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Sample records for analysis spa convention

  1. Supersymmetry Parameter Analysis : SPA Convention and Project

    CERN Document Server

    Aguilar-Saavedra, J A; Allanach, Benjamin C; Arnowitt, R; Baer, H A; Bagger, J A; Balázs, C; Barger, V; Barnett, M; Bartl, Alfred; Battaglia, M; Bechtle, P; Belyaev, A; Berger, E L; Blair, G; Boos, E; Bélanger, G; Carena, M S; Choi, S Y; Deppisch, F; Desch, Klaus; Djouadi, A; Dutta, B; Dutta, S; Díaz, M A; Eberl, H; Ellis, Jonathan Richard; Erler, Jens; Fraas, H; Freitas, A; Fritzsche, T; Godbole, Rohini M; Gounaris, George J; Guasch, J; Gunion, J F; Haba, N; Haber, Howard E; Hagiwara, K; Han, L; Han, T; He, H J; Heinemeyer, S; Hesselbach, S; Hidaka, K; Hinchliffe, Ian; Hirsch, M; Hohenwarter-Sodek, K; Hollik, W; Hou, W S; Hurth, Tobias; Jack, I; Jiang, Y; Jones, D R T; Kalinowski, Jan; Kamon, T; Kane, G; Kang, S K; Kernreiter, T; Kilian, W; Kim, C S; King, S F; Kittel, O; Klasen, M; Kneur, J L; Kovarik, K; Kraml, Sabine; Krämer, M; Lafaye, R; Langacker, P; Logan, H E; Ma, W G; Majerotto, Walter; Martyn, H U; Matchev, K; Miller, D J; Mondragon, M; Moortgat-Pick, G; Moretti, S; Mori, T; Moultaka, G; Muanza, S; Mukhopadhyaya, B; Mühlleitner, M M; Nauenberg, U; Nojiri, M M; Nomura, D; Nowak, H; Okada, N; Olive, Keith A; Oller, W; Peskin, M; Plehn, T; Polesello, G; Porod, Werner; Quevedo, Fernando; Rainwater, D L; Reuter, J; Richardson, P; Rolbiecki, K; de Roeck, A; Weber, Ch.

    2006-01-01

    High-precision analyses of supersymmetry parameters aim at reconstructing the fundamental supersymmetric theory and its breaking mechanism. A well defined theoretical framework is needed when higher-order corrections are included. We propose such a scheme, Supersymmetry Parameter Analysis SPA, based on a consistent set of conventions and input parameters. A repository for computer programs is provided which connect parameters in different schemes and relate the Lagrangian parameters to physical observables at LHC and high energy e+e- linear collider experiments, i.e., masses, mixings, decay widths and production cross sections for supersymmetric particles. In addition, programs for calculating high-precision low energy observables, the density of cold dark matter (CDM) in the universe as well as the cross sections for CDM search experiments are included. The SPA scheme still requires extended efforts on both the theoretical and experimental side before data can be evaluated in the future at the level of the d...

  2. The spa typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates by High Resolution Melting (HRM) analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fasihi, Yasser; Fooladi, Saba; Mohammadi, Mohammad Ali; Emaneini, Mohammad; Kalantar-Neyestanaki, Davood

    2017-09-06

    Molecular typing is an important tool for control and prevention of infection. A suitable molecular typing method for epidemiological investigation must be easy to perform, highly reproducible, inexpensive, rapid and easy to interpret. In this study, two molecular typing methods including the conventional PCR-sequencing method and high resolution melting (HRM) analysis were used for staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing of 30 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolates recovered from clinical samples. Based on PCR-sequencing method results, 16 different spa types were identified among the 30 MRSA isolates. Among the 16 different spa types, 14 spa types separated by HRM method. Two spa types including t4718 and t2894 were not separated from each other. According to our results, spa typing based on HRM analysis method is very rapid, easy to perform and cost-effective, but this method must be standardized for different regions, spa types, and real-time machinery.

  3. Spa and Wellness Tourism in Slovakia (A Geographical Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kasagranda Anton

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Spa industry is presently an inherent part of Slovak tourism. For this reason, it has become a major interest of scientific and professional literature (economics, management, sociology, or geography. The main topic of this paper is the evaluation of tourism in Slovakia through a geographic analysis. This paper briefly evaluates the development and the importance of spa, spa tourism and wellness and their main research areas and issues. Furthermore, the primary sources of tourism development, the overview of spa tourism and the wellness resorts, the accommodation establishments and the visitation rate are evaluated as well. In conclusion, functional and spatial typification of spa tourism and wellness in Slovakia is presented. The structure of the paper is designed to be appropriate for a comparison with V4 countries.

  4. Data showing non-conventional HLA-B27 expression in axial joints and gut tissue from B27 transgenic rats, and in frozen and paraffin-fixed synovial SpA tissue

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rysnik, Oliwia; McHugh, Kirsty; van Duivenvoorde, Leonie; van Tok, Melissa; Taurog, Joel; Kollnberger, Simon; Baeten, Dominique; Bowness, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Data is presented showing expression of non-conventional (NC) heavy chain forms of B27 in synovial tissues from SpA patients. Data is presented showing the expression patterns of NC-B27 in joint, gastrointestinal and lymphoid tissues from B27 transgenic (TG(1)) rats with M. tuberculosis-induced SpA.

  5. SWOT ANALYSIS OF SPA TOURISM IN BULGARIA

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    Aleksandar Davchev

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Our time is marked by the increasingly dynamic changing environment. The new conditions in which we operate are characterized by increasing complexity and labor activities that require more responsible behavior. The rising levels of stress and the increasing lack of free time for relaxation and recreation require a new look at the possibilities for the prevention of personal health. The plane of the consumer society in which we live is increasingly shifted by aspiration and vision of an environmentally friendly lifestyle. The focus here is the implementation of a multilevel wellness concept that changes qualitatively the status quo and seeks for ways to harmonize the body with the nature. One of the options is the practice of SPA tourism in whose genesis is the multilayered beneficial impact of a series of procedures and actions. This new alternative through its economic dimensions is an attractive business niche which over time becomes an industry. The current state of the SPA tourism in Bulgaria is controversial despite existing achievements and introduced best practices. Traditions in this direction and the presence of favorable basis for its approval, however, are not sufficient to achieve stability and an upward trend in development. There are existing a number of weaknesses and negative aspects that create frustration in users, which is a real threat to its future. The proposed SWOT-analysis as part of a comprehensive and multilateral study of the state of SPA tourism in Bulgaria reveals some of the existing problems. There have been some suggestions to minimize the impact of weaknesses and eliminate the errors found in leading business organizations managing processes. A detailed analysis and evaluation of the formulated conclusions is ahead, as well as concluding on ideas to improve the state of the sector – a subject of a further investigation by the author.

  6. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ON SPA SERVICE AT BADUNG DAN GIANYAR REGENCIES

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    Dewa Ayu i Laksmiadi Janapriat

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Over the last ten years, spa as one of the products of wellness tourism is growing very fast in Bali, necessitating the development strategy in accordance with the conditions of Bali. The rapid development momentum for the business of spa is opened in Bali, although in the external side of the business will compete with the international trade environment to take advantage and create sustainable economic growth prospects. This will be an opportunity for Bali as a destination spa in the future. In an effort to maintain and continue to develop quality as the best spa destinations in the world, we need the right strategy to make the creation and supporting product innovation spa in Bali. This study aims to create an integrated assessment of the extent of the influence of the utilization of natural resources, human resources and local knowledge of the existence and essence of spa in Bali and methods for utilizing natural resources, human resources and local knowledge of Bali on development of spa in Bali. Research design and methods of approach to the problem that are done in this study using descriptive design, where the planning and execution of research conducted in the form of field data are collected in the form of surveys, questionnaires and statistical data processing. The target population in this study is divided into three, namely: the company or a place that offers spa services, spa services supporting manufacturers and both foreign and domestic tourists who use the services of spa services in Badung and Gianyar, by assuming the two districts can represent the tourist population to Bali. Based on several case studies found that the performance of spa services in terms of utilization of natural resources, human resources, and local wisdom of Bali, particularly in terms of (1 the atmosphere (ambience, (2 equipment and design, (3 the qualifications and skills of the therapist, (4 treatment menu, and (5 the quality of services as a whole has

  7. SP-A binding sites on bovine alveolar macrophages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Plaga, S; Plattner, H; Schlepper-Schaefer, J

    1998-11-25

    Surfactant protein A (SP-A) binding to bovine alveolar macrophages was examined in order to characterize SP-A binding proteins on the cell surface and to isolate putative receptors from these cells that could be obtained in large amounts. Human SP-A, unlabeled or labeled with gold particles, was bound to freshly isolated macrophages and analyzed with ELISA or the transmission electron microscope. Binding of SP-A was inhibited by Ca2+ chelation, by an excess of unlabeled SP-A, or by the presence of 20 mg/ml mannan. We conclude that bovine alveolar macrophages expose binding sites for SP-A that are specific and that depend on Ca2+ and on mannose residues. For isolation of SP-A receptors with homologous SP-A as ligand we isolated SP-A from bovine lung lavage. SDS-PAGE analysis of the purified SP-A showed a protein of 32-36 kDa. Functional integrity of the protein was demonstrated. Bovine SP-A bound to Dynabeads was used to isolate SP-A binding proteins. From the fractionated and blotted proteins of the receptor preparation two proteins bound SP-A in a Ca2+-dependent manner, a 40-kDa protein showing mannose dependency and a 210-kDa protein, showing no mannose sensitivity. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

  8. 'MRI-tis' in the early diagnosis of axial SpA: issues and limitations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Rycke, Leen; Maas, Mario; Tak, Paul P.; Baeten, Dominique

    2010-01-01

    Sacroiliitis on conventional radiography, a key diagnostic feature of axial spondyloarthritis (SpA), often appears only late in the disease course. With the introduction of potent biologic agents that may also be effective in early disease, diagnostic techniques that can identify SpA early in the

  9. Spa Products as Main Orientation in Wellness Tourism in Bali

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    I Gusti Made Wendri

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Wellness Spa is developed from conventional spa in response to the influence of the present tourism trend which is much in demand of the achievement of wellness aspect of life. Wellness tourism is a subdivision of health tourism. Wellness spa is the core product for wellness tourism. In fact, to date, people’s knowledge about wellness spa is still poor. This fact has motivated the implementation of this research under the title “Spa Products as Main Orientation in Wellness Tourism in Bali”. The objective of the research is to find out what products becomes the orientation in wellness tourism in Ubud as well as in South Badung. This qualitative research uses a phenomenological approach to the study. The determination of the informants is purposively done, and the information concerning the object of the research is obtained by deep interview controlled by a checklist based on Wellness Wheel concept. The location of the research is Ubud and South Badung areas, the latter represented by Nusa Dua, Jimbaran, and Kuta. The research uses 10 informants, 5 from Ubud and 5 from South Badung. The informants include spa managers and spa therapists. The result of the research shows that such packages as Bali spa ritual package, personal growth, and eco-adventure package become the most attractive products offered by wellness tourism industry and enjoyed by the tourists for the fulfilment of the tourists' wellness needs.

  10. Data showing non-conventional HLA-B27 expression in axial joints and gut tissue from B27 transgenic rats, and in frozen and paraffin-fixed synovial SpA tissue

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    Oliwia Rysnik

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Data is presented showing expression of non-conventional (NC heavy chain forms of B27 in synovial tissues from SpA patients. Data is presented showing the expression patterns of NC-B27 in joint, gastrointestinal and lymphoid tissues from B27 transgenic (TG1 rats with M. tuberculosis-induced SpA. Expression of NC-B27 was determined by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry using HC10 and HD6 antibodies. These data are the extension of the data presented and discussed in “Non-conventional forms of HLA-B27 are expressed in Spondyloarthritis joints and gut tissue” (O. Rysnik, K. McHugh, L. M. van Duivenvoorde, M. N. van Tok, G. Guggino, J. D. Taurog, S. Kollnberger, F. Ciccia, D. L. Baeten, P. Bowness, 2016 [1].

  11. Phenotypical analysis of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG fimbrial spaFED operon: surface expression and functional characterization of recombinant SpaFED pili in Lactococcus lactis.

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    Johanna Rintahaka

    Full Text Available A noticeable genomic feature of many piliated Gram-positive bacterial species is the presence of more than one pilus-encoding operon. Paradigmatically, the gut-adapted Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG strain contains two different fimbrial operons in its genome. However, whereas one of these operons (called spaCBA is encoding for the functionally mucus-/collagen-binding SpaCBA pilus, for the other operon (called spaFED any native expression of the SpaFED-called pili is still the subject of some uncertainty. Irrespective of such considerations, we decided it would be of relevance or interest to decipher the gross structure of this pilus type, and as well assess its functional capabilities for cellular adhesion and immunostimulation. For this, and by following the approach we had used previously to explicate the immuno-properties of SpaCBA pili, we constructed nisin-inducible expression clones producing either wild-type or SpaF pilin-deleted surface-assembled L. rhamnosus GG SpaFED pili on Lactococcus lactis cells. Using these piliated lactococcal constructs, we found that the pilin-polymerized architecture of a recombinant-produced SpaFED pilus coincides with sequence-based functional predictions of the related pilins, and in fact is prototypical of those other sortase-dependent pilus-like structures thus far characterized for piliated Gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, we confirmed that among the different pilin subunits encompassing spaFED operon-encoded pili, the SpaF pilin is a main adhesion determinant, and when present in the assembled structure can mediate pilus binding to mucus, certain extracellular matrix proteins, and different gut epithelial cell lines. However, somewhat unexpectedly, when recombinant SpaFED pili are surface-attached, we found that they could not potentiate the existing lactococcal cell-induced immune responses so elicited from intestinal- and immune-related cells, but rather instead, they could dampen them. Accordingly, we

  12. Phenotypical analysis of the Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG fimbrial spaFED operon: surface expression and functional characterization of recombinant SpaFED pili in Lactococcus lactis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rintahaka, Johanna; Yu, Xia; Kant, Ravi; Palva, Airi; von Ossowski, Ingemar

    2014-01-01

    A noticeable genomic feature of many piliated Gram-positive bacterial species is the presence of more than one pilus-encoding operon. Paradigmatically, the gut-adapted Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG strain contains two different fimbrial operons in its genome. However, whereas one of these operons (called spaCBA) is encoding for the functionally mucus-/collagen-binding SpaCBA pilus, for the other operon (called spaFED) any native expression of the SpaFED-called pili is still the subject of some uncertainty. Irrespective of such considerations, we decided it would be of relevance or interest to decipher the gross structure of this pilus type, and as well assess its functional capabilities for cellular adhesion and immunostimulation. For this, and by following the approach we had used previously to explicate the immuno-properties of SpaCBA pili, we constructed nisin-inducible expression clones producing either wild-type or SpaF pilin-deleted surface-assembled L. rhamnosus GG SpaFED pili on Lactococcus lactis cells. Using these piliated lactococcal constructs, we found that the pilin-polymerized architecture of a recombinant-produced SpaFED pilus coincides with sequence-based functional predictions of the related pilins, and in fact is prototypical of those other sortase-dependent pilus-like structures thus far characterized for piliated Gram-positive bacteria. Moreover, we confirmed that among the different pilin subunits encompassing spaFED operon-encoded pili, the SpaF pilin is a main adhesion determinant, and when present in the assembled structure can mediate pilus binding to mucus, certain extracellular matrix proteins, and different gut epithelial cell lines. However, somewhat unexpectedly, when recombinant SpaFED pili are surface-attached, we found that they could not potentiate the existing lactococcal cell-induced immune responses so elicited from intestinal- and immune-related cells, but rather instead, they could dampen them. Accordingly, we have now provided

  13. Microfibril-associated Protein 4 Binds to Surfactant Protein A (SP-A) and Colocalizes with SP-A in the Extracellular Matrix of the Lung

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schlosser, Anders; Thomsen, Theresa H.; Shipley, J. Michael

    2006-01-01

    for phagocytes. Here we describe the molecular interaction between the extracellular matrix protein microfibril-associated protein 4 (MFAP4) and SP-A. MFAP4 is a collagen-binding molecule containing a C-terminal fibrinogen-like domain and a N-terminal located integrin-binding motif. We produced recombinant MFAP4......-A composed of the neck region and carbohydrate recognition domain of SP-A indicating that the interaction between MFAP4 and SP-A is mediated via the collagen domain of SP-A. Monoclonal antibodies directed against MFAP4 and SP-A were used for immunohistochemical analysis, which demonstrates that the two...... molecules colocalize both on the elastic fibres in the interalveolar septum and in elastic lamina of pulmonary arteries of chronically inflamed lung tissue. We conclude, that MFAP4 interacts with SP-A via the collagen region in vitro, and that MFAP4 and SP-A colocates in different lung compartments...

  14. Analysis of the radioactivity in the 'Elguea' spa, Villa Clara, Cuba

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fernandez G, I.M.; Zerquera, J.T.; Carrazana G, J.; Capote F, E.; Rodriguez C, G.

    2006-01-01

    The 'Elguea' spa, located in the north coast of the county of Villa Clara, Cuba, is considered one of those more important spas of Latin America. The waters of this spa are rich in salts of chlorine, sodium, bromine, sulfides and its contain radon. As a result of measurements of environmental gamma dose rates carried out in the area of the spa, its were considered levels of dose between 0.13 and 2.3 mSv. The obtained results motivated that it was carried out a characterization, from the radiological point of view, of the spa. This characterization is of supreme importance to be able to evaluate the impact that it has and the discharges of its waters on the environment, as well as, those dose that the population potentially affected can receive by these discharges. With this end its were carried out quantitative determinations of those existent natural more significant radionuclides in different environmental objects coming from the area of the spa and its surroundings, as well as one characterization gamma 'in situ' of the same one. The obtained results are present in this work. (Author)

  15. HOSPITALITY ENGLISH FOR SPA THERAPISTS IN BANYAN TREE HOTELS AND RESORTS

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    Ratnasari Nugraheni

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This study is a preliminary study of research and design for hospitality English for SPA therapist in Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts at Bintan Island. The purpose of this study is to help the English teacher to provide a successful English training since a good English proficiency used in the hospitality industry is obliged, especially for an-international-five-star-hotel-brand. The nature of the study is qualitative using R&D approach. Since this is only a preliminary study, need analysis becomes the primary focus. The data were collected through interview and observation. The participants were people who are working in SPA department in Banyan Tree Bintan, such as SPA trainer, SPA therapist, and SPA manager.

  16. Comparing whole-genome sequencing with Sanger sequencing for spa typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartels, Mette Damkjær; Petersen, Andreas; Worning, Peder; Nielsen, Jesper Boye; Larner-Svensson, Hanna; Johansen, Helle Krogh; Andersen, Leif Percival; Jarløv, Jens Otto; Boye, Kit; Larsen, Anders Rhod; Westh, Henrik

    2014-12-01

    spa typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has traditionally been done by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing of the spa repeat region. At Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of all MRSA isolates has been performed routinely since January 2013, and an in-house analysis pipeline determines the spa types. Due to national surveillance, all MRSA isolates are sent to Statens Serum Institut, where the spa type is determined by PCR and Sanger sequencing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability of the spa types obtained by 150-bp paired-end Illumina WGS. MRSA isolates from new MRSA patients in 2013 (n = 699) in the capital region of Denmark were included. We found a 97% agreement between spa types obtained by the two methods. All isolates achieved a spa type by both methods. Nineteen isolates differed in spa types by the two methods, in most cases due to the lack of 24-bp repeats in the whole-genome-sequenced isolates. These related but incorrect spa types should have no consequence in outbreak investigations, since all epidemiologically linked isolates, regardless of spa type, will be included in the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis. This will reveal the close relatedness of the spa types. In conclusion, our data show that WGS is a reliable method to determine the spa type of MRSA. Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  17. Aplicació Microsoft .Net : Hotel Spa

    OpenAIRE

    Marquès Palmer, Jordi

    2010-01-01

    Desenvolupament d'una aplicació amb Microsoft .NET, WCF, WPF, Linq2SQL, d'un Hotel Spa. Desarrollo de una aplicación con Microsoft .NET, WCF, WPF, Linq2SQL, de un Hotel Spa. Application development using Microsoft .NET, WCF, WPF, Linq2SQL, for a Spa Hotel.

  18. Harnn Natural Home Spa Business Plan

    OpenAIRE

    Kusol, Chompunuch

    2008-01-01

    Home Spa Partnership is looking for the amount of 50,000 GBP from an investor to invest in the business. The Company offers 20% of its authorised share capital for 17,500 GBP and the preference shares amounting to 32,500 GBP. This amount will be brought into the infrastructures and initial overhead cost for the start-up Thai spa business in the UK under 'Harnn Natural Home Spa' brand. The Company Home Spa Partnership was incorporated in July 2008 with issued share capital of 80,000...

  19. The Role and Importance of Spa and Wellness Tourism in Hungary's Tourism Industry

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    Csapó János

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents and highlights the role and importance of spa and wellness tourism in Hungary. Ever since tourism has played an important role in the social-economic processes of the country the leading tourism product proved to be health tourism (spa and wellness thanks to the advantageous physical geographical and social-political background. After the presentation of the country-specific theoretical system of spa and wellness, the paper examines the supply and the demand side together with competitor analysis and recent trends in spa and wellness in Hungary.

  20. Spa therapy and balneotherapy for treating low back pain: meta-analysis of randomized trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pittler, M H; Karagülle, M Z; Karagülle, M; Ernst, E

    2006-07-01

    Low back pain is a major public health concern and complementary treatments are frequently used for this condition. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the evidence for or against the effectiveness of spa therapy and balneotherapy for treating low back pain. Systematic searches were conducted on Medline, Embase, Amed Cochrane Central, the UK National Research Register and ClincalTrials.gov (all until July 2005). Hand searches were performed and experts contacted. Methodological quality was assessed using a standard scale. Five randomized clinical trials met all inclusion criteria. Quantitative data synthesis was performed. The data for spa therapy, assessed on a 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS), suggest significant beneficial effects compared with waiting list control groups (weighted mean difference 26.6 mm, 95% confidence interval 20.4-32.8, n=442) for patients with chronic low back pain. For balneotherapy the data, assessed on a 100 mm VAS, also suggest beneficial effects compared with control groups (weighted mean difference 18.8 mm, 95% confidence interval 10.3-27.3, n=138). Even though the data are scarce, there is encouraging evidence suggesting that spa therapy and balneotherapy may be effective for treating patients with low back pain. These data are not compelling but warrant rigorous large-scale trials.

  1. CoSpa: A Co-training Approach for Spam Review Identification with Support Vector Machine

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    Wen Zhang

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Spam reviews are increasingly appearing on the Internet to promote sales or defame competitors by misleading consumers with deceptive opinions. This paper proposes a co-training approach called CoSpa (Co-training for Spam review identification to identify spam reviews by two views: one is the lexical terms derived from the textual content of the reviews and the other is the PCFG (Probabilistic Context-Free Grammars rules derived from a deep syntax analysis of the reviews. Using SVM (Support Vector Machine as the base classifier, we develop two strategies, CoSpa-C and CoSpa-U, embedded within the CoSpa approach. The CoSpa-C strategy selects unlabeled reviews classified with the largest confidence to augment the training dataset to retrain the classifier. The CoSpa-U strategy randomly selects unlabeled reviews with a uniform distribution of confidence. Experiments on the spam dataset and the deception dataset demonstrate that both the proposed CoSpa algorithms outperform the traditional SVM with lexical terms and PCFG rules in spam review identification. Moreover, the CoSpa-U strategy outperforms the CoSpa-C strategy when we use the absolute value of decision function of SVM as the confidence.

  2. PREREQUISITES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SPA TOURISM IN BULGARIA

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    Manuela Vucheva

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The demand for spa tourism in Bulgaria has increased 3 times in the last five years. Worldwide demand for spa for travel increased 2 times since 2004. Indications show that spa tourism is developing in a positive direction, both in Bulgaria and abroad. In Bulgaria there are 25 spa destinations where there are hydromineral fields and complexes for accommodation and rest. The paper provides key conclusions in relation to the development of spa tourism in Bulgaria and recommendations for improvements in marketing and advertising and combination with other types of tourism.

  3. Expression, purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of SpaA, a major pilin from Corynebacterium diphtheriae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, Hae Joo; Paterson, Neil G.; Baker, Edward N.

    2009-01-01

    SpaA, one of the major pilins of C. diphtheriae, has been expressed, purified and crystallized and X-ray diffraction data have been collected to 1.6 Å resolution. Bacterial pili are cell-surface organelles that are critically involved in adhesion to host cells, leading to the colonization of host tissues and the establishment of infections. Whereas the pili of Gram-negative bacteria have been extensively studied, those of Gram-positive bacteria came to light only recently after the discovery and characterization of Corynebacterium diphtheriae pili. These newly discovered pili are formed by the covalent polymerization of pilin subunits catalyzed by sortase enzymes, making them fundamentally different from the noncovalent pilin assemblies of Gram-negative bacteria. Here, the expression, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of SpaA, which forms the shaft of one of the three types of pili expressed by C. diphtheriae, are reported. SpaA 53–486 crystals diffracted to 1.6 Å resolution and belonged to space group P2 1 2 1 2 1 , with unit-cell parameters a = 34.9, b = 64.1, c = 198.7 Å, α = β = γ = 90°

  4. Health tourism in a Czech health spa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Speier, Amy R

    2011-04-01

    This paper is about the changing shape of health tourism in a Czech spa town. The research focuses on balneotherapy as a traditional Czech healing technique, which involves complex drinking and bathing therapies, as it is increasingly being incorporated into the development of a Czech health tourism industry. Today, the health tourism industry in Mariánske Lázne is attempting to 'harmoniously' combine three elements--balneology, travel and business activities. One detects subtle shifts and consequent incongruities as doctors struggle for control over the medical portion of spa hotels. At the same time, marketing groups are creating new packages for a general clientele, and the implementation of these new packages de-medicalizes balneotherapy. Related to the issue of the doctor's authority in the spa, the changes occurring with the privatization of tourism entails the entrance of 'tourists' to Mariánske Lázne who are not necessarily seeking spa treatment but who are still staying at spa hotels. There is a general consensus among spa doctors and employees that balneotherapy has become commodified. Thus, while balneotherapy remains a traditional form of therapy, the commercial context in which it exists has created a new form of health tourism.

  5. The rSPA Processes of River Water-quality Analysis System for Critical Contaminate Detection, Classification Multiple-water-quality-parameter Values and Real-time Notification

    OpenAIRE

    Chalisa VEESOMMAI; Yasushi KIYOKI

    2016-01-01

    The water quality analysis is one of the most important aspects of designing environmental systems. It is necessary to realize detection and classification processes and systems for water quality analysis. The important direction is to lead to uncomplicated understanding for public utilization. This paper presents the river Sensing Processing Actuation processes (rSPA) for determination and classification of multiple-water- parameters in Chaophraya river. According to rSPA processes of multip...

  6. SPA: a probabilistic algorithm for spliced alignment.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Recent large-scale cDNA sequencing efforts show that elaborate patterns of splice variation are responsible for much of the proteome diversity in higher eukaryotes. To obtain an accurate account of the repertoire of splice variants, and to gain insight into the mechanisms of alternative splicing, it is essential that cDNAs are very accurately mapped to their respective genomes. Currently available algorithms for cDNA-to-genome alignment do not reach the necessary level of accuracy because they use ad hoc scoring models that cannot correctly trade off the likelihoods of various sequencing errors against the probabilities of different gene structures. Here we develop a Bayesian probabilistic approach to cDNA-to-genome alignment. Gene structures are assigned prior probabilities based on the lengths of their introns and exons, and based on the sequences at their splice boundaries. A likelihood model for sequencing errors takes into account the rates at which misincorporation, as well as insertions and deletions of different lengths, occurs during sequencing. The parameters of both the prior and likelihood model can be automatically estimated from a set of cDNAs, thus enabling our method to adapt itself to different organisms and experimental procedures. We implemented our method in a fast cDNA-to-genome alignment program, SPA, and applied it to the FANTOM3 dataset of over 100,000 full-length mouse cDNAs and a dataset of over 20,000 full-length human cDNAs. Comparison with the results of four other mapping programs shows that SPA produces alignments of significantly higher quality. In particular, the quality of the SPA alignments near splice boundaries and SPA's mapping of the 5' and 3' ends of the cDNAs are highly improved, allowing for more accurate identification of transcript starts and ends, and accurate identification of subtle splice variations. Finally, our splice boundary analysis on the human dataset suggests the existence of a novel non

  7. Molecular analysis of virulent genes (coa and spa) of staphylococcus aureus involved in natural cases of bovine mastitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, A.; Javed, M.T.; Mahmood, F.; Hussain, R.

    2013-01-01

    The present study was undertaken to determine the distribution and genotypic characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from naturally occurring mastitis in cattle and buffaloes. For this purpose a total of 1445 lactating cattle (653) and buffaloes (792) present at two experimental livestock farms Okara (Bahadarnagar) and Sahiwal (Qadiarabad), in and around district Faisalabad and slaughtered at an abattoir due to low milk yield and were screened for mastitis. California Mastitis Test (CMT) was used to detect sub clinical mastitis. The positive quarter milk samples were collected for culturing of S. aureus isolates. taphylococcus aureus isolates were identified on the basis of growth features, biochemical characteristics, coagulase test and as well as amplification of coagulase (coa) and spa (spa-X) genes specific to its virulence. S. aureus isolates (n=265) were characterized by Polymerase chain reaction to determine the frequency of coagulase (coa) and spa (spa-X) genes. From these isolates the amplification of the coagulase (coa) gene yielded three different PCR products approximately 204bp to 490bp while spa (spa-X) gene produced five different products ranging in size from 190bp to 320bp. PCR revealed that from all the coagulase positive S. aureus isolates 261(98.5%) had spa (spa-X) gene. The results of the present study indicated that S. aureus isolates recovered from bovine mastitis were genetically different within and among the various herds which may provide essential and valuable strategies to control staphylococcal infections in future. (author)

  8. Molecular analysis of virulent genes (coa and spa) of staphylococcus aureus involved in natural cases of bovine mastitis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Khan, A.; Javed, M. T.; Mahmood, F. [University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (Pakistan). Dept. of Pathology; Hussain, R. [The Islamia Univ. of Bahawalpur, Pakistan (Pakistan). Dept. of Veterinary and Animal Sciences

    2013-12-15

    The present study was undertaken to determine the distribution and genotypic characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus isolates recovered from naturally occurring mastitis in cattle and buffaloes. For this purpose a total of 1445 lactating cattle (653) and buffaloes (792) present at two experimental livestock farms Okara (Bahadarnagar) and Sahiwal (Qadiarabad), in and around district Faisalabad and slaughtered at an abattoir due to low milk yield and were screened for mastitis. California Mastitis Test (CMT) was used to detect sub clinical mastitis. The positive quarter milk samples were collected for culturing of S. aureus isolates. taphylococcus aureus isolates were identified on the basis of growth features, biochemical characteristics, coagulase test and as well as amplification of coagulase (coa) and spa (spa-X) genes specific to its virulence. S. aureus isolates (n=265) were characterized by Polymerase chain reaction to determine the frequency of coagulase (coa) and spa (spa-X) genes. From these isolates the amplification of the coagulase (coa) gene yielded three different PCR products approximately 204bp to 490bp while spa (spa-X) gene produced five different products ranging in size from 190bp to 320bp. PCR revealed that from all the coagulase positive S. aureus isolates 261(98.5%) had spa (spa-X) gene. The results of the present study indicated that S. aureus isolates recovered from bovine mastitis were genetically different within and among the various herds which may provide essential and valuable strategies to control staphylococcal infections in future. (author)

  9. Spa therapy in dermatology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Najeeba Riyaz

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Spa therapy constitutes the use of mineral springs and thermal mud to soothe and heal various ailments. Like the mineral springs, seas and oceans are also important centers for spa therapy of which the most important is Dead Sea (DS. DS has been famous for thousands of years for its miraculous curative and cosmetic properties. Intensive research is going on using DS minerals in a wide range of dermatological conditions especially psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, vitiligo and other eczemas and several papers have been published in various international and pharmacological journals.

  10. Correlation of the sperm penetration assay (SPA and miscarriage after assisted reproduction: The potential use of spa as a new criterion for preimplantation genetic diagnosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gradistanac Jelena

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We analyzed 93 couples undergoing male screening with the Sperm Penetration Assay (SPA before in vitro fertilization and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI, to determine the accuracy of SPA for subsequent embryonic development, incidence of pregnancy and miscarriage rates (SAB. ICSI patients with the lowest SPA scores had significantly higher incidences of Sthan did patients in the other SPA groups. Sperm quality is higher with better SPA scores. Poor sperm quality has increased incidence of chromosomal abnormalities and is associated with early fetal loss. Couples with negative SPA are candidates for preimplantation genetic diagnosis, to reduce the incidence of SAB.

  11. The system of processing and analysis of the parameters to be controlled of the 'Ukrytie' (SPA)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shcherbin, V.N.; Kravchuk, T.A.; Nenakhov, A.N.

    1998-01-01

    Processing system and analysis of parameters to be controlled (SPA) is an integrated system monitor control, which unites complexes of technical facilities with methods of remote control and diagnostics of object 'Ukrytie'. System executes checking, diagnosing analytical, prognostic, scholastic-simulator and scientifically-methodical functions, describing current condition of the 'Ukrytie', with the issue of possible emergency situation descriptions

  12. Spa therapy in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a large randomised multicentre trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forestier, R; Desfour, H; Tessier, J-M; Françon, A; Foote, A M; Genty, C; Rolland, C; Roques, C-F; Bosson, J-L

    2010-01-01

    Objective To determine whether spa therapy, plus home exercises and usual medical treatment provides any benefit over exercises and usual treatment, in the management of knee osteoarthritis. Methods Large multicentre randomised prospective clinical trial of patients with knee osteoarthritis according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, attending French spa resorts as outpatients between June 2006 and April 2007. Zelen randomisation was used so patients were ignorant of the other group and spa personnel were not told which patients were participating. The main endpoint criteria were patient self-assessed. All patients continued usual treatments and performed daily standardised home exercises. The spa therapy group also received 18 days of spa therapy (massages, showers, mud and pool sessions). Main Endpoint The number of patients achieving minimal clinically important improvement (MCII) at 6 months, defined as ≥19.9 mm on the visual analogue pain scale and/or ≥9.1 points in a normalised Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index function score and no knee surgery. Results The intention to treat analysis included 187 controls and 195 spa therapy patients. At 6 months, 99/195 (50.8%) spa group patients had MCII and 68/187 (36.4%) controls (χ2=8.05; df=1; p=0.005). However, no improvement in quality of life (Short Form 36) or patient acceptable symptom state was observed at 6 months. Conclusion For patients with knee osteoarthritis a 3-week course of spa therapy together with home exercises and usual pharmacological treatments offers benefit after 6 months compared with exercises and usual treatment alone, and is well tolerated. Trial registration number NCT00348777. PMID:19734131

  13. Spa-goers’ Characteristics, Motivations, Preferences and Perceptions: Evidence from Elounda, Crete

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolaos Trihas

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Spa and wellness tourism is one of the fastest-growing market segments in the hospitality and tourism industry. The aim of this study is to investigate and identify spa-goers’ characteristics, motivations, preferences and perceptions, providing a better understanding of the main features of this type of tourists’ behavior and expectations from a spa and wellness centre. Primary quantitative research was conducted via a structured questionnaire in a sample of 123 spa customers at Elounda in Crete. The results of the study revealed a number of important factors that influence them when choosing a spa, namely the cleanliness and the maintenance of a spa, the staff knowledge and hygiene, the personnel behavior and courtesy, and the quality of services. In addition, the main reason for visiting the spa is for stress relief/relaxation, followed by physical health improvement and beauty treatments. Findings and discussion of this study are useful to industry practitioners (spa and wellness service providers who wish to develop appropriate marketing strategies and enhance customer satisfaction and academic researchers interested in spa and wellness tourism.

  14. Impact to Tourism Industry of Massage Spa Therapy in Batangas City, Philippines

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimmy Lei T. Atienza

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to assess the benefits of massage spa therapy in tourism industry of Batangas City and their adherence to the standards to DOT on Spa operation and maintenance. The study aimed to identify the profile of massage spa in terms of type of ownership, length of years in the business, type of spa and different spa services offered; to assess the benefits of massage spa to the tourism industry; and to determine the extent of adherence of the massage spa to DOT standards about spa operation and maintenance; and propose a plan of action based on the results of the study. Descriptive method was used in the study. Results showed that the Sole Proprietorship got the highest rank in terms of type of ownership. With the length of years in service, it shows that most of spa business already exists for 4-6 years. Type of spa shows that majority of the spa business were Spa Town. With regards to different spa services, majority offers peat pulp bath and the least is sauna and steam bath. The over-all assessment of the respondents’ on the benefits of spa was agree by the result. It was also observed that all items were assessed as agree and it enhances the awareness of the tourists about the beauty of Batangas City. It was followed by provide taxes for the government, became a tourist attraction and improves socio-economic of local residents and improvement on the lifestyle both of the local residents and tourists

  15. MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT POSSIBILITIES FOR SPA TOURISM IN SERBIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nemanja BERBER

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Two forms of tourism, which are represented to a large extent in the world, are spa and wellness tourism. In Serbia, spa and wellness tourism are not sufficiently used, although there are excellent conditions. During twenty century the state was paying more attention and money on the sea and river tourism. However, the separation of Serbia and Montenegro in two independent counties had left Serbia without an entrance to the Adriatic Sea, so development of other tourist products and destinations became an imperative for survival and existence in the tourist map of Europe and the world. The paper presents the basic aims and policies of development of spa tourism in Serbia and data obtained in the survey regarding quality of services provided in some spa towns in Serbia. Based on the results to which the research occurred, authors wished to point out main activities and tasks that the state uses in creating a development strategy of spa tourism, the programs that have already been taken, so as the influence of the economic crisis to spa tourism.

  16. Radioactivity of spa waters in Serbia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tanaskovic, I.; Eremic Savkovic, M.; Javorina, Lj.

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, the measurement results of: total alpha and beta activity, as well as specific activity of 226 Ra, 228 Ra, 40 K and conductivity of spa waters of Serbia, are presented. Spa water samples were taken in the fields of different types of geological environment. The maximum values of specific activity of 226 Ra, 228 Ra and 40 K were 0.53 Bq / l, [sr

  17. Strand SPA & Konverentsikeskus

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2008-01-01

    Strand SPA & Konverentsikeskus on Pärnu suurim äri- ja konverentsiklientidele suunatud hotell, mis klientide seas on hinnatud just selle kompleksuse tõttu, kuna kõik, mida külaline vajab ja soovib, on olemas ühe katuse all

  18. The Present and Future of Szigetvár Spa – An Economic Analysis of Geothermal Energy Investment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judit Pálné Schreiner

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In Hungary, geothermal energy has proved to be an economical source of energy for direct use. It highlights the pros and cons of including renewable energy in the power generation mix of Hungary, and the pros and cons of local application. This paper looks at the operation of Szigetvár Spa from both economic and social aspects. In this study, qualitative analysis is used for the basic economic and social introduction of the Spa, and then real options, based on quantitative methods, are described to identify the long-term financial consequences of the project. In 1966, thermal water was found in Szigetvár. In 1997, this thermal water was certified as medicinal water. The wellhead temperature of Szigetvár thermal water is 62°C in the 790 metres deep thermal well. It is used as so-called domestic hot water in the Szent István housing estate and in Szigetvár Spa. One of the problems with the project is that it is based on single stage thermal water utilization, another problem is that the waste water is too hot. This can be solved by exploiting the heat energy of thermal water more intensively. This way, maximum benefits can be gained from geothermal energy with minimum use of energy. Static and dynamic investment analyses were carried out to examine the spa from a financial aspect. The methods used include static payback period, average rate of return, levelized cost of electricity, net present value, profitability index, dynamic payback period, internal rate of return and real options. By pricing geothermal technology, it is possible to identify the strategic value of flexibility, to quantify what was previously left unquantified, and thus to show that geothermal investments are profitable not only from a social but also from a financial aspect as well.

  19. Surfactant protein A (SP-A) inhibits agglomeration and macrophage uptake of toxic amine modified nanoparticles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKenzie, Zofi; Kendall, Michaela; Mackay, Rose-Marie; Whitwell, Harry; Elgy, Christine; Ding, Ping; Mahajan, Sumeet; Morgan, Cliff; Griffiths, Mark; Clark, Howard; Madsen, Jens

    2015-01-01

    The lung provides the main route for nanomaterial exposure. Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is an important respiratory innate immune molecule with the ability to bind or opsonise pathogens to enhance phagocytic removal from the airways. We hypothesised that SP-A, like surfactant protein D, may interact with inhaled nanoparticulates, and that this interaction will be affected by nanoparticle (NP) surface characteristics. In this study, we characterise the interaction of SP-A with unmodified (U-PS) and amine-modified (A-PS) polystyrene particles of varying size and zeta potential using dynamic light scatter analysis. SP-A associated with both 100 nm U-PS and A-PS in a calcium-independent manner. SP-A induced significant calcium-dependent agglomeration of 100 nm U-PS NPs but resulted in calcium-independent inhibition of A-PS self agglomeration. SP-A enhanced uptake of 100 nm U-PS into macrophage-like RAW264.7 cells in a dose-dependent manner but in contrast inhibited A-PS uptake. Reduced association of A-PS particles in RAW264.7 cells following pre-incubation of SP-A was also observed with coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy. Consistent with these findings, alveolar macrophages (AMs) from SP-A(-/-) mice were more efficient at uptake of 100 nm A-PS compared with wild type C57Bl/6 macrophages. No difference in uptake was observed with 500 nm U-PS or A-PS particles. Pre-incubation with SP-A resulted in a significant decrease in uptake of 100 nm A-PS in macrophages isolated from both groups of mice. In contrast, increased uptake by AMs of U-PS was observed after pre-incubation with SP-A. Thus we have demonstrated that SP-A promotes uptake of non-toxic U-PS particles but inhibits the clearance of potentially toxic A-PS particles by blocking uptake into macrophages.

  20. Formation of trihalomethanes as disinfection byproducts in herbal spa pools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fakour, Hoda; Lo, Shang-Lien

    2018-04-09

    Herbal spa treatments are favorite recreational activities throughout the world. The water in spas is often disinfected to control pathogenic microorganisms and guarantee hygiene. However, chlorinated water may cause the formation of disinfection byproducts (DBPs). Although there have been many studies on DBP formation in swimming pools, the role of organic matter derived from herbal medicines applied in herbal spa water has been largely neglected. Accordingly, the present study investigated the effect of herbal medicines on the formation of trihalomethanes (THMs) in simulated herbal spa water. Water samples were collected from a spa pool, and then, disinfection and herbal addition experiments were performed in a laboratory. The results showed that the organic molecules introduced by the herbal medicines are significant precursors to the formation of THMs in spa pool water. Since at least 50% of THMs were produced within the first six hours of the reaction time, the presence of herbal medicines in spa water could present a parallel route for THM exposure. Therefore, despite the undeniable benefits of herbal spas, the effect of applied herbs on DBP formation in chlorinated water should be considered to improve the water quality and health benefits of spa facilities.

  1. Non-spa-typeable clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains are naturally occurring protein A mutants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baum, Cathrin; Haslinger-Löffler, Bettina; Westh, Henrik

    2009-01-01

    Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen responsible for increasing the prevalence of community- and hospital-acquired infections. Protein A (SpA) is a key virulence factor of S. aureus and is highly conserved. Sequencing of the variable-number tandem-repeat region of SpA (spa typing......) provides a rapid and reliable method for epidemiological studies. Rarely, non-spa-typeable S. aureus strains are encountered. The reason for this is not known. In this study, we characterized eight non-spa-typeable bacteremia isolates. Sequencing of the entire spa locus was successful for five strains...... and revealed various mutations of spa, all of which included a deletion of immunoglobulin G binding domain C, in which the upper primer for spa typing is located, while two strains were truly spa negative. This is the first report demonstrating that nontypeability of S. aureus by spa sequencing is due either...

  2. State, planning and design of Jodna spa in Novi Sad

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garača Vuk

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper treats the area of Jodna spa in Novi Sad, which largely coincides with Futoški park, making with it the indissoluble unity. The main problem in the functioning of the Jodna psa is the fact that in legal sense Jodna spa does not exists, and in spatial sense there are still all of its content. The case of the paper is Jodna spa area, which includes the Special Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Hotel 'Park', Sports Center 'Sajmište' and Futoški park, which integrate them. The question of the Jodna spa planning, as well as the modern city recreation, spa and tourist center, is the goal of this paper. For this purpose it was necessary to show the historical background of the development of Jodna spa, to make the assessment of the state, critically analyze spatial plans which treat it and provide concrete suggestions for its design and equipping.

  3. Crystallization and X-ray diffraction analysis of SpaE, a basal pilus protein from the gut-adapted Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishra, Arjun K; Megta, Abhin Kumar; Palva, Airi; von Ossowski, Ingemar; Krishnan, Vengadesan

    2017-06-01

    SpaE is the predicted basal pilin subunit in the sortase-dependent SpaFED pilus from the gut-adapted and commensal Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG. Thus far, structural characterization of the cell-wall-anchoring basal pilins has remained difficult and has been limited to only a few examples from pathogenic genera and species. To gain a further structural understanding of the molecular mechanisms that are involved in the anchoring and assembly of sortase-dependent pili in less harmful bacteria, L. rhamnosus GG SpaE for crystallization was produced by recombinant expression in Escherichia coli. Although several attempts to crystallize the SpaE protein were unsuccessful, trigonal crystals that diffracted to a resolution of 3.1 Å were eventually produced using PEG 3350 as a precipitant and high protein concentrations. Further optimization with a combination of additives led to the generation of SpaE crystals in an orthorhombic form that diffracted to a higher resolution of 1.5 Å. To expedite structure determination by SAD phasing, selenium-substituted (orthorhombic) SpaE crystals were grown and X-ray diffraction data were collected to 1.8 Å resolution.

  4. Radon in the spa of Bizovac

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Planinic, J.; Faj, Z.; Suveljak, B.; Radolic, V.

    1996-01-01

    The radon concentration in the air and water of the Bizovac spa was measured by the Radhome silicon detector and the average values were obtained as 70 Bq/m 3 in the indoor pool, 40 Bq/m 3 in the hotel room, 135 Bq/m 3 in the closed therapeutic bathroom, but the geothermal water had a Rn concentration of 25.3 kBq/m 3 and the potable one 2.7 kBq/m 3 . The Rn transfer factor (f) from water to air in the indoor pool and therapeutic bathroom was 10 and 40 times higher than for normal dwellings (f n =10 -4 ), respectively. The effective equivalent dose of inhaled radon for permanent personnel under the worst conditions in the spa was 5.4 mSv/y, but visitors spending two weeks in the spa could receive the dose of 77 μSv. (author). 6 refs., 1 fig

  5. Insulin utilizes the PI 3-kinase pathway to inhibit SP-A gene expression in lung epithelial cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snyder Jeanne M

    2002-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background It has been proposed that high insulin levels may cause delayed lung development in the fetuses of diabetic mothers. A key event in lung development is the production of adequate amounts of pulmonary surfactant. Insulin inhibits the expression of surfactant protein A (SP-A, the major surfactant-associated protein, in lung epithelial cells. In the present study, we investigated the signal transduction pathways involved in insulin inhibition of SP-A gene expression. Methods H441 cells, a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line, or human fetal lung explants were incubated with or without insulin. Transcription run-on assays were used to determine SP-A gene transcription rates. Northern blot analysis was used to examine the effect of various signal transduction inhibitors on SP-A gene expression. Immunoblot analysis was used to evaluate the levels and phosphorylation states of signal transduction protein kinases. Results Insulin decreased SP-A gene transcription in human lung epithelial cells within 1 hour. Insulin did not affect p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK phosphorylation and the insulin inhibition of SP-A mRNA levels was not affected by PD98059, an inhibitor of the p44/42 MAPK pathway. In contrast, insulin increased p70 S6 kinase Thr389 phosphorylation within 15 minutes. Wortmannin or LY294002, both inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase, or rapamycin, an inhibitor of the activation of p70 S6 kinase, a downstream effector in the PI 3-kinase pathway, abolished or attenuated the insulin-induced inhibition of SP-A mRNA levels. Conclusion Insulin inhibition of SP-A gene expression in lung epithelial cells probably occurs via the rapamycin-sensitive PI 3-kinase signaling pathway.

  6. Post-neonatal drop in alveolar SP-A expression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stray-Pedersen, Arne; Vege, Ashild; Stray-Pedersen, Asbjorg

    2008-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is synthesized in the lung and is a part of the innate immune system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of SP-A in lung tissue from fetuses, infants, children and adults with special regard to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). METHODS......: A total of 160 cases were studied; 19 fetuses and neonates, 59 SIDS and 49 explained infant deaths below 1 year of age, 19 toddlers and 14 adults. Immunohistochemical detection of SP-A using monoclonal antibodies was performed by microscopy of lung tissue specimens collected at autopsy. A scoring system...

  7. Potentials for development of spa tourism in region of Cer Mountain: Western Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grčić Mirko

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Because of their particularities, thermal and mineral springs at the foothill of Cer Mountain deserve special analysis. This is the reason we wrote this article, aiming to take reader's attention to the touristic potentials of the spa zone of Cer Mountain and possibilities for its perspective development. From the medical and excursion-recreational tourism point of view, there is a possibility for combining the spa tourism with the complementary values of Cer Mountain.

  8. Effects of Rusanda Spa balneotherapy combined with calcipotriol on plaque psoriasis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Golušin Zoran

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aim. Treatment of psoriasis is very complex and there are no still universal, nor unique treatment modalities. Apart from conventional treatment, which includes topical calcipotriol (vitamin D3 analogue, balneotherapy is drawing increased attention worldwide. Being part of climatotherapy, balneotherapy is defined as the use of natural environmental factors in the treatment of health conditions, whereas in the treatment of psoriasis it means the use of mineral baths and peloids. The aim of this study was to examine the therapeutic efficacy of mineral waters and peloids of the Rusanda Spa on plaque psoriasis in patients also treated with calcipotriol. Methods. The study included 60 patients divided into two groups. The first group included patients treated with mineral waters, peloids and calcipotriol in the Rusanda Spa, while the second one included those treated only with calcipotriol. The study took 21 days, and each patient was followed up for at least one month after ending the treatment. The treatment efficacy was measured by psoriasis area severity index (PASI scores on the days 0, 7, 14 and 21 during the treatment and 30 after the end of the therapy. Results. After a 3-week treatment in the Rusanda Spa, the first group showed a decrease in PASI score by 59.45%, whereas in the group of outpatients treated by calcipotriol it was 39.34%. On the day 30 following the treatment, the first group presented with the PASI score reduction of 58.44%, and the second group of 34.78%. The therapeutic efficacy of mineral waters and peloids combined with calcipotriol showed to be significantly higher in regard to monotherapy with calcipotriol (p < 0.05. In regard to clinical symptoms, the best results were obtained in the reduction of desquamation (p < 0.001. Conclusion. The results of our study show that in the treatment of plaque-type psoriasis, topical calcipotriol combined with Spa Rusanda balneotherapy is more effective than topical

  9. spa typing for epidemiological surveillance of Staphylococcus aureus

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hallin, Marie; Friedrich, Alexander W; Struelens, Marc J; Caugant, Dominique A.

    2009-01-01

    The spa typing method is based on sequencing of the polymorphic X region of the protein A gene (spa), present in all strains of Staphylococcus aureus. The X region is constituted of a variable number of 24-bp repeats flanked by well-conserved regions. This single-locus sequence-based typing method

  10. Molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains isolated from patients with bacteremia based on MLST, SCCmec, spa, and agr locus types analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goudarzi, Mehdi; Seyedjavadi, Sima Sadat; Nasiri, Mohammad Javad; Goudarzi, Hossein; Sajadi Nia, Raheleh; Dabiri, Hossein

    2017-03-01

    The widespread emergence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, as a common cause of nosocomial infections, is becoming a serious concern in global public health. The objective of the present study was to investigate antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, frequency of virulence genes and molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from patients with bacteremia. A total of 128 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates were collected during February 2015 to January 2016. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolates was assessed using the disk diffusion method. Conventional PCR was performed for the detection of adhesion (can, bbp, ebp, fnbB, fnbA, clfB, clfA) and toxin (etb, eta, pvl, tst) encoding genes, determining the agr type, SCCmec, MLST and spa typing of the isolates. All the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates were found to be sensitive to linezolid, teicoplanin, and vancomycin. Resistance to the tested antibiotics varied from 97.7% for penicillin to 24.2% for mupirocin. The rate of multi drug resistance (MDR) in the present study was 97.7%. The most commonly detected toxin and adhesion genes were tst (58.6%), and clfB (100%), respectively. The majority of SCCmec III isolates were found in agr group I while SCCmec IV and II isolates were distributed among agr group III. Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) of the MRSA isolates showed five different sequence types: ST239 (43%), ST22 (39.8%), ST585 (10.9%), ST45 (3.9%) and ST240 (2.3%). All of the pvl positive strains belonged to ST22-SCCmec IV/t790 clone and were MDR. Among different 7 spa types, the most common were t790 (27.3%), t037 (21.9%), and t030 (14.1%). spa types t016, t924 and spa type t383 were reported for the first time from Asia and Iran, respectively. It was shown that spa types circulating in the studied hospitals varied which support the need to perform future surveillance studies in order to understand

  11. Comparison of the DiversiLab Repetitive Element PCR System with spa Typing and Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis for Clonal Characterization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus▿

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babouee, B.; Frei, R.; Schultheiss, E.; Widmer, A. F.; Goldenberger, D.

    2011-01-01

    The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become an increasing problem worldwide in recent decades. Molecular typing methods have been developed to identify clonality of strains and monitor spread of MRSA. We compared a new commercially available DiversiLab (DL) repetitive element PCR system with spa typing, spa clonal cluster analysis, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in terms of discriminatory power and concordance. A collection of 106 well-defined MRSA strains from our hospital was analyzed, isolated between 1994 and 2006. In addition, we analyzed 6 USA300 strains collected in our institution. DL typing separated the 106 MRSA isolates in 10 distinct clusters and 8 singleton patterns. Clustering analysis into spa clonal complexes resulted in 3 clusters: spa-CC 067/548, spa-CC 008, and spa-CC 012. The discriminatory powers (Simpson's index of diversity) were 0.982, 0.950, 0.846, and 0.757 for PFGE, spa typing, DL typing, and spa clonal clustering, respectively. DL typing and spa clonal clustering showed the highest concordance, calculated by adjusted Rand's coefficients. The 6 USA300 isolates grouped homogeneously into distinct PFGE and DL clusters, and all belonged to spa type t008 and spa-CC 008. Among the three methods, DL proved to be rapid and easy to perform. DL typing qualifies for initial screening during outbreak investigation. However, compared to PFGE and spa typing, DL typing has limited discriminatory power and therefore should be complemented by more discriminative methods in isolates that share identical DL patterns. PMID:21307215

  12. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis with Mycobacterium avium complex among spa workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moraga-McHaley, Stephanie Ann; Landen, Michael; Krapfl, Heidi; Sewell, C Mack

    2013-01-01

    The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) investigated the cause of two cases of hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) in spa maintenance workers with laboratory confirmed Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). The investigation occurred in tandem with worker protection and swimming pool regulatory investigations by the New Mexico Environment Department at the spa where the workers were employed. The investigation was conducted in order to identify unreported cases, exposure source(s), and to prevent further worker exposure. NMDOH surveyed 57 spa employees about symptoms and exposures, categorized jobs according to self-reported exposure to water, and computed odds ratios for symptom reporting by exposure category. Environmental isolates from spa water and filter swabs were cultured and compared to patient isolates by the Environmental and Applied Microbiology Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Workers with the highest exposure reported more HP-like symptoms (OR = 9.6), as did intermediate exposure workers (OR = 6.5), compared to workers with no aerosolized water exposure. Two of 13 environmental isolates were closely related to one of the patient isolates. Workers were likely exposed during spray cleaning of cartridge filters in a poorly ventilated work space. Recommendations include inhibiting organism growth in spa systems, assuring the use of respiratory protection, and adequately ventilating work spaces where filters and equipment are cleaned.

  13. Effects of Rusanda Spa balneotherapy combined with calcipotriol on plaque psoriasis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golusin, Zoran; Jovanović, Marina; Magda, Natasa; Stojanović, Slobodan; Matić, Milan; Petrović, Aleksandra

    2015-11-01

    Treatment of psoriasis is very complex and there are no still universal, nor unique treatment modalities. Apart from conventional treatment, which includes topical calcipotriol (vitamin D3 analogue), balneotherapy is drawing increased attention worldwide. Being part of climatotherapy, balneotherapy is defined as the use of natural environmental factors in the treatment of health conditions, whereas in the treatment of psoriasis it means the use of mineral baths and peloids. The aim of this study was to examine the therapeutic efficacy of mineral waters and peloids of the Rusanda Spa on plaque psoriasis in patients also treated with calcipotriol. The study included 60 patients divided into two groups. The first group included patients treated with mineral waters, peloids and calcipotriol in the Rusanda Spa, while the second one included those treated only with calcipotriol. The study took 21 days, and each patient was followed up for at least one month after ending the treatment. The treatment efficacy was measured by psoriasis area severity index (PASI) scores on the days 0, 7, 14 and 21 during the treatment and 30 after the end of the therapy. After a 3-week treatment in the Rusanda Spa, the first group showed a decrease in PASI score by 59.45%, whereas in the group of outpatients treated by calcipotriol it was 39.34%. On the day 30 following the treatment, the first group presented with the PASI score reduction of 58.44%, and the second group of 34.78%. The therapeutic efficacy of mineral waters and peloids combined with calcipotriol showed to be significantly higher in regard to monotherapy with calcipotriol (p balneotherapy as monotherapy in treatment of this type of psoriasis.

  14. Radon measurement in the spa of Bizovac

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faj, Z.; Radolic, V.; Suveljak, B.; Planinic, J.

    1996-01-01

    The spa of Bizovac is located 20 km on the west of Osijek in east Croatia. Radon concentrations in the air and water of the Bizovac spa were measured by the Radhome silicon detector and the average values were obtained as 70 Bq/m 3 in the indoor pool, 40 Bq/m 3 in the hotel room and 135 Bq/m 3 in the closed therapeutic bathroom. A special experiment was performed in a closed therapeutic bathroom by three bathtubes filled up with geothermal water as well as normal (potable) one from water-supply. Using measured radon concentrations in air by Radhome detector under the mentioned conditions in the closed bathroom, radon concentrations were assessed for the geothermal water as 25.3 Bq/m 3 and 2.7 Bq/m 3 for potable water. Radon in potable water, measured by the sampling glass ampoule and scintillation cell, had the concentration of 3.5 Bq/m 3 . The radon transfer factor from water to air in the indoor pool and therapeutic bathroom was 10 and 40 times higher than for normal dwelling factor (10 -4 ), respectively. The effective dose equivalent of inhaled radon for permanent personnel under the worst conditions in the spa (closed therapeutic bathroom) was 5.4 mSv/y, but visitors spending two weeks in the Bizovac spa could receive the dose of 77 μSv. (author)

  15. Elementi koji diferenciraju ugovor o spašavanju od ugovora o tegljenju : (prikaz presude

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesna Skorupan Wolff

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Brod kojem su se zaustavili porivni strojevi, a uslijed toga vjetar i morska struja nosili su ga prema obali, zatražio je uslugu tegljenja. Između stranaka je sporno radi li se u konkretnom slučaju o ugovoru o tegljenju ili ugovoru o spašavanju. Spašavanje je svaka djelatnosti kojoj je svrha spašavanje osoba, brodova i stvari s tih brodova. Bitan element pojma spašavanja jest da se osoba, odnosno stvar koja se spašava nalazi u opasnosti (opasnost po život osoba, odnosno propast stvari. Pod spašavanjem se podrazumijeva i pružanje pomoći. Ako je pomoć pružena tegljenjem, to ne znači da se radi o pravnom poslu tegljenja. U konkretnom slučaju u pitanju nije bio komercijalni posao tegljenja već posao spašavanja.

  16. The effects of balance and postural stability exercises on spa based rehabilitation programme in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunay, Selim M; Keser, Ilke; Bicer, Zemzem T

    2018-01-01

    Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) can cause severe functional disorders that lead to loss of balance. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of balance and postural stability exercises on spa based rehabilitation programme in AS subjects. Twenty-one participants were randomized to the study (n= 11) and control groups (n= 10). Patients balance and stability were assessed with the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Timed Up and Go (TUG) Test, Single Leg Stance Test (SLST) and Functional Reach Test (FRT). AS spesicied measures were used for assessing to other parameters. The treatment plan for both groups consisted of conventional transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), spa and land-based exercises 5 days per week for 3 weeks. The study group performed exercises based on postural stability and balance with routine physiotherapy practice in thermal water and in exercise room. The TUG, SLST and FUT scores were significantly increased in the study group. In both groups, the BASMI, BASFI, BASDAI and ASQoL scores decreased significantly by the end of the treatment period (pbalance and stability exercises in addition to spa based routine approaches can increase the duration of maintaining balance and can improve the benefits of physiotherapy.

  17. [Effects of drinking spa therapy on oxidative stress].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costantino, M; Giampaolo, C; Filippelli, A

    2012-01-01

    Data of literature have shown the correlation between oxidative stress and some diseases of gastrointestinal and metabolic relevance such as diabetes mellitus, gastric cancer, gastritis, etc.. Studies have also shown that sulfurous mineral water may be useful in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. The aim of our research was to evaluate the antioxidant effect of sulphurous mineral water, administered by drinking method, in type 2 diabetes mellitus, a chronic disease with a high social and economic impact. The study has been performed on 57 subjects (25% women and 75% males; mean age: 60 ± 1.1 years; BMI: 27 ± 0.4) affected by type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. The subjects were divided in four groups: A (subjected to glucose-lowering diet therapy), B (subjected to antihyperglycaemic therapy), C (exposed to glucose-lowering diet therapy + drinking SPA therapy) and D (exposed to antihyperglycaemic therapy + drinking SPA therapy). Drinking SPA treatment was effected with sulphurous mineral water from Terme of Telese SpA (Benevento - Italy) and the pharmacological treatment provided the use of hypoglycemic drugs normally used in diabetic disease. After two weeks of therapy with treatments considered were evaluated fasting blood glycaemia and plasma concentration of ROMs (reactive oxygen metabolites) (d-ROMs test-Diacron International srl®-Grosseto - Italy). The results of our study have shown a significant (pfasting blood glycaemia when to hypoglycemic drugs or diet therapy was associated the sulphurous drinking SPA therapy. It was also observed a reduction of plasma ROMs levels, significant (p water, especially in combination with antidiabetic drug treatment, may be useful in type 2 diabetes mellitus for the improvement redox state of the organism.

  18. Surface expression and functional characterization of recombinant SpaFED pili in Lactococcus lactis

    OpenAIRE

    Rintahaka, Johanna; Yu, Xia; Kant, Ravi; Palva, Airi; von Ossowski, Ingemar

    2014-01-01

    A noticeable genomic feature of many piliated Gram-positive bacterial species is the presence of more than one pilus-encoding operon. Paradigmatically, the gut-adapted Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG strain contains two different fimbrial operons in its genome. However, whereas one of these operons (called spaCBA) is encoding for the functionally mucus-/collagen-binding SpaCBA pilus, for the other operon (called spaFED) any native expression of the SpaFED-called pili is still the subject of some u...

  19. Non-spa-typeable clinical Staphylococcus aureus strains are naturally occurring protein A mutants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Baum, Cathrin; Haslinger-Löffler, Bettina; Westh, Henrik

    2009-01-01

    Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen responsible for increasing the prevalence of community- and hospital-acquired infections. Protein A (SpA) is a key virulence factor of S. aureus and is highly conserved. Sequencing of the variable-number tandem-repeat region of SpA (spa typing) prov...

  20. Hyperspectral Imaging and SPA-LDA Quantitative Analysis for Detection of Colon Cancer Tissue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, X.; Zhang, D.; Wang, Ch.; Dai, B.; Zhao, M.; Li, B.

    2018-05-01

    Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has been demonstrated to provide a rapid, precise, and noninvasive method for cancer detection. However, because HSI contains many data, quantitative analysis is often necessary to distill information useful for distinguishing cancerous from normal tissue. To demonstrate that HSI with our proposed algorithm can make this distinction, we built a Vis-NIR HSI setup and made many spectral images of colon tissues, and then used a successive projection algorithm (SPA) to analyze the hyperspectral image data of the tissues. This was used to build an identification model based on linear discrimination analysis (LDA) using the relative reflectance values of the effective wavelengths. Other tissues were used as a prediction set to verify the reliability of the identification model. The results suggest that Vis-NIR hyperspectral images, together with the spectroscopic classification method, provide a new approach for reliable and safe diagnosis of colon cancer and could lead to advances in cancer diagnosis generally.

  1. Spa therapy for elderly: a retrospective study of 239 older patients with osteoarthritis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagülle, Mine; Kardeş, Sinan; Dişçi, Rian; Gürdal, Hatice; Karagülle, Müfit Zeki

    2016-10-01

    Very few studies tested the effectiveness of spa therapy in older patients with osteoarthritis. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of spa therapy in patients aged 65 years and older with generalized, knee, hip, and cervical and lumbar spine osteoarthritis. In an observational retrospective study design at the Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology Department of Istanbul Medical Faculty, we analyzed the records of 239 patients aged over 65 years with the diagnosis of all types of osteoarthritis who were prescribed a spa therapy course in some spa resorts in Turkey between 7 March 2002 and 31 December 2012. They travelled to a spa resort where they stayed at a thermal spa hotel and followed the usual therapy packages for 2 weeks. Patients were assessed by an experienced physician within a week before the spa journey and within a week after the completion of the spa therapy. Compared with baseline in whole sample, statistically significant improvements were observed in pain (visual analog scale, VAS), patient and physician global assessments (VAS), Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI), Lequesne algofunctional index (LAFI) for knee, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities index (WOMAC), Waddell disability index (WDI), and Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPAD). According to Outcome Measures in Rheumatology—Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OMERACT-OARSI) Set of Responder Criteria, responder rate were 63.8 % (51/80) in generalized, 52 % (13/25) in knee, 50 % (2/4) in hip, 66.7 % (8/12) in lumbar, and 100 % (6/6) in cervical osteoarthritis subgroups. Spa therapy improved pain and physical functional status in older patients with osteoarthritis, especially generalized osteoarthritis and multiple joint osteoarthritis with involvement of knee. This improvement was clinically important in majority of the patients. To confirm the results of this preliminary study, there is a need of a randomized controlled clinical study

  2. [Balneotherapy and spa therapy of rheumatic diseases in Turkey: a systematic review].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagülle, M Z; Karagülle, M

    2004-02-01

    Turkey has a lot of thermal and mineral springs and is looking back on a still vivid tradition of spa therapy and balneotherapy, applied especially for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. This tradition is predominantly empiric and intuitive, however, it has assumed some important aspects of modern balneotherapeutic methods as well. This article is aimed at presenting the characteristics of traditional and modern balneological and spa therapy forms in Turkey. The studies which have been conducted between 1990 and 2000 in different spas in Turkey on the efficacy and effectiveness of spa therapy and balneotherapy for rheumatic diseases have been searched and analyzed independent of their design. A descriptive evaluation of the studies was carried out. A total of 15 published studies have been found and analyzed. The investigations have been carried out in 8 different spa resorts in Turkey. In these studies the effectiveness and efficacy of different balneological and spa therapies on a variety of rheumatic diseases (from osteoarthritis to fibromyalgia and from rheumatoid arthritis to low back pain) could be shown. Nearly all studied balneotherapeutic modalities were applied as bathing cures. Only in one study peloid therapy was applied. Balneotherapeutic therapy was applied in a modern and traditional way, and both open and stationary spa therapy forms were used at the same time. The review has shown the effectiveness of the investigated spa therapy and balneotherapy forms. It could be concluded that nearly all forms of spa therapy and balneotherapy used for the treatment of rheumatic diseases in Turkey are effective. A definitive conclusion, however, is not possible because of the heterogeneity of the study designs, methodological flaws, and the publication bias. In future good quality randomized controlled trials are needed. Copyright 2004 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg

  3. Analysis of the radioactivity in the 'Elguea' spa, Villa Clara, Cuba; Analisis de la radiactividad en el balneario 'Elguea' , Villa Clara, Cuba

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernandez G, I M; Zerquera, J T; Carrazana G, J; Capote F, E; Rodriguez C, G [CPHR, La Habana (Cuba)

    2006-07-01

    The 'Elguea' spa, located in the north coast of the county of Villa Clara, Cuba, is considered one of those more important spas of Latin America. The waters of this spa are rich in salts of chlorine, sodium, bromine, sulfides and its contain radon. As a result of measurements of environmental gamma dose rates carried out in the area of the spa, its were considered levels of dose between 0.13 and 2.3 mSv. The obtained results motivated that it was carried out a characterization, from the radiological point of view, of the spa. This characterization is of supreme importance to be able to evaluate the impact that it has and the discharges of its waters on the environment, as well as, those dose that the population potentially affected can receive by these discharges. With this end its were carried out quantitative determinations of those existent natural more significant radionuclides in different environmental objects coming from the area of the spa and its surroundings, as well as one characterization gamma 'in situ' of the same one. The obtained results are present in this work. (Author)

  4. [Nonnius and the Spa cure].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lecomte, J; Lemli, J; Marganne, M H; Melard, M

    1996-01-01

    The 12th of July 1635, Jan van Beverwyck wrote a letter from Dordrecht to his esteemed friend Luis Nunez, in Antwerp. He asked him for indications about the cure of kidney stones of which he was suffering. He had just passed two calculi very painfully. Nunez answered on July 31. His letter summarized his own experience with this disease. In such cases, temperate diuretics and emollients are well indicated: ingestion of light decoctions of Malva and Viola, Caerefolium and Parieteria as well as Marshmallow syrup. No purge and no 'chemicals'. However, the best remedy was drinking Spa water. Usually the best way to absorb it is to come to the springs, in the Ardennes, part of the independent Principality of Liège. However, considering the horrors of the war (the Thirty Years War) endangering the country, van Beverwyck would be wise to drink imported water during 40 or 50 days, while staying home quietly, in Dordrecht. The letter points out the importance of provoked diuresis in the treatment of kidney stones. On the other hand the letter is an illustration of the continuing contacts between the United Provinces and the Spanish territories and of the commercial traffic between Antwerp, Dordrecht and Spa. The exported water was bottled from many 'pouhons'. It was acid, ferruginous, sulfurous and saturated with carbon dioxide; no pathogen germs, at least at the spring. Nunez quoted the large number of his patients cured with Spa water in Antwerp. This is an illustration of its commercial expansion even during this critical period.

