Definition of tolerable soil erosion values

Although the criteria for defining erosion tolerance are well established, the limits generally used are not consistent with natural, economical and technological conditions. Rates greater than soil formation can be accepted only until a minimum of soil depth is reached, provided that they are not associated with environmental hazard or productivity losses. A sequence of equations is presented to calculate erosion tolerance rates through time. The selection of equation parameters permits the definition of erosion tolerance rates in agreement with environmental, social and technical needs. The soil depth change that is related to irreversible soil degradation can be calculated. The definition of soil erosion tolerance according to these equations can be used as a guideline for sustainable land use planning and is compatible with expert systems.

Estimation of percentage body fat in 6- to 13-year-old children by skinfold thickness, body mass index and waist circumference.

We evaluated the accuracy of skinfold thicknesses, BMI and waist circumference for the prediction of percentage body fat (PBF) in a representative sample of 372 Swiss children aged 6-13 years. PBF was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. On the basis of a preliminary bootstrap selection of predictors, seven regression models were evaluated. All models included sex, age and pubertal stage plus one of the following predictors: (1) log-transformed triceps skinfold (logTSF); (2) logTSF and waist circumference; (3) log-transformed sum of triceps and subscapular skinfolds (logSF2); (4) log-transformed sum of triceps, biceps, subscapular and supra-iliac skinfolds (logSF4); (5) BMI; (6) waist circumference; (7) BMI and waist circumference. The adjusted determination coefficient (R² adj) and the root mean squared error (RMSE; kg) were calculated for each model. LogSF4 (R² adj 0.85; RMSE 2.35) and logSF2 (R² adj 0.82; RMSE 2.54) were similarly accurate at predicting PBF and superior to logTSF (R² adj 0.75; RMSE 3.02), logTSF combined with waist circumference (R² adj 0.78; RMSE 2.85), BMI (R² adj 0.62; RMSE 3.73), waist circumference (R² adj 0.58; RMSE 3.89), and BMI combined with waist circumference (R² adj 0.63; RMSE 3.66) (P < 0.001 for all values of R² adj). The finding that logSF4 was only modestly superior to logSF2 and that logTSF was better than BMI and waist circumference at predicting PBF has important implications for paediatric epidemiological studies aimed at disentangling the effect of body fat on health outcomes.

Correlates of frailty, prediction of functional decline and preventative approaches - selected results from the lausanne cohort 65+ (lc65+) study (Switzerland) (Lausanne) and the longitudinal urban cohort ageing study (Lucas) (Germany)

