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Background and Objective: Dental erosion is a condition that results from exposure of the enamel and dentin to non-bacterial acids of extrinsic and intrinsic origin, causing mineral loss on the surface of the tooth. Occupational exposure to sulfuric acid fumes has been described in association with dental erosion in battery manufacturing industry workers. Hence, this study aimed to assess the dental erosion among battery factory workers in HBL Power Systems Ltd, Hyderabad. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of 90 battery factory workers (62 males and 28 females). Demographic data with regard to age, gender, and length of exposure were recorded. Clinical examination was done to assess dental erosion using the tooth wear index given by Smith and Knight. Data were statistically analyzed by using Fisher exact test. P Results: Among 90 workers examined, 43.3 showed prevalence of erosion with higher occurrence rate in females (54) than males (38.7). 66.6 of affected workers had erosion score of 1, and 33.4 showed erosion score of 2 and 3. We also observed statistically significant highest prevalence and increased severity of dental erosion in workers with prolonged duration of employment (>11 years). Conclusion: The present study revealed increased prevalence of dental erosion among battery factory workers. Hence, it highlights the importance of protective measures with efficient surveillance and monitoring in the workplace environment. Keywords: Battery factory workers, dental erosion, sulfuric acid fumes, Author(s): Suma Kalyani [1]; B. Ajay Reginald [1]; B. Siva Reddy (corresponding author) [1]; Meda Samatha [1] INTRODUCTION Dental erosion is the wearing away of the tooth surface caused by [...]

Background Nephropathic cystinosis is a rare lysosomal storage disorder in which accumulation of cystine and formation of crystals particularly impair kidney function and gradually lead to multi-organ dysfunction. Lifelong therapy with the aminothiol cysteamine can delay the development of kidney failure and the need for transplant. The purpose of our long-term study was to explore the effects of transitioning from immediate release (IR) to extended release (ER) formulation in Norwegian patients in routine clinical care. Methods We retrospectively analysed data on efficacy and safety in 10 paediatric and adult patients. Data were obtained from up to 6 years before and 6 years after transitioning from IR- to ER-cysteamine. Results Mean white blood cell (WBC) cystine levels remained comparable between the different treatment periods (1.19 versus 1.38 nmol hemicystine/mg protein) although most patients under ER-cysteamine underwent dose reductions. For the non-transplanted patients, the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) change/year was more pronounced during ER-treatment (- 3.39 versus - 6.80 ml/min/1.73 m.sup.2/year) possibly influenced by individual events, such as tubulointerstitial nephritis and colitis. Growth measured by Z-height score tended to develop positively. Four of seven patients reported improvement of halitosis, one reported unchanged and two reported worsened symptoms. Most adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were of mild severity. One patient developed two serious ADRs and switched back to IR-formulation. Conclusions The results from this long-term retrospective study indicate that switching from IR- to ER-cysteamine was feasible and well tolerated under routine clinical practice. ER-cysteamine allowed satisfactory disease control over the long period considered. Graphical abstract, Author(s): Anna Bjerre [sup.1] [sup.2] , Sonja Amdal Aase [sup.3] , Maria Radtke [sup.4] [sup.5] , Christian Siva [sup.6] , Helga Gudmundsdottir [sup.7] , Brita Forsberg [sup.8] , Berit Woldseth [...]

Luminescent carbon dots (CDs) are emerging carbon nanomaterials whose tunable and exceptional optoelectronic properties have found applications as alternatives to traditional fluorophores and metal-based catalysts. Further, they can be easily prepared from biomass and using green solvents. Biomass sources of CDs, however, often result in the formation of thousands of products, which are difficult to separate. In this study CDs were synthesized using a urea-choline chloride deep eutectic solvent and shrimp shell-derived chitin as raw materials through a low-temperature solvothermal treatment. This was followed by a facile liquid-liquid extraction with acetone to improve the optical properties and narrow the size distribution of the CDs. The acetone-extracted CDs (ACDs) showed good performance in photocatalytic degradation of the aquatic pollutant, malachite green. They also show good potential in monitoring various toxic water pollutants through the quenching effect of selected pesticides, antibiotics, heavy metals, and anions on the fluorescence of ACDs. Key words: luminescent nitrogen-doped carbon dots, deep eutectic solvent, solvothermal synthesis, bio-based carbon dots, acetone extraction, malachite green decolourization, Introduction Carbon dots (CDs) refer to a class of carbon-based nanomaterials that exhibit exceptional electrical, optical, and mechanical properties in addition to good biocompatibility low cytotoxicity, and solvent dispersibility. (1) [...]

Electric vehicles (EVs) have various advantages over traditional internal combustion engines (ICEs), including reduced carbon emissions, greater energy efficiency, and a lessened reliance on petroleum supplies. The use of EV charging infrastructure and power levels are reviewed in this article. Battery performance is affected by the design of the battery as well as the charger parameters and infrastructure. In this paper, the off-board and on-board charging methods with bidirectional and unidirectional power flow are compared. Hardware restrictions and connectivity concerns are eased with a unidirectional charger. The bidirectional charger enables both battery energy injection back into the grid and the vehicle. Power is constrained by the onboard charger due to its size, weight, and price. Both conductive and inductive onboard chargers are viable. For high current rates, which are not supported by EVs, it is feasible to develop an off-board charger. The time required for charging, amount of power, cost, equipment, location, infrastructure configurations, and other parameters are provided, compared, and reviewed for different power level chargers, such as level-1 (slow), level-2 (semi-fast), and level-3 (fast)., Author(s): Babji Bommana [1]; J. S. V. Siva Kumar [1]; Ramakrishna S. S. Nuvvula [1]; Polamarasetty P. Kumar [1]; Baseem Khan (corresponding author) [2]; Suresh Muthusamy [3]; Ravikiran Inapakurthi [4] [...]

