17 research outputs found
Wind-tunnel study of block 259 building, Houston
No full textCER78-79JEC-JAP-AK18.Prepared for Colaco Engineers, Inc.Includes bibliographical references (pages 32-33).January 1979
Gender Inequality and Traditional Social Norms as Predictors of Risky Sex among Men in the North Indian States of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand: Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses
No full textQuantitative data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) and qualitative data from an NIH-funded study in the north Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand were used to examine the relationship between men's risky sex (non-marital and unprotected sex) and their gender equality attitudes and expressed social norms. Gender equality dimensions in the quantitative analysis were developed based on men's attitudes towards wife-beating, feelings regarding wives ability to refuse sex, history of family violence, and views on whether women had the right to make household decisions and have financial autonomy. Logistic regression models were fit to explore the influence of gender equality dimensions on reported non-marital sex and condom use. Qualitative analysis explored how men's gender attitudes and expressed social norms were related to their risky sex. Quantitative analysis indicated that men who were more likely to report non-marital sex were those who had a history of family violence [OR=1.83; 95% CI=(1.05-3.17) for married men; OR=1.93; 95% CI=(1.44-2.59) for unmarried men], felt that wifebeating was acceptable [OR=1.93; 95% CI=(1.10-3.38) for married men], and felt that women should not have the right to refuse sex [OR=2.17; 95% CI=(1.05-4.48) for married men]. Men who were more likely to report using condoms during non-marital sex were those who felt that wife-beating was never acceptable, compared to men who felt that wife-beating was acceptable [OR=2.13; 95% CI=(1.35-3.36)]. Qualitative analysis revealed that men felt that women are sexually insatiable, should have no say over their own sexual needs, and be dependent on men to be sexually gratified. Men also indicated that certain restrictive social norms drove them to more, rather than less, non-marital sex. Men who reported no or inconsistent condom use felt that condoms prevented them from having "real" sex, that women did not have the right to request men to use condoms or to purchase condoms, and that men had the right to force women to have unprotected sex. Interventions that seek to curb the spread of STIs and HIV in India through reducing men's risky sex should promote a redefinition of men's traditional masculinity norms to incorporate acceptance of gender equality and prevention of violence against women
A Monte Carlo Simulation Study on Adsorption of Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) in zeolites
No full textNitrogen oxides (NOx) are significant sources of air pollution. Nitrogen oxides like Nitric oxide (NO) and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are mainly responsible for the acid rain and smog. Nitrous oxide (N2O), also known as the laughing gas, is the major greenhouse gas that is responsible for the ozone layer's damage in the troposphere. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report, one pound of N2O is 300 times more potent greenhouse gas than one pound of CO2. The significant emitters of Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are automobiles, agricultural sources, thermal power plants, and chemical processes like Nitric acid production plants, paint manufacturing, etc. This study mainly focuses on the tail gas emitted from the Nitric acid production facility. The tail gas emitted during the HNO3 production consists of almost 2% of O2, 200-400 ppm of NO2, and NO, whereas 800 ppm of N2O. As N2O is the most emitted gas from the Nitric acid production facility, it is followed by NO2 and NO, so it is essential to reduce these pollutants from the tail gas. Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) is a well-known technique currently involved in reducing NOx via the adsorption process from the Nitric acid production facility. But the costs involved in these methods are quite high. Nanoporous materials like zeolite exhibit uniform pore size and high thermal stability are said to be the promising adsorbents of NOx. The availability of a large number of zeolites makes it impossible to identify the proper zeolite for NOx adsorption experimentally. In such situations, molecular simulations are a powerful tool that can help identify the perfect zeolite. The time and cost involved in the process of molecular simulations are very low. In this work, Monte Carlo simulations involving reaction ensemble are implemented to obtain the equilibrium composition of NOx components at desired operating conditions in the Brick molecular simulation package. This is followed by Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations (GCMC) and Reactive Grand Canonical Monte Carlo simulations (RXMC-GCMC) for pure and quaternary NOx gas mixture adsorption in five different zeolites (FAU, FER, MOR, MFI, and TON) using simulation package RASPA. The composition results from the reaction ensemble are validated with the composition results obtained using the Gibbs minimization technique in the MATLAB model, and the results are in good agreement. The quaternary gas mixture adsorption results in five different frameworks from RXMC-GCMC simulations are then validated in Ideal adsorbed solution theory in the Python model, and the results are in good agreement at the given operating conditions. </p
Malar J
No full textBackgroundAs malaria control interventions are scaled-up, rational approaches are needed for monitoring impact over time. One proposed approach includes monitoring the prevalence of malaria infection among pregnant women and children at the time of routine preventive health facility (HF) visits. This pilot explored the feasibility and utility of tracking the prevalence of malaria infection in pregnant women attending their first antenatal care (ANC) visit and infants presenting at 9\u201312\ua0months of age for measles vaccination.MethodsPregnant women attending first ANC and infants nine to 12\ua0months old presenting for measles vaccination at a non-probability sample of 54 HFs in Tanzania\u2019s Lake Zone (Mara, Mwanza and Kagera Regions) were screened for malaria infection using a malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) from December 2012 to November 2013, regardless of symptoms. Participants who tested positive were treated for malaria per national guidelines. Data were collected monthly.ResultsOverall 89.9 and 78.1\ua0% of expected monthly reports on malaria infection prevalence were received for pregnant women and infants, respectively. Among 51,467 pregnant women and 35,155 infants attending routine preventive HF visits, 41.2 and 37.3\ua0% were tested with RDT, respectively. Malaria infection prevalence was 