bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Classification of natural disasters between the legislation and application: experience of the Republic of Serbia
Authors: Lukić Tin , B. Gavrilov Milivoj , B. Marković Slobodan , Komac Blaž , Zorn Matija , Mlađan Dragan , Đorđević Jasmina , Milanović Miško , A. Vasiljević Djordjije , D. Vujičić Miroslav , Kuzmanović Bogdan , Prentović Risto
Published: September 2013

The paper discusses the definitions of natural disasters and recommends the implementation of definitions and classifications of natural disasters in accordance with those decreed at the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and Munich Re insurance Company (Munich RE) for administrative use in the Republic of Serbia. For the Republic of Serbia, the issue of natural disasters is presented both through government documents (e.g. the Law on Emergencies and the National Strategy of the Protection and Rescue in Emergencies) and the survey of the frequency and typology of disasters. Significant discrepancies exist between older and more contemporary classifications of disasters in Serbia. They are especially emphasized in comparison to the CRED and Munich RE classifications and databases. This causes problems in the monitoring, recording and assessment of the effects of natural disasters. It is proposed that definitions be adapted and implemented into legislative and other documents.
Cultural values and sustainable rural development: A brief introduction
Authors: Bole David , Pipan Primož , Komac Blaž
Published: September 2013

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Including development topics in a cultural heritage management plan: Mercury heritage in Idrija
Authors: Nared Janez , Erhartič Bojan , Razpotnik Visković Nika
Published: September 2013

Mercury heritage in Idrija has been included on the UNESCO World Heritage List together with the Spanish town of Almadén. Idrija’s rich cultural heritage thus became an important development factor that should be appropriately included in development documents, while preserving the integrity and authenticity of heritage, and taking into account its development role. This article presents the key findings of a participatory process whose goal is to form a cultural heritage management plan that will ensure that heritage becomes an important driver of municipal development. It highlights the need for comprehensive planning that includes all stakeholders, transcends divisions between sectors, and contributes to the harmonious and successful development of the area.
Evaluation of tourist attractiveness and museum management in Sombor and Apatin (Serbia)
Authors: Dragićević Vanja , Besermenji Snežana , Pivac Tatjana , Ivkov-Džigurski Anđelija , Košić Kristina
Published: September 2013

In the area of Sombor and Apatin there are a number of cultural institutions. The paper will cover the Museum of silk damask in Bezdan, Tobacco Museum in Telečka and the Ethnological Exhibition in Kupusina. The aim of this paper is to assess the market attractiveness, the sensitivity of cultural property, the state of repair, the existence of cultural property management plan, regular monitoring and maintenance, potential for ongoing investment, the possibility of a negative impact of a large number of visitors to the physical condition of cultural resources and the possibility of modifications as part of the product development.
Experimental and analytical study about the compressive behavior of eps sandwich panels
Authors: Carbonari G. , Cavalaro S. H. P. , Cansario M. M. , Aguado A.
Published: September 2013

This study presents a detailed characterization of the behavior of EPS sandwich panels subject to normal load taking into account several variables. For that, two experimental programs were performed, leading to the proposal of an analytical formulation to estimate the maximum load resisted. The results obtained show how the height of the panel, the material properties, the position and configuration of the reinforcement may affect the resistance of panels. Special attention should be given to the eccentric position of the reinforcement, which may reduce considerably the maximum load resisted. Some recommendations about the optimum placement of the reinforcement are proposed.
Rice husk ash as a source of silica in alkali-activated fly ash and granulated blast furnace slag systems
Authors: Mejía J. M. , Mejía de Gutiérrez R. , Puertas F.
Published: September 2013

This study assesses the viability of using an agro-industrial by-product, rice husk ash (RHA) from a Colombian rice company’s combustion facility, as a total replacement for the commercial sodium silicate ordinarily used in alkaliactivated binders. Fly ash (FA), granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS) and binary 50FA:50GBFS blended pastes were activated with a mix of sodium hydroxide and either sodium silicate or one of two types of RHA. The pastes were characterised for strength, mineralogy and microstructure. The findings showed that the agro-industrial by-product can be used to yield alkali-activated materials with 7-day mechanical strengths on the order of 42 MPa. The study confirmed that both amorphous silica and part of the crystalline silica present in RHA participate in the alkaline activation process, providing the alkalinity is suitably adjusted.
Harnessing Knowledge Power for Competitive Advantage
Authors: Nissen Mark E.
Published: September 2013

