Pancreatic islet transplantation to treat diabetes - defining molecular tools to select suitable islets [abstract]

Comparative Medicine - OneHealth and Comparative Medicine Poster SessionA complete understanding of pancreatic islet biology is essential to the development of preventive or curative interventions for diabetes. It has been known that subpopulations of islets of different sizes exist; however, whether they are biologically and functionally unique has not been investigated. As an example, our work comparing the biology of large versus small islets isolated from rats showed that small islets were superior to large islets in in vitro function and in transplantation outcomes. These results provided the stimulus for an improved approach to islet transplantation in humans. The work also led to new questions regarding the basic physiology of healthy islets. Through collaboration between our University of Kansas Medical Center and Children's Mercy Hospital teams, we determined that small islets secrete higher amount of insulin in vitro when compared to the large islets. We sought to identify whether the islet subpopulations showed differences at the molecular level and thus we investigated their protein expression profiles using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D PAGE). We found that the protein repertoire in the small and large islets differed significantly. Specifically, some proteins were found only in one type of islets, small or large, while they were missing or their expression levels were different in the other subpopulation. We identified some of the proteins by liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry. Immunofluorescence performed on small and large islets in pancreatic sections, with antibodies against identified proteins, confirmed that the proteins were present in one subpopulation of islets. Of these proteins, at least one was unique to large islets and can potentially be used as a marker to distinguish in vivo between islets that are high-insulin producers and those that fail to secrete significant amounts in insulin. Our long-term goal is to monitor the fate of the different islet populations during diabetes development. In addition, markers like this can be used to determine the best islet subpopulation for transplantation. The data support our hypothesis that integral differences exist between small and large islets that might determine the islets' unique properties under normal conditions and during the development of diabetes. These differences may also influence islet subpopulation behavior in transplantation affecting the outcome

Knowledge and attitudes of primary healthcare patients regarding population-based screening for colorectal cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to assess the extent of knowledge of primary health care (PHC) patients about colorectal cancer (CRC), their attitudes toward population-based screening for this disease and gender differences in these respects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A questionnaire-based survey of PHC patients in the Balearic Islands and some districts of the metropolitan area of Barcelona was conducted. Individuals between 50 and 69 years of age with no history of CRC were interviewed at their PHC centers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We analyzed the results of 625 questionnaires, 58% of which were completed by women. Most patients believed that cancer diagnosis before symptom onset improved the chance of survival. More women than men knew the main symptoms of CRC. A total of 88.8% of patients reported that they would perform the fecal occult blood test (FOBT) for CRC screening if so requested by PHC doctors or nurses. If the FOBT was positive and a colonoscopy was offered, 84.9% of participants indicated that they would undergo the procedure, and no significant difference by gender was apparent. Fear of having cancer was the main reason for performance of an FOBT, and also for not performing the FOBT, especially in women. Fear of pain was the main reason for not wishing to undergo colonoscopy. Factors associated with reluctance to perform the FOBT were: <b><it>(i) </it></b>the idea that that many forms of cancer can be prevented by exercise and, <b><it>(ii) </it></b>a reluctance to undergo colonoscopy if an FOBT was positive. Factors associated with reluctance to undergo colonoscopy were: <b><it>(i) </it></b>residence in Barcelona, <b><it>(ii) </it></b>ignorance of the fact that early diagnosis of CRC is associated with better prognosis, <b><it>(iii) </it></b>no previous history of colonoscopy, and <b><it>(iv) </it></b>no intention to perform the FOBT for CRC screening.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We identified gaps in knowledge about CRC and prevention thereof in PHC patients from the Balearic Islands and the Barcelona region of Spain. If fears about CRC screening, and CRC per se, are addressed, and if it is emphasized that CRC is preventable, participation in CRC screening programs may improve.</p

The Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanets Large-survey (ARIEL) payload electronic subsystems

