Multiplicity of Positive Solutions for a p

We study the effect of the coefficient f(x) of the critical nonlinearity on the number of positive solutions for a p-q-Laplacian equation. Under suitable assumptions for f(x) and g(x), we should prove that for sufficiently small λ>0, there exist at least k positive solutions of the following p-q-Laplacian equation, -Δpu-Δqu=fxu|p*-2u+λgxu|r-2u  in  Ω, u=0   on   ∂Ω, where Ω⊂RN is a bounded smooth domain, N>p, 1<q<N(p-1)/(N-1)<p≤max⁡{p,p^*-q/(p-1)}<r<p^*, p^*=Np/(N-p) is the critical Sobolev exponent, and Δsu=div(|∇u|s-2∇u is the s-Laplacian of u

Institutionalization, Organizational Commitment, and Hope for Personal Fulfillment in The Shawshank Redemption

Institutionalization is a socialization process through which the values, beliefs, policies, and practices of an organization are instilled within the members of that organization that they might collectively adopt these values or rules and commit themselves to that organization. However, those being institutionalized under authoritarian discipline may lose the freedom of their soul and a personal level of self. In order to raise readers’ awareness of the impact of institutionalization and commitment on the individual or collective actors, this study intends to use the film The Shawshank Redemption as a case study, using content analysis as a qualitative research technique to analyze the symbolic scenes in the film in order to reveal how commitment and stability via institutionalization can be brought into the organization. To achieve this goal, the study uses Scott’s institutional theory and Meyer and Allen’s organizational commitment model to demonstrate how commitment may greatly impact people. Those being institutionalized, like Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption, may lose their ability to think and act independently and thus lose their hope for fulfillment. However, those like Andy and, later, Red, choosing to hold on to freedom of the soul and a personal level of self, can deinstitutionalize themselves; break free of the shackles, either physically or spiritually, of the organization; and make a commitment toward their own inner development

Multiplicity of Positive Solutions for Weighted Quasilinear Elliptic Equations Involving Critical Hardy-Sobolev Exponents and Concave-Convex Nonlinearities

By variational methods and some analysis techniques, the multiplicity of positive solutions is obtained for a class of weighted quasilinear elliptic equations with critical Hardy-Sobolev exponents and concave-convex nonlinearities

CpGPAP: CpG island predictor analysis platform

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Genomic islands play an important role in medical, methylation and biological studies. To explore the region, we propose a CpG islands prediction analysis platform for genome sequence exploration (CpGPAP).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CpGPAP is a web-based application that provides a user-friendly interface for predicting CpG islands in genome sequences or in user input sequences. The prediction algorithms supported in CpGPAP include complementary particle swarm optimization (CPSO), a complementary genetic algorithm (CGA) and other methods (CpGPlot, CpGProD and CpGIS) found in the literature. The CpGPAP platform is easy to use and has three main features (1) selection of the prediction algorithm; (2) graphic visualization of results; and (3) application of related tools and dataset downloads. These features allow the user to easily view CpG island results and download the relevant island data. CpGPAP is freely available at <url>http://bio.kuas.edu.tw/CpGPAP/</url>.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The platform's supported algorithms (CPSO and CGA) provide a higher sensitivity and a higher correlation coefficient when compared to CpGPlot, CpGProD, CpGIS, and CpGcluster over an entire chromosome.</p

The incidence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism following hip fractures with or without surgery in Taiwan

AbstractBackgroundInformation on the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following hip fractures in Asia is rare. This study will investigate the epidemiology of symptomatic VTE in Taiwanese patients experiencing hip fractures.Methods and resultsWe used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to retrospectively identify patients (≧45years) who experienced hip fractures from 1998 to 2007 and were followed up for 3months after the discharge. Logistic regression analysis determined the independent risk factors of symptomatic VTE after the fractures. We identified 134,034 patients (mean age: 76.2±9.7years; female: 57.8%) who experienced hip fractures, 83.2% of whom underwent hip surgery. The overall pharmacological thromboprophylaxis rate was 2.7%. The mean length of stay was 11.3±7.9days. The 3-month cumulative incidence of symptomatic VTE was 77 events per 10,000 persons. Multivariate analysis showed that previous DVT, previous PE, varicose veins, cancer, heart failure, renal insufficiency, and older age were independent risk factors of developing VTE.ConclusionsThe incidence of symptomatic VTE after hip fractures is low in Taiwan. Patients rarely received pharmacological thromboprophylaxis following hip fractures. Universal thromboprophylaxis for patients experiencing hip fractures was not necessary in Taiwan, but it should be considered in high-risk populations

