Epidemiology of end‐stage renal disease and hemodialysis treatment in Serbia at the turn of the millennium

The study presents the epidemiological features of patients treated with renal replacement therapy (RRT) in Serbia from 1997 to 2009 and compares the results of hemodialysis treatment in 1999 and 2009. Epidemiological data were obtained from the National Registry of RRT patients and data on hemodialysis treatment from special surveys conducted in 1999 and 2009. Within the period 1997–2009 the incidence of patients on RRT increased from 108 to 179 per million population (pmp), prevalence rose from 435 to 699 pmp, while mortality rate fell from 20.7% to 16.7%. The frequency of patients with glomerulonephritis decreased, while that of patients with diabetes and hypertensive nephropathy increased. In late 2009 there were 5208 patients receiving RRT in Serbia. Within the examined period new hemodialysis and reverse osmosis equipment were purchased, high‐flux dialyzers with synthetic membranes were increasingly used and the number of patients receiving hemodiafiltration increased to 17.6%. Kt/V greater than 1.2 was recorded in 16% of the patients in 1999 but 52% in 2009. Options for correction of anemia and mineral disorders have also improved. The percentage of patients with HbsAg (13.8% vs. 4.8%) as well as anti‐hepatitis C virus antibodies positive patients (23.2% vs. 12.7%) was significantly lower in 2009 than in 1999. Both the incidence and prevalence of RRT patients in Serbia are rising continuously, while the mortality rate is falling. More favorable conditions for dialysis treatment have brought about significant improvement in the results over the last 10 years.     

The study of chlorination kinetics of copper(I)sulfide by calcium chloride in the presence of oxygen

The article investigates the influence of temperature, time, quantity of calcium chloride, and oxygen flow on the chlorination degree of copper(I)sulfide by calcium chloride in the presence of oxygen. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis were used to determine morphological changes occurring with the change of temperature and time. The law of additive time and the method of stationary point were used to determine kinetic parameters, i.e., rate constant and activation energy.     

An <Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis>∞ modified robust disturbance observer design for mechanical-positioning systems

This article presents a modified robust disturbance observer-RIC for a mechanicalpositioning system. The proposed RIC structure ensures a higher level of stability margin and offers transparent selection of the controller’s structure and feedback dynamic. The modified RIC controller design is divided into two main stages, where the first stage provides a design for the internal robust controller and the second a design for the external performance controller. The controller structure ensures a robust stability and performances property and good capability of low-frequency input and output disturbances suppression. The controller synthesis based on a pole-placement technique using optimization of the robust criteria based on even polynomials, and positive conditions. The solution to the problem is based on a multi-criterion optimization algorithm with a fixed order controller structure.     

Space and time optimal parallel sequence alignments

We present the first space and time optimal parallel algorithm for the pairwise sequence alignment problem, a fundamental problem in computational biology. This problem can be solved sequentially in O(mn) time and O(m+n) space, where m and n are the lengths of the sequences to be aligned. The fastest known parallel space-optimal algorithm for pairwise sequence alignment takes optimal O(m+n/p) space, but suboptimal O((m+n)/sup 2//p) time, where p is the number of processors. On the other hand, the most space economical time-optimal parallel algorithm takes O(mn/p) time, but O(m+n/p) space. We close this gap by presenting an algorithm that achieves both time and space optimality, i.e. requires only O((m+n)/p) space and O(mn/p) time. We also present an experimental evaluation of the proposed algorithm on an IBM xSeries cluster. Although presented in the context of full sequence alignments, our algorithm is applicable to other alignment problems in computational biology including local alignments and syntenic alignments. It is also a useful addition to the range of techniques available for parallel dynamic programming.     

Deoxidation of Weld Metal When Welding with Self-Shielding Cored Wires

With self-shielding cored wires, high-quality and high-productivity welding can be carried out without an external shielding. In this case, porosity of welds is usually prevented by the major weakening of the oxygen activity in the weld metal by means of a strong deoxidation by titanium and aluminum. The weakening of the oxygen activity in the weld metal prevents the generation of carbon monoxide in the weld pool in the course of welding.

Alloying of the weld metal with titanium and aluminum, however, has an unfavorable influence on the quality of welded joints. An increased titanium content, i.e., above 0.3 wt%, produces a primarily martensitic microstructure with a toughness level below 20 J at 20°C. Also, the deoxidation by aluminum provides a little lower toughness at the expense of a less favorable microstructure. Welds with around 0.75% of Al and 0.1% of Ti show a ferritic/pearlitic microstructure with toughness of around 100 J at 20°C.

