The empirical evaluation of thermal conduction coefficient of some liquid composite heat insulating materials

We experimentally determined the coefficients of thermal conductivity of some ultra thin liquid composite heat insulating coatings, for sample 1 [lambda]=0.086 W/(m [x] C), for sample 2 [lambda]= 0.091 W/(m [x] C). We performed the measurement error calculation. The actual thermal conduction coefficient of the studied samples was higher than the declared one. The manufactures of liquid coatings might have used some "ideal" conditions when defining heat conductivity in the laboratory or the coefficient was obtained by means of theoretical solution of heat conduction problem in liquid composite insulating media. However, liquid insulating coatings are of great interest to builders, because they allow to warm objects of complex geometric shapes (valve chambers, complex assemblies, etc.), which makes them virtually irreplaceable. The proper accounting of heating qualities of paints will allow to avoid heat loss increase above the specified limits in insulated pipes with heat transfer materials or building structures, as well as protect them from possible thawing in the period of subzero weather

The Vietnamese shrimp trade: livelihoods analysis of stakeholders and market chain analysis

Aquaculture and capture fisheries in Vietnam have been increasing fast in the last decade, especially aquaculture growth rate is 12% for the 1999 – 2003 period, contributing a significant part into the hunger eradication and poverty reduction1. Vietnam is to be ranked into one of the countries potential to produce the aquatic economic in the world, and the fact is that, after 40 years of establishing, the fisheries sector has made remarkable contributions to the country. By the list, at the moment the aquatic products make up about 4 - 5% of GDP and create job opportunities for over 3 three million employees (VASEP, 2004), in which the largest contribution is from shrimp farming. [PDF contains 124 pages.

Special approaches of engineering-geophysical operations at high level of industrial noise

The capabilities of the complex of seismic methods, which are suitable for inspecting of large strategic objects are presented. In this paper next tasks for the dam investigation and the upper part of the section of its area were considered: probing of the construction state of the dam; characterization of the dam connection to the river banks; identification of possible tears in the proximity of a day surface; identification of possible soil state changes that are caused by technogenic-originating impact or geologic processes

The empirical definition of total emissivity of modern super-thin liquid composite thermal insulators

Modern world trends in the field of energy and mineral resources preservation policy involves the need for a more cost-efficient use of the Earth's natural resources, including in the field of construction industry. Using insulation modern materials would largely solve this problem. The acceptability appraisal of various advanced heat-insulating blankets is a crucial task, which requires experimental verification of total emissivity empirical definition of modern super-thin liquid composite thermal insulators and their real value definition. Method of investigation is as follows: an empirical definition of blankets emissivity using the proposed laboratory equipment, which comprises a system of "gray" bodies, thermocouple probe and a source of continuous heat flux. Total emissivity of modern super-thin liquid composite thermal insulators is experimentally determined. It amounted e = 0.89 for sample # 1, and e = 0.87 for sample # 2 at a temperature of 35-65 °C. It was found that the actual emissivity of the samples was higher than it had been declared

Characterization of salmonella spp. Isolates from swine: Virulence and antimicrobial resistance

Salmonella is one of the most important zoonotic pathogens worldwide. Swine represent typical reservoirs of this bacterium and a frequent source of human infection. Some intrinsic traits make some serovars or strains more virulent than others. Twenty-nine Salmonella spp. isolated from pigs belonging to 16 different serovars were analyzed for gastric acid environment resistance, presence of virulence genes (mgtC, rhuM, pipB, sopB, spvRBC, gipA, sodCI, sopE), antimicrobial resistance and presence of antimicrobial resistance genes (blaTEM, blaPSE-1, aadA1, aadA2, aphA1-lab, strA-strB, tetA, tetB, tetC, tetG, sul1, sul2, sul3). A percentage of 44.83% of strains showed constitutive and inducible gastric acid resistance, whereas 37.93% of strains became resistant only after induction. The genes sopB, pipB and mgtC were the most often detected, with 79.31%, 48.28% and 37.93% of positive strains, respectively. Salmonella virulence plasmid genes were detected in a S. enterica sup. houtenae ser. 40:z4,z23:-strain. Fifteen different virulence profiles were identified: one isolate (ser. Typhimurium) was positive for 6 genes, and 6 isolates (3 ser. Typhimurium, 2 ser. Typhimurium monophasic variant and 1 ser. Choleraesuis) scored positive for 5 genes. None of the isolates resulted resistant to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin, while all isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime, colistin and gentamycin. Many strains were resistant to sulfonamide (75.86%), tetracycline (51.72%), streptomycin (48.28%) and ampicillin (31.03%). Twenty different resisto-types were identified. Six strains (4 ser. Typhimurium, 1 ser. Derby and 1 ser. Typhimurium monophasic variant) showed the ASSuT profile. Most detected resistance genes sul2 (34.48%), tetA (27.58%) and strA-strB (27.58%). Great variability was observed in analyzed strains. S. ser. Typhimurium was confirmed as one of the most virulent serovars. This study underlines that swine could be a reservoir and source of pathogenic Salmonella strains

