Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers can diagnose and prognosticate kidney disease. Renal volume validation studies are however scarce, and measurements are limited by use of contrast agent or advanced post-processing.Purpose: To validate a widely available non-contrast-enhanced MRI method for quantification of renal cortical and medullary volumes in pigs; investigate observer v

The MM500 study is an initiative to map the protein levels in malignant melanoma tumor samples, focused on in-depth histopathology coupled to proteome characterization. The protein levels and localization were determined for a broad spectrum of diverse, surgically isolated melanoma tumors originating from multiple body locations. More than 15,500 proteoforms were identified by mass spectrometry, f

Metrics are instrumental in design assessments. Solar performance metrics help designers to evaluate solar access in cities. Metrics should be used early in the urban planning stages in order to enable sustainable urban development with greater access to solar energy. Currently, solar assessments at this design stage are limited in practice; established methods or routines are lacking, and so are

OBJECTIVE: Copy number variation of the C4 complement components, C4A and C4B, has been associated with systemic inflammatory autoimmune diseases. We asked if C4 copy number variation is connected to the autoimmune repertoire in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) or myositis.METHODS: Using targeted DNA sequencing, we determined the copy number and genetic variants

Background: Herbivores modify the structure and function of tundra ecosystems. Understanding their impacts is necessary to assess the responses of these ecosystems to ongoing environmental changes. However, the effects of herbivores on plants and ecosystem structure and function vary across the Arctic. Strong spatial variation in herbivore effects implies that the results of individual studies on

Background: Factor H regulates the alternative pathway of complement. The protein has three heparin-binding sites, is synthesized primarily in the liver and copurifies from platelets with thrombospondin-1. Factor H mutations at the C-terminus are associated with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition in which platelets are consumed. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate if f

Objectives The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is one of the most commonly used measures for screening, diagnosing and monitoring of depression. So far, four studies have examined some of the psychometric properties of Persian version of PHQ-9 in physical and psychiatric patients; however, some aspects of its psychometrics have not yet been adequately evaluated in the student population. Th

We introduce a new family of continuous distributions and study the mathematical properties of the new family. Some useful characterizations based on the ratio of two truncated moments and hazard function are also presented. We estimate the model parameters by the maximum likelihood method and assess its performance based on biases and mean squared errors in a simulation study framework.

In this paper, a flexible modified extended exponential power life testing (MEEPLT) distribution is proposed. The MEEPLT distribution has increasing, decreasing and bathtub hazard rate function. The MEEPLT density is arc, left skewed, right-skewed and symmetrical shaped. The MEEPLT distribution is developed on the basis of the generalized Pearson differential equation. Some structural and mathemat

Industrial control systems (ICSs) are a significant part of industry and they play an important role in monitoring and controlling industrial processes. Traditionally, ICSs have been isolated from the Internet, and thereby secured from various Internet-based security threats. In recent years, since the cloud can provide huge advantages regarding storage and computing resources, industry has been m

Wild chimpanzee populations in West Africa (Pan troglodytes verus) have dramatically decreased as a direct consequence of anthropogenic activities and infectious diseases. Little information is currently available on the epidemiology, pathogenic significance, and zoonotic potential of protist species in wild chimpanzees. This study investigates the occurrence and genetic diversity of intestinal an

Proteolytic cleavage of thrombin generates C-terminal host defense peptides exerting multiple immunomodulatory effects in response to bacterial stimuli. Previously, we reported that thrombin-derived C-terminal peptides (TCPs) are internalized in monocytes and macrophages in a time- and temperature-dependent manner. In this study, we investigated which endocytosis pathways are responsible for the i

The MM500 meta-study aims to establish a knowledge basis of the tumor proteome to serve as a complement to genome and transcriptome studies. Somatic mutations and their effect on the transcriptome have been extensively characterized in melanoma. However, the effects of these genetic changes on the proteomic landscape and the impact on cellular processes in melanoma remain poorly understood. In thi

A public housing company has applied a new renovation strategy, comprising no standards raising and thus rent-raising measures, in 20% of its apartments. Prior to renovation, the tenants were given the opportunity to choose renovation options involving different standards and costs after renovation. The purpose of the study is to follow up and give feedback on the renovation strategy. The aim was

Background: Patients with dementia have an increased risk of developing epilepsy, es-pecially in patients with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. In selecting the optimal an-ti-epileptic drug (AED), the possible side effects such as drowsiness and worsening of cognitive function should be taken into consideration, together with co-morbidities and type of epilepsy. Objective: The current sy

ZnO-water nanofluid in an inner pipe was experimentally investigated to improve the thermal efficiency of double-pipe heat exchangers. In this work, a 57.6% increase in the Nusselt number was obtained at Re = 14,340 when the ZnO-water nanofluid flowed through a helically corrugated tube. It was found that helical corrugation played a more important role in heat transfer enhancement than thermophys