Search

Summary Mechanical impact stress on the vocal fold surface, particularly when excessive, has been postulated to cause the so-called phonotraumatic tissue lesions, such as nodules and polyps. The collision stress between the vocal folds depends on the vocal fold velocity at the time of impact. Hence this vocal fold collision speed is a relevant parameter when considering biomechanical economy of phonation, especially in voice professionals needing a louder voice than normal. Combining a precise photometric measurement of glottal area and simultaneous measurements of translaryngeal impedance (electroglottogram) for identifying the time of the maximum rate of increase of vocal fold contact allows computing the vocal fold collision speed in a wide range of loudnesses. The vocal fold collision speed is - for modal voicing - always smaller than the maximum vocal fold velocity during the closing phase, but it strongly increases with intensity. Moreover, this increase shows a biphasic pattern, with a significant enhancement from a certain value of dB on. Understanding physiological variables that influence vocal fold collision forces provides relevant insight into the pathophysiology and the prevention of voice disorders associated with phonotraumatic vocal hyperfunction.

The civil war, harsh climate, tough topography and lack of accurate meteorological stations has limited observed data across Afghanistan. In order to fulfill the gap, this study analyzed the trend in precipitation and its extremes using Asian Precipitation Highly Resolved Observational Data Integration Towards Evaluation (APHRODITE) daily dataset between 1951 to 2010 at the spatial resolution of 0.25˚˟0.25˚. Non-parametric modified Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimator were employed to detect trend and quantify it at the significance level of 5%. Significant decreasing trends were observed only in small clusters of southwestern regions ranging between 0 to -1.5mm/year and northeastern region between -1.5 to -6 mm/year for the annual time series. Similar trend pattern was observed in spring season decreasing at the rate of -0.15 to 0.54 mm/year in northeastern and 0 to -0.15 mm/year southwestern region. Decrease in spring precipitation is expected to affect crop production especially in northeastern region which host 22 % of the arable area. Increasing trend in eastern region at maximum of 0.16 mm/year was observed which could intensify the flooding events. Trend analysis of extreme precipitation indices indicated similar spatial distribution to the mean precipitation, concentrated around southwestern, northeastern, and eastern regions. Increasing frequency of consecutive dry days in western region and very heavy precipitation (R10mm) and extremely heavy precipitation (R20mm) in eastern region are fueling the occurrence of droughts and floods respectively. Taking these findings of erratic nature of rainfall and extreme events into consideration for sustainable management of water resources would be fruitful.

In the production of magnesium hydride, hybrid Mg/H2 mixtures has a risk of explosion; therefore, systematic experiments were conducted to study its explosion characteristics and suppression. According to the results, the maximum rate of explosion pressure rise (dP/dt)max of hybrid Mg/H2 mixtures was more the twice than that of pure Mg. Five common explosion suppressants were individually added to hybrid Mg/H2 mixtures to inhibit dust explosion. Na2CO3, CaCO3, and (NH4)2HPO3 exhibited great inhibitory abilities for hybrid Mg/H2 mixtures explosion; however, melamine–cyanurate acid (MCA) and melamine polyphosphate (MPP) could stimulate the explosion. The mechanisms underlying MCA and MPP promotion of the hybrid Mg/H2 mixtures explosion were determined, namely the high concentration of flammable gases, such as ammonia, released after their thermal decomposition. These gases can ignite and intensify the explosion of hybrid Mg/H2 mixtures. This study provides a reference for reducing the risk in the H2 storage system of Mg.

Background There is no consensus on what dose of norepinephrine corresponds with futility. The purpose of this study was to investigate the maximum infusion and cumulative doses of norepinephrine associated with survival for patients in medical and surgical intensive care units (MICU and SICU). Materials and Methods A retrospective review was conducted of 661 critically ill patients admitted to a large academic medical center who received norepinephrine. Univariate, multivariate, and area under the curve analyses with optimal cut offs for maximum infusion rate and cumulative dosage were determined by Youden Index. Results The population was 54.9% male, 75.8% white, and 58.7 ± 16.1 y old with 384 (69.8%) admitted to the MICU and 166 (30.2%) admitted to the SICU, including 38 trauma patients. Inflection points in mortality were seen at 18 mcg/min and 17.6 mg. The inflection point was higher in MICU patients at 21 mcg/min and lower in SICU patients at 11 mcg/min. MICU patients also had a higher maximum cumulative dosage of 30.7 mg, compared to 2.7 mg in SICU patients. In trauma patients, norepinephrine infusions up to 5 mcg/min were associated with a 41.7% mortality rate. Conclusion A maximum rate of 18 mcg/min and cumulative dose of 17.6 mg were the inflection points for mortality risk in ICU patients, with SICU patients tolerating lower doses. In trauma patients, even low doses of norepinephrine were associated with higher mortality. These data suggest that MICU, SICU, and trauma patients differ in need for, response to, and outcome from escalating norepinephrine doses.

Because cystine kidney stones are a more serious challenge for health-related quality of life than other types of kidney stones, the search for a new treatment for cystinuria is considered the main goal of this study. To achieve the defined goal, classical molecular dynamics simulations and quantum mechanics calculations were implemented in this study. Three nanodrills with different stiffnesses (i.e., silicon, silica, and silicon carbide) were selected to find the efficient nanodrill to break the kidney stones into smaller pieces. The related nanodrills under various forces from 20 to 100 eV/A inclusive were exerted on the cystine kidney stones to determine the effect of the force magnitude on the rate of destruction. The exerted forces were modeled via a hypothetical spring force. To bring this investigation closer to reality, the urinary tract and the bulk of cystine kidney stones were modeled by simulation of the real blockage of the kidney stones. The obtained results from quantum mechanics calculations reveal the strong interaction (chemisorption) between the cystine stone components. Moreover, the molecular dynamics simulations show that an increase in force does not necessarily lead to more destruction of cystine kidney stones. The maximum rate of cystine kidney stone destruction occurs under forces of 80, 70, and 60 eV/A for SiO2, Si, and SiC nanodrills, which is about 19, 13, and 11%, respectively. In addition, the SiO2 nanodrill has more crossing time and z-direction deformation than other nanodrills due to the attractive interaction between SiO2 and stones, it shows less deformation during the process of kidney stone breaking because of repulsive interactions between the nanodrill and the kidney stone.

