bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influência do processo de cura das películas híbridas no desempenho de revestimentos obtidos por pintura epoxídica
Authors: Kunst Sandra Raquel , Korb Matias de Angelis , Menezes Tiago Lemos , Tessaro Giovanni , Oliveira Cláudia Trindade , Malfatti Célia de Fraga
Published: August 2013

O pré-tratamento com películas híbridas obtidas pelo processo sol-gel, a partir de precursores alcoóxidos específicos, tem sido uma alternativa, ambientalmente correta, proposta para a proteção contra corrosão de diferentes substratos metálicos, incluindo o aço galvanizado. Nas películas híbridas, os componentes inorgânicos contribuem para o aumento da resistência à corrosão e adesão ao substrato metálico, enquanto os componentes orgânicos aumentam a densidade, flexibilidade e compatibilidade funcional com sistemas orgânicos, como, por exemplo, a pintura. A adição de inibidores de corrosão, ou outros compostos, à película híbrida pode modificar as propriedades de barreira, melhorando a resistência à corrosão. No presente trabalho, o aço galvanizado foi pré-tratado com uma película híbrida obtida a partir de um sol constituído pelos precursores alcoóxidos 3-(trimetoxisililpropil) metacrilato (TMSPMA) e tetraetoxisilano (TEOS), com adição de nitrato de cério, na concentração de 0,01 M. Os filmes híbridos foram submetidos a diferentes mecanismos de cura: secagem ao ar, cura térmica e cura por radiação ultravioleta. Os sistemas obtidos foram caracterizados quanto à aderência, morfologia e comportamento eletroquímico. Além disso, foi avaliado o grau de hidrofobicidade dos sistemas pelo monitoramento do ângulo de contato. Para os ensaios acelerados de corrosão, em câmera de névoa salina, o aço galvanizado pré-tratado com película híbrida foi revestido com pintura epoxídica. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que os sistemas aço galvanizado/película híbrida/pintura epoxídica, com películas híbridas curadas ao ar e por radiação ultravioleta, apresentaram os melhores resultados quanto à resistência à corrosão.
Análise do comportamento mecânico de um aço estrutural através de ensaios de torção
Authors: Barcelos Mariana Valinhos , Vieira Estéfano Aparecido , Oliveira Nilton José Lucinda de , Machado Marcelo Lucas Pereira
Published: August 2013

As mudanças no comportamento de amaciamento que ocorrem durante a deformação a quente de um aço estão diretamente ligadas a parâmetros como deformação, taxa de deformação, temperatura, tempo de espera entre passes e taxa de resfriamento. Um aço estrutural foi estudado através de ensaio de torção a quente. Os corpos de prova foram usinados a partir de esboços do aço, sendo retirados após a laminação de desbaste. Foram realizados ensaios de torção isotérmicos e ensaios de torção com múltiplas deformações em resfriamento contínuo no laboratório de conformação mecânica do CETEC, em Belo Horizonte-MG. Através das curvas de escoamento plástico, geradas pelos ensaios de torção isotérmicos, foram determinadas a tensão e a deformação de pico para temperaturas variando de 1150ºC à 650ºC e foram realizadas análises metalográficas das amostras para se verificar o comportamento do tamanho de grão do material. Foi realizado cálculo das temperaturas críticas (Tnr e Ar3), através da utilização de equações disponíveis, na literatura. Tal cálculo foi comparado com os valores obtidos durante o ensaio com múltiplas deformações em resfriamento contínuo e verificado que a variação não passou de 1,8%.
Mechanical properties of ausforged 27MnSiVS6 microalloyed steel
Authors: Caminaga Celio , Button Sergio Tonini
Published: August 2013

Hot forging of microalloyed steels, also known as high strength low alloy steels (HSLA), has a wide application for manufacturing automotive components. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the microstructure and the mechanical strength and toughness of the 27MnSiVS6 microalloyed steel, when formed by ausforging, to analyze the process performance and the quality of products. Ausforging was compared to both hot and warm forging processes. As a result, considering the tensile, fatigue (under rotating bending) and the fracture toughness tests, the best mechanical properties were shown by the ausforged products. Statistical analyses revealed that products obtained by ausforging presented the best combination of strength and surface quality, without increasing the forging load.
Abrasividade pendular e a resistência mecânica das rochas
Authors: Ribeiro Vilmondes , Silva Lineu Azuaga Ayres da , Sansone Eduardo Cesar
Published: August 2013

Esse trabalho emprega o método para avaliar a abrasividade proposto por Golovanevskiy e Bearman (2008). Esse método, ensaio de abrasão por impacto deslizante (Gouging Abrasion Test), é realizado em condições de alta tensão/alto impacto de desgaste. O método consiste de uma ponteira cilíndrica com uma ponta cônica de 90º, que, em trajetória pendular, atinge uma amostra de rocha com energia de impacto de 300 J e velocidade da ordem de 5,2 m/s. O Gouging Abrasion Index (Gi) é calculado como sendo a média do diâmetro da ponta cônica, após desgaste, em milímetros e o resultado é multiplicado por 10. Esse trabalho verificou a adequabilidade do Gouging Abrasion Test, para um pequeno número de amostras de rocha, que representam, qualitativamente, os principais tipos de rocha encontrados em trabalhos de corte, perfuração e britagem no Brasil, e a sua correlação com outros ensaios consagrados como a resistência à compressão, o desgaste Amsler e a dureza Knoop. Essa análise mostrou alta correlação entre Gi e a dureza Knoop (R² = 0,94), baixa correlação com o desgaste Amsler (R² = 0,41) e nenhuma correlação com resistência à compressão uniaxial.
Caracterização de um depósito de rejeitos para o gerenciamento integrado dos resíduos de mineração na região carbonífera de Santa Catarina, Brasil
Authors: Amaral Filho Juarez R. do , Schneider Ivo André H. , Brum Irineu A. S. de , Sampaio Carlos H. , Miltzarek Gerson , Schneider Carlos
Published: August 2013

