Monitoring of specific activities of long-lived radioactive elements along the Mini- Okoro/Oginigba Creek, Port Harcourt

Presence and concentrations of radionuclides could be as a result of natural and human activities. This study examined the associations and differences among soil, sediment and water specific activities of long-lived radioactive element (LLRE). Gamma spectroscopy was used to measure the concentration of the LLRE along the Mini Okoro/Oginigba Creek, Port Harcourt. Specific activities of three selected LLRE were derived. Correlation analysis was carried out to examine associations among the specific activities across different substrates. A strong and a significant negative correlation exists between the specific activities of Water 40K and Soil 232Th (r =-0.721, p<0.05); Water 238U and Soil 238U (r = -0.717, p<0.05) and Water 40K and Sediment 238U (r=-0.69, p<0.05). Comparison using Mann-Whitney U test shows that, soil and sediment are similar in their specific activities with Z values of -0.408, -1.209 and -1.021 (p > 0.05) for 40K, 232Th and 238U respectively. The concentration of solid samples (soil and sediment) is different from the liquid (water) samples. These associations can be attributed to some specific underlying factors. And in other to understand them there is need for more studies.

Downstream emissions of CH4 and CO2 from hydroelectric reservoirs (Tucuruí, Samuel, and Curuá-Una) in the Amazon basin.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) generated in reservoirs are released downstream of dams, and few studies have considered these downstream emissions. Fluxes downstream of 3 Amazon hydroelectric reservoirs (Tucuruí, Samuel, and Curuá-Una) are reported here. Degassing through turbines was calculated as the difference between intake and outflow concentrations. Additional releases along the Tocantins, Jamari, and Curuá rivers were measured at were liberated at the turbine outflow. The total downstream emissions are sufficiently large to require consideration in assessments of greenhouse gas emissions from hydroelectric reservoirs.

Detecção de Salmonella em tomates (Lycopersicon esculentum mill) pelos métodos fda-bam e mini vidas-biomérieux.

Resumo: Diversos surtos de Salmonella ocasionados pelo consumo de tomate contaminados com este micro-organismo têm sido relatados ultimamente, o que torna primordial a investigação sobre a presença desse patógeno nesse alimento. Métodos que permitam a avaliação rápida da presença de Salmonella em alimentos são de suma importância. O objetivo desse estudo foi comparar o método tradicional da Food and Drug Administration - Bacteriologycal Analytical Manual (FDA-BAM) com um método rápido da mini Vitek Immuno Diagnostic System Assay (Mini?Vidas-SLM)-bioMérieux, para detecção de Salmonella Brazil inoculada artificialmente na superfície de tomates. Foram analisadas 215 amostras de tomates inoculadas artificialmente com Salmonella Brazil com níveis de inóculos variando de 0,4 a 940 UFC/tomate. Os resultados obtidos mostraram que os métodos estudados apresentaram uma ótima concordância entre si, para todas as faixas de inóculo analisadas.

Healthcare providers’ knowledge, attitude and behaviour towards breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in Malaysia – a mini systematic review

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in Malaysia. Therefore, it is important for the public to be educated on breast cancer and to know the steps that need to be taken to detect it early. Healthcare providers are in a unique position to provide public health education due to their good knowledge of health issues and their roles in healthcare. A systematic review of studies conducted from 2008 till 2015 was undertaken to analyze the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of Malaysian healthcare providers regarding breast cancer, in an attempt to obtain an overall picture of how wellequipped the healthcare providers are to provide optimal breast cancer education, and to ascertain their perceptions and actual involvement in such education. The systematic review was conducted via a primary search of various databases and journal websites, and a secondary search of references cited in eligible studies. Criteria for eligibility include studies conducted in Malaysia and published from the year 2008 to 2015, and written in English language. A total of fifteen articles were identified and reviewed but only two studies were eligible for this review. The findings suggest that future and current Malaysian healthcare providers have moderate knowledge of breast cancer, showed a positive disposition towards involvement in breast cancer education, but displayed poor involvement.

