Directional Differentiability of the Generalized Metric Projection in Hilbert spaces and Hilbertian Bochner spaces

Let $H$ be a real Hilbert space and $C$ a nonempty closed and convex subset of $H$. Let $P_C: H\rightarrow C$ denote the (standard) metric projection operator. In this paper, we study the G\^ateaux directional differentiability of $P_C$ and investigate some of its properties. The G\^ateaux directionally derivatives of $P_C$ are precisely given for the following cases of the considered subset $C$: 1. closed and convex subsets; 2. closed balls; 3. closed and convex cones (including proper closed subspaces). For special Hilbert spaces, we consider directional differentiability of $P_C$ for some Hilbert spaces with orthonormal bases and the real Hilbert space $L^2([-\pi,\pi])$ with the trigonometric orthonormal basis.Comment: This article has been accepted for publicatio

Case Report: Step-by-step procedures for total intracorporeal laparoscopic kidney autotransplantation in a patient with distal high-risk upper tract urothelial carcinoma

A 47-year-old man presented to the emergency department with right abdominal pain and a new onset of painless haematuria two weeks earlier. Urine cytology test results suggested urothelial carcinoma. Computed tomography urography (CTU) showed a filling defect in the lower right ureter with right hydronephrosis. Lymphadenopathy and any signs of metastatic disease were absent on CTU. Cystoscopy appeared normal. Creatinine level was also normal before surgery. After the treatment options were discussed, the patient chose to undergo 3D total intracorporeal laparoscopic kidney autotransplantation, bladder cuff excision, and segmental resection of the proximal two-thirds of the ureter based on the membrane anatomy concept. After more than one year of follow-up, the patient was in good health and showed no signs of haematuria. Surveillance cystoscopy and CTU examination showed no evidence of disease recurrence. Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that kidney-sparing surgery may be considered for carefully selected patients with high-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma

The mechanisms of Yu Ping Feng San in tracking the cisplatin-resistance by regulating ATP-binding cassette transporter and glutathione S-transferase in lung cancer cells

Cisplatin is one of the first line anti-cancer drugs prescribed for treatment of solid tumors; however, the chemotherapeutic drug resistance is still a major obstacle of cisplatin in treating cancers. Yu Ping Feng San (YPFS), a well-known ancient Chinese herbal combination formula consisting of Astragali Radix, Atractylodis Macrocephalae Rhizoma and Saposhnikoviae Radix, is prescribed as a herbal decoction to treat immune disorders in clinic. To understand the fast-onset action of YPFS as an anti-cancer drug to fight against the drug resistance of cisplatin, we provided detailed analyses of intracellular cisplatin accumulation, cell viability, and expressions and activities of ATP-binding cassette transporters and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) in YPFS-treated lung cancer cell lines. In cultured A549 or its cisplatin-resistance A549/DDP cells, application of YPFS increased accumulation of intracellular cisplatin, resulting in lower cell viability. In parallel, the activities and expressions of ATP-binding cassette transporters and GSTs were down-regulated in the presence of YPFS. The expression of p65 subunit of NF-κB complex was reduced by treating the cultures with YPFS, leading to a high ratio of Bax/Bcl-2, i.e. increasing the rate of cell death. Prim-O-glucosylcimifugin, one of the abundant ingredients in YPFS, modulated the activity of GSTs, and then elevated cisplatin accumulation, resulting in increased cell apoptosis. The present result supports the notion of YPFS in reversing drug resistance of cisplatin in lung cancer cells by elevating of intracellular cisplatin, and the underlying mechanism may be down regulating the activities and expressions of ATP-binding cassette transporters and GSTs

Extremal solutions for p-Laplacian fractional integro-differential equation with integral conditions on infinite intervals via iterative computation

We study the extremal solutions of a class of fractional integro-differential equation with integral conditions on infinite intervals involving the p-Laplacian operator. By means of the monotone iterative technique and combining with suitable conditions, the existence of the maximal and minimal solutions to the fractional differential equation is obtained. In addition, we establish iterative schemes for approximating the solutions, which start from the known simple linear functions. Finally, an example is given to confirm our main results

