Hemodynamics in Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms

Incidental detection of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA) has increased in the recent years. There is a need in the clinical community to identify those that are prone to rupture and would require preventive treatment. Hemodynamics in cerebral blood vessels plays a key role in the lifetime cycle of intracranial aneurysms (IA). Understanding their initiation, growth, and rupture or stabilization may identify those hemodynamic features that lead to aneurysm instability and rupture. Modeling hemodynamics using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) could aid in understanding the processes in the development of IA. The neurosurgical approach during operation of IA allows direct visualization of the aneurysm sac and its sampling in many cases. Detailed analysis of the quality of the aneurysm wall under the microscope, together with histological assessment of the aneurysm wall and CFD modeling, can help in building complex knowledge on the relationship between the biology of the wall and hemodynamics. Detailed CFD analysis of the rupture point can further strengthen the association between hemodynamics and rupture. In this chapter we summarize current knowledge on CFD and intracranial aneurysms

X Her and TX Psc: Two cases of ISM interaction with stellar winds observed by Herschel

The asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars X Her and TX Psc have been imaged at 70 and 160 microns with the PACS instrument onboard the Herschel satellite, as part of the large MESS (Mass loss of Evolved StarS) Guaranteed Time Key Program. The images reveal an axisymmetric extended structure with its axis oriented along the space motion of the stars. This extended structure is very likely to be shaped by the interaction of the wind ejected by the AGB star with the surrounding interstellar medium (ISM). As predicted by numerical simulations, the detailed structure of the wind-ISM interface depends upon the relative velocity between star+wind and the ISM, which is large for these two stars (108 and 55 km/s for X Her and TX Psc, respectively). In both cases, there is a compact blob upstream whose origin is not fully elucidated, but that could be the signature of some instability in the wind-ISM shock. Deconvolved images of X Her and TX Psc reveal several discrete structures along the outermost filaments, which could be Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices. Finally, TX Psc is surrounded by an almost circular ring (the signature of the termination shock?) that contrasts with the outer, more structured filaments. A similar inner circular structure seems to be present in X Her as well, albeit less clearly.Comment: 11 pages, Astronomy & Astrophysics, in pres

Genetic Associations for Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time and Prothrombin Time, their Gene Expression Profiles, and Risk of Coronary Artery Disease

Activatedpartialthromboplastintime (aPTT) and prothrombintime (PT) are clinical tests commonly used to screen for coagulation-factor deficiencies. One genome-wide association study (GWAS) has been reported previously for aPTT, but no GWAS has been reported for PT. We conducted a GWAS and meta-analysis to identify genetic loci for aPTT and PT. The GWAS for aPTT was conducted in 9,240 individuals of European ancestry from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, and the GWAS for PT was conducted in 2,583 participants from the Genetic Study of Three Population Microisolates in South Tyrol (MICROS) and the Lothian Birth Cohorts (LBC) of 1921 and 1936. Replication was assessed in 1,041 to 3,467 individuals. For aPTT, previously reported associations with KNG1, HRG, F11, F12, and ABO were confirmed. A second independent association in ABO was identified and replicated (rs8176704, p = 4.26 × 10−24). Pooling the ARIC and replication data yielded two additional loci in F5 (rs6028, p = 3.22 × 10−9) and AGBL1 (rs2469184, p = 3.61 × 10−8). For PT, significant associations were identified and confirmed in F7 (rs561241, p = 3.71 × 10−56) and PROCR/EDEM2 (rs2295888, p = 5.25 × 10−13). Assessment of existing geneexpression and coronaryarterydisease (CAD) databases identified associations of five of the GWAS loci with altered geneexpression and two with CAD. In summary, eight genetic loci that account for ∼29% of the variance in aPTT and two loci that account for ∼14% of the variance in PT were detected and supported by functional data

Compositional data analysis for physical activity, sedentary time and sleep research

The health effects of daily activity behaviours (physical activity, sedentary time and sleep) are widely studied. While previous research has largely examined activity behaviours in isolation, recent studies have adjusted for multiple behaviours. However, the inclusion of all activity behaviours in traditional multivariate analyses has not been possible due to the perfect multicollinearity of 24-h time budget data. The ensuing lack of adjustment for known effects on the outcome undermines the validity of study findings. We describe a statistical approach that enables the inclusion of all daily activity behaviours, based on the principles of compositional data analysis. Using data from the International Study of Childhood Obesity, Lifestyle and the Environment, we demonstrate the application of compositional multiple linear regression to estimate adiposity from children’s daily activity behaviours expressed as isometric log-ratio coordinates. We present a novel method for predicting change in a continuous outcome based on relative changes within a composition, and for calculating associated confidence intervals to allow for statistical inference. The compositional data analysis presented overcomes the lack of adjustment that has plagued traditional statistical methods in the field, and provides robust and reliable insights into the health effects of daily activity behaviour

