Numerical investigation of the spatial distribution of Escherichia coli in river deltas for different values of river discharge, temperature and irradiation of the water surface

Escherichia coli and other enteric pathogens presence indicate that the water has been contaminated with fecal matter. River deltas are population hotspots which are becoming increasingly urbanized and where poor sanitation has been frequently identified as a pressing issue. In this study, we have investigated the spatial distribution of E. coli in river deltas under varying river discharge, temperature and irradiation at the water surface. A hydrodynamic and water quality model has been used to reproduce an idealized river delta configuration and to investigate the spatial distribution of E. coli across the delta floodplain and channels. The concentration of E. coli rapidly declines downstream, following a tripartite trend with different decline rates on the delta front, pro-delta and shelf area. The highest differences in the spatial distribution of E. coli bacteria occur for low-river discharge values. Temperature and irradiation both influence the concentration of E. coli and mostly influence downstream areas and smaller channels

Effect of fresh water discharge on the salinity intrusion in the Scheldt estuary: final Report

This report includes a study of the effect of fresh water discharge in salinity of the river Scheldt. The study consists of a series of simulations with the NEVLA3D model to investigate salinity variation in several upstream discharge conditions.Three scenarios were set up. The reference scenario includes constant discharges at 8 river sources taken as the mean annual discharge for the year 2006. A scenario with doubled discharges (N002) and another one with half reduced discharges (N003) are implemented. Simulations were carried out for a period of three months. Transient effects are investigated by modelling a single-day discharge peak.The results of this study can be used to model sediment transport in DELWAQ, in order to investigate the effect of fresh water inflow on (cohesive) sediment transport, through changes in estuarine circulation

Concurrent functional ultrasound imaging with graphene-based DC-coupled electrophysiology as a platform to study slow brain signals and cerebral blood flow under control and pathophysiological brain states

Current methodology used to investigate how shifts in brain states associated with regional cerebral blood volume (CBV) change in deep brain areas, are limited by either the spatiotemporal resolution of the CBV techniques, and/or compatibility with electrophysiological recordings; particularly in relation to spontaneous brain activity and the study of individual events. Additionally, infraslow brain signals (&lt;0.1 Hz), including spreading depolarisations, DC-shifts and infraslow oscillations (ISO), are poorly captured by traditional AC-coupled electrographic recordings; yet these very slow brain signals can profoundly change CBV. To gain an improved understanding of how infraslow brain signals couple to CBV we present a new method for concurrent CBV with wide bandwidth electrophysiological mapping using simultaneous functional ultrasound imaging (fUS) and graphene-based field effect transistor (gFET) DC-coupled electrophysiological acquisitions. To validate the feasibility of this methodology visually-evoked neurovascular coupling (NVC) responses were examined. gFET recordings are not affected by concurrent fUS imaging, and epidural placement of gFET arrays within the imaging window did not deteriorate fUS signal quality. To examine directly the impact of infra-slow potential shifts on CBV, cortical spreading depolarisations (CSDs) were induced. A biphasic pattern of decreased, followed by increased CBV, propagating throughout the ipsilateral cortex, and a delayed decrease in deeper subcortical brain regions was observed. In a model of acute seizures, CBV oscillations were observed prior to seizure initiation. Individual seizures occurred on the rising phase of both infraslow brain signal and CBV oscillations. When seizures co-occurred with CSDs, CBV responses were larger in amplitude, with delayed CBV decreases in subcortical structures. Overall, our data demonstrate that gFETs are highly compatible with fUS and allow concurrent examination of wide bandwidth electrophysiology and CBV. This graphene-enabled technological advance has the potential to improve our understanding of how infraslow brain signals relate to CBV changes in control and pathological brain states.</p

PRIVATIZATION OF BUS SERVICES IN ATHENS, GREECE: ASSESSMENT OF 14- MONTH EXPERIMENT.

This paper presents the reform of the Athens, Greece, bus transport services, in August 1992. This was a partial privatization: the public bus company was closed down. Eight new private confederacies were established with overall control in the hands of an organization of mixed interest (public and private). Bus drivers previously working in the bus company were given the right to acquire half a bus. Most of them made use of this privilege. So, in practice, buses of the ex-public company were transferred to the ownership of the bus drivers, The privatized system operated from August 1992 until December 1993. Then, following the governmental change in Greece, the bus organization was re-nationalized, and all buses were returned to the public sector. The paper describes the problems of public ownership, assesses the privatized scheme and concludes that a new plan for the Athens bus transport system is necessary

