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MR-guided Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (MRgLITT) is a minimally invasive neurosurgical technique increasingly used for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy and brain tumors. Utilizing near-infrared light energy delivery guided by real-time MRI thermometry, MRgLITT enables precise ablation of targeted brain tissues, resulting in limited corridor-related morbidity and expedited postoperative recovery. Since receiving CE marking in 2018, the adoption of MRgLITT has expanded to more than 40 neurosurgical centers across Europe. In epilepsy treatment, MRgLITT can be applied to various types of focal lesional epilepsy, including mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, hypothalamic hamartoma, focal cortical dysplasias, periventricular heterotopias, cavernous malformations, dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumors (DNET), low-grade gliomas, tuberous sclerosis, and in disconnective surgeries. In neuro-oncology, MRgLITT is used for treating newly diagnosed and recurrent primary brain tumors, brain metastases, and radiation necrosis. This comprehensive review presents an overview of the current evidence and technical considerations for the use of MRgLITT in treating various pathologies associated with drug-resistant epilepsy and brain tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an overview of teaching English vocabulary in the context of 21st century advancements and challenges, within the field of English language teaching and outside. It takes review of 21st century learning components comprised of learning competencies, learning modalities, ICT, and infrastructure in relevance to English language teaching in general and English vocabulary teaching in particular. It discusses different approaches and techniques of vocabulary teaching. It argues that vocabulary is foundational blocks of language. Mastering vocabulary is indispensable in (second) language learning. Besides methods of vocabulary teaching, learners’ personal trait such as motivation and self-efficacy are also crucial in mastering English vocabulary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights This study explores the development of nanocomposites by incorporating multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), titanium nitride (TiN), and cubic boron nitride (c‐BN) nano powders into photo‐polymer epoxy resins for use in Stereolithography (SLA) additive manufacturing. Mechanical and thermal properties were systematically investigated to assess their performance. Initially, MWCNT, TiN, and c‐BN nano powders were homogeneously mixed with the resin to ensure uniformity. The resulting mixtures were then processed using SLA technology to evaluate production quality and material performance. The study revealed significant improvements in mechanical and thermal properties compared to pure resin, aligning with previous research outcomes. Specifically, the incorporation of MWCNT led to a notable enhancement in thermal conductivity, showing an increase of 24.21% as the thermal conductivity coefficient increased from 0.19 to 2.36 W/m·k. On the other hand, c‐BN significantly boosted mechanical strength, resulting in a substantial 20.45% increase as the shore D hardness went from 88.53 to 106.64. These findings highlight the promising potential of nanocomposites across various industries including electronics, aerospace, automotive, construction, medical devices, and manufacturing. Developed nanocomposites with MWCNT, TiN, and c‐BN in SLA resin. c‐BN increased hardness by 20.45%, proving its effectiveness in composites. MWCNT enhanced thermal conductivity by 24.21%, boosting material performance. Pioneering use of TiN and c‐BN in SLA, addressing gaps in existing research. Applications span electronics, aerospace, automotive and medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation of the bile ducts and surrounding tissues can impede bile flow from the liver into the intestines. If this occurs, a plastic or self-expanding metal (SEM) stent is placed to restore bile drainage. United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved plastic biliary stents are less expensive than SEMs but have limited patency and can occlude bile flow if placed spanning a duct juncture. Recently, we investigated the effects of variations to post-processing and autoclaving on a commercially available stereolithography (SLA) resin in an effort to produce a suitable material for use in a biliary stent, an FDA Class II medical device. We tested six variations from the manufacturer's recommended post-processing and found that tripling the isopropanol (IPA) wash time to 60 min and reducing the time and temperature of the UV cure to 10 min at 40 °C, followed by a 30 min gravity autoclave cycle, yielded a polymer that was flexible and non-cytotoxic. In turn, we designed and fabricated customizable, SLA 3D-printed polymeric biliary stents that permit bile flow at a duct juncture and can be deployed via catheter. Next, we generated an in silico stent 3-point bend test to predict displacements and peak stresses in the stent designs. We confirmed our simulation accuracy with experimental data from 3-point bend tests on SLA 3D-printed stents. Unfortunately, our 3-point bend test simulation indicates that, when bent to the degree needed for placement via catheter (~30°), the peak stress the stents are predicted to experience would exceed the yield stress of the polymer. Thus, the risk of permanent deformation or damage during placement via catheter to a stent printed and post-processed as we have described would be significant. Moving forward, we will test alternative resins and post-processing parameters that have increased