Serum macrophage migration inhibitory factor as a potential biomarker to evaluate therapeutic response in patients with allergic asthma: an exploratory study

Background: Previous studies have shown that macrophage migration inhibitory factor(MIF) is involved in the pathogenesis of asthma. This study aimed to investigate whether serum MIF reflects a therapeutic response in allergic asthma.Methods: We enrolled 30 asthmatic patients with mild-to-moderate exacerbations and 20 healthy controls, analyzing the parameter levels of serum MIF, serum total immunoglobulin E(tIgE), peripheral blood eosinophil percentage(EOS%), and fractional exhaled nitric oxide(FeNO). Lung function indices were used to identify disease severity and therapeutic response.Results: Our study showed that all measured parameters in patients were at higher levels than those of controls. After one week of treatment, most parameter levels decreased significantly except for serum tIgE. Furthermore, we found that serum MIF positively correlated with EOS% as well as FeNO, but negatively correlated with lung function indices. Receiver operator characteristic(ROC) curve analysis indicated that among the parameters, serum MIF exhibited a higher capacity to evaluate therapeutic response. The area under the curve(AUC) of MIF was 0.931, with a sensitivity of 0.967 and a specificity of 0.800.Conclusions: Our results suggested that serum MIF may serve as a potential biomarker for evaluating therapeutic response in allergic asthma with mild-to-moderate exacerbations.     

Childhood sexual abuse by representatives of the Roman Catholic Church: A prevalence estimate among the Dutch population

Estimates of the extent of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) within in the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) in the general population are difficult to find. The independent Commission of Inquiry into sexual abuse of minors in the RCC in the Netherlands collected population-based data to estimate its prevalence. A large random online population sample was surveyed using a two-phase stratified sampling procedure. In Phase 1, 34,267 subjects aged 40 years and older were screened for childhood exposure to sexual abuse by non-family members, a history of institutionalization and a Roman Catholic upbringing. In Phase 2, a stratified subset of 2,462 subjects was assessed to obtain more detailed target information about sexual abuse reports within the RCC. We employed multiple imputation for the estimation of RCC CSA in the original Phase 1 sample. The prevalence of non-familial CSA in general (14.0%) was higher among women (17.2%) than among men (10.6%). The prevalence of CSA within the Dutch RCC (1.7%) was higher among men (2.7%) than among women (0.7%). As expected, older subjects reported more often CSA in the RCC than their younger counterparts. Respondents who stayed for some time in RCC run institutions for education or child protection had a higher risk to report sexual abuse. Although sexual abuse of minors by representatives of the RCC was a structural problem during a period that the Church was highly influential in the Netherlands, the estimated prevalence of the phenomenon is only a fraction of the prevalence rate of non-familial CSA.     

A four spiral slots microstrip patch antenna for radiotelemetry capsules based on FDTD

Antenna is very crucial to radiotelemetry capsules which can measure the physiological parameters of the gastroin- testinal (GI) tract. The objective of this paper is to design a novel spiral slots microstrip patch antenna for the radiotelemetry capsules communicating with external recorder at 915 MHz located in ISM (Industry, Science, and Medical) bands. The microstrip patch antenna is designed and evaluated using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. Return loss characteristics and the effect of the human body on resonant frequency are analyzed, and the performances of radiation patterns at different positions of the human alimentary tract are also estimated. Finally, specific absorption rate (SAR) computations are performed, and the peak 1-g and 10-g SAR values are calculated. According to the peak SAR values, the maximum delivered power for the designed antenna was found so that the SAR values of the antenna satisfy the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) limitations.     

肾癌肿瘤浸润淋巴细胞免疫组化分析及其与肾癌愈后关系研究

目的:了解肾细胞癌(RCC)患者抗瘤免疫状况及TIL与肾癌愈后关系。方法:应用免疫组织化学PAP法和单克隆抗体对肾细胞癌原位肿瘤浸润琳巴细胞的构成与分布及活化进行研究,检测的TIL主要表面表标志包括CD_3、CD_4、CD_8、CD_(25)和HLA-DR抗原。结果:(1)RCC患者肿瘤原位TIL以·OT细胞为主(CD_3 ),其中CD_8 细胞明显高于CD_4 细胞,其CD_4 /CD_8 比值与RCC临床分期成负相关。(2)在肿瘤原位,有部分表达活化标志CD_(25)或HLA-DR抗原T细胞存在。(3)RCC患者其TIL在瘤组织中呈弥散状分布。结论 肾癌TIL反映了肾癌患者局部抗瘤免疫状况,且与分期负相关,可做为肾癌愈后的客观检测指标。     

