Childhood exposure to external ionising radiation and solid cancer risk

The increasing use of ionising radiation for diagnostic purposes has raised concern about potential iatrogenic damage, especially in children. In this review, we discuss some aspects of radiation-induced cancer in relation to age at exposure and measures that should be taken for limiting exposure in this sensitive population

Delayed blood transfusion is associated with mortality following radical cystectomy

Objectives: To examine the temporal association between blood transfusion and 90-day mortality in patients with bladder cancer treated with radical cystectomy. / Methods: This represents a retrospective cohort study of patients treated with radical cystectomy within the Premier Hospital network between 2003 and 2015. Patients outcomes were stratified those who received early blood transfusion (day of surgery) vs delayed blood transfusion (postoperative day ≥1) during the index admission. Primary end point was 90-day mortality following surgery. / Results: The median age of 12,056 patients identified was 70 years. A total of 7,201 (59.7%) patients received blood transfusion. Within 90 days following surgery, 57 (2.2%), 162 (5.9%) and 123 (6.7%) patients in the early, delayed and both early and delayed transfused patients died respectively. Following multivariate logistic regression to account for patient (age and Charlson Comorbidity Index [CCI]) and hospital (surgeon volume, surgical approach and academic status) factors, delayed blood transfusion was independently associated with 90-day mortality (Odds ratio [OR], 2.64; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.98–3.53; p < 0.001). A sensitivity analysis defining early blood transfusion as <2 days postoperatively, increased 90-day mortality persisted in patients receiving delayed transfusion (OR, 2.20; 95% CI, 1.63-3.00; p < 0.001). Older patients (≥77 years) with the highest CCI (≥2) had a 7% absolute increase in the predicted probability of 90-day mortality if they were transfused late compared to patients transfused early. / Conclusion: Patient undergoing cystectomy may benefit from expedited transfusion to prevent subsequent clinical deterioration which may lead to patient mortality. Future work is needed to elucidate the optimal timing of blood transfusion

Epidemic space

The aim of this article is to highlight the importance of 'spatiality' in understanding the materialization of risk society and cultivation of risk sensibilities. More specifically it provides a cultural analysis of pathogen virulence (as a social phenomenon) by means of tracing and mapping the spatial flows that operate in the uncharted zones between the microphysics of infection and the macrophysics of epidemics. It will be argued that epidemic space consists of three types of forces: the vector, the index and the vortex. It will draw on Latour's Actor Network Theory to argue that epidemic space is geared towards instability when the vortex (of expanding associations and concerns) displaces the index (of finding a single cause)

Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) and Fluid Flows

The micromachining technology that emerged in the late 1980s can provide micron-sized sensors and actuators. These micro transducers are able to be integrated with signal conditioning and processing circuitry to form micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) that can perform real-time distributed control. This capability opens up a new territory for flow control research. On the other hand, surface effects dominate the fluid flowing through these miniature mechanical devices because of the large surface-to-volume ratio in micron-scale configurations. We need to reexamine the surface forces in the momentum equation. Owing to their smallness, gas flows experience large Knudsen numbers, and therefore boundary conditions need to be modified. Besides being an enabling technology, MEMS also provide many challenges for fundamental flow-science research

Comparative algological and bacteriological examinations on biofilms developed on different substrata in a shallow soda lake

According to the European Water Framework Directives, benthic diatoms of lakes are a tool for ecological status assessment. In this study, we followed an integrative sample analysis approach, in order to find an appropriate substratum for the water qualification-oriented biomonitoring of a shallow soda lake, Lake Velencei. Six types of substrata (five artificial and one natural), i.e., andesite, granite, polycarbonate, old reed stems, Plexiglass discs and green reed, were sampled in May and in November. We analysed total alga and diatom composition, chlorophyll a content of the periphyton, surface tension and roughness of the substrata and carbon source utilisation of microbial communities. Water quality index was calculated based on diatom composition. Moreover, using a novel statistical tool, a self-organising map, we related algal composition to substratum types. Biofilms on plastic substrates deviated to a great extent from the stone and reed substrata, with regard to the parameters measured, whereas the biofilms developing on reed and stone substrata were quite similar. We conclude that for water quality monitoring purposes, sampling from green reed during springtime is not recommended, since this is the colonization time of periphyton on the newly growing reed, but it may be appropriate from the second half of the vegetation period. Stone and artificially placed old reed substrata may be appropriate for biomonitoring of shallow soda lakes in both spring and autumn since they showed in both seasons similar results regarding all measured features

Cirsium species show disparity in patterns of genetic variation at their range-edge, despite similar patterns of reproduction and isolation

Genetic variation was assessed across the UK geographical range of Cirsium acaule and Cirsium heterophyllum. A decline in genetic diversity and increase in population divergence approaching the range edge of these species was predicted based on parallel declines in population density and seed production reported seperately. Patterns were compared with UK populations of the widespread Cirsium arvense.Populations were sampled along a latitudinal transect in the UK and genetic variation assessed using microsatellite markers. Cirsium acaule shows strong isolation by distance, a significant decline in diversity and an increase in divergence among range-edge populations. Geographical structure is also evident in C. arvense, whereas no such patterns are seen in C.heterophyllum. There is a major disparity between patterns of genetic variation in C. acaule and C. heterophyllum despite very similar patterns in seed production and population isolation in these species. This suggests it may be misleading to make assumptions about the geographical structure of genetic variation within species based solely on the present-day reproduction and distribution of populations

