Deploying the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) in Iowa, 2003

Adverse weather conditions dramatically affect the nation’s surface transportation system. The development of a prototype winter Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) is part of the Federal Highway Administration’s effort to produce a prototype tool for decision support to winter road maintenance managers to help make the highways safer for the traveling public. The MDSS is based on leading diagnostic and prognostic weather research capabilities and road condition algorithms, which are being developed at national research centers. In 2003, the Iowa Department of Transportation was chosen as a field test bed for the continuing development of this important research program. The Center for Transportation Research and Education assisted the Iowa Department of Transportation by collecting and analyzing surface condition data. The Federal Highway Administration also selected five national research centers to participate in the development of the prototype MDSS. It is anticipated that components of the prototype MDSS system developed by this project will ultimately be deployed by road operating agencies, including state departments of transportation, and generally supplied by private vendors.

δ15N value does not reflect fasting in mysticetes.

The finding that tissue δ15N values increase with protein catabolism has led researchers to apply this value to gauge nutritive condition in vertebrates. However, its application to marine mammals has in most occasions failed. We investigated the relationship between δ15N values and the fattening/fasting cycle in a model species, the fin whale, a migratory capital breeder that experiences severe seasonal variation in body condition. We analyzed two tissues providing complementary insights: one with isotopic turnover (muscle) and one that keeps a permanent record of variations in isotopic values (baleen plates). In both tissues δ15N values increased with intensive feeding but decreased with fasting, thus contradicting the pattern previously anticipated. The apparent inconsistency during fasting is explained by the fact that a) individuals migrate between different isotopic isoscapes, b) starvation may not trigger significant negative nitrogen balance, and c) excretion drops and elimination of 15N-depleted urine is minimized. Conversely, when intensive feeding is resumed in the northern grounds, protein anabolism and excretion start again, triggering 15N enrichment. It can be concluded that in whales and other mammals that accrue massive depots of lipids as energetic reserves and which have limited access to drinking water, the δ15N value is not affected by fasting and therefore cannot be used as an indicatior of nutritive condition.

Individual tree measurements by means of digital aerial photogrammetry

University of Helsinki, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Forest Resource Management

Total and segmental liver volume variations: implications for liver surgery.

BACKGROUND: Liver remnant volumes after major hepatic resection and graft volumes for liver transplantation correlate with surgical outcome. The relative contributions of the hepatic segments to total liver volume (TLV) are not well established. METHODS: TLV and hepatic segment volumes were measured with computed tomography (CT) in 102 patients without liver disease who underwent CT for conditions unrelated to the liver or biliary tree. RESULTS: TLV ranged from 911 to 2729 cm(3). On average, the right liver (segments V, VI, VII, and VIII) contributed approximately two thirds of TLV (997+/-279 cm(3)), and the left liver (segments II, III and IV) contributed approximately one third of TLV (493+/-127 cm(3)). Bisegment II+III (left lateral section) contributed about half the volume of the left liver (242+/-79 cm(3)), or 16% of TLV. Liver volumes varied significantly between patients--the right liver varied from 49% to 82% of TLV, the left liver, 17% to 49% of TLV, and bisegment II+III (left lateral section) 5% to 27% of TLV. Bisegment II+III contributed less than 20% of TLV in more than 75% of patients and the left liver contributed 25% or less of TLV in more than 10% of patients. DISCUSSION: There is clinically significant interpatient variation in hepatic volumes. Therefore, in the absence of appreciable hypertrophy, we recommend routine measurement of the future liver remnant before extended right hepatectomy (right trisectionectomy) and in selected patients before right hepatectomy if a small left liver is anticipated.

“Transformar les condicions de vida sense incidir en el sentit vital no serveix per a res”. Entrevista a Salvador Busquets

Salvador Busquets ha estat disset anys director d’Arrels Fundació, entitat dedicada a acompanyar persones en fase consolidada d’exclusió. No té formació teològica ni filosòfica, és llicenciat en Econòmiques, i va desenvolupar la seva activitat professional en el sector privat fins a l’any 1995, abans d’incorporar-se a Arrels Fundació. Actualment és el coordinador de totes les entitats d’acció social de la Companyia de Jesús a Catalunya. L’hem convidat a participar en la classe de l’assignatura “Diàleg interreligiós i acció social” que fan els estudiants de quart curs de Treball Social i Educació Social de la Facultat Pere Tarrés de la Universitat Ramon Llull. Entre tots tenim diverses qüestions que li volem plantejar, i així encetem el diàleg.

