Clinical, bacteriological, and histopathological study of toxic puerperal metritis in Iraqi buffalo

Data were collected from 42 buffalo with toxic puerperal metritis in 2 large herds, with a history of dystocia, prolapse, and retained placenta. All buffalo were subjected to detailed clinical examination including external inspection, vaginoscopy, and transrectal palpation of the cervix, uterus, and ovaries. Swabs for bacteriology and biopsies for histopathology were collected from the uterine lumen from each cow. Character, odor, and estimation of polymorphonuclear cells of the vaginal mucus were scored. Blood samples were collected from cows for creatine kinase and aspartate amino-transferase measurement. The most predisposing factor causing toxic puerperal metritis was retained placenta (52.4%), and the most prevalent bacteria in uterine lumen were Escherichia coli, Arcanobacterium pyogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, and Fusobacterium necrophorum (18.5, 16.7, 13.0, and 9.3%, respectively). High levels of polymorphonuclear cells were observed in buffalo infected with A. pyogenes and gram-negative anaerobic bacteria (62.1 and 76.4%). A high prevalence of gram-negative anaerobes was isolated from uteri harboring A. pyogenes (13.0%). Buffalo with toxic puerperal metritis had significantly higher creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase activities than controls (499.2 ± 23.9 and 208.3 ± 11.3 vs. 242.7 ± 12.9 and 166.8 ± 11.5 U/L, respectively). In a conclusion, gram-negative anaerobes and other facultative pathogens including A. pyogenes were important pathogens that cause severe uterine inflammation.     

Discharge estimation in compound channels with fixed and mobile bed

Two-dimensional (2-D) formulae for estimating discharge capacity of straight compound channels are reviewed and applied to overbank flows in straight fixed and mobile bed compound channels. The predictive capabilities of these formulae were evaluated using experimental data obtained from the small-scale University of Birmingham channel. Full details of these data and key references may be found at the following www.flowdata.bham.ac.uk (university website). 2-D formulae generally account for bed shear, lateral shear, and secondary flow effects via 3 coefficients f, λ and Γ In this paper, the secondary flow term (Γ) used within the 2-D methods analysed here is ignored in all applications. Two different 2-D formulae almost give practically the same results for the same data when the secondary flow term is ignored. For overall test cases, the value of dimensionless eddy viscosity λ used in 2-D formulae was kept at 0·13 as recommended for open channels. 2-D formulae gave good predictions for most of the data sets studied in comparison with the traditional 1-D methods, namely the Single Channel Method (SCM) and the Divided Channel Method (DCM). The accuracy of predictions of 2-D formulae was increased by calibrating of λ value where the calibration was needed. For overall data, the average errors for each method were Lateral Division Methods (LDMs), with λ value of 0·13, 2·8%, DCM 14·3% and SCM −26·8%. The average error was 0·5% for LDMs with the calibrated values of λ     

Septic myocardial aneurysm in mitral valve endocarditis. Clinical and pathological-anatomical findings

HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 68-year-old woman was hospitalized because of fever and tiredness for 3 months. Her general condition was clearly impaired. She had a mild fever of 38.5 degrees C and on auscultation a 3/6 systolic murmur, maximal parasternally in the 3rd intercostal space, transmitted to the apex. There were distant rales over both lungs, the neck veins were distended and there was ankle oedema. INVESTIGATIONS: C-reactive protein was raised to 17.3 mg/dl (normal up to 0.9 mg/dl), WBC count 19,300/microliter. beta-haemolysing streptococcus (S. agalactiae) was grown in the blood culture. The ECG showed sinus tachycardia (rate of 98/min) and transthoracic echocardiography demonstrated a small pericardial, enlarged ventricles, marked mitral regurgitation and a large vegetation on the posterior mitral leaflet, as well as a 3 x 4 cm mass in the posterior wall of the ventricle, originating from the posterior mitral valve ring and communicating with the vegetation on the mitral valve. The posterior mitral leaflet was perforated. TREATMENT AND COURSE: As endocarditis of the mitral valve with a complicated course was suspected-abscess of the posterior mitral valve ring and septic myocardial aneurysm with associated pericarditis and haemodynamically insignificant effusion-she was transferred to the intensive care unit where she died suddenly of circulatory arrest only 30 min after transfer. Autopsy confirmed the echocardiographic findings. CONCLUSION: Paravalvular abscess in the course of mitral valve endocarditis is rare, but should be looked for at transthoracic echocardiography so that any necessary surgical intervention can be undertaken early.     

A solid-state EMF study of the Fe-S-O and Co-S-O ternary systems

The equilibrium oxygen potentials of the two-phase equilibria Fe₃O₄/Fe_1–xS, Co_1–xS/Co₃S₄, Co₃S₄/CoS₂, Co_1–xS/CoO, and CoO/CoSO₄ were measured as a function of temperature. A solid-state emf technique using calcia-stabilized zirconia (CSZ) solid electrolyte was used. These equilibria were studied atP _SO21 atm; the equilibrium Co_1–xS/CoO was also studied atP _SO20.1 atm. Two emf cell designs were used for the measurements atP _SO21 atm andP _SO21 and 0.1 atm, respectively. The homogeneity range of FeS in equilibrium with Fe₃O₄ and that of Co_1–xS in equilibrium with CoO at 1073 K andP _SO21 atm were measured by electron microprobe analysis.     