Electronic archives of data from standard meteorological observations (mean daily/monthly surface air temperatures - SAT) at the meteorological stations at Bukhta Tikhaya (Hooker Island, 1929-1960) and Krenkel Observatory (Hayes Island, 1957-2017) on Franz Josef Land (FJL) are presented. Parallel data series of SAT made in 1958 and 1959 on both meteorological stations were analyzed. Linear regression equations used for extrapolation of observational data representative for Krenkel Observatory for the period 1929-1957 are also presented. The assessment of long-term changes in SAT on FJL was carried out based on the analysis of the obtained series (1929-2017). The main conclusions that follow from our study are: (1) The total warming in the FJL archipelago was 1.6-1.8°C (0.2°C/decade) for the entire available period of instrumental observations (1929-2017); (2) The highest rates of warming were recorded in March-April and amounted to 0.6°C/decade; (3) A particular strong warming has been observed since the 1990s. The annual temperature increased by 6.3°C (2.2°C/decade) for the period 1990-2017 and 5.2°C (2.9°C/decade) for the period 2000-2017; (4) For the period 1990-2017 the maximum rate of warming occurred between October to February with 4.4°C/decade; (5) For the period 2000-2017 the maximum rate of warming occurred between January to April and from November to December with 5.6°C/decade; (6) The dominant seasons of the year are winter (November-April), spring (May), summer (June-September) and autumn (October); (7) Over the entire observation period the largest temperature increase was observed in the winter season. During the period of modern warming (1990-2017), the largest temperature increase was observed in winter and autumn.

In this work, the explosion characteristics of an aluminum (Al)–diethyl ether (DEE)–air mixture were investigated in a 20 L spherical vessel. The effect factors of the explosion characteristics considered were fuel concentration, component proportion, and ignition energy. With the increasing concentration of the mixed fuel (Al/DEE = 1:1), the maximum pressure (Pmax), the maximum rate of pressure rise ((dP/dt)max), and the flame propagation speed (νF) exhibit an inversely “U-shaped” curve. The maximum Pmax, (dP/dt)max, and νF values are 901.2 kPa, 148.3 MPa/s, and 15.3 m/s, respectively, corresponding to an optimum concentration of 600 g/m3. The Pmax, the (dP/dt)max, and the νF increase with the addition of DEE when the proportion of DEE is below 55% but have a decrease tendency when the proportion of DEE is over 55%. As the explosions of Al and DEE were mutually promoting, the studied explosion characteristics of the Al–DEE–air mixture are obviously higher than those of pure Al or DEE in air. The minimum ignition energy (MIE) of the Al–DEE–air mixture is 1.9 mJ, between the MIE of Al and DEE. With the increase of ignition energy, Pmax, (dP/dt)max, and νF all increase, while the minimum explosion concentration presents a linear decreasing trend. This work could provide significant scientific evidence for evaluating the explosion risk of the Al–DEE–air mixture.

Purpose of the study. To conduct a clinical trial of the local treatment efficacy of skin and soft tissue inflammatory processes combination with sodium carboxymethylcellulose, immobilized miramistin and metronidazole.Patients and methods. The study involved patients with purulent-inflammatory skin processes, divided into two groups – control and experimental – 30 in each. The most common nosological form were abscesses of various localization. In the control group, local treatment was carried out with dioxomethyltetrahydropyrimidine ointment with chloramphenicol, and in the experimental group – with a combination of sodium carboxymethylcellulose with miramistin and metronidazole. We studied the local temperature, wound pH, wound planimetry, the appearance of wounds, the species composition of infectious agents in the discharge from the wound, a general blood test (with the determination of leukocyte indices), blood biochemical parameters, and the number of bed-days in the hospital. The data obtained were processed statistically.Results. The percentage of reduction in the area and volume of wounds in the experimental group was significantly higher than in the control. The maximum rate of wound healing in the experimental group was noted on days 1-3 and amounted to 9.7 (6.3; 15.5) % / day, and in the control group – 5.6 (2.9; 7.7). Starting from the 5th day of treatment, the local temperature indices in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group, and the pH values of the wounds in the experimental group tended to neutral values from the 5th day of treatment, and in the control group there was an increase in pH. Most often, S. epidermidis and S. aureus were inoculated from the wound discharge (in total, more than 50 % of observations); in the control group, pathogenic microorganisms were inoculated 1.6 times more often than in the experimental group.Conclusion. Patients in the experimental group were hospitalized for 2.5 days less than patients in the control group. It is possible to recommend further study and application of the combination of miramistin and metronidazole immobilized on the sodium salt of carboxymethylcellulose in the treatment of wounds.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of adding milk replacer to milk fed to calves during their first month of life on intake, performance, and health under 2 milk feeding programs. Materials and Methods Sixty female Holstein calves were blocked at birth by dam parity and assigned in a randomized block design to 1 of 4 treatments (n = 15/treatment). Calves were fed whole milk under either a conventional (CF) or a step-up/step-down (SF) feeding program for 8 wk. Both feeding programs were tested with (+MR) and without 0.5 kg/d of milk replacer during the first 28 d. Results and Discussion The maximum rate of liquid feed supply was ~1.5 kg of DM. No difference in intake was found during the last week of the experiment. Daily gain varied among treatments. Heifers on SF+MR were the heaviest at the end of the experiment, although they were not different from those on CF+MR. There was no difference in final BW between CF+MR and SF. No difference in diarrhea status was observed. Implications and Applications Under the conditions of this experiment, calves achieved greater nutrient intake by concentrating the milk feeding during the first month, inducing a greater daily gain during the entire liquid feeding period, neither compromising starter intake at weaning nor affecting diarrhea incidence. Milk replacer supplementation only during the first month of life can be used under both feeding programs, with the conventional being more practical and less time consuming.

Lignocellulosic wastes from Amazonian crops are promising for the production of biochar. However, there are scientific gaps concerning the thermodegradation mechanisms of widely diverse biomass. This research explored the relationships between the chemical compounds and the pyrolysis behavior of the acai seed, cocoa pod husk, coconut husk, palm empty fruit bunch, and maize cob by thermogravimetric analysis. The cocoa pod husk and palm empty fruit bunch showed the lowest temperatures of initial degradation (≤ 230 °C) because of the highest proportions of total extractives (≥ 17% dry basis) and ashes (≥ 5.7% dry basis) combined with the lowest contents of holocellulose (≤ 56% dry basis). Biomasses with higher extractives contents showed pronounced mass losses at temperatures ≤ 300 °C. The maize cob, with more holocellulose (68% dry basis), revealed a high maximum rate of thermal degradation of 7.9% min−1 and mass loss between 200 and 400 °C of 65.6% wet basis. The high level of acetone-soluble extractives raised the temperature necessary for the initial thermal degradation of acai seed. The coconut husk, acai seed, and cocoa pod husk were the most suitable wastes for the production of biochar based on the average mass yields (≥ 41% wet basis) at the pyrolysis final temperature of 400 °C.

