Integration Possibility of Urban Public Bus System and Cable Car in Maribor

Combination of a bus system and cable car system can reduce the overall congestion of traffic in urban areas, where surrounding hills or mountains hold larger settlements or tourist and recreational infrastructure. With this kind of integration number of individual car trips can be significantly reduced. In this paper, the authors present an analysis of the pilot project implementation, which was held in Maribor. The authors conducted a limited test trial of two means of transportation, combining them into a single operating transport offer for inhabitants and tourists. Combined transport option proved to be a good starting point for reduction of traffic and parking congestion during winter tourist season and beyond. Method used in the research, in order to gain actual potential of integrating two systems and improving public transport offer, was establishment and implementation of the pilot project in Maribor during January 2011. Data was gathered through interviews of two interest groups. The first covered the users who were brought to the foothills of Pohorje＇s ski center by bus. The second covered the cable car users that were traveling to the top of Pohorje. For a limited time period, a trial principle of a single ticket was established, which gave ski-pass holders free bus ride on bus line No. 6. With the aim of reducing CO2, test drives of hybrid bus and compressed natural gas bus were conducted alongside many promotional activities with which users were informed of importance of environmentally friendly mobility options.

The penetration depth of atomic radicals in tubes with catalytic surface properties

Catalysis of molecular radicals is often performed in interesting experimental configurations.One possible configuration is tubular geometry.The radicals are introduced into the tubes on one side,and stable molecules are exhausted on the other side.The penetration depth of radicals depends on numerous parameters,so it is not always feasible to calculate it.This article presents systematic measurements of the penetration depth of oxygen atoms along tubes made from nickel,cobalt,and copper.The source of O atoms was a surfatron-type microwave plasma.The initial density of O atoms depended on the gas flow and was 0.7×10^(21)m^(-3),2.4×10^(21)m^(-3),and 4.2×10^(21)m^(-3)at the flow rates of 50,300,and 600 sccm,and pressures of 10,35,and 60 Pa,respectively.The gas temperature remained at room temperature throughout the experiments.The dissociation fraction decreased exponentially along the length of the tubes in all cases.The penetration depths for well-oxidized nickel were 1.2,1.7,and 2.4 cm,respectively.For cobalt,they were slightly lower at 1.0,1.3,and 1.6 cm,respectively,while for copper,they were 1.1,1.3,and 1.7 cm,respectively.The results were explained by gas dynamics and heterogeneous surface association.These data are useful in any attempt to estimate the loss of molecular fragments along tubes,which serve as catalysts for the association of various radicals to stable molecules.

High-cycle fatigue and fracture behaviours of SLM AlSi10Mg alloy

The high-cycle fatigue and fracture behaviours of the selective laser melting(SLM)AlSi10Mg alloy were investigated.Flat specimens were designed directly in the shape required for the fatigue tests under pulsating loading in tension(R=0,R is the dynamic factor).The fatigue−life(S−N)curves were modelled with a conditional Weibull’s probability density function,where the real-valued genetic algorithm(GA)and the differential ant-stigmergy algorithm(DASA)were applied to estimating the needed Weibull’s parameters.The fractography of the fatigue specimens showed that the fatigue cracks initiated around the surface defects produced by SLM and then propagated in an unstable manner.However,the presence of large SLM defects mainly influenced the crack initiation period and did not have a strong influence on the crack propagation.The obtained experimental results present a basis for further investigation of the fatigue behaviour of advanced materials and structures(e.g.cellular metamaterials)fabricated by additive manufacturing(AM).Especially,in the case of two-dimensional cellular structures,the cross-section of cellular struts is usually rectangular which corresponds to the specimen shape considered in this work.

Effect of Ce on morphology of a(Al)-Al_2Cu eutectic in Al-Si-Cu alloy

The effect of Ce addition on the morphology of the α（Al）-Al2Cu eutectic in Al-Si-Cu alloy was investigated using thermal analysis, light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, focused ion beam and energy dispersive analysis. The results show that the eutectic α（Al）-Al2Cu forms within small space between dendrites, silicon and AlSiFeMn plates. Eutectic Al2Cu is not lamellar but degenerated. However, Al2Cu in Ce-modified alloys is more compact. Ce partially dissolves in Al2Cu, which is a viable reason for the formation of coarser Al2Cu. The addition of Ce also increases the microhardness of theα（Al）-Al2Cu eutectic by almost 10%compared with the basic Al-Si-Cu alloy.

