История и перспективы применения железобетона

Строительство из бетона и железобетона по праву можно назвать самым перспективным из существующих технологий возведения зданий. «Бетон – наилучший из материалов, изобретенных человечеством», – сказал знаменитый итальянский архитектор П.Л. Нерви. И он был прав. Сегодня большинство домов в современных городах сделано из бетона. Он применяется для строительства мостов, портов и плотин, дорог, подземных сооружений, атомных электростанций и стартовых площадок для ракет

Routine delivery of artemisinin-based combination treatment at fixed health facilities reduces malaria prevalence in Tanzania: an observational study

BACKGROUND Artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) has been promoted as a means to reduce malaria transmission due to their ability to kill both asexual blood stages of malaria parasites, which sustain infections over long periods and the immature derived sexual stages responsible for infecting mosquitoes and onward transmission. Early studies reported a temporal association between ACT introduction and reduced malaria transmission in a number of ecological settings. However, these reports have come from areas with low to moderate malaria transmission, been confounded by the presence of other interventions or environmental changes that may have reduced malaria transmission, and have not included a comparison group without ACT. This report presents results from the first large-scale observational study to assess the impact of case management with ACT on population-level measures of malaria endemicity in an area with intense transmission where the benefits of effective infection clearance might be compromised by frequent and repeated re-infection. METHODS A pre-post observational study with a non-randomized comparison group was conducted at two sites in Tanzania. Both sites used sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) monotherapy as a first-line anti-malarial from mid-2001 through 2002. In 2003, the ACT, artesunate (AS) co-administered with SP (AS + SP), was introduced in all fixed health facilities in the intervention site, including both public and registered non-governmental facilities. Population-level prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum asexual parasitaemia and gametocytaemia were assessed using light microscopy from samples collected during representative household surveys in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006. FINDINGS Among 37,309 observations included in the analysis, annual asexual parasitaemia prevalence in persons of all ages ranged from 11% to 28% and gametocytaemia prevalence ranged from <1% to 2% between the two sites and across the five survey years. A multivariable logistic regression model was fitted to adjust for age, socioeconomic status, bed net use and rainfall. In the presence of consistently high coverage and efficacy of SP monotherapy and AS + SP in the comparison and intervention areas, the introduction of ACT in the intervention site was associated with a modest reduction in the adjusted asexual parasitaemia prevalence of 5 percentage-points or 23% (p < 0.0001) relative to the comparison site. Gametocytaemia prevalence did not differ significantly (p = 0.30). INTERPRETATION The introduction of ACT at fixed health facilities only modestly reduced asexual parasitaemia prevalence. ACT is effective for treatment of uncomplicated malaria and should have substantial public health impact on morbidity and mortality, but is unlikely to reduce malaria transmission substantially in much of sub-Saharan Africa where individuals are rapidly re-infected.Financial support for IMPACT-Tz came primarily from CDC, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Wellcome Trust

WEURO 2017 as catalyst? The narratives of two female pioneers in the Dutch women’s football media complex

2017 was a significant year for women’s football in the Netherlands. The Dutch women’s team won the Women’s European Champions football (WEURO 2017) for the first time in history. The screenings of their matches attracted massive audiences. This article explores the meanings given to gender and sport and the impact of WEURO 2017 by turning to two women pioneers in the field of elite women’s football and the sports media complex. We not only study how these women negotiate and experience the impact and meanings given to WEURO 2017 but we also explore how their narrativesprovide insights in the wider meanings given to (the development of) women’s football in the Netherlands. Results show, amongst other things, how an increased popularity and attention for women’s football from the part of the media goes together with a reproduction of hegemonic discourses that prioritize emphasized femininity and construct men’s football as normative

DUSP9 Modulates DNA Hypomethylation in Female Mouse Pluripotent Stem Cells

Blastocyst-derived embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and gonad-derived embryonic germ cells (EGCs) represent two classic types of pluripotent cell lines, yet their molecular equivalence remains incompletely understood. Here, we compare genome-wide methylation patterns between isogenic ESC and EGC lines to define epigenetic similarities and differences. Surprisingly, we find that sex rather than cell type drives methylation patterns in ESCs and EGCs. Cell fusion experiments further reveal that the ratio of X chromosomes to autosomes dictates methylation levels, with female hybrids being hypomethylated and male hybrids being hypermethylated. We show that the X-linked MAPK phosphatase DUSP9 is upregulated in female compared to male ESCs, and its heterozygous loss in female ESCs leads to male-like methylation levels. However, male and female blastocysts are similarly hypomethylated, indicating that sex-specific methylation differences arise in culture. Collectively, our data demonstrate the epigenetic similarity of sex-matched ESCs and EGCs and identify DUSP9 as a regulator of female-specific hypomethylation

Deceased donor organ procurement injuries in the United States

AIM: To determine the incidence of surgical injury during deceased donor organ procurements. METHODS: Organ damage was classified into three tiers, from 1-3, with the latter rendering the organ non-transplantable. For 12 consecutive months starting in January of 2014, 36 of 58 organ procurement organization's (OPO)'s prospectively submitted quality data regarding organ damage (as reported by the transplanting surgeon and confirmed by the OPO medical director) seen on the procured organ. RESULTS: These 36 OPOs recovered 5401 of the nations's 8504 deceased donors for calendar year 2014. A total of 19043 organs procured were prospectively analyzed. Of this total, 59 organs sustained damage making them non-transplantable (0 intestines; 4 pancreata; 5 lungs; 6 livers; 43 kidneys). The class 3 damage was spread over 22 (of 36) reporting OPO's. CONCLUSION: While damage to the procured organ is rare with organ loss being approximately 0.3% of procured organs, loss of potential transplantable organs does occur during procurement