O carvão mineral brasileiro contém altos teores de impurezas (pirita e minerais de rochas sedimentares), sendo necessário seu beneficiamento. Os rejeitos do beneficiamento demandam uma grande área física para a sua disposição, modificam a topografia e geram a drenagem ácida de minas (DAM). O objetivo desse trabalho foi caracterizar um típico depósito de rejeitos na região carbonífera de Santa Catarina, buscando a separação de três frações para uso futuro: (a) uma fração para a geração de energia; (b) uma fração enriquecida em silicatos; e (c) uma fração com alto teor de enxofre. A metodologia do trabalho consistiu na amostragem e caracterização do material. A caracterização incluiu análise granulométrica, estudos densimétricos, medidas do teor de cinzas e enxofre, análise mineralógica por DRX, estudos petrográficos em lupa e medidas de contabilização de ácidos e bases. Os resultados granulométricos indicaram que 68% do material é composto por partículas grossas, 15%, por partículas finas e 17%, pelo lodo das bacias de sedimentação. Com o beneficiamento gravimétrico dos resíduos é possível uma recuperação teórica do material de 33,7% para geração de energia e 10,3% para produção de um concentrado rico em pirita. O material restante, com menor quantidade de enxofre e rico em silicatos, tem seu potencial de geração de acidez reduzido em 60% e apresenta possibilidade de uso na construção civil.
A review of the benefits of electronic detonators
Authors: Cardu Marilena , Giraudi Alessandro , Oreste Pierpaolo
Published: August 2013

Computerized drilling and the electronic timing of detonations are two technological breakthroughs which have had an important role in updating drilling and blasting excavation methods, although the electronic timing of detonators is still a comparatively infrequent technical solution to precision blasting problems. On the basis of an extensive collection of published cases, this paper reviews the successes achieved and the main expected advantages from the electronic ignition devices. After describing the primary characteristics of these detonators, some elements will be considered, in order to better understand their applications in different conditions, both in open pit and underground sites: extension of the time delay number, freedom in the choice of time intervals between detonations, timing accuracy, reduction of vibrations, control of back-break and fragmentation. The results are compared to those obtained by pyrotechnical timing devices, and summarized in the concluding remarks.
Illusory reconciliation: the importance of sample representativeness
Authors: Hajj Thammiris Mohamad El , Chieregati Ana Carolina , Delboni Junior Homero , Pignatari Luiz Eduardo Campos
Published: August 2013

In the mining industry, reconciliation can be defined as the practice of comparing the tonnage and average grade of ore predicted by the geological model with the tonnage and grade generated by the processing or metallurgical plant. This practice has shown an increasing importance, since, when correctly executed, it increases short-term planning reliability and substantially reduces losses in the operation. However, the usefulness of reconciliation relies on the quality and reliability of the input data. Successful reconciliation can be illusory. In many cases, errors at one point of the process are offset by errors at other points, resulting in excellent reconciliation results. However, this fact can hide compensating errors in the system that may surface someday. Very often sampling errors can be masked and may lead to erroneous analysis of the reconciliation system, generating serious consequences to the operation, especially when mining reaches poorer or more heterogeneous areas of the deposit. Since good estimation is only possible with correct sampling practices, the reliability in the reconciliation results depends on the representativeness of the samples that generated them. This work analyzes the sampling practices carried out at Maracá Mine for reconciliation purposes. Results show that the apparently good reconciliation between the mine and the plant is in fact illusory, consequence of the compensation of many sampling errors generated by the collection of the primary samples at the mine.
Uma análise de concepções sobre a criança e a inserção da infância no consumismo
Authors: Moura Tiago Bastos de , Viana Flávio Torrecilas , Loyola Viviane Dias
Published: August 2013

Este artigo faz uma análise de percepções e de concepções sobre o que é a criança e resgata a evolução do conceito de infância da antiguidade aos dias atuais, associando tais mudanças à dinâmica social pelo surgimento de novas estruturas familiares e de fatores históricos, sociais, políticos e culturais. São discutidos algumas particularidades da criança e seu processo de desenvolvimento cognitivo sob a luz da teoria de Piaget, considerando a infância inserida nas grandes sociedades de consumo capitalistas e analisando como ela interpreta as informações apresentadas pelo mercado através das propagandas e outros meios. Este artigo tem como objetivo contextualizar a evolução das percepções em relação à criança, evidenciando sua inserção crescente no mercado de consumo, peculiaridades inerentes à sua idade, sua relação e comunicação com os pais e como eles são significativos no desenvolvimento de sua autonomia e capacidade crítica. O consumo exagerado se afirma culturalmente e gera consequências na infância, frutos de um processo alienante que vem sendo construído pelo sistema capitalista e reproduzido pelas pessoas. Evidencia-se, então, a precocidade das relações que se processam no interior da sociedade.
Aplicação de um programa de cessação do tabagismo com rodoviários urbanos
Authors: Lopes Fernanda Machado , Peuker Ana Carolina , Bizarro Lisiane
Published: August 2013

