bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the Effect of Fault on the Stability of Underground Workings of Coal Mine through DEM and Statistical Analysis
Authors: Das Arka Jyoti , Mandal Prabhat Kumar , Sahu Satya Prakash , Kushwaha Angad , Bhattacharjee Rana , Tewari Subhashish 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT
The rock mass around an excavation is generally traversed by different geological discontinuities such as faults, folds, slips, joints, etc. Fault is one of the major geological discontinuities which creates lot of difficulties during underground winning of coal. Entire stress regime and ground conditions in the formation are altered in and around the faults. Faults also impose detrimental effects by introducing impurities, including clay and various forms of mineral matter into the coal seams; opening of pathways for the influx of water and gas into the underground workings; displacing the coal seams upward/downwards making the coal seams difficult or sometimes impractical to mine. Appropriate evaluation of the effect of the fault on the stability of the underground workings is a requisite for safe design of the underground mining structures. In this paper, a study has been carried out to assess the effect of the fault on the stability of underground coal mines by numerical simulation with distinct element method (DEM). On the calibrated DEM model, parametric study has been performed by varying the selected parameters, the dip and the friction angles of the fault. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) shows that both the factors have statistically significant effect on the strength of the coal pillar. Similarly, the displacement of the immediate roof and the height of the disturbed strata are evaluated by the DEM modelling and statistical analysis when the fault passes through the middle of the gallery. The results of ANOVA for both cases indicate that the both factors have significant effect on the displacement of the immediate roof and the height of the disturbed strata. It is obtained from the study that the low angle fault causes high instability in the immediate roof. The paper has been supplemented with the field observations where instability in underground roadways of a coal mine in India is caused by the fault. It was observed in VK-7 incline mine of Singareni Collieries Company Limited, India that there was sudden failure of immediate roof of a roadway where a low angle fault crosses the middle of the roadway. The findings of the paper help to understand the behaviour of the coal pillar and the surrounding rock mass in the presence of the fault. The study would also help to take appropriate decisions about the unstable regions of the working safeguarding safety in underground coal mines.
Assessment of Groundwater Quality of the Central Gangetic Plain Area of India Using Geospatial and WQI Techniques
Authors: Verma Dharmendra Kumar , Bhunia Gouri Sankar , Shit Pravat Kumar , Tiwari Ashwani Kumar 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT
Suitability of water quality for the drinking and irrigation purposes is indispensable for the endurance of life and sustainability of the ecosystem. The present study is aimed to evaluate the groundwater quality for suitability of drinking and irrigation purposes in the central Gangetic plain area (Bhagarpur district, Bihar), India using the geo-spatial and waterqaulity index (WQI) techniques. Groundwater samples were collected randomly from 45 locations in the pre-monsoon (April -May) and post-monsoon (October-November) season respectively during the period between 2015 and 2016. The different major water quality parameters such as pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total hardness, Calcium (Ca++), Magnesium (Mg++), Sodium(Na+), Potassium (K+), Chloride (Cl−), Carbonate (CO3−), Bicarbonate (HCO3−), and Fluoride (F−) were analyzed using standards methods. Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC) were estimated for suitability of irrigation uses. Pearson’s correlation coefficient was calculated to measure the degree of relation between groundwater variables. The spatial variation maps of these groundwater quality parameters were generated through Inverse distance weightage (IDW) interpolation technique in Arc-GIS software. The pH value of 4.4% of the groundwater samples was found exceeding the acceptable limit established by the WHO (2011)/BIS (2012). Cl− values ranges between 3.24 to 28.74 mg/l−1 in the pre-monsoon season and from 2.50 to 64.98 mg/l−1 in post-monsoon season. Magnesium are cross the limits (&lt;50 mg/l−1) of WHO/BIS in both the pre- and post-monsoon seasons. The F− concentration is higher in both the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season. The water quality index (WQI) indicates 4.44% of the pre-monsoon samples are good for drinking purposes, whereas the value increases to 31.11% during the post-monsoon in the study area. The higher value of RSC was portrayed in the entire Naugachhia block and the eastern part of the Goradih block for both the season. The higher concentration of sodicity problem is portrayed in the entire Goradih block, north-east of Gopalpur block, and south-west of Naugachhia block for both the pre-monsoon and post-monsoon season. These results will be help planners, decision makers, local peoples, and Government to take necessary measures.
Geochemical Characterization and Controlling Factors of Chemical Composition of Spring Water in a Part of Eastern Himalaya
Authors: Vishwakarma Chandrashekhar Azad , Sen Ratan , Singh Neha , Singh Priyadarshini , Rena Vikas , Rina Kumari , Mukherjee Saumitra 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT
This paper focuses on the suitability of spring water for drinking and irrigation purposes in a part of eastern Himalaya, south Sikkim. There are many anthropogenic and geogenic factors contributing as a source of major cations and anions in the spring water. The spring water chemistry show a variation in EC, pH, TDS, Temperature, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Fe2+, Pb, Mn, Cu, HCO3−, Cl−, PO43−, NO3−, F− and SO42−. Mainly two types of water quality indexing has been used, one for suitability of spring water for drinking purposes and the other for irrigation purposes. For drinking purposes, Piper diagram used for determination of water type, water quality index (WQI) for quality monitoring and saturation index for mineral dissolution in water. % Na, RSC (Residual Sodium Carbon) and SAR (sodium absorption ratio) have been used for irrigation suitability. Piper diagram shows that CaHCO3 type of water was dominant in the study area. The WQI depicted excellent category and SAR, percent sodium and RSC (Residual Sodium Carbon) depict excellent, good and permissible category for irrigation purposes. Principle component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the major influencing factor responsible for the variability in the parameters analysed of spring water.
Development of Oil and Gas Resources of Russia’s Arctic zone
Authors: Barbakov Oleg M. , Belonozhko Marina L. , Silin Anatoly N. , Gyurdzhinyan Alexander S. 
Published: December 2018

