Export Demand Function Estimation for U.S. Raisins

Raisins are one of important products of California. Almost all U.S. raisins are produced near Fresno California’s central valley due to its hot growing season and abundant water supply. U.S. is the leading exporter of raisins in the world. This paper investigates the export demand function of U.S. raisins for the top five importer countries. The relationship of quantity exported with export price, other exporters’ prices, real income, and exchange rate is estimated. The model used is a logarithmic panel data model for the 1992-2008 periods. The model used is in log-log format to determine own- price, cross price, and income elasticities for the commodity.International Relations/Trade,

Breast feeding practices and views among diabetic women: a retrospective cohort study

Objective: to explore the pattern and experiences of breast-feeding practices among diabetic women. Design: retrospective cohort study using maternal records and postal questionnaires in a Baby-Friendly hospital. Participants: diabetic mothers including women with gestational diabetes, and type 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus. Findings: from the total group of respondents, 81.9% intended to breast feed. The actual breast feeding rates were 81.9% at birth, 68.1% at 2 weeks and 28.7% at 6 months postpartum. Major themes that were identified from women's experiences included information and advice, support vs. pressure, classification and labelling, and expectations. Conclusions: more than two-thirds of the diabetic women intended to breast feed and actually did breast feed in this study. For both the total study population and the type 1 and 2 diabetics alone, more than half were still breast feeding at 2 weeks postpartum, and approximately one-third were still breast feeding at 6 months postpartum. Implications for practice: structured support, provided for women through Baby-Friendly initiatives, was appreciated by the diabetic women in this study. The extent to which this support influenced the highly successful breast feeding practices in this group of women needs focused investigation. The need for a delicate balancing act between pressure and advice in order to prevent coercion was noted.</p

Electronic and optical properties of 5-AVA-functionalized BN nanoclusters: A DFT study

We carried out detailed density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) calculations upon 5-aminolevulinic acid-functionalized B12N12 and B16N16 nanoclusters with the B3LYP, B3PW91, and PBE methods using the 6-311+G∗∗ basis set. The calculated adsorption energies of 5-aminolevulinic acid with the BN nanoclusters were evaluated at T = 298.15 and 311.15 K in the gaseous and aqueous environments with the B3LYP, B3PW91, and PBE methods. Our results showed that the adsorption of the 5-AVA molecule (NH2 group) with B12N12 is more favorable than-with the B16N16 nanocluster in the gas and solvent phases. It is anticipated that a 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-AVA) drug incorporating BN clusters could find application in drug delivery systems and in biomedical devices. © The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 2016

A DFT study of 5-fluorouracil adsorption on the pure and doped BN nanotubes

Abstract The electronic and adsorption properties of the pristine, Al-, Ga-, and Ge-doped BN nanotubes interacted with 5-fluorouracil molecule (5-FU) were theoretically investigated in the gas phase using the B3LYP density functional theory (DFT) calculations. It was found that the adsorption behavior of 5FU molecule on the pristine (8, 0) and (5, 5) BNNTs are electrostatic in nature. In contrast, the 5FU molecule (O-side) implies strong adsorption on the metal-doped BNNTs. Our results indicate that the Ga-doped presents high sensitivity and strong adsorption with the 5-FU molecule than the Al- and Ge-doped BNNTs. Therefore, it can be introduced as a carrier for drug delivery applications. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd

Incidence and predisposing factors of cognitive disorders following off-pump coronary artery bypasses graft surgery

