background: sacral pit is a shallow or deep dimple in the lower sacral region, with a reported prevalence of 3-5% among newborns. the aim of the present study was to investigate spinal cord abnormalities in newborns with sacral pit via ultrasound examinations. methods: in this descriptive study, 3071 infants born at 34-42 weeks of gestation were studied in hospitals affiliated to islamic azad u...

Given a block-model of an open cut mine, a production scheduling policy defines which blocks should be extracted, when they should be extracted, and what should be done with them once extracted (i.e., sent to a mill, waste-dump, stockpile, etc.). The conventional three-step heuristic for constructing such a scheduling is as follows: First, compute an ultimate-pit. Second, subdivide the ultimate...

OBJECTIVE Elevated serum phosphate has emerged as a major risk factor for vascular calcification. The sodium-dependent phosphate cotransporter, PiT-1, was previously shown to be required for phosphate-induced osteogenic differentiation and calcification of cultured human vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), but its importance in vascular calcification in vivo and the potential role of its homo...

The standard optimization of open-pit mine design and production scheduling, which is impacted by a variety factors, an essential part mining activities. metal uncertainty, connected to supply crucial component in optimization. To address uncertainties regarding the economic value blocks general problem optimization, minimum-cut network flow algorithm employed give optimal ultimate pit limits p...

The physical demands of rapid and economical running differ from those of physical fighting such that functional trade-offs may prevent simultaneous evolution of optimal performance in both behaviours. Here we test three hypotheses of functional trade-off by measuring determinants of limb musculoskeletal function in two breeds of domestic dogs that have undergone intense artificial selection fo...

There are some large scale orebodies that extend from surface to the extreme depths of the ground. Such orebodies should be extracted by a combination of surface and underground mining methods. Economically, it is highly important to know the limit of upper and lower mining activities. This concern leads the mine designers to the transition problem, which is one of the most complicated problems...