Comparison of Blood Pressure and Blood Glucose Level Among Elderly with Non-communicable Disease

Due to increasing age, elderly are prone to non-communicable diseases (NCD), such as hypertension (HT) and diabetes mellitus (DM). Easy physical condition monitoring of people with HT and/or DM is by measuring their blood pressure (BP) and/or blood glucose level (BGL) periodically. This study aimed to compare and analyze the differences of BP and BGL among elderly with HT and/or DM in Bangkok and Surabaya. This cross-sectional study involved 100 and 96 elderly with HT and/or DM in communities of Bangkok and Surabaya respectively (n=196). There were three groups of samples which consisted of 60 DM, 68 HT, and 68 DM&HT cases. Instruments used were demography questionnaire, sphygmomanometer, and glucometer. Test of one-way ANOVA, Least Significant Difference (LSD), Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U were used for data analysis (α<.05). There was a significant difference of systolic and diastolic BP found between groups (p=.000 and p=.011 respectively), but no difference found between the groups of HT and DM&HT (p=.657 and p=.330 respectively). There was a significant difference of BGL found between groups (p=.002), but no difference found between the groups of HT and DM (p=.075) and between the groups of DM and DM&HT (p=.066). BP is significantly different between the group of HT and DM in term of systole and diastole, especially in elderly, but BGL is similar. The risk of being HT for elderly with DM is very high. Elderly with DM&HT have high BP and BGL similarly to those with single disease of HT or DM

Neutron capture production rates of cosmogenic 60Co, 59Ni and 36Cl in stony meteorites

Results for neutron flux calculations in stony meteoroids (of various radii and compositions) and production rates for Cl-36, Ni-59, and Co-60 are reported. The Ni-59/Co-60 ratio is nearly constant with depth in most meteorites: this effect is consistent with the neutron flux and capture cross section properties. The shape of the neutron flux energy spectrum, varies little with depth in a meteorite. The size of the parent meteorite can be determined from one of its fragments, using the Ni-59/Co-60 ratios, if the parent meteorite was less than 75 g/cm(2) in radius. If the parent meteorite was larger, a lower limit on the size of the parent meteorite can be determined from a fragment. In C3 chondrites this is not possible. In stony meteorites with R less than 50 g/cm(2) the calculated Co-60 production rates (mass less than 4 kg), are below 1 atom/min g-Co. The highest Co-60 production rates occur in stony meteorites with radius about 250 g/cm(2) (1.4 m across). In meteorites with radii greater than 400 g/cm(2), the maximum Co-60 production rate occurs at a depth of about 175 g/cm(2) in L-chondrite, 125 g/cm(2) in C3 chrondrite, and 190 g/cm(2) in aubrites

Current developments in electrochemical storage systems for satellites

The need for batteries with greater power capacity and service life for power satellites is examined. The Ni/Cd and Ni/H batteries now being used must be upgraded to meet advanced space requirements. Improvements in power capacity, service life, and cycle count for various satellites in LEO and GEO orbits are discussed. The Ni/Cd and Ni/H cell reactions are explained, and the solubility and volume changes for various charged and uncharged masses are described. A chart of the energy content and cycle count for various cell systems is presented, and the factors which cause aging and failure in the Ni/Cd and Ni/H cell systems are discussed. The advantages of the Ni/H battery are given and the need for more developed electrochemical storage systems because of an increase in the mass of satellites is explained. The requirements for space batteries and the work currently done by NASA and West Germany on advanced batteries are discussed

The achievement of low contact resistance to indium phosphide: The roles of Ni, Au, Ge, and combinations thereof

We have investigated the electrical and metallurgical behavior of Ni, Au-Ni, and Au-Ge-Ni contacts on n-InP. We have found that very low values of contact resistivity rho(sub c) in the E-7 omega-sq cm range are obtained with Ni-only contacts. We show that the addition of Au to Ni contact metallization effects an additional order of magnitude reduction in rho(sub c). Ultra-low contact resistivities in the E-8 omega-sq cm range are obtained with both the Au-Ni and the Au-Ge-Ni systems, effectively eliminating the need for the presence of Ge in the Au-Ge-Ni system. The formation of various nickel phosphides at the metal-InP interface is shown to be responsible for the observed rho(sub c) values in the Ni and Au-Ni systems. We show, finally, that the order in which the constituents of Au-Ni and Au-Ge-Ni contacts are deposited has a significant bearing on the composition of the reaction products formed at the metal-InP interface and therefore on the contact resistivity at that interface

