Comparison of dwarf bamboos (Indocalamus sp.) leaf parameters to determine relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Pei-Jian; Xu, Qiang; Sandhu, Hardev S; Gielis, Johan; Ding, Yu-Long; Li, Hua-Rong; Dong, Xiao-Bo

2015-10-01

The relationship between spatial density and size of plants is an important topic in plant ecology. The self-thinning rule suggests a -3/2 power between average biomass and density or a -1/2 power between stand yield and density. However, the self-thinning rule based on total leaf area per plant and density of plants has been neglected presumably because of the lack of a method that can accurately estimate the total leaf area per plant. We aimed to find the relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant. We also attempted to provide a novel model for accurately describing the leaf shape of bamboos. We proposed a simplified Gielis equation with only two parameters to describe the leaf shape of bamboos one model parameter represented the overall ratio of leaf width to leaf length. Using this method, we compared some leaf parameters (leaf shape, number of leaves per plant, ratio of total leaf weight to aboveground weight per plant, and total leaf area per plant) of four bamboo species of genus Indocalamus Nakai (I. pedalis (Keng) P.C. Keng, I. pumilus Q.H. Dai and C.F. Keng, I. barbatus McClure, and I. victorialis P.C. Keng). We also explored the possible correlation between spatial density and total leaf area per plant using log-linear regression. We found that the simplified Gielis equation fit the leaf shape of four bamboo species very well. Although all these four species belonged to the same genus, there were still significant differences in leaf shape. Significant differences also existed in leaf area per plant, ratio of leaf weight to aboveground weight per plant, and leaf length. In addition, we found that the total leaf area per plant decreased with increased spatial density. Therefore, we directly demonstrated the self-thinning rule to improve light interception.

A mechanical comparison of linear and double-looped hung supplemental heavy chain resistance to the back squat: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Neelly, Kurt R; Terry, Joseph G; Morris, Martin J

2010-01-01

A relatively new and scarcely researched technique to increase strength is the use of supplemental heavy chain resistance (SHCR) in conjunction with plate weights to provide variable resistance to free weight exercises. The purpose of this case study was to determine the actual resistance being provided by a double-looped versus a linear hung SHCR to the back squat exercise. The linear technique simply hangs the chain directly from the bar, whereas the double-looped technique uses a smaller chain to adjust the height of the looped chain. In both techniques, as the squat descends, chain weight is unloaded onto the floor, and as the squat ascends, chain weight is progressively loaded back as resistance. One experienced and trained male weight lifter (age = 33 yr; height = 1.83 m; weight = 111.4 kg) served as the subject. Plate weight was set at 84.1 kg, approximately 50% of the subject's 1 repetition maximum. The SHCR was affixed to load cells, sampling at a frequency of 500 Hz, which were affixed to the Olympic bar. Data were collected as the subject completed the back squat under the following conditions: double-looped 1 chain (9.6 kg), double-looped 2 chains (19.2 kg), linear 1 chain, and linear 2 chains. The double-looped SHCR resulted in a 78-89% unloading of the chain weight at the bottom of the squat, whereas the linear hanging SHCR resulted in only a 36-42% unloading. The double-looped technique provided nearly 2 times the variable resistance at the top of the squat compared with the linear hanging technique, showing that attention must be given to the technique used to hang SHCR.

Community-based maternal, newborn, and child health surveillance: perceptions and attitudes of local stakeholders towards using mobile phone by village health volunteers in the Kenge Health Zone, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Science.gov (United States)

Diese, Mulamba; Kalonji, Albert; Izale, Bibiche; Villeneuve, Susie; Kintaudi, Ngoma Miezi; Clarysse, Guy; Ngongo, Ngashi; Ntambue, Abel Mukengeshayi

2018-03-05

In early 2016, we implemented a community-based maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH) surveillance using mobile phones to collect, analyze, and use data by village health volunteers (VHV) in Kenge Health Zone (KHZ), in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The objective of this study was to determine the perceptions of households, attitudes of community health volunteers, and opinions of nurses in Health center and administrative authorities towards the use of mobile phones for MNCH surveillance in the rural KHZ in the DRC. We used mixed methods combining phenomenological and descriptive cross-sectional study. Between 3 and 24 March 2016, we collected the data through focus group discussions (FGD) with households, and structured interviews with VHV, local health and administrative authority, and nurses to explore the perceptions on MNCH surveillance using mobile phone. Data from the FGD and interviews  were analyzed using thematic analysis techniques and descriptive statistics respectively. Health issues and services for under-five children were well known by community; however, beliefs and cultural norms contributed to the practices of seeking behavior for households. Mobile phones were perceived as devices that render quick services for people who needed help; and the community's attitudes towards the mobile phone use for collection of data, analysis, and use activities were good. Although some of community members did not see a direct linkage between this surveillance approach and health benefits, majority believed that there would be better MNCH services with the use of mobile phone. In addition, VHV will benefit from free healthcare for households and some material benefits and training. The best time to undertake these activities were in the afternoon with mother of the child, being the best respondent at the household. Health issues and services for under-five children are well known and MNCH surveillance using mobile phone by VHV in which the

Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

S Ramesh1 Geok Bee Teh1 Rong-Fuh Louh2 Yong Kong Hou1 Pung Yen Sin1 Lim Jing Yi1. Faculty of Engineering and Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Setapak, 53300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Feng Chia University, 100, Wenhwa Road, Seatwen, Taichung, ...

Sadhana | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Sadhana. S Ramesh. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 35 Issue 1 February 2010 pp 87-95. Preparation and characterization of plasticized high molecular weight PVC-based polymer electrolytes · S Ramesh Geok Bee Teh Rong-Fuh Louh Yong Kong Hou Pung Yen Sin Lim Jing Yi · More Details ...

Geok Bee Teh

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Geok Bee Teh. Articles written in Sadhana. Volume 35 Issue 1 February 2010 pp 87-95. Preparation and characterization of plasticized high molecular weight PVC-based polymer electrolytes · S Ramesh Geok Bee Teh Rong-Fuh Louh Yong Kong Hou Pung Yen Sin Lim Jing Yi · More Details Abstract Fulltext PDF.

75 FR 50991 - Antidumping Duty Order: Certain Woven Electric Blankets From the People's Republic of China

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-18

... respondent, Hung Kuo Electronics (Shenzen) Company Limited (``Hung Kuo''). After analyzing Petitioner's... exporter accounting for a significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise, we extended the... follows: Weighted-average Exporter and producer margin (percent) Hung Kuo Electronics (Shenzhen) Company...

FORUM ISSUES IN THE ENFORCEMENT OF REGULATORY ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

in his role as father of the country. In modern times, the ... of self-regulatory organisations in most financial markets who thus far have ..... companies and their officers under the Act? There are as yet no clear an- swers to ..... 578 (High Court of Singapore) where Chief Justice Yong Pung How held that to establish a breach of ...

Journal of Genetics | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Keywords. fertility; mosaicism; Turner syndrome; trisomy X. Author Affiliations. S. Ramachandram1 W. T. Keng2 R. Ariffin2 V. Ganesan1. Paediatric Department, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Jalan Residensi 10990 Penang, Malaysia; Genetic Department, Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Jalan Pahang, 50586, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ...

Molecular cloning and characterization of a group 3 LEA gene from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Late embryogenesis-abundant (LEA) protein is one of the components involved in desiccation tolerance (DT) by maintaining cellular structures in the dry state. In this study, a member of the group 3 LEA, MwLEA1, was cloned from Mongolian wheatgrass (Agropyron mongolium Keng) based on a homologous sequence from ...

Translations on Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, Number 293.

Science.gov (United States)

1977-04-06

of Koh’s Johore-registered Datsun where the drugs were found after Mr Lim Chye Huat, who was holding a watching brief for Messrs United Keng Soon...prime minister that Article 21 be imposed against two Chinese Haw heroin traffickers, Lin Taisiang and Mrs Ma Chin -muai, who were caught with k.l kgs

Technologické parametry a konzervárenské zpracování hrušek asijských odrůd

OpenAIRE

Jarolík, Ivan

2016-01-01

Theoretical part of thesis contains information about importance of sensory analysis for quality evaluation of food. Further described are tools of sensory perception, which are used for sensory analysis. Experimental part consists of laboratory analysis of six varieties of pears in fresh form (Asian varieties Man san gill, Kumt ghant chu, Shinseiki, Chojuro and Pung su, and European variety Conference). These pears were then processed into juice, compote and puree. These products were evalua...

The Psychology of Adolescents: Symposium IV A.

Science.gov (United States)

Keng, Chiam Heng; Park, Joon Hee

These two symposium papers provide: (1) a profile of rural adolescents in Malaysia, by Chiam Heng Keng; and (2) report the findings of a study of the psychology and life of Korean children and adolescents, by Joon Hee Park. In the former report, 521 boys and 550 girls completed a checklist consisting of 195 problems and indicated problems which…

Ülikoolid pole mängukannid / Sirje Tohver

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Tohver, Sirje

2001-01-01

TPÜ korraldas 16. märtsil̀ 2001 ümarlaua "Ülikoolid pole mängukannid", kus oli arutusel riikliku koolitustellimuse vähenemine avalik-õiguslikele ülikoolidele. Osalesid TPÜ filoloogiateaduskonna dekaan dots. H. Mattisen, kultuuriteaduskonna dekaan prof. A. Avarand, akadeemiline prorektor dots. L. Jõgi, teadus- ja arendusprorektor prof. P. Normak, haridusminister T. Lukas, TPÜ rektor prof. M. Arvisto ja EKA rektor prof. A. Keskküla, TTÜ rektor prof. A. Keevallik, EMA õppeprorektor A. Pung

在北京开车太坑爹了.（英文）

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

胡逸君

2012-01-01

Mad about getting overcharged,line-butted or stuck in interminable rush hour traffic one too many times?Well now you can express your indignation with a fashionable Chinese phrase:'坑爹呢?.'(Kengdie ne?.):'Are you cheating me?.'坑(keng)originally means'hole'(as in one that a cheat has dug as a trap),but in the dialect of northwest China it can

DNA translocation by human uracil DNA glycosylase: the case of single-stranded DNA and clustered uracils.

Science.gov (United States)

Schonhoft, Joseph D; Stivers, James T

2013-04-16

Human uracil DNA glycosylase (hUNG) plays a central role in DNA repair and programmed mutagenesis of Ig genes, requiring it to act on sparsely or densely spaced uracil bases located in a variety of contexts, including U/A and U/G base pairs, and potentially uracils within single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). An interesting question is whether the facilitated search mode of hUNG, which includes both DNA sliding and hopping, changes in these different contexts. Here we find that hUNG uses an enhanced local search mode when it acts on uracils in ssDNA, and also, in a context where uracils are densely clustered in duplex DNA. In the context of ssDNA, hUNG performs an enhanced local search by sliding with a mean sliding length larger than that of double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). In the context of duplex DNA, insertion of high-affinity abasic product sites between two uracil lesions serves to significantly extend the apparent sliding length on dsDNA from 4 to 20 bp and, in some cases, leads to directionally biased 3' → 5' sliding. The presence of intervening abasic product sites mimics the situation where hUNG acts iteratively on densely spaced uracils. The findings suggest that intervening product sites serve to increase the amount of time the enzyme remains associated with DNA as compared to nonspecific DNA, which in turn increases the likelihood of sliding as opposed to falling off the DNA. These findings illustrate how the search mechanism of hUNG is not predetermined but, instead, depends on the context in which the uracils are located.

Strategy Of Attrition: Why General Westmoreland Failed In 1967

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-26

assault on South Vietnamese regulars at Xa Tan Hung resulted in...with forty-six wounded. To complicate the situation, civilian casualties continued to mass. During the attack at Xa Tan Hung, the Viet Cong wounded...Ronald H. Advice And Support: The Early. Years, 1941-1960. Washington, DC: Center of Military History,1985. Taleb, Nassim Nicholas . Antifragile: Things

Efeito do uso tópico de capsaicina na mucosite intestinal induzida por 5-fluorouracil em camundongos Swiss

OpenAIRE

Lorrayne Gonçalves Lopes

2014-01-01

5-FU (5-Fluorouracil) é um agente quimioterápico chave no tratamento de diversos tipos de câncer, sendo amplamente usado contra o câncer colorretal. Mucosite intestinal com diarreia e vômito é um efeito adverso frequentemente dose-limitante da terapia com 5- FU, afetando a qualidade de vida dos pacientes e a continuidade da terapia. Capsaicina (trans-8-metil-N-vanílico-6-nonenamida) é um componente de várias espécies de pimenta, sendo responsável pela pungência dos frutos. Ela apresenta amplo...

Neurovascular and Autonomic Dysfunction Associated with Gulf War Illness Pain

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

muscarinic receptor function in guinea pig airway nerves via indirect mechanisms." PLoS One 5(5): e10562. Pung, T., B. Klein, D. Blodgett, B. Jortner and...116 Worek, F. and L. Szinicz (1995). "Cardiorespiratory function in nerve agent poisoned and oxime + atropine treated guinea - pigs : effect of...31 6. Products ……………………………………………………………… 31 7. Participants & Other Collaborating Organizations………………. 36 8. Special Reporting

The National Interests of Singapore: A Background Study for United States Policy

Science.gov (United States)

1993-12-01

diplomat noted... ! Ihis does not just represent praise from atar . Goh Keng •,wee, a lounding member ot the Peoples .\\ction Party P.\\P) and the first...follows: ... the citizens commitment to the nation and their contidence in the defence and future of the country ( Psychological lI)efence); the unity...in most countries, especially in peacetime. The first two pillars of the "Total Defence" structure, Psychological Defence and Social Defence deserve

Clinical Studies on HWANGRYUNHAEDOKTANG Herbal Acupuncture Therapy on Headache

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee, Dae-Yong

2003-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: There are many treatments for headache. We suggested the clinical effect and utilization of HWANGRYUNHAEDOKTANG herbal acupuncture on headache. Methods: 1. We injected distillation of HWANGRYUNHAEDOKTANG(2.0cc on Both Pung-Ji(GB20 of patients. In 20 minutes later, We examined therapeutic value of headache. 2. We examined effects of HWANGRYUNHAEDOKTANG Herbal acupuncture by sex , age, area of headache, period of history, degree of headache. Results and Conclusions: 1. There was a significantly effect of HWANGRYUNHAEDOKTANG Herbal acupuncture on headache. 2. In therapeutic value, The effect of HWANGRYUNHAEDOKTANG Herbal acupuncture by each type is significant.

Optische Sensoren für Fahrzeuge

OpenAIRE

Börner, Anko

2006-01-01

Abbildenden optischen Sensoren wird in der Fahrzeugtechnik eine immer bedeutendere Rolle zukommen. Durch die Forderungen nach Erhöhung der Sicherheit im Auto- und Schienenverkehr, nach Verbesserung des Fahrkomforts und die Bestrebungen zur Erhöhung der Autonomie werden Sensorsysteme benötigt, die zuverlässig und in Echtzeit nutzerrelevante Informationen bereitstellen. Bei der Auslegung solcher Sensoren spielt der Systemgedanke eine entscheidende Rolle. Der Beitrag gibt einen Überblick über...

The Chinese Communist Armed Forces.

Science.gov (United States)

1974-01-01

Jesus . means of waging war as to be noncompetitive with Hung, a son of God, was the third member of the the West. The Bannerman archers were helpless in...to speak of the effectiveness of naval bom - Yung-an and there declared Hung Hsiu-ch’uan the bardment of Chinese cities. The Treaty of Nanking T’ien...compound by phoning her that her daughter immediately recognizing the Red Guards as aimed was in the hospital . The group was riding high at the at him and

Local communities and tourists’ perception towards to PLTD Apung sites as tsunami disaster tourism in Banda Aceh City

Science.gov (United States)

Fahmi, U.; Ginting, N.; Sitorus, R.

2018-03-01

Earthquake and tsunami disasters that hit Banda Aceh city a few years ago, it can be classified as the most terrible natural disasters in the history of the world. Natural disasters were considered as a scary incident, also leave a lot of losses, both regarding moral and material for victims. The establishment of the tourism as media of preservation disaster could be something interesting and demand by the community, especially in the preservation of disaster that usually contains a different perspective. One of the silent witness the awesomeness of tsunami wave that preserves as disaster tourism is tsunami education park, PLTD Apung sites that located in the sub-district of Punge Blang Cut, District of Meuraxa, Banda Aceh city. The community and tourists that interact to tourism object can give the impression, assessment, opinion, felt and interpret something toward to information that displayed. The existence of development experience, ability to think, terms of reference are not the same for each in the community as well as tourists, make it possible to generate a different perception of development. The purpose of this research is to know Community and Tourists Perceptions towards to PLTD Apung sites as Tsunami Disaster Tourism in the sub-district of Punge Blang Cut, Banda Aceh city. This research will conduct by using the descriptive-qualitative method. The research goal is to be recommendations include development activity areas and participation are supposed to do by local community and tourists. In the recommendation is defined procedures development of PLTD Apung sites that considered to community and Tourists Perception. It is expected to optimize the development of PLTD Apung sites that can be an identity of tsunami disaster tourism in Banda Aceh city.

Water-quality trading: Can we get the prices of pollution right?

Science.gov (United States)

Konishi, Yoshifumi; Coggins, Jay S.; Wang, Bin

2015-05-01

Water-quality trading requires inducing permit prices that account properly for spatially explicit damage relationships. We compare recent work by Hung and Shaw (2005) and Farrow et al. (2005) for river systems exhibiting branching and nonlinear damages. The Hung-Shaw scheme is robust to nonlinear damages, but not to hot spots occurring at the confluence of two branches. The Farrow et al. (2005) scheme is robust to branching, but not to nonlinear damages. We also compare the two schemes to each other. Neither dominates from a welfare perspective, but the comparison appears to tilt in favor of the Farrow et al. scheme.

RETRACTION: Publishers' Note

Science.gov (United States)

post="(Executive Editor">Graeme Watt,

2010-06-01

Withdrawal of the paper "Was the fine-structure constant variable over cosmological time?" by L. D. Thong, N. M. Giao, N. T. Hung and T. V. Hung (EPL, 87 (2009) 69002) This paper has been formally withdrawn on ethical grounds because the article contains extensive and repeated instances of plagiarism. EPL treats all identified evidence of plagiarism in the published articles most seriously. Such unethical behaviour will not be tolerated under any circumstance. It is unfortunate that this misconduct was not detected before going to press. My thanks to Editor colleagues from other journals for bringing this fact to my attention.

Structural and biophysical analysis of interactions between cod and human uracil-DNA N-glycosylase (UNG) and UNG inhibitor (Ugi)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assefa, Netsanet Gizaw [UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø (Norway); Niiranen, Laila [UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø (Norway); University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku (Finland); Johnson, Kenneth A.; Leiros, Hanna-Kirsti Schrøder; Smalås, Arne Oskar; Willassen, Nils Peder [UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø (Norway); Moe, Elin, E-mail: elin.moe@uit.no [UiT The Arctic University of Norway, 9037 Tromsø (Norway); Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Avenida da Republica (EAN), 2780-157 Oeiras (Portugal)

2014-08-01

A structural and biophysical study of the interactions between cod and human uracil-DNA N-glycosylase (UNG) and their inhibitor Ugi is presented. The stronger interaction between cod UNG and Ugi can be explained by a greater positive electrostatic surface potential. Uracil-DNA N-glycosylase from Atlantic cod (cUNG) shows cold-adapted features such as high catalytic efficiency, a low temperature optimum for activity and reduced thermal stability compared with its mesophilic homologue human UNG (hUNG). In order to understand the role of the enzyme–substrate interaction related to the cold-adapted properties, the structure of cUNG in complex with a bacteriophage encoded natural UNG inhibitor (Ugi) has been determined. The interaction has also been analyzed by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). The crystal structure of cUNG–Ugi was determined to a resolution of 1.9 Å with eight complexes in the asymmetric unit related through noncrystallographic symmetry. A comparison of the cUNG–Ugi complex with previously determined structures of UNG–Ugi shows that they are very similar, and confirmed the nucleotide-mimicking properties of Ugi. Biophysically, the interaction between cUNG and Ugi is very strong and shows a binding constant (K{sub b}) which is one order of magnitude larger than that for hUNG–Ugi. The binding of both cUNG and hUNG to Ugi was shown to be favoured by both enthalpic and entropic forces; however, the binding of cUNG to Ugi is mainly dominated by enthalpy, while the entropic term is dominant for hUNG. The observed differences in the binding properties may be explained by an overall greater positive electrostatic surface potential in the protein–Ugi interface of cUNG and the slightly more hydrophobic surface of hUNG.

Performance of chicken broilers fed with diets substituted with ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Performance of chicken broilers fed with diets substituted with mulberry leaf powder. Carlina Freddie Simol, Andrew Alek Tuen, Humrawali Hazid Ahmad Khan, John Keen Chubo, Patricia Jie Hung King, Kian Huat Ong ...

Genetics Home Reference: juvenile primary lateral sclerosis

Science.gov (United States)

... Hung WY, Ouahchi K, Yan J, Azim AC, Cole N, Gascon G, Yagmour A, Ben-Hamida M, ... medicine? What is newborn screening? New Pages Lyme disease Fibromyalgia White-Sutton syndrome All New & Updated Pages ...

Sumber dan Kualitas Pakan Serta Produksi Kambing Peranakan Etawah Di Kotamadya Banda Aceh

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Al Qudri

2002-04-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT. A study on source and quality of feed and production of Etawah goats was conducted from June to November, 1997. Nine respondents who raise Peranakan Etawah goats were interviewed. The goats were investigated and measured for body size. The respondents were live in three different villages, i.e, three from Ule Lheu, one from Lambung, two from Punge, one from Peulanggahan and two from Rukoh. The result showed that source of fed were obtained from grass in the back yart, native pasture, by product of banana, fruits, vegetables and palatable leaves. The quality of feed was relatively good due a relatively high content of protein. Ratio of male tp female was 1 : 1.65. Kid production was about 190 percent / yard. Body size were better than kids that are raised in villages in Aceh Barat regency.

Genetics Home Reference: Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis

Science.gov (United States)

... Hung SI. Recent advances in the genetics and immunology of Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrosis. ... 2012 May 29. Citation on PubMed or Free article on PubMed Central More from Genetics Home Reference ...

Genomewide survey and characterization of metacaspase gene ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Oryza sativa). Likai Wang and Hua .... IND. Bangladesh. Ta Hung Ku. 1107_TEJ. TEJ. China. Darmali. 27630_TEJ. TEJ. Nepal. Phudugey. 32399_TEJ. TEJ. Bhutan. Haginomae Mochi. 2540_TEJ. TEJ. Japan. Norin 20. 418_TEJ. TEJ. Japan.

Towards a Flexible Theater Air Warfare Doctrine

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gunzinger, Mark A

1996-01-01

"Billy Mitchell was right." These words hung in the foyer of the Air Force Air Command and Staff College during Desert Storm, reflecting the belief that air power had finally come of age in the skies over Iraq...

Effect of surface tension on the dynamical behavior of bubble in rotating fluids under low gravity environment

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, R. J.; Tsao, Y. D.; Leslie, Fred W.; Hong, B. B.

1988-01-01

Time dependent evolutions of the profile of free surface (bubble shapes) for a cylindrical container partially filled with a Newtonian fluid of constant density, rotating about its axis of symmetry, have been studied. Numerical computations of the dynamics of bubble shapes have been carried out with the following situations: (1) linear functions of spin-up and spin-down in low and microgravity environments, (2) linear functions of increasing and decreasing gravity enviroment in high and low rotating cylidner speeds, (3) step functions of spin-up and spin-down in a low gravity environment, and (4) sinusoidal function oscillation of gravity environment in high and low rotating cylinder speeds. The initial condition of bubble profiles was adopted from the steady-state formulations in which the computer algorithms have been developed by Hung and Leslie (1988), and Hung et al. (1988).

Looking under Kachru's (1982, 1985 three circles model of World Englishes: the hidden reality and current challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Robert Schmitz

2014-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the pioneering model of World Englishes formulated by Kachru in the early 1980s that allocates the presence of English into three concentric circles: first of all, the inner circle (Great Britain, the USA where the language functions as an L1 (or native language; secondly, the outer circle (India, Nigeria where the language was forced upon the subjugated people by Britain; thirdly, the expanding circle (China, Brazil where English is studied as a foreign language. Researchers in the area of language studies tend to put too much store in Kachru's model expecting it to expose the different circles: (i the proficiency level of the speakers, (ii the variation that exists in the different dialects of the language, and (iii how the many users appropriate the language to perform their daily routine. Pung (2009 suggests "going beyond" the three circle model with his proposal of a Conical Model of English (CME, while Park and Wee (2009, p.402 state that models have no "magical efficacy in challenging dominant ideologies of English" and that change in the world is not brought about by models but my people. Based on Park and Lee's caution with regard to models, and in lieu of Pung's "going beyond" the well-known Kachruvian model, the thrust of this article is to look specifically under the inner circle, that is, the supposed "native speaker domain". It will be argued in this paper that the circles function as a palimpsest erasing and ignoring what happened in the past linguistically, historically and culturally before the appearance of English in the spaces that the language occupies at the present time in the inner, outer, and expanding circles. An examination of days gone-by, with a focus on Kachru's inner circle, can present a mirror to examine: (i bilingual (multilingual biases, (ii migration of peoples and treatment of immigrants, (iii respect (or lack of for the linguistic and cultural rights of minorities, and (iv the hegemony of

Caracterização física e química de duas cultivares cebola armazenadas sob refrigeração Physical and chemical characterizatics of two cultivars of onion during refrigerated storage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lidiane Batista Muniz

2012-06-01

Full Text Available O objetivo desta pesquisa foi caracterizar fisica e químicamente cultivares de cebola CNPH 6400 e Óptima durante o armazenamento refrigerado. Bolbos foram colhidos, submetidos à cura, selecionados e, em seguida armazenados por 60 dias. A cada 10 dias, analisou-se perda de massa fresca, firmeza, cor, sólidos solúveis totais (SST, acidez titulável total (ATT e pungência. Observou-se, durante o armazenamento, aumento de 3% e 2% para perda de massa fresca, 57% e 50% para brilho, 6% e 22% para redução de firmeza, 16% e 12% para SST e 28% e 14% para ATT nas cvs CNPH 6400 e Óptima, respectivamente. Verificou-se ainda, valores maiores de a* para CNPH 6400 e maiores valores de b* para Óptima. Ao final do armazenamento, a pungência foi 2 vezes maior na CNPH 6400 em relação à Óptima. Concluiu-se que as cebolas tiveram alterações significativas em suas características, sendo estas dependentes da cultivar e do tempo de armazenamento.The objective of this research was to comapre bulb physical and chemical characteristics of onion cvs. CNPH 6400 and Óptima during refrigerated storage. Bulbs were collected, subjected to a cure, selected, and then stored for 60 days. Every 10 days, we analyzed weight loss, firmness, color, total soluble solids (SST, total acidity (ATT and pungency. It was observed during storage, increased 3% and 2% weight loss, 57% and 50% for brightness, 6% and 22% reduction of firmness, 16% and 12% for SST and 28% and 14% for ATT in CNPH 6400 and Óptima cvs, respectively. Higher a* values were found for cv. CNPH 6400 while cv. Óptima had higher b* values. At the end of the storage period, the pungency was 2 as often greater in the cv. CNPH 6400 in relation to the cv. Óptima. It was concluded that the onions suffered significant changes in their physical and chemical characteristics which were dependent on the cultivar analyzed and storage time elapsed.

1578-IJBCS-Article-Karamoko Diarra

African Journals Online (AJOL)

hp

(Bt), neem oil and methamidophos on larvae of P. xylostella under laboratory conditions. Leaf-dip ... providing income and nutrition and enabling small farms to .... hung vertically to air dry for 2 h. Control ..... brassicas in Asia and Africa. Crop.

International symposium on 'applications of zeolites in heterogeneous catalysis'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1978-11-01

The International Symposium on applications of zeolites in heterogeneous catalysis, organized by the Hungarian Chemical Society (Szeged, Hung. 9/11-14/78), included 48 papers, which were published in the Vertical Bar3Vertical BarActa Phys. Chem. (Szeged) 24.

RESEARCH ARTİCLE Association of NFKB1A and MicroRNAs ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Navya

The frequency of the AA genotype of NFKBIA rs696 was considerably higher in atherosclerotic ... transcriptional activity of NF-κB in the cytoplasm (Hung et al. 2010). ... miRNA identified in the human central nervous system (Li et al. 2011).

MIT Lincoln Laboratory Annual Report 2012

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

variety of “beyond silicon” pathways, including three-dimensional integration, mixed materials, electronic-photonic circuit integration, graphene ...and to spackle, prime, and paint walls. They also hung siding and installed doors and insulation. Community giving Members of the Hispanic and Latino

JLB Smith Institute of Ichthyology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown

African Journals Online (AJOL)

1973-11-11

Nov 11, 1973 ... tinuous slow water-flow and the absence of any stratiftc:ation or explosive plankton reproduction. Small lotie ...... with the aid of rotenone in the Zambezi River below the dam wall. April & .... hung on the head and foot ropes.

75 FR 49955 - Hung Thien Ly, M.D.; Revocation of Registration

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-16

... substance; and amphetamine sulfate, a schedule II controlled substance. For his crimes, the District Court.... Moreover, in the event that Respondent's confidence in the merits of his appeal is borne out, he can apply...

Hindering facial mimicry in ad viewing: effects on consumers’ emotions, attitudes and purchase intentions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lewinski, P.; Tan, E.S.; Fransen, M.L.; Czarna, K.; Butler, C.; Verlegh, P.; Voorveld, H.; Eisend, M.

2016-01-01

Recent findings in consumer psychology demonstrate that embodied cognition and bodily mimicry may influence consumers’ attitudes, intentions, and behavior (e.g. Hung & Labroo, 2011; Howard & Gengler, 2001). For example, when two friends (Bill and John) watch a funny advertisement and they both smile

Mission Driven Scene Understanding: Dynamic Environments

Science.gov (United States)

2016-06-01

WindowsSdkDir%VisualStudioInteg ration \\Tools\\Bin;%PATH% set INCLUDE=%VCINSTALLDIR%Include;%WindowsSdkDir%VisualStudioInte gration\\Common\\Inc;%INCLUDE...Hung HSW. From visual saliency to video behaviour understanding [doctoral dissertation]. [London (UK)]: Queen Mary, University of London; 2007. 10

Damaging biting behaviors in intensively kept rearing gilts: the effect of jute sacks, and relations with production characteristics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ursinus, W.W.; Wijnen, H.J.; Bartels, A.C.; Duijvesteijn, N.; Reenen, van C.G.; Bolhuis, J.E.

2014-01-01

Pigs may display biting behavior directed at pen mates, resulting in body damage such as tail wounds. We assessed the suitability of jute sacks (hung vertically at wall) to reduce biting behaviors and tail wounds in rearing gilts. Additionally, we assessed several characteristics of different types

Manashi Panda

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences. Manashi Panda. Articles written in Journal of Chemical Sciences. Volume 119 Issue 1 January 2007 pp 3-9. Synthesis, structure, redox and spectra of green iridium complexes of tridentate azo-aromatic ligands · Manashi Panda Chayan Das Chen-Hsiung Hung Sreebrata ...

L'université en transition

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Nguyen Vo Hung Institut national pour études sur la politique et la stratégie S&T ..... de concentration a été renforcé par des stratégies offensives de recrutement de la ..... On a pu assister dans le même temps à la croissance des entreprises ...

Journal of Chemical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Chemical Sciences; Volume 119; Issue 1. Issue front cover thumbnail. Volume 119, Issue 1. January 2007, pages 3-51. pp 3-9. Synthesis, structure, redox and spectra of green iridium complexes of tridentate azo-aromatic ligands · Manashi Panda Chayan Das Chen-Hsiung Hung Sreebrata ...

Citation Analysis for the Modern Instructor: An Integrated Review of Emerging Research

Science.gov (United States)

Piotrowski, Chris

2013-01-01

While online instructors may be versed in conducting e-Research (Hung, 2012; Thelwall, 2009), today's faculty are probably less familiarized with the rapidly advancing fields of bibliometrics and informetrics. One key feature of research in these areas is Citation Analysis, a rather intricate operational feature available in modern indexes…

The impact of a grain of sand: increasing production speed in flexible risers generates significant savings in gas production

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bokhorst, E. van; Blokland, H.

2012-01-01

Deep-sea oil and gas production normally involves the use of flexible risers that comprise a metal carcass with a large number of enveloping layers that safeguard the integrity of the pipe system. The flexible risers are hung from a floating platform and may be supported by several floating buoys to

Magnetically Coupled Magnet-Spring Oscillators

Science.gov (United States)

Donoso, G.; Ladera, C. L.; Martin, P.

2010-01-01

A system of two magnets hung from two vertical springs and oscillating in the hollows of a pair of coils connected in series is a new, interesting and useful example of coupled oscillators. The electromagnetically coupled oscillations of these oscillators are experimentally and theoretically studied. Its coupling is electromagnetic instead of…

75 FR 40837 - Ocean Transportation Intermediary License Applicants

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-14

... International Logistics Group LLC (NVO), 671 N.W. 4th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311. Officer: Gabriele U... International, Corporation (NVO), 1209 John Reed Court, City of Industry, CA 91745. Officer: Chi (Steve) H. Hung... Service and Trade Name Change. Jupiter Airline Services, Inc. dba Mercury Logistics (NVO), 5456 McConnell...

Modern Application of Liddell Hart’s Doctrine on Infantry Tactics.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-06-03

ironclad landships and swarms of armoured aeroplanes, whilst 9 they consign the ordinary infantryman to the limbo of the past." This is curious enough and...enough they looked, and little different from half-a-dozen others. Yet straining my eyes, I spotted a dark loophole in one around which hung the misty

Tandlægers erfaringer med at foreslå og få gennemført behandling med kroner og broer i privat praksis [Experiences of Danish dentists in private practice in motivating treatment with crowns and bridges

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Isidor, F.; Moore, R.

2003-01-01

and bridges, or lack of success in getting treatment completed hung mostly with practice type and location. Almost 76% of the dentists felt that it should be possible to learn how to motivate patients for the expensive treatments (eg bridges). More than 90% of the dentists felt the need for a better insurance...

Analysis of Students' Online Learning Readiness Based on Their Emotional Intelligence Level

Science.gov (United States)

Engin, Melih

2017-01-01

The objective of the present study is to determine whether there is a significant relationship between the students' readiness in online learning and their emotional intelligence levels. Correlational research method was used in the study. Online Learning Readiness Scale which was developed by Hung et al. (2010) has been used and Trait Emotional…

Risk Factors for Relapse to Problem Drinking Among Current and Former US Military Personnel: A Prospective Study of the Millennium Cohort

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-03

previous ecovery periods, given a culture of alcohol use as a coping mech- nism for stressful or traumatic events associated with military uties or combat...lems; (2) being high from alcohol or hung over while working, being in school, or taking care of children ; (3) missing or being late for work, school

75 FR 44289 - MET Laboratories, Inc.; Application for Expansion of Recognition

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-28

... connection with this request, NRTL Program staff did not perform an on-site review of MET's recognized sites...-Finishing Machines UL 1230 Amateur Movie Lights UL 1278 Movable and Wall or Ceiling Hung Electric Room... acceptable request for expansion of its recognition as an NRTL. OSHA's review of the application file and...

People’s Republic of China Scientific Abstracts, Number 173.

Science.gov (United States)

1977-08-03

method, and the PCA reaction suppressing action of disodium chromoglycate and the sapo - ninum of Shao-nien-hung (Ardisia alyxiacfolia Tsiang.) The...element is its sapo - ninum, which is highly toxic, but the toxicity of its acetylated and hydrolytic product is much less. AUTHOR: CH’EN Ti-hua [7II5

Journal of Chemical Sciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

All the complexes displayed large number of redox responses. A brief mention about the future projection of this work is noted. Volume 119 Issue 1 January 2007 pp 3-9. Synthesis, structure, redox and spectra of green iridium complexes of tridentate azo-aromatic ligands · Manashi Panda Chayan Das Chen-Hsiung Hung ...

BWR control rod drive scram pilot valve monitoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soden, R.A.; Kelly, V.

1984-01-01

The control rod drive system in a Boiling Water Reactor is the most important safety system in the power plant. All components of the system can be verified except the solenoid operated, scram pilot valves without scramming a rod. The pilot valve mechancial works is the weak link to the control rod drive system. These pilot valves control the hydraulic system which applies pressure to the ''insert'' side of the control rod piston and vents the ''withdraw'' side of the piston causing the rods to insert during a scam. The only verification that the valve is operating properly is to scram the rod. The concern for this portion of the system is demonstrated by the high number of redundant components and complete periodic testing of the electrical circuits. The pilot valve can become hung-up through wear, fracture of internal components, mechanical binding, foreign material or chemicals left in the valve during maintenance, etc. If the valve becomes hung-up the electrical tests performed will not indicate this condition and scramming the rod is in jeopardy. Only an attempt to scram a rod will indicate the hung-up valve. While this condition exists the rod is considered inoperative. This paper describes a system developed at a nuclear power plant that monitors the pilot valves on the control rod drive system. This system utilizes pattern recognition to assure proper internal workings of the scram pilot valves to plant operators. The system is totally automatic such that each time the valve is operated on a ''half scram'', a printout is available to the operator along with light indication that each of the 370 valves (on one unit of a BWR) is operating properly. With this monitoring system installed, all components of the control rod drive system including the solenoid pilot valves can be verified as operational without scramming any rods

BWR control rod drive scram pilot valve monitoring program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soden, R.A.; Kelly, V.

1986-01-01

The control rod drive system in a Boiling Water Reactor is the most important safety system in the power plant. All components of the system can be verified except the solenoid operated, scram pilot valves without scramming a rod. The pilot valve mechanical works is the weak link to the control rod drive system. These pilot valves control the hydraulic system which applies pressure to the insert side of the control rod piston and vents the withdraw side of the piston causing the rods to insert during a scram. The only verification that the valve is operating properly is to scram the rod. The concern for this portion of the system is demonstrated by the high number of redundant components and complete periodic testing of the electrical circuits. The pilot valve can become hung-up through wear, fracture of internal components, mechanical binding, foreign material or chemicals left in the valve during maintenance, etc. If the valve becomes hung-up the electrical tests performed will not indicate this condition and scramming the rod is in jeopardy. Only an attempt to scram a rod will indicate the hung-up valve. While this condition exists the rod is considered inoperative. This paper describes a system developed at a nuclear power plant that monitors the pilot valves on the control rod drive system. This system utilizes pattern recognition to assure proper internal workings of the scram pilot valves to plant operators. The system is totally automatic such that each time the valve is operated on a half scram, a printout is available to the operator along with light indication that each of the 370 valves (on one unit of a BWR) is operating properly. With this monitoring system installed, all components of the control rod drive system including the solenoid pilot valves can be verified as operational without scramming any rods

Journal of Biosciences | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Home; Journals; Journal of Biosciences; Volume 32; Issue 4. Molecular cloning and expression of the C-terminus of spider flagelliform silk protein from Araneus ventricosus. Kwang Sik Lee Bo Yeon Kim Yeon Ho Je Soo Dong Woo Hung Dae Sohn Byung Rae Jin. Articles Volume 32 Issue 4 June 2007 pp 705-712 ...

Bilateral nekrose af caput femoris efter brug af arbejdssele

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Husted, Henrik; Nielsen, Reno E Tilgreen; Linnet, Jan A Rørgaard

2002-01-01

The case of a 42-year old man, who developed bilateral necrosis of the femoral head from traumatic causes is described. He hung in stirrups, working 4-6 hours a day decorating for three weeks, during which he complained of numbness, fatigue and radiating pain in both legs. X-rays and a bone scan...

Journal of Genetics | Indian Academy of Sciences

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Genetic variants of retinol-binding protein 4 in adolescents are associated with liver function and inflammatory markers but not with obesity and insulin resistance. Chin-Jung Lin Nain-Feng Chu Yi-Jen Hung Dee Pei Chien-Hsing Lee Fone-Ching Hsiao Chieh-Hua Lu Chang-Hsun Hsieh. Research Note Volume 94 Issue 3 ...

26 CFR 48.4161(a)-2 - Meaning of terms.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... attract fish so that they may be captured. Thus, the term includes such artifacts as imitation flies..., of whatever material made, that are designed for storing and carrying fish from the time they are... article such as a collapsible wire basket designed to be hung over the side of a boat to keep fish captive...

Biomass production of Lactobacillus plantarum LP02 isolated from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Jane

2011-07-18

Jul 18, 2011 ... 1Department of Food Science and Technology, HungKuang University, No. 34, Chung-Chie Road, Shalu ... tions for LAB industrial production are rarely reported due to the commercial advantage for the company marketing the strains. .... blowing N2 gas during incubation in a 60°C water bath. Next, 4 ml of.

Quantitative risk assessment of human salmonellosis in the smallholder pig value chains in urban of Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Dang-Xuan, Sinh; Nguyen-Viet, Hung; Unger, Fred; Pham-Duc, Phuc; Grace, Delia; Tran-Thi, Ngan; Barot, Max; Pham-Thi, Ngoc; Makita, Kohei

2017-02-01

To quantify salmonellosis risk in humans through consumption of boiled pork in urban Hung Yen Province, Vietnam, using a quantitative microbial risk assessment. We collected 302 samples along the pork value chain in Hung Yen between April 2014 and February 2015. We developed a model in @Risk, based on microbiological, market, and household surveys on cooking, cross-contamination and consumption, and conducted sensitivity analysis. Salmonella prevalence of pen floor swabs, slaughterhouse carcasses and cut pork were 33.3, 41.7 and 44.4%, respectively. The annual incidence rate of salmonellosis in humans was estimated to be 17.7% (90% CI 0.89-45.96). Parameters with the greatest influence risk were household pork handling practice followed by prevalence in pork sold in the central market. Wide confidence interval in the incidence estimate was mainly due to the variability in the degree of reduction in bacteria concentration by cooking, and pork consumption pattern. The risk of salmonellosis in humans due to boiled pork consumption appears to be high. Control measures may include improving the safety of retailed pork and improving household hygiene.

The Dynamic Impact of the Tiger within Chinese Martial Arts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wing Lam

2012-07-01

Full Text Available In Asia, there is, in general, a great reverence held for the tiger. The tiger has been imitated and reigns supreme as king of all the beasts throughout Asia. The relationship between man and tiger holds a strange duality in that as much as the tiger is feared for its fierce savagery and destructive power, it is also revered for these very same qualities and for its majestic nature. Therefore, the very symbolic essence of the tiger has permeated all levels of the Asian community and culture; art, mythology, religion, astrology, herbology, and military fighting strategies. The purpose of this article is to show the many rich aspects that the tiger exhibits, and its influence and impact on Asian culture and Chinese martial arts in particular. Martial arts such as Cantonese Hung Gar (Hong Family and Hasayfu Hung Gar (Hong Family Four Lower Tigers dedicate a portion of their systems to achieving awesome strength and speed, and to imitating the tiger’s physical prowess. By doing so, they may achieve higher levels of effectiveness within the martial arts.

Additive theory of prime numbers

CERN Document Server

Hua, L K

2009-01-01

Loo-Keng Hua was a master mathematician, best known for his work using analytic methods in number theory. In particular, Hua is remembered for his contributions to Waring's Problem and his estimates of trigonometric sums. Additive Theory of Prime Numbers is an exposition of the classic methods as well as Hua's own techniques, many of which have now also become classic. An essential starting point is Vinogradov's mean-value theorem for trigonometric sums, which Hua usefully rephrases and improves. Hua states a generalized version of the Waring-Goldbach problem and gives asymptotic formulas for the number of solutions in Waring's Problem when the monomial x^k is replaced by an arbitrary polynomial of degree k. The book is an excellent entry point for readers interested in additive number theory. It will also be of value to those interested in the development of the now classic methods of the subject.

JPRS Report, Soviet Union Political Affairs

Science.gov (United States)

1988-09-30

people have simply been deceived, their ignorance has been exploited; they "hung their noodles on their ears." But then we see these "simple people...running his farm, but in the next instant he was left without a horse, a coat, a roof over his head, without land, without a source of water. As

Browse Title Index

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Vol 9, No 1 (2006), Splenectomy in a rural surgical practice, Abstract PDF. E Alufohai, OO Odusanya. Vol 20, No 9 (2017), Spontaneous Retropharyngeal Emphysema: A Case Report, Abstract PDF. T-H Chi, C-C Hung, R-F Chen, C-H Yuan, J-C Chen. Vol 5, No 2 (2002), Spontaneous Rupture Of A Massive Hydrocephalus ...

A glimpse of the 'God particle'? Scientists pushed Europe's premier particle accelerator to the threshold of a fundamental breakthrough. Then they pulled the plug

CERN Multimedia

Morton, O

2000-01-01

The decision hung on the most slender of majorities; the data were recounted and reanalyzed exhaustively; tempers flared; appeals were made; committees few people have ever heard of had their say. But in the end the accelerator's fate was sealed and a chance for physicists to solve one of the basic mysteries of the universe was forgone (1 page).

E-Learning in Supplemental Educational Systems in Taiwan: Present Status and Future Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ke; Hung, Jui-Long

2009-01-01

As Taiwan's full-scale e-learning initiatives moved to the seventh year in 2009, the current status and challenges of e-learning development there are yet to be fully understood. Further extending Zhang and Hung's (2006) investigation on e-learning in all universities and colleges in Taiwan, this study investigated the after-school programs (ASPs)…

Local sustained delivery of acetylsalicylic acid via hybrid stent with biodegradable nanofibers reduces adhesion of blood cells and promotes reendothelialization of the denuded artery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee CH

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Cheng-Hung Lee,1,2 Yu-Huang Lin,3 Shang-Hung Chang,1 Chun-Der Tai,3 Shih-Jung Liu,2 Yen Chu,4 Chao-Jan Wang,5 Ming-Yi Hsu,5 Hung Chang,6 Gwo-Jyh Chang,7 Kuo-Chun Hung,1 Ming-Jer Hsieh,1 Fen-Chiung Lin,1 I-Chang Hsieh,1 Ming-Shien Wen,1 Yenlin Huang81Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Linkou, 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3Graduate Institute of Medical Mechatronics, Chang Gung University, 4Laboratory of Cardiovascular Physiology, Division of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 5Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, 6Hematology-Oncology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, 7Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicinal Sciences, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Linkou, 8Department of Anatomical Pathology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Tao-Yuan, TaiwanAbstract: Incomplete endothelialization, blood cell adhesion to vascular stents, and inflammation of arteries can result in acute stent thromboses. The systemic administration of acetylsalicylic acid decreases endothelial dysfunction, potentially reducing thrombus, enhancing vasodilatation, and inhibiting the progression of atherosclerosis; but, this is weakened by upper gastrointestinal bleeding. This study proposes a hybrid stent with biodegradable nanofibers, for the local, sustained delivery of acetylsalicylic acid to injured artery walls. Biodegradable nanofibers are prepared by first dissolving poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide and acetylsalicylic acid in 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-propanol. The solution is then electrospun into nanofibrous tubes, which are then mounted onto commercially available bare-metal stents. In vitro release rates of pharmaceuticals from nanofibers are characterized using an elution method, and a high-performance liquid chromatography assay. The experimental results suggest that biodegradable nanofibers

THE EFFECT OF ANDROSTENEDIONE ON CROWTH, CARCASS ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The pigs were injected three times per week, the dose rate being determined from the weekly weights. The pigs were fed ad lib on a balanced diet con- sisting of l8% crvde protein and 79,7 % digestible energy. As soon as the pigs reached a liveweight of 45 kg they were slaughtered. hung in a refrigerated room for 48 hours.

Suicide Methods in Singapore (2000-2004): Types and Associations

Science.gov (United States)

Chia, Boon-Hock; Franzco, Audrey Chia; Ng, Wai-Yee; Tai, Bee-Choo

2011-01-01

The choice of suicide methods varies between countries. Common methods used in Singapore between 2000 and 2004 were jumping (72.4%), hanging (16.6%), and poisoning (5.9%). Those who jumped were more likely to be young, single, female, and to have had a major mental illness. By comparison, those who hung themselves were more likely to be older (OR…

Expanding the Repertoire of Optogenetically Targeted Cells with an Enhanced Gene Expression System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenji F. Tanaka

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Optogenetics has been enthusiastically pursued in recent neuroscience research, and the causal relationship between neural activity and behavior is becoming ever more accessible. Here, we established knockin-mediated enhanced gene expression by improved tetracycline-controlled gene induction (KENGE-tet and succeeded in generating transgenic mice expressing a highly light-sensitive channelrhodopsin-2 mutant at levels sufficient to drive the activities of multiple cell types. This method requires two lines of mice: one that controls the pattern of expression and another that determines the protein to be produced. The generation of new lines of either type readily expands the repertoire to choose from. In addition to neurons, we were able to manipulate the activity of nonexcitable glial cells in vivo. This shows that our system is applicable not only to neuroscience but also to any biomedical study that requires understanding of how the activity of a selected population of cells propagates through the intricate organic systems.

Pathogenicity of Genetically Similar, H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Virus Strains in Chicken and the Differences in Sensitivity among Different Chicken Breeds

Science.gov (United States)

Matsuu, Aya; Kobayashi, Tomoko; Patchimasiri, Tuangthong; Shiina, Takashi; Suzuki, Shingo; Chaichoune, Kridsada; Ratanakorn, Parntep; Hiromoto, Yasuaki; Abe, Haruka; Parchariyanon, Sujira; Saito, Takehiko

2016-01-01

Differences in the pathogenicity of genetically closely related H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (HPAIVs) were evaluated in White Leghorn chickens. These viruses varied in the clinical symptoms they induced, including lethality, virus shedding, and replication in host tissues. A comparison of the host responses in the lung, brain, and spleen suggested that the differences in viral replication efficiency were related to the host cytokine response at the early phase of infection, especially variations in the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6. Based on these findings, we inoculated the virus that showed the mildest pathogenicity among the five tested, A/pigeon/Thailand/VSMU-7-NPT/2004, into four breeds of Thai indigenous chicken, Phadu-Hung-Dang (PHD), Chee, Dang, and Luang-Hung-Khao (LHK), to explore effects of genetic background on host response. Among these breeds, Chee, Dang, and LHK showed significantly longer survival times than White Leghorns. Virus shedding from dead Thai indigenous chickens was significantly lower than that from White Leghorns. Although polymorphisms were observed in the Mx and MHC class I genes, there was no significant association between the polymorphisms in these loci and resistance to HPAIV. PMID:27078641

Caracterização agronômica e pungência em pimenta de cheiro Agronomic traits and pungency of chilli pepper

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carolina I Domenico

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Nove acessos de Capsicum chinense do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma de pimentas do Instituto Agronômico (IAC foram caracterizados e avaliados nas condições edafoclimáticas de Campinas (SP. O experimento foi realizado de janeiro a outubro de 2010, em blocos casualizados, com nove tratamentos, cinco repetições e oito plantas por parcela. Foram avaliados altura da planta, hábito de crescimento da planta, antese da primeira flor, produtividade, massa fresca do fruto, comprimento do fruto, largura do fruto, conteúdo de capsaicina do fruto fresco, cor do fruto maduro, formato do fruto e superfície do fruto. Para a caracterização da planta e do fruto consideraram-se as quatro plantas centrais de cada parcela; para a extração da capsaicina, utilizaram-se três amostras de cinco frutos de cada acesso. A quantificação de capsaicina foi feita por meio de cromatografia líquida de ultra pressão. A altura das plantas variou de 1,13 a 0,85 m. Constatou-se hábito de crescimento compacto das plantas para a maioria dos acessos. Os acessos mais precoces para antese da primeira flor foram IAC 1644, IAC 1645 e IAC 1643, respectivamente. O acesso IAC 1646 apresentou alta produtividade e maiores largura e massa fresca do fruto e IAC 1641 apresentou os frutos mais longos. IAC 1552 ('Murupi' destacou-se com o maior conteúdo de capsaicina, superando IAC 1646 ('Scotch Bonnet' e IAC 1644 ('Fidalga', do tipo habanero. Observaram-se as cores amarela, laranja, salmão e vermelha para os frutos. Quanto ao formato do fruto, os acessos classificaram-se em alongados, redondos, triangulares campanulados e bloco. Quanto à superfície, caracterizaram-se os frutos como lisos, semi-rugosos e rugosos. Concluiu-se que, nas condições edafoclimáticas em que a pesquisa foi desenvolvida e considerando os acessos avaliados, existe alta variabilidade em pimenta de cheiro para características agronômicas e conteúdo de capsaicina. IAC 1552 destacou-se com o maior conteúdo de capsaicina, resultado inédito para uma pimenta de cheiro brasileira.Nine accessions of the Active Capsicum chinense Germplasm Bank of Instituto Agronômico were characterized and evaluated in climate and soil conditions of Campinas, São Paulo state, Brazil. The experiment was carried out from January to October 2010. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with nine treatments, five replications and eight plants per plot. Evaluated traits were plant height, plant growth habit, first flower anthesis, fruit yield, fresh fruit weight, fruit height and width, capsaicin content, ripe fruit color, fruit shape and fruit surface. For fruit and plant characterization were considered the four central plants of each plot; for capsaicin content evaluation were used three samples of five fruits of each accession. Capsaicin content was measured by ultra-high pressure liquid chromatography. Plant height ranged from 1.13 to 0.85 m. The most accessions presented compact growth habit of plants. Accessions IAC 1644, IAC 1645 and IAC 1643 were the earliest for anthesis of first flower. IAC 1646 showed high fruit yield, fruit width and fresh weight, and IAC 1641 showed the longest fruits. IAC 1552 ('Murupi' stood out with highest capsaicin content, outperforming IAC 1646 ('Scotch Bonnet' and IAC 1644 ('Fidalga', habanero types. Fruits presented yellow, orange, salmon and red colors. The fruits presented the elongated, round, triangular, campanulated and blocked shape. The fruit surface was characterized as smooth, semi-rough and rough. In the climate and soil conditions where the research was developed and, regarding the accessions evaluated, there was high variability in chili peppers for agronomic traits and capsaicin content. IAC 1552 stood out with highest capsaicin content, first result for a Brazilian chilli pepper.

El Dia de la Independencia, September 16, 1810: El Grito de Dolores (Independence Day, September 16, 1810: The Cry of Dolores).

Science.gov (United States)

Oakland Unified School District, CA.

Each year on the eve of September 16, when the President of the Republic of Mexico has rung the church bell that once hung in the belfry at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in the small town of Dolores Hidalgo, he has once more proclaimed Independence Day. When Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang that same bell on September 16, 1810, he rang it…

Finding the Density of a Liquid Using a Metre Rule

Science.gov (United States)

Chattopadhyay, K. N.

2008-01-01

A simple method, which is based on the principle of moment of forces only, is described for the determination of the density of liquids without measuring the mass and volume. At first, an empty test tube and a solid substance, which are hung on each side of a metre rule, are balanced and the moment arm of the test tube is measured. Keeping the…

Introducing Magneto-Optical Functions into Soft Materials

Science.gov (United States)

2017-05-03

including organic and bio materials by using magnetic nanomaterials. This final report includes the successful developments of magneto-optical... successful developments of magneto-optical properties in both organic and bio magnetic nanocomposites during the project period of three years...proteins on the photoluminescence of nanodiamond. J. Appl . Phys. 2011, 109 (3), 034704. 7, Xu, H.; Hung, C.E.; Cheng, C.L.; Hu, B., Magneto-electric

Southeast Asia Report

Science.gov (United States)

1987-05-22

placards, frames campaigning for the elections are hung everywhere. Red scarf pioneers with national flags and flowers in hands marched through the...order to create increasingly larger sources of export goods: first, agricultural products for export (coffee, peanuts, soybeans, pepper, cocoa , and the...skills. With respect to female laborers, it is necessary to start from their psychological and physiological needs and from the fact that outside the

Control of aedes vectors of dengue in three provinces of Vietnam by use of Mesocyclops (Copepoda) and community-based methods validated by entomologic, clinical, and serological surveillance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kay, Brian H; Nam, Vu Sinh; Tien, Tran Van; Yen, Nguyen Thi; Phong, Tran Vu; Diep, Vu Thi Bich; Ninh, Truong Uyen; Bektas, Ahmet; Aaskov, John G

2002-01-01

We describe remarkable success in controlling dengue vectors, Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse), in 6 communes with 11,675 households and 49,647 people in the northern provinces of Haiphong, Hung Yen, and Nam Dinh in Vietnam. The communes were selected for high-frequency use of large outdoor concrete tanks and wells. These were found to be the source of 49.6-98.4% of Ae. aegypti larvae, which were amenable to treatment with local Mesocyclops, mainly M. woutersi Van der Velde, M. aspericornis (Daday) and M. thermocyclopoides Harada. Knowledge, attitude, and practice surveys were performed to determine whether the communities viewed dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever as a serious health threat; to determine their knowledge of the etiology, attitudes, and practices regarding control methods including Mesocyclops; and to determine their receptivity to various information methods. On the basis of the knowledge, attitude, and practice data, the community-based dengue control program comprised a system of local leaders, health volunteer teachers, and schoolchildren, supported by health professionals. Recycling of discards for economic gain was enhanced, where appropriate, and this, plus 37 clean-up campaigns, removed small containers unsuitable for Mesocyclops treatment. A previously successful eradication at Phan Boi village (Hung Yen province) was extended to 7 other villages forming Di Su commune (1,750 households) in the current study. Complete control was also achieved in Nghia Hiep (Hung Yen province) and in Xuan Phong (Nam Dinh province); control efficacy was > or = 99.7% in the other 3 communes (Lac Vien in Haiphong, Nghia Dong, and Xuan Kien in Nam Dinh). Although tanks and wells were the key container types of Ae. aegypti productivity, discarded materials were the source of 51% of the standing crop of Ae. albopictus. Aedes albopictus larvae were eliminated from the 3 Nam Dinh communes, and 86-98% control was achieved in the other 3 communes

Influence of hang time and location on bacterial contamination of intravenous bags in a veterinary emergency and critical care setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillaumin, Julien; Olp, Nichole M; Magnusson, Karissa D; Butler, Amy L; Daniels, Joshua B

2017-09-01

To assess the rate of bacterial contamination of fluid and ports in intravenous bags in a veterinary emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU). Experimental model. Ninety intravenous fluid bags of lactated balanced-electrolytes solution (1 L) hung in a university hospital. Bags were hung in 2 different locations in the ER (sink and bins) and one location in the ICU (sink) for 11 days. Bags were punctured 3 times daily with a sterile needle to simulate clinical use. Injection ports were swabbed and 50 mL of fluid were collected in duplicates on days 0, 2, 4, 7, and 10. Aerobic bacterial cultures were performed on the fluid and injection port. Contamination was defined as bacterial growth of a similar phenotype across 2 consecutive times. Increase in the fluid contamination rate from day 0 was tested using an exact binomial test. Port contamination rate between locations was tested using Fisher's exact test. Combined bacterial growth on injection ports reached a mean (95% confidence interval) of 8.1 (0.005-16.2) cfu/port on day 10. The combined port contamination was 3.3%, 11.1%, 17.8%, and 31.1% on days 0, 2, 4, and 7, respectively. Port contamination was similar between ER and ICU. However, port contamination was higher in the sink versus the bins area (38.3% vs 16.7%, P = 0.032). No fluid bag was contaminated at days 0 and 2. The contamination rate of fluid bag was 1.1% and 4.4% on days 4 and 7, respectively. All bags with contaminated fluid were in the ER (6.7%, 95% exact binomial confidence interval 1.9-16.2%). Injection port contamination reached 31.1% on day 7. Contamination was more likely when the bags were hung next to a sink. In our model of bag puncture, fluid contamination occurred between days 2 and 4. © Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society 2017.

Morphological and Chemical Characterization of Green Bamboo (Dendrocalamopsis oldhami (Munro Keng f. for Dissolving Pulp Production

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shilin Cao

2014-06-01

Full Text Available With the sustained growth of dissolving pulp demand all over the world, the search for alternative bamboo materials has come into focus in China due to the shortage of wood and the abundance of bamboo resources. In this study, to obtain updated information concerning green bamboo growing in southeastern China and to develop its processing technologies for dissolving pulp, the fiber morphology, chemical composition, elemental composition, degree of polymerization (DP of cellulose, and crystallinity index (CrI of cellulose were investigated. The experimental results show that green bamboo has potential for use as dissolving pulp because it has a lower Runkel ratio and fines content than moso bamboo, and a much lower lignin content and similar α-cellulose and hemicellulose contents compared to softwoods and hardwoods. Compared to the cortex and culm, the node had the shortest fibers and more than 30% of fines, the highest content of extractives and lignin, and the lowest α-cellulose content. As a result, a de-knotting operation prior to cooking can contribute to the production of high-grade dissolving pulp. The DP and CrI of cellulose from the node were much lower than that of cellulose from the culm and cortex. Moreover, green bamboo had the high content of ash, primarily distributed in the cortex. The concentration of Si was 4487 ppm in the cortex, nearly five times higher than that in the culm and node.

Identification of Disulphide Stress-responsive Extracytoplasmic Function Sigma Factors in Rothia mucilaginosa

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Senadheera MD, Lee AWC, Hung DCI, Spatafora GA, Goodman SD, Cvitkovitch DG. The Streptococcus mutans vicX gene product modulates gtfB/C expression, biofilm...Involvement of sensor kinases in the stress tolerance response of Streptococcus mutans . Journal of Bacteriology 2008;190(1):68–77. 18. Meuric V...structures from a persistent apical periodontitis lesion. Sequencing 2010;2010:457236. 15. Wen ZT, Burne RA. LuxS-mediated signaling in Streptococcus

MicroRNAs and vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension

OpenAIRE

Brock, Matthias

2012-01-01

Die pulmonale Hypertonie (PH) ist der Überbegriff für verschiedene Krankheitsbilder, welche in einer signifikanten Erhöhung des Blutdrucks im Lungenkreislauf resultieren und auf Grund des vermehrten rechtsventrikulären Afterloads letztendlich zum Rechtsherzversagen führt. Die chronisch Drucksteigerung in der Lungenblutbahn wird im Wesentlichen durch drei pathogenetische Ereignisse verursacht: eine Mikrothrombosierung der Gefässbahn, eine übermässige Vasokonstriktion, sowie durch einen fibroti...

Near-field Pressure Distributions to Enhance Sounds Transmission into Multi-layer Materials

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-01

long. The properties of the HTPB surrogate vary significantly between the 50% and 75% samples. While the 50% samples are flexible and deform under...typically more. The polycarbonate samples were tested in three mounting conditions. The first was a hung condition, wherein the polycarbonate rod was...side excitation, even some that ought 118 to be inherent to the side excitation (such as torsional waves). While waves relating to the flexural

Direct Bandgap Group IV Materials

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-21

AFRL-AFOSR-JP-TR-2017-0049 Direct Bandgap group IV Materials Hung Hsiang Cheng NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY Final Report 01/21/2016 DISTRIBUTION A...NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) NATIONAL TAIWAN UNIVERSITY 1 ROOSEVELT RD. SEC. 4 TAIPEI CITY, 10617 TW 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER 9. SPONSORING...14. ABSTRACT Direct bandgap group IV materials have been long sought for in both academia and industry for the implementation of photonic devices

Afghan Ministry of Defense Headquarters: $154.7 Million Building Appears Well Built, but Has Several Construction Issues that Should Be Assessed

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-01

drop ceiling is a secondary ceiling , hung below the main structural ceiling . Failure of these components in an earthquake has the potential to cause ...complete breaks in the floors, walls, and ceilings that divide the building into discrete sections. The objectives of this inspection were to...deficiencies, including the need to install a fire- rated glass entry door. An AFCEC official told us that all three deficiencies have since been corrected

INTEGRATED PROTECTIVE FABRIC SYSTEM (IPFS) PHASE III PROGRAM: AEROSOL PROTECTION REPORT

Science.gov (United States)

2017-08-16

control. It consists of a woven nylon/cotton outer shell ripstop fabric with a durable water repellent finish (Quarpel) with a hung liner comprised of...challenge, most were made using DOP. The TSI 3160 is equipped with two TSI Model 3772 Condensation Particle Counters (CPCs). The Model 3772 CPC detects ...results were used to demonstrate that any penetration measured through the swatch materials was not attributed to leakage or erroneous system

Hanging Together, Together Hung? Career Implications of Interpersonal Ties Between CEOs and Top Managers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan Hilger

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Is it good or bad for senior executives to have strong interpersonal ties to the CEO? We argue that a strong relationship with the CEO raises the likelihood that a top manager stays in office or makes an upward career move when the CEO leaves office voluntarily. At the same time, such interpersonal ties also reinforce the negative spillover effects of a dismissal of the CEO on the career prospects of the manager concerned. Our empirical analysis lends support to both arguments. We contribute to managerial succession research by underlining the ambivalence of interpersonal ties within top management teams.

DOE ZERH Case Study: United Way of Long Island Housing Development Corporation, Patchogue, NY

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,

2015-09-01

Case study of a DOE 2015 Housing Innovation Award winning affordable home in the mixed-humid climate that got HERS 40 without PV, -3 with PV, with 2x4 16: on center walls with R-13.5 dense packed cellulose and 1.5” polyiso rigid; basement with 2.5: polyiso on interior; unvented attic with R-48 ocsf under roof deck; ERV tied to wall hung boiler with hydro coil.

La pelle del selfie

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theresa Senft

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This is an essay about power and faces. Specifically, it about the faces that manifest in the global self-imaging practice referred to as “selfie culture.” More specifically still, it is about circulation of selfies featuring the face of Sandra Bland, an African American activist with the group Black Lives Matter, who police claim hung herself in a cell after being imprisoned after a routine traffic stop.

Integrated Mission Precision Attack Cockpit Technology (IMPACT). Phase 1: Identifying Technologies for Air-to-Ground Fighter Integration.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-10-31

No comment S4: No comment 63 3. The HMD would my...released (i.e., not hung) without looking down on the PACS page is very good." S4: No comment 6. The HMD would my SITUATIONAL AWARENESS during the INGRESS...Substantially Degrade 0 (Subject 1: NO RATING) HOW? S 1: No comment S2: "Previous reasons, visibility REF # 2, 4" S3: No comment S4: No comment 65 7. The

Adaptive Regenerative Braking in Electric Vehicles

OpenAIRE

Kubaisi, Rayad

2018-01-01

Elektrofahrzeuge fahren lokal emissionsfrei und tragen damit dazu bei, die Emissionen in Städten zu reduzieren. Zusätzlich, zeichnen sich Elektrofahrzeuge durch ein dynamisches Fahrverhalten aus. Nachteilig wirkt sich bei den meisten Elektrofahrzeugen, die geringe Reichweite auf die Akzeptanz bei Neuwagenkäufern aus. Eine der Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung der Reichweite von Elektrofahrzeuge ist das regenerative Bremsen. Hierbei wird die kinetische Energie des Fahrzeugs durch generatorisches...

7th drug hypersensitivity meeting: part one

OpenAIRE

Carr, Daniel F.; Chung, Wen-Hung; Jenkiins, Rosalind E.; Chaponda, Mas; Nwikue, Gospel; Cornejo Castro, Elena M.; Antoine, Daniel J.; Pirmohamed, Munir; Wuillemin, Natascha; Dina, Dolores; Eriksson, Klara K.; Yerly, Daniel; Pavlos, Rebecca; Mckinnin, Elizabeth; Ostrov, David

2016-01-01

Table of contents Oral Abstracts O1 Functionally distinct HMGB1 isoforms correlate with physiological processes in drug-induced SJS/TEN Daniel F. Carr, Wen-Hung Chung, Rosalind E. Jenkiins, Mas Chaponda, Gospel Nwikue, Elena M. Cornejo Castro, Daniel J. Antoine, Munir Pirmohamed O2 Hypersensitivity reactions to beta-lactams, does the t cell recognition pattern influence the clinical picture? Natascha Wuillemin, Dolores Dina, Klara K. Eriksson, Daniel Yerly O3 Specific binding characteristics ...

Sustained release of vancomycin from novel biodegradable nanofiber-loaded vascular prosthetic grafts: in vitro and in vivo study

OpenAIRE

Liu, Kuo-Sheng; Lee, Cheng-Hung; Wang, Yi-Chuan; Liu, Shih-Jung

2015-01-01

Kuo-Sheng Liu,1 Cheng-Hung Lee,2 Yi-Chuan Wang,3 Shih-Jung Liu3 1Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan; 2Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan; 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan Abstract: This study describes novel biodegradable, drug-eluting nanofiber-loaded vascular prosthetic grafts that provide local and sustained...

Alterações físicas e químicas em cebolas armazenadas sob refrigeração Chemical and physical alterations in storaged onion genotypes under refrigeration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cleneide Oliveira Melo

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Bulbos de cebolas armazenados sob refrigeração sofrem alterações físicas e químicas. Entretanto a intensidade das alterações depende das condições de armazenamento e cultivar. Este trabalho objetivou avaliar alterações em cebolas das cultivares 'Beta Cristal' e 'Óptima' armazenadas sob refrigeração. Bulbos colhidos no campo experimental da Embrapa Hortaliças - Brasília DF, após cura, foram transportados para o laboratório onde foram selecionados e armazenados a 5±1°C e umidade relativa de 85±5%, durante 60 dias. A cada 10 dias, foram feitas análises de perda de massa, cor (L*, firmeza (N, pungência, acidez titulável e sólidos solúveis. Observou-se, durante o armazenamento, nas duas cultivares estudadas, incremento na perda de massa, redução nos teores de sólidos solúveis e na acidez titulável. Houve grande variação na luminosidade dos bulbos durante o armazenamento. Entretanto, após 60 dias, o brilho das cebolas das duas cultivares foi significativamente maior, quando comparado ao início dos experimentos. Houve aumento significativo da firmeza dos bulbos da cultivar 'Óptima'. Ao final do experimento, a pungência foi 6 e 5 vezes maior nas cultivares 'Beta Cristal' e 'Óptima', respectivamente, em relação ao início do período de armazenamento.Storage under low temperatures, immediately after the harvest, is the most used technique to extend the shelf life of different fresh produce. The present work was carried out with the objective of assessing physical and chemical alterations in onions stored under refrigeration. Onions (Allium cepa L. cultivars 'Beta Cristal' and 'Óptima' were harvested at Embrapa Vegetables experimental fields, were cured and taken to the Food Science and Technology Lab where bulbs were selected and stored at 5±1°C and 85±5% relative humidity for 60 days. Every 10 days bulbs wee assessed for dry matter, mass loss (%, brightness, firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids and

Pseudomembranous colitis within radiotherapy field following concurrent chemoradiation therapy: a case report

OpenAIRE

Hsieh, Chen-Hsi; Shen,Bing-Jie; Lin,Shih-Chiang; Shueng,Pei-Wei; Tseng,Li-Ming; Chou,

2013-01-01

Bing-Jie Shen,1 Shih-Chiang Lin,2 Pei-Wei Shueng,1,3 Yueh-Hung Chou,4 Li-Ming Tseng,5 Chen-Hsi Hsieh1,6,71Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Division of Oncology and Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Department of Radiation Oncology, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Department of Anatomical Pathology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 5...

Electronic Commerce - Hürden, Entwicklungspotential, Konsequenzen : Ergebnisse aus der Electronic Commerce Enquete

OpenAIRE

Müller, Günter; Schoder, Detlef

1999-01-01

Vorhersagen zu Wachstum und Volumen elektronisch gestützten Geschäftsverkehrs zeichnen überwiegend ein sehr positives Zukunftsbild. In krassem Gegensatz dazu stehen Aussagen aus ex post-Analysen des Electronic Commerce zu „harten“ ökonomischen Variablen wie etwa Umsatz- oder Gewinnsteigerung, Kostensenkung und Erhöhung von Marktanteilen. In vielen Fällen bewahrheiten sich euphorische Voraussagen zum Erfolg von Electronic Commerce-Aktivitäten für Unternehmen nicht einmal annähernd. Verlustmeld...

Effect of artificial nestboxes on the diversity of secondary cavity-nesting birds and the stability of breeding bird community

OpenAIRE

Wenhong Deng; Wen Liu; Liyuan Yang; Zhen Li

2008-01-01

Artificial nestboxes are widely used in ecological research and conservation practices. However, we know little about the effects of nestboxes on breeding bird communities and their actual conservationvalue to bird communities. We chose two sample plots with similar plant communities in Xiaolongmen National Forest Park, Beijing. Fifty artificial nest-boxes were hung in the experimental plot and the other plot as a control. From March to August in 2007, we monitored artificial nestbox use by s...

A Review of Tribological Sinks in Six Major Industries

Science.gov (United States)

1985-09-01

limestone𔃽’ Crushed and broken granite Construction sand and gravel^3’ Industrial sand^3’ Bentonite Fire clay Fuller’s earth Kaolin and...lubricant was intended to combat. In some shaft mining applications, the lubricant must be deliberately diluted with water to reduce fire hazards. This...belts. Monorail or overhead trams take many forms. The item is supported from or hung from two or more wheels on the monorail . The units may be self

Sustained release of bactericidal concentrations of penicillin in the pleural space via an antibiotic-eluting pigtail catheter coated with electrospun nanofibers: results from in vivo and in vitro studies

OpenAIRE

Chao, Yin-Kai; Lee, Cheng-Hung; Liu, Kuo-Sheng; Wang, Yi-Chuan; Wang, Chih-Wei; Liu, Shih-Jung

2015-01-01

Yin-Kai Chao,1 Cheng-Hung Lee,2 Kuo-Sheng Liu,1 Yi-Chuan Wang,3 Chih-Wei Wang,4 Shih-Jung Liu3 1Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Linkou, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 2Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Linkou, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 3Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 4Department of P...

Drug-resistant colon cancer cells produce high carcinoembryonic antigen and might not be cancer-initiating cells

OpenAIRE

Lee HC; Ling QD; Yu WC; Hung CM; Kao TC; Huang YW; Higuchi A

2013-01-01

Hsin-chung Lee,1,2 Qing-Dong Ling,1,3 Wan-Chun Yu,4 Chunh-Ming Hung,4 Ta-Chun Kao,4 Yi-Wei Huang,4 Akon Higuchi3–51Graduate Institute of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan, 2Department of Surgery, Cathay General Hospital, Da'an District, Taipei, 3Cathay Medical Research Institute, Cathay General Hospital, Hsi-Chi City, Taipei, 4Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan, Taiwa...

Soviet Developments in Material Science No. 1, January - June 1975

Science.gov (United States)

1975-11-30

UkrSSR DAN UzbSSR DBAN EOM FAiO FGIV FiKhOM F-KhMM FMiM FTP FTT FZh GiA GiK IAN Arm IAN Az AvtomaLika i tclemekhanika Acta physica ...creep dynamics of the quasi-elastir^liy bound yortices in type II superconductors. Acta phys . Acad. sei. hung, y. 36, no. 2, 1974, 149 - 153... polonica Akademiya nauk Armyanskoy SSR. Doklady Akademiya nauk Azerbaydzhanskoy SSR. Doklady Akademiya nauk Belorusskoy SSR. Doklady Akademiya

Restoring proximal caries lesions conservatively with tunnel restorations

OpenAIRE

Chu, Chun-Hung; Cheung,; Nalliah,Romesh; Mei,May L

2013-01-01

Chun-Hung Chu1, May L Mei,1 Chloe Cheung,1 Romesh P Nalliah2 1Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA Abstract: The tunnel restoration has been suggested as a conservative alternative to the conventional box preparation for treating proximal caries. The main advantage of tunnel restoration over the conventional box or slo...

