421 research outputs found
Aqueous modification of chitosan with itaconic acid to produce strong oxygen barrier film
In this study, the chemical modification of chitosan using itaconic acid as a natural-based unsaturated dicarboxylic acid was investigated. In an aqueous environment, the amine group of chitosan reacts with itaconic acid to produce a chitosan derivative with pyrrolidone-4-carboxylic acid group. On the basis of the elemental analysis, 15 of the amine groups of chitosan reacted, thus creating modified chitosan with amine and carboxylic acid functionalities. Due to the presence of amine and carboxylic acid groups, the surface charge properties of the chitosan were notably altered after itaconic acid modification. In an aqueous solution, the modified chitosan exhibited zwitterionic properties, being cationic at low pH and turning anionic when the pH was increased over 6.5, whereas the original chitosan remained cationic until pH 9. Furthermore, it was demostrated that the modified chitosan was suitable for the preparation of a self-standing film with similarly high transparency but notably higher mechanical strength and oxygen barrier properties compared to a film made from the original chitosan. In addition, the thermal stability of the modified chitosan film was higher than that of the original chitosan film, and the modified chitosan exhibited flame-retardant properties
Feminizing political parties: womenâs party member organizations within European parliamentary parties
Party member womenâs organizations were early features of party development. While some contemporary studies maintain these are important sites for the substantive representation of women, there is also a claim that they are in decline. Our primary purpose here is to establish the existence of party member womenâs organizations â as one test of the first dimension of party feminization: the inclusion of women. We draw on new survey data of 17 European countries provided by Scarrow, Poguntke and Webb. We establish that almost half have a party member womenâs organization. The new data also permits analysis of relationships between party member womenâs organization and gender quotas for the top party leadership body (National Executive Committee (NEC)), womenâs presence among the party leadership and candidate quota rules. Together we see these (i) as a means to establish whether women are marginalized within the party, thereby limiting descriptive representation and (ii) as surrogate measures for womenâs substantive representation. We importantly find that the presence of a party member womenâs organization does not come at the cost of womenâs presence on the NEC. In the final section, we turn our attention to building a new comparative research agenda that more fully addresses substantive representation
MARS therapy, the bridging to liver retransplantation-Three cases from the Hungarian liver transplant program
Besides orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) there is no long-term and effective replacement therapy for severe liver failure. Artificial extracorporeal liver supply devices are able to reduce blood toxin levels, but do not replace any synthetic function of the liver. Molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) is one of the methods that can be used to treat fulminant acute liver failure (ALF) or acute on chronic liver failure (AoCLF). The primary non-function (PNF) of the newly transplanted liver manifests in the clinical settings exactly like acute liver failure. MARS treatment can reduce the severity of complications by eliminating blood toxins, so that it can help hepatic encephalopathy (HE), hepatorenal syndrome (HRS), and the high rate mortality of cerebral herniation. This might serve as a bridging therapy before orthotopic liver retransplantation (reOLT). Three patients after a first liver transplantation became candidate for urgent MARS treatment as a bridging solution prior to reOLT in our center. Authors report these three cases, focusing on indications, MARS sessions, clinical courses, and final outcomes. © 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest
Gender equality, austerity, vulnerabilities and resistance in the Spanish neo-liberal life cycle
We examine how austerity measures have affected gender equality in the context of women workers in Spain. We adopt a feminist perspective to explore the multiple nature of the impact of the recession, emerging policy scenarios and forms of gender action that have developed. One of the unforeseen outcomes of the economic crisis in Spain is the opening up of new forms of collective action that have emerged in two political movements: âPodemosâ and âBarcelona en ComĂșâ and two examples of feminist activism: âLa Vaga de Totesâ and âIgualdad de gĂ©nero frente a la crisis econĂłmicaââinitiatives which point to alternative ways of engaging with work and working lives, in the hope of redressing the inequalities that have increased over recent years. New forms of organization have been successful in mobilizing people by developing the struggle against austerity from a progressive perspective and radical democratic forms of action have come to the fore
Tumour invasiveness, the local and systemic environment and the basis of staging systems in colorectal cancer
background: The present study aimed to examine the relationship between tumour invasiveness (T stage), the local and systemic environment and cancer-specific survival (CSS) of patients with primary operable colorectal cancer.