This investigation reports the synthesis of a new class of polyurethane (PU) based on bis(hydroxyalkyl) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as diol and isophorone diisocyanate as diisocyanate followed by the preparation of PU/layered double hydroxide (PU/LDH) nanocomposite via ex-situ technique. Nuclear magnetic resonance and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy studies confirm the formation of PU and incorporation of PDMS into the PU backbone. Thermogravimetry analysis revealed that thermal stability of the composite improves significantly with incorporation of LDH into the PU matrix. This may be accredited to the barrier effect rendered by the LDH layers. Differential scanning calorimetry study reveals that with the incorporation of LDH, glass transition temperature ([T.sub.g]) of the composite increases for an optimum level of loading beyond which it remains constant. KEYWORDS composite, layered double hydroxide, polydimethylsiloxane, polyurethanes, thermal property, 1 | INTRODUCTION Polyurethanes (PUs) are one of the most significant class of polymeric materials which have wide spread applications due to its diversified properties. [1] Despite of several advancements [...]

Cardiovascular diseases including cardiac arrhythmias lead to fatal events in patients with coronary artery disease; however, clinical associations from echocardiography, electrocardiography (ECG), and biomarkers remain unknown. We sought to identify the factors that may be related to elevated QRS intervals in patients with risk for coronary artery disease. In this study, we performed analysis of clinical data from 503 patients divided into two groups, i.e., patients with either 50% coronary artery stenosis. We further examined patients with elevated ECG parameters such as QRS > 100 ms and QTc > 440 ms. Patients with >50% coronary artery stenosis exhibited significant increases in age, triglycerides, and troponin levels. Further, ECG parameters demonstrated increased QRS and QTc durations, while echocardiographic parameters highlighted a decrease in ejection fraction (EF) and fractional shortening (FS). Patients with QTc > 440 ms exhibited increased brain natriuretic peptide and creatinine levels with a decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate clearance rates. Patients with QRS > 100 ms had greater left ventricular (LV) mass and LV internal diameter in systole and diastole. Multimodal logistic regression showed significant relation between QTc, age, and creatinine. These findings suggest that patients with significant coronary stenosis may have lower EF and FS with prolonged QRS intervals, demonstrating greater risk for arrhythmic events. Key words: coronary artery disease, creatinine, left ventricular mass, heart, electrocardiography echo. Les maladies cardiovasculaires, y compris les arythmies cardiaques, menent a des evenements mortels chez les patients atteints de coronaropathie, mais leur association en clinique avec les donnees d'echocardiographie et d'electrocardiographie (ECG) ainsi qu'en matiere de biomarqueurs demeure inconnue. Nous avons cherche a determiner les facteurs qui pourraient etre lies a une augmentation de la duree du QRS de patients exposes a un risque accru de coronaropathie. Cette etude portait sur les donnees cliniques issues de 503 patients repartis dans deux groupes : stenose des arteres coronaires 50 %. Nous avons en outre etudie les patients qui presentaient des parametres ECG accrus comme une duree du QRS > 100 ms et de l'intervalle QTc > 440 ms. Les patients presentant une stenose coronarienne >50 % etaient aussi plus ages avec des taux de triglycerides et de troponine plus eleves. De plus, les parametres ECG montraient une augmentation de la duree des QRS et des intervalles QTc, tandis que les parametres echocardiographiques mettaient en evidence une diminution de la fraction d'ejection (FE) et de la fraction de raccourcissement (FR). Les patients avec un intervalley QTc > 440 ms presentaient une augmentation des taux de peptide natriuretique cerebral et de creatinine avec une diminution de la clairance (eGFR). Les patients avec une duree des QRS > 100 ms presentaient une augmentation de la masse du ventricule gauche (VG), avec un diametre interne du VG plus eleve en systole comme en diastole. La regression logistique multimodale a montre un lien robuste entre la duree du QTc, l'age et la creatininemie. Ces resultats laissent entendre que les patients presentant une stenose des arteres coronaires importante pourraient aussi presenter une diminution de la FE et du FR avec une prolongation de la duree du QRS, ce qui montre un risque accru de presenter des evenements arythmiques. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: coronaropathie, creatinine, masse du ventricule gauche, electrocardiographie, echocardiographie., Introduction Cardiac arrhythmias are a leading determinant of cardiovascular related deaths in the USA and worldwide (Khurshid et al. 2018; Srinivasan and Schilling 2018). Arrhythmias are primarily detected using electrocardiography [...]

Byline: V. Siva, Aparna. Satish Sir, Airway stents have long been used to maintain luminal integrity of compromised airway in case of obstruction and malignancy.[1] The complications associated with airway [...]

This article discusses patriarchy and sexuality portrayed in Milk and Honey; a poetry collection written by Canadian author Rupi Kaur. Kaur is an amazing poet, artist, and performer who touches on trauma, feminism, migration, love, and loss in her works. Milk and Honey is a unique book of poetry as it combines written poetry with line art images. The collection is split into four chapters: 'the hurting,' 'the loving,' 'the breaking,' and 'the healing.' This research aims to show how the illustrations that appear alongside the poems have amplified the speaker's voice in response to patriarchy and sexuality. This study deployed a descriptive, qualitative approach with close textual analysis. The illustrations are highly meaningful in how they intimately depict women's bodies. Thus, these poems were analyzed within the framework of feminist literary criticism. Existing research will be considered to define the terms of the study and enrich discussion of patriarchy and women's issues. The results show that patriarchal traditions portrayed in the poems deem women as inferior, marginalizing them in a family setting (as a mother and daughter), in the setting of romantic or intimate relationships, and even in the social and economic environment due to cultural norms. It is also revealed that women and their sexuality functioned as recreational objects for males' pleasure. Within the text, women are expected to be sexually submissive, thus prone to sexual abuse in a patriarchal society. However, the speaker consistently expresses her stance against these patriarchal values throughout all chapters of this poetry collection. In conclusion, this work criticizes patriarchy and its treatment of sexuality by presenting the speaker's experiences of patriarchy while also taking a stand against it through poems and illustrations. Keywords: Patriarchy, Women's Sexuality, Feminist literary criticism, Poetry, Art, Rupi Kaur, Canadian literature, Introduction Patriarchy, in principle, is a system of social structures where men govern, control, and manipulate women (Pilcher and Whelehan 2016:124; Walby et al. 2017). Women are often restricted to [...]

