Environmental effects of ozone depletion, UV radiation and interactions with climate change : UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, update 2017

Peer reviewe

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Atteintes aux libertés de la femme dans le Droit nestorien médiéval d’après le Fiqh an-Nasraniya d’Ibn at-Taiyib

Cette étude s'intéresse aux atteintes successives aux libertés de la femme telle que discernées dans l'évolution de Droit nestorien entre le VIF et le XIe siècle. La question est abordée à partir de l'ouvrage Fiqh an-Nasraniya d'Ibn at- Taiyib qui en présente les textes de loi, suivant donc une approche juridique, celle en usage tout au moins au XIe siècle (Ibn at-Taiyib 1956). Jusque-là, dans I 'état actuel de nos connaissances, aucune autre œuvre ne s'était acquittée d' une telle tâche, malgré quelques tentatives, essentiellement celle du métropolitain Gabriel de Basra (IXC-xe siècle), auteur du Nomocanon (Saïd 2000 : 112) et qui est considéré l'un des plus anciens collecteurs de canons'. Abul Faradj Abdallah Ibn at-Taiyib (mort en 435 de l'hégire/1043) était un évêque nestorien, mais aussi médecin et philosophe. Secrétaire du chef spirituel de l'Église nestorienne, le catholicos Elias I (1028-1049, il est compté parmi les pionniers à avoir réuni les canons de l'Église nestorienne (Graf 1947, 11 : 160-167 ; Dauvillier 1942 : 350-358 ; Leclerc 1876, 1 : 186- 188). Les sources ne nous livrent pas assez de détails sur sa vie. Nous savons toutefois qu'il a exercé la médecine à l'hôpital « Adudi de Baghdad » et qu'il a laissé une œuvre abondante inventoriée par Graf ( 1947)

UV degradation of clay-reinforced polypropylene nanocomposites

The aim of this work is to experimentally characterize the UV-degradation process at both the surface and at different layers across the thickness of injection-molded polypropylene (PP) matrix containing different amounts of nanosized montmorillonite (MMT) clay particles. These nanocomposite materials have been exposed to UV irradiations (\u3bb=320 nm) at different preset temperatures (25, 45, and 65\ub0C) in the presence of oxygen and during different exposure times. The extent of such process at these layers was determined using both the FTIR spectroscopy and the wide-angle X-ray diffraction analyses. The micromechanical properties across the thickness have been characterized using the nanoindentation technique. The obtained results have indicated that the UV-degradation process for the nanocomposite materials is much more intense than the one observed for the neat PP. Moreover, it has been noted that such degradation process is not uniform across the thickness of the exposed materials. Results obtained from the X-ray analysis have shown an increase of the crystallinity of the polymer molecules at only the external surface of the exposed materials. This was confirmed using the nanoindentation test as an increase of the Young's modulus at this layer was noted.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

UV degradation of clay-reinforced polypropylene nanocomposites

The aim of this work is to experimentally characterize the UV-degradation process at both the surface and at different layers across the thickness of injection-molded polypropylene (PP) matrix containing different amounts of nanosized montmorillonite (MMT) clay particles. These nanocomposite materials have been exposed to UV irradiations (\u3bb=320 nm) at different preset temperatures (25, 45, and 65\ub0C) in the presence of oxygen and during different exposure times. The extent of such process at these layers was determined using both the FTIR spectroscopy and the wide-angle X-ray diffraction analyses. The micromechanical properties across the thickness have been characterized using the nanoindentation technique. The obtained results have indicated that the UV-degradation process for the nanocomposite materials is much more intense than the one observed for the neat PP. Moreover, it has been noted that such degradation process is not uniform across the thickness of the exposed materials. Results obtained from the X-ray analysis have shown an increase of the crystallinity of the polymer molecules at only the external surface of the exposed materials. This was confirmed using the nanoindentation test as an increase of the Young's modulus at this layer was noted.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Total pressure and atomic ratio effect on transport coefficients of HgTlI discharge plasma using a LTE chemical model

The aim of this paper is the study of the effect of total pressure and mercury to thallium atomic ratio on transports coefficients such as thermal conductivity, viscosity and electric conductivity of a HgTlI discharge lamp. For this, a chemical model under Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium conditions has been developed to compute the plasma composition and transports coefficients using the theoretical approach of Chapman completed by the work of Enskog, Hirschfelder and Devoto. It has been shown that the variation of the two parameters has a significant effect on the transport coefficients

Non-isothermal crystallization behavior of clay-reinforced polypropylene nanocomposites

In this study, the non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene (PP) in the presence of nanoclay particles were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) with various cooling rates varying from 0.5\ub0C/min to 80\ub0C/min. Such kinetics were compared with those obtained for the pure PP matrix. The modified Avrami analysis was used to describe the non-isothermal crystallization process. The results obtained indicate that the presence of nanoclay significantly affected the crystallization rate of the PP resin, since an increase of the crystallization temperature as the nanoclay content increased was observed. This was attributed to the nucleating ability of these particles. Moreover, it was seen that the increase of both the cooling rate and the nanoclay content decreased the Avrami exponent n, suggesting a change in the obtained crystalline shape. For the nanocomposite materials, as well as for neat PP, the mechanism of crystallization was found to undergo two transitions, at about 5\ub0C/min and 40\ub0C/min. This suggests that the surface-induced nucleation at the clay particles follows the same mechanisms as those of the complete spherulitic structure. However, a lower value of activation energy for crystallization was obtained as the clay content increased, confirming the nucleating effect of clay particles. \ua9 2011 by Walter de Gruyter.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Effect of heat transfer on shear flow around an obstacle

The study of heat transfer on shear flows around an obstacle presents a great interest in determination of the influence of water on buildings and port infrastructures. The variation of the inlet temperatures and the influence of an obstacle placed at the bottom of a channel were analyzed. The obtained results supported by numerical simulations have shown that the doubling of the fluid inlet temperature significantly modifies all the dynamic characteristics of the shear flow. Pressure distribution, turbulent kinetic energy, dissipation rate, turbulent viscosity, and strain rate in the water channel were exposed. These results can help us to better exploit the flow of hot water discharged by power plants