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Preservice middle school mathematics teachers’ (PMTs) beliefs about a mathematics teacher and mathematics teaching were investigated through the metaphors they generated. Third- and fourth-year PMTs (N = 249) at four universities in Türkiye participated in two anonymous metaphor tasks for a mathematics teacher and mathematics teaching. PMTs’ metaphors were first analysed by the framework developed for and used in previous studies exploring teachers’ metaphors (Löfström et al., 2011) with further elaborations. PMTs’ metaphors for a mathematics teacher and mathematics teaching were categorised and compared. Then, deeper analyses of hybrid, self-referential, and contextual metaphors were conducted. Findings revealed that PMTs mostly used didactical expert and self-referential metaphors for the mathematics teacher and hybrid and self-referential metaphors for mathematics teaching. PMTs’ beliefs about mathematics teaching seemed to be more multifaceted than their beliefs about a mathematics teacher. The deeper analyses showed that PMTs associated both the teacher and teaching with positive and/or negative connotations in their self-referential and contextual metaphors. Documenting these beliefs through metaphors allowed us to explore and understand the nature of PMTs’ beliefs and showed that metaphor tasks could be useful for detecting beliefs.

Diplomatic Interpreting has been an outstanding activity throughout history. Diplomatic Interpreting and interpreters have always played major roles in facilitating communication between nations and peoples. In this respect, Diplomatic Interpreting shaped the course of history during a wide range of periods ranging from the signing of ancient agreements to colonization and modern time negotiations. With a historical perspective, interpreters have made a tremendous contribution to international relations and ensuring accurate communication between the peoples and cultures. This study aims to delve into the interplay between the renowned Relevance Theory, as a leading communication theory which was on many occasions studied mostly within the scope of Translation Studies, and also intends to contribute to the filling of a vacuum in Interpreting Studies by adapting this theory to Interpreting Studies. It tries to find an answer to the research question of ‘How can the Relevance Theory be applied to Diplomatic Interpreting?’ This study will accordingly focus on the interplay between Relevance Theory and Diplomatic Interpreting. The study avoids reaching any final judgements as regards the scope that Relevance Theory can be applied to Diplomatic Interpreting as this study is part of an ongoing PhD dissertation. Besides, the study limits itself with studying the possible impacts that the Theory has on interpreting practice at a diplomatic setting; in other words, applying the theoretical assumptions of Relevance Theory to Diplomatic Interpreting.

To better understand the critical early years of teaching and teacher identity development, this study explored the mathematics teacher identity of two early career middle school mathematics teachers and the influence of their working communities on its development. Emel and Berk graduated from the same reform-oriented teacher education program and were working in fundamentally different working communities that could be characterized as reform-unsupportive (Emel) and reform-supportive (Berk). They were interviewed three times and were observed extensively in their working communities. Findings revealed two different teacher identities: Emel exhibited a mathematics teacher identity that was more reform-oriented than non-reform-oriented, and Berk exhibited a non-reform-oriented mathematics teacher identity. Their working communities had influenced their mathematics teacher identity in ways that were both theoretically expected (positive effects of supportive conditions and negative effects of unsupportive conditions) and surprising (positive effects of negative conditions and no effects of positive conditions). The findings are discussed in detail with implications for teacher education programs and supports for early career teachers.

We introduce the location-or-routing problem (LoRP), which integrates the facility location and the vehicle routing problems by uncovering a new connection from the customer coverage perspective. In the LoRP, open facilities cover the customers in their neighborhood and the uncovered customers are transported to open facilities by capacitated vehicles. Each facility has a maximum coverage range and each vehicle route is constrained by a maximum length. In this setting, a customer can be covered either by ‘location’ or by ‘routing’, hence the problem name. We discuss several application areas of LoRP and present its relation to the location and routing problems. We develop a set covering model and a branch-and-price algorithm as an exact solution methodology. The results show that the facility coverage range is an important determinant of the number and location of open facilities. We find that the vehicle routes play a decreasing role on the total cost as facility range increases. Furthermore, trade-off analyses on random graphs show that the total cost decreases almost linearly by increasing facility coverage range. We investigate the reasons behind this observation using arguments from asymptotic analysis and find that it is a common property when the customers are uniformly distributed.

