Semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) from human and bovine cerebrovascular tissues: biochemical and immunohistological characterization

Girls actively training in sport (n=23) and girls not active in sport (n=26) were compared in terms of ages at peak height velocity (PHV) and menarche, the interval between ages at PHV and menarche, and ages at attaining stages of pubic hair and breast and the estimated duration of the stages. Subjects were longitudinally followed from about 11-18 years of age. Stature and weight were measured and stages of pubic hair and breast development were rated at approximately quarterly intervals between the initial observation and 14 years of age, at semiannual intervals until 16 years, and at irregular intervals subsequently. Age at menarche was obtained prospectively. The active girls trained 12 hours per week in rowing, track and swimming for an average of 3.9+/-1.2 years during puberty and the growth spurt. Longitudinal stature records for individual girls were fitted with kernel regression to estimate age at PHV (years). The interval between age at PHV and age at menarche was calculated. Ages at appearance of pubic hair and breast stages 3, 4 and 5 were calculated by back-interpolation, while intervals between stages 3 and 4 were calculated after log 10 transformation. Peak height velocity and menarche occur, on average, slightly later in girls active in sport, but the differences are not significant. The interval between PHV and menarche, PHV (cm/year), ages at attaining pubic hair and breast stages 3, 4 and 5, and estimated intervals between adjacent stages also do not significantly differ between girls actively training in sport and those not active in sport. Thus, regular training in sport during puberty and the adolescent spurt does not apparently influence the timing and progression of somatic and sexual maturation in girls.     

Expert system for problem solving in distance university education: The successful case of the subject “operations management”

Acquiring the skills needed to solve certain types of problems is one of the main challenges of distance university education, demanding extra motivation from students to tackle it. New technology should be one of our great allies in addressing these problems. This article proposes an expert system with a web‐based problem‐solving simulator for a multidevice environment in order to allow students to access an unlimited number of problems with their corresponding solutions, immediately, anytime and anywhere. The types of problems that can be used are those based on quantitative methods with a fixed methodology to be followed. A successful case study was carried out for the subject Operations Management at the Distance University of Madrid (UDIMA), with three different problem simulators having been developed. The results were very satisfactory compared with previous academic years in terms of motivation. A decrease in students that did not sit the final examination was observed, as was an increase in the number of visits to the Moodle classroom. Students also responded positively in their assessments of the initiative.     

A method for outlier detection based on cluster analysis and visual expert criteria

Outlier detection is an important problem occurring in a wide range of areas. Outliers are the outcome of fraudulent behaviour, mechanical faults, human error, or simply natural deviations. Many data mining applications perform outlier detection, often as a preliminary step in order to filter out outliers and build more representative models. In this paper, we propose an outlier detection method based on a clustering process. The aim behind the proposal outlined in this paper is to overcome the specificity of many existing outlier detection techniques that fail to take into account the inherent dispersion of domain objects. The outlier detection method is based on four criteria designed to represent how human beings (experts in each domain) visually identify outliers within a set of objects after analysing the clusters. This has an advantage over other clustering-based outlier detection techniques that are founded on a purely numerical analysis of clusters. Our proposal has been evaluated, with satisfactory results, on data (particularly time series) from two different domains: stabilometry, a branch of medicine studying balance-related functions in human beings and electroencephalography (EEG), a neurological exploration used to diagnose nervous system disorders. To validate the proposed method, we studied method outlier detection and efficiency in terms of runtime. The results of regression analyses confirm that our proposal is useful for detecting outlier data in different domains, with a false positive rate of less than 2% and a reliability greater than 99%.     

Highly thermally conductive hexagonal boron nitride/alumina composite made from commercial hexagonal boron nitride

Hexagonal BN is an unusual material in that it is both highly thermally conductive as well as an electrical insulator. Additionally, hBN is also thermally stable in air. This unusual combination of properties makes hBN of significant interest for thermal management. Unfortunately, hBN is not easily consolidated into substrates without the addition of second phases which generally result in poorer thermal performance. This research investigates the potential to utilize this material to dissipate heat from high‐voltage, high‐power electrical devices. Specifically, a process to coat individual platelets of commercial hexagonal BN powder with a layer of amorphous aluminum oxide was developed. The coated hexagonal BN was then hot‐pressed to form a highly thermally conductive substrate. The process to coat hexagonal BN platelets with aluminum oxide was accomplished by mixing hexagonal BN with AlCl₃ containing some water, then evaporation of excess AlCl₃ to form a Al, Cl, and O layer on hexagonal BN. This product was then heated in air to convert the surface layer into aluminum oxide. Following hot pressing to 1950°C and 10 ksi, the consolidated composite has through‐plane and in‐plane thermal conductivity of 14 and 157 W·(m·K)^?1, respectively, at room temperature.     

