Efficiency and feasibility of product disassembly: A case-based study

The productivity associated with commonly available disassembly methods today seldomly makes disassembly the preferred end-of-life solution for massive take back product streams. Systematic reuse of parts or components, or recycling of pure material fractions are often not achievable in an economically sustainable way. In this paper a case-based review of current disassembly practices is used to analyse the factors influencing disassembly feasibility. Data mining techniques were used to identify major factors influencing the profitability of disassembly operations. Case characteristics such as involvement of the product manufacturer in the end-of-life treatment and continuous ownership are some of the important dimensions. Economic models demonstrate that the efficiency of disassembly operations should be increased an order of magnitude to assure the competitiveness of ecologically preferred, disassembly oriented end-of-life scenarios for large waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) streams. Technological means available to increase the productivity of the disassembly operations are summarized. Automated disassembly techniques can contribute to the robustness of the process, but do not allow to overcome the efficiency gap if not combined with appropriate product design measures. Innovative, reversible joints, collectively activated by external trigger signals, form a promising approach to low cost, mass disassembly in this context. A short overview of the state-of-the-art in the development of such self-disassembling joints is included. (c) 2008 CIRP.

A hybrid case adaptation approach for case-based reasoning

Case-Based Reasoning is a methodology for problem solving based on past experiences. This methodology tries to solve a new problem by retrieving and adapting previously known solutions of similar problems. However, retrieved solutions, in general, require adaptations in order to be applied to new contexts. One of the major challenges in Case-Based Reasoning is the development of an efficient methodology for case adaptation. The most widely used form of adaptation employs hand coded adaptation rules, which demands a significant knowledge acquisition and engineering effort. An alternative to overcome the difficulties associated with the acquisition of knowledge for case adaptation has been the use of hybrid approaches and automatic learning algorithms for the acquisition of the knowledge used for the adaptation. We investigate the use of hybrid approaches for case adaptation employing Machine Learning algorithms. The approaches investigated how to automatically learn adaptation knowledge from a case base and apply it to adapt retrieved solutions. In order to verify the potential of the proposed approaches, they are experimentally compared with individual Machine Learning techniques. The results obtained indicate the potential of these approaches as an efficient approach for acquiring case adaptation knowledge. They show that the combination of Instance-Based Learning and Inductive Learning paradigms and the use of a data set of adaptation patterns yield adaptations of the retrieved solutions with high predictive accuracy.

Endoscopic treatment of Zenker`s diyerticulum by harmonic scalpel

Background: Zenker`s diverticulum (ZD) is a rare condition with a reported prevalence of 0.01% to 0.11% in the general population. Endoscopic treatment consists of the division of the septum between the diverticulum and the esophagus, within which the cricopharyngeal muscle is contained. Diathermic monopolar current, argon plasma coagulation, and laser have been used to incise the muscular septum with satisfactory results. The main limitation of endoscopic treatment is the occurrence of complications. Perforation and hemorrhage are reported in as many as 23% and 10% of patients, respectively. Objective: The aim of this study was to use the technique of endoscopic diverticulotomy by using a harmonic scalpel in patients with ZD and to demonstrate the feasibility of using flexible and rigid devices in ZD treatment. Design: Case series study. Standard protocol was used for patient management, endoscopic procedure, and data collection. Setting: Single endoscopist demonstrating preliminary results. Patients: Five patients (4 men; median standard deviation [SD] age 69.6 +/- 9.06 years, range 59-83 years) with ZD were treated with this technique. All patients reported dysphagia and halitosis. The diagnosis was based on clinical, endoscopic, and radiographic findings. Interventions: All patients received general anesthesia and were placed in the left lateral position. A standard videogastroscope (9.8 mm) and a stiff guidewire were used to insert and achieve an adequate exposure of the ZD septum. The septum was divided using a harmonic scalpel under thin endoscope (5.2 mm) visualization through a soft diverticuloscope. Main Outcome Measurement: Feasibility of an endoscopic technique by using rigid and flexible devices to treat ZD. Results: Four patients (80%) were successfully treated in 1 session. The median SD size of the diverticulum was 3.6 +/- 0.89 cm (range 3-5 cm). Median SD procedure time was 17.33 +/- 2.33 minutes (range 15-20 minutes) in 6 procedures. No hemorrhage or perforation occurred. One patient (20%) required a second session to complete dissection of the ZD septum. All patients demonstrated improvement of dysphagia score after treatment. Limitations: Small case series design. Conclusions: Endoscopic treatment of ZD by harmonic scalpel through a soft diverticuloscope was feasible and effective in this small case series. Larger studies are warranted to further evaluate this technique.