Life threatening bleeding from duodenal ulcer after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass: Case report and review of the literature

Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding is a rare, but serious complication of gastric bypass surgery. The inaccessibility of the excluded stomach restrains postoperative examination and treatment of the gastric remnant and duodenum, and represents a major challenge, especially in the emergency setting. A 59-year-old patient with previous history of peptic ulcer disease had an upper gastrointestinal bleeding from a duodenal ulcer two years after having a gastric bypass procedure for morbid obesity. After negative upper endoscopy finding, he was urgently evaluated for gastrointestinal bleeding. At emergency laparotomy, the bleeding duodenal ulcer was identified by intraoperative endoscopy through gastrotomy. The patient recovered well after surgical hemostasis, excision of the duodenal ulcer and completion of the remnant gastrectomy. Every general practitioner, gastroenterologist and general surgeon should be aware of growing incidenceof bariatric operations and coherently possible complications after such procedures, which modify patient's anatomy and physiology.

Ground cover management and farmyard manure effects on soil nitrogen dynamics, productivity and economics of organically grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. subsp, secalina)

Ground cover management and farmyard manure （FYM） management have important roles in organic lettuce production. However, there is not enough information about their combined effects. In order to assess the effects of individual and combined ground cover and FYM management on soil mineral N （NH4-N and NO3-N） dynamics, lettuce yield and economics in organic farming, a two-year field experiment was conducted on a certified organic farm in Kisa6 （Vojvodina, Serbia）. The experiment had a two-factorial split-plot completely randomized block design. FYM was applied on the half of the experimental field as a whole-plot factor, while ground cover management included the following four treatments： （I） control, without ground cover management （0）; （11） hoeing （H）; （111） agrotextile cover; （IV） straw mulch （SM）, which were applied on split plots. The applied SM and AT increased soil moisture by 12.83 and 3.73%, respectively, compared to the control treatment. FYM increased soil mineral N concentration, the lettuce fresh matter （FM） yield and nitrate concentration in lettuce. However, nitrate concentration in lettuce in all treatments was below the limit required by the European Commission （EC） （2001）. The highest lettuce yield was obtained by AT （39 122 kg）, followed by SM （33 925 kg）, and it was higher with FYM application by 16.85%. Hoeing did not positively affect the yield, probably due to its negative effect on soil moisture. Additional profit was higher with FYM, showing the following decreasing order： AT〉H〉SM〉Ф. However, value/cost ratio （VCR） was in the order Ф〉H〉SM〉AT on FYM fertilized plots. FYM application led to higher lettuce yield and higher profit and VCR. In case a farm does not have FYM, SM is the best alternative due to its positive effect on the yield and low investment costs. Keywords： hoeing, agrotextile cover, straw mulch, farmyard manure, FYM, mulch

Solidification of Be-free Ni-based dental alloy

A novel, Nb- and Si-rich and Be-free Ni-based alloy was cast by two methods of investment casting and continuouscasting to study the microstructure evolution during solidification and its mechanical properties. The solidification of the alloy startedwith the primary crystallization of FCC-γ, followed by a binary eutectic reaction, with the formation of a heterogeneous constituent：FCC-γ＋G-phase, which replaced the low-melting eutectic （FCC-γ＋NiBe） in the Be-bearing alloys. AlNi6Si3 and γ′ formed during theterminal stages of solidification by investment casting, while the formation of AlNi6Si3 was suppressed by continuous casting. TheScheil solidification model agreed very well with the experimental results.

Fatigue analysis of closed-cell aluminium foam using different material models

The fatigue analyses of AlSi7 closed-cell aluminium foam were performed using a real porous model and three different homogenised material models:crushable foam model,isotropic hardening model and kinematic hardening model.The numerical analysis using all three homogenised material models is based on the available experimental results previously determined from fatigue tests under oscillating tensile loading with the stress ratio R=0.1.The obtained computational results have shown that both isotropic and kinematic hardening models are suitable to analyse the fatigue behaviour of closed-cell aluminium foam.Besides,the kinematic hardening material model has demonstrated significantly shorter simulation time if compared to the isotropic hardening material model.On the other hand,the crushable foam model is recognized as an inappropriate approach for the fatigue analyses under tension loading conditions.

