Use of smartphones by art and design students for accessing library services and learning

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore art and design students’ use of smartphones for accessing library services and learning at the Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI). Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey involving 51 HKDI students was conducted to examine the students’ utilization of apps and the internet on mobile devices to find information for the purpose of academic learning, social networking, and collaborative learning. Findings – Survey results showed that while the HKDI students were all smartphone owners and active users of such mobile communication devices, only a minority of them “frequently” use these mobile devices for formal learning purposes. They demonstrated a keen preference to use search engines, social communications, and other diverse use of smartphones. Except for research and image/audio-visual needs, the rest of their needs and usage behaviour is similar to mainstream university students. Practical implications – The results suggest opportunities for the libraries to develop services and facilities that could better fulfil students’ information needs, and to improve the network coverage outside the library. Originality/value – This is probably the first study of its kind to explore art and design students’ use of smartphones for learning needs. In particular, the recent capability of smartphones and mobile internet speed are comparable with desktops, it is vital to re-examine the much changed environment and user needs.postprin

ELASTOGRAPHY CAN EFFECTIVELY DECREASE THE NUMBER OF FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION BIOPSIES IN PATIENTS WITH CALCIFIED THYROID NODULES

When calcification, frequently found in both benign and malignant nodules, is present in thyroid nodules, non-invasive differentiation with ultrasound becomes challenging. The goal of this study was to evaluate the utility of elastography in differentiating calcified thyroid nodules. Consecutive patients (165 patients with 196 nodules) referred for fine-needle aspiration who had undergone both ultrasound elastography and B-mode examinations were analyzed retrospectively. Calcification was present in 45 benign and 20 malignant nodules. On 65 calcified nodules, elastography had 95% sensitivity, 51.1% specificity, 46.3% positive predictive value and 95.8% negative predictive value in detecting malignancy. Twenty-three of 45 benign calcified nodules were correctly diagnosed with elastography compared with 4 of 45 by B-mode ultrasound. Although it is difficult to differentiate benign and malignant calcified thyroid nodules solely with B-mode ultrasound, elastography has the potential to reduce the number of fine-needle aspiration biopsies performed on calcified nodules. (C) 2014 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.1188Ysciescopu

Dinosaurian Soft Tissues Interpreted as Bacterial Biofilms

A scanning electron microscope survey was initiated to determine if the previously reported findings of “dinosaurian soft tissues” could be identified in situ within the bones. The results obtained allowed a reinterpretation of the formation and preservation of several types of these “tissues” and their content. Mineralized and non-mineralized coatings were found extensively in the porous trabecular bone of a variety of dinosaur and mammal species across time. They represent bacterial biofilms common throughout nature. Biofilms form endocasts and once dissolved out of the bone, mimic real blood vessels and osteocytes. Bridged trails observed in biofilms indicate that a previously viscous film was populated with swimming bacteria. Carbon dating of the film points to its relatively modern origin. A comparison of infrared spectra of modern biofilms with modern collagen and fossil bone coatings suggests that modern biofilms share a closer molecular make-up than modern collagen to the coatings from fossil bones. Blood cell size iron-oxygen spheres found in the vessels were identified as an oxidized form of formerly pyritic framboids. Our observations appeal to a more conservative explanation for the structures found preserved in fossil bone

Association between Helicobacter pylori infection and interleukin 1β polymorphism predispose to CpG island methylation in gastric cancer [4]

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Ultrasonographic Contrast and Therapeutic Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide-Responsive Nanoparticles in a Rat Model with Sciatic Neuritis