A fundamental issue in regenerative medicine is whether there exist endogenous regulatory mechanisms that limit the speed and efficiency of the repair process. We report the existence of a maturation checkpoint during muscle regeneration that pauses myofibers at a neonatal stage. This checkpoint is regulated by the mitochondrial protein mitofusin 2 (Mfn2), the expression of which is activated in response to muscle injury. Mfn2 is required for growth and maturation of regenerating myofibers; in the absence of Mfn2, new myofibers arrested at a neonatal stage, characterized by centrally nucleated myofibers and loss of H3K27me3 repressive marks at the neonatal myosin heavy chain gene. A similar arrest at the neonatal stage was observed in infantile cases of human centronuclear myopathy. Mechanistically, Mfn2 upregulation suppressed expression of hypoxia-induced factor 1a (HIF1[alpha]), which is induced in the setting of muscle damage. Sustained HIF1[alpha] signaling blocked maturation of new myofibers at the neonatal-to-adult fate transition, revealing the existence of a checkpoint that delays muscle regeneration. Correspondingly, inhibition of HIF1[alpha] allowed myofibers to bypass the checkpoint, thereby accelerating the repair process. We conclude that skeletal muscle contains a regenerative checkpoint that regulates the speed of myofiber maturation in response to Mfn2 and HIF1[alpha] activity., Introduction In response to injury, skeletal muscle undergoes a synchronized sequence of events over several days, including clearance of muscle debris, revascularization of the damaged region, activation and proliferation of [...]

Two- and three-dimensional continuum finite element methods were used to assess the mechanical response of buried metal culverts subjected to service load conditions. The analysis explored the influence of the culvert profile, cover depth, section aspect ratio, and service load magnitude on culvert deformation, thrust, and section moment response. The numerical predictions were calibrated using third-party experimental data. For shallow burial conditions, the culvert section profile was found to be an influential parameter on the predicted culvert response where the soil-culvert interaction mechanisms and load transfer processes are governed by nonlinear behaviour. Models that incorporate the corrugated culvert profile provided better estimates of the culvert thrust than the simplified computational models that are typically used in analysis. Results from this study demonstrate that existing simplified methods cannot capture the local variation (i.e., amplitude, waveform) of the membrane strain and section thrust particularly between the crest and trough of corrugation. Key words: buried metal culvert, finite element method, corrugated culvert, cover depth, load distribution. Des methodes bidimensionnelles et tridimensionnelles d'elements finis ont ete utilisees pour evaluer la reponse mecanique des ponceaux metalliques enfouis soumis a des conditions de charge de service. L'analyse a explore l'effet du profil du ponceau, de la profondeur de couverture, du rapport de forme de la section et de l'ampleur de la charge de service sur la deformation et la poussee du ponceau, et la reponse au moment de la section. Les previsions numeriques ont ete etalonnees a l'aide de donnees experimentales provenant de tiers. Pour les conditions d'enfouissement peu profondes, le profil de la section du ponceau a ete considere comme un parametre ayant une incidence sur la reponse prevue du ponceau, ou les mecanismes d'interaction sol-ponceau et les processus de transfert de charge sont regis par un comportement non lineaire. Les modeles qui integrent le profil du ponceau en metal ondule ont fourni de meilleures estimations de la poussee du ponceau que les modeles informatiques simplifies qui sont habituellement utilises dans l'analyse. Les resultats de cette etude demontrent que les methodes simplifiees existantes ne peuvent pas saisir la variation locale (c.-a-d. amplitude, forme d'onde) de la deformation de la membrane et de la poussee de section, particulierement entre la crete et le creux de l'ondulation. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: ponceau en metal enfoui, methode des elements finis, ponceau en metal ondule, profondeur de couverture, repartition de la charge., Introduction Corrugated metal culverts are common civil infrastructure components used for storm water drainage and water course management. Across North America, the estimated remaining service life to be in the [...]

Arteriviruses are enveloped, spherical viruses with a positive-sense, single-stranded, linear RNA genome (1), and they are assigned to the order Nidovirales, family Arteriviridae. Arteriviruses infect equids, pigs, possums, nonhuman primates, [...]

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) was successfully grafted onto the surface of graphene oxide (GO) by the 'grafting to' technique. PEG, GO as well as the PEG grafted GO (GO-g-PEG) was successfully incorporated into an epoxy matrix and subsequently cured using diethylenetoluenediamine (DETDA) to make epoxy nanocomposites. Mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of the epoxy nanocomposites were studied to check the effectiveness of these fillers in the epoxy matrix. An improvement of 255% and 334% at a very low filler loading of about 0.1 wt% was observed in the fracture toughness of GO and GO-g-PEG loaded systems versus the neat epoxy. Toughening mechanisms are also explained by analyzing SEM images of the fractured surface. Modeling of rheological properties was carried out by following time-independent Newtonian model. The homogeneity of the epoxy filler systems are explained with the help of Cole-Cole plots. The thermal stability of the filler loaded epoxy composites was examined in detail by TGA. Improvements in mechanical properties reveal the potential benefit of the grafting process in epoxy toughening., INTRODUCTION Epoxy is a thermosetting polymer that has tremendous application in various industrial fields due to its excellent mechanical, dielectrical, thermal, and anticorrosion resistance properties [1, 2], However, the brittle [...]

