Recently, as urbanization and industrialization progresses, we have witnessed an increasing number of very large scale development projects (termed mega projects in this paper) all around the world, especially in developing and emerging countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRICs). At the same time, issues with mega project decision-making are drawing special attention from invest...

PURPOSE To demonstrate the application of Mescher-Garwood (MEGA) point-resolved spectroscopy sequence (PRESS) editing to the detection of lactate in the brain at 3T and to investigate changes in lactate concentration associated with inspiratory gas challenges. MATERIALS AND METHODS Edited lactate measurements were made in six healthy volunteers while the subjects breathed normoxic (21% O(2)),...

Joint degeneration has become a commonplace problem in aging populations. The main clinical manifestations include joint pain, joint stiffness and joint swelling with functional disorder. Mega MSM is a nutritional supplement that may provide potential relief for joint problems associated with joint degeneration. The current experiment performed was a 12-week, randomized, double-blind, controlle...

Vertebrate claudin proteins are integral components of tight junctions, which function as paracellular diffusion barriers in epithelia. We identified Megatrachea (Mega), a Drosophila transmembrane protein homologous to claudins, and show that it acts in septate junctions, the corresponding structure of invertebrates. Our analysis revealed that Mega has transepithelial barrier function similar t...

This paper proposes a stator core design to achieve variable-flux characteristics enhanced by magnetic saturation in fractional-slot concentrated winding (FSCW) permanent-magnet (PM) motors without additional excitation systems, complicated structures, or active controls. Magnetic induced at suitable locations can enhance because the PM flux linkage is variable with cores. In distributed config...

phytate in poultry rations containing rice bran (rb) critically reduce poultry performance while increasing n and p excretion. the objective of this study was to determine whether the anti-nutritive problems associated with higher inclusions of rice bran in poultry rations (up to 40%) could be mitigated with mega doses of phytase. twenty days old male broiler chicks (n=180) in 60 floor pens wer...

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) has been regarded as female-predominant without evidence of gender difference in survival. We aimed to compare the overall survival, incidence and prevalence of PBC in two well defined population-based studies over a recent decade, considering also sex ratios and mortality. We have taken advantage of population-wide records, during 2000-2009, in Lombardia, Nort...

BACKGROUND Suicide is a public health problem worldwide. Estimates have indicated that over 1 million people commit suicide every year all over the world. Brazil has a moderate suicide death rate (4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants), but the fact that it is a large country leads to the coexistence of diverse characteristics and levels of development across the different Brazilian regions. In this sens...