The effect of manganese oxide on the sinterability of hydroxyapatite

The sinterability of manganese oxide (MnO2) doped hydroxyapatite (HA) ranging from 0.05 to 1 wt% was investigated. Green samples were prepared and sintered in air at temperatures ranging from 1000 to 1400 °C. Sintered bodies were characterized to determine the phase stability, grain size, bulk density, hardness, fracture toughness and Young's modulus. XRD analysis revealed that the HA phase stability was not disrupted throughout the sintering regime employed. In general, samples containing less than 0.5 wt% MnO2 and when sintered at lower temperatures exhibited higher mechanical properties than the undoped HA. The study revealed that all the MnO2-doped HA achieved >99% relative density when sintered at 1100–1250 °C as compared to the undoped HA which could only attained highest value of 98.9% at 1150 °C. The addition of 0.05 wt% MnO2 was found to be most beneficial as the samples exhibited the highest hardness of 7.58 GPa and fracture toughness of 1.65 MPam1/2 as compared to 5.72 GPa and 1.22 MPam1/2 for the undoped HA when sintered at 1000 °C. Additionally, it was found that the MnO2-doped samples attained E values above 110 GPa when sintered at temperature as low as 1000 °C if compared to 1050 °C for the undoped HA

Predictive Modelling Using Unstructured Data From Online Forums: A Case Study on E-cigarette Users

In the age of the digital economy, social media, forums and other online platforms have played active parts in our daily activities. The amount of data digitized and recorded in these platforms have surged exponentially. Many believed that this underexplored unstructured data sources have huge potential in offering insights to policy makers and companies. This paper aims to propose a hybrid approach using inductive and deductive reasoning to identify motivational factors to use e-cigarettes for predictive modelling. A total of 790 comments and discussions relevant to e-cigarette use and motivations to use e-cigarette were scraped and stored from online forums like Reddit, Vapingunderground and e-cigarette-forum. A series of text analytics were conducted on the text corpus and the cluster analysis enabled us to build a predictive model. Using Bayesian Structural Equation Modelling, we concluded that the constructs derived by clustering, i.e. Cost and Convenience and Enjoyment, have significant associations with smokers trying to quit smoking. While health-related issues were inherent to the notion of quitting smoking, enjoyment, cost and convenience were motivational factors which will generate favourable response towards quitting smoking. The findings showed encouraging results from a methodological standpoint and offered insights to policy makers and companies on health-related issues pertaining to the use of e-cigarettes

Corporate social responsibility reporting in China: political, social and corporate influences

This paper explores the main drivers of CSR and its reporting for large Chinese listed companies, and identifies the key institutional pressures and stakeholder influences that shape CSR and its reporting. The data were collected through interviews with managers from large listed Chinese companies. Our findings reveal how the Chinese government uses social organisations and social intermediaries to facilitate and mediate CSR and its reporting to meet changing societal expectations across regions, while ensuring that companies remain responsive to the expectations of international stakeholders. We find that CSR and its reporting help companies gain political legitimacy domestically, while retaining their legitimacy in global markets. Companies co-operate with social organisations and social intermediaries actively and continuously. This helped companies secure political legitimacy with the government, while helping officials maintain their social legitimacy. Our findings on regional differences support the idea that relations between Chinese business and society have a fundamental effect on CSR and its reporting

An Exploratory Study of Lecturers' Views of Out-of-class Academic Collaboration Among Students

This article reports an exploratory study of lecturers' perceptions of out-of-class academic collaboration (OCAC) among students at a large Singapore university. Two types of OCAC were investigated: collaboration initiated by students, e.g., groups decide on their own to meet to prepare for exams, and collaboration required by teachers, e.g., teachers assign students to do projects in groups. Data were collected via one-on-one interviews with 18 faculty members from four faculties at the university. Findings suggest that OCAC, especially of a teacher-required kind, is fairly common at the university. Faculty members' views on factors affecting the success of OCAC are discussed for the light they might shed on practices to enhance the effectiveness of OCAC

The location of an active nucleus and a shadow of a tidal tail in the ULIRG Mrk 273

Analysis of data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory for the double nucleus ULIRG Mrk 273 reveals an absorbed hard X-ray source coincident with the southwest nucleus, implying that this unresolved, near-infrared source is where an active nucleus resides, while the northern nuclear region contains a powerful starburst that dominates the far infrared luminosity. There is evidence of a slight image extension in the 6–7 keV band, where an Fe K line is present, towards the northern nucleus. A large-scale, diffuse emission nebula detected in soft X-rays contains a dark lane that spatially coincides with a high surface-brightness tidal tail extending ~50 arcsec (40 kpc) to the south. The soft X-ray source is likely located behind the tidal tail, which absorbs X-ray photons along the line of sight. The estimated column density of cold gas in the tidal tail responsible for shadowing the soft X-rays is N_H ≥ 6 × 10^(21) cm^(-2), consistent with the tidal tail having an edge-on orientation