  5. Treatment with mPEG-SPA improves the survival of corneal grafts in rats by immune camouflage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shuangyong; Li, Liangliang; Liu, Ying; Li, Chaoyang; Zhang, Min; Wang, Bowen; Huang, Zheqian; Gao, Xinbo; Wang, Zhichong

    2015-03-01

    We investigated the immune camouflage effects of methoxy polyethylene glycol succinimidyl propionate (mPEG-SPA) on corneal antigens and explored a novel approach for reducing corneal antigenicity, thereby decreasing corneal graft rejection. Importantly, this approach did not alter normal local immunity. Corneal grafts were treated with mPEG-SPA 5KD or 20KD (3% W/V), which could shield major histocompatibility antigen class I molecules (RT1-A) of corneal grafts. Skin grafts of Wistar rats were transplanted to SD rats. Then the splenic lymphocytes were isolated from SD rats. Subsequently, the lymphocytes were co-cultured with autologous corneal grafts or untreated corneal grafts and PEGylated grafts treated with mPEG-SPA 5KD or 20KD obtained from the counterpart skin donors, which were used as autologous control, allogeneic control, mPEG-SPA 5KD group and mPEG-SPA 20KD group, respectively. Lymphocyte proliferation was lower in mPEG-SPA 5KD group and mPEG-SPA 20KD group than in the allogeneic control. SD rats with corneal neovascularisation were used as recipients for high-risk corneal transplantation and were randomly divided into four groups: autologous control, allogeneic control, mPEG-SPA 5KD group and mPEG-SPA 20KD group. The recipients received corneal grafts from Wistar rats. Corneal graft survival was prolonged and graft rejection was reduced in the mPEG-SPA 5KD group and the mPEG-SPA 20KD group compared to the allogeneic control. Thus, we think that mPEG-SPA could immunologically camouflage corneal antigens to prolong corneal grafts survival in high-risk transplantation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. The impact of spa treatment on quality of life of elderly people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Wardeńska

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the spa treatment on the quality of life of the older people. The study included 18 women and 22 men over 60 years of age. Method used was diagnostic survey - a questionnaire containing closed and open questions, on the subjective assessment of their own quality of life, as well as spa treatment and its impact on health and well-being. This study lead to a conclusion that due the spa treatment, the quality of life of patients over 60 ages expressed their subjective assessment improves. This confirms the hypothesis that older people using spa treatment are characterized by a significantly higher level of quality of life.

  7. Impact of serum SP-A and SP-D levels on comparison and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kai; Ju, Qing; Cao, Jing; Tang, Wenze; Zhang, Jian

    2017-06-01

    Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has a poor prognosis in general; however, it is heterogeneous to detect relative biomarkers for predicting the disease progression. Serum biomarkers can be conveniently collected to detect and help to differentially diagnose IPF and predict IPF prognosis. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the use of serum surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D) for differential diagnosis and prognosis of IPF. Relevant articles were searched in PubMed, Embase, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases and reviewed by 2 independent readers. Standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the difference in serum levels of SP-A/D among patients with IPF, when compared to patients with non-IPF interstitial lung disease (ILD), pulmonary infection, and healthy control. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI were used to compare the relative risk of mortality. Twenty-one articles (totalling 1289 IPF patients) were included in final meta-analysis. Serum SP-A levels were significantly higher in patients with IPF than in patients with non-IPF ILD (SMD: 1.108 [0.584, 1.632], P infection (SMD: 1.320 [0.999, 1.640], P SMD: 2.802 [1.901, 3.702], P SMD: 0.459 [-0.000, 0.919], P = .050). Serum SP-D levels were significantly higher in patients with IPF than in patients with pulmonary infection (SMD: 1.308 [0.813, 1.803], P SMD: 2.235 [1.739, 2.731], P < .001). Risk of death in patients with IPF and elevated serum SP-A was increased 39% compared to patients with low SP-A groups. Elevated SP-D increased risk by 111% when compared to low SP-D. In acute exacerbation of IPF, serum SP-A/D were higher than those in stable stage. The comparisons and prognosis might be different in Asian and Caucasian patients. Serum SP-A/D detection might be useful for differential diagnosis and prediction of survival in patients with IPF.

  8. Radon and progeny sourced dose assessment of spa employees in balneological sites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemal Uzun, Sefa; Demiroez, Isik

    2016-01-01

    This study was conducted in the scope of IAEA project with the name 'Establishing a Systematic Radioactivity Survey and Total Effective Dose Assessment in Natural Balneological Sites' (TUR/9/018), at the Health Physics department of Saraykoey Nuclear Research and Training Center (SANAEM). The aim of this study is estimation of radon and progeny sourced effective dose for the people who are working at the spa facilities by measuring radon activity concentration (RAC) at the ambient air of indoor spa pools and dressing rooms. As it is known, the source of the radon gas is the radium content of the earth crust. Therefore, thermal waters coming from ground may contain dissolved radon and the radon can diffuse water to air. So the ambient air of spa pools can contain serious RAC that depends on a lot of parameters. In this regard, RAC measurements were executed at the 70 spa facilities in Turkey. The measurements were done with both active and passive methods at ambient air of spa pools and dressing rooms. Thus, active measurements were carried out by using the Alphaguard R with diffusion mode during half an hour, and passive measurements were carried out by using the humidity resistive CR-39 radon detectors during 2 months. Results show that RAC values at ambient air of spa pools varies between 13 Bq m -3 and 10 kBq m -3 . Because long-term measurements are more reliable, if it is available, for dose calculations passive radon measurements (with CR-39 detectors) at ambient air of spa pools and dressing rooms were used, otherwise active measurement results were used. With the measurement by the conversion coefficients of ICRP 65 and occupational data of the employees has got from questionnaire forms, effective dose values were calculated. According to the calculations, spa employees are exposed to annual average dose between 0.05 and 29 mSv because of radon and progeny. (authors)

  9. Spa therapy: can be a valid option for treating knee osteoarthritis?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tenti, Sara; Cheleschi, Sara; Galeazzi, Mauro; Fioravanti, Antonella

    2015-08-01

    Osteoarthritis (OA) continues to be one of the leading causes of `years lived with disability' worldwide. Symptomatic knee OA is highly prevalent among people aged 50 years and over and is destined to become an ever more important healthcare problem. Current management of knee OA includes non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatments. Spa therapy is one of the most commonly used non-pharmacological approaches for OA in many European countries, as well as in Japan and Israel. Despite its long history and popularity, spa treatment is still the subject of debate and its role in modern medicine continues to be unclear. The objective of this review is to summarize the currently available information on clinical effects and mechanisms of action of spa therapy in knee OA. Various randomized controlled clinical trials (RCTs) were conducted to assess the efficacy and tolerability of balneotherapy and mud-pack therapy in patients with knee OA. Data from these clinical trials support a beneficial effect of spa therapy on pain, function and quality of life in knee OA that lasts over time, until 6-9 months after the treatment. The mechanisms by which immersion in mineral or thermal water or the application of mud alleviate suffering in OA are not fully understood. The net benefit is probably the result of a combination of factors, among which the mechanical, thermal and chemical effects are most prominent. In conclusion, spa therapy seems to have a role in the treatment of knee OA. Additional RCTs and further studies of mechanisms of action with high methodological quality are necessary to prove the effects of spa therapy.

  10. Spa therapy adjunct to pharmacotherapy is beneficial in rheumatoid arthritis: a crossover randomized controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagülle, Mine; Kardeş, Sinan; Dişçi, Rian; Karagülle, Müfit Zeki

    2018-02-01

    This study aims to investigate whether 2-week spa therapy, as an adjunct to usual pharmacological therapy, has any beneficial effect in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this single-blind crossover study, 50 patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 manner to receive usual pharmacological therapy plus 2-week spa therapy or usual pharmacological therapy alone (period 1.6 months); after a 9-month washout, patients were crossed over to the opposite assignment (period 2.6 months). Spa therapy program included a daily saline balneotherapy session at 36-37 °C for 20 min except Sundays. The clinical outcomes were evaluated at baseline, after spa therapy (2 weeks) and 3 and 6 months after the spa therapy in both period and were pain (Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)), patient and physician global assessments (VAS), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and Disease Activity Score (DAS28). Spa therapy was superior to control therapy in improving all the assessed clinical outcomes at the end of the spa therapy. This superiority persisted significantly in physician global assessment ( p = 0.010) and with a trend in favor of spa group in patient global assessment ( p = 0.058), function ( p = 0.092), and disease activity ( p = 0.098) at 3 months. Statistically significant improvements were found in spa therapy compared to control in disease activity ( p = 0.006) and patient ( p = 0.020) and physician global ( p = 0.011) assessments, and a trend toward improvements in pain ( p = 0.069) and swollen joints ( p = 0.070) at 6 months. A 2-week spa therapy adjunct to usual pharmacological therapy provided beneficial clinical effects compared to usual pharmacological therapy alone, in RA patients treated with traditional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. These beneficial effects may last for 6 months.

  11. Spa Treatment (Balneotherapy) for Fibromyalgia—A Qualitative-Narrative Review and a Historical Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ablin, Jacob N.; Buskila, Dan

    2013-01-01

    Aim. To perform a narrative review of spa therapy for management of the fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS), evaluating this traditional time-honored form of therapy in a historical perspective. Methods. Medline was searched using the terms “Spa therapy,” “Balneotherapy,” and “Fibromyalgia” between 1990 (year of ACR fibromyalgia criteria publication) and April 2013. The Cochrane database was also searched. Publications relating to the implementation of spa therapy and related practices over the centuries were identified through references, searched, and reviewed. Results. Reports of balneotherapy were described from diverse locations throughout Europe and Asia, and various forms of water-related therapy have been incorporated for many musculoskeletal indications. In the management of FMS, spa therapy has generally been shown to be well accepted and moderately effective for symptom reduction. Conclusion. While achieving high-quality evidence-based conclusions is difficult for complex natural therapies such as spa therapy, the existing evidence indicates a positive effect in management of FMS. In view of the long history of this modality in the management of rheumatic pain as well as the inherent difficulties related to pharmacological treatment, the role of spa therapy should currently be recognized as part of a therapeutic program for FMS. PMID:23983795

  12. Spa Treatment (Balneotherapy for Fibromyalgia—A Qualitative-Narrative Review and a Historical Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jacob N. Ablin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim. To perform a narrative review of spa therapy for management of the fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS, evaluating this traditional time-honored form of therapy in a historical perspective. Methods. Medline was searched using the terms “Spa therapy,” “Balneotherapy,” and “Fibromyalgia” between 1990 (year of ACR fibromyalgia criteria publication and April 2013. The Cochrane database was also searched. Publications relating to the implementation of spa therapy and related practices over the centuries were identified through references, searched, and reviewed. Results. Reports of balneotherapy were described from diverse locations throughout Europe and Asia, and various forms of water-related therapy have been incorporated for many musculoskeletal indications. In the management of FMS, spa therapy has generally been shown to be well accepted and moderately effective for symptom reduction. Conclusion. While achieving high-quality evidence-based conclusions is difficult for complex natural therapies such as spa therapy, the existing evidence indicates a positive effect in management of FMS. In view of the long history of this modality in the management of rheumatic pain as well as the inherent difficulties related to pharmacological treatment, the role of spa therapy should currently be recognized as part of a therapeutic program for FMS.

  13. Local and spa fee on the example of Kujawsko-pomorskie municipalities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Kwaśniewski

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses facultative public levies in the Polish tax system – ie. local and spa tax. This publication presents legal structure of both taxes in accordance with the regulations of local taxes and fees contained in the Act of 12 January 1991. It also presents the results of empirical researches that have been carried out in Kujawsko-pomorskie municipalities, where local and spa taxes occured. The basic aim of study was to determine in which municipalities these fees were in force in 2010–2014 and what income had the individual municipal governments. Completed research would answer the question, whether the analysed charges are effective from local government`s point of view. The article is based on the analysis of legal acts, available literature and using case law of administrative courts. Furthermore, the authors presented the results of empirical research taken from Ms. Iwona Majewska thesis.

  14. Role of surfactant protein A (SP-A)/lipid interactions for SP-A functions in the lung.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casals, C

    2001-01-01

    Surfactant protein A (SP-A), an oligomeric glycoprotein, is a member of a group of proteins named collectins that contain collagen-like and Ca(2+)-dependent carbohydrate recognition domains. SP-A interacts with a broad range of amphipathic lipids (glycerophospholipids, sphingophospholipids, glycosphingolipids, lipid A, and lipoglycans) that are present in surfactant or microbial membranes. This review summarizes SP-A/lipid interaction studies regarding the lipid system used (i.e., phospholipid vesicles, phospholipid monolayers, and lipids immobilized on silica or adsorbed on a solid support). The effect of calcium, ionic strength, and pH on the binding of SP-A to lipids and the subsequent lipid aggregation process is discussed. Current evidence suggests that hydrophobic-binding forces are involved in the peripherical association of SP-A to membranes. It is also proposed that fluid and liquid-ordered phase coexistence in surfactant membranes might favor partition of SP-A into those membranes. The binding of SP-A to surfactant membranes containing hydrophobic surfactant peptides makes possible the formation of a membrane reservoir in the alveolar fluid that is protected by SP-A against inactivation and improves the rate of surfactant film formation. In addition, the interaction of SP-A with membranes might enhance the affinity of SP-A for terminal carbohydrates of glycolipids or glycoproteins on the surface of invading microorganisms.

  15. Radioactivity of water and air in Misasa Spa, Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morinaga, H.; Mifune, M.; Furuno, K.

    1984-01-01

    Misasa Spa is one of the most highly radioactive hot springs in Japan, the waters of which contain mainly 222 Rn (437 +- 132 Bq.litre -1 ). Radon contents of indoor air of private houses and health resort hotels (built of wood) at Misasa Spa range from 18.5 to 55.5 mBq.litre -1 and 22.2 to 129.5 mBq.litre -1 , respectively. Radon contents in the air of facilities using spring waters at Misasa Branch Hospital of Okayama University were measured to be: bathroom 807 +- 78 mBq.1 -1 , Hubbard-tank bathroom, 5306 +- 2568 mBq.litre -1 ; the drinking hall, 1491 +- 178 mBq.litre -1 . The environmental and dose rate inside private houses has been measured to be 14.0 +- 1.8 μR.h -1 . Chromosome abberations (dicentrics) in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of residents of Misasa Spa were investigated in 14 persons; the mean value of aberration frequencies were 0.21%. (author)

  16. Radioactivity and chromosome aberrations of residents of Misasa Spa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morinaga, Hiroshi; Mifune, Masaaki; Furuno, Katsushi

    1985-01-01

    Misasa Spa is one of the most highly radioactive hot springs in Japan, the waters of which contain mainly 222 Rn (437 ± 132 Bq/liter). Radon contents of indoor air of private houses and health resort hotels (built of wood) at Misasa Spa range from 18.5 to 55.5 mBq/liter and 22.2 to 129.5 mBq/liter, respectively. Radon contents in the air of facilities using spring waters at Misasa Branch Hospital of Okayama University were measured to be; bathroom 807 ± 78 mBq/liter; Hubbardtank bathroom 5306 ± 2568 mBq/liter; the drinking hall 1491 ± 178 mBq/liter. The environmental and dose rate inside private house's has been measured to be 14.0 ± 1.8 μR/h. Chromosome aberrations (dicentrics) in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of residents of Misasa Spa were investigated in 14 persons; the mean value of aberration frequencies were 0.21 %. (Kubozono, M.)

  17. MxiN Differentially Regulates Monomeric and Oligomeric Species of the Shigella Type Three Secretion System ATPase Spa47.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Case, Heather B; Dickenson, Nicholas E

    2018-04-17

    Shigella rely entirely on the action of a single type three secretion system (T3SS) to support cellular invasion of colonic epithelial cells and to circumvent host immune responses. The ATPase Spa47 resides at the base of the Shigella needle-like type three secretion apparatus (T3SA), supporting protein secretion through the apparatus and providing a likely means for native virulence regulation by Shigella and a much needed target for non-antibiotic therapeutics to treat Shigella infections. Here, we show that MxiN is a differential regulator of Spa47 and that its regulatory impact is determined by the oligomeric state of the Spa47 ATPase, with which it interacts. In vitro and in vivo characterization shows that interaction of MxiN with Spa47 requires the six N-terminal residues of Spa47 that are also necessary for stable Spa47 oligomer formation and activation. This interaction with MxiN negatively influences the activity of Spa47 oligomers while upregulating the ATPase activity of monomeric Spa47. Detailed kinetic analyses of monomeric and oligomeric Spa47 in the presence and absence of MxiN uncover additional mechanistic insights into the regulation of Spa47 by MxiN, suggesting that the MxiN/Spa47 species resulting from interaction with monomeric and oligomeric Spa47 are functionally distinct and that both could be involved in Shigella T3SS regulation. Uncovering regulation of Spa47 by MxiN addresses an important gap in the current understanding of how Shigella controls T3SA activity and provides the first description of differential T3SS ATPase regulation by a native T3SS protein.

  18. Variations in spa types found in consecutive MRSA isolates from the same patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boye, Kit; Westh, Henrik

    2010-01-01

    Very little is known about how the spa gene mutates over time in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from the same patient. Copenhagen is an area with low prevalence of MRSA but with high variability in spa types. We collected 1536 MRSA isolates from 319 patients during a 5-year...... period and found spa type alterations in 30 MRSA isolates (2%) from 13 patients (4%). The alteration most often seen was the deletion of repeats followed by repeat duplication and point mutation....

  19. 75 FR 12167 - Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act; Public Accommodation

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-15

    ... pool or spa that is ``open exclusively to patrons of a hotel or other public accommodations facility... Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov . B. Legal Analysis In adopting a reasonable interpretation of... ``an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging, except for an establishment located within a...

  20. Role of surfactant protein-A (SP-A) in lung injury in response to acute ozone exposure of SP-A deficient mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haque, Rizwanul; Umstead, Todd M.; Ponnuru, Padmavathi; Guo Xiaoxuan; Hawgood, Samuel; Phelps, David S.; Floros, Joanna

    2007-01-01

    Millions are exposed to ozone levels above recommended limits, impairing lung function, causing epithelial damage and inflammation, and predisposing some individuals to pneumonia, asthma, and other lung conditions. Surfactant protein-A (SP-A) plays a role in host defense, the regulation of inflammation, and repair of tissue damage. We tested the hypothesis that the lungs of SP-A(-/-) (KO) mice are more susceptible to ozone-induced damage. We compared the effects of ozone on KO and wild type (WT) mice on the C57BL/6 genetic background by exposing them to 2 parts/million of ozone for 3 or 6 h and sacrificing them 0, 4, and 24 h later. Lungs were subject to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) or used to measure endpoints of oxidative stress and inflammation. Despite more total protein in BAL of KO mice after a 3 h ozone exposure, WT mice had increased oxidation of protein and had oxidized SP-A dimers. In KO mice there was epithelial damage as assessed by increased LDH activity and there was increased phospholipid content. In WT mice there were more BAL PMNs and elevated macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-2 and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1. Changes in MIP-2 and MCP-1 were observed in both KO and WT, however mRNA levels differed. In KO mice MIP-2 mRNA levels changed little with ozone, but in WT levels they were significantly increased. In summary, several aspects of the inflammatory response differ between WT and KO mice. These in vivo findings appear to implicate SP-A in regulating inflammation and limiting epithelial damage in response to ozone exposure

  1. Spa47 is an oligomerization-activated type three secretion system (T3SS) ATPase from Shigella flexneri.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgess, Jamie L; Jones, Heather B; Kumar, Prashant; Toth, Ronald T; Middaugh, C Russell; Antony, Edwin; Dickenson, Nicholas E

    2016-05-01

    Gram-negative pathogens often use conserved type three secretion systems (T3SS) for virulence. The Shigella type three secretion apparatus (T3SA) penetrates the host cell membrane and provides a unidirectional conduit for injection of effectors into host cells. The protein Spa47 localizes to the base of the apparatus and is speculated to be an ATPase that provides the energy for T3SA formation and secretion. Here, we developed an expression and purification protocol, producing active Spa47 and providing the first direct evidence that Spa47 is a bona fide ATPase. Additionally, size exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation identified multiple oligomeric species of Spa47 with the largest greater than 8 fold more active for ATP hydrolysis than the monomer. An ATPase inactive Spa47 point mutant was then engineered by targeting a conserved Lysine within the predicted Walker A motif of Spa47. Interestingly, the mutant maintained a similar oligomerization pattern as active Spa47, but was unable to restore invasion phenotype when used to complement a spa47 null S. flexneri strain. Together, these results identify Spa47 as a Shigella T3SS ATPase and suggest that its activity is linked to oligomerization, perhaps as a regulatory mechanism as seen in some related pathogens. Additionally, Spa47 catalyzed ATP hydrolysis appears to be essential for host cell invasion, providing a strong platform for additional studies dissecting its role in virulence and providing an attractive target for anti-infective agents. © 2016 The Protein Society.

  2. A pilot study to evaluate the effects of floatation spa treatment on patients with osteoarthritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, S; Eckett, M J; Paterson, C; Harkness, E F

    1999-12-01

    To conduct a preliminary investigation of the effects on floatation spa therapy on quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis to see if controlled trials are warranted. Uncontrolled clinical trial. Private floatation spa therapy centre. Fourteen patients with chronic osteoarthritis of the weight-bearing joints, of whom four dropped out. Six weekly sessions of floatation spa therapy. SF36, AIMS2 and MYMOP quality-of-life questionnaires. All patients improved. Differences between baseline and discharge scores showed statistically significant improvement for MYMOP, but not AIMS2 or SF-36. Controlled trials of floatation spa therapy for patients with osteoarthritis are warranted.

  3. Pürovel Spa & Sport / Ülli Plink

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Plink, Ülli, 1973-

    2011-01-01

    Swissôtel Tallinna 11. korrusel asuvast Pürovel Spa & Sport poolt pakutavatest treeningutest ning lõõgastusprotseduuridest, samuti 8. korrusel asuvast a la carte menüü ja päevabuffega restoranist Café Swiss

  4. From sulphur to perfume: spa and SPA at Monchique, Algarve.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastos, Cristiana

    2011-04-01

    In the thermal village of Monchique, Algarve, different streams of water-related knowledge and practices coexisted for centuries. Those waters were traditionally known as aguas santas (holy waters) and believed to have redemptive healing powers. In the seventeenth century, the Catholic church took control of the place, refashioned the bathing rituals, developed infrastructures and provided assistance to the patients, granting free treatment to the poor. In the nineteenth century, the state replaced the church and imposed that treatments should be provided by professionals trained in the scientific principles of medical hydrology. Secular and scientific as they were, clinical logbooks still allowed for the account of patients that embodied miracle-like redemptive cures 'at the third bath'. People went to Monchique both for its magic and its medicine, bringing in the body ailments achieved in their lives of hard labour. They also went there for a socialising break while healing. From mendicants to rich landowners, coming mostly from the Algarve and neighbouring Alentejo, they crowded the place in summertime. In the twentieth century, as in other places in continental Europe, the spa evolved into a highly medicalised place that qualified for medical expenses reimbursements, which implied the eclipsing--at least from representation--of its leisure component. In the twenty-first century, a new trend of consumer-centred, market-based, post-water balneology with an emphasis on wellness and leisure reinvented the spa as place for lush and diversified consumption. This article argues that the seemingly contradictory systems (markets and medicine) coexist much in the same way that magic, religion and medicine coexisted in the old water sites. The new SPAs, rather than putting an end to the old spas, have enabled them to survive by reinventing thermal sites as places of attraction and leisure.

  5. 77 FR 35888 - Airworthiness Directives; PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-15

    ...., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For service.... Relevant Service Information PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A. has issued Service Bulletin No. 80- 0318, dated... Instructions of Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. Mandatory Service Bulletin No. 80-0318, revision 2, dated March...

  6. Objectification of a Choice of a Spa Treatment Plan for Arthritis of the Hip Joint

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Och, F.; Medonos, J.; Hanzlíček, P.; Valenta, Zdeněk; Dvořák, V.; Zvárová, Jana

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 1, č. 1 (2013), s. 10-10 ISSN 1805-8698. [EFMI 2013 Special Topic Conference. 17.04.2013-19.04.2013, Prague] Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : decision-support * spa treatment * hip arthritis * statistical analysis Subject RIV: IN - Informatics, Computer Science

  7. State-wide surveillance of antibiotic resistance patterns and spa types of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus from blood cultures in North Rhine-Westphalia, 2011-2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuny, C; Layer, F; Werner, G; Harmsen, D; Daniels-Haardt, I; Jurke, A; Mellmann, A; Witte, W; Köck, R

    2015-08-01

    Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major cause of bacteraemia. We aimed to obtain a complete picture of severe MRSA infections by characterizing all MRSA isolates from bloodstream infections in the largest German federal state (North Rhine-Westphalia, 18 million inhabitants) using S. aureus protein A (spa) sequence-typing and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. MRSA isolates (n = 1952) were collected prospectively (2011-2013) and spa-typed. Among 181 different spa types, t003 (n = 746 isolates; 38.2%) and t032 (n = 594; 30.4%) were predominant. Analysis of the geographical occurrence of spa clonal complexes (spa-CCs) and spa types revealed divergent distribution between federal state districts for spa-CCs 003 (p resistant to fluoroquinolones, 78% to erythromycin, 70% to clindamycin, 4% to gentamicin, 2% to rifampicin, 0.4% to daptomycin, 0.1% to linezolid and 0% to vancomycin, respectively. Vancomycin MICs of 2 mg/L involved 0.5% of the isolates. In conclusion, the detection of regional molecular clusters added valuable information for epidemiological case tracing and allowed conclusions to be reached on the importance of newly emerging MRSA reservoirs, such as livestock (spa-CC011), for MRSA bacteraemia in some parts of the federal state. Susceptibility testing revealed broad resistance to substances used for oral treatment, but demonstrated that those antibiotics that are mostly applied for treatment of MRSA bacteraemia and important combination partners were highly susceptible. Copyright © 2015 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Feasibility study for the installation of HVAC for a spa by means of energy recovery from thermal water. Pt. 2: Energy analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tabares, J.L. Miguez [Universidad de Vigo, Dept. de Ingenieria Mecanica, Vigo (Spain); Alvarez, M. Gandara [ISOLUX Espana, Vigo (Spain); Gonzalez, L.M. Lopez [Universidad de La Rioja, Dept. de Ingenieria Mecanica, Logrono (Spain); Viar, P. Fernandez [Universidad de Oviedo, Dept. de Energia, Oviedo (Spain)

    2001-05-01

    The use of a low temperature geothermal spring together with the heat energy still contained in waste water from the different therapy systems installed in a spa (shower, jets, bathrooms, jacuzzis, pools, ventilation processes) can significantly reduce the operating and maintenance costs of the installation. This covers part of the air conditioning needs of the building and of the heating of thermal water to the appropriate temperature for therapeutic use. In the first part of the study, an analysis of the spring's situation was made, calculating the thermal water needs and presenting the consumption according to the operation schedule on different types of day. In this way, the contribution the spring was capable of giving was compared and the evolution of the thermal water in the tanks was studied. In the second part, the climatic conditions that the spa should meet are studied, along with the loads that it should support, the energy reclaimed from the different heat focuses and the repercussions on the final solution. (Author)

  9. Analysis of the radioactivity in the 'Elguea' spa, Villa Clara, Cuba; Analisis de la radiactividad en el balneario 'Elguea' , Villa Clara, Cuba

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fernandez G, I.M.; Zerquera, J.T.; Carrazana G, J.; Capote F, E.; Rodriguez C, G. [CPHR, La Habana (Cuba)]. e-mail: isis@cphr.edu.cu

    2006-07-01

    The 'Elguea' spa, located in the north coast of the county of Villa Clara, Cuba, is considered one of those more important spas of Latin America. The waters of this spa are rich in salts of chlorine, sodium, bromine, sulfides and its contain radon. As a result of measurements of environmental gamma dose rates carried out in the area of the spa, its were considered levels of dose between 0.13 and 2.3 mSv. The obtained results motivated that it was carried out a characterization, from the radiological point of view, of the spa. This characterization is of supreme importance to be able to evaluate the impact that it has and the discharges of its waters on the environment, as well as, those dose that the population potentially affected can receive by these discharges. With this end its were carried out quantitative determinations of those existent natural more significant radionuclides in different environmental objects coming from the area of the spa and its surroundings, as well as one characterization gamma 'in situ' of the same one. The obtained results are present in this work. (Author)

  10. Streptococcus mutans SpaP binds to RadD of Fusobacterium nucleatum ssp. polymorphum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Lihong; Shokeen, Bhumika; He, Xuesong; Shi, Wenyuan; Lux, Renate

    2017-10-01

    Adhesin-mediated bacterial interspecies interactions are important elements in oral biofilm formation. They often occur on a species-specific level, which could determine health or disease association of a biofilm community. Among the key players involved in these processes are the ubiquitous fusobacteria that have been recognized for their ability to interact with numerous different binding partners. Fusobacterial interactions with Streptococcus mutans, an important oral cariogenic pathogen, have previously been described but most studies focused on binding to non-mutans streptococci and specific cognate adhesin pairs remain to be identified. Here, we demonstrated differential binding of oral fusobacteria to S. mutans. Screening of existing mutant derivatives indicated SpaP as the major S. mutans adhesin specific for binding to Fusobacterium nucleatum ssp. polymorphum but none of the other oral fusobacteria tested. We inactivated RadD, a known adhesin of F. nucleatum ssp. nucleatum for interaction with a number of gram-positive species, in F. nucleatum ssp. polymorphum and used a Lactococcus lactis heterologous SpaP expression system to demonstrate SpaP interaction with RadD of F. nucleatum ssp. polymorphum. This is a novel function for SpaP, which has mainly been characterized as an adhesin for binding to host proteins including salivary glycoproteins. In conclusion, we describe an additional role for SpaP as adhesin in interspecies adherence with RadD-SpaP as the interacting adhesin pair for binding between S. mutans and F. nucleatum ssp. polymorphum. Furthermore, S. mutans attachment to oral fusobacteria appears to involve species- and subspecies-dependent adhesin interactions. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Fibromyalgia Syndrome and Spa Therapy: Myth or Reality?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giacomo M. Guidelli

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Fibromyalgia syndrome (FS is a common musculoskeletal disorder characterized by otherwise unexplained chronic widespread pain, a lowered pain threshold, high tender point counts, sleep disturbances, fatigue, headache, irritable bowel syndrome, morning stiffness, paraesthesias in the extremities, often psychological distress and depressed mood. Consequently, FS has a negative impact on working capacity, family life, social functioning and quality of life. Because of unknown etiology and not clearly understood pathogenesis, there is no standard therapy regime for FS. A variety of medical treatments, including antidepressants, opioids, analgesic or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, sedatives, muscle relaxants and antiepileptics, have been used to treat FS. Currently, no pharmacological treatment for FS is consistently successful. According to recent guidelines, the optimal treatment of FS requires a multidisciplinary approach with a combination of non-pharmacological and pharmacological treatment modalities. Spa therapy is a popular treatment for FS in many European countries, as well as in Japan and Israel. However, despite their long history and popularity spa treatments are still the subject of debate and their role in modern medicine is still not clear. The objective of this review is to summarize the currently available information on clinical effects and mechanism of action of spa therapy in FS. We also provide some suggestions for further development in this area.

  12. Romanian spa tourism: a communist paradigm in a post communist era

    OpenAIRE

    George Erdeli; Ana Irina Dincă; Aurel Gheorghilas; Camelia Surugiu

    2011-01-01

    Spa tourism is one of the oldest forms of tourism which continuously evolved in time as the leisure industry paradigm and the consumers’ behavior changed. Similar to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, spa tourism is an old phenomenon in Romania which expanded to the dimensions of a well defined tourism industry during the mass tourism period which also corresponded to the communism epoch. Although severely affected by the major political and socio-economic changes which occurred a...

  13. Enhanced discrimination of highly clonal ST22-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus IV isolates achieved by combining spa, dru, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing data.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Shore, Anna C

    2010-05-01

    ST22-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus type IV (ST22-MRSA-IV) is endemic in Irish hospitals and is designated antibiogram-resistogram type-pulsed-field group (AR-PFG) 06-01. Isolates of this highly clonal strain exhibit limited numbers of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns and spa types. This study investigated whether combining PFGE and spa typing with DNA sequencing of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec element (SCCmec)-associated direct repeat unit (dru typing) would improve isolate discrimination. A total of 173 MRSA isolates recovered in one Irish hospital during periods in 2007 and 2008 were investigated using antibiogram-resistogram (AR), PFGE, spa, dru, and SCCmec typing. Isolates representative of each of the 17 pulsed-field group 01 (PFG-01) spa types identified underwent multilocus sequence typing, and all isolates were ST22. Ninety-seven percent of isolates (168 of 173) exhibited AR-PFG 06-01 or closely related AR patterns, and 163 of these isolates harbored SCCmec type IVh. The combination of PFGE, spa, and dru typing methods significantly improved discrimination of the 168 PFG-01 isolates, yielding 65 type combinations with a Simpson\\'s index of diversity (SID) of 96.53, compared to (i) pairwise combinations of spa and dru typing, spa and PFGE typing, and dru and PFGE typing, which yielded 37, 44, and 43 type combinations with SIDs of 90.84, 91.00, and 93.57, respectively, or (ii) individual spa, dru, and PFGE typing methods, which yielded 17, 17, and 21 types with SIDs of 66.9, 77.83, and 81.34, respectively. Analysis of epidemiological information for a subset of PFG-01 isolates validated the relationships inferred using combined PFGE, spa, and dru typing data. This approach significantly enhances discrimination of ST22-MRSA-IV isolates and could be applied to epidemiological investigations of other highly clonal MRSA strains.

  14. The SPA Tourism Perception in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ionica SOARE

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Tourism or geriatric-medical and wellness tourism are market segments that lately have registered significant increases. The need to define, organize, and promote these sectors. This item is intended to synthesize developments and challenges market growth wellness and medical tourism. For the industry spa these developments may represent an opportunity to take full advantage of wellness and medical tourism.

  15. [The impact of the spa therapy on reduction of the perception of pain intensity in patients with degenerative joints and disc disease].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuciel-Lewandowska, Jadwiga; Paprocka-Borowicz, Małgorzata

    2015-01-01

    Degenerative joints and disc disease is accompanied by chronic pain which is the main symptom of the disease. Medical spa therapy has the task of providing comprehensive treatment embracing diseases of limbs as well as other systems and the essential role of medical treatment, in particular spa therapy, is pain relief. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of the spa treatment on the level of pain perception in patients with degenerative joints and disc disease. The observation embraced 120 people with degenerative joints and disc disease treated in the spa. The study included a comprehensive therapy conducted over a 21-day stays at the spa Przerzeczyn-Zdrój with the application of selected physical treatments, physiotherapy and the use of therapeutic natural resources: peloid mud and healing radon-sulphide water. Moreover, there was psychological counseling and health education conducted. The study also included observation of 21 persons from the control group. However, the patients in the control group did not benefit from balneotherapy, psychological care and education. There was a standard VAS scale for pain and non-standard questionnaire of pain assessment constructed for the study purposes. The assessment of pain using the VAS scale and questionnaire of pain assessment both in the study group and the control group were performed before and after the treatment. The results were analyzed statistically, there was Statistica program in Polish version used. In the analysis of the obtained results there were two tests scheduled: the sign test, the Wilcoxon test and descriptive statistics. As a result of the spa therapy and treatments administered on an outpatient basis there was reduction of pain intensity observed. 1. Spa therapy and outpatient treatment reduce the level of pain in patients with degenerative joints and disc disease. 2. The reduction of pain level was more effective in case of therapy conducted in the spa.

  16. Romanian spa tourism: a communist paradigm in a post communist era

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George Erdeli

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Spa tourism is one of the oldest forms of tourism which continuously evolved in time as the leisure industry paradigm and the consumers’ behavior changed. Similar to other countries in Central and Eastern Europe, spa tourism is an old phenomenon in Romania which expanded to the dimensions of a well defined tourism industry during the mass tourism period which also corresponded to the communism epoch. Although severely affected by the major political and socio-economic changes which occurred after the Revolution in 1989, this industry coexists with new emergent forms of tourism orienting, itself towards new dimensions embraced by the contemporary leisure consumerism (e.g. medical tourism, cosmetic treatments. Lying on considerable balneal and climate resources and displaying an important communist heritage both in physical terms (large and massive tourism structures and in virtual and psychological terms (social supportive ticket granting system, Romanian spa tourism faces various challenges in the attempt to adapt in a new tourism era.

  17. Molecular epidemiology of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia in a single large Minnesota medical center in 2015 as assessed using MLST, core genome MLST and spa typing.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyung-Hwa Park

    Full Text Available Staphylococcus aureus is a leading cause of bacteremia in hospitalized patients. Whether or not S. aureus bacteremia (SAB is associated with clonality, implicating potential nosocomial transmission, has not, however, been investigated. Herein, we examined the epidemiology of SAB using whole genome sequencing (WGS. 152 SAB isolates collected over the course of 2015 at a single large Minnesota medical center were studied. Staphylococcus protein A (spa typing was performed by PCR/Sanger sequencing; multilocus sequence typing (MLST and core genome MLST (cgMLST were determined by WGS. Forty-eight isolates (32% were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA. The isolates encompassed 66 spa types, clustered into 11 spa clonal complexes (CCs and 10 singleton types. 88% of 48 MRSA isolates belonged to spa CC-002 or -008. Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA isolates were more genotypically diverse, with 61% distributed across four spa CCs (CC-002, CC-012, CC-008 and CC-084. By MLST, there was 31 sequence types (STs, including 18 divided into 6 CCs and 13 singleton STs. Amongst MSSA isolates, the common MLST clones were CC5 (23%, CC30 (19%, CC8 (15% and CC15 (11%. Common MRSA clones were CC5 (67% and CC8 (25%; there were no MRSA isolates in CC45 or CC30. By cgMLST analysis, there were 9 allelic differences between two isolates, with the remaining 150 isolates differing from each other by over 40 alleles. The two isolates were retroactively epidemiologically linked by medical record review. Overall, cgMLST analysis resulted in higher resolution epidemiological typing than did multilocus sequence or spa typing.

  18. Modified Decoding Algorithm of LLR-SPA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongxun Wang

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In wireless sensor networks, the energy consumption is mainly occurred in the stage of information transmission. The Low Density Parity Check code can make full use of the channel information to save energy. Because of the widely used decoding algorithm of the Low Density Parity Check code, this paper proposes a new decoding algorithm which is based on the LLR-SPA (Sum-Product Algorithm in Log-Likelihood-domain to improve the accuracy of the decoding algorithm. In the modified algorithm, a piecewise linear function is used to approximate the complicated Jacobi correction term in LLR-SPA decoding algorithm. Construct the tangent by the tangency point to the function of Jacobi correction term, which is based on the first order Taylor Series. In this way, the proposed piecewise linear approximation offers almost a perfect match to the function of Jacobi correction term. Meanwhile, the proposed piecewise linear approximation could avoid the operation of logarithmic which is more suitable for practical application. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm could improve the decoding accuracy greatly without noticeable variation of the computational complexity.

  19. 75 FR 76038 - Zach System Corporation a Subdivision of Zambon Company, SPA Including On-Site Leased Workers of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-07

    ... Subdivision of Zambon Company, SPA Including On-Site Leased Workers of Turner Industries and Go Johnson, La..., including on-site leased workers from Turner Industries and Go Johnson, La Porte, Texas. The Department's... investigation revealed that Zach System Corporation is a subdivision of Zambon Company, SPA, not Zach System SPA...

  20. Real-life effectiveness of spa therapy in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases: a retrospective study of 819 patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagülle, Mine; Kardeş, Sinan; Karagülle, Müfit Zeki

    2017-11-01

    The objective of this study is to determine the use and efficacy of spa therapy in patients with a wide spectrum of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases under real-life clinical practice circumstances. In this retrospective observational study at the Medical Ecology and Hydroclimatology Department of Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, the records of all adult patients with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases who were prescribed a spa therapy in various health resorts in Turkey between 2002 and 2012 were analyzed. Patients sojourned to and stayed at a health resort and followed a usual 2-week course of spa therapy. The patients were examined within a week before and after the spa therapy at the department by the physicians and outcome measures were pain intensity (visual analog scale, VAS), patient's general evaluation (VAS), physician's general evaluation (VAS), Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Lequesne's Functional Index (LFI), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Index (WOMAC), Waddell Index (WI), Neck Pain and Disability Scale (NPDS), Shoulder Disability Questionnaire (SDQ), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ), and Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). In total, 819 patients were included in the analysis. The diagnoses were 536 osteoarthritis; 115 fibromyalgia; 50 lumbar disc herniation; 34 cervical disc herniation; 23 nonspecific low back pain; 22 ankylosing spondylitis; 16 rheumatoid arthritis; 9 rotator cuff tendinitis; and 14 other conditions/diseases including scoliosis, stenosing flexor tenosynovitis, congenital hip dislocation in adult, Behçet's disease, de Quervain tendinopathy, psoriatic arthritis, osteoporosis, fracture rehabilitation, and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis. Statistically significant decrease in pain scores was found in all patients except hip osteoarthritis ( p = 0.063) and rheumatoid arthritis ( p = 0.134) subgroups; and statistically significant improvement in function in all patients except hip osteoarthritis ( p

  1. A online credit evaluation method based on AHP and SPA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yingtao; Zhang, Ying

    2009-07-01

    Online credit evaluation is the foundation for the establishment of trust and for the management of risk between buyers and sellers in e-commerce. In this paper, a new credit evaluation method based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the set pair analysis (SPA) is presented to determine the credibility of the electronic commerce participants. It solves some of the drawbacks found in classical credit evaluation methods and broadens the scope of current approaches. Both qualitative and quantitative indicators are considered in the proposed method, then a overall credit score is achieved from the optimal perspective. In the end, a case analysis of China Garment Network is provided for illustrative purposes.

  2. [Measurement of soil organic matter and available K based on SPA-LS-SVM].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hai-Liang; Liu, Xue-Mei; He, Yong

    2014-05-01

    Visible and short wave infrared spectroscopy (Vis/SW-NIRS) was investigated in the present study for measurement of soil organic matter (OM) and available potassium (K). Four types of pretreatments including smoothing, SNV, MSC and SG smoothing+first derivative were adopted to eliminate the system noises and external disturbances. Then partial least squares regression (PLSR) and least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM) models were implemented for calibration models. The LS-SVM model was built by using characteristic wavelength based on successive projections algorithm (SPA). Simultaneously, the performance of LSSVM models was compared with PLSR models. The results indicated that LS-SVM models using characteristic wavelength as inputs based on SPA outperformed PLSR models. The optimal SPA-LS-SVM models were achieved, and the correlation coefficient (r), and RMSEP were 0. 860 2 and 2. 98 for OM and 0. 730 5 and 15. 78 for K, respectively. The results indicated that visible and short wave near infrared spectroscopy (Vis/SW-NIRS) (325 approximately 1 075 nm) combined with LS-SVM based on SPA could be utilized as a precision method for the determination of soil properties.

  3. Comparing Whole-Genome Sequencing with Sanger Sequencing for spa Typing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bartels, Mette Damkjaer; Petersen, Andreas; Worning, Peder

    2014-01-01

    spa typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has traditionally been done by PCR amplification and Sanger sequencing of the spa repeat region. At Hvidovre Hospital, Denmark, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of all MRSA isolates has been performed routinely since January 2013, and ...

  4. Surfactant protein A (SP-A)-mediated clearance of Staphylococcus aureus involves binding of SP-A to the staphylococcal adhesin eap and the macrophage receptors SP-A receptor 210 and scavenger receptor class A.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sever-Chroneos, Zvjezdana; Krupa, Agnieszka; Davis, Jeremy; Hasan, Misbah; Yang, Ching-Hui; Szeliga, Jacek; Herrmann, Mathias; Hussain, Muzafar; Geisbrecht, Brian V; Kobzik, Lester; Chroneos, Zissis C

    2011-02-11

    Staphylococcus aureus causes life-threatening pneumonia in hospitals and deadly superinfection during viral influenza. The current study investigated the role of surfactant protein A (SP-A) in opsonization and clearance of S. aureus. Previous studies showed that SP-A mediates phagocytosis via the SP-A receptor 210 (SP-R210). Here, we show that SP-R210 mediates binding and control of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus by macrophages. We determined that SP-A binds S. aureus through the extracellular adhesin Eap. Consequently, SP-A enhanced macrophage uptake of Eap-expressing (Eap(+)) but not Eap-deficient (Eap(-)) S. aureus. In a reciprocal fashion, SP-A failed to enhance uptake of Eap(+) S. aureus in peritoneal Raw264.7 macrophages with a dominant negative mutation (SP-R210(DN)) blocking surface expression of SP-R210. Accordingly, WT mice cleared infection with Eap(+) but succumbed to sublethal infection with Eap- S. aureus. However, SP-R210(DN) cells compensated by increasing non-opsonic phagocytosis of Eap(+) S. aureus via the scavenger receptor scavenger receptor class A (SR-A), while non-opsonic uptake of Eap(-) S. aureus was impaired. Macrophages express two isoforms: SP-R210(L) and SP-R210(S). The results show that WT alveolar macrophages are distinguished by expression of SP-R210(L), whereas SR-A(-/-) alveolar macrophages are deficient in SP-R210(L) expressing only SP-R210(S). Accordingly, SR-A(-/-) mice were highly susceptible to both Eap(+) and Eap(-) S. aureus. The lungs of susceptible mice generated abnormal inflammatory responses that were associated with impaired killing and persistence of S. aureus infection in the lung. In conclusion, alveolar macrophage SP-R210(L) mediates recognition and killing of SP-A-opsonized S. aureus in vivo, coordinating inflammatory responses and resolution of S. aureus pneumonia through interaction with SR-A.

  5. [Estimation of effective doses derived from radon in selected SPA centers that use geothermal waters based on the information of radon concentrations].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walczak, Katarzyna; Zmyślony, Marek

    2013-01-01

    Geothermal waters contain, among other components, soluble radon gas. Alpha radioactive radon is a health hazard to humans, especially when it gets into the respiratory tract. SPA facilities that use geothermal water can be a source of an increased radiation dose to people who stay there. Based on the available literature concerning radon concentrations, we assessed exposure to radon among people - workers and visitors of Spa centers that use geothermal waters. Radon concentrations were analyzed in 17 geothermal centers: in Greece (3 centers), Iran (5), China (4) and India (5). Doses recived by people in the SPA were estimated using the formula that 1 hour exposure to 1 Bq/m3 of radon concentration and equilibrium factor F = 0.4 corresponds to an effective dose of 3.2 nSv. We have found that radon levels in SPAs are from a few to several times higher than those in confined spaces, where geothermal waters are not used (e.g., residential buildings). In 82% of the analyzed SPAs, workers may receive doses above 1 mSv/year. According to the relevant Polish regulations, people receiving doses higher than 1 mSv/year are included in category B of radiation exposure and require regular dosimetric monitoring. Doses received by SPA visitors are much lower because the time of their exposure to radon released from geothermal water is rather short. The analysis of radon concentration in SPA facilities shows that the radiological protection of people working with geothermal waters plays an important role. It seems reasonable to include SPA workers staying close to geotermal waters into a dosimetric monitoring program.

  6. Hydrogeothermal characteristics of groundwater from Ribarska Banja spa, central Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragišić Veselin S.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Ribarska Banja spa is one of the most popular balneotherapy and recreation centers in Serbia. It features several thermal groundwater sources whose temperatures range from 26 to 54°C. The mineral content of these waters is low and their composition is of the SO4-Na or HCO3-Na type. Thermal water exploration has been conducted in the general area for many years, to assess the hydrogeothermal potential in order to extract larger amounts of thermal water for multiple uses. The hydrogeothermal system of Ribarska Banja spa was defined based on a synthesis of the results of comprehensive structural geology, geophysical, hydrogeological, hydrochemical and geothermal research. The primary groundwater reservoir of the hydrogeothermal system is comprised of tectonic zones (systems of faults and fractures within Cretaceous-Paleogene metamorphosed and non-metamorphosed rocks. The overlying hydrogeological and temperature barrier is made up of a series of low metamorphosed rocks (chlorite, chlorite-sericite schists, gabbros, etc., highly metamorphosed rocks (gneisses and Neogene clay and sand sediments. The system is recharged by infiltration of atmospheric precipitation and surface water at the highest elevations of Mt. Jastrebac. Investigations have also shown that the system’s heat source is younger granitoide intrusion spreading northwest of Ribarska Banja spa. Based on the quartz geothermometers, expected reservoir temperatures are in the range of 85-97°C that can be expected at a depth of 1.87 km. Total energy usage at Ribarska Banja spa is 31 TJ/y with thermal capacity of 1.65 MWt and utilization factor of 0.58. Geothermal gradient is 0,051°C/m, while heat flow density is 163.5 mW/m2. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 43004

  7. Natural radioactivity in mineral and spa water: the current regulatory approach in Italy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nuccetelli, C.; Bochicchio, F.; Ruocco, G.

    2004-01-01

    Mineral and thermal waters can contain radioactivity of natural origin which, in some cases, can lead to radiation-protection problems for both workers and consumers. In Italy, as in many other countries, the consumption of bottled mineral water is rather high and the practice of spending short stays in spas is also popular. Consumer protection against natural radioactivity in mineral water is not regulated at all and exposure from thermal waters is not treated in detail, in either the European Union or Italy. For this reason, the Italian Ministry of Health - which has the duty to authorize spa activities and the sale of mineral water on the basis of water characteristics - asked the Istituto Superiore di Sanita (the Italian National Institute of Health) to provide ad-hoc reports containing both dosimetric calculations and analysis of the radiation-protection regulations to be applied in these situations. On the basis of these reports, the Ministry of Health decided, in two statements for spa and mineral waters respectively, to indicate upper levels for natural radioactivity content. Since 2002, spa water parameters have been in force for authorization of their use and sale, and are to be promulgated by specific and more comprehensive regulations. For mineral waters used for infant feeding and drinking, levels lower than those for general public uses have been proposed, in order to take into account the higher ingestion dose coefficients for infants. At the moment, mineral water levels are not enforced as law. This paper presents the dosimetric calculation results and the Ministry of Health statements. (Author) 17 refs

  8. Effect of spa therapy with saline balneotherapy on oxidant/antioxidant status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a single-blind randomized controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagülle, Mine; Kardeş, Sinan; Karagülle, Oğuz; Dişçi, Rian; Avcı, Aslıhan; Durak, İlker; Karagülle, Müfit Zeki

    2017-01-01

    Oxidative stress has been shown to play a contributory role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Recent studies have provided evidence for antioxidant properties of spa therapy. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether spa therapy with saline balneotherapy has any influence on the oxidant/antioxidant status in patients with RA and to assess clinical effects of spa therapy. In this investigator-blind randomized controlled trial, we randomly assigned 50 patients in a 1:1 ratio to spa therapy plus standard drug treatment (spa group) or standard drug treatment alone (control group). Spa group followed a 2-week course of spa therapy regimen consisting of a total of 12 balneotherapy sessions in a thermal mineral water pool at 36-37 °C for 20 min every day except Sunday. All clinical and biochemical parameters were assessed at baseline and after spa therapy (2 weeks). The clinical parameters were pain intensity, patient global assessment, physician global assessment, Health Assessment Questionnaire disability index (HAQ-DI), Disease Activity Score for 28-joints based on erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-4[ESR]). Oxidative status parameters were malondialdehyde (MDA), nonenzymatic superoxide radical scavenger activity (NSSA), antioxidant potential (AOP), and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The NSSA levels were increased significantly in the spa group ( p = 0.003) but not in the control group ( p = 0.509); and there was a trend in favor of spa therapy for improvements in NSSA levels compared to control ( p = 0.091). Significant clinical improvement was found in the spa group compared to the control in terms of patient global assessment ( p = 0.011), physician global assessment ( p = 0.043), function (HAQ-DI) ( p = 0.037), disease activity (DAS28-4[ESR]) (0.044) and swollen joint count (0.009), and a trend toward improvement in pain scores (0.057). Spa therapy with saline balneotherapy exerts antioxidant effect in patients with RA as reflected by the

  9. The Role of Aspiration Level in Risky Choice: A Comparison of Cumulative Prospect Theory and SP/A Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lopes; Oden

    1999-06-01

    In recent years, descriptive models of risky choice have incorporated features that reflect the importance of particular outcome values in choice. Cumulative prospect theory (CPT) does this by inserting a reference point in the utility function. SP/A (security-potential/aspiration) theory uses aspiration level as a second criterion in the choice process. Experiment 1 compares the ability of the CPT and SP/A models to account for the same within-subjects data set and finds in favor of SP/A. Experiment 2 replicates the main finding of Experiment 1 in a between-subjects design. The final discussion brackets the SP/A result by showing the impact on fit of both decreasing and increasing the number of free parameters. We also suggest how the SP/A approach might be useful in modeling investment decision making in a descriptively more valid way and conclude with comments on the relation between descriptive and normative theories of risky choice. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

  10. Estimation of effective doses derived from radon in selected SPA centers that use geothermal waters based on the information of radon concentrations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Walczak

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Geothermal waters contain, among other components, soluble radon gas. Alpha radioactive radon is a health hazard to humans, especially when it gets into the respiratory tract. SPA facilities that use geothermal water can be a source of an increased radiation dose to people who stay there. Based on the available literature concerning radon concentrations, we assessed exposure to radon among people - workers and visitors of Spa centers that use geothermal waters. Material and Methods: Radon concentrations were analyzed in 17 geothermal centers: in Greece (3 centers, Iran (5, China (4 and India (5. Doses recived by people in the SPA were estimated using the formula that 1 hour exposure to 1 Bq/m3 of radon concentration and equilibrium factor F = 0.4 corresponds to an effective dose of 3.2 nSv. Results: We have found that radon levels in SPAs are from a few to several times higher than those in confined spaces, where geothermal waters are not used (e.g., residential buildings. In 82% of the analyzed SPAs, workers may receive doses above 1 mSv/year. According to the relevant Polish regulations, people receiving doses higher than 1 mSv/year are included in category B of radiation exposure and require regular dosimetric monitoring. Doses received by SPA visitors are much lower because the time of their exposure to radon released from geothermal water is rather short. Conclusions: The analysis of radon concentration in SPA facilities shows that the radiological protection of people working with geothermal waters plays an important role. It seems reasonable to include SPA workers staying close to geotermal waters into a dosimetric monitoring program. Med Pr 2013;64(2:193–198

  11. spa typing and antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus from healthy humans, pigs and dogs in Tanzania.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katakweba, Abdul Sekemani; Muhairwa, Amandus Pachificus; Espinosa-Gongora, Carmen; Guardabassi, Luca; Mtambo, Madundo M A; Olsen, John Elmerdahl

    2016-02-28

    Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen causing infections in humans and animals. Here we report for the first time the prevalence of nasal carriage, spa typing and antimicrobial resistance of S. aureus in a Tanzanian livestock community. Nasal swabs were taken from 100 humans, 100 pigs and 100 dogs in Morogoro Municipal. Each swab was enriched in Mueller Hinton broth with 6.5% NaCl and subcultured on chromogenic agar for S. aureus detection. Presumptive S. aureus colonies were confirmed to the species level by nuc PCR and analysed by spa typing. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns were determined by disc diffusion method. S. aureus was isolated from 22% of humans, 4% of pigs and 11% of dogs. A total of 21 spa types were identified: 13, 7 and 1 in human, dogs, and pigs, respectively. Three spa types (t314, t223 and t084) were shared between humans and dogs. A novel spa type (t10779) was identified in an isolate recovered from a colonized human. Antimicrobials tested revealed resistance to ampicillin in all isolates, moderate resistances to other antimicrobials with tetracycline resistance being the most frequent. S. aureus carrier frequencies in dogs and humans were within the expected range and low in pigs. The S. aureus spa types circulating in the community were generally not shared by different hosts and majority of types belonged to known clones. Besides ampicillin resistance, moderate levels of antimicrobial resistance were observed irrespective of the host species from which the strains were isolated.

  12. Impact of serum SP-A and SP-D levels on comparison and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Kai; Ju, Qing; Cao, Jing; Tang, Wenze; Zhang, Jian

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background and objective: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has a poor prognosis in general; however, it is heterogeneous to detect relative biomarkers for predicting the disease progression. Serum biomarkers can be conveniently collected to detect and help to differentially diagnose IPF and predict IPF prognosis. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the use of serum surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D) for differential diagnosis and prognosis of IPF. Methods: Relevant articles were searched in PubMed, Embase, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure databases and reviewed by 2 independent readers. Standard mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the difference in serum levels of SP-A/D among patients with IPF, when compared to patients with non-IPF interstitial lung disease (ILD), pulmonary infection, and healthy control. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% CI were used to compare the relative risk of mortality. Results: Twenty-one articles (totalling 1289 IPF patients) were included in final meta-analysis. Serum SP-A levels were significantly higher in patients with IPF than in patients with non-IPF ILD (SMD: 1.108 [0.584, 1.632], P infection (SMD: 1.320 [0.999, 1.640], P SMD: 2.802 [1.901, 3.702], P SMD: 0.459 [−0.000, 0.919], P = .050). Serum SP-D levels were significantly higher in patients with IPF than in patients with pulmonary infection (SMD: 1.308 [0.813, 1.803], P SMD: 2.235 [1.739, 2.731], P < .001). Risk of death in patients with IPF and elevated serum SP-A was increased 39% compared to patients with low SP-A groups. Elevated SP-D increased risk by 111% when compared to low SP-D. In acute exacerbation of IPF, serum SP-A/D were higher than those in stable stage. The comparisons and prognosis might be different in Asian and Caucasian patients. Conclusions: Serum SP-A/D detection might be useful for differential diagnosis and prediction of survival in patients with IPF. PMID:28591049

  13. [INDENA SPA company's patent portfolio of Ginkgo biloba preparation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Nan; Guo, Kai; Cheng, Xin-min; Liu, Wei

    2015-10-01

    INDENA SPA Company in Italy is a multi-national company that produces and sells plant extracts. Based on its own re- search advantages in the field of Ginkgo biloba preparation, the company protects its own products market effectively through building patent portfolio around the patents of its opponent. Based on the multi-angle analysis for patent portfolio of G. biloba preparation from the aspects of application time, legal status, technical development route, and patent portfolio layout, this article provides technical reference on research and development of G. biloba preparation, and the author suggest that Chinese applicants learn techniques and layout experiences of other patents fully to enhance the level of research and patent protection level.

  14. Pulling Marbles from a Bag: Deducing the Regional Impact History of the SPA Basin from Impact Melt Rocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Barbara A.; Coker, R. F.

    2009-01-01

    The South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin is an important target for absolute age-dating. Vertical and lateral impact mixing ensures that regolith within SPA will contain rock fragments from SPA itself, local impact craters, and faraway giant basins. About 20% of the regolith at any given site is foreign [1, 2], but much of this material will be cold ejecta, not impact melt. We calculated the fraction of contributed impact melt using scaling laws to estimate the amount and provenance of impact melt, demonstrating that SPA melt is the dominant impact melt rock (>70%) likely to be present. We also constructed a statistical model to illustrate how many randomly-selected impact-melt fragments would need to be dated, and with what accuracy, to confidently reproduce the impact history of a site. A detailed impact history becomes recognizable after a few hundred to a thousand randomly-selected marbles, however, it will be useful to have more information (e.g. compositional, mineralogical, remote sensing) to group fragments. These exercises show that SPA melt has a high probability of being present in a scoop sample and that dating of a few hundred to a thousand impact-melt fragments will yield the impact history of the SPA basin.

  15. Disinfection of herbal spa pool using combined chlorine dioxide and sodium hypochlorite treatment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsu, Ching-Shan; Huang, Da-Ji

    2015-02-01

    The presence of pathogenic microorganisms in public spa pools poses a serious threat to human health. The problem is particularly acute in herbal spas, in which the herbs and microorganisms may interact and produce undesirable consequences. Accordingly, the present study investigated the effectiveness of a combined disinfectant containing chlorine dioxide and sodium hypochlorite in improving the water quality of a public herbal spa in Taiwan. Water samples were collected from the spa pool and laboratory tests were then performed to measure the variation over time of the microorganism content (total CFU and total coliforms) and residual disinfectant content given a single disinfection mode (SDM) with disinfectant concentrations of 5.2 × 10, 6.29 × 10, 7.4 × 10, and 11.4 × 10(-5) N, respectively. Utilizing the experience gained from the laboratory tests, a further series of on-site investigations was performed using three different disinfection modes, namely SDM, 3DM (once every 3 h disinfection mode), and 2DM (once every 2 h disinfection mode). The laboratory results showed that for all four disinfectant concentrations, the CFU concentration reduced for the first 6 h following SDM treatment, but then increased. Moreover, the ANOVA results showed that the sample treated with the highest disinfectant concentration (11.4 × 10(-5) N) exhibited the lowest rate of increase in the CFU concentration. In addition, the on-site test results showed that 3DM and 2DM treatments with disinfectant concentrations in excess of 9.3 × 10 and 5.5 × 10(-5) N, respectively, provided an effective reduction in the total CFU concentration. In conclusion, the experimental results presented in this study provide a useful source of reference for spa businesses seeking to improve the water quality of their spa pools.

  16. SPA (Solus per Aqua) service industry: An entrepeneurship opportunity to beauty education department

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marwiyah, Apriyani, Delta

    2018-03-01

    Beauty industry grows vastly in the scope of regional, national, or international. Beauty industry includes Spa service. It becomes one of the choices where the urban citizen can use it to release their stress and relax their mind. This business grows as the development of technology. Spa industry should be able to provide the best service for physical and mental therapy, it will make the user of the service can be freed from their business and stress in the respective time to be healthies, more beautiful, and able to do their activity maximally. Spa treatment consists of hair creambath, facial treatment, manicure-pedicure, scrub treatment, foot spa, aromatherapy, and body treatment with traditional cosmetics which are easy to get in Indonesia. Beauty education is one of the programs in Home Economics Department of Engineering Faculty of UNNES. This program was established to produce graduates in beauty fields as Vocational High School teachers with bachelor (S1) qualification. The graduates suppose to be excellent, professional, skillful, and care to the environment, culture, and social condition around them. It prepares them as teachers of beauty (in formal and non- formal education). Besides, it also prepared them to have professional competence in production fields of beauty service with adaptive, creative, and innovative which can be entrepreneurs who are able to create job vacancies for others. Beauty education used KKNI- based curriculum, which is oriented to Industry and Working Fields with UNNES' Conservation basis. It provided the students a chance to practive their knowledge in working internship program, study field trip, and teaching practice program. The industry of Spa service provides a big chance to become an entrepreneur, create a working field, and help the government reduce unemployment number, whether from beauty education graduates or from vocational high school students

  17. IMPLEMENTATION OF EU DIRECTIVES FOR CERTIFICATION OF THE STAFF IN THE SPA BUSINESS IN BULGARIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petya Kutincheva

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Implemented was a psychometric experiment for survey the opinion of the leading experts from the 4 and 5 stars hotels and the first SPA certified MSc - SPA managers. The summarized results from the study highlight that the priorities are related to improve the quality of the services in the SPA business. We establish the acute need for increasing professional qualification of the personnel and harmonize the Bulgarian legislation with the EU directives. In this regard it is important to implement the national classificatory with new professions and unified for this purpose the theoretical categories: “Results of advanced training", "knowledge", "practical skills" and "competencies" in educational and qualification degree: “Bachelor", "MasterSc" and "PhD ".

  18. 76 FR 54403 - Airworthiness Directives; PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A Model PIAGGIO P-180 Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-01

    ... Federal holidays. For service information identified in this proposed AD, contact Piaggio Aero Industries... Service Information Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. has issued Mandatory Service Bulletin No. 80-0304... Accomplishment Instructions of Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. Mandatory Service Bulletin No. 80-0304, dated July...

  19. Radioactivity measurements and risk assessments of spa waters in some areas in Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duran, Selcen Uzun; Kucukomeroglu, Belgin; Damla, Nevzat; Taskin, Halim; Celik, Necati; Cevik, Uğur; Ersoy, Hakan

    2017-03-01

    The current study presents the results of the activity of radionuclides in spa waters, and evaluates their radiological influences on the population consuming these waters in the Central and Eastern Black Sea regions of Turkey. Since these waters are used for therapy and consumption purposes unconsciously, their radiological impact on the people was computed by taking into consideration the annual intake through ingestion of 226 Ra, 232 Th, 40 K, 137 Cs and 222 Rn. The mean activities were estimated to be 11.35 for gross alpha, 6.23 for gross beta, 2.96 for 226 Ra, 0.42 for 232 Th, 0.069 for 137 Cs, 0.19 for 40 K, and 267 Bq L -1 for 222 Rn, respectively. The estimated effective doses from spa water were found to be 49.77 µSv a -1 ( 226 Ra), 5.95 µSv a -1 ( 232 Th), 0.07 µSv a -1 ( 137 Cs), 0.83 µSv a -1 ( 40 K) and 56.03 µSv a -1 ( 222 Rn). These values were evaluated and compared with related verified values from literature. Also, physico-chemical characterizations of spa water samples considered in the current study were investigated. This study would be useful for consumers and official authorities for the assessment of radiation exposure risk due to usage of the considered spa waters.

  20. Historical analysis of rainfall-triggered rockfalls: the case study of the disaster of the ancient hydrothermal Sclafani Spa (Madonie Mts, northern-central Sicily, Italy) in 1851

    Science.gov (United States)

    Contino, Antonio; Bova, Patrizia; Esposito, Giuseppe; Giuffré, Ignazio; Monteleone, Salvatore

    2017-12-01

    In 1851, the region of Sicily experienced many rainstorm-induced landslides. On 13 March 1851, a rainstorm brought about a severe rockfall disaster near the small town of Sclafani (Madonie Mountains, northern-central Sicily, Italy). Rocks detached from the carbonate crest of Mt Sclafani (813 m above sea level) and fell downslope, causing the collapse of the ancient hydrothermal spa (about 430 m above sea level) and burying it. Fortunately, there were no injuries or victims. Given its geological, geomorphological and tectonic features, the calcareous-dolomitic and carbonate-siliciclastic relief of Mt Sclafani is extremely prone to landsliding. This study combines the findings of detailed geological and geomorphological field surveys and of a critical review of documentary data. A thorough analysis of documentary sources and historical maps made it possible to identify the location (previously unknown) of the ancient spa. The rockfall dynamics was reconstructed by comparing field reconnaissance data and documentary sources. The 1851 event reconstruction is an example of the application of an integrated methodological approach, which can yield a propaedeutic, yet meaningful picture of a natural disaster, paving the way for further research (e.g. slope failure susceptibility, future land-use planning, protection of thermal springs and mitigation of the impact of similar disasters in this area). Indeed, the intensification of extreme weather events, caused by global warming induced by climate change, has increased the risk of recurrence of a catastrophic event, like that of the ancient Sclafani spa, which is always a potential threat.

  1. Spa Garden in Daruvar – Methods of Renewal and Reconstruction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šćitaroci Mladen Obad

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Spa garden in Daruvar ‘Julius’s Park’ is the oldest spa garden in continental Croatia. The counts Jankovich and their successors created the garden during the 18th and 20th century. The garden resumed its nowadays form and surface in the time of count Julius Jankovich in the mid-19th century and it was named after him. The garden is protected as a cultural heritage. The garden’s renovation is seen as an urban, architectural and landscape unity and it attempts to affirm the missing and neglected parts of the garden, to provide technological and municipal space modernization and to make a pleasant urban garden ambiance with new facilities and high space arrangement qualities, contributing to the economic development of the local community.

  2. Allegheny County Public Swimming Pool, Hot Tub, and Spa Inspections

    Data.gov (United States)

    Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Public swimming pool, hot tub, and spa facilities are licensed and inspected once each year to assure proper water quality, sanitation, lifeguard coverage and...

  3. Effects of balneotherapy and spa therapy on levels of cortisol as a stress biomarker: a systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonelli, Michele; Donelli, Davide

    2018-02-01

    Balneotherapy and spa therapy are well-known practices, even though limited evidence has been produced about their biological effects. This systematic review primarily aims at assessing if balneotherapy, mud/peloid therapy, and spa therapy may influence cortisol levels. Secondarily, it aims at understanding if these interventions may improve stress resilience. PubMed/Medline, Embase, and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant articles in English or Italian about studies involving healthy and sub-healthy subjects or patients with a diagnosed disease about effects of balneotherapy, mud/peloid therapy, and spa therapy on serum and salivary cortisol levels. Fifteen studies involving 684 subjects were included. Five studies investigated biological effects of balneotherapy alone. Two of them reported significant changes of cortisol levels in healthy participants. The other three studies reported no significant variations in patients with rheumatic conditions. No studies investigated biological effects of mud/peloid therapy alone. Ten studies investigated biological effects of spa therapy with or without included mud/peloid therapy, and in all but two studies, significant variations of cortisol levels were reported. Our main findings suggest that balneotherapy may have the potential to influence cortisol levels in healthy subjects, in such a way as to improve stress resilience. Spa therapy with or without included mud/peloid therapy demonstrated the same potential to influence cortisol levels also in sub-healthy subjects and in patients with a diagnosed disease. Therefore, balneotherapy and spa therapy may be considered as useful interventions for the management of stress conditions. Further investigation is needed because of limited available data.

