A Comparative Study Of Certification Systems Based On Ethical Codes Of Medical Information On The Internet

Access to medical information has increased all over the world with the increase in Internet usage. Therefore, it is imperative to ensure the quality of medical information on the Internet. In this study, nine organizations having ethical codes relating to medical information on the Internet were subjects. Of these, ethical codes were compared on the basis of form and content. The certification systems were compared on the basis of number of certified websites, number of certified countries, cost to certify, process of certification and term of certification. As this result, here were only a few differences in form although each ethical code emphasized different content. It is unclear which certification system was the best, as all had advantages and disadvantages. The promotion of a certification system needs support from governments or other organizations. In conclusion, we propose three steps to ensure quality and control medical information online: (1) update the ethical code at least annually, (2) work with other organizations to enforce ethical codes and certification systems, and (3) raise awareness of these approaches

Development of Water Management Modeling by using GIS in Chirchik River Basin, Uzbekistan

AbstractThe management of water resources has become a critical need for Chirchik river basin in Uzbekistan due to water deficit and salt damage. Hence, plans must be developed for water efficient use through better management at the river basin level. In this paper, fundamental concept of the proposed water management modeling of the Chirchik river basin and overview of hydrological model using Geomorphology Based Hydrological Model (GBHM). Furthermore, various spatial data such as land-use layers and hydrological layers are developed in this study by conducting latest GIS (Geographical Information System) technology. By extracting ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and ALOS (Advanced Land Observing Satellite) data on autumn and spring, a series of land-use classification is created using the supervised classification method. For regional-scale hydrological modeling, GBHM as a powerful tool is used to analyze the river basin by utilizing the geomorphological properties data for each catchment and hillslope hydrological processes. As a result, development of spatial modeling is obtained and GIS-based analysis is an effective method to study water management in Chirchik river basin in Uzbekistan

Assessment of Head Wear More Than Ten Years after Total Hip Arthroplasty: 22-mm Zirconia VS. Metal Heads.

The present retrospective study assessed radiographs to determine socket wear in total hip arthroplasty (THA) with 22-mm zirconia or COP (Cobalt-Chrome alloy rich in Cobalt and Phosphorous) heads, and in cemented stems at more than 10 years after operation. Sockets of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene were used in each of two THA groups (13 hips each) in a clinical trial in our hospital between 1989 and 1990. Three observers carried out masked assessments of the radiographs. Upon fi nal examination, there was no remarkable loosening in the zirconia or COP group, and no case had required revision surgery as of 2005. There was a statistically signifi cant diff erence between the 2 groups in average annual linear wear, at 0.093 mm/year and 0.046 mm/year in the zirconia and COP groups, respectively. Volume wear and average annual volume wear were also signifi cantly greater in the zirconia group despite its superior mechanical strength and toughness in vitro. Our present fi ndings do not confi rm early expectations of lower wear in long-term results of 22-mm zirconia femoral heads used in THA

Functional PCS power supply system with EV battery storage for stable PV power delivery

This research proposes a residential Photovoltaic-Power Conditioning Subsystem (PV-PCS) in a functional and stable power supply system with battery storage (Electric Vehicle [EV] storage etc.) to reduce PV output fluctuation. In PV power generation, PV power fluctuations caused by weather changes make it difficult to obtain stable power output. Further, it can then be expected that this adversely affects the power system. In this paper, functional power supply system model is constructed with power fluctuation suppression control system using bidirectional DC/DC converter and existing residential PCS and EV battery storage. Furthermore, simulation results of the electric battery power suppression element of the PV power fluctuation are also shown by using Simple Moving Average (SMA) control method to suppress PV power fluctuation. PV power suppression system using existing residential PCS has an advantage that can not only suppress the energy change during normal operation but can also construct the isolated power supply in an emergency case of power supply loss. In this emergency case, EV battery storage control provides the power to critical loads during utility outage. This feature is not available without storage. Also, effectiveness of PV-PCS interconnection stable power supply system with existing residential PCS in Japan was proposed. Moreover, a basic research of solar power generation amount of solar radiation estimation and the resulting simulation on information acquisition method of solar energy capacity using Geographic Information System (GIS) are presented

