Geofluid behaviour in successive extensional and compressional events: a case study from the southwestern end of the Vallès-Penedès Fault (Catalan Coastal Ranges, NE Spain)

The structural position of the Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous carbonates located in the central part of the Catalan Coastal Ranges corresponds to the southwestern end of the Vallès-Penedès Fault. This fault was reactivated at different times during successive extensional and compressional events and several generations of fractures and cementations were formed.

Preface: Forecast and projection in climate scenario of Mediterranean intense events: uncertainties and propagation on environment (the MEDUP project)

The Mediterranean basin is a particularly vulnerable region to climate change, partly due to its quite unique character that results both from physiographic conditions and societal development. The region features indeed a near-closed sea surrounded by very urbanised littorals and mountains from which numerous rivers originate. This results in a lot of interactions and feedbacks between oceanic-atmospheric-hydrological processes that play a predominant role on climate and extreme events that frequently cause heavy dam- ages and human losses in the Mediterranean ...

Preface: Extreme events induced by weather and climate change: evaluation, forecasting and proactive planning

This special issue of Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (NHESS) contains eight papers presented as oral or poster contributions in the Natural Hazards NH-1.2 session on"Extreme events induced by weather and climate change: evaluation, forecasting and proactive planning", held at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly in Vienna, Austria, on 13-18 April 2008. The aim of the session was to provide an international forum for presenting new results and for discussing innovative ideas and concepts on extreme hydro-meteorological events, including: (i) the assessment of the risk posed by the extreme events, (ii) the expected changes in the frequency and intensity of the events driven by a changing climate and by multiple human- induced causes, (iii) new modelling approaches and original forecasting methods to predict extreme events and their consequences, and (iv) strategies for hazard mitigation and risk reduction, and for a improved adaptation to extreme hydro-meteorological events ...

The Use of virtual reality in the study of people's responses to violent incidents

This paper reviews experimental methods for the study of the responses of people to violence in digital media, and in particular considers the issues of internal validity and ecological validity or generalisability of results to events in the real world. Experimental methods typically involve a significant level of abstraction from reality, with participants required to carry out tasks that are far removed from violence in real life, and hence their ecological validity is questionable. On the other hand studies based on fi eld data, while having ecological validity, cannot control multiple confounding variables that may have an impact on observed results, so that their internal validity is questionable. It is argued that immersive virtual reality may provide a unifi cation of these two approaches. Since people tend to respond realistically to situations and events that occur in virtual reality, and since virtual reality simulations can be completely controlled for experimental purposes, studies of responses to violence within virtual reality are likely to have both ecological and internal validity. This depends on a property that we call"plausibility"- including the fi delity of the depicted situation with prior knowledge and expectations. We illustrate this with data from a previously published experiment, a virtual reprise of Stanley Milgram"s 1960s obedience experiment, and also with pilot data from a new study being developed that looks at bystander responses to violent incidents.

Handling of TDM Connections with Cello Media Gateway

UMTS is a 3rd generation telecommunication system, which introduces new network architecture. The change in the network architecture introduces new logical network nodes and changes the role of existing nodes in the network. This architecture changes the current vertically specialized network into a horizontally layered structure. In practice, the layering means that different levels in network hierarchy are separated, and they communicate over well-specified interfaces. The Connectivity Layer, at the bottom of the UMTS network architecture, contains Media Gateways (MGW). The GSM radio access network and UMTS access network are connected to the connectivity network via a MGW. External networks, e.g. ISDN networks, are accessed via other MGWs. The user plane is transported across the connectivity network between/via MGWs. ATM network is used as the backbone in Ericsson’s UMTS core network release 2.0. The main goal of this thesis is to study how the MGW is used to bridge ATM and TDM networks. The Circuit Emulation Service (CES) for ATM is studied, as the conversion from TDM to ATM is made according it. The transportation is made using AAL2 and the issues that it has with voice traffic are studied. The implementation and usage of TDM switching service in MGW are described in detail.

Java Mobile Media API porting in Symbian Operating System

Työssä tutkitaan, kuinka Symbian käyttöjärjestelmälle voidaan tehdä siirrettäviä ohjelmia. Työssä käydään läpi menetelmiä, jotka helpottavat ohjelmistojen siirrettävyyttä uudelle alustalle. Uuteen älypuhelimeen voi tulla monia uusia komponentteja. Laite voi muuttua piiritasolla, käyttöjärjestelmästä voi tulla uusi versio sekä siirrettävästä ohjelmasta voi tulla uusi versio. Kaikki nämä vaikuttavat ohjelman siirrettävyyteen. Työssä tehtiin Java-rajapinnan siirto uudelle alustalle. Prosessin aikana löydettiin tärkeitä tekijöitä, jotka vaikuttavat ohjelmiston siirrettävyyteen. Siirrettävyys sinänsä pitäisi ottaa huomioon ohjelmistoprosessin jokaisessa vaiheessa. Älypuhelimista tulee jatkuvasti uusia versioita. Tämä tekee ohjelmien siirrettävyydestä hyvin tärkeän tekijän ohjelmistojen suunnittelussa. Hyvin suunniteltu ohjelma on helpompi ylläpitää, päivättää ja siirtää myöhemmin.