Acute pancreatitis associated left-sided portal hypertension with severe gastrointestinal bleeding treated by transcatheter splenic artery embolization: a case report and literature review

Left-sided portal hypertension (LSPH) followed by acute pancreatitis is a rare condition with most patients being asymptomatic. In cases where gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is present, however, the condition is more complicated and the mortality is very high because of the difficulty in diagnosing and selecting optimal treatment. A successfully treated case with severe GI bleeding by transcatheter splenic artery embolization is reported in this article. The patient exhibited severe uncontrollable GI bleeding and was confirmed as gastric varices secondary to LSPH by enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan and CT-angiography. After embolization, the bleeding stopped and stabilized for the entire follow-up period without any severe complications. In conclusion, embolization of the splenic artery is a simple, safe, and effective method of controlling gastric variceal bleeding caused by LSPH in acute pancreatitis.     

解Lyapunov 矩阵方程的改进的梯度迭代算法

In this paper, an improved gradient iterative （GI） algorithm for solving the Lyapunov matrix equations is studied. Convergence of the improved method for any initial value is proved with some conditions. Compared with the GI algorithm, the improved algorithm reduces computational cost and storage. Finally, the algorithm is tested with GI several numerical examples.     

An approach to the capsule endoscopic robot with active drive motion

Commercialized capsule-type endoscopes move passively by peristaltic waves (and gravity), which makes it difficult for doctors to diagnose the areas of interest more thoroughly and actively. To resolve this problem of passivity, it is necessary to find a special locomotion principle, which fits the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. In this paper, a legged locomotive mechanism with shape memory alloy (SMA) actuation based on the peristaltic principle is proposed, and then the structure of the locomotion mechanism is introduced. Based on the preliminary results, the design, modeling, and fabrication of an SMA microactuation concept for application in an endoscopic capsule are given, as well as the SMA spring and legged component design, which is the core section of the system design. We used the pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM) to analyze nonlinear and large deflections of the SMA legged component. Thus, a prototype endoscope with an SMA spring and six legged components was designed and fabricated. It is 15 mm in diameter and 33 mm in total length, with a hollow space to house other parts needed for endoscopy such as a camera, a radio frequency (RF) module, and sensors. During testing, the locomotive mechanism was effective in a plastic tube environment.     

Social competence, sense of loneliness, and speech intelligibility of young children with hearing loss in individual inclusion and group inclusion

The study focused on social competence (SC) and perceived sense of loneliness of preschool children with hearing loss (HL) in group inclusion (GI, a small group of children with HL is integrated in a standard classroom) and individual inclusion (II, each child with HL is individually integrated into a standard classroom). The relations between these factors and the child's speech intelligibility were performed. Sixty-four children aged 4-7 years participated: 22 from an II and 42 from a GI. SC, perceived sense of loneliness, and speech intelligibility were evaluated through the use of questionnaires completed by the preschool teachers. The results showed that the SC of children in II was higher than the SC of the children in GI, while interacting with normal hearing (NH) children. In GI, the children's SC with other children with HL was higher compared with their SC with NH children. In both groups, there were relationships between speech intelligibility and SC with NH children. In addition, in the II setting, there were relationships between the speech intelligibility and the perceived sense of loneliness. These relationships were not found in the GI setting. The findings support the need for coenrollment of preschool children with HL and emphasize the crucial impact of speech intelligibility of children with HL on the success of their social enrollment with NH children, already at a young age.     

The Impact of an Early Literacy Initiative on the Long Term Academic Success of Diverse Students

The primary goal of the Words Work (WW) early literacy initiative was to prepare diverse students to become successful learners in school. Four groups of students were followed over 6 years: students from traditional Head Start (HS) centers, students from augmented HS centers (WW students), students eligible for HS but not enrolled (waitlist or WL), and a random sample of non-Head Start students (NHS). Students received school readiness instruction at approximately 4 years of age, and their performance on standardized tests was followed from 1st grade through 5th grade. WW students significantly outscored HS, WL, and NHS students of similar backgrounds in reading and outscored WL and NHS students in mathematics on 2nd-grade standardized assessments. In addition, WW students were able to maintain their lead through 5th grade in both reading and mathematics. Based on these results, WW is an effective HS enhancement for minimizing the achievement gap often observed between students who may be at risk for academic difficulty and students who are at low risk.     