Reliability Analysis of Piled Raft Foundation Using a Novel Hybrid Approach of ANN and Equilibrium Optimizer

In many civil engineering projects,Piled Raft Foundations(PRFs)are usually preferred where the incoming load fromthe superstructures is very high.In geotechnical engineering practice,the settlement of soil layers is a critical issue for the serviceability of the structures.Thus,assessment of risk associated with the structures corresponding to the maximum allowable settlement of soils needs to be carried out in the design phase.In this study,reliability analysis of PRF based on settlement criteria is performed using a high-performance hybrid soft computing model.The new approach is an integration of the artificial neural network(ANN)and a recently developed meta-heuristic algorithm called equilibrium optimizer(EO).The concept of reliability index was used to explore the feasibility of a newly constructed hybrid model of ANN and EO(i.e.,ANN-EO)against the conventional approach of calculating the probability of failure of PRF.Experimental results show that the proposed ANN-EO attained the most accurate prediction with R^(2)=0.9914 and RMSE=0.0518 in the testing phase,which are significantly better than those obtained from conventional ANN,multivariate adaptive regression splines,and genetic programming,including the ANNoptimized with particle swarmoptimization developed in this study.Based on the experimental results of different settlement values,the newly constructedANN-EOis very potential to analyze the risk associatedwith civil engineering structures.Also,the present study would significantly contribute to the knowledge pool of reliability studies related to piled raft systems because the works of literature on reliability analysis of piled raft systems are relatively scarce.

Diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease: Non-invasive assessment of cardiovascular risk

The prevalence and burden of diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease on global health and socioeconomic development is already heavy and still rising.Diabetes mellitus by itself is linked to adverse cardiovascular events,and the presence of concomitant chronic kidney disease further amplifies cardiovascular risk.The culmination of traditional(male gender,smoking,advanced age,obesity,arterial hypertension and dyslipidemia)and non-traditional risk factors(anemia,inflammation,proteinuria,volume overload,mineral metabolism abnormalities,oxidative stress,etc.)contributes to advanced atherosclerosis and increased cardiovascular risk.To decrease the morbidity and mortality of these patients due to cardiovascular causes,timely and efficient cardiovascular risk assessment is of huge importance.Cardiovascular risk assessment can be based on laboratory parameters,imaging techniques,arterial stiffness parameters,ankle-brachial index and 24 h blood pressure measurements.Newer methods include epigenetic markers,soluble adhesion molecules,cytokines and markers of oxidative stress.In this review,the authors present several non-invasive methods of cardiovascular risk assessment in patients with diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease.

Deformation Analysis of LRC Underground Gas Storage

The risk during construction and in the operation of the underground gas storage （UGS） was analyzed. One of most important risk which should be prevented is large deformation or destruction of the steel lining. The specific deformation of the steel lining needs to be inside the acceptable value. This paper presents lined rock cavern （LRC） concept and specific deformations, which can occur under operation of underground gas storage. Analysis is performed with different （3D model and axis symmetrical） FEM models and analytical model. We made a comparison between analytical calculation and FEM calculation. Concrete wall is mechanically not regarded as reinforced concrete structure which means that concrete will crack. Finally, we determined the minimum value of Young＇s modulus, which satisfies the condition of maximum deformation of steel lining.

Latent brain infection with Moraxella osloensis as a possible cause of cerebral gliomatosis type 2:A case report

BACKGROUND The gram-negative aerobic bacterium Moraxella osloensis is an opportunistic pathogen in brain tissues.CASE SUMMARY The gram-negative aerobic bacterium Moraxella osloensis was isolated from a patient’s brain tissue during a stereotactic biopsy.CONCLUSION This is the first report of a brain tissue infection with Moraxella osloensis possibly causing brain gliomatosis.