The ARIEL mission has been proposed to ESA by an European Consortium as the first space mission to extensively perform remote sensing on the atmospheres of a well defined set of warm and hot transiting gas giant exoplanets, whose temperature range between ~600 K and 3000 K. ARIEL will observe a large number (~500) of warm and hot transiting gas giants, Neptunes and super-Earths around a range of host star types using transit spectroscopy in the ~2-8 μm spectral range and broad-band photometry in the NIR and optical. ARIEL will target planets hotter than 600 K to take advantage of their well-mixed atmospheres, which should show minimal condensation and sequestration of high-Z materials and thus reveal their bulk and elemental composition. One of the major motivations for exoplanet characterisation is to understand the probability of occurrence of habitable worlds, i.e. suitable for surface liquid water. While ARIEL will not study habitable planets, its major contribution to this topic will results from its capability to detect the presence of atmospheres on many terrestrial planets outside the habitable zone and, in many cases, characterise them. This represents a fundamental breakthrough in understanding the physical and chemical processes of a large sample of exoplanets atmospheres as well as their bulk properties and to probe in-space technology. The ARIEL infrared spectrometer (AIRS) provides data on the atmospheric composition; these data are acquired and processed by an On-Board Data Handling (OBDH) system including the Cold Front End Electronics (CFEE) and the Instrument Control Unit (ICU). The Telescope Control Unit (TCU) is also included inside the ICU. The latter is directly connected to the Control and Data Management Unit (CDMU) on board the Service Module (SVM). The general hardware architecture and the application software of the ICU are described. The Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS) electronics and the Cooler Control Electronics are also presented

