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Quality control in construction is a vital element that should be given importance and in-depth assessment. This study looked into the quality control management of the road infrastructure projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Leyte Second District Engineering (2nd LED) Office for Calendar Years 2011-2015. Utilizing qualitative-descriptive research design, the study involved 30 Implementers, 30 Contractors, and 50 Beneficiaries of the road projects. Results of the study show that all road infrastructure projects were properly implemented, the quality control management were effective, material requirements were well complied, testing requirements were impressively complied, and the construction requirements had been strictly followed and remarkably complied. On project management, the primary problems or issues met by Project Implementers were on the need of the Resident Engineer to be present "at all times", Contractors being required to hire Materials Engineers "on site", and the Contractors being responsible for the quality control of all materials.Proper supervision, standard materials, experienced workmen, and proper coordination between technical men, among others, were the primary problems during project implementation.The primary problem on project evaluation fell on strictly administering quality management, keeping materials quality control documents, and work progress/accomplishments.Project Implementers must successfully manage and control thework to the highest level by identifying, tracking, managing, and resolving project issues; and they need to adhere to an open communication policy. Stakeholders need to be involved in the identification, implementation and evaluation of projects.DPWH-2nd LED Office needs to require technical and non-technical personnel to adopt “quality circles” where they will meet regularly to make suggestions for continuous quality control improvement; and hire additional technical personnel, rotate project assignments of the technical personnel, and minimize or remove sub-contractors with minor contracts who cannot come up with quality infrastructure road projects.

This study wanted to find out the hidden dimensions behind the bridge failures across the globe resulting to deaths using fractal analysis, a different lens to analyze available data. Fractal statistical analysis revealed that there were four (4) top and four (4) bottom of the list of bridges (or 3 percent of the 117 bridges) that caused the highest and lowest number of deaths, respectively. Examining the common characteristics in terms of the bridges’ failures, the results implied that the bridges that were built in the past did not give the most durable bridge structures and they caused more casualties. Meanwhile, the bridges that were built recently gave the least number of casualties. This leads to the conclusion that the hidden dimension is innovative bridge construction engineering and technology to prevent structural failures in bridges.

The study was conducted to determine the wastewater management practices employed by six (6) identified heavy industries in Leyte for Calendar Year 2003 - 2007. Using descriptive method of research, particularly the case study approach, it utilized questionnaire, interview, inspection and document analysis to gather data from 12 pollution control officers or technicians from the industries and two (2) technical personnel from the Environmental Management Bureau of Leyte, Philippines. The Industries produced huge amounts of wastewater, but maintained tolerable levels of wastewater characteristics and water quality after treatment. The quantity of effluent discharges can be tolerable to the environment if their physical and chemical characteristics are within the allowable limits. The tolerability of wastewater effluent characteristics or qualities depends on the suitability of the available treatment technology and facilities. The sustainability of the industrial manufacturing operations depends on the capability of the utilized wastewater treatment facilities and technology to reduce or eliminate hazardous manufacturing by-products. The dynamic leadership of the Pollution Control Officers and full support from the Administration of the Industries could greatly advance the capabilities of their existing wastewater treatment technologies and could prevent the occurrence of wastewater management problems. The quantity of effluent discharges did not measure the wastewater characteristics and qualities. Tolerability of wastewater effluent characteristics and qualities depended on the suitability of selected treatment plant and facilities. Sustainability of the industrial manufacturing operations depended on the capability of the utilized treatment plant type and technology in reducing or eliminating hazardous manufacturing by-products. Dynamic leadership could greatly improve the capabilities of the Industries’ Pollution Control Offices. &nbsp

La partecipazione nei servizi per l'infanzia si dovrebbe tradurre in percorsi e progetti in cui bambini, insegnanti e famiglie collaborano per costruire, trasformare, reinterpretare il quotidiano. Quando ciò avviene si aprono nuovi spazi di incontro, di crescita e formazione per tutti gli attori coinvolti. Il contributo si snoda attraverso le fasi e gli esiti di un percorso di ricerca azione in una scuola dell'infanzia.