The effect of fatigue on the behavior of steel structures has long been the focus of researchers. However, with the widespread damage of steel structures after the Northridge earthquake, it is important to investigate the issue of low cycle fatigue. The bylaws attempted to address the weaknesses of the connections and introduced prequalified connections. In the present study, the behaviors of two prequalified welded unreinforced flange-welded webs and reduced beam section under low cycle fatigue were investigated. The behavior of high cyclic fatigue was the focus of many researchers, while there is only a limited scope of experimental data available for LCF. In this study, the S-N-curve was used to obtain the Nastar method and available experimental data. This curve was developed using the available experimental results for the low cycle region. Four buildings with different heights were analyzed using linear time history analysis and their behavior under low cycle fatigue was considered. Then, the cumulative fatigue damage was investigated by the Palmgren-Miner fatigue analysis method for the above two connections. Rainflow method was also used for counting cycles. By defining the cumulative fatigue index, for the critical beam of structures, the maximum value of this index was observed at the WUF-W, which was obtained for 0.059 3-storey structure and was increased by 0.24 with the increasing structural height. The index for the critical column in the WUF-W junction in the 15-storey structure was 0.042, while in the other structures, the maximum value was up to 0.197. Also, the fatigue index values for WUF-W binding were higher than those obtained for RBS, indicating that the first connection performance was weaker. Maximum rate of cumulative fatigue index in beams on WUF-W to RBS was 1.29 and for columns, this rate was 1.34. The results indicated the need for greater attention to the effect of low cycle fatigue on connections of steel moment frames, especially on the WUF-W.

Relevance. Age-related and occupational aspects of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in healthcare workers are not well understood. Aims: Conduct a selective study of seroprevalence to the SARS-CoV-2 virus among 348 medical workers of 10 medical organizations in Kazan: seven multidisciplinary hospitals that have been re-profiled to provide medical care to patients with coronavirus infection, an ambulance station, a medical organization that carries out outpatient activities and a specialized clinic. Materials and methods. Among those surveyed on a professional basis, the groups «Doctors», «Nurses», «Junior medical personnel», «Other medical workers» were identified. The age structure of seroprevalence was studied in groups of 18–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59 and 60–69 years. For the determination of IgG, a solid-phase ELISA was used. Results. The proportion of medical workers (MR) of various medical organizations in Kazan seropositive for IgG to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is 16.4%. The wide variation in the seroprevalence value of MR groups of different medical organizations (3.3–30.8%) may indicate a different level of effectiveness of anti-epidemic measures in these institutions. The maximum rate was noted in the age groups – 18–29 years (21%) and 60-69 years (18.2%). According to the professional criterion, a comparable level of seroprevalence is shown for the categories «Doctors» and «Nurses» with a wide variation in indicators in professional groups, depending on a particular medical organization. The obtained results indicate the presence among medical workers who have suffered or have an asymptomatic course of infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, and confirm the relevance of further serological monitoring in medical organizations of various profiles. The results of serological monitoring, taking into account age and professional aspects, can serve as the basis for adjusting preventive measures on the basis of individual medical organizations, and taking into account the recommendations of Rospotrebnadzor and the selection of contingents for vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Conclusions: For the MR of various medical institutions in Kazan, the seroprevalence for antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus is 16.4%; Age aspects affect the level of seroprevalence in MR; The obtained results indicate the presence of persons among MR who have had or have an asymptomatic course of infection caused by SARS-CoV-2, and confirm the relevance of further serological monitoring in medical organizations of various profiles.

As Infecções Hospitalares (IH) causam um alto impacto nos indicadores de morbimortalidade, aumentam o período de internação e elevam os custos para o governo. O presente estudo analisou o perfil das infecções hospitalares de um Hospital Universitário. Trata-se de um estudo observacional, retrospectivo e descritivo com uma abordagem quantitativa, cuja fonte dos dados foi o relatório bienal do Sistema de Controle de Infecção Hospitalar durante os anos de 2016 e 2017. Foram calculadas a taxa geral de IH, a porcentagem de Infecções de Sítio Cirúrgico (ISC), a densidade de incidência (DI) das infecções de pneumonia associada a ventilação mecânica (PAV), das Infecções do Trato Urinário (ITU) e das Infecções Primária da Corrente Sanguínea (IPCS). Foi observado uma taxa geral de IH nos anos 2016 e 2017 que variou entre 5 e 11,8%. A taxa de ISC, no ano de 2016, teve uma média de 2,5%, porém, percebe-se um aumento considerável em 2017, com uma taxa máxima de 5,9%. Para a PAV, a DI durante o ano de 2016 variou entre 12,9% a 68,8%, já em 2017, a variação foi entre 23,1 e 90%. Em relação a ITU, em 2016, a DI foi 33%, ao passo que em 2017 foi de 28,3%. Para as IPCS, no ano de 2016 a DI máxima foi 55,8%, enquanto em 2017, foi de 27,2%. Para as IH, a prevenção é uma ferramenta essencial. A sensibilização da equipe de saúde, visitantes e familiares quanto as melhores práticas é fundamental para a redução dos índices das IH.

The article considers the psychofunctional mechanism and the impact of physical exercises on the psychophysical condition of future water transport specialists (on the example of the use of competitive fights in hand-to-hand combat in the optional lesson "Self-defense"). From the analysis of actual sources the extreme factors of professional activity (groups of factors of natural conditions, production conditions, social and psychological factors) and interrelation of action of professional activity on a psychophysical condition of experts are defined. According to the method of tapping test: the strength of the nervous system, the effect of physical activity on the psychological state. It is established that the state of psychophysical readiness is a semantic concept and is a physical readiness of the organism, emotional-volitional, intellectual and motivational, which is manifested in the concentration of physiological capabilities of the organism (including reserve), its mental processes, general mobilization, self-confidence, emotional uplift. and the ability to realize the acquired potential. It was determined that the stabilization of the maximum rate of hand movements is associated with the general psychophysical state of the subjects, which correlates with the mental state and the effect of physical activity. Performing physical exercises physiologically affects the psychological state of water transport specialists by training the body's potential reserves. The study confirms the relationship and impact of exercise on the psychological stability of the body. Increased emotional state (fights in training, for some the first) in applicants causes a significant decrease in the maximum rate of hand movements for 10 seconds of the test with its subsequent stabilization. The second-year winners have the indicator of the absolute values of the tapping test before the fights significantly higher than the fi rst- year winners. Ambiguous indicators of asymmetry in first- and second-year applicants are a convincing prerequisite for further research in terms of forming a set of measures of volitional readiness for professional activity.

The study purpose was to examine the anaerobic and aerobic performance and also determine the influence of the anaerobic performance on specific movements during a match-play. Materials and methods. A total of 12 Indonesian professional female players from Bandung district female futsal club were recruited and enrolled to participate in this study. They were required to complete one familiarization and two experimental sessions. During the first session (laboratory test), all players performed a treadmill test to ascertain their maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2max) and a running-based anaerobic sprint test (RAST) to measure their anaerobic performance. For the second session (on-court test), the participants played a simulated match on the court. A training team of 5 experts carried out an investigation regarding each player’s competitive performance per match. Furthermore, the blood lactate concentration and Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) were assessed in the pre- and post-test for both sessions, which were separated by a week to enable the players to recover. Results. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the mean power (MP) and fatigue index (FI) (p = 0.425, p = 0.938, respectively) for anaerobic performance using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), although, the MP and FI of team C was lower compared to A and B. Furthermore, the total number of failed passes and shot off target of team C was larger compared to B and A (for failed passes = 30 vs 20 vs 25, for shot off target 14 vs 13 vs 8). Conclusions. The results obtained indicate that there are strong associations between anaerobic capacity and explosive movements (shooting, tackling, heading and passing) among female futsal players.

