High-alumina mixture with an additive of refractory pyrophyllite

A composition and a technology for manufacturing a high-alumina ramming mixture based on chamotte from Chinese bauxites with an additive of pyrophyllite are suggested. A pilot industrial batch of such a mixture has been produced by the Semiluki Refractory Plant and tested in linings of 180-ton steel teeming ladles in the Novolipetsk Integrated Iron and Steel Works.Translated from Ogneupory i Tekhnicheskaya Keramika, No. 11, pp. 29–30, November, 1996.     

Use of personal trainers and financial incentives to increase exercise in a behavioral weight-loss program.

Exercise is the best predictor of long-term weight loss. This study evaluated two strategies for improving exercise adherence and long-term weight loss in obese outpatients. Obese men and women (N?=?193) were randomized to 1 of 5 treatment groups for 18 months: standard behavior therapy (SBT); SBT with supervised walks (SW) 3 times per week; SBT?+?SW with personal trainers (PT), who walked with participants, made phone reminders, and did make-up SW; SBT?+?SW with monetary incentives (I) for completing SW; and SBT?+?SW?+?PT?+?I. Both PT and I enhanced attendance at SWs, the combination producing the best adherence. Increased walk attendance did not result in higher overall energy expenditure, however, and long-term weight loss was also not improved. Post hoc analyses suggest that the level of exercise needed for successful long-term weight loss is much higher than that usually recommended in behavioral treatment programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are smaller weight losses or more achievable weight loss goals better in the long term for obese patients?

Weight losses and psychological well-being were examined at 30 months in 69 men and 61 women initially treated with behavior therapy as a function of (a) initial weight loss and (b) weight-loss goals. Initial weight losses were positively, not negatively, related to weight loss at 30 months. Weight loss goals did not predict short-term or long-term weight loss. People who reached weight goals had better long-term weight losses than those who did not, but this finding was largely due to differences in initial weight loss. Psychological well-being at 30 months was not related to initial weight losses or goals. Although correlational rather than experimental, these results do not support the hypothesis that obese patients should be encouraged to set lower weight-loss goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Explicit finite element modeling of static crack propagation in reinforced concrete

We propose a methodology to model complex fracture processes in reinforced concrete beams subjected to static loading. The discrete cohesive approach, accompanied by an insertion algorithm, is adopted and a modified dynamic relaxation method is chosen as an alternative solver. The concrete matrix and steel re-bars are modeled explicitly; the connection in between is represented by means of interface elements. Such elements allow for slip of re-bars and transmit forces to the matrix that may generate secondary cracking around the reinforcement. The methodology is validated against three-point bending tests on lightly reinforced concrete (LRC) beams.     

Optimization of axisymmetric shells of arbitrary form

Institute of Construction Engineering, Kharkov. Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 11, pp. 80–83, November, 1988.     

Suppression of the proliferative activity in in vivo tissue culture of esophageal and stomach tumor cells during preoperative irradiation

Pathomorphological changes and indices of proliferative ability of tumour tissue in the esophagus and in the cardia are studied in 14 patients after and without the preoperative irradiation following its cultivation in diffuse chambers. The tissue was implanted into the abdominal cavity of 84 rats. Inhibition of the mitotic activity and synthesis of DNA in cell nuclei as well as the impairment of the formation processes typical of the unirradiated blastomas of the same histological structure in the tissue culture in vivo evidence for a pronounced effect of irradiation.     

Effect of cryogenic temperatures on the static and cyclic strength of the parent metal and welded joints in 1201 aluminum alloy

Institute of Strength Problems, Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Kiev. Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 11, pp. 27–29, November, 1988.     

Change in children's competence beliefs and subjective task values across the elementary school years: A 3-year study.

The authors assessed change over 3 years in elementary school children's competence beliefs and subjective task value in the domains of math, reading, instrumental music, and sports. The longitudinal sample consisted of approximately 615 mostly White, lower middle to middle-class children. Stability correlations indicated moderate to strong stability in children's beliefs, especially older children's competence beliefs. The relation of children's ratings of their competence in each domain to estimates of their competence in those domains provided by both parents and teachers increased over the early elementary grades. Children's competence beliefs and ratings of the usefulness and importance of each activity decreased over time. Children's interest in reading and instrumental music decreased, but their interest in sports and math did not. Gender differences in children's competence beliefs and subjective task values did not change over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)