Overall introduction.- Longitudinal studies have been designed to investigate prospectively, from their beginning, the pathway leading from health to frailty and to disability. Knowledge about determinants of healthy ageing and health behaviour (resources) as well as risks of functional decline is required to propose appropriate preventative interventions. The functional status in older people is important considering clinical outcome in general, healthcare need and mortality. Part I.- Results and interventions from lucas (longitudinal urban cohort ageing study). Authors.- J. Anders, U. Dapp, L. Neumann, F. Pröfener, C. Minder, S. Golgert, A. Daubmann, K. Wegscheider,. W. von Renteln-Kruse Methods.- The LUCAS core project is a longitudinal cohort of urban community-dwelling people 60 years and older, recruited in 2000/2001. Further LUCAS projects are cross-sectional comparative and interventional studies (RCT). Results.- The emphasis will be on geriatric medical care in a population-based approach, discussing different forms of access, too. (Dapp et al. BMC Geriatrics 2012, 12:35; http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/12/35): - longitudinal data from the LUCAS urban cohort (n = 3.326) will be presented covering 10 years of observation, including the prediction of functional decline, need of nursing care, and mortality by using a self-filling screening tool; - interventions to prevent functional decline do focus on first (pre-clinical) signs of pre-frailty before entering the frailty-cascade ("Active Health Promotion in Old Age", "geriatric mobility centre") or disability ("home visits"). Conclusions.- The LUCAS research consortium was established to study particular aspects of functional competence, its changes with ageing, to detect pre-clinical signs of functional decline, and to address questions on how to maintain functional competence and to prevent adverse outcome in different settings. The multidimensional data base allows the exploration of several further questions. Gait performance was exmined by GAITRite®-System. Supported by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF Funding No. 01ET1002A). Part II.- Selected results from the lausanne cohort 65+ (Lc65 + ) Study (Switzerland). Authors.- Prof Santos-Eggimann Brigitte, Dr Seematter-Bagnoud Laurence, Prof Büla Christophe, Dr Rochat Stéphane. Methods.- The Lc65+ cohort was launched in 2004 with the random selection of 3054 eligible individuals aged 65 to 70 (birth year 1934-1938) in the non-institutionalized population of Lausanne (Switzerland). Results.- Information is collected about life course social and health-related events, socio-economics, medical and psychosocial dimensions, lifestyle habits, limitations in activities of daily living, mobility impairments, and falls. Gait performance are objectively measured using body-fixed sensors. Frailty is assessed using Fried's frailty phenotype. Follow-up consists in annual self-completed questionnaires, as well as physical examination and physical and mental performance tests every three years. - Lausanne cohort 65+ (Lc65 + ): design and longitudinal outcomes. The baseline data collection was completed among 1422 participants in 2004-2005 through self-completed questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, physical examination and tests of mental and physical performances. Information about institutionalization, self-reported health services utilization, and death is also assessed. An additional random sample (n = 1525) of 65-70 years old subjects was recruited in 2009 (birth year 1939-1943). - lecture no 4: alcohol intake and gait parameters: prevalent and longitudinal association in the Lc65+ study. The association between alcohol intake and gait performance was investigated.

Application of a support system to the design of wastewater treatment plants

This paper presents a case study that explores the advantages that can be derived from the use of a design support system during the design of wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). With this objective in mind a simplified but plausible WWTP design case study has been generated with KBDS, a computer-based support system that maintains a historical record of the design process. The study shows how, by employing such a historical record, it is possible to: (1) rank different design proposals responding to a design problem; (2) study the influence of changing the weight of the arguments used in the selection of the most adequate proposal; (3) take advantage of keywords to assist the designer in the search of specific items within the historical records; (4) evaluate automatically thecompliance of alternative design proposals with respect to the design objectives; (5) verify the validity of previous decisions after the modification of the current constraints or specifications; (6) re-use the design records when upgrading an existing WWTP or when designing similar facilities; (7) generate documentation of the decision making process; and (8) associate a variety of documents as annotations to any component in the design history. The paper also shows one possible future role of design support systems as they outgrow their current reactive role as repositories of historical information and start to proactively support the generation of new knowledge during the design process

Counselor skill influences outcomes of brief motivational interventions.

The aim of this study was to estimate the influence of counselor skills during brief motivational interventions (BMIs) on patient alcohol use 12 months later. Ninety-five BMIs delivered by five counselors of similar background and training were recorded and coded using the Motivational Interviewing Skills Code (MISC). Baseline alcohol measures and sociodemographics of patients did not differ across counselors, whereas MISC scores and outcome at 12 months did. Multilevel models showed that counselors with better motivational interviewing (MI) skills achieved better outcomes overall and maintained efficacy across all levels of an important predictor (patient ability to change), whereas counselors with poorer MI skills were effective mostly at high levels of ability to change. Findings indicated that avoidance of MI-inconsistent skills was more important than frequency of using MI-consistent skills and that training and selection of counselors should be based more on the overall MI-consistent gestalt than on particular MI techniques.

TCR-alpha CDR3 loop audition regulates positive selection.

How positive selection molds the T cell repertoire has been difficult to examine. In this study, we use TCR-beta-transgenic mice in which MHC shapes TCR-alpha use. Differential AV segment use is directly related to the constraints placed on the composition of the CDR3 loops. Where these constraints are low, efficient selection of alphabeta pairs follows. This mode of selection preferentially uses favored AV-AJ rearrangements and promotes diversity. Increased constraint on the alpha CDR3 loops leads to inefficient selection associated with uncommon recombination events and limited diversity. Further, the two modes of selection favor alternate sets of AJ segments. We discuss the relevance of these findings to the imprint of self-MHC restriction and peripheral T cell activation.

