Mobility patterns of the elderly tourist in Algarve

The present work is part of the Project for Scientific Research and Techno-logical Development "Accessibility for All in Tourism" focuses on modal in-terfaces designed according to the concepts of "Universal Design" and "Age Sensitive Design". In this project 851 surveys were carried out for elderly tourists, who arrived in Algarve (Portugal) through the international Airport of Faro, in the summer of 2018, with a view to understanding their prefer-ences and needs in terms of mobility. It presents the characterization of the senior tourist in Algarve, according to: gender, age, academic qualification, situation in the relation to the profession, nationality, disability and/or disa-bilities that affects mobility and the need to use technical aids to move. It analyses and compares, from the point of view of sustainable mobility, the mobility of the elderly tourist, by gender and age group, in the country where they reside and in the Algarve region. This information is useful for local au-thorities and for transport operators in order to make the mobility of elderly tourists, in Algarve, more sustainable from a social, economic and environ-mental standpoint.The Research Project ACCES4ALL - Accessibility for All in Tourisminfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Crystallization of BaF2 from droplets of phase separated glass evidence of a core shell structure by ASAXS

Crystallization of BaF2 from droplets of phase separated glass evidence of a core shell structure by ASAXS Armin Hoell, Vikram Singh Raghuwanshi, Christian Bocker, Andreas Herrmann, Christian Rüssel and Thomas Höche Glasses with the mol compositions 1.88 Na2O 15.04 K2O 7.52 Al2O3 69.56 SiO2 6.00 BaF2 and 1.88 Na2O 15.03 K2O 7.52 Al2O3 69.52 SiO2 6.00 BaF2 0.05 SmF3 were studied using X ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and anomalous small angle X ray scattering ASAXS . While the glass doped with samarium showed liquid liquid phase separation of droplets with sizes of around 100 nm, the glass without samarium did not. The samples were annealed at 580 C or at 600 C which led to the crystallization of cubic BaF2. The X ray diffraction patterns showed strongly broadened lines. Hence, the BaF2 crystals possess sizes in the nm range. ASAXS gave evidence of a core shell structure. In agreement with earlier studies, it is assumed that the shell acts as a diffusion barrier that hinders crystal growth. Surprisingly, the cores and shells from the crystallization of the homogeneous glass and from the second glass, which is Sm doped and shows liquid liquid phase separation, both possess similar dimensions, even though the origin of the barrier is very different. The doped samples show long luminescence lifetimes of nearly 5 ms at a wavelength of 600 nm, which is nearly as long as those in fluoride phosphate glasse

A subset of morphologically distinct mammary myoepithelial cells lacks corresponding immunophenotypic markers

INTRODUCTION: Immunostaining for smooth muscle actin (SMA) is commonly used to elucidate mammary myoepithelial (ME) cells, whose presence or absence is a reliable criterion for differentiating in situ and invasive carcinomas. However, some morphologically distinct ME cells fail to stain for SMA. This study intended to assess whether these SMA-negative cells also lack the expression of other ME cell markers. METHODS: Hematoxylin/eosin and SMA immunostained sections from 175 breast cancer patients were examined. Three cases were found to harbor ducts that showed morphologically distinct ME cell layers, but showed no SMA immunostaining in at least one-third of the layer or the entire layer. Eight additional consecutive sections from each case were stained for SMA, using a black chromogen, and each was then re-stained for one of eight additional markers supposed to exclusively or preferentially stain ME cells, using a red chromogen. SMA-negative ME cells were re-examined for the expression of other markers. RESULTS: SMA-negative ME cells in two cases also failed to display immunoreactivity for other markers, including calponin, CD10, smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, protease inhibitor 5 (maspin), Wilms' tumor-1, and cytokeratins 5, 14, and 17 (CK5, CK14, and CK17). However, in one case SMA-negative ME cells displayed immunoreactivities for maspin, CK5, CK14, and CK17. The distribution of these ME cells is independent of ductal size, length, and architecture. CONCLUSIONS: A subset of morphologically identifiable ME cells lack the expression of nine corresponding immunophenotypic markers, suggesting that ME cells might also be subject to different normal and pathological alterations

