Efficacy of lifestyle modification for long-term weight control.

Science.gov (United States)

Wadden, Thomas A; Butryn, Meghan L; Byrne, Kirstin J

2004-12-01

A comprehensive program of lifestyle modification induces loss of approximately 10% of initial weight in 16 to 26 weeks, as revealed by a review of recent randomized controlled trials, including the Diabetes Prevention Program. Long-term weight control is facilitated by continued patient-therapist contact, whether provided in person or by telephone, mail, or e-mail. High levels of physical activity and the consumption of low-calorie, portion-controlled meals, including liquid meal replacements, can also help maintain weight loss. Additional studies are needed of the effects of macronutrient content (e.g., low-fat vs. low-carbohydrate diets) on long-term changes in weight and health. Research also is needed on effective methods of providing comprehensive weight loss control to the millions of Americans who need it.

Environmental effects of the long term management of wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henry, L.C.

1980-08-01

Criteria for interim application in uranium mill tailings management, pending the outcome of a thorough investigation of the tailings problem, are outlined. For a closed-out tailings site only passive or natural barriers are to be used to control releases; surface water recharge is to be limited to that from direct natural precipitation, and no permanent water pool will be allowed; all designed systems must be evaluated in terms of their long-term durability; long-term performance and economic guarantees will be required; access must be limited to the maximum extent practical; and pathway analyses should be performed to determine the health, safety and environmental impacts of the expected level of releases. Releases to water should be no greater than those experienced during the operating phase of the facility. Radon emanation should not exceed 2-10 pCi/m 2 .s, and gamma radiation should be reduced to 10-50 μR/hr at 1 metre above the surface. Particulate emissions originating from the tailings material should be virtually non-existent

Long-term Studies of Marine Halogen Release

Science.gov (United States)

Tschritter, J.; Holla, R.; Frieß, U.; Platt, U.

2009-04-01

Institute of Enviromental Physics, Heidelberg, Germany. Long term measurements of atmospheric trace gases using multi-axis DOAS instruments are pursued at the new SOLAS observatory on the island of Sao Vicente, (Cape Verde). This research is part of the SOPRAN (Surface Ocean Processes in the ANthropocene) project (Fördernummer:03F0462F). Reactive halogen species (RHS) such as bromine- and iodine- containing species play major roles in the chemistry of ozone in both the troposphere and lower stratosphere and thus possibly influence the ozone budget on a global scale. In addition iodine-species emitted from the ocean surface have been shown to be responsible for the production of new atmospheric particles in the marine boundary layer. This may have an effect on cloud formation and radiation transfer on local and global scales. Long term measurements of RHS abundances will help to identify their key regions and processes for formation. A new long term Multi-MAX-DOAS instrument has been installed at the SOLAS observatory on the island of Sao Vicente, (Cape Verde). The main focus of these unique measurements is the investigation of reactive halogen chemistry in the subtropical marine boundary layer based on measurements of BrO, IO, and possibly OIO. Because of its wide spectral range also the use for O4-retrievals to gain aerosol profiles is possible. IO has been detected with mixing ratios up to 1.3 ppt. For BrO an upper limit of 2 ppt could be determined.

Long-Term Effects of Adderall XR in ADHD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Gordon Millichap

2005-06-01

Full Text Available The long-term tolerability and effectiveness of extended release mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall XR in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD were evaluated in a 24-month, multicenter, open-label extension of 2 placebo-controlled studies at UCLA, Massachusetts General Hospital, UC-Irvine, Maitland, FL, and Shire Pharmaceutical, Wayne, PA.

Effect of MK-801 on methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity: long-term attenuation of methamphetamine-induced dopamine release

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Sang Eun; Kim, Yu Ri; Hwang, Se Hwan [Sungkyunkwan Univ., School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2001-08-01

Repeated administration of methamphetamine (METH) produces high extracellular levels of dopamine (DA) and subsequent striatal DA terminal damage. The effect of MK-801, a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, on METH-induced changes in DA transporter (DAT) and DA release evoked by an acute METH challenge was evaluated in rodent striatum using [{sup 3}H] WIN 38,428 ex vivo auto-radiography and in vivo microdialysis. Four injections of METH (10 mg/kg, i.p.), each given 2 h apart, produced 71% decrease in DAT levels in mouse striatum 3 d after administration. Pretreatment with MK-801 (2.5 g/kg, i.p.) 15 min before each of the four METH injections protected completely against striatal DAT depletions. Four injections of MK-801 alone did not significantly change striatal DAT levels. Striatal DA release evoked by an acute METH challenge (4mg/kg, i.p.) at 3 d after repeated administration of METH in rats was decreased but significant compared with controls, which was attenuated by repeated pretreatment with MK-801. Also, repeated injections of MK-801 alone attenuated acute METH-induced striatal DA release 3 d after administration. These results suggest that repeated administration of MK-801 may exert a preventive effect against METH-induced DA terminal injury through long-term attenuation of DA release induced by METH and other stimuli.

Effect of MK-801 on methamphetamine-induced dopaminergic neurotoxicity: long-term attenuation of methamphetamine-induced dopamine release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Sang Eun; Kim, Yu Ri; Hwang, Se Hwan

2001-01-01

Repeated administration of methamphetamine (METH) produces high extracellular levels of dopamine (DA) and subsequent striatal DA terminal damage. The effect of MK-801, a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist, on METH-induced changes in DA transporter (DAT) and DA release evoked by an acute METH challenge was evaluated in rodent striatum using [ 3 H] WIN 38,428 ex vivo auto-radiography and in vivo microdialysis. Four injections of METH (10 mg/kg, i.p.), each given 2 h apart, produced 71% decrease in DAT levels in mouse striatum 3 d after administration. Pretreatment with MK-801 (2.5 g/kg, i.p.) 15 min before each of the four METH injections protected completely against striatal DAT depletions. Four injections of MK-801 alone did not significantly change striatal DAT levels. Striatal DA release evoked by an acute METH challenge (4mg/kg, i.p.) at 3 d after repeated administration of METH in rats was decreased but significant compared with controls, which was attenuated by repeated pretreatment with MK-801. Also, repeated injections of MK-801 alone attenuated acute METH-induced striatal DA release 3 d after administration. These results suggest that repeated administration of MK-801 may exert a preventive effect against METH-induced DA terminal injury through long-term attenuation of DA release induced by METH and other stimuli

Executive control and faithfulness: only long-term romantic relationships require prefrontal control.

Science.gov (United States)

Ueda, Ryuhei; Yanagisawa, Kuniaki; Ashida, Hiroshi; Abe, Nobuhito

2018-03-01

Individuals in the early stages of a romantic relationship generally express intense passionate love toward their partners. This observation allows us to hypothesize that the regulation of interest in extra-pair relationships by executive control, which is supported by the function of the prefrontal cortex, is less required in individuals in the early stages of a relationship than it is in those who are in a long-term relationship. To test this hypothesis, we asked male participants in romantic relationships to perform a go/no-go task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which is a well-validated task that can measure right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) activity implicated in executive control. Subsequently, the participants engaged in a date-rating task in which they rated how much they wanted to date unfamiliar females. We found that individuals with higher right VLPFC activity better regulated their interest in dates with unfamiliar females. Importantly, this relationship was found only in individuals with long-term partners, but not in those with short-term partners, indicating that the active regulation of interest in extra-pair relationships is required only in individuals in a long-term relationship. Our findings extend previous findings on executive control in the maintenance of monogamous relationships by highlighting the role of the VLPFC, which varies according to the stage of the romantic relationship.

Considerations for the long term: perpetual is not forever

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wheeler, M.L.; Smith, W.J.

1977-01-01

Shallow land burial is intended to provide a waste emplacement with low probability for the release of radionuclides to the environment, and to provide a barrier against encroachment on the waste by man or his activities. Additionally, the emplacement conditions are designed to insure that a potential release cannot result in unacceptable radionuclide concentrations in man's environment. Site-control requirements are intended to prevent unacceptable use or accidental excavation of the waste disposal site. Evaluation procedures generally provide definition of the containment capability of the site under present environmental conditions. Long-term care requirements can continue site control measures, and provide a continuing check on the containment capability. However, significant changes in climate, hydrology, plant cover, and land use that might alter the containment potential can occur in a time frame of tens to hundreds of years, and true ''perpetual'' care cannot be guaranteed. This paper considers the possible long-term consequences of radionuclide uptake by plants and burrowing animals, of changes in site hydrology, and of inadvertent excavation of the buried waste by man at some distant future date

Mechanisms of translation control underlying long-lasting synaptic plasticity and the consolidation of long-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Santini, Emanuela; Huynh, Thu N; Klann, Eric

2014-01-01

The complexity of memory formation and its persistence is a phenomenon that has been studied intensely for centuries. Memory exists in many forms and is stored in various brain regions. Generally speaking, memories are reorganized into broadly distributed cortical networks over time through systems level consolidation. At the cellular level, storage of information is believed to initially occur via altered synaptic strength by processes such as long-term potentiation. New protein synthesis is required for long-lasting synaptic plasticity as well as for the formation of long-term memory. The mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) is a critical regulator of cap-dependent protein synthesis and is required for numerous forms of long-lasting synaptic plasticity and long-term memory. As such, the study of mTORC1 and protein factors that control translation initiation and elongation has enhanced our understanding of how the process of protein synthesis is regulated during memory formation. Herein we discuss the molecular mechanisms that regulate protein synthesis as well as pharmacological and genetic manipulations that demonstrate the requirement for proper translational control in long-lasting synaptic plasticity and long-term memory formation. © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Binary release of ascorbic acid and lecithin from core-shell nanofibers on blood-contacting surface for reducing long-term hemolysis of erythrocyte.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Qiang; Fan, Qunfu; Ye, Wei; Hou, Jianwen; Wong, Shing-Chung; Xu, Xiaodong; Yin, Jinghua

2015-01-01

There is an urgent need to develop blood-contacting biomaterials with long-term anti-hemolytic capability. To obtain such biomaterials, we coaxially electrospin [ascorbic acid (AA) and lecithin]/poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO) core-shell nanofibers onto the surface of styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene elastomer (SEBS) that has been grafted with poly (ethylene glycol) (PEG) chains. Our strategy is based on that the grafted layers of PEG render the surface hydrophilic to reduce the mechanical injure to red blood cells (RBCs) while the AA and lecithin released from nanofibers on blood-contacting surface can actively interact with RBCs to decrease the oxidative damage to RBCs. We demonstrate that (AA and lecithin)/PEO core-shell structured nanofibers have been fabricated on the PEG grafted surface. The binary release of AA and lecithin in the distilled water is in a controlled manner and lasts for almost 5 days; during RBCs preservation, AA acts as an antioxidant and lecithin as a lipid supplier to the membrane of erythrocytes, resulting in low mechanical fragility and hemolysis of RBCs, as well as high deformability of stored RBCs. Our work thus makes a new approach to fabricate blood-contacting biomaterials with the capability of long-term anti-hemolysis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Long term storage techniques for 85Kr

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Foster, B.A.; Pence, D.T.; Staples, B.A.

1975-01-01

As new nuclear fuel reprocessing plants go on stream, the collection of fission product 85 Kr will be required to avoid potential local release problems and long-term atmospheric buildup. Storage of the collected 85 Kr for a period of at least 100 years will be necessary to allow approximately 99.9 percent decay before it is released. A program designed to develop and evaluate proposed methods for long-term storage of 85 Kr is discussed, and the results of a preliminary evaluation of three methods, high pressure steel cylinders, zeolite encapsulation, and clathrate inclusion are presented. (U.S.)

Control of neglected tropical diseases needs a long-term commitment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mubila Likezo

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Neglected tropical diseases are widespread, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, affecting over 2 billion individuals. Control of these diseases has gathered pace in recent years, with increased levels of funding from a number of governmental or non-governmental donors. Focus has currently been on five major 'tool-ready' neglected tropical diseases (lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminthiasis and trachoma, using a package of integrated drug delivery according to the World Health Organization guidelines for preventive chemotherapy. Discussion Success in controlling these neglected tropical diseases has been achieved in a number of countries in recent history. Experience from these successes suggests that long-term sustainable control of these diseases requires: (1 a long-term commitment from a wider range of donors and from governments of endemic countries; (2 close partnerships of donors, World Health Organization, pharmaceutical industries, governments of endemic countries, communities, and non-governmental developmental organisations; (3 concerted action from more donor countries to provide the necessary funds, and from the endemic countries to work together to prevent cross-border disease transmission; (4 comprehensive control measures for certain diseases; and (5 strengthened primary healthcare systems as platforms for the national control programmes and capacity building through implementation of the programmes. Conclusions The current level of funding for the control of neglected tropical diseases has never been seen before, but it is still not enough to scale up to the 2 billion people in all endemic countries. While more donors are sought, the stakeholders must work in a coordinated and harmonised way to identify the priority areas and the best delivery approaches to use the current funds to the maximum effect. Case management and other necessary control measures should be

Nanostructural control of methane release in kerogen and its implications to wellbore production decline

Science.gov (United States)

Ho, Tuan Anh; Criscenti, Louise J.; Wang, Yifeng

2016-06-01

Despite massive success of shale gas production in the US in the last few decades there are still major concerns with the steep decline in wellbore production and the large uncertainty in a long-term projection of decline curves. A reliable projection must rely on a mechanistic understanding of methane release in shale matrix-a limiting step in shale gas extraction. Using molecular simulations, we here show that methane release in nanoporous kerogen matrix is characterized by fast release of pressurized free gas (accounting for ~30-47% recovery) followed by slow release of adsorbed gas as the gas pressure decreases. The first stage is driven by the gas pressure gradient while the second stage is controlled by gas desorption and diffusion. We further show that diffusion of all methane in nanoporous kerogen behaves differently from the bulk phase, with much smaller diffusion coefficients. The MD simulations also indicate that a significant fraction (3-35%) of methane deposited in kerogen can potentially become trapped in isolated nanopores and thus not recoverable. Our results shed a new light on mechanistic understanding gas release and production decline in unconventional reservoirs. The long-term production decline appears controlled by the second stage of gas release.

Long-term-consequence analysis of no action alternative 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buck, J.W.; Bagaasen, L.M.; Staven, L.H.; Serne, R.J.

1996-07-01

This report is a supplement to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) Disposal-Phase Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. Data and information is described which pertains to estimated impacts from postulated long-term release of radionuclides and hazardous constituents from alpha-bearing wastes stored at major generator/storage sites after loss of institutional control (no action alternative 2). Under this alternative, wastes would remain at the generator sites and not be emplaced at WIPP

Modeling of cumulative release on long term leaching behaviour of selected oil sludge from crude oil terminal and petroleum refining plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mohd Fadzil, S.; Khoo, K.S.; Sarmani, S.; Majid, A.Ab.; Hamzah, A.

2013-01-01

Management of oil sludge containing environmentally toxic elements is a major problem in crude oil processing industry. Oil sludge samples from the petroleum refinery plant in Melaka and crude oil terminal in Sarawak were analysed. The aim of present work is to study long term leaching behaviour of arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr) and zinc (Zn) from oil sludge. Tank leaching test was carried out and the samples were analysed using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The results were studied using LeachXS software to plot the graphs of elements concentration in order to study the leaching behaviour of toxic elements in oil sludge. The long term leaching (100 years) modeling was calculated using equations referred to National Institute of Public Health and the Environment Bilthoven (RIVM) and the results were plotted for cumulative release in different areas of oil sludge. Tank leaching test of the oil sludge samples from petroleum refinery plant in Melaka showed concentrations of As, Co, Cr and Zn ranging from 0.205 to 1.102, 0.031-0.454, 0.016-0.086 and 0.409-8.238 mg/l, respectively while the concentrations of As, Co, Cr and Zn in oil sludge samples from crude oil terminal in Sarawak were in the range of 0.002-0.089, 0.001-0.033, 0.006-1.016 and 0.100-2.744 mg/l, respectively. On the other hand, results on cumulative release from the modeling of long term leaching (100 years) showed that As, Co, Cr and Zn concentrations were proportional to the quantity of oil sludge. In conclusion, during extrapolation of release of toxic elements using the data in the laboratory, several other factors were taken into account to suit environmental conditions such as soil moisture, the negative logarithm of the effective diffusion coefficient (pD e ) and temperature, while the long-term behaviour of As, Co, Cr and Zn was proportional to the quantity of oil sludge to be disposed off. (author)

Stability of rapid maxillary expansion and facemask therapy: a long-term controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Masucci, Caterina; Franchi, Lorenzo; Defraia, Efisio; Mucedero, Manuela; Cozza, Paola; Baccetti, Tiziano

2011-10-01

The aim of this prospective controlled study was to evaluate the long-term effects of rapid maxillary expansion and facemask therapy in Class III subjects. Twenty-two subjects (9 boys, 13 girls; mean age, 9.2 years ± 1.6) with Class III disharmony were treated consecutively with rapid maxillary expansion and facemask therapy followed by fixed appliances. The patients were reevaluated at the end of the 2-phase treatment (mean age, 14.5 years ± 1.9) and then recalled about 8.5 years after the end of rapid maxillary expansion and facemask treatment (mean age, 18.7 years ± 2.1). Two groups of controls with untreated Class III malocclusion were used for statistical comparisons of the short-term and long-term intervals. Statistical comparisons were performed with the Mann-Whitney U test. In the long term, no significant differences in maxillary changes were recorded, whereas the treatment group showed significantly smaller increases in mandibular protrusion. The sagittal maxillomandibular skeletal variables maintained significant improvements in the treatment group vs the control groups. In the long term, rapid maxillary expansion and facemask therapy led to successful outcomes in about 73% of the Class III patients. Favorable skeletal changes were mainly due to significant improvements in the sagittal position of the mandible. Copyright © 2011 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Lessons from long-term predator control: a case study with the red fox

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kirkwood, R.J.; Sutherland, D.R.; Murphy, S.; Dann, P.

2014-01-01

Context: Predator-control aims to reduce an impact on prey species, but efficacy of long-term control is rarely assessed and the reductions achieved are rarely quantified. Aims: We evaluated the changing efficacy of a 58-year-long campaign against red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) on Phillip Island, a

Evaluation of short- and long-term fission product sources at the Fukushima Daiichi NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchida, Shunsuke; Naitoh, Masanori; Suzuki, Hiroaki; Okada, Hidetoshi; Pellegrini, Marco; Achilli, Andrea; Hanamoto, Yukio; Sasaki, Hiroaki

2014-01-01

Research on fission product (FP) behaviors used to be one of the most important subjects in water chemistry but it is not done nowadays as a consequence of the increased integrity of nuclear fuels and the minimization of FP release into the environment. Evaluation of FP release into the environment is still one of the key issues for severe accident analysis, though. Although there have been a long quiet period in nuclear safety research, how to detect initiation of severe accidents, how to prevent them and how to mitigate them are still important subjects for nuclear engineering, and how to control the severe accidents after their occurrence, especially how to control FP release into the environment, has seldom been discussed in the water chemistry group recently. The paper is intended to address the issue of fewer activities for FP studies. FP sources are divided into two categories, short- and long-term FP sources. Short-term FP source can be evaluated based on the measured data obtained from monitoring posts (MPs), which give us clear evidence on the importance of radioactive iodine and cesium releases into the environment. It used to be considered that during primary containment vessel (PCV) venting, release of each element, e.g., iodine and cesium, was determined by the suppression pool scrubbing efficiency and most of the cesium would likely be removed in the pool due to its large scrubbing efficiency. But as a result of analyzing the MP data at early stage of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (NPP) accident, it was confirmed that the releases of both elements were in proportion to their inventories in the reactors and their scrubbing efficiencies were almost the same. The scrubbing efficiency which increased with the pool water temperature became almost the same for iodine and cesium around the pool water boiling temperature. As a result of the mass balance analysis for FPs in the contaminated water accumulated in the Fukushima Daiichi plant site, it

Bacterial self-defense antibiotics release from organic-inorganic hybrid multilayer films for long-term anti-adhesion and biofilm inhibition properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Qingwen; Li, Xi; Jin, Yingying; Sun, Lin; Ding, Xiaoxu; Liang, Lin; Wang, Lei; Nan, Kaihui; Ji, Jian; Chen, Hao; Wang, Bailiang

2017-12-14

Implant-associated bacterial infections pose serious medical and financial issues due to the colonization and proliferation of pathogens on the surface of the implant. The as-prepared traditional antibacterial surfaces can neither resist bacterial adhesion nor inhibit the development of biofilm over the long term. Herein, novel (montmorillonite/poly-l-lysine-gentamicin sulfate) 8 ((MMT/PLL-GS) 8 ) organic-inorganic hybrid multilayer films were developed to combine enzymatic degradation PLL for on-demand self-defense antibiotics release. Small molecule GS was loaded into the multilayer films during self-assembly and the multilayer films showed pH-dependent and linear growth behavior. The chymotrypsin- (CMS) and bacterial infections-responsive film degradation led to the peeling of the films and GS release. Enzyme-responsive GS release exhibited CMS concentration dependence as measured by the size of the inhibition zone and SEM images. Notably, the obtained antibacterial films showed highly efficient bactericidal activity which killed more than 99.9% of S. aureus in 12 h. Even after 3 d of incubation in S. aureus, E. coli or S. epidermidis solutions, the multilayer films exhibited inhibition zones of more than 1.5 mm in size. Both in vitro and in vivo antibacterial tests indicated good cell compatibility, and anti-inflammatory, and long-term bacterial anti-adhesion and biofilm inhibition properties.

Audit of long-term and short-term liabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Korinko M.D.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article determines the importance of long-term and short-term liabilities for the management of financial and material resources of an enterprise. It reviews the aim, objects and information generators for realization of audit of short-term and long-term obligations. The organizing and methodical providing of audit of long-term and short-term liabilities of an enterprise are generalized. The authors distinguish the stages of realization of audit of long-term and short-term liabilities, the aim of audit on each of the presented stages, and recommend methodical techniques. It is fixed that it is necessary to conduct the estimation of the systems of internal control and record-keeping of an enterprise by implementation of public accountant procedures for determination of volume and maintenance of selection realization. After estimating the indicated systems, a public accountant determines the methodology for realization of public accountant verification of long-term and short-term liabilities. The analytical procedures that public accountants are expedient to use for realization of audit of short-term and long-term obligations are determined. The authors suggest the classification of the educed defects on the results of the conducted public accountant verification of short-term and long-term obligations.

Glass dissolution at 20, 40, 70 and 90 C: Short-term effects of solution chemistry and long-term Na release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakel, A.J.; Ebert, W.L.; Strachan, D.M.

1996-01-01

The corrosion behavior of a borosilicate glass containing 20 mass 5 Na 2 O was assessed using static dissolution tests. This glass (LD6-5412) is representative of high Na glasses that may be used to stabilize Hanford low-level radioactive waste. The normalized mass loss (NL) decreases as NL(Na) ∼ NL(B) > NL(Si) in 20 and 40 C for tests conducted at glass surface area to leachant volume (S/V) ratio of 10 m -1 , and decreases as NL(Na) > NL(B) ∼ NL(Si) in 90 C tests conducted at 10 m -1 and in all tests conducted at higher S/V. The difference in the corrosion behavior is probably caused by the influence of dissolved glass components in the leachates. The NL(Na) is greater than the NL(B) or NL(Si) in all the tests conducted. Results from long-term tests at 2,000 m -1 show that the preferential release of Na persists for longer than one year at all temperatures and indicate that Na is released from this glass by an ion exchange process

Long-term exposure to noise impairs cortical sound processing and attention control.

Science.gov (United States)

Kujala, Teija; Shtyrov, Yury; Winkler, Istvan; Saher, Marieke; Tervaniemi, Mari; Sallinen, Mikael; Teder-Sälejärvi, Wolfgang; Alho, Kimmo; Reinikainen, Kalevi; Näätänen, Risto

2004-11-01

Long-term exposure to noise impairs human health, causing pathological changes in the inner ear as well as other anatomical and physiological deficits. Numerous individuals are daily exposed to excessive noise. However, there is a lack of systematic research on the effects of noise on cortical function. Here we report data showing that long-term exposure to noise has a persistent effect on central auditory processing and leads to concurrent behavioral deficits. We found that speech-sound discrimination was impaired in noise-exposed individuals, as indicated by behavioral responses and the mismatch negativity brain response. Furthermore, irrelevant sounds increased the distractibility of the noise-exposed subjects, which was shown by increased interference in task performance and aberrant brain responses. These results demonstrate that long-term exposure to noise has long-lasting detrimental effects on central auditory processing and attention control.

Robotics for Long-Term Monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shahin, Sarkis; Duran, Celso

2002-01-01

While long-term monitoring and stewardship means many things to many people, DOE has defined it as The physical controls, institutions, information, and other mechanisms needed to ensure protection of people and the environment at sites where DOE has completed or plans to complete cleanup (e.g., landfill closures, remedial actions, and facility stabilization). Across the United States, there are thousands of contaminated sites with multiple contaminants released from multiple sources where contaminants have transported and commingled. The U.S. government and U.S. industry are responsible for most of the contamination and are landowners of many of these contaminated properties. These sites must be surveyed periodically for various criteria including structural deterioration, water intrusion, integrity of storage containers, atmospheric conditions, and hazardous substance release. The surveys, however, are intrusive, time-consuming, and expensive and expose survey personnel to radioactive contamination. In long-term monitoring, there's a need for an automated system that will gather and report data from sensors without costly human labor. In most cases, a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) unit is used to collect and report data from a remote location. A SCADA unit consists of an embedded computer with data acquisition capabilities. The unit can be configured with various sensors placed in different areas of the site to be monitored. A system of this type is static, i.e., the sensors, once placed, cannot be moved to other locations within the site. For those applications where the number of sampling locations would require too many sensors, or where exact location of future problems is unknown, a mobile sensing platform is an ideal solution. In many facilities that undergo regular inspections, the number of video cameras and air monitors required to eliminate the need for human inspections is very large and far too costly. HCET's remote harsh

Long-Term Follow-Up of Impulse Control Disorders in Parkinson’s Disease

OpenAIRE

Mamikonyan, Eugenia; Siderowf, Andrew D.; Duda, John E.; Potenza, Marc N.; Horn, Stacy; Stern, Matthew B.; Weintraub, Daniel

2008-01-01

Recent studies have linked dopamine agonist (DA) usage with the development of impulse control disorders (ICDs) in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Little is known about optimal management strategies or the long-term outcomes of affected patients. To report on the clinical interventions and long-term outcomes of PD patients who developed an ICD after DA initiation. Subjects contacted by telephone for a follow-up interview after a mean time period of 29.2 months. They were administered a modified Min...

Long term aspects of uranium tailings management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bragg, K.

1980-05-01

This paper sets out the background issues which lead to the development of interim close-out criteria for uranium mill tailings. It places the current state-of-the-art for tailings management into both a national and international perspective and shows why such interim criteria are needed now. There are seven specific criteria proposed dealing with the need to have: passive barriers, limits on surface water recharge, durable systems, long term performance guarantees, limits to access, controls on water and airborne releases and finally to have a knowledge of exposure pathways. This paper is intended to serve as a focus for subsequent discussions with all concerned parties. (auth)

Haw-glass dissolution and radionuclide release: mechanism - modelling - source term

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grambow, B [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut fur Nukleare, Karlsruhe (Germany)

1997-07-01

Important release controlling processes are: 1) kinetics of glass matrix dissolution (leaching), 2) formation of secondary alteration products (controlling thermodynamic solubility), 3) sorption on surfaces in the engineered barrier system and 4) formation of mobile species. Quantification of these processes requires assessment of the energetics and dynamics of the various reversible and irreversible processes within an overall open non-equilibrium system. Corrosion/dissolution of the waste matrices is not necessarily associated with a proportional release of radionuclides. The formation of new secondary phases, such as silicates, molybdates, uranates, carbonates... establishes a new geochemical barrier for re-immobilization of radionuclides dissolved from the waste matrices. The presence of iron (corroding canisters during glass alteration) reduces the solution concentration of redox sensitive radionuclides. Consequently, the container, after being corroded, constitutes an important geochemical barrier for radionuclide re-immobilization. Geochemical modelling of the long-term behaviour of glasses must be performed in an integrated way, considering simultaneous reactions of the glass, of container corrosion, of repository rock and of backfill material. Until now, only few attempts were made for integral systems modelling. (A.C.)

Risk Analysis of Reservoir Operations Considering Short-Term Flood Control and Long-Term Water Supply: A Case Study for the Da-Han Creek Basin in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wen-Ming Cheng

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This study applies an integrated methodology to assess short-term over-levee risk and long-term water shortage risk in the Da-Han Creek basin, which is the most important flood control and water storage system in northern Taiwan. An optimization model for reservoir flood control and water supply is adopted, to determine reservoir releases based on synthetic inflow hydrographs during typhoons, which are generated by Monte Carlo simulations. The release is then used to calculate the water level at a downstream control point using a novel developed back-propagation neural network-based model, to reduce computational complexity and achieve automatic-efficient risk evaluation. The calculated downstream water levels and final reservoir water levels after a typhoon event are used to evaluate the mapped over-levee risk and water shortage risk, respectively. The results showed that the different upper limit settings for the reservoir have a significant influence on the variation of 1.19 × 10−5% to 75.6% of the water shortage risk. This occurs because of the insufficient inflow and narrow storage capacity of the Shih-Men Reservoir during drought periods. However, the upper limit settings have a minor influence (with a variation of only 0.149% to 0.157% on the over-levee risk in typhoon periods, because of the high protection standards for the downstream embankment.

Long-term training modifies the modular structure and organization of walking balance control

OpenAIRE

Sawers, Andrew; Allen, Jessica L.; Ting, Lena H.

2015-01-01

How does long-term training affect the neural control of movements? Here we tested the hypothesis that long-term training leading to skilled motor performance alters muscle coordination during challenging, as well as nominal everyday motor behaviors. Using motor module (a.k.a., muscle synergy) analyses, we identified differences in muscle coordination patterns between professionally trained ballet dancers (experts) and untrained novices that accompanied differences in walking balance proficie...

Controlled release of tocopherols from polymer blend films

Science.gov (United States)

Obinata, Noe

Controlled release packaging has great potential to increase storage stability of foods by releasing active compounds into foods continuously over time. However, a major limitation in development of this technology is the inability to control the release and provide rates useful for long term storage of foods. Better understanding of the factors affecting active compound release is needed to overcome this limitation. The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between polymer composition, polymer processing method, polymer morphology, and release properties of active compounds, and to provide proof of principle that compound release is controlled by film morphology. A natural antioxidant, tocopherol was used as a model active compound because it is natural, effective, heat stable, and soluble in most packaging polymers. Polymer blend films were produced from combination of linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), or polystyrene (PS) with 3000 ppm mixed tocopherols using conventional blending method and innovative blending method, smart blending with a novel mixer using chaotic advection. Film morphologies were visualized with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Release of tocopherols into 95% ethanol as a food simulant was measured by UV/Visible spectrophotometry or HPLC, and diffusivity of tocopherols in the polymers was estimated from this data. Polymer composition (blend proportions) and processing methods have major effects on film morphology. Four different types of morphologies, dispersed, co-continuous, fiber, and multilayer structures were developed by either conventional extrusion or smart blending. With smart blending of fixed polymer compositions, different morphologies were progressively developed with fixed polymer composition as the number of rod rotations increased, providing a way to separate effects of polymer composition and morphology. The different morphologies

Long-term safety of the maintenance and decommissioning waste of the encapsulation plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nummi, O.; Kylloenen, J.; Eurajoki, T.

2012-12-01

This report, Long-term safety of the maintenance and decommissioning waste of the encapsulation plant, presents the disposal concept for the low and intermediate level waste (L/ILW) that is generated during the operation and decommissioning of the encapsulation plant, and assesses the long-term safety of the disposal of the waste. Radioactive waste originates from the spent nuclear fuel transferred and dried in the encapsulation plant. Radioactive waste accumulates also in the maintenance of the components and systems of the encapsulation plant. The waste is collected, exempted from control if possible and treated for final disposal if necessary. The waste is disposed of in the L/ILW hall which is currently planned to be located at a depth of -180 meters along the access tunnel to the repository for spent fuel. The main engineered barrier in the L/ILW hall is a concrete basin that encases the dried liquid waste. The safety concept of L/ILW disposal is based on the slow release of radioactivity from the L/ILW hall and its limited transport through the bedrock into biosphere. The release and transport of the radioactivity is described by the assessment scenarios, which include expected evolution and unlikely events affecting the long-term safety. The scenarios act as guidelines according to which the conceptual and mathematical models are formed. The long-term safety of the L/ILW hall is assessed using deterministic and probabilistic modeling. Special issues such as human intrusion and radiation effects on other biota are also assessed. The most significant contributor to the dose rates is the short-lived radionuclide 90 Sr followed by long-lived nuclides 129 I and 108 mAg. The annual doses to the public, and release rates of radioactive substances stay below the regulatory constraints in all analyzed scenarios. (orig.)

Long Term Cost Efficiency through Green Management Control Systems

OpenAIRE

Vukania Adda, Nancy; Qin, Xiaochen

2012-01-01

Title: Long term cost efficiency through green management control systems.Authors: Nancy Vukania &Xiaochen QinSupervisor: Åsa Karin-EngstrandBackground: The worldwide financial crisis of 2008 has reconfigured the economic turf leading to a more uncertain and turbulent playing field – a greater challenge for business strategy and the quest for optimization- The oil price hike of 2008 (Furlong 2010)1 caused its rippling effect to affect various cost categories including energy, labor and lo...

Ongoing environmental monitoring and assessment of the long-term impacts of the February 2014 radiological release from the waste isolation pilot plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Thakur, Punam; Runyon, Tim

2018-04-09

Three years ago, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) experienced its first minor accident involving a radiological release. Late in the evening on February 14, 2014, a waste container in the repository underwent a chemical reaction that caused the container to overheat and breach, releasing its contents into the underground. Following a lengthy recovery process, the facility recently resumed waste disposal operations. The accident released significant levels of radioactivity into the disposal room and adjacent exhaust drifts, and although no one was present in the underground at the time of the release, a total of 22 workers tested positive for very low level of radiation, presumably from some of the radioactive material that was released above ground through a small leak in the HEPA filtration system. The dominant radionuclides released were 241 Am and 239 + 240 Pu in a ratio that matched the content of the drum from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) that was eventually identified as the breached container. From the air particulate monitoring and plume modeling, it was concluded that the dose, at the nearest location accessible to the general public, from this radiation release event would have been less than 0.01 mSv (< 1 mrem/year). This level is well below the 0.1 mSv/year (10 mrem/year) regulatory limit for DOE facilities established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).While no long-term impacts to public health or the environment are expected as a result of the WIPP radiation release, the limited ventilation and residual contamination levels in the underground are still a concern and pose a major challenge for the full recovery of WIPP. This article provides an up-to-date overview of environmental monitoring results through the WIPP recovery and an estimate of the long-term impacts of the accident on the natural and human environment.

Optically-controlled long-term storage and release of thermal energy in phase-change materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Grace G D; Li, Huashan; Grossman, Jeffrey C

2017-11-13

Thermal energy storage offers enormous potential for a wide range of energy technologies. Phase-change materials offer state-of-the-art thermal storage due to high latent heat. However, spontaneous heat loss from thermally charged phase-change materials to cooler surroundings occurs due to the absence of a significant energy barrier for the liquid-solid transition. This prevents control over the thermal storage, and developing effective methods to address this problem has remained an elusive goal. Herein, we report a combination of photo-switching dopants and organic phase-change materials as a way to introduce an activation energy barrier for phase-change materials solidification and to conserve thermal energy in the materials, allowing them to be triggered optically to release their stored latent heat. This approach enables the retention of thermal energy (about 200 J g -1 ) in the materials for at least 10 h at temperatures lower than the original crystallization point, unlocking opportunities for portable thermal energy storage systems.

Short- and long-term influence of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (Mirena®) on vaginal microbiota and Candida.

Science.gov (United States)

Donders, Gilbert Gerard Ghislain; Bellen, G; Ruban, Kateryna; Van Bulck, Ben

2018-03-01

Recurrent vulvovaginal infections are a frequent complaint in young women in need of contraception. However, the influence of the contraceptive method on the course of the disease is not well known. To investigate the influence of the levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine-system (LNG-IUS) on the vaginal microflora. Short-term (3 months) and long-term (1 to 5 years) changes of vaginal microbiota were compared with pre-insertion values in 252 women presenting for LNG-IUS insertion. Detailed microscopy on vaginal fluid was used to define lactobacillary grades (LBGs), bacterial vaginosis (BV), aerobic vaginitis (AV) and the presence of Candida. Cultures for enteric aerobic bacteria and Candida were used to back up the microscopy findings. Fisher's test was used to compare vaginal microbiome changes pre- and post-insertion. Compared to the pre-insertion period, we found a temporary worsening in LBGs and increased rates of BV and AV after 3 months of LNG-IUS. After 1 and 5 years, however, these changes were reversed, with a complete restoration to pre-insertion levels. Candida increased significantly after long-term carriage of LNG-IUS compared to the period before insertion [OR 2.0 (CL951.1-3.5), P=0.017]. Short-term use of LNG-IUS temporarily decreases lactobacillary dominance, and increases LBG, AV and BV, but after 1 to 5 years these characteristics return to pre-insertion levels, reducing the risk of complications to baseline levels. Candida colonization, on the other hand, is twice as high after 1 to 5 years of LNG-IUS use, making it less indicated for long-term use in patients with or at risk for recurrent vulvovaginal candidosis.

Modelling of long-term and short-term mechanisms of arterial pressure control in the cardiovascular system: an object-oriented approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Fernandez de Canete, J; Luque, J; Barbancho, J; Munoz, V

2014-04-01

A mathematical model that provides an overall description of both the short- and long-term mechanisms of arterial pressure regulation is presented. Short-term control is exerted through the baroreceptor reflex while renal elimination plays a role in long-term control. Both mechanisms operate in an integrated way over the compartmental model of the cardiovascular system. The whole system was modelled in MODELICA, which uses a hierarchical object-oriented modelling strategy, under the DYMOLA simulation environment. The performance of the controlled system was analysed by simulation in light of the existing hypothesis and validation tests previously performed with physiological data, demonstrating the effectiveness of both regulation mechanisms under physiological and pathological conditions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term tolerability of inhaled human insulin (Exubera) in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barnett, A H; Lange, P; Dreyer, M

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Inhaled human insulin (Exubera; EXU) has shown encouraging tolerability in short-term trials. We evaluated the safety profile of EXU after long-term exposure. DESIGN: In two, open-label, 2-year studies patients poorly controlled on a sulphonylurea were randomised to adjunctive EXU...... or metformin (study 1) and patients poorly controlled on metformin were randomised to adjunctive EXU or the sulphonylurea, glibenclamide (study 2). PATIENTS: The studies included 446 (study 1) and 476 (study 2) patients with type 2 diabetes, no clinically significant respiratory disease and glycosylated....... There was no discernable effect of long-term EXU therapy on pulmonary gas exchange. Insulin antibody binding reached a plateau at 6 months and did not correlate with HbA(1c) or lung function changes. Glycaemic control was maintained over 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Exubera was well tolerated during long-term use. Pulmonary...

How long-term dynamics of sediment subduction controls short-term dynamics of seismicity

Science.gov (United States)

Brizzi, S.; van Zelst, I.; van Dinther, Y.; Funiciello, F.; Corbi, F.

2017-12-01

Most of the world's greatest earthquakes occur along the subduction megathrust. Weak and porous sediments have been suggested to homogenize the plate interface and thereby promote lateral rupture propagation and great earthquakes. However, the importance of sediment thickness, let alone their physical role, is not yet unequivocally established. Based on a multivariate statistical analysis of a global database of 62 subduction segments, we confirm that sediment thickness is one of the key parameters controlling the maximum magnitude a megathrust can generate. Moreover, Monte Carlo simulations highlighted that the occurrence of great earthquakes on sediment-rich subduction segments is very unlikely (p-value≪0.05) related to pure chance. To understand how sediments in the subduction channel regulate earthquake size, this study extends and demystifies multivariate, spatiotemporally limited data through numerical modeling. We use the 2D Seismo-Thermo-Mechanical modeling approach to simulate both the long- and short-term dynamics of subduction and related seismogenesis (van Dinther et al., JGR, 2013). These models solve for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy using a visco-elasto-plastic rheology with rate-dependent friction. Results show that subducted sediments have a strong influence on the long-term evolution of the convergent margin. Increasing the sediment thickness on the incoming plate from 0 to 6 km causes a decrease of slab dip from 23° to 10°. This, in addition to increased radiogenic heating, extends isotherms, thereby widening the seismogenic portion of the megathrust from 80 to 150 km. Consequently, over tens of thousands of years, we observe that the maximum moment magnitude of megathrust earthquakes increases from 8.2 to 9.2 for these shallower and warmer interfaces. In addition, we observe more and larger splay faults, which could enhance vertical seafloor displacements. These results highlight the primary role of subducted sediments in

Assessment of long-term leaching from waste incineration air-pollution-control residues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Astrup, Thomas; Mosbæk, Hans; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2006-01-01

Assessment of long-term leaching from MSWI air-pollution-control (APC) residues is discussed with respect to use in environmental impact assessment, such as life-cycle assessment (LCA). A method was proposed for estimating leaching as a function of the liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio in a long......-term perspective (L/S 5000l/kg). Data for changes in residue pH as a function of L/S was used in combination with pH dependent leaching data to predict leachate concentrations of Al, Ca, Cd, Ba, Mg, Ni, Pb, S, Pb, V and Zn as a function of L/S. Mass balance calculations were used to determine the element fractions...... leached with respect to L/S. The estimated long-term leaching from a semi-dry residue and a fly ash was compared with short-term leaching determined by batch tests at L/S 10l/kg, both carbonated and non-carbonated versions of the residues were investigated. Generally, very high L/S ratios above 2000l...

Long-term anoxia and release of ancient, labile carbon upon thaw of Pleistocene permafrost

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing, Stephanie A.; O'Donnell, Jonathan A.; Aiken, George R.; Butler, Kenna D.; Butman, David; Windham-Myers, Lisamarie; Kanevskiy, Mikhail

2015-01-01

The fate of permafrost carbon upon thaw will drive feedbacks to climate warming. Here we consider the character and context of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in yedoma permafrost cores from up to 20 m depth in central Alaska. We observed high DOC concentrations (4 to 129 mM) and consistent low molecular weight organic acid concentrations in three cores. We estimate a DOC production rate of 12 µmol DOC m−2 yr−1 based on model ages of up to ~200 kyr derived from uranium isotopes. Acetate C accounted for 24 ± 1% of DOC in all samples. This proportion suggests long-term anaerobiosis and is likely to influence thaw outcomes due to biolability of acetate upon release in many environments. The combination of uranium isotopes, ammonium concentrations, and calcium concentrations explained 86% of the variation in thaw water DOC concentrations, suggesting that DOC production may be related to both reducing conditions and mineral dissolution over time.

Short term memory may be the depletion of the readily releasable pool of presynaptic neurotransmitter vesicles of a metastable long term memory trace pattern.

Science.gov (United States)

Tarnow, Eugen

2009-09-01

The Tagging/Retagging model of short term memory was introduced earlier (Tarnow in Cogn Neurodyn 2(4):347-353, 2008) to explain the linear relationship between response time and correct response probability for word recall and recognition: At the initial stimulus presentation the words displayed tag the corresponding long term memory locations. The tagging process is linear in time and takes about one second to reach a tagging level of 100%. After stimulus presentation the tagging level decays logarithmically with time to 50% after 14 s and to 20% after 220 s. If a probe word is reintroduced the tagging level has to return to 100% for the word to be properly identified, which leads to a delay in response time. This delay is proportional to the tagging loss. The tagging level is directly related to the probability of correct word recall and recognition. Evidence presented suggests that the tagging level is the level of depletion of the Readily Releasable Pool (RRP) of neurotransmitter vesicles at presynaptic terminals. The evidence includes the initial linear relationship between tagging level and time as well as the subsequent logarithmic decay of the tagging level. The activation of a short term memory may thus be the depletion of RRP (exocytosis) and short term memory decay may be the ensuing recycling of the neurotransmitter vesicles (endocytosis). The pattern of depleted presynaptic terminals corresponds to the long term memory trace.

The Lack of a Long-Term Growth Effect of Annosus Control in Southeastern United States

Science.gov (United States)

F. H. Tainter; J. G. Williams; N. J. Hess; S. W. Oak; D. A. Starkey

1989-01-01

An evaluation of basal area increment was made in 1988 of six pine plantations located across the southeastern United States. These plantations had been thinned in 1969-1970 and stumps treated with borax to measure long-term efficacy of annosus root rot control. In the present study, no long-term growth effects were identified. There were neither negative growth...

Institutional Control Program: Long Term Care and Control of Decommissioned Mine/Mill Sites Located on Crown Land

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cunningham, K.

2014-01-01

Institutional Control Program: • Establishes an endpoint for mining company activities on sites located on Crown land; • Establishes funding for the long-term care and control of the closed sites; • Company responsibilities for sites under the Environmental Management and Protection Act remain; • Establishes an Institutional Control Registry; • Establishes an Institutional Control Monitoring and Maintenance Fund and an Institutional Control Unforeseen Events Fund

Long-Term Follow-Up of a Controlled Trial of Laser Laparoscopy for Pelvic Pain

OpenAIRE

Jones, Kevin D.; Haines, Patricia; Sutton, Christopher J. G.

2001-01-01

Background and Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term efficacy of laparoscopic laser surgery in the treatment of painful pelvic endometriosis. Methods: We conducted a long-term follow-up of 56 patients who had participated in a randomized, double-blind controlled study at a tertiary referral center for the laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis. The patients had pelvic pain, minimal-to-moderate endometriosis, and underwent laser laparoscopy. We asked patients wheth...

Long-Term Stewardship Baseline Report and Transition Guidance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kristofferson, Keith

2001-11-01

Long-term stewardship consists of those actions necessary to maintain and demonstrate continued protection of human health and the environment after facility cleanup is complete. As the Department of Energy’s (DOE) lead laboratory for environmental management programs, the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) administers DOE’s long-term stewardship science and technology efforts. The INEEL provides DOE with technical, and scientific expertise needed to oversee its long-term environmental management obligations complexwide. Long-term stewardship is administered and overseen by the Environmental Management Office of Science and Technology. The INEEL Long-Term Stewardship Program is currently developing the management structures and plans to complete INEEL-specific, long-term stewardship obligations. This guidance document (1) assists in ensuring that the program leads transition planning for the INEEL with respect to facility and site areas and (2) describes the classes and types of criteria and data required to initiate transition for areas and sites where the facility mission has ended and cleanup is complete. Additionally, this document summarizes current information on INEEL facilities, structures, and release sites likely to enter long-term stewardship at the completion of DOE’s cleanup mission. This document is not intended to function as a discrete checklist or local procedure to determine readiness to transition. It is an overarching document meant as guidance in implementing specific transition procedures. Several documents formed the foundation upon which this guidance was developed. Principal among these documents was the Long-Term Stewardship Draft Technical Baseline; A Report to Congress on Long-Term Stewardship, Volumes I and II; Infrastructure Long-Range Plan; Comprehensive Facility Land Use Plan; INEEL End-State Plan; and INEEL Institutional Plan.

Controlled-release oxycodone-induced seizures.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Moti; Rudich, Zvia; Gurevich, Boris; Lifshitz, Matityahu; Brill, Silviu; Lottan, Michael; Weksler, Natan

2005-11-01

The use of the opioid oxycodone hydrochloride in the management of chronic pain is gaining popularity principally because of its tolerability. However, opioid-related seizure in patients with epilepsy or other conditions that may decrease seizure threshold has been described in the literature; in particular, oxycodone has been associated with seizure in a patient with acute renal failure. The aim of this article was to report a patient with a history of seizures but normal renal and hepatic function who developed seizure on 2 occasions after oxycodone ingestion. A 54-year-old male patient presented with a history of tonic-clonic seizures that developed immediately after intracranial surgery. Long-term treatment with carbamazepine 400 mg QD was started, and the patient was free of convulsions for approximately 7 years. The patient presented to us with severe headache that was nonresponsive to an NSAID and the opiate agonist tramadol. Treatment with controlled-release (CR) oxycodone and tramadol drops (50 mg QID if necessary) was started, and tonic-clonic seizures developed 3 days later. Based on laboratory analysis, the patient had normal renal and hepatic function. On discontinuation of oxycodone treatment, the seizures resolved. However, due to effective pain relief with oxycodone, the patient decided to continue treatment, and seizures recurred. Carbamazepine was then administered 4 hours before oxycodone dosing, which allowed continuation of treatment without seizure. A patient with a history of seizures controlled with long-term carbamazepine therapy developed seizures when he started treatment with oxycodone CR at recommended doses. Oxycodone CR should be used with extreme caution in patients with epilepsy or other conditions that may decrease seizure threshold.

Dual-controlled release system of drugs for bone regeneration.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yang-Hee; Tabata, Yasuhiko

2015-11-01

Controlled release systems have been noted to allow drugs to enhance their ability for bone regeneration. To this end, various biomaterials have been used as the release carriers of drugs, such as low-molecular-weight drugs, growth factors, and others. The drugs are released from the release carriers in a controlled fashion to maintain their actions for a long time period. Most research has been focused on the controlled release of single drugs to demonstrate the therapeutic feasibility. Controlled release of two combined drugs, so-called dual release systems, are promising and important for tissue regeneration. This is because the tissue regeneration process of bone formation is generally achieved by multiple bioactive molecules, which are produced from cells by other molecules. If two types of bioactive molecules, (i.e., drugs), are supplied in an appropriate fashion, the regeneration process of living bodies will be efficiently promoted. This review focuses on the bone regeneration induced by dual-controlled release of drugs. In this paper, various dual-controlled release systems of drugs aiming at bone regeneration are overviewed explaining the type of drugs and their release materials. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Long-term contraception in a small implant: A review of Suprelorin (deslorelin) studies in cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Fontaine, Christelle

2015-09-01

Deslorelin (Suprelorin®; Virbac) is a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist licensed in select countries for the long-term suppression of fertility in adult male dogs and male ferrets. This article summarizes studies investigating the use of deslorelin implants for the long-term suppression of fertility in male and female domestic cats. Slow-release deslorelin implants have been shown to generate effective, safe and reversible long-term contraception in male and female cats. In pubertal cats, a 4.7 mg deslorelin implant suppressed steroid sex hormones for an average of approximately 20 months (range 15-25 months) in males and an average of approximately 24 months (range 16-37 months) in females. Reversibility has been demonstrated by fertile matings approximately 2 years post-treatment in both male and female adult cats. In prepubertal female cats of approximately 4 months of age, puberty was postponed to an average of approximately 10 months of age (range 6-15 months) by a 4.7 mg deslorelin implant. The large variability in the duration of suppression of gonadal activity makes the definition of the optimal time for reimplantation quite challenging. In addition, the temporary stimulation phase occurring in the weeks following deslorelin implantation can induce in adult female cats a fertile estrus that needs to be managed to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Longer duration and larger scale controlled field studies implementing blinding, a negative control group and a carefully controlled randomization to each group are needed. Furthermore, the effects of repeated treatment need to be investigated. Finally, the effect of treatment on growth and bone quality of prepubertal cats needs to be assessed. However, the ease of use, long-lasting effects and reversibility of deslorelin implants are strong positive points supporting their use for controlling feline reproduction. © The Author(s) 2015.

Analysis of the immune system of multiple myeloma patients achieving long-term disease control by multidimensional flow cytometry

Science.gov (United States)

Pessoa de Magalhães, Roberto J.; Vidriales, María-Belén; Paiva, Bruno; Fernandez-Gimenez, Carlos; García-Sanz, Ramón; Mateos, Maria-Victoria; Gutierrez, Norma C.; Lecrevisse, Quentin; Blanco, Juan F; Hernández, Jose; de las Heras, Natalia; Martinez-Lopez, Joaquin; Roig, Monica; Costa, Elaine Sobral; Ocio, Enrique M.; Perez-Andres, Martin; Maiolino, Angelo; Nucci, Marcio; De La Rubia, Javier; Lahuerta, Juan-Jose; San-Miguel, Jesús F.; Orfao, Alberto

2013-01-01

Multiple myeloma remains largely incurable. However, a few patients experience more than 10 years of relapse-free survival and can be considered as operationally cured. Interestingly, long-term disease control in multiple myeloma is not restricted to patients with a complete response, since some patients revert to having a profile of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. We compared the distribution of multiple compartments of lymphocytes and dendritic cells in the bone marrow and peripheral blood of multiple myeloma patients with long-term disease control (n=28), patients with newly diagnosed monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (n=23), patients with symptomatic multiple myeloma (n=23), and age-matched healthy adults (n=10). Similarly to the patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and symptomatic multiple myeloma, patients with long-term disease control showed an expansion of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells. However, the numbers of bone marrow T-regulatory cells were lower in patients with long-term disease control than in those with symptomatic multiple myeloma. It is noteworthy that B cells were depleted in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and in those with symptomatic multiple myeloma, but recovered in both the bone marrow and peripheral blood of patients with long-term disease control, due to an increase in normal bone marrow B-cell precursors and plasma cells, as well as pre-germinal center peripheral blood B cells. The number of bone marrow dendritic cells and tissue macrophages differed significantly between patients with long-term disease control and those with symptomatic multiple myeloma, with a trend to cell count recovering in the former group of patients towards levels similar to those found in healthy adults. In summary, our results indicate that multiple myeloma patients with long-term disease control have a constellation of unique immune changes

Short and long-term effects of sham-controlled prefrontal EEG-neurofeedback training in healthy subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Engelbregt, H J; Keeser, D; van Eijk, L; Suiker, E M; Eichhorn, D; Karch, S; Deijen, J B; Pogarell, O

2016-04-01

In this study we evaluated long-term effects of frontal beta EEG-neurofeedback training (E-NFT) on healthy subjects. We hypothesized that E-NFT can change frontal beta activity in the long-term and that changes in frontal beta EEG activity are accompanied by altered cognitive performance. 25 healthy subjects were included and randomly assigned to active or sham E-NFT. On average the subjects underwent 15 E-NFT training sessions with a training duration of 45 min. Resting-state EEG was recorded prior to E-NFT training (t1) and in a 3-year follow-up (t3). Compared to sham E-NFT, which was used for the control group, real E-NFT increased beta activity in a predictable way. This increase was maintained over a period of three years post training. However, E-NFT did not result in significantly improved cognitive performance. Based on our results, we conclude that EEG-NFT can selectively modify EEG beta activity both in short and long-term. This is a sham controlled EEG neurofeedback study demonstrating long-term effects in resting state EEG. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neurocognitive function in clinically stable individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder: Comparisons with schizophrenia patients and controls

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei-Yun Lin

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This study compared the levels of the five domains of neurocognitive function—executive function, attention, memory, verbal comprehension, and perceptual organization—among clinically stable individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder, individuals with long-term schizophrenia, and a group of controls. We recruited a total of 93 clinically stable individuals with bipolar I disorder, 94 individuals with schizophrenia, and 106 controls in this study. Their neurocognitive function was measured using a series of neurocognitive function tests: the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Third Edition (WAIS-III, Line Cancellation Test, Visual Form Discrimination, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, Continuous Performance Task, and Wechsler Memory Scale—Third Edition. Neurocognitive function was compared among the three groups through a multivariate analysis of variance. The results indicated that when the effect of age was controlled, clinically stable individuals with bipolar I disorder and those with schizophrenia demonstrated poor neurocognitive function on all tests except for the WAIS-III Similarity and Information and the Line Cancellation Test. The individuals with bipolar I disorder had similar levels of neurocognitive function compared with the schizophrenia group, but higher levels of neurocognitive function on the WAIS-III Comprehension, Controlled Oral Word Association Test, and Wechsler Memory Scale—Third Edition Auditory Immediate and Delayed Index and Visual Immediate and Delayed Index. The conclusions of this study suggest that compared with controls, individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder and those with long-term schizophrenia have poorer neurocognitive function, even when clinically stable. Individuals with long-term bipolar I disorder and those with long-term schizophrenia have similar levels of deficits in several domains of neurocognitive function.

Decayed, missing and filled teeth and dental anomalies in long term survived leukemic children: a prospective controlled study

OpenAIRE

Lauritano, D; Petruzzi, M; Baldoni, M

2012-01-01

Objective: The aim of this prospective controlled study is the comparison between long-term children survived leukaemia and a control group in terms of the decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth (DMFT) and dental anomalies. Study design: Fifty-two long term children survived leukaemia, aged from 8 to 15 years (27 females, 25 males; mean age 11.5 years) were evaluated for the possible effects of the anti-leukaemic therapy on dental development and compared to a control group of 52 healthy ...

