Language Barriers in Health Care Settings: An Annotated Bibliography of Research Literature

Provides an overview of resources related to the prevalence, role, and effects of language barriers and access in health care

Turkey after the start of negotiations with the European Union - foreign relations and the domestic situation, Part II. OSW Report, July 2008

The Centre for Eastern Studies has decided to embark on the project entitled 'Turkey after the start of negotiations with the European Union - foreign relations and the domestic situation' for two major reasons: the start of the accession negotiations between Ankara and the European Union in October 2005, and the significant part which Turkey plays in western Eurasia (the Caucasus, the countries in the basins of the Black and Caspian Seas, the Middle East and the Balkans) which We wish to present our readers our second report discussing Turkey's relations with Central Asia, the Caucasus and Russia, the aspect of Turkish foreign policy regarding the Black Sea, and the role of Turkey as a transit country for oil and gas from the Middle East and the Caspian regions. The evaluation of Turkey's standpoint and potential regarding the aforementioned issues is especially important, considering the tensions existing in Turkey's relations with the EU and the USA, as well as the West's increasing engagement in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Black Sea regions. In this process, Ankara may play the role of a significant ally for the West. However, it may just as readily play the role of its rival, who could co-operate with other countries and may seriously frustrate the implementation of the EU and US' goals. The Report was developed between autumn 2006 and autumn 2007, over which time the project participants searched for publicly available documents in Poland, Turkey, EU countries and the USA, and went on five research trips to Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Caucasus, where they met local analysts, officials and researchers

Optimization of Single-Sided Lapping Kinematics Based on Statistical Analysis of Abrasive Particles Trajectories

The chapter presents the influence of selected kinematic parameters on the geometrical results of the single-sided lapping process. The optimization of these parameters is aimed at improving the quality and flatness of the machined surfaces. The uniformity of tool wear was assumed as main optimization criterion. Lapping plate wear model was created and in detail was analyzed. A Matlab program was designed to simulate the abrasive particles trajectories and to count their distribution. In addition, the influence of additional guiding movements of the conditioning ring has been verified and the idea of a flexible single-sided lapping system assisted with a robot, which ensures the optimal constant wear over the diameter was presented

Uncertainty study of data-based models of pollutant transport in rivers

River engineeringTransport and fate of pollutants in river

Writing to Save the Earth

A Magazine of Sustainable Ideas from EN199 Writing for the Earth (Professor John Kucich, Fall 2015) A Sense of Place: Essays on Where We Live Fogo, Cabo Verde, by Leonarda Vieira Weweantic River, by Sydney Holbrook Carver Pond, by Brianna Gallagher Nantasket Beach, by Brianna Davidson Ames Nowell, by Cassidy Morrow Old Orchard Beach, by Jill Blye A Place in the Sky, by Danielle Souza Pond Meadow, by Samantha Cicirelli Imagining a Future: Speculative Fiction Peggy the Penguin in Antarctica, by Haley Piotrowski Lives Change in One Day, by Julianne Kilduff Dust, by Adam Hayes Taking Action: Policy, Politics and Activisim Climate Reality, by Brea Caisey Wind Turbines in Massachusetts, by William Tkaczu

Eye tracking as a tool for analysing human -AI image interactions

The text was published in: 2024 Progress in Applied Electrical Engineering (PAEE), Koscielisko, Poland, 2024, pp. 1-3; Publisher: IEEE; DOI: 10.1109/PAEE63906.2024.10701449.In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly advanced fields like computer vision, image description, and generation, proving particularly relevant in creative areas such as generative art. This research aimed to explore AI’s capabilities in creating and describing images compared to human perception. It included a comparative analysis of visual perception using eyetracking techniques in two settings: a VR art gallery created for the BITSCOPE project and a stationary ET study of individual images. The images, sourced from the BITSCOPE project’s CHIST-ERA IV collection, were initially described by an expert following specific instructions, which were then used by AI to generate corresponding images. The eyetracking study focused on key areas and gaze plot sequences, using a gaze plot similarity metric based on topology and path length, enabled by the size of the research group

MOCVD Grown HgCdTe Heterostructures

HgCdTe heterostructures are widely applied for IR (infrared) detector constructing. Donor‐ and acceptor‐doping researches in (100) and (111) oriented HgCdTe layers grown by MOCVD have been studied. Fully doped HgCdTe heterostructures with acceptor concentration range between 1014 and 5 × 1017 cm-3 and donor concentration range between 1014 and 1 × 1018 cm-3 and without post‐grown annealing have been reported. The electrical and chemical characterizations of HgCdTe structures grown at 360°C on GaAs substrates using DIPTe have been described. Infrared photodiodes with different composition x were constructing on the basis of obtained heterostructures enabling signal detection of any wavelength from 1 µm to above 20 µm covering SWIR, MWIR and LWIR spectral ranges. Presented experimental results show that MOCVD technology enables to grow HgCdTe structures dedicated for HOT devices

Forecasting of the composite dose for organs at risk and solid targets with random movements during different image-guided scenarios of the photon radiation therapy. Solution for the Varian therapeutic line