Inclusive V0V^0 Production Cross Sections from 920 GeV Fixed Target Proton-Nucleus Collisions

Inclusive differential cross sections $d\sigma_{pA}/dx_F$ and $d\sigma_{pA}/dp_t^2$ for the production of \kzeros, \lambdazero, and \antilambda particles are measured at HERA in proton-induced reactions on C, Al, Ti, and W targets. The incident beam energy is 920 GeV, corresponding to $\sqrt {s} = 41.6$ GeV in the proton-nucleon system. The ratios of differential cross sections \rklpa and \rllpa are measured to be $6.2\pm 0.5$ and $0.66\pm 0.07$, respectively, for \xf $\approx-0.06$. No significant dependence upon the target material is observed. Within errors, the slopes of the transverse momentum distributions $d\sigma_{pA}/dp_t^2$ also show no significant dependence upon the target material. The dependence of the extrapolated total cross sections $\sigma_{pA}$ on the atomic mass $A$ of the target material is discussed, and the deduced cross sections per nucleon $\sigma_{pN}$ are compared with results obtained at other energies.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, 5 table

Recurrence of ventricular arrhythmias in ischaemic secondary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator recipients: long-term follow-up of the Leiden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest study (LOHCAT)

Aims to assess the long-term rate of mortality and the recurrence of potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias in secondary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients and to construct a model for baseline risk stratification.Methods and resultsSince 1996, all patients with ischaemic heart disease, receiving ICD therapy for secondary prevention of sudden death, were included in the current study. Patients were evaluated at implantation and during long-term follow-up. A total of 456 patients were included in the analysis and followed for 54 ± 35 months. During follow-up, 100 (22) patients died and ICD therapy was noted in 216 (47) patients, of which 138 (30) for fast, potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. Multivariate analysis revealed a history of atrial fibrillation or flutter (AF), ventricular tachycardia as presenting arrhythmia, and wide QRS and poor left ventricular ejection fraction as independent predictors of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. The strongest predictor was AF with a hazard ratio of 2.1 (95 confidence interval 1.3-3.2). On the basis of the available clinical data, it was not possible to identify a group which exhibited no risk on recurrence of potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias.ConclusionIschaemic secondary prevention ICD recipients exhibit a high recurrence rate of potentially life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. Factors that increase risk can be identified but, even with these factors, it was not possible to distinguish a recurrence-free group

Heteromeric clusters of ubiquitinated ER-shaping proteins drive ER-phagy

Membrane-shaping proteins characterized by reticulon homology domains play an important part in the dynamic remodelling of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). An example of such a protein is FAM134B, which can bind LC3 proteins and mediate the degradation of ER sheets through selective autophagy (ER-phagy)1. Mutations in FAM134B result in a neurodegenerative disorder in humans that mainly affects sensory and autonomic neurons2. Here we report that ARL6IP1, another ER-shaping protein that contains a reticulon homology domain and is associated with sensory loss3, interacts with FAM134B and participates in the formation of heteromeric multi-protein clusters required for ER-phagy. Moreover, ubiquitination of ARL6IP1 promotes this process. Accordingly, disruption of Arl6ip1 in mice causes an expansion of ER sheets in sensory neurons that degenerate over time. Primary cells obtained from Arl6ip1-deficient mice or from patients display incomplete budding of ER membranes and severe impairment of ER-phagy flux. Therefore, we propose that the clustering of ubiquitinated ER-shaping proteins facilitates the dynamic remodelling of the ER during ER-phagy and is important for neuronal maintenance.</p