Integrating Modeling and Monitoring to Provide Long-Term Control of Contaminants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fogwell, Th.

2009-01-01

An introduction is presented of the types of problems that exist for long-term control of radionuclides at DOE sites. A breakdown of the distributions at specific sites is given, together with the associated difficulties. A paradigm for remediation showing the integration of monitoring with modeling is presented. It is based on a feedback system that allows for the monitoring to act as principal sensors in a control system. Currently the establishment of a very prescriptive monitoring program fails to have a mechanism for improving models and improving control of the contaminants. The resulting system can be optimized to improve performance. Optimizing monitoring automatically entails linking the monitoring with modeling. If monitoring designs were required to be more efficient, thus requiring optimization, then the monitoring automatically becomes linked to modeling. Records of decision could be written to accommodate revisions in monitoring as better modeling evolves. The technical pieces of the required paradigm are already available; they just need to be implemented and applied to solve the long-term control of the contaminants. An integration of the various parts of the system is presented. Each part is described, and examples are given. References are given to other projects which bring together similar elements in systems for the control of contaminants. Trends are given for the development of the technical features of a robust system. Examples of monitoring methods for specific sites are given. The examples are used to illustrate how such a system would work. Examples of technology needs are presented. Finally, other examples of integrated modeling-monitoring approaches are presented. (authors)

Cancer risk in long-term users of valproate: a population-based case-control study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hallas, Jesper; Friis, Søren; Bjerrum, Lars

2009-01-01

logistic regression. RESULTS: Among the cases and controls, 81 (0.05%) and 260 (0.04%), respectively, were long-term users of valproate. For cancer overall, the crude and adjusted odds ratios were 1.25 [95% confidence interval (95% CI), 0.97-1.60] and 1.21 (95% CI, 0.95-1.56), respectively. Subgroup...... analyses revealed no dose or duration effect for overall cancer incidence, and no specific cancer site was found to be inversely associated with long-term use of valproate. For lung cancer, we found a positive but imprecise association (adjusted odds ratio, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.12-4.79). CONCLUSION: Long...

Effect of a long-term release of plutonium and americium into an estuarine-coastal sea ecosystem. 1. Development of an assessment methodology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Murray, C N; Avogadro, A [Commission of the European Communities, Ispra (Italy). Joint Research Centre

1979-05-01

A method is developed for the assessment of the distribution and the associated hazard due to a long-term release of long-lived alpha-emitting radionuclides into surface waters of a marine ecosystem. The methodology is designed to identify various environmental compartments and the processes occurring within them, which are of importance in affecting the behaviour and thus the distribution of actinide elements in such systems. The compartment model system (box model) chosen is applied to an imaginary coastal area. Various processes in the environmental compartments are considered separately and then assembled to show their combined interactions. Using the concept of critical nuclide-pathway-group analysis, an attempt has been made to define a number of the most important pathways by which actinides released into the aquatic environment could return to man, and especially those related to the exploitation of aquatic food resources. The concentration levels for the example considered produce rather low dose rates to man of less than 3% of the maximum permissible intake. The low dose levels strongly depend upon the concentration factors of the various biological species, as well as upon source-term activities. The concentration factors used for the biological transfer of actinides relate to the water activity only. In the case where highly radioactive sediments or sedimentary-associated material were closely involved in the uptake pathway, actinide transfer to man could become more relevant. This study shows that sedimentation and bottom sediment absorption represent the major reconcentration processes for actinides released into surface waters.

Continuous operation of RODOS in case of long lasting releases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Raskob, W.; Paesler-Sauer, J.; Rafat, M.

2003-01-01

Full text: Under the auspices of its RTD (Research and Technological Development) Framework Programmes, the European Commission has supported the development of the RODOS (Real-time On-line DecisiOn Support) system for off-site emergency management after nuclear accidents since the end of 1989. Significant additional funds have been provided by many national RTD programmes, research institutes and industrial collaborators. In particular, the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Reactor Safety (BMU) financially contributed to the project with emphasis an early emergency response. The ongoing RTD work under the EC's 5 th Framework Programme lead to significant extensions, modifications and new developments of both the system and the application software integrated in the RODOS system. All new functions and software components, which have been successfully tested, build the content of RODOD version PV5.0, which has been released in April 2003. One of the new key features of the RODOS system is its capability to deal with release scenarios longer than 24 hours in all its modes of application: in automatic use, the release duration is unlimited; for interactive calculations, the release has to be limited to 47 days. The environmental contamination and the corresponding doses are calculated on a daily basis and add up to get the total values. When calculating early emergency actions (such as sheltering, administration of stable iodine tablets, and evacuation), the time sequence of potential doses from previous days are used to determine weather a certain intervention level has been or will be exceeded at any time during the release and, in that way, to define areas where potential actions might have been initiated in the past. In case of long term countermeasures, the user has been given the option to consider a number of countermeasures which could be implemented during the release phase. This has increased the flexibility of the module for those

Electrospray synthesis and properties of hierarchically structured PLGA TIPS microspheres for use as controlled release technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Malik, Salman A; Ng, Wing H; Bowen, James; Tang, Justin; Gomez, Alessandro; Kenyon, Anthony J; Day, Richard M

2016-04-01

Microsphere-based controlled release technologies have been utilized for the long-term delivery of proteins, peptides and antibiotics, although their synthesis poses substantial challenges owing to formulation complexities, lack of scalability, and cost. To address these shortcomings, we used the electrospray process as a reproducible, synthesis technique to manufacture highly porous (>94%) microspheres while maintaining control over particle structure and size. Here we report a successful formulation recipe used to generate spherical poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA) microspheres using the electrospray (ES) coupled with a novel thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) process with a tailored Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) collection scheme. We show how size, shape and porosity of resulting microspheres can be controlled by judiciously varying electrospray processing parameters and we demonstrate examples in which the particle size (and porosity) affect release kinetics. The effect of electrospray treatment on the particles and their physicochemical properties are characterized by scanning electron microscopy, confocal Raman microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and mercury intrusion porosimetry. The microspheres manufactured here have successfully demonstrated long-term delivery (i.e. 1week) of an active agent, enabling sustained release of a dye with minimal physical degradation and have verified the potential of scalable electrospray technologies for an innovative TIPS-based microsphere production protocol. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Current prevention and control of health care-associated infections in long-term care facilities for the elderly in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kariya, Naoko; Sakon, Naomi; Komano, Jun; Tomono, Kazunori; Iso, Hiroyasu

2018-05-01

Residents of long-term care facilities for the elderly are vulnerable to health care-associated infections. However, compared to medical institutions, long-term care facilities for the elderly lag behind in health care-associated infection control and prevention. We conducted a epidemiologic study to clarify the current status of infection control in long-term care facilities for the elderly in Japan. A questionnaire survey on the aspects of infection prevention and control was developed according to SHEA/APIC guidelines and was distributed to 617 long-term care facilities for the elderly in the province of Osaka during November 2016 and January 2017. The response rate was 16.9%. The incidence rates of health care-associated infection outbreaks and residents with health care-associated infections were 23.4 per 100 facility-years and 0.18 per 1,000 resident-days, respectively. Influenza and acute gastroenteritis were reported most frequently. Active surveillance to identify the carrier of multiple drug-resistant organisms was not common. The overall compliance with 21 items selected from the SHEA/APIC guidelines was approximately 79.2%. All facilities had infection control manuals and an assigned infection control professional. The economic burdens of infection control were approximately US$ 182.6 per resident-year during fiscal year 2015. Importantly, these data implied that physicians and nurses were actively contributed to higher SHEA/APIC guideline compliance rates and the advancement of infection control measures in long-term care facilities for the elderly. Key factors are discussed to further improve the infection control in long-term care facilities for the elderly, particularly from economic and social structural standpoints. Copyright © 2017 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Implementing long-term data preservation and open access in CMS

CERN Document Server

Lassila-Perini, Katri

2013-01-01

Implementation of the CMS policy on long-term data preservation, re-use and open access has started. Current practices in providing data additional to published papers and distributing simplified data-samples for outreach are promoted and consolidated. The first measures have been taken for analysis and data preservation for the internal use of the collaboration and for open access to part of the data. Two complementary approaches are followed. First, a virtual machine environment, which will pack all ingredients needed to compile and run a software release with which the legacy data was reconstructed. Second, a validation framework, maintaining the capability not only to read the old raw data, but also to reprocess them with an updated release or to another format to guarantee long-term reusability of the legacy data.

Long term population dose due to radon (Rn-222) released from uranium mill tailings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chambers, D.B.; Lower, L.M.; Stager, R.H.

2001-01-01

The results of a study undertaken by the European Commission on the external costs (environmental and social) of various energy production systems is likely to be influential in determining how the European Union will develop its energy supply systems. The estimated costs for nuclear power from the study will be based on the findings of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), with the costs being dominated by the estimated long term (10,000 y) population doses due to radon (Rn-222) released from mill tailings. UNSCEAR developed a central estimate of 150 person-Sv per GW y and a range of 1 to 1,000 person-Sv per GW y. However, the generic data available to and being used by UNSCEAR are dated and are not appropriate for the current and planned future conditions in the uranium production industry, with the result that the estimated external costs of nuclear power (specifically, the doses due to radon emitted from mill tailings) are overestimated. The Uranium Institute sponsored a study to estimate long term population doses based on the most recent 1993 UNSCEAR methodology, but using data that would be more appropriate to the current major uranium production facilities. Site-specific information obtained from the owners/operators and the Uranium Institute included: present and proposed tailings management plans; tailings volumes and areas; ore grades and reserves; measurements and estimates of radon emission rates; and population densities. Tailings at closed facilities that no longer contribute to uranium production were not evaluated since it was assumed that these radon sources need not be considered in evaluating the external costs of current and future nuclear power production. Based on the same approach as UNSCEAR, but using a more sophisticated air dispersion model, and more site-specific data relative to existing sites and proposed tailings management practices, radon emission rates and population densities (that

A long-term, open-label safety study of single-entity hydrocodone bitartrate extended release for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic pain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nalamachu S

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Srinivas Nalamachu,1,2 Richard L Rauck,3 Martin E Hale,4 Orlando G Florete Jr,5 Cynthia Y Robinson,6 Stephen J Farr,6 1International Clinical Research Institute, Overland Park, KS, USA; 2Kansas University Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA; 3Carolinas Pain Institute, Center for Clinical Research, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA; 4Gold Coast Research, LLC, Weston, FL, USA; 5Institute of Pain Management, Jacksonville, FL, USA; 6Zogenix, Inc., Emeryville, CA, USA Objective: To evaluate the long-term safety, tolerability, and effectiveness of single-entity extended-release hydrocodone in opioid-experienced subjects with moderate to severe chronic pain not receiving adequate pain relief or experiencing intolerable side effects from their current opioid. Methods: This multicenter, open-label study started with a conversion/titration phase (≤6 weeks where subjects (n=638 were converted to individualized doses (range 20–300 mg of extended-release hydrocodone dosed every 12 hours, followed by a 48-week maintenance phase (n=424. The primary objective (safety and tolerability and the secondary objective (long-term efficacy as measured by change in average pain score; 0= no pain, 10= worst imaginable pain were monitored throughout the study. Results: Subjects were treated for a range of chronic pain etiologies, including osteoarthritis, low back pain, and neuropathic and musculoskeletal conditions. The mean hydrocodone equivalent dose at screening was 68.9±62.2 mg/day and increased to 139.5±81.7 mg/day at the start of the maintenance phase. Unlimited dose adjustments were permitted at the investigator's discretion during the maintenance phase, reflecting typical clinical practice. No unexpected safety issues were reported. Common adverse events during the conversion/titration and maintenance phases, respectively, were constipation (11.3% and 12.5%, nausea (10.7% and 9.9%, vomiting (4.1% and 9.7%, and somnolence (7

Long term liquidity analysis of the firm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaroslav Gonos

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Liquidity control is a very difficult and important function. If the business is not liquid in the long term, it is under threatof bankruptcy, and on the other hand surplus of the cash in hand threaten its future efficiency, because the cash in hand is a sourceof only limited profitability. Long term liquidity is related to the ability of the short term and long term liabilities payment. Articleis trying to point out to the monitoring and analyzing of the long term liquidity in the concrete business, in this case the printing industrycompany. Hereby at the end of the article mentioned monitored and analyzed liquidity is evaluated in the five years time period.

Control of the Onboard Microgravity Environment and Extension of the Service Life of the Long-Term Space Station

Science.gov (United States)

Titov, V. A.

2018-03-01

The problem of control of the on-board microgravity environment in order to extend the service life of the long-term space station has been discussed. Software developed for the ISS and the results of identifying dynamic models and external impacts based on telemetry data have been presented. Proposals for controlling the onboard microgravity environment for future long-term space stations have been formulated.

Testing seasonal and long-term controls of streamwater DOC using empirical and process-based models.

Science.gov (United States)

Futter, Martyn N; de Wit, Heleen A

2008-12-15

Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in surface waters are increasing across Europe and parts of North America. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain these increases including reductions in acid deposition, change in frequency of winter storms and changes in temperature and precipitation patterns. We used two modelling approaches to identify the mechanisms responsible for changing surface water DOC concentrations. Empirical regression analysis and INCA-C, a process-based model of stream-water DOC, were used to simulate long-term (1986--2003) patterns in stream water DOC concentrations in a small boreal stream. Both modelling approaches successfully simulated seasonal and inter-annual patterns in DOC concentration. In both models, seasonal patterns of DOC concentration were controlled by hydrology and inter-annual patterns were explained by climatic variation. There was a non-linear relationship between warmer summer temperatures and INCA-C predicted DOC. Only the empirical model was able to satisfactorily simulate the observed long-term increase in DOC. The observed long-term trends in DOC are likely to be driven by in-soil processes controlled by SO4(2-) and Cl(-) deposition, and to a lesser extent by temperature-controlled processes. Given the projected changes in climate and deposition, future modelling and experimental research should focus on the possible effects of soil temperature and moisture on organic carbon production, sorption and desorption rates, and chemical controls on organic matter solubility.

Long-term tolerability of tolterodine extended release in children 5-11 years of age: results from a 12-month, open-label study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nijman, Rien J M; Borgstein, Niels G; Ellsworth, Pamela

2007-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the long-term tolerability of tolterodine extended release (ER) in children (aged 5-11 yr) with urgency urinary incontinence (UUI). METHODS: This was a multicenter, open-label extension of a 12-wk, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of tolterodine ER. Patients had UUI...... suggestive of detrusor overactivity (>/=1 diurnal incontinence episode per 24h for >/=5 of 7 d) and >/=6 voids per 24h at baseline and had completed the 12-wk double-blind study. Patients received tolterodine ER (2mg once daily) for 12 mo. The primary end points were the incidence and severity of adverse......-blind tolterodine ER, n=221; placebo, n=97). The majority of patients were white (90%), mean+/-SD age was 7.6+/-1.5 yr, and 54% were boys. Forty-nine percent of patients reported >/=1 AE during the study, similar to that observed in the preceding 12-wk study (42%). The most frequent AEs were urinary tract infection...

Antifouling coating with controllable and sustained silver release for long-term inhibition of infection and encrustation in urinary catheters.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Rong; Neoh, Koon Gee; Kang, En-Tang; Tambyah, Paul Anantharajah; Chiong, Edmund

2015-04-01

Urinary tract infections constitute a large proportion of nosocomial infections, and the urinary catheter is the most important predisposing factor. Encrustation induced by urease-producing uropathogens like Proteus mirabilis causes further complications. In the present work, a strategy for controllable and sustained release of silver over several weeks has been developed for combating bacterial infection and encrustation in urinary devices. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were first immobilized on polydopamine (PDA) pre-treated silicone catheter surface and this was followed by another PDA coating. The number of AgNP-PDA bilayers could be manipulated to control the amount of silver loaded and its subsequent release. Poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate-co-acrylamide) was then grafted to provide an antifouling outer layer, and to ensure free diffusion of Ag from the surface. The micron-scale combination of an antifouling coating with AgNP-PDA bilayers reduced colonization of the urinary catheter by uropathogens by approximately two orders of magnitude. With one and two AgNP-PDA bilayers, the coated catheter could resist encrustation for 12 and 45 days, respectively, compared with approximately 6 days with the Dover™ silver-coated catheter. Such anti-infective and anti-encrustation catheters can potentially have a large impact on reducing patient morbidity and healthcare expenditure. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Transcriptional regulation of long-term memory in the marine snail Aplysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lee Yong-Seok

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Whereas the induction of short-term memory involves only covalent modifications of constitutively expressed preexisting proteins, the formation of long-term memory requires gene expression, new RNA, and new protein synthesis. On the cellular level, transcriptional regulation is thought to be the starting point for a series of molecular steps necessary for both the initiation and maintenance of long-term synaptic facilitation (LTF. The core molecular features of transcriptional regulation involved in the long-term process are evolutionally conserved in Aplysia, Drosophila, and mouse, and indicate that gene regulation by the cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB acting in conjunction with different combinations of transcriptional factors is critical for the expression of many forms of long-term memory. In the marine snail Aplysia, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the storage of long-term memory have been extensively studied in the monosynaptic connections between identified sensory neuron and motor neurons of the gill-withdrawal reflex. One tail shock or one pulse of serotonin (5-HT, a modulatory transmitter released by tail shocks, produces a transient facilitation mediated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase leading to covalent modifications in the sensory neurons that results in an enhancement of transmitter release and a strengthening of synaptic connections lasting minutes. By contrast, repeated pulses of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT induce a transcription- and translation-dependent long-term facilitation (LTF lasting more than 24 h and trigger the activation of a family of transcription factors in the presynaptic sensory neurons including ApCREB1, ApCREB2 and ApC/EBP. In addition, we have recently identified novel transcription factors that modulate the expression of ApC/EBP and also are critically involved in LTF. In this review, we examine the roles of these transcription factors during consolidation of LTF induced

Transcriptional regulation of long-term memory in the marine snail Aplysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yong-Seok; Bailey, Craig H; Kandel, Eric R; Kaang, Bong-Kiun

2008-06-17

Whereas the induction of short-term memory involves only covalent modifications of constitutively expressed preexisting proteins, the formation of long-term memory requires gene expression, new RNA, and new protein synthesis. On the cellular level, transcriptional regulation is thought to be the starting point for a series of molecular steps necessary for both the initiation and maintenance of long-term synaptic facilitation (LTF). The core molecular features of transcriptional regulation involved in the long-term process are evolutionally conserved in Aplysia, Drosophila, and mouse, and indicate that gene regulation by the cyclic AMP response element binding protein (CREB) acting in conjunction with different combinations of transcriptional factors is critical for the expression of many forms of long-term memory. In the marine snail Aplysia, the molecular mechanisms that underlie the storage of long-term memory have been extensively studied in the monosynaptic connections between identified sensory neuron and motor neurons of the gill-withdrawal reflex. One tail shock or one pulse of serotonin (5-HT), a modulatory transmitter released by tail shocks, produces a transient facilitation mediated by the cAMP-dependent protein kinase leading to covalent modifications in the sensory neurons that results in an enhancement of transmitter release and a strengthening of synaptic connections lasting minutes. By contrast, repeated pulses of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) induce a transcription- and translation-dependent long-term facilitation (LTF) lasting more than 24 h and trigger the activation of a family of transcription factors in the presynaptic sensory neurons including ApCREB1, ApCREB2 and ApC/EBP. In addition, we have recently identified novel transcription factors that modulate the expression of ApC/EBP and also are critically involved in LTF. In this review, we examine the roles of these transcription factors during consolidation of LTF induced by different

Randomized controlled trial evaluating the temporal effects of high-intensity exercise on learning, short-term and long-term memory, and prospective memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Frith, Emily; Sng, Eveleen; Loprinzi, Paul D

2017-11-01

The broader purpose of this study was to examine the temporal effects of high-intensity exercise on learning, short-term and long-term retrospective memory and prospective memory. Among a sample of 88 young adult participants, 22 were randomized into one of four different groups: exercise before learning, control group, exercise during learning, and exercise after learning. The retrospective assessments (learning, short-term and long-term memory) were assessed using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test. Long-term memory including a 20-min and 24-hr follow-up assessment. Prospective memory was assessed using a time-based procedure by having participants contact (via phone) the researchers at a follow-up time period. The exercise stimulus included a 15-min bout of progressive maximal exertion treadmill exercise. High-intensity exercise prior to memory encoding (vs. exercise during memory encoding or consolidation) was effective in enhancing long-term memory (for both 20-min and 24-h follow-up assessments). We did not observe a differential temporal effect of high-intensity exercise on short-term memory (immediate post-memory encoding), learning or prospective memory. The timing of high-intensity exercise may play an important role in facilitating long-term memory. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Characterization and optimization of GMO-based gels with long term release for intraarticular administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Réeff, J; Gaignaux, A; Goole, J; Siepmann, J; Siepmann, F; Jerome, C; Thomassin, J M; De Vriese, C; Amighi, K

2013-07-15

Osteoarthritis is characterized by slow degenerative processes in the articular cartilage within synovial joints. It could be interesting to develop a sustained-release formulation that could be effective on both pain/inflammation and restoration of mechanical integrity of the joint. Recently, an injectable system based on glycerol monooleate (GMO), containing clonidine as a model hydrophilic analgesic/anti-inflammatory drug and hyaluronic acid as a viscoelastic scaffold, showed promising potential as a biodegradable and biocompatible preparation to sustain the drug activity. However, drug release from the system is relatively fast (complete within 1 week) and the underlying drug release mechanisms not fully understood. The aims of this study were: (i) to significantly improve this type of local controlled drug delivery system by further sustaining clonidine release, and (ii) to elucidate the underlying mass transport mechanisms. The addition of FDA-approved inactive ingredients such as sodium oleate or purified soybean oil was found to be highly effective. The release rate could be substantially reduced (e.g., 50% release after 10 days), due to the increased hydrophobicity of the systems, resulting in slower and reduced water uptake and reduced drug mobility. Interestingly, Fick's second law of diffusion could be used to quantitatively describe drug release. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Newly developed controlled release subcutaneous formulation for tramadol hydrochloride

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mostafa Mabrouk

2018-05-01

Full Text Available This study presents a drug delivery system of poly (Ɛ-caprolactone (PCL ribbons to optimize the pharmaceutical action of tramadol for the first time according to our knowledge. PCL ribbons were fabricated and loaded with tramadol HCl. Ribbons were prepared by slip casting technique and coated with dipping technique with β-cyclodextrin. The chemical integrity and surface morphology of the ribbons were confirmed using FTIR and SEM coupled with EDX. In addition, thermodynamic behavior of the fabricated ribbons was investigated using DSC/TGA. Tramadol loading into PCL ribbons, biodegradation of ribbons and tramadol release kinetics were studied in PBS.The results revealed that the formulated composition did not affect the chemical integrity of the drug. Furthermore, SEM/EDX confirmed the inclusion of tramadol into the PCL matrix in homogenous distribution pattern without any observation of porous structure. The particle size of loaded tramadol was found to be in the range of (2–4 nm. The formulated composition did not affect the chemical integrity of the drug and should be further investigated for bioavailability. Tramadol exhibited controlled release behavior from PCL ribbons up to 45 days governed mainly by diffusion mechanism. The fabricated ribbons have a great potentiality to be implemented in the long term subcutaneous delivery of tramadol. Keywords: Tramadol, Polycaprolcatone, Subcutaneous membrane, Ribbons, β-Cyclodextrin, Controlled release

Plastic surgery improves long-term weight control after bariatric surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Balagué, Nicolas; Combescure, Christophe; Huber, Olivier; Pittet-Cuénod, Brigitte; Modarressi, Ali

2013-10-01

The positive impact of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass on weight, comorbidities, and health-related quality of life is well documented. However, 50 percent of patients regain some of the lost weight after 2 years with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and present a mean weight regain of 10 to 15 percent after several years, partially losing the previously obtained benefits. The authors hypothesize that body contouring could decrease weight regain, leading to better long-term weight control after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. In a matched control study, variations in weight for 98 patients with body contouring after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass were compared with those of 102 matched control patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass alone. Data were collected prospectively at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and then yearly until 7 years. After a massive mean weight loss of 45.2 kg during the first 2 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass alone presented a higher continuous mean weight regain than those with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and body contouring (1.78 kg/year versus 0.51 kg/year of weight regain, respectively; p = 0.001). After 7 years, patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass presented significantly higher mean weight regain than patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and body contouring (i.e., 10.8 percent versus 3.6 percent mean weight gain, respectively; p weight of 2.04 kg by body contouring, the weight regain was 22.9 kg for patients with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass alone and only 6.2 kg for those with Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and body contouring. The authors demonstrated that patients with body contouring present better long-term weight control after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Therefore, body contouring must be considered as a reconstructive operation in the treatment of morbid obesity. Therapeutic, III.

Air traffic controllers' long-term speech-in-noise training effects: A control group study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zaballos, Maria T P; Plasencia, Daniel P; González, María L Z; de Miguel, Angel R; Macías, Ángel R

2016-01-01

Speech perception in noise relies on the capacity of the auditory system to process complex sounds using sensory and cognitive skills. The possibility that these can be trained during adulthood is of special interest in auditory disorders, where speech in noise perception becomes compromised. Air traffic controllers (ATC) are constantly exposed to radio communication, a situation that seems to produce auditory learning. The objective of this study has been to quantify this effect. 19 ATC and 19 normal hearing individuals underwent a speech in noise test with three signal to noise ratios: 5, 0 and -5 dB. Noise and speech were presented through two different loudspeakers in azimuth position. Speech tokes were presented at 65 dB SPL, while white noise files were at 60, 65 and 70 dB respectively. Air traffic controllers outperform the control group in all conditions [P<0.05 in ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U tests]. Group differences were largest in the most difficult condition, SNR=-5 dB. However, no correlation between experience and performance were found for any of the conditions tested. The reason might be that ceiling performance is achieved much faster than the minimum experience time recorded, 5 years, although intrinsic cognitive abilities cannot be disregarded. ATC demonstrated enhanced ability to hear speech in challenging listening environments. This study provides evidence that long-term auditory training is indeed useful in achieving better speech-in-noise understanding even in adverse conditions, although good cognitive qualities are likely to be a basic requirement for this training to be effective. Our results show that ATC outperform the control group in all conditions. Thus, this study provides evidence that long-term auditory training is indeed useful in achieving better speech-in-noise understanding even in adverse conditions.

Long-term plasticity determines the postsynaptic response to correlated afferents with multivesicular short-term synaptic depression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander David Bird

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Synchrony in a presynaptic population leads to correlations in vesicle occupancy at the active sites for neurotransmitter release. The number of independent release sites per presynaptic neuron, a synaptic parameter recently shown to be modifed during long-term plasticity, will modulate these correlations and therefore have a significant effect on the firing rate of the postsynaptic neuron. To understand how correlations from synaptic dynamics and from presynaptic synchrony shape the postsynaptic response, we study a model of multiple release site short-term plasticity and derive exact results for the crosscorrelation function of vesicle occupancy and neurotransmitter release, as well as the postsynaptic voltage variance. Using approximate forms for the postsynaptic firing rate in the limits of low and high correlations, we demonstrate that short-term depression leads to a maximum response for an intermediate number of presynaptic release sites, and that this leads to a tuning-curve response peaked at an optimal presynaptic synchrony setby the number of neurotransmitter release sites per presynaptic neuron. These effects arise because, above a certain level of correlation, activity in the presynaptic population is overly strong resulting in wastage of the pool of releasable neurotransmitter. As the nervous system operates under constraints of efficient metabolism it is likely that this phenomenon provides an activity-dependent constraint on network architecture.

Conversion of short-term to long-term memory in the novel object recognition paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Shannon J; Deshpande, Kaivalya; Stinnett, Gwen S; Seasholtz, Audrey F; Murphy, Geoffrey G

2013-10-01

It is well-known that stress can significantly impact learning; however, whether this effect facilitates or impairs the resultant memory depends on the characteristics of the stressor. Investigation of these dynamics can be confounded by the role of the stressor in motivating performance in a task. Positing a cohesive model of the effect of stress on learning and memory necessitates elucidating the consequences of stressful stimuli independently from task-specific functions. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine the effect of manipulating a task-independent stressor (elevated light level) on short-term and long-term memory in the novel object recognition paradigm. Short-term memory was elicited in both low light and high light conditions, but long-term memory specifically required high light conditions during the acquisition phase (familiarization trial) and was independent of the light level during retrieval (test trial). Additionally, long-term memory appeared to be independent of stress-mediated glucocorticoid release, as both low and high light produced similar levels of plasma corticosterone, which further did not correlate with subsequent memory performance. Finally, both short-term and long-term memory showed no savings between repeated experiments suggesting that this novel object recognition paradigm may be useful for longitudinal studies, particularly when investigating treatments to stabilize or enhance weak memories in neurodegenerative diseases or during age-related cognitive decline. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Importation, Antibiotics, and Clostridium difficile Infection in Veteran Long-Term Care: A Multilevel Case-Control Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Kevin A; Jones, Makoto; Daneman, Nick; Adler, Frederick R; Stevens, Vanessa; Nechodom, Kevin E; Goetz, Matthew B; Samore, Matthew H; Mayer, Jeanmarie

2016-06-21

Although clinical factors affecting a person's susceptibility to Clostridium difficile infection are well-understood, little is known about what drives differences in incidence across long-term care settings. To obtain a comprehensive picture of individual and regional factors that affect C difficile incidence. Multilevel longitudinal nested case-control study. Veterans Health Administration health care regions, from 2006 through 2012. Long-term care residents. Individual-level risk factors included age, number of comorbid conditions, and antibiotic exposure. Regional risk factors included importation of cases of acute care C difficile infection per 10 000 resident-days and antibiotic use per 1000 resident-days. The outcome was defined as a positive result on a long-term care C difficile test without a positive result in the prior 8 weeks. 6012 cases (incidence, 3.7 cases per 10 000 resident-days) were identified in 86 regions. Long-term care C difficile incidence (minimum, 0.6 case per 10 000 resident-days; maximum, 31.0 cases per 10 000 resident-days), antibiotic use (minimum, 61.0 days with therapy per 1000 resident-days; maximum, 370.2 days with therapy per 1000 resident-days), and importation (minimum, 2.9 cases per 10 000 resident-days; maximum, 341.3 cases per 10 000 resident-days) varied substantially across regions. Together, antibiotic use and importation accounted for 75% of the regional variation in C difficile incidence (R2 = 0.75). Multilevel analyses showed that regional factors affected risk together with individual-level exposures (relative risk of regional antibiotic use, 1.36 per doubling [95% CI, 1.15 to 1.60]; relative risk of importation, 1.23 per doubling [CI, 1.14 to 1.33]). Case identification was based on laboratory criteria. Admission of residents with recent C difficile infection from non-Veterans Health Administration acute care sources was not considered. Only 25% of the variation in regional C difficile incidence in long-term

Aging of Dissolved Copper and Copper-based Nanoparticles in Five Different Soils: Short-term Kinetics vs. Long-term Fate

Science.gov (United States)

With the growing availability and use of copper-based nanomaterials (Cu-NMs), there is increasing concern regarding their release and potential impact on the environment. In this study, the short term (≤5 d) aging profile and the long-term (135 d) speciation of dissolved Cu, cop...

In-Plant Fission Product Behavior in SGTR Accident with Long-Term SBO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae Woon; Han, Seok Jung; Ahn, Kwang Il [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-05-15

The off-site AC power was recovered in 9 days after the accident in the NPS. Therefore safety injection by fire pump truck with fresh water or seawater is only available in the Fukushima accident. However, safety injection by fire pump truck is not always effective due to the high pressure of RPV inside or leakages of alternative water injection flow paths. In the SBO situations in pressurized water reactor plant (PWR), turbine driven auxiliary feedwater (TD-AFW) pump can inject water to the secondary side of steam generator. However, turbine inlet steam flow control valve cannot work properly when loss of vital DC power occurs. Vital DC power is designed to be maintained during 4 or 8 hours in the SBO conditions. In this paper motor-driven and turbine driven AFW pumps are all assumed to be not working at time 0 sec as a worst case assumption. Iodine pool-scrubbing can occur in the secondary side of the faulted steam generator. However, iodine pool-scrubbing in the secondary side of the faulted steam generator is assumed not to be working, due to the assumption of the loss of DC battery for turbine inlet flow control valve. Iodine pool-scrubbing is one of the long-term research issues in safety assessment of nuclear power plant severe accident. PHEBUS FPT series and THAI experiment projects are typical projects on the resolving source term issues in severe accident of nuclear power plants. However, iodine retention by pool scrubbing is still a debating issue. In such containment bypass sequences, fission products can be released out to environment directly from RCS without retention or deposition in containment structures. SGTR is one of the hazardous accident scenarios in the typical PSA, because SGTR induces a large release amount of source term to environment directly. A key operation strategy was the isolation of the broken reactor coolant system loop from the intact loop. Typical core degradation in SGTR scenarios occurs with multiple failures of the isolation

Long-term leaching of nutrients and contaminants from wood combustion ashes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maresca, Alberto; Hyks, J.; Astrup, Thomas Fruergaard

2018-01-01

With increasing amounts of woody biomass being combusted for energy purposes worldwide, more wood ash is being generated and needs management. As an alternative to landfilling, residues may be utilised for liming and fertilising purposes on forest soils. Comprehensive evaluations of long-term lea......With increasing amounts of woody biomass being combusted for energy purposes worldwide, more wood ash is being generated and needs management. As an alternative to landfilling, residues may be utilised for liming and fertilising purposes on forest soils. Comprehensive evaluations of long......-term leaching from these residues are needed in order to assess potential environmental impacts associated with their utilisation. Two Danish wood ash samples, one fly ash and one mixed ash (a combination of fly ash and bottom ash), were evaluated in long-term percolation column tests (up to L/S ∼2000 L....../kg), in order to quantify the release of major, minor and trace metal(loid)s. While columns of three different lengths were used, the leaching of individual elements could be described as a function of the L/S ratio – irrespective of the column length. At L/S 1000 L/kg, the cumulative releases of K, S, Na, Ca...

Long-Term Memory Performance in Adult ADHD.

Science.gov (United States)

Skodzik, Timo; Holling, Heinz; Pedersen, Anya

2017-02-01

Memory problems are a frequently reported symptom in adult ADHD, and it is well-documented that adults with ADHD perform poorly on long-term memory tests. However, the cause of this effect is still controversial. The present meta-analysis examined underlying mechanisms that may lead to long-term memory impairments in adult ADHD. We performed separate meta-analyses of measures of memory acquisition and long-term memory using both verbal and visual memory tests. In addition, the influence of potential moderator variables was examined. Adults with ADHD performed significantly worse than controls on verbal but not on visual long-term memory and memory acquisition subtests. The long-term memory deficit was strongly statistically related to the memory acquisition deficit. In contrast, no retrieval problems were observable. Our results suggest that memory deficits in adult ADHD reflect a learning deficit induced at the stage of encoding. Implications for clinical and research settings are presented.

Decayed, missing and filled teeth index and dental anomalies in long-term survivors leukaemic children: a prospective controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lauritano, Dorina; Petruzzi, Massimo

2012-11-01

The aim of this prospective controlled study is the comparison between long-term children survived leukaemia and a control group in terms of the decayed, missing or filled permanent teeth (DMFT) and dental anomalies. Fifty-two long term children survived leukaemia, aged from 8 to 15 years (27 females, 25 males; mean age 11.5 years) were evaluated for the possible effects of the anti-leukaemic therapy on dental development and compared to a control group of 52 healthy children (27 females, 25 males, mean age 11 years). All long-term children who survived were at least 24 months in continuous complete remission. The study of the dental status with a routine oral examination and panoramic radiographs was performed. The DMFT (recorded according to the WHO criteria) and dental anomalies were registered and evaluated. The results of this study evidence that long-term children survived leukaemia, in comparison with the control group, have an higher risk to develop dental caries and show a greater severity of dental anomalies including V-shaped roots, dental agenesis, microdontia, enamel dysplasias. Paediatric patients with haemathological diseases require a special attentions in dental care in addition to the antineoplastic treatment. Therefore, oral hygiene and oral health can be maintained thanks to a close cooperation between the paediatric oncohaematologists, pediatrics dental surgeons and dental hygienists.

Competitive short-term and long-term memory processes in spatial habituation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanderson, David J; Bannerman, David M

2011-04-01

Exposure to a spatial location leads to habituation of exploration such that, in a novelty preference test, rodents subsequently prefer exploring a novel location to the familiar location. According to Wagner's (1981) theory of memory, short-term and long-term habituation are caused by separate and sometimes opponent processes. In the present study, this dual-process account of memory was tested. Mice received a series of exposure training trials to a location before receiving a novelty preference test. The novelty preference was greater when tested after a short, rather than a long, interval. In contrast, the novelty preference was weaker when exposure training trials were separated by a short, rather than a long interval. Furthermore, it was found that long-term habituation was determined by the independent effects of the amount of exposure training and the number of exposure training trials when factors such as the intertrial interval and the cumulative intertrial interval were controlled. A final experiment demonstrated that a long-term reduction of exploration could be caused by a negative priming effect due to associations formed during exploration. These results provide evidence against a single-process account of habituation and suggest that spatial habituation is determined by both short-term, recency-based memory and long-term, incrementally strengthened memory.

Controlled release profiles of dipyridamole from biodegradable microspheres on the base of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Novel biodegradable microspheres on the base of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB designed for controlled release of antithrombotic drug, namely dipyridamole (DPD, have been kinetically studied. The profiles of release from the microspheres with different diameters 4, 9, 63, and 92 µm present the progression of nonlinear and linear stages. Diffusionkinetic equation describing both linear (PHB hydrolysis and nonlinear (diffusion stages of the DPD release profiles from the spherical subjects has been written down as the sum of two terms: desorption from the homogeneous sphere in accordance with diffusion mechanism and the zero-order release. In contrast to the diffusivity dependence on microsphere size, the constant characteristics (k of linearity are scarcely affected by the diameter of PHB microparticles. The view of the kinetic profiles as well as the low rate of DPD release are in satisfactory agreement with kinetics of weight loss measured in vitro for the PHB films. Taking into account kinetic results, we suppose that the degradation of both films and PHB microspheres is responsible for the linear stage of DPD release profiles. In the nearest future, combination of biodegradable PHB and DPD as a representative of proliferation cell inhibitors will give possibility to elaborate the novel injectable therapeutic system for a local, long-term, antiproliferative action.

Long-term mortality and causes of death in endoscopically verified upper gastrointestinal bleeding: comparison of bleeding patients and population controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Miilunpohja, S; Jyrkkä, J; Kärkkäinen, J M; Kastarinen, H; Heikkinen, M; Paajanen, H; Rantanen, T; Hartikainen, Jek

2017-11-01

Upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) is a common emergency, with in-hospital mortality between 3 and 14%. However, the long-term mortality and causes of death are unknown. We investigated the long-term mortality and causes of death in UGIB patients in a retrospective single-centre case-control study design. A total of 569 consecutive patients, aged ≥18 years, admitted to Kuopio University Hospital for their first endoscopically verified UGIB during the years 2009-2011 were identified from hospital records. For each UGIB patient, an age, sex and hospital district matched control patient was identified from the Statistics Finland database. Data on endoscopy procedures, laboratory values, comorbidities and medication were obtained from patient records. Data on deaths and causes of death were obtained from Statistics Finland. In-hospital mortality of UGIB patients was low at 3.3%. The long-term (mean follow-up 32 months) mortality of UGIB patients was significantly higher than controls (34.1 versus 12.1%, p death compared to controls was highest (HR 19.2, 95% CI 7.0-52.4, p causes of death were related to comorbidities and did not differ from causes of death in controls. UGIB patients have three times higher long-term mortality than population controls.

The Geomagnetic Control Concept of The Ionospheric Long- Term Trends

Science.gov (United States)

Mikhailov, A. V.

The geomagnetic control concept has been developed to explain long-term trends of the electron concentration in the F2 and E ionospheric regions. Periods with negative and positive foF2, hmF2 and foE trends correspond to the periods of increasing or decreasing geomagnetic activity with the turning points around the end of 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s where trends change their signs. Strong latitudinal and diurnal variations revealed for the foF2 and hmF2 trends can be explained by neutral composition, temperature and thermospheric wind changes. Particle precipitation is important in the auroral zone. The newly proposed concept proceeds from a natural origin of the F2-layer trends rather than an artificial one related to the greenhouse effect. Using the proposed method a very long-term foF2 and foE trends related with general increase of geomagnetic activity in the 20th century has been revealed for the first time. The firstly revealed relationship of the foE trends with geomagnetic activity is due to nitric oxide variations at the E-region heights. This "natural" relationship of the foE trends with geomagnetic activity breaks down around 1970 on many stations presumably due to chemical polution of the upper atmosphere. The increasing rate of rocket and satellite launchings in the late 1960s is considered as a reason.

Impact of long-term and short-term therapies on seminal parameters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jlenia Elia

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this work was: i to evaluate the prevalence of male partners of subfertile couples being treated with long/short term therapies for non andrological diseases; ii to study their seminal profile for the possible effects of their treatments on spermatogenesis and/or epididymal maturation. Methods: The study group was made up of 723 subjects, aged between 25 and 47 years. Semen analysis was performed according to World Health Organization (WHO guidelines (1999. The Superimposed Image Analysis System (SIAS, which is based on the computerized superimposition of spermatozoa images, was used to assess sperm motility parameters. Results: The prevalence of subjects taking pharmacological treatments was 22.7% (164/723. The prevalence was 3.7% (27/723 for the Short-Term Group and 18.9% (137/723 for the Long-Term Group. The subjects of each group were also subdivided into subgroups according to the treatments being received. Regarding the seminal profile, we did not observe a significant difference between the Long-Term, Short-Term or the Control Group. However, regarding the subgroups, we found a significant decrease in sperm number and progressive motility percentage in the subjects receiving treatment with antihypertensive drugs compared with the other subgroups and the Control Group. Conclusions: In the management of infertile couples, the potential negative impact on seminal parameters of any drugs being taken as Long-Term Therapy should be considered. The pathogenic mechanism needs to be clarified.

Automated and temperature-controlled micro-PIV measurements enabling long-term-stable microchannel acoustophoresis characterization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Augustsson, Per; Barnkob, Rune; Wereley, Steven T.

2011-01-01

We present a platform for micro particle image velocimetry (μPIV), capable of carrying out full-channel, temperature-controlled, long-term-stable, and automated μPIV-measurement of microchannel acoustophoresis with uncertainties below 5% and a spatial resolution in the order of 20 μm. A method to...

Long-Term Protection of Genetically Ablated Rabbit Retinal Degeneration by Sustained Transscleral Unoprostone Delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagai, Nobuhiro; Koyanagi, Eri; Izumida, Yasuko; Liu, Junjun; Katsuyama, Aya; Kaji, Hirokazu; Nishizawa, Matsuhiko; Osumi, Noriko; Kondo, Mineo; Terasaki, Hiroko; Mashima, Yukihiko; Nakazawa, Toru; Abe, Toshiaki

2016-12-01

To evaluate the long-term protective effects of transscleral unoprostone (UNO) against retinal degeneration in transgenic (Tg) rabbits (Pro347Leu rhodopsin mutation). The UNO release devices (URDs) were implanted into the sclerae of Tg rabbits and ERG, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and ophthalmic examinations were conducted for 40 weeks. Unoprostone metabolites in retina, choroid/RPE, aqueous humor, and plasma from wild-type (Wt) rabbits were measured using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry evaluated the retinal distribution of big potassium (BK) channels, and RT-PCR evaluated the expressions of BK channels and m-opsin at 1 week after URD treatment. The URD released UNO at a rate of 10.2 ±1.0 μg/d, and the release rate and amount of UNO decreased during 32 weeks. Higher ERG amplitudes were observed in the URD-treated Tg rabbits compared with the placebo-URD, or nontreated controls. At 24 weeks after implantation into the URD-treated Tg rabbits, OCT images showed preservation of retinal thickness, and histologic examinations (44 weeks) showed greater thickness of outer nuclear layers. Unoprostone was detected in the retina, choroid, and plasma of Wt rabbits. Retina/plasma ratio of UNO levels were 38.0 vs. 0.68 ng UNO*hour/mL in the URD-treated group versus control (topical UNO), respectively. Big potassium channels were observed in cone, cone ON-bipolar, and rod bipolar cells. Reverse-transcriptase PCR demonstrated BK channels and m-opsins increased in URD-treated eyes. In Tg rabbits, URD use slowed the decline of retinal function for more than 32 weeks, and therefore provides a promising tool for long-term treatment of RP.

Predictors of long-term benzodiazepine abstinence in participants of a randomized controlled benzodiazepine withdrawal program.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oude Voshaar, R.C.; Gorgels, W.J.M.J.; Mol, A.J.J.; Balkom, A.J.L.M. van; Mulder, J.; Lisdonk, E.H. van de; Breteler, M.H.M.; Zitman, F.G.

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of resumed benzodiazepine use after participation in a benzodiazepine discontinuation trial. METHOD: We performed multiple Cox regression analyses to predict the long-term outcome of a 3-condition, randomized, controlled benzodiazepine discontinuation trial in

Predictors of long-term benzodiazepine abstinence in participants of a randomized controlled benzodiazepine withdrawal program

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oude Voshaar, R.C.; Gorgels, W.J.M.J.; Mol, A.J.J.; Balkom, A.J.L.M. van; Mulder, J.; Lisdonk, E.H. van de; Breteler, M.H.M.; Zitman, F.G.

2006-01-01

Objective: To identify predictors of resumed benzodiazepine use after participation in a benzodiazepine discontinuation trial. Method: We performed multiple Cox regression analyses to predict the long-term outcome of a 3-condition, randomized, controlled benzodiazepine discontinuation trial in

MID-LONG TERM RESULTS OF MANIPULATION AND ARTHROSCOPIC RELEASE IN FROZEN SHOULDER

Science.gov (United States)

CELIK, HALUK; SECKIN, MUSTAFA FAIK; AKCAL, MEHMET AKIF; KARA, ADNAN; KILINC, BEKIR ERAY; AKMAN, SENOL

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Objective: Surgical treatment options should be discussed in cases of frozen shoulder, which is usually treated in a conservative manner. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of manipulation and arthroscopic release in cases of frozen shoulder which resisted conservative treatment. Methods: A total of 32 patients who underwent manipulation and arthroscopic capsular release in 34 shoulders were included in the study. The average follow-up period was 49.5 months (range: 24-90 months). No reason for onset could be found in 8 (25%) patients, who were classified as primary frozen shoulder; twenty-four (75%) patients were classified as secondary frozen shoulder due to underlying pathologies. The average pre-operative complaint period was 11 months (range: 3-24 months). After arthroscopic examination, manipulation was performed first, followed by arthroscopic capsular release. The range of motion in both shoulders was compared before the procedure and in the last follow-up visit. Constant and Oxford classifications were used to assess functional results, and the results were assessed statistically. Results: Patient values for passive elevation, abduction, adduction-external rotation, abduction-external rotation, and abduction-internal rotation increased in a statistically significant manner between the preoperative assessment and follow-up evaluation (p<0.01). The average change of 47.97±21.03 units observed in the patients’ values obtained in the control measurements against the pre-op Constant scores was determined to be statistically significant (p<0.01). According to the Oxford classification, 29 shoulders were sufficient. Conclusion: Successful results can be obtained with arthroscopic release performed after manipulation in patients with frozen shoulder resistant to conservative treatment. Level of Evidence IV, Case Series. PMID:29375258

Long-term safety issues associated with mixer pump operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubic, W.L. Jr.

1994-01-01

In this report, we examine several long-term issues: the effect of pump operation on future gas release events (GREs), uncontrolled chemical reactions, chronic toxic gas releases, foaming, and erosion and corrosion. Heat load in excess of the design limit, uncontrolled chemical reactions, chronic toxic gas releases, foaming, and erosion and corrosion have been shown not to be safety concerns. The effect of pump operation on future GREs could not be quantified. The problem with evaluating the long-term effects of pump operation on GREs is a lack of knowledge and uncertainty. In particular, the phenomena governing gas retention, particle size distribution, and settling are not well understood, nor are the interactions among these factors understood. There is a possibility that changes in these factors could increase the size of future GREs. Bounding estimates of the potential increase in size of GREs are not possible because of a lack of engineering data. Proper management of the hazards can reduce, but not eliminate, the possibility of undesirable changes. Maintaining temperature within the historical limits can reduce the possibility of undesirable changes. A monitoring program to detect changes in the gas composition and crust thickness will help detect slowly occurring changes. Because pump operation has be shown to eliminate GREs, continued pump operation can eliminate the hazards associated with future GREs

Impact of short-term severe accident management actions in a long-term perspective. Final Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2000-03-01

The present systems for severe accident management are focused on mitigating the consequences of special severe accident phenomena and to reach a safe plant state. However, in the development of strategies and procedures for severe accident management, it is also important to consider the long-term perspective of accident management and especially to secure the safe state of the plant. The main reason for this is that certain short-term actions have an impact on the long-term scenario. Both positive and negative effects from short-term actions on the accident management in the long-term perspective have been included in this paper. Short-term actions are accident management measures taken within about 24 hours after the initiating event. The purpose of short-term actions is to reach a stable status of the plant. The main goal in the long-term perspective is to maintain the reactor in a stable state and prevent uncontrolled releases of activity. The purpose of this short Technical Note, deliberately limited in scope, is to draw attention to potential long-term problems, important to utilities and regulatory authorities, arising from the way a severe accident would be managed during the first hours. Its objective is to encourage discussions on the safest - and maybe also most economical - way to manage a severe accident in the long term by not making the situation worse through inappropriate short-term actions, and on the identification of short-term actions likely to make long-term management easier and safer. The Note is intended as a contribution to the knowledge base put at the disposal of Member countries through international collaboration. The scope of the work has been limited to a literature search. Useful further activities have been identified. However, there is no proposal, at this stage, for more detailed work to be undertaken under the auspices of the CSNI. Plant-specific applications would need to be developed by utilities

Treatment timing for functional jaw orthopaedics followed by fixed appliances: a controlled long-term study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pavoni, Chiara; Lombardo, Elisabetta Cretella; Lione, Roberta; Faltin, Kurt; McNamara, James A; Cozza, Paola; Franchi, Lorenzo

2017-11-01

To evaluate the role of treatment timing on long-term dentoskeletal effects of Class II treatment with removable functional appliances followed by full-fixed appliance therapy. A group of 46 patients (23 females and 23 males) with Class II malocclusion treated consecutively with either Bionator or Activator, followed by fixed appliances was compared with a matched control group of 31 subjects (16 females and 15 males) with untreated Class II malocclusion. The treated sample was evaluated at T1, start of treatment (mean age: 9.9 ± 1.3 years); T2, end of functional treatment and prior to fixed appliances (mean age: 11.9 ± 1.3 years); and T3, long-term observation (mean age: 18.3 ± 2.1 years). The treated and the control samples were divided into pre-pubertal and pubertal groups according to skeletal maturity observed at the start of treatment. Statistical comparisons were performed with independent sample t-tests. When treatment was initiated before puberty, Class II correction was mostly confined to the dentoalveolar changes, with significant improvements of both overjet and molar relationships. On the other hand, treatment with the outset at puberty produced significant long-term improvement of sagittal skeletal relationships, which were mainly sustained by mandibular changes. Treatment with removable functional appliances (Bionator or Activator) followed by full-fixed appliances produced significant skeletal long-term changes when it begins at puberty. Prepubertal Class II treatment results primarily in dentoalveolar changes. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Orthodontic Society. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Long-Term Effects from Bacterial Meningitis in Childhood and Adolescence on Postural Control

Science.gov (United States)

Petersen, Hannes; Patel, Mitesh; Ingason, Einar F.; Einarsson, Einar J.; Haraldsson, Ásgeir; Fransson, Per-Anders

2014-01-01

Bacterial meningitis in childhood is associated with cognitive deficiencies, sensorimotor impairments and motor dysfunction later in life. However, the long-term effects on postural control is largely unknown, e.g., whether meningitis subjects as adults fully can utilize visual information and adaptation to enhance stability. Thirty-six subjects (20 women, mean age 19.3 years) treated in childhood or adolescence for bacterial meningitis, and 25 controls (13 women, mean age 25.1 years) performed posturography with eyes open and closed under unperturbed and perturbed standing. The meningitis subjects were screened for subjective vertigo symptoms using a questionnaire, clinically tested with headshake and head thrust test, as well as their hearing was evaluated. Meningitis subjects were significantly more unstable than controls during unperturbed (p≤0.014) and perturbed standing, though while perturbed only with eyes open in anteroposterior direction (p = 0.034) whereas in lateral direction both with eyes open and closed (pMeningitis subjects had poorer adaption ability to balance perturbations especially with eyes open, and they frequently reported symptoms of unsteadiness (88% of the subjects) and dizziness (81%), which was found significantly correlated to objectively decreased stability. Out of the 36 subjects only 3 had unilateral hearing impairment. Hence, survivors of childhood bacterial meningitis may suffer long-term disorders affecting postural control, and would greatly benefit if these common late effects became generally known so treatments can be developed and applied. PMID:25405756

Evaluating release alternatives for a long-lived bird species under uncertainty about long-term demographic rates

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Clinton T.; Converse, Sarah J.; Folk, Martin J.; Runge, Michael C.; Nesbitt, Stephen A.

2012-01-01

The release of animals to reestablish an extirpated population is a decision problem that is often attended by considerable uncertainty about the probability of success. Annual releases of captive-reared juvenile Whooping Cranes (Grus americana) were begun in 1993 in central Florida, USA, to establish a breeding, non-migratory population. Over a 12-year period, 286 birds were released, but by 2004, the introduced flock had produced only four wild-fledged birds. Consequently, releases were halted over managers' concerns about the performance of the released flock and uncertainty about the efficacy of further releases. We used data on marked, released birds to develop predictive models for addressing whether releases should be resumed, and if so, under what schedule. To examine the outcome of different release scenarios, we simulated the survival and productivity of individual female birds under a baseline model that recognized age and breeding-class structure and which incorporated empirically estimated stochastic elements. As data on wild-fledged birds from captive-reared parents were sparse, a key uncertainty that confronts release decision-making is whether captive-reared birds and their offspring share the same vital rates. Therefore, we used data on the only population of wild Whooping Cranes in existence to construct two alternatives to the baseline model. The probability of population persistence was highly sensitive to the choice of these three models. Under the baseline model, extirpation of the population was nearly certain under any scenario of resumed releases. In contrast, the model based on estimates from wild birds projected a high probability of persistence under any release scenario, including cessation of releases. Therefore, belief in either of these models suggests that further releases are an ineffective use of resources. In the third model, which simulated a population Allee effect, population persistence was sensitive to the release decision

The effects of long- and short-term interdisciplinary treatment approaches in women with fibromyalgia: a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Saral, Ilknur; Sindel, Dilsad; Esmaeilzadeh, Sina; Sertel-Berk, Hanife Ozlem; Oral, Aydan

2016-10-01

We investigated the effects of long- and short-term interdisciplinary treatment approaches for reducing symptoms and improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and physical functions of patients with fibromyalgia and compared the effects of two different interdisciplinary treatment approaches. We conducted a prospective, randomized, controlled trial involving 66 women with fibromyalgia eligible for the study at a university hospital setting. The patients were randomized into three groups (allocation ratio 1:1:1) using a computer-generated random numbers: a long-term interdisciplinary treatment group (LG, n = 22) that participated in 10 sessions (3-h once-weekly session for 10 weeks) of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) together with exercise training and other fibromyalgia related educational programs (two full days); a short-term interdisciplinary treatment group (SG, n = 22) that received two full days of educational, exercise, and CBT programs; and a control group (CG, n = 22). The patients were evaluated at baseline and 6 months after treatment using the visual analog scale (pain, fatigue, and sleep), Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, Short Form-36, tender point numbers, and pressure algometry as primary outcomes. The statistical analysis was confined to the 'per-protocol' set. No blinding was performed. The number of patients analyzed was 21 in the LG, 19 in the SG, and 19 in the CG. The intensity of pain (p treatment approaches when compared with controls; the long-term treatment was found more effective in reducing pain than the short-term. Both, long- and short-term interdisciplinary treatments were effective in reducing the severity of some symptoms and disease activity in patients with fibromyalgia. The short-term program well meets the needs of women with fibromyalgia particularly in relation to pain and health status as measured using FIQ; however, a long-term program may be beneficial in reducing fatigue and

Environmental radioactivity. Global transport, distribution and its long-term variation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirose, Katsumi

2015-01-01

Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1NPP) accident, which occurred as a result of huge earthquake and resulting tsunami, had a severe impact on world communities as did Japanese, because of cause of serious radioactivity contamination in the environment. Long-term effects of radioactivity contamination from F1NPP are concerned. To assess the long-term environmental effects of the F1NPP accident, it is important to review the history of global radioactivity contamination, which started from Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear explosions in Aug. 1945. Radionuclides released in the environment as a result of atmospheric nuclear explosions, nuclear reactor accident and others are migrated between atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere according to natural processes. We describe long-term environmental behaviors of anthropogenic radionuclides derived from the atmospheric nuclear explosions and others, which is useful to predict the behaviors and fate of the F1NPP-derived radionuclides. (author)

Long-term leaching from MSWI air-pollution-control residues: Leaching characterization and modeling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hyks, Jiri; Astrup, Thomas; Christensen, Thomas Højlund

2009-01-01

Long-term leaching of Ca, Fe, Mg, K, Na, S, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mo, Sb, Si, Sri, Sr, Ti, V, P, Cl, and dissolved organic carbon from two different municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) air-pollution-control residues was monitored during 24 months of column percolat......Long-term leaching of Ca, Fe, Mg, K, Na, S, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, Mo, Sb, Si, Sri, Sr, Ti, V, P, Cl, and dissolved organic carbon from two different municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) air-pollution-control residues was monitored during 24 months of column...... percolation experiments; liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratios of 200-250 L/kg corresponding to more than 10,000 years in a conventional landfill were reached. Less than 2% of the initially present As, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, and Sb had leached during the Course of the experiments. Concentrations of Cd, Fe, Mg, Hg, Mn, Ni, Co......, Sn, Ti, and P were generally bellow 1 mu g/L; overall less than 1% of their mass leached. Column leaching data were further used in a two-step geochemical modeling in PHREEQC in order to (i) identify solubility controlling minerals and (ii) evaluate their interactions in a water-percolated column...