  4. Solec Spa – worldwide unique properties of Polish health resort in the service of rural medicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marek L Grabowski

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Solec Spa is health resort in south-eastern Poland. Its unique balneorehabilitation significance worldwide is determined by chloride-iodine-sodium water with a high content of hydrogen sulphide. This water, classified as highly mineralized sodium-chloride (seltzer sulphide, bromide, iodide, boron water, contains naturally approximately 0.9 g/l divalent sulphur compounds, which is the highest concentration noted among the mineral waters of the world. The effectiveness of the Solec waters is proven in: inflammatory and autoimmunological locomotor system diseases, degenerative joint disorders (osteoarthritis, post-traumatic and post-operative orthopedic diseases, skin diseases and allergic disorders. One of the main indications for balneotherapy in Solec Spa and Busko Spa is chronic brucellosis.

  5. [The topical problems of pediatric balneotherapy and the spa and health resort-based treatment of the children].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Razumov, A N; Khan, M A

    2016-01-01

    This article is devoted to the topical problems of pediatric balneotherapy with special reference to the organization of the spa and health resort-based treatment of the children in the Russian Federation. The main issues discussed by the authors include the current state of health resort care for the children, the problem of statutory regulation of the activities of the children's spa and health resort facilities, the approaches to increasing the availability of the spa and health resort-based treatment for the children at the enhanced risk of the development of chronic diseases, disabilities, and tuberculosis. Also considered are the problems of the development of the regulatory framework for the medical rehabilitation of the children based at the spa and health resort facilities. The principal goals to be sought in climatotherapy, physiotherapy, balneotherapy, and pelotherapy in the pediatric context are outlined along with the further prospects for the development of the main areas of pediatric balneology.

  6. The Conventional and Unconventional about Disability Conventions: A Reflective Analysis of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Umeasiegbu, Veronica I.; Bishop, Malachy; Mpofu, Elias

    2013-01-01

    This article presents an analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in relation to prior United Nations conventions on disability and U.S. disability policy law with a view to identifying the conventional and also the incremental advances of the CRPD. Previous United Nations conventions related to…

  7. Plan de negocios: Samay Spa Mujer

    OpenAIRE

    Espol; García Viteri, Maria Del Carmen; Valle SÁnchez, Francisco; Pauta, MarÍa Alexandra

    2015-01-01

    Samay spa mujer, diseñado como centro de bienestar, belleza y salud de la mujer guayaquileña ejecutiva, pone a su disposición un ambiente armonioso con soluciones para mantener y mejorar su imagen personal y eliminar el estrés. lograremos que la mujer sienta bienestar, descanso, cuidado de su cuerpo, disfrute de preciosos momentos, a través d eun variado paquete de servicios con el respaldo de equipos modernos de alta tecnología de la conocida maraca española sorisa y productos esteé lauder, ...

  8. Effect of a steam foot spa on geriatric inpatients with cognitive impairment: a pilot study

    OpenAIRE

    Koike Y; Kondo H; Kondo S; Takagi M; Kano Y

    2013-01-01

    Yoshihisa Koike,1 Hideki Kondo,2 Satoshi Kondo,1 Masayuki Takagi,1 Yoshio Kano31Department of Occupational Therapy, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Mihara, Japan; 2Yoshiigawa Hospital, Okayama, Japan; 3Department of Occupational Therapy, Kibi International University, Takahashi, JapanPurpose: To investigate whether a steam foot spa improves cognitive impairment in geriatric inpatients.Methods: Geriatric inpatients with cognitive impairment were given a steam foot spa treatment at 42&...

  9. Removal of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) and its intermediate, sulfophenylalkanoates (spa) using a bioreactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, In Ku [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ji Hyeon; Yoo, Young Je [Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hwa Yong [Seoul National Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1995-12-01

    A fluidized-bed bioreactor was used to treat the industrial wastewater containing linear alkylbenzene sulfonate(LAS). Microorganism obtained by acclimation showed low growth rate and substrate inhibition at relatively high substrate concentration. It was found from the experiment using fluidized-bed bioreactor that 64 {mu}m-thick biofilm was made after 15 days. The 93.4% LAS removal efficiency in the reactor was obtained at 120 mg/L of initial LAS concentration, while the removal efficiency of sulfophenylalkannoates(SPA) which is a representative intermediate of biodegradation of LAS was 60-88% depending on the initial concentration of LAS. When sodium benzoate was added to the second reactor, the remaining SPA became lowered by 40% compared to the control experiment. And when activated carbon was added to the reactor, the removal efficiency of SPA was 96.2% and that of LAS was 100% when initial inflowing concentration of LAS was 350 mg/L. 13 refs., 4 tabs., 8 figs.

  10. Market segment of families with children: a new stimulus for modern Czech spa industry?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darina Jelínková

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with a comprehensive range of hotel services for families with children at spa facilities of the Czech Republic, in line with current trends and requirements of this market segment. The main goal of this paper is to determine the preferences, needs and requirements of families with children in terms of amenities and services offer at spa hotels designated specifically for this target group. The secondary goal is to determine the current state of hotel services and facilities of Czech First Class hotels, which are the holders of the Baby Friendly Certificate. Subsequently, service offerings of these spa hotels are compared with the existing range of services for families with children in the selected Czech spas. In conclusion, based on the information obtained from the analyses and marketing research, a solution of the services portfolio intended for the market segment of families with children is recommended here using marketing mix as applied to tourism.

  11. Structural and Biochemical Characterization of Spa47 Provides Mechanistic Insight into Type III Secretion System ATPase Activation and Shigella Virulence Regulation*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgess, Jamie L.; Burgess, R. Alan; Morales, Yalemi; Bouvang, Jenna M.; Johnson, Sean J.; Dickenson, Nicholas E.

    2016-01-01

    Like many Gram-negative pathogens, Shigella rely on a complex type III secretion system (T3SS) to inject effector proteins into host cells, take over host functions, and ultimately establish infection. Despite these critical roles, the energetics and regulatory mechanisms controlling the T3SS and pathogen virulence remain largely unclear. In this study, we present a series of high resolution crystal structures of Spa47 and use the structures to model an activated Spa47 oligomer, finding that ATP hydrolysis may be supported by specific side chain contributions from adjacent protomers within the complex. Follow-up mutagenesis experiments targeting the predicted active site residues validate the oligomeric model and determined that each of the tested residues are essential for Spa47 ATPase activity, although they are not directly responsible for stable oligomer formation. Although N-terminal domain truncation was necessary for crystal formation, it resulted in strictly monomeric Spa47 that is unable to hydrolyze ATP, despite maintaining the canonical ATPase core structure and active site residues. Coupled with studies of ATPase inactive full-length Spa47 point mutants, we find that Spa47 oligomerization and ATP hydrolysis are needed for complete T3SS apparatus formation, a proper translocator secretion profile, and Shigella virulence. This work represents the first structure-function characterization of Spa47, uniquely complementing the multitude of included Shigella T3SS phenotype assays and providing a more complete understanding of T3SS ATPase-mediated pathogen virulence. Additionally, these findings provide a strong platform for follow-up studies evaluating regulation of Spa47 oligomerization in vivo as a much needed means of treating and perhaps preventing shigellosis. PMID:27770024

  12. DNAGear- a free software for spa type identification in Staphylococcus aureus

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Staphylococcus aureus is both human commensal and an important human pathogen, responsible for community-acquired and nosocomial infections ranging from superficial wound infections to invasive infections, such as osteomyelitis, bacteremia and endocarditis, pneumonia or toxin shock syndrome with a mortality rate up to 40%. S. aureus reveals a high genetic polymorphism and detecting the genotypes is extremely useful to manage and prevent possible outbreaks and to understand the route of infection. One of current and expanded typing method is based on the X region of the spa gene composed of a succession of repeats of 21 to 27 bp. More than 10000 types are known. Extracting the repeats is impossible by hand and needs a dedicated software. Unfortunately the only software on the market is a commercial program from Ridom. Findings This article presents DNAGear, a free and open source software with a user friendly interface written all in Java on top of NetBeans Platform to perform spa typing, detecting new repeats and new spa types and synchronizing automatically the files with the open access database. The installation is easy and the application is platform independent. In fact, the SPA identification is a formal regular expression matching problem and the results are 100% exact. As the program is using Java embedded modules written over string manipulation of well established algorithms, the exactitude of the solution is perfectly established. Conclusions DNAGear is able to identify the types of the S. aureus sequences and detect both new types and repeats. Comparing to manual processing, which is time consuming and error prone, this application saves a lot of time and effort and gives very reliable results. Additionally, the users do not need to prepare the forward-reverse sequences manually, or even by using additional tools. They can simply create them in DNAGear and perform the typing task. In short, researchers who do not have commercial software will

  13. DNAGear--a free software for spa type identification in Staphylococcus aureus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    AL-Tam, Faroq; Brunel, Anne-Sophie; Bouzinbi, Nicolas; Corne, Philippe; Bañuls, Anne-Laure; Shahbazkia, Hamid Reza

    2012-11-19

    Staphylococcus aureus is both human commensal and an important human pathogen, responsible for community-acquired and nosocomial infections ranging from superficial wound infections to invasive infections, such as osteomyelitis, bacteremia and endocarditis, pneumonia or toxin shock syndrome with a mortality rate up to 40%. S. aureus reveals a high genetic polymorphism and detecting the genotypes is extremely useful to manage and prevent possible outbreaks and to understand the route of infection. One of current and expanded typing method is based on the X region of the spa gene composed of a succession of repeats of 21 to 27 bp. More than 10000 types are known. Extracting the repeats is impossible by hand and needs a dedicated software. Unfortunately the only software on the market is a commercial program from Ridom. This article presents DNAGear, a free and open source software with a user friendly interface written all in Java on top of NetBeans Platform to perform spa typing, detecting new repeats and new spa types and synchronizing automatically the files with the open access database. The installation is easy and the application is platform independent. In fact, the SPA identification is a formal regular expression matching problem and the results are 100% exact. As the program is using Java embedded modules written over string manipulation of well established algorithms, the exactitude of the solution is perfectly established. DNAGear is able to identify the types of the S. aureus sequences and detect both new types and repeats. Comparing to manual processing, which is time consuming and error prone, this application saves a lot of time and effort and gives very reliable results. Additionally, the users do not need to prepare the forward-reverse sequences manually, or even by using additional tools. They can simply create them in DNAGear and perform the typing task. In short, researchers who do not have commercial software will benefit a lot from this

  14. [Impact of SPA therapy with sulphureous mineral water on quality of life and psychological distress in chronic plaque psoriasis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costantino, M; Filippelli, A

    2014-01-01

    The plaque psoriasis, one of the most common form of psoriasis, is a chronic inflammatory disease. This pathology can cause devastating effects on quality of life and social relations with significant physical and psychological distress. Currently among the therapeutic agents available for the treatment of psoriasis is including SPA therapy, whose mechanism of action is only partially known, as well as very few studies examined the impact of this therapy on the quality of life. On the basis of these considerations, the research analyzed the effectiveness of SPA bath therapy (BLT) and its impact on quality of life and psychological distress in patients suffering from chronic plaque psoriasis. The study was conducted on 35 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis: 23% male and 77% female; mean age:56 ± 19 years; age range:17-85 years. The subjects were treated, for 2 weeks, with sulphureous SPA bath therapy from Terme of Telese SpA (Benevento-Italy). At the beginning and at the end of the SPA treatment considered was evaluated: the itching symptom (using NRS scale); the PASI Index; the impact on quality of life (using SF-36 and DLQI questionnaires) and on psychological distress (using ZUNG -tests). At the end of the SPA treatment, the mean values ± SD, compared to baseline, have showed a significant (p 1.0 ± 1.0) and PASI score (4 ± 4-->1.7 ± 2) with an improvement in quality of life and psichological distress as demonstrated by SF-36, DLQI and ZUNG tests. The data of this research show that the sulphureous SPA bath therapy can be considered very useful in patients with mild-to-moderate psoriasis for the improving of the quality of life and social relationship.

  15. Distribution of the Most Prevalent Spa Types among Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus around the World: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parisa Asadollahi

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Background:Staphylococcus aureus, a leading cause of community-acquired and nosocomial infections, remains a major health problem worldwide. Molecular typing methods, such as spa typing, are vital for the control and, when typing can be made more timely, prevention of S. aureus spread around healthcare settings. The current study aims to review the literature to report the most common clinical spa types around the world, which is important for epidemiological surveys and nosocomial infection control policies.Methods: A search via PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane library, and Scopus was conducted for original articles reporting the most prevalent spa types among S. aureus isolates. The search terms were “Staphylococcus aureus, spa typing.”Results: The most prevalent spa types were t032, t008 and t002 in Europe; t037 and t002 in Asia; t008, t002, and t242 in America; t037, t084, and t064 in Africa; and t020 in Australia. In Europe, all the isolates related to spa type t032 were MRSA. In addition, spa type t037 in Africa and t037and t437 in Australia also consisted exclusively of MRSA isolates. Given the fact that more than 95% of the papers we studied originated in the past decade there was no option to study the dynamics of regional clone emergence.Conclusion: This review documents the presence of the most prevalent spa types in countries, continents and worldwide and shows big local differences in clonal distribution.

  16. Distribution of the Most Prevalent Spa Types among Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus around the World: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asadollahi, Parisa; Farahani, Narges Nodeh; Mirzaii, Mehdi; Khoramrooz, Seyed Sajjad; van Belkum, Alex; Asadollahi, Khairollah; Dadashi, Masoud; Darban-Sarokhalil, Davood

    2018-01-01

    Background: Staphylococcus aureus , a leading cause of community-acquired and nosocomial infections, remains a major health problem worldwide. Molecular typing methods, such as spa typing, are vital for the control and, when typing can be made more timely, prevention of S. aureus spread around healthcare settings. The current study aims to review the literature to report the most common clinical spa types around the world, which is important for epidemiological surveys and nosocomial infection control policies. Methods: A search via PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane library, and Scopus was conducted for original articles reporting the most prevalent spa types among S. aureus isolates. The search terms were " Staphylococcus aureus, spa typing ." Results: The most prevalent spa types were t032, t008 and t002 in Europe; t037 and t002 in Asia; t008, t002, and t242 in America; t037, t084, and t064 in Africa; and t020 in Australia. In Europe, all the isolates related to spa type t032 were MRSA. In addition, spa type t037 in Africa and t037and t437 in Australia also consisted exclusively of MRSA isolates. Given the fact that more than 95% of the papers we studied originated in the past decade there was no option to study the dynamics of regional clone emergence. Conclusion: This review documents the presence of the most prevalent spa types in countries, continents and worldwide and shows big local differences in clonal distribution.

  17. Distribution of the Most Prevalent Spa Types among Clinical Isolates of Methicillin-Resistant and -Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus around the World: A Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asadollahi, Parisa; Farahani, Narges Nodeh; Mirzaii, Mehdi; Khoramrooz, Seyed Sajjad; van Belkum, Alex; Asadollahi, Khairollah; Dadashi, Masoud; Darban-Sarokhalil, Davood

    2018-01-01

    Background: Staphylococcus aureus, a leading cause of community-acquired and nosocomial infections, remains a major health problem worldwide. Molecular typing methods, such as spa typing, are vital for the control and, when typing can be made more timely, prevention of S. aureus spread around healthcare settings. The current study aims to review the literature to report the most common clinical spa types around the world, which is important for epidemiological surveys and nosocomial infection control policies. Methods: A search via PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Embase, the Cochrane library, and Scopus was conducted for original articles reporting the most prevalent spa types among S. aureus isolates. The search terms were “Staphylococcus aureus, spa typing.” Results: The most prevalent spa types were t032, t008 and t002 in Europe; t037 and t002 in Asia; t008, t002, and t242 in America; t037, t084, and t064 in Africa; and t020 in Australia. In Europe, all the isolates related to spa type t032 were MRSA. In addition, spa type t037 in Africa and t037and t437 in Australia also consisted exclusively of MRSA isolates. Given the fact that more than 95% of the papers we studied originated in the past decade there was no option to study the dynamics of regional clone emergence. Conclusion: This review documents the presence of the most prevalent spa types in countries, continents and worldwide and shows big local differences in clonal distribution. PMID:29487578

  18. [The development of the medical information system for the improvement of the quality of work of the Crimean spa and health resorts].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ezhov, V V; Grigor'ev, P E; Mizin, V I; Andriiashek, Iu I; Gol'dberg, D L; Olenchuk, A V

    2016-01-01

    The Crimea has the enormous potential for the health promotion activities. However, neither the profile of these activities nor the demand for the socio-medical services is clearly defined for the majority of the local spa and health resort facilities. The possibilities of modern information technology are not used in the full measure either. The objective of the present work was to elaborate the new medical information system and demonstrate its effectiveness. In addition, the article describes the main advantages of the system for the optimization of healthcare in the Crimean spa and health resort facilities. We reviewed and analyzed various literature publications, legal framework, standards, regulations, guidelines, and questionnaire survey data obtain at 50 spa and health resort facilities of the Crimea. The results of the assessment indicate the necessity of the systematic approach to the analysis of the quality of medical care and the process of its further development. Statistical and mathematical methods were used to elaborate the medical information system for the optimization of the activities of the Crimean spa and health resorts. The distinctive features of the proposed information system are modularity and the possibility of flexible adjustment to the conditions of individual settings, one-step data loading with the subsequent multiple application for the formulation of documents, automated filling of records in compliance with the medical standards, and taking into consideration the possible changes in or amendments to the form of the documents. The data obtained in the course of project implementation were used for the first time in the Republic of Crimea to design, substantiate, and recommend for the practical application the algorithm for the comprehensive estimation of the results of treatment of the patients based at the spa and health resort facilities with due regard for the specific regional conditions.

  19. Hotel Online Marketing: The Bugibba Hotel, Radisson Blu Resort Malta, St. Julian's, Preluna Hotel & SPA

    OpenAIRE

    Dinh Quynh, Mai

    2013-01-01

    The thesis covers the study of online marketing theory, a very popular trend of marketing nowadays, especially Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Google Adwords Campaign in the analyses of the online marketing practices of three hotels from different areas and standards in Malta, namely The Bugibba Hotel, Preluna Hotel & SPA and Radisson Blu Resort Malta, St. Julian’s. From the analyses, the thesis aims at suggesting Preluna Hotel & SPA optimal online marketing practices and answering t...

  20. Structural and Biochemical Characterization of Spa47 Provides Mechanistic Insight into Type III Secretion System ATPase Activation and Shigella Virulence Regulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgess, Jamie L; Burgess, R Alan; Morales, Yalemi; Bouvang, Jenna M; Johnson, Sean J; Dickenson, Nicholas E

    2016-12-09

    Like many Gram-negative pathogens, Shigella rely on a complex type III secretion system (T3SS) to inject effector proteins into host cells, take over host functions, and ultimately establish infection. Despite these critical roles, the energetics and regulatory mechanisms controlling the T3SS and pathogen virulence remain largely unclear. In this study, we present a series of high resolution crystal structures of Spa47 and use the structures to model an activated Spa47 oligomer, finding that ATP hydrolysis may be supported by specific side chain contributions from adjacent protomers within the complex. Follow-up mutagenesis experiments targeting the predicted active site residues validate the oligomeric model and determined that each of the tested residues are essential for Spa47 ATPase activity, although they are not directly responsible for stable oligomer formation. Although N-terminal domain truncation was necessary for crystal formation, it resulted in strictly monomeric Spa47 that is unable to hydrolyze ATP, despite maintaining the canonical ATPase core structure and active site residues. Coupled with studies of ATPase inactive full-length Spa47 point mutants, we find that Spa47 oligomerization and ATP hydrolysis are needed for complete T3SS apparatus formation, a proper translocator secretion profile, and Shigella virulence. This work represents the first structure-function characterization of Spa47, uniquely complementing the multitude of included Shigella T3SS phenotype assays and providing a more complete understanding of T3SS ATPase-mediated pathogen virulence. Additionally, these findings provide a strong platform for follow-up studies evaluating regulation of Spa47 oligomerization in vivo as a much needed means of treating and perhaps preventing shigellosis. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

  1. Staphylococcus aureus spa type t437

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Glasner, C; Pluister, G; Westh, H

    2015-01-01

    Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) belonging to the multilocus sequence type clonal complex 59 (MLST CC59) is the predominant community-associated MRSA clone in Asia. This clone, which is primarily linked with the spa type t437, has so far only been reported in low numbers among...... included. Most isolates were shown to be monophyletic with 98% of the isolates belonging to the single MLVA complex 621, to which nearly all included isolates from China also belonged. More importantly, all MLST-typed isolates belonged to CC59. Our study implies that the European S. aureus t437 population...

  2. COMPETITIVENESS THROUGH SUSTAINABILITY AND FINANCIAL EFFICIENCY OF SPA TOURIST DESTINATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anis Cecilia

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available In the specific literature, success may be achieved by two important attributes: competitiveness and sustainability. Competitive advantage represents an essential criterion for surviving on the tourist market and defines the ability of one destination to use these resources effectively and in the long term. The paper work continue a study begun last year by the same authors about tourist perception of attractiveness of the two tourist SPA destinations (Buziaş and Băile Felix on a different market segment (18-35 years old people. This time, we undertake an analysis on SC Turism Felix SA in order to determine and underline the tourist competitiveness through sustainability and financial efficiency (tourism performance indicators evolution, market share, turnover, investment volume, financial returns and costs.

  3. Rickett’s Dry Cleaning Site, Village of Ballston Spa, NY

    Science.gov (United States)

    The Rickett’s Dry Cleaning Site is located in a mixed commercial and residential area in the village of Ballston Spa on County Route 50. The site was the location of a family owned dry cleaner/ laundromat that went out of business in 2014. The site has

  4. Effectiveness of balneotherapy and spa therapy for the treatment of chronic low back pain: a review on latest evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karagülle, Mine; Karagülle, Müfit Zeki

    2015-02-01

    In most European countries, balneotherapy and spa therapy are widely prescribed by physicians and preferred by European citizens for the treatment of musculoskeletal problems including chronic low back pain (LBP). We aimed to review and evaluate the recent evidence on the effectiveness of balneotherapy and spa therapy for patients with LBP. We comprehensively searched data bases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in English between July 2005 and December 2013. We identified all trials testing balneotherapy or spa therapy for LBP that reported that the sequence of allocation was randomized. We finally included total of eight RCTs: two on balneotherapy and six on spa therapy. All reviewed trials reported that balneotherapy was superior in long term to tap water therapy in relieving pain and improving function and that spa therapy combining balneotherapy with mud pack therapy and/or exercise therapy, physiotherapy, and/or education was effective in the management of low back pain and superior or equally effective to the control treatments in short and long terms. We used Jadad scale to grade the methodological quality. Only three out of total eight had a score of above 3 indicating the good quality. The data from the RCTs indicates that overall evidence on effectiveness of balneotherapy and spa therapy in LBP is encouraging and reflects the consistency of previous evidence. However, the overall quality of trials is generally low. Better quality RCTs (well designed, conducted, and reported) are needed testing short- and long-term effects for relieving chronic back pain and proving broader beneficial effects.

  5. Rehabilitation of patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated in stationary spa treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amila Jaganjac

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Rheumatic diseases are nonsurgical diseases of the locomotor system and connective tissue. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA is a systemic inflammatory disease of connective tissue of unknown cause, with progressive chronic or subacute course. The aim of the research is to determine whether stationary spa treatment leads to improvement of the functional status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: We included 35 patients with diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, referred for treatment at the spa " Ilidža " Gradačac from February to April 2014. Patients not adhering to treatment protocols were excluded. We used Visual analogue pain scale (VAS, HAQ questionnaire and assessment of the clinical condition before and after the treatment based on the scores 1-5.Results: There were 32 female and 3 male patients. The average age was 62.28±8.31 years. Based on the HAQ, 12 patients had no difficulties, 9 of them perform activities with little difficulties, 10 with many difficulties, and 4 patients cannot perform certain activities. Before treatment VAS was 6.63±2.36, and after treatment the 2.51±2.27. Ratings of clinical condition before treatment was 2.38±0.74, and after the treatment 3.64±0.98. The most frequently used therapies were kinesitherapy, magnetotherapy and interferential electricity. Conclusions: Stationary treatment at the spa „Ilidža“ Gradačac leads to an improvement of the functional status in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

  6. spa typing and antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus aureus from healthy humans, pigs and dogs in Tanzania

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Katakweba, Abdul S.; Muhairwa, Amandus P.; Espinosa-Gongora, Carmen

    2016-01-01

    . aureus carrier frequencies in dogs and humans were within the expected range and low in pigs. The S. aureus spa types circulating in the community were generally not shared by different hosts and majority of types belonged to known clones. Besides ampicillin resistance, moderate levels of antimicrobial......Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen causing infections in humans and animals. Here we report for the first time the prevalence of nasal carriage, spa typing and antimicrobial resistance of S. aureus in a Tanzanian livestock community. Methodology: Nasal swabs were taken...... from 100 humans, 100 pigs and 100 dogs in Morogoro Municipal. Each swab was enriched in Mueller Hinton broth with 6.5% NaCl and subcultured on chromogenic agar for S. aureus detection. Presumptive S. aureus colonies were confirmed to the species level by nuc PCR and analysed by spa typing...

  7. 77 FR 27144 - Airworthiness Directives; Agusta S.p.A. Helicopters

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-09

    ... Agusta, S.p.A., Via Giovanni Agusta 520, 21017 Cascina Costa di Samarate (VA), Italy, ATTN: Giovanni... written comments, data, or views. We also invite comments relating to the economic, environmental, energy.... Discussion The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is the Technical Agent for Italy, a Member State...

  8. SPA Adición de enmiendas a suelos contaminados

    OpenAIRE

    Madejón, Paula

    2016-01-01

    SPA Adición de enmiendas a suelos contaminados.-- Información introducida en la base de datos WOCAT es una red global de gestión sostenible de tierras (SLM) que promueve la documentación, el intercambio y el uso del conocimiento para apoyar la adaptación, la innovación y la toma de decisiones en SLM.

  9. Spa therapy together with supervised self-mobilisation improves pain, function and quality of life in patients with chronic shoulder pain: a single-blind randomised controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chary-Valckenaere, Isabelle; Loeuille, Damien; Jay, Nicolas; Kohler, François; Tamisier, Jean-Noë; Roques, Christian-François; Boulange, Michel; Gay, Gérard

    2018-06-01

    To determine whether spa therapy has a beneficial effect on pain and disability in patients with chronic shoulder pain, this single-blind randomised controlled clinical trial included patients with chronic shoulder pain due to miscellaneous conditions attending one of four spa centres as outpatients. Patients were randomised into two groups: spa therapy (18 days of standardised treatment combining thermal therapy together with supervised mobilisation in a thermal pool) and controls (spa therapy delayed for 6 months: `immediate versus delayed treatment' paradigm). All patients continued usual treatments during the 6-month follow-up period. The main endpoint was the mean change in the French-Quick DASH (F-QD) score at 6 months. The effect size of spa therapy was calculated, and the proportion of patients reaching minimal clinically important improvement (MCII) was compared. Secondary endpoints were the mean change in SF-36, treatment use and tolerance. One hundred eighty-six patients were included (94 patients as controls, 92 in the spa group) and analysed by intention to treat. At 6 months, the mean change in the F-QD score was statistically significantly greater among spa therapy patients than controls (- 32.6 versus - 8.15%; p < 0.001) with an effect size of 1.32 (95%CI: 0.97-1.68). A significantly greater proportion of spa therapy patients reached MCII (59.3 versus 17.9%). Spa therapy was well tolerated with a significant impact on SF-36 components but not on drug intake. Spa therapy provided a statistically significant benefit on pain, function and quality of life in patients with chronic shoulder pain after 6 months compared with usual care.

  10. Conventional Vs Digital Impressions: Acceptability, Treatment Comfort and Stress Among Young Orthodontic Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangano, Alessandro; Beretta, Matteo; Luongo, Giuseppe; Mangano, Carlo; Mangano, Francesco

    2018-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to compare patients' acceptability, comfort and stress with conventional and digital impressions. Thirty young orthodontic patients (15 males and 15 females) who had no previous experience of impressions were enrolled in this study. Conventional impressions for orthodontic study models of the dental arches were taken using an alginate impression material (Hydrogum ® , Zhermack Spa, Badia Polesine, Rovigo, Italy). Fifteen days later, digital impressions of both arches were acquired using an intraoral scanner (CS3600 ® , Carestream Dental, Rochester, NY, USA). Immediately after impression taking, patients' acceptability, comfort and stress were measured using two questionnaires and the State anxiety scale. Data showed no difference in terms of anxiety and stress; however, patients preferred the use of digital impressions systems instead of conventional impression techniques. Alginate impressions resulted as fast as digital impressions. Digital impressions resulted the most accepted and comfortable impression technique in young orthodontic patients, when compared to conventional techniques.

  11. Conventional Vs Digital Impressions: Acceptability, Treatment Comfort and Stress Among Young Orthodontic Patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mangano, Alessandro; Beretta, Matteo; Luongo, Giuseppe; Mangano, Carlo; Mangano, Francesco

    2018-01-01

    Objective: The objective of the present study was to compare patients’ acceptability, comfort and stress with conventional and digital impressions. Materials and Methods: Thirty young orthodontic patients (15 males and 15 females) who had no previous experience of impressions were enrolled in this study. Conventional impressions for orthodontic study models of the dental arches were taken using an alginate impression material (Hydrogum®, Zhermack Spa, Badia Polesine, Rovigo, Italy). Fifteen days later, digital impressions of both arches were acquired using an intraoral scanner (CS3600®, Carestream Dental, Rochester, NY, USA). Immediately after impression taking, patients’ acceptability, comfort and stress were measured using two questionnaires and the State anxiety scale. Results: Data showed no difference in terms of anxiety and stress; however, patients preferred the use of digital impressions systems instead of conventional impression techniques. Alginate impressions resulted as fast as digital impressions. Conclusions: Digital impressions resulted the most accepted and comfortable impression technique in young orthodontic patients, when compared to conventional techniques. PMID:29492177

  12. Spa therapy together with supervised self-mobilisation improves pain, function and quality of life in patients with chronic shoulder pain: a single-blind randomised controlled trial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chary-Valckenaere, Isabelle; Loeuille, Damien; Jay, Nicolas; Kohler, François; Tamisier, Jean-Noë; Roques, Christian-François; Boulange, Michel; Gay, Gérard

    2018-02-01

    To determine whether spa therapy has a beneficial effect on pain and disability in patients with chronic shoulder pain, this single-blind randomised controlled clinical trial included patients with chronic shoulder pain due to miscellaneous conditions attending one of four spa centres as outpatients. Patients were randomised into two groups: spa therapy (18 days of standardised treatment combining thermal therapy together with supervised mobilisation in a thermal pool) and controls (spa therapy delayed for 6 months: `immediate versus delayed treatment' paradigm). All patients continued usual treatments during the 6-month follow-up period. The main endpoint was the mean change in the French-Quick DASH (F-QD) score at 6 months. The effect size of spa therapy was calculated, and the proportion of patients reaching minimal clinically important improvement (MCII) was compared. Secondary endpoints were the mean change in SF-36, treatment use and tolerance. One hundred eighty-six patients were included (94 patients as controls, 92 in the spa group) and analysed by intention to treat. At 6 months, the mean change in the F-QD score was statistically significantly greater among spa therapy patients than controls (- 32.6 versus - 8.15%; p impact on SF-36 components but not on drug intake. Spa therapy provided a statistically significant benefit on pain, function and quality of life in patients with chronic shoulder pain after 6 months compared with usual care.

  13. Impact of serum SP-A and SP-D levels on comparison and prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Kai; Ju, Qing; Cao, Jing; Tang, Wenze; Zhang, Jian

    2017-01-01

    Abstract Background and objective: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has a poor prognosis in general; however, it is heterogeneous to detect relative biomarkers for predicting the disease progression. Serum biomarkers can be conveniently collected to detect and help to differentially diagnose IPF and predict IPF prognosis. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the use of serum surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D) for differential diagnosis and prognosis of IPF. Methods: Relevant artic...

  14. Pulling Marbles from a Bag: Deducing the Regional Impact History of the SPA Basin from Impact-Melt Rocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Barbara A.; Coker, Robert F.

    2010-01-01

    The South Pole Aitken (SPA) basin is the stratigraphically oldest identifiable lunar basin and is therefore one of the most important targets for absolute age-dating to help understand whether ancient lunar bombardment history smoothly declined or was punctuated by a cataclysm. A feasible near-term approach to this problem is to robotically collect a sample from near the center of the basin, where vertical and lateral mixing provided by post-basin impacts ensures that such a sample will be composed of small rock fragments from SPA itself, from local impact craters, and from faraway giant basins. The range of ages, intermediate spikes in the age distribution, and the oldest ages are all part of the definition of the absolute age and impact history recorded within the SPA basin.

  15. [Marketing macroenvironment of a sanatorium and spa facility as a study object and a factor of strategic decision making].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babaskin, D V

    2009-01-01

    Analysis of marketing macroenvironment is an important stage in the formulation of the strategy for the development and operation of a therapeutic and preventive healthcare facility making possible rapid adjustment to sharply changing marketing conditions. The possibility of using expert evaluation for the analysis of the marketing macroenvironment of a sanatorium and spa facility and a concrete medical care service provided (peloidotherapy) is illustrated. The study covers five aspects of marketing macroenvironment, viz. socio-demographic, technological, economic, political and ecological.

  16. Genomic and Functional Characterization of the Unusual pLOCK 0919 Plasmid Harboring the spaCBA Pili Cluster in Lactobacillus casei LOCK 0919

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleksandrzak-Piekarczyk, Tamara; Koryszewska-Bagińska, Anna; Grynberg, Marcin; Nowak, Adriana; Cukrowska, Bożena; Kozakova, Hana; Bardowski, Jacek

    2016-01-01

    Here, we report the extensive bioinformatic and functional analyses of the unusual pLOCK 0919, a plasmid originating from the probiotic Lactobacillus casei LOCK 0919 strain. This plasmid is atypical because it harbors the spaCBA-srtC gene cluster encoding SpaCBA pili. We show that all other spaCBA-srtC sequences of the Lactobacillus genus that have been previously described and deposited in GenBank are present in the chromosomal DNA. Another important observation for pLOCK 0919 is that the spaCBA-srtC gene cluster and its surrounding genes are highly similar to the respective DNA region that is present in the most well-known and active SpaCBA pili producer, the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG strain. Our results demonstrate that the spaCBA-srtC clusters of pLOCK 0919 and L. rhamnosus GG are genealogically similar, located in DNA regions that are rich in transposase genes and are poorly conserved among the publicly available sequences of Lactobacillus sp. In contrast to chromosomally localized pilus gene clusters from L. casei and Lactobacillus paracasei, the plasmidic spaC of L. casei LOCK 0919 is expressed and undergoes a slight glucose-induced repression. Moreover, results of series of in vitro tests demonstrate that L. casei LOCK 0919 has an adhesion potential, which is largely determined by the presence of the pLOCK 0919 plasmid. In particular, the plasmid occurrence positively influenced the hydrophobicity and aggregation abilities of L. casei LOCK 0919. Moreover, in vivo studies indicate that among the three Lactobacillus strains used to colonize the gastrointestinal tract of germ-free mice, already after 2 days of colonization, L. casei LOCK 0919 became the dominant strain and persisted there for at least 48 days. PMID:26637469

  17. [The spa-health resort and touristic-recreational facilities of the region: the methodological aspects of their development].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirilina, V M; Kolesnikova, N V; Kolesnikov, N G

    2016-01-01

    The correction and optimization of the motor activity of the patients are currently the main priorities of all rehabilitative and recreational activities based at the spa and health resort facilities. The forms of such activities include walking tours and excursion trips. In other words, the excursion potential is one of the very important attributes of the recreational recourses. Under the current conditions characterized by the rapid socio-economic changes, the studies concerning the structural and functional transformation of spa and health resorts, recreational and tourist facilities acquire special importance, both from the humanitarian and economic points of view. The results of these studies may greatly contribute to the organization and the further development of rehabilitative and recreational activities based at the spa and health resort facilities, recreational and tourist centers taking into consideration their evolution. The objective of the present article is to analyze the structure and functions of the recreation and tourist centres as well as the modes of their cooperation with the spa and health resort facilities. In other words, these structures and their functions are both the object and the subject of the present study. The methodology of the study is based on the logical analysis of the development of the recreational and tourist systems in the framework of the evolutionary approach. (1) the notions of «tourist destination» and «recreation» have been substantiated; (2) the results of the studies carried out at the Institute of Physical Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Petrozavodsk State University have been used to elaborate the affiliate international Master Degree program «Project management in the tourism industry». The main emphasis in this program is placed on the necessity and methods of the improvement of recreational activities and more efficacious utilization of the climatic factors and the health resort infrastructure as

  18. Kaks kuud Kalev SPA-s / kommenteerinud Julia Kurbat, Natalia Nazarenko-Kiivikas, Margit Lipstuhl

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2012-01-01

    Kahe spordiharrastaja Kaur Sau ja Kadri Sõggeli seatud eesmärkidest 2012. aastal ja kehalisest arengust treenides kaks kuud mõnes Tallinna spordiklubis. Treeningutest Kalev Spa Hotel & Water Park'i nimekandvas spordi- ja vabaajakeskuses

  19. Actividad Físico - Deportiva en Adolescentes Consumidores de SPA

    OpenAIRE

    Tarqui Silva, Leonardo Eliecer; Universidad Estatal de Milagro - Guayaquil Ecuador

    2017-01-01

    RESUMEN El presente estudio muestra el abordaje terapéutico fundamentado en actividades físico-deportivas aplicadas como reforzador, canalizador y modificador conductual en conjunto con terapias cognitivas, socio-humanísticas, espirituales, ocupacionales, vivenciales y familiares ejecutadas en adolescentes consumidores de sustancias psicoactivas (SPA) entre las edades de 14 a 17 años en la Comunidad Terapéutica para Adolescentes Varones Hogar Crecer (CTHC), de la ciudad de Cuenca - Ecuador; o...

  20. Actividad Físico - Deportiva en Adolescentes Consumidores de SPA

    OpenAIRE

    Tarqui Silva, Leonardo Eliecer

    2017-01-01

    RESUMEN El presente estudio muestra el abordaje terapéutico fundamentado en actividades físico-deportivas aplicadas como reforzador, canalizador y modificador conductual en conjunto con terapias cognitivas, socio-humanísticas, espirituales, ocupacionales, vivenciales y familiares ejecutadas en adolescentes consumidores de sustancias psicoactivas (SPA) entre las edades de 14 a 17 años en la Comunidad Terapéutica para Adolescentes Varones Hogar Crecer (CTHC), de la ciudad de Cuenca - Ecuador; o...

  1. Clinical researches on the efficacy of spa therapy in fibromyalgia: a systematic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Fraioli

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is characterized by chronic widespread pain, tenderness at muscle and tendon insertions point when digital pressure is applied, sleep disorders, chronic fatigue, depressive episodes, anxiety, and other functional somatic syndromes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether balneotherapy with mineral waters and mineral-water containing mud is effective in the management of fibromyalgia. METHODS: We conducted a systematic review of the literature regarding spa therapy in the treatment of the fibromyalgia. We searched many databases for articles published between 2000 and 2012 and we selected 7 studies among 65 articles retrieved. A total of 142 patients received balneotherapy and 129 were controls. CONCLUSIONS: Study data confirms that spa therapy could improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia including pain, depression and minor symptoms.

  2. Transmission of Staphylococcus aureus from maternity unit staff members to newborns disclosed through spa typing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matussek, Andreas; Taipalensuu, Jan; Einemo, Ing-Marie; Tiefenthal, Malena; Löfgren, Sture

    2007-03-01

    We observed previously that newborn infants are colonized with Staphylococcus aureus, even if their mothers do not carry S aureus. This observation indicated a cross colonization, and, thus, a risk for nosocomial infection, although the infants are roomed in with their mothers. The S aureus colonization of infants, their parents, and staff members was measured at 3 maternity units. Possible transmission routes were determined using spa typing of S aureus isolates. Infants had the highest S aureus carriage (45%) compared with fathers (39%), mothers (27%), and staff members (27%). In 13 out of 44 colonized infants, transmission from staff members was indicated. This transmission was more frequent than was transmission from their own parents (11 cases), and occurred even in cases when parents were colonized with S aureus of other spa types. We confirm a high level of transmission of S aureus from staff members to infants, indicating a risk for patient safety, which necessitates continuing work with implementing scientific evidence for infection control. The spa typing is a rapid and valuable epidemiological tool, and it can be used in improving hospital hygiene control programs.

  3. Discrete event simulation versus conventional system reliability analysis approaches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kozine, Igor

    2010-01-01

    Discrete Event Simulation (DES) environments are rapidly developing and appear to be promising tools for building reliability and risk analysis models of safety-critical systems and human operators. If properly developed, they are an alternative to the conventional human reliability analysis models...... and systems analysis methods such as fault and event trees and Bayesian networks. As one part, the paper describes briefly the author’s experience in applying DES models to the analysis of safety-critical systems in different domains. The other part of the paper is devoted to comparing conventional approaches...

  4. 78 FR 69600 - Airworthiness Directives; Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-20

    ... p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For service information identified in this.... To address this potential unsafe condition, Piaggio Aero Industries (PAI) issued Service [[Page 69601... Service Information Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. has issued Mandatory Service Bulletin No.: 80-0381, Rev...

  5. A spindle pole antigen gene MoSPA2 is important for polar cell growth of vegetative hyphae and conidia, but is dispensable for pathogenicity in Magnaporthe oryzae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Chao; Yang, Jun; Zhou, Wei; Chen, Xiao-Lin; Huang, Jin-Guang; Cheng, Zhi-Hua; Zhao, Wen-Sheng; Zhang, Yan; Peng, You-Liang

    2014-11-01

    Spa2 is an important component of the multiprotein complex polarisome, which is involved in the establishment, maintenance, termination of polarized cell growth and is important for defining tip growth of filamentous fungi. In this study, we isolated an insertional mutant of the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae that formed smaller colony and conidia compared with the wild type. In the mutant, a spindle pole antigen gene MoSPA2 was disrupted by the integration of an exogenous plasmid. Targeted gene deletion and complementation assays demonstrated the gene disruption was responsible for the defects of the insertional mutant. Interestingly, the MoSpa2-GFP fusion protein was found to accumulate as a spot at hyphal tips, septa of hyphae and conidial tip cells where germ tubes are usually produced, but not in appressoria, infection hyphae or at the septa of conidia. Furthermore, the deletion mutants of MoSPA2 exhibited slower hyphal tip growth, more hyphal branches, and smaller size of conidial tip cells. However, MoSPA2 is not required for plant infection. These results indicate that MoSPA2 is required for vegetative hyphal growth and maintaining conidium morphology and that spotted accumulation of MoSpa2 is important for its functions during cell polar growth.

  6. Neuroendocrine-immune and metabolic accompaniments of cholecystokinetic effects of balneotherapy on SPA Truskavets’

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O M Marfiyan

    2015-05-01

    4Faculty of Physical Education, Health and Tourism, Kazimierz Wielki University, Bydgoszcz, Poland w.zukow@ukw.edu.pl   SUMMARY   Objective. Ability balneofactors spa Truskavets’ (Ukraine, including bioactive water Naftussya, affect Gall-bladder motility has long been known. We set a goal to identify changes related neuroendocrine-immune complex and metabolism accompanying cholecystokinetic effect of balneotherapy on spa. Results. In observation of 22 men with chronic cholecystitis in combination with pyelonephritis, found that 10-12-day course of balneotherapy (drinking of bioactive water Naftussya, application of ozokerite, mineral baths reduces Gall-bladder volume fasting by 16% (p0,05, by increasing PSD HF greater extent than LF. The basal levels of plasma cortisol decreased by 20% (p0,2 and 8% (p<0,05 respectively. Regarding immunity parameters revealed significant increase in blood CD16+ lymphocytes only (+17%, p<0,01 in the absence of changes in levels of CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ T cells and CD19+ B lymphocytes. Do not change significantly either serum Igg G, M, A, or circulating immune complexes. Finally, stated a slight but significant increase electrokinetic index cell nuclei of buccal epithelium, indicating the "rejuvenation" of the body. Conclusion: balneotherapy on spa Truskavets’ be significantly cholecystokinetic effect, combined with the activation excretory and depurative kidney functions and neutrophil bactericidal function against a background of lower levels of neuroendocrine markers of stress. Keywords: Truskavets’, balneotherapy, cholekinetic, diuresis, neuroendocrine-immune complex.

  7. [Certain medico-economic prerequisites for the integration of spa and resort facilities into the system of compulsory health insurance].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artem'eva, G B; Gekht, I A

    2013-01-01

    The involvement of spa and resort facilities in the system of compulsory health insurance is of primary importance for the improvement of medical aid provided to the population. The application of the methods for the calculation of differential expenditures on the spa and resort-based treatment and estimation of their dependence on a variety of factors may facilitate the more rational use of the available resources of compulsory health insurance.

  8. 78 FR 36691 - Airworthiness Directives; Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-19

    ...., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For service... condition, Piaggio Aero Industries (PAI) issued Service Bulletin (SB) 80-0345 to provide instructions for... in the AD docket. Relevant Service Information Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. has issued Mandatory...

  9. Principles of bioclimatic architecture applied at the project of spa center at Stara Planina mountain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marić Igor

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Application of bioclimatic parameters in the design of tourist objects is an important factor for reducing energy consumption and preserving the environment. It represents the response to constant changing of climate conditions. Given the fact that development of tourism has negative consequences on the environment, it is necessary to examine the way design process can affect the reduction of energy and environmental pollution. This paper analyzes the principles of bioclimatic planning and design of the Spa Center at the Balkan Mountain that is one of the most valuable ecosystems in Serbia. Adaptation to the existing climate change was analyzed on two levels. The first level was urban factors that include analysis of local climate and environment that affect the positioning of the object and preliminary form. The second level was architecture factors with technical and technological solutions that can be achieved through the application of climate and energy responsible designing. Final analyses indicate that the bioclimatic approach is necessary in the initial stage of setting preliminary design for the building, because later it would take more effort to install technology that requires time and the whole process makes much more expensive. The work indicates that the energy needs of optimized Spa center like represented, from the very beginning of planning and designing, can be drastically reduced.

  10. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and its SpaC pilus adhesin modulate inflammatory responsiveness and TLR-related gene expression in the fetal human gut

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganguli, Kriston; Collado, Maria Carmen; Rautava, Jaana; Lu, Lei; Satokari, Reetta; von Ossowski, Ingemar; Reunanen, Justus; de Vos, Willem M.; Palva, Airi; Isolauri, Erika; Salminen, Seppo; Walker, W. Allan; Rautava, Samuli

    2015-01-01

    Background Bacterial contact in utero modulates fetal and neonatal immune responses. Maternal probiotic supplementation reduces the risk of immune-mediated disease in the infant. We investigated the immunomodulatory properties of live Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and its SpaC pilus adhesin in human fetal intestinal models. Methods TNF-α mRNA expression was measured by qPCR in a human fetal intestinal organ culture model exposed to live L. rhamnosus GG and proinflammatory stimuli. Binding of recombinant SpaC pilus protein to intestinal epithelial cells was assessed in human fetal intestinal organ culture and the human fetal intestinal epithelial cell line H4 by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence, respectively. TLR-related gene expression in fetal ileal organ culture after exposure to recombinant SpaC was assessed by qPCR. Results Live L. rhamnosus GG significantly attenuates pathogen-induced TNF-α mRNA expression in the human fetal gut. Recombinant SpaC protein was found to adhere to the fetal gut and to modulate varying levels of TLR-related gene expression. Conclusion The human fetal gut is responsive to luminal microbes. L. rhamnosus GG significantly attenuates fetal intestinal inflammatory responses to pathogenic bacteria. The L. rhamnosus GG pilus adhesin SpaC binds to immature human intestinal epithelial cells and directly modulates intestinal epithelial cell innate immune gene expression. PMID:25580735

  11. Thompson’s Spa: The Most Famous Lunch Counter in the World

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Szende

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Thompson’s Spa in Boston was one of the most celebrated restaurant companies in America at the turn of the twentieth century. Founder Charles Eaton was a pioneer in production and service methods, who developed a variety of innovative mechanical systems. This article describes the founding, growth, and eventual decline of the company during the period 1882 to 1968.

  12. Feasibility study for the installation of HVAC for a spa by means of energy recovery from thermal water. Pt. 1: Analysis of conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gonzalez, L.M. Lopez [Universidad de La Rioja, Dept. de Ingenieria Mecanica, Logrono (Spain); Tabares, J.L. Miguez; Viar, P. Fernandez [Universidad de Oviedo, E.T.S. Ingegieros de Minas, Oviedo (Spain); Alvarez, M. Gandara [ISOLUX Galicia, Vigo (Spain)

    2001-05-01

    The use of a low temperature geothermal spring together with the heat energy still contained in waste water from the different therapy systems installed in a spa (shower, jets, bathrooms, Jacuzzis, pools, ventilation processes) can significantly reduce the operating and maintenance costs of the installation, covering part of the air conditioning needs of the building and the heating of thermal water to the appropriate temperature for therapeutic use. The object of the present work is to study the possible energy use of two sources of thermal hot water (spring and waste water) by restructuring of the existing spa so that it is more efficient from both a technical and economic point of view. In this first part, hot water needs are calculated and consumption presented according to the operation schedule on different types of day. Comparison is then made with the contribution that the spring is capable of making and the evolution of the thermal water in the tanks is studied. In a second work, energy and economic analyses will be presented. (Author)

  13. Karhunen-Loève-Based Reduced-Complexity Representation of the Mixed-Density Messages in SPA on Factor Graph and Its Impact on BER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prochazka Pavel

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The sum product algorithm on factor graphs (FG/SPA is a widely used tool to solve various problems in a wide area of fields. A representation of generally-shaped continuously valued messages in the FG/SPA is commonly solved by a proper parameterization of the messages. Obtaining such a proper parameterization is, however, a crucial problem in general. The paper introduces a systematic procedure for obtaining a scalar message representation with well-defined fidelity criterion in a general FG/SPA. The procedure utilizes a stochastic nature of the messages as they evolve during the FG/SPA processing. A Karhunen-Loève Transform (KLT is used to find a generic canonical message representation which exploits the message stochastic behavior with mean square error (MSE fidelity criterion. We demonstrate the procedure on a range of scenarios including mixture-messages (a digital modulation in phase parametric channel. The proposed systematic procedure achieves equal results as the Fourier parameterization developed especially for this particular class of scenarios.

  14. Waste heat utilization in the thermal spa of Lavey-les-Bains

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy looks at the possibilities for improved waste water utilization in the Lavey-les-Bains thermal spa, Switzerland. According to the regulations in force, the temperature of the waste water rejected into the Rhone river shall not exceed 30 o C, what is currently not the case. Also the operational cost shall be reduced and the waste water quality improved. The installations are presented. From the two geothermal wells, mineral water comes out at an average flow rate of 940 l/min and a temperature of 63 o C. Actual waste water data are reported. The measured thermal water consumption data, including seasonal variations, are analysed by computerized simulation and measures to reduce the consumed volume by the optimization of internal procedures are evaluated. Measures to reduce the quantity of the rejected free chlorine are discussed. Several possible adaptations of the existing space heating, domestic water heating and pools' heating are evaluated, including cost. In addition, extensions of the thermal spa center to recreational activities are discussed, as the construction of a tropical greenhouse is

  15. Quantitative Expression Analysis of SpA, FnbA and Rsp Genes in Staphylococcus aureus: Actively Associated in the Formation of Biofilms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeswanth, Sthanikam; Chaudhury, Abhijit; Sarma, Potukuchi Venkata Gurunadha Krishna

    2017-12-01

    In Staphylococcus aureus, adherence and secretory proteins play chief role in the formation of biofilms. This mode of growth exhibits resistance to a variety of antibiotics and spreads its infections. In the present study, secretary and adherence proteins, Protein-A, Fibronectin-binding protein-A (FnbA) and Rsp (a transcription regulator encoding proteolytic property) expression levels were evaluated at different stages of growth in S. aureus ATCC12600 a drug-sensitive strain and multidrug-resistant strains of S. aureus. Initially, the SpA, FnbA and Rsp genes of S. aureus ATCC12600 were cloned, sequenced, expressed and characterized. The proteolytic property of recombinant Rsp was conspicuously shown when this pathogen was grown in aerobic conditions correlating with reduced biofilm units. In anaerobic mode of growth, S. aureus exhibited a higher expression of SpA and FnbA in early and mid adherence phases and finally stabilized at 48 h of incubation. This expression was more pronounced in methicillin-resistant strains (LMV1-8 and D1-4) of S. aureus. In all these stages, Rsp gene expression was at the lowest level and these results concur with the increased biofilm units. The results of the present study explain proteins chiefly contribute in the formation of biofilms.

  16. Solar car park in a spa town; Das Solarparkhaus an der Kurpromenade

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ernst, Willi

    2010-11-23

    Bad Lippspringe is the first spa town in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen that installed a solar park garage. The roof consists of semistransparent solar modules that ensure daylighting even in the winter season. There are safety nets below the modules to protect cars and persons from injuries in case of glassbreak. (orig.)

  17. 76 FR 60396 - Airworthiness Directives; Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-29

    ...., Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. For service... on other P.180 aeroplanes, and Piaggio Aero Industries (PAI) had issued Service Bulletin (SB) No. 80... information by examining the MCAI in the AD docket. Relevant Service Information Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A...

  18. Balneotherapy for atopic dermatitis in children at Comano spa in Trentino, Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farina, Stefania; Gisondi, Paolo; Zanoni, Mauro; Pace, Manuela; Rizzoli, Laura; Baldo, Ermanno; Girolomoni, Giampiero

    2011-12-01

    No controlled studies have investigated whether balneotherapy is effective in atopic dermatitis (AD). To investigate the efficacy and safety of balneotherapy performed at Comano spa (Trentino, Italy) compared to topical corticosteroids (TCS) in the treatment of AD. This was an open, randomized, clinical trial including 104 children (aged 1-14 years) with mild to moderate AD who were assigned either to balneotherapy (n = 54) or TCS (n = 50) once daily for 2 weeks. AD severity and quality of life were measured using the SCORAD, investigator global assessment (IGA), patients' self global assessment (PSGA), children's dermatology life quality index (CDLQI) and family dermatitis impact questionnaire (FDIQ). Subjective measures were re-evaluated 4 months after the end of therapy. Balneotherapy and TCS resulted in a significant reduction of all parameters at week 2. TCS were more effective than balneotherapy regarding SCORAD (46% ± 7.71 vs 26% ± 9.4, mean ± SD; p balneotherapy compared to those treated with TCS (p Balneotherapy at Comano spa appears to be beneficial in children with mild to moderate AD.

  19. Patient education and rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty in an Italian spa center: a pilot study on its feasibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musumeci, Alfredo; Pranovi, Giulia; Masiero, Stefano

    2018-05-01

    Nowadays, some spa centers are suitable for providing rehabilitative and preventive treatment in association with traditional spa therapy. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and the effectiveness of an intensive rehabilitation program after hip arthroplasty in an Italian spa center. Early after total hip arthroplasty for severe osteoarthritis (≤ 10 days after the intervention), 12 consecutive patients (5 males and 7 females) aged between 50 and 85 years were enrolled for this study. All the patients performed a 2-week thermal multimodal rehabilitation program, which consisted of education and physical rehabilitative measures. Patients had 2-h and half/day session of land-based and hydrokinesitherapy (aquatic therapy) consisted in active and passive joint mobilization, respiratory and functional re-education exercises, gait and balance training, resistance exercise, and power training mainly for the upper limb associated to physical therapy modalities (electrotherapy and low-level laser therapy). An educational program was performed to both patients and families. Both before and after the rehabilitation treatment, patients underwent clinical evaluation, hip flexion/abduction range of motion, and Numeric Pain Rating Scale. Harris Hip Score (HHS) and SF-12 questionnaires (physical—PCS-12—and mental health component—MCS-12) were also administered. After the 2-week thermal spa treatment, hip flexion/abduction improved significantly (p < 0.05), but there was no statistically significant reduction in pain (p = 0.350). The HHS score improved significantly from 62.6 ± 12.8 to 82.15 ± 12.7 (p < 0.05), and the PCS-12 score from 36.37 ± 8.4 to 43.61 ± 8.95 (p < 0.05). There was no adverse event during spa treatment. After total hip arthroplasty, patients who underwent an intensive post-acute multimodal rehabilitation program showed an improvement in motor and functional recovery and a positive impact on quality of life. Therefore, we believe that the

  20. The paradigm of territoriality in the spa tourism: The concept of spatial indicators

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dželebdžić Omiljena

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The famous tradition of spa places like cultural centers and health resorts with unique potential in natural curing springs could be a solid, but not an adequate, ground for their development according to the challenges of contemporary society. The renewed interest in the territorial aspects of tourism as a response to globalization enhanced the influence of spatial factor (tourismscape on current on tourism demand. The network of flows, relationships and interactions, as the core of the territoriality concept, is not something new and unknown in regional planning but requires a new analytical tool for researching the global network connectivity. This paper analyzes the concept of territorial networking in the system of physical, functional and organizational networks as one of the crucial aspects in the development of well balanced tourism region. The consideration aim is to examine and define the relevant indicators that may specify the level of competitiveness of spa region in the global tourism market.

  1. A complementary conventional analysis for channelized reservoirs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Escobar Freddy Humberto; Montealegre M, Matilde

    2007-01-01

    Many well pressure data coming from long and narrow reservoirs which result from either fluvial deposition of faulting connote be completely interpreted by conventional analysis since some flow regimes are not conventionally recognized yet in the oil literature. This narrow geometry allows for the simultaneous development of two linear flow regimes coming from each one of the lateral sides of the system towards the well. This has been called dual linear flow regime. If the well is off-centered with regards to the two lateral boundaries, then, and of the linear flow regimes vanishes and, than, two possibilities con be presented. Firstly, if the closer lateral boundary is close to flow the unique linear flow persists along the longer lateral boundary. It has been called single linear flow. Following this, either steady or pseudo-steady states will develop. Secondly, if a constant - pressure closer lateral boundary is dealt with, then parabolic flow develops along the longer lateral boundary. Steady state has to be developed once the disturbance reaches the farther boundary. This study presents new equations for conventional analysis for the dual linear, linear and parabolic flow regimes recently introduced to the oil literature. The equations were validated by applying them to field and simulated examples

  2. Dual Stimuli-Responsive P(NIPAAm-co-SPA Copolymers: Synthesis and Response in Solution and in Films

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Grimm

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available We present the synthesis and solution properties of dual stimuli-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-spiropyran acrylate (P(NIPAAm-co-SPA copolymers of varying composition prepared via nitroxide-mediated copolymerization. The resulting copolymers feature molar masses from 40,000 to 100,000 g/mol according to static light scattering and an SPA content of up to 5.3%. The latter was determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy and UV–Vis spectroscopy. These materials exhibit reversible response upon irradiation in polymeric films for a minimum of three cycles; their response in solution to both light and temperature was also investigated in an aqueous TRIS buffer (pH 8. Irradiation was carried out using LED setups with wavelengths of 365 and 590 nm. In aqueous solution, a custom-made setup using a fiber-coupled 200 W Hg(Xe lamp with 340 and 540 nm filters was used and additional heating of the copolymer solutions during irradiation allowed to study influence of the presence of either the spiropyran or merocyanine form on the cloud point temperature. Hereby, it was found that increasing the SPA content leads to a more pronounced difference between both states and decreasing cloud points in general.

  3. Determination of protective properties of Bardejovske Kuple spa curative waters by rotational viscometry and ABTS assay

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    TOPOLSKA Dominika

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Mineral waters from Bardejovske Kupele spa are natural, strongly mineralized, with healing effects. They are classified as hydrocarbonic - containing chloride and sodium - carbonic, cold, hypotonic, with a relatively high boric acid content. Potential anti-oxidative effects of curative waters from Bardejovske Kupele were investigated against the hyaluronan (HA degradation. High-molar-mass HA was exposed to the action of ascorbate and cupric ions, which initiate free-radical chain degradation. Time-dependent changes of dynamic viscosity (h of the HA solutions were monitored by rotational viscometry. The radical scavenging capacity of curative waters was determined by the ABTS assay. Despite a significantly high content of transition metal ions, especially iron, remarkable protective effects of the two curative spa waters were found, namely Alzbeta and Klara. Even though “Alzbeta´s“ iron content was 3.5-fold higher than “Klara´s“, “Alzbeta“ was shown to have better protective properties against the HA degradation compared to “Klara“. Bolus addition of ferric ions to the reaction system instead of the natural iron-containing curative water caused a significant HA degradation. The ABTS decolorization assay revealed that the curative spa waters were proven as poorly effective scavengers of the ABTS·+ cation radical.

  4. A slow-forming isopeptide bond in the structure of the major pilin SpaD from Corynebacterium diphtheriae has implications for pilus assembly

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Hae Joo; Paterson, Neil G. [University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand); Kim, Chae Un [Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Middleditch, Martin [University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand); Chang, Chungyu; Ton-That, Hung [University of Texas–Houston Medical School, Houston, TX 77030 (United States); Baker, Edward N., E-mail: ted.baker@auckland.ac.nz [University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland 1142 (New Zealand)

    2014-05-01

    Two crystal structures of the major pilin SpaD from C. diphtheriae have been determined at 1.87 and 2.5 Å resolution. The N-terminal domain is found to contain an isopeptide bond that forms slowly over time in the recombinant protein. Given its structural context, this provides insight into the relationship between internal isopeptide-bond formation and pilus assembly. The Gram-positive organism Corynebacterium diphtheriae, the cause of diphtheria in humans, expresses pili on its surface which it uses for adhesion and colonization of its host. These pili are covalent protein polymers composed of three types of pilin subunit that are assembled by specific sortase enzymes. A structural analysis of the major pilin SpaD, which forms the polymeric backbone of one of the three types of pilus expressed by C. diphtheriae, is reported. Mass-spectral and crystallographic analysis shows that SpaD contains three internal Lys–Asn isopeptide bonds. One of these, shown by mass spectrometry to be located in the N-terminal D1 domain of the protein, only forms slowly, implying an energy barrier to bond formation. Two crystal structures, of the full-length three-domain protein at 2.5 Å resolution and of a two-domain (D2-D3) construct at 1.87 Å resolution, show that each of the three Ig-like domains contains a single Lys–Asn isopeptide-bond cross-link, assumed to give mechanical stability as in other such pili. Additional stabilizing features include a disulfide bond in the D3 domain and a calcium-binding loop in D2. The N-terminal D1 domain is more flexible than the others and, by analogy with other major pilins of this type, the slow formation of its isopeptide bond can be attributed to its location adjacent to the lysine used in sortase-mediated polymerization during pilus assembly.

  5. Smooth pursuit adaptation (SPA exhibits features useful to compensate changes in the properties of the smooth pursuit eye movement system due to usage.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suryadeep eDash

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Smooth-pursuit adaptation (SPA refers to the fact that pursuit gain in the early, still open-loop response phase of the pursuit eye movement can be adjusted based on experience. For instance, if the target moves initially at a constant velocity for approximately 100-200ms and then steps to a higher velocity, subjects learn to up-regulate the pursuit gain associated with the initial target velocity (gain-increase SPA in order to reduce the retinal error resulting from the velocity step. Correspondingly, a step to a lower target velocity leads to a decrease in gain (gain-decrease SPA. In this study we demonstrate that the increase in peak eye velocity during gain-increase SPA is a consequence of expanding the duration of the eye acceleration profile while the decrease in peak velocity during gain-decrease SPA results from reduced peak eye acceleration but unaltered duration. Furthermore, we show that carrying out stereotypical smooth pursuit eye movements elicited by constant velocity target ramps for several hundred trials (= test of pursuit resilience leads to a clear drop in initial peak acceleration, a reflection of oculomotor and/ or cognitive fatigue. However, this drop in acceleration gets compensated by an increase in the duration of the acceleration profile, thereby keeping initial pursuit gain constant. The compensatory expansion of the acceleration profile in the pursuit resilience experiment is reminiscent of the one leading to gain-increase SPA, suggesting that both processes tap one and the same neuronal mechanism warranting a precise acceleration/ duration trade-off. Finally, we show that the ability to adjust acceleration duration during pursuit resilience depends on the integrity of the oculomotor vermis (OMV as indicated by the complete loss of the duration adjustment following a surgical lesion of the OMV in one rhesus monkey we could study.

  6. [Sanatorium-and-spa treatment of children with mucoviscidosis and pancreatic lesions].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mesropian, S K; Kaĭsinova, A S; Stanilevich, T B; Ter-Akopov, N G

    2010-01-01

    Over 5 years ago, the Yunost' sanatorium, Essentuki, and the Russian Centre of Mucoviscidosis, Moscow, began to jointly implement a rehabilitation program for children with mucoviscidosis. The data obtained made it possible for the first time to propose incorporation of drinking carbonate mineral water in the combined sanatorium-and-spa treatment of such patients. The new method allowed effectiveness of this therapy to be improved by 16-18%.

  7. Experience with conventional inelastic analysis procedures in very high temperature applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mallett, R.H.; Thompson, J.M.; Swindeman, R.W.

    1991-01-01

    Conventional incremental plasticity and creep analysis procedures for inelastic analysis are applied to hot flue gas cleanup system components. These flue gas systems operate at temperatures where plasticity and creep are very much intertwined while the two phenomena are treated separately in the conventional inelastic analysis procedure. Data for RA333 material are represented in forms appropriate for the conventional inelastic analysis procedures. Behavior is predicted for typical operating cycles. Creep-fatigue damage is estimated based upon usage fractions. Excessive creep damage is predicted; the major contributions occur during high stress short term intervals caused by rapid temperature changes. In this paper these results are presented for discussion of the results and their interpretation in terms of creep-fatigue damage for very high temperature applications

  8. Effects of age and spa treatment on match running performance over two consecutive games in highly trained young soccer players.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchheit, Martin; Horobeanu, Cosmin; Mendez-Villanueva, Alberto; Simpson, Ben M; Bourdon, Pitre C

    2011-03-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effect of age and spa treatment (i.e. combined sauna, cold water immersion, and jacuzzi) on match running performance over two consecutive matches in highly trained young soccer players. Fifteen pre- (age 12.8 ± 0.6 years) and 13 post- (15.9 ± 1 y) peak height velocity (PHV) players played two matches (Matches 1 and 2) within 48 h against the same opposition, with no specific between-match recovery intervention (control). Five post-PHV players also completed another set of two consecutive matches, with spa treatment implemented after the first match. Match running performance was assessed using a global positioning system with very-high-intensity running (> 16.1-19.0 km · h(-1)), sprinting distance (>19 km · h(-1)), and peak match speed determined. Match 2 very-high-intensity running was "possibly" impaired in post-PHV players (-9 ± 33%; ± 90% confidence limits), whereas it was "very likely" improved for the pre-PHV players (+27 ± 22%). The spa treatment had a beneficial impact on Match 2 running performance, with a "likely" rating for sprinting distance (+30 ± 67%) and "almost certain" for peak match speed (+6.4 ± 3%). The results suggest that spa treatment is an effective recovery intervention for post-PHV players, while its value in pre-PHV players is questionable.

  9. Cost-effectiveness of Spa treatment for fibromyalgia: general health improvement is not for free

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zijlstra, T.R.; Braakman-Jansen, Louise Marie Antoinette; Taal, Erik; Rasker, Johannes J.; van de Laar, Mart A F J

    2007-01-01

    Objectives: To estimate the cost-effectiveness of an adjuvant treatment course of spa treatment compared with usual care only in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FM). - Methods: 134 patients with FM, selected from a rheumatology outpatient department and from members of the Dutch FM patient

  10. Diagnosis of the socionic temperament of personality and creating a psychological portrait of the Western European SPA and wellness tourists in Bulgaria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoyanova, Milena

    2017-03-01

    Human personality is a set of psychological characteristics that distinguishes it from others. However people can be classified as congenital personality types, interactions that are precisely defined. The aim of this article is to characterize the socionic temperament and psychological profile of the spa and wellness tourists in Bulgaria. The study is based on a survey of 460 tourists who visited Bulgarian spa centers in the summer and autumn of 2015.

  11. Diverse modulation of spa transcription by cell wall active antibiotics in Staphylococcus aureus

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Lene Nørby; Roggenbuck, Michael; Haaber, Jakob Krause

    2012-01-01

    ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various classes of clinically relevant antibiotics at sub-lethal concentrations on virulence gene expression and biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus. FINDINGS: LacZ promoter fusions of genes related to staphylococ......ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various classes of clinically relevant antibiotics at sub-lethal concentrations on virulence gene expression and biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus. FINDINGS: LacZ promoter fusions of genes related...... to staphylococcal virulence were used to monitor the effects of antibiotics on gene expression in a disc diffusion assay. The selected genes were hla and spa encoding alpha-hemolysin and Protein A, respectively and RNAIII, the effector molecule of the agr quorum sensing system. The results were confirmed...... by quantitative real-time PCR. Additionally, we monitored the effect of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics on the ability of S. aureus to form biofilm in a microtiter plate assay. The results show that sub-lethal antibiotic concentrations diversely modulate expression of RNAIII, hla and spa. Consistently...

  12. An Evaluation of Centrographic Analysis as Compared with Conventional Cephalometric Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A B Nehete

    2012-01-01

    Conclusion : Individuals belonging to same sample group and with well-balanced skeletal and soft tissue profiles and normal occlusion demonstrated wide variations in craniofacial structure as evaluated with centrographic analysis and routinely used conventional cephalometric measurements.