A great many organizations rely upon advancing Information Technology (IT) in their quests for competitive advantage. The problem is that as long as competitive advantage is based on IT and like resources that are obtainable or substitutable by competing organizations, it is likely to be ephemeral at best. Alternatively, competitive advantage enabled by tacit knowledge is comparatively much more sustainable, but such knowledge tends to be sticky and does not flow well through the organization. Hence, the power of tacit knowledge is great in terms of enabling and particularly sustaining competitive advantage, but the corresponding dynamics can make it difficult to capitalize upon effectively. This chapter focuses specifically on how the power of dynamic knowledge (i.e., knowledge flows) can be harnessed for competitive advantage. The authors first examine in some detail how different kinds of knowledge and other organizational resources enable competitive advantage. They then discuss the dynamics of knowledge, looking in particular at how it flows through the organization. The chapter concludes with five key insights for use and application.
Knowledge Management and the Roles it Plays in Achieving Superior Performance
Authors: Delbaere Marjorie , Di Zhang David , Bruning Edward R. , Sivaramakrishnan Subramanian
Published: September 2013

Knowledge is one of the most critical organizational resources, and Knowledge Management (KM) has been identified as one of the key aspects in organizational strategic management. In addition to creating functional value by protecting and utilizing organizational knowledge, strategic knowledge management also serves as a central nerve system within the organization that facilitates organizational learning, organizes the market intelligence about customers and competitors, maximizes the value of organizational knowledge, and contributes towards superior organizational performances. The objectives of this chapter are to develop a theoretical model that delineates the relationship among several organizational variables that are of strategic importance to performance, including Market Orientation (MO), Learning Orientation (LO), and KM. A national survey was conducted to collect information from managers of Canadian manufacturing companies. A total of 307 informants returned the survey. Data was analyzed using Structure Equation Modeling (SEM). The results demonstrate that a firm’s KM mediates the positive influences from the firm’s LO and MO on market performance.
Competitive Advantage and Automated Sharing of Tacit Knowledge
Authors: Chilton Michael A. , Bloodgood James M.
Published: September 2013

In this chapter, the authors investigate how raw data, obtained from a variety of sources, can be processed into knowledge using automated techniques that will help organizations gain a competitive advantage. Firms have amassed so much data that only automated methods, such as data mining or converting existing knowledge into expert systems is possible to make any sense of it or to protect it from competitors. Further, the data that is processed may be considered tacit knowledge because it is hidden from people until it is processed. In this chapter, the authors discuss various sources of data that might help an organization achieve and sustain a competitive advantage. A firm can data mine its own production database for insight regarding its customers and markets that have previously been ignored. It might also mine social media (e.g., Facebook and Twitter), which has become a forum for individual preferences and activities from which the savvy organization could turn into competitive advantage. They also discuss how this knowledge can be protected from intrusion by competitors to sustain the competitive position it may achieve as a result of the discovery of knowledge from massive data sets.
Security in Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks
Authors: Chen Lei , Varol Cihan , Liu Qingzhong , Zhou Bing
Published: September 2013

Thanks to the much larger geographical coverage and pleasing bandwidth of data transmissions, Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs) have become widely accepted in many countries for everyday communications. Two of the main wireless technologies used in WMANs, the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX, also known as Wireless Local Loop or WLL) and Long Term Evolution (LTE), have generated billions of dollars in the ever-growing wireless communication market. While the IEEE 802.16 standards for WiMAX and the 3GPP standards LTE are updated and improved almost annually, it is inevitable that current standards still contain a number of security vulnerabilities, potentially leading to various security attacks. To address the security concerns in these two WMANs technologies, this chapter presents the technical details of security aspects of WiMAX and LTE. More specifically, the key generation, authentication, data, and key confidentiality and integrity of both technologies are deliberated. The chapter ends with a discussion of the security vulnerabilities, threats, and countermeasures of WiMAX and LTE.
Location Security in Vehicular Wireless Networks
Authors: Yan Gongjun , Rawat Danda B. , Bista Bhed Bahadur , Chen Lei
Published: September 2013

In Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs), applications are based on one fundamental piece of information: location. Therefore, attackers will exploit location information to launch attacks. The authors present an in-depth survey of location security methods that have been recently proposed in literature. They present the algorithms or protocols of different methods and compare them with each other in this chapter. The methods are mainly in three aspects: position integrity, position confidentiality, and position availability. The position integrity methods focus on validating a vehicle’s position to ensure the position information is correct. Position confidentiality ensures not only the confidentiality of position information but also the authentication of location that a location related message can only decrypt by the receiver which is “physically” present inside a decryption region that is specified by location, time, and speed. The position availability methods create and maintain a reliable routing path to delivery position information. The selection and maintenance of routing paths in literature can be based on multiple resources, for example wireless signal strength, computation resources, and probability models. The three aspects, position integrity, position confidentiality, and position availability, are the three basic requirements of information security based on the standard 200 of NIST.
Trust Management and Modeling Techniques in Wireless Communications
Authors: Venkataraman Revathi , Pushpalatha M. , Rao T. Rama
Published: September 2013