ABSTRACT
The article dwells on the problems associated with the development of oil and gas Arctic region of Russia. It also suggests possibilities of their solution based on sociological studies conducted by the authors of representative samples in 2005, 2010 and 2015. Stressing the role and significance of sociological research in the general problem of the circumpolar regions by scientific study, the authors show the need for a sociological diagnosis in the context of different social groups. By doing so, characteristics of social problems inherent to the arctic region and requirements for scientific support of possible technologies is identified.
Changes in Sexual Function and Positions in Women with Severe Obesity After Bariatric Surgery
Authors: Oliveira Claudia Fernandes de Almeida , dos Santos Paulo Oliveira , de Oliveira Reinaldo Ataide , Leite-Filho Hosannah , de Almeida Oliveira Alice Fernandes , Bagano Gabriela Oliveira , Lima Junior Erivan Barbosa , Miranda Eduardo P. , de Bessa Junior Jose , Barroso Ubirajara 
Published: December 2018

Abstract

Introduction
Severe obesity is most effectively treated with bariatric surgery. The resulting weight loss is expected to improve a variety of obesity-related conditions, including sexual dysfunction.

Aim
To analyze changes in the sexual function of women with obesity following bariatric surgery.

Methods
A prospective study was conducted between April 2015 and April 2016 involving 62 women with obesity who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) was used to evaluate sexual function. Sexual dysfunction was defined as an FSFI score below 26.55. Patients’ clinical and demographic data were recorded. Sexual frequency of 12 different sexual positions was also evaluated.

Main Outcome Measure
Sexual dysfunction prevalence and the frequency of sexual positions before and 6 months after surgery.

Results
The prevalence of sexual dysfunction decreased from 62% before surgery to 19% 6 months after the procedure. There was a 19.2% improvement in the mean overall FSFI score (P &lt; .01). 6 months after surgery, the mean overall FSFI score had improved in all patients, with a statistically significant change being found in all 6 domains of the questionnaire (P &lt; .05). There was an increase in the frequency of 3 of 12 sexual positions evaluated.