Flow shop rescheduling under different types of disruption

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Production Research on 2013, available online:http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00207543.2012.666856Almost all manufacturing facilities need to use production planning and scheduling systems to increase productivity and to reduce production costs. Real-life production operations are subject to a large number of unexpected disruptions that may invalidate the original schedules. In these cases, rescheduling is essential to minimise the impact on the performance of the system. In this work we consider flow shop layouts that have seldom been studied in the rescheduling literature. We generate and employ three types of disruption that interrupt the original schedules simultaneously. We develop rescheduling algorithms to finally accomplish the twofold objective of establishing a standard framework on the one hand, and proposing rescheduling methods that seek a good trade-off between schedule quality and stability on the other.The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for their careful and detailed comments that helped to improve the paper considerably. This work is partially financed by the Small and Medium Industry of the Generalitat Valenciana (IMPIVA) and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) inside the R + D program "Ayudas dirigidas a Institutos tecnologicos de la Red IMPIVA" during the year 2011, with project number IMDEEA/2011/142.Katragjini Prifti, K.; Vallada Regalado, E.; Ruiz García, R. (2013). Flow shop rescheduling under different types of disruption. International Journal of Production Research. 51(3):780-797. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207543.2012.666856S780797513Abumaizar, R. J., & Svestka, J. A. (1997). Rescheduling job shops under random disruptions. International Journal of Production Research, 35(7), 2065-2082. doi:10.1080/002075497195074Adiri, I., Frostig, E., & Kan, A. H. G. R. (1991). Scheduling on a single machine with a single breakdown to minimize stochastically the number of tardy jobs. Naval Research Logistics, 38(2), 261-271. doi:10.1002/1520-6750(199104)38:23.0.co;2-iAkturk, M. S., & Gorgulu, E. (1999). Match-up scheduling under a machine breakdown. European Journal of Operational Research, 112(1), 81-97. doi:10.1016/s0377-2217(97)00396-2Allahverdi, A. (1996). Two-machine proportionate flowshop scheduling with breakdowns to minimize maximum lateness. Computers & Operations Research, 23(10), 909-916. doi:10.1016/0305-0548(96)00012-3Arnaout, J. P., & Rabadi, G. (2008). Rescheduling of unrelated parallel machines under machine breakdowns. International Journal of Applied Management Science, 1(1), 75. doi:10.1504/ijams.2008.020040Artigues, C., Billaut, J.-C., & Esswein, C. (2005). Maximization of solution flexibility for robust shop scheduling. European Journal of Operational Research, 165(2), 314-328. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2004.04.004Azizoglu, M., & Alagöz, O. (2005). Parallel-machine rescheduling with machine disruptions. IIE Transactions, 37(12), 1113-1118. doi:10.1080/07408170500288133Bean, J. C., Birge, J. R., Mittenthal, J., & Noon, C. E. (1991). Matchup Scheduling with Multiple Resources, Release Dates and Disruptions. Operations Research, 39(3), 470-483. doi:10.1287/opre.39.3.470Caricato, P., & Grieco, A. (2008). An online approach to dynamic rescheduling for production planning applications. International Journal of Production Research, 46(16), 4597-4617. doi:10.1080/00207540601136225CHURCH, L. K., & UZSOY, R. (1992). Analysis of periodic and event-driven rescheduling policies in dynamic shops. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 5(3), 153-163. doi:10.1080/09511929208944524Cowling, P., & Johansson, M. (2002). Using real time information for effective dynamic scheduling. European Journal of Operational Research, 139(2), 230-244. doi:10.1016/s0377-2217(01)00355-1Curry, J., & Peters *, B. (2005). Rescheduling parallel machines with stepwise increasing tardiness and machine assignment stability objectives. International Journal of Production Research, 43(15), 3231-3246. doi:10.1080/00207540500103953DUTTA, A. (1990). Reacting to Scheduling Exceptions in FMS Environments. IIE Transactions, 22(4), 300-314. doi:10.1080/07408179008964185Ghezail, F., Pierreval, H., & Hajri-Gabouj, S. (2010). Analysis of robustness in proactive scheduling: A graphical approach. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 58(2), 193-198. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2009.03.004Goren, S., & Sabuncuoglu, I. (2008). Robustness and stability measures for scheduling: single-machine environment. IIE Transactions, 40(1), 66-83. doi:10.1080/07408170701283198Hall, N. G., & Potts, C. N. (2004). Rescheduling for New Orders. Operations Research, 52(3), 440-453. doi:10.1287/opre.1030.0101Herrmann, J. W., Lee, C.-Y., & Snowdon, J. L. (1993). A Classification of Static Scheduling Problems. Complexity in Numerical Optimization, 203-253. doi:10.1142/9789814354363_0011Herroelen, W., & Leus, R. (2005). Project scheduling under uncertainty: Survey and research potentials. European Journal of Operational Research, 165(2), 289-306. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2004.04.002Hozak, K., & Hill, J. A. (2009). Issues and opportunities regarding replanning and rescheduling frequencies. International Journal of Production Research, 47(18), 4955-4970. doi:10.1080/00207540802047106Huaccho Huatuco, L., Efstathiou, J., Calinescu, A., Sivadasan, S., & Kariuki, S. (2009). Comparing the impact of different rescheduling strategies on the entropic-related complexity of manufacturing systems. International Journal of Production Research, 47(15), 4305-4325. doi:10.1080/00207540701871036Jensen, M. T. (2003). Generating robust and flexible job shop schedules using genetic algorithms. IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, 7(3), 275-288. doi:10.1109/tevc.2003.810067King, J. R. (1976). The theory-practice gap in job-shop scheduling. Production Engineer, 55(3), 137. doi:10.1049/tpe.1976.0044Kopanos, G. M., Capón-García, E., Espuña,, A., & Puigjaner, L. (2008). Costs for Rescheduling Actions: A Critical Issue for Reducing the Gap between Scheduling Theory and Practice. