Indicators of Economic Activity: A Review

This paper reviews the performance of a selection of indicators that are in common use in analysing the business cycle. The analysis proceeds in two stages, looking first at relationships between major expenditure aggregates and GDP, and then looking at the extent to which partial indicators contain useful leading information about particular expenditure aggregates. Results on the first issue show a tendency for housing activity to lead the cycle, while construction and consumption expenditure probably lag. However, these relationships are not very reliable, in the sense that timing can vary significantly from cycle to cycle. On the second issue, the usefulness of a number of partial indicators is confirmed. The most significant in providing leading information are probably local government building approvals and the ANZ job vacancies series.

Analytical heat transfer investigation of insulated liquid methane wing tanks for supersonic cruise aircraft

Heat transfer study of insulated liquid methane wing tank boiloff for supersonic cruise aircraf

Contamination of propolis used as a dietary supplement

The aim of the study was to determine the extent of chosen toxic elements (zinc, copper, lead, arsenic and cadmium) bioaccumulation in propolis collected in Opole area. The present study demonstrates that propolis can be used as a dietary supplement. The research material were samples of propolis originated from 3 bee colonies in 30 apiaries (n=3x30=90). Quantitative analysis of studied elements were conducted using Varian ICP-AES plasma spectrometer with mass detection controlled, and CETAC-5000 AT ultrasonic nebulizer. The presence of toxic elements was determined in an examined biological materials. The sequence of accumulation level of studied elements in propolis was as follows: Zn>>Cu>Pb>As>Cd. An average concentration of zinc, copper, lead, arsenic and cadmium amounted  to 56.28, 7.12, 6.91, 0.745, 0.218 mg.kg-1, respectively. Only the copper average content in propolis was within acceptable standards, whereas the mean contents of other elements greatly exceed these standards. All portions of propolis should be subjected to toxicological testing before applying these samples for internal use

Some comparisons of the flow characteristics of a turbofan compressor system with and without inlet pressure distortion

The measured effects of a circumferential distortion in inlet total pressure on the fan, low, and high compressor of an afterburning turbofan engine are presented and discussed. Extensive inner-stage instrumentation, combined with a unique test technique offered an accurate means of measuring the shifts in flow, performance, and stall mechanisms within the compressor. These effects are compared at one speed to the corresponding effects measured with undistorted inlet flow. The results show the rate at which the distorted flow areas were attenuated and rotated as well as the change in flow velocities that occurred at various points in the compressor. High response pressure traces indicated the location of stalls including the sequence of dynamic events from the onset and propagation of various stall-recovery events, to compressor surge, to the resulting hammershock

Cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery (CADPA): a case report

Cystic adventitial disease of the popliteal artery (CADPA) is a rare vascular, non-atherogenic disease. In most cases it occurs in the popliteal artery, between media and adventitia of the arterial wall. A cyst is a one- or multi-compartment structure filled with gelatinous content. By direct compression it leads to the destruction of the arterial wall and by narrowing or closing an artery it causes limb ischaemia resulting in intermittent claudication. This paper reports the case of a 29-year-old male with CADPA of the left popliteal artery, diagnostic process and treatment history

Occupational Styrene Exposure on Auditory Function Among Adults: A Systematic Review of Selected Workers

A review study was conducted to examine the adverse effects of styrene, styrene mixtures, or styrene and/or styrene mixtures and noise on the auditory system in humans employed in occupational settings. The search included peer-reviewed articles published in English language involving human volunteers spanning a 25-year period (1990–2015). Studies included peer review journals, case–control studies, and case reports. Animal studies were excluded. An initial search identified 40 studies. After screening for inclusion, 13 studies were retrieved for full journal detail examination and review. As a whole, the results range from no to mild associations between styrene exposure and auditory dysfunction, noting relatively small sample sizes. However, four studies investigating styrene with other organic solvent mixtures and noise suggested combined exposures to both styrene organic solvent mixtures may be more ototoxic than exposure to noise alone. There is little literature examining the effect of styrene on auditory functioning in humans. Nonetheless, findings suggest public health professionals and policy makers should be made aware of the future research needs pertaining to hearing impairment and ototoxicity from styrene. It is recommended that chronic styrene-exposed individuals be routinely evaluated with a comprehensive audiological test battery to detect early signs of auditory dysfunction

