Köln, Universiẗat, Diss., 2003.

Global climate change is on the political agenda primarily as a result of science and the warnings of the scientific community, and is commonly seen as a quintessentially scientific matter. However, the development of policy on this issue in the U.S. today does not turn on the scientific evidence. Rather, policy is determined by the political and economic forces involved, with reference to the science only to support positions reached on other grounds. The reasons relate primarily to the uncertainty in the evidence, the structure and politics of the government, the economic costs and impact of change and of policies to reduce greenhouse gases, the international structure in which the issue is being confronted, the role of the media, and the effects of partisan politics. In this situation, the scientific and engineering communities (including social scientists and especially economists) have a major responsibility to maintain their professional values and objectivity so dominated at the moment by other pressures. Only that way can they retain the public trust that will be necessary if and when costly policy measures must be undertaken. / Includes bibliographical references. / Abstract in HTML and technical report in HTML and PDF available on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change website (http://mit.edu/globalchange/www/)

Dissertation im HTML-Format: http://elib.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de/publications/diss/quellen/fach/index.htm

Η τεχνολογία τηλεπικοινωνιών αλλάζει ριζικά το σύστημα παράδοσης υγειονομικής περίθαλψης στην χώρα μας. Η Τηλενοσηλευτική, ως υποσύνολο της Τηλεϋγείας, παρουσιάζει τα μοναδικά νομικά, ρυθμιστικά, και επαγγελματικά ζητήματα για το επάγγελμα της νοσηλευτικής. Συγχρόνως, παρουσιάζει τις νέες προκλήσεις και τις γρήγορα επεκτάσιμες ευκαιρίες για τις νοσηλεύτες/τριες στην εφαρμογή της Τηλενοσηλευτικής. Η εστίαση αυτής της διπλωματικής είναι η εφαρμογή της Τηλενοσηλευτικής στην παροχή νοσηλείας για τους ασθενείς που βρίσκονται σε απομακρυσμένες περιοχές μακρυά από τον παροχέα. Δεν είναι μια διπλωματική που να απευθύνεται στην τεχνολογία - υλικό των υπολογιστών, το λογισμικό, τα συστήματα. Η διπλωματική αυτή είναι μια επιτομή των ερευνητικών συμπερασμάτων των ευρύτατα αναγνωρισμένων αρχών στον τομέα της Τηλευγείας. Γράφτηκε ως αναφορά για τους νοσηλευτές/τριες σπουδαστές, για τις ήδη εργαζόμενους νοσηλευτές/τριες που μπορεί να αποβλέπουν σε μια σταδιοδρομία στην εφαρμογή της Τηλεπρακτικής μέσα στον κλάδο του επαγγέλματός τους, και ωθεί τους εργαζόμενους νοσηλευτές/τριες στην συμμετοχή της Τηλενοσηλευτικής.. Παρέχει τις νομικές και πρακτικές οδηγίες για τους νοσηλευτές/ τριες στην παροχή της ασφαλέστερης και πιο αποτελεσματικής θεραπευτικής φροντίδας του ασθενή. Η Τηλενοσηλευτική είναι ένας αναδυόμενος και ραγδαία επεκταμένος ρόλος για το επάγγελμα του νοσηλευτή/τριας, και προσφέρει απεριόριστες ευκαιρίες για τα μέλη του επαγγέλματος. / Telecommunications technology is radically changing the health care delivery system in our country. Telenursing, as a subset of telehealth, presents unique legal, regulatory, and professional issues for the nursing profession. At the same time, it presents new challenges and rapidly expanding opportunities for nurses in Telenursing practices. The focus of this paper is the application of Telenursing in the provision of nursing care for patients at sites remote from the provider. It is not a paper about computer technology – hardware, software, systems. This paper is a compendium of the research findings of the most widely recognized authorities in the field of telehealth. It was written as a reference for student nurses, nurses in clinical practice who may be considering a career in telepractactice, and advanced practice nurses, who are most likely to be involved in Telenursing. It provides legal and practice guidelines for nurses in the delivery of the safest and most therapeutic patient care. Telenursing is an emerging and rapidly expanding role for the nursing profession, and offers unlimited opportunities for members of the profession.