Analysis of warm season thunderstorms using an object-oriented tracking method based on radar and total lightning data

Monitoring thunderstorms activity is an essential part of operational weather surveillance given their potential hazards, including lightning, hail, heavy rainfall, strong winds or even tornadoes. This study has two main objectives: firstly, the description of a methodology, based on radar and total lightning data to characterise thunderstorms in real-time; secondly, the application of this methodology to 66 thunderstorms that affected Catalonia (NE Spain) in the summer of 2006. An object-oriented tracking procedure is employed, where different observation data types generate four different types of objects (radar 1-km CAPPI reflectivity composites, radar reflectivity volumetric data, cloud-to-ground lightning data and intra-cloud lightning data). In the framework proposed, these objects are the building blocks of a higher level object, the thunderstorm. The methodology is demonstrated with a dataset of thunderstorms whose main characteristics, along the complete life cycle of the convective structures (development, maturity and dissipation), are described statistically. The development and dissipation stages present similar durations in most cases examined. On the contrary, the duration of the maturity phase is much more variable and related to the thunderstorm intensity, defined here in terms of lightning flash rate. Most of the activity of IC and CG flashes is registered in the maturity stage. In the development stage little CG flashes are observed (2% to 5%), while for the dissipation phase is possible to observe a few more CG flashes (10% to 15%). Additionally, a selection of thunderstorms is used to examine general life cycle patterns, obtained from the analysis of normalized (with respect to thunderstorm total duration and maximum value of variables considered) thunderstorm parameters. Among other findings, the study indicates that the normalized duration of the three stages of thunderstorm life cycle is similar in most thunderstorms, with the longest duration corresponding to the maturity stage (approximately 80% of the total time).

A virtual exhibition of open source software for libraries

Frequently the choice of a library management program is conditioned by social, economic and/or political factors that result in the selection of a system that is not altogether suitable for the library’s needs, characteristics and functions. Open source software is quickly becoming a preferred solution, owing to the freedom to copy, modify and distribute it and the freedom from contracts, as well as for greater opportunities for interoperability with other applications. These new trends regarding open source software in libraries are also reflected in LIS studies, as evidenced by the different courses addressing automated programs, repositorymanagement, including the Linux/GNU operating system, among others. The combination of the needs of the centres and the new trends for open source software is the focus of a virtual laboratory for the use of open source software for library applications. It was the result of a project, whose aim was to make a useful contribution to the library community, that was carried out by a group of professors of the School of Library and Information Science of the University of Barcelona, together with a group of students, members of a Working Group on Open Source Software for Information Professionals, of the Professional Library Association of Catalonia.

Efforts to standardise Ki-67 counting in breast cancer. A pilot study of the Swiss Working Group of Gyneco- and Breast Pathologists

Goals: Adjuvant chemotherapy decisions in breast cancer are increasing based on the pathologist's assessment of the proliferation fraction in the tumor. Yet, how good and how reproducible are we pathologists at providing reliable Ki-67 readings on breast carcinomas. Exactly how to count and in which areas to count within a tumor remains inadequately standardized. The Swiss Working Group of Gyneco- and Breast Pathologists has tried to appreciate this dilemma and to propose ways to obtain more reproducible results.Methods: In a first phase, 5 pathologists evaluated Ki67 counts in 10 breast cancers by exact counting (500 cells) and by eyeballing. Pathologists were free to select the region in which Ki67 was evaluated. In a second phase 16 pathologists evaluated Ki-67 counts in 3 breast cancers also by exact counting and eyeballing, but in predefined fields of interest. In both phases, Ki67 was assessed in centrally immunostained slides (ZH) and on slides immunostained in the 11 participating laboratories. In a third phase, these same 16 pathologists were once again asked to read the 3 cases from phase 2, plus three new cases, and this time exact guidelines were provided as to what exactly is considered a Ki-67 positive nucleus.Results: Discordance of Ki67 assessment was due to each of the following 4 factors: (i) pathologists' divergent definitions of what counts as a positive nucleus (ii) the mode of assessment (counting vs. eyeballing), (iii) immunostaining technique/protocol/antibody, and (iv) the selection of the area in which to count.Conclusion: Providing guidelines as to where to count (representative field in the tumor periphery and omitting hot spots) and what nuclei to count (even faintly immunostained nuclei count as positive) reduces the discordance rates of Ki67 readings between pathologists. Laboratory technique is only of minor importance (even over a large antibody dilution range), and counting nuclei does not improve accuracy, but rather aggravates deviations from the group mean values.Disclosure of Interest: None Declared