Transmedia Storytelling: Implicit Consumers, Narrative Worlds, and Branding in Contemporary Media Production

Many concepts have been developed to describe the convergence of media, languages, and formats in contemporary media systems. This article is a theoretical reflection on “transmedia storytelling” from a perspective that integrates semiotics and narratology in the context of media studies. After dealing with the conceptual chaos around transmedia storytelling, the article analyzes how these new multimodal narrative structures create different implicit consumers and construct a narrative world. The analysis includes a description of the multimedia textual structure created around the Fox television series 24. Finally, the article analyzes transmedia storytelling from the perspective of a semiotics of branding.

Subclinical Hypothyroidism and the Risk of Stroke Events and Fatal Stroke: An Individual Participant Data Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to determine the risk of stroke associated with subclinical hypothyroidism. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SELECTION: Published prospective cohort studies were identified through a systematic search through November 2013 without restrictions in several databases. Unpublished studies were identified through the Thyroid Studies Collaboration. We collected individual participant data on thyroid function and stroke outcome. Euthyroidism was defined as TSH levels of 0.45-4.49 mIU/L, and subclinical hypothyroidism was defined as TSH levels of 4.5-19.9 mIU/L with normal T4 levels. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: We collected individual participant data on 47 573 adults (3451 subclinical hypothyroidism) from 17 cohorts and followed up from 1972-2014 (489 192 person-years). Age- and sex-adjusted pooled hazard ratios (HRs) for participants with subclinical hypothyroidism compared to euthyroidism were 1.05 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.91-1.21) for stroke events (combined fatal and nonfatal stroke) and 1.07 (95% CI, 0.80-1.42) for fatal stroke. Stratified by age, the HR for stroke events was 3.32 (95% CI, 1.25-8.80) for individuals aged 18-49 years. There was an increased risk of fatal stroke in the age groups 18-49 and 50-64 years, with a HR of 4.22 (95% CI, 1.08-16.55) and 2.86 (95% CI, 1.31-6.26), respectively (p trend 0.04). We found no increased risk for those 65-79 years old (HR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.86-1.18) or ≥ 80 years old (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 0.79-2.18). There was a pattern of increased risk of fatal stroke with higher TSH concentrations. CONCLUSIONS: Although no overall effect of subclinical hypothyroidism on stroke could be demonstrated, an increased risk in subjects younger than 65 years and those with higher TSH concentrations was observed.

Internet as a Media of Business-to-business Marketing Communications

Tavoitteena on tutkia mitä mahdollisuuksia Internet tarjoaa business-to-business markkinointiviestintään. Tämä tutkimus on tyypiltään deskriptiivinen case-tutkimus, jossa casen avulla saadaan käytännön esimerkki siitä miten eräs yritys on käytännössä hyödyntänyt Internetiä markkinointiviestinnässään. Case toteutettiin puhelin-, sähköposti- ja henkilökohtaisilla haastatteluilla. Internet tarjoaa markkinointiviestinnälle sekä haasteen että mahdollisuuden. Se tarjoaa markkinoijalle käyttöön sekä uudentyyppisen median että mahdollisuuden suoriin markkinakontakteihin. Internet-markkinointi pohjautuu perinteisiin markkinoinnin konsepteihin, erottuen yhden tärkeän ominaisuuden, interaktiivisuuden, perusteella. Koska näin yritys pääsee suoraan kommunikoimaan asiakkaidensa kanssa, se saa jatkuvasti tietoja, joiden avulla yritys voi paremmin suunnitella markkinointistrategiaansa ja kohdentaa markkinointiviestintäänsä tarkasti asiakkaiden tarpeiden mukaan.

Developing a user-centric event management system

This thesis describes the development of a software requirements specification for a user-centric event management system. The system is set to satisfy three goals: adding value for the event attendees, adding value for the event organizer, and reducing the costs of arranging and running an event. The requirements are identified by researching the prescriptive traits of event business and the current state of the case company and its environment. First the professional and human needs for events are scrutinized. Second, some recent reports about the current trends in the event business are reviewed. Then the event life cycle is presented using the model of new service development, and online promotion of events and especially word-of-mouth marketing receive special attention. Events are also regarded from the perspective of social networks and social media. The case company’s current state and its competitors are reviewed to formulate the needs which the system should fulfil. Then the currently available solutions for social media oriented event management are reviewed. The result is a set of functional and non-functional requirements. The functional requirements are categorized into social media, social networking, event personalization, event management, and system administration features. The specified features and non-functional requirements satisfy the three goals set for the system.