elasticity but would still be compatible with use in a Class II medical device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dengue virus (DENV) is the most significant arthropod-borne viral pathogen in humans with 400 million infections annually. DENV comprises four distinct serotypes (DENV-1 to -4) which complicates vaccine development. Any of the four serotypes can cause clinical illness but with distinctive infection dynamics. Variations in sequences identified within the four genomes induce structural differences in crucial RNA motifs that were suggested to be correlated to the degree of pathogenicity among DENV-1 to -4. In particular, the RNA Stem-loop A (SLA) at the 5′-end of the genome, acts as a key regulator of the viral replication cycle by interacting with the viral NS5 polymerase to initiate the minus-strand viral RNA synthesis and later to methylate and cap the synthesized RNA. The molecular details of this interaction remain not fully described. Here, we report the solution secondary structures of SLA from DENV-1 to -4. Our results highlight that the four SLA exhibit structural and dynamic differences. Secondly, to determine whether SLA RNA contains serotype-specific determinants for the recognition by the viral NS5 protein, we investigated interactions between SLA from DENV -1 to -4 and DENV2 NS5 using combined biophysical approaches. Our results show that NS5 from DENV2 is able to bind SLA from other serotypes, but that other viral or host factors may be necessary to stabilize the complex and promote the catalytically active state of the NS5. By contrast, we show that a serotype-specific binding is driven by specific interactions involving conformational changes within the SLA RNA. • SLA RNA from DENV-1 to -4 exhibit structural and dynamics differences. • First NMR description of viral NS5 polymerase binding to SLA RNA. • Binding of NS5 to serotype-specific SLA induces structural rearrangement. • Binding of NS5 to a non-serotype-specific SLA occurs through different mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the written production of direct object (DO) anaphora in L2 Spanish by adult English native speakers. It focuses on the use of clitics and full DPs in topic continuity, where highly salient topics are typically recovered by clitics in native Spanish. A combination of pragmatic factors in subject anaphora resolution (referential ambiguity and distance) and morphosyntactic factors in the acquisition of clitics (gender and animacy) was analyzed in 5 subcorpora from the CEDEL2 (Corpus Escrito del Español L2). Following Learner Corpus Research methodology, 773 anaphoric DOs and their antecedents were tagged across 150 texts (from low-intermediate to upper-advanced proficiency). Results showed that as learner proficiency increases, the predominant anaphoric strategy shifts from redundant DP overuse to felicitous pronominalization. Clitic avoidance is the general strategy intimately related to clitics' morphosyntactic deficits at advanced levels, but also to pragmatic principles supporting the Pragmatic Principles Violation Hypothesis (Lozano, 2016). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D printing technology holds tremendous promise for applications in the medical field, particularly in the creation of anatomical models. The accuracy of 3D-printed anatomical models is of utmost importance, especially for surgeons engaged in complex surgical planning. The goal of this study was to create an anatomically precise model of brain tissue using data obtained from an MRI scan, with a resin-based Masked Stereolithography 3D printer, and to assess the model's potential uses. The process of creating an anatomical brain model with an SLA 3D printer was divided into six fundamental stages. The 3D printing process for this project necessitated 55.4 g of resin, and the total printing time was 4 h and 56 min. Any liquid resin residues on the brain structure eliminated through cleaning have been conducted using 99.6 % pure isopropyl alcohol. Following the printing phase, the produced model underwent a curing process in a chamber illuminated with ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 405 nm to ensure complete solidification. Once solidification is completed, the dimensions of the brain are measured with a micrometer and compared with those digitally generated from the MRI scan data. The results showed that the overall dimensional error was less than 1 %. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

3D printing technology holds tremendous promise for applications in the medical field, particularly in the creation of anatomical models. The accuracy of 3D-printed anatomical models is of utmost importance, especially for surgeons engaged in complex surgical planning. The goal of this study was to create an anatomically precise model of brain tissue using data obtained from an MRI scan, with a resin-based Masked Stereolithography 3D printer, and to assess the model's potential uses. The process of creating an anatomical brain model with an SLA 3D printer was divided into six fundamental stages. The 3D printing process for this project necessitated 55.4 g of resin, and the total printing time was 4 h and 56 min. Any liquid resin residues on the brain structure eliminated through cleaning have been conducted using 99.6 % pure isopropyl alcohol. Following the printing phase, the produced model underwent a curing process in a chamber illuminated with ultraviolet light at a wavelength of 405 nm to ensure complete solidification. Once solidification is completed, the dimensions of the brain are measured with a micrometer and compared with those digitally generated from the MRI scan data. The results showed that the overall dimensional error was less than 1 %.