NS4B Self-Interaction through Conserved C-Terminal Elements Is Required for the Establishment of Functional Hepatitis C Virus Replication Complexes.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is an important human pathogen, persistently infecting more than 170 million individuals worldwide. Studies of the HCV life cycle have become possible with the development of cell culture systems supporting the replication of viral RNA and the production of infectious virus. However, the exact functions of individual proteins, especially of nonstructural protein 4B (NS4B), remain poorly understood. NS4B triggers the formation of specific, vesicular membrane rearrangements, referred to as membranous webs, which have been reported to represent sites of HCV RNA replication. However, the mechanism of vesicle induction is not known. In this study, a panel of 15 mutants carrying substitutions in the highly conserved NS4B C-terminal domain was generated. Five mutations had only a minor effect on replication, but two of them enhanced assembly and release of infectious virus. Ten mutants were replication defective and used for selection of pseudoreversions. Most of the pseudoreversions also localized to the highly conserved NS4B C-terminal domain and were found to restore replication competence upon insertion into the corresponding primary mutant. Importantly, pseudoreversions restoring replication competence also restored heterotypic NS4B self-interaction, which was disrupted by the primary mutation. Finally, electron microscopy analyses of membrane alterations induced by NS4B mutants revealed striking morphological abnormalities, which were restored to wild-type morphology by the corresponding pseudoreversion. These findings demonstrate the important role of the C-terminal domain in NS4B self-interaction and the formation of functional HCV replication complexes.

Value of clinical factors in selecting postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis for bone densitometry.

Criteria to decide which patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) should be examined by dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DXA) are currently not available. The rheumatologists from Amsterdam have proposed preliminary criteria based on clinical risk factors (age, disease activity, and functional status). These criteria are preliminary and not widely accepted but might be helpful in practice. The value of the proposal in a group of Spanish postmenopausal women with RA is analysed. METHODS DXA (lumbar spine and femoral neck) was performed in 128 patients recruited from a clinical setting, and the proposed criteria were applied. T and Z scores were established for a Spanish reference population. RESULTS The mean (SD) age of the patients was 61.3 (10.7) and mean duration of the postmenopausal period 14.5 (10.1) years. Mean duration of RA was 13.7 (7.7) years. Mean C reactive protein was 22 (21) mg/l; mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate 26 (18) mm/1st h; and mean Health Assessment Questionnaire score 1.25 (0.79). Ninety (70%) patients fulfilled the proposed criteria. Their sensitivity for the diagnosis of osteoporosis (T score ¿¿2.5 SD) was 86% and their specificity, 43%. Positive predictive value was 54% and negative predictive value, 79%. CONCLUSIONS The proposed criteria seem a good screening method for the selection of those patients with RA whose bone mineral density should be assessed as the sensitivity and negative predictive value are acceptable.

Evaluation of a clinical tool for early etiology identification in status epilepticus.