Building on a national health information technology strategic plan for long-term and post-acute care: comments by the Long Term Post Acute Care Health Information Technology Collaborative.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Gregory L; Alwan, Majd; Batshon, Lynne; Bloom, Shawn M; Brennan, Richard D; Derr, John F; Dougherty, Michelle; Gruhn, Peter; Kirby, Annessa; Manard, Barbara; Raiford, Robin; Serio, Ingrid Johnson

2011-07-01

The LTPAC (Long Term Post Acute Care) Health Information Technology (HIT) Collaborative consists of an alliance of long-term services and post-acute care stakeholders. Members of the collaborative are actively promoting HIT innovations in long-term care settings because IT adoption for health care institutions in the United States has become a high priority. One method used to actively promote HIT is providing expert comments on important documents addressing HIT adoption. Recently, the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT released a draft of the Federal Health Information Technology Strategic Plan 2011-2015 for public comment. The following brief is intended to inform about recommendations and comments made by the Collaborative on the strategic plan. Copyright 2011, SLACK Incorporated.

Long-term sealing of openings in salt formations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walter, F.; Stockmann, N.; Yaramanci, U.; Laurens, J.F.

1993-01-01

Radioactive wastes can be disposed of in deep salt formations. Rock salt is a suitable geologic medium because of its unique characteristics. Open boreholes, shafts and drifts are created to provide physical access to the repository. Long-term seals must be emplaced in those potential pathways to prevent radioactive release to the biosphere. The sealing materials must be mechanically and, most important, geochemically stable within the host rock. Salt bricks made of compressed salt-powder are understood to be the first choice long-term sealing material. Seals built from salt bricks will be ductile. The permeability of the salt bricks is assumed to be in the order of 2*10 -15 m 2 . Large sealing systems are built by combining the individual bricks with mortar. Raw materials for mortar are fine-grained halite powder and ground saliferous clay. The permeability of the mortar decreases with its salt content to approx. 2*10 -14 m 2 . Moistened saliferous clay may show temporary swelling. Sealing experiments will be carried out in the Asse salt mine. Long-term seals will be built into holes of 1 m diameter. The contact and merging of the brick-wall with the surrounding rock salt will be investigated in long-term tests. Within the in situ sealing program a number of geophysical methods are applied. Acoustic emission measurements are used to study the effects of high pressure gas injection and a geoelectrical observation program is aiming to estimate the permeability in and around the long-term seal. High frequency electromagnetic methods contribute to the knowledge of the petrophysical rock properties. 11 refs., 12 figs

Long-term quality of life and tumour control following gamma knife radiosurgery for vestibular schwannoma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wangerid, Theresa; Bartek, Jiri; Svensson, Mikael

2014-01-01

Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) has for the last decades been an established treatment option for patients with small- or medium-sized vestibular schwannomas (VS), although little data is reported on long-term outcome regarding quality of life (QOL) and tumour control in this patient category...

Long-term tolerability of inhaled human insulin (Exubera) in patients with poorly controlled type 2 diabetes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barnett, A H; Lange, P; Dreyer, M

2007-01-01

or metformin (study 1) and patients poorly controlled on metformin were randomised to adjunctive EXU or the sulphonylurea, glibenclamide (study 2). PATIENTS: The studies included 446 (study 1) and 476 (study 2) patients with type 2 diabetes, no clinically significant respiratory disease and glycosylated....... There was no discernable effect of long-term EXU therapy on pulmonary gas exchange. Insulin antibody binding reached a plateau at 6 months and did not correlate with HbA(1c) or lung function changes. Glycaemic control was maintained over 2 years. CONCLUSIONS: Exubera was well tolerated during long-term use. Pulmonary...... function changes compared with comparator groups were small, non-progressive and reversed upon treatment discontinuation. Importantly, rates of lung function change were indistinguishable between EXU and comparator after 6 months of therapy. Udgivelsesdato: 2007-Oct...

Work and family: associations with long-term sick-listing in Swedish women – a case-control study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandmark Hélène

2007-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The number of Swedish women who are long-term sick-listed is high, and twice as high as for men. Also the periods of sickness absence have on average been longer for women than for men. The objective of this study was to investigate the associations between factors in work- and family life and long-term sick-listing in Swedish women. Methods This case-control study included 283 women on long-term sick-listing ≥90 days, and 250 female referents, randomly chosen, living in five counties in Sweden. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses with odds ratios were calculated to estimate the associations between long-term sick-listing and factors related to occupational work and family life. Results Long-term sick-listing in women is associated with self-reported lack of competence for work tasks (OR 2.42 1.23–11.21 log reg, workplace dissatisfaction (OR 1.89 1.14–6.62 log reg, physical workload above capacity (1.78 1.50–5.94, too high mental strain in work tasks (1.61 1.08–5.01 log reg, number of employers during work life (OR 1.39 1.35–4.03 log reg, earlier part-time work (OR 1.39 1.18–4.03 log reg, and lack of influence on working hours (OR 1.35 1.47–3.86 log reg. A younger age at first child, number of children, and main responsibility for own children was also found to be associated with long-term sick-listing. Almost all of the sick-listed women (93% wanted to return to working life, and 54% reported they could work immediately if adjustments at work or part-time work were possible. Conclusion Factors in work and in family life could be important to consider to prevent women from being long-term sick-listed and promote their opportunities to remain in working life. Measures ought to be taken to improve their mobility in work life and control over decisions and actions regarding theirs lives.

Risk Assessment and Control through Countermeasure System Iplementation for Long-term Crew Exposure to Microgravity

Science.gov (United States)

Gernand, Jeremy M.

2004-01-01

Experience with the International Space Station (ISS) program demonstrates the degree to which engineering design and operational solutions must protect crewmembers from health risks due to long-term exposure to the microgravity environment. Risks to safety and health due to degradation in the microgravity environment include crew inability to complete emergency or nominal activities, increased risk of injury, and inability to complete safe return to the ground due to reduced strength or embrittled bones. These risks without controls slowly increase in probability for the length of the mission and become more significant for increasing mission durations. Countermeasures to microgravity include hardware systems that place a crewmember s body under elevated stress to produce an effect similar to daily exposure to gravity. The ISS countermeasure system is predominately composed of customized exercise machines. Historical treatment of microgravity countermeasure systems as medical research experiments unintentionally reduced the foreseen importance and therefore the capability of the systems to function in a long-term operational role. Long-term hazardous effects and steadily increasing operational risks due to non-functional countermeasure equipment require a more rigorous design approach and incorporation of redundancy into seemingly non- mission-critical hardware systems. Variations in the rate of health degradation and responsiveness to countermeasures among the crew population drastically increase the challenge for design requirements development and verification of the appropriate risk control strategy. The long-term nature of the hazards and severe limits on logistical re-supply mass, volume and frequency complicates assessment of hardware availability and verification of an adequate maintenance and sparing plan. Design achievement of medically defined performance requirements by microgravity countermeasure systems and incorporation of adequate failure tolerance

Long-term follow-up study and long-term care of childhood cancer survivors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyeon Jin Park

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The number of long-term survivors is increasing in the western countries due to remarkable improvements in the treatment of childhood cancer. The long-term complications of childhood cancer survivors in these countries were brought to light by the childhood cancer survivor studies. In Korea, the 5-year survival rate of childhood cancer patients is approaching 70%; therefore, it is extremely important to undertake similar long-term follow-up studies and comprehensive long-term care for our population. On the basis of the experiences of childhood cancer survivorship care of the western countries and the current Korean status of childhood cancer survivors, long-term follow-up study and long-term care systems need to be established in Korea in the near future. This system might contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of childhood cancer survivors through effective intervention strategies.

Cancer risk in long-term users of vitamin K antagonists: A population-based case-control study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pottegård, Anton; Friis, Søren; Hallas, Jesper

2013-01-01

performed for selected cancer sites, subgroups and measures of exposure. A total of 238,196 cases and 1,713,176 controls were included. The adjusted OR for cancer associated with long-term VKA exposure was 0.99 (95% CI: 0.95–1.02). Long-term VKA use was associated with increased ORs for alcohol- or obesity-related...... a matched case–control analysis. We used data from four Danish nationwide registers. Cases were all Danish individuals with a first-time cancer diagnosis (except nonmelanoma skin cancer) between 2000 and 2009. For each case, eight controls, matched by birth year and gender, were selected from the source...... cancer sites, whereas we observed a decreased risk of prostate cancer (OR: 0.86; 95% CI: 0.78–0.95). Our study does not support a general chemopreventive effect of VKA drugs. However, in accordance with findings from previous studies, we found an inverse association between use of VKA and prostate cancer....

Persistent negative illness perceptions despite long-term biochemical control of acromegaly: novel application of the drawing test.

Science.gov (United States)

Tiemensma, Jitske; Pereira, Alberto M; Romijn, Johannes A; Broadbent, Elizabeth; Biermasz, Nienke R; Kaptein, Adrian A

2015-05-01

Patients with acromegaly have persistent complaints despite long-term biochemical control. Drawings can be used to assess patients' perceptions about their disease. We aimed to explore the utility of the drawing test and its relation to illness perceptions and quality of life (QoL) in patients after long-term remission of acromegaly. A cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the utility of the drawing test. A total of 50 patients after long-term remission (mean±s.e.m., 16±1.2 years) of acromegaly were included in this study. Patients completed the drawing test (two retrospective drawings of their body perception before acromegaly and during the active phase of acromegaly, and one drawing on the current condition after long-term remission), Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised, Physical Symptom Checklist, EuroQoL-5D, and AcroQoL. Patients perceived a dramatic change in body size during the active state of the disease compared with the healthy state before the awareness of acromegaly. Patients reported that their body did not completely return to the original proportions after long-term remission. In addition, larger drawings indicated more negative consequences (Pdrawings also indicated more impaired QoL, especially disease-specific QoL (all Pdrawing test, illness perceptions, and QoL. The drawing test appears to be a novel and relatively easy tool to assess the perception of patients after long-term remission of acromegaly. The assessment of drawings may enable health care providers to appreciate the perceptions of patients with long-term remission of acromegaly, and enable discussion of symptoms and remission. © 2015 European Society of Endocrinology.

Role of nitric oxide in long-term potentiation of the rat medial vestibular nuclei.

Science.gov (United States)

Grassi, S; Pettorossi, V E

2000-01-01

In rat brainstem slices, we investigated the role of nitric oxide in long-term potentiation induced in the ventral portion of the medial vestibular nuclei by high-frequency stimulation of the primary vestibular afferents. The nitric oxide scavenger [2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide ] and the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester were administered before and after induction of potentiation. Both drugs completely prevented long-term potentiation, whereas they did not impede the potentiation build-up, or affect the already established potentiation. These results demonstrate that the induction, but not the maintenance of vestibular long-term potentiation, depends on the synthesis and release into the extracellular medium of nitric oxide. In addition, we analysed the effect of the nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside on vestibular responses. Sodium nitroprusside induced long-term potentiation, as evidenced through the field potential enhancement and unit peak latency decrease. This potentiation was impeded by D, L-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid, and was reduced under blockade of synaptosomal platelet-activating factor receptors by ginkgolide B and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors by (R,S)-1-aminoindan-1, 5-dicarboxylic acid. When reduced, potentiation fully developed following the washout of antagonist, demonstrating an involvement of platelet-activating factor and group I metabotropic glutamate receptors in its full development. Potentiation induced by sodium nitroprusside was also associated with a decrease in the paired-pulse facilitation ratio, which persisted under ginkgolide B, indicating that nitric oxide increases glutamate release independently of platelet-activating factor-mediated presynaptic events. We suggest that nitric oxide, released after the activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors, acts as a retrograde messenger leading to an enhancement of glutamate release to a

Setting the stage for long-term reproductive health.

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Craig A; Vander Ley, Brian; Poock, Scott E

2013-11-01

This article discusses some of the aspects of heifer development that contribute to long-term health and productivity, such as disease prevention and control. Nutrition is also an important component of long-term health, and body condition score is discussed as a way to determine whether the nutrient demands of heifers are being met. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Assessment of effectiveness of geologic isolation systems. Perspectives on the geological and hydrological aspects of long-term release scenario analyses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stottlemyre, J.A.; Wallace, R.W.; Benson, G.L.; Zellmer, J.T.

1980-06-01

Information that may be relevant to individuals involved with analyzing long-term release scenarios of specific repositories for nuclear waste is presented. The bulk of the information is derived from recent studies in West Germany and the United States. Emphasis is on the specific geological and hydrological phenomena that, alone or in concert, could potentially perturb the area around specific repository sites. Research is continuing on most of the topics discussed within this report. Because research is ongoing, statements and conclusions described in this document are subject to change. The main topics of this report are: (1) fracturing, (2) geohydrology, (3) magmatic activity, and (4) geomorphology. Therefore, the site-specific nature of the problem cannot be overemphasized. As an example of how one might combine the many synergistic and time-dependent parameters into a concise format the reader is referred to A Conceputal Simulation Model for Release Scenario Analysis of a Hypothetical Site in Columbia Plateau Basalts, PNL-2892. For additional details on the topics in this report, the reader is referred to the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) consultant report listed in the bibliography.

Assessment of effectiveness of geologic isolation systems. Perspectives on the geological and hydrological aspects of long-term release scenario analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stottlemyre, J.A.; Wallace, R.W.; Benson, G.L.; Zellmer, J.T.

1980-06-01

Information that may be relevant to individuals involved with analyzing long-term release scenarios of specific repositories for nuclear waste is presented. The bulk of the information is derived from recent studies in West Germany and the United States. Emphasis is on the specific geological and hydrological phenomena that, alone or in concert, could potentially perturb the area around specific repository sites. Research is continuing on most of the topics discussed within this report. Because research is ongoing, statements and conclusions described in this document are subject to change. The main topics of this report are: (1) fracturing, (2) geohydrology, (3) magmatic activity, and (4) geomorphology. Therefore, the site-specific nature of the problem cannot be overemphasized. As an example of how one might combine the many synergistic and time-dependent parameters into a concise format the reader is referred to A Conceputal Simulation Model for Release Scenario Analysis of a Hypothetical Site in Columbia Plateau Basalts, PNL-2892. For additional details on the topics in this report, the reader is referred to the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) consultant report listed in the bibliography

Mission Accomplished? We Need a Guide to the 'Post Release' World of Wolbachia for Aedes-borne Disease Control.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchie, Scott A; van den Hurk, Andrew F; Smout, Michael J; Staunton, Kyran M; Hoffmann, Ary A

2018-03-01

Historically, sustained control of Aedes aegypti, the vector of dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses, has been largely ineffective. Subsequently, two novel 'rear and release' control strategies utilizing mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia are currently being developed and deployed widely. In the incompatible insect technique, male Aedes mosquitoes, infected with Wolbachia, suppress populations through unproductive mating. In the transinfection strategy, both male and female Wolbachia-infected Ae. aegypti mosquitoes rapidly infect the wild population with Wolbachia, blocking virus transmission. It is critical to monitor the long-term stability of Wolbachia in host populations, and also the ability of this bacterium to continually inhibit virus transmission. Ongoing release and monitoring programs must be future-proofed should political support weaken when these vectors are successfully controlled. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fukushima Daiichi. Post accident countermeasures and mid-and-long-term action plan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, Kazuhiko

2012-01-01

Since accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, TEPCO had made strenuous efforts to maintain stable cooling of reactors and suppress discharge of radioactive materials under the cooperation of the government and others concerned. Various activities towards settlement of the accident had been done according to the roadmap proposed on April 17, 2011. This article described outlines of post accident countermeasures and current activities toward decommissioning based on mid-and-long-term action plan. Step 2 completion in roadmap towards settlement of the accident was confirmed on Dec. 16, 2011; (1) reactors: attainment of a condition equivalent to 'cold shutdown' with temperature of RPV bottom below 100degC, release of radioactive materials from PCV under control and public radiation exposure by additional release being significantly held down (evaluated as maximum 0.2 mSv/y at the site boundary), and mid-term safety of circulating water injection cooling system, (2) spent fuel pools: more stable cooling with circulating cooling system by installation of heat exchanger, (3) radioactive contaminated water: reduction of total amount with full-fledged processing facilities, desalination processing (reuse), storage and mitigation of contamination in the ocean, (4) commence construction of water shielding wall to prevent contamination of the ocean via the underground water, (5) installation of reactor building cover of unit 1 to restrain release of radioactive materials, and others. According to mid-to-long-term roadmap towards the decommissioning of Fukushima Nuclear Power Units 1-4, current activities were to (1) maintain stable reactor cooling and accumulated water processing and improve their credibility, (2) reduce the radiation impact due to additional emissions from the whole site and radioactive waste generated after the accident, (3) commence removal of fuel from the spent fuel pools (unit 4 within 2 years), (4) commence R and D and decontamination the

Uranium geochemistry in estuarine sediments: Controls on removal and release processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, C.E.; Cochran, J.K.

1993-01-01

Porewater uranium profiles from Long Island Sound (LIS) and Amazon shelf sediments and LIS sediment incubation experiments indicate that both removal and release processes control U geochemistry in estuarine sediments. Release of U from sediments occurs in association with Fe reduction. A correlation between U and Fe (and Mn) observed in sediment incubation experiments suggests that there is release of U from Fe-Mn-oxides as they are reduced, consistent with data from the Amazon shelf. In both sediment porewater profiles (LIS and Amazon) and sediment incubation experiments (LIS), there is removal of U from porewater under conditions of sulfate reduction. Sediment incubation experiments indicate that the removal rate is first-order with respect to U concentration, and the rate constant is linearly correlated to sulfate reduction rates. The link between U removal and sulfate reduction (a measure of diagenetic microbial activity) is consistent with a microbial mediation of U reduction. The diffusion flux of U into LIS sediments is estimated from porewater profiles. The inclusion of this estuarine removal term in the oceanic U balance increases the importance of the sediment sink. 62 refs., 12 figs., 2 tabs

Long-term WWER-440 dynamics in cyclic power output changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petruzela, I.

1989-01-01

Xenon poisoning is one of the main factors limiting the operation of a nuclear power plant with a WWER-440 reactor in the variable load mode, when long-term dynamics applies to cyclic power output changes. An analysis of the xenon poisoning linearized transfer shows that a phase shift of 180deg takes place between the summed-up reactivity change due to a power change and the reactivity change due to xenon poisoning, this for a sine-wave power change with a period of 24 hours. Thus, the requirements are minimized for the change in reactivity of the control elements, and the maximum value can be achieved of released reactivity that can be utilized before the end of the campaign. (B.S.). 6 figs., 4 tabs., 9 refs

Rapid fabrication of superhydrophobic Al/Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanothermite film with excellent energy-release characteristics and long-term storage stability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ke, Xiang; Zhou, Xiang, E-mail: zhouxiang@njust.edu.cn; Hao, Gaozi; Xiao, Lei; Liu, Jie; Jiang, Wei, E-mail: superfine_jw@126.com

2017-06-15

Highlights: • Superhydrophobic Al/Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanothermite film is prepared by combining electrophoretic deposition and surface modification technologies. • The deposition system and kinetics of electrophoretic deposition process are investigated to optimize parameters to obtain smooth films. • Energy-release characteristics of superhydrophobic films are significantly improved for both fresh and aged samples. • Superhydrophobic films exhibit excellent long-time storage stability both in natural and accelerated aging test. • A preignition reaction is found to enhance the energy-release characteristics of superhydrophobic nanothermite film. - Abstract: One of the challenges for the application of energetic materials is their energy-retaining capabilities after long-term storage. In this study, we report a facile method to fabricate superhydrophobic Al/Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanothermite film by combining electrophoretic deposition and surface modification technologies. Different concentrations of dispersion solvents and additives are investigated to optimize the deposition parameters. Meanwhile, the dependence of deposition rates on nanoparticle concentrations is also studied. The surface morphology and chemical composition are characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A static contact angles as high as 156° shows the superhydrophobicity of the nanothermite film. Natural and accelerated aging tests are performed and the thermal behavior is analyzed. Thermal analysis shows that the surface modification contributes to significantly improved energy-release characteristics for both fresh and aged samples, which is supposed to be attributed to the preignition reaction between Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} shell and FAS-17. Superhydrophobic Al/Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} nanothermite film exhibits excellent long-time storage stability with 83.4% of energy left in

Mitigating the Long term Operating Extreme Load through Active Control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koukoura, Christina; Natarajan, Anand

2014-01-01

The parameters influencing the long term extreme operating design loads are identified through the implementation of a Design of Experiment (DOE) method. A function between the identified critical factors and the ultimate out-of-plane loads on the blade is determined. Variations in the initial blade azimuth location are shown to affect the extreme blade load magnitude during operation in normal turbulence wind input. The simultaneously controlled operation of generator torque variation and pitch variation at low blade pitch angles is detected to be responsible for very high loads acting on the blades. Through gain scheduling of the controller (modifications of the proportional Kp and the integral K gains) the extreme loads are mitigated, ensuring minimum instantaneous variations in the power production for operation above rated wind speed. The response of the blade load is examined for different values of the integral gain as resulting in rotor speed error and the rate of change of rotor speed. Based on the results a new load case for the simulation of extreme loads during normal operation is also presented

Long-Term Orientation and Educational Performance. Working Paper 174

Science.gov (United States)

Figlio, David; Giuliano, Paola; Özek, Umut; Sapienza, Paola

2017-01-01

We use remarkable population-level administrative education and birth records from Florida to study the role of Long-Term Orientation on the educational attainment of immigrant students living in the US. Controlling for the quality of schools and individual characteristics, students from countries with long-term oriented attitudes perform better…

Long-Term Hydrologic Impacts of Controlled Drainage Using DRAINMOD

Science.gov (United States)

Saadat, S.; Bowling, L. C.; Frankenberger, J.

2017-12-01

Controlled drainage is a management strategy designed to mitigate water quality issues caused by subsurface drainage but it may increase surface ponding and runoff. To improve controlled drainage system management, a long-term and broader study is needed that goes beyond the experimental studies. Therefore, the goal of this study was to parametrize the DRAINMOD field-scale, hydrologic model for the Davis Purdue Agricultural Center located in Eastern Indiana and to predict the subsurface drain flow and surface runoff and ponding at this research site. The Green-Ampt equation was used to characterize the infiltration, and digital elevation models (DEMs) were used to estimate the maximum depressional storage as the surface ponding parameter inputs to DRAINMOD. Hydraulic conductivity was estimated using the Hooghoudt equation and the measured drain flow and water table depths. Other model inputs were either estimated or taken from the measurements. The DRAINMOD model was calibrated and validated by comparing model predictions of subsurface drainage and water table depths with field observations from 2012 to 2016. Simulations based on the DRAINMOD model can increase understanding of the environmental and hydrological effects over a broader temporal and spatial scale than is possible using field-scale data and this is useful for developing management recommendations for water resources at field and watershed scales.

The long term release of heavy metals from combustion residues and slags

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crawford, J.N.

1996-12-31

This treatise details methodology which may be used to construct a model of the geochemical evolution in a waste repository and the changes in leachate composition over time. The pH and Eh of the leachant, as well as major complexing anions control the leaching of heavy metals over very long times due to solubility constraints. The pH and the Eh of the leachate changes when the buffering capacity of the waste has been exhausted. It is possible that the altered pH and Eh conditions in the leachate at later times may allow leaching of heavy metals at considerably higher concentrations than those present earlier during the leaching process. The model developed requires data which may be obtained from simple laboratory experiments in order to describe the reactive properties of the waste. Because of the complexity of the real system, the model uses `generalised` minerals which react with the inflowing oxygen and acidity to buffer the pH and Eh of the leachant. In this way, the chemistry of the leachant may be modelled without the need for a detailed geochemical description of the waste material. The model is intended to be simple and flexible enough that it may be adapted to different waste types with reasonable ease. The results obtained indicate that the redox and the pH-buffering characteristics of the waste are very important in determining the leaching of trace metals. The results also illustrate the strong influence that diffusional transport of CO{sub 2} and O{sub 2} may have upon the long term leaching behaviour. The model predictions have not, as yet, been reconciled with field leachate measurements. This will form a major part of the continued work with this project 38 refs, 63 figs, 11 tabs

Mesoporous hydroxyapatite: Preparation, drug adsorption, and release properties

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gu, Lina; He, Xiaomei; Wu, Zhenyu, E-mail: zhenyuwuhn@sina.com

2014-11-14

Mesoporous hydroxyapatite (HA) was synthesized through gas–liquid chemical precipitation method at ambient temperature without any template. Structure, morphology and pore size distribution of HA were analyzed via X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, high-resolution electron microscopy and N{sub 2} adsorption/desorption. The chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DOX) was used to investigate the drug adsorption and release behavior of HA. The kinetics of DOX adsorption on HA followed the pseudo-second-order rate expression. Adsorption isotherms at various temperatures were obtained, and the equilibrium data fitted the Langmuir model. The values of thermodynamic parameters (Gibbs free energy, entropy, and enthalpy changes) demonstrated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. In vitro pH-responsive (pH = 7.4, 5.8) controlled release was investigated. DOX-loaded HA showed a slow, long-term, and steady release rate. The release rate at pH5.8 was larger than that at pH7.4. Consequently, the as-prepared mesoporous HA has potential applications in controlled drug delivery systems. - Highlights: • Mesoporous HA was synthesized by a simple precipitation method without any template. • The kinetics of adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order rate expression. • Thermodynamics investigation showed that adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic. • DOX-loaded HA showed a long-term, steady, and pH-controlled release rate.

A New Group-Training Procedure for Habituation Demonstrates That Presynaptic Glutamate Release Contributes to Long-Term Memory in Caenorhabditis elegans

OpenAIRE

Rose, Jacqueline K.; Kaun, Karla R.; Rankin, Catharine H.

2002-01-01

In the experiments reported here we have developed a new group-training protocol for assessing long-term memory for habituation in Caenorhabditis elegans. We have replicated all of the major findings of the original single-worm protocol using the new protocol: (1) distributed training produced long-term retention of training, massed training did not; (2) distributed training at long interstimulus intervals (ISIs) produced long-term retention, short ISIs did not; and (3) long-term memory for d...

Corrosion of Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Long-Term Assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ewing, Rodney C.

2004-01-01

Spent nuclear fuel, essentially U 2 , accounts for over 95% of the total radioactivity of all of the radioactive wastes in the United States that require disposal, disposition or remediation. The UO 2 in SNF is not stable under oxiding conditions and may also be altered under reducing conditions. The alteration of SNF results in the formation of new uranium phases that can cause the release or retardation of actinide and fission product radionuclides. Over the long term, and depending on the extent to which the secondary uranium phases incorporate fission products and actinides, these alteration phases become the near-field source term

Blood, sweat, tears and success of technology transfer long-term controlled-release of herbicides: Root-growth-inhibiting biobarrier technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Voris, P.; Cataldo, D.A.; Burton, F.G.; Skeins, W.E.

1988-01-01

Through the unique combination of polymers with a herbicidally active dinitroaniline, a cylinderical pellet (9mm long and 9mm in diameter) was developed that continuously releases a herbicide for a period of up to 100 years. Equilibrium concentration of the herbicide in soil adjacent to the pellet and the bioactive lifetime of the device cam be adjusted by changing the size of the pellet; the type of polymer; the type, quality, and quantity of carrier; and/or the concentration and type of dinitroaniline used. Commercial products that have been developed under a Federal Technology Transfer Program that utilize this technology include: (1) ROOT-SHIELD, a root repelling sewer gasket for concrete, clay, and PVC sewer lines, (2) BIOBARRIER, a spun-bonded polypropylene geotextile fabric developed to prevent root growth from invading septic tanks; penetrating under roadways, and along the edge of sidewalks, airport runways, and tennis courts, and for landscaped areas; and (3) ROOT-GUARD, a plastic drip irrigation emitter designed to protect buried drip irrigation systems from being plugged by roots. 17 refs., 4 figs., 6 tabs

Teen motherhood and long-term health consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Payal H; Sen, Bisakha

2012-07-01

The objective of this article is to examine the association of teen motherhood and long-term physical and mental health outcomes. The physical and mental health components (PCS and MCS) of the SF-12 Healthy Survey in the NLSY79 health module were used to assess long-term health outcomes of women who experienced teenage motherhood. Various familial, demographic, and environmental characteristics were indentified and controlled for that may have predicted teen motherhood and long-term health outcomes. The two comparison groups for teen mothers were women who experienced teen-pregnancy only and women who were engaged in unprotected sexual activity as a teenage but did not experience pregnancy. Multivariate ordinary least squares regression was used for analysis. The average PCS and MCS for teen mothers was 49.91 and 50.89, respectively. Teen mothers exhibited poorer physical health later in life compared to all women as well as the comparison groups. When controlling for age, teen mothers had significantly lower PCS and MCS scores compared to all other women. Furthermore, when controlling for familial, demographic, and environmental characteristics, teen mothers exhibited significantly lower PCS and MCS scores. When comparing teen mothers to the two comparison groups, PCS was not statistically different although MCS was significantly lower in the teen-pregnancy group. Teen motherhood does lead to poorer physical health outcomes later in life. On the other hand, poorer mental health outcomes in later life may be attributed to the unmeasured factors leading to a teen pregnancy and not teen motherhood itself. Additional research needs to be conducted on the long-term consequences of teen motherhood.

Ca isotopes, chemical weathering, and geomorphic controls on long-term climate

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, J.; Jacobson, A. D.; Holmden, C. E.; Craw, D.

2009-12-01

Calcium isotope geochemistry (δ44Ca) offers a unique opportunity to directly quantify proportions of riverine Ca originating from silicate versus carbonate weathering, which is essential for understanding how geomorphic processes affecting landscape evolution, such as tectonic uplift and glaciation, influence the long-term cycling of atmospheric CO2. We measured the elemental and δ44Ca chemistry of river and rock samples from the New Zealand Southern Alps. In combination with our geochemical data, we used runoff and suspended sediment fluxes to elucidate relationships between chemical weathering, mechanical erosion, and long-term climate. The S. Alps have uniform bedrock chemistry but significant tectonic and climatic gradients. West of the main topographic divide, watersheds drain schist and experience high runoff, uplift, and erosion rates. East of the main divide, watersheds drain greywacke or schist and experience lower runoff, uplift, and erosion rates. Glaciated watersheds with high erosion rates are present throughout the mountain range. Both schist and greywacke contain up to 3% metamorphic and hydrothermal calcite. Waters exhibit two-component mixing between calcite and silicate end-members when plotted as δ44Ca versus Ca/Sr. Scatter about the mixing curve is generally smaller than the analytical uncertainty of the measurements and likely reflects variability of the end-member compositions rather than fractionation. We used the mixing relationships to calculate percentages of Ca from silicate weathering. Rivers draining greywacke average 27.6% of Ca from silicate weathering with glaciated and non-glaciated watersheds yielding 41.8 and 19.5%, respectively. Rivers draining schist average 9.8% with glaciated and non-glaciated watersheds yielding 17.7 and 3.9%, respectively. Although Ca fluxes are larger west of the main divide where erosion and runoff are higher, the percentage of Ca from silicate weathering is smaller. Hence, long-term atmospheric CO2

Creation of Long-Term Coherent Optical Memory via Controlled Nonlinear Interactions in Bose-Einstein Condensates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Rui; Garner, Sean R.; Hau, Lene Vestergaard

2009-01-01

A Bose-Einstein condensate confined in an optical dipole trap is used to generate long-term coherent memory for light, and storage times of more than 1 s are observed. Phase coherence of the condensate as well as controlled manipulations of elastic and inelastic atomic scattering processes are utilized to increase the storage fidelity by several orders of magnitude over previous schemes. The results have important applications for creation of long-distance quantum networks and for generation of entangled states of light and matter.

[Long-term psychiatric hospitalizations].

Science.gov (United States)

Plancke, L; Amariei, A

2017-02-01

Long-term hospitalizations in psychiatry raise the question of desocialisation of the patients and the inherent costs. Individual indicators were extracted from a medical administrative database containing full-time psychiatric hospitalizations for the period 2011-2013 of people over 16 years old living in the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. We calculated the proportion of people who had experienced a hospitalization with a duration of 292 days or more during the study period. A bivariate analysis was conducted, then ecological data (level of health-care offer, the deprivation index and the size of the municipalities of residence) were included into a multilevel regression model in order to identify the factors significantly related to variability of long-term hospitalization rates. Among hospitalized individuals in psychiatry, 2.6% had had at least one hospitalization of 292 days or more during the observation period; the number of days in long-term hospitalization represented 22.5% of the total of days of full-time hospitalization in psychiatry. The bivariate analysis revealed that seniority in the psychiatric system was strongly correlated with long hospitalization rates. In the multivariate analysis, the individual indicators the most related to an increased risk of long-term hospitalization were: total lack of autonomy (OR=9.0; 95% CI: 6.7-12.2; P<001); diagnoses of psychological development disorders (OR=9.7; CI95%: 4.5-20.6; P<.001); mental retardation (OR=4.5; CI95%: 2.5-8.2; P<.001): schizophrenia (OR=3.0; CI95%: 1.7-5.2; P<.001); compulsory hospitalization (OR=1.7; CI95%: 1.4-2.1; P<.001); having experienced therapeutic isolation (OR=1.8; CI95%: 1.5-2.1; P<.001). Variations of long-term hospitalization rates depending on the type of establishment were very high, but the density of hospital beds or intensity of ambulatory activity services were not significantly linked to long-term hospitalization. The inhabitants of small urban units had

To what extent do long-duration high-volume dam releases influence river-aquifer interactions? A case study in New South Wales, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, P. W.; Andersen, M. S.; McCabe, M. F.; Ajami, H.; Baker, A.; Acworth, I.

2015-03-01

Long-duration high-volume dam releases are unique anthropogenic events with no naturally occurring equivalents. The impact from such dam releases on a downstream Quaternary alluvial aquifer in New South Wales, Australia, is assessed. It is observed that long-duration (>26 days), high-volume dam releases (>8,000 ML/day average) result in significant variations in river-aquifer interactions. These variations include a flux from the river to the aquifer up to 6.3 m3/day per metre of bank (at distances of up to 330 m from the river bank), increased extent and volume of recharge/bank storage, and a long-term (>100 days) reversal of river-aquifer fluxes. In contrast, during lower-volume events (bank. A groundwater-head prediction model was constructed and river-aquifer fluxes were calculated; however, predicted fluxes from this method showed poor correlation to fluxes calculated using actual groundwater heads. Long-duration high-volume dam releases have the potential to skew estimates of long-term aquifer resources and detrimentally alter the chemical and physical properties of phreatic aquifers flanking the river. The findings have ramifications for improved integrated management of dam systems and downstream aquifers.

Influence of the design temperature on long-term safety of a salt dome repository

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buhmann, D.; Brenner, J.; Storck, R.

1993-03-01

All studies made so far within the framwork of the mixed concept system analysis proceeded from a design temperature of the mine structure of 200 C. The concept based on a design temperature of 150 C was aimed at studying whether it made sense to maintain lower temperatures, if necessary. Deterministic and probabilistic calculations were made in order to determine the influence of the lower design temperature on long-term safety. The calculations were based on concept A of Joint Borehole and Gallery Storage. Assuming reference values of the input parameters, the deterministic calculations do not produce any radionuclide release from the mine structure. If, however, one assumes a lower rate for rock convergence, radionuclides are released at maximum dose rates of about 3.10 -5 Sv/a. Even a larger volume of limited brine inclusions may lead to radionuclide releases, in that case with dose commitments of the order of magnitude of 1.10 -5 Sv/a. The probabilistic calculations show that a design temperature of 150 C for long-term safety is less favourable than a higher design temperature. The share of simulations in the probabilistic calculations with a radionuclide release, and the expected value of dose commitment, are almost double as high as in the concept based on 200 C design temperature. Thus a higher design temperature is preferable with regard to the long-term safety of a salt repository. The most important parameters concerning dose commitment are the volume of limited brine inclusions, the convergence rate, and the permeability of barriers and backfilling rock. (orig./HP) [de

Long-term training modifies the modular structure and organization of walking balance control.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawers, Andrew; Allen, Jessica L; Ting, Lena H

2015-12-01

How does long-term training affect the neural control of movements? Here we tested the hypothesis that long-term training leading to skilled motor performance alters muscle coordination during challenging, as well as nominal everyday motor behaviors. Using motor module (a.k.a., muscle synergy) analyses, we identified differences in muscle coordination patterns between professionally trained ballet dancers (experts) and untrained novices that accompanied differences in walking balance proficiency assessed using a challenging beam-walking test. During beam walking, we found that experts recruited more motor modules than novices, suggesting an increase in motor repertoire size. Motor modules in experts had less muscle coactivity and were more consistent than in novices, reflecting greater efficiency in muscle output. Moreover, the pool of motor modules shared between beam and overground walking was larger in experts compared with novices, suggesting greater generalization of motor module function across multiple behaviors. These differences in motor output between experts and novices could not be explained by differences in kinematics, suggesting that they likely reflect differences in the neural control of movement following years of training rather than biomechanical constraints imposed by the activity or musculoskeletal structure and function. Our results suggest that to learn challenging new behaviors, we may take advantage of existing motor modules used for related behaviors and sculpt them to meet the demands of a new behavior. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Determining the amount of physical activity needed for long-term weight control

Science.gov (United States)

Wier, L. T.; Ayers, G. W.; Jackson, A. S.; Rossum, A. C.; Poston, W. S.; Foreyt, J. P.

2001-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate prospectively the influence of habitual physical activity on body weight of men and women and to develop a model that defines the role of physical activity on longitudinal weight change. DESIGN AND SETTING: Occupational cohort study conducted for a mean of 5.5 y. SUBJECTS: A total of 496 (341 male and 155 female) NASA/Johnson Space Center employees who completed the 3 month education component of the employee health-related fitness program and remained involved for a minimum of 2 y. MEASUREMENTS: Body weights were measured at baseline (T1) and follow-up (T2), and habitual physical activity was obtained from the mean of multiple ratings of the 11-point (0-10) NASA Activity Scale (NAS) recorded quarterly between T1 and T2. Other measures included age, gender, VO(2 max) obtained from maximal treadmill testing, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage. RESULTS: Multiple regression demonstrated that mean NAS, T1 weight, aging and gender all influence long-term T2 weight. T1 age was significant for the men only. Independently, each increase in mean NAS significantly (Pmen (b=-0.91 kg; 95% CI:-1.4 to-0.42 kg) and women (b=-2.14 kg; 95% CI:-2.93 to-1.35 kg). Mean NAS had a greater effect on T2 weight as T1 weight increased, and the relationship was dose-dependent. CONCLUSIONS: Habitual physical activity is a significant source of long-term weight change. The use of self-reported activity level is helpful in predicting long-term weight changes and may be used by health care professionals when counseling patients about the value of physical activity for weight control.

Risk assessment in long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahn, T.; Guttmann, J.; Mohseni, A.

2013-01-01

This paper presents probabilistic risk-informed approaches that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff is planning to consider in preparing regulatory bases for long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) for up to 300 years. Due to uncertainties associated with long-term SNF storage, the NRC is considering a probabilistic risk-informed approach as well as a deterministic design-based approach. The uncertainties considered here are primarily associated with materials aging of the canister and SNF in the cask system during long-term storage of SNF. This paper discusses some potential risk contributors involved in long-term SNF storage. Methods of performance evaluation are presented that assess the various types of risks involved. They include deterministic evaluation, probabilistic evaluation, and consequence assessment under normal conditions and the conditions of accidents and natural hazards. Some potentially important technical issues resulting from the consideration of a probabilistic risk-informed evaluation of the cask system performance are discussed for the canister and SNF integrity. These issues are also discussed in comparison with the deterministic approach for comparison purposes, as appropriate. Probabilistic risk-informed methods can provide insights that deterministic methods may not capture. Two specific examples include stress corrosion cracking of the canister and hydrogen-induced cladding failure. These examples are discussed in more detail, in terms of their effects on radionuclide release and nuclear subcriticality associated with the failure. The plan to consider the probabilistic risk-informed approaches is anticipated to provide helpful regulatory insights for long-term storage of SNF that provide reasonable assurance for public health and safety. (authors)

Energy in 2010 - 2020. Long term challenges; Energie 2010-2020. Les defis du long terme

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dessus, Benjamin [ed.] [Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 75 - Paris (France)

2000-02-02

This report presents the results of a workshop intending to anticipate the long term challenges, to guide better the short term power options, to understand the available political, economical and technical assumptions for the prospective world situation, to give some strategic hints on the necessary transition. Indeed, the difficult issue which the workshop tried to tackle was how should we prepare to reveal the energetic challenge of the development of the eight to ten billion inhabitants of our Planet in the next century without jeopardizing its existence. The energetic problems, a hardcore of the international preoccupation of both growth and environment, as it was recently evidenced by the climatic conference in Kyoto, have ever been the object of a particular attention on the part of General Commissariat of Plan. Thus, the commission 'Energy in 2010 - 2020' has been instituted in April 1996 in order to update the works done in 1990 - 1991 by the commission 'Energy 2010'. Soon it occurred to this new commission the task of illuminating its works by a long term (2050 - 2100) world prospective analysis of the challenges and problems linked to energy, growth and environment. In conclusion, this document tried to find answers to questions like: - which are the risks the energy consumption augmentation entail? - can we control them by appropriate urbanism and transport policies or technological innovation?. Four options for immediate action are suggested: - the energy efficiency should become a priority objective of policies; -coping with the long term challenges requires acting at present; - building the transition between governmental leadership and market; - taking profit of all the possible synergies between short and long term planning.

Long Term Behaviour of 14C and Stability Assessments of Graphite Under Repository Conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, Abbie N.; McDermott, Lorraine; Worth, Robert; Hagos, Bereket; Black, Greg; Marsden, Barry J

2016-01-01

The key objectives of the University of Manchester’s nuclear graphite research within the CRP are to provide analysis on the long term behaviour and stability assessments of irradiated graphite waste. The research will concentrate on isotopic 14 C mobility under repository environments. This also requires an understanding the long-term behaviour of the final waste form under repository conditions. Procedures to evaluate the long term leaching properties of radionuclides from irradiated graphite waste has been developed by combining ANSI 16.1 (USA) and NEN 7345 (Netherlands) standardised diffusion leaching techniques. The ANSI 16.1 standard has been followed to acquire the leachates and to determine the leach rate and diffusion coefficient. The NEN 7345 standard technique has been used to determine the diffusion mechanism of radionuclides. The investigation employs simulated Drigg groundwater as a leachant using semi-dynamic technique for the production of leachate specimens. Analysis of 3 H and 14 C activity release from Magnox graphite was measured using liquid scintillating counting. Preliminary results show that there is an initial high release of activity and decreases when the leaching period increases. This may be due to the depletion of contaminants that were initially bound by the internal pore networks and the free surface. During the leaching test approximately 275.33 ± 18.20 Bq of 3 H and 106.26 ± 7.01 Bq of 14 C was released into the leachant within 91 days. The work reported herein contributed several key findings to the international work on graphite leaching to offer guidance leading toward obtaining leaching data in the future: (a) the effective diffusion coefficient for 14 C from graphite waste has been determined. The diffusion process for 14 C has two stages resulting two different values of diffusion coefficient, i.e., for the fast and slow components; (b) the controlling leaching mechanism for 3 H radionuclide from graphite is shown to be

The present status of rare gas release control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Hiroshi

1974-01-01

Of the rare gases Ar, Kr and Xe released from nuclear facilities, the problem of release control can be confined to 41 Ar, 85 Kr and 133 Xe. The cases of the latter two are described, as 41 Ar is not much significant. 133 Xe, having relatively short half-life, can be dealt sufficiently by holding-up in case of light water reactors. 85 Kr of long half-life must be removed : the methods are low temperature adsorption, liquefaction distillation, absorption and diaphragm method. As for future problem, there is disposal of concentrated rare gas. (Mori, K.)

Long-term potentiation and long-term depression: a clinical perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Timothy V.P. Bliss

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Long-term potentiation and long-term depression are enduring changes in synaptic strength, induced by specific patterns of synaptic activity, that have received much attention as cellular models of information storage in the central nervous system. Work in a number of brain regions, from the spinal cord to the cerebral cortex, and in many animal species, ranging from invertebrates to humans, has demonstrated a reliable capacity for chemical synapses to undergo lasting changes in efficacy in response to a variety of induction protocols. In addition to their physiological relevance, long-term potentiation and depression may have important clinical applications. A growing insight into the molecular mechanisms underlying these processes, and technological advances in non-invasive manipulation of brain activity, now puts us at the threshold of harnessing long-term potentiation and depression and other forms of synaptic, cellular and circuit plasticity to manipulate synaptic strength in the human nervous system. Drugs may be used to erase or treat pathological synaptic states and non-invasive stimulation devices may be used to artificially induce synaptic plasticity to ameliorate conditions arising from disrupted synaptic drive. These approaches hold promise for the treatment of a variety of neurological conditions, including neuropathic pain, epilepsy, depression, amblyopia, tinnitus and stroke.

GABAergic activities control spike timing- and frequency-dependent long-term depression at hippocampal excitatory synapses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makoto Nishiyama

2010-06-01

Full Text Available GABAergic interneuronal network activities in the hippocampus control a variety of neural functions, including learning and memory, by regulating θ and γ oscillations. How these GABAergic activities at pre- and post-synaptic sites of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells differentially contribute to synaptic function and plasticity during their repetitive pre- and post-synaptic spiking at θ and γ oscillations is largely unknown. We show here that activities mediated by postsynaptic GABAARs and presynaptic GABABRs determine, respectively, the spike timing- and frequency-dependence of activity-induced synaptic modifications at Schaffer collateral-CA1 excitatory synapses. We demonstrate that both feedforward and feedback GABAAR-mediated inhibition in the postsynaptic cell controls the spike timing-dependent long-term depression of excitatory inputs (“e-LTD” at the θ frequency. We also show that feedback postsynaptic inhibition specifically causes e-LTD of inputs that induce small postsynaptic currents (<70 pA with LTP timing, thus enforcing the requirement of cooperativity for induction of long-term potentiation at excitatory inputs (“e-LTP”. Furthermore, under spike-timing protocols that induce e-LTP and e-LTD at excitatory synapses, we observed parallel induction of LTP and LTD at inhibitory inputs (“i-LTP” and “i-LTD” to the same postsynaptic cells. Finally, we show that presynaptic GABABR-mediated inhibition plays a major role in the induction of frequency-dependent e-LTD at α and β frequencies. These observations demonstrate the critical influence of GABAergic interneuronal network activities in regulating the spike timing and frequency dependences of long-term synaptic modifications in the hippocampus.

PROBCON-HDW: A probability and consequence system of codes for long-term analysis of Hanford defense wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piepho, M.G.; Nguyen, T.H.

1988-12-01

The PROBCON-HDW (PROBability and CONsequence analysis for Hanford defense waste) computer code system calculates the long-term cumulative releases of radionuclides from the Hanford defense wastes (HDW) to the accessible environment and compares the releases to environmental release limits as defined in 40 CFR 191. PROBCON-HDW takes into account the variability of input parameter values used in models to calculate HDW release and transport in the vadose zone to the accessible environment (taken here as groundwater). A human intrusion scenario, which consists of drilling boreholes into the waste beneath the waste sites and bringing waste to the surface, is also included in PROBCON-HDW. PROBCON-HDW also includes the capability to combine the cumulative releases according to various long-term (10,000 year) scenarios into a composite risk curve or complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF). The system structure of the PROBCON-HDW codes, the mathematical models in PROBCON-HDW, the input files, the input formats, the command files, and the graphical output results of several HDW release scenarios are described in the report. 3 refs., 7 figs., 9 tabs

Effects of Cortisol on Short and Long Term Diet and Morphology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Peiman, Kathryn S.; Birnie-Gauvin, Kim; Larsen, Martin Hage

2017-01-01

Glucocorticoids such as cortisol are released during stressful events. However, many of the effects of cortisol on animals in the wild are still poorly documented. We evaluated the effects of artificially elevated cortisol on diet and morphology over the short term (2 weeks) and long term (4 months......) using a wild population of juvenile semi-anadromous brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Denmark. We caught, tagged and manipulated juvenile fish while in their natal freshwater streams in the fall. Manipulations consisted of an exogenous intracoelomic injection of cortisol suspended in vegetable shortening...... using geometric morphometrics. Cortisol affected carbon stable isotope signatures but had minimal effects on nitrogen isotopes and morphology. Irrespective of treatment, carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values increased over time. This study shows that cortisol can have both short and long term...

Prevention of fall-related injuries in long-term care: a randomized controlled trial of staff education.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Wayne A; Taylor, Jo A; Brown, Anne K; Gideon, Patricia; Hall, Kathi; Arbogast, Patrick; Meredith, Sarah

2005-10-24

Fall-related injuries, a major public health problem in long-term care, may be reduced by interventions that improve safety practices. Previous studies have shown that safety practice interventions can reduce falls; however, in long-term care these have relied heavily on external funding and staff. The aim of this study was to test whether a training program in safety practices for staff could reduce fall-related injuries in long-term care facilities. A cluster randomization clinical trial with 112 qualifying facilities and 10,558 study residents 65 years or older and not bedridden. The intervention was an intensive 2-day safety training program with 12-month follow-up. The training program targeted living space and personal safety; wheelchairs, canes, and walkers; psychotropic medication use; and transferring and ambulation. The main outcome measure was serious fall-related injuries during the follow-up period. There was no difference in injury occurrence between the intervention and control facilities (adjusted rate ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.83-1.16). For residents with a prior fall in facilities with the best program compliance, there was a nonsignificant trend toward fewer injuries in the intervention group (adjusted rate ratio, 0.79; 95% confidence interval, 0.57-1.10). More intensive interventions are required to prevent fall-related injuries in long-term care facilities.

Short-term and long-term effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ruifei; Wang, Rui; Li, Haixia; Sun, Sihao; Zou, Meijuan; Cheng, Gang

2016-09-01

To assess the short-term and long-term effects of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment, a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials of DPP-4 inhibitor interventions in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment was performed. PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched through the end of March 2015. Randomized clinical trials were selected if (1) DPP-4 inhibitors were compared with a placebo or other active-comparators, (2) the treatment duration was ≥12 weeks and (3) data regarding changes in haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c ), changes in fasting plasma glucose or hypoglycaemia and other adverse events were reported. Of 790 studies, ten studies on eight randomized clinical trials were included. Compared with the control group, DPP-4 inhibitors were associated with a greater HbA1c reduction in both the short-term [mean differences (MD) = -0.45, 95% confidence intervals (-0.57, -0.33), p 1] and long-term [MD = -0.33, 95% confidence intervals (-0.63, -0.03), p = 0.03] treatments. However, the long-term greater reduction in HbA1c with DPP-4 inhibitor treatment was only significant when the control treatment comprised placebo plus stable background treatment, but not glipizide plus stable background treatment. DPP-4 inhibitors were associated with a greater fasting plasma glucose reduction [MD = -12.59, 95% confidence intervals (-22.01, -3.17), p = 0.009] over the short-term; however, this effect was not present over the long-term. Regarding the hypoglycaemia adverse events assessment, the long-term treatment data indicated there was no increased risk of hypoglycaemia compared with placebo or active-controlled anti-diabetic drugs. The present meta-analysis confirms that DPP-4 inhibitors are effective and equivalent to other agents in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with renal impairment. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015

Operational control of material release and discharges from nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szabo, I. C.; Ranga, T.; Daroczi, L.; Deme, S.; Kerekes, A.

2003-01-01

The operational control of radioactive materials during atmospheric release and aquatic discharge from nuclear power plant is a licensing criterion for NPPs. Originally at the Paks NPP the release control was based on activity limits for four groups of elements. These groups were noble gases, long living radio-aerosols, radioiodine and radiostrontium for atmospheric release and specified activity limit for beta emitters, strontium and tritium for aquatic discharge into Danube. These groups were controlled with proper sampling and/or measuring instrumentation. The limit for atmospheric release was given as a 30-day moving average, for liquid discharges the annual limit was stipulated. The new release and discharge limitation system is based on the environmental dose limitation. The dose constraint for Paks NPP is 90 Sv/year of the critical group for all release pathways and the investigation dose limit is equal to 27 Sv/year. The regulation did not subdivide the dose limit for atmospheric and liquid components but for operational control subdivision of dose limits for atmospheric release and aquatic discharge and shorter time period (one day-one month) seems to be useful. The subdivision can be based on past release data and/or previous activity limits. To satisfy dose below the investigation dose limit there should be a proper operation control level for each separately measured component and pathway belonging to reasonable time interval significantly shorter than one year. The main task of the NPP staff is elaboration of reasonable control levels and reference time intervals for different radionuclide and element groups to be used in operational control. Operational control levels are based on measured daily or monthly release rates. In case of noble gases, aerosols and iodine the daily release rates have several sharp peaks per year. Operational control levels give opportunity to detect these peaks for internal investigation purposes. Investigation release limits

A basic strategy for financing long term care.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenberg, J A; Leutz, W N

1984-02-01

As pressure mounts to contain Medicaid long term care spending, short-range "quick fixes" must be avoided. Three such false solutions in particular have shortcomings that may actually exacerbate long term care's financial dilemma because they are based on inadequate definitions of the problem. Two of these proposals--legislation to broaden family responsibility toward institutionalized elders on Medicaid and expanded state power to put liens on such elders' real property--err by trying to mandate "caring" and are predicated on a misunderstanding of the "spend-down" problem. The other proposal--to provide tax incentives to family members who care for elders--requires a large administrative apparatus, assumes an elasticity of supply that may not exist, and could disrupt the "gift relationship" on which family exchanges are often based. What is needed is a strategy with short term, intermediate, and long term objectives that move toward an insurance approach. The short term plan should lay the groundwork for intermediate strategy and control costs by changing rate-setting methods and putting limits on facility construction. The intermediate plan should change the problem's definition from one of merely controlling Medicaid long term care expenditures to one of efficiently managing state resources for the elderly through the development of state financing and local delivery systems that target older persons in greatest need. An effective means of doing this is through the creation of social/HMOs, which have five key features: integration of service responsibility and authority; flexibility in organizational design; balanced clientele; pooled prepaid funding; and financial risk for the provider organization. Finally, the long term strategy should transfer much of the long term care financial burden from individuals and state Medicaid agencies to insurance mechanisms. Many individuals would thus avoid impoverishment caused by health care spending and Medicaid would

Long-term efficacy and safety of ramosetron in the treatment of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiba T

2013-07-01

Full Text Available Toshimi Chiba, Kazunari Yamamoto, Shoko Sato, Kazuyuki Suzuki Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Morioka, Iwate, Japan Abstract: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS is a functional disease with persisting gastrointestinal symptoms that has been classified into four subtypes. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5-HT] plays important physiological roles in the contraction and relaxation of smooth muscle. Intraluminal distension of the intestine is known to stimulate the release of endogenous 5-HT from enterochromaffin cells, activating 5-HT3 receptors located on primary afferent neurons and leading to increases in intestinal secretions and peristaltic activity. Ramosetron, a potent and selective 5-HT3-receptor antagonist, has been in development for use in patients suffering from diarrhea-predominant IBS. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study of 418 patients with diarrhea-predominant IBS-D, once-daily 5 µg and 10 µg doses of ramosetron increased the monthly responder rates of IBS symptoms compared to placebo. In a 12-week randomized controlled trial of 539 patients, a positive response to treatment was reported by 47% of a once-daily 5 µg dose of ramosetron-treated individuals compared to 27% of patients receiving placebo (P<0.001. Furthermore, the responder rate was increased in the oral administration of 5 µg of ramosetron for at least 28 weeks (up to 52 weeks, and long-term efficacy for overall improvement of IBS symptoms was also demonstrated. The rate was further increased subsequently. Adverse events were reported by 7% in ramosetron treatment. No serious adverse events, eg, severe constipation or ischemic colitis, were reported for long-term treatment with ramosetron. In conclusion, further studies to evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of ramosetron are warranted in the form of randomized controlled trials. Keywords: long-term

Short-term hypertension management in community is associated with long-term risk of stroke and total death in China: A community controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zengwu; Hao, Guang; Wang, Xin; Wang, Wen; Chen, Weiwei; Zhu, Manlu

2016-11-01

It is not fully clear whether the effect of short-term management in community can reduce the long-term risk of stroke OBJECTIVES:: To evaluate whether short-term hypertension management is associated with long-term incidence of stroke and total death in community health centers in China. Community controlled trail. Six community health centers (4 active, 2 control) in China, patients with hypertension. Patients were treated with normally therapy method. Patients were treated oriented by the Guideline for hypertension management. Two centers (Hebei and Zhejiang) from the Hypertension Control in Community (HCC) Project, which was conducted from 2005 to 2008, were randomly selected for this study. Four thousand hypertensive patients from these centers, who were under management for one year in the baseline, were followed up in 2013. The electronic health record system (2005-2008) was used to identify 2000 hypertensive patients, who were not included in HCC but lived in comparable community health center in the same province, as the control group. All baseline and follow-up data were collected using standardized questionnaires for stroke outcomes. Stroke. Of the 6000 participants, 3787 (63.1%) were eligible for analysis. At the time of follow-up, the average BP was kept in the lower level than that in baseline, and the control rate was 59.3%. After propensity-score matching, 110 strokes (2.0% vs 4.6%) and 141 deaths (1.4% vs 3.8%) were noted in the matched intervention and control groups (1078 pairs), respectively. Patients in the intervention group were less likely to experience a stroke or die than those in the control group (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26-0.62, P stroke in hypertensive patients.