Privatization of parking management in Greece

In the city of Patras, which is the third most populated city in Greece, a new comprehensive parking management system was introduced in 1993. The main characteristics of the system are: 1. (1) the introduction of paid parking for all legal or 'illegal-possible' places available in the city centre;2. (2) the installation of appropriate equipment for ticket issuing;3. (3) the designation of street parking in three different zones (Orange Green Red zone) each with a different pricing policy. The system is operated by a private company to which the right to organize and administer the whole parking operation of the city has been given. This innovation consists of a sort of 'privatization' of the parking management system. The paper proceeds to give an assessment of the scheme on the basis of a 'before-and-after' study. It is concluded that the new parking measures contributed to a significant improvement of the parking situation in the city of Patras. This idea of 'privatizing' the whole parking enterprise is gaining ground in Greece: five or six cities are proceeding in the same direction, and attempts are being made to promote the system for the two largest cities of the country, ie Athens and Thessaloniki.

Clustering of excess health concerns for electromagnetic fields among health personnel: A quantitative and qualitative approach

Clustering patterns, among health-care personnel, of excessive concerns pertaining to perceived electromagnetic field-related health impacts, as contrasted to those from other environmental factors, were explored. Knowledge/excessive concerns of 722 health-care personnel were assessed using a 22-item structured questionnaire along with a double-phase qualitative study comprising semistructured interviews and focus groups. Over 75 percent of the participants had high perceived knowledge, whereas accuracy was limited to &lt;20 percent and correctness to 8 percent. An excessive concern group was clearly distinguished from a relaxed attitude one. Clustering of excessive concerns may derive from personal beliefs, suggesting a risk governance issue for health education policies

Validity of intraoperative gross examination of myometrial invasion in patients with endometrial cancer: a meta-analysis

Objective. The current recommended endometrial cancer surgical treatment is abdominal extrafascial total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy followed by pelvic lymphadenectomy if &gt;50% myometrial invasion is estimated by intraoperative gross examination (IGE). This meta-analysis aims to quantify evidence regarding the validity/predictive value of IGE staging compared with final histology. Design. Meta-analysis of studies published until October 2011. Setting. Systematic search, according to PRISMA guidelines, of the six major medical literature databases Medline, Scopus, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Ovid, Cochrane. Population. Sixteen eligible studies including 2567 endometrial cancer patients. Methods. Pooled sensitivity/specificity, accuracy, negative/positive predictive value (NPV/PPV) and diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) of IGE were calculated and the summary receiver operator characteristic (sROC) curve was constructed. A meta-regression analysis was used to explore the role of potential modifiers of sensitivity and specificity. Main outcome measures. Pooled diagnostic measures of IGE indices. Results. Sixteen studies (15 retrospective, one prospective) meeting the inclusion criteria were qualitatively analyzed. Pooled IGE estimates were: sensitivity = 0.75 (95%CI: 0.720.78), specificity = 0.92 (95%CI 0.900.94), accuracy = 0.87 (95%CI 0.860.88), NPV = 0.89 (95%CI 0.870.92), PPV = 0.80 (95%CI 0.760.84) and DOR = 36.9 (95%CI 28.747.4). No significant modifiers were identified for sensitivity or specificity. Conclusions. The synthesized measures presented here for the first time showed that accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of IGE were 87, 75 and 92%, respectively, which indicates that IGE is useful for estimating depth of myometrial invasion and staging of endometrial cancer in clinical practice. The degree to which the relatively low values of some of its performance indicators could be improved remains to be elucidated in order for the values to be comparable with those from frozen section biopsies

Outcome of Arthroscopic Débridement is Worse for Patients With Glenohumeral Arthritis of Both Sides of the Joint

Glenohumeral arthritis in the young patient presents a difficult problem with potentially devastating sequelae. Reports in the literature suggest a role for arthroscopic treatment in patients with symptomatic degenerative joint disease of the shoulder. However, no published study directly compares patients with unipolar versus bipolar cartilage lesions. We retrospectively reviewed 19 patients (20 shoulders) younger than 55 years with Outerbridge Grade 2–4 articular cartilage changes who underwent arthroscopic glenohumeral débridements. We obtained WOOS, SF-12, SANE and the American Shoulder and Elbow Society scores at last followup. The minimum follow up time was 12 months (average, 20 months; range, 12–33 months). Three patients progressed to shoulder arthroplasty. All but three patients reported their shoulder function at 60% or better based on the SANE score. The grade of the lesion did not influence outcome scores, but patients with unipolar lesions had higher outcome scores than patients with bipolar lesions. We believe arthroscopic glenohumeral débridement in young patients with shoulder arthritis can be an effective tool in managing symptoms and delaying the need for invasive resurfacing or prosthetic replacement