Remembering in California sea lions: Using priming cues to facilitate language-like performance

Two sea lions(Zalophus californianus) were trained to respond to relational commands fey bringing the last designated object (transport item, or TI) to the earlier designated object (goal item, or GI). Most errors on this task involved forgetting of the GI due to interference from memory for the TI. We reasoned that instructing the animals to act directly on the same object several times in single-object commands immediately before a relational command that included the same object as the GI should make the GI associative episode less prone to interference by the TI associative episode. Results confirmed that prior cuing or prompting in this manner did enable the sea lions to perform significantly better on relational commands when no cuing was given.     

Gender-related effects of contemporary math instruction for low performers on problem-solving behavior

Effects of guided (GI) and direct instruction (DI) in solving subtraction problems for mathematically low performers in regular schools were compared. In the GI condition, self-development of solution procedures was encouraged whereas in the DI condition one prescribed strategy was to be used. Forty children (M_age = 9.3 years) were trained during 34 lessons. Only girls performed better and showed higher comfort in the GI than in the DI condition. Results are explained in terms of girls' increased motivation in the GI condition, which could be explained by assuming that a more constructivist setting is more conducive to girls' learning.     

Design of inquiry-oriented science labs: impacts on students’ attitudes

Background: Changes in lab style can lead to differences in learning. Two inquiry-oriented lab styles are guided inquiry (GI) and problem-based (PB). Students’ attitudes towards lab are important to consider when choosing between GI and PB styles during curriculum design.

Purpose: We examined the degree to which lab experiences are explained by a GI or a PB lab style vs. students’ attitudes towards specific aspects of the experience, reflected by perceived excitement (exc), difficulty (dif), time efficiency (eff) and association between lab and lecture material (help).

Sample: Approximately 1000 students attending first-semester, college biology lab for science majors at the University of Colorado at Boulder, USA, participated in the study.

Design and method: In 2007, two labs were run as GI and one as PB. Formats were switched in 2008. Attitudes were assessed with a post-semester survey.

Results: Only the four attitude variables (not lab style) had a strong relationship with overall lab rating which was most strongly related to exc, followed by dif and help/eff. Dif and eff had the greatest influence on attitudes for or against GI vs. PB labs, and help and exc had little influence on a GI vs. a PB lab. Also, when dif was low, students’ attitudes were not significantly different between PB and GI labs, but when dif was high, students’ significantly rated GI labs higher than PB labs.

Conclusions: Students’ attitudes towards lab are more dependent on specific aspects of the experience than on lab style. Changes in GI vs. PB lab styles primarily influence dif and eff rather than exc and help. Dif may be an important factor to consider when implementing a lab in the PB vs. the GI format. It might be good to go with a GI when dif is high and a PB when dif is low.     

面向模具产品开发的PLM系统的应用

在面向模具产品开发中,全生命周期管理系统可以分为发生在企业内和企业外两部分,对于发生在企业内的数据一般可以通过对企业内部的管理共享,对于发生在企业外的数据,需要通过一定的方法获得(如调查)。通过对全生命周期在我国模具行业发展的现状、可行性的分析,给出了全生命周期管理系统实施的可行的方法途径和框架途径,为全生命周期管理系统应用于企业的可视化模型研究打下了基础。     

How teachers perceive their expertise: The role of dimensional and social comparisons

Teachers' self-concepts have shown correlations with the effectiveness of their teaching, but we know little about the development of their self-concepts. According to the generalized internal/external frames of reference (GI/E) model, social and dimensional achievement comparisons may affect not only students’ but also pre-service teachers’ self-concepts. Thus, we extended and applied this model to examine relations between estimates and self-concepts of 430 pre-service biology teachers’ professional knowledge in three domains: content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), and pedagogical and psychological knowledge (PPK). Structural equation modelling provided strong support for the GI/E model’s capacity to explain teachers’ self-concepts: with positive paths from CK, PCK, and PPK to the corresponding self-concepts, indicating social comparison effects, and negative paths from CK and PPK test scores to the PPK and CK self-concepts, respectively, indicating dimensional comparison effects. In addition, CK was negatively related with the teachers’ PCK self-concept. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for both teacher education and the proposed GI/E model.     

