Surgical concepts for reconstruction of the auricle

We compiled and evaluated the world literature on auricular reconstruction, for a total of over 400 publications, more than 200 authors, and over 3,300 reported cases. We found that partial reconstructions were already performed as early as 600 BC; total reconstructions were still considered impracticable in 1830. But since 1891, more than 40 different cartilaginous, osseous, and alloplastic frame materials have been described. Only eight of these were still being applied in the last decade, with autogenous costal cartilage and silicone as the leading substances. Results of the operation can be improved by special surgical manipulations, eg, the "fan-flap" technique. Taking into consideration the complication rate, the number of individual interventions, and the stability of the results, we devised a special point system that makes possible a limited assessment of the different surgical techniques

Does replication groups scoring reduce false positive rate in SNP interaction discovery?

BACKGROUNG. Computational methods that infer single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) interactions from phenotype data may uncover new biological mechanisms in non-Mendelian diseases. However, practical aspects of such analysis face many problems. Present experimental studies typically use SNP arrays with hundreds of thousands of SNPs but record only hundreds of samples. Candidate SNP pairs inferred by interaction analysis may include a high proportion of false positives. Recently, Gayan et al. (2008) proposed to reduce the number of false positives by combining results of interaction analysis performed on subsets of data (replication groups), rather than analyzing the entire data set directly. If performing as hypothesized, replication groups scoring could improve interaction analysis and also any type of feature ranking and selection procedure in systems biology. Because Gayan et al. do not compare their approach to the standard interaction analysis techniques, we here investigate if replication groups indeed reduce the number of reported false positive interactions. RESULTS. A set of simulated and false interaction-imputed experimental SNP data sets were used to compare the inference of SNP-SNP interactions by means of replication groups to the standard approach where the entire data set was directly used to score all candidate SNP pairs. In all our experiments, the inference of interactions from the entire data set (e.g. without using the replication groups) reported fewer false positives. CONCLUSIONS. With respect to the direct scoring approach the utility of replication groups does not reduce false positive rates, and may, depending on the data set, often perform worse

En comptes de «més» democràcia, una democràcia «millor»?

A la llum de l'augment de reivindicacions d’una representació política més responsable amb el rerefons fons del que es percep com una crisi major de la democràcia representativa, aquest article examina les percepcions dels ciutadans sobre la democràcia directa i la democràcia representativa, i ofereix una contextualització històrica mitjançant l'exploració de l'evolució del procés de restabliment de la democràcia directa en l'era moderna com un complement de la democràcia representativa i la dinàmica comparada de les tendències globals en l'augment de l'aplicació dels instruments de la democràcia directa

Lokalne, nacionalne in globalne percepcije umetnostnih svetov. Slovenci v Buenos Airesu

Avtorica v razmišljanju o umetniški produkciji Slovencev v Buenos Airesu izhaja predvsem iz domneve, da načini (so) delovanja posameznih akterjev v umetnostnih svetovih na različnih ravneh (lokalno, nacionalno, globalno) pričajo o spremembah identifikacij, hkrati pa spremembe identifikacij kažejo na možnost drugačnih razmerij in načinov sodelovanja v umetnostnih svetovih. Umetnostni svetovi, ki so osrednji koncept razprave, so konstrukcija, ki združuje produkcijo umetnosti, umetniške objekte in njihovo porabo. V njih se ustvarjajo, ohranjajo in spreminjajo vsakokratne predstave o umetnosti. *** The author’s thoughts about the art production of Slovenians in Buenos Aires primarily stem from the assumption that the ways individual actors cooperate in “art worlds” at different levels (local, national, and global) imply changes in identifications and the interaction system. At the same time, changes in identifications suggest the possibility of different attitudes and manners of cooperation in art worlds. Art worlds are used here as the main theoretical concept in which images about art are created, preserved, and modified. As such, art worlds connect art production, art objects, and art consumption

Od beguncev do priseljencev: izzivi preseljevanja Slovencev v Argentino v času po drugi svetovni vojni

The author examines a historical case of forced migration that is well documented in national migration research but still lacks specific insight into the conditions of entrance for post-World War II Slovenian refugees and their settlement in Argentina. The author explores the refugee path of Bara Remec and her family, from exile in May 1945 to their settlement in Argentina in 1948. The subjective experience is juxtaposed to the official Argentinean immigration policy of that time, especially conditions of arrival and settlement, with a focus on political, ideological, and religious factors, as well as Argentina’s then-central political decision-maker, Juan D. Peron.Avtorica obravnava zgodovinski primer prisilnih migracij, ki je sicer dobro dokumentiran v nacionalnih migracijskih študijah, a še vedno nimamo natančnejšega vpogleda v pogoje vstopa za slovenske povojne begunce in kasnejše priseljence v Argentini. V članku so v ospredju položaj in izkušnje posameznika z orisom begunske poti Bare Remec od njenega bega maja 1945 do naselitve v Argentini leta 1948. Subjektivna izkušnja je postavljena nasproti uradni argentinski priseljenski politiki tistega časa, zlasti z vidika pogojev prihoda in naselitve. V ospredju analize so politični, ideološki in verski dejavniki, pa tudi osrednji politični odločevalec tistega časa v Argentini, Juan D. Peron

