Geomorfologiczne uwarunkowania rozwoju sieci komunikacyjnej na obszarze młodoglacjalnym (zlewnia Perznicy, Pojezierze Drawskie

The aim of the studies in the Perznica River catchment were relief changes caused by the development of transportation infrastructure. This type of transformation is dependable on the state of economy and the settlements. The development of transportation network in the last two hundred years was examined through the analysis of archival cartographic materials – maps from the years 1789, 1855, 1877, 1935 – and the comparison with the situation from mid 1980s. The Perznica River catchment has an area of 249 km2 and it is located in north-western Poland in the central part of the Drawskie Lakeland macroregion, which belongs to the West Pomeranian Lakeland. The heterogeneous Perznica River catchment relief has a denivelation of 159 m and is within 60 and 219 m a.s.l. The study area is within the Parsęta River lobe. A number of subzones, whose morphological diversity and diversity of sediments lithofacies is mainly a reflection of areal deglaciation of the continental ice-sheet marginal zone, has been distinguished and these are: • subzone of the internal kame moraine – the undulated moraine upland, diversified by kame forms and kettle holes, • subzone of ice-free space forms – the uplands of kame plateaux, • subzone of melt-out lake basins – Lake Wielatowo basin with a characteristic collar ridge, • morphological levels of the northern Pomeranian sloping surface – mainly flat moraine uplands and small outwashes. The economic development of the Perznica River catchment advanced in close connection with the physical and geographical context, mainly with the relief, soils and hydrological conditions. As a result, the flat moraine uplands and marginal outflow plains, which were easiest to cultivate, have been developed and populated faster than any other. Since the early medieval period, large, compact villages, often centered around big estates, were emerging in those areas. In areas with a high relief energy–kame-melt moraines, ice-free space forms and ridges around melt-out lake basins–farming entered on a larger scale from the eighteenth century. Scattered settlements in those areas forced the creation of a dense access road network to farms and fields. In the case of anthropogenic forms of transportation with denivelation exceeding 1 m in the study area, road excavations are present for 37.3 km, road undercuttings for 43.8 km and road embankments for 38.7 km in total length. That gives a high ratio of density of such forms, equal to 2.1 km per km–2.

Qualidade nos serviços públicos

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências da Comunicação, especialização em Relações Públicas.

A Characterization of First-Order Definable Subsets on Classes of Finite Total Orders

We give an explicit and easy-to-verify characterization for subsets in finite total orders (infinitely many of them in general) to be uniformly definable by a first-order formula. From this characterization we derive immediately that Beth's definability theorem does not hold in any class of finite total orders, as well as that McColm's first conjecture is true for all classes of finite total orders. Another consequence is a natural 0-1 law for definable subsets on finite total orders expressed as a statement about the possible densities of first-order definable subsets.

Variations in total and differential milk somatic cell counts and plasmin levels and their role in proteolysis and quality of milk and cheese

Increased plasmin and plasminogen levels and elevated somatic cell counts (SCC) and polymorphonuclear leucocyte levels (PMN) were evident in late lactation milk. Compositional changes in these milks were associated with increased SCC. The quality of late lactation milks was related to nutritional status of herds, with milks from herds on a high plane of nutrition having composition and clotting properties similar to, or superior to, early-mid lactation milks. Nutritionally-deficient cows had elevated numbers of polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) in their milk, elevated plasmin levels and increased overall proteolytic activity. The dominant effect of plasmin on proteolysis in milks of low SCC was established. When present in elevated numbers, somatic cells and PMNs in particular had a more significant influence on the proteolysis of both raw and pasteurised milks than plasmin. PMN protease action on the caseins showed proteolysis products of two specific enzymes, cathepsin B and elastase, which were also shown in high SCC milk. Crude extracts of somatic cells had a high specificity on αs1-casein. Cheeses made from late lactation milks had increased breakdown of αs1-casein, suggestive of the action of somatic cell proteinases, which may be linked to textural defects in cheese. Late lactation cheeses also showed decreased production of small peptides and amino acids, the reason for which is unknown. Plasmin, which is elevated in activity in late lactation milk, accelerated the ripening of Gouda-type cheese, but was not associated with defects of texture or flavour. The retention of somatic cell enzymes in cheese curd was confirmed, and a potential role in production of bitter peptides identified. Cheeses made from milks containing high levels of PMNs had accelerated αs1-casein breakdown relative to cheeses made from low PMN milk of the same total SCC, consistent with the demonstrated action of PMN proteinases. The two types of cheese were determined significantly different by blind triangle testing.

