Changes in Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient Predict Hepatic Decompensation in Patients Who Achieved Sustained Virologic Response to Interferon-Free Therapy

BaCKgRoUND aND aIMS: Sustained virologic response (SVR) to interferon (IFN)-free therapies ameliorates portal hypertension (PH); however, it remains unclear whether a decrease in hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) after cure of hepatitis C translates into a clinical benefit. We as- sessed the impact of pretreatment HVPG, changes in HVPG, and posttreatment HVPG on the development of hepatic decompensation in patients with PH who achieved SVR to IFN-free therapy. Moreover, we evaluated transient elastogra- phy (TE) and von Willebrand factor to platelet count ratio (VITRO) as noninvasive methods for monitoring the evolu- tion of PH. appRoaCH aND ReSUltS: The study comprised 90 patients with HVPG ≥ 6 mm Hg who underwent paired HVPG, TE, and VITRO assessments before (baseline [BL]) and after (follow-up [FU]) IFN-free therapy. FU HVPG but not BL HVPG predicted hepatic decompensation (per mm Hg, hazard ratio, 1.18; 95% confidence interval, 1.08- 1.28; P < 0.001). Patients with BL HVPG ≤ 9 mm Hg or patients who resolved clinically significant PH (CSPH) were protected from hepatic decompensation. In patients with CSPH, an HVPG decrease ≥ 10% was similarly protective (36 months, 2.5% vs. 40.5%; P < 0.001) but was observed in a substantially higher proportion of patients (60% vs. 24%; P < 0.001). Importantly, the performance of noninva- sive methods such as TE/VITRO for diagnosing an HVPG reduction ≥ 10% was inadequate for clinical use (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC], < 0.8), emphasizing the need for HVPG measurements. However, TE/VITRO were able to rule in or rule out FU CSPH (AUROC, 0.86-0.92) in most patients, especially if assessed in a sequential manner. CoNClUSIoNS: Reassessment of HVPG after SVR im- proved prognostication in patients with pretreatment CSPH. An “immediate” HVPG decrease ≥ 10% was observed in the majority of these patients and was associated with a clinical benefit, as it prevented hepatic decompensation. These results support the use of HVPG as a surrogate endpoint for inter- ventions that lower portal pressure by decreasing intrahepatic resistance

Überlegen Sie noch oder dolmetschen Sie schon? : Simultandolmetschen in die B-Sprache im Europäischen Parlament

Die einschlägige Literatur weist darauf hin, dass verschiedene dolmetschwissenschaftliche Ansätze dem Dolmetschen entweder in die Mutter- oder in die erste Fremdsprache den Vorzug geben. Als Argumente geben die Autoren jeweils die Gewährleistung der höchst möglichen Qualität beim Dolmetschen an, welche laut Kalina (2005) dann vorliegt, wenn der Zieltext eine größtmögliche Entsprechung zum Ausgangstext aufweist. In der vorliegenden Diplomarbeit wird die Qualität beim Simultandolmetschen für die Sprachkombination Slowenisch - Deutsch unter Berücksichtigung der Direktionaliät behandelt. Dabei wird von der Hypothese ausgegangen, dass die Direktionalität keinen Einfluss auf die Qualität der simultanen Verdolmetschung hat. Zur Überprüfung der Hypothese wird eine Evaluierung von sechs Originalreden und deren Verdolmetschungen aus Plenarsitzungen des Europäischen Parlaments anhand der Parameter des Modells von Kalina (2011) vorgenommen. Dabei erfolgt die Verdolmetschung bei der Hälfte der Reden in die Muttersprache und bei der andere Hälfte in die erste Fremdsprache der Dolmetscher/innen. Die Dolmetschqualität wird am zahlenmäßigen Abstand zwischen den Ergebnissen des Vergleichs von Ausgangstext und Zieltext gemessen. Es wird davon ausgegangen, dass es sich im Falle einer niedrigeren Punktezahl der Verdolmetschung im Vergleich zur Punktezahl der Originalrede nicht um eine qualitativ hochwertige Dolmetschleistung handeln kann, was die Ergebnisse der empirischen Studie auch zum größten Teil bestätigten. Eine Verbesserung der Qualität der Verdolmetschung im Vergleich zur evaluierten Qualität der Originalrede liegt nur in zwei Fällen vor. In allen anderen Fällen ist eine Verschlechterung des Gesamtergebnisses zu verzeichnen. Im Gesamtvergleich haben die nichtmuttersprachlichen Verdolmetschungen um 7,78 Prozent schlechter abgeschnitten als die muttersprachlichen Verdolmetschungen.Several approaches in the field of interpreting studies prefer interpreting into the mother tongue rather than into the first foreign language, as indicated by the relevant literature. The authors' main objective is to assure the highest possible quality in interpreting. According to Kalina (2005), interpreting is of the highest possible quality when the target text and the source text correspond at the highest level. The thesis addresses the issue of quality in simultaneous interpreting in the Slovene and German language combination, focusing on the impact of language direction. The thesis argues for the hypothesis that language directionality has no influence on the quality of simultaneous interpreting. This hypothesis is tested through an evaluation of six source texts and their interpretations from plenary sessions of the European Parliament. The evaluation is based on the parameters of Kalina's model (2011). Half of the source texts are interpreted into the mother tongue and the other half into the first foreign language of the interpreters. The quality of interpretation is measured by the difference in scores achieved when comparing the analysis of both the target and the source text. In cases where interpretations achieve lower scores than the source texts, it can be assumed that this indicates a low quality of interpreting, as the results of the study confirm. An improvement in the quality of interpreting as compared to the source text was found only in two cases. In all other cases the overall results indicate a decline in quality. An overall comparison shows that interpretations into the first foreign language scored 7,78 percent less than those into the mother tongue.vorgelegt von Petra MundaAbweichender Titel laut Übersetzung der Verfasserin/des VerfassersZsfassungen in dt. und engl. SpracheGraz, Univ., Dipl.-Arb., 2015(VLID)36798

