Ultra-high-resolution 3D imaging of atherosclerosis in mice with synchrotron differential phase contrast: a proof of concept study.

The goal of this study was to investigate the performance of 3D synchrotron differential phase contrast (DPC) imaging for the visualization of both macroscopic and microscopic aspects of atherosclerosis in the mouse vasculature ex vivo. The hearts and aortas of 2 atherosclerotic and 2 wild-type control mice were scanned with DPC imaging with an isotropic resolution of 15 μm. The coronary artery vessel walls were segmented in the DPC datasets to assess their thickness, and histological staining was performed at the level of atherosclerotic plaques. The DPC imaging allowed for the visualization of complex structures such as the coronary arteries and their branches, the thin fibrous cap of atherosclerotic plaques as well as the chordae tendineae. The coronary vessel wall thickness ranged from 37.4 ± 5.6 μm in proximal coronary arteries to 13.6 ± 3.3 μm in distal branches. No consistent differences in coronary vessel wall thickness were detected between the wild-type and atherosclerotic hearts in this proof-of-concept study, although the standard deviation in the atherosclerotic mice was higher in most segments, consistent with the observation of occasional focal vessel wall thickening. Overall, DPC imaging of the cardiovascular system of the mice allowed for a simultaneous detailed 3D morphological assessment of both large structures and microscopic details.

How we experience immersive virtual environments: the concept of presence and its measurement

This paper reviews the concept of presence in immersive virtual environments, the sense of being there signalled by people acting and responding realistically to virtual situations and events. We argue that presence is a unique phenomenon that must be distinguished from the degree of engagement, involvement in the portrayed environment. We argue that there are three necessary conditions for presence: the (a) consistent low latency sensorimotor loop between sensory data and proprioception; (b) statistical plausibility: images must be statistically plausible in relation to the probability distribution of images over natural scenes. A constraint on this plausibility is the level of immersion;(c) behaviour-response correlations: Presence may be enhanced and maintained over time by appropriate correlations between the state and behaviour of participants and responses within the environment, correlations that show appropriate responses to the activity of the participants. We conclude with a discussion of methods for assessing whether presence occurs, and in particular recommend the approach of comparison with ground truth and give some examples of this.

Can the administration be trusted? An analysis of the concept of trust, applied to the public sector

In the first part of this paper, we present the various academic debates and, where applicable, questions that remain open in the literature, particularly regarding the nature of trust, the distinction between trust and trustworthiness, its role in specific relationships and its relationship to control. We then propose a way of demarcating and operationalizing the concepts of trust and trustworthiness. In the second part, on the basis of the conceptual clarifications we present, we put forward a number of "anchor points" regarding how trust is apprehended in the public sector with regard to the various relations hips that can be studied. Schematically, we distinguish between two types of relations hips in the conceptual approach to trust: on one hand, the trust that citizens, or third parties, place in the State or in various public sector authorities or entities, and on the other hand, trust within the State or the public sector, between its various authorities, entities, and actors. While studies have traditionally focused on citizens' trust in their institutions, the findings, limitations and problems observed in public - sector coordination following the reforms associated with New Public Management have also elicited growing interest in the study of trust in the relationships between the various actors within the public sector. Both the theoretical debates we present and our propositions have been extracted and adapted from an empirical comparative study of coordination between various Swiss public - service organizations and their politico - administrative authority. Using the analysis model developed for this specific relationship, between various actors within the public service, and in the light of theoretical elements on which development of this model was based, we propose some avenues for further study - questions that remain open - regarding the consideration and understanding of citizens' trust in the public sector.

Service Concept Development - An Appoach for Professional Service Firm

Specific demand for service concept creation has come about from industrial organizations’ desire to find new and innovative ways to differentiate their offering by increasing the level of customer services. Providers of professional services have also demanded new concepts and approaches for their businesses as these industries have become increasingly competitive. Firms are now seeking better ways to understand and segment their customers, to ensure the delivery of quality services and strengthen their position in aggressively competitive markets. This thesis is intended to provide management consulting companies with a new work method that enables service concept creation in a business-to-business environment. The model defines the service concept as a combination of delivered value and the target customers; the third-dimension operating model is brought to the new system in testing of the service concept creation guidelines in the target organization. For testing, service concepts for a management consulting company are created. Service concepts are designed to serve as a solid foundation for further service improvements. Recommendations and proposals for further action related to service development in the target organization are presented, and recommendations to further improve the model created are given.

Moral disengagement: Towards a context-general category-based measure of the concept

Bandura (1986) developed the concept of moral disengagement to explain how individuals can engage in detrimental behavior while experiencing low levels of negative feelings such as guilt-feelings. Most of the research conducted on moral disengagement investigated this concept as a global concept (e.g., Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 1996; Moore, Detert, Klebe Treviño, Baker, & Mayer, 2012) while Bandura (1986, 1990) initially developed eight distinct mechanisms of moral disengagement grouped into four categories representing the various means through which moral disengagement can operate. In our work, we propose to develop measures of this concept based on its categories, namely rightness of actions, rejection of personal responsibility, distortion of negative consequences, and negative perception of the victims, and which is not specific a particular area of research. Through our measures, we aim at better understanding the cognitive process leading individuals to behave unethically by investigating which category plays a role in explaining unethical behavior depending on the situations in which individuals are. To this purpose, we conducted five studies to develop the measures and to test its predictive validity. Particularly, we assessed the ability of the newly developed measures to predict two types of unethical behaviors, i.e. discriminatory behavior and cheating behavior. Confirmatory Factor analyses demonstrated a good fit of the model and findings generally supported our predictions.