Long-Term Symbolic Learning

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Kennedy, William G; Trafton, J. G

2007-01-01

What are the characteristics of long-term learning? We investigated the characteristics of long-term, symbolic learning using the Soar and ACT-R cognitive architectures running cognitive models of two simple tasks...

Pediatric polytrauma : Short-term and long-term outcomes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

vanderSluis, CK; Kingma, J; Eisma, WH; tenDuis, HJ

Objective: To assess the short-term and long-term outcomes of pediatric polytrauma patients and to analyze the extent to which short-term outcomes can predict long-term outcomes. Materials and Methods: Ail pediatric polytrauma patients (Injury Severity Score of greater than or equal to 16, less than

Influenza in long-term care facilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lansbury, Louise E; Brown, Caroline S; Nguyen-Van-Tam, Jonathan S

2017-09-01

Long-term care facility environments and the vulnerability of their residents provide a setting conducive to the rapid spread of influenza virus and other respiratory pathogens. Infections may be introduced by staff, visitors or new or transferred residents, and outbreaks of influenza in such settings can have devastating consequences for individuals, as well as placing extra strain on health services. As the population ages over the coming decades, increased provision of such facilities seems likely. The need for robust infection prevention and control practices will therefore remain of paramount importance if the impact of outbreaks is to be minimised. In this review, we discuss the nature of the problem of influenza in long-term care facilities, and approaches to preventive and control measures, including vaccination of residents and staff, and the use of antiviral drugs for treatment and prophylaxis, based on currently available evidence. © 2017 The Authors. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Corrosion of Spent Nuclear Fuel: The Long-Term Assessment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodney C. Ewing

2004-10-07

Spent nuclear fuel, essentially U{sub 2}, accounts for over 95% of the total radioactivity of all of the radioactive wastes in the United States that require disposal, disposition or remediation. The UO{sub 2} in SNF is not stable under oxiding conditions and may also be altered under reducing conditions. The alteration of SNF results in the formation of new uranium phases that can cause the release or retardation of actinide and fission product radionuclides. Over the long term, and depending on the extent to which the secondary uranium phases incorporate fission products and actinides, these alteration phases become the near-field source term.

Long-term impact of earthquake stress on fasting glucose control and diabetes prevalence among Chinese adults of Tangshan.

Science.gov (United States)

An, Cuixia; Zhang, Yun; Yu, Lulu; Li, Na; Song, Mei; Wang, Lan; Zhao, Xiaochuan; Gao, Yuanyuan; Wang, Xueyi

2014-01-01

To investigate the long-term influence of stresses from the 1976 Tangshan earthquake on blood glucose control and the incidence of diabetes mellitus in Chinese people of Tangshan. 1,551 adults ≥ 37 years of age were recruited for this investigation in Tangshan city of China, where one of the deadliest earthquakes occurred in 1796. All subjects finished a questionnaire. 1,030 of them who experienced that earthquake were selected into the exposure group, while 521 were gathered as the control group who have not exposed to any earthquake. The numbers of subjects who were first identified with diabetes or had normal FBG but with diabetic history were added for the calculation of diabetes prevalence. Statistic-analysis was applied on the baseline data, and incidences of IFG as well as diabetes among all groups. Statistic comparisons indicate there is no significant difference on average fasting glucose levels between the control group and the exposure group. However, the prevalence of IFG and diabetes among the exposure group displays significant variance with the control group. The prevalence of diabetes among exposure groups is significantly higher than the control group. Women are more likely to have diabetes after experiencing earthquake stresses compared to men. The earthquake stress was linked to higher diabetes incidence as an independent factor. The earthquake stress has long-term impacts on diabetes incidence as an independent risk factor. Emerging and long-term managements regarding the care of IFG and diabetes in populations exposed to earthquake stress should be concerned.

Accelerated long-term forgetting in children with temporal lobe epilepsy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gascoigne, Michael B; Smith, Mary Lou; Barton, Belinda; Webster, Richard; Gill, Deepak; Lah, Suncica

2014-07-01

Adults with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have been found to have accelerated long-term forgetting, but this phenomenon has not yet been investigated in children. Although deficits in recall of materials after short (20- to 30-minute) delays have been shown to slowly emerge from childhood to adolescence in patients with TLE, it is unknown whether such a trend will also be found in recall of materials after long delays. This study examined the presence of accelerated long-term forgetting in children with TLE and how it relates to chronological age. Twenty-three children with TLE and 58 healthy controls of similar age, sex distribution and socioeconomic status completed a battery of neuropsychological tests, including standardised tests of story recall and design location, as well as two experimental tests requiring the learning of words and design locations to a criterion, both of which assessed recall after short (30-min) and long (7-day) delays. Word recall at the 7-day delay (relative to the 30-min recall) was significantly poorer in the TLE group, compared to the control group. The TLE group also exhibited worse 30-min recall performance on a standardised test of story recall. Individual patient analyses revealed dissociation between performance on the experimental and standardised verbal memory tests; children who were impaired on the experimental test (7-day delay) were not impaired on the standardised test (30-min delay). Compared to controls, patients with a left-hemisphere seizure focus recalled fewer words at short and long delays while patients with an abnormal hippocampus recalled fewer words at the long delay. No between-group differences were found with respect to the design location task. Age negatively correlated with the recall of words after short- and long-term delays within the TLE group, where older age was associated with worse memory. This association was not present in the control group. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show

Laboratory-scale column study for remediation of TCE-contaminated aquifers using three-section controlled-release potassium permanganate barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Baoling; Li, Fei; Chen, Yanmei; Fu, Ming-Lai

2013-05-01

A laboratory-scale study with a sand column was designed to simulate trichloroethylene (TCE) pollution in the aquifer environment with three-section controlled-release potassium permanganate (CRP) barriers. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of CRP barriers in remediation of TCE in aquifers in a long-term and controlled manner. CRP particles with a 1:3 molar ratio of KMnO4 to stearic acid showed the best controlled-release properties in pure water, and the theoretical release time was 138.5 days. The results of TCE removal in the test column indicated that complete removal efficiency of TCE in a sand column by three-section CRP barriers could be reached within 15 days. The molar ratio of KMnO4 to TCE in the three-section CRP barriers was 16:1, which was much lower than 82:1 as required when KMnO4 solution is used directly to achieve complete destruction of TCE. This result revealed that the efficiency of CRP for remediation of TCE was highly improved after encapsulation.

Long-term Consequences of Childhood ADHD on Criminal Activities*

OpenAIRE

Fletcher, Jason; Wolfe, Barbara

2009-01-01

The question of whether childhood mental illness has long term consequences in terms of criminal behavior has been little studied, yet it could have major consequences for both the individual and society more generally. In this paper, we focus on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), one of the most prevalent mental conditions in school-age children, to examine the long-term effects of childhood mental illness on criminal activities, controlling for a rich set of individual, family...

Controlling Release of Integral Lipid Nanoparticles Based on Osmotic Pump Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Zhiqiang; Yu, Qin; Xie, Yunchang; Li, Fengqian; Lu, Yi; Dong, Xiaochun; Zhao, Weili; Qi, Jianping; Wu, Wei

2016-08-01

To achieve controlled release of integral nanoparticles by the osmotic pump strategy using nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) as model nanoparticles. NLCs was prepared by a hot-homogenization method, transformed into powder by lyophilization, and formulated into osmotic pump tablets (OPTs). Release of integral NLCs was visualized by live imaging after labeling with a water-quenching fluorescent probe. Effects of formulation variables on in vitro release characteristics were evaluated by measuring the model drug fenofibrate. Pharmacokinetics were studied in beagle dogs using the core tablet and a micronized fenofibrate formulation as references. NLCs are released through the release orifices of the OPTs as integral nanoparticles. Near zero-order kinetics can be achieved by optimizing the influencing variables. After oral administration, decreased C max and steady drug levels for as long as over 24 h are observed. NLC-OPTs show an oral bioavailability of the model drug fenofibrate similar to that of the core tablets, which is about 1.75 folds that of a fast-release formulation. Controlled release of integral NLCs is achieved by the osmotic pump strategy.

Salt brickwork as long-term sealing in salt formations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walter, F.; Yaramanci, U.

1993-01-01

Radioactive wastes can be disposed of in deep salt formations. Rock salt is a suitable geologic medium because of its unique characteristics. Open boreholes, shafts and drifts are created to provide physical access to the repository. Long-term seals must be emplaced in these potential pathways to prevent radioactive release into the biosphere. The sealing materials must be mechanically and, most important, geochemically stable within the host rock. Salt bricks made from compressed salt-powder are understood to be the first choice long-term sealing material. Seals built of salt bricks will be ductile. Large sealing systems are built by combining the individual bricks with mortar. Raw materials for mortar are fine-grained halite powder and ground saliferous clay. This provides for the good adhesive strength of the mortar to the bricks and the high shear-strength of the mortar itself. To test the interaction of rock salt with an emplaced long-term seal, experiments will be carried out in situ, in the Asse salt mine in Germany. Simple borehole sealing experiments will be performed in horizontal holes and a complicated drift sealing experiment is planned, to demonstrate the technology of sealing a standard size drift or shaft inside a disturbed rock mass. Especially, the mechanical stability of the sealing system has to be demonstrated

Mixer pump long term operations plan for Tank 241-SY-101 mitigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Irwin, J.J.

1994-01-01

This document provides the general Operations Plan for performance of the mixer pump long term operations for Tank 241-SY-101 mitigation of gas retention and periodic release in Tank 101-SY. This operations plan will utilize a 112 kW (150 hp) mixing pump to agitate/suspend the particulates in the tank

A controlled survey of less typical long-term consequences after an extensive waterborne epidemic.

Science.gov (United States)

Laine, Janne; Laine, Outi; Lumio, Jukka; Antonen, Jaakko; Toikkanen, Salla; Virtanen, Mikko J; Kuusi, Markku

2017-02-21

Extensive backflow of treated wastewater caused household water contamination in a Finnish town in 2007. The drinking water of 9 500 residents became heavily polluted with faecal microbes, resulting in a large gastroenteritis epidemic. Cases of reactive arthritis, milder joint symptoms and prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms were observed after the outbreak. A follow-up survey was performed to study less familiar long-term health consequences within a year from the outbreak. The contaminated group comprised a sample of residents of the area with polluted water supply (N = 323) and the control group a sample of residents in a nearby municipality (N = 186). The presence of 20 general symptoms or complaints was inquired by a mail survey. Quarterly prevalence of each symptom or complaint was measured. Twelve of these proceeded to further analysis. The response rate was 53% (323/615) in the contaminated group and 54% (186/343) in the control group. Rash, eye irritation, heartburn and weight loss were more prevalent in the contaminated group during the first year quarter. In the last year quarter, only eye irritation was significantly more common in the contaminated group. The excess prevalence of four complaints at the first year quarter can be explained by acute gastroenteritis or intensive water chlorination. The excess prevalence of eye irritation at the fourth year quarter cannot be explained by chlorination anymore but might be a sign of co-existing reactive joint disease. In general, long-term consequences of the outbreak can be considered minor in terms of the surveyed symptoms or complaints.

Near-Term Actions to Address Long-Term Climate Risk

Science.gov (United States)

Lempert, R. J.

2014-12-01

Addressing climate change requires effective long-term policy making, which occurs when reflecting on potential events decades or more in the future causes policy makers to choose near-term actions different than those they would otherwise pursue. Contrary to some expectations, policy makers do sometimes make such long-term decisions, but not as commonly and successfully as climate change may require. In recent years however, the new capabilities of analytic decision support tools, combined with improved understanding of cognitive and organizational behaviors, has significantly improved the methods available for organizations to manage longer-term climate risks. In particular, these tools allow decision makers to understand what near-term actions consistently contribute to achieving both short- and long-term societal goals, even in the face of deep uncertainty regarding the long-term future. This talk will describe applications of these approaches for infrastructure, water, and flood risk management planning, as well as studies of how near-term choices about policy architectures can affect long-term greenhouse gas emission reduction pathways.

Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Field Sampling Plan for 2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

T. Haney R. VanHorn

2007-01-01

This field sampling plan describes the field investigations planned for the Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Project at the Idaho National Laboratory Site in 2007. This plan and the Quality Assurance Project Plan for Waste Area Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, and Removal Actions constitute the sampling and analysis plan supporting long-term ecological monitoring sampling in 2007. The data collected under this plan will become part of the long-term ecological monitoring data set that is being collected annually. The data will be used to determine the requirements for the subsequent long-term ecological monitoring. This plan guides the 2007 investigations, including sampling, quality assurance, quality control, analytical procedures, and data management. As such, this plan will help to ensure that the resulting monitoring data will be scientifically valid, defensible, and of known and acceptable quality

Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Field Sampling Plan for 2007

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

T. Haney

2007-07-31

This field sampling plan describes the field investigations planned for the Long-Term Ecological Monitoring Project at the Idaho National Laboratory Site in 2007. This plan and the Quality Assurance Project Plan for Waste Area Groups 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, and Removal Actions constitute the sampling and analysis plan supporting long-term ecological monitoring sampling in 2007. The data collected under this plan will become part of the long-term ecological monitoring data set that is being collected annually. The data will be used t determine the requirements for the subsequent long-term ecological monitoring. This plan guides the 2007 investigations, including sampling, quality assurance, quality control, analytical procedures, and data management. As such, this plan will help to ensure that the resulting monitoring data will be scientifically valid, defensible, and of known and acceptable quality.

Development, description and validation of a Tritium Environmental Release Model (TERM).

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffers, Rebecca S; Parker, Geoffrey T

2014-01-01

Tritium is a radioisotope of hydrogen that exists naturally in the environment and may also be released through anthropogenic activities. It bonds readily with hydrogen and oxygen atoms to form tritiated water, which then cycles through the hydrosphere. This paper seeks to model the migration of tritiated species throughout the environment - including atmospheric, river and coastal systems - more comprehensively and more consistently across release scenarios than is currently in the literature. A review of the features and underlying conceptual models of some existing tritium release models was conducted, and an underlying aggregated conceptual process model defined, which is presented. The new model, dubbed 'Tritium Environmental Release Model' (TERM), was then tested against multiple validation sets from literature, including experimental data and reference tests for tritium models. TERM has been shown to be capable of providing reasonable results which are broadly comparable with atmospheric HTO release models from the literature, spanning both continuous and discrete release conditions. TERM also performed well when compared with atmospheric data. TERM is believed to be a useful tool for examining discrete and continuous atmospheric releases or combinations thereof. TERM also includes further capabilities (e.g. river and coastal release scenarios) that may be applicable to certain scenarios that atmospheric models alone may not handle well. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE progress in assessing the long term performance of waste package materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berusch, A.; Gause, E.

1987-01-01

Under the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (NWPA)[1], the US Dept. of Energy (DOE) is conducting activities to select and characterize candidate sites suitable for the construction and operation of a geologic repository for the disposal of high-level nuclear wastes. DOE is funding three first repository projects: Basalt Waste Isolation Project, BWIP; Nevada Nuclear Waste Isolation Project, NNWSI; and Salt Repository Project Office, SRPO. It is essential in the licensing process that DOE demonstrate to the NRC that the long-term performance of the materials and design will be in compliance with the requirements of 10 CFR 60.113 on substantially complete containment within the waste packages for 300 to 1000 years and a controlled release rate from the engineered barrier system (EBS) for 10,000 years of 1 part in 10 5 per year for radionuclides present in defined quantities 100 years after permanent closure. Obviously, the time spans involved make it impractical to base the assessment of the long term performance of waste package materials on real time, prototypical testing. The assessment of performance will be implemented by the use of models that are supported by real time field and laboratory tests, monitoring, and natural analog studies. Each of the repository projects is developing a plan for demonstrating long-term waste package material performance depending on the particular materials and the package-perturbed, time-dependent environment under which the materials must function. An overview of progress in each of these activities for each of the projects is provided in the following

Long Term Financing of Infrastructure

OpenAIRE

Sinha, Sidharth

2014-01-01

Infrastructure projects, given their long life, require long term financing. The main sources of long term financings are insurance and pension funds who seek long term investments with low credit risk. However, in India household financial savings are mainly invested in bank deposits. Insurance and pension funds account for only a small percentage of household financial savings. In addition most infrastructure projects do not qualify for investment by insurance and pension funds because of t...

Persistent negative illness perceptions despite long-term biochemical control of acromegaly: novel application of the drawing test

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tiemensma, Jitske; Pereira, Alberto M.; Romijn, Johannes A.; Broadbent, Elizabeth; Biermasz, Nienke R.; Kaptein, Adrian A.

2015-01-01

Context and objective: Patients with acromegaly have persistent complaints despite long-term biochemical control. Drawings can be used to assess patients' perceptions about their disease. We aimed to explore the utility of the drawing test and its relation to illness perceptions and quality of life

Controlled-release tablet formulation of isoniazid.

Science.gov (United States)

Jain, N K; Kulkarni, K; Talwar, N

1992-04-01

Guar (GG) and Karaya gums (KG) alone and in combination with hydroxy-propylmethylcellulose (HPMC) were evaluated as release retarding materials to formulate a controlled-release tablet dosage form of isoniazid (1). In vitro release of 1 from tablets followed non-Fickian release profile with rapid initial release. Urinary excretion studies in normal subjects showed steady-state levels of 1 for 13 h. In vitro and in vivo data correlated (r = 0.9794). The studies suggested the potentiality of GG and KG as release retarding materials in formulating controlled-release tablet dosage forms of 1.

Long-Term Stewardship Program Science and Technology Requirements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Joan McDonald

2002-09-01

Many of the United States’ hazardous and radioactively contaminated waste sites will not be sufficiently remediated to allow unrestricted land use because funding and technology limitations preclude cleanup to pristine conditions. This means that after cleanup is completed, the Department of Energy will have long-term stewardship responsibilities to monitor and safeguard more than 100 sites that still contain residual contamination. Long-term stewardship encompasses all physical and institutional controls, institutions, information, and other mechanisms required to protect human health and the environment from the hazards remaining. The Department of Energy Long-Term Stewardship National Program is in the early stages of development, so considerable planning is still required to identify all the specific roles and responsibilities, policies, and activities needed over the next few years to support the program’s mission. The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory was tasked with leading the development of Science and Technology within the Long-Term Stewardship National Program. As part of that role, a task was undertaken to identify the existing science and technology related requirements, identify gaps and conflicts that exist, and make recommendations to the Department of Energy for future requirements related to science and technology requirements for long-term stewardship. This work is summarized in this document.

Prolonged-release melatonin for insomnia – an open-label long-term study of efficacy, safety, and withdrawal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lemoine P

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Patrick Lemoine1, Doron Garfinkel2, Moshe Laudon3, Tali Nir3, Nava Zisapel3,41The Clinique Lyon-Lumière, Meyzieu, France; 2Geriatric-Palliative Department, Shoham Geriatric Medical Center, Pardes Hanna, Israel; 3Neurim Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Tel-Aviv, Israel; 4Department of Neurobiology Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, IsraelBackground: Prolonged-release melatonin (PRM 2 mg is indicated for insomnia in patients aged 55 years and older. A recent double-blind placebo-controlled study demonstrated 6-month efficacy and safety of PRM in insomnia patients aged 18–80 and lack of withdrawal and rebound symptoms upon discontinuation.Objective: To investigate the efficacy, safety, and withdrawal phenomena associated with 6–12 months PRM treatment.Methods: Data from a prospective 6–12-month open-label study of 244 community dwelling adults with primary insomnia, who had participated in a placebo-controlled, double-blind dose-ranging trial of PRM. Patients received PRM nightly, followed by a 2-week withdrawal period. Main outcome measures were patient-reported sleep quality ratings (diary, adverse events, vital signs, and laboratory tests recorded at each visit, and withdrawal symptoms (CHESS-84 [Check-list Evaluation of Somatic Symptoms]. Nocturnal urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin excretion, a measure of the endogenous melatonin production, was assessed upon discontinuing long-term PRM.Results: Of the 244 patients, 36 dropped out, 112 completed 6 months of treatment, and the other 96 completed 12 months of treatment. The mean number of nights by which patients reported sleep quality as "good" or "very good" was significantly higher during PRM than before treatment. There was no evidence of tolerance to PRM. Discontinuation of PRM was not associated with rebound insomnia or withdrawal symptoms; on the contrary, residual benefit was observed. PRM was well tolerated, and there was no suppression of endogenous melatonin production

Long-term Diet and Biomarker Changes after a Short-term Intervention among Hispanic Breast Cancer Survivors: The ¡Cocinar Para Su Salud! Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Greenlee, Heather; Ogden Gaffney, Ann; Aycinena, A Corina; Koch, Pam; Contento, Isobel; Karmally, Wahida; Richardson, John M; Shi, Zaixing; Lim, Emerson; Tsai, Wei-Yann; Santella, Regina M; Blaner, William S; Clugston, Robin D; Cremers, Serge; Pollak, Susan; Sirosh, Iryna; Crew, Katherine D; Maurer, Matthew; Kalinsky, Kevin; Hershman, Dawn L

2016-11-01

Among Hispanic breast cancer survivors, we examined the long-term effects of a short-term culturally based dietary intervention on increasing fruits/vegetables (F/V), decreasing fat, and changing biomarkers associated with breast cancer recurrence risk. Spanish-speaking women (n = 70) with a history of stage 0-III breast cancer who completed treatment were randomized to ¡Cocinar Para Su Salud! (n = 34), a culturally based 9-session program (24 hours over 12 weeks, including nutrition education, cooking classes, and food-shopping field trips), or a control group (n = 36, written dietary recommendations for breast cancer survivors). Diet recalls, fasting blood, and anthropometric measures were collected at baseline, 6, and 12 months. We report changes between groups at 12 months in dietary intake and biomarkers using 2-sample Wilcoxon t tests and generalized estimating equation (GEE) models. At 12 months, the intervention group compared with the control group reported higher increases in mean daily F/V servings (total: +2.0 vs. -0.4; P Salud! program was effective at increasing long-term F/V intake in Hispanic breast cancer survivors and changed biomarkers associated with breast cancer recurrence risk. It is possible for short-term behavioral interventions to have long-term effects on behaviors and biomarkers in minority cancer patient populations. Results can inform future study designs. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 25(11); 1491-502. ©2016 AACR. ©2016 American Association for Cancer Research.

Deficits in long-term recognition memory reveal dissociated subtypes in congenital prosopagnosia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rainer Stollhoff

Full Text Available The study investigates long-term recognition memory in congenital prosopagnosia (CP, a lifelong impairment in face identification that is present from birth. Previous investigations of processing deficits in CP have mostly relied on short-term recognition tests to estimate the scope and severity of individual deficits. We firstly report on a controlled test of long-term (one year recognition memory for faces and objects conducted with a large group of participants with CP. Long-term recognition memory is significantly impaired in eight CP participants (CPs. In all but one case, this deficit was selective to faces and didn't extend to intra-class recognition of object stimuli. In a test of famous face recognition, long-term recognition deficits were less pronounced, even after accounting for differences in media consumption between controls and CPs. Secondly, we combined test results on long-term and short-term recognition of faces and objects, and found a large heterogeneity in severity and scope of individual deficits. Analysis of the observed heterogeneity revealed a dissociation of CP into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. Thirdly, we found that among CPs self-assessment of real-life difficulties, based on a standardized questionnaire, and experimentally assessed face recognition deficits are strongly correlated. Our results demonstrate that controlled tests of long-term recognition memory are needed to fully assess face recognition deficits in CP. Based on controlled and comprehensive experimental testing, CP can be dissociated into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. The CP subtypes identified align with those found in prosopagnosia caused by cortical lesions; they can be interpreted with respect to a hierarchical neural system for face perception.

Deficits in long-term recognition memory reveal dissociated subtypes in congenital prosopagnosia.

Science.gov (United States)

Stollhoff, Rainer; Jost, Jürgen; Elze, Tobias; Kennerknecht, Ingo

2011-01-25

The study investigates long-term recognition memory in congenital prosopagnosia (CP), a lifelong impairment in face identification that is present from birth. Previous investigations of processing deficits in CP have mostly relied on short-term recognition tests to estimate the scope and severity of individual deficits. We firstly report on a controlled test of long-term (one year) recognition memory for faces and objects conducted with a large group of participants with CP. Long-term recognition memory is significantly impaired in eight CP participants (CPs). In all but one case, this deficit was selective to faces and didn't extend to intra-class recognition of object stimuli. In a test of famous face recognition, long-term recognition deficits were less pronounced, even after accounting for differences in media consumption between controls and CPs. Secondly, we combined test results on long-term and short-term recognition of faces and objects, and found a large heterogeneity in severity and scope of individual deficits. Analysis of the observed heterogeneity revealed a dissociation of CP into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. Thirdly, we found that among CPs self-assessment of real-life difficulties, based on a standardized questionnaire, and experimentally assessed face recognition deficits are strongly correlated. Our results demonstrate that controlled tests of long-term recognition memory are needed to fully assess face recognition deficits in CP. Based on controlled and comprehensive experimental testing, CP can be dissociated into subtypes with a homogeneous phenotypical profile. The CP subtypes identified align with those found in prosopagnosia caused by cortical lesions; they can be interpreted with respect to a hierarchical neural system for face perception.

Long term stability of power systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kundur, P; Gao, B [Powertech Labs. Inc., Surrey, BC (Canada)

1994-12-31

Power system long term stability is still a developing subject. In this paper we provide our perspectives and experiences related to long term stability. The paper begins with the description of the nature of the long term stability problem, followed by the discussion of issues related to the modeling and solution techniques of tools for long term stability analysis. Cases studies are presented to illustrate the voltage stability aspect and plant dynamics aspect of long term stability. (author) 20 refs., 11 figs.

Metal releases from a municipal solid waste incineration air pollution control residue mixed with compost.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Praagh, M; Persson, K M

2008-08-01

The influence of 10 wt.% mature compost was tested on the heavy metal leachate emissions from a calcium-rich municipal solid waste incineration air pollution control residue (MSWI APC). Apart from elongated columns (500 and 1250 mm), an otherwise norm compliant European percolation test setup was used. More than 99% of the metals Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe and Ni were left in the APC residue after leaching to a liquid-to-solid ratio (L/S) of 10. Apparent short-term effects of elevated leachate DOC concentrations on heavy metal releases were not detected. Zn and Pb leachate concentrations were one order of magnitude lower for L/S 5 and 10 from the pure APC residue column, which suggests a possible long-term effect of compost on the release of these elements. Prolonging the contact time between the pore water and the material resulted in elevated leachate concentrations at L/S 0.1 to L/S 1 by a factor of 2. Only Cr and Pb concentrations were at their maxima in the first leachates at L/S 0.1. Equilibrium speciation modelling with the PHREEQC code suggested portlandite (Ca(OH)2) to control Ca solubility and pH.

Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Celiac Disease Patients on a Long-Term Gluten-Free Diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Laurikka, Pilvi; Salmi, Teea; Collin, Pekka; Huhtala, Heini; Mäki, Markku; Kaukinen, Katri; Kurppa, Kalle

2016-07-14

Experience suggests that many celiac patients suffer from persistent symptoms despite a long-term gluten-free diet (GFD). We investigated the prevalence and severity of these symptoms in patients with variable duration of GFD. Altogether, 856 patients were classified into untreated (n = 128), short-term GFD (1-2 years, n = 93) and long-term GFD (≥3 years, n = 635) groups. Analyses were made of clinical and histological data and dietary adherence. Symptoms were evaluated by the validated GSRS questionnaire. One-hundred-sixty healthy subjects comprised the control group. Further, the severity of symptoms was compared with that in peptic ulcer, reflux disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Altogether, 93% of the short-term and 94% of the long-term treated patients had a strict GFD and recovered mucosa. Untreated patients had more diarrhea, indigestion and abdominal pain than those on GFD and controls. There were no differences in symptoms between the short- and long-term GFD groups, but both yielded poorer GSRS total score than controls (p = 0.03 and p = 0.05, respectively). Furthermore, patients treated 1-2 years had more diarrhea (p = 0.03) and those treated >10 years more reflux (p = 0.04) than controls. Long-term treated celiac patients showed relatively mild symptoms compared with other gastrointestinal diseases. Based on our results, good response to GFD sustained in long-term follow-up, but not all patients reach the level of healthy individuals.

Using polymer-coated controlled-release fertilizers in the nursery and after outplanting

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas D. Landis; R. Kasten Dumroese

2009-01-01

Controlled-release fertilizers (CRF) are the newest and most technically advanced way of supplying mineral nutrients to nursery crops. Compared to conventional fertilizers, their gradual pattern of nutrient release better meets plant needs, minimizes leaching, and therefore improves fertilizer use efficiency. In our review of the literature, we found many terms used...

Release modes and processes relevant to source-term calculations at Yucca Mountain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Apted, M.J.

1994-01-01

The feasibility of permanent disposal of radioactive high-level waste (HLW) in repositories located in deep geologic formations is being studied world-wide. The most credible release pathway is interaction between groundwater and nuclear waste forms, followed by migration of radionuclide-bearing groundwater to the accessible environment. Under hydrologically unsaturated conditions, vapor transport of volatile radionuclides is also possible. The near-field encompasses the waste packages composed of engineered barriers (e.g. man-made materials, such as vitrified waste forms, corrosion-resistant containers), while the far-field includes the natural barriers (e.g. host rock, hydrologic setting). Taken together, these two subsystems define a series of multiple, redundant barriers that act to assure the safe isolation of nuclear waste. In the U.S., the Department of energy (DOE) is investigating the feasibility of safe, long-term disposal of high-level nuclear waste at the Yucca Mountain site in Nevada. The proposed repository horizon is located in non-welded tuffs within the unsaturated zone (i.e. above the water table) at Yucca Mountain. The purpose of this paper is to describe the source-term models for radionuclide release from waste packages at Yucca Mountain site. The first section describes the conceptual release modes that are relevant for this site and waste package design, based on a consideration of the performance of currently proposed engineered barriers under expected and unexpected conditions. No attempt is made to asses the reasonableness nor probability of occurrence for any specific release mode. The following section reviews the waste-form characteristics that are required to model and constrain the release of radionuclides from the waste package. The next section present mathematical models for the conceptual release modes, selected from those that have been implemented into a probabilistic total system assessment code developed for the Electric Power

Controlled release of cytokines using silk-biomaterials for macrophage polarization.

Science.gov (United States)

Reeves, Andrew R D; Spiller, Kara L; Freytes, Donald O; Vunjak-Novakovic, Gordana; Kaplan, David L

2015-12-01

Polarization of macrophages into an inflammatory (M1) or anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotype is important for clearing pathogens and wound repair, however chronic activation of either type of macrophage has been implicated in several diseases. Methods to locally control the polarization of macrophages is of great interest for biomedical implants and tissue engineering. To that end, silk protein was used to form biopolymer films that release either IFN-γ or IL-4 to control the polarization of macrophages. Modulation of the solubility of the silk films through regulation of β-sheet (crystalline) content enabled a short-term release (4-8 h) of either cytokine, with smaller amounts released out to 24 h. Altering the solubility of the films was accomplished by varying the time that the films were exposed to water vapor. The released IFN-γ or IL-4 induced polarization of THP-1 derived macrophages into the M1 or M2 phenotypes, respectively. The silk biomaterials were able to release enough IFN-γ or IL-4 to repolarize the macrophage from M1 to M2 and vice versa, demonstrating the well-established plasticity of macrophages. High β-sheet content films that are not soluble and do not release the trapped cytokines were also able to polarize macrophages that adhered to the surface through degradation of the silk protein. Chemically conjugating IFN-γ to silk films through disulfide bonds allowed for longer-term release to 10 days. The release of covalently attached IFN-γ from the films was also able to polarize M1 macrophages in vitro. Thus, the strategy described here offers new approaches to utilizing biomaterials for directing the polarization of macrophages. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steinmetz, Zacharias; Wollmann, Claudia; Schaefer, Miriam; Buchmann, Christian; David, Jan [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Tröger, Josephine [Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Interdisciplinary Research Group on Environmental Issues, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Muñoz, Katherine [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Interdisciplinary Research Group on Environmental Issues, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Frör, Oliver [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental Economics, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany); Schaumann, Gabriele Ellen, E-mail: schaumann@uni-landau.de [Institute for Environmental Sciences, Group of Environmental and Soil Chemistry, University of Koblenz-Landau, Fortstraße 7, 76829 Landau (Germany)

2016-04-15

Plastic mulching has become a globally applied agricultural practice for its instant economic benefits such as higher yields, earlier harvests, improved fruit quality and increased water-use efficiency. However, knowledge of the sustainability of plastic mulching remains vague in terms of both an environmental and agronomic perspective. This review critically discusses the current understanding of the environmental impact of plastic mulch use by linking knowledge of agricultural benefits and research on the life cycle of plastic mulches with direct and indirect implications for long-term soil quality and ecosystem services. Adverse effects may arise from plastic additives, enhanced pesticide runoff and plastic residues likely to fragment into microplastics but remaining chemically intact and accumulating in soil where they can successively sorb agrochemicals. The quantification of microplastics in soil remains challenging due to the lack of appropriate analytical techniques. The cost and effort of recovering and recycling used mulching films may offset the aforementioned benefits in the long term. However, comparative and long-term agronomic assessments have not yet been conducted. Furthermore, plastic mulches have the potential to alter soil quality by shifting the edaphic biocoenosis (e.g. towards mycotoxigenic fungi), accelerate C/N metabolism eventually depleting soil organic matter stocks, increase soil water repellency and favour the release of greenhouse gases. A substantial process understanding of the interactions between the soil microclimate, water supply and biological activity under plastic mulches is still lacking but required to estimate potential risks for long-term soil quality. Currently, farmers mostly base their decision to apply plastic mulches rather on expected short-term benefits than on the consideration of long-term consequences. Future interdisciplinary research should therefore gain a deeper understanding of the incentives for farmers

Plastic mulching in agriculture. Trading short-term agronomic benefits for long-term soil degradation?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinmetz, Zacharias; Wollmann, Claudia; Schaefer, Miriam; Buchmann, Christian; David, Jan; Tröger, Josephine; Muñoz, Katherine; Frör, Oliver; Schaumann, Gabriele Ellen

2016-01-01

Plastic mulching has become a globally applied agricultural practice for its instant economic benefits such as higher yields, earlier harvests, improved fruit quality and increased water-use efficiency. However, knowledge of the sustainability of plastic mulching remains vague in terms of both an environmental and agronomic perspective. This review critically discusses the current understanding of the environmental impact of plastic mulch use by linking knowledge of agricultural benefits and research on the life cycle of plastic mulches with direct and indirect implications for long-term soil quality and ecosystem services. Adverse effects may arise from plastic additives, enhanced pesticide runoff and plastic residues likely to fragment into microplastics but remaining chemically intact and accumulating in soil where they can successively sorb agrochemicals. The quantification of microplastics in soil remains challenging due to the lack of appropriate analytical techniques. The cost and effort of recovering and recycling used mulching films may offset the aforementioned benefits in the long term. However, comparative and long-term agronomic assessments have not yet been conducted. Furthermore, plastic mulches have the potential to alter soil quality by shifting the edaphic biocoenosis (e.g. towards mycotoxigenic fungi), accelerate C/N metabolism eventually depleting soil organic matter stocks, increase soil water repellency and favour the release of greenhouse gases. A substantial process understanding of the interactions between the soil microclimate, water supply and biological activity under plastic mulches is still lacking but required to estimate potential risks for long-term soil quality. Currently, farmers mostly base their decision to apply plastic mulches rather on expected short-term benefits than on the consideration of long-term consequences. Future interdisciplinary research should therefore gain a deeper understanding of the incentives for farmers

Impact of Infection Prevention and Control Initiatives on Acute Respiratory Infections in a Pediatric Long-Term Care Facility.

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Meghan T; Jackson, Olivia; Cohen, Bevin; Hutcheon, Gordon; Saiman, Lisa; Larson, Elaine; Neu, Natalie

2016-07-01

We evaluated the collective impact of several infection prevention and control initiatives aimed at reducing acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in a pediatric long-term care facility. ARIs did not decrease overall, though the proportion of infections associated with outbreaks and average number of cases per outbreak decreased. Influenza rates decreased significantly. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:859-862.

Characterization of unsaturated fatty acid sustained-release microspheres for long-term algal inhibition.

Science.gov (United States)

Ni, Lixiao; Jie, Xiaoting; Wang, Peifang; Li, Shiyin; Hu, Shuzhen; Li, Yiping; Li, Yong; Acharya, Kumud

2015-02-01

The unsaturated fatty acid (linoleic acid) sustained-release microspheres were prepared with linoleic acid (LA) using alginate-chitosan microcapsule technology. These LA sustained-release microspheres had a high encapsulation efficiency (up to 62%) tested by high performance liquid chromatography with a photo diode array. The dry microspheres were characterized by a scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction measurement, dynamic thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis. The results of characterization showed that the microspheres had good thermal stability (decomposition temperature of 236°C), stable and temperature independent release properties (release time of more than 40 d). Compared to direct dosing of LA, LA sustained-released microspheres could inhibit Microcystis aeruginosa growth to the non-growth state. The results of this study suggested that the LA sustained-release microspheres may be a potential candidate for algal inhibition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Influence on glycemic control of improved diabetic gastroparesis by long-term cisapride therapy].

Science.gov (United States)

Ishii, K; Tanabe, S; Mitsuhashi, T; Saigenji, K

1995-10-01

To investigate the effect on glycemic control of improving diabetic gastroparesis, we evaluated symptoms (scored), gastric motor functions (solid and liquid gastric emptying studies and electrogastrography), and glycemic control in 11 patients with diabetic gastroparesis (5 men, 6 women, 50.4 +/- 4.5 years old) before and after treatment with cisapride (15 mg/day p.o., 12 weeks). None of the patients had organic abnormalities on gastrointestinal endoscopy. The dysmotility symptom score (maximum: 18) on cisapride significantly improved from 13.1 to 4.0 (p instant noodles labeled with 37 MBq (1 mCi) technetium-99m (both p < 0.05). Liquid gastric emptying, evaluated using a sulfamethizole technique, also improved but not significantly. Electrogastrography revealed no significant changes after treatment, but the postprandial rate of normal frequency waves tended to increase. Glycemic control was assessed based on HbA1C, fructosamine and M value. There were no significant changes in glycemic control after treatment with cisapride. We conclude that long-term administration of cisapride reduced dysmotility symptoms and improved solid and liquid gastric emptying without adversely affecting glycemic control.

To what extent do long-duration high-volume dam releases influence river–aquifer interactions? A case study in New South Wales, Australia

KAUST Repository

Graham, Peter W.

2014-11-20

Long-duration high-volume dam releases are unique anthropogenic events with no naturally occurring equivalents. The impact from such dam releases on a downstream Quaternary alluvial aquifer in New South Wales, Australia, is assessed. It is observed that long-duration (>26 days), high-volume dam releases (>8,000 ML/day average) result in significant variations in river–aquifer interactions. These variations include a flux from the river to the aquifer up to 6.3 m3/day per metre of bank (at distances of up to 330 m from the river bank), increased extent and volume of recharge/bank storage, and a long-term (>100 days) reversal of river–aquifer fluxes. In contrast, during lower-volume events (<2,000 ML/day average) the flux was directed from the aquifer to the river at rates of up to 1.6 m3/day per metre of bank. A groundwater-head prediction model was constructed and river–aquifer fluxes were calculated; however, predicted fluxes from this method showed poor correlation to fluxes calculated using actual groundwater heads. Long-duration high-volume dam releases have the potential to skew estimates of long-term aquifer resources and detrimentally alter the chemical and physical properties of phreatic aquifers flanking the river. The findings have ramifications for improved integrated management of dam systems and downstream aquifers.

Predictors of Short- and Long-Term Attrition From the Parents as Agents of Change Randomized Controlled Trial for Managing Pediatric Obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Spence, Nicholas D; Newton, Amanda S; Keaschuk, Rachel A; Ambler, Kathryn A; Jetha, Mary M; Holt, Nicholas L; Rosychuk, Rhonda J; Spence, John C; Sharma, Arya M; Ball, Geoff D C

Attrition in pediatric weight management is a substantial problem. This study examined factors associated with short- and long-term attrition from a lifestyle and behavioral intervention for parents of children with overweight or obesity. Fifty-two families with children ages 6 to 12 years old and body mass index at or above the 85th percentile participated in a randomized controlled trial focused on parents, comparing parent-based cognitive behavioral therapy with parent-based psychoeducation for pediatric weight management. We examined program attrition using two clinical phases of the intervention: short-term and long-term attrition, modeled using the general linear model. Predictors included intervention type, child/parent weight status, sociodemographic factors, and health of the family system. Higher self-assessed health of the family system was associated with lower short-term attrition; higher percentage of intervention sessions attended by parents was associated with lower long-term attrition. Different variables were significant in our short- and long-term models. Attrition might best be conceptualized based on short- and long-term phases of clinical, parent-based interventions for pediatric weight management. Copyright © 2016 National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Remaining uncertainties in predicting long-term performance of nuclear waste glass from experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grambow, B.

1994-01-01

The current knowledge on the glass dissolution mechanism and the representation of glass dissolution concepts within overall repository performance assessment models are briefly summarized and uncertainties related to mechanism, radionuclide chemistry and parameters are discussed. Understanding of the major glass dissolution processes has been significantly increased in recent years. Long-term glass stability is related to the long-term maintenance of silica saturated conditions. The behavior of individual radionuclides in the presence of a dissolving glass has not been sufficiently and results do no yet allow meaningful predictions. Conserving long-term predictions of glass matrix dissolution as upper limit for radionuclide release can be made with sufficient confidence, however these estimations generally result in a situation where the barrier function of the glass is masked by the efficiency of the geologic barrier. Realistic long-term predictions may show that the borosilicate waste glass contributes to overall repository safety to a much larger extent than indicated by overconservatism. Today realistic predictions remain highly uncertain and much more research work is necessary. In particular, the long-term rate under silica saturated conditions needs to be understood and the behavior of individual radionuclides in the presence of a dissolving glass deserves more systematic investigations

Assessment of spent WWER-440 fuel performance under long-term storage conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takats, F [TS Enercon Kft. (Hungary)

2012-07-01

Paks Nuclear Power Plant is the only NPP in Hungary. It has four WWER-440 type reactor units. The fresh fuel is imported from Russia so far. The spent fuel assemblies were shipped back to Russia until 1997 after about 6 years cooling at the plant. A dry storage facility (MVDS type) has been constructed and is operational since then. By 1 January 2008, there were 5107 assemblies in dry storage. The objectives are: 1) Wet AR storage of spent fuel from the NPP Paks: Measurements of conditions for spent fuel storage in the at-reactor (AR) storage pools of Paks NPP (physical and chemical characteristics of pool water, corrosion product data); Measurements and visual control of storage pool component characteristics; Evaluation of storage characteristics and conditions with respect to long-term stability (corrosion of fuel cladding, construction materials); 2) Dry AFR storage at Paks NPP: Calculation and measurement of spent fuel conditions during the transfer from the storage pool to the modular vault dry storage (MVDS) on the site; Calculation and measurement of spent fuel conditions during the preparation of fuel for dry storage (drying process), such as crud release, activity build-up; Measurement of spent fuel conditions during the long-term dry storage, activity data in the storage tubes and amount of crud.

Mechanisms of iodine release from iodoapatite in aqueous solution

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Z.; Wang, J.

2017-12-01

Immobilization of iodine-129 with waste forms in geological setting is challenging due to its extremely long half-life and high volatility in the environment. To evaluate the long-term performance of waste form, it is imperative to determine the release mechanism of iodine hosted in the waste form materials. This study investigated the iodine released from apatite structured waste form Pb9.85 (VO4)6 I1.7 to understand how diffusion and dissolution control the durability of apatite waste form. A standard semi-dynamic leach test was adopted in this study. Samples were exposed in fresh leachant periodically and the leachant was replaced after each interval. Each experiment was carried out in cap-sealed Teflon vessels under constant temperature (e.g. 90 °C). ICP-MS analysis on the reacted leachates shows that Pb and V were released constantly and congruently with the stoichiometric ratio of Pb/V. However, iodine release is incongruent and time dependent. The iodine release rate starts significantly higher than the corresponding stoichiometric value and gradually decreases, approaching the stoichiometric value. Therefore, a dual-mode mechanism is proposed to account for the iodine release from apatite, which is dominated by short-term diffusion and long-term dissolution processes. Additional tests show that the element release rates depend on a number of test parameters, including sample surface to solution volume ratio (m-1), interval (day), temperature (°C), and solution pH. This study provides a quantitative characterization of iodine release mechanism. The activation energy of iodine leaching 21±1.6 kJ/mol was obtained by varying the test temperature. At the test conditions of to neutral pH and 90 °C, the long-term iodine release rate 3.3 mg/(m2 • day) is projected by normalizing sample surface area to solution volume ratio (S/V) to 1.0 m-1 and interval to 1 day. These findings demonstrate i) the feasibility of our approach to quantify the release mechanism

Long-term variations of fumarole temperatures on Vulcano Island (Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iole Serena Diliberto

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Fumarole temperatures are the ultimate results of many processes that are encountered by deep fluids during their passage to the surface. Here, the time variations of high-temperature fumaroles acquired by continuous monitoring are presented, to show the effects of the forces that act on the system. Data acquired by continuous monitoring of fumaroles and the time relationships with the different parameters related to the activity of the volcanic system are discussed. From 1998 to 2010, the temperature and compositional changes of fumarolic gases were monitored at the same time as variations in the number of volcano-seismic events, which indicate frequent variations of energy release (heat and mass flow, and seismic strain release. Geochemical modeling applied to the volcanic system of Vulcano Island suggests that the overall expansion of magmatic gas through the fractured system is an almost iso-enthalpic process at depth, which shifts to an adiabatic process at shallow depth, where the rock permeability increases. Thus, the time variations of the fumarole temperatures reflect various physical variations of the system that can either occur at depth or close to the surface. The temperature monitoring performed in the fumarolic area of La Fossa Cone showed short-term effects related to rain events, and negligible effects related to other external agents (ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure variations. At the same time, the long-term monitoring highlighted some mean-term and long-term variations. These last are the main characters observed in the time-series, and they both appear to be related to endogenous forces that perturb the equilibrium of this complex geochemical system.

Air Traffic Controllers’ Long-Term Speech-in-Noise Training Effects: A Control Group Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zaballos, María T.P.; Plasencia, Daniel P.; González, María L.Z.; de Miguel, Angel R.; Macías, Ángel R.

2016-01-01

Introduction: Speech perception in noise relies on the capacity of the auditory system to process complex sounds using sensory and cognitive skills. The possibility that these can be trained during adulthood is of special interest in auditory disorders, where speech in noise perception becomes compromised. Air traffic controllers (ATC) are constantly exposed to radio communication, a situation that seems to produce auditory learning. The objective of this study has been to quantify this effect. Subjects and Methods: 19 ATC and 19 normal hearing individuals underwent a speech in noise test with three signal to noise ratios: 5, 0 and −5 dB. Noise and speech were presented through two different loudspeakers in azimuth position. Speech tokes were presented at 65 dB SPL, while white noise files were at 60, 65 and 70 dB respectively. Results: Air traffic controllers outperform the control group in all conditions [P<0.05 in ANOVA and Mann-Whitney U tests]. Group differences were largest in the most difficult condition, SNR=−5 dB. However, no correlation between experience and performance were found for any of the conditions tested. The reason might be that ceiling performance is achieved much faster than the minimum experience time recorded, 5 years, although intrinsic cognitive abilities cannot be disregarded. Discussion: ATC demonstrated enhanced ability to hear speech in challenging listening environments. This study provides evidence that long-term auditory training is indeed useful in achieving better speech-in-noise understanding even in adverse conditions, although good cognitive qualities are likely to be a basic requirement for this training to be effective. Conclusion: Our results show that ATC outperform the control group in all conditions. Thus, this study provides evidence that long-term auditory training is indeed useful in achieving better speech-in-noise understanding even in adverse conditions. PMID:27991470

Long-term follow-up of patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) receiving intraocular ciliary neurotrophic factor implants

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, David G.; Bennett, Lea D.; Duncan, Jacque L.; Weleber, Richard G.; Pennesi, Mark E.

2016-01-01

Purpose To evaluate the long-term efficacy of ciliary neurotrophic factor delivered via an intraocular encapsulated cell implant for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Design Long-term follow up of a multicenter, sham-controlled study. Methods Thirty-six patients at three CNTF4 sites were randomly assigned to receive a high- or low- dose implant in one eye and sham surgery in the fellow eye. The primary endpoint (change in visual field sensitivity at 12 months) has been reported previously.1 Here we report long-term visual acuity, visual field and optical coherence tomography (OCT) outcomes in 24 patients either retaining or explanting the device at 24 months relative to sham-treated eyes. Results Eyes retaining the implant showed significantly greater visual field loss from baseline than either explanted eyes or sham eyes through 42 months. By 60 months and continuing through 96 months, visual field loss was comparable among sham-treated eyes, eyes retaining the implant and explanted eyes, as was visual acuity and OCT macular volume. Conclusions Over the short term, ciliary neurotrophic factor released continuously from an intra-vitreal implant lead to loss of total visual field sensitivity that was greater than the natural progression in the sham-treated eye. This additional loss of sensitivity related to the active implant was reversible when the implant was removed. Over the long term (60 – 96 months), there was no evidence of efficacy for visual acuity, visual field sensitivity or OCT measures of retinal structure. PMID:27457255

Present and long-term composition of MSW landfill leachate: A review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjeldsen, Peter; Barlaz, M.A.; Rooker, A.P.

2002-01-01

The major potential environmental impacts related to landfill leachate are pollution of groundwater and surface waters. Landfill leachate contains pollutants that can be categorized into four groups (dissolved organic matter, inorganic macrocomponents, heavy metals, and xenobiotic organic compounds...... are observed. In contrast, the concentration of ammonia does not decrease, and often constitutes a major long-term pollutant in leachate. A broad range of xenobiotic organic compounds is observed in landfill leachate. The long-term behavior of landfills with respect to changes in oxidation-reduction status...... is discussed based on theory and model simulations. It seems that the somewhere postulated enhanced release of accumulated heavy metals would not take place within the time frames of thousands of years. This is supported by a few laboratory investigations. The existing data and model evaluations indicate...

Long-Term Spatial Data Preservation and Archiving: What Are the Issues?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

BLEAKLY, DENISE R.

2002-01-01

The Department of Energy (DOE) is moving towards Long-Term Stewardship (LTS) of many environmental restoration sites that cannot be released for unrestricted use. One aspect of information management for LTS is geospatial data archiving. This report discusses the challenges facing the DOE LTS program concerning the data management and archiving of geospatial data. It discusses challenges in using electronic media for archiving, overcoming technological obsolescence, data refreshing, data migration, and emulation. It gives an overview of existing guidance and policy and discusses what the United States Geological Service (USGS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) are doing to archive the geospatial data that their agencies are responsible for. In the conclusion, this report provides issues for further discussion around long-term spatial data archiving

Long-term antibiotic delivery by chitosan-based composite coatings with bone regenerative potential

Science.gov (United States)

Ordikhani, F.; Simchi, A.

2014-10-01

Composite coatings with bone-bioactivity and drug-eluting capacity are considered as promising materials for titanium bone implants. In this work, drug-eluting chitosan-bioactive glass coatings were fabricated by a single-step electrophoretic deposition technique. Drug-loading and -releasing capacity of the composite coatings were carried out using the vancomycin antibiotic. Uniform coatings with a thickness of ∼55 μm containing 23.7 wt% bioactive glass particles and various amounts of the antibiotic (380-630 μg/cm2) were produced. The coatings were bioactive in terms of apatite-forming ability in simulated body fluid and showed favorable cell adhesion and growth. In vitro biological tests also indicated that the composite coatings had better cellular affinity than pristine chitosan coatings. The in vitro elution kinetics of the composite coating revealed an initial burst release of around 40% of the drug within the first elution step of 1 h and following by a continuous eluting over 4 weeks, revealing long-term drug-delivering potential. Antibacterial tests using survival assay against Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria determined the effect of vancomycin release on reduction of infection risk. Almost no bacteria were survived on the coatings prepared from the EPD suspension containing ≥0.5 g/l vancomycin. The developed chitosan-based composite coatings with bone bioactivity and long-term drug-delivery ability may be potentially useful for metallic implants to reduce infection risk.

The Barrier code for predicting long-term concrete performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shuman, R.; Rogers, V.C.; Shaw, R.A.

1989-01-01

There are numerous features incorporated into a LLW disposal facility that deal directly with critical safety objectives required by the NRC in 10 CFR 61. Engineered barriers or structures incorporating concrete are commonly being considered for waste disposal facilities. The Barrier computer code calculates the long-term degradation of concrete structures in LLW disposal facilities. It couples this degradation with water infiltration into the facility, nuclide leaching from the waste, contaminated water release from the facility, and associated doses to members of the critical population group. The concrete degradation methodology of Barrier is described

Controlling for unmeasured confounding and spatial misalignment in long?term air pollution and health studies

OpenAIRE

Lee, Duncan; Sarran, Christophe

2015-01-01

The health impact of long?term exposure to air pollution is now routinely estimated using spatial ecological studies, owing to the recent widespread availability of spatial referenced pollution and disease data. However, this areal unit study design presents a number of statistical challenges, which if ignored have the potential to bias the estimated pollution?health relationship. One such challenge is how to control for the spatial autocorrelation present in the data after accounting for the...

Workload Control with Continuous Release

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Phan, B. S. Nguyen; Land, M. J.; Gaalman, G. J. C.

2009-01-01

Workload Control (WLC) is a production planning and control concept which is suitable for the needs of make-to-order job shops. Release decisions based on the workload norms form the core of the concept. This paper develops continuous time WLC release variants and investigates their due date

Long-term urethral catheterisation.

Science.gov (United States)

Turner, Bruce; Dickens, Nicola

This article discusses long-term urethral catheterisation, focusing on the relevant anatomy and physiology, indications for the procedure, catheter selection and catheter care. It is important that nurses have a good working knowledge of long-term catheterisation as the need for this intervention will increase with the rise in chronic health conditions and the ageing population.