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 47(22), 8785-8795. doi:10.1021/ie8005676Lee, C.-Y., Leung, J. Y.-T., & Yu, G. (2006). Two Machine Scheduling under Disruptions with Transportation Considerations. Journal of Scheduling, 9(1), 35-48. doi:10.1007/s10951-006-5592-7Li, Z., & Ierapetritou, M. (2008). Process scheduling under uncertainty: Review and challenges. Computers & Chemical Engineering, 32(4-5), 715-727. doi:10.1016/j.compchemeng.2007.03.001Liao, C. J., & Chen, W. J. (2004). Scheduling under machine breakdown in a continuous process industry. Computers & Operations Research, 31(3), 415-428. doi:10.1016/s0305-0548(02)00224-1Mehta, S. V. (1999). Predictable scheduling of a single machine subject to breakdowns. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 12(1), 15-38. doi:10.1080/095119299130443MUHLEMANN, A. P., LOCKETT, A. G., & FARN, C.-K. (1982). Job shop scheduling heuristics and frequency of scheduling. International Journal of Production Research, 20(2), 227-241. doi:10.1080/00207548208947763Nawaz, M., Enscore, E. E., & Ham, I. (1983). A heuristic algorithm for the m-machine, n-job flow-shop sequencing problem. Omega, 11(1), 91-95. doi:10.1016/0305-0483(83)90088-9O’Donovan, R., Uzsoy, R., & McKay, K. N. (1999). Predictable scheduling of a single machine with breakdowns and sensitive jobs. International Journal of Production Research, 37(18), 4217-4233. doi:10.1080/002075499189745Özlen, M., & Azizoğlu, M. (2009). Generating all efficient solutions of a rescheduling problem on unrelated parallel machines. International Journal of Production Research, 47(19), 5245-5270. doi:10.1080/00207540802043998Pfeiffer, A., Kádár, B., & Monostori, L. (2007). Stability-oriented evaluation of rescheduling strategies, by using simulation. Computers in Industry, 58(7), 630-643. doi:10.1016/j.compind.2007.05.009Pierreval, H., & Durieux-Paris, S. (2007). Robust simulation with a base environmental scenario. European Journal of Operational Research, 182(2), 783-793. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2006.07.045Damodaran, P., Hirani, N. S., & Gallego, M. C. V. (2009). Scheduling identical parallel batch processing machines to minimise makespan using genetic algorithms. European J. of Industrial Engineering, 3(2), 187. doi:10.1504/ejie.2009.023605Qi, X., Bard, J. F., & Yu, G. (2006). Disruption management for machine scheduling: The case of SPT schedules. International Journal of Production Economics, 103(1), 166-184. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2005.05.021Rangsaritratsamee, R., Ferrell, W. G., & Kurz, M. B. (2004). Dynamic rescheduling that simultaneously considers efficiency and stability. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 46(1), 1-15. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2003.09.007Ruiz, R., & Stützle, T. (2007). A simple and effective iterated greedy algorithm for the permutation flowshop scheduling problem. European Journal of Operational Research, 177(3), 2033-2049. doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2005.12.009Sabuncuoglu, I., & Goren, S. (2009). Hedging production schedules against uncertainty in manufacturing environment with a review of robustness and stability research. International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing, 22(2), 138-157. doi:10.1080/09511920802209033Sabuncuoglu, I., & Kizilisik, O. B. (2003). Reactive scheduling in a dynamic and stochastic FMS environment. International Journal of Production Research, 41(17), 4211-4231. doi:10.1080/0020754031000149202Salveson, M. E. (1952). On a Quantitative Method in Production Planning and Scheduling. Econometrica, 20(4), 554. doi:10.2307/1907643Samarghandi, H., & ElMekkawy, T. Y. (2011). An efficient hybrid algorithm for the two-machine no-wait flow shop problem with separable setup times and single server. European J. of Industrial Engineering, 5(2), 111. doi:10.1504/ejie.2011.039869Subramaniam *, V., Raheja, A. S., & Rama Bhupal Reddy, K. (2005). Reactive repair tool for job shop schedules. International Journal of Production Research, 43(1), 1-23. doi:10.1080/0020754042000270412Taillard, E. (1990). Some efficient heuristic methods for the flow shop sequencing problem. European Journal of Operational Research, 47(1), 65-74. doi:10.1016/0377-2217(90)90090-xTaillard, E. (1993). Benchmarks for basic scheduling problems. European Journal of Operational Research, 64(2), 278-285. doi:10.1016/0377-2217(93)90182-mValente, J. M. S., & Schaller, J. E. (2010). Improved heuristics for the single machine scheduling problem with linear early and quadratic tardy penalties. European J. of Industrial Engineering, 4(1), 99. doi:10.1504/ejie.2010.029572Vallada, E., & Ruiz, R. (2010). Genetic algorithms with path relinking for the minimum tardiness permutation flowshop problem☆. Omega, 38(1-2), 57-67. doi:10.1016/j.omega.2009.04.002Vieira, G. E., Herrmann, J. W., & Lin, E. (2000). Predicting the performance of rescheduling strategies for parallel machine systems. Journal of Manufacturing Systems, 19(4), 256-266. doi:10.1016/s0278-6125(01)80005-4Vieira, G. E., Herrmann, J. W., & Lin, E. (2003). Journal of Scheduling, 6(1), 39-62. doi:10.1023/a:1022235519958Yang, J., & Yu, G. (2002). Journal of Combinatorial Optimization, 6(1), 17-33. doi:10.1023/a:1013333232691Zandieh, M., & Gholami, M. (2009). An immune algorithm for scheduling a hybrid flow shop with sequence-dependent setup times and machines with random breakdowns. International Journal of Production Research, 47(24), 6999-7027. doi:10.1080/0020754080240063

