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Road dust should be considered as a secondary source of contamination in the environment, especially when re-suspended. In our study road dust samples were collected from 8 high-capacity urban roads in two districts of Kraków (Krowodrza and Nowa Huta). Total concentration of toxic elements, such as Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Zn, Co, Pb, Ni, Ba and Se were determined using ICP –MS ELAN 6100 Perkin Elmer. A fractionation study were performed using VI step sequential extraction, according to the modified method provided by Salomons and Fӧrstner. Appropriate quality control was ensured by using reagent blanks and analysing certified reference material BCR 723 and SRM 1848a. Concentration of metals in the road dust varied as follows [mg/kg]: Cd 1.02-1.78, Cr 34.4-90.3, Cu 65-224, Mn 232-760, Zn 261-365, Co 4.32-6.46, Pb 85.6-132, Ni 32.2-43.9, Ba 98.9-104 and Se 78.3-132. Degree of contamination of road dust from Nowa Huta was very high (Cdeg 54) and considerable for road dust from Krowodrza (Cdeg 25). Results revealed that road dust samples were heavily contaminated with Cd, Cu, Zn, Mn, Co, Pb, Ni, Ba and Se, in amounts exceeding multiple times geochemical background values. The chemical speciation study using VI step sequential extraction, followed by assessing risk assessment code (RAC) revealed that elements in road dust are mostly bound with mobile and easy bioavailable fractions such as carbonates and exchangeable cations, with the exception for Cr and Cu being mostly associated and fixed with residual and organic matter fraction.

Modern research on lawmaking in electronic format confirms the thesis that legal texts made available by means of various types of legal information systems form a hypertext structure. Furthermore, research on hypertexts confirms that the use of this technology undermines the structuralist theories of text that underlie traditional methods of legislation and interpretation of law. In this article, an attempt is made to show how a hypertext can be used to provide legal information and how it can affect traditional legal practices connected with drafting and interpreting legal texts. In particular, the considerations will focus on the analysis of the use of hypertext for the processing of legal documents (including digital representation of legal texts) and the possibilities that arise in this area in connection with the development of the so-called adaptive hypertexts. On this ground the question is analyzed whether and, if so, to what extent and in what way an adaptive hypertext can be used for the presentation and analysis of legal texts.

Abstract Background A good nutritional status is key for maintaining health and quality of life in older adults. In the Netherlands, 11 to 35% of the community-dwelling elderly are undernourished. Undernutrition or the risk of it should be signalled as soon as possible to be able to intervene at an early stage. However, in the context of an ageing population health care resources are scarce, evoking interest in health enabling technologies such as telemonitoring. This article describes the design of an intervention study focussing at telemonitoring and improving nutritional status of community-dwelling elderly. Methods The PhysioDom Home Dietary Intake Monitoring intervention was evaluated using a parallel arm pre-test post-test design including 215 Dutch community-dwelling elderly aged > 65 years. The six-month intervention included nutritional telemonitoring, television messages, and dietary advice by a nurse or a dietician. The control group received usual care. Measurements were performed at baseline, after 4.5 months, and at the end of the study, and included the primary outcome nutritional status and secondary outcomes behavioural determinants, diet quality, appetite, body weight, physical activity, physical functioning, and quality of life. Furthermore, a process evaluation was conducted to provide insight into intervention delivery, feasibility, and acceptability. Discussion This study will improve insight into feasibility and effectiveness of telemonitoring of nutritional parameters in community-dwelling elderly. This will provide relevant insights for health care professionals, researchers, and policy makers. Trial registration The study was retrospectively registered at Clinical-Trials.gov (identifier NCT03240094) since August 3, 2017.

It is expected that environmental conditions impact the distribution of galls on host plants. Moreover, insects may induce their galls randomly or choose certain parts of a host to induce such growths. This study aimed to determine whether or not the gall midge, Hartigiola annulipes (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), which induces galls on leaves of the European beech (Fagus sylvatica), prefers leaves facing a particular cardinal direction. In addition, we wanted to ascertain whether the galls are evenly spread across three leaf zones: proximal, median and distal, distinguished by dividing leaf area along the midrib. The results show that H. annulipes chose leaves facing various directions in different studied locations, and leaf choice is not restricted to the specific leaf area, a parameter that accurately reflects the light conditions of leaf growth. Moreover, the medial leaf zone was preferred, while the distal zone was avoided. The choice of the leaf zone modified the distance between the mid-rib and a gall. Gall distribution in the crown of trees is probably random, while at the leaf level, it is determined by leaf morphology.