Effects of long-term stimulation of textured insoles on postural control in health elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Annino, Giuseppe; Palazzo, Francesco; Alwardat, Mohammad S; Manzi, Vincenzo; Lebone, Pietro; Tancredi, Virginia; Sinibaldi Salimei, Paola; Caronti, Alfio; Panzarino, Michele; Padua, Elvira

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to confirm the effects of long term (chronic) stimulating surface (textured insole) on body balance of elderly people. Twenty-four healthy elderly individuals were randomly distributed in two groups: control and experimental (67.75±6.04 years, 74.55±12.14 kg, 163.7±8.55 cm, 27.75±3.04 kg/m2). Over one month, control group (CG) used smooth insoles and the experimental group (ExG) used textured insoles every day. Velocity net (Vnet), anteroposterior (VA/P), mediolateral (VM/L) and sway path of CoP were assessed in different eye conditions before and after the experimental procedure. A mixed between-within subject ANOVA was conducted to assess the impact of soft and textured insoles and two visual conditions (vision vs. no vision) across two time periods (α≤0.05). The results showed any statistical difference between groups in each parameter assessed in this study. CoP, Vnet and VM/L in the experimental group showed a statistically significant effect of textured insoles only without vision (CoP: P=0.002; η2=0.35), Vnet P=0.02; η2=0.24, VM/L P=0.04; η2=0.177) whereas VA/P showed no statistically significant effect in the same group and condition. There was no significant effect in Vnet, VA/P, VM/L and COP in control group that used smooth insole for both eye conditions. The results confirm that postural stability improved in healthy elderly individuals, increasing somatosensory information's from feet plantar mechanoreceptors. Long term stimulation with textured insoles decreased CoP, Vnet and VM/L with eyes closed.

Conceptual designs for a long term 238PuO2 storage vessel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwon, D.M.; Replogle, W.C.

1996-08-01

This is a report on conceptual designs for a long term, 250 years, storage container for plutonium oxide ([sup 238]PuO[sub 2]). These conceptual designs are based on the use of a quartz filter to release the helium generated during the plutonium decay. In this report a review of filter material selection, design concepts, thermal modeling, and filter performance are discussed

Long-term complications in Hodgkin's lymphoma survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilickap, Saadettin; Barista, Ibrahim; Ulger, Sukran; Celik, Ismail; Selek, Ugur; Güllü, Ibrahim; Yildiz, Ferah; Kars, Ayse; Ozisik, Yavuz; Tekuzman, Gülten

2012-01-01

Background. Although patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) achieve prolonged survival, long-term complications are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among long-term survivors of HL. Methods. We retrospectively evaluated long-term complications in 336 HL survivors treated between January 1990 and January 2006 at the Department of Medical Oncology of the Hacettepe University Institute of Oncology who were >16 years old at presentation. All patients were regularly followed up every 3 months for the first 2 years after complete response, biannually for 3 years, and annually after 5 years. Results. Median follow-up was 8.5 years. The mean age (±SD) of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 35.7 ± 13.1 years. The male to female ratio was 61%/39%. During follow-up, 29 second malignancies (8.6%) were diagnosed in 28 patients with HL; 22 were solid tumors and 7 were hematological malignancies. Forty-seven (14.0%) of all patients with HL were found to have thyroid abnormalities. During follow-up, 54 (16.1%) patients developed cardiovascular complications. Overall, 29 (8.6%) patients developed late pulmonary toxicities. The cumulative number of chronic viral infections was 13 (3.9%). Conclusions. Long-term survivors of HL need to be properly followed up not only for disease control but also for evaluation of possible late morbidities to minimize the consequences.

Long-term child follow-up after large obstetric randomised controlled trials for the evaluation of perinatal interventions: a systematic review of the literature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Teune, M. J.; van Wassenaer, A. G.; Malin, G. L.; Asztalos, E.; Alfirevic, Z.; Mol, B. W. J.; Opmeer, B. C.

2013-01-01

Although the hope is that many perinatal interventions are performed with an ultimate aim to improve the long-term health and development of the child, long-term outcome is rarely used as a primary end-point in perinatal randomised controlled trials (RCTs). To evaluate how often and with which tools

HYDROBS: a long-term autonomous mooring for passive acoustic monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Hello, Y.; Royer, J. Y.; Yegikyan, M.

2017-12-01

Passive acoustics proves an effective way for monitoring the low-level seismic activity of the ocean floor and low-frequency sounds from the ocean (baleen whales, sea-state, icebergs). Networks of synchronized autonomous hydrophones have thus been commonly deployed in the world ocean to monitor large sections of mid-oceanic ridges. HYDROBS is an improved system that meet two requirements: an easy access to the data collected by the instruments together with long-term deployments - up to 4 consecutive years - reducing the need of large vessels capable of yearly mooring operations in open seas. The system has two components: a data logger, up-to-date but similar to previous systems, and three messengers, releasable on demand to collect the data. The mooring line itself is classical, with an expandable weight at the sea-bottom to maintain the mooring, an acoustic release to free the mooring line for recovery, a line adjustable to the seafloor depth, and an immerged buoy, holding the acquisition system, to maintain the sensors at a constant depth and to bring the mooring line to the surface for its recovery. The data logger is based on a low-power microprocessor, an A/D-32bit convertor sampling at 250Hz, a 10-8 real time clock and SD card storage. Lithium batteries provide 3-4 years of autonomy. Acoustic communications with the surface-ship provide control over all functionalities at deployment and a health bulletin on demand. The 3 shuttles, encapsulated in 13" glass spheres, use the same CPU board and clock as the main station. Data transfer from the data logger to the shuttles is wireless (1Mbit/s digital inductive through water). Data are duplicated once per day on shuttles N and N+1 for redundancy. Prior to their release by acoustic command, the shuttles are synchronized with the master clock. At sea-surface, shuttles (as the main unit) look for GPS time and calculate their clock drift. So, the master clock drift can be monitored over time at every shuttle release

Controlled Release from Recombinant Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Robert; Poursaid, Azadeh; Ghandehari, Hamidreza

2014-01-01

Recombinant polymers provide a high degree of molecular definition for correlating structure with function in controlled release. The wide array of amino acids available as building blocks for these materials lend many advantages including biorecognition, biodegradability, potential biocompatibility, and control over mechanical properties among other attributes. Genetic engineering and DNA manipulation techniques enable the optimization of structure for precise control over spatial and temporal release. Unlike the majority of chemical synthetic strategies used, recombinant DNA technology has allowed for the production of monodisperse polymers with specifically defined sequences. Several classes of recombinant polymers have been used for controlled drug delivery. These include, but are not limited to, elastin-like, silk-like, and silk-elastinlike proteins, as well as emerging cationic polymers for gene delivery. In this article, progress and prospects of recombinant polymers used in controlled release will be reviewed. PMID:24956486

Long-term follow up of revascularization using platelet-rich fibrin.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Herbert L; Marcelino, Janel; Braga, Raquel; Horwat, Richard; Lisien, Michael; Khaliq, Shahryar

2016-02-01

Trauma is one of the primary causes of tooth loss and pulpal injury in adolescents and children. Prior to regenerative endodontics, treatment of necrotic, immature teeth with open apices was limited to long-term calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2 ) apexification and subsequent root canal therapy or extraction. Through revascularization, retention of these teeth can be achieved and the elimination of patient symptoms and the radiographic appearance of continued root development were obtained. This report illustrates a revascularization protocol through a case where platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) was utilized as an autologous scaffold for traumatized, necrotic, immature teeth with incomplete root development. Through consistent follow-up reports, comprising of both clinical examination and radiographs, marked improvement in the condition of the traumatized tooth was noted. This case demonstrates the feasibility of utilizing PRF as an effective treatment protocol for traumatized teeth in lieu of traditional treatment protocols, such as long-term calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2 ) apexification or extraction. The choice of utilizing PRF, as opposed to other platelet concentrates, such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or a blood clot, lies in PRF's ability to allow for a slow, long-term release of autologous growth factors. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Local Government Implementation of Long-Term Stewardship at Two DOE Facilities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John Pendergrass; Roman Czebiniak; Kelly Mott; Seth Kirshenberg; Audrey Eidelman; Zachary Lamb; Erica Pencak; Wendy Sandoz

2003-08-13

The Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for cleaning up the radioactive and chemical contamination that resulted from the production of nuclear weapons. At more than one hundred sites throughout the country DOE will leave some contamination in place after the cleanup is complete. In order to protect human health and the environment from the remaining contamination DOE, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state environmental regulatory agencies, local governments, citizens and other entities will need to undertake long-term stewardship of such sites. Long-term stewardship includes a wide range of actions needed to protect human health in the environment for as long as the risk from the contamination remains above acceptable levels, such as barriers, caps, and other engineering controls and land use controls, signs, notices, records, and other institutional controls. In this report the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) and the Energy Communities Alliance (ECA) examine how local governments, state environmental agencies, and real property professionals implement long-term stewardship at two DOE facilities, Losa Alamos National Laboratory and Oak Ridge Reservation.

Long-term effects of acoustic reafference training (ART).

Science.gov (United States)

Pizzera, Alexandra; Hohmann, Tanja; Streese, Lukas; Habbig, Anja; Raab, Markus

2017-11-01

In sport visual feedback is often used to enhance performance, mostly neglecting the auditory modality. However, athletes produce natural sounds when they move (acoustic reafferences) which they perceive and use to control their movements. We examined the short- and long-term effects of a training intervention on a complex movement by using acoustic reafferences. Natural step sounds produced during hurdling were recorded and played back to the participants immediately before each trial, with an increase (fast group), decrease (slow group), or no manipulation (control group) in the tempo. All groups increased their hurdling performance regarding overall running time, with the slow group showing the best performance development. After a 10-week retention, the fast and slow group further increased performance, whereas the control group declined. The repeated experience with acoustic information associated with the rhythmic pattern of hurdling may have helped developing a cognitive representation of that movement, especially regarding long-term effects.

Just a minute meditation: Rapid voluntary conscious state shifts in long term meditators.

Science.gov (United States)

Nair, Ajay Kumar; Sasidharan, Arun; John, John P; Mehrotra, Seema; Kutty, Bindu M

2017-08-01

Meditation induces a modified state of consciousness that remains under voluntary control. Can meditators rapidly and reversibly bring about mental state changes on demand? To check, we carried out 128 channel EEG recordings on Brahma Kumaris Rajayoga meditators (36 long term: median 14240h meditation; 25 short term: 1095h) and controls (25) while they tried to switch every minute between rest and meditation states in different conditions (eyes open and closed; before and after an engaging task). Long term meditators robustly shifted states with enhanced theta power (4-8Hz) during meditation. Short term meditators had limited ability to shift between states and showed increased lower alpha power (8-10Hz) during eyes closed meditation only when pre and post task data were combined. Controls could not shift states. Thus trained beginners can reliably meditate but it takes long term practice to exercise more refined control over meditative states. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long-Term Assessment of Critical Radionuclides and Associated Environmental Media at the Savannah River Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jannik, G. T.; Baker, R. A.; Lee, P. L.; Eddy, T. P.; Blount, G. C.; Whitney, G. R.

2012-11-06

During the operational history of the Savannah River Site (SRS), many different radionuclides have been released from site facilities. However, only a relatively small number of the released radionuclides have been significant contributors to doses and risks to the public. At SRS dose and risk assessments indicate tritium oxide in air and surface water, and Cs-137 in fish and deer have been, and continue to be, the critical radionuclides and pathways. In this assessment, indepth statistical analyses of the long-term trends of tritium oxide in atmospheric and surface water releases and Cs-137 concentrations in fish and deer are provided. Correlations also are provided with 1) operational changes and improvements, 2) geopolitical events (Cold War cessation), and 3) recent environmental remediation projects and decommissioning of excess facilities. For example, environmental remediation of the F- and H-Area Seepage Basins and the Solid Waste Disposal Facility have resulted in a measurable impact on the tritium oxide flux to the onsite Fourmile Branch stream. Airborne releases of tritium oxide have been greatly affected by operational improvements and the end of the Cold War in 1991. However, the effects of SRS environmental remediation activities and ongoing tritium operations on tritium concentrations in the environment are measurable and documented in this assessment. Controlled hunts of deer and feral hogs are conducted at SRS for approximately six weeks each year. Before any harvested animal is released to a hunter, SRS personnel perform a field analysis for Cs-137 concentrations to ensure the hunter's dose does not exceed the SRS administrative game limit of 0.22 millisievert (22 mrem). However, most of the Cs-137 found in SRS onsite deer is not from site operations but is from nuclear weapons testing fallout from the 1950's and early 1960's. This legacy source term is trended in the SRS deer, and an assessment of the ''effective'' half-life of Cs-137 in deer

Long-term release from high level waste glass. Part IV. The effect of leaching mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freude, E.; Grambow, B.; Lutze, W.; Rabe, H.; Ewing, R.C.

1984-01-01

A linear time dependence for the corrosion under near saturation conditions is considered, and a rate equation in the QTERM code is used to model the long-term behavior of the German glass, C-31-3EC, JSS A, and SRL TDS 131. 22 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

Cognitive, physical, and mental health outcomes between long-term cannabis and tobacco users.

Science.gov (United States)

Lovell, M E; Bruno, R; Johnston, J; Matthews, A; McGregor, I; Allsop, D J; Lintzeris, N

2018-04-01

Cannabis intoxication adversely affects health, yet persistent effects following short-term abstinence in long-term cannabis users are unclear. This matched-subjects, cross-sectional study compared health outcomes of long-term cannabis and long-term tobacco-only users, relative to population norms. Nineteen long-term (mean 32.3years of use, mean age 55.7years), abstinent (mean 15h) cannabis users and 16 long-term tobacco users (mean 37.1years of use, mean age 52.9years), matched for age, educational attainment, and lifetime tobacco consumption, were compared on measures of learning and memory, response inhibition, information-processing, sustained attention, executive control, and mental and physical health. Cannabis users exhibited poorer overall learning and delayed recall and greater interference and forgetting than tobacco users, and exhibited poorer recall than norms. Inhibition and executive control were similar between groups, but cannabis users had slower reaction times during information processing and sustained attention tasks. Cannabis users had superior health satisfaction and psychological, somatic, and general health than tobacco users and had similar mental and physical health to norms whilst tobacco users had greater stress, role limitations from emotional problems, and poorer health satisfaction. Long-term cannabis users may exhibit deficits in some cognitive domains despite short-term abstinence and may therefore benefit from interventions to improve cognitive performance. Tobacco alone may contribute to adverse mental and physical health outcomes, which requires appropriate control in future studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Value of Median Nerve Sonography as a Predictor for Short- and Long-Term Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Prospective Long-Term Follow-Up Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Marschall

Full Text Available To investigate the prognostic value of B-mode and Power Doppler (PD ultrasound of the median nerve for the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS.Prospective study of 135 patients with suspected CTS seen 3 times: at baseline, then at short-term (3 months and long-term (15-36 months follow-up. At baseline, the cross-sectional area (CSA of the median nerve was measured with ultrasound at 4 levels on the forearm and wrist. PD signals were graded semi-quantitatively (0-3. Clinical outcomes were evaluated at each visit with the Boston Questionnaire (BQ and the DASH Questionnaire, as well as visual analogue scales for the patient's assessment of pain (painVAS and physician's global assessment (physVAS. The predictive values of baseline CSA and PD for clinical outcomes were determined with multivariate logistic regression models.Short-term and long-term follow-up data were available for 111 (82.2% and 105 (77.8% patients, respectively. There was a final diagnosis of CTS in 84 patients (125 wrists. Regression analysis revealed that the CSA, measured at the carpal tunnel inlet, predicted short-term clinical improvement according to BQ in CTS patients undergoing carpal tunnel surgery (OR 1.8, p = 0.05, but not in patients treated conservatively. Neither CSA nor PD assessments predicted short-term improvement of painVAS, physVAS or DASH, nor was any of the ultrasound parameters useful for the prediction of long-term clinical outcomes.Ultrasound assessment of the median nerve at the carpal tunnel inlet may predict short-term clinical improvement in CTS patients undergoing carpal tunnel release, but long-term outcomes are unrelated to ultrasound findings.

Improvement of waste release control in French NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samson, T.; Lucquin, E.; Dupin, M.; Florence, D.; Grisot, M.

2002-01-01

The new waste release control in French NPP is more restrictive than the old one and needs heavy investment to bring plants to compliance with it. The great evolutions are a chemical follow up on more chemicals with a higher measurement frequency and with lower maximum concentrations and a specific measurement of carbon 14. Regarding radioactive releases, a new counting has been settled and activity of carbon 14 release is now measured and no longer calculated. The evolution of the French regulation leads to develop specific procedures and analytical techniques in chemistry and in radiochemistry (UV spectrometric methods, carbon 14 measurements,..) EDF NPP operators have launched a voluntarist process to reduce their releases since the beginning and before the evolution of the regulation. EDF priorities in terms of environment care lead henceforth to implement a global optimisation of the impact for a better control of releases. The new regulation will help EDF to reach its goals because it covers all the aspects in one administrative document: it is seen as a real simplification and a clarification towards public. In addition, this new regulation fits in with international practices which will allow an easier comparison of results between EDF and foreign NPP. These big environmental concerns lead EDF to create a national dedicated laboratory (LAMEN) in charge of developing specific measurement procedures to be implemented either by NPP or by sub-contractor laboratories. (authors)

Improvement of waste release control in French NPP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Samson, T.; Lucquin, E.; Dupin, M. [EDF/GDL (France); Florence, D. [EDF/GENV (France); Grisot, M. [EDF/CNPE Saint Laurent (France)

2002-07-01

The new waste release control in French NPP is more restrictive than the old one and needs heavy investment to bring plants to compliance with it. The great evolutions are a chemical follow up on more chemicals with a higher measurement frequency and with lower maximum concentrations and a specific measurement of carbon 14. Regarding radioactive releases, a new counting has been settled and activity of carbon 14 release is now measured and no longer calculated. The evolution of the French regulation leads to develop specific procedures and analytical techniques in chemistry and in radiochemistry (UV spectrometric methods, carbon 14 measurements,..) EDF NPP operators have launched a voluntarist process to reduce their releases since the beginning and before the evolution of the regulation. EDF priorities in terms of environment care lead henceforth to implement a global optimisation of the impact for a better control of releases. The new regulation will help EDF to reach its goals because it covers all the aspects in one administrative document: it is seen as a real simplification and a clarification towards public. In addition, this new regulation fits in with international practices which will allow an easier comparison of results between EDF and foreign NPP. These big environmental concerns lead EDF to create a national dedicated laboratory (LAMEN) in charge of developing specific measurement procedures to be implemented either by NPP or by sub-contractor laboratories. (authors)

Internal Iliac Artery Embolization for the Control of Severe Bladder Hemorrhage Secondary to Carcinoma: Long-Term Follow-Up

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed El-Assmy

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and long-term complications of internal iliac artery embolization as a palliative measure in the control of intractable hemorrhage from advanced bladder malignancy. From January 1998 through December 2005, seven patients underwent transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE of anterior division of internal iliac artery bilaterally for intractable bladder hemorrhage. After embolization, patients were followed for the efficacy of the procedure in controlling hematuria and complications. TAE was successful in immediate control of severe hemorrhage in all seven patients after a mean period of 4 days. At a mean (range follow-up of 10 (6–12 months, the hemorrhage was permanently controlled in four (57% patients. Three patients developed hematuria and required emergency admissions; two had mild hematuria and were managed conservatively, and the remaining one required a second attempt of embolization after 2 months from the first one. During the whole period of follow-up, there were no significant complications related to embolization. Internal iliac artery embolization is an effective and minimally invasive option when managing advanced bladder malignancies presenting with intractable bleeding. The long-term follow-up showed control of bleeding in the majority of such patients with no serious complications.

Controlled release of cortisone drugs from block copolymers synthetized by ATRP

Science.gov (United States)

Valenti, G.; La Carta, S.; Mazzotti, G.; Rapisarda, M.; Perna, S.; Di Gesù, R.; Giorgini, L.; Carbone, D.; Recca, G.; Rizzarelli, P.

2016-05-01

Diseases affecting posterior eye segment, like macular edema, infection and neovascularization, may cause visual impairment. Traditional treatments, such as steroidal-drugs intravitreal injections, involve chronic course of therapy usually over a period of years. Moreover, they can require frequent administrations of drug in order to have an adequately disease control. This dramatically reduce patient's compliance. Efforts have been made to develop implantable devices that offer an alternative therapeutic approach to bypass many challenges of conventional type of therapy. Implantable drug delivery systems (DDS) have been developed to optimize therapeutic properties of drugs and ensure their slow release in the specific site. Polymeric materials can play an essential role in modulating drug delivery and their use in such field has become indispensable. During last decades, acrylic polymers have obtained growing interest. Biocompatibility and chemical properties make them extremely versatile, allowing their use in many field such as biomedical. In particular, block methacrylate copolymer with a balance of hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties can be suitable for prolonged DDS in biomedical devices. In this work, we focused on the realization of a system for controlled and long term release of betamethasone 17,21-dipropionate (BDP), a cortisone drug, from methacrylic block copolymers, to be tested in the treatment of the posterior eye's diseases. Different series of methyl methacrylate/hydroxyethyl methacrylate (MMA/HEMA) block and random copolymers, with different monomer compositions (10-60% HEMA), were synthetized by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) to find the best hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio, able to ensure optimal kinetic release. Copolymer samples were characterized by NMR spectroscopy (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, CosY), SEC, TGA and DSC. Monitoring of drug release from films loaded with BDP was carried out by HPLC analysis. Evaluation of different kinetic

Controlled release of cortisone drugs from block copolymers synthetized by ATRP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Valenti, G.; La Carta, S.; Rapisarda, M.; Carbone, D.; Recca, G.; Rizzarelli, P., E-mail: paola.rizzarelli@cnr.it [Istituto per i Polimeri, Compositi e Biomateriali, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche Via P. Gaifami 18, 95129 Catania (Italy); Mazzotti, G.; Giorgini, L. [Dipartimento di Chimica Industriale «Toso Montanari», Università di Bologna Via Risorgimento 4, 40136 Bologna (Italy); Perna, S. [ST Microelectronics Srl, Stradale Primosole, 50–95121 Catania (Italy); Di Gesù, R. [Merck Serono S.p.A., Via L. Einaudi, 11–00012 Guidonia Montecelio, Rome (Italy)

2016-05-18

Diseases affecting posterior eye segment, like macular edema, infection and neovascularization, may cause visual impairment. Traditional treatments, such as steroidal-drugs intravitreal injections, involve chronic course of therapy usually over a period of years. Moreover, they can require frequent administrations of drug in order to have an adequately disease control. This dramatically reduce patient’s compliance. Efforts have been made to develop implantable devices that offer an alternative therapeutic approach to bypass many challenges of conventional type of therapy. Implantable drug delivery systems (DDS) have been developed to optimize therapeutic properties of drugs and ensure their slow release in the specific site. Polymeric materials can play an essential role in modulating drug delivery and their use in such field has become indispensable. During last decades, acrylic polymers have obtained growing interest. Biocompatibility and chemical properties make them extremely versatile, allowing their use in many field such as biomedical. In particular, block methacrylate copolymer with a balance of hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties can be suitable for prolonged DDS in biomedical devices. In this work, we focused on the realization of a system for controlled and long term release of betamethasone 17,21-dipropionate (BDP), a cortisone drug, from methacrylic block copolymers, to be tested in the treatment of the posterior eye’s diseases. Different series of methyl methacrylate/hydroxyethyl methacrylate (MMA/HEMA) block and random copolymers, with different monomer compositions (10–60% HEMA), were synthetized by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) to find the best hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio, able to ensure optimal kinetic release. Copolymer samples were characterized by NMR spectroscopy ({sup 1}H-NMR, {sup 13}C-NMR, CosY), SEC, TGA and DSC. Monitoring of drug release from films loaded with BDP was carried out by HPLC analysis. Evaluation of

Controlled release of cortisone drugs from block copolymers synthetized by ATRP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valenti, G.; La Carta, S.; Rapisarda, M.; Carbone, D.; Recca, G.; Rizzarelli, P.; Mazzotti, G.; Giorgini, L.; Perna, S.; Di Gesù, R.

2016-01-01

Diseases affecting posterior eye segment, like macular edema, infection and neovascularization, may cause visual impairment. Traditional treatments, such as steroidal-drugs intravitreal injections, involve chronic course of therapy usually over a period of years. Moreover, they can require frequent administrations of drug in order to have an adequately disease control. This dramatically reduce patient’s compliance. Efforts have been made to develop implantable devices that offer an alternative therapeutic approach to bypass many challenges of conventional type of therapy. Implantable drug delivery systems (DDS) have been developed to optimize therapeutic properties of drugs and ensure their slow release in the specific site. Polymeric materials can play an essential role in modulating drug delivery and their use in such field has become indispensable. During last decades, acrylic polymers have obtained growing interest. Biocompatibility and chemical properties make them extremely versatile, allowing their use in many field such as biomedical. In particular, block methacrylate copolymer with a balance of hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties can be suitable for prolonged DDS in biomedical devices. In this work, we focused on the realization of a system for controlled and long term release of betamethasone 17,21-dipropionate (BDP), a cortisone drug, from methacrylic block copolymers, to be tested in the treatment of the posterior eye’s diseases. Different series of methyl methacrylate/hydroxyethyl methacrylate (MMA/HEMA) block and random copolymers, with different monomer compositions (10–60% HEMA), were synthetized by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) to find the best hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio, able to ensure optimal kinetic release. Copolymer samples were characterized by NMR spectroscopy ("1H-NMR, "1"3C-NMR, CosY), SEC, TGA and DSC. Monitoring of drug release from films loaded with BDP was carried out by HPLC analysis. Evaluation of different

Long-term use of adalimumab in the treatment of rheumatic diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charalampos Papagoras

2009-05-01

Full Text Available Charalampos Papagoras, Paraskevi V Voulgari, Alexandros A DrososRheumatology Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School, University of Ioannina, Ioannina, GreeceAbstract: Adalimumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody against tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα, has been evaluated in various randomized placebo-controlled trials in rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. In the short time frame of these trials adalimumab has been shown to be effective in reducing disease activity, slowing radiographic disease progression and improving patients’ quality of life, while at the same time demonstrating an acceptable safety profile. Furthermore, release of adalimumab on the market, prospective observational studies, as well as open-label extensions of the original double-blind trials have provided experience and data about the long-term efficacy and safety of the drug. Initial effectiveness, in terms of reducing disease activity, is sustained, while in most cases patients treated with adalimumab experienced a slower radiographic progression and consequently less disability and improved health-related quality-of-life outcomes. Moreover, long-standing treatment of thousands of patients with adalimumab outside the controlled context of clinical trials was not related to new safety signals, with the most common adverse events being respiratory infections. The most common serious adverse events seem to be tuberculosis reactivation, while a putative association with malignant lymphoma development is not yet proven. Besides, both of these adverse reactions pertain to the whole TNFα blocker group. In conclusion, adalimumab is a safe and effective option for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Keywords: adalimumab, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis

Long-term associative learning predicts verbal short-term memory performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

2018-02-01

Studies using tests such as digit span and nonword repetition have implicated short-term memory across a range of developmental domains. Such tests ostensibly assess specialized processes for the short-term manipulation and maintenance of information that are often argued to enable long-term learning. However, there is considerable evidence for an influence of long-term linguistic learning on performance in short-term memory tasks that brings into question the role of a specialized short-term memory system separate from long-term knowledge. Using natural language corpora, we show experimentally and computationally that performance on three widely used measures of short-term memory (digit span, nonword repetition, and sentence recall) can be predicted from simple associative learning operating on the linguistic environment to which a typical child may have been exposed. The findings support the broad view that short-term verbal memory performance reflects the application of long-term language knowledge to the experimental setting.

Data Stewardship and Long-Term Archive of ICESat Data at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, D. K.; Moses, J. F.; Duerr, R. E.; Webster, D.; Korn, D.

2010-12-01

Data Stewardship is becoming a principal part of a data manager’s work at NSIDC. It is vitally important that our organization makes a commitment to both current and long-term goals of data management and the preservation of our scientific data. Data must be available to researchers not only during active missions, but long after missions end. This includes maintaining accurate documentation, data tools, and a knowledgeable user support staff. NSIDC is preparing for long-term support of the ICESat mission data. Though ICESat has seen its last operational day, the data is still being improved and NSIDC is scheduled to archive the final release, Release 33, starting late in 2010. This release will include the final adjustments to the processing algorithms and will produce the best possible products to date. Along with the higher-level data sets, all supporting documentation will be archived at NSIDC. For the long-term archive, it is imperative that there is sufficient information about how products were prepared in order to convince future researchers that the scientific results are reproducible. The processing algorithms along with the Level 0 and ancillary products used to create the higher-level products will be archived and made available to users. This can enable users to examine production history, to derive revised products and to create their own products. Also contained in the long-term archive will be pre-launch, calibration/validation, and test data. These data are an important part of the provenance which must be preserved. For longevity, we’ll need to archive the data and documentation in formats that will be supported in the years to come.

Long-term energy supply contracts in European competition policy: Fuzzy not crazy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hauteclocque, Adrien de; Glachant, Jean-Michel

2009-01-01

Long-term supply contracts often have ambiguous effects on the competitive structure, investment and consumer welfare in the long term. In the new market context, these effects are likely to be worsened and thus even harder to assess. Since liberalization and especially since the release of the Energy Sector Inquiry in early 2007, the portfolio of long-term supply contracts of the former incumbents have become a priority for review by the European Commission and the national competition authorities. It is widely believed that European Competition authorities take a dogmatic view on these contracts and systemically emphasize the risk of foreclosure over their positive effects on investment and operation. This paper depicts the methodology that has emerged in the recent line of cases and argues that this interpretation is largely misguided. It shows that a multiple-step approach is used to reduce regulation costs and balance anti-competitive effects with potential efficiency gains. However, if an economic approach is now clearly implemented, competition policy is constrained by the procedural aspect of the legal process and the remedies imposed remain open for discussion.

Lanthanum-modified drinking water treatment residue for initial rapid and long-term equilibrium phosphorus immobilization to control eutrophication.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Changhui; Wu, Yu; Wang, Youquan; Bai, Leilei; Jiang, Helong; Yu, Juhua

2018-06-15

This study presents an approach for developing inactivating materials to achieve an initial rapid and a long-term equilibrium P immobilization to control eutrophication based on drinking water treatment residue (DWTR), which is a byproduct of potable water production. By taking advantage of the long-term equilibrium P adsorption by DWTR, the La chemical properties, and the previous success of using La-modified bentonite clay (Phoslock ® ), we used DWTR as a La carrier with different ratios to develop the specific materials. The La loading mechanisms, the potentially toxic effect of La-modified DWTR on snail Bellamya aeruginosa (within 120 d), and the short- and long-term (within 80 d) P immobilization characteristics of the modified DWTR were investigated to understand the performance of the developed materials. The results showed that La loading into DWTR was based on ligand exchanges and the formation of new particles; DWTR loaded with <5% La had no toxicity against the snail. Most importantly, the loading of 5% La to DWTR substantially enhanced the rapid immobilization capacity of DWTR, achieving an initial rapid and a long-term equilibrium P adsorption in aqueous solutions. This study promotes the beneficial recycling of DWTR and results in a win-win situation for lake restoration. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stochastic Power Control for Time-Varying Long-Term Fading Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charalambous Charalambos D

2006-01-01

Full Text Available A new time-varying (TV long-term fading (LTF channel model which captures both the space and time variations of wireless systems is developed. The proposed TV LTF model is based on a stochastic differential equation driven by Brownian motion. This model is more realistic than the static models usually encountered in the literature. It allows viewing the wireless channel as a dynamical system, thus enabling well-developed tools of adaptive and nonadaptive estimation and identification techniques to be applied to this class of problems. In contrast with the traditional models, the statistics of the proposed model are shown to be TV, but converge in steady state to their static counterparts. Moreover, optimal power control algorithms (PCAs based on the new model are proposed. A centralized PCA is shown to reduce to a simple linear programming problem if predictable power control strategies (PPCS are used. In addition, an iterative distributed stochastic PCA is used to solve for the optimization problem using stochastic approximations. The latter solely requires each mobile to know its received signal-to-interference ratio. Generalizations of the power control problem based on convex optimization techniques are provided if PPCS are not assumed. Numerical results show that there are potentially large gains to be achieved by using TV stochastic models, and the distributed stochastic PCA provides better power stability and consumption than the distributed deterministic PCA.

Long term contracts signed in Slovak timber business

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haluza, I.

2005-01-01

The Slovak timber business is changing. The state-owned company, SR Forests, which cuts more then 50% of Slovak timber has signed long term agreements with major domestic timber processing companies - Smrecina, the Rettenmeier Tatra Timber saw mill in Liptovsky Mikulas and two paper mills - Mondi SCP Ruzomberok and Kappa Sturovo. In the past, only quarterly contracts were signed. Now, for the first time, two-year contracts have been signed that should help the timber processing industry and the forestry sector. The General Director of Lesy SR (SR Forests), Karol Vins, hopes for better sale prices. Company headquarters wants to maintain better control of prices than under the old system of timber sales by its branches. In the opinion of the General Director of the Forestry Section at the Ministry of Agriculture, long term contracts will guarantee a stable delivery of timber to processing companies, giving investors in new production capacity a better position in negotiations with banks regarding financing. According to K. Vins, long term contracts have so far only been negotiated with major timber processing companies which are mostly controlled by foreign capital and therefore have good payment discipline. The Association of the Timber Processing Industry is unhappy regarding developments and Lesy SR has not invited domestic companies to these negotiations

The prediction of the long-term behaviour of glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Courtois, Ch.; Regent, A.; Plas, F.

1997-01-01

Several experts draw a conclusion about the scientific content of this week-long seminar. All agree to highlight the variety and quality of the work done. It appears that there is a consensus about the phenomenology of the long-term behaviour of glasses. All the parameters that are likely to intervene in alteration processes have been identified, but some particular points require further studies: - the impact of alpha, beta and gamma irradiation, - the alteration of glass in no-saturated water, - the coupling effect with the materials surrounding glass (metal canister, over-container...), - the optimization of glass composition to deal with high burn-up spent fuels, - the relation between the formation free energy of glasses and their alteration kinetics, - the release of radionuclides trapped in glass, and - the use of mutual analogue. (A.C.)

The Long-Term Effects of Youth Unemployment

Science.gov (United States)

Mroz, Thomas A.; Savage, Timothy H.

2006-01-01

Using NLSY data, we examine the long-term effects of youth unemployment on later labor market outcomes. Involuntary unemployment may yield suboptimal investments in human capital in the short run. A theoretical model of dynamic human capital investment predicts a rational "catch-up" response. Using semiparametric techniques to control for the…

Long-Term Outcomes of Early Reading Intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Hurry, Jane; Sylva, Kathy

2007-01-01

This study explores the long-term effectiveness of two differing models of early intervention for children with reading difficulties: Reading Recovery and a specific phonological training. Approximately 400 children were pre-tested, 95 were assigned to Reading Recovery, 97 to Phonological Training and the remainder acted as controls. In the short…

Long-term EEG in patients with the ring chromosome 20 epilepsy syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Freire de Moura, Maria; Flores-Guevara, Roberto; Gueguen, Bernard; Biraben, Arnaud; Renault, Francis

2016-05-01

The recognizable electroencephalography (EEG) pattern of ring chromosome 20 epilepsy syndrome can be missing in patients with r(20) chromosomal anomaly, and may be found in patients with frontal lobe epilepsy of other origin. This study aims to search for more specific EEG signs by using long-term recordings and measuring the duration of paroxysmal anomalies. The series included 12 adult patients with r(20) anomaly, and 12 controls without any chromosomal aberration. We measured the duration of every paroxysmal burst and calculated the sum of their durations for each long-term EEG recording. We compared patients to controls using the Mann-Whitney U-test. Every patient showed long-lasting paroxysmal EEG bursts, up to 60 min; controls did not show any bursts longer than 60 s (p < 0.0001). The total duration of paroxysmal anomalies was significantly longer in patients (31-692 min) compared to controls (0-48 min) (p < 0.0001). Thus, long-term recordings enhance the contribution of EEG methods for characterizing the ring 20 chromosome epilepsy syndrome. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 International League Against Epilepsy.

Controlled long-term release of small peptide hormones using a new microporous polypropylene polymer: its application for vasopressin in the Brattleboro rat and potential perinatal use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruisbrink, J.; Boer, G.J.

1984-01-01

Based on drug release by microporous hollow fibers and the recent introduction of microporous polymers, a new technique was developed for controlled delivery of peptides. Small-diameter microporous polypropylene tubing, lumen-loaded with microgram quantities of vasopressin, and coated with collodion, releases vasopressin after in vitro immersion slowly (1-100 ng/d) and constantly for months. The mechanism of pseudo-zero-order delivery is based on high adsorption of vasopressin, keeping the void volume concentration of dissolved vasopressin constant, which is consequently a constant driving force of outward diffusion. The collodion coating prevents the entry of proteinaceous compounds which would result in rapid desorption of vasopressin. The present delivery module provides a lasting release for other peptides as well (lysine-vasopressin, oxytocin, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and, to a lesser extent, Met-enkephalin). The microporous polymer-collodion device is biocompatible and, loaded with vasopressin, successfully alleviates the diabetes insipidus of Brattleboro rats deficient for vasopressin. Subcutaneous implantation normalized diuresis for a period of 60 d and constant urine vasopressin excretion is observed. When the commercially available osmotic minipump is too large for implantation, the small size of the present controlled-delivery system allows peptide treatment of young and immature laboratory rats, even if located in utero

Study on behaviour in long term of vitrified materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vernaz, E.

1993-01-01

In collaboration with EDF (Electricite de France), after testing fusion of Refiom (Residus d'Epuration des Fumees d'Incineration d'Ordures Menageres), residues from purification of incineration smokes of household rubbish, realised at Porcheville and at the Laboratory of Renardieres with experimental processing of vitrification by plasma, CEA (Centre d'Etudes Atomiques), atomic center of research, began study on resistance in long term of vitrified products. From about thirty five years, CEA carries out research to confine radioactive waste of high activity in stable materials. Glass was the first best one which allowed to incorporate about thirty different chemical elements found in fission products solutions into a stable die with a good chemical durability; three vitrification shops raised, one at Marcoule ('AVM', 1978) in the south of France, the two other ones at La Hague ('R7', 1989 and 'T7', 1992) in Normandy. To determine a possible impact of a deep radioactive waste disposal on human and environment, several studies began. In particular, studies on aqueous corrosion of glasses to determine behaviour in long term of glass package (first barrier of confinement) and to estimate kinetics of releasing confined toxical elements on periods of several thousands years. Principal results are exposed in this conference. Experience shows that safety analysis cannot be based on long term extrapolation of a simple lixiviation result. This analysis must include: a sufficient knowledge in basic mechanisms of alteration to predict the kinetic evolution in a long term. To take in account environment conditions with a normal or accidental scheme (acidity, clay, organic compounds,...). This knowledge broadly developed by CEA for nuclear glasses seems to be easily transposable to different wastes (industrial ones or from hospitals) and takes place in a contract of research CEA/EDF to valorize vitrified products. 9 figs. 4 refs

Profile of mood states and stress-related biochemical indices in long-term yoga practitioners

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudo Nobuyuki

2011-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Previous studies have shown the short-term or intermediate-term practice of yoga to be useful for ameliorating several mental disorders and psychosomatic disorders. However, little is known about the long-term influences of yoga on the mental state or stress-related biochemical indices. If yoga training has a stress-reduction effect and also improves an individual's mental states for a long time, long-term yoga practitioners may have a better mental state and lower stress-related biochemical indices in comparison to non-experienced participants. This study simultaneously examined the differences in mental states and urinary stress-related biochemical indices between long-term yoga practitioners and non-experienced participants. Methods The participants were 38 healthy females with more than 2 years of experience with yoga (long-term yoga group and 37 age-matched healthy females who had not participated in yoga (control group. Their mental states were assessed using the Profile of Mood States (POMS questionnaire. The level of cortisol, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG and biopyrrin in urine were used as stress-related biochemical indices. Results The average self-rated mental disturbance, tension-anxiety, anger-hostility, and fatigue scores of the long-term yoga group were lower than those of the control group. There was a trend toward a higher vigor score in the long-term yoga group than that in the control group. There were no significant differences in the scores for depression and confusion in the POMS between the two groups. The urine 8-OHdG concentration showed a trend toward to being lower in the long-term yoga group in comparison to the control group. There were no significant differences in the levels of urine biopyrrin or cortisol. Conclusions The present findings suggest that long-term yoga training can reduce the scores related to mental health indicators such as self-rated anxiety, anger, and fatigue.

Intermediate-term and long-term outcome of piggyback drainage: connecting glaucoma drainage device to a device in-situ for improved intraocular pressure control.

Science.gov (United States)

Dervan, Edward; Lee, Edward; Giubilato, Antonio; Khanam, Tina; Maghsoudlou, Panayiotis; Morgan, William H

2017-11-01

This study provides results of a treatment option for patients with failed primary glaucoma drainage device. The study aimed to describe and evaluate the long-term intraocular pressure control and complications of a new technique joining a second glaucoma drainage device directly to an existing glaucoma drainage device termed 'piggyback drainage'. This is a retrospective, interventional cohort study. Eighteen eyes of 17 patients who underwent piggyback drainage between 2004 and 2013 inclusive have been studied. All patients had prior glaucoma drainage device with uncontrolled intraocular pressure. The piggyback technique involved suturing a Baerveldt (250 or 350 mm) or Molteno3 glaucoma drainage device to an unused scleral quadrant and connecting the silicone tube to the primary plate bleb. Failure of intraocular pressure control defined as an intraocular pressure greater than 21 mmHg on maximal therapy on two separate occasions or further intervention to control intraocular pressure. The intraocular pressure was controlled in seven eyes (39%) at last follow-up with a mean follow-up time of 74.2 months. The mean preoperative intraocular pressure was 27.1 mmHg (95% confidence interval 23.8-30.3) compared with 18.4 mmHg (95% confidence interval 13.9-22.8) at last follow-up. The mean time to failure was 57.1 months (95% confidence interval 32.2-82), and the mean time to further surgery was 72.3 months (95% confidence interval 49.9-94.7). Lower preoperative intraocular pressure was associated with longer duration of intraocular pressure control (P = 0.048). If the intraocular pressure was controlled over 2 years, it continued to be controlled over the long term. Two eyes (11%) experienced corneal decompensation. Piggyback drainage represents a viable surgical alternative for the treatment of patients with severe glaucoma with failing primary glaucoma drainage device, particularly in those at high risk of corneal decompensation. © 2017 Royal Australian and New Zealand

2003 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Radioactive waste was created by the Federal Government and private industry at locations around the country in support of national defense, research, and civilian power-generation programs. If not controlled, much of this legacy waste would remain hazardous to human health and the environment indefinitely. Current technology does not allow us to render this waste harmless, so the available methods to control risk rely on consolidation, isolation, and long-term management of the waste. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has an obligation to safely control the radioactive waste and to inform and train future generations to maintain and, perhaps, improve established protections. DOE is custodian for much of the radioactive and other hazardous waste under control of the Federal Government. DOE established the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) in 1974 and the Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) Program and the Surplus Facilities Management Program in the 1980s. Congress passed the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) in 1978. These federal programs and legislation were established to identify, remediate, and manage legacy waste. Remedial action is considered complete at a radioactive waste site when the identified hazardous material is isolated and the selected remedial action remedy is in place and functioning. Radioactive or other hazardous materials remain in place as part of the remedy at many DOE sites. Long-term management of radioactive waste sites incorporates a set of actions necessary to maintain protection of human health and the environment. These actions include maintaining physical impoundment structures in good repair to ensure that they perform as designed, preventing exposure to the wastes by maintaining access restrictions and warnings, and recording site conditions and activities for future custodians. Any actions, therefore, that will prevent exposure to the radioactive waste now or in the future

2003 Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Program Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2004-07-01

Radioactive waste was created by the Federal Government and private industry at locations around the country in support of national defense, research, and civilian power-generation programs. If not controlled, much of this legacy waste would remain hazardous to human health and the environment indefinitely. Current technology does not allow us to render this waste harmless, so the available methods to control risk rely on consolidation, isolation, and long-term management of the waste. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has an obligation to safely control the radioactive waste and to inform and train future generations to maintain and, perhaps, improve established protections. DOE is custodian for much of the radioactive and other hazardous waste under control of the Federal Government. DOE established the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) in 1974 and the Defense Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) Program and the Surplus Facilities Management Program in the 1980s. Congress passed the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) in 1978. These federal programs and legislation were established to identify, remediate, and manage legacy waste. Remedial action is considered complete at a radioactive waste site when the identified hazardous material is isolated and the selected remedial action remedy is in place and functioning. Radioactive or other hazardous materials remain in place as part of the remedy at many DOE sites. Long-term management of radioactive waste sites incorporates a set of actions necessary to maintain protection of human health and the environment. These actions include maintaining physical impoundment structures in good repair to ensure that they perform as designed, preventing exposure to the wastes by maintaining access restrictions and warnings, and recording site conditions and activities for future custodians. Any actions, therefore, that will prevent exposure to the radioactive waste now or in the future

Long-term control medication use and asthma control status among children and adults with asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahran, Hatice S; Bailey, Cathy M; Qin, Xiaoting; Johnson, Carol

2017-12-01

Uncontrolled asthma decreases quality of life and increases health care use. Most people with asthma need daily use of long-term control (LTC) medications for asthma symptoms and to prevent asthma attacks. Ongoing assessment of a person's level of asthma control and medication use is important in determining the effectiveness of current treatment to decrease the frequency and intensity of symptoms and functional limitations. To assess the use of LTC medication among children and adults with current asthma and identify contributing factors for LTC medication use. We used the 2006-2010 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) child and adult Asthma Call-back Survey (ACBS) data to assess the level of asthma control and LTC medication use. Asthma control was classified as well controlled and uncontrolled using guideline-based measures. We used multivariable logistic regression models to identify contributing factors for LTC medication use and having uncontrolled asthma. Among persons with current asthma, 46.0% of children and 41.5% of adults were taking LTC medications and 38.4% of children and 50.0% of adults had uncontrolled asthma. Among children who had uncontrolled asthma (38.4%), 24.1% were taking LTC medications and 14.3% were not taking LTC medications. Among adults who had uncontrolled asthma (50.0%), 26.7% were taking LTC medications and 23.3% were not taking LTC medications. Using BRFSS ACBS data to assess the level of asthma control and LTC medication use can identify subpopulations of persons with asthma who receive suboptimal treatment, for which better asthma-related medical treatment and management are needed.

Electroacupuncture for tapering off long-term benzodiazepine use: study protocol of randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Wing-Fai; Chung, Ka-Fai; Zhang, Zhang-Jin; Chan, Wai-Chi; Zhang, Shi-Ping; Ng, Roger Man-Kin; Chan, Connie Lai-Wah; Ho, Lai-Ming; Yu, Yee-Man; Lao, Li-Xing

2017-03-31

Conventional approaches for benzodiazepine tapering have their limitations. Anecdotal studies have shown that acupuncture is a potential treatment for facilitating successful benzodiazepine tapering. As of today, there was no randomized controlled trial examining its efficacy and safety. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of using electroacupuncture as an adjunct treatment to gradual tapering of benzodiazepine doses in complete benzodiazepine cessation in long-term benzodiazepine users. The study protocol of a randomized, assessor- and subject-blinded, controlled trial is presented. One hundred and forty-four patients with histories of using benzodiazepines in ≥50% of days for more than 3 months will be randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either electroacupuncture or placebo electroacupuncture combined with gradual benzodiazepine tapering schedule. Both experimental and placebo treatments will be delivered twice per week for 4 weeks. Major assessments will be conducted at baseline, week 6 and week 16 post-randomization. Primary outcome is the cessation rate of benzodiazepine use. Secondary outcomes include the percentage change in the doses of benzodiazepine usage and the severity of withdrawal symptoms experienced based on the Benzodiazepine Withdrawal Symptom Questionnaire, insomnia as measured by the Insomnia Severity Index, and anxiety and depressive symptoms as evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Adverse events will also be measured at each study visit. Results of this study will provide high quality evidence of the efficacy and safety of electroacupuncture as an adjunct treatment for benzodiazepine tapering in long-term users. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02475538 .

Clinical trials with rasagiline: evidence for short-term and long-term effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Siderowf, Andrew; Stern, Matthew

2006-05-23

Rasagiline (N-propargyl-1 (R)-aminoindan) is a selective, potent irreversible inhibitor of MAO-B that possesses neuroprotective and anti-apoptotic properties in a variety of in vitro and in vivo animal models relevant to Parkinson's disease (PD). Several randomized controlled clinical trials have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of rasagiline as monotherapy in PD and as adjunctive therapy for patients receiving levodopa. In addition, the 1-year randomized, delayed-start analysis of the TEMPO study suggests that rasagiline may slow the rate of progression of PD. The randomized delayed-start paradigm has potential to differentiate short-term symptomatic effects from long-term effects of anti-parkinsonian agents. In the future, long-term trials to examine the potential disease-modifying effects of rasagiline, which incorporate biological markers as well as clinical endpoints, may further elucidate the role of rasagiline in the treatment of both early and advanced PD.

Clobetasol propionate shampoo 0.05% is efficacious and safe for long-term control of scalp psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulin, Yves; Papp, Kim; Bissonnette, Robert; Guenther, Lyn; Tan, Jerry; Lynde, Charles; Kerrouche, Nabil; Villemagne, Hervé

2010-01-01

Clobetasol propionate (CP) shampoo 0.05% is an efficacious and safe treatment for scalp psoriasis. The aim of this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study was to determine if CP shampoo is suitable for long-term disease control. Participants with moderate to severe scalp psoriasis (global severity score [GSS] of 3 or 4 on a scale of 0 [clear] to 5 [very severe]) first received once daily CP shampoo treatment for up to 4 weeks. Responders were subsequently randomized to receive the CP shampoo or vehicle twice weekly maintenance regimen for up to 6 months. When relapse occurred (defined as GSS > 2), participants resumed once daily CP shampoo treatment; when symptoms diminished (GSS shampoo did not relapse compared with participants treated with vehicle (P shampoo group. After 6 months 31.1% (33/106) of participants in the CP shampoo group were still relapse free versus 8.1% (9/111) of participants in the vehicle group. There was no greater incidence of skin atrophy, telangiectasia, or hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis suppression in the CP shampoo group compared with the vehicle group. Clobetasol propionate shampoo is efficacious and safe for acute management and long-term maintenance of moderate to severe scalp psoriasis.

Local control of striatal dopamine release

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roger eCachope

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The mesolimbic and nigrostriatal dopamine (DA systems play a key role in the physiology of reward seeking, motivation and motor control. Importantly, they are also involved in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, schizophrenia and addiction. Control of DA release in the striatum is tightly linked to firing of DA neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA and the substantia nigra (SN. However, local influences in the striatum affect release by exerting their action directly on axon terminals. For example, endogenous glutamatergic and cholinergic activity is sufficient to trigger striatal DA release independently of cell body firing. Recent developments involving genetic manipulation, pharmacological selectivity or selective stimulation have allowed for better characterization of these phenomena. Such termino-terminal forms of control of DA release transform considerably our understanding of the mesolimbic and nigrostriatal systems, and have strong implications as potential mechanisms to modify impaired control of DA release in the diseased brain. Here, we review these and related mechanisms and their implications in the physiology of ascending DA systems.

Phosphate release upon short- and long-term flooding of fen meadows depends on land use history and pH.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beltman, Boudewijn; van der Ven, P.J.M.; Verhoeven, Jos; Sarneel, J

2014-01-01

Flooding of acidified and desiccated fen meadows is a management approach for mitigating loss of plant species as well as a short-term measure to prevent flooding in urban areas. Studies have shown that flooding events can cause extreme P release from soils. We questioned whether the occurrence of

Activity release from the damaged spent VVER-fuel during long-term wet storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slonszki, E.; Hozer, Z.; Pinter, T.; Baracska Varju, I.

2010-01-01

An ex-core fuel damage incident took place at Unit 2 of Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary on the 10 th April 2003. After this event the damaged fuel assemblies were stored under water for four years. During wet storage a continuous activity release was observed. The evaluation of the measured activity concentration showed that the UO 2 mass released from the fuel into the coolant was ∼ 1.8% of the total fuel mass. Furthermore this paper contains the calculation methods and the calculated activity release of the main analysed isotopes. (orig.)

Radionuclide Incorporation and Long Term Performance of Apatite Waste Forms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Jianwei [Louisiana State Univ., Baton Rouge, LA (United States); Lian, Jie [Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst., Troy, NY (United States); Gao, Fei [Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)

2016-01-04

This project aims to combines state-of-the-art experimental and characterization techniques with atomistic simulations based on density functional theory (DFT) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. With an initial focus on long-lived I-129 and other radionuclides such as Cs, Sr in apatite structure, specific research objectives include the atomic scale understanding of: (1) incorporation behavior of the radionuclides and their effects on the crystal chemistry and phase stability; (2) stability and microstructure evolution of designed waste forms under coupled temperature and radiation environments; (3) incorporation and migration energetics of radionuclides and release behaviors as probed by DFT and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations; and (4) chemical durability as measured in dissolution experiments for long term performance evaluation and model validation.

The influence of short-term concentration peaks on exposure risks in the vicinity of an episodic release of hydrogen sulphide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1981-01-01

In order to propose a methodology by which the influence of short-term concentration peaks on exposure risks could be estimated in the vicinity of an atmospheric release of hydrogen sulphide (H 2 S), an extensive and up-to-date review of H 2 S toxicity was conducted, with emphasis on acute and sub-acute poisoning. The literature on animal studies and cases of human exposure were used to derive a lethal dose relationship(concentration-exposure time) appropriate for the general population. A statistical model was developed which calculates the probability of short-term concentrations exceeding the lethal level given the downwind range from the release, the short-term averaging time of interest, the long-term average concentration, and metereological and terrain conditions . Results were obtained for passive releases of H 2 S under a range of hypothetical conditions. Interpretation of these results is given in terms of the overall probability of lethal exposure during a 30-minute episode. The likely influence of heavy water plant gas dispersion systems is also addressed. (author)

The role of protein and carbohydrates for long-term weight control

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Perez-Cornago, Aurora; van Baak, Marleen A.; Saris, Wim H. M.

2014-01-01

Current therapies to manage obesity are based on energy restriction and physical activity promotion. However, the role of specific dietary components for long-term weight maintenance is under debate. This review aims to illustrate some lessons from the pan-European Diogenes study, a randomized, c...

Dienogest in long-term treatment of endometriosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Schindler AE

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Adolf E SchindlerInstitute for Medical Research and Education, Essen, GermanyAbstract: Endometriosis is a chronic disease primarily affecting women of childbearing age, in which endometriotic lesions form outside the uterus, typically leading to painful symptoms, fatigue, and infertility. The symptoms of endometriosis may cause significant impairment in quality of life and represent a substantial economic burden to patients, families, and society. There is no cure for endometriosis; management consists of alleviating pain and other symptoms, reducing endometriotic lesions, and improving quality of life. Recurrence after surgical intervention is common, while the clinical evidence to support the efficacy and safety of many medications currently used in endometriosis is limited. Dienogest is an oral progestin that has been investigated extensively in the treatment of endometriosis in two clinical programs performed in Europe and Japan, including dose-ranging, placebo-controlled, active comparator-controlled, and long-term (up to 65 weeks studies. These studies demonstrated that dienogest 2 mg daily effectively alleviates the painful symptoms of endometriosis, reduces endometriotic lesions, and improves indices of quality of life. Dienogest showed a favorable safety and tolerability profile in these studies, with predictable adverse effects, high rates of patient compliance, and low withdrawal rates. This review article describes the clinical trial evidence that characterizes the efficacy and safety of dienogest in endometriosis, including two studies characterizing dienogest in long-term use. The relevance of these findings to the management of endometriosis in clinical practice is discussed.Keywords: dienogest, endometriosis, progestins, long-term treatment, quality of life, symptoms, pain

Long term results after fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) in patients with craniopharyngioma: maximal tumor control with minimal side effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrabi, Semi B; Adeberg, Sebastian; Welzel, Thomas; Rieken, Stefan; Habermehl, Daniel; Debus, Jürgen; Combs, Stephanie E

2014-09-16

There are already numerous reports about high local control rates in patients with craniopharyngioma but there are only few studies with follow up times of more than 10 years. This study is an analysis of long term control, tumor response and side effects after fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (FSRT) for patients with craniopharyngioma. 55 patients who were treated with FSRT for craniopharyngioma were analyzed. Median age was 37 years (range 6-70 years), among them eight children craniopharyngioma. Overall treatment was tolerated well with almost no severe acute or chronic side effects. One patient developed complete anosmia, another one's initially impaired vision deteriorated further. In 83.6% of the cases with radiological follow up a regression of irradiated tumor residues was monitored, in 7 cases complete response was achieved. 44 patients presented themselves initially with endocrinologic dysfunction none of them showed signs of further deterioration during follow up. No secondary malignancies were observed. Long term results for patients with craniopharyngioma after stereotactic radiotherapy are with respect to low treatment related side effects as well as to local control and overall survival excellent.

