Mathematical relation predicts achievable densities of compacted particles

Series of mathematical relationships predicts compact densities of spherical shapes in a cylinder as a function of particle dimension, and compact density of angular shapes as a function of particle shape and absolute size

Species richness, abundance and phenology of fungal fruit bodies over 21 years in a Swiss forest plot

Fungal fruit bodies were surveyed on a plot area of 1500 m2 from 1975¿99 (excluding 1980¿83) in the fungal reserve La Chaneaz in western Switzerland. Fruit bodies were identified and counted on a weekly basis. Species richness and abundances varied strongly between years. More than 400 species were encountered. Many species were transient; particularly rich years showed species occurring for only one year. This indicates that the number of species will substantially increase if the survey is continued. Within years, the species richness, abundances and periods of fruiting were tightly correlated. The abundance data of species within a year seemed symmetrically distributed over their fruiting period. The relation between species richness and abundances within years was studied by fitting species-abundance plots, known from numerical ecology. The surface area under the curves was taken as a parameter for ecological/fungal diversity. Productivity was correlated with the precipitation from June until October. The time of fruit body appearance was correlated with the temperatures in July and August. As groups, mycorrhizal and saprotrophic species behaved similarly over the years. The productivity of species was compared with their distribution in The Netherlands indicating a correlation between the level of local abundance and the geographic range of specie

Analysis and trade-off studies of large lightweight mirror structures

A candidate mirror, hexagonally lightweighted, is analyzed under various loadings using as complete a procedure as possible. Successive simplifications are introduced and compared to an original analysis. A model which is a reasonable compromise between accuracy and cost is found and is used for making trade-off studies of the various structural parameters of the lightweighted mirror

Towards Eliminating Malaria in High Endemic Countries: The Roles of Community Health Workers and Related Cadres and their Challenges in Integrated Community Case Management for Malaria: A Systematic Review.

Human resource for health crisis has impaired global efforts against malaria in highly endemic countries. To address this, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended scaling-up of community health workers (CHWs) and related cadres owing to their documented success in malaria and other disease prevention and management. Evidence is inconsistent on the roles and challenges they encounter in malaria interventions. This systematic review aims to summarize evidence on roles and challenges of CHWs and related cadres in integrated community case management for malaria (iCCM). This systematic review retrieved evidence from PubMed, CINAHL, ISI Web of Knowledge, and WHO regional databases. Terms extracted from the Boolean phrase used for PubMed were also used in other databases. The review included studies with Randomized Control Trial, Quasi-experimental, Pre-post interventional, Longitudinal and cohort, Cross-sectional, Case study, and Secondary data analysis. Because of heterogeneity, only narrative synthesis was conducted for this review. A total of 66 articles were eligible for analysis out of 1380 studies retrieved. CHWs and related cadre roles in malaria interventions included: malaria case management, prevention including health surveillance and health promotion specific to malaria. Despite their documented success, CHWs and related cadres succumb to health system challenges. These are poor and unsustainable finance for iCCM, workforce related challenges, lack of and unsustainable supply of medicines and diagnostics, lack of information and research, service delivery and leadership challenges. Community health workers and related cadres had important preventive, case management and promotive roles in malaria interventions. To enable their effective integration into the health systems, the identified challenges should be addressed. They include: introducing sustainable financing on iCCM programmes, tailoring their training to address the identified gaps, improving sustainable supply chain management of malaria drugs and diagnostics, and addressing regulatory challenges in the local contexts

Comparative analysis of extracted heights from topographic maps and measured reduced levels in Kumasi, Ghana

No other mapping product has had widespread applications in developmental planning than the topographic map. Topographic maps represent the three-dimensional landscape by providing relief information in the form of contours in addition to plan information on which natural and man-made landmarks are quite accurately represented. Height information, extractible from topographic maps, comes in handy for most land use planning. However, generalizations during contouring and the need to interpolate between successive contours for specific grid nodes introduce errors in extracted heights. There is therefore, the necessity to use some mathematical modeling to remove discrepancies in the interpolation process to improve elevation data extracted from topographic maps. In this study, the accuracy of spot heights derived from interpolated and extracted heights from topographical maps is assessed. Two different mathematical models - a third degree polynomial regression model and the Thompson’s Multiple Variable Polynomial regression models, were respectively used to model the relationship between extracted heights and ground reduced levels. Results from the two models indicate that, the latter presents better refinements to converting extracted heights into reduced levels with a coefficient of determination value of 95.9%, although further research is recommended to investigate numerical techniques that could improve the solution to the Thompson’s polynomial. The Thompson’s model was implemented as a crude height refiner program that receives extracted heights to return corrected heights. The implication of these results for the mapping community is that, it is possible to model a correction function that can help obtain reasonably accurate heights from topographic maps. This will reduce the necessity of always going back to the field for field surveys in spite of the fact that topographic maps covering an area already exists.Keywords: Topographic maps, Interpolation, Thompson’s polynomial, Levelling, Terrain model