  13. Development of a Scintillation Proximity Assay (SPA) Based, High Throughput Screening Feasible Method for the Identification of PDE12 Activity Modulators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mang, Samuel; Bucher, Hannes; Nickolaus, Peter

    2016-01-01

    The scintillation proximity assay (SPA) technology has been widely used to establish high throughput screens (HTS) for a range of targets in the pharmaceutical industry. PDE12 (aka. 2'- phosphodiesterase) has been published to participate in the degradation of oligoadenylates that are involved in the establishment of an antiviral state via the activation of ribonuclease L (RNAse-L). Degradation of oligoadenylates by PDE12 terminates these antiviral activities, leading to decreased resistance of cells for a variety of viral pathogens. Therefore inhibitors of PDE12 are discussed as antiviral therapy. Here we describe the use of the yttrium silicate SPA bead technology to assess inhibitory activity of compounds against PDE12 in a homogeneous, robust HTS feasible assay using tritiated adenosine-P-adenylate ([3H]ApA) as substrate. We found that the used [3H]ApA educt, was not able to bind to SPA beads, whereas the product [3H]AMP, as known before, was able to bind to SPA beads. This enables the measurement of PDE12 activity on [3H]ApA as a substrate using a wallac microbeta counter. This method describes a robust and high throughput capable format in terms of specificity, commonly used compound solvents, ease of detection and assay matrices. The method could facilitate the search for PDE12 inhibitors as antiviral compounds.

  14. Performance of scintillation proximity assay (SPA) to measure the level of VEGFR 1 protein

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    LEE, So-Young; LIM, Jae-Cheong; KIM, Jin-Joo

    2014-01-01

    Scintillation proximity assay is a one of radioimmunoassay and can be assayed without the washing or filtration procedures normally used to separate bound from free fractions. Due to its simplicity and high-throughput protocol, it is broadly applicable to immunology, receptor binding, monitoring receptor-ligand interactions and enzyme reactions. Briefly, an antibody or receptor is coated on SPA beads. When a radiolabeled antigen or ligand binds to the beads, the SPA beads stimulate to emit short range electrons. The 3 H and 125 I are commonly used for radiolabeling and the produced photons are detectable with a liquid scintillation counter (LSC). A binding affinity of unlabeled ligands can be determined by competitive reaction of the radiolabeled ligands. Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody, and can stop or delay growth of tumors by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Bevacizumab was approved by FDA for metastatic cancer such as colorectal cancers, ovarian cancers, breast cancers and glioblastoma multiform of the brain. Recently, Dan G. duda et al. was reported that the concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1) in plasma may potentially be used as a negative selection biomarker. In this study, we describe a method using scintillation proximity assay to detect the amounts of VEGFR-1 protein. This method is successfully used to measure the concentration of VEGFR-1 protein in human cell extracts. In summary, a simple and sensitive assay is developed for measuring the amount of VEGFR 1 protein in cancer cell lysate using SPA beads. The antibody coating on the beads and antigen binding are achieved in one mixing step

  15. Performance of scintillation proximity assay (SPA) to measure the level of VEGFR 1 protein

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    LEE, So-Young; LIM, Jae-Cheong; KIM, Jin-Joo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-10-15

    Scintillation proximity assay is a one of radioimmunoassay and can be assayed without the washing or filtration procedures normally used to separate bound from free fractions. Due to its simplicity and high-throughput protocol, it is broadly applicable to immunology, receptor binding, monitoring receptor-ligand interactions and enzyme reactions. Briefly, an antibody or receptor is coated on SPA beads. When a radiolabeled antigen or ligand binds to the beads, the SPA beads stimulate to emit short range electrons. The {sup 3}H and {sup 125}I are commonly used for radiolabeling and the produced photons are detectable with a liquid scintillation counter (LSC). A binding affinity of unlabeled ligands can be determined by competitive reaction of the radiolabeled ligands. Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody, and can stop or delay growth of tumors by inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Bevacizumab was approved by FDA for metastatic cancer such as colorectal cancers, ovarian cancers, breast cancers and glioblastoma multiform of the brain. Recently, Dan G. duda et al. was reported that the concentration of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 (VEGFR-1) in plasma may potentially be used as a negative selection biomarker. In this study, we describe a method using scintillation proximity assay to detect the amounts of VEGFR-1 protein. This method is successfully used to measure the concentration of VEGFR-1 protein in human cell extracts. In summary, a simple and sensitive assay is developed for measuring the amount of VEGFR 1 protein in cancer cell lysate using SPA beads. The antibody coating on the beads and antigen binding are achieved in one mixing step.

  16. Binding of human collectins (SP-A and MBP) to influenza virus.

    OpenAIRE

    Malhotra, R; Haurum, J S; Thiel, S; Sim, R B

    1994-01-01

    Collectins are a group of soluble proteins each of which has collagenous domains and non-collagenous globular domains, the latter containing the consensus residues found in C-type lectins. Members of the collectin family are the serum proteins mannan-binding protein (MBP), conglutinin, CL-43, and the lung-associated proteins surfactant protein A (SP-A) and surfactant protein D (SP-D). MBP and conglutinin have been shown previously to bind to influenza viruses and to inhibit the infectivity an...

  17. Effect of a steam foot spa on geriatric inpatients with cognitive impairment: a pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koike, Yoshihisa; Kondo, Hideki; Kondo, Satoshi; Takagi, Masayuki; Kano, Yoshio

    2013-01-01

    Purpose To investigate whether a steam foot spa improves cognitive impairment in geriatric inpatients. Methods Geriatric inpatients with cognitive impairment were given a steam foot spa treatment at 42°C for 20 minutes for 2 weeks (5 days/week). Physiological indicators such as blood pressure, percutaneous oxygen saturation, pulse, tympanic temperature, and sleep time and efficiency were assessed. Cognitive function and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination, Dementia Mood Assessment Scale, and Dementia Behavior Disturbance scale. Results Significant decreases in systolic (P steam foot spas. A significant improvement was seen in the Mini-Mental State Examination score (P steam foot baths. In this study, a control group was not used. Raters and enforcers were not blinded. Conclusion The results of this pilot study suggest that steam foot spas mitigate cognitive impairment in geriatric inpatients. PMID:23717038

  18. Reframing less conventional speech to disrupt conventions of "compulsory fluency": A conversation analysis approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Camille Duque

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Our purpose is to illuminate compliances with, and resistances to, what we are calling "compulsory fluency" which we define as conventions for what constitutes competent speech. We achieve our purpose through a study of day-to-day communication between a woman with less conventional speech and her support providing family members and friends. Drawing from McRuer's (2006 compulsory ablebodiedness and Kafer's (2013 compulsory able-mindedness, we use "compulsory fluency" to refer to a form of articulation that is standardized and idealized and imposed on all speakers including those whose speech is less conventional. We see compulsory fluency as central to North American conceptions of personhood which are tied to individual ability to speak for one's self (Brueggemann, 2005. In this paper, we trace some North American principles for linguistic competence to outline widely held ideals of receptive and expressive language use, namely, conventions for how language should be understood and expressed. Using Critical Disability Studies (Goodley, 2013; McRuer, 2006 together with a feminist framework of relational autonomy (Nedelsky, 1989, our goal is to focus on experiences of people with less conventional speech and draw attention to power in communication as it flows in idiosyncratic and intersubjective fashion (Mackenzie & Stoljar, 2000; Westlund, 2009. In other words, we use a critical disability and feminist framing to call attention to less conventional forms of communication competence and, in this process, we challenge assumptions about what constitutes competent speech. As part of a larger qualitative study, we conduct a conversation analysis informed by Rapley and Antaki (1996 to examine day-to-day verbal, vocal and non-verbal communications of a young woman who self identifies as "having autism" - pseudonym Addison - in interaction with her support-providing family members and friends. We illustrate a multitude of Addison's compliances with

  19. "Roman Baths" in Contemporary Spa Tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vesna Merc

    2005-07-01

    Full Text Available The commercialisation of images and symbols from antiquity, so characteristic of Slovenia since its independence, has been reflected over the last decade in spa tourism as well. Since the great crises in the sixties, and especially since the eighties, fifteen Slovene natural health resorts have concentrated on developing wellness and activities programs. This change in orientation has been accompanied by renovations, an expansion of the water surfaces and capacities, and new wellbeing, wellness, spirituality and beauty programs. An analysis of Slovene spas, wellness centres and hotel web pages shows that they frequently offer rooms, usually saunas, which are imitations of the Roman baths. These rooms are usually called "Roman saunas", "Tepidarium", "Caldarium", and "Roman-Irish baths". At Terme Ptuj, Zdravilišče Laško, Šmarješke Toplice, Grand Hotel Palace in Portorož, and Terme Čatež, saunas have been built or renovated in the Roman style. This trend of Roman rooms is a novelty, less than a decade old in Slovenia. The first sauna with a Roman theme, a Roman-Irish bath, was opened in 1997 in the Health and Beauty Centre at Terme Čatež. Modern Roman saunas are very popular, found not only in Slovenia but also in other parts of Europe, especially Germany and Austria. Their popularity has spread from the areas formerly occupied by the Romans to other parts of world, for example the USA and the Republic of South Africa. An analysis of Slovene saunas and wellness centres reveals a well-established trend to recreate certain parts of the Roman baths. This is attempted not only through Roman-style decorations, but also through certain structures particular to the Roman baths, such as the caldarium, tepidarium, and in one case even a laconicum. The approach, however, is highly eclectic, blending Roman, Greek and, above all, modern elements. The purpose of such rooms is to increase the appeal of the spas, while their design is mostly based on

  20. Effect of a steam foot spa on geriatric inpatients with cognitive impairment: a pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koike Y

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Yoshihisa Koike,1 Hideki Kondo,2 Satoshi Kondo,1 Masayuki Takagi,1 Yoshio Kano31Department of Occupational Therapy, Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Mihara, Japan; 2Yoshiigawa Hospital, Okayama, Japan; 3Department of Occupational Therapy, Kibi International University, Takahashi, JapanPurpose: To investigate whether a steam foot spa improves cognitive impairment in geriatric inpatients.Methods: Geriatric inpatients with cognitive impairment were given a steam foot spa treatment at 42°C for 20 minutes for 2 weeks (5 days/week. Physiological indicators such as blood pressure, percutaneous oxygen saturation, pulse, tympanic temperature, and sleep time and efficiency were assessed. Cognitive function and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia were assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination, Dementia Mood Assessment Scale, and Dementia Behavior Disturbance scale.Results: Significant decreases in systolic (P < 0.01 and diastolic blood pressure (P < 0.05 along with a significant increase in tympanic temperature (P < 0.01 were observed after the steam foot spas. A significant improvement was seen in the Mini-Mental State Examination score (P < 0.01 and the overall dementia severity items in Dementia Mood Assessment Scale (P < 0.05.Limitations: Japanese people are very fond of foot baths. However, it is difficult to understand why inpatients cannot receive steam foot baths. In this study, a control group was not used. Raters and enforcers were not blinded.Conclusion: The results of this pilot study suggest that steam foot spas mitigate cognitive impairment in geriatric inpatients.Keywords: steam foot spa, geriatric inpatients, cognitive impairment, tympanic temperature

  1. Training Needs Analysis: Weaknesses in the Conventional Approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leat, Michael James; Lovel, Murray Jack

    1997-01-01

    Identification of the training and development needs of administrative support staff is not aided by conventional performance appraisal, which measures summary or comparative effectiveness. Meaningful diagnostic evaluation integrates three levels of analysis (organization, task, and individual), using behavioral expectation scales. (SK)

  2. AIR SEBAGAI ALAT PENGENDALI IKLIM MIKRO DALAM BANGUNAN Studi Kasus : Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa, Hotel Sheraton Mustika Yogyakarta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dyah Hendrawati

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Indonesia is a country with wet tropical climate has constraints in obtaining thermal comfort because of the high air temperature, high air humidity and lower air speed. Modification of the microclimate might be conducted by increasing the cooling effect in a passive manner. Water can be used as one of control strategy thermal to build the microclimate or to site. Water also played an important role in lowering temperature and raise humidity in a room in building.Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa, which is located in Yogyakarta,is one of building that implementing water as thermal control by making pool in door. This research aims to understand the influence of water in controlling the micro climate and the anything influence it .This research uses the quantitative methods by conducting observation and measuring temperature and humidity directly to the research objects. Secondary data is needed in this research. There was also literature review on the stuff that supports research, and a literature study was also conducted. The research and analysis on the results shows that 1 .The room in Tamansari royal heritage spa still in comfort zone in thermal .2 .The volume of water affects temperatures and humidity room 3 .Distance is a significant factor.

  3. Co-brand strategy of evaluation of visual images in furniture design: Jimmy S.P.A. and STRAUSS as examples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tien-Li; Pan, Fang-Ming; Tsai, Jen-Hui

    2013-03-01

    This study aimed to investigate the correlation of the image associated by the design Co-Brand (Jimmy S.P.A. and STRAUSS) and the impression perceived by subject of viewers. Visual images were used to examine the merit of the evaluation. The best result is provided using an object as an appropriate evaluation method. There are a lot of factors which influence to evaluation of a design. This study is limited to distinguish the appearance from Jimmy's picture books transform furniture and so on. Co-Brand of Jimmy S.P.A. and STRAUSS is not easy because there are not from the same cultural, and industry background and applying different marketing strategy, it is a way to combine the two brands by designing, used questionnaire of SD (Semantic differential evaluation) evaluation method to test out the perception of viewers, the objective of this study is to investigate and appraised the Co-Brands use by of the image in furniture from patrons. SD evaluation result showed, if design cannot understand the perception image of Jimmy S.P.A and STRAUSS with viewers mind, furniture design also can't transmit feeling with design.

  4. The protective effect of different airway humidification liquids to lung after tracheotomy in traumatic brain injury: The role of pulmonary surfactant protein-A (SP-A).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Xinyang; Li, Zefu; Wang, Meilin; Li, Zhenzhu; Wang, Qingbo; Lu, Wenxian; Li, Xiaoli; Zhou, Youfei; Xu, Hongmei

    2016-02-10

    The purpose of this study was to establish a rat model of a brain injury with tracheotomy and compared the wetting effects of different airway humidification liquids, afterward, the best airway humidification liquid was selected for the clinical trial, thus providing a theoretical basis for selecting a proper airway humidification liquid in a clinical setting. Rats were divided into a sham group, group A (0.9% NaCl), group B (0.45% NaCl), group C (0.9% NaCl+ambroxol) and group D (0.9% NaCl+Pulmicort). An established rat model of traumatic brain injury with tracheotomy was used. Brain tissue samples were taken to determine water content, while lung tissue samples were taken to determine wet/dry weight ratio (W/D), histological changes and expression levels of SP-A mRNA and SP-A protein. 30 patients with brain injury and tracheotomy were selected and divided into two groups based on the airway humidification liquid instilled in the trachea tube, 0.45% NaCl and 0.9% NaCl+ambroxol. Blood was then extracted from the patients to measure the levels of SP-A, interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). The difference between group C and other groups in lung W/D and expression levels of SP-A mRNA and SP-A protein was significant (Phumidification liquid. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Radiological impact of a spent fuel disposal in a deep geological granite formation - results of the european spa project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baudoin, P.; Gay, D.; Certes, C.; Serres, C.

    2000-01-01

    The SPA project (Spent fuel disposal Performance Assessment) is the latest of four integrated performance assessment exercises on nuclear waste disposal in geological formations, carried out in the framework of the European Community 'Nuclear Fission' Research Programmes. The SPA project, which was undertaken by ENRESA, GRS, IPSN, NRG, SCK.CEN and VTT between May 1996 and April 1999, was devoted to the study of disposal of spent fuel in various host rock formations (clay, crystalline rocks and salt formation). This project is a direct continuation of the efforts made by the European Community since 1982 to build a common understanding of the methods applicable to deep disposal performance assessment. (authors)

  6. 76 FR 27872 - Airworthiness Directives; PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A Model P-180 Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-13

    ... through Friday, except Federal holidays. For service information identified in this AD, contact Piaggio... accomplishment instructions of Piaggio Aero Industries Alert Service Bulletin ASB- 80-0324, step 5, this AD.... Relevant Service Information PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A has issued Service Bulletin (Mandatory) N.: 80...

  7. Structure of Spa15, a type III secretion chaperone from Shigella flexneri with broad specificity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Eerde, André van; Hamiaux, Cyril; Pérez, Javier; Parsot, Claude; Dijkstra, Bauke W.

    2004-01-01

    Type III secretion (TTS) systems are used by many Gram-negative pathogens to inject virulence proteins into the cells of their hosts. Several of these virulence effectors require TTS chaperones that maintain them in a secretion-competent state. Whereas most chaperones bind only one effector, Spa15

  8. Analysis and risk management after Fukushima

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, P. F.

    2011-11-01

    This article describes the impact in the nuclear industry after the only accidents with affectation to the public: the Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. and discusses what comes after Fukushima with regard to the Safety Probabilistic Analysis (Spa) and their use in the decisions taking. A reference to the standard ASME/ANS of Spa is made and the possible changes due to the learned lessons after the Fukushima accident. The main changes are described in the art state and the priorities of the Spa studies. These include the change in the mission time of the emergency systems, the necessity to model the alternating systems, the risk consideration of a site with multi-units, the importance of making a Spa level 3 and the Spa of external events. The Spa is the key tool of the discipline of risk management, but given the learned lessons, is more necessary in all the aspects of the operation and surveillance of a nuclear power plant. A strategy is presented to improve the response to a severe accident, that includes consider the risks of the specific nuclear power plant. (Author)

  9. Spa treatment of Chernobyl liquidators in Israel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Godovich, A.; Chernovskij, A.; Lyass, F.; Shapiro, I.; Kratov, Eh.; Markarov, G.

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents the first experience gained in the use of the unique climate and spa of the Dead Sea for the treatment and rehabilitation of the Chernobyl liquidators at clinic near the city of Arad. Ninety-six patients were treated in Israel, in 40 of these radiation was the etiological factor of the disease: consequences of acute and chronic radiation disease, the astheno-neurotic syndrome, discirculatory encephalopathy, subatrophic laryngopharyngitis, and obstructive bronchitis. Eighty-eight patients had direct indications for treatment at the Dad Sea; locomotory, respiratory, and skin diseases. The course of treatment included the Dad Sea baths, mud applications, sun baths, climatotherapy, physiotherapy, massage, bioenergy therapy, inhalations, moisturizing creams, etc. An appreciable improvement with resolution of the principal symptoms was attained in 82% of patients, in 13% improvement with a significant abatement of the symptoms was achieved, whereas in 5% no apparent results were seen

  10. Combined spa-exercise therapy is effective in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a randomized controlled trial

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Tubergen, A.; Landewé, R.; van der Heijde, D.; Hidding, A.; Wolter, N.; Asscher, M.; Falkenbach, A.; Genth, E.; Thè, H. G.; van der Linden, S.

    2001-01-01

    To determine the efficacy of combined spa-exercise therapy in addition to standard treatment with drugs and weekly group physical therapy in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). A total of 120 Dutch outpatients with AS were randomly allocated into 3 groups of 40 patients each. Group 1 (mean

  11. Ultrasonography assessment of heel entheses in patients with spondyloarthritis: a comparative study with magnetic resonance imaging and conventional radiography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguila Maldonado, Rodrigo; Ruta, Santiago; Valuntas, María Laura; García, Mercedes

    2017-08-01

    The aim of the present study was to determine the agreement between ultrasonography (US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and conventional radiography (CR) in the detection of findings indicative of enthesopathy in spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients. A cross-sectional study was performed in 40 SpA patients. Heel entheses (Achilles tendon and plantar fascia) were bilaterally examined by US, MRI, and CR. The three imaging modalities were carried out by three independent operators blinded to the other imaging modality data. Soft tissue abnormalities indicative of enthesopathy as thickening, structural changes, and bursitis were assessed by both US and MRI, and cortical bone abnormalities indicative of enthesopathy as erosions and enthesophytes were assessed by the three imaging modalities. The unweighted kappa values between US and MRI were 0.80, 0.66, 0.69, 0.70, and 0.70 for thickening, structural changes, bursitis, enthesophytes, and bone erosions, respectively. With respect to the detection of enthesophytes, the unweighted kappa values between CR and both US and MRI were 0.78 and 0.76, respectively. At last, for the recognition of bone erosions, the unweighted kappa values between CR and both US and MRI were 0.38 and 0.45, respectively. Using MRI as standard reference method, US was more sensitive with respect to CR revealing bone erosions. The present study provides evidence about the high overall agreement between US and MRI for all abnormal comparable findings at entheseal level and between US, MRI, and CR for the detection of enthesophytes in SpA patients.

  12. Constructing a Professional: Gendered Knowledge in the (Self-)Positioning of Skin and Spa Therapy Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bredlöv, Eleonor

    2017-01-01

    This study outlines the self-positioning of skin and spa therapy students. More specifically, it focuses how they position themselves as professionals in terms of knowledge, and how gender is at play throughout this process. Drawing on a poststructural approach, inspired by Foucault and feminist theory, regularities of description and…

  13. Tourism of Krapinske Toplice Spa - present position and possibilities of Its development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martina Jakovčić

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents present state of development of tourism in Krapinske Toplice Spa and possibilities of further development from the geographical point of view. Natural, socio-economical, cultural and historical components of the area are analysed. Special attention is given to development of health tourism and its impact on the development of other types of tourism. Paper explains the main reason of slower tourist development of Krapinske Toplice in comparison to other spas in the region.

  14. 76 FR 7694 - Airworthiness Directives; PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A Model PIAGGIO P-180 Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-11

    ... Airworthiness Directives; PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A Model PIAGGIO P-180 Airplanes AGENCY: Federal Aviation... Piaggio service bulletin number specified in the Alternative Methods of Compliance (AMOCs) section is..., except Federal holidays. The AD docket contains this AD, the regulatory evaluation, any comments received...

  15. Cost-effectiveness and efficacy of spa, SCCmec, and PVL genotyping of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as compared to pulsed-field gel Electrophoresis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent Li

    Full Text Available Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE is a valuable molecular typing assay used for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA surveillance and genotyping. However, there are several limitations associated with PFGE. In Alberta, Canada, the significant increase in the number of MRSA isolates submitted to the Provincial Laboratory for Public Health (ProvLab for PFGE typing led to the need for an alternative genotyping method. In this study, we describe the transition from PFGE to Staphylococcus protein A (spa, Staphylococcal cassette chromosome (SCCmec, and Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL typing. A total of 1915 clinical MRSA isolates collected from 2005 to 2009 were used to develop and validate an algorithm for assigning PFGE epidemic types using spa, SCCmec, and PVL typing and the resulting data was used to populate a new Alberta MRSA typing database. An additional 12620 clinical MRSA isolates collected from 2010 to 2012 as part of ongoing routine molecular testing at ProvLab were characterized using the new typing algorithm and the Alberta MRSA typing database. Switching to spa, SCCmec, and PVL from PFGE typing substantially reduced hands-on and turn-around times while maintaining historical PFGE epidemic type designations. This led to an approximate $77,000 reduction in costs from 2010 to 2012. PFGE typing is still required for a small subset of MRSA isolates that have spa types that are rare, novel, or associated with more than one PFGE epidemic type.

  16. Family-based transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) and case-control association studies reveal surfactant protein A (SP-A) susceptibility alleles for respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and possible race differences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Floros, J.; Fan, R.; Matthews, A.; DiAngelo, S.; Luo, J.; Nielsen, H.; Dunn, M.; Gewolb, I. H.; Koppe, J.; Van Sonderen, L.; Farri-Kostopoulos, L.; Tzaki, M.; Rämet, M.; Merrill, J.

    2001-01-01

    A key cause of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in the prematurely born infant is deficiency of pulmonary surfactant, a lipoprotein complex. Both low levels of surfactant protein A (SP-A) and SP-A alleles have been associated with RDS. Using the candidate gene approach, we performed family-based

  17. LHC suppliers win Golden Hadron awards : Sandro Ferraris and Guiseppi Ginola from Simic SpA

    CERN Multimedia

    Maximilien Brice

    2004-01-01

    Simic SpA (Italy) received its award for manufacturing the vacuum vessels for the superconducting dipoles. The 937 blue cylinders manufactured by Simic will provide the thermal insulation for the magnets. Measuring 15 metres in length and 1 metre in diameter, they are designed to withstand a vacuum of 10-4 Pa.

  18. A new silver based composite material for SPA water disinfection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tartanson, M A; Soussan, L; Rivallin, M; Chis, C; Penaranda, D; Lapergue, R; Calmels, P; Faur, C

    2014-10-15

    A new composite material based on alumina (Al2O3) modified by two surface nanocoatings - titanium dioxide (TiO2) and silver (Ag) - was studied for spa water disinfection. Regarding the most common microorganisms in bathing waters, two non-pathogenic bacteria Escherichia coli (Gram-negative) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (Gram positive) were selected as surrogates for bacterial contamination. The bactericidal properties of the Al2O3-TiO2-Ag material were demonstrated under various operating conditions encountered in spa water (temperature: 22-37 °C, presence of salt: CaCO3 or CaCl2, high oxygen content, etc.). Total removal of 10(8) CFU mL(-1) of bacteria was obtained in less than 10 min with 16 g L(-1) of material. Best results were observed for both conditions: a temperature of 37 °C and under aerobic condition; this latest favouring Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) generation. The CaCO3 salt had no impact on the bactericidal activity of the composite material and CaCl2 considerably stabilized the silver desorption from the material surface thanks to the formation of AgCl precipitate. Preliminary tests of the Al2O3-TiO2-Ag bactericidal behaviour in a continuous water flow confirmed that 2 g L(-1) of material eliminated more than 90% of a 2.0 × 10(8) CFU mL(-1) bacterial mixture after one water treatment recycle and reached the disinfection standard recommended by EPA (coliform removal = 6 log) within 22 h. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Tool for efficient intermodulation analysis using conventional HB packages

    OpenAIRE

    Vannini, G.; Filicori, F.; Traverso, P.

    1999-01-01

    A simple and efficient approach is proposed for the intermodulation analysis of nonlinear microwave circuits. The algorithm, which is based on a very mild assumption about the frequency response of the linear part of the circuit, allows for a reduction in computing time and memory requirement. Moreover. It can be easily implemented using any conventional tool for harmonic-balance circuit analysis

  20. 75 FR 22512 - Airworthiness Directives; Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. Model PIAGGIO P-180 Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-29

    ... Airworthiness Directives; Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. Model PIAGGIO P-180 Airplanes AGENCY: Federal Aviation... presence of potential ignition sources such as electrical equipment and connectors. As a consequence, this..., agree with their substance. But we might have found it necessary to use different words from those in...

  1. 75 FR 67639 - Airworthiness Directives; Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A Model PIAGGIO P-180 Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-03

    ... Friday, except Federal holidays. For service information identified in this proposed AD, contact Piaggio... Piaggio Aero Industries have issued service information (referred to after this as ``the MCAI''), to... Information Piaggio Aero Industries S.p.A. has issued Service Bulletin (Mandatory) N.: SB 80-0275, Rev. N. 0...

  2. [The psychological security in the framework of the system of factors responsible for the effectiveness of spa and health resort-based rehabilitation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krasnyanskaya, T M; Tylets, V G

    The present work was designed to address the problem of ensuring the psychological security in the framework of organization of the rehabilitative treatment based at the spa and health resort facilities. We undertook the questionnaire study for which 650 subjects were recruited among those attending spa and health resort facilities of the cities of Essentuki and Kislovodsk. The participants were asked to estimate the level of their personal security and the quality of the provided means for the rehabilitative treatment and general health improvement. It was found that as many as 43% of the respondents reported the moderate level of psychological security whereas about 30% of them estimated the level of their psychological security as low. Overall, the attitude toward the available means for health improvement and rehabilitation proved extremely variable. The factorial analysis has demonstrated the highly subjective opinions of the responders as regards the provided services categorized in terms of therapeutic (mineral water, preformed physical factors, peloid and dietary therapy), health improvement (herbal medicine, therapeutic physical training, therapy, bioclimatic therapy), and recreational (animation, excursion and touristic activities) factors. The value of these factors was perceived differently by the vacationers with different feelings of psychological security. Those reporting the high level of psychological security demonstrated the positive attitude toward all factors and circumstances available for the general improvement of the health status whereas the holidaymakers reporting the moderate level of personal psychological security exhibited the non-equivalent attitude toward the provided services; namely, they highly estimated the available therapeutic factors but either underestimated the value of the constituent components of the health improving and recreational factors or demonstrated the very selective attitude toward their assessment. Generally

  3. Examining Combinations of Social Physique Anxiety and Motivation Regulations Using Latent Profile Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ullrich-French, Sarah; Cox, Anne E.; Cooper, Brittany Rhoades

    2016-01-01

    Previous research has used cluster analysis to examine how social physique anxiety (SPA) combines with motivation in physical education. This study utilized a more advanced analytic approach, latent profile analysis (LPA), to identify profiles of SPA and motivation regulations. Students in grades 9-12 (N = 298) completed questionnaires at two time…

  4. 76 FR 62605 - Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act; Interpretation of Unblockable Drain

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-11

    ... the VGB Act defines an ``unblockable drain'' as ``a drain of any size and shape that a human body... intentions. They claim that for this reason, backup systems are necessary, and a swimming pool or spa with a... of an ``unblockable drain,'' at 16 CFR 1450.2(b) and believe it was in error. Regardless of the size...

  5. Evaluasi Hasil Implementasi the Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking Sub-regional Plan of Action (Commit Spa) Dalam Menangani Human Trafficking Di Thailand Periode 2011-2013

    OpenAIRE

    Rahmahwati, Isti Nur; Windiani, Reni; Putranti, Ika Riswanti

    2015-01-01

    Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, China, Vietnam, and Cambodia createdCOMMIT and COMMIT SPA. During COMMIT SPAimplementation period 2011-2013, the number of human traffickingincreased in Thailand. Most of human trafficking victims in Thailandare exploited into sexual exploitation and forced labor. The studyaims to analyze causes of human trafficking increased duringCOMMIT SPA implementation. The study result is the increase ofhuman trafficking is caused by Thailand's interests by using sextrafficking ...

  6. LHC suppliers win Golden Hadron awards : Gianfranco Malvestiti and Ernesto Malvestiti de Ernesto Malvestiti SpA (Italie)

    CERN Multimedia

    Maximilien Brice

    2004-01-01

    Ernesto Malvestiti SpA (Italy) is the main manufacturer of the metal collars needed to ensure the rigidity of the superconducting dipoles. The firm was awarded its prize in recognition of the central role it played during the transition from aluminium to stainless-steel collars.

  7. Comparison of conventional and digital cephalometric analysis: A pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hemlata Bhagwan Tanwani

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of the study was to analyze and compare the manual cephalometric tracings with computerized cephalometric tracings using Burstone hard tissue analysis and McNamara analysis. Materials and Methods: Conventional lateral cephalograms of 20 subjects were obtained and manually traced. The radiographs were subsequently scanned and digitized using Dolphin Imaging software version 11.7. McNamara analysis and Burstone hard tissue analysis were performed by both conventional and digital method. No differentiations were made for age or gender. Data were subjected to statistical analysis. Statistical analysis was undertaken using SPSS 17.0 version (Chicago, Illinois, USA statistical software program. A paired t-test was used to detect differences between the manual and digital methods. Statistical significance was set at the P < 0.05 level of confidence. Results: (A From Burstone analysis variables N-Pg II Hp show statistically very significant difference, and ANS-N, U1-NF, N-B II Hp, L1-Mp, and Go-Pg shows the statistically significant difference. (B From McNamara analysis variables Nasolabial angle and L1-APog show statistically significant differences and the Mandibular length shows the statistically very significant difference. Conclusion: According to this study, is reasonable to conclude that the manual and digital tracings show the statistically significant difference.

  8. Characterization of Si(112) and In/Si(112) studied by SPA-LEED

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoecker, Jan; Speckmann, Moritz; Schmidt, Thomas; Falta, Jens [Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen (Germany)

    2010-07-01

    High index surfaces are of strong interest in todays research because of the possibility to grow low dimensional structures. It has for instance already been shown that the adsorption of Ga can induce the formation of 1D metal chains on Si(112) (cf. Snijders et al., PRB 72, 2005). In this work we investigated the clean Si(112) surface and the adsorption of In on Si(112) to establish an analogy to Ga/Si(112) using spot profile analyzing low energy electron diffraction (SPA-LEED). By means of reciprocal space mapping we determined the bare Si(112) surface to be decomposed into alternating (5512) and (111) facets in [1 anti 10] direction with (2 x 1) and (7 x 7) reconstruction, respectively (cf. Baski et al., Surf. Sci. 392, 1997). With SPA-LEED we were able to observe the decreasing intensity of the facet spots in-situ while depositing In on Si(112) and thus reveal the smoothening of the surface due to the deposition of In. At saturation coverage we found a (3.x1) reconstruction, where x is dependent on the deposition temperature and changes from x=7 at 400 C to x=5 at 500 C. This leads us to the assumption that the reconstruction is not incommensurate but a mixture of (3 x 1) and (4 x 1) building blocks, which is very similar to the super structure of Ga on Si(112).

  9. Solar-energy-system performance-evaluation update: Wood Road School, Ballston Spa, New York, October 1982-April 1983

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kendall, P

    1983-01-01

    The Wood Road School Solar Project is a 216,000 square foot combined elementary and middle school in Ballston Spa, New York. The solar energy system supplies energy to the space heating and domestic hot water subsystems. Heat is collected by flat plate collector panels and stored in two storage tanks. Performance data are given for the system overall and for each of the four subsystems - energy collection, storage, space heating, and domestic hot water. Data are also provided on operating energy, energy savings, and weather conditions. Design and actual system solar fraction are compared, and percentage of incident solar energy and collected solar energy utilized are given. Also given are building loads analysis, system thermal losses, and system coefficient of performance. (LEW)

  10. [The spa and resort-based health-promoting treatment of the vehicle drivers suffering from duodenal ulcer disease: the effectiveness and safety].

    Science.gov (United States)

    El'garov, A A; Kalmykova, M A; El'garova, R M; Betuganova, L V; El'garov, M A

    2015-01-01

    To evaluate the effectiveness and the safety of the spa and resort-based health-promoting treatment of the vehicle drivers (VD) presenting with duodenal ulcer disease. A total of 67 men suffering from duodenal ulcer disease (DUD) were allocated to two groups. The patients of group 1 (n = 35) were given the courses of balneotherapy that included bromine-iodine mineral baths with a temperature of 36-37 degrees C (8-9 procedures 10-15 min long each every second day) in combination with 8-9 peloid applications to the epigastric region (temperature 38-40 degrees C for 10-15 min every second day). The patients of group 2 (n = 32) were given the similar courses of therapy that included nitric thermal mineral baths with a temperature of 36-37 degrees C (8-9 procedures 10-15 min long each every second day) in combination with 8-9 peloid applications to the epigastric region (38-40 degrees C for 10-15 min every second day). The effectiveness and safety of these balenotherapeutic procedures for the treatment of duodenal ulcer disease in the subjects of the study and control (n = 47) groups were evaluated based on the results of the routine clinical and endoscopic examination, psychological and psychophysiological tests, and the comparative analysis of medical aid appeal-ability and disability cases during twelve months. Dynamics of clinical and instrumental characteristics (subjective, objective, clinical, endoscopic, psychophysiological) suggested the improvement of the health status in 88.6% and 84.4% of the drivers with duodenum ulcer in the two study groups respectively. Some of the patients comprising group 1 showed significant negative dynamics of the operative reaction system while the patients of group 2 demonstrated the marked improvement of the professionally significant functions and properties (PSF&P). The comparative analysis of medical aid appealability, disability cases, frequency of relapses and complications revealed the favorable clinical course of duodenal

  11. SP-A-enriched surfactant for treatment of rat lung transplants with SP-A deficiency after storage and reperfusion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Erasmus, ME; Hofstede, GJH; Petersen, AH; Batenburg, JJ; Haagsman, HP; Oetomo, SB; Prop, J

    2002-01-01

    Background. The function of pulmonary surfactant is affected by lung transplantation, contributing to impaired lung transplant function. A decreased amount of surfactant protein-A (SP-A) after reperfusion is believed to contribute to the impaired surfactant function. Surfactant treatment has been

  12. [Spa-based water procedures and complications in the course of their performance].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persiianova-Dubrova, A L; Badalov, N G; L'vova, N V; Krikorova, S A; Tupitsyna, Iu Iu; Uianaeva, A I; Barashkov, G N; Povazhnaia, E L

    2010-01-01

    The scope of applications of spa-based water procedures have become considerably extended during the recent years; accordingly, the frequency of complications and accidents has increased. The present review considers the possible mechanisms underlying such complications and various factors promoting their development, such as the patients' age and chronic diseases, the use of pharmaceutical products affecting thermoregulation and cardiovascular function. Special attention is given to the influence of alcohol consumption on the frequency of complications, accidents, and sudden death associated with hyperthermal procedures, the possibility of infectious diseases and measures necessary for their prevention.

  13. Description of the behavior of an aquifer by using continuous radon monitoring in a thermal spa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sainz, Carlos, E-mail: sainzc@unican.es; Rábago, Daniel; Fuente, Ismael; Celaya, Santiago; Quindós, Luis Santiago

    2016-02-01

    Radon ({sup 222}Rn) levels in air and water have been analyzed continuously for almost a year in Las Caldas de Besaya thermal spa, north Spain. Radon is a naturally occurring noble gas from the decay of radium ({sup 226}Ra) both constituents of radioactive uranium 238 series. It has been recognized as a lung carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Furthermore the Royal Decree R.D 1439/2010 of November, 2010 establishes the obligation to study occupational activities where workers and, where appropriate, members of the public are exposed to inhalation of radon in workplaces such as spas. Together with radon measures several physico-chemical parameters were obtained such as pH, redox potential, electrical conductivity and air and water temperature. The devices used for the study of the temporal evolution of radon concentration have been the RTM 2100, the Radon Scout and gamma spectrometry was complementarily used to determine the transfer factor of the silicone tubes in the experimental device. Radon concentrations obtained in water and air of the spa are high, with an average of 660 Bq/l and 2900 Bq/m{sup 3} respectively, where water is the main source of radon in the air. Radiation dose for workers and public was estimated from these levels of radon. The data showed that the thermal processes can control the behavior of radon which can be also influenced by various physical and chemical parameters such as pH and redox potential. - Highlights: • Radon in water is the major source of indoor air radon concentration in thermal facilities. • Radon in water has been used to characterize the origin of water used for treatments in a spa. • Preliminary dose assessment from radon exposure has been performed.

  14. Description of the behavior of an aquifer by using continuous radon monitoring in a thermal spa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sainz, Carlos; Rábago, Daniel; Fuente, Ismael; Celaya, Santiago; Quindós, Luis Santiago

    2016-01-01

    Radon ( 222 Rn) levels in air and water have been analyzed continuously for almost a year in Las Caldas de Besaya thermal spa, north Spain. Radon is a naturally occurring noble gas from the decay of radium ( 226 Ra) both constituents of radioactive uranium 238 series. It has been recognized as a lung carcinogen by the World Health Organization (WHO) and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Furthermore the Royal Decree R.D 1439/2010 of November, 2010 establishes the obligation to study occupational activities where workers and, where appropriate, members of the public are exposed to inhalation of radon in workplaces such as spas. Together with radon measures several physico-chemical parameters were obtained such as pH, redox potential, electrical conductivity and air and water temperature. The devices used for the study of the temporal evolution of radon concentration have been the RTM 2100, the Radon Scout and gamma spectrometry was complementarily used to determine the transfer factor of the silicone tubes in the experimental device. Radon concentrations obtained in water and air of the spa are high, with an average of 660 Bq/l and 2900 Bq/m 3 respectively, where water is the main source of radon in the air. Radiation dose for workers and public was estimated from these levels of radon. The data showed that the thermal processes can control the behavior of radon which can be also influenced by various physical and chemical parameters such as pH and redox potential. - Highlights: • Radon in water is the major source of indoor air radon concentration in thermal facilities. • Radon in water has been used to characterize the origin of water used for treatments in a spa. • Preliminary dose assessment from radon exposure has been performed.

  15. 76 FR 4056 - Airworthiness Directives; PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A Model PIAGGIO P-180 Airplanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-24

    ..., is considered the State of Design for PIAGGIO AERO INDUSTRIES S.p.A Model PIAGGIO P- 180 airplanes. A... ensuring that the drain lines of the environmental unit condenser are not clogged. Since AD 2007-24-15... condition described previously is likely to exist or develop in other products of the same type design. AD...

  16. Conference on Techniques of Nuclear and Conventional Analysis and Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2012-01-01

    Full text : With their wide scope, particularly in the areas of environment, geology, mining, industry and life sciences; analysis techniques are of great importance in research as fundamental and applied. The Conference on Techniques for Nuclear and Conventional Analysis and Applications (TANCA) are Registered in the national strategy of opening of the University and national research centers on their local, national and international levels. This conference aims to: Promoting nuclear and conventional analytical techniques; Contribute to the creation of synergy between the different players involved in these techniques include, Universities, Research Organizations, Regulatory Authorities, Economic Operators, NGOs and others; Inform and educate potential users of the performance of these techniques; Strengthen exchanges and links between researchers, industry and policy makers; Implement a program of inter-laboratory comparison between Moroccan one hand, and their foreign counterparts on the other; Contribute to the research training of doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars. Given the relevance and importance of the issues related to environment and impact on cultural heritage, this fourth edition of TANCA is devoted to the application of analytical techniques for conventional and nuclear Questions ied to environment and its impact on cultural heritage.

  17. THE INFLUENCE OF CROSS-TRAINING DUE TO SPA TREATMENT IN CURRING FUNCTIONAL NEUROTIC DISORDERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rade Stefanović

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Modern civilization moves to endless automation and mechanization. This fact, in one hand, has positive effect on increase of life standard, but also carries its own risks and threats of mankind. Axelberg, famous academician, makes an interesting remark that only a hundred years ago man did 96 % of his work by himself, while today most manufacturing processes are 100% automated. Stress, lack of physical activity and bad food regime are canses of organic damages of cardiopulmonary system. Latest research, conducted in many countries, shows that for proper functioning of every organism the minimum of moving is necessary.Term neurosis was introduced in medical literature by Scottish doctor W. Cullen in 1777. By that term were considered different clinical appearances which are believed neurotic todey, but also the phenomena today considered as psychosomatic disorders of character and behavior. Pavlov’s reflexive theory is basic in treatment of some types of neurossis’ during spa treatments in Nerečinska Banja. It usually starts at the beginning of May and ends in October, but sometimes if weather is nice, it can last until the middle of November. The treatment cure last tventy-one day, doesn’t include medicaments, but only spa water, baths and massage.

  18. Light and the E3 ubiquitin ligase COP1/SPA control the protein stability of the MYB transcription factors PAP1 and PAP2 involved in anthocyanin accumulation in Arabidopsis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maier, Alexander; Schrader, Andrea; Kokkelink, Leonie; Falke, Christian; Welter, Bastian; Iniesto, Elisa; Rubio, Vicente; Uhrig, Joachim F; Hülskamp, Martin; Hoecker, Ute

    2013-05-01

    Anthocyanins are natural pigments that accumulate only in light-grown and not in dark-grown Arabidopsis plants. Repression of anthocyanin accumulation in darkness requires the CONSTITUTIVELY PHOTOMORPHOGENIC1/SUPPRESSOR OF PHYA-105 (COP1/SPA) ubiquitin ligase, as cop1 and spa mutants produce anthocyanins also in the dark. Here, we show that COP1 and SPA proteins interact with the myeloblastosis (MYB) transcription factors PRODUCTION OF ANTHOCYANIN PIGMENT1 (PAP)1 and PAP2, two members of a small protein family that is required for anthocyanin accumulation and for the expression of structural genes in the anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway. The increased anthocyanin levels in cop1 mutants requires the PAP1 gene family, indicating that COP1 functions upstream of the PAP1 gene family. PAP1 and PAP2 proteins are degraded in the dark and this degradation is dependent on the proteasome and on COP1. Hence, the light requirement for anthocyanin biosynthesis results, at least in part, from the light-mediated stabilization of PAP1 and PAP2. Consistent with this conclusion, moderate overexpression of PAP1 leads to an increase in anthocyanin levels only in the light and not in darkness. Here we show that SPA genes are also required for reducing PAP1 and PAP2 transcript levels in dark-grown seedlings. Taken together, these results indicate that the COP1/SPA complex affects PAP1 and PAP2 both transcriptionally and post-translationally. Thus, our findings have identified mechanisms via which the COP1/SPA complex controls anthocyanin levels in Arabidopsis that may be useful for applications in biotechnology directed towards increasing anthocyanin content in plants. © 2013 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  19. Single Piezo-Actuator Rotary-Hammering (SPaRH) Drill

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sherrit, Stewart (Inventor); Bao, Xiaoqi (Inventor); Badescu, Mircea (Inventor); Bar-Cohen, Yoseph (Inventor)

    2014-01-01

    A Single Piezo-Actuator Rotary-Hammering (SPaRH) Drill includes a horn actuator having high power piezoelectric materials and a flexure pre-stress to increase the actuators effectiveness. The drill is a low mass, low power, compact coring drill measuring 20-cm high by 7-cm diameter and having a total weight of 2 kg including drive electronics. Using an average power of 50-Watts, the drill basalt is expected to cut basalt at a rate of 0.2 cm/min down to depth of 10-cm and create cuttings and an intact core. The drill is expected to operate under different environments including Martian ambient (6 Torr and down to -50 degree C), and liquid nitrogen temperatures (77 K) and low pressure (<<1 Torr) to simulate lunar polar and Europa conditions. Materials expected to be sampled include Kaolinite, Saddleback Basalt, Limestone, Volcanic Breccia, Siltstone, ice, permafrost and layered rocks with different hardness.

  20. spa Typing and Multilocus Sequence Typing Show Comparable Performance in a Macroepidemiologic Study of Staphylococcus aureus in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Hara, F Patrick; Suaya, Jose A; Ray, G Thomas; Baxter, Roger; Brown, Megan L; Mera, Robertino M; Close, Nicole M; Thomas, Elizabeth; Amrine-Madsen, Heather

    2016-01-01

    A number of molecular typing methods have been developed for characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates. The utility of these systems depends on the nature of the investigation for which they are used. We compared two commonly used methods of molecular typing, multilocus sequence typing (MLST) (and its clustering algorithm, Based Upon Related Sequence Type [BURST]) with the staphylococcal protein A (spa) typing (and its clustering algorithm, Based Upon Repeat Pattern [BURP]), to assess the utility of these methods for macroepidemiology and evolutionary studies of S. aureus in the United States. We typed a total of 366 clinical isolates of S. aureus by these methods and evaluated indices of diversity and concordance values. Our results show that, when combined with the BURP clustering algorithm to delineate clonal lineages, spa typing produces results that are highly comparable with those produced by MLST/BURST. Therefore, spa typing is appropriate for use in macroepidemiology and evolutionary studies and, given its lower implementation cost, this method appears to be more efficient. The findings are robust and are consistent across different settings, patient ages, and specimen sources. Our results also support a model in which the methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) population in the United States comprises two major lineages (USA300 and USA100), which each consist of closely related variants.

  1. 75 FR 65263 - Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act; Public Accommodation; Withdrawal of Proposed Rule

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-22

    ...'' or ``Act'') as ``an inn, hotel, motel, or other place of lodging, except for an establishment located... interpretive rule to interpret ``public accommodations facility'' in the VGB Act as ``an inn, hotel, motel, or... CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION 16 CFR Part 1450 Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act...

  2. Creation of lung-targeted dexamethasone immunoliposome and its therapeutic effect on bleomycin-induced lung injury in rats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xue-Yuan Chen

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: Acute lung injury (ALI, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality, which is routinely treated with the administration of systemic glucocorticoids. The current study investigated the distribution and therapeutic effect of a dexamethasone(DXM-loaded immunoliposome (NLP functionalized with pulmonary surfactant protein A (SP-A antibody (SPA-DXM-NLP in an animal model. METHODS: DXM-NLP was prepared using film dispersion combined with extrusion techniques. SP-A antibody was used as the lung targeting agent. Tissue distribution of SPA-DXM-NLP was investigated in liver, spleen, kidney and lung tissue. The efficacy of SPA-DXM-NLP against lung injury was assessed in a rat model of bleomycin-induced acute lung injury. RESULTS: The SPA-DXM-NLP complex was successfully synthesized and the particles were stable at 4°C. Pulmonary dexamethasone levels were 40 times higher with SPA-DXM-NLP than conventional dexamethasone injection. Administration of SPA-DXM-NLP significantly attenuated lung injury and inflammation, decreased incidence of infection, and increased survival in animal models. CONCLUSIONS: The administration of SPA-DXM-NLP to animal models resulted in increased levels of DXM in the lungs, indicating active targeting. The efficacy against ALI of the immunoliposomes was shown to be superior to conventional dexamethasone administration. These results demonstrate the potential of actively targeted glucocorticoid therapy in the treatment of lung disease in clinical practice.

  3. A checklist to assess the quality of reports on spa therapy and balneotherapy trials was developed using the Delphi consensus method: the SPAC checklist.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamioka, Hiroharu; Kawamura, Yoichi; Tsutani, Kiichiro; Maeda, Masaharu; Hayasaka, Shinya; Okuizum, Hiroyasu; Okada, Shinpei; Honda, Takuya; Iijima, Yuichi

    2013-08-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop a checklist of items that describes and measures the quality of reports of interventional trials assessing spa therapy. The Delphi consensus method was used to select the number of items in the checklist. A total of eight individuals participated, including an epidemiologist, a clinical research methodologist, clinical researchers, a medical journalist, and a health fitness programmer. Participants ranked on a 9-point Likert scale whether an item should be included in the checklist. Three rounds of the Delphi method were conducted to achieve consensus. The final checklist contained 19 items, with items related to title, place of implementation (specificity of spa), care provider influence, and additional measures to minimize the potential bias from withdrawals, loss to follow-up, and low treatment adherence. This checklist is simple and quick to complete, and should help clinicians and researchers critically appraise the medical and healthcare literature, reviewers assess the quality of reports included in systematic reviews, and researchers plan interventional trials of spa therapy. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Brote de legionelosis asociado a un balneario Legionella outbreak at a spa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Serrano Ibarbia

    2001-06-01

    , developed pneumonia or a clinical sindrome compatible with that of Pontiac fever (EIC-9.The environmental study included spa and surrounds, and samples of the sanitary water systems and all water therapy elements.12.5% of the 278 people surveyed in the Basque Autonomous Community matched the case definition. 9 had pneumonia and 27 Pontiac fever. The epidemic curve began on May 7th, peaked on May 14th and 15th, and finalized on the 20th. The risk of illness adjusted according to age, sex and tobacco consumption was associated with the length of stay at the spa (RR=118.5, 95% C.I.: 18.7-750.2 and with swimming-pool use. Serogroup 1 L. pneumophila was detected in counts above 103 ufc/l at different points in the water therapy system and in the shower in the room of one patient. The pulsed field gel eletrophoresis analysis of one of the biological samples and environmental samples allowed genotypic confirmation. The establishment was reopened to the public after emergency treatment was carried out and confirm that after 15 days no L. pneumophila had been detected in the environmental samples.

  5. High frequency of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus with SCCmec type III and Spa types t037 and t631 isolated from burn patients in southwest of Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parhizgari, Najmeh; Khoramrooz, Seyed Sajjad; Malek Hosseini, Seyed Ali Asghar; Marashifard, Masoud; Yazdanpanah, Mahboobeh; Emaneini, Mohammad; Gharibpour, Farzaneh; Mirzaii, Mehdi; Darban-Sarokhalil, Davood; Moein, Masoud; Naraki, Mahmood

    2016-03-01

    Methicilin resistance Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are the major challenges in hospitals, especially in the burn units. The use of molecular typing methods is essential for tracking the spread of S. aureus infection and epidemiological investigations. The aim of this study was to find the profile of the spa types and also the prevalence of each SCCmec type of S. aureus strains in a central burn hospital in southwest of Iran. A total of 81 non-duplicate S. aureus were isolated from burn patients between April 2011 and February 2012. The susceptibility of the isolates against 13 different antibiotics was tested by disk agar diffusion (DAD) method. MRSA strains were identified by amplification of mecA gene. Multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique was used to determine the SCCmec types of MRSA strains and all the S. aureus isolates were typed by spa typing method. Detection of mecA gene showed that 70 (86.4%) of the isolates were MRSA. The highest rate of resistance was observed for penicillin (97.5%) and erythromycin (77.8%). None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin. Sixty-seven of the 70 MRSA isolates harbored only SCCmec type III and three untypeable isolates. Five different spa types were detected. The most common spa types were t037 (42.5%) and t631 (34.5%) and were only found in MRSA isolates. Only SCCmec type III was found in burn patients which emphasizes the HA-MRSA origin of these strains. Only five different spa types identified in this study are in accordance with one SCCmec type which indicates that a limited number of bacterial colons are circulated in the burn unit in this hospital. © 2015 APMIS. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Digital vs conventional radiography: cost and revenue analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dalla Palma, L.; Cuttin, R.; Rimondini, A.; Grisi, G.

    1999-01-01

    The objective of this study was to analyse and compare the operating and investment costs of two radiographic systems, a conventional and a digital one, and to evaluate the cost/revenue ratio of the two systems. The radiological activity over 1 year for chest and skeletal exams was evaluated: 13,401 chest and 7,124 skeletal exams were considered. The following parameters of variable costs were evaluated: the difference between variable proportional costs of the two technologies, the effective variable cost of any size film, including the chemicals, and for different sizes of digital film, variable costs of chest plus skeletal exams performed with the two techniques. Afterwards the economical effect was considered taking into account depreciation during a time of utilization ranging between 8 and 4 years. In the second part of the analysis the total cost and the revenues of the two technologies were determined. The comparison between the digital and conventional systems has shown the following aspects: 1. Digital radiography system has a much higher investment cost in comparison with the conventional one. 2. Operating costs of digital equipment are higher or lower depending on the film size used. Evaluating chest X-ray we reach a breakeven point after 1 year and 10,000 exams only if displayed over 8 x 10-in. film and after 30,000 if displayed over a 11 x 14-in. film. 3. The total cost (variable cost, technology cost, labour cost) of digital technology is lower than that of the conventional system by 20 % on average using 8 x 10-in. film size. 4. Digital technology also allows lesser film waste and lesser film per exam (orig.)

  7. Interphase Chromosome Profiling: A Method for Conventional Banded Chromosome Analysis Using Interphase Nuclei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babu, Ramesh; Van Dyke, Daniel L; Dev, Vaithilingam G; Koduru, Prasad; Rao, Nagesh; Mitter, Navnit S; Liu, Mingya; Fuentes, Ernesto; Fuentes, Sarah; Papa, Stephen

    2018-02-01

    - Chromosome analysis on bone marrow or peripheral blood samples fails in a small proportion of attempts. A method that is more reliable, with similar or better resolution, would be a welcome addition to the armamentarium of the cytogenetics laboratory. - To develop a method similar to banded metaphase chromosome analysis that relies only on interphase nuclei. - To label multiple targets in an equidistant fashion along the entire length of each chromosome, including landmark subtelomere and centromere regions. Each label so generated by using cloned bacterial artificial chromosome probes is molecularly distinct with unique spectral characteristics, so the number and position of the labels can be tracked to identify chromosome abnormalities. - Interphase chromosome profiling (ICP) demonstrated results similar to conventional chromosome analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization in 55 previously studied cases and obtained useful ICP chromosome analysis results on another 29 cases in which conventional methods failed. - ICP is a new and powerful method to karyotype peripheral blood and bone marrow aspirate preparations without reliance on metaphase chromosome preparations. It will be of particular value for cases with a failed conventional analysis or when a fast turnaround time is required.

  8. Positive and cost-effectiveness effect of spa therapy on the resumption of occupational and non-occupational activities in women in breast cancer remission: a French multicentre randomised controlled trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mourgues, Charline; Gerbaud, Laurent; Leger, Stéphanie; Auclair, Candy; Peyrol, Fleur; Blanquet, Marie; Kwiatkowski, Fabrice; Leger-Enreille, Anne; Bignon, Yves-Jean

    2014-10-01

    The main aim was to assess the effects of a spa treatment on the resumption of occupational and non-occupational activities and the abilities of women in breast cancer remission. A cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) was also performed. A multicentre randomised controlled trial was carried out between 2008 and 2010 in the University Hospital of Auvergne and two private hospitals in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Eligible patients were women in complete breast cancer remission without contraindication for physical activities or cognitive disorders and a body mass index between 18.5 and 40 kg/m(2). The intervention group underwent spa treatment combined with consultation with dietician whereas the control underwent consultations with the dietician only. Of the 181 patients randomised, 92 and 89 were included in the intervention and the control groups, respectively. The CEA involved 90 patients, 42 from the intervention group and 48 from the control group. The main results showed a higher rate of resumption of occupational activities in the intervention group (p = 0.0025) and a positive effect of the intervention on the women's ability to perform occupational activities 12 months after the beginning of the study (p = 0.0014), and on their ability to perform family activities (p = 0.033). The stay in a thermal centre was cost-effective at 12 months. Spa treatment is a cost-effective strategy to improve resumption of occupational and non-occupational activities and the abilities of women in breast cancer remission. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pigs and farm workers on conventional and antibiotic-free swine farms in the USA.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tara C Smith

    Full Text Available Much uncertainty remains about the origin and public health implications of livestock-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and prevalence of MRSA in general and LA-MRSA in particular in pigs and farm workers in five states. We collected nasal swabs from pigs and farm workers at 45 swine herds (21 antibiotic-free herds; 24 conventional herds in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio. MRSA was isolated from 50 of 1085 pigs (4.6% and 31 of 148 (20.9% of farm workers. MRSA-positive pigs and people were clustered in four conventional swine farms in Iowa and Illinois. Based on genotyping, spa type t034, a common livestock associated variant, was predominant among both human and swine isolates. These results confirm the presence of LA-MRSA in pigs and swine farm workers in the USA, but the prevalence found is relatively low compared with European studies.

  10. Analysis of the trade-offs between conventional and superconducting interconnections

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frye, R.

    1989-01-01

    Superconductivity can now be achieved at temperatures compatible with semiconductor device operation. This raises the interesting possibility of using the new, high-temperature superconducting ceramics for interconnections in electronic systems. This paper examines some of the consequences of a resistance-free interconnection medium. A problem with conventional conductors in electronic systems is that the resistance of wires increases quadratically as the wire dimensions are scaled down. Below some minimum cross-sectional area, determined by the metal resistivity and wire length, the resistance in these lines begins to severely limit their bandwidth. Superconductors, on the other hand, are not constrained by the same scaling rules. They provide a high bandwidth interconnection at all sizes and lengths. The limitations for superconductors are set by their critical current densities. If line dimensions become too small, a superconductor will no longer support an adequate flow of current. An analysis is presented examining the performance trade-offs for conventional and superconducting interconnections in applications ranging from printed wiring boards to chips. For most semiconductor device-based applications, the potential gains in wiring density offered by superconductors are probably more important than the bandwidth improvements. An important result of the analysis is that it determines the values of critical current density above which superconductors outperform conventional wires in systems of various physical sizes. This identifies particular interconnection technologies for which high-temperature superconductors show the most promise

  11. Spa typing and identification of pvl genes of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a Libyan hospital in Tripoli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Mohamed O; Baptiste, Keith E; Daw, Mohamed A; Elramalli, Asma K; Abouzeed, Yousef M; Petersen, Andreas

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of the study was to investigate the molecular characteristics of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated from clinical sources in Tripoli, Libya. A total of 95 MRSA strains collected at the Tripoli medical Centre were investigated by spa typing and identification of the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (pvl) genes. A total of 26 spa types were characterized and distributed among nine clonal complexes; CC5 (n=32), CC80 (n=18), CC8 (n=17) and CC22 (n=12) were the most prevalent clonal complexes. In total, 34% of the isolates were positive for PVL. This study demonstrated the presence of CA-MRSA and pvl positive strains in hospital settings and underlines the importance of using molecular typing to investigate the epidemiology of MRSA. Preventative measures and surveillance systems are needed to control and minimize the spread of MRSA in the Libyan health care system. Copyright © 2017 International Society for Chemotherapy of Infection and Cancer. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Genomic and Functional Characterization of the Unusual pLOCK 0919 Plasmid Harboring the spaCBA Pili Cluster in Lactobacillus casei LOCK 0919

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Aleksandrzak-Piekarczyk, T.; Koryszewska-Baginska, A.; Grynberg, M.; Nowak, A.; Cukrowska, B.; Kozáková, Hana; Bardowski, J.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 8, č. 1 (2016), s. 202-217 ISSN 1759-6653 Institutional support: RVO:61388971 Keywords : adhesion * spaCBA pilus cluster * lactobacillus Subject RIV: EC - Immunology Impact factor: 3.979, year: 2016

  13. Determination of fat content in chicken hamburgers using NIR spectroscopy and the Successive Projections Algorithm for interval selection in PLS regression (iSPA-PLS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krepper, Gabriela; Romeo, Florencia; Fernandes, David Douglas de Sousa; Diniz, Paulo Henrique Gonçalves Dias; de Araújo, Mário César Ugulino; Di Nezio, María Susana; Pistonesi, Marcelo Fabián; Centurión, María Eugenia

    2018-01-01

    Determining fat content in hamburgers is very important to minimize or control the negative effects of fat on human health, effects such as cardiovascular diseases and obesity, which are caused by the high consumption of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol. This study proposed an alternative analytical method based on Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) and Successive Projections Algorithm for interval selection in Partial Least Squares regression (iSPA-PLS) for fat content determination in commercial chicken hamburgers. For this, 70 hamburger samples with a fat content ranging from 14.27 to 32.12 mg kg- 1 were prepared based on the upper limit recommended by the Argentinean Food Codex, which is 20% (w w- 1). NIR spectra were then recorded and then preprocessed by applying different approaches: base line correction, SNV, MSC, and Savitzky-Golay smoothing. For comparison, full-spectrum PLS and the Interval PLS are also used. The best performance for the prediction set was obtained for the first derivative Savitzky-Golay smoothing with a second-order polynomial and window size of 19 points, achieving a coefficient of correlation of 0.94, RMSEP of 1.59 mg kg- 1, REP of 7.69% and RPD of 3.02. The proposed methodology represents an excellent alternative to the conventional Soxhlet extraction method, since waste generation is avoided, yet without the use of either chemical reagents or solvents, which follows the primary principles of Green Chemistry. The new method was successfully applied to chicken hamburger analysis, and the results agreed with those with reference values at a 95% confidence level, making it very attractive for routine analysis.

  14. [The spa and health resort-based treatment of metabolic syndrome with the application of the therapeutic courses of different duration: the evaluation according long-term results].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chalaya, E N; Botvineva, L A; Tsallagova, L V; Ahkubekova, N K; Efimenko, N V; Kaysinova, A S; Amiyants, V Yu; Vasin, V A

    The objective of the present study was to estimate the effectiveness of the new therapeutic modalities for the spa and health resort-based treatment of metabolic syndrome based on the results of the long-term follow-up observations. A total of 100 patients presenting with metabolic syndrome were recruited for the participation in the study. All of them underwent a shortened course of mineral water intake in the combination with the use of the herbal medicinal products. The results of the study give evidence of the more favorable changes in the clinical and instrumental characteristics of the patients with metabolic syndrome treated with the use of the proposed approach in comparison the patients treated by the conventional methods. Moreover, the beneficial effects of the proposed approach persisted during a longer period. The basal treatment given to our patients was supplemented by dietary therapy, therapeutic physical exercise, narzan baths, intake of mineral water having a temperature of 35-37 °С in conjunction with sulphate mineral water (narzan) cooled to 13-15 °С, and a phytococktail. The results of the long-term observations confirmed the enhanced effectiveness of the spa and health resort-based treatment of metabolic syndrome including the therapeutic courses with the intake of cooled narzan mineral water in the combination with phytococktails. This therapeutic modality increased the duration of the favorable changes of various parameters that characterize metabolic syndrome. Specifically, they persisted during 5-6 months after the application of the standard methods, were still apparent within 6-7 months after the two-week course of the treatment with cold narzan and phytococktails, and during 8-9 months when the duration of the treatment course was extended up to 3 weeks.

  15. An Analysis of The Islamic and Conventional Banking Profitability in Palestine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohmad Tawfiq Abusharbeh

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: An Analysis of the Islamic and Conventional Banking Profitability in Palestine. The research paper examines the performance of profitability of Islamic banks against conventional banks for the period of 2005 to 2010. Two alternative measurements of banking profitability such as Return on Equity (ROE and Return on Assets (ROA are used to examine whether there is any differences of profit rate between Islamic, local and foreign conventional banks. The study concludes that Islamic banks generally provide the similar profit rate compared to local banks, however Islamic banks provide lower profit rate compared to foreign banks. Finally the findings also suggest that there is no statistical significant difference in mean return between the Islamic banks, local and foreign banks in Palestine. The study recommends the critical needs for Islamic regulation in order to improve the role of Islamic banking industry in Palestine.

  16. [The spa-and-health resort-based rehabilitation of the patients presenting with frequently recurring erosive and ulcerative lesions in the oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum in the phase of subsiding exacerbation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efimenko, N V; Kaĭsinova, A S

    2014-01-01

    To develop a new medical technology for the spa-and-health resort-based treatment of the patients presenting with frequently recurring erosive and ulcerative lesions in the oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum in the phase of subsiding exacerbation. A total of 100 patients presenting with frequently recurring erosive and ulcerative lesions in the oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum in the phase of subsiding exacerbation were available for the examination that included detailed investigations of the clinical picture, characteristics of the immune status, and psychological testing before and after a course of the spa-and-health resort-based treatment. The effectiveness of two therapeutic modalities was evaluated. One of them (control) prescribed to 50 patients consisted of standard antiulcer pharmacotherapy in combination with Essentuki Novaya drinking mineral water and carbon dioxide mineral baths, the other given to 50 patients included radon baths instead of carbon dioxide mineral baths. The combined application of drinking mineral waters, radon baths, and standard antiulcer pharmacotherapy produced the most conspicuous clinical effect in the framework of spa-and-health resort-based rehabilitation of the patients presenting with frequently recurring erosive and ulcerative lesions in the oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum in the phase of subsiding exacerbation as confirmed by positive dynamics of their psychoemotional status in 97.7% of the cases, regression of pain syndrome (91.5%), and improvement of humoral and cellular immunity (94%). An important result of the spa-and-health resort-based rehabilitation is the intensification of the reparative processes in gastroduodenal mucosa responsible for the healing of ulcers and erosions in 94.7% of the patients. The spa-and-health resort-based rehabilitation is a pathogenetically sound and efficacious approach to the management of the patients presenting with frequently recurring erosive and ulcerative lesions in the

  17. Stability Analysis Of 3-d Conventional Pallet Rack Structures With Semi-rigid Connections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kamal M. Bajoria

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper describe the three dimensional finite element modeling and buckling analysis of conventional pallet racking system with semi rigid connection. In this study three dimensional models of conventional pallet racking system were prepared using the finiteelement program ANSYS and finite element analysis carried out on conventional pallet racks with the 18 types of column sections developed along with semi-rigid connections. A parametric study was carried out to compare the effective length approach and the finiteelement method for accuracy and appropriateness for cold-formed steel frame design. Numerous frame elastic buckling analyses were carried out to evaluate the alignment chart and the AISI torsional-flexural buckling provisions. The parameters that influence the valueof Kx for column flexural buckling were examined in this study. The alignment chart and the AISI torsional-flexural buckling provisions, used to obtain the effective lengths and elastic buckling load of members were also evaluated. Results showed that the elastic buckling load obtained from the AISI torsional-flexural buckling provisions is generally conservative compared to the results obtained from performing frame elastic buckling analysis. Results also showed that, the effective length approach is more conservative than the finite element approach.

  18. The study of system function analysis method for success path alarm design

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, S. K.; Shin, Y. C.

    1999-01-01

    The key benefit to the common use of the critical function approach for safety and mission functions is that monitoring methods expected to be used by operaotrs during emergency condition are used continuously during normal operation. For each critical safety function there exists two or more success paths. Information Processing System monitors the availability, operation state and performance of the critical function success paths. In this paper, We have studied System Function Analysis(SFA) for the design of Success Path Alarm(SPA) for applying in KNGR. In here, we thought that SFA will help the design of SPA. The SFA can be applicable to the design of SPA according to NUREG-0711, also can induce the algorithm for alarm of system, train and flow path. We present a method of system function analysis for designing Success Path Alarm

  19. Tourist phenomenon in Geoagiu Spa region within the Central Metaliferi Mountains

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dombay Ştefan

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The Central Metaliferi Mountains, situated in south-central side of the Apuseni Mountains, have a variety of natural and anthropic touristic potential, but, unfortunately, less known and not enough exploited. After conducting a survey in Geoagiu Spa we specifically recommend the following: increased number of one day tours, which are the main tourist destination in the region, many tours for visiting the major centers of cultural - historical monuments related to our past history, granting economic incentives for organizer of youth groups to attract the youth, diversification of tourist routes with thematic actions: curiosities of nature, environment, organizing sports events with different timetable covering all seasons and all series, attracting local and foreign investors by providing tax incentives and financial programs introducing touristic resort in the international circuit. .

  20. The design of the spa - tourist recreational complex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alenka Fikfak

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The study area lies in the central part of Bela Krajina in south-eastern Slovenia, between the town of Črnomelj and the border crossing at Vinica. It is situated in the vicinity of the Lahinja Landscape Park, where natural and cultural heritage sites interact in the interesting settings of preserved towns and villages. The urban planning concept developed at the workshop was based on the idea that the best space is one where the qualities of "empty spaces" and a fusion with the landscape are recognised. The concept was based on the design of a complex with several connecting structures. A green clearing was defined as the centre of activities, i.e. the core of the activity and pivot of life being the common point of all structures: it is empty, intended to allow for random connections, network organisation or spatial networking, where the key points in the built and natural structures are connected, hence representing the main communication hub between the individual structures. The concept complements the system with accommodation capacities, which are also located outside the spa complex, providing attractive accommodation in a natural setting.

