A review of the planform effects on the low-speed aerodynamic characteristics of triangular and modified triangular wings

Planform effects on low speed aerodynamic characteristics of triangular and modified triangular wing

Short-term therapy with rosiglitatzone, a PPAR-¿ agonist improves metabolic profile and vascular function in non-obese lean wistar rats

A number of preclinical and clinical studies have reported blood-pressure-lowering benefits of thiazolidinediones in diabetic subjects and animal models of diabetes. This study was designed to further elucidate vascular effects of rosiglitazone, on healthy nonobese, lean animals. Adult male Wistar rats were randomized and assigned to control and rosiglitazone-treated groups and were dosed daily with either vehicle or rosiglitazone (10 mg kg(−1) day(−1)) by oral gavage for 5 days. Compared with control group, rosiglitazone treatment significantly reduced plasma levels of triglycerides (>240%) and nonesterified free fatty acids (>268%) (both, P < 0.001). There were no changes in vascular contractility to KCl or noradrenaline between two groups. However, rosiglitazone therapy improved carbamylcholine-induced vasorelaxation (93 ± 3 % versus control 78 ± 2, P < 0.01) an effect which was abolished by L-NAME. There was no difference in sodium nitroprusside-induced vasorelaxation between the control and rosiglitazone-treated animals. These results indicate that short-term rosiglitazone therapy improves both metabolic profile and vascular function in lean rats. The vascular effect of rosiglitazone appears to be mediated by alteration in NO production possibly by activation of endothelial PPARγ. This increased NO production together with improved lipid profile may explain mechanism(s) of blood-pressure-lowering effects of thiazolidinediones on both human and experimental animals

Stock assessment and virtual population analysis of River shad, Tenualosa ilisha (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) in the Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq

Historically, the river shad, Tenualosa ilisha fishery is the most significant marine fishery from the economic-socio point of view in Basrah province for a long time, but its contribution declined from 90.2% of total landings in 1965-1973 to 5.8% in 2020. The stock and virtual population analysis of the species in the Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq was assessed using FiSAT II software. Samples were collected from two sites in the river from November 2015 to October 2016. A total of 462 individuals of T. ilisha ranging from 7.0 to 42.5 cm were collected. The length-weight relationship was derived, indicating a positive allometric growth for the species. L∞, K, and Ø were 59.1 cm, 0.27, and 2.975, respectively. Total (Z), natural (M) and fishing (F) mortalities were 1.94, 0.59, and 1.35, respectively. The exploitation rate (E) was 0.70. Length at first capture (Lc50) was found to be 24.4 cm. The recruitment pattern of T. ilisha was continuous throughout the year with two unequal prominent peaks. The relative yield per recruit analysis revealed that the current exploitation rate (E) of T. ilisha was higher than both E0.1 and Emax. Also, the 40 cm length group was more vulnerable to fishing according to VPA analysis, followed by the 34 cm and 26 cm length groups. For management purposes, it must be introduced an extensive T. ilisha management action plan by protecting brood species during the breeding season by imposing a ban on fishing in the Shatt Al-Arab River during the main spawning migration and conserving the small T. ilisha (Milat &lt;23.0 cm) from catching.&nbsp;&nbsp

PROCJENA STOKA SLATKOVODNOG CIPLA, Liza abu (HECKEL, 1843), U TRIMA OBNOVLJENIM JUŽNIM MOČVARAMA IRAKA

The stock of freshwater mullet, Liza abu (Heckel, 1843), in the East Hammar, Huwazah and Chybaish marshes, south Iraq, was assessed between October 2005 and September 2006. The relative abundance of the species formed 35.9, 37.1 and 62% of the total catches in the three marshes, respectively. Length–weight relationships calculated for L. abu were: W = 0.0149 L2.899 (East Hammar), W = 0.0132 L2.910 (Huwazah) and W = 0.0252 L2.662 (Chybaish). Mean values of relative condition factor were 1.00, 1.02 and 0.98 for the three marshes, respectively. Growth and mortality parameters estimated for the species were L∞= 23.2cm, K = 0.37, Z = 2.125, M = 0.903 and F = 1.222 (East Hammar), L∞ = 21.1cm, K = 0.44, Z = 1.688, M = 1.055 and F = 0.632 (Huwazah) and L∞ = 20.0cm, K = 0.41, Z = 2.297, M = 1.006 and F = 1.291 (Chybaish). The stock of L. abu in the Huwazah marsh was unexploited (E = 0.375), while those of the East Hammar and Chybaish marshes were overexploited, E = 0.575 and 0.562, respectively. It is necessary to enforce immediate fishing regulation measures on the fish stock in the investigated locations and this can be assessed by activating the national law of fisheries management.Procjena stoka slatkovodnog cipla, Liza abu (Heckel, 1843), provodila se u močvarama Istočni Hammar, Huwazah i Chybaish na jugu Iraka od listopada 2005. do rujna 2006. godine. Relativna zastupljenost ove vrste bila je 35,9, 37,1 i 62% od ukupnog ulova u trima močvarama. Dobivene vrijednosti dužinsko-masenih odnosa kod L. abu bile su: W = 0,0149 L2.899 (Istočni Hammar), W = 0,0132 L2.910 (Huwazah) i W = 0,0252 L2.662 (Chybaish). Srednje vrijednosti kondicijskog faktora triju istraživanih močvara iznosile su 1,00, 1,02 i 0,98. Parametri rasta i mortaliteta pojedine vrste bili su: L∞ = 23.2 cm, K = 0,37, Z = 2.125, M = 0,903 i P = 1.222 (Istočni Hammar) , L∞ = 21.1cm , K = 0,44 , Z = 1.688 , M = 1.055 i F = 0.632 (Huwazah) i L∞ = 20.0 cm, K = 0,41, Z = 2.297, M = 1.006 i F = 1.291 (Chybaish). Stok L. abu u močvari Huwazah bio je neiskorišten (E = 0,375), dok su močvare Istočni Hammar i Chybaish bile previše iskorištavane (E = 0.575; E = 0.562). Nužna je provedba ribolovnih mjera za riblji fond na istraživanim lokacijama, a to se može procijeniti jedino primjenom nacionalnog zakona o upravljanju u ribarstvu

