The Crystal and Molecular Structure of 3-(Pyridyl-2\u27)- imidazo-[1,i-a] Pyridine

The crystal structure of 3:.(pyridyl-2\u27)-imidazo-[l,5-a] pyridine has been determined using three-dimensional MoK a diffractometer data. The crystal data at 293 (1) K are as follows: C12H0Na, Mr= = 195.23, orthorhombic, P212121 (No. 19), a = 0.5107(1), b = 1.3076(2}, c = 1.4343(3) nm, V = 0.9578 nm3, Dm = 1.37(5), Dx = 1.354 Mg · m-3, Z = 4. The structure has been solved with direct methods and refined by full-matrix least-squares techniques to R and Rw values of 0.085 and 0.080, respectively, for 641 contributing reflexions. The crystal structure consists of discrete molecules. Most of the bond lengths and angles are within normal ranges for aromatic heterocyclic systems. The dihedral angle between the pyridine and imidazo- pyridine parts of the molecule is 3.8°; thus the molecule is planar to within 7 pm owing to two weak C-H .. . N interactions

La roulure du châtaignier (Castanea sativa Mill.)

Cet article résume une série d observations et de mesures qui montrent que le terme de «roulure» recouvre plusieurs phénomènes de nature différente : A- Le châtaignier est un arbre très sensible aux traumatismes dus à l abattage, au feu, à l action des animaux. B- : Certains châtaigniers ont une cohésion mécanique radiale particulièrement faible qui les prédispose à l apparition de roulure. C- : Le déclenchement de roulures à l abattage et à l étuvage est directement lié à la présence d un «potentiel interne de déformation» dont la valeur semble dépendre de la sylviculture. D- : Lors du séchage de pièces de grandes dimensions, la présence d hétérogénéité interne forte d humidité, de retraits ou de perméabilité sont des facteurs favorisant l apparition de fissures

Effectiveness and Limitations of Unsupervised Home-Based Balance Rehabilitation with Nintendo Wii in People with Multiple Sclerosis

Balance training represents a critical part of the rehabilitation process of individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS) since impaired postural control is a distinctive symptom of the disease. In recent years, the use of the Nintendo Wii system has become widespread among rehabilitation specialists for this purpose, but few studies have verified the effectiveness of such an approach using quantitative measures of balance. In this study, we analyzed the postural sway features of a cohort of twenty-seven individuals with MS before and after 5 weeks of unsupervised home-based balance training with the Wii system. Center of pressure (COP) time-series were recorded using a pressure platform and processed to calculate sway area, COP path length, displacements, and velocities in mediolateral (ML) and anteroposterior (AP) directions. Although the results show a significant reduction in sway area, COP displacements, and velocity, such improvements are essentially restricted to the ML direction, as the Wii platform appears to properly stimulate the postural control system in the frontal plane but not in the sagittal one. Available Wii games, although somewhat beneficial, appear not fully suitable for rehabilitation in MS owing to scarce flexibility and adaptability to MS needs and thus specific software should be developed

Multidisciplinary Study of Biological Parameters and Fatigue Evolution in Quay Crane Operators

AbstractIn intermodal terminals the handling of containers and the number of accidents still depends on a wide range of human errors due to fatigue despite the automation level reached nowadays. For this reason it is very important to increase knowledge about the factors affecting the propensity of operators to make errors, increasing the chance of accidents happening. The aim of this work is to propose a novel approach to assess fatigue and performance levels in quay crane operators as a function of physiological parameters and of the many varying boundary conditions encountered in daily work. During their work, quay crane operators have to deal with variable environmental conditions, such as task type, wind speed and direction, lighting conditions that reduce visibility that can require an exacting level of attention. In the trial eight operators have been examined in a session lasting four hours. All actual conditions are reproduced through a fully immersive quay crane simulator. The operator completes the assigned task (the same for each one) and can see through four wide monitors a high quality virtual reality view of the simulation. Most biological parameters are acquired using different devices including a Holter ECG monitor, electromyographic monitoring the four trunk muscles most involved in the test, eye tracker and seat-body pressure interface for both seat pan and backrest. Changes in physiological parameters have been monitored during the trial and interesting correlations with performance levels and boundary conditions have been found for each operator, in accordance with their age and skills. The present study can form the basis for further investigations aimed at developing a cost effective, reliable and robust system for monitoring increasing fatigue and for predicting the critical conditions that may result in an accident

Individual Readiness for Change in the Context of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems Implementation

The present study takes a bottom-up approach and investigates the organizational implications of ERP systems implementation in organizations. We adopt a likely point of view of employees and study the ERP integration process along 3 dimensions: people, processes, and information. In this manner we discover the ERP-specific sources of resistance that could affect negatively the deployment of the software. Then, we argue that a general set of beliefs shapes employees readiness to change to ERP use and provides the foundation for resistance or for adoptive behavior. We define the concept of readiness for change in the context of ERP and introduce a readiness for change assessment approach. Then, we test empirically the study hypotheses upon which the research model was build. The results obtained offer insights into factors that can improve the effectiveness of ERP implementation strategies and underline the importance of change management for the success of such projects

Inequality in learning outcomes: Unveiling educational deprivation through complex network analysis

Understanding which factors are determinant to guarantee the human right to education entails the study of a large number of non-linear relationships among multiple agents and their impact on the properties of the entire system. Complex network analysis of large-scale assessment results provides a set of unique advantages over classical tools for facing the challenge of measuring inequality gaps in learning outcomes and recognizing those factors associated with educational deprivation, combining the richness of qualitative analysis with quantitative inferences. This study establishes two milestones in educational research using a census high-quality data from a Latin American country. The first one is to provide a direct method to recognize the structure of inequality and the relationship between social determinants as ethnicity, socioeconomic status of students, rurality of the area and type of school funding and educational deprivation. The second one focus in unveil and hierarchize educational and non-educational factors associated with the conditional distribution of learning outcomes. This contribution provides new tools to current theoretical framework for discovering non-trivial relationships in educational phenomena, helping policymakers to address the challenge of ensuring inclusive and equitable education for those historically marginalized population groups.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

The ‘community’ in community case management of childhood illnesses in Malawi

: Malawi has achieved a remarkable feat in reducing its under-5 mortality in time to meet its MDG 4 target despite high levels of poverty, low female literacy rates, recurrent economic crises, a severe shortage of human resources for health, and poor health infrastructure. The country’s community-based delivery platform (largely headed by Health Surveillance Assistants, or HSAs) has been well established since the 1960s, although their tasks and responsibilities have evolved from surveillance to health promotion and prevention, and more recently to include curative services. However, the role of and the form that community involvement takes in community-based service delivery in Malawi is unclear