Editorial Comment for Sandhu et al.

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140372/1/end.2012.0411.pd

Effect of Jordanian Steel Blast Furnace Slag on Asphalt Concrete Hot Mixes

Significant quantities of slag are generated as waste materials or by-product from steel industries. They usually contain considerable quantities of metals. In this study, steel slag obtained from a steel factory in Jordan was used in Asphalt Concrete Hot Mixes (ACHM). Marshall specimens were prepared with 100% lime stone dense graded aggregates at 4.5, 5, 5.5 and 6% bitumen contents by weight of aggregate to serve as control specimens. Another set of Marshall specimens with 100% Steel Slag Aggregates (SSA) and another set with a combination of limestone and (SSA) were prepared using the same grading and bitumen contents. Test results showed a reduction in the Optimum Bitumen Content (OBC) and an increase in density and stability values for specimens prepared with 100% (SSA). A decrease in the flow, Percentage of air voids (Pav), and Voids in Mineral Aggregates (VMA) values - but in compliance with the recommended values by the Asphalt Institute- was observed in specimens prepared with 100% (SSA)

Evaluation of Road Pavement Maintenance by Contract in Jordan

In this research, road pavement maintenance by contract in Jordan was investigated. For this purpose, a subjective procedure (the Present Serviceability Rating (PSR)) was used to evaluate pavement serviceability. Three major highways (Jarash-Amman highway, Naour-Dead Sea highway and Zarqa-Syrian borders highway) that were maintained by contract were selected. The developed data base included information on pavement characteristics, traffic type and volume and routine maintenance cost. The effect of maintenance cost on pavement serviceability was estimated by developing a statistical relationship between maintenance cost and pavement serviceability rating before and after maintenance. The results showed that the pavement serviceability of Jarash-Amman highway and Naour-Dead Sea highway was adversely affected after applying maintenance by contract. The pavement serviceability of Zarqa-Syrian borders highway was slightly improved after applying maintenance by contract, but the improvement was not up to expectations. It is believed that the reasons for such results are a combination of the contractor’s poor experience and qualification and the timing of maintenance where the pavement was left without maintenance until it reached fair or poor condition

Robot-Assisted Retroperitoneal Partial Nephrectomy: Technique and Perioperative Results

Growing evidence supports the use of nephron-sparing techniques for the management of appropriately selected renal masses up to 7-cm. Compared with the surgical standard of open partial nephrectomy, minimally invasive approaches have demonstrated equivalent cancer control with reduced patient morbidity. Robot assistance has the potential to provide patients and physicians greater access to minimally invasive nephron-sparing surgery. We describe a robot-assisted retroperitoneal approach for the management of posterior renal masses. Our early results suggest reduced perioperative morbidity with the ability to manage more complex tumors.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90442/1/end-2E2010-2E0481.pd

Association of RENAL nephrometry score with outcomes of minimally invasive partial nephrectomy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98294/1/iju3222.pd

An efficient basis set representation for calculating electrons in molecules

The method of McCurdy, Baertschy, and Rescigno, J. Phys. B, 37, R137 (2004) is generalized to obtain a straightforward, surprisingly accurate, and scalable numerical representation for calculating the electronic wave functions of molecules. It uses a basis set of product sinc functions arrayed on a Cartesian grid, and yields 1 kcal/mol precision for valence transition energies with a grid resolution of approximately 0.1 bohr. The Coulomb matrix elements are replaced with matrix elements obtained from the kinetic energy operator. A resolution-of-the-identity approximation renders the primitive one- and two-electron matrix elements diagonal; in other words, the Coulomb operator is local with respect to the grid indices. The calculation of contracted two-electron matrix elements among orbitals requires only O(N log(N)) multiplication operations, not O(N^4), where N is the number of basis functions; N = n^3 on cubic grids. The representation not only is numerically expedient, but also produces energies and properties superior to those calculated variationally. Absolute energies, absorption cross sections, transition energies, and ionization potentials are reported for one- (He^+, H_2^+ ), two- (H_2, He), ten- (CH_4) and 56-electron (C_8H_8) systems.Comment: Submitted to JC

A de novo marker chromosome derived from 9p in a patient with 9p partial duplication syndrome and autism features: genotype-phenotype correlation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies focusing on candidate genes and chromosomal regions identified several copy number variations (CNVs) associated with increased risk of autism or autism spectrum disorders (ASD).</p> <p>Case Presentation</p> <p>We describe a 17-year-old girl with autism, severe mental retardation, epilepsy, and partial 9p duplication syndrome features in whom GTG-banded chromosome analysis revealed a female karyotype with a marker chromosome in 69% of analyzed metaphases. Array CGH analysis showed that the marker chromosome originated from 9p24.3 to 9p13.1 with a gain of 38.9 Mb. This mosaic 9p duplication was detected only in the proband and not in the parents, her four unaffected siblings, or 258 ethnic controls. Apart from the marker chromosome, no other copy number variations (CNVs) were detected in the patient or her family. Detailed analysis of the duplicated region revealed: i) an area extending from 9p22.3 to 9p22.2 that was previously identified as a critical region for the 9p duplication syndrome; ii) a region extending from 9p22.1 to 9p13.1 that was previously reported to be duplicated in a normal individual; and iii) a potential ASD locus extending from 9p24.3 to 9p23. The ASD candidate locus contained 34 genes that may contribute to the autistic features in this patient.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We identified a potential ASD locus (9p24.3 to 9p23) that may encompass gene(s) contributing to autism or ASD.</p

Nurses experience of caring for patients with COVID-19 : a phenomenological study

Introduction: COVID-19 has impacted all dimensions of life and imposed serious threat on humankind. Background: In Jordan, understanding how nurses experienced providing care for patients with COVID-19 offers a framework of knowledge about similar situations within the context of Arabic culture. Aim: To explore nurses' experience with providing hands-on care to patients with active COVID-19 infection in an Arabic society. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological study interviewed 10 nurses through a purposive sampling approach until data saturation was reached. The research site was hospital designated to receive patients with active COVID-19 infection. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. Findings: Three themes were generated from the data: the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on nurses' health; unfamiliar work and social environments; and conforming to professional standards. Discussion: There are specific risks to the physical and mental wellbeing of nurses who provide hands-on care to patients with COVID-19 in an Arabic society. Implication for nursing and health policy: Health care institutions should consider establishing programs that promote nurses' wellbeing and support their productivity in a crisis. A danger pay allowance should be considered for nurses during extraordinary circumstances, such as pandemics

More About the Tetrahedral Unstructured Software System

TetrUSS is a comprehensive suite of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) programs that won the Software of the Year award in 1996 and has found increasing use in government, academia, and industry for solving realistic flow problems (especially in aerodynamics and aeroelastics of aircraft having complex shapes). TetrUSS includes not only programs for solving basic equations of flow but also programs that afford capabilities for efficient generation and utilization of computational grids and for graphical representation of computed flows (see figure). The 2004 version of the Tetrahedral Unstructured Software System (TetrUSS), which is one of two software systems reported in "NASA s 2004 Software of the Year," NASA Tech Briefs, Vol. 28, No. 10 (October 2004), page 18, has been improved greatly since 1996. These improvements include (1) capabilities to simulate viscous flow by solving the Navier-Stokes equations on unstructured grids, (2) portability to personal computers from diverse manufacturers, (3) advanced models of turbulence, (4) a parallel-processing version of one of the unstructured-grid Navier-Stokes-equation-solving programs, and (5) advanced programs for generating unstructured grids