The art of uroscopy (Greek ouron-urine and skopeo-examination), the visual inspection of urine, is as old as the history of mankind. It had seen its ups and downs, was praised and derided, but was ...ultimately perfected to become a complex visual and tasting examination tool. As centuries passed, it was replaced by urinalysis which was first based on iatrochemical principles and then followed by transmutation into modern biochemical analyses. Recent rapid development of sophisticated ‘omics’ technologies opened new avenues for the exploration of this important body fluid. This brief overview will take a journey through this fascinating history and will give a glimpse of what is to come in the future.
This state-of-the-art review provides an overview of the evolution of self-centering structures from early historical structures that inherently exhibited a recentering response to modern systems ...engineered for enhanced seismic resilience. From the early research investigations that were conducted since the 1960s, to the sharp increase of interest in this topic over the last two decades, self-centering seismic-resistant structures that can mitigate both damage and residual drifts following major earthquakes have seen significant advances. These systems achieve the intended self-centering response by either allowing for the rocking of primary structural elements in a controlled manner, commonly coupled with mechanical restraints and energy dissipation devices, or by including self-centering devices as main structural or supplemental structural members. To better explain the concepts and the underlying mechanics governing their seismic response, detailed schematic illustrations were developed in this article, highlighting the fundamentals behind each of these systems. This article covers a historical overview, presents the state of the research and of the art, discusses general design challenges and practical considerations, and concludes with future research needs to advance the development and broader application of self-centering systems in real structures.
Over the past decades, significant progress has been made in the field of hydrogels as functional biomaterials. Biomedical application of hydrogels was initially hindered by the toxicity of ...crosslinking agents and limitations of hydrogel formation under physiological conditions. Emerging knowledge in polymer chemistry and increased understanding of biological processes resulted in the design of versatile materials and minimally invasive therapies. Hydrogel matrices comprise a wide range of natural and synthetic polymers held together by a variety of physical or chemical crosslinks. With their capacity to embed pharmaceutical agents in their hydrophilic crosslinked network, hydrogels form promising materials for controlled drug release and tissue engineering. Despite all their beneficial properties, there are still several challenges to overcome for clinical translation. In this review, we provide a historical overview of the developments in hydrogel research from simple networks to smart materials.
The importance of aerodynamics in cycling is not a recent discovery. Already in the late 1800s it was recognized as a main source of resistance in cycling. This knowledge was only rediscovered in the ...late 1970s and 1980s, when aerodynamic concepts were applied to bicycle equipment and cyclist positions, leading to new world hour records and Olympic medals. The renewed interest for cycling aerodynamics is significantly growing with the production of a vast literature, focused on increasing the comprehension of cycling aerodynamics and on improving the aerodynamics of bicycle equipment. Finding the connection between the different subfields of cycling aerodynamics and linking new research with past discoveries is crucial to efficiently drive future studies. Therefore, the present paper provides a comprehensive review of the history and the state-of-the-art in cycling aerodynamics, focusing on one of its main aspects: the bicycle. First, a short history of the bicycle is presented. Next, some cycling power models are outlined and assessment methods for aerodynamic drag are discussed, along with their main advantages and disadvantages. The core of this review paper addresses the components constituting the bicycle: frame and tubes, wheels, handlebar and other equipment. Finally, some future perspectives on bicycle aerodynamics are provided.
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•Aerodynamic development of bicycle and its main components throughout history.•Linked to historical evolution of the world hour record.•Specific focus on frame, wheels and handlebar.•Providing future perspectives for research and development.
In the past 50 years, Computational Wind Engineering (CWE) has undergone a successful transition from an emerging field into an increasingly established field in wind engineering research, practice ...and education. This paper provides a perspective on the past, present and future of CWE. It addresses three key illustrations of the success of CWE: (1) the establishment of CWE as an individual research and application area in wind engineering with its own successful conference series under the umbrella of the International Association of Wind Engineering (IAWE); (2) the increasing range of topics covered in CWE; and (3) the history of overview and review papers in CWE. The paper also outlines some of the earliest achievements in CWE and the resulting development of best practice guidelines. It provides some views on the complementary relationship between reduced-scale wind-tunnel testing and CFD. It re-iterates some important quotes made by CWE and/or CFD researchers in the past, many of which are still equally valid today and which are provided without additional comments, to let the quotes speak for themselves. Next, as application examples to the foregoing sections, the paper provides a more detailed view on CFD simulation of pedestrian-level wind conditions around buildings, CFD simulation of natural ventilation of buildings and CFD simulation of wind-driven rain on building facades. Finally, a non-exhaustive perspective on the future of CWE is provided.
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•Review of 50 years of Computational Wind Engineering.•Early achievements, best practice guidelines, symposia, topics and review papers.•List of quotes giving a flavour of discussions, concerns and trends in CWE.•Application for pedestrian-level wind conditions, natural ventilation and wind-driven rain.•Comments on RANS versus LES and on verification and validation.
The last decades have seen an increasing interest in cycling aerodynamics, with the design of more aerodynamic bicycles and wearable equipment such as helmets and skinsuits and the development and ...application of new cyclist positions. Moreover, a better understanding of the flow topology around a cyclist and of the aerodynamic interaction between cyclists and other cyclists and nearby vehicles has been gained. However, some knowledge – albeit mainly empirical – of the impact of aerodynamics on cycling performance was already known in late 1800s and early 1900s; as shown by the design of recumbent bicycles and aerodynamic fairings, the adoption of dropped cyclist positions and the organization of drafting races. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the evolution of aerodynamic knowledge in cycling from the early days to the most recent state-of-the-art to efficiently drive future studies. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the history and state-of-the-art in cyclist aerodynamics, focused on three aspects: (i) cycling flow topology and the wind influence; (ii) the aerodynamics of a single cyclist and his/her wearable components; and (iii) the aerodynamic interaction between a cyclist and other cyclists or nearby vehicles. Finally, some future perspectives about cyclist aerodynamics are provided.