Baseline population opinions on human papillomavirus (HPV) and HPV vaccination must be understood before physicians can address knowledge gaps in that population and encourage timely vaccination. To determine the opinions of parents of children age 9 to 18 on HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers (OPC); the associations with education level, socioeconomic status, and having a family member/friend with OPC; and the main concerns against having a vaccination., An anonymous survey was created and administered. Parents were asked to complete the survey if they met the inclusion criteria. After the survey, results were tabulated, and the answers for each question were analyzed. The target population was surveyed in the clinic. The target population was parents with children between 9 and 18 years old: the background knowledge and awareness of HPV-related OPC and associations with education level, socioeconomic status, having a family member/friend with OPC, and concerns about vaccination. Our study results showed that the age of parents, education level, marital status, personal vaccination status, and gender of the child are significant factors for background knowledge about HPV-related diseases. Similarly, the education level, the gender of the child, and personal vaccination status are significant factors towards attitudes against having children vaccinated. There is a strong correlation between background knowledge and attitudes. The main issues about vaccination are concerns about effectiveness and side effects, concerns about safe sex experiences, and the cost of vaccination. This is the first study designed to provide information on parents' knowledge of HPV-related cancers, prevalence of HPV vaccination, and attitudes and concerns about HPV vaccination in the USA. The lack of awareness of HPV-related cancers is a significant factor in attitudes against HPV vaccination.

* Arslantaş, Tuğba Kamali ( Aksaray, Yazar ), The purpose of this study was to establish a community of practice (CoP) called an academic research and writing group (ARWG), to improve the research and writing skills of graduate students, and to increase their levels of interaction while conducting their academic research. In the current study, formative research was implemented to improve the quality of academic output from the ARWG group. The study’s findings showed that specific features added through the ARWG provided both a positive impression toward the ARWG and encouraged novice researchers to work collaboratively.

SciVal Topics Metrics Abstract Socially shared metacognition is important for effective collaborative problem solving in virtual laboratory settings, A holistic account of socially shared metacognition in virtual laboratory settings is needed to advance our understanding, but previous studies have only focused on the isolated effect of each dimension on problem solving. This study thus applied learning analytics techniques to develop a comprehensive understanding of socially shared metacognition during collaborative problem solving in virtual laboratories. We manually coded 126 collaborative problem-solving scenarios in a virtual physics laboratory and then employed K-Means clustering analysis to identify patterns of socially shared metacognition. Four clusters were discovered. Statistical analysis was performed to investigate how the clusters were associated with the outcome of collaborative problem solving and also how they related to the difficulty level of problems. The findings of this study provided theoretical implications to advance the understanding of socially shared metacognition in virtual laboratory settings and also practical implications to foster effective collaborative problem solving in those settings.

We study the single allocation hub location problem with heterogeneous economies of scale (SAHLP-h). The SAHLP-h is a generalization of the classical single allocation hub location problem (SAHLP), in which the hub-hub connection costs are piecewise linear functions of the amounts of flow. We model the problem as an integer nonlinear program, which we then reformulate as a mixed integer linear program (MILP) and as a mixed integer quadratically constrained program (MIQCP). We exploit the special structures of these models to develop Benders-type decomposition methods with integer subproblems. We use an integer L-shaped decomposition to solve the MILP formulation. For the MIQCP, we dualize a set of complicating constraints to generate a Lagrangian function, which offers us a subproblem decomposition and a tight lower bound. We develop linear dual functions to underestimate the integer subproblem, which helps us obtain optimality cuts with a convergence guarantee by solving a linear program. Moreover, we develop a specialized polynomial-time algorithm to generate enhanced cuts. To evaluate the efficiency of our models and solution approaches, we perform extensive computational experiments on both uncapacitated and capacitated SAHLP-h instances derived from the classical Australian Post data set. The results confirm the efficacy of our solution methods in solving large-scale instances.

