This study investigates the adoption patterns of Energy Efficiency Measures (EEMs) in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland, focusing on the influence of various factors such as EEM ...characteristics, company characteristics, and the role of energy auditors. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining a logistic regression analysis of proposed and adopted EEMs' data with the findings of a questionnaire answered by auditors active in the field. The logistic regression analysis revealed that investment cost remains a significant barrier to EEM adoption, particularly for medium consumers (MCs), and that other company-specific characteristics, such as the sector, can influence adoption patterns. These findings highlight critical factors for promoting EE in SMEs. The role of auditors is also discussed, with the suggestion that they might lack the training and the required soft skills to present EEMs as strategic investments and to influence SMEs’ decision-making.
Polar carboxylic acid fractions of lipids extracted from samples from a 4000-year-old Nubian mummy were investigated by capillary gas chromatography mass spectrometry. They contain series of ...alpha,omega-dicarboxy, monohydroxy, dihydroxy and keto fatty acids, some of which were found for the first time outside the synthetic laboratory. Their chromatographic and mass spectrometric characteristic properties are reported.
The vessel presented here comes from a test excavation in which Late Bronze Age industries have been found. Detailed examination of this vessel was warranted by its exceptional shape and decoration, ...related to its presumed date. The technique used for the white decoration probably included burnt bone, ground to a fine powder. A paste could then have been obtained by mixing organic substances, used as plastifying and binding agents, to this powder. Finally, excised cavities were filled with this mixture. There is no sign of any further heat treatment aimed at fritting the particles.
ABSTRACT The vessel presented here comes from a test excavation in which Late Bronze Age industries have been found. Detailed examination of this vessel was warranted by its exceptional shape and ...decoration, related to its presumed date. The technique used for the white decoration probably included burnt bone, ground to a fine powder. A paste could then have been obtained by mixing organic substances, used as plastifying and binding agents, to this powder. Finally, excised cavities were filled with this mixture. There is no sign of any further heat treatment aimed at fritting the particles.
Vital Joël, Susini Alberto, Baud Charles-A. Analyse typologique et analyse biophysique de la matière décorative d'un récipient Bronze récent de La Baume des Anges à Donzère (Drôme). In: Bulletin de la Société préhistorique française, tome 87, n°9, 1990. pp. 283-288.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND PALEOPATHOLOGICAL STUDY OF AN ADULT, BURIED THEN BURNT, FROM PINCEVENT (YONNE) Summary. — The micro-excavation of a Late Bronze Age cinerary urn from Pincevent provided fragments ...of burnt bones of a slender young adult. Physico-chemical analysis gives evidence for a high temperature cremation. Microradiographs show characteristic erosions by bacteria, that may be explained by first process of inhumation occuring before the cremation. The skull shows, after reconstruction, a large lacuna affecting the posterior part of both parietal bones ; the diagnosis would be a healed trephination, or rather foramina parietalia permagna.
Résumé. — La micro-fouille en laboratoire d'une urne cinéraire du Bronze final trouvée à Pincevent a mis au jour des fragments d'os brûlés d'un adulte jeune, relativement gracile. L'analyse physico-chimique montre qu'il y a eu incinération à haute température. Les microradiographies révèlent une attaque bactérienne des os qui s'explique par une inhumation du sujet avant la crémation. La reconstitution du crâne a mis en évidence une grande lacune intéressant la partie postérieure des deux pariétaux. L'origine de cette lacune pourrait être une trépanation à laquelle le sujet aurait survécu, ou plutôt des foramina parietalia per magna.
Grévin Gilles,Baud Charles-A.,Susini Alberto. Etude anthropologique et paléopathologique d'un adulte inhumé puis incinéré provenant du site de Pincevent (Seine-et-Marne). In: Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'anthropologie de Paris, Nouvelle Série. Tome 2 fascicule 3-4, 1990. pp. 77-87.
In addition to dysregulated JAK/STAT signaling, activation of the AKT/mTOR pathway occurs in myelofibrosis, a myeloproliferative neoplasm with no approved therapies. We conducted a phase 1/2 study ...with everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, in 39 high- or intermediate-risk primary or postpolycythemia vera/postessential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis subjects. Responses were evaluated in 30 patients of phase 2. No dose-limiting toxicity was observed in phase 1 up to 10 mg/d. When this dose was used in phase 2, grade ≥ 3 toxicities were infrequent; the commonest toxicity was grade 1-2 stomatitis. Rapid and sustained splenomegaly reduction of > 50% and > 30% occurred in 20% and 44% of subjects, respectively. A total of 69% and 80% experienced complete resolution of systemic symptoms and pruritus. Response in leukocytosis, anemia, and thrombocytosis occurred in 15%-25%. Clinical responses were not associated with reduced JAK2V617F burden, circulating CD34+ cells, or cytokine levels, whereas CCDN1 mRNA and phospho-p70S6K level, known targets of mTOR, and WT1 mRNA were identified as possible biomarkers associated with response. Response rate was 60% when European Network for Myelofibrosis criteria were used (8 major, 7 moderate, 3 minor responses) or 23% when IWG-MRT criteria (1 partial response, 6 clinical improvements) were used. These results provide proof-of-concept that targeting mTOR pathway in myelofibrosis may be clinically relevant.
