1,387 research outputs found
Interview With P.C. Hodgell
No full textP.C. Hodgell, author of God Stalk and Dark of the Moon, was one of the many authors who attended Mythcon XIX in Berkeley last summer. She was good enough to meet with the Mythic Circle writers\u27 roundtable and share some of her experiences with us. The following is transcribed from a low-quality tape; when it was possible to recognize a speaker’s voice I have identified them - others are noted as ct. Hope you enjoy it
Impact of Early Life Nutrition on Children’s Immune System and Noncommunicable Diseases Through Its Effects on the Bacterial Microbiome, Virome and Mycobiome
No full textThe first 1000 days of life, including the intrauterine period, are regarded as a fundamental stepping stone for the development of a human. Unequivocally, nutrition during this period plays a key role on the proper development of a child, both directly through the intake of essential nutrients and indirectly by affecting the composition of the gut microbiota. The gut microbiota, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, protists and other microorganisms, is a highly modifiable and adaptive system that is influenced by diet, lifestyle, medicinal products and the environment. Reversely, it affects the immune system in multiple complex ways. Many noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) associated with dysbiosis are “programmed” during childhood. Nutrition is a potent determinant of the children’s microbiota composition and maturation and, therefore, a strong determinant of the NCDs’ programming. In this review we explore the interplay between nutrition during the first 1000 days of life, the gut microbiota, virome and mycobiome composition and the development of NCDs. © Copyright © 2021 Fragkou, Karaviti, Zemlin and Skevaki
Nonequilibrium and classical dissipation scalings in DNS of homogeneous isotropic decaying turbulence
No full textWe present data from direct numerical simulations of homogeneous isotropic decaying turbulence showing both the non-equilibrium and the classical dissipation scalings reported in wind-tunnel experiments of both regular and fractal grid-generated turbulence, i.e. Cε ∼ (Re0/Reλ)n with n of order unity and Cε ∼ constant, respectively (Re0 and Reλ are global and local Reynolds numbers). These two dissipation behaviours lead to different power-law decay exponents in both regimes also in accord with the experiments. Finally, we show that in both regimes the maximum non-linear energy cascade flux, Π, reasonably satisfies the classical expectation that Π ∼ K3/2/l
Reinforcing glass with glass: Application of transport reinforcement in structural glass beams
No full textDue to the increasing demand of transparency in buildings, it is no longer unusual to apply transparent elements into the bearing structure. Glass is a strong but very brittle material, which means safety is rather problematic should it break. Safety is an issue that has to be improved before glass can be considered suitable for structural elements. Earlier studies have shown that reinforcing glass beams will provide reasonable residual load-bearing capacity, which could provide this safety. Glass fibre is suitable as reinforcement material when the transparency is regarded as important. In February 2009 at the Faculty of Architecture at Delft University of Technology, P.C. Louter designed and tested a laminated glass beam with embedded glass fibre rods. The bonding interlayer consisted of SentryGlas foil, developed by DuPont and often applied for lamination in hurricane-resistant windows. The results were promising and the concept showed high potential for further research. The study of this thesis project is focussed on improving the concept of embedding reinforcement in laminated glass beams.Design and ConstructionCivil Engineering and Geoscience
Foreign Direct Investment. The key determinants of foreign direct investment in Poland. Case company: ArgusPack P.C.
No full textThe aim of this thesis was to provide a better understanding of the determinants of foreign direct invest-ment (referred to hereafter as “FDI”). The company ArgusPack P.C. is a flexible packaging manufacturer located in Greece which decided to engage using FDI in Poland. Thus, the factors that favors FDI into the selected region had to be determined.
This thesis was a qualitative research, an empirical non-numerical data research. For primary data a series of interviews was conducted by the author and for secondary data peer-reviewed articles and literatures that fully-describe the determinants of FDI were utilized. There are numerous theories that define the FDI, such as Vernon’s product life cycle (Vernon, 1966), Buckley and Casson’s internalization theory (P. Buckley, 1976) and Dunning’s eclectic paradigm (Dunning J. , 2001). In this project, the Dunning’s eclectic paradigm theory was selected and applied, aiming to provide a better understanding of the factors that motivates a company or an organization to become involved using FDI. Through a research study the primary data were collected and through excessive academic research the secondary data were collected as well. In conclu-sion, an analysis of the primary data in combination with the secondary data was done mainly focusing on the participants’ point of view and the way it aligns with the theoretical aspect given by this thesis. In the end a conclusion and recommendation were formed based on all data mentioned and the personal belief of the author.
