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Water Supply Systems (WSS) can very well be dubbed as the backbone of every major human settlement for thousands of years at this point as every major human settlement throughout history has, regardless of time period or rural/urban erection or evolution has had its emplacement close to if not dead center over a significant water source that can provide this valuable and desperately needed resource to the populace. Of course, with the passage of time and the ever increasing number of the population and their life style, new techniques and technologies were incorporated within the grand design of the water supply pipeline, mainly automation and operation reliability boosts by means of electricity. It is a given that electrical current is not cheap to produce and maintain, although it is a field of ongoing study and research when it comes to optimizing the energy consumption of any system that runs on this costly resource, both for making the overall operation of the entire system more reliable but also more economical, all the while taking inspiration of multiple specialty works published within this field and, of course, already established local and European Union standards within Romania. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Statistics confirm that in the EU, buildings consume approx. 40% of final energy, which accounts for 36% of total European greenhouse gas production after energy consumption. Energy efficiency measures are urgently needed to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Decreasing fossil fuel consumption would have a major impact on declining energy demand per unit of gross domestic product. In 2014, European leaders adopted the ambitious Climate and Energy Framework 2030, in which the three key targets were raised: a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, a 27% reduction in RES and a 27% increase in energy efficiency. Then, in November 2016, the European Commission (EC) proposed the Clean Energy for All Europeans package, designed to support and accelerates the transition to a carbon-free energy system. This paper comprises a case study of the current situation of these matters in Romania and focuses on steps and methodology of what actions are reliable and available to be put into practice on this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classes of semicommutative, PS I, 2-primal, weakly-2-primal, NI, NR and Dedekind-finite rings form a strictly increasing chain of classes of rings. Examples have been provided by several authors to show most of the inclusions are strict. In this paper it is shown that every inclusion is strict. Furthermore, in most instances examples with the additional properties of being reflexive and/or abelian are constructed. In particular, an abelian nonreflexive NI non-weakly-2-primal ring is given, which shows that the classes of NI and weakly-2-primal rings differ; a fact that has been previously claimed without proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the working principle of line follower robots. This study starts from the description of the components used in robots of this type to the explanation of the functions used to program robots in the C ++ programming language and the use of multiple cases and exceptions in the programming of robots of this type, because they can be used in different ways and domains and for these, the multiple working characteristics must be determined from the beginning. The study establishes the way these robots work, for a future project to create a family of disinfection robots with UV-C neons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different parameters, which are obtained using classical sensors, are nowadays used to determine the technical state of turbojet engines. In order to expand and to improve this evaluation a novel idea in this area is presented that variations in the near magnetic field of an operational turbojet engine can contain valuable information about its state. Data analysis in different operational states of a small running turbojet engine is presented describing dynamical changes in magnetic induction in the near magnetic field in laboratory conditions. In order to detect the operational state of the engine using magnetic induction derivatives an infinite impulse response filter of the fourth order was designed with cut-off frequency of 2 Hz and expanded by a derivative element. The expanded filter was used to create a linear predictive model, which can be used to compute the rotational speed and exhaust gas temperature of a small turbojet engine using derivatives in magnetic induction in its near magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For managing overactive bladder (OAB), mirabegron, a β3 adrenergic receptor agonist, is typically used as second-line pharmacotherapy after antimuscarinics. Therefore, patients initiating treatment with mirabegron and antimuscarinics may differ, potentially impacting associated clinical outcomes. When using observational data to evaluate real-world safety and effectiveness of OAB treatments, residual bias due to unmeasured confounding and/or confounding by indication are important considerations. Falsification analysis, in which clinically irrelevant endpoints are tested as a reference, can be used to assess residual bias. The objective in this study was to compare baseline cardiovascular risk among OAB patients by treatment, and assess the presence of residual bias via falsification analysis