Thermal barrier systems and multi-layered coatings fabricated by spark plasma sintering for the protection of Ni-base superalloys

Aeronautic gas turbine blades, vanes and combustion chambers are protected against high temperature oxidation and corrosion by single or multilayered coatings. These include environmental coatings, generally based on Pt-modified Ni aluminides or MCrAlY overlays (where M = Ni and/or Co), thermal barrier coating (TBC) systems including a ceramic thermally insulating layer, and abradable seals. The present work shows the ability of the Spark Plasma Sintering technique to rapidly develop new coatings compositions and microstructures. This technique allows combining powders and metallic foils on a superalloy substrate in order to obtain multilayered coatings in a single short production step. Fabrication of MCrAlY overlays with local Pt and/or Al enrichments is shown, as well as fabrication of coatings made of z-PtAl2, e-PtAl, α-AlNiPt2, martensitic and b−(Ni,Pt)Al or Pt-rich g/g’ phases, including their doping with reactive elements. The fabrication of a complete TBC system with a porous and adherent Yttria Stabilized Zirconia (YSZ) layer on a bond-coating is also demonstrated, as well as the fabrication of a CoNiCrAlY-based cermet coating for abradable seal application. Difficulties of fabrication are reviewed, such as Y segregation, risks of carburization, local over-heating, or difficulty to coat complex shaped parts. Solutions are given to overcome these difficulties

Zaštitna aluminijska prevlaka izvedena izravno u ljevačkom kalupu na čeliku otpornom prema puzanju

The structure of coatings and their ability to protect the castings made of G-X25NiCrSi 36-17 (DIN 17006) cast steel against carburization have been described. Al-Cu and Al-Si protective coatings, produced directly in a casting mould, have a considerable thickness (400 - 2000 µm), and complex multiphase structure. Its main structural constituents are: (Fe, Ni, Cr), (Fe, Ni, Cr), Al(Ni, Fe), carbides M23C6 and M7C3. In Al-Si ferritic coatings are also present: (Ni, Fe), (Fe, Al, Ni, Cr) and (Cr, Si)3Ni2Si. Carburisation changes substantially the structure of coatings, what results in an increase of the amount of (Fe, Ni, Cr) or (Ni, Fe) and carbides, and a decrease of the amount of (Fe, Ni, Cr) and Al(Ni, Fe). Apart from above mentioned changes, the investigated coatings reduce the carbon diffusion by 20 - 65 % Al-Cu, about 55 % Al-Si (austenitic), and 75 % Al-Si (ferritic), so they can provide a temporary protection against high-temperature corrosion.U radu je opisana struktura prevlaka i njihova sposobnost lijevanja od G-X25NiCrSi 36-17 (DIN 17006) u svrhu zaštite protiv naugljičavanja. Zaštitne prevlake Al-Cu i Al-Si, napravljene izravno u ljevačkom kalupu, imaju znatnu debljinu (400 - 2000 µm) i složenu multifaznu strukturu. Glavni strukturni element su: g(Fe, Ni, Cr), a(Fe, Ni, Cr), bAl(Ni, Fe), karbidi M23C6 i M7C3. U feritnim prevlakama Al-Si prisutni su i: g(Ni, Fe), a(Fe, Al, Ni, Cr) i (Cr, S)3Ni2Si. Naugljičavanje mijenja suštinu strukture prevalaka, a to dovodi do povećanja količine g(Fe, Ni, Cr) ili g(Ni, Fe) i karbida, a smanjuje količinu a(Fe, Ni, Cr) i bAl(Ni, Fe). Neovisno o gore spomenutim promjenama prevlake smanjuju difuziju ugljika za 20-60 % Al-Cu, oko 55 % Al-Si (austenitni) i 75 % Al-Si (feritni) pa mogu osigurati privremenu zaštitu protiv korozije na visokoj temperaturi

Efforts to Produce Siamese Citrus Fruit Out of Season and Fruit Quality Improvement Through Application of Potassium Nitrate and Agrodyke Fertilizer

