Risk Factors for Partner Violence Among a National Sample of Combat Veterans.

In this study, the authors identified potential risk factors for partner violence perpetration among a subsample (n=109) of men who participated in a national study of Vietnam veterans. Partner violent (PV) men with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were compared with PV men without PTSD and nonviolent men with PTSD on family-of-origin variables, psychiatric problems, relationship problems, and war-zone factors. PV men with PTSD were the highest of the 3 groups on every risk factor other than childhood abuse. Group contrasts and a classification tree analysis suggest some potential markers and mechanisms for the association between PTSD and partner violence among military veterans and highlight the need for theory development in this area of inquiry. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cancer Stem Cells: Biological Functions and Therapeutically Targeting

Almost all tumors are composed of a heterogeneous cell population, making them difficult to treat. A small cancer stem cell population with a low proliferation rate and a high tumorigenic potential is thought to be responsible for cancer development, metastasis and resistance to therapy. Stem cells were reported to be involved in both normal development and carcinogenesis, some molecular mechanisms being common in both processes. No less controversial, stem cells are considered to be important in treatment of malignant diseases both as targets and drug carriers. The efforts to understand the role of different signalling in cancer stem cells requires in depth knowledge about the mechanisms that control their self-renewal, differentiation and malignant potential. The aim of this paper is to discuss insights into cancer stem cells historical background and to provide a brief review of the new therapeutic strategies for targeting cancer stem cells.     

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.     

Expression of the insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor and its anti-apoptotic effect in malignant melanoma: a potential therapeutic target

A correlation-based learning (CBL) neural network model is proposed, which simulates the emergence of grating cells as well as some of their response characteristics to periodic pattern stimuli. These cells, found in areas V1 and V2 of the visual cortex of monkeys, respond vigorously and exclusively to bar gratings of a preferred orientation and periodicity. Their non-linear behaviour differentiates grating cells from other orientation-selective cells, which show linear spatial frequency filtering.     

Numerical Study of Heat Transfer and Analysis of Optimal Fin Pitch in a Wavy Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

In this paper an analysis of laminar heat transfer and fluid flow in a wavy fin-and-tube heat exchanger has been carried out. Three-dimensional (3D) numerical simulation results of a circular tube heat exchanger were compared with published numerical and experimental results. The computational fluid dynamics (CFD) procedure was validated by comparing average Nusselt numbers, and good agreement between published and calculated results has been accomplished. The influence of inlet air velocity, varying from 0.5 to 5 m s^?1, as well as fin pitch, varying from 0.4 to 4 mm, on heat transfer and pressure drop conditions has been studied. The results have shown that there is an optimal fin pitch for each air velocity, which gives the best heat exchanger performance from the heat transfer point of view.     

Prediction of an effective cooling output of the fin-and-tube heat exchanger under frosting conditions

In the paper, an analysis of heat and mass transfer during frost formation on a fin-and-tube heat exchanger has been presented. For calculation of an exchanged heat flux, a transient two-dimensional mathematical model of frost formation has been developed and numerically solved. The mathematical model and numerical procedure have been experimentally validated. For determination of an effectively exchanged heat flux inside the heat exchanger, the influence of the augmented heat transfer resistance and impact of the defrosting process have been taken into account. A detailed calculation of the frost growth rate has been a base for determination of heat transfer resistance of the frost layer. The influence of frost formation on the overall heat transfer coefficient has also been analysed. The effective exchanged heat flux has been calculated for different operating conditions, durations of cooling cycle as well as defrosting heat fluxes. Results have shown that the effectively exchanged heat flux significantly depends on operating conditions, such as air humidity and temperature, as well as the cooling cycle duration.     

Influence of the grid parameters during under voltage ride through (UVRT) testing

Under-voltage ride through (UVRT) tests can be carried out on system test benches, most of them are equipped with a converter based grid simulator. This paper describes the control of the artificial grid impedance at the 4 MW test bench at CWD. Validation measurements with the commercial wind turbine E‑115 E2 show that the virtual impedance specification is sufficient to perform UVRT tests with different grid parameters. Comparative measurements between the voltage divider based FRT Container and the grid simulator with deliberately different grid parameters show a different behavior of the research wind turbine FVA nacelle. Therefore, it is recommended to perform UVRT tests on the test bench with predefined grid parameters.

     

Envelope dynamic analysis: a new approach for milling process monitoring

Vibration analysis has long been used for the detection and identification of the condition of machine tools. This paper proposes a method for vibration analysis in order to monitor online the milling process quality based on synchronous envelope analysis. Adapting envelope spectral analysis to characterize the milling tool is an important contribution for qualitative and quantitative characterization of milling capacity. It is a stage in modeling the three-dimensional cutting process. To determine different parameters, to understand the phenomenon which takes place during the cutting process, and to validate the monitoring algorithm, it was necessary to build and to use a complex analysis system. An experimental protocol was designed and developed for the acquisition, processing, and analyzing the three-dimensional signal. The vibration envelope analysis is proposed to detect the cutting capacity of the tool with the optimization application of cutting parameters. This purpose is reached by a detailed dynamic study of the manufacturing system divided into two parts. The first one concerns the complete analysis of the machine, of the main spindle. A dynamic analysis method is developed to completely characterize the various components of machine tools. The second is concentrated on the cutting process to condition monitoring and diagnosis. The research is focused on fast Fourier transform optimization of vibration analysis and vibration synchronous envelope to evaluate the dynamic behavior of the machine/tool/workpiece.     

Hydrogels reinforced with nanoclays with improved response rate

Two series of semiinterpenetrating networks (SIPN) based on linear hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and thermo‐responsive poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPA), physically crosslinked with inorganic clay, are presented. The hydrogels with different crosslinking densities were prepared by varying the content of clay from 1 to 6 wt % and contained linear interpenetrant, PVA in the range of 0.5–1.5 wt %. The effect of clay content on swelling/deswelling behavior and phase transition in PNIPA gels, as well as the feasibility of reinforcing the gels with high molecular weight PVA, were analyzed. The thermal response of hydrogels, followed by DSC, confirmed that the insertion of hydrophilic PVA did not have a significant effect on the onset of the volume phase transition temperature, while the response was faster. The equilibrium degree of swelling of SIPNs and PNIPA hydrogels was in the range of 9–79 and decreased with increasing content of clay. The internal morphology and surface wettability of the hydrogels were investigated by scanning electron microscope analysis and contact angle measurements, respectively. The network structural parameters of the PNIPA and SIPN nanocomposites hydrogels, such as the average molecular weight between crosslinks, M_c, and effective crosslinking density, N_e, were determined by dynamic mechanical analysis. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44535.