Report on technological achievements in fiscal 1999. Survey on geological structures in overseas countries, 'Japan-Vietnam joint coal exploration project on Red River delta'; 1999 nendo kaigai chishitsu kozo nado chosa hokokusho. Nippon Vietnam sekitan kyodo tansa Red River delta project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-06-01

With an objective to identify stratigraphy, geological structures, coal bed existing status, and coal quality of major coal beds in the north and central district of the area to be surveyed in the Red River delta, test well drilling, physical and seismic exploration, and coal composition analyses were performed. The area to be surveys is a typical delta where irrigation canals are running in all directions. Three test wells were drilled with drilling lengths of 640 m for TD3, 700 m for TD4 and 900 m for TD5. Coring was performed to depths greater than the Tertiary deposit. The seismic exploration was executed along three exploration lines. Total distance was 25 km. In addition, the VSP investigation was carried out on TD3 and TD5. The stratigraphy is composed from below of the Phu Cu bed (Neogene period: marine deposit) , the Tien Hung bed (Neogene period: continental deposit), and the Tai Doung bed (quaternary deposit), in which the bed that holds coal beds is the Tien Hung bed. The beds are very stable as the geological structure, but the constituting rocks are soft and fragile. Anticipated coal beds exist in depths greater than 1000 m. The coal quality is of low ash, low sulfur, medium in calorific power, and contains little gas. (NEDO)

Environmental protection - a permanent task in politics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laermann, K.H.

1978-01-01

The principles of practical environment politics can be summarized as follows: 1) Environmental policy measures do not necessarily induce restrictive effects on economic growth but also positive ones. 2) A serious conflict situation only presents itself, when with limited time available and short-term aims in mind hybernetic interrelations are disregarded and the views of an effluent society are hung onto. 3) Environmental protection measures are to be applied from the point of view of the national economy as a whole. (orig.) [de

Essays on Strategy. 5

Science.gov (United States)

1988-01-01

Van Dong, Truong Chinh , To Huu, and Le Duc Tho, but retained and pro- moted to the number two position Pham Hung, the Min- ister of Interior and one...explained that a basic concern of the United States was that the Pacific region Should not be trans - formed "into yet another area of superpower confronta... tran - ,sition to mutual 13Mll) t’apkailities would be frought with uncertainty, instabilitY, and po-,ible peril. ("On.juentlvt. alternative tour vields

Einsatzmöglichkeiten eines saponinreichen Extrakts aus Quillaja saponaria Molina zur Formulierung und Stabilisierung von funktionellen Lebensmittelinhaltsstoffen

OpenAIRE

Tippel, Janine

2017-01-01

Emulgatoren werden in der Lebensmittelindustrie häufig zur Herstellung disperser Trägersysteme verwendet, welche eine Solubilisierung und Erhöhung der Stabilität von lipophilen Lebensmittelinhaltsstoffen ermöglichen. Für flüssige Lebensmittelsysteme können mizellare Systeme und Emulsionen eingesetzt werden. Eine Sprühtrocknung ermöglicht hier die Umwandlung flüssiger Formulierungen in feste Pulver, welche den Transport und die Einbringung in das Endprodukt vereinfachen. Zudem können durch Ver...

The Effectiveness of Army Music in Accomplishing the Army Public Affairs Mission

Science.gov (United States)

2015-06-12

music than on sex or prescription drugs.”80 Advertisers have long recognized music’s emotive powers and have used music quite effectively in plying...you so much for sharing your talents with us. My wife and five kids all were so inspired. You would have enjoyed seeing their little toes tapping...hung in a hot stale breeze. That is refreshing to this civilian. It was nice to say that kids aren’t soft nowadays, but really they are (not mine

Bait station devices can improve mass trapping performance for the control of the Mediterranean fruit fly

OpenAIRE

Navarro-Llopis, Vicente; Primo Millo, Jaime; Vacas González, Sandra

2015-01-01

BACKGROUNDThe use of traps and other attract-and-kill devices in pest management strategies to reduce Mediterranean fruit fly populations has proved to be efficient. Nevertheless, many farmers are concerned about the effect of these devices on the trees where they are hung. Direct field observations have revealed that fruit damage is higher in trees with traps than in trees without them. This work evaluates the efficacy of different types of attract-and-kill device to protect fruit of the sin...

Quality of Water used at pig farms in the Red River delta

OpenAIRE

Nguyen Van Duy; Vu Dinh, Ton; Lai Thi, Cuc; Dang Vu, Binh

2008-01-01

A research was carried out to evaluate water quality using at 12 different pig farms in Bac Ninh, Hung Yen and Hai Duong provinces. Water samples were taken in two periods from October to December 2006 and from March to April 2007. Physical and chemical parameters were analysed at the laboratory of the Department of Veterinary Parasitology-Inspection and Hygiene - Hanoi University of Agriculture. The results showed that, all water sources using the pig farms came from underground and a half o...

19世紀後半の子ども服に見られるSailor Suitの流行

OpenAIRE

大枝, 近子; Chikako, Ooeda; 目白大学人間社会学部社会情報学科

2006-01-01

Sailor suits were popular as children's clothes from the late 19th century through to the early 20th century. I have attempted to throw light on the main factors underlying the popularity of this style of clothing with reference to an article that appeared in the women's magazine The Queen, published in Britain in 1861. I discovered the following factors as a result: 1) Sailor suits were popular because they hung loose on children's bodies and did not hem them in, reflecting the desire for ch...

Bacterial utilization of size-fractionated dissolved organic matter

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Khodse, V.B.; Bhosle, N.B.

and vice versa (Amon et al. 2001, Goldberg et al. 2009). Similarly, utilization of uronic acid by heterotrophic bacteria has been reported in waters of the Bay of Bengal and the Gulf of Mexico (Hung et al. 2003, Khodse et al. 2007). In the coastal... in the Gulf of Mexico. Mar Chem 81:119-135 14 Jain A, Bhosle NB (2009) Biochemical composition of the marine conditioning film: implications for bacterial adhesion. Biofouling 25:13-19 Jorgensen NOG, Jensen RE (1994) Microbial fluxes of free...

Command History 1970. Volume 3. Sanitized

Science.gov (United States)

1970-01-01

Z30th NVA Trans Regt, left 16 KIA. Two days later 17 krn southwest of Khan Duc , ealments of the 6th ARVN Rert killed 20 enemy In a brief contact without...they intended to project. First, on 21 Apr Troung Chinh , Chairman of the National Assembly in North Vietnam, announced that Vietnam. Laos, rand...operations. Operation TRAN HUNG DAO XI (C) At 0730H on 9 May, a joint American and Vietnamese task force swept up the Mekong River into Cambodia. The

Evaluation of chromatic cues for trapping Bactrocera tau.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lei; Ma, Huabo; Niu, Liming; Han, Dongyin; Zhang, Fangping; Chen, Junyu; Fu, Yueguan

2017-01-01

Trapping technology based on chromatic cues is an important strategy in controlling Tephritidae (fruit flies). The objectives of this present study were to evaluate the preference of Bactrocera tau for different chromatic cues, and to explore an easy method to print and reproduce coloured paper. Chromatic cues significantly affected the preference of adult B. tau. Wavelengths in the 515-604 nm range were the suitable wavelengths for trapping B. tau. Different-day-old B. tau had different colour preferences. Virtual wavelengths of 595 nm (yellow) and 568 nm (yellowish green) were the optimum wavelengths for trapping 5-7-day-old B. tau and 30-32-day-old B. tau respectively. The trap type and height significantly influenced B. tau attraction efficiency. The number of B. tau on coloured traps hung perpendicular to plant rows was not significantly higher than the number on traps hung parallel to plant rows. The quantisation of colour on the basis of Bruton's wavelength to RGB function can serve as an alternative method for printing and reproducing coloured paper, but a corrected equation should be established between the theoretical wavelength and actual wavelength of coloured paper. Results show that a compound paper coloured yellow (595 nm) and yellowish green (568 nm) installed at 60 and 90 cm above the ground shows the maximum effect for trapping B. tau. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Ideological Struggle of Multicultural Nationalism: Cultural Identity in the 2014 Malaysian Top-Grossing Movie The Journey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Changsong Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This study attempts to discover how multiculturalism interacts with sub-state nationalism as portrayed in the Malaysian top-grossing film of 2014 – The Journey directed by Chiu Keng Guan. The nature of Malaysian society and its colonial history might suggest that cultural interaction among its three major races (Malays, Chinese, and Indians is a norm, but this study argues that the culture of these three major races as portrayed in the fictional film is made up of “systems of representations”; such systems of representations do not reflect the intentions of the subjects, but rather, actively construct meanings as conditions and instruments, signifying practice in reality. The application of in-depth interviews (e.g., the film director and the screenplay writer discovered cultural identity depicted in the film as always having a specific ‘positionality’ within their representation, and the ideological struggle of multicultural nationalism embedded in the film is considered ‘nonsubjective’. The authors believe that every culture is local, but no culture is autochthonous, and cultural identity illustrated in the film can be regarded as ‘uniqueness of the soil’.

Die neue CSR-Richtlinie – Erhöhung der Unternehmenstransparenz in Sozial- und Umweltbelangen / Alexander Eufinger

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Eufinger, Alexander

2015-01-01

Euroopa Liidu direktiivist, mis käsitleb finantsteabe avalikustamist teatavate suurettevõtjate ja kontsernide poolt (2014/95) ning eriti ettevõtjate poolt esitatava sotsiaalse ja keskkonnaalase teabe läbipaistvusest

Chemical characterization of a marine conditioning film

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Garg, A.; Jain, A.; Bhosle, N

Biology 2, 228-235. Hung, C.C., Guo, L., Santschi, P.H., Quiroz, N.A., Haye, J.M., 2003. Distribution of carbohydrate species in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Chemistry 18, 119-135. Little, B.J., Zsolnay, Z.A., 1985. Chemical fingerprinting of adsorbed...-110. Bhosle, N.B., Garg, A., Fernandes, L., Citon, P., 2005. Dynamics of amino acids in the conditioning film developed on glass panels immersed in surface seawaters of the Dona Paula Bay. Biofouling 21 (2), 99-107. Borch, N.H., Kirchmen, D.L., 1997...

Progress report of BONTT - 1991

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csernai, L.P.

1992-04-01

The research reported aims at the theoretical investigation of exotic nuclear phenomena: Exotic scenarios of high energy heavy ion reactions in a wide energy range, primarily above the energies of classical nuclear physics, as well as exotic states of nuclei far off the stability line explored as radioactive beams of low and intermediate energy. The report includes the US NSF - NAVF collaboration agreement in nuclear theory, the Hung. Acad. of Sci. - NAVF collaboration agreement in nuclear theory, as well as the theoretical studies related to the CERN heavy ion programme

Pilgrim Souvenir: Ampulla of Thomas Becket

OpenAIRE

Amy Jeffs

2017-01-01

This tin ampulla was probably purchased by a pilgrim near the shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury. It is designed to contain holy water and be hung around the neck on a cord. Measuring 100 by 87 millimetres, it is in the form of a narrow, pointed vessel surrounded by an openwork penannular frame and would have been rapidly slush-cast, in one go, in a three-part mould. A date in the first half of the thirteenth century is probable based on the style of the military figures’ armour and the...

Essay: Hanoi – The City that is continuously ‘Becoming’

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gross, Monique

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Hanoi is an incredibly visually stimulating city. Street after street is crammed with more details than a pair of human eyes is capable of registering at one time. Laser printed banners screen the facades of buildings, trees are hung with all sorts of objects, sidewalks are covered to the centimeter with food options and vehicles... Everywhere you turn your gaze it is immediately filled. And all the forms, colors, graphics, shift on a daily basis, from the array on the footpath, to the window displays, to the signs advertising merchandise and services.

1992 Progress report by the Bergen-Oslo Nuclear Theory Team (BONTT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csernai, L.P.

1993-06-01

The research reported aims at the theoretical investigation of exotic nuclear phenomena: Exotic scenarios of high energy heavy ion reactions in a wide energy range, primarily above the energies of classical nuclear physics, as well as exotic states of nuclei far off the stability line explored as radioactive beams of low and intermediate energy. The report includes the US NSF - NAVF collaboration agreement in nuclear theory (funding stopped for 1993), the Hung. Acad. of Sci. - NAVF collaboration agreement in nuclear theory, as well as the theoretical studies related to the CERN heavy ion programme

Pretreatment with Shuanghe-Tang Extract Attenuates Postischemic Brain Injury and Edema in a Mouse Model of Stroke: An Analysis of Medicinal Herbs Listed in Dongui Bogam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min Jae Kim

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Aim. Although stroke is among the leading causes of death and long-term disability, there are few effective treatments for limiting the severity of neurological sequelae. We evaluated the effects of 29 medicinal herbs listed in the Pung chapter of the 17th century Korean medical text Dongui Bogam on stroke symptoms in a mouse model of cerebral ischemia. Methods. Focal cerebral ischemia was induced via photothrombosis. Infarct volume, brain edema, and neurological deficits were evaluated. Immunofluorescence staining for tight junction proteins and aquaporin 4 (AQP4 was performed following ischemic injury. Results. Based on our initial findings, we examined the effects of two prescriptions in which the candidate herbs comprised more than 60% of the total formula: Shuanghe-tang and Zengsunsiwu-tang. Pretreatment with Shuanghe-tang significantly reduced infarct volume, decreased blood-brain barrier (BBB breakdown, attenuated edema, and improved neurological and motor functions in a dose-dependent manner (30, 100, and 300 mg/kg, while no such effects were observed in mice pretreated with Zengsunsiwu-tang. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed significant increases in ipsilateral occludin and zonula occludens 1 (ZO-1 expression in Shuanghe-tang-pretreated mice, as well as increased AQP4 immunofluorescence. Conclusions. These results indicate that Shuanghe-tang may protect against brain injury and promote recovery of neurological function following ischemia.

Fractal dimensions the digital art of Eric Hammel

CERN Document Server

Hammel, Eric

2014-01-01

The concept behind fractal geometry is extremely difficult to explain . . . but easy to see and enjoy. Eric Hammel, a professional author of military history books, is unable to explain fractals in a way that will be clear to anyone else, but most mathematicians can't explain fractals in language most people can understand. The simplest explanation is that fractals are graphic representations of high-order mathematical formulas that repeat patterns to infinity.Don't get hung up on the math. It's really all in the seeing. Like Volume 1 of Eric Hammel's Fractal Dimensions, Volume 2 is filled wit

Towards a new strategy of searching for QCD phase transition in heavy ion collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ploszajczak, M.; Shanenko, A.A.; Toneev, V.D.; Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna

1995-01-01

The Hung and Shuryak arguments are reconsidered in favour of searching for the deconfinement phase transition in heavy ion collisions downward from the nominal SPS energy, at E lab ∼ 30 GeV/A where the fireball lifetime is the longest one. Using the recent lattice QCD data and the mixed phase model, it is shown that the deconfinement transition might occur at the bombarding energies as low as E lab = 3-5 GeV/A. Attention is drawn to the study of the mixed phase of nuclear matter in the collision energy range E lab = 2-10 GeV/A. (author)

Pilgrim Souvenir: Ampulla of Thomas Becket

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amy Jeffs

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This tin ampulla was probably purchased by a pilgrim near the shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury. It is designed to contain holy water and be hung around the neck on a cord. Measuring 100 by 87 millimetres, it is in the form of a narrow, pointed vessel surrounded by an openwork penannular frame and would have been rapidly slush-cast, in one go, in a three-part mould. A date in the first half of the thirteenth century is probable based on the style of the military figures’ armour and the archaeological contexts of stylistically similar ampullae.

Introduction and use of ELISA-based technologies for the diagnosis and monitoring of foot-and-mouth disease in Hong Kong

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sims, L.D.; Dyrting, K.C.; Lo, W.C.; Wong, K.W.

2000-01-01

ELISA-based tests were introduced to assist in the diagnosis and control of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Hong Kong. The tests were used to identify and type FMD viruses in clinical samples, to provide an assessment of the efficacy of vaccination programmes as practised, to train staff in ELISA technology and to strengthen quality assurance for foot-and-mouth disease and other diagnostic tests. These tests have provided the tools needed to understand why foot-and-mouth disease occurs in the face of vaccination - an essential step towards control of this disease in Hung Kong. (author)

Fractal dimensions the digital art of Eric Hammel

CERN Document Server

Hammel, Eric

2014-01-01

The concept behind fractal geometry is extremely difficult to explain . . . but easy to see and enjoy. Eric Hammel, a professional author of military history books, is unable to explain fractals in a way that will be clear to anyone else, but most mathematicians can't explain fractals in language most people can understand. The simplest explanation is that fractals are graphic representations of high-order mathematical formulas that repeat patterns to infinity.Don't get hung up on the math. It's really all in the seeing. Like Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of Eric Hammel's Fractal Dimensions, Volume 4 is

Assessment of Animal Waste Treatment by Means of Biodigesters on Pig Farms in the Red River

OpenAIRE

Nguyen Van Duy; Vu Dinh, Ton; Lai Thi, Cuc

2008-01-01

The present study was carried out at 12 pig farms in three provinces of Hai Duong, Hung Yen and Bac Ninh. Results showed that the daily amounts of solid and liquid wastes were rather large (50 - 260 kg of solid wastes and 3 - 20 m3 of liquid wastes). The liquid waste treatment with biodigesters decreased the BOD5 and COD concentrations (BOD5 decreased by 75.0 - 80.8% at the sow houses and 75.89 – 80.36% at the growing–finishing pig houses; COD decreased by 66.85% and 64.94 - 69.73% at the sow...

Fractal dimensions the digital art of Eric Hammel

CERN Document Server

Hammel, Eric

2014-01-01

The concept behind fractal geometry is extremely difficult to explain . . . but easy to see and enjoy. Eric Hammel, a professional author of military history books, is unable to explain fractals in a way that will be clear to anyone else, but most mathematicians can't explain fractals in language most people can understand. The simplest explanation is that fractals are graphic representations of high-order mathematical formulas that repeat patterns to infinity.Don't get hung up on the math. It's really all in the seeing. Like Volumes 1 and 2 of Eric Hammel's Fractal Dimensions, Volume 3 is fil

Intergenomic rearrangements after polyploidization of Kengyilia thoroldiana (Poaceae: Triticeae) affected by environmental factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Qiuxia; Liu, Huitao; Gao, Ainong; Yang, Xinming; Liu, Weihua; Li, Xiuquan; Li, Lihui

2012-01-01

Polyploidization is a major evolutionary process. Approximately 70-75% species of Triticeae (Poaceae) are polyploids, involving 23 genomes. To investigate intergenomic rearrangements after polyploidization of Triticeae species and to determine the effects of environmental factors on them, nine populations of a typical polyploid Triticeae species, Kengyilia thoroldiana (Keng) J.L.Yang et al. (2n = 6x = 42, StStPPYY), collected from different environments, were studied using genome in situ hybridization (GISH). We found that intergenomic rearrangements occurred between the relatively large P genome and the small genomes, St (8.15%) and Y (22.22%), in polyploid species via various types of translocations compared to their diploid progenitors. However, no translocation was found between the relatively small St and Y chromosomes. Environmental factors may affect rearrangements among the three genomes. Chromosome translocations were significantly more frequent in populations from cold alpine and grassland environments than in populations from valley and lake-basin habitats (P<0.05). The relationship between types of chromosome translocations and altitude was significant (r = 0.809, P<0.01). Intergenomic rearrangements associated with environmental factors and genetic differentiation of a single basic genome should be considered as equally important genetic processes during species' ecotype evolution.

Intergenomic rearrangements after polyploidization of Kengyilia thoroldiana (Poaceae: Triticeae affected by environmental factors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiuxia Wang

Full Text Available Polyploidization is a major evolutionary process. Approximately 70-75% species of Triticeae (Poaceae are polyploids, involving 23 genomes. To investigate intergenomic rearrangements after polyploidization of Triticeae species and to determine the effects of environmental factors on them, nine populations of a typical polyploid Triticeae species, Kengyilia thoroldiana (Keng J.L.Yang et al. (2n = 6x = 42, StStPPYY, collected from different environments, were studied using genome in situ hybridization (GISH. We found that intergenomic rearrangements occurred between the relatively large P genome and the small genomes, St (8.15% and Y (22.22%, in polyploid species via various types of translocations compared to their diploid progenitors. However, no translocation was found between the relatively small St and Y chromosomes. Environmental factors may affect rearrangements among the three genomes. Chromosome translocations were significantly more frequent in populations from cold alpine and grassland environments than in populations from valley and lake-basin habitats (P<0.05. The relationship between types of chromosome translocations and altitude was significant (r = 0.809, P<0.01. Intergenomic rearrangements associated with environmental factors and genetic differentiation of a single basic genome should be considered as equally important genetic processes during species' ecotype evolution.

Atrial Fibrillation Screening in Nonmetropolitan Areas Using a Telehealth Surveillance System With an Embedded Cloud-Computing Algorithm: Prospective Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ying-Hsien; Hung, Chi-Sheng; Huang, Ching-Chang; Hung, Yu-Chien; Hwang, Juey-Jen; Ho, Yi-Lwun

2017-09-26

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common form of arrhythmia that is associated with increased risk of stroke and mortality. Detecting AF before the first complication occurs is a recognized priority. No previous studies have examined the feasibility of undertaking AF screening using a telehealth surveillance system with an embedded cloud-computing algorithm; we address this issue in this study. The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of AF screening in nonmetropolitan areas using a telehealth surveillance system with an embedded cloud-computing algorithm. We conducted a prospective AF screening study in a nonmetropolitan area using a single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder. All ECG measurements were reviewed on the telehealth surveillance system and interpreted by the cloud-computing algorithm and a cardiologist. The process of AF screening was evaluated with a satisfaction questionnaire. Between March 11, 2016 and August 31, 2016, 967 ECGs were recorded from 922 residents in nonmetropolitan areas. A total of 22 (2.4%, 22/922) residents with AF were identified by the physician's ECG interpretation, and only 0.2% (2/967) of ECGs contained significant artifacts. The novel cloud-computing algorithm for AF detection had a sensitivity of 95.5% (95% CI 77.2%-99.9%) and specificity of 97.7% (95% CI 96.5%-98.5%). The overall satisfaction score for the process of AF screening was 92.1%. AF screening in nonmetropolitan areas using a telehealth surveillance system with an embedded cloud-computing algorithm is feasible. ©Ying-Hsien Chen, Chi-Sheng Hung, Ching-Chang Huang, Yu-Chien Hung, Juey-Jen Hwang, Yi-Lwun Ho. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 26.09.2017.

Aesthetic Judgement of Orientation in Modern Art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George Mather

2012-01-01

Full Text Available When creating an artwork, the artist makes a decision regarding the orientation at which the work is to be hung based on their aesthetic judgement and the message conveyed by the piece. Is the impact or aesthetic appeal of a work diminished when it is hung at an incorrect orientation? To investigate this question, Experiment 1 asked whether naïve observers can appreciate the correct orientation (as defined by the artist of 40 modern artworks, some of which are entirely abstract. Eighteen participants were shown 40 paintings in a series of trials. Each trial presented all four cardinal orientations on a computer screen, and the participant was asked to select the orientation that was most attractive or meaningful. Results showed that the correct orientation was selected in 48% of trials on average, significantly above the 25% chance level, but well below perfect performance. A second experiment investigated the extent to which the 40 paintings contained recognisable content, which may have mediated orientation judgements. Recognition rates varied from 0% for seven of the paintings to 100% for five paintings. Orientation judgements in Experiment 1 correlated significantly with “meaningful” content judgements in Experiment 2: 42% of the variance in orientation judgements in Experiment 1 was shared with recognition of meaningful content in Experiment 2. For the seven paintings in which no meaningful content at all was detected, 41% of the variance in orientation judgements was shared with variance in a physical measure of image content, Fourier amplitude spectrum slope. For some paintings, orientation judgements were quite consistent, despite a lack of meaningful content. The origin of these orientation judgements remains to be identified.

Field optimization of the sex pheromone of Stenoma catenifer (Lepidoptera: Elachistidae): evaluation of lure types, trap height, male flight distances, and number of traps needed per avocado orchard for detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoddle, M S; Millar, J G; Hoddle, C D; Zou, Y; McElfresh, J S; Lesch, S M

2011-04-01

The sex pheromone of Stenoma catenifer was evaluated in commercial avocado orchards in Guatemala to determine operational parameters, such as optimal lure type, trap height, trap density and estimates of the distances that male moths fly. Of four pheromone dispensers tested, gray and white rubber septa were of equal efficacy, whereas 1-ml low-density polyethylene vials and 2×3-cm polyethylene ziplock bags were least efficacious. The height at which wing traps were hung did not significantly affect the number of adult male S. catenifer captured. For monitoring S. catenifer, these data suggest that the pheromone should be dispensed from gray rubber septa in wing traps hung inside the tree canopy at 1.75 m, a height convenient for trap placement and monitoring. Mark-recapture studies of male S. catenifer indicated that, on average, males flew 67 m in one night. However, it is likely that this is an underestimate of the distance that male moths are capable of flying in a single night. Probabilistic modeling of S. catenifer capture data from different numbers of pheromone traps deployed in seven commercial avocado orchards of varying sizes and infestation levels suggested that 10-13 randomly deployed traps per orchard for a 7-day period are needed to detect at least one male S. catenifer with 90% confidence. These data provide sufficient information to develop effective protocols for using the S. catenifer pheromone to detect and monitor this pest in countries with endemic populations that are exporting fresh avocados, and for quarantine detection and incursion monitoring in countries receiving avocado imports from high risk areas.

Contraception or eugenics? Sterilization and "mental retardation" in the 1970s and 1980s.

Science.gov (United States)

Ladd-Taylor, Molly

2014-01-01

Nonconsensual sterilization is usually seen as the by-product of a classist and racist society; disability is ignored. This article examines the 1973 sterilization of two young black girls from Alabama and other precedent-setting court cases involving the sterilization of "mentally retarded" white women to make disability more central to the historical analysis of sterilization. It analyzes the concept of mental retardation and the appeal of a surgical solution to birth control, assesses judicial deliberations over the "right to choose" contraceptive sterilization when the capacity to consent is in doubt, and reflects on the shadow of eugenics that hung over the sterilization debate in the 1970s and 1980s.

The ‘Gambling City’. Geometries and Geographies of urban instability in Macau

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheyla S. Zandonai

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Macau’s latest phase of casino development has engendered staggering economic growth and hectic urban and social transformations. Since 2002, when gambling liberalisation (liberalização do jogo put an end to the monopoly contract won in 1962 by Stanley Ho Hung-sun’s Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau (STDM, gambling has dominated the city’s economy, with an average of 15 per cent growth over the last ten years, reaching roughly 88% of Macau’s GDP in 2013. Beating Las Vegas in its own game, Macau became the world’s most lucrative gambling centre in 2006.

POSTERS

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2001-01-01

@@Natural Toxins 　　S01 Susceptibility of Edible Bihalves to Paralytic Shellfish Poisons and Their Donor 　　Ya-Hui Li*　, Deng-Fwu Hwang, Jou-Fang Deng, Taibei, China 　　 　　S02 Food Safety of Grass Carp Bile Juice 　　Deng-Fwu Hwang*　, Yen-Hung Yeh, Jou-Feng Deng, Taibei, China 　　 　　S03 Differentiation of Muscular Proteins from Toxic and Non Toxic Puffers 　　Tai-Yuan Chen*　, Deng-Fwu Hwang, Taibei, China 　　 　　S04 Radiation Resistance of Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP) Toxins 　　Terestia P Acevedo, Philippines

Towards a new strategy of searching for QCD phase transition in heavy ion collisions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ploszajczak, M. [Grand Accelerateur National d`Ions Lourds (GANIL), 14 - Caen (France); Shanenko, A.A. [Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation). Lab. of Theoretical Physics; Toneev, V.D. [Grand Accelerateur National d`Ions Lourds (GANIL), 14 - Caen (France)]|[Joint Inst. for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation). Lab. of Theoretical Physics

1995-12-31

The Hung and Shuryak arguments are reconsidered in favour of searching for the deconfinement phase transition in heavy ion collisions downward from the nominal SPS energy, at E{sub lab} {approx} 30 GeV/A where the fireball lifetime is the longest one. Using the recent lattice QCD data and the mixed phase model, it is shown that the deconfinement transition might occur at the bombarding energies as low as E{sub lab} = 3-5 GeV/A. Attention is drawn to the study of the mixed phase of nuclear matter in the collision energy range E{sub lab} = 2-10 GeV/A. (author). 18 refs.

Liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor constructions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aspden, G.J.; Allbeson, K.F.

1984-01-01

In a liquid metal cooled nuclear reactor with a nuclear fuel assembly in a coolant-containing primary vessel housed within a concrete containment vault, there is thermal insulation to protect the concrete, the insulation being disposed between vessel and concrete and being hung from metal structure secured to and projecting from the concrete, the insulation consisting of a plurality of adjoining units each unit incorporating a pack of thermal insulating material and defining a contained void co-extensive with said pack and situated between pack and concrete, the void of each unit being connected to the voids of adjoining units so as to form continuous ducting for a fluid coolant. (author)

THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY: LOWELL YEREX, HIS AIRLINE, AND U.S. POLICY CONCERNING INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL AVIATION, 1939-44

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erik Benson

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Even as World War Two hung in the balance, the United States looked to the postwar period as a time of opportunity for international airlines. However, U.S. officials disagreed over the best course of action for the future. Would they support one airline or competing carriers? Those favoring competition found a champion in Lowell Yerex, a New Zealand entrepreneur with a thriving Central American airline. However, his nominal British citizenship aroused concerns in an Anglophobic U.S. government, and thus it never accepted him as an option. Still, Yerex played a critical role in the development of U.S. policy and the maturation of modern commercial aviation.

On endogenous order of moves in a trade embargo game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ngueyen Manh Hung

1991-01-01

Hung and Quyen's model (analysis of strategic interactions between players in the game theoretic framework) is first recapitulated. Solutions to the embargo game with the seller acting as the Stackelberg leader in both periods. Then the timing coordination issue is discussed and perfect equilibrium outcomes under different structures of leader-follower in the game are compared. Numerical simulations show that the structure corresponding to alternated leadership from one period to the other yields the perfect equilibrium outcome that is Pareto improving with respect to the structure where the buyer is first mover in both periods and Pareto dominant for some specific values of the parameters embedded in the game

Student Team Achievement Divisions: Its Effect on Electrical Motor Installation Knowledge Competence

Science.gov (United States)

Hanafi, Ahmad; Basuki, Ismet

2018-04-01

Student team achievement division (STAD) was an active learning strategy with the small group inside of the classroom members. The students would work in small heterogeneous groups (of five to six members) and help one another to comprehend the material given. To achieve the objectives of the study, this research aims to know the effect of STAD on competence of electrical motor installation. The objective of the student competence was knowledge competence. The data was collected from 30 students. the participants were the students of second class at electrical installation techniques, SMKN 1 Pungging Indonesia. The design of empirical test in this research was one shot case study. The result of knowledge test would be compared by criteria for minimum competence, which was 75. Knowledge competence was analyzed with one sample t test technique. From the analysis got average 84.93, which meant average of student competence had reached criteria for minimum competence. From that analyze, It could be concluded that STAD was effective on electrical motor installation knowledge competence. STAD could grow student motivation to learn better than other models. But, in the application of cooperative learning teacher should prepare carefully before the learning process to avoid problems that could arise during group learning such as students who were less active in the groups. The problem could be resolved by away the teachers took around to check each group. It was felt could minimize the problems.

ENSI’s synopsis concerning the enhancement of safety margins; Zusammenfassung des ENSI zur Erhöhung der Sicherheitsmargen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2015-06-15

This press release issued by the Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Inspectorate ENSI discusses the results of its probabilistic safety analysis on the safety margins for Swiss nuclear power stations that was made after the Fukushima nuclear accident. External incidents such as earthquakes and flooding and their impact on the power stations are analysed by the ERSIM project concerning the enhancement of safety margins. Three shut-down scenarios are discussed. The safety margins with respect to earthquakes and flooding for all four nuclear power station sites are discussed in detail.

Luzifer – Herrlichkeit und Sturz des Lichtengels. Eine Gegengeschichte zu Demut und Erhöhung von Jesus Christus

OpenAIRE

Vollenweider, Samuel

2012-01-01

The story of Lucifer’s pride and fall fills an empty space within Satan’s “biography.” It originates in an angelological re-reading of Isa 14 and Ezek 28 which doesn’t stem from early Judaism but from the Christianity of the late 2nd century. Its background is the dispute about the virulent question regarding the origin of evil, stimulated by the Marcionite school. The myth of Lucifer offers a counter-tale to the myth of Christ, thus reflecting developing Christology and conceptions of the An...

Características qualitativas de genótipos de cebola Qualitative characteristics of onion genotypes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leilson Costa Grangeiro

2008-08-01

Full Text Available Objetivou-se, com o trabalho, avaliar alguns atributos de qualidade de diferentes genótipos de cebola (Allium cepa L., cultivados em Mossoró-RN. O experimento foi realizado na horta experimental no Departamento de Ciências Vegetais da Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido, em delineamento de blocos casualizados completos e quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos pelos genótipos de cebola CNPH 6415, CNPH 6047, CNPH 6244, CNPH 6400 Chata, CNPH 6400 Redonda, CPACT 1, CPACT 2, CPACT 3, Granex 429, Belém IPA 9, BRS Cascata, Crioula Alto Vale, Bola Precoce, Primavera, Régia, Valeouro IPA-11, Brisa e Alfa São Francisco. As características avaliadas foram teor de sólidos solúveis totais, acidez total titulável, teor de vitamina C e teor de ácido pirúvico (pungência. Foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os genótipos para todas as características avaliadas. Os genótipos apresentaram uma variação significativa para todas as características avaliadas, confirmando dessa forma que o fator genético é determinante na caracterização de cada material. O teor de sólidos solúveis totais variou de 6,67 a 11,63 (º Brix, vitamina C de 22,7 a 46,81 (mg ácido ascórbico/100 ml de suco e a acidez total titulável de 0,19 a 0,45 (% de ácido pirúvico. Os genótipos apresentaram pungência intermediária com variação de 5,0 a 12,73 (µmol/g, sendo os menos pungentes Granex 429, CNPH 6047, Régia, Primavera e Belém IPA 9.The aim of this work was to evaluate some attributes of quality of different genotypes of onion (Allium cepa L., cultivated in Mossoró-RN. The experiment was carried out in the vegetable garden of Plant Science Department at Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido. The experimental outline was of randomized complete blocks with four replications. The treatments were constituted by the genotypes of onion CNPH 6415, CNPH 6047, CNPH 6244, CNPH 6400 Chata, CNPH 6400 Redonda, CPACT 1, CPACT 2

POTENSI JENDELA DALAM MEMINIMALKAN INTRUSI KEBISINGAN: SEBUAH STUDI AWAL

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christina E. Mediastika

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Low cost domestic building of warm humid climate depends very much on natural ventilation, and thus large openings. However, since adjacent street transforms into potential noise source, the openings will be critical points for noise intrusion. Opening design strategies is then of importance to adopt. Prior to this investigation, a computational simulation has been carried out to calculate ventilation rates within building to meet airflow requirement, which shows that there are three type of windows suitable to be employed. These windows, i.e. casement, top-hung and jalousie, were then to be examined of doing task in reducing noise ingress. The research shows indication rather than conclusion that jalousie window insignificantly offers better noise reduction than the two others do. Some unconsidered factors are predicted having effect on this result. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Bangunan domestik sederhana, seperti rumah tinggal, yang berlokasi di negara tropis lembab seperti Indonesia, sangat bergantung pada keberadaan jendela demi kelangsungan ventilasi alami. Seiring pertumbuhan fungsi jalan di depan bangunan, jendela juga meupakan titik kritis terjadinya intrusi kebisingan dari jalan ke dalam bangunan. Oleh karenanya, perlu ditempuh kompromi desain jendela untuk kepentingan ventilasi dan reduksi kebisingan. Penelitian sebelumnya terhadap 3 model jendela menunjukkan bahwa ketiga jendela tersebut mampu mensuplai tingkat ventilasi yang disyaratkan. Pada penelitian ini ketiga model jendela tersebut kemudian diuji kemampuannya dalam mereduksi kebisingan melalui proses uji lapangan. Ketiga model tersebut adalah jendela casement, top-hung dan jalusi. Namun demikian, keterbatasan dana dan sumber daya telah menyebabkan beberapa faktor belum dapat diuji dalam penelitian ini. Faktor-faktor tersebut menyebabkan perbedaan hasil pengujian antara tiga jendela tersebut kurang signifikan. Hal ini menyebabkan penelitian belum dapat menghasilkan kesimpulan

Construction and installation of the experimental marine equipment for recovery of rare metals in seawater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, Shin; Seko, Noriaki [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment; Tabata, Kokichi [Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuiding Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); and others

2001-03-01

An experimental marine equipment was designed and constructed to evaluate a fibrous polymer adsorbent prepared with radiation-processing and to extract the technical tasks in the step to the utilization of the rare metals recovery in seawater. The equipment was set in the offing of Mutsu-Sekine in Aomori prefecture. The scale of this equipment is capable of recovering 1 kg uranium in seawater by dipping the adsorbents by 6 times into the sea for 30 days per one dipping. The adsorbents, packed in metal wire cages, were hung down from a fish preserve-shaped float (floating steel frame). This float capacity was designed that the floating steel frame was sunk when wave height becomes high in order to reduce the tension of the ropes. The safety of the rope was evaluated by using design wave height 4.3 m and maximum wave height 7.3 m derived from 10 years' probability wave height. The safety factors obtained were 6.4 for the design wave height and 3.7 for the maximum wave height. The floating steel frame and the adsorbent cage were designed to maintain the mechanical strength under the maximum wave height. The weight of four anchor blocks are 40 tons enough to moor the floating steel frame. In the setting of the marine equipment, the floating steel frame connected with the anchor blocks by rope was put down on the bottom of the sea. The adsorbent cage was hung in the center of the floating steel frame. The characteristic test was carried out by packing adsorbents into adsorbent cage and dipping them for 20 days into the sea. There was no serious problem in the floating steel frame, the adsorbent cage, and the ropes and their knots. (author)

Construction and installation of the experimental marine equipment for recovery of rare metals in seawater

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hasegawa, Shin; Seko, Noriaki [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment; Tabata, Kokichi [Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuiding Co., Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)] [and others

2001-03-01

An experimental marine equipment was designed and constructed to evaluate a fibrous polymer adsorbent prepared with radiation-processing and to extract the technical tasks in the step to the utilization of the rare metals recovery in seawater. The equipment was set in the offing of Mutsu-Sekine in Aomori prefecture. The scale of this equipment is capable of recovering 1 kg uranium in seawater by dipping the adsorbents by 6 times into the sea for 30 days per one dipping. The adsorbents, packed in metal wire cages, were hung down from a fish preserve-shaped float (floating steel frame). This float capacity was designed that the floating steel frame was sunk when wave height becomes high in order to reduce the tension of the ropes. The safety of the rope was evaluated by using design wave height 4.3 m and maximum wave height 7.3 m derived from 10 years' probability wave height. The safety factors obtained were 6.4 for the design wave height and 3.7 for the maximum wave height. The floating steel frame and the adsorbent cage were designed to maintain the mechanical strength under the maximum wave height. The weight of four anchor blocks are 40 tons enough to moor the floating steel frame. In the setting of the marine equipment, the floating steel frame connected with the anchor blocks by rope was put down on the bottom of the sea. The adsorbent cage was hung in the center of the floating steel frame. The characteristic test was carried out by packing adsorbents into adsorbent cage and dipping them for 20 days into the sea. There was no serious problem in the floating steel frame, the adsorbent cage, and the ropes and their knots. (author)

Note on simultaneous inferences about non-inferiority and superiority for a primary and a secondary endpoint.

Science.gov (United States)

Guilbaud, Olivier

2011-11-01

In their review of challenges to multiple testing in clinical trials, Hung and Wang (2010) considered the situation where a treatment is to be compared with an active comparator and the aim is to show non-inferiority and (if possible) superiority with respect to a primary and a secondary endpoint. This note extends their discussion of this particular situation, taking the sequentially rejective procedure they used for illustration as a starting point. Some alternative multiple testing procedures (MTPs) are considered, and corresponding simultaneous confidence regions are discussed that provide additional information "for free". The choice may then be based on the properties of these MTPs and corresponding confidence regions. 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Assessing smoke damage. First report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andre, F; Hartig, W

1957-06-01

Briefly described are experiments comparing air pollution tests with rags impregnated with BaO, hung both in the tree tops and below the canopy of Spruce stands, with analyses of needles collected at the same points. S content of the atmosphere (expressed in mg H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/ content of the rags) was, at equal distances, markedly greater above than below the closed canopy, suggesting that the tallest trees would suffer most. While absolute S content of needles (also expressed in mg H/sub 2/SO/sub 4/) gave no indication of smoke damage, relative differences in S content between 1-year-old and 5-year-old needles proved to be a useful indication.

[Composition characteristics and source analysis of major ions in four small lake-watersheds on the Tibetan Plateau, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, He; Li, Jun; Liu, Xiao-Long; Yang, Xi; Zhang, Wei; Wang, Jie; Niu, Ying-Quan

2015-02-01

To investigate the ionic compositions of small lake-watersheds on the Tibetan Plateau, water samples from the brackish lakes (Pung Co (lake), Angrenjin Co and Dajia Co), the freshwater lake (Daggyaima Co), their inflowing rivers and the hot spring (Dagejia Geothermal Field), were collected during July-August 2013. The results showed that the major anions and cations of the brackish lakes were HCO3-, SO4(2-) and Na+, respectively, and the hydrochemical types were HCO3-SO4-Na and HCO3-Na. The major anions and cations of the inflowing rivers and the freshwater lake were HCO3-, SO4(2-) and Ca2+, Mg2+, respectively, and the hydrochemical types were HCO3-Ca, HCO3-Ca-Mg, HCO3-Mg-Ca, HCO3-SO4-Ca and SO4-HCO3- Ca. The major anions and cations of the hot spring were HCO3- and Na+, respectively, and the hydrochemical type was HCO3-Na. Water chemistry in the brackish lakes was primarily dominated by evaporation-crystallization processes, while the inflowing rivers and the freshwater lake were mainly influenced by carbonate weathering, and the hot spring was mainly controlled by hot water-granite interaction. Ca2+ was preferentially removed over Mg2+ from the water when carbonate minerals precipitation occured, which resulted in the high Mg2+/Ca2+ molar ratios of the brackish lakes. In the contribution of cation compositions, the largest contribution was carbonate weathering (54% - 79%), followed by silicate weathering (13% -29%) and evaperite dissolution (4% -23%), and the smallest was atmospheric input (3% - 7%).

In-core monitor drive mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hattori, Kunimitsu; Ishii, Yoshimi.

1969-01-01

Instruments for measuring the neutron flux in a reactor are hung at the upper end of a shuttle tube connected to the upper portion of a perforated tube a plurality of the holes of which are engaged at all times with the teeth of an endless chain. The endless chain is driven by a sprocket integrated with a worm wheel shaft driven by a motor through a flexible shaft. The perforated tube is capable of being smoothly driven vertically into the reactor core without causing any noise. Since the tube is driven through a plurality of the teeth of the endless chain, the dimensions of the sprockets and other associated parts can be reduced to make the entire drive mechanism more compact. (Ohno, Y.)

Reactor control device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Araki, Takao; Inoue, Toyokazu.

1981-01-01

Purpose: To protect the reactor floor by alleviating the shock imparted to the reactor floor by a dropped control rod when a wire rope accidentally breaks. Constitution: A control rod is hung by wire rope from a control rod drive, and shock absorbers are mounted at the upper and lower portions of the control rod. The outer diameter of the upper shock absorber is made larger than the inner diameter of a control rod inserting hole formed in the reactor core. If the control rod drops, the upper absorber is stopped at the upper tapered portion of the inserting hole. Thus, the dropping energy of the control rod can be sufficiently absorbed by the upper and lower shock absorbers. (Kamimura, M.)

Lattice Boltzmann method for bosons and fermions and the fourth-order Hermite polynomial expansion.

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, Rodrigo C V; Ilha, Anderson; Doria, Mauro M; Pereira, R M; Aibe, Valter Yoshihiko

2014-04-01

The Boltzmann equation with the Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook collision operator is considered for the Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac equilibrium distribution functions. We show that the expansion of the microscopic velocity in terms of Hermite polynomials must be carried to the fourth order to correctly describe the energy equation. The viscosity and thermal coefficients, previously obtained by Yang et al. [Shi and Yang, J. Comput. Phys. 227, 9389 (2008); Yang and Hung, Phys. Rev. E 79, 056708 (2009)] through the Uehling-Uhlenbeck approach, are also derived here. Thus the construction of a lattice Boltzmann method for the quantum fluid is possible provided that the Bose-Einstein and Fermi-Dirac equilibrium distribution functions are expanded to fourth order in the Hermite polynomials.

In-water searching device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, Toshio.

1975-01-01

Object: To permit internal inspection of a reactor without erasing the image of a television monitor by hanging the television camera with a cable within the reactor and vertically moving it with a winch. Structure: A television camera is hung by a cable within the reactor and is adapted to be immersed into water in the inside of the reactor. The cable is adapted to be taken up on a take-up drum by the winch and is vertically moved by the operation of a winch. Since the television camera can always be furnished with power via the cable even during its vertical movement, exhaustive investigation can be made over the entire range of movement of the television camera. (Moriyama, K.)

Gut Transcriptome Analysis Shows Different Food Utilization Efficiency by the Grasshopper Oedaleous asiaticus (Orthoptera: Acrididae).

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xunbing; McNeill, Mark Richard; Ma, Jingchuan; Qin, Xinghu; Tu, Xiongbing; Cao, Guangchun; Wang, Guangjun; Nong, Xiangqun; Zhang, Zehua

2017-08-01

Oedaleus asiaticus B. Bienko is a persistent pest occurring in north Asian grasslands. We found that O. asiaticus feeding on Stipa krylovii Roshev. had higher approximate digestibility (AD), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD), compared with cohorts feeding on Leymus chinensis (Trin.) Tzvel, Artemisia frigida Willd., or Cleistogenes squarrosa (Trin.) Keng. Although this indicated high food utilization efficiency for S. krylovii, the physiological processes and molecular mechanisms underlying these biological observations are not well understood. Transcriptome analysis was used to examine how gene expression levels in O. asiaticus gut are altered by feeding on the four plant species. Nymphs (fifth-instar female) that fed on S. krylovii had the largest variation in gene expression profiles, with a total of 88 genes significantly upregulated compared with those feeding on the other three plants, mainly including nutrition digestive genes of protein, carbohydrate, and lipid digestion. GO and KEGG enrichment also showed that feeding S. krylovii could upregulate the nutrition digestion-related molecular function, biological process, and pathways. These changes in transcripts levels indicate that the physiological processes of activating nutrition digestive enzymes and metabolism pathways can well explain the high food utilization of S. krylovii by O. asiaticus. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Combining glyphosate with burning or mowing improves control of Yellow Bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum)

Science.gov (United States)

Robertson, S.; Hickman, Karen R.; Harmoney, Keith R.; Leslie,, David M.

2013-01-01

The invasive yellow bluestem (Bothriochloa ischaemum [L.] Keng) threatens native biodiversity, and its control is of interest to land managers involved in restoration of invaded grasslands. We used single, double, and triple applications of glyphosate (2.125 kg ai.ha-1.application-1) over the course of one growing season in combinations at different timings (early, middle, late season) with and without a mechanical treatment of mowing or burning to determine the most effective control method. One year after treatment, burning and mowing prior to a mid-season single or double early, middle, and/or late season herbicide application resulted in a similar level of control of yellow bluestem relative to a triple herbicide application, all of which had greater control relative to herbicide treatment alone. Reproductive tiller density and visual obstruction increased 2 yr after treatment with two herbicide treatments applied either early and middle season or early and late season, but it was prevented with burning and mowing prior to herbicide application. With the exception of three herbicide applications, combining burning or mowing with herbicide applications provided more effective control of yellow bluestem than any individual herbicide applications. Burning or mowing likely improves glyphosate effectiveness by altering the invasive grass structure so that plants are clear of standing dead and have shorter, active regrowth to enhance herbicide effectiveness. During restoration projects requiring control of invasive yellow bluestem, an effective management option is a combination of mechanical and chemical control.

The Effects of Nitrogen Addition on the Uptake and Allocation of Macro- and Micronutrients in Bothriochloa ischaemum on Loess Plateau in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zemin Ai

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The effects of nitrogen (N addition on the macro- and micronutrient concentrations, storage, and allocation of Bothriochloa ischaemum (L. Keng, a native forage plant on the Loess Plateau in China remain unclear. We studied the effects of N addition at 0 (CK, 2.5 (N1, 5.0 (N2, and 10.0 (N3 g N m-2 y-1. N addition significantly decreased the available copper (Cu, zinc (Zn, and total Cu concentration, but significantly increased the available iron concentration in the soil. Cu, manganese (Mn, and sodium (Na concentrations in aboveground tissues and potassium (K, magnesium, and Zn concentrations in belowground tissues significantly increased with N addition. Calcium (Ca concentrations in belowground tissues decreased significantly. The ratios of above- to belowground Ca, Cu, Zn, and Mn significantly increased with N addition. The maximum ratios appeared at N2 for Cu, Zn, and Mn. The aboveground, belowground, and total biomass storage of studied nutrients significantly changed with N addition, and most attained maximum values under N2 treatment. The storage ratios of above- to belowground Cu, Zn, Mn, and Na attained maximum values at N2. We conclude that N addition significantly, but differentially influence the macro- and micronutrient concentrations and storage in B. ischaemum. B. ischaemum allocated and accumulated increased macro- and micronutrients to its aboveground tissues and exhibited high total storage when the amount of N addition reached 5 g N m-2 y-1.

Value of urban green spaces in promoting healthy living and wellbeing: prospects for planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee ACK

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Andrew Chee Keng Lee,1 Hannah C Jordan,1 Jason Horsley2 1Section of Public Health, School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, 2Sheffield City Council, Sheffield, UK Abstract: There has been considerable work done in recent years exploring the value of urban green space for health and wellbeing. Urban green spaces provide environmental benefits through their effects on negating urban heat, offsetting greenhouse gas emissions, and attenuating storm water. They also have direct health benefits by providing urban residents spaces for physical activity and social interaction, and allowing psychological restoration to take place. Consequently, there is a real need to understand the mechanisms by which these benefits accrue. Previously, much of the focus has been on the characteristics of the urban green space that are likely to influence its use, such as its accessibility, quality, facilities, attractiveness, and security. This assumes a causal relationship, when in reality the relationship is more complex and multifactorial. It is more likely that it is the functionality of the green space, be it for exercise or sociocultural activities, rather than its character, which translates to the reported benefits. Challenges exist, such as competing urban planning priorities, economic considerations, and market forces. There is thus a need for urban planning to match the health benefits sought with the needs of the community and the functionality that the urban green space will serve. Keywords: urban green space, public open space, urban planning, public health 

The resting sites and blood-meal sources of Anopheles minimus in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Mei-Chun; Teng, Hwa-Jen; Chen, Chen-Fu; Chen, Yung-Chen; Jeng, Chian-Ren

2008-06-09

The WHO declared Taiwan free from malaria in 1965, but in 2003 the reporting of two introduced cases in a rural area suggested a possible local transmission of this disease. Therefore, understanding the resting sites and the blood sources of Anopheles minimus is crucial in order to provide information for implementing vector control strategies. During a two-year survey, mosquitoes were collected in houses and their surrounding areas and at the bank of larval habitats by backpack aspirators in 17 villages in rural areas of southern and eastern Taiwan for 1 hr. On the same day, blacklight traps were hung downward overnight. Blood-fed mosquito samples were analysed by PCR. Of the 195 total households surveyed by backpack aspirators, no Anopheles adults were collected inside the houses, while a single Anopheles minimus and a single Anopheles maculatus were collected outside of the houses. On the same day, 23 An. minimus, two An. maculatus, two Anopheles ludlowae, two Anopheles sinensis, and one Anopheles tessellatus were collected along the bank of larval habitats. In blacklight traps hung outside of the houses in the villages, 69 An. minimus, 62 An. ludlowae, 31 An. sinensis, and 19 An. maculatus were collected. In larval habitats, 98 An. ludlowae, 64 An. minimus, 49 An. sinensis, and 14 An. maculatus were collected. Of a total of 10 blood-fed samples, An. minimus fed on four animals including bovine (60%), dogs (20%), pig (10%), and non-chicken avian (10%). Anopheles minimus, an opportunist feeder in Taiwan, was not collected inside the houses, but was found outside of the houses in villages and surrounding larval habitats. Therefore, an outdoor transmission of malaria is likely to occur and, thus, the bed nets, which are favoured for controlling the late biting of An. minimus, should be a very efficient and effective method for those local residents who sleep outdoors. Additionally, space spray of insecticides for Anopheles at night, as well as residual spray inside

Health Monitor for Multitasking, Safety-Critical, Real-Time Software

Science.gov (United States)

Zoerner, Roger

2011-01-01

Health Manager can detect Bad Health prior to a failure occurring by periodically monitoring the application software by looking for code corruption errors, and sanity-checking each critical data value prior to use. A processor s memory can fail and corrupt the software, or the software can accidentally write to the wrong address and overwrite the executing software. This innovation will continuously calculate a checksum of the software load to detect corrupted code. This will allow a system to detect a failure before it happens. This innovation monitors each software task (thread) so that if any task reports "bad health," or does not report to the Health Manager, the system is declared bad. The Health Manager reports overall system health to the outside world by outputting a square wave signal. If the square wave stops, this indicates that system health is bad or hung and cannot report. Either way, "bad health" can be detected, whether caused by an error, corrupted data, or a hung processor. A separate Health Monitor Task is started and run periodically in a loop that starts and stops pending on a semaphore. Each monitored task registers with the Health Manager, which maintains a count for the task. The registering task must indicate if it will run more or less often than the Health Manager. If the task runs more often than the Health Manager, the monitored task calls a health function that increments the count and verifies it did not go over max-count. When the periodic Health Manager runs, it verifies that the count did not go over the max-count and zeroes it. If the task runs less often than the Health Manager, the periodic Health Manager will increment the count. The monitored task zeroes the count, and both the Health Manager and monitored task verify that the count did not go over the max-count.

Use of high temperature thermogravimetry for the determination of oxidation, reduction, corrosion-type reactions kinetics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benoist, Luc; Bancel, Fabrice; Setaram

2002-01-01

Full text.Thermogravimetry is a very powerful technique for the investigation of gas-solid interactions, by measuring the amount of gas adsorbed on the sample or desorbed from the sample. According to the type of interaction, this amount of gas can be very small, that means that the detection of the mass variation can be very difficult to achieve. This is especially the case for certain types of oxidation, reduction and corrosion reactions in the field of metallic and ceramic materials. The good configuration for such kinetic studies is a hanged up sample, to get every face of the sample in contact with the atmosphere. In order to improve the thermogravimetric measurement, two ways can be used: increase the sample mass and especially its area, second use a symmetrical balance. As the gas-solid interaction is adsorption or desorption-type, the area of the sample is one very important parameter. For such a determination, it is important to increase as much as possible this area, that means increasing the sample size and mass. By increasing the contact area for the gas interaction, the accuracy of such a thermogravimetric measurement is largely improved. This design is very convenient for any metallic or ceramic sample that can be directly hung to the balance, without using any container. The second way of improving the test is to use a symmetrical thermogravimetric design. If the variation of mass is too weak to be measured (some micrograms for example), a symmetrical design has to be used. In such a system, a sample and a reference are hung at each beam of the balance, in two identical furnaces. Such a symmetrical technique allows to compensate the buoyancy effect that is identical on both sides. The limit of detection of the thermogravimetric measure is largely improved, allowing accurate measurements on very small variations of mass for long term basis experiments. An example of oxidation of a plate of steel at 500 celsius degree, with a slow mass gain of 1.5 �

Altersbedingte Verlangsamung entsteht auf mehreren Verarbeitungsstufen

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wiegand, Iris

-70) Erwachsen in einer Compound Search Aufgabe. Wie erwartet waren die Reaktionszeiten der älteren Probanden verlangsamt. Diese behaviorale Verlangsamung spiegelte sich in Modulationen der EKPs: Die Latenz der posterior-contralateral negativity (PCN) für älteren Erwachsene war verzögerte, was zeigt, dass prä......-attentive perzeptuelle Prozesse der Target-Selektion im Alter verlangsamt sind. Darüberhinaus war die Latenz des stimulus-bezogenene lateralisierten Bereitschaftspotenzial (LBP) der älteren Probanden zusätzliche verschoben, was darauf hindeutet, dass auch post-selektive perzeptuelle sowie Prozesse der Antworselektion...... zur Verlangsamung im Alter beitragen. Eine Amplitudenerhöhung des antwort-bezogenen LBPs lässt vermuten, dass außerdem eine gesteigte antwort-bezogene Aktivierung aufgrund der komplexen Aufgabe einen Anteil an altersbedingter Verlangsamung haben können....

Let's rise up to unite taxonomy and technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Bik, Holly M

2017-08-01

What do you think of when you think of taxonomy? An 18th century gentlemen in breeches? Or perhaps botany drawings hung on the walls of a boutique hotel? Such old-fashioned conceptions to the contrary, taxonomy is alive today although constantly struggling for survival and recognition. The scientific community is losing valuable resources as taxonomy experts age and retire, and funding for morphological studies and species descriptions remains stagnant. At the same time, organismal knowledge (morphology, ecology, physiology) has never been more important: genomic studies are becoming more taxon focused, the scientific community is recognizing the limitations of traditional "model" organisms, and taxonomic expertise is desperately needed to fight against global biodiversity declines resulting from human impacts. There has never been a better time for a taxonomic renaissance.

Let’s rise up to unite taxonomy and technology

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

What do you think of when you think of taxonomy? An 18th century gentlemen in breeches? Or perhaps botany drawings hung on the walls of a boutique hotel? Such old-fashioned conceptions to the contrary, taxonomy is alive today although constantly struggling for survival and recognition. The scientific community is losing valuable resources as taxonomy experts age and retire, and funding for morphological studies and species descriptions remains stagnant. At the same time, organismal knowledge (morphology, ecology, physiology) has never been more important: genomic studies are becoming more taxon focused, the scientific community is recognizing the limitations of traditional “model” organisms, and taxonomic expertise is desperately needed to fight against global biodiversity declines resulting from human impacts. There has never been a better time for a taxonomic renaissance. PMID:28820884

Let's rise up to unite taxonomy and technology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Holly M Bik

2017-08-01

Full Text Available What do you think of when you think of taxonomy? An 18th century gentlemen in breeches? Or perhaps botany drawings hung on the walls of a boutique hotel? Such old-fashioned conceptions to the contrary, taxonomy is alive today although constantly struggling for survival and recognition. The scientific community is losing valuable resources as taxonomy experts age and retire, and funding for morphological studies and species descriptions remains stagnant. At the same time, organismal knowledge (morphology, ecology, physiology has never been more important: genomic studies are becoming more taxon focused, the scientific community is recognizing the limitations of traditional "model" organisms, and taxonomic expertise is desperately needed to fight against global biodiversity declines resulting from human impacts. There has never been a better time for a taxonomic renaissance.

Nonlinear oscillations of a coupled autoparametrical system with ideal and nonideal sources of power

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sado Danuta

2006-01-01

Full Text Available An ideal and nonideal autoparametrical system excited by DC motor with unbalanced mass is presented in this work. The system consists of the body of mass M which is hung on a nonlinear spring with a nonlinear damper, and a pendulum of the length l and mass m mounted to the body of mass M. It is assumed that the motion of the pendulum is damped by nonlinear resistive forces. Vibrations of both models (ideal and nonideal are researched. Solutions for the system response are presented for specific values of the parameters of system and the energy transfer between modes of vibrations is studied. Next excited vibrations for both models have been examined analytically and numerically. Except different kinds of periodic vibrations, there may also appear chaotic vibrations.

Particulate fluxes and transports on the slope between the southern East China Sea and the South Okinawa Trough

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Yu-Chia; Hung, Guo-Wei

2000-03-01

This paper presents time-series variations of the particulate fluxes in resolutions of 3-15 d from 10 mooring sites on the continental slope between the southern East China Sea and the South Okinawa Trough, northeast of Taiwan. Three of these sites were located in a canyon cutting across the slope. Temporal and spatial variations in particulate flux in the study area were strongly affected by the bottom topography, the topographically induced eddies, the intensity of tidal currents, the depth and height above bottom where the traps were deployed, and episodic events. The apparent mass fluxes measured at depths from about 300 to 1350 m at different locations varied with time and showed synchronous variations among the traps deployed at the same site for some sites. The time-averaged mass flux for each individual trap deployed at different depth and in different length of mooring time ranged from 0.77 to 53.7 g m -2 d -1. In the canyon the average fluxes were generally greater than 30 g m -2 d -1 with large standard deviations; at other slope sites the average fluxes were generally less than 10 g m -2 d -1, excluding one or two unusually high values which were observed in some individual traps probably reflecting episodic events. The particulate fluxes always increased toward the ocean bottom at each mooring site but the increment was much greater in the canyon. This suggests that the particulates were transported out of the shelf or upper slope area essentially through the canyon where large mass fluxes were observed. The current meter data processed with low-pass filtration and expressed in stick diagrams and progressive vector diagrams showed large temporal and spatial variations which were generally not correlated with those of particulate fluxes. Although strong tidal velocity oscillations in the canyon were found to be associated with high mass fluxes in some instances (Hung and Chung, 1998, Continental Shelf Research 18, 1475-1491), episodic events with very

Investigating sea level rise due to global warming in the teaching laboratory using Archimedes’ principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hughes, Stephen; Pearce, Darren

2015-01-01

A teaching laboratory experiment is described that uses Archimedes’ principle to precisely investigate the effect of global warming on the oceans. A large component of sea level rise is due to the increase in the volume of water due to the decrease in water density with increasing temperature. Water close to 0 °C is placed in a beaker and a glass marble hung from an electronic balance immersed in the water. As the water warms, the weight of the marble increases as the water is less buoyant due to the decrease in density. In the experiment performed in this paper a balance with a precision of 0.1 mg was used with a marble 40.0 cm 3 and mass of 99.3 g, yielding water density measurements with an average error of −0.008 ± 0.011%. (paper)

Dynamical behavior of surface tension on rotating fluids in low and microgravity environments

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, R. J.; Tsao, Y. D.; Hong, B. B.; Leslie, F. W.

1989-01-01

Consideration is given to the time-dependent evolutions of the free surface profile (bubble shapes) of a cylindrical container, partially filled with a Newtonian fluid of constant density, rotating about its axis of symmetry in low and microgravity environments. The dynamics of the bubble shapes are calculated for four cases: linear time-dependent functions of spin-up and spin-down in low and microgravity, linear time-dependent functions of increasing and decreasing gravity at high and low rotating cylinder speeds, time-dependent step functions of spin-up and spin-down in low gravity, and sinusoidal function oscillation of the gravity environment in high and low rotating cylinder speeds. It is shown that the computer algorithms developed by Hung et al. (1988) may be used to simulate the profile of time-dependent bubble shapes under variations of centrifugal, capillary, and gravity forces.

Corrosion performance of Cr3C2-NiCr+0.2%Zr coated super alloys under actual medical waste incinerator environment

Science.gov (United States)

Ahuja, Lalit; Mudgal, Deepa; Singh, Surendra; Prakash, Satya

2018-03-01

Incineration techniques are widely used to dispose of various types of waste which lead to formation of very corrosive environment. Such corrosive environment leads to the degradation of the alloys used in these areas. To obviate this problem, zirconium modified Cr3C2-(NiCr) coating powder has been deposited on three superalloys namely Superni 718, Superni 600 and Superco 605 using Detonation gun technique. Corrosion test was conducted in actual medical waste incinerator environment. The samples were hung inside the secondary chamber operated at 1050°C for 1000h under cyclic condition. Corrosion kinetics was monitored using the weight gain measurements and thickness loss. Corrosion products were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction technique. It was observed that coating is found to be successful in impeding the corrosion problem in superalloys.

INFECTIOUS DISEASE RISKS IN THE TRANSMIGRATION AREA, WAY ABUNG III, LAMPUNG PROVINCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Gandahusada

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Telah dilakukan pemeriksaan secara laboratoris terhadap kesehatan transmigran yang berasal dari Jawa sebelum (1976 dan kurang lebih 2 tahun (1978 sesudah mereka menempati daerah transmigrasi Way Abung III, Lampung. Tujuan pemeriksaan ini adalah untuk mengetahui penyakit-penyakit yang mengancam mereka di daerah barunya. Pemeriksaan telah dilakukan terhadap sediaan darah yaitu untuk mengetahui adanya parasit malaria dan mikrofilaria, sedangkan pemeriksaan serologis untuk mengetahui adanya infeksi arbovirus, scrub dan murine typhus. Pemeriksaan tinja dilakukan hanya pada tahun 1976 untuk mengetahui adanya parasit usus. Dari hasil pemeriksaan tadi ditemukan bahwa prevalensi malaria meningkat dari 0,2% (1976 menjadi 10% (1978, sedangkan mikrofilaria rate sebelum dan sesudah pemindahan tetap 0. Hasil pemeriksaan tinja terhadap transmigran sebelum tiba di Lampung menunjukkan prevalensi Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura dan cacing tambang berturut-turut sebesar 46%,, 28%, dan 80%. Serologis hemagglutination inhibition (HI antibody positive terhadap Japanese encephalitis (JE virus naik dari 43,3%, menjadi 74,2%, sedangkan prevalensi HI antibody positive terhadap chikungunya (CHIK virus tetap sama yaitu 3,5% sebelum dan 2,9% sesudah pemindahan. Prevalensi positif fluores-cent antibody test(FAT terhadap scrub dan murine typhus juga tidak ada perubahan yaitu 4,0% sebelum dan 3,4% sesudah pemindahan untuk scrub typhus dan 13,7%, sebelum dan 13,8% sesudah pemindahan untuk murine typhus. Dari hewan-hewan yang terdapat di Way Abung IH, serologis positif HI antibody kambing mempunyai prevalensi tertinggi (3% terhadap arbovirus Group A (alpha virus dan sapi ter­tinggi (35% terhadap arbovirus Group B (flavivirus. Vektor-vektor potensial malaria, filariasis, scrub dan murine typhus, dan arbovirus infeksi dapat dijumpai di daerah transmigrasi Way Abung III, Lam­pung. Kecuali malaria ditarik kesimpulan bahwa diperlukan paired data untuk prevalensi cacing

The resting sites and blood-meal sources of Anopheles minimus in Taiwan

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Chen Yung-Chen

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The WHO declared Taiwan free from malaria in 1965, but in 2003 the reporting of two introduced cases in a rural area suggested a possible local transmission of this disease. Therefore, understanding the resting sites and the blood sources of Anopheles minimus is crucial in order to provide information for implementing vector control strategies. Methods During a two-year survey, mosquitoes were collected in houses and their surrounding areas and at the bank of larval habitats by backpack aspirators in 17 villages in rural areas of southern and eastern Taiwan for 1 hr. On the same day, blacklight traps were hung downward overnight. Blood-fed mosquito samples were analysed by PCR. Results Of the 195 total households surveyed by backpack aspirators, no Anopheles adults were collected inside the houses, while a single Anopheles minimus and a single Anopheles maculatus were collected outside of the houses. On the same day, 23 An. minimus, two An. maculatus, two Anopheles ludlowae, two Anopheles sinensis, and one Anopheles tessellatus were collected along the bank of larval habitats. In blacklight traps hung outside of the houses in the villages, 69 An. minimus, 62 An. ludlowae, 31 An. sinensis, and 19 An. maculatus were collected. In larval habitats, 98 An. ludlowae, 64 An. minimus, 49 An. sinensis, and 14 An. maculatus were collected. Of a total of 10 blood-fed samples, An. minimus fed on four animals including bovine (60%, dogs (20%, pig (10%, and non-chicken avian (10%. Conclusion Anopheles minimus, an opportunist feeder in Taiwan, was not collected inside the houses, but was found outside of the houses in villages and surrounding larval habitats. Therefore, an outdoor transmission of malaria is likely to occur and, thus, the bed nets, which are favoured for controlling the late biting of An. minimus, should be a very efficient and effective method for those local residents who sleep outdoors. Additionally, space spray of

Risk factors associated with ineligibility of adjuvant cisplatin-based chemotherapy after nephroureterectomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shao IH

2014-10-01

Full Text Available I-Hung Shao,1,2,* Yu-Hsiang Lin,1,* Chen-Pang Hou,1 Horng-Heng Juang,3,4 Chien-Lun Chen,1 Phei-Lang Chang,1,4 Ke-Hung Tsui, 1,41Department of Urology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Chang Gung University, 2Department of Urology, Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital, 3Department of Anatomy, Chang Gung University, 4Bioinformation Center, Chang Gung Memory Hospital, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: Radical nephroureterectomy (RNU is a standard treatment for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma. However, RNU can result in decreased renal function and cannot be treated with adjuvant chemotherapy. We performed a risk group stratification analysis to determine the preoperative factors that are predictive of diminished renal function after RNU.Materials and methods: We retrospectively evaluated the medical records of all patients who underwent nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital from 2001 to 2008. We analyzed the association between perioperative glomerular filtration rate and preoperative parameters including cancer characteristics, serum creatinine level, and kidney size measured on computed tomographic images.Results: A total of 242 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The average decrease in renal function 1 month after RNU was 19.7%. Using 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 as the eligibility cutoff for cisplatin-based chemotherapy, 42.1% of the population was eligible prior to nephroureterectomy, whereas following surgery only 15.2% remained eligible. Using a cutoff of 45 mL/min/1.73 m2, 59.9% of the cohort was eligible for fractionated cisplatin dosing preoperatively, whereas only 32.6% remained above the cutoff postoperatively. The most significant predictors of poor postoperative renal function were body mass index >25 kg/m2, age >65 years, contralateral kidney length less than 10 cm, and absence of ipsilateral hydronephrosis

Liposome-based polymer complex as a novel adjuvant: enhancement of specific antibody production and isotype switch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen CH

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Chia-Hung Chen1,*, Yu-Ling Lin1,*, Yen-Ku Liu1, Pei-Juin He2, Ching-Min Lin1, Yi-Han Chiu2, Chang-Jer Wu3, Tian-Lu Cheng4, Shih-Jen Liu5,6,**, Kuang-Wen Liao1,2,**1Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, 2Department of Biological Science and Technology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 3Department of Food Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 4Department of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, 5National Institute of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli, 6Graduate Institute of Immunology, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan, , *Chia-Hung Chen and Yu-Ling Lin contributed equally to this work**Kuang-Wen Liao and Shih-Jen Liu contributed equally to this workAbstract: The aim of vaccination is to induce appropriate immunity against pathogens. Antibody-mediated immunity is critical for protection against many virus diseases, although it is becoming more evident that coordinated, multifunctional immune responses lead to the most effective defense. Specific antibody (Ab isotypes are more efficient at protecting against pathogen invasion in different locations in the body. For example, compared to other Ab isotypes, immunoglobulin (Ig A provides more protection at mucosal areas. In this study, we developed a cationic lipopolymer (liposome-polyethylene glycol-polyethyleneimine complex [LPPC] adjuvant that strongly adsorbs antigens or immunomodulators onto its surface to enhance or switch immune responses. The results demonstrate that LPPC enhances uptake ability, surface marker expression, proinflammatory cytokine release, and antigen presentation in mouse phagocytes. In contrast to Freund's adjuvant, LPPC preferentially activates Th1-immunity against antigens in vivo. With lipopolysaccharides or CpG oligodeoxynucleotides, LPPC dramatically enhances the IgA or IgG2A proportion of total Ig, even in hosts that have developed

Organic Synthetic Advanced Materials for Optoelectronic and Energy Applications (at National Taipei University of Technology)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yen, Hung-Ju [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Chemistry Division

2016-11-14

These slides cover Hung-Ju Yen's recent work in the synthesis and structural design of functional materials, which were further used for optoelectronic and energy applications, such as lithium ion battery, solar cell, LED, electrochromic, and fuel cells. This was for a job interview at National Taipei University of Technology. The following topics are detailed: current challenges for lithium-ion batteries; graphene, graphene oxide and nanographene; nanographenes with various functional groups; fine tune d-spacing through organic synthesis: varying functional group; schematic view of LIBs; nanographenes as LIB anode; rate performance (charging-discharging); electrochromic technology; electrochromic materials; advantages of triphenylamine; requirement of electrochromic materials for practical applications; low driving voltage and long cycle life; increasing the electroactive sites by multi-step synthetic procedures; synthetic route to starburst triarylamine-based polyamide; electrochromism ranging from visible to NIR region; transmissive to black electrochromism; RGB and CMY electrochromism.

Organic Synthetic Advanced Materials for Optoelectronic and Energy Applications (at Center for Condensed Matter Sciences)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yen, Hung-Ju [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Chemistry Division

2016-11-14

These slides cover Hung-Ju Yen's recent work in the synthesis and structural design of functional materials, which were further used for optoelectronic and energy applications, such as lithium ion battery, solar cell, LED, electrochromic, and fuel cells. This was for a job interview at Center for Condensed Matter Sciences. The following topics are detailed: current challenges for lithium-ion batteries; graphene, graphene oxide and nanographene; nanographenes with various functional groups; fine tune d-spacing through organic synthesis: varying functional group; schematic view of LIBs; nanographenes as LIB anode; rate performance (charging-discharging); electrochromic technology; electrochromic materials; advantages of triphenylamine; requirement of electrochromic materials for practical applications; low driving voltage and long cycle life; increasing the electroactive sites by multi-step synthetic procedures; synthetic route to starburst triarylamine-based polyamide; electrochromism ranging from visible to NIR region; transmissive to black electrochromism; RGB and CMY electrochromism.

Organic Synthetic Advanced Materials for Optoelectronic and Energy Applications (at National Sun Yat-sen University) 

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yen, Hung-Ju [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States). Chemistry Division

2016-11-14

These slides cover Hung-Ju Yen's recent work in the synthesis and structural design of functional materials, which were further used for optoelectronic and energy applications, such as lithium ion battery, solar cell, LED, electrochromic, and fuel cells. This was for a job interview at National Sun Yat-sen University. The following topics are detailed: current challenges for lithium-ion batteries; graphene, graphene oxide and nanographene; nanographenes with various functional groups; fine tune d-spacing through organic synthesis: varying functional group; schematic view of LIBs; nanographenes as LIB anode; rate performance (charging-discharging); electrochromic technology; electrochromic materials; advantages of triphenylamine; requirement of electrochromic materials for practical applications; low driving voltage and long cycle life; increasing the electroactive sites by multi-step synthetic procedures; synthetic route to starburst triarylamine-based polyamide; electrochromism ranging from visible to NIR region; transmissive to black electrochromism; RGB and CMY electrochromism.

Infinitesimal how a dangerous mathematical theory shaped the modern world

CERN Document Server

Alexander, Amir

2014-01-01

On August 10, 1632, five leading Jesuits convened in a sombre Roman palazzo to pass judgment on a simple idea: that a continuous line is composed of distinct and limitlessly tiny parts. The doctrine would become the foundation of calculus, but on that fateful day the judges ruled that it was forbidden. With the stroke of a pen they set off a war for the soul of the modern world. Amir Alexander takes us from the bloody religious strife of the sixteenth century to the battlefields of the English civil war and the fierce confrontations between leading thinkers like Galileo and Hobbes. The legitimacy of popes and kings, as well as our modern beliefs in human liberty and progressive science, hung in the balance; the answer hinged on the infinitesimal. Pulsing with drama and excitement, Infinitesimal will forever change the way you look at a simple line.

Mediterranean fruit fly: interference of oviposition by radiation-sterilized females in field cages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McInnis, D. O. [Tropical Fruit and Vegetable Research Lab. USDA-ARS, Honolulu, HI (United States); Wong, T. T.Y.

