Background The changed societal views of persons with disabilities are reflected in the 2006 United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, what is not specified in ...the Convention is how to operationalise and measure the Articles composing the Convention, and how to use that information to further enhance the human rights of persons with disabilities.
Method The authors analyse the relationships between eight core quality of life domains and the 34 Articles contained in the Convention.
Results There is a close relationship between the core quality of life domains and the 34 Articles contained in the Convention. Furthermore, the current status of these Articles can be evaluated through the assessment of indicators associated with the eight core quality of life domains.
Conclusions Based on the assessment of these quality of life‐related outcomes, three strategies can be used to enhance the human rights of persons with intellectual disability. These three are to employ person‐centred planning, publish provider profiles and implement a system of support.
Based on colony spreading, chitosan from shrimp waste in agar media inhibited the growth of
Aspergillus niger by 47.26%; there were not differences (
P
>
0.05) with respect to commercial chitosan ...(Fluka, BioChemika) (56.16%). All chitosan films showed similar glass transition temperatures (
P
>
0.05) with respect to cellophane control; however, chemically, all chitosan films showed an increase in the
T
g values that could be related with the decrease (
P
≤
0.05) in elongation percentage with respect to the control film. According to FT-IR spectroscopic analysis of chitosan films, the fungistatic activity can be related to the hydrogen bonds’ formation between the amino groups of chitosan with the hydroxyl groups from polymer or sorbitol. The plasticizer addition increased (
P
≤
0.05) the elongation of chitosan films. The Young's module,
E, was lower (
P
≤
0.05) for all chitosan films comparing with cellophane. When incorporated into the composite films elaborated by casting, chitosan retained its fungistatic activity. Even though the activity against fungi growth was lower (15.66% for non-plasticized silage chitosan films, pC
S), a reduction (
P
≤
0.05) in the hyphae diameter of
A. niger was observed. Results suggest that it is feasible to elaborate antifungal chitosan films, with good thermal stability and acceptable mechanical properties for food packaging.
Ray fish were caught, filleted, and stored in ice. Fillets were analysed for 18
days to determine the chemical, biochemical and physical changes and their relation to the muscle eating quality. ...Trimethylamine (TMA-N), total volatile bases (TVB-N), ATP content and breakdown products,
K value, pH, texture, water-holding capacity (WHC) and colour changes were monitored. At the beginning of the study, the ray fish muscle showed a low concentration of ATP and a high value of inosine 5′-monophosphate (IMP). Regarding to the signs of freshness and deterioration,
K value presented an exponential increase (
r2
=
0.95) with an initial value of 4.7% and a final value of 47.5%. Furthermore, the TBV-N and TMA-N significantly increased (
P
<
0.05) during the storage in ice. As for the physical analysis whereas the texture changed (
P
<
0.05); pH and the WHC were not affected (
P
<
0.05). The overall results of this study indicated that the edible quality of ray fish muscle was maintained during at least 15
days of ice storage.
Objective
To assess potential associations among serum cytokines and microRNA (miR) levels with ultrasound (US) findings suggestive of urate deposits in chronic asymptomatic hyperuricemia and gout.
...Methods
All participants underwent musculoskeletal US and measurements of serum interleukin‐1β (IL‐1β), IL‐2, IL‐4, IL‐5, IL‐6, IL‐8, IL‐10, IL‐12, IL‐13, interferon‐γ, tumor necrosis factor, monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, and epithelial neutrophil–activating peptide 78, as well as miR‐146a, miR‐155, and miR‐223 levels.