Trust management is an emerging technology to facilitate secure interactions between two communicating entities in distributed environments where the traditional security mechanisms are insufficient due to incomplete knowledge about the remote entities. With the development of ubiquitous computing and smart embedded systems, new challenges and threats come up in a heterogeneous environment. Trust management techniques that depend on a centralized server are not feasible in wireless peer-to-peer communication networks. Hence, the trust management and modeling strategies are becoming increasingly complex to cope with the system vulnerabilities in a distributed environment. The aim of this chapter is to have a thorough understanding of the trust formation process and the statistical techniques that are used at different stages of the trust computation process. The functional components of a trust management framework are identified and some of the existing statistical techniques used in different phases of the trust management framework are analyzed.
Learner Fit in Scaling Up Automated Writing Evaluation
Authors: Cotos Elena , Huffman Sarah
Published: September 2013

Valid evaluations of automated writing evaluation (AWE) design, development, and implementation should integrate the learners’ perspective in order to ensure the attainment of desired outcomes. This paper explores the learner fit quality of the Research Writing Tutor (RWT), an emerging AWE tool tested with L2 writers at an early stage of its development. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the authors sought to answer questions regarding the nature of learners’ interactional modifications with RWT and their perceptions of appropriateness of its feedback about the communicative effectiveness of research article Introductions discourse. The findings reveal that RWT’s move, step, and sentence-level feedback provides various opportunities for learners to engage with the revision task at a useful level of difficulty and to stimulate interaction appropriate to their individual characteristics. The authors also discuss insights about usefulness, user-friendliness, and trust as important concepts inherent to appropriateness.
Right to Health and Proportion of Right to Health Information in the Patient’s Right Charters
Authors: Mousavi Mir Sajjad Seyed , Gavgani Vahideh Zarea , Fatemi Mohammad Ghari Seyed , Rasekh Mohammad , Zarei Mohammad Hossein , Gorji Ali Akbar
Published: September 2013

Health is not lack of disease. It is an incomplete condition of psychological, physical and public welfare. Therefore to benefit from highest norms of healthiness is one of the most fundamental and necessary rights of human being. According to the Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health, and wellbeing of himself and his family.” United Nations. (2012). This paper reviews the proportion of right to health information in international, regional and national legislations and examines the patients’ right to information in patients’ right charters. This study is qualitative study it reviews the patients right charters to follow the portion of right to right to health information. International, regional, and national conventions along with the patients’ right charters of five countries from the five continents were examined against the right to health and right to health information. The Britain patient’s right charter more than other countries in this study has considered and dealt with right to information, about 4 out of 7 of its total articles refer to right to information. In contrast South Africa was assigned as the country which gives less priority to right to information among the other countries. Four out of 11 articles in the patients’ right charter of this country deals with right to health information. Iranian Patients’ right charter stood in the fourth rank after Britain, US and Australia for respecting the patients’ right to information, 2 out of 5 articles.
Assessing the Perception of Pain and Distress of Female Patients Undergoing Routine Urethral Catheterization in Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Tabrizi N. Taleschian , Torabi Z. , Bastani P. , Mokhtarkhani M. , Madani N. , Parnian N. , Hajebrahimi S.
Published: September 2013

Urethral catheterization is a common procedure performed commonly before some elective surgeries, often without consideration of the pain and negative perception among women. Owing to patient complaints and the fact that catheterization is not always necessary; a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out from January to March 2012 at Tabriz University of Medical Sciences hospital. One hundred healthy women who were catheterized before undergoing cesarean delivery were interviewed to assess the perception of pain and distress, determining the association between these two factors. This issue has rarely been investigated in previous studies. This study also aimed to evaluate the efficiencies of the Wong-Baker and 0–10 numerical rating scales. The authors results indicate that although the patients did not initially have a good understanding of the pain scales, when they were given additional explanation, a positive correlation between the two scales (p<0.01) was found. Their study further demonstrates that catheterization is a moderately painful (4.68 of 10) procedure, causing distress (4.67 of 10) and discomfort.
Information Prescription and Information Therapy
Authors: Doshi Riddhi
Published: September 2013

Gavgani et al., through their systematic review, explore the existing evidence in the area of information prescription and information therapy. The application of Information prescription and information therapy has been explored in a number of developed countries through randomized trials and observational studies. The low awareness about these concepts among medical practitioners has been highlighted. This commentary highlights the routes for IP/Ix dissemination and its application in current medical practice.
Assistive Computing Technology for Enabling Differently Abled Population in India
Authors: Khetarpal Abha
Published: September 2013

This invited commentary discusses the research paper on Assistive Computing Technology for Enabling Differently Abled Population in India - A User Driven Intervention by Indrajit Bhattacharya, Anandhi Ramachandran, Nekram Upadhyay and Megha Sharma. The author expands the significance of the role of Assistive Computing Technology in enhancing the quality of life of the people with disabilities. The author lauds the research work and conclusions drawn from it and suggests how its applicability can be increased in the system.
Cross-Correlation Measure for Mining Spatio-Temporal Patterns
Authors: Ma James , Zeng Daniel , Zhao Huimin , Liu Chunyang
Published: September 2013