Transición del mini baloncesto al baloncesto en la selección de la escuela Fiscomisional “Sor Teresa Valsé” en la categoría intermedia comprendida en las edades 12 a 14 años

El presente trabajo se ha concebido bajo un carácter didáctico y con la intención de ser difundido y utilizado, dirigido a estudiantes, profesores y aquellos que sientan deseo de incursionar en este campo interesante. El baloncesto es un deporte practicado en edades tempranas, no está enfocado en la competitividad sino encausado a adquirir fundamentos: técnicos, tácticos, individuales y colectivos con una descripción detallada del proceso de aprendizaje y las destrezas básicas; iniciando de lo sencillo a lo complejo, a la iniciación del juego y sus reglas, acompañados de una disciplina deportiva de colaboración, compañerismo, responsabilidad, cooperación, alimentación, de higiene, de buenos hábitos, alejados del alcohol y las drogas, que afectan al normal desarrollo bio-psico-social-afectivo del individuo. Con la transición del minibaloncesto al baloncesto en la selección de la escuela Fiscomisional Sor Teresa Valsé en la categoría intermedia comprendida en las edades de 12 a 14 años realizado en los meses de agosto 2015 a mayo 2016, se pretendió poner al alcance de las niñas todas las ventajas y valores educativos del baloncesto, de tal manera que no se contraríe su naturaleza, posibilidades, intereses, ni exija esfuerzos incompatibles con la edad de las participantes. En consecuencia la transición del minibaloncesto al baloncesto repercute en forma positiva en el normal desarrollo de las niñas de estas edades, tanto en lo físico, técnico-táctico, psicológico y social, así como también este trabajo refleja el desarrollo y adquisición de habilidades, destrezas y el modelo sobre el cual se implementó cada uno de los mismos para alcanzar los resultados esperados de esta investigación.

Desenvolvimento de embriões ovinos produzidos in vitro com semen fresco e congelado usando o método de seleção espermática mini percoll.

2015

Energy harvesting from hydroelectric systems for remote sensors

Hydroelectric systems are well-known for large scale power generation. However, there are virtually no studies on energy harvesting with these systems to produce tens or hundreds of milliwatts. The goal of this work was to study which design parameters from large-scale systems can be applied to small-scale systems. Two types of hydro turbines were evaluated. The first one was a Pelton turbine which is suitable for high heads and low flow rates. The second one was a propeller turbine used for low heads and high flow rates. Several turbine geometries and nozzle diameters were tested for the Pelton system. For the propeller, a three-bladed turbine was tested for different heads and draft tubes. The mechanical power provided by these turbines was measured to evaluate the range of efficiencies of these systems. A small three-phase generator was developed for coupling with the turbines in order to evaluate the generated electric power. Selected turbines were used to test battery charging with hydroelectric systems and a comparison between several efficiencies of the systems was made. Keywords

Ad majorem dei gloriam- Espace de dieu et domaine des hommes, analyse des missions jesuites du paracuaria (1610 – 1767) a partir de l’archeologie phenomenologique, cas d’étude Nuestra Señora de Loreto (i et ii) et San Ignacio Mini (i et ii)

Méthodologie: Modèle interprétatif de l’archéologie phénoménologique.

An investigation into the utility of the Mini Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) for the early detection of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in people aged 75 and over

Background/Aims: The Mini Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (M-ACE) is the abbreviated version of the widely-used Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-III), a cognitive screening tool that is used internationally in the assessment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. The objectives of this study were to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of the M-ACE with individuals aged 75 and over to distinguish between those who do and do not have a dementia or MCI, and also to establish whether the cut-off scores recommended by Hsieh et al. (2014) [9] in the original validation study for the M-ACE are optimal for this age group. Methods: The M-ACE was administered to 58 participants (24 with a diagnosis of dementia, 17 with a diagnosis of MCI and 17 healthy controls). The extent to which scores distinguished between groups (dementia, MCI or no diagnosis) was explored using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Results: The optimal cut-off for detecting dementia was ≤ 21/30 (score ≤ 21/30 indicating dementia with a sensitivity of 0.95, a specificity of 1 and a positive predictive value of 1) compared to the original higher published cut-off of ≤ 25/30 (sensitivity of 0.95, specificity of 0.70 and a positive predictive value of 0.82 in this sample). Conclusions: The M-ACE has excellent diagnostic accuracy for the detection of dementia in a UK clinical sample. It may be necessary to consider lower cut-offs than those given in the original validation study.

