Search

The urgency of meeting climate targets, increasing land use competition and falling solar photovoltaic (PV) energy costs have created unprecedented opportunities for innovative deployment options. This study uses geospatial data processing to quantify the potential for large-scale deployment of vertical solar panels along Europe's major roads and railways. Factors such as geography, environmental constraints, land use limitations, and techno-economic parameters, were carefully considered. An economic assessment is provided to take account of the costs and benefits and technical feasibility of the proposed PV system as compared to the fossil-fuel based transport. The findings reveal a potential PV capacity of 403 GWp within the European Union (EU). This is the equivalent to 55% of the EU's total solar PV capacity target set for 2030. Using bifacial PV modules, these systems could generate 391 TWh (terawatt hours) of clean electricity annually. Considering only railway lines, the total annual PV electricity output could potentially reach 250% of the current annual electricity consumption of the EU railway network. Additionally, the electricity generated from PV installations alongside roads would not only be cost-effective in electricity markets but also serve as a viable alternative to fossil fuels in transportation. Tapping solar PV energy along transport infrastructure can therefore significantly contribute to the EU's energy transition. [Display omitted] • Potential PV tech. installed capacity corresponds to 55% of the EU target 2030. • Using bifacial PV modules along roads & rails could produce 391 TWh/yr. • PV output along rails could surpass its annual elect. consumption by 2.5 times. • Up to 15% substitution of traditional fuelling along the TEN-T. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The classes of semicommutative, PS I, 2-primal, weakly-2-primal, NI, NR and Dedekind-finite rings form a strictly increasing chain of classes of rings. Examples have been provided by several authors to show most of the inclusions are strict. In this paper it is shown that every inclusion is strict. Furthermore, in most instances examples with the additional properties of being reflexive and/or abelian are constructed. In particular, an abelian nonreflexive NI non-weakly-2-primal ring is given, which shows that the classes of NI and weakly-2-primal rings differ; a fact that has been previously claimed without proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of Mosaic pathogenic HRAS variant in an infant girl suffering from nevus spilus with agminated Spitz nevi and rhabdomyosarcoma. A biopsy verified diagnosis of embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma while positron emission tomography found one large abdominal/pelvic mass. One of the Spitz nevi was reviewed in histological way.

While those with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (NV-AMD) may be at increased risk of injurious falls risk due to poor central vision and suboptimal responses when falling, preserved peripheral vision and decreased activity levels may actually be protective. Compared with control participants, patients with NV-AMD had a significantly greater number of falls and almost twice the risk of injurious falls. Impaired vision, particularly peripheral visual function, is a key risk factor for injurious falls. NV-AMD is a leading cause of severely impaired vision among older adults but is associated with a profound central, rather than peripheral, deficit. The objective was to determine whether older women with NV-AMD are at an increased risk of falls or injurious falls. We conducted a 12-month prospective cohort study of community-dwelling older (≥70 years) women, enrolling 114 with NV-AMD and 132 without from a retinal clinic in Vancouver, Canada. Fall incidence was determined through monthly telephone follow-up, with fall severity classified by a blinded reviewer. We compared mean injurious falls per person-year between groups using negative binomial regression. A mean of 0.37 injurious falls per person-year were experienced among NV-AMD participants, compared to 0.16 injurious falls per person-year among non-NV-AMD participants ( p = 0.006). The age-adjusted incidence rate ratio for injurious falls, for an individual with NV-AMD compared to without, was 1.77 (1.07–3.02). Older women with NV-AMD are at almost twice the risk of injurious falls compared to those without. Clinicians caring for older adults should recognise NV-AMD as an important risk factor for injurious falls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeTo determine if patients with occult with no classic and predominantly classic (PC) choroidal neovascular membranes have clinically equivalent visual outcomes after treatment with photodynamic therapy (PDT) with verteporfin.MethodsThis is a retrospective, observational cohort study. Two hundred and seventy-seven consecutive patients with occult or PC choroidal neovascularization secondary to age-related macular degeneration treated with PDT were included. The main outcome was the difference in mean change in Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) acuity lost from baseline in occult vsPC lesions, with the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) set at 7.5 letters.ResultsAt baseline, 131 patients had occult and 146 had PC choroidal neovascularization. Twelve-month follow-up data were available for 94 occult and 110 PC participants. Occult patients lost an average of 8.7 letters (1.9 