O presente relato tem como objetivo descrever a aplicação de um programa de cessação do tabagismo realizado em uma empresa de transporte coletivo urbano que implantou a política do ambiente livre do fumo. Pretende-se contribuir apresentando um modelo de intervenção de abordagem cognitivocomportamental possível de ser implantado no contexto organizacional. Método: o programa foi realizado em três etapas: levantamento no número de fumantes (n=90; 13% do universo total de funcionários), avaliação do nível de dependência de nicotina (n=30; 33% dos fumantes) e realização dos grupos de cessação do tabagismo, dos quais participaram 16 fumantes (18%). Os grupos aconteceram em quatro encontros semanais, com duração de duas horas cada, sendo que, após trinta dias, foi realizado um encontro de manutenção. Resultados: o programa demonstrou boa eficácia, pois, dos 16 fumantes que participaram, 7 atingiram a abstinência e 9 reduziram o consumo. Conclusão: os psicólogos podem ser agentes comprometidos em manter um ambiente livre de fumo e prevenir os efeitos do tabagismo nas organizações utilizando intervenções cognitivo-comportamentais como a descrita.
Psicologia em ação no SUS: a interdisciplinaridade posta à prova
Authors: Couto Leandra Lúcia Moraes , Schimith Polyana Barbosa , Dalbello-Araujo Maristela
Published: August 2013

Para reorientação da Atenção Básica, em 1998, o Ministério da Saúde (MS) adotou a Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF), que é operacionalizada por meio de equipes multiprofissionais em Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS), com o objetivo de substituir o modelo tradicional de atenção à saúde, tipicamente curativo e hospitalocêntrico. Este artigo analisa os desdobramentos da intervenção ocorrida durante o desenvolvimento do projeto de estágio Psicologia e Saúde Coletiva: Promovendo a Saúde na Comunidade, em uma UBS da cidade de Vitória (ES). Após um período de inserção na rotina e no contexto da unidade, elaboramos uma proposta de trabalho interdisciplinar dirigida ao grupo de pacientes composto por pessoas obesas, diabéticas e/ou hipertensas. Utilizamos mecanismos que possibilitaram trocas de experiências, como oficinas temáticas e passeios. No decorrer da intervenção, foi possível perceber a importância do trabalho interdisciplinar para que os objetivos propostos fossem alcançados. Verificamos muitas conquistas e algumas dificuldades, e constatamos que a Psicologia pode contribuir de forma efetiva para a promoção da saúde no contexto da ESF.
Control of Glyphosate-Resistant Horseweed (Conyza canadensis) with Dicamba Applied Preplant and Postemergence in Dicamba-Resistant Soybean
Authors: Byker Holly P. , Soltani Nader , Robinson Darren E. , Tardif François J. , Lawton Mark B. , Sikkema Peter H.
Published: August 2013

Herbicide-resistant crops, such as glyphosate-resistant (GR) soybean, allow for broad-spectrum, flexible weed control with minimal crop injury; however, the development of GR weeds, such as horseweed, has forced reliance on alternative herbicides for control of these weeds. While preplant (PP) herbicides provide excellent control of GR-horseweed, there are currently no POST herbicide control options within soybean. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of dicamba for the control of GR-horseweed when applied PP, POST, and sequentially in dicamba-resistant soybean. Dicamba applied PP at 600 g a.e. ha−1provided 90 to 100% control of GR-horseweed 8 wk after application (WAA) across three field trials conducted in Ontario in 2011 and 2012. Similarly, sequential applications provided 91 to 100% control. This technology provides a much-needed POST option of dicamba to be applied as a rescue treatment to control weed escapes caused by late emergence or poor initial control following a PP herbicide application.
The Dead That Haunt Anil's Ghost: Subaltern Difference and Postcolonial Melancholia
Authors: Chakravorty Mrinalini
Published: August 2013

Anil's Ghost, Michael Ondaatje's haunting novel about the Sri Lankan civil war, probes paradoxes that arise in postcolonial fictional representations of transnational violence. What is conveyed by novels of war and genocide that cast the whole of a decolonial territory as a “deathworld”? The prism of death in Anil's Ghost requires readers of this text to relinquish settled notions of how we as humans understand our finitude and our entanglements with the deaths of others. Postcolonial fictions of violence conjoin historical circumstance with phantasmatic expressions to raise important questions about mourning, collective agency, and the subalternity of postcolonial societies. Advancing a theory about “postcolonial crypts” in fiction, I argue that postcolonial fictions' attention to violence transforms notions about the value of human life appraised through a dominant human rights framework.
Done and Over With—Finally? Otherness, Metonymy, and the Ethics of Comparison
Authors: Claviez Thomas
Published: August 2013