Long-term greenhouse gas emission reductions-what's possible, what's necessary?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bode, Sven

2006-01-01

Climate is changing (WMO, Press release No. 695, 2003) and there is increasing evidence that this is due to human activity (IPCC, Climate Change 2001-The Scientific Basis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001). One way to react is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Although this approach generally does not cause much objection, disagreements do occur when concrete emission targets are to be set. Against this background, the following article provides an arithmetic approach for the determination of long-term emission targets where the US and the EU are studied as examples

Life after Kyoto? Exploration of long term strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Vuuren, D.P.

2001-01-01

The current international climate negotiations (including CoP-6,recently held in The Hague, Netherlands) are mainly concerned with short term actions and barriers, and are experiencing considerable difficulties, as was once again revealed in The Hague. But we should not forget that keeping climate risks under control also demands a long term perspective. Such a perspective demands an estimate of both possible consequences and risks of climate change, and the possible solutions, in terms of strategies, policy measures, consequences and costs. 2 refs

Distinct cerebellar engrams in short-term and long-term motor learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wen; Nakadate, Kazuhiko; Masugi-Tokita, Miwako; Shutoh, Fumihiro; Aziz, Wajeeha; Tarusawa, Etsuko; Lorincz, Andrea; Molnár, Elek; Kesaf, Sebnem; Li, Yun-Qing; Fukazawa, Yugo; Nagao, Soichi; Shigemoto, Ryuichi

2014-01-07

Cerebellar motor learning is suggested to be caused by long-term plasticity of excitatory parallel fiber-Purkinje cell (PF-PC) synapses associated with changes in the number of synaptic AMPA-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs). However, whether the AMPARs decrease or increase in individual PF-PC synapses occurs in physiological motor learning and accounts for memory that lasts over days remains elusive. We combined quantitative SDS-digested freeze-fracture replica labeling for AMPAR and physical dissector electron microscopy with a simple model of cerebellar motor learning, adaptation of horizontal optokinetic response (HOKR) in mouse. After 1-h training of HOKR, short-term adaptation (STA) was accompanied with transient decrease in AMPARs by 28% in target PF-PC synapses. STA was well correlated with AMPAR decrease in individual animals and both STA and AMPAR decrease recovered to basal levels within 24 h. Surprisingly, long-term adaptation (LTA) after five consecutive daily trainings of 1-h HOKR did not alter the number of AMPARs in PF-PC synapses but caused gradual and persistent synapse elimination by 45%, with corresponding PC spine loss by the fifth training day. Furthermore, recovery of LTA after 2 wk was well correlated with increase of PF-PC synapses to the control level. Our findings indicate that the AMPARs decrease in PF-PC synapses and the elimination of these synapses are in vivo engrams in short- and long-term motor learning, respectively, showing a unique type of synaptic plasticity that may contribute to memory consolidation.

Analysis of the potential impact of capillarity on long-term geochemical processes in sulphidic waste-rock dumps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pedretti, Daniele; Lassin, Arnault; Beckie, Roger D.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Capillarity may affect geochemical reactions generating acid-rock drainage. • We studied its impact in a simplified, synthetic WRD. • Capillarity mainly affects the formation of secondary minerals. • It can strongly control long-term formation of gypsum and in turn sulfate release. • Capillarity can be also important for the analysis of calcite passivation. - Abstract: Assessing long-term production of acid rock drainage (ARD) from waste-rock dumps (WRDs) requires a careful analysis of the processes controlling acid-generating geochemical reactions under unsaturated conditions. In this work, we focus on the potential control of capillarity on these reactions, as previous studies showed that capillarity affects the activity of water and solutes in the unsaturated zone through the pore water pressure. We used capillarity-corrected thermodynamic databases and compared calculated speciation and solubility results with those from databases that do not account for capillarity. We developed a simple dynamic model with reduced geochemical components to analyze in detail the effect of capillarity. Results indicate that under low pH conditions simulations with capillarity-controlled reactions generate relatively larger dissolved sulfate concentrations from the WRDs over longer time scales, when compared against simulations without capillarity control. This occurs because capillarity strongly controls the formation of secondary sulfate-bearing minerals such as gypsum. When sufficient oxygen and carbon dioxide partial pressures are maintained within WRDs (such as in well-ventilated systems) and calcite content is insufficient to buffer acidity, the amount of secondary gypsum was calculated to be much larger in capillarity-corrected models. No appreciable effects of capillarity were observed under conditions where gypsum was not generated. Model results are also insensitive to temperature changes in typical climatic ranges. These results indicate some of

Reforming Long-Term Care Funding in Alberta.

Science.gov (United States)

Crump, R Trafford; Repin, Nadya; Sutherland, Jason M

2015-01-01

Like many provinces across Canada, Alberta is facing growing demand for long-term care. Issues with the mixed funding model used to pay long-term care providers had Alberta Health Services concerned that it was not efficiently meeting the demand for long-term care. Consequently, in 2010, Alberta Health Services introduced the patient/care-based funding (PCBF) model. PCBF is similar to activity-based funding in that it directly ties the complexity and care needs of long-term care residents to the payment received by long-term care providers. This review describes PCBF and discusses some of its strengths and weaknesses. In doing so, this review is intended to inform other provinces faced with similar long-term care challenges and contemplating their own funding reforms.

Activity release from the damaged spent VVER-fuel during long-term wet storage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slonszki, E.; Hozer, Z. [Hungarian Academy of Sciences, KFKI Atomic Energy Research Inst., Budapest (Hungary); Pinter, T.; Baracska Varju, I. [Nuclear Power Plant Paks, Paks (Hungary)

2010-07-01

An ex-core fuel damage incident took place at Unit 2 of Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary on the 10{sup th} April 2003. After this event the damaged fuel assemblies were stored under water for four years. During wet storage a continuous activity release was observed. The evaluation of the measured activity concentration showed that the UO{sub 2} mass released from the fuel into the coolant was {approx} 1.8% of the total fuel mass. Furthermore this paper contains the calculation methods and the calculated activity release of the main analysed isotopes. (orig.)

Plasma Aluminum Concentrations in Pediatric Patients Receiving Long-Term Parenteral Nutrition.

Science.gov (United States)

Courtney-Martin, Glenda; Kosar, Christina; Campbell, Alison; Avitzur, Yaron; Wales, Paul W; Steinberg, Karen; Harrison, Debra; Chambers, Kathryn

2015-07-01

Patients receiving long-term parenteral nutrition (PN) are at increased risk of aluminium (Al) toxicity because of bypass of the gastrointestinal tract during PN infusion. Complications of Al toxicity include metabolic bone disease (MBD), Al-associated encephalopathy in adults, and impaired neurological development in preterm infants. Unlike the United States, there are no regulations regarding Al content of large- and small-volume parenterals in Canada. We, therefore, aimed to present our data on plasma Al concentration and Al intake from our cohort of pediatric patients receiving long-term PN. Plasma Al concentration was retrospectively gathered from the patient charts of all 27 patients with intestinal failure (IF) receiving long-term PN at The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada, and compared with age- and sex-matched controls recruited for comparison. In addition, Al concentration was measured in PN samples collected from 10 randomly selected patients with IF and used to determine their Al intake. The plasma Al concentration of patients with IF receiving long-term PN was significantly higher than that of control participants (1195 ± 710 vs 142 ± 63 nmol/L; P Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

Obesity: a systematic review on parental involvement in long-term European childhood weight control interventions with a nutritional focus

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van der Kruk, Joke; Kortekaas, F.; Lucas, Cees; Jager-Wittenaar, Harriët

2013-01-01

In Europe, about 20% of children are overweight. Focus on parental responsibility is an effective method in weight control interventions in children. In this systematic review we describe the intensity of parental involvement and behaviour change aimed at parents in long-term European childhood

Different Immunological Phenotypes Associated with Preserved CD4+ T Cell Counts in HIV-Infected Controllers and Viremic Long Term Non-Progressors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gaardbo, Julie Christine; Hartling, Hans J; Ronit, Andreas

2013-01-01

HIV-infected controllers control viral replication and maintain normal CD4+ T cell counts. Long Term Non-Progressors (LTNP) also maintain normal CD4+ T cell counts, but have on-going viral replication. We hypothesized that different immunological mechanisms are responsible for preserved CD4+ T cell...

Motivation, self-determination, and long-term weight control.

Science.gov (United States)

Teixeira, Pedro J; Silva, Marlene N; Mata, Jutta; Palmeira, António L; Markland, David

2012-03-02

This article explores the topics of motivation and self-regulation in the context of weight management and related behaviors. We focus on the role of a qualitative approach to address motivation--not only considering the level but also type of motivation--in weight control and related behaviors. We critically discuss the operationalization of motivation in current weight control programs, present a complementary approach to understanding motivation based on self-determination theory, and review empirical findings from weight control studies that have used self-determination theory measures and assessed their association with weight outcomes. Weight loss studies which used Motivational Interviewing (MI) are also reviewed, considering MI's focus on enhancing internal motivation. We hypothesize that current weight control interventions may have been less successful with weight maintenance in part due to their relative disregard of qualitative dimensions of motivation, such as level of perceived autonomy, often resulting in a motivational disconnect between weight loss and weight-related behaviors. We suggest that if individuals fully endorse weight loss-related behavioral goals and feel not just competent but also autonomous about reaching them, as suggested by self-determination theory, their efforts are more likely to result in long-lasting behavior change.

Industrial Foundations as Long-Term Owners

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Steen; Poulsen, Thomas; Børsting, Christa Winther

Short-termism has become a serious concern for corporate governance, and this has inspired a search for institutional arrangements to promote long-term decision-making. In this paper, we call attention to long-term ownership by industrial foundations, which is common in Northern Europe but little...... known in the rest of the world. We use a unique Danish data set to document that industrial foundations are long-term owners that practice long-term governance. We show that foundation ownership is highly stable compared to other ownership structures. Foundation-owned companies replace managers less...... frequently. They have conservative capital structures with low financial leverage. They score higher on an index of long-termism in finance, investment, and employment. They survive longer. Overall, our paper supports the hypothesis that corporate time horizons are influenced by ownership structures...

Long-term associative learning predicts verbal short-term memory performance

OpenAIRE

Jones, Gary; Macken, Bill

2017-01-01

Studies using tests such as digit span and nonword repetition have implicated short-term memory across a range of developmental domains. Such tests ostensibly assess specialized processes for the short-term manipulation and maintenance of information that are often argued to enable long-term learning. However, there is considerable evidence for an influence of long-term linguistic learning on performance in short-term memory tasks that brings into question the role of a specialized short-term...

Selective CD28 Antagonist Blunts Memory Immune Responses and Promotes Long-Term Control of Skin Inflammation in Nonhuman Primates.

Science.gov (United States)

Poirier, Nicolas; Chevalier, Melanie; Mary, Caroline; Hervouet, Jeremy; Minault, David; Baker, Paul; Ville, Simon; Le Bas-Bernardet, Stephanie; Dilek, Nahzli; Belarif, Lyssia; Cassagnau, Elisabeth; Scobie, Linda; Blancho, Gilles; Vanhove, Bernard

2016-01-01

Novel therapies that specifically target activation and expansion of pathogenic immune cell subsets responsible for autoimmune attacks are needed to confer long-term remission. Pathogenic cells in autoimmunity include memory T lymphocytes that are long-lived and present rapid recall effector functions with reduced activation requirements. Whereas the CD28 costimulation pathway predominantly controls priming of naive T cells and hence generation of adaptive memory cells, the roles of CD28 costimulation on established memory T lymphocytes and the recall of memory responses remain controversial. In contrast to CD80/86 antagonists (CTLA4-Ig), selective CD28 antagonists blunt T cell costimulation while sparing CTLA-4 and PD-L1-dependent coinhibitory signals. Using a new selective CD28 antagonist, we showed that Ag-specific reactivation of human memory T lymphocytes was prevented. Selective CD28 blockade controlled both cellular and humoral memory recall in nonhuman primates and induced long-term Ag-specific unresponsiveness in a memory T cell-mediated inflammatory skin model. No modification of memory T lymphocytes subsets or numbers was observed in the periphery, and importantly no significant reactivation of quiescent viruses was noticed. These findings indicate that pathogenic memory T cell responses are controlled by both CD28 and CTLA-4/PD-L1 cosignals in vivo and that selectively targeting CD28 would help to promote remission of autoimmune diseases and control chronic inflammation. Copyright © 2015 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love.

Science.gov (United States)

Acevedo, Bianca P; Aron, Arthur; Fisher, Helen E; Brown, Lucy L

2012-02-01

The present study examined the neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Ten women and 7 men married an average of 21.4 years underwent fMRI while viewing facial images of their partner. Control images included a highly familiar acquaintance; a close, long-term friend; and a low-familiar person. Effects specific to the intensely loved, long-term partner were found in: (i) areas of the dopamine-rich reward and basal ganglia system, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsal striatum, consistent with results from early-stage romantic love studies; and (ii) several regions implicated in maternal attachment, such as the globus pallidus (GP), substantia nigra, Raphe nucleus, thalamus, insular cortex, anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate. Correlations of neural activity in regions of interest with widely used questionnaires showed: (i) VTA and caudate responses correlated with romantic love scores and inclusion of other in the self; (ii) GP responses correlated with friendship-based love scores; (iii) hypothalamus and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with sexual frequency; and (iv) caudate, septum/fornix, posterior cingulate and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with obsession. Overall, results suggest that for some individuals the reward-value associated with a long-term partner may be sustained, similar to new love, but also involves brain systems implicated in attachment and pair-bonding.

Neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love

Science.gov (United States)

Aron, Arthur; Fisher, Helen E.; Brown, Lucy L.

2012-01-01

The present study examined the neural correlates of long-term intense romantic love using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Ten women and 7 men married an average of 21.4 years underwent fMRI while viewing facial images of their partner. Control images included a highly familiar acquaintance; a close, long-term friend; and a low-familiar person. Effects specific to the intensely loved, long-term partner were found in: (i) areas of the dopamine-rich reward and basal ganglia system, such as the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dorsal striatum, consistent with results from early-stage romantic love studies; and (ii) several regions implicated in maternal attachment, such as the globus pallidus (GP), substantia nigra, Raphe nucleus, thalamus, insular cortex, anterior cingulate and posterior cingulate. Correlations of neural activity in regions of interest with widely used questionnaires showed: (i) VTA and caudate responses correlated with romantic love scores and inclusion of other in the self; (ii) GP responses correlated with friendship-based love scores; (iii) hypothalamus and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with sexual frequency; and (iv) caudate, septum/fornix, posterior cingulate and posterior hippocampus responses correlated with obsession. Overall, results suggest that for some individuals the reward-value associated with a long-term partner may be sustained, similar to new love, but also involves brain systems implicated in attachment and pair-bonding. PMID:21208991

mTORC2 controls actin polymerization required for consolidation of long-term memory

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Wei; Zhu, Ping Jun; Zhang, Shixing; Zhou, Hongyi; Stoica, Loredana; Galiano, Mauricio; Krnjević, Krešimir; Roman, Gregg; Costa-Mattioli, Mauro

2013-01-01

A major goal of biomedical research has been the identification of molecular mechanisms that can enhance memory. Here we report a novel signaling pathway that regulates the conversion from short- to long-term memory. The mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2), which contains the key regulatory protein Rictor (Rapamycin-Insensitive Companion of mTOR), was discovered only recently, and little is known about its physiological role. We show that conditional deletion of rictor in the postnatal murine forebrain greatly reduces mTORC2 activity and selectively impairs both long-term memory (LTM) and the late (but not the early) phase of hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). Actin polymerization is reduced in the hippocampus of mTORC2-deficient mice and its restoration rescues both L-LTP and LTM. More importantly, a compound that selectively promotes mTORC2 activity converts early-LTP into late-LTP and enhances LTM. These findings indicate that mTORC2 could be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction. PMID:23455608

Long-term dentin remineralization by poly(amido amine) and rechargeable calcium phosphate nanocomposite after fluid challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Kunneng; Xiao, Shimeng; Wu, Junling; Li, Jiyao; Weir, Michael D; Cheng, Lei; Reynolds, Mark A; Zhou, Xuedong; Xu, Hockin H K

2018-04-01

Previous studies investigated short-term dentin remineralization; studies on long-term dentin remineralization after fluid challenges mimicking fluids in oral environment are lacking. The objective of this study was to develop a long-term remineralization method to via poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) and rechargeable composite containing nanoparticles of amorphous calcium phosphate (NACP) after fluid challenges for the first time. NACP composite was immersed at pH 4 to exhaust its calcium (Ca) and phosphate (P) ions, and then recharged with Ca and P ions, to test the remineralization of the exhausted and recharged NACP composite. Dentin was acid-etched with 37% phosphoric acid. Four groups were prepared: (1) dentin control, (2) dentin with PAMAM, (3) dentin with the recharged NACP composite, and (4) dentin with PAMAM plus recharged NACP composite. PAMAM-coated dentin was immersed in phosphate-buffered saline with shaking for 72 days, because there is fluid flow in the mouth which could potentially detach the PAMAM from dentin. Specimens were treated with a cyclic artificial saliva/lactic acid regimen for 35 days. After 72days of immersion plus shaking, the PAMAM still successfully fulfilled its mineralization nucleation. The recharged NACP composite still provided acid-neutralization and ion re-release, which did not decrease with increasing the number of recharge cycles. The immersed-PAMAM plus NACP achieved complete dentin remineralization and restored the hardness to that of healthy dentin. In conclusion, superior long-term remineralization of the PAMAM plus NACP method was demonstrated for the first time. The immersed-PAMAM plus recharged NACP completely remineralized the pre-demineralized dentin, even after prolonged fluid-challenge similar to that in oral environment. The novel PAMAM plus NACP composite method is promising to provide long-term tooth protection and caries inhibition. Copyright © 2018 The Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All

Altered visual perception in long-term ecstasy (MDMA) users.

Science.gov (United States)

White, Claire; Brown, John; Edwards, Mark

2013-09-01

The present study investigated the long-term consequences of ecstasy use on visual processes thought to reflect serotonergic functions in the occipital lobe. Evidence indicates that the main psychoactive ingredient in ecstasy (methylendioxymethamphetamine) causes long-term changes to the serotonin system in human users. Previous research has found that amphetamine-abstinent ecstasy users have disrupted visual processing in the occipital lobe which relies on serotonin, with researchers concluding that ecstasy broadens orientation tuning bandwidths. However, other processes may have accounted for these results. The aim of the present research was to determine if amphetamine-abstinent ecstasy users have changes in occipital lobe functioning, as revealed by two studies: a masking study that directly measured the width of orientation tuning bandwidths and a contour integration task that measured the strength of long-range connections in the visual cortex of drug users compared to controls. Participants were compared on the width of orientation tuning bandwidths (26 controls, 12 ecstasy users, 10 ecstasy + amphetamine users) and the strength of long-range connections (38 controls, 15 ecstasy user, 12 ecstasy + amphetamine users) in the occipital lobe. Amphetamine-abstinent ecstasy users had significantly broader orientation tuning bandwidths than controls and significantly lower contour detection thresholds (CDTs), indicating worse performance on the task, than both controls and ecstasy + amphetamine users. These results extend on previous research, which is consistent with the proposal that ecstasy may damage the serotonin system, resulting in behavioral changes on tests of visual perception processes which are thought to reflect serotonergic functions in the occipital lobe.

Long-acting injectable paliperidone palmitate versus oral paliperidone extended release: a comparative analysis from two placebo-controlled relapse prevention studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Markowitz, Michael; Fu, Dong-Jing; Levitan, Bennett; Gopal, Srihari; Turkoz, Ibrahim; Alphs, Larry

2013-07-11

Increasing availability and use of long-acting injectable antipsychotics have generated a need to compare these formulations with their oral equivalents; however, a paucity of relevant data is available. This post hoc comparison of the long-term efficacy, safety and tolerability of maintenance treatment with paliperidone palmitate (PP) versus oral paliperidone extended release (ER) used data from two similarly designed, randomised, double-blind (DB), placebo-controlled schizophrenia relapse prevention trials. Assessments included measures of time to relapse, symptom changes/functioning and treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs). Time to relapse between treatment groups was evaluated using a Cox proportional hazards model. Between-group differences for continuous variables for change scores during the DB phase were assessed using analysis of co-variance models. Categorical variables were evaluated using Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests. No adjustment was made for multiplicity. Approximately 45% of enrolled subjects in both trials were stabilised and randomised to the DB relapse prevention phase. Risk of relapse was higher in subjects treated with paliperidone ER than in those treated with PP [paliperidone ER/PP hazard ratio (HR), 2.52; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.46-4.35; p 70, both approximately 58.5%; p = 1.000] compared with a 10.9% decrease for paliperidone ER (58.5% vs 47.6%, respectively; p = 0.048). The least squares mean change for Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score at DB end point in these previously stabilised subjects was 3.5 points in favour of PP (6.0 vs 2.5; p = 0.025). The rates of TEAEs and AEs of interest appeared similar. This analysis supports maintenance of effect with the injectable compared with the oral formulation of paliperidone in patients with schizophrenia. The safety profile of PP was similar to that of paliperidone ER. Future studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Stimuli responsive nanomaterials for controlled release applications

KAUST Repository

Li, Song

2012-01-01

The controlled release of therapeutics has been one of the major challenges for scientists and engineers during the past three decades. Coupled with excellent biocompatibility profiles, various nanomaterials have showed great promise for biomedical applications. Stimuli-responsive nanomaterials guarantee the controlled release of cargo to a given location, at a specific time, and with an accurate amount. In this review, we have combined the major stimuli that are currently used to achieve the ultimate goal of controlled and targeted release by "smart" nanomaterials. The most heavily explored strategies include (1) pH, (2) enzymes, (3) redox, (4) magnetic, and (5) light-triggered release.

Smoking and long-term labour market outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Böckerman, Petri; Hyytinen, Ari; Kaprio, Jaakko

2015-07-01

To examine the long-term effects of smoking on labour market outcomes using twin data matched to register-based individual information on earnings. Twin data for Finnish men born 1945-1957 was used to remove the shared environmental and genetic factors. The results were subjected to extensive robustness testing. Lifetime cigarette consumption was measured by (cumulative) cigarette pack-years in early adulthood. The average of an individual's earnings (and, alternatively, taxable income) was measured over a subsequent 15-year period in later adulthood. Smokers have lower long-term income and earnings. For example, controlling for the shared environmental and genetic factors using the data on genetically identical twins, smoking is negatively associated with lifetime income (p=0.015). The negative association was also robust to the use of various covariates, such as education, health indicators and extraversion. Smoking is negatively related to long-term labour market outcomes. The provision of information about the indirect monetary costs of smoking may thus complement the policy efforts that aim at educating consumers about the health costs of smoking. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Infants long-term memory for complex music

Science.gov (United States)

Ilari, Beatriz; Polka, Linda; Costa-Giomi, Eugenia

2002-05-01

In this study we examined infants' long-term memory for two complex pieces of music. A group of thirty 7.5 month-old infants was exposed daily to one short piano piece (i.e., either the Prelude or the Forlane by Maurice Ravel) for ten consecutive days. Following the 10-day exposure period there was a two-week retention period in which no exposure to the piece occurred. After the retention period, infants were tested on the Headturn Preference Procedure. At test, 8 different excerpts of the familiar piece were mixed with 8 different foil excerpts of the unfamiliar one. Infants showed a significant preference for the familiar piece of music. A control group of fifteen nonexposed infants was also tested and showed no preferences for either piece of music. These results suggest that infants in the exposure group retained the familiar music in their long-term memory. This was demonstrated by their ability to discriminate between the different excerpts of both the familiar and the unfamiliar pieces of music, and by their preference for the familiar piece. Confirming previous findings (Jusczyk and Hohne, 1993; Saffran et al., 2000), in this study we suggest that infants can retain complex pieces of music in their long-term memory for two weeks.

Long-Term Research in Ecology and Evolution (LTREE): 2015 survey data.

Science.gov (United States)

Bradford, Mark A; Leiserowitz, Anthony; Feinberg, Geoffrey; Rosenthal, Seth A; Lau, Jennifer A

2017-11-01

To systematically assess views on contributions and future activities for long-term research in ecology and evolution (LTREE), we conducted and here provide data responses and associated metadata for a survey of ecological and evolutionary scientists. The survey objectives were to: (1) Identify and prioritize research questions that are important to address through long-term, ecological field experiments; and (2) understand the role that these experiments might play in generating and applying ecological and evolutionary knowledge. The survey was developed adhering to the standards of the American Association for Public Opinion Research. It was administered online using Qualtrics Survey Software. Survey creation was a multi-step process, with questions and format developed and then revised with, for example, input from an external advisory committee comprising senior and junior ecological and evolutionary researchers. The final questionnaire was released to ~100 colleagues to ensure functionality and then fielded 2 d later (January 7 th , 2015). Two professional societies distributed it to their membership, including the Ecological Society of America, and it was posted to three list serves. The questionnaire was available through February 8th 2015 and completed by 1,179 respondents. The distribution approach targeted practicing ecologists and evolutionary biologists in the U.S. Quantitative (both ordinal and categorical) closed-ended questions used a predefined set of response categories, facilitating direct comparison across all respondents. Qualitative, open-ended questions, provided respondents the opportunity to develop their own answers. We employed quantitative questions to score views on the extent to which long-term experimental research has contributed to understanding in ecology and evolutionary biology; its role compared to other approaches (e.g., short-term experiments); justifications for and caveats to long-term experiments; and the relative importance

Long-term (5 year) safety of bronchial thermoplasty: Asthma Intervention Research (AIR) trial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomson, Neil C; Rubin, Adalberto S; Niven, Robert M

2011-01-01

Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a bronchoscopic procedure that improves asthma control by reducing excess airway smooth muscle. Treated patients have been followed out to 5 years to evaluate long-term safety of this procedure.......Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is a bronchoscopic procedure that improves asthma control by reducing excess airway smooth muscle. Treated patients have been followed out to 5 years to evaluate long-term safety of this procedure....

Long-term leach testing of solidified radioactive waste forms (International Standard Publication ISO 6961:1982)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stefanik, J.

2001-01-01

Processes are developed for the immobilization of radionuclides by solidification of radioactive wastes. The resulting solidification products are characterized by strong resistance to leaching aimed at low release rates of the radionuclides to the environment. To measure this resistance to leaching of the solidified materials: glass, glass-ceramics, bitumen, cement, concrete, plastics, a long-term leach test is presented. The long-term leach test is aimed at: a) the comparison of different kinds or compositions of solidified waste forms; b) the intercomparison between leach test results from different laboratories on one product; c) the intercomparison between leach test results on products from different processes

Mechanisms of long-term concrete degradation in LLW disposal facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rogers, V.C.

1987-01-01

Most low-level waste (LLW) disposal alternatives, except shallow land burial and improved shallow land burial, involve the use of concrete as an extra barrier for containment. Because concrete is a porous-type material, its moisture retention and transport properties can be characterized with parameters that are also used to characterize the geohydrologic properties of soils. Several processes can occur with the concrete to degrade it and to increase both the movement of water and contaminants through the disposal facility. The effect of these processes must be quantified in designing and estimating the long-term performance of disposal facilities. Modeling the long-term performance of LLW disposal technologies involves, first, estimating the degradation rate of the concrete in a particular facility configuration and environmental setting; second, calculating the water flow through the facility as a function of time; third, calculating the contaminant leaching usually by diffusion or dissolution mechanisms, and then coupling the facility water and contaminant outflow to a hydrogeological and environmental uptake model for environmental releases or doses

Obesity: a systematic review on parental involvement in long-term European childhood weight control interventions with a nutritional focus

OpenAIRE

Kruk, J J; Kortekaas, F; Lucas, C; Jager-Wittenaar, H

2013-01-01

In Europe, about 20% of children are overweight. Focus on parental responsibility is an effective method in weight control interventions in children. In this systematic review we describe the intensity of parental involvement and behaviour change aimed at parents in long-term European childhood weight control interventions. We include European Union studies targeting parents in order to improve children's weight status in multi-component (parental, behaviour change and nutrition) health promo...

Long-term collections

CERN Multimedia

Collectes à long terme

2007-01-01

The Committee of the Long Term Collections (CLT) asks for your attention for the following message from a young Peruvian scientist, following the earthquake which devastated part of her country a month ago.

Long-term data storage in diamond

OpenAIRE

Dhomkar, Siddharth; Henshaw, Jacob; Jayakumar, Harishankar; Meriles, Carlos A.

2016-01-01

The negatively charged nitrogen vacancy (NV?) center in diamond is the focus of widespread attention for applications ranging from quantum information processing to nanoscale metrology. Although most work so far has focused on the NV? optical and spin properties, control of the charge state promises complementary opportunities. One intriguing possibility is the long-term storage of information, a notion we hereby introduce using NV-rich, type 1b diamond. As a proof of principle, we use multic...

Long-term culture of astrocytes attenuates the readily releasable pool of synaptic vesicles.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroyuki Kawano

Full Text Available The astrocyte is a major glial cell type of the brain, and plays key roles in the formation, maturation, stabilization and elimination of synapses. Thus, changes in astrocyte condition and age can influence information processing at synapses. However, whether and how aging astrocytes affect synaptic function and maturation have not yet been thoroughly investigated. Here, we show the effects of prolonged culture on the ability of astrocytes to induce synapse formation and to modify synaptic transmission, using cultured autaptic neurons. By 9 weeks in culture, astrocytes derived from the mouse cerebral cortex demonstrated increases in β-galactosidase activity and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP expression, both of which are characteristic of aging and glial activation in vitro. Autaptic hippocampal neurons plated on these aging astrocytes showed a smaller amount of evoked release of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate, and a lower frequency of miniature release of glutamate, both of which were attributable to a reduction in the pool of readily releasable synaptic vesicles. Other features of synaptogenesis and synaptic transmission were retained, for example the ability to induce structural synapses, the presynaptic release probability, the fraction of functional presynaptic nerve terminals, and the ability to recruit functional AMPA and NMDA glutamate receptors to synapses. Thus the presence of aging astrocytes affects the efficiency of synaptic transmission. Given that the pool of readily releasable vesicles is also small at immature synapses, our results are consistent with astrocytic aging leading to retarded synapse maturation.

Adherence With Bisphosphonates and Long-Term Risk of Hip Fractures: A Nested Case-Control Study Using Real-World Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Shalev, Varda; Sharman Moser, Sarah; Goldshtein, Inbal; Yu, Jingbo; Weil, Clara; Ish-Shalom, Sophia; Rouach, Vanessa; Chodick, Gabriel

2017-09-01

Hip fracture is a major complication of osteoporosis. Bisphosphonate medication is the mainstay of treatment for osteoporosis. However, concerns have been raised regarding the effectiveness of bisphosphonates in reducing hip fracture risk after long-term use, particularly among patients with suboptimal adherence. To examine the association between adherence with bisphosphonate therapy and long-term risk of hip fracture. Included in the present nested case-control study were osteoporotic women (n = 14 357) who initiated bisphosphonate therapy in 2000-2010 and were retrospectively followed for incident hip fracture through November 2014. Within this cohort, each case of primary hip fractures was individually matched to 3 controls without a primary hip fracture. Proportion of follow-up days covered (PDC) with bisphosphonates was calculated from bisphosphonate purchases. Adherence was categorized into the following groups: purchase of 1 or 2 months' supply (reference group), at least 3 months' supply to PDC ≤20%, PDC >20% to ≤80%, PDC >80% to ≤100%. Included in the analysis were 426 case-control groups with a mean age (SD) of 73.7 years (7.9). Compared with the reference group, PDC of 80% to 100% with bisphosphonates was associated with a significant reduction in hip fracture risk for patients with 8 to 15 years of follow-up (OR = 0.39; 95% CI = 0.18-0.87). Among patients with a follow-up of up to 3 years, OR was 0.58 (95% CI = 0.31-1.06). Adherence with bisphosphonates among osteoporotic patients is associated with lower risk of hip fracture, with no indication of diminished effectiveness with long-term use.

Determinants of Long-Term Durable Glycemic Control in New-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyoung Jin Kim

2017-08-01

Full Text Available BackgroundLong-term durable glycemic control is a difficult goal in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM. We evaluated the factors associated with durable glycemic control in a real clinical setting.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 194 new-onset, drug-naïve patients with T2DM who were diagnosed between January 2011 and March 2013, and were followed up for >2 years. Glycemic durability was defined as the maintenance of optimal glycemic control (glycosylated hemoglobin [HbA1c] <7.0% for 2 years without substitution or adding other glucose-lowering agents. Clinical factors and glycemic markers associated with glycemic durability were compared between two groups: a durability group and a non-durability group.ResultsPatients in the durability group had a higher baseline body mass index (26.1 kg/m2 vs. 24.9 kg/m2 and lower HbA1c (8.6% vs. 9.7% than the non-durability group. The initial choice of glucose-lowering agents was similar in both groups, except for insulin and sulfonylureas, which were more frequently prescribed in the non-durability group. In multiple logistic regression analyses, higher levels of education, physical activity, and homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function (HOMA-β were associated with glycemic durability. Notably, lower HbA1c (<7.0% at baseline and first follow-up were significantly associated with glycemic durability (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 7.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.51 to 22.3 (adjusted OR, 9.27; 95% CI, 1.62 to 53.1, respectively, after adjusting for confounding variables including the types of glucose-lowering agents.ConclusionEarly achievement of HbA1c level within the glycemic target was a determinant of long-term glycemic durability in new-onset T2DM, as were higher levels of education, physical activity, and HOMA-β.

PET Study in a Patient with Spinocerebellar Degeneration before and after Long-Term Administration of Thyrotropin Releasing Hormone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Tanji

1996-01-01

Full Text Available We studied the chronic effect of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH in a patient with spinocerebellar degeneration by measuring cerebral metabolic rate for glucose (CMRG1c using 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (18FDG and positron emission tomography (PET. A 56-year-old female, who had suffered from progressive ataxia for 2 years, was treated by intravenous administration of 2 mg TRH for 3 weeks, and CMRG1c of the brain was measured before and after treatment. CMRG1c was markedly decreased in the cerebellum and there was no significant difference before and after the treatment, i.e. mean CMRG1c values were 4.92 and 4.90 mg/100 g/min, and the ratios of the cerebellum versus the frontal cortex were 0.50 and 0.51, respectively. The degree of disequilibrium of her body examined with stabilography became better by the 19th day and further improved by the 26th day after the start of TRH treatment. Based on the present study we conclude that long-term administration of TRH did not improve CMRG1c in the cerebellum, but evidently improved the sway of gravity center by stabilography. We speculate that the chronic effect of TRH was not necessarily due to an improvement of cerebellar function, because TRH receptors are widely distributed throughout the central nervous system.

Long-term impact of the World Bank Loan Project for schistosomiasis control: a comparison of the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk in China.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhijie Zhang

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The World Bank Loan Project (WBLP for controlling schistosomiasis in China was implemented during 1992-2001. Its short-term impact has been assessed from non-spatial perspective, but its long-term impact remains unclear and a spatial evaluation has not previously been conducted. Here we compared the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk using national datasets in the lake and marshland regions from 1999-2001 and 2007-2008 to evaluate the long-term impact of WBLP strategy on China's schistosomiasis burden. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A hierarchical Poisson regression model was developed in a Bayesian framework with spatially correlated and uncorrelated heterogeneities at the county-level, modeled using a conditional autoregressive prior structure and a spatially unstructured Gaussian distribution, respectively. There were two important findings from this study. The WBLP strategy was found to have a good short-term impact on schistosomiasis control, but its long-term impact was not ideal. It has successfully reduced the morbidity of schistosomiasis to a low level, but can not contribute further to China's schistosomiasis control because of the current low endemic level. A second finding is that the WBLP strategy could not effectively compress the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk. To achieve further reductions in schistosomiasis-affected areas, and for sustainable control, focusing on the intermediate host snail should become the next step to interrupt schistosomiasis transmission within the two most affected regions surrounding the Dongting and Poyang Lakes. Furthermore, in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the WBLP's morbidity control strategy may need to continue for some time until snails in the upriver provinces have been well controlled. CONCLUSION: It is difficult to further reduce morbidity due to schistosomiasis using a chemotherapy-based control strategy in the lake and marshland regions of China

Long-term impact of the World Bank Loan Project for schistosomiasis control: a comparison of the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhijie; Zhu, Rong; Ward, Michael P; Xu, Wanghong; Zhang, Lijuan; Guo, Jiagang; Zhao, Fei; Jiang, Qingwu

2012-01-01

The World Bank Loan Project (WBLP) for controlling schistosomiasis in China was implemented during 1992-2001. Its short-term impact has been assessed from non-spatial perspective, but its long-term impact remains unclear and a spatial evaluation has not previously been conducted. Here we compared the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk using national datasets in the lake and marshland regions from 1999-2001 and 2007-2008 to evaluate the long-term impact of WBLP strategy on China's schistosomiasis burden. A hierarchical Poisson regression model was developed in a Bayesian framework with spatially correlated and uncorrelated heterogeneities at the county-level, modeled using a conditional autoregressive prior structure and a spatially unstructured Gaussian distribution, respectively. There were two important findings from this study. The WBLP strategy was found to have a good short-term impact on schistosomiasis control, but its long-term impact was not ideal. It has successfully reduced the morbidity of schistosomiasis to a low level, but can not contribute further to China's schistosomiasis control because of the current low endemic level. A second finding is that the WBLP strategy could not effectively compress the spatial distribution of schistosomiasis risk. To achieve further reductions in schistosomiasis-affected areas, and for sustainable control, focusing on the intermediate host snail should become the next step to interrupt schistosomiasis transmission within the two most affected regions surrounding the Dongting and Poyang Lakes. Furthermore, in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the WBLP's morbidity control strategy may need to continue for some time until snails in the upriver provinces have been well controlled. It is difficult to further reduce morbidity due to schistosomiasis using a chemotherapy-based control strategy in the lake and marshland regions of China because of the current low endemic levels of infection. The future control

Motivation, self-determination, and long-term weight control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Teixeira Pedro J

2012-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract This article explores the topics of motivation and self-regulation in the context of weight management and related behaviors. We focus on the role of a qualitative approach to address motivation - not only considering the level but also type of motivation - in weight control and related behaviors. We critically discuss the operationalization of motivation in current weight control programs, present a complementary approach to understanding motivation based on self-determination theory, and review empirical findings from weight control studies that have used self-determination theory measures and assessed their association with weight outcomes. Weight loss studies which used Motivational Interviewing (MI are also reviewed, considering MI's focus on enhancing internal motivation. We hypothesize that current weight control interventions may have been less successful with weight maintenance in part due to their relative disregard of qualitative dimensions of motivation, such as level of perceived autonomy, often resulting in a motivational disconnect between weight loss and weight-related behaviors. We suggest that if individuals fully endorse weight loss-related behavioral goals and feel not just competent but also autonomous about reaching them, as suggested by self-determination theory, their efforts are more likely to result in long-lasting behavior change.

Motivation, self-determination, and long-term weight control

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

This article explores the topics of motivation and self-regulation in the context of weight management and related behaviors. We focus on the role of a qualitative approach to address motivation - not only considering the level but also type of motivation - in weight control and related behaviors. We critically discuss the operationalization of motivation in current weight control programs, present a complementary approach to understanding motivation based on self-determination theory, and review empirical findings from weight control studies that have used self-determination theory measures and assessed their association with weight outcomes. Weight loss studies which used Motivational Interviewing (MI) are also reviewed, considering MI's focus on enhancing internal motivation. We hypothesize that current weight control interventions may have been less successful with weight maintenance in part due to their relative disregard of qualitative dimensions of motivation, such as level of perceived autonomy, often resulting in a motivational disconnect between weight loss and weight-related behaviors. We suggest that if individuals fully endorse weight loss-related behavioral goals and feel not just competent but also autonomous about reaching them, as suggested by self-determination theory, their efforts are more likely to result in long-lasting behavior change. PMID:22385818

Better microvascular function on long-term treatment with lisinopril than with nifedipine in renal transplant recipients.

Science.gov (United States)

Asberg, A; Midtvedt, K; Vassbotn, T; Hartmann, A

2001-07-01

The prevalence of hypertension in renal transplant recipients is high but the pathophysiology is poorly defined. Impaired endothelial function may be a factor of major importance. The present study addresses the effects of long-term treatment with either lisinopril or slow-release nifedipine on microvascular function and plasma endothelin in renal transplant recipients on cyclosporin A (CsA). Seventy-five hypertensive renal transplant recipients were double-blind randomized to receive slow-release nifedipine (NIF, n=40) or lisinopril (LIS, n=35). Ten normotensive, age-matched recipients served as controls. All patients received CsA-based immunosuppressive therapy including prednisolone and azathioprine. Microvascular function was assessed in the forearm skin vasculature, using laser Doppler flowmetry in combination with post-occlusive reactive hyperaemia and endothelial-dependent function during local acetylcholine (ACh) stimulation. The analysis of microvascular function (AUC(rh)) showed that nifedipine-treated patients had significantly lower responses compared with lisinopril-treated patients (20+/-17 and 43+/-20 AU x min respectively, P=0.0016). Endothelial function was borderline significantly lower in the NIF group compared with the LIS group (640+/-345 and 817+/-404 AU x min respectively, P=0.056). The responses in the LIS group were comparable with those in non-hypertensive controls (AUC(rh) was 37+/-16 and AUC(ACh) was 994+/-566 AU x min). Plasma endothelin-1 concentrations were significantly higher in the NIF group compared with the LIS group (0.44+/-0.19 vs. 0.34+/-0.10 fmol/ml respectively, P=0.048), and were 0.29+/-0.09 fmol/ml in the control patients. AUC(ACh) was associated with plasma endothelin-1 (P=0.0053), while AUC(rh) was not (P=0.080). The study indicates that long-term treatment with lisinopril, when compared with nifedipine, yields a more beneficial effect on microvascular function in hypertensive renal transplant recipients on CsA. The

Compensation for PKMζ in long-term potentiation and spatial long-term memory in mutant mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsokas, Panayiotis; Hsieh, Changchi; Yao, Yudong; Lesburguères, Edith; Wallace, Emma Jane Claire; Tcherepanov, Andrew; Jothianandan, Desingarao; Hartley, Benjamin Rush; Pan, Ling; Rivard, Bruno; Farese, Robert V; Sajan, Mini P; Bergold, Peter John; Hernández, Alejandro Iván; Cottrell, James E; Shouval, Harel Z; Fenton, André Antonio; Sacktor, Todd Charlton

2016-05-17

PKMζ is a persistently active PKC isoform proposed to maintain late-LTP and long-term memory. But late-LTP and memory are maintained without PKMζ in PKMζ-null mice. Two hypotheses can account for these findings. First, PKMζ is unimportant for LTP or memory. Second, PKMζ is essential for late-LTP and long-term memory in wild-type mice, and PKMζ-null mice recruit compensatory mechanisms. We find that whereas PKMζ persistently increases in LTP maintenance in wild-type mice, PKCι/λ, a gene-product closely related to PKMζ, persistently increases in LTP maintenance in PKMζ-null mice. Using a pharmacogenetic approach, we find PKMζ-antisense in hippocampus blocks late-LTP and spatial long-term memory in wild-type mice, but not in PKMζ-null mice without the target mRNA. Conversely, a PKCι/λ-antagonist disrupts late-LTP and spatial memory in PKMζ-null mice but not in wild-type mice. Thus, whereas PKMζ is essential for wild-type LTP and long-term memory, persistent PKCι/λ activation compensates for PKMζ loss in PKMζ-null mice.

Long-Term Effects of Neurofeedback Treatment in Autism

Science.gov (United States)

Kouijzer, Mirjam E. J.; de Moor, Jan M. H.; Gerrits, Berrie J. L.; Buitelaar, Jan K.; van Schie, Hein T.

2009-01-01

Previously we demonstrated significant improvement of executive functions and social behavior in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) treated with 40 sessions of EEG neurofeedback in a nonrandomized waiting list control group design. In this paper we extend these findings by reporting the long-term results of neurofeedback treatment in…

Modelling approach for biological control of insect pest by releasing infected pest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan Yuanshun; Chen Lansun

2009-01-01

Models of biological control have a long history of theoretical development that have focused on the interactions between a predator and a prey. Here we have extended the classical epidemic model to include a continuous and impulsive pest control strategies by releasing the infected pests bred in laboratory. For the continuous model, the results imply that the susceptible pest goes to extinct if the threshold condition R 0 0 > 1, the positive equilibrium of continuous model is globally asymptotically stable. Similarly, the threshold condition which guarantees the global stability of the susceptible pest-eradication periodic solution is obtained for the model with impulsive control strategy. Consequently, based on the results obtained in this paper, the control strategies which maintain the pests below an acceptably low level are discussed by controlling the release rate and impulsive period. Finally, the biological implications of the results and the efficiency of two control strategies are also discussed

THE HISTOLOGY OF FITC AND FITC-17B ESTRADIOL IN CUNNER, TAUTOGOLABRUS ADSPERSUS, AFTER SUBCUTANEOUS IMPLANTATION IN A CONTROLLED RELEASE MATRIX

Science.gov (United States)

To mimic environmental exposures in studying the effects of estrogenic chemicals on fish reproduction, a slow-release mechanism is needed to deliver a continuous dosing of chemicals over the course of a long-term study. The effects of slow-release chemical exposures via a subcuta...

Improved local control with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced rectal carcinoma: Long-term analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakfoor, Bruce M.; Willett, Christopher G.; Kaufman, S. Donald; Shellito, Paul C.; Daly, William J.

1996-01-01

Objective: Since 1979, our institution has treated locally advanced rectal cancer with preoperative irradiation followed by resection with or without intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT). In 1986, our preoperative treatment policy was changed to include bolus 5-FU chemotherapy concurrent with irradiation in hopes of improving resectability, downstaging and/or local control rates. We report the long-term results with the addition of 5-FU chemotherapy to preoperative irradiation. Materials and Methods: From 1979 - 1994, 200 patients with locally advanced rectal carcinoma (primary or recurrent) received preoperative irradiation, resection and IORT if indicated. Bolus 5-FU (500mg/m 2 /day) chemotherapy was administered for three days during weeks one and five of irradiation. The change in treatment policy was limited to the addition of 5-FU chemotherapy: the radiation techniques (four-field), doses (50.4 Gy), and indications for intraoperative radiation (microscopic residual, gross residual, tumor adherence) remained constant. The median follow-up for the entire group of patients was 33 months (.95 months - 199 months), and the minimum follow-up was 1.5 years. Tabular results are 5-year actuarial calculations. Results: One hundred and five patients received preoperative 5-FU chemotherapy and irradiation whereas 95 patients underwent preoperative irradiation alone. Sixty-five percent of the patients were able to undergo complete resections, and 53% had transmural disease upon pathologic examination. The addition of chemotherapy did not affect the rates of resectability or tumor downstaging. However, the 10-year local control rate was significantly improved for those patients who received preoperative chemotherapy: 77% vs. 44% (p<0.01) (see figure). When stratified by extent of resection and stage, those patients who underwent complete resections or had transmural disease had significantly improved local control rates when compared to the non-chemotherapy group: No

Tritium sorption by cement and subsequent release

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ono, F.; Yamawaki, M.

1995-01-01

In a fusion reactor or tritium-handling facilities, contamination of concrete by tritium and subsequent release from it to the reator or experimental room is a matter of problem for safe control of tritium and management of operational environment. In order to evaluate this tritium behavior, interaction of tritiated water with concrete or cement should be clarified. In the present study, HTO sorption and subsequent release from cement were experimentally studied.(1)Sorption experiments were conducted using columns packed with cement particles of different sizes. From the analysis of the breakthrough curve, tritium diffusivity in macropores and microparticles were evaluated.(2)From the short-term tritium release experiments, effective desorption rate constants were evaluated and the effects of temperature and moisture were studied.(3)In the long-term tritium release experiments to 6000h, the tritium release mechanism was found to be composed of three kinds of water: initially from capillary water, and in the second stage from gel water and from the water in the cement crystal.(4)Tritium release behavior by heat treatment to 800 C was studied. A high temperature above 600 C was required for the tritium trapped in the crystal water to be released. (orig.)

Clobetasol propionate shampoo 0.05% is efficacious and safe for long-term control of moderate scalp psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulin, Yves; Papp, Kim; Bissonnette, Robert; Barber, Kirk; Kerrouche, Nabil; Villemagne, Hervé

2010-05-01

We evaluated in this study the efficacy and safety of an alternate regimen using clobetasol propionate 0.05% shampoo (CP shampoo) for long-term control of scalp psoriasis. Patients with moderate scalp psoriasis (Global Severity Score [GSS] of 3 on a 0-5 scale) first received CP shampoo once daily for 4 weeks. Patients with a GSS shampoo or vehicle twice weekly. When relapse (GSS > 2) occurred, patients received the 4-week daily CP shampoo treatment. Patients who had a GSS shampoo, almost 4 months later than with vehicle (30.5 days;p shampoo (40.3%) than with vehicle (11.6%;p shampoo was also safe during the 7-month study period, without leading to more cases of skin atrophy, telangiectasia, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis suppression or adverse events compared to vehicle. The alternate treatment regimen with CP shampoo is efficacious and safe for long-term management of moderate scalp psoriasis.

Sleep facilitates long-term face adaptation.

Science.gov (United States)

Ditye, Thomas; Javadi, Amir Homayoun; Carbon, Claus-Christian; Walsh, Vincent

2013-10-22

Adaptation is an automatic neural mechanism supporting the optimization of visual processing on the basis of previous experiences. While the short-term effects of adaptation on behaviour and physiology have been studied extensively, perceptual long-term changes associated with adaptation are still poorly understood. Here, we show that the integration of adaptation-dependent long-term shifts in neural function is facilitated by sleep. Perceptual shifts induced by adaptation to a distorted image of a famous person were larger in a group of participants who had slept (experiment 1) or merely napped for 90 min (experiment 2) during the interval between adaptation and test compared with controls who stayed awake. Participants' individual rapid eye movement sleep duration predicted the size of post-sleep behavioural adaptation effects. Our data suggest that sleep prevented decay of adaptation in a way that is qualitatively different from the effects of reduced visual interference known as 'storage'. In the light of the well-established link between sleep and memory consolidation, our findings link the perceptual mechanisms of sensory adaptation--which are usually not considered to play a relevant role in mnemonic processes--with learning and memory, and at the same time reveal a new function of sleep in cognition.

Long term corrosion behavior of the WAK-HLW glass in salt solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luckscheiter, B.; Nesovic, M.

1998-01-01

The corrosion behavior of the HLW glass GP WAK1 containing simulated HLW oxides from the WAK reprocessing plant in Karlsruhe is investigated in long-term corrosion experiments at high S/V ratios in two reference brines at 110 and 190 C. In case of the MgCl 2 -rich solution the leachate becomes increasingly acid with reaction time up to a final pH of about 3.5 at 190 C. In the NaCl-rich solution the pH rises to about 8.5 after one year of reaction. The release of soluble elements in MgCl 2 solution, under Si-saturated conditions, is proportional to the surface area of the sample and the release increases at 190 C according to a t 1/2 rate law. This time dependence may be an indication of diffusion controlled matrix dissolution. However, at 110 C the release of the mobile elements cannot be described by a t 1/2 rate law as the time exponents are much lower than 0.5. This difference in corrosion behavior may be explained by the higher pH of about 5 at 110 C. In case of NaCl solution under alkaline conditions, the release of soluble elements is not proportional to the surface area of the sample and it increases with time exponents much lower than 0.5. After one year of reaction at 190 C a sharp increase of the release values of some elements was observed. This increase might be explained by the high pH of the solution attained after one year. The corrosion mechanism in NaCl solution, as well as in MgCl 2 solution at 110 C, has not yet been explained. By corrosion experiments in water at constant pH values between 2 and 10, it could be shown that the time exponents of the release of Li and B decrease with increasing pH of the solution. This result can explain qualitatively the differences found in the corrosion behavior of the glass under the various conditions

Sexuality and Physical Intimacy in Long Term Care: Sexuality, long term care, capacity assessment

OpenAIRE

Lichtenberg, Peter A.

2014-01-01

Sexuality and sexual needs in older adults remains a neglected area of clinical intervention, particularly so in long term care settings. Because older adults in medical rehabilitation and long term care beds present with significant frailties, and often significant neurocognitive disorders it makes it difficult for occupational therapists and other staff to evaluate the capacity of an older adult resident to participate in sexual relationships. The current paper reviews the current literatur...

Applicability of short-term accelerated biofouling studies to predict long-term biofouling accumulation in reverse osmosis membrane systems

KAUST Repository

Sanawar, Huma

2018-02-02

Biofouling studies addressing biofouling control are mostly executed in short-term studies. It is unclear whether data collected from these experiments are representative for long-term biofouling as occurring in full-scale membrane systems. This study investigated whether short-term biofouling studies accelerated by biodegradable nutrient dosage to feed water were predictive for long-term biofouling development without nutrient dosage. Since the presence of a feed spacer has an strong effect on the degree of biofouling, this study employed six geometrically different feed spacers. Membrane fouling simulators (MFSs) were operated with the same (i) membrane, (ii) feed flow and (iii) feed water, but with feed spacers varying in geometry. For the short-term experiment, biofilm formation was enhanced by nutrient dosage to the MFS feed water, whereas no nutrient dosage was applied in the long-term experiment. Pressure drop development was monitored to characterize the extent of biofouling, while the accumulated viable biomass content at the end of the experimental run was quantified by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) measurements. Impact of feed spacer geometry on biofouling was compared for the short-term and long-term biofouling study. The results of the study revealed that the feed spacers exhibited the same biofouling behavior for (i) the short-term (9-d) study with nutrient dosage and (ii) the long-term (96-d) study without nutrient dosage. For the six different feed spacers, the accumulated viable biomass content (pg ATP.cm) was roughly the same, but the biofouling impact in terms of pressure drop increase in time was significantly different. The biofouling impact ranking of the six feed spacers was the same for the short-term and long-term biofouling studies. Therefore, it can be concluded that short-term accelerated biofouling studies in MFSs are a representative and suitable approach for the prediction of biofouling in membrane filtration systems after long-term

Differences in health status between long-term and short-term benzodiazepine users.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zandstra, S.M.; Furer, J.W.; Lisdonk, E.H. van de; Bor, J.H.J.; Zitman, F.G.; Weel, C. van

2002-01-01

BACKGROUND: Despite generally accepted advice to keep treatment short, benzodiazepines are often prescibed for more than six months. Prevention of long-term benzodiazepine use could be facilitated by the utilisation of risk indicators for long-term use. However, the characteristics of long-term

Phosphate Release Upon Long- and Short -Term Flooding of Fen Meadows Depends on Land Use History and Soil pH

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beltman, B.; Van Der Ven, P. J. M.; Verhoeven, J. T. A.; Sarneel, J. M.

2014-01-01

Flooding of acidified and desiccated fen meadows is a management approach for mitigating loss of plant species as well as a short-term measure to prevent flooding in urban areas. Studies have shown that flooding events can cause extreme P release from soils. We questioned whether the occurrence of

Chronically impaired autoregulation of cerebral blood flow in long-term diabetics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bentsen, N; Larsen, B; Lassen, N A

1975-01-01

Using the arteriovenous oxygen difference method autoregulation of cerebral blood flow (CBF) was tested in 16 long-term diabetics and eight control patients. Blood pressure was raised by angiotensin infusion and lowered by trimethaphan camsylate infusion, in some cases combined with head-up tilting...... of the patient. Regression analysis was carried out on the results in order to quantify autoregulatory capacity. In the control patients CBF did not vary with moderate blood pressure variations, indicating normal autoregulation. In four of the 16 diabetic patients CBF showed significant pressure dependency......, indicating impaired autoregulation. The cause of impaired autoregulation in some long-term diabetics is believed to be diffuse or multifocal dysfunction of cerebral arterioles due to diabetic vascular disease. Other conditions with impaired autoregulation are discussed and compared with that seen in long...

Scientific Understanding from Long Term Observations: Insights from the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program

Science.gov (United States)

Gosz, J.

