Outcomes and optimal treatment of patients with Acromegaly

This thesis defines mortality in acromegaly in a modern patient cohort, elucidates underlying explanations for the increased mortality and explores the impact of treatment, focussing on somatostatin analogue therapy. Results confirm there remains a 30% increase in mortality in patients with acromegaly. Mortality was increased in patients with GH >2µg/L, but not in patients with raised IGF-I. This is the first study showing reduced survival in patients with acromegaly following pituitary radiotherapy. Somatostatin analogue therapy was shown to be efficacious and safe. I also explored factors influencing pituitary tumourigenesis by characterising mRNA levels for 11β-HSD isozymes in normal and neoplastic pituitary tissue. Results demonstrated reduced 11β-HSDl expression and 10-fold increased 11β-HSD2 expression in pituitary tumours compared with normal pituitary, resulting in reduced active glucocorticoid concentrations within the pituitary. This may diminish the antiproliferative effects of glucocorticoids, thus contributing to the process of pituitary tumourigenesis. Finally, I explored complications of pituitary adenomas by evaluating outcome in patients presenting acutely with pituitary apoplexy. Patients presenting without visual deficit or showing evidence of early improvement in visual deficit can be managed without acute neurosurgical intervention. Results of this research will undoubtedly improve the management and outcome of patients with acromegaly and pituitary tumours.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The epidemiology of upper respiratory tract disorders in a population of insured Swedish dogs (2011-2014), and its association to brachycephaly

Upper respiratory tract (URT) disorders are common in dogs but neither general nor breed-related epidemiological data are widely reported. This study ' s aims were to describe the epidemiology of URT disorders in a Swedish population of dogs and to investigate whether brachycephalic breeds were overrepresented among high-risk breeds. A cohort of dogs insured by Agria Djurforsakring in Sweden (2011-2014) was used to calculate overall and breed-specific incidence rate (IR), age at first URT diagnosis and relative risk (RR) for URT disorders. For breeds with high RR for URT disorders, co-morbidities throughout the dog's insurance period and age at death were investigated. The cohort included approximately 450,000 dogs. URT disorders had an overall IR of 50.56 (95% CI; 49.14-52.01) per 10,000 dog years at risk. Among 327 breeds, the English bulldog, Japanese chin, Pomeranian, Norwich terrier and pug had highest RR of URT disorders. Eight of 13 breeds with high RR for URT disorders were brachycephalic. The median age at first URT diagnosis was 6.00 years (interquartile range 2.59-9.78). French bulldogs with URT diagnoses had a significantly shorter life span (median = 3.61 years) than other breeds with URT diagnosis (median = 7.81 years). Dogs with high risk for URT disorders had more co-morbidities than average

Автоматизированная система обеспечения оптимальных условий выращивания сельскохозяйственных культур в защищенном грунте

Mosquitoes of the Anopheles (An.) and Aedes (Ae.) genus are principal vectors of human diseases including malaria, dengue and yellow fever. Insecticide-based vector control is an established and important way of preventing transmission of such infections. Currently used insecticides can efficiently control mosquito populations, but there are growing concerns about emerging resistance, off-target toxicity and their ability to alter ecosystems. A potential target for the development of insecticides with reduced off-target toxicity is the cholinergic enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Herein, we report cloning, baculoviral expression and functional characterization of the wild-type AChE genes (ace-1) from An. gambiae and Ae. aegypti, including a naturally occurring insecticide-resistant (G119S) mutant of An. gambiae. Using enzymatic digestion and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry we found that the secreted proteins were post-translationally modified. The Michaelis-Menten constants and turnover numbers of the mosquito enzymes were lower than those of the orthologous AChEs from Mus musculus and Homo sapiens. We also found that the G119S substitution reduced the turnover rate of substrates and the potency of selected covalent inhibitors. Furthermore, non-covalent inhibitors were less sensitive to the G119S substitution and differentiate the mosquito enzymes from corresponding vertebrate enzymes. Our findings indicate that it may be possible to develop selective non-covalent inhibitors that effectively target both the wild-type and insecticide resistant mutants of mosquito AChE

Evaluation of SIA "Roadeks" finance situation

Diplomdarba tēma ir SIA„Roadeks” finansiālās situācijas izvērtējums. Diplomdarba mērķis ir izmantojot SIA„Roadeks” gada pārskatus izvērtēt uzņēmuma finansiālo situāciju, izdarīt secinājumus un dot priekšlikumus turpmākai darbības attīstībai.Teorētiskajā daļā autore pēta finanšu analīzes teorētiskos aspektus. Praktiskajā daļā autore veic SIA„Roadeks” finanšu analīzi par periodu no 2009. gada līdz 2011. gadam, veicot bilances, peļņas vai zaudējumu horizontālo un vertikālo analīzi, novērtējot likviditātes, maksātspējas, aktivitātes un rentabilitātes rādītājus, kā arī prognozējot bankrota varbūtību.Aprēķinātie finanšu rādītāji tiek salīdzināti ar konkurējošā uzņēmuma CBF SIA„Binders” finanšu rādītājiem.Darba noslēgumā autore apkopo rezultātus secinājumos un dod ieteikumus SIA„Roadeks” darbības attīstībai.Diplomdarba apjoms ir 81 lapaspuses, tas sastāv no 3 daļām, 2 attēliem, 18 tabulām, 34 formulām un 7 pielikumiem.Atslēgvārdi:finanšu analīze; finanšu pārskats; bankrots; modeļi; rādītāji.Diploma thesis theme is evaluation of "Roadeks"Ltd.finance situation.The goal is by using "Roadeks”Ltd.annual reports evaluate company's financial situation, draw conclusions and make proposals for company’s development.At the theoretical part author explore theoretical aspects of financial analysis.At the practical part author does "Roadeks" financial analysis for the period from 2009th till the 2011th year by using balance sheet, profit and loss horizontal and vertical analysis in assessing the liquidity, solvency, activity and profitability indicators, predicting the probability of bankruptcy.The estimated financial results are compared with CBF„Binders”Ltd.financial performance.In the final phase the author summarizes research results and give recommendations for "Roadeks"Ltd. development.Diploma thesis volume is 81 pages it consists of 3 parts and includes 18 tables, 2 figures, 34 formulas and 7 appendices. Keywords:financial analysis;financial report;bankruptcy;moduls;indicators