Expression and reconstitution of the Trypanosoma brucei IFT complex B core

Teil I: In den letzten Jahrzehnten ist ein bis dahin kaum charakterisiertes Organell immer mehr in den Blickpunkt neuer Forschungsprojekte gerückt: das Cilium. Dieser Zellfortsatz spielt eine bedeutende Rolle in Signalübertragungswegen und steht in direktem Zusammenhang mit der Entwicklung diverser Krankheiten. Cilien sind aus einem Mikrotubuli-Axonem aufgebaut, welcher von der Plasmamembran umgeben ist, und über die Zelloberfläche hinaus wächst. Die Grundlage aller funktionierende Cilien ist der bidirektionale Transport der verschiedenen ciliaren Moleküle entlang des Axonems, der von großen Proteinkomplexen durchgeführt wird. Diese Einheiten werden als Intraflagellarer Transport (IFT) - Partikel bezeichnet, der in zwei Subpopulationen unterteilt werden kann: zum einen IFT Komplex A, der für den retrograden Transport verantwortlich ist und ausserdem IFT Komplex B, der unerlässlich für den anterograden Transport ist. IFT Komplex B besteht aus mindestens 14 verschiedenen Proteinen, von denen 8 auch bei hoher Ionenstärke miteinander verbunden bleiben und den Kern des Komplex B bilden. Die vorliegende Studie beschäftigt sich mit den acht Proteinen des IFT-B Kernes aus dem Organismus Trypanosoma brucei. Um alle Untereinheiten gemeinsam in einem heterologen bakteriellem System zu exprimieren, wurde das pETDuet System verwendet. Um den Komplex aufreinigen zu können, wurden zwei der acht IFT-B Kern Proteine mit einem Affinitäts-Tag fusioniert. Der rekombinante Kern von IFT Komplex B wurde auf eine Chromatographie-Säule geladen, wo er unterschiedliche oligomere Einheiten aufweist; von Aggregaten bis hin zu dem einzelnen Komplex. Die nachfolgenden Versuche fokussierten sich auch die Reinigung einer homogeneren Probe. Biochemische Analysen zeigten, dass wenigstens eine oder mehrere Untereinheiten an Liposomen binden, wobei es noch ungeklärt ist, welche das sind. Der partiell aufgereinigte Komplex kann für biochemische Studien und elektronenmikroskopische Analysen verwendet werden, kristallographische Ansätze sollten in Zukunft mit einem eukaryotischen Expressionssystem verfolgt werden, um eine homogenere Probe zu erhalten. Teil II: Plectin ist ein vielseitiges Zytolinker Protein und besitzt eine ideale Struktur um alle drei wichtigen Zytoskelett-Komponenten – Actin, Mikrotubuli und Intermediäre Filamente - miteinander zu verbinden. Es ist von besonderer Bedeutung in den Hemidesmosomen der Epidermis und den Z-Linien in den Muskelzellen, wo es als Stabilisator fungiert. Verschiedene Mutation in Plectin konnten mittlerweile der Krankheit Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) zugeordnet werden. Diese Krankheit zeichnet sich durch eine besondere Sensitivität der Haut auf jeglichen mechanischen Stress aus, gekennzeichnet durch Blasen- und Wundbildung der Epidermis. Die meisten der Plectin Mutationen werden autosomal rezessiv vererbt, mit Ausnahme einer Mutation von Arginin zu Tryptophan (R>W). Diese Substitution liegt in der Coiled- coil Domäne des Proteins und ist bisher die einzige Mutation von Plectin mit einem dominanten Phänotyp. Um den Einfluß dieser einzelnen Aminosäurenänderung auf die Integrität und Stabilität von Plectin zu untersuchen, wurden verschiedene Abschnitte der Coiled-coil Domäne untersucht. Mittels Elektronenspinresonanz konnte festgestellt werden, dass das Protein ein paralleles Dimer ist, das sich unabhängig von der Mutation in dieser Orientierung bildet. Interessanterweise scheint die Mutation R>W die Fähigkeit von Plectin zu beeinflussen größere Aggregate zu bilden. Inwiefern sich diese Beobachtung funktional mit der Entwicklung von EB korreliert, wird der Fokus zukünftiger Experimente sein.Part I: Having been neglected as a cellular remnant for nearly a century, the cilium has recently attracted immense interest in current research. Because of the essential roles played by cilia in cell sensing and signalling, the numbers of human pathologies associated with ciliary dysfunctions are increasing. Cilia are microtubule-based structures protruding from the cell surface, encapsulated by the unique ciliary membrane and separated from the cytoplasm by a transition zone. The basis for a functioning cilium is the well-coordinated, bi-directional transport of both ciliary building blocks and turnover products along the microtubule axoneme, which is carried out by large proteinaceous assemblies. These assemblies are termed intraflagellar transport (IFT) particles and are composed of at least 20 different proteins, separated into two distinct sub-populations, termed IFT complex A and IFT complex B, which are respectively responsible for retrograde and anterograde transport within the cilium. The IFT complex B is composed of at least 14 proteins, with eight of them forming a high-ionic strength stable core complex. To characterize these core proteins, I have reconstituted the eight-polypeptide core complex of Trypanosoma brucei in a heterologous bacterial expression system. Analysis of the oligomeric state of the recombinant assembly revealed that the proteins are connected in higher order structures. The reconstituted complex is capable of binding liposomes, but the responsible subunit(s) still needs to be elucidated. The purified complex can be used for further biochemical studies and electron microscopy analyses; for crystallographic approaches a eukaryotic expression system should be used to produce a more homogeneous sample. Part II: Plectin is a versatile cytolinker protein, whose unique domain organization allows it to cross-link the three main cytoskeleton components, intermediate filaments, actin and microtubules. Plectin is of special importance in hemidesmosomes and the z- discs, where it acts as a stabilizer of the structure. A large set of mutations in plectin have been linked to the onset of the human disorder epidermolysis bullosa (EB). This disease manifests itself as a loss of skin integrity and occurrence of skin blisters. Most of the mutations have been identified as autosomal recessive with the exception of Ogna, a substitution of arginine to tryptophan in the coiled-coil domain of the protein. To investigate the influence of this single amino acid change on the functionality of plectin, I have carried out extensive biochemical, biophysical and structural studies on the recombinant coiled-coil domain plectin. The results indicated that the mutation mainly influences the oligomerization ability of plectin. Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) study, the orientation of the coiled-coil protein was identified to be parallel and does not change upon introduction of the arginine to tryptophan mutation. Future studies will be needed to fully understand the influence of the single amino acid change on the integrity of plectin and the development of EB