With some types of cored wires for surfacing, surfacing without an external shielding can produce high-quality surfacing welds. These are cored wires for surfacing of casting metals containing strong deoxidants (Ti, Al, etc.) and also cored wires for surfacing of wear-resistant materials with a high carbon content, i.e., above 2 wt%. The occurrence of porosity in wear-resistant surfacing welds is prevented by a strong deoxidation of the weld metal by carbon and by an increased partial pressure of carbon monoxide generated above the weld pool due to carbon combustion at elevated arc temperatures.     

Effect of intermittent compression of upper arm veins on forearm vessels in patients with end-stage renal disease

Native arteriovenous fistula is the best vascular access for chronic hemodialysis. Primary and long-term success depends, in part, on the state of arteries and veins at the time of the operation. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of intermittent compression of upper arm veins on forearm vessels in patients with terminal renal disease. The study group was composed of 16 chronic hemodialysis patients who performed daily intermittent compression of the upper arm without vascular access by elastic band (Eschmarch). Ten chronic hemodialysis patients were included in the control group, which performed no specific activity. Forearm measurements were obtained at the beginning of the study and 4 and 8 weeks later during the course of intermittent compression of the upper arm veins. The forearm circumference and maximal handgrip strength were measured. The artery measures, including endothelium-dependent vasodilatation and forearm vein variables, were obtained by ultrasonography measurements. The forearm circumference, maximal handgrip strength, and artery variables, including endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, remained unchanged. The basal venous diameters (2.29 +/- 0.19 mm at the beginning, 2.46 +/- 0.19 mm after 4 weeks, and 2.53 +/- 0.18 mm after 8 weeks) were significantly increased in the study group. The distensibility of veins was preserved in the study group. There were no significant changes in the control group. Our study demonstrated that daily intermittent compression of the upper arm veins increases the forearm vein diameter and preserves the distensibility of veins in patients with end-stage renal failure.     

Influence of natural antioxidants on the formation of trans‐fatty‐acid isomers during heat treatment of sunflower oil

The intake of foods containing trans fatty acids (TFAs) can have deleterious effects on human health, mainly on the cardiovascular system. Thus, it is important to consider the processes that form TFAs in foods, and the alternatives to minimise their formation. The influence of two added natural antioxidants on TFA formation during heat treatment (120 h at 180°C) of sunflower vegetable oil were examined: rosemary extract (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) (1 g per kg oil) and lutein (0.1 g per kg oil). Changes in FA composition were determined using Ag‐ion SPE and gas–liquid chromatography, with total polar compounds determined using dielectric constant measurements and the index of atherogenicity was calculated. Total TFAs with ≥1 trans double bond increased from 0.91 to 1.71% in control samples; this increase was significantly less with both rosemary extract (1.55%) and lutein (1.43%) additions. Among the individual TFAs, significant increases were seen for C18:1,t‐9, C18:2,t‐9,t‐12 and C18:2,c‐9,t‐12/9‐t,12‐c. Polar compounds also increased, with the highest concentrations in control samples, and significantly less with both rosemary extract and lutein additions. According to results of our study, we can summarize that addition of lutein have greater effect on reduction of TFA formation than rosemary extract. Practical applications: Antioxidants, particularly from plants, are widely used in the food industry. They can provide benefits in food preparation, including improving colour, odour and stability, acting as acid regulators and natural preservatives. They have also become accepted by customers and consumers, and so indirectly they have had effects on consumer perception. Addition of natural antioxidants such as rosemary extract is usually limited by the sensory characteristics of the food, with one study showing that addition of rosemary extract at 1–3 g per kg vegetable oil is recommended. The effects of antioxidants on the formation of TFAs in vegetable oils has not been well studied in the literature. Among the already known benefits, the use of such antioxidants as functional ingredients in lipid technologies might reduce the formation of TFAs during thermal treatment.     

Optimization of underground mine development system using fuzzy shortest path length algorithm

Graphic mine design elements denote physical entities such as shafts, declines, and drives. Ore deposits are often composed of independent orebodies that must be interconnected into one integrated system. In this paper, we examine a case where access points to orebodies lie in the Euclidean plane. The key question is how to interconnect these points at minimal cost. This design problem is modeled as a network and the solution technique is outlined. We supposed that the locations of access points had been previously determined. To define the ore reserves in each orebody, we used linguistic variables and their transformation to fuzzy triangular numbers. At first, we used Kruskal’s algorithm to identify the minimum spanning tree. After that, by inserting Steiner points we defined a Steiner minimal tree as the global minimum. In a network created in such a way, it is necessary to locate a point called the major mass concentration point to which excavated ore will be delivered; from there, the excavated ore will be hauled or hoisted to a surface breakout point via an optimal development system. In this paper, we use the fuzzy shortest path length procedure to select an optimal development system.