  1. Study of spa and geology in Nagano pref

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iijima, Namio

    1987-03-20

    After due consideration of magma activities, spars and the horizontal movement involved in the formation of the Japanese Archipelago, magma generation and plate theory under the Japanese Archipelago were studied comprehensively. Many spars in the Japanese North Alpine mountains, which are located in old rock areas, were mainly gushed out from new-period granite. Thus, they were presumed to be caused by volcanos from Hakuba-Norikura to Ontake. There are also several spas on the Central Upheaval Zone which are new lock area spas. This zone is characterized by focused volcanism which occurred during the time from the Tertiary period to the Quaternary period of the diluival epoch. Especially, the northern part of the zone has many high-temperature spas above 50/sup 0/C. Moreover, at the southern end of this zone, special geological features which prove that the Philippine plate and the Pacific plate are sunk under the Japanese Archipelago were found. It was also estimated that Nagano Prefecture has no spa caused by volcanism of acidic plutonic rocks from the the later Mesozoic era to the early Cenozoic era. (3 figs, 1 tab, 27 refs)

  2. How does spa treatment affect cardiovascular function and vascular endothelium in patients with generalized osteoarthritis? A pilot study through plasma asymmetric di-methyl arginine (ADMA) and L-arginine/ADMA ratio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaarslan, Fatih; Ozkuk, Kagan; Seringec Karabulut, Serap; Bekpinar, Seldag; Karagulle, Mufit Zeki; Erdogan, Nergis

    2018-05-01

    The study aims to investigate the effect of spa treatment on vascular endothelium and clinical symptoms of generalized osteoarthritis. Forty generalized osteoarthritis (GOA) patients referred to a government spa hospital, and 40 GOA patients followed on university hospital locomotor system disease ambulatory clinics were included as study and control groups, respectively. Study group received spa treatment including thermal water baths, physical therapy modalities, and exercises. Control group was followed with home exercises for 15 days. Plasma ADMA, L-arginine, L-arginine/ADMA ratio, routine blood analyses, 6-min walking test, including fingertip O2 saturation, systolic/diastolic blood pressure, and pulse rate, were measured at the beginning and at the end of treatment. Groups were evaluated with VAS pain, patient, and physician global assessment; HAQ; and WOMAC at the beginning, at the end, and after 1 month of treatment. In study group, L-arginine and L-arginine/ADMA ratio showed statistically significant increase after treatment. Plasma ADMA levels did not change. There is no significant difference in intergroup comparison. Study group displayed statistically significant improvements in all clinical parameters. The study showed that spa treatment does not cause any harm to the vascular endothelium through ADMA. Significant increase in plasma L-arginine and L-arginine/ADMA ratio suggests that balneotherapy may play a preventive role on cardiovascular diseases. Balneotherapy provides meaningful improvements on clinical parameters of GOA.

  3. How does spa treatment affect cardiovascular function and vascular endothelium in patients with generalized osteoarthritis? A pilot study through plasma asymmetric di-methyl arginine (ADMA) and L-arginine/ADMA ratio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karaarslan, Fatih; Ozkuk, Kagan; Seringec Karabulut, Serap; Bekpinar, Seldag; Karagulle, Mufit Zeki; Erdogan, Nergis

    2017-12-01

    The study aims to investigate the effect of spa treatment on vascular endothelium and clinical symptoms of generalized osteoarthritis. Forty generalized osteoarthritis (GOA) patients referred to a government spa hospital, and 40 GOA patients followed on university hospital locomotor system disease ambulatory clinics were included as study and control groups, respectively. Study group received spa treatment including thermal water baths, physical therapy modalities, and exercises. Control group was followed with home exercises for 15 days. Plasma ADMA, L-arginine, L-arginine/ADMA ratio, routine blood analyses, 6-min walking test, including fingertip O2 saturation, systolic/diastolic blood pressure, and pulse rate, were measured at the beginning and at the end of treatment. Groups were evaluated with VAS pain, patient, and physician global assessment; HAQ; and WOMAC at the beginning, at the end, and after 1 month of treatment. In study group, L-arginine and L-arginine/ADMA ratio showed statistically significant increase after treatment. Plasma ADMA levels did not change. There is no significant difference in intergroup comparison. Study group displayed statistically significant improvements in all clinical parameters. The study showed that spa treatment does not cause any harm to the vascular endothelium through ADMA. Significant increase in plasma L-arginine and L-arginine/ADMA ratio suggests that balneotherapy may play a preventive role on cardiovascular diseases. Balneotherapy provides meaningful improvements on clinical parameters of GOA.

  4. Sex work and its associations with alcohol and methamphetamine use among female bar and spa workers in the Philippines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urada, Lianne A; Strathdee, Steffanie A; Morisky, Donald E; Schilling, Robert F; Simbulan, Nymia P; Estacio, Leonardo R; Raj, Anita

    2014-03-01

    To assess the prevalence of sex work and its associations with substance use among female bar/spa workers in the Philippines (N = 498), workers from 54 bar or spa venues in Metro Manila (2009-2010) were surveyed on demographics, drug/alcohol use, abuse history, and sex work. Their median age was 23 years and 35% engaged in sex work. Sex work was independently associated with methamphetamine use (19% vs 4%; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =2.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3-6.2), alcohol use with patrons (49% vs. 27%; AOR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.1-3.4), and alcohol intoxication during sex (50% vs. 24%; AOR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.5), but inversely associated with daily alcohol use (13% vs. 16%; AOR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.1-0.5). Additional significant covariates included sexual abuse history, younger age, and not having a higher education. Findings suggest that interventions with sex workers in bars and spas should focus on methamphetamine use, alcohol use contexts, and violence victimization, to better meet the needs of this population.

  5. Theories and contemporary challenges of a global pasta leader: the case of Barilla SpA

    OpenAIRE

    Wolf, Ronald Scott

    2015-01-01

    Barilla Holding SpA (Barilla), a successful multinational foods manufacturing company with headquarters in Parma, Italy began with humble beginnings in 1877 (Barilla, 2014a) as a small bread and pasta shop -- Barilla is now a leading global sales player second only to private label brands, jumping from 9-12% of total market from the period 2009-2014 and is the dominant sales leader in both Italy and the US with 2014 sales of 900 and 800 US$ million respectively (Euromonitor, 2015) -- This pap...

  6. A Conceptual Design and Analysis Method for Conventional and Unconventional Airplanes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Elmendorp, R.J.M.; Vos, R.; La Rocca, G.

    2014-01-01

    A design method is presented that has been implemented in a software program to investigate the merits of conventional and unconventional transport airplanes. Design and analysis methods are implemented in a design tool capable of creating a conceptual design based on a set of toplevel requirements.

  7. Analysis of the Convention on Nuclear Safety and Suggestions for Improvement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, K. S.; Viet, Phuong Nguyen

    2013-01-01

    The innovative approach of the Convention, which is based on incentive after than legal binding, had been considered successful in strengthening the nuclear safety worldwide. However, the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (Japan) in March 2011 has exposed a number of weaknesses of the Convention. Given that context, this paper will analyse the characteristics of the CNS in order to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the Convention, and finally to suggest some possible improvements. The analysis in this paper shows that the incentive approach of the CNS has succeeded in facilitating the active roles of its Contracting Parties in making the National Reports and participating in the peer review of these reports. However, the incoherent quality of the National Reports, the different level of participation in the peer review process by different Contracting Parties, and the lack of transparency of the peer review have undermined the effectiveness of the Convention in strengthening the international safety regime as well as preventing serious regulatory errors that had happened in Japan before the Fukushima accident. Therefore, the peer review process should be reformed into a more transparent and independent direction, while an advisory group of regulators within the CNS might also be useful in improving the effectiveness of the Convention as already proven by the good practice in the European Union. Only with such effective change, the CNS can maintain its pivotal role in the international safety regime

  8. The fast trigger electronics of the lead/scintillating fiber calorimeter SpaCal of the H1 experiment at HERA: accomplishment, results of test beam measurements at CERN and first results at HERA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spielmann, Stephan

    1996-01-01

    The studies presented in this thesis cover parts of the project to improve the H1 detector at the electron-proton collider HERA. The main goal of this improvement was to build a lead/scintillating fiber calorimeter (SpaCal) and its associate trigger and read-out electronics. The description and the analysis of measurements with a calorimeter prototype and its electronics are presented with respect to the performance requirements for the project. This measurement realized at a CERN test beam facility have shown that an on-line selection of physics events out of background events can be achieved with a time-of-flight measurement. The efficiency of the trigger is higher than 99 percent independent of the particles' impact points. The feasibility of electron/pion separation on the one percent level is also shown. In 1995 the SpaCal calorimeter was integrated in the H1 detector. A detailed description of its associate electronics is given and the results on the trigger's performance for the first year of data taking are presented. (author) [fr

  9. [The toxic complications of hydrogen sulfide-based balneotherapy in the spa and health resort practice].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khodasevich, L S

    2015-01-01

    The present literature review was designed to consider the toxic complications of hydrogen sulfide-based balneotherapy encountered in the spa and health resort practice that should actually be regarded as hydrogen sulfide intoxication taking into consideration that their severity depends on the route through which the toxicant enters the body, its concentration in the therapeutic bath, and the overall duration of balneotherapy. Although such complications rarely occur in everyday practice, they may constitute a threat to the patient's health which implies the necessity of adequate measures for their prevention.

  10. Interaction between the Stress Phase Angle (SPA and the Oscillatory Shear Index (OSI Affects Endothelial Cell Gene Expression.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronny Amaya

    Full Text Available Hemodynamic forces play an important role in the non-uniform distribution of atherosclerotic lesions. Endothelial cells are exposed simultaneously to fluid wall shear stress (WSS and solid circumferential stress (CS. Due to variations in impedance (global factors and geometric complexities (local factors in the arterial circulation a time lag arises between these two forces that can be characterized by the temporal phase angle between CS and WSS (stress phase angle-SPA. Asynchronous flows (SPA close to -180° that are most prominent in coronary arteries have been associated with localization of atherosclerosis. Reversing oscillatory flows characterized by an oscillatory shear index (OSI that is great than zero are also associated with atherosclerosis localization. In this study we examined the relationship between asynchronous flows and reversing flows in altering the expression of 37 genes relevant to atherosclerosis development. In the case of reversing oscillatory flow, we observed that the asynchronous condition upregulated 8 genes compared to synchronous hemodynamics, most of them proatherogenic. Upregulation of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NFκB p65 was confirmed by western blot, and nuclear translocation of NFκB p65 was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. A comparative study between non-reversing flow and reversing flow found that in the case of synchronous hemodynamics, reversing flow altered the expression of 11 genes, while in the case of asynchronous hemodynamics, reversing flow altered the expression of 17 genes. Reversing flow significantly upregulated protein expression of NFκB p65 for both synchronous and asynchronous conditions. Nuclear translocation of NFκB p65 was confirmed for synchronous and asynchronous conditions in the presence of flow reversal. These data suggest that asynchronous hemodynamics and reversing flow can elicit proatherogenic responses in endothelial cells compared to synchronous

  11. Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and its SpaC pilus adhesin modulate inflammatory responsiveness and TLR-related gene expression in the fetal human gut

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ganguli, K.; Collado, M.C.; Rautava, J.; Lu, L.; Satokari, R.M.; Ossowski, von I.; Reunanen, J.; Vos, de W.M.; Palva, A.; Isolauri, E.; Salminen, S.; Walker, W.A.; Rautava, S.

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Bacterial contact in utero modulates fetal and neonatal immune responses. Maternal probiotic supplementation reduces the risk of immune-mediated disease in the infant. We investigated the immunomodulatory properties of live Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and its SpaC pilus adhesin in human

  12. Needs-based sewerage prioritization: alternative to conventional cost-benefit analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rashid, Md M; Hayes, Donald F

    2011-10-01

    This paper presents an empirical approach to select and prioritize sewerage projects within set budgetary limitations. The methodology includes a model which quantifies benefits of a sewerage project as an index or dimensionless number. The index considers need and urgency of sewerage and other project goals. Benefit is defined as the difference in anticipated impact between the current condition (without the project) and the expected condition with the project. Anticipated benefits primarily include reduction in environmental pollution, reduction of human diseases and morbidity, and other tangible and intangible improvement. This approach is a powerful decision tool for sewerage prioritization and an effective alternative to conventional cost-benefit analysis. Unlike conventional analysis, this approach makes no attempt to convert project benefits and other impacts into a monetary measure. This work recognizes that the decision to provide sewerage based solely on net benefits is not practical. Instead, benefit-cost ratios (B/C) are calculated utilizing cost-effectiveness approach. Using these ratios, 16 unserviced areas of Ensenada, Mexico are ranked. The prioritization rankings produced by this method must be further scrutinized and carefully reviewed for logic, accuracy of input data, and practicality of implementation. A similar framework may also be useful for prioritizing other public works projects. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Pollen grain morphology of Fabaceae in the Special Protection Area (SPA) Pau-de-Fruta, Diamantina, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luz, Cynthia F P da; Maki, Erica S; Horák-Terra, Ingrid; Vidal-Torrado, Pablo; Mendonça Filho, Carlos Victor

    2013-01-01

    The presented paper considered the pollen morphology of thirteen species belonging to seven genera of the Fabaceae family occurring in the Pau-de-Fruta Special Protection Area (SPA), Diamantina, state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The pollen grains of six species of Chamaecrista [C. cathartica (Mart.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby, C. debilis Vogel, C. flexuosa (L.) Greene, C. hedysaroides (Vogel) H.S. Irwin & Barneby, C. glandulosa (L.) Greene, and C. papillata H.S. Irwin & Barneby] have a similar morphology, characterized by three long colporated apertures with a central constriction. The species share specific morphological features regarding pollen size, endoaperture type (circular, lalongate or lolongate) and SEM ornamentation patterns of the exine (rugulate with perforations or perforate). Andira fraxinifolia Benth., Dalbergia miscolobium Benth, Galactia martii DC, Periandra mediterranea (Vell.) Taub., Senna rugosa (G.Don) H.S. Irwin & Barneby and Zornia diphylla (L.) Pers showed different pollen types in small to large size; oblate spheroidal to prolate form; colpus or colporus apertures; circular, lalongate or lolongate endoapertures and distinctive SEM ornamentation patterns of the exine (perforate, microreticulate, reticulate or rugulate with perforations). Only Stryphnodendron adstringens (Mart.) Coville presents polyads. The pollen morphology variation of these species allowed the Fabaceae family to be characterized as eurypalynous in the SPA Pau-de-Fruta.

  14. From Source Water to Tap Water to Spa and Swimming Pool Water: Effects of Disinfectanta and Precursors and Implications for Exposure and Toxicity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Introduction The current study investigated the effect of different disinfection treatments on the disinfection by-products (DBPs) formed in finished drinking water vs. tap water vs. swimming pool water vs. spa waters. To this end, samples across the complete water pathway (untr...

  15. Effects of natural factors of Niška Banja spa on indexes of mobility of vertebral column in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nedović Jovan

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Ankylosing spondilitis (AS is a disease from a group of seronegative spondyloarthropathies with the prevalence of 0.1% affecting mainly young males, which also gives sociomedical significance to the disease. Among all inflammatory arthropathies, AS is the most suitable for balneotherapy. Thermomineral water of the Niška Banja spa is homeothermic, oligomineral, alkaline, low radioactive radon water and also, in conjunction with mineral peloid, is considered to be optimal for this indication. Objective. Our aim was to investigate the effects of natural factors of the Niška Banja spa as a part of complex treatment on the indexes of mobility of the vertebral column in the patients with AS. Methods. The study enrolled 40 patients with the average age of 48.0±14.82 years and the average duration of disease of 16.9±6.42 years. Patients were treated with hydro- and peloid- otherapy during the average of 17.23±2.71 days. At the beginning and at the end of treatment, a number of indexes of spinal mobility were measured. The statistical significance of differences was calculated using the Student's t-test. Results. All of the measured indexes were better after balneotherapy reaching statistically significant differences in regard to the wall-to-occiput distance (p<0.05, the index of sagittal mobility of the cervical (p<0.05 and lumbar (p<0.005 spine. Conclusion. The application of natural factors of the Niška Banja spa during complex treatment of the patients with AS is accompanied with the objective increase of the spine mobility.

  16. Conventional drilling versus piezosurgery for implant site preparation: a meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sendyk, Daniel Isaac; Oliveira, Natacha Kalline; Pannuti, Claudio Mendes; Naclério-Homem, Maria da Graça; Wennerberg, Ann; Zindel Deboni, Maria Cristina

    2018-03-27

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the evidence of a correlation between the stability of dental implants placed by piezosurgery, compared with implants placed by conventional drilling. An electronic search in MEDLINE, SCOPUS and the Cochrane Library was undertaken until August 2016 and was supplemented by manual searches and by unpublished studies at OpenGray. Only randomized controlled clinical trials that reported implant site preparation with piezosurgery and with conventional drilling were considered eligible for inclusion in this review. Meta-analyses were performed to evaluate the impact of piezosurgery on implant stability. Of 456 references electronically retrieved, 3 were included in the qualitative analysis and quantitative synthesis. The pooled estimates suggest that there is no significant difference between piezosurgery and conventional drilling at baseline (WMD: 2.20; 95% CI: -5.09, 9,49; p = 0.55). At 90 days, the pooled estimates revealed a statistically significant difference (WMD: 3.63; 95% CI: 0.58, 6.67, p = 0.02) favouring piezosurgery. Implant stability is slightly improved when osteotomy was performed by a piezoelectric device. More randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to verify these findings.

  17. SCCmec type IX element in Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus spa-type t337 (CC9 isolated from pigs and pork in Thailand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin eVestergaard

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA have emerged among livestock in several countries. In this study, we describe the results of a screening performed in pigs and raw pork samples in Thailand. Ten pork samples and 15 nasal swabs from pigs were collected from two markets and one pig farm in the Samuth Songkhram province in Thailand. MRSA were isolated using selective isolation procedures and confirmed by mecA PCR. The MRSA were characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility testing, PFGE, spa typing, SCCmec typing, and MLST. Resistance and virulence markers were screened using a microarray. Five of the pork samples and six pig nasal swabs were positive for MRSA. All 11 isolates belonged to spa type t337 and CC9 but showed diversity in antimicrobial resistance patterns and PFGE profiles. All isolates harbored SCCmec IX and were resistant to seven out of 14 tested antimicrobials; additional resistances were found in the pork isolates. Microarray analysis identified blaZ, aac-aphD, vga(A, tetM, and a tet efflux marker, in all strains and additionally ermB and aadD, cat and fex(A in the pork isolates. None of the isolates were found PVL-positive, but enterotoxins were identified in all isolates. This is, to our knowledge, the first description of MRSA in livestock and food products in Thailand and also the first observation of MRSA CC9 associated with SCCmec IX. This study indicates a likely widespread distribution of MRSA in pig and pork in Thailand and further investigation on the prevalence and importance of livestock associated MRSA in Thailand is needed.

  18. Economy analysis on vertical layout of conventional island of nuclear power plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Xuefeng; Liu Xiaoyun; Liu Jinwei

    2011-01-01

    This paper briefly introduces the aboveground layout scheme and integral sinking layout scheme of conventional island of nuclear power plants. Technological-economic analysis formula are given, as a result, main factors influencing scheme selection is obtained. Determination of the layout scheme selection and optimization direction through the curve between the accumulative NPV and related factors is brought forward. The paper carries out the technological-economic comparison to the two schemes referred to a 1000 MW level nuclear power project as the example, getting the curve between the accumulative NPV and the plant ground elevation, and offering the method of selecting the vertical layout scheme of conventional island and vertical layout optimization direction. (authors)

  19. Adjusting tourist destination marketing strategy according to the changes in the environment: Case study Bukovicka sSpa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Riznić Dejan T.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Tourist destinations are compelled to create new business opportunities constantly in order to respond to the challenges that arise under the influence of a number of changes in the environment. Few of them are supporting the requirements for analyzing and creating a sustainable business and marketing strategies. The paper starts with the analysis of relevant theory and practice in decisionmaking and choosing the marketing strategy of the tourist destination, pointing to the importance of continuous adjustment of marketing strategy in order to improve the business performance and competitive advantage. A new approach to the design and management of market relations, as well as the need for adjusting marketing strategies to the changes in the environment, is presented in the case of Bukovacka Spa. In deciding, great emphasis is placed on the role and importance of innovation in marketing approaches as well as on the need to develop socially responsible marketing in order to improve its business performance and response to changes in the environment and more successfully positioning.

  20. Educational needs in patients with spondyloarthritis in Sweden - a mixed-methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haglund, Emma; Bremander, Ann; Bergman, Stefan; Larsson, Ingrid

    2017-08-02

    There is a demand for a flexible and individually tailored patient education to meet patients' specific needs and priorities, but this area has seldom been studied in patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA), a family of inflammatory rheumatic diseases. The aim of the present study was to identify needs and priorities in patient education in patients with SpA. A second aim was to investigate patients' experiences and preferences of receiving patient education. Data collection included a questionnaire survey with the Educational Needs Assessment Tool (ENAT) and interviews, using a mixed-methods design. Patients were identified through a specialist clinic register. Descriptive data are presented as mean with standard deviation, or frequencies. Chi-square test and independent-samples t-test were used for group comparisons. A manifest qualitative conventional content analysis was conducted to explore patients' experiences and needs in patient education, based on two focus groups (n = 6) and five individual interviews. Almost half (43%) of the 183 SpA patients had educational needs, particularly regarding aspects of self-help, feelings, and the disease process. More educational needs were reported by women and in patients with higher disease activity, while duration of disease did not affect the needs. The qualitative analysis highlighted the importance of obtaining a guiding, reliable, and easily available patient education for management of SpA. Individual contacts with healthcare professionals were of importance, but newer media were also requested. There are considerable educational needs in patients with SpA, and education concerning self-help, feelings, and the diseases process were raised as important issues. Healthcare professionals need to consider the importance of presenting varied formats of education based on the experiences and preferences of patients with SpA.

  1. Analisa Pengaruh Brand Image Terhadap Customer Loyalty Dengan Customer Satisfaction Sebagai Mediator Pada the Dreamland Luxury Villas and Spa, Bali.

    OpenAIRE

    Leliga, Felicia Juliani

    2013-01-01

    Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui customer loyalty pada brand The Dreamland Luxury Villas and Spa, Bali melalui penilaian responden terhadap dimensi brand image yang terdiri dari brand strength, brand favorability, dan brand uniqueness, dengan menggunakan customer satisfaction sebagai variabel mediator. Dalam penelitian ini, penulis menggunakan metode kuantitatif dengan teknik partial least square (PLS). Dari hasil analisa, disimpulkan bahwa tidak ada pengaruh brand strength dan brand...

  2. Analysis of weed flora in conventional and organic potato production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolić, Lj.

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Composition of weed flora is highly dynamic and depends upon great number of factors, of which cultural practices that are applied by humans in certain crops are the most important. One of the most frequently grown plants in the world and in our country is potato (Solanum tuberosum L., Solanaceae, due to its high biological and nutritive value. Therefore, in the paper was presented taxonomic analysis of weed flora in potato grown conventionally and according to the principles of organic agricultural production, with the intention to point out to eventual differences between present weeds. Of the total number of identified species, from phylum Equisetophyta and class Equisetopsida, in organic potato crop, was determined only one, Equisetum arvense. Of remaining 38 weeds from phylum Magnoliophyta., classified into two classes, Magnoliopsida and Liliopsida. On both of potato growing systems, 39 weed species were found, classified into 16 families and 32 genus. Of the total number, 31 species was identified in conventional potato crop, and only 23 species in potato crop grown according to organic principles, which is for about quarter less. Biological spectrum of weed flora in both potato growing systems is pronouncedly of terrophytic – geophytic type. In the spectrum of area types were recorded differences, i.e. in the conventional potato crop represented are only widely distributed species, while in the organic crop, beside species of wide distribution are also present elements of Pontic group.

  3. Uncertainty, Conventions and Co-ordination in the Business Enterprise

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jagd, Søren

    The paper presents the basic propositions of convention theory with special consideration to the analysis of uncertainty, the role of institutions and conventions, and the implications this perspective has for the analysis of the business enterprise......The paper presents the basic propositions of convention theory with special consideration to the analysis of uncertainty, the role of institutions and conventions, and the implications this perspective has for the analysis of the business enterprise...

  4. Real-life experience of using conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Retrospective analysis of the efficacy of methotrexate, sulfasalazine, and leflunomide in PsA in comparison to spondyloarthritides other than PsA and literature review of the use of conventional DMARDs in PsA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roussou, Euthalia; Bouraoui, Aicha

    2017-01-01

    Objective With the aim of assessing the response to treatment with conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) used in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA), data on methotrexate, sulfasalazine (SSZ), and leflunomide were analyzed from baseline and subsequent follow-up (FU) questionnaires completed by patients with either PsA or other spondyloarthritides (SpAs). Material and Methods A single-center real-life retrospective analysis was performed by obtaining clinical data via questionnaires administered before and after treatment. The indices used were erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Function Index (BASFI), wellbeing (WB), and treatment effect (TxE). The indices measured at baseline were compared with those measured on one occasion in a FU visit at least 1 year later. Results A total of 73 patients, 51 with PsA (mean age 49.8±12.8 years; male-to-female ratio [M:F]=18:33) and 22 with other SpAs (mean age 50.6±16 years; M:F=2:20), were studied. BASDAI, BASFI, and WB displayed consistent improvements during FU assessments in both PsA patients and controls in comparison to baseline values. SSZ exhibited better efficacy as confirmed by TxE in both PsA patients and controls. ESR and CRP displayed no differences in either the PsA or the SpA group between the cases before and after treatment. Conclusion Real-life retrospective analysis of three DMARDs used in PsA (and SpAs other than PsA) demonstrated that all three DMARDs that were used brought about improvements in BASDAI, BASFI, TxE, and WB. However, the greatest improvements at FU were seen with SSZ use in both PsA and control cohorts. PMID:28293446

  5. A multi-regional structural path analysis of the energy supply chain in China's construction industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong, Jingke; Shen, Qiping; Xue, Fan

    2016-01-01

    The construction industry in China exerts significant environmental impacts and uses considerable resources because of rapid urbanization. This study conducted a structural path analysis (SPA) based on the multi-regional input–output table to quantify environmental impact transmission in the entire supply chain. Results indicated that the direct resource input (the first stage) along with on-site construction (the zeroth stage) consumed the highest amount of energy in the supply chain and accounted for approximately 50% of total energy consumption. Regional analysis showed that energy consumption in the construction industry at the provincial level was self-sufficient. Sectoral analysis demonstrated that the direct inputs from the sectors of “manufacture of non-metallic mineral products” and “smelting and pressing of metals” generated the most important energy flows, whereas the sectors of “production and distribution of electric power and heat power” and “extraction of petroleum and natural gas” significantly but indirectly influenced energy use. Sensitivity analysis exhibited that the system boundary of SPA could be narrowed down into the first two upstream stages that contained nearly 50% of energy flow information or expanded toward the first five upstream stages that represented 80% of total energy consumption. - Highlights: •We designed an optimized algorithm for multi-regional SPA. •We extracted energy-intensive paths throughout the upstream supply chain. •We explored self-sufficiency characteristic for provincial construction industries. •We identified energy-intensive sectors hidden in higher-order supply chain. •We developed an effective strategy for narrowing down the system boundary of SPA.

  6. Experimentação e uso regular de bebidas alcoólicas, cigarros e outras substâncias psicoativas/SPA na adolescência Experimentation and regular use of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and other Psychoactive Substances (PAS during adolescence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Conceição O. Costa

    2007-10-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: analisar o uso de bebidas alcoólicas, cigarros, outras substâncias psicoativas - SPA e fatores de risco entre adolescentes das escolas de um município com 500 mil/hab., Bahia/Brasil. MÉTODO: estudo transversal, com amostra aleatória, estratificada por conglomerado com adolescentes de 14 a 19 anos, totalizando 10 escolas públicas e 1.409 alunos de Feira de Santana. O instrumento auto-aplicável foi elaborado segundo a OMS e outros estudos nacionais adequados à faixa adolescente, com rigoroso procedimento, garantindo anonimato e sigilo. RESULTADOS: 86,5% dos adolescentes consideravam-se bem informados sobre SPA, a maioria por TV, rádio e escola; 57,0% relataram uso de bebidas alcoólicas, principalmente cervejas e vinhos; 23,3% usavam cigarros e 5,2% outras SPA (cânabis, solventes e cocaína; 29,3% usavam bebidas uma a três vezes/mês e 13% todo final de semana. Na faixa de 10 a 14 anos, 47% experimentaram bebidas e 16,7% outras SPA. A razão de prevalência (RP mostrou consumo de bebidas, cigarros e outras SPA significantemente maiores na faixa 17 a 19 anos e sexo masculino. A curiosidade foi a principal motivação; na companhia de amigos e pais; festas e casas de colegas. CONCLUSÕES: A Necessidade de institucionalização de atividades adequadas nas escolas à prevenção do uso das SPA entre jovens.OBJECTIVE: To analyze the use of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, other psychoactive substances - PAS , among adolescents of public schools of Feira de Santana, Bahia/Brazil. METHOD: Cross sectional study with random samples, stratified in terms of conglomerate units (schools and students. The sample of the study totalled 1,409 adolescents between 14 and 19 years old from 10 public schools; 30% of the total of schools of the municipality with 500,000/inhabitants. The representation of schools and students was respected. The self-report instrument was elaborated according to OMS recommendations and as used in others studies1

  7. [Quality management in a combined clinic - the quality management system according to DIN EN ISO 9001 of the The German Association of Spa Accommodation Resorts e. V. (VdKB)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckert, H; Schulze, U

    2004-06-01

    The implementation of a quality system in health care organizations offers huge potentials for improvement and development. But the realization of such systems necessitates high investments, which small companies and family businesses often are unable to raise. The German Association of Spa Accommodation Resorts (VdKB) commissioned two consultants to develop a reasonably priced implementation concept of a DIN EN ISO 9001 quality system specially adjusted to small companies and family businesses in medical spa and rehabilitation services, which was successfully accredited in May 2003. This paper describes fundamental requirements in combine management systems, considers the pros and cons of management combines and demonstrates the practical realization of combine requirements on the example of the VdKB-combine system.

  8. Evolutionary Games and Social Conventions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Pelle Guldborg

    2007-01-01

    -defined metaphors of individual learning and social imitation processes, from which a revised theory of convention may be erected (see Sugden 2004, Binmore 1993 and Young 1998). This paper makes a general argument in support of the evolutionary turn in the theory of convention by a progressive exposition of its...... in Aumann (1976) and which, together with the assumptions of perfect rationality, came to be defining of classical game theory. However, classical game theory is currently undergoing severe crisis as a tool for exploring social phenomena; a crisis emerging from the problem of equilibrium selection around......Some thirty years ago Lewis published his Convention: A Philosophical Study (Lewis, 2002). This laid the foundation for a game-theoretic approach to social conventions, but became more famously known for its seminal analysis of common knowledge; the concept receiving its canonical analysis...

  9. Spa-Wellness Center as Part of the Hotel Facility

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milica Rančić

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Over the last decades “wellness spa” industry has experienced a boom around the world. The word “Wellness” has been formed by merging two words: “Well Being” + “fitness”, and appeared in the thirties of the last century in the United States. The primary objective of this movement is an ancient philosophy, according to which there ́s no fulfilled life without the assent of the physical and mental, also physical and spiritual. Hotel guests, today more than ever, want higher quality offer for their money. This means that wellness is today a very important criterion by which customers select hotels. For this reason it is necessary to pay great attention to the planning, design and construction of this part of the hotel facility. The subject of this paper is wellness and spa centers as part of the hotel facility. The task is to investigate and analyze elements of this space, to determine spatial areas of wellness center, as well as their relationships and spatial organization, in order to reach the goal - getting useful guidelines for planning quality wellness center. To all of this could be achieved, we must first go back to distant history where dating back the beginnings of wellness.

  10. Noise level arrangement in determined zones of homogenous development of green areas on the example of the spa park in Inowrocław

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sztubecka, Małgorzata; Skiba, Marta

    2016-11-01

    Noise measurements are usually carried out in developed areas as well as in the surroundings of traffic routes providing basis for actions in order to limit its influence on the neighboring areas. Noise measurements in park areas are rare due to belief that these areas are silent zones. Such attitude cannot be justified. This article aims to the assessment of noise appearing in determined subzones of the spa park in Inowrocław. From the research carried out it can be noticed that traffic noise does not have any important meaning for the acoustic climate of the park. It is the people who stay there who generate more noise. Comparative analysis proves the appearance and penetration of noise from the zones with greater level of noise to the ones with lower amount.

  11. Analysis of the London dumping convention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nauke, M.K.

    1983-05-01

    This report gives an in-depth review of the provisions of the London Dumping Convention and of its origins in the context of the international legal framework for controlling all aspects of marine pollution. Particular attention is paid to the provisions concerning radioactive waste. (NEA) [fr

  12. Clinical and biochemical effects of a 3-week program of diet combined with spa therapy in obese and diabetic patients: a pilot open study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fioravanti, Antonella; Adamczyk, Przemysław; Pascarelli, Nicola Antonio; Giannitti, Chiara; Urso, Renato; Tołodziecki, Michał; Ponikowska, Irena

    2015-07-01

    Obesity is a major risk factor for arterial hypertension, coronary artery disease, dyslipidemias, and type 2 diabetes. Spa therapy has long been used for treating obesity and its comorbidities. Enlargement of adipose tissue has been linked to a dysregulation of adipokine secretion and adipose tissue inflammation. Adipokines are currently investigated as potential drug targets in these conditions. Our primary aim was to assess the clinical efficacy of a 3-week program of diet combined with spa therapy in obese patients with and without type 2 diabetes. The secondary aim was to examine whether this combined program influences the response of serum levels of leptin, adiponectin, visfatin, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Fifty obese males were enrolled and 21 of these featured a type 2 diabetes. During the 3-week period of the study, the patients were on a 1,000-kcal diet and were involved in mineral bath and total body's mud-pack applications (15 procedures). Patients were assessed at baseline and at the end of the therapy for clinical and biochemical parameters (total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glycemia, and adipokines). We showed that a 3-week program of spa therapy in obese patients induced significant decrease of body weight, body mass index, triglycerides, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, glycemia, and serum levels of leptin and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. So, a cycle of mud-bath therapy associated with a controlled diet may be a promising treatment for obesity and type 2 diabetes decreasing body weight and many risk factors for atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome.

  13. Comparison between laser terahertz emission microscope and conventional methods for analysis of polycrystalline silicon solar cell

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidetoshi Nakanishi

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available A laser terahertz emission microscope (LTEM can be used for noncontact inspection to detect the waveforms of photoinduced terahertz emissions from material devices. In this study, we experimentally compared the performance of LTEM with conventional analysis methods, e.g., electroluminescence (EL, photoluminescence (PL, and laser beam induced current (LBIC, as an inspection method for solar cells. The results showed that LTEM was more sensitive to the characteristics of the depletion layer of the polycrystalline solar cell compared with EL, PL, and LBIC and that it could be used as a complementary tool to the conventional analysis methods for a solar cell.

  14. Do Sustainable Stocks Offer Diversification Benefits for Conventional Portfolios? An Empirical Analysis of Risk Spillovers and Dynamic Correlations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehmet Balcilar

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the potential diversification benefits of socially responsible investments for conventional stock portfolios by examining the risk spillovers and dynamic correlations between conventional and sustainability stock indexes from a number of regions. We observe significant unidirectional volatility transmissions from conventional to sustainable equities, suggesting that the criteria applied for socially responsible investments do not necessarily shield these securities from common market shocks. While significant dynamic correlations are observed between sustainable and conventional stocks, particularly in Europe, the analysis of both in- and out-of-sample dynamic portfolios suggests that supplementing conventional stock portfolios with sustainable counterparts improves the risk/return profile of stock portfolios in all regions. The findings overall suggest that sustainable investments can indeed provide diversification gains for conventional stock portfolios globally.

  15. Towards a Theory of Convention

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Pelle Guldborg

    2006-01-01

    Some thirty years ago Lewis published his Convention: A philosophical Study (Lewis 1969). Besides exciting the logical community by providing the seminal analysis work on common knowledge, it also laid the foundations for the formal approach to the study of social conventions by means of game the...

  16. Comparative environmental effects and cost analysis between conventional and non-conventional energy sources - A case for objective analysis and decision making in Nigeria's Energy Policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akinbami, J. F. K.

    1997-01-01

    Energy, which is simply 'ability to do work' is the central cross-sectoral issue which affects all human activities either directly or indirectly. It is a vital input to economic growth and development of any economy, developing or developed. However, as there are two sides to a coin, so is the issue of energy use. While it contributes to the economic growth and development of a nation, its usage has with it attendant environmental consequences. At every stage along the chain, from resource delineation and extraction, through conversion, transportation, and end-use, the energy industry faces environmental challenges. Each of these stages and even the associated environmental burdens is not without a cost. This paper therefore sets out to review and compare the environmental effects as well as the cost analysis of both the conventional and non-conventional energy resources generally and with particular emphasis on Nigeria. This hopefully should then inform the citizenry in their drive for energy consumption as well as the nation's planners and decision makers in their efforts at adequate energy planning and management for both economic and environmental sustainability in the country

  17. Waste heat utilization in the thermal spa of Lavey-les-Bains; Etude de la valorisation des rejets thermiques des Bains de Lavey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-07-01

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy looks at the possibilities for improved waste water utilization in the Lavey-les-Bains thermal spa, Switzerland. According to the regulations in force, the temperature of the waste water rejected into the Rhone river shall not exceed 30 {sup o}C, what is currently not the case. Also the operational cost shall be reduced and the waste water quality improved. The installations are presented. From the two geothermal wells, mineral water comes out at an average flow rate of 940 l/min and a temperature of 63 {sup o}C. Actual waste water data are reported. The measured thermal water consumption data, including seasonal variations, are analysed by computerized simulation and measures to reduce the consumed volume by the optimization of internal procedures are evaluated. Measures to reduce the quantity of the rejected free chlorine are discussed. Several possible adaptations of the existing space heating, domestic water heating and pools' heating are evaluated, including cost. In addition, extensions of the thermal spa center to recreational activities are discussed, as the construction of a tropical greenhouse is.

  18. Proceedings of international conference dedicated to the seventieth anniversary of Physical-technical institute, SPA 'Physics-Sun' 'Fundamental and applied problems of physics'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lutpullaev, S.L.; Atabaev, I.G.; Abdurakhmanov, A.A.

    2013-11-01

    The International conference dedicated to the seventieth anniversary of Physical-technical institute, SPA 'Physics-Sun' 'Fundamental and applied problems of physics' was held on 14-15 November, 2013 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Specialists discussed various aspects of modern problems of relativistic nuclear physics and physics of atomic nuclei, solid state physics, various applications of new materials. More than 225 talks were presented in the meeting. (k.m.)

  19. Comparative live-cell imaging analyses of SPA-2, BUD-6 and BNI-1 in Neurospora crassa reveal novel features of the filamentous fungal polarisome.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexander Lichius

    Full Text Available A key multiprotein complex involved in regulating the actin cytoskeleton and secretory machinery required for polarized growth in fungi, is the polarisome. Recognized core constituents in budding yeast are the proteins Spa2, Pea2, Aip3/Bud6, and the key effector Bni1. Multicellular fungi display a more complex polarized morphogenesis than yeasts, suggesting that the filamentous fungal polarisome might fulfill additional functions. In this study, we compared the subcellular organization and dynamics of the putative polarisome components BUD-6 and BNI-1 with those of the bona fide polarisome marker SPA-2 at various developmental stages of Neurospora crassa. All three proteins exhibited a yeast-like polarisome configuration during polarized germ tube growth, cell fusion, septal pore plugging and tip repolarization. However, the localization patterns of all three proteins showed spatiotemporally distinct characteristics during the establishment of new polar axes, septum formation and cytokinesis, and maintained hyphal tip growth. Most notably, in vegetative hyphal tips BUD-6 accumulated as a subapical cloud excluded from the Spitzenkörper (Spk, whereas BNI-1 and SPA-2 partially colocalized with the Spk and the tip apex. Novel roles during septal plugging and cytokinesis, connected to the reinitiation of tip growth upon physical injury and conidial maturation, were identified for BUD-6 and BNI-1, respectively. Phenotypic analyses of gene deletion mutants revealed additional functions for BUD-6 and BNI-1 in cell fusion regulation, and the maintenance of Spk integrity. Considered together, our findings reveal novel polarisome-independent functions of BUD-6 and BNI-1 in Neurospora, but also suggest that all three proteins cooperate at plugged septal pores, and their complex arrangement within the apical dome of mature hypha might represent a novel aspect of filamentous fungal polarisome architecture.

  20. Topographic Transmissions and How To Talk About Them: The Case of the Southern Spa in Nineteenth-Century Russian Fiction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benjamin Morgan

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The Caucasian spa resort is a significant setting in Russian literature of the nineteenth century. This paper will trace the origins and evolution of Russian fictional writing about watering places like Piatigorsk and Kislovodsk from romanticism until the turn of the twentieth century. At the same time it will consider the semiotic theories of Iurii Lotman’s Tartu-Moscow School and the ‘transtextual’ apparatus of the French narratologist Gérard Genette as ‘toolboxes’ for work on place in narrative.

  1. Islamic vs Conventional Microfinance Institutions: Performance analysis in MENA countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ines Ben Abdelkader

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available Microfinance has been identified as an important policy instrument that allows greater financial and social independence for women and poor by facilitating access to financial services for the poorest and destitute. Microfinance institutions (MFIs have mostly a high concentration of women beneficiaries and aim at alleviation of poverty in all its forms. Accordingly, the principal purpose of microfinance institutions is to be social performing by reducing poverty. However, they have to reconcile this objective with financial performance by trying to be profitable and sustainable. On other side, Islamic Microfinance has progressively growing in the world, particularly in poor countries, as credible alternative which allows poor populations to have access to basic financial services at low cost. The integration of Islamic finance concepts to microfinance was one of the valuable reasons in attracting poor to get advantage of these services. Whereas the complexity of these methods in microfinance and lack of transparency in profit distribution, there are some challenges about their efficiency. It is therefore of utmost interest to consider if the financial performance of Islamic microfinance institutions will be negatively correlated with the depth of outreach. The aim of this paper is to examine the performance of Islamic microfinance institutions in comparison with conventional institutions. This study focuses analysis on the MENA region, where a large proportion of the poor are practicing Muslims and are thus unable to take advantage of traditional microfinance contracts which are incompatible with Sharia’. Using a non parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA to estimate the efficiency of the microfinance institutions, our study provides the empirical evidence from Islamic and conventional microfinance institutions in MENA region.

  2. Microbial analysis of meatballs cooled with vacuum and conventional cooling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturk, Hande Mutlu; Ozturk, Harun Kemal; Koçar, Gunnur

    2017-08-01

    Vacuum cooling is a rapid evaporative cooling technique and can be used for pre-cooling of leafy vegetables, mushroom, bakery, fishery, sauces, cooked food, meat and particulate foods. The aim of this study was to apply the vacuum cooling and the conventional cooling techniques for the cooling of the meatball and to show the vacuum pressure effect on the cooling time, the temperature decrease and microbial growth rate. The results of the vacuum cooling and the conventional cooling (cooling in the refrigerator) were compared with each other for different temperatures. The study shows that the conventional cooling was much slower than the vacuum cooling. Moreover, the microbial growth rate of the vacuum cooling was extremely low compared with the conventional cooling. Thus, the lowest microbial growth occurred at 0.7 kPa and the highest microbial growth was observed at 1.5 kPa for the vacuum cooling. The mass loss ratio for the conventional cooling and vacuum cooling was about 5 and 9% respectively.

  3. Grading sacroiliitis with emphasis on MRI imaging; Grading der Sakroiliitis mit Betonung der MRT-Bildgebung

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jurik, A.G.; Egund, N. [The Department of Radiology R, Aarhus Kommunehospital (Denmark)

    2004-03-01

    Cross-sectional imaging techniques play a decisive role in identification, localization, and characterization of alterations in the sacroiliac joint during the early stage of seronegative spondylarthropathy (SpA). Although several studies showed that the diagnostic capabilities of MRI and CT are superior to those of conventional radiography, they have not yet become established and accepted as methods for evaluating the grade of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in contrast to conventional radiography. The lack of acceptance for MRI and/or CT methods for evaluating and grading changes in the sacroiliac joint makes it difficult to include the results of these procedures in classifying the grade of SpA. Moreover, grading the changes in the sacroiliac joint in SpA with a method more sensitive than conventional radiography will be of prime importance in assessing treatment, e.g., the efficacy of new biological therapeutic agents directed against the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-{alpha}). An overview of the available grading methods is provided and MRI and CT techniques are presented. (orig.) [German] Schnittbildverfahren spielen bei der Identifizierung, Lokalisation und Charakterisierung von Veraenderungen des Sakroiliakalgelenks (SIG) im Fruehstadium der seronegativen Spondylarthropathie (SpA) eine entscheidende Rolle. Obwohl mehrere Studien zeigten, dass der diagnostische Wert der MRT und CT jenem der konventionellen Radiographie ueberlegen ist, hat sich das Schnittbildverfahren als Mittel zur Evaluierung des Grades der ankylosierenden Spondylitis (AS) im Gegensatz zur konventionellen Radiographie noch nicht etabliert und durchgesetzt. Dieses Fehlen eines akzeptierten MRT- und/oder CT-Verfahrens zur Evaluierung und zum Grading der Veraenderungen am SIG macht es schwierig, die Ergebnisse dieser Verfahren bei der Einstufung des Grades der AS-Veraenderungen und Erarbeitung von Diagnosekriterien fuer andere Formen der SpA einzubeziehen. Ausserdem wird das Grading der SIG

  4. Spa as Arena of Career Woman Resistance to Patriarch Domination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bhernadetta Pravita Wahyuningtyas

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the career women who use the habit of treating the body through the routine of coming to spas, which aims to overcome the dominance of patriarchy. This study uses several concepts. First, muted group theory, which states that woman, is the one that silenced; so to overcome this condition, women should perform self-transformation. The transformation is aligned with the second concept, feminist existentialist, which defines the transformation as the change of a woman concept from Other to Self. The transformation can be achieved not only by working outside the domestic sphere, but also supported by a good appearance through a complete body treatment. Grooming habits acquired through socialization that derived in woman since their childhood. The socialization is about how women as a person who is considered weak by the world of patriarchal domination using the power of their beauty to master, subdue, and break the domination in her life. Then, with their good appearance, woman can express their existence in everything that they do from object become subject. Spa and the whole result of the activities contained in it then consciously become a way of resistance that being used by the career woman against the domination of patriarchy which overshadowing their lives. 

  5. Biological properties of mud extracts derived from various spa resorts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spilioti, Eliana; Vargiami, Margarita; Letsiou, Sophia; Gardikis, Konstantinos; Sygouni, Varvara; Koutsoukos, Petros; Chinou, Ioanna; Kassi, Eva; Moutsatsou, Paraskevi

    2017-08-01

    Spa resorts are known for thousands of years for their healing properties and have been empirically used for the treatment of many inflammatory conditions. Mud is one of the most often used natural materials for preventive, healing and cosmetic reasons and although it has been used since the antiquity, little light has been shed on its physical, chemical and biological properties. In this study we examined the effect of mud extracts on the expression of adhesion molecules (CAMs) by endothelial cells as well as their effects on monocyte adhesion to activated endothelial cells. Most of mud extracts inhibited the expression of VCAM-1 by endothelial cells and reduced monocyte adhesion to activated endothelial cells, indicating a potent anti-inflammatory activity. Furthermore, the mud extracts were tested for their antimicrobial activity; however, most of them appeared inactive against S. aureus and S. epidermidis. One of the mud extracts (showing the best stabilization features) increased significantly the expression of genes involved in cell protection, longevity and hydration of human keratinocytes, such as, collagen 6A1, forkhead box O3, sirtuin-1, superoxide dismutase 1 and aquaporin-3. The present study reveals that mud exerts important beneficial effects including anti-inflammatory and anti-aging activity as well as moisturizing effects, implicating important cosmeceutical applications.

  6. A comparison of conventional and computer-assisted semen analysis (CRISMAS software) using samples from 166 young Danish men

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vested, Anne; Ramlau-Hansen, Cecilia; Bonde, Jens P

    2011-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to compare assessments of sperm concentration and sperm motility analysed by conventional semen analysis with those obtained by computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) (Copenhagen Rigshospitalet Image House Sperm Motility Analysis System (CRISMAS) 4.6 software......) using semen samples from 166 young Danish men. The CRISMAS software identifies sperm concentration and classifies spermatozoa into three motility categories. To enable comparison of the two methods, the four motility stages obtained by conventional semen analysis were, based on their velocity...... classifications, divided into three stages, comparable to the three CRISMAS motility categories: rapidly progressive (A), slowly progressive (B) and non-progressive (C+D). Differences between the two methods were large for all investigated parameters (P sperm concentration...

  7. Is it really organic? – Multi-isotopic analysis as a tool to discriminate between organic and conventional plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laursen, K.H.; Mihailova, A.; Kelly, S.D.

    2013-01-01

    for discrimination of organically and conventionally grown plants. The study was based on wheat, barley, faba bean and potato produced in rigorously controlled long-term field trials comprising 144 experimental plots. Nitrogen isotope analysis revealed the use of animal manure, but was unable to discriminate between......Novel procedures for analytical authentication of organic plant products are urgently needed. Here we present the first study encompassing stable isotopes of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, magnesium and sulphur as well as compound-specific nitrogen and oxygen isotope analysis of nitrate...... plants that were fertilised with synthetic nitrogen fertilisers or green manures from atmospheric nitrogen fixing legumes. This limitation was bypassed using oxygen isotope analysis of nitrate in potato tubers, while hydrogen isotope analysis allowed complete discrimination of organic and conventional...

  8. Evaluation of pressed powders and thin section standards for multi-elemental analysis by conventional and micro-PIXE analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Homma-Takeda, Shino; Iso, Hiroyuki; Ito, Masaki

    2010-01-01

    For multi-elemental analysis, various standards are used to quantify the elements consists of environmental and biological samples. In this paper two different configuration standards, pressed powders and thin section standards, were assessed for their purpose as standards by conventional and micro-PIXE analysis. Homogeneity of manganese, iron, zinc (Zn), copper and yttrium added to pressed powder standard materials were validated and the relative standard deviation (RSD) of the X-ray intensity of the standards was 2 area and the metal concentration was acceptable. (author)

  9. Effect of spring water on the radon concentration in the air at Masutomi spa in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inagaki, Masayo; Koga, Taeko; Morishima, Hiroshige; Kimura, Shojiro; Ohta, Masatoshi

    2012-01-01

    The concentrations of 222 Rn existing in air have been studied by using a convenient and highly sensitive Pico-rad detector system at Masutomi spa in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. The measurements in air were carried out indoors and outdoors during the winter of 2000 and the summers of 1999 and 2005. The concentrations of 222 Rn in spring water in this region were measured by the liquid scintillation method. The concentrations of natural radionuclides contained in soils surrounding spa areas were also examined by means of the γ-ray energy spectrometry technique using a Ge diode detector to investigate the correlation between the radionuclides contents and 222 Rn concentrations in air at each point of interest. The atmospheric 222 Rn concentrations in these areas were high, ranging from 5 Bq/m 3 to 2676 Bq/m 3 . The radon concentration at each hotel was high in the order of the bath room, the dressing room, the lobby, and the outdoor area near the hotel, with averages and standard deviations of the concentration of 441 ± 79 Bq/m 3 , 351 ± 283 Bq/m 3 , 121 ± 5 Bq/m 3 , and 23 ± 1 Bq/m 3 , respectively. The source of 222 Rn in the air in the bath room is more likely to be the spring water than the soil. The spring water plays carries the radon to the atmosphere. Our measurements indicated that the 222 Rn concentration in the air was affected by the 222 Rn concentration in spring water rather than that in soil. (author)

  10. Parametric analysis of technology and policy tradeoffs for conventional and electric light-duty vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barter, Garrett E.; Reichmuth, David; Westbrook, Jessica; Malczynski, Leonard A.; West, Todd H.; Manley, Dawn K.; Guzman, Katherine D.; Edwards, Donna M.

    2012-01-01

    A parametric analysis is used to examine the supply demand interactions between the US light-duty vehicle (LDV) fleet, its fuels, and the corresponding primary energy sources through 2050. The analysis emphasizes competition between conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, including hybrids, and electric vehicles (EVs), represented by both plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles. We find that EV market penetration could double relative to our baseline case with policies to extend consumers' effective payback period to 7 years. EVs can also reduce per vehicle petroleum consumption by up to 5% with opportunities to increase that fraction at higher adoption rates. However, EVs have limited ability to reduce LDV greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with the current energy source mix. Alone, EVs cannot drive compliance with the most aggressive GHG emission reduction targets, even if the electricity grid shifts towards natural gas powered sources. Since ICEs will dominate the LDV fleet for up to 40 years, conventional vehicle efficiency improvements have the greatest potential for reductions in LDV GHG emissions and petroleum consumption over this time. Specifically, achieving fleet average efficiencies of 72 mpg or greater can reduce average GHG emissions by 70% and average petroleum consumption by 81%. - Highlights: ► Parametric analysis of the light duty vehicle fleet, its fuels, and energy sources. ► Conventional vehicles will dominate the fleet for up to 40 years. ► Improving gasoline powertrain efficiency is essential for GHG and oil use reduction. ► Electric vehicles have limited leverage over GHG emissions with the current grid mix. ► Consumer payback period extensions can double electric vehicle market share.

  11. Investigation of Virulence Genes by PCR in Stapylococcus aureus Isolates Originated from Subclinical Bovine Mastitis in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Karahan, Mehmet Nuri Acik1* and Burhan Cetinkaya

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the present study was to characterize coagulase (coa positive Staphylococcus aureus strains (n=92 isolated from bovine subclinical mastitis in Turkey by PCR amplification of clumping factor A (clfA and protein A (spa genes. All the coa-positive S. aureus isolates were determined to harbor the genes encoding the IgG binding region (spa-IgG and the X region (spa-X of spa. On the other hand, 84 (91.3% isolates were positive for clfA gene. These three genes displayed size polymorphisms. It was concluded that spa gene polymorphisms for S. aureus, when used together with coa-PCR, can be proposed as good alternatives to conventional methods in typing S. aureus isolates of bovine origin which may provide valuable data for the development of effective control strategies against staphylococcal mastitis. The results of the present study showed that S. aureus isolates responsible for the mastitis cases in Turkey were genetically diverse.

  12. Functional Analysis of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Pili in Relation to Adhesion and Immunomodulatory Interactions with Intestinal Epithelial Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claes, Ingmar; Tytgat, Hanne L. P.; Verhoeven, Tine L. A.; Marien, Eyra; von Ossowski, Ingemar; Reunanen, Justus; Palva, Airi; de Vos, Willem M.; De Keersmaecker, Sigrid C. J.; Vanderleyden, Jos

    2012-01-01

    Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, a probiotic with good survival capacity in the human gut, has well-documented adhesion properties and health effects. Recently, spaCBA-encoded pili that bind to human intestinal mucus were identified on its cell surface. Here, we report on the phenotypic analysis of a spaCBA pilus knockout mutant in comparison with the wild type and other adhesin mutants. The SpaCBA pilus of L. rhamnosus GG showed to be key for efficient adherence to the Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) line and biofilm formation. Moreover, the spaCBA mutant induces an elevated level of interleukin-8 (IL-8) mRNA in Caco-2 cells compared to the wild type, possibly involving an interaction of lipoteichoic acid with Toll-like receptor 2. In contrast, an L. rhamnosus GG mutant without exopolysaccharides but with an increased exposure of pili leads to the reduced expression of IL-8. Using Transwells to partition bacteria from Caco-2 cells, IL-8 induction is blocked completely regardless of whether wild-type or mutant L. rhamnosus GG cells are used. Taken together, our data suggest that L. rhamnosus GG SpaCBA pili, while promoting strong adhesive interactions with IECs, have a functional role in balancing IL-8 mRNA expression induced by surface molecules such as lipoteichoic acid. PMID:22020518

  13. Local Lunar Gravity Field Analysis over the South Pole-aitken Basin from SELENE Farside Tracking Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goossens, Sander Johannes; Ishihara, Yoshiaki; Matsumoto, Koji; Sasaki, Sho

    2012-01-01

    We present a method with which we determined the local lunar gravity field model over the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) basin on the farside of the Moon by estimating adjustments to a global lunar gravity field model using SELENE tracking data. Our adjustments are expressed in localized functions concentrated over the SPA region in a spherical cap with a radius of 45deg centered at (191.1 deg E, 53.2 deg S), and the resolution is equivalent to a 150th degree and order spherical harmonics expansion. The new solution over SPA was used in several applications of geophysical analysis. It shows an increased correlation with high-resolution lunar topography in the frequency band l = 40-70, and admittance values are slightly different and more leveled when compared to other, global gravity field models using the same data. The adjustments expressed in free-air anomalies and differences in Bouguer anomalies between the local solution and the a priori global solution correlate with topographic surface features. The Moho structure beneath the SPA basin is slightly modified in our solution, most notably at the southern rim of the Apollo basin and around the Zeeman crater

  14. Balneotherapy for chronic plaque psoriasis at Comano spa in Trentino, Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peroni, Anna; Gisondi, Paolo; Zanoni, Mauro; Girolomoni, Giampiero

    2008-07-01

    Thermal therapy is used worldwide in the treatment of psoriasis but few controlled studies have evaluated its efficacy and safety. We studied the efficacy and safety of balneotherapy compared to photobalneotherapy performed at Comano spa in Trentino, Italy, in chronic plaque psoriasis in a prospective, nonrandomized, open study. Three hundred adult patients with mild to severe chronic plaque psoriasis were assigned to either balneotherapy or photobalneotherapy with daily narrow-band ultraviolet B for a mean period of 1 or 2 weeks, reflecting the times that most patients can dedicate to thermal therapy. Patients were evaluated at baseline and end of treatment for psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) and body surface area; self-administered PASI (SAPASI) and Skindex-29 were evaluated at the same times, and also at 4 months by a mailed questionnaire. One-week balneotherapy or photobalneotherapy resulted in a significant reduction in PASI score (11.54% +/- 2.76 and 12.76% +/- 3.79, respectively; mean +/- standard deviation; p balneotherapy alone, with PASI reduction of 19.8% +/- 24.5 and 13.5% +/- 23.1 (p balneotherapy and photobalneotherapy could thus be offered to patients willing to temporarily discontinue pharmacologic therapy or as adjuvant therapy.

  15. Presence of multiple spondyloarthritis (SpA) features is important but not sufficient for a diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis: data from the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early (SPACE) cohort

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ez-Zaitouni, Z.; Bakker, P. A. C.; van Lunteren, M.; Berg, I. J.; Landewe, R.; van Oosterhout, M.; Lorenzin, M.; van der Heijde, D.; van Gaalen, F. A.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives Concerns have been raised about overdiagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). We investigated whether patients with chronic back pain (CBP) of short duration and multiple SpA features are always diagnosed with axSpA by the rheumatologist, and to what extent fulfilment of the

  16. Evaluation of shear wave elastography for differential diagnosis of breast lesions: A new qualitative analysis versus conventional quantitative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Wei-Wei; Li, Xiao-Long; Wang, Dan; Liu, Bo-Ji; Zhao, Chong-Ke; Xu, Hui-Xiong

    2018-04-13

    To evaluate a special kind of ultrasound (US) shear wave elastography for differential diagnosis of breast lesions, using a new qualitative analysis (i.e. the elasticity score in the travel time map) compared with conventional quantitative analysis. From June 2014 to July 2015, 266 pathologically proven breast lesions were enrolled in this study. The maximum, mean, median, minimum, and standard deviation of shear wave speed (SWS) values (m/s) were assessed. The elasticity score, a new qualitative feature, was evaluated in the travel time map. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves were plotted to evaluate the diagnostic performance of both qualitative and quantitative analyses for differentiation of breast lesions. Among all quantitative parameters, SWS-max showed the highest AUROC (0.805; 95% CI: 0.752, 0.851) compared with SWS-mean (0.786; 95% CI:0.732, 0.834; P = 0.094), SWS-median (0.775; 95% CI:0.720, 0.824; P = 0.046), SWS-min (0.675; 95% CI:0.615, 0.731; P = 0.000), and SWS-SD (0.768; 95% CI:0.712, 0.817; P = 0.074). The AUROC of qualitative analysis in this study obtained the best diagnostic performance (0.871; 95% CI: 0.825, 0.909, compared with the best parameter of SWS-max in quantitative analysis, P = 0.011). The new qualitative analysis of shear wave travel time showed the superior diagnostic performance in the differentiation of breast lesions in comparison with conventional quantitative analysis.

  17. Conventional vs. e-learning in nursing education: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voutilainen, Ari; Saaranen, Terhi; Sormunen, Marjorita

    2017-03-01

    By and large, in health professions training, the direction of the effect of e-learning, positive or negative, strongly depends on the learning outcome in question as well as on learning methods which e-learning is compared to. In nursing education, meta-analytically generated knowledge regarding the comparisons between conventional and e-learning is scarce. The aim of this review is to discover the size of the effect of e-learning on learning outcomes in nursing education and to assess the quality of studies in which e-learning has been compared to conventional learning. A systematic search of six electronic databases, PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE®, CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and ERIC, was conducted in order to identify relevant peer-reviewed English language articles published between 2011 and 2015. The quality of the studies included as well as the risk of bias in each study was assessed. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed to generate a pooled mean difference in the learning outcome. Altogether, 10 studies were eligible for the quality assessment and meta-analysis. Nine studies were evaluated as good quality studies, but not without a risk of bias. Performance bias caused a high risk in nearly all the studies. In the meta-analysis, an e-learning method resulted in test scores that were, on average, five points higher than a conventional method on a 0-100 scale. Heterogeneity between the studies was very large. The size and direction of the effect of a learning method on learning outcomes appeared to be strongly situational. We suggest that meta-regressions should be performed instead of basic meta-analyses in order to reveal factors that cause variation in the learning outcomes of nursing education. It might be necessary to perform separate meta-analyses between e-learning interventions aimed at improving nursing knowledge and those aimed at improving nursing skills. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  18. The Ultimate Pile Bearing Capacity from Conventional and Spectral Analysis of Surface Wave (SASW) Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faizah Bawadi, Nor; Anuar, Shamilah; Rahim, Mustaqqim A.; Mansor, A. Faizal

    2018-03-01

    A conventional and seismic method for determining the ultimate pile bearing capacity was proposed and compared. The Spectral Analysis of Surface Wave (SASW) method is one of the non-destructive seismic techniques that do not require drilling and sampling of soils, was used in the determination of shear wave velocity (Vs) and damping (D) profile of soil. The soil strength was found to be directly proportional to the Vs and its value has been successfully applied to obtain shallow bearing capacity empirically. A method is proposed in this study to determine the pile bearing capacity using Vs and D measurements for the design of pile and also as an alternative method to verify the bearing capacity from the other conventional methods of evaluation. The objectives of this study are to determine Vs and D profile through frequency response data from SASW measurements and to compare pile bearing capacities obtained from the method carried out and conventional methods. All SASW test arrays were conducted near the borehole and location of conventional pile load tests. In obtaining skin and end bearing pile resistance, the Hardin and Drnevich equation has been used with reference strains obtained from the method proposed by Abbiss. Back analysis results of pile bearing capacities from SASW were found to be 18981 kN and 4947 kN compared to 18014 kN and 4633 kN of IPLT with differences of 5% and 6% for Damansara and Kuala Lumpur test sites, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the seismic method proposed in this study has the potential to be used in estimating the pile bearing capacity.

  19. EULAR recommendations for the use of imaging in the diagnosis and management of spondyloarthritis in clinical practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mandl, P; Navarro-Compán, V; Terslev, L

    2015-01-01

    of imaging in SpA were generated using a process of discussion and consensus. Imaging modalities included conventional radiography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography (CT), positron emission tomography, single photon emission CT, dual-emission x-ray absorptiometry and scintigraphy...... process, from which 158 studies were included in the systematic review. Ten recommendations were produced using research-based evidence and expert opinion encompassing the role of imaging in making a diagnosis of axial SpA or peripheral SpA, monitoring inflammation and damage, predicting outcome, response...... to treatment, and detecting spinal fractures and osteoporosis. The SOR for each recommendation was generally very high (range 8.9-9.5). These are the first recommendations which encompass the entire spectrum of SpA and evaluate the full role of all commonly used imaging modalities. We aimed to produce...

  20. Time-Efficiency Analysis Comparing Digital and Conventional Workflows for Implant Crowns: A Prospective Clinical Crossover Trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joda, Tim; Brägger, Urs

    2015-01-01

    To compare time-efficiency in the production of implant crowns using a digital workflow versus the conventional pathway. This prospective clinical study used a crossover design that included 20 study participants receiving single-tooth replacements in posterior sites. Each patient received a customized titanium abutment plus a computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacture (CAD/CAM) zirconia suprastructure (for those in the test group, using digital workflow) and a standardized titanium abutment plus a porcelain-fused-to-metal crown (for those in the control group, using a conventional pathway). The start of the implant prosthetic treatment was established as the baseline. Time-efficiency analysis was defined as the primary outcome, and was measured for every single clinical and laboratory work step in minutes. Statistical analysis was calculated with the Wilcoxon rank sum test. All crowns could be provided within two clinical appointments, independent of the manufacturing process. The mean total production time, as the sum of clinical plus laboratory work steps, was significantly different. The mean ± standard deviation (SD) time was 185.4 ± 17.9 minutes for the digital workflow process and 223.0 ± 26.2 minutes for the conventional pathway (P = .0001). Therefore, digital processing for overall treatment was 16% faster. Detailed analysis for the clinical treatment revealed a significantly reduced mean ± SD chair time of 27.3 ± 3.4 minutes for the test group compared with 33.2 ± 4.9 minutes for the control group (P = .0001). Similar results were found for the mean laboratory work time, with a significant decrease of 158.1 ± 17.2 minutes for the test group vs 189.8 ± 25.3 minutes for the control group (P = .0001). Only a few studies have investigated efficiency parameters of digital workflows compared with conventional pathways in implant dental medicine. This investigation shows that the digital workflow seems to be more time-efficient than the

  1. [Analysis of the effectiveness of the spa and health resort-based treatment of the patients presenting with broncho-pulmonary pathology at the southern coast of the Crimea depending on the period of flowering of Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savchenko, V M; Belyaeva, S N; Govorun, M I; Pirogova, M E

    The objective of the present study was to evaluate the influence of pollen of Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) on the effectiveness of the spa and health resort-based treatment (SHRT) of the patients with broncho-pulmonary pathology at the southern coast of the Crimea (SCC). This article presents the results of the analysis of the data on 122 patients presenting with broncho-pulmonary pathology who received SHRT under the conditions of the Southern Coast of the Crimea. Fifty one (41.8%) of these patients suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 71 (58.2%) ones had bronchial asthma. The whole group was comprised of 44 men (36.1%) and 78 women (63.9%). The average (median) age of the patients was 55.8 years. All the participants of the study underwent the comprehensive examination including the general medical and physical examination, complete blood count, the study of sputum cytology and immunological properties of blood including the standard characteristics, IgE and lysozyme levels), evaluation of the respiratory and locomotor (physical) functions with the use of the 6-minute walking test. The aeropollenological study of the aerial environment of the southern coast of the Crimea in the region of Yalta showed that the «bloom» of the Mediterranean Cypress occurs during the period from February till April inclusive. The highest concentrations of cypress pollen are observed in March and early April. The overall effectiveness of SHRT for the patients with broncho-pulmonary pathology arriving for the treatment at the southern coast of the Crimea from other Crimean localities does not depend on the period of «flowering» (the presence of pollen in the air) of the Mediterranean Cypress. In these patients, the termination of the spa and health resort-based treatment during the «flowering» of the Mediterranean Cypress resulted in nothing more than a strained adaptive response manifested as the altered blood leukocyte count. Such reaction

  2. Accuracy of Digital vs Conventional Implant Impression Approach: A Three-Dimensional Comparative In Vitro Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basaki, Kinga; Alkumru, Hasan; De Souza, Grace; Finer, Yoav

    To assess the three-dimensional (3D) accuracy and clinical acceptability of implant definitive casts fabricated using a digital impression approach and to compare the results with those of a conventional impression method in a partially edentulous condition. A mandibular reference model was fabricated with implants in the first premolar and molar positions to simulate a patient with bilateral posterior edentulism. Ten implant-level impressions per method were made using either an intraoral scanner with scanning abutments for the digital approach or an open-tray technique and polyvinylsiloxane material for the conventional approach. 3D analysis and comparison of implant location on resultant definitive casts were performed using laser scanner and quality control software. The inter-implant distances and interimplant angulations for each implant pair were measured for the reference model and for each definitive cast (n = 20 per group); these measurements were compared to calculate the magnitude of error in 3D for each definitive cast. The influence of implant angulation on definitive cast accuracy was evaluated for both digital and conventional approaches. Statistical analysis was performed using t test (α = .05) for implant position and angulation. Clinical qualitative assessment of accuracy was done via the assessment of the passivity of a master verification stent for each implant pair, and significance was analyzed using chi-square test (α = .05). A 3D error of implant positioning was observed for the two impression techniques vs the reference model, with mean ± standard deviation (SD) error of 116 ± 94 μm and 56 ± 29 μm for the digital and conventional approaches, respectively (P = .01). In contrast, the inter-implant angulation errors were not significantly different between the two techniques (P = .83). Implant angulation did not have a significant influence on definitive cast accuracy within either technique (P = .64). The verification stent

  3. China's Foreign Conventional Arms Acquisitions: Background and Analysis

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Kan, Shirley; Bolkcom, Christopher; O'Rourke, Ronald

    2001-01-01

    This CRS Report examines the major, foreign conventional weapon systems that China has acquired or has committed to acquire since 1990, with particular attention to implications for U.S. security concerns...

  4. Pre-feasibility study on the investment in a new SPA & wellness facility : Case Study: based on a hotel-restaurant in Germany

    OpenAIRE

    Jahn, Moritz

    2011-01-01

    The object of investigation has at the present a wellness facility which is however out-dated and does not longer support the general appearance. Therefore, a new investment has to be done which will be assessed with regard to its conceptual, economic and financial viability. In particular, the economic and financial viability of the new SPA & wellness facility by itself had to be assessed, as this is the main criteria for the principal. The extent of the pre-feasibility study is a limited ve...

