A Possibility to Decrease the Sintering Temperature of Corundum Ceramics

The ceramics consisting of more than 95% Al2O3 is called corundum ceramics. The name comes from the name of the α-crystalline form of the aluminum oxide-corundum. The basic technological process influencing the properties of this ceramic is the temperature and the duration of the sintering process. Sintering aids are used to improve sintering and to control grain size. The possibility to use CaTiO3 as sintering aid is investigated. This substance lowers the sintering temperature with more than 100 oC and at the same time the mechanical properties are preserved. The compressive strength is more than 2000 MPa and the flexural strength is more than 200 MPa

Stress echocardiography for left ventricular diastolic dysfunction detection in patients with non-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a cross-sectional study

Aim To assess whether the simultaneous performance of exercise stress echocardiography and cardio-pulmonary testing (ESE-CPET) may facilitate the timely diagnosis of subclinical left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in patients with non-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), preserved left ventricular systolic function, and exertional dyspnea or exercise intolerance. Methods This cross-sectional study, conducted between May 2017 and April 2018, involved 104 non-severe COPD patients with exertional dyspnea and preserved ejection fraction who underwent echocardiography before CPET and 1-2 minutes after peak exercise. Based on the peak E/e’ ratio, patients were divided into the group with stressinduced LVDD – E/e’>15 and the group without stress-induced LVDD. We assessed the association between LVDD and the following CPET variables: minute ventilation, peak oxygen uptake (VO2), ventilatory efficiency, heart rate reserve, and blood pressure.Results During ESE-CPET, stress-induced LVDD occurred in 67/104 patients (64%). These patients had lower work load, peak VO2, O2 pulse, and minute ventilation (VE), and higher VE/VCO2 slope than patients without stress-induced LVDD (35.18 ± 10.4 vs 37.01 ± 11.11, P < 0.05). None of the CPET variables correlated with E/e’. Conclusion Combined ESE-CPET may distinguish masked LVDD in patients with non-severe COPD with exertional dyspnea and preserved left ventricular systolic function. None of the CPET variables was a predictor for subclinical LVDD

THE EFFECT OF EXTENDING RAM SPERM BEFORE AND AFTER CRYOPRESERVATION ON THEIR VIABILITY AND VELOCITY

The current study aimed to assess the effect of adding cryopreserving extender (soy-bean lecithin-SBLE), reduced glutathione (GSH), and seminal plasma (SP) before and after thawing on viability and velocity of cryopreserved ram sperm in liquid nitrogen. Fresh ejaculates (Ovchepolska pramenka rams, n=10) were collected and pooled. One portion was extended up to 50 million/ml with SBLE (control C-a), SBLE and GSH 5 mM (E1-a), SBLE and SP 20 vol% (E2-a), and SBLE, GSH 5 mM and SP 20 vol% (E3-a), respectively. The second portion was extended with SBLE to 100 million/ml. Both portions were cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen. Following thawing, the second portion was extended in the same manner to 50 million/ml and was separated into C-b, E1-b, E2-b, and E3-b, respectively. Each group was sampled in ten replicates immediately following thawing. Thawed samples were analyzed for viability (Hancock-2 stain), and velocity (Hamilton Thorne, USA). Each sample included at least 200 cells and the results were expressed in percent values (mean±SEM). Normality (Kolmogorov) and variance comparison (factorial-ANOVA) were performed in Statistica 8 with a significance level p&lt;0.05. E2-a (57.58% ±2.40) and E3-a (56.94% ±1.85) yielded significantly higher viability compared to the C-a (40.73 ±1.53). There were no significant differences between C-b (50.00% ±2.33), E1-b (43.61% ±1.37), E2-b (49.16% ±1.50), and E3-b (48.50% ±1.85). In conclusion, the addition of SBLE, GSH, and SP prior vs after cryopreservation has a significant effect on thawed ram sperm viability and velocity

Investigation of chirality in the case of 102Rh

Excited states in 102Rh were populated in the fusion-evaporation reaction 94Zr(11B, 3n)102Rh at a beam energy of 36 MeV using the INGA spectrometer at IUAC, New Delhi. The angular correlations and the electromagnetic character of some of the gamma-ray transitions observed were investigated in details. A new chiral candidate sister band was found. Lifetimes of exited states in 102Rh were measured using the Doppler-shift attenuation technique and the derived reduced transition probabilities are compared to the predictions of the Two Quasiparticles Plus Triaxial Rotor model

European training requirements in vascular surgery

The Union Europénne des Médecins Spécialistes (UEMS) is a non-governmental organization representing national associations of medical specialists (over 1.6 million) at the European level. It has strong links and relations with European institutions (Commission and Parliament), the other independent European medical or-ganizations and the European medical/scientific societies. With a current membership of 40 national associations and 43 specialist sections and European boards, the UEMS promotes the free movement of medical specialists across Europe while ensuring the highest level of training which will pave the way to the improvement of quality of care for the benefit of all European citizens. The UEMS areas of expertise notably encompass Continuing Medical Education, Post-Graduate Training and Quality Assurance. It is the UEMS conviction that the quality of medical care and expertise is directly linked to the quality of train-ing provided to the medical professionals. Therefore, the UEMS committed itself to contribute to the improvement of medical training at the European level through the de-velopment of European standards in the different medical disciplines. One of the added values of the UEMS is the development of new harmonized models for the training of the next generation of medical specialists, and of high standards of clinical practice, hence improved care for pa-tients throughout Europe. It is not important where doc-tors are trained, they should have at least the same core competencies.peer-reviewe