Experimental verification of pipeline frequency response extraction and leak detection using the inverse repeat signal

Received 3 June 2014; accepted 20 October 2015/Open for discussion until 31 October 2016This paper presents the original design of a side-discharge valve based transient generator that can produce two types of pseudorandom binary signals: a maximum length binary signal and an inverse repeat signal. These two signals are both wide bandwidth, persistent and periodic, but the inverse repeat signal has the advantageous property that it is antisymmetric within each period. The two signals are used to extract the frequency response function of a single water pipeline in the laboratory. The experimental results demonstrate that the frequency response function extracted by the inverse repeat signal is closer to the theoretical linear results as obtained from the transfer matrix method due to it being able to cancel the effect of even-order nonlinearities. The customized transient generator is then applied to a pipeline with a leak. The location of the leak is successfully determined using the first three resonant peaks as extracted by the inverse repeat signal.Jinzhe Gong, Martin F. Lambert, Aaron C. Zecchin, Angus R. Simpso

Influence of water management on the active root-associated microbiota involved in arsenic, iron and sulfur cycles in rice paddies

In recent years, the role of microorganisms inhabiting rice rhizosphere in promoting arsenic contamination has emerged. However, little is known concerning the species and metabolic properties involved in this phenomenon. In this study, the influence of water management on the rhizosphere microbiota in relation to arsenic dissolution in soil solution was tested. Rice plants were cultivated in macrocosms under different water regimes: continuous flooding, continuous flooding with a 2 weeks-period drainage before flowering and dry soil watered every 10 days. The active bacterial communities in rhizosphere soil and in rhizoplane were characterized by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. An in-depth analysis of microbial taxa with direct or indirect effects on arsenic speciation was performed and related contribution was evaluated. Continuous flooding promoted high diversity in the rhizosphere, with the plant strongly determining species richness and evenness. On the contrary, under watering the communities were uniform, with little differences between rhizosphere soil and rhizoplane. Arsenic-releasing and arsenite-methylating bacteria were selected by continuous flooding, where they represented 8 % of the total. On the contrary, bacteria decreasing arsenic solubility were more abundant under watering, with relative abundance of 10 %. These values reflected arsenic concentrations in soil solution, respectively 135 \ub5g L-1 and negligible in continuous flooding and under watering. When short-term drainage was applied before flowering, intermediate conditions were achieved. This evidence strongly indicates an active role of the rhizosphere microbiota in driving arsenic biogeochemistry in rice paddies, influenced by water management, explaining amounts and speciation of arsenic often found in rice grains

Caring for Others, but Not Themselves: Implications for Health Care Interventions in Women with Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease is the largest killer of women internationally and women often suffer inferior outcomes following an acute cardiac event as compared to men. A gendered approach to investigating cardiovascular disease in women incorporates the unique social, cultural, and economic circumstances that being a woman brings to the health encounter. The multiple roles enacted by many women may be important factors in this health discrepancy. In order to more fully understand the impact of the roles of women on health, a questionnaire was administered to participants of the Heart Awareness for Women group cardiac rehabilitation program which assessed women's role perceptions followed by discussions. We found that caregiving can be both positive and negative. It gives a sense of purpose, meaning, and community connection as well as burden and conflict. Emphasis must be placed on promoting strategies in women to achieve a balance between caregiving responsibilities and prioritisation of cardiovascular health

Radiofrequency ablation for benign thyroid nodules

Benign thyroid nodules are an extremely common occurrence. Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is gaining ground as an effective technique for their treatment, in case they become symptomatic. Here we review what are the current indications to RFA, its outcomes in terms of efficacy, tolerability, and cost, and also how it compares to the other conventional and experimental treatment modalities for benign thyroid nodules. Moreover, we will also address the issue of treating with this technique patients with cardiac pacemakers (PM) or implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD), as it is a rather frequent occurrence that has never been addressed in detail in the literature

Characterization of As(III) oxidizing Achromobacter sp. strain N2 : effects on arsenic toxicity and translocation in rice

Achromobacter sp. strain N2 was isolated from a pyrite-cinder-contaminated soil and presented plant growth promoting traits (ACC deaminase activity, production of indole-3-acetic and jasmonic acids, siderophores secretion, and phosphate solubilization) and arsenic transformation abilities. Achromobacter sp. strain N2 was resistant to different metals and metalloids, including arsenate (100 mM) and arsenite (5 mM). The strain was resistant to ionic stressors (i.e., arsenate and NaCl), whereas bacterial growth was impaired by osmotic stress. Strain N2 was able to oxidize 1.0 mmol L-1 of arsenite to arsenate in 72 h. This evidence was supported by the retrieval of an arsenite oxidase AioA gene highly homologous to arsenite oxidases of Achromobacter and Alcaligenes species. Rice seeds of Oryza sativa (var. Loto) were bio-primed with ACCD-induced and non-induced cells in order to evaluate the effect of inoculation on rice seedlings growth and arsenic uptake. The bacterization with ACCD-induced cells significantly improved seed germination and seedling heights if compared with the seeds inoculated with non-induced cells and non-primed seeds. Enhanced arsenic uptake was evidenced in the presence of ACCD-induced cells, suggesting a role of ACCD activity on the mitigation of the toxicity of arsenic accumulated by the plant. This kind of responses should be taken into account when proposing PGP strains for improving plant growth in arsenic-rich soils

