Gamma ray emission from the region of the galactic center

A combination nuclear emulsion-spark chamber gamma ray (E=100 MeV) telescope was used to study the region of sky that includes the Galactic Center. 95% confidence upper limits on the flux from the reported sources G gamma 2 - 3 and Sgr gamma-1 were placed at 4.4 and 8.8 x 10 to the minus 5th power protons/sq cm-sec, and a similar limit on the emission from the Galactic Center as a point source (plus or minus .75 degrees) was placed at 3.3 x 10 to the minus 5th power protons/sq cm-sec. No enhanced emission was observed from the Galactic Plane (plus or minus 6 degrees) and an upper limit of 2 x 10 to the minus 4th power protons/sq cm-sec rad/ was obtained

Filosofian opetuskokeilu peruskoulun 6. luokalla

Tiivistelmä. Tässä pro gradu -tutkielmassa käsitellään lapsille suunnattua filosofian opetusta peruskoulussa. Pedagoginen filosofia eroaa perinteisestä oppisisältöjä painottavasta filosofian opetuksesta ja perustuu dialogisuuteen, konstruktivismiin ja oppilaslähtöisyyteen. Tutkielman ensimmäisessä teorialuvussa tarkastellaan filosofian ja lapsen käsitteitä, lapsille suunnatun filosofian opetuksen tavoitteita, ajankohtaisuutta ja sovellettavuutta suomalaiseen peruskouluun. Toisessa teorialuvussa esitellään M. Lipmanin kehittämä filosofisen tutkivan yhteisön pedagogiikkaa ja käydään läpi filosofian opetukseen liittyviä käytännön periaatteita. Tarkemmin käsitellään tekstin, kysymysten ja keskustelun fasilitoinnin merkitystä filosofisen tutkivan yhteisön rakentumisessa. Tutkimustehtävänä on suunnitella ja toteuttaa filosofian opetuskokeilu filosofisen tutkivan yhteisön periaatteiden mukaisesti. Tutkijoiden tavoitteena on saada kokemus filosofian opettamisesta ja syventää pedagogista osaamistaan. Erityisesti haetaan vastauksia kolmeen kysymykseen: 1. Miten lastenkirjallisuudesta valikoidut tekstit sopivat filosofian opetukseen perusopetuksen 6. luokalla? 2. Millaisia kysymyksiä oppilaat laativat oppitunneilla lastenkirjallisuudesta valittujen tekstien pohjalta? 3. Millaisilla toimilla opettaja ja oppilaat edistävät keskustelun kulkua filosofisessa tutkivassa yhteisössä? Tutkimuksen menetelmäpohjana on toimintatutkimus, ja sen tutkimusote on laadullinen. Tutkimuksen taustafilosofiaa kuvailevat parhaiten kriittinen teoria ja konstruktivismi, joissa yhdistyvät todellisuuden suhteellisuus, tiedon hankkiminen tutkijan ja tutkittavan vuorovaikutuksen tuloksena ja heidän vaikutuksensa tuloksiin. Tutkijat ovat myös olleet aktiivisesti mukana kaikissa tutkimuksen vaiheissa. Opetuskokeilu toteutettiin tammikuussa 2013 eräässä kainuulaisessa alakoulussa kuudennessa luokassa. Tutkimukseen osallistuivat kaikki luokan 21 oppilasta ja heidän oma opettajansa. Jokaisen tunnin aluksi oppilaat lukivat tutkijoiden lastenkirjoista valitseman tekstikatkelman, jonka pohjalta he laativat kysymyksiä ja äänestivät niistä keskusteluun kiinnostavimman. Kerätystä aineistosta analyysiin on valittu oppilaiden laatimat kysymykset ja kahdeksasta luokkakeskustelusta kaksi. Kysymysten analyysi eteni vaiheittain. Ensin kaikki 139 kysymystä lajiteltiin neljään ryhmään: suljetut tekstiin perustuvat, avoimet tekstiin perustuvat, suljetut älyyn perustuvat ja avoimen älyyn perustuvat. Kysymyksistä huomattava osa (80 %) asettui avoimiin ryhmiin. Tämä osoittaa, että oppilaat olivat harjaantuneet tekemään avoimia kysymyksiä. Seuraavaksi kysymysaineistosta otettiin tarkasteluun filosofiset kysymykset, jotka jaoteltiin filosofian osa-alueisiin. Kysymysten tarkastelu nosti esille puutteita tekstivalinnoissa. Lopuksi nostettiin esille keskusteluun äänestetyt kysymykset. Luokkakeskusteluista analyysiin valittiin kaksi, joista ensimmäinen on luokan oman opettajan ja jälkimmäinen toisen tutkijan ohjaama. Keskustelut litteroitiin ja niistä etsittiin sekä opettajan että oppilaan toimia, joilla keskustelua vietiin eteenpäin. Aineiston tarkastelun perusteella opettajalla on paljon valtaa siihen, eteneekö keskustelu filosofiseen suuntaan. Yhtä luokkaa tutkimalla saavutettu tieto ei riitä yleistyksien tekemiseen. Laadulliseen tutkimukseen liittyvät lisäksi tutkimustilanteiden ainutkertaisuus, todellisuuden suhteellisuus ja tutkijan subjektiivisuus, jotka tekevät tulosten yleistettävyyden hankalaksi. Tutkimuksella voidaan kuitenkin nähdä olevan arvoa filosofian opetuksen suunnittelussa ja toteutuksessa, koska prosessi on kuvattu kattavasti ja kokeilun heikkoudet on kuvattu parannusehdotuksineen

