Weight changes following lower limb arthroplasty : a prospective observational study

The aim of this study was to assess patterns of weight loss/gain following total hip or knee joint replacement. Four hundred and fifty primary lower limb arthroplasty patients, where the current surgery was the last limiting factor to improved mobility, were selected. Over a one year period 212 gained weight (mean 5.03kg), 92 remained static, and 146 lost weight. The median change was a weight gain of 0.50Kg (p=0.002). All patients had a significant improvement in Oxford outcome scores. Hip arthroplasty patients were statistically more likely to gain weight than knee arthroplasty patients. A successful arthroplasty, restoring a patient's mobility, does not necessarily lead to subsequent weight loss. The majority of patients put on weight with an overall net weight gain. No adverse effect on functional outcome was noted

Identitas Orang Tugu sebagai Keturunan Portugis di Jakarta

Orang Tugu di Kelurahan Semper Barat merupakan sebuah komunitas keturunan Portugis yang memiliki akar budaya dan sejarah yang cukup campuran sejak tahun 1661. Mereka berusaha untuk tetap bertahan dengan melestarikan aspek-aspek kebudayaan yang dimilikinya melalui beragam aktivitas dan tindakan-tindakan sosial sebagai upayanya untuk mendapatkan pengakuan akan identitas mereka sebagai Orang Tugu. Penelitian secara kualitatif dengan metode etnografi dan extended case method, digunakan sebagai alat untuk mengumpulkan dan menganalisis data. Paparan data menjelaskan bahwa interaksi sosial Orang Tugu dengan kelompok-kelompok lainnya dilakukan sebagai upaya mereka untuk mempertahankan identitasnya. Hal tersebut memunculkan dua kelompok utama yaitu, kelompok penting (significant others) hubungan di antara mereka didasari oleh adanya kepentingan-kepentingan tertentu yang sifatnya saling menguntungkan, yaitu salah satunya berkaitan dengan eksistensi musik keroncong. Ada pula kelompok umum lainnya (generalized others) hubungan mereka bersifat saling membutuhkan. Kelompok yang dikategorikan dalam hubungan saling menguntungkan adalah pemerintah daerah, komunitas pemerhati budaya dan sejarah, serta penanggap keroncong. Adapun kelompok-kelompok yang dibutuhkan oleh Orang Tugu dalam kehidupan sehari-hari adalah tetangga Betawi, dan jemaat gereja. The Tugu people in Semper Barat Village are a community of Portuguese descent who has quite mixed cultural and historical roots since 1661. They try to stay afloat by preserving their cultural aspects through various activities and social actions as an effort to get recognition of their identity as Tugu People. Qualitative methods with ethnographic approaches and extended case method are used as tools to collect and analyze data. The results explain that the social interaction of Tugu People with important groups (significant others) is carried out because of the existence of certain interests which are mutually beneficial, but there are also those that are mutually needed, namely those in other general groups (generalized others). Groups that are categorized as mutually beneficial relationships are local governments, cultural and historical observer communities, and keroncong appreciators. The groups needed by Tugu People in their daily lives are neighbors from Betawi ethnic group, and church members

Properties of mortar and concrete containing fine sand contaminated with light crude oil

Sand contaminated with crude oil has become a major environmental concern worldwide. This problem poses threats to human health, the ecosystem, and the properties of the surrounding sand. Due to the prohibiting cost of the existing remediation methods, a more cost-effective way of utilizing oil contaminated sand is warranted. Mixing oil contaminated sand with cement and using this mix as alternative construction material is considered an innovative approach to reduce its environmental impact. This study is the first to investigate the effect of light crude oil on the physical and mechanical properties of fine sand, and mortar and concrete where contaminated sand is an ingredient. This approach is a critical step to sufficiently evaluate the suitability of this waste product as a sustainable building and construction material. In the first stage, an extensive experimental study was conducted on the important geotechnical properties of fine sand contaminated with light crude oil. The results showed that water absorption, permeability, contact angle, frictional angle, and cohesion decreased with high levels of oil contamination. However, these properties of fine sand were enhanced at 1% oil contamination. The highest value of cohesion (10.76 kPa) and 10% enhancement in shear strength was observed at this oil contamination level. More importantly, the results of this stage provided information on the suitability of using this waste material as fine aggregates in mortar and concrete. The second stage consisted of an evaluation of cement mortar properties containing fine sand contaminated with light crude oil. Mixing cement and water before adding the oil contaminated sand yielded up to 19% higher compressive strength compared to the cement mortar prepared by mixing the sand and cement before adding the water, due to a better reaction of cement particles and water during the hydration process. Similarly, curing in a fog room produced mortar of up to 45.6% higher compressive strength compared to mortars cured under other curing conditions, i.e. in water, in air, and in plastic bags. The scanning microscope observations revealed that cement mortars cured in the fog room had lower total porosity, smaller capillary pores, and denser calcium silicate hydrate compared to those cured under other methods. A w/c ratio of 0.5 was found to produce cement mortar with a higher compressive strength than mortar with a w/c ratio of 0.4 or 0.6. It was also found that the cement mortar with sand having more than 2% oil contamination requires a longer curing period to fully develop its compressive strength. The results of this stage demonstrated that proper mixing and curing methods, w/c ratio, and reasonable curing time are important for a cement mortar containing oil contaminated sand to achieve reasonable physical and mechanical properties for building and construction. An investigation of the suitability of a geopolymer binder to produce mortar containing oil contaminated sand was investigated during the third stage. It was found that heat curing can increase the compressive strength of geopolymer mortar up to 54% compared to ambient curing situation. The geopolymer mortar with 1% of light crude oil contamination yielded a 20% higher compressive strength to mortar containing sand with a saturated surface dry condition. This was due to the high alkalinity of the solution, leading to the generation of more geopolymeric binder. Similarly, the formation of efflorescence decreased as the level of oil contamination decreased due to light crude oil filling up the pores. From this stage, it was demonstrated that geopolymer mortar containing oil contaminated sand has the potential as a new engineering material which has a positive impact on the environment. An investigation of the properties of concrete containing oil contaminated sand was implemented as the last stage. The results of the investigation showed that the density of concrete deceased as the amount of crude oil increased due to an increase in the surface voids and total porosity. The highest compressive and splitting tensile strength was obtained for concrete with 1% of light crude oil contamination due to the oil optimising the sand cohesion. Above 1%, the bond between the cement paste and aggregates was affected, resulting in a decrease in strength properties. The developed simplified prediction equations to estimate the compressive strength of mortar and concrete containing fine sand contaminated with light crude oil gave a 98% accuracy between the experimental results and the predicted values. An enhanced understanding of the behaviour of fine sand contaminated with light crude oil and the properties of mortar and concrete utilising this waste material is the outcome of this investigation. This outcome will provide a benchmark for future studies and useful information to carefully consider oil contaminated sand for use in building and construction, and as a cost-effective alternative remediation method

