No Difference in Health Related Quality of Life Between Therapeutic Options for Type 1 Gaucher Disease

Type 1 Gaucher disease (GD) is the most common lysosomal storage disorder. Previously, treatment for GD was limited to intravenous enzyme replacement therapy (ERT). ERT reduces symptoms and increases health­related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with this condition. In 2014, oral substrate reduction therapy (SRT) was approved for type 1 GD treatment. Although both therapies alleviate disease symptoms, effects of SRT on HRQoL and preferences for therapy are not well established. Electronic surveys were administered to adults with type 1 GD. HRQoL was scored with the Short Form­36 Version 2 ® Health Survey and descriptive statistics were used to evaluate additional survey items. No differences in physical HRQoL (p = 0.756) or mental HRQoL (p = 0.650) were observed between SRT and ERT users. SRT users most often perceived their health to be similar to when they used ERT. Additionally, SRT users expressed convenience and non­invasiveness as reasons for choosing SRT, while many ERT users cited potential side effects and satisfaction with ERT as reasons for declining SRT. There appears to be no difference in HRQoL between ERT and SRT users and no perceived change in HRQoL for SRT users that previously used ERT. Participant responses illustrate that one particular treatment may not be ideal for all patients with type 1 GD depending on perceived convenience, invasiveness, or side effects. This evidence suggests that individuals with type 1 GD be adequately counseled about the risks and benefits of both therapy options now that SRT is clinically available

Synchronization Gauges and the Principles of Special Relativity

The axiomatic bases of Special Relativity Theory (SRT) are thoroughly re-examined from an operational point of view, with particular emphasis on the status of Einstein synchronization in the light of the possibility of arbitrary synchronization procedures in inertial reference frames. Once correctly and explicitly phrased, the principles of SRT allow for a wide range of `theories' that differ from the standard SRT only for the difference in the chosen synchronization procedures, but are wholly equivalent to SRT in predicting empirical facts. This results in the introduction, in the full background of SRT, of a suitable synchronization gauge. A complete hierarchy of synchronization gauges is introduced and elucidated, ranging from the useful Selleri synchronization gauge (which should lead, according to Selleri, to a multiplicity of theories alternative to SRT) to the more general Mansouri-Sexl synchronization gauge and, finally, to the even more general Anderson-Vetharaniam-Stedman's synchronization gauge. It is showed that all these gauges do not challenge the SRT, as claimed by Selleri, but simply lead to a number of formalisms which leave the geometrical structure of Minkowski spacetime unchanged. Several aspects of fundamental and applied interest related to the conventional aspect of the synchronization choice are discussed, encompassing the issue of the one-way velocity of light on inertial and rotating reference frames, the GPS's working, and the recasting of Maxwell equations in generic synchronizations. Finally, it is showed how the gauge freedom introduced in SRT can be exploited in order to give a clear explanation of the Sagnac effect for counter-propagating matter beams.Comment: 56 pages, 3 eps figures, invited paper; to appear in Foundations of Physics (Special Issue to honor Prof. Franco Selleri on his 70th birthday

Influence of temperature on the performance of a full-scale activated sludge process operated at varying solids retention times whilst treating municipal sewage

In this study, the solid retention time (SRT) was varied with the ambient temperature for a full-scale municipal activated sludge plant with capacity of 200,000 PE (Population Equivalent) located in a humid sub-tropical environment. The effects of ambient temperature on treatment performance were investigated. Off-line samples were collected and analyzed from the treatment plant. The actual temperature variation during the study period was divided into three overlapping ranges and the SRT was adjusted accordingly with temperature in order to achieve the desired effluent quality. The plant’s observed effluent quality and thereby its overall removal efficiency was evaluated in terms of measuring standard biochemical parameters. The results indicate that significant improvement in effluent quality can be obtained by applying the variable SRT (5–7 days) dependent on temperature variation

Real-Time Analysis of Student Comprehension: An Assessment of Electronic Student Response Technology in an Introductory Earth Science Course

This article describes an evualuation of the effectiveness of electronic student response technologies (SRT). These wireless systems allow students to key in responses with remote control units to questions posed by an instructor in the classroom. Student responses then are displayed in real time, allowing both students and instructors to gauge student comprehension instantaneously. Researchers conducted a multi-faceted assessment of the use of SRT in four sections of a high-enrollment introductory Earth Science course at Penn State University. The assessment included quantitative and qualitative perception data from students enrolled in the course and faculty/administrator visitors to the classroom. Preliminary assessment of the pedagogical merits of SRT in the course suggests that this technology is an effective tool for introductory geoscience education. Educational levels: Graduate or professional, Graduate or professional