An increasing number of foreigners was observed in Italy even among chronic dialysis patients. We compared demographic, clinical, treatment characteristics and survival probability between groups of Italian and foreign patients with chronic dialysis in Lazio.We analysed data from the Lazio Dialysis and Transplantation Registry from 2004 to 2012 (4,076 prevalent chronic dialysis patients in 31-12-2012). Among 7,970 incident patients, we evaluated, by country of birth, survival probability by using Kaplan-Meier method and mortality risk, through multiple Cox regression.We observed an increase of foreigners among chronic dialysis patients in Lazio from 2004 (4.4%) up to 2012 (7.6%, test for trend: p0,001). Compared with Italians, foreign patients were younger (53.816.3 vs. 68.713.6) and more frequently: women (42.7% vs. 37.7%), HbsAg-positive (18.1% vs. 13.9%), not vaccinated if HBV susceptible (26.8% vs. 20.9%), late referral (21.6% vs. 12.9%) and suitable for kidney transplantation (21.7% vs. 9.9%). Foreigners compared with Italians had higher survival probability at 1 year (91.9% vs. 84.7%) and 5 years (74,6% vs. 51,5%) after chronic dialysis has been started. We observed a lower mortality risk (HR=0.71;IC95%:0.58-0.87) among foreign patients even after adjustment for many potential confounding factors. Our findings suggest that health status and treatment of end stage renal disease, including access to kidney transplantation, were similar between groups of Italian and foreign patients in Lazio. Observed differences in patients' characteristics were probably attributable to younger age of foreigners. However, further analyses are needed to fully explain higher survival probability in chronic dialysis among foreigners compared with Italians.

AIMS All convective hemodiafiltration techniques require a replacement fluid, which must have an adequate electrolytic composition and must be sterile and pyrogen-free. Using an integrated adsorption cartridge, the ultrafiltrate can be "regenerated" and used as a replacement fluid (hemo-filtrate reinfusion; HFR). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the HFR technique as suggested in its original configuration could be improved by inverting the purification sequence (post-dilution HFR; PDHFR) in order to increase the purification efficiency of the whole system. METHODS We performed standard HFR in 6 uremic patients during 6 months and, subsequently, during further 6 months, PDHFR. The dialytic efficacy of the two techniques and the filter blood loss were evaluated. Moreover, we studied how both techniques affected cytokine levels. RESULTS We observed a significant increase of urea extraction and of Kt/V values in PDHFR. An equally significant improvement was observed in regard to the extraction of beta2-m and the blood loss. Furthermore, IL6 and TNFalpha decreased significantly after PDHFR treatment. CONCLUSIONS HFR has proven to be an easy-to-perform hemodiafiltration technique, capable of resolving the typical problem of the other hemodiafiltration technique, the availability and production of a sterile and ultrapure reinfusion solution. The inversion of its configuration has allowed us to improve three aspects that have characterized, in our experience, the treatments performed in the original geometry: the removal of both urea and beta2-m, and the filter. Finally, it's notable that the decrease in cytokines levels achieved with PDHFR might attenuate the uremic micro-inflammatory state.

The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship between dietary factors and precancerous gastric lesions in the population of a commune in the province of Latina which, on the basis of data published by RTP-LT, appears to present a striking incidence of so-called diet-dependent tumours. A series of tests was used to evaluate the antioxidising (protective) and pro-oxidising (encouraging) capacity of the following substances in terms of cancerogenesis: lutein, zeoxanthine, cryptoxanthine, lycopene, alpha and beta carotene, total carotenoids, tocopherol, retinol, ascorbic acid, cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and ceruloplasmin. Two sample populations were enrolled in the study: sample A (random) composed of 400 persons (202 males and 198 females) aged between 20 and 80 who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy and multiple biopsies of the gastric mucous; sample B (random), representative of the population, composed of 400 persons (200 males and 200 females) aged between 20 and 80, who underwent plasmatic assay of lipid and vitamin status. The results of this study appear to confirm the hypothesis of a correlation between diet and pre-cancerous lesions and suggest that the primary preventive stps take the form of: a) reduced intake of animal fat; b) increased consumption of fresh vegetables.

The results of a systematic analysis of charge-exchange double dissociation in proton-proton collisions at the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings are presented. The data cover the entire ISR energy range between square root s=23 GeV and square root s=63 GeV at five standard energies. Double resonance production is observed in the Delta /sup ++/ Delta /sup 0/ and Delta /sup ++/N/sup 0/(1688) final states. The mass spectra of the p pi /sup -/ system show more pronounced resonant signals in the backward Jackson hemisphere. A detailed analysis ofdifferential cross sections shows a forward peak typical of absorbed pion exchanges decreasing as s/sup -1.81+or-0.06/, followed by a much gentler exponential behaviour associated with a trajectory typical of rho -A/sub 2/ exchange. The high-energy transition to this regime is also indicated by a dramatic change in the s-dependence of total cross sections as compared with low-energy data. (20 refs).

The authors report on experimental results on proton-deuteron elastic scattering at a centre-of-mass energy of square root s=63 GeV. The data were obtained using the Split Field Magnet detector at the CERN Intersecting Storage Rings. The dependence of the elastic differential cross section measured up to -t=2.0 GeV/sup 2/, is compared with the prediction of an extended Glauber theory including contributions from inelastic intermediate states. Discrepancies of up to 30% with the basic theory are observed in the interference region. The inelastic contributions are essential for the detailed description of the data both in the single- and double-scattering regions. (19 refs).