Validation of vessel size imaging (VSI) in high-grade human gliomas using magnetic resonance imaging, image-guided biopsies, and quantitative immunohistochemistry.

To evaluate the association between a vessel size index (VSIMRI) derived from dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion imaging using a custom spin-and-gradient echo echoplanar imaging (SAGE-EPI) sequence and quantitative estimates of vessel morphometry based on immunohistochemistry from image-guided biopsy samples. The current study evaluated both relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) and VSIMRI in eleven patients with high-grade glioma (7 WHO grade III and 4 WHO grade IV). Following 26 MRI-guided glioma biopsies in these 11 patients, we evaluated tissue morphometry, including vessel density and average radius, using an automated procedure based on the endothelial cell marker CD31 to highlight tumor vasculature. Measures of rCBV and VSIMRI were then compared to histological measures. We demonstrate good agreement between VSI measured by MRI and histology; VSIMRI = 13.67 μm and VSIHistology = 12.60 μm, with slight overestimation of VSIMRI in grade III patients compared to histology. rCBV showed a moderate but significant correlation with vessel density (r = 0.42, p = 0.03), and a correlation was also observed between VSIMRI and VSIHistology (r = 0.49, p = 0.01). The current study supports the hypothesis that vessel size measures using MRI accurately reflect vessel caliber within high-grade gliomas, while traditional measures of rCBV are correlated with vessel density and not vessel caliber

Business groups and corporate responsibility for the public good

This paper analyses the relationship between Business Groups as a distinct way of organizing economic activities and their relation to the public good. We first analyze the phenomenon of Business Groups and discuss some of their core features. Subsequently, the paper moves to analyzing the existing literature on Business Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the most common label for the topic of this Special Issue. Subsequently, specific peculiarities of Business Groups in the context of CSR and their contribution to the public good are fleshed out. Based on this analysis, the paper delineates some implications for the field of CSR and the wider debate on the nature of the firm. We close with some perspectives for future research

Моделирование репозитория STEM-проектов как подсистемы открытого архива

The concepts of “repository” and “metadata” used in e-libraries and Internet resources are examined. The authors propose to make STEM projects repository a new form of projects preservation. The authors discuss repository hierarchical structure. They suggest to use two subject headings, i. e. student classification and tag clouds. Using these headings is characterized by specific character of STEM design. The examples of foreign repositories and their structure are provided, in particular SIEMENS repository and various formats of educational resources in such repositories. The authors introduce a new structure of data repository structured as a tag cloud comprising two areas – secondary school resources and academic resources. They point to the importance of resources of STEAM-STEM- projecting which is to support learning in natural sciences, to accumulate experiences of teachers, schoolchildren, professors and students in this area and to provide for prompt information retrieval and discovery of projects in various topics with interdisciplinary links and with the possibility of application in engineering disciplines.Рассмотрены понятия «репозиторий» и «метаданные», которые широко используются в электронных библиотеках и интернет-ресурсах. Предложена новая форма хранения проектов – репозиторий STEM-проектов. В статье представлена иерархическая структура репозитория; в качестве подхода к поиску проектов предложены две предметные рубрики: классификация по обучающимся и облако тегов, использование которых характеризуется особенностями STEM-проектирования. Приведены примеры структуры и строения аналогичных репозиториев из зарубежных ресурсов, в частности репозитория фирмы Siemens и различных форматов образовательных ресурсов, размещённых в подобных хранилищах. Предложена новая структура хранилища данных, организованная как облако тегов, сформированное в виде двух разделов – ресурсы для школ и ресурсы для высших учебных заведений. Отмечена важность сбора ресурсов, посвящённых такому новому направлению, как STEAM-STEM-проектирование, призванному облегчить изучение предметов естественно-научного цикла, накопить удачные наработки учителей, школьников, преподавателей и студентов в этой сфере и создать условия для оперативного поиска и извлечения проектов по различным темам с межпредметными связями, а также с возможностями прикладного использования в инженерных дисциплинах

Role of Education in Economic Growth in the Russian Federation and Ukraine

This study analyses the role and impact of education on economic growth in the two largest economies of the former Soviet Bloc, namely, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. It attempts to estimate the significance of different educational levels, including secondary and tertiary education, for initiating substantial economic growth that now takes place in these two countries. This study estimates the model of endogenous economic growth and the system of linear and log-linear equations that account for different time lags in the possible impact of higher education on economic growth. The model estimation shows that there is no significant impact of educational attainment on economic growth. The results from the system of equations indicate that an increase in access of population to higher education brings positive results for the per capita GDP growth in the long term. Increasing the number of college-educated specialists leads to sustainable economic growth. The suggestion can be made that the ground for the 2000-2007 rapid economic growth in Ukraine and in the Russian Federation was laid down in early 1990s. This contradicts commonly accepted perception about the crisis decade of 1990s in the former Soviet Bloc

Losartan Decreases p42/44 MAPK Signaling and Preserves LZ+ MYPT1 Expression

Heart failure is associated with impairment in nitric oxide (NO) mediated vasodilatation, which has been demonstrated to result from a reduction in the relative expression of the leucine zipper positive (LZ+) isoform of the myosin targeting subunit (MYPT1) of myosin light chain phosphatase. Further, captopril preserves normal LZ+ MYPT1 expression, the sensitivity to cGMP-mediated vasodilatation and modulates the expression of genes in the p42/44 MAPK and p38 MAPK signaling cascades. This study tests whether angiotensin receptor blockade (ARB) with losartan decreases p42/44 MAPK or p38 MAPK signaling and preserves LZ+ MYPT1 expression in a rat infarct model of heart failure. In aortic smooth muscle, p42/44 MAPK activation increases and LZ+ MYPT1 expression falls after LAD ligation. Losartan treatment decreases the activation of p42/44 MAPK to the uninfarcted control level and preserves normal LZ+ MYPT1 expression. The expression and activation of p38 MAPK, however, is low and does not change following LAD ligation or with losartan therapy. These data suggest that either reducing or blocking the effects of circulating angiotensin II, both decreases the activation of the p42/44 MAPK signaling cascade and preserves LZ+ MYPT1 expression. Thus, the ability of ACE-inhibitors and ARBs to modulate the vascular phenotype, to preserve normal flow mediated vasodilatation may explain the beneficial effects of these drugs compared to other forms of afterload reduction in the treatment of heart failure

Business groups and corporate responsibility for the public good

This paper analyses the relationship between Business Groups as a distinct way of organizing economic activities and their relation to the public good. We first analyze the phenomenon of Business Groups and discuss some of their core features. Subsequently, the paper moves to analyzing the existing literature on Business Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) as the most common label for the topic of this Special Issue. Subsequently, specific peculiarities of Business Groups in the context of CSR and their contribution to the public good are fleshed out. Based on this analysis, the paper delineates some implications for the field of CSR and the wider debate on the nature of the firm. We close with some perspectives for future research