In the southeastern of Côte d'Ivoire, ferralsols are characterized by poverty in exchangeable bases, especially potassium, which appears to be the predominant mineral element for oil palm cultivation. In this study, we used improved palm cultivars treated with different rates of potassium fertilizer to determin the effect on oil palms. The experiments were conducted on the CNRA station in La Mé and PALMCI in Ehania (Côte d’Ivoire), following a system block system design comprising of five treatments and four repetitions. Treatments included 5 rates of potassium fertilizer (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5) corresponding to 1; 1.5; 2; 2.5; 3 kg of KCl/tree/year. This study indicates that the different rates of KCl applied, had influence on all of the experimental parameters, namely: yields (TR) and its components (NR; PR and PMR). Yields on the Ehania plantation were significantly higher than those on La Mé. Yield ranged from 18.8 Tons/ha/year (T1) to 22.1 Tons/ha/year (T3) in La Mé, and from 21.2 to 25.6 tons/ha/year in Ehania. The theoretical maximum rates were 2.4 kg of KCl/tree/year in La Mé, compared to 1.9 kg/tree/year on the Ehania plantation. Therefore, these rates will be used in the future extension of potassium fertilizer, in the cultivation of oil palm, in the southeastern of Côte d'Ivoire.

A field study was conducted to evaluate the combined effect of nozzle orientation and vehicle travel speed on droplet dispersion and mosquito mortality of an adulticide applied from a truck mounted ULV sprayer in the City of Gainesville, Florida. Three multi-block areas with dense, medium, and sparse vegetation were selected for the study. Aqua-Reslin ® was applied in each area in the following treatment combinations: a) horizontal nozzle at 24 km/h travel speed, b) 45° upward orientation (standard) at 16 km/h, and c) 22.5° upward orientation at 24 km/h. Caged, three to five day old Aedes albopictus females were used in all evaluations. Spray deposition was determined at various locations inside each application area using Florida Latham Bonds droplet impingers. There was a significant difference in 24-h mortality among the 3 nozzle angle and speed treatment combinations, but not in the interaction between those combinations and application distance. The 22.5° nozzle combination resulted in the greatest mosquito mortality (88.3%) while the 45° combination resulted in the least mortality (63.1%). A significant difference in 24-h mortality among the 3 vegetation densities and application distances occurred with no significant interaction among these two parameters. The greatest Ae. albopictus mortality was recorded in the sparse (91.4%) and the lowest in the medium vegetation area (72.2%) at the maximum rate of 0.0015 lb./acre. Adulticide deposition was not significantly different among vegetation levels, but was significantly different among the distances and interactions of those parameters.

The explicit dependence of the rate of photoinduced ordering (photo-orientation) of an azobenzene-containing liquid-crystalline polymer on the photostationary concentration of cis-azobenzene has been predicted theoretically and found experimentally. The employed kinetic model based on the photoinduced rearrangement of the domain structure of a liquid-crystalline material predicts the maximum rate of photo-orientation at ca. 50% content of the cis-isomer in the photostationary state of irradiation. For experimental fine tuning of the photostationary trans-cis ratio, the simultaneous irradiation of material with two beams of light with different wavelengths was employed. The excellent agreement of theory and experiment indicates that the difference of photostationary fractions of cis-azobenzene fragments in adjacent domains of different orientations is the driving force of photoinduced ordering.

A deep foundation pit in a station of the Hangzhou subway is adjacent to new high-rise residential buildings on the north side and to the Evergrande foundation pit being excavated on the south side. This work considers the excavation of the foundation pit in the subway station as the research subject, focuses on the difference of the deformation and Earth pressure between the north side and the south side of the foundation pit under these special working conditions through the analysis of the measured data, and compares it with an ordinary foundation pit. Analyzing the measured data reveals that the horizontal displacement of the retaining wall and the ground settlement are far larger on the north side than on the south side, and both often exceed the deformation alarm value; the deformation of the ordinary foundation pit is between the deformation of the overloaded (north) side and that of the unloaded (south) side of the foundation pit. Moreover, the maximum rate of the horizontal creep of the soil and the maximum rate of the creep caused by the ground settlement on the north side of the foundation pit are larger than those on the south side of the foundation pit; the maximum rate of the horizontal creep of the ordinary foundation pit is between the two. The active Earth pressure on the pit wall on the north side is higher than that on the south side of the foundation pit, and because of the surrounding unloading, passive Earth pressure is generated at the bottom of the pit wall on the south side of the foundation pit, which causes it to shift to the outside of the foundation pit. The settlement of the surrounding high-rise buildings and the settlement of the columns are all within the range of the alarm values; also, the buildings settle evenly. Due to the excavation and unloading on the south side of the foundation pit, the uplift of the columns is not considerable.

It has been noted that the legal regulation of local taxes and fees is carried out simultaneously at the national and local levels. An exhaustive list of mandatory payments, the range of taxpayers, the objects of taxation, the maximum rate are defined at the national level. The powers granted by the state are used, each of the taxes and fees is established and put into effect separately, the collection mechanisms are regulated in details at the local level. The peculiarity of the legal regulation of local taxes and fees is that local self-government agencies do not have the right to set their own taxes and fees on their territory. It has been noted that each of the local taxes and fees has a number of its own features; examples of such features have been provided. The studied feature is the existence of a simplified system of taxation, accounting and reporting in Ukraine, in particular the legal mechanism for the administration of a single tax in Ukraine. The peculiarity of local taxation systems in Ukraine is its variability due to the instability of tax legislation. It has been concluded that local self-government agencies, taking into account the peculiarities of legal regulation of local taxes and fees, should focus on improving the efficiency of budget and tax planning through reasonable and prudent establishment of local taxes and fees in the relevant territorial community. The need to increase the share of local taxes and fees in local budget revenues has been stressed. It has been argued that most local taxes should be direct taxes to local budgets.

The satellite–terrestrial integrated networks (STINs) have gradually become a new class of effective ways to satisfy the requirements of a higher capacity and stronger connection in the future communications. In contrast with terrestrial networks, the fast periodic motion of satellites results in the dynamic time-varying features of STIN, which further leads to frequent changes in the connectivity of satellite–terrestrial links and the backhaul capacities of satellite networks. To balance the accessible capacity of STIN under the intermittent connectivity and dynamic backhaul capacity, an effective user association mechanism is needed. In this article, a dynamic user association (DUA) mechanism with task classification is proposed to meet the requirements of load balancing and the user task processing. First, a STIN model is constructed with low earth orbit satellites and the three types of base station, which are a macro base station, small cell base station, and low earth orbit based base station. After that, the optimization problem is formulated via jointly considering the task classification, the load condition of base stations, and the backhaul capacity of low earth orbit based base stations. Then, the DUA mechanism is proposed to find the most suitable base station serving each user. In DUA, a dynamic cell range extension algorithm is developed to adjust the load of STIN in terms of the resilient backhaul capacity, and a greedy-based user-centric user association with task classification algorithm is proposed to find the base station, which has the maximum rate and minimum load for each user and to meet the requirements of user task processing. The simulation results show that the proposed DUA can enhance the load balance and guarantee the task processing demand of STIN compared with the reference signal receiving power association and the max-sum rate association algorithms.