Conclusion
Sexual function in women with obesity effectively improves after bariatric surgery. Favorable changes following weight loss included a significant reduction in the prevalence of sexual dysfunction and an increase in the frequency of different sexual positions during intercourse.
Potential Association of Weight-Based Gentamicin with Increased Acute Kidney Injury in Urologic Prosthetic Surgery
Authors: Moore R. H. , Anele U. A. , Krzastek S. C. , Klausner A. P. , Roseman J. T. 
Published: December 2018

Abstract

Background
Despite the known nephrotoxicity of gentamicin, in 2008 the American Urological Association recommended a weight-based gentamicin dose of 5 mg/kg for antimicrobial prophylaxis during urologic prosthetic surgery.

Aim
To identify and characterize rates of acute kidney injury (AKI) in urologic prosthetic surgery, both before and after the implementation of weight-based gentamicin dosing.

Methods
We performed a single-institution retrospective study of patients receiving perioperative gentamicin during implant, revision, salvage, or explant of inflatable penile prostheses, malleable penile prostheses, or artificial urinary sphincters between the years 2000 and 2017. Patients were stratified into 2 groups, based on administration of either weight-based gentamicin (5 mg/kg or 2–3 mg/kg in cases of poor renal function) or standard-dose gentamicin (80 mg). Patient characteristics and perioperative outcomes were identified. Patients with available preoperative and postoperative (≤7 days) serum creatinine values were included. AKI was defined by Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes criteria. Comparative analyses were performed between groups.

Main Outcome Measure
Our primary outcome was incidence of AKI, with secondary outcomes including device infection rate and length of stay.

Results
Of the 415 urologic prosthetic surgeries performed during the study period, 124 met inclusion criteria with paired preoperative and postoperative serum creatinine values. 57 received weight-based gentamicin (median dose 5.06 mg/kg, interquartile range [IQR] 3.96–5.94) and 67 received standard-dose gentamicin (median dose 1.07 mg/kg, IQR 1.04–1.06), P &lt; .001. There were no significant differences in preoperative renal function or comorbidities between groups; however, the weight-based group was older (median age 64.0 years, IQR 60.0–68.5) compared with the standard-dose group (median age 61.0 years, IQR 55.0–66.0), P = .01, and comprised fewer explant cases (1.8%, 1 of 57) than the standard-dose group (13.4%, 9 of 67), P = .02. The AKI rate was significantly higher in the weight-based group (15.8%, 9 of 57) compared with the standard-dose group (3.0%, 2 o67), P = .02. Device infection rate was similar between groups (5.3%, 3/56 vs 5.2%, 3 of 58), P = 1.00.

Clinical Implications
Our data suggest weight-based perioperative gentamicin prophylaxis may be associated with an increased AKI risk, without noticeably improving infection rates.

Strength & Limitations
Strengths of our study include the Veterans Affairs population analyzed, as well as rigorous inclusion criteria that allowed for a sensitive assessment of postoperative renal function. Limitations include the retrospective design and small sample size.

Conclusion
Weight-based gentamicin dosing may warrant closer perioperative monitoring of renal function, and merits larger investigations to further elucidate risks and benefits.
Delayed Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy Ameliorates Impaired Penile Hemodynamics in Rats Subjected to Pelvic Neurovascular Injury
Authors: Wang H. S. , Ruan Y. , Banie L. , Cui K. , Kang N. , Peng D. , Liu T. , Wang T. , Wang B. , Wang G. , Shindel A. W. , Lin G. , Lue T. F. 
Published: December 2018

Abstract

Background
Erectile dysfunction (ED) caused by pelvic neurovascular injury (PNVI) is often refractory to treatment. In many cases, erectogenic therapy is administered in a delayed fashion.

Aim
To evaluate penile hemodynamic effects and histologic changes associated with delayed low-intensity extracorporeal shock wave therapy (Li-ESWT) after PNVI ED in a rat model. We visualized images using immunofluorescence and 3-dimensional imaging of solvent-cleared organs (3DISCO), a novel imaging technique.

Methods
A total of 32 Sprague-Dawley male rats aged 12 weeks were divided equally into 4 groups: sham surgery as normal controls (NC), PNVI controls (PC), PNVI with very-low-energy Li-ESWT (PVL), and PNVI with low-energy Li-ESWT (PL). Bilateral cavernous nerve crush and internal pudendal bundle ligation were performed in the 3 PNVI groups. Li-ESWT was administered twice a week for 4 weeks in the PL and PVL groups starting at 4 weeks after PNVI.