'Digital by Default' and the 'hard to reach': Exploring solutions to digital exclusion in remote rural areas

Williams, F., Philip, L., Fairhurst, G., & Farrington, J. (2016). ‘Digital by Default’ and ‘the hard to reach’: exploring solutions to digital exclusion in remote rural areas. Local Economy, 31(7), 757-777. DOI: 10.1177/0269094216670938. Copyright © 2016 SAGE. Reprinted by permission of SAGE Publications.In the UK, the geography of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure required for Internet connectivity is such that high speed broadband and mobile phone networks are generally less available in rural areas compared with urban areas or, in other words, as remoteness and population sparsity increase so too does the likelihood of an area having no or very poor broadband connectivity. Against a policy backdrop of UK Government efforts to bring forward network infrastructure upgrades and to improve the accessibility of broadband services in locations where there is a weak commercial investment case, this paper considers the options for the ‘final few’ in the prevailing ‘Digital by Default’ public services context. The paper outlines the Rural Public Access WiFi Services project, a study focused upon enabling Internet connectivity for commercially ‘hard to reach’ rural areas in the UK. The Rural Public Access WiFi Services concept and the experiment are introduced before findings from a pilot deployment of a broadband service to households in a remote rural area, who may be classified as ‘digitally excluded’, are presented. The paper then reflects on our field experiment and the potential of the Rural Public Access WiFi Services model as a solution to overcoming some of the digital participation barriers manifest in the urban–rural divide. Early indications show that the Rural Public Access WiFi Services model has the potential to encourage participation in the Digital Economy and could aid the UK Government’s Digital by Default agenda, although adoption of the model is not without its challenges

Objetivo Madrid: planes de ocupación y concepción del orden público durante la Guerra Civil española

This article looks at Spanish Civil War and violence in those days from a different point of view. On the one hand, I try to explain the military coup of July 1936 as a reaction against the experience of Modernity in the spanish cities, focusing on Madrid. On the other, I try to go in depth into the functional logic of violence instead of the hegemonic historiographical proposals. It is necessary to explain the sequence 2nd Republic-Coup-War in the mid-long range to understand the significance of Francoist Public Order model. Using the occupation plan for Madrid by Franco’s Headquarters and Servicio de Recuperación de Documentos paperwork, this article attempts to get the Dictatorship’s view about public space and sociocultural transformations in the early decades of XXth Century.El presente texto pretende ofrecer una nueva visión sobre la Guerra Civil y la violencia ejercida en su marco. Por un lado, trata de explicar la sublevación de 1936 como una reacción al proceso de Modernidad experimentado principalmente en la España urbana, y concretamente en Madrid. Por otro, procura adentrarse en la lógica funcional de la violencia en detrimento de los presupuestos exterministas dominantes en la historiografía española. Es necesario ampliar la secuencia explicativa II República-sublevación-guerra para comprender el 18 de julio desde unos parámetros más dilatados, que proyectan las expresiones de la violencia durante el conflicto hacia la posguerra a través de la gestión del orden público. Mediante el Servicio de Recuperación de Documentos y del Cuartel General del Generalísimo se documenta el plan de ocupación para Madrid. Una fuente sin duda novedosa para comprender la concepción franquista de lo que debía ser el espacio público y comprobar cómo se materializaron las bases sobre las que debía construirse el rechazo a los cambios producidos en el primer tercio del siglo xx, percibidos como una amenaza a los valores tradicionales

Development and preliminary testing of the new five-level version of EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L)

This article introduces the new 5-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) health status measure. EQ-5D currently measures health using three levels of severity in five dimensions. A EuroQol Group task force was established to find ways of improving the instrument's sensitivity and reducing ceiling effects by increasing the number of severity levels. The study was performed in the United Kingdom and Spain. Severity labels for 5 levels in each dimension were identified using response scaling. Focus groups were used to investigate the face and content validity of the new versions, including hypothetical health states generated from those versions. Selecting labels at approximately the 25th, 50th, and 75th centiles produced two alternative 5-level versions. Focus group work showed a slight preference for the wording 'slight-moderate-severe' problems, with anchors of 'no problems' and 'unable to do' in the EQ-5D functional dimensions. Similar wording was used in the Pain/Discomfort and Anxiety/Depression dimensions. Hypothetical health states were well understood though participants stressed the need for the internal coherence of health states. A 5-level version of the EQ-5D has been developed by the EuroQol Group. Further testing is required to determine whether the new version improves sensitivity and reduces ceiling effects

Is TEA an inhibitor for human Aquaporin-1?

Excessive water uptake through aquaporins can be life threatening, and disregulation of water permeability causes many diseases. Therefore, reversible aquaporin inhibitors are highly desired. In this paper, we identified the binding site for tetraethylammonium (TEA) of the membrane water channel aquaporin-1 by a combined molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation approach. The binding site identified from docking studies was independently confirmed with an unbiased molecular dynamics simulation of an aquaporin tetramer embedded in a lipid membrane, surrounded by a 100-mM tetraethylammonium solution in water. A third independent assessment of the binding site was obtained by umbrella sampling simulations. These simulations, in addition, revealed a binding affinity of more than 17 kJ/mol, corresponding to an IC50 value of << 3 mM. Finally, we observed in our simulations a 50% reduction of the water flux in the presence of TEA, in agreement with water permeability measurements on aquaporin expressed in oocytes. These results confirm TEA as a putative lead for an aquaporin-1 inhibitor