Study of salinity gradients in the Persian Gulf and an experimental model for electric energy extraction from them using nano-membranes

Salinity gradient power (SGP) is the energy that can be obtained from the mixing entropy of two solutions with a different salt concentration. River estuary, as a place for mixing salt water and fresh water, has a huge potential of this renewable energy. In this study, this potential in the estuaries of rivers leading to the Persian Gulf and the factors affecting it are analysis and assessment. Since most of the full water rivers are in the Asia, this continent with the potential power of 338GW is a second major source of energy from the salinity gradient power in the world (Wetsus institute, 2009). Persian Gulf, with the proper salinity gradient in its river estuaries, has Particular importance for extraction of this energy. Considering the total river flow into the Persian Gulf, which is approximately equal to 3486 m3/s, the amount of theoretical extractable power from salinity gradient in this region is 5.2GW. Iran, with its numerous rivers along the coast of the Persian Gulf, has a great share of this energy source. For example, with study calculations done on data from three hydrometery stations located on the Arvand River, Khorramshahr Station with releasing 1.91M/ energy which is obtained by combining 1.26m3 river water with 0.74 m3 sea water, is devoted to itself extracting the maximum amount of extractable energy. Considering the average of annual discharge of Arvand River in Khorramshahr hydrometery station, the amount of theoretical extractable power is 955 MW. Another part of parameters that are studied in this research, are the intrusion length of salt water and its flushing time in the estuary that have a significant influence on the salinity gradient power. According to the calculation done in conditions HWS and the average discharge of rivers, the maximum of salinity intrusion length in to the estuary of the river by 41km is related to Arvand River and the lowest with 8km is for Helle River. Also the highest rate of salt water flushing time in the estuary with 9.8 days is related to the Arvand River and the lowest with 3.3 days is for Helle River. Influence of these two parameters on reduces the amount of extractable energy from salinity gradient power as well as can be seen in the estuaries of the rivers studied. For example, at the estuary of the Arvand River in the interval 8.9 days, salinity gradient power decreases 9.2%. But another part of this research focuses on the design of a suitable system for extracting electrical energy from the salinity gradient. So far, five methods have been proposed to convert this energy to electricity that among them, reverse electro-dialysis (RED) method and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) method have special importance in practical terms. In theory both techniques generate the same amount of energy from given volumes of sea and river water with specified salinity; in practice the RED technique seems to be more attractive for power generation using sea water and river water. Because it is less necessity of salinity gradient to PRO method. In addition to this, in RED method, it does not need to use turbine to change energy and the electricity generation is started when two solutions are mixed. In this research, the power density and the efficiency of generated energy was assessment by designing a physical method. The physical designed model is an unicellular reverse electro-dialysis battery with nano heterogenic membrane has 20cmx20cm dimension, which produced power density 0.58 W/m2 by using river water (1 g NaCl/lit) and sea water (30 g NaCl/lit) in laboratorial condition. This value was obtained because of nano method used on the membrane of this system and suitable design of the cell which led to increase the yield of the system efficiency 11% more than non nano ones.

In vitro technique for selecting onion FOR white rot disease- resistance

In vitro selection is one of the most effective and efficient techniques for plant improvement. This is due to its ability to isolate plants with the desired character(s), either by applying a selection agent on the culture media to drive the selection of somaclones with the required character(s), or by establishing particular conditions that change in the genomes of somaclones toward the required character. The objective of this study was to identify a suitable protocol for in vitro selection of Allium white rot disease ( Sclerotium cepivorum ) tolerance in commercial Egyptian onion varieties, namely Giza 20, Giza 6 and Beheri Red. Oxalic acid (OA), the phytotoxin produced by Sclerotium cepivorum, was used as the selective agent. Seeds of the three Egyptian varieties were germinated on four concentrations (0.0, 0.02, 0.2, 2 and 20 mM) of Oxalic acid. Among the tested cultivars, Beheri Red had the highest germination frequency (52%) at all concentrations tested, followed by Giza 20 (42.6%), and Giza 6 at (32%). Cotyledon explants from the varieties were cultured on toxic MSBDK medium, supplemented with 0, 3, 6 and 12 mM OA. The survival of calli on MSBDK free toxic medium was 70.7% for all tested cultivars; however, MSBDK-stressed medium, with 3 mM OA reduced the viable calli to 42.1%. The highest OA concentration (12 mM) completely inhibited calli induction from cotyledons explants. A medium supplement with 3 mM OA retarded 80% of calli growth. Among 156 tested calli of Beheri Red, only 23 calli (14.7%) survived on toxic medium for 45 days. Similarly, there was 15.6% survival for Giza 20 calli, while 40.1% of the Giza 6 calli survived. Plantlets were regenerated from surviving calli and transplanted onto ex vitro, and formed bulb after acclimatisation.