Its known that the age-related decline in cognitive facilities is not due to the loss of neurons but more subtle changes in specific areas of the brain. Structural and morphological changes in cellular alignment in the minicolumns correlate with increased prevalence of neurological diseases and in aging. In the rhesus monkey, cognitive decline is similar to what humans experience in aging. In the monkey prefrontal cortex, Brodmann area 46, an important region for executive functioning, cognitive decline correlates with changes in cellular alignment or “columnar strength” as studies by Cruz et al., (2009). Using the density maps method in Area 46, the ventral bank was identified to be the most susceptible to structural changes. Minicolumns, are defined by the cellular alignment of neurons in the cortex and some believe that the dendritic bundles of neurons in the cortex is also considered an integral part of the columns. The functional role of apical dendrites, is not well understood, however, given the that repeated organized bundles transverse through the laminae could be further support for their inclusion in minicolumns with possible functional importance. If structural changes such as loss of columnar strength (neuronal displacement) that correlates with cognitive aging, it is possible that the dendritic organization may also be affected in this area. In this thesis, it is hypothesized that the dendritic bundles in this area could also be related to the cognitive deficits associated with normal aging. Using double- fluorescence labeling for dendrites (MAP-2) and neurons (Neu-N), 3D confocal reconstructions of the dorsal and ventral banks of Area 46 were used to investigate structural/morphological changes in the dendritic bundles in young and old rhesus monkeys. While cortical thickness and apical dendritic length between both banks did not change, we found a significant increase in inter-bundle spacing at layer 6A in the older monkeys in the ventral bank. Inter-bundle spacing for bundles in layer 5 was measured and showed that the young consistently have smaller inter-bundle spacing. Future studies with larger sample size will also investigate whether changes in dendritic bundles and their organization also correlate with age-related cognitive deficits.

Frédéric Chopin produced a remarkable body of piano works. Even though most of his works are essential repertoire in piano literature, some of them remain less familiar. One such significant work is the Allegro de Concert in A major, op. 46, which was apparently intended to be the first movement of a third piano concerto. Despite the praise the work has received, it is rarely heard, and references to performance are lacking in the scholarly literature. Some reasons include the substantial technical challenges, such as risky skips, trills in double notes, thick harmonic textures, complex passagework, and the perpetual motion. This study provides a performance guide for the Allegro de Concert, looking at various perspectives of an informed musical performance. The historical backstory of the intended third concerto and a detailed form analysis demonstrate that the work has a combined form, incorporating elements of both concerto and sonata-allegro form. The chapter on performance presents the technical issues and a comparative analysis of various editions and arrangements of this work to inspire musical ideas and suggest appropriate solutions to the musical and technical difficulties.

Darbo tikslas yra suprasti mažųjų (greitųjų) vartojimo kreditų institutą, jo vietą ir reikšmę Lietuvos skolinimosi rinkoje. Analizuojamas vartotojų poreikis skolintis bei atkreiptinas dėmesys į tai, kaip šio instituto draudimas paveiktų visuomenę ir kokias pasekmes draudimas turėtų įstatyminiu požiūriu. Uždaviniams pasiekti yra nadojami lyginamosios analizės, dokumentų analizės, analitins, aprašomasis metodai. Metodų pagalba buvo gautos žemiau pateikiamos išvados. Vadovaujantis LR Konstitucijos 46 str., valstybė reguliuoja ūkinę veiklą taip, kad ji tarnautų bendrai tautos gerovei. Pažymėtina, jog LR Konstitucinis Teismas yra pabrėžęs, jog materialinės vertybės bei jų poreikių tenkinimas paprastai atspindi tautos gerovę, tačiau apie bendrą tautos gerovę galima spręsti ir iš žmogaus individualių saviraiškos galimybių. Neatsižvelgiant į tai, nuo 2013-ųjų m. liepos 1 d. Lietuvos bankas sugriežtino vartojimo kreditų išdavimo tvarką (ketinama griežtinti labiau), tuo pačiu apsunkindamas mažųjų (greitųjų) vartojimo kreditų išdavimo procesą. Pažymėtina ir tai, jog Lietuva yra vientintelė valstybė Europos Sąjungoje, kurios skolinimosi koeficientas yra mažiausas, tačiau reglamentavimas – griežčiausias. Asmenys turi teisę į pilnavertį gyvenimą, apimant, bet neapsiribojant, asmenų teisę į buitinių reikmenų apsirūpinimą, teisę į būstą ir jo išlaikymą, prabangos prekes bei teisę į natūralų poreikį – nuolatinį gyvenimo sąlygų gerinimą. Šių vertybių ir teisių įgyvendinimui iš dalies padeda... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / This study examines how consumers would be influenced, if payday loans be prohibited. To reach the goal, normative evaluative, descriptive explanatory, comparative analysis methods were applied. Below it is presented the results of the study. Changing needs of the country’s economy accordingly lead to the change of people’s need to adapt to natural changes in society. As these needs grow, some people (usually, more socially vulnerable persons) often experience shortage of additional income. Additional income is often necessary to meet the minimum needs of the individual: food, treatment or extra events, such as car repairs, etc. Usually, this group of people has no alternatives of borrowing, because fail to meet the applicable requirements for income. In such case, these persons obtain additional income through consumer payday loans. However, the society seeks to form the view that this type of credits is harmful to society, since it is considered to be a “costly” borrowing product that gives rise to a “vicious circle of borrowing”, when the consumer is forced to pay the cost of credit extension (which further increases the cost of the credit) due to shortage of income to repay full amount of the credit. For this reason, the state started regulating procedures for granting consumer payday loans (fast credits). The main reason why Lithuanian legislators adopted such strict regulation of the market is the inability of consumers to manage their finances. However, such... [to full text]

Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) show great promise for productivity improvement and energy conservation in conventional bioprocesses for wastewater reclamation. In order to attain high productivity in a bioprocess, it is crucial to retain the microorganisms in the bioreactors by preventing wash out. This enables recycling of the microorganisms, and is consequently saving energy. The main feature of MBRs is their permeable membranes, acting as a limitative interface between the medium and the microorganisms. Permeation of nutrients and metabolites through the membranes is thus dependent on the membrane characteristics, i.e. porosity, hydrophilicity,and polarity. The present thesis introduces membranes for MBRs to be used in a continuous feeding process, designed in the form of robust, durable, and semi-hydrophilic films that constitute an effective barrier for the microorganisms, while permitting passage of nutrients and metabolites. Polyamide 46 (polytetramethylene adipamide), a robust synthetic polymer, holds the desired capabilities, with the exception of porosity and hydrophilicity. In order to achieve adequate porosity and hydrophilicity, bulk functionalization of polyamide 46 with different reagents was performed. These procedures changed the configuration from dense planar to spherical, resulting in increased porosity. Hydroxyethylation of the changed membranes increased the surface tension from 11.2 to 44.6 mJ/m2. The enhanced hydrophilicity of PA 46 resulted in high productivity of biogas formation in a compact MBR, due to diminished biofouling. Copolymerization of hydrophilized polyamide 46 with hydroxymethyl 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene revealed electroconductivity and hydrophilic properties, adequate for use in MBRs. To find either the maximal pH stability or the surface charge of the membranes having undergone carboxymethylation, polarity and the isoelectric point (pI) of the treated membranes were studied by means of a Zeta analyzer. The hydroxylated PA 46 was finally employed in a multilayer membrane bioreactor and compared with hydrophobic polyamide and PVDF membranes. The resulting biogas production showed that the hydroxylated PA 46 membrane was, after 18 days without regeneration, fully comparable with PVDF membranes.

The soil-dwelling gram-positive coccobacillus Rhodococcus equi is a well-known veterinary pathogen and emerging human pathogen. Although Rhodococcus infection is primarily associated with pyogranulomatous pneumonia in foals, these bacteria can also infect other animal species including humans. R. equi pathogenicity is mediated by the conjugative virulence plasmid (pVAP) which promotes intracellular proliferation in host macrophages. Currently R. equi is endemic in horse breeding farms worldwide. No R. equi vaccine is available and both treatment and prophylaxis rely on the administration of a prolonged course with a combination of macrolide antibiotics (typically erythromycin) and rifampicin. These antimicrobials were introduced in the therapy against R. equi in the 1980s and multiresistance has now emerged among foal isolates, increasing the risk of zoonotic transmission. In this thesis, the role of conjugal extrachromosomal replicons in the host adaptation of R. equi was explored. A previous epidemiological study indicated that different variants of the pVAP virulence plasmid are associated with different animal hosts. This PhD project provides experimental confirmation of a R. equi plasmid-driven host tropism. In vivo and in vitro competition assays were performed using a set of isogenic strains only different in the virulence plasmid type, in adapted (horse) and non-adapted (mouse) model species. The data obtained in the horse model provides clear evidence of a significant negative selection of the non-equine virulence plasmids both at a cell and at the animal level, while no selection was observed in the non-adapted mouse model. Furthermore, this project characterized the determinant responsible for macrolide resistance in R. equi, a novel erm methylase gene, erm(46). The erm(46) determinant was shown to be transferable between strains by conjugation and herein the underlying mechanism and how erm(46) becomes stabilized in R. equi is described. PacBio SMRT-sequencing based analysis revealed that the erm(46) gene is carried in a self-replicating conjugative plasmid of about 80 kb, that we designated pRErm46. The conjugation machinery of pRErm46 was hypothesized to be responsible for bringing the erm(46) determinant into R. equi. However, some erythromycin resistant isolates lack pRErm46 but erm(46) transfer is still observed. This reflects the observation that erm(46) is present in a mobile element that, upon acquisition with the pRErm46 replicon, transposes at a high frequency and to multiple locations of the host genome. If the erm(46) mobile element transposes to the chromosome, no further transfer of the resistance is observed at a detectable frequency in the absence of pRErm46. On the other hand, if the erm(46) element transposes to the R. equi virulence plasmid, the erm(46) determinant co-opts the pVAPA conjugal transfer machinery and gets transferred at the same high frequency as the virulence plasmid (10-2). This constitutes a unique example of efficient co-transfer, in the same genetic vehicle, of virulence and antimicrobial determinants, two key niche-adaptive traits required for within-host survival of bacterial pathogen.

by J.K. Galt. / "September 17, 1947." / Bibliography: p. 5.