Performance of Nongrouted Thin Bonded PCC Overlays, Construction Report, HR-291, 1986

The Iowa road system has approximately 13,000 miles of Portland Cement Concrete Pavements, many of which are reaching the stage where major rehabilitation is required. Age, greater than anticipated traffic, heavier loads and deterioration related to coarse aggregate in the original pavement are some of the reasons that these pavements have reached this level of distress. One method utilized to rehabilitate distressed or underdesigned PCC pavements is the thin bonded Portland Cement Concrete overlay. Since the introduction of thin bonded overlays on highway pavements in 1973, the concrete paving industry has made progress in reducing the construction costs of this rehabilitation technique. With the advent of the shotblast machine, surface preparation costs have decreased from over $4.00 per square yard to most recently $1.42 per square yard. Other construction costs, including placement, grouting and sawing, have also declined. With each project, knowledge and efficiency have improved.

Interventions hybrides et malformations cardiaques congénitales [Hybrid procedures in congenital heart disease]

La complexité croissante de la prise en charge des malformations cardiaques congénitales impose des interventions chirurgicales et des cathétérismes cardiaques interventionnels fréquents. Chacune de ces techniques a ces limitations propres. Les interventions hybrides associent les avantages de la chirurgie cardiaque et du cathétérisme interventionnel. Dans notre expérience, les thérapies hybrides permettent de diminuer le temps de circulation extracorporelle, de diminuer la morbidité des interventions chirurgicales, de raccourcir le séjour du patient aux soins intensifs. Pour certaines malformations cardiaques congénitales complexes pour lesquelles il n'existe pas de chirurgie ou de thérapie interventionnelle idéale, les interventions hybrides sont en train de s'imposer comme la prise en charge incontournable. Increasing complexity in management of congenital heart disease imposes more frequent surgeries and interventions. Each technique has its own limitations, which could impair the anticipated result. Hybrid procedures join the advantages of cardiac surgery and interventions, creating a synergy in the management of these patients with cardiac anomalies. In our experience, hybrid procedures shorten cardiopulmonary bypass, reduce morbidity of surgery and reduce duration of stay in the intensive care unit. For some complex congenital heart diseases for which there are no ideal surgical or interventional options, hybrid procedures are becoming increasingly important in their management. Finally hybrid procedures allow surgeons and cardiologist to achieve complex procedures that could not be possible in another way

