On alpha-close-to-convex functions of order beta

Let Mβ(α)[α≥0   and   β≥0] denote the class of all functionsf(z)=z+∑n=2∞anznanalytic in the unit disc U with f′(z)f(z)/z≠0 and which satisfy for z=reiθ∈U the condition ∫θ1θ2Re{(1−α)zf′(z)f(z)+α(1+zf″(z)f′(z))}dθ>−βπ for all θ2>θ1. In this note we show that each f∈Mβ(α) is close-to-star of order β when 0<β≤α

Patients’ expectations and satisfaction with their health providers

The growing amount of research into patients’ expectations of medical consultations reflects the view of the patient as an active consumer rather than a passive recipient of care. Patients’ care often diverges from their expectations in important respects. Patients tend to receive more prescription and less information. The fulfillment of certain expectations has been related to satisfaction with the consultation that in turn would improve compliance. Patient satisfaction is also correlated with the patient’s reported intention to change physician. The higher the perceived fulfillment of the expectation is, the higher the satisfaction is. When fulfillment is lower than the expectation, the greater the gap and the lower the satisfaction. Today patient satisfaction is considered a key measure of quality of care and patients reporting higher satisfaction were more likely to have a higher quality of life

Patients’ expectations and satisfaction with their health providers

The growing amount of research into patients’ expectations of medical consultations reflects the view of the patient as an active consumer rather than a passive recipient of care. Patients’ care often diverges from their expectations in important respects. Patients tend to receive more prescription and less information. The fulfillment of certain expectations has been related to satisfaction with the consultation that in turn would improve compliance. Patient satisfaction is also correlated with the patient’s reported intention to change physician. The higher the perceived fulfillment of the expectation is, the higher the satisfaction is. When fulfillment is lower than the expectation, the greater the gap and the lower the satisfaction. Today patient satisfaction is considered a key measure of quality of care and patients reporting higher satisfaction were more likely to have a higher quality of life

Thermomechanical treatment of austempered ductile iron

The production of lightweight ferrous castings with increased strength properties became unavoidable facing the serious challenge of lighter aluminum and magnesium castings. The relatively new ferrous casting alloy ADI offers promising strength prospects, and the thermo-mechanical treatment of ductile iron may suggest a new route for production of thin-wall products. This work aims at studying the influence of thermomechanical treatment, either by ausforming just after quenching and before the onset of austempering reaction or by cold rolling after austempering. In the first part of this work, ausforming of ADI up to 25% reduction in height during a rolling operation was found to add a mechanical processing component compared to the conventional ADI heat treatment, thus increasing the rate of ausferrite formation and leading to a much finer and more homogeneous ausferrite product. The kinetics of ausferrite formation was studied using both metallographic as well as XRD-techniques. The effect of ausforming on the strength was quite dramatic (up to 70% and 50% increase in the yield and ultimate strength respectively). A mechanism involving both a refined microstructural scale and an elevated dislocation density was suggested. Nickel is added to ADI to increase hardenability of thick section castings, while ausforming to higher degrees of deformation is necessary to alleviate the deleterious effect of alloy segregation on ductility. In the second part of this work, the influence of cold rolling (CR) on the mechanical properties and structural characteristics of ADI was investigated. The variation in properties was related to the amount of retained austenite (γr) and its mechanically induced ransformation. In the course of tensile deformation of ADI, transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) takes place, indicated by the increase of the instantaneous value of strain-hardening exponent with tensile strain. The amount of retained austenite was found to decrease due to partial transformation of γr to martensite under the CR strain. Such strain-induced transformation resulted in higher amounts of mechanically generated martensite. The strength and hardness properties were therefore increased, while ductility and impact toughness decreased with increasing CR reduction

Morphometric parameters and histological study of the filum terminale of adult human cadavers and magnetic resonance images