12.8\ua0% [95\ua0% confidence interval (CI) 11.3\u201314.3] among pregnant women and 11.0\ua0% (95\ua0% CI 9.5\u201312.5) among infants, and varied by month. There was good correlation of the prevalence of malaria among pregnant women and infants at the HF level (Spearman rho\ua0=\ua00.6; p\ua0<\ua00.001). This approach is estimated to cost $1.28 for every person tested, with the RDT accounting for 72\ua0% of the cost.ConclusionsMalaria infection was common and well correlated among pregnant women and infants attending routine health services. Routine screening of these readily accessible populations may offer a practical strategy for continuously tracking malaria trends, particularly seasonal variation. Positivity rates among afebrile individuals presenting for routine care offer an advantage as they are unaffected by the prevalence of other causes of febrile illness, which could influence positivity rates among febrile patients presenting to outpatient clinics. The data presented here suggest that in addition to contributing to clinical management, ongoing screening of pregnant women could be used for routine surveillance and detection of hotspots.20162016-07-29T00:00:00Z27473039PMC4966757672
What Factors Influence Gender Assignment And Surgical Reconstruction For An Index Case Of Ovotesticular Disorder Of Sexual Development In The Dominican Republic?
No full textMulti-Stage 20-m Shuttle Run Fitness Test, Maximal Oxygen Uptake and Velocity at Maximal Oxygen Uptake.
No full textThe multi-stage 20-m shuttle run fitness test (20mMSFT) is a popular field test which is widely used to measure aerobic fitness by predicting maximum oxygen uptake (VO2max) and performance. However, the velocity at which VO2max occurs (vVO2max) is a better indicator of performance than VO2max, and can be used to explain inter-individual differences in performance that VO2max cannot. It has been reported as a better predictor for running performance and it can be used to monitor athletes' training for predicting optimal training intensity. This study investigated the validity and suitability of predicting VO2max and vVO2max of adult subjects on the basis of the performance of the 20mMST. Forty eight (25 male and 23 female) physical education students performed, in random order, a laboratory based continuous horizontal treadmill test to determine VO2max, vVO2max and a 20mMST, with an interval of 3 days between each test. The results revealed significant correlations between the number of shuttles in the 20mMSFT and directly determined VO2max (r = 0.87, p<0.05) and vVO2max (r = 0.93, p<0.05). The equation for prediction of VO2max was y = 0.0276x + 27.504, whereas for vVO2max it was y = 0.0937x + 6.890. It can be concluded that the 20mMSFT can accurately predict VO2max and vVO2max and this field test can provide useful information regarding aerobic fitness of adults. The predicted vVO2max can be used in monitoring athletes, especially in determining optimal training intensity
Author Correction: Acute and chronic hypoxia differentially predispose lungs for metastases
No full textAn amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.</p
Genetic diversity of infertile males in India
No full text\ua9 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2026. Purpose: To systematically investigate the genetic architecture of severe male infertility in Indian men, with a specific focus on chromosomal abnormalities and the contribution of de novo variants. Method: We recruited 247 infertile males between 2021 and 2024 presenting with severe quantitative and qualitative sperm defects. All patients underwent karyotyping and Y chromosome microdeletion STS-PCR. A single molecule molecular inversion probe-based targeted sequencing assay covering 39 male infertility genes was performed in 120 patients, while whole exome sequencing (WES) was conducted in 48 patients using a duo/trio-based approach to enable segregation and de novo variant detection. Result: Gonosomal aneuploidies were observed in 3/247 patients (1.2%, 95% CI 0.3–3.5%) and causal AZF microdeletions in 8/247 (3.2%, 95% CI 1.4–6.3%). Targeted sequencing identified pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in 4/120 patients (3.3%, 95% CI 0.9–8.3%), with additional CFTR variants in 3 patients where parental DNA was unavailable for phasing. WES yielded P/LP variants in 4/48 patients (8.3%, 95% CI 2.3–19.9%) affecting PMFBP1, DNAH1, and AR genes, confirmed via segregation analysis. No de novo or copy number variants were confirmed as causative, though several candidate genes were prioritised. Sequencing-based approaches provided an additional ~ 6–8% diagnostic yield, with the overall diagnostic rate reaching 7.7% (19/247; 95% CI 4.7–11.8%). Conclusion: Sequencing-based strategies, particularly family-based trio WES, significantly enhance diagnostic yield beyond current guideline-recommended tests, with data supporting their adoption as first-tier investigations for severe male infertility. This represents India’s largest cohort-based genomic study on male infertility to date. Larger family-based cohorts will be essential to delineate the contribution of de novo variants to male infertility genetics
Animal colour vision - behavioural tests and physiological concepts
No full textOver a century ago workers such as J. Lubbock and K. von Frisch developed behavioural criteria for establishing that non-human animals see colour. Many animals in most phyla have since then been shown to have colour vision. Colour is used for specific behaviours, such as phototaxis and object recognition, while other behaviours such as motion detection are colour blind. Having established the existence of colour vision, research focussed on the question of how many spectral types of photoreceptors are involved. Recently, data on photoreceptor spectral sensitivities have been combined with behavioural experiments and physiological models to study systematically the next logical question: what neural interactions underlie colour vision? This review gives an overview of the methods used to study animal colour vision, and discusses how quantitative modelling can suggest how photoreceptor signals are combined and compared to allow for the discrimination of biologically relevant stimuli
Economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by deep-sea sponges
No full textABSTRACT
This report was commissioned under the SponGES project as a pivotal information it em (Deliverable 8.1) with a direct impact on resource management and conservation of deep-sea sponges in the North Atlantic. It is based on information available in the scientific literature at the time of writing, but also indicates the research areas where discoveries and research advances are shortly expected. The report is aimed at a generic public with no specialized knowledge on sponges or on economic valuation. It is outlined in a way to provide essential background information but makes reference to a comprehensive list of scientific publications for further insights.