lines), and patients in the PC group an average of 10.0 ETDRS letters (two lines) over 12 months. The mean letters lost at 12 months was not significantly different between the groups, and the MCID was not detected (difference=1.3 letters; P=0.411; 95% confidence interval (−2.3, 5.6)). Patients with occult lesions required a mean of 2.99 treatments vsa mean of 2.96 treatments in the PC group (out of a possible 4; P=0.172).ConclusionWe were not able to detect a clinically important difference in mean change in visual acuity with PDT treatment between patients with occult and PC lesions.Eye (2008) 22, 194–199; doi:10.1038/sj.eye.6702547; published online 1 September 2006 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review is focused on recent investigations demonstrating a pharmacological and patho­ physiologic role in gastroduodenal ulceration for growth factors such as basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platetet­derived growth factor (PDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGFL) as well as for transcription factors. Our experiments revealed accelerated healing, without decreased gastric acid secretion, of chronic cysteamine­induced duodenal ulcers in rats treated daily for 3weeks with intragastric administration of bFGF. PDGF or VEGF. Our recent studies also indicate a pathophysiologlcal role of endogenous growth factors in the natural history of experimental duodenal ulcer development and healing. More recently, we investigated the genetic regulation of these growth factors in experimental duodenal ulceration. Since gene expression is most effectively controlled by transcription factors, proteins that bind to cis­acting elements of DNA and guide the binding of polymerase II to start the transcription of specific mRNA, we tested the hypothesis that the expression of IEGs and their transcription factor products, such as Egr­I and Spl, might precede the Increased synthesis of BFGF, PDGF and VEGF in duodenal ulcer healing. Indeed, the duodenal ulcerogen cysteamine, but not its nonulcerogen and toxic analogue ethanolamine, rapidly increased duodenal (but not gastric) murosal levels of ET­1, which was followed by enhanced expression of Egr­I and a decrease in Sp1 in the preulcerogenic stage of duodenal ulceration. These changes in levels of ET­1 and expression of transcription factors were also accompanied by Increased expression of the CDK inhibitor p21. Thus, not only growth factors such as bFGF, PDGF and VEGF, but also transcription factors such as Egr­1 and Spl and the cell cycle regulator p21, may play a role in the natural history of experimental duodenal ulceration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review focuses on the recent investigations demonstrating a pharmacological and pathophysiological role for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in ulcerative and inflammatory lesions in the upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Our initial experiments revealed that intragastric administration of bFGF-w, acid-resistant bFGF-CS23 and PDGF-BB healed chronic cysteamine (mercaptamine)-induced duodenal ulcer in rats, without decreasing gastric acid secretion or concentration. Subsequently we and others have demonstrated that these peptides accelerate the healing of chronic gastric ulcers, chronic erosive gastritis and ulcerative colitis although they have no or modest acute gastric protective activity. Our recent results revealed a decreased bioactivity of bFGF and PDGF in the presence of certain strains of Helicobacter pylori, and this might explain, at least in part, the poor rates of ulcer healing in H. pylori-positive patients. VEGF, in addition to stimulating angiogenesis and granulation tissue production in duodenal ulcer healing, also has an acute gastroprotective effect. New biochemical, molecular biological and immunohistochemical studies indicate that bFGF, PDGF and VEGF play a pathophysiological role in the natural history of ulcer healing. Thus, growth factor research, especially regarding their possible use as a therapeutic tool in duodenal ulcer and colitis, is challenging. On the other hand, in some GI malignancies the diagnostic use of bFGF might be of clinical benefit. However, much research work is needed to transform these ‘endogenous drugs’ to ‘diagnostic tools’ and ‘exogenous drugs’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bulk density of compressible materials depends on the compressive load to which they are subjected. This results in bulk density variation within piles of such materials. However, it is difficult to measure bulk density in situ without disturbing the sample or changing the load on it. A laboratory method was developed to simulate the variation of density with depth of material. The method was used with compost, wood shavings, straw and peat and simulated material depths of up to 3.5 meters. The variation of bulk density with depth was shown to follow a power function relationship where the exponent provided an indication of the compressibility of a material. Effective density is proposed as a useful single descriptor of bulk density. Both effective density and material compressibility were shown to be influenced by the size of container used to obtain measurements. A medium sized container (400-mm diameter and 380-mm fill height) provided a good compromise between accuracy and practicality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the case of a 36-year-old man with AIDS and a renal aspergilloma. Case report; Comment.