  5. Non-conventional forms of HLA-B27 are expressed in spondyloarthritis joints and gut tissue

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rysnik, Oliwia; McHugh, Kirsty; van Duivenvoorde, Leonie; van Tok, Melissa; Guggino, Giuliana; Taurog, Joel; Kollnberger, Simon; Ciccia, Francesco; Baeten, Dominique; Bowness, Paul

    2016-01-01

    Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 (B27) is the strongest genetic factor associated with development of Ankylosing Spondylitis and other spondyloarthropathies (SpA), yet the role it plays in disease pathogenesis remains unclear. We investigated the expression of potentially pathogenic

  6. Analysis of Drying Process Quality in Conventional Dry-Kilns

    OpenAIRE

    Sedlar Tomislav; Pervan Stjepan

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents testing results of drying quality in a conventional dry kiln. Testing is based on a new methodology that will show the level of success of the drying process management by analyzing the quality of drying process in a conventional dry kiln, using a scientifi cally improved version of the check list in everyday practical applications. A company that specializes in lamel and classic parquet production was chosen so as to verify the new testing methodology. A total of 56 m3 of...

  7. [Shang Ring circumcision versus conventional circumcision for redundant prepuce or phimosis: a meta analysis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Er-Long; Ding, Hui; Li, Yong-Qian; Wang, Zhi-Ping

    2013-10-01

    To compare the effect and safety of Shang Ring circumcision with those of conventional circumcision in the treatment of redundant prepuce or phimosis. We retrieved the randomized controlled trials on Shang Ring circumcision and conventional circumcision for the treatment of redundant prepuce or phimosis published at home and abroad. Relevant data were selected according to the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews by two reviewers after quality evaluation of the included trials, and the statistical software RevMan 5.0 was used for meta analysis. Totally 8 randomized controlled trials with 2277 cases were included in this study. Compared with conventional circumcision, Shang Ring circumcision showed a shorter operation time (SMD = -5.82, 95% CI [ -7.39, -4.24], PSMD = -3.28, 95% CI [ -3.47, -3.09], Pinfection (OR = 0.44, 95% CI [0.26, 0.72], P=0.001), lower rate of postoperative bleeding (OR =0.05, 95% CI [0.02, 0.12], PSMD = -3.32, 95% CI [ -3.50, -3.14], PSMD = -3.28, 95% CI [ - 3.47, - 3.00], P<0.00001), but longer wound healing time (OR=1.46, 95% CI [1.03, 1.90], P<0.00001). In comparison with conventional circumcision, Shang Ring circumcision has the advantages of shorter operation time, fewer complications, mild pain, and higher rate of satisfaction with the postoperative penile appearance. However, more high-quality randomized controlled trials with large samples are required to lend further support to our findings.

  8. Combined chemometric analysis of (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and stable isotope data to differentiate organic and conventional milk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erich, Sarah; Schill, Sandra; Annweiler, Eva; Waiblinger, Hans-Ulrich; Kuballa, Thomas; Lachenmeier, Dirk W; Monakhova, Yulia B

    2015-12-01

    The increased sales of organically produced food create a strong need for analytical methods, which could authenticate organic and conventional products. Combined chemometric analysis of (1)H NMR-, (13)C NMR-spectroscopy data, stable-isotope data (IRMS) and α-linolenic acid content (gas chromatography) was used to differentiate organic and conventional milk. In total 85 raw, pasteurized and ultra-heat treated (UHT) milk samples (52 organic and 33 conventional) were collected between August 2013 and May 2014. The carbon isotope ratios of milk protein and milk fat as well as the α-linolenic acid content of these samples were determined. Additionally, the milk fat was analyzed by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The chemometric analysis of combined data (IRMS, GC, NMR) resulted in more precise authentication of German raw and retail milk with a considerably increased classification rate of 95% compared to 81% for NMR and 90% for IRMS using linear discriminate analysis. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Chemical composition of the thermomineral waters of Josanicka Banja spa as an origin indicator, balneological valorization and geothermal potential

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Milenić Dejan R.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The chemical composition of the groundwater is directly dependent on the geological structure, hydrogeological and hydrochemical characteristics and as such it represents an output result of all the factors and processes which take place in the environment within which they were formed. The chemical composition of thermomineral waters often represents a crucial factor in determining the origin, balneological valorization and geothermal potential of the resources. This work presents the analysis of origin, belneological valorization and geothermal potential of Josanicka Banja spa, on the basis of the results gained through making the analyisis of chemical contents of the thermomineral waters which occur in the area. The ratio of concentrations of specific chemical components in the thermomineral waters of Josanicka Banja has served as the basic tool for ascertaining the origin of these waters. On the basis of the analysis of the main anion-cation and gas compositions as well as the contents of specific micro-components, a balneological valorization of these resources has been carried out. Apart from that this work also presents the calculation of the expected temperatures in the primary geothermal reservoir, which was carried out on the basis of the results of chemical analysis of thermomineral waters that occur in the area. Geothermal potential of about 4 MWt and significant contents of balneologically active components of the chemical composition of these waters, open up a possibility for their multi-purpose use, which is also presented in the work. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 33053

  10. Kinematics, dynamics and structural analyses of a semi-passive mechanical arm; Analise cinematica, dinamica e estrutural de um manipulador semi-passivo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferreira, Claudio Violante [PETROBRAS S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Romano, Vitor Ferreira [Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Escola Politecnica

    2008-07-01

    This work presents the dynamics and kinematics modeling, and the structural analysis (including modal analysis) of a gantry type Semi-Passive mechanical Arm (SPA). The kinematics analysis of the SPA is referred in the Joints Space Coordinates. The Denavit-Hartenberg (D-H) parameterization method is used in the manipulator kinematics model. The dynamics analysis is also referred in the Joints Space, and done by means of Lagrange Equations. To develop the dynamic equations it were considered the joints friction and the external loads related to marine currents and the AUV/SPA interaction. The dynamics analysis it was done in two SPA configurations: all joints with activated brakes (locked) and all joints with not activated brakes. A commercial FEM program, ANSYS{sup R} 5.5.1, was used to calculate the structural deformations and tensions, and these results were used to define the final structure configuration. This program has a Static Analysis Package which permits to determine the displacements, stresses, strains and forces in structures caused by external loads. In order to evaluate the SPA structural stiffness it was done the modal analysis and the determination of five SPA vibration modes and natural frequencies. (author)

  11. Performance analysis of conventional PSS and fuzzy controller for damping power system oscillations

    OpenAIRE

    Banna, Hasan UI; Luna Alloza, Álvaro; Rodríguez Cortés, Pedro; Cabrera Tobar, Ana; Ghorbani, Hamidreza; Ying, Shaoqing

    2014-01-01

    Electro-mechanical oscillations are produced, in the machines of an interconnected power network, followed by a disturbance or due to high power transfer through weak tie lines. These oscillations should be damped as quickly as possible to ensure the reliable and stable operation of the network. To damp these oscillations different controllers, based on local or wide area signals, have been the subject of many papers. This paper presents the analysis of the performance of Conventional Power S...

  12. Analiza lecznictwa uzdrowiskowego dzieci po leczeniu przeciwnowotworowym = Analysis of health spa treatment of children following cancer therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Wawryków

    2016-02-01

                        Introduction: There is about 1200 new pediatric patients diagnosed with malignacies every year in Poland. Many of them requires a multi-stage, long-term and systematic rehabilitation after finished anti-cancer treatment. Specialized centers of physical and psychosocial rehabilitation take the main role in reducing the ate effects of anti-cancer treatment. There is only one rehabilitation center in Poland witch takes care of children with malignancies.                     Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the health spa treatment of children after anti-cancer treatment on the example of Hematology Rehabilitation Hospital for Children "Orlik" in Kudowa Zdroj.                    Material and Methods: We studied a group of 3580 children and young adults (1865 girls and 1715 boys aged 1 to 21 years (mean age 11,53 years, median 12 years which were the patients in rehabilitation Hospital ,, Orlik" from 1 June 2007 to 31 May 2012.                    Results: In the analyzed period, in the  Hospital "Orlik" children after anti-cancer treatment accounted for about 26% of all hospitalized patients. Most of children after oncological treatment came from the Pomerania, Lower Silesia and Lublin, least - from Podlaskie, Lubuskie and Warmia - Mazury. Most of children were suffering from hematologic malignancies.                    Conclusions: Patients after cancer treatment are a small group of children hospitalized in the reporting center. Most children hospitalized in the Hospital Orlik came from leading centers in Poland oncological.

  13. Complex network analysis of conventional and Islamic stock market in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahmadhani, Andri; Purqon, Acep; Kim, Sehyun; Kim, Soo Yong

    2015-09-01

    The rising popularity of Islamic financial products in Indonesia has become a new interesting topic to be analyzed recently. We introduce a complex network analysis to compare conventional and Islamic stock market in Indonesia. Additionally, Random Matrix Theory (RMT) has been added as a part of reference to expand the analysis of the result. Both of them are based on the cross correlation matrix of logarithmic price returns. Closing price data, which is taken from June 2011 to July 2012, is used to construct logarithmic price returns. We also introduce the threshold value using winner-take-all approach to obtain scale-free property of the network. This means that the nodes of the network that has a cross correlation coefficient below the threshold value should not be connected with an edge. As a result, we obtain 0.5 as the threshold value for all of the stock market. From the RMT analysis, we found that there is only market wide effect on both stock market and no clustering effect has been found yet. From the network analysis, both of stock market networks are dominated by the mining sector. The length of time series of closing price data must be expanded to get more valuable results, even different behaviors of the system.

  14. A philosophical and critical analysis of the European convention of bioethics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hottois, G

    2000-04-01

    The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with Regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine is now one of the most important bioethics texts from the point of view of international policy and law. It is the result of five years of discussions and negotiations between the different instances of the Council of Europe. In this article I analyze several problems. First, there are problems of articulation between the Convention and the joint Explanatory Report. The oriented exegesis of the Explanatory Report raises suspicion about the Convention, which appears as a smooth facade for an instrument actually serving ideological positions many people do not share. Second, there are problems of formulation within the Convention. These are mainly problems with articles that state prohibitions without any distinction, relativization, contextualization or sense of evolution. Finally, there are problems of substance, leading to the conclusion that the Convention is not a good illustration of the human rights philosophical tradition in the name of which it has been proclaimed. This tradition is the one of Enlightenment. And when Kant summarizes the motto of Enlightenment, the injunction is "Sapere Aude!": "Dare to know!" It is difficult to hear such a message through the Convention, and the Explanatory Report includes too many passages and sentences that mean the opposite.

  15. Hypofractionation vs Conventional Radiation Therapy for Newly Diagnosed Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma: A Matched-Cohort Analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Janssens, Geert O., E-mail: g.janssens@rther.umcn.nl [Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Jansen, Marc H. [Pediatric Oncology/Hematology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Lauwers, Selmer J. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Nowak, Peter J. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Oldenburger, Foppe R. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Academic Medical Centre, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Bouffet, Eric [Department of Hematology/Oncology, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto (Canada); Saran, Frank [Department of Pediatric Oncology, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Sutton (United Kingdom); Kamphuis-van Ulzen, Karin [Department of Radiology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Lindert, Erik J. van [Department of Neurosurgery, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Schieving, Jolanda H. [Department of Neurology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Boterberg, Tom [Department of Radiation Oncology, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent (Belgium); Kaspers, Gertjan J. [Pediatric Oncology/Hematology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam (Netherlands); Span, Paul N.; Kaanders, Johannes H. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Gidding, Corrie E. [Department of Pediatric Oncology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen (Netherlands); Hargrave, Darren [Department of Oncology, Great Ormond Street Hospital, London (United Kingdom)

    2013-02-01

    Purpose: Despite conventional radiation therapy, 54 Gy in single doses of 1.8 Gy (54/1.8 Gy) over 6 weeks, most children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) will die within 1 year after diagnosis. To reduce patient burden, we investigated the role of hypofractionation radiation therapy given over 3 to 4 weeks. A 1:1 matched-cohort analysis with conventional radiation therapy was performed to assess response and survival. Methods and Materials: Twenty-seven children, aged 3 to 14, were treated according to 1 of 2 hypofractionation regimens over 3 to 4 weeks (39/3 Gy, n=16 or 44.8/2.8 Gy, n=11). All patients had symptoms for {<=}3 months, {>=}2 signs of the neurologic triad (cranial nerve deficit, ataxia, long tract signs), and characteristic features of DIPG on magnetic resonance imaging. Twenty-seven patients fulfilling the same diagnostic criteria and receiving at least 50/1.8 to 2.0 Gy were eligible for the matched-cohort analysis. Results: With hypofractionation radiation therapy, the overall survival at 6, 9, and 12 months was 74%, 44%, and 22%, respectively. Progression-free survival at 3, 6, and 9 months was 77%, 43%, and 12%, respectively. Temporary discontinuation of steroids was observed in 21 of 27 (78%) patients. No significant difference in median overall survival (9.0 vs 9.4 months; P=.84) and time to progression (5.0 vs 7.6 months; P=.24) was observed between hypofractionation vs conventional radiation therapy, respectively. Conclusions: For patients with newly diagnosed DIPG, a hypofractionation regimen, given over 3 to 4 weeks, offers equal overall survival with less treatment burden compared with a conventional regimen of 6 weeks.

  16. A comparative analysis of optical and conventional axiography for the analysis of temporomandibular joint movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagner, Arne; Seemann, Rudolf; Schicho, Kurt; Ewers, Rolf; Piehslinger, Eva

    2003-11-01

    Currently available systems for pantographic tracing are heavy, bulky, and can interfere with jaw movements. This study describes the development and clinical application of optoelectronic axiography designed to overcome system inherent problems of conventional bulky frame-based registration axiography. The purpose of this study is the comparison of the newly developed system and conventional axiography. Three-dimensional recordings of condylar pathways were acquired by means of infrared digitizers interfaced to newly developed software. Ten distinct curves in each of 10 subjects were recorded by synchronous optoelectronic axiography (100 tracings) and by conventional axiography (100 tracings). Usually, two 3-dimensional (3D) light weight sensors are provisionally fixed to the facial surface of a maxillary and mandibular incisor by means of a single orthodontic bracket. To allow for direct comparison of all 100 pairs of curves in this study, the 3D sensors of the optoelectronic system were attached to the bulky double face-bow system of the axiograph. The conformity of tracings (protrusion, opening/closing, mediotrusion, and laterotrusion) was evaluated by means of correlation analysis. Resulting axiographic recordings from both systems were evaluated by 3 experts (dentists, experienced in axiographic investigations, who were blind to the source of the data), focusing on standardized qualitative criteria of the recordings (homogeneity/smoothness, pathway-characteristics, excursion, and left/right-symmetry). After testing for normal distribution of the ratio scaled data (length of pathway, horizontal condylar inclination [HCI], Bennett angle) with the Kolmogoroff-Smirnov test (alpha=.01), axiographic curves were quantitatively compared by means of an intraclass correlation coefficient ([ICC] alpha =.01). The Wilcoxon test (alpha=.01) was used to evaluate equivalence of ordinally scaled values (homogeneity of tracings) and Cohen's Kappa was used to compare excursion

  17. LEGAL ANALYSIS OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE CONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES: CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IGNACIO CAMPOY CERVERA

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to carry out an in-depth analysis of Article 7, “Children with disabilities”, of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. First of all it is explained how the Article 7 is the result of two different models of human rights: the “renewed” protectionism in relation with the children’s rights and the social model in relation with the rights of persons with disabilities. After, it is explained how was the development of the creation of Article 7 within the Ad Hoc Committee which was created for the elaboration of the Convention. In an extensive section it is analysed the wording of Article 7, particularly taking account of the General Comments of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Finally, the analysis of the meaning and scope of Article 7 is completed, taking into account other articles of the Convention and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.

  18. Influence balneotherapy on spa Truskavets’ with taking Canephron® N on urina lithogenicity and its metabolic and neuroendocrine-immune accompaniments in patients with chronic pyelonephrite and cholecystite

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleksandr V. Shulyak

    2015-11-01

    i.popovych@biph.kiev.ua   SUMMARY Objective. We know that balneotherapy on spa Truskavets' did not significantly affect the parameters of urina Lithogenicity, including Ca/Mg ratio, so search for means of reducing urina Lithogenicity remains relevant. We also know that Phytopreparation Canephron® N recommended for inclusion in complex therapy of chronic pyelonephrite as effective elimination of infectious kidney inflammation, prevention of recurrence of inflammation and lithogenese. Aim: to find out the possibility of reducing urina Lithogenicity influenced balneotherapy on spa Truskavets' by additional taking Canephron® N. Results. Standardized balneotherapy not significantly affect urina Lithogenicity in patients with chronic pyelonephrite and cholecystite, even showed a trend to increase, while additional use Canephron® N significantly reduces urina Lithogenicity by reducing the concentration of Uric acid and downward trend Calcium. Reducing urina Lithogenicity accompanied by a decrease urina concentration Chloride and Potassium, and Baevskiy’s Activity Regulatory Systems Index, Asymmetry δ-, θ- and α-rhythms of background EEG and α-rhythm normalized Power Spectrum Density (PSD in right loci Fp2, F8, T6 and O2, while HRV markers of vagal tone (RMSSD, pNN50, TI also Frequency Deviation θ- and β-rhythms, Amplitude β- and δ-rhythms, δ-rhythm PSD in loci Fp2, F8, T3, T5, O1, O2, β-rhythm PSD in loci Fp1, F4 and θ-rhythm PSD in loci T3 and F7 rising. However, Canephron® N preventes or reverses increasing Uric acid plasma level, Mineralocorticoide Activity, Sympathetic tone, Baevskiy’s Stress Index and PSD ULF HRV also decreasing PSD VLF HRV. Concerning parameters of Immunity Canephron® N decreases blood level active T-Lymphocytes but increases level B-Lymphocytes, Stubnucleary Neutrophiles and total Leukocytes also prevents or reverses increasing CD16+ NK-Lymphocytes, CD8+ and Theophilinesensitive T-Lymphocytes, Monocytes and serum IgM also

  19. Comparative Analysis Between Computed and Conventional Inferior Alveolar Nerve Block Techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araújo, Gabriela Madeira; Barbalho, Jimmy Charles Melo; Dias, Tasiana Guedes de Souza; Santos, Thiago de Santana; Vasconcellos, Ricardo José de Holanda; de Morais, Hécio Henrique Araújo

    2015-11-01

    The aim of this randomized, double-blind, controlled trial was to compare the computed and conventional inferior alveolar nerve block techniques in symmetrically positioned inferior third molars. Both computed and conventional anesthetic techniques were performed in 29 healthy patients (58 surgeries) aged between 18 and 40 years. The anesthetic of choice was 2% lidocaine with 1: 200,000 epinephrine. The Visual Analogue Scale assessed the pain variable after anesthetic infiltration. Patient satisfaction was evaluated using the Likert Scale. Heart and respiratory rates, mean time to perform technique, and the need for additional anesthesia were also evaluated. Pain variable means were higher for the conventional technique as compared with computed, 3.45 ± 2.73 and 2.86 ± 1.96, respectively, but no statistically significant differences were found (P > 0.05). Patient satisfaction showed no statistically significant differences. The average computed technique runtime and the conventional were 3.85 and 1.61 minutes, respectively, showing statistically significant differences (P <0.001). The computed anesthetic technique showed lower mean pain perception, but did not show statistically significant differences when contrasted to the conventional technique.

  20. Analýza konkurenčního prostředí lázeňských služeb v Luhačovicích

    OpenAIRE

    Švarcová, Kristýna

    2012-01-01

    The subject of this diploma thesis is "Analysis of the competitive enviroment of the spa services in Luhačovice". The main aim of the thesis is comparison of spa services of different spa facilities operating in Luhačovice and choose the best provider of the services. The PEST analysis was used for reaching the main aim which included political, economic, social and technological indicators that influenced most of businesses in spa tourism. The another step was to analyse internal competitive...

  1. Ultrasonic dissection versus conventional electrocautery during gastrectomy for gastric cancer: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Z C; Xu, W G; Xiao, X M; Yu, W H; Xu, D M; Xu, H M; Gao, H L; Wang, R X

    2015-04-01

    Use of ultrasonic surgical instrument is gaining popularity for dissection and coagulation in open surgery. However, there is still no consensus on the efficacy and safety of its use compared with conventional surgical technique in open gastrectomy for gastric cancer. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the role and surgical outcomes of ultrasonic dissection (UD) compared with conventional electrocautery (EC). A systematic literature search was performed to identify all studies comparing UD and EC in gastric cancer surgery. Intraoperative and postoperative outcomes were compared using weighted mean differences (WMDs) and odds ratios (ORs). Five studies were included in this meta-analysis, comprising 489 patients. Meta-analysis results showed that compared with EC, UD was associated with significantly shorter operation time (P = 0.03), less intraoperative blood loss (P = 0.002), lower morbidity (P = 0.02), and reduced postoperative hospital stay (P = 0.03). However, there was no significant difference between the two surgical techniques with regards to postoperative abdominal drainage (P = 0.17), and total cost in hospital (P = 0.59). Compared to EC, the use of UD during open gastrectomy can provide several improved outcomes for operation time, intraoperative blood loss, overall morbidity, and postoperative hospital stay. It appears that UD can be used instead of conventional EC in open gastric cancer surgery, although more larger trials with long follow-up should be performed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Conventional natural gas resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bowers, B.

    1999-01-01

    The use of decline curve analysis to analyse and extrapolate the production performance of oil and gas reservoirs was discussed. This mathematical analytical tool has been a valid method for estimating the conventional crude oil resources of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). However, it has failed to provide a generally acceptable estimate of the conventional natural gas resources of the WCSB. This paper proposes solutions to this problem and provides an estimate of the conventional natural gas resources of the basin by statistical analysis of the declining finding rates. Although in the past, decline curve analysis did not reflect the declining finding rates of natural gas in the WCSB, the basin is now sufficiently developed that estimates of conventional natural gas resources can be made by this analytical tool. However, the analysis must take into account the acceleration of natural gas development drilling that has occurred over the lifetime of the basin. It was concluded that ultimate resources of conventional marketable natural gas of the WCSB estimated by decline analysis amount to 230 tcf. It was suggested that further research be done to explain why the Canadian Gas Potential Committee (CGPC) estimate for Alberta differs from the decline curve analysis method. 6 refs., 35 figs

  3. Improvements in quantification of low z element analysis for Sr- and conventional TXRF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baur, K.; Brennan, S.; Pianetta, P.; Kerner, J.; Zhu, Q.; Burrow, B.

    2000-01-01

    As the dimensions of integrated circuits continue to shrink also the amount of tolerable contamination on Si wafer surfaces decreases. Contaminants of primary concern are transition metals and light elements like Al. Total reflection x-ray fluorescence (TXRF) spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation from the Stanford synchrotron radiation laboratory (SSRL) is one of the most powerful techniques for trace impurity analysis on Si wafer surfaces. In addition, it is among the more sensitive techniques and the only one, which is non-destructive. Upon having established a better detection sensitivity for transition elements than required by semiconductor industry, the current effort focuses on the improvement of the sensitivity for the detection and data analysis of light elements. Due to the presence of the neighboring Si signal from the substrate this can only be achieved by tuning the excitation energy below the Si-K absorption edge. For conventional TXRF systems this can be done by using a W-M fluorescence line (1.78 keV) for excitation or by employing the tunability of synchrotron radiation. However, this results in a substantial increase in background due to resonant X-ray Raman scattering. This scattering dominates the background behavior of the Al K fluorescence line, and consequently limits the achievable sensitivity for the detection of Al surface contaminants. In particular, we find that for a precise determination of the achievable sensitivity, the specific shape of the continuous Raman background must be used in the deconvolution. This data analysis opens a new perspective for conventional TXRF systems to overcome background problems in quantification and first results will be presented. (author)

  4. Ecosystem health pattern analysis of urban clusters based on emergy synthesis: Results and implication for management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Su, Meirong; Fath, Brian D.; Yang, Zhifeng; Chen, Bin; Liu, Gengyuan

    2013-01-01

    The evaluation of ecosystem health in urban clusters will help establish effective management that promotes sustainable regional development. To standardize the application of emergy synthesis and set pair analysis (EM–SPA) in ecosystem health assessment, a procedure for using EM–SPA models was established in this paper by combining the ability of emergy synthesis to reflect health status from a biophysical perspective with the ability of set pair analysis to describe extensive relationships among different variables. Based on the EM–SPA model, the relative health levels of selected urban clusters and their related ecosystem health patterns were characterized. The health states of three typical Chinese urban clusters – Jing-Jin-Tang, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta – were investigated using the model. The results showed that the health status of the Pearl River Delta was relatively good; the health for the Yangtze River Delta was poor. As for the specific health characteristics, the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta urban clusters were relatively strong in Vigor, Resilience, and Urban ecosystem service function maintenance, while the Jing-Jin-Tang was relatively strong in organizational structure and environmental impact. Guidelines for managing these different urban clusters were put forward based on the analysis of the results of this study. - Highlights: • The use of integrated emergy synthesis and set pair analysis model was standardized. • The integrated model was applied on the scale of an urban cluster. • Health patterns of different urban clusters were compared. • Policy suggestions were provided based on the health pattern analysis

  5. A Statistical Parameter Analysis and SVM Based Fault Diagnosis Strategy for Dynamically Tuned Gyroscopes

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2007-01-01

    Gyro's fault diagnosis plays a critical role in inertia navigation systems for higher reliability and precision. A new fault diagnosis strategy based on the statistical parameter analysis (SPA) and support vector machine(SVM) classification model was proposed for dynamically tuned gyroscopes (DTG). The SPA, a kind of time domain analysis approach, was introduced to compute a set of statistical parameters of vibration signal as the state features of DTG, with which the SVM model, a novel learning machine based on statistical learning theory (SLT), was applied and constructed to train and identify the working state of DTG. The experimental results verify that the proposed diagnostic strategy can simply and effectively extract the state features of DTG, and it outperforms the radial-basis function (RBF) neural network based diagnostic method and can more reliably and accurately diagnose the working state of DTG.

  6. Maxillary arch width and buccal corridor changes with Damon and conventional brackets: A retrospective analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shook, Corey; Kim, Sohyon Michelle; Burnheimer, John

    2016-07-01

    To evaluate the effect of Damon self-ligating and conventional bracket systems on buccal corridor widths and areas. A retrospective sample of consecutively treated patients using either conventional (CG, n  =  45) or Damon self-ligating (SL, n  =  39) brackets was analyzed to determine any differences in buccal corridor widths and areas both within and between groups. Pretreatment and posttreatment frontal photographs were transferred to Photoshop CC, standardized using intercanthal width, and linear and area measurements were performed with tools in Photoshop CC. Ratios were then calculated for statistical analysis. Relationships between arch widths and buccal corridors were also examined. There were no significant differences in the posttreatment intercanine or intermolar widths either within or between the CG and SL groups. There were no significant differences in any buccal corridor width or area measurement either within or between the CG and SL groups. There were strong correlations with the intercanine width and the corresponding buccal corridor smile width measurements. There was an inverse correlation with the buccal corridor area in relation to the canine and the total smile width. It is likely that posttreatment increases in arch width can be seen in patients treated with either a conventional bracket system or the Damon system. It is highly unlikely that there is any significant difference in buccal corridor width or area in patients treated with the Damon self-ligating system or a conventional bracket system.

  7. INTEREST RATES AND CURRENCIES EFFECTS ON ISLAMIC AND CONVENTIONAL BONDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ghazali Syamni

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Bond markets have not been well developed in emerging countries. Realizing its important role, especially after the 1997 crises and the islamic economics development, emerging countries have started to develop such markets. This research examines the effect of interest rates and currencies on Islamic and conventional bonds in Bursa Malaysia. The analysis on Islamic bonds shows that interest rates and currencies do not influence Islamic bonds, which supports the prohibition of interest in Islam. The analysis on conventional bonds finds evidence that both interest rates and currencies affect conventional bond. It also finds evidence of a negative association between interest rates and a conventional bond. Keywords: Interest rate, currency, conventional bond, Islamic bond JEL classification numbers: G11, G12, G15

  8. Analysis of Perceptions of Conventional and E-Learning Education in Corporate Training

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Conkova Monika

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The necessity of today concerning the need to optimize the learning process has led to the development of e-learning. Organizations gradually incorporate e-learning into their educational activities. However, blended learning, which combines online components with the conventional face-to-face components, has emerged as an alternative way of teaching and learning. The paper presents selected research results that compare the perceived attributes of e-learning and conventional business training in an organization operating in the Slovak market. The purpose of the analysis was to determine, which style of learning is preferred, subjectively more beneficial and better evaluated by employees of the company for the purpose of supporting decision-making in company’s business education strategy development. Two thrifty summated scales, both of four original items rating the properties of two types of business training were compiled with acceptable reliability assessed by internal consistency coefficient and validity established by factor analysis. The results showed comparable perceived quality, effectiveness, efficiency, and knowledge applicability of two types of business training in the company, balanced preferences and thus vindication of both styles of training in business education program. Regarding practical implications, this study proposes the concept of thrifty multidimensional learners’ evaluation, which can be used in organizations providing different styles of business training for quantitative evaluating and monitoring the perceived trainings’ quality attributes, their benefit, effectiveness and efficiency for quick inspection of relevant differences between the two styles of training in company. Realizing the existence of deficiencies in the training can support corrective actions starting toward training’s quality and effectiveness and efficiency optimization.

  9. Robot-assisted versus conventional laparoscopic operation in anus-preserving rectal cancer: a meta-analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cui Y

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Yongzhen Cui,1,2,* Cheng Li,3,* Zhongfa Xu,4 Yingming Wang,1,2 Yamei Sun,5 Huirong Xu,1 Zengjun Li,1 Yanlai Sun1 1Department of Gastrointestinal Cancer Surgery, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 2School of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Jinan-Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 3Department of President’s Office, Shandong Cancer Hospital Affiliated to Shandong University, Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, 4Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, The Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, 5Department of Clinical Laboratory, Zhucheng People’s Hospital of Shandong Province, Zhucheng, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: The aim of this meta-analysis is to provide recommendations for clinical practice and prevention of postoperative complications, such as circumferential resection margin (CRM involvement, and compare the amount of intraoperative bleeding, safety, operative time, recovery, outcomes, and clinical significance of robot-assisted and conventional laparoscopic procedures in anus-preserving rectal cancer. Methods: A literature search (PubMed was performed to identify biomedical research papers and abstracts of studies comparing robot-assisted and conventional laparoscopic procedures. We attempted to obtain the full-text link for papers published between 2000 and 2016, and hand-searched references for relevant literature. RevMan 5.3 software was used for the meta-analysis. Results: Nine papers (949 patients were eligible for inclusion; there were 473 patients (49.8% in the robotic group and 476 patients (50.2% in the laparoscopic group. According to the data provided in the literature, seven indicators were used to complete the evaluation. The results of the meta-analysis suggested that robot-assisted procedure was associated with lower intraoperative blood loss (mean difference

  10. Metrological analysis of constancy tests in conventional medical X-ray equipment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarenga, Frederico L.; Oliveira, Paulo Marcio C.; Squair, Peterson L.; Soares, Carlos M.; Silva, Teogenes A. da

    2005-01-01

    Constancy tests in x-ray diagnostic machines should follow performance requirements with the aim to verify their safety and quality and to protect workers, patients and public members that are or may be exposed to ionizing radiation risks. In the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, from 1999 to 2004, 110 radiometric and evaluation reports of x-ray machines were issued by accredited professionals. Most of the reports did not provide the estimation of the measurement uncertainty that should be part of the results; it means that there is a lack of metrological care in such reports which may cause difficulties to get a conclusive analysis. In this work, relevant sources of uncertainties were identified and estimated for the following tests carried out in a conventional x-ray machine: high voltage accuracy and reproducibility, air kerma rate repeatability and linearity and half-value layer determination. This work gives details on the methodology and the expanded and combined uncertainty values for each measuring procedure, which may be adopted as representative values for analysis of radiometric report. (author)

  11. Mid-term survival analysis of closed wedge high tibial osteotomy: A comparative study of computer-assisted and conventional techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Dae Kyung; Song, Sang Jun; Kim, Kang Il; Hur, Dong; Jeong, Ho Yeon

    2016-03-01

    The purpose of the present study was to compare the clinical and radiographic results and survival rates between computer-assisted and conventional closing wedge high tibial osteotomies (HTOs). Data from a consecutive cohort comprised of 75 computer-assisted HTOs and 75 conventional HTOs were retrospectively reviewed. The Knee Society knee and function scores, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) score and femorotibial angle (FTA) were compared between the two groups. Survival rates were also compared with procedure failure. The knee and function scores at one year postoperatively were slightly better in the computer-assisted group than those in conventional group (90.1 vs. 86.1) (82.0 vs. 76.0). The HSS scores at one year postoperatively were slightly better for the computer-assisted HTOs than those of conventional HTOs (89.5 vs. 81.8). The inlier of the postoperative FTA was wider in the computer-assisted group than that in the conventional HTO group (88.0% vs. 58.7%), and mean postoperative FTA was greater in the computer-assisted group that in the conventional HTO group (valgus 9.0° vs. valgus 7.6°, pclinical and radiographic results were better in the computer-assisted group that those in the conventional HTO group. Mid-term survival rates did not differ between computer-assisted and conventional HTOs. A comparative analysis of longer-term survival rate is required to demonstrate the long-term benefit of computer-assisted HTO. III. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Root resorption during orthodontic treatment with self-ligating or conventional brackets: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Jianru; Li, Meile; Li, Yu; Li, Xiaobing; Zhao, Zhihe

    2016-11-21

    The aim of this study was to compare the external apical root resorption (EARR) in patients receiving fixed orthodontic treatment with self-ligating or conventional brackets. Studies comparing the EARR between orthodontic patients using self-ligating or conventional brackets were identified through electronic search in databases including CENTRAL, PubMed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and SIGLE, and manual search in relevant journals and reference lists of the included studies until Apr 2016. The extraction of data and risk of bias evaluation were conducted by two investigators independently. The original outcome underwent statistical pooling by using Review Manager 5. Seven studies were included in the systematic review, out of which, five studies were statistically pooled in meta-analysis. The value of EARR of maxillary central incisors in the self-ligating bracket group was significantly lower than that in the conventional bracket group (SMD -0.31; 95% CI: -0.60--0.01). No significant differences in other incisors were observed between self-ligating and conventional brackets. Current evidences suggest self-ligating brackets do not outperform conventional brackets in reducing the EARR in maxillary lateral incisors, mandible central incisors and mandible lateral incisors. However, self-ligating brackets appear to have an advantage in protecting maxillary central incisor from EARR, which still needs to be confirmed by more high-quality studies.

  13. Clinical analysis of the stability of dental implants after preparation of the site by conventional drilling or piezosurgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva Neto, Ulisses Tavares; Joly, Julio Cesar; Gehrke, Sergio Alexandre

    2014-02-01

    We used resonance frequency analysis to evaluate the implant stability quotient (ISQ) of dental implants that were installed in sites prepared by either conventional drilling or piezoelectric tips. We studied 30 patients with bilateral edentulous areas in the maxillary premolar region who were randomised to have the implant inserted with conventional drilling, or with piezoelectric surgery. The stability of each implant was measured by resonance frequency analysis immediately after placement to assess the immediate stability (time 1) and again at 90 days (time 2) and 150 days (time 3). In the conventional group the mean (SD) ISQ for time 1 was 69.1 (6.1) (95% CI 52.4-77.3); for time 2, 70.7 (5.7) (95% CI 60.4-82.8); and for time 3, 71.7 (4.5) (95% CI 64.2-79.2). In the piezosurgery group the corresponding values were: 77.5 (4.6) (95% CI 71.1-84.3) for time 1, 77.0 (4.2) (95% CI, 69.7-85.2) for time 2, and 79.1 (3.1) (95% CI 74.5-87.3) for time 3. The results showed significant increases in the ISQ values for the piezosurgery group at each time point (p=0.04). The stability of implants placed using the piezoelectric method was greater than that of implants placed using the conventional technique. Copyright © 2013 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Microscale ecotoxicity testing of Moselle river watershed (Lorraine Province, France sediments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean François Férard

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The ecotoxic potential of seven Moselle river watershed sediments was assessed with a battery of bioassays comprised of rapid phototrophic [LuminoTox solid phase (L-SPA and elutriate (L-ELU assays] and bacterial [Microtox solid phase assay (M-SPA] exposure tests, as well as with two micro-invertebrate solid phase tests conducted with Hydra attenuata (lethal and sublethal effects solid phase assay, HL-SPA and HSL-SPA and Chironomus riparius. Measured effects of sediments and their elutriates were varied and reflected responses that were ecotoxicity test-, endpoint- and site-dependent, suggesting some degree of risk toward benthic and water column organisms, respectively, at specific sites. Correlation analysis demonstrated that L-SPA and M-SPA ecotoxicity responses were significantly linked with the Hydra HSL-SPA assay, indicating their ability to predict ecotoxicity towards an invertebrate taxonomic group representing secondary consumers. While the L-SPA and M-SPA assays hold promise as rapid screens for sediment ecotoxicity, correlation analysis with grain size (L-SPA: r=-0.795, P=0.033; M-SPA: r=-0.73, P=0.07 points out that their responses can be influenced by the presence of fines (i.e., sediment particles ≤0.063 mm in size and that this information is essential to properly interpret ecotoxicity data generated with these assays. Finally, notable differences observed in trophic level sensitivities once again recall the importance of employing a test battery to adequately appraise the ecotoxicity of sediments.

  15. Comparison of Bolton analysis and Little’s irregularity index on laser scanned three-dimensional digital study models with conventional study models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurnia, H.; Noerhadi, N. A. I.

    2017-08-01

    Three-dimensional digital study models were introduced following advances in digital technology. This study was carried out to assess the reliability of digital study models scanned by a laser scanning device newly assembled. The aim of this study was to compare the digital study models and conventional models. Twelve sets of dental impressions were taken from patients with mild-to-moderate crowding. The impressions were taken twice, one with alginate and the other with polyvinylsiloxane. The alginate impressions were made into conventional models, and the polyvinylsiloxane impressions were scanned to produce digital models. The mesiodistal tooth width and Little’s irregularity index (LII) were measured manually with digital calipers on the conventional models and digitally on the digital study models. Bolton analysis was performed on each study models. Each method was carried out twice to check for intra-observer variability. The reproducibility (comparison of the methods) was assessed using independent-sample t-tests. The mesiodistal tooth width between conventional and digital models did not significantly differ (p > 0.05). Independent-sample t-tests did not identify statistically significant differences for Bolton analysis and LII (p = 0.603 for Bolton and p = 0894 for LII). The measurements of the digital study models are as accurate as those of the conventional models.

  16. Risk Analysis on Organochlorine Pesticides Residue in Potato and Carrot from Conventional and Organic Farms in Citarum Watershed Area, West Java Province, Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suphia Rahmawati

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Six samples of carrot and potatoes were collected from conventional and organic farms. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs residue was analyzed using liquid-liquid extraction. The concentration of OCPs residue together with the consumption pattern were used to calculate the potential risk. Estimated Daily Intake (EDI of OCPs residue in carrots and potatoes both from conventional and organic farms were below the standard given in SNI 7313:2008 and the Maximum Residue Limit (MRLs from USEPA . Hazard quotient (HQ and Hazard Index (HI as effect analysis were below the unity, thus there may not be a concern for non-carcinogenic effect. Risk analysis on cancer effects indicated that potatoes samples were above the recommended risk by EPA (10-6. In addition, risk of potatoes samples from organic samples was higher compare to that of the conventional farm. Cancer risk analysis of carrot samples were found below the recommended risk by EPA. Cancer risk effect of carrot samples from conventional farm was slightly higher compare to that of the organic farm.

  17. Familiarity Vs Trust: A Comparative Study of Domain Scientists' Trust in Visual Analytics and Conventional Analysis Methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dasgupta, Aritra; Lee, Joon-Yong; Wilson, Ryan; Lafrance, Robert A; Cramer, Nick; Cook, Kristin; Payne, Samuel

    2017-01-01

    Combining interactive visualization with automated analytical methods like statistics and data mining facilitates data-driven discovery. These visual analytic methods are beginning to be instantiated within mixed-initiative systems, where humans and machines collaboratively influence evidence-gathering and decision-making. But an open research question is that, when domain experts analyze their data, can they completely trust the outputs and operations on the machine-side? Visualization potentially leads to a transparent analysis process, but do domain experts always trust what they see? To address these questions, we present results from the design and evaluation of a mixed-initiative, visual analytics system for biologists, focusing on analyzing the relationships between familiarity of an analysis medium and domain experts' trust. We propose a trust-augmented design of the visual analytics system, that explicitly takes into account domain-specific tasks, conventions, and preferences. For evaluating the system, we present the results of a controlled user study with 34 biologists where we compare the variation of the level of trust across conventional and visual analytic mediums and explore the influence of familiarity and task complexity on trust. We find that despite being unfamiliar with a visual analytic medium, scientists seem to have an average level of trust that is comparable with the same in conventional analysis medium. In fact, for complex sense-making tasks, we find that the visual analytic system is able to inspire greater trust than other mediums. We summarize the implications of our findings with directions for future research on trustworthiness of visual analytic systems.

  18. Characterization of organic and conventional sweet basil leaves using chromatographic and flow-injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprints combined with principal component analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Yingjian; Gao, Boyan; Chen, Pei; Charles, Denys; Yu, Liangli (Lucy)

    2014-01-01

    Sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum., is one of the most important and wildly used spices and has been shown to have antioxidant, antibacterial, and anti-diarrheal activities. In this study, high performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) and flow-injection mass spectrometric (FIMS) fingerprinting techniques were used to differentiate organic and conventional sweet basil leaf samples. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the fingerprints indicated that both HPLC and FIMS fingerprints could effectively detect the chemical differences in the organic and conventional sweet basil leaf samples. This study suggested that the organic basil sample contained greater concentrations of almost all the major compounds than its conventional counterpart on a per same botanical weight basis. The FIMS method was able to rapidly differentiate the organic and conventional sweet basil leaf samples (1 min analysis time), whereas the HPLC fingerprints provided more information about the chemical composition of the basil samples with a longer analytical time. PMID:24518341

  19. Radon exposure during treatment in some thermal spa centers in Greece

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nikolopoulos, D.; Louizi, A.; Serefoglou, A.; Georgiou, E.; Vogiannis, E.; Halvadakis, C.

    2004-01-01

    Radon ( 222 Rn) present in the spa facilities has been identified as an agent of additional radiation burden both for bathers and the working personnel. Although some researchers have been concentrated on the health impact of radon activity transient increases due to water flow of domestically used water, limited work has been reported on this effect in spa facilities. The aim of this work was to study the exposure both of bathers and working personnel due to water flow under working conditions in some thermal spas in Greece. The spas studied were built at two locations in Greece; Lesvos Island and the city of Loutra- Edipsou. The study was performed between 1999 and 2003. Measurements involved determination of radon concentration in the waters of the thermal spas, monitoring of radon and short-lived decay product activity (both in attached and unattached form) and coarse particles (> 500 nm). Water radon concentration was measured by Alpha Guard PQ2000Pro of Genitron GmbH equipped with an appropriate unit (Aquakit). Indoor radon activity was monitored by Alpha Guard PQ2000Pro and EQF3023 of Sarad GmbH which was also used for monitoring of radon short-lived decay product activity. Coarse particle concentration measurements were performed by a GRIMM 1.104 Portable Dust Monitor. Measurements indoors were performed in the treatment room and in the reception room, if existing, under working conditions. Several procedures for bath filling and pouring out of the treatment room, during the measurements, were studied. Radon concentrations of thermal waters were found to lie in the range 1 Bq.L -1 and 304 Bq.L -1 . Some of these concentrations may be considered as elevated. Elevated (about 2-6 kBq.m -3 ) indoor radon concentrations were measured in the treatment rooms of the spas of Polichnitos, Eftalou and Loutra Edipsou. This found to be in accordance to the high radon potential of these spas, as detected out of the measurements of their thermal waters. Concentration

  20. Comparing risk in conventional and organic dairy farming in the Netherlands: an empirical analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berentsen, P B M; Kovacs, K; van Asseldonk, M A P M

    2012-07-01

    This study was undertaken to contribute to the understanding of why most dairy farmers do not convert to organic farming. Therefore, the objective of this research was to assess and compare risks for conventional and organic farming in the Netherlands with respect to gross margin and the underlying price and production variables. To investigate the risk factors a farm accountancy database was used containing panel data from both conventional and organic representative Dutch dairy farms (2001-2007). Variables with regard to price and production risk were identified using a gross margin analysis scheme. Price risk variables were milk price and concentrate price. The main production risk variables were milk yield per cow, roughage yield per hectare, and veterinary costs per cow. To assess risk, an error component implicit detrending method was applied and the resulting detrended standard deviations were compared between conventional and organic farms. Results indicate that the risk included in the gross margin per cow is significantly higher in organic farming. This is caused by both higher price and production risks. Price risks are significantly higher in organic farming for both milk price and concentrate price. With regard to production risk, only milk yield per cow poses a significantly higher risk in organic farming. Copyright © 2012 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Determination of uranium and polonium in Spa rus aura ta by alpha spectrometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Luna P, M.; Renteria, M.; Montero C, M. E. [Centro de Investigacion en Materiales Avanzados, S. C., Miguel de Cervantes No. 120, Complejo Industrial Chihuahua, 31109 Chihuahua (Mexico); Manjon C, G.; Diaz, I., E-mail: elena.montero@cimav.edu.mx [Universidad de Sevilla, Escuela Tecnica Superior de Arquitectura, Departamento de Fisica Aplicada II, San Fernando No. 4, 41004 Sevilla (Spain)

    2012-06-15

    The aim of this study was optimizing conditions for the specific activities determination of some uranium-series radionuclides present in Spa rus aura ta by alpha spectrometry. Determinations of specific activities were conducted varying the type of digestion: acid attack on hot plate, controlled microwave digestion and acid attack after calcination of the sample. The latter procedure was applied only to the case of uranium isotopes determination. The variation in the isotope extraction method consisted of applying the techniques of liquid-liquid extracting using Tributyl phosphate or chromatographic UTEVA resin. Results depending on the type of treatment given to the samples were compared based on obtained chemical yields. The results reveal a higher bioaccumulation of polonium in the liver sample, with activities of 0.809, 2.495 and 2.439 Bq kg{sup -1} fresh wt compared with the fillet. The best chemical yields of polonium were close to 60% for samples that were digested by microwave. In the case of uranium the best chemical yields, close to 80% for fillet, were obtained with a previous calcination of the sample and using the UTEVA resin. (Author)

  2. Determination of uranium and polonium in Spa rus aura ta by alpha spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luna P, M.; Renteria, M.; Montero C, M. E.; Manjon C, G.; Diaz, I.

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this study was optimizing conditions for the specific activities determination of some uranium-series radionuclides present in Spa rus aura ta by alpha spectrometry. Determinations of specific activities were conducted varying the type of digestion: acid attack on hot plate, controlled microwave digestion and acid attack after calcination of the sample. The latter procedure was applied only to the case of uranium isotopes determination. The variation in the isotope extraction method consisted of applying the techniques of liquid-liquid extracting using Tributyl phosphate or chromatographic UTEVA resin. Results depending on the type of treatment given to the samples were compared based on obtained chemical yields. The results reveal a higher bioaccumulation of polonium in the liver sample, with activities of 0.809, 2.495 and 2.439 Bq kg -1 fresh wt compared with the fillet. The best chemical yields of polonium were close to 60% for samples that were digested by microwave. In the case of uranium the best chemical yields, close to 80% for fillet, were obtained with a previous calcination of the sample and using the UTEVA resin. (Author)

  3. Total life-cycle cost analysis of conventional and alternative fueled vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cardullo, M.W.

    1993-01-01

    Total Life-Cycle Cost (TLCC) Analysis can indicate whether paying higher capital costs for advanced technology with low operating and/or environmental costs is advantageous over paying lower capital costs for conventional technology with higher operating and/or environmental costs. While minimizing total life-cycle cost is an important consideration, the consumer often identifies non-cost-related benefits or drawbacks that make more expensive options appear more attractive. The consumer is also likely to heavily weigh initial capital costs while giving limited consideration to operating and/or societal costs, whereas policy-makers considering external costs, such as those resulting from environmental impacts, may reach significantly different conclusions about which technologies are most advantageous to society. This paper summarizes a TLCC model which was developed to facilitate consideration of the various factors involved in both individual and societal policy decision making. The model was developed as part of a US Department of Energy Contract and has been revised to reflect changes necessary to make the model more realistic. The model considers capital, operating, salvage, and environmental costs for cars, vans, and buses using conventional and alternative fuels. The model has been developed to operate on an IBM or compatible personal computer platform using the commercial spreadsheet program MicroSoft Excell reg-sign Version 4 for Windows reg-sign and can be easily kept current because its modular structure allows straightforward access to embedded data sets for review and update

  4. Swot Analysis of Tourism on Kopaonik and the Spas of its Piedmont

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goran Bojović

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Kopaonik and the four spas of Jošanica, Lukovo, Prolom and Kursumlija, of its piedmont occupy an area of approximately 3,400 km² with a population of 110,000 inhabitants. In terms of administration, the researched area is disposal of 11 municipalities. In some municipalities, tourism has been developed and improved according to plan, with the municipalities of Raška, Kuršumlija and Brus being the leading ones. In the development plans of these municipalities, tourism has received priority importance. In addition to the numerous indicators of sustainable tourism development of this mountain-spa region, the SWOT analysis certainly contributes significantly to a clearer view of this situation. Through specific examples of “advantages and opportunities” the SWOT analysis will indicate the link of reality of tourism with opportunities of the region and offer guidelines to ease some of many years’ disadvantages and shortcomings. “ Five key factors for the mountain and spa tourism of Kopaonik will be exposed to the authors in the thesis through analysis and comments.

  5. Robust model-based analysis of single-particle tracking experiments with Spot-On

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grimm, Jonathan B; Lavis, Luke D

    2018-01-01

    Single-particle tracking (SPT) has become an important method to bridge biochemistry and cell biology since it allows direct observation of protein binding and diffusion dynamics in live cells. However, accurately inferring information from SPT studies is challenging due to biases in both data analysis and experimental design. To address analysis bias, we introduce ‘Spot-On’, an intuitive web-interface. Spot-On implements a kinetic modeling framework that accounts for known biases, including molecules moving out-of-focus, and robustly infers diffusion constants and subpopulations from pooled single-molecule trajectories. To minimize inherent experimental biases, we implement and validate stroboscopic photo-activation SPT (spaSPT), which minimizes motion-blur bias and tracking errors. We validate Spot-On using experimentally realistic simulations and show that Spot-On outperforms other methods. We then apply Spot-On to spaSPT data from live mammalian cells spanning a wide range of nuclear dynamics and demonstrate that Spot-On consistently and robustly infers subpopulation fractions and diffusion constants. PMID:29300163

  6. Technical Efficiency Performance of Conventional Banks

    OpenAIRE

    Endri, Endri

    2012-01-01

    This study aims to measure the performance of the technical efficiency of the conventional commercial banks during the period 2008-2009 by using non-parametric method of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Test results showed that the total of all conventional commercial banks during the period 2008-2009 has not shown that optimal performance in which the level of technical efficiency is still below 100 percent. Appalling conditions, the efficiency of national banks experienced a decline of 73.5...

  7. In Situ Investigation of the Adsorption of Styrene Phosphonic Acid on Cassiterite (110 Surface by Molecular Modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guichen Gong

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: The flotation, adsorption and bonding mechanisms of styrene phosphonic acid (SPA to cassiterite were studied using microflotation tests, zeta potential measurements, solution chemistry analysis and density functional theory (DFT calculations in this paper. Flotation results demonstrated SPA was an excellent collector for cassiterite which could recover over 85% cassiterite particles with the pH range 4.3–6.06 and 40 mg/L SPA. Zeta potential measurements and solution chemistry analysis revealed the adsorption of SPA was mainly contributed by the chemisorption of the monoanions on cassiterite surfaces. Frontier molecular orbital theory analysis and adsorption energy calculation results proved the monoanion of SPA was able to replace the OH− on cassiterite surfaces. The adsorption structure optimization results confirmed the binuclear complex was the most favorable adsorption configuration of SPA on cassiterite (110 surface. Mulliken population calculations and density of states analysis indicated during the bonding process the Sn3 atom lost electrons to O3 atom, and the bonding interaction between O3 and Sn3 atoms was mainly from the contribution of the 2p orbital of O3 atom and the 5s and 5p orbitals of Sn3 atom.

  8. Cluster analysis as a tool of guests segmentation by the degree of their demand

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Damijan Mumel

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Authors demonstrate the use of cluster analysis in finding out (ascertaining the homogenity/heterogenity of guests as to the degree of their demand. The degree of guests’ demand is defined according to the importance of perceived service quality components measured by SERVQUAL, which was adopted and adapted, according to the specifics of health spa industry in Slovenia. Goals of the article are: (a the identification of the profile of importance of general health spa service quality components, and (b the identification of groups of guests (segments according to the degree of their demand in the research in 1991 compared with 1999. Cluster analysis serves as useful tool for guest segmentation since it reveals the existence of important differences in the structure of guests in the year 1991 compared with the year 1999. The results serve as a useful database for management in health spas.

  9. Application for Single Price Auction Model (SPA) in AC Network

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wachi, Tsunehisa; Fukutome, Suguru; Chen, Luonan; Makino, Yoshinori; Koshimizu, Gentarou

    This paper aims to develop a single price auction model with AC transmission network, based on the principle of maximizing social surplus of electricity market. Specifically, we first formulate the auction market as a nonlinear optimization problem, which has almost the same form as the conventional optimal power flow problem, and then propose an algorithm to derive both market clearing price and trade volume of each player even for the case of market-splitting. As indicated in the paper, the proposed approach can be used not only for the price evaluation of auction or bidding market but also for analysis of bidding strategy, congestion effect and other constraints or factors. Several numerical examples are used to demonstrate effectiveness of our method.

  10. Comparing the profitability of organic and conventional broiler production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Cobanoglu

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Organic broiler chicken production has recently received more attention worldwide. This study carried out an economic analysis to compare the profitability of organic versus conventional growing systems per unit of broiler meat production. In this study, 400 slow-growing broilers (Hubbard Red-JA were reared in an organic production system and the same number of fast-growing broilers (Ross-308 were reared in a conventional system. Profitability was deduced from an economic analysis that compared total costs and net income. Results showed that organic broiler meat can cost from 70% to 86% more with respect to variable and fixed costs when compared with conventional production. The main reasons for the higher cost of organic broiler meat were feed, labor, certification, and outdoor area maintenance. The proportion of fixed costs in total costs was 1.54% in the conventional system and 7.48% in the organic system. The net income per kg of chicken meat in the organic system was €0.75, which is 180% higher compared with the conventional system (€0.27; however, organic broiler meat was sold at a twice as high price than the conventional one. In conclusion, organic broiler meat production was more economical than conventional rearing.

  11. Comparative analysis of fiscal terms for Alberta oil sands and international heavy and conventional oils

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Meurs, P.

    2007-01-01

    There are considerable differences between international heavy oil and Alberta oil sands projects, notably the high viscosity of the bitumen in the oil sands reservoirs. The oil sands bitumen do not flow to wells without heating the bitumen, thereby adding to the already high cost of Alberta oil sand operations. This report provided an economic comparison of Alberta oil sands and international heavy oil projects. It also included a brief scoping review to compare with conventional oil regimes. Full exploration costs including the costs of dry holes were allocated to conventional oil operations in order to obtain a proper comparison. This investigation included the costs of dry holes. The report was a follow up to an earlier study released on April 12, 2007 on the preliminary fiscal evaluation of Alberta oil sand terms. The report provided an economic framework and described project selection. It then provided a discussion of production, costs and price data. Four adjusted projects were presented and compared with Alberta. The Venezuelan royalty formula was also discussed. Last, the report provided a detailed fiscal analysis. Comparisons were offered with Cold Lake and Athabasca Mine. A review of some other fiscal systems applicable to conventional oil were also outlined. It was concluded that Alberta oil sands developments are very competitive. It would be possible to modestly increase government revenues, without affecting the international competitive position of Alberta with respect to conventional oil. There is also some possibility to increase the base royalty on the Alberta oil sands without losing competitiveness. tabs., figs

  12. A comparative cost analysis of picture archiving and communications systems (PACS versus conventional radiology in the private sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Indres Moodley

    2015-03-01

    Aim: To undertake an incremental cost analysis of PACS compared with conventional radiology to determine productivity gains, if any, at two private hospitals in Durban. Method: An incremental cost analysis for chest radiographs, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging brain scans with and without contrast were performed. The overall incremental cost for PACS in comparison with a conventional radiology site was determined. The net present value was also determined to evaluate the capital budgeting requirements for both systems. Results: The incremental cost of both capital and the radiology information system for installing PACS shows an expected increase. The incremental PACS image cost shows a reduction. Conclusion: The study provides a benchmark for the cost incurred when implementing PACS. It also provides a decision framework for radiology departments that plan to introduce PACS and helps to determine the feasibility of its introduction.

  13. Corruption of human follicular B-lymphocyte trafficking by a B-cell superantigen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borhis, Gwenoline; Viau, Muriel; Badr, Gamal; Richard, Yolande; Zouali, Moncef

    2012-05-09

    Protein A (SpA) of Staphylococcus aureus is known to target the paratope of immunoglobulins expressing V(H)3 genes, and to delete marginal zone B cells and B-1a in vivo. We have discovered that SpA endows S. aureus with the potential to subvert B-cell trafficking in the host. We found that SpA, whose Fc-binding site has been inactivated, binds essentially to naïve B cells and induces a long-lasting decrease in CXCR4 expression and in B-cell chemotaxis to CXCL12. Competition experiments indicated that SpA does not interfere with binding of CXCR4 ligands and does not directly bind to CXCR4. This conclusion is strongly supported by the inability of SpA to modulate clathrin-mediated CXCR4 internalization, which contrasts with the potent effect of anti-immunoglobin M (IgM) antibodies. Microscopy and biochemical experiments confirmed that SpA binds to the surface IgM/IgD complex and induces its clathrin-dependent internalization. Concomitantly, the SpA-induced signaling leads to protein kinase C-dependent CXCR4 downmodulation, suggesting that SpA impairs the recycling of CXCR4, a postclathrin process that leads to either degradation into lysozomes or de novo expression at the cell surface. In addition to providing novel insight into disruption of B-cell trafficking by an infectious agent, our findings may have therapeutic implications. Because CXCR4 has been associated with cancer metastasis and with certain autoimmune diseases, SpA behaves as an evolutionary tailored highly specific, chemokine receptor inhibitor that may have value in addition to conventional cytotoxic therapy in patients with various malignancies and immune-mediated diseases.

  14. Eco-SpaCE: An object-oriented, spatially explicit model to assess the risk of multiple environmental stressors on terrestrial vertebrate populations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loos, Mark; Ragas, Ad M.J.; Plasmeijer, Rinus; Schipper, Aafke M.; Hendriks, A. Jan

    2010-01-01

    Wildlife organisms are exposed to a combination of chemical, biological and physical stressors. Information about the relative impact of each stressor can support management decisions, e.g., by the allocation of resources to counteract those stressors that cause most harm. The present paper introduces Eco-SpaCE; a novel receptor-oriented cumulative exposure model for wildlife species that includes relevant ecological processes such as spatial habitat variation, food web relations, predation, and life history. A case study is presented in which the predicted mortality due to cadmium contamination is compared with the predicted mortality due to flooding, starvation, and predation for three small mammal species (Wood mouse, Common vole, and European mole) and a predator (Little owl) living in a lowland floodplain along the river Rhine in The Netherlands. Results indicated that cadmium is the principal stressor for European mole and Little owl populations. Wood mouse and Common vole population densities were mainly influenced by flooding and food availability. Their estimated population sizes were consistent with numbers reported in literature. Predictions for cadmium accumulation and flooding stress were in agreement with field data. The large uncertainty around cadmium toxicity for wildlife leads to the conclusion that more species-specific ecotoxicological data is required for more realistic risk assessments. The predictions for starvation were subject to the limited quantitative information on biomass obtainable as food for vertebrates. It is concluded that the modelling approach employed in Eco-SpaCE, combining ecology with ecotoxicology, provides a viable option to explore the relative contribution of contamination to the overall stress in an ecosystem. This can help environmental managers to prioritize management options, and to reduce local risks.

  15. Comparative analysis of conventional and eversion carotid endarterectomy: Prospective randomized study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marković Dragan M.

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available INTRODUCTION Studies completed in the last decade of the 20th century showed benefits of carotid endarterectomy in the prevention of stroke in patients with a high-grade stenosis of the internal carotid artery. OBJECTIVE The aim of this prospective, randomized study was the comparison of early and long-term results between the conventional and eversion carotid endarterectomy, and literature review. METHOD By the method of random choice, 103 patients were operated on using the eversion carotid endarterectomy and 98 patients using the conventional technique. Operative treatment was carried out under general anaesthesia. Following the clammping of the carotid artery, retrograde blood pressure was determined by a direct puncture of the internal carotid artery above the stenotic lesions. In patients with retrograde pressure below 20 mm Hg intraluminal shunting was routinely performed. Early results were estimated (during the first seven postoperative days based on mortality, central neurological complications (stroke, TIA and cranial or cervical nerve lesions. Long-term results were estimated (after at least two years based on long-term survival rate, central neurological complications (stroke, TIA and the incidence of haemodynamically significant restenosis of the carotid artery treated by endarterectomy. RESULTS The average time of clamming of the internal carotid artery in the eversion carotid anderectomy group was 5.36 minutes shorter than in the group treated by the conventional technique. Student's t-test showed a statistically highly significant difference in the time needed for clamming of the internal carotid artery between the two groups. The average duration of eversion endarterectomy (82 minutes was most often 19 minutes shorter than the duration of the conventional endarterectomy (101 minutes. Student's t-test showed a statistically highly significant difference in the average length of surgeries. The distal intimal fixation was more

  16. Theoretical analysis of a biogas-fed PEMFC system with different hydrogen purifications: Conventional and membrane-based water gas shift processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Authayanun, Suthida; Aunsup, Pounyaporn; Patcharavorachot, Yaneeporn; Arpornwichanop, Amornchai

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermodynamic analysis of the biogas-fed PEMFC system is performed. • Conventional and membrane-based WGS processes for H 2 purification are studied. • A flowsheet model of the PEMFC system is developed. • Effect of key parameters on yields of H 2 and carbon in the biogas reformer is shown. • Performance of PEMFC systems with different H 2 purification processes is analyzed. - Abstract: This study presents a thermodynamic analysis of biogas reforming and proton electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) integrated process with different hydrogen purifications: conventional and membrane-based water gas shift processes. The aim is to determine the optimal reforming process for hydrogen production from biogas in the PEMFC system. The formation of carbon is concerned in the hydrogen production. The simulation results show that increases in the steam-to-methane ratio and reformer temperature can improve the hydrogen yield and reduce the carbon formation. From the performance analysis, it is found that when the PEMFC is operated at high temperature and fuel utilization, the overall system efficiency enhances. The performance of the PEMFC system with the installation of a water gas shift membrane unit in the hydrogen purification step is slightly increased, compared with a conventional process

  17. Comparison of ultrasonic scalpel versus conventional techniques in open gastrectomy for gastric carcinoma patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Long Chen

    Full Text Available To compare surgical efficacy and postoperative recovery of ultrasonic scalpel (USS with conventional techniques for the resection of gastric carcinoma.A systematic search of major medical databases (PubMed, Embase, CCRT and CNKI was conducted. Both randomized and non-randomized controlled trials (RCTs and nRCTs were considered eligible. Operation time (OT, intraoperative blood loss (BL and postoperative complications (POC rates as well as postoperative hospitalization days, number of dissected lymph nodes, abdominal drainage volume and time for recovery of gastrointestinal functions were synthesized and compared.Nineteen studies were included (7 RCTs and 12 nRCTs, in which 1930 patients were enrolled totally (946 in the USS group and 984 in the conventional group. Monopolar electrocautery and ligation were used as the conventional methods. Comparative meta-analysis showed perioperative outcomes were significantly improved using USS compared with conventional surgical instrumentation. OT was reduced from a weighted mean of 185.3 min in the conventional group to 151.0 min in the USS group (MD = -33.30, 95% CI [-41.75, -24.86], p<0.001 and intraoperative BL was decreased from a weighted mean of 217.9 ml in the conventional group to 111.6 ml in the USS group (MD = -113.42, 95% CI [-142.05, -84.79], p<0.001. Results from RCTs subgroup were consistent with those from nRCTs subgroup. The weighted cumulative risk of POC accounted for 8.9% (0%-25% and 12.9% (5.5%-45% in the USS and conventional groups, respectively. Pooled estimated results from nRCTs (OR = 0.54, 95% CI [0.27, 1.06], p = 0.07 and RCTs (RR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.44, 1.26], p = 0.27 showed no significant difference between the USS and control groups. Analysis of secondary outcomes showed the improvements of the USS group over control group regarding the number of dissected lymph nodes, postoperative hospitalization days, abdominal drainage volume and time for recovery of

  18. 15 CFR 742.18 - Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC or Convention).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 2 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC or... REGULATIONS CONTROL POLICY-CCL BASED CONTROLS § 742.18 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC or Convention). States... Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, also known as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC...

  19. Teaching Cultural Astronomy: On the Development and Evolution of the Syllabus at Bath Spa University and the University of Wales, Lampeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campion, Nick

    TheMaster of Arts in CulturalAstronomy andAstrology at the University of Wales, Lampeter, formerly taught at Bath Spa University in England, is the first degree of its kind in the world. (I shall refer to the discipline as Cultural Astronomy, with initial letters as upper case, and the phenomena which it studies as cultural astronomy, all lower case). My definition combines both the discipline and the phenomenon; 'Cultural astronomy: the use of astronomical knowledge, beliefs or theories to inspire, inform or influence social forms and ideologies, or any aspect of human behaviour. Cultural astronomy also includes the modern disciplines of ethnoastronomy and archaeoastronomy' (Campion 1997: 2).

  20. A Meta-Analysis Examining Differences in Short-Term Outcomes Between Sutureless and Conventional Aortic Valve Prostheses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hurley, Eoghan T; O'Sullivan, Katie E; Segurado, Ricardo; Hurley, John P

    2015-01-01

    Sutureless aortic valve prostheses are anchored by radial force in a mechanism similar to that of transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation is associated with an increased permanent pacemaker (PPM) requirement in a significant proportion of patients. We undertook a meta-analysis to examine the incidence of PPM insertion associated with sutureless compared with conventional surgical aortic valve replacement. A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Prisma guidelines. All searches were performed on August 10, 2014. Studies between 2007 and 2014 were included in the search. A total of 832 patients were included in the sutureless group and 3,740 in the conventional group. Aortic cross-clamp (39.8 vs 62.4 minutes; P < 0.001) and cardiopulmonary bypass (64.9 vs 86.7 minutes; P = 0.002) times were shorter in the sutureless group. Permanent pacemaker implantation rate was higher in the sutureless cohort (9.1% vs 2.4%; P = 0.025). Sutureless aortic valve prostheses are associated with significantly shorter cardiopulmonary bypass and aortic cross-clamp times and a higher incidence of PPM insertion than conventional. Further investigation of the prognostic significance is required.

  1. Comparing the profitability of organic and conventional broiler production

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F Cobanoglu

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Recently, organic broiler chicken production has received more attention worldwide. This study has carried out an economic analysis to compare the profitability of organic versus conventional growing systems per unit of broiler meat production. To achieve this goal, 400 slow-growing broiler chickens (Hubbard Red-JA were reared in an organic production system, and the same number of fast-growing birds (Ross-308 in a conventional system. The profitability was deduced with an economic analysis that compared total costs and net income. Results showed that organic broiler meat can cost from 70% to 86% more with respect to variable and fixed costs when compared with conventional production. The main reasons for the higher cost of organic broiler meat were feed, labor, certification, and outdoor area maintenance. The proportion of fixed costs in total costs was 1.54% in the conventional system and 7.48% in the organic system. The net income per kg of chicken meat in the organic system was € 0.75, which is 180% higher than chicken meat grown in a conventional system (€ 0.27; however, the price of organic broiler meat sold in the present study was twice as high as that obtained for conventional broilers. In conclusion, organic broiler meat production was more profitable than conventional rearing.

  2. Single-port access laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection through the colostomy site: a case report

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauritsen, Morten; Bulut, O

    2012-01-01

    Single-port access (SPA) laparoscopic surgery is emerging as an alternative to conventional laparoscopic and open surgery, although its benefits still have to be determined. We present the case of a 87-year-old woman who underwent abdominoperineal resection (APR) with SPA. The abdominal part...... of the operation was performed with a SILS port inserted through the marked colostomy site, and the specimen was removed through the perineum after intersphincteric dissection. Operating time was 317 min. Bleeding was negligible. The specimen measured 26 cm in length. Thirteen lymph nodes were found, 2...

  3. Comparison of Conventional and Semi-Conventional Management ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Comparison of Conventional and Semi-Conventional Management Systems on the Performance and Carcass Yield of Broiler Chickens. ... TO AFRICAN RESEARCH. AFRICAN JOURNALS ONLINE (AJOL) · Journals · Advanced Search · USING AJOL · RESOURCES ... Journal Home > Vol 20, No 1 (2018) >. Log in or ...

  4. Grounding Damage to Conventional Vessels

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lützen, Marie; Simonsen, Bo Cerup

    2003-01-01

    The present paper is concerned with rational design of conventional vessels with regard to bottom damage generated in grounding accidents. The aim of the work described here is to improve the design basis, primarily through analysis of new statistical data for grounding damage. The current regula...

