Frequency of Glomerular Dysfunction in Children with Beta Thalassaemia Major

Objectives: This study investigated the frequency of glomerular dysfunction in children with beta thalassaemia major (β-TM) by using different markers and correlating them with serum ferritin and iron chelation therapy. Methods: The study, carried out between August 2011 and May 2012, included 100 patients with β-TM, in two groups. Group Ia (n = 62) received chelation therapy (deferoxamine). Group Ib (n = 38) received followup care at the Pediatric Hematology Outpatient Clinic, Minia University Children’s Hospital, Egypt. Group II included 50 apparently healthy controls, age- and sex-matched to Group I. All patients underwent a thorough history-taking, clinical examination and laboratory investigations. Results: Compared to Group II, Groups Ia and Ib had significantly higher levels of cystatin C, serum creatinine and serum ferritin, and a higher albumin/ creatinine ratio in their urine, and a significantly lower estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and creatinine clearance (P <0.05). Moreover, Group Ιa had a significantly lower eGFR and creatinine clearance than Group Ib. Cystatin C had a highly significant strong negative correlation with eGFR and creatinine clearance and a significantly strong positive correlation with serum ferritin, and a higher sensitivity and specificity than serum creatinine and creatinine clearance for small changes in GFR. Conclusion: β-TM patients had a high frequency of glomerular dysfunction—possibly attributable to chronic anaemia, iron overload or chelation therapy. Periodic renal assessment is mandatory to detect renal complications. Cystatin C is a promising marker to monitor glomerular dysfunction, having a higher sensitivity and specificity than serum creatinine and creatinine clearance for small changes in GFR

Solar Energy Conversion and Storage: Rose Bengal-Triton X-100 by Photogalvanic Cell

Photogalvanic cells are photoelectrochemical devices involving ions as mobile charges moving in solution through diffusion process. These cells are capable of solar power generation at low cost with inherent storage capacity. This property of photogalvanic cell needs to be exploited as this technology is cleaner and promising for application in daily life. In our work, Rose Bengal is used as photosensitizer with oxalic acid as reductant and triton as surfactant for photoelectrochemical conversion of solar energy into electrical energy. The photopotential and photocurrent generated were 289.0 mV and 29.1 µA, respectively. The maximum power of the cell was 8.409 µW. The observed conversion efficiency was 0.023 % and fill factor was determined as 0.293 against the maximum theoretical value 1.0. The photogalvanic cell can work for 45.0 min in dark after irradiation for 21.0 min, i.e. the storage capacity of the photogalvanic cell is 45 min. The effect of different parameters on electrical output of the cell was studied and a mechanism has also been proposed for the generation of photocurrent in photogalvanic cell. Keywords: Rose Bengal; Oxalic acid; Triton; Conversion efficiency; Storage capacity; Photocurrent

Analyse du potentiel du BIM en construction préfabriquée et élaboration d’un cadre d’implantation