Spatio-temporal data mining is finding applications in many domains, such as public health, public safety, financial fraud detection, transportation, and product lifecycle management. Correlation analysis is an important spatio-temporal mining technique for unveiling spatial and temporal relationships among multiple event types. This paper presents a new measure for assessing and analyzing spatio-temporal cross-correlations. This measure extends Ripley’s a widely used measure of spatial correlation, with an additional temporal dimension. Empirical studies using real-world data show that the new measure can lead to a more discriminating and flexible spatio-temporal data analysis framework. In contrast with its predecessor, this measure also allows the discovery of leading (and potentially causal) event types whose occurrences precede those of other event types. Findings from analyses employing this measure may bear important managerial implications.
Implementation of Telecytology in Georgia for Quality Assurance Programs
Authors: Kldiashvili Ekaterine
Published: September 2013

The field of eHealth is rapidly evolving. The new models and protocols of application of info-communication technologies for healthcare purposes are developed. Despite of obvious advantages and benefits practical application of eHealth and its possibilities in everyday practice is slow. Much progress has been made around the world in the field of digital imaging and virtual slides. But in Georgia telecytology is still in evolving stages. It revolves around static telecytology. It has been revealed, that the application of easy available and adaptable technology together with the improvement of the infrastructure conditions is the essential basis for telecytology. This is a very useful and applicable tool for consulting on difficult cases and implementation of quality assurance programs in the field of cytology. Telecytology has significantly increased knowledge exchange and thereby ensured a better medical service. The chapter aimed description of practical application of telecytology under conditions of Georgia as well as presentation of telecytology usage for implementation of quality assurance programs in the field of cytology.
Determinants of Telemedicine Utilization in Rural America
Authors: Leung Ricky
Published: September 2013

Health organizations in rural America are often unable to fulfill local demands due to shortages of physicians and medical facilities. Telemedicine has emerged as a promising technology to compensate these inadequacies by means of virtual care. Yet, acceptance towards telemedicine varies, as administrators are unsure the costs and benefits of this new technology for their respective organizations. Previous research has analyzed empirical data to account for variations in telemedicine utilization but often without interpreting the findings with a conceptual lens. This paper analyzes a set of preliminary data with the dynamic theory framework borrowed from management scholars. The analysis will help health administrators make better sense of variations in telemedicine utilization and better utilize this technology to address the problem of unequal access in the rural health sector.
Increasing Access to Effective Education Across Oceania
Authors: Hogan Robert , Nimmer Natalie
Published: September 2013

The history of education in many developing nations is a template of ineffectual and expensive instruction. Despite nearly half a century of higher education in the Pacific, up to 50% of the teachers in many countries such as the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands still have no more than a high school education. Similar trends are found in Asia and Africa. Past experience in Oceania demonstrates that face-to-face university training has been neither scalable nor sustainable. This paper compares two educational approaches—face-to-face and blended learning. The face-to-face, WorldTeach program in the Marshall Islands employed foreign volunteer teachers living on site to give local teachers a year’s leave for additional training. The blended chemistry course, which combined online and face-to-face learning, was delivered simultaneously to teacher candidates in Fiji, Vanuatu, and the Solomon Islands. The blended course utilized online instructors and tutors, and face-to-face tutors. This paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of both case studies and recommends that nations consider blended learning as an approach to make education more accessible and affordable, especially in emerging nations. As brick-and-mortar campuses and instructor travel become more expensive, blended learning becomes an increasingly attractive educational option.
Is Presence of Community of Practice Dimensions Sufficient for Community-Based Teacher Professional Development?
Authors: Murugaiah Puvaneswary , Ming Thang Siew , Azman Hazita , Nambiar Radha
Published: September 2013

Professional development programmes that include teacher collaboration can help teachers meet their professional needs and control their professional lives. They can voice their needs and expectations to peers who share similar experiences. Moreover, teachers can discover new teaching roles and opportunities, develop new skills and find motivation in being a member of a group (Burbank & Kauchak, 2003; Hawkes, 2000). With the affordances provided by Web technologies, the potentiality of online communities of practice (CoPs) as a means of improving teacher professional development has become a reality and is gaining popularity. The Online Continuing Professional Development for Teachers (e-CPDelT) project aimed to develop three online CoPs; that is, English, Mathematics and Science communities among twenty Malaysian Smart school teachers. This paper examined the key CoP dimensions, as expounded in Wenger’s (1998) framework, and investigated whether their presence is sufficient for successful CoP among teachers in the English cohort. The findings revealed that although the key CoP dimensions were present, there were several factors inhibiting their participation in the community-based cohort. It can be implied that it is crucial to consider these factors in developing teacher online CoPs in Malaysia.
Improving Energy Efficiency in Web Services
Authors: Huang Jiwei , Lin Chuang
Published: September 2013