Operational retrieval of total and tropospheric ozone from IASI infrared measurements

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Surface plasmon resonance in nanostructured metal films under the Kretschmann configuration

We systematically investigated the surface plasmon resonance in one-dimensional (1D) subwavelength nanostructured metal films under the Kretschmann configuration. We calculated the reflectance, transmittance, and absorption for varying the dielectric fill factor, the period of the 1D nanostructure, and the metal film thickness. We have found that the small dielectric slits in the metal films reduce the surface plasmon resonance angle and move it toward the critical angle for total internal reflection. The reduction in surface plasmon resonance angle in nanostructured metal films is due to the increased intrinsic free electron oscillation frequency in metal nanostructures. Also we have found that the increasing the spatial frequency of the 1D nanograting reduces the surface plasmon resonance angle, which indicates that less momentum is needed to match the momentum of the surface plasmon-polariton. The variation in the nanostructured metal film thickness changes the resonance angle slightly, but mainly remains as a mean to adjust the coupling between the incident optical wave and the surface plasmon-polariton wave. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

Total synthesis of cyanolide A and confirmation of its absolute configuration.

The tandem allylic oxidation/oxa-Michael reaction promoted by the gem-disubstituent effect and the 2-methyl-6-nitrobenzoic anhydride (MNBA)-mediated dimerization were explored for the efficient and facile synthesis of cyanolide A.

Portable, Fiber-Based, Diffuse Reflection Spectroscopy (DRS) Systems for Estimating Tissue Optical Properties.

Steady-state diffuse reflection spectroscopy is a well-studied optical technique that can provide a noninvasive and quantitative method for characterizing the absorption and scattering properties of biological tissues. Here, we compare three fiber-based diffuse reflection spectroscopy systems that were assembled to create a light-weight, portable, and robust optical spectrometer that could be easily translated for repeated and reliable use in mobile settings. The three systems were built using a broadband light source and a compact, commercially available spectrograph. We tested two different light sources and two spectrographs (manufactured by two different vendors). The assembled systems were characterized by their signal-to-noise ratios, the source-intensity drifts, and detector linearity. We quantified the performance of these instruments in extracting optical properties from diffuse reflectance spectra in tissue-mimicking liquid phantoms with well-controlled optical absorption and scattering coefficients. We show that all assembled systems were able to extract the optical absorption and scattering properties with errors less than 10%, while providing greater than ten-fold decrease in footprint and cost (relative to a previously well-characterized and widely used commercial system). Finally, we demonstrate the use of these small systems to measure optical biomarkers in vivo in a small-animal model cancer therapy study. We show that optical measurements from the simple portable system provide estimates of tumor oxygen saturation similar to those detected using the commercial system in murine tumor models of head and neck cancer.

A functional polymorphism in the 5HTR2C gene associated with stress responses also predicts incident cardiovascular events.