In Vivo Assessment of Coronary Flow and Cardiac Function After Bolus Adenosine Injection in Adenosine Receptor Knockout Mice

Bolus injections of adenosine and the A2A adenosine receptor (AR) selective agonist (regadenoson) are used clinically as a substitute for a stress test in people who cannot exercise. Using isolated tissue preparations, our lab has shown that coronary flow and cardiac effects of adenosine are mostly regulated by the AR subtypes A1, A2A, and A2B. In this study, we used ultrasound imaging to measure the in vivo effects of adenosine on coronary blood flow (left coronary artery) and cardiac function in anesthetized wild-type, A1 knockout (KO), A2AKO, A2BKO, A3KO, A1, and A3 double KO (A1/3 DKO) and A2A and A2B double KO (A2A/2B DKO) mice in real time. Echocardiographic and Doppler studies were performed using a Visualsonic Vevo 2100 ultrasound system. Coronary blood flow (CBF) baseline data were obtained when animals were anesthetized with 1% isoflourane. Diameter (D) and velocity time integral (VTI) were measured on the left coronary arteries (CBF = ((p/4) 9 D2 9 VTI 9 HR)/1000). CBF changes were the highest within 2 min of injection (about 10 mg/kg). Heart rate, cardiac output, and stroke volume were measured by tracing the left ventricle long axis. Our data support a role for the A2 AR in CBF and further support our conclusions of previous studies from isolated tissues. Adenosine-mediated decreases in cardiac output and stroke volume may be A2B and/or A3 AR-mediated; however, the A1 and A2 ARs also play roles in overall cardiac function. These data further provide a powerful translational tool in studying the cardiovascular effects of adenosine in disease states

At the limits of ‘Capability’: The sexual and reproductive health of women migrant workers in Malaysia

Despite the centrality of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), women migrant workers in Malaysia face an environment inimical to their SRH needs. Drawing on qualitative case study material, we present the first empirical application of the Capability Approach (CA) to explore the reproductive health needs of women migrant workers in a developing country, offering an original analysis of the capability for SRH of these women. Specifically, we explore the resources available to them; their opportunities and freedoms (‘capabilities’); and factors which mediate transformation of resources into capability sets (‘conversion factors’). While SRH information and healthcare is notionally available, women migrant workers face multiple challenges in converting resources into functionings, constraining the achievement of capability for SRH. Challenges include language barriers, personal beliefs, power relations between workers and employers and the consequences of current migration policy. We consider the scale of the challenges facing these women in securing SRH rights, the difficulties of operationalising the CA within such a setting, and the implications of our findings for the adequacy of the CA in supporting marginalised populations

Acquired resistance to anti-PD1 therapy: checkmate to checkpoint blockade?

Editorial summary Anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD1) immunotherapies are among the most effective anti-cancer immunotherapies available; however, a large number of patients present with or develop resistance to them. Unfortunately, very little is known regarding the mechanisms of resistance to such therapies. A recent study sought to identify mutations associated with resistance to anti-PD1 therapy. Results from this study demonstrated that mutations which affected the sensitivity of tumor cells to T-cell-derived interferons, and mutations limiting tumor-cell antigen presentation, could cause acquired resistance. These findings have significant implications for understanding the mechanisms by which anti-PD1 therapies exert their efficacy, comprehending why and how some patients acquire resistance over time, and ultimately guiding the development of combination therapies designed to overcome, or potentially prevent, the development of acquired immunotherapeutic resistance

In vivo effects on intron retention and exon skipping by the U2AF large subunit and SF1/BBP in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

The in vivo analysis of the roles of splicing factors in regulating alternative splicing in animals remains a challenge. Using a microarray-based screen, we identified a Caenorhabditis elegans gene, tos-1, that exhibited three of the four major types of alternative splicing: intron retention, exon skipping, and, in the presence of U2AF large subunit mutations, the use of alternative 3' splice sites. Mutations in the splicing factors U2AF large subunit and SF1/BBP altered the splicing of tos-1. 3' splice sites of the retained intron or before the skipped exon regulate the splicing pattern of tos-1. Our study provides in vivo evidence that intron retention and exon skipping can be regulated largely by the identities of 3' splice sites