With the rapid increase of the energy consumption associated with IT systems and services, energy efficiency is becoming a critical issue in the design, development and management of web service systems. One of the main mechanisms that can be used to reduce the energy consumption is dynamic speed scaling which scales the frequencies of the processors of web servers at hardware level. Another approach is service selection to facilitate the use of energy through effective distribution and management of the web services. In this paper, both the web service selection and server dynamic speed scaling are optimized by maximizing the quality of service (QoS) revenue and minimizing energy costs. Stochastic models of web service systems are proposed, and techniques for quantitative analysis of the performance and energy consumption are investigated. The authors formulate the service selection and speed scaling as a Markov Decision problem, and introduce related algorithms to solve it. Furthermore, the authors build up an optimization framework using multi-agent techniques, and design efficient algorithms to solve the problem in large-scale web service systems. Finally, the effectiveness of their approach is validated by simulation experiments.
Methods for Analyzing Diversity of Microbial Communities in Natural Environments
Authors: Fakruddin Md , Mannan Khanjada Shahnewaj Bin
Published: September 2013

Difficulties in cultivating most of the microorganisms limit our ability to study microbial ecosystems. Molecular methods are valuable tools for investigating the diversity and structure of bacterial communities. These techniques can be used on culturable as well as non-culturable bacteria. Cultivation independent techniques based on nucleic acids extracted from the environment provide information on community structure and diversity. Analyses of DNA can determine the numbers of different genomes. Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) or rDNA (genes coding for rRNA) fingerprinting, probing and sequencing can be used to detect and identify organisms. The combination of different methods that complement each other is a useful strategy for monitoring changes of microbial communities in natural ecosystems.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/cjsbs.v42i1.5896 Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio. Sci.) 42 (1): 19-33, 2013
Predicting Aboveground Biomass Increment of Tropical Forests from Litter-fall
Authors: Kuruppuarachchi KAJM , Seneviratne G
Published: September 2013

Predicting Aboveground Biomass Increment (ABI) of forests is important in evaluating primary productivity, and hence aboveground C sequestration rate and C policy implementation. Although there are direct methods such as remote sensing to predict the ABI, it is important to develop ground-based indirect methods, particularly for tropical forests, due to their stratification, complex structure and high diversity, which cannot be imaged properly using the direct methods. Present study developed regression models from a global database of tropical forests to predict the ABI from annual litter-fall. The new models could predict up to 92% and 66% of the variability of the ABI of the disturbed/managed and natural tropical forests, respectively, compared to 69% of the variability predicted by previous models, although they have used a part of the present database which was only available at that time. Field prediction of the new models by using a wet zone forest and a dry zone forest in Sri Lanka showed that the ABIs of the two forests (7-8 Mg ha-1 yr-1) are towards the upper limit (10 Mg ha-1 yr-1) of the tropical forests of the world. It is clear from this study that the new approach may be a better method for predicting the ABI in future research as well as tropical forest inventories. It is recommended however, that the models should be validated before their wider applications.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/cjsbs.v42i1.5897 Ceylon Journal of Science (Bio. Sci.) 42 (1): 35-40, 2013
Non-invasive mechanical ventilation in internal medicine departments: a pilot study
Authors: La Regina Micaela , Marinaro Alessia , Scuotri Lucia , Corsini Francesca , Orlandini Francesco
Published: September 2013

Non-invasive mechanical ventilation (NIMV) has been shown to be an effective treatment in chronic and acute lung failure. Until a few years ago, all the different forms of mechanical ventilation were managed exclusively in intensive care units (ICU). However, the reduction in the number of ICU beds available and the high costs involved in running such units, together with the aging of the general population and the co-morbidities associated with this have meant that forms of mechanical ventilation are also used outside ICUs. In addition to emergency physicians and pneumologists, also internists have started to use NIMV on their wards in order to start treatment as early as possible and reduce costs. This is a preliminary study to explore the effectiveness, safety and feasibility of NIMV on a medical ward. The overall success rate was 68.8%; the likelihood of success was higher in patients who started NIMV earlier. The success rate was quite high (62%) also among do-not-intubate patients, despite their poorer clinical condition. Few complications were reported and there was no increase in staff workload. No significant differences were found in in-hospital mortality between hypercapnic patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation and hypercapnic patients with COPD plus pneumonia (27% vs 25%) or between patients with pneumonia and patients with COPD plus pneumonia (26% vs 25%). These results are encouraging for the successful use of NIMV on medical wards. A careful selection of patients, educating and motivating staff in NIMV use, and close collaboration with resuscitators are all essential for this to be achieved.
Portal vein thrombosis and Budd-Chiari syndrome as onset of polycythemia vera
Authors: Seidita Aurelio , Sprini Delia , Bongiovì Accursia , Catalano Tiziana , Barbiera Filippo , Accardi Maria , Mansueto Pasquale , Carroccio Antonio
Published: September 2013