Ultrastructural analysis of neuronal plasticity in the adult mouse

ABSTRACT Adult neuronal plasticity is a term that corresponds to a set of biological mechanisms allowing a neuronal circuit to respond and adapt to modifications of the received inputs. Mystacial whiskers of the mouse are the starting point of a major sensory pathway that provides the animal with information from its immediate environment. Through whisking, information is gathered that allows the animal to orientate itself and to recognize objects. This sensory system is crucial for nocturnal behaviour during which vision is not of much use. Sensory information of the whiskers are sent via brainstem and thalamus to the primary somatosensory area (S1) of the cerebral cortex in a strictly topological manner. Cell bodies in the layer N of S 1 are arranged in ring forming structures called barrels. As such, each barrel corresponds to the cortical representation in layer IV of a single whisker follicle. This histological feature allows to identify with uttermost precision the part of the cortex devoted to a given whisker and to study modifications induced by different experimental conditions. The condition used in the studies of my thesis is the passive stimulation of one whisker in the adult mouse for a period of 24 hours. It is performed by glueing a piece of metal on one whisker and placing the awake animal in a cage surrounded by an electromagnetic coil that generates magnetic field burst inducing whisker movement at a given frequency during 24 hours. I analysed the ultrastructure of the barrel corresponding the stimulated whisker using serial sections electron microscopy and computer-based three-dimensional reconstructions; analysis of neighbouring, unstimulated barrels as well as those from unstimulated mice served as control. The following elements were structurally analyzed: the spiny dendrites, the axons of excitatory as well as inhibitory cells, their connections via synapses and the astrocytic processes. The density of synapses and spines is upregulated in a barrel corresponding to a stimulated whisker. This upregulation is absent in the BDNF heterozygote mice, indicating that a certain level of activity-dependent released BDNF is required for synaptogenesis in the adult cerebral cortex. Synpaptogenesis is correlated with a modification of the astrocytes that place themselves in closer vicinity of the excitatory synapses on spines. Biochemical analysis revealed that the astrocytes upregulate the expression of transporters by which they internalise glutamate, the neurotransmitter responsible for the excitatory response of cortical neurons. In the final part of my thesis, I show that synaptogenesis in the stimulated barrel is due to the increase in the size of excitatory axonal boutons that become more frequently multisynaptic, whereas the inhibitory axons do not change their morphology but form more synapses with spines apposed to them. Taken together, my thesis demonstrates that all the cellular elements present in the neuronal tissue of the adult brain contribute to activity-dependent cortical plasticity and form part of a mechanism by which the animal responds to a modified sensory experience. Throughout life, the neuronal circuit keeps the faculty to adapt its function. These adaptations are partially transitory but some aspects remain and could be the structural basis of a memory trace in the cortical circuit. RESUME La plasticité neuronale chez l'adulte désigne un ensemble de mécanismes biologiques qui permettent aux circuits neuronaux de répondre et de s'adapter aux modifications des stimulations reçues. Les vibrisses des souris sont un système crucial fournissant des informations sensorielles au sujet de l'environnement de l'animal. L'information sensorielle collectée par les vibrisses est envoyée via le tronc cérébral et le thalamus à l'aire sensorielle primaire (S 1) du cortex cérébral en respectant strictement la somatotopie. Les corps cellulaires dans la couche IV de S 1 sont organisés en anneaux délimitant des structures nommées tonneaux. Chaque tonneau reçoit l'information d'une seule vibrisse et l'arrangement des tonneaux dans le cortex correspond à l'arrangement des vibrisses sur le museau de la souris. Cette particularité histologique permet de sélectionner avec certitude la partie du cortex dévolue à une vibrisse et de l'étudier dans diverses conditions. Le paradigme expérimental utilisé dans cette thèse est la stimulation passive d'une seule vibrisse durant 24 heures. Pour ce faire, un petit morceau de métal est collé sur une vibrisse et la souris est placée dans une cage entourée d'une bobine électromagnétique générant un champ qui fait vibrer le morceau de métal durant 24 heures. Nous analysons l'ultrastructure du cortex cérébral à l'aide de la microscopie électronique et des coupes sériées permettant la reconstruction tridimensionnelle à l'aide de logiciels informatiques. Nous observons les modifications des structures présentes : les dendrites épineuses, les axones des cellules excitatrices et inhibitrices, leurs connections par des synapses et les astrocytes. Le nombre de synapses et d'épines est augmenté dans un tonneau correspondant à une vibrisse stimulée 24 heures. Basé sur cela, nous montrons dans ces travaux que cette réponse n'est pas observée dans des souris hétérozygotes BDNF+/-. Cette neurotrophine sécrétée en fonction de l'activité neuronale est donc nécessaire pour la synaptogenèse. La synaptogenèse est accompagnée d'une modification des astrocytes qui se rapprochent des synapses excitatrices au niveau des épines dendritiques. Ils expriment également plus de transporteurs chargés d'internaliser le glutamate, le neurotransmetteur responsable de la réponse excitatrice des neurones. Nous montrons aussi que les axones excitateurs deviennent plus larges et forment plus de boutons multi-synaptiques à la suite de la stimulation tandis que les axones inhibiteurs ne changent pas de morphologie mais forment plus de synapses avec des épines apposées à leur membrane. Tous les éléments analysés dans le cerveau adulte ont maintenu la capacité de réagir aux modifications de l'activité neuronale et répondent aux modifications de l'activité permettant une constante adaptation à de nouveaux environnements durant la vie. Les circuits neuronaux gardent la capacité de créer de nouvelles synapses. Ces adaptations peuvent être des réponses transitoires aux stimuli mais peuvent aussi laisser une trace mnésique dans les circuits.