Surgical management of glomus jugulare tumors: a proposal for approach selection based on tumor relationships with the facial nerve Clinical article

Object. The goal of this paper is to analyze the extension and relationships of glomus jugulare tumor with the temporal bone and the results of its surgical treatment aiming at preservation of the facial nerve. Based on the tumor extension and its relationships with the facial nerve, new criteria to be used in the selection of different surgical approaches are proposed. Methods. Between December 1997 and December 2007, 34 patients (22 female and 12 male) with glomus jugulare tumors were treated. Their mean age was 48 years. The mean follow-up was 52.5 months. Clinical findings included hearing loss in 88%, swallowing disturbance in 50%, and facial nerve palsy in 41%. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a mass in the jugular foramen in all cases, a mass in the middle ear in 97%, a cervical mass in 85%, and an intradural mass in 41%. The tumor was supplied by the external carotid artery in all cases, the internal carotid artery in 44%, and the vertebral artery in 32%. Preoperative embolization was performed in 15 cases. The approach was tailored to each patient, and 4 types of approaches were designed. The infralabyrinthine retrofacial approach (Type A) was used in 32.5%; infralabyrinthine pre- and retrofacial approach without occlusion of the external acoustic meatus (Type B) in 20.5%; infralabyrinthine pre- and retrofacial approach with occlusion of the external acoustic meatus (Type C) in 41 W. and the infralabyrinthine approach with transposition of the facial nerve and removal of the middle ear structures (Type D) in 6% of the patients. Results. Radical removal was achieved in 91% of the cases and partial removal in 9%. Among 20 patients without preoperative facial nerve dysfunction, the nerve was kept in anatomical position in 19 (95%), and facial nerve function was normal during the immediate postoperative period in 17 (85%). Six patients (17.6%) had a new lower cranial nerve deficit, but recovery of swallowing function was adequate in all cases. Voice disturbance remained in all 6 cases. Cerebrospinal fluid leakage occurred in 6 patients (17.6%), with no need for reoperation in any of them. One patient died in the postoperative period due to pulmonary complications. The global recovery, based on the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS), was 100% in 15% of the patients, 90% in 45%, 80% in 33%, and 70% in 6%. Conclusions. Radical removal of glomus jugulare tumor can be achieved without anterior transposition of the facial nerve. The extension of dissection, however, should be tailored to each case based on tumor blood supply, preoperative symptoms, and tumor extension. The operative field provided by the retrofacial infralabyrinthine approach, or the pre- and retrofacial approaches. with or without Closure of the external acoustic meatus, allows a wide exposure of the jugular foramen area. Global functional recovery based on the KPS is acceptable in 94% of the patients. (DOI: 10.3171/2008.10.JNS08612)

Synthesis, electrochemical studies and anticancer activity of ferrocenyl oxindoles

A series of (E) and (Z)-ferrocenyl oxindoles were prepared by coupling substituted oxindoles to ferrocenylcarboxyaldehyde in the presence of morpholine as a catalyst. The redox behavior of these isomers was determined by cyclic voltammetry. The effects of the oxindole derivatives on the migration of human breast cancer cells were evaluated using the wound-healing assay and the Boyden chamber cell-migration assay. The most potent Z isomers 11b (IC(50) = 0.89 mu M), 12b (IC(50) = 0.49 mu M) and 17b (IC(50) = 0.64 mu M) could represent attractive new lead compounds for further development for cancer therapy.

Promoting health in families of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

This paper presents a study of families of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus, emphasizing the identification of social supports and networks to strengthen interventions aimed at health promotion. The approach selected was a qualitative research, using a case study design. Four families of children with diabetes type 1 were studied, totalling seven participants. Data were collected between April and June 2007, through in-depth interviews and the construction of a genogram and an ecomap. The results presented the families` characterization and testimonies grouped in the following categories: social support, social networks and family roles. To promote care in practice, there is a need to identify the characteristics of each family and resources available that provide better living conditions. We concluded that identifying supports and social networks allows for more personalized care delivery to each family with a view to health promotion.

EFFECTS OF DECOMPRESSION TIME AFTER SPINAL CORD INJURY ON NEUROLOGIC RECOVERY IN WISTAR RATS

Objective Traumatic spinal Cord injuries are common in patients with high energy trauma and have significant morbidity and mortality rates as well as high psychological and social costs causing a major impact on public health To date the treatment of such lesions remains controversial with various studies in the literature comparing the results of non surgical treatment with immediate early or late surgical decompression The objective of the present study is to compare the results of immediate and early (within 1 hour) spinal Cord decompression Methods In the belief that the surgical treatment obtains the best result this experimental study has a case control design with histopathological and functional analysis of the results of surgical treatment of 25 Wistar mice submitted to posterior laminectomy immediately or after one hour of spinal Cord compression Results in terms of functional and neurological deficit the responses were better in the mice treated with immediate surgical decompression than in those treated one hour after the lesion (p=0 036) Conclusion The earlier the decompression of spinal Cord injuries is performed the better the end results in terms of the function and presence of neurological deficit

