SPICE application in the study of the behaviour of multi-state systems described by Markov models

This paper shows the applicability of the SPICE circuit analysis computer program for studying the behaviour of multi-state desribed by Markov models. Two samples are considered and the results are compared with those obtained by the Laplace transform and the flow graph methods. Agreement between the three techniques is excellent.     

Outbreak of Salmonella infantis infection in a large animal veterinary teaching hospital

During the past 11 years, there have been numerous reports of outbreaks of salmonellosis involving horses in veterinary teaching hospitals. Some of these outbreaks have been associated with Salmonella serotypes not commonly associated with infection of horses. Salmonella infantis is among the more common Salmonella serotypes isolated from human beings, and is an important pathogen in the broiler chicken industry. However, it was not commonly isolated from horses or cattle on a national basis between 1993 and 1995. In this report, we describe an outbreak of S infantis infection among large animals, primarily horses, in a veterinary teaching hospital and the control measures that were implemented. Factors that appeared to be key in control of this outbreak in this hospital included providing biosecurity training sessions for hospital personnel, adopting a standard operating procedure manual for biosecurity procedures, installing additional handwashing sinks throughout the facility, painting the interior of the facility with a nontoxic readily cleanable paint, replacing the dirt flooring in 4 stalls with concrete flooring, and removing noncleanable surfaces such as rubber stall mats, wooden hay storage bins, and open grain bins. Our experience with this outbreak suggests that although it is virtually impossible to eliminate Salmonella organisms from the environment, minimizing contamination is possible. Prevention of nosocomial infection must be approached in a multifaceted manner and care must be taken to search out covert sources of contamination, especially if standard intervention procedures do not prevent spread of the disease.     

The Photodissociation of Ground and Vibrationally Excited Halogenated Alkanes

The dynamics of photodissociation of small halogenated alkanes, in both their ground and vibrationally excited states, is investigated. The yield of H, Cl(²P_2/3), and Cl(²P_1/2) fragments was measured by (2 + 1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. We report results from the 193 nm photolysis of ground state CHF₂Cl, CH₃CF₂Cl, CH₃CFCl₂, and OH₃Cl and the 237–243 nm photolysis of CH₃Cl excited to the fourth C–H stretch overtone level. The branching ratios depend on the molecular structure, the accessed excited potential surfaces and, as a consequence, on the dissociation dynamics.     

Public veterinary medicine: public health. Serologic evaluation of vesicular stomatitis virus exposure in horses and cattle in 1996

OBJECTIVE: To determine potential risk factors for vesicular stomatitis (VS) in Colorado livestock in 1995 and evaluate VS virus (VSV) exposure of Colorado livestock in 1996. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study of VS risk factors and seroprevalence evaluation. SAMPLE POPULATION: Premises included 52 that had VS-positive animals and 33 that did not have VS-positive animals during the 1995 epidemic, and 8 in the vicinity of premises that had VS-positive animals during the 1995 epidemic. PROCEDURE: Layout and management data for premises were collected during site visits in 1996. Signalment and management data were collected for animals from which samples were obtained, and samples were tested by serologic examination and virus isolation. The VSV seroprevalence rate was estimated for Colorado, using serum obtained for equine infectious anemia testing and from the Market Cattle Identification program in Colorado. RESULTS: At least 1 animal was seropositive for VSV on 35 of 52 (67%) premises, and 71 of 228 (31%) animals tested were seropositive for VSV. Seroprevalence was 63 of 170 (37%) for horses and 8 of 54 (15%) for cattle. Seroprevalence of VSV in animals from non-study premises in Colorado in 1996 was estimated to be 1.1% in cattle and 0.8% in horses. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Overall VSV seroprevalence in Colorado livestock was less than seroprevalence in epidemic areas, and seroprevalence rates in epidemic areas were greater for horses than cattle. Results may indicate that some animals had subclinical VSV infection during epidemics and that animals may be exposed to VSV between epidemics.     

A patient with extra-adrenal retroperitoneal paraganglioma and review of the literature

Paragangliomas can arise from virtually any site in the body containing embryonic neural crest tissue. We present a female patient with an extra-adrenal retroperitoneal paraganglioma, and a review of the literature.     

The state of play regarding the social sustainability of the construction industry: a systematic review

The social dimensions of sustainability’s three bottom lines are often overlooked in the construction industry. This is despite attempts to find optimal trade-offs between economic growth, environmental impacts, human health and well-being, as well as social considerations. This study reviews the literature on social sustainability (SS) within the construction arena, identifies research gaps and proposes a forward-looking research agenda. This critical review employes the ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses’ (PRISMA) technique to retrieve secondary data on SS from available academic, government and industry documents. The literature analysis focuses on seven themes: (1) definition of SS, (2) the theoretical dimensions of SS, (3) primary stakeholders, (4) policy and guidelines, (5) major SS performance indicators, (6) barriers to SS uptake in the construction industry, and (7) SS drivers in the construction industry. The review identifies primary stakeholders and proposes a list of assessment criteria that can be used by the construction industry in measuring progress towards SS. The study proposes a conceptual model that maps out key stakeholders, the major barriers, and enablers of SS in construction projects. The findings will support the development of SS guidelines specific to the construction industry in Australia as well as overseas.