Methane explosion threats the safety in mining, gas recovery and the related downstream industry. The present study examined the suppression effect of KHCO3 (K) modified montmorillonite (K/MMT) inhibitor on reducing the hazard of methane/air mixtures explosion. The characteristic indices of explosion containing the maximum pressure (Pmax), the maximum rate of pressure rise ((dP/dt)max), the time of pressure peak arriving (tmax), were experimentally obtained in a standard 20 L explosion device. The hazard mitigating effect of each modified inhibitor was evaluated. which also elucidated the inhibition mechanism based on the characteristic parameters of K/MMT. Results showed that the K/MMT demonstrates better suppression effect than monomer inhibitor and the maximum decrease of Pmax (34.9 %) and (dP/dt)max (94.4 %) occurs when 45 wt% KHCO3 are loaded (45 wt%-K/MMT). When 45 wt%-K/MMT is used, 0.125 g/L is the optimal concentration to decrease KG to a minimum of 0.849 MPa m/s. This work presents an efficient modified inhibitor by using innovative technology, which is applied to mitigate or prevent disaster. The technology also provides theoretical support and technical guidance for the future development of inhibitors.

Tangier city is considered as one of the most important commercial city in Africa as a result of the new construction of its port, Tangier Med. This study evaluated the abundance of micro and macro debris in Tangier beach and their pollution degree. In 2015, a total of 16 samples were collected by season and size between 1 and 5mm. The means of the results in macro debris are: 1651,4 g/season for plastic; 541,82 g/season for lumber/paper; 86,45 g/season for glass; 58,65 g/season for rubber; 42,5 g/season for metal; and 376,25 g/season for Cloth. The fragment presents the maximum rate with 18.75 g of a total of micro debris of 46,277g. The abundance of macro debris is maximum in season 2 (April-June), while the abundance of all types of macro debris is maximum in season 1 (January-March). The micro debris is very tiny throughout all the year.

On the example of published and new experimental data, it was shown that insulin-containing hydrogels based on copolymers of N-(2-D-glucose)acrylamide and acrylamide crosslinked by Concanavalin A can simulate one of the functions of the pancreas, i.e., they can secrete insulin upon an increase in the glucose concentration in the surrounding medium, including a two-stage mechanism with the maximum rate in the first stage.

The present study addresses the herbicidal activity and biological effects of the metribuzin (MET) and tribenuron-methyl (TBM) herbicides used to control various weed species (Amaranthus retroflexus, Sinapis arvensis, and Leucanthemum maximum). The effects of the free herbicides and the herbicides embedded in granules of degradable polymer poly-3-hydroxybutyrate [P(3HB)] blended with birch wood flour were compared. Metribuzin, regardless of the form, caused 100% mortality of the three weeds by day 21. The herbicidal activity of tribenuron-methyl was lower than that of metribuzin, but the embedded TBM was superior to the free herbicide in the length and strength of its action on the weeds. Both metribuzin forms dramatically decreased the main parameters of fluorescence: maximum quantum yield of photosystem-II [Y(II)max], maximum quantum yield of non-photochemical quenching [Y(NPQ)max], and maximum rate of non-cyclic electron transport [ETRmax] and concentrations of chlorophyll a and b. The effect of the embedded TBM on the photosynthetic activity of the weeds was lower in the first two weeks of the growth of herbicide-treated plants but lasted longer than the effect of the free TBM and increased over time. Embedding of metribuzin in the matrix of degradable blend did not decrease its herbicidal activity.

Field experimentations were carried out to examine the impact of N-levels and foliar application treatments on yield characters of sunflower cultivar Sakha-53 during 2016 and 2017 seasons at El-Muhandis Village in Sherbin District, Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt. Experimentations were conducted using a strip plot design with three replicates. Vertical plots were devoted to nitrogen fertilizer rates (20, 25 and 30 kg N/fed). While, six spraying transactions i.e. without, water spraying, amino acids (AA), yeast extract (YE), commercial NPK + micro elements (Fe, Mn and Cu) as Estima-Green powder, and the mix of AA, YE and commercial NPK + micro-elements were distributed on the horizontal plots. Fertilizing with 30 kg N/fed yielded the maximum rates of yield and its attributes during 1st and 2nd years. Fertilizing with 25 kg N/fed came after the maximum rate of N fertilizer. The spraying two times with the mix of AA, YE and commercial NPK + micro-elements gave the maximum rates of crop and its components in both years, then spraying sunflower plants twice with commercial NPK + Micro (1.5 g/L) in every spray. It can be accomplished that sunflower cultivar Sakha-53 with 25 kg N fed-1 as well as spraying twice with the mix of AA, yeast extract and commercial NPK + Micro so as to preserve high productivity at the same time decrease production expenses and ecological contamination under the ecological circumstances of Dakahlia- Governorate, Egypt.

Most coal seams in China are characterized by high‐gas pressure and high‐gas content, which seriously threaten the safety of coal mines. Gas extraction is an effective measure for preventing gas disasters. However, the drilling process in soft coal seams is inefficient; it is difficult for the boreholes to reach the design length. The rate of penetration (ROP) plays an important role in determining drilling efficiency and borehole length in soft coal seams. In this study, we establish a simplified ROP model for soft coal seams and evaluate the maximum ROP of Hebi No. 6 coal mine. First, the drill cutting transport capacity of the drilling system and drill cutting quantity generated during the drilling process are analyzed. By simplifying drill cutting transport and coal seam properties, the ROP model is established. Second, the Rock Failure Process Analysis software is used to analyze the deformation region of boreholes, which has a great influence on the drill cutting transport space. Finally, a field test is implemented in Hebi No. 6 coal mine in Henan Province, China, to verify the model, and we propose a measure to control the ROP below the maximum value to increase the length of the borehole. The test results indicate that the model has high accuracy, with errors less than 15%, and the lengths of boreholes in air‐return and transportation roadways are increased to 60 and 80 m, respectively, and the increase rate is greater than 50%.

This article presents a miniature magnetic swimmer and a control apparatus able to perform both 3-D path following and blood clot removal. The robots are 2.5 mm in diameter, 6 mm in length, contain an internal permanent magnet, and have cutting tips coated in diamond powder. The robots are magnetically propelled by an external magnetic system using three coil pairs arranged orthogonally. A range of robot tip designs were tested for abrading human blood clots in vitro . The best design removed a blood clot at a maximum rate of 20.13 mm $^3$ /min. A controller for 3-D navigation is presented and tested. The best prototype was used in an experiment that combined both 3-D path following and blood clot removal.

