36 research outputs found
An analytical study of the theatre of the Syrian playwright Saadallah Wannous, with particular emphasis on the plays written after the 1967 war
No full textThis study is an examination of the life and work of
the Syrian dramatist Saadallah Wannous (1941-1997). Wannous's name is virtually unknown in the West; only two academic studies of any significance have appeared in English on this eminent and challenging writer, who was honoured by UNESCO at the end of his life. Even in the Arab world his standing rests largely upon his celebrity as a cultural icon, since professional performances of his plays are rare due to the decline of the theatre in the region, and little attention has been devoted to theatre studies by Arab academics. The two studies in English do not attempt to be comprehensive but focus on particular stages of Wannous's career. This study is, therefore, the first to encompass the full range of Wannous's work. To do so it combines an account of his life which seeks to comprehend the various forces that shaped his thinking with an analysis of his dramatic works. The study concentrates on the plays written in the years following the trauma inflicted on the Arab world by the catastrophe of their
defeat in the Arab-Israeli war of June, 1967. Wannous's career can be divided into three phases: the immature plays of his young manhood which are influenced by European models and generally focus on the social condition of the individual; his middle period - the `theatre of politicisation', when his Marxist politics were the main
factor shaping his drama; and his late works, which are characterised by an extraordinary freedom of thought and expression. The introduction places Wannous in his historical and sociocultural context and provides a brief background explaining the literary and theatrical traditions of the Arab world that influenced his activity as a dramatist. Each phase is then examined in turn and the plays are analysed in accordance with the focus of the study. This means that emphasis is given to the middle period,
but no significant work is neglected. The study aims to trace the trajectory of Wannous's development using a
variety of sources: the plays themselves, Wannous's own journalism and critical writings, interviews with his widow, his friends and colleagues, and numerous
journals, books and articles, some of which contain
important interviews with Wannous that shed light on his thought and ways of working. Use is also made of the
two studies mentioned above. The study shows that Wannous's theatre was influenced by the key political, social and cultural developments of his time, and that he
constantly sought to find forms that would express those transformations in dramatic terms
Deferasirox adherence in patients with thalassemia: Exploring the association with patient knowledge and ferritin levels
No full textIn this study, data from 171 patients with thalassemia were analyzed. There was high variability in ferritin levels among patients, with a median of 2290 ng/mL. The median Morisky adherence score was 4, and 75% of the patients had low adherence levels to deferasirox. There were no significant correlations between the adherence score and patients’ sociodemographic data. However, a significant positive correlation was noted between the adherence score and the knowledge score of the patients. Ferritin levels were significantly and negatively correlated with the adherence score, as demonstrated by the highest ferritin level observed among patients with low levels of adherence. In conclusion, a low level of adherence to deferasirox was noted among patients with thalassemia. Adherence levels were directly associated with patients’ knowledge of the disease and its therapy, while ferritin levels were inversely linked to adherence levels. Thus, tailored and effective strategies are needed to optimize chelation therapy and patient outcomes
Removing EU milk quotas, soft landing versus hard landing
No full textThis paper analyses EU dairy policy reforms and mainly focus on EU milk quota removal scenarios. The model used to evaluate the scenario is a spatial equilibrium model of the dairy sector. It integrates the main competitor of the EU on world markets, Oceania, as well as the main importing regions in the rest of the world. The paper first assesses the impact of the Luxembourg scenario in the prospect of a new WTO agreement in the future. It then provide a quantitative assessment of the impact of the abolition of EU milk quotas on the EU dairy sector either through a gradual phasing out or through an abrupt abolition of milk quotas. Compared to a status-quo policy, the Luxembourg policy leads to a 7.6 percent milk price decrease and a 1.9 percent milk production increase. A gradual increase of milk quotas as recently proposed by the European Commission (+ 7% over 6 years) generate a 9% drop in the EU milk price (compared to the Luxembourg scenario) and an increase in production by 3.5%. A complete elimination of quotas leads to an additional 1% increase in production and an additional 3% drop in the EU milk price. As compared to the baseline scenario, in the Luxembourg scenario in 2014-15, producers gain 1.3 billion ¿, whereas in the same year they lose 2.6 billion ¿ in the soft landing scenario. As such the direct payments are more than sufficient to compensate producers for the loss of producer surplus in the Luxembourg scenario, but fall short to achieve full compensation in the soft landing scenario
Enoxaparin attenuates doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity in rats via interfering with oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis
No full textAbstract Background Doxorubicin (DOX) is commonly used in the treatment of many types of cancers but its cardiotoxicity is limiting its clinical use. Beyond its anticoagulant action, enoxaparin (ENX), a low molecular weight heparin, has been shown to exert multiple pharmacological actions including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic effects. Therefore, the current study aimed to assess if ENX could ameliorate cardiotoxicity induced by DOX. Methods Twenty-one adult male Wistar albino rats were randomly allocated into three groups (n = 7 each) of control, receiving 0.9% saline (i.p.), DOX, receiving 2.5 mg/kg of DOX (i.p.) thrice weekly; and DOX + ENX, receiving ENX (250 IU/kg/day i.p.) and a DOX dose equivalent to that of the DOX only group. Results DOX-induced cardiotoxicity was indicated by marked increases in cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and severe histological lesions, which significantly correlated with cardiotoxicity, oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis markers, compared to controls. DOX group also showed elevations in malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of oxidative stress, and reductions in total antioxidant capacity (TAC). Cardiac inflammatory markers including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) and caspase-3, an apoptotic marker, were also elevated in the DOX group. DOX, however, did not significantly alter brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels. ENX significantly attenuated, but not completely reversed, DOX-induced cardiotoxicity through lowering cTnI and improving cardiomyopathy histopathological scores as compared to the DOX group. ENX also decreased MDA, increased TAC of rats’ heart to levels relatively comparable to control. Significant reductions in TNF-α, IL-1β and caspase-3 were also observed following ENX treatment relative to the DOX only group. Conclusions Collectively, these results describe a cardioprotective effect for ENX against DOX-induced cardiotoxicity which is likely facilitated via suppression of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis
Enoxaparin attenuates doxorubicin induced cardiotoxicity in rats via interfering with oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis
No full textDynamic characterization of drilled shafts foundations on Doremus Avenue Bridge
No full textDynamic properties of the drilled shaft foundations supporting Doremus Avenue Bridge were determined by forced vibration testing. The main two objectives of the substructure testing at Doremus Avenue Bridge were: (1) site evaluation with respect to the dynamic soil properties, and, (2) shaft evaluation for the purpose of definition of their dynamic stiffness. The site characterization entailed crosshole testing for the purpose of evaluation of the dynamic properties of soil such as shear wave velocity and shear modulus profile. The drilled shaft impedance evaluation was done through forced excitation using an electromagnetic shaker. The responses of the tested shaft, as well as the response of adjacent shafts, were measured for the purpose of evaluation of the shaft interaction. To gain a better insight into the shaft dynamics, one of the shafts was instrumented with five triaxial geophones distributed along the full length of the shaft. The scope and results of the site characterization, shaft impedance and shaft interaction evaluation are presented and discussed in this research.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Martina Bali
Similarities of Environmental Health Data of Persistent Organic Pollutants in three Countries Analyzed by the PyHasse Software
No full textChemicals, such as Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), introduced into the environment by human activity may disrupt the endocrine system of animals including fish and wildlife as well as humans and produce adverse effects because of the crucial role hormones play in controlling development. POPs are detected worldwide. In order to evaluate the data on numerous studies on POPs sound mathematical and statistical data evaluation methods are needed. The data analysis method demonstrated in this paper, is based on the theory of partially ordered sets and provides a generalized ranking. Partial order is a discipline of Discrete Mathematics and one may consider partial order as an example of mathematics without arithmetic. The data analysis is performed with the free available software package PyHasse, written by the second author, which provides apart from the calculation of Hasse diagrams many features, such as for example the similarity analysis applied in this paper. Studies on POPs were performed in Denmark (1997-2001) and Finland (1997-1999) as well as in Turkey in 2010. In our data analysis approach we investigated data sets of breast milk samples of women in Denmark and Finland which contained detectable levels of 20 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). These results have already been published by Voigt et al, 2010. In a study performed in the Taurus Mountains area in Turkey the same 20 POPs were detected in breast milk samples. The question arises whether the above mentioned methodology of partial orders can find differences or similarities among these countries. Applying the sub-routine Similarity of the PyHasse software the similarities between data sets can be identified. The combinations are for the similarity analyses: Turkey with Denmark, Turkey with Finland, and Denmark with Finland. In the similarity analysis different types of relations are distinguished which quantify the similarities of the two compared data sets. The highest degree of similarity can be found comparing Denmark with Finland. However, there is also some similarity regarding Turkey – Denmark and Turkey – Finland. This means that the breast milk samples in all three countries are similarly contaminated with respect to their quality the 20 POPs looked upon.http://enviroinfo.eu/sites/default/files/pdfs/vol6919/0137.pd
Author Correction: A deep learning based dual encoder–decoder framework for anatomical structure segmentation in chest X-ray images
No full textAssessment of bridge dynamic characteristics and unknown foundations through large-amplitude shaking