Finally, since the key determinants have been identified and examined. Foreign direct investment seems to be an adequate business strategy for ArgusPack P.C. in Polan
The Quest for Citations: Drivers of Article Impact
No full textWhy do some articles become building blocks for future scholars, while many others remain unnoticed? We aim to answer this question by contrasting, synthesizing and simultaneously testing three scientometric perspectives – universalism, social constructivism and presentation – on the influence of article and author characteristics on article citations. To do so, we study all articles published in a sample of five major journals in marketing from 1990 to 2002 that are central to the discipline. We count the number of citations each of these articles has received and regress this count on an extensive set of characteristics of the article (i.e. article quality, article domain, title length, the use of attention grabbers and expositional clarity), and the author (i.e. author visibility and author personal promotion). We find that the number of citations an article in the marketing discipline receives, depends upon “what one says†(quality and domain), on “who says it†(author visibility and personal promotion) and not so much on “how one says it†(title length, the use of attention grabbers, and expositional clarity). Our insights contribute to the marketing literature and are relevant to scientific stakeholders, such as the management of scientific journals and individual academic scholars, as they strive to maximize citations. They are also relevant to marketing practitioners. They inform practitioners on characteristics of the academic journals in marketing and their relevance to decisions they face. On the other hand, they also raise challenges towards making our journals accessible and relevant to marketing practitioners: (1) authors visible to academics are not necessarily visible to practitioners; (2) the readability of an article may hurt academic credibility and impact, while it may be instrumental in influencing practitioners; (3) it remains questionable whether articles that academics assess to be of high quality are also managerially relevant.Impact;Citation Analysis;Referencing;Scientometrics;Cite
Current and Future Point-of-Care Tests for Emerging and New Respiratory Viruses and Future Perspectives
No full textThe availability of pathogen-specific treatment options for respiratory tract infections (RTIs) increased the need for rapid diagnostic tests. Besides, retrospective studies, improved lab-based detection methods and the intensified search for new viruses since the beginning of the twenty-first century led to the discovery of several novel respiratory viruses. Among them are human bocavirus (HBoV), human coronaviruses (HCoV-HKU1, -NL63), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), rhinovirus type C (RV-C), and human polyomaviruses (KIPyV, WUPyV). Additionally, new viruses like SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV), MERS coronavirus (MERS-CoV), novel strains of influenza virus A and B, and (most recently) SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have emerged. Although clinical presentation may be similar among different viruses, associated symptoms may range from a mild cold to a severe respiratory illness, and thus require a fast and reliable diagnosis. The increasing number of commercially available rapid point-of-care tests (POCTs) for respiratory viruses illustrates both the need for this kind of tests but also the problem, i.e., that the majority of such assays has significant limitations. In this review, we summarize recently published characteristics of POCTs and discuss their implications for the treatment of RTIs. The second key aspect of this work is a description of new and innovative diagnostic techniques, ranging from biosensors to novel portable and current lab-based nucleic acid amplification methods with the potential future use in point-of-care settings. While prototypes for some methods already exist, other ideas are still experimental, but all of them give an outlook of what can be expected as the next generation of POCTs. © Copyright © 2020 Nelson, Rath, Fragkou, Antalis, Tsiodras and Skevaki
Vitamin D supplementation for the treatment of COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
No full textVitamin D supplementation and its impact on immunoregulation are widely investigated. We aimed to assess the prevention and treatment efficiency of vitamin D supplementation in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and any disease-related complications. For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, medRxiv, Cochrane COVID-19 Study Register, and ClinicalTrial.gov) for studies published between 1 November 2019 and 17 September 2021. We considered randomized trials (RCTs) as potentially eligible when patients were tested for SARS-CoV-2 infection and received vitamin D supplementation versus a placebo or standard-of-care control. A random-effects model was implemented to obtain pooled odds ratios for the effect of vitamin D supplementation on the main outcome of mortality as well as clinical outcomes. We identified a total of 5,733 articles, of which eight RCTs (657 patients) met the eligibility criteria. Although no statistically significant effects were reached, the use of vitamin D supplementation showed a trend for reduced mortality [odds ratio (OR) 0.74, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.32–1.71, p = 0.48] compared with the control group, with even stronger effects, when vitamin D was administered repeatedly (OR 0.33, 95% CI 0.1–1.14). The mean difference for the length of hospitalization was −0.28 (95% CI −0.60 to 0.04), and the ORs were 0.41 (95% CI 0.15–1.12) and 0.52 (95% CI 0.27–1.02) for ICU admission and mechanical ventilation, respectively. In conclusion, vitamin D supplementation did not improve the clinical outcomes in COVID-19 patients, but trends of beneficial effects were observed. Further investigations are required, especially studies focusing on the daily administration of vitamin D. Copyright © 2022 Kümmel, Krumbein, Fragkou, Hünerbein, Reiter, Papathanasiou, Thölken, Weiss, Renz and Skevaki
Differential operators degenerating at the boundary as infinitesimal generators of semi-groups
No full textElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
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