Energy harvesting from hydroelectric systems for remote sensors

Hydroelectric systems are well-known for large scale power generation. However, there are virtually no studies on energy harvesting with these systems to produce tens or hundreds of milliwatts. The goal of this work was to study which design parameters from large-scale systems can be applied to small-scale systems. Two types of hydro turbines were evaluated. The first one was a Pelton turbine which is suitable for high heads and low flow rates. The second one was a propeller turbine used for low heads and high flow rates. Several turbine geometries and nozzle diameters were tested for the Pelton system. For the propeller, a three-bladed turbine was tested for different heads and draft tubes. The mechanical power provided by these turbines was measured to evaluate the range of efficiencies of these systems. A small three-phase generator was developed for coupling with the turbines in order to evaluate the generated electric power. Selected turbines were used to test battery charging with hydroelectric systems and a comparison between several efficiencies of the systems was made. Keywords

Occurrence and abundance models of threatened plant species: Applications to mitigate the impact of hydroelectric power dams

Species occurrence and abundance models are important tools that can be used in biodiversity conservation, and can be applied to predict or plan actions needed to mitigate the environmental impacts of hydropower dams. In this study our objectives were: (i) to model the occurrence and abundance of threatened plant species, (ii) to verify the relationship between predicted occurrence and true abundance, and (iii) to assess whether models based on abundance are more effective in predicting species occurrence than those based on presence–absence data. Individual representatives of nine species were counted within 388 randomly georeferenced plots (10 m × 50 m) around the Barra Grande hydropower dam reservoir in southern Brazil. We modelled their relationship with 15 environmental variables using both occurrence (Generalised Linear Models) and abundance data (Hurdle and Zero-Inflated models). Overall, occurrence models were more accurate than abundance models. For all species, observed abundance was significantly, although not strongly, correlated with the probability of occurrence. This correlation lost significance when zero-abundance (absence) sites were excluded from analysis, but only when this entailed a substantial drop in sample size. The same occurred when analysing relationships between abundance and probability of occurrence from previously published studies on a range of different species, suggesting that future studies could potentially use probability of occurrence as an approximate indicator of abundance when the latter is not possible to obtain. This possibility might, however, depend on life history traits of the species in question, with some traits favouring a relationship between occurrence and abundance. Reconstructing species abundance patterns from occurrence could be an important tool for conservation planning and the management of threatened species, allowing scientists to indicate the best areas for collection and reintroduction of plant germplasm or choose conservation areas most likely to maintain viable populations.

Problem of Hydroelectric Resources Management: Numerical Approach

In this work we analyze an optimal control problem for a system of two hydroelectric power stations in cascade with reversible turbines. The objective is to optimize the profit of power production while respecting the system’s restrictions. Some of these restrictions translate into state constraints and the cost function is nonconvex. This increases the complexity of the optimal control problem. The problem is solved numerically and two different approaches are adopted. These approaches focus on global optimization techniques (Chen-Burer algorithm) and on a projection estimation refinement method (PERmethod). PERmethod is used as a technique to reduce the dimension of the problem. Results and execution time of the two procedures are compared.

Influence of mini-Percoll techniques in sperm capacitation and plasma membrane integrity of ram frozen-thawed sperm.

2016

Mini tomato cultivars for the Sub-Mid São Francisco Valley, Brazil.

In this context, the objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of mini tomato cultivars of determinate growth habit, in two crop seasons in the conditions of the Sub-Mid São Francisco Valley, Brazil.

Mini exame do estado mental na pessoa idosa

Unidade 4 do curso de especialização Saúde da pessoa idosa. Apresenta como é realizado o mini exame de estado mental.