Use of recycled copper slag for blended cements

Copper slag is a by‐product generated during smelting to extract copper metal from the ore. The copper slag obtained may exhibit pozzolanic activity and may therefore be used in the manufacture of addition‐containing cements. In this paper the effect of the incorporation of the copper slag in cement is measured. Blends of copper slag with Portland cement generally possess properties equivalent to Portland cement containing fly ash, but very different to the silica fume incorporation. Copper slag and fly ash reduce the heat of hydration more effectively than silica fume in mortars. The replacement of 30% cement by copper slag reduces the flexural and compressive strength in a similar way to fly ash; however, after 28 days, the reduction is less than the percentage of substitution. Hydrated calcium aluminate phases were analysed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X‐ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The pozzolanic activity of copper slag is similar to that of fly ash and higher than silica fume. In the presence of low water/cement ratios, certain pozzolanic materials produce a very compact cement paste that limits the space available for hydration products, a determining factor in the formation of hydrated calcium aluminates. SEM was found to be a useful analytical technique when aluminates are formed and can be clearly detected by XRD. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Time Decay of the Activity of the Reduction Reaction of NO by CO on a Pd/Al2O3 Catalyst

An experimental study is made of the time decay of activity of the CO–NO reaction on a Pd/Al₂O₃ looking at the effect on reaction order and apparent activation energy. The optimum kinetics parameters fitting the steady state data at moderate pressures are determined. The time decay curves are analyzed through various catalyst deactivation models.     

Manifold mapping: a two-level optimization technique

In this paper, we analyze in some detail the manifold-mapping optimization technique introduced recently [Echeverría and Hemker in space mapping and defect correction. Comput Methods Appl Math 5(2): 107—136, 2005]. Manifold mapping aims at accelerating optimal design procedures that otherwise require many evaluations of time-expensive cost functions. We give a proof of convergence for the manifold-mapping iteration. By means of two simple optimization problems we illustrate the convergence results derived. Finally, the performances of several variants of the method are compared for some design problems from electromagnetics.     

Influence of Cu<Superscript>2+</Superscript> ions on structural and magnetic properties of NiZn ferrites

The paper is devoted to the preparation of NiZn ferrite with small substitutions of copper by means of ceramic technology. The influence of small Cu substitution on the microstructural and magnetic properties of NiZn ferrites have been analysed by means of various experimental methods and interpreted from the point of view of preparation technology optimisation and possible applications of such materials. A strong correlation between the substituent content and resulting properties has been observed, thus allowing preparation of material with the properties tailored for any particular application.     

A fuzzy clustering algorithm enhancing local model interpretability

In this work, simple modifications on the cost index of particular local-model fuzzy clustering algorithms are proposed in order to improve the readability of the resulting models. The final goal is simultaneously providing local linear models (reasonably close to the plant’s Jacobian) and clustering in the input space so that desirable characteristics (regarding final model accuracy, and convexity and smoothness of the cluster membership functions) are improved with respect to other proposals in literature. Some examples illustrate the proposed approach.     

Stroke in teenagers

Between 3.7% and 8.5% of all strokes occur before the age of 45 years old. In the population under 15 years of age, the annual incidence of strokes is 2.7 per 100,000 children, with ischaemic strokes making up 1.2 and haemorrhagic strokes 1.5 of this total. The main characteristic of ischaemic strokes in childhood is the wide variety of diagnoses involved. Some of these, such as congenital cardiopathy, are rare in adults, as are dissections and arterial dysplasias, arteritis, hereditary connective tissue disorders and disorders of metabolism. Similarly, the aetiology of haemorrhagic stroke is also very varied, with bursting of a vascular malformation or aneurysm being the commonest. Other aetiologies are disorders of haemostasis, arteritis, migraine, retarded post-traumatic phenomena and the use of drugs and sympathomimetic agents. The personal, family and social repercussions are considerable, since both ischaemic and haemorrhagic strokes have an appreciable mortality and morbidity.     

Metastatic parathyroid carcinoma in the MEN2A syndrome

We report a patient with a metastatic parathyroid carcinoma and medullary carcinoma of the thyroid. This patient represents a variation of the multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome (MEN) type 2A. There was no evidence of a phaeochromocytoma. The case illustrates the difficulties that may be encountered in localising the source of PTH secretion; the patient underwent four unsuccessful exploratory operations of the neck and mediastinum before further investigations revealed a single metastatic deposit of parathyroid carcinoma involving the first thoracic vertebra. PCR amplification and sequencing of the RET oncogene from the metastatic parathyroid carcinoma and genomic DNA revealed a heterozygous mutation (Cys634Tyr) in exon 11, as has previously been described to occur in MEN 2A. In addition, loss of tumour heterozygosity was demonstrated at loci from chromosomes 1, 2, 3p, 13q and 16p. This represents the first report of a parathyroid carcinoma in a MEN2A patient, in which the multiple allelic deletions are consistent with the generalised losses observed in aggressive tumours.     

Effect of cyclosporin on the activity of cytidine deaminase and adenosine deaminase in the serum and polymorphonuclear leukocytes of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Cytidine deaminase (CDA) and adenosine deaminase (ADA) were investigated in the serum and polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNLs) of healthy controls and ten patients with rheumatoid arthritis before and during cyclosporin therapy. CDA was significantly raised in the serum and decreased in the cells of patients. A dramatic increase (10-fold or more) in CDA activity was observed in the cells of some patients after only one month of cyclosporin therapy. Serum CDA significantly increased after three months' therapy. While the increase in serum CDA level during therapy was transient, the enzyme level in cells remained permanently raised, as shown in two patients evaluated for sixteen months. ADA in the serum of RA patients was somewhat higher as compared with healthy controls and remained almost unchanged during cyclosporin therapy. ADA activity in the cells also increased, but compared with the increase in CDA activity this increase was lower. Cyclosporin increased both CDA and ADA activities in PMNLs of RA patients. The dramatic increase in CDA observed in PMNLs of patients could be the cause of the transient increase in CDA in the serum. Further investigations will show to what extent this property of cyclosporin can reflect the immunoregulatory effect of this drug.     

Treatment of essential arterial hypertension with hypercholesterolemia. Effects of an alpha-adrenergic blocker and an inhibitor of the angiotensin converting enzyme

BACKGROUND: Hypertension and hypercholesterolemia are frequently associated with this leading to considerable cardiovascular risk. METHODS: An open parallel randomized study was performed in which the effects of doxazosin, an alpha-adrenergic blocker and enalapril, an inhibitor of the angiotensin converting enzyme were compared in 70 patients with essential high blood pressure and plasma cholesterol levels greater than 240 mg/dl. Following 2-4 weeks of placebo administration the patients were randomly treated with one of the two drugs. When required doses were increased and hydrochlorothiazide added until blood pressure lower than 160/95 mmHg was achieved. After this period the patients were observed for a minimum of 8 weeks. The mean length of the study was of 22 weeks. RESULTS: Both drugs significantly reduced blood pressure without modifying cardiac frequency. Doxazosin tended to favorably modify the lipid profile of the plasma while enalapril significantly reduced the levels of cholesterol, lipids and high density lipoproteins (HDL). Upon termination of the study the total HDL/cholesterol index increased 8.6% in those treated with doxazosin and decreased 5.5% in those receiving enalapril (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Although doxazosin and enalapril are potent antihypertensive drugs, the effects on plasma lipid obtained with doxazosin indicate that a reduction in cardiovascular risk was achieved with this drug in the patients included in this study.