Investigation of Dense Family of Closure Operations

As a basic notion in algebra, closure operations have been successfully applied to many fields of computer science. In this paper we study dense family in the closure operations. In particular, we prove some families to be dense in any closure operation, in which the greatest and smallest dense families, including the collection of the whole closed sets and the minimal generator of the closed sets, are also pointed out. More important, a necessary and sufficient condition for an arbitrary family to be dense is provided in our paper. Then we use these dense families to characterize minimal keys of the closure operation under the viewpoint of transversal hypergraphs and construct an algorithm for determining the minimal keys of a closure operation

Probing the dynamics of quasicrystal growth using synchrotron live imaging

The dynamics of quasicrystal growth remains an unsolved problem in condensed matter. By means of synchrotron live imaging, facetted growth proceeding by the tangential motion of ledges at the solid-melt interface is clearly evidenced all along the solidification of icosahedral AlPdMn quasicrystals. The effect of interface kinetics is significant so that nucleation and free growth of new facetted grains occur in the melt when the solidification rate is increased. The evolution of these grains is explained in details, which reveals the crucial role of aluminum rejection, both in the poisoning of grain growth and driving fluid flow

Autophagy Inhibitor Chloroquine Downmodulates Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation and Liver Damage in Bile-Duct-Ligated Mice

Hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation via the autophagy pathway is a critical factor in liver fibrogenesis. This study tests the hypothesis that chloroquine (CQ) treatment can prevent autophagy and HSC activation in vitro and in vivo in bile-duct-ligated (BDL) mice. Sham-operated and BDL mice were treated with either PBS or CQ in two 60 mg/kg doses the day (D) before and after surgery. On day 2 (2D), HSCs were isolated, and their biological activities were evaluated by measuring intracellular lipid content, alpha-sma/collagen, and expression of autophagy lc3, sqstm1/p62 markers. The treatment efficacy on liver function was evaluated with serum albumin, transaminases (AST/ALT), and hepatic histology. Primary HSCs were treated in vitro for 24 h with CQ at 0, 2.5, 5, 10, 30, and 50 mu M. Autophagy and HSC activation were assessed after 2D of treatment. CQ treatment improved serum AST/ALT, albumin, and bile duct proliferation in 2D BDL mice. This is associated with a suppression of HSC activation, shown by higher HSC lipid content and collagen I staining, along with the blockage of HSC autophagy indicated by an increase in p62 level and reduction in lc3 staining. CQ 5 mu M inhibited autophagy in primary HSCs in vitro by increasing p62 and lc3 accumulation, thereby suppressing their in vitro activation. The autophagy inhibitor CQ reduced HSC activation in vitro and in vivo. CQ improved liver function and reduced liver injury in BDL mice

Mapping for engagement: setting up a community based participatory research project to reach underserved communities at risk for Hepatitis C in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Background: Approximately 1. 07 million people in Vietnam are infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). To address this epidemic, the South East Asian Research Collaborative in Hepatitis (SEARCH) launched a 600-patient cohort study and two clinical trials, both investigating shortened treatment strategies for chronic HCV infection with direct-acting antiviral drugs. We conducted ethnographic research with a subset of trial participants and found that the majority were aware of HCV infection and its implications and were motivated to seek treatment. However, people who inject drugs (PWID), and other groups at risk for HCV were under-represented, although injecting drug use is associated with high rates of HCV. Material and Methods: We designed a community-based participatory research (CBPR) study to engage in dialogues surrounding HCV and other community-prioritized health issues with underserved groups at risk for HCV in Ho Chi Minh City. The project consists of three phases: situation analysis, CBPR implementation, and dissemination. In this paper, we describe the results of the first phase (i.e., the situation analysis) in which we conducted desk research and organized stakeholder mapping meetings with representatives from local non-government and community-based organizations where we used participatory research methods to identify and analyze key stakeholders working with underserved populations. Results: Twenty six institutions or groups working with the key underserved populations were identified. Insights about the challenges and dynamics of underserved communities were also gathered. Two working groups made up of representatives from the NGO and CBO level were formed. Discussion: Using the information provided by local key stakeholders to shape the project has helped us to build solid relationships, give the groups a sense of ownership from the early stages, and made the project more context specific. These steps are not only important preliminary steps for participatory studies but also for other research that takes place within the communities