Computation of focus quantities of three-dimensional polynomial systems

Fix a collection of polynomial vector fields on R3with a singularity at the origin,for every one of which the linear part at the origin has two pure imaginary and one non-zero eigenvalue. Some such systems admit a local analytic first integral,which then defines a local center manifold of the system. Conditions for existence of a first integral are given by the vanishing certain polynomial or rational functions in the coefficients of the system called focus quantities. In this paper we prove that the focus quantities have a structure analogous to that in the two-dimensional case and use it to formulate an efficient algorithm for computing them.

Water Soluble Propolis and Royal Jelly Enhance the Antimicrobial Activity of Honeys and Promote the Growth of Human Macrophage Cell Line

Due to the overuse and misuse of antibiotic, an increase in antibiotic resistance of pathogenic bacteria is evolving. Attention should be focused on natural alternatives to antibiotics, like propolis, royal jelly （R J） and honeys. They all have strong antibacterial properties due to the active substances they contain. This study investigated the effect of combination of water soluble propolis （WSP） Greitl20 or fresh royal jelly （F-RJ） （MiZigoj） and Forest honeys as antibacterial against Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Proteus mirabilis, Acinetobacter baumanii, Staphylococcus aureus, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus （MRSA）, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae and Candida albicans. These substances are also cell growth promoters for human macrophage （TLT） cell line. WSP Greitl20, F-RJ （M） and different Forest honeys were prepared in saline as 10% solutions. The antimicrobial activity was expressed as the minimal inhibitory concentration （MIC） in mg/mL. The growth promotion activity was measured at optical density （OD） 595 nm. The combination ofWSP Greitl20 with different Forest honeys is better than F-RJ （M） in same combination with different Forest honeys. The best antibacterial/antifungal activity was found with the combination of 10% WSP Greit 120 in the Forest honey （1：10） from Italy or Spain. When measuring the growth promoting activity of TLT cell line, the best activity was detected at the combination of 10% WSP Greitl20 in the Forest honey from Italy （GI3 = 0.796 ± 0.014 and GI5 = 1.133± 0.022）. Antimicrobial and growth promoting activities are correlated and WSP-dependent.

Design of a DSLM-based cerebral palsy action rehabilitation training system

Based on domain specified language mechanism(DSLM),the architecture of the robotic training system for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy(CP)is designed.Application of human-computer interaction(HCI)motion recognition technology is combined with Kinect to improve the effect of cerebral palsy rehabilitation training.In this system,Kinect's bone recognition method is used to judge the patient's training movements,and the collected bone movement information is judged.The human-computer interaction function is based on the Microsoft foundation classes function of Visual Studio based on DSLM development,which can realize real-time interactive training and evaluation of people and actions,and record the training information of patients.The system combines the designed small game to train the upper limb movement ability and reaction ability of the cerebral palsy patient,and provides key technology for improving the cerebral palsy rehabilitation training system.

Understorey species distinguish late successional and ancient forests after decades of minimum human intervention: A case study from Slovenia

The main species composition drivers in temperate deciduous forests are environmental conditions, a stand?s age and the site history, e.g., the succession stage and past land use, as well as disturbance regime and current management. We compared plant species diversity and composition in late successional and ancient forests, cooccurring on the same small river island applying species accumulation curves and nonmetric multidimensional scaling, respectively. Given the island?s geomorphological characteristics, we expected these to be very similar before human intervention in the past. The forests experienced differing disturbance regimes in the past, while over the last 30 years, human intervention has been the same and reduced to a minimum. The ancient forest in this study had two major characteristics defining it as old, mature forest: continuity of presence for more than 200years and specific composition. The late successional forest experienced major disturbance in the 20th century and was allowed natural regeneration by bordering on the ancient forest, representing a potential species pool,and by decades of minimum human intervention. Our results showed that, even though there was no difference in species richness, we could still detect differences between the forests, particularly in the abundance and species composition of the understorey, among which geophytes had the most indicative importance. To make our results useful on a broader scale, we composed from the literature a species list of plants indicative for ancient forest and tested its application. These results are important for distinguishing between old and mature secondary stands and particularly for identifying old forest stands, which should be conserved and, in the case of fragmented landscapes, included in a network connecting forest fragments.