Nuclear Data for Sustainable Nuclear Energy

Final report of a coordinated action on nuclear data for industrial development in Europe (CANDIDE). The successful development of advanced nuclear systems for sustainable energy production depends on high-level modelling capabilities for the reliable and cost-effective design and safety assessment of such systems, and for the interpretation of key benchmark experiments needed for performance and safety evaluations. High-quality nuclear data, in particular complete and accurate information about the nuclear reactions taking place in advanced reactors and the fuel cycle, are an essential component of such modelling capabilities. In the CANDIDE project, nuclear data needs for sustainable nuclear energy production and waste management have been analyzed and categorized, on the basis of preliminary design studies of innovative systems. Meeting those needs will require that the quality of nuclear data files be considerably improved. The CANDIDE project has produced a set of recommendations, or roadmap, for sustainable nuclear data development. In conclusion, a substantial long-term investment in an integrated European nuclear data development program is called for, complemented by some dedicated actions targeting specific issues.JRC.D.5-Neutron physic

Transcatheter and surgical aortic valve replacement in patients with bicuspid aortic valve

Objectives: To compare the outcomes after surgical (SAVR) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for severe stenosis of bicuspid aortic valve (BAV).Methods: We evaluated the early and mid-term outcome of patients with stenotic BAV who underwent SAVR or TAVR for aortic stenosis from the nationwide FinnValve registry.Results: The FinnValve registry included 6463 AS patients and 1023 (15.8%) of them had BAV. SAVR was performed in 920 patients and TAVR in 103 patients with BAV. In the overall series, device success after TAVR was comparable to SAVR (94.2% vs. 97.1%, p = 0.115). TAVR was associated with increased rate of mild-to-severe paravalvular regurgitation (PVR) (19.4% vs. 7.9%, p < 0.0001) and of moderate-to-severe PVR (2.9% vs. 0.7%, p = 0.053). When newer-generation TAVR devices were evaluated, mild-to-severe PVR (11.9% vs. 7.9%, p = 0.223) and moderate-to-severe PVR (0% vs. 0.7%, p = 1.000) were comparable to SAVR. Type 1 N-L and type 2 L-R/R-N were the BAV morphologies with higher incidence of mild-to-severe PVR (37.5% and 100%, adjusted for new-generation prostheses p = 0.025) compared to other types of BAVs. Among 75 propensity score-matched cohorts, 30-day mortality was 1.3% after TAVR and 5.3% after SAVR (p = 0.375), and 2-year mortality was 9.7% after TAVR and 18.7% after SAVR (p = 0.268) CONCLUSIONS: In patients with stenotic BAV, TAVR seems to achieve early and mid-term results comparable to SAVR. Type 1 N-L and type 2 L-R/R-N BAV morphologies had higher incidence of PVR. Larger studies evaluating different phenotypes of BAV are needed to confirm these findings.</p

Brief review on systematic hypothermia for the protection of central nervous system during aortic arch surgery: a double-sword tool?

Antegrade selective cerebral perfusion in conjunction with hypothermia attenuate postoperative neurological injury, which in turn still remains the main cause of mortality and morbidity following aortic arch surgery. Hypothermic circulatory arrest however could be a useful tool during arch surgery, surgery for chronic thromboembolic disease, air on the arterial line during CPB, during cavotomy for extraction of renal cell carcinoma with level IV extension, or when dealing with difficult trauma to the SVC or IVC. Cerebral protective effects with hypothermic procedures including inhibition of neuron excitation, and discharge of excitable amino acids, and thereby, prevention of an increase in intercellular calcium ions, hyperoxidation of lipids in cell membranes, and free radical production

Comparison of Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement vs Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement Among Patients With Aortic Stenosis at Low Operative Risk