Let $R$ be any ring. In this paper we observe the relation between the center of $R$-ring $R$ and the center of usual ring $R$ and then prove if the center of $R$-ring $R$ is nonzero, then $R$ is commutative as a ring. We also show that the common hypothesis \[ a\alpha b\beta c=a\beta b\alpha c \hspace*{0,2cm}\text{for all}\hspace*{0,2cm} a,b,c\in M\hspace*{0,2cm} \text{and}\hspace*{0,2cm} \alpha,\beta\in\Gamma \] for a weak Nobusawa $\Gamma$-ring $M$ is sufficent for $M$ to be commutative. Also, we investigate some conditions on ideals of $\Gamma$-ring that make $M$ to be commutative.

The main purpose of this study was to examine a case in the context of a Faculty Technology Mentoring (FTM) program that provided customised technology integration support to faculty members in different disciplines. The FTM was implemented as a university-wide professional development model to enhance faculty members’ adoption of technology into their teaching practices. Following the embedded-case design method, this study investigated a one-to-one mentoring process within the program using TPACK as a framework for the analysis. The analysis of faculty experience revealed that the mentoring project had a positive influence not only on the teaching strategies of the instructor whilst delivering the content, but on the attitudes towards technology utilisation in general within the higher education context.

Origami matematik eğitiminde giderek artan şekilde kullanılan bir öğretim aracı haline gelmiştir ve origaminin başarılı bir şekilde kullanımında etkili bir ders planı hazırlamanın önemli bir rolü bulunmaktadır. Bu nedenle, bu çalışmada öğretmen adayları tarafından geliştirilen origami temelli matematik ders planları incelenmiştir. Çalışmaya katılan öğretmen adaylarından bir grup dört hafta süresince origami temelli matematik eğitimi hakkında bir eğitim alırken, diğer grup oniki haftalık bir eğitim almışlardır. Betimsel analiz sonuçları her iki gruptaki öğretmen adaylarının etkili origami temelli matematik ders planı geliştirebildiklerini göstermiştir. Ayrıca, ders planlarının içeriği incelendiğinde çoğunlukla geometri ve ölçme öğrenme alanına yönelik ders planlarının geliştirildiği görülmüştür. Eğitim süresi ile ders planının etkililiği arasındaki ilişkiyi test etmek üzere tek yönlü ANCOVA analizi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Analiz sonuçları daha uzun süre eğitim alan öğretmen adaylarının istatistiksel olarak daha etkili ders planı geliştirdikleri göstermiştir. Çalışma kapsamında elde edilen tüm bulgular tartışılmış ve bulgular ışığında çeşitli önerilerde bulunulmuştur., Origami became an increasingly used instructional tool in mathematics education and its successful use depends on developing effective origami-based mathematics lesson plans. Therefore, this study investigated origami-based mathematics lesson plans developed by preservice teachers who were trained for the effective use of origami in mathematics education in two courses in their teacher education program. Preservice teachers in one of these courses received origami-based mathematics education training for four weeks whereas preservice teachers in the other course received training for twelve weeks. Descriptive analyses revealed that preservice teachers were able to develop effective origami-based lesson plans after receiving training in these courses. Furthermore, it was revealed that they preferred to develop lesson plans mostly in the geometry and measurement content area. In order to test whether the effectiveness of lesson plans differs based on the training length of preservice teachers, one-way ANCOVA was performed. Analysis results indicated that preservice teachers who received longer training developed significantly more effective origami-based mathematics lesson plans. All the findings were discussed and some implications based on these findings were explained.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted personal and professional lives. Graduate students juggle a variety of roles and had to quickly adjust. In this article, six graduate students share their reflections regarding the influence of the pandemic on respective stages in their doctoral program. They provide unique personal and professional perspectives that depict their abrupt shift to remote working and remote learning. The intention of this article is to garner an understanding of graduate students' challenges during the pandemic, capture their strategies for success, and provide a space for further conversation and support about how the pandemic has impacted graduate students.