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate and compare quality-of-life (QOL) parameters between patients with type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus who changed therapy from an oral hypoglycaemic agent (OHA) to insulin and those who remained on an OHA.Design: The World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire (WHOQOL) was used to assess quality of life among 2 groups of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus at baseline and after a 2-month follow-up period.Setting: The study was conducted in the outpatient department of the Vuk Vrhovac Clinic, a referral centre for registration, treatment and follow-up of patients with diabetes mellitus in Zagreb, Croatia.Participants and Interventions: 32 consecutively recruited patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who were switched from an OHA to insulin therapy (group 1) were compared with 28 patients who remained on OHA (group 2) with respect to QOL issues. The patient groups were comparable in terms of gender, age, duration of disease, education and family status. However, patients in group 1 had glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) values greater than 9.5% on average during a period of approximately 6 months, which was the criterion used for switching to insulin therapy.Main Outcome Measures and Results: At baseline, various QOL ratings were higher among patients in group 2 than group 1, indicating better quality of life with respect to overall quality of life (t = -2.31, p = 0.03), physical health (t = -2.36, p = 0.02), psychological state (t = -2.01, p = 0.05) and level of independence (t = -2.75, p = 0.001), while no differences were found between groups with respect to the social domain, personal beliefs and environmental QOL aspects. After the follow-up period, the groups were comparable in all QOL aspects other than overall quality of life (t = -2.18, p = 0.03) and level of independence (t = -3.49, p = 0.001), both of which remained higher for patients in group 2. No changes in QOL parameters were detected within group 2 from baseline to the end of the 2-month follow-up period, whereas patients in group 1 showed significant improvement in psychological QOL determinants (t = -2.14, p = 0.04).Conclusion: Results of the study indicate that introducing insulin therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and sustained elevated HbA1c levels might positively affect their quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: No studies measure preference-based utilities in advanced melanoma that capture both intended clinical response and unintended toxicities associated with treatment.Methods: Using standard gamble, utilities were elicited from 140 respondents in the United Kingdom and Australia for 13 health states.Results: Preferences decreased with reduced treatment responsiveness and with increasing toxicity.Conclusions: These general population utilities can be incorporated into treatment-specific cost-effectiveness evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe progressive genetic disease causing early loss of ambulation and mortality. Caregiver utilities ranged from 0.87 (for caregivers of adult DMD patients with DMD; measured by the EQ-5D-3L) to 0.71 (for caregivers of predominantly childhood DMD patients; measured by the EQ-5D-3L). [Extracted from the article]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), caused by loss of dystrophin, is associated with early loss of ambulation (LOA) and death. This review's objective was to summarize published data for age at LOA with DMD genotype. To focus on a more homogeneous group, 1) this analysis was restricted to patients treated with corticosteroids (CS) and 2) DMD genotypes were categorized according to amenability of mutations to potential exon skipping therapies. [Extracted from the article]

DMD is a severe progressive myopathy characterized by early loss of ambulation (LOA) and reduced life expectancy; and corticosteroids (CS) can delay disease progression. The objective was to summarize data on age at LOA and death from CS-treated patients with DMD. This analysis focused on studies with a minimum sample size >=50 CS-treated DMD patients from the US and Canada. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: Aortic valve regurgitation due to blunt thoracic trauma is a rare complication. Autopsy studies have been shown that the aortic valve is the most often lacerated one among the heart valves. Actually, we describe a case of a 47 year old man with the signs of heart failure after a blunt thoracic trauma 2 months before caused by aortic insufficiency due to a partial left-coronary aortic valve prolapse. Furthermore, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography revealed two small jets between the left and the right atrium. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Introduction: Water is involved in practically all functions of the human body and plays an important role in life and health. The type of fluid intake has an impact on daily calorie intake. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of consumption of different types of fluids in adults. Method: A total of 1,058 adults (496 men and 562 women) aged 18-85 were recruited from South Hungary. The information on the quality of fluid intake was collected using food and fluid frequency questionnaire. Results: The main part of daily fluid consumption was water in 76.9% of the study population. A total of almost 50% never drink milk or any other fluid dairy products. Consumption of sweet regular beverages and alcoholic drinks (beer, wine and hard liquor) was significantly higher in men than in women (p<0.05). 63% of women choose yogurt several times a week or more often than men (p<0.05). 74% of subjects consumed coffee. Conclusions: The biggest part of total fluid intake is water. Differences in the pattern of fluid consumption were observed between genders. Men were at a greater risk than women of unnecessary energy intake from sugar and alcohol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compares effects of naked DNA and adenovirus transfection of vascular endothelial growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor for ulcer treatment. Acceleration of chronic duodenal ulcer healing in rats using gene therapy; Types of intraduodenal injections or adenovirus received by rats in different groups; Measurement of the size of duodenal ulcer using morphometric analysis.

Discusses the elementary infinite sources of non-unique factorization rings.

Aim To determine if reduced light-dose photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with bevacizumab will decrease the number of bevacizumab treatments required over 6 months compared with bevacizumab monotherapy in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods Thirty-six patients with neovascular AMD were recruited for this randomised, double-masked, controlled clinical trial. Patients received intravitreal bevacizumab plus PDT using a light dose of either 25 J/cm2 (group 1) or 12 J/cm2 (group 2), or intravitreal bevacizumab plus sham PDT (group 3). Patients returned monthly for possible retreatment with bevacizumab or combination therapy (with a 3-month minimum interval between combination treatments); retreatment decisions were primarily based on optical coherence tomography. The main outcome measure was the mean number of bevacizumab treatments required over 6 months. Results Patients required a mean of 2.8 bevacizumab treatments in group 1 and 2.5 in group 2, compared with 5.1 in group 3 (p = 0.005 and p<0.001, respectively). Conclusions Combination bevacizumab and 25 J/cm2 or 12 J/cm2 PDT significantly reduced the number of bevacizumab treatments required over 6 months. This study was powered to examine number of treatments, but not visual acuities. Nevertheless, visual acuities responded favourably in all three groups. Further studies will be helpful to explore visual outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the prevalence rate of and risk factors for depression in Croatian Type 2 diabetic patients. Depressive mood was examined in 384 randomly selected outpatients with Type 2 diabetes. Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID) were used to identify depressive disturbances. The groups with CES-D ≥ 16 and < 16 were compared with respect to demographic, psychological and clinical characteristics. Regression analysis was used to determine risk factors for depression. Of the examined patients, 22% had CES-D scores ≥ 16, and in 33% of them clinical depression was confirmed by the psychiatric interview. Depressed patients compared with the non-depressed ones reported more diabetes-related problems and poorer well-being ( t = 6.71, P < 0.001 and t = 11.98, P < 0.001, respectively). Multiple regression analysis indicated female gender, experienced support and the level of emotional well-being to predict depression ( R = 0.74, F = 15.3, P < 0.001). The obtained data indicate that the prevalence rate in Croatian Type 2 diabetic patients is comparable to findings from other cultural settings. Depressive symptoms can be predicted by psychological rather than disease-related variables. Psychological care for diabetic patients may be necessary to prevent depressive symptomatology. Diabet. Med. 22, 942–945 (2005) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potentials