1990-07-01

In experiments between April and September 1984, the behaviour of nonirradiated and radiation-sterilized laboratory-adapted adults of the tephritid Ceratitis capitata was observed on apples hung on guava trees in outdoor cages in Hawaii. The numbers of nonirradiated females observed resting on fruit were reduced several times by the presence of irradiated females, either alone or with irradiated males, but not by irradiated males alone. Similarly, the number of nonirradiated females observed ovipositing and the duration of oviposition was reduced by the presence of irradiated females. In control cages (all nonirradiated flies), the duration of oviposition by females averaged 255.9±15.0 s on fruit, while most of nonirradiated and irradiated females in the mixed (treatment) cage averaged 157±19.8 s and 77.5±7.5 s on fruit, resp. Irradiated females behaved skittishly on fruit and frequently engaged in physical encounters with other flies.

Book reviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Redactie KITLV

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Andrea Acri, Helen Creese, and Arlo Griffiths (eds, From Laṅkā Eastwards: The Rāmāyaṇa in the literature and visual arts of Indonesia (Dick van der Meij Michael Arthur Aung-Thwin and Kenneth R. Hall (eds, New perspectives on the history and historiography of Southeast Asia: Continuing explorations (David Henley Steven Farram, A short-lived enthusiasm: The Australian consulate in Portuguese Timor (Hans Hägerdal R. Michael Feener, Patrick Daly and Anthony Reid (eds, Mapping the Acehnese past (William Bradley Horton Geoffrey C. Gunn, History without borders: The making of an Asian world region, 1000-1800 (Craig A. Lockard Andrew Hardy, Mauro Cucarzi and Patrizia Zolese, (eds, Champa and the archaeology of Mỹ Sơn (Vietnam (William A. Southworth Jac. Hoogerbrugge, Asmat: Arts, crafts and people; A photographic diary, 1969-1974 (Karen Jacobs Felicia Katz-Harris, Inside the puppet box: A performance of wayang kulit at the Museum of international folk art (Sadiah Boonstra Douglas Lewis, The Stranger-Kings of Sikka (Keng We Koh Jennifer Lindsay and Maya H.T. Liem (eds, Heirs to world culture: Being Indonesian 1950-1965 (Manneke Budiman Trần Kỳ Phương and Bruce M. Lockhart, The Cham of Vietnam: History, society and art (Arlo Griffiths Krishna Sen and David T. Hill (eds, Politics and the media in twenty-first century Indonesia: Decade of democracy (E.P. Wieringa Andrew N. Weintraub (ed., Islam and popular culture in Indonesia and Malaysia (Andy Fuller Meredith L. Weiss, Student activism in Malaysia: Crucible, mirror, sideshow (Richard Baxstrom Widjojo Nitisastro, The Indonesian development experience: A collection of writings and speeches of Widjojo Nitisastro (J. Thomas Lindblad

Organic electroluminescence

CERN Document Server

Kafafi, Zakya H

2005-01-01

Organic light-emitting diode(OLED) technology has achieved significant penetration in the commercial market for small, low-voltage and inexpensive displays. Present and future novel technologies based on OLEDs involve rigid and flexible flat panel displays, solid-state lighting, and lasers. Display applications may range from hand-held devices to large flat panel screens that can be rolled up or hung flat on a wall or a ceiling. Organic Electroluminescence gives an overview of the on-going research in the field of organic light-emitting materials and devices, covering the principles of electroluminescence in organic thin films, as well as recent trends, current applications, and future potential uses. The book begins by giving a background of organic electroluminescence in terms of history and basic principles. It offers details on the mechanism(s) of electroluminescence in thin organic films. It presentsin-depth discussions of the parameters that control the external electroluminescence quantum efficien...

Die (reënboog na die sondvloed (Gen 9:12-17

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H.F. Stander

2002-10-01

The Hebrew word which is used for “rainbow” in Genesis 9:13,16 can also be translated as an archer’s “bow”. It is interesting to note that all the ancient writers used the latter meaning (“war bow” in their interpretation of the Noah account, and not the meaning of “rainbow”. The ancients often depicted God as a warrior God who had a bow and shot arrows at those whom He wanted to punish. After God had punished the people for their sins, he hung up his bow. The bow in the clouds is without a bow string, and this is to remind the people that God is now at peace with them. In this article the prevalence of this interpretation in the ancient world, is shown. The writings of the Church Fathers are also scrutinized for their remarks on the (rainbow. To conclude, the translation of this symbol in various Bible translations is also discussed.

Self-Portrait on The Kitchen Towel

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Lada Stevanović

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Philosopher, feminist theoretician and artist Alenka Spacal paints her self-portraits on kitchen towels (2003–2005. After first being placed in exhibition, eventually the hanging of these pieces morphed into performance, dubbed Hanged Woman, during which the artist hung her self-portraits on a rope with clothespins in front of an audience. Transgressing gender, religion and race, Spacal through these self-portraits situates herself in different subjective positions. During such a journey, the artist multiplicates subjectivities, accomplishing theoretical and artistic figuration of nomadic subject, which, according to Rosi Braidotti constitutes by changing subject positions and thus overcoming dominant phallocentric rationality. In this case it occurs through artistic practice and irony. The second portion of this paper is devoted to the children’s picture book Rainbow Masquerade, also written and illustrated by Spacal, who abandons the essentialist dual normativity of sex and gender in order to represent plurality of the two categories in the fantastic world of a wood and its inhabitants.

Tablettel támogatott oktatási környezet mérési lehetőségei

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Czékmán Balázs

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The mobile technology supported education become visible at international level and also in Hung ary. The expansion of the tablets can lead to various questions, which urges more researches on the educational effects of the devices (Johnson et al., 2014. Hence our national literature review examines the researches from the following angles: (1 uses of the tablets amongst students and teachers; (2 the applied research methods in the subject of tablets; (3 the applied data collection methods in the subject of tablets; (4 the researched subjects and skills. We found seven major categories of the uses of the tablets, from which the multimedia function seemed to be the most frequent (16. Amongst the research methods the experimental one was the most common type (81%. The results also show that the mostly applied data collection method was the question naire (11. The most common topic of the researches was based on the reading.

Analysis of the electrical energy requirements of the GSI facility

CERN Document Server

Ripp, Christopher

2013-01-01

Die Veränderung auf dem deutschen Energiemarkt durch die Energiewende bringt eine Viel-zahl von Problemen mit sich. Der stetig ansteigende Ausbau von erneuerbaren Energien und die daraus resultierende starke Schwankung der eingespeisten Energiemengen zwingen die Netzbetreiber zum Ausbau der Stromnetze [1]. Die dadurch verursachten Kosten lassen die Netznutzungsgebühren steigen, welche an die Endkunden weitergegeben werden. Ebenfalls stieg die EEG-Umlage (Erneuerbare-Energie-Gesetz) von 3,6ct/kWh im Jahr 2012 über 5,3ct/kWh im Jahr 2013 auf 6,3ct/kWh für das Jahr 2014 [2], [3], [4]. Die extrem schnell steigenden Energiekosten zwingen die Verbraucher zur Erhöhung ihrer Energieeffizienz, um die laufenden Kosten so niedrig wie möglich zu halten [3]. Dies verlangt nach innovativen Ansätzen und Lösungen im unternehmenseigenen Energiemanagement. Besonders For-schungseinrichtungen mit großem Energiebedarf müssen eine höhere Energieeffizienz reali-sieren, um bei knappen Budgets ihrem Forschungsauftrag gerec...

Hyperonenproduktion in C+C- und Si+Si-Kollisionen bei 158 GeV pro Nukleon

CERN Document Server

Kraus, Ingrid

2004-01-01

Ultrarelativistische Schwerionenstöße werden seit etwa 15 Jahren untersucht, um Kernmaterie unter extremen Bedingungen zu erforschen; in Kollisionen schwerer Atomkerne kann bei hohen Einschußenergien Kernmaterie stark komprimiert und aufgeheizt werden. Die Bedeutung dieser Experimente wird durch Berechnungen der Quanten-Chromo-Dynamik auf raumzeitlichen Gittern hervorgehoben, die bei ausreichend hoher Energiedichte eine Phase voraussagen, in der die Quarks nicht mehr in Hadronen gebunden sind, sondern zusammen mit den Gluonen ein partonisches System ausbilden. Ist das System hinreichend groß und equilibriert, wird es als Quark-Gluon-Plasma bezeichnet. Die als Signatur für das Überschreiten der Phasengrenze vorgeschlagene erhöhte Produktion Seltsamkeit tragender Teilchen wurde in der Gegenüberstellung von elementaren Proton+Proton-Interaktionen und Kern+Kern-Stößen experimentell über einen weiten Energiebereich bestätigt. Eine solche Überhöhung kann aber auch durch rein hadronische Phänomene her...

A Hundred Years of Physics on Show

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

The New Yorker Richard Feynman, well known to all physicists for his diagrams. Eleven vivid posters have recently been hung along the Theoretical Physics corridor on the first floor of Building 53. They tell the story of a century of physics, between 1900 and the end of the nineteen-nineties, the century that gave us atomic and quantum physics and the great breakthroughs that have rocked our understanding of the world and the universe. The posters are a gift from the American Physical Society to the CERN Library. As they were designed for high school and university book collections in the US, they necessarily have a somewhat American view of the history of science. But it is still instructive to revisit contemporary physics through its great figures, such as Marie Curie, Stephen Hawking, and Richard Feynman, not to mention Albert Einstein and many others. Why not take the time for a little trip down this particular stretch of Memory Lane?

Rotational dynamics with Tracker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eadkhong, T; Danworaphong, S; Rajsadorn, R; Jannual, P

2012-01-01

We propose the use of Tracker, freeware for video analysis, to analyse the moment of inertia (I) of a cylindrical plate. Three experiments are performed to validate the proposed method. The first experiment is dedicated to find the linear coefficient of rotational friction (b) for our system. By omitting the effect of such friction, we derive I for a cylindrical plate rotated around its central axis from the other two experiments based on the relation between torque and angular acceleration of rotational motion and conservation of energy. Movies of the rotating plate and hung masses are recorded. As a result, we have the deviation of I from its theoretical value of 0.4% and 3.3%, respectively. Our setup is completely constructed from locally available inexpensive materials and the experimental results indicate that the system is highly reliable. This work should pave the way for those who prefer to build a similar setup from scratch at relatively low cost compared to commercial units. (paper)

Out of sight, but in their minds: Brazil and its neighbours work together to protect one of the world’s largest groundwater reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jawerth, Nicole

2015-01-01

Shrouded in mystery, the future of the largest groundwater reservoir in Latin America once left scientists, academics and politicians in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay concerned about the fate of their major freshwater resource. Uncovering clues using nuclear techniques, Brazil and its neighbours are now well-acquainted with the Guarani Aquifer and can confidently expect that, with their new protection and sustainable use framework, water from the aquifer will continue to flow for at least another 200 years. Using isotope hydrology, a nuclear technique (see box), the four countries analysed and assessed the aquifer to evaluate the age, origin and evolution of the groundwater, as well as its quality and the risk of contamination. “The studies were an important contribution to the project because they generated an integrated picture of the whole aquifer, which helped to interpret many important geological, hydrochemical and hydrogeological findings,” said Hung Kiang Chang, Professor at the Institute of Geosciences and Exact Sciences (IGCE) at the São Paulo State University.

Android Used in The Learning Innovation Atwood Machines on Lagrange Mechanics Methods

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shabrina Shabrina

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Android is one of the smartphone operating system platforms that is now widely developed in learning media. Android allows the learning process to be more flexible and not oriented to be teacher center, but it allows to be student center. The Atwood machines is an experimental tool that is often used to observe mechanical laws in constantly accelerated motion which can also be described by the Lagrange mechanics methods. As an innovative and alternative learning activity, Atwood Android-based learning apps are running for two experimental variations, which are variations in load in cart and load masses that are hung. The experiment of load-carrier mass variation found that the larger load mass in the cart, the smaller the acceleration experienced by the system. Meanwhile, the experiment on the variation of the loaded mass found that the larger the loaded mass, the greater the acceleration experienced by the system.

The influence of the Peroneus Longus muscle on the foot under axial loading: A CT evaluated dynamic cadaveric model study.

Science.gov (United States)

Dullaert, K; Hagen, J; Klos, K; Gueorguiev, B; Lenz, M; Richards, R G; Simons, P

2016-05-01

Subtle hypermobility of the first tarsometatarsal joint can occur concomitantly with other pathologies and may be difficult to diagnose. Peroneus Longus muscle might influence stability of this joint. Collapse of the medial longitudinal arch is common in flatfoot deformity and the muscle might also play a role in correcting Meary's angle. A radiolucent frame was used to simulate weightbearing during CT examination. Eight pairs fresh-frozen lower legs were imaged in neutral position under non-weightbearing (75N), weightbearing (700N) and with 15kg weights hung from Peroneus Longus tendon. Measurements included first metatarsal rotation, intermetatarsal angle, first tarsometatarsal joint subluxation and Meary's angle. Weightbearing significantly increased Meary's angle and significantly decreased first tarsometatarsal joint subluxation (both Pfoot pathology. Weightbearing affects anatomy of the foot. No reliable information is available concerning the influence of the Peroneus muscle. This study investigates the influence of weightbearing and the impact the Peroneus muscle on the anatomy of the foot. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The effect of daytime rain on the Indian Flying Fox (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Pteropodidae Pteropus giganteus

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S. Baskaran

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Excessive water loss during the day due to heat stress in bats of the genus Pteropus appears to be inevitable, because these bats are exposed to direct sunlight.  Rain also affects the rest pattern of the Indian Flying Fox Pteropus giganteus during the day.  When rain occurred during the day, most of the bats hung in a slanting position and did not exhibit any movements.  After rain, they licked both ventral and dorsal surfaces of the wing membrane and scratched their body with their thumb claws.  They also licked the water droplets that remained on the leaves and branches of the tree.  Even though their rest had been affected by the rain the bats utilized the water droplets to quench their thirst, cool their body and clean their fur.  The construction of water reservoirs near Pteropus roosts will help to assure their long-term conservation. 

Challenges for municipal solid waste management practices in Vietnam

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Nguyen Duc Luong

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Municipal solid waste (MSW management is currently one of the major environmental problems facing by Vietnam. Improper management of MSW has caused adverse impacts on the environment, community health, and social-economic development. This study attempts to provide a review of the generation and characterization, disposal and treatment technologies of MSW to evaluate the current status and identify the problems of MSW management practices in Vietnam. Finally, this study is concluded with fruitful recommendations which may be useful in encouraging the responsible agencies to work towards the further improvement of the existing MSW management system.Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12777/wastech.1.1.17-21Citation:  Luong, N.D., Giang, H.M., Thanh, B.X. and Hung, N.T.  2013. Challenges for municipal solid waste management practices in Vietnam. Waste Technology 1(1:6-9.Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.12777/wastech.1.1.17-21

Ultra-shallow junction (USJ) sheet resistance measurements with a non-penetrating four point probe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benjamin, M.C.; Hillard, R.J.; Borland, J.O.

2005-01-01

An accurate method to measure the four point probe (4PP) sheet resistance (R S ) of ultra shallow junction (USJ) Source-Drain Extension structures is described. The method utilizes Elastic Material probes (EM-probes) to form non-penetrating contacts to the silicon surface [R.J. Hillard, P.Y. Hung, William Chism, C. Win Ye, W.H. Howland, L.C. Tan, C.E. Kalnas, Characterization and Metrology for ULSI Technology, AIP Conference proceedings 683 (2003) 802.]. The probe design is kinematic and the force is controlled to ensure elastic deformation of the probe material. The probe material is such that large direct tunneling currents can flow through the native oxide thereby forming a low impedance contact. Sheet resistance measurements on USJ implanted P+/N structures with Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS) junction depths less than 15 nm have been measured. The method is demonstrated on implanted USJ structures and found to be consistent with expectations

Analysis of multi cloud storage applications for resource constrained mobile devices

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Rajeev Kumar Bedi

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Cloud storage, which can be a surrogate for all physical hardware storage devices, is a term which gives a reflection of an enormous advancement in engineering (Hung et al., 2012. However, there are many issues that need to be handled when accessing cloud storage on resource constrained mobile devices due to inherent limitations of mobile devices as limited storage capacity, processing power and battery backup (Yeo et al., 2014. There are many multi cloud storage applications available, which handle issues faced by single cloud storage applications. In this paper, we are providing analysis of different multi cloud storage applications developed for resource constrained mobile devices to check their performance on the basis of parameters as battery consumption, CPU usage, data usage and time consumed by using mobile phone device Sony Xperia ZL (smart phone on WiFi network. Lastly, conclusion and open research challenges in these multi cloud storage apps are discussed.

Structure determination of uracil-DNA N-glycosylase from Deinococcus radiodurans in complex with DNA.

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Pedersen, Hege Lynum; Johnson, Kenneth A; McVey, Colin E; Leiros, Ingar; Moe, Elin

2015-10-01

Uracil-DNA N-glycosylase (UNG) is a DNA-repair enzyme in the base-excision repair (BER) pathway which removes uracil from DNA. Here, the crystal structure of UNG from the extremophilic bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans (DrUNG) in complex with DNA is reported at a resolution of 1.35 Å. Prior to the crystallization experiments, the affinity between DrUNG and different DNA oligonucleotides was tested by electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSAs). As a result of this analysis, two 16 nt double-stranded DNAs were chosen for the co-crystallization experiments, one of which (16 nt AU) resulted in well diffracting crystals. The DNA in the co-crystal structure contained an abasic site (substrate product) flipped into the active site of the enzyme, with no uracil in the active-site pocket. Despite the high resolution, it was not possible to fit all of the terminal nucleotides of the DNA complex into electron density owing to disorder caused by a lack of stabilizing interactions. However, the DNA which was in contact with the enzyme, close to the active site, was well ordered and allowed detailed analysis of the enzyme-DNA interaction. The complex revealed that the interaction between DrUNG and DNA is similar to that in the previously determined crystal structure of human UNG (hUNG) in complex with DNA [Slupphaug et al. (1996). Nature (London), 384, 87-92]. Substitutions in a (here defined) variable part of the leucine loop result in a shorter loop (eight residues instead of nine) in DrUNG compared with hUNG; regardless of this, it seems to fulfil its role and generate a stabilizing force with the minor groove upon flipping out of the damaged base into the active site. The structure also provides a rationale for the previously observed high catalytic efficiency of DrUNG caused by high substrate affinity by demonstrating an increased number of long-range electrostatic interactions between the enzyme and the DNA. Interestingly, specific interactions between residues

Program Perceived Value and Program Satisfaction Influences on Store Loyalty: Insights from Retail Loyalty Progam

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Nor Asiah Omar

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Investigations to determine whether program perceived value could influence program satisfaction, program card loyalty and store loyalty are critical to elucidate the roles and significance of the constructs and advancing management practice. Accordingly, in line with this research direction, this study aims to assess the effects of program perceived value offered by few leading retail superstores and departmental stores in Malaysia on its members’ loyalty towards the store. The data set utilized in this study has been obtained via quota sampling technique, where a sample of 153 retail loyalty programs’ members was analyzed. An integrative conceptual model was developed and tested using Structural Equation Modeling using AMOS program. The results exemplify that program perceived value is a strong driver of program satisfaction and program card loyalty. Unexpectedly, program perceived value is not a significant predictor of store loyalty but, it has an indirect effect on store loyalty mediated by program satisfaction. Continuous plea in marketing management is to make marketing instruments more efficient. In recent years introduction of customer relationship marketing instruments is strongly advocated, both in marketing theory and practice. Several researchers (e.g., Berry 1983; Berry and Parasuraman 1991; and Gronroos, 1994 have changed the focus of a marketing orientation from attracting short-term, discrete transactional customers to retaining long-lasting, intimate customer relationships. In fact Roberts, Varki, Brodie (2003, further suggested that it is best to describe relationship marketing as the formation of “bonds” between the company and the customer. Achieving an effective relationship in a consumer context is considered to be even more challenging than it is in a business-to-business context, given the generally more polygamous character of consumers as opposed to business customers (Keng and Ehrenberger 1984; Pressey and

Impervious Surfaces Alter Soil Bacterial Communities in Urban Areas: A Case Study in Beijing, China

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Yinhong Hu

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The rapid expansion of urbanization has caused land cover change, especially the increasing area of impervious surfaces. Such alterations have significant effects on the soil ecosystem by impeding the exchange of gasses, water, and materials between soil and the atmosphere. It is unclear whether impervious surfaces have any effects on soil bacterial diversity and community composition. In the present study, we conducted an investigation of bacterial communities across five typical land cover types, including impervious surfaces (concrete, permeable pavement (bricks with round holes, shrub coverage (Buxus megistophylla Levl., lawns (Festuca elata Keng ex E. Alexeev, and roadside trees (Sophora japonica Linn. in Beijing, to explore the response of bacteria to impervious surfaces. The soil bacterial communities were addressed by high-throughput sequencing of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene. We found that Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Chloroflexi, and Firmicutes were the predominant phyla in urban soils. Soil from impervious surfaces presented a lower bacterial diversity, and differed greatly from other types of land cover. Soil bacterial diversity was predominantly affected by Zn, dissolved organic carbon (DOC, and soil moisture content (SMC. The composition of the bacterial community was similar under shrub coverage, roadside trees, and lawns, but different from beneath impervious surfaces and permeable pavement. Variance partitioning analysis showed that edaphic properties contributed to 12% of the bacterial community variation, heavy metal pollution explained 3.6% of the variation, and interaction between the two explained 33% of the variance. Together, our data indicate that impervious surfaces induced changes in bacterial community composition and decrease of bacterial diversity. Interactions between edaphic properties and heavy metals were here found to change the composition of the bacterial community and

Nanoparticles prepared from the water extract of Gusuibu (Drynaria fortunei J. Sm. protects osteoblasts against insults and promotes cell maturation

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Hsu C-K

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Chung-King Hsu1,2, Mei-Hsiu Liao3, Yu-Tyng Tai4, Shing-Hwa Liu5, Keng-Liang Ou6, Hsu-Wei Fang7, I-Jung Lee8, Ruei-Ming Chen2,31Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, 2Cell Physiology and Molecular Image Research Center, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Medical Center, 3Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Taipei Medical University, 4Department of Anesthesiology, Taipei Medical University-Wan Fang Medical Center, 5Institute of Toxicology, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, 6Graduate Institute of Biomedical Materials and Engineering, Taipei Medical University, 7Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, National Taipei University of Technology, 8Division of Information and Herbarium, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine, Taipei, TaiwanAbstract: Our previous study showed that Gusuibu (Drynaria fortunei J. Sm. can stimulate osteoblast maturation. This study was further designed to evaluate the effects of nanoparticles prepared from the water extract of Gusuibu (WEG on osteoblast survival and maturation. Primary osteoblasts were exposed to 1, 10, 100, and 1000 µg/mL nanoparticles of WEG (nWEG for 24, 48, and 72 hours did not affect morphologies, viability, or apoptosis of osteoblasts. In comparison, treatment of osteoblasts with 1000 µg/mL WEG for 72 hours decreased cell viability and induced DNA fragmentation and cell apoptosis. nWEG had better antioxidant bioactivity in protecting osteoblasts from oxidative and nitrosative stress-induced apoptosis than WEG. In addition, nWEG stimulated greater osteoblast maturation than did WEG. Therefore, this study shows that WEG nanoparticles are safer to primary osteoblasts than are normal-sized products, and may promote better bone healing by protecting osteoblasts from apoptotic insults, and by promoting osteogenic maturation.Keywords: Gusuibu, nanoparticles, cell protection, osteoblast maturation

Preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios as independent predictors of cervical stromal involvement in surgically treated endometrioid adenocarcinoma

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Wang D

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Dan Wang, Jia-Xin Yang, Dong-Yan Cao, Xi-Run Wan, Feng-Zhi Feng, Hui-Fang Huang, Keng Shen, Yang Xiang Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between preoperative inflammatory markers (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio and cervical stromal involvement in patients with endometrioid adenocarcinoma. Methods: We studied 318 patients with endometrioid adenocarcinoma who underwent comprehensive surgical staging. We used univariate and multivariate analyses of cervical stromal involvement and receiver-operating curves to calculate optimal cutoff values for neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios to predict cervical stromal involvement. Results: The presence of cervical stromal involvement was associated with neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (P = 0.009 and P = 0.031, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that higher neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios independently predicted cervical stromal involvement (odds ratio 3.10, 95% confidence interval 1.10–8.76, P = 0.032, and odds ratio 5.27, 95% confidence interval 1.94–14.35, P = 0.001, respectively. At a threshold of 2.01, the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio was 71.0% sensitive and 63.8% specific for stromal involvement; at a 172.24 threshold, the platelet-lymphocyte ratio was 48.4% sensitive and 88.9% specific. Conclusion: Preoperative neutrophil-lymphocyte and platelet-lymphocyte ratios can help identify the risk of cervical stromal involvement in patients with endometrial cancer. Evaluating these ratios may help select patients who should be particularly watched and tested for cervical stromal involvement. Keywords: neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-lymphocyte ratio, endometrioid adenocarcinoma

Aspekte der Sozialpolitik der Habsburger in Siebenbürgen (1688 – 1790. Massnahmen zur Erhöhung der Anzahl der Einwohner des Fürstentums

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Marinel Ovidiu Koch-Tufiş

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Habsburg monarchs, starting from the second half of the 17th, under the influence of mercantilist and populationist theories, consider the social politics to be increasingly important. This politic approach aims, firstly, to increase the number of inhabitants in the Empire through different measures such as: colonization of less densely populated areas of the Monarchy, medical assistance and better nutrition, protection of peasants against the abuses of feudal aristocracy. The Habsburgs tried, after Transylvania was united to the Monarchy, to implement a similar politic attitude. They were confronted, as in other initiatives, with the opposition of the recognized nations of the Principality. The measures applied by the Viennese court to increase the number of inhabitants in Transylvania, which will be analyzed in this paper, were, basically, bringing colonists to Transylvania, offering “Transylvanian citizenship” to a number of foreigners, and the control of migratory movement over the boundaries of the Principality.Measures taken by the Habsburgs to bring more colonists in Transylvania were not so successful compare to the vast initiative to colonize the Hungarian Plain and the Banat in the 18th century. The only important colonization was the movement by force, from 1734 and 1776 of 4000 protestant citizens from the hereditary Austrian provinces to Transylvania, which had mostly a confessional aim. Another measure to increase the number of inhabitants of Transylvania could be considered the initiative to offer „Transylvanian citizenship” to some foreigners. We are speaking, firstly, about administrative and military personnel, who served the Monarchy in the Principality. In 1777 the „Transylvanian citizenship” was given to the Greek merchants, who, in fact, were living and working in Transylvania for a long time. An important role in the regulation and control of the migratory flux play the Habsburg measures to decrease and even stop the emigration of the inhabitants of Transylvania, especially Romanian peasants, towards Wallachia and Moldavia. These measures aimed at least maintaining the number of the inhabitants of Transylvania at the existing level.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Turbulence, Radiation, and Combustion Models for Natural Gas Combustion Burner

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Yik Siang Pang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD study of a natural gas combustion burner focusing on the effect of combustion, thermal radiation and turbulence models on the temperature and chemical species concentration fields. The combustion was modelled using the finite rate/eddy dissipation (FR/EDM and partially premixed flame models. Detailed chemistry kinetics CHEMKIN GRI-MECH 3.0 consisting of 325 reactions was employed to model the methane combustion. Discrete ordinates (DO and spherical harmonics (P1 model were employed to predict the thermal radiation. The gas absorption coefficient dependence on the wavelength is resolved by the weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model (WSGGM. Turbulence flow was simulated using Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS based models. The findings showed that a combination of partially premixed flame, P1 and standard k-ε (SKE gave the most accurate prediction with an average deviation of around 7.8% of combustion temperature and 15.5% for reactant composition (methane and oxygen. The results show the multi-step chemistry in the partially premixed model is more accurate than the two-step FR/EDM. Meanwhile, inclusion of thermal radiation has a minor effect on the heat transfer and species concentration. SKE turbulence model yielded better prediction compared to the realizable k-ε (RKE and renormalized k-ε (RNG. The CFD simulation presented in this work may serve as a useful tool to evaluate a performance of a natural gas combustor. Copyright © 2018 BCREC Group. All rights reserved Received: 26th July 2017; Revised: 9th October 2017; Accepted: 30th October 2017; Available online: 22nd January 2018; Published regularly: 2nd April 2018 How to Cite: Pang, Y.S., Law, W.P., Pung, K.Q., Gimbun, J. (2018. A Computational Fluid Dynamics Study of Turbulence, Radiation, and Combustion Models for Natural Gas Combustion Burner. Bulletin of Chemical Reaction Engineering & Catalysis, 13 (1: 155-169 (doi:10.9767/bcrec

South China sea off Viet Nam to see more exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

British and Japanese operators are posed for exploration campaigns off southern Viet Nam. This paper reports that a 50-50 partnership of Lasmo International Ltd., London, and C. Itoh Exploration Co. of Japan signed a heads of agreement covering Block 04-2, and AEDC Vietnam Oil Development Co. and Teikoku Oil Co. acquired Block 05-3 under a production sharing contract. AEDC is a unit of AOC Energy Development Co., a subsidiary of Arabian Oil Co. (AOC) of Japan. Both tracts are in the Con Son basin in the South China Sea. Site is 15 km north of 500 million bbl Dai Hung (Big Bear) oil field for which state owned Petrovietnam is evaluating bids to place on production. A unit of the Royal Dutch/shell Group acquired a west offset, Block 10, early this year. The Lasmo-C. Itoh acreage is among five blocks offered in Vietnam's second round of offshore licensing. All are in the area that once was reserved entirely for Vietsovpetro, a partnership of Petrovietnam and the former Soviet Union

Cultural- and traditional-ecological perspectives in Saami religion

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Phebe Fjellström

1987-01-01

Full Text Available The period of Christmas peace, established by the Hälsinge law, was a firmly established custom in the Nordic countries going back to the official Christmas celebrations laid down by the Catholic church at Tours in 867. Christmas Eve was respected as a day of fasting and "no meat was eaten", beliefs about Christmas folk were common in western Scandinavia and Celtic areas, –the Catholic celebrations of the twelve days of Christmas—the period of Christmas peace—was linked with these beliefs and the sacrificial rite took place relatively close to the tent with a sacrificial dish shaped like a boat complete with sail and oars being hung up in a tree, probably a tall tree so that the Christmas folk could reach it on their wanderings through the air. This last that-clause does not seem to have any Catholic connections but rather pre-Christian ones. An analysis of these different phenomena can perhaps provide us with examples of parallel phenomena in Saami materials.

Sonidegib, a novel smoothened inhibitor for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma

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Doan HQ

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Hung Q Doan,1 Sirunya Silapunt,1 Michael R Migden2,3 1Department of Dermatology, University of Texas, McGovern Medical School, 2Mohs Surgery Unit, Department of Dermatology, 3Department of Head and Neck Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA Abstract: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC is the most common nonmelanoma skin cancer. If left untreated, BCCs can become locally aggressive or even metastasize. Currently available treatments include local destruction, surgery, and radiation. Systemic options for advanced disease are limited. The Hedgehog (Hh pathway is aberrantly activated in a majority of BCCs and in other cancers. Hh pathway inhibitors are targeted agents that inhibit the aberrant activation of the Hh pathway, with smoothened being a targeted component. Sonidegib is a novel smoothened inhibitor that was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. This review focuses on BCC pathogenesis and the clinical efficacy of sonidegib for the treatment of advanced BCC. Keywords: nonmelanoma skin cancer, Hedgehog pathway, clinical trials

In vitro differentiation of mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells using the hanging drop method.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiang; Yang, Phillip

2008-07-23

Stem cells have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, This promising of science is leading scientists to investigate the possibility of cell-based therapies to treat disease. When culture in suspension without antidifferentiation factors, embryonic stem cells spontaneously differentiate and form three-dimensional multicellular aggregates. These cell aggregates are called embryoid bodies(EB). Hanging drop culture is a widely used EB formation induction method. The rounded bottom of hanging drop allows the aggregation of ES cells which can provide mES cells a good environment for forming EBs. The number of ES cells aggregatied in a hanging drop can be controlled by varying the number of cells in the initial cell suspension to be hung as a drop from the lid of Petri dish. Using this method we can reproducibly form homogeneous EBs from a predetermined number of ES cells.

COMPARING THE EFFECTIVENESS RATIOS OF PHEROMONE LURES OF IPSOWIT® ,IPSTYP®, AND TYPOSAN® AGAINST IPS TYPOGRAPHUS (L. (COL.: SCOLYTIDAE

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Temel Göktürk

2005-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, effectiveness ratios of Ipsowit®, Ipstyp®, and Typosan® pheromone lures were compared. One research area within the pure spruce forests of Ardanuç-Karanlıkmeşe in Artvin Province of Turkey was selected for this study. A total of 30 pheromone traps (with ten of each type of pheromone lures were placed in the area. The traps hunging in the third week of May in 2003 stayed for 45 days. All of them were checked four times in 45 days to count trapped insects. As a result, in the early weeks of the placement, there were more insects collected, followed by a gradual decrease in trapped insect number in the later weeks. Furthermore, there was no significant difference between Ipstyp® and Typosan® in number of trapped insects. Both pheromone lures were, however, much more effective than Ipsowit®That is why, instead of Ipsowit®, using Ipstyp® and/or Typosan® lures against the pest would be more economic and more effective.

Pendidikan Hati Perspektif al-Ghazālī dalam Kitab Ihya’ Ulūm al-Dīn

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Muhammad Hasyim

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Al-Ghazālī in Sufism has had big influenced of his thought in the world. He was Syafi’i follower in fiqih law and Asy’ariyah in theology, when he was in Baghdad he hung out with many mazhabs. Ihya’ Ulūm al-Dīn is outlined with sharp thought method. The discussion is divided to systematic parts. It combined outward and inner fiqh, in explaining the difficult terms, this book uses tamstil. Al Ghazali has written heart diseases and its medicine. It also inserted many advantage stories as refreshing phase. Heart education is the soul controlling process. This soul consequently is able to encourage the physical activity in daily life appropriate with syari’ah of Allah through riyadhoh, fasting, praying or other worships. It also makes person becomes obidient people from birth to death, through many education and teaching and learning gradually, in which the learning peocess is parents and society responsibility toward a pious (shalih person. The purpose of psychology according to Ghazali is forming pious or shalih people.

Control rod driving mechanism of reactor, control device and operation method therefor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ariyoshi, Masahiko; Matsumoto, Fujio; Matsumoto, Koji; Kinugasa, Kunihiko; Nara, Yoshihiko; Otama, Kiyomaro; Mikami, Takao

1998-01-01

The present invention provides a device for and a method of directly driving control rods of an FBR type reactor linearly by a cylinder type linear motor while having a driving shaft as an electric conductor. Namely, a linear induction motor drives a driving shaft connected with a control rod and vertically moving the control rod by electromagnetic force as an electric conductor. The position of the control rod is detected by a position detector. The driving shaft is hung by a wire by way of an electromagnet which is attachably/detachably held. With such a constitution, the driving shaft connected with the control rod can be vertically moved linearly, stopped or kept. Since they can be driven smoothly at a wide range speed, the responsibility and reliability of the reactor operation can be improved. In addition, since responsibility of the control rod operation is high, scram can be conducted by the linear motor. Since the driving mechanism can be simplified, maintenance and inspection operation can be mitigated. (I.S.)

Aggregation pheromones for monitoring the coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros) in Jerukwangi Village, Jepara, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Indriyanti, D. R.; Lutfiana, J. E.; Widiyaningrum, P.; Susilowati, E.; Slamet, M.

2018-03-01

Oryctes rhinoceros (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is the most serious pest of coconut plantations in Indonesia. Jerukwangi Village is O. rhinoceros attacked one of the coconuts producing villages with more than 75% of the coconut plant population O. rhinoceros. The study aimed to monitor the population and analyze the sex ratio of O. rhinoceros that were attracted to aggregation pheromones in the field. Aggregation pheromones is a chemical compound containing Ethyl 4-methyl octanoate. The pheromone compounds were placed in traps (buckets), hung 2 meters above the ground. The traps were observed, and the beetles trapped were counted every week. In 12 weeks of monitoring, the traps captured 101 insects consist of 90.1% O. rhinoceros and 9.9% other insect species (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus and Xylotrupes gideon). This result indicates the high population of O. rhinoceros in the field. Aggregation pheromone is useful for attracting females. Rhinoceros by 61% and the males by 39%. The advantage of research is it can be used in integrated pest management (IPM) packages for monitoring of beetle population, and removal of beetles.

Acid-base-controlled stereoselective metalation of overhanging carboxylic acid porphyrins: consequences for the formation of heterobimetallic complexes.

Science.gov (United States)

Le Gac, Stéphane; Najjari, Btissam; Dorcet, Vincent; Roisnel, Thierry; Fusaro, Luca; Luhmer, Michel; Furet, Eric; Halet, Jean-François; Boitrel, Bernard

2013-08-12

Overhanging carboxylic acid porphyrins have revealed promising ditopic ligands offering a new entry in the field of supramolecular coordination chemistry of porphyrinoids. Notably, the adjunction of a so-called hanging-atop (HAT) Pb(II) cation to regular Pb(II) porphyrin complexes allowed a stereoselective incorporation of the N-core bound cation, and an allosterically controlled Newton's cradle-like motion of the two Pb(II) ions also emerged from such bimetallic complexes. In this contribution, we have extended this work to other ligands and metal ions, aiming at understanding the parameters that control the HAT Pb(II) coordination. The nature of the N-core bound metal ion (Zn(II), Cd(II)), the influence of the deprotonation state of the overhanging COOH group and the presence of a neutral ligand on the opposite side (exogenous or intramolecular), have been examined through (1)H NMR spectroscopic experiments with the help of radiocrystallographic structures and DFT calculations. Single and bis-strap ligands have been considered. They all incorporate a COOH group hung over the N-core on one side. For the bis-strap ligands, either an ester or an amide group has been introduced on the other side. In the presence of a base, the mononuclear Zn(II) or Cd(II) complexes incorporate the carbonyl of the overhanging carboxylate as apical ligand, decreasing its availability for the binding of a HAT Pb(II). An allosteric effector (e.g., 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), in the case of a single-strap ligand) or an intramolecular ligand (e.g., an amide group), strong enough to compete with the carbonyl of the hung COO(-), is required to switch the N-core bound cation to the opposite side with concomitant release of the COO(-), thereby allowing HAT Pb(II) complexation. In the absence of a base, Zn(II) or Cd(II) binds preferentially the carbonyl of the intramolecular ester or amide groups in apical position rather than that of the COOH. This better preorganization, with the

Improving thermal stability and efficacy of BCNU in treating glioma cells using PAA-functionalized graphene oxide

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Lu YJ

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Yu-Jen Lu1,2,#, Hung-Wei Yang1,#, Sheng-Che Hung3, Chiung-Yin Huang2, Shin-Ming Li4, Chen-Chi M Ma4, Pin-Yuan Chen2, Hong-Chieh Tsai2, Kuo-Chen Wei2, Jyh-Ping Chen1 1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Kwei-San, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 2Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kwei-San, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 3Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan#These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl-1-nitrosourea (BCNU, a commercial chemotherapeutic drug for treating malignant brain tumors, has poor thermal stability and a short half-life. Immobilization of BCNU on a nanocarrier might increase the thermal stability of BCNU and extend its half-life.Methods: Nanosized graphene oxide (GO could be modified by polyacrylic acid (PAA to improve the aqueous solubility and increase the cell penetration efficacy of the nanocarrier. PAA–GO intended as a drug carrier for BCNU was prepared and characterized in this study. The size and thickness of PAA–GO was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, and the presence of PAA functional groups was confirmed by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. BCNU was conjugated to PAA–GO by covalent binding for specific killing of cancer cells, which could also enhance the thermal stability of the drug.Results: Single layer PAA–GO (about 1.9 nm with a lateral width as small as 36 nm was successfully prepared. The optimum drug immobilization condition was by reacting 0.5 mg PAA–GO with 0.4 mg BCNU, and the drug-loading capacity and residual drug activity were 198 µg BCNU/mg PAA–GO and 70%, respectively. This nanocarrier significantly prolonged the half-life of bound BCNU from 19 to 43 hours compared with free drug and showed efficient intracellular

Beneficial effects of prolonged blood pressure control after carotid artery stenting

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Chang A

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Anna Chang,1 Huei-Fong Hung,2 Fang-I Hsieh,3 Wei-Hung Chen,1,4 Hsu-Ling Yeh,1,5 Jiann-Horng Yeh,1,6 Hou-Chang Chiu,1,6 Li-Ming Lien1,4 1Department of Neurology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 2Department of Cardiology, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 3School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 4School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 5Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, 6School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan Objectives: The main purpose of this study was to investigate whether carotid artery stenting (CAS plus medicine in patients with severe carotid artery stenosis provide a better long-term blood pressure (BP control compared to other medical treatments alone. The other aim was to explore the correlation between post-CAS hypotension within 6 h and long-term BP reductions after CAS. Materials and methods: Patients with severe carotid stenosis were recruited either in the CAS group or in the medication group. BPs and the number of classes of antihypertensive agents were recorded at baseline, 6, and 12 months. Extra BP information was collected at 6 h, 3 days, and 1 month after CAS. Univariate and multivariate linear regressions were performed to test the relationship of BP changes among CAS and medication groups after 6 and 12 months of follow-up. Univariate linear regressions were also used to determine the correlations between the mean or maximal systolic BP (SBP reductions at 6 h and 1 year post-CAS. Results: In total, 72 members in the CAS group and 82 members in the medication group were recruited. Compared with the medication group, patients in the CAS group had greater BP reductions at 6 and 12 months of follow-up after adjusting for confounding factors (13.56 mmHg at 6 months, P=0.0002; 16.98 mmHg at 12 months, P<0.0001. This study also shows significant

In-Operation Inspection Technology development. Development of the degradation prediction technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamuta, Yasushi; Miyoshi, Toshiaki; O'shima, Eiji

1999-01-01

As In-Operation Inspection Technology (IOI) , we selected primary loop recirculation (PLR) pump, sea water pump, small diameter pipe branch in the steam generator (SG) room and motor driven valve for the typical component of the nuclear power plant, and we are developing the technology which can forecast the residual life of parts in the plan until FY2000. With respect to PLR pump and sea water pump, technical procedure for predicting the propagation of bearing wear, under the combined effect of several degradation conditions of each pump during the plant operation are under development. With respect to pipe branch, we are developing the non-contact laser sensors, and we are constructing the system which forecasts high cycle fatigue in the root of pipe branch by monitoring the vibration of pipe branch. With respect to motor driven valve, technical procedure for predicting the thermal degradation of gaskets and gland packing, technical procedure for predicting the stem nut wear and wear of hunging portion of valve disc, and technical procedure for detecting the degradation of driving parts, without disassembling the motor driven valve, are under development. (author)

A Simple Model to Describe the Relationship among Rainfall, Groundwater and Land Subsidence under a Heterogeneous Aquifer

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Y. Y.; Chen, Y. L.; Lin, H. R.; Huang, S. Y.; Yeh, T. C. J.; Wen, J. C.

2017-12-01

Land subsidence is a very serious problem of Zhuoshui River alluvial fan, Taiwan. The main reason of land subsidence is a compression of soil, but the compression measured in the wide area is very extensive (Maryam et al., 2013; Linlin et al., 2014). Chen et al. [2010] studied the linear relationship between groundwater level and subsurface altitude variations from Global Positioning System (GPS) station in Zhuoshui River alluvial fan. But the subsurface altitude data were only from two GPS stations. Their distributions are spared and small, not enough to express the altitude variations of Zhuoshui River alluvial fan. Hung et al. [2011] used Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to measure the surface subsidence in Zhuoshui River alluvial fan, but haven't compared with groundwater level. The study compares the correlation between rainfall events and groundwater level and compares the correlation between groundwater level and subsurface altitude, these two correlation affected by heterogeneous soil. From these relationships, a numerical model is built to simulate the land subsidence variations and estimate the coefficient of aquifer soil compressibility. Finally, the model can estimate the long-term land subsidence. Keywords: Land Subsidence, InSAR, Groundwater Level, Numerical Model, Correlation Analyses

A Fast-Starting Robotic Fish

Science.gov (United States)

Modarres-Sadeghi, Yahya; Watts, Matthew; Conte, Joe; Hover, Franz; Triantafyllou, Michael

2009-11-01

We have built a simple mechanical system to emulate the fast-start performance of fish. The system consisted of a thin metal beam covered by a urethane rubber fish body. The body form of the mechanical fish in this work was modeled from a pike species, which is the most successfully studied fast-start specialist species. The mechanical fish was held in curvature and hung in water by two restraining lines, which were simultaneously released by pneumatic cutting mechanisms. The potential energy in the beam was transferred into the fluid, thereby accelerating the fish, similar to a pike. We measured the resulting velocity and acceleration, as well as the efficiency of propulsion for the mechanical fish model and also ran a series of flow visualization tests to observe the resulting flow pattern. We also studied the influence of stiffness and geometry of the tail on the efficiency of propulsion and flow pattern. The hydrodynamic efficiency of the fish, calculated by the transfer of energy, was around 10%. Flow visualization of the mechanical fast-start wake was also analyzed, showing that the acceleration is associated with the fast movement of an intense vortex in a near-lateral direction.

Description of the Triton reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1967-09-01

The Triton reactor is an enriched uranium pool type reactor. It began operation in 1959, after a divergence made on the June 30 the same year. Devoted to studies of radiation protection, its core can be displaced in the longitudinal direction. The pool can be separated in two unequal compartments by a wall. The Triton core is placed in a small compartment, the Nereide core in the big compartment. A third compartment without water is called Naiade II, is separated by a concrete wall in which is made a window closed by an aluminium plate (2.50 m x 2.70 m). The Naiade II hole is useful for protection experiments using the Nereide core. After a complete refitting, the power of the triton reactor that reached progressively from 1.2 MW to 2 MW, then 3 MW has reached in August 1965 6.5 MW. The reactor has been specialized in irradiations in fix position, the core become fix, the nereide core has been hung mobile. Since it has been used for structure materials irradiation, for radioelements fabrication and fundamental research. The following descriptions are valid for the period after August 1965 [fr

A randomized controlled trial of Tai chi for balance, sleep quality and cognitive performance in elderly Vietnamese

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Nguyen MH

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Manh Hung Nguyen, Andreas KruseInstitute of Gerontology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, GermanyObjective: To evaluate the effects of Tai chi exercise on balance, sleep quality, and cognitive performance in community-dwelling elderly in Vinh city, Vietnam.Design: A randomized controlled trial.Participants: One hundred two subjects were recruited.Intervention: Subjects were divided randomly into two groups. The Tai chi group was assigned 6 months' Tai chi training. The control group was instructed to maintain their routine daily activities.Outcome measures: The Falls Efficacy Scale (FES, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI, and Trail Making Test (TMT were used as primary outcome measures.Results: Participants in the Tai chi group reported significant improvement in TMT (part A (F [1, 71] = 78.37, P < 0.001 and in TMT (part B, (F [1, 71] = 175.00, P < 0.001 in comparison with the control group. Tai chi participants also reported better scores in FES (F [1, 71] = 96.90, P < 0.001 and in PSQI (F [1,71] = 43.69, P = 0.001 than the control group.Conclusion: Tai chi is beneficial to improve balance, sleep quality, and cognitive performance of the elderly.Keywords: Tai chi, sleep, balance 

An educational intervention to improve hand hygiene compliance in Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Phan, Hang Thi; Tran, Hang Thi Thuy; Tran, Hanh Thi My; Dinh, Anh Pham Phuong; Ngo, Ha Thanh; Theorell-Haglow, Jenny; Gordon, Christopher J

2018-03-07

Hand hygiene compliance is the basis of infection control programs. In developing countries models to improve hand hygiene compliance to reduce healthcare acquired infections are required. The aim of this study was to determine hand hygiene compliance following an educational program in an obstetric and gynecological hospital in Vietnam. Health care workers from neonatal intensive care, delivery suite and a surgical ward from Hung Vuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam undertook a 4-h educational program targeting hand hygiene. Compliance was monitored monthly for six months following the intervention. Hand hygiene knowledge was assessed at baseline and after six months of the study. There were 7124 opportunities over 370 hand hygiene recording sessions with 1531 opportunities at baseline and 1620 at 6 months following the intervention. Hand hygiene compliance increased significantly from baseline across all sites (43.6% [95% Confidence interval CI: 41.1-46.1] to 63% [95% CI: 60.6-65.3]; p hygiene compliance increased significantly after intervention (p hygiene compliance for an extended period of time. Hand hygiene knowledge increased during the intervention. This hand hygiene model could be used in developing countries were resources are limited.

Going wild: Environmental stewardship in the energy industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alexander, C.B.

1997-01-01

When Consumers Power Co., Michigan's largest utility, bought the lake plain acreage in St. Clair County, the company valued the land for what was underneath--potential gas storage fields. But that was before the state informed them that they owned the largest remaining stand of old-growth plain forest in Michigan. Growth rings date one hickory tree to 1796, in George Washington's administration; one white oak may date to 1752, one year before the Liberty Bell was hung in the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia. Today, while Consumers still owns the site, land preservation management is in the hands of the Michigan Nature Association under a conservation, nondevelopment easement. The industry is making way for wildlife for pragmatic as well as idealistic reasons: Conservation, some say, persuades key audiences of a company's good corporate citizenship, which in turn saves the company time and money when it needs public and/or government support. Other proponents stress that land preservation allows wildlife to flourish and stems the current trend of species extinction. Still another group points to the large-sized carrot coming from environmental groups, which have rolled out the welcome mat to business

Consumo hídrico, produtividade e qualidade da cebola sob diferentes manejos de irrigação em cultivo orgânico

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Adheilton Rogers Pilé de Carvalho

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A produtividade e qualidade de bulbos de cebola dependem da quantidade de água aplicada à cultura. Objetivou-se com o presente trabalho determinar o consumo hídrico, a produtividade e a qualidade de cebola submetida a diferentes manejos de irrigação em cultivo orgânico. O experimento foi desenvolvido sob delineamento em blocos casualizados, com três tratamentos e sete repetições. Os tratamentos consistiram de: T1 - irrigação feita com base nos dados diários da evapotranspiração da cultura (ETc; T2 - irrigação efetuada com base em valores de Kc propostos na literatura (Kc-lit para a cebola e ETo obtida pelo método do TCA; e T3 - irrigação efetuada com base nos valores de Kc-lit e a ETo obtida pelo método da FAO. O consumo hídrico da cultura (ETc foi obtido através de medidas diárias em evapotranspirômetros. A evapotranspiração de referência (ETo, obtida através dos métodos do tanque classe A (TCA e Penman-Monteith (FAO. Avaliaram-se as variáveis: diâmetro de bulbos, massa média de bulbos, produtividade total e comercial, sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável e pungência. A ETc variou de 3,9 mm dia-1 (estádio I a 5,8 mm dia-1 (estádio III, atingindo valores máximos diários de até 7,2 mm dia-1 e total para o ciclo da cultura, 563,4 mm. Diferentes manejos de irrigação não promoveram variações significativas na produtividade total da cebola cultivada em sistema orgânico, com valor médio, para os diferentes manejos, em torno de 15 t ha-1. As condições ambientais verificadas durante o período experimental, com temperaturas elevadas, certamente foram determinantes para bulbos de cebola pungente e com baixa acidez.

Diseno de una Actividad de Aprendizaje Basada en la Argumentacion Dialogica en un curso Virtual de Biotecnologia y su Incidencia en el Desarrollo de Competencias Cientificas

Science.gov (United States)

Ortiz Benavides, Fedra Lorena

El proposito de la investigacion fue evaluar la efectividad de una actividad de aprendizaje basado en la argumentacion dialogica en linea y su incidencia en el desarrollo de competencias cientificas. Se fundamenta en la teoria del aprendizaje socio cultural de Vigotsky (1984), los principios del diseno instruccional de la cognicion situada por Hung y Der-Thang (2001) y como estrategia se aplico la argumentacion dialogica utilizando el Modelo Argumentativo de Toulmin MAT (1984). El diseno experimental comparo dos grupos de estudiantes A y B en el curso virtual de Biotecnologia. El grupo A (experimental) desarrollo la discusion a partir de la estrategia disenada para este estudio y el grupo B (control) realizo la discusion desde las actividades tradicionales. El desarrollo de la competencia argumentativa se valoro con el instrumento de evaluacion para argumentacion dialogica en linea propuesta por Clark y Sampson (2008). La evaluacion de las competencias cientificas se realizo a partir de una postprueba. Los datos fueron analizados con pruebas estadisticas no parametricas. Los resultados de la investigacion, indicaron diferencias significativas en el nivel de la competencia argumental en el grupo experimental en comparacion al grupo control. Igualmente se demostro que existe una relacion positiva entre el nivel de desarrollo de la competencia argumentativa y el nivel de desarrollo de las competencias cientificas.

Traditional and robust vector selection methods for use with similarity based models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hines, J. W.; Garvey, D. R.

2006-01-01

Vector selection, or instance selection as it is often called in the data mining literature, performs a critical task in the development of nonparametric, similarity based models. Nonparametric, similarity based modeling (SBM) is a form of 'lazy learning' which constructs a local model 'on the fly' by comparing a query vector to historical, training vectors. For large training sets the creation of local models may become cumbersome, since each training vector must be compared to the query vector. To alleviate this computational burden, varying forms of training vector sampling may be employed with the goal of selecting a subset of the training data such that the samples are representative of the underlying process. This paper describes one such SBM, namely auto-associative kernel regression (AAKR), and presents five traditional vector selection methods and one robust vector selection method that may be used to select prototype vectors from a larger data set in model training. The five traditional vector selection methods considered are min-max, vector ordering, combination min-max and vector ordering, fuzzy c-means clustering, and Adeli-Hung clustering. Each method is described in detail and compared using artificially generated data and data collected from the steam system of an operating nuclear power plant. (authors)

Self-Care Posters Serve as a Low-Cost Option for Physical Activity Promotion of Hospital Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Raney, Marcella; Van Zanten, Erin

2018-03-01

Hospital nurses play an important role in the nation's short- and long-term patient care. At the same time, nurses often experience high levels of occupational stress and participate in low levels of physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of self-monitoring and a poster campaign on the PA behaviors of hospital nurses. Motivational and instructional exercise posters were hung in break rooms of experimental units and replaced biweekly for 8 weeks. A total of 26 nurses (control: n = 13; experimental: n = 13) wore accelerometers for 3 workdays pre-, mid-, and postintervention. Participants were provided a step counter at baseline and a PA report at each stage. Moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) and step count (SC) increased pre- to midintervention for control (MVPA: 14.8 ± 7.6%; SC: 19.1 ± 7.8%) and experimental (MVPA: 26.7 ± 18.5%, SC: 17.6 ± 8.3%) participants. Physical activity levels returned to baseline postintervention for control ( p > .05) and increased mid- to postintervention for experimental (MVPA: 16.2 ± 5.2%, SC: 10.7 ± 4.7%, p poster campaign may increase PA levels of hospital nurses when combined with personalized PA feedback.

Innovated Conceptual Design of Loading Unloading Tool for Livestock at the Port

Science.gov (United States)

Mustakim, Achmad; Hadi, Firmanto

2018-03-01

The condition of loading and unloading process of livestock in a number of Indonesian ports doesn’t meet the principle of animal welfare, which makes cattle lose weight and injury when unloaded. Livestock loading and unloading is done by throwing cattle into the sea one by one, tying cattle hung with a sling strap and push the cattle to the berth directly. This process is against PP. 82 year 2000 on Article 47 and 55 about animal welfare. Innovation of loading and unloading tools design offered are loading and unloading design with garbarata. In the design of loading and unloading tools with garbarata, apply the concept of semi-horizontal hydraulic ladder that connects the ship and truck directly. This livestock unloading equipment design innovation is a combination of fire extinguisher truck design and bridge equipped with weightlifting equipment. In 10 years of planning garbarata, requires a total cost of IDR 321,142,921; gets benefits IDR 923,352,333; and BCR (Benefit-Cost Ratio) Value worth 2.88. BCR value >1 means the tool is feasible applied. The designs of this loading and unloading tools are estimated up to 1 hour faster than existing way. It can also minimize risks such as injury and also weight reduction livestock agencies significantly.

Benzene and toluene concentrations in a hemodialysis room in a medium sized South Korean city.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Moon-Soo; Hong, Joong-Rock; Gil, Hyo-Wook; Yang, Jong-Oh; Lee, Eun-Young; Hong, Sae-Yong; Jun, Yong-Taek; Son, Bu-Soon

2008-09-01

The current study was designed to determine whether the indoor air pollution in a hemodialysis room (HD) was different from that of other comparable areas in a hospital. Five air monitor samplers were hung on the ceiling and placed on the table in both the HD and general ward nursing stations, respectively. In addition, five samplers were placed in the nurse's breathing zone of the HD and the general ward, respectively. Ten air monitor samplers were also placed on the edge of the bed in the HD, which represented the patient's breathing zone. The levels of benzene and toluene were analyzed by GC/MS. In the general ward, the toluene concentration was significantly higher in the nurse breathing zone than that for the ceiling or table samples (p=0.001). The benzene concentration was also significantly higher in the general ward nurse breathing zone than that in the HD (p=0.006). In addition, the benzene concentrations on the table were higher at the general ward as compared to the HD (p=0.028), but there was no significant difference between the ceiling, general ward station and HD. Both the benzene and toluene concentrations in the HD appear to be more affected by the outdoor atmospheric conditions than by any potential indoor internal sources.

"Totenkranz" Who would have thought Hanoi could be such a good setting for a film noir?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Britta Schmitz

2017-02-01

Full Text Available End of January in Hanoi: the Tet-festival – Vietnam’s New Year’s celebration – has brought a pause to the usual hustle and bustle in the city. People have left the capital and returned to their home villages. Even the police headquarters is deserted. This is the only reason why political commissar Hung calls criminal detective Pham Van Ly, who had been suspended from duty 10 months before. An old woman was found dead on a construction site. Only a few hours later a Chinese real estate investor dies from what looks like food poisoning. What first seem to be unrelated incidents turn out to be a series of murders with the killer leaving a track of mysterious funeral wreaths. Ly jumps at the chance for this case as he sees it as the only way to get his suspension lifted. His investigations lead quickly into the corruption and nepotism related to Vietnam’s real estate market. And while the grumpy detective with a taste for Thang Long cigarettes and beer is solving the case, the reader travels into the dark side of Vietnamese society with its corrupt officials, poor farmers and ruthless property sharks from China.

Commercial preslaughter blue light ambience for controlling broiler stress and meat qualities

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Claudia Freitas Barbosa

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The objective of this work was to study the effect of blue light diffuser on the broiler stress control by measuring the occurrence of PSE meat just before slaughtering. Birds were divided into the following two groups before slaughter at the point of being hung on shackles: broiler group under low intensity blue light ambience (475, 17-20 lx and control group under white light (550-650nm, 321-332 lx. Birds' stressful conditions were measured by the occurrence of PSE meat. Breast fillets were classified as PSE meat based on pH ( 53.0. The fillet samples in the control group had the following characteristics: pHu=5.77, L* = 54.26 and b*= 6.27. The fillet samples from birds under blue light ambience had the following characteristics: pHu=5.81, L* = 52.86 and b* = 5.22 (p < 0.05. These results revealed that the treatment of blue light ambience just before slaughtering contributed to the alleviation of ante mortem stress of the birds, which was observed by a 14% decrease in the occurrence of PSE meat. Exposure to blue light just before slaughtering was shown to have potential to be used in modern slaughterhouses to offer a comfortable atmosphere, thereby maintaining breast meat quality.

Acute parietal lobe infarction presenting as Gerstmann’s syndrome and cognitive decline mimicking senile dementia

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Chen TY

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Tien-Yu Chen,1 Chun-Yen Chen,1,3 Che-Hung Yen,2,3 Shin-Chang Kuo,1,3 Yi-Wei Yeh,1,3 Serena Chang,1 San-Yuan Huang1,31Department of Psychiatry, 2Department of Neurology, Tri-Service General Hospital, School of Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, 3Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of ChinaAbstract: Gerstmann’s syndrome encompasses the tetrad of finger agnosia, agraphia, acalculia, and right-left confusion. An elderly man with a history of several cardiovascular diseases was initially brought to the psychiatric outpatient department by his family because of worsening of recent memory, executive function, and mixed anxious-depressive mood. Gerstmann’s syndrome without obvious motor function impairment and dementia-like features could be observed at first. Emergent brain computed tomography scan revealed new left-middle cerebral artery infarction over the left posterior parietal lobe. This case reminds us that acute cerebral infarction involving the parietal lobe may present as Gerstmann’s syndrome accompanied by cognitive decline mimicking dementia. As a result, emergent organic workups should be arranged, especially for elderly patients at high risk for cerebral vascular accident.Keywords: Gerstmann’s syndrome, dementia, parietal lobe infarction

The effect of chalk on the finger-hold friction coefficient in rock climbing.

Science.gov (United States)

Amca, Arif Mithat; Vigouroux, Laurent; Aritan, Serdar; Berton, Eric

2012-11-01

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of chalk on the friction coefficient between climber's fingers and two different rock types (sandstone and limestone). The secondary purpose was to investigate the effects of humidity and temperature on the friction coefficient and on the influence of chalk. Eleven experienced climbers took part in this study and 42 test sessions were performed. Participants hung from holds which were fixed on a specially designed hang board. The inclination of the hang board was progressively increased until the climber's hand slipped from the holds. The angle of the hang board was simultaneously recorded by using a gyroscopic sensor and the friction coefficient was calculated at the moment of slip. The results showed that there was a significant positive effect of chalk on the coefficient of friction (+18.7% on limestone and +21.6% on sandstone). Moreover sandstone had a higher coefficient of friction than limestone (+15.6% without chalk, +18.4% with chalk). These results confirmed climbers' belief that chalk enhances friction. However, no correlation with humidity/temperature and friction coefficient was noted which suggested that additional parameters should be considered in order to understand the effects of climate on finger friction in rock climbing.

CRITICAL COMPONENTS OF ONLINE LEARNING READINESS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH LEARNER ACHIEVEMENT

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Harun CIGDEM

2016-04-01

Full Text Available This study aimed to examine the relationship between certain factors of online learning readiness and learners’ end-of-course achievements. The study was conducted at a two-year post-secondary Turkish military school within the scope of the course titled Computer Literacy, which was designed and implemented in a blended way. The data were collected from 155 post-secondary military students through an online questionnaire. Three sub-scales of Hung et al.’s Online Learning Readiness Scale were used to collect the data during the first two weeks of the course. Descriptive and inferential statistics, such as Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses were performed to analyze the data. The descriptive results of the study indicated that students’ motivation for online learning was higher than both their computer/Internet self-efficacy and their orientations to self-directed learning. The inferential results revealed that the students’ end-of-course grades had significantly positive relationships with their computer/Internet self-efficacy and self-directed learning orientations. Finally, the students’ self-direction towards online learning appeared to be the strongest predictor of their achievements within the course; whereas computer/Internet self-efficacy and motivation for learning did not predict the learner achievement significantly.

[Use of stairs in a hospital increased by a sign near the stairs or the elevator].

Science.gov (United States)

Houweling, S T; Stoopendaal, J; Kleefstra, N; Meyboom-de Jong, B; Bilo, H J G

2005-12-24

To investigate whether signs encouraging taking the stairs or discouraging taking the elevator lead to an increasing number of patients taking the stairs instead of the elevator in a hospital. Interventional study. During a period of 6 weeks in the period October-December 2004, an investigator recorded how many patients took the stairs and how many took the elevator on the first floor of a hospital close to a diabetes outpatient clinic. A baseline measurement was done over a period of 2 weeks and 4 weeks were used for evaluating the effect of 2 different interventions, each lasting 2 weeks. During the first intervention, a sign was hung up near the elevator, which read: 'Exercise is healthy, take the stairs'. During the second intervention the sign read: 'Use of this elevator is exclusively for personnel and persons with restricted mobility'. Staff members and disabled patients were excluded from the study. A total of 2674 movements were counted. Use of the stairs increased statistically significantly during both interventions: from 54.6% to 63.4% during the first intervention and to 70.4% during the second intervention. Signs in a diabetes outpatient clinic that either encouraged the use of the stairs or discouraged the use of the elevator increased the patients' use of the stairs.

An investigation into the cognition behind spontaneous string pulling in New Caledonian crows.

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Alex H Taylor

Full Text Available The ability of some bird species to pull up meat hung on a string is a famous example of spontaneous animal problem solving. The "insight" hypothesis claims that this complex behaviour is based on cognitive abilities such as mental scenario building and imagination. An operant conditioning account, in contrast, would claim that this spontaneity is due to each action in string pulling being reinforced by the meat moving closer and remaining closer to the bird on the perch. We presented experienced and naïve New Caledonian crows with a novel, visually restricted string-pulling problem that reduced the quality of visual feedback during string pulling. Experienced crows solved this problem with reduced efficiency and increased errors compared to their performance in standard string pulling. Naïve crows either failed or solved the problem by trial and error learning. However, when visual feedback was available via a mirror mounted next to the apparatus, two naïve crows were able to perform at the same level as the experienced group. Our results raise the possibility that spontaneous string pulling in New Caledonian crows may not be based on insight but on operant conditioning mediated by a perceptual-motor feedback cycle.

Design and construction of Ogawa bridge; Ogawa bashi no sekkei to seko

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hori, T.; Chigira, F. [Kajima Corp., Tokyo (Japan); Sakao, H.

1995-09-30

Ogawa bridge 230m long by 15.5m wide has been planned on the national road No.401 at Katashina-mura in Gunma Prefecture. Structure mode is two spans continuous PC cable-stayed obliquely system, and a main tower is H type (height: 56m from the road surface) and is located at the center of the bridge alone. This place corresponding to the entrance of Oze famous national park, the main tower is designed so as to have bulge, imaging Mizubasho (lysichiton camtschatcense), from the middle part of the pier to the lower part of the main tower. Arrangement of the cables is designed as two faces of hung fun type and one side face is composed of 13 steel strands (dia. 15.2mm wire x 27 (partly 19); covered with PE tube) in front and rear respectively. A main girder is the box type PC block 2.3m height by 4m or 3m long, and 3m long one is for fastening with a cable. Centering on the main tower, the girder blocks are successively connected in front and rare alternatively and are fastened with cables in part. This overhanging connection work is carried out by two special movable conveyers `Wagens`. 26 figs., 2 tabs.

pH-Responsive therapeutic solid lipid nanoparticles for reducing P-glycoprotein-mediated drug efflux of multidrug resistant cancer cells

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Chen HH

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Hsin-Hung Chen,1 Wen-Chia Huang,2 Wen-Hsuan Chiang,2 Te-I Liu,2 Ming-Yin Shen,2,3 Yuan-Hung Hsu,4 Sung-Chyr Lin,1 Hsin-Cheng Chiu2 1Department of Chemical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, 2Department of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, 3Department of Surgery, National Taiwan University Hospital-Hsinchu Branch, 4Pharmaceutical Optimization Technology Division, Biomedical Technology and Device Research Laboratory, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsinchu, Taiwan Abstract: In this study, a novel pH-responsive cholesterol-PEG adduct-coated solid lipid nanoparticles (C-PEG-SLNs carrying doxorubicin (DOX capable of overcoming multidrug resistance (MDR breast cancer cells is presented. The DOX-loaded SLNs have a mean hydrodynamic diameter of ~100 nm and a low polydispersity index (under 0.20 with a high drug-loading efficiency ranging from 80.8% to 90.6%. The in vitro drug release profiles show that the DOX-loaded SLNs exhibit a pH-controlled drug release behavior with the maximum and minimum unloading percentages of 63.4% at pH 4.7 and 25.2% at pH 7.4, respectively. The DOX-loaded C-PEG-SLNs displayed a superior ability in inhibiting the proliferation of MCF-7/MDR cells. At a DOX concentration of 80 µM, the cell viabilities treated with C-PEG-SLNs were approximately one-third of the group treated with free DOX. The inhibition activity of C-PEG-SLNs could be attributed to the transport of C-PEG to cell membrane, leading to the change of the composition of the cell membrane and thus the inhibition of permeability glycoprotein activity. This hypothesis is supported by the confocal images showing the accumulation of DOX in the nuclei of cancer cells and the localization of C-PEG on the cell membranes. The results of in vivo study further demonstrated that the DOX delivered by the SLNs accumulates predominantly in tumor via enhanced permeability and retention effect, the

Cognitive Style and Mobile E-Learning in Emergent Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Disorders for Millennial Undergraduate Medical Students: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Li-Ang; Chao, Yi-Ping; Huang, Chung-Guei; Fang, Ji-Tseng; Wang, Shu-Ling; Chuang, Cheng-Keng; Kang, Chung-Jan; Hsin, Li-Jen; Lin, Wan-Ni; Fang, Tuan-Jen; Li, Hsueh-Yu

2018-02-13

different cognitive styles. Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02971735; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02971735 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6waoOpCEV). ©Li-Ang Lee, Yi-Ping Chao, Chung-Guei Huang, Ji-Tseng Fang, Shu-Ling Wang, Cheng-Keng Chuang, Chung-Jan Kang, Li-Jen Hsin, Wan-Ni Lin, Tuan-Jen Fang, Hsueh-Yu Li. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 13.02.2018.

ÜBERBLICK AUF DIE SCHRIFTLICHE UND ELEKTRONISCHE PRESSE IN DER TURKEI

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Güven BÜYÜKBAYKAL

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Das Thema dieser Arbeit ist die Entwicklungen der schriftlichen Presse und der elektronischen Presse in der Türkei. Auberdem wurden die Veranderungen, die die Technologie gebracht hat, zu den Wirkungen in der schriftlichen und elektronischen Presse berührt. Der Import von teurer und verschwenderischer Technologie, die Tatsache, dass die Erhöhung der Eingabepreise den Vertriebspreisen von Zeitungen nicht entgegenkommen konnte, und der sich mit den 80'igern beschleunigende Werbe-Promotionswettbewerb erhöhten die Gestehungskosten im Pressesektor und brachten das Monopol mit sich. Die Neigung zum Monopol wirkte negativ auf die Nachrichtenproduktion, -Verteilung und die Gedankenfreiheit; die Arbeitsbedingungen und die Beschaffenheitsrechte der Pressearbeiter wurden eingeschrankt. Werbungen und unser Magazintage sind der Schwerpunkt der türkischen Presse. Exklusive - reiche Massen, Prominente, die man als 'Gesellschaftssahne' bezeichnet, Sanger und Sangerinnen die in Fernsehprogrammen berühmt wurden, und das private Leben von Entertainern haben einen groBen Platz in der Presse. Nachrichten, die die Gesellschaft oder die Zukunft des Landes interessieren, können bewusst auBer Acht gelassen werden und die Tagung besteht meistens aus Gerüchten mit vielen Bildern und groBen Buchstaben, die überhaupt keinen Nachrichtenwert haben. Letztendlich sollte man Zeitungen zum lesen und nicht zum anschauen drucken. Eine Zeitung sollte nicht mit dem Fernsehen oder dem Internet konkurrieren sondern in ihrer eigenen Rennstrecke bleiben.

Stories with and about wall carpets. An anthropological account on the inhabitation of Ursari Romanian Roma

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Andreea Racleş

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to discuss the ways in which objects assist us in telling small stories about our positions in relation to our inhabited space, but also in relation to perceived dichotomised categories like us-others, the modern-the outmoded, civilized-backward. Acknowledging that narratives emerge from interactions between people, this paper is an attempt to show that an important role in the emergence of stories is played by interactions between people and objects. The wall carpets hung by Ursari Roma from a north-eastern Romanian town and the stories developed with and about these items constitute the main focus of this analysis. From an anthropological and material culture perspective, wall carpets are discussed as material presences in storytelling events and as objects of experience-centred stories that assist Roma people in negotiating and enacting their identities and belongings. Taking a cue from Georgakopoulou, who argues that narratives count on both discourses and activities (2007, home making practices and domestic activities (such as those related to the maintenance of the wall carpets are essential to this paper, as they enable an understanding of the “performative narrative of daily life” (Langellier 2004. The analysis is based on ethnographic material collected in 2014 in the aforementioned community, while the unit of analysis consists of excerpts from discussions with two Roma families, which became storytelling episodes.

Dose rate in the reactor room and environment during maintenance in fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maki, Koichi; Satoh, Satoshi; Takatsu, Hideyuki; Seki, Yasushi

1995-01-01

According to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) conceptual design activity, after reactor shutdown, damaged segments are pulled up from the reactor and hung from the reactor room ceiling by a remote handling device. The dose rate in the reactor room and the environment is estimated for this situation, and the following results are obtained. First, the dose rate in the room is > 10 8 μSv/h. Since this dose rate is 10 7 times greater than the biological radiation shielding design limit of 25 μSv/h, workers cannot enter the room. Second, lenses and optical fiber composed of glass that is radiation resistant up to 10 6 Gy would be damaged after <100 h near the segment, and devices using semiconductors could not work after several hours or so in the aforementioned dose-rate conditions. Third, during suspension of one blanket segment from the ceiling, the dose rate in the site boundary can be reduced by one order by a 23-cm-thicker reactor building roof. To reduce dose rate in public exposure to a value that is less than one-tenth of the public exposure radiation shielding design limit of 100 μSv/yr, the distance of the site boundary from the reactor must be greater than 200 m for a reactor building with a 160-cm-thick concrete roof. 9 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs

Taxonomic survey of Drosophilidae (Diptera) from mangrove forests of Santa Catarina Island, Southern Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Hermes J; Valente, Vera L S; Hofmann, Paulo R P

2007-01-01

Assemblages of drosophilids have been characterised in several environments of the Brazilian territory, like the Atlantic Rain Forest, urban areas, cerrados, the Amazon Forest, and others. The present survey is the first attempt to characterise the fauna of Drosophilidae in mangrove forests, an environment typical of tropical coasts worldwide. Twenty-eight samples were collected from the three main mangrove forests of Santa Catarina Island, southern Brazil, using banana-baited traps hung in trees. Samples were taken in January (summer), April (autumn), July (winter) and October (spring) between July 2002 and July 2005. In total, 82,942 specimens of drosophilids were caught, belonging to 69 species of six genera - Amiota Loew, Drosophila Fallén, Leucophenga Mik, Scaptodrosophila Duda, Zaprionus Coquillett and Zygothrica Wiedemann. The high abundance of D. simulans Sturtevant was remarkable, with some notable peaks of D. malerkotliana Parshad & Paika in autumn samples. Other common species were Zaprionus indianus Gupta, D. mediostriata Duda and D. willistoni Sturtevant. We also collected 45,826 flies of family Curtonotidae, the sister-group of Drosophilidae virtually absent in other environments. The assemblages of drosophilids were very similar in the three mangrove forests surveyed, despite the different surrounding environments. In general, the species sampled in the mangroves were the same as those observed in the surrounding environments, but in varying abundances. This suggests that drosophilids are differently affected by environmental pressures operating in mangroves.

Captured by Aliens

Science.gov (United States)

Achenbach, Joel

2000-03-01

Captured by Aliens is a long and twisted voyage from science to the supernatural and back again. I hung out in Roswell, N.M., spent time with the Mars Society, met a guy who was figuring out the best way to build a spaceship to go to Alpha Centauri. I visited the set of the X-Files and talked to Mulder and Scully. One day over breakfast I was told by NASA administrator Dan Goldin, We live in a fog, man! He wants the big answers to the big questions. I spent a night in the base of a huge radio telescope in the boondocks of West Virginia, awaiting the signal from the aliens. I was hypnotized in a hotel room by someone who suspected that I'd been abducted by aliens and that this had triggered my interest in the topic. In the last months of his life, I talked to Carl Sagan, who believed that the galaxy riots with intelligent civilizations. He's my hero, for his steadfast adherence to the scientific method. What I found in all this is that the big question that needs immediate attention is not what's out THERE, but what's going on HERE, on Earth, and why we think the way we do, and how we came to be here in the first place.

