The saturation percentage (SP) of soils is an important index in hydrological studies. In this paper, artificial neural networks (ANNs), multiple regression (MR), and adaptive neural-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) were used for estimation of saturation percentage of soils collected from Boukan region in the northwestern part of Iran. Percent clay, silt, sand and organic carbon (OC) were u...

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of oxygen desaturation in adults aged>or=40 yrs as altitude above sea level increases. A population-based, cross-sectional study with a multistage cluster sampling of 1,063 subjects from metropolitan Mexico City (Mexico; 2,240 m above sea level), 1,357 from Caracas (Venezuela; 950 m) and 943 from Montevideo (Uruguay; 35 m). The mean of six m...

Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) larvae are thought to manipulate host growth and metabolism through salivary secretions. However, the transcriptome and proteome of Hessian fly salivary glands have not been systematically analyzed. In this research, we analyzed Expressed-Sequence-Tags (EST) representing 6106 cDNA clones randomly selected from four libraries made from dissected salivary glands...

BACKGROUND In patients on chronic haemodialysis, because of a non-specific increase in serum ferritin, iron deficiency may be overlooked leading to failure of erythropoietin treatment. A reticulocyte haemglobin content < 26 pg and a percentage of hypochromic red cells > 2.5 have been proposed as markers of iron-deficient erythropoiesis in such subjects, but it is unclear which parameter is supe...

BACKGROUND This study compares the accuracy of cerebral monitoring systems in detecting cerebral ischemia during carotid endarterectomy. METHODS The authors compared transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD), near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), stump pressure (SP) measurement, and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP) in 48 patients undergoing carotid surgery during regional anesthesia. Cerebral i...

The aim of this study was to determine whether it is possible using ear-oximetry to prescribe the correct oxygen flow rates during exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT). Twenty COPD patients on LTOT, with exercise desaturation breathing oxygen at resting flow rates, performed a series of 6-min treadmill walking tests, with a progres...

The photocatalytic activity of TiO2 anodes was enhanced by synthesizing Ru-doped Ti|TiO2 nanotube arrays. Such photoanodes were fabricated via Ti anodization followed Ru impregnation and annealing. X-ray diffractograms revealed that anatase the main phase, while rutile slightly present in all samples. Scanning electron microscopy evidenced a uniform morphology samples, with diameter ranging fro...