Outcomes
Intracavernous pressure (ICP) studies (normalized to mean arterial pressure [MAP]) were conducted in all subject animals. After testing, tissue was harvested for immunofluorescence staining and 3DISCO analysis.

Results
Mean ICP/MAP was lower in PC animals compared with NC animals (0.37 ± 0.03 vs 0.91 ± 0.03, respectively; P = .001). The ICP/MAP ratio was significantly higher in PVL and PL animals (0.66 ± 0.07 and 0.82 ± 0.05, respectively) compared with PC animals (P = .002 and .001, respectively). Detailed microstructures and trajectories of nerves and vessels were identified with immunofluorescence and 3DISCO. The PC group had lower density of nerves, axons, neuronal nitric oxide synthase–positive nerves, and Schwann cells in the dorsal penis. Animals in the PL group had significantly higher expression of all of these markers compared with PC animals.

Clinical Implications
Li-EWST may have utility in the management of severe ED related to PNVI from severe pelvic injury or radical pelvic surgeries, even when administered in a delayed fashion.

Strength & Limitations
This study of a severe ED phenotype involved treatment administered in a delayed fashion, which is more consistent with how therapy likely would be delivered in a real-world clinical context. Moreover, because the treatment commenced at 4 weeks after injury, when nerve and tissue atrophy have already occurred, the results imply that Li-ESWT can be used for regenerative therapy. Additional studies on dose optimization and treatment interval are needed to inform the design of human clinical trials.

Conclusion
Li-ESWT ameliorates the negative functional and histologic effects of severe pelvic neurovascular injury in a rat model system. 3DISCO provides high-resolution images of neuroanatomy and neural regeneration.
Opioid use and the presence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias among elderly Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with chronic pain conditions
Authors: Shen Chan , Zhao Xiaohui , Dwibedi Nilanjana , Wiener R. Constance , Findley Patricia A. , Sambamoorthi Usha 
Published: December 2018

AbstractIntroductionThere is scant literature on the use of opioids among community‐dwelling elderly with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD).MethodsWe adopted a retrospective, cross‐sectional study design using Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data from 2006 to 2013. The study sample included elderly community‐dwelling Medicare beneficiaries who were diagnosed with chronic pain conditions and had Medicare fee‐for‐service plans for the entire year. We conducted bivariate χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression to examine the relationship between opioid use and ADRD status.ResultsThe study sample included 19,347 Medicare beneficiaries; 7.7% of them had ADRD. We found no statistically significant difference in opioid use by ADRD status in the unadjusted analysis; however, controlling for various factors, those with ADRD had lower odds of opioid use (adjusted odds ratio = 0.81, 95% confidence interval = 0.71, 0.93) than those without ADRD.DiscussionThis population‐based study suggests that elderly Medicare beneficiaries with ADRD and chronic pain conditions may have undertreatment of pain.
How Not to Do Things with International Law
Authors: Peters Anne 
Published: December 2018

AbstractIn his recent book, Ian Hurd argues that international law is pervasive and foundational in international affairs and that the international rule of law is hegemonic over states. While the book is provocative and compelling, it fails to convince on two core points. First, Hurd does not offer a real alternative to international relations realism. Indeed, the book could unwittingly reinforce the realist stance that international law is simply power politics in disguise. Second, the book offers a problematic conception of international rule of law. What Hurd describes is at best a rule by law, or perhaps more appropriately qualified as a travesty of the rule of law.
Tolerance of lamb and mouse oocytes to cryoprotectants during vitrification
Authors: Sudiman Jaqueline , Lee Alice , Ong Kheng Ling , Yuan Wu Zi , Jansen Sarah , Temple-Smith Peter , Pangestu Mulyoto , Catt Sally 
Published: December 2018