In this study, a lab-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor was applied to studying the high-rate nitrogen removal of granule-based anammox process. The nitrogen removal rate (NRR) finally improved to 15.77 kg/m3/d by shortening hydraulic retention time (HRT) to 1.06 h. Well-shaped red anammox granules were extensively enriched inside the reactor. The results of nitrogen removal kinetics indicated that the present bioreactor has great nitrogen removal potential, because the maximum rate of substrate utilization (Umax) predicted by Stover-Kincannon model is suggested as 55.68 kg/(m3·d). Analysis of the microbial community showed that the anammox genus Candidatus Kuenenia dominated the bacterial communities. The relative abundance of Candidatus Kuenenia rose from 12.29% to 36.95% after progressively shorter HRT and higher influent substrate concentrations, illustrating the stability of nitrogen removal performance and biomass enrichment offered by the UASB in carrying out high-rate anammox process.

NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? Are fitness-related improvements in thermoregulatory responses during uncompensable heat stress mediated by aerobic capacity VO2max or is it the partial heat acclimation associated with training? What is the main finding and its importance? During uncompensable heat stress, individuals with high and low VO2max displayed similar sweating and core temperature responses whereas exercise training in previously untrained individuals resulted in a greater sweat rate and a smaller rise in core temperature. These observations suggest that it is training, not VO2max per se, that mediates thermoregulatory improvements during uncompensable heat stress. ABSTRACT It remains unclear whether aerobic fitness, as defined by the maximum rate of oxygen consumption VO2max , independently improves heat dissipation in uncompensable environments, or whether the thermoregulatory adaptations associated with heat acclimation are due to repeated bouts of exercise-induced heat stress during regular aerobic training. The present analysis sought to determine if VO2max independently influences thermoregulatory sweating, maximum skin wettedness (ωmax ) and the change in rectal temperature (ΔTre ) during 60 min of exercise in an uncompensable environment (37.0 ± 0.8°C, 4.0 ± 0.2 kPa, 64 ± 3% relative humidity) at a fixed rate of heat production per unit mass (6 W kg-1 ). Retrospective analyses were performed on 22 participants (3 groups), aerobically unfit (UF; n = 7; VO2max : 41.7 ± 9.4 ml kg-1 min-1 ), aerobically fit (F; n = 7; VO2max : 55.6 ± 4.3 ml kg-1 min-1 ; P

Zirconium powder, a main potential dangerous source in nuclear industry, has been focused on its explosion characteristics in this paper. Experiments were performed in a 20 L cylindrical explosion vessel with the influences of initial ignition energy, ignition delay time and zirconium concentration. Results showed that the maximum explosion pressure of zirconium-air mixture rose with the increase of the initial ignition energy, and a peak value was obtained with the variation of the ignition delay time. Lower explosion limit with the initial ignition energy of 10 kJ is 10 g/m³. Furthermore, explosion severity parameters, including maximum explosion pressure, maximum rate of pressure rise and maximum explosion index of zirconium-air mixture, were also obtained with the coupling variation between initial ignition energy and dust concentration. Research results and data obtained are a supplement to the utilization and safety operation of zirconium powders.

The influence of systematic errors due to the influence of the imaginary part in the spectrum of a sinusoidal signal on the zinc of its normalized frequency using the method of discrete Fourier transform (DFT) with interpolation with a maximum decay rate of the side lobes is analyzed. Results are given for estimating the absolute error of the normalized frequency and conditions are found for the minimum integer number of sine wave cycles, taking into account which guarantees the value of this error is less than a certain given level. The reliability of the results received is confirmed by computer simulation. In practice, the frequencies of the sinusoidal signal and the sample do not satisfy the coherent sample ratio, which results in the well-known effect of erosion or «leakage» of the spectrum components. This means that the energy of the spectral lines propagates along the frequency axis. To reduce the errors associated with blurring the spectrum, leaching is used. The best results were achieved in the case of «age» with a maximum rate of decline of the side lobes (SSBL), which include the «windows» of Rife-Vincent’s class 1 and the use of the corresponding ratios.

Dust explosions have been often reported in many industries that handle or process combustible dusts, with great losses to life and property. This explosion risk could be amplified under some extreme conditions like high-temperature environments. In this work, we develop a 2D numerical method to investigate explosion characteristics of corn starch cloud with an emphasis on the roles of high-temperature environments. The particle tracking trajectories and devolatilization evolution at high-temperature environments are described. The dust explosion severity characteristics including maximum explosion pressure (Pex) and maximum rate of pressure rise (dp/dt)max, are also investigated. In addition, the characterized devolatilization and explosion time are applied to analyze dust explosion behavior and flame propagation. The devolatilization evolution of dust cloud and flame propagation modes are found to vary with ambient temperature. And three ignition modes are observed after ignition. The simulation also provides a satisfactory prediction for dust explosion behavior at high-temperature environments.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are critical components in the generation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) as well as ozone. In this study, the compositions of VOC emissions from two dyestuff plants were sampled and quantitatively analyzed using SUMMA canister sampling, a pre-concentrator, and GC-MS. Based on the organized emission concentrations, the two plants generated an estimated 443.0 kg a–1 and 667.8 kg a–1 of VOCs, which were dominated by halogenated hydrocarbons. The differences in composition between the plants, plant workshops, and production chains were remarkable. The average removal rate of the VOCs was calculated to be 86.1%, with alkanes and alkenes exhibiting the maximum rate, followed by halogenated hydrocarbons and OVOCs. Our research establishes the characteristics of VOCs—including their EFs, which have hitherto remained unassessed—generated by dyestuff production and offers supporting air quality data for emission inventories of relevant industries as well as policy making.

Introduction: Outcome of care is an important measure of quality in health care and also provides input for healthcare planning. It is an indicator which can be used for comparing performance of various hospital/Institute. Aims: Study intended to analyze the morbidity and mortality pattern among admitted patients with respect to selected hospital indices. Study Settings: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional retrospective study was conducted in 93,223 patients admitted at AIIMS, New Delhi. Information provided in Management Information System (MIS) was used for analysing morbidity as per International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD)-10. Results: Diseases related to the genitourinary system (14.25%) and neoplasms (14.18%) were the most common cause of admissions. Overall, predominance of adult age group (61.6%) followed by geriatric age group (20.5%) was observed. Male predominance was observed in diseases related to mental, behavioural, and neurodevelopmental disorders (89.2%). Overall, median length of stay was calculated to be 4 days (mean LOS-7 days), maximum for diseases related to mental, behavioural, and neurodevelopmental disorders (median 13 days). Gross and net death rate for admitted patients was calculated to be 4.3% and 3%, respectively, with maximum rate for diseases related to respiratory system (22.7% and 17%). Conclusions: Analysis of morbidity and mortality in high volume tertiary care centers and segregation of the patients according to their ailment and disease behaviour helps in establishing priorities in healthcare delivery system and thus allocating limited resources accordingly.