2001-12-01

The network dedicated to Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) in the United States has grown to 24 sites since it was formed in 1980. Long-term research and monitoring are performed on parameters thatare basic to all ecosystems and are required to understand patterns, processes, and relationship to change. Collectively, the sites in the LTER Network provide opportunities to contrast marine, coastal, and continental regions, the full range of climatic gradients existing in North America, and aquatic and terrestrial habitats in a range of ecosystem types. The combination of common core areas and long-term research and monitoring in many habitats have allowed unprecedented abilities to understand and compare complex temporal and spatial dynamics associated with issues like climate change, effects of pollution, biodiversity and landuse. For example, McMurdo Dry Valley in the Antarctic has demonstrated an increase in glacier mass since 1993 which coincides with a period of cooler than normal summers and more than average snowfall. In contrast, the Bonanza Creek and Toolik Lake sites in Alaska have recorded a warming period unprecedented in the past 200 years. Nitrogen deposition effects have been identified through long-term watershed studies on biogeochemical cycles, especially at Coweeta Hydrological Lab, Harvard Forest, and the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. In aquatic systems, such as the Northern Temperate Lakes site, long-term data revealed time lags in effects of invaders and disturbance on lake communities. Biological recovery from an effect such as lake acidification was shown to lag behind chemical recovery. The long-term changes documented over 2 decades have been instrumental in influencing management practices in many of the LTER areas. In Puerto Rico, the Luquillo LTER demonstrated that dams obstruct migrations of fish and freshwater shrimp and water abstraction at low flows can completely obliterate downstream migration of juveniles and damage

Long-term mortality and causes of death associated with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gotland, N; Uhre, M L; Mejer, N

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Data describing long-term mortality in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB) is scarce. This study investigated risk factors, causes of death and temporal trends in long-term mortality associated with SAB. METHODS: Nationwide population-based matched cohort study...... respiratory disease, nervous system disease, unknown causes, psychiatric disorders, cardiovascular disease and senility. Over time, rates of death decreased or were stable for all disease categories except for musculoskeletal and skin disease where a trend towards an increase was seen. CONCLUSION: Long......-term mortality after SAB was high but decreased over time. SAB cases were more likely to die of eight specific causes of death and less likely to die of five other causes of death compared to controls. Causes of death decreased for most disease categories. Risk factors associated with long-term mortality were...

Long-term stabilization of uranium mill tailings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voorhees, L.D.; Sale, M.J.; Webb, J.W.; Mulholland, P.J.

1984-01-01

The primary hazard associated with uranium mill tailings is exposure to a radioactive gas, radon-222, the concentration of which has been correlated with the occurrence of lung cancer. Previous studies on radon attenuation conclude that the placement of earthen cover materials over the tailings is the most effective technique for reducing radioactive emissions and dispersal of tailings. The success of such a plan, however, is dependent on ensuring the long-term integrity of these cover materials. Soil erosion from water and wind is the major natural cause of destabilizing earthen cover materials. Field data related to the control of soil loss are limited and only indirectly apply to the problem of isolation of uranium mill tailings over very long time periods (up to 80,000 a). However, sufficient information is available to determine benefits that will result from changes in specific design variables and to evaluate the need for different design strategies among potential disposal sites. The three major options available for stabilization of uranium mill tailings are (1) rock cover, (2) soil and revegetation, or (3) a combination of both on different portions of the tailings cover. The optimal choice among these alternatives depends on site-specific characteristics such as climate and local geomorphology and soils, and on design variables such as embankment heights and slopes, modification of upstream drainage, and revegetation practices. Generally, geomorphic evidence suggests that use of soil and vegetation alone will not be adequate to reduce erosion on slopes greater than about 5 to 9%. For these steeper slopes, the use of rock talus or riprap will be necessary to maximize the probability of long-term stability. The use of vegetation to control erosion on the flatter portions of the site may be practicable in regions of the USA with sufficient rainfall and suitable soil types, but revegetation practices must be carefully evaluated to ensure that long-term

Two phenotypes of arthropathy in long-term controlled acromegaly? A comparison between patients with and without joint space narrowing (JSN)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Claessen, K. M. J. A.; Kloppenburg, M.; Kroon, H. M.; Romijn, J. A.; Pereira, A. M.; Biermasz, N. R.

2013-01-01

Arthropathy is an invalidating complication of acromegaly, also in long-term controlled patients, and is radiographically characterized by osteophytes and preserved joint spaces. However, joint space narrowing (JSN) is observed in the minority of patients. It is unknown whether JSN is the end-stage

Very long-term sequelae of craniopharyngioma.

Science.gov (United States)

Wijnen, Mark; van den Heuvel-Eibrink, Marry M; Janssen, Joseph A M J L; Catsman-Berrevoets, Coriene E; Michiels, Erna M C; van Veelen-Vincent, Marie-Lise C; Dallenga, Alof H G; van den Berge, J Herbert; van Rij, Carolien M; van der Lely, Aart-Jan; Neggers, Sebastian J C M M

2017-06-01

Studies investigating long-term health conditions in patients with craniopharyngioma are limited by short follow-up durations and generally do not compare long-term health effects according to initial craniopharyngioma treatment approach. In addition, studies comparing long-term health conditions between patients with childhood- and adult-onset craniopharyngioma report conflicting results. The objective of this study was to analyse a full spectrum of long-term health effects in patients with craniopharyngioma according to initial treatment approach and age group at craniopharyngioma presentation. Cross-sectional study based on retrospective data. We studied a single-centre cohort of 128 patients with craniopharyngioma treated from 1980 onwards (63 patients with childhood-onset disease). Median follow-up since craniopharyngioma presentation was 13 years (interquartile range: 5-23 years). Initial craniopharyngioma treatment approaches included gross total resection ( n  = 25), subtotal resection without radiotherapy ( n  = 44), subtotal resection with radiotherapy ( n  = 25), cyst aspiration without radiotherapy ( n  = 8), and 90 Yttrium brachytherapy ( n  = 21). Pituitary hormone deficiencies (98%), visual disturbances (75%) and obesity (56%) were the most common long-term health conditions observed. Different initial craniopharyngioma treatment approaches resulted in similar long-term health effects. Patients with childhood-onset craniopharyngioma experienced significantly more growth hormone deficiency, diabetes insipidus, panhypopituitarism, morbid obesity, epilepsy and psychiatric conditions compared with patients with adult-onset disease. Recurrence-/progression-free survival was significantly lower after initial craniopharyngioma treatment with cyst aspiration compared with other therapeutic approaches. Survival was similar between patients with childhood- and adult-onset craniopharyngioma. Long-term health conditions were comparable after

Risk of unsafe abortion associated with long-term contraception behaviour: a case control study from Sri Lanka.

Science.gov (United States)

Arambepola, Carukshi; Rajapaksa, Lalini C

2017-06-29

When faced with an unintended pregnancy, some women choose to undergo an unsafe abortion, while others do not. This choice may depend on long-term contraception that shapes the fertility goals of women, along with many other risk factors. We assessed the risk for unsafe abortion associated with contraceptive practices based on women's long-term behaviour, and its likely modification by the use of different types of contraceptives among women in Sri Lanka. An unmatched case-control study was conducted in nine hospitals among 171 women admitted for care following an unsafe abortion (Cases) and 600 women admitted to same hospitals for delivery of an unintended term pregnancy (Controls). Interviewer-administered-questionnaires assessed their socio-economic, reproductive and fertility (decisions on family size, family completion) characteristics, contraceptive method last used (traditional, modern), reasons for discontinuation/never-use, and contraceptive practices assessed at different time points. Using several regression models, the risk of abortion was assessed for 'non-use' of contraception against 'ineffective use' at conception; for non-use further categorised as 'never-use', 'early-discontinuation' (discontinued before last birth interval) and 'late-discontinuation' (discontinued during last birth interval); and for any interaction between the contraceptive practice and contraceptive method last used among the ever-users of contraception. At conception, 'non-use' of contraception imparted a two-fold risk for abortion against ineffective use (adjusted-OR = 2.0; 95% CI: 1.2-3.2). The abortion risk on 'non-use' varied further according to 'early' (adjusted-OR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.1-3.1) and 'late' (adjusted-OR = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.5-3.6) discontinuation of contraception, but not with 'never-use' (crude-OR = 1.1; 95% CI: 0.6-2.3). Among the ever-users, the risk of abortion varied within each contraceptive practice by their last used contraceptive method and

Morphometric analysis of long-term dentoskeletal effects induced by treatment with Balters bionator.

Science.gov (United States)

Bigliazzi, Renato; Franchi, Lorenzo; Bertoz, André Pinheiro de Magalhães; McNamara, James A; Faltin, Kurt; Bertoz, Francisco Antonio

2015-09-01

To evaluate the long-term effects of the standard (Class II) Balters bionator in growing patients with Class II malocclusion with mandibular retrusion by using morphometrics (thin-plate spline [TPS] analysis). Twenty-three Class II patients (8 male, 15 female) were treated consecutively with the Balters bionator (bionator group). The sample was evaluated at T0, start of treatment; T1, end of bionator therapy; and T2, long-term observation (including fixed appliances). Mean age at the start of treatment was 10 years 2 months (T0); at posttreatment, 12 years 3 months (T1); and at long-term follow-up, 18 years 2 months (T2). The control group consisted of 22 subjects (11 male, 11 female) with untreated Class II malocclusion. Lateral cephalograms were analyzed at the three time points for all groups. TPS analysis evaluated statistical differences (permutation tests) in the craniofacial shape and size between the bionator and control groups. TPS analysis showed that treatment with the bionator is able to produce favorable mandibular shape changes (forward and downward displacement) that contribute significantly to the correction of the Class II dentoskeletal imbalance. These results are maintained at a long-term observation after completion of growth. The control group showed no statistically significant differences in the correction of Class II malocclusion. This study suggests that bionator treatment of Class II malocclusion produces favorable results over the long term with a combination of skeletal and dentoalveolar shape changes.

Long-term prisoner in prison isolation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Karolina Grudzińska

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Long-term prisoner belongs to a particular category of people who are imprisoned in prisons. On the one hand in this group are often heavily demoralized people who committed the most serious crimes, on the other hand it is a group of prisoners, who should be well thought out and programmed the impact of rehabilitation. The situation of man trapped for years poses in a complicated situation not only the prisoners, but also the entire prison staff. They have to take care of the fact that the prison isolation did not cause the state in which convicts form itself in learned helplessness and lack of skills for self-planning and decision-making. In addition, planning the rehabilitation impact of long-term prisoners should not be forgotten that these prisoners in the short or the long term will return to the libertarian environment therefore, should prevent any negative effects of long-term imprisonment. This article presents the main issues related to the execution of imprisonment against long-term prisoners. It is an attempt to systematize the knowledge of this category of people living in prison isolation.

Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Gnome-Coach, New Mexico, Site

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kreie, Ken [USDOE Office of Legacy Management, Grand Junction, CO (United States); Findlay, Rick [Navarro Research and Engineering, Inc., Grand Junction, CO (United States)

2016-06-08

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM) prepared this Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan (LTSMP) for the Gnome-Coach, New Mexico, Site (the Gnome site). The Gnome site is approximately 25 miles east of Carlsbad in Eddy County, New Mexico (Figure 1). The site was the location of a 3-kiloton-yield underground nuclear test and radioisotope groundwater tracer test. The tests resulted in residual contamination and post-detonation features that require long-term oversight. Long-term responsibility for the site was transferred from the DOE National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Site Office to LM on October 1, 2006. Responsibilities include surveillance, monitoring, and maintenance of institutional controls (ICs) as part of the long-term stewardship of the site. Long-term stewardship is designed to ensure protection of human health and the environment.

Dissolution rates of DWPF glasses from long-term PCT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebert, W.L.; Tam, S.W.

1996-01-01

We have characterized the corrosion behavior of several Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) reference waste glasses by conducting static dissolution tests with crushed glasses. Glass dissolution rates were calculated from measured B concentrations in tests conducted for up to five years. The dissolution rates of all glasses increased significantly after certain alteration phases precipitated. Calculation of the dissolution rates was complicated by the decrease in the available surface area as the glass dissolves. We took the loss of surface area into account by modeling the particles to be spheres, then extracting from the short-term test results the dissolution rate corresponding to a linear decrease in the radius of spherical particles. The measured extent of dissolution in tests conducted for longer times was less than predicted with this linear dissolution model. This indicates that advanced stages of corrosion are affected by another process besides dissolution, which we believe to be associated with a decrease in the precipitation rate of the alteration phases. These results show that the dissolution rate measured soon after the formation of certain alteration phases provides an upper limit for the long-term dissolution rate, and can be used to determine a bounding value for the source term for radionuclide release from waste glasses. The long-term dissolution rates measured in tests at 20,000 per m at 90 degrees C in tuff groundwater at pH values near 12 for the Environmental Assessment glass and glasses made with SRL 131 and SRL 202 frits, respectively

Health care utilisation among individuals reporting long-term pain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Jørgen; Sjøgren, Per; Ekholm, Ola

2004-01-01

Individuals reporting long-term pain in the 1994 and 2000 Danish Health and Morbidity Surveys, which included random samples of 6000 and 16,684 persons respectively, were investigated concerning their use of the health care systems. A considerably higher use was observed in the pain population...... in the primary as well as the secondary health care sector, compared with a no pain control group. In 1994, individuals reporting long-term pain had on average 12.8 contacts per year to the primary health care sector compared with 7.3 for the control group. Use of secondary health care sector as estimated...... by hospital admission frequency and number of in-hospital days was not only significantly higher for the pain group but showed also an increasing tendency during the periods investigated (1991-1997). Women used the health care system significantly more than men, whereas age did not seem to influence...

MELCOR simulation of long-term station blackout at Peach Bottom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madni, I.K.

1990-01-01

This paper presents the results from MELCOR (Version 1.8BC) calculations of the Long-Term Station Blackout Accident Sequence, with failure to depressurize the reactor vessel, at the Peach Bottom (BWR Mark I) plant, and presents comparisons with Source Term Code Package (STCP) calculations of the same sequence. This sequence assumes that batteries are available for six hours following loss of all power to the plant. Following battery failure, the reactor coolant system (RCS) inventory is boiled off through the relief valves by continued decay heat generation. This leads to core uncovery, heatup, clad oxidation, core degradation, relocation, and, eventually, vessel failure at high pressure. STCP has calculated the transient out to 13.5 hours after core uncovery. The results include the timing of key events, pressure and temperature response in the reactor vessel and containment, hydrogen production, and the release of source terms to the environment. 12 refs., 23 figs., 3 tabs

Effect of whey protein supplementation on long and short term appetite: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Science.gov (United States)

Mollahosseini, Mehdi; Shab-Bidar, Sakineh; Rahimi, Mohammad Hossein; Djafarian, Kurosh

2017-08-01

Specific components of dairy, such as whey proteins may have beneficial effects on body composition by suppressing appetite, although the findings of existing studies have been inconsistent. Therefore, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials was performed to investigate effect of whey protein supplementation on long and short term appetite. A systematic search was conducted to identify eligible publications. Means and SDs for hunger, fullness, satiety, desire to eat and prospective consumption of food, before and after intervention, were extracted and then composite appetite score (CAS) calculated. To pool data, either a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model and for assessing heterogeneity, Cochran's Q and I 2 tests were used. Eight publications met inclusion criteria that 5 records were on short term and 3 records on long term appetite. The meta-analysis showed a significant reduction in long term appetite by 4.13 mm in combined appetite score (CAS) (95% Confidence interval (CI): -6.57, -1.96; p = 0.001). No significant reduction in short term appetite was also seen (Mean difference (MD) = -0.39 95% CI = -2.07, 1.30; p = 0.653). Subgroup analyses by time showed that compared with carbohydrate, the reduction in appetite following consumption of whey consumption was not significant (MD = -0.39, 95% CI = -2.07, 1.3, p = 0.65, I 2  = 0.0%.)A significant reduction in prospective food consumption was seen (MD = -2.17, 95% CI = -3.86, -0.48). The results of our meta-analysis showed that whey protein may reduce the long and short term appetite, but our finding did not show any significant difference in appetite reduction between whey protein and carbohydrate in short duration. Copyright © 2017 European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How controlled release technology can aid gene delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Jo, Jun-Ichiro; Tabata, Yasuhiko

2015-01-01

Many types of gene delivery systems have been developed to enhance the level of gene expression. Controlled release technology is a feasible gene delivery system which enables genes to extend the expression duration by maintaining and releasing them at the injection site in a controlled manner. This technology can reduce the adverse effects by the bolus dose administration and avoid the repeated administration. Biodegradable biomaterials are useful as materials for the controlled release-based gene delivery technology and various biodegradable biomaterials have been developed. Controlled release-based gene delivery plays a critical role in a conventional gene therapy and genetic engineering. In the gene therapy, the therapeutic gene is released from biodegradable biomaterial matrices around the tissue to be treated. On the other hand, the intracellular controlled release of gene from the sub-micro-sized matrices is required for genetic engineering. Genetic engineering is feasible for cell transplantation as well as research of stem cells biology and medicine. DNA hydrogel containing a sequence of therapeutic gene and the exosome including the individual specific nucleic acids may become candidates for controlled release carriers. Technologies to deliver genes to cell aggregates will play an important role in the promotion of regenerative research and therapy.

A Long-Term Mathematical Model for Mining Industries

OpenAIRE

Achdou , Yves; Giraud , Pierre-Noel; Lasry , Jean-Michel; Lions , Pierre-Louis

2016-01-01

International audience; A parcimonious long term model is proposed for a mining industry. Knowing the dynamics of the global reserve, the strategy of each production unit consists of an optimal control problem with two controls, first the flux invested into prospection and the building of new extraction facilities, second the production rate. In turn, the dynamics of the global reserve depends on the individual strategies of the producers, so the models leads to an equilibrium, which is descr...

Long-term meteorologically independent trend analysis of ozone air quality at an urban site in the greater Houston area.

Science.gov (United States)

Botlaguduru, Venkata S V; Kommalapati, Raghava R; Huque, Ziaul

2018-04-19

The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) area of Texas has a history of ozone exceedances and is currently classified under moderate nonattainment status for the 2008 8-hr ozone standard of 75 ppb. The HGB area is characterized by intense solar radiation, high temperature, and humidity, which influence day-to-day variations in ozone concentrations. Long-term air quality trends independent of meteorological influence need to be constructed for ascertaining the effectiveness of air quality management in this area. The Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter technique used to separate different scales of motion in a time series, is applied in the current study for maximum daily 8-hr (MDA8) ozone concentrations at an urban site (EPA AQS Site ID: 48-201-0024, Aldine) in the HGB area. This site located within 10 miles of downtown Houston and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, was selected for developing long-term meteorologically independent MDA8 ozone trends for the years 1990-2016. Results from this study indicate a consistent decrease in meteorologically independent MDA8 ozone between 2000-2016. This pattern could be partially attributed to a reduction in underlying NO X emissions, particularly that of lowering nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels, and a decrease in the release of highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOC). Results also suggest solar radiation to be most strongly correlated to ozone, with temperature being the secondary meteorological control variable. Relative humidity and wind speed have tertiary influence at this site. This study observed that meteorological variability accounts for a high of 61% variability in baseline ozone (low-frequency component, sum of long-term and seasonal components), while 64% of the change in long-term MDA8 ozone post-2000 could be attributed to NO X emissions reduction. Long-term MDA8 ozone trend component was estimated to be decreasing at a linear rate of 0.412 ± 0.007 ppb/yr for the years 2000-2016, and 0.155�

Long-Term Assessment of Critical Radionuclides and Associated Environmental Media at the Savannah River Site - 13038

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jannik, G.T.; Baker, R.A.; Lee, P.L. [Savannah River National Laboratory, Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States); Eddy, T.P.; Blount, G.C. [Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Savannah River Site, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States); Whitney, G.R. [US Department of Energy, Savannah River Operations, Aiken, SC 29808 (United States)

2013-07-01

During the operational history of the Savannah River Site (SRS), many different radionuclides have been released from site facilities. However, only a relatively small number of the released radionuclides have been significant contributors to doses and risks to the public. At SRS dose and risk assessments indicate tritium oxide in air and surface water, and Cs-137 in fish and deer have been, and continue to be, the critical radionuclides and pathways. In this assessment, statistical analyses of the long-term trends of tritium oxide in atmospheric and surface water releases and Cs-137 concentrations in fish and deer are provided. Correlations also are provided with 1) operational changes and improvements, 2) geopolitical events (Cold War cessation), and 3) recent environmental remediation projects and decommissioning of excess facilities. For example, environmental remediation of the F- and H-Area Seepage Basins and the Solid Waste Disposal Facility have resulted in a measurable impact on the tritium oxide flux to the onsite Fourmile Branch stream. Airborne releases of tritium oxide have been greatly affected by operational improvements and the end of the Cold War in 1991. However, the effects of SRS environmental remediation activities and ongoing tritium operations on tritium concentrations in the environment are measurable and documented in this assessment. Controlled hunts of deer and feral hogs are conducted at SRS for approximately six weeks each year. Before any harvested animal is released to a hunter, SRS personnel perform a field analysis for Cs-137 concentrations to ensure the Hunter's dose does not exceed the SRS administrative game limit of 0.22 milli-sievert (22 mrem). However, most of the Cs-137 found in SRS onsite deer is not from site operations but is from nuclear weapons testing fallout from the 1950's and early 1960's. This legacy source term is trended in the SRS deer, and an assessment of the 'effective' half-life of Cs

A Literature Review on the Experience of Long-Term Mental Illness.

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Elizabeth; Grant, Maria J

2018-06-01

To illuminate long-term experiences of mental illness from both research and autobiographical accounts. A literature review of English-language papers, 1950-2014, relating to the experience of long-term mental illness indexed in AgeInfo, AMED, ASSIA, British Nursing Index (BNI), CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycEXTRA, and PsychINFO. Twenty-five research papers and nine autobiographic accounts met the review criteria. Thematic analysis revealed nine themes: fear, explanation seeking, stigma, disability, coping strategies, control, support, change and learning, and life history. Specific gaps of note relate to age differences, acknowledgement of longevity of mental illnesses, and different cultural perspectives. Research Implications: There is an absence of longitudinal studies focused on experiences of long-term mental illness. The considerable length-of-time implicated in the experiences suggests that more individual life experience rather than illness focused studies are needed, enabling a holistic understanding. This includes studies from cultures other than the Western world. Greater transparency is needed in justifying age inclusions or passive exclusion of older peoples' perspectives. Knowledge of long-term mental illness experiences is of great importance to mental health practitioners. Evidence-based services cannot be provided if we do not have an holistic understanding of long-term mental illness. Social Implications: This review questions our ability to provide effective support for those experiencing long-term mental illness, in particular older people and different cultural perspectives. There appear to be no literature reviews that focus on the individual experience of long-term mental illness. It highlights the surprisingly small number of research studies available to inform mental health practitioners.

Long-term litter decomposition controlled by manganese redox cycling.

Science.gov (United States)

Keiluweit, Marco; Nico, Peter; Harmon, Mark E; Mao, Jingdong; Pett-Ridge, Jennifer; Kleber, Markus

2015-09-22

Litter decomposition is a keystone ecosystem process impacting nutrient cycling and productivity, soil properties, and the terrestrial carbon (C) balance, but the factors regulating decomposition rate are still poorly understood. Traditional models assume that the rate is controlled by litter quality, relying on parameters such as lignin content as predictors. However, a strong correlation has been observed between the manganese (Mn) content of litter and decomposition rates across a variety of forest ecosystems. Here, we show that long-term litter decomposition in forest ecosystems is tightly coupled to Mn redox cycling. Over 7 years of litter decomposition, microbial transformation of litter was paralleled by variations in Mn oxidation state and concentration. A detailed chemical imaging analysis of the litter revealed that fungi recruit and redistribute unreactive Mn(2+) provided by fresh plant litter to produce oxidative Mn(3+) species at sites of active decay, with Mn eventually accumulating as insoluble Mn(3+/4+) oxides. Formation of reactive Mn(3+) species coincided with the generation of aromatic oxidation products, providing direct proof of the previously posited role of Mn(3+)-based oxidizers in the breakdown of litter. Our results suggest that the litter-decomposing machinery at our coniferous forest site depends on the ability of plants and microbes to supply, accumulate, and regenerate short-lived Mn(3+) species in the litter layer. This observation indicates that biogeochemical constraints on bioavailability, mobility, and reactivity of Mn in the plant-soil system may have a profound impact on litter decomposition rates.

Long-term complications of splenectomy in adult immune thrombocytopenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Thai, Lan-Huong; Mahévas, Matthieu; Roudot-Thoraval, Françoise; Limal, Nicolas; Languille, Laetitia; Dumas, Guillaume; Khellaf, Mehdi; Bierling, Philippe; Michel, Marc; Godeau, Bertrand

2016-11-01

The recent large decrease in splenectomy use for chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is partly due to still-unsolved questions about long-term safety. We performed the first single-center exposed/unexposed cohort study evaluating the long-term incidence of splenectomy complications in patients with primary ITP. Overall, 83 patients who underwent splenectomy more than 10 years ago (exposed) were matched with 83 nonsplenectomized patients (unexposed) on the date of ITP diagnosis ±5 years, age and gender. After a median follow-up of 192 months (range 0.5-528), 43 patients (52%) achieved overall response after splenectomy. Splenectomized patients experienced more venous thromboembolism (VTE) than controls (n = 13 vs n = 2, P = 0.005). On multivariate analysis, splenectomy was an independent risk factor of VTE (hazard ratio = 4.006, P = 0.032 [95% confidence interval: 1.13-14.21]). Splenectomized patients presented more severe infections on long-term follow-up: all required hospitalization, and 5/26 (19%) infections led to severe sepsis or septic shock and to death for 3 cases (none in controls). However, the incidence of malignancy was similar in both groups, as was cardiovascular risk, which appeared to be related more to ITP than splenectomy. Finally, splenectomy did not significantly decrease overall survival. Despite the risk of thrombosis and severe sepsis, splenectomy remains an effective and curative treatment for ITP.

On the sequence of core-melt accidents: Fission product release, source terms and Chernobyl release

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albrecht, H

1986-01-01

There is a sketch of our ideas on the course of a core melt-out accident in a PWR. There is then a survey of the most important results on fission product release, which were obtained by experiments on the SASCHA melt-out plant. The 3rd part considers questions which are important for determining source terms for the environment and the last part contains some considerations on radioactivity release from the Chernobyl reactor.

Models of Disease Vector Control: When Can Aggressive Initial Intervention Lower Long-Term Cost?

Science.gov (United States)

Oduro, Bismark; Grijalva, Mario J; Just, Winfried

2018-04-01

Insecticide spraying of housing units is an important control measure for vector-borne infections such as Chagas disease. As vectors may invade both from other infested houses and sylvatic areas and as the effectiveness of insecticide wears off over time, the dynamics of (re)infestations can be approximated by [Formula: see text]-type models with a reservoir, where housing units are treated as hosts, and insecticide spraying corresponds to removal of hosts. Here, we investigate three ODE-based models of this type. We describe a dual-rate effect where an initially very high spraying rate can push the system into a region of the state space with low endemic levels of infestation that can be maintained in the long run at relatively moderate cost, while in the absence of an aggressive initial intervention the same average cost would only allow a much less significant reduction in long-term infestation levels. We determine some sufficient and some necessary conditions under which this effect occurs and show that it is robust in models that incorporate some heterogeneity in the relevant properties of housing units.

The Effect of Zinc Supplementation of Lactating Rats on Short-Term and Long-Term Memory of Their Male Offspring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Karami

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Background: In this study the effect of zinc chloride (ZnCl2 administration on the short-term and long-term memory of rats were assessed. Methods: We enrolled six groups of adult female and control group of eight Wistar rats in each group. One group was control group with free access to food and water, and five groups drunk zinc chloride in different doses (20, 30, 50, 70 and 100 mg/kg/day in drinking water for two weeks during lactation .One month after birth, a shuttle box used to short- term and long-term memory and the latency in entering the dark chamber as well. Results: This experiment showed that maternal 70 mg/kg dietary zinc during lactation influenced the working memory of rats’ offspring in all groups. Rats received 100 mg/kg/day zinc during lactation so they had significant impairment in working memory (short-term of their offspring (P<0.05. There was no significant difference in reference (long-term memory of all groups. Conclusion: Drug consumption below70 mg/kg/day zinc chloride during lactation had no effect. While enhanced 100 mg/ kg/ day zinc in lactating rats could cause short-term memory impairment.

Book Reviews The Physiology of Reproduction Long-term Studies in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

classes of ecological phenomena for which long-term stu- dies are .... influenced by processes, interactions and man's activities ... Moving up the evolutionary ladder, George Hughes, .... mary pollinators of most plants, controllers of plant com-.

Temporal information processing in short- and long-term memory of patients with schizophrenia.

Science.gov (United States)

Landgraf, Steffen; Steingen, Joerg; Eppert, Yvonne; Niedermeyer, Ulrich; van der Meer, Elke; Krueger, Frank

2011-01-01

Cognitive deficits of patients with schizophrenia have been largely recognized as core symptoms of the disorder. One neglected factor that contributes to these deficits is the comprehension of time. In the present study, we assessed temporal information processing and manipulation from short- and long-term memory in 34 patients with chronic schizophrenia and 34 matched healthy controls. On the short-term memory temporal-order reconstruction task, an incidental or intentional learning strategy was deployed. Patients showed worse overall performance than healthy controls. The intentional learning strategy led to dissociable performance improvement in both groups. Whereas healthy controls improved on a performance measure (serial organization), patients improved on an error measure (inappropriate semantic clustering) when using the intentional instead of the incidental learning strategy. On the long-term memory script-generation task, routine and non-routine events of everyday activities (e.g., buying groceries) had to be generated in either chronological or inverted temporal order. Patients were slower than controls at generating events in the chronological routine condition only. They also committed more sequencing and boundary errors in the inverted conditions. The number of irrelevant events was higher in patients in the chronological, non-routine condition. These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia imprecisely access temporal information from short- and long-term memory. In short-term memory, processing of temporal information led to a reduction in errors rather than, as was the case in healthy controls, to an improvement in temporal-order recall. When accessing temporal information from long-term memory, patients were slower and committed more sequencing, boundary, and intrusion errors. Together, these results suggest that time information can be accessed and processed only imprecisely by patients who provide evidence for impaired time comprehension

Visual long-term memory for spatial frequency?

Science.gov (United States)

Lages, Martin; Paul, Aileen

2006-06-01

It has been suggested that a visual long-term memory based on a sensory representation of the stimulus accounts for discrimination performance when the reference and the test stimuli are separated in time. Decision processes involved in setting response criteria, however, may also contribute to discrimination performance. In the present study, it is shown that under proper control, spatial frequency discrimination thresholds from a group of observers, each performing on a single trial, are significantly higher for a 2-h than for a 5-sec retention interval, whereas thresholds from individual observers performing in repeated trials with a 2-h retention interval are considerably lower. The results suggest that discrimination performance may depend on the retention of task-relevant information, such as a response criterion, rather than on visual memory of the stimulus. It is concluded that it is risky to postulate a high-fidelity long-term visual memory for spatial frequency on the basis of psychophysical group discrimination thresholds.

A controlled investigation of continuing pain education for long-term care staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Ghandehari, Omeed O; Hadjistavropoulos, Thomas; Williams, Jaime; Thorpe, Lilian; Alfano, Dennis P; Dal Bello-Haas, Vanina; Malloy, David C; Martin, Ronald R; Rahaman, Omar; Zwakhalen, Sandra M G; Carleton, R N; Hunter, Paulette V; Lix, Lisa M

2013-01-01

The underassessment and undertreatment of pain in residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities has been well documented. Gaps in staff knowledge and inaccurate beliefs have been identified as contributors. To investigate the effectiveness of an expert-based continuing education program in pain assessment⁄management for LTC staff. Participants included 131 LTC staff members who were randomly assigned to either an interactive pain education (PE) program, which addressed gaps in knowledge such as medication management, or an interactive control program consisting of general dementia education without a specific clinical focus. Participants attended three sessions, each lasting 3 h, and completed measures of pain-related knowledge and attitudes⁄beliefs before, immediately after and two weeks following the program. Focus groups were conducted with a subset of participants to gauge perception of the training program and barriers to implementing pain-related strategies. Analysis using ANOVA revealed that PE participants demonstrated larger gains compared with control participants with regard to pain knowledge and pain beliefs. Barriers to implementing pain-related strategies certainly exist. Nonetheless, qualitative analyses demonstrated that PE participants reported that they overcame many of these barriers and used pain management strategies four times more frequently than control participants. Contrary to previous research, the present study found that the interactive PE program was effective in changing pain beliefs and improving knowledge. Continuing PE in LTC has the potential to address knowledge gaps among front-line LTC providers.

Long-term contracts vs. short-term trade of natural gas - a European perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neuhoff, Karsten; Hirschhausen, Christian von

2005-01-01

This paper analyses the economics of long-term gas contracts under changing institutional conditions, mainly gas sector liberalisation. The paper is motivated by the increasingly tense debate in continental Europe, UK and the US on the security of long-term gas supply. We discuss the main issues regarding long-term contracts, i.e. the changing role of the flexibility clause, the effect of abandoning the destination clause, and the strategic behaviour of producers between long-term sales and spot-sales. The literature suggests consumers and producers benefit from risk hedging through long-term contracts. Furthermore long-term contracts may reduce exercise of market power. Our analysis adds an additional benefit if the long-run demand elasticity is significantly lower than the short-run elasticity, both strategic producers and consumers benefit from lower prices and larger market volume. Some policy implications of the findings are also discussed. (Author)

The uranium industry: long-term planning for short-term competition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vottero, X.; Georges Capus, G.

2001-01-01

Long term planning for short term competition Today, uranium producers face new challenges in terms of both production (new regulatory, environmental and social constraints) and market conditions (new sources of uranium supply, very low prices and tough competition). In such a context, long-term planning is not just a prerequisite to survive in the nuclear fuel cycle industry. In fact, it also contributes to sustaining nuclear electricity generation facing fierce competition from other energy sources in increasingly deregulated markets. Firstly, the risk of investing in new mining projects in western countries is growing because, on the one hand, of very erratic market conditions and, on the other hand, of increasingly lengthy, complex and unpredictable regulatory conditions. Secondly, the supply of other sources of uranium (uranium derived from nuclear weapons, uranium produced in CIS countries, ...) involve other risks, mainly related to politics and commercial restrictions. Consequently, competitive uranium supply requires not only technical competence but also financial strength and good marketing capabilities in order to anticipate long-term market trends, in terms of both demand and supply. It also requires taking into account new parameters such as politics, environment, regulations, etc. Today, a supplier dedicated to the sustainable production of nuclear electricity must manage a broad range of long-term risks inherent to the procurement of uranium. Taking into account all these parameters in a context of short-term, fast-changing market is a great challenge for the future generation. World Uranium Civilian Supply and Demand. (authors)

Metal ion-assisted self-assembly of complexes for controlled and sustained release of minocycline for biomedical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Zhiling; Wang, Zhicheng; Nong, Jia; Nix, Camilla A; Zhong, Yinghui; Ji, Hai-Feng

2015-01-01

This study reports the development of novel drug delivery complexes self-assembled by divalent metal ion-assisted coacervation for controlled and sustained release of a hydrophilic small drug molecule minocycline hydrochloride (MH). MH is a multifaceted agent that has demonstrated therapeutic effects in infection, inflammation, tumor, as well as cardiovascular, renal, and neurological disorders due to its anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, and cytoprotective properties. However, the inability to translate the high doses used in experimental animals to tolerable doses in human patients limits its clinical application. Localized delivery can potentially expose the diseased tissue to high concentrations of MH that systemic delivery cannot achieve, while minimizing the side effects from systemic exposure. The strong metal ion binding-assisted interaction enabled high drug entrapment and loading efficiency, and stable long term release for more than 71 d. Released MH demonstrated potent anti-biofilm, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective activities. Furthermore, MH release from the complexes is pH-sensitive as the chelation between minocycline and metal ions decreases with pH, allowing ‘smart’ drug release in response to the severity of pathology-induced tissue acidosis. This novel metal ion binding-mediated drug delivery mechanism can potentially be applied to other drugs that have high binding affinity for metal ions and may lead to the development of new delivery systems for a variety of drugs. (paper)

Taking into account the long term dimension associated with radioactive waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schieber, C.; Schneider, T.; Lavelle, S.

2008-01-01

Radioactive waste introduces a new time dimension in the field of risk management. This is why, for more than 10 years, there have been reflections on the societal and organisational mechanisms allowing a responsible management over the long term of the risk associated with radioactive waste. These reflections lead one to ask questions regarding interactions between what is at stake for societal and radiation protection criteria, demanding a multidisciplinary approach to the problem. Within the framework of the European project C.O.W.A.M. 2, dedicated to the improvement of governance of radioactive waste management in Europe, a working group involving experts, authorities, waste managers, locally elected representatives and N.G.O.s, discussed the stakes associated with the long term dimension. This article presents the main results of this working group, organised around four themes: meaning of the long term and what is at stake, the ethical dimension regarding long term issues, continuity and sustainability of the surveillance and control of radioactive waste facilities, effectiveness of financing schemes for the long term management of radioactive waste. (authors)

Long-term biodosimetry Redux

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simon, Steven L.; Bouville, Andre

2016-01-01

This paper revisits and reiterates the needs, purposes and requirements of bio-dosimetric assays for long-term dose and health risk assessments. While the most crucial need for bio-dosimetric assays is to guide medical response for radiation accidents, the value of such techniques for improving our understanding of radiation health risk by supporting epidemiological (long-term health risk) studies is significant. As new cohorts of exposed persons are identified and new health risk studies are undertaken with the hopes that studying the exposed will result in a deeper understanding of radiation risk, the value of reliable dose reconstruction is underscored. The ultimate application of biodosimetry in long-term health risk studies would be to completely replace model-based dose reconstruction-a complex suite of methods for retrospectively estimating dose that is commonly fraught with large uncertainties due to the absence of important exposure-related information, as well as imperfect models. While biodosimetry could potentially supplant model-based doses, there are numerous limitations of presently available techniques that constrain their widespread application in health risk research, including limited ability to assess doses received far in the past, high cost, great inter-individual variability, invasiveness, higher than preferred detection limits and the inability to assess internal dose (for the most part). These limitations prevent the extensive application of biodosimetry to large cohorts and should be considered a challenge to researchers to develop new and more flexible techniques that meet the demands of long-term health risk research. Events in recent years, e.g. the Fukushima reactor accident and the increased threat of nuclear terrorism, underscore that any event that results in significant radiation exposures of a group of people will also produce a much larger population, exposed at lower levels, but that likewise needs (or demands) an exposure

Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction Among Long-Term Care Staff.

Science.gov (United States)

Doran, Kelly; Resnick, Barbara; Swanberg, Jennifer

2017-11-01

We assessed the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and organizational factors that predicted job satisfaction among long-term care employees. Baseline data were used to describe characteristics that influence job satisfaction. Using a forced linear regression model, while controlling for age and job title, we assessed if higher physical activity levels, fewer symptoms of depression, stress, and/or anxiety (ie, decreased mood), less back pain, stronger social support, and reports of low work demands were associated with higher job satisfaction. Mood (β = -0.412, P = 0.003) explained 17% of the variance in job satisfaction. This information can be used to guide facility wide programs and interventions aimed at increasing job satisfaction among all long-term care staff.

Effect of long-term isometric training on core/torso stiffness.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Benjamin C Y; McGill, Stuart M

2015-06-01

Although core stiffness enhances athletic performance traits, controversy exists regarding the effectiveness of isometric vs. dynamic core training methods. This study aimed to determine whether long-term changes in stiffness can be trained, and if so, what is the most effective method. Twenty-four healthy male subjects (23 ± 3 years; 1.8 ± 0.06 m; 77.5 ± 10.8 kg) were recruited for passive and active stiffness measurements before and after a 6-week core training intervention. Twelve subjects (22 ± 2 years; 1.8 ± 0.08 m; 78.3 ± 12.3 kg) were considered naive to physical and core exercise. The other 12 subjects (24 ± 3 years; 1.8 ± 0.05 m; 76.8 ± 9.7 kg) were Muay Thai athletes (savvy). A repeated-measures design compared core training methods (isometric vs. dynamic, with a control group) and subject training experience (naive vs. savvy) before and after a 6-week training period. Passive stiffness was assessed on a "frictionless" bending apparatus and active stiffness assessed through a quick release mechanism. Passive stiffness increased after the isometric training protocol. Dynamic training produced a smaller effect, and as expected, there was no change in the control group. Active stiffness did not change in any group. Comparisons between subject and training groups did not reveal any interactions. Thus, an isometric training approach was superior in terms of enhancing core stiffness. This is important since increased core stiffness enhances load bearing ability, arrests painful vertebral micromovements, and enhances ballistic distal limb movement. This may explain the efficacy reported for back and knee injury reduction.

Long term radioactive waste management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lavie, J.M.

1984-01-01

In France, waste management, a sensitive issue in term of public opinion, is developing quickly, and due to twenty years of experience, is now reaching maturity. With the launching of the French nuclear programme, the use of radioactive sources in radiotherapy and industry, waste management has become an industrial activity. Waste management is an integrated system dealing with the wastes from their production to the long term disposal, including their identification, sortage, treatment, packaging, collection and transport. This system aims at guaranteing the protection of present and future populations with an available technology. In regard to their long term management, and the design of disposals, radioactive wastes are divided in three categories. This classification takes into account the different radioisotopes contained, their half life and their total activity. Presently short-lived wastes are stored in the shallowland disposal of the ''Centre de la Manche''. Set up within the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), the National Agency for waste management (ANDRA) is responsible within the framework of legislative and regulatory provisions for long term waste management in France [fr

Modeling long-term dynamics of electricity markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olsina, Fernando; Garces, Francisco; Haubrich, H.-J.

2006-01-01

In the last decade, many countries have restructured their electricity industries by introducing competition in their power generation sectors. Although some restructuring has been regarded as successful, the short experience accumulated with liberalized power markets does not allow making any founded assertion about their long-term behavior. Long-term prices and long-term supply reliability are now center of interest. This concerns firms considering investments in generation capacity and regulatory authorities interested in assuring the long-term supply adequacy and the stability of power markets. In order to gain significant insight into the long-term behavior of liberalized power markets, in this paper, a simulation model based on system dynamics is proposed and the underlying mathematical formulations extensively discussed. Unlike classical market models based on the assumption that market outcomes replicate the results of a centrally made optimization, the approach presented here focuses on replicating the system structure of power markets and the logic of relationships among system components in order to derive its dynamical response. The simulations suggest that there might be serious problems to adjust early enough the generation capacity necessary to maintain stable reserve margins, and consequently, stable long-term price levels. Because of feedback loops embedded in the structure of power markets and the existence of some time lags, the long-term market development might exhibit a quite volatile behavior. By varying some exogenous inputs, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to assess the influence of these factors on the long-run market dynamics

Short-term memory and long-term memory are still different.

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Dennis

2017-09-01

A commonly expressed view is that short-term memory (STM) is nothing more than activated long-term memory. If true, this would overturn a central tenet of cognitive psychology-the idea that there are functionally and neurobiologically distinct short- and long-term stores. Here I present an updated case for a separation between short- and long-term stores, focusing on the computational demands placed on any STM system. STM must support memory for previously unencountered information, the storage of multiple tokens of the same type, and variable binding. None of these can be achieved simply by activating long-term memory. For example, even a simple sequence of digits such as "1, 3, 1" where there are 2 tokens of the digit "1" cannot be stored in the correct order simply by activating the representations of the digits "1" and "3" in LTM. I also review recent neuroimaging data that has been presented as evidence that STM is activated LTM and show that these data are exactly what one would expect to see based on a conventional 2-store view. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Long-term memory of heterospecific vocalizations by African lions

Science.gov (United States)

Grinnell, Jon; van Dyk, Gus; Slotow, Rob

2005-09-01

Animals that use and evaluate long-distance signals have the potential to glean valuable information about others in their environment via eavesdropping. In those areas where they coexist, African lions (Panthera leo) are a significant eavesdropper on spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), often using hyena vocalizations to locate and scavenge from hyena kills. This relationship was used to test African lions' long-term memory of the vocalizations of spotted hyenas via playback experiments. Hyena whoops and a control sound (Canis lupus howls) were played to three populations of lions in South Africa: (1) lions with past experience of spotted hyenas; (2) lions with current experience; and (3) lions with no experience. The results strongly suggest that lions have the cognitive ability to remember the vocalizations of spotted hyenas even after 10 years with no contact of any kind with them. Such long-term memory of heterospecific vocalizations may be widespread in species that gain fitness benefits from eavesdropping on others, but where such species are sympatric and often interact it may pass unrecognized as short-term memory instead.

Incidental biasing of attention from visual long-term memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, Judith E; Turk-Browne, Nicholas B

2016-06-01

Holding recently experienced information in mind can help us achieve our current goals. However, such immediate and direct forms of guidance from working memory are less helpful over extended delays or when other related information in long-term memory is useful for reaching these goals. Here we show that information that was encoded in the past but is no longer present or relevant to the task also guides attention. We examined this by associating multiple unique features with novel shapes in visual long-term memory (VLTM), and subsequently testing how memories for these objects biased the deployment of attention. In Experiment 1, VLTM for associated features guided visual search for the shapes, even when these features had never been task-relevant. In Experiment 2, associated features captured attention when presented in isolation during a secondary task that was completely unrelated to the shapes. These findings suggest that long-term memory enables a durable and automatic type of memory-based attentional control. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

LONG-TERM OUTCOME IN PEDIATRIC TRICHOTILLOMANIA.

Science.gov (United States)

Schumer, Maya C; Panza, Kaitlyn E; Mulqueen, Jilian M; Jakubovski, Ewgeni; Bloch, Michael H

2015-10-01

To examine long-term outcome in children with trichotillomania. We conducted follow-up clinical assessments an average of 2.8 ± 0.8 years after baseline evaluation in 30 of 39 children who previously participated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) for pediatric trichotillomania. Our primary outcome was change in hairpulling severity on the Massachusetts General Hospital Hairpulling Hospital Hairpulling Scale (MGH-HPS) between the end of the acute phase and follow-up evaluation. We also obtained secondary measures examining styles of hairpulling, comorbid anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as continued treatment utilization. We examined both correlates and predictors of outcome (change in MGH-HPS score) using linear regression. None of the participants continued to take NAC at the time of follow-up assessment. No significant changes in hairpulling severity were reported over the follow-up period. Subjects reported significantly increased anxiety and depressive symptoms but improvement in automatic pulling symptoms. Increased hairpulling symptoms during the follow-up period were associated with increased depression and anxiety symptoms and increased focused pulling. Older age and greater focused pulling at baseline assessment were associated with poor long-term prognosis. Our findings suggest that few children with trichotillomania experience a significant improvement in trichotillomania symptoms if behavioral treatments are inaccessible or have failed to produce adequate symptom relief. Our findings also confirm results of previous cross-sectional studies that suggest an increased risk of depression and anxiety symptoms with age in pediatric trichotillomania. Increased focused pulling and older age among children with trichotillomania symptoms may be associated with poorer long-term prognosis. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Long-term brine migration through an engineered shaft seal system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fryar, D.G.; Beach, J.A.; Kelley, V.A.; Knowles, M.K.

1997-01-01

The shaft seal system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) must provide a barrier to the migration of fluids within the shafts to prevent the release of contaminants to the accessible environment. To investigate the performance of the shaft seal system, a set of fluid flow performance models was developed based upon the physical characteristics of the WIPP shaft seal system and the surrounding geologic media. This paper describes the results of a numerical model used to investigate the long-term potential for brine migration through the shaft seal system. Modeling results demonstrate that the WIPP shaft seal system will effectively limit brine migration within the repository shafts

Long-Term Collections

CERN Multimedia

Comité des collectes à long terme

2011-01-01

It is the time of the year when our fireman colleagues go around the laboratory for their traditional calendars sale. A part of the money of the sales will be donated in favour of the long-term collections. We hope that you will welcome them warmly.

28 CFR 541.50 - Release from a control unit.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 28 Judicial Administration 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Release from a control unit. 541.50... INMATE DISCIPLINE AND SPECIAL HOUSING UNITS Control Unit Programs § 541.50 Release from a control unit. (a) Only the Executive Panel may release an inmate from a control unit. The following factors are...

[Long-Term Inhibition of FNA on Aerobic Phosphate Uptake and Variation of Phosphorus Uptake Properties of the Sludge].

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Juan; Li, Lu; Yu, Xiao-jun; Sun, Lei-jun; Sun, Hong-wei; Chen, Yong-zhi

2015-10-01

An alternating anaerobic/oxic ( An/O) sequencing batch reactor (SBR) was employed to investigate the long-term inhibitory effect of free nitrous acid (FNA) on aerobic phosphorus uptake performance and variation of phosphorus uptake properties of the sludge by adding nitrite. The reactor was started up under the condition of 21-23 degrees C. The results showed that FNA had no impact on phosphate release and uptake capacities of the sludge. However, the specific phosphate release/uptake rates was found to be higher. As FNA concentration (measure by HNO2-N) was lower than 0.53 x 10(-3) mg x L(-1), phosphorus removal efficiency of the system was higher than 96.9%. When the FNA concentration was increased to 0.99 x 10(-3) mg x L(-1), 1.46 x 10(-3) mg x L(-1) and 1.94 x 10(-3) mg x L(-1), the phosphorus removal performance deteriorated rapidly. The phosphorus removal efficiency was recovered to 64.42%, 67.33% and 44.14% after 50, 12 and 30 days, respectively, which implied the deterioration of phosphorus removal performance caused by FNA inhibition could be recovered and long-term acclimation could shorten the recovery process. Notably, increasing nitrite consumption appeared during aerobic phase with the concentration of FNA below 1.46 x 10(-3) mg x L(-1). It was also observed that the phosphorus uptake properties of the sludge varied after long-term inhibition. Nitrate and nitrite type anoxic phosphorus uptake capacity was increased by 3.35 and 3.86 times, respectively, suggesting long-term dosing FNA may facilitate the denitrifying of polyphosphate in organisms utilizing nitrite as electron acceptor. Moreover, long-term acclimation favored sludge settling.

Short-term and long-term memory in early temporal lobe dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Hershey, T; Craft, S; Glauser, T A; Hale, S

1998-01-01

Following medial temporal damage, mature humans are impaired in retaining new information over long delays but not short delays. The question of whether a similar dissociation occurs in children was addressed by testing children (ages 7-16) with unilateral temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and controls on short- and long-term memory tasks, including a spatial delayed response task (SDR). Early-onset TLE did not affect performance on short delays on SDR, but it did impair performance at the longest delay (60 s), similar to adults with unilateral medial temporal damage. In addition, early-onset TLE affected performance on pattern recall, spatial span, and verbal span with rehearsal interference. No differences were found on story recall or on a response inhibition task.

Long-term management of GERD in the elderly with pantoprazole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Calabrese

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Carlo Calabrese, Anna Fabbri, Giulio Di FeboDepartment of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, University of Bologna, ItalyAbstract: The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD increases with age and elderly are more likely to develop severe disease. Older patients often complain of less severe or frequent heartburn than younger patients and they may present with atypical symptoms such as dysphagia, weight loss, or extraesophageal symptoms. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs are central in the management of GERD and are unchallenged with regards to their efficacy. They are considered safe and more effective than histamine receptor antagonists for healing esophagitis and for preventing its recurrence using a long term maintenance treatment. PPI have minimal side effects and few slight drug interactions and are considered safe for long term treatment. Pantoprazole is significantly effective both for acute and long-term treatment with excellent control of relapse and symptoms. It is well tolerated even for long-term therapy and its tolerability is optimal. Pantoprazole shows to have minimal interactions with other drugs because of a lower affinity for cytocrome P450 than older PPIs. Although the majority of elderly has concomitant illnesses and receive other drugs, this does not adversely effect the efficacy of pantoprazole because of its pharmacokinetics, which are independent of patient age. Clinical practice suggests that a low dose maintenance of PPIs should be used in older patients with GERD.Keywords: GERD, long-term management, pantoprazole, safety, efficacy, tolerability

Short-term and long-term effects of transient exogenous cortisol manipulation on oxidative stress in juvenile brown trout

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Birnie-Gauvin, Kim; Peiman, Kathryn S.; Larsen, Martin Hage

2017-01-01

available for physiological functions like defence against oxidative stress. Using brown trout (Salmo trutta), we evaluated the short-term (2 weeks) and long-term (4 months over winter) effects of exogenous cortisol manipulations (versus relevant shams and controls) on the oxidative status of wild juveniles...

78 FR 17777 - Proposed Information Collection (Application for Furnishing Long-Term Care Service to...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-03-22

... (Application for Furnishing Long- Term Care Service to Beneficiaries of Veterans Affairs, and Residential Care.... Application for Furnishing Long-Term Care Services to Beneficiaries of Veterans Affairs, VA Form 10-1170. b. Residential Care Home Program--Sponsor Application, VA Form 2407. OMB Control Number: 2900-0616. Type of...

Pathophysiology of the GH/IGF-1 axis : long-term consequences on joints and bone

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Claessen, Kim Maria Johanna Aldegonda

2014-01-01

In this thesis, a number of observations are described in acromegaly patients with cured or biochemically well-controlled disease during long-term follow-up. These observations focus on the long-term consequences of the disease on joints and bone. In addition, we investigated the role of the Growth

Mediastinoscopic Bilateral Bronchial Release for Long Segmental Resection and Anastomosis of the Trachea

OpenAIRE

Kang, Jeong-Han; Park, In Kyu; Bae, Mi-Kyung; Hwang, Yoohwa

2011-01-01

The extent of resection and release of the trachea is important for successful anastomosis. Bilateral bronchial dissection is one of the release techniques for resection of the lower trachea. We present the experience of cervical video-assisted mediastinoscopic bilateral bronchial release for long segmental resection and anastomosis of the lower trachea.

Frozen shoulder : long-term outcome following arthrographic distension.

Science.gov (United States)

Clement, Rhys G E; Ray, Andrew G; Davidson, Colin; Robinson, C Mike; Perks, Fergus J

2013-08-01

Arthrographic distension of the glenohumeral joint was adopted as a mainstream treatment for frozen shoulder before any randomised controlled trials were performed. Interpretation of the effectiveness of this procedure rests mostly on data from cohort studies of which there are few of high quality. Papers reporting long-term results have either excluded diabetic patients or failed to report patient orientated outcomes. The authors present a long-term prospective cohort study of 51 patients (12 diabetics and 39 non-diabetics), with 53 frozen shoulders, who had an arthrographic distension performed by a single radiologist as a primary intervention. Oxford shoulder score (OSS), visual analogue pain score (VAS), and range of movement (ROM) were recorded pre-distension, at 2 days and 1 month post-distension. OSS and VAS were recorded again at a mean of 14 months post distension (range : 8-26 months). OSS improved from a pre-distension mean of 22.3 by 16.9 points at final follow-up (p diabetic patients was the same as in non-diabetic patients. Arthrographic distension is a safe and effective treatment for frozen shoulder; it is also effective in diabetic patients. It gives long-term improvement. The authors believe that the low number of patients requiring a secondary procedure makes arthrographic distension preferable to manipulation under anaesthesia.

A Long-term Plan for Kalk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

In this case, the author demonstrates together with the owner-manager of KALK A/S, Mr Rasmus Jorgensen, how to use the Family Business Map to frame a constructive discussion about long-term planning. The Family Business Map is a tool for long-term planning in family firms developed by Professor...

Virtual Models of Long-Term Care

Science.gov (United States)

Phenice, Lillian A.; Griffore, Robert J.

2012-01-01

Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and home-care organizations, use web sites to describe their services to potential consumers. This virtual ethnographic study developed models representing how potential consumers may understand this information using data from web sites of 69 long-term-care providers. The content of long-term-care web…

Academic skills in the long term after epilepsy surgery in childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Puka, Klajdi; Smith, Mary Lou

2016-09-01

We evaluated the progression of academic skills in a cohort of patients who underwent, or were considered for, epilepsy surgery in childhood, four to eleven years before. The few existing studies that have evaluated cognitive function in the long term after surgery have examined intelligence and memory. Participants were 97 patients with childhood-onset intractable epilepsy; 61 had undergone resective epilepsy surgery. Participants completed standardized tests of reading, spelling, arithmetic, and intelligence at baseline and, on average, 7years after. Surgical patients were additionally assessed one year postsurgery. At baseline and long-term follow-up, 61% and 69% of patients, respectively, scored at least one standard deviation below normative data in at least one academic domain. Evaluation of change over time while controlling for IQ showed that arithmetic scores were lower at long-term follow-up in comparison with those at baseline among all patient groups, whereas reading and spelling scores remained unchanged. Few advantages were associated with seizure control. Multiple regression analyses found that older age at surgery, cessation of antiepileptic medications, improved IQ, and low baseline scores were independently associated with improvement in some academic domains among all patient groups. We found that arithmetic scores were lower at long-term follow-up, suggesting a lack of ongoing development or deterioration in skills. Reading and spelling scores remained stable suggesting that patients made gains in abilities at a rate expected for their increase in age; this finding contrasts with recent short-term outcome studies identifying significantly lower scores over time in these areas. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Long-term trends in the total electron content

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Laštovička, Jan; Urbář, Jaroslav; Kozubek, Michal

2017-01-01

Roč. 44, č. 16 (2017), s. 8186-8172 ISSN 0094-8276 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA15-03909S Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : total electron content * long-term trend * solar control Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology OBOR OECD: Climatic research Impact factor: 4.253, year: 2016 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017GL075063/full

Sleep facilitates long-term face adaptation

OpenAIRE

Ditye, Thomas; Javadi, Amir Homayoun; Carbon, Claus-Christian; Walsh, Vincent

2013-01-01

Adaptation is an automatic neural mechanism supporting the optimization of visual processing on the basis of previous experiences. While the short-term effects of adaptation on behaviour and physiology have been studied extensively, perceptual long-term changes associated with adaptation are still poorly understood. Here, we show that the integration of adaptation-dependent long-term shifts in neural function is facilitated by sleep. Perceptual shifts induced by adaptation to a distorted imag...