Budd-Chiari syndrome may be defined as a heterogeneous group of vascular disorders characterized by obstruction of hepatic venous return to the level of hepatic venules, supra-hepatic veins, inferior vena cava or right atrium. The main cause of this syndrome is represented by myeloproliferative diseases and, in particular, by polycythemia vera. The latter may cause multiple splanchnic thrombosis, including portal vein thrombosis, particularly important for its clinical outcomes (ascites, collateral vessels genesis, etc.). We report 2 cases of a Budd-Chiari syndrome induced by polycythemia vera characterized by an abnormal clinical onset, both as regards subjects’ age (29 and 39 years old, respectively) and set of symptoms, signs and laboratory data. After a complete clinical, instrumental and genetic diagnosis, the patients were treated with combined therapy, using acetylsalicylic acid and hydroxyurea. The therapy proved successful and patients are still in follow up in our institution. Polycythemia vera should be suspected in patients affected with portal vein thrombosis and Budd-Chiari syndrome even if its clinical onset might be unusual. Every effort should be made to make a correct and early diagnosis in order to start appropriate therapy as soon as possible and to prevent patients from useless diagnostic and therapeutic treatments.
Low dosage of aripiprazole induced neuroleptic malignant syndrome after interaction with other neuroleptic drugs
Authors: Petrone Albino , Quartieri Michela , Falcone Cinzia , Suffredini Elina , Brandani Marta , Mauro Gaetano Francesco
Published: September 2013

Aripiprazole is a 2nd generation antipsychotic medication, atypical neuroleptic used for treatment of schizophrenia improving symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking. A potentially fatal symptom complex sometimes referred to as neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) has been reported in association with administration of antipsychotic drugs, including aripiprazole. Rare cases of NMS occurred during aripiprazole treatment in the worldwide clinical database. The disease is characterized by a distinctive clinical syndrome of mental status change, rigidity, fever, and dysautonomia. We report on a 63-year old woman with depression syndrome who developed neuroleptic malignant syndrome after twelve days of aripripazole 5 mg per day. Our case is added to the small number already described and suggests the need for caution when aripripazole is added to increase the effect of other antipsychotics.
A case of pneumonia and sepsis in cirrhosis as paradigm of the problems in the management of bacterial infections in cirrhosis and of the limitations of current knowledge
Authors: Tufoni Manuel , Tovoli Alessandra , Maggioli Caterina , Napoli Lucia , Ricci Carmen Serena , Mastroroberto Marianna , Zaccherini Giacomo , Caraceni Paolo
Published: September 2013

Bacterial infections are a major problem in the management of liver cirrhosis. They represent the first precipitating cause of death since patients with cirrhosis carry an increased risk of sepsis, sepsis-induced organ failure and death. Although the clinical presentation is often misleading, the presence of bacterial infection should always be actively searched and ruled out with certainty whenever a cirrhotic patient is admitted to the hospital with an acute clinical deterioration. Major changes in the epidemiology of bacterial infections have also occurred in the last decade making the choice of empirical antibiotic therapy a challenge. We report a paradigmatic case of a 54-year old man with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis admitted to the hospital for worsening of his ascites and onset of hepatic encephalopathy, an excellent example for the difficulties of management of sepsis in cirrhosis and the limits of current knowledge.
Management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: criteria for an appropriate hospital discharge
Authors: Candela Marco , Pastorelli Ruggero , Sacchetta Antonio , Campanini Mauro , Fabbri Leonardo M. , Nozzoli Carlo
Published: September 2013

Low adherence with prescribed treatments is very common in chronic diseases and represents a significant barrier to optimal management, with both clinical and economic consequences. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), poor adherence, also in terms of premature discontinuation of therapy or improper use of inhaler devices, leads to increased risk of clinical deterioration. By contrast, adherence to appropriate long-term maintenance therapy is associated with improved quality of life and significantly lower risks of hospitalization and re-hospitalization, resulting in important health benefits for the individual patient and a reduction in costs for the national health services. In considering strategies to improve adherence, three main aspects should be addressed: i) patient education; ii) pharmacological alternatives and correct use of inhalers; and iii) adherence to COPD guidelines for appropriate therapy. In this field, healthcare providers play a critical role in helping patients understand the nature of their disease and its management, explaining the potential benefits and adverse effects of treatment, and teaching or checking the correct inhalation technique. These are important issues for patient management, particularly in the immediate aftermath of hospital discharge, because the high risk of re-admission is mainly due to inadequate treatment. Thus, discharge procedure should be considered a key element in the healthcare continuum from the hospital to primary care. This implies an integrated model of care delivery by all relevant health providers. In this context, we developed a structured COPD discharge form that we hope will improve the management of COPD patients, particularly in the aftermath of hospital discharge.
The importance of disaggregated freight flow forecasts to inform transport infrastructure investments
Authors: Havenga Jan H.
Published: September 2013

