Motives as a factor in acculturation among Asian international students

This research examined the relationships between international students\u27 acculturation levels and their motives for study abroad, residency intentions regarding the United States, English proficiency, and length of residency in the United States. Implications are discussed, including how the understanding of students\u27 motives can be used in counseling and recruitment of international students

Quantum-mechanical analysis of effect of alloying elements on ε-martensite start temperature of steels

11Ysciescopu

Simultaneous image color correction and enhancement using particle swarm optimization

Color images captured under various environments are often not ready to deliver the desired quality due to adverse effects caused by uncontrollable illumination settings. In particular, when the illuminate color is not known a priori, the colors of the objects may not be faithfully reproduced and thus impose difficulties in subsequent image processing operations. Color correction thus becomes a very important pre-processing procedure where the goal is to produce an image as if it is captured under uniform chromatic illumination. On the other hand, conventional color correction algorithms using linear gain adjustments focus only on color manipulations and may not convey the maximum information contained in the image. This challenge can be posed as a multi-objective optimization problem that simultaneously corrects the undesirable effect of illumination color cast while recovering the information conveyed from the scene. A variation of the particle swarm optimization algorithm is further developed in the multi-objective optimization perspective that results in a solution achieving a desirable color balance and an adequate delivery of information. Experiments are conducted using a collection of color images of natural objects that were captured under different lighting conditions. Results have shown that the proposed method is capable of delivering images with higher quality. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A Genome-Wide Knockout Screen in Human Macrophages Identified Host Factors Modulating Salmonella Infection.

A genome-scale CRISPR knockout library screen of THP-1 human macrophages was performed to identify loss-of-function mutations conferring resistance to Salmonella uptake. The screen identified 183 candidate genes, from which 14 representative genes involved in actin dynamics (ACTR3, ARPC4, CAPZB, TOR3A, CYFIP2, CTTN, and NHLRC2), glycosaminoglycan metabolism (B3GNT1), receptor signaling (PDGFB and CD27), lipid raft formation (CLTCL1), calcium transport (ATP2A2 and ITPR3), and cholesterol metabolism (HMGCR) were analyzed further. For some of these pathways, known chemical inhibitors could replicate the Salmonella resistance phenotype, indicating their potential as targets for host-directed therapy. The screen indicated a role for the relatively uncharacterized gene NHLRC2 in both Salmonella invasion and macrophage differentiation. Upon differentiation, NHLRC2 mutant macrophages were hyperinflammatory and did not exhibit characteristics typical of macrophages, including atypical morphology and inability to interact and phagocytose bacteria/particles. Immunoprecipitation confirmed an interaction of NHLRC2 with FRYL, EIF2AK2, and KLHL13.IMPORTANCESalmonella exploits macrophages to gain access to the lymphatic system and bloodstream to lead to local and potentially systemic infections. With an increasing number of antibiotic-resistant isolates identified in humans, Salmonella infections have become major threats to public health. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify alternative approaches to anti-infective therapy, including host-directed therapies. In this study, we used a simple genome-wide screen to identify 183 candidate host factors in macrophages that can confer resistance to Salmonella infection. These factors may be potential therapeutic targets against Salmonella infections

Thyroid disease is a favorable prognostic factor in achieving sustained virologic response in chronic hepatitis C undergoing combination therapy: A nested case control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interferon-α in combination with ribavirin is the current gold standard for treatment of chronic hepatitis C. It is unknown if the development of autoimmune thyroid disease (TD) during treatment confers an improved chance of achieving sustained virologic response. The aim of this study is to assess the chance of achieving sustained virologic response (SVR) in patients who developed TD during treatment when compared with those who did not.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a tertiary hospital-based retrospective nested case-control analysis of 19 patients treated for hepatitis C who developed thyroid disease, and 76 controls (matched for age, weight, gender, cirrhosis and aminotransferase levels) who did not develop TD during treatment. Multivariate logistic-regression models were used to compare cases and controls.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The development of TD was associated with a high likelihood of achieving SVR (odds ratio, 6.0; 95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 24.6) for the pooled group containing all genotypes. The likelihood of achieving SVR was increased in individuals with genotype 1 HCV infection who developed TD (odds ratio, 5.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 22.3), and all genotype 3 patients who developed TD achieved SVR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Development of TD during treatment for hepatitis C infection is associated with a significantly increased chance of achieving SVR. The pathophysiogical mechanisms for this observation remain to be determined.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p><it>The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR)</it>: <a href="http://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRB12610000830099.aspx">ACTRB12610000830099</a></p

Massive stars as thermonuclear reactors and their explosions following core collapse