Competing service providers in the cloud environment ensure services are delivered under the promised security requirements. It is crucial for mobile services where user's movement results in the service's migration between edge servers or clouds in the Continuum. Maintaining service sovereignty before, during, and after the migration is a real challenge, especially when the service provider has committed to ensuring its quality following the Service Level Agreement. In this paper, we present the main challenges mobile service providers face in a cloud environment to guarantee the required level of security and digital sovereignty as described in the Security Service Level Agreement, with emphasis on challenges resulting from the service migration between the old and new locations. We present the security and sovereignty context intended for migration and the steps of the migration algorithm. We also analyze three specific service migration cases for three vertical industries with different service quality requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of printing material, build angle, and artificial aging on the accuracy of SLA- and DLP-printed occlusal devices in comparison to each other and to subtractively manufactured devices. A total of 192 occlusal devices were manufactured by one SLA-printing and two DLP-printing methods in 5 different build angles as well as milling. The specimens were scanned and superimposed to their initial CAD data and each other to obtain trueness and precision data values. A second series of scans were performed after the specimens underwent an artificial aging simulation by thermocycling. Again, trueness and precision were investigated, and pre- and post-aging values were compared. A statistically significant influence was found for all main effects: manufacturing method, build angle, and thermocycling, confirmed by two-way ANOVA. Regarding trueness, overall tendency indicated that subtractively manufactured splints were more accurate than the 3D-printed, with mean deviation values around ±0.15 mm, followed by the DLP1 group, with ±0.25 mm at 0 degree build angle. Within the additive manufacturing methods, DLP splints had significantly higher trueness for all build angles compared to SLA, which had the highest mean deviation values, with ±0.32 mm being the truest to the original CAD file. Regarding precision, subtractive manufacturing showed better accuracy than additive manufacturing. The artificial aging demonstrated a significant influence on the dimensional accuracy of only SLA-printed splints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most existing autoscaling approaches help to avoid violating the performance-related Service Level Objectives (SLO). However, these solutions do not aim to recover the SLO. The proposed novel autoscaling solution covers both SLO violation avoidance and recovery. The SLO failure avoidance part of the solution aims to avoid SLO violations by adjusting autoscaling thresholds based on compliance with SLO. It also dynamically selects the required CPU threshold, cooldown intervals and the number of replicas based on load velocity. The recovery part of the solution aims to recover SLO by additional resource provisioning if SLO is violated due to a delay or resource underestimation. The proposed implementation of the solution targets embarrassingly parallel workloads. It is compared with two autoscaling solutions in five workload scenarios, evaluating the ability of the solution to operate close to the defined SLO values. The results show that the proposed solution provides sufficient resources to support or recover performance-based SLOs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper influence of several factors on shape accuracy and compressive strength of parts is analysed. First simulation software is used for prediction. Parts are cylindrical with 20 mm diameter, manufactured via SLA additive manufacturing technology. 1mm thick Gyroid TPMS structure is generated in cylinders with different volume % (30,40,50 %). Thanks to drainage holes it was possible to create parts that are hollowed, but have solid shell around and TPMS inside. Different tesselation approaches are tried (cylindrical and rectangural). Different radius of roundness is also tried on the surfaces joining tpms and shell of cylinder (0, 0.5, 1mm) Compression tests are then conducted and results are analysed in the form of graphs and colour map of deviations. Results are also compared with solid and fully hollow cylinders. Study finds that the maximum strength of the bodies is influenced by tessellation method, infill percentage, and blend radius. Higher infill percentages generally result in increased strength due to greater material volume transmitting loading force. While tessellation affects samples without shells, its impact is negligible on samples with shells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As interest in additive manufacturing (AM) continues to increase, it has become more important to have a robust method to help potential users select the AM process that best suits their technological needs while providing the greatest potential benefits in terms of sustainability and its effect on people. This paper presents the development of a framework for selecting the best AM process for a given application by considering both sustainability and human factors through the combination of axiomatic design and the analytic hierarchy process. Thirty-one participants with varying levels of expertise (novice and advanced users) were involved in the study, considering the frequency of 3D printer usage (novice users: never, rarely; expert users: sometimes, almost always, always) for prototyping parts. They employed fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA) (both 3D desktop printers) and collected data on five evaluation criteria. The participation of experts helped establish a novel methodology, with material cost deemed most important (49.8%), followed by cycle time (28%), energy consumption (11.7%), error rate (6.6%), and equipment noise (3.9%). The results showed that FDM was the optimal equipment option for advanced users. By examining the information content of the other options, it was found that FDM demanded less information than SLA, regardless of the user's level of expertise. The proposed method is appropriate to assess the sustainability aspect of FDM and SLA; however, it can be further improved by adding indicators such as environmental impact, recyclability, and ergonomic and occupational health factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The additive manufacturing technology is best suited for the use of nanocomposite materials. They have the remarkable capacity to adapt to changing conditions by altering their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Additive manufacturing (AM) creates three-dimensional objects by layering materials together. Nanocomposite materials have a greater surface to volume ratio in the reinforced phase, making them suitable for AM. Polymer nanocomposites, nylon-12, nylon-6, graphene nanoplates, polyamide 12 are some materials for AM enhancing the product quality. TiC/Ti nanocomposite, Ceramic-based nanocomposite, Polymer/carbon nano tube nanocomposites, PA6/Hectorite clay nanocomposites are being discussed in briefly. SLA, 3DP, SLS, EP, FDM, etc. are the techniques of for manufacturing of products in additive manufacturing. Fundamentals