Abstract. Prior literature has established a positive association between mobile app adoptions and customers' purchase behaviors. However, it is not clear whether and how firms can actively influence customers' mobile [...]

Byline: M. Girishkumar, Indira. Danturty, Kiran. Barla, Jatavathu. Siva Prasad Sir, A 13-year-old boy presented with giant congenital melanocytic nevus (GCMN) involving the trunk circumferentially with multiple satellite nevi all [...]

Transit user behavioural response under disrupted service conditions, specifically how transit riders choose among available mode options to complete their trips, is not well understood. This study aimed to investigate transit user mode choice in response to rapid transit service disruption in the City of Toronto, incorporating such factors as the type of disruption, stage of the passenger's trip (pre-trip or en-route), weather conditions, and uncertainty of delay duration. A joint revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) survey was designed where the RP part gathered information on the respondent's actual response to the most recent service disruption while the SP part solicited the respondent's travel choices under a set of hypothetical service disruption scenarios. A transit trip planner tool was developed to generate alternative transit mode and path options to avoid the disrupted segment. An empirical model using RP data is presented to verify the survey design technique. Key words: public transit, subway disruptions, mode choice, survey design, joint revealed preference and stated preference (RP-SP) survey. Le comportement des usagers du transport en commun en reaction a des conditions de service perturbe, spe cifiquement comment les usagers du transport choisissent parmi les options de mode disponibles pour completer leurs parcours, n'est pas bien compris. Le but de cette etude etait d'examiner le choix de mode des usagers du transport en reaction a une perturbation du service de transport en commun rapide dans la Ville de Toronto, en incorporant des facteurs tels que le type de perturbation, l'etape du parcours du passager (pre parcours ou en route), les conditions meteorologiques et l'incertitude quant a la duree du retard. Une enquete conjointe des preferences reve lees (PR) et declarees (PD) a e te concue dans laquelle la partie des PR a recueilli des informations sur la re action re elle du repondant a la perturbation de service la plus recente alors que la partie des PD a sollicite les choix de parcours du repondant dans le cadre d'un ensemble de scenarios hypothetiques de perturbation de service. Un outil de planification de parcours en transport en commun a etede veloppedans le but de proposer des options possibles de mode de transport et de trajet afin d'eviter le segment perturbe. Un modele empirique utilisant des donnees de PR est presente pour verifier la technique de plan d'enquete. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: transport en commun, perturbation dans le metro, choix de mode de transport, plan d'enquete, enquete conjointe des prefe rences revelees (PR) et declarees (PD)., 1. Introduction Disruption of public transit service is a common occurrence in many cities around the globe. Disruptions can range from a breakdown of a single bus to the shutdown [...]

This study examines the effects of reputation in the nascent but rapidly growing online labor markets. In these markets, contract winners (vendors) provide clients with customized products such as computer software, business plans, and artistic designs. The products are used primarily for business purposes and require time for production after project-specific contracts are awarded. These characteristics render it unclear whether online reputation will have similar effects as in online retailing, where finished and standardized products are sold for consumption. We analyze field transaction data from a major online labor market. The analyses using matched contract samples and vendor panels consistently show that despite the governing power provided by contracts as well as the litigation and arbitration options, vendors' online reputation can still be influential on clients. Vendors who have no reputation ratings are less likely to be chosen, and those with higher ratings are more likely to win subsequent bids. Importantly, however, such influences depend on the contract form that is used for a particular transaction--they are significant in output-based contracts but nonsignificant in input-based contracts. Besides extending the research on online reputation to the markets of customized production, this study shows contract form as an important boundary condition for the effectiveness of reputational information. It also provides direct managerial implications for electronic commerce in general and online labor markets in particular. History: Accepted by Pradeep Chintagunta, marketing. Funding: Financial support from the Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship (through M. Lin's dissertation fellowship) and the NET Institute is gratefully acknowledged. Y. Liu acknowledges the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant 71328202], Keywords: contracts * online labor market * online reputation mechanisms * business services * word of mouth * entrepreneurship, 1. Introduction Enabled by the Internet and mobile technologies, online reputation mechanisms such as consumer reviews, user ratings, and discussion forum postings have experienced explosive growth (Dellarocas 2003). These user-generated [...]

Byline: Sameera. Vattipalli, Keshav. Goyal, Siva. Krishna, Shweta. Kedia Cyanotic congenital heart disease (CCHD) is often associated with more than one cardiac anomaly with unique hemodynamic pattern, hence presenting a [...]

Alzheimer disease (AD) is a common chronic neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects people aged 65 or older. According to a report by the Alzheimer Association, about 5.8 million individuals of [...]

Byline: Siva Rami. Karumuri, Santoshi. Surampally, V. Reddy, Naresh. Thambisetti Sir, A 35-year-old woman presented to the Dermatology Department of Bhaskar Medical College, Telangana, India, with cutaneous lesions resembling minute [...]

Firms use different attribution strategies such as last-click or first-click attribution to assign conversion credits to search keywords that appear in their consumers' paths to purchase. These attributed credits impact [...]

