Prospective, longitudinal assessment of quality of life inpatients with cancer of the head and neck and their primary carers

Cancer of the head and neck has profound psychosocial and physical effects on patients, so quality of life (QoL) is an essential consideration—not only is it of importance to the patient but it also provides a subjective measure of the success of treatment. However, we know of little work about its influence on carers. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the diagnosis and treatment on the QoLof patients and their carers from baseline (preoperatively) to three months postoperatively. Thirty-six patients and 21 primary carers were enrolled, and patients completed one head-and-neck-specific measure, the University of Washington Head and Neck, Version Four (UW-V4),and three other questionnaires, both at the time of diagnosis and at one and three months postoperatively. The carers completed similar questionnaires except for the UW-V4. Analysis of the patients’ data showed a serious deterioration in psychosocial and physical domains atone month postoperatively. However, the analysis of carers’ data showed a highly significant deterioration in anxiety and depression domains(p < 0.01), which remained low after three months. These findings highlight the need for psychological support not only for patients but also for their primary carers during the management of carcinoma of the head and neck

The role of endoproteolytic processing in neurodegeneration

Endoproteolysis is a normal post-translational process in the eukaryotic cell that had played a role early on in protein evolution allowing protein catabolism and the generation of amino acids. Endoproteolytic cleavage regulates many crucial cellular processes including the activity of many proteins, their protein-protein interactions and the amplification of cell signals. Not surprisingly, disruption or alternation of endoproteolytic cleavage maybe the root cause of many human diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and prion diseases. Most neurodegenerative diseases (ND) are caused by the build-up of misfolded proteins and the promotion of aggregation events. A common event that occurs in these ND is the alteration of endoproteolytic cleavage due to genetic mutations of the associated-proteases or in the target substrate. Endoproteolytic cleavage resulting in protein truncation has significant effects on the structure and function of a protein representing a common feature of ND. In this review, we will discuss the endoproteolytic cleavage events that lead to ND, namely Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease and prion diseases

Anti-Rotation Device Releasable by Insertion of a Tool

A drive mechanism enables a socket-type wrench to rotate a shaft and prevents accidental rotation of the shaft when the wrench is not coupled to the shaft. In the original intended application, the shaft would be part of an attachment mechanism on a spacecraft, and the purpose to be served by the drive is to prevent back-driving of the shaft by launch vibrations while enabling an astronaut equipped with the appropriate wrench to actuate the shaft while in orbit. The design could also be adapted to terrestrial applications in which it is necessary to prevent rotational back-driving. The mechanism includes a gear near the tip of the shaft, and a drive nut that constitutes the tip of the shaft. The gear and drive nut are positioned in a recess in a housing. The recess is sized to receive the wrench socket that mates with the drive nut. Also contained in the housing are four linkages that include pins that are spring-loaded into engagement with the gear to prevent rotation of the shaft. When the wrench socket is inserted in the recess, it pushes on the linkages in such a manner as to disengage the pins from the gear

Pengumpulan dan Pelabelan Data Citra Unmanned Aerial Vehicle untuk Pemetaan Kawasan Pertanian Salak

Projek EPICS in IEEE, UMN berkolaborasi dengan UGMdanKomunitas Salak Mitra Turindo di Sleman,Yogyakartauntukmengembangkansistem pertanian cerdasberbasisAIoTuntukprediksidanmanajemenhama,salah satu sistem dalam pertanian cerdas berbasis AIoT adalah sistempemetaan kawasan.Sisteminimenggunakanmodelsegmentasisemantikyangdilatih dengandatasetfotoudaraRGBdanmaskingkebunsalakuntukmemetakan kebun salak dan penyebaran lalat buah, hama utama yang mengancam ekspor salak. Peta penyebaran lalat buah ini membantu komunitas Mitra Turindo dan UGM dalam mendistribusikan metil eugenol secara efektif, meningkatkan hasil panen dan mengurangi kerugian finansial. Pembuatan modelsegmentasisemantikmemerlukandatasetyangsesuai,datasetterdiri darifotoudaraRGBdanmaskingkebunsalak.Penulismenggunakandrone merek DJI model AIR 2S dan Mini 2 sebagai alat foto area kebun salak. Penulis menggunakan software DroneLink untuk meng otomasi pengambilan data. data kemudian diproses menggunakan softwareAgisoft atau ODM untuk menyatukan gambar menjadi satu gambar yang besar, gambarbesartersebutakandiprosesolehsegmentationmodelmenjadipeta penyebaran lalat buah besar. Data dari drone akan dibuat menjadi dataset menggunakanwebsiteanotasiDarwinV7,datasetiniakanmembantutidak hanya dalam pembuatan segmentation model projek ini tapi juga sebagai dataset sekunder bagi peneliti yang lain