Calculation Model of Equivalent Strength for Induced Crack Based on Double-K Fracture Theory and Its Optimizing Setting in RCC Arch Dam

By means of fracture testing on roller-compacted concrete (RCC) three-point bending beams with two different specimen sizes, the P-CMOD complete curve for RCC was gained. Furthermore, by applying double-K fracture theory, KIC^ini,KIC^un, as well as the critical effective crack length and the critical crack tip opening displacement, were evaluated. Based on the double-K fracture parameters above, the calculation model of equivalent strength for induced crack was established, thus the calculation method on its initiation, stable propagation and unstable fracture was ascertained. Moreover, the finite element simulation analysis of stress field in ShaPai arch dam and the on-site observational splaying points of induced crack at different altitudes validated the reliability of the model. Finally, crack inducer‘s optimal setting in RCC arch dam was studied. It improves the design level of induced crack in RCC arch dam and satisfies the necessity of engineering practice.     

Effects of prior knowledge and concept-map structure on disorientation, cognitive load, and learning

This study explored the effects of prior knowledge (high vs. low; HPK and LPK) and concept-map structure (hierarchical vs. network; HS and NS) on disorientation, cognitive load, and learning from non-linear documents on “the infection process of a retrograde virus (HIV)”. Participants in the study were 24 adults. Overall subjective ratings of disorientation and cognitive load, as well as detailed analysis of eye movement and navigation data were used. The results showed that LPK learners gained equal factual knowledge from the HS and NS concept maps, gained more conceptual knowledge from the HS concept map, and had to invest less mental effort in the posttest after learning with the HS concept map. On the other hand, HPK learners gained more factual knowledge from the HS concept map than from the NS concept map, and gained equal conceptual knowledge from both concept-map structures. Also, LPK learners experienced higher disorientation during learning with the NS concept map than the HS map, whereas no differential effect of concept-map structure was found for HPK learners. Both LPK and HPK learners invested less mental effort in processing the HS concept map. The eye tracking and navigation data provided more detailed insight into these findings.     

Sticks and stones will break my bones but failure feedback may not hurt me: gender differences in the relationship between achievement motive,coping strategies and environmental mastery

This study investigates the processes through which achievement motivation guides the selection of coping strategies which in turn affects environmental mastery post-failure feedback. Seventy-six college students received failure feedback after completing a professional aptitude test. Findings showed that gender moderated the relationship between Hope of Success (HS) and planful problem-solving coping but not between HS and escape-avoidance coping. No moderated mediation was found when HS was used to predict environmental mastery with gender as the moderator and either planful problem-solving or escape-avoidance coping as the mediator. Simple mediation analyses showed that planful problem-solving did not mediate the relationship between HS and environmental mastery. Instead, higher scores on HS predicted lower use of escape-avoidance coping which in turn predicted higher environmental mastery. Implications for the role of feedback in educational settings are discussed.     

Head Start and child care providers’ motivators,barriers and facilitators to practicing family-style meal service

This paper presents a qualitative investigation of the motivators, barriers, and facilitators for practicing family-style meal service (FSMS) from the perspective of 18 child care providers serving preschool children in Head Start (HS), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) funded, and non-CACFP child-care centers. Providers were selected based on maximum variation purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews were conducted until saturation was reached. Provider responses were systematically coded using thematic analysis. HS and CACFP providers reported being motivated to practice FSMS because it created pleasant mealtimes, opportunities to role model healthy eating, and healthful child development. CACFP and non-CACFP providers reported not using FSMS because it was resource intensive, messy, and seemed to violate CACFP policy. HS and CACFP providers offered suggestions to overcome these barriers. They suggested that FSMS eventually becomes easier with practice, children can self-regulate their energy intake, and teaching children self-help skills during play time can avoid messes during mealtimes. Findings from this study have implications for programming, policy, and research.     

Construction simulation approach of roller-compacted concrete dam based on real-time monitoring

The parameters of existing roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam construction simulation are usually fixed based on experience while the actual construction conditions of an RCC dam change during the process of the project. The simulation accuracy of an RCC dam is therefore reduced because the change has not been considered. A new method for RCC dam construction simulations based on real-time monitoring is presented in this paper. First, real-time monitoring technology is used to collect and analyze the actual construction information. Second, meteorological data obtained from the real-time monitoring system are analyzed using the fuzzy average function method, and the weather conditions of the next stage are forecasted. Then the construction schedule simulation model is updated via the Bayesian update method. Results of the analysis are used as the input to the construction simulation parameters, and the construction simulation is performed. A real-world engineering example is presented to compare the simulation results with the actual construction schedule. The results demonstrate that the method can effectively improve the accuracy and real-time performance of construction simulations.