Pliocene-Quaternary mass wasting along the Ionian Calabrian margin, offshore southern Italy

The Ionian Calabrian margin, offshore southern Italy, is a tectonically active area, located above a subduction zone dominated by the rollback of the African plate. A variety of mass wasting features are known to occur along the inner continental slope, based on seafloor mapping during the Italian project MaGIC (Marine Geohazards Along the Italian Coasts). New high-resolution geophysical data are available from a wider area following two surveys, in 2014 of the German RV Meteor, which acquired multibeam bathymetry (50 m DTM) and Parasound sub-bottom profiles, and in 2015 of the Italian RV OGS Explora, which acquired Chirp sub-bottom and multichannel seismic reflection profiles. Here we integrate these data with existing geophysical datasets and published exploration wells to map submarine slope failures and mass wasting deposits within the Pliocene-Quaternary succession. The results show that features of mass failures are widespread along the steep (higher than 10\ub0) slopes of the Ionian margin south of Calabria and within the intra-slope basins of the margin east of Calabria. Seafloor features range from small-scale features (hundreds of meters in extent), mainly located on the canyon headwalls and sidewalls, to larger slides ( up to 10 km in extent) on open slopes. Subsurface profiles across open slopes and intra-slope basins provide evidence of repeated failures, particularly in the upper Quaternary. The stratigraphic distribution of failures suggests that widespread mass wasting features occur above an unconformity tentatively dated to the Middle Pleistocene (<1 Ma). This unconformity also provides a lower bound for the onset of canyon formation. We infer that the onset of both mass wasting and canyon formation could be a response to the rapid km-scale differential uplift of Calabria over last 1 Ma, which has driven a seaward tilting of the Ionian Calabrian margin

Closure to "single-event leak detection in pipeline using first three resonant responses" by Jinzhe Gong, Martin F. Lambert, Angus R. Simpson, and Aaron C. Zecchin

Discussions and ClosuresJinzhe Gong, Martin Lambert, Angus Simpson, and Aaron Zecchi

Favorable Trend of Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Service Life in a Large Single-Nation Population: Insights From 10-Year Analysis of the Italian Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Registry

Background: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are widely employed for the prevention of sudden cardiac death. Despite technological improvements, patients often need to undergo generator replacement, which entails the risk of periprocedural complications. Our aim was to estimate the service life of ICDs over a 10-year interval and to assess the main causes of replacement on the basis of data from the National ICD Registry of the Italian Society of Arrhythmology and Cardiac Pacing (AIAC). Methods and Results: The registry includes data from over 400 hospitals in Italy. We included all patients who underwent device replacement from calendar years 2007 to 2016. The median service life of the ICDs and its trend over the years was estimated across the 3 types of devices (single-chamber, dual-chamber, cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator) and the indication to implantation. The causes of replacement were also analyzed. We included 29&nbsp;158 records from 27&nbsp;676 patients (80.9% men; mean age at device replacement 65.8±12.0&nbsp;years). The median service life was 57.3 months (interquartile range 27.8&nbsp;months). Over the years, service life showed an increasing trend. The majority of patients underwent elective replacement because of battery end of life, and over the years there was a significant reduction of replacement for recalls, erosion/infections, and cardiac resynchronization therapy upgrading. Conclusions: Our data from a large single-nation population showed that the trend of ICD service life, independently from ICD type, indication, and settings, significantly improved over time. Moreover, there was a striking reduction of interventions for upgrading and infection/erosion. This favorable trend has important clinical, organizational, and financial implications

Bioprospecção de bactérias isoladas de milho para promoção de crescimento de plantas.

Isolados bacterianos associados a raízes de milho identificados por sequenciamento parcial do gene 16S RNAr foram avaliados em testes de promoção de crescimento vegetal. Também foram conduzidos testes in vitro para a capacidade de produção de sideróforos, solubilização de fosfato, produção de AIA, FBN e produção de enzimas líticas. Cinco isolados apresentaram resultados promissores na caracterização enzimática e nos testes de atividade promotora de crescimento e, portanto, poderão ser avaliados in vivo quanto a parâmetros de crescimento vegetal em ensaios em casa de vegetação

Determination of the creep function of viscoelastic pipelines using system resonant frequencies with hydraulic transient analysis

Note. This manuscript was submitted on June 2, 2015; approved on January 26, 2016; published online on May 3, 2016. Discussion period open until October 3, 2016; separate discussions must be submitted for individual papers.Abstract not availableJinzhe Gong, Aaron C. Zecchin, Martin F. Lambert, and Angus R. Simpso