People with psychiatric disabilities, employment, and the Americans with Disabilities Act : turning policy into practice : report from the Center for Mental Health Services ADA Roundtable, January 25-26, 1995 /

"The report ... summarizes the major points of discussion at the meeting as well as integrating other pertinent information"--P. iii.

Avaliação da ação bioinseticida de SBTI e vicilina de Erythrina velutina em enzimas digestivas e membrana peritrófica de larvas de Plodia interpunctella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Plodia interpunctella (Indian meal moth) is a cosmopolitan pest that attacks not only a wide range of stored grain as well other food products. Due to its economic importance several researches have focused in a method with ability to control this pest with few or no damage to the environment. The study of digestive enzymes inhibitors, lectins and chitin-binding proteins, has often been proposed as an alternative to reduce insect damage. In this study we report the major classes of digestive enzymes during larval growth in P. Interpunctella, being those proteinases actives at pH 9.5 and optimum temperature of 50 oC to both larvae of the 3rd instar and pre-pupal stage of development. In vitro and zymogram assays presented the effects of several inhibitors, such as SBTI, TLCK and PMSF to intestinal homogenate of 3rd instar larvae of 62%, 92% and 87% of inhibition and In pre-pupal stage of 87%, 62 % and 55% of inhibition, respectively. Zymograms showed inhibition of two low molecular masses protein bands by TLCK and that in presence of SBTI were retarded. These results are indicative of predominance of digestive serine proteinases in gut homogenate from Plodia interpunctella larvae. This serine proteinase was then used as a target to evaluate the effect of SBTI on larvae in in vivo assay. Effect of SBTI on mortality and larval mass was not observed at until 4% of concentration (w/w) in diets. Chitin, another target to insecticidal proteins, was observed by chemical method. Moreover, optic microscopy confirmed the presence of a peritrophic membrane. Established this target, in vivo effect of EvV, a chitin binding vicilin, evaluated during the larval development of P. interpunctella and was obtained a LD50 of 0,23% and WD50 of 0,27% to this protein. Mechanism of action was proposed through of the in vivo digestibility of EvV methodology. During the passage through the larval digestive tract was observed that EvV was susceptible to digestive enzymes and a reactive fragment, visualized by Western blotting, produced by digestion was recovered after dissociation of the peritrophic membrane. The bound of EvV to peritrophic membrane was confirmed by immunohystochemical assays that showed strong immunofluorescent signal of EvV-FITC binding and peritrophic membrane. These results are a indicative that vicilins could be utilized as potential insecticide to Plodia interpunctella and a control methods using EvV as bioinsecticide should be studied to reduce lost caused by storage insect pests

Termoterapia de banana 'Prata-Anã' no controle de podridões em pós-colheita

O objetivo desse estudo foi determinar a tolerância de banana (Musa spp.) 'Prata-Anã' (AAB) e do fungo Colletotrichum musae à termoterapia no controle de podridões em pós-colheita. Experimentos in vivo e in vitro foram instalados em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, seguindo um esquema fatorial 4x5 (temperatura x tempo). Os tratamentos consistiram na imersão dos frutos (buquês) e do fungo (esporos e micélio) em água aquecida a 47, 50, 53 e 56 ºC, durante 0, 3, 6, 9 e 12 min. A exposição dos frutos a 56 ºC durante 9 min causou escurecimento da casca nas extremidades dos frutos, porém, as características físicas e químicas dos frutos não foram alteradas pelos tratamentos. Frutos inoculados e tratados a 56 ºC durante 6 min não apresentaram podridões nem escurecimento da casca, enquanto aqueles não tratados apresentaram 64% da área lesionada / fruto. A partir das combinações 53 ºC / 9 mi. e 56 ºC / 3 min a germinação de esporos foi reduzida para 4% e 0%, respectivamente. A combinação 56 ºC / 12 min reduziu, mas não paralisou o crescimento micelial. O tratamento 56 ºC / 6 min retardou mas não paralisou o crescimento micelial in vitro, porém foi efetivo no controle completo das podridões in vivo. Esse tratamento evitou a manifestação de podridões no inverno (maio), mas não no verão (novembro), mostrando-se influenciado pelas condições climáticas próximas à colheita dos cachos. A termoterapia pode ser recomendada para controle de podridão em pós-colheita de banana devendo ser ajustada para diferentes estações do ano.

