New Processes for the Preparation of Butadiene-1,3 Hydrocarbons. Ii. Pyrogenetic Decomposition of Hydroxy-Compounds.

n/

The impact of school policy and stakeholders' actions on student learning: A longitudinal study

This paper proposes and validates a theoretical framework on how school policy can promote student learning. School policy is considered to have an indirect effect on student achievement by changing school stakeholders’ actions toward improving the School Learning Environment (SLE) and teaching practice. A reciprocal relationship between school policy and stakeholders’ actions is also considered. A longitudinal study was conducted to test the framework’s main assumptions. A stratified sample of 64 primary schools was selected and students’ achievement in Mathematics at the beginning of Grade 4 and at the end of the next three consecutive school years was measured, alongside the school policy and teachers’ actions with regards to issues associated with teaching and the SLE. The results of Multilevel structural equation modelling analyses supported the main assumptions of the framework. Implications for the development of school policy are drawn and suggestions for further research are provided.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.01.00

Seismic retrofitting and health monitoring of school buildings of Cyprus

The vulnerability of existing buildings to seismic forces and their retrofitting is an international problem. The majority of structures in seismic-prone areas worldwide are structures that have been designed either without the consideration of seismic forces, or with previous codes of practice specifying lower levels of seismic forces. In Cyprus, after the three earthquakes that occurred in 1995, 1996, and 1999, the Cyprus State, acting in a pioneering way internationally, has decided the seismic retrofitting of all school buildings, taking into account the sensitivity of the society towards these structures, which house the future generation of the society. In this paper the overall assessment methodology is presented, along with details of the over 10 year ongoing retrofitting program of the school buildings of Cyprus, with emphasis on the description of the program and the development of a wireless monitoring system. In addition, mathematical models of selected school buildings are presented and comparison is made with in-situ measurement

Genetic background modifies amyloidosis in a mouse model of ATTR neuropathy

AbstractPenetrance and age of onset of ATTRV30M amyloidotic neuropathy varies significantly among different populations. This variability has been attributed to both genetic and environmental modifiers. We studied the effect of genetic background on phenotype in two lines of transgenic mice bearing the same ATTRV30M transgene. Amyloid deposition, transthyretin (TTR), megalin, clusterin and disease markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress, the ubiquitin-proteasome system, apoptosis, and complement activation were assessed with WB and immunohistochemistry in donor and recipient tissue. Our results indicate that genetic background modulates amyloid deposition by influencing TTR handling in recipient tissue and may partly account for the marked variability in penetrance observed in various world populations

Evaluation of seismic demand for substandard reinforced concrete structures

Background: Reinforced Concrete (RC) buildings with no seismic design exhibit degrading behaviour under severe seismic loading due to non-ductile brittle failure modes. The seismic performance of such substandard structures can be predicted using existing capacity demand diagram methods through the idealization of the non-linear capacity curve of the degrading system, and its comparison with a reduced earthquake demand spectrum. Objective: Modern non-linear static methods for derivation of capacity curves incorporate idealization assumptions that are too simplistic and do not apply for sub-standard buildings. The conventional idealisation procedures cannot maintain the true strength degradation behaviour of such structures in the post-peak part, and thus may lead to significant errors in seismic performance prediction especially in the cases of brittle failure modes dominating the response. Method: In order to increase the accuracy of the prediction, an alternative idealisation procedure using equivalent elastic perfectly plastic systems is proposed herein that can be used in conjunction with any capacity demand diagram method. Results: Moreover, the performance of this improved equivalent linearization procedure in predicting the response of an RC frame is assessed herein. Conclusion: This improved idealization procedure has been proven to reduce the error in the seismic performance prediction as compared to seismic shaking table test results [1] and will be further investigated probabilistically herein

The role of thrombospondins in wound healing, ischemia, and the foreign body reaction

Thrombospondin (TSP) 1 and TSP2 have been implicated in the regulation of several processes during tissue repair. Due to their matricellular nature, these proteins are thought to modulate cell-matrix interactions through a variety of mechanisms specific to the spatio-temporal context of their expression. Most notably, TSP1 and TSP2 appear to play distinct, non-overlapping roles in the healing of skin wounds. In contrast, both proteins have been implicated as regulators of ischemia-induced angiogenesis. Moreover, TSP2 has been shown to be a critical regulator of angiogenesis in the foreign body response (FBR). In this review, we discuss the role of TSPs in tissue repair and examine the mechanistic data regarding the ability of the thrombospondins to modulate cell-matrix interactions in this context

Energy management and control of photovoltaic and storage systems in active distribution grids

The evolution of power distribution grids from passive to active systems creates reliability and efficiency challenges to the distribution system operators. In this paper, an energy management and control scheme for managing the operation of an active distribution grid with prosumers is proposed. A multi-objective optimization model to minimize (i) the prosumers electricity cost and (ii) the cost of the grid energy losses, while guaranteeing safe and reliable grid operation is formulated. This is done by determining the active and reactive power set-points of the photovoltaic and storage systems integrated in the grid buildings. The resulting optimization model is non-convex, thus a convex second-order cone program is developed by appropriately relaxing the non-convex constraints which yields optimal results in most operating conditions. The convexified model is further utilized to develop an algorithm that yields feasible solutions to the non-convex problem under any operating conditions. Moreover, a second novel algorithm to find the operating point that provides fairness between the prosumers and the grid costs is proposed. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed scheme in managing an industrial distribution grid compared to a self-consumption approach

Lymphoepithelial Cyst of the Pancreas.

The final, published version of this article is available at doi: 10.1159/000445373Lymphoepithelial cyst (LEC) of the pancreas is an extremely rare, benign pancreatic cystic lesion that is difficult to differentiate preoperatively from other cystic pancreatic lesions. LEC may have malignant potential. Here, we describe a case of LEC of the pancreas - initially suspected to be a mucinous cyst neoplasm - in an elderly man presenting with abdominal pain, who went on to have a distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. We also review the relevant literature and discuss implications for the diagnosis and management of this rare lesion

Exploring the pharmacokinetics of phenoxymethylpenicillin (Penicillin-V) in adults: a healthy volunteer study

This healthy volunteer study aimed to explore Phenoxymethylpenicillin (Penicillin-V) pharmacokinetics (PK) to support the planning of large, dosing studies in adults. Volunteers were dosed with penicillin-V at steady state. Total and unbound penicillin-V serum concentration was determined and a base population PK model were fitted to the data