of OAB patients treated with mirabegron or antimuscarinics, to determine whether clinically relevant comparisons across groups would be feasible. Linked electronic health record and claims data (Optum/Humedica) for OAB patients in the United States from 2011–2015 were available, with index defined as first date of OAB treatment during this period. Unadjusted characteristics were compared across groups at index and propensity-matching conducted. Falsification endpoints (hepatitis C, shingles, community-acquired pneumonia) were compared between groups using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The study identified 10,311 antimuscarinic- and 408 mirabegron-treated patients. Mirabegron patients were predominantly older males, with more comorbidities. The analytic sample included 1,188 antimuscarinic patients propensity-matched to 396 mirabegron patients; after matching, no significant baseline differences remained. Estimates of falsification ORs were 0.7 (CI:0.3–1.7) for shingles, 1.5 (CI:0.3–8.2) for hepatitis C, 0.8 (CI:0.4–1.8) and 0.9 (CI:0.6–1.4) for pneumonia. While propensity matching successfully balanced observed covariates, wide CIs prevented definitive conclusions regarding residual bias. Accordingly, further observational comparisons by treatment group were not pursued. In real-world analysis, bias-detection methods could not confirm that differences in cardiovascular risk in patients receiving mirabegron versus antimuscarinics were fully adjusted for, precluding clinically relevant comparisons across treatment groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the new simplified relax-type magnetometer design, which uses the measurement of the transient effects during time intervals of the sensor after the periodical saturation of the magnetic core in the sensor. The proposed design uses the unipolar power supply for the whole measurement chain and simplified electronics compared to the previous design, from which it was derived. The excitation control, measurement of time intervals, and primary signal processing is carried out by the small FPGA connected to the microcontroller. The initial testing results show that although the presented design is cheap and simple, the achievable sensitivity is better than 5 nT/LSB and the noise is less than 800 pT/✓p Hz at 10 Hz in the measurement range ±80 μT, whereas the sampling frequency is 1000 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is focused on the development of a methodology for the magnetic microwire finite element model creation, which have a bright prospect in terms of monitoring the mechanical stress inside the composite materials. The finite element model is based on a real geometry of a particular magnetic microwire. The glass coating of the magnetic microwire was mechanically removed and the information about the geometry was obtained by the microscope. Based on the photos the 3D model was created and the mesh of the magnetic microwire and the finite element model with boundary conditions were developed. The most important part of the article deals with the modelling of the magnetic microwire contact surfaces and the development of their finite element mesh. Once the finite element model is done, all properties for the static stress analysis are applied. In this context, the static stress analysis is performed and the results from the ANSYS APDL are presented. The article summarizes the new approach in investigation of magnetic microwire mechanical properties. The proposed finite element model can be also used for further investigation of magnetic microwires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of Mosaic pathogenic HRAS variant in an infant girl suffering from nevus spilus with agminated Spitz nevi and rhabdomyosarcoma. A biopsy verified diagnosis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma while positron emission tomography found one large abdominal/pelvic mass. One of the Spitz nevi was reviewed in histological way.

While those with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NV-AMD) may be at increased risk of injurious falls risk due to poor central vision and suboptimal responses when falling, preserved peripheral vision and decreased activity levels may actually be protective. Compared with control participants, patients with NV-AMD had a significantly greater number of falls and almost twice the risk of injurious falls. Impaired vision, particularly peripheral visual function, is a key risk factor for injurious falls. NV-AMD is a leading cause of severely impaired vision among older adults but is associated with a profound central, rather than peripheral, deficit. The objective was to determine whether older women with NV-AMD are at an increased risk of falls or injurious falls. We conducted a 12-month prospective cohort study of community-dwelling older (≥70 years) women, enrolling 114 with NV-AMD and 132 without from a retinal clinic in Vancouver, Canada. Fall incidence was determined through monthly telephone follow-up, with fall severity classified by a blinded reviewer. We compared mean injurious falls per person-year between groups using negative binomial regression. A mean of 0.37 injurious falls per person-year were experienced among NV-AMD participants, compared to 0.16 injurious falls per person-year among non-NV-AMD participants ( p = 0.006). The age-adjusted incidence rate ratio for injurious falls, for an individual with NV-AMD compared to without, was 1.77 (1.07–3.02). Older women with NV-AMD are at almost twice