Da-Sol Kim,1,2,* Nam-Gyu Jo,3,* Dong-Won Lee,4,5 Myoung-Hwan Ko,1,2 Jeong-Hwan Seo,1,2 Gi-Wook Kim1,2,4 1Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju, Republic of Korea; 2Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University-Biomedical Research Institute of Jeonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea; 3Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Hansol Convalescence Rehabilitation Hospital, Jeonju, Republic of Korea; 4Department of Bionanotechnology and Bioconvergence Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea; 5Department of Polymer Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Gi-Wook Kim, Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Jeonbuk National University Medical School, Geonjiro 20, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, Jeonbuk, 54907, Republic of Korea, Tel +82-63-259-3144, Fax +82-10-254-4145, Email [email protected]: Peripheral nerve damage lacks an appropriate diagnosis consistent with the patient’s symptoms, despite expensive magnetic resonance imaging or electrodiagnostic assessments, which cause discomfort. Ultrasonography is valuable for diagnosing and treating nerve lesions; however, it is unsuitable for detecting small lesions. Poly(vanillin-oxalate) (PVO) nanoparticles are prepared from vanillin, a phytochemical with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Previously, PVO nanoparticles were cleaved by H2O2 to release vanillin, exert therapeutic efficacy, and generate CO2 to increase ultrasound contrast. However, the role of PVO nanoparticles in peripheral nerve lesion models is still unknown. Herein, we aimed to determine whether PVO nanoparticles can function as contrast and therapeutic agents for nerve lesions.Methods: To induce sciatic neuritis, rats were administered a perineural injection of carrageenan using a nerve stimulator under ultrasonographic guidance, and PVO nanoparticles were injected perineurally to evaluate ultrasonographic contrast and therapeutic effects. Reverse transcription-quantitative PCR was performed to detect mRNA levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, ie, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and cyclooxygenase-2.Results: In the rat model of sciatic neuritis, PVO nanoparticles generated CO2 bubbles to increase ultrasonographic contrast, and a single perineural injection of PVO nanoparticles suppressed the expression of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and cyclooxygenase-2, reduced the expression of F4/80, and increased the expression of GAP43.Conclusion: The results of the current study suggest that PVO nanoparticles could be developed as ultrasonographic contrast agents and therapeutic agents for nerve lesions.Keywords: neuroinflammation, ultrasonography, contrast media, polymer nanoparticles, hydrogen peroxid

CD44+ cancer stem-like cells in EBV-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

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A bayesian meta-analysis of multiple treatment comparisons of systemic regimens for advanced pancreatic cancer

© 2014 Chan et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: For advanced pancreatic cancer, many regimens have been compared with gemcitabine (G) as the standard arm in randomized controlled trials. Few regimens have been directly compared with each other in randomized controlled trials and the relative efficacy and safety among them remains unclear

Intraoperative PaO2 is not related to the development of surgical site infections after major cardiac surgery

Producción CientíficaBackground: The perioperative use of high inspired oxygen fraction (FIO2) for preventing surgical site infections (SSIs) has demonstrated a reduction in their incidence in some types of surgery however there exist some discrepancies in this respect. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between PaO2 values and SSIs in cardiac patients. Methods: We designed a prospective study in which 1,024 patients undergoing cardiac surgery were analyzed. Results: SSIs were observed in 5.3% of patients. There was not significant difference in mortality at 30 days between patients with and without SSIs. In the uni and multivariate analysis no differences in function of the inspired oxygen fraction administrated were observed. Conclusions: We observed that the PaO2 in adult cardiac surgery patients was not related to SSI rate

The native architecture of a photosynthetic membrane

In photosynthesis, the harvesting of solar energy and its subsequent conversion into a stable charge separation are dependent upon an interconnected macromolecular network of membrane-associated chlorophyll–protein complexes. Although the detailed structure of each complex has been determined, the size and organization of this network are unknown. Here we show the use of atomic force microscopy to directly reveal a native bacterial photosynthetic membrane. This first view of any multi-component membrane shows the relative positions and associations of the photosynthetic complexes and reveals crucial new features of the organization of the network: we found that the membrane is divided into specialized domains each with a different network organization and in which one type of complex predominates. Two types of organization were found for the peripheral light-harvesting LH2 complex. In the first, groups of 10–20 molecules of LH2 form light-capture domains that interconnect linear arrays of dimers of core reaction centre (RC)–light-harvesting 1 (RC–LH1–PufX) complexes; in the second they were found outside these arrays in larger clusters. The LH1 complex is ideally positioned to function as an energy collection hub, temporarily storing it before transfer to the RC where photochemistry occurs: the elegant economy of the photosynthetic membrane is demonstrated by the close packing of these linear arrays, which are often only separated by narrow 'energy conduits' of LH2 just two or three complexes wide