SummaryMouse and lamb oocytes were vitrified with, or exposed to, different cryoprotectants and evaluated for their effects on their survival and developmental competence afterin vitrofertilization (IVF) and activation treatments. Control oocytes remained untreated, whilst the remainder were exposed to three different combinations of vitrification solutions [dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) + ethylene glycol (EG), EG only, or propanediol (PROH) + EG] and either vitrified or left unfrozen (exposed groups). Oocytes in the control and vitrified groups underwent IVF and developmental competence was assessed to the blastocyst stage. In lambs, survival rate in vitrified oocytes was significantly lower than for oocytes in the exposed groups (P<0.05). Blastocyst development was low in vitrified oocytes compared with controls (<6% vs 38.9%,P<0.01). Parthenogenetic activation was more prevalent in vitrified lamb oocytes compared with controls (P<0.05). No evidence of zona pellucida hardening or cortical granule exocytosis could account for reduced fertilization rates in vitrified lamb oocytes. Mouse oocytes demonstrated a completely different response to lamb oocytes, with survival and parthenogenetic activation rates unaffected by the vitrification process. Treatment of mouse oocytes with DMSO + EG yielded significantly higher survival and cleavage rates than treatment with PROH + EG (87.8% and 51.7% vs 32.7% and 16.7% respectively,P<0.01), however cleavage rate for vitrified oocytes remained lower than for the controls (51.7% vs 91.7%,P<0.01) as did mean blastocyst cell number (33 ± 3.1 vs 42 ± 1.5,P<0.05). From this study, it is clear that lamb and mouse show different tolerances to cryoprotectants commonly used in vitrification procedures, and careful selection and testing of species-compatible cryoprotectants is required when vitrifying oocytes to optimize survival and embryo development.
The Weak Protagonism of Nations
Authors: Saint-Amour Paul K. 
Published: December 2018

I want to begin my remarks by steaming, as a philatelist would a coveted stamp, a single word off the envelope of Catherine Gallagher's Telling It Like It Wasn't. The word occurs in the introduction, where Gallagher is establishing the boundaries of her subject by offering a sample counterfactual-historical premise: “If John F. Kennedy had not been assassinated in 1963 and had lived to be a two-term president, the war in Vietnam would have been over by 1968.” The Kennedy premise, Gallagher goes on to say, “is not attempting to call the assassination into question or to imply that we should look into it more deeply; it is simply asserting that but for the assassination, history would likely have taken a different path. Insisting on this definition of ‘historical counterfactual’ at the outset should not only clarify the topic but also emphasize that the works under discussion are hinged onto the actual historical record, usually at a juncture that is widely recognized to have been both crucial and underdetermined.”
Airborne Observations of Summer Thinning of Multiyear Sea Ice Originating From the Lincoln Sea
Authors: Lange Benjamin A. , Beckers Justin F. , Casey J. Alec , Haas Christian 
Published: December 2018

AbstractTo better understand recent changes of Arctic sea ice thickness and extent, it is important to distinguish between the contributions of winter growth and summer melt to the sea ice mass balance. In this study we present a Lagrangian approach to quantify summer sea ice melt in which multiyear ice (MYI) floes that were surveyed by airborne electromagnetic thickness sounding within Nares Strait during summer were backtracked, using satellite imagery, to a region in close proximity (3–20 km) to spring ice thickness surveys carried out in the Lincoln Sea. Typical modal total MYI thicknesses, including ~0.4‐m snow, ranged between 3.9 and 4.7 m in the Lincoln Sea during April. Ice‐only modal thicknesses were between 2.2 and 3.0 m in Nares Strait during August. Total thinning including snow and ice was 1.3 ± 0.1 m including 0.4 ± 0.09 m of snow melt and 0.9 ± 0.2 m of ice melt. This translates to a seasonal net heat input of 305 ± 69 MJ/m2 (262 ± 60 MJ/m2 for ice only) and seasonal net heat flux of 57 ± 13 W/m2 (45 ± 10 W/m2 for ice only), which is unlikely to be explained by solar radiation fluxes alone. Furthermore, our approach provides an improvement on traditional ice mass balance buoy estimates because it integrates melt over larger spatial scales, where melt can be highly variable due to differential melt experienced between melt ponds, bare ice, hummocks, and ridges.