This article presents the results of a comprehensive disaggregated commodity flow model for South Africa. The wealth of data available enables a segmented analysis of future freight transportation demand in order to assist with the prioritisation of transportation investments, the development of transport policy and the growth of the logistics service provider industry. In 2011, economic demand for commodities in South Africa’s competitive surface-freight transport market amounted to 622 million tons and is predicted to increase to 1834m tons by 2041, which is a compound annual growth rate of 3.67%. Fifty percent of corridor freight constitutes break bulk; intermodal solutions are therefore critical in South Africa. Scenario analysis indicates that 80%of corridor break-bulk tons can by serviced by four intermodal facilities – in Gauteng, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. This would allow for the development of an investment planning hierarchy, enable industry targeting (through commodity visibility), ensure capacity development ahead of demand and lower the cost of logistics in South Africa.
Preparation of Well Defined Colloidal Particles by Thermal Decomposition of Metal Chelates II. Cobalt and Nickel
Authors: SAPIESZKO RONALD S. , MATIJEVIĆ EGON
Published: September 2013

Metal and metal oxide precipitates exhibiting different morphologies were prepared by hydrothermal aging of strongly alkaline solutions of chelated nickel (II) or cobalt (II) salts at 250 C. Triethanolamine (TEA) (ethylenedinitrilo)tetraacetic acid (EDTA), and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-ethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA) were found to be suitable chelating agents. The oxidation state of the metal in the final product was controlled by the addition of either hydrazine (N2H4) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to the reaction mixture. In some instances, particle size and morphology were affected by the concentration and type of anions present in the precipitation medium. The importance of such chelate decomposition studies to the development of suitable chemical decontamination formulations for the primary coolant circuits of nuclear reactors is discussed. In addition, the uniform solids may be of practical interest in a variety of technological areas.
The Effect of Hydrogen Evolution on Acidification in Alloy 600 and 304 Stainless Steel Crevices at 288 C
Authors: TAYLOR D. F. , SILVERMAN M.
Published: September 2013

Crevice experiments with 1 mm ID Alloy 600, 304L stainless steel, and platinum tubing have shown that to a large extent, equilibrium thermodynamics controls the mode and degree of crevice corrosion in aqueous systems at 288 C. When crevices enter a potential/pH region of thermodynamic instability for the crevice solution, direct reduction of water or hydrogen ions by the metal competes with macrocell acidification and the hydrogen fugacity strongly influences the degree of acidity which can be attained or maintained. The platinum system undergoes no such thermodynamic transition and acidification ceases only as the corrosion macrocell approaches equilibrium. Platinum crevice behavior indicates an upper limit of 0.60 V (SHE) for the Pt(II) oxide/Pt standard potential at 288 C.
Scaling Behavior of an Fe-4.54 Wt% Cu Alloy in the Range 700 to 1000 C Under 1 Atm Oxygen
Authors: NANNI P. , GESMUNDO F.
Published: September 2013

The corrosion of a Fe-4.54 Wt% Cu alloy under 1 atm. oxygen in the 700 to 1000 C range has been examined as an introduction to the study of the oxidation of the more complex two phase alloy: Fe-50 Wt% Cu. The addition of copper produces a consistent decrease of the oxidation rate of iron, while the reaction still conforms to the parabolic rate law. The preferential oxidation of iron leads to the development of a Cu rich metal phase at the alloy-scale interface, which in turn produces a decrease of the relative thickness of the wustite layer with respect to the oxidation of pure iron. The importance of these factors and the presence of copper dissolved in the iron oxides in relationship to the observed rate decrease are discussed.
Pitting Resistance of Engineering Materials in Geothermal Brines—I. Low Salinity Brine
Authors: SYRETT B. C. , MACDONALD D. D. , SHIH H.
Published: September 2013

The resistance of carbon steel, E-Brite 26-1, Type 316L stainless steel, Haynes Alloy 20 Mod, Carpenter Alloy 20 Cb-3, Inconel Alloy 625, Hastelloy Alloy G, Hastelloy Alloy C-276, Titanium 50A, and TiCode 12 to pitting in a low salinity geothermal brine (Nowlin No. 1) was determined. The behavior of coupons exposed to the “fresh,” unflashed wellhead brine was compared with the behavior of coupons exposed to unflashed brine collected at the wellhead and transported to the laboratory. Pitting potentials were also determined in laboratory tests. There was excellent agreement between laboratory and field test data. The two titanium alloys were completely resistant to pitting under all experimental conditions, Hastelloy Alloy C-276 was the nickel base alloy most resistant to pitting, and Haynes Alloy 20 Mod was the most resistant iron base alloy. The breakdown potentials for the high chromium ferrous alloys satisfy the thermodynamic requirements for pit initiation via oxidative dissolution of manganese sulfide inclusions in the passive film.
Liquid Lithium Corrosion Rate Expressions for Type 304L Stainless Steel
Authors: OLSON D. L. , RESER G. N. , MATLOCK D. K.
Published: September 2013

