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A first lesson in physical chemistry invariably starts with an example of water existing in three states, or phases - gaseous (water vapour), liquid (water from the tap) and solid (ice cubes). Such phase transitions are easily observed, but their underlying cause is not so evident. Atoms and molecules are difficult to follow due to their minute size and rapid movements. So, in order to investigateThe effect of microscopic colloid interactions on the resultant macroscopic phase behaviour is a frequently studied topic in soft matter resarch, and lies at the heart of this thesis. Key structural and dynamic properties of colloidal model systems across liquid-solid transitions are tracked using optical imaging techniques. The first studied system comprises of thermosensitive microgels. These ar

Lipids are organic molecules vital for living organisms. They are part of cell membranes and provide an important energy reserve once they are digested by our body. They are most commonly known as fats and oils. Some important so-called polar lipids are amphiphilic molecules, which means they have a head group that is water ‘loving’ (hydrophilic) and a hydrocarbon tail is water ‘hating’ (hydrophobNonlamellar lipid liquid crystalline phases have many potential applications, such as for drug delivery, protein encapsulation or crystallization. Lipid liquid crystalline sponge phase (L3) has so far not been very much considered in these applications, in spite of apparent advantages in terms of its flexibility and capacity of forming large aqueous pores able to encapsulate large bioactive molecu

This article looks at the politics of shame in relation to the suppressed protests of December 2010 that challenged the re-election of Aliaksandr Lukashenka as president of Belarus (1994–present). My empirical data consist of independent media publications, blog posts, and interviews that speak of “shame” as an emotional response to the protest, its aftermath, and its general context. The article

The genetic architecture of common traits, including the number, frequency, and effect sizes of inherited variants that contribute to individual risk, has been long debated. Genome-wide association studies have identified scores of common variants associated with type 2 diabetes, but in aggregate, these explain only a fraction of the heritability of this disease. Here, to test the hypothesis that

Regression testing is a means to assure that a change in the software, or its execution environment, does not introduce new defects. It involves the expensive undertaking of rerunning test cases. Several techniques have been proposed to reduce the number of test cases to execute in regression testing, however, there is no research on how to assess industrial relevance and applicability of such tec

Poly(propylene imine) dendrimers have been shown to be promising 3-dimensional polymers for the use in the pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Our aims of this study were first, to synthesize a novel type of dendrimer with poly(propylene imine) core and maltose-histidine shell (G4HisMal) assessing if maltose-histidine shell can improve the biocompatibility and the ability to cross the bloo

Aim: Abnormalities of one pelvic floor compartment are usually associated with anomalies in the other compartments. Therapies which specifically address one clinical problem may potentially adversely affect other pelvic floor activities. A new comprehensive holistic scoring system defining global pelvic function is presented. Method: A novel scoring system with a software program is presented expr

The aim of this study was to determine impact of lymph vascular space involvement (LVSI) on recurrence and survival in early stage of endometrial cancer. From 1991 through 2010, all endometrial cancer patients at University Hospital of Bari, Italy were identified. The Log-rank test and Kaplan-Meyer methods were used for time-to-event analysis to evaluate the effects of on lymph vascular space invo

Objective: To objectively assess anorectal dysfunction following nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy in stage I-II cervical carcinoma patients. Material and Methods: Between 2008 and 2012, 21 patients with primary cervical cancer stage FIGO I-II were enrolled in this prospective study. All women underwent nerve-sparing radical hysterectomy. Anorectal manometry was performed preoperatively and 6 mon

The study and development of a decision support system for doctors and students is presented, aiming to ease the diagnosis of the cervix cancer through an automated smart system: using a web application, a medical expert can upload colposcopic images feeding an expert system that carries out a deep analysis by a processing system on images uploaded by doctors; results coming out of the processing

Objective: To identify differences in the management and outcome of patients with central nervous system metastases from epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: The clinical and pathologic characteristics, treatment, and outcome of 23 patients with brain metastases from epithelial ovarian cancer who were treated during 1982-1994 were compared with those of 20 patients treated during 1995-2010 at the s

Objectives: It was the aim of this study to evaluate clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors of uterine leiomyosarcomas (LMS). Methods: Twenty-eight patients with uterine LMS were evaluated in this retrospective study. Their features and survival were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier and log-rank tests. Results: The median age of the patients was 52 years (range 25-74). Nine patients ha

Objectives: To analyze the clinicopathological characteristics and prognostic factors associated with survival in patients with central nervous system (CNS) metastases from epithelial ovarian cancer. Methods: Twenty patients with CNS involvement from ovarian carcinoma were evaluated in this retrospective study; their features and survivals were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and log-rank test methods

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate our experience with patients affected by ovarian carcinosarcoma. Patients and Methods: During a 16-year period, data on 13 patients with ovarian carcinosarcoma were collected. They were obtained from hospital charts and follow-up visits. Survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. All tests were t

This self-study documents two teacher educators’ professionalinquiry into the notions of critical friendship. Specifically, we asked:How does our interactive inquiry on the topic of critical friendshiplead us to new understandings of critical friends? Three theoreticalperspectives framed this study – More Knowledgeable Others,Thought Collective, and reflection. Data sources included (a) artifactsfThis self-study documents two teacher educators’ professional inquiry into the notions of critical friendship. Specifically, we asked: How does our interactive inquiry on the topic of critical friendship lead us to new understandings of critical friends? Three theoretical perspectives framed this study – More Knowledgeable Others, Thought Collective, and reflection. Data sources included (a) artif