Tumour burden score for hepatocellular carcinoma: Is it an authentic prognostic marker?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163375/2/bjs11927.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163375/1/bjs11927_am.pd

Contingencies of Self-Worth on Positive and Negative Events and Their Relationships to Depression

Previous studies have found that the relationship between contingencies of self-worth (CSW) and depression was generally weak. We posited that this is partly because previous studies assumed CSW on positive and negative events as the same construct (one-dimensional CSW), which should be better conceptualized as two distinctive dimensions (two-dimensional CSW) in explaining depression. A total of 393 undergraduates from Taiwan completed the measures regarding one-dimensional CSW, two-dimensional CSW, and depression. After dividing CSW of seven classic domains into two dimensions of positive and negative CSW, the results of confirmatory factor analyses showed that the two-dimensional CSW model had better model fit than the one-dimensional model in all domains. Furthermore, relative to using one-dimensional CSW as a predictor of depression, the variance accounted for largely increased when positive and negative CSW entered simultaneously in the regression equation. The results suggest that CSW on positive and negative events should be seen as two dimensions and this perspective may largely increase the explanatory power of CSW in explaining mental health

Electronic band structures of Ge1−xSnx semiconductors: A first-principles density functional theory study

[[abstract]]We conduct first-principles total-energy density functional calculations to study the band structures in Ge 1− x Sn x infrared semiconductor alloys. The norm-conserving optimized pseudopotentials of Ge and Sn have been constructed for electronic structure calculations. The composition-bandgap relationships in Ge 1−x Sn x lattices are evaluated by a detailed comparison of structural models and their electronic band structures. The critical Sn composition related to the transition from indirect- to direct-gap in Ge 1−x Sn x alloys is estimated to be as low as x∼ 0.016 determined from the parametric fit. Our results show that the crossover Sn concentration occurs at a lower critical Sn concentration than the values predicted from the absorption measurements. However, early results indicate that the reliability of the critical Sn concentration from such measurements is hard to establish, since the indirect gap absorption is much weaker than the direct gap absorption. We find that the direct band gap decreases exponentially with the Sn composition over the range 0 0.375, in very good agreement with the theoretical observed behavior [D. W. Jenkins and J. D. Dow, Phys. Rev. B 36, 7994, 1987]. For homonuclear and heteronuclear complexes of Ge 1−x Sn x alloys, the indirect band gap at L-pointis is found to decrease homonuclear Ge-Ge bonds or increase homonuclear Sn-Sn bonds as a result of the reduced L valley. All findings agree with previously reported experimental and theoretical results. The analysis suggests that the top of valence band exhibits the localization of bond charge and the bottom of the conduction band is composed of the Ge 4s4p and/or Sn 5s5p atomic orbits.[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子

Victim sensitivity and altruistic behavior in school: mediating effects of teacher justice and teacher-student relationship

The current study aimed to explore how victim sensitivity influenced altruistic behaviors in school and to explore the mediating roles of teacher justice and teacher-student relationship. In 2018, we recruited 1,856 Chinese adolescents including 989 fourth graders (M = 10.35, SD = 0.56) and 867 eighth graders (M = 15.57, SD = 0.91), and the participation rate was 100%. Participations completed the self-report victim sensitivity scale, the teacher justice scale, the teacher-student relationship scale, and the altruistic behavior toward classmate scale. Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that victim sensitivity had a direct negative effect on altruistic behavior in school, but this relationship was mediated by teacher justice. There was also a mediated path between teacher justice and altruistic behavior by way of teacher-student relationship. These findings suggested possible mechanisms to explain the relationship between victim sensitivity and altruistic behavior and provided new directions for intervention

Ethyl 5-{[(E)-2-(isonicotinoyl)hydrazinyl­idene]methyl}-3,4-dimethyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxyl­ate dihydrate

In the title compound, C16H18N4O3·2H2O, the dihedral angle between the pyrrole and pyridine rings in the hydrazone mol­ecule is 7.12 (3)°. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O, O—H⋯N and O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the hydrazone and water mol­ecules into double layers parallel to (101). The crystal packing exhibits weak π–π inter­actions between the pyrrole and pyridine rings of neighbouring hydrazone mol­ecules [centroid–centroid distance = 3.777 (3) Å]. The crystal studied was a non-merohedral twin, the refined ratio of twin domains being 0.73 (3):0.27 (3)

Mobile Edge Computing Platform Deployment in 4G LTE Networks: A Middlebox Approach