A strange impatience characterizes recent debates surrounding not only comparative literature but also related fields such as recognition, ethics, postcolonialism, and cultural studies: the impatience with notions like alterity, difference, and the other. These notions have enjoyed an unprecedented (and presumably undue) amount of attention for roughly thirty-five years, but now many commentators are eager to lay to rest their spectral presence or to shoo them away like a bothersome insect. Among the most recent and resolute attempts to overcome the “excesses” of the turn toward the other is arguably the oeuvre of Jacques Rancière, who forges an analogy between the cynical foreign policy of the Bush government, including its “war on terror,” and an ethics of otherness—an ethics usually based on concepts of the sublime and linked by Rancière to the work of Jean-François Lyotard and Giorgio Agamben (Dissensus). Rancière repeatedly insists that what is often called the absolutization of the other can lead to, or at least feed into, political forms of “othering” that threaten to achieve the opposite of what they were designed to do. However, any such attempt to end the interlude of otherness—and to return to a concept of universalism or the human, however modified—means to return to sameness.
What Does the Comparative Do for Cosmopolitanism?
Authors: Domínguez César
Published: August 2013

A conventional definition of cosmopolitanism stresses

relationships to a plurality of cultures understood as distinctive entities. (And the more the better; cosmopolitans should ideally be foxes rather than hedgehogs.) But furthermore cosmopolitanism in a stricter sense includes a stance toward diversity itself, toward the coexistence of cultures in the individual experience…. It is an intellectual and aesthetic stance of openness toward divergent cultural experiences. (Hannerz 239)

In the foundation of comparative literature as a distinctive discipline, cosmopolitanism was valued for its “exoticism”—namely, the feeling of being “a citizen ‘of every nation,’ not to belong to one's ‘native country’” (Texte 79), which in (French) literature translated as the openness toward other (northern European) literatures (xi).

Defining cosmopolitanism in relation to national loyalties, multilingualism, and mobility overlooks the fact that the cosmopolitan is much older than the nation and that not all multilingual abilities and mobilities are accepted as cosmopolitan, especially when they lack “sophistication.” Since I have partially discussed these issues elsewhere, I will not pursue them here but will restrict myself to Hannah Arendt's future-oriented concept of cosmopolitanism as global citizenship. My aim is to stress the elitism in many theories of cosmopolitanism and to show how comparative literature can challenge this elitism by looking at “hidden traditions.” To do so, I will draw on two essays by Arendt—“The Jew as Pariah: A Hidden Tradition” and “Karl Jaspers: Citizen of the World?” As for the first essay, I will introduceGypsynext toJew, the latter being Arendt's exclusive interest despite the implications of her use of the concept of the pariah. In the second essay, Arendt discusses acting qua human, the rights granted by membership in a (cosmo)polis, and what “citizen of the world” (cosmopolitan?) means in relation to the public space, and she stresses the value of communication, with the living and the dead. Furthermore, Arendt differentiates between cosmopolitan and European. I argue that postwar European integration challenges in unexpected ways Arendt's view both on rights as linked to nationality and on citizenship in a cosmopolitan polity.
Globality, Difference, and the International Turn in Ecocriticism
Authors: Heise Ursula K.
Published: August 2013

Comparative literature has always pursued literary studies in a transnational framework. But for much of its history it has been a “modest intellectual enterprise, fundamentally limited to Western Europe, and mostly revolving around the river Rhine (German philologists working on French literature). Not much more,” as Franco Moretti pithily sums it up (54). The rise of postcolonial theory in the wake of Edward Said's and Gayatri Spivak's influential work vastly expanded comparatist horizons, as did the attention to minority literatures that spread outward from the study of American literature and culture in the 1990s. In 1993 Charles Bernheimer's report to the American Comparative Literature Association, “Comparative Literature at the Turn of the Century,” criticized the elitist and exclusionary tenor of earlier reports on the state of the discipline by Harry Levin (1965) and Tom Greene (1975). Instead, it emphasized “tendencies in literary studies, toward a multicultural, global, and interdisciplinary curriculum” and called for an expansion from comparative literature's traditional focus on a mostly western European and North American canon of works to a truly global conception of GoetheanWeltliteratur, for inclusion of previously marginalized minority literatures from around the world, and for connections to media studies, other humanities disciplines, and the social sciences (47).
The Postcolonial Comparative
Authors: Young Robert J. C.
Published: August 2013

Comparative literature is unlike any other discipline. elsewhere—for example, in politics or religion—the comparative operates as a subdiscipline within a larger general discipline. The problem for comparative literature is that there is no general discipline of literature: institutionally, the discipline consists of nothing but the fragments of different languages. As a result, through a curious metonymic inversion, comparative literature has come to figure as the totalizing general discipline of which it should form a part. This is why it also seems to offer a natural home for the idea of Weltliteratur. Comparative literature promises the Utopian recreation of the lost amphora of literature as it stood before its fall into the clutches of the nation.
Legend: From Einfache Formen (“Simple Forms”)
Authors: Jolles André , Schwartz Peter J.
Published: August 2013

Who was andré Jolles? born in den helder in 1874; raised in amsterdam; in his youth a significant player in the literary Movement of the Nineties (Beweging van Negentig), whose organ was the Dutch cultural weekly De Kroniek; a close friend of Aby M. Warburg's and Johan Huizinga's—Jolles studied art history at Freiburg beginning in 1902 and then taught art history in Berlin, archaeology and cultural history in occupied Ghent during World War I, and Netherlandic and comparative literature at Leipzig from 1919 until shortly before his death, in 1946. A man of extraordinary intellectual range—his publications include essays on early Florentine painting, a dissertation on the aesthetics of Vitruvius, a habilitation thesis on Egyptian-Mycenaean ceremonial vessels, literary letters on ancient Greek art, and essays in German and Dutch on folklore, theater, dance, Boccaccio, Dante, Goethe, Zola, Ibsen, Strindberg, and Provençal and Renaissance Italian poetry—he was also an amateur playwright and an outspoken champion of modern trends in dramatic art and stage design. To his friends, he could be something of an intellectual midwife, helping Warburg to formulate what would become a signature notion, the “pathos formula,” and Huizinga to conceive The Waning of the Middle Ages (1919). Jolles's chief work, the one for which he is best known, is Einfache Formen (1930; “Simple Forms”), a collection of lectures he had delivered in German at Leipzig in 1927-28 and revised.
Overview and Management of Cardiac Adverse Events Associated With Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors
Authors: Lenihan Daniel J. , Kowey Peter R.
Published: August 2013