  5. An Improved MLVF Method and Its Comparison with Traditional MLVF, spa Typing, MLST/SCCmec and PFGE for the Typing of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Xue-Fei; Xiao, Meng; Liang, Hong-Yan; Sun, Zhe; Jiang, Yue-Hong; Chen, Guo-Yu; Meng, Xiao-Yu; Zou, Gui-Ling; Zhang, Li; Liu, Ya-Li; Zhang, Hui; Sun, Hong-Li; Jiang, Xiao-Feng; Xu, Ying-Chun

    2014-01-01

    Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become an important nosocomial pathogen, causing considerable morbidity and mortality. During the last 20 years, a variety of genotyping methods have been introduced for screening the prevalence of MRSA. In this study, we developed and evaluated an improved approach capillary gel electrophoresis based multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat fingerprinting (CGE/MLVF) for rapid MRSA typing. A total of 42 well-characterized strains and 116 non-repetitive clinical MRSA isolates collected from six hospitals in northeast China between 2009 and 2010 were tested. The results obtained by CGE/MLVF against clinical isolates were compared with traditional MLVF, spa typing, Multilocus sequence typing/staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (MLST/SCCmec) and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). The discriminatory power estimated by Simpson’s index of diversity was 0.855 (28 types), 0.855 (28 patterns), 0.623 (11 types), 0.517 (8 types) and 0.854 (28 patterns) for CGE/MLVF, traditional MLVF, spa typing, MLST/SCCmec and PFGE, respectively. All methods tested showed a satisfied concordance in clonal complex level calculated by adjusted Rand’s coefficient. CGE/MLVF showed better reproducibility and accuracy than traditional MLVF and PFGE methods. In addition, the CGE/MLVF has potential to produce portable results. In conclusion, CGE/MLVF is a rapid and easy to use MRSA typing method with lower cost, good reproducibility and high discriminatory power for monitoring the outbreak and clonal spread of MRSA isolates. PMID:24406728

  6. Sensitivity Test of Parameters Influencing Flood Hydrograph Routing with a Diffusion-Wave Distributed using Distributed Hydrological Model, Wet Spa, in Ziarat Watershed

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    narges javidan

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Flood routing is a procedure to calculate flood stage and water depth along a river or to estimate flood hydrograph at river downstream or at reservoir outlets using the upstream hydrography . In river basins, excess rainfall is routed to the basin outlet using flow routing techniques to generate flow hydrograph. A GIS-based distributed hydrological model, Wet Spa, has been under development suitable for flood prediction and watershed management on a catchment scale. The model predicts outflow hydrographs at the basin outlet or at any converging point in the watershed, and it does so in a user-specified time step. The model is physically based, spatially distributed and time-continuous, and simulates hydrological processes of precipitation, snowmelt, interception, depression, surface runoff, infiltration, evapotranspiration, percolation, interflow, groundwater flow, etc. continuously both in time and space, for which the water and energy balance are maintained on each raster cell. Surface runoff is produced using a modified coefficient method based on the cellular characteristics of slope, land use, and soil type, and allowed to vary with soil moisture, rainfall intensity and storm duration. Interflow is computed based on the Darcy’s law and the kinematic approximation as a function of the effective hydraulic conductivity and the hydraulic gradient, while groundwater flow is estimated with a linear reservoir method on a small subcatchment scale as a function of groundwater storage and a recession coefficient. Special emphasis is given to the overland flow and channel flow routing using the method of linear diffusive wave approximation, which is capable to predict flow discharge at any converging point downstream by a unit response function. The model accounts for spatially distributed hydrological and geophysical characteristics of the catchment. Determination of the river flow hydrograph is a main target in hydrology

  7. Islamic versus conventional stock market and its co-movement with crude oil: a wavelet analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Kamarudin, Eka Azrin; Masih, Mansur

    2015-01-01

    Crude oil market plays an important role in economic development and its price changes give huge impact to the financial markets. In this paper, the relationships between crude oil and stock markets are examined. This study has selected Malaysian Islamic and conventional stock markets as a case study. Financialisation of crude oil and its frequent inclusion into investment portfolios warrant an analysis of the relationship between crude oil and stock market indices at various time scales or i...

  8. AMMI model in the analysis of genotype by environment interaction of conventionally and organically grown onion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brdar-Jokanović Milka

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was aimed to assess the stability of direct yield components (bulb weight and number plot-1 and other yield contributing characteristics (bulb diameter, height and index, neck diameter and length, plant height, emergence and vegetation period in five commercial onion cultivars grown in conventional and organic environments, by employing additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI statistical model in data analysis. The two-year field trial organized in complete randomized blocks included the plots maintained in four regimes: mineral fertilization (conventional, without fertilization, fertilization with farmyard manure and with bacterial fertilizer (organic. Each treatment by year combination was considered as an environment. Analysis of variance of AMMI model calculated for the investigated traits showed that all sources of variation (genotypes, environments, genotype by environment interaction were highly significant. The largest proportions of the total sum of squares were encompassed by environments, except for emergence and bulb index with the pronounced effect of genotypes (67.26 and 52.54%, respectively and neck length with the genotype by environment interaction amounting 44.59%. Generally, the effects of the interactions were in the common range. The AMMI model with two axes was concluded as the best model for the investigated traits. Onions grown in conventional system outperformed the organic ones. However, good performance of the genotypes was accompanied with low stability across the environments and vice versa. Therefore breeding programs intended to develop cultivars adapted to alternative production systems should rely on the experiments set in the corresponding environments that include various combinations of genotypes and agro-technical procedures based on the principles of organic agriculture. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR 31059

  9. Lessons from the SPA European performance assessment exercise for spent fuel disposal in granite

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baudoin, P.; Besnus, F.; Gay, D.; Serres, C.

    2000-01-01

    The SPA project, addressing performance assessment of spent fuel disposal, is a direct continuation of the efforts made by the European Community since 1982 to build a common understanding of the methods applicable to performance assessment of a deep geological disposal. It enabled to draw preliminary conclusions on the respective importance of the radionuclides present in the different types of waste, on the influence of some of the main assumptions used in the modelling and helped to specify the expectable role of disposal system components. From 1996 to 1999, six national research institutions in six member countries of EU (Spain, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium and Finland) were involved in this project devoted to the case of spent fuel. This paper only addresses the assessments made by IPSN (France) for the granite site in the case of the normal evolution scenario. According to the results obtained, the maximum effective dose is in a first time mainly caused by two fission products ( 129 I and 79 Se). Then, radionuclides from radioactive decay chains ( 226 Ra , 230 Th and 229 Th) progressively become the main contributors. (author)

  10. National nuclear safety report 1998. Convention on nuclear safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1998-01-01

    The Argentine Republic subscribed the Convention on Nuclear Safety, approved by a Diplomatic Conference in Vienna, Austria, in June 17th, 1994. According to the provisions in Section 5th of the Convention, each Contracting Party shall submit for its examination a National Nuclear Safety Report about the measures adopted to comply with the corresponding obligations. This Report describes the actions that the Argentine Republic is carrying on since the beginning of its nuclear activities, showing that it complies with the obligations derived from the Convention, in accordance with the provisions of its Article 4. The analysis of the compliance with such obligations is based on the legislation in force, the applicable regulatory standards and procedures, the issued licenses, and other regulatory decisions. The corresponding information is described in the analysis of each of the Convention Articles constituting this Report. The present National Report has been performed in order to comply with Article 5 of the Convention on Nuclear Safety, and has been prepared as much as possible following the Guidelines Regarding National Reports under the Convention on Nuclear Safety, approved in the Preparatory Meeting of the Contracting Parties, held in Vienna in April 1997. This means that the Report has been ordered according to the Articles of the Convention on Nuclear Safety and the contents indicated in the guidelines. The information contained in the articles, which are part of the Report shows the compliance of the Argentine Republic, as a contracting party of such Convention, with the obligations assumed

  11. The Results of the Development of Balneal Care Provision and the State of the Czech Spa Industry in Connection with the Changes in Legislation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vavrečková Eva

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper focuses on the development of balneal care provision and its current state in the Czech spa industry in connection with the changes in legislation. In particular, the period of 2000–2015 is specified, including the survey of positive and negative changes resulting from the changes in legal norms regulating the balneal care provision. Special attention is paid to two turning points in the balneal care provision: the turn of 2012 and 2013 and the turn of 2014 and 2015, which were significantly affected by the changing legislation.

  12. Safety of treatment options for spondyloarthritis: a narrative review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Angelo, Salvatore; Carriero, Antonio; Gilio, Michele; Ursini, Francesco; Leccese, Pietro; Palazzi, Carlo

    2018-05-01

    Spondyloarthritis (SpA) are chronic inflammatory diseases with overlapping pathogenic mechanisms and clinical features. Treatment armamentarium against SpA includes non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs, including sulfasalazine, methotrexate, leflunomide, cyclosporine), targeted synthetic DMARDs (apremilast) and biological DMARDs (TNF inhibitors, anti-IL 12/23 and anti-IL-17 agents). Areas covered: A narrative review of published literature on safety profile of available SpA treatment options was performed. Readers will be provided with a comprehensive overview on frequent and rare adverse events associated with each drug listed in current SpA treatment recommendations. Expert opinion: The overall safety profile of such molecules is good and serious adverse events are rare but need to be promptly recognized and treated. However, the monitoring of adverse events is a major challenge for clinicians because it is not adequately addressed by current treatment recommendations. A tailored treatment is crucial and rheumatologists must accurately select patients in order to identify those more susceptible to develop adverse events.

  13. 3D CT versus axial helical CT versus conventional tomography in the classification of acetabular fractures: A ROC analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kickuth, Ralph; Laufer, Ulf; Hartung, Guido; Gruening, Christian; Stueckle, Christoph; Kirchner, Johannes

    2002-01-01

    AIM: To assess the diagnostic power of three-dimensional computed tomography (3D CT), axial helical computed tomography (CT) and conventional tomography in the classification of acetabular fractures by interdisciplinary review. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Receiver operating characteristics (ROCs) were assessed for two radiologists and two surgeons blinded to the presence of acetabular fractures in an animal model (a total of 62 porcine hips, 40 of them with artificial acetabular fractures). Main target parameter was the diagnostic accuracy in the classification of the artificial fractures following Judet et al. RESULTS: ROC analysis for radiologists showed A z values of 0·83 for 3D CT, 0·81 for axial helical CT, and 0·78 for conventional tomography; differences between the three techniques were not significant (P = 0·46-0·73). A z values for the surgeons were 0·87 for 3D CT, 0·68 for axial helical CT, and 0·60 for conventional tomography; 3D CT was significantly better than axial helical CT (P = 0·01) and conventional tomography (P = 0·001). The differences between axial helical CT and conventional tomography were not significant (P = 0·37). CONCLUSION: Acetabular fractures are best classified by 3D CT, followed by axial helical CT and conventional tomography when assessed by surgeons. 3D CT did not provide any additional significant benefit in the classification performed by radiologists. Kickuth, R. et al. (2002)

  14. The detailed analysis of natural radionuclides dissolved in spa waters of the Kłodzko Valley, Sudety Mountains, Poland

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Walencik-Łata, A.; Kozłowska, B.; Dorda, J.; Przylibski, T.A.

    2016-01-01

    A survey was conducted to measure natural radioactivity in spa waters from the Kłodzko Valley. The main goal of this study was to determine the activity concentration of uranium, radium and radon isotopes in the investigated groundwaters. Samples were collected several times from 35 water intakes from 5 spas and 2 mineral water bottling plants. The authors examined whether the increased gamma radiation background, as well as the elevated values of radium and uranium content in reservoir rocks, have a significant impact on the natural radioactivity of these waters. The second objective of this research was to provide information about geochemistry of U, Ra, Rn radionuclides and the radiological and chemical risks incurred by ingestion of isotopes with drinking water. On the basis of results obtained, it is feasible to assess the health hazard posed by ingestion of natural radioactivity with drinking waters. Moreover, the data yielded by this research may be helpful in the process of verification of the application of these waters in balneotherapy. In addition, annual effective radiation doses resulting from the isotopes consumption were calculated on the basis of the evaluated activity concentrations. In dose assessment for uranium and radium isotopes, the authors provided values for different human age groups. The obtained uranium content in the investigated waters was compared with the currently valid regulations concerning the quality of drinking water. Based on the activity concentrations data, the activity isotopic ratios 234 U/ 238 U, 226 Ra/ 238 U, 222 Rn/ 238 U, 222 Rn/ 226 Ra and the correlations between radionuclides content were then examined. In brief, it may be concluded on the basis of the obtained results that radon solubility is inversely proportional to radium and uranium dissolution in environmental water circulation. The presented study allows conclusions to be drawn on the radionuclide circulation among different environmental biota: from

  15. Business Performance of Health Spa Tourism Providers in Relation to the Structure of Employees in the Republic of Croatia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vrkljan, Sanela; Grazio, Simeon

    2017-12-01

    Health spa tourism services are provided in special hospitals for medical rehabilitation and health resorts, and include controlled use of natural healing factors and physical therapy under medical supervision in order to improve and preserve health. Health tourism is a service industry and therefore labor-intensive industry in which human resources are one of the key factors of business success. The aim of this study was to analyze business performance of special hospitals for medical rehabilitation and health resorts in Croatia in relation to the structure of employees, specifically the number of physicians and total medical personnel, as well as the share of physicians and medical personnel in the total number of employees. The assumption was that those who employ more physicians and medical employees are more successful. The empirical research was conducted and the assumption was tested firstly by correlation analysis and afterwards by regression analysis. The total number of employees in the researched health resorts and special hospitals amounted to 2,863, of which the share of physicians specialists accounted for almost 7%, while the share of total medical staff was almost 53%. From the results of our research, it can be concluded that special hospitals for medical rehabilitation and health resorts, which employ more physicians and medical personnel, are achieving better financial business performance. Based on the results obtained, it is possible to provide guidance for further growth and development in the direction of basing the primary offer on medical-health offer, rather than on wellness offer, which is a strong trend in the world. These findings are important for planning the health and tourism policies in Croatia and similar countries.

  16. Integral dose delivered to normal brain with conventional intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and helical tomotherapy IMRT during partial brain radiotherapy for high-grade gliomas with and without selective sparing of the hippocampus, limbic circuit and neural stem cell compartment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marsh, James C.; Ziel, Ellis G; Diaz, Aidnag Z; Turian, Julius V; Wendt, Julie A.; Gobole, Rohit

    2013-01-01

    We compared integral dose with uninvolved brain (ID brain ) during partial brain radiotherapy (PBRT) for high-grade glioma patients using helical tomotherapy (HT) and seven field traditional inverse-planned intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) with and without selective sparing (SPA) of contralateral hippocampus, neural stem cell compartment (NSC) and limbic circuit. We prepared four PBRT treatment plans for four patients with high-grade gliomas (60Gy in 30 fractions delivered to planning treatment volume (PTV60Gy)). For all plans, a structure denoted 'uninvolved brain' was created, which included all brain tissue not part of PTV or standard (STD) organs at risk (OAR). No dosimetric constraints were included for uninvolved brain. Selective SPA plans were prepared with IMRT and HT; contralateral hippocampus, NSC and limbic circuit were contoured; and dosimetric constraints were entered for these structures without compromising dose to PTV or STD OAR. We compared V100 and D95 for PTV46Gy and PTV60Gy, and ID brain for all plans. There were no significant differences in V100 and D95 for PTV46Gy and PTV60Gy. ID brain was lower in traditional IMRT versus HT plans for STD and SPA plans (mean ID brain 23.64Gy vs. 28Gy and 18.7Gy vs. 24.5Gy, respectively) and in SPA versus STD plans both with IMRT and HT (18.7Gy vs. 23.64Gy and 24.5Gy vs. 28Gy, respectively). n the setting of PBRT for high-grade gliomas, IMRT reduces ID brain compared with HT with or without selective SPA of contralateral hippocampus, limbic circuit and NSC, and the use of selective SPA reduces ID brain compared with STD PBRT delivered with either traditional IMRT or HT.

  17. Applying the global RCP-SSP-SPA scenario framework at sub-national scale: A multi-scale and participatory scenario approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kebede, Abiy S; Nicholls, Robert J; Allan, Andrew; Arto, Iñaki; Cazcarro, Ignacio; Fernandes, Jose A; Hill, Chris T; Hutton, Craig W; Kay, Susan; Lázár, Attila N; Macadam, Ian; Palmer, Matthew; Suckall, Natalie; Tompkins, Emma L; Vincent, Katharine; Whitehead, Paul W

    2018-09-01

    To better anticipate potential impacts of climate change, diverse information about the future is required, including climate, society and economy, and adaptation and mitigation. To address this need, a global RCP (Representative Concentration Pathways), SSP (Shared Socio-economic Pathways), and SPA (Shared climate Policy Assumptions) (RCP-SSP-SPA) scenario framework has been developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (IPCC-AR5). Application of this full global framework at sub-national scales introduces two key challenges: added complexity in capturing the multiple dimensions of change, and issues of scale. Perhaps for this reason, there are few such applications of this new framework. Here, we present an integrated multi-scale hybrid scenario approach that combines both expert-based and participatory methods. The framework has been developed and applied within the DECCMA 1 project with the purpose of exploring migration and adaptation in three deltas across West Africa and South Asia: (i) the Volta delta (Ghana), (ii) the Mahanadi delta (India), and (iii) the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) delta (Bangladesh/India). Using a climate scenario that encompasses a wide range of impacts (RCP8.5) combined with three SSP-based socio-economic scenarios (SSP2, SSP3, SSP5), we generate highly divergent and challenging scenario contexts across multiple scales against which robustness of the human and natural systems within the deltas are tested. In addition, we consider four distinct adaptation policy trajectories: Minimum intervention, Economic capacity expansion, System efficiency enhancement, and System restructuring, which describe alternative future bundles of adaptation actions/measures under different socio-economic trajectories. The paper highlights the importance of multi-scale (combined top-down and bottom-up) and participatory (joint expert-stakeholder) scenario methods for addressing uncertainty in adaptation decision

  18. Cone-Beam CT Angiography for Determination of Tumor-Feeding Vessels During Chemoembolization of Liver Tumors: Comparison of Conventional and Dedicated-Software Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ronot, Maxime; Abdel-Rehim, Mohamed; Hakimé, Antoine; Kuoch, Viseth; Roux, Marion; Chiaradia, Mélanie; Vilgrain, Valérie; de Baere, Thierry; Deschamps, Frédéric

    2016-01-01

    To compare the ability of dedicated software and conventional cone-beam computed tomography (CT) analysis to identify tumor-feeding vessels in hypervascular liver tumors treated with chemoembolization. Between January 2012 and January 2013, 45 patients (32 men, mean age of 61 y; range, 27-85 y) were enrolled, and 66 tumors were treated (mean, 32 mm ± 18; range, 10-81 mm) with conventional chemoembolization with arterial cone-beam CT. Data were independently analyzed by six interventional radiologists with standard postprocessing software, a computer-aided analysis with FlightPlan for liver (FPFL; ie, "raw FPFL"), and a review of this computer-aided FPFL analysis ("reviewed FPFL"). Analyses were compared with a reference reading established by two study supervisors in consensus who had access to all imaging data. Sensitivities, positive predictive values (PPVs), and false-positive (FP) ratios were compared by McNemar, χ(2), and Fisher exact tests. Analysis durations were compared by Mann-Whitney test, and interreader agreement was assessed. Reference reading identified 179 feeder vessels. The sensitivity of raw FPFL was significantly higher than those of reviewed FPFL and conventional analyses (90.9% vs 83.2% and 82.1%; P software enabled a fast, accurate, and sensitive detection of tumor feeder vessels. Copyright © 2016 SIR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Organic versus Conventional Cropping Sustainability: A Comparative System Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiffany L. Fess

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available We are at a pivotal time in human history, as the agricultural sector undergoes consolidation coupled with increasing energy costs in the context of declining resource availability. Although organic systems are often thought of as more sustainable than conventional operations, the lack of concise and widely accepted means to measure sustainability makes coming to an agreement on this issue quite challenging. However, an accurate assessment of sustainability can be reached by dissecting the scientific underpinnings of opposing production practices and crop output between cropping systems. The purpose of this review is to provide an in-depth and comprehensive evaluation of modern global production practices and economics of organic cropping systems, as well as assess the sustainability of organic production practices through the clarification of information and analysis of recent research. Additionally, this review addresses areas where improvements can be made to help meet the needs of future organic producers, including organic-focused breeding programs and necessity of coming to a unified global stance on plant breeding technologies. By identifying management strategies that utilize practices with long-term environmental and resource efficiencies, a concerted global effort could guide the adoption of organic agriculture as a sustainable food production system.

  20. Are nuclear ships environmentally safer than conventionally powered ships

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bone, C.A.; Molgaard, C.A.; Helmkamp, J.C.; Golbeck, A.L.

    1988-01-01

    An epidemiologic analysis was conducted to determine if risk of hospitalization varied by age, ship type, or occupation between nuclear and conventional powered ship crews in the U.S. Navy. Study cohorts consisted of all male enlisted personnel who served exclusively aboard conventional or nuclear powered aircraft carriers and cruisers during the years 1975-1979; cases were those men hospitalized during this period (N = 48,242). Conventional ship personnel showed significantly elevated rates of injury and disease when compared to nuclear ship personnel. The largest relative risks by age occurred for conventional ship crewmen less than 30 years old. Seaman, logistics (supply), and healthcare personnel serving aboard conventional ships comprised the occupational groups exhibiting the highest hospitalization rate differentials. The results strongly suggest that nuclear ships provide a healthier, safer working and living environment than conventional ships

  1. Differentiation between benign and malignant palatal tumors using conventional MRI: a retrospective analysis of 130 cases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Yingyan; Xiao, Zebin; Zhang, Hua; She, Dejun; Lin, Xuehua; Lin, Yu; Cao, Dairong

    2018-04-01

    To evaluate the discriminative value of conventional magnetic resonance imaging between benign and malignant palatal tumors. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging features of 130 patients with palatal tumors confirmed by histopathologic examination were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical data and imaging findings were assessed between benign and malignant tumors and between benign and low-grade malignant salivary gland tumors. The variables that were significant in differentiating benign from malignant lesions were further identified using logistic regression analysis. Moreover, imaging features of each common palatal histologic entity were statistically analyzed with the rest of the tumors to define their typical imaging features. Older age, partially defined and ill-defined margins, and absence of a capsule were highly suggestive of malignant palatal tumors, especially ill-defined margins (β = 6.400). The precision in determining malignant palatal tumors achieved a sensitivity of 92.8% and a specificity of 85.6%. In addition, irregular shape, ill-defined margins, lack of a capsule, perineural spread, and invasion of surrounding structures were more often associated with low-grade malignant salivary gland tumors. Conventional magnetic resonance imaging is useful for differentiating benign from malignant palatal tumors as well as benign salivary gland tumors from low-grade salivary gland malignancies. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Selected aspects of radon presence in medicinal waters in Swieradow Spa; Wybrane aspekty obecnosci radonu w wodach leczniczych Swieradowa Zdroju

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Przybilski, T.A. [Politechnika Wroclawska, Wroclaw (Poland)

    1996-12-31

    In the paper results of measurement of radium content in the rocks of the neighbourhood of Swieradow Spa were used to calculate emanating coefficient of rocks. The coefficient was next used to estimate the volume of rocks supplying the intakes with radon; in this estimation radioactive equilibrium between radium and radon in the rocks was assumed. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that such equilibrium is absent and allow estimating its coefficient as 10{sup -6}. It was also proposed to use track detectors to the continuous monitoring of radon concentrations in the ground waters, which was shown on the example of comparison of relative radon concentrations in individual wells of medicinal water intakes. (author). 14 refs, 1 tab.

  3. Psoriatic arthritis management update - biotherapeutic options.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Saber, Tajvur P

    2012-02-01

    Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a seronegative spondyloarthropathy (SpA) occurring in up to 30% of patients with psoriasis. It has a wide variation of annual incidence (median 6.4, range 0.1-3.1 per 10(5) people), based on analysis of 13 incidence and prevalence reviews published between 1987 and December 2006. Conventional treatments with antiinflammatory and disease modifying or antirheumatic drugs are not efficacious in all patients, in particular those with axial disease. This review examines new pharmacological developments in the treatment of PsA with a focus on biologic therapies.

  4. [Efficiency of medical and economic activities of a sanatorium-and-spa facility in the active phase of the public health system reform under macroeconomic instability].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poliakov, B A; Kizeev, M V

    2010-01-01

    Results of a comprehensive study have demonstrated that the reform of the public health system currently underway in this country provides conditions for the extension of medical care based at sanatorium-and-spa facilities with simultaneous rise in relevant expenses. Bearing in mind the unstable macroeconomic situation, this requires thorough monitoring medical and economic activities of health resorts for the purpose of enhancing cost efficiency. The goal of optimization can be achieved by increasing competitive capacity based on strict control of expenditures and income redistribution for financing the most promising projects.

  5. New and conventional evaporative systems in concentrating nitrogen samples prior to isotope-ratio analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lober, R.W.; Reeder, J.D.; Porter, L.K.

    1987-01-01

    Studies were conducted to quantify and compare the efficiencies of various evaporative systems used in evaporating 15 N samples prior to mass spectrometric analysis. Two new forced-air systems were designed and compared with a conventional forced-air system and with an open-air dry bath technique for effectiveness in preventing atmospheric contamination of evaporating samples. The forced-air evaporative systems significantly reduced the time needed to evaporate samples as compared to the open-air dry bath technique; samples were evaporated to dryness in 2.5 h with the forced-air systems as compared to 8 to 10 h on the open-air dry bath. The effectiveness of a given forced-air system to prevent atmospheric contamination of evaporating samples was significantly affected by the flow rate of the air stream flowing over the samples. The average atmospheric contaminant N found in samples evaporated on the open-air dry bath was 0.3 μ N, indicating very low concentrations of atmospheric NH 3 during this study. However, in previous studies the authors have experienced significant contamination of 15 N samples evaporated on an open-air dry bath because the level of contaminant N in the laboratory atmosphere varied and could not be adequately controlled. Average cross-contaminant levels of 0.28, 0.20, and 1.01 μ of N were measured between samples evaporated on the open-air dry bath, the newly-designed forced-air system, and the conventional forced-air system, respectively. The cross-contamination level is significantly higher on the conventional forced-air system than on the other two systems, and could significantly alter the atom % 15 N of high-enriched, low [N] evaporating samples

  6. Differentiation of orbital lymphoma and idiopathic orbital inflammatory pseudotumor: combined diagnostic value of conventional MRI and histogram analysis of ADC maps.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Jiliang; Yuan, Ying; Wu, Yingwei; Tao, Xiaofeng

    2018-05-02

    The overlap of morphological feature and mean ADC value restricted clinical application of MRI in the differential diagnosis of orbital lymphoma and idiopathic orbital inflammatory pseudotumor (IOIP). In this paper, we aimed to retrospectively evaluate the combined diagnostic value of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and whole-tumor histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in the differentiation of the two lesions. In total, 18 patients with orbital lymphoma and 22 patients with IOIP were included, who underwent both conventional MRI and diffusion weighted imaging before treatment. Conventional MRI features and histogram parameters derived from ADC maps, including mean ADC (ADC mean ), median ADC (ADC median ), skewness, kurtosis, 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th percentiles of ADC (ADC 10 , ADC 25 , ADC 75 , ADC 90 ) were evaluated and compared between orbital lymphoma and IOIP. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the most valuable variables for discriminating. Differential model was built upon the selected variables and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was also performed to determine the differential ability of the model. Multivariate logistic regression showed ADC 10 (P = 0.023) and involvement of orbit preseptal space (P = 0.029) were the most promising indexes in the discrimination of orbital lymphoma and IOIP. The logistic model defined by ADC 10 and involvement of orbit preseptal space was built, which achieved an AUC of 0.939, with sensitivity of 77.30% and specificity of 94.40%. Conventional MRI feature of involvement of orbit preseptal space and ADC histogram parameter of ADC 10 are valuable in differential diagnosis of orbital lymphoma and IOIP.

  7. Modeling and analysis of conventional and heat-integrated distillation columns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bisgaard, Thomas; Huusom, Jakob Kjøbsted; Abildskov, Jens

    2015-01-01

    A generic model that can cover diabatic and adiabatic distillation column configurations is presented, with the aim ofproviding a consistent basis for comparison of alternative distillation column technologies. Both a static and a dynamic formulation of the model, together with a model catalogue...... consisting of the conventional, the heat-integrated and the mechanical vapor recompression distillation columns are presented. The solution procedure of the model is outlined and illustrated in three case studies. One case study being a benchmark study demonstrating the size of the model and the static...... properties of two different heat-integrated distillation column (HIDiC) schemes and the mechanical vapor recompression column. The second case study exemplifies the difference between a HIDiC and a conventional distillation column in the composition profiles within a multicomponent separation, whereas...

  8. Stable isotopic and mineralogical studies of hydrothermal alteration at Arima Spa, Southwest Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Masuda, Harue; Osaka City Univ.; Sakai, Hitoshi; Chiba, Hitoshi; Matsuhisa, Yukihiro; Nakamura, Takeshi

    1986-01-01

    The waters of Arima Spa, Southwest Japan, have high salinity (Cl = 54 g/kg) and high isotopic ratios (deltaD = -32, and delta 18 O = +10 per mille), and issue from shallow wells drilled into altered rhyolitic pyroclastic rocks of Cretaceous age. Alteration of the host rocks occurred in two stages. The earlier regional alteration stage is characterized by the presence of 2M- and 1M-type muscovite, albite, chlorite, calcite and epidote, whereas muscovite and Fe-chlorite formation at the expense of partly albitized plagioclase and altered biotite or hornblende occurred in the following hydrothermal stage. Pyrite, sphalerite, galena and siderite are present in the central part of the hydrothermal alteration zone. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopic ratios of secondary muscovite show that regional alteration proceeded under the meteoric circulation, and that the hydrothermal fluid for the second stage had chemical and stable isotopic characteristics of non-meteoric origin similar to the present-day Arima brine. The oxygen and to a lesser extent the hydrogen isotopic ratios of the muscovite rapidly decrease with increasing distance from the central zone of hydrothermal alteration. The isotopic variation is best interpreted as reflecting rapidly decreasing fluid/rock ratios with increasing distance of fluid penetration from the narrow hydrothermal alteration zone into the surrounding area. The results are discussed. (author)

  9. Rapid detection, differentiation and typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus harbouring either mecA or the new mecA homologue mecA(LGA251).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stegger, M; Andersen, P S; Kearns, A; Pichon, B; Holmes, M A; Edwards, G; Laurent, F; Teale, C; Skov, R; Larsen, A R

    2012-04-01

    The recent finding of a new mecA homologue, mecA(LGA251) , with only 70% nucleotide homology to the conventional mecA gene has brought the routine testing for mecA as a confirmatory test for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) into question. A multiplex PCR was designed to differentiate mecA(LGA251) from the known mecA together with detection of lukF-PV and the spa gene fragments, enabling direct spa typing by sequencing of the PCR amplicons. The PCR analysis and subsequent spa typing were validated on a large collection (n=185) of contemporary MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus isolates, including 127 isolates carrying mecA(LGA251) . The mecA(LGA251) gene was situated in staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec type XI elements, and sequence variation within a 631-bp fragment of mecA(LGA251) in 79 isolates indicated a very conserved gene sequence. Following a successful validation, the multiplex PCR strategy was implemented in the routine testing of MRSA for national surveillance. Over a 2-month period, among 203 samples tested, 12 new MRSA cases caused by isolates carrying mecA(LGA251) were identified, emphasizing the clinical importance of testing for these new MRSA isolates. © 2011 STATENS SERUM INSTITUT. Clinical Microbiology and Infection © 2011 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

  10. The analysis of cost-effectiveness of implant and conventional fixed dental prosthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, June Sang; Har, Alix; Lim, Hyun-Pil; Lim, Hoi-Jeong

    2016-02-01

    This study conducted an analysis of cost-effectiveness of the implant and conventional fixed dental prosthesis (CFDP) from a single treatment perspective. The Markov model for cost-effectiveness analysis of the implant and CFDP was carried out over maximum 50 years. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis was performed by the 10,000 Monte-Carlo simulations, and cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEAC) were also presented. The results from meta-analysis studies were used to determine the survival rates and complication rates of the implant and CFDP. Data regarding the cost of each treatment method were collected from University Dental Hospital and Statistics Korea for 2013. Using the results of the patient satisfaction survey study, quality-adjusted prosthesis year (QAPY) of the implant and CFDP strategy was evaluated with annual discount rate. When only the direct cost was considered, implants were more cost-effective when the willingness to pay (WTP) was more than 10,000 won at 10(th) year after the treatment, and more cost-effective regardless of the WTP from 20(th) year after the prosthodontic treatment. When the indirect cost was added to the direct cost, implants were more cost-effective only when the WTP was more than 75,000 won at the 10(th) year after the prosthodontic treatment, more than 35,000 won at the 20(th) year after prosthodontic treatment. The CFDP was more cost-effective unless the WTP was more than 75,000 won at the 10(th) year after prosthodontic treatment. But the cost-effectivenss tendency changed from CFDP to implant as time passed.

  11. Teaching Grammar and Testing Grammar in the English Primary School: The Impact on Teachers and Their Teaching of the Grammar Element of the Statutory Test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safford, Kimberly

    2016-01-01

    The research examined the impact on teachers of the grammar element of a new statutory test in Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) in primary schools in England. The research aimed to evaluate the nature and the extent of changes to the teaching of grammar and to wider literacy teaching since the introduction of the test in 2013. The research…

  12. Cellular uptake and processing of surfactant lipids and apoprotein SP-A by rat lung

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, S.L.; Wright, J.R.; Clements, J.A.

    1989-01-01

    The intracellular pathways and the kinetics of metabolism of surfactant apoprotein and lipid, which may be recycled from the alveolar space, are largely unknown. We used a lipid-apoprotein complex made from liposomes of pure lipids in a ratio found in mammalian pulmonary surfactant plus surfactant apoprotein (SP-A, Mr = 26,000-36,000) to test some possible relationships in the recycling of these major surfactant components between intrapulmonary compartments. After intratracheal instillation of 80 microliters of an apoprotein-liposome mixture with separate radiolabels in the lipid and the apoprotein, rats were killed at times from 8 min to 4 h later. The lungs were lavaged with saline, and subcellular fractions were isolated on discontinuous sucrose density gradients. Both the [ 14 C]lipid radiolabel and the 125 I-apoprotein radiolabel demonstrated a time-dependent increase in radioactivity recovered in a lamellar body-enriched fraction. Uptake of the radiolabels into other subcellular fractions did not exhibit a clear-cut time dependence; more of the protein than the lipid radiolabel was found in the Golgi-rich and microsomal fractions. We conclude that both the lipid and apoprotein portions of lung surfactant are taken up by lung cells and are incorporated into secretory granules of the cells

  13. Characteristics of thermal-mineral waters in Backa region (Vojvodina) and their exploitation in spa tourism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kosic, Kristina; Pivac, Tatjana; Romelic, Jovan; Lazic, Lazar; Stojanovic, Vladimir [Faculty of Science, Department of Geography, Tourism and Hotel Management, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovica 3, 21000 Novi Sad (RS)

    2011-01-15

    Hydropower, biomass, biogas, biofuels, wind power, solar energy and geothermal energy are the major resources to provide Backa region with most of its. Backa extends between 45 16' and 46 22' of the northern latitude and 18 36' and 20 37' of the eastern longitude. It occupies the north-eastern part of Vojvodina, i.e. the most north-western part of the Republic of Serbia. That is historical-geographic territory bordered on the Danube on its western and eastern side, the Tisa on its eastern side and with the state border towards Hungary on the north. In this paper, the focus will be on renewable sources, specifically geothermal energy in Backa region. The paper analyzes the characteristics of thermal-mineral waters in Backa, the condition and possibilities of their exploitation in spa tourism, and in other economic branches. The tradition of thermo-mineral waters exploitation in spas and public baths is rather long. Today, this type of thermo-mineral waters exploitation in Backa is the widest spread. Permanent, i.e. continuous exploiters of thermal-mineral waters in Backa are primarily balneal-rehabilitation centres and exploiters using the water for technological purposes. (author)

  14. NIRS as an alternative to conventional soil analysis for Greenland soils (focus on SOC)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knadel, Maria; Ogric, Mateja; Adhikari, Kabindra

    Soil organic carbon (SOC) is an important soil property. It is the main constituents of soil organic matter and a good indicator of soil quality. The estimation and mapping of SOC content could be used to select potential agricultural areas in the Arctic areas. However, conventional analysis of SOC...... are time consuming and expensive. They involve a lot of sample preparation, and chemicals and are destructive. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the range between 400 and 2500 nm is an alternative method for SOC analysis. It is fast and non-destructive. The aims of this study where to test...... the feasibility of using NIRS to estimate SOC content on a landscape and field scale in Greenland. Partial Least squares regression models were built to correlated soil spectra and their reference SOC data to develop calibration models. Very good predictive ability for both landscape and field scale were obtained...

  15. Dynamics of bone healing after osteotomy with piezosurgery or conventional drilling - histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esteves, Jônatas Caldeira; Marcantonio, Elcio; de Souza Faloni, Ana Paula; Rocha, Fernanda Regina Godoy; Marcantonio, Rosemary Adriana; Wilk, Katarzyna; Intini, Giuseppe

    2013-09-23

    Piezosurgery is an osteotomy system used in medical and dental surgery. Many studies have proven clinical advantages of piezosurgery in terms of quality of cut, maneuverability, ease of use, and safety. However, few investigations have tested its superiority over the traditional osteotomy systems in terms of dynamics of bone healing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of bone healing after osteotomies with piezosurgery and to compare them with those associated to traditional bone drilling. One hundred and ten rats were divided into two groups with 55 animals each. The animals were anesthetized and the tibiae were surgically exposed to create defects 2 mm in diameter by using piezosurgery (Piezo group) and conventional drilling (Drill group). Animals were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery. Bone samples were collected and processed for histological, histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis. The histological analysis was performed at all time points (n = 8) whereas the histomorphometrical analysis was performed at 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery (n = 8). The immunolabeling was performed to detect Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Caspase-3 (CAS-3), Osteoprotegerin (OPG), Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor kappa-B Ligand (RANKL), and Osteocalcin (OC) at 3, 7, and 14 days (n = 3). For the molecular analysis, animals were sacrificed at 3, 7 and 14 days, total RNA was collected, and quantification of the expression of 21 genes related to BMP signaling, Wnt signaling, inflammation, osteogenenic and apoptotic pathways was performed by qRT-PCR (n = 5). Histologically and histomorphometrically, bone healing was similar in both groups with the exception of a slightly higher amount of newly formed bone observed at 30 days after piezosurgery (p piezosurgery are comparable to those observed with conventional drilling.

  16. Pulmonary function in women: comparative analysis of conventional versus single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARISA DE CARVALHO BORGES

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: to evaluate the pulmonary function of women submitted to conventional and single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Methods: forty women with symptomatic cholelithiasis, aged 18 to 70 years, participated in the study. We divided the patients into two groups: 21 patients underwent conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy, and 19, single-port laparoscopic cholecystectomy. We assessed pulmonary function through forced vital capacity (FVC, forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1, and the FEV1/FVC ratio, measured before and 24 hours after the procedure. Results: in both groups, FVC and FEV1 were lower in the postoperative period than those obtained in the preoperative period, with a greater reduction in the group undergoing conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Regarding the FEV1/FVC (% values, there was no statistically significant difference in any of the groups or times analyzed. Conclusion: there was a greater decline in FVC and FEV1 in the postoperative group of patients submitted to conventional laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

  17. Functional Analysis of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Pili in Relation to Adhesion and Immunomodulatory Interactions with Intestinal Epithelial Cells

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lebeer, S.; Claes, I.J.; Tytgat, H.L.P.; Verhoeven, T.L.A.; Marien, E.; Ossowski, von I.; Reunanen, J.; Palva, A.; Vos, de W.M.; Keersmaecker, de S.C.; Vanderleyden, J.

    2012-01-01

    Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, a probiotic with good survival capacity in the human gut, has well-documented adhesion properties and health effects. Recently, spaCBA-encoded pili that bind to human intestinal mucus were identified on its cell surface. Here, we report on the phenotypic analysis of a

  18. Finding Multi-scale Connectivity in Our Geospace Observational System: A New Perspective for Total Electron Content Data Through Network Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGranaghan, R. M.; Mannucci, A. J.; Verkhoglyadova, O. P.; Malik, N.

    2017-12-01

    How do we evolve beyond current traditional methods in order to innovate into the future? In what disruptive innovations will the next frontier of space physics and aeronomy (SPA) be grounded? We believe the answer to these compelling, yet equally challenging, questions lies in a shift of focus: from a narrow, field-specific view to a radically inclusive, interdisciplinary new modus operandi at the intersection of SPA and the information and data sciences. Concretely addressing these broader themes, we present results from a novel technique for knowledge discovery in the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere (MIT) system: complex network analysis (NA). We share findings from the first NA of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) data, including hemispheric and interplanetary magnetic field clock angle dependencies [1]. Our work shows that NA complements more traditional approaches for the investigation of TEC structure and dynamics, by both reaffirming well-established understanding, giving credence to the method, and identifying new connections, illustrating the exciting potential. We contextualize these new results through a discussion of the potential of data-driven discovery in the MIT system when innovative data science techniques are embraced. We address implications and potentially disruptive data analysis approaches for SPA in terms of: 1) the future of the geospace observational system; 2) understanding multi-scale phenomena; and 3) machine learning. [1] McGranaghan, R. M., A. J. Mannucci, O. Verkhoglyadova, and N. Malik (2017), Finding multiscale connectivity in our geospace observational system: Network analysis of total electron content, J. Geophys. Res. Space Physics, 122, doi:10.1002/2017JA024202.

  19. Magnetic resonance imaging of the sacroiliac joints in patients with suspected spondyloarthritis. Comparison of turbo spin-echo and gradient-echo sequences for the detection of structural alterations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dornia, C.; Hoffstetter, P.; Asklepios Klinikum, Bad Abbach; Fleck, M.; Asklepios Klinikum, Bad Abbach; Hartung, W.; Niessen, C.; Stroszczynski, C.

    2015-01-01

    Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the method of choice for the evaluation of spondyloarthritis (SpA). According to the guidelines of the Assessment of Spondyloarthritis International Society (ASAS) and Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT), MRI findings in SpA of the spine and the sacroiliac joints (SIJ) are classified as inflammatory and structural alterations. Modern gradient-echo sequences (GRE) are recommended for optimized detection of structural alterations of the SIJ. We assess the benefit of GRE in the detection of structural alterations of the SIJ in comparison to conventional turbo spin-echo sequences (TSE). Retrospective study of 114 patients who received MRI of the SIJ for the evaluation of SpA. Structural alterations of the SIJ were assessed by two blinded readers separately for T1 TSE and T2 * GRE. The findings were classified according to a previously published chronicity score separately for both sides and sequences. Interobserver reliability was calculated with Cohen's Kappa, and the significance of findings was assessed with the Wilcoxon test. P-values * GRE showed a high interobserver reliability in the detection of structural alterations in patients with SpA. However, T2 * GRE detected significantly more structural alterations than T1 TSE and should be an integral part of a modern MRI protocol for the diagnostic workup of patients with suspected SpA.

  20. Clinical performance of bulk-fill and conventional resin composite restorations in posterior teeth: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veloso, Sirley Raiane Mamede; Lemos, Cleidiel Aparecido Araújo; de Moraes, Sandra Lúcia Dantas; do Egito Vasconcelos, Belmiro Cavalcanti; Pellizzer, Eduardo Piza; de Melo Monteiro, Gabriela Queiroz

    2018-03-28

    The purpose of this systematic review was to compare the clinical performance of bulk-fill resin composites with conventional resin composites used for direct restorations of posterior teeth. This review followed the PRISMA statement. This review was registered at PROSPERO (registration number CRD42016053436). A search of the scientific literature was performed by two independent reviewers using the PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases from commencement until January 2018. The research question was "Do bulk-fill resin composites have a clinical performance comparable to conventional resin composites in posterior restorations?" Only studies evaluating class I and II direct restorations in permanent teeth with a follow-up period of at least 1 year were included. The RevMan 5 program was used for meta-analysis, calculating the relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the dichotomous outcome (restoration failure or success). Ten articles were selected, comprising 941 analyzed restorations. The mean follow-up period was 33.6 months (12-72 months). No statistically significant differences in the failure rate were observed between conventional and base/flowable bulk-fill resin composites (p = 0.31; RR 1.49; 95% CI 0.69-3.25) or full-body/sculptable bulk-fill resin composites (p = 0.12; RR 1.89; 95% CI 0.84-4.24). The present systematic review and meta-analysis indicate similar clinical performances of bulk-fill and conventional resin composites over a follow-up period of 12 to 72 months. Based on the results of this study, the bulk-fill resin composites could be an alternative for direct restorations in posterior teeth. However, clinical trials of longer duration are required.

  1. The detailed analysis of natural radionuclides dissolved in spa waters of the Kłodzko Valley, Sudety Mountains, Poland

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Walencik-Łata, A., E-mail: agata.walencik@us.edu.pl [University of Silesia, Institute of Physics, Department of Nuclear Physics and Its Applications, Uniwersytecka 4 St., 40-007 Katowice (Poland); Kozłowska, B.; Dorda, J. [University of Silesia, Institute of Physics, Department of Nuclear Physics and Its Applications, Uniwersytecka 4 St., 40-007 Katowice (Poland); Przylibski, T.A. [Wrocław University of Technology, Faculty of Geoengineering, Mining and Geology, Division of Geology and Mineral Waters, Wybrzeże S. Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław (Poland)

    2016-11-01

    A survey was conducted to measure natural radioactivity in spa waters from the Kłodzko Valley. The main goal of this study was to determine the activity concentration of uranium, radium and radon isotopes in the investigated groundwaters. Samples were collected several times from 35 water intakes from 5 spas and 2 mineral water bottling plants. The authors examined whether the increased gamma radiation background, as well as the elevated values of radium and uranium content in reservoir rocks, have a significant impact on the natural radioactivity of these waters. The second objective of this research was to provide information about geochemistry of U, Ra, Rn radionuclides and the radiological and chemical risks incurred by ingestion of isotopes with drinking water. On the basis of results obtained, it is feasible to assess the health hazard posed by ingestion of natural radioactivity with drinking waters. Moreover, the data yielded by this research may be helpful in the process of verification of the application of these waters in balneotherapy. In addition, annual effective radiation doses resulting from the isotopes consumption were calculated on the basis of the evaluated activity concentrations. In dose assessment for uranium and radium isotopes, the authors provided values for different human age groups. The obtained uranium content in the investigated waters was compared with the currently valid regulations concerning the quality of drinking water. Based on the activity concentrations data, the activity isotopic ratios {sup 234}U/{sup 238}U, {sup 226}Ra/{sup 238}U, {sup 222}Rn/{sup 238}U, {sup 222}Rn/{sup 226}Ra and the correlations between radionuclides content were then examined. In brief, it may be concluded on the basis of the obtained results that radon solubility is inversely proportional to radium and uranium dissolution in environmental water circulation. The presented study allows conclusions to be drawn on the radionuclide circulation among

  2. [The effectiveness of the spa and health resort-based treatment with the application of Essentuki-type drinking mineral waters for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the patients presenting with type 2 diabetes mellitus].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efimenko, N V; Kaĭsinova, A S; Fedorova, T E; Botvineva, L A

    2015-01-01

    The objective of the present study was to estimate the effectiveness of the spa and health resort-based treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in 40 patients at the mean age of 48,8 ± 5.7 years suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus. All of them received combined therapy including the application of potable Essentuki-Novaya mineral water (20 patients) or Essentuki No 4 water (20 patients). This therapeutic modality resulted in positive dynamics of clinical symptoms of the disease, the functional liver tests, and parameters of intra-hepatic hemodynamics, lipid peroxidation homeostasis, and the hormonal status. It is concluded that the spa and health resort-based treatment with the application of local drinking Essentuki-type mineral waters for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in the patients presenting with type 2 diabetes mellitus leads to the improvement of the main functions of the liver, stabilizes carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and prevents progression of the pathological process.

  3. Life-cycle Analysis of Bioproducts and Their Conventional Counterparts in GREET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dunn, Jennifer B. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Adom, Felix [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sather, Norm [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Han, Jeongwoo [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Snyder, Seth [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); He, Chang [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); Gong, Jian [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); Yue, Dajun [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); You, Fengqi [Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)

    2015-09-01

    To further expand upon the literature in this field and to develop a platform for bioproduct LCA, we developed LCA results for ten bioproducts produced either from algal glycerol or from corn stover-derived sugars. We used Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREETTM) model as the platform for this study. The data and calculations reported herein are available to GREET users in a bioproducts module included in the fall 2015 GREET release. This report documents our approach to this analysis and the results. In Chapter 2, we review the process we underwent to select the bioproducts for analysis based on market and technology readiness criteria. In Chapter 3, we review key parameters for production of the two feedstocks we considered: corn stover and algae. Given the lack of publicly available information about the production of bioproducts, which is caused in large part by the emerging nature of the industry, we developed Aspen Plus® simulations of the processes that could be used to produce each bioproduct. From these simulations, we extracted the energy and material flows of these processes, which were important inputs to the GREET bioproducts module. Chapter 4 provides the details of these Aspen Plus simulations. It is important to compare the LCA results for bioproducts to those for their petroleum counterparts. We therefore also developed material and energy flow data for conventional products based mostly on the literature. These data are described in Chapter 5 and are also included in the GREET bioproducts module. In Chapter 6, we present results from this analysis and examine areas for refinement and future research.

  4. Transmission of endemic ST22-MRSA-IV on four acute hospital wards investigated using a combination of spa, dru and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis typing.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Creamer, E

    2012-11-01

    The transmission of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) between individual patients is difficult to track in institutions where MRSA is endemic. We investigated the transmission of MRSA where ST22-MRSA-IV is endemic on four wards using demographic data, patient and environmental screening, and molecular typing of isolates. A total of 939 patients were screened, 636 within 72 h of admission (on admission) and 303 >72 h after admission, and 1,252 environmental samples were obtained. Isolates were typed by spa, dru and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) typing. A composite dendrogram generated from the three sets of typing data was used to divide isolates into \\'dendrogram groups\\' (DGs). Ten percent of patients (92\\/939) were MRSA-positive; 7 % (44\\/636) on admission and 16 % (48\\/303) >72 h after admission (p = 0.0007). MRSA was recovered from 5 % of environmental specimens (65\\/1,252). Most isolates from patients (97 %, 85\\/88) and the environment (97 %, 63\\/65) exhibited the ST22-MRSA-IV genotype. Four DGs (DG1, DG4, DG16 and DG17) accounted for 58 % of ST22-MRSA-IV isolates from patients. Epidemiological evidence suggested cross-transmission among 44\\/92 patients (48 %) but molecular typing confirmed probable cross-transmission in only 11 instances (13 %, 11\\/88), with the majority of cross-transmission (64 %; 7\\/11) occurring on one ward. In the setting of highly clonal endemic MRSA, the combination of local epidemiology, PFGE, spa and dru typing provided valuable insights into MRSA transmission.

  5. Residents’ perceptions of convention centres: A distance decay analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Li, S; Cang, S; Thomas, R; Hyun, S

    2017-01-01

    Public investment in convention centres represents a relatively common approach to stimulating economic development in many large cities throughout the world. The rationale is that metropolitan authorities can thereby attract business tourists and promote positive (business friendly) images of their locality. While the economic dimension of such spending has received some attention, especially by consultants, there has been little theorising or empirical research which has examined residents’...

  6. 18 January 2011 - Ing. Vittorio Malacalza, ASG Superconductors S.p.A, Italy in the LHC superconducting magnet test hall with Deputy Department Head L. Rossi, in the LHC tunnel at Point 5 and CMS experimental area with Spokesperson G. Tonelli.

    CERN Multimedia

    Maximilien Brice

    2011-01-01

    18 January 2011 - Ing. Vittorio Malacalza, ASG Superconductors S.p.A, Italy in the LHC superconducting magnet test hall with Deputy Department Head L. Rossi, in the LHC tunnel at Point 5 and CMS experimental area with Spokesperson G. Tonelli.

  7. National Nuclear Safety Report 2001. Convention on Nuclear Safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2001-01-01

    The First National Nuclear Safety Report was presented at the first review meeting of the Nuclear Safety Convention. At that time it was concluded that Argentina met the obligations of the Convention. This second National Nuclear Safety Report is an updated report which includes all safety aspects of the Argentinian nuclear power plants and the measures taken to enhance the safety of the plants. The present report also takes into account the observations and discussions maintained during the first review meeting. The conclusion made in the first review meeting about the compliance by Argentina of the obligations of the Convention are included as Annex 1. In general, the information contained in this Report has been updated since March 31, 1998 to March 31, 2001. Those aspects that remain unchanged were not addressed in this second report with the objective of avoiding repetitions and in order to carry out a detailed analysis considering article by article. As a result of the above mentioned detailed analysis of all the Articles, it can be stated that the country fulfils all the obligations imposed by the Nuclear Safety Convention

  8. The Mortality Risk of Conventional Antipsychotics in Elderly Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hulshof, Tessa A; Zuidema, Sytse U; Ostelo, Raymond W J G; Luijendijk, Hendrika J

    2015-10-01

    Numerous observational studies have reported an increased risk of mortality for conventional antipsychotics in elderly patients, and for haloperidol in particular. Subsequently, health authorities have warned against use of conventional antipsychotics in dementia. Experimental evidence is lacking. To assess the mortality risk of conventional antipsychotics in elderly patients with a meta-analysis of trials. Original studies were identified in electronic databases, online trial registers, and hand-searched references of published reviews. Two investigators found 28 potentially eligible studies, and they selected 17 randomized placebo-controlled trials in elderly patients with dementia, delirium, or a high risk of delirium. Two investigators independently abstracted trial characteristics and deaths, and 3 investigators assessed the risk of bias. Deaths were pooled with RevMan to obtain risk differences and risk ratios. Data of 17 trials with a total of 2387 participants were available. Thirty-two deaths occurred. The pooled risk difference of 0.1% was not statistically significant (95% confidence interval (CI) -1.0%-1.2%). The risk ratio was 1.07 (95% CI 0.54-2.13). Eleven of 17 trials tested haloperidol (n = 1799). The risk difference was 0.4% (95% CI -0.9%-1.6%), the risk ratio was 1.25 (95% CI 0.59-2.65). This meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized trials does not show that conventional antipsychotics in general or haloperidol in particular increase the risk of mortality in elderly patients. It questions the observational findings and the warning based on these findings. Copyright © 2015 AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. An Italian cost-effectiveness analysis of paclitaxel albumin (nab-paclitaxel) versus conventional paclitaxel for metastatic breast cancer patients: the COSTANza study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lazzaro, Carlo; Bordonaro, Roberto; Cognetti, Francesco; Fabi, Alessandra; De Placido, Sabino; Arpino, Grazia; Marchetti, Paolo; Botticelli, Andrea; Pronzato, Paolo; Martelli, Elisa

    2013-01-01

    Purpose Paclitaxel albumin (nab-paclitaxel) is a nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel formulation aimed at increasing therapeutic index in metastatic breast cancer. When compared to conventional paclitaxel, nab-paclitaxel has a reported longer time to progression, higher response, lower incidence of neutropenia, no need for premedication, shorter time of administration, and in pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients, extended overall survival. This study investigates the cost-effectiveness of nab-paclitaxel versus conventional paclitaxel for pretreated metastatic breast cancer patients in Italy. Materials and methods A Markov model with progression-free, progressed, and dead states was developed to estimate costs, outcomes, and quality adjusted life years over 5 years from the Italian National Health Service viewpoint. Patients were assumed to receive nab-paclitaxel 260 mg/m2 three times weekly or conventional paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 three times weekly. Data on health care resource consumption was collected from a convenience sample of five Italian centers. Resources were valued at Euro (€) 2011. Published utility weights were applied to health states to estimate the impact of response, disease progression, and adverse events on quality adjusted life years. Three sensitivity analyses tested the robustness of the base case incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER). Results and conclusion Compared to conventional paclitaxel, nab-paclitaxel gains an extra 0.165 quality adjusted life years (0.265 life years saved) and incurs additional costs of €2506 per patient treated. This translates to an ICER of €15,189 (95% confidence interval: €11,891–€28,415). One-way sensitivity analysis underscores that ICER for nab-paclitaxel remains stable despite varying taxanes cost. Threshold analysis shows that ICER for nab-paclitaxel exceeds €40,000 only if cost per mg of conventional paclitaxel is set to zero. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis highlights that nab

  10. Rethinking Conventional Teaching In Language Learning And Proposing Edmodo As Intervention: A Qualitative Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farha Alia Mokhtar

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available In recent times, educators are urged to transform the techniques in conducting language learning by incorporating technological tools because new technologies stimulate an explosion of new methods for teaching and learning. This article emphasizes the conventional teaching pedagogy and the urgency to rethink its practice in language learning while proposing a possible platform for learners’ and teachers’ needs. I outline the perceptions of future teachers on conventional teaching, shifting of teaching style from conventional to digital designs and the possibility of implementing Edmodo to curb the concerns arising. The argumentset forward isregarding conventional teaching that hinders potentials of students, followed by participants’ hopes for teaching approaches and the likelihood of implementing Edmodo to assist in the language learning classroom with grammar, vocabulary, self‐efficacy and target language and practice.  

  11. Digital versus conventional impressions for fixed prosthodontics: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chochlidakis, Konstantinos M; Papaspyridakos, Panos; Geminiani, Alessandro; Chen, Chun-Jung; Feng, I Jung; Ercoli, Carlo

    2016-08-01

    Limited evidence is available for the marginal and internal fit of fixed dental restorations fabricated with digital impressions compared with those fabricated with conventional impressions. The purpose of this systematic review was to compare marginal and internal fit of fixed dental restorations fabricated with digital techniques to those fabricated using conventional impression techniques and to determine the effect of different variables on the accuracy of fit. Medline, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases were electronically searched and enriched by hand searches. Studies evaluating the fit of fixed dental restorations fabricated with digital and conventional impression techniques were identified. Pooled data were statistically analyzed, and factors affecting the accuracy of fit were identified, and their impact on accuracy of fit outcomes were assessed. Dental restorations fabricated with digital impression techniques exhibited similar marginal misfit to those fabricated with conventional impression techniques (P>.05). Both marginal and internal discrepancies were greater for stone die casts, whereas digital dies produced restorations with the smallest discrepancies (Pdigital impression was used to generate stereolithographic (SLA)/polyurethane dies, misfit values were intermediate. The fabrication technique, the type of restoration, and the impression material had no effect on misfit values (P>.05), whereas die and restoration materials were statistically associated (Pdigital impression technique provided better marginal and internal fit of fixed restorations than conventional techniques did. Copyright © 2016 Editorial Council for the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. Revision of the Paris Convention and the Brussels Supplementary Convention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Busekist, Otto von.

    1977-01-01

    The Paris Convention and the Brussels Supplementary Convention have in substance remained unchanged since their adoption in 1960 and 1963, respectively. During that period, nuclear industry and technology have developed considerably while the financial and monetary bases of the Conventions have been shattered. The amounts of liability and compensation have been eroded by inflation, and the gold-based unit of account in which these amounts are expressed has lost its original meaning after the abolition of the official gold price. The question of revising the Conventions, in particular of raising those amounts and of replacing the unit of account, is therefore being studied by the Group of Governmental Experts on Third party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy of the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. (auth.) [fr

  13. Diagnostic Accuracy of Cone-beam Computed Tomography and Conventional Radiography on Apical Periodontitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leonardi Dutra, Kamile; Haas, Letícia; Porporatti, André Luís; Flores-Mir, Carlos; Nascimento Santos, Juliana; Mezzomo, Luis André; Corrêa, Márcio; De Luca Canto, Graziela

    2016-03-01

    Endodontic diagnosis depends on accurate radiographic examination. Assessment of the location and extent of apical periodontitis (AP) can influence treatment planning and subsequent treatment outcomes. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the diagnostic accuracy of conventional radiography and cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) imaging on the discrimination of AP from no lesion. Eight electronic databases with no language or time limitations were searched. Articles in which the primary objective was to evaluate the accuracy (sensitivity and specificity) of any type of radiographic technique to assess AP in humans were selected. The gold standard was the histologic examination for actual AP (in vivo) or in situ visualization of bone defects for induced artificial AP (in vitro). Accuracy measurements described in the studies were transformed to construct receiver operating characteristic curves and forest plots with the aid of Review Manager v.5.2 (The Nordic Cochrane Centre, Copenhagen, Denmark) and MetaDisc v.1.4. software (Unit of Clinical Biostatistics Team of the Ramón y Cajal Hospital, Madrid, Spain). The methodology of the selected studies was evaluated using the Quality Assessment Tool for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2. Only 9 studies met the inclusion criteria and were subjected to a qualitative analysis. A meta-analysis was conducted on 6 of these articles. All of these articles studied artificial AP with induced bone defects. The accuracy values (area under the curve) were 0.96 for CBCT imaging, 0.73 for conventional periapical radiography, and 0.72 for digital periapical radiography. No evidence was found for panoramic radiography. Periapical radiographs (digital and conventional) reported good diagnostic accuracy on the discrimination of artificial AP from no lesions, whereas CBCT imaging showed excellent accuracy values. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Digital hilar tomography. Comparison with conventional technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefer, C.B.; Braunschweig, R.; Teufl, F.; Kaiser, W.; Claussen, C.D.

    1993-01-01

    The aim of the following study was to compare conventional hilar tomography and digital hilar tomography. 20 patients were examined both with conventional and digital hilar tomography using the same tomographic technique and the identical exposure dose. All patients underwent computed tomography of the chest as a golden standard. The digital technique, especially the edge-enhanced image version, showed superior image quality. ROC-analysis by 4 readers found equal diagnostic performance without any statistical difference. Digital hilar tomography shows a superior and constant image quality and lowers the rate of re-exposure. Therefore, digital hilar tomography is the preferable method. (orig.) [de

  15. PERAN PENGALAMAN SEBAGAI PEMODERASI PADA PENGARUH PENGETAHUAN DAN SIKAP WISATAWAN MANCANEGARA TERHADAP KEPUTUSAN PEMBELIAN PRODUK WELLNESS TOURISM DI KAWASAN WISATA UBUD, KABUPATEN GIANYAR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dewa Putu Kiskenda Erwanda P.

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Pariwisata wellness utamanya Spa di kawasan wisata Ubud tumbuh pesat mencapai 54,17 % (dalam 3 tahun terakhir dengan jumlah sebanyak 96 Spa dengan kategori Day Spa dan Hotel and Resort Spa. Industri Spa di Ubud sebagai industri pariwisata yang akan diunggulkan kedepannya penting dalam selalu memenuhi permintaan wisatawan dengan output terciptanya keputusan pembelian secara berkelanjutan. Pengambilan keputusan sangat erat kaitanya dengan keterlibatan psikologis, favoritism dan sense of goodwill yang awalnya muncul dari internal diri wisatawan, oleh karenanya penting dilakukan penelitian dengan pendekatan pada pengetahuan, sikap dan sekaligus mengukur peran pengalaman dalam memperkuat pengaruh pengetahuan dan sikap terhadap keputusan pembelian produk wisata Spa di Ubud. Sampel dalam penelitian ini ditentukan secara purposive yaitu wisatawan mancanegara yang membeli produk layanan Spa di kawasan wisata Ubud sebanyak 250 wisatawan. Sedangkan analisis data yang dilakukan meliputi analisis deskriptif, analisis pengujian instrumen data dan Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA dengan menggunakan pendekatan interaksi. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa (1 pengalaman secara signifikan berperan sebagai pemoderasi yang memperkuat pengaruh antara pengetahuan terhadap keputusan pembelian dan (2 pengalaman juga secara signifikan sebagai pemoderasi yang memperkuat pengaruh sikap terhadap keputusan pembelian produk wisata Spa di kawasan wisata Ubud.

  16. A systematic review and meta-analysis of Harmonic technology compared with conventional techniques in mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery with lymphadenectomy for breast cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Hang; Clymer, Jeffrey W; Ferko, Nicole C; Patel, Leena; Soleas, Ireena M; Cameron, Chris G; Hinoul, Piet

    2016-01-01

    Mastectomy and breast-conserving surgery (BCS) are important treatment options for breast cancer patients. A previous meta-analysis demonstrated that the risk of certain complications can be reduced with the Harmonic technology compared with conventional methods in mastectomy. However, the meta-analysis did not include studies of BCS patients and focused on a subset of surgical complications. The objective of this study was to compare Harmonic technology and conventional techniques for a range of clinical outcomes and complications in both mastectomy and BCS patients, including axillary lymph node dissection. A comprehensive literature search was performed for randomized controlled trials comparing Harmonic technology and conventional methods in breast cancer surgery. Outcome measures included blood loss, drainage volume, total complications, seroma, necrosis, wound infections, ecchymosis, hematoma, hospital length of stay, and operating time. Risk of bias was analyzed for all studies. Meta-analysis was performed using random-effects models for mean differences of continuous variables and a fixed-effects model for risk ratios of dichotomous variables. Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Across surgery types, compared to conventional techniques, Harmonic technology reduced total complications by 52% (P=0.002), seroma by 46% (Pmastectomy patients with lymph node dissection, Harmonic technology showed significant reductions in complications in the BCS study subgroup. In this meta-analysis of both mastectomy and BCS procedures, the use of Harmonic technology reduced the risk of most complications by about half across breast cancer surgery patients. These benefits may be due to superior hemostatic capabilities of Harmonic technology and better dissection, particularly lymph node dissection. Reduction in complications and other resource outcomes may engender lower downstream health care costs.

  17. Learning with companies (LeWiCo through the use of Facebook in the context of vocational hospitality education and digital spa marketing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annica Isacsson

    2016-01-01

    The article adopts a case study approach to describe in detail how Facebook was used to foster self-directed and co-constructive learning in a social environment. The findings presented in the article are based on the postings of participating students in Facebook, and on teachers and project team reflections. Overall, the project was a success and led to the construction of a useful, current and engaging knowledge base in the context of spa marketing. Moreover, the students appreciated the informal learning environment, and the teachers learned how to enhance learning without suffocating the learning process with too many guidelines or information. The students learned how to collaborate independently, and in pairs, and to take responsibility of their own learning.

  18. User requirement analysis of social conventions learning applications for Non-natives and low-literates

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schouten, D.; Smets, N.; Driessen, M.; Hanekamp, M.; Cremers, A.H.M.; Neerincx, M.A.

    2013-01-01

    Learning and acting on social conventions is problematic for low-literates and non-natives, causing problems with societal participation and citizenship. Using the Situated Cognitive Engineering method, requirements for the design of social conventions learning software are derived from demographic

  19. A Plan for improving the industrial constitution in Korea for the Convention on Climate Change - concentrated on manufacturing CO{sub 2} unit analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, Sang In; Kim, Tae Wan; Kim, Yong Kun; Sohn, Yang Hoon; Kim, Seung Woo [Korea Environment Institute, Seoul (Korea)

    1998-12-01

    Due to the implementation of the Convention on Climate Change in future, a policy plan to prepare for the Convention on Climate Change was promoted to improve constitution of domestic economy practically including foreign negotiation strategies, national energy policy and change in consumption pattern. Based on the CO{sub 2} unit analysis in manufacturing, this study proposed an improvement plan of industrial constitution in Korea to prepare for emission trading system. 31 refs., 30 figs., 68 tabs.

  20. Alberta's conventional oil supply: How much? How long?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heath, M.

    1992-01-01

    To assess the future conventional crude oil supply potential in Alberta, a modelling system was designed with the capacity to determine the fraction of existing and potential reserves which could prove technically, economically and/or commercially viable over time. The reference case analysis described assumed constant real oil prices and fiscal burdens, capital and operating costs. Reserve additions from new pool discoveries were summed with reserves from existing pools to arrive at an estimate of the potential supply of established reserves in each play area. The established reserves from all plays were then totalled to provide the provincial conventional oil resource potential. Alberta's recoverable conventional crude oil reserves were shown to be declining at about 2 percent per year. However, even with declining recoverable reserves and relatively low prices, the results of the study indicated that the conventional oil industry remained a major revenue generator for the province and would continue to be so over the next 15 to 20 years. Improved operating efficiencies, cost reductions, reasonable prices and cooperation between industry and government were shown to be necessary to assure the continued viability of Alberta's conventional oil industry. figs., tabs., 11 refs

  1. Exercise Motivation and Social Physique Anxiety In Adolescents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alvaro Sicilia

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Based on self-determination theory (SDT, the goal of this study was to analyze the relation between satisfaction of basic psychological needs, types of motivation to exercise, and social physique anxiety (SPA. Participants in the study were 398 secondary education students, aged between 12 and 19 years, who completed questionnaires that measured the variables of interest. The results of multiple mediation analysis revealed that satisfaction of the need for competence negatively predicted SPA, both directly and indirectly through the mediation of integrated, identified, and external regulations. Introjected regulation also positively predicted SPA. Gender and body mass index (BMI affected the relationships analyzed and were also shown to predict SPA. The results of this study further our understanding of the motivational process that explains SPA in adolescents within an exercise context, showing the positive influence of perceived competence and types of self-determined motivation to reduce SPA.

  2. Hydrogeothermal resources in spa areas of Serbia: Main properties and possible improvement of use

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dokmanović Petar B.

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Geological complexity of the territory of Serbia is a world curiosity: six main geo-tectonic regions and tens sub-regions are delineated in a small area of 88,000 km2. Geologic origin and regional structure of some areas has long been the subject of discussion. Notable magmatism and associated tectonic events in the Earth's crust provided for a fairly large hydrogeothermal resource potential, which is manifested in more than 250 warm (mainly mineral springs and more than 100 hydrothermal wells. Thermal springs and wells together discharge some 5 m3/s. This potential is used in part for balneal therapy (waters differ in temperature and chemical composition in the spa areas of Serbia. The amounts of thermal water unused therapeutically or the amounts of heat energy from unused geo-thermal water may be used in almost all spas for space heating/cooling and thus increase the efficiency of the thermal water energy utilization. This also will be cost-effective, reduce emission of noxious gases, and improve the environmental-health image of the resorts. The hydrogeothermal resources are described for 29 spas with 700 l/s total discharge capacity of water temperature between 25°C and 96ºC, or an overall heat energy of 78.40 MWt. Feasibility of additional energy utilization of thermal water in spas is generally considered.