Residual γH2AX foci as an indication of lethal DNA lesions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Evidence suggests that tumor cells exposed to some DNA damaging agents are more likely to die if they retain microscopically visible γH2AX foci that are known to mark sites of double-strand breaks. This appears to be true even after exposure to the alkylating agent MNNG that does not cause direct double-strand breaks but does produce γH2AX foci when damaged DNA undergoes replication.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To examine this predictive ability further, SiHa human cervical carcinoma cells were exposed to 8 DNA damaging drugs (camptothecin, cisplatin, doxorubicin, etoposide, hydrogen peroxide, MNNG, temozolomide, and tirapazamine) and the fraction of cells that retained γH2AX foci 24 hours after a 30 or 60 min treatment was compared with the fraction of cells that lost clonogenicity. To determine if cells with residual repair foci are the cells that die, SiHa cervical cancer cells were stably transfected with a RAD51-GFP construct and live cell analysis was used to follow the fate of irradiated cells with RAD51-GFP foci.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For all drugs regardless of their mechanism of interaction with DNA, close to a 1:1 correlation was observed between clonogenic surviving fraction and the fraction of cells that retained γH2AX foci 24 hours after treatment. Initial studies established that the fraction of cells that retained RAD51 foci after irradiation was similar to the fraction of cells that retained γH2AX foci and subsequently lost clonogenicity. Tracking individual irradiated live cells confirmed that SiHa cells with RAD51-GFP foci 24 hours after irradiation were more likely to die.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Retention of DNA damage-induced γH2AX foci appears to be indicative of lethal DNA damage so that it may be possible to predict tumor cell killing by a wide variety of DNA damaging agents simply by scoring the fraction of cells that retain γH2AX foci.</p

Assessment of Metabolome Annotation Quality: A Method for Evaluating the False Discovery Rate of Elemental Composition Searches

BACKGROUND: In metabolomics researches using mass spectrometry (MS), systematic searching of high-resolution mass data against compound databases is often the first step of metabolite annotation to determine elemental compositions possessing similar theoretical mass numbers. However, incorrect hits derived from errors in mass analyses will be included in the results of elemental composition searches. To assess the quality of peak annotation information, a novel methodology for false discovery rates (FDR) evaluation is presented in this study. Based on the FDR analyses, several aspects of an elemental composition search, including setting a threshold, estimating FDR, and the types of elemental composition databases most reliable for searching are discussed. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The FDR can be determined from one measured value (i.e., the hit rate for search queries) and four parameters determined by Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicate that relatively high FDR values (30-50%) were obtained when searching time-of-flight (TOF)/MS data using the KNApSAcK and KEGG databases. In addition, searches against large all-in-one databases (e.g., PubChem) always produced unacceptable results (FDR >70%). The estimated FDRs suggest that the quality of search results can be improved not only by performing more accurate mass analysis but also by modifying the properties of the compound database. A theoretical analysis indicates that FDR could be improved by using compound database with smaller but higher completeness entries. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: High accuracy mass analysis, such as Fourier transform (FT)-MS, is needed for reliable annotation (FDR <10%). In addition, a small, customized compound database is preferable for high-quality annotation of metabolome data

Accurate peak list extraction from proteomic mass spectra for identification and profiling studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Mass spectrometry is an essential technique in proteomics both to identify the proteins of a biological sample and to compare proteomic profiles of different samples. In both cases, the main phase of the data analysis is the procedure to extract the significant features from a mass spectrum. Its final output is the so-called peak list which contains the mass, the charge and the intensity of every detected biomolecule. The main steps of the peak list extraction procedure are usually preprocessing, peak detection, peak selection, charge determination and monoisotoping operation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This paper describes an original algorithm for peak list extraction from low and high resolution mass spectra. It has been developed principally to improve the precision of peak extraction in comparison to other reference algorithms. It contains many innovative features among which a sophisticated method for managing the overlapping isotopic distributions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The performances of the basic version of the algorithm and of its optional functionalities have been evaluated in this paper on both SELDI-TOF, MALDI-TOF and ESI-FTICR ECD mass spectra. Executable files of MassSpec, a MATLAB implementation of the peak list extraction procedure for Windows and Linux systems, can be downloaded free of charge for nonprofit institutions from the following web site: <url>http://aimed11.unipv.it/MassSpec</url></p