Malgré ses avantages, la préfabrication au Québec note une baisse de la productivité notamment en raison de l’inefficacité de certains de ses processus d’affaires. Parallèlement, le BIM apparaît comme une solution favorisant l’intégration des processus et des acteurs impliqués dans un projet de construction. C’est dans cette optique que s’insère cette maîtrise dont le but est de démystifier le BIM et d’étudier son impact pour faciliter son implantation dans les petites et moyennes entreprises (PMEs) québécoises de préfabrication. Pour ce faire, une revue de la littérature a été réalisée, afin d’établir un état de l’art sur l’adoption du BIM dans le monde. Ensuite, des entrevues semi-dirigées avec des experts BIM ont été tenues dans le but d’analyser l’expérience québécoise avec cette approche. Des analyses qualitatives ont dès lors été menées pour dresser un portrait de l’implantation du BIM au Québec en termes de barrières présentes et de bonnes pratiques. Puis, un sondage a été lancé auprès de manufacturiers québécois pour analyser la situation actuelle de ce secteur et adapter les recommandations à cette réalité. La phase de synthèse a permis de présenter 30 freins critiques et 31 recommandations pour les éviter. Finalement, un cadre d’implantation du BIM dans un projet de préfabrication a été élaboré, indiquant à chaque phase les acteurs impliqués et les actions à prendre. La recherche a ainsi permis de relever les barrières les plus critiques à l’adoption du BIM, de nature technologique, humaine, organisationnelle, financière et légale. Elle a également mis en relief l’importance d’analyser la situation de l’entreprise et d’évaluer ses ressources avant de faire ce virage numérique.Despite its advantages, prefabrication in Quebec faces a drop in productivity, due to the inefficiency of some of its business processes. Meanwhile, BIM appears as a solution that promotes the integration of processes and stakeholders involved in a construction project. It is in this perspective that this master project aims to demystify BIM and to study its impact in order to facilitate its implementation in Quebec’s small and medium-sized prefabrication companies (SMEs). To do so, a literature review was conducted to establish a state of the art about the adoption of BIM around the world. Semi-structured interviews with BIM experts were held in order to analyze the Quebec position with this approach. Qualitative analyses were also conducted to study BIM main barriers and best practices. Then, a survey was launched among Quebec manufacturers to analyze the current situation in this sector and adapt the BIM best practices to this reality. The synthesis phase led to 30 critical barriers and 31 recommendations to better face them. Finally, a framework for implementing BIM in a prefabrication project was developed, indicating at each phase the players involved and the actions to be taken. The research has thus raised the most critical barriers to BIM adoption, encompassing technological, human, organizational, financial and legal challenges. It also highlighted the importance of analyzing the current situation of the company and assessing its resources before making this digital shift

Barriers, trategies, and best practices for BIM Adoption in Quebec prefabrication small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Prefabricated construction has long faced problems due to the industry’s fragmentation. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has thus appeared as an efficient solution to provide a favorable environment for efficient completion of projects. Despite its benefits, implementing BIM successfully in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent the vast majority of manufacturers in Quebec, requires deep risk analysis and rigorous strategies. Hence, this work aims to study BIM implementation barriers, strategies, and best practices in wood prefabrication for SMEs through a literature review, semi-structured interviews, and an online survey. After qualitative content analysis, 30 critical barriers, 7 strategic milestones, and 31 best practices to maximize BIM benefits were revealed. One of the critical barriers concerns the effort required to develop BIM software libraries and programs to translate information from the BIM model to production equipment. Among the best strategies, it is essential to start by analyzing the current business model of the SMEs and to appoint a small BIM committee whose main responsibilities are management, coordination, and modeling. The prevalent best practices were to support the implementation team and encourage communication and collaboration. Previous studies show that BIM is not fully exploited in prefabrication for various reasons. This study highlights the critical barriers, strategies, and best practices for BIM adoption and proposes a framework for BIM implementation in prefabrication SMEs in Quebec, Canada. It also provides a summary of current knowledge and guidelines to promote BIM adoption in this sector

原子力プラントの炉心核特性計算として規制局で使用される計算方法

福井大学博士(工学)doctoral thesi

The Frequency of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus among Diabetic Children in El Minia Governorate, Egypt

Objectives: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in children and adolescents is becoming an increasingly important public health concern throughout the world. This study aimed to estimate the frequency of T2DM among diabetic young people in El-Minia Governorate, Egypt, and to detect its risk factors. Methods: A total of 210 diabetic patients under 18 years old in Minia Governorate were included in the study and underwent a thorough history-taking, a physical examination and laboratory investigations. Results: T2DM was present in 28 patients (13.3%); it was significantly present in 18 females (64.3%) and 20 (71.4%) of them had a positive family history of DM. T2DM patients had significantly higher BMI and waist circumference centiles for age and sex than those with T1DM. Also, haemoglobin A1c %, serum C-peptide and cholesterol levels were significantly higher in T2DM than T1DM patients. Finally, there were weak significant positive correlations between C-peptide level and both BMI and waist circumference. Conclusion: T2DM is no longer a disease of adults but can also occur in children and adolescents. The results suggested that obesity, female gender and a positive family history of DM are risk factors for T2DM. Also, patients with T2DM had poorer glycaemic control and hypercholesterolemia than those with other types of diabetes