Tailings may undergo desiccation stress history under varied climatic and depositional parameters. While tailings substantially dewatered prior to deposition may experience desiccation under the greatest range of climatic variation, even conventionally deposited tailings may desiccate in arid climates at lower rates of rise. Bench-scale research has shown that the stress history imparted by desiccation substantially improves strength in gold tailings. The present study further investigates this phenomenon by simulating multi-layer deposition of high-density tailings using a modular drying box, 0.7 m by 1 min plan. The box is instrumented for directly measuring evaporation, drainage, water content, vertical volume change, and matric suction. Additional measurements included total suction at the surface as well as observations of crack development. The dewatering behaviour conforms to that predicted by previously published generic modelling, specifically that the presence of partially desiccated tailings initially accelerates, but then decelerates dewatering of fresh tailings. The shear behaviour of samples obtained using buried tubes and by driving thin-wall tubes into the multi-layer simulation are compared with shear behaviour of samples from bench-scale experiments. Shear strength of samples from the multi-layer simulation is independent of the sampling method, and shows higher strength than the bench-scale samples. The higher strength may be due to the greater number of wet-dry cycles or other age-related processes. Key words: tailings, desiccation, drying box, simple shear, cyclic. Les refus peuvent subir une etude des contraintes deja subies de dessiccation sous des parametres climatiques et sedimentaires varies. Malgre que des residus deshydrates en grande partie avant le depot peuvent eprouver la dessiccation sous la plus grande portee de variations climatiques, meme les residus conventionnellement deposes peuvent se dessecher dans les climats arides a des taux inferieurs d'elevation. Des recherches a l'echelle de banc d'essai ont montre que l'etude des contraintes deja subie conferee par la dessiccation ameliore considerablement la resistance dans les residus d'or. La presente etude examine davantage ce phenomene en simulant des depots de residus a multicouche a haute densite a l'aide d'une boite de sechage modulaire, 0,7 m par 1 m en plan. La boite est instrumentee pour mesurer directement l'evaporation, le drainage, la teneur en eau, le changement de volume vertical et la succion matricielle. Des mesures supplementaires inclus la succion totale a la surface et des observations du developpement de la fissure. Le comportement de deshydratation est conforme a celle predite par la modelisation generique deja publiee, plus precisement que la presence de residus desseches partiellement accelere initialement, mais puis ralentit la deshydratation des residus frais. Le comportement en cisaillement d'echantillons obtenus a l'aide de tubes enterres, en enfoncant des tubes a paroi mince dans la simulation a multicouche, est compare avec le comportement en cisaillement des experimentations a l'echelle de banc d'essai. La resistance au cisaillement des echantillons de la simulation a multicouches est independante de la methode d'echantillonnage, et montre une plus grande resistance que les echantillons a l'echelle de banc d'essai. La resistance la plus elevee peut etre a cause du plus grand nombre de cycles de mouillage- sechage ou d'autres processus lies a l'age. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles: residus, dessiccation, boite de sechage, cisaillement simple, cyclique., Introduction In the last few decades, more than 50 tailings impoundments have failed due to seismic activity, liquefaction, foundation failure, etc. Many of these failures have been attributed to liquefaction [...]

An extensive literature in economics and finance has documented home bias, the tendency that transactions are more likely to occur between parties in the same geographical area rather than outside. Using data from a large online crowdfunding marketplace and employing a quasi-experimental design, we find evidence that home bias still exists in this virtual marketplace for financial products. Furthermore, through a series of empirical tests, we show that rationality-based explanations cannot fully explain such behavior and that behavioral reasons at least partially drive this remarkable phenomenon. As crowdfunding becomes an alternative and increasingly appealing channel for financing, a better understanding of home bias in this new context provides important managerial, practical, and policy implications. Keywords: home bias; peer-to-peer lending; quasi-experiment; crowdfunding; behavioral explanations; natural experiment History: Received February 12, 2013; accepted March 4, 2015, by Lee Fleming, entrepreneurship and innovation. Published online in Articles in Advance September 2, 2015., 1. Introduction We study whether investors in online financial investment platforms such as crowdfunding exhibit home bias, as is common among investors and businesses in off-line contexts. Home bias refers [...]

Byline: Ritu. Gujarati, Siva. Reddy Karumuri, T. Babu, B. Janardhan Sir, A 30-year-old man, resident of Kanakamamidi village, Telangana State, a milkman and owner of a buffalo herd presented with [...]

This paper examines the Global publications on hepatitis C research during 2009-2018. This study aims to analyze the hepatitis c research publications, carried out by using the Scopus online database during the period of ten years from 2009 to 2018. From this study find out the year wise growth of publications, country, author, organization, document type, language-wise publications, and citation analysis and identified the impact factor (IF) of the journal productivity in the field of hepatitis C research. During the ten year study period, it identified that 59926 publications contributed to the field of hepatitis C research. During the period, RGR is 0.71 to 0.10 and correspondingly the doubling time (Dt) is 0.98 to 7.28. Maximum of 41141 (68.65%) research publications are articles, and 55746 research publications are the English Language. Maximum of 18160 (23.10%) publications contributed by the United States and the relative citation index is varied from 0.95 to 3.3. Keywords: Scientometric, Bibliometric, Hepatitis C, Scopus, Introduction A disease is the biggest task to solve in this world to survive for the human begins, day by day the new infections are occupying in the human body. [...]

Consider two American films, twenty-four years apart, both starring Gene Hackman as a reclusive surveillance expert. The difference between the work done by Harry Caul, the naive, emotionally stunted private [...]

The who-to-follow system at Twitter is an algorithmic data product that recommends accounts for Twitter users to follow. Building the system involved algorithmic, analytics, operational, and experimental challenges; operations research [...]

Third-party quality assurance seals have emerged as a prominent mechanism to reduce uncertainty and 1 increase purchase conversion in online markets. However, systematic studies of the effectiveness of these seals [...]

Byline: Chiruvella. Mallikarjuna, Prasant. Nayak, Syed. Ghouse, Purna. Reddy, Deepak. Ragoori, Mohammed. Bendigeri, Siva. Reddy Introduction: Transurethral resection of the prostate has been considered as the gold standard for benign [...]