Approach for growth of high-quality and large protein crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Matsumura, Hiroyoshi, E-mail: matsumura@chem.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan); Sugiyama, Shigeru; Hirose, Mika; Kakinouchi, Keisuke; Maruyama, Mihoko; Murai, Ryota [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); Adachi, Hiroaki; Takano, Kazufumi [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan); Murakami, Satoshi [JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan); Graduate School of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Nagatsuta, Midori-ku, Yokohama 226-8501 (Japan); Mori, Yusuke; Inoue, Tsuyoshi [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); JST (Japan); SOSHO Inc., Osaka 541-0053 (Japan)

2011-01-01

Three crystallization methods, including crystallization in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel, top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) and a large-scale hanging-drop method, have previously been presented. In this study, crystallization has been further evaluated in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel by crystallizing additional proteins. A novel crystallization method combining TSSG and the large-scale hanging-drop method has also been developed. Three crystallization methods for growing large high-quality protein crystals, i.e. crystallization in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel, top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) and a large-scale hanging-drop method, have previously been presented. In this study the effectiveness of crystallization in the presence of a semi-solid agarose gel has been further evaluated by crystallizing additional proteins in the presence of 2.0% (w/v) agarose gel, resulting in complete gelification with high mechanical strength. In TSSG the seed crystals are hung by a seed holder protruding from the top of the growth vessel to prevent polycrystallization. In the large-scale hanging-drop method, a cut pipette tip was used to maintain large-scale droplets consisting of protein–precipitant solution. Here a novel crystallization method that combines TSSG and the large-scale hanging-drop method is reported. A large and single crystal of lysozyme was obtained by this method.

Contamination of environmental surfaces by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in rooms of inpatients with MRSA-positive body sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Kurashige, E Jessica Ohashi; Oie, Shigeharu; Furukawa, H

2016-01-01

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can contaminate environmental surfaces that are frequently touched by the hands of patients with MRSA colonization/infection. There have been many studies in which the presence or absence of MRSA contamination was determined but no studies in which MRSA contamination levels were also evaluated in detail. We evaluated MRSA contamination of environmental surfaces (overbed tables, bed side rails, and curtains) in the rooms of inpatients from whom MRSA was isolated via clinical specimens. We examined the curtains within 7-14 days after they had been newly hung. The environmental surfaces were wiped using gauze (molded gauze for wiping of surface bacteria; 100% cotton, 4cm×8cm) moistened with sterile physiological saline. The MRSA contamination rate and mean counts (range) were 25.0% (6/24 samples) and 30.6 (0-255)colony-forming units (cfu)/100cm(2), respectively, for the overbed tables and 31.6% (6/19 samples) and 159.5 (0-1620)cfu/100cm(2), respectively, for the bed side rails. No MRSA was detected in 24 curtain samples. The rate of MRSA contamination of environmental surfaces was high for the overbed tables and bed side rails but low for the curtains. Therefore, at least until the 14th day of use, frequent disinfection of curtains may be not necessary. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.

Potential of filter-vermicomposter for household wastewater pre-treatment and sludge sanitisation on site.

Science.gov (United States)

Gajurel, D; Deegener, S; Shalabi, M; Otterpohl, R

2007-01-01

Septic tank systems have been widely used to separate and digest solid matter in the household wastewater for a long time. However, they contaminate groundwater with pathogens and nutrients and deprive agriculture of valuable nutrients and soil conditioner from human excreta. Compared with septic tank systems the filter-composter (Rottebehaelter), which usually consists of an underground monolithic concrete tank having two filter beds at its bottom or two filter bags that are hung side by side and used alternately at intervals of 6-12 months, is an efficient component for solid-liquid separation, pre-treatment and collection/storage of solid matter in household wastewater. The solids are retained and decompose in the filter bags or on the filter bed while the liquid filters through. However, because of the high moisture content of the retained solids decomposition is slow. Therefore, secondary treatment of the retained solids is required for sanitisation. The breakthrough was the combination of vermicomposting with the filter-composter system. Relatively dry and stable retained materials were obtained in the filter bags in about 3 months only. No secondary treatment is required as the human excreta will be converted to vermicastings, which are hygienically safe and can be reused as soil conditioner. Therefore, further development of the filter-composter with vermicomposting is worthwhile, especially the aspects of sanitisation of the faecal matter and its reuse as a soil conditioner.

Custom design of a hanging cooling water power generating system applied to a sensitive cooling water discharge weir in a seaside power plant: A challenging energy scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian, Chuan Min; Jaffar, Mohd Narzam; Ramji, Harunal Rejan; Abdullah, Mohammad Omar

2015-01-01

In this study, an innovative design of hydro-electricity system was applied to an unconventional site in an attempt to generate electricity from the exhaust cooling water of a coal-fired power plant. Inspired by the idea of micro hydro, present study can be considered new in three aspects: design, resource and site. This system was hung at a cooling water discharge weir, where all sorts of civil work were prohibited and sea water was used as the cooling water. It was designed and fabricated in the university's mechanical workshop and transported to the site for installation. The system was then put into proof run for a three-month period and achieved some success. Due to safety reasons, on-site testing was prohibited by the power plant authority. Hence, most data was acquired from the proof run. The driving system efficiency was tested in the range of 25% and 45% experimentally while modeling results came close to experimental results. Payback period for the system is estimated to be about 4.23 years. Result obtained validates the feasibility of the overall design under the sensitive site application. - Highlights: • Challenging energy scheme via a hanging cooling water power generating system. • Driving system efficiency was tested in the range of 25% and 45%. • Payback period for the system is estimated to be about 4.2 years

Error diffusion applied to the manipulation of liquid-crystal display subpixels

Science.gov (United States)

Dallas, William J.; Fan, Jiahua; Roehrig, Hans; Krupinski, Elizabeth A.

2004-05-01

Flat-panel displays based on liquid crystal technology are becoming widely used in the medical imaging arena. Despite the impressive capabilities of presently-existing panels, some medical images push their boundaries. We are working with mammograms that contain up to 4800 x 6400 14-bit pixels. Stated differently, these images contain 30 mega-pixels each. In the standard environment, for film viewing, the mammograms are hung four-up, i.e. four images are located side by side. Because many of the LCD panels used for monochrome display of medical images are based on color models, the pixels of the panels are divided into sub-pixels. These sub-pixels vary in their numbers and in the degrees of independence. Manufacturers have used both spatial and temporal modulation of these sub-pixels to improve the quality of images presented by the monitors. In this presentation we show how the sub-pixel structure of some present and future displays can be used to attain higher spatial resolution than the full-pixel resolution specification would suggest while also providing increased contrast resolution. The error diffusion methods we discuss provide a natural way of controlling sub-pixels and implementing trade-offs. In smooth regions of the image contrast resolution can maximized. In rapidly-varying regions of the image spatial resolution can be favored.

Fundamental examinations for the mechanisation of the support work in headings by blasting and by using selective cut heading machines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stoecker, H.M.; Luerig, H.J.

1982-01-01

Starting from the results of a stock-taking of the support methods used up to now and from exact analyses of the situation in the heading field, a concept will be elaborated with the aim, in addition to the reduction of the well-known high physical strain by the setting of the support, of rationalization of this partial procedure in case of conventional heading. The principal item is a floor-connected transportation and erection-vehicle with electro-hydraulic drive and an adjustable erection deck, which permits a fully mechanised setting of the support inclusive the side sections. By a transversible novel drilling equipment hung up at the roof of a drift a parallelization of different procedures and therewith a rationalization effect can be reached at the same time. The concept of this realizability will be demonstrated at a volume - right and power - right heading model on a scale 1:5. The developed equipment consist of operationally approved single aggregates and for the test they can also be used separately. Therewith a gradual introduction of the system is possible. At the beginning a provisional safety equipment for the direct at the face area will be introduced for the selective cut heading machine driving. According to the actual stage of the first considerations the main disadvantage of the safety equipment is the insufficient stock safety and its outrigger at the support already set.

Manufacture and testing of the CTB&SBB thermal shield for the ITER magnet feeder system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lu, Kun; Liu, Chen; Song, Yuntao; Feng, Hansheng; Ding, Kaizhong, E-mail: kzding@ipp.ac.cn; Wang, Tanbin; Ji, Hui

2015-10-15

The system of International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) feeders is responsible for the power, helium cooling, and instrumentation of the magnets of the coil terminal box and S-bend box (CTB&SBB) thermal shield outside the cryostat. An 80-K rectangular Al thermal shield is hung inside the CTB&SBB to reduce the thermal radiation heat loads of 4.5-K helium. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) will supply all the 31 sets of feeders for ITER. A manufactured prototype of CTB&SBB thermal shield is first quality-tested before the commencement of the series production. First, a detailed configuration of the rectangular Al thermal shield is presented in this article. The paper also presents more information on the manufacturing process of the thermal shield, especially the welding process, the procedure for ensuring good weld quality, and the use of a specially designed tool to ensure <5-mm deformation on such a 7.3-m-long thermal shield during welding. In addition, the cold test and results, including the cooling process with 13-bar and 17.5-g/s 80-K He gas, and the temperature distribution on different panels of the thermal shield are presented. The whole process of manufacture and testing lays a good foundation for the series production of the thermal shield.

Zwischen "Arzt spielen", "Work-Life-Balance" und "Highend-Medizin". Wird "hegemoniale Männlichkeit" in der Medizin herausgefordert?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katharina Rothe

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Wir diskutieren die Frage, ob eine sogenannte "Feminisierung" bestehende "maskuline" Machtstrukturen in der Medizin herausfordert. Die Rede von der "Feminisierung der Medizin" setzt sowohl die "Maskulinität" voraus als auch deren Veränderung durch die Erhöhung des Frauenanteils. Wir stellen die Kontrastanalyse zweier Gruppendiskussionen aus der Längsschnittstudie Karriereverläufe und Karrierebrüche bei Ärztinnen und Ärzten während der fachärztlichen Weiterbildung (KarMed vor; eine Diskussion mit angehenden Ärztinnen und eine mit angehenden Ärzten. Als manifestes Thema wurde Geschlechtlichkeit in beiden Diskussionen im diskursiven Kontext der sogenannten "Feminisierung" eingeführt – bezeichnenderweise im Kontrast zur gleichsam mythisch aufgeladenen Maskulinität der Chirurgie. Das Material unserer Gruppendiskussionen verweist auf eine nach wie vor maskuline Norm im Selbstverständnis der angehenden Ärztinnen und Ärzte. Die Männerrunde konstituierte sich als Gruppe der Ärzteschaft bei allen Differenzen wie selbstverständlich als männliche Norm. Die Frauengruppe konstituierte sich über eine geteilte Identifikation als "Frauen in der Medizin". Das Material wurde mit Methoden der psychoanalytischen Sozialforschung interpretiert und wird in diesem Beitrag im Hinblick auf die Begriffe der Feminisierung und der hegemonialen Männlichkeit diskutiert. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1601159

Stress-rupture lifetimes of organic fiber-epoxy strands and pressure vessels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hahn, H.T.; Chiu, I.L.; Gates, T.L.

1979-01-01

Long-term behavior of filament-wound pressure vessels were tested, Kevlar 49 epoxy strands were studied in stress-rupture for more than a year. Because the strands are the smallest structural unit in filament winding, their behavior directly controls the performance of vessels. Five different stress levels were studied: 86, 80, 74, 68, and 50% of the mean ultimate tensile strength (UTS). At each stress level, approximately one-hundred strands were hung in a room maintained at 22 to 24 0 C and below 20% relative humidity. Failure times were automatically recorded by a data acquisition system. Lifetimes were analyzed statistically using a two-parameter Weibull distribution. The maximum-likelihood method was used to estimate the parameters. The shape parameter, which is a measure of scatter and failure-rate change, increased with decreasing stress level. Less scatter and increasing failure rates were observed at lower stresses. There was no sign of an endurance limit down to 68% UTS. At 50% UTS no failure had yet occurred after 9000 h. The strand data were compared with data on lifetimes of pressure vessels wound with the same fiber and epoxy. The strands had slightly longer characteristic lifetimes, except at 86% UTS, and slightly less scatter, except at 68% UTS. The results of this study indicate that strands can provide valuable information about the long-term performance of filament-wound pressure vessels

Confinement Sensing and Signal Optimization via Piezo1/PKA and Myosin II Pathways

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Chien Hung

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Summary: Cells adopt distinct signaling pathways to optimize cell locomotion in different physical microenvironments. However, the underlying mechanism that enables cells to sense and respond to physical confinement is unknown. Using microfabricated devices and substrate-printing methods along with FRET-based biosensors, we report that, as cells transition from unconfined to confined spaces, intracellular Ca2+ level is increased, leading to phosphodiesterase 1 (PDE1-dependent suppression of PKA activity. This Ca2+ elevation requires Piezo1, a stretch-activated cation channel. Moreover, differential regulation of PKA and cell stiffness in unconfined versus confined cells is abrogated by dual, but not individual, inhibition of Piezo1 and myosin II, indicating that these proteins can independently mediate confinement sensing. Signals activated by Piezo1 and myosin II in response to confinement both feed into a signaling circuit that optimizes cell motility. This study provides a mechanism by which confinement-induced signaling enables cells to sense and adapt to different physical microenvironments. : Hung et al. demonstrate that a Piezo1-dependent intracellular calcium increase negatively regulates protein kinase A (PKA as cells transit from unconfined to confined spaces. The Piezo1/PKA and myosin II signaling modules constitute two confinement-sensing mechanisms. This study provides a paradigm by which signaling enables cells to sense and adapt to different microenvironments.

Citation Analysis for the Modern Instructor: An Integrated Review of Emerging Research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chris Piotrowski

2013-07-01

Full Text Available While online instructors may be versed in conducting e-Research (Hung, 2012; Thelwall, 2009, today’s faculty are probably less familiarized with the rapidly advancing fields of bibliometrics and informetrics. One key feature of research in these areas is Citation Analysis, a rather intricate operational feature available in modern indexes such as Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO. This paper reviews the recent extant research on bibliometrics within the context of citation analysis. Particular focus is on empirical studies, review essays, and critical commentaries on citation-based metrics across interdisciplinary academic areas. Research that relates to the interface between citation analysis and applications in higher education is discussed. Some of the attributes and limitations of citation operations of contemporary databases that offer citation searching or cited reference data are presented. This review concludes that: a citation-based results can vary largely and contingent on academic discipline or specialty area, b databases, that offer citation options, rely on idiosyncratic methods, coverage, and transparency of functions, c despite initial concerns, research from open access journals is being cited in traditional periodicals, and d the field of bibliometrics is rather perplex with regard to functionality and research is advancing at an exponential pace. Based on these findings, online instructors would be well served to stay abreast of developments in the field.

From the curve of the snake, and the scene of the crocodile: musings on learning and losing space, place and body

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Gannon

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Where else can educational research begin and end, if not with the body of the researcher, if not with the particular material/ corporeal/ affective assemblages that this body is and has been part of? This paper traces the mutual constitution of bodies, identities and landscapes through memory as the body of this educator travels through multiple scenes of geo-spatial-temporal movement, and down the east coast of Australia. This movement parallels the movement from being a school teacher to becoming an academic. Throughout the paper landscape is foregrounded, and the body in landscape is evoked through poetic and literary modes of writing around the themes of learning and losing. The body in landscape is not merely the body of the writer. Other bodies in the landscape include ‘the curve of the snake’ - the row of protective hills that were said to protect her tropical home from cyclones – and the ‘scene of the crocodile’ – the rock that hung over the valley she passed on her way to school that she had learned of from Indigenous teachers. The political and ethical consequences of memory work, of body and place writing, and of genres of writing in educational research, are also considered. The paper argues for an embodied and reflexive literacy of place that incorporates multiple modes of knowing, being and writing.

The Landscape of the Gibbet

Science.gov (United States)

Tarlow, Sarah; Dyndor, Zoe

2015-01-01

ABSTRACT From the Murder Act of 1752 until the Anatomy Act of 1832 it was forbidden to bury the bodies of executed murderers unless they had first been anatomised or ‘hung in chains’ (gibbeted). This paper considers some of the observations of the Wellcome-funded project ‘Harnessing the Power of the Criminal Corpse’ as they relate to the practice of gibbeting. The nature of hanging in chains is briefly described before an extensive discussion of the criteria by which gibbets, which often remained standing for many decades, were selected. These are: proximity to the scene of crime, visibility, and practicality. Exceptions, in the forms of those sentenced by the Admiralty Courts, and those sentenced in and around London, are briefly considered. Hanging in chains was an infrequent punishment (anatomical dissection was far more frequently practised) but it was the subject of huge public interest and attracted thousands of people. There was no specified time for which a body should remain hanging, and the gibbet often became a known landmark and a significant place in the landscape. There is a remarkable contrast between anatomical dissection, which obliterates and anonymises the body of the individual malefactor, and hanging in chains, which leaves a highly personalised and enduring imprint on the actual and imaginative landscape. PMID:27335506

Influence of the weighing bar position in vessel on measurement of cement’s particle size distribution by using the buoyancy weighing-bar method

Science.gov (United States)

Tambun, R.; Sihombing, R. O.; Simanjuntak, A.; Hanum, F.

2018-02-01

The buoyancy weighing-bar method is a new simple and cost-effective method to determine the particle size distribution both settling and floating particle. In this method, the density change in a suspension due to particle migration is measured by weighing buoyancy against a weighing-bar hung in the suspension, and then the particle size distribution is calculated using the length of the bar and the time-course change in the mass of the bar. The apparatus of this method consists of a weighing-bar and an analytical balance with a hook for under-floor weighing. The weighing bar is used to detect the density change in suspension. In this study we investigate the influences of position of weighing bar in vessel on settling particle size distribution measurements of cement by using the buoyancy weighing-bar method. The vessel used in this experiment is graduated cylinder with the diameter of 65 mm and the position of weighing bar is in center and off center of vessel. The diameter of weighing bar in this experiment is 10 mm, and the kerosene is used as a dispersion liquids. The results obtained show that the positions of weighing bar in vessel have no significant effect on determination the cement’s particle size distribution by using buoyancy weighing-bar method, and the results obtained are comparable to those measured by using settling balance method.

Restoring proximal caries lesions conservatively with tunnel restorations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chu CH

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Chun-Hung Chu1, May L Mei,1 Chloe Cheung,1 Romesh P Nalliah2 1Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials Sciences, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA Abstract: The tunnel restoration has been suggested as a conservative alternative to the conventional box preparation for treating proximal caries. The main advantage of tunnel restoration over the conventional box or slot preparation includes being more conservative and increasing tooth integrity and strength by preserving the marginal ridge. However, tunnel restoration is technique-sensitive and can be particularly challenging for inexperienced restorative dentists. Recent advances in technology, such as the contemporary design of dental handpieces with advanced light-emitting diode (LED and handheld comfort, offer operative dentists better vision, illumination, and maneuverability. The use of magnifying loupes also enhances the visibility of the preparation. The advent of digital radiographic imaging has improved dental imaging and reduced radiation. The new generation of restorative materials has improved mechanical properties. Tunnel restoration can be an option to restore proximal caries if the dentist performs proper case selection and pays attention to the details of the restorative procedures. This paper describes the clinical technique of tunnel restoration and reviews the studies of tunnel restorations. Keywords: operative, practice, tunnel preparation, composite, amalgam, glass ionomer

Study of phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) collected in a Leishmania-endemic area of the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Gustavo M L; Gontijo, Célia M F; Falcão, Alda L; Andrade Filho, José D

2010-11-01

Phlebotomine sand flies are distributed across nearly all faunal regions of the world, represented by over 800 species, of which many are important vectors of human pathogens. Brazil is currently faced with the expansion and urbanization of leishmaniases, with an increase in the numbers of human cases and seropositive dogs in various medium-sized to large cities. The objective of the current study was to survey the phlebotomine sand fly species in an area endemic for American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) and American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL), i.e., the municipal district of Santa Luzia, lying within the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais. Sand flies were collected monthly in 2004-2005 using modified Falcão light traps hung in the peridomiciles of houses and surrounding wooded areas in the district of Baronesa. A total of 1,552 sand flies belonging to seven species was collected, and an interesting pattern of the distribution of the most abundant species relative to the sampling locality was revealed. In the wooded areas Lutzomyia whitmani (Antunes & Coutinho) predominated, whereas in the urban area Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva) was the most abundant species. These results indicate two possible epidemiological patterns of Leishmania transmission in Santa Luzia: one for American cutaneous leishmaniasis associated predominantly with wooded areas, and another for AVL, with transmission principally occurring around human habitations.

Erection of the Meiko-Central bridge; Meiko chuo ohashi no kasetsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kaneda, S.; Nishikawa, K.; Nagai, Y.; Ishihara, S.; Tsunekawa, M.; Yoshino, S. [Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., Kobe (Japan)

1997-10-20

This is a 1170m-long triple-span continuous steel cable-stayed bridge with the central span measuring 590m, built to traverse Nagoya Port as part of the Isewangan highway. The 190m-high main towers are A-shaped, and have an octagonal cross section to stay stable against winds. The joints were designed to be welded mainly on the spot so as not to affect the surrounding landscape, and in this welding process the achievement of prescribed accuracy was the important technological task. The main girder was a 37m-wide multi-chamber/single-box type, and the steel stabs were installed by on-site welding. Since the erection was carried out above the ship course, a method was used in which the main girder was hung over with the cable stretched long, which demanded constant prudence to assure accuracy throughout the work. The cable is a 17-stage 2-face multi-fan type, a semi-parallel wire strand coated with polyethylene and white fluoroethylene resin. As for accuracy management for erection, it was accomplished by adjusting the amount of shim introduced into each of the four cables every time one stage of cable was erected for the side span and central span. Every accuracy management requirement met the target value with an adequate margin. 6 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs.

Revival of the Moral Traditions in Red Army During the Great Patriotic War

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugene G. Guzhva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, it is important to analyze the moral factors that contributed to the uplift in the Red Army and the manifestation of mass heroism to defend the Fatherland. During the ordeal, when the fate of the country hung in the balance, the Soviet leadership was forced to revert to the heroic pages of national history and raise the patriotic spirit and the offensive of the armed forces on the front and high productivity at home. Since the 40s of the 19th century in the Russian army it was considered a holy tradition to start the evening roll call from the heroes. During the Great Patriotic War, the tradition was revived. Thus, according to the order of People's Commissar of Defense of the September 8,1943 the hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Matrosov was enlisted in the lists of the 1st company of 254-th Guards Rifle Regiment. Thus, the traditions of the Russian army, revived during the Great Patriotic War, testifies to their eternal spiritual values in matters of moral and patriotic education of servicemen of the Russian armed forces. This historical and pedagogical analysis is of great importance for the spiritual, moral and patriotic education of youth and soldiers of the Russian army at the present stage of development of society.

Acute pulmonary embolism in helical computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paslawski, M.

2005-01-01

Pulmonary embolism is a common condition in which diagnostic and therapeutic delays contribute to substantial morbidity and mortality. Clinical diagnosis is difficult because the signs and symptoms re unspecific, and a differential diagnosis is extensive, including pneumonia or bronchitis, asthma, myocardial infraction, pulmonary edema, anxiety, dissection of the aorta, pericardial tamponade, lung cancer, primary pulmonary hypertension, rib fracture, and pneumothorax. The purpose of the study was to present the use of CT in diagnosing acute pulmonary embolism. A group of 23 patients with clinically suspected pulmonary embolism underwent CT examination with a helical CT scanner (Somatom Emotion, Siemens) before and after administration of 150 ml of Ultravist. Pulmonary embolism was found in the CT examinations of 13 patients. In two of these it was a central filling defect. Amputation of the artery was found in one. Parietal filling defect in three patients formed an acute angle with the vessel walls. Saddle emboli appearing as filling defects in the contrast column that hung over vessel bifurcations was found in two patients. In five patients,emboli were found in small segmental arteries. CT provides information not only on the pulmonary arteries, but also on the lung parenchyma, hila, mediastinum, and the heart. Alternative findings may be identified by CT chest examination, stablishing alternative diagnoses, including pulmonary disorders (such as pneumonia or fibrosis), pleural abnormalities, and cardiovascular disease (such as aortic dissection or pericardial tamponade). Another advantage of the CT is its widespread availability.(author)

Food preparation in colonial America. A Bicentennial study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bennion, M

1976-07-01

Both regional and national influences have pervaded America's culinary arts from colonial times until the present. In the South, for instance, indigenous foods, such as sweet potatoes--as well as an abundance of fruits and fowl--were commonly served. In the North, maple sirup was a New England product, as was codfish. Throughout the colonies, corn was easily grown and became a staple. Immigrants from the Old World brought their recipes to meld or adapt to conditions they met here. Recounted also is the unfolding of an American cuisine, especially in the southern colonies as it evolved from European food preparation practices. Cooking was done in great fireplaces, with equipment designed to fit. Meat was generally boiled or stewed in pots hung in the fireplace, although it might be slow-roasted on a hand-turned spit. Hot breads, the hallmark of southern cooking, date from colonial days. In the Noth, the Dutch farmer's wife developed real skill in using flour from home-grown wheat and rye, creating pancakes, waffles, doughnuts, crullers, and so on. After the first hard winter, food in New England became more plentiful. Boston brown bread was made from corn, wheat, or rye and probably sweetened with maple sirup. Imports of coffee, tea, and spices from the Orient and fruit from the tropics were later added to the cuisine. Colonial Americans understood well the art of food preparation and appreciated the taste of well prepared, well seasoned dishes.

Transplacental and early life exposure to inorganic arsenic affected development and behavior in offspring rats

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xi, Shuhua; Jin, Yaping; Sun, Guifan [China Medical University, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, College of Public Health, Shenyang, Liaoning (China); Sun, Wenjuan; Wang, Fengzhi [Shenyang Medical College, Department of Preventive Medicine, Shenyang, Liaoning (China)

2009-06-15

To evaluate the developmental neurotoxicity of arsenic in offspring rats by transplacental and early life exposure to sodium arsenite in drinking water, the pregnant rats or lactating dams, and weaned pups were given free access to drinking water, which contained arsenic at concentrations of 0, 10, 50, 100 mg/L from GD 6 until PND 42. A battery of physical and behavioral tests was applied to evaluate the functional outcome of pups. Pups in arsenic exposed groups weighed less than controls throughout lactation and weaning. Body weight of 10, 50 and 100 mg/L arsenic exposed groups decreased significantly on PND 42, 16 and 12, respectively. Physical development (pinna unfolding, fur appearance, incisor eruption, or eye opening) in pups displayed no significant differences between control and arsenic treated groups. The number of incidences within the 100 mg/L arsenic treated group, in tail hung, auditory startle and visual placing showed significant decrease compared to the control group (p<0.05). In square water maze test, the trained numbers to finish the trials successfully in 50 and 100 mg/L arsenic exposed groups increased remarkably compared to control group, and there was a dose-related increase (p<0.01) observed. Taken together, these data show that exposure of inorganic arsenite to pregnant dams and offspring pups at levels up to 100 mg/L in drinking water may affect their learning and memory functions and neuromotor reflex. (orig.)

Marine Jurassic lithostratigraphy of Thailand

Science.gov (United States)

Meesook, A.; Grant-Mackie, J. A.

Marine Jurassic rocks of Thailand are well-exposed in the Mae Sot and Umphang areas and less extensively near Mae Hong Son, Kanchanaburi, Chumphon and Nakhon Si Thammarat, in the north, west, and south respectively. They are generally underlain unconformably by Triassic and overlain by Quaternary strata. Based mainly on five measured sections, fourteen new lithostratigraphic units are established: (in ascending order) Pa Lan, Mai Hung and Kong Mu Formations of the Huai Pong Group in the Mae Hong Son area; Khun Huai, Doi Yot and Pha De Formations of the Hua Fai Group in the Mae Sot area; Klo Tho, Ta Sue Kho, Pu Khloe Khi and Lu Kloc Tu Formations of the Umphang Group in the Umphang area; and the Khao Lak Formation in the Chumphon area. Mudstone, siltstone, sandstone, limestone and marl are the dominant lithologies. Mudstones, siltstones and sandstones are widespread; limestones are confined to the Mae Sot, Umphang, Kanchanaburi and Mae Hong Son areas; marls are found only in Mae Sot. The sequences are approximately 900 m thick in Mae Sot and 450 m thick in Umphang and are rather thinner in the other areas, particularly in the south. Based on ammonites, with additional data from bivalves and foraminifera, the marine Jurassic is largely Toarcian-Aalenian plus some Bajocian. Late Jurassic ages given previously for strata in the Mae Sot and Umphang areas have not been confirmed.

Correlates of First-Time Mothers' Postpartum Stress

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Chich-Hsiu Hung

2006-10-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to examine first-time mothers' postpartum stress and its correlates following discharge from the hospital or clinic after vaginal delivery. One hundred and eightythree first-time mothers were enrolled from hospitals and clinics in Kaohsiung City. All first-time mothers reported normal pregnancies and vaginal deliveries, delivered healthy infants at term, and were surveyed during their postpartum periods after discharge from hospitals or clinics. The Hung Postpartum Stress Scale was used to examine first-time mothers' postpartum stress and stressors during their postpartum periods. The top ten postpartum stressors perceived by the women were: “the baby getting sick suddenly”, “the flabby flesh of my belly”, “the unpredictability of the baby's schedule”, “interrupted sleep”, “the shape of the baby's head due to the sleeping position”, “not sleeping enough”, “lack of information regarding infant's growth and development”, “the baby's crying”, “my life is restricted”, and “the baby choking during feeding”. There were no significant differences between the first-time mothers' demographic characteristics and their postpartum stress and its three components (negative body changes, maternal role attainment, lack of social support, respectively. Insight into the study results of first-time mothers' post- partum stress and stressors provides a reference for health professionals that the development of programs and resources addressing primiparous women's unique needs are required.

Thickness and fit of mouthguards according to heating methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Mizuhashi, Fumi; Koide, Kaoru; Takahashi, Mutsumi

2014-02-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in the thickness and fit of mouthguards made by four different heating methods of the mouthguard sheet material. A Sports Mouthguard(®) of 3.8-mm thickness was used in this study. Four heating methods were performed. In one method, the sheet was heated only one side. In the other methods, one side of the sheet was heated first until the center of the sheet was displaced by 0.5 cm, 1.0 cm, and 1.5 cm from the baseline, and then turned upside down and heated. The sheets were adapted using a vacuum former when the heated sheets hung 1.5 cm from the baseline. We measured the thickness and fit of the mouthguard at the areas of the central incisor and first molar. The difference in thickness at the central incisor and first molar regions was analyzed by two-way anova. The difference in fit with different heating methods was analyzed by one-way anova. The results showed that the thickness of the mouthguard differed in the central incisor and first molar areas (P heating methods. The fit of the mouthguard at the central incisor and first molar areas was significantly different among the heating methods (P heated surface of the sheet contacted the surface of the working model. This finding may help to fabricate accurate mouthguards. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Distortion of calculated whole-body hematocrit during lower-body immersion in water.

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, D R; Santoro, T; Bondi, K R

1986-11-01

We found a difference between the venous hematocrits of immersed and nonimmersed arms during immersion of the lower body in cold water but not during a comparable exposure to warm water. Fourteen healthy men were exposed to three different experimental conditions: arm immersion, body immersion, and control. The men always sat upright while both upper extremities hung vertically at their sides. During arm immersion, one forearm was completely immersed for 30 min in either cold water (28 degrees C, n = 7) or warm water (38 degrees C, n = 7). This cold-warm water protocol was repeated on separate days for exposure to the remaining conditions of body immersion (immersion of 1 forearm and all tissues below the xiphoid process) and control (no immersion). Blood samples were simultaneously drawn from cannulated veins in both antecubital fossae. Hematocrit difference (Hct diff) was measured by subtracting the nonimmersed forearm's hematocrit (Hct dry) from the immersed forearm's hematocrit (Hct wet). Hct diff was approximately zero when the men were exposed to the control condition and body immersion in warm water. In the remaining conditions, Hct wet dropped below Hct dry (P less than 0.01, 3-way analysis of variance). The decrements of Hct diff showed there were differences between venous hematocrits in immersed and nonimmersed regions of the body, indicating that changes of the whole-body hematocrit cannot be calculated from a large-vessel hematocrit soon after immersing the lower body in cold water.

Dutch-Cantonese Bilinguals Show Segmental Processing during Sinitic Language Production

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Kalinka Timmer

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This study addressed the debate on the primacy of syllable vs. segment (i.e., phoneme as a functional unit of phonological encoding in syllabic languages by investigating both behavioral and neural responses of Dutch-Cantonese (DC bilinguals in a color-object picture naming task. Specifically, we investigated whether DC bilinguals exhibit the phonemic processing strategy, evident in monolingual Dutch speakers, during planning of their Cantonese speech production. Participants named the color of colored line-drawings in Cantonese faster when color and object matched in the first segment than when they were mismatched (e.g., 藍駱駝, /laam4/ /lok3to4/, “blue camel;” 紅饑駝, /hung4/ /lok3to4/, “red camel”. This is in contrast to previous studies in Sinitic languages that did not reveal such phoneme-only facilitation. Phonemic overlap also modulated the event-related potentials (ERPs in the 125–175, 200–300, and 300–400 ms time windows, suggesting earlier ERP modulations than in previous studies with monolingual Sinitic speakers or unbalanced Sinitic-Germanic bilinguals. Conjointly, our results suggest that, while the syllable may be considered the primary unit of phonological encoding in Sinitic languages, the phoneme can serve as the primary unit of phonological encoding, both behaviorally and neurally, for DC bilinguals. The presence/absence of a segment onset effect in Sinitic languages may be related to the proficiency in the Germanic language of bilinguals.

Building Double-decker Traps for Early Detection of Emerald Ash Borer.

Science.gov (United States)

McCullough, Deborah G; Poland, Therese M

2017-10-04

Emerald ash borer (EAB) (Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire), the most destructive forest insect to have invaded North America, has killed hundreds of millions of forest and landscape ash (Fraxinus spp.) trees. Several artificial trap designs to attract and capture EAB beetles have been developed to detect, delineate, and monitor infestations. Double-decker (DD) traps consist of two corrugated plastic prisms, one green and one purple, attached to a 3 m tall polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe supported by a t-post. The green prism at the top of the PVC pipe is baited with cis-3-hexenol, a compound produced by ash foliage. Surfaces of both prisms are coated with sticky insect glue to capture adult EAB beetles. Double-decker traps should be placed near ash trees but in open areas, exposed to sun. Double-decker trap construction and placement are presented here, along with a summary of field experiments demonstrating the efficacy of DD traps in capturing EAB beetles. In a recent study in sites with relatively low EAB densities, double-decker traps captured significantly more EAB than green or purple prism traps or green funnel traps, all of which are designed to be suspended from a branch in the canopy of ash trees. A greater percentage of double decker traps were positive, i.e., captured at least one EAB, than the prism traps or funnel traps that were hung in ash tree canopies.

Mock-up experiments for the project of high dose irradiation on the RPV concrete

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zdarek, J.; Brabec, P.; Frybort, O.; Lahodova, Z.; Vit, J.; Stemberk, P.

2015-01-01

Aging of NPP's concrete structures comes into growing interest in connection with solution of life extension programmes of operated units. Securing continued safe operation of NPPs calls for additional proofs of suitable long term behaviour of loaded reinforced concrete structures. An irradiation test of concrete samples was performed in the core of the LVR-15 reactor. The irradiation capsule was hung in the irradiation channel and the cooling of the capsule was ensured through direct contact of the capsule wall with the primary circuit water. Cylindrical, serpentine concrete samples (50 mm in diameter and 100 mm in length), representing composition of WWER RPV cavity, was chosen as a compromise of mechanical properties testing needs and dimension limitations of reactor irradiation channel. Heating during irradiation test was maintained under 93 Celsius degrees by cooling and was controlled by embedded thermocouple. Design of the cooling management was supported by computational analysis. The dependencies of heated concrete samples to the neutron fluence and the gamma heating were obtained by changing the thermal power of the reactor and by changing the vertical position of the sample in the irradiation channel. The irradiation capsule was filled with inert gas (helium) to allow the measurement of generated gas. The determination of concrete samples activity for long-term irradiation was performed on the principles of the Neutron Activation Analysis. Preliminary mock-up tests have proved the ability to fulfill technical needs for planned high dose irradiation experiment

SU-F-T-413: Calculation Accuracy of AAA and Acuros Using Cerrobend Blocks for TBI at 400cm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamichhane, N; Studenski, M

2016-01-01

Purpose: It is essential to assess the lung dose during TBI to reduce toxicity. Here we characterize the accuracy of the AAA and Acuros algorithms when using cerrobend lung shielding blocks at an extended distance for TBI. Methods: We positioned a 30×30×30 cm3 solid water slab phantom at 400 cm SSD and measured PDDs (Exradin A12 and PTW parallel plate ion chambers). A 2 cm thick, 10×10 cm2 cerrobend block was hung 2 cm in front of the phantom. This geometry was reproduced in the planning system for both AAA and Acuros. In AAA, the mass density of the cerrobend block was forced to 9.38 g/cm3 and in Acuros it was forced to 8.0 g/cm3 (limited to selecting stainless steel). Three different relative electron densities (RED) were tested for each algorithm; 4.97, 6.97, and 8.97. Results: PDDs from both Acuros and AAA underestimated the delivered dose. AAA calculated that depth dose was higher for RED of 4.97 as compared to 6.97 and 8.97 but still lower than measured. There was no change in the percent depth dose with changing relative electron densities for Acuros. Conclusion: Care should be taken before using AAA or Acuros with cerrobend blocks as the planning system underestimates dose. Acuros limits the ability to modify RED when compared to AAA.

Study of atmospheric dispersion of pollutants in the industrial region of the Sado estuary using biomonitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freitas, M.C.; Reis, M.A.; Marques, A.P.; Costa, C.; Wolterbeek, H.Th.

2001-01-01

The region of Lisbon and south of Lisbon (Sado estuary) is densely industrialised, and therefore air pollution should be studied in a more detailed scale there. Also the topography of the Sado estuary region and the predominant wind direction from the north-west contribute to the influence of the industries located in the north onto this region. The region selected in this work includes a oil-fired power station. Transplants of the lichen Parmelia sulcata were suspended in nylon bags in a region within a rectangle of 15 km wide and 25 km long on a grid 2.5 km x 2.5 km, centred in a oil powered station. In each of the 47 places two sets of four transplants each were hung. Care was taken i) in covering the sets with a polyethylene roof to prevent leaching of elements in the lichen, ii) in building a hanging system which could rotate according to the wind direction, iii) in orienting one set towards the wind and the other set against the wind. For a 9 month period and every three months, one transplant of each set was collected. We have no knowledge of any other study on differentiation elemental uptake of Parmelia sulcata where the component wind direction is taken into account. Some information on local and distant sources is expected to be accessible. The transplants were analysed by INAA. Contents on Cl, Na, Ca, V and Zn are mapped and discussed. (author)

Hydroelastic behaviour of a structure exposed to an underwater explosion.

Science.gov (United States)

Colicchio, G; Greco, M; Brocchini, M; Faltinsen, O M

2015-01-28

The hydroelastic interaction between an underwater explosion and an elastic plate is investigated num- erically through a domain-decomposition strategy. The three-dimensional features of the problem require a large computational effort, which is reduced through a weak coupling between a one-dimensional radial blast solver, which resolves the blast evolution far from the boundaries, and a three-dimensional compressible flow solver used where the interactions between the compression wave and the boundaries take place and the flow becomes three-dimensional. The three-dimensional flow solver at the boundaries is directly coupled with a modal structural solver that models the response of the solid boundaries like elastic plates. This enables one to simulate the fluid-structure interaction as a strong coupling, in order to capture hydroelastic effects. The method has been applied to the experimental case of Hung et al. (2005 Int. J. Impact Eng. 31, 151-168 (doi:10.1016/j.ijimpeng.2003.10.039)) with explosion and structure sufficiently far from other boundaries and successfully validated in terms of the evolution of the acceleration induced on the plate. It was also used to investigate the interaction of an underwater explosion with the bottom of a close-by ship modelled as an orthotropic plate. In the application, the acoustic phase of the fluid-structure interaction is examined, highlighting the need of the fluid-structure coupling to capture correctly the possible inception of cavitation. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Feasibility of Preparing Nesting Box and Luring Large Solitary Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa Valga

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Schulz Michał

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Xylocopa valga, commonly called the carpenter bee and the largest bee with metallicviolet hair cover, is extremely rarely observed in Poland. We hypothesize that a stable and possibly long-term population of X. valga can be maintained in Poland through the creation of suitable nesting conditions. X. valga has been observed since the spring of 2014 in Wisznice (south-eastern Poland. A nesting box made out of 25 wooden blocks with drilled holes was hung about 2.5 meters above the ground. X. valga were interested in the blocks made of willow wood but did not nest in the beech, alder and pine. The carpenter bees chose holes made with drill bits of 10, 15, 20 mm in diameter and a length of 10, 15 and 20 cm. X. valga flying in the same direction most often visited the flora taxa: Aquilegia vulgaris, Ballota nigra, Consolida ajacis, Delphinium consolida, Deutzia scabra, Catalpa spp., Wisteria spp., Robinia ambigua, Stachys spp. and Trifolium pretense. X. valga is a solitary bee, but unlike most other solitary bees it demonstrates aspects of social behavior. It was observed to display cohabitative behavior involving the use of a single hole by more than one female. The females showed aggressive defensive behavior and if approached too closely started buzzing loudly. The information obtained during the long-term observation shows that X. valga can be maintained in partly artificial conditions to increase and stabilize the bee population.

SU-F-T-413: Calculation Accuracy of AAA and Acuros Using Cerrobend Blocks for TBI at 400cm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamichhane, N; Studenski, M [University of Miami, Miami, FL (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: It is essential to assess the lung dose during TBI to reduce toxicity. Here we characterize the accuracy of the AAA and Acuros algorithms when using cerrobend lung shielding blocks at an extended distance for TBI. Methods: We positioned a 30×30×30 cm3 solid water slab phantom at 400 cm SSD and measured PDDs (Exradin A12 and PTW parallel plate ion chambers). A 2 cm thick, 10×10 cm2 cerrobend block was hung 2 cm in front of the phantom. This geometry was reproduced in the planning system for both AAA and Acuros. In AAA, the mass density of the cerrobend block was forced to 9.38 g/cm3 and in Acuros it was forced to 8.0 g/cm3 (limited to selecting stainless steel). Three different relative electron densities (RED) were tested for each algorithm; 4.97, 6.97, and 8.97. Results: PDDs from both Acuros and AAA underestimated the delivered dose. AAA calculated that depth dose was higher for RED of 4.97 as compared to 6.97 and 8.97 but still lower than measured. There was no change in the percent depth dose with changing relative electron densities for Acuros. Conclusion: Care should be taken before using AAA or Acuros with cerrobend blocks as the planning system underestimates dose. Acuros limits the ability to modify RED when compared to AAA.

Bright light therapy as part of a multicomponent management program improves sleep and functional outcomes in delirious older hospitalized adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chong MS

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Mei Sian Chong,1 Keng Teng Tan,2 Laura Tay,1 Yoke Moi Wong,1 Sonia Ancoli-Israel3,41Department of Geriatric Medicine, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore; 2Department of Pharmacy, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore; 3Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine, University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 4VA Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental Health (CESAMH, San Diego, CA, USAObjective: Delirium is associated with poor outcomes following acute hospitalization. A specialized delirium management unit, the Geriatric Monitoring Unit (GMU, was established. Evening bright light therapy (2000–3000 lux; 6–10 pm daily was added as adjunctive treatment, to consolidate circadian activity rhythms and improve sleep. This study examined whether the GMU program improved sleep, cognitive, and functional outcomes in delirious patients.Method: A total of 228 patients (mean age = 84.2 years were studied. The clinical characteristics, delirium duration, delirium subtype, Delirium Rating Score (DRS, cognitive status (Chinese Mini–Mental State Examination, functional status (modified Barthel Index [MBI], and chemical restraint use during the initial and predischarge phase of the patient’s GMU admission were obtained. Nurses completed hourly 24-hour patient sleep logs, and from these, the mean total sleep time, number of awakenings, and sleep bouts (SB were computed.Results: The mean delirium duration was 6.7 ± 4.6 days. Analysis of the delirium subtypes showed that 18.4% had hypoactive delirium, 30.2% mixed delirium, and 51.3% had hyperactive delirium. There were significant improvements in MBI scores, especially for the hyperactive and mixed delirium subtypes (P < 0.05. Significant improvements were noted on the DRS sleep–wake disturbance subscore, for all delirium-subtypes. The mean total sleep time (7.7 from 6.4 hours (P < 0.05 and length of first SB (6.0 compared with 5.3 hours (P < 0.05 improved, with decreased mean number of SBs and awakenings. The

Clear cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix: clinical characteristics and feasibility of fertility-preserving treatment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiang X

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Xiang Jiang, Ying Jin, Yan Li, Hui-Fang Huang, Ming Wu, Keng Shen, Ling-Ya Pan Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China Abstract: The objective of this retrospective study was to analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of clear cell adenocarcinoma (CCA in the post-diethylstilbestrol (DES era and to evaluate the feasibility of fertility-preserving treatment. The records of 32 patients with CCAs who were treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from August 1986 to June 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. Three of the patients had undergone fertility-preserving treatment. The incidence of CCA among cervical adenocarcinomas was 15.2%. The median age was 38 years: 11 patients (34.4% were diagnosed before 30 years of age and two (6.3% after 70 years of age. Ten patients (31.2% were nulliparous. No patient had been exposed to DES. Twenty-nine patients (90.6% presented with obvious symptoms, and the cervix appeared abnormal in 26 patients (81.3%. Cervical Papanicolaou (Pap tests were abnormal in all four patients in whom they were performed (three had high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions and one had atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance. The distribution by stage was 56.3% stage I, 34.4% stage II, 6.3% stage III, and 3.1% stage IV. Treatments mainly included surgery for patients with stage I to IIA CCA and radiochemotherapy for patients with advanced CCA. The overall 5-year progression-free survival was 72.2%. Patients with stage I to IIA CCA had better 5-year progression-free survival than did patients with stage IIB to IV CCA (81.5% versus 40.0%, P=0.003. The three patients who had undergone fertility-preserving treatment had no recurrences. CCA may also affect adolescents and children without prior DES exposure, who are often misdiagnosed as having functional uterine

Concentrations and flux measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in boreal forest soil

Science.gov (United States)

Mäki, Mari; Aaltonen, Hermanni; Heinonsalo, Jussi; Hellén, Heidi; Pumpanen, Jukka; Bäck, Jaana

2017-04-01

Volatile organic compounds (VOC) impact soil processes as VOCs transmit signals between roots and rhizosphere (Ditengou et al., 2015), VOCs can regulate microbial activity (Asensio et al., 2012), and VOCs can also promote root growth (Hung et al., 2012). Belowground concentrations of VOCs have not been measured in situ and for this reason, knowledge of how different soil organisms such as roots, rhizosphere and decomposers contribute to VOC production is limited. The aim of this study was to determine and quantify VOC fluxes and concentrations of different horizons from boreal forest soil. The VOC concentrations and fluxes were measured from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest soil at the SMEAR II station in southern Finland from 21th of April to 2nd of December in 2016. VOC fluxes were measured using dynamic (flow-through) chambers from five soil collars placed on five different locations. VOC concentrations were also measured in each location from four different soil horizons with the measurement depth 1-107 cm. VOCs were collected from underground gas collectors into the Tenax-Carbopack-B adsorbent tubes using portable pumps ( 100 ml min-1). The VOC concentrations and fluxes of isoprene, 11 monoterpenes, 13 sesquiterpenes and different oxygenated VOCs were measured. Sample tubes were analyzed using thermal desorption-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). Soil temperature and soil water content were continuously monitored for each soil horizon. Our preliminary results show that the primary source of VOCs is organic soil layer and the contribution of mineral soil to the VOC formation is minor. VOC fluxes and concentrations were dominated by monoterpenes such as α-pinene, camphene, β-pinene, and Δ3-carene. Monoterpene concentration is almost 10-fold in organic soil compared to the deeper soil layers. However, the highest VOC fluxes on the soil surface were measured in October, whereas the monoterpene concentrations in organic soil were highest in July

Transdermales Testosterongel verbessert die Parameter Sexualfunktion, Stimmung, Muskelkraft und Körperzusammensetzung bei hypogonadalen Männern

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang C

2003-01-01

Behandlung erhöhte sich die fettfreie Körpermasse in der mit 10 g Testosterongel/Tag behandelten Gruppe (2,74 ± 0,28 kg stärker (p = 0,0002 als in der mit 5 g Testosterongel/Tag (1,28 ± 0,32 kg oder mit Testosteronpflaster (1,20 ± 0,26 kg behandelten Gruppe. Fettmasse und Fettanteil wurden in der Testosteronpflaster- Gruppe nicht signifikant verringert, zeigten jedoch Abnahmen in den beiden mit Testosterongel behandelten Gruppen (50 mg/Tag: -0,90 ± 0,32 kg; 100 mg/Tag: -1,05 ± 0,22 kg. Die Erhöhung der fettfreien Körpermasse und Verringerung des Fettanteils korrelierten mit den Veränderungen des durchschnittlichen, nach der transdermalen Testosteronersatztherapie erreichten Serumtestosteronspiegels. Diese günstigen Auswirkungen der Testosteronsubstitution wurden von den erwarteten Zunahmen des Hämatokrits und der Hämoglobinkonzentration begleitet, jedoch ohne signifikante Veränderung des Lipidprofils. Der Anstieg der mittleren PSA-Konzentration (innerhalb des Normalbereichs korrelierte mit dem Serumtestosteronspiegel. Der größte Anstieg zeigte sich in der mit täglich 10 g Testosterongel behandelten Gruppe. Das Auftreten von Hautreizungen wurde von 5,5 % der mit Testosterongel und 66 % der mit Penetrationsvermittler enthaltendem Testosteronpflaster behandelten Probanden berichtet. Wir schließen aus den Ergebnissen, daß die Testosteronersatztherapie mit dem Gel bei hypogonadalen Männern zu einer Verbesserung von Sexualfunktion und Stimmung, einer Erhöhung der fettfreien Körpermasse sowie der Muskelkraft (vor allem in den Beinen und zu einer Verringerung der Fettmasse bei weniger Hautirritationen und Therapieabbrüchen als unter Anwendung der empfohlenen Dosierung eines Penetrationsvermittler enthaltenden Referenzpflasters führte.

Evaluating Liquid and Granular Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis Broadcast Applications for Controlling Vectors of Dengue and Chikungunya Viruses in Artificial Containers and Tree Holes.

Science.gov (United States)

Harwood, James F; Farooq, Muhammad; Turnwall, Brent T; Richardson, Alec G

2015-07-01

The principal vectors of chikungunya and dengue viruses typically oviposit in water-filled artificial and natural containers, including tree holes. Despite the risk these and similar tree hole-inhabiting mosquitoes present to global public health, surprisingly few studies have been conducted to determine an efficient method of applying larvicides specifically to tree holes. The Stihl SR 450, a backpack sprayer commonly utilized during military and civilian vector control operations, may be suitable for controlling larval tree-hole mosquitoes, as it is capable of delivering broadcast applications of granular and liquid dispersible formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti) to a large area relatively quickly. We compared the application effectiveness of two granular (AllPro Sustain MGB and VectoBac GR) and two liquid (Aquabac XT and VectoBac WDG) formulations of Bti in containers placed on bare ground, placed beneath vegetative cover, and hung 1.5 or 3 m above the ground to simulate tree holes. Aedes aegypti (L.) larval mortality and Bti droplet and granule density data (when appropriate) were recorded for each formulation. Overall, granular formulations of Bti resulted in higher mortality rates in the simulated tree-hole habitats, whereas applications of granular and liquid formulations resulted in similar levels of larval mortality in containers placed on the ground in the open and beneath vegetation. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2015. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Exploration of natural product ingredients as inhibitors of human HMG-CoA reductase through structure-based virtual screening

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Lin SH

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Shih-Hung Lin,1 Kao-Jean Huang,1,2 Ching-Feng Weng,1 David Shiuan1 1Department of Life Science and Institute of Biotechnology, National Dong Hwa University, Hualien, Taiwan, Republic of China; 2Development Center of Biotechnology, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Abstract: Cholesterol plays an important role in living cells. However, a very high level of cholesterol may lead to atherosclerosis. HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase is the key enzyme in the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway, and the statin-like drugs are inhibitors of human HMG-CoA reductase (hHMGR. The present study aimed to virtually screen for potential hHMGR inhibitors from natural product to discover hypolipidemic drug candidates with fewer side effects and lesser toxicities. We used the 3D structure 1HWK from the PDB (Protein Data Bank database of hHMGR as the target to screen for the strongly bound compounds from the traditional Chinese medicine database. Many interesting molecules including polyphenolic compounds, polisubstituted heterocyclics, and linear lipophilic alcohols were identified and their ADMET (absorption, disrtibution, metabolism, excretion, toxicity properties were predicted. Finally, four compounds were obtained for the in vitro validation experiments. The results indicated that curcumin and salvianolic acid C can effectively inhibit hHMGR, with IC50 (half maximal inhibitory concentration values of 4.3 µM and 8 µM, respectively. The present study also demonstrated the feasibility of discovering new drug candidates through structure-based virtual screening. Keywords: HMG-CoA reductase, virtual screening, curcumin, salvianolic acid C

The Impact of Simulated Nature on Patient Outcomes: A Study of Photographic Sky Compositions.

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Pati, Debajyoti; Freier, Patricia; O'Boyle, Michael; Amor, Cherif; Valipoor, Shabboo

2016-01-01

To examine whether incorporation of simulated nature, in the form of ceiling mounted photographic sky compositions, influences patient outcomes. Previous studies have shown that most forms of nature exposure have a positive influence on patients. However, earlier studies have mostly focused on wall-hung nature representations. The emergence of simulated nature products has raised the question regarding the effects of the new product on patient outcomes. A between-subject experimental design was adopted, where outcomes from five inpatient rooms with sky composition ceiling fixture were compared to corresponding outcomes in five identical rooms without the intervention. Data were collected from a total of 181 subjects on 11 outcomes. Independent sample tests were performed to identify differences in mean outcomes. Significant positive outcomes were observed in environmental satisfaction and diastolic blood pressure (BP). Environmental satisfaction in the experimental group was 12.4% higher than the control group. Direction of association for diastolic BP, nausea/indigestion medication, acute stress, anxiety, pain, and environmental satisfaction were consistent with a priori hypothesis. A post hoc exploratory assessment involving patients who did not self-request additional pain and sleep medication demonstrated confirmatory directions for all outcomes except Systolic BP, and statistically significant outcomes for Acute Stress and Anxiety-Acute Stress and Anxiety levels of the experimental group subjects was 53.4% and 34.79% lower, respectively, than that of the control group subjects. Salutogenic benefits of photographic sky compositions render them better than traditional ceiling tiles and offer an alternative to other nature interventions. © The Author(s) 2015.

Estudo comparativo sobre a composição e a diversidade de lepidópteros noturnos em cinco áreas da Região dos Cerrados Comparative study on composition and diversity of the moths in five areas of Cerrado Region

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Amabílio J. Aires de Camargo

1999-06-01

Full Text Available The understanding of the distribution and richness patterns of species is very important in ecology. Also, for the Cerrado region, this is very important and urgent, because of the strong pressure for new areas designated for agriculture. In five areas of the Cerrado, an exploratory study was carried out on the diversity, evenness and similarity of moth species. Moths were captured in a white sheet hung vertically and illuminated by a 250 Watt mercury vapor lamp. The alpha diversity was calculated using the Shannon-Wiener index (H' and the Simpson index (γ. The beta diversity was examined for all sampled localities and estimated by Wittaker's measure. The Sörensen and Jaccard indexes were used to calculate similarity. A total of 11130 individuals, 1064 species and 33 families were collected during the study. Great differences were found in the diversity (H', and according to this index, the minimum value found was 1.60 and highest value was 4.59. From the Simpson index (γ, the minimum value was 0.42 and highest 0.96. With both methods, in all the localities, these values were significantly different by the T test (p<0.001. The mean beta diversity found was 0.6929, and the minimum and highest values found were respectively 0.4328 and 0.8615. A positive correlation was found between beta diversity and distances among the localities (r²=0.5844, p<0.05. Faunal similarities among sites were low, and the highest value found was 0.4146 by Sörensen index and 0.2615 by Jaccard index.

Predictors of post-partum stress in Vietnamese immigrant women in Taiwan.

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Lee, Li-Chun; Hung, Chich-Hsiu

2016-01-01

The post-partum period is a stressful time of change, particularly for immigrant women, but, to the best of the present authors' knowledge, the subject has not been explored. This study aimed to examine immigrant women's post-partum stress, depression, and levels of social support, and to determine the predictors of post-partum stress for Vietnamese immigrant women in Taiwan. A cross-sectional design was used. In this descriptive survey, 208 Vietnamese immigrant women were telephone interviewed by a trained Vietnamese research assistant during one of their 6 weeks post-partum. Data were collected through telephone interviews using three questionnaires, including the Hung Postpartum Stress Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, and Social Support Scale. The result shows that Vietnamese women had low level post-partum stress scores. Participants' family support rated higher than friend support. The incidence of depression was 0.5%. Social support, number of post-partum days, and family income were found to be predictors for post-partum stress, accounting for 26.6% of the variance. The Vietnamese immigrant women experienced significant stress regarding their maternal roles and received most of their support from their families rather than from friends. Nurses caring for this cohort should therefore consider these factors in order to help them cope with their post-partum stress. Healthcare providers should offer available resources to these immigrant women and their spouses during this critical period in their lives. For instance, antenatal education classes could be provided to help immigrant women manage and overcome post-partum issues. © 2015 Japan Academy of Nursing Science.

A fast-starting mechanical fish that accelerates at 40 m s-2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conte, J; Modarres-Sadeghi, Y; Watts, M N; Hover, F S; Triantafyllou, M S

2010-01-01

We have built a simple mechanical system to emulate the fast-start performance of fish. The system consists of a thin metal beam covered by a urethane rubber, the fish body and an appropriately shaped tail. The body form of the mechanical fish was modeled after a pike species and selected because it is a widely-studied fast-start specialist. The mechanical fish was held in curvature and hung in water by two restraining lines, which were simultaneously released by a pneumatic cutting mechanism. The potential energy in the beam was transferred into the fluid, thereby accelerating the fish. We measured the resulting acceleration, and calculated the efficiency of propulsion for the mechanical fish model, defined as the ratio of the final kinetic energy of the fish and the initially stored potential energy in the body beam. We also ran a series of flow visualization tests to observe the resulting flow patterns. The maximum start-up acceleration was measured to be around 40 m s -2 , with the maximum final velocity around 1.2 m s -1 . The form of the measured acceleration signal as function of time is quite similar to that of type I fast-start motions studied by Harper and Blake (1991 J. Exp. Biol. 155 175-92). The hydrodynamic efficiency of the fish was found to be around 10%. Flow visualization of the mechanical fast-start wake was also analyzed, showing that the acceleration peaks are associated with the shedding of two vortex rings in near-lateral directions.

Field performance of gamma irradiated and reared codling moth Cydia Pomonella (L.) males

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohamad, F.; Mansour, M.

2003-04-01

Marked males of codling moth, reared during immature stage on a local artificial diet, were released in two square plot (20 x 20 m) of two separate orchards. One of the orchard received sterile males exposed to 350 Gry (treatment), while the other received non-sterile males (control). To monitor the performance of sterile males compared to the control, pheromone traps were hung at certain distances (one trap/50 m) of the release site in each orchard, covering all four directions for 300 m. Traps up were checked daily for up to ten days after release. Results showed that number of control males was significantly less than sterile males at the first 50 m from the dispersion point (61.5% for control, 76.3% for treatment), Control males, however were captured more frequently at larger distance. For instance, the percentage for control and treated males were 17.2, 12.4% at 100 m, 10.4, 3.8% at 150 m and 7.2, 2.1% at 200 m respectively. A small percentage of control males (2.8%) reached 250 m, while treated males did not. These results indicate that sterile codling moth males exposed to a dose 350 Gy don't have the same dispersion ability as control ones. The results also show that the number of treated males responded to sex pheromone were less than control males in the first and second day after release, However they become more frequent in the third and fourth day, decreased in the fifth and stopped completely in day sixth. (author)

Post-evaluation of a ground source heat pump system for residential space heating in Shanghai China

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Lei, Y.; Tan, H. W.; Wang, L. Z.

2017-11-01

Residents of Southern China are increasingly concerned about the space heating in winter. The chief aim of the present work is to find a cost-effective way for residential space heating in Shanghai, one of the biggest city in south China. Economic and energy efficiency of three residential space heating ways, including ground source heat pump (GSHP), air source heat pump (ASHP) and wall-hung gas boiler (WHGB), are assessed based on Long-term measured data. The results show that the heat consumption of the building is 120 kWh/m2/y during the heating season, and the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) of the GSHP, ASHP and WHGB systems are 3.27, 2.30, 0.88 respectively. Compared to ASHP and WHGB, energy savings of GSHP during the heating season are 6.2 kgce/(m2.y) and 2.2 kgce/(m2.y), and the payback period of GSHP are 13.3 and 7.6 years respectively. The sensitivity analysis of various factors that affect the payback period is carried out, and the results suggest that SEER is the most critical factor affecting the feasibility of ground source heat pump application, followed by building load factor and energy price factor. These findings of the research have led the author to the conclusion that ground source heat pump for residential space heating in Shanghai is a good alternative, which can achieve significant energy saving benefits, and a good system design and operation management are key factors that can shorten the payback period.

Iglesia de San Esteban, en Colonia

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Schürmann, Joachim

1965-06-01

Full Text Available This church constitutes a clear example of the constructive possibilities which are made available by the use of metallic structures. The roof rests on twelve steel supports, each 12 m high. The roof itself sustains by means of metallic tie members the glass walls that enclose the nave. The roofs of the peripheral smaller naves are themselves also hung from the main roof. The interior decoration is extremely simple, and the main reason for its success is the wise chromatic harmony, involving the systematic use of black, the natural colour of wood, brick red and finally white and gold in the higher parts of the building. The colour arrangement helps to create an effective impression of aerial perspective.Esta iglesia constituye un claro ejemplo del caudal de posibilidades que brindan las construcciones metálicas. Su cubierta descansa sobre doce soportes de acero, de 12 m de altura, aproximadamente; y de ella, por medio de otros elementos metálicos, se han suspendido las paredes de cristal de la nave que, a su vez, sostienen las cubiertas de las naves periféricas bajas. La decoración interior es extraordinariamente sencilla, y todo su éxito ha sido confiado a la sabia ordenación cromática que, partiendo del negro mate y a través de la madera natural y rojo del ladrillo, llega al blanco y oro de las partes altas, que ayudan a realzar un acertado efecto de perspectiva aérea.

Holographic entanglement entropy for the most general higher derivative gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miao, Rong-Xin; Guo, Wu-zhong

2015-01-01

The holographic entanglement entropy for the most general higher derivative gravity is investigated. We find a new type of Wald entropy, which appears on entangling surface without the rotational symmetry and reduces to usual Wald entropy on Killing horizon. Furthermore, we obtain a formal formula of HEE for the most general higher derivative gravity and work it out exactly for some squashed cones. As an important application, we derive HEE for gravitational action with one derivative of the curvature when the extrinsic curvature vanishes. We also study some toy models with non-zero extrinsic curvature. We prove that our formula yields the correct universal term of entanglement entropy for 4d CFTs. Furthermore, we solve the puzzle raised by Hung, Myers and Smolkin that the logarithmic term of entanglement entropy derived from Weyl anomaly of CFTs does not match the holographic result even if the extrinsic curvature vanishes. We find that such mismatch comes from the ‘anomaly of entropy’ of the derivative of curvature. After considering such contributions carefully, we resolve the puzzle successfully. In general, we need to fix the splitting problem for the conical metrics in order to derive the holographic entanglement entropy. We find that, at least for Einstein gravity, the splitting problem can be fixed by using equations of motion. How to derive the splittings for higher derivative gravity is a non-trivial and open question. For simplicity, we ignore the splitting problem in this paper and find that it does not affect our main results.

Effectiveness of a life story work program on older adults with intellectual disabilities

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Bai X

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Xue Bai,1,2 Daniel WH Ho,2 Karen Fung,3 Lily Tang,3 Moon He,3 Kim Wan Young,4 Florence Ho,2 Timothy Kwok2,5 1Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong; 2Jockey Club Centre for Positive Ageing, Shatin, Hong Kong; 3Hong Chi Association, Hong Kong; 4Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; 5Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Objective: This study examines the effectiveness of a life story work program (LSWp in older adults with mild-to-moderate levels of intellectual disability (ID. Methods: Using a quasiexperimental design, this study assigned 60 older adults who were between 50–90 years old with mild-to-moderate levels of ID to receive either the LSWp (intervention group, N=32 or usual activities (control group, N=28 during a period of 6 months. Evaluation was made based on the outcomes assessed by the Mood Interest and Pleasure Questionnaire, the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, and the Personal Well-being Index – ID. Results and conclusion: LSWp shows potential for improving the quality of life and preventing the loss of interest and pleasure in older adults with ID. It also shows promise in enhancing their socialization skills. Patients with better communication abilities seemed to benefit more from the LSWp. Keywords: life story work, life story book, intellectual disabilities, older adults, effectiveness

Parenting practices, parents' underestimation of daughters' risks, and alcohol and sexual behaviors of urban girls.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Donnell, Lydia; Stueve, Ann; Duran, Richard; Myint-U, Athi; Agronick, Gail; San Doval, Alexi; Wilson-Simmons, Renée

2008-05-01

In urban economically distressed communities, high rates of early sexual initiation combined with alcohol use place adolescent girls at risk for myriad negative health consequences. This article reports on the extent to which parents of young teens underestimate both the risks their daughters are exposed to and the considerable influence that they have over their children's decisions and behaviors. Surveys were conducted with more than 700 sixth-grade girls and their parents, recruited from seven New York City schools serving low-income families. Bivariate and multivariate analyses examined relationships among parents' practices and perceptions of daughters' risks, girls' reports of parenting, and outcomes of girls' alcohol use, media and peer conduct, and heterosexual romantic and social behaviors that typically precede sexual intercourse. Although only four parents thought that their daughters had used alcohol, 22% of the daughters reported drinking in the past year. Approximately 5% of parents thought that daughters had hugged and kissed a boy for a long time or had "hung out" with older boys, whereas 38% of girls reported these behaviors. Parents' underestimation of risk was correlated with lower reports of positive parenting practices by daughters. In multivariate analyses, girls' reports of parental oversight, rules, and disapproval of risk are associated with all three behavioral outcomes. Adult reports of parenting practices are associated with girls' conduct and heterosexual behaviors, but not with their alcohol use. Creating greater awareness of the early onset of risk behaviors among urban adolescent girls is important for fostering positive parenting practices, which in turn may help parents to support their daughters' healthier choices.

Heat stress in cows at pasture and benefit of shade in a temperate climate region

Science.gov (United States)

Veissier, Isabelle; Van laer, Eva; Palme, Rupert; Moons, Christel P. H.; Ampe, Bart; Sonck, Bart; Andanson, Stéphane; Tuyttens, Frank A. M.

2017-11-01

Under temperate climates, cattle are often at pasture in summer and are not necessarily provided with shade. We aimed at evaluating in a temperate region (Belgium) to what extent cattle may suffer from heat stress (measured through body temperature, respiration rate and panting score, cortisol or its metabolites in milk, and feces on hot days) and at assessing the potential benefits of shade. During the summer of 2012, 20 cows were kept on pasture without access to shade. During the summer of 2011, ten cows had access to shade (young trees with shade cloth hung between them), whereas ten cows had no access. Climatic conditions were quantified by the Heat Load Index (HLI). In animals without access to shade respiration rates, panting scores, rectal temperatures, and milk cortisol concentrations increased as HLI increased in both 2011 and 2012. Fecal cortisol metabolites varied with HLI in 2011 only. When cattle had access to shade, their use of shade increased as the HLI increased. This effect was more pronounced during the last part of the summer, possibly due to better acquaintance with the shade construction. In this case, shade use increased to 65% at the highest HLI (79). Shade tempered the effects on respiration, rectal temperature, and fecal cortisol metabolites. Milk cortisol was not influenced by HLI for cows using shade for > 10% of the day. Therefore, even in temperate areas, cattle may suffer from heat when they are at pasture in summer and providing shade can reduce such stress.

USING SITES FROM INTERNET IN THE CHEMISTY TEACHING AND THEIR ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

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M. P. S Azevedo

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The main goal of this work is to evaluate how the use of the Internet by Chemistry teachers from the City of  Campos dos Goytacazes/RJ, is done as a helping tool in the teaching-learning process. For this purpose, contents of General Chemistry made available in web sites were examined and analyzed, throughout qualitative research, the frequency and the form Chemistry teachers from public schools of Campos of Goytacazes (RJ manage the contents made available in the Internet. The research data shows that 58% of the teachers have a frequency of individual use of the computer being connected to the Internet daily. 43% of the teachers interviewed already affirmed to have used the resource at once in classroom and 78% already declared to have found contradictions in the information they have researched in sites containing Chemistry information. However, only 38% of the teachers affirmed to check the contents found in the Internet with those made available in text books. Regarding the analyzed sites (6 sites , none of them was considered excellent taking into account reliability parameters proposed by Hung (2004, like truthfulness, objectivity, present time and authority. Therefore teachers and students should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages Internet can bring to the teaching-learning process so together they can establish necessary guidelines in order to good initial propositions regarding this process do not turn out as self-defeating.

IDENTIFIKASI BAKAT OLAHRAGA PANAHAN PADA SISWA SEKOLAH DASAR DI KABUPATEN MANOKWARI

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Nikanor Asaribab

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengungkap bakat siswa sekolah dasar (SD pada cabang olahraga panahan di Kabupaten Manokwari. Penelitian ini termasuk penelitian deskriptif. Metode yang digunakan adalah survei. Populasi penelitian ini adalah siswa SD negeri dan swasta di Kabupaten Manokwari. Penentuan sampel menggunakan teknik purposive sampling dengan kriteria: (1 SD negeri dan swasta unggulan (panahan, (2 siswa yang mengikuti program pembinaan panahan Indosat, (3 sampel berjumlah 160 anak yang terdiri dari 80 laki-laki dan 80 anak perempuan, (4 siswa yang bersedia menjadi sampel dengan mengisi surat pernyataan. Pengambilan data dilakukan dengan tes dan pengukuran, yang meliputi: kekuatan otot perut (sit-up/minute, kekuatan otot pung-gung (back up/minute, kekuatan otot lengan (pull strength, kekuatan otot tungkai (leg strength, kekuatan otot togok (back strength, daya tahan erobik (multistage, dan keterampilan memanah (jarak 20 meter. Analisis data menggunakan rumus T-Skor. Data diolah kemudian ditemukan hasil total skor yang seterusnya dimasukan ke rumus pengkategorian untuk diklasifikasikan. Hasil penelitian menun-jukkan bahwa bakat siswa SD pada olahraga panahan, untuk: (1 anak laki-laki sangat baik (22.5%, baik (22.5%; (2 Anak perempuan sangat baik (15%, baik (30%. Penelitian ini mengungkap bahwa terdapat 45% siswa laki-laki berada di atas baik atau berbakat dan 45% siswa perempuan berada di atas baik atau berbakat.   IDENTIFYING THE ARCHERY TALENT OF ELEMENTARY STUDENTS IN MANOKWARI REGENCY Abstract This study is aimed to reveal the talent in archery of the students of elementary schools in Manokwari Regency. This study was a descriptive study. The method used was survey. The population was students of public and private elementary schools in Manokwari Regency. The data collection technique used was purposive sampling technique with the following criteria: (1 top public and private elementary schools (archery, (2 students who joined Indosat

Book Reviews

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Redactie KITLV

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Michael Williams; Deforesting the earth; From prehistory to global crisis (Greg Bankoff Alexander Adelaar, Nikolaus P. Himmelmann (eds; The Austronesian languages of Asia and Madagascar (René van den Berg Wim Ravesteijn, Jan Kop (eds; Bouwen in de archipel; Burgerlijke Openbare Werken in Nederlands-Indië en Indonesië 1800-2000 (Freek Colombijn Susan Rodgers; Print, poetics, and politics; A Sumatran epic in the colonial Indies and New Order Indonesia (Bernhard Dahm Robert A. Scebold; Central Tagbanwa; a Philippine language on the brink of extinction; Sociolinguistics, grammar, and lexicon (Aone van Engelenhoven Adrian Vickers; Journeys of desire; A study of the Balinese text Malat (Amrit Gomperts B.J. Terwiel; Thailand’s political history; From the fall of Ayutthaya to recent times (Hans Hägerdal Robert van Niel; Java’s Northeast Coast 1740-1840; A study in colonial encroachment and dominance (Mason C. Hoadley Terence H. Hull (ed.; People, population, and policy in Indonesia (Santo Koesoebjono W.L. Korthals Altes; Tussen cultures en kredieten; Een institutionele geschiedenis van de Nederlandsch-Indische Handelsbank en Nationale Handelsbank, 1863-1964 (Koh Keng Weh William van der Heide; Malaysian cinema, Asian film; Border crossings and national cultures (Benjamin McKay Angela Romano; Politics and the press in Indonesia; Understanding an evolving political culture (Soe Tjen Marching Simon Harrison; Fracturing resemblances; Identity and mimetic conflict in Melanesia and the West (Toon van Meijl Daniel Fitzpatrick; Land claims in East Timor (Johanna van Reenen Susi Moeimam, Hein Steinhauer; Nederlands-Indonesisch Woordenboek (Stuart Robson Terance W. Bigalke; Tana Toraja: a social history of an Indonesian people (Dik Roth K. Alexander Adelaar (with the assistance of Pak Vitus Kaslem; Salako or Badameà; Sketch grammar, texts and lexicon of a Kanayatn dialect in West Borneo (Hein Steinhauer

Designing competitive electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao, H.P.; Huntington, H.