No full textA fixed-base is generally assumed in various dynamic response analyses and the design of bridges. However, soil-foundation flexibility and energy absorption and radiation by the soil system can alter the response of bridges to dynamic loads. This interaction between the structure, foundation, and soil, which in some cases may even change the dynamic load transmitted through the ground, is, in general, referred to as dynamic soil-structure interaction (DSSI). DSSI can either have detrimental or beneficial effects on a bridge response, particularly forces and displacements. In this research, the dynamic characteristics of actual bridges are inferred via an experimental program and numerical simulations. The research concentrated on the evaluation of the significance of DSSI effects under operational live load levels and exploration of unknown foundations. The bridge was shaken using T-Rex, a large-amplitude mobile shaker from the National Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) facilities. Studies implementing Finite Element Modeling to develop time histories and eigenmodes were conducted in a forward-modeling problem setup. Two models were created to assess the DSSI effects on the dynamic response of the bridge. One model included elements that incorporate DSSI effects, while the other had fixed-base boundary conditions. The response from the DSSI FEM model matched the field results better than the fixed-base model, in terms of the peak response amplitudes and identified natural frequencies and modes. The model incorporating DSSI effects led to a reduction in stress levels compared to the fixed-base model. The characterization of unknown bridge foundations by the means of dynamic testing for their potential reuse based on the estimation of their ultimate bearing capacity as a limit state was also studied. The applicability of using large-amplitude mobile shakers in tandem with finite element models for sub-structural identification is examined. By exploiting dynamic features of structures, such as dynamic amplification and knowledge of eigen-modes, significantly lower magnitudes of load can be implemented diagnostically as a global nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique, while having notable response levels. This is accomplished by i) examining material properties extracted from dynamic testing of the foundation/soil system to provide empirical estimates of bearing capacity, or ii) evaluating the global dynamic response of the bridge-foundation system and relating it to failure mechanisms. The methodology and results from field testing and numerical simulations for foundation exploration are presented.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical reference
Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica e Transtornos de Deglutição: revisão de literatura
No full textTCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências da Saúde. Fonoaudiologia.Introdução: Pelas projeções dos órgãos de saúde e sociedades científicas da área, nas próximas décadas a DPOC será uma das cinco primeiras causas de morte em todo o mundo sendo que no Brasil já é uma das doenças mais incapacitantes e com elevados índices de mortalidade. A DPOC corresponde a presença de obstrução ou limitação crônica do fluxo aéreo, apresentando progressão lenta e irreversível. A respiração é a parte intrínseca e vital no processo de deglutição, porém, é a função mais afetada na DPOC. Objetivo:Realizar uma revisão de literatura visando encontrar artigos que busquem a relação da Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica com transtornos de deglutição.Metodologia:Foi conduzida uma busca em artigos nos idiomas PORTUGUES, INGLES e ESPANHOL sobre a relação da Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crônica com transtornos de deglutição, sem limite de tempo, texto na íntegra, tipo de estudo (sem delimitação), população-alvo (adultos) nas bases de dados MEDLINE-PUBMED, LILACS, SCIELO e SCOPUS. As palavras-chave usadas isoladas e em cruzamentos foram: em português: DPOC; transtornos de deglutição, deglutição, disfagia e disfagia orofaríngea; em inglês: COPD, deglutition disorders, swallowing disorders, dysphagia e em espanhol: EPOC e transtornos de Deglución. Resultados: A pesquisa resultou em 224 artigos, destes apenas 18 preencheram os critérios de inclusão, sendo 12 artigos encontrados na base de dados PUBMED, 3 artigos encontrados na base de dados LILACS e 3 na base SCIELO. Conclusão: Há escassez de trabalhos sobre a correlação entre disfagia no paciente com DPOC, porém, em 15 (quinze) dos 18 (dezoito) artigos estudados, o que corresponde a 79% do total, houve esta relação. Sugerem-se novos estudos, estruturados metodologicamente, abordando este mesmo tema, para a disseminação do conhecimento a cerca dos fatores que podem influenciar a estabilidade do paciente acometido por estas comorbidades.Introduction: According to projections of health agencies and scientific societies of the area in the coming decades COPD is one of the five leading causes of death worldwide and in Brazil is already one of the most disabling diseases and high mortality. COPD accounts for obstruction or chronic airflow limitation, with slow progression and irreversible. Breathing is a vital and intrinsic part of the swallowing process, however, is the most affected function in COPD. Objective:To review the literature in order to find articles that seek the relationship of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with swallowing disorders. Methods: We conducted a search for articles in languages PORTUGUESE, ENGLISH and SPANISH on the relationship of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with swallowing disorders, no time limit, full text, type of study (without boundary), the target population (adults ) in MEDLINE, PUBMED, LILACS, SCIELO and SCOPUS. The keywords used were isolated and crossings: in Portuguese: COPD; swallowing disorders, swallowing, dysphagia and oropharyngeal dysphagia, in English: COPD, deglutition disorders, swallowing disorders, dysphagia and Spanish: EPOC and disorders Deglución. Results:The search resulted in 224 articles, of which only 18 met the inclusion criteria, 12articles found in PUBMED database, 3 articles found in the database LILACS and SCIELO third base. In SCOPUS database items found were discarded due to the exclusion criteria. Conclusion:There are few studies on the correlation between dysphagia in patients with COPD, however, within fifteen (15) of the eighteen (18) items studied, which corresponds to 79% of the total, there was this relationship. Suggest new studies, methodologically structured, addressing the same subject, for the dissemination of knowledge about the factors that may influence the stability of patients affected by these comorbidities