Thromboxane prostaglandin receptor antagonist and carotid atherosclerosis progression in patients with cerebrovascular disease of ischemic origin: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Thromboxane prostaglandin receptors have been implicated to be involved in the atherosclerotic process. We assessed whether Terutroban, a thromboxane prostaglandin receptor antagonist, affects the progression of atherosclerosis, as measured by common carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaques. METHODS: A substudy was performed among 1141 participants of the aspirin-controlled Prevention of Cerebrovascular and Cardiovascular Events of Ischemic Origin with Terutroban in Patients with a History of Ischemic Stroke or Transient Ischemic Attack (PERFORM) trial. Common carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaque occurrence was measured during a 3-year period. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics did not differ between Terutroban (n=592) and aspirin (n=549) treated patients and were similar as in the main study. Mean study and treatment duration were similar (28 and 25 months, respectively). In the Terutroban group, the annualized rate of change in common carotid intima-media thickness was 0.006 mm per year (95% confidence interval, -0.004 to 0.016) and -0.005 mm per year (95% confidence interval, -0.015 to 0.005) in the aspirin group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the annualized rate of change of common carotid intima-media thickness (0.011 mm per year; 95% confidence interval, -0.003 to 0.025). At 12 months of follow-up, 66% of Terutroban patients had no emergent plaques, 31% had 1 to 2 emergent plaques, and 3% had ≥3 emergent plaques. In the aspirin group, the corresponding percentages were 64%, 32%, and 4%. Over time, there was no statistically significant difference in the number of emergent carotid plaques between treatment modalities (rate ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.77-1.07). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with aspirin, Terutroban did not beneficially affect progression of carotid atherosclerosis among well-treated patients with a history of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attacks with an internal carotid stenosis <70%. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION URL: http://www.controlled-trials.com. Unique identifier: ISRCTN66157730.

Monotonic continuous-time random walks with drift and stochastic reset events

In this paper we consider a stochastic process that may experience random reset events which suddenly bring the system to the starting value and analyze the relevant statistical magnitudes. We focus our attention on monotonic continuous-time random walks with a constant drift: The process increases between the reset events, either by the effect of the random jumps, or by the action of the deterministic drift. As a result of all these combined factors interesting properties emerge, like the existence (for any drift strength) of a stationary transition probability density function, or the faculty of the model to reproduce power-law-like behavior. General formulas for two extreme statistics, the survival probability, and the mean exit time, are also derived. To corroborate in an independent way the results of the paper, Monte Carlo methods were used. These numerical estimations are in full agreement with the analytical predictions.

Application of contrast media in post-mortem imaging (CT and MRI).

The application of contrast media in post-mortem radiology differs from clinical approaches in living patients. Post-mortem changes in the vascular system and the absence of blood flow lead to specific problems that have to be considered for the performance of post-mortem angiography. In addition, interpreting the images is challenging due to technique-related and post-mortem artefacts that have to be known and that are specific for each applied technique. Although the idea of injecting contrast media is old, classic methods are not simply transferable to modern radiological techniques in forensic medicine, as they are mostly dedicated to single-organ studies or applicable only shortly after death. With the introduction of modern imaging techniques, such as post-mortem computed tomography (PMCT) and post-mortem magnetic resonance (PMMR), to forensic death investigations, intensive research started to explore their advantages and limitations compared to conventional autopsy. PMCT has already become a routine investigation in several centres, and different techniques have been developed to better visualise the vascular system and organ parenchyma in PMCT. In contrast, the use of PMMR is still limited due to practical issues, and research is now starting in the field of PMMR angiography. This article gives an overview of the problems in post-mortem contrast media application, the various classic and modern techniques, and the issues to consider by using different media.

2015 Update on Acute Adverse Reactions to Gadolinium based Contrast Agents in Cardiovascular MR. Large Multi-National and Multi-Ethnical Population Experience With 37788 Patients From the EuroCMR Registry.

OBJECTIVES: Specifically we aim to demonstrate that the results of our earlier safety data hold true in this much larger multi-national and multi-ethnical population. BACKGROUND: We sought to re-evaluate the frequency, manifestations, and severity of acute adverse reactions associated with administration of several gadolinium- based contrast agents during routine CMR on a European level. METHODS: Multi-centre, multi-national, and multi-ethnical registry with consecutive enrolment of patients in 57 European centres. RESULTS: During the current observation 37,788 doses of Gadolinium based contrast agent were administered to 37,788 patients. The mean dose was 24.7 ml (range 5-80 ml), which is equivalent to 0.123 mmol/kg (range 0.01 - 0.3 mmol/kg). Forty-five acute adverse reactions due to contrast administration occurred (0.12%). Most reactions were classified as mild (43 of 45) according to the American College of Radiology definition. The most frequent complaints following contrast administration were rashes and hives (15 of 45), followed by nausea (10 of 45) and flushes (10 of 45). The event rate ranged from 0.05% (linear non-ionic agent gadodiamide) to 0.42% (linear ionic agent gadobenate dimeglumine). Interestingly, we also found different event rates between the three main indications for CMR ranging from 0.05% (risk stratification in suspected CAD) to 0.22% (viability in known CAD). CONCLUSIONS: The current data indicate that the results of the earlier safety data hold true in this much larger multi-national and multi-ethnical population. Thus, the "off-label" use of Gadolinium based contrast in cardiovascular MR should be regarded as safe concerning the frequency, manifestation and severity of acute events.