Delimitaciones previas a la formación para el uso de las TIC en la enseñanza universitaria: funciones y competencias del docente en entornos virtuales

En esta comunicación se esclarecen funciones, roles, competencias y tareas del docente universitario en entornos virtuales de enseñanza y aprendizaje con el propósito de contribuir a mejorar el diseño de acciones formativas dirigidas a la capacitación del profesorado para este ejercicio Este resultado se obtiene del análisis de significativas referencias que tratan el tema y de la valoración del diseño de acciones formativas realizadas en universidades europeas que participan activamente de este propósito. El estudio constituye una acción del proyecto Elene-TT - elearning network for Teacher Training.

Open Educational Resources: an opportunity for virtual learning institutions

The Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC, Open University of Catalonia) is involved inseveral research projects and educational activities related to the use of Open Educational Resources (OER). Some of the discussed issues in the concept of OER are research issues which are being tackled in two EC projects (OLCOS and SELF). Besides the research part, the UOC aims at developing a virtual centre for analysing and promoting the concept of OERin Europe in the sector of Higher and Further Education. The objectives are to makeinformation and learning services available to provide university management staff,eLearning support centres, faculty and learners with practical information required to create, share and re-use such interoperable digital content, tools and licensing schemes. In the realisation of these objectives, the main activities are the following: to provide organisationaland individual e-learning end-users with orientation; to develop perspectives and useful recommendations in the form of a medium-term Roadmap 2010 for OER in Higher and Further Education in Europe; to offer practical information and support services about how to create, share and re-use open educational content by means of tutorials, guidelines, best practices, and specimen of exemplary open e-learning content; to establish a larger group ofcommitted experts throughout Europe and other continents who not only share theirexpertise but also steer networking, workshops, and clustering efforts; and to foster and support a community of practice in open e-learning content know-how and experiences.

La coordinación de la actividad de tutoría en las universidades virtuales. El caso de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

El esfuerzo por desarrollar metodologías de enseñanza-aprendizaje específicas para el entorno virtual no ha venido acompañado de un impulso similar para adaptar los mecanismos de coordinación del profesorado, en general, y la actividad de tutoría en particular, a las características de las universidades virtuales. Esta comunicación contribuye a elaborar modelos organizativos que faciliten un buen desarrollo de la acción tutorial en línea. Con este fin, se presentan los principales elementos para estructurar y coordinar la acción tutorial, y se explica el modelo concreto adoptado en la UOC. Finalmente se presenta una valoración de la experiencia que puede ser útil para otras instituciones.

Body image perception and weight-related behaviour among adolescents of the Seychelles

Background: We examined one's own body image perception and its association with reported weight-related behavior among adolescents of a rapidly developing country in the African region. Methods: We conducted a school-based survey of 1432 students aged 11-17 years in the Seychelles. Weight and height were measured, and thinness, normal weight and overweight were assessed along standard criteria. A self-administered and anonymous questionnaire was administered. Perception of body image was assessed using both a closed-ended question (CEQ) and the Stunkard's pictorial silhouettes (SPS). Finally, a question assessed voluntary attempts to change weight. Results: Overall, 14.1% of the students were thin, 63.9% were normal-weight, and 22.0% were overweight or obese. There was fair agreement between actual weight status and self-perceived body image based on either CEQ or SPS. However, a substantial proportion of the overweight students did not consider themselves as overweight (SPS: 24%, CEQ: 34%) and, inversely, a substantial proportion of the normal-weight students considered themselves as too thin (SPS: 29%, CEQ: 15%). Among the overweight students, an adequate attempt to lose weight was reported more often by boys and girls who perceived themselves as overweight vs. not overweight (72-88% vs. 40-71%, p <0.05 for most comparisons). Among the normal-weight students, an inadequate attempt to gain weight was reported more often by boys and girls who perceived themselves as thin vs. not thin (27-68% vs. 11-19%, p <0.05). Girls had leaner own body ideals than boys. Conclusions: We found that substantial proportions of overweight students did not perceive themselves as overweight and/or did not want to lose weight and, inversely, that many normalweight students perceived themselves as too thin and/or wanted to gain weight: this points to forces that can drive the upwards overweight trends. Appropriate perception of one's weight was associated with adequate weight-control behavior, although not strongly, emphasizing that appropriate weight perception is only one of several factors driving adequate weight-related behavior. These findings emphasize the need to address appropriate perception of one's own weight and adequate weight-related behavior in adolescents for both individual and community weight-related interventions.