Previously we have shown that a functional nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphism (rs6318) of the 5HTR2C gene located on the X-chromosome is associated with hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis response to a stress recall task, and with endophenotypes associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). These findings suggest that individuals carrying the rs6318 Ser23 C allele will be at higher risk for CVD compared to Cys23 G allele carriers. The present study examined allelic variation in rs6318 as a predictor of coronary artery disease (CAD) severity and a composite endpoint of all-cause mortality or myocardial infarction (MI) among Caucasian participants consecutively recruited through the cardiac catheterization laboratory at Duke University Hospital (Durham, NC) as part of the CATHGEN biorepository. Study population consisted of 6,126 Caucasian participants (4,036 [65.9%] males and 2,090 [34.1%] females). A total of 1,769 events occurred (1,544 deaths and 225 MIs; median follow-up time = 5.3 years, interquartile range = 3.3-8.2). Unadjusted Cox time-to-event regression models showed, compared to Cys23 G carriers, males hemizygous for Ser23 C and females homozygous for Ser23C were at increased risk for the composite endpoint of all-cause death or MI: Hazard Ratio (HR) = 1.47, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.17, 1.84, p = .0008. Adjusting for age, rs6318 genotype was not related to body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking history, number of diseased coronary arteries, or left ventricular ejection fraction in either males or females. After adjustment for these covariates the estimate for the two Ser23 C groups was modestly attenuated, but remained statistically significant: HR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.10, 1.73, p = .005. These findings suggest that this functional polymorphism of the 5HTR2C gene is associated with increased risk for CVD mortality and morbidity, but this association is apparently not explained by the association of rs6318 with traditional risk factors or conventional markers of atherosclerotic disease.

Outcomes After Total Ankle Replacement in Association With Ipsilateral Hindfoot Arthrodesis.

BACKGROUND: Ipsilateral hindfoot arthrodesis in combination with total ankle replacement (TAR) may diminish functional outcome and prosthesis survivorship compared to isolated TAR. We compared the outcome of isolated TAR to outcomes of TAR with ipsilateral hindfoot arthrodesis. METHODS: In a consecutive series of 404 primary TARs in 396 patients, 70 patients (17.3%) had a hindfoot fusion before, after, or at the time of TAR; the majority had either an isolated subtalar arthrodesis (n = 43, 62%) or triple arthrodesis (n = 15, 21%). The remaining 334 isolated TARs served as the control group. Mean patient follow-up was 3.2 years (range, 24-72 months). RESULTS: The SF-36 total, AOFAS Hindfoot-Ankle pain subscale, Foot and Ankle Disability Index, and Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment scores were significantly improved from preoperative measures, with no significant differences between the hindfoot arthrodesis and control groups. The AOFAS Hindfoot-Ankle total, function, and alignment scores were significantly improved for both groups, albeit the control group demonstrated significantly higher scores in all 3 scales. Furthermore, the control group demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in VAS pain score compared to the hindfoot arthrodesis group. Walking speed, sit-to-stand time, and 4-square step test time were significantly improved for both groups at each postoperative time point; however, the hindfoot arthrodesis group completed these tests significantly slower than the control group. There was no significant difference in terms of talar component subsidence between the fusion (2.6 mm) and control groups (2.0 mm). The failure rate in the hindfoot fusion group (10.0%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (2.4%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this study represents the first series evaluating the clinical outcome of TARs performed with and without hindfoot fusion using implants available in the United States. At follow-up of 3.2 years, TAR performed with ipsilateral hindfoot arthrodesis resulted in significant improvements in pain and functional outcome; in contrast to prior studies, however, overall outcome was inferior to that of isolated TAR. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, prospective comparative series.

