Application of the migratory nature of human mesenchymal stem cells to optimise microcarrier-based expansion processes

As the number of mesenchymal stem cell based therapies proceeding through clinical trials increases so does the demand for well characterized, scalable expansion technologies that can yield the estimated number of cells required. Microcarriers used in conjunction with stirred tank bioreactors provide a suitable platform for this large scale expansion. Research has proven that mesenchymal stem cells migrate between microcarriers during culture in agitated systems. A series of experiments have been conducted using Pall SoloHill microcarriers to determine whether this bead-to-bead transfer mechanism can be exploited to streamline various unit operations of the expansion process such as the initial bioreactor inoculation. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Export of Marcellus Shale Gas

The Marcellus Shale natural gas field that spans from West Virginia to New York is leading the recent surge in domestic energy production. Long an importer of natural gas, the United States will soon be able to export natural gas. Due to its low energy density however, natural gas must be converted to liquefied natural gas (LNG) before shipping to foreign markets. Liquefaction can occur at several different facilities: small-scale LNG plants, floating LNG operations, and retrofitted LNG import facilities. A design feasibility study is presented here to analyze the economics of retrofitting an existing LNG import facility into an LNG export plant. The existing import facility is the Dominion Cove Point LNG plant located near Lusby, Maryland. This study sizes the export facility at 5 to 6 million tons per annum (MMTPA), which corresponds to a feed of about 750 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas (MMscfd). In this process, natural gas is first precooled by propane and then liquefied with a mixed refrigerant blend of methane, ethane, propane, and nitrogen. One challenge is to minimize the large amount of mixed refrigerant used in this process. This can be done by optimizing the composition of the mixed refrigerant to reduce the amount needed to liquefy the natural gas. After a comprehensive economic analysis, this proposed design is economically viable. This process has an estimated IRR of 23.5% and NPV of $219 million at a 20$650 per ton. This 23.5% IRR is possible due to the retrofit advantages of some existing equipment and reduced construction time. Without these advantages, the IRR would be much less favorable at about 9.1%

Using degraded music quality to encourage a health improving walking pace : BeatClearWalker

Meeting the target of 8000 steps/day, as recommended by many national governments and health authorities, can provide considerable physical and mental health benefits and is seen as a key target for reducing obesity levels and improving public health. However, to optimize the health benefits, walking should be performed at a “moderate” intensity. While there are numerous mobile fitness applications that monitor distance walked, none directly support walking at this cadence nor has there been any research into live feedback for walking cadence. We present a smartphone fitness application to help users learn how to walk at a moderate cadence and maintain that cadence. We apply real-time audio effects that diminish the audio quality of music when the target walking cadence is not being reached. This provides an immersive and intuitive application that can easily be integrated into everyday life as allows users to walk while listening to their own music and encourages eyes-free interaction. In this paper, we introduce our approach, design, initial lab evaluation and a controlled outdoor study. Results show that using music degradation decreases the number of below-cadence steps, that users felt they worked harder with our player and would use it while exercise walking

Using degraded music quality to encourage a health improving walking pace : BeatClearWalker

Meeting the target of 8000 steps/day, as recommended by many national governments and health authorities, can provide considerable physical and mental health benefits and is seen as a key target for reducing obesity levels and improving public health. However, to optimize the health benefits, walking should be performed at a "moderate" intensity. While there are numerous mobile fitness applications that monitor distance walked, none directly support walking at this cadence nor has there been any research into live feedback for walking cadence. We present a smartphone fitness application to help users learn how to walk at a moderate cadence and maintain that cadence. We apply real-time audio effects that diminish the audio quality of music when the target walking cadence is not being reached. This provides an immersive and intuitive application that can easily be integrated into everyday life as allows users to walk while listening to their own music and encourages eyes-free interaction. In this paper, we introduce our approach, design, initial lab evaluation and a controlled outdoor study. Results show that using music degradation decreases the number of below-cadence steps, that users felt they worked harder with our player and would use it while exercise walking

Republican ideals and the reality of patronage : a study of the Veterans' Movement in Cuba, 1900-24

This thesis analyses the emergence of Cuba as a sovereign nation, and the political corruption that plagued the republic. It investigates in detail, not only the independence movement that established this republic in its various wars against the Spanish empire, and its fracture and fission under the emerging power of the United States, but also the impact that this had on Cuban politics, and the consequences for Cuba’s native would-be rulers. The aim is to develop an understanding of what became of the veterans of the wars of liberation, and further the somewhat neglected subject of the relationship of the official Veterans’ organisations with the political parties and associations of the republican period. A short conclusion summarises the arguments and suggests further avenues of research.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Stock assessment of the blue crab in Chesapeake Bay 2005: Final report

The blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) is an icon for the Chesapeake Bay region. The commercial fisheries for blue crab in the Bay remain one of the most valuable fishery sectors in the Bay. Ecologically, blue crab is an important component of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. Thus, sound management to ensure the sustainability of this resource is critical. The first bay wide assessment for blue crab was undertaken in 1995 and completed in 1997. It concluded that the stock was moderately to fully exploited and at average levels of abundance. Subsequent to this assessment concerns over the continuing status of blue crab were raised because of declines in abundance and harvests. In response to concerns from stakeholders, a Bi-State Blue Crab Advisory Committee was established in 1996. Work by this committee lead to the establishment in 2001 of biomass and exploitation thresholds and an exploitation target reference points. Since 2001, the status of the blue crab stock has been updated annually and its status determined relative to the reference points. Over the ensuing years, the approach to determining the status of blue crab in the Chesapeake Bay has been modified, but a new inclusive assessment has not been conducted

Appropriate design and reporting of superiority, equivalence and non-inferiority clinical trials incorporating a benefit risk assessment: the BRAINS study including expert workshop

Background Randomised controlled trials are designed to assess the superiority, equivalence or non-inferiority of a new health technology, but which trial design should be used is not always obvious in practice. In particular, when using equivalence or non-inferiority designs, multiple outcomes of interest may be important for the success of a trial, despite the fact that usually only a single primary outcome is used to design the trial. Benefit–risk methods are used in the regulatory clinical trial setting to assess multiple outcomes and consider the trade-off of the benefits against the risks, but are not regularly implemented in publicly funded trials. Objectives The aim of the project is to aid the design of clinical trials with multiple outcomes of interest by defining when each trial design is appropriate to use and identifying when to use benefit–risk methods to assess outcome trade-offs (qualitatively or quantitatively) in a publicly funded trial setting. Methods A range of methods was used to elicit expert opinion to answer the project objectives, including a web-based survey of relevant researchers, a rapid review of current literature and a 2-day consensus workshop of experts (in 2019). Results We created a list of 19 factors to aid researchers in selecting the most appropriate trial design, containing the following overarching sections: population, intervention, comparator, outcomes, feasibility and perspectives. Six key reasons that indicate a benefit–risk method should be considered within a trial were identified: (1) when the success of the trial depends on more than one outcome; (2) when important outcomes within the trial are in competing directions (i.e. a health technology is better for one outcome, but worse for another); (3) to allow patient preferences to be included and directly influence trial results; (4) to provide transparency on subjective recommendations from a trial; (5) to provide consistency in the approach to presenting results from a trial; and (6) to synthesise multiple outcomes into a single metric. Further information was provided to support the use of benefit–risk methods in appropriate circumstances, including the following: methods identified from the review were collated into different groupings and described to aid the selection of a method; potential implementation of methods throughout the trial process were provided and discussed (with examples); and general considerations were described for those using benefit–risk methods. Finally, a checklist of five pieces of information that should be present when reporting benefit–risk methods was defined, with two additional items specifically for reporting the results. Conclusions These recommendations will assist research teams in selecting which trial design to use and deciding whether or not a benefit–risk method could be included to ensure research questions are answered appropriately. Additional information is provided to support consistent use and clear reporting of benefit–risk methods in the future. The recommendations can also be used by funding committees to confirm that appropriate considerations of the trial design have been made. Limitations This research was limited in scope and should be considered in conjunction with other trial design methodologies to assess appropriateness. In addition, further research is needed to provide concrete information about which benefit–risk methods are best to use in publicly funded trials, along with recommendations that are specific to each method

Effectiveness of interventions to support the early detection of skin cancer through skin self-examination: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: As skin cancer incidence rises, there is a need to evaluate early detection interventions by the public using skin self-examination (SSE); however, the literature focuses on primary prevention. No systematic reviews have evaluated the effectiveness of such SSE interventions. OBJECTIVES: To systematically examine, map, appraise and synthesize, qualitatively and quantitatively, studies evaluating the early detection of skin cancer, using SSE interventions. METHODS: This is a systematic review (narrative synthesis and meta-analysis) examining randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasiexperimental, observational and qualitative studies, published in English, using PRISMA and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance. The MEDLINE, Embase and PsycINFO databases were searched through to April 2015 (updated in April 2018 using MEDLINE). Risk-of-bias assessment was conducted. RESULTS: Included studies (n = 18), totalling 6836 participants, were derived from 22 papers; these included 12 RCTs and five quasiexperiments and one complex-intervention development. More studies (n = 10) focused on targeting high-risk groups (surveillance) than those at no higher risk (screening) (n = 8). Ten (45%) study interventions were theoretically underpinned. All of the study outcomes were self-reported, behaviour related and nonclinical in nature. Meta-analysis demonstrated the impact of the intervention on the degree of SSE activity from five studies, especially in the short term (up to 4 months) (odds ratio 2·31, 95% confidence interval 1·90-2·82), but with small effect sizes. Risk-of-bias assessment indicated that 61% of the studies (n = 11) were of weak quality. CONCLUSIONS: Four RCTs and a quasiexperimental study indicate that some interventions can enhance SSE activity and so are more likely to aid early detection of skin cancer. However, the actual clinical impact remains unclear, and this is based on overall weak study (evidence) quality