Carbazolic copolymers have been developed to be used in reversible holographic recording. This paper describes a complete analysis, from synthesis of the material to its applications, together with the corresponding characterizations. The investigated materials were photosensitive copolymers obtained from carbazolylalkylmethacrylates (CEM) and octylmethacrylate (OMA). A detailed investigation was undertaken involving infrared spectroscopy and NMR techniques, 1H, 13C, COSY, and HSQC, in order to establish the chemical structure and the composition of the copolymers. Holographic recording characteristics were investigated with one- and two-layer photothermoplastic carriers. The two-layer carrier contains separate photosensitive and thermoplastic layers and gives the best holographic response. The surface of microstructured samples has been characterized by atomic force microscopy analysis. It is shown that via a photothermoplastic recording process, it is possible to record and read holograms practically in real time (~3 s) with a diffraction efficiency of 10% and a spatial resolution higher than 1000 mm−1.

The optimal pulmonary revascularization strategy in acute massive pulmonary embolism (PE) requiring the implantation extra corporeal membrane oxygenation remains controversial, and data are sparse. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of available evidence regarding the use of mechanical reperfusion (i.e. surgical or catheter-based embolectomy) and fibrinolytic strategies (i.e. systemic fibrinolysis, catheter-directed fibrinolysis, or as stand-alone therapy) in terms of mortality and bleeding outcomes. The literature search identified 835 studies, 17 of which were included or a total of 321 PE patients with ECMO. In total, 31.1% were treated with mechanical pulmonary reperfusion, while 78.9% received fibrinolytic strategies. The mortality rate was 23.0% in the mechanical reperfusion group and 43.1% in the fibrinolysis group (Fig. 1). The pooled OR for mortality with mechanical reperfusion was 0.46 (95% CI: 0.213–0.997; I2 = 28.3%) versus fibrinolysis. The rate of bleeding in PE patients under ECMO was 29.1% in the mechanical reperfusion group and 26.0% in the fibrinolytic reperfusion (OR: 1.09; 95% CI: 0.46–2.54; I2, 0.0%) among 10 eligible studies with available bleeding data. The meta-regression model did not identify any relationship between the covariates "more than one pulmonary reperfusion therapy" and "ECMO implantation before pulmonary reperfusion therapy", and outcomes. The results of the present meta-analysis and meta-regression suggest that surgical embolectomy yields the best results, regardless of the timing of VA-ECMO implantation in the reperfusion timeline, and regardless of whether fibrinolysis has been administered or not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the effect of glucose perfusion on the myocardial metabolism of [123I]-16-iodo-9-hexadecenoic acid (IHA), the latter was injected intravenously into six fasting dogs perfused with a solution lacking glucose (controls) and seven fasting dogs perfused with glucose and insulin. The distribution of myocardial 123I among iodides, free IHA, and esterified IHA was measured in myocardial biopsy specimens. The increase in esterification and decrease in oxidation of IHA due to glucose were quantified using a compartmental mathematical model of myocardial IHA metabolism. Subsequently, in six control and six glucose-perfused dogs, cardiac radioactivity was measured with a scintillation camera for 1 hr following i.v. injection of IHA. Four different methods were used to analyze the myocardial time-activity curves and to calculate the distribution of IHA between oxidation and esterification. Results comparable to those provided by analysis of biopsy specimens can be obtained by considering the curve to be the sum of an exponential and a constant, or by analyzing it with a compartmental mathematical model.

Between 1975 and 1988, 965 cases of bronchogenic carcinoma were submitted to surgery. A cervical mediastinoscopy (CM) was performed in 548 cases (57%). A nodal involvement was found in 35% of these 548 cases, thus 4 patients out of 5 did not undergo thoracotomy. One patient out of 5 underwent a thoracotomy in case of right ipsilateral and intranodal metastasis. Among 803 thoracotomies,-sixty were purely exploratories (7.5%), mainly because of a non resectable tumor. The rate of exploratory thoracotomy (ET) is decreasing (1975-1977 = 15%, less than 5% in recent years) as the rate of CM is increasing (1975-1979: 10-20%, 60-70% in recent years). The study of 60 cases of ET shows that 16 upon 39 performed CM revealed some nodal or mediastinal involvement. Nevertheless, among these 16 patients, the need of thoracotomy was under the pressure of necessity. Twenty-three patients had a negative CM: half of them had a left upper lobe carcinoma. Thus CM was inefficient to establish nodal mediastinal involvement in these cases.