     

The heating effect of iron-cobalt magnetic nanofluids in an alternating magnetic field: application in magnetic hyperthermia treatment

In this research, FeCo alloy magnetic nanofluids were prepared by reducing iron(III) chloride hexahydrate and cobalt(II) sulfate heptahydrate with sodium borohydride in a water/CTAB/hexanol reverse micelle system for application in magnetic hyperthermia treatment. X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and energy-dispersive analysis indicate the formation of bcc-structured iron-cobalt alloy. Magnetic property assessment of nanoparticles reveals that some samples are single-domain superparamagnetic, while others are single- or multi-domain ferromagnetic. The stability of the magnetic fluids was achieved by using a CTAB/1-butanol surfactant bilayer. Results of Gouy magnetic susceptibility balance experiments indicate good stability of FeCo nanoparticles even after dilution. The inductive properties of corresponding magnetic fluids including temperature rise and specific absorption rate were determined. Results show that with increasing of the nanoparticle size in the single-domain size regime, the generated heat increases, indicating the significant effect of the hysteresis loss. Finally, the central parameter controlling the specific absorption rate of nanoparticles was introduced, the experimental results were compared with those of the Stoner-Wohlfarth model and linear response theory, and the best sample for magnetic hyperthermia treatment was specified.     

Multicoloring trees

Scheduling jobs with pairwise conflicts is modeled by the graph multicoloring problem. It occurs in two versions: in the preemptive case, each vertex may get any set of colors, while in the non-preemptive case, the set of colors assigned to each vertex has to be contiguous. We study these versions of the multicoloring problem on trees, under the sum-of-completion-times objective. In particular, we give a quadratic algorithm for the non-preemptive case, and a faster algorithm in the case that all job lengths are short, while we present a polynomial-time approximation scheme for the preemptive case.     

Investigation of hydrodynamic deep drawing for conical�Ccylindrical cups

Forming conical parts is one of the complex and difficult fields in sheet-metal forming processes. Because of low-contact area of the sheet with punch tip in the initial stages of forming, bursting occurs on the sheet. Moreover, since most of the sheet surface in the area between the punch tip and blank holder is free, wrinkles appear on the wall of the drawing part. Thus, these parts are normally formed in industry by spinning, explosive forming, or multi-stage deep drawing processes. In this paper, forming pure copper and St14 conical?Ccylindrical cups in the hydrodynamic deep drawing process was studied using finite element (FE) simulation and experiment. The effect of pressure path on the occurrence of defects and thickness distribution and drawing ratio of the sheet was studied. It was concluded that at low pressures, bursting occurs on the contact area of sheet with punch tip. At higher pressures, the cup was formed, but the wall thickness distribution depends on the pressure path. It was also illustrated that for the pressure path with a certain maximum amount, the workpiece was formed adequately with minimum sheet thickness reduction. Internal pressures more than this maximum amounts did not affect on the thickness distribution. By applying the desired pressure path, conical?Ccylindrical cups with high deep drawing ratio were achieved.     

Scanning electron microscopy as a tool for authentication of biodiesel synthesis from Linum usitatissimum seed oil

Utilization of renewable and alternative energy feedstocks such as nonedible seeds oil to deal with the increasing energy crises and related ecological concerns have gained the attention of researchers. Biodiesel is an efficient and renewable substitute for diesel engine. This work investigates the potential of inexpensive nonedible seed oil of Linum usitatissimum to synthesize biodiesel using iron sulfate green nanocatalyst through the process of transesterification. Flax seed contains about 37.5% oil content estimated through Soxhlet apparatus. Light microscopy revealed that seed size varies from 3.0 to 6.0 cm in length, 2.0 to 3.3 cm in width, and 0.7 to 1.0 mm in diameter. Color of seed varied from yellow to brown. Characterization of biodiesel is performed through GC–MS and FTIR. Scanning electron microscopy was carried out to study the morphological features of seed coat. Catalyst was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy diffraction X-ray, and X-ray diffraction. The diffraction peaks of Fe₃O₄ green nanoparticles were found to be in 2θ values, 30.24°, 35.62°, 38.26°, 49.56°, 57.12°, and 62.78°. Fuel properties of biodiesel are also determined and compared with ASTM standards. Linum usitatissimum biodiesel has density 0.8722 (15°C kg/L), kinetic viscosity 5.45 (40°C cSt), flash point (90°C), pour point (−13°C), cloud point (−9°C), sulfur (0.0432% wt), and total acid number (0.245 mg KOH/g). It is concluded that L. usitatissimum seed oil is a highly potential source for biodiesel production to cope with the challenge of present energy demand.