Some Considerations on the Structure Refinement in Al-Based Alloys

Grain size is one of the most important characteristics that affect the processing and in turn the properties of alloys. Grain refinement determines many advantages in light alloy casting: it can be achieved using different methods, based on the available technological possibilities and on the performances that one has to obtain. By using grain refinement, important benefits can be reached, for both cast and wrought aluminium alloys: among other, the most important enhancement regards the fine distribution of the second phases, improved castability, reduction of shrinkage porosity, higher mechanical properties, as well as superior fatigue life. The present chapter is not exhaustive on this argument; however, in the first part it reports some current literature data and some perspectives about the grain refinement, while in the second part which has been mostly carried out within a current PhD Thesis focalized on the improvement of the properties of Al-based alloys by physical grain refinement methods, some experimentally obtained results have been presented and discussed

Dreaming under anesthesia: is it a real possiblity? Investigation of the effect of preoperative imagination on the quality of postoperative dream recalls

BACKGROUND: Images evoked immediately before the induction of anesthesia by means of suggestions may influence dreaming during anesthesia. This study is a retrospective re-evaluation of the original prospective randomized trial. METHODS: Dream reports were studied in two groups. In group 1. dreams of patients who received suggestions, and in group 2, those of the control group of patients who did not. The incidence of dream reports and the characteristics and the theme of the reported dreams were compared among the groups. RESULTS: In general, the control and the psychological intervention groups were different in terms of dreaming frequency, and non-recall dreaming. The incidence of dream reports was significantly higher in the suggestion group (82/190 at 10 min and 71/190 at 60 min respectively) than in the control group (16/80 at 10 min and 13/80 at 60 min, respectively; p(10) = 0.001 and p(60) = 0.002). There were no differences in the nature (thought- like or cinematic), quality (color or B&W) and the mood (positive vs. negative) of the recalled dreams. In general, the contents of the imaginary favorite place and the reported dream were identical in 73.2 %. Among the topics most successfully applied in the operating theater were loved ones (83.8 %), holiday (77.8 %) and sport (63.6 %). CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that dreams during anesthesia are influenced by suggestions administered immediately preceding anesthesia. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov. Identifier: Q1 NCT01839201, Date: 12 Apr. 2013