Learning Objectives

Describe the cardiovascular adverse events associated with TKI therapy for cancer. Develop strategies to minimize or mitigate CV adverse events during TKI treatment.
The application of an oxygen isotope aridity index to terrestrial paleoenvironmental reconstructions in Pleistocene North America
Authors: Yann Lindsey T. , DeSantis Larisa R. G. , Haupt Ryan J. , Romer Jennifer L. , Corapi Sarah E. , Ettenson David J.
Published: August 2013

Geochemical tools, including the analysis of stable isotopes from fossil mammals, are often used to infer regional climatic and environmental differences. We have further developed an oxygen isotope aridity index and used oxygen (δ18O) isotope values and carbon (δ13C) isotope values to assess regional climatic differences between the southeastern and southwestern United States during the Pleistocene. Using data collected from previously published studies, we assigned taxa to evaporation-sensitivity categories by quantifying the frequency and magnitude of aridity index values (i.e., an average taxon δ18O value minus a site specific proboscidean δ18O value). Antilocapridae, Camelidae, Equidae, and Cervidae were identified as evaporation-sensitive families, meaning that a majority of their water comes from the food they eat, thus indicating that they are more likely to capture changing climatic conditions. Bovidae, Tayassuidae, and Tapiridae were identified as less sensitive families, possibly because of increased or more variable drinking behavior. While it is difficult to tease out individual influences on δ18O values in tooth enamel, the use of an aridity index will provide a more in-depth look at relative aridity in the fossil record. Greater aridity index values in the Southwest suggest a drier climate than in the Southeast during the Pleistocene, and δ13C values suggest that diet does not determine evaporation sensitivity. The combination of more-positive δ13C values and the lack of forest indicator taxa in the Southwest suggest that landscapes were more open than in the Southeast. Inferred higher aridity in the Southwest may indicate that aridity or seasonal aridity/precipitation, not temperature orpCO2, was a greater driver of C4abundance during the Pleistocene. Collectively, these data suggest that regional climatic and environmental interpretations can be improved by using an aridity index and a more detailed understanding of mammalian paleobiology.
Estimating the amount of cold water wastage in UK households
Authors: Nawaz Rizwan , Waya Booker G. K.
Published: August 2013

Current and future water demand pressures arising from inadequate supplies and forecasts of increased population in the UK have prompted the government and other stakeholders to set up strategies that will ensure sustainable water supplies. Demand-side management strategies are one of the key priorities being pursued and the water regulator, Ofwat, has set a target of 13% reduction from 2010 levels of per capita household water consumption in England and Wales by 2030. This paper reports on estimated water wastage in UK households resulting from users waiting for water to reach a sufficiently warm temperature when using a hot water outlet (including kitchen sinks, showers and hand wash basins). It is estimated that, on average, 10% of the daily average per capita water consumption in UK households is wasted in this way. Possible means of reducing this waste are identified and a recommendation is made that boilers should carry a water efficiency rating in addition to the standard energy efficiency rating.
Development of point-of-use water disinfection technology using ceramic water filter and electrochemical hybrid system
Authors: Yoon Y. J. , Kwon M. H. , Jung Y. M. , Moon J. H. , Kang J. W.
Published: August 2013

The efficiency of water disinfection using a ceramic water filter and electrochemical hybrid system was investigated. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was effectively inactivated even when a storage battery, charged using a solar panel device, was used for the electrolysis process. During electrolysis, the rate of microbial inactivation was higher at higher initial Cl− concentrations. This was because of the higher CT value (the disinfectant concentration, C [mg/L], multiplied by the exposure time, T [min]) of free chlorine. Microorganisms were effectively inactivated under low pH and high temperature conditions. Disinfection by-products, such as trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), were below the standard concentrations allowed in drinking water by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The Bologna Process's Model of Mobility in Europe: The Relationship of its Spatial and Social Dimensions
Authors: Powell Justin J.W. , Finger Claudia
Published: August 2013

