Design study: A 186 kW lightweight diesel aircraft engine

The design of an aircraft engine capable of developing 186 kW shaft power at a 7620 m altitude is described. The 186 kW design takes into account expected new developments in aircraft designs resulting in a reassessment of the power requirements at the cruise mode operation. Based on the results of this analysis a three phase technology development program is projected resulting in production dates of 1985, 1992, and 2000

Constructive thinking and burnout among secondary school teachers

research articleThe present study investigated the relationship between Epstein’s (1998, Constructive thinking: The key to emotional intelligence. London: Praeger publisher.) components of constructive thinking and burnout as experienced by a sample of Dutch secondary school teachers. A postal questionnaire was sent to teachers from randomly selected secondary schools. The response rate was 54.1% (N = 433). Four components of constructive thinking significantly contributed to the explained variance in emotional exhaustion (17%), depersonalization (21%), and personal accomplishment (20%). The results of the study suggest that secondary school teachers’ maladaptive thinking processes prevent them from rational thinking during their work, which significantly contributes to the onset of burnout. Burnout intervention programs for teachers are likely to be more effective when the participator’s maladaptive thinking system is taken into consideration. This stems from the idea that personality factors are a probably easier point of departure to tackle burnout symptoms than organizational factors

Evaluation de méthodes d'extraction chimique du sol pour prévenir les besoins en silicium de la canne à sucre

Les baisses de rendement de canne à sucre provoquées par l'Eldana saccharina Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) se rangent parmi les facteurs qui limitent la productivité de la sole cannière Sud-Africaine. Des travaux effectués récemment au SASRI (Institut Sud-Africain de recherche sur la canne à sucre) ont démontré l'importance du silicium (Si) dans la résistance de la canne aux effets nuisibles de l'Eldana pour le rendement. Cette étude a été entreprise pour (i) connaître la méthode d'extraction la plus adéquate du silicium du sol qui est assimilable par la canne, et (ii) déterminer la valeur seuil en Si assimilable permettant une production optimale. A cet effet ont été conduites des études en serre et au laboratoire avec les cinq types de sols les plus répandus dans la sole cannière sud-africaine. L'expérience était du type split-split-plot avec quatre répétitions et trois niveaux d'application (0, 3 et 6 tonnes ha-1) de trois amendements siliciques (calmasil, slagment et wollastonite) ajoutés à chaque sol au début de l'expérience. Le sorgho et la canne à sucre étaient utilisés comme plantes test. La teneur en Si assimilable des sols a été testée selon six méthodes d'extraction différentes sans et avec l'ajout des amendements au début de l'étude. La corrélation entre le Si extrait par le sorgho puis la canne et la quantité de Si extrait des sols par les six méthodes ont donné des coefficients de corrélation allant de 0.55 à 0.72. La méthode à l'acide sulfurique à 0.025M a donné le coefficient de corrélation le plus élevé, indiquant qu'elle était la plus fiable des méthodes d'extraction de Si pour les 5 sols étudiés. Avec cette méthode les résultats obtenus tendent également à montrer que la valeur seuil en Si assimilable serait liée positivement à la teneur en argile du sol. (Résumé d'auteur

Influence of the Production Process Conditions on the Specific Surface Area of Olivine Nano-Silicas

The production of nano-silica by the olivine route is a cheaper and greener method than the commercial methods (neutralization of sodium silicate solutions and the flame hydrolysis) because of the low cost of raw materials and the low energy requirements. The produced olivine nano-silica has a specific surface area between 100-400 m2/g and primary particles between 10 to 25 nm (agglomerated in clusters). The process conditions and the ripening process influence the properties of nano-silica in the following ways i) the cleaner the nano-silica is the higher the specific surface area is; ii) the higher the filtration pressure is the higher the surface area is (unless the pressure is so high that the voids of the material collapse reducing drastically the SSA); iii) the ripening process diminishes the specific surface of nano-silica by two thirds and could be even further reduced. Thus, modifying the process conditions and/or adding an Ostwald ripening process, nano-silicas with different specific surface areas can be synthesized. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3489

Production of human recombinant proapolipoprotein A-I in Escherichia coli: purification and biochemical characterization

A human liver cDNA library was used to isolate a clone coding for apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I). The clone carries the sequence for the prepeptide (18 amino acids), the propeptide (6 amino acids), and the mature protein (243 amino acids). A coding cassette for the proapo A-I molecule was reconstructed by fusing synthetic sequences, chosen to optimize expression and specifying the amino-terminal methionine and amino acids -6 to +14, to a large fragment of the cDNA coding for amino acids 15-243. The module was expressed in pOTS-Nco, an Escherichia coli expression vector carrying the regulatable X P^ promoter, leading to the production of proapolipoprotein A-I at up to 10% of total soluble proteins. The recombinant polypeptide was purified and characterized in terms of apparent molecular mass, isoelectric point, and by both chemical and enzymatic peptide mapping. In addition, it was assayed in vitro for the stimulation of the enzyme lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase. The data show for the first time that proapo A-I can be produced efficiently in E. coli as a stable and undegraded protein having physical and functional properties indistinguishable from those of the natural product