The research aimed to find out the efforts to produce off-season orange fruit and increase the quality of fruit through the application of potassium nitrate and agrodyke organic fertilizer. The study used a factorial randomized block design with 2 treatment factors. The first factor is the flower induction application using potassium nitrate (K) consisting of 3 levels, namely (K0 = 0 g/tree), (K1 = 20 g/tree), and (K2 = 40 g/tree). While the second factor is the application of agrodyke organic fertilizer (P) consisting of 4 levels, namely (P0 = 0 g / tree), (P1 = 15 g/tree), (P2 = 30 g / tree) and (P3 = 45 g/tree). There are 12 combination treatments and each of them is repeated 3 times so that 36 tree plants are needed. The results showed the interaction between potassium nitrate treatment with agrodyke organic fertilizer treatment had no significant effect on all observed variables. Potassium nitrate treatment and agrodyke organic fertilizer can significantly improve the quality of orange citrus fruit out of season physically. In the treatment of potassium nitrate 40 g/tree, the weight of the harvested fruit per tree was obtained, the weight per fruit and the highest fruit diameter were 13703.90 g; 99.92 g and 6.81 cm or an increase of 62.24%; 16.32% and 9.49% compared with no treatment of potassium nitrate which is 8446.60 g; 87, 42 g and 6.22 cm

γ/γ\u27 Co-base superalloys – new high temperature materials beyond Ni-base Superalloys?

In 2006 a new L12 phase, Co3(Al,W), was discovered in the Co-Al-W system which has led to the development of novel Co-base superalloys with g/g¢ microstructures similar to those of the well-established Ni-base superalloys. First investigations on simple ternary alloys could show that these Co-Al-W based alloys exhibit higher solidus temperatures and show less segregations after casting compared to typical Ni-base superalloys. This leads to the question whether this g/g¢ Co-base superalloys can be regarded as new class of high temperature materials that can compete with or even supersede established Ni-base superalloys. In the first part of the talk it will be shown how alloy properties change, when the base element Ni is gradually substituted by Co in a series of Ni-Co-Al-W-Cr alloys with otherwise constant element contents of Al, W and Cr. All alloys form g/g¢ microstructure after a standard aging treatment with a similar g¢ volume content. Liquidus and solidus temperatures are hardly influenced by the Ni/Co content, but the g¢ solvus temperature is strongly decreasing with increasing Co content. This indicates that the potential application temperature of g/g¢ Co-base superalloys will not be beyond the maximum application temperature of advanced single crystal Ni-base superalloys. However, this also shows that g/g¢ Co-base superalloys have a great potential as wrought alloys since the solvus temperature of the intermetallic compound is comparatively low, which gives a large processing window, and because a high volume fraction of the L12 phase at temperatures up to 900°C can be achieved. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

A combined wavelet-FE method for transient electromagnetic-field computations

Author name used in this publication: S. Y. YangAuthor name used in this publication: S. L. HoAuthor name used in this publication: G. Z. Ni2005-2006 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe

Determination of contamination and bioavailabilities of heavy metals (Cu, Cd, Zn, Pb and Ni) in the Sri Serdang Urban Lake by using guppy fish Poecilia reticulata

The guppy fish, Poecilia reticulata and the lake surface sediments were collected from the Serdang Lake in August 2005. Both the fish and the sediment samples were analyzed for Cu, Cd, Pb, Zn and Ni. The ranges of metal concentrations (μg g-1 dry weight) in the fish were 0.160-11.1 μg g-1 for Cu; 64.6-174 μg g-1 for Zn; 0.400-4.03 μg g-1 for Cd; 3.27-12.1 μg g-1 for Ni and 19.5-50.9 μg g-1 for Pb. In the sediment, the ranges of metal concentrations were 1.97-62.1 μg g-1 for Cu; 31.6-274 μg g-1 for Zn; 1.92-3.17 μg g-1 for Cd; 60.2-94.8 μg g-1 for Ni and 3.23-42.1 μg g-1 for Pb. It was found that the concentrations of Zn was the highest found in both fish and sediment samples, followed by Pb, Cu, Ni and Cd. The similar pattern of heavy metal occurrence was found in the fish and in the sediment, indicated that the fish could be used as a potential biomonitor for metal contamination in the freshwater ecosystem. Since P. reticulata are widely distributed in lakes and in almost all of the urban drainage, this fish species is a very potential biomonitor of heavy metal bioavailabilites in the polluted freshwater ecosystem of Malaysia