Background: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) account for 25% of incident HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is common among AGYW, but its role in HIV [...]

An enrichment separation procedure for the atomic absorption spectrophotometric determinations of Cu(II) and Ni(II) ions in common edible fishes was established. The 2-[(2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)diazenyl]-5- methylbenzene-1,3-diol (HNDMD) complexes of the analyte ions at pH 6.0 were adsorbed on the p-octylpolyethylene glycolphenylether (Triton X-100) column and then desorbed with 10 mL of acetone. Under optimized conditions, the recovery values were above 95%. The developed preconcentration methods were successfully applied to the determination of Cu(II) and Ni(II) ion concentrations in common edible fishes from the local market. The precision and accuracy of the method are very good. Keywords: metals, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, solid phase extraction, Triton X-100, fish organs, 2-[(2-hydroxynaphthalen-1-yl)diazenyl]-5-methylbenzene-1,3-diol DOI: 10.1134/S1061934813050110, Copper and nickel are elements which can be harmful to edible fishes and, through their introduction into food chain, to human health. So, the copper and nickel determination in fishes [...]

We study the online market for peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, in which individuals hid on unsecured microloans sought by other individual borrowers. Using a large sample of consummated and failed listings from the largest online P2P lending marketplace, Prosper.com, we find that the online friendships of borrowers act as signals of credit quality. Friendships increase the probability of successful funding, lower interest rates on funded loans, and are associated with lower ex post default rates. The economic effects of friendships show a striking gradation based on the roles and identities of the friends. We discuss the implications of our findings for the disintermediation of financial markets and the design of decentralized electronic markets. Key words: peer-to-peer (P2P) lending; value of social networks; signaling; information asymmetry; credit markets History: Received August 31, 2010; accepted March 3, 2012, by Sandra Slaughter, information systems. Published online in Articles in Advance September 4, 2012., 1. Introduction The ability of online markets to efficiently bring together buyers and sellers has transformed businesses, spawned success stories, and redefined the roles of traditional intermediaries. In this paper, [...]

Electroacupuncture (EA) and cannabinoids have been reported to have anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive effects in animal models of arthritis. Male Wistar rats were injected with saline or zymosan (2 mg) into the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). EA (10 Hz, 30 min) was performed 2 h after or 1 h before zymosan administration. AM251 or AM630 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) were administered before EA treatment. Mechanical hypernociception was accessed after zymosan administration. Rats were sacrificed 6 h after zymosan administration and the joint was removed for histopathological analysis. The gene expression of [CB.sub.1] and [CB.sub.2] receptors was assessed after sacrifice of the TMJ arthritic animals. EA inhibited zymosan-induced hypernociception (p < 0.05). AM251 reversed significantly the antinociceptive effect of EA, suggesting that the [CB.sub.1] receptor is involved in this effect. AM630 reversed the anti-inflammatory effect of EA. [CB.sub.1] and [CB.sub.2] receptor gene expression was upregulated 6 h after zymosan-induced arthritis in the EA-treated group. We observed downregulation of [CB.sub.2] receptor gene expression in the EA group at the 24th hour compared with the 6th hour. Higher [CB.sub.1] receptor gene expression was also found compared with the 6th hour. EA produced antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects, and these effects appeared to be mediated through [CB.sub.1] and [CB.sub.2] receptor activation. Key words: electroacupuncture, nociception, inflammation, zymosan, TMJ, endocannabinoid system. L'electro-acuponcture (EA) et les cannabinoides ont ete decrits pour exercer des effets anti-inflammatoires et anti-nociceptifs dans des modeles animaux d'arthrite. Des rats Wistar males ont recu une injection de saline ou de zymosan dans l'articulation temporo-mandibulaire (ATM). L'EA (10 Hz, 30 min) a ete appliquee 2h apres ou 1h avant l'administration de zymosan. L'AM251 ou l'AM630 (3 mg/kg, i.p.) ont ete administres avant le traitement par EA. L'hyper-nociception mecanique a ete evaluee apres l'administration de zymosan. Les rats ont ete sacrifies 6h apres l'administration de zymosan et l'articulation a ete retiree pour l'analyse histopathologique. L'expression genique des recepteurs [CB.sub.1] et [CB.sub.2] a ete evaluee apres le sacrifice des animaux souffrant d'arthrite de l'ATM. L'EA inhibait l'hypernociception induite par le zymosan (p < 0,05). L'AM251 renversait significativement l'effet anti-nocicepteur de l'EA, suggerant que le recepteur [CB.sub.1] est implique dans cet effet. L'AM630 renversait l'effet anti-inflammatoire de l'EA. L'expression genique des recepteurs [CB.sub.1] et [CB.sub.2] etait regulee a la hausse 6h apres l'induction d'arthrite par le zymosan chez les groupe traite par EA. Nous avons observe une regulation a la baisse de l'expression genique du recepteur [CB.sub.2] chez le groupe EA a la [24.sup.ieme] heure comparativement a la [6.sup.ieme] heure. Une expression accrue du gene du recepteur [CB.sub.1] a aussi ete trouvee comparativement a la [6.sup.ieme] heure. L'EA exercait des effets anti-nociceptifs et anti-inflammatoires, et ces effets semblaient faire intervenir l'activation des recepteurs [CB.sub.1] et [CB.sub.2]. Mots-cles : electro-acuponcture, nociception, inflammation, zymosan, ATM, systeme endocannabino'ide. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Cannabinoid derivatives as therapeutic agents, particularly in the treatment of pain, have been used for centuries (Walker and Huang 2002). In the past few decades, rigorous scientific methods have [...]