COMPUTER SIMULATION AS A TOOL FOR RISK ASSESSMENT OF TERRORIST ATTACKS IN A FOOD PRODUCTION CHAIN

Pojam „terorist“ označava osobu koja provodi nasilne radnje s ciljem zastrašivanja ili nanošenja štete, odnosno unošenja kaosa u sustav. Jedna od često potencijalnih meta terorista jest i hrana zbog mogućnosti usmjeravanja akcija na široku populaciju i lakog izazivanja panike. U novije vrijeme takvi incidenti više nisu rijetkost, scenariji o teoretskoj mogućnosti terorističkog napada na neki lanac proizvodnje hrane više ne djeluju samo kao teorija, a zabrinutost da bi se nešto takvo moglo uistinu i dogoditi poprima sve veće dimenzije. Namjerno onečišćenje hrane može imati velike ekonomske posljedice, čak i kada je incident relativno malih razmjera, jer upravo je rušenje ekonomske stabilnosti najčešće glavni motiv nekog namjernog napada koji može biti usmjeren na neki proizvod, pojedinog proizvođača, granu industrije ili cijelu državu. Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija (WHO) u Godišnjem izvješću o zdravlju iz 2007. godine proglasila je slučajna i namjerna onečišćenja hrane kao najveću prijetnju zdravlju u 21. stoljeću. Iz tog razloga, WHO apelira na vlade zemalja članica, a i na ostale, da pomognu prehrambenoj industriji jer ona snosi primarnu odgovornost za hranu koju proizvodi, dok je namjerno onečišćenje hrane opasnim agensima za njih često potpuno nova opcija o kojoj bi trebalo razmisliti. Mjere prevencije, zajedno s pojačanim nadzorom i sredstvima za adekvatan odgovor u slučaju namjernog ili slučajnog incidenta, bolje praćenje hrane i mogućnost njezina brzog povlačenja s tržišta, dvosmjerna komunikacija državnih službi i prehrambene industrije, unaprijed predviđeni scenariji koji će olakšati raspodjelu resursa i jednostavnije postavljanje prioriteta u slučaju incidenta, te koordinacija između industrije i vlade u komunikaciji s javnošću trebali bi biti najmanje što bi svaka vlada trebala učiniti. U tu svrhu posljednjih se godina počelo pridavati puno više pažnje sigurnosti proizvodnih pogona, povećanju higijenskih standarda i uvođenju preventivnog pristupa u vidu uvođenja HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) sustava, čime se razvijaju i implementiraju preventivne mjere kojima se želi spriječiti moguće nenamjerno onečišćenje hrane prilikom njezine proizvodnje, prerade i distribucije. Iako je HACCP najčešće učinkovit sustav, on često zahtijeva nadogradnju u smislu zaštite od namjernih onečišćenja hrane u vidu terorističkih napada. Sprječavanje takvih incidenata ne podrazumijeva obavezno visoku tehnologiju i velike troškove. Pogodna opcija je svima dostupan besplatni računalni program CARVER+Shock koji je razvila Vlada SAD-a a služi kao alat što pomaže pri postavljanju prioriteta i otkrivanju ranjivih točaka unutar nekog proizvodnog sustava ili druge infrastrukture. Program analizira šest karakteristika što se koriste za procjenu privlačnosti cilja za napad: kritičnost, pristupačnost, oporavak, ranjivost, učinak i prepoznatljivost, a provodi se u pet koraka: postavljanje parametara, okupljanje stručnjaka, opis lanca opskrbe hranom, dodjeljivanje ocjena, primjena naučenoga. Navedene mogućnosti čine ovaj program idealnim alatom za identifikaciju potencijalno slabih točaka u lancu proizvodnje hrane s obzirom na napadača i agense koje prepoznajemo kao potencijalne prijetnje.The term “terrorist” is related to a person that is performing violent acts with the aim of frightening or causing damage and producing chaos within the system. Because of the possibilities to direct such actions on wide population and easiness of producing panic, food is often one of the most potential targets for terrorist attacks. In recent years, such incidents are not rare any more, scenarios of theoretical possibilities of terrorist attacks on food chains are not only theoretical, while worry that such scenarios could become real is gaining higher dimension. Intentional spoilage of food can result in significant economic consequences, even when incidents are of relatively low range, because of the ruining of economic stability that is often the main motivation of an intentional attack targeted at a certain food product, producer, industry branch or even whole country. World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared unintentional and intentional food spoilages in its Annual Health Report published in 2007 as the biggest threat to health in 21st century. Because of that, WHO is appealing to the member countries’ governments, as well as the other countries, to help food industry as it carries on now primary responsibility for food safety, while the intentional food spoilage often presents completely new option for them that should be revised. Measures for prevention, together with increased surveillance and facilities for adequate response in cases of intentional or unintentional food spoilage, better tracing and possibilities for food withdrawal, interactive communication between governmental institutions and food producers, predicted scenarios that should rationalise usage of budget, simplification of defining of priorities in the cases of incidents, as well as coordination between the industry and governments in public communication should be considered as a minimum that each government should be doing. With this aim, more care has been directed at the safety of producing units, increase of hygiene standards and introduction of preventive approach through the implementation of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) principles, which is developing preventive measures aimed at prevention of unintentional food spoilage while producing, processing and distribution of food. Despite the fact that HACCP is most often an efficient system, it frequently demands upgrading in the meaning of protection from intentional food spoilages through the terrorist attacks. Prevention from such incidents does not necessarily require high technology and financial resources. Good opportunity could be found in CARVER+Shock computer program that is accessible and free to use and has been developed by the USA Government. It serves as a tool for determination of priorities and detection of vulnerable points within certain producing unit or other infrastructure. The program can analyse six characteristics that can be used for assessment of attractiveness of a target for attack: criticality, accessibility, recuperability, vulnerability, effect and recognisability, while it is being performed in five steps: establishing parameters, assembling experts, detailing food supply chain, assigning scores and applying what has been learned. The listed possibilities make this program an ideal tool for the identifi cation of potentially weak points in a food producing chain related to attackers and agents recognised as potential threats

The Drug Candidate BGP-15 Delays the Onset of Diastolic Dysfunction in the Goto-Kakizaki Rat Model of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

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Impact of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations on sustained virologic response in HCV-infected patients: Results from the GUARD-C Cohort

BACKGROUND: Despite the introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, peginterferon alfa/ribavirin remains relevant in many resource-constrained settings. The non-randomized GUARD-C cohort investigated baseline predictors of safety-related dose reductions or discontinuations (sr-RD) and their impact on sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients receiving peginterferon alfa/ribavirin in routine practice. METHODS: A total of 3181 HCV-mono-infected treatment-naive patients were assigned to 24 or 48 weeks of peginterferon alfa/ribavirin by their physician. Patients were categorized by time-to-first sr-RD (Week 4/12). Detailed analyses of the impact of sr-RD on SVR24 (HCV RNA <50 IU/mL) were conducted in 951 Caucasian, noncirrhotic genotype (G)1 patients assigned to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin for 48 weeks. The probability of SVR24 was identified by a baseline scoring system (range: 0-9 points) on which scores of 5 to 9 and <5 represent high and low probability of SVR24, respectively. RESULTS: SVR24 rates were 46.1% (754/1634), 77.1% (279/362), 68.0% (514/756), and 51.3% (203/396), respectively, in G1, 2, 3, and 4 patients. Overall, 16.9% and 21.8% patients experienced 651 sr-RD for peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, respectively. Among Caucasian noncirrhotic G1 patients: female sex, lower body mass index, pre-existing cardiovascular/pulmonary disease, and low hematological indices were prognostic factors of sr-RD; SVR24 was lower in patients with 651 vs. no sr-RD by Week 4 (37.9% vs. 54.4%; P = 0.0046) and Week 12 (41.7% vs. 55.3%; P = 0.0016); sr-RD by Week 4/12 significantly reduced SVR24 in patients with scores <5 but not 655. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, sr-RD to peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin significantly impacts on SVR24 rates in treatment-naive G1 noncirrhotic Caucasian patients. Baseline characteristics can help select patients with a high probability of SVR24 and a low probability of sr-RD with peginterferon alfa-2a/ribavirin

