Nota Técnica: Utilización del ‘filler’ y de superplastificantes en el hormigón de altas prestaciones

In this research, the effects of filler (rock-dust) usage on high strength concrete have been investigated through lab experiments and some results have been obtained. The experiments involved three series of concrete with different cement proportions of 375 kg/m3, 400 kg/m3, and 425 kg/m3. For each series of concrete, three different groups of samples have been prepared, the first one being the reference concrete which contained 0% chemical admixture and 0% filler, the second one contained 1.5% chemical admixture and 0% filler and finally the last group contained 1.5% chemical admixture and 5% filler to the weight of cement used. The chemical admixture used was a type of Super plasticizer with a brand name of “DARACEM 190”, and the cement used was Ordinary Portland Cement of target compressive strength 42.5 N/mm2, obtained from Nuh Cement Plant. For each batch, Slump Tests and Unit Weight Tests were performed. For each stage and group, two 15 cm cubic samples have been tested for Compressive Strength after being cured in water at 20 ± 2 °C for ages of 3 days, 7 days, 28 and 60 days. The total number of samples was 72. As a result, filler usage was found to reduce the porosity of Concrete, increase the Unit Weight of Concrete, increase the need for water and improve the Compressive Strength Properties of Concrete.En el presente trabajo se estudia la influencia de la utilización de un “filler” (polvo mineral) en el comportamiento del hormigón de altas prestaciones. Para ello, se realizan ensayos de laboratorio en los que se emplean tres series de hormigón, cada una con una dosificación de cemento distinta, de 375, 400 y 425 kg/m3. Se preparan tres grupos de probetas de cada serie, el primero o de referencia con 0% de aditivo químico y 0% de “filler”, el segundo con un 1,5% del aditivo químico y 0% de “filler” y el tercero con un 1,5% del aditivo químico y un 5% de “filler” en peso del cemento. Como aditivo se utiliza un superplastificante de nombre comercial “DARACEM 190”, siendo el cemento, suministrado por la Nuh Cement Plant, de tipo Portland con una resistencia a la compresión característica de 42,5 N/mm2. En todas las amasadas se realizan los ensayos del cono de Abrams y de densidad. Para cada serie y grupo, se fabrican dos probetas cúbicas de 15 x 15 x 15 cm que se someten a ensayos de resistencia a la compresión, previo curado en agua a 20 ± 2 ºC durante 3, 7, 28 y 60 días. En total, se fabrican 72 probetas. Los resultados confirman que la utilización del “filler” reduce la porosidad del hormigón, aumentando tanto su densidad como su demanda de agua y mejorando sus propiedades mecánicas

Gossypiboma: Retained Surgical Sponge after a Gynecologic Procedure

We report on a case of gossypiboma. A 54-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with abdominal mass. She had undergone a caesarean operation 23 years previously. The mass in the right abdominal quadrant was suspected by abdominal computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The mass was removed by laparotomy excision and the final diagnosis was gossypiboma

Sustainability Organic Agriculture and Livestock Production with Respect to European Union in Eastern Anatolia and East Black Sea Regions

The majority of farm households in Turkey and especially the Eastern Anatolia are still based on low-input semi subsistence agriculture and livestock production. Despite a slow decline in recent years, agriculture and livestock production remains a major employer in Turkey and it is a significant contributor to the country’s gross domestic product, GDP. Whist Turkey is one of the EU candidate countries, is self sufficient in food production and Turkish agriculture is poorly structured inefficient, with farming in the Eastern Anatolia being mainly subsistence farming. Yet, these traditional rural structures combined with poor access to low level of education and low level of off-farm unemployment problem makes the situation more complicated and unsustainable. The best way to promote sustainability, better and higher production of Eastern Anatolian and rural Turkey is to invest in the local people, villages through improved, continuing and effective agricultural and livestock programs in particular. Investment in human capital especially in the rural areas leads to more employment opportunities through entrepreneurship and innovation in organic agriculture and livestock production. A holistic approach to developing and improving supply chains could unlock the potential for sophisticated, state-of-the-art organic agriculture and livestock producers and businesses in the region to become EU and global players. Eastern Anatolian livestock producers and the farmers have the ambitions to take part in future progress because the region is naturally organic not by design but default. It is for sure that present potential of the region has not been fully determined and utilized. EU has greatly benefited from previous enlargements economically, politically and socially. When European Union (EU) and Turkish Government relations considered and accession of Turkey to EU would be the logical consequence of the previous accessions. The screening on chapter 11 (Agriculture and rural development) is one of the important criteria and Turkey is working on to meet these benchmarks