Patients and Methods: A total of 171 patients who had undergone off-pump CABG without any history of psychiatric disorders were enrolled. Samples were selected according to a purposive sampling method. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaire was given to each patients to assess the incidence of cognitive disorder during the first 24 hours of surgery in ICU. To compare creatinine, erythrocytes sedimentation rate, extubation time, and patients’ age between those with and those without postoperative cognitive disorder, independent-samplest test was employed. To compare two groups in terms of any history of diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia, and qualitative C-reactive protein (CRP), Chi square test was used. Results: Results showed that 75% of patients had postoperative cognitive disorder. There was a significant association between the history of hypertension, CRP, and preoperative creatinine levels in both cognitive disorder and control groups. Background: Cognitive disorder, which is a common problem for the hospitalized patients, is a fluctuating cognitive destruction that leads to the loss of consciousness. It is usually accompanied by increased mortality, prolonged hospital stay, and decreased rehabilitation. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the risk factors associated with cognitive disorder after coronary artery bypasses graft surgery (CABG). Conclusions: Given the significant prevalence of postoperative cognitive disorder and significant association between the history of hypertension, CRP, and preoperative creatinine and cognitive disorder, the detection of patient’s clinical symptoms may improve diagnosis, treatment, and even prevention of cognitive disorder. © 2014, Iranian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ISRAPM); Published by Kowsar

Experimental investigation of leading-edge roughness effects on stationary crossflow instability of a swept wing

AbstractWind tunnel experiments were conducted to evaluate surface pressure distribution over a semi span swept wing with a sweep angle of 33°. The wing section has a laminar flow airfoil similar to that of the NACA 6-series. The tests were conducted at speeds ranging from 50 to 70 m/s with and without surface roughness. Surface static pressure was measured on the wing upper surface at three different chordwise rows located at the inboard, middle, and outboard stations. The differences between pressure distributions on the three sections of the wing were studied and the experimental results showed that roughness elements do not influence the pressure distribution significantly, except at the inboard station. On the other hand, spectral analysis of the pressure–time signals acquired from the pressure orifices over the wing upper surface showed that roughness had significantly affected the zero frequency amplitude. In this study, the zero frequency amplitude and its variations with roughness elements was investigated at three different chordwise positions; inboard, middle, and outboard stations. Results showed that the 3-D roughness elements amplified zero frequency amplitude over the wing surface. Zero frequency distribution at the inboard station, closer to the wing root, in comparison with the middle station, was reduced after an initial amplification along the chord. Moreover, the effect of roughness on the zero frequency instability at the first section was negligible due to the narrow instability amplification region. On the other hand, at the outboard station, closer to the wing tip, the instabilities were amplified over a larger region, with respect to the middle station

Disparities in incidence and mortality of breast cancer

No Abstrac

Studying the efficacy of fipronil (WG 80%) against alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica Gyll. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a key pest of alfalfa in different regions of the world where it causes sometimes complete crop destruction. Application of insecticides is the most important and major control method of this pest. The efficacy of fipronil (WG 80%), 50, 70 and 90 g/ha along with fosalon (EC 35%), 2.5 l/ha and malathion (EC 57%), 3 l/ha were assessed against this pest in the field based on a completely randomized block design. Based on Henderson–Tilton formula, on the fourteenth day after treatment, the minimum efficacy of fipronil, 50, 70 and 90 g/ha, fosalon, 2.5 l/ha and malathion, 3 l/ha bait was 80%, 89%, 98%, 76% and 75%, respectively. Results showed that fipronil (WG 80%) at 50–70 g/ha can be used against alfalfa weevil

A Simple Method for Finding Optimal Paths of Hot and Cold Streams inside Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers to Reduce Pumping Cost in Heat Exchanger Network Problems

In this paper, a simple method is presented for the synthesis and retrofit of heat exchanger networks (HENs) by considering pressure drop as well as finding proper path of streams inside heat exchangers (HEs) to reduce the pumping cost of network. Generally, HEN problems lead to MINLP models which have convergence difficulties due to the existence of both continuous and integer variables. In this study, instead of solving these variables simultaneously, a combination of Genetic Algorithm (GA) with Quasi Linear Programming (QLP) and Integer Linear Programming (ILP) was used for solving the problem. GA was used to find optimal HENs structure and streams paths, whereas continuous variables were solved by QLP. For the retrofit of HENs, a modified ILP model was used. Results show that the proposed method has the ability to reduce the cost of annual pumping due to considering optimal paths for streams in the HEs compared to the literature. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License