Neuroanatomy: Decoding the Fly Brain

SummaryDespite their relatively small brains, with only about 100,000 neurons, fruit flies show many complex behaviours. Understanding how these behaviours are generated will require a wiring diagram of the brain, and significant progress is being made towards this goal. One study has labelled 16,000 individual neurons and generated a coarse wiring diagram of the whole fly brain, identifying subnetworks that may carry out local information processing

Dijagnostika stenoza intrakranijskih arterija primjenom transkranijskog bojom kodiranog ultrazvuka

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) scenography has been widely used as a diagnostic tool for intracranial hemodynamic alterations and in the last decade transcranial color-coded real-time sonography (TCCS) have been added to conventional TCD sonography in order to improve diagnostic yield. TCCS can reliably assess the 50% and <50% basal artery narrowing, and has proved useful for noninvasive management of patients with symptomatic intracranial stenoses.Transkranijski dopler (TCD) upotrebljava se kao dijagnostička metoda za intrakranijske hemodinamske poremećaje, a u zadnjem desetljeću uvođenje transkranijskog bojom kodiranog ultrazvuka (transcranial color-coded sonography - TCCS) doprinijelo je poboljšanju dijagnostike. Primjenom TCCS-a moguće je procijeniti suženje arterija na bazi mozga što se pokazalo kao vrijedna neinvazivna metoda kod stenoza intrakranijskih arterija

Future of business models in manufacturing

In order to achieve systematic change in pursuit of sustainable manufacturing, both a strategic long-term perspective employing methods from future studies and a concrete implementation of the knowledge gained in sustainable business models are necessary. In this chapter, the concepts and exemplary methods for sustainable business model innovation are introduced with a special focus on sustainable manufacturing. Circular Economy-based business models and Product Service Systems are explained as examples of sustainable business models, along with a deduction of sustainability factors for both examples. The fruitful combination of future studies and sustainable business model development is illustrated in the example of a so-called living factory, a modular and adaptive production environment which integrates aspects of Circular Business Models and Product Service Systems

Sustainability Factors for PSS Business Models

AbstractA fundamental change in how businesses are conducted and operated is an essential factor to reach more sustainable solutions not only on the industry level but also for the entire society. In this sense, the importance of developing and implementing sustainable product service system (S-PSS) business models is increasing as the number of studies are presenting it. A S-PSS business model is an approach to achieve benefits in the three dimensions of sustainability. Through efficient resource utilization and dematerialization, this type of sustainable business model helps to embed environmental and social aspects into strategic business goals and processes while increases competitive advantage. However, most of the studies that treats PSS business models do not mention their relation to sustainability. In addition, different studies take for granted that implementing PSS leads to benefits in the three sustainability dimensions. Nonetheless, PSS business models can even have a negative effect on the environment while maintaining only economic benefits. Such contradictions and incoherencies hinder the potential of PSS business models to provide sustainability benefits and might be a barrier for its adoption. Therefore, the question this study pursues is: What are the factors that make a PSS a sustainable business model? Through literature analysis, this paper proposes the identification of a set of factors that contributes to the sustainability of PSS business models. The factors identified are investigated in an exemplary case of a bike sharing system

Dijagnostika stenoza intrakranijskih arterija primjenom transkranijskog bojom kodiranog ultrazvuka

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) scenography has been widely used as a diagnostic tool for intracranial hemodynamic alterations and in the last decade transcranial color-coded real-time sonography (TCCS) have been added to conventional TCD sonography in order to improve diagnostic yield. TCCS can reliably assess the 50% and <50% basal artery narrowing, and has proved useful for noninvasive management of patients with symptomatic intracranial stenoses.Transkranijski dopler (TCD) upotrebljava se kao dijagnostička metoda za intrakranijske hemodinamske poremećaje, a u zadnjem desetljeću uvođenje transkranijskog bojom kodiranog ultrazvuka (transcranial color-coded sonography - TCCS) doprinijelo je poboljšanju dijagnostike. Primjenom TCCS-a moguće je procijeniti suženje arterija na bazi mozga što se pokazalo kao vrijedna neinvazivna metoda kod stenoza intrakranijskih arterija

Family- and school-based correlates of energy balance-related behaviours in 10-12-year-old children: a systematic review within the ENERGY (EuropeaN Energy balance Research to prevent excessive weight Gain among Youth) project

Objective: To identify family- and school-based correlates of specific energy balance-related behaviours (physical activity, sedentary behaviour, breakfast consumption, soft drink consumption) among 10-12-year-olds, using the EnRG framework (Environmental Research framework for weight Gain prevention). Design: A literature review to identify observational studies exploring at least one family- or school-based correlate of the specific behaviours, resulting in seventy-six articles. Setting: Eighteen studies were conducted in Europe, forty-one studies in North America and seventeen studies in Australasia. Subjects: Healthy children aged 10-12 years. Results: Parental and maternal physical activity, doing physical activities with parents and parental logistic support were identified as the most important, positive correlates of physical activity. Parental rules was the most important correlate of sedentary behaviour and was inversely related to it. School socioeconomic status was positively related to physical activity and inversely related to sedentary behaviour. The available studies suggested a positive relationship between soft drink availability at home and consumption. Soft drink availability and consumption at school were the most important school-based correlates of soft drink consumption. A permissive parenting style was related to more soft drink consumption and less breakfast consumption. Conclusions: An important role has been awarded to parents, suggesting parents should be involved in obesity prevention programmes. Despite the opportunities a school can offer, little research has been done to identify school-environmental correlates of energy balance-related behaviours in this age group. Obesity prevention programmes can focus on the most important correlates to maximize the effectiveness of the programme. Future research should aim at longitudinal studies

Functional and anatomical specificity in a higher olfactory centre.

Most sensory systems are organized into parallel neuronal pathways that process distinct aspects of incoming stimuli. In the insect olfactory system, second order projection neurons target both the mushroom body, required for learning, and the lateral horn (LH), proposed to mediate innate olfactory behavior. Mushroom body neurons form a sparse olfactory population code, which is not stereotyped across animals. In contrast, odor coding in the LH remains poorly understood. We combine genetic driver lines, anatomical and functional criteria to show that the Drosophila LH has ~1400 neurons and >165 cell types. Genetically labeled LHNs have stereotyped odor responses across animals and on average respond to three times more odors than single projection neurons. LHNs are better odor categorizers than projection neurons, likely due to stereotyped pooling of related inputs. Our results reveal some of the principles by which a higher processing area can extract innate behavioral significance from sensory stimuli

Population-Attributable Fractions of Modifiable Lifestyle Factors for CKD and Mortality in Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes: A Cohort Study

BackgroundWe quantified the impact of lifestyle and dietary modifications on chronic kidney disease (CKD) by estimating population-attributable fractions (PAFs).Study DesignObservational cohort study.Setting & ParticipantsMiddle-aged adults with type 2 diabetes but without severe albuminuria from the Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination With Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET; n=6,916).FactorsModifiable lifestyle/dietary risk factors, such as physical activity, size of social network, alcohol intake, tobacco use, diet, and intake of various food items.OutcomesThe primary outcome was CKD, ascertained as moderate to severe albuminuria or ≥5% annual decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) after 5.5 years. The competing risk for death was considered. PAF was defined as the proportional reduction in CKD or mortality (within 5.5 years) that would occur if exposure to a risk factor was changed to an optimal level.ResultsAt baseline, median urinary albumin-creatinine ratio and eGFR were 6.6 (IQR, 2.9-25.0) mg/mmol and 71.5 (IQR, 58.1-85.9) mL/min/1.73m2, respectively. After 5.5 years, 704 (32.5%) participants developed albuminuria, 1,194 (55.2%) had a ≥5% annual eGFR decline, 267 (12.3%) had both, and 1,022 (14.8%) had died. Being physically active every day has PAFs of 5.1% (95% CI, 0.5%-9.6%) for CKD and 12.3% (95% CI, 4.9%-19.1%) for death. Among food items, increasing vegetable intake would have the largest impact on population health. Considering diet, weight, physical activity, tobacco use, and size of social network, exposure to less than optimum levels gives PAFs of 13.3% (95% CI, 5.5%-20.9%) for CKD and 37.5% (95% CI, 27.8%-46.7%) for death. For the 17.8 million middle-aged Americans with diabetes, improving 1 of these lifestyle behaviors to the optimal range could reduce the incidence or progression of CKD after 5.5 years by 274,000 and the number of deaths within 5.5 years by 405,000.LimitationsAscertainment of changes in kidney measures does not precisely match the definitions for incidence or progression of CKD.ConclusionsHealthy lifestyle and diet are associated with less CKD and mortality and may have a substantial impact on population kidney health