APROS code benchmarking inboiling water reactor accident analyses

Diplomityö käsittelee kiehutusvesilaitosten transienttien ja onnettomuuksien analysointia APROS-ohjelmiston avulla. Työ on tehty Teollisuuden Voima Oy:n (TVO) Olkiluoto 1 ja 2 laitosyksiköiden mallin pohjalta. Raportissa esitetään ohjelmiston käyttämiä yhtälöitäja laskentamalleja yleisellä tasolla. Työssä esitellään laitoksen yleispiirteet turvallisuustoimintoineen ja kuvataan ohjelmaan suureksi osaksi aiemmin luotua laskentamallia. Työssä on luetteloitu voimassa olevatlisensiointianalyysit, joiden joukosta on valittu laskentatapauksia ohjelmiston suorituskyvyn arviointia varten. Lisäksi työhön on valittu laskentatapauksia muilla kuin lisensointiin käytetyillä ohjelmilla lasketuista analyyseistä. Lisäksi on suoritettu vertailulaskuja konservatiivisen ja realistisen mallin erojen esille saamiseksi. Laskentatapauksia ovat mm. ylipainetransientti, jäähdytteen menetysonnettomuus ja oletettavissa oleva käyttöhäiriö, jossa pikasulku ei toimi (ATWS). Diplomityön edetessä laitosmallia on kehitetty edelleen lisäämällä joitakin järjestelmiä ja tarkentamalla joidenkin komponenttien kuvausta. Työssä ilmeni, että APROS soveltuu jäähdytteenmenetysonnettomuuden ja suojarakennuksen yhtäaikaiseen analyysiin. APROS.n vaste nopeisiin transientteihin jäi kuitenkin vertailutasosta. Tämän työn perusteella APROS-mallia kehitys jatkuu edelleen siten, että se soveltuisi entistä paremmin myös nopeiden transienttien ja ATWS-tilanteiden kuvaamiseen. Työssä olevaa lisensointianalyysien kuvausta tullaan käyttämään hyväksi selvitettäessä laitoksen turvallisuuden väliarviossa tarvittavien analyysien määrää ja laatua. Nyt saatuja kokemuksia voidaan hyödyntää myös mahdollisen kolmiulotteisen sydänmallin hankinnassa APROS-ohjelmistoon. Tässä diplomityössä esitettyjä parannuksia voidaan käyttää hyväksi SAFIRtutkimusohjelman hankkeiden suunnittelussa.

ePortfolio as a tool for reflexivity and skills' communication : learn how to communicate skills

This paper aims to present an ePortfolio project led for two years in a multilingual and interdisciplinary Master's program in public discourse and communication analysis offered by the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lausanne (Switzerland). Globally, the project - named Learn to communicate skills - offers a reflection about academic skills and their transferability to the professional world. More precisely, the aim of the project is to make students aware of the importance of reflexive learning to make their skills transferable to other contexts.

Java Specification Request development on a mobile device

Nykyaikaiset Java-teknologiaa sisältävät matkapuhelimet kehittyvät vauhdikkaasti prosessoritehon, muistin määrän sekä uusien käyttöjärjestelmäversioiden tarjoamien ominaisuuksien myötä. Laitteiden näyttöjen koko tulee pysymään pienenä,mutta silti moninaista multimediasisältöä äänen, videon ja kuvan osilta voidaanhuomattavasti parantaa JSR 234:n eli kehittyneen multimedialaajennuksen avulla.Erityisesti edistyneet ääniominaisuudet ovat tervetullut lisä, sillä viime aikojen kehitys matkapuhelimissa on saanut aikaan niiden muuntumisen myös kannettavaksi musiikkisoittimiksi. Diplomityössä JSR 234 -spesifikaation tietty osa kehitettiin ympäristössä, joka koostui Series 60 -ohjelmistoalustankolmannesta versiosta sekä Symbian OS v9.1 käyttöjärjestelmästä. Tuloksena syntynyt Java-rajapinta tarjoaa sovelluskehittäjille yksinkertaisemman lähestymistavan Symbianin efektirajapintaan piilottaen samalla alla olevan käyttöjärjestelmänmonimutkaisuuden. Toteutuksen täytyy olla läpikotaisin testattu, jotta voidaan varmentua sen noudattavan tarkkaan JSR 234 -spesifikaatiota. Työssä on esitelty useita eri testausmenetelmiä tarkoituksena saavuttaa projektissa paras mahdollinen laatu.