1H and 13C NMR assignments for a series of Diels–Alder adducts of anthracene and 9‐substituted anthracenes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111949/1/mrc4268.pd

Factors affecting the adoption of emerging technologies in the malaysian construction industry

Technologies are tools or machines that solve real-world problems and, therefore, very important to all industries, including the construction industry. In some parts of the world, technology is a necessity as it helps to improve and increase the efficiency of day-to-day operations, especially in terms of time and budget management. However, there are still many companies that are refusing to apply technology in their construction projects. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting the adoption of emerging technologies in the Malaysian construction industry. To achieve these objectives, this study analyses the extensive interview data with selected construction project managers. Nineteen factors were identified, and these factors can be categorized into two groups (internal; workable by project managers and external; uncontrollable by project managers). This work contributes to the body of knowledge in analysing the factors that affect the adoption of technology in the construction industry from industry practitioners’ angle, which could help researchers and industry practitioners draw up plans to reduce the rejection of technologies among the project managers. The findings of this study could help improve the success of adopting the technologies in any part of the construction industry

Washington Legislation—1941

In undertaking to survey the work of the 1941 legislature the aim has not been to attain complete coverage. Space limitations and the time factor have dictated that only certain phases be considered and that brevity rather than complete analysis be the guide. In selecting topics for discussion the aim has been to give attention to those statutes which are likely to be of greatest concern to practicing lawyers. At the outset this meant that virtually all of the largest group of statutes, those dealing with the powers of governmental units, be eliminated. Of the remaining statutes all could not be discussed, or even mentioned, and while the selection has been arbitrary the attempt has been to focus upon those which appear to be of the most general interest. Special regard has been had for statutes affecting judicial procedure, to those of a regulatory character and to social legislation. Because of space and time limitations consideration of some material has necessarily been postponed until the next issue of the Review. Among the statutes which will be discussed in the later issue are those dealing with agriculture, banking, small loans, taxation, trusts, and workmen\u27s compensation. The survey has been a cooperative enterprise by the members of the law faculty of the University of Washington, with the valuable help of members of the student editorial board of the Review. In particular, Dean Falknor was assisted by Mr. Arthur Quigley. Mr. Robert Buck aided Professor O\u27Bryan. Professor Shattuck had the assistance of Mr. Herbert Droker, and Professor Sholley, of Mr. Snyder Jed King and Mr. Bayard Crutcher

Resveratrol Decreases TXNIP mRNA and Protein Nuclear Expressions With an Arterial Function Improvement in Old Mice

Aging leads to a high prevalence of glucose intolerance and cardiovascular diseases, with oxidative stress playing a potential role. Resveratrol has shown promising effects on glucose tolerance and tends to improve endothelial function in elderly patients. Thioredoxin-interacting protein (TXNIP) was recently proposed as a potential link connecting glucose metabolism to oxidative stress. Here, we investigated the resveratrol-induced improvement of arterial aging phenotype in old mice and the expression of aortic TXNIP. Using an in vivo model of old mice with or without 3-month resveratrol treatment, we investigated the effects of resveratrol on age-related impairments from a cardiovascular Doppler analysis, to a molecular level, by studying inflammation and oxidative stress factors. We found a dual effect of resveratrol, with a decrease of age-related glucose intolerance and oxidative stress imbalance leading to reduced matrix remodeling that forestalls arterial aging phenotype in terms of intima-media thickness and arterial distensibility. These results provide the first evidence that aortic TXNIP mRNA and protein nuclear expressions are increased in the arterial aging and decreased by resveratrol treatment. In conclusion, we demonstrated that resveratrol helped to restore several aging impaired processes in old mice, with a decrease of aortic TXNIP mRNA and protein nuclear expression