Postal services and their regulation

Cílem diplomové práce na téma Poštovní služby a jejich regulace je pojednat o problematice poštovního sektoru v České republice a zhodnotit dopady liberalizace poštovního trhu. Teoretická část práce obsahuje analýzu poštovních služeb, otázky spojené s blížící se plnou liberalizací poštovního trhu, popis legislativy v této oblasti a zmiňuje úlohu národního regulátora. Praktická část práce představuje organizace zajišťující poštovní služby v České republice, rozbor jejich hospodaření, jejich porovnání a z toho vyplývající postavení na trhu. Pro možnost srovnání se praktická část zabývá nejen popisem poštovního sektoru v České republice, ale i ve vybraných zemích Evropské unie. V závěru je provedeno zhodnocení celé aktuální problematiky, především dopady liberalizace na národního poštovního operátora - Českou poštu, s. p. a možná východiska pro zachování její vedoucí tržní pozice.The aim of the thesis Postal services and their regulation is to deal problems of the postal sector in Czech Republic and evaluate impacts of liberalization of the postal market. The theoretical part of thesis contains analysis of postal services, questions associated with approaching full liberalization of the postal market, description of the legislation in this range and talk about function of the national regulator. The practical part presents organizations, which supply postal services in the Czech Republic, their business report, their comparison and inferential role in the marketplace. To possibility of comparison the practical part deals not only description of the postal sector in the Czech republic, but also in selected countries of European Union. In conclusion is made evaluation of all actual issue, particularly impacts of liberalization on national postal operator the Czech Post and possible bases for keeping its leading market position.Ústav ekonomieStudent seznámil komisi s obsahem diplomové práce. Následně odpovídal na otázky vedoucího práce: 1) Jaké klady a zápory má odstranění monopolu České pošty a liberalizace poštovního trhu? 2) Změní se liberalizací množství a kvalita poštovních služeb pro obyvatelstvo? oponenta práce: 1) Jaký dopad bude mít podle Vašeho názoru liberalizace poštovního trhu na zaměstnance České pošty? 2) Jak by podle Vašeho názoru měla být kompenzovaná ztráta poskytovateli univerzální služby po úplném otevření trhu konkurenci? V průběhu diskuse byly položeny následující otázky: Kde je zdroj neefektivity České pošty, který by mohl být odstraněn demonopolizací? Byla pošta v minulosti také neefektivní

Communication styles in public service institutions

Problematika komunikace veřejné správy s občany je citlivé téma, neboť zde dochází k interakci státu a občana. To s sebou přináší potřebu profesionálního jednání úředníků, jelikož svým jednáním reprezentují vládní aparát. Cílem této práce je teoreticky popsat problematiku komunikace a zhodnotit poznatky provedeného empirického šetření.The issue of public communication with citizens is a sensitive issue because there is an interaction of states and citizens. This implies the need for professional conduct of officials because their actions represent the government apparatus. The aim of this work is to theoretically describe the problems of communication and evaluate the findings made by empirical research.Ústav veřejné správy a právaStudent seznámil komisi s cílem práce, tím bylo zpracování teoretické části na téma komunikačních forem ve veřejné správě a realizování výzkumné sondy zaměřené na evaluaci těchto forem z hlediska občanů. Student odpovídal na otyto otázky: 1) Jaký máte názor na zlepšení zmíněného druhu komunikace? 2) V čem spatřujete hlavní důvody zlepšení hodnocení činnosti veřejné správy občany?Dokončená práce s úspěšnou obhajobo

Store system for tarmacadam plant of bituminous mixtures

Tato práce se zabývá problematikou skladových systémů jak z ekonomického hlediska, tak z hlediska programátorského. Cílem práce je navrhnout a implementovat skladový systém pro potřeby zadavatele. Systém je implementován v jazyce C# pod platformou Microsoft .NET a využívá vhodný relační databázový systém. Práce se zabývá problematikou oceňování skladových položek, návrhem vylepšení stávajícího systému či návrhem dalších uživatelsky přívětivých funkcí. Dále práce obsahuje popis struktury navrhovaného systému, návrh databázového a návrh objektově orientovaného modelu nového systému. V práci jsou také popsány technologie a knihovny použité v systému a technické požadavky pro běh systému. Práce zahrnuje také testování a zhodnocení nové aplikace oproti stávající včetně možných vylepšení do budoucna.Katedra informatiky a výpočetní technikyObhájenoThis thesis deals with issues of store systems both from economic and programming point of view. The main aim of this thesis is to design and implement a store system for needs of the client. The system is implemented in C# language under Microsoft .NET platform and uses the appropriate relational database system. The work describes problems of valuation of inventory items, suggests improvements to the existing system or other user-friendly features. This thesis also contains a description of the structure of the proposed system, a design of the database model, and a design of the object-oriented model of the new system. The work also describes the technology and libraries used in the system and technical requirements for running the system. The thesis also includes testing and evaluation of the new application compared to the existing one, including possible improvements for the future