of seven AM processes, its mechanical properties are discussed in this chapter. This chapter also goes through a few of the flaws. The use of nanomaterials in the area of AM has a lot of promise, and there is a growing interest among academics and industry to look for new advancements. New creative nanomaterials and AM techniques are still being researched, and the collaborative energy between these two fascinating areas will shape the future of AM and nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a novel microfluidic mixer designed, fabricated, and characterized using additive manufacturing technology—stereolithography (SLA)—and harnessing capillarity principles achieved through microstructure patterning. Micromixers are integral components in optimizing mixing and reaction processes within microfluidic systems. The proposed microdevice employs a tank mixing method capable of blending two fluids. With a channel length of up to 6 mm, the process time is remarkably swift at 3 s, and the compact device measures 35 × 40 × 5 mm. The capillarity-driven working flow rates range from 1 μL/s to 37 μL/s, facilitated by channel dimensions varying between 400 μm and 850 μm. The total liquid volume within the device channels is 1652 mL (6176 μL including the supply tanks). The mix index, representing the homogeneity of the two fluids, is approximately 0.55 along the main channel. The manufacturing process, encompassing printing, isopropyl cleaning, and UV (ultraviolet) curing, is completed within 90 min. This microfluidic mixer showcases efficient mixing capabilities, rapid processing, and a compact design, marking it as a promising advancement in microfluidic technology. The new microfluidic mixer is a major step forward in microfluidic technology, providing a cost-effective and flexible solution for various uses. Its compatibility with SLA additive manufacturing allows for quick prototyping and design improvements, making it valuable for research and practical applications in chemistry, biology, and diagnostics. This study highlights the importance of combining advanced manufacturing techniques with basic fluid dynamics to create effective and easy-to-use microfluidic solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fog computing has emerged as a decentralized computing paradigm that extends cloud services to the network edge, enabling faster data processing and real-time applications. The increasing popularity of fog computing has led to the emergence of a potential market involving users and providers of fog resources. However, both parties are driven by self-interest and seek to maximize their utility, giving rise to multiple conflicts extending beyond mere price considerations. Negotiations can play a crucial role in resolving conflicts and establishing mutually beneficial service level agreements. Moreover, in the heterogeneous fog environment, quality of service attributes, such as throughput, delay, trust, power dissipation, etc., vary significantly among different user-fog associations. These attributes, although non-negotiable, hold great importance for entities and directly influence partner selection. Entities may exhibit a preference for one another based on these non-negotiable attributes. To the best of our knowledge, no existing literature specifically addresses the issue of associating with a preferred trading partner at a negotiated value for multiple issues in the fog environment. This research aims to address this gap and provide insights into this unexplored area. This work presents a novel Preference-based Muti-Issue Negotiation Algorithm, PMINA, for many to many, bilateral and concurrent negotiations in the fog environment. The results confirm the significance of PMINA, demonstrating a substantial enhancement in user and fog utilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attack of donor tissues by pre‐formed anti‐pig antibodies is well known to cause graft failure in xenotransplantation. Genetic engineering of porcine donors to eliminate targets of these pre‐formed antibodies coupled with advances in immunosuppressive medicines have now made it possible to achieve extended survival in the pre‐clinical pig‐to‐non‐human primate model. Despite these improvements, antibodies remain a risk over the lifetime of the transplant, and many patients continue to have pre‐formed donor‐specific antibodies even to highly engineered pigs. While therapeutics exist that can help mitigate the detrimental effects of antibodies, they act broadly potentially dampening beneficial immunity. Identifying additional xenoantigens may enable more targeted approaches, such as gene editing, to overcome these challenges by further eliminating antibody targets on donor tissue. Because we have found that classical class I swine leukocyte antigens are targets of human antibodies, we now examine whether related pig proteins may also be targeted by human antibodies. We show here that non‐classical class I swine leukocyte proteins (SLA‐6, ‐7, ‐8) can be expressed at the surface of mammalian cells and act as antibody targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface modifications for titanium, a material of choice for dental implants, can greatly alter the surface micro/nanotopography and composition of implants, leading to notable enhancements in their hydrophilicity, mechanical properties, osseointegration performance, and antibacterial performance, as well as their impacts on osteoblast activity and bone formation processes. This article aims to update titanium surface modification techniques for dental implants from the past to the present, along with their effects on osteoblasts and bone formation, by thoroughly summarizing findings from published studies. Peer-reviewed articles published in English consisting of in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies on titanium dental implant surface treatments were searched in Google Scholar, PubMed/MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, and the Scopus databases from January 1983 to December 2023 and included in this review. The previous studies show that implant surface roughness, condition, and hydrophilicity are crucial for osteoblast adhesion and growth. While various techniques enhance osseointegration comparably, one of the most common approaches to accomplishing these properties is sandblasting large-grit acid etching surface treatment and coating with hydroxyapatite or chitosan. In conclusion, this review points out the efficacy of different subtraction and addition techniques in enhancing the surface properties of titanium dental implants, promoting favorable outcomes in terms of osteoblast activity and bone formation in various degrees. However, most existing studies predominantly compare treated and non-treated titanium, revealing a need for more comprehensive studies comparing the effects of various modification techniques. Moreover, further investigation of factors playing a role in the dynamic osseointegration process in addition to osteoblasts and their functions, as well as improved surface modification techniques for the treatment of compromised patients, is greatly required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present-day world, to remain globally connected with outside world, it has become necessary to learn a language especially English that is beginning to influence the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) field. The present research