Prognostic factors for progression of liver structural lesions in chronic hepatitis C patients

AIM: To evaluate the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory and histological variables capable of predicting the progression of hepatic structural disturbances in chronic hepatitis C patients during the time interval between two liver biopsies. METHODS: Clinical charts of 112 chronic hepatitis C patients were retrospectively analyzed, whereas liver biopsies were revised. Immunohistochemical detection of interferon receptor was based on the Envision-Peroxidase System. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, the variables in the age at first biopsy, ALT levels, presence of lymphoid aggregates and siderosis were the determinants of the best model for predicting the severity of the disease. The direct progression rate of hepatic structural lesions was significantly higher in untreated patients, intermediate in treated non-responders and lower in treated responders to antiviral therapy (non-treated vs responders, 0.22 +/- 0.50 vs -0.15 +/- 0.46, P = 0.0053). Immuno-expression of interferon receptor is not a relevant factor. CONCLUSION: The best predictors of the progression of fibrosis are age at the first liver biopsy, extent of ALT elevation, inflammation at liver histology and hepatic siderosis. Antiviral treatment is effective in preventing the progression of liver structural lesions in chronic hepatitis C patients. (C) 2008 WJG. All rights reserved.

On the classification of mixed construction and demolition waste aggregate by porosity and its impact on the mechanical performance of concrete

The properties of recycled aggregate produced from mixed (masonry and concrete) construction and demolition (C&D) waste are highly variable, and this restricts the use of such aggregate in structural concrete production. The development of classification techniques capable of reducing this variability is instrumental for quality control purposes and the production of high quality C&D aggregate. This paper investigates how the classification of C&D mixed coarse aggregate according to porosity influences the mechanical performance of concrete. Concretes using a variety of C&D aggregate porosity classes and different water/cement ratios were produced and the mechanical properties measured. For concretes produced with constant volume fractions of water, cement, natural sand and coarse aggregate from recycled mixed C&D waste, the compressive strength and Young modulus are direct exponential functions of the aggregate porosity. Sink and float technique is a simple laboratory density separation tool that facilitates the separation of cement particles with lower porosity, a difficult task when done only by visual sorting. For this experiment, separation using a 2.2 kg/dmA(3) suspension produced recycled aggregate (porosity less than 17%) which yielded good performance in concrete production. Industrial gravity separators may lead to the production of high quality recycled aggregate from mixed C&D waste for structural concrete applications.

From Midden to Sieve: The Impact of Differential Recovery and Quantification Techniques on Interpretations of Shellfish Remains in Australian Coastal Archaeology

Experimental mechanical sieving methods are applied to samples of shellfish remains from three sites in southeast Queensland, Seven Mile Creek Mound, Sandstone Point and One-Tree, to test the efficacy of various recovery and quantification procedures commonly applied to shellfish assemblages in Australia. There has been considerable debate regarding the most appropriate sieve sizes and quantification methods that should be applied in the recovery of vertebrate faunal remains. Few studies, however, have addressed the impact of recovery and quantification methods on the interpretation of invertebrates, specifically shellfish remains. In this study, five shellfish taxa representing four bivalves (Anadara trapezia, Trichomya hirsutus, Saccostrea glomerata, Donax deltoides) and one gastropod (Pyrazus ebeninus) common in eastern Australian midden assemblages are sieved through 10mm, 6.3mm and 3.15mm mesh. Results are quantified using MNI, NISP and weight. Analyses indicate that different structural properties and pre- and postdepositional factors affect recovery rates. Fragile taxa (T. hirsutus) or those with foliated structure (S. glomerata) tend to be overrepresented by NISP measures in smaller sieve fractions, while more robust taxa (A. trapezia and P. ebeninus) tend to be overrepresented by weight measures. Results demonstrate that for all quantification methods tested a 3mm sieve should be used on all sites to allow for regional comparability and to effectively collect all available information about the shellfish remains.