Determination of the plan of the A Famosa Fortress, Malaysia

The “A Famosa Fortress” is one of the oldest partially extant European buildings in Malaysia. It was built in 1511 by the Portuguese and went through several architectural developments and changes before being largely destroyed during the British occupation in 1824.With the subsequent overbuilding of the site by Melaka city today, it is impossible to fully reconstruct this fortress in its physical context.In this paper, we focus on determining the fortress layout based on various textual descriptions and old drawings and plans in preparation to building a detailed 3-D digital model.We have identified several important issues arising from the lack of any authoritative documentation.Such plans as exist not only differ in their depiction of the fort, but also use various ancient measurement systems. The paper gives examples of these problems and shows how a verifiable conjectural layout has been constructed.This is then compared against such archaeological evidence as is currently available. We are not aware of any previously published attempt to verify the consistency, similarity and integrity of the documentary data

Ultimate strength of cold-formed steel z-purlins

INTRODUCTION Cold-formed steel structures are being widely used in various forms of construction such as industrial plants, gymnasiums, hangars and metal buildings. One important feature of metal building construction is the use of light gage roof panels connected to purlins, particularly of the Z-section. This section is, besides the channel-section, the simplest two-flange section which can be produced by cold-forming. The purlins have span lengths of 20 to 25 feet, generally made continuous over the building rigid frames by nesting. Construction details vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. The purlins available would typically have prepunched holes for connection of various types of bracings, overlapping connections, etc

Numerical simulation of creep notched bar of P91 steel

Numerous components designed for use at elevated temperatures now exhibit multiaxial stress states as a result of geometric modification and material inhomogeneity. It is necessary to anticipate the creep rupture life of such components when subjected to multiaxial load. In this work finite element analysis has been performed to study the influence of different notches, namely blunt and medium notches on the stress distribution across the notch throat during the creep exposure. Within the FE model, a ductility exhaustion model based on the Cocks and Ashby model was utilized to forecast the creep rupture time of notched bar P91 material. The lower and upper bound of creep ductility are employed in the FE analysis. Different notch specimens have different stress and damage distribution. It is shown that for both types of notches, the von Mises stress is lower than the net stress, indicating the notch strengthening effect. The accumulation of creep damage in the minimum cross-section at each element across the notch throat increases over time. The point at which damage first occurs is closer to the notch root for the medium notch than for the blunt notch. The long-term rupture life predicted for blunt notch specimens appears to be comparable to that of uniaxial specimens. The upper bound creep ductility better predicts the rupture life for medium notches

Development of Parallel Auditory Thalamocortical Pathways for Two Different Behaviors

Auditory thalamocortical connections are organized as parallel pathways that originate in different divisions of the medial geniculate body (MGB). These pathways may be involved in different functions. Surprisingly little is known about the development of these connections. Here we review studies of the organization and development of auditory thalamocortical pathways in the pallid bat. The pallid bat depends primarily on passive hearing of prey-generated noise for localizing prey, while reserving echolocation for general orientation and obstacle avoidance. In the inferior colliculus (IC) and the auditory cortex, physiological studies show that noise and echolocation calls are processed in segregated regions. Injection of retrograde tracers in physiologically characterized cortical sites show that the ventral division of the MGB (MGBv) projects to the cortical region selective for noise. The cortical region selective for echolocation calls receives input from the suprageniculate (SG) nucleus in the dorsal MGB, but not from the MGBv. Taken together, these studies reveal parallel IC–MGB–cortex pathways involved in echolocation and passive listening. There is overlap of thalamocortical pathways during development. At 2-weeks postnatal, when the bat begins to exhibit adult-like hearing thresholds, the SG projects to both noise- and echolocation call-selective regions. The MGBv, as in adults, projects only to the noise-selective region. The connections become adult-like only after 2-months postnatal. These data suggest that parallel auditory thalamocortical pathways may segregate in an experience-dependent fashion, a hypothesis that remains to be tested in any species

Population dynamics of an invasive species Carassius auratus in the Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq

The population dynamics of the crucian carp, Carassius auratus in the Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq was studied from November 2015 to October 2016 with monthly samples collected by different fishing gears. The FAO-ICLARM Stock Assessment Tool (FiSAT II) software was used for the mathematical analysis. Length-weight relationship was calculated as W= 0.0149L3.065 for fish length 4.6 to 26.8 cm. Growth parameters L∞, K and Ø were computed as 29.1 cm, 0.51 and 2.635. The total (Z), natural (M) and fishing (F) mortalities were 2.69, 1.09 and 1.60, respectively. Exploitation rate (E) was 0.59. Length at first capture (Lc) was found to be 10.04 cm. C. auratus displayed one main pulse of annual recruitment. The relative yield per recruit analysis revealed that the exploitation rate (E) of C. auratus was higher than the biological target reference points E0.1 and equivalent to Emax. It could be concluded that the C. auratus stock in the Shatt Al-Arab River is operating nearby the exploited situation and needs some precautionary measures to avoid the overexploitation by activating the national law of fishing, exploiting and protecting aquatic resources, in particular preventing illegal fishing methods and follow up the execution of the closed season to prevent the decline of our fish resources