Background: Morphology and histology of filum terminale (FT) has a role in the pathophysiology of tethered cord syndrome (TCS). This research was implemented to investigate the morphometric parameters and histological structure of normal FT in adult human cadavers and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to correlate them with the pathophysiology of TCS.   Materials and methods: Twenty five adult human cadavers (15 males, 10 females) and 100 MRI echo scans of lumbosacral region (50 males and 50 females), were used in this study. MRI patients were divided into 21–40 and 41–60 age groups. The cadavers were dissected at the prone position to explore their fila. The length of FT, filum terminale internum (FTI), filum terminale externum (FTE), vertebral level of beginning, dural piercing and termination of FT, and the initial, midpoint, and mid-FTE diameters were determined. Four segments were excised from lower conus, upper, middle, and lower thirds of FT. The specimens were processed for light microscopic examination. Statistical analysis was done for these parameters.   Results: MRI morphometrical parameters of FT, except FTI length, revealed no age effect or sex differences, where length of FTI, FTE, initial diameter, level of conus medullaris termination (CMT) and dural sac termination (DST) were 174.1 ± 16.8, 75.8 ± 9.5, 1.6 ± 0.21, L1-2 and S2U in males and 166.9 ± 18.9, 74.1 ± 9.3, 1.53 ± 0.25, L1-2 and S2M vertebrae in females, respectively. However, non-significant sex difference was observed in morphometric parameters of cadaveric FT, where length of FTI and FTE, initial diameter, CMT and DST levels were 164.2 ± 11.6, 76.7 ± 8.1, 1.7 ± 0.14, L1L and S2U vertebrae in males and 159.2 ± 10.1, 71.02 ± 7.3, 1.6 ± 0.29, L1L and S2U in females, respectively. Moreover, CMT below L2 vertebra was seen in 5% of MRI scans and 8% of cadavers. Also, the initial diameter of FT &gt; 2 mm was recorded in 7% of MRI and 8% of cadaveric cases. Histologically, the structure of FT showed gradual reduction in nervous, glial, and vascular tissues with converse increase in collagen content in FTE compared with those of FTI.   Conclusions: Knowledge of the morphometric parameters and the histological structure of FT are necessary for clinicians who dealing with diagnosis or treatment of tethered cord syndrome

Correlation between broiler lameness and anatomical measurements of bone using radiographical projections with assessments of consistency across and within radiographs

Lameness represents a major welfare and production issue in the poultry industry with a recent survey estimating 27% of birds lame and 3% unable to walk by 40 d of age. A variety of factors may induce lameness and are typically grouped into 2 broad classes on the basis of being infectious or skeletal in nature with the latter accounting for the majority of cases. The current work sought to build upon a large body of literature assessing the anatomical properties of bone in lame birds. Our specific objectives sought to identify relationships between relevant anatomical properties of the tibia and metatarsus using digital quantification from radiographs of legs and a measure of walking difficulty. Resulting output was statistically analyzed to assess 1) observer reliability for consistency in placing the leg during the radiograph procedure and quantification of the various measures within a radiograph, 2) the relationship between the various measurements of anatomical bone properties and sex, bird mass, and gait score, and 3) the relationship between each measurement and leg symmetry. Our anatomical bone measures were found to be reliable (intra-rater and test-retest reliabilities < 0.75) within radiograph for all measures and 8 of the 10 measures across radiographs. Several measures of bone properties in the tibia correlated to difficulty walking as measured by gait score (P < 0.05), indicating greater angulations with increasing lameness. Of the measures that manifested a gait score × bird mass interaction, heavier birds appeared to exhibit less angulation with increasing difficulty walking with lighter birds the opposite. These interactions suggest possibilities for influencing effects of activity or feed intake on bone mineralization with the bone angulation observed. Our efforts agree with that of others and indicate that angulation of the tibia may be related to lameness, though subsequent efforts involving comprehensive measures of bird activity, growth rates, and internal bone structure will be needed if the validity of the measures are to be accepte