The refugee crisis is one of the major challenges of modern society. The influxes of refugees are usually sudden and the refugees are in sheer need of services such as health care, education and safety. Planning public services under an imminent humanitarian crisis requires simultaneous strategic and operational decisions. Inspired by a real-world problem that Red Crescent is facing in Southeast Turkey, we study the problem of locating refugee camps and planning transportation of public service providers from their institutions to the located camps. Our modeling approach brings a new facet to the location and routing problem by considering the location of beneficiaries as variables. We develop a branchprice-and-cut algorithm for the problem. To solve the pricing problem, we introduce a cycle-eliminating algorithm using nested recursion to generate elementary hop constrained shortest paths. The best version of our algorithm efficiently solves 244-node real-world instances optimally. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Given a graph, a set of origin-destination (OD) pairs with communication requirements, and an integer k ≥ 2, the network design problem with vulnerability constraints (NDPVC) is to identify a subgraph with the minimum total edge costs such that, between each OD pair, there exist a hop-constrained primary path and a hop-constrained backup path after any k − 1 edges of the graph fail. Formulations exist for single-edge failures (i.e., k = 2). To solve the NDPVC for an arbitrary number of edge failures, we develop two natural formulations based on the notion of length-bounded cuts. We compare their strengths and flexibilities in solving the problem for k ≥ 3. We study different methods to separate infeasible solutions by computing length-bounded cuts of a given size. Experimental results show that, for single-edge failures, our formulation increases the number of solved benchmark instances from 61% (obtained within a two-hour limit by the best published algorithm) to more than 95%, thus increasing the number of solved instances by 1,065. Our formulation also accelerates the solution process for larger hop limits and efficiently solves the NDPVC for general k. We test our best algorithm for two to five simultaneous edge failures and investigate the impact of multiple failures on the network design.

Strategic alliances are established between firms to improve their competitiveness in markets and generally appear in the form of joint ventures. Such collaborative efforts require centralized planning, and the survival of the alliance largely depends on the success of joint planning processes. In this regard, we investigate the opportunities that centralized collaboration can offer to firms when designing their service networks. Apart from the classical fixed and variable costs associated with the network design, we also consider transaction costs induced by the formation of the alliance, which can broadly be defined as cost components related to the coordination and monitoring of the people, efforts and resources. We concentrate on bilateral alliances and develop alternative models for solving their associated network design problem. We also adopt a state-of-the-art heuristic to solve large-scale instances. Our findings confirm that accounting for the transaction cost in network design is vital for the alliance. These transaction costs can be high enough to even render the collaboration unattractive. Hence, careful data collection and model treatment are required before deciding whether to form an alliance.

The Evasive Flow Capturing Problem is defined as the problem of locating a set of law enforcement facilities on the arcs of a road network to intercept unlawful vehicle flows traveling between origin-destination pairs, who in turn deviate from their route to avoid any encounter with such facilities. Such deviations are bounded by a given tolerance. We first propose a bilevel program that, in contrast to previous studies, does not require a priori route generation. We then transform this bilevel model into a single-stage equivalent model using duality theory to yield a compact formulation. We finally reformulate the problem by describing the extreme rays of the polyhedral cone of the compact formulation and by projecting out the auxiliary variables, which leads to facet-defining inequalities and a cut formulation with an exponential number of constraints. We develop a branch-and-cut algorithm for the resulting model, as well as two separation algorithms to solve the cut formulation. Through extensive experiments on real and randomly generated networks, we demonstrate that our best model and algorithm accelerate the solution process by at least two orders of magnitude compared with the best published algorithm. Furthermore, our best model significantly increases the size of the instances that can be solved optimally.

