Development and validation of a risk score for chronic kidney disease in HIV infection using prospective cohort data from the D:A:D study.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health issue for HIV-positive individuals, associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Development and implementation of a risk score model for CKD would allow comparison of the risks and benefits of adding potentially nephrotoxic antiretrovirals to a treatment regimen and would identify those at greatest risk of CKD. The aims of this study were to develop a simple, externally validated, and widely applicable long-term risk score model for CKD in HIV-positive individuals that can guide decision making in clinical practice

STUDY SKILLS AS A WAY TO INDEPENDENT LANGUAGE LEARNING

The purpose of the research is to find out whether the students possess the necessary study skills and whether their study skills are developed with each following academic year. With this regard, 70 students of the National Mining University (Dnipropetrovsk) have been surveyed. They are first-, second-, fourth- and fifth-year (Master) students of various specialities: Mining, Geological Prospecting, Marketing, Management, Power Engineering, Computer Systems, System Analysis, Finance and Economics. The language proficiency level of the students ranges from A2 to B2

Power relations, ethnicity and privatisation: A tale of a telecommunications company

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the confluence of political and economic interests of the Fijian elite in transforming state assets into private property and financial gain. Drawing on a Habermasian theoretical framework applied to a privatised state monopoly (Telecom Fiji), it is demonstrated how an implementation of privatisation concealed social and political interests. Thus privatisation provided a convenient rhetoric and tool of implementation for social and political gain by a ruling elite. For those inside the Telecom company, the ethos of public service could not withstand the messengers of capitalism with their rhetoric of the need for greater efficiency, effectiveness and consumer awareness. However, as for many other privatisation programmes around the world, the results are not reflected in the improved organisational performance or wellbeing of the ordinary citizen when state monopolies are privatised

Association of the CCR5 gene with juvenile idiopathic arthritis

The CC chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) has been shown to be important in the recruitment of T-helper cells to the synovium, where they accumulate, drive the inflammatory process and the consequent synovitis and joint destruction. A 32 base-pair insertion/deletion variant (CCR5Δ32) within the gene leads to a frame shift and a nonfunctional receptor. CCR5Δ32 has been investigated for its association with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), with conflicting results. The aim of this study was to investigate whether CCR5Δ32 is associated with JIA in an UK population. CCR5Δ32 was genotyped in JIA cases (n=1054) and healthy controls (n=3129) and genotype and allele frequencies were compared. A meta-analysis of our study combined with previously published studies was performed. CCR5Δ32 was significantly associated with protection from developing JIA, in this UK data set (P(trend)=0.006, odds ratio (OR) 0.79 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 0.66-0.94). The meta-analysis of all published case-control association studies confirmed the protective association with JIA (P=0.001 OR 0.82 95% CI: 0.73-0.93). CCR5Δ32 is a functional variant determining the number of receptors on the surface of T cells, and it is hypothesized that the level of CCR5 expression could influence the migration of proinflammatory T cells into the synovium and thus susceptibility to JIA

Study to regenerate the degraded neighborhood of San Carlo on the northern outskirt of Padua, Italy

The San Carlo neighborhood with the church of San Carlo at its center is a degraded area in the northern outskirts of Padua, a city located near Venice in the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy. Once marked by a distinctive identity, this part of the outskirts of Padua has gradually lost its social and functional character. The idea of restoring this decaying district has long been the subject of discussion by the local authorities. The neighborhood of San Carlo is one of the subjects recently investigated by students studying the \u2018Architectural and Urban Composition 2' course on the Master\u2019s Degree in Architectural Engineering at the University of Padua. Their ideas include a green piazza park, a community center and hall, a library, study rooms for students, additional parking, open space for the weekly market

The design of caring environments and the quality of life of older people

There has been little systematic research into the design of care environments for older people. This article reviews empirical studies from both the architectural and the psychological literature. It outlines the instruments that are currently available for measuring both the environment and the quality of life of older people, and it summarises the evidence on the layout of buildings, the sensory environment and the privacy of residents. The conclusion is drawn that all evidence-based design must be a compromise or dynamic and, as demands on the caring environment change over time, this compromise must be re-visited in the form of post-occupancy evaluation

Productivity in the Forest Products Sector: A Review of the Literature

The present literature review is an attempt to gather and summarize the extent of our knowledge of the productivity trends and levels in the forest products sector. We consider single factor as well as total factor productivity definitions. The studies ?from around the world but mainly focusing on the Canadian and American forest product industries ?have been regrouped in sections: (1) general, (2) logging, (3) saw milling, lumber and wood products, and (4) pulp and paper studies.The report also synthesizes the findings of the studies along two lines: (1) the overall productivity growth trends in Canada and other countries and a comparison between forest products sectors in Canada and the United States; and (2) the determinants of productivity growth.Forestry, Forest Products, Logging, Wood Products, Primary Manufacturing, Primary Industries, Pulp and Paper, Paper Products, Forestry Industry, Canada, United States, Productivity, Productivity Growth