Treatment of pleural malignancies by photo-induction combined to systemic chemotherapy: Proof of concept on rodent lung tumors and feasibility study on porcine chest cavities.

BACKGROUND: Low-dose, Visudyne®-mediated photodynamic therapy (photo-induction) was shown to selectively enhance tumor vessel transport causing increased uptake of systemically administered chemotherapy in various tumor types grown on rodent lungs. The present experiments explore the efficacy of photo-induced vessel modulation combined to intravenous (IV) liposomal cisplatin (Lipoplatin®) on rodent lung tumors and the feasibility/toxicity of this approach in porcine chest cavities. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three groups of Fischer rats underwent orthotopic sarcoma (n = 14), mesothelioma (n = 14), or adenocarcinoma (n = 12) implantation on the left lung. Half of the animals of each group had photo-induction (0.0625 mg/kg Visudyne®, 10 J/cm(2) ) followed by IV administration of Lipoplatin® (5 mg/kg) and the other half received Lipoplatin® without photo-induction. Then, two groups of minipigs underwent intrapleural thoracoscopic (VATS) photo-induction (0.0625 mg/kg Visudyne®; 30 J/cm(2) hilum; 10 J/cm(2) apex/diaphragm) with in situ light dosimetry in combination with IV Lipoplatin® administration (5 mg/kg). Protocol I (n = 6) received Lipoplatin® immediately after light delivery and Protocol II (n = 9) 90 minutes before light delivery. Three additional animals received Lipoplatin® and VATS pleural biopsies but no photo-induction (controls). Lipoplatin® concentrations were analyzed in blood and tissues before and at regular intervals after photo-induction using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. RESULTS: Photo-induction selectively increased Lipoplatin® uptake in all orthotopic tumors. It significantly increased the ratio of tumor to lung Lipoplatin® concentration in sarcoma (P = 0.0008) and adenocarcinoma (P = 0.01) but not in mesothelioma, compared to IV drug application alone. In minipigs, intrapleural photo-induction combined to systemic Lipoplatin® was well tolerated with no toxicity at 7 days for both treatment protocols. The pleural Lipoplatin® concentrations were not significantly different at 10 and 30 J/cm(2) locations but they were significantly higher in protocol I compared to II (2.37 ± 0.7 vs. 1.37 ± 0.7 ng/mg, P  < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Visudyne®-mediated photo-induction selectively enhances the uptake of IV administered Lipoplatin® in rodent lung tumors. Intrapleural VATS photo-induction with identical treatment conditions combined to IV Lipoplatin chemotherapy is feasible and well tolerated in a porcine model. Lasers Surg. Med. 47:807-816, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Creating customer relationship management concept for engineering and service business

Customer relationship management has been one essential part of marketing for over 20 years. Today’s business environment is fast changing, international and highly competitive, and that is why the most important factor for long-term profitability is one-to-one customer relationships. However, managing relationships and serving customers that are profitable has been always challenging. In this thesis the objective was to define the main obstacles that the case company must overcome to succeed in CRM. Possible solutions have also been defined. The main elements of the implementation i.e. people, processes and technologies, can clearly be found behind these matters and solutions. This thesis also presents theoretical information about CRM and it is meant to act as a guide book inside the organisation to spread information about CRM for those who are not so familiar with the topic.

Nursing Advocacy: A concept clarification in context of procedural pain care

The purpose of this study was to clarify the concept of advocacy in context of procedural pain care and to investigate the implementation of advocacy in that context. First, the concept of advocacy was described on the basis of a literature review (n = 89 empirical studies from 1990 to 2003). Then, the concept was described in the context of procedural pain care on the basis of interview data (n = 22 patients, 21 nurses) in a medical and surgical context. In the second phase, an instrument exploring the content of advocacy and the implementation of advocacy in context of procedural pain care was developed and validated. Then, the content of advocacy and implementation of it was explored in a sample of otolaryngeal patients (n = 405) and nurses (n = 118) in 12 hospitals. In the third phase, an update literature review (n = 35 empirical studies from 2003 to 2007) was conducted, and all data from phases one and two were reviewed in order to refine the elements the concept of advocacy, and the relationships between these elements. As a result of this study, advocacy in context of procedural pain care was defined as consisting of the dual aspects of patient advocacy and professional advocacy, and called nursing advocacy. It was divided into dimensions and subdimensions in which patient and nurse empowerment seems to play a vital role. All the data obtained lend support to this definition of nursing advocacy. Patients and nurses felt that nearly all of the activities that they considered as advocacy were implemented.

