Pulmonary stenosis and reactive right ventricular hypertrophy in the recipient fetus as a consequence of twin-to-twin transfusion

The present study describes an association between adverse outcome in the twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) and pulmonary stenosis or reactive right ventricular hypertrophy. Six discordant monozygotic twin pregnancies with TTTS are described. Ventricular hypertrophy and atrioventricular valvular regurgitation occurred in all the recipient twins with pulmonary valvular stenosis in three cases and infundibular stenosis in one case. The recipient twin in one pair and both twins in another pregnancy died as a consequence of immaturity but the remaining twins all survived. Surgical intervention was required in one baby for valvular pulmonary stenosis. Our observations suggest that elevated blood pressure in the transfusion recipient may play an important role in pathogenesis. We hypothesise that both pulmonary stenosis and right chamber hypertrophy are secondary to hemodynamic changes. Although we have found valvular pulmonary stenosis in three recipients and infundibular stenosis in only one, this (obstruction to outflow) could be due to right chamber hypertrophy. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The development of probabilistic models to estimate accident risk (due to runway overrun and landing undershoot) applicable to the design and construction of runway safety areas

The risks of landing overrun (LDOR – LanDing OverRun), Take-off Overrun (TOOR – Take-Off OverRun) and landing undershoot (LDUS – LanDing UnderShoot) are dependent on multiple factors related to operating conditions. These include wind, runway surface conditions, landing or take-off distances required, the presence of obstacles, runway distance available, the existence and dimensions of runway safety areas.In this paper we propose risk models for runway overrun and landing undershoot, using a probabilistic approach. These models are supported by historical data on accidents in the area around the runway and will enable us to determine if the risk level is acceptable or whether action must be taken to mitigate such risks at a given airport. Furthermore, these models permit comparison of the results of different risk mitigation actions in terms of operational risk and safety.The principal advantage of this method is the high quality results obtained for a limited investment in terms of time, computing power and data. As such the method is extremely practical and easy to apply in aerodrome planning, development and operation.     

Modulation of attention and urgent decisions by affect-laden roadside advertisement in risky driving scenarios

In road safety literature the effects of emotional content and salience of advertising billboards have been scarcely investigated. The main aim of this work was to uncover how affect-laden roadside advertisements can affect attention – eye-movements – and subsequent risky decisions – braking – on the Honda Riding Trainer motorcycle simulator. Results indicated that the number of fixations and total fixation time elicited by the negative and positive emotional advertisements were larger than the neutral ones. At the same time, negative pictures got later gaze disengagement than positive and neutral ones. This attentional capture results in less eye fixation times on the road relevant region, where the important driving events happen. Finally, the negative emotional valence advertisements sped up braking on subsequent risky situations. Overall results demonstrated how advertisements with emotional content modulate attention allocation and driving decisions in risky situations and might be helpful for designing roadside advertisements regulations and risk prevention programs.     

Performance evaluation of two commercial chemiluminescence NOx analysers according to European Standard EN 14211

According to Directive 2008/50/EC, all equipment used for NO(x) fixed measurements must comply with the reference method or equivalent by 11 June 2013. Up to that date, non-type-approved equipment can continue to be used in air monitoring networks and will probably also be used in air pollution studies even after that date. In this context, it is advisable to know how these "old" measuring instruments respond to the requirements of European Standard EN 14211: 2005: Ambient Air Quality--Standard method for the measurement of the concentration of nitrogen dioxide and nitrogen monoxide by chemiluminescence. In this work, we carry out a thorough performance evaluation of two commercial NO(x) analysers, both purchased before 2010, according to the mentioned Standard. Results show that water vapour interference is one of the most important disconformities with this Standard. The expanded uncertainty estimation of both analysers was below the quality objective of the above-mentioned Directive (15%); however, this calculation was performed by applying some modifications to the proposed model of Standard EN 14211. These modifications are also discussed in the paper.