aims to find the ways through which bilingualism in teaching English is perceived as a facilitating factor in teaching and learning a second language, to analyze the impact of learners’ and teachers’ cultures in the English language in a bilingual classroom, and to explore what challenges, do English teachers face in teaching a bilingual classroom. The researcher has employed mixed method. Sociocultural theory of Russian psychologist, Lev Vygotsky has been used as theoretical framework. . The researcher has used semi-structured interviews, questionnaires ad classroom observation as data collection tools. The data obtained as a result of the questionnaires have been analyzed by using SPSS and thematic analysis has been done for the analysis of interviews. The findings of the research revealed bilingualism has a minor but significant impact on how meaning and content are transmitted. The findings of this study have also shown how the learner's native language may facilitate the transmission of these abilities in this regard. In doing so, it highlights the most beneficial aspects of learning a language within the context of L1 usage. When second language learners rarely participate with native speakers outside of class, the use of L2 in the classroom is especially encouraged. The easiest method is to implement English as a second language classroom management. When a group of students shares a first language, there is a greater possibility that they will all try to complete tasks in that language. Most research participants learned that 10% of class time ought to be set out for L1 speaking. This has been my experience, anyway. A lower percentage as pupils improve their English skills. Naturally, except for a course in translation, of course. The future researchers can do in-depth study of practices and activities used by instructors in TESOL classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated fluid dynamics in curved microchannels, exploring 3D printing parameters, channel geometry, and fluid properties, crucial for applications in medicine and energy. It highlighted the importance of microfluidics in handling small samples and enabling rapid analysis, stressing the need for precise measurement techniques to validate fluid velocity. Using 3D printing for microchannel design illustrated their utility, with microscopy aiding flow behavior comprehension. The research aimed to validate fluid velocity, covering technology analysis, microdevice design, fabrication, and measurement methodologies. It successfully fabricated microdevices confirming fluid movement via capillarity, revealing the relationship between channel radius and flow velocity. Distinct flow velocity patterns were observed, vital for design optimization. The study affirmed capillary flow as a spontaneous phenomenon, with fluid velocity variations along curved microchannels consistent with mass conservation principles in incompressible flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration system that provides a built-in module for dynamic resource provisioning named the Horizontal Pod Autoscaler (HPA). The HPA identifies the number of resources to be provisioned by calculating the ratio between the current and target utilisation metrics. The target utilisation metric, or threshold, directly impacts how many and how quickly resources will be provisioned. However, the determination of the threshold that would allow satisfying performance-based Service Level Objectives (SLOs) is a long, error-prone, manual process because it is based on the static threshold principle and requires manual configuration. This might result in underprovisioning or overprovisioning, leading to the inadequate allocation of computing resources or SLO violations. Numerous autoscaling solutions have been introduced as alternatives to the HPA to simplify the process. However, the HPA is still the most widely used solution due to its ease of setup, operation, and seamless integration with other Kubernetes functionalities. The present study proposes a method that utilises exploratory data analysis techniques along with moving average smoothing to identify the target utilisation threshold for the HPA. The objective is to ensure that the system functions without exceeding the maximum number of events that result in a violation of the response time defined in the SLO. A prototype was created to adjust the threshold values dynamically, utilising the proposed method. This prototype enables the evaluation and comparison of the proposed method with the HPA, which has the highest threshold set that meets the performance-based SLOs. The results of the experiments proved that the suggested method adjusts the thresholds to the desired service level with a 1–2% accuracy rate and only 4–10% resource overprovisioning, depending on the type of workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hanna Komorowska, full professor of applied linguistics and language teaching, University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Warsaw, works in the field of pre- and in-service teacher education. As head of the curriculum development centre, she built a team which designed the first set of communicative syllabus documents for second and foreign languages taught in the Polish school system. After the fall of communism, she was heading the Expert Committee for foreign language teaching and teacher education reform in Poland. Former vice-President of Warsaw University, the Polish delegate for the Modern Languages Project Group of the Council of Europe, member of the EU High Level Group on Multilingualism, consultant to the European Centre of Modern Languages in Graz, co-author of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages she now serves as president of the Polish edition of the European Language Label and the Training and Consultancy expert of the ECML.

IntroductionThe migration of business and scientific operations to the cloud and the surge in data from IoT devices have intensified the complexity of cloud resource scheduling. Ensuring efficient resource distribution in line with user-specified SLA and QoS demands novel scheduling solutions. This study scrutinizes contemporary Virtual Machine (VM) scheduling strategies, shedding light on the complexities and future prospects of VM design and aims to propel further research by highlighting existing obstacles and untapped potential in the ever-evolving realm of cloud and multi-access edge computing (MEC).MethodImplementing a Systematic Literature Review (SLR), this research dissects VM scheduling techniques. A meticulous selection process distilled 67 seminal studies from an initial corpus of 722, spanning from 2008 to 2022. This critical filtration has been pivotal for grasping the developmental trajectory and current tendencies in VM scheduling practices.ResultThe in-depth examination of 67 studies on VM scheduling has produced a taxonomic breakdown into three principal methodologies: traditional, heuristic, and meta-heuristic. The review underscores a marked shift toward heuristic and meta-heuristic methods, reflecting their growing significance in the advancement of VM scheduling.ConclusionAlthough VM scheduling has progressed markedly, the focus remains predominantly on metaheuristic and heuristic approaches. The analysis enlightens ongoing challenges and the direction of future developments, highlighting the necessity for persistent research and innovation in this sector.

