Disentangling the complex association between female genital cutting and HIV among Kenyan women

Female genital cutting (FGC) is a widespread cultural practice in Africa and the Middle East, with a number of potential adverse health consequences for women. It was hypothesised by Kun (1997) that FGC increases the risk of HIV transmission through a number of different mechanisms. Using the 2003 data from the Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), this study investigates the potential association between FGC and HIV. The 2003 KDHS provides a unique opportunity to link the HIV test results with a large number of demographic, social, economic and behavioural characteristics of women, including women’s FGC status. It is hypothesised that FGC increases the risk of HIV infection if HIV/AIDS is present in the community. A multilevel binary logistic regression technique is used to model the HIV status of women, controlling for selected individual characteristics of women and interaction effects. The results demonstrate evidence of a statistically significant association between FGC and HIV, after controlling for the hierarchical structure of the data, potential confounding factors, and interaction effects. The results show that women who had had FGC and a younger or the same age first union partner have higher odds of being HIV positive than women with a younger or same age first union partner but without FGC; whereas women who had had FGC and an older first union partner have lower odds of being HIV positive than women with an older first union partner but without FGC. The findings suggest the behavioural pathway of association between FGC and HIV as well as an underlying complex interplay of bio-behavioural and social variables being important in disentangling the association between FGC and HIV

The case of Madeira International Airport Cristiano Ronaldo

The increased demand for air transportation has enlarged congestion problems in the areas of Passenger Terminals. This study proposes how to optimize the flows of passengers at the airport of Madeira to increase airport efficiency. There are two specific approaches to achieve this study objective. Firstly, we analyse the flow of passengers at the airport terminal to detect where are the most critical congestion points. Secondly, using simulation software (MassMotion) we analyse different layouts of the airport terminal, including ramp area, considering passengers flows of different typologies, to find the most efficient layout configuration. This study optimizes the flow of passengers in the terminal area of the International Airport of Madeira, making it more efficient in routing passengers and thus maintaining control over congestion levels. Thus, the proposed configurations for Check-in, Security, Border Control, Boarding Gates, Embark, Disembark, and Luggage Claim areas allow to considerably reduce (or even eliminate) passenger congestion at these critical points. An airport is a complex transport infrastructure, and therefore any change in its physical structure must be made during its period of operation. Structural modifications must be simulated in software to be validated before being implemented; this was the option of Madeira International Airport, which thus seeks solutions to keep congestion levels under control, increase the efficiency of the terminal, and raise the level of passenger satisfaction.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A Case of Successful Treatment of Concomitant Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysm and Visceral Aneurysm

A associação entre aneurismas intracranianos e viscerais é extremamente rara, com mau prognóstico. A situação de rotura surge habitualmente no contexto de urgência e implica um tratamento imediato. Relata-se o caso de uma doente com rotura de aneurisma da artéria comunicante anterior e da artéria pancreaticoduodenal anterior. A actuação concertada das várias especialidades permitiu a abordagem cirúrgica dirigida ao aneurisma visceral, sem o agravamento da hemorragia cerebral que a eventual clampagem da Artéria Aorta poderia provocar. A manutenção da estabilidade hemodinâmica foi essencial para a posterior realização de embolização do aneurisma intracraniano

Estimates of Energy Cost Savings Achieved from 2009 IECC Code-Compliant, Single Family Residences in Texas