Flood Risk Management Policy in the Upper Tisza Basin: A System Analytical Approach. Simulation and Analysis of Three Flood Management Strategies

This report describes an integrated flood catastrophe model as well as some results of a case study made in the upper Tisza region in northeastern Hungary: the Palad-Csecsei basin (the pilot basin). The background data was provided through the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and complemented by interviews with different stakeholders in the region. Based upon these data, where a large degree of uncertainty is prevailing, we demonstrate how an implementation of a simulation and decision analytical model can provide insights into the effects of imposing different policy options for a flood risk management program in the region. We focus herein primarily on general options for designing a public-private insurance and reinsurance system for Hungary. Obviously, this is a multi-criteria and multi-stakeholder problem and cannot be solved using standard approaches. It should however be emphasized that the main purpose of this report is not to provide any definite recommendations, but rather to explore a set of policy packages that could gain a consensus among the stakeholders

The Effect of Hydrothermal Treatment on Olivine Nano-Silica

This paper provides an overview of the effects of ripening the olivine nano-silica to form particles with a lower specific surface area for optimal use in high performance concrete. The nano-silica was ripened using a hydrothermal treatment in a mixed batch reactor at 90 °C, pH ranging from 8 to 10 and a silica weight percentage of three and six percent. The specific surface area of the olivine nano-silica can be reduced by 62 percent by Ostwald ripening in 22 hours. This reduction corresponds to a 80 percent drop of the micropore surface area and a 57 percent drop of the external surface area. The different hydrothermal conditions did not affect the final specific surface area at the equilibrium. However, the use of a high energy mixer reduced the specific surface area by 52 percent in only five minutes. Despite the reduction in specific surface area, the aggregates of the original olivine nano-silica are not dissolved during the ripening process. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3491

Somatostatin Receptor Scintigraphy in Medullary Thyroid Cancer

Medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) is a neuroendocrine tumor originating from the calcitonin‐secreting C cells. Surgery, consisting of a total thyroidectomy and an extensive lymph node dissection, is the only effective treatment in MTC; however, metastases are frequently found in the regional cervical lymph. The biochemical marker for MTC is calcitonin, and this is frequently used for the detection of persistent/residual/metastatic tumor. The value of 111In‐labeled somatostatin receptor scintigraphy (SRS) in patients with MTC is limited, with sensitivity ranging between 0 and 75%. Other scintigraphic imaging techniques such as 18F‐FDG PET, 18F‐DOPA PET, and PET imaging with 68Ga‐labeled DOTA peptides combined with CT imaging are upcoming. Treatment of patients with metastatic disease with the current available somatostatin analogues, octreotide and lanreotide, does not seem to have an effect on survival but may be considered to control flushing and diarrhea in some patients. Experience with peptide receptor radionuclide therapy is limited in this patient group and disappointing. New therapies in the treatment of metastatic MTC use target tyrosine kinase receptors inhibitors belonging to the same family group of proteins as RET

What guidance are researchers given on how to present network meta-analyses to end-users such as policymakers and clinicians? A systematic review

© 2014 Sullivan et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Introduction: Network meta-analyses (NMAs) are complex methodological approaches that may be challenging for non-technical end-users, such as policymakers and clinicians, to understand. Consideration should be given to identifying optimal approaches to presenting NMAs that help clarify analyses. It is unclear what guidance researchers currently have on how to present and tailor NMAs to different end-users. Methods: A systematic review of NMA guidelines was conducted to identify guidance on how to present NMAs. Electronic databases and supplementary sources were searched for NMA guidelines. Presentation format details related to sample formats, target audiences, data sources, analysis methods and results were extracted and frequencies tabulated. Guideline quality was assessed following criteria developed for clinical practice guidelines. Results: Seven guidelines were included. Current guidelines focus on how to conduct NMAs but provide limited guidance to researchers on how to best present analyses to different end-users. None of the guidelines provided reporting templates. Few guidelines provided advice on tailoring presentations to different end-users, such as policymakers. Available guidance on presentation formats focused on evidence networks, characteristics of individual trials, comparisons between direct and indirect estimates and assumptions of heterogeneity and/or inconsistency. Some guidelines also provided examples of figures and tables that could be used to present information. Conclusions: Limited guidance exists for researchers on how best to present NMAs in an accessible format, especially for non-technical end-users such as policymakers and clinicians. NMA guidelines may require further integration with end-users' needs, when NMAs are used to support healthcare policy and practice decisions. Developing presentation formats that enhance understanding and accessibility of NMAs could also enhance the transparency and legitimacy of decisions informed by NMAs.The Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (Funding reference number – 116573)