Modelling the bond between concrete and reinforcing steel in a fire

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Engineering Structures. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2010 Elsevier B.V.A non-linear procedure is presented for modelling the bond characteristic between concrete and reinforcing steel for reinforced concrete structures in a fire. The accuracy and reliability of the model are demonstrated by the analysis of one pull-out test and one beam test at ambient temperature and four full-scale beams tested under two fire conditions. The model is clearly capable of predicting the response of reinforced concrete members and structures in a fire with acceptable accuracy. The bond-link element has been found to have good computational stability and efficiency for 3D analysis of reinforced concrete structures in fires. It is shown that the bond condition between the concrete and reinforcing steel bar has an important influence on the fire resistance of reinforced concrete structures, especially when the temperature of the reinforcing steel bar is high (more than 500 °C). Hence, the current assumption of a perfect bond condition for analysis of reinforced concrete structures under fire conditions is unconservative

Effect of transient strain on strength of concrete and CFT columns in fire – Part 1: Elevated-temperature analysis on a Shanley-like column model

This paper presents elevated-temperature analysis on a Shanley-like column model, as part of a study on the effect of transient strain on the strength of concrete and concrete-filled tubular columns in fire. Three high-temperature concrete material models are applied and the structural behaviours of the Shanley-like model using these three material models are compared. The effects of transient strain of concrete have been investigated by comparing the results of the analyses with and without considering this property, under the assumption that the temperature distribution within the model is uniform. The model has been evaluated against the tangent-modulus and reduced-modulus critical buckling loads at elevated temperatures. Numerical analyses have been carried out under both steady-state and transient heating scenarios, in order to investigate the influence of each on high-temperature structural analysis of the type described in this paper. It is seen that considering transient strain causes a considerable reduction of the buckling resistance, irrespective of the concrete material models and loading–heating schemes used

Prevention of the β-amyloid peptide-induced inflammatory process by inhibition of double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase in primary murine mixed co-cultures

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inflammation may be involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). There has been little success with anti-inflammatory drugs in AD, while the promise of anti-inflammatory treatment is more evident in experimental models. A new anti-inflammatory strategy requires a better understanding of molecular mechanisms. Among the plethora of signaling pathways activated by β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides, the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway could be an interesting target. In virus-infected cells, double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase (PKR) controls the NF-κB signaling pathway. It is well-known that PKR is activated in AD. This led us to study the effect of a specific inhibitor of PKR on the Aβ42-induced inflammatory response in primary mixed murine co-cultures, allowing interactions between neurons, astrocytes and microglia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Primary mixed murine co-cultures were prepared in three steps: a primary culture of astrocytes and microglia for 14 days, then a primary culture of neurons and astrocytes which were cultured with microglia purified from the first culture. Before exposure to Aβ neurotoxicity (72 h), co-cultures were treated with compound C16, a specific inhibitor of PKR. Levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 were assessed by ELISA. Levels of P_T451-PKR and activation of IκB, NF-κB and caspase-3 were assessed by western blotting. Apoptosis was also followed using annexin V-FITC immunostaining kit. Subcellular distribution of P_T451-PKR was assessed by confocal immunofluorescence and morphological structure of cells by scanning electron microscopy. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA followed by a Newman-Keuls' post hoc test</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In these co-cultures, PKR inhibition prevented Aβ42-induced activation of IκB and NF-κB, strongly decreased production and release of tumor necrosis factor (TNFα) and interleukin (IL)-1β, and limited apoptosis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In spite of the complexity of the innate immune response, PKR inhibition could be an interesting anti-inflammatory strategy in AD.</p

Taxonomy of tertiary education campus planning

This paper aims to present and discuss phases of planning and designing campuses for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The authors argue that creating a taxonomy to control an environment conducive to learning is of the same order of importance as that for education as depicted by Bloom, given the size, financial burden, and influence on learning outcomes. A specific model is proposed for the taxonomy of planning campuses for HEIs with four ordered phases: educational programming, spaces programming, master planning, and detailed design. The researchers followed four methodologies to support the proposed model: A literature review to seek relevant knowledge and terms used in previous studies; a descriptive discussion of the proposed campus planning and design taxonomy model; a survey of experts in educational and campus planning to examine the proposed phases; and, a case study of the campus of Kingdom University in Bahrain where the phases of taxonomy were implemented. This latter case study further exhibits how the executed campus planning process is developed in adherence with state-of-the-art educational demands and trends. This paper is concluded with guidelines of HEIs campus planning as illustrated a diagram for the proposed model of taxonomy showing the process and illustrating the model domains, together with its phases and planning process considerations. The model also analyses the relationship between the domains that are ordered according to the process flow starting with educational programming up to the detailed design phases