Corrosion rate expressions for weight loss and grain boundary penetration kinetics for Type 304L stainless steel in liquid lithium have been determined as a function of nitrogen concentration in the temperature range of 600 to 1000 C (873 to 1273 K). A list of observations which must be included in the development of a liquid lithium corrosion model for austenitic stainless steel is presented.
Temperature Rise in Underground Impressed Current Anodes
Authors: BURKHART W. H.
Published: September 2013

An analysis of current and power relations in underground impressed current cathodic protection systems supports the conclusion that anode failure may result from high operating temperatures. Formulae are derived for estimating anode temperature in soils of varying electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity.
New Inhibitors for Crack Arrestment in Corrosion Fatigue of High Strength Steels
Authors: AGARWALA V. S. , De LUCCIA J. J.
Published: September 2013

It has been shown that the fatigue life of a high strength Type 4340 steel exposed to high humidity is reduced by an order of magnitude when compared to dry ambient air. This has been directly attributed to the effects of corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement. In the present work, the principles of process control, which affect the electrochemical reactions occurring at the tip of the advancing crack, are integrated with the metallurgical concepts of the stress cracking phenomena to develop new crack arrestment compounds. The concept of phase transfer catalysis has been used to solubilize inorganic inhibitors into an organic phase. This enabled the inhibitor ions to remain free of hydration shells and become more effective inhibitors. It has been demonstrated that a number of combinations of compounds such as those containing dichromate, borate, and nitrite, or nitrite, borate, and cerate have been very successful in retarding the fatigue crack growth rate of Type 4340 steel exposed to 90% relative humidity.
VAC Protocol for Treatment of Dogs with Stage III Hemangiosarcoma
Authors: Alvarez Francisco J. , Hosoya Kenji , Lara-Garcia Ana , Kisseberth William , Couto Guillermo
Published: September 2013

Hemangiosarcomas (HSAs) are aggressive tumors with a high rate of metastasis. Clinical stage has been considered a negative prognostic factor for survival. The study authors hypothesized that the median survival time (MST) of dogs with metastatic (stage III) HSA treated with a vincristine, doxorubicin, and cyclophosphamide (VAC) chemotherapy protocol would not be different than those with stage I/II HSA. Sixty-seven dogs with HSA in different anatomic locations were evaluated retrospectively. All dogs received the VAC protocol as an adjuvant to surgery (n = 50), neoadjuvant (n = 3), or as the sole treatment modality (n = 14). There was no significant difference (P = 0.97) between the MST of dogs with stage III and stage I/II HSA. For dogs presenting with splenic HSA alone, there was no significant difference between the MST of dogs with stage III and stage I/II disease (P = 0.12). The overall response rate (complete response [CR] and partial response [PR]) was 86%). No unacceptable toxicities were observed. Dogs with stage III HSA treated with the VAC protocol have a similar prognosis to dogs with stage I/II HSA. Dogs with HSA and evidence of metastases at the time of diagnosis should not be denied treatment.
Characterization of Leishmania Species Isolated from Cutaneous Human Samples from Central Region of Syria by RFLP Analysis
Authors: Al-Nahhas Samar Anis , Kaldas Rania Magdy
Published: September 2013

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is an endemic disease and a public health problem in Hama governorate located in the central region of Syria. The aim of this study was to characterize Leishmania species isolated from human skin samples. A polymerase chain reaction, restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay, was performed on skin lesion material samples from 32 patients with confirmed CL by direct microscopic examination in order to prove its usefulness and efficiency for identification of Leishmania species. Leishmania tropica (L. tropica) is confirmed as an etiologic agent of CL in this area.
The Mechanism of a Snake-Like Robot's Clamping Obstacle Navigation on High Voltage Transmission Lines
Authors: Wei Wang , Yu-cheng Bai , Gong-ping Wu , Shui-xia Li , Qian Chen
Published: September 2013

In this paper, the methods of a snake-like robot climbing on high voltage transmission lines are presented. The three typical locomotion modes of a snake-like robot, that is, rectilinear locomotion with a Zshaped clamping mechanism, obstacle navigation locomotion with a head part clamping mechanism and winding obstacle navigation locomotion, are discussed. The motion mechanism of the snake-like robot's head part clamping obstacle navigation is studied and the kinematics model coupled with the robot and the line environment under this mode is introduced. The position tracking algorithm and the improved algorithm of robot's clamping obstacle navigation are also proposed. Finally, the simulation experiment verifies that the improved position tracking algorithm can improve the robot's motion performance and is feasible in the robot's clamping obstacle navigation.