Operation check of dredge pump

Tématem diplomové práce je posouzení provozu bagrovacích čerpadel a návrhu nové technologie odstruskování s výpočtem její návratnosti. Samotné optimalizaci provozu předcházela analýza současně provozované technologie, její zmapování, sběru dat, výpočtu tlakových ztrát a určení příčin jejich vzniku. Následně byla vyvozena opatření pro eliminování těchto vzniklých ztrát a tato opatření implementována do samotné optimalizace provozu bagrovacích čerpadel. V poslední kapitole je propočítána návratnost investice nové technologie odstruskování s ohledem na její realizovatelnost v prostorách teplárny.The aim of this thesis is to consider the operation of dredge pump and design new technology of slag removal including return on investment calculation. The operation optimization itself was preceded by analysis of present technology, data collection, calculation of pressure losses and pinpointing the causes of their origin. Subsequently, the measures to elimination of losses were deduced and these measures were implemented into optimization of dredge pump operation itself. The return on investment into the new technology of slag removal is calculated in the last chapter, considering its feasibility in the heating plant.

Endovascular treatment of late complications of open surgical repair in abdominal aortic and iliac segment

Introduction. Promising results of endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm treatment prompts one toconsider applying the method in order to manage complications following the previous open procedures in theaorto-iliac segment. The study aimed at assessing the technical feasibility of applying endovascular methodsto manage complications in this group. Material and methods. From December 2009 to August 2018, 26 patients (24 males, 2 females) witha mean age of 72 years, underwent endovascular procedures as reinterventions to manage paraanastomoticaneurysms and new true aneurysms in aorto-iliac segment. Twenty one bifurcated, two branched devices andfive tube stent-grafts have been implanted. Results. One immediate open conversion was performed. Eventually, in all of the analysed cases, perianastomoticpseudoaneurysms and true aneurysms were successfully managed. Two cases of type I endoleaks werenoticed and managed intraoperatively. No deaths occurred in the perioperative period. In six patients, therewere early local complications and early general complications were reported in eight patients. The averagelength of hospital stay was seven days. Patients have been followed up for 6 to 90 months. No endoleaks norstent-graft migrations have been reported. Five deaths have been noted not connected with the secondaryintervention. Sixteen patients remain in follow-up. Conclusions. Endovascular perianastomotic aneurysm treatment is technically feasible and associated witha low risk of perioperative complications, and a high surgical efficacy. When planning the reintervention, oneshould take into account the altered anatomy of the aorto-iliac segment. Familiarity with the equipment andexperience in the endovascular techniques is of crucial significance

False aneurysm of deep femoral artery branch following blunt trauma

Background: Pseudoaneurysms of the deep femoral artery (DFA) as a result of blunt trauma are very rare, therefore they are often not suspected. Surgery remains the treatment of choice and should be carried out electively for asymptomatic aneurysms. The stent-graft placement is another way of treatment but long-term durability of DFA stentgrafting is still unknown. Case Report: We present a case of a 20-year-old male patient with a pseudoaneurysm of DFA as a result of blunt trauma which was successfully treated with a stengraft. Conclusions: A pseudoaneurysm should be suspected in any patient presenting with an enlarging haematoma following blunt trauma. The use of stent-grafts seems to be a safe and efficient way of treatment of post traumatic DFA pseudoaneurysms and should be considered as one of treatment options