Experimental study of magnetic slurries regarding magnetic properties

The aim of this study was to assess the basic magnetic properties of a mixture composed of a commercial lubricant and soft magnetic iron particles, where the particle content is significantly higher than in conventional magnetic fluids, due to the fact that the particles verge on the sedimentation level. This so called magnetic slurry can, then, be regarded as a highly ductile magnetic conducting material for tentative use in a magnetic circuit that can change shape under operation. The high particle content results in high saturation field densities that extend the application field towards electric power engineering. This paper, therefore, focuses on properties like relative permeability, losses, the Q-factor and the efficiency for the power frequencies 50 and 400 Hz. It shows that the relative permeabilities are low (below 10). The values of the efficiency and the Q-factor decrease considerably above 0.5 T. That limits the application of the studied slurry in electric power engineering. In such applications, the powder properties must be improvedQC 2012022

Musicera mera : en studie om skolors olika mål och arbetssätt för musicerande

Syftet med studien har varit, dels att beskriva Sandsbromodellen som undervisningsmetod i ämnet musik, dels att tolka och skapa förståelse för vad olika musiklärare i Växjö kommun har för mål med momentet musicerande och hur de praktiskt arbetar med detta i sin musikundervisning samt att belysa och skapa förståelse för hur elever på Sandsbro skola upplever momentet musicerandet i musikundervisningen. Utifrån vår frågeställning valde vi att angripa problemet genom att göra en kvalitativ undersökning angående olika musiklärarnas syn på musicerande och en kvantitativ undersökning beträffande Sandsbro skolas elever och deras uppfattning om momentet musicerande i musikundervisningen. Det sammanställda resultatet har därefter bearbetats och analyserats utifrån litteratur inom det aktuella området. Resultatet visar att musiklärarna arbetar helt eller delvis utifrån egenproducerat material momentet musicerande. Vad beträffar Sandsbromodellen arbetar musikläraren helt och hållet utfrån egenproducerat material. Vidare visar resultatet att några av musiklärarna uppfattar puls och musicerandets koppling till musikteori som centrala delar av musikundervisningen medan någon har valt att lägga betoningen på det instrumentala musicerandet. Det instrumentala musicerandet utgör grunden för hela Sandsbromodellens metodik. En av musiklärarna integrerar all musikundervisning i ett musikhistoriskt eller musikteoretiskt perspektiv och ett grundläggande drag i Sandsbromodellen är att musikläraren drar nytta av elevernas stora intresse för populärmusik Musiklärarna anger också olika mål för momentet musicerande, dels att det skall ge spelglädje och öka lusten till musik, dels leda till ett ökat musikintresse och utveckla elevens samarbetsförmåga. Ett annat mål som anges är att musicerandet skall bli till en naturlig del av elevernas fritid utanför skolans ramar. Enligt den enkätundersökning som genomfördes på Sandsbro skola visar resultatet att eleverna uppfattar det positivt att de kan ha nytta av sina inlärda musikkunskaper också i framtiden samt att de kan bilda egna musikgrupper tillsammans med sina kompisar utanför skolan. För övrigt anser musiklärarna att elevinflytandet är av stor betydelse i momentet musicerande

Homogenization of Laminated Cores for Eddy Current Calculations

QC 2012022

Experimental study of magnetic slurries regarding magnetic properties

The aim of this study was to assess the basic magnetic properties of a mixture composed of a commercial lubricant and soft magnetic iron particles, where the particle content is significantly higher than in conventional magnetic fluids, due to the fact that the particles verge on the sedimentation level. This so called magnetic slurry can, then, be regarded as a highly ductile magnetic conducting material for tentative use in a magnetic circuit that can change shape under operation. The high particle content results in high saturation field densities that extend the application field towards electric power engineering. This paper, therefore, focuses on properties like relative permeability, losses, the Q-factor and the efficiency for the power frequencies 50 and 400 Hz. It shows that the relative permeabilities are low (below 10). The values of the efficiency and the Q-factor decrease considerably above 0.5 T. That limits the application of the studied slurry in electric power engineering. In such applications, the powder properties must be improvedQC 2012022

Justification of an alternative system for one- and two-dimensional magnetic measurements

A novel two-dimensional measurement set-up for magnetic sheet characterization has been designed and constructed. Experimental verification shows that the inhomogeneity of the magnetic flux through the sample was smaller than the measurement error, whereas the required electric excitation decreased considerably. The aim of this paper is to prove that the new measurement system is superior to the Epstein frame and the rotational single sheet tester (RSST) and can be recommended.Qc 20141204</p