Because of the limited range of alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) and the sparsity of the available alternative refueling stations (AFSs), AFV drivers cooperatively deviate from their paths to refuel. This deviation is bounded by the drivers’ tolerance. Taking this behavior into account, the refueling station location problem with routing (RSLP-R) is defined as maximizing the AFV flow that can be accommodated in a road network by locating a given number of AFSs while respecting the range limitation of the vehicles and the deviation tolerance of the drivers. In this study, we develop a natural model for the RSLP-R based on the notion of length-bounded cuts, analyze the polyhedral properties of this model, and develop a branch-and-cut algorithm as an exact solution approach. Extensive computational experiments show that the algorithm significantly improves the solution times with respect to previously developed exact solution methods and extends the size of the instances solved to optimality. Using our methodology, we investigate the tradeoffs between covered vehicle flow and deviation tolerance of the drivers and present insights on deviation characteristics of drivers in a case study in California.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. We introduce a practically important and theoretically challenging problem: finding the minimum cost path for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) in a network with refueling and battery switching stations, considering electricity and gasoline as sources of energy with different cost structures and limitations. We show that this problem is NP-complete even though its electric vehicle and conventional vehicle special cases are polynomially solvable. We propose three solution techniques: (1) a mixed integer quadratically constrained program that incorporates non-fuel costs such as vehicle depreciation, battery degradation and stopping, (2) a dynamic programming based heuristic and (3) a shortest path heuristic. We conduct extensive computational experiments using both real world road network data and artificially generated road networks of various sizes and provide signifi- cant insights about the effects of driver preferences and the availability of battery switching stations on the PHEV economics. In particular, our findings show that increasing the number of battery switching stations may not be enough to overcome the range anxiety of the drivers.

Cataloged from PDF version of article. With increasing interest in alternative energy resources and technologies, mass penetration of PHEVs (plug-in hybrid vehicles) into the electricity grid and widespread utilization of DERs (distributed energy resources) are anticipated in the near future. As an aggregation unit, the VPP (virtual power plant) is introduced for load management and resource scheduling. In this article, we develop an energy management model for VPPs and analyze the cost and emission impacts of VPP formation and PHEV penetration. We conduct a case study for the state of California using real-world data from official resources. An average of 29.5% cost reduction and 79% CO2 and 83% NOx emission reductions are attained as shared benefits of consumers in the case study. Results are illustrative of opportunities that VPP formation can provide for the community. Sensitivity of the results to the DER costs and capacities, battery and gasoline prices are also analyzed. In addition, we prove that charging and discharging do not simultaneously occur in the solutions, which leads to a simplification in traditional energy management models. 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Background:The purpose of this study was to investigate beliefs and perceived self-efficacy beliefs of Turkish prospective elementary mathematics teachers in using origami in mathematics education and gender differences in their beliefs and perceived self-efficacy beliefs.Materials and methods:Data for the current study was collected via Origami in Mathematics Education Belief Scale (OMEBS) and Origami in Mathematics Education Self-Efficacy Scale (OMESS).Results:Descriptive analysis results indicated that prospective mathematics teachers strongly believe that origami is beneficial and effective to be used in mathematics education. However, their perceived self-efficacy beliefs are at little higher than moderate level. Lastly, independent sample t-test results revealed that female teacher candidates have significantly higher beliefs and perceived self-efficacy beliefs in using origami in mathematics education when compared with male teacher candidates.Conclusions:Prospective mathematics teachers' positive beliefs regarding the use of origami in mathematics education were not supported with their perceived self-efficacy belief levels. Therefore, it is possible to claim that prospective mathematics teachers need further support to successfully implement origami-based mathematics lessons.

The current study aims to develop and validate a scale in order to measure preservice and/or in-service teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs regarding the use of origami in mathematics education. In line with this purpose, Origami in Mathematics Education Self-Efficacy Scale (OMESS) is developed and administered to 143 preservice teachers in the pilot study. Exploratory factor analysis results indicate that single dimension explains 73 percent of the total variance. In the main study, OMESS is administered to 299 preservice teachers. Obtained data is analyzed with confirmatory factor analysis techniques, and RMSEA is found to be 0.068, NC is found to be 2.37, CFI and NFI are found to be 0.99. Furthermore, Cronbach alpha coefficient for the single dimension is calculated as 0.94. Followed by the additional validation studies, OMESS might serve as a valuable tool in order to measure self-efficacy beliefs on the use of origami in mathematics education.

The deviation flow refueling location problem is to locate p refueling stations in order to maximize the flow volume that can be refueled respecting the range limitations of the alternative fuel vehicles and the shortest path deviation tolerances of the drivers. We first provide an enhanced compact model based on a combination of existing models in the literature for this relatively new operations research problem. We then extend this problem and introduce the refueling station location problem which adds the routing aspect of the individual drivers. Our proposed branch and price algorithm relaxes the simple path assumption generally adopted in the existing studies and implicitly takes into account deviation tolerances without the pregeneration of the routes. Therefore, the decrease in solution times with respect to existing models is significant and our algorithm scales very efficiently to more realistic network dimensions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. and Association of European Operational Research Societies (EURO) within the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS). All rights reserved.

The flow refueling location problem (FRLP) locates p stations in order to maximize the flow volume that can be accommodated in a road network respecting the range limitations of the vehicles. This paper introduces the charging station location problem with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (CSLP-PHEV) as a generalization of the FRLP. We consider not only the electric vehicles but also the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles when locating the stations. Furthermore, we accommodate multiple types of these vehicles with different ranges. Our objective is to maximize the vehicle-miles-traveled using electricity and thereby minimize the total cost of transportation under the existing cost structure between electricity and gasoline. This is also indirectly equivalent to maximizing the environmental benefits. We present an arc-cover formulation and a Benders decomposition algorithm as exact solution methodologies to solve the CSLP-PHEV. The decomposition algorithm is accelerated using Pareto-optimal cut generation schemes. The structure of the formulation allows us to construct the subproblem solutions, dual solutions and nondominated Pareto-optimal cuts as closed form expressions without having to solve any linear programs. This increases the efficiency of the decomposition algorithm by orders of magnitude and the results of the computational studies show that the proposed algorithm both accelerates the solution process and effectively handles instances of realistic size for both CSLP-PHEV and FRLP. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In this paper, we consider problems originating from one of the largest Internet service providers operating in Turkey. The company mainly faces two different design problems: the green field design (area with no Internet access) and the copper field re-design (area with limited access over copper networks). In the green field design problem, the aim is to design a least cost fiber optical network that will provide high bandwidth Internet access from a given central station to a set of aggregated demand nodes. Such an access can be provided either directly by installing fibers or indirectly by utilizing passive splitters. Insertion loss, bandwidth level and distance limitations should simultaneously be considered in order to provide a least cost design to enable the required service level. In the re-design of the copper field application, the aim is to improve the current service level by augmenting the network with fiber optical wires, specifically by adding cabinets to copper rings in the existing infrastructure and by constructing direct fiber links from cabinets to distant demand nodes. Mathematical models are constructed for both problem specifications. Extensive computational results based on realistic data from Kartal (45 nodes) and Bakırköy (74 nodes) districts in Istanbul show that the proposed models are viable exact solution methodologies for moderate dimensions. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd

We aimed to examine mechanistically the observed foraging differences across two honey bee, Apis mellifera, subspecies using the Proboscis Extension Response (PER) assay. Specifically, we compared differences in appetitive reversal learning ability between honey bee subspecies:Apis mellifera caucasica(Pollman), andApis mellifera syriaca(Skorikov) in a “common garden” apiary. It was hypothesized that specific learning differences could explain previously observed foraging behavior differences of these subspecies: A.m. caucasica switches between different flower color morphs in response to reward variability, and A.m. syriaca does not switch. We suggest that flower constancy allows reduced exposure by minimizing search and handling time, whereas plasticity is important when maximizing harvest in preparation for long winter is at a premium. In the initial or Acquisition phase of the test we examined specifically discrimination learning, where bees were trained to respond to a paired conditioned stimulus with an unconditioned stimulus and not to respond to a second conditioned stimulus that is not followed by an unconditioned stimulus. We found no significant differences among the subspecies in the Acquisition phase in appetitive learning. During the second, Reversal phase of the experiment, where flexibility in association was tested, the paired and unpaired conditioned stimuli were reversed. During the Reversal phaseA. mellifera syriacashowed a reduced ability to learn the reverse association in the appetitive learning task. This observation is consistent with the hypothesis that A.m. syriaca foragers cannot change the foraging choice because of lack of flexibility in appetitive associations under changing contingencies. Interestingly, both subspecies continued responding to the previously rewarded conditioned stimulus in the reversal phase. We discuss potential ecological correlates and molecular underpinnings of these differences in learning across the two subspecies. In addition, in a supplemental experiment we demonstrated that these differences in appetitive reversal learning do not occur in other learning contexts.

Chapter 11 Smart Grid is transforming the way energy is being generated and distributed today, leading to the development of environment-friendly, economic and efficient technologies such as plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs), distributed energy resources and smart appliances at homes. Among these technologies, PEVs pose both a risk by increasing the peak load as well as an opportunity for the existing energy management systems by discharging electricity with the help of Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. These complications, together with the PEV battery degradation, compound the challenge in the management of existing energy systems. In this context, microgrids are proposed as an aggregation unit to smartly manage the energy exchange of these different state-of-the-art technologies. In this chapter, we consider a microgrid with a high level of PEV penetration into the transportation system, widespread utilization of smart appliances at homes, distributed energy generation and community-level electricity storage units. We propose a mixed integer linear programming energy management optimization model to schedule the charging and discharging times of PEVs, electricity storage units, and running times of smart appliances. Our findings show that simultaneous charging and discharging of PEV batteries and electricity storage units do not occur in model solutions due to system energy losses.

In a road network with refueling and fast charging stations, the minimum-cost driving path of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) depends on factors such as location and availability of refueling/fast charging stations, capacity and cost of PHEV batteries, and driver tolerance towards extra mileage or additional stopping. In this paper, our focus is long-distance trips of PHEVs. We analyze the impacts of battery characteristics, often-overlooked driver preferences and road network features on PHEV travel costs for long-distance trips and compare the results with hybrid electric and conventional vehicles. We investigate the significance of these factors and derive critical managerial insights for shaping the future investment decisions about PHEVs and their infrastructure. In particular, ourfindings suggest that with a certain level of deployment of fast charging stations, well established cost and emission benefits of PHEVs for the short range trips can be extended to long distance. Drivers' stopping intolerance may hamper these benefits; however, increasing battery capacity may help overcome the adverse effects of this intolerance. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd.

Macular complications occurred in two isolated patients who had pericentral pigmentary retinopathy. One patient demonstrated bilateral bull's-eye maculopathy and a unilateral full-thickness macular hole. Later, she developed central retinal artery occlusion in the fellow eye. The second patient had a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment that was reattached by scleral buckling surgery, but a full-thickness macular hole was found 3 months postoperatively. In both patients, foveal ischemia may have played a role for the development of macular hole, resulting in poor visual prognosis in pericentral pigmentary retinopathy.