1998-01-01

This volume of papers, originally presented at Stanford in March 1997 in a conference sponsored by the Electric Power Research Institute, examines several questions about the restructuring and deregulation of electricity markets. Its stated goal is to present guiding principles for evaluating proposals to restructure the US electric power industry. While a collection of essays is perhaps not the best place to lay out guiding principles, the volume does contain a great deal of learning about restructuring. The first essay is a reprint of Paul Joskow's excellent article in the ''Journal of Economic Perspectives''. An essay by William Hogan on the debate between zonal and locational pricing is next. Paul Kleindorfer lists the various governance schemes which other countries that have restructured have used to govern system operation, access to the market for power, and transmission ownership and pricing. One difficulty with the book, as well as the debate in the US, is that it fails to draw adequately upon the international experience. Shmuel Oren lays out the potential areas over which an ISO could have authority. The chapter by Stephen Rassenti and Vernon Smith that bilateral trading should never be allowed, implying that a mandatory pool should be established. A reduction in regulation may increase the incentives for technological innovation. Martin Baughman suggests a number of ways by which costs of transmitting and storing electricity may be reduced. Robert Wilson returns to the volume with a chapter on institutional design. To end the volume, Hung-Po Chao and Stephen Peck present an extension of their earlier work in the ''Journal of Regulatory Economics'' showing how markets for transmission rights would work in a transmission grid of three points

Pathophysiologie des Kollagenstoffwechsels bei Patienten mit Induratio penis plastica (IPP

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Lahme S

2000-01-01

Full Text Available Die Pathogenese der IPP ist bis heute nicht geklärt. Histopathologische Untersuchungen zeigen, daß der Kollagenstoffwechsel eine Rolle spielt. Dies veranlaßte uns zur genauen Analyse der Kollagenstoffwechselparameter bei IPP. Bei 11 Patienten mit IPP und 11 Kontrollpersonen wurden Kollagenstoffwechselparameter (Prokollagen III [PIIIP], PMN-Elastase [PMN-E], Fibronektin [FN], Fibronektinrezeptor [FN-R] und alpha1-Proteinase-Inhibitor [alpha1-PI] im cavernösen und peripheren Blut bestimmt. PMN-E, PIIIP, FN und FN-R waren in den beiden Untersuchungsgruppen nicht unterschiedlich. Die peripher venösen unterschieden sich nicht von den cavernösen Blutproben. Sowohl im peripher venös (158,55 mg/dl als auch im cavernös entnommenen Blut (168,29 mg/dl war die Konzentration des a1-PI signifikant niedriger als in der Kontrollgruppe (214,82 mg/dl. An einem zweiten Kollektiv von 23 Patienten wurden Analysen des Phänotyps für alpha1-PI im Hinblick auf das Vorliegen von genetisch determinierten Mangelallelen vorgenommen. Hier zeigte sich kein signifikanter Unterschied zu einem Kontrollkollektiv von 19 gesunden Probanden. Die alpha1-PI Erniedrigung der IPP-Patienten ist signifikant und liegt unterhalb des Normalwertbereichs für die gesunde Population. Ein Mangel an alpha1-PI kann zur Aktivitätserhöhung der Proteasen und zum Umbau des Kollagengewebes führen. Möglicherweise kommt es zusammen mit einem lokal wirksamen Einflußfaktor schließlich zur dystrophen Kalzifikation. Die humangenetischen Untersuchungen sprechen nicht für eine genetische Determinierung des alpha1-PI-Mangels, sondern legen eine erworbene hepatische Störung nahe.

Crystallization Process of Protein Rv0731c from Mycobacterium Tuberculosis for a Successful Atomic Resolution Crystal Structure at 1.2 Angstrom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Liang Cong

2009-06-08

Proteins are bio-macromolecules consisting of basic 20 amino acids and have distinct three-dimensional folds. They are essential parts of organisms and participate in every process within cells. Proteins are crucial for human life, and each protein within the body has a specific function, such as antibodies, contractile proteins, enzymes, hormonal proteins, structural proteins, storage proteins and transport proteins. Determining three-dimensional structure of a protein can help researchers discover the remarkable protein folding, binding site, conformation and etc, in order to understand well of protein interaction and aid for possible drug design. The research on protein structure by X-ray protein crystallography carried by Li-Wei Hung's research group in the Physical Bioscience Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) is focusing on protein crystallography. The research in this lab is in the process of from crystallizing the proteins to determining the three dimensional crystal structures of proteins. Most protein targets are selected from Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. TB (Tuberculosis) is a possible fatal infectious disease. By studying TB target protein can help discover antituberculer drugs, and find treatment for TB. The high-throughput mode of crystallization, crystal harvesting, crystal screening and data collection are applied to the research pipeline (Figure 1). The X-ray diffraction data by protein crystals can be processed and analyzed to result in a three dimensional representation of electron density, producing a detailed model of protein structure. Rv0731c is a conserved hypothetical protein with unknown function from Mycobacterium Tuberculosis. This paper is going to report the crystallization process and brief structure information of Rv0731c.

Titanisierung von Implantatoberflächen

Science.gov (United States)

Zimmermann, Hanngörg; Heinlein, Markus; Guldner, Norbert W.

Titan gilt seit Jahrzehnten als einer der wichtigsten Implantatwerkstoffe in der Medizin. Neben den guten mechanischen Eigenschaften (Leichtigkeit, hohe Festigkeit etc.), besitzen Titanimplantate vor allem eine hervorragende Körperverträglichkeit, so dass die Implantate optimal in den humanen Organismus integriert werden [1]. Ist jedoch aufgrund der Anforderungen an das Implantat eine hohe Flexibilität und/ oder Elastizität gefragt, so scheidet der Werkstoff Titan aufgrund seiner spröden und unflexiblen Materialeigenschaften aus. Die Folge ist der Einsatz von Implantatmaterialien, sowohl künstlichen als auch biologischen Ursprungs, welche nicht selten eine unzureichende Biokompatibilität aufweisen und somit zu Fremdköper- und immunologischen Reaktionen und Einkapselung des Implantates führen können. Die Erhöhung der Körperverträglichkeit, eine Adaption an das biologische Umfeld und eine hohe Biokompatibilität sind demzufolge die wichtigsten Eigenschaften bei der bedarfsgerechten Herstellung von Implantaten und Implantatoberflächen. Zur Gestaltung von innovativen, biokompatiblen Oberflächen stehen unterschiedliche technische Lösungsansätze zur Verfügung. Zum einen besteht die Möglichkeit, geeignete Oberflächeneigenschaften aus dem Grundmaterial selbst zu optimieren. Dies geschieht unter anderem durch Modifikation der Werkstoffoberflächen in Form von Texturierungen und Oberflächenrauhigkeiten. Zum anderen können die Oberflächeneigenschaften unabhängig von denen des Trägermaterials gestaltet werden. Durch Funktionalisierung der Oberflächen mit geeigneten Beschichtungen oder der Zugabe von Medikamenten (Drug Eluting) werden die Kunststoffimplantate dahingehend verändert, dass eine Steigerung der Körperakzeptanz erreicht wird. Die Titanbeschichtung von Implantatoberflächen kombiniert die positiven Materialeigenschaften von Titan und Polymer.

Choice of optimal biocide combination to control flies (Diptera: Muscidae

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Mihaela Kavran

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Flies – by feeding on decaying matter, human waste and food – have been implicated in the spread of numerous animal and human diseases. Excessive fly populations are generally associated with livestock units and domestic waste due to decaying organic matter. A large number of flies cause extreme disturbance in the behavior of the host, resulting in skin irritation, lesions, wounds, and secondary infections are likely to appear. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of combined applications of larvicide (cyromazine and adulticides (acetamiprid in formulation with pheromone and thiamethoxam on the suppression of fly populations. Materials and methods. The study was conducted on a pig farm. The piglet farms are one of the most favorable places for fly breeding. Three units were used for biocide applications and a fourth unit as the control where biocides were not applied. The monitoring of pre- and post-treatment of adult fly populations was carried out by glued cardboards. The cards were hung on metal rods above piglet’s cage. This monitoring method served as a parameter for the estimation of biological effectiveness. Results. The highest degree of fly control (88.4% mortality 8 days after treatment was achieved when a combination of cyromazine and thiamethoxam was used. A biocide based on sex pheromone (Z-9-tricosene + acetamiprid was the most effective on flies 3 days after biocide application, with a mortality rate of 69.1 %. Thiamethoxam achieved the highest reduction of flies 6 days after treatment, with 78.19% obtained mortality. Conclusion. Biological efficacy of the applied biocides in combination ciromazine + thiamethoxam and thiamethoxam alone was justified.

Design of half-reentrant SRF cavities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meidlinger, M.; Grimm, T.L.; Hartung, W.

2006-01-01

The shape of a TeSLA inner cell can be improved to lower the peak surface magnetic field at the expense of a higher peak surface electric field by making the cell reentrant. Such a single-cell cavity was designed and tested at Cornell, setting a world record accelerating gradient [V. Shemelin et al., An optimized shape cavity for TESLA: concept and fabrication, 11th Workshop on RF Superconductivity, Travemuende, Germany, September 8-12, 2003; R. Geng, H. Padamsee, Reentrant cavity and first test result, Pushing the Limits of RF Superconductivity Workshop, Argonne National Laboratory, September 22-24, 2004]. However, the disadvantage to a cavity is that liquids become trapped in the reentrant portion when it is vertically hung during high pressure rinsing. While this was overcome for Cornell's single-cell cavity by flipping it several times between high pressure rinse cycles, this may not be feasible for a multi-cell cavity. One solution to this problem is to make the cavity reentrant on only one side, leaving the opposite wall angle at six degrees for fluid drainage. This idea was first presented in 2004 [T.L. Grimm et al., IEEE Transactions on Applied Superconductivity 15(6) (2005) 2393]. Preliminary designs of two new half-reentrant (HR) inner cells have since been completed, one at a high cell-to-cell coupling of 2.1% (high-k cc HR) and the other at 1.5% (low-k cc HR). The parameters of a HR cavity are comparable to a fully reentrant cavity, with the added benefit that a HR cavity can be easily cleaned with current technology

Culturally adaptive storytelling intervention versus didactic intervention to improve hypertension control in Vietnam: a cluster-randomized controlled feasibility trial.

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Nguyen, Hoa L; Allison, Jeroan J; Ha, Duc A; Chiriboga, Germán; Ly, Ha N; Tran, Hanh T; Nguyen, Cuong K; Dang, Diem M; Phan, Ngoc T; Vu, Nguyen C; Nguyen, Quang P; Goldberg, Robert J

2017-01-01

Vietnam is experiencing an epidemiologic transition with an increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases. Novel, large-scale, effective, and sustainable interventions to control hypertension in Vietnam are needed. We report the results of a cluster-randomized feasibility trial at 3 months follow-up conducted in Hung Yen province, Vietnam, designed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of two community-based interventions to improve hypertension control: a "storytelling" intervention, "We Talk about Our Hypertension," and a didactic intervention. The storytelling intervention included stories about strategies for coping with hypertension, with patients speaking in their own words, and didactic content about the importance of healthy lifestyle behaviors including salt reduction and exercise. The didactic intervention included only didactic content. The storytelling intervention was delivered by two DVDs at 3-month intervals; the didactic intervention included only one installment. The trial was conducted in four communes, equally randomized to the two interventions. The mean age of the 160 study patients was 66 years, and 54% were men. Most participants described both interventions as understandable, informative, and motivational. Between baseline and 3 months, mean systolic blood pressure declined by 8.2 mmHg (95% CI 4.1-12.2) in the storytelling group and by 5.5 mmHg (95% CI 1.4-9.5) in the didactic group. The storytelling group also reported a significant increase in hypertension medication adherence. Both interventions were well accepted in several rural communities and were shown to be potentially effective in lowering blood pressure. A large-scale randomized trial is needed to compare the effectiveness of the two interventions in controlling hypertension. ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02483780.

Comparing the NIOSH Method 5040 to a Diesel Particulate Matter Meter for Elemental Carbon

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Ayers, David Matthew

Introduction: The sampling of elemental carbon has been associated with monitoring exposures in the trucking and mining industries. Recently, in the field of engineered nanomaterials, single wall and muti-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are being produced in ever increasing quantities. The only approved atmospheric sampling for multi-wall carbon nanotubes in NIOSH Method 5040. These results are accurate but can take up to 30 days for sample results to be received. Objectives: Compare the results of elemental carbon sampling from the NIOSH Method 5040 to a Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM) Meter. Methods: MWCNTs were transferred and weighed between several trays placed on a scale. The NIOSH Method 5040 and DPM sampling train was hung 6 inches above the receiving tray. The transferring and weighing of the MWCNTs created an aerosol containing elemental carbon. Twenty-one total samples using both meters type were collected. Results: The assumptions for a Two-Way ANOVA were violated therefore, Mann-Whitney U Tests and a Kruskal-Wallis Test were performed. The hypotheses for both research questions were rejected. There was a significant difference in the EC concentrations obtained by the NIOSH Method 5040 and the DPM meter. There were also significant differences in elemental carbon level concentrations when sampled using a DPM meter versus a sampling pump based upon the three concentration levels (low, medium and high). Conclusions: The differences in the EC concentrations were statistically significant therefore, the two methods (NIOSH Method 5040 and DPM) are not the same. The NIOSH Method 5040 should continue to be the only authorized method of establishing an EC concentration for MWCNTs until a MWCNT specific method or an instantaneous meter is invented.

Toward Electoral Security: Experiences from KwaZulu-Natal Höhere Sicherheit bei Wahlen: Erfahrungen aus KwaZulu-Natal

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Kristine Höglund

2011-01-01

Full Text Available There is a growing recognition of the dangers of electoral violence. Yet, the theoretical foundation for systematic research and for adequate policy is still underdeveloped. This article aims to develop the theoretical understandings of strategies to manage and prevent electoral violence. This is accomplished by integrating research conducted within the two academic discourses on democratization and conflict management and also by drawing on the experiences from the conflict-ridden province KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The five strategies identified are monitoring, mediation, legal measures, law enforcement and self-regulating practices. In the article, the functions and mechanisms of the strategies are discussed. In addition, we analyse the limitations and usefulness of each of the strategies in turn and also provide suggestions on how to improve electoral security.Gewaltsame Auseinandersetzungen bei Wahlen werden zunehmend als Gefahr erkannt. Dennoch sind die theoretischen Grundlagen systematischer Forschungen zu diesem Phänomen, die zu angemessenen politischen Handlungsweisen beitragen könnten, immer noch ungenügend entwickelt. Dieser Beitrag zielt darauf ab, einen theoretischen Hintergrund für Strategien zum Umgang mit Gewalt bei Wahlen und zur Prävention zu entwickeln. Zu diesem Zweck kombinieren die Autorinnen Ergebnisse zweier Forschungsbereiche – der Demokratisierungsforschung und der Forschung zum Konfliktmanagement – und ziehen außerdem Erfahrungen aus der konfliktbeladenen südafrikanischen Provinz KwaZulu-Natal heran. Sie identifizieren fünf Strategien: Monitoring, Mediation, gesetzliche Maßnahmen, Sanktionierung und Selbsthilfepraktiken. Die Autorinnen diskutieren die Wirkungsweisen und Erfolgsaussichten, aber auch die Grenzen dieser Strategien und machen einige konkrete Vorschläge zur Erhöhung der Sicherheit bei Wahlen.

Investigation of radon concentration in drinking water from wells in Khartoum state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Idriss, H. I. M.

2009-07-01

Radon( 2 ''2''2Rn) is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that is released into the surrounding environment. The presence of this gas in water mainly depends on its source in building material, soil and rocks. The main reason for radon determination in water comes from the fact that radon and its daughters are suspected to be directly responsible of hung cancer and some kidney diseases. This study covers the area Khartoum, state (Khartoum, Khartoum North and Omdurman). The study investigated the levels of radon concentration in water of 72 wells from Khartoum state was performed using gamma spectrometry system. The results showed that radon levels range between 1.6 and 345 Bq/L with mean value of 59 Bq/I. Comparing these values with global data indicates acceptable levels that can be observed for most of the samples. It is observed that 14 locations of the sites exceed the recommended levels adopted by some countries (Sweden, Finland, Slovak and Russia). On the basis of the results obtained, the annual effective dose received by the public due to ingestion of radon was calculated and found to be below the WHO reference dose level of 0.1 mSv.y - ''1, except 14 sites exceed the recommended levels. Three age categories were considered for dose estimation (1 years, 10 years and adults). The mean value of dose for the one year age is 0.49 mSv.y -1 and the mean value of dose for 10 years age 0.13 mSv.y - ''1 while the mean value obtained for adult is 0.11 mSv.y - ''1. (Author)

Innovative use of Distributed Temperature Sensing and Meteorological Data to Understand Thermoregulation of Free-Ranging Howling Monkeys

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Suarez, F. I.; Vinyard, C. J.; Williams, S. H.; Hausner, M. B.; Tyler, S. W.; Glander, K.

2011-12-01

Temperature fluctuations are a major driver of change in natural habitats and influence the lifestyle of all organisms because temperature impacts molecular, physiological, and behavioral processes. However, there is a lack of understanding on how temperature affects metabolism, behavior, and ecology at the organismal level. Even though physiological responses to temperature fluctuations have been well documented in laboratory conditions, it has been challenging to collect the required environmental data to study thermoregulation of free-ranging mammals such as mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata). Fortunately, recent advances in fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (DTS) now permit the observation of temperature fields in the environment at scales ranging from millimeters to kilometers. This has opened an exciting opportunity for temperature monitoring at scales that were previously not feasible. This study addresses the main limitations of previous studies of primate behavior by integrating real-time environmental data with the behavior and physiological response of free-ranging primates. In this work, we present preliminary DTS data collected in a natural habitat of howling monkeys. Fiber-optic cables were hung between the ground and an elevation of approximately 15 m within the forest canopy, providing continuous profiles of temperature without any disturbance due to the animals and habitat. These measurements were integrated with conventional meteorological data and with the ambient temperature at the location of the animal, as well as with measurements of primate's subcutaneous and core body temperatures. These data will be utilized to determine how environmental conditions relate to primate behavioral and physiological responses in time and space. The methodologies used in this study provide tools to test theories of physiological thermoregulation of other free-ranging animals.

The use of biomonitors and neutron activation analysis in the study of air pollution of Buenos Aires city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pla, R.R.; Moreno, M.A.; Adler, M.

2000-01-01

Biomonitors were used as part of a pollution study of Buenos Aires city atmosphere under the International Atomic Energy Agency Research Contract ARG 7251, from the Co-ordinated Research Programme on Applied Research on Air Pollution using Nuclear Related Analytical Techniques. Lichens were primarily selected as indicators. Two different approaches were conducted, direct sampling of Parmotrema reticulatum, at a few places and the use of lichen bags, filled with Usnea sulcata from a northern national park, and hung at different sites. Simultaneously, tree bark was tried as biomonitor. Platanus acerifolia and Melia azedarach were selected as candidates, for being the most common trees in the city, but only P. acerifolia was analyzed. All the samples were analyzed using instrumental neutron activation analysis at the Ezeiza Atomic Centre of the National Atomic Energy Commission. RA-3) reactor was used for the irradiations, determining: As, Ba, Br, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Lu, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sm, Ta, Tb, Th, U, Yb and Zn. Concentration values for P. reticulatum compared well with values from literature. For U. sulcata differences were found among the tested sites and also, for some elements an increasing trend with time was observed. Enrichment factors calculated using Sc as reference and Mason's crustal average concentrations showed vehicules and refuse incineration as contributing sources to the aerosol. Tree bark from Buenos Aires and from a smaller city with mainly agricultural activities were analyzed and the results are coincident with those from lichens. This work is the first and preliminar contribution to the study of Buenos Aires aerosol using biomonitors. (author)

The persistence of active smooth muscle in the female rat cervix through pregnancy.

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Ferland, David J; Darios, Emma S; Watts, Stephanie W

2015-02-01

A controversy exists as to whether functional smooth muscle exists in the cervix before and during pregnancy, potentially continuous with the uterus. We hypothesized that cervical smooth muscle persists through pregnancy and is functional. Uteri and cervices were taken from female virgin, 11 day, and 20 day (near labor) pregnant rats. All experiments used the uterus as a positive control. Three different smooth muscle proteins (smooth muscle α-actin, SM-22α, and calponin-1) allowed immunohistochemical detection of the continuous nature of the smooth muscle from the vagina, cervix, and uterus. Tissues were also hung in isolated tissue baths for the measurement of isometric smooth muscle contraction. Uterine and cervical homogenates were also used in Western analyses to measure protein expression. Immunohistochemistry revealed there to be smooth muscle as validated by an expression of all 3 markers in the cervix. This smooth muscle was continuous with that of the vagina and uterus. Smooth muscle α-actin was detected in virgin tissue (291.3 ± 32.2 arbitrary densitometry units/β-actin), day 11 (416.8 ± 19.5), and day 20 pregnant tissue (293.0 ± 34.4). The virgin, day 11, and day 20 cervices contracted 2.18 ± 0.24 g, 1.46 ± 0.08 g, and 3.88 ± 0.49 g (respectively) to depolarizing KCl. Cervices contracted at day 20 to the cholinergic muscarinic agonist carbamylcholine (maximum, 133% ± 18.2% KCl contraction, n = 4). These findings strongly support that smooth muscle is present in the cervix through pregnancy and continuous with the uterus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessing quality and completeness of human transcriptional regulatory pathways on a genome-wide scale

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Aifantis Iannis

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Pathway databases are becoming increasingly important and almost omnipresent in most types of biological and translational research. However, little is known about the quality and completeness of pathways stored in these databases. The present study conducts a comprehensive assessment of transcriptional regulatory pathways in humans for seven well-studied transcription factors: MYC, NOTCH1, BCL6, TP53, AR, STAT1, and RELA. The employed benchmarking methodology first involves integrating genome-wide binding with functional gene expression data to derive direct targets of transcription factors. Then the lists of experimentally obtained direct targets are compared with relevant lists of transcriptional targets from 10 commonly used pathway databases. Results The results of this study show that for the majority of pathway databases, the overlap between experimentally obtained target genes and targets reported in transcriptional regulatory pathway databases is surprisingly small and often is not statistically significant. The only exception is MetaCore pathway database which yields statistically significant intersection with experimental results in 84% cases. Additionally, we suggest that the lists of experimentally derived direct targets obtained in this study can be used to reveal new biological insight in transcriptional regulation and suggest novel putative therapeutic targets in cancer. Conclusions Our study opens a debate on validity of using many popular pathway databases to obtain transcriptional regulatory targets. We conclude that the choice of pathway databases should be informed by solid scientific evidence and rigorous empirical evaluation. Reviewers This article was reviewed by Prof. Wing Hung Wong, Dr. Thiago Motta Venancio (nominated by Dr. L Aravind, and Prof. Geoff J McLachlan.

Diversity and seasonality of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae and Lonchaeidae) and their parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Braconidae and Figitidae) in orchards of guava, loquat and peach

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Souza-Filho, M.F.; Raga, A. [Instituto Biologico, Campinas, SP (Brazil)], e-mail: miguelf@biologico.sp.gov.br; Azevedo-Filho, J.A. [Agencia Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegocios (APTA), Monte Alegre do Sul, SP (Brazil). Polo Regional do Leste Paulista; Strikis, P.C. [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), SP (Brazil). Inst. de Biologia. Dept. de Parasitologia; Guimaraes, J.A. [EMBRAPA Agroindustria Tropical, Fortaleza, CE (Brazil); Zucchi, R.A. [Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ/USP), Piracicaba, SP (Brazil). Dept. de Entomologia, Fitopatologia e Zoologia Agricola

2009-02-15

This work was carried out in orchards of guava progenies, and loquat and peach cultivars, in Monte Alegre do Sul, SP, Brazil, in 2002 and 2003. Guavas and loquats were bagged and unbagged bi-weekly and weekly, respectively, for assessment of the infestation period. Peach was only bagged weekly. The assays started when the fruits were at the beginning of development, but still green. Ripe fruits were taken to the laboratory and placed individually into plastic cups. McPhail plastic traps containing torula yeast were hung from January 2002 to January 2004 to assess the fruit fly population in each orchard, but only the Ceratitis capitata population is here discussed. Five tephritid species were reared from the fruits: Anastrepha bistrigata Bezzi, A. fraterculus (Wiedemann), A. obliqua (Macquart), A. sororcula Zucchi, and C. capitata, in addition to six lonchaeid species: Neosilba certa (Walker), N. glaberrima (Wiedemann), N. pendula (Bezzi), N. zadolicha McAlpine and Steyskal, Neosilba sp. 4, and Neosilba sp. 10 (both species are in the process of being described by P. C. Strikis), as well as some unidentified Neosilba species. Ten parasitoid species were obtained from fruit fly puparia, of which five were braconids: Asobara anastrephae (Muesebeck), Doryctobracon areolatus (Szepligeti), D. brasiliensis (Szepligeti), Opius bellus Gahan, and Utetes anastrephae (Viereck), and five figitids: Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brethes), Dicerataspis grenadensis Ashmead, Lopheucoila anastrephae (Rhower), Leptopilina boulardi (Barbotin, Carlton and Kelner-Pillaut), and Trybliographa infuscata Diaz, Gallardo and Uchoa. Ceratitis capitata showed a seasonal behavior with population density peaking at the second semester of each year. Anastrepha and Neosilba species remained in the orchards throughout both years. (author)

Pseudomembranous colitis within radiotherapy field following concurrent chemoradiation therapy: a case report

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Shen BJ

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Bing-Jie Shen,1 Shih-Chiang Lin,2 Pei-Wei Shueng,1,3 Yueh-Hung Chou,4 Li-Ming Tseng,5 Chen-Hsi Hsieh1,6,71Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Radiology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Division of Oncology and Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Department of Radiation Oncology, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Department of Anatomical Pathology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 6Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; 7Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, TaiwanAbstract: Development of nonantibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis has been reported in patients receiving chemotherapy. Herein, we report a case of a 70-year-old man with diabetes mellitus and hypertension who received concurrent chemoradiation therapy after surgery for stage III pT3N1M0 rectal cancer. After completion of the therapy, the patient presented with a 2-week history of intermittent watery diarrhea (seven to nine times per day. However, the patient was afebrile and laboratory examination revealed no evidence of leukocytosis. Computed tomography disclosed inflammation of the sigmoid colon, infiltrative changes around the anastomotic site, and edematous changes straddling the serosal surface. Colonoscopic examination revealed multiple whitish patches within the radiation field, a finding suggestive of pseudomembranous colitis. No concomitant antibiotics were used during the period of concurrent chemoradiation therapy. Empirical oral metronidazole (500 mg every 8 hours was administrated for 2 weeks. At the end of this treatment, stool culture was negative for Clostridium difficile. Physicians should be aware of the potential for the development of

Kinesthetically guided reaching accuracy in individuals with a history of traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation

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Hung Y

2013-05-01

Full Text Available You-jou Hung,1 Warren G Darling2 1Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, Department of Nursing and Rehabilitation Sciences, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX, USA; 2Department of Health and Human Physiology, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA Background: The purpose of the study was to investigate whether individuals with a history of traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation show larger reaching errors than those with healthy shoulders and to determine if they implement different reaching strategies to protect the injured shoulder. Methods: Ten people with a history of traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation and 15 with healthy shoulders volunteered for this study. After viewing targets in space, participants pointed with the unconstrained arm to remembered target locations in space without visual guidance. Nine different targets were located in various planes and heights. Endpoint reaching errors were determined by comparing the finger endpoint position without visual guidance to the target location. Shoulder rotation angle at the endpoint was also compared between groups. Results: Participants with injured shoulders were able to point voluntarily to visually specified targets as accurately as participants with healthy shoulders (1 cm difference. However, participants with injured shoulders showed less shoulder external rotation (average 12° difference at the target location when compared with healthy shoulders. This difference was consistent over a large range of target locations. Conclusion: Individuals with a history of traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation have sufficient kinesthetic information about their upper limb orientation to point accurately to visually specified targets in space. However, individuals with injured shoulders acquired a new motor strategy to reach with less shoulder external rotation, presumably to protect the injured shoulder from recurrent injuries. Keywords: shoulder injuries, physiotherapy, shoulder

In vivo toxicologic study of larger silica nanoparticles in mice

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Chan WT

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Wai-Tao Chan,1–3 Cheng-Che Liu,4 Jen-Shiu Chiang Chiau,5 Shang-Ting Tsai,6 Chih-Kai Liang,6 Mei-Lien Cheng,5 Hung-Chang Lee,7,8 Chun-Yun Yeung,1,3,9 Shao-Yi Hou2,6 1Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, MacKay Children’s Hospital, 2Graduate Institute of Engineering Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, 3Mackay Medicine, Nursing, and Management College, 4Institute of Preventive Medicine, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, 5Department of Medical Research, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Hsinchu, 6Graduate Institute of Biochemical and Biomedical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, 7Department of Pediatrics, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Hsinchu, 8Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 9Department of Medicine, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China Abstract: Silica nanoparticles (SiNPs are being studied and used for medical purposes. As nanotechnology grows rapidly, its biosafety and toxicity have frequently raised concerns. However, diverse results have been reported about the safety of SiNPs; several studies reported that smaller particles might exhibit toxic effects to some cell lines, and larger particles of 100 nm were reported to be genotoxic to the cocultured cells. Here, we investigated the in vivo toxicity of SiNPs of 150 nm in various dosages via intravenous administration in mice. The mice were observed for 14 days before blood examination and histopathological assay. All the mice survived and behaved normally after the administration of nanoparticles. No significant weight change was noted. Blood examinations showed no definite systemic dysfunction of organ systems. Histopathological studies of vital organs confirmed no SiNP-related adverse effects. We concluded that 150 nm SiNPs were biocompatible and safe for in vivo use in mice. Keywords: in vivo, mice, silica nanoparticle, nanotoxicity

Edward Albee and Arthur Kopit: Look Who’s Wearing the Pants!

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Andra AGAFIȚEI

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is, on the one hand, to make the readers acquainted with the realities of the twentieth century American family, as perceived by the two American playwrights, and, on the other hand, to underline the unusual phenomena that have been brought by the changing dynamics of the family relationships. All the five plays under discussion—All Over, A Delicate Balance, The American Dream, The Sandbox by Edward Albee, and Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin’ So Sad by Arthur Kopit — present situations in which the female characters seem to have become the leader, taking the place of the head of the family, of the pater familias. They stop acting like loving mothers and wives, they forget to take care of their families; instead, they lock away their hearts and assume the part of some sort of tyrant: they control everyone and everything in the house, their word being the equivalent of a rule. The female characters are endowed with masculine traits, whereas the male characters are emasculated, effeminate, deprived of any kind of power. The purpose of the paper is to demystify the myth of the ideal, perfect American family,to make the readers realize that the image that has been presented to the non-American public is, in the twentieth century, nothing but a disguise. Our goal is to display the image of the new American family hoping that, in doing so, we will succeed in making the readers realize the fact that human relationships, especially the ones within the family, need to be re-established on a deeper and more meaningful level.

Feasible pickup from intact ossicular chain with floating piezoelectric microphone.

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Kang, Hou-Yong; Na, Gao; Chi, Fang-Lu; Jin, Kai; Pan, Tie-Zheng; Gao, Zhen

2012-02-22

Many microphones have been developed to meet with the implantable requirement of totally implantable cochlear implant (TICI). However, a biocompatible one without destroying the intactness of the ossicular chain still remains under investigation. Such an implantable floating piezoelectric microphone (FPM) has been manufactured and shows an efficient electroacoustic performance in vitro test at our lab. We examined whether it pick up sensitively from the intact ossicular chain and postulated whether it be an optimal implantable one. Animal controlled experiment: five adult cats (eight ears) were sacrificed as the model to test the electroacoustic performance of the FPM. Three groups were studied: (1) the experiment group (on malleus): the FPM glued onto the handle of the malleus of the intact ossicular chains; (2) negative control group (in vivo): the FPM only hung into the tympanic cavity; (3) positive control group (Hy-M30): a HiFi commercial microphone placed close to the site of the experiment ear. The testing speaker played pure tones orderly ranged from 0.25 to 8.0 kHz. The FPM inside the ear and the HiFi microphone simultaneously picked up acoustic vibration which recorded as .wav files to analyze. The FPM transformed acoustic vibration sensitively and flatly as did the in vitro test across the frequencies above 2.0 kHz, whereas inefficiently below 1.0 kHz for its overloading mass. Although the HiFi microphone presented more efficiently than the FPM did, there was no significant difference at 3.0 kHz and 8.0 kHz. It is feasible to develop such an implantable FPM for future TICIs and TIHAs system on condition that the improvement of Micro Electromechanical System and piezoelectric ceramic material technology would be applied to reduce its weight and minimize its size.

Feasible pickup from intact ossicular chain with floating piezoelectric microphone

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Kang Hou-Yong

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Objectives Many microphones have been developed to meet with the implantable requirement of totally implantable cochlear implant (TICI. However, a biocompatible one without destroying the intactness of the ossicular chain still remains under investigation. Such an implantable floating piezoelectric microphone (FPM has been manufactured and shows an efficient electroacoustic performance in vitro test at our lab. We examined whether it pick up sensitively from the intact ossicular chain and postulated whether it be an optimal implantable one. Methods Animal controlled experiment: five adult cats (eight ears were sacrificed as the model to test the electroacoustic performance of the FPM. Three groups were studied: (1 the experiment group (on malleus: the FPM glued onto the handle of the malleus of the intact ossicular chains; (2 negative control group (in vivo: the FPM only hung into the tympanic cavity; (3 positive control group (Hy-M30: a HiFi commercial microphone placed close to the site of the experiment ear. The testing speaker played pure tones orderly ranged from 0.25 to 8.0 kHz. The FPM inside the ear and the HiFi microphone simultaneously picked up acoustic vibration which recorded as .wav files to analyze. Results The FPM transformed acoustic vibration sensitively and flatly as did the in vitro test across the frequencies above 2.0 kHz, whereas inefficiently below 1.0 kHz for its overloading mass. Although the HiFi microphone presented more efficiently than the FPM did, there was no significant difference at 3.0 kHz and 8.0 kHz. Conclusions It is feasible to develop such an implantable FPM for future TICIs and TIHAs system on condition that the improvement of Micro Electromechanical System and piezoelectric ceramic material technology would be applied to reduce its weight and minimize its size.

A systematic review of nonsurgical single-visit versus multiple-visit endodontic treatment

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Wong AWY

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Amy WY Wong, Chengfei Zhang, Chun-hung Chu Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, People's Republic of China Abstract: Conventional endodontic treatment used to require multiple visits, but some clinicians have suggested that single-visit treatment is superior. Single-visit endodontic treatment and multiple-visit endodontic treatment both have their advantages and disadvantages. This paper is a literature review of the research on nonsurgical single-visit versus multiple-visit endodontic treatment. The PubMed database was searched using the keywords (endodontic treatment OR endodontic therapy OR root canal treatment OR root canal therapy AND (single-visit OR one-visit OR 1-visit. Review papers, case reports, data studies, and irrelevant reports were excluded, and 47 papers on clinical trials were reviewed. The studies generally had small sample sizes, and the endodontic procedures varied among the studies. Meta-analysis on the selected studies was performed, and the results showed that the postoperative complications of the single-visit and multiple-visit endodontic treatment were similar. Furthermore, neither single-visit endodontic treatment nor multiple-visit treatment had superior results over the other in terms of healing or success rate. Results of limited studies on disinfection of the root canals using low-energy laser photodynamic therapy is inconclusive, and further studies are necessary to show whether laser should be used in endodontic treatment. This review also found that that neither single-visit endodontic treatment nor multiple-visit treatment could guarantee the absence of postoperative pain. Since the study design of many studies displayed significant limitation and the materials and equipment used in endodontic treatment have dramatically changed in recent years, prospective randomized clinical trials are needed to further verify the postoperative pain and success rates of

Integration of multidisciplinary technologies for real time target visualization and verification for radiotherapy

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Chang WC

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Wen-Chung Chang,1,* Chin-Sheng Chen,2,* Hung-Chi Tai,3 Chia-Yuan Liu,4,5 Yu-Jen Chen3 1Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Graduate Institute of Automation Technology, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Department of Radiation Oncology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Department of Internal Medicine, Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Department of Medicine, Mackay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan  *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: The current practice of radiotherapy examines target coverage solely from digitally reconstructed beam's eye view (BEV in a way that is indirectly accessible and that is not in real time. We aimed to visualize treatment targets in real time from each BEV. The image data of phantom or patients from ultrasound (US and computed tomography (CT scans were captured to perform image registration. We integrated US, CT, US/CT image registration, robotic manipulation of US, a radiation treatment planning system, and a linear accelerator to constitute an innovative target visualization system. The performance of this algorithm segmented the target organ in CT images, transformed and reconstructed US images to match each orientation, and generated image registration in real time mode with acceptable accuracy. This image transformation allowed physicians to visualize the CT image-reconstructed target via a US probe outside the BEV that was non-coplanar to the beam's plane. It allowed the physicians to remotely control the US probe that was equipped on a robotic arm to dynamically trace and real time monitor the coverage of the target within the BEV during a simulated beam-on situation. This target visualization system may provide a direct remotely accessible and real time way to visualize, verify, and ensure tumor targeting during radiotherapy. Keywords: ultrasound, computerized tomography

Design of BOP Systems for the AM600

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ouma, Victor Otieno; Abdoelatef, M. Gomaa; Na, Hyungjooh; Field, Robert [KEPCO International Nuclear Graduate School, Ulsan (Korea, Republic of)

2015-10-15

Targeted for emergent nuclear countries with smaller grid capacity and/or large seasonal variation in grid frequency, the design is intended to be appropriate as an initial Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) installation. The AM600 shaftline is designed to have low capital and installation cost with robust resistance to torsional vibration and other operational insults. The proposed AM600 design for pumping condensate from the hotwell to the SGFP suction is a horizontal CP/CBP combination. This design avoids many of the problems associated with vertical condensate pumps as outlined above. Further, this design represents a robust, reliable, approach with simplified maintenance and overhauls. Finally, this design has been specified and used by a major U.S. NPP operator at twelve nuclear units with more than 10 million cumulative 'pump set' operating hours with very reliable performance. The specification of a single stage, double hung, double suction barrel pump for the SGFPs avoids design issues associated with horizontal split case pumps and with multiple impeller designs. The use of electronic VFD to drive a variable speed motor simplifies the design, fabrication, and installation of the SGFP driver. Further, it eliminates the need for a 'startup' SGFP and permits use of the SGFPs independent of having a vacuum in the main condenser. The main characteristics of the design specification for the AM600 FWHs is that they consist of a single string. Moreover, four (4) LP FWHs are located in the condenser neck. Modularizing the installation of FWHs can bring significant economies by a reduction in installation work in the field with an associated reduction in erection schedules. However, the design with a single string limits operational flexibility to take a FWH out-of-service to address tube rupture.

Solar tower enhanced natural draft dry cooling tower

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Huiqiang; Xu, Yan; Acosta-Iborra, Alberto; Santana, Domingo

2017-06-01

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) plants are located in desert areas where the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) value is very high. Since water resource is scarcely available, mechanical draft cooing technology is commonly used, with power consumption of mechanical fans being approximately 2% of the total power generated. Today, there is only one solar power plant (Khi Solar One in South Africa) uses a condenser installed in a Natural Draft Cooling (NDC) tower that avoids the windage loss of water occurring in wet cooling towers. Although, Khi Solar One is a cavity receiver power tower, the receivers can be hung onto the NDC tower. This paper looks at a novel integration of a NDC tower into an external molten salt receiver of a solar power plant, which is one of a largest commercial molten salt tower in China, with 100MWe power capacity. In this configuration study, the NDC tower surrounds the concrete tower of the receiver concentrically. In this way, the receiver concrete tower is the central support of the NDC tower, which consists of cable networks that are fixed to the concrete tower and suspended at a certain height over the floor. The cable networks support the shell of the NDC tower. To perform a preliminary analysis of the behavior of this novel configuration, two cases of numerical simulation in three dimensional (3D) models have been solved using the commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code, ANSYS Fluent 6.3. The results show that the integration of the NDC tower into an external central receiver tower is feasible. Additionally, the total heat transfer rate is not reduced but slightly increases when the molten salt receiver is in operation because of the additional natural draft induced by the high temperature of the receiver.

Page Header Focus & Scope Author Guidelines Author Fees Online Submission Copyright Transfer Form Publication Ethics Screening For Plagiarism Editorial Board Reviewer Acknowledgement Reviewer's Guideline Order Journal Visitor Statistics CITATION ANALYSIS SCOPUS Google Scholar TEMPLATE MANUSCRIPT TEMPLATE TOOLS Mendeley Grammarly Screened by turnitin ETS NOTIFICATIONS View Subscribe USER Username Password Remember me Login JOURNAL CONTENT Search Search Scope Search Browse By Issue By Author By Title Other Journals ABOUT THE AUTHORS Said Jubran Universitas Gadjah Mada Indonesia Faculty of Economics and Business Sumiyana Sumiyana Universitas Gadjah Mada Faculty of Economics and Business ARTICLE TOOLS Print this article Indexing metadata How to cite item Email this article (Login required Email the author (Login required Save to Mendeley Save to Zotero ISSN ISSN ISSN 2338-5847 (online ISSN 2085-8272 (print ISSN 0215-2487 (previous KEYWORDS Bantuan Langsung Tunai (BLTp DiD model Indonesia Stigler’s contribution business sustainability, management-environmental aspects, business ethics, sustainable development child test score cigarettes corporate governance earthquake economic thought economics of information emotional exhaustion employee well-being ethical leadership noncompliance permanent income hypothesis tax administration tax reform transitory income wage-profit rate schedules work engagement HomeAboutLoginRegisterSearchCurrentArchivesAnnouncementsStatisticsIndexing & AbstractingContactAccreditation Home > Vol 30, No 2 (2015 >\tJubran THE TECHNOLOGY READINESS OR SOCIAL PRESENCE, WHICH ONE COULD EXPLAIN THE TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE BETTER? AN INVESTIGATION ON VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES

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Said Jubran

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Internet technology has accelerated the development of communities from face-to-face into computer-mediated communications. Individuals who joined the virtual communities contributed greatly to building their knowledge by sharing their experiences. This study investigates the individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions using two approaches for the research model. The first approach is adopted from Hung & Cheng’s (2013 model that incorporates technology readiness, compatibility and acceptance. The second approach is a new model built specifically for this study which combines the social presence and compatibility into the technology acceptance. Furthermore, this study compared both models to identify their ability to explain the individuals’ knowledge sharing intentions. This study’s results show that the first model is not better than the second. In the first model, the technology readiness, as represented only by the innovative, is the only one having a positive effect on the technology acceptance. Meanwhile, the three other constructs, i.e. optimism, discomfort, and insecurity are not. In the second model, the social presence and compatibility that are integrated into the Technology Acceptance Model could actually positively affect the technology acceptance. In the technology readiness model, the ease of the technology is not the indicator which assesses the usefulness of the technology. Meanwhile, in the social presence model, the ease of use affects the usefulness of the technology. Furthermore, both in the technology readiness and social presence models, the perceived usefulness and ease of use affect the knowledge sharing intentions. The study finds that the social presence is able to explain the knowledge sharing intentions better than the technology readiness does. It implies practically that virtual community providers should make individuals be more active in their virtual communities. Then, the providers could facilitate the

An investigation of the tri-bar gripping system on isometric muscular endurance.

Science.gov (United States)

Drury, Daniel G; Faggiono, Heath; Stuempfle, Kristin J

2004-11-01

Recently, a new product called the Tri-Bar has been introduced as an alternative to the standard round weightlifting bar. The Tri-Bar has the same weight, length, and circumference as a standard weightlifting bar and differs only in that the shape of the bar is formed like a triangle with rounded edges. Theoretically, the shape of the bar will enhance gripping comfort and increase muscular endurance. We studied 32 moderately trained males who were free from upper-body injury or limitation. Each participant completed 4 visits to the lab as part of 2 separate investigations. The first investigation was a comparison of straight-arm hang times while grasping a standard Olympic bar or a Tri-Bar attached to the top of a power rack. The second investigation involved grasping a standard revolving cable handle or a Tri-Bar revolving handle attached to a weight equal to half the subject's body weight. In both investigations, time was used as a measure of isometric muscular endurance. Differences were determined using a dependent t-test, and a level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Mean hang times were significantly longer when the men hung from the Tri-Bar (107.6 seconds) versus the standard bar (95.4 seconds) (p = 0.015). Conversely, in the investigation using the revolving handles, the round bar produced longer grasping times (71.5 seconds) than the Tri-Bar (62.6 seconds) (p = 0.000). The results of this investigation indicate that a fixed and stable Tri-Bar may help to increase hang time, but a Tri-Bar free to rotate within the grasp may decrease grasping time in comparison to a standard round handle. With regard to exercises that require isometric grasping, the Tri-Bar may be an effective alternative to the standard bar for increasing isometric grasping endurance.

Estudios sobre la reactividad de harinas crudas de cemento tratadas con rápidos y diferentes calentamientos

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Weisweiler, W.

1988-09-01

Full Text Available Not available.

Estudios experimentales llevados a cabo a una temperatura dada de calcinación, sirvieron para observar el efecto de las altas velocidades de calentamiento sobre las reacciones del clinker. Mientras que un aumento de la reactividad de los materiales fue claramente detectada cuando la velocidad pasó de 20 K/min a tomar valores iguales y mayores a 100 K/min, un negativo efecto sobre el Tiempo de Reacción Completa o "Período de Calcinación a Punto" no pudo ser establecido. Considerando además que el tiempo necesario para llevar a la materia prima hasta la temperatura de reacción, es necesariamente un tiempo inefectivo, podrían las plantas productoras de cemento obtener mayores rendimientos en tiempo y espacio, utilizando altas cuotas de calentamiento. Estudios de microscopía probaron que con el aumento de las velocidades de calentamiento, hubo una mayor generación de microcristales incidiendo directamente sobre la molienda y calidad del clinker. [de] Untersuchungen zur Reaktivität van zementrohmehlen nach verschieden schneller Aufheizung. Modellversuche mit linearen Aufheizgeschwindigkeiten solten zeigen, ob bei einer vorgegebenen Brenntemperatur die Verklinkerungsreaktionen beeinfluβt werden können. Während eindeutige Steigerungen der Kalkbindungsraten lediglich zwischen 20 K/min und Aufheizgeschwindigkeiten >=100 K/min nachweisbar waren, konnten negative Auswirkungen auf die Garbranddauern bei keiner Versuchsserie festgestellt werden. Unter Berücksichtigung der zur Aufheizung der Rohstoffe notwendigen Totzeiten, können bei den technischen Zementproduktionsanlagen nach schneller Aufheizung höhere Raum-Zeit-Ausbeuten erreicht werden. Mikroskopische Untersuchungen ergaben, daβ durch Erhöhung der Aufheizraten der Anteil mikrokristalliner Klinkerphasen zunimmt, was sich direkt aut die Zementklinkermahibarkeit und die Klinkerqualität aswirkt.

Cross-sectional study of sexual behaviour and knowledge about HIV among urban, rural, and minority residents in Viet Nam.

Science.gov (United States)

Bui, T D; Pham, C K; Pham, T H; Hoang, L T; Nguyen, T V; Vu, T Q; Detels, R

2001-01-01

A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three districts of Quang Ninh province, Viet Nam, to find out what proportion of the people who lived there engaged in behaviour that put them at risk of becoming infected with HIV, and to measure their knowledge about HIV infection and AIDS. The survey was conducted in a rural district, Yen Hung; a mountainous district inhabited primarily by ethnic minority groups, Binh Lieu; and an urban district, Ha Long. Participants aged 15-45 years were randomly selected from the general population to be interviewed. A total of 630 people from 707 households were interviewed; 8% were not home despite repeated visits and 3% refused to participate. The prevalence of premarital intercourse ranged from 9% to 16% among married men and 4% to 7% among married women. Among single men the proportion who had ever had intercourse ranged from 6% to 16%. Fewer than 3% reported having ever had sex with a sex worker. The median number of extramarital sex partners was 1. Knowledge about HIV/AIDS was high in the urban and rural areas but low in the mountainous area. Being male and being 20-29 years old were associated with having multiple sex partners. The low prevalence of individuals reporting that they had had intercourse with sex workers and partners other than their spouse may explain the low rates of HIV infection among the heterosexual population; these rates are in contrast to the high rates of HIV infection found among injecting drug users. The association between having extramarital partners and being a younger man suggests that the tendency to have more sexual partners may increase in the future. If this happens, the potential for HIV to be spread through heterosexual sex will increase.

Direct Penetrating Radiation Monitoring Systems: Technical Evaluation for Use at Area G, Los Alamos National Laboratory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D. Kraig; W. A. Treadaway; R. J. Wechsler

1999-01-01

Recent advances and commercialization of electret-ion-chamber (EIC) technology for photon measurements prompted us to consider EKs as a replacement for our TLD system. After laboratory tests indicated that both systems gave adequate results for controlled exposures, throughout 1998 we conducted field tests with paired TLDs and EICS, in LANL technical areas and in public areas. We had approximately 30 paired sampling sites at Area G. At each sampling site, we deployed three TLDs and three EICS. The EICS were contained in air-tight jars, each of which was placed in a Tyvek envelope and hung about 1 m above the ground. The dosimeters were read (and, if necessary, replaced) every three months. At the sites outside Area G, the TLD readings for the first two quarters were statistically significantly higher than those of the EICS: group average exposures were 38 and 36, compared with 33 mR (both quarters) for the EICS; during quarter 3, the EIC average (40 mR) was higher than the TLD average (34 mR); and during quarter 4, the two systems were statistically the same: EIC = 42, TLD = 41 with a p-value of 0.61. We are still evaluating these differences and performing additional laboratory studies to determine causes. At the Area G sites,we noticed that several of the TLDs gave much higher readings than their co-located EICS; we believe that the TLDs were over-responding by ∼50% to the low-energy (60-keV) gamma radiation associated with 241 Am, whereas the EICS were responding accurately. We conclude that EICS are more accurate at a wide range of gamma energies and are preferable to TLDs in environments where a significant fraction of the photons are low energy

Virtual water and water self-sufficiency in agricultural and livestock products in Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

da Silva, Vicente de Paulo R; de Oliveira, Sonaly D; Braga, Célia C; Brito, José Ivaldo B; de Sousa, Francisco de Assis S; de Holanda, Romildo M; Campos, João Hugo B C; de Souza, Enio P; Braga, Armando César R; Rodrigues Almeida, Rafaela S; de Araújo, Lincoln E

2016-12-15

Virtual water trade is often considered a solution for restricted water availability in many regions of the world. Brazil is the world leader in the production and export of various agricultural and livestock products. The country is either a strong net importer or a strong net exporter of these products. The objective of this study is to determine the volume of virtual water contained in agricultural and livestock products imported/exported by Brazil from 1997 to 2012, and to define the water self-sufficiency index of agricultural and livestock products in Brazil. The indexes of water scarcity (WSI), water dependency (WDI) and water self-sufficiency (WSSI) were calculated for each Brazilian state. These indexes and the virtual water balance were calculated following the methodology developed by Chapagain and Hoekstra (2008) and Hoekstra and Hung (2005). The total water exports and imports embedded in agricultural and livestock products were 5.28 × 10 10 and 1.22 × 10 10  Gm 3  yr -1 , respectively, which results in positive virtual water balance of 4.05 × 10 10  Gm 3  yr -1 . Brazil is either a strong net importer or a strong net exporter of agricultural and livestock products among the Mercosur countries. Brazil has a positive virtual water balance of 1.85 × 10 10  Gm 3  yr -1 . The indexes used in this study reveal that Brazil is self-sufficient in food production, except for a few products such as wheat and rice. Horticultural products (tomato, onion, potato, cassava and garlic) make up a unique product group with negative virtual water balance in Brazil. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1,3-Bis(2-chloroethyl-1-nitrosourea-loaded bovine serum albumin nanoparticles with dual magnetic resonance–fluorescence imaging for tracking of chemotherapeutic agents

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Wei KC

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Kuo-Chen Wei,1 Feng-Wei Lin,2 Chiung-Yin Huang,1 Chen-Chi M Ma,3 Ju-Yu Chen,1 Li-Ying Feng,1 Hung-Wei Yang2 1Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, 2Institute of Medical Science and Technology, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung, 3Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, Republic of China Abstract: To date, knowing how to identify the location of chemotherapeutic agents in the human body after injection is still a challenge. Therefore, it is urgent to develop a drug delivery system with molecular imaging tracking ability to accurately understand the distribution, location, and concentration of a drug in living organisms. In this study, we developed bovine serum albumin (BSA-based nanoparticles (NPs with dual magnetic resonance (MR and fluorescence imaging modalities (fluorescein isothiocyanate [FITC]-BSA-Gd/1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl-1-nitrosourea [BCNU] NPs to deliver BCNU for inhibition of brain tumor cells (MBR 261-2. These BSA-based NPs are water dispersible, stable, and biocompatible as confirmed by XTT cell viability assay. In vitro phantoms and in vivo MR and fluorescence imaging experiments show that the developed FITC-BSA-Gd/BCNU NPs enable dual MR and fluorescence imaging for monitoring cellular uptake and distribution in tumors. The T1 relaxivity (R1 of FITC-BSA-Gd/BCNU NPs was 3.25 mM-1 s-1, which was similar to that of the commercial T1 contrast agent (R1 =3.36 mM-1 s-1. The results indicate that this multifunctional drug delivery system has potential bioimaging tracking of chemotherapeutic agents ability in vitro and in vivo for cancer therapy. Keywords: drug tracking, fluorescence imaging, MR imaging, BSA nanoparticles, cancer therapy

Fiber-optic triggered release of liposome in vivo: implication of personalized chemotherapy

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Huang HL

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Huei-Ling Huang,1 Pei-Hsuan Lu,1 Hung-Chih Yang,1 Gi-Da Lee,1,2 Han-Ru Li,1 Kuo-Chih Liao1 1Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, 2Department of Radiology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan Abstract: The aim of this research is to provide proof of principle by applying the fiber-optic triggered release of photo-thermally responsive liposomes embedded with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs using a 200 µm fiber with 65 mW and 532 nm excitation for topical release in vivo. The tunable delivery function can be paired with an apoptosis biosensor based on the same fiber-optic configuration for providing real-time evaluation of chemotherapy efficacy in vivo to perform as a personalized chemotherapy system. The pattern of topical release triggered by laser excitation conveyed through optical fibers was monitored by the increase in fluorescence resulting from the dilution of self-quenching (75 mM fluorescein encapsulated in liposomes. In in vitro studies (in 37°C phosphate buffer saline, the AuNP-embedded liposomes showed a more efficient triggered release (74.53%±1.63% in 40 minutes than traditional temperature-responsive liposomes without AuNPs (14.53%±3.17% or AuNP-liposomes without excitation (21.92%±2.08% by spectroscopic measurements. Using the mouse xenograft studies, we first demonstrated that the encapsulation of fluorescein in liposomes resulted in a more substantial content retention (81% in the tumor than for free fluorophores (14% at 120 minutes after administration from in vivo fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, the preliminary results also suggested the tunable release capability of the system by demonstrating consecutive triggered releases with fiber-optic guided laser excitation. Keywords: fiber-optic guided excitation, light excitation triggered release, photo-thermal responsive liposome, gold nanoparticles, tunable release in vivo

Mobile Technology in E-Learning for Undergraduate Medical Education on Emergent Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Disorders: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Li-Ang; Wang, Shu-Ling; Chao, Yi-Ping; Tsai, Ming-Shao; Hsin, Li-Jen; Kang, Chung-Jan; Fu, Chia-Hsiang; Chao, Wei-Chieh; Huang, Chung-Guei; Li, Hsueh-Yu; Chuang, Cheng-Keng

2018-03-08

(difference 1.7, 95% CI 0.1-2.7; P=.03), and hedonic stimulation (difference 1.9, 95% CI 0.3-3.1; P=.01) compared with the PPS group. Qualitative feedback indicated that the various games in the IM module attracted the participants' attention but that the nonlinearly arranged materials affected their learning. Using M-TEL for undergraduate medical education on emergent ORL-HNS disorders, an IM module seems to be useful for gaining knowledge, but competency may need to occur elsewhere. While the small sample size reduces the statistical power of our results, its design seems to be appropriate to determine the effects of M-TEL using a larger group. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02971735; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02971735 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6waoOpCEV). ©Li-Ang Lee, Shu-Ling Wang, Yi-Ping Chao, Ming-Shao Tsai, Li-Jen Hsin, Chung-Jan Kang, Chia-Hsiang Fu, Wei-Chieh Chao, Chung-Guei Huang, Hsueh-Yu Li, Cheng-Keng Chuang. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education (http://mededu.jmir.org), 08.03.2018.

Clinical utility of the Chinese Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-Symptoms and Normal-behaviors questionnaire (SWAN when compared with DISC-IV

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Chan GFC

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Grace Fong-Chun Chan,1 Kelly Yee-Ching Lai,2 Ernest Siu-Luen Luk,3 Se-Fong Hung,2 Patrick Wing-Leung Leung4 1Department of Psychiatry, Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, 2Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 3Private practice, 4Clinical and Health Psychology Centre, Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Background: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD is a common and impairing child and adolescent psychiatric disorder. Early identification and prompt treatment are essential. Rating scales are commonly used by clinicians and researchers to assess ADHD children. Objective: In the current study, we aimed to examine the clinical utility of the Chinese version of the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal Behaviors (SWAN questionnaire. We validated its subscale scores against the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC-IV and looked into its ability to identify ADHD in a psychiatric clinic setting. We also tested age and gender effects on SWAN scores. Specific subscale cutoff scores of SWAN were subsequently determined.Method: A total of 290 children aged 6–12 years old studying in local mainstream primary schools were recruited from a clinic setting and interviewed with the parent version of DISC-IV. Their parents and teachers completed the corresponding version of SWAN.Results: Both parent and teacher versions of SWAN were found to have good concurrent validity with DISC-IV. It could identify ADHD well in a clinic sample. Gender-specific cutoff scores were determined. Sensitivities and specificities were found to be satisfactory. SWAN was also found to perform equally well in identifying ADHD in those with and without comorbid Autistic Spectrum Disorder.Conclusion: SWAN was proven to be a useful tool to aid the assessment of ADHD in a clinic sample. Keywords: ADHD, SWAN, DISC-IV, validity

Non-invasive prenatal testing: a review of international implementation and challenges

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Allyse M

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Megan Allyse,1 Mollie A Minear,2 Elisa Berson,3 Shilpa Sridhar,3 Margaret Rote,3 Anthony Hung,3 Subhashini Chandrasekharan4 1Institute for Health and Aging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA, 2Duke Science & Society, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA, 3Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA; 4Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA Abstract: Noninvasive prenatal genetic testing (NIPT is an advance in the detection of fetal chromosomal aneuploidies that analyzes cell-free fetal DNA in the blood of a pregnant woman. Since its introduction to clinical practice in Hong Kong in 2011, NIPT has quickly spread across the globe. While many professional societies currently recommend that NIPT be used as a screening method, not a diagnostic test, its high sensitivity (true positive rate and specificity (true negative rate make it an attractive alternative to the serum screens and invasive tests currently in use. Professional societies also recommend that NIPT be accompanied by genetic counseling so that families can make informed reproductive choices. If NIPT becomes more widely adopted, States will have to implement regulation and oversight to ensure it fits into existing legal frameworks, with particular attention to returning fetal sex information in areas where sex-based abortions are prevalent. Although there are additional challenges for NIPT uptake in the developing world, including the lack of health care professionals and infrastructure, the use of NIPT in low-resource settings could potentially reduce the need for skilled clinicians who perform invasive testing. Future advances in NIPT technology promise to expand the range of conditions that can be detected, including single gene disorders. With these advances come questions of how to handle incidental findings and variants of unknown significance. Moving forward, it is essential that all stakeholders have

Combining Experiments and Simulations of Extraction Kinetics and Thermodynamics in Advanced Separation Processes for Used Nuclear Fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, Mikael

2018-05-15

This 3-year project was a collaboration between University of California Irvine (UC Irvine), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) and with an international collaborator at ForschungZentrum Jülich (FZJ). The project was led from UC Irvine under the direction of Profs. Mikael Nilsson and Hung Nguyen. The leads at PNNL, INL, ANL and FZJ were Dr. Liem Dang, Dr. Peter Zalupski, Dr. Nathaniel Hoyt and Dr. Giuseppe Modolo, respectively. Involved in this project at UC Irvine were three full time PhD graduate students, Tro Babikian, Ted Yoo, and Quynh Vo, and one MS student, Alba Font Bosch. The overall objective of this project was to study how the kinetics and thermodynamics of metal ion extraction can be described by molecular dynamic (MD) simulations and how the simulations can be validated by experimental data. Furthermore, the project includes the applied separation by testing the extraction systems in a single stage annular centrifugal contactor and coupling the experimental data with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. Specific objectives of the proposed research were: 1. Study and establish a rigorous connection between MD simulations based on polarizable force fields and extraction thermodynamic and kinetic data. 2. Compare and validate CFD simulations of extraction processes for An/Ln separation using different sizes (and types) of annular centrifugal contactors. 3. Provide a theoretical/simulation and experimental base for scale-up of batch-wise extraction to continuous contactors. We approached objective 1 and 2 in parallel. For objective 1 we started by studying a well established extraction system with a relatively simple extraction mechanism, namely tributyl phosphate. What we found was that well optimized simulations can inform experiments and new information on TBP behavior was presented in this project, as well be discussed below. The second objective proved a larger

Temporal and spatial trends studied by lichen analysis: atmospheric deposition of trace elements in Mexico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aspiazu, J.; Cervantes, L.; Ramirez, J.; Lopez, J.; Villasenor, P. [ININ, 52045 Ocoyoacac, Estado de Mexico (Mexico); Ramos, R.; Munoz, R. [Secretaria del Medio Ambiente, Gestion Ambiental del Aire, Mexico City (Mexico)

2007-07-01

Ball moss on Tillandsia recurvata (Bromeliaceae), collected in an area previously identified as unpolluted, was transplanted to thirteen bio-monitoring sites in the downtown and metropolitan areas of Mexico City (which cover a surface of 9,560 km{sup 2}) during the periods August 2002 - January 2003 and July 2003 - October 2003. A total of 52 lichens (weighing 300 g) were transplanted to each place. Two were analysed as zero or reference, El Chico National Park, a location 100 Km upwind from the city and the remaining 26 were hung in nylon net bags in order to be able to collect two transplanted tree month, out of every season over a one-year period. The concentrations were measured by the quantitative PIXE method based on an extemal beam facility. The atmospheric deposition for trace elements was inferred by its concentration in lichen samples collected in 2002 from 13 sites in Mexico and compared with data from a similar survey in 2003. The concentration of Cr, Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn and other elements was determined for each sample. Maps for each element were drawn after a geostatistical estimate of the metal concentration in the sample was made. Maps were drawn for all elements with the estimated values. Geographical distribution patterns were obtained for the different metals, reflecting the contribution of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. The deposition patterns of V, As, Se, Cd and Pb are substantially influenced by long-range transport from other parts of Mexico City. For Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, the deposition patterns are largely determined by contribution from point sources within Mexico and in the metropolitan area. The lichen data for Br and, in part, Se reflect an airborne supply from the environment. Contributions to trace element concentrations in lichen sources other than atmospheric deposition are identified and discussed. The Spatial and temporal variations in the distribution of metal concentration are discussed. (Author)

Induction of apoptosis by Armillaria mellea constituent armillarikin in human hepatocellular carcinoma

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Chen YJ

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Yu-Jen Chen,1–4 Chien-Chih Chen,5 Huey-Lan Huang6 1Department of Medical Research, 2Department of Radiation Oncology, Mackay Memorial Hospital, 3Institute of Traditional Medicine, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, 4Institute of Pharmacology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, 5Department of Biotechnology, HungKuang University, Taichung, 6Department of Bioscience Technology, College of Health Science, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Taiwan Abstract: Armillaria mellea is a honey mushroom often used in the traditional Chinese medicine “Tianma”. Currently, this medicinal mushroom is also used as a dietary supplement in numerous Western and Eastern countries. Armillarikin was isolated from A. mellea, and we previously discovered that it induced cytotoxicity in human leukemia cells. In this study, we further investigated the cytotoxicity of armillarikin against liver and intrahepatic bile duct cancer cells. Armillarikin was cytotoxic against human hepatocellular carcinoma Huh7, HA22T, and HepG2 cells based on the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl-2-(4-sulfophenyl-2H-tetrazolium and alamarBlue® assays. Armillarikin treatment also induced the collapse of the mitochondrial transmembrane potential of these cells. Furthermore, armillarikin-induced apoptotic cell death was demonstrated by sub-G1 chromosomal DNA formation by using flow cytometry. In addition, the apoptosis was inhibited by the pan-caspase inhibitor, Z-VAD-fmk. Immunoblotting also revealed the armillarikin-induced activation of procaspase-3, -8, and -9 and upregulation of the apoptosis- and cell cycle arrest-related phospho-histones 2 and 3, respectively. Moreover, reactive oxygen species scavengers also inhibited the armillarikin-induced apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma, suggesting that reactive oxygen species formation played an important role in the armillarikin-induced apoptosis of human hepatocellular carcinoma. In

The impact of the duration of an untreated episode on improvement of depression and somatic symptoms

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Hung CI

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Ching-I Hung,1,2 Nan-Wen Yu,1,2 Chia-Yih Liu,1,2 Kuan-Yi Wu,1,2 Ching-Hui Yang3 1Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan, 2Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan; 3Department of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the duration of an untreated episode (DUE on the improvement of depression and somatic symptoms among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD, after the patients had received 4 weeks of pharmacotherapy. Methods: In this open-label study, there were 155 participants with MDD who were treated daily with 75 mg of venlafaxine for 4 weeks. DUE was defined as the interval between the onset of the index major depressive episode and the start of pharmacotherapy. The Depression and Somatic Symptoms Scale (DSSS, composed of the depression subscale (DS and the somatic subscale (SS, was used. The SS included the pain subscale (PS and the nonpain somatic subscale (NPSS. Multiple linear regressions were used to test the impacts of DUE on the improvement percentages (IPs of depression and somatic symptoms. Results: Eighty-five subjects completed the 4-week treatment. The IPs of the DS, SS, and NPSS were significantly negatively correlated with DUE. A shorter DUE was related to higher IPs. DUE was an independent factor, predicting the IPs of the DS, SS, and NPSS. DUE <1 month was the most powerful time-point to predict the IPs of the DS, SS, and NPSS. However, DUE was unable to predict the IP of the PS at all time-points. Conclusion: A shorter DUE might be one of the factors related to greater improvement of depression and somatic symptoms. DUE should be considered as an important factor when investigating the prognosis of depression and somatic symptoms. Keywords: early intervention, somatization, treatment response, prognosis, outcome

Purple urine bag syndrome in nursing homes: Ten elderly case reports and a literature review

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Chi-Hung Lin

2008-12-01

Full Text Available Chi-Hung Lin1, Hsien-Te Huang1, Chia-Chang Chien1, Dong-Sheng Tzeng1,2, For-Wey Lung1,3–51Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Armed Forces General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 2Graduate Institute of Occupational Safety and Health; 3Graduate Institute of Behavioral Sciences, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Department of Psychiatry, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Calo Psychiatric Center, Pingtung County, TaiwanAbstract: Purple urine bag syndrome (PUBS is a rare occurrence, in which the patient has a purple-colored urine bag following urinary catheterization for hours to days. Most of authors believe it is a mixture of indigo (blue and indirubin (red that becomes purple. Previous study showed that PUBS occurred predominantly in chronically catheterized, constipated women. We collected 10 elderly patients with PUBS in two nursing homes. The first two cases were identified by chart review in 1987 and 2003, and then later eight cases (42.1% were collected among 19 urinary catheterized elderly in the period between January 2007 and June 2007. In the present report, PUBS probably can occur in any patients with the right elements, namely urinary tract infection (UTI with bacteria possessing these enzymes, diet with enough tryptophan, and being catheterized. Associations with bed-bound state, Alzheimer’s, or dementia from other causes are reflections of the state of such patients who are at higher risk for UTI, and hence PUBS occurred. Although we presented PUBS as a harmless problem, prevention and control of the nosocomial catheter-associated UTIs (CAUTIs has become very important in the new patient-centered medical era. Thus, we should decrease the duration of catheterization, improve catheter care, and deploy technological advances designed for prevention, especially in the elderly cared for in nursing homes.Keyword: purple urine bag syndrome, indigo, indirubin, nursing home, bacteriuria, indoxyl sulphatase

Lateralized behaviour as indicator of affective state in dairy cows.

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Sarah Kappel

Full Text Available In humans, there is evidence that sensory processing of novel or threatening stimuli is right hemisphere dominated, especially in people experiencing negative affective states. There is also evidence for similar lateralization in a number of non-human animal species. Here we investigate whether this is also the case in domestic cattle that may experience long-term negative states due to commonly occurring conditions such as lameness. Health and welfare implications associated with pain in lame cows are a major concern in dairy farming. Behavioural tests combining animal behaviour and cognition could make a meaningful contribution to our understanding of disease-related changes in sensory processing in animals, and consequently enhance their welfare. We presented 216 lactating Holstein-Friesian cows with three different unfamiliar objects which were placed either bilaterally (e.g. two yellow party balloons, two black/white checkerboards or hung centrally (a Kong™ within a familiar area. Cows were individually exposed to the objects on three consecutive days, and their viewing preference/eye use, exploration behaviour/nostril use, and stop position during approach was assessed. Mobility (lameness was repeatedly scored during the testing period. Overall, a bias to view the right rather than the left object was found at initial presentation of the bilateral objects. More cows also explored the right object rather than the left object with their nose. There was a trend for cows appearing hesitant in approaching the objects by stopping at a distance to them, to then explore the left object rather than the right. In contrast, cows that approached the objects directly had a greater tendency to contact the right object. No significant preference in right or left eye/nostril use was found when cows explored the centrally-located object. We found no relationship between lameness and lateralized behaviour. Nevertheless, observed trends suggesting that

Odour-mediated foraging by yellowjacket wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae): predation on leks of pheromone-calling Mediterranean fruit fly males (Diptera: Tephritidae).

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Hendrichs, J; Katsoyannos, B I; Wornoayporn, V; Hendrichs, M A

1994-09-01

Predation is probably the most important male mortality factor in insect species with courtship displays that render males performing them conspicuous targets of predators. Sexually active Mediterranean fruit fly males, Ceratitis capitata (Wied.), aggregate in leks, where they participate in agonistic encounters and engage in visual, acoustic and pheromone-calling displays to attract receptive females. The objective of this study was to assess: a) whether sexually displaying C. capitata males in leks inside host and non-host foliage are subject to predation by the most prominent predators yellow-jacket wasps, Vespula germanica (F.), and if so, b) whether olfactory, visual or auditive stimuli are used by foraging wasps in locating male C. capitata prey. Studies were carried out in a citrus orchard and surroundings on the island of Chios, Greece. Observations were conducted using perforated containers hung within mulberry, fig or citrus foliage. Living C. capitata flies of different sex and either mature or immature were placed inside. Our results show that the yellowjacket wasps have learned to associate the presence of sexually active medfly males aggregated in leks with their prey's pheromone (kairomone). Foraging wasps, flying through the crowns of host trees, responded to the odour source of C. capitata male pheromone by approaching from downwind. Even inside dense citrus tree foliage, wasps keyed in on aggregations of pheromone-calling males using olfactory stimuli. Stimuli of visual and acoustic male signalling were only used at close range, after having followed the pheromone plume close to its source. Visual cues played a greater role in directing wasp foraging under more open and exposed host foliage conditions. Odour-based foraging of wasps inside host foliage in the mid-morning hours, when medfly male lekking activities peak, shifted gradually to a more visual-based host fruit patrolling in the afternoons to capture ovipositing and feeding medfly females

Effect of microemulsions on transdermal delivery of citalopram: optimization studies using mixture design and response surface methodology

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Huang CT

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Chi-Te Huang,1 Ming-Jun Tsai,2,3 Yu-Hsuan Lin,1 Yaw-Sya Fu,4 Yaw-Bin Huang,5 Yi-Hung Tsai,5 Pao-Chu Wu11School of Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, 2Department of Neurology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 3School of Medicine, Medical College, China Medical University, Taichung, 4Faculty of Biomedical Science and Environmental Biology, 5Graduate Institute of Clinical Pharmacy, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Republic of ChinaAbstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of microemulsions as a drug vehicle for transdermal delivery of citalopram. A computerized statistical technique of response surface methodology with mixture design was used to investigate and optimize the influence of the formulation compositions including a mixture of Brij 30/Brij 35 surfactants (at a ratio of 4:1, 20%–30%, isopropyl alcohol (20%–30%, and distilled water (40%–50% on the properties of the drug-loaded microemulsions, including permeation rate (flux and lag time. When microemulsions were used as a vehicle, the drug permeation rate increased significantly and the lag time shortened significantly when compared with the aqueous control of 40% isopropyl alcohol solution containing 3% citalopram, demonstrating that microemulsions are a promising vehicle for transdermal application. With regard to the pharmacokinetic parameters of citalopram, the flux required for the transdermal delivery system was about 1280 µg per hour. The microemulsions loaded with citalopram 3% and 10% showed respective flux rates of 179.6 µg/cm2 and 513.8 µg/cm2 per hour, indicating that the study formulation could provide effective therapeutic concentrations over a practical application area. The animal study showed that the optimized formulation (F15 containing 3% citalopram with an application area of 3.46 cm2 is able to reach a minimum effective therapeutic concentration with no erythematous reaction

Sedimentation patterns in floodplains of the Mekong Delta - Vietnam

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Van Manh, Nguyen; Merz, Bruno; Viet Dung, Nguyen; Apel, Heiko

2013-04-01

Quantification of floodplain sedimentation during the flood season in the Mekong Delta (MD) plays a very important role in the assessment of flood deposits for a sustainable agro-economic development. Recent studies on floodplain sedimentation in the region are restricted to small pilot sites because of the large extend of the Delta, and the complex channel. This research aims at a quantification of the sediment deposition in floodplains of the whole Mekong Delta, and to access the impacts of the upstream basin development on the sedimentation in the Delta quantitatively. To achieve this, a suspended sediment transport model is developed based on the quasi-2D hydrodynamic model of the whole Mekong Delta developed by Dung et al. (2011). The model is calibrated and validated using observed data derived from several sediment measurement campaigns in channel networks and floodplains. Measured sediment data and hydrodynamic model quantify the spatio-temporal variability of sediment depositions in different spatial units: individual dyke compartments, and the sub-regions Plain of Reeds, Long Xuyen Quadrangle and the area between Tien River and Hau River. It is shown that the distribution of sediment deposition over the delta is highly depended on the flood magnitude, that in turn drives the operation policy of flood control systems in floodplains of the Mekong Delta. Thus, the sedimentation distribution is influenced by the protection level of the dyke systems in place and the distance to the Tien River and Hau River, the main branches of the Mekong in the Delta. This corroborates the main findings derived from data analysis obtained from a small scale test site by Hung et al, (2011, 2012a). Moreover, the results obtained here underlines the importance of the main channels for the sediment transport into the floodplains, and the deposition rate in floodplains is strongly driven by the intake locations and the distance from these to the main channels as well.

Activities of methionine-γ-lyase in the acidophilic archaeon “Ferroplasma acidarmanus” strain fer1

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Khan MA

2013-04-01

Full Text Available M A Khan,1 Madeline M López-Muñoz,2 Charles W Kaspar,3 Kai F Hung1 1Department of Biological Sciences, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL, USA; 2Department of Biology, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico; 3Bacteriology Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA Abstract: Biogeochemical processes on exposed pyrite ores result in extremely high levels of sulfuric acid at these locations. Acidophiles that thrive in these conditions must overcome significant challenges, including an environment with proton concentrations at pH 3 or below. The role of sulfur metabolism in the archaeon “Ferroplasma acidarmanus” strain fer1's ability to thrive in this environment was investigated due to its growth-dependent production of methanethiol, a volatile organic sulfur compound. Two putative sequences for methionine-γ-lyase (EC 4.4.1.11, an enzyme known to carry out α, γ-elimination on L-methionine to produce methanethiol, were identified in fer1. Bioinformatic analyses identified a conserved pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP binding domain and a partially conserved catalytic domain in both putative sequences. Detection of PLP-dependent and L-methionine-dependent production of α-keto compounds and thiol groups in fer1 confirmed the presence of methionine-γ-lyase activity. Further, fer1 lysate was capable of processing related substrates, including D-methionine, L-cysteine, L-cystathionine, and L/D-homocysteine. When the two putative fer1 methionine-γ-lyase gene-coded proteins were expressed in Escherichia coli cells, one sequence demonstrated an ability to carry out α, γ-elimination activity, while the other exhibited γ-replacement activity. These fer1 methionine-γ-lyases also exhibited optimum pH, substrate specificity, and catalytic preferences that are different from methionine-γ-lyases from other organisms. These differences are discussed in the context of molecular phylogeny constructed using a maximum

Temporal and spatial trends studied by lichen analysis: atmospheric deposition of trace elements in Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aspiazu, J.; Cervantes, L.; Ramirez, J.; Lopez, J.; Villasenor, P.; Ramos, R.; Munoz, R.