Additive manufacturing has been widely used in various industries, including the healthcare sector. Over the last few decades, AM has been playing an important role in the medical field in different areas, including surgical planning, implants, and educational activities. For surgical applications, AM can help surgeons practice and plan an operation until they are confident with the process. This can help to reduce operational risk and time. In addition, it can help to demonstrate the problem to other colleagues. AM has also been used to produce 3D models to teach students and doctors about human anatomy. This paper aims to comprehensively review the diverse applications of additive manufacturing within the domains of surgical planning and medical education. By focusing on the multifaceted roles played by AM in these critical areas, a contribution to the growing body of knowledge that underscores the transformative potential of this technology in shaping the future of healthcare practices is sought to be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the dynamic landscape of cloud computing, efficient resource allocation and workload prediction are paramount for optimizing infrastructure utilization, cost management, and overall service quality. As a result, an efficient resource management approach involves pooling available resources among many customers in a manner that considers their energy usage, SLAs, and forecasting accuracy all at once. Based on the performance analysis results, it is determined that integrating these techniques would result in the most efficient and adaptable cloud data centre. We proposed a Model based on Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNN) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) for handling SLAs in the cloud from both the perspective of consumers and service providers. Subsequently, we delve into the methodology of applying deep CNN and LSTM models to the problem of workload prediction in cloud environments. This methodology encompasses data preprocessing, model architecture, training parameters, and the choice of performance metrics. To anticipate CPU consumption from time series data and detect SLA violations, we suggested a DCNN-LSTM model. The accuracy prediction, energy usage, CPU use, and Service Level Agreement monitoring are all a part of this model. The proposed method is effective in helping cloud providers cut down on service violations and associated fines. Regarding the composite metric of Energy SLA Violation, which assesses the combined aspects of energy use and adherence to Service Level Agreements (SLAs), DCNN-LSTM surpasses ARIMA-LSTM, CNN, LSTM, and ARIMA 6.8%, 10.88%, 16.6%, and 22.4%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the technical problem of finishing the inner surface of additive manufacturing small holes, a novel volume alternating cavitation shock wave finishing (VACSWF) method was innovatively proposed. Using simulation and experiment methods, the distribution law of the vapor volume fraction in the alternating cavitation flow field of the small hole is studied, and the influence of volume alternating frequency and volume variation on the flow field is analyzed. Using the self-designed volume alternating cavitation experimental device, the inner surface of complex small holes processed by the Stereo Lithography Appearance (SLA) method was completed, and the feasibility of finishing the inner surface of complex small holes by the VACSWF method was verified. The collapse process of the volume alternating cavitation bubbles is analyzed, and the material removal mechanism of VACSWF is revealed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies have disclosed conflicting evidence on the effect of oral reading (i.e., reading aloud in class) on various language measures. However, with online learning and teaching, personalized activities are employed to develop students' reading comprehension, improve motivation, and minimize anxieties. A qualitative research design was deployed to test the association between reading anxiety and reading proficiency of EFL learners in an online classroom using a correlational research approach to see if there was a correlation between reading anxiety and reading proficiency. Two hundred undergraduate students from a public university in Iraq participated in this study. The experimental group received oral reading intervention for six months in their daily lectures (where they were all invited to read orally before explaining the material), whereas the control group did not. The results revealed a statistically significant difference in the reading comprehension test scores between the group that received the reading intervention program and the one that did not. The novelty of this research is situated in the following three items, which, although replicated in previous studies to a certain extent, have received less to no attention in the literature on online teaching and learning of oral reading and its contributions. First, there is a negative correlation between reading comprehension scores and anxiety measures. Second, reading comprehension scores increased when reading and classroom anxiety decreased. Third, there was also a positive correlation between reading and classroom anxiety that heavily affected the reading comprehension scores of the participants. The teacher's observation suggests that accommodating oral reading in online instruction promotes motivation, rapport, and a conducive classroom climate, affecting reading performance and anxiety measures in an online foreign language classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the impact of a Ti‐Sr‐O technology, applied to either a turned surface or an SLA surface, on the mechanical robustness of osseointegration, benchmarked against the SLActive surface. Material and Methods: Ti discs (6.25‐mm‐diameter and 2‐mm‐thick) with three different surfaces were inserted on the proximal‐anterior part of the tibial plateau of adult Swedish loop rabbits: (I) turned surface modified with Ti‐Sr‐O (turned + Ti‐Sr‐O), (II) SLA surface modified with Ti‐Sr‐O (SLA + Ti‐Sr‐O), and (III) SLActive surface (SLActive). Following a healing period of 2 weeks and 4 weeks, the pull‐out (PO) force needed to detach the discs from the bone was assessed, as a surrogate of osseointegration. Results: The SLActive surface exhibited statistically significant higher median PO forces, compared with the SLA + Ti‐Sr‐O surfaces at both 2‐ and 4 weeks post‐op (p >.05). In this study, no single turned + Ti‐Sr‐O surface disk was integrated. Conclusions: The tested Ti‐Sr‐O technology failed to enhance osseointegration; however, this finding may be related to the inappropriateness of the rabbit tibia plateau model for assessing third‐generation implant surface technologies, due to the limited diffusion and clearance at the disk‐bone interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Al 2 O 3 honeycomb sandwich structures with different core geometries (square, triangular, circular) have been fabricated through an additive manufacturing system based on the stereolithography (SLA) method. The debinding procedure was performed under both nitrogen and air atmospheres. The impacts of the debinding atmosphere and core geometry on the densification and mechanical properties were investigated. The stiffness and