2,361 research outputs found
On the generalized Hartley-Hilbert and Fourier-Hilbert transforms
In this paper, we discuss Hartley-Hilbert and Fourier-Hilbert transforms on a certain class of generalized functions. The extended transforms considered in this article are shown to be well-defined, one-to-one, linear and continuous mappings with respect to δ and Δ convergence. Certain theorems are also established
An Overview of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks for the Existing Protocols and Applications
Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) is a collection of two or more devices or nodes
or terminals with wireless communications and networking capability that
communicate with each other without the aid of any centralized administrator
also the wireless nodes that can dynamically form a network to exchange
information without using any existing fixed network infrastructure. And it's
an autonomous system in which mobile hosts connected by wireless links are free
to be dynamically and some time act as routers at the same time, and we discuss
in this paper the distinct characteristics of traditional wired networks,
including network configuration may change at any time, there is no direction
or limit the movement and so on, and thus needed a new optional path Agreement
(Routing Protocol) to identify nodes for these actions communicate with each
other path, An ideal choice way the agreement should not only be able to find
the right path, and the Ad Hoc Network must be able to adapt to changing
network of this type at any time. and we talk in details in this paper all the
information of Mobile Ad Hoc Network which include the History of ad hoc,
wireless ad hoc, wireless mobile approaches and types of mobile ad Hoc
networks, and then we present more than 13 types of the routing Ad Hoc Networks
protocols have been proposed. In this paper, the more representative of routing
protocols, analysis of individual characteristics and advantages and
disadvantages to collate and compare, and present the all applications or the
Possible Service of Ad Hoc Networks.Comment: 24 Pages, JGraph-Hoc Journa
Patient preferences for the pharmacological treatment of osteoarthritis using adaptive choice-based conjoint (ACBC) analysis: A pilot study
Background: Patient preferences for pharmaceutical treatment of osteoarthritis have been investigated using Conjoint Analysis. Studies have identified the importance of side effects in determining preferences, but noted that methodological limitations precluded further investigation of additional attributes such as hepatic and renal toxicity.
Objective: Following on from a feasibility study of adaptive choice-based conjoint (ACBC) analysis, the aim of this study was to evaluate 8 medication attributes for the pharmaceutical treatment of osteoarthritis (OA).
Setting and Participants: Eleven participants were recruited from members of a Research Users’ Group (RUG) who had been diagnosed with osteoarthritis. RUG members individually complete the ACBC task.
Main outcome measures: The relative importance of each attribute and the utilities (part-worth) of each level of each attribute were estimated using ACBC built-in Hierarchical Bayes (HB).
Results: The combined relative importance of the 4 risk side-effect attributes when selecting osteoarthritis medication (kidney and liver side effects, heart attack and stroke side effects, stomach side effects and addiction) was 66% while the effectiveness attribute accounted for 8% of the relative importance of the medication decision.
Conclusions: In this study, the gap between relative importance of 4 side-effect attributes and expected benefit was 66% vs 8%. These preliminary findings indicate that OA patients are most concerned with the avoidance of adverse events and that there is a threshold above which expected benefit has little impact on patients’ medication preferences. The study highlights methodological features of ACBC that may be useful more generally in health services research, but the results must be interpreted in conjunction with the study limitations
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Identification of distinct markers to differentiate natural and induced T regulatory cells in cancer.
Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a distinct subset of CD4+ T cells that play a vital role in maintaining immune homeostasis and peripheral tolerance, thereby preventing autoimmunity. Tregs are generally categorised into two main subsets; natural and induced Tregs. In cancer, Tregs are found extremely enriched in the tumour microenvironment and contribute to the inhibition of anti-tumour response and tumour progression. The origin of tumour-infiltrating Tregs (whether it is nTregs or iTregs) is still enigmatic, since there are no distinct biomarkers which can differentiate between the two subsets. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify cell surface biomarkers that can differentiate phenotypic features of iTregs from nTregs in the context of cancer. With this aim, an in vitro murine model was successfully developed to generate CD4+CD25++Foxp3+ iTregs from purely sorted naïve CD4+CD25-Foxp3- T cells in the presence of TGF-β1. The induction of iTregs was assessed using flow cytometry. Methylation status of Foxp3-TSDR and Foxp3 stability was assessed. Naïve CD4+CD25-Foxp3- T cells and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ nTregs were purely sorted using cell sorting. Five biologically different subsets of CD4+ cells including naïve CD4+CD25-Foxp3- T cells, activated CD4+CD25-Foxp3- T cells, naïve CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ nTregs, activated CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ nTregs and CD4+CD25++Foxp3+ iTregs were subjected to quantitative proteomic profiling using SWATH-MS. Subcellular fractionation methods were employed to isolate membrane and cytoplasmic proteins from each of the subsets. Quantitative proteomic data were analysed using artificial neural networks. The results revealed that 4 distinct membrane biomarkers (PLP2, ITIH4, HEM6 and MAVS) were differentially upregulated in iTregs compared to other subsets. EPHX1 (HYEP) was identified upregulated only in naïve nTregs and downregulated in iTregs and other subsets. The biomarkers were further tested. Pathway enrichment analysis of iTregs showed a distinct metabolic pathway enrichment in iTregs indicating a mechanistic insight into the iTreg development. Once validated in humans these proteins could be used as a biomarker for iTreg or as a drug target for the selective depletion for better immunotherapeutic outcome in cancer patients
The lived experience of adolescents with haematological malignancies in Jordan : an interpretive phenomenological analysis study
This thesis explored and documented the lived experiences of Jordanian adolescents with haematological malignancies (HMs). The study explored how these adolescents described their cancer journey throughout the different stages and how these experiences shaped the adolescents’ behavioural responses and coping strategies. A literature review revealed a paucity of bio-psychosocial care studies in this area conducted in Arab countries when compared to western countries. Furthermore, the available research was dominated by quantitative studies, with a dearth of research focused on adolescents with HM. Such a paucity of literature and limited understanding of adolescents’ experiences of living with HM has the potential to compromise the quality of care provided to this group of patients. This study contributes to the understanding of adolescents’ lived experiences and factors that facilitated or inhibited the experience through an in-depth descriptive account.A prospective longitudinal study using an interpretative phenomenological analysis methodology explored the lived experience of 14 Jordanian adolescents with haematological malignancies during the first six months following their diagnosis. In this study, in-depth interviews were the main method of data collection. A total of 27 face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were completed and each interview took on average 75 minutes. Each interview was transcribed verbatim and the data analysis occurred using the interpretive phenomenological analysis method first described by Smith in 1996. The data from transcribed interviews were managed using ©QSR NVivo8 software for qualitative data analysis.The results of the analysis of data were reported under three main themes depicting the participants’ experiences, which were the “silence of HM”, “life is changing”, and “ways of coping”. The analysis indicated that initially the participants received little information and had limited communication with their parents and health team members to assist them to understand what was happening to them. This resulted in the participants experiencing increased levels of distress and feelings of confusion as they were left alone to comprehend the cause of their physical problems. With the onset of cancer treatments, the bio-psychosocial side effects of the chemotherapy became one of the most distressing factors for participants affecting, as it did, all aspects of their lifeworld and generating uncertainty about their futures. Again, participants reported limited support from health team members during this critical stage. This led to difficulties in overcoming the unpleasant experiences associated with chemotherapy and cancer, for example, the alteration in their body image. Nevertheless, the participants were able to adapt and live with their illness with the use of various coping methods. For example, they used their Islamic belief to empower themselves, while playing down the severity of their illness. Some of them used hospital resources, such as the creativity room at the hospital to assist them to cope with the daily impact of their illness and maintain a sense of normality.The results of this study were consistent with previous research findings, highlighting a number of areas requiring further attention from Jordanian health planners and health team members responsible for caring for adolescents with haematological malignancies. For example, health team members need to place emphasis on the provision of psychosocial care for adolescents in order to prevent the development of co-morbidities during the illness journey. Health team members should also adopt a family centered approach to care to reduce the stress and concern of both the adolescents and their parents. In general, health team members, communities and schools need to work in collaboration in order to effectively provide adolescents with holistic care. The findings have added significantly to existing knowledge and understanding of the spiritual and psychosocial needs of adolescents during this time, particularly because this is the first qualitative research study conducted in Jordan in this area of health care.This thesis has limitations of which one was that due to hospital policy some of the participants’ parents attended the two data collection periods and their presence may have impacted of the experiences expressed. The thesis concludes with a discussion of practice changes and future research projects in this area. Additional longitudinal, qualitative and prospective research studies are needed to explore the lived experiences of adolescents with HM to further identify the bio-psychosocial developmental changes that they experience during their illness journey
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