Results
Thirty individuals with asymptomatic hyperuricemia, 31 normouricemic controls, and 30 patients with gout were included. The frequency of synovitis and double contour sign using US was similar between asymptomatic hyperuricemia (67% and 27%, respectively) and patients with gout (77% and 27%, respectively), and each had a higher frequency than controls (45% and 0%, respectively). Serum IL‐6 and IL‐8 levels were similar between patients with asymptomatic hyperuricemia (mean ± SD 69.7 ± 73.4 and 18.5 ± 25.6 pg/ml, respectively) and gout (mean ± SD 75.8 ± 47.6 and 24.4 ± 31.7 pg/ml, respectively), and higher than controls (mean ± SD 28.2 ± 17.6 and 7.4 ± 6.0 pg/ml, respectively). A similar distribution was observed for miR‐155 levels in asymptomatic hyperuricemia, patients with gout, and controls (mean ± SD 0.22 ± 0.18, 0.20 ± 0.14, and 0.08 ± 0.04, respectively). Associations between morphostructural abnormalities suggestive of urate deposits (regardless of clinical diagnosis) and serum markers were assessed. Subjects with urate deposits had higher IL‐6 (257.2 versus 47.0 pg/ml; P = 0.005), IL‐8 (73.2 versus 12.0 pg/ml; P = 0.026), and miR‐155 (0.21 versus 0.16; P = 0.015) levels than those without deposition findings.
Conclusion
In individuals with chronic asymptomatic hyperuricemia, the presence of synovitis and double contour sign by US may represent a subclinical manifestation of monosodium urate crystal nucleation, capable of triggering inflammatory pathways (IL‐6 and IL‐8) and mechanisms of intercellular communication (miR‐155), similar to what is observed in patients with gout.
•Semiempirical model for fuel particles motion in fluidized beds is established.•Considering 3 mixing zones: bubble wake solids, bulk solids, and a splash zone.•Viscoplastic stress model to solve the ...force balance for axial fuel motion.•Validation with wide range of lateral dispersion coefficients from industrial units.•Model investigates different parameters influencing lateral dispersion.
A semiempirical model for the mixing of fuel particles in a fluidized bed is presented and validated against experimental data from the literature regarding lateral fuel mixing. The model of fuel particle mixing categorizes the fluidized bed into three mixing zones: a rising bubble wake solid zone, an emulsion zone with sinking bulk solids, and a splash zone located above the dense bed. In the emulsion zone, the axial motion of the fuel particle is described by a force balance, applying a viscoplastic stress model, i.e., with a dominant yield stress and only a minor contribution of the shear stress, using an empirical expression from the literature. In the lateral direction, the model is divided into so-called ‘recirculation cells’, which are crucial for the lateral mixing.
Comparisons of the modeled and measured lateral dispersion coefficients of different fuel types measured in three different large-scale fluidized bed units under both hot and cold conditions (covering a broad range of coefficients: 10−4–10−1 m2/s) reveal satisfactory agreement. The validated model was used to investigate how the lateral mixing of fuel particles depends on the excess gas velocity, the bed height, and the lateral distribution of bubbles over the bed cross-section (which is typically uneven in industrial FB furnaces), as well as the size and density of the fuel particles.
Background The importance of the valid assessment of quality of life (QOL) is heightened with the increased use of the QOL construct as a basis for policies and practices in the field of ...intellectual disability (ID).
Method This article discusses the principles that should guide the measurement process, the major interrogatories (i.e. who, what, when, where, why, and how) of QOL measurement, issues and procedures in the cross‐cultural measurement of QOL, and the current uses of QOL data.
Results Based on the above methods, the article presents a number of important guidelines regarding QOL measurement.
Conclusion From a measurement perspective the use of the QOL construct is changing. Initially it was used as a sensitizing notion, social construct, and unifying theme. Increasingly, it is being used as conceptual framework for assessing quality outcomes, a social construct that guides quality enhancement strategies, and a criterion for assessing the effectiveness of those strategies. This new role places additional emphasis on the valid assessment of one's QOL.