Identification of an antiviral component from the venom of the scorpion Liocheles australasiae using transcriptomic and mass spectrometric analyses

Scorpion venom contains a variety of biologically active peptides. Among them, neurotoxins are major components in the venom, but it also contains peptides that show antimicrobial activity. Previously, we identified three insecticidal peptides from the venom of the Liocheles australasiae scorpion, but activities and structures of other venom components remained unknown. In this study, we performed a transcriptome analysis of the venom gland of the scorpion L. australasiae to gain a comprehensive understanding of its venom components. The result shows that potassium channel toxin-like peptides were the most diverse, whereas only a limited number of sodium channel toxin-like peptides were observed. In addition to these neurotoxin-like peptides, many non-disulfide-bridged peptides were identified, suggesting that these components have some critical roles in the L. australasiae venom. In this study, we also isolated a component with antiviral activity against hepatitis C virus using a bioassay-guided fractionation approach. By integrating mass spectrometric and transcriptomic data, we successfully identified LaPLA₂-1 as an anti-HCV component. LaPLA₂-1 is a phospholipase A₂ having a heterodimeric structure that is N-glycosylated at the N-terminal region. Since the antiviral activity of LaPLA₂-1 was inhibited by a PLA₂ inhibitor, the enzymatic activity of LaPLA₂-1 is likely to be involved in its antiviral activity

Experimental model for the irradiation-mediated abscopal effect and factors influencing this effect

Radiotherapy (RT) is the primary treatment for cancer. Ionizing radiation from RT induces tumor damage at the irradiated site, and, although clinically infrequent, may cause regression of tumors distant from the irradiated site-a phenomenon known as the abscopal effect. Recently, the abscopal effect has been related to prolongation of overall survival time in cancer patients, though the factors that influence the abscopal effect are not well understood. The aim of this study is to clarify the factors influencing on abscopal effect. Here, we established a mouse model in which we induced the abscopal effect. We injected MC38 (mouse colon adenocarcinoma) cells subcutaneously into C57BL/6 mice at two sites. Only one tumor was irradiated and the sizes of both tumors were measured over time. The non-irradiated-site tumor showed regression, demonstrating the abscopal effect. This effect was enhanced by an increase in the irradiated-tumor volume and by administration of anti-PD1 antibody. When the abscopal effect was induced by a combination of RT and anti-PD1 antibody, it was also influenced by radiation dose and irradiated-tumor volume. These phenomena were also verified in other cell line, B16F10 cells (mouse melanoma cells). These findings provide further evidence of the mechanism for, and factors that influence, the abscopal effect in RT

Radiation Hybrid Maps of Medaka Chromosomes LG 12, 17, and 22

The Medaka is an excellent genetic system for studies of vertebrate development and disease and environmental and evolutionary biology studies. To facilitate the mapping of markers or the cloning of affected genes in Medaka mutants identified by forward-genetic screens, we have established a panel of whole-genome radiation hybrids (RHs) and RH maps for three Medaka chromosomes. RH mapping is useful, since markers to be mapped need not be polymorphic and one can establish the order of markers that are difficult to resolve by genetic mapping owing to low genetic recombination rates. RHs were generated by fusing the irradiated donor, OLF-136 Medaka cell line, with the host B78 mouse melanoma cells. Of 290 initial RH clones, we selected 93 on the basis of high retention of fragments of the Medaka genome to establish a panel that allows genotyping in the 96-well format. RH maps for linkage groups 12, 17, and 22 were generated using 159 markers. The average retention for the three chromosomes was 19% and the average break point frequency was ∼33 kb/cR. We estimate the potential resolution of the RH panel to be ∼186 kb, which is high enough for integrating RH data with bacterial artificial chromosome clones. Thus, this first RH panel will be a useful tool for mapping mutated genes in Medaka