Cross-border mobility is among the pillars of internationality in higher education. Understood as central to educational and economic growth for individuals and societies, mobility also should facilitate social cohesion. Yet those who can afford spatial mobility are unevenly distributed; elites benefit in far greater measure. Policymakers in Europe aim to bolster the competitiveness and attractiveness of European higher education, especially through enhanced mobility of students and staff. Extending beyond the successes of Erasmus, the Bologna process defines a new model of mobility in higher education to foster spatial mobility, but how is the social selectivity of spatial mobility addressed? Based on a theory-guided content analysis of official Bologna policy documents, the authors examine the principles and standards of mobility. Which dimensions of mobility are mentioned in these declarations and communiqués from 1998 to 2012? To what extent are spatial mobility's social significance and selection processes reflected? The authors find that the dimensions, benefits and effects of spatial mobility have been mainly taken for granted, and both its social selectivity and its effects on social mobility understated. However, if the Bologna process is to facilitate social inclusion, inequalities must be addressed. The authors argue that if the 47 signatory countries to the Bologna process simply follow the principles espoused in this model, considerable disparities in participation in international exchange are likely to persist, reproducing social reproduction of dis/advantages.
Adaptive Changes of the Insig1/SREBP1/SCD1 Set Point Help Adipose Tissue to Cope With Increased Storage Demands of Obesity
Authors: Carobbio Stefania , Hagen Rachel M. , Lelliott Christopher J. , Slawik Marc , Medina-Gomez Gema , Tan Chong-Yew , Sicard Audrey , Atherton Helen J. , Barbarroja Nuria , Bjursell Mikael , Bohlooly-Y Mohammad , Virtue Sam , Tuthill Antoinette , Lefai Etienne , Laville Martine , Wu Tingting , Considine Robert V. , Vidal Hubert , Langin Dominique , Oresic Matej , Tinahones Francisco J. , Fernandez-Real Jose Manuel , Griffin Julian L. , Sethi Jaswinder K. , López Miguel , Vidal-Puig Antonio
Published: August 2013

The epidemic of obesity imposes unprecedented challenges on human adipose tissue (WAT) storage capacity that may benefit from adaptive mechanisms to maintain adipocyte functionality. Here, we demonstrate that changes in the regulatory feedback set point control of Insig1/SREBP1 represent an adaptive response that preserves WAT lipid homeostasis in obese and insulin-resistant states. In our experiments, we show that Insig1 mRNA expression decreases in WAT from mice with obesity-associated insulin resistance and from morbidly obese humans and in in vitro models of adipocyte insulin resistance. Insig1 downregulation is part of an adaptive response that promotes the maintenance of SREBP1 maturation and facilitates lipogenesis and availability of appropriate levels of fatty acid unsaturation, partially compensating the antilipogenic effect associated with insulin resistance. We describe for the first time the existence of this adaptive mechanism in WAT, which involves Insig1/SREBP1 and preserves the degree of lipid unsaturation under conditions of obesity-induced insulin resistance. These adaptive mechanisms contribute to maintain lipid desaturation through preferential SCD1 regulation and facilitate fat storage in WAT, despite on-going metabolic stress.
Rhein Protects Pancreatic β-Cells From Dynamin-Related Protein-1–Mediated Mitochondrial Fission and Cell Apoptosis Under Hyperglycemia
Authors: Liu Jing , Chen Zhaohong , Zhang Yujing , Zhang Mingchao , Zhu Xiaodong , Fan Yun , Shi Shaolin , Zen Ke , Liu Zhihong
Published: August 2013

Rhein, an anthraquinone compound isolated from rhubarb, has been shown to improve glucose metabolism disorders in diabetic mice. The mechanism underlying the protective effect of rhein, however, remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that rhein can protect the pancreatic β-cells against hyperglycemia-induced cell apoptosis through stabilizing mitochondrial morphology. Oral administration of rhein for 8 or 16 weeks in db/db mice significantly reduced fasting blood glucose (FBG) level and improved glucose tolerance. Cell apoptosis assay using both pancreatic sections and cultured pancreatic β-cells indicated that rhein strongly inhibited β-cell apoptosis. Morphological study showed that rhein was mainly localized at β-cell mitochondria and rhein could preserve mitochondrial ultrastructure by abolishing hyperglycemia-induced mitochondrial fission protein dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) expression. Western blot and functional analysis confirmed that rhein protected the pancreatic β-cells against hyperglycemia-induced apoptosis via suppressing mitochondrial Drp1 level. Finally, mechanistic study further suggested that decreased Drp1 level by rhein might be due to its effect on reducing cellular reactive oxygen species. Taken together, our study demonstrates for the first time that rhein can serve as a novel therapeutic agent for hyperglycemia treatment and rhein protects pancreatic β-cells from apoptosis by blocking the hyperglycemia-induced Drp1 expression.
Diabetes and End-Stage Renal Disease Synergistically Contribute to Increased Incidence of Cardiovascular Events: A Nationwide Follow-up Study During 1998–2009
Authors: Chang Yu-Tzu , Wu Jia-Ling , Hsu Chih-Cheng , Wang Jung-Der , Sung Junne-Ming
Published: August 2013

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the effect of interaction of diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on the risks of cardiovascular (CV) events.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

By using two representative national cohorts, we determined the age- and sex-specific incidences and 20-year risks of incident CV events, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI), stroke, and congestive heart failure (CHF), stratified by the presence of diabetes, de novo diabetes after ESRD, or ESRD. Individuals were excluded if age <18 years or if previous CV events or malignancies were present before enrollment. Cox proportional hazards models were also constructed with adjustments for competing risk of mortality.