2007-01-01

Ball moss on Tillandsia recurvata (Bromeliaceae), collected in an area previously identified as unpolluted, was transplanted to thirteen bio-monitoring sites in the downtown and metropolitan areas of Mexico City (which cover a surface of 9,560 km 2 ) during the periods August 2002 - January 2003 and July 2003 - October 2003. A total of 52 lichens (weighing 300 g) were transplanted to each place. Two were analysed as zero or reference, El Chico National Park, a location 100 Km upwind from the city and the remaining 26 were hung in nylon net bags in order to be able to collect two transplanted tree month, out of every season over a one-year period. The concentrations were measured by the quantitative PIXE method based on an extemal beam facility. The atmospheric deposition for trace elements was inferred by its concentration in lichen samples collected in 2002 from 13 sites in Mexico and compared with data from a similar survey in 2003. The concentration of Cr, Cu, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn and other elements was determined for each sample. Maps for each element were drawn after a geostatistical estimate of the metal concentration in the sample was made. Maps were drawn for all elements with the estimated values. Geographical distribution patterns were obtained for the different metals, reflecting the contribution of natural and anthropogenic emission sources. The deposition patterns of V, As, Se, Cd and Pb are substantially influenced by long-range transport from other parts of Mexico City. For Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu, the deposition patterns are largely determined by contribution from point sources within Mexico and in the metropolitan area. The lichen data for Br and, in part, Se reflect an airborne supply from the environment. Contributions to trace element concentrations in lichen sources other than atmospheric deposition are identified and discussed. The Spatial and temporal variations in the distribution of metal concentration are discussed. (Author)

The antidiabetic effects of a dry powder of dietary vegetable and fruit mixtures in diabetic db/db mice

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Chung-Man Yeung

2008-09-01

Full Text Available Chung-Man Yeung1, Yi Tan1, Sidney Tam2, Liwei Lu3, King-Hung Ko3, Pai-Hao Yang1,4, Hsiang-Fu Kung4, Marie C Lin11Department of Chemistry, Open Laboratory of Chemical Biology of the Institute of Molecular Technology, 2Clinical Biochemistry Unit, 3Department of Pathology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; 4Centre of Emerging Infectious Diseases, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, ChinaAbstract: We evaluated the antidiabetic effects of a mixed vegetable powder-formula I (MVP-FI, which is a dry powder mixture of over 65 kinds of vegetables and fruits, using the db/db type 2 diabetes mouse model. The db/db mice at 8–10 weeks of age were randomly divided into three groups: vehicle treatment, 1.575 g/kg MVP-FI treatment, and 3.15 g/kg MVP-FI treatment. During 12 days of treatment, we measured food intake and body weight changes, fasting blood glucose levels, and plasma lipid levels. Our results showed that the food intake and the body weight of MVP-FI-treated group were decreased gradually. Moreover, the fasting blood glucose level of the treated group was significantly dropped to a normal level comparable to that of the lean mice. Furthermore, we also found that the plasma triglyceride level in the treated group was dropped, whereas the high-density lipoprotein (HDL level was increased and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio was decreased. Taken together, these results suggest that the diabetic conditions of the db/db mice have been improved after 12 days treatment with MVP-FI. The antihyperglycemic and antiobese activities of the MVP-FI, as demonstrated in the present study, may have important clinical implications for improving the management of type 2 diabetic patients.Keywords: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM, db/db mice, diabetes

Liver cancer cells: targeting and prolonged-release drug carriers consisting of mesoporous silica nanoparticles and alginate microspheres

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Liao YT

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Yu-Te Liao,1 Chia-Hung Liu,2 Jiashing Yu,1 Kevin C-W Wu1,3 1Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Department of Urology, Taipei Medical University-Shuang Ho Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan; 3Division of Medical Engineering Research, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan Township, Miaoli County, Taiwan Abstract: A new microsphere consisting of inorganic mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs and organic alginate (denoted as MSN@Alg was successfully synthesized by air-dynamic atomization and applied to the intracellular drug delivery systems (DDS of liver cancer cells with sustained release and specific targeting properties. MSN@Alg microspheres have the advantages of MSN and alginate, where MSN provides a large surface area for high drug loading and alginate provides excellent biocompatibility and COOH functionality for specific targeting. Rhodamine 6G was used as a model drug, and the sustained release behavior of the rhodamine 6G-loaded MSN@Alg microspheres can be prolonged up to 20 days. For targeting therapy, the anticancer drug doxorubicin was loaded into MSN@Alg microspheres, and the (lysine4-tyrosine-arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (K4YRGD peptide was functionalized onto the surface of MSN@Alg for targeting liver cancer cells, hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2. The results of the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT assay and confocal laser scanning microscopy indicate that the MSN@Alg microspheres were successfully uptaken by HepG2 without apparent cytotoxicity. In addition, the intracellular drug delivery efficiency was greatly enhanced (ie, 3.5-fold for the arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD-labeled, doxorubicin-loaded MSN@Alg drug delivery system compared with the non-RGD case. The synthesized MSN@Alg microspheres show great potential as drug vehicles with high biocompatibility, sustained release, and targeting features for future intracellular DDS. Keywords

Results of a pilot study in the U.S. and Vietnam to assess the utility and acceptability of a multi-level pregnancy test (MLPT) for home monitoring of hCG trends after assisted reproduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Shochet, Tara; Comstock, Ioanna A; Ngoc, Nguyen Thi Nhu; Westphal, Lynn M; Sheldon, Wendy R; Loc, Ly Thai; Blum, Jennifer; Winikoff, Beverly; Blumenthal, Paul D

2017-08-22

To evaluate the utility and acceptability of using multi-level pregnancy tests (MLPTs) at home to monitor hCG trends following assisted reproductive technology (ART). One hundred and four women presenting for ART at either Stanford Medicine Fertility and Reproductive Health Clinic (Stanford, CA) or Hung Vuong Hospital (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) participated in this pilot study. Women were asked to perform the MLPT at home, primarily on days when they were also scheduled to receive standard clinic-based serum hCG testing. These tests were administered up to 6 times over the 6-week period following embryo transfer or intrauterine insemination (IUI). Concordance of serial hCG readings for each time point was assessed by comparing trends in urine MLPT results with trends in serum hCG. Stable or increasing hCG level was interpreted as an indication of a progressing pregnancy, while a declining hCG was interpreted as a lack of established or progressing pregnancy. At study end, all participants were asked about the acceptability and convenience of using the MLPT at home for monitoring hCG trends following ART. Data from both urine and serum testing are available for 156 of 179 clinic visits (87.2%). There was high concordance of serial trend results between the two types of tests: among the 156 sets of serum and urine hCG data points, 150 (96.2%) showed a matching trend in hCG pattern and 6 (3.8%) resulted in a discordant trend. Seventy-three percent of women reported being satisfied or very satisfied with using the MLPTs at home. Almost all (96.6%) said that the MLPT was easy or very easy to use. The MLPT offers women and health care providers a client-friendly diagnostic tool to detect very early pregnancy and monitor its progress. This study was registered on clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01846403 (May 1, 2013), and NCT01919502 (August 5, 2013).

Sharia, Justice, and the Politics of Intimacy

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Rafia Zakaria

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In the war-ravaged decade following 9/11, every aspect of Muslim women’s lives has become a fulcrum of political contestation. From burka bans in Belgium to proposed Sharia bans in Oklahoma and Tennessee, saving Muslim women is advertised as a purported aim for broad and varied campaigns that in actuality have little to do with them. In private conversations and in public forums on these issues, the questions on many lips are inevitably “But doesn’t Islam really oppress women?” or “Doesn’t Sharia law treat women as second class citizens?” Because these observers see Islam, Sharia, and Muslim women undifferentiated monoliths, the answers to their questions consequently fit the binaries that produce them: good and bad, just and unjust, oppressive and liberating. The assumptions buried inside these perceptions rest on western law, in which gender equality is safe, while in Sharia law, its specter hung with images of hacked hands and stoned women, it is not. The consequence of looking through these prisms is that everyone, reader and writer, scholar and student, is required to pick at team and then sit as onlookers in a civilizational contest that had little room for nuance or dialogue. All writing about Islam and Muslim women must thus ascribe to this paradigm, either an unequivocal defense or a fervid denigration, a prioritization of being either Muslim or female, and always an “either/or” and never ever a uniting “and.” The essay presented here is a small rebellion against precisely this arrangement, one that insists that we choose a side, and immediately agree or disagree, before we understand or empathize or make any attempt to feel how the world appears to others seated at different places in the arena or to those in the ring itself. Rather, liberation and justice are complicated issues that defy the construction of neat lines across cultures and contexts and individual lives.

Adjunct effect of music therapy on cognition in Alzheimer’s disease in Taiwan: a pilot study

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Li CH

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Chien-Hsun Li,1–3 Ching-Kuan Liu,2,3 Yuan-Han Yang,2–4 Mei-Chuan Chou,2,4 Chun-Hung Chen,2 Chiou-Lian Lai2,3 1Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 2Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 3Department of and Master’s Program in Neurology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Department of Neurology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan Purpose: Music therapy (MT reviews have found beneficial effects on behaviors and social interaction in Alzheimer’s disease (AD but inconsistent effects on cognition. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the adjunct effect of long-term and home-based MT in AD patients under pharmacological treatment. Patients and methods: Mild AD cases (clinical dementia rating =0.5~1 were consecutively recruited and voluntarily separated into an MT group or control group (CG for 6 months. Outcome assessments included Cognitive Abilities Screening Instrument (CASI, CASI-estimated mini-mental state examination, clinical dementia rating with sum of box scores, and neuropsychiatric inventory. The MT interventions were Mozart’s Sonata (KV 448 and Pachelbel’s Canon, listening with headphones for 30 minutes daily in the morning and before sleep, respectively. Results: Forty-one cases (MT versus CG number =20 versus 21 were analyzed. Adjusted differences of CASI-estimated mini-mental state examination and CASI after 6 months in the MT group were slightly less decreased than the CG without statistical significance. In further analysis of cognitive domains of CASI, the adjusted difference of abstraction domain in the MT group was significantly better than the CG. Conclusion: Although there were no apparent additional benefits of this MT on the global cognition and daily functioning in mild AD patients, it confirms the adjunct

Common Cause Case Study: An Estimated Probability of Four Solid Rocket Booster Hold-Down Post Stud Hang-ups

Science.gov (United States)

Cross, Robert

2005-01-01

Until Solid Rocket Motor ignition, the Space Shuttle is mated to the Mobil Launch Platform in part via eight (8) Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) hold-down bolts. The bolts are fractured using redundant pyrotechnics, and are designed to drop through a hold-down post on the Mobile Launch Platform before the Space Shuttle begins movement. The Space Shuttle program has experienced numerous failures where a bolt has hung up. That is, it did not clear the hold-down post before liftoff and was caught by the SRBs. This places an additional structural load on the vehicle that was not included in the original certification requirements. The Space Shuttle is currently being certified to withstand the loads induced by up to three (3) of eight (8) SRB hold-down experiencing a "hang-up". The results of loads analyses performed for (4) stud hang-ups indicate that the internal vehicle loads exceed current structural certification limits at several locations. To determine the risk to the vehicle from four (4) stud hang-ups, the likelihood of the scenario occurring must first be evaluated. Prior to the analysis discussed in this paper, the likelihood of occurrence had been estimated assuming that the stud hang-ups were completely independent events. That is, it was assumed that no common causes or factors existed between the individual stud hang-up events. A review of the data associated with the hang-up events, showed that a common factor (timing skew) was present. This paper summarizes a revised likelihood evaluation performed for the four (4) stud hang-ups case considering that there are common factors associated with the stud hang-ups. The results show that explicitly (i.e. not using standard common cause methodologies such as beta factor or Multiple Greek Letter modeling) taking into account the common factor of timing skew results in an increase in the estimated likelihood of four (4) stud hang-ups of an order of magnitude over the independent failure case.

Design and construction of a prestressed concrete pressure vessel for a working pressure of 69N/mm2 (10,000 p.s.i)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, P.

1977-01-01

Construction is nearing completion of a pressure vessel with a chamber 9.15 m (30 ft.) high and 3.05 m (10 ft.) internal diameter for hydraulic tests on marine components up to 69 N/mm 2 (10,000 p.s.i.) working pressure. The chamber comprises a steel cylinder, with independent end plates contained within a prestressed concrete structure. The cylinder is constructed in two halves, each consisting of three forged rings, 170 mm thick, shrink-fitted onto a 90 mm thick liner. It rests on a 100 mm thick bottom plate, provided with a band of hard-facing overlay on which the cylinder slides in response to changes of test medium pressure. Models to be tested within the chamber are hung from a removeable 150 mm thick top plate. A central elliptical hatch provides access into the chamber. Special sealing assemblies are fitted at the junction of the cylinder sections and between the cylinder and end plates. These seals are capable of accepting radial expansion of the cylinder and corresponding vertical movements at the upper seal arising from elastic movements of the enclosing structure. The top plate is restrained by a wire-wound prestressed concrete closure plug, itself located by twelve bifurcated inclined steel struts which transfer the load on the top plate into the concrete structure. The struts are retractable to allow removal of the closure plug and top plate. The enclosing concrete structure is 25 m (82 ft.) high and 11 m (36 ft.) diameter. It is vertically prestressed by 180 no. 540 Tonne tendons and circumferentially prestressed by 5 mm wire laid under tension in pre-cast concrete channels by the Taylor Woodrow Wire-Winding System. The structure was analysed, using limit state principles, by computerised elastic and non-elastic dynamic relaxation techniques. The results were evaluated against triaxial stress criteria established from relevant research work and experience obtained from nuclear prestressed concrete pressure vessels

Patients’ satisfaction and prevalence of complications on surgical extraction of third molar

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Lee CTY

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Crystal TY Lee, Shinan Zhang, Yiu Yan Leung, Samantha KY Li, Cissy C Tsang, Chun-Hung Chu Faculty of Dentistry, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China Objectives: To study patients’ satisfaction and prevalence of complications in surgical extraction of impacted third molar by senior dentists and recently graduated dentists in a university dental clinic. Method: Patients who had impacted third molar extraction in a university dental clinic by two associate dentists who had <2 years of experience and two senior dentists who had >15 years of experience were evaluated in this study. Patients’ age, sex, history of pericoronitis, tooth extracted, and radiographic assessment of the impacted tooth were recorded. Immediately after suture removal, the patients were invited to indicate their satisfaction on a Likert scale of 1–5. Results: A total of 546 patients received extraction, and 251 patients were operated by associate dentists. Patient satisfaction was higher among those who had noncomplicated surgery (P=0.007, short treatment time (P<0.001, and had no postsurgical emergency appointments (P<0.001. The prevalence of seeking postsurgical emergency appointments was 9.2%. The reasons were severe pain (4.8%, swelling (2.6%, bleeding (2.4%, alveolar osteitis (0.9%, paresthesia (0.9, and trismus (0.5%. The prevalence of postsurgical complication(s in associate dentists and senior dentists was 11.6% and 7.1%, respectively (P=0.050. The mean satisfaction scores for associate dentists and senior dentists were 4.17 and 3.95, respectively (P=0.002. Conclusion: Although a higher rate of postsurgical complications was observed among the patients treated by the recently graduated dentists, their patients’ satisfaction scores were higher than that of the senior dentists. Around 9% of patients attended postsurgical emergency appointments, and their common reason was severe pain. Keywords: dental satisfaction, dentistry

Indoor application of attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB in combination with mosquito nets for control of pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes.

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Zachary P Stewart

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB sprayed onto vegetation has been successful in controlling Anopheles mosquitoes outdoors. Indoor application of ATSB has yet to be explored. The purpose of this study was to determine whether ATSB stations positioned indoors have the potential to kill host-seeking mosquitoes and constitute a new approach to control of mosquito-borne diseases. METHODS: Insecticides were mixed with dyed sugar solution and tested as toxic baits against Anopheles arabiensis, An. Gambiae s.s. and Culex quinquefasciatus in feeding bioassay tests to identify suitable attractant-insecticide combinations. The most promising ATSB candidates were then trialed in experimental huts in Moshi, Tanzania. ATSB stations were hung in huts next to untreated mosquito nets occupied by human volunteers. The proportions of mosquitoes killed in huts with ATSB treatments relative to huts with non-insecticide control treatments huts were recorded, noting evidence of dye in mosquito abdomens. RESULTS: In feeding bioassays, chlorfenapyr 0.5% v/v, boric acid 2% w/v, and tolfenpyrad 1% v/v, mixed in a guava juice-based bait, each killed more than 90% of pyrethroid-susceptible An. Gambiae s.s. and pyrethroid-resistant An. arabiensis and Cx. quinquefasciatus. In the hut trial, mortality rates of the three ATSB treatments ranged from 41-48% against An. arabiensis and 36-43% against Cx. quinquefasciatus and all were significantly greater than the control mortalities: 18% for An. arabiensis, 7% for Cx. quinquefasciatus (p<0.05. Mortality rates with ATSB were comparable to those with long lasting insecticidal nets previously tested against the same species in this area. CONCLUSIONS: Indoor ATSB shows promise as a supplement to mosquito nets for controlling mosquitoes. Indoor ATSB constitute a novel application method for insecticide classes that act as stomach poisons and have not hitherto been exploited for mosquito control. Combined with LLIN, indoor

Method and Apparatus for Assessing the Properties of Slags

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Biernat S.

2017-09-01

Full Text Available A special Slag-Prop Cu database has been developed to archive data from laboratory and industrial tests related to post-reduction slags. In order to enrich the data areas, it was decided to design a system for measuring the temperature of the liquid slag and its viscosity. Objectives of research work are to gather information on the properties of post-slags such as the temperature of liquid slag and its viscosity. The discussed issues are especially important in the foundry practice. Designed research stand and using of database applications can greatly facilitate the work of metallurgists, foundrymen, technologists and scientists. The viscosity measurement was developed and presented earlier. The author’s analytical methodology was supplemented by a thyristor measuring system (described in the article. The system temperature measurement can be performed simultaneously in 3 ways to reduce the measurement error. Measurement of the voltage mV - using the Seebeck effect can be measured throughout the entire range of thermocouple resistance, up to 1300 °C. Direct temperature measurement °C - measurement only below 1000 °C. Additional measurement - the measurement can also be read from the pyrometer set above the bath. The temperature and the reading frequency depend on the device itself. The principle of measurement is that in a molten metal / slag crucible, we put a N-type thermocouple. The thermocouples are hung by means of a tripod above the crucible and placed in a crucible. The thermocouple is connected to a compensating line dedicated to this type of thermocouple. The cable is in turn connected to a special multimeter that has the ability to connect to a computer and upload results. Temperature measurement can be performed simultaneously in 3 ways to reduce the measurement error. The Sn-Pb alloy has been subjected to testing for proper operation of the device. In this foot should be observed the supercooling of the liquid, which initiates

GROW-OUT OF ABALONE Haliotis squamata IN FLOATING CAGES FED DIFFERENT PROPORTIONS OF SEAWEED AND WITH REDUCTION OF STOCKING DENSITY

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I Nyoman Adiasmara Giri

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Abalone is a herbivore marine animal which feeds on seaweed. Abalone culture has a good prospect in terms of price, market share and simple culture technique. Thus, a study was conducted with the aim of finding out an effective and efficient abalone culture technique in terms of feed use and density. In this study, a 42 cm diameter plastic container with a 22 cm height was used. Three vertically arranged containers were used as the experimental group which were put into a net box and hung onto a raft so that the containers were placed in a 4 m depth below the sea surface. The juvenile of abalones being used came from a hatchery production that has been adapted to cages environment with Gracilaria sp. and Ulva sp. feed. The initial density of abalones was 450 for each container, with the initial weight of 2.6-3.2 g and the 2.5-2.7 cm shell lengths. The abalones were fed with Gracilaria sp. and Ulva sp. seaweeds with different Gracilaria sp./Ulva sp. proportions, i.e. 100/0% (A; 80/20% (B; and 60/40% (C as the treatments. Each treatment consisted of two replications. After three months of rearing period, densities of abalones were reduced to be 190 for each experimental unit. Weight and shell length of abalones were measured every month by measuring 25 abalone samples from each experimental unit. The result of the experiment showed that the increase in the Ulva sp. proportion in the feed increased the growth of abalones and decreased the feed conversion. Feeding with Gracilaria sp./Ulva sp. proportion of 60%/40% allowed the best growth of abalones. The decrease of abalone density in the experimental unit after three months of rearing also produced an increase in their growth.

Lateralized behaviour as indicator of affective state in dairy cows.

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Kappel, Sarah; Mendl, Michael T; Barrett, David C; Murrell, Joanna C; Whay, Helen R

2017-01-01

In humans, there is evidence that sensory processing of novel or threatening stimuli is right hemisphere dominated, especially in people experiencing negative affective states. There is also evidence for similar lateralization in a number of non-human animal species. Here we investigate whether this is also the case in domestic cattle that may experience long-term negative states due to commonly occurring conditions such as lameness. Health and welfare implications associated with pain in lame cows are a major concern in dairy farming. Behavioural tests combining animal behaviour and cognition could make a meaningful contribution to our understanding of disease-related changes in sensory processing in animals, and consequently enhance their welfare. We presented 216 lactating Holstein-Friesian cows with three different unfamiliar objects which were placed either bilaterally (e.g. two yellow party balloons, two black/white checkerboards) or hung centrally (a Kong™) within a familiar area. Cows were individually exposed to the objects on three consecutive days, and their viewing preference/eye use, exploration behaviour/nostril use, and stop position during approach was assessed. Mobility (lameness) was repeatedly scored during the testing period. Overall, a bias to view the right rather than the left object was found at initial presentation of the bilateral objects. More cows also explored the right object rather than the left object with their nose. There was a trend for cows appearing hesitant in approaching the objects by stopping at a distance to them, to then explore the left object rather than the right. In contrast, cows that approached the objects directly had a greater tendency to contact the right object. No significant preference in right or left eye/nostril use was found when cows explored the centrally-located object. We found no relationship between lameness and lateralized behaviour. Nevertheless, observed trends suggesting that lateralized

Desempenho agronômico de linhas endogâmicas ecombinadas de Capsicum annuum L. em sistema orgânico sob cultivo protegido Agronomic performance of recombinant inbred of Capsicum annuum L. lines cultivated under organic system and greenhouse conditions

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Sarah Ola Moreira

2010-08-01

Full Text Available O manejo de plantas em cultivo protegido e a busca de produtos orgânicos pelos consumidores têm sido um desafio para produtores e pesquisadores de hortaliças. Para que essas formas de cultivo proporcionem lucratividade ao produtor e frutos de qualidade para o consumidor, faz-se necessária a busca por genótipos adaptados a esse manejo diferenciado. Neste trabalho, objetivouse avaliar o desempenho de 12 linhas endogâmicas recombinadas de Capsicum annuum L., obtidas do cruzamento entre os acessos UENF 1421 e UENF 1381, em cultivo protegido sob manejo orgânico. O experimento foi instalado em casa de vegetação, na Estação Experimental de Seropédica da PESAGRO-RIO, em blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Avaliaram-se o número total de frutos (NTF, peso total de frutos (PTF, peso médio dos frutos (PMF, comprimento dos frutos (CF, diâmetro dos frutos (DF, relação comprimento/diâmetro do fruto (CF/DF e presença de capsaicina (CAPS. Foram estimados os parâmetros genéticos variâncias genotípica, fenotípica e ambiental, coeficientes de determinação genotípico e de variação genética e o índice de variação. Houve diferença altamente significativa para todas as características, exceto para PTF. As linhas produziram elevado número de frutos, leves e de formatos variados. Somente duas linhas não tiveram pungência e quatro segregaram para CAPS. Todas as características tiveram alta variância genotípica e altos coeficientes de determinação genotípicos, mostrando que os resultados são, predominantemente, de origem genética. Os dados permitiram a indicação preliminar das linhas 5 e 8 para o cultivo orgânico em ambiente protegido.Plant management under greenhouse conditions, associated with search for ecological products by consumers, has been a challenge for both farmers and vegetable researchers. Obtaining profit and quality depends on adapted genotypes that can be grown using an adequate management. The aim

Analysis of the Motion Control Methods for Stratospheric Balloon-Borne Gondola Platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, H H; Yuan, Z H; Wu, J

2006-01-01

At present, gondola platform is one of the stratospheric balloon-borne platforms being in research focus at home and overseas. Comparing to other stratospheric balloon-borne platforms, such as airship platform, gondola platform has advantages of higher stability, rapid in motion regulation and lower energy cost but disadvantages of less supporting capacity and be incapable of fixation. While all platforms have the same goal of keeping them at accurate angle and right pose for the requirements of instruments and objects installed in the platforms, when platforms rotate round the ground level perpendicular. That is accomplishing motion control. But, platform control system has factors of low damper, excessive and uncertain disturbances by the reason of its being hung over balloon in the air, it is hard to achieve the desired control precision because platform is ease to deviate its benchmark motion. Thus, in the controlling procedure in order to get higher precision, it is crucial to perceive the platform's swing synchronously and rapidly, and restrain the influence of disturbances effectively, keep the platform's pose steadily. Furthermore, while the platform in the air regard control center in the ground as reference object, it is ultimate to select a appropriate reference frame and work out the coordinates and implement the adjustment by the PC104 controller. This paper introduces the methods of the motion control based on stratospheric balloon-borne gondola platform. Firstly, this paper compares the characteristic of the flywheel and CMG and specifies the key methods of obtaining two significant states which are 'orientation stability' state and 'orientation tracking' state for platform motion control procedure using CMG as the control actuator. These two states reduce the deviation amplitude of rotation and swing of gondola's motion relative to original motion due to stratospheric intense atmosphere disturbance. We define it as the first procedure. In next

Assessing the oseltamivir-induced resistance risk and implications for influenza infection control strategies

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Hsieh NH

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Nan-Hung Hsieh,1 Yi-Jun Lin,2 Ying-Fei Yang,2 Chung-Min Liao2 1Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA; 2Department of Bioenvironmental Systems Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan Background: Oseltamivir-resistant mutants with higher drug resistance rates and low transmission fitness costs have not accounted for influenza (subtype viruses. Predicting the impacts of neuraminidase inhibitor therapy on infection rates and transmission of drug-resistant viral strains requires further investigation.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the potential risk of oseltamivir-induced resistance for influenza A (H1N1 and A (H3N2 viruses.Materials and methods: An immune-response-based virus dynamic model was used to best fit the oseltamivir-resistant A (H1N1 and A (H3N2 infection data. A probabilistic risk assessment model was developed by incorporating branching process-derived probability distribution of resistance to estimate oseltamivir-induced resistance risk.Results: Mutation rate and sensitive strain number were key determinants in assessing resistance risk. By increasing immune response, antiviral efficacy, and fitness cost, the spread of resistant strains for A (H1N1 and A (H3N2 were greatly decreased. Probability of resistance depends most strongly on the sensitive strain number described by a Poisson model. Risk of oseltamivir-induced resistance increased with increasing the mutation rate for A (H1N1 only. The ≥50% of resistance risk induced by A (H1N1 and A (H3N2 sensitive infected cells were 0.4 (95% CI: 0.28–0.43 and 0.95 (95% CI 0.93–0.99 at a mutation rate of 10−6, respectively. Antiviral drugs must be administrated within 1–1.5 days for A (H1N1 and 2–2.5 days for A (H3N2 virus infections to limit viral production.Conclusion: Probabilistic risk assessment of antiviral drug

La solución constructiva de la bóveda encamonada del salón de plenos del palacio del Senado en Madrid (España

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Bustamante, R.

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The constructive type of the timber vault that covers the Plenary Hall of the Palace of the Senate of Spain belonging to the first quarter of the 19th century is analyzed, being composed of the following elements: a rectangular soffit or timber slab with the voids filled up with plaster armed with fibers of esparto, which is hung by means of claspers from a few longitudinal straps of the wooden trusses of the original cover; a half vault formed by double table “camones” supported by a continuous wooden perimeter. By the inner face the soffit and the half vault are provided by plaster and separated by a semicircular perimetric molding in the North and South sides. The papers presents a historical investigation of the changes since the former Augustinian church to the Lounge of Spanish Parliament and Lounge of Plenary sessions, an analysis of the constructive type to which the vault belongs, a geometric characterization and a description of the principal elements.

Se analiza el tipo constructivo de la bóveda encamonada que cubre el Salón de Plenos del Palacio del Senado de España del primer cuarto del siglo XIX, que está compuesta por los siguientes elementos: un plafón rectangular o forjado de tablas con entrevigado de yeso armado con fibras de esparto, que está colgado mediante abrazaderas de unas vigas longitudinales que se apoyan sobre los tirantes de las cerchas de madera de la cubierta original. Y por una semibóveda formada por camones de dobles tablas apoyados en un encadenado perimetral. Por el intradós el plafón y la semibóveda están guarnecidos con yeso y separados entre sí por una moldura perimetral semicircular en los lados Norte y Sur. En el trabajo se presenta una investigación histórica de los cambios registrados desde la antigua iglesia agustina, hasta el Salón de Cortes y Salón de Plenos, un análisis del tipo constructivo al que pertenece la bóveda, una caracterización geométrica y una descripci

Limb swinging in elephants and giraffes and implications for the reconstruction of limb movements and speed estimates in large dinosaurs

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A. Christian

1999-01-01

für schnelles Gehen nahe, der von großen Dinosauriern zur Erhöhung der Höchstgeschwindigkeiten eingesetzt worden sein könnte. Die Ergebnisse werfen neues Licht auf die Dynamik großer Wirbeltiere. Sie können zu Verbesserungen in den Schätzungen der Fortbewegungsgeschwindigkeiten großer Dinosaurier eingesetzt werden. doi:10.1002/mmng.1999.4860020105

The association of nephrolithiasis with metabolic syndrome and its components: a cross-sectional analysis

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Liu YT

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Yen-Tze Liu,1 Pei-Yu Yang,2 Yu-Wen Yang,1 Hung-Yu Sun,1 I-Ching Lin1,3,4 1Department of Family Medicine, Changhua Christian Hospital, 2Department of Laboratory, Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Changhua City, 3School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung City, 4School of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan Background: Metabolic syndrome is a worldwide disorder and also the major risk factor of several systemic diseases. Evidence identifying the association between metabolic syndrome and nephrolithiasis is lacking, especially in Taiwan.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between nephrolithiasis and metabolic syndrome and its components.Design and setting: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in the Health Examination Department of a medical center in Changhua, Taiwan, from January 2010 to December 2010.Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients who had visited the Health Examination Center of Changhua Christian Hospital in 2010. A total of 3,886 individuals were enrolled. According to the exclusion criteria, those with an age <20 years and an abnormal renal function were excluded. A total of 3,793 subjects were included. All P-values are two tailed, and P<0.05 was defined as statistically significant.Results: The results showed a correlation between nephrolithiasis and metabolic syndrome and its components. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR (95% confidence interval [CI] of metabolic syndrome for nephrolithiasis was 1.318 (1.083–1.604, with a P-value of 0.006. Larger waist circumference (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.338; 95% CI 1.098–1.631; P=0.004, higher blood pressure (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.333; 95% CI 1.106–1.607; P=0.003, and increased fasting glucose (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.276; 95% CI 1.054–1.546; P=0.01 were associated with nephrolithiasis.Conclusion: This is the first study in Taiwan to investigate the relationship between metabolic

Identifying the variables associated with pain during transrectal ultrasonography of the prostate

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Hou CP

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Chen-Pang Hou,1,2 Yu-Hsiang Lin,1,2 Meng-Chiao Hsieh,3 Chien-Lun Chen,1,2 Phei-Lang Chang,1,2 Ying-Chen Huang,2 Ke-Hung Tsui1,21Department of Urology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, 2School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 3Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Chiayi, Chang Gung University, Kwei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan Objective: The purpose of this study was to prospectively investigate the degree of pain experienced by the patients receiving transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS of the prostate by applying a visual analog scale. We also identified the clinical parameters influencing pain during the TRUS examination.Materials and methods: Records were obtained from a prospective database for male patients who received TRUS of prostate in the outpatient department of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan, from January 2014 to June 2014. The patients underwent a detailed physical examination and medical history review. Immediately after the TRUS examination, the patients completed questionnaires based on a ten-point visual analog pain scale. The variables of interest were age, body mass index, prostate volume, prostate sagittal length, prostate-specific antigen, previous TRUS experience, external hemorrhoids, anal surgical history, prostate calcification, and image artifact caused by stool in the rectum. All variables were correlated to the visual analog scale by applying multivariate regression analysis.Results: By using linear regression analysis, we identified the independent factors that affected the pain score during the TRUS examination. The patients who received the examination for the first time or had longer prostate sagittal lengths, external hemorrhoids, anal surgical history, or stool stored in the rectum experienced more pain during the TRUS examination. Furthermore, the pain was reduced when we provided the patients with a detailed explanation before the procedure and

Identification of the benefits, enablers and barriers to integrating junior pharmacists into the ward team within one UK-based hospital

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Hung MY

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Man Yui Hung,1 David John Wright,2 Jeanette Blacklock,2 Richard John Needle1,2 1Pharmacy Department, Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust, Colchester, 2School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK Introduction: A high nurse-vacancy rate combined with high numbers of applications for junior pharmacist roles resulted in Colchester Hospital University National Health System Foundation Trust trial employing junior pharmacists into traditional nursing posts with the aim of integrating pharmacists into the ward team and enhancing local medicines optimization. The aim of the evaluation was to describe the implementation process and practice of the integrated care pharmacists (ICPs in order to inform future innovations of a similar nature.Methods: Four band 6 ward-based ICPs were employed on two wards funded within current ward staffing expenditure. With ethical committee approval, interviews were undertaken with the ICPs and focus groups with ward nurses, senior ward nurses and members of the medical team. Data were analyzed thematically to identify service benefits, barriers and enablers. Routine ward performance data were obtained from the two ICP wards and two wards selected as comparators. Appropriate statistical tests were performed to identify differences in performance.Results: Four ICPs were interviewed, and focus groups were undertaken with three junior nurses, four senior nurses and three medical practitioners. Service enablers were continuous ward time, undertaking drug administration, positive feedback and use of effective communication methods. Barriers were planning, funding model, career development, and interprofessional working and social isolation. ICPs were believed to save nurse time and improve medicines safety. The proportion of patients receiving medicine reconciliation within 24 hours increased significantly in the ICP wards. All ICPs had resigned from their role within 12 months.Discussion: It was

Effects of electroacupuncture on recent stroke inpatients with incomplete bladder emptying: a preliminary study

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Yu KW

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Kuo-Wei Yu,1,* Chien-Lin Lin,1,2 Chun-Chuang Hung,3 Eric Chieh-Lung Chou,4 Yueh-Ling Hsieh,5 Te-Mao Li,2,3,* Li-Wei Chou1,2,61Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 2School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 3Graduate Institute of Acupuncture Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 4Department of Urology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Department of Physical Therapy, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Acupuncture Research Center, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Incomplete bladder emptying (IBE is defined as having a postvoid residual (PVR urine volume greater than 100 mL for 2 consecutive days. IBE is common in stroke patients and could necessitate indwelling or intermittent catheterization. The condition is correlated with urinary tract infections, which could impede rehabilitation progress and increase medical costs. Treatment for patients with IBE includes bladder retraining, biofeedback, medication, and botulinum toxin injection, but none of these interventions are completely effective.Methods: All patients with acute stroke who were admitted to the rehabilitation ward between August 2010 and April 2011 were included in the study and their PVR urine volume was checked. Electroacupuncture (EA; 1 Hz, 15 minutes was performed on the acupoints Sanyinjiao (SP6, Ciliao (BL32, and Pangguangshu (BL28 of stroke patients with IBE for a total of ten treatments (five times a week for 2 weeks. Bladder diaries, which included the spontaneous voiding and PVR urine volumes, were recorded during the course of treatment.Results: The presence of IBE was not related to sex, history of diabetes mellitus, stroke type (hemorrhagic or ischemic, or stroke location (P > 0.05. Among the 49 patients in the study, nine (18% had IBE

[Hyperlexia in an adult patient with lesions in the left medial frontal lobe].

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, K; Yamadori, A; Kumabe, T; Endo, K; Fujii, T; Yoshimoto, T

2000-04-01

A 69-year-old right-handed woman developed a transcortical motor aphasia with hyperlexia following resection of a glioma in the left medial frontal lobe. Neurological examination revealed grasp reflex in the right hand and underutilization of the right upper extremity. An MRI demonstrated lesions in the left medial frontal lobe including the supplementary motor area and the anterior part of the cingulate gyrus, which extended to the anterior part of the body of corpus callosum. Neuropsychologically she was alert and cooperative. She demonstrated transcortical motor aphasia. Her verbal output began with echolalia. Furthermore hyperlexia was observed in daily activities and during examinations. During conversation she suddenly read words written on objects around her which were totally irrelevant to the talk. When she was walking in the ward with an examiner she read words written on a trash bag that passed by and signboards which indicated a name of a room. Her conversation while walking was intermingled with reading words, which was irrelevant to the conversation. She also read time on analog clocks, which were hung on a wall in a watch store. In a naming task, she read words written on objects first and named them upon repeated question about their names. When an examiner opened a newspaper in front of her without any instructions she began reading until the examiner prohibited it. Then she began reading again when an examiner turned the page, although she remembered that she should not read it aloud. She showed mild ideomotor apraxia of a left hand. Utilization behavior, imitation behavior, hypergraphia, or compulsive use of objects was not observed throughout the course. Hyperlexic tendency is a prominent feature of this patient's language output. Hyperlexia was often reported in children with pervasive developmental disorders including autism. There are only a few reports about hyperlexia in adults and some of them were related to diffuse brain dysfunction

Bioconjugation of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator to magnetic nanocarriers for targeted thrombolysis

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Yang HW

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Hung-Wei Yang,1,* Mu-Yi Hua,1,* Kun-Ju Lin,2,* Shiaw-Pyng Wey,3 Rung-Ywan Tsai,4 Siao-Yun Wu,5 Yi-Ching Lu,5 Hao-Li Liu,6 Tony Wu,7 Yunn-Hwa Ma5 1Chang Gung Molecular Medicine Research Center, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, 2Molecular Imaging Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kuei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 3Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, 4Electronics and Optoelectronics Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute, Hsin-chu, Taiwan, Republic of China; 5Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Healthy Aging Research Center, 6Department of Electrical Engineering, Chang Gung University, Kuei-Shan, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 7Department of Neurology, Chang Gung University College of Medicine and Memorial Hospital, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan, Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workAbstract: Low-toxicity magnetic nanocarriers (MNCs composed of a shell of poly [aniline-co-N-(1-one-butyric acid aniline] over a Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticle core were developed to carry recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA in MNC-rtPA for targeted thrombolysis. With an average diameter of 14.8 nm, the MNCs exerted superparamagnetic properties. Up to 276 µg of active rtPA was immobilized per mg of MNCs, and the stability of the immobilized rtPA was greatly improved during storage at 4°C and 25°C. In vitro thrombolysis testing with a tubing system demonstrated that magnet-guided MNC-rtPA showed significantly improved thrombolysis compared with free rtPA and reduced the clot lysis time from 39.2 ± 3.2 minutes to 10.8 ± 4.2 minutes. In addition, magnet-guided MNC-rtPA at 20% of the regular rtPA dose restored blood flow within 15–25 minutes of treatment in a rat embolism model without triggering hematological toxicity. In conclusion, this improved system is based on magnetic targeting accelerated thrombolysis and is

Spiritual care may impact mental health and medication adherence in HIV+ populations

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Oji VU

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Valerie U Oji,1–3 Leslie C Hung,3 Reza Abbasgholizadeh,1,4 Flora Terrell Hamilton,5 E James Essien,6 Evaristus Nwulia7 1Lifefountain Center Ministries Inc, Houston, TX, USA; 2Feik School of Pharmacy, University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX, USA; 3University of Texas, College of Pharmacy, Austin, TX, USA; 4University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA; 5Administration, Family & Medical Counseling Service, Inc. (FMCS, Washington, DC, USA; 6University of Houston Institute for Community Health, Houston, TX, USA; 7Psychiatry, Howard University Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA Objective: To explore a potential role for spirituality in medication-related needs assessment for integrated care in chronically ill populations. Method: A systematic literature review was conducted to explore the impact of faith beliefs on health and/or medication adherence in individuals with depression and/or HIV+/AIDS. Retrospective electronic medical record review of adult HIV+ patients of an urban primary care clinic with integrated mental health services was conducted, with Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Symptoms Screener (SAMISS, major depressive disorder (MDD incidence over the preceding year, and history of contact with a spiritual advisor. A convenience sample was interviewed to qualitatively assess potential medication therapy management needs and medication-related problems. Another sample was examined utilizing the Daily Spiritual Experience Scale. Results: The literature reports positive influence on health behaviors, coping and outcomes; and poor medication adherence and treatment decisions due to patient passivity or resistance. Spiritual advisor contact (not limited to a specific religion was significantly associated with MDD absence (1.7% vs. 15.3%, P<0.005 and inversely related to SAMISS, depression, and poor health behaviors. Patient interviews reflected significance of faith in terms of insight and acceptance of

Management of diagnostic x-ray radiation in developing countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Date, T.

2000-01-01

The purpose of this study is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and effective method to prevent the scattering of x-ray radiation by using a lead apron in the x-ray rooms of developing countries. In developed countries, the scattering of x-ray radiation among patients and radiographers in diagnostic x-ray rooms has been minimized by various methods. However, in some developing countries, scattered x-ray radiation has not yet been adequately contained. The policy of As Law As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) requires that patients who are waiting for their examinations must be protected from scattered x-ray radiation. However, from the author's experience, protection from scattered x-ray radiation in x-ray rooms is often insufficient in developing countries. In addition, major public hospitals in big cities are overwhelmed with patients because radiology resources in developing countries are concentrated in the big cities. Moreover, the situation is made worse by short working hours in public hospitals. Hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. are typical. Because of the circumstances, radiographers, who are in a rush to finish all of the examinations within their normal working hours, sometimes allow patients to enter the x-ray rooms while they are waiting for their examinations. Chest and abdominal x-rays are the most common kinds of diagnostic x-ray examination in developing countries. Thus, in this study, anthropomorphic chest and abdominal phantoms were x-rayed for measuring the scattered x-ray radiation with and without protection using a 0.25mmPb lead apron at specific points from the anthropomorphic phantoms in the x-ray room. The lead apron was hung on a mobile apron-hanger and placed next to the anthropomorphic phantom. The scattered radiation dosimetry for chest x-rays proves that this simple method reduces scattered x-ray radiation to 15% at one-meter point and to almost 0% at the two-meter point from the anthropomorphic phantom in the x-ray room. Lead aprons are

Micro mass spectrometer on a chip.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cruz, Dolores Y.; Blain, Matthew Glenn; Fleming, James Grant

2005-11-01

The design, simulation, fabrication, packaging, electrical characterization and testing analysis of a microfabricated a cylindrical ion trap ({mu}CIT) array is presented. Several versions of microfabricated cylindrical ion traps were designed and fabricated. The final design of the individual trap array element consisted of two end cap electrodes, one ring electrode, and a detector plate, fabricated in seven tungsten metal layers by molding tungsten around silicon dioxide (SiO{sub 2}) features. Each layer of tungsten is then polished back in damascene fashion. The SiO{sub 2} was removed using a standard release processes to realize a free-hung structure. Five different sized traps were fabricated with inner radii of 1, 1.5, 2, 5 and 10 {micro}m and heights ranging from 3-24 {micro}m. Simulations examined the effects of ion and neutral temperature, the pressure and nature of cooling gas, ion mass, trap voltage and frequency, space-charge, fabrication defects, and other parameters on the ability of micrometer-sized traps to store ions. The electrical characteristics of the ion trap arrays were determined. The capacitance was 2-500 pF for the various sized traps and arrays. The resistance was in the order of 1-2 {Omega}. The inductance of the arrays was calculated to be 10-1500 pH, depending on the trap and array sizes. The ion traps' field emission characteristics were assessed. It was determined that the traps could be operated up to 125 V while maintaining field emission currents below 1 x 10{sup -15} A. The testing focused on using the 5-{micro}m CITs to trap toluene (C{sub 7}H{sub 8}). Ion ejection from the traps was induced by termination of the RF voltage applied to the ring electrode and current measured on the collector electrode suggested trapping of ions in 1-10% of the traps. Improvements to the to the design of the traps were defined to minimize voltage drop to the substrate, thereby increasing trapping voltage applied to the ring electrode, and to

Current approaches to treatments for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, part I: an overview and medical treatments

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Chien WT

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Wai Tong Chien, Annie LK Yip School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Abstract: During the last three decades, an increasing understanding of the etiology, psychopathology, and clinical manifestations of schizophrenia spectrum disorders, in addition to the introduction of second-generation antipsychotics, has optimized the potential for recovery from the illness. Continued development of various models of psychosocial intervention promotes the goal of schizophrenia treatment from one of symptom control and social adaptation to an optimal restoration of functioning and/or recovery. However, it is still questionable whether these new treatment approaches can address the patients' needs for treatment and services and contribute to better patient outcomes. This article provides an overview of different treatment approaches currently used in schizophrenia spectrum disorders to address complex health problems and a wide range of abnormalities and impairments resulting from the illness. There are different treatment strategies and targets for patients at different stages of the illness, ranging from prophylactic antipsychotics and cognitive–behavioral therapy in the premorbid stage to various psychosocial interventions in addition to antipsychotics for relapse prevention and rehabilitation in the later stages of the illness. The use of antipsychotics alone as the main treatment modality may be limited not only in being unable to tackle the frequently occurring negative symptoms and cognitive impairments but also in producing a wide variety of adverse effects to the body or organ functioning. Because of varied pharmacokinetics and treatment responsiveness across agents, the medication regimen should be determined on an individual basis to ensure an optimal effect in its long-term use. This review also highlights that the recent practice guidelines and standards have

A hybridized membrane-botanical biofilter for improving air quality in occupied spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Llewellyn, David; Darlington, Alan; van Ras, Niels; Kraakman, Bart; Dixon, Mike

Botanical biofilters have been shown to be effective in improving indoor air quality through the removal of complex mixtures of gaseous contaminants typically found in human-occupied environments. Traditional, botanical biofilters have been comprised of plants rooted into a thin and highly porous synthetic medium that is hung on vertical surfaces. Water flows from the top of the biofilter and air is drawn horizontally through the rooting medium. These botanical biofilters have been successfully marketed in office and institutional settings. They operate efficiently, with adequate contaminant removal and little maintenance for many years. Depending on climate and outdoor air quality, botanical biofiltration can substantially reduce costs associated with ventilation of stale indoor air. However, there are several limitations that continue to inhibit widespread acceptance: 1. Current designs are architecturally limiting and inefficient at capturing ambient light 2. These biofilters can add significant amounts of humidity to an indoor space. This water loss also leads to a rapid accumulation of dissolved salts; reducing biofilter health and performance 3. There is the perception of potentially actively introducing harmful bioaerosols into the air stream 4. Design and practical limitations inhibit the entrance of this technology into the lucrative residential marketplace This paper describes the hybridization of membrane and botanical biofiltration technologies by incorporating a membrane array into the rootzone of a conventional interior planting. This technology has the potential for addressing all of the above limitations, expanding the range of indoor settings where botanical biofiltration can be applied. This technology was developed as the CSA-funded Canadian component an ESA-MAP project entitled: "Biological airfilter for air quality control of life support systems in manned space craft and other closed environments", A0-99-LSS-019. While the project addressed a

Power estimation of martial arts movement with different physical, mood, and behavior using motion capture camera

Science.gov (United States)

Awang Soh, Ahmad Afiq Sabqi; Mat Jafri, Mohd Zubir; Azraai, Nur Zaidi

2017-07-01

In Malay world, there is a spirit traditional ritual where they use it as healing practices or for normal life. Malay martial arts (silat) also is not exceptional where some branch of silat have spirit traditional ritual where they said can help them in combat. In this paper, we will not use any ritual, instead we will use some medicinal and environment change when they are performing. There will be 2 performers (fighter) selected, one of them have an experience in martial arts training and another performer does not have experience. Motion Capture (MOCAP) camera will help observe and analyze this move. 8 cameras have been placed in the MOCAP room 2 on each side of the wall facing toward the center of the room from every angle. This will help prevent the loss detection of a marker that been stamped on the limb of a performer. Passive marker has been used where it will reflect the infrared to the camera sensor. Infrared is generated by the source around the camera lens. A 60 kg punching bag was hung on the iron bar function as the target for the performer when throws a punch. Markers also have been stamped on the punching bag so we can detect the movement how far can it swing when hit by the performer. 2 performers will perform 2 moves each with the same position and posture. For every 2 moves, we have made the environment change without the performer notice about it. The first 2 punch with normal environment, second part we have played a positive music to change the performer's mood and third part we have put a medicine (cream/oil) on the skin of the performer. This medicine will make the skin feel a little bit hot. This process repeated to another performer with no experience. The position of this marker analyzed by the Cortex Motion Analysis software where from this data, we can estimate the kinetics and kinematics of the performer. It shows that the increase of kinetics for every part because of the change in the environment, and different result for the 2

Indoor air quality investigation at air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned markets in Hong Kong

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, H.; Lee, S.C.; Chan, L.Y.

2004-01-01

To characterize indoor air quality at the markets in Hong Kong, three non-air-conditioned and two air-conditioned markets were selected for this study. The indoor air pollutants measured included PM 10 (particulate matters with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm), total bacteria count (TBC), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). The indoor and outdoor concentrations of these target air pollutants at these markets were measured and compared. The effects of air conditioning, temperature/relative humidity variation and different stalls on the indoor air quality were also investigated. The results indicated that all of the average indoor concentrations of PM 10 , TBC, CO and NO 2 at the markets were below the Hong Kong Indoor Air Quality Objectives (HKIAQO) standards with a few exceptions for PM 10 and TBC. The elevated PM 10 concentrations at Hung Hom, Ngau Tau Kok and Wan Chai markets were probably due to the air filtration of outdoor airborne particulates emitted from vehicular exhaust, whereas high concentrations of airborne bacteria at Sai Ying Pun and Tin Shing markets were linked to the use of air conditioning. Correlation analysis demonstrated that indoor bacteria concentrations were correlated with temperature and relative humidity. The operation of air conditioning did not significantly reduce the levels of air pollutants at the markets. However, the higher indoor/outdoor ratios demonstrated that the operation of air conditioning had influence on the levels of bacteria at the markets. It was found that average PM 10 concentration at poultry stalls was higher than the HKIAQO standard of 180 μg/m 3 , and was over two times that measured at vegetable, fish and meat stalls. Furthermore, the concentration of airborne bacteria at the poultry stalls was as high as 1031 CFU/m 3 , which was above the HKIAQO standard of 1000 CFU/m 3 . The bacteria levels at other three stalls were all below the HKIAQO standard

Test report for the run-in acceptance testing of the hydrogen mitigation retrieval Pump-3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berglin, B.G.; Nash, Ch.R.

1997-01-01

This report will provide the findings of the demonstration test conducted on the Double-Shell Tank (DST) 241-SY-101 HMR Pump-3 in accordance with WHC-SDWM-TP-434 ''Test plan for run-in acceptance testing of hydrogen mitigation/retrieval pump-3'' at the 400 Area Maintenance and Storage Facility (MASF) building from 7 June 1996 through 30 July 1996 per work package 4A-96-92/W. The DST 241-SY-101 hydrogen mitigation retrieval Pump-3 is a 200-HP submersible electric driven pump that has been modified for use in the DST 241-SY-101 containing mixed waste located in the 200W area. The pump has a motor driven rotation mechanism that allows the pump column to rotate through 355 degree. Prior to operation, pre-operational checks were performed which included loop calibration grooming and alignment of instruments, learning how plumb HMR-3 assembly hung in a vertical position and bump test of the motor to determine rotation direction. The pump was tested in the MASF Large Diameter Cleaning Vessel (LDCV) with process water at controlled temperatures and levels. In addition, the water temperature of the cooling water to the motor oil heat exchanger was recorded during testing. A 480-volt source powered a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). The VFD powered the pump at various frequencies and voltages to control speed and power output of the pump. A second VFD powered the oil cooling pump. A third VFD was not available to operate the rotational drive motor during the 72 hour test, so it was demonstrated as operational before and after the test. A Mini Acquisition and Control System (Mini-DACS) controls pump functions and monitoring of the pump parameters. The Mini-DACS consists of three computers, software and some Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC). Startup and shutdown of either the pump motor or the oil cooling pump can be accomplished by the Mini-DACS. When the pump was in operation, the Mini-DACS monitors automatically collects data electronically. However, some required data

Effect of Contract Compliance Rate to a Fourth-Generation Telehealth Program on the Risk of Hospitalization in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Chi-Sheng; Lee, Jenkuang; Chen, Ying-Hsien; Huang, Ching-Chang; Wu, Vin-Cent; Wu, Hui-Wen; Chuang, Pao-Yu; Ho, Yi-Lwun

2018-01-24

telehealth program and risk of hospitalization. Renal function status was associated with risk of hospitalization among these patients, and there was a significant interaction with contract compliance rate. ©Chi-Sheng Hung, Jenkuang Lee, Ying-Hsien Chen, Ching-Chang Huang, Vin-Cent Wu, Hui-Wen Wu, Pao-Yu Chuang, Yi-Lwun Ho. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 24.01.2018.

Analysis of the Motion Control Methods for Stratospheric Balloon-Borne Gondola Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, H. H.; Yuan, Z. H.; Wu, J.

2006-10-01

At present, gondola platform is one of the stratospheric balloon-borne platforms being in research focus at home and overseas. Comparing to other stratospheric balloon-borne platforms, such as airship platform, gondola platform has advantages of higher stability, rapid in motion regulation and lower energy cost but disadvantages of less supporting capacity and be incapable of fixation. While all platforms have the same goal of keeping them at accurate angle and right pose for the requirements of instruments and objects installed in the platforms, when platforms rotate round the ground level perpendicular. That is accomplishing motion control. But, platform control system has factors of low damper, excessive and uncertain disturbances by the reason of its being hung over balloon in the air, it is hard to achieve the desired control precision because platform is ease to deviate its benchmark motion. Thus, in the controlling procedure in order to get higher precision, it is crucial to perceive the platform's swing synchronously and rapidly, and restrain the influence of disturbances effectively, keep the platform's pose steadily. Furthermore, while the platform in the air regard control center in the ground as reference object, it is ultimate to select a appropriate reference frame and work out the coordinates and implement the adjustment by the PC104 controller. This paper introduces the methods of the motion control based on stratospheric balloon-borne gondola platform. Firstly, this paper compares the characteristic of the flywheel and CMG and specifies the key methods of obtaining two significant states which are 'orientation stability' state and 'orientation tracking' state for platform motion control procedure using CMG as the control actuator. These two states reduce the deviation amplitude of rotation and swing of gondola's motion relative to original motion due to stratospheric intense atmosphere disturbance. We define it as the first procedure. In next

Prostatic urethral angle might be a predictor of treatment efficacy of α-blockers in men with lower urinary tract symptoms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hou CP

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Chen-Pang Hou,1 Chien-Lun Chen,1 Yu-Hsiang Lin,1 Yu-Lun Tsai,1 Phei-Lang Chang,1 Horng-Heng Juang,2 Ke-Hung Tsui11Department of Urology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 2Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of ChinaPurpose: We investigated the association of the prostatic urethral angle (PUA with peak urinary flow rate (Qmax and the severity of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS on the aging male. We also evaluated the effect of the PUA on the treatment efficacy of tamsulosin on men with LUTS.Materials and methods: The records were obtained from a prospective database for first-visit male patients with LUTS in the outpatient department of our institution. These patients underwent a detailed physical examination and taking of medical history. A transrectal ultrasound was performed on these patients. The prostate size, length of intravesical prostatic protrusion (IPP, PUA, and International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS of the patients were evaluated. Uroflowmetry and a bladder scan for residual urine were also performed on every patient. Tamsulosin 0.2 mg per day was prescribed. The IPSS and uroflowmetry were reevaluated after they had received treatment for 3 months.Results: A total of 178 patients were included, and 149 of them completed this cohort study. The mean PUA was 48.32°±13.74°. The mean prostate volume was 39.19±20.87 mL, and the mean IPP was 5.67±7.85 mm. On multivariate linear regression analysis, the PUA was independently associated with the IPSS (P<0.001, Qmax (P=0.004, post-treatment IPSS change (P=0.032, and post-treatment Qmax change (P<0.001. However, the prostate volume and IPP were not associated with these clinical items.Conclusion: The PUA is significantly associated with Qmax and IPSS in men with LUTS. The PUA is also inversely correlated with changes in Qmax and IPSS after tamsulosin treatment. Namely, the PUA might be a

Körperliche Fitness beim alternden Mann

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rauchenwald M

2001-01-01

Full Text Available Die derzeitige Diskussion um die Substitution von Hormonen zur Therapie altersbedingter Leistungseinbußen und Befindlichkeitsstörungen führte zu der Frage, ob diese Veränderungen bzw. die entsprechenden Hormonspiegel nicht auch durch körperliches Training günstig beeinflußt werden können. Altern ist mit einem kontinuierlichen Abfall der körperlichen Fitness und der Erektionsfähigkeit verbunden. Die Risikofaktoren für Erektionsstörungen, wie z. B. Übergewicht, sind sehr ähnlich jenen von Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen. Mehrere Studien konnten eine positive Korrelation von körperlicher Aktivität und Erektionsfähigkeit nachweisen. Regelmäßige Bewegung führt zu einer Gewichtsreduktion und zu einem Stressabbau. Die mit dem Alterungsprozeß assoziierten Hormone stehen untereinander als auch mit dem körperlichen Fitnesszustand in Zusammenhang. Ausdauertraining erhöht den Testosteronspiegel stärker als Krafttraining, zu hohe Belastungen führen zu einem Abfall desselben, v.a. in der Erholungsphase, und es besteht eine positive Korrelation von körperlicher Aktivität mit Testosteron und mit Wachstumshormon. Ältere Männer haben allerdings einen schlechteren Response als Jüngere (z. T. kein Effekt bei Krafttraining. Auch für Untrainierte scheint eine mäßige Kreislaufbelastung günstig zu sein und zumindest vorübergehend eine geringe Testosteron-Erhöhung zu bewirken. Ein Zusammenhang zwischen Fitness bzw. Lipidprofil einerseits und dem DHEAS-Spiegel andererseits ist in der Literatur bekannt. Körperliches Training führt auf physiologischem Wege zu Müdigkeit, besserem Schlaf und folglich zu höheren Wachstumshormonspiegeln. Weiters werden das Selbstbewußtsein, die Erektionsfähigkeit, die Muskelmasse und das Gefäßsystem günstig beeinflußt und Stress abgebaut. Regelmäßiges Training 3-5 x pro Woche für 30-60 Minuten mit einer Intensität von 60-80% des Maximalpulses wird als Ausdauertraining empfohlen. Regelmäßige k

Calculus migration characterization during Ho:YAG laser lithotripsy by high-speed camera using suspended pendulum method.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jian James; Rajabhandharaks, Danop; Xuan, Jason Rongwei; Chia, Ray W J; Hasenberg, Thomas

2017-07-01

Calculus migration is a common problem during ureteroscopic laser lithotripsy procedure to treat urolithiasis. A conventional experimental method to characterize calculus migration utilized a hosting container (e.g., a "V" grove or a test tube). These methods, however, demonstrated large variation and poor detectability, possibly attributed to the friction between the calculus and the container on which the calculus was situated. In this study, calculus migration was investigated using a pendulum model suspended underwater to eliminate the aforementioned friction. A high-speed camera was used to study the movement of the calculus which covered zero order (displacement), first order (speed), and second order (acceleration). A commercialized, pulsed Ho:YAG laser at 2.1 μm, a 365-μm core diameter fiber, and a calculus phantom (Plaster of Paris, 10 × 10 × 10 mm 3 ) was utilized to mimic laser lithotripsy procedure. The phantom was hung on a stainless steel bar and irradiated by the laser at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 J energy per pulse at 10 Hz for 1 s (i.e., 5, 10, and 15 W). Movement of the phantom was recorded by a high-speed camera with a frame rate of 10,000 FPS. The video data files are analyzed by MATLAB program by processing each image frame and obtaining position data of the calculus. With a sample size of 10, the maximum displacement was 1.25 ± 0.10, 3.01 ± 0.52, and 4.37 ± 0.58 mm for 0.5, 1, and 1.5 J energy per pulse, respectively. Using the same laser power, the conventional method showed <0.5 mm total displacement. When reducing the phantom size to 5 × 5 × 5 mm 3 (one eighth in volume), the displacement was very inconsistent. The results suggested that using the pendulum model to eliminate the friction improved sensitivity and repeatability of the experiment. A detailed investigation on calculus movement and other causes of experimental variation will be conducted as a future study.

Insecticide-treated nets ownership and utilization among under-five children following the 2010 mass distribution in Burkina Faso.

Science.gov (United States)

Diabaté, Souleymane; Druetz, Thomas; Bonnet, Emmanuel; Kouanda, Seni; Ridde, Valéry; Haddad, Slim

2014-09-04

Periodic mass distributions contribute significantly to universal access to insecticide-treated nets (ITNs). However, due to the limited number of nets distributed, needs remain unsatisfied, particularly in large households. This study was conducted in Kaya health district following the 2010 mass distribution of ITNs in Burkina Faso. Data were collected on the socio-economic and geo-spatial characteristics and ITN possession and utilization levels of 2,004 households. The study explored: 1) ITN access, in terms of intra-household saturation with ITNs (households with at least one ITN for every two members) correctly installed and in very good physical condition; and 2) factors influencing the decision to place under-five children under a net. Particular attention was given to vector control activities undertaken by mothers. Of the 2,004 households, 90% possessed at least one ITN. However, intra-household saturation with ITNs was below 60% in small households and below 20% in large ones (>6 members). Crude proportion ratios comparing possession and levels of intra-household saturation with ITNs varied between 1.5 (small households) and 7.8 (large households). The proportions of households with ITNs for every two members that were correctly hung or in very good physical condition ranged from 0% to 6.5% in large households and 27.8% to 40.7% in small ones. ITN use to protect under-five children was lower in large households; it was significantly higher when there was at least one ITN for every two members. In large households, it was significantly higher when a child had experienced an episode of any illness in the previous two weeks and when the mother had taken actions to control vector proliferation. In small households, ITN use was significantly higher in families with agricultural land and children aged 12-23 months. Ownership rates were high, but real access to bed nets remained limited. The allocation process disadvantages large families. Real access to bed

Helicobacter pylori infection is not associated with failure to thrive: a case–control study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiu NC

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Nan-Chang Chiu,1,2,* Chien-Yu Lin,3,* Hsin Chi,1 Chun-Yan Yeung,1,2 Wei-Hsin Ting,1 Wai-Tao Chan,1 Chuen-Bin Jiang,1 Sung-Tse Li,3,4 Chao-Hsu Lin,3 Hung-Chang Lee1,2 1Department of Pediatrics, MacKay Children’s Hospital, 2Department of Medicine, MacKay Junior College of Medicine, Nursing and Management, Taipei, 3Department of Pediatrics, Hsinchu MacKay Memorial Hospital, Hsinchu City, 4Department of Statistics and Information Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei, Taiwan *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: The long-term impact of Helicobacter pylori infection is complex, and concerns about the need for eradication exist. We conducted this case control study to investigate the association between H. pylori infection and failure to thrive (FTT.Patients and methods: From January 2009 to December 2011, 53 children with FTT group and matched children with the same sex and age and similar socioeconomic status without FTT (control group were enrolled. A questionnaire was administered to the parents/guardian, and a 13C-urea breath test was performed to detect H. pylori infection.Results: We found that the total prevalence of H. pylori infection was 29.2% and that there was no association between FTT and H. pylori infection (FTT group: 32%; control group: 26.4%; P=0.67. Short stature was more common in the FTT group and abdominal pain in the control group (FTT group: 37.7%; control group: 11.3%; P=0.003. In a comparison between the H. pylori-positive and -negative groups, abdominal pain (87.1% vs 64%; P=0.032 and the frequency of endoscopy (74.2% vs 32%; P<0.001 were significantly more common in the H. pylori-positive group.Conclusion: We found that children with H. pylori infection are at an increased risk for abdominal pain and that FTT is not associated with H. pylori infection. The decision for eradication should be evaluated carefully and individualized. Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, 13C-urea breath test, failure

Beehive fences as a multidimensional conflict-mitigation tool for farmers coexisting with elephants.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Lucy E; Lala, Fredrick; Nzumu, Hesron; Mwambingu, Emmanuel; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain

2017-08-01

Increasing habitat fragmentation and human population growth in Africa has resulted in an escalation in human-elephant conflict between small-scale farmers and free-ranging African elephants (Loxodonta Africana). In 2012 Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) implemented the national 10-year Conservation and Management Strategy for the Elephant in Kenya, which includes an action aimed at testing whether beehive fences can be used to mitigate human-elephant conflict. From 2012 to 2015, we field-tested the efficacy of beehive fences to protect 10 0.4-ha farms next to Tsavo East National Park from elephants. We hung a series of beehives every 10 m around the boundary of each farm plot. The hives were linked with strong wire. After an initial pilot test with 2 farms, the remaining 8 of 10 beehive fences also contained 2-dimensional dummy hives between real beehives to help reduce the cost of the fence. Each trial plot had a neighboring control plot of the same size within the same farm. Of the 131 beehives deployed 88% were occupied at least once during the 3.5-year trial. Two hundred and fifty-three elephants, predominantly 20-45 years old entered the community farming area, typically during the crop- ripening season. Eighty percent of the elephants that approached the trial farms were kept out of the areas protected by the beehive fences, and elephants that broke a fence were in smaller than average groups. Beehive fences not only kept large groups of elephants from invading the farmland plots but the farmers also benefited socially and financially from the sale of 228 kg of elephant-friendly honey. As news of the success of the trial spread, a further 12 farmers requested to join the project, bringing the number of beehive fence protected farms to 22 and beehives to 297. This demonstrates positive adoption of beehive fences as a community mitigation tool. Understanding the response of elephants to the beehive fences, the seasonality of crop raiding and fence breaking, and the

Culturally adaptive storytelling method to improve hypertension control in Vietnam - "We talk about our hypertension": study protocol for a feasibility cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Allison, Jeroan J; Nguyen, Hoa L; Ha, Duc A; Chiriboga, Germán; Ly, Ha N; Tran, Hanh T; Phan, Ngoc T; Vu, Nguyen C; Kim, Minjin; Goldberg, Robert J

2016-01-14

Vietnam is experiencing an epidemiologic transition with an increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases. At present, the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) are either on the rise or at alarming levels in Vietnam; inasmuch, the burden of CVD will continue to increase in this country unless effective prevention and control measures are put in place. A national survey in 2008 found that the prevalence of hypertension (HTN) was approximately 25 % among Vietnamese adults and it increased with advancing age. Therefore, novel, large-scale, and sustainable interventions for public health education to promote engagement in the process of detecting and treating HTN in Vietnam are urgently needed. A feasibility randomized trial will be conducted in Hung Yen province, Vietnam to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a novel community-based intervention using the "storytelling" method to enhance the control of HTN in adults residing in four rural communities. The intervention will center on stories about living with HTN, with patients speaking in their own words. The stories will be obtained from particularly eloquent patients, or "video stars," identified during Story Development Groups. The study will involve two phases: (i) developing a HTN intervention using the storytelling method, which is designed to empower patients to facilitate changes in their lifestyle practices, and (ii) conducting a feasibility cluster-randomized trial to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of the intervention compared with usual care in HTN control among rural residents. The trial will be conducted at four communes, and within each commune, 25 individuals 50 years or older with HTN will be enrolled in the trial resulting in a total sample size of 100 patients. This feasibility trial will provide the necessary groundwork for a subsequent large-scale, fully powered, cluster-randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of our novel

Pabellón deportivo en Viena – Austria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schmidt, W.

1977-04-01

Full Text Available This stadium which, having 113.60 m diameter in the base is one of the biggest circular pavillions in the world comprises a 60 X 30 m sports field, four racing tracks and a veloromo. It also has two grandstands, with capacity for 6,300 seats, and all the necessary installations for holding any type of sporting or social event. For its construction, a system of prefabricated parts was chosen which, in essence, comprises the following: a series of reinforced concrete supports, placed in the periphery on individual foundations; and a metal sheet monolythic roof, in the shape of an inverted cone, with an 112 m free span without supports, hung from the supports and tensioned by a central reinforced concrete slab, on which the heating and ventilation installations have been placed. This roof, placed at a height of 22 m, weighs 445 tons. The construction is completed with the grandstand seats, statically separate from the rest of the structure, and made up of prefabricated angular components, resting on concrete frames made on site.Este estadio, que con sus 113,60 m de diámetro en la base es uno de los mayores pabellones circulares del mundo, se compone de un campo de juego de 60 x 30 m, cuatro pistas de carreras y un velódromo. Asimismo, dispone de dos tribunas con capacidad para 6.300 asientos, y todas las instalaciones necesarias para la celebración de cualquier tipo de deporte o acontecimiento social. Para su construcción se eligió un sistema de elementos prefabricados que, en esencia, consta de: una serie de soportes de hormigón armado, dispuestos en la periferia sobre cimientos individuales; y una cubierta monolítica de chapa metálica, en forma de cono invertido, de 112 m de luz libre sin apoyos, colgada de los soportes y tensada por una losa central de hormigón armado, sobre la que se han colocado las instalaciones de calefacción y ventilación. Dicha cubierta, situada a 22 m de altura, pesa 445 toneladas. La construcción se

Description of the Triton reactor; Pile Triton, rapport descriptif

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1967-09-01

The Triton reactor is an enriched uranium pool type reactor. It began operation in 1959, after a divergence made on the June 30 the same year. Devoted to studies of radiation protection, its core can be displaced in the longitudinal direction. The pool can be separated in two unequal compartments by a wall. The Triton core is placed in a small compartment, the Nereide core in the big compartment. A third compartment without water is called Naiade II, is separated by a concrete wall in which is made a window closed by an aluminium plate (2.50 m x 2.70 m). The Naiade II hole is useful for protection experiments using the Nereide core. After a complete refitting, the power of the triton reactor that reached progressively from 1.2 MW to 2 MW, then 3 MW has reached in August 1965 6.5 MW. The reactor has been specialized in irradiations in fix position, the core become fix, the nereide core has been hung mobile. Since it has been used for structure materials irradiation, for radioelements fabrication and fundamental research. The following descriptions are valid for the period after August 1965. [French] Le reacteur Triton est un reacteur piscine, a uranium enrichi. Il est entre en fonctionnement en 1959, apres une divergence effectuee le 30 juin de cette meme annee. Destine a des etudes de protection contre les rayonnements, son coeur pouvait se deplacer dans le sens longitudinal. La piscine peut etre separee en deux compartiments inegaux par un batardeau. Le coeur triton est place dans le petit compartiment, le coeur Nereide dans le grand compartiment. Un troisieme compartiment sans eau, appele Naiade II, est separe par une paroi en beton dans laquelle est amenagee une fenetre obturee par une plaque d'aluminium (2,50 m x 2,70 m). La fosse Naiade II sert a des experiences de protection utilisant le coeur nereide. Apres une refonte complete, la puissance du reacteur triton qui etait passee progressivement de 1,2 MW a 2 MW, puis 3 MW, a atteint en aout 1965 6, 5 MW. Le

Slides with no attached paper

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Warin, Dominique; Wallenius, Janne; Ouzounian, Gerald; Wikberg, Peter; Todd, Terry A.; Kormilitsyn, Mikhael V.; Osipenko, Alexander G.; Mayorshin, A.A.; McLachlan, Fiona; Nash, Ken L.; Nilsson, M.; Grimes, T.; Braley, J.C.; TAKESHITA, Kenji; Babain, Vasiliy A.; Spendlikova, I.; Distler, P.; John, J.; Sebesta, F.; VU, Trong-Hung; SIMONIN, Jean-Pierre; PAULENOVA, Alena; PRECEK, Martin; HARTIG, Kyle; KNAPP, Nathan; Vidick, Geoffrey; Bouslimani, Nouri; Desreux, Jean F.; Lewis, F.W.; Hudson, M.J.; Harwood, L.M.; Nunez, Ana; Nagarajan, K.; Vasudeva Rao, P.R.; Raj, Baldev; Ignatiev, Victor; Surenkov, Alexander; Pouchon, Manuel A.; Skarnemark, Gunnar; Allard, Stefan; Ekberg, Christian; Retegan, Teodora; Nordlund, Anders; John, Jan; Maershin, Alexander; Zakirov, R.; Panov, A.; Toropov, Andrey

2010-01-01

This document brings together the different presentations (slides) given at the workshop but with no attached paper. These slides refer to the following presentations: - Presentation of ITN (Instituto Tecnologico e Nuclear); - Minor Actinide Partitioning (Dominique Warin); - Transmutation (Janne Wallenius); - Radioactive Waste Management, IGD-TP (Gerald Ouzounian); - Present status of the Swedish nuclear waste management programme (Peter Wikberg); - The U.S. Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program - Separations Research and Development (Terry Todd); - Strategies and national programs of closed fuel cycles - Russian Expert Vision (Mikhael Kormilitsyn) - Extraction Studies Of Potential Solvent Formulations For The GANEX Process (Fiona MacLachlan); - Investigations of The Fundamental Chemistry of the TALSPEAK Process (Ken Nash); - Extraction Separation of Trivalent Minor Actinides and Lanthanides by Hexa-dentate Nitrogen-donor Extractant, TPEN, and its Analogs (Kenji Takeshita); - Fluorinated Diluents for HLW Processing - technological point of view (Vasiliy Babain); - Extraction properties of some new pyridine molecules and search for better diluents (Irena Spendlikova); - Kinetics of extraction of Eu 3+ ion by TODGA and CyMe 4 -BTBP studied using the RMC technique (Trong Hung Vu); - Redox Chemistry of Neptunium in Solutions of Nitric Acid (Alena Paulenova); - NMR applied to actinide ions and their complexes. In search of covalency effects (Geoffrey Vidick); - Towards 'Stability Rules' for Radiolysis of bis-DGA compounds (Ana Nunez); - Pyroprocess Research Activities at IGCAR, Kalpakkam, India (K. Nagarajan); - Critical issues of nuclear energy systems employing molten salt fluorides: from ISTC No. 1606 to No. 3749 (1. year of project activity) and MARS/EVOL cooperation (Victor Ignatiev); - Conversion processes: Internal Gelation and the Sphere-pac concept (Manuel Pouchon); - A Combined Nuclear Technology and Nuclear Chemistry Master. A Unique

Relative incidence of Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) and Dacus ciliatus Loew on cucurbitaceous vegetables

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kumar, N.K. Krishna; Verghese, Abraham; Shivakumara, B.; Krishnamoorthy, P.N.; Ranganath, H.R. [Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore (India). Div. of Entomology and Nematology

2006-07-01

The melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) is a major pest of cucurbitaceous vegetables and fruits in many parts of the world. Infestation of an another species, the lesser pumpkin fly, Dacus ciliatus Loew is reported on a few cucurbits in the Indian sub-continent and Africa. While extensive work on seasonality, infestation percent, host preference, attraction to para pheromone on B. cucurbitae has been reported, little is known of D. ciliatus. Field experiments were carried out at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore (12058'N; 77035'E) from June 2002- October 2003. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) and pickling cucumbers [C. sativus L (variety. Ijax)] were raised at monthly interval. Cue lure baited bottle traps were hung to monitor B. cucurbitae and other related species. Bactrocera cucurbitae was present all through the year and maximum number of adults was trapped during August (14.14/trap/week). Dacus ciliatus was trapped only from May to October but in relatively less numbers ({approx} 1/week). Maximum fruit fly infestation was 77.03 % on bitter gourd (August 2003), 75.65 % on ridge gourd (Nov. 02), 73.83 % on cucumber (October, 02) and 63.31 % on pickling cucumber (October, 02). Trap catches of B. cucurbitae was significantly and positively correlated with relative humidity. Maximum and minimum temperature, RH (%), rainfall (mm), evaporation (mm) and wind speed (km/h) collectively determined 44 % of B. cucurbitae trap catches. Maximum fruit fly emergence of 494.64/ kg fruit was on bitter gourd (October, 2002) followed by cucumber (431.97, November, 2002), pickling cucumber (307.51, October 2002) and ridge gourd (210.74, October, 2003). Dacus ciliatus formed only 4.5% of the total number of fruit flies on bitter gourd and 0.2% on pickling cucumber. Its infestation was not observed on cucumber and ridge gourd. Parasitism by the larval

Relative incidence of Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) and Dacus ciliatus Loew on cucurbitaceous vegetables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, N.K. Krishna; Verghese, Abraham; Shivakumara, B.; Krishnamoorthy, P.N.; Ranganath, H.R.