OBJECTIVES: Because early etiologic identification is critical to select appropriate specific status epilepticus (SE) management, we aim to validate a clinical tool we developed that uses history and readily available investigations to guide prompt etiologic assessment. METHODS: This prospective multicenter study included all adult patients treated for SE of all but anoxic causes from four academic centers. The proposed tool is designed as a checklist covering frequent precipitating factors for SE. The study team completed the checklist at the time the patient was identified by electroencephalography (EEG) request. Only information available in the emergency department or at the time of in-hospital SE identification was used. Concordance between the etiology indicated by the tool and the determined etiology at hospital discharge was analyzed, together with interrater agreement. RESULTS: Two hundred twelve patients were included. Concordance between the etiology hypothesis generated using the tool and the finally determined etiology was 88.7% (95% confidence interval (CI) 86.4-89.8) (κ = 0.88). Interrater agreement was 83.3% (95% CI 80.4-96) (κ = 0.81). SIGNIFICANCE: This tool is valid and reliable for identification early the etiology of an SE. Physicians managing patients in SE may benefit from using it to identify promptly the underlying etiology, thus facilitating selection of the appropriate treatment.

Towards a global criteria based framework for the sustainability assessment of bioethanol supply chains: application to the Swiss dilemma : is local produced bioethanol more sustainable than bioethanol imported from Brazil?

Biofuels are considered as a promising substitute for fossil fuels when considering the possible reduction of greenhouse gases emissions. However limiting their impacts on potential benefits for reducing climate change is shortsighted. Global sustainability assessments are necessary to determine the sustainability of supply chains. We propose a new global criterion based framework enabling a comprehensive international comparison of bioethanol supply chains. The interest of this framework is that the selection of the sustainability indicators is qualified on three criterions: relevance, reliability and adaptability to the local context. Sustainability issues have been handled along environmental, social and economical issues. This new framework has been applied for a specific issue: from a Swiss perspective, is locally produced bioethanol in Switzerland more sustainable than imported from Brazil? Thanks to this framework integrating local context in its indicator definition, Brazilian production of bioethanol is shown as energy efficient and economically interesting for Brazil. From a strictly economic point of view, bioethanol production within Switzerland is not justified for Swiss consumption and questionable for the environmental issue. The social dimension is delicate to assess due to the lack of reliable data and is strongly linked to the agricultural policy in both countries. There is a need of establishing minimum sustainability criteria for imported bioethanol to avoid unwanted negative or leakage effects.

Silver-assisted laser desorption ionization for high spatial resolution imaging mass spectrometry of olefins from thin tissue sections.

Silver has been demonstrated to be a powerful cationization agent in mass spectrometry (MS) for various olefinic species such as cholesterol and fatty acids. This work explores the utility of metallic silver sputtering on tissue sections for high resolution imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) of olefins by laser desorption ionization (LDI). For this purpose, sputtered silver coating thickness was optimized on an assorted selection of mouse and rat tissues including brain, kidney, liver, and testis. For mouse brain tissue section, the thickness was adjusted to 23 ± 2 nm of silver to prevent ion suppression effects associated with a higher cholesterol and lipid content. On all other tissues, a thickness of at 16 ± 2 nm provided the best desorption/ionization efficiency. Characterization of the species by MS/MS showed a wide variety of olefinic compounds allowing the IMS of different lipid classes including cholesterol, arachidonic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and triacylglyceride 52:3. A range of spatial resolutions for IMS were investigated from 150 μm down to the high resolution cellular range at 5 μm. The applicability of direct on-tissue silver sputtering to LDI-IMS of cholesterol and other olefinic compounds presents a novel approach to improve the amount of information that can be obtained from tissue sections. This IMS strategy is thus of interest for providing new biological insights on the role of cholesterol and other olefins in physiological pathways or disease.

Startegy selection during exploratory behavior: sex differences, uncertainty and risk managment

This study deals with the psychological processes underlying the selection of appropriate strategy during exploratory behavior. A new device was used to assess sexual dimorphisms in spatial abilities that do not depend on spatial rotation, map reading or directional vector extraction capacities. Moreover, it makes it possible to investigate exploratory behavior as a specific response to novelty that trades off risk and reward. Risk management under uncertainty was assessed through both spontaneous searching strategies and signal detection capacities. The results of exploratory behavior, detection capacities, and decision-making strategies seem to indicate that women's exploratory behavior is based on risk-reducing behavior while men behavior does not appear to be influenced by this variable. This difference was interpreted as a difference in information processing modifying beliefs concerning the likelihood of uncertain events, and therefore influencing risk evaluation.