The Large Observatory for x-ray timing

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) was studied within ESA M3 Cosmic Vision framework and participated in the final down-selection for a launch slot in 2022-2024. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument, LOFT will study the behaviour of matter under extreme conditions, such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions of accretion flows close to black holes and neutron stars, and the supra-nuclear densities in the interior of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, 10 m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1° collimated field of view) and a WideField Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g. GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the status of the mission at the end of its Phase A study

Effectiveness of an mHealth intervention combining a smartphone app and smart band on body composition in an overweight and obese population: Randomized controlled trial (EVIDENT 3 study)

Background: Mobile health (mHealth) is currently among the supporting elements that may contribute to an improvement in health markers by helping people adopt healthier lifestyles. mHealth interventions have been widely reported to achieve greater weight loss than other approaches, but their effect on body composition remains unclear. Objective: This study aimed to assess the short-term (3 months) effectiveness of a mobile app and a smart band for losing weight and changing body composition in sedentary Spanish adults who are overweight or obese. Methods: A randomized controlled, multicenter clinical trial was conducted involving the participation of 440 subjects from primary care centers, with 231 subjects in the intervention group (IG; counselling with smartphone app and smart band) and 209 in the control group (CG; counselling only). Both groups were counselled about healthy diet and physical activity. For the 3-month intervention period, the IG was trained to use a smartphone app that involved self-monitoring and tailored feedback, as well as a smart band that recorded daily physical activity (Mi Band 2, Xiaomi). Body composition was measured using the InBody 230 bioimpedance device (InBody Co., Ltd), and physical activity was measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Results: The mHealth intervention produced a greater loss of body weight (–1.97 kg, 95% CI –2.39 to –1.54) relative to standard counselling at 3 months (–1.13 kg, 95% CI –1.56 to –0.69). Comparing groups, the IG achieved a weight loss of 0.84 kg more than the CG at 3 months. The IG showed a decrease in body fat mass (BFM; –1.84 kg, 95% CI –2.48 to –1.20), percentage of body fat (PBF; –1.22%, 95% CI –1.82% to 0.62%), and BMI (–0.77 kg/m2, 95% CI –0.96 to 0.57). No significant changes were observed in any of these parameters in men; among women, there was a significant decrease in BMI in the IG compared with the CG. When subjects were grouped according to baseline BMI, the overweight group experienced a change in BFM of –1.18 kg (95% CI –2.30 to –0.06) and BMI of –0.47 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.80 to –0.13), whereas the obese group only experienced a change in BMI of –0.53 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.86 to –0.19). When the data were analyzed according to physical activity, the moderate-vigorous physical activity group showed significant changes in BFM of –1.03 kg (95% CI –1.74 to –0.33), PBF of –0.76% (95% CI –1.32% to –0.20%), and BMI of –0.5 kg/m2 (95% CI –0.83 to –0.19). Conclusions: The results from this multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial study show that compared with standard counselling alone, adding a self-reported app and a smart band obtained beneficial results in terms of weight loss and a reduction in BFM and PBF in female subjects with a BMI less than 30 kg/m2 and a moderate-vigorous physical activity level. Nevertheless, further studies are needed to ensure that this profile benefits more than others from this intervention and to investigate modifications of this intervention to achieve a global effect