Sustainable plant textile fibres

Zaradi čedalje globlje ekološke ozaveščenosti in okoljevarstvenih zahtev obravnavamo v sodobnem času izdelavo, uporabo in odstranjevanje materialov veliko bolj kritično. Naravna celulozna vlakna so v tem pogledu izkazala svojo kakovost in popolnoma izpolnila vse ekološke kriterije. Naravna celulozna vlakna uporabljamo za tekstilne in tekstilnotehnične namene. To so vlakna iz ličja stebel, ki tvorijo vlaknate snopiče v notranjem ličju stebel dvokaličnic, in listna vlakna, ki tečejo po dolžini listov enokaličnic, ter semenska vlakna in vlakna iz plodov. Lan, konopljo, juto, ramijo, sisal ter kokos uporabljamo predvsem za tehnične namene. V zadnjem času pa izjemno narašča zanimanje za obnovljive surovinske vire tudi na področju vlaken. V ospredju so vlakna rastlinskega izvora. Pri iskanju novih surovinskih virov se proučujejo številne rastline, ki ne spadajo med tradicionalne vire vlaken, da bi iz njihovih stebel ali listov izolirali vlakna uporabnih lastnosti. Pri izolaciji vlaken pridobimo tehnična vlakna, kar pomeni, da so celulozna vlakna večcelične strukture, pri katerih so posamezne celice vezane v snopiče. Poleg konvencionalnih načinov izolacije vlaken se uporabljajo tudi številni sodobni postopki, kot so biotehnološki z uporabo encimov, itd. Način, kako vlakna izoliramo, vpliva na površinsko morfologijo vlaken. V prispevku so predstavljena nekatera vlakna, ki jih pridobivamo iz kmetijskih odpadkov, kot so slama žitaric, listi ananasa, sladkorni trs, hmeljeva stebla, kinoa, vlakna iz različnih trav itd.The manufacture, use and removal of traditional materials are now considered more critical due to increasing environmental consciousness and the demands of legislative authorities. Natural cellulose fibres have successfully proven their qualities when also taking into account an ecological view of fibre materials. Different cellulose fibres can be used for textile and technical applications, e.g. the bast or stem fibres which form fibrous bundles in the inner bark (phloem or bast) of the stems of dicotyledenous plants, the leaf fibres which run lengthwise through the leaves of monocotyledenous plants, and the fibres of seeds and fruits. Flax, hemp, jute, ramie, sisal and coir are mainly used for technical purposes. Recently, the interest in renewable resources for fibres particularly of plant origin has increased. Therefore, several non-traditional plants are being studied with the aim to isolate fibres from plant leaves or stems. A review of some untraditional fibres is given in the paper. Technical fibres are mainly obtained with fibre isolation, which means that cellulose fibres are multicellular structures with individual cells bound into fibre bundles. Different retting processes can be performed in both acid and alkaline mediums, respectively, and with an enzymatic treatment. The used procedure influences the fibre surface morphology. Some biofibres from agricultural by-products, e.g. wheat straw, pineapple leaves, sugarcane bagasse, hop stems, Musaceae plants, quinoa etc. are introduced. In addition, the fibres from different grass and legume species and from sea grass are presented in the article