flexural strength of the ceramics were examined experimentally using an impulse excitation of vibration technique and a three-point bending test, respectively. The specific stiffness and specific strength of the ceramics were also evaluated, with the core geometries taken into consideration. The outcomes showed that higher densification was achieved when the ceramics were exposed to debinding in nitrogen. The stiffness values were found to be similar for the same debinding condition within the honeycomb sandwich structures, irrespective of the core geometry. Notably, the highest specific stiffness (98 MNm/kg) was achieved for the samples subjected to debinding in nitrogen with a square core geometry. Furthermore, ceramics with square cores for debinding in a nitrogen atmosphere also demonstrated the highest performance in terms of specific strength (110 kNm/kg) within the honeycomb structures. This study demonstrated that Al 2 O 3 honeycomb sandwich structures with square cores may be suitable candidates for lightweight-structure demanding applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper provides an in-depth examination of the mechanical characteristics of 3D-printed specimens made from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and resins akin to ABS, with a focus on two widely used 3D printing methodologies: fused deposition modeling (FDM) and stereolithography (SLA). The study investigates how variations in 3D printing technology and infill density impact mechanical parameters such as Young's modulus, tensile strength, strain, nominal strain at break, maximum displacement, and maximum force at break. Tensile testing was conducted to assess these critical parameters. The results indicate distinct differences in mechanical performance between FDM- and SLA-printed specimens, with SLA consistently showing superior mechanical parameters, especially in terms of tensile strength, displacement, and Young's modulus. SLA-printed specimens at 30% infill density exhibited a 38.11% increase in average tensile strength compared to FDM counterparts and at 100% infill density, a 39.57% increase was observed. The average maximum displacement for SLA specimens at 30% infill density showed a 14.96% increase and at 100% infill density, a 30.32% increase was observed compared to FDM specimens. Additionally, the average Young's modulus for SLA specimens at 30% infill density increased by 17.89% and at 100% infill density, a 13.48% increase was observed, highlighting the superior mechanical properties of SLA-printed ABS-like resin materials. In tensile testing, FDM-printed specimens with 30% infill density showed an average strain of 2.16% and at 100% infill density, a slightly higher deformation of 3.1% was recorded. Conversely, SLA-printed specimens at 30% infill density exhibited a strain of 2.24% and at 100% infill density, a higher strain value of 4.15% was observed. The comparison suggests that increasing the infill density in FDM does not significantly improve deformation resistance, while in SLA, it leads to a substantial increase in deformation, raising questions about the practicality of higher infill densities. The testing data underscore the impact of infill density on the average nominal strain at break, revealing improved performance in FDM and significant strain endurance in SLA. The study concludes that SLA technology offers clear advantages, making it a promising option for producing ABS and ABS-like resin materials with enhanced mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the capacity of native and exotic vine species established under a rainforest canopy, a comparison of growth rates and resource allocation was made amongst five exotic vine species that are serious and common invaders and two common native vine species under two light conditions reflective of edge and interior canopy conditions. All species experienced heavy reductions in growth parameters in the lowlight treatment, but three exotic species showed stronger growth under the low light. All exotic species had higher plasticity in leaf morphology showing a significant increase in SLA under low light. Native vines may have a lower capacity to change leaf morphology in shade, as a result of local adaptation to edge habitats. Higher SLA under both low and high light conditions suggests that exotic vines species are able to exploit a range of forest conditions better than the native species. Three species, Anredera cordifolia, Araujia sericifera and Cardiospermum grandiflorum, appear particularly capable of invading rainforest interiors. Individuals produced few leaves, focusing resources on roots and stems suggesting a response to reach the canopy quickly. With their long-distance seed dispersal, plasticity in leaf SLA and high RGR, these species appear most likely to invade undisturbed rainforest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant communities are being exposed to changing environmental conditions all around the globe, leading to alterations in plant diversity, community composition, and ecosystem functioning. For herbaceous understorey communities in temperate forests, responses to global change are postulated to be complex, due to the presence of a tree layer that modulates understorey responses to external pressures such as climate change and changes in atmospheric nitrogen deposition rates. Multiple investigative approaches have been put forward as tools to detect, quantify and predict understorey responses to these global‐change drivers, including, among others, distributed resurvey studies and manipulative experiments. These investigative approaches are generally designed and reported upon in isolation, while integration across investigative approaches is rarely considered. In this study, we integrate three investigative approaches (two complementary resurvey approaches and one experimental approach) to investigate how climate warming and changes in nitrogen deposition affect the functional composition of the understorey and how functional responses in the understorey are modulated by canopy disturbance, that is, changes in overstorey canopy openness over time. Our resurvey data reveal that most changes in understorey functional characteristics represent responses to changes in canopy openness with shifts in macroclimate temperature and aerial nitrogen deposition playing secondary roles. Contrary to expectations, we found little evidence that these drivers interact. In addition, experimental findings deviated from the observational findings, suggesting that the forces driving understorey change at the regional scale differ from those driving change at the forest floor (i.e., the experimental treatments). Our study demonstrates that different approaches need to be integrated to acquire a full picture of how understorey communities respond to global change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vat photopolymerisation (VP) three-dimensional printing (3DP) has attracted great attention in many different fields, such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, biomedical devices and tissue engineering. Due to the low availability of biocompatible photocurable resins, its application in the healthcare sector is still limited. In this work, we formulate photocurable resins based on urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) combined with three