RESULTS

A total 648,851 non-ESRD individuals and 71,397 ESRD patients, including 53,342 and 34,754 diabetic patients, respectively, were followed up during 1998–2009. A monotonic risk pattern of CV-related incidences was noted with the presence of diabetes, ESRD, or both, respectively, after stratification by age and sex. De novo diabetes showed similar increased risks for CV incidences, especially AMI and stroke. There is a multiplicatively synergistic effect of diabetes and ESRD for CV-related risks, especially for AMI and stroke, of which the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) were 5.24 (95% CI 4.83–5.68) and 2.43 (2.32–2.55), respectively, in comparison with people without diabetes or ESRD; de novo diabetes after ESRD had similar effects with aHRs of 4.12 (3.49–4.87) and 1.75 (1.57–1.95), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Diabetes and ESRD synergistically increase risks of CV events. Proactive screening and control for diabetes in patients with ESRD should be built into our daily practice.
The Role of Angiogenic and Antiangiogenic Factors in the Second Trimester in the Prediction of Preeclampsia in Pregnant Women With Type 1 Diabetes
Authors: Holmes Valerie A. , Young Ian S. , Patterson Christopher C. , Maresh Michael J.A. , Pearson Donald W.M. , Walker James D. , McCance David R. ,   for the Diabetes and Preeclampsia Intervention Trial (DAPIT) Study Group
Published: August 2013

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between circulating angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors in the second trimester and risk of preeclampsia in women with type 1 diabetes.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

Maternal plasma concentrations of placental growth factor (PlGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), and soluble endoglin (sEng) were available at 26 weeks of gestation in 540 women with type 1 diabetes enrolled in the Diabetes and Preeclampsia Intervention Trial.

RESULTS

Preeclampsia developed in 17% of pregnancies (n = 94). At 26 weeks of gestation, women in whom preeclampsia developed later had significantly lower PlGF (median [interquartile range]: 231 pg/mL [120–423] vs. 365 pg/mL [237–582]; P < 0.001), higher sFlt-1 (1,522 pg/mL [1,108–3,393] vs. 1,193 pg/mL [844–1,630] P < 0.001), and higher sEng (6.2 ng/mL [4.9–7.9] vs. 5.1 ng/mL[(4.3–6.2]; P < 0.001) compared with women who did not have preeclampsia. In addition, the ratio of PlGF to sEng was significantly lower (40 [17–71] vs. 71 [44–114]; P < 0.001) and the ratio of sFlt-1 to PlGF was significantly higher (6.3 [3.4–15.7] vs. 3.1 [1.8–5.8]; P < 0.001) in women who later developed preeclampsia. The addition of the ratio of PlGF to sEng or the ratio of sFlt-1 to PlGF to a logistic model containing established risk factors (area under the curve [AUC], 0.813) significantly improved the predictive value (AUC, 0.850 and 0.846, respectively; P < 0.01) and significantly improved reclassification according to the integrated discrimination improvement index (IDI) (IDI scores 0.086 and 0.065, respectively; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that angiogenic and antiangiogenic factors measured during the second trimester are predictive of preeclampsia in women with type 1 diabetes. The addition of the ratio of PlGF to sEng or the ratio of sFlt-1 to PlGF to established clinical risk factors significantly improves the prediction of preeclampsia in women with type 1 diabetes.
Neurological Effect of Lead Exposure in Children
Authors: Hassan MS , Patwary MKK , Rahman MM , Sonia SF , Kabiruzzaman M , Alim MA , Salahuddin AJM , Zahid RI , Ara F , Eusuf NM , Sultana S , Haque A
Published: August 2013

Lead poisoning is one of the burning issues in Bangladesh. This study assessed the relation of blood lead level with IQ and peripheral nerve function in environmental lead exposed primary school children in Dhaka.Blood lead level (BLL) was measured in 84 primary school children in an urban industrial area of Dhaka. IQ was measured with Wechsler Intelligence Scales- Revised for children. Electrophysiological evaluation was done in 31 children.Verbal, Performance and Full scale IQ had a negative correlation with blood lead level (p<0.001). Decrement in Verbal, Performance and Full scale IQ associated with 1 microgram per deciliter increase in blood lead level were 0.99, 0.86 and 0.95 respectively (p<0.001). None had clinical features of neuropathy. Statistical analysis also did not show any significant difference in NCS between children with normal and elevated BLL (p value >0.05).It was found that IQ of children decreased in a linear trend with increasing blood lead level. This study did not find any clinical or electrophysiological evidence of peripheral nerve dysfunction in the environmental lead exposed children. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i1.15899 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(1): 1-5
Tension Free Mesh Repair is an Effective Treatment of Inguinal Hernia: An Observational Study
Authors: Haque SS , Islam MT , Haque MN , Rahman MM , Ahmed A
Published: August 2013

Inguinal hernias are common and the results of surgical repair are often satisfactory but recurrence rate are variable. To prevent recurrences prosthetic materials have been increasingly used in hernia repair. In this study Lichtenstein technique of tension free mesh repair for inguinal hernia done in 140 cases in the period from July 2010 to June 2012 and outcome measured in terms of early and late morbidity especially recurrences. Seroma developed in 08 patients (5.6%) and haematoma and transient testicular swelling developed in 06 patients (4.2%) and 15 patients (10.6%) respectively. Only 2 patients (1.4%) developed wound infection and 01 patients (.71%) developed recurrences of hernia. Post operative neuralgia developed in 05 cases (3.5%). During follow up period no mesh rejection and discharging wound sinus related to presence of foreign body is observed in the study. So Lichtenstein tension free repair of inguinal hernia is safe and effective method where recurrence rate is reasonably low. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i1.15900 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(1): 6-8
Risk Factors Determining the Outcome of 2-12 Months Age Group Infants Hospitalized With Severe Pneumonia
Authors: Uddin KMF , Jahan N , Manan MA , Ferdousi SA , Farhana T , Akhter S , Alam R
Published: August 2013