Family environment patterns in families with bipolar children

Background: We studied the characteristics of family functioning in bipolar children and healthy comparison children. We hypothesized that the family environment of bipolar children would show greater levels of dysfunction as measured by the Family Environment Scale (FES). Methods: We compared the family functioning of 36 families that included a child with DSM-IV bipolar disorder versus 29 comparison families that included only healthy children. All subjects and their parents were assessed with the K-SADS-PL interview. The parents completed the FES to assess their current family functioning. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare the family environment of families with and without offspring with bipolar disorder. Results: Parents of bipolar children reported lower levels of family cohesion (p<0.001), expressiveness (p=0.005), active-recreational orientation (p<0.001), intellectual-cultural orientation (p=0.04) and higher levels of conflict (p<0.001) compared to parents with no bipolar children. Secondary analyses within the bipolar group revealed lower levels of organization (p=0.03 1) and cohesion (p=0.014) in families where a parent had a history of mood disorders compared to families where parents had no history of mood disorders. Length of illness in the affected child was inversely associated with family cohesion (r=-0.47, p=0.004). Limitations: Due to the case-control design of the study, we cannot comment on the development of these family problems or attribute their cause specifically to child bipolar disorder. Conclusion: Families with bipolar children show dysfunctional patterns related to interpersonal interactions and personal growth. A distressed family environment should be addressed when treating children with bipolar disorder. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Classical and hologram QSAR studies on a series of inhibitors of trypanosomatid Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase

Leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis are major causes of morbidity and mortality in both tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The current available drugs are limited, ineffective, and require long treatment regimens. Due to the high dependence of trypanosomatids on glycolysis as a source of energy, some glycolytic enzymes have been identified as attractive targets for drug design. In the present work, classical Two-Dimensional Quantitative Structure -Activity Relationships (2D QSAR) and Hologram QSAR (HQSAR) studies were performed on a series of adenosine derivatives as inhibitors of Leishmania mexicana Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (LmGAPDH). Significant correlation coefficients (classical QSAR, r(2)=0.83 and q(2) =0.81; HQSAR, r(2)=0.91 and q(2) =0.86) were obtained for the 56 training set compounds, indicating the potential of the models for untested compounds. The models were then externally validated using a test set of 14 structurally related compounds and the predicted values were in good agreement with the experimental results (classical QSAR, r(pred)(2) = 0.94; HQSAR, r(pred)(2) = 0.92).

Structural basis for selective inhibition of trypanosomatid glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase: Molecular docking and 3D QSAR studies

The glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde-3 -phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) is as an attractive target for the development of novel antitrypanosomatid agents. In the present work, comparative molecular field analysis and comparative molecular similarity index analysis were conducted on a large series of selective inhibitors of trypanosomatid GAPDH. Four statistically significant models were obtained (r(2) > 0.90 and q(2) > 0.70), indicating their predictive ability for untested compounds. The models were then used to predict the potency of an external test set, and the predicted values were in good agreement with the experimental results. Molecular modeling studies provided further insight into the structural basis for selective inhibition of trypanosomatid GAPDH.

Structural basis for selective inhibition of purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Schistosoma mansoni: Kinetic and structural studies

Selectivity plays a crucial role in the design of enzyme inhibitors as novel antiparasitic agents, particularly in cases where the target enzyme is also present in the human host. Purine nucleoside phosphorylase from Schistosoma mansoni (SmPNP) is an attractive target for the discovery of potential antischistosomal agents. In the present work, kinetic studies were carried out in order to determine the inhibitory potency, mode of action and enzyme selectivity of a series of inhibitors of SmPNP. In addition, crystallographic studies provided important structural insights for rational inhibitor design, revealing consistent structural differences in the binding mode of the inhibitors in the active sites of the SmPNP and human PNP (HsPNP) structures. The molecular information gathered in this work should be useful for future medicinal chemistry efforts in the design of new inhibitors of SmPNP having increased affinity and selectivity. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pitfalls of artificial grouping and stratification of scientific journals based on their Impact Factor: a case study in Brazilian Zoology

