Millions of people worldwide are exposed to arsenic in drinking water. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that ingested arsenic causes lung, bladder, and skin cancer. However, a similar conclusion was not made for kidney cancer because of a lack of research with individual data on exposure and dose-response. With its unusual geology, high exposures, and good information on past arsenic water concentrations, northern Chile is one of the best places in the world to investigate the carcinogenicity of arsenic. We performed a case-control study in 2007-2010 of 122 kidney cancer cases and 640 population-based controls with individual data on exposure and potential confounders. Cases included 76 renal cell, 24 transitional cell renal pelvis and ureter, and 22 other kidney cancers. For renal pelvis and ureter cancers, the adjusted odds ratios by average arsenic intakes of <400, 400-1,000, and >1,000 µg/day (median water concentrations of 60, 300, and 860 µg/L) were 1.00, 5.71 (95% confidence interval: 1.65, 19.82), and 11.09 (95% confidence interval: 3.60, 34.16) (Ptrend < 0.001), respectively. Odds ratios were not elevated for renal cell cancer. With these new findings, including evidence of dose-response, we believe there is now sufficient evidence in humans that drinking-water arsenic causes renal pelvis and ureter cancer.
This paper presents a numerical validation of a thin‐walled beam (TWB) finite element (FE) model of a realistic wind turbine rotor blade. Based on the theory originally developed by Librescu et al. and later extended to suit FE modelling by Phuong, Lee and others, this computationally efficient yet accurate numerical model is capable of capturing most of the features found in large blades including thin‐walled hollow cross section with variable thickness along the section's contour, inner reinforcements, arbitrary material layup and non‐linear anisotropic fibre‐reinforced composites; the present application is, for the time being, restricted to linearity. This one‐dimensional (1D) FE model allows retaining information of different regions of the blade's shell and therefore approximates the behaviour of more complex three‐dimensional (3D) shell or solid FE models more accurately than typical 1D FE beam models. A 9.2 m rotor blade, previously reported in specialized literature, was chosen as a case study to validate the static and dynamic behaviour predicted by a TWB model against an industry‐standard 3D shell model built in a commercial software tool. Given the geometric and material complexities involved, an excellent agreement was found for static deformation curves, as well as a good prediction of the lowest frequency modes in terms of resonance frequencies, mode shapes and frequency response functions; the highest (sixth) frequency mode shows only a fair agreement as expected for an FE model. It is concluded that despite its simplicity, a TWB FE model is sufficiently accurate to serve as a design tool for the recursive analyses required during design and optimization stages of wind turbines using only readily available computational tools. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Decreases in functional ability generate dependence, limiting people’s quality of life. Assessment tools are needed to evaluate functional abilities of the older adults that can objectively and accurately assess any type of user. Such proper or adapted tools are not always available. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the usefulness and universal application of the Alusti Test, a functional assessment scale, in the older population and to evaluate the sensitivity to change of the Alusti Test short version (Alusti-S) in a psychogeriatric hospitalized population. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Longitudinal study was conducted in a psychogeriatric clinic in Navarra, Spain. The study sample comprised 539 persons of 65 years and older hospitalized at a psychogeriatric clinic (mean age 82.8 ± 7.3 years). The sensitivity to change was assessed upon admission and discharge through the application of three tests: Barthel Index, Complete Alusti Test, and Alusti-S. <b><i>Results:</i></b> We verified sensitivity to change, as illustrated by an improvement of 24.7%, 13.8%, and 16.0%, respectively. Due to the greater functional deterioration upon admission, the improvement margin in the three tests was higher in patients over 85 years of age and in women. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> We consider the Alusti Test an innovative functional assessment tool due to its simplicity, sensitivity, and suitability to universal application in psychogeriatric populations. Correlating recommended physical activity based on the functional ability of the person, based on the Alusti Test, is a pending task that could be of interest for the sake of efficient interventions.
This text analyses the routes to develop decolonial academic studies of religions and theologies. Based on a literature review of the subject, the text discusses the following questions: What does it mean to advance decolonial academic studies of religions and theologies? To what extent is it possible for the academic study of religion and theology to go beyond the dominant colonial matrix of power? What specific challenges are faced by scholars interested in developing decolonial discussions of religions and theologies?
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