the risk of injurious falls compared to those without. Clinicians caring for older adults should recognise NV-AMD as an important risk factor for injurious falls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim To determine if reduced light-dose photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with bevacizumab will decrease the number of bevacizumab treatments required over 6 months compared with bevacizumab monotherapy in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods Thirty-six patients with neovascular AMD were recruited for this randomised, double-masked, controlled clinical trial. Patients received intravitreal bevacizumab plus PDT using a light dose of either 25 J/cm2 (group 1) or 12 J/cm2 (group 2), or intravitreal bevacizumab plus sham PDT (group 3). Patients returned monthly for possible retreatment with bevacizumab or combination therapy (with a 3-month minimum interval between combination treatments); retreatment decisions were primarily based on optical coherence tomography. The main outcome measure was the mean number of bevacizumab treatments required over 6 months. Results Patients required a mean of 2.8 bevacizumab treatments in group 1 and 2.5 in group 2, compared with 5.1 in group 3 (p = 0.005 and p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions Combination bevacizumab and 25 J/cm2 or 12 J/cm2 PDT significantly reduced the number of bevacizumab treatments required over 6 months. This study was powered to examine number of treatments, but not visual acuities. Nevertheless, visual acuities responded favourably in all three groups. Further studies will be helpful to explore visual outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeTo determine if patients with occult with no classic and predominantly classic (PC) choroidal neovascular membranes have clinically equivalent visual outcomes after treatment with photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin.MethodsThis is a retrospective, observational cohort study. Two hundred and seventy-seven consecutive patients with occult or PC choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration treated with PDT were included. The main outcome was the difference in mean change in Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) acuity lost from baseline in occult vsPC lesions, with the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) set at 7.5 letters.ResultsAt baseline, 131 patients had occult and 146 had PC choroidal neovascularization. Twelve-month follow-up data were available for 94 occult and 110 PC participants. Occult patients lost an average of 8.7 letters (1.9 lines), and patients in the PC group an average of 10.0 ETDRS letters (two lines) over 12 months. The mean letters lost at 12 months was not significantly different between the groups, and the MCID was not detected (difference=1.3 letters; P=0.411; 95% confidence interval (−2.3, 5.6)). Patients with occult lesions required a mean of 2.99 treatments vsa mean of 2.96 treatments in the PC group (out of a possible 4; P=0.172).ConclusionWe were not able to detect a clinically important difference in mean change in visual acuity with PDT treatment between patients with occult and PC lesions.Eye (2008) 22, 194–199; doi:10.1038/sj.eye.6702547; published online 1 September 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the prevalence rate of and risk factors for depression in Croatian Type 2 diabetic patients. Depressive mood was examined in 384 randomly selected outpatients with Type 2 diabetes. Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID) were used to identify depressive disturbances. The groups with CES-D ≥ 16 and < 16 were compared with respect to demographic, psychological and clinical characteristics. Regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for depression. Of the examined patients, 22% had CES-D scores ≥ 16, and in 33% of them clinical depression was confirmed by the psychiatric interview. Depressed patients compared with the non-depressed ones reported more diabetes-related problems and poorer well-being ( t = 6.71, P < 0.001 and t = 11.98, P < 0.001, respectively). Multiple regression analysis indicated female gender, experienced support and the level of emotional well-being to predict depression ( R = 0.74, F = 15.3, P < 0.001). The obtained data indicate that the prevalence rate in Croatian Type 2 diabetic patients is comparable to findings from other cultural settings. Depressive symptoms can be predicted by psychological rather than disease-related variables. Psychological care for diabetic patients may be necessary to prevent depressive symptomatology. Diabet. Med. 22, 942–945 (2005) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1The Graduate Hospital, 2UPHS/Presbyterian Medical Center, and 3Philadelphia Fight, Philadelphia, PA, 4Central Texas Medical Foundation, Austin, TX, 5Christiana Care, Wilmington Hospital, Wilmington, DE, 6Central Florida Research Initiative, Altamonte Springs, FL, and 7The Immune Response Corporation, Carlsbad, CA, USA Objective We examined the activity of an HIV-1 immunogen (Remune) on viral load, CD4 cells and HIV-1 specific immunity. Methods Plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were obtained in a predefined random subset of subjects (n = 252) from a multicentre, double-blind, adjuvant-controlled phase III clinical endpoint study. Results The subjects treated with the HIV-1 immunogen had a significantly greater decline in viral load at multiple time points (P < 0.05), a trend towards increased