The present contribution explores the impact of the QUALIS metric system for academic evaluation implemented by CAPES (Coordination for the Development of Personnel in Higher Education) upon Brazilian Zoological research. The QUALIS system is based on the grouping and ranking of scientific journals according to their Impact Factor (IF). We examined two main points implied by this system, namely: 1) its reliability as a guideline for authors; 2) if Zoology possesses the same publication profile as Botany and Oceanography, three fields of knowledge grouped by CAPES under the subarea "BOZ" for purposes of evaluation. Additionally, we tested CAPES' recent suggestion that the area of Ecology would represent a fourth field of research compatible with the former three. Our results indicate that this system of classification is inappropriate as a guideline for publication improvement, with approximately one third of the journals changing their strata between years. We also demonstrate that the citation profile of Zoology is distinct from those of Botany and Oceanography. Finally, we show that Ecology shows an IF that is significantly different from those of Botany, Oceanography, and Zoology, and that grouping these fields together would be particularly detrimental to Zoology. We conclude that the use of only one parameter of analysis for the stratification of journals, i.e., the Impact Factor calculated for a comparatively small number of journals, fails to evaluate with accuracy the pattern of publication present in Zoology, Botany, and Oceanography. While such simplified procedure might appeals to our sense of objectivity, it dismisses any real attempt to evaluate with clarity the merit embedded in at least three very distinct aspects of scientific practice, namely: productivity, quality, and specificity.

Design methodology for multi-pumped discrete Raman amplifiers: case-study employing photonic crystal fibers

This paper proposes a new design methodology for discrete multi-pumped Raman amplifier. In a multi-objective optimization scenario, in a first step the whole solution-space is inspected by a CW analytical formulation. Then, the most promising solutions are fully investigated by a rigorous numerical treatment and the Raman amplification performance is thus determined by the combination of analytical and numerical approaches. As an application of our methodology we designed an photonic crystal fiber Raman amplifier configuration which provides low ripple, high gain, clear eye opening and a low power penalty. The amplifier configuration also enables to fully compensate the dispersion introduced by a 70-km singlemode fiber in a 10 Gbit/s system. We have successfully obtained a configuration with 8.5 dB average gain over the C-band and 0.71 dB ripple with almost zero eye-penalty using only two pump lasers with relatively low pump power. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Incidence and risk factors of aplastic anemia in Latin American countries: the LATIN case-control study

Background Associations between aplastic anemia and numerous drugs, pesticides and chemicals have been reported. However, at least 50% of the etiology of aplastic anemia remains unexplained. Design and Methods This was a case-control, multicenter, multinational study, designed to identify risk factors for agranulocytosis and aplastic anemia. The cases were patients with diagnosis of aplastic anemia confirmed through biopsy or bone marrow aspiration, selected through an active search of clinical laboratories, hematology clinics and medical records. The controls did not have either aplastic anemia or chronic diseases. A total of 224 patients with aplastic anemia were included in the study, each case was paired with four controls, according to sex, age group, and hospital where the case was first seen. Information was collected on demographic data, medical history, laboratory tests, medications, and other potential risk factors prior to diagnosis. Results The incidence of aplastic anemia was 1.6 cases per million per year. Higher rates of benzene exposure (>= 30 exposures per year) were associated with a greater risk of aplastic anemia (odds ratio, OR: 4.2; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.82-9.82). Individuals exposed to chloramphenicol in the previous year had an adjusted OR for aplastic anemia of 8.7 (CI: 0.87-87.93) and those exposed to azithromycin had an adjusted OR of 11.02 (CI 1.14-108.02). Conclusions The incidence of aplastic anemia in Latin America countries is low. Although the research study centers had a high coverage of health services, the underreporting of cases of aplastic anemia in selected regions can be discussed. Frequent exposure to benzene-based products increases the risk for aplastic anemia. Few associations with specific drugs were found, and it is likely that some of these were due to chance alone.

Design of 1D and 2D molecule-based magnets with the ligand 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-phenylenebis(oxamato)

Three new bimetallic oxamato-based magnets with the proligand 4,5-dimethyl-1,2-phenylenebis-(oxamato) (dmopba) were synthesized using water or dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) as solvents. Single crystal X-ray diffraction provided structures for two of them: [MnCu(dmopba)(H(2)O)(3)]n center dot 4nH(2)O (1) and [MnCu(dmopba)(DMSO)(3)](n center dot)nDMSO (2). The crystalline structures for both 1 and 2 consist of linearly ordered oxamato-bridged Mn(II)Cu(II) bimetallic chains. The magnetic characterization revealed a typical behaviour of ferrimagnetic chains for 1 and 2. Least-squares fits of the experimental magnetic data performed in the 300-20 K temperature range led to J(MnCu) = -27.9 cm(-1), g(Cu) = 2.09 and g(Mn) = 1.98 for 1 and J(MnCu) = -30.5 cm(-1), g(Cu) = 2.09 and g(Mn) = 2.02 for 2 (H = -J(MnCu)Sigma S(Mn, i)(S(Cu, i) + S(Cu, i-1))). The two-dimensional ferrimagnetic system [Me(4)N](2n){Co(2)[Cu(dmopba)](3)}center dot 4nDMSO center dot nH(2)O (3) was prepared by reaction of Co(II) ions and an excess of [Cu(dmopba)](2-) in DMSO. The study of the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility as well as the temperature and field dependences of the magnetization revealed a cluster glass-like behaviour for 3.