Standsicherheitsuntersuchung für ein räumliches Böschungssystem – Berechnung mit einem zusammengesetzten dreidimensionalen Bruchmechanismus und Modellversuch im Gelände – Teil 3: Modellversuch und Schlußfolgerungen

Stability analysis for a three‐dimensional slope system – calculation with a composed rigid body failure mechanism and model test in an open site. Part 3: Model test. In Part 1 and 2 of this paper a movable three‐dimensional composed rigid body failure mechanism for the graben‐like rupture of a high three‐dimensional slope system in open‐cast lignite mines during working in small windows is developed. For various geometrical proportions the safety factor is calculated. In the Part 3, a model test is described performed in an open site in the scale 1:50 to verify the assumed kinematics of failure. The slope bodies were formed from a medium sand, the deep sliding clay layer from a highly plastic clay prepared with a high water content. The movements were measured by means of photogrammetry of the surface and by embedded columns of coloured sand. The failure took place approximately under the predicted width of the window. The slip surfaces which had to be expected in case of the corresponding plane strain situation developed as thin plane shear bands in the predicted position and inclination. However, the slip surfaces assumed and predicted additionally because of the three‐dimensionality in the calculation were observed as not sharply bounded spatial shear zones. The rigid body motions were superimposed by continuous strain fields. The average directions of the displacements corresponded to the assumed failure mechanism. At the end the conclusions of the complete investigation are presented.     

Standsicherheitsuntersuchung für ein räumliches Böschungssystem – Berechnung mit einem zusammengesetzten dreidimensionalen Bruchmechanismus und Modellversuch im Gelände – Teil 2: Durchführung der Berechnung und Ergebnisse

Stability analysis for a three‐dimensional slope system – calculation with a composed rigid body failure mechanism and model test in an open site. Part2: Execution of the calculation and results. To determine the safety factor against a three‐dimensional graben rupture on a high rim slope of an open‐cast lignite mine a three‐dimensional composed rigid body failure mechanism is outlined and calculated. The basic relations and equations are presented in part 1 of this paper. In the part 2 the execution of calculation, the optimization of the failure mechanism and typical results are described.     

Lipid oxidation inhibitory effects and phenolic composition of aqueous extracts from medicinal plants of colombian amazonia

Diverse plants of ethnobotanic interest in Amazonia are commonly used in traditional medicine. We determined the antioxidant potential against lipid peroxidation, the antimicrobial activity, and the polyphenol composition of several Amazonian plants (Brownea rosademonte, Piper glandulosissimum, Piper krukoffii, Piper putumayoense, Solanum grandiflorum, and Vismia baccifera). Extracts from the plant leaf, bark, and stem were prepared as aqueous infusions, as used in folk medicine, and added to rat liver microsomes exposed to iron. The polyphenolic composition was detected by reverse-phase HPLC coupled to diode-array detector and MS/MS analysis. The antimicrobial activity was tested by the spot-on-a-lawn method against several indicator microorganisms. All the extracts inhibited lipid oxidation, except the P. glandulosissimum stem. The plant extracts exhibiting high antioxidant potential (V. baccifera and B. rosademonte) contained high levels of flavanols (particularly, catechin and epicatechin). By contrast, S. grandiflorum leaf, which exhibited very low antioxidant activity, was rich in hydroxycinnamic acids. None of the extracts showed antimicrobial activity. This study demonstrates for the first time the presence of bioactive polyphenolic compounds in several Amazonian plants, and highlights the importance of flavanols as major phenolic contributors to antioxidant activity.     

Prediction of Permanent Deformations in Pavements Using a High-Cycle Accumulation Model

The present paper discusses the application of a high-cycle accumulation (HCA) model originally developed for sand for the prediction of permanent deformations in an unbound granular material (UGM) used for base and subbase layers in pavements. Cyclic triaxial tests on precompacted samples of an UGM have been performed in order to validate and calibrate the model. The stress amplitude, the initial density, and the average stress were varied. The test results are compared to those of air-pluviated samples of sand (subgrade material). Some significant differences in the behavior of both materials under cyclic loading are outlined. It is demonstrated that the functions describing the intensity of accumulation can be maintained for an UGM with different material constants, but that the flow rule must be generalized in order to describe the anisotropy. Recalculations of the laboratory tests show a good prediction of the modified HCA model.     

Some contributions to mechanical behaviors of lacustrine deposit in Bogota,Colombia

This paper presents the mechanical behaviors of the lacustrine deposit,a representative soil in Bogota,Colombia.Initially,the physical characterization of the deposit is performed via laboratory tests(grain size distribution,scanning electron microscopy,Atterberg limits and water content).This characterization intends to explain the special characteristics of the mechanical behaviors of this soil.Then,various triaxial tests are carried out with controlled loading path,strain rate change,relaxation,extensile stress,and cyclic loading.The test results reveal the shape of the yield curve for Bogota soil(in a natural state),and also show that an increasing effect of the strain rate depends on the liquid limit.This effect is also preserved with extensile stresses(which are poorly studied in soil mechanics).Finally,other effects,such as the loss of structure in the reconstituted samples and the effect of shear modulus at low strains,are studied for Bogota soil.