Effects of different long-term soil management systems on some physical and chemical properties and crop production in soils in Berlin-Dahlem and Dedelow- Zalf Müncheberg (Germany)

Soil management systems influence the agricultural system as they have in short- and long term period different effects on soil physical and chemical properties, therefore influencing the efficiency of production as well. A well directed choice of tillage equipments leads to a better soil protection and enables a higher fertility which is an important requirement for sustainable agriculture. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of different soil management systems on some physical and chemical properties and the crop production of these sandy soils. This study demonstrates the first results obtained from the year 2006, performed on the long-term land use experiment with the effects of three different factors (deep and shallow tillage; 17 and 28 cm, lime application; +Ca and –Ca and Farmyard manure; +FYM and –FYM) in Berlin-Dahlem (Germany), Humboldt University of Berlin and the ZALF experimental station at Dedelow (Germany) in 5 different tillage systems (no-tillage, mulch; 10 cm, cultivator; 15 cm, plough; 15 cm and plough; 25 cm). The soil heterogeneity were determined and evaluated with the computer program “Surfer” depending on the different depths of the sand and loam layers. The penetration resistances of both experimental fields showed that the deep tillage systems caused a higher compacted zone in deeper soil layers. It was found that there are significant differences in the soil aggregate stability and pH values between the shallow and deep tillage systems in Berlin-Dahlem. The pH values were significantly higher in the deep tillage systems. The soil organic matter contents were found higher in the deep tillage systems but there were no significant differences. There were also no significant differences in grain yield between these two tillage systems in Berlin-Dahlem

Cultural Aspects of Attachment Anxiety, Avoidance, and Life Satisfaction: Comparing the US and Turkey

Attachment insecurity can interfere with the experience, expression, and benefits of positive emotions, including happiness and life satisfaction (LS). However, both the pattern and effects of insecure attachment orientations on LS vary across cultures. Considering that attachment anxiety is higher in collectivist cultures and attachment avoidance is relatively high in individualistic cultures, the present chapter elaborates on the idea that anxious and avoidant attachment would have varying effects on LS in individualistic and collectivistic cultural contexts. Study 1 (N = 2456) involved a community sample of married couples in Turkey and demonstrated that attachment avoidance was a stronger predictor of LS than attachment anxiety in Turkish collectivist context. Study 2 tested the hypothesis that the roles of attachment anxiety and avoidance in predicting LS would vary between collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Mothers’ adult attachment dimensions and LS in Turkey (N = 89) and the United States (N = 91) were measured. As expected, results indicated that LS was predicted only by attachment avoidance in Turkey and by attachment anxiety in the United States. These findings are in line with the cultural fit hypothesis, suggesting that culturally incongruent attachment orientations have a stronger negative impact on individuals’ LS

Human vascular adhesion proteın-1 (VAP-1): Serum levels for hepatocellular carcinoma in non-alcoholic and alcoholic fatty liver disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The incidence of hepatocellular cancer in complicated alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases is on the rise in western countries as well in our country. Vascular adhesion protein-1 (VAP-1) levels have been presented as new marker. In our study protocol, we assessed the value of this serum protein, as a newly postulant biomarker for hepatocellular cancer in patients with a history of alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Pre-operative serum samples from 55 patients with hepatocellular cancer with a history of alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases and patients with cirrhosis were assessed by a quantitative sandwich ELISA using anti-VAP-1 mAbs. This technique is used to determine the levels of soluble VAP-1 (sVAP-1) in the serum.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>sVAP-1 levels were evaluated in patients with hepatocellular cancer and liver cirrhosis. There was a significant difference in mean VAP-1 levels between groups. Serum VAP-1 levels were found higher in patients with hepatocellular cancer.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings indicate that the serum level of sVAP-1 might be a beneficial marker of disease activity in chronic liver diseases.</p