different difunctional methacrylic diluents named ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), di(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (DEGDMA) or tri(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (TEGDMA). The resins were tested for viscosity, thermal behaviour and printability. After printing, the 3D printed specimens were measured with a digital calliper in order to investigate their accuracy to the digital model and tested with FT-IR, TGA and DSC. Their mechanical properties, contact angle, water sorption and biocompatibility were also evaluated. The photopolymerizable formulations investigated in this work achieved promising properties so as to be suitable for tissue engineering and other biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model of cloud computing provides resources, such as storage and computation power from cloud-based physical machines to users in the form of virtual machines (VM). This can be cost-efficient for users as well as cloud service providers if the physical machines and related resources are optimally utilized. At the same time, it is also imperative that energy consumption by physical machines in cloud data centers be minimized. A solution to both these challenges can be found by efficient mapping of VMs onto physical machines. This is known as the VM placement problem and the paper aims to find an optimal mapping of VMs to PMs with two objectives. Firstly, the cloud service provider's cost is reduced by increasing the resource utilization and secondly, the energy consumption is reduced by decreasing the number of PMs in use at a time. In this work, two variants of whale optimization algorithm (WOA) are proposed for efficiently placing VMs on the physical machines. In the first variant exploitation phase of WOA is improved via simulated annealing (SWOA). In the second variant Lévy (L) distribution is incorporated to improve the exploration phase of WOA (LWOA). Performance of algorithms is assessed on varying workloads under deadline constraints. Experiments are performed on light, medium, heavy and very heavy workloads. Results demonstrate that the proposed variant SWOA provide efficient solutions on light workload while LWOA gives efficient solution on other workloads for the VM placement problem. These algorithms also converge faster as compared to its contemporary counterparts thereby reducing the computational complexity of the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The systematic review was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, we (Ali Panahi and Hassan Mohebbi) reviewed Diane Larsen-Freeman's whole works, analyzed her overall contribution to the fields of language learning and teaching and then extracted and analyzed the varying areas of interest she has researched; the most focused and prevalently investigated issues in the order of dominance appeared to be SLA, complexity theory, teaching grammar, complexity theory and second language acquisition/second language development, complexity theory and applied linguistics, morpheme studies, teaching methodology, ESL index of development, teacher education, and ELF. Next, we created two main superordinate components, each containing their own subparts: a theory-practice link (annotations and relevance to language pedagogy or research) and main themes (article theme, technical terminology, and design types). Upon providing an account of a theory-practice link, we finally extracted a total number of 1160 terms sub-grouped into 462 technical terms for applied linguistics, 183 technical terms for complexity theory and 182 main terms for theories, approaches, methods, hypotheses, and views. The other umbrella issues are also briefly elaborated. In the second phase, Diane Larsen-Freeman provided her discussion of this systematic review and her personal reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Material additive or 3D printing technology has been recognized as a future manufacturing technique. The mechanical properties of products manufactured using 3D printing technology depend on many factors, especially the printing angle. Resin Castable Wax can be used as a matrix or scaffold for sensor devices in 3D printing. In this study, we explore the effects of printing angle on the mechanical properties of Resin Castable Wax V1 using the 3D stereolithography printing method. The samples are printed at three different printing angles of 0, 45, and 90°. Increasing the printing angle from 0 to 90° improves the tensile and compressive strengths. The sample printed at the angle of 90° shows the highest ultimate tensile and compressive strengths of 23.13 and 124.97 MPa, respectively, and vice versa for the sample printed at 0°. Because of the gradual inclination of the material toward the direction of load force and the larger printing boundary at a higher printing angle, the mechanical properties are improved when the printing angle is increased. These findings can be used to choose an appropriate printing angle for Resin Castable Wax V1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study investigated fluid dynamics in curved microchannels, exploring 3D printing parameters, channel geometry, and fluid properties, crucial for applications in medicine and energy. It highlighted the importance of microfluidics in handling small samples and enabling rapid analysis, stressing the need for precise measurement techniques to validate fluid velocity. Using 3D printing for microchannel design illustrated their utility, with microscopy aiding flow behavior comprehension. The research aimed to validate fluid velocity, covering technology analysis, microdevice design, fabrication, and measurement methodologies. It successfully fabricated microdevices confirming fluid movement via capillarity, revealing the relationship between channel radius and flow velocity. Distinct flow velocity patterns were observed, vital for design optimization. The study affirmed capillary flow as a spontaneous phenomenon, with fluid velocity variations along curved microchannels consistent with mass conservation principles in incompressible flows.

The study measured the effects of building learner profiles for homogeneous groups of students to increase the effectiveness of Spanish language teaching to foreigners. Studies on the effectiveness of learning profiles of L2 students for addressing their language learning needs are almost inexistent.The corpora were collected following an adaptation of the model of Tare et al. (2014). Subsequently, the Tare et al. model for the collection of the corpus was applied. Once the corpus was collected, latest software like OCR Stylus (2022), MAT tagger andAntConc were utilized to analyze the corpus. For this analysis the Elliserror analysis approach(2005) was applied, to reveal common patterns of errors when producing a student output in Spanish language. The results show that Pakistani immigrants present similar characteristics demographically and linguistically and a large number oferrors in Spanish language usage derive from their L1. The profile built was tested for a year and utilized for the improvement of teaching and learning materials with positive results. The analysis resulted in a language profile that can be utilized for the teaching of Spanish language to Pakistani learners in any language center by any instructor.