Nuclear reactions transform atomic nuclei inside stars. This is the process of stellar nucleosynthesis. The basic concepts of determining nuclear reaction rates inside stars are reviewed. How stars manage to burn their fuel so slowly most of the time are also considered. Stellar thermonuclear reactions involving protons in hydrostatic burning are discussed first. Then I discuss triple alpha reactions in the helium burning stage. Carbon and oxygen survive in red giant stars because of the nuclear structure of oxygen and neon. Further nuclear burning of carbon, neon, oxygen and silicon in quiescent conditions are discussed next. In the subsequent core-collapse phase, neutronization due to electron capture from the top of the Fermi sea in a degenerate core takes place. The expected signal of neutrinos from a nearby supernova is calculated. The supernova often explodes inside a dense circumstellar medium, which is established due to the progenitor star losing its outermost envelope in a stellar wind or mass transfer in a binary system. The nature of the circumstellar medium and the ejecta of the supernova and their dynamics are revealed by observations in the optical, IR, radio, and X-ray bands, and I discuss some of these observations and their interpretations.Comment: To be published in " Principles and Perspectives in Cosmochemistry" Lecture Notes on Kodai School on Synthesis of Elements in Stars; ed. by Aruna Goswami & Eswar Reddy, Springer Verlag, 2009. Contains 21 figure

Integration of decision support systems to improve decision support performance

Decision support system (DSS) is a well-established research and development area. Traditional isolated, stand-alone DSS has been recently facing new challenges. In order to improve the performance of DSS to meet the challenges, research has been actively carried out to develop integrated decision support systems (IDSS). This paper reviews the current research efforts with regard to the development of IDSS. The focus of the paper is on the integration aspect for IDSS through multiple perspectives, and the technologies that support this integration. More than 100 papers and software systems are discussed. Current research efforts and the development status of IDSS are explained, compared and classified. In addition, future trends and challenges in integration are outlined. The paper concludes that by addressing integration, better support will be provided to decision makers, with the expectation of both better decisions and improved decision making processes

Lung Cancer in Pulmonary Fibrosis: Tales of Epithelial Cell Plasticity

Lung epithelial cells exhibit a high degree of plasticity. Alterations to lung epithelial cell function are critically involved in several chronic lung diseases such as pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis is characterized by repetitive injury and subsequent impaired repair of epithelial cells, which leads to aberrant growth factor activation and fibroblast accumulation. Increased proliferation and hyper- and metaplasia of epithelial cells upon injury have also been observed in pulmonary fibrosis; this epithelial cell activation might represent the basis for lung cancer development. Indeed, several studies have provided histopathological evidence of an increased incidence of lung cancer in pulmonary fibrosis. The mechanisms involved in the development of cancer in pulmonary fibrosis, however, remain poorly understood. This review highlights recently uncovered molecular mechanisms shared between lung cancer and fibrosis, which extend the current evidence of a common trait of cancer and fibrosis, as provided by histopathological observations. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON CHEMICAL MECHANISM OF DECREASE OF TETRODOTOXIN CONTENT IN OVARIES OF A PUFFER FISH Lagocephalus inermis (Temminck and Schlegel, 1850) FERMENTED WITH RICE BRAN

Tetrodotoxins in salted and fermented ovaries with rice bran of a puffer fish Lagocephalus inermis (Temminck Schlegel, 1850) during five months were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detector (HPLC- FLD). The analysed results showed that the original ovaries contained only tetrodotoxin with content of 7.59 µg/g fresh weight. 4,9-Anhydrotetrodotoxin - an isomer which is less toxic than tetrodotoxin has been found in all ovary samples since the second month. Tetrodotoxin in the ovaries disappeared in the 4th month of the experiment. In addition, 4,9-anhydrotetrodotoxin level in ovaries increased during fermentation. The present study contributes to clarifying the chemical mechanism of decreasing tetrodotoxin content in fermented ovary of puffer fish.Tetrodotoxins in salted and fermented ovaries with rice bran of a puffer fish Lagocephalus inermis (Temminck and Schlegel, 1850) during five months were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorometric detector (HPLC- FLD). The analysed results showed that the original ovaries contained only Tetrodotoxin with content of 7.59 µg/g fresh weight. 4,9-Anhydrotetrodotoxin- an isomer which is less toxic than Tetrodotoxin has been found in all ovary samples since the second month. Tetrodotoxin in the ovaries disappeared in the 4th month of the experiment. In addition, 4,9-Anhydrotetrodotoxin level in ovaries increased during fermentation. The present study contributes to clarify the chemical mechanism of decreasing Tetrodotoxin content in fermented ovary of puffer fish