While biomedical risks contribute to poor pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in African American (AA) populations, behavioral and psychosocial risks (BPSR) may also play a part. Among low income AA women with psychosocial risks, this report addresses the impacts on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes of an integrated education and counseling intervention to reduce BPSR, as well as the contributions of other psychosocial and biomedical risks. Subjects were low income AA women [greater than or equal to] 18 years living in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and seeking prenatal care. Subjects (n = 1,044) were screened for active smoking, environmental tobacco smoke exposure (ETSE), depression, or intimate partner violence (IPV) and then randomized to intervention (IG) or usual care (UCG) groups. Data were collected prenatally, at delivery, and postpartum by maternal report and medical record abstraction. Multiple imputation methodology was used to estimate missing variables. Rates of pregnancy outcomes (miscarriage, live birth, perinatal death), preterm labor, Caesarean section, sexually transmitted infection (STI) during pregnancy, preterm birth (2 days of hospitalization were compared between IG and UCG. Logistic regression models were created to predict outcomes based on biomedical risk factors and the four psychosocial risks (smoking, ETSE, depression, and IPV) targeted by the intervention. Rates of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes were high and did not differ significantly between IG and UCG. In adjusted analysis, STI during the current pregnancy was associated with IPV (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.04-1.91). Outcomes such as preterm labor, caesarian section in pregnancy and preterm birth, low birth weight, small for gestational age, NICU admissions and > 2 day hospitalization of the infants were associated with biomedical risk factors including preexisting hypertension and diabetes, previous preterm birth (PTB), and late initiation of prenatal care, but they were not significantly associated with active smoking, ETSE, depression, or IPV. Neither the intervention to reduce BPSR nor the psychosocial factors significantly contributed to the pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. This study confirms that biomedical factors significantly contribute to adverse outcomes in low income AA women. Biomedical factors outweighed psychosocial factors in contributing to adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in this high-risk population. Early identification and management of hypertension, diabetes and previous PTB in low income AA women may reduce health disparities in birth outcomes. Level of evidence I. Keywords African American * Pregnancy * Behavior risk * Psychological risk * Smoking, environmental smoke exposure * Depression * Intimate partner violence * Infant mortality * Infant morbidity * Maternal morbidity, Introduction Infant mortality rates (IMR) in the US have substantially decreased in the past decade, but significant disparities continue between African Americans (AA) and Whites, particularly for AAs living in [...]

Adolescent mothers in Washington, DC have a high rate of subsequent teen pregnancies, often within 24 months. Children of teen mothers are at risk for adverse psychosocial outcomes. When adolescents are strongly attached to parents, schools, and positive peers, they may be less likely to repeat a pregnancy. This study tested the efficacy of a counseling intervention delivered by cell phone and focused on postponing subsequent teen pregnancies by strengthening healthy relationships, reproductive practices, and positive youth assets. The objective of this study was to compare time to a repeat pregnancy between the intervention and usual care groups, and, secondarily, to determine whether treatment intensity influenced time to subsequent conception. Primiparous pregnant teens ages 15-19, were recruited in Washington, DC. Of 849 teens screened, 29.3% (n = 249) met inclusion criteria, consented to participate, and completed baseline measures. They were then randomized to the intervention (N = 124) or to usual care (N = 125) . Intervention group teens received cell phones for 18 months of counseling sessions, and quarterly group sessions. Follow-up measures assessed subsequent pregnancy through 24 months postdelivery. A survival analysis compared time to subsequent conception in the two treatment groups. Additional models examined the effect of treatment intensity. By 24 months, 31% of the intervention and 36% of usual care group teens had a subsequent pregnancy. Group differences were not statistically significant in intent-to-treat analysis. Because there was variability in the degree of exposure of teens to the curriculum, a survival analysis accounting for treatment intensity was performed and a significant interaction with age was detected. Participants who were aged 15-17 years at delivery showed a significant reduction in subsequent pregnancy with increased levels of intervention exposure (P < 0.01), but not those ≥ 18 years. Adolescents ≥ 18 years faced considerable challenges to treatment success. Individual, social, and contextual factors are all important to consider in the prevention of repeat teen pregnancy. Cell phone-based approaches to counseling may not be the most ideal for addressing complex, socially-mediated behaviors such as this, except for selective subgroups. A lack of resources within the community for older teens may interfere with program success. Keywords Prevention * Intervention * Adolescent pregnancy * Repeat teen pregnancy * African American * Latina * Cell phone, Background The NIH-DC Initiative to Reduce Infant Mortality in Minority Populations is a congressionally mandated community-based research program created to address the high rate of infant mortality and morbidity in [...]

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) continues to be a major pulmonary complication in very low birth weight (VLBW) and extremely low birth weight (ELBW) survivors of neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Many factors including partial pressures of carbon dioxide ([Paco.sub.2]) have been implicated as possible causes. Permissive hypercapnia has become a more common practice in ventilated infants, but its effect on BPD is unclear. The hypothesis of this study was that hypercarbia is associated with increased BPD in infants with birth weights of 500-1, 499g. Nine hospitals were involved in this observational cohort study. Maternal and infant information including socio-demographics, antenatal steroids, gender, race, gestational age, birth weight, intubation and ventilator status, physiologic variables and data on therapies were collected by chart abstraction. SNAP scores were assigned. Candidate BPD risk factors, including cumulative exposures derived from blood gas and ventilation data in the first 6 days of life, were identified. Risk models were developed for 425 preterm infants who survived to 36 weeks post-menstrual age. BPD occurrence was associated with the cumulative burden of MAP > 0 cm [H.sub.2]O in the first 6 days of life (P < 0.0001). After adjustment for the burden of MAP, the occurrence of hypercarbia ([Paco.sub.2] > 50 torr) was associated with a greater incidence of BPD (P = 0.024). Among 293 intubated, mechanically ventilated infants, those with hypercarbia occurring only when MAP [less than or equal to] 8 cm [H.sub.2]O, a scenario more comparable to permissive hypercapnia, also had increased BPD incidence compared to infants without hypercarbia (P = 0.0003). Hypercarbia during the first 6 days of life was associated with increased incidence of BPD in these infants. Mechanically ventilated infants with hypercarbia during low MAP also had a significant increase in BPD. Permissive hypercapnia in ventilated infants needs further close review before the practice becomes even more widespread. Keywords Bronchopulmonary dysplasia * Hypercapnia * Hypercarbia * Extremely low birth weight and very low birth weight infants * Ventilated, Introduction Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD) continues to be a major pulmonary complication in survivors of NICU among VLBW and ELBW infants [1, 2] The incidence of BPD at 36 weeks of [...]