Dendritic Segregation of Zn-Al Eutectoid Alloys

The structural investigations performed and described in this paper are focused on both the segregation phenomenon at the dendrite level, and on the external structure in the equilibrium state. Qualitative and quantitative investigations of the Zn-Al eutectoid alloy (22% Al) structures in equilibrium and non-equilibrium states were considered and studied, revealing that, in this composition, dendritic segregation determines the eutectic transformation. Solidification in non-equilibrium conditions controls both the eutectic transformation and the significant variation of the chemical composition within the dendritic unit, as well as in other constituents. The most important effect of dendritic segregation is on the ratio of the different phases and on their geometry and distribution within the metallic matrix, which determines the material topology. The phenomena involved in such conditions are governed by the structural transformations, which take place during solidification and cooling in a solid state

Az Endrődi Formáció kőzettani és palinológiai vizsgálata a Hódmezővásárhely–I fúrásban (Makói-árok) — őskörnyezeti és diagenezis-történeti értékelés

Munkánkban a Hódmezővásárhely–I fúrás 35. és 40. magfúrási szakaszaiból (5167,0–5183,0 m, illetve 5468,0–5486,0 m) kiválasztott, az Endrődi Formációba sorolt kőzeteket (Tótkomlósi Tagozat, mészmárga és homokkő) vizsgáltuk. A minták általános jellemzője, hogy mikrites–mikropátos kalcitot, agyagásványokat, továbbá kőzetliszt–homok méretű, szögletes törmelékszemcséket (monokristályos és polikristályos kvarc, muszkovit, biotit, klorit; karbonát törmelék, metamorf kőzettörmelék) tartalmaznak. A polimikt, éretlen üledékanyag lokális forrást jelez, ami a környező aljzatmagaslatok kőzeteinek eróziójára hívja fel a figyelmet. A fúrás válogatott mintáin palinológiai vizsgálatok készültek az egyes magszakaszok biosztratigráfiai és őskörnyezeti értékelése céljából. A vizsgált mintákból két biozónát: az idősebb Spiniferites bentorii oblongus és a fiatalabb Spiniferites paradoxus Zónát lehetett kimutatni. A Spiniferites bentorii oblongus Zónára jellemző dinociszta-együttes egy a parthoz közelebbi környezetet és/vagy nagyobb tápanyagbeáramlást jelez, míg a fiatalabb együttesben több olyan alak található, ami disztális környezetre, a vízszint meg növekedésére és/vagy a szárazföldi eredetű törmelékbehordódás csökkenésére utalhat. A membrános dinociszták jelenléte a felszíni vizek ingadozó sótartalmára és bizonyos dinoflagellaták esetén a holoplankton életmódra való áttérésre utal, amit a vízoszlopban bekövetkező ideiglenes oxigényszegény állapotok tehettek szükségessé. Mindkét zónaegyüttes regionális, az egész Pannon-medencére kiterjedő előfordulása alapján a planktonközösségekben lejátszódó regionális folyamatokra és a víztestek kommunikációjára lehet következtetni. A palinomorfák falának színe és megtartása a bete -metődés során bekövetkező jelentős hőmérsékleti hatásra, valamint az üledékes szerves anyag nagyfokú érettségére utal. Az intenzív diagenetikus átalakulási folyamatokat mind az ásványtani, mind a petrográfiai vizsgálatok meg erő sítették. A korai diagenezis során bakteriális szulfátredukcióra utaló pirit, majd vasmentes kalcitcement vált ki, amit Fe-dolomit/ankerit továbbnövekedési cement követett. A laza szemcseilleszkedés a mechanikai kompakció alárendelt szerepét jelzi, a vázszemcsék korai mechanikai átrendeződésével, rotációjával párhuzamosan a karbonátos cementáció a rendelkezésre álló pórustérfogatot szinte teljes egészében redukálta (a vizsgált kőzetek makro- és mikroporozitása elhanyagolható). A mély betemetődési diagenezis során elkülönített események a kémiai kompakció (szerves anyagos/pirites nyomási oldódási filmek megjelenése), az agyagásványok illitesedése, dolomithelyettesítés a kalcitcementben, valamint késői pirit megjelenése

Do Fish use Velocity Fluctuations in Vertical Slots for Upstream Migration? Hydraulic Pre-Study for an Ecohydraulic Experiment

Published Version online: https://cmswebonline.com/iahr2022/epro/html/03-01-025-1043.xm