Fabrication of Three-Dimensional Concave or Convex Shell Structures with Shell Elements at Micrometer Resolution in SU-8

This chapter presents a photo-lithographically-based technology for mass production of three-dimensional (3D) micro-structures with shell elements. In this technology, shell elements are photo-lithographically fabricated at micron or sub-micron resolution by illuminating with ultraviolet light radiating an ultraviolet light beam onto UV-opaque SU-8 monomer. The technology does not require any steps involving micro-injection molding or micro-stereolithography. Several prototypes have been fabricated to demonstrate the feasibility of this technology

Assessing medical student empathy in a family medicine clinical test: validity of the CARE measure

Introduction: The Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure developed and validated in primary care settings and used for general practitioner appraisal is a 10-item instrument used by patients to assess doctors’ empathy. The aim of this study is to investigate the validity of the CARE measure in assessing medical students’ empathy during a formative family medicine clinical test. Method: All 158 final-year medical students were assessed by trained simulated patients (SPs) – who completed the CARE measure, the Jefferson Scale of Patient Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE), and a global rating score to assess students’ empathy and history-taking ability. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis identified a unidimensional structure. The CARE measure strongly correlated with both convergent measures: global rating (ρ=0.79 and <0.001) and JSPPPE (ρ=0.77 and <0.001) and weakly correlated with the divergent measure: history-taking score (ρ=0.28 and <0.001). Internal consistency was excellent (Cronbach’s α=0.94). Conclusion: The CARE measure had strong construct and internal reliability in a formative, undergraduate family medicine examination. Its role in higher stakes examinations and other educational settings should be explored.published_or_final_versio

MiR-199a-5p confers tumor-suppressive role in triple-negative breast cancer

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Ecosystem service of air pollution abatement by urban forest

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Stein Points

An important task in computational statistics and machine learning is to approximate a posterior distribution $p(x)$ with an empirical measure supported on a set of representative points $\{x_i\}_{i=1}^n$. This paper focuses on methods where the selection of points is essentially deterministic, with an emphasis on achieving accurate approximation when $n$ is small. To this end, we present `Stein Points'. The idea is to exploit either a greedy or a conditional gradient method to iteratively minimise a kernel Stein discrepancy between the empirical measure and $p(x)$. Our empirical results demonstrate that Stein Points enable accurate approximation of the posterior at modest computational cost. In addition, theoretical results are provided to establish convergence of the method

Elemental and mineralogical composition of metal-bearing neutralisation sludges, and zinc speciation – A review

Zinc (Zn) in sludges from neutralisation of acidic emissions is a potential environmental pollutant and an element of interest for recovery. Findings regarding the elemental and mineralogical composition of such wastes were aggregated from the literature and examined together for a better understanding of management options, with a focus on Zn. Zn concentrations ranged from 0.006-22% in 46 acid mine drainage sludges, 0.009%-43% in 72 metal-finishing sludges, 0.024%-11.5% in 32 pyrometallurgical sludges, and 1.71-55.7% in 14 Zn production sludges. The main mineralogical characterization technique was X-ray diffraction, which found the dominant minerals to be calcite, gypsum, quartz, and iron oxides, but could not identify considerable proportions of amorphous phases. More than 60 mineral phases were observed. Crystalline Zn compounds identified included oxides, hydroxides, sulfates, sulfides, and metallic Zn; spinel, olivine and carbonate dominated in pyrometallurgical sludges. Zn may also be present in crystalline phases of low concentration, solid solution, and/or amorphous phases, which could be identified and characterised in more detail using other techniques. Overall, it is concluded that Zn occurs in high concentrations and includes phases that have high potential environmental mobility. Zn recovery seems feasible and would also enable harmless disposal of the residual

Interaction between genetic factors, Porphyromonas gingivalis and microglia to promote Alzheimer’s disease

In late onset Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis, genes, infections and immunity could be significant factors. We have reviewed if the keystone periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis may affect genes and microglia (primary immune cells in the brain) to promote AD development. Genes for apolipoprotein, clusterin, CD33, triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM-2), tyrosine kinase binding protein (TYR-OBP), and complement receptors can affect microglia. Most of these genes can also be affected by P. gingivalis via its mastering of immune suppression. Besides, P. gingivalis can affect microglia directly in several ways. Taken together, genetic predisposition, P. gingivalis infection and microglia could promote neurodegeneration typical of that reported for AD