of platinum oxidation according to the metallic particle size and the nature of the support have been evaluated. The use of the Fe3+/Fe2+ redox system potentials of platinum oxidation to be defined according to the dispersion of platinum and the nature of the support. By the use of the Gibbs–Helmoltz law (ΔG=−zF ΔE), the comparison with bulk platinum allows the platinum excess free energy to be calculated. It thus appears that the platinum–support interaction decreases following the sequence: Al2O3>C>SiO2. However, the most important parameter seems to be the size of the particle. Thus, the small particles are oxidised more easily by the Fe3+/Fe2+ redox system. At the end of the process, the size of the most stable particles is defined by a compromise between a decrease of the stability when the dispersion increases and an increase of the metal–support interaction when the particle size decreases. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by severe progressive muscle weakness, loss of ambulation (LOA) and early mortality. The study objective was to estimate the age at key milestones among commercially- or Medicaid-insured DMD patients in the US. [Extracted from the article]

Different parameters, which are obtained using classical sensors, are nowadays used to determine the technical state of turbojet engines. In order to expand and to improve this evaluation a novel idea in this area is presented that variations in the near magnetic field of an operational turbojet engine can contain valuable information about its state. Data analysis in different operational states of a small running turbojet engine is presented describing dynamical changes in magnetic induction in the near magnetic field in laboratory conditions. In order to detect the operational state of the engine using magnetic induction derivatives an infinite impulse response filter of the fourth order was designed with cut-off frequency of 2 Hz and expanded by a derivative element. The expanded filter was used to create a linear predictive model, which can be used to compute the rotational speed and exhaust gas temperature of a small turbojet engine using derivatives in magnetic induction in its near magnetic field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For managing overactive bladder (OAB), mirabegron, a β3 adrenergic receptor agonist, is typically used as second-line pharmacotherapy after antimuscarinics. Therefore, patients initiating treatment with mirabegron and antimuscarinics may differ, potentially impacting associated clinical outcomes. When using observational data to evaluate real-world safety and effectiveness of OAB treatments, residual bias due to unmeasured confounding and/or confounding by indication are important considerations. Falsification analysis, in which clinically irrelevant endpoints are tested as a reference, can be used to assess residual bias. The objective in this study was to compare baseline cardiovascular risk among OAB patients by treatment, and assess the presence of residual bias via falsification analysis of OAB patients treated with mirabegron or antimuscarinics, to determine whether clinically relevant comparisons across groups would be feasible. Linked electronic health record and claims data (Optum/Humedica) for OAB patients in the United States from 2011–2015 were available, with index defined as first date of OAB treatment during this period. Unadjusted characteristics were compared across groups at index and propensity-matching conducted. Falsification endpoints (hepatitis C, shingles, community-acquired pneumonia) were compared between groups using odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The study identified 10,311 antimuscarinic- and 408 mirabegron-treated patients. Mirabegron patients were predominantly older males, with more comorbidities. The analytic sample included 1,188 antimuscarinic patients propensity-matched to 396 mirabegron patients; after matching, no significant baseline differences remained. Estimates of falsification ORs were 0.7 (CI:0.3–1.7) for shingles, 1.5 (CI:0.3–8.2) for hepatitis C, 0.8 (CI:0.4–1.8) and 0.9 (CI:0.6–1.4) for pneumonia. While propensity matching successfully balanced observed covariates, wide CIs prevented definitive conclusions regarding residual bias. Accordingly, further observational comparisons by treatment group were not pursued. In real-world analysis, bias-detection methods could not confirm that differences in cardiovascular risk in patients receiving mirabegron versus antimuscarinics were fully adjusted for, precluding clinically relevant comparisons across treatment groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]