Prevalence of Long-Term Opioid Use in Long-Stay Nursing Home Residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunnicutt, Jacob N; Chrysanthopoulou, Stavroula A; Ulbricht, Christine M; Hume, Anne L; Tjia, Jennifer; Lapane, Kate L

2018-01-01

Overall and long-term opioid use among older adults have increased since 1999. Less is known about opioid use in older adults in nursing homes (NHs). Cross-sectional. U.S. NHs (N = 13,522). Long-stay NH resident Medicare beneficiaries with a Minimum Data Set 3.0 (MDS) assessment between April 1, 2012, and June 30, 2012, and 120 days of follow-up (N = 315,949). We used Medicare Part D claims to measure length of opioid use in the 120 days from the index assessment (short-term: ≤30 days, medium-term: >30-89 days, long-term: ≥90 days), adjuvants (e.g., anticonvulsants), and other pain medications (e.g., corticosteroids). MDS assessments in the follow-up period were used to measure nonpharmacological pain management use. Modified Poisson models were used to estimate adjusted prevalence ratios (aPR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for age, gender, race and ethnicity, cognitive and physical impairment, and long-term opioid use. Of all long-stay residents, 32.4% were prescribed any opioid, and 15.5% were prescribed opioids long-term. Opioid users (versus nonusers) were more commonly prescribed pain adjuvants (32.9% vs 14.9%), other pain medications (25.5% vs 11.0%), and nonpharmacological pain management (24.5% vs 9.3%). Long-term opioid use was higher in women (aPR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.18-1.23) and lower in racial and ethnic minorities (non-Hispanic blacks vs whites: APR = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.90-0.94) and those with severe cognitive impairment (vs no or mild impairment, aPR = 0.82, 95% CI = 0.79-0.83). One in seven NH residents was prescribed opioids long-term. Recent guidelines on opioid prescribing for pain recommend reducing long-term opioid use, but this is challenging in NHs because residents may not benefit from nonpharmacological and nonopioid interventions. Studies to address concerns about opioid safety and effectiveness (e.g., on pain and functional status) in NHs are needed. © 2017, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2017, The American Geriatrics

The Effect of Novel Research Activities on Long-term Survival of Temporarily Captive Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Courtney Shuert

Full Text Available Two novel research approaches were developed to facilitate controlled access to, and long-term monitoring of, juvenile Steller sea lions for periods longer than typically afforded by traditional fieldwork. The Transient Juvenile Steller sea lion Project at the Alaska SeaLife Center facilitated nutritional, physiological, and behavioral studies on the platform of temporary captivity. Temporarily captive sea lions (TJs, n = 35 were studied, and were intraperitoneally implanted with Life History Transmitters (LHX tags to determine causes of mortality post-release. Our goal was to evaluate the potential for long-term impacts of temporary captivity and telemetry implants on the survival of study individuals. A simple open-population Cormack-Jolly-Seber mark-recapture model was built in program MARK, incorporating resightings of uniquely branded study individuals gathered by several contributing institutions. A priori models were developed to weigh the evidence of effects of experimental treatment on survival with covariates of sex, age, capture age, cohort, and age class. We compared survival of experimental treatment to a control group of n = 27 free-ranging animals (FRs that were sampled during capture events and immediately released. Sex has previously been show to differentially affect juvenile survival in Steller sea lions. Therefore, sex was included in all models to account for unbalanced sex ratios within the experimental group. Considerable support was identified for the effects of sex, accounting for over 71% of total weight for all a priori models with delta AICc <5, and over 91% of model weight after removal of pretending variables. Overall, most support was found for the most parsimonious model based on sex and excluding experimental treatment. Models including experimental treatment were not supported after post-hoc considerations of model selection criteria. However, given the limited sample size, alternate models including effects of

Long-term Effects of Acute Malnutrition on Growth and Body Composition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lelijveld, Natasha; Kerac, Marko; Seal, Andrew; Wells, Jonathan; Nyirenda, Moffat

2014-01-01

Full text: Acute malnutrition (AM) is an important cause of child mortality worldwide and is therefore the main focus of current treatment programmes. However, given emerging evidence of early nutritional exposures affecting long term adult health, it is vital that future AM treatment strategies also start looking beyond the short term alone and consider opportunities to improve long-term outcomes in survivors. To do this, an improved evidence base on the long term implications of AM is vital. Our aim in this study was thus to explore growth, body composition and early markers of chronic disease 7 years after an episode of malnutrition. Methods: We present preliminary data from a study following up 463 ex-malnourished children and comparing them to both siblings and community controls. These are the known survivors of an original cohort of 1024 children admitted to Nutrition ward, Blantyre, Malawi from July 2006 - March 2007 for treatment of SAM. Current round of follow-up is 7 years after the original episode of malnutrition. We present preliminary analysis of study progress to date. Paired t-tests were used to analyse anthropometric data entered so far. Results: Our cohort of 463 AM survivors now have a median age of 8 yrs 7 months. 138/455 (30.3%) are HIV positive. So far, 91/107 (85%) of searches have been successful. Preliminary analysis of 90 case children shows ongoing mortality: 9/90(10%) have died in the last six years. Seven of these deaths were HIV positive and two died of a further episode of malnutrition at least two years after their first admission for SAM. Analysis of available anthropometric data shows that the ex-AM children are significantly more stunted than their community controls: HAZ -2.13(95% CI -2.48 to -1.78) vs -1.56(95% CI -2.04 to -1.07) p = 0.01). Their BMI and WAZ are similar to those of both sets of controls. Waist circumference, waist-hip ratio and sitting height ratio are also similar to controls. Numbers per group so far are

Controlling for unmeasured confounding and spatial misalignment in long-term air pollution and health studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Duncan; Sarran, Christophe

2015-11-01

The health impact of long-term exposure to air pollution is now routinely estimated using spatial ecological studies, owing to the recent widespread availability of spatial referenced pollution and disease data. However, this areal unit study design presents a number of statistical challenges, which if ignored have the potential to bias the estimated pollution-health relationship. One such challenge is how to control for the spatial autocorrelation present in the data after accounting for the known covariates, which is caused by unmeasured confounding. A second challenge is how to adjust the functional form of the model to account for the spatial misalignment between the pollution and disease data, which causes within-area variation in the pollution data. These challenges have largely been ignored in existing long-term spatial air pollution and health studies, so here we propose a novel Bayesian hierarchical model that addresses both challenges and provide software to allow others to apply our model to their own data. The effectiveness of the proposed model is compared by simulation against a number of state-of-the-art alternatives proposed in the literature and is then used to estimate the impact of nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter concentrations on respiratory hospital admissions in a new epidemiological study in England in 2010 at the local authority level. © 2015 The Authors. Environmetrics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Report on the possibilities of long-term storage of irradiated nuclear fuels; Rapport sur les possibilites d'entreposage a long terme de combustibles nucleaires irradies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

This report aims at giving a legislative aspect to the many rules that govern the activities of the back-end of the fuel cycle in France. These activities concern the unloading of spent nuclear fuels, their reprocessing, storage, recycling and definitive disposal. The following points are reviewed and commented: the management of non-immediately reprocessed fuels (historical reasons of the 'all wastes reprocessing' initial choice, evolution of the economic and political context, the future reprocessing or the definitive disposal of spent fuels in excess); the inevitable long-term storage of part of the spent fuels (quantities and required properties of long-term stored fuels, the eventuality of a definitive disposal of spent fuels); the criteria that long-term storage facilities must fulfill (confinement measures, reversibility, surveillance and control during the whole duration of the storage); storage concept to be retained (increase of storage pools capacity, long-term storage in pools of reprocessing plants, centralized storage in pools, surface dry-storage on power plant sites, reversible underground storage, subsurface storage and storage/disposal in galleries, surface dry-storage facilities); the preliminary studies for the creation of long-term storage facilities (public information, management by a public French organization, clarifying of the conditions of international circulation of spent fuels); problems linked with the presence of foreign spent fuels in France (downstream of the reprocessing cycle, foreign plutonium and wastes re-shipment); conclusions and recommendations. (J.S.)

Gastroesophageal Acid Reflux Control 5 Years After Antireflux Surgery, Compared With Long-term Esomeprazole Therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Hatlebakk, Jan G; Zerbib, Frank; Bruley des Varannes, Stanislas; Attwood, Stephen E; Ell, Christian; Fiocca, Roberto; Galmiche, Jean-Paul; Eklund, Stefan; Långström, Göran; Lind, Tore; Lundell, Lars R

2016-05-01

We compared the ability of laparoscopic antireflux surgery (LARS) and esomeprazole to control esophageal acid exposure, over a 5-year period, in patients with chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). We also studied whether intraesophageal and intragastric pH parameters off and on therapy were associated with long-term outcomes. We analyzed data from a prospective, randomized, open-label trial comparing the efficacy and safety of LARS vs esomeprazole (20 or 40 mg/d) over 5 years in patients with chronic GERD. Ambulatory intraesophageal and intragastric 24-hour pH monitoring data were compared between groups before LARS or the start of esomeprazole treatment, and 6 months and 5 years afterward. A secondary aim was to evaluate the association between baseline and 6-month pH parameters and esomeprazole dose escalation, reappearance of GERD symptoms, and treatment failure over 5 years in patients receiving LARS or esomeprazole. In the LARS group (n = 116), the median 24-hour esophageal acid exposure was 8.6% at baseline and 0.7% after 6 months and 5 years (P acid exposure was 8.8% at baseline, 2.1% after 6 months, and 1.9% after 5 years (P acidity was stable in both groups. Patients who required a dose increase to 40 mg/d had more severe supine reflux at baseline, and decreased esophageal acid exposure (P acidity after dose escalation. Esophageal and intragastric pH parameters, off and on therapy, did not predict long-term symptom breakthrough. In a prospective study of patients with chronic GERD, esophageal acid reflux was reduced greatly by LARS or esomeprazole therapy. However, patients receiving LARS had significantly greater reductions in 24-hour esophageal acid exposure after 6 months and 5 years. Esophageal and gastric pH, off and on therapy, did not predict long-term outcomes of patients. Abnormal supine acid exposure predicted esomeprazole dose escalation. ClinicalTrials.Gov identifier: NCT00251927 (available: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show

Waste partitioning and transmutation as a means towards long-term risk reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merz, E.R.

1993-09-01

It has been an idea for some time to reduce the long-term potential hazard of the waste by chemical removal of the actinides as well as some long-lived fission products and their subsequent transmutation in an intense neutron flux. Transmutation would thus shorten the required containment period of radioactive material in a repository. It is estimated, that development of such technology would take at least 40 years because facilities would be required to perform a clean actinide and fission product isolation and to fabricate the fuel elements that contained the separated nuclides. This latter requirements would involve a major expansion of new chemical process steps which are not available as yet. Development of new equipment to maintain occupational exposures as low as reasonably achievable and to minimize releases of radioactivity to the environment would also be necessary. Partitioning and transmutation should be introduced, if at all, as a long-term decision about new nuclear power technology as a future energy source. With regard to this, R and D work dealing with basic questions seems to be worthwhile, However, the introduction of partitioning and transmutation will not eliminate the need for radioactive waste disposal. (orig./HP) [de

Optically-controlled long-term storage and release of thermal energy in phase-change materials

OpenAIRE

Han, Grace G. D.; Li, Huashan; Grossman, Jeffrey C.

2017-01-01

Thermal energy storage offers enormous potential for a wide range of energy technologies. Phase-change materials offer state-of-the-art thermal storage due to high latent heat. However, spontaneous heat loss from thermally charged phase-change materials to cooler surroundings occurs due to the absence of a significant energy barrier for the liquid–solid transition. This prevents control over the thermal storage, and developing effective methods to address this problem has remained an elusive ...

Distinct transmitter release properties determine differences in short-term plasticity at functional and silent synapses.

Science.gov (United States)

Cabezas, Carolina; Buño, Washington

2006-05-01

Recent evidence suggests that functional and silent synapses are not only postsynaptically different but also presynaptically distinct. The presynaptic differences may be of functional importance in memory formation because a proposed mechanism for long-term potentiation is the conversion of silent synapses into functional ones. However, there is little direct experimentally evidence of these differences. We have investigated the transmitter release properties of functional and silent Schaffer collateral synapses and show that on the average functional synapses displayed a lower percentage of failures and higher excitatory postsynaptic current (EPSC) amplitudes than silent synapses at +60 mV. Moreover, functional but not silent synapses show paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) at +60 mV and thus presynaptic short-term plasticity will be distinct in the two types of synapse. We examined whether intraterminal endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ stores influenced the release properties of these synapses. Ryanodine (100 microM) and thapsigargin (1 microM) increased the percentage of failures and decreased both the EPSC amplitude and PPF in functional synapses. Caffeine (10 mM) had the opposite effects. In contrast, silent synapses were insensitive to both ryanodine and caffeine. Hence we have identified differences in the release properties of functional and silent synapses, suggesting that synaptic terminals of functional synapses express regulatory molecular mechanisms that are absent in silent synapses.

Physiological, Molecular and Genetic Mechanisms of Long-Term Habituation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calin-Jageman, Robert J

2009-09-12

Work funded on this grant has explored the mechanisms of long-term habituation, a ubiquitous form of learning that plays a key role in basic cognitive functioning. Specifically, behavioral, physiological, and molecular mechanisms of habituation have been explored using a simple model system, the tail-elicited siphon-withdrawal reflex (T-SWR) in the marine mollusk Aplysia californica. Substantial progress has been made on the first and third aims, providing some fundamental insights into the mechanisms by which memories are stored. We have characterized the physiological correlates of short- and long-term habituation. We found that short-term habituation is accompanied by a robust sensory adaptation, whereas long-term habituation is accompanied by alterations in sensory and interneuron synaptic efficacy. Thus, our data indicates memories can be shifted between different sites in a neural network as they are consolidated from short to long term. At the molecular level, we have accomplished microarray analysis comparing gene expression in both habituated and control ganglia. We have identified a network of putatively regulated transcripts that seems particularly targeted towards synaptic changes (e.g. SNAP25, calmodulin) . We are now beginning additional work to confirm regulation of these transcripts and build a more detailed understanding of the cascade of molecular events leading to the permanent storage of long-term memories. On the third aim, we have fostered a nascent neuroscience program via a variety of successful initiatives. We have funded over 11 undergraduate neuroscience scholars, several of whom have been recognized at national and regional levels for their research. We have also conducted a pioneering summer research program for community college students which is helping enhance access of underrepresented groups to life science careers. Despite minimal progress on the second aim, this project has provided a) novel insight into the network mechanisms by

Long-term Effects of Chronic Khat Use:Impaired Inhibitory Control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lorenza S Colzato

2011-01-01

Full Text Available So far no studies have systematically looked into the cognitive consequences of khat use. This study compared the ability to inhibit and execute behavioral responses in adult khat users and khat-free controls, matched in terms of age, race, gender distribution, level of intelligence, and alcohol, and cannabis consumption. Response inhibition and response execution were measured by a stop-signal paradigm. Results show that users and non-users are comparable in terms of response execution but users need significantly more time to inhibit responses to stop signals than non-users.

Long term evolution 4G and beyond

CERN Document Server

Yacoub, Michel; Figueiredo, Fabrício; Tronco, Tania

2016-01-01

This book focus on Long Term Evolution (LTE) and beyond. The chapters describe different aspects of research and development in LTE, LTE-Advanced (4G systems) and LTE-450 MHz such as telecommunications regulatory framework, voice over LTE, link adaptation, power control, interference mitigation mechanisms, performance evaluation for different types of antennas, cognitive mesh network, integration of LTE network and satellite, test environment, power amplifiers and so on. It is useful for researchers in the field of mobile communications.

Transuranic waste: long-term planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Young, K.C.

1985-07-01

Societal concerns for the safe handling and disposal of toxic waste are behind many of the regulations and the control measures in effect today. Transuranic waste, a specific category of toxic (radioactive) waste, serves as a good example of how regulations and controls impact changes in waste processing - and vice versa. As problems would arise with waste processing, changes would be instituted. These changes improved techniques for handling and disposal of transuranic waste, reduced the risk of breached containment, and were usually linked with regulatory changes. Today, however, we face a greater public awareness of and concern for toxic waste control; thus, we must anticipate potential problems and work on resolving them before they can become real problems. System safety analyses are valuable aids in long-term planning for operations involving transuranic as well as other toxic materials. Examples of specific system safety analytical methods demonstrate how problems can be anticipated and resolution initiated in a timely manner having minimal impacts upon allocation of resource and operational goals. 7 refs., 1 fig

EPICS application source/release control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zieman, B.; Anderson, J.; Kraimer, M.

1995-01-01

This manual describes a set of Application Source/Release Control tools (appSR) that can be used to develop software for EPICS based control systems. The Application Source/Release Control System (appSR) has been unbundled from base EPICS and is now available as an EPICS extension. Due to this unbundling, two new directories must be added to a user's path (see section ''Environment'' on page 3 for more information) and a new command getapp must be issued after the getrel command to get a specific version of appSR (see section ''Creating The Initial Application System Area'' on page 7 for more information). It is now required that GNU make version 3.71 or later be used for makes instead of SUN make. Users should now type gmake instead of make

SNAP-25 in hippocampal CA3 region is required for long-term memory formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hou Qiuling; Gao Xiang; Lu Qi; Zhang Xuehan; Tu Yanyang; Jin Meilei; Zhao Guoping; Yu Lei; Jing Naihe; Li Baoming

2006-01-01

SNAP-25 is a synaptosomal protein of 25 kDa, a key component of synaptic vesicle-docking/fusion machinery, and plays a critical role in exocytosis and neurotransmitter release. We previously reported that SNAP-25 in the hippocampal CA1 region is involved in consolidation of contextual fear memory and water-maze spatial memory (Hou et al. European J Neuroscience, 20: 1593-1603, 2004). SNAP-25 is expressed not only in the CA1 region, but also in the CA3 region, and the SNAP-25 mRNA level in the CA3 region is higher than in the CA1 region. Here, we provide evidence that SNAP-25 in the CA3 region is also involved in learning/memory. Intra-CA3 infusion of SNAP-25 antisense oligonucleotide impaired both long-term contextual fear memory and water-maze spatial memory, with short-term memory intact. Furthermore, the SNAP-25 antisense oligonucleotide suppressed the long-term potentiation (LTP) of field excitatory post-synaptic potential (fEPSP) in the mossy-fiber pathway (DG-CA3 pathway), with no effect on paired-pulse facilitation of the fEPSP. These results are consistent with the notion that SNAP-25 in the hippocampal CA3 region is required for long-term memory formation

Legal, administrative and financial aspects of the long-term management of radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strohl, P.; Reyners, P.

1984-01-01

The paper describes the principal features of a study undertaken by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency on the institutional problems raised by the long-term management of radioactive waste. The purpose of this study is to provide the competent national authorities with a common approach based on experience. All management operations which may extend over periods of more than 50 years are covered by the study, which analyses the control measures or other institutional measures that must be taken with regard to such operations. It distinguishes between ''active'' and ''passive'' control measures and describes their application ''before closure'' and ''after closure'' of the disposal or storage sites. An attempt is made to evaluate the lifetime of such institutional control measures and it is proposed, on this basis, that a period of several centuries, at most 300 years, should be considered reasonable in view of the need to avoid imposing an excessive burden on future generations. The study also provides a description of relations between governments and industry, stressing the increased responsibility of governments in the context of long-term management of radioactive waste. Specific questions of financing and responsibility for civil nuclear activities which relate to long-term management are also analysed. The general conclusion arrived at is that a long-term management strategy must be based on a viable combination of technological methods and institutional measures. (author)

Dual growth factor delivery from biofunctionalized allografts: Sequential VEGF and BMP-2 release to stimulate allograft remodeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharmin, Farzana; McDermott, Casey; Lieberman, Jay; Sanjay, Archana; Khan, Yusuf

2017-05-01

Autografts have been shown to stimulate osteogenesis, osteoclastogenesis, and angiogenesis, and subsequent rapid graft incorporation. Large structural allografts, however, suffer from limited new bone formation and remodeling, both of which are directly associated with clinical failure due to non-unions, late graft fractures, and infections, making it a priority to improve large structural allograft healing. We have previously shown the osteogenic ability of a polymer-coated allograft that delivers bone morphogenetic protein-2 both in vitro and in vivo through both burst release and sustained release kinetics. In this study, we have demonstrated largely sequential delivery of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor from the same coated allograft. Release data showed that loading both growth factors onto a polymeric coating with two different techniques resulted in short-term (95% release within 2 weeks) and long-term (95% release within 5 weeks) delivery kinetics. We have also demonstrated how released VEGF, traditionally associated with angiogenesis, can also provide a stimulus for allograft remodeling via resorption. Bone marrow derived mononuclear cells were co-cultured with VEGF released from the coated allograft and showed a statistically significant (p exposed to VEGF released from the allografts over controls (p < 0.05). These results indicate that by using different loading protocols temporal control can be achieved when delivering multiple growth factors from a polymer-coated allograft. Further, released VEGF can also stimulate osteoclastogenesis that may enhance allograft incorporation, and thus mitigate long-term clinical complications. © 2017 Orthopedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:1086-1095, 2017. © 2017 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Long-Term Prognosis of Plantar Fasciitis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Liselotte; Krogh, Thøger Persson; Ellingsen, Torkell

2018-01-01

, exercise-induced symptoms, bilateral heel pain, fascia thickness, and presence of a heel spur) could predict long-term outcomes, (3) to assess the long-term ultrasound (US) development in the fascia, and (4) to assess whether US-guided corticosteroid injections induce atrophy of the heel fat pad. Study....... The risk was significantly greater for women (P heel...... regardless of symptoms and had no impact on prognosis, and neither did the presence of a heel spur. Only 24% of asymptomatic patients had a normal fascia on US at long-term follow-up. A US-guided corticosteroid injection did not cause atrophy of the heel fat pad. Our observational study did not allow us...

Long-term dependence in exchange rates

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Karytinos

2000-01-01

Full Text Available The extent to which exchange rates of four major currencies against the Greek Drachma exhibit long-term dependence is investigated using a R/S analysis testing framework. We show that both classic R/S analysis and the modified R/S statistic if enhanced by bootstrapping techniques can be proven very reliable tools to this end. Our findings support persistence and long-term dependence with non-periodic cycles for the Deutsche Mark and the French Franc series. In addition a noisy chaos explanation is favored over fractional Brownian motion. On the contrary, the US Dollar and British Pound were found to exhibit a much more random behavior and lack of any long-term structure.

Medium-term and long-term outcomes of interventions for primary psoas tendinopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Garala, Kanai; Prasad, Vishnu; Jeyapalan, Kanagaratnam; Power, Richard A

2014-05-01

To assess medium- and long-term outcomes of psoas tendinopathy to psoas tenotomy and image-guided steroid injections. This is a 14-year retrospective case-control study to identify the efficacy of psoas tenotomy and image-guided steroid injections. This study was undertaken in a secondary care setting. Patients with confirmed psoas tendinopathy were followed up by postal questionnaire, which included a nonarthritic hip score (NAHS) and a study patient satisfaction questionnaire. Patients underwent image-guided steroid injections. Depending on the analgesic or symptomatic relief, some patients proceeded to psoas tenotomy. Response to steroid injection. Pain relief and symptomatic relief after the surgery. Twenty-three patients were reviewed with a 70% follow-up over a time of 49 months for surgery (range, 13-144 months) and 77 months for injection (range, 14-160 months). Eight patients had a lasting response to injection and required no further intervention, and 15 patients proceeded to psoas tenotomy using a medial Ludloff approach. The average NAHS scores after the surgery and injection were 66.15 and 76.08, respectively. Ten patients reported pain relief after their tenotomy, and 5 patients reported no change in pain. All 8 patients, who only underwent injection, reported lasting pain relief. Local steroid injections can provide long-term relief for patients presenting with psoas tendinopathy. For those patients with only temporary relief from injection, psoas tenotomy can provide good long-term pain relief.

Long-term effectiveness of mailed nicotine replacement therapy: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial 5-year follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Kushnir, Vladyslav; Selby, Peter; Zawertailo, Laurie; Tyndale, Rachel F; Leatherdale, Scott T; Cunningham, John A

2017-07-18

Our group recently completed a randomized controlled trial, evaluating the efficacy of providing 5 weeks of free nicotine replacement therapy (NRT; in the form of the nicotine patch) by expedited postal mail without behavioral assistance to regular adult smokers interested in receiving it. The findings revealed that mailed provision of nicotine patches resulted in more than a doubling of quit rates at a six-month follow-up compared to a no intervention control group. While this trial provided evidence for the effectiveness of mailed nicotine patches in promoting cessation, the findings speak only to the short term effectiveness of this approach. As relapse to smoking is known to occur beyond the 6 month period, it is important to evaluate whether the net benefit of NRT in naturalistic settings can be maintained long-term. The present study aims to perform a 5-year follow-up survey of participants in the original trial to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of mailed NRT. Trained interviewers will contact participants in the randomized controlled trial 5 years post-enrollment. A total of 924 participants will be eligible to be contacted. Interviewers will first assess participants' smoking status and their level of nicotine dependence. Participants reporting not currently smoking will be asked whether they have smoked tobacco, even a puff, in the last 30 days (primary outcome measure: 30-day point prevalence abstinence), past 6 months (secondary outcome measure: prolonged 6-month abstinence), and since the 8-week follow-up survey (secondary outcome measure: > 4 year continuous abstinence). Interviewers will be blind to experimental condition at the time the primary outcome measure will be assessed. It is hypothesized that participants who received nicotine patches at baseline will display significantly higher quit rates at the 5-year follow-up as compared to participants who did not receive nicotine patches at baseline. If the study finds that the mailed

Post-release monitoring of Antillean manatees: an assessment of the Brazilian rehabilitation and release programme

Science.gov (United States)

Normande, Iran C.; Malhado, Ana C. M.; Reid, James P.; Viana Junior, P.C.; Savaget, P. V. S.; Correia, R. A.; Luna, F. O.; R. J. Ladle,

2016-01-01

Mammalian reintroduction programmes frequently aim to reconnect isolated sub-populations and restore population viability. However, these long-term objectives are rarely evaluated due to the inadequacy of post-release monitoring. Here, we report the results of a unique long term telemetry-based monitoring programme for rehabilitated Antillean manatees (Trichechus manatus manatus) reintroduced into selected sites in northeast Brazil with the aim of reconnecting isolated relict populations. Twenty-one satellite-tagged rehabilitated manatees, 13 males and 8 females, were released into the wild from two sites between November 2008 and June 2013. Individual accumulation curves were plotted and home ranges were calculated through the fixed kernel method using 95% of the utilization distribution. The number and size of the Centres of Activity (COAs) were calculated using 50% of the utilization distribution. Manatees displayed a dichotomous pattern of movement, with individuals either characterized by sedentary habits or by much more extensive movements. Moreover, home range size was not significantly influenced by gender, age at release or release site. COAs were strongly associated with sheltered conditions within reefs and estuaries, and also by the presence of freshwater and feeding sites. Our data confirm that manatee reintroductions in Brazil have the potential to reconnect distant sub-populations. However, pre-release identification of potential long-distance migrants is currently unfeasible, and further analysis would be required to confirm genetic mixing of distant sub-populations.

Short-term versus long-term contracting for uranium enrichment services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudy, G.P.

1990-01-01

The US Department of Energy (US DOE) is the world's largest and most experienced supplier of uranium enrichment services. Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, emerging market forces transformed what was once a monopoly into a highly competitive industry. In the early 1980's the DOE lost market share. But as we enter the 1990s, new market forces have emerged. The US DOE believes a responsible balance between long-term and short-term contracting will be the key to success and the key to assuring the long-term health and reliability of the nuclear fuel industry. The US DOE intends to be in this nuclear business for a long time and will continue to offer reliable and responsive services second to none

Long-Term Dynamics of Autonomous Fractional Differential Equations

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Tao; Xu, Wei; Xu, Yong; Han, Qun

This paper aims to investigate long-term dynamic behaviors of autonomous fractional differential equations with effective numerical method. The long-term dynamic behaviors predict where systems are heading after long-term evolution. We make some modification and transplant cell mapping methods to autonomous fractional differential equations. The mapping time duration of cell mapping is enlarged to deal with the long memory effect. Three illustrative examples, i.e. fractional Lotka-Volterra equation, fractional van der Pol oscillator and fractional Duffing equation, are studied with our revised generalized cell mapping method. We obtain long-term dynamics, such as attractors, basins of attraction, and saddles. Compared with some existing stability and numerical results, the validity of our method is verified. Furthermore, we find that the fractional order has its effect on the long-term dynamics of autonomous fractional differential equations.

Critical mid-term uncertainties in long-term decarbonisation pathways

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usher, Will; Strachan, Neil

2012-01-01

Over the next decade, large energy investments are required in the UK to meet growing energy service demands and legally binding emission targets under a pioneering policy agenda. These are necessary despite deep mid-term (2025–2030) uncertainties over which national policy makers have little control. We investigate the effect of two critical mid-term uncertainties on optimal near-term investment decisions using a two-stage stochastic energy system model. The results show that where future fossil fuel prices are uncertain: (i) the near term hedging strategy to 2030 differs from any one deterministic fuel price scenario and is structurally dissimilar to a simple ‘average’ of the deterministic scenarios, and (ii) multiple recourse strategies from 2030 are perturbed by path dependencies caused by hedging investments. Evaluating the uncertainty under a decarbonisation agenda shows that fossil fuel price uncertainty is very expensive at around £20 billion. The addition of novel mitigation options reduces the value of fossil fuel price uncertainty to £11 billion. Uncertain biomass import availability shows a much lower value of uncertainty at £300 million. This paper reveals the complex relationship between the flexibility of the energy system and mitigating the costs of uncertainty due to the path-dependencies caused by the long-life times of both infrastructures and generation technologies. - Highlights: ► Critical mid-term uncertainties affect near-term investments in UK energy system. ► Deterministic scenarios give conflicting near-term actions. ► Stochastic scenarios give one near-term hedging strategy. ► Technologies exhibit path dependency or flexibility. ► Fossil fuel price uncertainty is very expensive, biomass availability uncertainty is not.

Long-term cognitive impairment after first-ever ischemic stroke in young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaapsmeerders, Pauline; Maaijwee, Noortje A M; van Dijk, Ewoud J; Rutten-Jacobs, Loes C A; Arntz, Renate M; Schoonderwaldt, Hennie C; Dorresteijn, Lucille D A; Kessels, Roy P C; de Leeuw, Frank-Erik

2013-06-01

Up to 14% of all ischemic strokes occur in young adults (young stroke, especially not on the long term. This long-term perspective is important because young patients have a long life expectancy during which they start forming a family, have an active social life, and make decisive career moves. We aimed to evaluate the long-term cognitive outcome. All consecutive patients between January 1, 1980, and November 1, 2010, with a first-ever young ischemic stroke were recruited for cognitive assessment, using a matched stroke-free population as a reference. Composite Z scores for 7 cognitive domains were calculated and the ANCOVA model was used (Bonferroni correction). A below average performance was defined as >1.0 SD below the age-adjusted mean of the controls and cognitive impairment as >1.5 SD. Two hundred seventy-seven patients and 146 matched controls completed cognitive assessment (mean follow-up, 11.0 years, SD, 8.2; age, 50.9 years, SD, 10.3). Long-term cognitive outcome after an ischemic stroke was worse in most cognitive domains compared with a nonstroke population. Up to 50% of the patients had a below average performance or cognitive impairment. Deficits in processing speed, working memory, and attention were most common. Even 11 years after ischemic stroke in young adults, a substantial proportion of patients must cope with permanent cognitive deficits. These results have implications for information given to patients and rehabilitation services.

Trastuzumab use during pregnancy: long-term survival after locally advanced breast cancer and long-term infant follow-up.

Science.gov (United States)

Andrade, Jurandyr M de; Brito, Luiz G O; Moises, Elaine C D; Amorim, Andréa C; Rapatoni, Liane; Carrara, Hélio H A; Tiezzi, Daniel G

2016-04-01

Here, we describe the case of a patient diagnosed with locally advanced breast cancer 8 years ago. Her treatment course was neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by mastectomy and then adjuvant radiotherapy and trastuzumab (TTZ). During the use of adjuvant targeted therapy, an incidental pregnancy was diagnosed. Four years later, she developed bone and cerebral metastases, and since then, she has received courses of TTZ, capecitabine, lapatinib, and radiotherapy with intermittent control of the disease. Her 7-year-old son presents a normal physical and long-term neurological developmental curve according to specialized evaluation. This case is unique for several reasons: the patient received the highest dose of TTZ yet described during pregnancy (4400 mg); there has been a long period of disease-free survival after treatment for locally advanced breast cancer and long overall survival despite successive disease progressions during the metastatic phase of the disease (97 months), and there was a monitored pediatric follow-up period (7 years).

The Womanly World of Long Term Care: The Plight of the Long Term Care Worker. Gray Paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Older Women's League, Washington, DC.

Long-term care workers (those who are paid to provide custodial care for long-term patients in nursing homes or at home) must care for a growing number of increasingly disabled or dependent persons. They are working for agencies and institutions under growing pressure to increase productivity. They face new training and competency requirements,…

Employment Situation of Parents of Long-Term Childhood Cancer Survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Mader, Luzius; Rueegg, Corina S; Vetsch, Janine; Rischewski, Johannes; Ansari, Marc; Kuehni, Claudia E; Michel, Gisela

2016-01-01

Taking care of children diagnosed with cancer affects parents' professional life. The impact in the long-term however, is not clear. We aimed to compare the employment situation of parents of long-term childhood cancer survivors with control parents of the general population, and to identify clinical and socio-demographic factors associated with parental employment. As part of the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor Study, we sent a questionnaire to parents of survivors aged 5-15 years, who survived ≥5 years after diagnosis. Information on control parents of the general population came from the Swiss Health Survey (restricted to men and women with ≥1 child aged 5-15 years). Employment was categorized as not employed, part-time, and full-time employed. We used generalized ordered logistic regression to determine associations with clinical and socio-demographic factors. Clinical data was available from the Swiss Childhood Cancer Registry. We included 394 parent-couples of survivors and 3'341 control parents (1'731 mothers; 1'610 fathers). Mothers of survivors were more often not employed (29% versus 22%; ptrend = 0.007). However, no differences between mothers were found in multivariable analysis. Fathers of survivors were more often employed full-time (93% versus 87%; ptrend = 0.002), which remained significant in multivariable analysis. Among parents of survivors, mothers with tertiary education (OR = 2.40, CI:1.14-5.07) were more likely to be employed. Having a migration background (OR = 3.63, CI: 1.71-7.71) increased the likelihood of being full-time employed in mothers of survivors. Less likely to be employed were mothers of survivors diagnosed with lymphoma (OR = 0.31, CI:0.13-0.73) and >2 children (OR = 0.48, CI:0.30-0.75); and fathers of survivors who had had a relapse (OR = 0.13, CI:0.04-0.36). Employment situation of parents of long-term survivors reflected the more traditional parenting roles. Specific support for parents with low education, additional

Toxicological Effects of Caco-2 Cells Following Short-Term and Long-Term Exposure to Ag Nanoparticles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ni Chen

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Extensive utilization increases the exposure of humans to Ag nanoparticles (NPs via the oral pathway. To comprehensively address the action of Ag NPs to the gastrointestinal systems in real situations, i.e., the long-term low-dose exposure, we evaluated and compared the toxicity of three Ag NPs (20–30 nm with different surface coatings to the human intestine cell Caco-2 after 1-day and 21-day exposures, using various biological assays. In both the short- and long-term exposures, the variety of surface coating predominated the toxicity of Ag NPs in a descending order of citrate-coated Ag NP (Ag-CIT, bare Ag NP (Ag-B, and poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone-coated Ag NP (Ag-PVP. The short-term exposure induced cell growth inhibition and death. The cell viability loss appeared after cells were exposed to 0.7 μg/mL Ag-CIT, 0.9 μg/mL Ag-B or >1.0 μg/mL Ag-PVP for 24 h. The short-term and higher-dose exposure also induced reactive oxygen species (ROS generation, mitochondrial damage, cell membrane leakage, apoptosis, and inflammation (IL-8 level. The long-term exposure only inhibited the cell proliferation. After 21-day exposure to 0.4 μg/mL Ag-CIT, the cell viability dropped to less than 50%, while cells exposed to 0.5 μg/mL Ag-PVP remained normal as the control. Generally, 0.3 μg/mL is the non-toxic dose for the long-term exposure of Caco-2 cells to Ag NPs in this study. However, cells presented inflammation after exposure to Ag NPs with the non-toxic dose in the long-term exposure.

Advances in the implementation of a generic long term model for the hydro industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Welt, F.

2004-01-01

This presentation describes the Vista Long Term (LT) simulation and decision tool developed for the hydropower and water resource industries by Synexus Global. Vista maximizes the value of hydro resources while addressing environmental concerns. It improves water resource management for all uses over the long term. The tool has been used and adapted to many systems around the world, including Bonneville Power Administration, Reliant Energy, PacifiCorp and Great Lakes Power in the United States and Nova Scotia Power, Yukon Energy, and Newfoundland Hydro in Canada. Vista also helps to plan alternative operating policies and system upgrades by maximizing the expected value of generation and transactions. The tool provides reservoir releases, generation, flows, levels and transactions. Hydroelectric generating facilities that use the Vista tool have improved clean energy production as well as increased revenues resulting from reservoir and plant optimization. tabs., figs

Long-term effects of chronic khat use: impaired inhibitory control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Colzato, L.S.; Ruiz, M.J.; van den Wildenberg, W.P.M.; Bajo, M.T.; Hommel, B.

2011-01-01

So far no studies have systematically looked into the cognitive consequences of khat use. This study compared the ability to inhibit and execute behavioral responses in adult khat users and khat-free controls, matched in terms of age, race, gender distribution, level of intelligence, alcohol and

RBMK-1500 accident management for loss of long-term core cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uspuras, E.; Kaliatka, A.

2001-01-01

Results of the Level 1 probabilistic safety assessment of the Ignalina NPP has shown that in topography of the risk, transients dominate above the accidents with LOCAs and failure of the core long-term cooling are the main factors to frequency of the core damage. Previous analyses have shown, that after initial event, as a rule, the reactivity control, as well as short-term and intermediate cooling are provided. However, the acceptance criteria of the long-term cooling are not always carried out. It means that from this point of view the most dangerous accident scenarios are the scenarios related to loss of the core long-term cooling. On the other hand, the transition to the core condition due to loss of the long-term cooling specifies potential opportunities for the management of the accident consequences. Hence, accident management for the mitigation of the accident consequences should be considered and developed. The most likely initiating event, which probably leads to the loss of long term cooling accident, is station blackout. The station blackout is the loss of normal electrical power supply for local needs with an additional failure on start-up of all diesel generators. In the case of loss of electrical power supply MCPs, the circulating pumps of the service water system and MFWPs are switched-off. At the same time, TCV of both turbines are closed. Failure of diesel generators leads to the non-operability of the ECCS long-term cooling subsystem. It means the impossibility to feed MCC by water. The analysis of the station blackout for Ignalina NPP was performed using RELAP5 code. (author)

Long-term outcomes of Class III treatment with mandibular cervical headgear followed by fixed appliances.

Science.gov (United States)

Baccetti, Tiziano; Rey, Diego; Oberti, Giovanni; Stahl, Franka; McNamara, James A

2009-09-01

To evaluate the stability of the outcomes of mandibular cervical headgear (MCH) and fixed appliance-treated Class III patients at a long-term posttreatment (5 years) observation, compared with well-matched untreated Class III controls, following a previous report on the short-term outcomes of this protocol. The treated group consisted of 20 patients with dentoskeletal Class III malocclusions treated with a two-phase protocol consisting of MCH and fixed appliances, while the control group comprised 18 untreated subjects with similar dentoskeletal Class III malocclusion. Lateral cephalograms of both patients and controls were analyzed at two time points: posttreatment (PT), after two-phase treatment; and long term (LT). All patients were at a postpubertal stage of skeletal maturity at PT, and they showed CS6 at LT, thus revealing completion of pubertal craniofacial growth. In the long term, the treatment group showed significantly smaller values for mandibular length (Co-Gn), SNB angle, maxillomandibular differential, and molar relation. When compared with the controls, the treated patients exhibited also greater values for ANB angle, Wits appraisal, and overjet at LT. No significant difference between the two groups was found for the changes occurring from PT to LT. Favorable dentoskeletal outcomes induced by MCH and fixed appliances remained stable in the long term; untreated Class III malocclusion did not show any tendency toward self-improvement during the postpubertal interval.

Health-related quality of life of young adults with Turner syndrome following a long-term randomized controlled trial of recombinant human growth hormone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Van Vliet Guy

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There are limited long-term randomized controlled trials of growth hormone (GH supplementation to adult height and few published reports of the health-related quality of life (HRQOL following treatment. The present follow-up study of young adults from a long-term controlled trial of GH treatment in patients with Turner syndrome (TS yielded data to examine whether GH supplementation resulted in a higher HRQOL (either due to taller stature or from the knowledge that active treatment and not placebo had been received or alternatively a lower HRQOL (due to medicalization from years of injections. Methods The original trial randomized 154 Canadian girls with TS aged 7-13 years from 13 centres to receive either long-term GH injections at the pharmacologic dose of 0.3 mg/kg/week or to receive no injections; estrogen prescription for induction of puberty was standardized. Patients were eligible for the follow-up study if they were at least 16 years old at the time of follow-up. The instrument used to study HRQOL was the SF-36, summarized into physical and mental component scales (PCS and MCS; higher scores indicate better HRQOL. Results Thirty-four of the 48 eligible participants (71% consented to participate; data were missing for one patient. Both groups (GH and no treatment had normal HRQOL at this post-treatment assessment. The GH group had a (mean ± SD PCS score of 56 ± 5; the untreated group 58 ± 4; mean score for 16-24 year old females in the general population 53.5 ± 6.9. The GH group had a mean MCS score of 52 ± 6; the untreated group 49 ± 13; mean score for 16-24 year old females in the general population 49.6 ± 9.8. Secondary analyses showed no relationship between HRQOL and height. Conclusions We found no benefit or adverse effect on HRQOL either from receiving or not receiving growth hormone injections in a long-term randomized controlled trial, confirming larger observational studies. We suggest that it remains

Overview study of LNG release prevention and control systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pelto, P.J.; Baker, E.G.; Holter, G.M.; Powers, T.B.

1982-03-01

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry employs a variety of release prevention and control techniques to reduce the likelihood and the consequences of accidental LNG releases. A study of the effectiveness of these release prevention and control systems is being performed. Reference descriptions for the basic types of LNG facilities were developed. Then an overview study was performed to identify areas that merit subsequent and more detailed analyses. The specific objectives were to characterize the LNG facilities of interest and their release prevention and control systems, identify possible weak links and research needs, and provide an analytical framework for subsequent detailed analyses. The LNG facilities analyzed include a reference export terminal, marine vessel, import terminal, peakshaving facility, truck tanker, and satellite facility. A reference description for these facilities, a preliminary hazards analysis (PHA), and a list of representative release scenarios are included. The reference facility descriptions outline basic process flows, plant layouts, and safety features. The PHA identifies the important release prevention operations. Representative release scenarios provide a format for discussing potential initiating events, effects of the release prevention and control systems, information needs, and potential design changes. These scenarios range from relatively frequent but low consequence releases to unlikely but large releases and are the principal basis for the next stage of analysis.

A Relationship between Reduced Nucleus Accumbens Shell and Enhanced Lateral Hypothalamic Orexin Neuronal Activation in Long-Term Fructose Bingeing Behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Rorabaugh, Jacki M.; Stratford, Jennifer M.; Zahniser, Nancy R.

2014-01-01

Fructose accounts for 10% of daily calories in the American diet. Fructose, but not glucose, given intracerebroventricularly stimulates homeostatic feeding mechanisms within the hypothalamus; however, little is known about how fructose affects hedonic feeding centers. Repeated ingestion of sucrose, a disaccharide of fructose and glucose, increases neuronal activity in hedonic centers, the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core, but not the hypothalamus. Rats given glucose in the intermittent access model (IAM) display signatures of hedonic feeding including bingeing and altered DA receptor (R) numbers within the NAc. Here we examined whether substituting fructose for glucose in this IAM produces bingeing behavior, alters DA Rs and activates hedonic and homeostatic feeding centers. Following long-term (21-day) exposure to the IAM, rats given 8–12% fructose solutions displayed fructose bingeing but unaltered DA D1R or D2R number. Fructose bingeing rats, as compared to chow bingeing controls, exhibited reduced NAc shell neuron activation, as determined by c-Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-IR). This activation was negatively correlated with orexin (Orx) neuron activation in the lateral hypothalamus/perifornical area (LH/PeF), a brain region linking homeostatic to hedonic feeding centers. Following short-term (2-day) access to the IAM, rats exhibited bingeing but unchanged Fos-IR, suggesting only long-term fructose bingeing increases Orx release. In long-term fructose bingeing rats, pretreatment with the Ox1R antagonist SB-334867 (30 mg/kg; i.p.) equally reduced fructose bingeing and chow intake, resulting in a 50% reduction in calories. Similarly, in control rats, SB-334867 reduced chow/caloric intake by 60%. Thus, in the IAM, Ox1Rs appear to regulate feeding based on caloric content rather than palatability. Overall, our results, in combination with the literature, suggest individual monosaccharides activate distinct neuronal circuits to promote feeding behavior

A relationship between reduced nucleus accumbens shell and enhanced lateral hypothalamic orexin neuronal activation in long-term fructose bingeing behavior.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacki M Rorabaugh

Full Text Available Fructose accounts for 10% of daily calories in the American diet. Fructose, but not glucose, given intracerebroventricularly stimulates homeostatic feeding mechanisms within the hypothalamus; however, little is known about how fructose affects hedonic feeding centers. Repeated ingestion of sucrose, a disaccharide of fructose and glucose, increases neuronal activity in hedonic centers, the nucleus accumbens (NAc shell and core, but not the hypothalamus. Rats given glucose in the intermittent access model (IAM display signatures of hedonic feeding including bingeing and altered DA receptor (R numbers within the NAc. Here we examined whether substituting fructose for glucose in this IAM produces bingeing behavior, alters DA Rs and activates hedonic and homeostatic feeding centers. Following long-term (21-day exposure to the IAM, rats given 8-12% fructose solutions displayed fructose bingeing but unaltered DA D1R or D2R number. Fructose bingeing rats, as compared to chow bingeing controls, exhibited reduced NAc shell neuron activation, as determined by c-Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-IR. This activation was negatively correlated with orexin (Orx neuron activation in the lateral hypothalamus/perifornical area (LH/PeF, a brain region linking homeostatic to hedonic feeding centers. Following short-term (2-day access to the IAM, rats exhibited bingeing but unchanged Fos-IR, suggesting only long-term fructose bingeing increases Orx release. In long-term fructose bingeing rats, pretreatment with the Ox1R antagonist SB-334867 (30 mg/kg; i.p. equally reduced fructose bingeing and chow intake, resulting in a 50% reduction in calories. Similarly, in control rats, SB-334867 reduced chow/caloric intake by 60%. Thus, in the IAM, Ox1Rs appear to regulate feeding based on caloric content rather than palatability. Overall, our results, in combination with the literature, suggest individual monosaccharides activate distinct neuronal circuits to promote feeding behavior

Haloperidol for long-term aggression in psychosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Khushu, Abha; Powney, Melanie J

2016-11-27

Psychotic disorders can lead some people to become agitated. Characterised by restlessness, excitability and irritability, this can result in verbal and physically aggressive behaviour - and both can be prolonged. Aggression within the psychiatric setting imposes a significant challenge to clinicians and risk to service users; it is a frequent cause for admission to inpatient facilities. If people continue to be aggressive it can lengthen hospitalisation. Haloperidol is used to treat people with long-term aggression. To examine whether haloperidol alone, administered orally, intramuscularly or intravenously, is an effective treatment for long-term/persistent aggression in psychosis. We searched the Cochrane Schizophrenia Group Trials Register (July 2011 and April 2015). We included randomised controlled trials (RCT) or double blind trials (implying randomisation) with useable data comparing haloperidol with another drug or placebo for people with psychosis and long-term/persistent aggression. One review author (AK) extracted data. For dichotomous data, one review author (AK) calculated risk ratios (RR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) on an intention-to-treat basis based on a fixed-effect model. One review author (AK) assessed risk of bias for included studies and created a 'Summary of findings' table using GRADE. We have no good-quality evidence of the absolute effectiveness of haloperidol for people with long-term aggression. One study randomising 110 chronically aggressive people to three different antipsychotic drugs met the inclusion criteria. When haloperidol was compared with olanzapine or clozapine, skewed data (n=83) at high risk of bias suggested some advantage in terms of scale scores of unclear clinical meaning for olanzapine/clozapine for 'total aggression'. Data were available for only one other outcome, leaving the study early. When compared with other antipsychotic drugs, people allocated to haloperidol were no more likely to leave the study

Long term wet spent nuclear fuel storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-04-01

The meeting showed that there is continuing confidence in the use of wet storage for spent nuclear fuel and that long-term wet storage of fuel clad in zirconium alloys can be readily achieved. The importance of maintaining good water chemistry has been identified. The long-term wet storage behaviour of sensitized stainless steel clad fuel involves, as yet, some uncertainties. However, great reliance will be placed on long-term wet storage of spent fuel into the future. The following topics were treated to some extent: Oxidation of the external surface of fuel clad, rod consolidation, radiation protection, optimum methods of treating spent fuel storage water, physical radiation effects, and the behaviour of spent fuel assemblies of long-term wet storage conditions. A number of papers on national experience are included

Long-Term Collections

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2016-01-01

45 years helping in developing countries! CERN personnel have been helping the least fortunate people on the planet since 1971. How? With the Long-Term Collections! Dear Colleagues, The Staff Association’s Long-Term Collections (LTC) Committee is delighted to share this important milestone in the life of our Laboratory with you. Indeed, whilst the name of CERN is known worldwide for scientific discoveries, it also shines in the many humanitarian projects which have been supported by the LTC since 1971. Several schools and clinics, far and wide, carry its logo... Over the past 45 years, 74 projects have been supported (9 of which are still ongoing). This all came from a group of colleagues who wanted to share a little of what life offered them here at CERN, in this haven of mutual understanding, peace and security, with those who were less fortunate elsewhere. Thus, the LTC were born... Since then, we have worked as a team to maintain the dream of these visionaries, with the help of regular donat...

Long-Term Collection

CERN Multimedia

Staff Association

2016-01-01

Dear Colleagues, As previously announced in Echo (No. 254), your delegates took action to draw attention to the projects of the Long-Term Collections (LTC), the humanitarian body of the CERN Staff Association. On Tuesday, 11 October, at noon, small Z-Cards were widely distributed at the entrances of CERN restaurants and we thank you all for your interest. We hope to have achieved an important part of our goal, which was to inform you, convince you and find new supporters among you. We will find out in the next few days! An exhibition of the LTC was also set up in the Main Building for the entire week. The Staff Association wants to celebrate the occasion of the Long-Term Collection’s 45th anniversary at CERN because, ever since 1971, CERN personnel have showed great support in helping the least fortunate people on the planet in a variety of ways according to their needs. On a regular basis, joint fundraising appeals are made with the Directorate to help the victims of natural disasters around th...

Education, employment and marriage in long-term survivors of teenage and young adult cancer compared with healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Mader, Luzius; Vetsch, Janine; Christen, Salome; Baenziger, Julia; Roser, Katharina; Dehler, Silvia; Michel, Gisela

2017-03-21

Teenage and young adult (TYA) cancer patients are faced with the diagnosis during a challenging period of psychosocial development that may affect social outcomes in the long term. Therefore, we aimed to: (1) determine differences in social outcomes between long-term TYA cancer survivors and healthy controls and (2) identify factors associated with adverse social outcomes. We sent a questionnaire to TYA cancer survivors (aged 16-25 years at diagnosis, 5 years after diagnosis) registered in the Cancer Registry Zurich and Zug. Information on controls was obtained from the Swiss Health Survey 2012. We assessed educational achievement, employment status, marital status and life partnership (survivors only), and compared these outcomes between survivors and controls. We used logistic regression to identify sociodemographic and cancer-related factors associated with social outcomes. We included 160 TYA cancer survivors and 999 controls. Educational achievement of survivors differed significantly from controls (p = 0.012): more survivors than controls reported upper secondary education (33 vs 27%) and fewer survivors reported university education (12 vs 21%). No significant differences were found for employment (p = 0.515) and marital status (p = 0.357). The majority of survivors (91%) and controls (90%) were employed, and 37% of survivors were married, compared with 41% of controls. There were no cancer-related factors associated with having only basic education. Unemployment was associated with younger age at diagnosis (odds ratio [OR] 5.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-30.8) and self-reported late effects (OR 4.7, 95% CI 1.3-19.5). Survivors of younger age at diagnosis were more likely not to be married (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.7) and not to have a life partner (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.0-5.2). Our findings indicate that TYA cancer survivors completed applied higher education rather than a university education. Future studies including larger samples of TYA cancer survivors

Long-term preventive maintenance of instrumentation control equipment for PWR plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugitani, S.; Nanba, M.

2006-01-01

Since the PWR plants in Japan have been operated more than 30 years, main instrumentation control equipment of analog systems has been renewed to digital control systems. Renewal works had to be done in short period within periodical inspection term and for several facilities. The Mitsubishi LTD group had been provided with these market needs by its digital control system (MELTAC-NplusR 3) applicable to main instrumentation control equipment for primary and secondary systems and had already finished the renewal for practical plants. (T. Tanaka)

Differences in the verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in alcoholics: Short-term vs. long-term abstainers.

Science.gov (United States)

Nowakowska-Domagała, Katarzyna; Jabłkowska-Górecka, Karolina; Mokros, Łukasz; Koprowicz, Jacek; Pietras, Tadeusz

2017-03-01

The aim of the study was to assess differences in verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in two subgroups of alcohol-dependent patients, those undergoing short-term abstinence (STA) and those undergoing long-term abstinence (LTA), and to compare the level of cognitive functions in patients after long-term abstinence with healthy subjects. The study group consisted of 106 alcohol-dependent patients (53 immediately after drinking at least 3 days and 53 after at least one-year abstinence). The control group comprised 53 subjects, whose age, sex and education levels matched those of the patients in the experimental group. The dependence intensity was assessed using SADD and MAST scales. The neuropsychological assessment was based on the FAS Test, Stroop Test and TMT A&B Test. The results obtained for alcohol-dependent patients revealed significant disturbances of cognitive functions. Such results indicate the presence of severe frontal cerebral cortex dysfunctions. Frontal cortex dysfunctions affecting the verbal fluency and working memory subsystems and the executive functions also persisted during long-term abstinence periods. No significant correlations between the duration of dependence, quantity of alcohol consumed and efficiency of the working memory and executive functions were observed in alcohol-dependent subjects after short-term or long-term abstinence. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-Term Outcomes of ADHD: A Systematic Review of Self-Esteem and Social Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Harpin, V; Mazzone, L; Raynaud, J P; Kahle, J; Hodgkins, P

2016-04-01

To compare the long-term self-esteem and social function outcomes of individuals with untreated and treated ADHD across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. A systematic search of 12 databases was performed to identify peer-reviewed, primary research articles, published January 1980 to December 2011, reporting long-term self-esteem and/or social function outcomes (≥2 years; life consequences distinct from symptoms) of individuals with untreated or treated ADHD. Overall, 127 studies reported 150 outcomes. Most outcomes were poorer in individuals with untreated ADHD versus non-ADHD controls (57% [13/23] for self-esteem; 73% [52/71] for social function). A beneficial response to treatment (pharmacological, nonpharmacological, and multimodal treatments) was reported for the majority of self-esteem (89% [8/9]) and social function (77% [17/22]) outcomes. Untreated ADHD was associated with poorer long-term self-esteem and social function outcomes compared with non-ADHD controls. Treatment for ADHD was associated with improvement in outcomes; however, further long-term outcome studies are needed. © The Author(s) 2013.