Reaction of ozone with polybenzimidazole (PBI)

Ozone reacted with the polybenzimidazole (PBI) film surface and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) detected a rapid increase in O atom concentration up to a saturation level of 27 ± 1 atomic %. Atomic force microscopy measurements showed little change in surface roughness. The water contact angle of the treated film decreased by ca. 60% compared to untreated PBI film indicating an increase in hydrophilicity and hydrogen bonding due the formation of the polar oxygenated functional groups. With treatment, the curve fitting of the XPS chemical states showed a decrease in the C–C sp², C–C sp³, and C=N functional groups, and an increase in C–N, C=O, O–C=O, O–(C=O)–O, and N–C=O moieties which were explained using mechanisms associated with the dissociation of the primary ozonide formed from the addition of ozone to the C=C and C=N bonds and reaction with the amine groups in PBI. Washing the treated surface with water partially washed away the O concentration which indicated the formation of a weak boundary layer due to the breakage of bonds in the decomposition of the primary ozonide.     

Lateral solutions for optimizing holding costs in job shops

Queuing networks present as beneficial models for a category of problems emerging in modern manufacturing systems. As the optimal control problem for queuing networks in familiar to be difficult, an important topic of research during the last two decades has been the growth of difficult estimations, and the use of these estimations to control optimal controls. Flexible moderations are an important class of such estimations that have received much consideration in recent years. The central objective of this paper is to determine the utilization of flexible moderations in solving a diversity of scheduling problems. In this paper, we investigate the role of flexible moderations in solving classic job shop problems. For the job shop problem with the objective of minimizing makespan, we build a schedule that is guaranteed to be within a consistent of the optimal. In other words, we examine the job shop scheduling problem with the aim of minimizing holding costs. Recent results show that for this objective, the job shop problem does not have a polynomial time estimation plan; consequently, in terms of approximability, this is a harder objective than the makespan. Our main result is an algorithm, based on regular relaxation that presents lateral optimal schedules.     

Structural,elastic, optoelectronic and magnetic properties of $$\mathbf{CdHo }_\mathbf{2}{} \mathbf{S}_\mathbf{4}$$ spinel: a first-principle study

We report the results of the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) calculations on the structural, elastic, optoelectronic and magnetic properties of \(\hbox {CdHo}_{2}\hbox {S}_{4}\) spinel. Both the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and Trans-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson potential (TB-mBJ) are used to model the exchange-correlation effects. The computed lattice parameter, internal coordinate and bulk modulus are in good agreement with the existing experimental data. According to the calculated elastic moduli, \(\hbox {CdHo}_{2}\hbox {S}_{4}\) is mechanically stable with a ductile nature and a noticeable elastic anisotropy. The ferromagnetic phase of \(\hbox {CdHo}_{2}\hbox {S}_{4}\) is energetically favourable compared to non-magnetic one, with a high magnetic moment of about 8.15 \(\upmu _{\mathrm{B}}\). The calculated band structure demonstrates that the title compound is a direct band gap semiconductor. The TB-mBJ yields a band gap of \(\sim \)1.86 and \(\sim \)2.17 eV for the minority and majority spins, respectively. The calculated optical spectra reveal a strong response in the energy range between the visible light and the extreme UV regions.     

Frequency assignment problem in satellite communications using differential evolution

Satellite communications technology has a tremendous impact in refining our world. The frequency assignment problem is of a fundamental importance when it comes to providing high-quality transmissions in satellite communication systems. The NP-complete frequency assignment problem in satellite communications involves the rearrangement of frequencies of one set of carriers while keeping the other set fixed in order to minimize the largest and total interference among carriers. In this paper, we present a number of algorithms, based on differential evolution, to solve the frequency assignment problem. We investigate several schemes ranging from adaptive differential evolution to hybrid algorithms in which heuristic is embedded within differential evolution. The effectiveness and robustness of our proposed algorithms is demonstrated through solving a set of benchmark problems and comparing the results with a number of previously proposed techniques that solve the same problem. Experimental results show that our proposed algorithms, in general, and hybrid ones in particular, outperform the existing algorithms both in terms of the quality of the solutions and computational time.     

Field-oriented test methods to evaluate structural build-up at rest of flowable mortar and concrete

Thixotropy of flowable mortar and concrete is an important property that affects stability and form pressure characteristics. The increase in thixotropy can reduce lateral pressure on formwork systems. On the other hand, low thixotropy or a continuous casting is required to eliminate the formation of weak interface between lifts in multilayer casting. Thixotropy can be assessed by determining the rate of structural build-up at rest, which necessitates the use of simple and robust test methods to be quantified. Five field-oriented test methods that can be used for the determination of structural build-up at rest of mortar and concrete are proposed in this paper in an attempt to select a reliable field-oriented test. This includes the inclined plane (IP), portable vane (PV), undisturbed slump spread (USS), cone penetration (CP), and K-slump test methods. The repeatability of these test methods was determined four times using two concrete-equivalent mortars and two self-consolidating concretes (SCC) of different thixotropy levels. The IP, PV, and USS tests showed relative error (RE) values of 0.5?C37?%. The CP test was successfully used to determine structural build-up of mortar; however, it was difficult to assess the thixotropy of concrete. The K-slump test exhibited a RE, less than 12?% for SCC mixtures with low thixotropy, but up to 76?% for highly thixotropic SCC. Good correlations were established among the various structural build-up indices determined from the proposed test methods and those determined by rheometric tests using various concrete.