methods: The tumour microenvironment was examined using measures of the inflammatory infiltrate (Klintrup-Makinen (KM) grade and Immunoscore), tumour stroma percentage (TSP) and tumour budding. The systemic inflammatory environment was examined using modified Glasgow Prognostic Score (mGPS) and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio (NLR). A 5-year CSS was examined.
results: A total of 331 patients were included. Increasing T stage was associated with colonic primary, N stage, poor differentiation, margin involvement and venous invasion (P<0.05). T stage was significantly associated with KM grade (P=0.001), Immunoscore (P=0.016), TSP (P=0.006), tumour budding (P<0.001), and elevated mGPS and NLR (both P<0.05). In patients with T3 cancer, N stage stratified survival from 88 to 64%, whereas Immunoscore and budding stratified survival from 100 to 70% and from 91 to 56%, respectively. The Glasgow Microenvironment Score, a score based on KM grade and TSP, stratified survival from 93 to 58%.
conclusions: Although associated with increasing T stage, local and systemic tumour environment characteristics, and in particular Immunoscore, budding, TSP and mGPS, are stage-independent determinants of survival and may be utilised in the staging of patients with primary operable colorectal cancer
Affordances, constraints and information flows as âleverage pointsâ in design for sustainable behaviour
Copyright @ 2012 Social Science Electronic PublishingTwo of Donella Meadows' 'leverage points' for intervening in systems (1999) seem particularly pertinent to design for sustainable behaviour, in the sense that designers may have the scope to implement them in (re-)designing everyday products and services. The 'rules of the system' -- interpreted here to refer to affordances and constraints -- and the structure of information flows both offer a range of opportunities for design interventions to in fluence behaviour change, and in this paper, some of the implications and possibilities are discussed with reference to parallel concepts from within design, HCI and relevant areas of psychology
Enhanced weathering in the U.S. Corn Belt delivers carbon removal with agronomic benefits
Enhanced weathering (EW) with crushed basalt on farmlands is a promising
scalable atmospheric carbon dioxide removal strategy that urgently requires
performance assessment with commercial farming practices. Our large-scale
replicated EW field trial in the heart of the U.S. Corn Belt shows cumulative
time-integrated carbon sequestration of 15.4 +/- 4.1 t CO2 ha-1 over four
years, with additional emissions mitigation of ~0.1 - 0.4 t CO2,e ha-1 yr-1 for
soil nitrous oxide, a potent long-lived greenhouse gas. Maize and soybean
yields increased 12-16% with EW following improved soil fertility, decreased
soil acidification, and upregulation of root nutrient transport genes. Our
findings suggest that widespread adoption of EW across farming sectors has the
potential to contribute significantly to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions
goals and global food and soil security
The curious compatibility of consensus, corporatism, and neoliberalism : The Finnish business community and the retasking of a corporatist welfare state
This article addresses the apparent paradox of simultaneous neoliberal change and welfare-statist, corporatist continuity by presenting an empirical case study of the advent of neoliberal ideas in Finland in the 1970s and 1980s. The article focuses on the attempts of a free-market think tank, EVA, and the employersâ association, STK, to advance policies such as economic deregulation, international competitiveness, welfare retrenchment, and active social and labour market policies through the neoliberal retasking of the corporatist Finnish welfare state. EVA and the STK utilised seemingly non-neoliberal means, that is an economic policy consensus and tripartite corporatist arrangements, and reformulated their content to better correspond with business interests. Instead of demolition, the outcome has been the redefinition and incremental transformation of the state from a provider of welfare to a promoter of competitiveness, productivity, and employment.Peer reviewe
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