CD4+ T cell counts and significantly enhanced HIV-1 specific immune responses as measured by HIV-1 lymphocyte proliferation (P < 0.001) compared to the adjuvant control group. Furthermore, in the HIV-1 immunogen treated group, enhanced HIV-1 specific lymphocyte proliferative immune responses were associated with decreased HIV-1 plasma RNA. Conclusion These results suggest that, in a predefined, random subset of subjects, a beneficial effect of the HIV-1 immunogen was observed on viral load, CD4+ T cells, and HIV-specific immunity. These differences were observed in a background of multiple drug therapies. Ongoing trials are evaluating the effect of the combination of this HIV-1 specific, immune-based therapy with potent antiviral drug therapy on virological outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate whether a delay between a preliminary exploratory laparotomy and a definitive staging laparotomy and interval chemotherapy between the two operations affected the prognosis of ovarian cancer.Methods: Of 504 patients with malignant tumors of the ovary who were treated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between 1980 and 1993, there were 24 who had a delayed definitive staging laparotomy.Results: Sixteen patients did not have chemotherapy between their two operations. After definitive laparotomy, 13 patients (54.2%) were free of disease and 11 patients had residual disease (45.8%).Conclusions: The value of chemotherapy between preliminary and definitive laparotomy in halting tumor growth was not demonstrated by the results of our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review is focused on recent investigations demonstrating a pharmacological and patho­ physiologic role in gastroduodenal ulceration for growth factors such as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platetet­derived growth factor (PDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFL) as well as for transcription factors. Our experiments revealed accelerated healing, without decreased gastric acid secretion, of chronic cysteamine­induced duodenal ulcers in rats treated daily for 3weeks with intragastric administration of bFGF. PDGF or VEGF. Our recent studies also indicate a pathophysiologlcal role of endogenous growth factors in the natural history of experimental duodenal ulcer development and healing. More recently, we investigated the genetic regulation of these growth factors in experimental duodenal ulceration. Since gene expression is most effectively controlled by transcription factors, proteins that bind to cis­acting elements of DNA and guide the binding of polymerase II to start the transcription of specific mRNA, we tested the hypothesis that the expression of IEGs and their transcription factor products, such as Egr­I and Spl, might precede the Increased synthesis of BFGF, PDGF and VEGF in duodenal ulcer healing. Indeed, the duodenal ulcerogen cysteamine, but not its nonulcerogen and toxic analogue ethanolamine, rapidly increased duodenal (but not gastric) murosal levels of ET­1, which was followed by enhanced expression of Egr­I and a decrease in Sp1 in the preulcerogenic stage of duodenal ulceration. These changes in levels of ET­1 and expression of transcription factors were also accompanied by Increased expression of the CDK inhibitor p21. Thus, not only growth factors such as bFGF, PDGF and VEGF, but also transcription factors such as Egr­1 and Spl and the cell cycle regulator p21, may play a role in the natural history of experimental duodenal ulceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bulk density of compressible materials depends on the compressive load to which they are subjected. This results in bulk density variation within piles of such materials. However, it is difficult to measure bulk density in situ without disturbing the sample or changing the load on it. A laboratory method was developed to simulate the variation of density with depth of material. The method was used with compost, wood shavings, straw and peat and simulated material depths of up to 3.5 meters. The variation of bulk density with depth was shown to follow a power function relationship where the exponent provided an indication of the compressibility of a material. Effective density is proposed as a useful single descriptor of bulk density. Both effective density and material compressibility were shown to be influenced by the size of container used to obtain measurements. A medium sized container (400-mm diameter and 380-mm fill height) provided a good compromise between accuracy and practicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review focuses on the recent investigations demonstrating a pharmacological and pathophysiological role for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ulcerative and inflammatory lesions in the upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Our initial experiments revealed that intragastric administration of bFGF-w, acid-resistant bFGF-CS23 and PDGF-BB healed chronic cysteamine (mercaptamine)-induced duodenal ulcer in rats, without decreasing gastric acid secretion or concentration. Subsequently we and others have demonstrated that these peptides accelerate the healing of chronic gastric ulcers, chronic erosive gastritis and ulcerative colitis although they have no or modest acute gastric protective activity. Our recent results revealed a decreased bioactivity of bFGF and PDGF in the presence of certain strains of Helicobacter pylori, and this might explain, at least in part, the