Responsabilidad civil de la persona mayor incapaz y de sus guardadores por los daños causados a terceros: especial referencia a la responsabilidad del incapaz en el sistema del Common Law

Un número considerable de personas mayores padece alguna enfermedad neurodegenerativa que limita sus facultades intelectivas y volitivas, lo que en la práctica suele traducirse en alteraciones de la personalidad con conservación de consciencia, pérdidas de memoria, desorientación, inquietud, confusión o agresividad. Este deterioro progresivo de capacidad que puede afectar a nuestros mayores no sólo los convierte en fácil objetivo de agresiones sino también en potenciales creadores de riesgos y daños a terceros. Es precisamente la responsabilidad que puede derivarse de tales daños la que será analizada en primer lugar en esta sede, exponiendo el estado de la cuestión tanto en el civil como en el common law. Por otro lado, cuando una persona que tiene sus funciones cognitivas mermadas causa un daño a otro, no sólo se debe analizar la responsabilidad civil del propio agente del daño frente al perjudicado, sino también aquélla en que podría incurrir la persona encargada de su cuidado en caso de haberla. Dicha cuestión ocupará la segunda parte del presente trabajo.

Karl-Ernst Ackermann / Oliver Musenberg / Judith Riegert (Hrsg.): Geistigbehindertenpädagogik!? Disziplin – Profession – Inklusion. Oberhausen: Athena 2013 (443 S.) [Rezension]

Rezension von: Karl-Ernst Ackermann / Oliver Musenberg / Judith Riegert (Hrsg.): Geistigbehindertenpädagogik!? Disziplin – Profession – Inklusion. Oberhausen: Athena 2013 (443 S.; ISBN 978-3-89896-477-7)

Estudo de revestimentos inorgânicos com inibidor de corrosão aplicado na superfície do concreto

The corrosive phenomenon on reinforced concrete structures is one of the most founded pathologies on the coastal area. With the objective to prevent the process development, or even, retard its beginning, it was studied the application of inorganic covering over concrete surfaces, after its cure, as well as, evaluate the efficiency of the covering applied on the concrete in reducing its porosity of concrete preventing the entrance of aggressive agents to preserve the integrity of the existing armor inside it, comparing the result obtained with the body-of-proof reference, that didn´t receive covering protection. On the concrete production it was used Portland Cement CP II 32, coarse aggregate, fine aggregate and water from the local distributive. Two types of covering were used, one resin based of silicon and solvent and other white cement based, selected sands and acrylic resin. The concrete mixture adopted was 1:1,5:2,5 (cement, fine aggregate, coarse aggregate) and 0.50 water/cement ratio. With the concrete on fresh state was made the experiment test to determinate the workability. On the hardened state was made the concrete resistance experiment, absorption of water and electrochemical experiments, through polarization curves. Also was held optical microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy experiments to analyze the layer of the covering applied to the concrete surface and the interface between the concrete and the layer. The obtained results shows that the covering applied to the concrete surface didn´t affect the resistance towards compression. On the absorption of water occurred a diminution of the percentage absorbed, improving the concrete development by making it more impermeable towards the entrance of aggressive agents. The electrochemical experiment results confirmed the water absorption results; the body-of-proof covered presented larger protection towards the development of corrosives process and retarded the evolution of the corrosive phenomenon

Prevalencia del síndrome metabólico en el adulto mayor en las parroquias urbanas del cantón Cuenca, 2015