个体与组织情景因素对旅游服务员工创新行为的影响

International audienceFacing fierce competition, an increasing number of firms recognize the importance of innovation.This has a great impact on the effective operation and long- term sustainability of a firm, because innovation is one of the sources of competitive advantages. As an experience- based service,tourism and hospitality that show a humanistic concern for the tourist is important for the attraction of customers. This is achieved by creating personal experiences and improving the quality of national tourism.Enhancement of the adaptability, innovative capacity and comprehensive capability of tourism service providers is required to achieve these outcomes. As organizational innovation is often rooted in individual creativity, the implementation of the creative ideas of employees is the microscopic carrier of organization innovation. It is therefore important for researchers to study the driving force of employee innovative behaviors of tourism service providers. This study focused on the impact of individual andorganizational context factors on employee innovative behaviors. In other words, it explored the influence of market orientation, organizational learning climate, and self- efficacy onindividual innovative behaviors. We took employees as the research object, surveyed a sample of 400 employeesin a tourism service provider chain. In total, 333 questionnaires were returned and 320 were found to bevalid. The data were analyzed using statistical tests, including reliability tests, validity tests, structuralequation model, and regression model. The researchers found that: (1) self-efficacy has a positive andsignificant impact on employee innovative behaviors. The higher the evaluation of self- capacity, themore likely an employee would implement innovative behaviors. However, this relationship changesdepending on how a firm handle market information (market orientation). To be specific, the higher thedegree of organizational market orientation perceived by employees, the stronger the relationship isbetween self- efficacy and employee innovative behaviors; and (2) the organizational learning climatehas a positive impact on the innovative behaviors of employees. An environment that promotesindividual learning and gives permission to try and fail can motivate individuals to produce new ideas.The finding of this study provides the basis for tourism service providers to enhance employeeinnovative behaviors.Our results show that tourism service providers should create and cultivate betterlearning climate by creating team spirit by focusing on cooperation and sharing vision, by helpingemployees understand the whole procedure of organizational functioning and learning, by emphasizingon learning and improving organizational learning capacity, and by drawing lessons from the past.Tourism service providers should also develop and use relevant employee selection tools to recruitemployees with high self-efficacy, and cultivate market orientation which not only focuses on customerdemand, but also on in-depth knowledge of competitors.Through the creation of a model of individualenvironmentinteraction, this study reveals more factors that affec temployee innovative behaviors, andenriches the research achievements of innovative behaviors. Future research may focus on moreexplanatory factors, introducing mediating or moderating variables that reveal the mechanisms thatdrive and improve employee innovation behaviors.［摘要］在竞争激烈的市场环境中，创新越来越受到旅游企业的重视。由于组织创新往往植根于员工个人的创意，并依赖员工创意的实施，员工是组织创新的微观载体，因此研究旅游服务提供商员工创新行为的驱动力就显得十分重要。研究关注个体与组织情景因素对员工创新行为的影响，同时探讨市场导向、组织学习氛围、自我效能感对员工创新行为的影响。通过对国内某旅游服务提供商320 名员工进行问卷调查，对数据进行结构方程模型和回归分析，研究发现自我效能感和组织学习氛围对员工创新行为有正向的影响，市场导向正向调节自我效能感与员工创新行为的关系。研究结论为旅游服务提供商如何促进员工创新行为提供了启示

Yield, quality and irrigation water use efficiency of sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (Linn.) Moench] under different land types in arid regions

Abstract In order to evaluate changes in biomass, sugar content, ethanol yield as well as water use status of sweet sorghum [Sorghum biocolor (L.) Moench] a number of experiments conducted in marginal land arid region of Hexi Corridor in northwestern China, with the average rainfall of 116.8 mm, in three land types including loam land, saline-alkaline land and sandy land. The saline-alkaline land and sandy land possessed low total aboveground dry weights of 22.1 and 26.8 t ha -1 in 2009, respectively. In 2010, total soluble sugar yields for saline-alkaline land and sandy land varied from 11.00 to11.28 t ha -1 , which were significantly higher than loam land"s total soluble sugar yield. Similarly, ethanol yield originated from sugar ranged from 6032.57 to 6193.02 L ha -1 for saline-alkaline land and sandy land, respectively, indicating a significant difference in comparison with ethanol yield in loam land. However, irrigation water use efficiency of aboveground biomass in 2009 were 3.93, 3.62 and 2.36 kg m -3 for loam land, saline-alkaline land and sandy land, respectively. The same trend was found in 2010. It is concluded that although loam land produced more biomass yield and irrigation water use efficiency, the higher sugar and ethanol yield of sweet sorghum was acquired in saline-alkaline land and sandy land. Considering the competition of production between food and energy crops, it is pragmatic and meaningful to develop sweet sorghum in saline-alkaline and sandy land. Meanwhile, the soil condition can be improved to adapt different cultivation modes in order to increase biomass yield or water use efficiency in saline-alkaline and sandy lands