Ion-selective electrodes: historical, mechanism of response, selectivity and concept review

This paper presents a review of the concepts involved in the working mechanism of the ion-selective electrodes, searching a historical overview, moreover to describe the new advances in the area.

MONALISA 2.0 and the sea traffic management - a concept creating the need for new maritime information standards and software solutions

Postprint (published version)

A human immune data-informed vaccine concept elicits strong and broad T-cell specificities associated with HIV-1 control in mice and macaques

Background: None of the HIV T-cell vaccine candidates that have reached advanced clinical testing have been able to induce protective T cell immunity. A major reason for these failures may have been suboptimal T cell immunogen designs. Methods: To overcome this problem, we used a novel immunogen design approach that is based on functional T cell response data from more than 1,000 HIV-1 clade B and C infected individuals and which aims to direct the T cell response to the most vulnerable sites of HIV-1. Results: Our approach identified 16 regions in Gag, Pol, Vif and Nef that were relatively conserved and predominantly targeted by individuals with reduced viral loads. These regions formed the basis of the HIVACAT T-cell Immunogen (HTI) sequence which is 529 amino acids in length, includes more than 50 optimally defined CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell epitopes restricted by a wide range of HLA class I and II molecules and covers viral sites where mutations led to a dramatic reduction in viral replicative fitness. In both, C57BL/6 mice and Indian rhesus macaques immunized with an HTI-expressing DNA plasmid (DNA.HTI) induced broad and balanced T-cell responses to several segments within Gag, Pol, and Vif. DNA.HTI induced robust CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses that were increased by a booster vaccination using modified virus Ankara (MVA.HTI), expanding the DNA.HTI induced response to up to 3.2% IFN-γ T-cells in macaques. HTI-specific T cells showed a central and effector memory phenotype with a significant fraction of the IFN-γ+ CD8+ T cells being Granzyme B+ and able to degranulate (CD107a+). Conclusions: These data demonstrate the immunogenicity of a novel HIV-1 T cell vaccine concept that induced broadly balanced responses to vulnerable sites of HIV-1 while avoiding the induction of responses to potential decoy targets that may divert effective T-cell responses towards variable and less protective viral determinants.

Strategic Development of Electricity Distribution Networks – Concept and Methods

Strategic development of distribution networks plays a key role in the asset management in electricity distribution companies. Owing to the capital-intensive nature of the field and longspan operations of companies, the significance of a strategy is emphasised. A well-devised strategy combines awareness of challenges posed by the operating environment and the future targets of the distribution company. Economic regulation, ageing infrastructure, scarcity of resources and tightening supply requirements with challenges created by the climate change put a pressure on the strategy work. On the other hand, technology development related to network automation and underground cabling assists in answering these challenges. This dissertation aims at developing process knowledge and establishing a methodological framework by which key issues related to network development can be addressed. Moreover, the work develops tools by which the effects of changes in the operating environment on the distribution business can be analysed in the strategy work. To this end, the work discusses certain characteristics of the distribution business and describes the strategy process at a principle level. Further, the work defines the subtasks in the strategy process and presents the key elements in the strategy work and long-term network planning. The work delineates the factors having either a direct or indirect effect on strategic planning and development needs in the networks; in particular, outage costs constitute an important part of the economic regulation of the distribution business, reliability being thus a key driver in network planning. The dissertation describes the methodology and tools applied to cost and reliability analyses in the strategy work. The work focuses on determination of the techno-economic feasibility of different network development technologies; these feasibility surveys are linked to the economic regulation model of the distribution business, in particular from the viewpoint of reliability of electricity supply and allowed return. The work introduces the asset management system developed for research purposes and to support the strategy work, the calculation elements of the system and initial data used in the network analysis. The key elements of this asset management system are utilised in the dissertation. Finally, the study addresses the stages of strategic decision-making and compilation of investment strategies. Further, the work illustrates implementation of strategic planning in an actual distribution company environment.

BimTwin - Two component continuous process hygiene concept

The aim of this study was to examine suitability of BimTwin cleaning concept in card board machine to control microbiological activity and describe microbiological balance of the machine. In a review of literature is examined microbe and spore caused problems in paper industry. Biggest problems are deposits, which decrease runnability and cause quality errors. In this chapter is also introduced most common oxidizing biocides used in paper industry and described ATP assay as a microbiological monitoring method. In an experimental part are included BimTwin mill trial results, chemical condition monitoring methods and microbiological balance in a card board machine. In a second part are examined possibilities to effect hygiene of card board by chemical treatment of the surface size and coating. Result showed that BimTwin concept is suitable for card board machine as a cleaning concept, when chemical dosing is fitted right. For proper dosing and secure tolerable hygiene level, chemical and microbiological monitoring is significant. Determining of the microbiological balance would have need more sampling. According to acquired results, broke turned out to be the biggest microbe source. Sizing and coating experiments showed that it is possible to improve hygiene of card board by chemically treated surface size and coating color.