An experimental study of the effect of (initial) static shear stress on the undrained simple shear response of sands is presented. Liquefaction resistance of two sands, one generally contractive and the other dilative, over a wide range of density and effective stress levels was evaluated at various density and stress states. At a given density, the effect- of static shear on the cyclic resistance of sands is dependent on the type of stress-strain response that ensues during loading. The general notion that static shear increases the cyclic resistance of sands at relatively high densities is not valid if the sand is contractive at the denser state. The [K.sub.α] correction factor for sand at 80% relative density may be as low as about 0.6 for strain-softening sand depending on the initial stress state. The routine industry practice of disregarding the [K.sub.α] factor in dense sands may thus lead to unsafe designs in such materials. The [K.sub.α] values measured under cyclic simple shear loading are compared to the [K.sub.α] values reported in the literature based on cyclic triaxial tests. Test results clearly indicate that [K.sub.α] is also dependent on the loading mode. [K.sub.α] correction factors proposed in the literature, in general, have been derived either from empirical data or from laboratory tests under triaxial loading mode. Extra attention is required when using those correction factors, as they may not appropriately account for the loading mode effects. Key words: cyclic resistance, static shear, liquefaction, strain softening, experimental soil mechanics, geotechnical earthquake engineering. Cet ar ticle presente une etude exper imentale de l 'effet de la contrainte de cisaillement statique (initiale) sur le compor tement non draine en cisaillement simple de sables. La resistance a la liquefaction de deux sables, un generalement contractant et l 'autre dilatant sur une gamme de densite et de niveaux de contrainte effective, a ete evaluee a plusieurs densi-tes et etats de contraintes. Pour une densite donnee, l 'effet du cisaillement statique sur la resistance cyclique des sables est dependant du type de compor tement en contrainte-defor mation qui est produit durant le chargement. La notion generale qui stipule que le cisaillement statique augmente la resistance cyclique de sables a densites relativement elevees n' est pas valide si le sable est contractant a l 'etat plus dense. Le factor de cor relation [K.sub.α] pour un sable a une densite relative de 80 % peut ?tre aussi faible qu' environ 0,6 pour un sable anti-ecrouissage, dependant de l'etat des contraintes initial. La pratique usuelle de l 'industr ie qui ne consid?re pas le facteur [K.sub.α] pour des sables denses peut ainsi entra?ner des conceptions non secur itaires dans ces mater iaux. Les valeurs de [K.sub.α] mesurees sous chargement en cisaillement statique simple sont comparees aux valeurs de [K.sub.α] repor tees dans la litterature basees sur des essais tr iaxiaux cycliques. Les resultats des essais indiquent clairement que [K.sub.α] est aussi dependant du mode de chargement. Les facteurs de cor relation [K.sub.α] proposes dans la litterature sont generalement der ives soit de donnees empir iques ou d'essais en laboratoire sous chargement tr iaxial. Une attention par ticuli?re est neces-saire lorsque ces facteurs de cor rection sont utilises puisqu' ils peuvent ne pas bien tenir compte des effets du mode de char-gement. Mots ?cles : resistance cyclique, cisaillement statique, liquefaction, anti-ecrouissage, mecanique des sols exper imentale, genie de la geotechnique sismique. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Undrained behaviour of soils is dependent on the initial effective stress state, which is normally characterized by the confining and static shear stress levels. The term static shear stress [...]

An n-tuple ([a.sub.1],[a.sub.2], ...,[a.sub.n]) is symmetric, if [MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] Let [MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] be the set of all symmetric ntuples. A symmetric n-sigraph (symmetric n-marked graph) is an ordered pair [S.sub.n] = (G,[sigma]) ([S.sub.n] = (G,[micro])), where G = (V, E) is a graph called the underlying graph of [S.sub.n] and [sigma] : E [right arrow] [H.sub.n] ([micro] : V [right arrow] [H.sub.n]) is a function. In this paper, we define the antipodal symmetric nsigraph A([S.sub.n]) = (A(G),[sigma]) of a given symmetric n-sigraph [S.sub.n] = (G,[sigma]) and offer a structural characterization of antipodal symmetric n-sigraphs. Further, we characterize symmetric nsigraphs [S.sub.n] for which [S.sub.n] ~ A([S.sub.n]) and [bar.S.sub.n]] ~ A([S.sub.n]) where ~ denotes switching equivalence and A([S.sub.n]) and [bar.[S.sub.n]] are denotes the antipodal symmetric n-sigraph and complementary symmetric n-sigraph of [S.sub.n] respectively. Keywords Symmetric n-sigraphs, symmetric n-marked graphs, balance, switching, antipod -al symmetric n-sigraphs, complementation., [section]1. Introduction Unless mentioned or defined otherwise, for all terminology and notion in graph theory the reader is refer to [3]. We consider only finite, simple graphs free from self-loops. [...]