In the spirit of punctuated equilibrium, complexity is quantified relatively in terms of the spacing between equally important evolutionary turning points (milestones). Thirteen data sets of such milestones, obtained from a variety of scientific sources, provide data on the most important complexity jumps between the big bang and today. Forecasts for future complexity jumps are obtained via exponential and logistic fits on the data. The quality of the fits and common sense dictate that the forecast by the logistic function should be retained. This forecast stipulates that we have already reached the maximum rate of growth for complexity, and that in the future, complexity's rate of change (and the rate of change in our lives) will be declining. One corollary is that we are roughly halfway through the lifetime of the universe. Another result is that complexity's rate of growth has built up to its present high level via seven evolutionary subprocesses, themselves amenable to logistic description.

Filler, as a component of hot mix asphalt, has an important role in improving the mechanical properties and extending the lifespan of asphalt. This research is conducted to evaluate the use of ceramic waste as filler and its effect on the mechanical properties of asphalt. For this purpose, ceramic waste powder was replaced with conventional limestone filler at 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% proportions. Marshall stability, moisture sensitivity, four-point bending fatigue, and wheel track tests were used to investigate the effect of ceramic waste on asphalt performance. The results indicated that the Marshall stability was enhanced in all replacement ratios of the ceramic (23% increment for the maximum rate of substitution). Also, the resistance of the asphalt to moisture improved by approximately 5% after using 100% ceramic waste powder. In addition, the results showed that this rate of substitution as filler of HMA increased the fatigue life (approximately 600 cycles more than control specimens) and rutting resistance (reduction of almost 31% of the rut depth). Therefore, this waste material first improved the mechanical properties of HMA, and can also be used as a suitable approach for recycling this waste material.

Explosion characteristics of methylcyclohexane (MCH)-methanol- and toluene-methanol-air mixtures were investigated in a closed vessel at 0.1 MPa covering wide blending ratio range. The explosion hazard was evaluated by determining important explosion parameters. Comparisons were made between MCH- and toluene-air mixtures and the effects of methanol addition were identified. Results show that MCH-air yields approximate peak explosion pressure with toluene-air mixture but higher maximum rate of pressure rise. For the blend-air mixtures, the methanol addition exerts limited effect on the peak explosion pressure. For the maximum rate of pressure rise, the 20% methanol addition results in slight variation and further addition of methanol causes significant increase tendency. Regarding explosion phase parameters, toluene-air has longer explosion delay and burn period than MCH-air does. At the lean mixture side, the methanol addition generates slight decreases of explosion delay and burn period. At the rich mixture side, 20% methanol addition slightly extends the explosion delay and yields limited effect on the burn period. Further addition of methanol could significantly decrease the explosion delay and burn period simultaneously. Finally, the deflagration index was exponentially correlated with the explosion delay or burn period with the fitting constants listed.

Temperature as a central element of weather and climate exerts a strong influence on environment at every spatial and temporal scale. Long-term patterns and trends indicate the direction in which temperature regime has changed in the past and are likely to shape up in the future. Of equal significance is the likelihood of extreme temperature events and their impacts. Climate researchers in the past 20 years have revealed occurrence of significantly longer heat waves in many regions. Large geographical extent and climatic variations produces contrasting patterns of change in temperature extremes in India. A highly diverse landscape of Himalayas has experienced warming in recent decades with significant mean annual and winter warming. Consequently, temperature extremes in such regions are likely to impact the regional development and economy. This paper explores long-term trends, variations, direction and degree of change in temperature extremes over Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The analysis reveals that warming of the study area has taken place especially during the winter season. The fact which attracts attention is the maximum rate of change over extreme climatic zones especially in the northern Himachal Pradesh and southwestern Punjab Plains. These observed changes may have far-fetching ramification on general climatic regime, environment and human-economic activities.

Biological nitrogen (N) fixation is the most relevant process in soybeans (Glycine max L.) to satisfy plant N demand and sustain seed protein formation. Past studies describing N fixation for field-grown soybeans mainly focused on a single point time measurement (mainly toward the end of the season) and on the partial N budget (fixed-N minus seed N removal), overlooking the seasonal pattern of this process. Therefore, this study synthesized field datasets involving multiple temporal measurements during the crop growing season to characterize N fixation dynamics using both fixed-N (kg ha−1) and N derived from the atmosphere [Ndfa (%)] to define: (i) time to the maximum rate of N fixation (β2), (ii) time to the maximum Ndfa (α2), and (iii) the cumulative fixed-N. The main outcomes of this study are that (1) the maximum rate of N fixation was around the beginning of pod formation (R3 stage), (2) time to the maximum Ndfa (%) was after full pod formation (R4), and (3) cumulative fixation was positively associated with the seasonal vapor-pressure deficit (VPD) and growth cycle length but negatively associated with soil clay content, and (4) time to the maximum N fixation rate (β2) was positively impacted by season length and negatively impacted by high temperatures during vegetative growth (but positively for VPD, during the same period). Overall, variation in the timing of the maximum rate of N fixation occurred within a much narrower range of growth stages (R3) than the timing of the maximum Ndfa (%), which varied broadly from flowering (R1) to seed filing (R5–R6) depending on the evaluated studies. From a phenotyping standpoint, N fixation determinations after the R4 growth stage would most likely permit capturing both maximum fixed-N rate and maximum Ndfa (%). Further investigations that more closely screen the interplay between N fixation with soil-plant-environment factors should be pursued.

During the world-famous Holi festival, people throw and smear each other with a colored powder (Holi color, Holi powder, Gulal powder). Until now, adverse health and environmental effects (skin and eye irritation, air pollution, and respiratory problems) have been described in the available literature. However, the literature lacks data on the flammable and explosive properties of these powders during mass events, despite the fact that burns, fires, and explosions during the Holi festival have taken place many times. The aim of the article is to present the fire and explosion parameters of three currently used Holi dust and cornflour dust types as reference dust. The minimum ignition temperature of the dust layer and dust cloud, the maximum explosion pressure and its maximum rate of growth over time, the lower explosion limit, the limit of oxygen concentration, and the minimum ignition energy were determined. Tests confirmed that the currently available Holi powders should be classified as flammable dusts and low-explosive dusts. The likelihood of a fire or explosion during mass incidents involving a Holi dust-air mixture is high.

The most serious problem of intergeneric and interspecific hybridization is related to overcoming the reproductive isolation of different species. We assessed the efficiency of reproduction under in vitro conditions and the ex vitro growth capacity of interspecific hybrids of Vaccinium uliginosum × (V. corymbosum × V. angustifolium). The percentage of seed germination in in vitro culture was 88% for V. uliginosum, form No. 8 × (V. corymbosum × V. angustifolium), SC5-8, while it was 42% for V. uliginosum, form No. 8 × (V. corymbosum × V. angustifolium), ‘Northcountry’. The analysis of mean value showed that the multiplication rate increased and the shoot height decreased as the 2-isopentenyl adenine (2iP) concentration was increased in the nutrient medium of the studied hybrids. The maximum rate was achieved using 15 μM 2iP. A detailed analysis of the hybrids indicated that the hybrid variant reliably affected growth and development indicators. Inter simple sequence repeat analysis demonstrated that all analyzed hybrids inherited DNA fragments of the parent plants in various combinations, confirming their hybrid nature. Thus, the use of in vitro methods for the propagation and further selection of genotypes is demonstrated as being an effective approach for developing interspecific hybrids of V. uliginosum × (V. corymbosum × V. angustifolium).