Comparative influence of forest management and habitat structural factors on the abundances of hollow-nesting bird species in subtropical Australian eucalypt forest

We examined the impact of single-tree selective logging and fuel reduction bums on the abundance of hollow-nesting bird species at a regional scale in southeastern Queensland, Australia. Data were collected on species abundance and habitat structure of dry sclerophyll production forest at 36 sites with known logging and fire histories. Sixteen bird species were recorded with most being resident, territorial, obligate hollow nesters that used hollows that were either small (18 cm diameter). Species densities were typically low, but combinations of two forest management and three habitat structural variables influenced the abundances of eight bird species in different and sometimes conflicting ways. The results suggest that habitat tree management for biodiversity in production forests cannot depend upon habitat structural characteristics alone. Management histories appear to have independent influence (on some bird species) that are distinguishable from their impacts on habitat structure per se. Rather than managing to maximize species abundances to maintain biodiversity, we may be better off managing to avoid extinctions of populations by identifying thresholds of acceptable fluctuations in populations of not only hollow-nesting birds but other forest dependent wildlife relative to scientifically valid forest management and habitat structural surrogates.

Impact of leadership style and emotions on subordinate performance

This article examines whether the emotions of frustration and optimism mediate, fully or partially, the relationship between leadership style and subordinate performance in the context of structural equation modeling. The findings show that transformational leadership has a significant direct influence on frustration and optimism, with the negative influence of frustration having a stronger effect on performance than the positive influence of optimism. Frustration and optimism are found to have a direct influence on performance, and the emotions, frustration and optimism, fully mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and performance. Thus, the effect of transformational leadership style on performance is significant, but indirect. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of a control burn on lizards and their structural environment in a eucalypt open-forest

The composition of an open-forest lizard assemblage in eastern Australia was examined before and after a low-intensity controlled fire and concurrently compared with that in an adjoining unburnt area. The effect of fire on the available structural environment and the habitat used by two focal species, Carlia vivax and Lygisaurus foliorum, was also examined. Lizard species richness was unaffected by the controlled burn as was the abundance of most species. C. vivax was the only species to display a significant reduction in abundance after fire. While the low-intensity fire resulted in significant changes to the available structural environment, there were no compensatory shifts in the habitat preferences of either C. vivax or L. foliorum. The reduction in abundance of C. vivax was congruent with this species' avoidance of burnt areas. C. vivax displayed a non-random preference for ground cover and litter cover, which were reduced in burnt areas. Changes in the availability of preferred structural habitat features are likely to contribute to changes in the abundance of some lizard species. Therefore, even low-intensity disturbances can have an impact on lizard assemblages if critical habitat features are lost or become limiting.

Impacts of structural characteristics on activated sludge floc stability

Activated sludge samples from seven full-scale plants were investigated in order to determine the relationship between floc structure and floc stability. Floc stability was determined by shear sensitivity and floc strength. Floc structure was considered in terms of two size scales, the micro- and macrostructure. The microstructure refers to the organization of the floc components, such as the individual microorganisms. The macrostructure refers to the overall floc. The floc macrostructure was characterized by filament index, sludge volume index, size, and fractal dimension. It had a significant impact on floc stability. Large and open floes with low fractal dimensions containing large number of filaments were more shear sensitive and had lower floc strength compared to small and dense floes. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis indicated that the organization of the bacterial cells might also have an effect on the floc stability. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dependence relationship between the critical quality factors and social impact

This paper shows the results of the empirical study conducted in 186 tourist accommodation businesses in Spain certified under the "Q for Tourist Quality", own System Quality Management. It was raised with the purpose of analyzing the structure of the relationship between critical quality factors and results-social impact, how they operate and the level of their influence on obtaining these results within the company. Starting from a deep theoretical revision we propose a theoretical model together with the hypotheses to be tested, and we proceed to validation using the technique of Structural Equation Models. The results obtained show that companies wishing to improve their social impact should take into account that leadership is the most important factor to achieve it. Leadership indirectly affects the social impact through its influence on alliances and resources, quality policy/planning, personnel management and learning.