Pneumonia is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in under fives throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. A case control study was carried out in Bangabandhu Memorial Hospital, University of Science and Technology during the period of January to July 2006. 192 hospitalized infants of 212 months age group with World Health Organization(WHO) defined severe pneumonia with radiological confirmation were enrolled in the study, while controls were normal infant of same age group attending EPI center for vaccination. The children were managed using a standard protocol, factors were examined by univariate logistic regression analyasis. The factors whose odds ratio were significantly below 25% and considered as medically important were included in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Out of 192 children, 136(70.8%) were male, 56(29.2%) were female, 2-6 months old infants were 120(62.5%), >6 -12 months infants were 72(37.5%), malnutrition were present in 155( 80.72%), 145(75.5%) lived in slum area, 66(33.7%) were treated by quack, 63% were completely immunized and 3(10.5%) died. On multivariate analysis the following risk factors were found significant i.e. malnutrition, indoor smoke resulting from burning wood and manure used as fuel, non immunization, poor economy , poor housing. Significant risk factors for mortality in severe pneumonia are associated with 3rd degree malnutrition and congenital abnormality of heart with Downs syndrome. Malnutrition, indoor smoke, non-immunization, poor economy, poor housing, and smoking in bed room are important risk factors associated significantly with severe pneumonia and fatal outcome was associated with 3rd degree malnutrition. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i1.15901 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(1): 9-13
The Outcome of Vaginal Birth After Caesarean Section (VBAC): A Descriptive Study
Authors: Rahman R , Khanam NN , Islam N , Begum KF , Pervin HH , Arifuzzaman M
Published: August 2013

The study, conducted in the tertiary care hospital of Dhaka Bangladesh, describes the outcome of vaginal birth after caesarean section (VBAC) in women with a previous caesarean. A prospective study was carried out from 1st January 2007 to 31st December, 2007 on 126 women with one prior lower segment cesarean section (LSCS) for a nonrecurrent cause. All unbooked women and those with estimated fetal weight more than 3.5 kg, breech presentation, history of postoperative wound infection after previous LSCS, anemia (Hb < 10 gm%), pregnancy induced hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, renal disease, cephalopevic disproportion abnormal presentation and placenta praevia were excluded from the study. An informed consent was taken for allowing a trial of vaginal delivery. Spontaneous onset of labor was awaited up to 41 weeks. Induction of labor was considered only in highly selected cases. Labor was constantly supervised by competent staff and meticulously monitored by cardiotocography (CTG). Out of the 126 women enrolled for the study, 26 had to leave the station leaving a total of 100 patients; 72 patients underwent elective repeat C/S, 28 patients (28%) of these underwent trial of labour, among them 15 had successful vaginal delivery (53.57) but 13 patients failed the attempt and had to undergo emergency caesarean section. To assist in the 2nd stage of labour, 6 had ventouse application. In total 85 cases needed repeat caesarean section. Among the cases there was one case of scar dehiscence (6.6%), one case of cervical tear (6.6%), two cases of manual removal of placenta (13.3%), one case of post partum hemorrhage (6.6) and one case of puerperal pyrexia (6.6).Perinatal morbidity was comparable with the elective repeat C/S group. VBAC should be considered in cases of previous one cesarean delivery for nonrecurrent indication. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i1.15902 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(1): 14-17
Socio Demographic Study of Gonorrhoea and Syphilis in Two Medical College Hospital and Two Private Chamber in Bangladesh
Authors: Farah A , Rahman MH , Rahman O , Zakir Dr
Published: August 2013

A total 300 (three hundred) Gonorrhea and Syphilis patients were studied in two Medical College Hospital (OPD) and two private Chamber to find out their Socio Demographic Characteristics. The patients were between 10 to 60 years of age and among them 250 were male and 50 were female. In this study found that the younger age group and unmarried persons are more prevalent. Regarding occupation, service holders are affected more and regarding their socioeconomic condition low and high income group population are also affected more. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i1.15903 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(1): 18-20
Lipid Profile in Hypothyroid Patients: A Cross Sectional Study
Authors: Khan MAH , Majumder Ishaque , Hoque M , Fariduddin M , Mollah FH , Arslan MI
Published: August 2013

Hypothyroidism is an important metabolic disorder and is associated with many biochemical abnormalities. Many studies were done regarding the biochemical status of hypothyroid patients including lipid profile. But controversies still prevail. So, a cross sectional study was done in our population to evaluate lipid profile status of hypothyroid patients compared to age and sex matched healthy euthyroid persons. In our study mean serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triacylglycerol levels in cases and controls were 241.56 ± 60.05 vs 146.94 ± 23.21 mg/dL, 151.96 ± 59.60 vs 71.43 ± 26.83 mg/dL and 212 ± 100.73 vs 98.87 ± 39.69 mg/dL respectively with p values < 0.001 whereas HDL cholesterol was found significantly decreased in cases compared to controls (49.59 ± 11.69 vs 55.89 ± 11.70 mg/dL with p value < 0.05). Results of our study suggest that dyslipidemias are associated with hypothyroidism. Therefore, patients presenting with dyslipidemia are recommended for investigation to explore hypothyroidism DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/medtoday.v25i1.15904 Medicine Today 2013 Vol.25(1): 21-24