Comparison of extramedullary versus intramedullary referencing for tibial component alignment in total ankle arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The majority of total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) systems use extramedullary alignment guides for tibial component placement. However, at least 1 system offers intramedullary referencing. In total knee arthroplasty, studies suggest that tibial component placement is more accurate with intramedullary referencing. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of extramedullary referencing with intramedullary referencing for tibial component placement in total ankle arthroplasty. METHODS: The coronal and sagittal tibial component alignment was evaluated on the postoperative weight-bearing anteroposterior (AP) and lateral radiographs of 236 consecutive fixed-bearing TAAs. Radiographs were measured blindly by 2 investigators. The postoperative alignment of the prosthesis was compared with the surgeon's intended alignment in both planes. The accuracy of tibial component alignment was compared between the extramedullary and intramedullary referencing techniques using unpaired t tests. Interrater and intrarater reliabilities were assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). RESULTS: Eighty-three tibial components placed with an extramedullary referencing technique were compared with 153 implants placed with an intramedullary referencing technique. The accuracy of the extramedullary referencing was within a mean of 1.5 ± 1.4 degrees and 4.1 ± 2.9 degrees in the coronal and sagittal planes, respectively. The accuracy of intramedullary referencing was within a mean of 1.4 ± 1.1 degrees and 2.5 ± 1.8 degrees in the coronal and sagittal planes, respectively. There was a significant difference (P < .001) between the 2 techniques with respect to the sagittal plane alignment. Interrater ICCs for coronal and sagittal alignment were high (0.81 and 0.94, respectively). Intrarater ICCs for coronal and sagittal alignment were high for both investigators. CONCLUSIONS: Initial sagittal plane tibial component alignment was notably more accurate when intramedullary referencing was used. Further studies are needed to determine the effect of this difference on clinical outcomes and long-term survivability of the implants. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective comparative study.

Characterization of porous, dexamethasone-releasing polyurethane coatings for glucose sensors.

Commercially available implantable needle-type glucose sensors for diabetes management are robust analytically but can be unreliable clinically primarily due to tissue-sensor interactions. Here, we present the physical, drug release and bioactivity characterization of tubular, porous dexamethasone (Dex)-releasing polyurethane coatings designed to attenuate local inflammation at the tissue-sensor interface. Porous polyurethane coatings were produced by the salt-leaching/gas-foaming method. Scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) showed controlled porosity and coating thickness. In vitro drug release from coatings monitored over 2 weeks presented an initial fast release followed by a slower release. Total release from coatings was highly dependent on initial drug loading amount. Functional in vitro testing of glucose sensors deployed with porous coatings against glucose standards demonstrated that highly porous coatings minimally affected signal strength and response rate. Bioactivity of the released drug was determined by monitoring Dex-mediated, dose-dependent apoptosis of human peripheral blood derived monocytes in culture. Acute animal studies were used to determine the appropriate Dex payload for the implanted porous coatings. Pilot short-term animal studies showed that Dex released from porous coatings implanted in rat subcutis attenuated the initial inflammatory response to sensor implantation. These results suggest that deploying sensors with the porous, Dex-releasing coatings is a promising strategy to improve glucose sensor performance.

Preoperative pain level and patient expectation predict hospital length of stay after total hip arthroplasty.

The purpose of this study was to identify preoperative predictors of length of stay after primary total hip arthroplasty in a patient population reflecting current trends toward shorter hospitalization and using readily obtainable factors that do not require scoring systems. A retrospective review of 112 consecutive patients was performed. High preoperative pain level and patient expectation of discharge to extended care facilities (ECFs) were the only significant multivariable predictors of hospitalization extending beyond 2 days (P=0.001 and P<0.001 respectively). Patient expectation remained significant after adjusting for Medicare's 3-day requirement for discharge to ECFs (P<0.001). The study was adequately powered to analyze the variables in the multivariable logistic regression model, which had a concordance index of 0.857.

Patient expectation is the most important predictor of discharge destination after primary total joint arthroplasty.

The purpose of this study was to identify preoperative predictors of discharge destination after total joint arthroplasty. A retrospective study of three hundred and seventy-two consecutive patients who underwent primary total hip and knee arthroplasty was performed. The mean length of stay was 2.9 days and 29.0% of patients were discharged to extended care facilities. Age, caregiver support at home, and patient expectation of discharge destination were the only significant multivariable predictors regardless of the type of surgery (total knee versus total hip arthroplasty). Among those variables, patient expectation was the most important predictor (P < 0.001; OR 169.53). The study was adequately powered to analyze the variables in the multivariable logistic regression model, which had a high concordance index of 0.969.