Association of myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) with lymphoproliferative neoplasm (LPN) has been occasionally reported. The aim of this study, which included 353 patients with polycythemia vera and ...467 with essential thrombocythemia, was to assess whether the risk of developing LPN is increased in MPN patients. Expected numbers of LPN incident cases were calculated based on 5-year age group, gender, and calendar time-specific cancer incidence rates in the general population of the same area. Standardized incidence ratios were computed to estimate the relative risk of developing LPN. Analyses were carried out for the whole series and then separately for essential thrombocythemia and polycythemia vera, gender, and JAK2V617F genotype. With 4,421 person-years, we found 11 patients developing LPN, including four chronic lymphocytic leukemias, five non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, and two plasma cell disorders, after a median interval time of 68 months from MPN diagnosis. Cumulative risk to develop LPN at 5 and 10 years was 0.93% (95% confidence interval, 0.39-2.22) and 2.96% (95% confidence interval, 1.52-5.72), respectively. There was a 3.44-fold increased risk of LPN compared with the general population, ranging from 2.86 for plasma cell disorder to 12.42 for chronic lymphocytic leukemia; the risk was significantly increased in JAK2V617F mutated patients (5.46-fold) and in males (4.52-fold). The JAK2V617F mutation was found in lymphoid tumor cells in two of three cases evaluated, indicating that, in some patients, LPN originated in a JAK2V617F mutated common lymphoid-myeloid hematopoietic progenitor cell. We conclude that the risk of developing LPN is significantly increased in MPN patients compared with the general population.
Transthyretin (TTR) is a homotetrameric protein mainly synthesised by the liver and the choroid plexus whose function is to carry the thyroid hormone thyroxine and the retinol-binding protein bound ...to retinol in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid. When the stability of the tetrameric structure is lost, it breaks down, paving the way for the aggregation of TTR monomers into insoluble fibrils leading to transthyretin (ATTR) amyloidosis, a progressive disorder mainly affecting the heart and nervous system. Several TTR gene mutations have been characterised as destabilisers of TTR structure and are associated with hereditary forms of ATTR amyloidosis. The reason why also the wild-type TTR is intrinsically amyloidogenic in some subjects is largely unknown. The aim of the review is to give an overview of the TTR biological life cycle which is largely unknown. For this purpose, the current knowledge on TTR physiological metabolism, from its synthesis to its catabolism, is described. Furthermore, a large section of the review is dedicated to examining in depth the role of mutations and physiological ligands on the stability of TTR tetramers.
Background Mobile health (mHealth) apps have proven useful for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Thus, easy-to-use digital solutions are now strongly required to assess and monitor cognitive ...impairment, one of the most disturbing symptoms in MS that is experienced by almost 43% to 70% of people with MS. Therefore, we developed DIGICOG-MS (Digital assessment of Cognitive Impairment in Multiple Sclerosis), a smartphone- and tablet-based mHealth app to self-assess cognitive impairment in MS. Objective This study aimed to test the validity and usability of the novel mHealth app with a sample of people with MS. Methods DIGICOG-MS includes 4 digital tests assumed to evaluate the most affected cognitive domains in MS (visuospatial memory VSM, verbal memory VM, semantic fluency SF, and information processing speed IPS) and inspired by traditional paper-based tests that assess the same cognitive functions (10/36 Spatial Recall Test, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Word List Generation, Symbol Digit Modalities Test). Participants were asked to complete both digital and traditional assessments in 2 separate sessions. Convergent validity was analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the strength of the associations between digital and traditional tests. To test the app’s reliability, the agreement between 2 repeated measurements was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Usability of DIGICOG-MS was evaluated using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and mHealth App Usability Questionnaire (MAUQ) administered at the conclusion of the digital session. Results The final sample consisted of 92 people with MS (60 women) followed as outpatients at the Italian Multiple Sclerosis Society (AISM) Rehabilitation Service of Genoa (Italy). They had a mean age of 51.38 (SD 11.36) years, education duration of 13.07 (SD 2.74) years, disease duration of 12.91 (SD 9.51) years, and a disability level (Expanded Disability Status Scale) of 3.58 (SD 1.75). Relapsing-remitting MS was most common (68/92, 74%), followed by secondary progressive (15/92, 16%) and primary progressive (9/92, 10%) courses. Pearson correlation analyses indicated significantly strong correlations for VSM, VM, SF, and IPS (all P<.001), with r values ranging from 0.58 to 0.78 for all cognitive domains. Test-retest reliability of the mHealth app was excellent (ICCs>0.90) for VM and IPS and good for VSM and SF (ICCs>0.80). Moreover, the SUS score averaged 84.5 (SD 13.34), and the mean total MAUQ score was 104.02 (SD 17.69), suggesting that DIGICOG-MS was highly usable and well appreciated. Conclusions The DIGICOG-MS tests were strongly correlated with traditional paper-based evaluations. Furthermore, people with MS positively evaluated DIGICOG-MS, finding it highly usable. Since cognitive impairment poses major limitations for people with MS, these findings open new paths to deploy digital cognitive tests for MS and further support the use of a novel mHealth app for cognitive self-assessment by people with MS in clinical practice.
PDF