poor rates of ulcer healing in H. pylori-positive patients. VEGF, in addition to stimulating angiogenesis and granulation tissue production in duodenal ulcer healing, also has an acute gastroprotective effect. New biochemical, molecular biological and immunohistochemical studies indicate that bFGF, PDGF and VEGF play a pathophysiological role in the natural history of ulcer healing. Thus, growth factor research, especially regarding their possible use as a therapeutic tool in duodenal ulcer and colitis, is challenging. On the other hand, in some GI malignancies the diagnostic use of bFGF might be of clinical benefit. However, much research work is needed to transform these ‘endogenous drugs’ to ‘diagnostic tools’ and ‘exogenous drugs’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate and compare quality-of-life (QOL) parameters between patients with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus who changed therapy from an oral hypoglycaemic agent (OHA) to insulin and those who remained on an OHA.Design: The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL) was used to assess quality of life among 2 groups of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at baseline and after a 2-month follow-up period.Setting: The study was conducted in the outpatient department of the Vuk Vrhovac Clinic, a referral centre for registration, treatment and follow-up of patients with diabetes mellitus in Zagreb, Croatia.Participants and Interventions: 32 consecutively recruited patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were switched from an OHA to insulin therapy (group 1) were compared with 28 patients who remained on OHA (group 2) with respect to QOL issues. The patient groups were comparable in terms of gender, age, duration of disease, education and family status. However, patients in group 1 had glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) values greater than 9.5% on average during a period of approximately 6 months, which was the criterion used for switching to insulin therapy.Main Outcome Measures and Results: At baseline, various QOL ratings were higher among patients in group 2 than group 1, indicating better quality of life with respect to overall quality of life (t = -2.31, p = 0.03), physical health (t = -2.36, p = 0.02), psychological state (t = -2.01, p = 0.05) and level of independence (t = -2.75, p = 0.001), while no differences were found between groups with respect to the social domain, personal beliefs and environmental QOL aspects. After the follow-up period, the groups were comparable in all QOL aspects other than overall quality of life (t = -2.18, p = 0.03) and level of independence (t = -3.49, p = 0.001), both of which remained higher for patients in group 2. No changes in QOL parameters were detected within group 2 from baseline to the end of the 2-month follow-up period, whereas patients in group 1 showed significant improvement in psychological QOL determinants (t = -2.14, p = 0.04).Conclusion: Results of the study indicate that introducing insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and sustained elevated HbA1c levels might positively affect their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Male Sprague-Dawley rats ingested 0, 20 ppm, or 500 ppm of acrylonitrile in drinking water for 2 years. Rats receiving 500 ppm of acrylonitrile exhibited early mortality and retarded weight gain. Tumors of Zymbal's gland were associated in dose-response fashion with acrylonitrile exposure. Age-associated incidence of pituitary adenomas containing immunoreactive prolactin was decreased in acrylonitrile-treated rats. A decrease in pituitary tumor incidence also was observed in rats treated with low doses of acrylonitrile, suggesting that reduction in this tumor frequency was not because of early death. No increases were found in tumors of other organ systems, but a trend toward development of forestomach papillomas was noted in rats receiving the highest concentration of acrylonitrile. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The influence of diet on the acute toxicity (lethality) and distribution of glutathione as measured by tissue nonprotein sulfhydryl (NPSH) concentration following acrylonitrile (ACN) treatment was studied. The tissue distribution of radiolabeled (14C) acrylonitrile or its radioactive metabolites was also determined. The diets tested were a standard laboratory rat chow; a casein-based, complete diet; and 2 diets high in saturated fat content that were either lipotrope deficient or lipotrope supplemented. The latter 2 diets were associated with decreased weight gain in the absence of ACN and increased lethality after orally administratered ACN. The increase in lethality, while most pronounced in the group fed the lipotrope-deficient, high-fat diet, was also seen in rats fed the purified control diet. The high-fat diets were associated with increases in brain and liver NPSH concentrations (mg NPSH/100 g body weight). Following oral administration of 1–14C-ACN, blood contained the highest specific activity. In terms of fraction of administered dose, liver was found to contain the highest total fraction. In the tissues measured, a majority of radioactivity appeared bound to trichloroacetic acid (TCA) insoluble components. The sequence of tissue activity (nCi 14C per g or ml) was as follows: blood > stomach > liver, duodenum, lung, kidney > brain > adrenal. While diet affected toxicity, it did not modify this general ranking. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]