Elsevier Biobase

The Asian countries (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh) in the ASCENT project have an unequally spread out and restricted RTD ability. An interactive and cooperative university - industry partnership can increase the quality of life and reduce the risk of disaster. Here the fields where universities consider the involvement of industry are recognized (e.g., fundamental and applied research, development, production life cycle and such). There is a recognized need for the private sector to engage the research community in the context of disaster resilience research to tackle disaster risk. The definition of “industry” in this research is deliberately vague to allow exploration of what useful collaborations “industries” can develop with universities for disaster management research (here collaborations mean different life cycle interactions). There is the need for an integrated multiple criteria decision analysis to mitigate the effects of disaster on the built environment at three levels: the micro (research and innovation performance, transfer and absorptive capacity, technology development), meso (institutional arrangements, communication network, local and indigenous rules) and macro (supply and demand, regulations, financing, taxes, culture, traditions, market, climate, political, demographic, technology) levels. Disaster management involves numerous aspects for consideration in addition to making economic, political and legal/regulatory decisions. These must include social, cultural, ethical, psychological, educational, environmental, provisional, technological, technical, organizational and managerial aspects. This research produced a model and a system for integrated analysis of the iterative life cycle of universityindustry partnerships. The model and the system make it possible to perform multi-variant design and multiple criteria assessment of alternative university-industry partnership life cycles, calculate their market and investment value.

Aim of this research was to investigate the functioning of chloride/bicarbonate exchanger in thymic lymphocytes in view of better understanding the mechanisms involved in chloride fluxes. Materials and methods: Experiments were performed using a suspension of freshly isolated thymocytes representing a homogeneous population of thymic lymphocytes. Thymic lymphocytes were isolated from Wistar male rats’ gl. thymus, 6 – 7 weeks of age. The cells were incubated with the MQAE chloride dye. Cl– concentration in the cytoplasm of lymphocytes was measured spectrophotometrically. A model of exchanger activation has been suggested based on the analysis of experimental data. Results and conclusion: It has been shown that: (a) involvement and activity of chloride transport mechanisms depend on where chloride concentration is made zero: in the medium or cytoplasm; (b) under certain experimental conditions, the activity of the exchanger proceeds in two steps: switching on and off; (c) in the absence of HCO3–, the relative rates of the exchanger transitions decline considerably, its efficacy remaining the same. Chloride/bicarbonate exchanger merits further research under conditions closer to physiological.

The WHO recommends hepatitis A virus (HAV) immunization according to level of transmission and disease burden. We aimed to identify susceptible age groups by standardized serosurveys to inform HAV vaccination policy in participating countries: Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, and Slovakia. Each country tested national serum banks (n=1854–6748), collected during 1996–2004, for anti-HAV antibodies. Local laboratory results were standardized to common units. Forty-one per cent of those aged <30 years and 6% of those aged o30 years were susceptible to HAV in Romania; compared to 70–94% and 26–71%, respectively, elsewhere. Romania reported high HAV incidence in children and young adults. Other countries reported HAV disease primarily in older risk groups. The results suggest low level of HAV transmission in most of Europe. Romania, however, appeared as an area with intermediate transmission. Vaccination of risk groups in countries with high susceptibility of young and middle-aged adults needs to be continued.

Conclusion: The understanding of the hypothesized NaVP mechanism may lead to the recognition of Cl– as an important mediator in tumor development and as a novel therapeutic target for cancer.

Aim and methods. Hypomagnesemia is a frequent adverse effect of chemotherapy in cancer patients. Its gender-dependent peculiarities are unknown. The aim of the current work was to define peculiarities of urinary magnesium (Mg) excretion in healthy adolescents; to elucidate gender-related differences in Mg urinary excretion; to determine a correlation between urinary Mg excretion and arterial blood pressure (BP) in healthy adolescents. Mg was examined in diurnal and nocturnal urine of adolescent boys (n = 27) and girls (n = 42) aged 13 - 17 years. Urinary Mg (both during day and night) was monitored 24-h concomitantly with BP (hourly) in 44 adolescents (22 girls and 22 boys). Additionally, of the same girls 15 were examined during different phases of their menstrual cycle (follicular, ovulation and luteal). Results. 24-h urinary Mg excretion was significantly higher in boys than in girls (2.66 +/- 0.9 mmol vs. 2.1 +/- 0.9 mmol; p < 0.05). Nocturnal systolic BP was significantl y higher (p < 0.05) in boys than in girls in all phases of their menstrual cycle. Diurnal systolic BP in boys was significantly higher than in girls during the follicular phase. It revealed a significant positive correlation between Mg excretion and BP in boys at night (p < 0.05). Girls exhibited a significant inverse correlation between Mg nocturnal excretion and BP (p < 0.05) during the luteal phase of their menstrual cycle, as well as a significant negative correlation between diurnal Mg excretion and BP (p < 0.05) during the ovulation phase. Urine Mg was negatively related to height in girls (p < 0.05). Conclusion. Mg urinary excretion is related to gender, height, circadian rhythm, and blood pressure. The further preclinical and clinical studies of gender-related risks of hypomagnesemia under chemotherapeutic treatment could contribute to improving the efficacy of anticancer treatment.