Stress-Dilatancy Behaviourof Fibre-Reinforced Sand.

This paper analyses the stress-strain behaviour of fibre-reinforced sand using the results obtained by drained triaxial compression tests presented in the literature. The general stress-plastic dilatancy equation of the Frictional State Concept has been used to describe the behaviour of fibre-reinforced sand for different shear phases. The behaviour of pure sand is taken as a reference for the behaviour of sand with added fibres. It is shown that the characteristic shear phases can only be determined when the η-Dp relationships are used, which are very rarely demonstrated in the results of shear tests presented in the literature. It has been shown that tensile strains must occur in order to achieve the strengthening effect of fibre reinforcement. A reduction in the stiffness of the fibre-sand composite is observed in the absence of tensile strains below certain threshold values.

Copper and cadmium in bottom sediments dredged from Wyscigi Pond, Warsaw, Poland--contamination and bioaccumulation study.

This research covered an evaluation of the copper and cadmium concentrations in bottom sediments dredged from one of the ponds in Warsaw. The samples of sediments, soil, and plants were analyzed in terms of Cu and Cd content. The research concerned the heap of dredged bottom sediments from Wyscigi Pond, Warsaw, Poland. Two boreholes were made to obtain sediment cores with depths of A 162.5 cm and B 190.0 cm. The cores were divided into 10 sub-samples with a thickness of about 15-20 cm. A control sample of soil was taken from the horse racecourse several hundred meters away from the heap. The vegetation was sampled directly from the heap. The predominating plants were tested: Urtica dioica, Glechoma hederacea, Euonymus verrucosus, and Drepanocladus aduncus. A control sample of U. dioica taken outside of the heap was also tested. The commercial PHYTOTOXKIT microbiotest was applied to evaluate the influence of heavy metal-contaminated sediments (used as soil) on germination and growth of the chosen test plants. The analyses of cadmium and copper concentrations revealed that the metal concentration in sediments was diverse at different depths of sampling, probably reflecting their concentration in stored layers of sediments. Moreover, the metal content in core A was four to five times lower than that in core B, which reveals heterogeneity of the sediments in the tested heap. In core A, the copper concentration ranged from 4.7 to 13.4 mg/kg d.w. (average 8.06 ± 0.71 mg/kg d.w.), while in core B, it ranged from 9.2 to 82.1 mg/kg d.w. (average 38.56 ± 2.6 mg/kg d.w.). One of the results of the heavy metal presence in soils is their bioaccumulation in plants. Comparing plant growth, more intensive growth of roots was observed in the case of plants growing on the control (reference) soil than those growing on sediments. The intensive development of both primary and lateral roots was noticed. During this early growth, metal accumulation in plants occurred.

[Quality of life assessment in patients after the embolization of aneurysms of cerebral arteries]. / Ocena jakosci zycia chorych po embolizacji tetniaków tetnic mózgowych.

UNLABELLED: THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PAPER: The objective of the paper has been to assess the quality of the patients lives after subarachnoid haemorrhage and the embolization of aneurysms of cerebral arteries, and to specify correlations between different aspects of the patients life under examination and selected socio-demographic factors. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The examination covered 28 patients having been subject to embolization of aneurysms of cerebral arteries including 12 women and 16 men at the age of 33 up to 62 (48.4 years of age on average) in the years 2000-2002. A 6- month period at least after embolization served as a major criterium for selecting respective patients to be examined. The control group covered 30 healthy people (including 16 women and 14 men) at an average age of 46.2. The examination was made on the basis of the Polish version of questionnaire RNL-Index (Reintegration to Normal Life Questionnaire). Medical documentation from hospital archives served as an additional source of data. RESULTS: The most numerous group (56%) included patients between 40 and 50 years of age. 82% of patients lived in towns, for 61% of patients disability pension constituted the only source of income. All patients were hospitalized on an instant basis. 82.1% of patients suffered from headaches, 50% of patients suffered from nausea, vomits and eyesight disturbances, 40.9% of patients were diagnosed with one-side paresis, and 57.1% of patients under examination suffered from loss of consciousness. After embolization 85.7% of patients experienced mood swings, 57.1% of patients suffered from vision disorders, 39.3% had phonological impairments. 25% of patients suffered from epilepsy. After embolization 75% of patients were subjected to the convalescence process. The comparison of RNL Index in respective aspects of the patients life before and after embolization indicated its substantial decrease in the group of patients subject to embolization. There was a big difference in physical self-sufficiency, work, education and recreation. There was no correlation between the quality of the patients lives after embolization and sex, age, domicile and the fact of living together with other family members. There was a plus correlation (R = 0.48) for the quality of life and education. Patients with higher education assessed the quality of their lives as being much higher. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of the patients lives after the subarachnoid haemorrhage and the embolization of aneurysms of cerebral arteries worsened to a great extent resulting from RNL Index decreasing from 98.0 to 71.5. The illness had the most negative influence on professional career, sociable life and how to cope with everyday situations. The quality of the life the embolization of cerebral arteries did not differ much from that of the people from the control group. No influence of sociodemographic factors on the quality of the patients lives under examination was indicated.