This report presents estimates of the energy cost savings to be achieved from 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) code-compliant, single-family residences in Texas compared to the pre-2009 IECC codes, including: the 2001 IECC, the 2006 IECC, and the 2006 IECC w/ Houston amendments (w/ HA). A series of simulations were performed using an ESL simulation model (BDL version 4.01.07 of IC3) based on the DOE-2.1e simulation and the appropriate TMY2 weather files for three counties representing three 2009 IECC Climate Zones across Texas: Harris County for Climate Zone 2, Tarrant County for Climate Zone 3, and Potter County for Climate Zone 4. Two options based on the choice of heating fuel type were considered: (a) an electric/gas house (gas-fired furnace for space heating, and gas water heater for domestic water heating), and (b) a heat pump house (heat pump for space heating, and electric water heater for domestic water heating). The base-case building was assumed to be a 2,325 sq. ft., square-shape, one story, single-family, detached house with a floor-to-ceiling height of 8 feet. The house has an attic with a roof pitched at 23 degrees. The base-case building envelope and system characteristics were determined from the general characteristics and the climate-specific characteristics as specified in the 2001 IECC, the 2006 IECC, the 2006 IECC w/HA, and the 2009 IECC. In addition, to facilitate a better comparison with the 2009 code, several modifications were applied to the pre-2009 IECC codes. As a result, the estimated annual energy cost savings per house associated with the 2009 IECC compared to the 2001 and 2006 IECC are: (a) an electric/gas house: $462/year and$206/year for Harris County, $432/year and$216/year for Tarrant County, and $576/year and$153/year for Potter County and (b) a heat pump house: $490/year and$203/year for Harris County, $487/year and$226/year for Tarrant County, and $680/year and$155/year for Potter County. The corresponding % savings of total energy cost of a 2009 IECC code-compliant house are: (a) an electric/gas house: 22.7% and 10.1% for Harris County, 21.8% and 10.9% for Tarrant County, and 28.9% and 7.7% for Potter County and (b) a heat pump house: 21.6% and 8.9% for Harris County, 20.9% and 9.7% for Tarrant County, and 25.7% and 5.8% for Potter County

Validation of the International Code Compliant Calculator (IC3) v3.10 Using the RESNET Verification Procedures

This report presents results from the testing and validation of the Energy Systems Laboratory’s web-based software tool - International Code Compliance Calculator (IC3), v3.10, using the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) verification procedures - RESNET Publication No. 07-003. It is the continuation of the previous 2009 RESNET validation report of IC3 v3.3. The IC3 software is a web-based tool to demonstrate compliance of single and multifamily residences with the Texas Building Energy Performance Standards (TBEPS) (i.e., the 2000 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) with the 2001 Supplement, the 2006 National Appliance Energy Conservation Act (NAECA) revisions, and the 2009 IECC). The user-interface of IC3 was designed to ensure simple and quick input through reduced user input fields and present a simplified output by only reporting the codecompliance as percent above or below code for locations in Texas. The RESNET verification procedure is a set of verification tests that are required for RESNET accreditation of IECC performance compliance software tools. It was developed to ensure the accuracy and comparability of software to be used for verification of tax credits, home energy ratings, and compliance with the IECC. The verification procedure applies to the 2004 supplement of the IECC and to the 2006 IECC. The home configurations and operating conditions for the Standard Reference Home and Rated Home are required to be adopted from RESNET (2007) or Section 404 of the IECC, supplemented by the 2006 Mortgage Industry National Home Energy Rating System Standards. To test the IC3 using the RESNET verification test suite, a special version of the Desktop DOE-2 Processor (DDP) spreadsheet was developed since the test runs for RESNET accreditation cannot be performed using the user interface of web-based IC3. The DDP spreadsheet is the ESL’s internal desktop version that utilizes the same DOE- 2 simulation procedures as the web-based IC3. The DDP spreadsheet has the flexibility to calculate compliance with other codes by auto-generating the corresponding standard reference designs, incorporates additional weather locations, and reports the simulation results in a pre-specified manner as well as modification of selected simulation inputs, which are not available in the user interface of IC3. The DDP spreadsheet can be uploaded to the ESL’s web server for processing, and the results can be downloaded after the processing to view the simulation results. The RESNET verification procedure consists of the five test suites: 1) Tier one of the HERS BESTEST; 2) IECC Code Reference Home auto-generation tests; 3) HVAC tests; 4) Duct distribution system efficiency tests; and 5) Hot water system performance tests. The specifications and acceptance criteria of each test suite and the test results of IC3 are presented in Section 2.1 to 2.5. The results show that IC3 is a code-compliant simulation program that conforms to the acceptance criteria for each test suite

Methodology for Calculating Cooling and Heating Energy-Imput-Ratio (EIR) From the Rated Seasonal Performance Efficiency (SEER or HSPF)

This report provides the recommendations to calculate cooling and heating energy-input-ratio (EIR) for DOE-2 simulations excluding indoor fan energy, from the rated cooling and heating seasonal performance efficiency (i.e., SEER or HSPF) that does include indoor fan energy1 to resolve two issues