This paper has been presented at : USENIX Workshop on Hot Topics in Edge Computing (Hot Edge '18)Low-latency demands for cellular networks have at-tracted much attention. Mobile edge computing (MEC), which deploys a cloud computing platform at the edge closer to mobile users, has been introduced as an enabler of low-latency performance in 4G and 5G networks. In this paper, we propose an MEC platform deployment so-lution in 4G LTE networks using a middlebox approach. It is standard-compliant and transparent to existing cel-lular network components, so they need not be modified. The MEC middlebox sits on the S1 interface, which con-nects an LTE base station to its core network, and does traffic filtering, manipulation and forwarding. It enables the MEC service for mobile users by hosting application servers. Such middlebox approach can save deployment cost and be easy to install. It is different from other stud-ies that require modifications on base stations or/and core networks. We have confirmed its viability through a pro-totype based on the OpenAirInterface cellular platform.We thank our shepherd Weisong Shi for his help, and also thank the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on improving this paper. This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, under grant numbers 106-2622-8-009-017 and 106-2218-E-009-018, and by the H2020 collaborative Europe/Taiwan research project 5G-CORAL (grant number 761586)

Sodium-Calcium Exchange Initiated by the Ca2+Transient An Arrhythmia Trigger Within Pulmonary Veins

ObjectivesThe hypothesis that an increased or prolonged Ca2+transient during an abbreviated action potential can give rise to early afterdepolarizations (EADs) and triggered arrhythmia by enhanced forward sodium-calcium (Na-Ca) exchange was examined.BackgroundBecause pulmonary veins have the shortest action potential of any cardiac tissue, we examined this hypothesis in canine pulmonary vein sleeves during interventions further shortening the action potential and increasing the calcium transient.MethodsExtracellular bipolar electrode, intracellular microelectrode, and isometric force (a surrogate marker for the Ca2+transient) recordings were obtained from superfused canine pulmonary veins.ResultsAn elevation and prolongation of the terminal phase of repolarization (EADs) were observed during interventions increasing contractile force; isoproterenol or norepinephrine (3.2 × 10−11to 3.2 × 10−7M), hypothermia, and pacing (post-extrasystolic potentiation, post-pacing pause). The EAD formation was prevented by ryanodine (10 μM) or reversed by transiently increasing [Ca2+]ofrom 1.35 to 5 mM (inhibition of forward Na-Ca exchange). Pacing-induced EADs were enhanced by re-introduction of normal Tyrode solution (Na+= 130 mM) after substitution of 30 mM NaCl with 30 mM LiCl (stimulation of forward Na-Ca exchange). With norepinephrine or isoproterenol (3.2 × 10−8M) + acetylcholine (10−7M) (to enhance the Ca2+transient and further shorten the abbreviated action potential, respectively), tachycardia-pause initiated arrhythmia (1,132 ± 153 beats/min) lasting >1 s was observed. Rapid firing was prevented by either suppression of the Ca2+transient (ryanodine) or transiently increasing [Ca2+]o.ConclusionsThe data show EAD formation in superfused canine pulmonary veins, enhanced by an increased Ca2+transient and increased Na-Ca exchange current. With subsequent shortening of the action potential with acetylcholine, tachycardia-pause triggers rapid firing within the PV sleeve

Complex Microbiome in Brain Abscess Revealed by Whole-Genome Culture-Independent and Culture-Based Sequencing.

Brain abscess is a severe infectious disease with high mortality and mobility. Although culture-based techniques have been widely used for the investigation of microbial composition of brain abscess, these approaches are inherent biased. Recent studies using 16S ribosomal sequencing approaches revealed high complexity of the bacterial community involved in brain abscess but fail to detect fungal and viral composition. In the study, both culture-independent nanopore metagenomic sequencing and culture-based whole-genome sequencing using both the Illumina and the Nanopore platforms were conducted to investigate the microbial composition and genomic characterization in brain abscess. Culture-independent metagenomic sequencing revealed not only a larger taxonomic diversity of bacteria but also the presence of fungi and virus communities. The culture-based whole-genome sequencing identified a novel species in Prevotella and reconstructs a Streptococcus constellatus with a high GC-skew genome. Antibiotic-resistance genes CfxA and ErmF associated with resistance to penicillin and clindamycin were also identified in culture-based and culture-free sequencing. This study implies current understanding of brain abscess need to consider the broader diversity of microorganisms

Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with lower prevalence of asymptomatic diverticulosis: a cross-sectional colonoscopy-based study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of the relationship between dietary factors and risk of diverticulosis have yielded inconsistent results. We therefore sought to investigate the association between consumption of fruit and vegetables and prevalent diverticulosis. METHODS: Our study population included participants in the Gastrointestinal Disease and Endoscopy Registry (GIDER), a colonoscopy-based longitudinal cohort at the Massachusetts General Hospital, who provided comprehensive information on dietary intake and lifestyle factors using validated questionnaires prior to colonoscopy. Information on presence and location of diverticula was obtained from the endoscopist at the end of each procedure. We used Poisson regression modeling to calculate the prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Among 549 participants with a mean age of 61 years enrolled in GIDER, we confirmed diverticulosis in 245 (44.6%). The prevalence of diverticulosis appeared to decrease with higher consumption of fruit and vegetables (P CONCLUSION: In a colonoscopy-based longitudinal cohort study, we show that higher consumption of fruit and vegetables is associated with lower risk of prevalent diverticulosis