2006-01-01

The melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) is a major pest of cucurbitaceous vegetables and fruits in many parts of the world. Infestation of an another species, the lesser pumpkin fly, Dacus ciliatus Loew is reported on a few cucurbits in the Indian sub-continent and Africa. While extensive work on seasonality, infestation percent, host preference, attraction to para pheromone on B. cucurbitae has been reported, little is known of D. ciliatus. Field experiments were carried out at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bangalore (12058'N; 77035'E) from June 2002- October 2003. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L), ridge gourd (Luffa acutangula (L.) Roxb), bitter gourd (Momordica charantia L.) and pickling cucumbers [C. sativus L (variety. Ijax)] were raised at monthly interval. Cue lure baited bottle traps were hung to monitor B. cucurbitae and other related species. Bactrocera cucurbitae was present all through the year and maximum number of adults was trapped during August (14.14/trap/week). Dacus ciliatus was trapped only from May to October but in relatively less numbers (∼ 1/week). Maximum fruit fly infestation was 77.03 % on bitter gourd (August 2003), 75.65 % on ridge gourd (Nov. 02), 73.83 % on cucumber (October, 02) and 63.31 % on pickling cucumber (October, 02). Trap catches of B. cucurbitae was significantly and positively correlated with relative humidity. Maximum and minimum temperature, RH (%), rainfall (mm), evaporation (mm) and wind speed (km/h) collectively determined 44 % of B. cucurbitae trap catches. Maximum fruit fly emergence of 494.64/ kg fruit was on bitter gourd (October, 2002) followed by cucumber (431.97, November, 2002), pickling cucumber (307.51, October 2002) and ridge gourd (210.74, October, 2003). Dacus ciliatus formed only 4.5% of the total number of fruit flies on bitter gourd and 0.2% on pickling cucumber. Its infestation was not observed on cucumber and ridge gourd. Parasitism by the larval-pupal parasitoid

A Smart Card-Based Electronic School Absenteeism System for Influenza-Like Illness Surveillance in Hong Kong: Design, Implementation, and Feasibility Assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Ip, Dennis Km; Lau, Eric Hy; So, Hau Chi; Xiao, Jingyi; Lam, Chi Kin; Fang, Vicky J; Tam, Yat Hung; Leung, Gabriel M; Cowling, Benjamin J

2017-10-06

smart card technology-based school absenteeism surveillance system. Our study demonstrated the feasibility of building a large-scale surveillance system riding on a routinely adopted data collection approach and the use of simple system enhancement to minimize workload implication and enhance system acceptability. Data from this system have potential value in supplementing existing sentinel influenza surveillance for situational awareness of influenza activity in the community. ©Dennis KM Ip, Eric HY Lau, Hau Chi So, Jingyi Xiao, Chi Kin Lam, Vicky J Fang, Yat Hung Tam, Gabriel M Leung, Benjamin J Cowling. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 06.10.2017.

Nanotetrac targets integrin αvβ3 on tumor cells to disorder cell defense pathways and block angiogenesis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Davis PJ

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Paul J Davis,1,2 Hung-Yun Lin,2,3 Thangirala Sudha,2 Murat Yalcin,2,4 Heng-Yuan Tang,2 Aleck Hercbergs,5 John T Leith,6 Mary K Luidens,1 Osnat Ashur-Fabian,7,8 Sandra Incerpi,9 Shaker A Mousa2 1Department of Medicine, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA; 2Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Albany, NY, USA; 3PhD Program for Cancer Biology and Drug Discovery, College of Medical Science and Technology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Department of Physiology, Veterinary Medicine Faculty, Uludag University, Gorukle, Bursa, Turkey; 5Radiation Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA; 6Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center, Narragansett, RI, USA; 7Translational Hemato-oncology Laboratory, Hematology Institute and Blood Bank, Meir Medical Center, Kfar-Saba, Israel; 8Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; 9Department of Sciences, University of Roma Tre, Rome, Italy Abstract: The extracellular domain of integrin αvβ3 contains a receptor for thyroid hormone and hormone analogs. The integrin is amply expressed by tumor cells and dividing blood vessel cells. The proangiogenic properties of thyroid hormone and the capacity of the hormone to promote cancer cell proliferation are functions regulated nongenomically by the hormone receptor on αvβ3. An L-thyroxine (T4 analog, tetraiodothyroacetic acid (tetrac, blocks binding of T4 and 3,5,3'-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3 by αvβ3 and inhibits angiogenic activity of thyroid hormone. Covalently bound to a 200 nm nanoparticle that limits its activity to the cell exterior, tetrac reformulated as Nanotetrac has additional effects mediated by αvβ3 beyond the inhibition of binding of T4 and T3 to the integrin. These actions of Nanotetrac include disruption of transcription of cell survival pathway genes, promotion of apoptosis by multiple mechanisms, and interruption

Gamma dose rate changes in buildings in the region of Southeastern Iran using thermoluminescence dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jomehzadeh Mahani, A.; Bahreyni Toosi, M.T.

2006-01-01

Introduction: It is important to measure background radiation, because human beings are always exposed to environmental radiation. The terrestrial component of the natural background depends on the compositions of soils and rocks in which are contained. A significant contribution to total dose from natural sources comes from terrestrial radionuclides such as U- 238, Th- 232 and K- 40. The level of gamma dose rate in buildings depends on the climate / weather, ventilation of living environment, local geology, drainage patterns and other factors. The objective of this study was to establishing the distribution of environmental gamma dose rates in the type of building sampled included cement-sand and soil brick buildings. Materials and Methods: Equipments used in this study include: 1-TLD-100 H (LiF: Mg, Cu, P) dosimeters. 2- TLD-Reader 3500 made by Harshaw, USA. In order to determine indoor gamma dose rate, the dosimeters were calibrated at room temperature with Co-60 source. Before using the dosimeters to measure environmental dose they were subjected to the thermal treatment in a normal oven. Two TLDs, were embedded in a 5 mm PMMA mini-phantom to register only gamma ray. 20 buildings for this study chosen randomly throughout Kerman town, southeastern Iran. Inside each building a holder was hung at a height of above 3 m. The period of monitoring of TLDs was 15 days. The TLDs were retrieved from the buildings and taken to the Mashhad university of medical sciences where they were read with a Harshaw TLD reader model 3500. Results: Our results indicate that indoor gamma dose rate ranged from 106 n Sv/h to 133 n Sv/h for cement-sand buildings with an average of 114.72 n Sv/h. For soil buildings the indoor gamma dose rate varied from 86 n Sv/h to 116 n Sv/h with an average of 100.50 n Sv/h. While the average gamma dose rate in cement-sand buildings is highest (114.72 n Sv/h), that of soil buildings is lowest (100.50 n Sv/h). Discussion: Average values vary from building

Age-associated decrease in global DNA methylation in patients with major depression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tseng PT

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Ping-Tao Tseng,1,2,* Pao-Yen Lin,1,3,* Yu Lee,1 Chi-Fa Hung,1 For-Wey Lung,4,5 Cheng-Sheng Chen,6,7 Mian-Yoon Chong1 1Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 2Department of Psychiatry, Tsyr-Huey Mental Hospital, Kaohsiung Jen-Ai’s Home, Taiwan; 3Center for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Taipei City Psychiatric Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 5Graduate Institute of Medical Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan; 6Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 7Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Evidence has supported a role of DNA methylation in the pathophysiology of mood disorders. The purpose of the current study is to examine 5-methylcytosine (5-mc and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmc levels in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD at different disease states.Methods: Forty-nine patients with MDD and 25 healthy control subjects were included. The severity in the disease was assessed by using the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale of Depression (HAM-D (HAM-D ≥19 for severe MDD and HAM-D ≤7 for remitted MDD. The 5-mc and 5-hmc levels in leukocyte DNA were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay-based method.Results: We found a significant decrease in 5-hmc and trends of decreasing 5-mc levels in patients with severe MDD compared to healthy controls (P=0.059 for 5-mc and P=0.013 for 5-hmc. The decrease in the level exists only in the older age group (P=0.035 for 5-mc and P=0.002 for 5-hmc but not in the younger age group (P=0.077 for 5-mc and P=0.620 for 5-hmc. In addition, the 5-mc level was found to be inversely correlated with disease severity (P=0.011.Conclusion: Our

Anxiety and depression in patients with head and neck cancer: 6-month follow-up study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu YS

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Yi-Shan Wu,1 Pao-Yen Lin,1,2 Chih-Yen Chien,3 Fu-Min Fang,4 Nien-Mu Chiu,1 Chi-Fa Hung,1 Yu Lee,1 Mian-Yoon Chong11Department of Psychiatry, 2Institute for Translational Research in Biomedical Sciences, 3Department of Otolaryngology, 4Department of Radiation Oncology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, TaiwanObjective: We aimed to assess psychiatric morbidities of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC in a prospective study at pretreatment, and 3 and 6 months after treatment, and to compare their health-related quality of life (HRQL between those with and without depressive disorders (depression.Materials and methods: Patients with newly diagnosed HNC from a tertiary hospital were recruited into the study. They were assessed for psychiatric morbidities using the Structured Clinical Interview for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. Their HRQL was simultaneously evaluated using the quality of life questionnaire of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer with a specific module for head and neck cancer; and depressed and nondepressed HNC patients were compared by using the generalized mixed-effect model for repeated measurements.Results: A total of 106 patients were recruited into this study. High rates of anxiety were found at pretreatment, but steadily declined over time (from 27.3% to 6.4%, and later 3.3%. A skew pattern of depression was observed, with prevalence rates from 8.5% at pretreatment to 24.5% and 14% at 3 and 6 months, respectively, after treatment. We found that loss of sense (P=0.001, loss of speech (P<0.001, low libido (P=0.001, dry mouth (P<0.001, and weight loss (P=0.001 were related to depression over time. The depressed patients had a higher consumption of painkillers (P=0.001 and nutrition supplements (P<0.001. The results showed that depression was predicted by sticky saliva (P<0.001 and trouble with

Gamma dose rate changes in buildings in the region of Southeastern Iran using thermoluminescence dosimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jomehzadeh Mahani, A. [Hormozgan un Univ. of medical sciences, Paramedical School, Bandarabbas (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Bahreyni Toosi, M.T. [Mashhad Univ. of medical sciences, Medical school (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2006-07-01

oduction: It is important to measure background radiation, because human beings are always exposed to environmental radiation. The terrestrial component of the natural background depends on the compositions of soils and rocks in which are contained. A significant contribution to total dose from natural sources comes from terrestrial radionuclides such as U- 238, Th- 232 and K- 40. The level of gamma dose rate in buildings depends on the climate / weather, ventilation of living environment, local geology, drainage patterns and other factors. The objective of this study was to establishing the distribution of environmental gamma dose rates in the type of building sampled included cement-sand and soil brick buildings. Materials and Methods: Equipments used in this study include: 1-TLD-100 H (LiF: Mg, Cu, P) dosimeters. 2- TLD-Reader 3500 made by Harshaw, USA. In order to determine indoor gamma dose rate, the dosimeters were calibrated at room temperature with Co-60 source. Before using the dosimeters to measure environmental dose they were subjected to the thermal treatment in a normal oven. Two TLDs, were embedded in a 5 mm PMMA mini-phantom to register only gamma ray. 20 buildings for this study chosen randomly throughout Kerman town, southeastern Iran. Inside each building a holder was hung at a height of above 3 m. The period of monitoring of TLDs was 15 days. The TLDs were retrieved from the buildings and taken to the Mashhad university of medical sciences where they were read with a Harshaw TLD reader model 3500. Results: Our results indicate that indoor gamma dose rate ranged from 106 n Sv/h to 133 n Sv/h for cement-sand buildings with an average of 114.72 n Sv/h. For soil buildings the indoor gamma dose rate varied from 86 n Sv/h to 116 n Sv/h with an average of 100.50 n Sv/h. While the average gamma drate in cement-sand buildings is highest (114.72 n Sv/h), that of soil buildings is lowest (100.50 n Sv/h). Discussion: Average values vary from building to

Procalcitonin and C-reactive protein cannot differentiate bacterial or viral infection in COPD exacerbation requiring emergency department visits

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chang CH

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Chih-Hao Chang,1 Kuo-Chien Tsao,2,3 Han-Chung Hu,1,4 Chung-Chi Huang,1,4 Kuo-Chin Kao,1,4 Ning-Hung Chen,1,4 Cheng-Ta Yang,1,4 Ying-Huang Tsai,4,5 Meng-Jer Hsieh4,51Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Linkou Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang-Gung Medical Foundation, Chang-Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Linkou Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang-Gung Medical Foundation; 3Department of Medical Biotechnology and Laboratory Science, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 4Department of Respiratory Therapy, Chang-Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 5Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Chiayi Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang-Gung Medical Foundation, Puzi City, TaiwanBackground: Viral and bacterial infections are the most common causes of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD exacerbations. Whether serum inflammatory markers can differentiate bacterial from virus infection in patients with COPD exacerbation requiring emergency department (ED visits remains controversial.Methods: Viral culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR were used to identify the viruses in the oropharynx of patients with COPD exacerbations. The bacteria were identified by the semiquantitative culture of the expectorated sputum. The peripheral blood white blood cell (WBC counts, serum C-reactive protein (CRP, procalcitonin (PCT, and clinical symptoms were compared among patients with different types of infections.Results: Viruses were isolated from 16 (22.2% of the 72 patients enrolled. The most commonly identified viruses were parainfluenza type 3, influenza A, and rhinovirus. A total of 30 (41.7% patients had positive bacterial cultures, with the most commonly found bacteria being Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenzae. Five patients (6.9% had both positive sputum cultures and virus identification. The WBC, CRP, and PCT levels of the bacteria-positive and bacteria

Evolution of technology in teaching: Blackboard and beyond in Medical Education.

Science.gov (United States)

Muttappallymyalil, Jayakumary; Mendis, Susirith; John, Lisha Jenny; Shanthakumari, Nisha; Sreedharan, Jayadevan; Shaikh, Rizwana B

2016-10-01

the passing of knowledge from one generation to another - has been in existence from the earliest times of human civilization. It began in 1801, with a large piece of slate hung on the wall in a school in Scotland to provide information to a large audience at one time. In the US by mid-19th century, every class room had a blackboard to teach students. The modern version of the blackboard is either green or brown board. This was introduced in late 1960s. The whiteboards came into use during the late 1980s. Projected aids have been used since 1420. The various devices used are the epidiascope, slide projector, overhead projector for transparencies and the micro projector. An instrument to project images from a horizontal surface onto a vertical screen was invented in the 1870s. By the 1960s, transparencies were in use in classrooms. The 'Hyalotype', a transparent image of a photograph using actual black and white photographs on a glass slide that could be projected was invented in 1851. By 1916, the German company Agfa started producing colored lantern slides. The first version of PowerPoint was released by Microsoft in the year 1990. Cell phones, palmtops, and handheld computers; tablets, laptops, and media players are included under mobile learning devices. With the evolution of technology, students achieved competence and interested in interactive learning. The education industry has moved from distance learning to e-learning and finally to m-learning as knowledge expanded exponentially and the demand escalated. While using teaching aids with advanced technology, we must not forget the lessons from the past, striking a balance between embracing new methods of teaching and learning while upholding the timeless principles of education. The newer educational technology can be part of a comprehensive system for lifelong education. Use of technology in education has come a long way since the earliest times of human civilization. While embarking on aids with advanced

Amphiphilic core shell nanoparticles containing dense polyethyleneimine shells for efficient delivery of microRNA to Kupffer cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liu Z

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Zuojin Liu,1,* Dechao Niu,2,3,* Junyong Zhang,1 Wenfeng Zhang,1 Yuan Yao,2 Pei Li,2 Jianping Gong1 1Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 2Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, 3Lab of Low-Dimensional Materials Chemistry, School of Materials Science and Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Efficient and targeted delivery approach to transfer exogenous genes into macrophages is still a great challenge. Current gene delivery methods often result in low cellular uptake efficiency in vivo in some types of cells, especially for the Kupffer cells (KCs. In this article, we demonstrate that amphiphilic core–shell nanoparticles (NPs consisting of well-defined hydrophobic poly(methyl methacrylate (PMMA cores and branched polyethyleneimine (PEI shells (denoted as PEI@PMMA NPs are efficient nanocarriers to deliver microRNA (miRNA-loaded plasmid to the KCs. Average hydrodynamic diameter of PEI@PMMA NPs was 279 nm with a narrow size distribution. The NPs also possessed positive surface charges up to +30 mV in water, thus enabling effective condensation of negatively charged plasmid DNA. Gel electrophoresis assay showed that the resultant PEI@PMMA NPs were able to completely condense miRNA plasmid at a weight ratio of 25:1 (N/P ratio equal to 45:1. The Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and flow cytometry results showed that the PEI@PMMA/miRNA NPs displayed low cytotoxicity and cell apoptosis activity against the KCs. The maximum cell transfection efficiency reached 34.7% after 48 hours, which is much higher than that obtained by using the commercial Lipofectamine™ 2000 (1.7%. Bio-transmission electron microscope observation revealed that the PEI@PMMA NPs were mainly distributed in

Liposomal n-butylidenephthalide protects the drug from oxidation and enhances its antitumor effects in glioblastoma multiforme

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Lin YL

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Yu-Ling Lin,1,2,* Kai-Fu Chang,3,* Xiao-Fan Huang,3 Che-Lun Hung,4 Shyh-Chang Chen,5 Wan-Ru Chao,6,7 Kuang-Wen Liao,1,8 Nu-Man Tsai3,9 1College of Biological Science and Technology, 2Center for Bioinformatics Research, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 3School of Medical Laboratory and Biotechnology, Chung Shan Medical University, 4Department of Computer Science and Communication Engineering, Providence University, 5Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, 6Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, 7Department of Pathology, Chung Shan Medical University and Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 8Institute of Molecular Medicine and Bioengineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 9Clinical Laboratory, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: The natural compound n-butylidenephthalide (BP can pass through the blood–brain barrier to inhibit the growth of glioblastoma multiforme tumors. However, BP has an unstable structure that reduces its antitumor activity and half-life in vivo.Objective: The aim of this study is to design a drug delivery system to encapsulate BP to enhance its efficacy by improving its protection and delivery.Methods: To protect its structural stability against protein-rich and peroxide solutions, BP was encapsulated into a lipo-PEG-PEI complex (LPPC. Then, the cytotoxicity of BP/LPPC following preincubation in protein-rich, acid/alkaline, and peroxide solutions was analyzed by MTT. Cell uptake of BP/LPPC was also measured by confocal microscopy. The therapeutic effects of BP/LPPC were analyzed in xenograft mice following intratumoral and intravenous injections.Results: When BP was encapsulated in LPPC, its cytotoxicity was maintained following preincubation in protein-rich, acid/alkaline, and peroxide solutions. The cytotoxic activity of encapsulated BP was higher than

Drug-resistant colon cancer cells produce high carcinoembryonic antigen and might not be cancer-initiating cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee HC

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Hsin-chung Lee,1,2 Qing-Dong Ling,1,3 Wan-Chun Yu,4 Chunh-Ming Hung,4 Ta-Chun Kao,4 Yi-Wei Huang,4 Akon Higuchi3–51Graduate Institute of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan, 2Department of Surgery, Cathay General Hospital, Da'an District, Taipei, 3Cathay Medical Research Institute, Cathay General Hospital, Hsi-Chi City, Taipei, 4Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Central University, Jhongli, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 5Department of Reproduction, National Research Institute for Child Health and Development, Okura, Tokyo, JapanPurpose: We evaluated the higher levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA secreted by the LoVo human colon carcinoma cells in a medium containing anticancer drugs. Drug-resistant LoVo cells were analyzed by subcutaneously xenotransplanting them into mice. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the drug-resistant cells isolated in this study were cancer-initiating cells, known also as cancer stem cells (CSCs.Methods: The production of CEA was investigated in LoVo cells that were cultured with 0–10 mM of anticancer drugs, and we evaluated the increase in CEA production by the LoVo cells that were stimulated by anticancer drug treatment. The expression of several CSC markers in LoVo cells treated with anticancer drugs was also evaluated. Following anticancer drug treatment, LoVo cells were injected subcutaneously into the flanks of severe combined immunodeficiency mice in order to evaluate the CSC fraction.Results: Production of CEA by LoVo cells was stimulated by the addition of anticancer drugs. Drug-resistant LoVo cells expressed lower levels of CSC markers, and LoVo cells treated with any of the anticancer drugs tested did not generate tumors within 8 weeks from when the cells were injected subcutaneously into severe combined immunodeficiency mice. These results suggest that the drug-resistant LoVo cells have a smaller population of CSCs than the

Buprenorphine, methadone, and morphine treatment during pregnancy: behavioral effects on the offspring in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chen HH

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Hwei-Hsien Chen,1,2,* Yao-Chang Chiang,3,4,* Zung Fan Yuan,5,6 Chung-Chih Kuo,5,6 Mei-Dan Lai,2 Tsai-Wei Hung,1 Ing-kang Ho,1,3,4 Shao-Tsu Chen2,7 1Center for Neuropsychiatric Research, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli County, Taiwan; 2Master and PhD Program in Pharmacology and Toxicology, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; 3Center for Drug Abuse and Addiction, China Medical University Hospital, 4Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Master Program in Physiological and Anatomical Medicine, 6Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, 7Department of Psychiatry, Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital, Hualien, Taiwan *These authors contributed equally to this work Abstract: Methadone and buprenorphine are widely used for treating people with opioid dependence, including pregnant women. Prenatal exposure to opioids has devastating effects on the development of human fetuses and may induce long-term physical and neurobehavioral changes during postnatal maturation. This study aimed at comparing the behavioral outcomes of young rats prenatally exposed to buprenorphine, methadone, and morphine. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered saline, morphine, methadone, and buprenorphine during embryonic days 3–20. The cognitive function, social interaction, anxiety-like behaviors, and locomotor activity of offsprings were examined by novel object recognition test, social interaction test, light–dark transition test, elevated plus-maze, and open-field test between 6 weeks and 10 weeks of age. Prenatal exposure to methadone and buprenorphine did not affect locomotor activity, but significantly impaired novel object recognition and social interaction in both male and female offsprings in the same manner as morphine. Although prenatal exposure to methadone or buprenorphine increased anxiety-like behaviors in the light–dark transition in both male and female

Selected Abstracts of the 6th International Congress of UENPS; Valencia (Spain; November 23rd-25th 2016; Session “Neonatology and NICU clinical care and practices”

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--- Various Authors

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Selected Abstracts of the 6th International Congress of UENPS; Valencia (Spain; November 23rd-25th 2016; Session “Neonatology and NICU clinical care and practices”ABS 1. BILATERAL CLAVICLE FRACTURE: A RARE CAUSE OF PERSISTENT CRYING • P. Cruz, P. Mendes, M. Anselmo, L. GonçalvesABS 2. NEONATAL TRANSPORT DURATION AND SHORT-TERM OUTCOME IN VERY-LOW-GESTATIONAL-AGE NEONATES • A. Matic, M. Gavrilovic LatinovicABS 3. PEMPHIGOID GESTATIONIS – A RARE CASE IN TWIN PREGNANCY • L. Gonçalves, E. Scortenschi, P. Cruz, P. Mendes, M. AnselmoABS 4. DEVELOPMENT OF A CLINICIAN-REPORTED OUTCOME (ClinRO MEASURE TO ASSESS READINESS FOR DISCHARGE FROM NEONATAL CARE AMONG EXTREMELY PRETERM INFANTS • M. Turner, R. Ward, J. Higginson, I. Hansen-Pupp, M. Vanya, E. Flood, G. Quiggle, A. Tocoian, A. Mangili, N. Barton, S. SardaABS 5. THE EFFECT OF THYROID HORMONES ON NICU ADMISSION DUE TO TRANSIENT TACHYPNEA OF NEWBORN IN LATE PRETERM AND TERM INFANTS • T. Gursoy, S. Ercin, P. Kayiran, B. GurakanABS 6. IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF PROLONGED JAUNDICE WORK-UPS IN THE OUTPATIENT DEPARTMENT IN A TERTIARY NEONATAL CENTRE • C.M. Moore, J. O’Loughlin, B.C. HayesABS 7. SAVE THE DATE? CORRECT RECORDING OF DAY OF LIFE AND CORRECTED GESTATIONAL AGE IN NICU • C.M. Moore, A.F. El-KhuffashABS 8. PARENTS IN NICU: THE IMPORTANCE OF INTEGRATION BETWEEN THE CURE AND THE CARE • G. De Bernardo, M. Svelto, M. Giordano, D. SordinoABS 9. THE PREVALENCE OF HEREDITARY HEARING LOSS IN 41,152 NEWBORNS DURING THE PERIOD 2011-2015 • S.T. Hsu, C.C. Hung, Y.N. Su, C.Y. Chen, H.C. Chou, W.S. Hsieh, C.C. Wu, P.N. TsaoABS 10. DEFICIENCY OF MULTIPLE acyl-CoA DEHYDROGENASE OR GLUTARIC ACIDURIA TYPE II • M. Torres, L. Geronès, J. Herrero, M.C. Cèspedes, F. Camba, J.A. Arranz, M. del Toro, F. CastilloABS 11. TEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN CARRIER SCREENING FOR SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY IN TAIWAN • C.Y. Chuang, C.C. Hung, Y.N. Su, P.N. TsaoABS 12. REDUCING MEDICATION ERRORS ON THE

Excess risk of major vascular diseases associated with airflow obstruction: a 9-year prospective study of 0.5 million Chinese adults

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Kurmi OP

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Om P Kurmi,1 Liming Li,2 Kourtney J Davis,3 Jenny Wang,1 Derrick A Bennett,1 Ka Hung Chan,1 Ling Yang,1 Yiping Chen,1 Yu Guo,4 Zheng Bian,4 Junshi Chen,5 Liuping Wei,6 Donghui Jin,7 Rory Collins,1 Richard Peto,1 Zhengming Chen1 On behalf of the China Kadoorie Biobank collaborative group 1Clinical Trial Service and Epidemiological Studies Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; 2Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China; 3Real World Evidence and Epidemiology, GlaxoSmithKline, Collegeville, PA, USA; 4Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing China; 5China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing, China; 6NCDs Prevention and Control Department, Liuzhou CDC, Liuzhou, China; 7NCDs Prevention and Control Department, Hunan CDC, Changsha, China Background: China has high COPD rates, even among never-regular smokers. Little is known about nonrespiratory disease risks, especially vascular morbidity and mortality after developing airflow obstruction (AFO in Chinese adults. Objective: We aimed to investigate the prospective association of prevalent AFO with major vascular morbidity and mortality. Materials and methods: In 2004–2008, a nationwide prospective cohort study recruited 512,891 men and women aged 30–79 years from 10 diverse localities across China, tracking cause-specific mortality and coded episodes of hospitalization for 9 years. Cox regression yielded adjusted HRs for vascular diseases comparing individuals with spirometry-defined prevalent AFO at baseline to those without. Results: Of 489,382 participants with no vascular disease at baseline, 6.8% had AFO, with prevalence rising steeply with age. Individuals with prevalent AFO had significantly increased vascular mortality (n=1,429, adjusted HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.21–1.36. There were also increased risks of hemorrhagic stroke (n=823, HR 1.18, 95% CI 1.09–1

Dosisabhängiger Anstieg von Knochenformatinsmarkern in Serum und Knochen unter Zink-Supplementation - eine Untersuchung an der erwachsenen weiblichen Maus

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Dimai H-P

1998-01-01

Full Text Available Zink (Zn ist eine essentielles Spurenelement. Es spielt eine wichtige Rolle in zahlreichen metabolischen Prozessen und wird auch für das normale Knochenwachstum benötigt. Ziel der vorliegenden Untersuchung war es, den Effekt von Zn auf a die Aktivität der alkalischen Phosphatase (ALP in Serum und Knochen, b das Serum-Osteocalcin, c die Tartrat-resistente saure Phosphatase (TRAP im Knochen, sowie d den Protein-Gehalt des Knochens darzustellen. Erwachsene weibliche Swiss-Webster-Mäuse erhielten entweder eine Zn-freie Diät, oder eine Diät, welche einen normalen, oder einen 2-, 3-, 4-, oder 5-fach höheren Zn-Gehalt als die Normal-Diät hatte. Die Diät wurde für 2, 4, oder 6 Wochen verabreicht. Es zeigte sich eine positive Korrelation zwischen der Menge des mit der Nahrung aufgenommenen Zn und der Serum-ALP (4 und 6 Wochen, p 0,001, der tibialen ALP (2, 4 und 6 Wochen, p  0,03, sowie dem tibialen Protein (2,4 und 6 Wochen p 0.001; weiters zeigte sich eine negative Korrelation zwischen Zn und tibialer TRAP (2, 4 und 6 Wochen, p 0,001. Kovarianzanalysen zeigten überdies, daß die Aktivität der Serum-ALP, der tibialen ALP und der tibialen TRAP, sowie die Menge des tibialen Proteins sowohl durch die Zn-Dosis (p 0,005, als auch die Dauer der Therapie (p 0,03 beeinflußbar sind. Zn zeigte auch einen signifikanten Einfluß auf den Serum-Osteocalcin-Spiegel (p 0,03 bei 3 x höher Zn-Menge als in der Normaldiät. In einer ergänzenden Studie zeigte sich auch, daß Zn zu einem dosisabhängigen Anstieg der ALP und des Proteins, und zu einem signifikanten Abfall der TRAP in murinen osteoblastenähnlichen MC3T3-E1 Zellen führt. Insgesamt kann aus den Ergebnissen der vorliegenden Studie geschlossen werden, daß eine schrittweise Erhöhung des Zn-Gehaltes der Nahrung zu einem entsprechenden Anstieg der ALP-Aktivität von Serum und Knochen führt. Da in dieser Studie klar gezeigt werden konnte, daß Zn auch zu einem Abfall der TRAP-Aktivität in

Hat das humane Wachtumshormon (hGH eine Relevanz in der Kontrolle der penilen Erektion?

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Ückert St

2003-01-01

. Eine Unterteilung des Patientenkollektivs nach einer psychogenen und organogenen Genese der ED ergab, daß die mittleren GH-Konzentrationen im Blut der psychogenen Patienten in den Stadien der Flakzidität, Tumeszenz und Detumeszenz sich nicht wesentlich von denen im Serum der gesunden Männer unterschieden. Die GH-Spiegel im systemischen und cavernösen Blut der organogenen Patienten waren nicht nur deutlich erniedrigt, auch eine Erhöhung der mittleren GH-Serumkonzentration während der penilen Tumeszenz wurde nur in geringem Maße registriert. Schlußfolgerung: Unsere Resultate lassen vermuten, daß dem GH wahrscheinlich eine zentrale Rolle in der Aufrechterhaltung der erektilen Funktion zukommt und daß eine Störung der normalen GH-Sekretion zur Manifestation einer ED beitragen kann.

Association of low serum aluminum level with mortality in hemodialysis patients

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Hsu CW

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Ching-Wei Hsu,1–3 Cheng-Hao Weng,1–3 Cheng-Chia Lee,1–3 Dan-Tzu Lin-Tan,1–3 Kuan-Hsing Chen,1–3 Tzung-Hai Yen,1–3 Wen-Hung Huang1–3 1Department of Nephrology, Division of Clinical Toxicology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; 2Department of Nephrology, Division of Clinical Toxicology, Linkou Medical Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 3Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China Background: The National Kidney Foundation–Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative recommends that the serum aluminum level (SAL should be below 20 µg/L for patients with maintenance hemodialysis (MHD. However, serum aluminum may have toxic effects on MHD patients even when it is in the apparently acceptable range (below 20 µg/L.Methods: The Medical Ethics Committee approved this study. Initially, 954 MHD patients in dialysis centers were recruited. A total of 901 patients met the inclusion criteria and were followed-up for 1 year. Patients were stratified by SAL into four equal-sized groups: first quartile (<6 µg/L, second quartile (6–9 µg/L, third quartile (9–13 µg/L, and fourth quartile (>13 µg/L. Demographic, biochemical, and dialysis-related data were obtained for analyses. A linear regression model was applied to identify factors associated with SAL. Cox proportional hazard model was used to determine the significance of variables in prediction of mortality.Results: Only 9.3% of MHD patients had SALs of 20 µg/L or more. At the end of the follow-up, 54 patients (6% died, and the main cause of death was cardiovascular disease. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed that patients in the fourth SAL quartile had higher mortality than those in the first SAL quartile (log rank test, χ2=13.47, P=0.004. Using the first quartile as reference, Cox multivariate analysis indicated that patients in the third quartile (hazard ratio =1.31, 95% confidence

Power estimation of martial arts movement using 3D motion capture camera

Science.gov (United States)

Azraai, Nur Zaidi; Awang Soh, Ahmad Afiq Sabqi; Mat Jafri, Mohd Zubir

2017-06-01

Motion capture camera (MOCAP) has been widely used in many areas such as biomechanics, physiology, animation, arts, etc. This project is done by approaching physics mechanics and the extended of MOCAP application through sports. Most researchers will use a force plate, but this will only can measure the force of impact, but for us, we are keen to observe the kinematics of the movement. Martial arts is one of the sports that uses more than one part of the human body. For this project, martial art `Silat' was chosen because of its wide practice in Malaysia. 2 performers have been selected, one of them has an experienced in `Silat' practice and another one have no experience at all so that we can compare the energy and force generated by the performers. Every performer will generate a punching with same posture which in this project, two types of punching move were selected. Before the measuring start, a calibration has been done so the software knows the area covered by the camera and reduce the error when analyze by using the T stick that have been pasted with a marker. A punching bag with mass 60 kg was hung on an iron bar as a target. The use of this punching bag is to determine the impact force of a performer when they punch. This punching bag also will be stuck with the optical marker so we can observe the movement after impact. 8 cameras have been used and placed with 2 cameras at every side of the wall with different angle in a rectangular room 270 ft2 and the camera covered approximately 50 ft2. We covered only a small area so less noise will be detected and make the measurement more accurate. A Marker has been pasted on the limb of the entire hand that we want to observe and measure. A passive marker used in this project has a characteristic to reflect the infrared that being generated by the camera. The infrared will reflected to the camera sensor so the marker position can be detected and show in software. The used of many cameras is to increase the

Are psychiatric comorbidities and associated cognitive functions related to treatment response to methylphenidate in boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

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Chan MH

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Mandy H Chan,1 Patrick WL Leung,2 Ting-pong Ho,3 Se-fong Hung,4 Chi-chiu Lee,5 Chun-pan Tang,5 Ka-chai Cheung,2 Fung-yee Ching,2 Fefe HK Chan,6 Lu-hua Chen,2 Merce Garcia-Barcelo,7 Pak-chung Sham3 1Department of Clinical Psychology, Kowloon Hospital, Hospital Authority, 2Department of Psychology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 3Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, 4Department of Psychiatry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 5Department of Psychiatry, Kwai Chung Hospital, Hospital Authority, 6Department of Clinical Psychology, Alice Ho Mui Ling Nethersole Hospital, Hospital Authority, 7Department of Surgery, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, People’s Republic of China Background: Methylphenidate (MPH has been found to be an effective medication for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD. However, there are neither consistent nor sufficient findings on whether psychiatric comorbidities and associated cognitive functions of ADHD are related to treatment response to MPH in ADHD children.Objectives: This study investigated whether psychiatric comorbidities, IQ, and neurocognitive deficits are related to treatment response to MPH in ADHD children. In some ways, it is preferable to have a drug that the effectiveness of which to a disorder is not affected by its associated cognitive functions and psychiatric comorbidities. On the other hand, it is likely that the baseline symptom severity of ADHD is associated with the effectiveness of MPH treatment on the symptoms post treatment.Methods: A total of 149 Chinese boys (aged 6–12 years with ADHD, combined type, and normal IQ participated in this study. Assessment of ADHD symptom severity was conducted pre and post MPH treatment, while assessment of psychiatric comorbidities, IQ, and neurocognitive deficits was performed in a non-medicated condition. Treatment response was defined as the ADHD symptom severity post MPH treatment.Results: Results indicated that MPH

Periostin overexpression is associated with worse prognosis in nasopharyngeal carcinoma from endemic area: a cohort study

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Wei YC

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Yu-Ching Wei,1,2 Sheau-Fang Yang,2,3 Shih-Lun Chang,4,5 Tzu-Ju Chen,5,6 Sung-Wei Lee,7 Hung-Sung Chen,1 Li-Ching Lin,8 Chien-Feng Li6,9,10 1Department of Pathology, Kaohsiung Municipal Ta-Tung Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 2Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 3Department of Pathology, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 4Department of Otolaryngology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; 5Department of Optometry, Chung Hwa University of Medical Technology, Tainan, Taiwan; 6Department of Pathology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; 7Department of Radiation Oncology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Liouying, Tainan, Taiwan; 8Department of Radiation Oncology, Chi Mei Medical Center, Tainan, Taiwan; 9National Institute of Cancer Research, National Health Research Institute, Tainan, Taiwan; 10Department of Biotechnology, Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Tainan, Taiwan Purpose: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC is a heterogeneous disease. We searched for genes that function in cell adhesion in GSE12452, a published transcriptomic database. We found that POSTN, which encodes periostin (POSTN, was significantly upregulated in NPC tumorigenesis. Herein, we sought to analyze the expression of POSTN and its prognostic significances in patients with NPC. Materials and methods: In this single-institution retrospective study, we determined and analyzed POSTN expression by immunohistochemistry and H-score method, respectively, in 124 patients with NPC. The results indicated that POSTN expression was correlated with the clinicopathologic features, disease-specific survival (DSS, distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS, and local recurrence-free survival (LRFS of NPC. We performed univariate and multivariate analyses to determinate the statistical significance. Results: High POSTN expression was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis

Description of the Triton reactor; Pile Triton, rapport descriptif

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1967-09-01

The Triton reactor is an enriched uranium pool type reactor. It began operation in 1959, after a divergence made on the June 30 the same year. Devoted to studies of radiation protection, its core can be displaced in the longitudinal direction. The pool can be separated in two unequal compartments by a wall. The Triton core is placed in a small compartment, the Nereide core in the big compartment. A third compartment without water is called Naiade II, is separated by a concrete wall in which is made a window closed by an aluminium plate (2.50 m x 2.70 m). The Naiade II hole is useful for protection experiments using the Nereide core. After a complete refitting, the power of the triton reactor that reached progressively from 1.2 MW to 2 MW, then 3 MW has reached in August 1965 6.5 MW. The reactor has been specialized in irradiations in fix position, the core become fix, the nereide core has been hung mobile. Since it has been used for structure materials irradiation, for radioelements fabrication and fundamental research. The following descriptions are valid for the period after August 1965. [French] Le reacteur Triton est un reacteur piscine, a uranium enrichi. Il est entre en fonctionnement en 1959, apres une divergence effectuee le 30 juin de cette meme annee. Destine a des etudes de protection contre les rayonnements, son coeur pouvait se deplacer dans le sens longitudinal. La piscine peut etre separee en deux compartiments inegaux par un batardeau. Le coeur triton est place dans le petit compartiment, le coeur Nereide dans le grand compartiment. Un troisieme compartiment sans eau, appele Naiade II, est separe par une paroi en beton dans laquelle est amenagee une fenetre obturee par une plaque d'aluminium (2,50 m x 2,70 m). La fosse Naiade II sert a des experiences de protection utilisant le coeur nereide. Apres une refonte complete, la puissance du reacteur triton qui etait passee progressivement de 1,2 MW a 2 MW, puis 3 MW, a atteint en aout 1965 6, 5 MW

Current approaches to treatments for schizophrenia spectrum disorders, part II: psychosocial interventions and patient-focused perspectives in psychiatric care

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Chien WT

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Wai Tong Chien, Sau Fong Leung, Frederick KK Yeung, Wai Kit Wong School of Nursing, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong Abstract: Schizophrenia is a disabling psychiatric illness associated with disruptions in cognition, emotion, and psychosocial and occupational functioning. Increasing evidence shows that psychosocial interventions for people with schizophrenia, as an adjunct to medications or usual psychiatric care, can reduce psychotic symptoms and relapse and improve patients' long-term outcomes such as recovery, remission, and illness progression. This critical review of the literature was conducted to identify the common approaches to psychosocial interventions for people with schizophrenia. Treatment planning and outcomes were also explored and discussed to better understand the effects of these interventions in terms of person-focused perspectives such as their perceived quality of life and satisfaction and their acceptability and adherence to treatments or services received. We searched major healthcare databases such as EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PsycLIT and identified relevant literature in English from these databases. Their reference lists were screened, and studies were selected if they met the criteria of using a randomized controlled trial or systematic review design, giving a clear description of the interventions used, and having a study sample of people primarily diagnosed with schizophrenia. Five main approaches to psychosocial intervention had been used for the treatment of schizophrenia: cognitive therapy (cognitive behavioral and cognitive remediation therapy, psychoeducation, family intervention, social skills training, and assertive community treatment. Most of these five approaches applied to people with schizophrenia have demonstrated satisfactory levels of short- to medium-term clinical efficacy in terms of symptom control or reduction, level of

Comparison of corneal power obtained from VERION image-guided surgery system and four other devices

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Lin HY

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Hung-Yuan Lin,1,* Hsin-Yang Chen,1,2,* Han Bor Fam,3 Ya-Jung Chuang,1 Ronald Yeoh,4 Pi-Jung Lin5 1Universal Eye Center, Zhongli Branch, Zhongli County, TaoYuan City, Taiwan, Republic of China; 2Ophthalmology Department, Ningbo First Hospital, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China; 3Ophthalmology Department, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Jalan Tan Tock Seng, 4Ophthalmology Department, Eye and Retina Surgeons, Camden Medical Centre, Singapore; 5Universal Eye Center, Xinnan Branch, Taipei City, Taiwan, Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: To assess the corneal keratometric values obtained using the VERION image-guided surgery system and other devices.Methods: This study evaluated the right eyes of 115 cataract patients before intraocular lens (IOL implantation through consecutive tests using 5 devices: VERION Reference Unit , Placido-based corneal topography (OPD-Scan III, monochromatic light-emitting diodes (LenStar LS900 and AL-Scan, and rotary prism technology (auto kerato-refractometer KR-8800. Analyzed parameters were corneal steep and flat keratometric values (Ks and Kf and corneal astigmatism and axis. These parameters were evaluated using the one-sample two-tailed t-test and the 95% limits of agreement (95% LOAs between the devices.Results: The mean corneal cylinder value measurements were -0.97±0.63 D, -0.88± 0.60 D, -0.90±0.69 D, -0.90±0.67 D, and -0.83±0.60 D with VERION, LenStar, AL-Scan (2.4 mm, OPD III, and KR-8800, respectively. Only KR-8800 showed a significant difference from VERION in the corneal cylinder value (P<0.05. The mean differences in the Kf and Ks of VERION compared to those of OPD III were 0.18±0.45 D and 0.17±0.38 D (P<0.05, respectively. The 95% LOAs of Bland–Altman analysis for the corneal astigmatism axis of the VERION with LenStar, AL-Scan (2.4 mm, OPD III, and KR-8800 were -26.25° to 58.71°, -20.61° to 47.44°, -25.03° to 58.98°, and -27.85�

Book Reviews

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Redactie KITLV

2005-01-01

Full Text Available -Monika Arnez, Niels Mulder, Southeast Asian images; Towards civil society? Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 2003, ix + 253 pp. -Adriaan Bedner, Connie Carter, Eyes on the prize; Law and economic development in Singapore. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, xviii + 307 pp. [The London-Leiden series on law, administration and development 7.] -Amrit Gomperts, J.R. van Diessen ,Grote atlas van Nederlands Oost-Indië/Comprehensive atlas of the Netherlands East Indies. Zierikzee: Asia Maior, Utrecht: Koninklijk Nederlands Aardrijkskundig Genootschap (KNAG, 2004, 480 pp. (editors, with the collaboration of R.C.M. Braam, W. Leijnse, P.A. Levi, J.J. Reijnders, R.P.G.A. Voskuil and M.P.B. Ziellemans, F.J. Ormeling (eds -Stuart R. Harrop, Adriaan Bedner ,Towards integrated environmental law in Indonesia? Leiden: Research school CNWS, School of Asian, African and Amerindian studies, 2003, 161 pp. [CNWS publications 127.], Nicole Niessen (eds -David Henley, Paul H. Kratoska ,Locating Southeast Asia: Geographies of knowledge and politics of space. Singapore: Singapore University Press, 2005, xi + 326 pp., Remco Raben, Henk Schulte Nordholt (eds -Gerry van Klinken, Anthony J. Langlois, The politics of justice and human rights; Southeast Asia and universalist theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001, xi + 214 pp. [Cambridge Asia-Pacific studies.] -Koh Keng We, Jurrien van Goor, Prelude to colonialism; The Dutch in Asia. Hilversum: Verloren, 2004, 127 pp. -Lim Beng Soon, Thomas H. Slone, Prokem; An analysis of a Jakartan slang. Oakland: Masalai Press, 2003, 95 pp. -Lim Beng Soon, Neil Khor Jin Keong ,The Penang Po Leung Kuk; Chinese women, prostitution and a welfare organisation. Kuala Lumpur; The Malaysian branch of the Royal Asiatic society (MBRAS, 2004, VII + 181 pp., Khoo Keat Siew (eds -Dick van der Meij, J. Thomas Lindblad ,Macht en majesteit; Opstellen voor Cees Fasseur bij zijn afscheid als hoogleraar in de geschiedenis van Indonesië aan de

Increased matrix metalloproteinase-9 to tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 ratio in smokers with airway hyperresponsiveness and accelerated lung function decline

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Lo CY

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Chun-Yu Lo,1 Hung-Yu Huang,1 Jung-Ru He,1 Tzu-Ting Huang,1 Chih-Chen Heh,1 Te-Fang Sheng,1 Kian Fan Chung,2 Han-Pin Kuo,1 Chun-Hua Wang1 1Department of Thoracic Medicine, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Airways Disease Section, National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK Background: Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR is associated with airway inflammation and a rapid decline in lung function and is a predictor of future risk of COPD among smokers. Alveolar macrophages (AMs from patients with COPD release a greater amount of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-9. We hypothesized that the imbalance between MMP-9 and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1 is related to AHR in smokers.Patients and methods: Healthy smokers with AHR (AHR + S or smokers without AHR (AHR - S; divided according to a methacholine challenge test and nonsmokers without AHR (AHR - NS were enrolled. Spirometry was performed during enrollment and repeated after 5 years. Initially, AMs recovered from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL fluid were cultured in the presence of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK inhibitor (SB203580, MAPK kinase (MEK 1/2 (the MEK of extracellular signal-regulated kinase [ERK] inhibitor, PD98059, or medium alone for 24 h. The release of MMP-9 and TIMP-1 in culture supernatants was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: A greater reduction in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC, FEV1 (as a percentage of the predicted value [%pred], and maximal mid-expiratory flow (MMEF was observed among AHR + S in the 5-year period. There was a higher proportion of neutrophils and a lower proportion of AMs in BAL fluid recovered from AHR + S. Compared to AMs from AHR - NS and AHR - S, AMs from nonsmokers with AHR (AHR + NS released more MMP-9 and less TIMP-1, with an increase in MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratios. The MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio in smokers

Completion Report for Model Evaluation Well ER-11-2: Corrective Action Unit 98: Frenchman Flat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NSTec Underground Test Area and Boreholes Programs and Operations

2013-01-22

Model Evaluation Well ER-11-2 was drilled for the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office in support of Nevada Environmental Management Operations at the Nevada National Security Site (formerly known as the Nevada Test Site). The well was drilled in August 2012 as part of a model evaluation program in the Frenchman Flat area of Nye County, Nevada. The primary purpose of the well was to provide detailed geologic, hydrogeologic, chemical, and radionuclide data that can be used to test and build confidence in the applicability of the Frenchman Flat Corrective Action Unit flow and transport models for their intended purpose. In particular, this well was designed to provide data to evaluate the uncertainty in model forecasts of contaminant migration from the upgradient underground nuclear test PIN STRIPE, conducted in borehole U-11b in 1966. Well ER-11-2 will provide information that can be used to refine the Phase II Frenchman Flat hydrostratigraphic framework model if necessary, as well as to support future groundwater flow and transport modeling. The main 31.1-centimeter (cm) hole was drilled to a total depth of 399.6 meters (m). A completion casing string was not set in Well ER-11-2. However, a piezometer string was installed in the 31.1-cm open hole. The piezometer is composed of 7.3-cm stainless-steel tubing hung on 6.0-cm carbon-steel tubing via a crossover sub. The piezometer string was landed at 394.5 m, for monitoring the lower tuff confining unit. Data collected during and shortly after hole construction include composite drill cuttings samples collected every 3.0 m, various geophysical logs, water quality (including tritium and other test-related radionuclides) measurements, and water level measurements. The well penetrated 42.7 m of Quaternary and Tertiary alluvium and 356.9 m of Tertiary volcanic rock. The water-level measured in the piezometer string on September 25, 2012, was 353.8 m below ground surface. No

Depression and family support in breast cancer patients

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Su JA

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Jian-An Su,1–3,* Dah-Cherng Yeh,4,* Ching-Chi Chang,5,* Tzu-Chin Lin,6,7 Ching-Hsiang Lai,8 Pei-Yun Hu,8 Yi-Feng Ho,9 Vincent Chin-Hung Chen,1,2 Tsu-Nai Wang,10,11 Michael Gossop12 1Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan; 2Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 3Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Institute of Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 4Department of Surgery, Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Taichung, Taiwan; 5Institute of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University and Department of Psychiatry, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 6Department of Psychiatry, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan; 7Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 8Department of Medical Informatics, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan; 9Tsaotun Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nan-Tou,Taiwan; 10Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 11Center of Excellence for Environmental Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan; 12King’s College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Among the survivors, depression is one of the most common psychiatric comorbidities. This paper reports the point prevalence of major depressive disorder among breast cancer patients and the association between family support and major depressive disorder.Methods: Clinical data were collected from a breast cancer clinic of a general hospital in central Taiwan. Participants included 300 patients who were older than 18 years and diagnosed with breast cancer. Among these individuals, we used Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (a structural diagnostic tool for

Pool Boiling CHF in Inclined Narrow Annuli

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Myeong Gie

2010-01-01

Pool boiling heat transfer has been studied extensively since it is frequently encountered in various heat transfer equipment. Recently, it has been widely investigated in nuclear power plants for application to the advanced light water reactors designs. Through the review on the published results it can be concluded that knowledge on the combined effects of the surface orientation and a confined space on pool boiling heat transfer is of great practical importance and also of great academic interest. Fujita et al. investigated pool boiling heat transfer, from boiling inception to the critical heat flux (CHF, q' CHF ), in a confined narrow space between heated and unheated parallel rectangular plates. They identified that both the confined space and the surface orientation changed heat transfer much. Kim and Suh changed the surface orientation angles of a downward heating rectangular channel having a narrow gap from the downward-facing position (180 .deg.) to the vertical position (90 .deg.). They observed that the CHF generally decreased as the inclination angle (θ ) increased. Yao and Chang studied pool boiling heat transfer in a confined heat transfer for vertical narrow annuli with closed bottoms. They observed that when the gap size ( s ) of the annulus was decreased the effect of space confinement to boiling heat transfer increased. The CHF was occurred at much lower value for the confined space comparing to the unconfined pool boiling. Pool boiling heat transfer in narrow horizontal annular crevices was studied by Hung and Yao. They concluded that the CHF decreased with decreasing gap size of the annuli and described the importance of the thin film evaporation to explain the lower CHF of narrow crevices. The effect of the inclination angle on the CHF on countercurrent boiling in an inclined uniformly heated tube with closed bottoms was also studied by Liu et al. They concluded that the CHF reduced with the inclination angle decrease. A study was carried out

The dynamic behavior of bacterial macrofibers growing with one end prevented from rotating: variation in shaft rotation along the fiber's length, and supercoil movement on a solid surface toward the constrained end

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Chen Liling

2003-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Bacterial macrofibers twist as they grow, writhe, supercoil and wind up into plectonemic structures (helical forms the individual filaments of which cannot be taken apart without unwinding that eventually carry loops at both of their ends. Terminal loops rotate about the axis of a fiber's shaft in contrary directions at increasing rate as the shaft elongates. Theory suggests that rotation rates should vary linearly along the length of a fiber ranging from maxima at the loop ends to zero at an intermediate point. Blocking rotation at one end of a fiber should lead to a single gradient: zero at the blocked end to maximum at the free end. We tested this conclusion by measuring directly the rotation at various distances along fiber length from the blocked end. The movement of supercoils over a solid surface was also measured in tethered macrofibers. Results Macrofibers that hung down from a floating wire inserted through a terminal loop grew vertically and produced small plectonemic structures by supercoiling along their length. Using these as markers for shaft rotation we observed a uniform gradient of initial rotation rates with slopes of 25.6°/min. mm. and 36.2°/min. mm. in two different fibers. Measurements of the distal tip rotation in a third fiber as a function of length showed increases proportional to increases in length with constant of proportionality 79.2 rad/mm. Another fiber tethered to the floor grew horizontally with a length-doubling time of 74 min, made contact periodically with the floor and supercoiled repeatedly. The supercoils moved over the floor toward the tether at approximately 0.06 mm/min, 4 times faster than the fiber growth rate. Over a period of 800 minutes the fiber grew to 23 mm in length and was entirely retracted back to the tether by a process involving 29 supercoils. Conclusions The rate at which growing bacterial macrofibers rotated about the axis of the fiber shaft measured at various

Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma in hepatitis B virus-infected patients

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Chang CM

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Chia-Ming Chang,1–3 Ming-Shun Hsieh,1–4 Tsung-Chieh Yang,3,5 Vivian Chia-Rong Hsieh,6 Jen-Huai Chiang,7 Hsien-Hao Huang,1,3 Chorng-Kuang How,1,3 Sung-Yuan Hu,8 David Hung-Tsang Yen1,3 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, 2Institute of Occupational Medicine and Industrial Hygiene, National Taiwan University College of Public Health, 3College of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, 4Department of Emergency Medicine, 5Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taoyuan Branch, Taoyuan, 6Department of Health Services Administration, 7Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University, 8Department of Emergency Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV infection.Methods: We conducted a population-based cohort study by using claims data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD. The study cohort comprised 1380 newly diagnosed HBV-infected patients with SSRI use who were frequency matched by age, sex, liver cirrhosis, and index year with HBV-infected patients without SSRI use in the comparison cohort. Each patient case was followed from 2000 to 2012 to identify incident HCC cases. Cox proportional hazards regression was performed to evaluate the association between SSRI use and HCC risk. The further sensitivity analysis used case-control study design. A total of 9070 HCC subjects retrieved from NHIRD, and equal non-HCC subjects were analyzed after matching for age and sex.Results: We identified 9 and 24 HCC cases in the study and comparison cohorts during the follow-up period of 7056 and 6845 person-years, respectively. The incidence rate of HCC was 1.28 and 3

Clinical outcome of primary small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder

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Hou CP

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Chen-Pang Hou,1,2 Yu-Hsiang Lin,1,2 Chien-Lun Chen,1,2 Phei-Lang Chang,1,2 Ke-Hung Tsui1,2 1Department of Urology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Linko, Taiwan, Republic of China; 2College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan, Republic of China Purpose: Primary small cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder is a rare malignant disease. It accounts for less than 1% of all urinary bladder carcinomas. The purpose of this study is to review the clinical features, the treatment modalities, and the overall survival of these patients. We also compare the clinical outcomes between patients of bladder small cell carcinoma (SCC and bladder urothelial carcinoma (UC. Materials and methods: We reviewed the charts of patients with bladder tumors from January 1995 to December 2012 in the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. A total of 2421 malignant bladder tumor patients were reviewed and there were 18 patients who were diagnosed with primary bladder SCC. The patients' characteristics, including age, gender, smoking history, presented symptoms, tumor size, locations, clinical stages, treatment modalities, pathology appearance, recurrence conditions, and survival conditions were all recorded. We also compared the clinical outcomes and the overall survival rates between patients with bladder SCC and those with UC. Results: Bladder SCC accounted for about 0.74% of all bladder malignancies in our institution. The mean age at diagnosis was 70.67 years, and the male-to-female ratio was 2.6:1. Thirteen patients had a history of cigarette smoking. All patients presented with symptoms of gross hematuria, and three of them had bladder tamponade requiring blood clot evacuation by cystoscopy. Only one patient had T1 disease, ten patients had stage III disease, and seven patients had lymph node or distant metastasis (stage IV disease. The mean tumor size was 4.29 cm in diameter. For the majority (61.11% of patients, SCC coexisted with UC components. The average survival time

Cisplatin induces protective autophagy through activation of BECN1 in human bladder cancer cells

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Lin JF

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Ji-Fan Lin,1 Yi-Chia Lin,2 Te-Fu Tsai,2,3 Hung-En Chen,2 Kuang-Yu Chou,2,3 Thomas I-Sheng Hwang2–4 1Central Laboratory, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 2Division of Urology, School of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei, 3Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital, 4Department of Urology, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan Purpose: Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the first line treatment for several cancers including bladder cancer (BC. Autophagy induction has been implied to contribute to cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer; and a high basal level of autophagy has been demonstrated in human bladder tumors. Therefore, it is reasonable to speculate that autophagy may account for the failure of cisplatin single treatment in BC. This study investigated whether cisplatin induces autophagy and the mechanism involved using human BC cell lines.Materials and methods: Human BC cells (5637 and T24 were used in this study. Cell viability was detected using water soluble tetrazolium-8 reagents. Autophagy induction was detected by monitoring the levels of light chain 3 (LC3-II and p62 by Western blot, LC3-positive puncta formation by immunofluorescence, and direct observation of the autophagolysosome (AL formation by transmission electron microscopy. Inhibitors including bafilomycin A1 (Baf A1, chloroquine (CQ, and shRNA-based lentivirus against autophagy-related genes (ATG7 and ATG12 were utilized. Apoptosis level was detected by caspase 3/7 activity and DNA fragmentation.Results: Cisplatin decreased cell viability and induced apoptosis of 5637 and T24 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The increased LC3-II accumulation, p62 clearance, the number of LC3-positive puncta, and ALs in cisplatin-treated cells suggested that cisplatin indeed induces autophagy. Inhibition of cisplatin-induced autophagy using Baf A1, CQ, or ATG7/ATG12 shRNAs significantly enhanced cytotoxicity of

Distribution of freshwater snails in family-based VAC ponds and associated waterbodies with special reference to intermediate hosts of fish-borne zoonotic trematodes in Nam Dinh Province, Vietnam.

Science.gov (United States)

Dung, Bui Thi; Madsen, Henry; The, Dang Tat

2010-10-01

Fish-borne zoonotic trematodes, such as Clonorchis sinensis, heterophyids and others, constitute a public health concern in parts of northern Vietnam and infections with these trematodes are often thought to be linked to fish culture. One common fish culture system is the integrated fish-livestock (VAC) ponds where individual households have 1 or more ponds. Fish fry, mainly of various carp species, produced in hatcheries, not necessarily local, are introduced into nursery ponds and after approximately 6 weeks, juvenile fishes are transferred to household ponds, referred to as grow-out ponds. Grow-out ponds are usually fertilized with organic debris, including animal excreta, to stimulate algal growth and subsequently fish growth. This paper describes the distribution of freshwater snails and occurrence of trematode infections in these in VAC ponds and associated habitats as part of a major study on risk factors of FZT infections in cultured fish in two communes, Nghia Lac and Nghia Phu, Nghia Hung District, Nam Dinh Province. The area is under intense rice cultivation with an extensive canal network supplying fields and also household VAC ponds. A total of 16 snail species was found and four were widely distributed i.e. Angulyagra polyzonata, Melanoides tuberculata, Bithynia fuchsiana and Pomacea insularum. Snail diversity and counts were higher in nursery ponds than in grow-out ponds. Species of the families Thiaridae and Viviparidae were more abundant than other species in VAC ponds while species of the Bithyniidae, Stenothyridae and Planorbidae dominated in rice fields and small canals. Trematode infections were found in eight snail species and among these M. tuberculata had the highest overall prevalence of infection (13.28%). No trematode infections were found in species of the Viviparidae and Ampullaridae except for metacercariae. Parapleurolophocercous and pleurolophocercous cercariae constituted the most common type of cercariae recovered, contributing 40

Monitoring of Building Structure by Tiltsensors

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Alojz Kopáčik

2005-06-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses about the dynamic monitoring of stability (tilt measurement of bearing pillar of high-rise building using the electronic measuring system. The electronic measuring system consists of Libela 2800 tilt sensor, input/output device for the AE 2DN tilt sensor, measuring amplifier and also the Spider8 analog/digital converter and the registration equipment (notebook. The basic part of uniaxial tilt sensor creates a frame, on which is among damping plates hung a pendulum (ferromagnetic kernel. The tilt value is determined on a principle of electromagnetic induction by changing the position of ferromagnetic kernel in the reel. The range of pendulum movement is ± 2,5 mm/m and the accuracy of the tilt determination is 0,001 mm/m. The monitored building represents, from the point of constructional view, a ferro-concrete rectangular sceleton, which consists of vertical bearing pillars, on which are guyed longitudinal and transverse girders. The building ground-plan is rectangular with the dimensions of 75 m (distance and 12 m (width. The building has two underground and six above the ground floors with constructional high of 3,40 m. Whole highth of the above ground part of building is 20,4 m. The pillar tilt was measured in the transverse direction of the building at the level of the second floor using the Libela 2800 electronic sensor. The sensor was situated on the metallic console (L-profile, which was assembled on a lateral side of the circuit bearing pillar at the highth of 8,3 m above the ground level. Together with the tilt monitoring, the outside air temperature in the close area of pillar was measured. The tilt measurement was carried out continuously for 168 hours with the recording frequency of 1 Hz (1 measurement/second. The file of the measured data with 603 950 records was reduced to the file with 1006 records, which corresponds to the record of the every tenth minute. The measured tilt values represent from the

Post‐Secondary Students Prefer IM to E‐mail for Personal and Social Communication. A review of: Lancaster, Sean, David C. Yen, Albert H. Huang, and Shin‐Yuan Hung. “The Selection of Instant Messaging or E‐mail: College Students’ Perspective for Computer Communication.” Information Management & Computer Security 15.1 (2007: 5‐22.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virginia Wilson

2008-03-01

Full Text Available Objective – This study investigates college students’ perceptions of instant messaging (IM and e‐mail for conveying emotions, aiding in relationship building, ease of use, and reliability.Design – A survey consisting of 59 questions was administered to 1,000 college students, resulting in 545 usable responses.Setting – The research took place at a midwestern university in the United States.Subjects – 1,000 Management Information Systems (MIS college students.Methods – A 59‐question survey was distributed to 1,000 MIS students during the 2005 academic year. 545 usable responses were returned. Participation was voluntary. During the pre‐phase of the research, four categories were determined: emotion, relationship, usage, and reliability. Questions were then written for a pilot study using Likert scaling. The post‐research phase involved evaluating the questions linguistically to ensure proper word usage, comprehension, and lack of bias. Main Results – The questions in the section on conveying emotion dealt with how well the two technologies (e‐mail and IM communicated feelings and emotions. While both technologies were acknowledged as being able to communicate more than merely text, IM was clearly preferred for expressing emotion. Fifty‐two percent of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that they used emoticons (originally symbols created with letters and special characters; later evolving into graphical images produced and made available by IM companies to express emotion in IM, while fewer than 11% agreed or strongly agreed that they did so in e‐mail. More than 70% of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that their friends used emoticons in IM,while fewer than 14% strongly agreed or agreed that their friends used emoticons in e‐mails. More than 75% of respondents agreed that it is easier to convey emotions in IM than via e‐mail. Analysis on the questions that dealt with the technologies as useful relationship builders again showed a preference for IM. IM was preferred by a greater number of respondents for fostering friendships, improving relationships with friends or team members, building relationships, social interaction, and social networking. This section also found that more than 75% of the respondents felt that IM was more useful than e‐mail when interacting with friends. However, when asked about interacting with co‐workers specifically, only 44% were in agreement. Nearly 32% were neutral on this point, while 24% were in disagreement. It appears that IM is preferred over e‐mail for fostering social and friendly relationships, but is not preferred when the interaction is work‐related and more professional. In terms of use, both technologies were considered easy to learn and use by more than 90% of respondents. In terms of preferred use, more than 60% of respondents use IM for personal and social interaction, while less than 1% uses IM for work‐related activities. Nearly 80% of respondents preferred using e‐mail for work, and nearly 75% preferred using IM for social interaction. Sixty‐three percent of respondents did not agree that IM is just as effective as face‐to‐face meetings, while nearly 75% did not agree that e‐mail can be as effective as meeting face‐to‐face. In the areas of reliability, security, and privacy of IM and e‐mail, respondents perceived e‐mail more favourably. Sixty-four percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that IM is very reliable, while 80% of respondents felt the same way about e‐mail. Just over 30% of those questioned agreed that IM is very secure, while more than 50% felt that way about email. However, the gap is narrower when users were queried as to whether or not they worry about security: 13% strongly agreedwith the statement that users do not worry about their security when using IM, while 15% strongly agreed with the statement as it pertained to e‐mail. The same types of questions were asked about perceived privacy. Nearly 50% agreed that their privacy is protected with e‐mail, while just under 35% had the same belief about IM. More than 60% of respondents reported that they do not worry about privacy when emailing, while about 53% of respondents do not worry about privacy with IM. Conclusion – IM was perceived more favourably than e‐mail in 3 of the 4 categories: conveying emotions, building relationships, and ease of use. In the reliability category, e‐mail was perceived more favourably. However, there is a division between social interaction and professional communication. IM is preferred for personal and social relationships, while e‐mail is preferred for work‐related communication. Neither of the technologies is as desirable as face‐to‐face meetings.

Gnawing blocks as cage enrichment and dietary supplement for does and fatteners: intake, performance and behaviour

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Luc Maertens

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate different experimental gnawing blocks as cage enrichment in rabbits. One hundred and five pregnant rabbit does housed in conventional wire cages were distributed according to their parity number in 4 homogenous treatment groups. Throughout one complete reproductive cycle (from day 18 of pregnancy till weaning of the litter, does either received no enrichment (controls or a gnawing block hung from a wire on the cage wall. The 3 different blocks had the same basal components (wheat, molasses and oligoelements, but additionally wood mash (WM, wood mash+chicory pulp (ChP or wood mash and inulin syrup (I were respectively incorporated. After weaning, each litter continued to receive the same blocks as before and block consumption was measured as well as the performance of the fatteners. Weight development during the lactation was comparable except in does that received the wood powder blocks. These females had a significantly lower weight (P<0.05 at different time points compared to controls. Litter weight or kit weight was not significantly different at any of the time points measured, but again the treatment with wood powder blocks presented the lowest weight. The consumption of blocks during the whole reproduction cycle (42 d was 11.0±1.1; 6.8±1.0 and 4.4±0.7 g/d per cage for wood mash, chicory pulp or inulin enriched blocks, respectively. A very high variability in consumption of blocks was observed between females. This varied between 1 and 5 (I or ChP group or even 1 and 9 blocks (WM group per reproductive cycle. In fatteners, daily block consumption was significantly different (P<0.05 and reached on average 7.0±0.5; 3.9±0.5 and 2.2±0.2 g/d per fattener, respectively for WM, ChP and I. Five females with a block and 5 females without a block were observed for 1 h 3 d before the expected parturition and at 2 time points during lactation. Distinction was made between 15 different behaviours. Although the

The Leger house: an affordable super insulated home

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon

2000-03-01

Building and energy efficient house in a cost-effective manner is not an easy task. The house described in this article is a 1200 sq.ft house, built on the principle of the Arkansas house, a sophisticated example of advanced wood frame construction, meets both these requirements, i.e. it is both energy efficient and good value for the money. It is built on a cast-in place concrete foundation with advanced framing construction techniques, staggered studs spaced on 24 inch centres, on separate plates forming an eight inch thick wall. The exterior sheathing is Dow Styrofoam, over which vinyl siding is installed. Thermal bridging, which is the weak point in conventional framing, received special attention. The outer walls are placed in such a way that they do not touch the floor joist and the plywood subfloor. Windows are wood framed, double glazed, a combination of casement and double hung, with storm windows, and sliding units. The clear span roof truss design gives the freedom of an open interior allowing a continuous unbroken ceiling vapour diffusion retarder. Drywall and oak flooring was installed without interference from partitions which were installed after the ceiling and the floor were in place. All lighting fixtures are on the partitions, so there is no need for penetration of the top plates in the partitions. Similarly, there is no wiring or plumbing in the exterior walls. Insulated steel doors, with magnetic weather stripping open to two airlocks. Domestic hot water and space heating is provided by a tank-less 43,800 Btu/hr Paloma natural gas heater. The water is kept at 160 degrees F and supplied to 46 feet of baseboard. A small conventional air-conditioning unit is installed but was only used for or a total of 12 hours since 1979, since during most of the hot summer days the rooms remain satisfactorily cool at about 80 degrees F, provided doors and windows are kept shut. A heat recovery ventilator has been installed subsequently, but is not considered

Field Assessment of 3 Years of Release of sub-sterile males of Ectomyelois ceratoniae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jouda, Mediouni; Dhouibi, M.H.

2005-01-01

A weekly long-season release program was conduced in a pomegranate orchard during three years. Irradiation was done using a 60Co source with a dose rate of 46Gy/min. The gamma radiation substerilising dose adopted for this program was 400 Gy. The efficiency of these releases was investigated at the harvest. Releases of the sub-sterile male insects precede the beginning of the wild population activity. The monitoring of the wild pest population was accomplished using a series of Delta traps baited with the sexual pheromone. Traps were kept in the field the whole season. Trapping results and sampling data were used in order to study the insect population's dynamics. We studied reared irradiated male dispersion, their competitiveness into the field and attractiveness of irradiated virgin female. At the harvest, we determined the fruit infestation-rate both in the treated orchard and in the control. Irradiated male dispersion was studied using 24 delta traps. Six levels of male capture were chosen. These levels were 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 120 m from the point release. Results showed that irradiation at the substerilising dose 400 Gy don't affect the male's ability of flying. Moreover, we observed that irradiated males are able to reach traps placed at 120 m from the released point. The maximum of insect capture is obtained with levels 40m and 80m. This result is very important and has a practical implementation. In fact, in order to get a homogeneous distribution into the field, distances between 40m and 80 m should be kept between the release-lines. Male's competitiveness was carried out into two cages. The cages were installed on two middle size trees and were covered with a mosquito-net. A delta trap was hung into each cage. The trap was baited with two virgin non- irradiated females. Four ratios of irradiated to normal males were investigated: 1:1, 2.5:1, 5:1 and 10:1. Experimentations were replicated five times for each ratio. Results showed that substeriles

Association of sustained virologic response with reduced progression to liver cirrhosis in elderly patients with chronic hepatitis C

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Tseng CW

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Chih-Wei Tseng,1,2 Ting-Tsung Chang,3,4 Shinn-Jia Tzeng,5 Yu-Hsi Hsieh,1,2 Tsung-Hsing Hung,1,2 Hsiang-Ting Huang,6 Shu-Fen Wu,7 Kuo-Chih Tseng1,2 1Department of Internal Medicine, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Chia-Yi, 2School of Medicine, Tzuchi University, Hualien, 3Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Medical College and Hospital, 4Infectious Disease and Signaling Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 5Department of Agronomy, National Chiayi University, 6Department of Nursing, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, 7Institute of Molecular Biology, National Chung Cheng University, Chia-Yi, Taiwan Objective: We studied the effect of sustained virologic response (SVR after treatment with pegylated-interferon (PEG-IFN plus ribavirin on the development of liver cirrhosis in elderly patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC. Patients and methods: This retrospective study enrolled 145 elderly CHC patients (aged ≥65 years who were treatment-naïve and were treated with PEG-IFN plus ribavirin for 6 months between January 2005 and December 2011. Abdominal sonography was performed and liver biochemistry was studied at baseline, at the end of treatment, and every 3–6 months thereafter. The development of liver cirrhosis and related complications was evaluated at the follow-ups. The aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index was used as a noninvasive maker for fibrosis. Results: The mean patient age was 69.1±3.3 years, and the average follow-up time was 5.5 years (standard deviation: 2.5 years, range: 1.1–12.3 years. Ninety-five patients (65.5% achieved SVR, and 26 (17.9% discontinued treatment. Twenty-seven patients (18.6% developed liver cirrhosis after treatment. Patients without SVR had significantly greater risk of liver cirrhosis than those with SVR (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.312–8.761, P=0.012. The

The Spring Festival Celebration of the Nianzhe Family Clan---An Ethnography of a Mosuo Family's Spring Festival

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

ZHAO Peixi; ZHANG Bo; YANG Lifen; ZHANG Yongyi

2014-01-01

burnt in the burner; and new mats were put on the sitting places ( also for sleep-ing in the night ) around the fire place . Luruo Jiace was very skilled in paper cutting , and he made a lot of paper cuttings , including the“ba” ( totem ) , deity figures , sacred vases , the Chinese traditional design “si fu nao shou”( meaning “four bats celebrate for long life”) , and Chinese characters such as “chun” ( “Spring”) ,“xi” (“double-happiness”) and“fu” (“lucki-ness”) , etc. The children discussed the best places for sticking these paper cuttings , and then stuck them on windows , vases, grain cabinets, water vats and different types of jars in the house . After that, Luruo Jiace and Zhaxi Duzhi guided their nephews and nieces to paste couplets on the post, doors and gates .Finally, they hung colorful prayer flags on every door and eave of the house . Red lanterns were hung up on each eave of the house, and all furniture , and red paper slips were even pasted on the farm tools , and cars.The Mo-suo yard of the Nianzhe family was filled with a happy atmosphere . In the kitchen , the women were chatting and preparing the dinner , and the pleasant aroma of stir-fry was flowing in the air .The eve of the New Year is a very important day for the Mosuo --that is totally true , and we can feel this impor-tance in the Nianzhe house .In the past , it was said that the family must prepare 12 dishes for the New Year's Eve diner , even during periods of pov-erty.This is because the 12 dishes represent good blessings for the 12 months of the year.Now, be-cause peoples ’ living conditions have improved , there are no special demands for the number of di-shes.However, the Nianzhe family prepared 24 dishes for this year's celebration . Before starting the New Year's Eve dinner , the Nianzhe family held a sacred ritual to worship the ancestors.It was said that, in the past, the Mosuo family would invite a Daba ( the religious specialist of the Mosuo

El proceso constructivo de los teatros del "Canal" del arquitecto Juan Navarro Baldeweg

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del Aguila García, Alfonso

2008-03-01

Full Text Available This present article studies and chriticizes the building system and the developement of the theater and dance complex of Canal (Teatros del Canal, Madrid, designed by Juan Navarro Baldeweg, Principal Professor of Architectural Design at Madrid School of Architecture Polytechnic University. These theaters are being built in the center of Madrid city. The owner and developer of this complex is Canal de Isabel II (the water supply company of Madrid regional Government. The project consist in a three building complex, two theatres and a choreographic centre, put together by a back service block, each of them with it’s own different building solutions. This article is the result of the work done during the term 2006-07 of the Seminar of "Industrialization of Building Process" that, under the direction of the Principal Professor Alfonso del Águila, takes place within the Ph. D. Program of the Department of Construction and Architectural Technology set in Madrid School of Architecture Polytechnic University. The work includes two different parts: the fi rst one, which introduces is a prologue written by Prof. Navarro and a general description of the building. The second part describes its different construction areas, ranging from the different structural solutions, the hung façades pretending to be theatre curtains, some aspects of the interior design, as acoustics, special furniture and fi nishes, not in a mere descriptive way, but also from a critical manner with the intention to be a consequence with didactical value for the students/ authors.El artículo que se presenta estudia y valora el sistema constructivo, y su desarrollo, de las obras de los Teatros del Canal, obra del Catedrático de Proyectos de la Escuela de Arquitectura de Madrid, Prof. Navarro Baldeweg, que se están llevando a cabo en Madrid, siendo la Promotora y Propietaria el Canal de Isabel II de la Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid. Se trata de un conjunto de tres edifi cios

The man and the hill

Science.gov (United States)

Leopold, Luna Bergere

1962-01-01

He was sitting on a large slab of rock. As he looked at the cloud of dust hanging hazily on the horizon, the piece of antler and the block of flint he held in his hand hung as if they were suspended from their previous rapid motion. The man gazed intently across the swaying grass which rose in wave-like billows across the distant hills. What was that dust - a herd of buffalo, a band of hunters, or were coyotes chasing the antelope again? After watching for a while he started again to chip the flint with a rapid twisting motion of the bone in his right hand. The little chips of flint fell in the grass before him. It is the same hill but the scene has changed. Seated on the same rock, holding the reins of a saddle horse, a man dressed in buckskin took the fur cap off his head and wiped his brow. He was looking intently across a brown and desolate landscape at a cloud of dust on the far horizon. Was it the hostile tribe of Indians? It could be buffalo. Nervously he kicked at the ground with the deerhide moccasin, pushing the flint chips out of the way. He wiped the dust from his long rifle. What a terrible place - no water, practically no grass, everything bare and brown. Now at sunset, slanting across the hills green with springtime, a cowman sits on a big rock, pushes his sombrero back on his head, and looks across the valley at a large but quiet herd of stock, moving slowly as each steer walks from one lush patch of grass to another, nibbling. Suddenly he stood up. Far on the horizon some dark objects were moving. Is it the sheepmen? Could it be the stage coach from Baggs to the Sweetwater Crossing?Same hill - a gray truck was grinding slowly toward the summit. It pulled up near a small fenced enclosure where there were some instruments painted a bright silver color. A man stepped out of the truck and turned to his younger companion, "You've never found an arrowhead? Maybe you have never thought about it correctly. If you want to find where an Indian camped long

The influence of the macro-sediment from the mountainous area to the river morphology in Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, S. C.; Wu, C.; Shih, P.