Genetic Testing in Emerging Economies (GenTEE)

Drivers, barriers and opportunities for genetic testing services in emerging economies: the GenTEE (Genetic Testing in Emerging Economies) project Background: Due to the epidemiological transition in the emerging economies of China, East Asia, India, Latin America, the Middle East and South Africa, these economies are facing (i) an increasing proportion of morbidity and mortality due to congenital and genetic conditions, (ii) a rising need for genetic services to improve patient outcomes and overall population health. These economies are facing the challenge how: (i) to ensure the successful translation of genetic/genomics laboratory and academic research into quality assured pathways, (ii) to develop a service delivery infrastructure that leads to equitable and affordable access to high quality genetic/genomic testing services. Objectives: (i) to document and compare current practices and the state of genetic service provision in eight emerging economies: Argentina, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Oman, Philippines and South Africa, (ii) to identify current knowledge gaps and unmet service needs. The GenTEE international project is intended to inform policy decisions for the challenges of delivering equitable high quality genetic services and to promote international collaboration for capacity building. Methods: (i) a standardized survey that is the first of its worldwide that allows comparison of services internationally across a number of key dimensions by using a core set of indicators, selected by the GenTEE consortium for their relevance and comparability, (ii) capacity building demonstration projects. To date, the GenTEE project has completed its survey that maps the current state of genetic services in the participating countries and identifies current drivers, barriers and opportunities for genetic services development. Results: There is no equitable access to genetic services in all countries mainly due to financial barriers (underfunded fragmented public services, out-of-pocket expenses tend to be the norm for genetic testing services), geographical barriers (concentration of services in main cities) and skill gaps, resulting in inequitable services or delayed access. The development of services in the private sector is opportunistic and mostly technology and market driven. There is a marked lack of standard operating procedures and agreed quality assessment processes for new technologies. Discussion: International collaborative networks can provide support for capacity building and help to strengthen the provision of quality genetic/genomic services in emerging economies.JRC.I.1-Chemical Assessment and Testin

Fitting censored quantile regression by variable neighborhood search

Quantile regression is an increasingly important topic in statistical analysis. However, fitting censored quantile regression is hard to solve numerically because the objective function to be minimized is not convex nor concave in regressors. Performance of standard methods is not satisfactory, particularly if a high degree of censoring is present. The usual approach is to simplify (linearize) estimator function, and to show theoretically that such approximation converges to optimal values. In this paper, we suggest a new approach, to solve optimization problem (nonlinear, nonconvex, and nondifferentiable) directly. Our method is based on variable neighborhood search approach, a recent successful technique for solving global optimization problems. The presented results indicate that our method can improve quality of censored quantizing regressors estimator considerably

The analysis of the effect of tax on profitability indices in listed companies of Tehran Stock Exchange

Profitability is considered as the most complicated feature for a company to be understood and evaluated. These ratios included in profitability are applied for evaluating business capabilities and making the wages in comparison with all cost during a specific period of time. In a more accurate way, the ratios indicate the profitability of a company, having calculated the total costs and tax on revenue, operational efficiency, company pricing policies, assets profitability and company’s shareholders. The approach applied in this research is descriptive-analytic. Using the data of 28 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange from 2004 to 2010 and using panel data approach, the tax effects over the paid profitability indices were studied in this paper. The results achieved from all estimation cases point out a negative significant effects on various profitability indices. It should be mentioned that in order to relate the taxes to the profitability indices, the costs and the debts of a corporation can be referred. Results of the study indicated that the debts ratio to asset and the type of the industry showed a negative effect on profitability and capital ratio to asset and the size of the company indicated positive significant effects on profitability index

The analysis of the effect of tax on profitability indices in listed companies of Tehran Stock Exchange

Profitability is considered as the most complicated feature for a company to be understood and evaluated. These ratios included in profitability are applied for evaluating business capabilities and making the wages in comparison with all cost during a specific period of time. In a more accurate way, the ratios indicate the profitability of a company, having calculated the total costs and tax on revenue, operational efficiency, company pricing policies, assets profitability and company’s shareholders. The approach applied in this research is descriptive-analytic. Using the data of 28 companies listed in Tehran Stock Exchange from 2004 to 2010 and using panel data approach, the tax effects over the paid profitability indices were studied in this paper. The results achieved from all estimation cases point out a negative significant effects on various profitability indices. It should be mentioned that in order to relate the taxes to the profitability indices, the costs and the debts of a corporation can be referred. Results of the study indicated that the debts ratio to asset and the type of the industry showed a negative effect on profitability and capital ratio to asset and the size of the company indicated positive significant effects on profitability index