Importance:  Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has been shown to be a valid alternative to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients at high operative risk with severe aortic stenosis (AS). However, the evidence of the benefits and harms of TAVR in patients at low operative risk is still scarce.Objective:  To compare the short-term and midterm outcomes after TAVR and SAVR in low-risk patients with AS.Design, Setting, and Participants:  This retrospective comparative effectiveness cohort study used data from the Nationwide Finnish Registry of Transcatheter and Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement for Aortic Valve Stenosis of patients at low operative risk who underwent TAVR or SAVR with a bioprosthesis for severe AS from January 1, 2008, to November 30, 2017. Low operative risk was defined as a Society of Thoracic Surgeons Predicted Risk of Mortality score less than 3% without other comorbidities of clinical relevance. One-to-one propensity score matching was performed to adjust for baseline covariates between the TAVR and SAVR cohorts.Exposures:  Primary TAVR or SAVR with a bioprosthesis for AS with or without associated coronary revascularization.Main Outcomes and Measures:  The primary outcomes were 30-day and 3-year survival.Results:  Overall, 2841 patients (mean [SD] age, 74.0 [6.2] years; 1560 [54.9%] men) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis; TAVR was performed in 325 patients and SAVR in 2516 patients. Propensity score matching produced 304 pairs with similar baseline characteristics. Third-generation devices were used in 263 patients (86.5%) who underwent TAVR. Among these matched pairs, 30-day mortality was 1.3% after TAVR and 3.6% after SAVR (P = .12). Three-year survival was similar in the study cohorts (TAVR, 85.7%; SAVR, 87.7%; P = .45). Interaction tests found no differences in terms of 3-year survival between the study cohorts in patients younger than vs older than 80 years or in patients who received recent aortic valve prostheses vs those who did not.Conclusions and Relevance:  Transcatheter aortic valve replacement using mostly third-generation devices achieved similar short- and mid-term survival compared with SAVR in low-risk patients. Further studies are needed to assess the long-term durability of TAVR prostheses before extending their use to low-risk patients.</p

Blood Transfusion and Outcome After Transfemoral Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

Objective: To investigate the prognostic impact of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion on the outcome after transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).Design: Nationwide, retrospective multicenter study.Setting: Five University Hospitals.Participants: The nationwide FinnValve registry included data from 2,130 patients who underwent TAVR for aortic stenosis from 2008 to 2017. After excluding patients who underwent TAVR through nontransfemoral accesses, 1,818 patients were selected for this analysis.Intervention: TAVR with or without coronary revascularization.Measurements and Main Results: RBCs were transfused in 293 patients (16.1%). Time-trend analysis showed that the rates of RBC transfusion decreased significantly from 27.5% in 2012 to 10.0% in 2017 (p Conclusions: Patients who received blood transfusion after TAVR had an increased risk of early and late adverse events. These adverse effects were particularly evident with increasing amount of RBC transfusion and operations for excessive bleeding.</p

Mid-term outcomes of Sapien 3 versus Perimount Magna Ease for treatment of severe aortic stenosis

Background: There is limited information on the longer-term outcome after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with new-generation prostheses compared to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR). The aim of this study was to compare the mid-term outcomes after TAVR with Sapien 3 and SAVR with Perimount Magna Ease bioprostheses for severe aortic stenosis.Methods: In a retrospective study, we included patients who underwent transfemoral TAVR with Sapien 3 or SAVR with Perimount Magna Ease bioprosthesis between January 2008 and October 2017 from the nationwide FinnValve registry. Propensity score matching was performed to adjust for differences in the baseline characteristics. The Kaplan-Meir method was used to estimate late mortality.Results: A total of 2000 patients were included (689 in the TAVR cohort and 1311 in the SAVR cohort). Propensity score matching resulted in 308 pairs (STS score, TAVR 3.52.2% vs. SAVR 3.52.8%, p=0.918). In-hospital mortality was 3.6% after SAVR and 1.3% after TAVR (p=0.092). Stroke, acute kidney injury, bleeding and atrial fibrillation were significantly more frequent after SAVR, but higher rate of vascular complications was observed after TAVR. The cumulative incidence of permanent pacemaker implantation at 4years was 13.9% in the TAVR group and 6.9% in the SAVR group (p=0.0004). At 4-years, all-cause mortality was 20.6% for SAVR and 25.9% for TAVR (p=0.910). Four-year rates of coronary revascularization, prosthetic valve endocarditis and repeat aortic valve intervention were similar between matched cohorts.Conclusions: The Sapien 3 bioprosthesis achieves comparable midterm outcomes to a surgical bioprosthesis with proven durability such as the Perimount Magna Ease. However, the Sapien 3 bioprosthesis was associated with better early outcome.Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03385915.</div

Monitoring biological wastewater treatment processes: Recent advances in spectroscopy applications

Biological processes based on aerobic and anaerobic technologies have been continuously developed to wastewater treatment and are currently routinely employed to reduce the contaminants discharge levels in the environment. However, most methodologies commonly applied for monitoring key parameters are labor intensive, time-consuming and just provide a snapshot of the process. Thus, spectroscopy applications in biological processes are, nowadays, considered a rapid and effective alternative technology for real-time monitoring though still lacking implementation in full-scale plants. In this review, the application of spectroscopic techniques to aerobic and anaerobic systems is addressed focusing on UV--Vis, infrared, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, chemometric techniques, valuable tools to extract the relevant data, are also referred. To that effect, a detailed analysis is performed for aerobic and anaerobic systems to summarize the findings that have been obtained since 2000. Future prospects for the application of spectroscopic techniques in biological wastewater treatment processes are further discussed.The authors thank the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and the project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. The authors also acknowledge the financial support to Daniela P. Mesquita and Cristina Quintelas through the postdoctoral Grants (SFRH/BPD/82558/2011 and SFRH/BPD/101338/2014) provided by FCT - Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio