Evaluation of solid oxide fuel cell systems for electricity generation

Air blown (low BTU) gasification with atmospheric pressure Solid Electrolyte Fuel Cells (SOFC) and Rankine bottoming cycle, oxygen blown (medium BTU) gasification with atmospheric pressure SOFC and Rankine bottoming cycle, air blown gasification with pressurized SOFC and combined Brayton/Rankine bottoming cycle, oxygen blown gasification with pressurized SOFC and combined Brayton/Rankine bottoming cycle were evaluated

Has the experience of Hepatitis C diagnosis improved over the last decade? An analysis of Canadian women's experiences of diagnosis

Background In Canada, incidents of new hepatitis C virus infections are rising among women aged 15–29 years and now comprise 60% of new infections among this age group. A negative diagnosis experience continues to be a problem affecting women living with hepatitis C virus. With new effective treatments, nurses will have more involvement in hepatitis C virus care and diagnosis, which is a critical time to facilitate appropriate education and management. Purpose This study explored Canadian women’s experience of hepatitis C virus diagnosis in order to develop recommendations to improve care at the point of diagnosis. Methods Purposive sampling was used to recruit and interview 25 women. Using narrative inquiry, we examined Canadian women’s experience of hepatitis C virus diagnosis. Results Women’s diagnosis experiences were shaped by the context of diagnosis, factors prompting the testing, the testing provider, and information/education received. The context of diagnosis foreshadowed how prepared women were for their results, and the absence of accurate information magnified the psychological distress that can follow an hepatitis C virus diagnosis. Conclusion Our findings provide a compelling case for a proactive nursing response, which will improve women’s experiences of hepatitis C virus diagnosis and, in turn, enhance women’s access to hepatitis C virus care and other healthcare services

Vector-Based Integration of Local and Long-Range Information in Visual Cortex

Integration of inputs by cortical neurons provides the basis for the complex information processing performed in the cerebral cortex. Here, we propose a new analytic framework for understanding integration within cortical neuronal receptive fields. Based on the synaptic organization of cortex, we argue that neuronal integration is a systems--level process better studied in terms of local cortical circuitry than at the level of single neurons, and we present a method for constructing self-contained modules which capture (nonlinear) local circuit interactions. In this framework, receptive field elements naturally have dual (rather than the traditional unitary influence since they drive both excitatory and inhibitory cortical neurons. This vector-based analysis, in contrast to scalarsapproaches, greatly simplifies integration by permitting linear summation of inputs from both "classical" and "extraclassical" receptive field regions. We illustrate this by explaining two complex visual cortical phenomena, which are incompatible with scalar notions of neuronal integration

Prioritizing otological surgery during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The initial cases of pulmonary infection with the novel corona virus SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19, occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019 and January 2020 (1). The spread through human-to-human transmission has led to a pandemic with disastrous consequences all over the world. The exponential rate of transmission and no existing vaccine has been a great challenge for all health care systems. A strategy to flatten the curve of transmission was put forward to adjust to the capacities of hospitals and particularly the intensive care units. Governments implemented isolation and social distancing upon societies either with laws or with strong recommendations

Text messaging to help women with overweight or obesity lose weight after childbirth:the intervention adaptation and SMS feasibility RCT

Background There is a need to develop weight management interventions that fit seamlessly into the busy lives of women during the postpartum period. Objective The objective was to develop and pilot-test an evidence- and theory-based intervention, delivered by short message service, which supported weight loss and weight loss maintenance in the postpartum period. Design Stage 1 involved the development of a library of short message service messages to support weight loss and weight loss maintenance, with personal and public involvement, focusing on diet and physical activity with embedded behaviour change techniques, and the programming of a short message service platform to allow fully automated intervention delivery. Stage 2 comprised a 12-month, single-centre, two-arm, pilot, randomised controlled trial with an active control. Setting This study was set in Northern Ireland; women were recruited via community-based approaches. Participants A total of 100 women with overweight or obesity who had given birth in the previous 24 months were recruited. Interventions The intervention group received an automated short message service intervention about weight loss and weight loss maintenance for 12 months. The active control group received automated short message service messages about child health and development for 12 months. Main outcome measures The main outcomes measured were the feasibility of recruitment and retention, acceptability of the intervention and trial procedures, and evidence of positive indicative effects on weight. Weight, waist circumference and blood pressure were measured by the researchers; participants completed a questionnaire booklet and wore a sealed pedometer for 7 days at baseline, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Outcome assessments were collected during home visits and women received a voucher on completion of each of the assessments. Qualitative interviews were conducted with women at 3 and 12 months, to gather feedback on the intervention and active control and the study procedures. Quantitative and qualitative data were used to inform the process evaluation and to assess fidelity, acceptability, dose, reach, recruitment, retention, contamination and context. Results The recruitment target of 100 participants was achieved (intervention, n = 51; control, n = 49); the mean age was 32.5 years (standard deviation 4.3 years); 28 (28%) participants had a household income o

Coalition unionism : exploring how and when coalitions contribute to union renewal in Sydney, Toronto and Chicago

Item does not contain fulltextWe have previously identified eight novel autoantibody targets in the cerebrospinal fluid of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, including sperm-associated Ag 16 (SPAG16). In the current study, we further investigated the autoantibody response against SPAG16-a protein with unknown function in the CNS-and its expression in MS pathology. Using isoelectric focusing, we detected SPAG16-specific oligoclonal bands in the cerebrospinal fluid of 5 of 23 MS patients (22%). Analysis of the anti-SPAG16 Ab reactivity in the plasma of a total of 531 donors using ELISA demonstrated significantly elevated anti-SPAG16 Ab levels (p = 0.002) in 32 of 153 MS patients (21%) compared with all other control groups with 95% specificity for the disease. To investigate the pathologic relevance of anti-SPAG16 Abs in vivo, anti-SPAG16 Abs were injected in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, resulting in a significant disease exacerbation. Finally, we demonstrated a consistent upregulation of SPAG16 in MS brain and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis spinal cord lesions, more specifically in reactive astrocytes. We conclude that SPAG16 is a novel autoantibody target in a subgroup of MS patients and in combination with other diagnostic criteria, elevated levels of anti-SPAG16 Abs could be used as a biomarker for diagnosis. Furthermore, the pathologic relevance of anti-SPAG16 Abs was shown in vivo

Personal and Community Factors as Predictors of different types of community engagement

Citizen participation is an important element of local democracy because it increases residents’ influence over local community issues. Using a sample of 494 Israeli participants, this paper examines, for the first time, the unique and combined contribution of personal factors (self‐ esteem and mastery) and community factors (years of activity, knowledge of local services, trust in leaders, community commitment, and community belonging) to the explanation of the variance in each of two types of community engagement: development and planning, and activism and advocacy. Data analysis included hierarchical regression that examined all variables and possible interactions among them. The results indicate that mastery and the community variables, except for years of activity, predict both types of engagement. Interestingly, knowledge of services negatively predicts both, while trust in leaders also predicts both types of engagement, but in opposite directions. In conclusion, the paper considers how these findings might inform community work interventions