Ligand-Induced structural changes in TEM‑1 probed by molecular dynamics and relative binding free energy calculations

The TEM family of enzymes has had a crucial impact on the pharmaceutical industry due to their important role in antibiotic resistance. Even with the latest technologies in structural biology and genomics, no 3D structure of a TEM- 1/antibiotic complex is known previous to acylation. Therefore, the comprehension of their capability in acylate antibiotics is based on the protein macromolecular structure uncomplexed. In this work, molecular docking, molecular dynamic simulations, and relative free energy calculations were applied in order to get a comprehensive and thorough analysis of TEM-1/ampicillin and TEM-1/amoxicillin complexes. We described the complexes and analyzed the effect of ligand binding on the overall structure. We clearly demonstrate that the key residues involved in the stability of the ligand (hot-spots) vary with the nature of the ligand. Structural effects such as (i) the distances between interfacial residues (Ser70−Oγ and Lys73−Nζ, Lys73−Nζ and Ser130−Oγ, and Ser70−Oγ−Ser130−Oγ), (ii) side chain rotamer variation (Tyr105 and Glu240), and (iii) the presence of conserved waters can be also influenced by ligand binding. This study supports the hypothesis that TEM-1 suffers structural modifications upon ligand binding.

A wireless sensor network platform for structural health monitoring: enabling accurate and synchronized measurements through COTS+custom-based design

Structural health monitoring has long been identified as a prominent application of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), as traditional wired-based solutions present some inherent limitations such as installation/maintenance cost, scalability and visual impact. Nevertheless, there is a lack of ready-to-use and off-the-shelf WSN technologies that are able to fulfill some most demanding requirements of these applications, which can span from critical physical infrastructures (e.g. bridges, tunnels, mines, energy grid) to historical buildings or even industrial machinery and vehicles. Low-power and low-cost yet extremely sensitive and accurate accelerometer and signal acquisition hardware and stringent time synchronization of all sensors data are just examples of the requirements imposed by most of these applications. This paper presents a prototype system for health monitoring of civil engineering structures that has been jointly conceived by a team of civil, and electrical and computer engineers. It merges the benefits of standard and off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and communication technologies with a minimum set of custom-designed signal acquisition hardware that is mandatory to fulfill all application requirements.

Impact of europeanization in policy network governance pattrons

Comunicação apresentada na 30th Sunbelt Social Networks Conference, em Riva del Garda, Itália, a 3 de Julho de 2010.

Impact of Supplier Management Strategies on the Organizational Performance of ISO 9001 Certified Organizations

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to discuss the impact of Supplier orientation and the resulting Supply Chain Management (SCM) approach, on the organizational performance of ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems certified organizations. Methodology/Approach: Following a literature review, a full structural conceptual model was proposed. An online survey was administered to managers of Portuguese organizations with certified ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems. Descriptive Statistics and Structural Model Equations were used to validate the proposed conceptual model. Findings: There are positive relationships between Organization Strategy and Supplier Orientation, between Supplier Orientation and Stakeholders Satisfaction, and between Stakeholders Satisfaction and Organizational Performance Orientation, supporting ISO 9001:2015. These findings provide insights that supplier orientation, mediated by stakeholder satisfaction, is an essential tool for organizational competitive sustainable advantage. Research Limitation/implication: The analysis was based on managers of ISO 9001 certified organizations perceptions, so additional studies with actual data and longitudinal studies should be useful for further validation. Originality/Value of paper: The importance of the overall organizational ecosystem is highlighted with potential impact on the more than 1 Million ISO 9001 organizations certified worldwide and in their suppliers.

Health expenditures in the OECD: A political economy analysis using structural breaks

A Masters Thesis, presented as part of the requirements for the award of a Research Masters Degree in Economics from NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Structural and functional studies of a high activity NiFeSe Hydrogenase

Theawareness that fossil fuels exist in limited quantities has stimulated research into energy production from renewable sources. Future energy sources! should! be! plentiful! with! negligible! impact! on! the! environment.! Hydrogen!has!the!potential!to!satisfy!these!requirements.!Nevertheless,!current! methods! of! H2! production! rely! on! nonOrenewable! resources.! Biological! H2! production! from! sunlight! or! biomass! is! an! appealing! alternative! to! current! production!methods.!!(...)

The impact of the European sovereign debt crisis on the recovering from the financial crisis: Equity returns of the banking sector

This paper analyses, through a dynamic panel data model, the impact of the Financial and the European Debt crisis on the equity returns of the banking system. The model is also extended to specifically investigate the impact on countries who received rescue packages. The sample under analysis considers eleven countries from January 2006 to June 2013. The main conclusion is that there was in fact a structural change in banks’ excess returns due to the outbreak of the European Debt Crisis, when stock markets were still recovering from the Financial Crisis of 2008.