2012-12-01

Chen, Su-Chin scchen@nchu.edu.tw Wu, Chun-Hung* chwu@mail.nchu.edu.tw Dept. Soil & Water Conservation, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan. The Chenyulan River was varied changed with the marco-sediment yielded source area, Shenmu watershed, with 10 debris flow events in the last decade, in Central Taiwan. Multi-term DEMs, the measurement data of the river topographic profile and aerial photos are adopted to analyze the decade influences of the marco-sediment to the river morphology in Chenyulan River. The changes of river morphology by observing the river pattern, calculating the multi-term braided index, and estimating the distribution of sediment deposition and main channel in the river. The response for the macro-sediment from the mountainous areas into the river in the primary stage is the increase in river width, the depth of sediment deposition and volume of sediment transport. The distribution of sediment deposition from upstream landslide and river bank erosion along the river dominates the change of river morphology in the primary stage. The river morphology achieves stable gradually as the river discharge gradually decreases in the later stage. Both of the braided index and the volume of sediment transport decrease, and the river flow maintains in a main channel instead of the braided pattern in this stage. The decade sediment deposition depth is estimated as > 0.5 m, especially > 3.5 m in the sections closed to the sediment-yield source areas, the mean river width increases 15%, and the sediment with a total volume of 8×107 tons has been transported in last decade in Chenyulan River. The river morphology in Chenyulan River maintains a short-term stable, i.e. 2 or 3 years, and changes again because of the flooding events with a large amount of sediment caused by frequently heavy rainfall events in Taiwan. Furthermore, the response of river morphology in Chenyulan River due to the heavy rainfall with a total precipitation of around 860 mm

Ocorrência de moscas-das-frutas (Diptera: Tephritidae em mangueiras (Mangifera indica L. em Boa Vista, Roraima = The occurrence of fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae in mango (Mangifera indica L. in Boa Vista, Roraima

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Adriana Bezerra Lima

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Um estudo foi conduzido no período de junho de 2007 a janeiro de 2008, em pomares comerciais de manga das variedades: Tommy Atkins, Haden e Palmer sendo 3 ha de cada cultivar, localizado na região do Bom Intento no Município de Boa Vista. Os espécimes de moscas-das-frutas foram coletados, por meio de armadilhas, confeccionadas com garrafas pet, que foram penduradas na copa das árvores a 1,60 m de altura. Como atrativo alimentar foi utilizado 200 mL de suco de maracujá a 30%. Foram utilizadas nove armadilhas, sendo uma armadilha por hectare. Semanalmente as armadilhas eram examinadas, ocasião em que se substituía o atrativo e os insetos capturados retirados e colocados em frascos de vidro devidamente etiquetados e transportados ao Laboratório de Entomologia do Centro de Ciências Agrárias da Universidade Federal de Roraima. As identificações dos espécimes foram feitas no Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa da Amazônia - INPA. No período de oito meses foram coletados 24 espécimes adultos do gênero Anastrepha (nove fêmeas e 15 machos. Quatro espécies foram identificadas: A. serpentina, A. striata, A. obliqua e A. turpinae. A maior frequência foi A. serpentina (44,44%, seguida de A. striata e A. obliqua ambas com 22,22% e A. turpinae com 11,11%. Os meses de maior ocorrência de Anastrepha spp. foram junho, julho e agosto. Este é o primeiro registro da espécie Anastrepha turpinae Stone, 1942, em Roraima. The study was done during th period of June 2007 to January of 2008, in commercial mango orchards having: 3 ha of cv. Tommy Atkins, 3 ha of cv. Haden. and 3 ha of cv. Palmer, located at Bom Intento in the municipal district of Boa Vista - RR. The specimens of fruit flies were collected, by trapping, made with transparent bottles pet, which were hung in the cup of the trees at 1.60 m of height. 200 mL of passion fruit juice (30% was used as an attractant feed; 9 traps were used, being one trap for hectare. Weekly The traps were

Importance-Performance Analysis of Personal Health Records in Taiwan: A Web-Based Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Rau, Hsiao-Hsien; Wu, Yi-Syuan; Chu, Chi-Ming; Wang, Fu-Chung; Hsu, Min-Huei; Chang, Chi-Wen; Chen, Kang-Hua; Lee, Yen-Liang; Kao, Senyeong; Chiu, Yu-Lung; Wen, Hsyien-Chia; Fuad, Anis; Hsu, Chien-Yeh; Chiu, Hung-Wen

2017-04-27

participants, 56.6%), with a monthly income of less than NT $30,000 (230 of 350 participants, 65.7%), and living in the North Taiwan (236 of 350 participants, 67.4%), with a good self-identified health status (171 of 350 participants, 48.9%). After performing the importance-performance analysis, we found the following: (1) instead of complex functions, people just want to have a platform that can let them integrate and manage their medical visit, health examination, and life behavior records; (2) they do not care whether their PHR is shared with others; and (3) most of the participants think the system security design is not important, but they also do not feel satisfied with the current security design. Overall, the issues receiving the most user attention were the system functions, circulation, integrity, ease of use, and continuity of the PHRs, data security, and privacy protection. ©Hsiao-Hsien Rau, Yi-Syuan Wu, Chi-Ming Chu, Fu-Chung Wang, Min-Huei Hsu, Chi-Wen Chang, Kang-Hua Chen, Yen-Liang Lee, Senyeong Kao, Yu-Lung Chiu, Hsyien-Chia Wen, Anis Fuad, Chien-Yeh Hsu, Hung-Wen Chiu. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 27.04.2017.

Occupational risk factors for testicular cancer: a registry-based case-control study in Rhineland Palatinate – Germany [Berufliche Risikofaktoren für Hodenkrebs: eine Register-basierte Fall-Kontroll-Studie in Rheinland-Pfalz – Deutschland

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Yousif, Lamyaa

2013-11-01

ügbaren Informationen zur Erwerbstätigkeit zwischen 2000 und 2005, sowie 564 geeignete Kontrollen (aus einem Pool anderer Krebsarten wurden aus dem Krebsregister Rheinland-Pfalz gezogen. Mittels einer unkonditionalen logistischen Regression wurden Odds Ratios (OR und deren 95%-Konfidenzintervall (CI berechnet.Ergebnisse: Eine leichte Erhöhung wurde für Techniker und verwandte Berufe (OR 1,62, 95% CI 1,00 bis 2,63 und für Bürokräfte (OR 1,71, 95% CI 1,14 bis 2,56 beobachtet. Dieser Anstieg war am höchsten in der Altersgruppe 20–50 für Techniker (OR 2,02, 95% CI 1,23 bis 3,33 sowie für Bürokräfte (OR 2,00, 95% CI 1,30 bis 3,09. Es wurde keine weitere Assoziation zwischen Hodenkrebs und anderen Berufen beobachtet.Fazit: Ein erhöhtes Risiko für Hodenkrebs wurde für Techniker und verwandte Berufe sowie für Bürokräfte beobachtet. Dies könnte auf den sozioökonomischen Status bzw. die bewegungsarme Lebensweise zurückgeführt werden, was auch schon in früheren Studien gezeigt wurde. Während die Machbarkeit einer rein Register-basierten Studie gezeigt wurde, stellen die fehlenden beruflichen Daten sowie die Wahl der Krebskontrollen eine Herausforderung für die Richtigkeit dieses Ansatzes dar.

Hamilton Place - Ontario Canadá

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Garwood-Jones, T. P.

1975-04-01

Full Text Available Although comparatively modest as to its exterior, the interior of the theatre-auditorium Hamilton Place has been most successfully solved, both as regards design and acoustics. Construction techniques and elements have been utilized to achieve two different sections in one and the same hall with on one hand the capacity to be able to capture shades of the spoken word at theatrical functions and on the other to reproduce the sharpness and variety of orchestras and choirs. The following elements deserve special mention: the mobile wall which incorporates the orchestra into the hall by closing the proscenium arch; the two elevating platforms where the orchestra is placed; the vertical velvet surfaces, hung like banners which soften the repercussion of the sound; the mobile horizontal surfaces over the orchestra that direct and orient the sound. The most interesting construction techniques are: the subdivision of the building into different parts, each one with independent foundation so as to avoid the transmission of the sound from one section to the other; the texture of the brick walls that disperse the reflected sound; and the use of counterforts to create smaller more personal sections for varied use. The acoustic characteristics are improved by means of a sound installation, formed by small loudspeakers placed under each seat and by other bigger ones distributed in the walls that surround the hall. The building is completed by various service installations that are appropriate to this type of construction, as well as by a small theatre-studio for the rehearsals of the orchestra and the actors, while other functions are going on in the main hall.El teatro-auditorio Hamilton Place, aunque relativamente modesto por fuera, tiene soluciones muy afortunadas en el interior, tanto por su diseño como por su adecuación acústica. Se han utilizado elementos y técnicas constructivas destinadas a conseguir, en una única sala, dos espacios

Eficácia de atrativos alimentares na captura de moscas-das-frutas em pomar de citros Attractiveness of food baits to the fruit flies in citrus orchard

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Adalton Raga

2006-01-01

population in citrus orchard. The experimental design used was randomized block, with five treatments and five replications. The experiment was set in 30 September, 2003 and evaluated for nine weeks. The attractants tested were the hydrolysate proteins Bio Anastrepha, Isca Mosca and Aumax®, all diluted in 5% water, sugar cane syrup (7% alone and added to natural orange juice (10%. Weekly 400 mL aqueous attractants were used into plastic McPhail traps hunged within a tree of 'Pêra Rio' orange. At the time of sampling, flies were removed and conducted to the laboratory for counting, sexing and identification. It was captured 1,821 adults of Tephritoidea, from which 892 of Anastrepha spp., 731 of C. capitata and 198 of Neosilba spp. For these species, Bio Anastrepha and Isca Mosca were highly efficient and similar, corresponding to 44.5% and 41.3% of tephritid adults. No difference was detected in the attractiveness by sex of Tephritidae species provided by Bio Anastrepha, Aumax® and sugar cane syrup. Aumax®, sugar cane syrup, alone and plus orange juice, attracted only 4.6%, 1.3% and 1.2% from Tephritidae adults, respectively. Sugar cane syrup, alone and plus orange juice, was efficient to monitoring Zaprionus indianus (Gupta (Diptera: Drosophilidae.

Europe is going to Mars

Science.gov (United States)

1999-06-01

for future exploration. ESA is now able to afford Mars Express because it will be built more quickly and cheaply than any other comparable mission. It will be the first of the Agency's new flexible missions, based on maximum reuse of technology off-the-shelf and from other missions (the Rosetta cometary mission in this case). Mars Express will explore the extent to which innovative working practices, now made possible by the maturity of Europe's space industry, can cut mission costs and the time from concept to launch : a new kind of relationship with industrial partners is starting. "We are adopting a new approach to management by delegating to Matra Marconi Space (the prime contractor) responsibility for the whole project. This means we can reduce the ESA's management costs" says Bonnet. Despite the knock-down price, however, the future of Mars Express has hung in the balance because of the steady erosion of ESA's space science budget since 1995. Last November, the SPC said the mission could go ahead only if it could be afforded without affecting missions already approved, especially the FIRST infra-red observatory and the Planck mission to measure the cosmic microwave background. On 19/20 May, the SPC, which has the ultimate decision over the Agency's science missions, agreed that the level of resources allowed was just sufficient to allow Mars Express to go ahead. "To do such an ambitious mission for so little money is a challenge and we have decided to meet", says Balsiger.

Optimal design of sound absorbing systems with microperforated panels

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Nicholas Nakjoo

, three different situations were considered: one was studying the combination of microperforated panels with tapered holes and a specific depth of air backing space with a view to finding the trade-off between hole angle and surface porosity. Secondly, it was of interest to study the use of multiple-layer MPPs as functional absorbers. Finally, there is a study of the optimization of a multi-layer cylindrical duct liner that gives maximum axial attenuation. Note that "Functional Absorber" is the name given to a system that can be hung, in an industrial space, for example, to provide acoustic absorption. The duct applications of interest would be in HVAC systems, whether in buildings, automotive systems or personal ventilators. In both applications, the focus was on obtaining the best possible performance in the full speech interference range, which spans the range from 500 Hz to 4000 kHz. In each case, a transfer matrix method has been developed to calculate the transmission loss and absorption coefficients provided by the systems. Note finally that the design of an N multiple-layer MPP system depends on 5N-1 parameters, and so a general optimization becomes difficult in realistic cases when as many as ten layers might be used. Thus, the use of a genetic algorithm to optimize the system parameters has been adopted, since an algorithm of that sort can efficiently identify good solutions from a very large design space. The results, as presented in this thesis, show that it is possible to identify the best combination of MPP properties that improve the desired acoustic performance, whether absorption or transmission loss, in a prescribed frequency range.

‘Manchester calling’ ¿Por qué? «Manchester calling» For what?

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Ian Parker

2011-12-01

refuge in a Lebanese place off Oldham Street while the kids set off on their bikes to see what was happening a block or two south and reported back from time to time on events in Piccadilly gardens. An occasional flash of blue light, people sprinting from one alleyway to the other, stories of stones thrown, and all this in a growing atmosphere of tense, expectant, unusual silence. The trams and bus system closed down by mid-evening, music venues were told by the authorities to stop early, so by now there was a different mix; city centre workers and customers were moving out, anxious about how to get home, some locals were working their way down to the centre to see what was what, and small huddles of youth hung around the corners with nowhere to go. Everyone looked suspicious, looking suspiciously at each other, made objects of suspicion, and already separation was at work, division of each from the other, and no place in this for solidarity, just disorganisation and uncertainty about what would happen next.

LED lighting and the Next Generation of Greenhouse for Tomatoes. Proof of Principle; LED belichting en Het Nieuwe Telen bij tomaat. Proof of Principle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dueck, T.; Janse, J.; Eveleens, B. [Wageningen UR Glastuinbouw, Wageningen (Netherlands); Nieboer, S.; Valstar, W.; Grootscholten, M. [GreenQ Improvement Centre, Bleiswijk (Netherlands)

2012-08-15

In this Proof of Principle project a tomato crop was grown under artificial lighting with the aim of 30% energy saving at the same level of production. Tomatoes (cultivar Komeett) were illuminated with 110 {mu}mol m{sup -2} s{sup -1} HPS (High Pressure Sodium) above the crop and 85 {mu}mol m{sup -2} s{sup -1} LED interlighting. The LEDs hung in 2 rows, approximately 40 cm above the lower leaves and the second strand at 40 or 70 cm above that. There were two types of LEDs used: production LEDs (light efficiency 1.6 {mu}mol m{sup -2} s{sup -1}, 87% red/13% blue) and inter-lighting LEDs (light efficiency 1.9 {mu}mol m{sup -2} s{sup -1}, 95% red/5% blue), with the same light intensity. At the start, the crop was given as much light as it could handle, and because the crop developed so well, the stem density was increased relatively early. This resulted in high fruit load, while insufficient light was available to compensate for the low levels of sunlight in the winter. In the 192 cm row spacing system the plants were too close to each other. Additional problems occurred with trace elements, lesser bumble bee activity, and a moist greenhouse climate which weakened the crop in the winter. Thus Botrytis occurred on the leaves and stems. The crop struggled with its recovery until early spring with more sunlight. Compared to a reference crop with 79 kg m{sup -2} tomatoes, 75 kg m{sup -2} were produced under-production LEDs, and 80 kg m{sup -2} under the interlighting LEDs, mainly because latter LEDs were used longer during the summer. 30% of the energy for dehumidification and heat energy, and 27% of the electricity was saved, relative to the reference crop. Thus it appears possible to save 30% energy with a near identical production [Dutch] In dit Proof of Principle project is een belichte tomatenteelt geteeld met als doel 30% energiebesparing bij een gelijke productie. Tomaten van het ras Komeett werden belicht met 110 {mu}mol m{sup -2} s{sup -1} SON-T belichting boven

Physician deficit in USA - where is the bottleneck? [Ärztemangel in den USA - wo wird es eng?

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Walid, M. Sami

2009-05-01

ölkerung zu gewährleisten. Allerdings hat die Entwicklung von Managed Care in den Vereinigten Staaten zur Annahme geführt, dass es zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts zu einem gravierenden Ärzteüberschuss kommen könnte. Aufgrund dieser Prognose wurden die durch Medicare finanzierten Weiterbildungsstellen deutlich reduziert. Zusätzlich hat die Zahl der Studierenden an den Medizinischen Fakultäten in den 1980er und 1990er Jahren abgenommen. Jetzt ist klar geworden, dass die Prognosen falsch waren und die aktuelle Versorgung mit Ärzten die Nachfrage nicht übersteigt. Deshalb sieht die Association of American Medical Colleges eine Erhöhung der Absolventen an den Medizinschulen der Vereinigten Staaten um jährlich 3.000 bis zum Jahr 2015 vor. Aber auch wenn dieses schwierige Vorhaben gelingen sollte, könnte in den Vereinigten Staaten um 2020 ein Mangel an 200.000 Ärzten gegeben sein. Grund dafür ist der Engpass, der den Eintritt der Absolventen in die Weiterbildungsprogramme bestimmt, die die Voraussetzung für den Erwerb der Berufsberechtigung darstellen. Solange die Zahl der von Medicare getragenen Weiterbildungsstellen in den Vereinigten Staaten unverändert bleibt, bedeutet eine Zunahme an Absolventen der US-amerikanischen medizinischen Fakultäten lediglich die Verdrängung einer entsprechenden Anzahl ausländischer Absolventen, die sich in den Vereinigten Staaten weiterbilden wollen. Damit würde es zur Reduktion der Zahl jener ausländischen Absolventen kommen, die ihren Beruf in den Vereinigten Staaten aufnehmen können und damit die Zahl der Ärzte erhöhen würden. Unter dem Strich würde die Zahl der in der Patientenversorgung tätigen Ärzte dann nicht erhöht. Ärztemangel wird also ein Thema bleiben und könnte sicherlich den Zugang zur ärztlichen Versorgung erschweren.

Geologic map of Mészáros revisited: Pioneering tectonic mapping of the Transdanubian Range in the early 1980s

Science.gov (United States)

Zámolyi, A.; Horváth, F.; Kovács, G.; Timár, G.; Székely, B.

2009-04-01

the faults mapped by Mészáros (1983) coincide fairly well with their microtectonic measurements. TR is nowadays interpreted as the uppermost Cretaceous thrust sheet of the Alpine nappes based on the interpretation of seismic surveys (Rumpler & Horváth, 1988; Horváth, 1993) and microtectonic measurements (Kiss & Fodor, 2007). We integrated the map into a GIS environment in order to evaluate the spatial accuracy of tectonic features and deformation style in the study area. Georeferencing was based upon control points applying rubber sheeting. Geological formations were digitized as polygons with their respective attributes (colour- or numerically coded). Three different categories of bounding elements are represented on the map: established, supposed and covered by younger geologic formations. Mészáros put a major emphasis on tectonic features, using 21 different line-types for representation. Digital terrain analysis methods using a 10 m DTM reveal a good correlation of the fault pattern with geomorphologic features, especially in the category of confirmed strike-slip faults. The connection of tectonic elements with the topography is a very anticipatory way of thinking for the early 1980s that became widely accepted by the end of the century. Csontos, L., Tari, G., Bergerat, F., Fodor, L. 1991. Tectonophysics, 199, 73-91. Horváth, F. 1993. In: Cloething, S., Sassi, W. & Horváth, F. (eds.) Tectonophysics, 226, 333-358. Kiss, A., Fodor, L. I. 2007. Geologica Carpathica, 58(5), 465-475. Mészáros, J. 1983. Ann. Rep. Hung. Geol. Inst. 1981, 485-502. Prinz, Gy. 1926. Danubia könyvkiadó, Pécs, 202 p. Rumpler, J., Horváth, F. 1988. In: L.H. Royden and F. Horváth (eds.) AAPG Mem. 45, Tulsa, Okl., 153-169p. Uhlig, V. 1907. Sitz. Ber. Akad. Wiss., math.- nat., Kl. 116(1), 871-982.

Non Destructive Testing by active infrared thermography coupled with shearography under same optical heat excitation

Science.gov (United States)

Theroux, Louis-Daniel; Dumoulin, Jean; Maldague, Xavier

2014-05-01

visible spectrum would hinder the projected light beam since a laser with wavelength of 532 nm was used as the coherent light source. Experimentations were successful, but only with mitigated efficiency for shearography [2]. The thermal response was the fastest and it was possible to fully locate all defects. For shearography, the available equipment forced us to restrict the area of observation to only one defect at a time (roughly 100 cm²). Numerical models were designed based on the multiple sample tested in the experimental step of the study. Using the COMSOL© finite elements modeling software, numerous simulations yielded results in accordance with experimental data. Different types of defect could be modeled and showed that both shearography and thermography have different sensibility in function of the nature of the defect. Furthermore, analysis of the simulated results demonstrated a relation between the contrast evolution of the temperature and displacement field. In the near future, we expect to make several improvement to our experimental setup. As for the numerical model, some small disparities between the theoretical and experimental results still remain to be addressed. The numerical model could be improved but to do so it requires to raise the shearographic measurements sampling rate close to the one used for infrared thermography. Once this issue will be resolved, it will be possible to use experimental data to refine the numerical model. So, accurate models will be helpful to optimize the overall efficiency of the coupling of thermal shearography and active infrared thermography for in situ NDT application. References [1] Y.Y. Hung, C.Y. Liand, Image-shearing camera for direct measurement of surface strains, Applied Optics, Vol. 18, n°7, pages 1046-1051, 1979 [2] L-D. Théroux, J. Dumoulin, X. Maldague, Square heating applied to shearography and active infrared thermography measurements coupling: form feasibility test in laboratory to numerical study

Introducing PROFESS 2.0: A parallelized, fully linear scaling program for orbital-free density functional theory calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Linda; Huang, Chen; Shin, Ilgyou; Ho, Gregory S.; Lignères, Vincent L.; Carter, Emily A.

2010-12-01

Orbital-free density functional theory (OFDFT) is a first principles quantum mechanics method to find the ground-state energy of a system by variationally minimizing with respect to the electron density. No orbitals are used in the evaluation of the kinetic energy (unlike Kohn-Sham DFT), and the method scales nearly linearly with the size of the system. The PRinceton Orbital-Free Electronic Structure Software (PROFESS) uses OFDFT to model materials from the atomic scale to the mesoscale. This new version of PROFESS allows the study of larger systems with two significant changes: PROFESS is now parallelized, and the ion-electron and ion-ion terms scale quasilinearly, instead of quadratically as in PROFESS v1 (L. Hung and E.A. Carter, Chem. Phys. Lett. 475 (2009) 163). At the start of a run, PROFESS reads the various input files that describe the geometry of the system (ion positions and cell dimensions), the type of elements (defined by electron-ion pseudopotentials), the actions you want it to perform (minimize with respect to electron density and/or ion positions and/or cell lattice vectors), and the various options for the computation (such as which functionals you want it to use). Based on these inputs, PROFESS sets up a computation and performs the appropriate optimizations. Energies, forces, stresses, material geometries, and electron density configurations are some of the values that can be output throughout the optimization. New version program summaryProgram Title: PROFESS Catalogue identifier: AEBN_v2_0 Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEBN_v2_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.html No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 68 721 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 1 708 547 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Fortran 90 Computer

Pharmacological activity of the essential oil of Satureja viminea (Lamiaceae

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Adriana Suárez

2003-03-01

Full Text Available The aqueous extract and the essential oil of Satureja viminea (Lamiaceae were tested. General physiologic effects were assessed through the Hippocratic screening test. Non fasted female Sprague Dawley rats were utilized and 250, 500, 750 and 1000 mg/kg doses were used. Two animals were used for each dosage level and for the vehicle alone. Exploratory behavior and curiosity were measured using a hole board apparatus and placing non-trained mice on the board and recording the number of holes explored in a 5 minute period. The Boissier chimney test was used to evaluate motor coordination. Muscle strength was assessed through a grasping test where mice were hung by their fore-limbs 40 cm above the base on a horizontal metal stainless bar. In all these tests, 3 groups of 6 albino mice, were treated with 1000 mg/kg of each the essential oil of S. viminea, the vehicle and diazepan (1 mg/kg as a positive control. Analgesic activity was explored in Sprague-Dawley rats. The tail flick method described by D`Amour and Smith (1941 modified by CYTED was implemented on three groups (6 rats each of animals treated with, each the essential oil of S. viminea (1000 mg/kg, the vehicle and indomethacine. The test was carried out just before and 30, 60 and 120 min after oral treatment. Peristaltic activity was measured in albino mice, three groups of 6 animals each, treated orally with each the essential oil of S. viminea (1000 mg/kg, the aqueous extract (1000 mg/kg, and the vehicle. The marker used was activated carbon. Animals were sacrificed 30 min after the marker was given and the percent of total small intestine traversed by it was calculated. Also a lethal dose 50 (LD 50 was determined with the Spearman-Karber method. A dose-related spontaneous motor activity reduction was observed. Exploratory behavior and curiosity were diminished. The grasping strength of mice was reduced. A very clear and significant analgesic effect was observed with the oral

[The life of medical historian Miki Sakae, and the "history of Korean medicine and of diseases in Korea"].

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Ho

2005-12-01

" authored by Heo Jun, was a true example of a book containing 'Medicine Based upon Human Body and Soul'. A huge portrait of Heo Jun is reported to have been hung at the living room of his house all the time.

Obituary: Rodger Doxsey (1947-2009)

Science.gov (United States)

Livio, Mario

2009-12-01

carefully about what I was saying, if it would be possible for the software he was developing to insert new objects in the holes in the schedule. I wondered aloud if one could improve the efficiency by choosing new objects, close to the directions of the scheduled targets, from a previously prepared list of interesting objects scattered over the sky. I remember that Rodger suddenly became very quiet, thought about the question, and finally replied something like: 'In principle, it is possible.' The Snapshot program was born at that lunch." Rodger Doxsey was born in Schenectady, New York, on March 11, 1947. He is survived by his companion, Vicky Balzano, who also works at STScI; his father, John, of Cleveland, Ohio; and his four siblings, Martha Doxsey of Edmonton, Alberta; Douglas Doxsey of Ironwood, Michigan; Virginia Doxsey of Boston; and Mary Lou Shane of Duxbury, Vermont. As a boy, his sisters described, he used to be absorbed in crossword puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. At MIT, where he studied physics and earned his Ph.D., he became fascinated with rowing, and he kept returning every year to race with his old crewmates in the Head of the Charles Regatta. He was also very fond of the work of the American artist Alexander Calder, and a lithograph of one of his drawings hung on the wall of his office. Very few people know of a ritual Rodger and I have developed over the years. During the first servicing mission and subsequent observatory verification, Rodger and I used to spend nights at the Institute, following all the tests for the instruments. After the performance test of each instrument, we shook hands ceremoniously. This became somewhat of a superstition, and consequently, in all the following servicing missions we continued with the same ritual. During SM4, Rodger was already too weak to attend all the activities continuously. We did meet, however, after the completion of SM4, and performed the ritualistic handshake to celebrate all the instruments. Goodbye friend

The pulverization and handling of soft plastics for energy recovery; Soenderdelning och hantering av mjuka plaster foer energiutvinning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiklund, Sven-Erik

2000-10-01

different types of waste. * A Willibald mill from Svenska Neuero - a mobile hammer mill with a drive system mounted on a trailer frame. * An Untha mill from Presona - a mobile, slow-action, electrically-operated mill with cutting tools. * A Satum mill from Ekoteknik - a stationary mill of the slow-action type with rotating knife cutters, and * A Doppstadt mill from OP-maskiner - a mobile slow-action mill with hammers. Other mills been tested for milling soft plastics by Lunds Energi in Lomma and Soederenergi in SoedertaeIje are: * Lindner- kvarn from Franssons Recycling Machine. A low- speed machine with turnable teeth. (Lomma), and * Eco- crusher from Babcock. A low- speed waste crusher with two-rotor. (Soedertaelje). The results of the tests showed that those mills/crushers/shredders that can cope with the demand to pulverize plastic material with only one or two grinding runs are slow action units with cutting tools. Hammer mills do not function as effectively for the type of plastic material investigated. Tests of whether it was possible to fire the Jamtkraft plant in Oestersund with pulverized plastic showed that with a proportion of approximately 5 per cent of plastic fuel mixed together with other solid fuel, mainly sawdust, bark and wood chips, plant operation was for the most part satisfactory. The running period amounted to approximately two weeks. Among the problems that occurred, however, were that somewhat excessively long strips of plastic hung down in front of the level sensors that control the supply from the day silos and that the overfilling sensor in the fuel screw was affected by the plastic. These problems would probably have been more serious if a larger proportion of plastic had been used. In order to be able to complete the tests in Oestersund, relatively extensive contacts was needed with the municipal environmental and community planning office, which in turn obtained the views of the County Administrative Board in the county of Jaemtland. Finally

Selected Abstracts of the 6th International Congress of UENPS; Valencia (Spain; November 23rd-25th 2016; Session “Epidemiology, perinatology and DOHaD”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

--- Various Authors

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Selected Abstracts of the 6th International Congress of UENPS; Valencia (Spain; November 23rd-25th 2016; Session “Epidemiology, perinatology and DOHaD”ABS 1. THE INFLUENCE OF MATERNAL PREGESTATIONAL OBESITY IN OFFSPRING. A NEW PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM • P. Priego, N. Sancho, I. Tofe, A. Torre, M.D. CañeteABS 2. UNPLANNED NEONATAL ADMISSION RATE AFTER ELECTIVE FAMILY CENTERED CAESAREAN SECTIONS • I.C. Narayen, E.E.M. Mulder, L.M. Freeman, J.J. Van Vonderen, K.E. Boers, A.B. Te PasABS 3. CESAREAN DELIVERY AMONG FOREIGN-BORN CHINESE AND US-BORN CHINESE WOMEN IN THE USA • T.A. Yen, M. Lahiff, N. Hosang, K. Harley, B. EskenaziABS 4. THE RELATION BETWEEN OUTDOOR AIR POLLUTION AND SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME – A POPULATION-BASED CASE-CONTROL STUDY • Y.S. Chang, C.H. Liu, P.N. Tsao, P.S. ChenABS 5. LONGITUDINAL GROWTH OF TURKISH VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS • S. Sancak, M. Hayran, T. Gursoy, F. OvalıABS 6. FETAL SONOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN A CONFIRMED CASE OF BECKWITH-WIEDEMANN SYNDROME (BWS • M.D. Ordónez Díaz, M.A. Pino Gálvez, C. De la Cámara Morano, D. Trassierra Molina, M.P. Priego Ruiz, M.J. Párraga Quiles, A.B. López Marmol, J.L. Pérez Navero, M. Miño MoraABS 7. CORD BLOOD PENTRAXIN 3/CD36 IN FETAL MACROSOMIA • T. Boutsikou, K. Germanou, D.D. Briana, M. Boutsikou, N. Athanasopoulos, A. Marmarinos, D. Gourgiotis, A. Malamitsi-PuchnerABS 8. NEWBORN GENETIC SCREENING FOR CONGENITAL CENTRAL HYPOVENTILATION SYNDROME IN 41,152 NEWBORNS • P.C. Kuo, C.C. Hung, Y.N. Su, C.Y. Chen, H.C. Chou, W.S. Hsieh, P.N. TsaoABS 9. OFFSPRING OF DIABETIC MOTHER: THE IMPORTANCE OF MATERNAL GLYCEMIC CONTROL • M. Miñambres Rodríguez, A. Pino Vázquez, C. Villa Francisco, I. Sanz Fernández, M. Brezmes Raposo, L. C. Bermúdez BarrezuetaABS 10. PREVALENCE AND PRENATAL DIAGNOSIS OF CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL • M.P. Priego Ruiz, M.D. Ordónez Díaz, M.V. Rodriguez Benitez, D. Trassierra Molina, L. Rueda García, J.L. P�

Wirkungen biogener Amine auf die Erregungs-Sekretions-Kopplung in der Speicheldrüse von Periplaneta americana (L.)

Science.gov (United States)

Rietdorf, Katja

2003-07-01

AMP und / oder cGMP erhöht und anschließend den Proteingehalt im Endspeichel gemessen. Ein Anstieg der intrazellulären Ca2+-Konzentration aktiviert nur eine geringe Rate der Proteinsekretion. Dagegen kann die Steigerung der intrazellulären cAMP-Konzentration eine stärkere Proteinsekretion aktivieren, die sich nicht signifikant von der nach 5-HT-Stimulierung unterscheidet. Die cAMP-stimulierte Proteinsekretion kann durch gleichzeitige Erhöhung der intrazellulären Ca2+-Konzentration weiter gesteigert werden. Dagegen aktivierte eine Erhöhung der intrazellulären cGMP-Konzentration die Proteinsekretion nicht. Aufgrund dieser Ergebnisse postuliere ich die Existenz eines die Adenylatcyclase aktivierenden 5-HT-Rezeptors in der Basolateralmembran der C-Zellen. The aim of this PhD-work was to investigate major mechanisms of excitation-secretion coupling in the salivary gland of the cockroach Periplaneta americana (L.). This salivary gland is innervated by dopaminergic and serotonergic fibres (Baumann et al., 2002). The two transmitters stimulate different processes in the gland: Dopamine (DA) stimulates the p-cells of the acini and the salivary duct cells, whereas 5-HT (serotonin) activates the p- and the c-cells of the acini, but not the salivary duct cells. Final saliva is completely protein-free after dopamine stimulation. It contains proteins, which are secreted by the c-cells of the acini, after a 5-HT-stimulation (Just & Walz, 1996). In the first part of my work I measured the electrolytic composition of the final saliva by capillary electrophoretic analysis and measured the rates of fluid secretion, in order to answer the following questions: 1.) Which transporters affect the production of primary saliva and its modification? 2.) What is the function of the transport-active salivary duct cells for the modification of the primary saliva? Electrolytic composition of the DA- and 5-HT-stimulated final saliva is not significantly different from each other, and is

Prospecting For Magnetite Ore Deposits With A Innovative Sensor's of Unique Fundamentally New Magnetometer.

Science.gov (United States)

Emelianenko, T. I.; Tachaytdinov, R. S.; Sarichev, V. F.; Kotov, B. V.; Susoeva, G. N.

After careful study of principles and abilities of all existing magnetmeters of all three revolutions in magnetic prospecting we have come to the conclusion that they cannot solve local guestions of the magnetic prospecting or determine centre coordinates of magnetite ore body before drilling Electromagnetism lows and achievents magnetprospectings and radioelectronics of all 20th century serve as a theoretical base of the "locator". While creating this cardinally new magnetmeter , we borrowed different things from radio-prospectors, magnetprospectors, wireless operators and combined all of them while creating the "locators''. The "locators' construction is bas ed on the "magnetic intensification" principle ,owing to which this "locators" are characterised by hight sensitiveness and ability to determine centers of even little commercial magnetite ore deposits with relatively weak magnetic anomalies. The main advantage of the "locators" over existing ones is that it can solve local questions determine centre coordinates. A remarkably simple locator construction determine direction of the on-surface measurings towards the ore body centre and gives approximate prognosis resourses before/withour/ drilling. The "locators" were worked out for the first time in history , they have 2 licences. The fundamental design and drawbacks of the existing magnetometers have been inherited from the original magnetometre dating back two or three hundred years. The developers of the existing magnetometres have all gone along the same well- beaten track of replacing the primitive sensor in the form of a piece of ore hung on a string at first by an arrow sensor and later by magnetically oriented protons and quanta, with amplification of the sensors' OUTPUT signal. Furthermore, all the existing magnetometres are imperfect in that they, lacking the directivity of the ground-level magnetic measurements, only record the overall magnetic vector field generated by all the ore bodies around the

Statement at World Cancer Day, 2 February 2012, Vienna, Austria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amano, Y.

2012-01-01

Full text: Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to this IAEA event marking World Cancer Day 2012. The Agency's work in cancer control has been a high priority for me since I became Director General just over two years go. When I travel to developing countries, I try wherever possible to see IAEA cancer control projects in action. This is always very uplifting. In June and July last year, I visited a number of Latin American countries to discuss IAEA support for their cancer control efforts. In July, I went to the Mother Teresa Hospital in Tirana, Albania, where IAEA support has helped to significantly improve radiotherapy services and provided training for 23 health professionals to launch a breast cancer screening programme. In October, I had the opportunity to celebrate the opening of a new cancer therapy facility in Indonesia. Also in October, I travelled to Vietnam. I visited the Tran Hung Dao hospital in Hanoi and saw some of the most high-tech cancer treatment equipment in use there. The IAEA had facilitated the donation of a radiotherapy unit from India to Vietnam in May 2010. It was very impressive to witness how quickly a country's cancer control capabilities can be transformed. There are many such success stories throughout the world. But, of course, the need is great and there is still much work to be done. For example, there is a shortage of around 5 000 radiotherapy machines in low and middle income countries. This means that hundreds of thousands of patients are denied diagnosis and treatment that could save their lives. The IAEA Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy - PACT - has been working hard to try to make radiotherapy services available in all countries. The IAEA technical cooperation programme remains a major mechanism for providing assistance to Member States. The Agency is supporting over 130 projects in cancer diagnosis, management and treatment. Oncology and radiotherapy centres are being established in countries such as

Mortality Rate of Frankliniella occidentalis Under Recommended Concentration of Some Insecticides and the Amount of Its Attraction to Colored Sticky Traps in Apple Orchard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Majid Mahmoudi

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande is a serious pest of fruit crops in flowering stage worldwide. Many researches have been studied different methods of western flower thrips control. Two control methods including pesticide application and the use of colored sticky traps are commonly used by farmers due to the ease of use and low running costs. Chemical control is known as the main tool in controlling of this pest. In recent decades, mixing several kinds of pesticides by farmers has been become common strategy which seems to be due to their synergistic effects and decreasing of pest resistance one. The current study was done to detect the best color sticky trap in monitoring and to determine the most effective pesticide in controlling western flower thrips. Materials and Methods: In the current study, the pest attraction rate by 3 sticky color traps (Blue, Yellow, White and efficacy of five pesticides were investigated against western flower thrips in two separately randomized complete block design in the apple orchard around Shiraz city. The treatments included: deltametrin + imidacloprid, acetamiprid, antifeedant, azadirachtin and oxydemeton methyl. Mortality percent of insects in different treatments was calculated using the Henderson-Tilton formula. Before conducting the experiment, trees was not treated by any pesticides for one year. Each trap was hung in the middle of the trees´ canopy at about 1.5 meter height from the ground. Sticky cards (10 x 25 cm were visited weekly to record the number of the captured western flower thrips. Each trap was replaced with new one weekly. Number of western flower thrips was analyzed through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA using the SPSS version 9. The significant differences among means were compared using the Duncan's multiple range test at 95% confidence interval whenever treatment effects were significant. Results and Discussion: Analysis of variance showed

Abstracts from the 15th International Myopia Conference

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandra Benavente-Perez

2016-11-01

rhesus monkeys Earl L Smith III, Baskar Arumugam, Li-Fang Hung, Lisa A. Ostrin, Klaus Trier, Monica Jong, Brien A. Holden O29 Application of SWATH™ based next generation proteomics (NGP in studying eye growth: opportunities and challenges Thomas Chuen Lam, Bing Zuo, Samantha Shan, Sally A. McFadden, Dennis Yan-yin Tse, Jingfang Bian, King-Kit Li, Quan Liu, Chi-ho To O30 How could emmetropization make use of longitudinal chromatic aberration? Timothy J. Gawne, John T. Siegwart Jr., Alexander H. Ward, Thomas T. Norton O31 Balance effect of dopamine D1 and D2 receptor subtype activation on refraction development Xiangtian Zhou O32 BMP gene expression changes in chick rpe in response to visual manipulations Yan Zhang, Yue Liu, Carol Ho, Eileen Phan, Abraham Hang, Emily Eng, Christine Wildsoet

Three-electron spin qubits

Science.gov (United States)

Russ, Maximilian; Burkard, Guido

2017-10-01

-only qubits which can be divided into short-ranged and long-ranged interactions. Both of these interaction types are expected to be necessary in a large-scale quantum computer. The short-ranged interactions use the exchange coupling by placing qubits next to each other and applying exchange-pulses (DiVincenzo et al 2000 Nature 408 339, Fong and Wandzura 2011 Quantum Inf. Comput. 11 1003, Setiawan et al 2014 Phys. Rev. B 89 085314, Zeuch et al 2014 Phys. Rev. B 90 045306, Doherty and Wardrop 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 050503, Shim and Tahan 2016 Phys. Rev. B 93 121410), while the long-ranged interactions use the photons of a superconducting microwave cavity as a mediator in order to couple two qubits over long distances (Russ and Burkard 2015 Phys. Rev. B 92 205412, Srinivasa et al 2016 Phys. Rev. B 94 205421). The nature of the three-electron qubit states each having the same total spin and total spin in z-direction (same Zeeman energy) provides a natural protection against several sources of noise (DiVincenzo et al 2000 Nature 408 339, Taylor et al 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 050502, Kempe et al 2001 Phys. Rev. A 63 042307, Russ and Burkard 2015 Phys. Rev. B 91 235411). The price to pay for this advantage is an increase in gate complexity. We also take into account the decoherence of the qubit through the influence of magnetic noise (Ladd 2012 Phys. Rev. B 86 125408, Mehl and DiVincenzo 2013 Phys. Rev. B 87 195309, Hung et al 2014 Phys. Rev. B 90 045308), in particular dephasing due to the presence of nuclear spins, as well as dephasing due to charge noise (Medford et al 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 050501, Taylor et al 2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 111 050502, Shim and Tahan 2016 Phys. Rev. B 93 121410, Russ and Burkard 2015 Phys. Rev. B 91 235411, Fei et al 2015 Phys. Rev. B 91 205434), fluctuations of the energy levels on each dot due to noisy gate voltages or the environment. Several techniques are discussed which partly decouple the qubit from magnetic noise (Setiawan et al 2014 Phys

Effects of Chitosan Spraying on Physiological Characteristics of Ferula flabelliloba (Apiaceae Under Drought Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gh. Taheri

2016-02-01

with different concentrations were investigated. The main objective of this study was to examine the potential benefits of chitosan by reducing damage to F. flabelliloba at the seedling stages under water-deficit conditions. Materials and Methods In order to evaluate the effects of chitosan spraying and drought stress on physiological characteristics of F. felabelliloba, a factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted in laboratory. The experimental treatments included drought stress (irrigated in Field capacity, depletion of soil water content up to 35% and 65% of FC condition and foliar chitosan spray (Zero, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mg l-1. Seeds of F. flabelliloba were harvested in June-July of 2012 from natural habitat in Binalood mountain and kept in laboratory condition until the study started. F. flabelliloba seeds were germinated and grown in soils at light/dark temperature cycle of 20-16 degree centigrade and photoperiod of 16-8 h. Irrigation treatments were performed after 20 days, when seedling established and chitosan sprayed simultaneous and repeated one month later. The shoot from 60-day-old plants were taken and used for analysis the physiological parameters. Shoot dry weight was measured in oven at 70 ºC for 24 hours. Enzyme activity was determined from the extract prepared according to the method of Sairam and Saxena (2000. Catalase and Peroxidase activities were determined according to Weydert and Cullen (2010 and Superoxide dismutase activity assayed as described by Beauchamp and Fridovich (1971. Lipid peroxidation was estimated by measuring spectrophotometrically malondialdehyde (MDA content of plant based on Jiang and Hung (2001. Total phenolic content was determined according to Ebrahimzadeh and Bahramian (2009. Data from the experiment was analyzed using SPSS ver. 17 and MSTAT-C software and mean comparison was carried out using Duncan´s multiple range test at the 95% of probability. Results and

Selective Photonic Disinfection; A ray of hope in the war against pathogens

Science.gov (United States)

Tsen, Shaw-Wei D.; Tsen, Kong-Thon

2016-06-01

.1016/0009-2614(85)80143-3 citation> 8 citation publication-type="journal"> Nelson K A 1982 Stimulated Brillouin scattering and optical excitation of coherent shear waves J. Appl. Phys. 53 6060 6063 6060-3 10.1063/1.331556 citation> 9 citation publication-type="journal"> Cho G C Kutt W Kurz H 1990 Subpicosecond time-resolved coherent-phonon oscillations in GaAs Phys. Rev. Lett. 65 764 766 764-6 10.1103/PhysRevLett.65.764 citation> 10 citation publication-type="journal"> Cheng T K Vidal J Zeiger H J Dresselhaus G Dresselhaus M S Ippen E P 1991 Mechanism for displacive excitation of coherent phonons in Sb, Bi, Te, and Ti2O3 Appl. Phys. Lett. 59 1923 1925 1923-5 10.1063/1.106187 citation> 11 citation publication-type="journal"> Chwalek J M Uher C Whittaker J F Mourou G A 1991 Subpicosecond time resolved studies of coherent phonon oscillations in thin-film YBa2Cu3O6 + x(x Appl. Phys. Lett. 58 980 982 980-2 citation> 12 citation publication-type="journal"> Merlin R 1997 Generating coherent THz phonons with light pulses Solid State Commun. 102 207 220 207-20 10.1016/S0038-1098(96)00721-1 citation> 13 citation publication-type="journal"> Tsen K T Tsen S W Chang C L Hung C F Wu T C Kiang J G 2007 Inactivation of viruses by coherent excitations with a low power visible femtosecond laser Virology J 4 1 5 1-5 10.1186/1743-422X-4-50 citation> 14 citation publication-type="journal"> Tsen K T Tsen S W Chang C L Hung C F Wu T C Kiang J G 2007 Inactivation of viruses by laser-driven coherent excitations via impulsive stimulated Raman scattering process J. Biomed. Opt. 12 064030 10.1117/1.2821713 citation> 15 citation publication-type="journal"> Tsen K T Tsen S W Chang C L Hung C F Wu T C Kiang G 2007 Inactivation of viruses with a very low power visible femtosecond laser J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 19 322102 10.1088/0953-8984/19/32/322102 citation> 16 citation publication-type="book"> Eisberg R M 1961 Fundamentals of Modern Physics New York Wiley citation> 17 citation publication-type="other"> Hayes W Loudon R 1978

Obituary: Leon Van Speybroeck, 1935-2002

Science.gov (United States)

Gorenstein, Paul; Tananbaum, Harvey Dale

2003-12-01

team at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, designed a 50-foot-high vertical assembly tower that satisfied demanding environmental controls. The mirror elements were held as stress free as possible, maneuvered into alignment, and bonded into place with a slow-curing epoxy to a precision of a few tenths of an arcsecond. Following its launch aboard the space shuttle Columbia in July 1999, AXAF was renamed the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Up to the time of his death, Leon had been leading a team that used Chandra, plus microwave observations of galaxy clusters, to determine the cosmic distance scale. His colleagues expect to publish their results in late 2003. In recognition of his leadership and extraordinary contributions to Chandra, Leon received the 2002 Bruno Rossi Prize of the American Astronomical Society's high-energy astrophysics division. He died two weeks before he was scheduled to deliver his acceptance speech. Despite his illness, he had crafted a marvelous talk illustrating the tremendous advances enabled by the Chandra telescope. One of us (Tananbaum) presented his talk, which received an enthusiastic response from approximately 1000 AAS members. Leon married Erin Harrington in 1959. She survives him along with their daughter Elaine and her husband Lane Kendig; son David, his wife Jennifer Hanson, and their twin daughters Madeline and Nina; and son Alexander and his companion Sherie Davis. When not involved with X-ray telescopes or family trips to National Parks, Leon designed and built exquisite furniture in his elaborate workshop, where every tool hung neatly from its pegboard hook. On 8 February 2003 more than 200 friends and family members gathered at the Harvard Science Center for a Remembrance Service. Many smiles and more than a few tears were seen as people recalled and celebrated Leon's life. Leon was an amazing individual, respected by his colleagues as an outstanding physicist, mathematician, programmer, and engineer who could solve just

EDITORIAL: Renewing energy technology Renewing energy technology

Science.gov (United States)

Demming, Anna

2011-06-01

flexibility and the ability to produce them at a low cost in large scales. While maximising cell efficiency has been the focus of widespread research, few studies have investigated in depth the issue of the durability of these devices. A hindrance to this sort of study is the timescale over which degradation of the components may be expected to occur, and the difficulty of correlating any accelerated degradation process with the rate in natural conditions. In this issue, researchers in Denmark and Israel present a systematic study of the feasibility of applying high intensity light exposure for accelerated testing of the stability of polymer solar cells [3]. They observe effects under accelerated conditions that do not occur under 1 sun illumination, indicating the complexity involved in gaining an understanding of the potential lifetime of these devices. The daily flurry of energy news coverage ranges in tone from impassioned debate to pragmatic financial analysis. But the underlying foundation for developments in the energy industry is a deepening scientific understanding of the potential of alternative energy sources. As demonstrated in studies of photovoltaic nanostructures, fuel cell devices and countless other innovations, nanotechnology is a key ingredient for advancing energy research. Nanotechnology is very pleased to dedicate its new Energy section to developments in this endeavour. References [1] Rubin M B 2001 Bull. Hist. Chem. 26 40-56 [2] History of Solar Power 2008 www.historyofsolarpower.com [3] Tromholt T, Manor A, Katz E A and Krebs F C 2011 Nanotechnology 22 225401 [4] Kim K C, Dai B, Johnson J K and Sholl D S 2009 Nanotechnology 20 204001 [5] Hsu R S, Higgins D and Chen Z 2010 Nanotechnology 22 165705 [6] O'Regan B and Grätzel M A 1990 Nanotechnology 353 737-40 [7] Baxter J B, Walker A M, van Ommering K and Aydil E S 2006 Nanotechnology 17 S304-12 [8] Wang H-W, Ting C-F, Hung M-K, Chiou C-H, Liu Y-L, Liu Z, Ratinac K R and Ringer S P 2009 Nanotechnology

The Relationship of Taoism in the Song Dynasty to the Duanwu Festival

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

WANG Lin

2014-01-01

festival was originally a kind of protec-tive action related to religion , but with social change and the in -depth development of folklore activities, Taoist amulets gradually changed into a kind of decoration . 3.Taoist Ideas on Medicine and Health and the Customs of the Duanwu Festival in the Song Dynasty In addition to relying on Taoist deities , and magic amulets for sheltering people from evil and diseases, plants such as wormwood , calamus, peach , and willow , were regarded as having a function in preventing evil , and were very popular in Duanwu Festival of the Song dynasty .The peo-ple in the Song dynasty either hung these plants on the gate or wore them on their heads , They also steeped them in wine , or boiled them in water to be used to bathe , or burnt them in the house .The purpose was to protect the people's security and health. 4.The Taoist Pursuit of Longevity and the Customs of the Duanwu Festival in the Song Dy-nasty Driving away ghosts , preventing evil and making potions were all for the purpose of obtai-ning health and longevity .This is the ultimate pur-suit of the Taoism .Hence , there was also a cus-tom, such as tying a white string around your arm to symbolize long life inthe Duanwu Festival in the Song dynasty .Hence , we can note that Taoism ac-tively involved itself in the Duanwu Festival during the Song dynasty , and affected the folk culture of the Duanwu festival in the Song dynasty from vari-ous aspects .On one hand , it enriched the content of the folk culture of the Duanwu Festival, en-dowed the culture of the festival with a religious nature , and played an important role in the evolu-tion process of festival folklore culture;On the oth-er hand, it enabled Taoism itself to step into the daily life of the common folk , and expanded its in-fluence among the general public .

EDITORIAL: On display with transparent conducting films On display with transparent conducting films

Science.gov (United States)

Demming, Anna

2012-03-01

Films 351 290-4 [6]Law M, Greene L E, Johnson J C, Saykally R and Yang P 2005 Nat. Mater. 4 455-9 [7] Wang H-W, Ting C-F, Hung M-K, Chiou C-H, Liu Y-L, Liu Z, Ratinac K R and Ringer S P 2009 Nanotechnology 20 055601 [8] Shin D-W, Lee J H, Kim Y-H, Yu S M, Park S-Y and Yoo J-B 2009 Nanotechnology 20 475703 [9] Kim K K, Reina A, Shi Y, Park H, Li L-J, Lee Y H and Kong J 2010 Nanotechnology 21 285205 [10] Jo G et al 2010 Nanotechnology 21 185201 [11] Preston S P 1958 US Patent Specification 98 2825687

Bone graft substitutes for the treatment of traumatic fractures of the extremities [Knochenersatzmaterialien zur Behandlung von traumatischen Frakturen der Extremitäten

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hagen, Anja

2012-06-01

Knochenersatzmaterialien eingesetzt.Es stellt sich die Frage nach der Wirksamkeit, Kostenwirksamkeit sowie nach ethischen, sozialen und juristischen Implikationen beim Einsatz von Knochenersatzmaterialien bei traumatischen Frakturen.Eine systematische Literaturrecherche wird in den medizinischen elektronischen Datenbanken MEDLINE, EMBASE etc. im Dezember 2009 durchgeführt. In die Bewertung werden randomisierte kontrollierte Studien (RCT ggf. mit gesundheitsökonomischen Analysen sowie Publikationen zu ethischen, sozialen sowie juristischen Aspekten einbezogen. Die medizinische Informationssynthese erfolgt nach Bewertung der Studienqualität u.a. in Form von Metaanalysen, die gesundheitsökonomische Informationssynthese deskriptiv.14 RCT werden in die medizinische und zwei Analysen in die gesundheitsökonomische Bewertung einbezogen, zu ethischen, sozialen und juristischen Aspekten werden keine Publikationen identifiziert. Beim Vergleich Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP-2 gegenüber Standardtherapie ohne Knochentransplantat bei Frakturen ergeben sich in einem RCT (mit erhöhtem Verzerrungspotenzial signifikante Unterschiede zugunsten BMP-2 bezüglich mehrerer Endpunkte. Bei Calciumphosphat (CaP-Zementen und knochenmarkhaltigen Kompositmaterialien zeigen sich beim Vergleich gegenüber Knochentransplantaten in den RCT (alle mit hohem Verzerrungspotenzial signifikante Unterschiede zugunsten der Knochenersatzmaterialien bezüglich einzelner Endpunkte. Bei allen anderen Materialien finden sich in fast allen Vergleichen keine signifikanten Unterschiede.Die BMP-2-Anwendung zusätzlich zur Standardbehandlung ohne Knochentransplantation führt bei Betrachtung aller Patienten mit traumatischen offenen Frakturen zur Kostenerhöhung. Einsparungen durch zusätzlichen BMP-2-Einsatz lassen sich allerdings bei der Patientensubgruppe mit hochgradig offenen Frakturen (Gustilo-Anderson-Grad-IIIB errechnen. Die Kostenwirksamkeit beim BMP-2-Einsatz vs. Standardbehandlung mit Knochentransplantation sowie beim

EDITORIAL: Focus on Mechanical Systems at the Quantum Limit FOCUS ON MECHANICAL SYSTEMS AT THE QUANTUM LIMIT

Science.gov (United States)

Aspelmeyer, Markus; Schwab, Keith

2008-09-01

progress was reported almost on a monthly basis and new groups entered the field. We intend to keep submission to this Focus Issue open for some time and invite everyone to share their latest results with us. And finally, a note to our fellow colleagues: keep up the good work! We would like to call the next Focus Issue 'Mechanical Systems IN the Quantum Regime'. Focus on Mechanical Systems at the Quantum Limit Contents Parametric coupling between macroscopic quantum resonators L Tian, M S Allman and R W Simmonds Quantum noise in a nanomechanical Duffing resonator E Babourina-Brooks, A Doherty and G J Milburn Creating and verifying a quantum superposition in a micro-optomechanical system Dustin Kleckner, Igor Pikovski, Evan Jeffrey, Luuk Ament, Eric Eliel, Jeroen van den Brink and Dirk Bouwmeester Ground-state cooling of a nanomechanical resonator via a Cooper-pair box qubit Konstanze Jaehne, Klemens Hammerer and Margareta Wallquist Dissipation in circuit quantum electrodynamics: lasing and cooling of a low-frequency oscillator Julian Hauss, Arkady Fedorov, Stephan André, Valentina Brosco, Carsten Hutter, Robin Kothari, Sunil Yeshwanth, Alexander Shnirman and Gerd Schön Route to ponderomotive entanglement of light via optically trapped mirrors Christopher Wipf, Thomas Corbitt, Yanbei Chen and Nergis Mavalvala Nanomechanical-resonator-assisted induced transparency in a Cooper-pair box system Xiao-Zhong Yuan, Hsi-Sheng Goan, Chien-Hung Lin, Ka-Di Zhu and Yi-Wen Jiang High-sensitivity monitoring of micromechanical vibration using optical whispering gallery mode resonators A Schliesser, G Anetsberger, R Rivière, O Arcizet and T J Kippenberg Optomechanical to mechanical entanglement transformation Giovanni Vacanti, Mauro Paternostro, G Massimo Palma and Vlatko Vedral The optomechanical instability in the quantum regime Max Ludwig, Björn Kubala and Florian Marquardt Quantum limits of photothermal and radiation pressure cooling of a movable mirror M Pinard and A Dantan

EDITORIAL: Nanopores—the 'Holey Grail' in nanotechnology research Nanopores—the 'Holey Grail' in nanotechnology research

Science.gov (United States)

Demming, Anna

2012-06-01

. Interference between the secondary structure of the probed molecule can interfere with the recorded signal, muddling measurements of the molecule's charge. According to Gracheva and her colleagues, 'the results indicate that the tunable local electric field inside the membrane can effectively control dynamics of a DNA in the channel to either momentarily trap, slow down or allow the biomolecule to translocate at will'. The fertility of research based on nanopores complements well the interest in nanowires and nanoposts. This may largely be a symptom of the comprehensive rigour in scientific enquiry which encourages the investigation of all approaches to a solution. It was once suggested that 'art and science have their meeting point in method' [12]. One might also argue that the creative and inspired ingenuity that is evident in the application of nanopores to such wide-ranging technological challenges demonstrates how the development of scientific methods is in itself a fine art. References [1] Qiu J et al 2010 Solution-derived 40 μm vertically aligned ZnO nanowire arrays as photoelectrodes in dye-sensitized solar cells Nanotechnology 21 195602 [2] Park I, Li Z, Pisano A P and Williams R S 2010 Top-down fabricated silicon nanowire sensors for real-time chemical detection Nanotechnology 21 015501 [3] Gao J et al 2011 UV light emitting transparent conducting tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) nanowires Nanotechnology 22 195706 [4] Melnikov D V, Leburton J-P and Gracheva M E 2012 Slowing down and stretching DNA with an electrically tunable nanopore in a p-n semiconductor membrane Nanotechnology 23 255501 [5] Prakasam H E, Varghese O K, Paulose M, Mor G K and Grimes C A 2006 Synthesis and photoelectrochemical properties of nanoporous iron (III) oxide by potentiostatic anodization Nanotechnology 17 4285-91 [6] Hong C, Tang T-T, Hung C-Y, Pan R-P and Fang W 2010 Liquid crystal alignment in nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide layer for LCD panel applications Nanotechnology 21 285201 [7

12th WINFOCUS world congress on ultrasound in emergency and critical care.

Science.gov (United States)

Acar, Yahya; Tezel, Onur; Salman, Necati; Cevik, Erdem; Algaba-Montes, Margarita; Oviedo-García, Alberto; Patricio-Bordomás, Mayra; Mahmoud, Mustafa Z; Sulieman, Abdelmoneim; Ali, Abbas; Mustafa, Alrayah; Abdelrahman, Ihab; Bahar, Mustafa; Ali, Osama; Lester Kirchner, H; Prosen, Gregor; Anzic, Ajda; Leeson, Paul; Bahreini, Maryam; Rasooli, Fatemeh; Hosseinnejad, Houman; Blecher, Gabriel; Meek, Robert; Egerton-Warburton, Diana; Ćuti, Edina Ćatić; Belina, Stanko; Vančina, Tihomir; Kovačević, Idriz; Rustemović, Nadan; Chang, Ikwan; Lee, Jin Hee; Kwak, Young Ho; Kim, Do Kyun; Cheng, Chi-Yung; Pan, Hsiu-Yung; Kung, Chia-Te; Ćurčić, Ela; Pritišanac, Ena; Planinc, Ivo; Medić, Marijana Grgić; Radonić, Radovan; Fasina, Abiola; Dean, Anthony J; Panebianco, Nova L; Henwood, Patricia S; Fochi, Oliviero; Favarato, Moreno; Bonanomi, Ezio; Tomić, Ivan; Ha, Youngrock; Toh, Hongchuen; Harmon, Elizabeth; Chan, Wilma; Baston, Cameron; Morrison, Gail; Shofer, Frances; Hua, Angela; Kim, Sharon; Tsung, James; Gunaydin, Isa; Kekec, Zeynep; Ay, Mehmet Oguzhan; Kim, Jinjoo; Kim, Jinhyun; Choi, Gyoosung; Shim, Dowon; Lee, Ji-Han; Ambrozic, Jana; Prokselj, Katja; Lucovnik, Miha; Simenc, Gabrijela Brzan; Mačiulienė, Asta; Maleckas, Almantas; Kriščiukaitis, Algimantas; Mačiulis, Vytautas; Macas, Andrius; Mohite, Sharad; Narancsik, Zoltan; Možina, Hugon; Nikolić, Sara; Hansel, Jan; Petrovčič, Rok; Mršić, Una; Orlob, Simon; Lerchbaumer, Markus; Schönegger, Niklas; Kaufmann, Reinhard; Pan, Chun-I; Wu, Chien-Hung; Pasquale, Sarah; Doniger, Stephanie J; Yellin, Sharon; Chiricolo, Gerardo; Potisek, Maja; Drnovšek, Borut; Leskovar, Boštjan; Robinson, Kristine; Kraft, Clara; Moser, Benjamin; Davis, Stephen; Layman, Shelley; Sayeed, Yusef; Minardi, Joseph; Pasic, Irmina Sefic; Dzananovic, Amra; Pasic, Anes; Zubovic, Sandra Vegar; Hauptman, Ana Godan; Brajkovic, Ana Vujaklija; Babel, Jaksa; Peklic, Marina; Radonic, Vedran; Bielen, Luka; Ming, Peh Wee; Yezid, Nur Hafiza; Mohammed, Fatahul Laham; Huda, Zainal Abidin; Ismail, Wan Nasarudin Wan; Isa, W Yus Haniff W; Fauzi, Hashairi; Seeva, Praveena; Mazlan, Mohd Zulfakar

2016-09-01

Jinjoo Kim, Jinhyun Kim, Gyoosung Choi, Dowon ShimA27 Usefulness of abdominal ultrasound for acute pyelonephritis diagnosis after kidney transplantationJi-Han LeeA28 Lung ultrasound for assessing fluid tolerance in severe preeclampsiaJana Ambrozic, Katja Prokselj, Miha LucovnikA29 Optic nerve sheath ultrasound in severe preeclampsiaGabrijela Brzan Simenc, Jana Ambrozic, Miha LucovnikA30 Focused echocardiography monitoring in the postoperative period for non-cardiac patientsAsta Mačiulienė, Almantas Maleckas, Algimantas Kriščiukaitis, Vytautas Mačiulis, Andrius MacasA31 POCUS-guided paediatric upper limb fracture reduction: algorithm, tricks, and tipsSharad MohiteA32 Point-of-care lung ultrasound: a good diagnostic tool for pneumonia in a septic patientZoltan Narancsik, Hugon MožinaA33 A case of undergraduate POCUS (r)evolutionSara Nikolić, Jan Hansel, Rok Petrovčič, Una Mršić, Gregor ProsenA34 The Graz Summer School for ultrasound: from first contact to bedside application: three-and-a-half-day undergraduate ultrasound training: résumé after two years of continuous developmentSimon Orlob, Markus Lerchbaumer, Niklas Schönegger, Reinhard KaufmannA35 Usefulness of point-of-care ultrasound in the emergency room in a patient with acute abdominal painAlberto Oviedo-García, Margarita Algaba-Montes, Mayra Patricio-BordomásA36 Use of bedside ultrasound in a critically ill patient. A case reportAlberto Oviedo-García, Margarita Algaba-Montes, Mayra Patricio-BordomásA37 Diagnostic yield of clinical echocardiography for the emergency physicianAlberto Oviedo-García, Margarita Algaba-Montes, Mayra Patricio-BordomásA38 Focused cardiac ultrasound in early diagnosis of type A aortic dissection with atypical presentationChun-I Pan, Hsiu-Yung Pan, Chien-Hung WuA39 Detection of imperforated hymen by point-of-care ultrasoundHsiu-yung Pan, Chia-Te KungA40 Developing a point-of-care ultrasound curriculum for pediatric nurse practitioners practicing in the pediatric emergency

Selected Abstracts of the 6th International Congress of UENPS; Valencia (Spain; November 23rd-25th 2016; Session “Brain and development”

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

--- Various Authors

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Selected Abstracts of the 6th International Congress of UENPS; Valencia (Spain; November 23rd-25th 2016; Session “Brain and development”ABS 1. CRITICAL CONDITION OF THE FETUS: RISK FACTORS AND PERINATAL OUTCOMES • E. Timokhina, A. Strizhakov, K. DerishABS 2. A MID-STUDY SAFETY CONTROL IN A HYPOTHERMIA PLUS MELATONIN CLINICAL TRIAL • A. Jerez-Calero, E. Fernandez-Marin, L. Serrano-López, AR. Gonzalez-Ramirez, J. Uberos-Fernandez, E. Narbona-LópezABS 3. EARLY PREDICTORS OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME IN ASPHYXIATED INFANTS TREATED WITH SELECTIVE HEAD COOLING • C.Y. Chen, P.N. Tsao, H.C. Chou, W.S. HsiehABS 4. PRENATAL SURGERY OF MYELOMENINGOCELE: IS IT WORTH DOING? • H. Villalon, M. Pinto, S. Hosiasson, F. Rybertt, A. Fernandez, D. Tuma, L. Pizarro, C. SilvaABS 5. NEONATAL CEREBRAL SINOVENOUS THROMBOSIS: TWO CASES, TWO DIFFERENT GENE POLYMORPHISMS AND RISK FACTORS • O. Turan, D. Anuk Ince, L. Olcay, T. Sezer, K. Gulleroglu, Z.Y. Çelik, A. EcevitABS 6. DEVELOPMENT OF PREMATURE BORN CHILDREN – WHAT ABOUT LANGUAGE, READING AND WRITING? THE SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST’S VIEW • Z. Kolundžić, M. Lenček, A. Šimić Klarić, K. Pavičić DokozaABS 7. CHARACTERISTICS AND DISCHARGE OUTCOMES OF INFANTS UNDERGOING THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA IN AMERICAN NICUs • K. Ellsworth, M. Harris, M. Ellsworth, W. Carey, A. Spitzer, R. ClarkABS 8. PERINATAL STROKE: A LEADING CAUSE OF SEIZURES IN THE NEONATAL PERIOD. 4 YEAR EXPERIENCE IN A TERTIARY NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT • P. Mikrou, S. Hands, E. Mawondo, S.V. Rasiah, M. BorooahABS 9. CARRIER SCREENING FOR FRAGILE X SYNDROME IN TAIWAN FROM 2013 TO 2015 • W.C. Yang, C.C. Hung, Y.N. Su, P.N. TsaoABS 10. LENTICULOSTRIATE VASCULOPATHY IN NEONATES: CASES SERIES REPORT • M.P. Priego-Ruiz, D. Trassierra-Molina, M.P. Jaraba-Caballero, M.D. Ordóñez-Díaz, I.M. Tofé-ValeraABS 11. CONGENITAL HYDROCEPHALUS SECONDARY TO ARACHNOID CYST: CASE REPORT • M.P. Priego-Ruiz, I.M. Tofé-Valera, N

Carnaria: The Festival of the Goddess Carna

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjeta Šašel Kos

2012-07-01

hot spelt. She is a goddess of the olden time, and subsists upon the foods to which she was inured before; no voluptuary is she to run after foreign viands’ (6.169–172. His description of expensive foreign dishes, which had not been served at the Roman tables of old, concludes: ‘The pig was prized, people feasted on slaughtered swine: the ground yielded only beans and hard spelt. Whoever eats at the same time these two foods on the [C]alends of the sixth month, they affirm that nothing can hurt his bowels’ (178–182. The June Calends were popularly known as Kalendae fabariae because it was in June that the first beans were harvested in Italy and brought as offerings to the altars. This is attested by Macrobius, and while his details slightly diverge from Ovid’s, the two accounts are easily amalgamated into a whole. Macrobius further mentions a temple on Mount Caelius dedicated to Carna by Lucius Iunius Brutus. The Greeks believed that whitethorn twigs attached to doors or windows would repel witches (Dioscorides, De natura medica 1.119. Judging by Ovid’s tale of Carna, similar superstitious beliefs proliferated among the Romans. And since superstition dies hard, the belief still lingers in many places that strongly scented plants, if hung about the room, will repel bloodsuckers and vampires. Moreover, it was believed into late antiquity that whitethorn offered protection against spirits on the day when they supposedly stalked and harassed the living. For the territory of present-day Slovenia, Johann Weikhard von Valvasor’s ‘Glory of the Duchy of Carniola’ (Die Ehre, vol. 3, 400 preserves a note about evil spirits who kill children by sucking their blood, not unlike the Roman striges repelled by Carna. The rumour about the spirits is cited in connection with the Prestranek (Prostranigkh castle: ‘As for this area around Pivka, it is said that at certain times, such as Christmas Eve, there is a host of apparitions to be seen; called vedavci in the

Selected Abstracts of the 2nd Congress of joint European Neonatal Societies (jENS 2017; Venice (Italy; October 31-November 4, 2017; Session "Neurology and Follow-up"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

--- Various Authors

2017-10-01

-26 WEEKS’ GESTATION: A SWEDISH REGIONAL POPULATION BASED CASE CONTROL STUDY • M. Adamsson, B. Hägglöf, M. Bäckman, A. FarooqiABS 26. EARLY RISK FACTORS FOR ADVERSE NEUROMOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN TERM INFANTS AFTER MODERATE HYPOXIC-ISCHAEMIC ENCEPHALOPATHY • A. MaticABS 27. THERAPEUTIC HYPOTHERMIA IN BABIES WITH HYPOXIC-ISCHAEMIC ENCEPHALOPA­THY: EVIDENCE AND CLINICAL PRACTICE • K. Ghazal, A. Panickar, S. GargABS 28. EFFECT OF DEHYDROEPIANDROSTERONE AND ITS SULFATE ESTER ON NEONATAL HYPOXIC-ISCHEMIC BRAIN INJURY – PRELIMINARY DATA • A. Posod, M. Lachinger, B. Vejnoska, E. Huber, M. Urbanek, U. Kiechl-Kohlendorfer, E. GriesmaierABS 29. LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF NEONATAL COMPLICATIONS ON BRAIN GROWTH AT 10 YEARS OF AGE IN CHILDREN BORN EXTREMELY PRETERM • N. Padilla, C. Jimenez-Espinoza, H. Kvanta, U. AdénABS 30. SECRETONEURIN SERUM CONCENTRATIONS CORRELATE WITH ABNORMAL NEURODEVELOPMENTAL OUTCOME AT THE AGE OF 24 MONTHS IN TERM NEONATES WITH ASPHYXIA • K. Wechselberger, A. Schmid, M. Höck, A. Posod, M. Urbanek, R. Fischer-Colbrie, V. Neubauer, U. Kiechl-Kohlendorfer, E. GriesmaierABS 31. SCREENING C677T POLYMORPHISM IN METHYLENETETRAHYDROFOLATE REDUCTASE GENE IN TAIWAN POPULATION • C.Y. Chuang, C.C. Hung, Y.N. Su, P.N. TsaoABS 32. GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF INTRAVENTRICULAR HEMORRHAGE IN PRETERM NEWBORNS • D. Szpecht, J. Gadzinowski, A. Seremak-Mrozikiewicz, G. Kurzawińska, K. Drews, M. SzymankiewiczABS 33. MRI-DIAGNOSED WHITE MATTER LESIONS IN THE BRAIN OF VLBW BABIES: RISK FACTOR ANALYSIS • A. Parodi, S. Raffa, M. Malova, A. Sannia, M. Severino, G. Morana, D. Tortora, M.G. Calevo, A. Rossi, L.A. RamenghiABS 34. A NEW EVALUATION INDEX FOR LEFT-RIGHT UNEQUAL VENTRICULOMEGALY IN VERY LOW BIRTH WEIGHT INFANTS: ASSOCIATION WITH WALKING DISABILITIES AT 1.6 YEARS OF CORRECTED AGE • T. Ikuta, M. Mizobuchi, Y. Katayama, S. Yoshimoto, T. Ioroi, M. Yamane, T. Morisawa, A. Takatera, M. Ueda, A. Shibata, K. Maeyama, K. Fujioka, N. Nishimura, K