Key Points Question Is the increase of hearing loss among shipyard workers more rapid at 12.5 kHz than at lower frequencies, and do any auditory processing deficits occur before there is significant hearing loss? Findings In this cross-sectional study of 7890 shipyard workers, hearing loss at 12.5 kHz was more rapid than at lower frequencies. Greater cumulative noise exposure was associated with auditory processing deficits among those with near-normal hearing. Meaning These findings suggest that a 12.5-kHz threshold and auditory processing disorders could serve as early indicators of noise-induced hearing impairment., This cross-sectional study examines whether hearing loss among shipyard workers increases more rapidly at extended higher frequencies and whether subtle auditory processing deficits are present in those with extensive noise exposure but little or no hearing loss., Importance It is important to determine what frequencies and auditory perceptual measures are the most sensitive early indicators of noise-induced hearing impairment. Objectives To examine whether hearing loss among shipyard workers increases more rapidly at extended high frequencies than at clinical frequencies and whether subtle auditory processing deficits are present in those with extensive noise exposure but little or no hearing loss. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study collected audiometric data (0.25-16 kHz), survey questionnaires, and noise exposure levels from 7890 shipyard workers in a Shanghai shipyard from 2015 to 2019. Worsening hearing loss was evaluated in the group with hearing loss. Speech processing and temporal processing were evaluated in 610 participants with noise exposure and clinically normal hearing to identify early biomarkers of noise-induced hearing impairment. Data analysis was conducted from November to December 2020. Main Outcomes and Measures Linear regression was performed to model the increase in hearing loss as function of cumulative noise exposure and compared with a group who were monitored longitudinally for 4 years. Auditory processing tests included speech-in-noise tests, competing sentence tests, dichotic listening tests, and gap detection threshold tests and were compared with a control group without history of noise exposure. Results Of the 5539 participants (median [interquartile range (IQR)] age, 41.0 [34.0-47.0] years; 3861 [86.6%] men) included in the cross-sectional analysis, 4459 (80.5%) were hearing loss positive and 1080 (19.5%) were hearing loss negative. In younger participants (ie, ≤40 years), the maximum rate of increase in hearing loss was 0.40 (95% CI, 0.39-0.42) dB per A-weighted dB–year (dB/dBA-year) at 12.5 kHz, higher than the growth rates of 0.36 (95% CI, 0.35-0.36) dB/dBA-year at 4 kHz, 0.32 (95% CI, 0.31-0.33) dB/dBA-year at 10 kHz, 0.31 (95% CI, 0.30-0.31) dB/dBA-year at 6 kHz, 0.27 (95% CI, 0.26-0.27) dB/dBA-year at 3 kHz, and 0.27 (95% CI, 0.27-0.28) dB/dBA-year at 8 kHz. In the 4-year longitudinal analysis of hearing loss among 403 participants, the mean (SD) annual deterioration in hearing was 2.70 (2.98) dB/y at 12.5 kHz, almost twice as that observed at lower frequencies (eg, at 3kHz: 1.18 [2.15] dB/y). The auditory processing scores of participants with clinically normal hearing and a history of noise exposure were significantly lower than those of control participants (eg, median [IQR] score on speech-in-noise test, noise-exposed group 1 vs control group: 0.63 [0.55-0.66] vs 0.78 [0.76-0.80]; P

We present two families of augmented Reed-Muller (ARM) codes, which are evaluation codes obtained by adding specific vectors to a Reed-Muller code. We develop exact repair schemes for single erasures for these ARM codes. When a dimension and a base field are fixed, we give examples where ARM codes provide a lower bandwidth in comparison with Reed-Solomon codes. We analyze the asymptotical behavior when ARM codes achieve the maximum rate.

Reemergent local outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have occurred in China, yet few Chinese response strategies and its evaluation have been reported. This study presents a preliminary assessment of Chinese strategy in controlling reemergent local outbreaks of COVID-19. Time course of accumulative and daily new cases and time-varying reproductive numbers (Rt) of outbreak areas were presented. The asymptomatic rate, days required to control the outbreaks, seeding time (ST), and doubling time (DT) of areas with over 96 reemergent cases were calculated. National and local year-on-year growth rates of gross domestic product (GDP) were presented. Accumulative numbers of 30, 8, 11, 430, 15, 139, 1,067, 382, 42, and 94 confirmed reemergent COVID-19 cases were diagnosed in Hulun Buir, Shanghai, Tianjin, Kashgar, Qingdao, Dalian, Urumchi, Beijing, Jilin, and Harbin, respectively. Among them, maximum rate of asymptomatic infections was 81.9%. Time required to control the local outbreaks in the areas given above varied from 29 to 51 days. After activation of outbreak responses, the late-stage DTs of Kashgar, Urumchi, Beijing, and Dalian were apparently lengthened compared to the early-stage DTs. Although the year-on-year GDP growth rate of Urumchi was slightly affected, the GDP growth rate of Dalian, Beijing, Jilin, and Harbin kept rising during the reemergence. Moreover, the year-on-year GDP growth rate of Mainland China turned positive regardless of the reemergent local outbreaks. In general, the Chinese strategy to maintain the status of no or minimal transmission was effective in balancing the control of COVID-19 reemergent local outbreak and the recovery of economy.

Aim: This study aimed to compare the heart rate (HR) values and technical actions frequencies during small-sided (SSG) and generic (GG) games in women futsal players. Methods: Six futsal players (age: 20.5 ± 7.4 years, height: 163.3 ± 16 cm, body mass: 57.9 ± 22 kg, maximum rate of oxygen consumption (VO2max): 42.0 ± 9 mL.kg.min−1) performed two experimental conditions in two days separated for at least 72h of interval: (1) one set of 10 min of SSG, 3x3 players; and (2) one set of 10 min of GG, 4 (1 joker) x 4 (1 joker) players. During each experimental session, the subject's HR values were monitored every 1 min of play. Pass, shot, dribbling, driving, and disarmament were recorded during the games. Results: There was no difference between SSG and GG for HR average (p = 0.50). The HR values that were recorded at the first minute of GG were higher than SSG (p = 0.02). The HRmax in SSG and GG were equivalent to 91.9% and 90.8% of HRmax of the incremental test, respectively. Total technical actions were higher in SSG (+ 18.4%, p = 0.001) than GG. Pass was higher in the SSG (+16%; p = 0.01) in comparison to GG. Conclusion: Both models were higher than HRmax equivalent to AT velocity. The technical actions of the SSG were higher than GG, suggesting that the SSG model is a suitable technical and physiological stimulus for the development of female futsal players.