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•Comprehensive review of cyclist aerodynamics throughout history.•Linked to historical evolution of the world hour record.•Focus on aerodynamics of single cyclist and his/her wearable components.•Focus on aerodynamic interaction between cyclists and other cyclists and vehicles.•Providing future perspectives for research and development.
Since the 1970s, hundreds of randomized trials have examined the effects of psychotherapies for depression, and this number is increasing every year. In this study, we report outcomes from a living ...systematic review of these studies. We use Poisson regression analyses to examine if the proportions of studies have changed over time across the characteristics of the participants, therapies, and studies. We also present a meta-analysis of the effects across the major types, formats, targets, and age groups. We included 562 randomized controlled trials (669 comparisons; 66,361 patients). Most trials are conducted in adults and the relative proportion of trials in children and adolescents, as well as in older patients is significantly decreasing. The effects in children and adolescents are also significantly smaller than in adults ( p = .007). Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is by far the best examined type of therapy (52%), but not necessarily more effective than other therapies. Over time, the proportion of studies examining several other types of therapy is significantly decreased compared to CBT. The quality of trials has increased over time, but still, a majority do not meet basic quality criteria, not even in recent years. The effects found in studies with low risk of bias are significantly smaller than in other studies ( b = −0.21; SE = 0.05; p < .001). Most trials are conducted in the United States, but the proportion of studies in other parts of the world is rapidly increasing. The evidence that psychotherapies are effective is strong and growing every year. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
Starting from two-three decades ago pulsed the electric field (PEF) treatment became very popular in a food industry. Many important effects and mechanisms related with impact of PEF on bio-, food or ...agricultural products have been discovered and elucidated for this period. Concept of electroporation has been fundamentally developed. The positive effects of PEE-assisted processing for inactivation of microorganisms, extraction, pressing, osmotic dehydration, drying, and freezing have been observed. Recent development and success of PEF applications has been also supported by the growing number of commercially available PEF generators with different characteristics, power and particular protocols. In the current paper, research works and applications of electricity and specifically pulsed electric fields in food processing over the period until the middle of the 1990s are summarized. A historical overview is presented in two steps devoted to: (a) the early studies on impact of electricity on growth, vegetation and germination and treatment of food by electricity before the 1940s and (b) the development of concept of selective electroplasmolysis and the first attempts to use the electricity and specifically the PEF treatment in food industry in the period between the 1940s ;and 1990s.
During the long history of testing of electricity and specifically the PEF treatment in industrial relevant processing the serious problems and obstacles were revealed. Many pilot scale constructions were proposed and tested during the period between the 1940s and until the middle of the 1990s by different investigators from West Germany and USSR (Ukraine and Moldova). However, finally that technology was not industrialised due to the technical difficulties, the absence of necessary financial support and the lack of knowledge about basic mechanisms responsible for the impact of PEF. This historical experience can be very instructive for the development of modern applications of PEF technology in food industry.
•Early studies on impact of electricity on growth, vegetation and germination are presented.•The first applications of pulsed electric fields (PEF) in food processing are reviewed.•The period before 1990th is covered.
Over the last 20 years, there has been growing interest among scholars in conducting experiments in entrepreneurship education. In this paper, we first discuss how experiments as a research method ...have moved from the natural sciences into the social sciences and how the social sciences, including the educational sciences, have helped to address the challenges of using experiments in studying human behavior. Through the lens of the methodological advances made by the social sciences regarding conducting experiments, we systematically review the literature on entrepreneurship education research that has used experimental designs. By reviewing this literature, we provide an overview of what has and has not yet been studied using experimental designs and which type of experimental designs have been commonly used. Next, we critically evaluate current practices – both good and bad. Based on our critical assessment of the use of experimental designs in the field of entrepreneurship education research, we not only provide a future research agenda and call for experiments that (1) are more theory-driven; (2) answer more ambitious research questions, and (3) use more robust designs, but we also provide several paths forward for experimentalists with an interest in entrepreneurship education to do so.
The following paper discusses contemporary challenges of providing access to formally accredited higher education programs in the United States of America, and on a smaller scale also in Slovenia. It ...interprets the recent college admissions scandal within the historical framework of American educational policies, paired with its traditional social practices. In the initial sections, the paper provides a brief historical overview of the development of American (higher) education, the beginnings of which date as far back as the early 17th century. Back then, the very concept of formal and publicly accessible education was in its developmental stages. By focusing on a selection of historical aspects and educational trends within the American national context, the paper unveils the related expectations and attitudes toward acquiring formal education in the past. It lists a number of historically relevant changes, which have been implemented over the past century within the American educational system at state and federal levels. The latter have contributed to the development of contemporary approaches to education and have affected recent attitudes toward formal education in American society. The paper includes statistical data on enrolments and graduation rates in institutions of higher education in the United States and Slovenia, which offers an insight into the rising enrolment and graduation trends, and relates the figures to the importance of accessibility of education as an equalizer that should provide equality of opportunity for all, irrespective of social background or economic power. The accrued data and related research results support a favorable trend in accessibility of formal education in both countries, the US and Slovenia. This is an important finding, particularly in the context of the college tuition scandal, as it might at first sight create the impression that some of the highly valued and formally accredited institutions of higher education were subject to the influence of a powerful elite. The research results therefore support the trend of the educational system and the accrued knowledge assuming the role of the equalizer in leveling out certain aspects of social inequality.
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