  3. The role of open-air inhalatoria in the air quality improvement in spa towns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkowska-But, Aleksandra; Kalwasińska, Agnieszka; Brzezinska, Maria Swiontek

    2014-08-01

    The present study was aimed at evaluating microbiological contamination of air in Ciechocinek and Inowrocław - Polish lowland spa towns. Additionally, the impact of open-air inhalatoria on the quality of air was evaluated. Air samples were collected seasonally in the urban areas, in the recreation areas and in the vicinity of inhalatoria in both towns using impaction. The numbers of mesophilic bacteria, staphylococci, hemolytic bacteria and actinomycetes were determined on media according to the Polish Standard PN-86/Z-04111/02. The number of moulds was determined on media according to the Polish Standard PN-86/Z-04111/03. While the highest numbers of microorganisms were noted at the sites located in the urban areas, the lowest numbers were noted in the vicinity of the open-air inhalatoria. In all the investigated air samples the values of bioaerosol concentrations were below the recommended TLVs (≤ 5000 CFU×m(-3) for both bacteria and fungi in outdoor environments). Location of the sampling site was invariably a decisive factor in determining the number of microorganisms in the air. The aerosol which is formed in the open-air inhalatoria has a positive influence on microbiological air quality. Owing to a unique microclimate and low air contamination, Ciechocinek and Inowrocław comply with all necessary requirements set for health resorts specializing in treating upper respiratory tract infections.

  4. Well known outstanding geoid and relief depressions as regular wave woven features on Eartg (Indian geoid minimum), Moon (SPA basin), Phobos (Stickney crater), and Miranda (an ovoid).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kochemasov, Gennady G.

    2010-05-01

    A very unreliable interpretation of the deepest and large depressions on the Moon and Phobos as the impact features is not synonymous and causes many questions. A real scientific understanding of their origin should take into consideration a fact of their similar tectonic position with that of a comparable depression on so different by size, composition, and density heavenly body as Earth. On Earth as on other celestial bodies there is a fundamental division on two segments - hemispheres produced by an interference of standing warping wave 1 (long 2πR) of four directions [1]. One hemisphere is uplifted (continental, highlands) and the opposite subsided (oceanic, lowlands). Tectonic features made by wave 2 (sectors) adorn this fundamental structure. Thus, on the continental risen segment appear regularly disposed sectors, also uplifted and subsided. On the Earth's eastern continental hemisphere they are grouped around the Pamirs-Hindukush vertex of the structural octahedron made by interfering waves2. Two risen sectors (highly uplifted African and the opposite uplifted Asian) are separated by two fallen sectors (subsided Eurasian and the opposite deeply subsided Indoceanic). The Indoceanic sector with superposed on it subsided Indian tectonic granule (πR/4-structure) produce the deepest geoid minimum of Earth (-112 m). The Moon demonstrates its own geoid minimum of the same relative size and in the similar sectoral tectonic position - the SPA basin [2, 3]. This basin represents a deeply subsided sector of the sectoral structure around the Mare Orientale (one of vertices of the lunar structural octahedron). To this Mare converge four sectors: two subsided - SPA basin and the opposite Procellarum Ocean, and two uplifted - we call them the "Africanda sector" and the opposite "Antiafricanda one" to stress structural similarity with Earth [2]. The highest "Africanda sector" is built with light anorthosites; enrichment with Na makes them even less dense that is required

  5. Wood Road School, Ballston Spa, New York solar-energy-system performance evaluation, November 1981-April 1982

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kendall, P.

    1982-01-01

    The Wood Road School Solar Project of the Ballston Spa Central School District is a 216,000 square foot (136,510 square feet of solar conditioned space) combined elementary and middle school located in New York. The solar energy system was designed to supply 64% of the space heating and 88% of the hot water. The system is equipped with 15,389 square feet of one type of flat-plate collector panels and 6650 square feet of another type. Storage is in two 15,000-gallon storage tanks, and auxiliary heating is by electric resistance strip heaters. Monthly performance data are tabulated for the overall system and for each type of collector, storage, domestic hot water, and space heating subsystems. Also tabulated monthly are weather conditions, energy savings, operating energy, and coefficients of performance. Also provided are graphs of collector array efficiency vs the difference between the fluid inlet temperature and ambient temperature divided by insolation. System operation is illustrated by graphs of collector array inlet/outlet temperatures and ambient temperature and typical building loop temperatures vs time for a typical day. Also graphed are the system operating sequence and the solar energy utilization and energy losses. (LEW)

  6. Dating Melt Rock 63545 By Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd: Age of Imbrium; Spa Dress Rehearsal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyquist, L. E.; Shih, C. Y.; Reese, Y. D.

    2011-01-01

    Apollo 16 sample 63545 was initially described as one of a group of 19 generally rounded, fine-grained, crystalline rocks that were collected as rake samples [1]. This 16 g "rocklet" was collected at Station 13 on the ejecta blanket of North Ray Crater at the foot of Smoky Mountain [2]. Originally classified as a Very High Alumina (VHA) basalt on geochemical grounds [3], it was later argued to be an impact melt rock [4]. Here we report a Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd isotopic study that shows that some portions of the rock failed to reach isotopic equilibrium on last melting in agreement with the impact melt rock interpretation. Nevertheless, by omitting mineral fractions that are discordant with the majority of the data, we arrive at the time of last melting as 3.88 plus or minus 0.05 Ga ago. This age is in agreement with the Ar-39/Ar-40 plateau age of 3839 plus or minus 23 Ma [5], if the latter is adjusted for the 1.4-1.8% revision in the age of the hornblende monitor [6]. This investigation was undertaken in part as proof-of-concept for SPA-basin sample return.

  7. Dynamics of bone healing after osteotomy with piezosurgery or conventional drilling – histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background Piezosurgery is an osteotomy system used in medical and dental surgery. Many studies have proven clinical advantages of piezosurgery in terms of quality of cut, maneuverability, ease of use, and safety. However, few investigations have tested its superiority over the traditional osteotomy systems in terms of dynamics of bone healing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of bone healing after osteotomies with piezosurgery and to compare them with those associated to traditional bone drilling. Methods One hundred and ten rats were divided into two groups with 55 animals each. The animals were anesthetized and the tibiae were surgically exposed to create defects 2 mm in diameter by using piezosurgery (Piezo group) and conventional drilling (Drill group). Animals were sacrificed at 3, 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery. Bone samples were collected and processed for histological, histomorphometrical, immunohistochemical, and molecular analysis. The histological analysis was performed at all time points (n = 8) whereas the histomorphometrical analysis was performed at 7, 14, 30 and 60 days post-surgery (n = 8). The immunolabeling was performed to detect Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), Caspase-3 (CAS-3), Osteoprotegerin (OPG), Receptor Activator of Nuclear Factor kappa-B Ligand (RANKL), and Osteocalcin (OC) at 3, 7, and 14 days (n = 3). For the molecular analysis, animals were sacrificed at 3, 7 and 14 days, total RNA was collected, and quantification of the expression of 21 genes related to BMP signaling, Wnt signaling, inflammation, osteogenenic and apoptotic pathways was performed by qRT-PCR (n = 5). Results Histologically and histomorphometrically, bone healing was similar in both groups with the exception of a slightly higher amount of newly formed bone observed at 30 days after piezosurgery (p piezosurgery are comparable to those observed with conventional drilling. PMID:24053147

  8. The Relationship of Gender and Self-Efficacy on Social Physique Anxiety among College Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothberger, Sara M; Harris, Brandonn S; Czech, Daniel R; Melton, Bridget

    The anxiety or fear associated with physique evaluation is defined as Social Physique Anxiety (SPA). Numerous studies have examined this construct, yet a gap exists exploring this phenomenon among current college students with SPA, self-efficacy, and gender concurrently. Therefore, the purposes of this study included quantitatively analyzing the association between SPA, gender, and self-efficacy. Participants included 237 students at a Southeastern university participating in jogging, body conditioning, or weight training courses. Analysis of Variance yielded a significant main effect for self-efficacy as well, as those with lower self-efficacy displayed higher levels of SPA ( p college student population.

  9. Conventional Versus Automated Implantation of Loose Seeds in Prostate Brachytherapy: Analysis of Dosimetric and Clinical Results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genebes, Caroline; Filleron, Thomas; Graff, Pierre; Jonca, Frédéric; Huyghe, Eric; Thoulouzan, Matthieu; Soulie, Michel; Malavaud, Bernard; Aziza, Richard; Brun, Thomas; Delannes, Martine; Bachaud, Jean-Marc

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: To review the clinical outcome of I-125 permanent prostate brachytherapy (PPB) for low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer and to compare 2 techniques of loose-seed implantation. Methods and Materials: 574 consecutive patients underwent I-125 PPB for low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer between 2000 and 2008. Two successive techniques were used: conventional implantation from 2000 to 2004 and automated implantation (Nucletron, FIRST system) from 2004 to 2008. Dosimetric and biochemical recurrence-free (bNED) survival results were reported and compared for the 2 techniques. Univariate and multivariate analysis researched independent predictors for bNED survival. Results: 419 (73%) and 155 (27%) patients with low-risk and intermediate-risk disease, respectively, were treated (median follow-up time, 69.3 months). The 60-month bNED survival rates were 95.2% and 85.7%, respectively, for patients with low-risk and intermediate-risk disease (P=.04). In univariate analysis, patients treated with automated implantation had worse bNED survival rates than did those treated with conventional implantation (P<.0001). By day 30, patients treated with automated implantation showed lower values of dose delivered to 90% of prostate volume (D90) and volume of prostate receiving 100% of prescribed dose (V100). In multivariate analysis, implantation technique, Gleason score, and V100 on day 30 were independent predictors of recurrence-free status. Grade 3 urethritis and urinary incontinence were observed in 2.6% and 1.6% of the cohort, respectively, with no significant differences between the 2 techniques. No grade 3 proctitis was observed. Conclusion: Satisfactory 60-month bNED survival rates (93.1%) and acceptable toxicity (grade 3 urethritis <3%) were achieved by loose-seed implantation. Automated implantation was associated with worse dosimetric and bNED survival outcomes

  10. Conventional Versus Automated Implantation of Loose Seeds in Prostate Brachytherapy: Analysis of Dosimetric and Clinical Results

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Genebes, Caroline, E-mail: genebes.caroline@claudiusregaud.fr [Radiation Oncology Department, Institut Claudius Regaud, Toulouse (France); Filleron, Thomas; Graff, Pierre [Radiation Oncology Department, Institut Claudius Regaud, Toulouse (France); Jonca, Frédéric [Department of Urology, Clinique Ambroise Paré, Toulouse (France); Huyghe, Eric; Thoulouzan, Matthieu; Soulie, Michel; Malavaud, Bernard [Department of Urology and Andrology, CHU Rangueil, Toulouse (France); Aziza, Richard; Brun, Thomas; Delannes, Martine; Bachaud, Jean-Marc [Radiation Oncology Department, Institut Claudius Regaud, Toulouse (France)

    2013-11-15

    Purpose: To review the clinical outcome of I-125 permanent prostate brachytherapy (PPB) for low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer and to compare 2 techniques of loose-seed implantation. Methods and Materials: 574 consecutive patients underwent I-125 PPB for low-risk and intermediate-risk prostate cancer between 2000 and 2008. Two successive techniques were used: conventional implantation from 2000 to 2004 and automated implantation (Nucletron, FIRST system) from 2004 to 2008. Dosimetric and biochemical recurrence-free (bNED) survival results were reported and compared for the 2 techniques. Univariate and multivariate analysis researched independent predictors for bNED survival. Results: 419 (73%) and 155 (27%) patients with low-risk and intermediate-risk disease, respectively, were treated (median follow-up time, 69.3 months). The 60-month bNED survival rates were 95.2% and 85.7%, respectively, for patients with low-risk and intermediate-risk disease (P=.04). In univariate analysis, patients treated with automated implantation had worse bNED survival rates than did those treated with conventional implantation (P<.0001). By day 30, patients treated with automated implantation showed lower values of dose delivered to 90% of prostate volume (D90) and volume of prostate receiving 100% of prescribed dose (V100). In multivariate analysis, implantation technique, Gleason score, and V100 on day 30 were independent predictors of recurrence-free status. Grade 3 urethritis and urinary incontinence were observed in 2.6% and 1.6% of the cohort, respectively, with no significant differences between the 2 techniques. No grade 3 proctitis was observed. Conclusion: Satisfactory 60-month bNED survival rates (93.1%) and acceptable toxicity (grade 3 urethritis <3%) were achieved by loose-seed implantation. Automated implantation was associated with worse dosimetric and bNED survival outcomes.

  11. Non-Conventional Applications of Computerized Tomography: Analysis of Solid Dosage Forms Produced by Pharmaceutical Industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martins de Oliveira, Jose Jr.; Germano Martins, Antonio Cesar

    2010-01-01

    X-ray computed tomography (CT) refers to the cross-sectional imaging of an object measuring the transmitted radiation at different directions. In this work, we describe a non-conventional application of computerized tomography: visualization and improvements in the understanding of some internal structural features of solid dosage forms. A micro-CT X-ray scanner, with a minimum resolution of 30 μm was used to characterize some pharmaceutical tablets, granules, controlled-release osmotic tablet and liquid-filled soft-gelatin capsules. The analysis presented in this work are essentially qualitative, but quantitative parameters, such as porosity, density distribution, tablets dimensions, etc. could also be obtained using the related CT techniques.

  12. Treatment of knee OSTEOARTHRITIS in Spa Health resorts: where do we stand?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salca Amalia

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Osteoarthrosis (OA includes degenerative joint disorders that affect articular cartilage in the first instance, followed by changes of all components of the joint. The disease is detected in a proportion of 33% by X-ray in patients aged over 60 years. Knee OA (KOA ranks first among chronic diseases from the point of view of patient disability. This article is a review of guidelines and articles regarding arthrosis, balneotherapy, and balneotherapy in KOA treatment. These were accessed on the Pubmed site in the period March-April 2015. The components of balneo-therapy to which the selected articles refer include mud packs, mineral waters, climate change. These are evaluated in association or in comparison with other methods used in the rehabilitation specialty area for the treatment of KOA: kinesitherapy, intra-articular infiltrations, hydrothermotherapy. The changes induced by these therapies on clinical evolution (pain relief, tenderness, functionality, quality of life, depression symptoms or certain serum parameters (biomarkers of oxidative stress, inflammation and cartilage destruction, vitamin D and other serum metabolites were recorded. The results of our review are consistent with the studies focused on spa modalities in all types of OA. All these data helped defining the role of balneotherapy as part of the rehabilitation program for the treatment of KOA, through the benefits specific to it. Conclusion: Balneotherapy has beneficial effects on patients with KOA, both clinically and serologic improvements. Further studies are needed to quantify these effects using KOA specific markers, to establish a hierarchy of balneotherapy methods based on their effects on KOA, as well as to refine indications depending on the stage of the disease.

  13. Chemical Weapons Convention

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1997-01-01

    On April 29, 1997, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, known as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC...

  14. Paris Convention on third party liability in the field of nuclear energy and Brussels Convention Supplementary to the Paris Convention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    This new bilingual (English and French) edition of the 1960 Paris Convention and 1963 Brussels Supplementary Convention incorporates the provisions of the Protocols which amended each of them on two occasions, in 1964 and 1982. The Expose des motifs to the Paris Convention, as revised in 1982 is also included in this pubication. (NEA) [fr

  15. Neutron activation analysis of archaeological artifacts using the conventional relative method: a realistic approach for analysis of large samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bedregal, P.S.; Mendoza, A.; Montoya, E.H.; Cohen, I.M.; Universidad Tecnologica Nacional, Buenos Aires; Oscar Baltuano

    2012-01-01

    A new approach for analysis of entire potsherds of archaeological interest by INAA, using the conventional relative method, is described. The analytical method proposed involves, primarily, the preparation of replicates of the original archaeological pottery, with well known chemical composition (standard), destined to be irradiated simultaneously, in a well thermalized external neutron beam of the RP-10 reactor, with the original object (sample). The basic advantage of this proposal is to avoid the need of performing complicated effect corrections when dealing with large samples, due to neutron self shielding, neutron self-thermalization and gamma ray attenuation. In addition, and in contrast with the other methods, the main advantages are the possibility of evaluating the uncertainty of the results and, fundamentally, validating the overall methodology. (author)

  16. Development and Aplication of Mathematical Programs for Contribution Analysis in Life Cycle Assessment

    OpenAIRE

    Vlad, Monica

    2009-01-01

    The environmental impact of a final product can be regarded as the sum of the impacts of all processes needed to obtain it. The impacts of these processes in all individual layers of production can be quantified using contribution analysis methods. SPA is an advanced method used to identify the chain of production processes linking the most highly emitting process with the final product. This analysis was performed in Matlab, using a specialized algorithm developed by Peters and Hertwich in 1...

  17. Comparative Genome Analysis of Lactobacillus rhamnosus Clinical Isolates from Initial Stages of Dental Pulp Infection: Identification of a New Exopolysaccharide Cluster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nadkarni, Mangala A.; Chen, Zhiliang; Wilkins, Marc R.; Hunter, Neil

    2014-01-01

    The human oral microbiome has a major role in oral diseases including dental caries. Our studies on progression of caries infection through dentin and more recently, the invasion of vital dental pulp, detected Lactobacillus rhamnosus in the initial stages of infection of vital pulp tissue. In this study employing current high-throughput next generation sequencing technology we sought to obtain insight into genomic traits of tissue invasive L. rhamnosus, to recognise biomarkers that could provide an understanding of pathogenic potential of lactobacilli, generally regarded as safe. Roche GS FLX+ technology was used to generate whole genome sequences of two clinical isolates of L. rhamnosus infecting vital pulp. Detailed genome-wide comparison of the genetic profiles of tissue invasive L. rhamnosus with probiotic L. rhamnosus was performed to test the hypothesis that specific strains of L. rhamnosus possessing a unique gene complement are selected for the capacity to invade vital pulp tissue. Analysis identified 264 and 258 genes respectively, from dental pulp-invasive L. rhamnosus strains LRHMDP2 and LRHMDP3 isolated from two different subjects that were not present in the reference probiotic L. rhamnosus strain ATCC 53103 (GG). Distinct genome signatures identified included the presence of a modified exopolysaccharide cluster, a characteristic confirmed in a further six clinical isolates. Additional features of LRHMDP2 and LRHMDP3 were altered transcriptional regulators from RpoN, NtrC, MutR, ArsR and zinc-binding Cro/CI families, as well as changes in the two-component sensor kinase response regulator and ABC transporters for ferric iron. Both clinical isolates of L. rhamnosus contained a single SpaFED cluster, as in L. rhamnosus Lc705, instead of the two Spa clusters (SpaCBA and SpaFED) identified in L. rhamnosus ATCC 53103 (GG). Genomic distance analysis and SNP divergence confirmed a close relationship of the clinical isolates but segregation from the reference

  18. Climate change convention

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Russell, D.

    1992-01-01

    Principles that guide Canada's Green Plan with respect to global warming are outlined. These include respect for nature, meeting environmental goals in an economically beneficial manner, efficient use of resources, shared responsibilities, federal leadership, and informed decision making. The policy side of the international Framework Convention on Climate Change is then discussed and related to the Green Plan. The Convention has been signed by 154 nations and has the long-term objective of stabilizing anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at levels that prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. Some of the Convention's commitments toward achieving that objective are only applicable to the developed countries. Five general areas of commitment are emissions reductions, assistance to developing countries, reporting requirements, scientific and socioeconomic research, and education. The most controversial area is that of limiting emissions. The Convention has strong measures for public accountability and is open to future revisions. Canada's Green Plan represents one country's response to the Convention commitments, including a national goal to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at the 1990 level by the year 2000

  19. The comparative evaluation of patients′ body dry weight under hemodialysis using two methods: Bioelectrical impedance analysis and conventional method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neda Alijanian

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Dry weight (DW is an important concept related to patients undergoing hemodialysis. Conventional method seems to be time consuming and operator dependent. Bio impedance analysis (BIA is a new and simple method reported to be an accurate way for estimating DW. In this study, we aimed to compare the conventional estimation of DW with measuring DW by BIA. Materials and Methods: This study involved 130 uremic patients, performed in Isfahan, Iran. DW was calculated by both conventional (CDW and BIA (BIADW method and results were compared based on different grouping factors including sex, underlying cause of renal failure (RF (diabetic RF and non-diabetic RF, body mass index (BMI status, and sessions of hemodialysis. We also calculated the difference between DWs of 2 methods (DW diff = CDW-BIADW. Results: The mean of BIADW was significantly lower than CDW (57.20 ± 1.82 vs 59.36 ± 1.77, P value < 0.001. After grouping cases according to the underlying cause, BMI, sex, and dialysis sessions BIADW was significantly lower than CDW. Conclusion: Based on the combination of problems with CDW measurement which are corrected by BIA, and more clinical reliability of CDW, we concluded that although conventional method is a time-consuming and operator-dependent way to assess DW, DW could be estimated by combining both of these methods by finding the mathematic correlation between these methods.

  20. Using quantitative wastewater analysis to measure daily usage of conventional and emerging illicit drugs at an annual music festival.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Foon Yin; Thai, Phong K; O'Brien, Jake; Gartner, Coral; Bruno, Raimondo; Kele, Benjamin; Ort, Christoph; Prichard, Jeremy; Kirkbride, Paul; Hall, Wayne; Carter, Steve; Mueller, Jochen F

    2013-11-01

    Wastewater analysis provides a non-intrusive way of measuring drug use within a population. We used this approach to determine daily use of conventional illicit drugs [cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)] and emerging illicit psychostimulants (benzylpiperazine, mephedrone and methylone) in two consecutive years (2010 and 2011) at an annual music festival. Daily composite wastewater samples, representative of the festival, were collected from the on-site wastewater treatment plant and analysed for drug metabolites. Data over 2 years were compared using Wilcoxon matched-pair test. Data from 2010 festival were compared with data collected at the same time from a nearby urban community using equivalent methods. Conventional illicit drugs were detected in all samples whereas emerging illicit psychostimulants were found only on specific days. The estimated per capita consumption of MDMA, cocaine and cannabis was similar between the two festival years. Statistically significant (P popularity in music settings. Our study demonstrated that wastewater analysis can objectively capture changes in substance use at a music setting without raising major ethical issues. It would potentially allow effective assessments of drug prevention strategies in such settings in the future. © 2013 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

  1. The Hague Judgments Convention

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Peter Arnt

    2011-01-01

    The Hague Judgments Convention of 2005 is the first global convention on international jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The author explains the political and legal background of the Convention, its content and certain crucial issues during...

  2. Evaluation of the marginal fit of single-unit, complete-coverage ceramic restorations fabricated after digital and conventional impressions: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsirogiannis, Panagiotis; Reissmann, Daniel R; Heydecke, Guido

    2016-09-01

    In existing published reports, some studies indicate the superiority of digital impression systems in terms of the marginal accuracy of ceramic restorations, whereas others show that the conventional method provides restorations with better marginal fit than fully digital fabrication. Which impression method provides the lowest mean values for marginal adaptation is inconclusive. The findings from those studies cannot be easily generalized, and in vivo studies that could provide valid and meaningful information are limited in the existing publications. The purpose of this study was to systematically review existing reports and evaluate the marginal fit of ceramic single-tooth restorations after either digital or conventional impression methods by combining the available evidence in a meta-analysis. The search strategy for this systematic review of the publications was based on a Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) framework. For the statistical analysis, the mean marginal fit values of each study were extracted and categorized according to the impression method to calculate the mean value, together with the 95% confidence intervals (CI) of each category, and to evaluate the impact of each impression method on the marginal adaptation by comparing digital and conventional techniques separately for in vitro and in vivo studies. Twelve studies were included in the meta-analysis from the 63 identified records after database searching. For the in vitro studies, where ceramic restorations were fabricated after conventional impressions, the mean value of the marginal fit was 58.9 μm (95% CI: 41.1-76.7 μm), whereas after digital impressions, it was 63.3 μm (95% CI: 50.5-76.0 μm). In the in vivo studies, the mean marginal discrepancy of the restorations after digital impressions was 56.1 μm (95% CI: 46.3-65.8 μm), whereas after conventional impressions, it was 79.2 μm (95% CI: 59.6-98.9 μm) No significant difference was observed regarding

  3. mec-associated dru typing in the epidemiological analysis of ST239 MRSA in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghaznavi-Rad, E; Goering, R V; Nor Shamsudin, M; Weng, P L; Sekawi, Z; Tavakol, M; van Belkum, A; Neela, V

    2011-11-01

    The usefulness of mec-associated dru typing in the epidemiological analysis of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolated in Malaysia was investigated and compared with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and spa and SCCmec typing. The isolates studied included all MRSA types in Malaysia. Multilocus sequence type ST188 and ST1 isolates were highly clonal by all typing methods. However, the dru typing of ST239 isolates produced the clearest discrimination between SCCmec IIIa and III isolates, yielding more subtypes than any other method. Evaluation of the discriminatory power for each method identified dru typing and PFGE as the most discriminatory, with Simpson's index of diversity (SID) values over 89%, including an isolate which was non-typeable by spa, but dru-typed as dt13j. The discriminatory ability of dru typing, especially with closely related MRSA ST239 strains (e.g., Brazilian and Hungarian), underscores its utility as a tool for the epidemiological investigation of MRSA.

  4. Quasisymmetry equations for conventional stellarators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pustovitov, V.D.

    1994-11-01

    General quasisymmetry condition, which demands the independence of B 2 on one of the angular Boozer coordinates, is reduced to two equations containing only geometrical characteristics and helical field of a stellarator. The analysis is performed for conventional stellarators with a planar circular axis using standard stellarator expansion. As a basis, the invariant quasisymmetry condition is used. The quasisymmetry equations for stellarators are obtained from this condition also in an invariant form. Simplified analogs of these equations are given for the case when averaged magnetic surfaces are circular shifted torii. It is shown that quasisymmetry condition can be satisfied, in principle, in a conventional stellarator by a proper choice of two satellite harmonics of the helical field in addition to the main harmonic. Besides, there appears a restriction on the shift of magnetic surfaces. Thus, in general, the problem is closely related with that of self-consistent description of a configuration. (author)

  5. The Aarhus Convention: A new regional convention on citizens' environmental rights

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wates, J.

    2000-01-01

    The UN ECE Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters had been adopted at Arhus, Denmark, at the Fourth Ministerial Conference in the 'Environment for Europe' process, and signed by thirty-five countries and the European Community. This paper summarises the main features of the Convention and briefly discusses its relevance to radioactive waste management issues. It then describes some of the activities currently being undertaken under the auspices of the Convention. (author)

  6. Is the Routine Use of Impedance Analysis for the Diagnosis of Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease More Expensive than Conventional pH Monitoring? Cost Analysis of Two Procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Törer, Nurkan; Aytaç, Özgür

    2017-06-01

    Conventional 24-h pH monitoring is the gold standard for the diagnosis of non-erosive, non-acidic gastro-esophageal reflux disease. Multichannel Intraluminal Impedance (MII) analysis markedly improves diagnostic accuracy of non-erosive, non-acidic gastro-esophageal reflux disease. However, MII catheters are more expensive than standard catheters. This study aimed to determine the rates of acid or non-acid reflux and by making a retrospective projection, to predict the costs of two algorithms. We retrospectively reviewed the medical data of 102 patients who presented to our hospital with suspected non-erosive GERD and underwent 24 h impedance/pH-monitoring. Demographic characteristics, Demeester scores, number of reflux episodes, and results of impedance analysis were recorded. According to these data, cost was calculated either for the scenario in which impedance measurement was performed solely or following a negative conventional pH monitoring. Thirty-seven of all 102 patients (36.3 %) had a Demeester score greater than 14.7. These patients were assigned as group 1 (acid reflux). The impedance analysis of the remaining 65 patients detected 34 patients (33.3 %) to have more than 50 reflux episodes over a period of 24 h and assigned as Group 2, and 31 patients (30.4 %) had no reflux (group 3). The cost of the single- step algorithm using MII catheter was calculated as $15,300, while the total cost of two-step scenario would have been predicted as $16,890. Our study showed that an initial conventional pH monitoring can make the diagnosis of GERD in only one third of the patients with suspected non-erosive GERD. In nearly two-thirds of patients, however, repeated procedures and use of impedance catheters are needed. It is clear that this algorithm has certain drawbacks with regard to cost, patient comfort, and workforce loss.

  7. Choledochal cyst: Comparison of MR and conventional cholangiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, S.H.; Lim, J.H.; Yoon, H.-K.; Han, B.K.; Lee, S.K.; Kim, Y.I.

    2000-01-01

    AIMS: To assess the diagnostic value of magnetic resonance (MR) cholangiography versus conventional cholangiography in patients with choledochal cyst and to determine whether MR cholangiography can be considered an alternative to conventional cholangiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen patients with choledochal cyst were examined by MR cholangiography and conventional cholangiograms. Magnetic resonance cholangiography employed T2-weighted axial and coronal fast spin-echo, single and multislab single-shot fast spin-echo sequences, including source images with maximum intensity projections. The diagnostic value of MR cholangiography and conventional cholangiograms was assessed and compared using the criteria of depiction of morphology, anomalous pancreaticobiliary duct union and demonstration of complications such as stones. A four-point diagnostic scale was applied to the delineation of the ductal anatomy with the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test and McNemar's test used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The depiction of the choledochal cyst was significantly better with MR cholangiography than with conventional cholangiography (P 0.03). The detection rate of an anomalous pancreaticobiliary duct union was not significantly different with either method (P = 0.641), nor was the detection rate of bile duct stones (P = 0.375). CONCLUSION: Magnetic resonance cholangiography provides data equivalent to or superior to those from conventional cholangiography in evaluating choledochal cyst. Magnetic resonance cholangiography is recommended as a non-invasive examination of choice for the evaluation of choledochal cyst. Kim, S.H. (2000). Clinical Radiology 55, 378-383

  8. Fracture healing: direct magnification versus conventional radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Link, T.M.; Kessler, T.; Lange, T.; Overbeck, J.; Fiebich, M.; Peters, P.E.

    1994-01-01

    The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of magnification radiography in diagnosing fracture healing and assessing its complications. Seventy-three patients with fractures or who had undergone osteotomy were radiographed with both conventional (non-magnified) and magnification (5-fold) techniques. Since 10 patients were radiographed twice and 1 three times, 83 radiographs using each technique were obtained. All radiographs were analysed and the findings correlated with the patients' follow-up studies. The microfocal X-ray unit used for magnification radiography had a focal spot size of 20-130 μm. As an imaging system, digital luminescence radiography was employed with magnification, while normal film-screen systems were used with conventional radiography. Magnification radiography proved superior to conventional radiography in 47% of cases: endosteal and periosteal callus formations were seen earlier and better in 26 cases, and osseous union could be evaluated with greater certainty in 33 cases. In 49% of cases magnification radiography was equal and in 4% inferior to conventional radiography. Additionally an ''inter-observer analysis'' was carried out. Anatomical and pathological structures were classified into one of four grades. Results were significantly (P < 0.01) better using magnification radiography. We conclude that the magnification technique is a good method for monitoring fracture healing in its early stages. (orig.)

  9. Does a mandibular overdenture improve nutrient intake and markers of nutritional status better than conventional complete denture? A systematic review and meta-analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamazaki, Toru; Martiniuk, Alexandra LC; Irie, Koichiro; Sokejima, Shigeru; Lee, Crystal Man Ying

    2016-01-01

    Objectives The need for denture treatment in public health will increase as the population ages. However, the impact of dentures on nutrition, particularly overdenture treatment, remains unclear although the physical and psychological effects are known. We investigated whether treatment with a mandibular implant supported overdenture improves nutrient intake and markers of nutritional status better than a conventional complete denture in edentulous patients. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods Medline, EMBASE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched for eligible studies published up to April 2016. We included studies which compared the treatment effect of an overdenture to conventional denture on nutrition, in which primary outcomes included changes in intake of macronutrients and/or micronutrients and/or indicators of nutritional status. Two reviewers independently evaluated eligible studies and assessed the risk of bias. We used a fixed effects model to estimate the weighted mean difference (WMD) and 95% CI for change in body mass index (BMI), albumin and serum vitamin B12 between overdenture and conventional denture 6 months after treatment. Results Of 108 eligible studies, 8 studies involving 901 participants were included in the narrative appraisal. Four studies reported changes in markers of nutritional status and nutrient intake after treatment with a prosthetic, regardless of type. In a meta-analysis of 322 participants aged 65 years or older from three studies, pooled analysis suggested no significant difference in change in BMI between an overdenture and conventional denture 6 months after treatment (WMD=−0.18 kg/m2 (95% CI −0.52 to 0.16)), and no significant difference in change in albumin or vitamin B12 between the two treatments. Conclusions The modifying effect of overdenture treatment on nutritional status might be limited. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness and efficacy of

  10. Authenticity assessment of banknotes using portable near infrared spectrometer and chemometrics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva Oliveira, Vanessa; Honorato, Ricardo Saldanha; Honorato, Fernanda Araújo; Pereira, Claudete Fernandes

    2018-05-01

    Spectra recorded using a portable near infrared (NIR) spectrometer, Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) associated to Successive Projections Algorithm (SPA) models were applied to identify counterfeit and authentic Brazilian Real (R$20, R$50 and R$100) banknotes, enabling a simple field analysis. NIR spectra (950-1650nm) were recorded from seven different areas of the banknotes (two with fluorescent ink, one over watermark, three with intaglio printing process and one over the serial numbers with typography printing). SIMCA and SPA-LDA models were built using 1st derivative preprocessed spectral data from one of the intaglio areas. For the SIMCA models, all authentic (300) banknotes were correctly classified and the counterfeits (227) were not classified. For the two classes SPA-LDA models (authentic and counterfeit currencies), all the test samples were correctly classified into their respective class. The number of selected variables by SPA varied from two to nineteen for R$20, R$50 and R$100 currencies. These results show that the use of the portable near-infrared with SIMCA or SPA-LDA models can be a completely effective, fast, and non-destructive way to identify authenticity of banknotes as well as permitting field analysis. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Switching From Conventional Photodynamic Therapy to Daylight Photodynamic Therapy For Actinic Keratoses: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomás-Velázquez, A; Redondo, P

    2017-05-01

    Actinic keratosis is a precursor lesion to the most common nonmelanoma skin cancer. Conventional photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been shown to be effective, but the procedure is time-consuming, can be very painful, and requires infrastructure. These shortcomings led to the emergence of daylight PDT. To obtain a global estimate of efficacy, we undertook a systematic literature review and performed a meta-analysis of the available evidence on the efficacy and safety of daylight PDT as compared to conventional PDT in the treatment of actinic keratosis and/or field cancerization. The conclusion is that the difference in efficacy is clinically negligible (global estimate of the mean response rate difference, -3.69%; 95% CI, -6.54% to -0.84%). The adverse effects of daylight PDT are mild and localized (79% of patients report no discomfort), and patients report less pain (P<.001). Daylight PDT gives good to excellent cosmetic results in more than 90% of patients, and patient satisfaction is greater (P<.001). Copyright © 2016 AEDV. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  12. Near infrared hyperspectral imaging of blends of conventional and waxy hard wheats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen R. Delwiche

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Recent development of hard winter waxy (amylose-free wheat adapted to the North American climate has prompted the quest to find a rapid method that will determine mixture levels of conventional wheat in lots of identity preserved waxy wheat. Previous work documented the use of conventional near infrared (NIR reflectance spectroscopy to determine the mixture level of conventional wheat in waxy wheat, with an examined range, through binary sample mixture preparation, of 0–100% (weight conventional / weight total. The current study examines the ability of NIR hyperspectral imaging of intact kernels to determine mixture levels. Twenty-nine mixtures (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, …, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100% were formed from known genotypes of waxy and conventional wheat. Two-class partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLSDA and statistical pattern recognition classifier models were developed for identifying each kernel in the images as conventional or waxy. Along with these approaches, conventional PLS1 regression modelling was performed on means of kernel spectra within each mixture test sample. Results indicated close agreement between all three approaches, with standard errors of prediction for the better preprocess transformations (PLSDA models or better classifiers (pattern recognition models of approximately 9 percentage units. Although such error rates were slightly greater than ones previously published using non-imaging NIR analysis of bulk whole kernel wheat and wheat meal, the HSI technique offers an advantage of its potential use in sorting operations.

  13. Application of conventional and FPG staining for the analysis of chromosome aberrations induced by low levels of dose in human lymphocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wagner, R.; Schmid, E.; Bauchinger, M.

    1983-01-01

    Human peripheral lymphocytes were irradiated with 0.05-0.5 Gy of 220 keV X-rays. After application of either a conventional or the fluorescence plus Giemsa (FPG) staining technique, the dose response for dicentrics and acentrics was studied. The analysis of exclusively first-division cells (M 1 ), carried out by the FPG method, revealed significantly higher aberration yields as compared with the results of the conventional method. The data from M 1 cells support the assumption of a linear dose response for both dicentrics and acentrics. The results are discussed with regard to the application of chromosome analyses for a cytogenetic dosimetry after exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation. (orig.)

  14. Spa therapy (balneotherapy) relieves mental stress, sleep disorder, and general health problems in sub-healthy people

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Bei; Qin, Qi-zhong; Han, Ling-li; Lin, Jing; Chen, Yu

    2018-02-01

    To investigate the relieving effects of hot spring balneotherapy on mental stress, sleep disorder, general health problems, and women's health problems in sub-healthy people, we recruited 500 volunteers in sub-health in Chongqing, and 362 volunteers completed the project, including 223 in the intervention group and 139 in the control group. The intervention group underwent hot spring balneotherapy for 5 months, while the control group did not. The two groups took questionnaire investigation (general data, mental stress, emotional status, sleep quality, general health problems, as well as some women's health problems) and physical examination (height, weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood lipid, blood sugar) 5 months before and after the intervention, respectively. After intervention, sleep disorder (difficulty in falling asleep ( P = 0.017); dreaminess, nightmare suffering, and restless sleep ( P = 0.013); easy awakening ( P = 0.003) and difficulty in falling into sleep again after awakening( P = 0.016); and mental stress ( P = 0.031) and problems of general health (head pain ( P = 0.026), joint pain( P = 0.009), leg or foot cramps ( P = 0.001), blurred vision ( P = 0.009)) were relieved significantly in the intervention group, as compared with the control group. While other indicators (fatigue, eye tiredness, limb numbness, constipation, skin allergy) and women's health problems (breast distending pain; dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation) were relieved significantly in the self-comparison of the intervention group before and after intervention ( P 0.05). All indications (except bad mood, low mood, and worry or irritability) in the intervention group significantly improved, with effect size from 0.096 to 1.302. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the frequency, length, and location of balneotherapy in the intervention group were the factors influencing emotion, sleep, and health condition ( P Physical examination found that waist

  15. Energy-saving chlorine production. Chlor-alkali electrolysis using innovative cathode technology; Energiesparende Chlorpoduktion. Chlor-Alkali-Elektrolyse mit innovativer Kathoden-Technologie

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Woltering, Peter; Hofmann, Philipp; Funck, Frank; Kiefer, Randolf; Baeumer, Ulf-Steffen; Donst, Dmitri; Schmitt, Carsten [Thyssen Krupp Uhde GmbH, Dortmund (Germany)

    2013-11-01

    Chlorine is used in the synthesis of almost two thirds of all chemical products. Producing chlorine from salt by electrolysis is a very energy-intensive process. Through their joint venture UHDENORA S.p.A., ThyssenKrupp Uhde and Industrie De Nora S.p.A. have played a major part in the development of a globally available technology that can produce chlorine using up to 30 percent less energy than conventional processes. It uses oxygen depolarized cathode technology with an innovative new cathode chamber design in an Uhde single-cell element. In Germany alone, converting all existing plants to the new technology would save enough electricity to power a city the size of Cologne. (orig.)

  16. Automatic variable selection method and a comparison for quantitative analysis in laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duan, Fajie; Fu, Xiao; Jiang, Jiajia; Huang, Tingting; Ma, Ling; Zhang, Cong

    2018-05-01

    In this work, an automatic variable selection method for quantitative analysis of soil samples using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is proposed, which is based on full spectrum correction (FSC) and modified iterative predictor weighting-partial least squares (mIPW-PLS). The method features automatic selection without artificial processes. To illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the method, a comparison with genetic algorithm (GA) and successive projections algorithm (SPA) for different elements (copper, barium and chromium) detection in soil was implemented. The experimental results showed that all the three methods could accomplish variable selection effectively, among which FSC-mIPW-PLS required significantly shorter computation time (12 s approximately for 40,000 initial variables) than the others. Moreover, improved quantification models were got with variable selection approaches. The root mean square errors of prediction (RMSEP) of models utilizing the new method were 27.47 (copper), 37.15 (barium) and 39.70 (chromium) mg/kg, which showed comparable prediction effect with GA and SPA.

  17. Quantitative Analysis of Diffusion-Weighted Imaging for Diagnosis of Puerperal Breast Abscess After Polyacrylamide Hydrogel Augmentation Mammoplasty: Compared with Other Conventional Modalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Lihua; Long, Miaomiao; Wang, Junping; Liu, Ning; Ge, Xihong; Hu, Zhandong; Shen, Wen

    2015-02-01

    Puerperal breast abscess after polyacrylamide hydrogel (PAAG) augmentation mammoplasty can induce breast auto-inflation resulting in serious consequences. Mammography, ultrasound, and conventional MRI are poor at detecting related PAAG abnormality histologically. We evaluated the value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in the quantitative analysis of puerperal PAAG abscess after augmentation mammoplasty. This was a retrospective study, and a waiver for informed consent was granted. Sixteen puerperal women with breast discomfort underwent conventional breast non-enhanced MRI and axial DWI using a 3T MR scanner. Qualitative analysis of the signal intensity on DWI and conventional sequences was performed. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the affected and contralateral normal PAAG cysts were measured quantitatively. Paired t test was used to evaluate whether there was significant difference. Both affected and normal PAAG cysts showed equal signal intensity on conventional T1WI and fat saturation T2WI, which were not helpful in detecting puerperal PAAG abscess. However, the affected PAAG cysts had a significantly decreased ADC value of 1.477 ± 0.332 × 10(-3)mm(2)/s and showed obvious hypo-intensity on the ADC map and increased signal intensity on DWI compared with the ADC value of 2.775 ± 0.233 × 10(-3)mm(2)/s of the contralateral normal PAAG cysts. DWI and quantitative measurement of ADC values are of great value for the diagnosis of puerperal PAAG abscess. Standardized MRI should be suggested to these puerperal women with breast discomfort or just for the purpose of check up. DWI should be selected as the essential MRI sequence.

  18. Strain-encoded cardiac MRI as an adjunct for dobutamine stress testing: incremental value to conventional wall motion analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korosoglou, Grigorios; Lossnitzer, Dirk; Schellberg, Dieter; Lewien, Antje; Wochele, Angela; Schaeufele, Tim; Neizel, Mirja; Steen, Henning; Giannitsis, Evangelos; Katus, Hugo A; Osman, Nael F

    2009-03-01

    High-dose dobutamine stress MRI is safe and feasible for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) in humans. However, the assessment of cine scans relies on the visual interpretation of regional wall motion, which is subjective. Recently, strain-encoded MRI (SENC) has been proposed for the direct color-coded visualization of myocardial strain. The purpose of our study was to compare the diagnostic value of SENC with that provided by conventional wall motion analysis for the detection of inducible ischemia during dobutamine stress MRI. Stress-induced ischemia was assessed by wall motion analysis and by SENC in 101 patients with suspected or known CAD and in 17 healthy volunteers who underwent dobutamine stress MRI in a clinical 1.5-T scanner. Quantitative coronary angiography deemed as the standard reference for the presence or absence of significant CAD (> or =50% diameter stenosis). On a coronary vessel level, SENC detected inducible ischemia in 86 of 101 versus 71 of 101 diseased coronary vessels (P or =50% stenosis (area under the curve, 0.96; SE, 0.01; 95% CI, 0.94 to 0.98; P<0.001). The direct color-coded visualization of strain on MR images is a useful adjunct for dobutamine stress MRI, which provides incremental value for the detection of CAD compared with conventional wall motion readings on cine images.

  19. Comparative study between computed radiography and conventional radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noorhazleena Azaman; Khairul Anuar Mohd Salleh; Sapizah Rahim; Shaharudin Sayuti; Arshad Yassin; Abdul Razak Hamzah

    2010-01-01

    In Industrial Radiography, there are many criteria that need to be considered based on established standards to accept or reject the radiographic film. For conventional radiography, we need to consider the optical density by using the densitometer when viewing the film on the viewer. But in the computed radiography (CR) we need to evaluate and performed the analysis from the quality of the digital image through grey value. There are many factors that affected the digital image quality. One of the factors which are affected to the digital image quality in the image processing is grey value that related to the contrast resolution. In this work, we performed grey value study measurement on digital radiography systems and compared it with exposed films in conventional radiography. The test sample is a steel step wedge. We found out the contrast resolution is higher in Computed Radiography compared with Conventional Radiography. (author)

  20. Structural Path Analysis of Fossil Fuel Based CO2 Emissions: A Case Study for China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiyong Yang

    Full Text Available Environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA has long been used to quantify global and regional environmental impacts and to clarify emission transfers. Structural path analysis (SPA, a technique based on EEIOA, is especially useful for measuring significant flows in this environmental-economic system. This paper constructs an imports-adjusted single-region input-output (SRIO model considering only domestic final use elements, and it uses the SPA technique to highlight crucial routes along the production chain in both final use and sectoral perspectives. The results indicate that future mitigation policies on household consumption should change direct energy use structures in rural areas, cut unreasonable demand for power and chemical products, and focus on urban areas due to their consistently higher magnitudes than rural areas in the structural routes. Impacts originating from government spending should be tackled by managing onsite energy use in 3 major service sectors and promoting cleaner fuels and energy-saving techniques in the transport sector. Policies on investment should concentrate on sectoral interrelationships along the production chain by setting up standards to regulate upstream industries, especially for the services, construction and equipment manufacturing sectors, which have high demand pulling effects. Apart from the similar methods above, mitigating policies in exports should also consider improving embodied technology and quality in manufactured products to achieve sustainable development. Additionally, detailed sectoral results in the coal extraction industry highlight the onsite energy use management in large domestic companies, emphasize energy structure rearrangement, and indicate resources and energy safety issues. Conclusions based on the construction and public administration sectors reveal that future mitigation in secondary and tertiary industries should be combined with upstream emission intensive

  1. Structural Path Analysis of Fossil Fuel Based CO2 Emissions: A Case Study for China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhiyong; Dong, Wenjie; Xiu, Jinfeng; Dai, Rufeng; Chou, Jieming

    2015-01-01

    Environmentally extended input-output analysis (EEIOA) has long been used to quantify global and regional environmental impacts and to clarify emission transfers. Structural path analysis (SPA), a technique based on EEIOA, is especially useful for measuring significant flows in this environmental-economic system. This paper constructs an imports-adjusted single-region input-output (SRIO) model considering only domestic final use elements, and it uses the SPA technique to highlight crucial routes along the production chain in both final use and sectoral perspectives. The results indicate that future mitigation policies on household consumption should change direct energy use structures in rural areas, cut unreasonable demand for power and chemical products, and focus on urban areas due to their consistently higher magnitudes than rural areas in the structural routes. Impacts originating from government spending should be tackled by managing onsite energy use in 3 major service sectors and promoting cleaner fuels and energy-saving techniques in the transport sector. Policies on investment should concentrate on sectoral interrelationships along the production chain by setting up standards to regulate upstream industries, especially for the services, construction and equipment manufacturing sectors, which have high demand pulling effects. Apart from the similar methods above, mitigating policies in exports should also consider improving embodied technology and quality in manufactured products to achieve sustainable development. Additionally, detailed sectoral results in the coal extraction industry highlight the onsite energy use management in large domestic companies, emphasize energy structure rearrangement, and indicate resources and energy safety issues. Conclusions based on the construction and public administration sectors reveal that future mitigation in secondary and tertiary industries should be combined with upstream emission intensive industries in a

  2. Acts Sanctioning Foreign Corrupt Practice as a Legal Instrument for the Control of Corruption : An analysis of the policy implementation process of the OECD Anti-bribery Convention in Japan

    OpenAIRE

    Okano, Naoyuki

    2014-01-01

    This paper concerns the lagging implementation of OECD Anti-Bribery Convention in Japan, the first international convention that provides prohibition of foreign corruption as a necessary equipment to control corruption. Currently, there are three approaches to reinforce the implementation and enforcement of OECD Anti-Bribery Convention; a top-down approach, a bottom-up approach, and a voluntary approach. The analysis of the Japanese case of lagging implementation of OECD Anti-Bribery Conventi...

  3. Economic evaluation of spondyloarthritis: economic impact of diagnostic delay in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mennini, Francesco S; Viti, Raffaella; Marcellusi, Andrea; Sciattella, Paolo; Viapiana, Ombretta; Rossini, Maurizio

    2018-01-01

    Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a disease that normally affects the axial skeleton. It progressively leads to overall stiffness up to severe postural deformity of rachis and functional impotence. The objective of the study was to quantify, through an economic model, the impact of specialized testing and pharmacological treatments carried out by the National Health Service (NHS) in normal clinical practice, before the patient is diagnosed with SpA in Italy. In line with the analysis objective, the chosen perspective is that of the NHS. The study was conducted by analyzing the Health Search Database - IMS Health Longitudinal Patient Database, from which newly diagnosed SpA patients were identified over the period 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013. The use of specialist health care services and pharmacological treatments provided to the patients before the final SpA diagnosis were estimated. Through a retrospective analysis of the Health Search Database, 1,084 subjects (aged 25-45 years) were identified. These patients produced an expense of approximately €153,000 in the 3 years prior to a confirmed SpA diagnosis, in terms of specialist check-ups and drugs, presumably not appropriately used due to a lack of diagnosis. If we assume that the Health Search Database is a representative sample of the Italian population, it may be estimated that, in the 3 years prior to SpA diagnosis, over €5.4 million was largely unduly spent in Italy to examine and manage 38,232 newly diagnosed SpA patients, between 2010 and 2013. The costs due to the delay in SpA diagnosis were quantified for the first time in Italy. For this reason, this work represents a contribution for national and regional decision makers to understand the current clinical practice and the economic consequences of a diagnostic delay in the short and medium term.

  4. Ion Tentiuc, Contribuţii la istoria şi arheologia spaţiului pruto-nistrean. Siturile de la Durleşti şi Moleşti, Biblioteca Tyragetia, XXI (Chișinău: Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a Moldovei, 2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergiu Musteata

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Review on book - Ion Tentiuc, Contribuţii la istoria şi arheologia spaţiului pruto-nistrean. Siturile de la Durleşti şi Moleşti, Biblioteca Tyragetia, XXI (Chișinău: Muzeul Naţional de Istorie a Moldovei, 2012

  5. MR signal in the sacroiliac joint space in spondyloarthritis: a new sign

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laloo, Frederiek; Herregods, N.; Verstraete, K.; Jans, L. [Ghent University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Gent (Belgium); Varkas, G.; Elewaut, D.; Bosch, F. van den [Ghent University Hospital, Department of Rheumatology, Gent (Belgium); Jaremko, J.L. [University of Alberta Hospital, Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, Edmonton, Alberta (Canada); Baraliakos, X. [Ruhr-University Bochum, Rheumazentrum Ruhrgebiet, Herne (Germany)

    2017-05-15

    To determine the diagnostic value of MR signal within the sacroiliac (SI) joint space in spondyloarthritis (SpA). A retrospective analysis of MRIs of SI joints was performed in 363 patients, aged 16-45 years, clinically suspected of sacroiliitis. Intra-articular SI joint MR signals were categorized as normal, high T1 signal, fluid signal, ankylosis or vacuum phenomenon (VP). These MRI findings were correlated with the final diagnosis, according to the ASAS criteria. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative likelihood ratios (LR) and predictive values were calculated. Presence of intra-articular high T1 signal, fluid signal and ankylosis had a specificity of 95.8 %, 95.3 % and 99.5 % for SpA. High T1 signal, fluid signal and ankylosis were present in 38.4 %, 19.2 % and 17.9 % of SpA patients and in 4.2 %, 4.7 % and 0.5 % of patients without SpA, resulting in LR+ of 9.0, 4.1 and 37.9, respectively. VP was present in 13.2 % of SpA patients and in 20.8 % of patients without SpA, resulting in an LR+ of 0.6. Presence of high T1 signal, fluid signal and ankylosis within the SI joint on MRI have high specificity for SpA. High T1 signal is the most sensitive MRI feature within the SI joint for SpA. (orig.)

  6. Accident consequence analysis models applied to licensing process of nuclear installations, radioactive and conventional industries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Senne Junior, Murillo; Vasconcelos, Vanderley de; Jordao, Elizabete

    2002-01-01

    The industrial accidents happened in the last years, particularly in the eighty's decade, had contributed in a significant way to call the attention to government authorities, industry and society as a whole, demanding mechanisms for preventing episodes that could affect people's safety and environment quality. Techniques and methods already thoroughly used in the nuclear, aeronautic and war industries were then adapted for performing analysis and evaluation of the risks associated to other industrial activities, especially in the petroleum, chemistry and petrochemical areas. Some models for analyzing the consequences of accidents involving fire and explosion, used in the licensing processes of nuclear and radioactive facilities, are presented in this paper. These models have also application in the licensing of conventional industrial facilities. (author)

  7. Elements of seismic imaging and velocity analysis – Forward modeling and diffraction analysis of conventional seismic data from the North Sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Montazeri, Mahboubeh

    2018-01-01

    comprises important oil and gas reservoirs. By application of well-established conventional velocity analysis methods and high-quality diffraction imaging techniques, this study aims to increase the resolution and the image quality of the seismic data. In order to analyze seismic wave propagation......-outs and salt delineations, which can be extracted from the diffractions. The potential of diffraction imaging techniques was studied for 2D seismic stacked data from the North Sea. In this approach, the applied plane-wave destruction method was successful in order to suppress the reflections from the stacked....... This improved seismic imaging is demonstrated for a salt structure as well as for Overpressured Shale structures and the Top Chalk of the North Sea....

  8. The unappreciated slowness of conventional tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G.R. Larsen

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Most tourists are not consciously engaging in ‘slow travel’, but a number of travel behaviours displayed by conventional tourists can be interpreted as slow travel behaviour. Based on Danish tourists’ engagement with the distances they travel across to reach their holiday destination, this paper explores unintended slow travel behaviours displayed by these tourists. None of the tourists participating in this research were consciously doing ‘slow travel’, and yet some of their most valued holiday memories are linked to slow travel behaviours. Based on the analysis of these unintended slow travel behaviours, this paper will discuss the potential this insight might hold for promotion of slow travel. If unappreciated and unintentional slow travel behaviours could be utilised in the deliberate effort of encouraging more people to travel slow, ‘slow travel’ will be in a better position to become integrated into conventional travel behaviour.

  9. Conventional Complete Denture in Patients with Ectodermal Dysplasia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larissa Soares Reis Vilanova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Ectodermal dysplasia is described as heritable conditions that involve anomalies of structures derived from the ectoderm, including hypodontia. In the cases of edentulous young patients, who did not finish their craniofacial growth, treatment with conventional complete denture is a suitable alternative. The aim of this study was to report a case of mandibular edentulism treated with conventional complete denture in a thirteen-year-old patient diagnosed with hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. Typical features, such as frontal bossing, depressed nasal bridge, protuberant lips, scarce hair, and brittle nails, were visualized during the extraoral examination. The intraoral inspection and radiographic analysis revealed oligodontia, dental malformation, and prolonged retention of deciduous teeth at maxilla and total edentulism at mandible. A conventional complete denture was planned and constructed following the same steps of technique as recommended in adults. Although this option is not a definitive treatment, the patient and his parents were satisfied with his improvement in chewing and speech, as well as with the aesthetic benefits.

  10. Comparison between 3D isotropic and 2D conventional MR arthrography for diagnosing rotator cuff tear and labral lesions: A meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Sun Hwa; Yun, Seong Jong; Jin, Wook; Park, So Young; Park, Ji Seon; Ryu, Kyung Nam

    2018-03-30

    Although 3D-isotropic MR arthrography has been characterized as a substitute imaging tool for rotator cuff tear (RCT) and labral lesions, it has not been commonly used in clinical practice because of controversy related to image blurring and indistinctness of structural edges. To perform a comparison of the diagnostic performance of 3D-isotropic MR arthrography and 2D-conventional MR arthrography for diagnosis of RCT (solely RCT, full/partial-thickness supraspinatus [SST]-infraspinatus [IST] tear, or subscapularis [SSc] tear) and labral lesions. Meta-analysis. Patients with shoulder pain. 3D-isotropic and 2D-conventional MR arthrography at 3.0T or 1.5T. PubMed and EMBASE were searched following the PRISMA guidelines. Bivariate modeling and hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic modeling were performed to compare the overall diagnostic performance of 3D-isotropic and 2D-conventional MR arthrography. Multiple-subgroup analyses were performed for diagnosing RCT, full/partial-thickness SST-IST tear, SSc tear, and labral lesions. Meta-regression analyses were performed according to subject, study, and MR arthrography characteristics including 3D-isotropic sequences (turbo spine echo [TSE] vs. gradient echo [GRE]). Eleven studies (825 patients) were included. Overall, 3D-isotropic MR arthrography had similar pooled sensitivity (0.90 [95% CI, 0.87-0.93]) (P = 0.95) and specificity (0.92 [95% CI, 0.87-0.95]) (P = 0.99), relative to 2D-conventional MR arthrography (sensitivity, 0.91 [95% CI, 0.86-0.94]); specificity, 0.92 [95% CI, 0.87-0.95]). Multiple-subgroup analyses showed that sensitivities (P = 0.13-0.91) and specificities (P = 0.26-0.99) on 3D-isotropic MR arthrography for diagnosing RCT, full/partial-thickness SST-IST tear, SSC tear, and labral lesions were not significantly different from 2D-conventional MR arthrography. On meta-regression analysis, 3D-TSE sequence demonstrated higher sensitivity (P 3D-GRE for RCT and labral

  11. Conventional and fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of three-way complex BCR-ABL rearrangement in a chronic myeloid leukemia patient

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ganguly Bani

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Chromosomal analysis was carried out in bone marrow sample of an 11-year-old girl suspected of myeloproliferative disorder. Conventional G-banding study detected a complex three-way translocation involving 7, 9 and 22, which has resulted in the formation of a variant Philadelphia chromosome causing rearrangement of abl and bcr genes in 87% cells. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH confirmed the fusion of bcr-abl oncogene. Thus the bone marrow karyotype was observed as 46,XX (13% / 46,XX,t(7;9;22(q11;q34;q11 (87%. Hyperdiploidy was present in two cells. In this study, both conventional cytogenetic and FISH diagnosis proved to be significant to identify the variant nature of the Philadelphia chromosome and hyperdiploid condition for introduction of a suitable treatment regimen and estimation of life expectancy of the young girl.

  12. Moonrise: Sampling the South Pole-Aitken Basin to Address Problems of Solar System Significance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeigler, R. A.; Jolliff, B. L.; Korotev, R. L.; Shearer, C. K.

    2016-01-01

    A mission to land in the giant South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the Moon's southern farside and return a sample to Earth for analysis is a high priority for Solar System Science. Such a sample would be used to determine the age of the SPA impact; the chronology of the basin, including the ages of basins and large impacts within SPA, with implications for early Solar System dynamics and the magmatic history of the Moon; the age and composition of volcanic rocks within SPA; the origin of the thorium signature of SPA with implications for the origin of exposed materials and thermal evolution of the Moon; and possibly the magnetization that forms a strong anomaly especially evident in the northern parts of the SPA basin. It is well known from studies of the Apollo regolith that rock fragments found in the regolith form a representative collection of many different rock types delivered to the site by the impact process (Fig. 1). Such samples are well documented to contain a broad suite of materials that reflect both the local major rock formations, as well as some exotic materials from far distant sources. Within the SPA basin, modeling of the impact ejection process indicates that regolith would be dominated by SPA substrate, formed at the time of the SPA basin-forming impact and for the most part moved around by subsequent impacts. Consistent with GRAIL data, the SPA impact likely formed a vast melt body tens of km thick that took perhaps several million years to cool, but that nonetheless represents barely an instant in geologic time that should be readily apparent through integrated geochronologic studies involving multiple chronometers. It is anticipated that a statistically significant number of age determinations would yield not only the age of SPA but also the age of several prominent nearby basins and large craters within SPA. This chronology would provide a contrast to the Imbrium-dominated chronology of the nearside Apollo samples and an independent test of

  13. Psychometric properties of the painDETECT questionnaire in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rifbjerg-Madsen, Signe; Wæhrens, Eva Ejlersen; Danneskiold-Samsøe, Bente

    2017-01-01

    .86(0.56-0.96), PsA 0.96(0.74-0.99), SpA 0.93(0.76-98), overall 0.94(0.84-0.98). Classification consistency was: RA 70%, PsA 80%, SpA 90%, overall 80%. CONCLUSION: The results support that the PDQ can be used as a classification instrument and assist identification of underlying pain-mechanisms in patients suffering...... and to explore the reliability of pain classification by test-retest. METHODS: For the Rasch analysis 900 questionnaires from patients with RA, PsA and SpA (300 per diagnosis) were extracted from 'the DANBIO painDETECT study'. The analysis was directed at the seven items assessing somatosensory symptoms...... and included: 1) the performance of the six-category Likert scale; 2) whether a unidimensional construct was defined; 3) the reliability and precision of estimates. Another group of 30 patients diagnosed with RA, PsA or SpA participated in a test-retest study. Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICC...

  14. Image quality in conventional chest radiography. Evaluation using the postprocessing tool Diamond View

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niemann, Tilo; Reisinger, Clemens; Rau, Philipp; Schwarz, Jochen; Ruis-Lopez, Laura; Bongartz, Georg

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the postprocessing tool Diamond View (Siemens AG Medical Solutions, Germany) on image quality in conventional chest radiography. Evaluation of image quality remains a challenge in conventional radiography. Based on the European Commission quality criteria we evaluated the improvement of image quality when applying the new postprocessing tool Diamond View (Siemens AG Medical solutions, Germany) to conventional chest radiographs. Three different readers prospectively evaluated 102 digital image pairs of chest radiographs. Statistical analysis was performed with a p value <0.05 considered as significant. Images were evaluated on basis of the modified imaging Quality Criteria by the Commission of the European Communities. Each of the 11 image quality criteria was evaluated separately using a five point classification. Statistical analysis showed an overall tendency for improved image quality for Diamond View (DV) for all criteria. Significant differences could be found in most of the criteria. In conclusion DV improves image quality in conventional chest radiographs.

  15. Is there a best conventional material for restoring posterior primary teeth? A network meta-analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pires, Carine Weber; Pedrotti, Djessica; Lenzi, Tathiane Larissa; Soares, Fabio Zovico Maxnuck; Ziegelmann, Patricia Klarmann; Rocha, Rachel de Oliveira

    2018-03-01

    This study aimed to compare the longevity of different conventional restorative materials placed in posterior primary teeth. This systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA statement and registered in PROSPERO (CRD42016035775). A comprehensive electronic search without date or language restrictions was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Scopus, Turning Research Into Practice (TRIP) and Clinical Trials databases up to January 2017, selecting randomized clinical trials that assessed the longevity of at least two different conventional restorative materials performed in primary molars. Seventeen studies were included in this systematic review. Pairwise and network meta-analyses were performed and relative risks and 95% confidence intervals (CI) calculated. Two reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted the data, and assessed the risk of bias. Restorations of primary molars with conventional glass ionomer cement showed increased risk of failure than compomer, resin-modified glass ionomer cement, amalgam, and composite resin. Risk of bias was low in most studies (45.38% of all items across studies). Pediatric dentists should avoid conventional glass ionomer cement for restoring primary molars.

  16. Construction Management for Conventional Facilities of Proton Accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jun Yeon; Cho, Jang Hyung; Cho, Sung Won

    2013-01-01

    Proton Engineering Frontier Project, puts its aim to building 100MeV 20mA linear proton accelerator which is national facility for NT, BT, IT, and future technologies, expected to boost up the national industry competitiveness. This R and D, Construction Management is in charge of the supportive works such as site selection, architecture and engineering of conventional facilities, and overall construction management. The major goals of this work are as follows: At first, architecture and engineering of conventional facilities. Second, construction management, supervision and inspection on construction of conventional facilities. Lastly, cooperation with the project host organization, Gyeongju city, for adjusting technically interrelated work during construction. In this research, We completed the basic, detail, and field changed design of conventional facilities. Acquisition of necessary construction and atomic license, radiation safety analysis, site improvement, access road construction were successfully done as well. Also, we participated in the project host related work as follows: Project host organization and site selection, construction technical work for project host organization and procedure management, etc. Consequently, we so fulfilled all of the own goals which were set up in the beginning of this construction project that we could made contribution for installing and running PEFP's developed 100MeV 20mA linear accelerator

  17. Application of the Aarhus Convention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tubić Bojan

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Convention on access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters (Aarhus Convention has been adopted in 1998 and entered into force three years later. It envisages three elements for strengthening democratic procedures in decision-making: access to information, public participation and access to justice. At the first meeting of the Member States the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee was founded. The European Union is a party of the Convention and it has implemented the provisions in its legal order. After entering into force of the Convention, several Directives that regulate these issues in the EU have been enacted. Republic of Serbia has ratified the Convention in 2009 and it is currently in the process of its implementation by involving private subjects in decision-making on environmental issues.

  18. Counting Costs under Severe Financial Constraints: A Cost-of-Illness Analysis of Spondyloarthropathies in a Tertiary Hospital in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsifetaki, Niki; Migkos, Michail P; Papagoras, Charalampos; Voulgari, Paraskevi V; Athanasakis, Kostas; Drosos, Alexandros A

    2015-06-01

    To investigate the total annual direct cost of patients with spondyloarthritis (SpA) in Greece. Retrospective study with 156 patients diagnosed and followed up in the rheumatology clinic of the University Hospital of Ioannina. Sixty-four had ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and 92 had psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Health resource use for each patient was elicited through a retrospective chart review that documented the use of monitoring visits, medications, laboratory/diagnostic tests, and inpatient stays for the previous year from the date that the review took place. Costs were calculated from a third-party payer perspective and are reported in 2014 euros. The mean ± SD annual direct cost for the patients with SpA reached €8680 ± 6627. For the patients with PsA and AS, the cost was estimated to be €8097 ± 6802 and €9531 ± 6322, respectively. The major cost was medication, which represented 88.9%, 88.2%, and 89.3% of the mean total direct cost for SpA, AS, and PsA, respectively. The annual amount of the scheduled tests for all patients corresponded to 7.5%, and for those performed on an emergency basis, 1.1%. Further, the cost for scheduled and emergency hospitalization, as well as the cost of scheduled visits to an outpatient clinic, corresponded to 2.5% of the mean total annual direct cost for the patients with SpA. SpA carries substantial financial cost, especially in the era of new treatment options. Adequate access and treatment for patients with SpA remains a necessity, even in times of fiscal constraint. Thus, the recommendations of the international scientific organizations should be considered when administering high-cost drugs such as biological treatments.

  19. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolates with SCCmec type V and spa types t437 or t1081 associated to discordant susceptibility results between oxacillin and cefoxitin, Central Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ho, Cheng-Mao; Lin, Chien-Yu; Ho, Mao-Wang; Lin, Hsiao-Chuan; Chen, Chao-Jung; Lin, Lee-Chung; Lu, Jang-Jih

    2016-12-01

    Staphylococcus aureus isolates with discordant susceptibility results between oxacillin and cefoxitin obtained using automated microbiology systems are infrequently observed. From April 2013 to December 2014, 1956 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and 1761 methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates were obtained from different patients. Forty isolates (1.1% and 2% in case of S. aureus and MRSA, respectively) with discordant susceptibility results (oxacillin susceptible and cefoxitin resistant) and carrying mecA gene were obtained. Except 2 SCCmec type IV isolates, 38 MRSA isolates were all SCCmec type V (V T or non-V T ), which were further divided into V T (n=22) and non-V T (n=16). The most common spa type in V T and non-V T isolates were t437 (n=19) and t1081 (n=13), respectively. Only 55% of patients received effective antimicrobial agents; 2 mortalities were not attributable to MRSA infection. Using standard agar dilution, 17 MRSA isolates (0.46% and 0.87% in case of S. aureus and MRSA, respectively) had oxacillin MIC in the susceptible ranges (oxacillin-susceptible MRSA [OS-MRSA]); all carried SCCmec type V (V T , n=8; non-V T , n=9). The most common spa-MLST types of OS-MRSA in V T and non-V T were t437-ST59 (n=4) and t1081-ST45 (n=7), respectively. Concomitant testing by both cefoxitin- and oxacillin-based methods is a practical strategy for OS-MRSA detection in the clinical laboratories. Continuous monitoring of OS-MRSA isolates is necessary to elucidate their impact in clinical infectious diseases. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Nuclear liability: Joint protocol relating to the application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention, 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-10-01

    The Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention was adopted by the Conference on the Relationship between the Paris Convention and the Vienna Convention, which met in Vienna, at the Headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 21 September 1988. The Joint Protocol establishes a link between the Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy of 1960 and the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage of 1963. The Joint Protocol will extend to the States adhering to it the coverage of the two Conventions. It will also resolve potential conflicts of law, which could result from the simultaneous application of the two Conventions to the same nuclear accident. The Conference on the Relationship between the Paris Convention and the Vienna Convention was jointly organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. This publication contains the text of the Final Act of the Conference in the six authentic languages, the Joint Protocol Relating to the Application of the Vienna Convention and the Paris Convention, also in the six authentic languages and an explanatory note, prepared by the IAEA and NEA Secretariats, providing background information on the content of the Joint Protocol