BACKGROUND: This study aims to develop a useful tool for robust plan analysis which includes the effects of soft tissue deformations on simulated dose distributions. The solution was benchmarked in the light of the commercial method implemented in EclipseTM treatment planning system (TPS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Study was carried out on data of one patient with prostate-restricted cancer. The workflow of the procedure developed focused on three executive elements: in-house script to create a set of artificial CT images and for movement simulation of the CTV; the VelocityTM software for the calculations of the deformation matrixes and, then, to generate deformed CT sets; the EclipseTM TPS for dose re-calculations and analysis. Two scenarios were examined — first when the re-calculation was done for the original geometry and second, when the isocentre from the original plan geometry was moved according to the movement of the CTV. The dose distributions were analysed on dose volume histograms (DVHs) in the light of the results obtained from the method implemented in the EclipseTM TPS. RESULTS: The DVHs from our methods are more informative than the DVH from commercially implemented tools. For the first scenario, the highest impact on dose uncertainty has boundary positions of the CTV to the CTV-PTV margin. Using the second scenario, it is the relation of the CTV position to the whole body that has the highest effect on dose uncertainty. CONCLUSION: Our method enables a more accurate analysis of the treatment plan robustness than the method currently implemented in EclipseTM TPS

The foetal development of the human osseous labyrinth in a computed tomographic study

A CT study was performed on 8 foetuses aged between 20 and 38 weeks. In foetuses at the 20th week the semicircular canals, the spiral canal of the cochlea and the initial (labyrinthine) part of the facial canal are visible. At week 24 the tympanic part of the facial canal is observed. In the 31st week the cochlea is divided into 2 compartments, and in the 38th week the vestibular aqueduct and osseous labyrinth are seen

Hepatocyte growth factor in exhaled breath and BAL fluid in sarcoidosis

Wstęp: Wątrobowy czynnik wzrostu (HGF) jest silnym mitogenem stymulującym wzrost komórek nabłonka pęcherzyków płucnych. Wyższe stężenia HGF w różnych materiałach biologicznych stwierdzono między innymi w zespole ostrej niewydolności oddechowej (ARDS), u chorych po przebytym zapaleniu płuc i po pneumonektomii. Niekorzystnym zejściem sarkoidozy jest włóknienie płuc. Wątrobowy czynnik wzrostu mógłby być przydatny jako marker pozwalający na rozpoznanie chorych obarczonych ryzykiem włóknienia płuc. Celem pracy była ocena: 1) czy HGF jest wykrywalny w popłuczynach oskrzelowo-pęcherzykowych (BAL) i kondensacie powietrza wydechowego (EBC); 2) czy stężenia HGF w BAL-u i kondensacie chorych na sarkoidozę różnią się od stężeń osób zdrowych; 3) czy istnieją korelacje z parametrami aktywności i wybranymi czynnikami rokowniczymi. Materiał i metody: Zebrano kondensat od 64 i popłuczyny oskrzelowo-pęcherzykowe od 30 chorych na sarkoidozę. Grupę kontrolną stanowiły osoby zdrowe (n = 15 dla EBC, n = 9 dla BAL). Wątrobowy czynnik wzrostu oznaczono immunoenzymatycznie. Wyniki: Stężenia HGF w kondensacie przekroczyły próg detekcji u 62% badanych (56% chorych i 87% zdrowych) i we wszystkich próbkach BAL. Nie stwierdzono różnic w stężeniach w EBC i BAL pomiędzy osobami chorymi i zdrowymi. Nie stwierdzono korelacji pomiędzy HGF w EBC/BALF a stopniem radiologicznym, parametrami czynności płuc, czasem trwania choroby, liczbą nawrotów, odsetkiem limfocytów w BAL, stężeniem enzymu konwertującego angiotensynę i wapnia w surowicy, utratą dobową wapnia z moczem. Wnioski: Wątrobowy czynnik wzrostu jest wykrywalny w BAL i EBC. Jednak brak różnic pomiędzy chorymi na sarkoidozę i osobami zdrowymi oraz brak korelacji z markerami aktywności i czynnikami rokowniczymi uniemożliwiają jego zastosowanie w diagnostyce i monitorowaniu sarkoidozy.Introduction: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a strong mitogen stimulating lung epithelial cell growth. Elevated levels of HGF have been reported in various biological materials of patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome and in patients recovering from pneumonia or pneumonectomy. Sarcoidosis may be complicated by lung fibrosis. Consequently, HGF could be considered a new biomarker identifying patients with a higher risk of lung fibrosis. The aim of the study was to verify whether: 1. HGF is measurable in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC); 2. HGF in BALF or EBC is impaired in sarcoidosis; and 3. HGF correlates with chosen activity and prognostic markers. Material and methods: Sixty-four EBC and 30 BALF of sarcoid patients, and 15 and 9 of healthy controls, respectively, were collected for the measurement of HGF using an ELISA test. Results: HGF was detectable in 62% of EBC samples (56% sarcoidosis and 87% of controls) and in all the BALF samples. EBC and BALF concentrations were not different in comparison to the controls. Moreover, no correlation was found between EBC/BALF concentrations and radiological stage, lung function tests, duration of disease, number of relapses, BALF lymphocytes, serum ACE, or serum and urine calcium concentrations. Conclusions: HGF is detectable in BAL and EBC. However, it does not distinguish sarcoidosis patients from healthy subjects. The above, as well as the lack of correlations with various parameters of disease activity and severity rule out EBC/ /BALF HGF as a biomarker for sarcoidosis monitoring