Introducción: En la actualidad existe un incremento de la población adulta mayor en el Ecuador, donde las tres principales causas de muerte son: diabetes, enfermedades hipertensivas, enfermedades cerebrovasculares. Las mismas que se relacionan etiopatológicamente con el síndrome metabólico. Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia del síndrome metabólico (SM) en adultos mayores en el cantón Cuenca, 2015. Método y materiales: Se trata de un estudio descriptivo, que se realizó en 387 adultos de ambos sexos mayores de 65 años, en las parroquias urbanas del cantón Cuenca. Se excluyó a los adultos mayores con deficiencia mental, alteraciones del estado de conciencia, impedimento físico o con evidencia de diabetes. Para el levantamiento de los datos se utilizó una encuesta y se realizó pruebas de glicemia en ayunas, colesterol, triglicéridos, lípidos de alta densidad (HDL, high density lipids) y medidas antropométricas, los datos obtenidos fueron analizados estadísticamente mediante EpiInfo, Microsoft Excel 2010 y el software SPSS, y se presentó mediante tablas y gráficos de estadística descriptiva de porcentajes y frecuencias. Resultados: La media de edad fue de 73 años, el 63.57% fueron mujeres y el 36.43% hombres y la mayoría 35.4% tenía un nivel de instrucción de primaria completa. La prevalencia del síndrome metabólico fue del 54.01%, en las mujeres 61.38% y en los hombres 41.13%, la mayoría entre 65 y 74 años con un 53.2% y un 58.14% con estudios incompletos. Según el IMC la mayoría de adultos mayores con SM tenían sobrepeso 49.72% y obesidad. El criterio ATP III más encontrado fue la obesidad abdominal 78.81%, seguido por la disminución sérica de colesterol HDL, 74.42% y presión arterial elevada, 48.32%.

Prevalencia del síndrome metabólico en el adulto mayor en las parroquias urbanas del cantón Cuenca, 2015

Introducción: En la actualidad existe un incremento de la población adulta mayor en el Ecuador, donde las tres principales causas de muerte son: diabetes, enfermedades hipertensivas, enfermedades cerebrovasculares. Las mismas que se relacionan etiopatológicamente con el síndrome metabólico. Objetivo: Determinar la prevalencia del síndrome metabólico (SM) en adultos mayores en el cantón Cuenca, 2015. Método y materiales: Se trata de un estudio descriptivo, que se realizó en 387 adultos de ambos sexos mayores de 65 años, en las parroquias urbanas del cantón Cuenca. Se excluyó a los adultos mayores con deficiencia mental, alteraciones del estado de conciencia, impedimento físico o con evidencia de diabetes. Para el levantamiento de los datos se utilizó una encuesta y se realizó pruebas de glicemia en ayunas, colesterol, triglicéridos, lípidos de alta densidad (HDL, high density lipids) y medidas antropométricas, los datos obtenidos fueron analizados estadísticamente mediante EpiInfo, Microsoft Excel 2010 y el software SPSS, y se presentó mediante tablas y gráficos de estadística descriptiva de porcentajes y frecuencias. Resultados: La media de edad fue de 73 años, el 63.57% fueron mujeres y el 36.43% hombres y la mayoría 35.4% tenía un nivel de instrucción de primaria completa. La prevalencia del síndrome metabólico fue del 54.01%, en las mujeres 61.38% y en los hombres 41.13%, la mayoría entre 65 y 74 años con un 53.2% y un 58.14% con estudios incompletos. Según el IMC la mayoría de adultos mayores con SM tenían sobrepeso 49.72% y obesidad. El criterio ATP III más encontrado fue la obesidad abdominal 78.81%, seguido por la disminución sérica de colesterol HDL, 74.42% y presión arterial elevada, 48.32%.

The mediating role of mental toughness in sport

AIM:
We conducted two studies that examined different models, which included mental toughness and psychological constructs that have been found to be related to this construct.
METHODS:
In Study 1, 531 athletes completed measures of mental toughness, resilience, and emotional intelligence. In Study 2, 522 athletes completed measures of mental toughness, sport motivation, and self-efficacy.
RESULTS:
There were positive paths between the constructs in the model, which were mediated by mental toughness in Study 1. Further, there was a positive path between mental toughness and self-efficacy, but negative paths with introjected regulation and amotivation in Study 2.
CONCLUSION:
This two study paper suggests that it might also be the presence of constructs such as resilience, emotional intelligence, motivation, and/or self-efficacy that enable mentally tough individuals to excel under stressful circumstances rather than just coping.