The LOFT mission concept: a status update

The Large Observatory For x-ray Timing (LOFT) is a mission concept which was proposed to ESA as M3 and M4 candidate in the framework of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 program. Thanks to the unprecedented combination of effective area and spectral resolution of its main instrument and the uniquely large field of view of its wide field monitor, LOFT will be able to study the behaviour of matter in extreme conditions such as the strong gravitational field in the innermost regions close to black holes and neutron stars and the supra-nuclear densities in the interiors of neutron stars. The science payload is based on a Large Area Detector (LAD, >8m2 effective area, 2-30 keV, 240 eV spectral resolution, 1 degree collimated field of view) and a Wide Field Monitor (WFM, 2-50 keV, 4 steradian field of view, 1 arcmin source location accuracy, 300 eV spectral resolution). The WFM is equipped with an on-board system for bright events (e.g., GRB) localization. The trigger time and position of these events are broadcast to the ground within 30 s from discovery. In this paper we present the current technical and programmatic status of the mission

Progress from ASDEX Upgrade experiments in preparing the physics basis of ITER operation and DEMO scenario development

An overview of recent results obtained at the tokamak ASDEX Upgrade (AUG) is given. A work flow for predictive profile modelling of AUG discharges was established which is able to reproduce experimental H-mode plasma profiles based on engineering parameters only. In the plasma center, theoretical predictions on plasma current redistribution by a dynamo effect were confirmed experimentally. For core transport, the stabilizing effect of fast ion distributions on turbulent transport is shown to be important to explain the core isotope effect and improves the description of hollow low-Z impurity profiles. The L-H power threshold of hydrogen plasmas is not affected by small helium admixtures and it increases continuously from the deuterium to the hydrogen level when the hydrogen concentration is raised from 0 to 100%. One focus of recent campaigns was the search for a fusion relevant integrated plasma scenario without large edge localised modes (ELMs). Results from six different ELM-free confinement regimes are compared with respect to reactor relevance: ELM suppression by magnetic perturbation coils could be attributed to toroidally asymmetric turbulent fluctuations in the vicinity of the separatrix. Stable improved confinement mode plasma phases with a detached inner divertor were obtained using a feedback control of the plasma β. The enhanced D α H-mode regime was extended to higher heating power by feedback controlled radiative cooling with argon. The quasi-coherent exhaust regime was developed into an integrated scenario at high heating power and energy confinement, with a detached divertor and without large ELMs. Small ELMs close to the separatrix lead to peeling-ballooning stability and quasi continuous power exhaust. Helium beam density fluctuation measurements confirm that transport close to the separatrix is important to achieve the different ELM-free regimes. Based on separatrix plasma parameters and interchange-drift-Alfvén turbulence, an analytic model was derived that reproduces the experimentally found important operational boundaries of the density limit and between L- and H-mode confinement. Feedback control for the X-point radiator (XPR) position was established as an important element for divertor detachment control. Stable and detached ELM-free phases with H-mode confinement quality were obtained when the XPR was moved 10 cm above the X-point. Investigations of the plasma in the future flexible snow-flake divertor of AUG by means of first SOLPS-ITER simulations with drifts activated predict beneficial detachment properties and the activation of an additional strike point by the drifts