Genetic insights into the social organization of Neanderthals

Genomic analyses of Neanderthals have previously provided insights into their population history and relationship to modern humans1–8, but the social organization of Neanderthal communities remains poorly understood. Here we present genetic data for 13 Neanderthals from two Middle Palaeolithic sites in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia: 11 from Chagyrskaya Cave9,10 and 2 from Okladnikov Cave11—making this one of the largest genetic studies of a Neanderthal population to date. We used hybridization capture to obtain genome-wide nuclear data, as well as mitochondrial and Y-chromosome sequences. Some Chagyrskaya individuals were closely related, including a father–daughter pair and a pair of second-degree relatives, indicating that at least some of the individuals lived at the same time. Up to one-third of these individuals’ genomes had long segments of homozygosity, suggesting that the Chagyrskaya Neanderthals were part of a small community. In addition, the Y-chromosome diversity is an order of magnitude lower than the mitochondrial diversity, a pattern that we found is best explained by female migration between communities. Thus, the genetic data presented here provide a detailed documentation of the social organization of an isolated Neanderthal community at the easternmost extent of their known range

Age, gender, mileage and the DBQ: The validity of the Driver Behavior Questionnaire in different driver groups

The Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ) is one of the most widely used instruments for measuring self-reported driving behaviors. Despite the popularity of the DBQ, the applicability of the DBQ in different driver groups has remained mostly unexamined. The present study measured aberrant driving behavior using the original DBQ (Reason, J.T., Manstead, A., Stradling, S.G., Baxter, J., Campbell, K., 1990. Errors and violations on the road - a real distinction. Ergonomics, 33 (10/11), 1315-1332) to test the factorial validity and reliability of the instrument across different subgroups of Danish drivers. The survey was conducted among 11,004 Danish driving license holders of whom 2250 male and 2190 female drivers completed the questionnaire containing background variables and the DBQ. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis showed that the original three-factor solution, a four-factor solution and a two-factor solution had acceptable fit when using the whole sample. However, fit indices of these solutions varied across subgroups. The presents study illustrates that both the original DBQ and a Danish four-factor DBQ structure is relatively stable across subgroups, indicating factorial validity and reliability of the DBQ. However, as the Danish DBQ structure has an overall better fit, the present study highlights the importance of performing an explorative analysis when applying the DBQ in order to assess the problem areas within a driving population

Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review

Toy M, Önder FO, Wörmann T, et al. Age- and region-specific hepatitis B prevalence in Turkey estimated using generalized linear mixed models: a systematic review. BMC infectious diseases. 2011;11(1): 337.BACKGROUND: To provide a clear picture of the current hepatitis B situation, the authors performed a systematic review to estimate the age- and region-specific prevalence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 339 studies with original data on the prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in Turkey and published between 1999 and 2009 were identified through a search of electronic databases, by reviewing citations, and by writing to authors. After a critical assessment, the authors included 129 studies, divided into categories: 'age-specific'; 'region-specific'; and 'specific population group'. To account for the differences among the studies, a generalized linear mixed model was used to estimate the overall prevalence across all age groups and regions. For specific population groups, the authors calculated the weighted mean prevalence. RESULTS: The estimated overall population prevalence was 4.57, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.58, 5.76, and the estimated total number of CHB cases was about 3.3 million. The outcomes of the age-specific groups varied from 2.84, (95% CI: 2.60, 3.10) for the 0-14-year olds to 6.36 (95% CI: 5.83, 6.90) in the 25-34-year-old group. CONCLUSION: There are large age-group and regional differences in CHB prevalence in Turkey, where CHB remains a serious health problem