Beacon of Hope? Lessons learned from efforts to reduce civilian deaths from police shootings in an Australian state

In the 1990s, the police service in Victoria, Australia, faced a crisis of community confidence due to a spate of civilian deaths from police shootings. In that decade, twice as many civilians died at the hands of the police in Victoria than in every other Australian state combined. Most of those killed were mentally ill and affected by drugs and alcohol, and were rarely a serious threat except to themselves. The problem was also almost entirely an urban phenomenon. Shootings in rural communities, where mentally ill people were more likely to be personally known to local police, were (and remain) almost unknown. The large number of fatalities was recognised as a serious threat to public confidence, and Victoria Police introduced a ground-breaking training programme, Operation Beacon. Operating procedures and weapons training were fundamentally changed, to focus on de-escalation of conflict and avoiding or minimising police use of force. In the short term, Operation Beacon was successful. Shooting incidents were dramatically reduced. However, during the first decade of the new century, the number of civilians being killed again increased. This article examines Operation Beacon, both as a successful model for reducing civilian deaths at the hand of police and as a cautionary tale for police reform. We argue that the lessons of Operation Beacon have been gradually forgotten and that old habits and attitudes resurfaced. Fatal shootings of mentally ill civilians can be prevented, but if success is to be other than temporary, the Beacon philosophy must be continually reemphasised by police management.

A rational (unapologetically pragmatic) approach to dealing with the irrational - the setencing of offenders with mental disorders

People with mental impairment are so heavily over-represented in prisons and jails that jails have been labeled “warehouses for the mentally ill.” In many parts of the United States, there are more mentally impaired offenders in prisons than in hospitals for the mentally unwell. Offenders laboring with impaired mental functioning are often regarded as being less morally culpable for their crimes and hence less deserving of punishment. However, the reduced mental functioning of offenders does not diminish the harm caused to victims. People are no less dead if mentally unwell offenders kill them rather than offenders who are mentally sound. This tension has proven an intractable problem for sentencing law and practice. There are no clear, fair, and effective principles or processes for accommodating impaired mental functioning in the sentencing inquiry. It is an under-researched area of the law. In this Article, I explore this tension. Key to ascertaining the proper manner in which to incorporate mental illness into the sentencing system is clarity regarding the importance of consequences to the offender, as opposed to moral culpability. I analyze current approaches to sentencing offenders with mental health problems in both the United States and Australia. Despite the vastly different sentencing regimes in these countries, both systems are deficient in dealing with mentally ill offenders, but for different reasons. I propose a solution to administering sentences to offenders with a mental disorder that is equally applicable to both sentencing systems. Mental impairment should mitigate penalty. However, in determining the extent and circumstances in which it should do so, it is cardinal not to lose sight of the fact that those who are sentenced for a crime are not insane, and they were aware that their acts were wrong--otherwise they would not have been found guilty in the first instance. I argue that a standard ten percent sentencing discount should be accorded to offenders who were mentally disordered at the time of sentencing. There should be an even more substantial discount when it is likely that offenders will find the sanction--in particular imprisonment--more burdensome due to their mental state. This difference would ensure some recognition of the reduced blameworthiness of mentally impaired offenders and the extra hardship that some forms of punishment inflict on mentally *2 ill offenders, while not compromising the important objectives of proportionality and community protection. The only situations when mental disorder should not mitigate penalty are when the offender is a recidivist, serious sexual or violent offender. In these circumstances, the interests of the community are the paramount consideration. The analysis in this paper applies most directly when a term of imprisonment is imposed. However, the reasoning also extends to the threshold decision of whether or not a term of imprisonment should be imposed in the first place.

Mental illness and gun violence: lessons for the United States from Australia and Britain

In the United States, the nexus between mental illness and shootings has been the subject of heated argument. An extreme expression of one point of view is that “guns don't kill people, the mentally ill do.” This article seeks to demonstrate the falsehood of this argument, by examining the real-world experience of two comparable societies. Australia and Great Britain are both Anglophone nations with numerous points of commonality with the United States, including high rates of mental illness and significant exposure to popular culture that perpetuates the stigma of the mentally ill as a violent threat. However, in Australia, it is difficult to obtain firearms, and a mentally ill person behaving aggressively is unlikely to be able to harm others. On the contrary, police are almost the only people routinely armed in Australian communities and are often too ready to use firearms against the mentally ill. In Britain, guns are even more difficult to obtain, and operational police are not usually armed. The authors examine statistical data on mental illness, homicide, and civilian deaths caused by police in all three nations. They also consider media and popular opinion environments. They conclude that mental illness is prevalent in all three societies, as is the damaging stigma of “the dangerous madman.” However, the fewer people (including police officers) who have access to firearms, the safer that community is.

O estigma das perturbações mentais: Um estudo qualitativo pela voz das crianças.

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao ISPA – Instituto Universitário