Some new nonlinear retarded sum-difference inequalities with applications

<p>Abstract</p> <p>The main objective of this paper is to establish some new retarded nonlinear sum-difference inequalities with two independent variables, which provide explicit bounds on unknown functions. These inequalities given here can be used as handy tools in the study of boundary value problems in partial difference equations.</p> <p> <b>2000 Mathematics Subject Classification</b>: 26D10; 26D15; 26D20.</p

Transforming and Scaling Up Health Professional Education

The Human Resources for Health (HRH) agenda transcends national borders. In particular, education and training for health professionals around the globe is faced with new epidemiological and demographic challenges, as well as the impact of climate change. Looking beyond the existing models and systems for health professional education, the World Health Organization is leading an effort aimed at increasing the quantity but also the quality, relevance, and sustainability of the health workforce. Evidenced-based policy guidelines, along with political commitment to the goal of universal health coverage, bring countries closer towards sustainable and equitable access to health services.It is imperative that the new generation of health professionals must be capable of participating in and implementing reforms of health professional education within the broader global HRH strategy and post-2015 development agenda.

On Inequalities of Lyapunov for Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Dynamic Systems on Time Scales

We establish some new Lyapunov-type inequalities for two-dimensional nonlinear dynamic systems on time scales. As for application, boundedness of the Emden-Fowler-type equation is proved

Photo-reactive charge trapping memory based on lanthanide complex

Traditional utilization of photo-induced excitons is popularly but restricted in the fields of photovoltaic devices as well as photodetectors, and efforts on broadening its function have always been attempted. However, rare reports are available on organic field effect transistor (OFET) memory employing photo-induced charges. Here, we demonstrate an OFET memory containing a novel organic lanthanide complex Eu(tta)&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; ppta (Eu(tta)&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt; = Europium(III) thenoyltrifluoroacetonate, ppta = 2-phenyl-4,6-bis(pyrazol-1-yl)-1,3,5-triazine), in which the photo-induced charges can be successfully trapped and detrapped. The luminescent complex emits intense red emission upon ultraviolet (UV) light excitation and serves as a trapping element of holes injected from the pentacene semiconductor layer. Memory window can be significantly enlarged by light-assisted programming and erasing procedures, during which the photo-induced excitons in the semiconductor layer are separated by voltage bias. The enhancement of memory window is attributed to the increasing number of photo-induced excitons by the UV light. The charges are stored in this luminescent complex for at least 10&lt;sup&gt;4&lt;/sup&gt;s after withdrawing voltage bias. The present study on photo-assisted novel memory may motivate the research on a new type of light tunable charge trapping photo-reactive memory devices

SPARC Deficiency Results in Improved Surgical Survival in a Novel Mouse Model of Glaucoma Filtration Surgery

Glaucoma is a disease frequently associated with elevated intraocular pressure that can be alleviated by filtration surgery. However, the post-operative subconjunctival scarring response which blocks filtration efficiency is a major hurdle to the achievement of long-term surgical success. Current application of anti-proliferatives to modulate the scarring response is not ideal as these often give rise to sight-threatening complications. SPARC (secreted protein, acidic and rich in cysteine) is a matricellular protein involved in extracellular matrix (ECM) production and organization. In this study, we investigated post-operative surgical wound survival in an experimental glaucoma filtration model in SPARC-null mice. Loss of SPARC resulted in a marked (87.5%) surgical wound survival rate compared to 0% in wild-type (WT) counterparts. The larger SPARC-null wounds implied that aqueous filtration through the subconjunctival space was more efficient in comparison to WT wounds. The pronounced increase in both surgical survival and filtration efficiency was associated with a less collagenous ECM, smaller collagen fibril diameter, and a loosely-organized subconjunctival matrix in the SPARC-null wounds. In contrast, WT wounds exhibited a densely packed collagenous ECM with no evidence of filtration capacity. Immunolocalization assays confirmed the accumulation of ECM proteins in the WT but not in the SPARC-null wounds. The observations in vivo were corroborated by complementary data performed on WT and SPARC-null conjunctival fibroblasts in vitro. These findings indicate that depletion of SPARC bestows an inherent change in post-operative ECM remodeling to favor wound maintenance. The evidence presented in this report is strongly supportive for the targeting of SPARC to increase the success of glaucoma filtration surgery

Association between gout and atrial fibrillation: A meta-analysis of observational studies

Background: Gout is a systemic inflammatory arthritis characterized by the deposition of monosodium urate crystals due to hyperuricemia. Previous studies have explored the link between gout and atrial fibrillation (AF). Given the increasing prevalence and incidence of gout, there is a need to quantify the relationship between gout and the risk of AF. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis on this topic. Methods: PubMed and Embase were searched for studies that reported the association between gout and AF using the following search term: (‘Gout’ and ‘Arrhythmia’). The search period was from the start of the database to 3rd August 2018 with no language restrictions. Results: A total of 75 and 22 articles were retrieved from PubMed and Embase, respectively. Of these, four observational studies (three cohort studies, one case-control study) including 659,094 patients were included. Our meta-analysis demonstrated that gout was significantly associated with increased risk of AF (adjusted hazard ratio: 1.31; 95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.70; P = 0.05; I2 = 99%) after adjusting for significant comorbidities and confounders. Conclusions: Our meta-analysis confirms the significant relationship between gout and AF. More data are needed to determine whether this risk can be adequately reduced by urate-lowering therapy

Long Span DNA Paired-End-Tag (DNA-PET) Sequencing Strategy for the Interrogation of Genomic Structural Mutations and Fusion-Point-Guided Reconstruction of Amplicons

10.1371/journal.pone.0046152PLoS ONE79