The initial part provides basic information on the definition of ecosystem services, on an ecosystem service classification framework, and on common approaches undertaken for ecosystem service valuation. In this introductory overview, the economic valuation of deep-sea sponges is placed in the wider context of ecosystem services provided by the deep sea. Common challenges encountered in the economic valuation of deep-sea sponges as well as deep-sea ecosystems are discussed, and a summary is provided of approaches found in the literature for the economic valuation of deep-sea ecosystem services.
The ecosystem services provided by sponges were categorized under The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity ecosystem service classification. This classification distinguishes four main categories of ecosystem services: provisioning services; regulating services; habitat services; and cultural services. Four ecosystem services associated to deep-sea sponges, one for each category, were selected and used to exemplify the level of information needed for an economic valuation as well as common challenges and data gaps encountered.
In particular, deep-sea sponges were analysed as a potential source for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology applications (provisioning services), as natural filtering systems of the deep sea (regulating services), as habitat for commercial fish species (habitat services), and as promising candidates for scientific research and education (cultural services). The overall description of baseline ecological and economic data required for a monetary valuation of these four ecosystem services was further complemented by detailed examples on how economic valuation approaches could be applied to existing baseline data. These examples, described in stand-alone text boxes, show the complexity of the economic valuation of deep-sea sponges. At the same time, they also provide some insight on what the economic relevance of deep-sea sponge ecosystem services could be in future, when, with advances in scientific research, the full ecological and consequently economic importance of deep-sea sponges will become more evident.
The final part of the report outlines the way forward, pointing out the research priorities for making advances in the economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by sponges. It presents an overview of current drivers on research on deep-sea sponges, existing and required investments, and challenges posed to policymakers in considering present and future trade-offs in the management of the deep sea. It wraps up by summarizing the economic benefits, ecological reasons and cultural value of sponges as a possible UNESCO site of outstanding universal value, recommending the precautionary principle in the conservation and management of deep-sea sponge grounds.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author is indebted to the whole SponGES project consortium for sharing their unfolding understanding of deep-sea sponges during the SponGES project's life. Since deep-sea sponges are relatively recently discovered organisms, very little knowledge was available in the literature and all ideas and methodological approaches proposed for this economic valuation matured from close interaction and brainstorming with the SponGES project participants.
Gratitude goes particularly to the SponGES project coordinators: Joana Xavier, Ellen Kenchington, Shirley Pomponi and Hans Tore Rapp who have all enthusiastically supported the development of this study under the strong belief that an economic valuation was an essential tool for highlighting the importance of deep-sea sponge conservation.
Sincere gratitude goes to the leaders of SponGES' work packages for providing scientific advice on specific chapters of this report. In particular, Shirley Pomponi for reading through chapter 3, Manuel Maldonado chapter 4, Ellen Kenchington chapter 5, and Joana Xavier chapters 6 and 7.
Among the SponGES Consortium gratitude goes to Christopher Pham and Lindsay Beazley for working together on data analysis as well as to Anna de Kluijver, Ana Colaco, Ana Riesgo, Carolina Doya, Detmer Sipkema, Erik Wurz, Jasper de Goeij, Javier Cristobo, Malcom Clark, Martina Milanese, Ronald Osinga and Teresa Morganti for the fruitful discussions.
Within FAO, the author wishes to thank Merete Tandstad in the role of supervisor, Claus Hagebro for encouraging the production of a policy brief from this study, Yaw Ansah for providing technical advices on economic valuation, Julian Plummer for the language editing and Edoardo Mostarda, for closely following and overseeing the unfolding of this 3-year research, through all its ups and downs, till the final publication of this document