We investigated the possible subclinical involvement of the optic nerve and higher visual pathways in Behcet's disease by assessing the P100 wave in pattern-reversal visual evoked potential (PVEP) recordings. Alterations of amplitude and latency of the P100 wave were evaluated in 82 eyes of 48 patients who showed ocular signs with posterior segment involvement (ocular Behcet group) and in 42 eyes of 21 patients who manifested no signs of ocular involvement (non-ocular Behcet group). The results were compared with the PVEP recordings of 44 eyes of 22 age-matched healthy subjects (control group). Only two eyes (2.4%) of patients with ocular Behcet's disease had an undetectable P100 wave, whereas all eyes of patients with non-ocular Behcet's and all eyes of healthy subjects had a clearly identified P100 wave. Statistical evaluation of P1 00 wave latency showed no significant differences when comparing each group (p

Let $M$ be a $\gamma$-prime weak Nobusawa $\Gamma $-ring and $d\neq 0$ be a $k$-derivation of $M$ such that $k\left( \gamma \right) =0$ and $U$ be a $\gamma$-Lie ideal of $M$. In this paper, we introduce definitions of $\gamma$-subring, $\gamma$-ideal, $\gamma$-prime $\Gamma$-ring and $\gamma$-Lie ideal of M and prove that if $U\nsubseteq C_{\gamma}$, $char$M$\neq2$ and $d^3\neq0$, then the $\gamma$-subring generated by $d(U)$ contains a nonzero ideal of $M$. We also prove that if $[u,d(u)]_{\gamma}\in C_{\gamma}$ for all $u\in U$, then $U$ is contained in the $\gamma$-center of $M$ when char$M\neq2$ or $3$. And if $[u,d(u)]_{\gamma}\in C_{\gamma}$ for all $u\in U$ and $U$ is also a $\gamma$-subring, then $U$ is $\gamma$-commutative when char$M=2$.

To evaluate the effects of short-term chlorambucil therapy in the management of uveitis due to Behcet's disease.Forty-four patients with refractory uveitis associated with Behcet's disease who had had short-term chlorambucil therapy for about 23 weeks were included in the study. The frequency of attacks (number of attacks per year) and the longest period between the attacks were analyzed to evaluate the efficiency of the therapy. The therapy was judged to be effective if the patient hador =1 attack a year and/oror =1 year between the attacks.The mean follow-up time was 51.4 +/- 32.5 months (range: 13-122 months). Following the therapy, the mean frequency of attacks had decreased from 4.9 +/- 2.3 to 0.9 +/- 1.4 (p0.0001) and the mean longest period between the attacks was prolonged from 4.4 +/- 2.3 months to 25.7 +/- 23.1 months (p0.0001). The ratio of severe attacks had decreased from 74.1 +/- 34% to 51.3 +/- 36.6% (p = 0.0218). The best-corrected visual acuity was increased in 32.9%, decreased in 34.2%, and the same in 32.9% of the eyes. Phytsis bulbi developed in three (3.8%) eyes. New attacks were seen in 56.8% of patients and another immunosuppressive agent(s) was given to 40.9% of the patients 1-8 months after treatment. No serious side effects were observed during the chlorambucil therapy.Short-term chlorambucil therapy for refractory uveitis in Behcet's disease is effective in controlling the disease in two-thirds of patients.

To investigate the effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in chronic posterior blepharitis.This was a prospective randomized, controlled study that included 79 eyes of 40 patients with chronic posterior blepharitis. Routine ophthalmologic examination, Schirmer-1 test, fluorescein break-up time (FBUT), and mucous fern tests were carried out during the first visit of all patients. A topical steroid, topical antibiotic, and artificial tears were started in 36 eyes of 18 patients. The therapy group (43 eyes of 22 patients) was administered three daily doses of 100 mg oral NAC. All patients were examined weekly for 1 to 4 months (average, 24 +/- 0.7). A Schirmer-1 test and FBUT were administered at every visit, but mucous fern tests were administered every two weeks. The results of the first and last Schirmer-1 tests, FBUT, and mucous fern test were compared between the therapy and control groups. Student's t and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for statistical analysis.FBUT was significantly increased (p0.0001), and the mucous fern pattern was also significantly improved (p = 0.0096) in the therapy group.NAC is thought to increase FBUT and improve mucous fern pattern by blocking lipid peroxidation in chronic blepharitis.