The Collaborative Cross (CC) is a mouse recombinant inbred strain panel that is being developed as a resource for mammalian systems genetics. Here we describe an experiment that uses partially inbred ...CC lines to evaluate the genetic properties and utility of this emerging resource. Genome-wide analysis of the incipient strains reveals high genetic diversity, balanced allele frequencies, and dense, evenly distributed recombination sites-all ideal qualities for a systems genetics resource. We map discrete, complex, and biomolecular traits and contrast two quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping approaches. Analysis based on inferred haplotypes improves power, reduces false discovery, and provides information to identify and prioritize candidate genes that is unique to multifounder crosses like the CC. The number of expression QTLs discovered here exceeds all previous efforts at eQTL mapping in mice, and we map local eQTL at 1-Mb resolution. We demonstrate that the genetic diversity of the CC, which derives from random mixing of eight founder strains, results in high phenotypic diversity and enhances our ability to map causative loci underlying complex disease-related traits.
•Drying kinetics of Granny Smith apple is determined by TGA at isothermal conditions.•A model to predict the drying curve at variable conditions is presented.•The model is experimentally validated ...with TGA tests showing excellent agreement.•The model is applied to predict the drying curve in indirect solar drying processes.•Experiments in a lab-scale indirect solar dryer are used to validate the model.
The thin-layer drying kinetics of Granny Smith apples is determined by thermogravimetric analysis of the drying process at constant temperatures ranging from 20°C to 50°C, using intervals of 5°C. The experimental drying curves obtained in the TGA were fitted to the Wang-Singh equation, which was found to describe precisely the drying process occurring at constant drying temperature. A novel model, capable of predicting the evolution of the moisture ratio of Granny Smith apples during the drying process with variable drying temperatures, was proposed. The model was validated with experimental TGA measurements of the drying of apples at variable temperatures, typical of solar drying, obtaining maximum deviations for the drying time less than 1.5%. Once validated, the model proposed was also applied to the drying of Granny Smith apples in an indirect solar dryer. The comparison of the model prediction with the experimental measurements of the drying of apples at variable drying conditions conducted in a lab-scale solar dryer showed a proper agreement, with low deviations (less than 10%) associated to the thermal inertia of the samples.
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•Fixed and fluidized beds are compared as heat recovery units for CSP plants.•CO2 in supercritical conditions is used as fluidizing agent.•The fixed bed heat exchanger maximises the ...exergy recovery for the discharge process.•A parametric study for the fixed bed is performed to analyse the heat recovery time.•The recovery time is proportional to the size of the fixed bed in the cases analysed.
In this work, the technical feasibility of a fluidized and a fixed bed heat exchanger in a concentrating solar power (CSP) tower for heat recovery applications is analysed using Two-Fluid Model simulations. The heat recovery process analysed in this work corresponds to the discharge of sensible heat from solid particles. In the cases studied, the fluidizing agent of the bed is carbon dioxide (CO2) in supercritical conditions and the particles, which constitute the bed material, are sensible heat storage material. CO2 is gaining attention in its application as a working fluid in thermodynamic cycles for power generation, especially in transcritical and supercritical conditions due to its high density and excellent heat transfer characteristics. Currently, research is focused on exploring the CO2 capabilities when used in combination with CSP technologies, together with systems that allow the storage and recovery of the solar thermal energy.
Fixed or fluidized beds work as a direct contact heat exchanger between the particles and the working fluid that percolates through the bed material. Several bed configurations are presented to derive the optimal configuration of the bed that enhances the efficiency from both the energetic and the exergetic points of view. The results indicate that a fixed bed heat exchanger produces a maximum increase of availability in the CO2 flow during longer times than a fluidized bed heat exchanger. Therefore, to maximise the exergy recovery from solar heated particles to supercritical CO2 a fixed bed heat exchanger is more suitable than a fluidized bed heat exchanger.
There is considerable debate in the area of individual quality of life research regarding the factor structure and hierarchical nature of the quality of life construct. Our purpose in this study was ...to test via structural equation modeling an a priori quality of life model consisting of eight first-order factors and one second-order factor. Data were collected from 769 individuals with mild or moderate intellectual disability from 15 countries in four geographic regions. They all completed a multidimensional quality of life questionnaire. The presence of a single second-order factor in quality of life was empirically demonstrated through confirmatory factor analysis. Comparison of two alternative second-order quality of life factor models was further evaluated. Implications for future research, practice, and public policy regarding services to individuals with intellectual disability are also discussed.
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