Mobilnost umetnikov v EU: Med priložnostmi in ovirami

Mobility, especially labour mobility, is being promoted and highly praised as an economic and political cornerstone of the European Union, essential for its future development and growth. At the same time, people on the move are faced with many impediments to mobility, artists active in transnational art worlds being particularly vulnerable in this respect. Analysing and comparing various written sources (text and hypertext), the author focuses on the international mobility of artists in and to the European Union. The aim of the article is twofold: to outline artists’ mobility as a particular type of mobility, and to highlight the divergences between praising of the mobility concept on the decision-making level and the ‘naturalization’ of mobility in academic discourse on one side and the critical assessment of artists’ mobility and impediments to it by art practitioners and experts on the other.Mobilnost, zlasti delovna mobilnost, je promovirana in ovrednotena kot ekonomski in politični temeljni kamen Evropske unije in hkrati predstavljena kot ključna za njuna prihodnja razvoj in rast. Mobilni posamezniki pa se hkrati soočajo z veliko ovirami, ki jim preprečujejo mobilnost, pri čemer so umetniki, aktivni v transnacionalnih umetnostnih svetovih, še zlasti ranljivi. Avtorica se v preglednem članku osredotoča na mednarodno mobilnost umetnikov v Evropski uniji, pri čemer analizira različne pisne vire (literaturo in spletne vire). Članek ima dva namena: orisati mobilnost umetnikov kot posebno obliko mobilnosti in osvetliti razkorak, ki nastaja med dojemanjem mobilnosti, kot jo oblikujejo politični in javni diskurz ter akademski pristopi k njenemu preučevanju in kot jo definirajo ter problematizirajo umetniki in strokovni delavci v analizah stanja na področju mobilnosti umetnikov

Mikrobiološke pretrage maslaca

Najvažnije pitanje u proizvodnji maslaca je svakako pitanje njegove kvalitete i održivosti. Od prisutnih mikroorganizama u samom maslacu osobito su lipoliti i kazeoliti te proizvodi njihovog metabolizma u većini slučajeva - od najvažnijeg značaja za kvalitetu i održivost maslaca

Energy harvesting potential from vehicular traffic crossing road humps in the case of Slovenia

Based on the fact that in Slovenia the main roads are planned in accordance with the valid regulations, which do not specifically separate the roads according they are inside or outside urban areas, such infrastructures were built on the criteria of relevant capacity (normally wide and narrow multi or single lane roads). With the goal to guarantee the quality of life and especially traffic safety (decrease of average speed in urban areas) traffic calming measures were needed. In most cases in urban areas speed humps and platforms were installed, which effectively slow down the speed, but on the other hand massive increase ground-borne vibrations, produced by vehicles passing over these “road irregularities”. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

European Guidelines for Obesity Management in Adults

Obesity is a chronic metabolic disease characterised by an increase of body fat stores. It is a gateway to ill health, and it has become one of the leading causes of disability and death, affecting not only adults but also children and adolescents worldwide. In clinical practice, the body fatness is estimated by BMI, and the accumulation of intra-abdominal fat (marker for higher metabolic and cardiovascular disease risk) can be assessed by waist circumference. Complex interactions between biological, behavioural, social and environmental factors are involved in regulation of energy balance and fat stores. A comprehensive history, physical examination and laboratory assessment relevant to the patient's obesity should be obtained. Appropriate goals of weight management emphasise realistic weight loss to achieve a reduction in health risks and should include promotion of weight loss, maintenance and prevention of weight regain. Management of co-morbidities and improving quality of life of obese patients are also included in treatment aims. Balanced hypocaloric diets result in clinically meaningful weight loss regardless of which macronutrients they emphasise. Aerobic training is the optimal mode of exercise for reducing fat mass while a programme including resistance training is needed for increasing lean mass in middle-aged and overweight/obese individuals. Cognitive behavioural therapy directly addresses behaviours that require change for successful weight loss and weight loss maintenance. Pharmacotherapy can help patients to maintain compliance and ameliorate obesity-related health risks. Surgery is the most effective treatment for morbid obesity in terms of long-term weight loss. A comprehensive obesity management can only be accomplished by a multidisciplinary obesity management team. We conclude that physicians have a responsibility to recognise obesity as a disease and help obese patients with appropriate prevention and treatment. Treatment should be based on good clinical care, and evidence-based interventions; should focus on realistic goals and lifelong multidisciplinary management. (C) 2015 S. Karger GmbH, Freibur