 400 mg twice a day + propolis 600 mg/d + blueberry 160 mg/d + vitamin E 600 mg/d + diclofenac 4% gel twice/a day + PTX 100 mg via perilesional penile injection/every other week (12 injections in all); Group B: the same treatment as Group A except for the penile PTX injections. After the 6-month treatment course, we obtained the following results: actual mean decrease in plaque volume -46.9% and -24.8% in Group A and B, respectively (P

Since May 2022, the monkeypox (MPX) virus has represented an emerging issue due to outbreaks in non-endemic areas. This report presents the first case of paraphimosis caused by an MPX infection during the outbreak. The patient accessed the emergency department for a sudden onset of swelling of the penis and paraphimosis caused by MPX lesions that brought about stenosis of the foreskin. He therefore underwent a dorsal slit procedure with resolution. No antiviral therapy was required. A multidisciplinary approach should be preferred for the management of MPX, due to the possibility of uncommon and disseminated presentations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buddhist tantric practitioners embrace the liminal status of the human body to manifest divine identity. In piercing to the pith of human embodiment, the tantric practitioner reconfigures the shape and contours of his/her reality. This article investigates the evolution of one particular technique for piercing to the pith of the body on Tibetan soil, a ritual practice known as body mandala [lus dkyil Skt. deha-maṇḍala]. In particular, it uncovers a significant shift of emphasis in the application of the Guhyasamāja body mandala practice initiated by champions of the emerging Gandenpa [Dga’ ldan pa] or Gelukpa [Dge lugs pa] tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Tsongkhapa (1357–1419) and Mkhas grub rje (1385–1438). This article reveals some of the radical implications of ritual exegesis, ranging from the socioreligious aspects of securing prestige for a tradition to the ultimate soteriological goals of modifying the boundaries between life and death and ordinary and enlightened embodiment.

The diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis is notoriously difficult. The standard culture-based methods have shown considerable limitations in performance. For this reason, non-culture methods have been increasingly employed for the diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis, and, among them, the methods based on Real-Time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In this study we assess the contribution in lowering diagnosis errors provided by the RT-PCR method when run alongside other methods. We analyzed 23 biological samples, 14 serum samples, and 9 bronchoalveolar lavage samples (BAL) from 10 immunocompromised patients who were selected according to EORTC/MSG criteria (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group). On the serum sample we searched the galactomannan (GM) (Platelia Aspergillus®) and the fungal genome (MycAssayTMAspergillus); the BAL samples were subjected also to the culture tests. In 11 serum samples the results showed concordance between GM and RT–PCR tests, while in 3 samples we report discordance: 2 results were GM positive and RT-PCR negative, and 1 results GM negative and RT-PCR indeterminate. In 5 BAL samples the results showed concordance between the two methods, while 4 were GM positive and RT-PCR negative. The data, although still preliminary, suggest an increased accuracy in the diagnosis of suspected invasive aspergillosis when employing both RT-PCR and GM tests given that the RT-PCR test eliminates the false positive results of the GM test. The PCR methods require, however, further applications of this type of diagnostic because of the severe limit given by the lack of standardization.