Despite the existence of a voluminous body of literature covering the impact of infrastructure public-private partnerships (PPPs) on public value within the context of Western countries, scant attention has been paid to this topic in the Middle East. Given that the region has hosted numerous PPP projects that were implemented even without the rudimentary legal and regulatory frameworks considered essential for such projects to succeed, a study of PPPs within that region would thus be particularly useful, since an unpacking of the success factors for PPPs in the Middle East can reveal important practical insights that will advance the knowledge of PPP success factors overall. This paper, therefore, explores the rehabilitation and expansion of Jordan’s Queen Alia International Airport via the PPP route. It finds that the factors contributing to the project’s successful implementation can be categorized into those on the macro level related to political support, and the micro level factors concerned with management of daily activities involved in the partnership between the public and private sectors.

This work evaluates the physical and physical-chemical parameters of the strawberry variety “Festival”, obtained in the soil and climate conditions of Humpata, Huila Province, Angola, following the transformation into sweet of adequate quality. The analyses made were: the mass determined on an analytical balance and the transversal and longitudinal diameters with a pachymeter. Other analyses were: total titratable acidity by volumetry, pH by potentiometry, total soluble solids by refractometry, moisture and ash by gravimetry. The study showed that the pH of the pulp was 3.41; and in the candy it was 3.31. The titratable acidity in the strawberry pulp had a value of 0.186 g/100 mL and in the jam 0.096 g/100 mL; the ascorbic acid content in the pulp was 18.60 mg∕100 g. The average soluble solids content in the pulp was 9.51 °Brix and for the jam 68.83 °Brix. These chemical characteristics of the pulp and jam provide information about their nutritional values.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematologic cancer characterized by clonal proliferation of plasma cells within the bone marrow. It is the most serious form of plasma cell dyscrasias, whose complications—hypercalcemia, renal failure, anemia, and lytic bone lesions—are severe and justify the therapeutic management. Imaging of bone lesions is a cardinal element in the diagnosis, staging, study of response to therapy, and prognostic evaluation of patients with MM. Historically, the skeletal radiographic workup (SRW), covering the entire axial skeleton, has been used to detect bone lesions. Over time, new imaging techniques that are more powerful than SRW have been evaluated. Low-dose and whole-body computed tomography (CT) supplants SRW for the detection of bone involvement, but is of limited value in assessing therapeutic response. Bone marrow MRI, initially studying the axial pelvic-spinal skeleton and more recently the whole body, is an attractive alternative. Beyond its non-irradiating character, its sensitivity for the detection of marrow damage, its capacity to evaluate the therapeutic response and its prognostic value has been demonstrated. This well-established technique has been incorporated into disease staging systems by many health systems and scientific authorities. Along with positron emission tomography (PET)-18 fluorodeoxyglucose CT, it constitutes the current imaging of choice for MM. This article illustrates the progress of the MRI technique over the past three decades and situates its role in the management of patients with MM.

Infrared thermal imaging technology is another new branch for medical imaging after traditional medical imaging technologies such as X-ray, ultrasound and magnetic resonance (MRI). It has the advantages of noninvasive, nondestructive, simple and fast. Its application can radiate multiple clinical departments. This paper mainly expounds the principle, influencing factors of medical infrared thermography and its application in radiation protection and other medical fields.

The optimized methodology and results of the new characterization in terms of dose and image quality of the X-ray system used in the main pediatric hemodynamics service in Chile are presented. In addition, scattered dose rate values at the operator’s eye level are reported for all acquisition modes available in different thicknesses of absorbent media and angiography. The characterization was performed according to the European DIMOND and SENTINEL protocols adapted to pediatric procedures. The air kerma at the entrance surface (ESAK) was measured and the image quality parameters signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and a figure of merit (FOM) were calculated. The scattered dose rate was measured in personal dose equivalent units. The ESAK for fluoroscopic modes ranged from 0.2 to 35.6 μGy/image when passing from 4 to 20 cm of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). For the cine mode, these values ranged from 2.8 to 160.1 μGy/image. The values of the image quality parameters showed a correct system configuration, although abnormal values were observed in the medium fluoroscopic mode. As for the scattered dose rate at the level of the cardiologist’s eyes, the highest value is PMMA with a thickness of 20 cm, where the cine mode reached 9.41 mSv·h-1. The differences found from previous evaluations can be explained by the deterioration of the system and the change of one of the X-ray tubes.

The suspicion of mediastinal alterations, always includes in its initial study, the chest radiography. The identification of mediastinal alterations in the X-ray is a priority. The knowledge of the mediastinal references and the identification of their alterations allows the suspicion of a pathology specific to each of the mediastinal spaces. When the semiology of mediastinal lesions, their location and the three most frequent pathologies are taken into account, the possibility of having an etiological diagnosis increases^[1]. This is a review article based on a detailed literature search, in which radiological mediastinal references are studied, with emphasis on the epidemiological data of each one of them.