The Accuracy Analysis of Measurement Tools for Traffic Accident Investigation

The objective of traffic accident reconstruction is to recreate the event, which is necessary for analyzing the collision dynamics that is used as evidence in court cases. Traffic accident reconstruction and a demonstration of the event require precise data pertaining to scene measurement. However, there are differences between the individual measuring tools and methods related to traffic accident investigation, just as there are differences between the extent of their use and measurement accuracy. The most commonly applied method is the measuring tape, followed by measurements with total stations and laser rangefinders, while photogrammetry is also becoming increasingly important. The advantages and disadvantages of individual tools and methods affect the required number of investigators, portability, measurement range, applicability depending on the amount of light and weather conditions, on the possibility of remote measurement, on data collection time, on the scope, on the option to later process, the collected data and above all on the accuracy of all gathered data. The latter is crucial for proving the guilt or innocence of traffic accident participants at court, as inaccurate data can lead to an unjust sentence. Measurement accuracy using the above mentioned tools and methods also varies depending on which ones are used, as well as on other factors.

Hybrid LES/URANS Simulation of Rayleigh-Bénard Convection Using BEM

In this paper,we develop and test a unified hybrid LES/URANS turbulence model with two different Large Eddy Simulation(LES)turbulence models.The numerical algorithm is based on the Boundary Element Method.In the existing hybrid LES/URANS turbulence model we implemented a new Smagorinsky LES turbulence model.The hybrid LES/URANS turbulence model is unified,which means that the LES/URANS interface is changed dynamically during simulation using a physical quantity.In order to define the interface between LES and unsteady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes(URANS)zones during the simulation,we use the Reynolds number based on turbulent kinetic energy as a switching criterion.This means that the flow characteristics define where the sub-grid scale or URANS effective viscosity and thermal conductivity are used in the governing equations in the next time step.In unified hybrid turbulence models,only one set of governing equations is used for LES and URANS regions.The developed hybrid LES/URANS model was tested on non-isothermal,unsteady and turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard Convection and compared with an existing model,where LES is based on turbulent kinetic energy.The hybrid turbulence model was implemented within a numerical algorithm based on the Boundary-Domain Integral Method,where a single domain and sub-domain approaches were used.The numerical algorithm uses governing equations written in a velocity-vorticity form.The false transient time scheme is used for the kinematics equation.

Practical Application of the Results for Optically Measured Total Suspended Solids Concentrations in the Drava River

The investigations described in this paper were performed in order to determine whether the concentrations of total suspended solids (TSS) in the Drava River, Slovenia, measured indirectly with optical sensors can be used to determine the amount and particle size of the suspended solids that can settle in stagnant water. The possibility of continuous monitoring of the TSS concentrations would allow a more reliable estimate of the amount of sediment in the accumulation lake of the planned, pumped-storage, hydroelectric power plant into which the water from the Drava River will be pumped. Therefore, during a period of one year, 90 water samples were taken directly at the optical sensors. The amount of sediments and their mineral and chemical compositions were investigated, and particle size analyses were made in 15 samples. Microbiological parameters, which included a determination of the amount of phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, fungi and organic debris, were investigated in all the water samples, and the temperature and pH of the water were measured at the time when the samples were collected. The comparison of the parameters examined with the TSS concentrations showed that these concentrations can serve as a very good estimate of the amount of particles settled in the standing water, as well as of their size. These correlations are clearly expressed in the cases where the amounts of phytoplankton and organic debris in the water are low.

Mathematical Model for the Injector of a Common Rail Fuel-Injection System

The paper describes a Diesel fuel injection process. Computer simulation was carried out together with measurement of the Common Rail accumulator fuel-injection system. The computer simulation enables the observation of the phenomena from rail pressure, being the input data for injection parameters calculations, to the injection rate. By means of computer simulation, the pressure values in specific sections of the injection nozzle may be computed, the needle lift, injection rate, total injected fuel, time lag from injector current to first evidence of injection process and other time-lags between various phases of the injection process. The injection rate provides input data for spray computer simulation. Measurements of injection and combustion were carried out within a transparent research engine. This engine is a single-cylinder transparent engine based on the AUDI V6 engine, equipped with a Bosch Common Rail Injection System. The comparison between the computed and measured injection parameters showed good matching.