Sodium vanadate combined with l-ascorbic acid delays disease progression, enhances motor performance, and ameliorates muscle atrophy and weakness in mice with spinal muscular atrophy

BACKGROUND: Proximal spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a neurodegenerative disorder that causes infant mortality, has no effective treatment. Sodium vanadate has shown potential for the treatment of SMA; however, vanadate-induced toxicity in vivo remains an obstacle for its clinical application. We evaluated the therapeutic potential of sodium vanadate combined with a vanadium detoxification agent, L-ascorbic acid, in a SMA mouse model. METHODS: Sodium vanadate (200 μM), L-ascorbic acid (400 μM), or sodium vanadate combined with L-ascorbic acid (combined treatment) were applied to motor neuron-like NSC34 cells and fibroblasts derived from a healthy donor and a type II SMA patient to evaluate the cellular viability and the efficacy of each treatment in vitro. For the in vivo studies, sodium vanadate (20 mg/kg once daily) and L-ascorbic acid (40 mg/kg once daily) alone or in combination were orally administered daily on postnatal days 1 to 30. Motor performance, pathological studies, and the effects of each treatment (vehicle, L-ascorbic acid, sodium vanadate, and combined treatment) were assessed and compared on postnatal days (PNDs) 30 and 90. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to evaluate the survival rate, with P < 0.05 indicating significance. For other studies, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Student's t test for paired variables were used to measure significant differences (P < 0.05) between values. RESULTS: Combined treatment protected cells against vanadate-induced cell death with decreasing B cell lymphoma 2-associated X protein (Bax) levels. A month of combined treatment in mice with late-onset SMA beginning on postnatal day 1 delayed disease progression, improved motor performance in adulthood, enhanced survival motor neuron (SMN) levels and motor neuron numbers, reduced muscle atrophy, and decreased Bax levels in the spinal cord. Most importantly, combined treatment preserved hepatic and renal function and substantially decreased vanadium accumulation in these organs. CONCLUSIONS: Combined treatment beginning at birth and continuing for 1 month conferred protection against neuromuscular damage in mice with milder types of SMA. Further, these mice exhibited enhanced motor performance in adulthood. Therefore, combined treatment could present a feasible treatment option for patients with late-onset SMA

The analysis of critical success factors for in-town check-in in Taiwan

The Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan encountered service capacity bottlenecks for insufficient facilities before COV-19 break. In order to increase the service capacity efficiency on check-in, security checks, and customs clearance, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications R.O.C. (MOTC), Taiwan, rerouted the airport traffic flow by implementing the in-town check-in (ITCI) concept to decrease crowding in the airport waiting hall. This research examined the structure of critical success factors (CSFs) for ITCIs, deriving three hierarchies of three dimensions, eight criteria, and 18 evaluation indexes from the previous literature, expert interviews, and analysis results from Analytic Network Process (ANP) via Super Decisions software. The three CSF dimensions were: first-level hierarchy “advantageous environments,” followed by “marketing” and “service value,” which is a second-level hierarchy. The study concluded that the third level item of “transferred vehicles system and management” can play an important key role in ITCTs and “users’ usage preference” has a high correlation to ITCT management strategy. Those findings are expected to be a valuable reference as operating guidelines for Taoyuan Airport MRT Company and management strategy for airport companies

Overexpression of Nuclear Protein Kinase CK2 α Catalytic Subunit (CK2α) as a Poor Prognosticator in Human Colorectal Cancer

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies but the current therapeutic approaches for advanced CRC are less efficient. Thus, novel therapeutic approaches are badly needed. The purpose of this study is to investigate the involvement of nuclear protein kinase CK2 α subunit (CK2α) in tumor progression, and in the prognosis of human CRC. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Expression levels of nuclear CK2α were analyzed in 245 colorectal tissues from patients with CRC by immunohistochemistry, quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot. We correlated the expression levels with clinicopathologic parameters and prognosis in human CRC patients. Overexpression of nuclear CK2α was significantly correlated with depth of invasion, nodal status, American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging, degree of differentiation, and perineural invasion. Patients with high expression levels of nuclear CK2α had a significantly poorer overall survival rate compared with patients with low expression levels of nuclear CK2α. In multi-variate Cox regression analysis, overexpression of nuclear CK2α was proven to be an independent prognostic marker for CRC. In addition, DLD-1 human colon cancer cells were employed as a cellular model to study the role of CK2α on cell growth, and the expression of CK2α in DLD-1 cells was inhibited by using siRNA technology. The data indicated that CK2α-specific siRNA treatment resulted in growth inhibition. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, overexpression of nuclear CK2α can be a useful marker for predicting the outcome of patients with CRC