The burden, the coping strategies and the social network of a sample of 236 relatives of patients with schizophrenia, living in five European countries, were explored by well-validated assessment ...instruments. In all centres, relatives experienced higher levels of burden when they had poor coping resources and reduced social support. Relatives in Mediterranean centres, who reported lower levels of social support, were more resigned, and more often used spiritual help as a coping strategy. These data indicate that family burden and coping strategies can be influenced by cultural factors and suggest that family interventions should have also a social focus, aiming to increase the family social network and to reduce stigma.
FAF1 was initially isolated as a Fas-associated factor and was subsequently found to interact with a subset of additional proteins that are involved in many cellular events including Fas-mediated ...apoptosis, heat shock signalling pathways and ubiquitin-dependent processes. Here, we describe that the 74-kDa FAF1 is ubiquitously expressed, while the expression of its post-translational-processed 49-kDa isoform is restricted to post-meiotic male germ cells. In ovary, FAF1 protein is localized predominantly in the cytoplasm of oocytes in all follicle stages. To determine the function of FAF1 in vivo, we analysed a mouse mutant line in which a gene trap vector was inserted in the Faf1 locus. The mutation disrupts the Faf1 and leads to lethality of the Faf1GT/GT embryos near the 2-cell stage. Analysis of FAF1 expression revealed that the protein is present in early preimplantation stages, while embryonic expression of Faf1 mRNA becomes appreciable at 4-cell stage. These results indicate that the death of Faf1GT/GT at the 2-cell stage may coincide with the depletion of maternal FAF1 in these embryos. Thus, our results indicate that the FAF1 gene product is necessary for early embryonic development.
Misperceptions in stereoscopic displays Held, Robert T.; Banks, Martin S.
ACM transactions on graphics,
01/2008, Letnik:
2008
Conference Proceeding, Journal Article
Recenzirano
3d shape and scene layout are often misperceived when viewing stereoscopic displays. For example, viewing from the wrong distance alters an object's perceived size and shape. It is crucial to ...understand the causes of such misperceptions so one can determine the best approaches for minimizing them. The standard model of misperception is geometric. The retinal images are calculated by projecting from the stereo images to the viewer's eyes. Rays are back-projected from corresponding retinal-image points into space and the ray intersections are determined. The intersections yield the coordinates of the predicted percept. We develop the mathematics of this model. In many cases its predictions are close to what viewers perceive. There are three important cases, however, in which the model fails: 1) when the viewer's head is rotated about a vertical axis relative to the stereo display (yaw rotation); 2) when the head is rotated about a forward axis (roll rotation); 3) when there is a mismatch between the camera convergence and the way in which the stereo images are displayed. In these cases, most rays from corresponding retinal-image points do not intersect, so the standard model cannot provide an estimate for the 3d percept. Nonetheless, viewers in these situations have coherent 3d percepts, so the visual system must use another method to estimate 3d structure. We show that the non-intersecting rays generate vertical disparities in the retinal images that do not arise otherwise. Findings in vision science show that such disparities are crucial signals in the visual system's interpretation of stereo images. We show that a model that incorporates vertical disparities predicts the percepts associated with improper viewing of stereoscopic displays. Improving the model of misperceptions will aid the design and presentation of 3d displays.
•ADF-STEM is powerful technique for 3D location of substitutionally doped atoms.•The effects of specimen mistilt on ADF-STEM imaging of doped atoms are evaluated.•Visibility changes over 0–30 mrad ...mistilts are large enough to preclude 3D dopant location.•Dopant visibility is a strong function of specimen mistilt and cannot be ignored.
Quantitative ADF-STEM imaging paired with image simulations has proven to be a powerful technique for determining the three dimensional location of substitutionally doped atoms in thin films. Expansion of this technique to lightly-doped nanocrystals requires an understanding of the influence of specimen mistilt on dopant visibility due to the difficulty of accurate orientation determination in such systems as well as crystal movement under the beam. In this study, the effects of specimen mistilt on ADF-STEM imaging are evaluated using germanium-doped silicon nanocrystals as model systems. It is shown that dopant visibility is a strong function of specimen mistilt, and the accuracy of specimen orientation is an important factor in the analysis of three-dimensional dopant location, but the sensitivity to mistilt can be weakened by increasing the STEM probe convergence angle and optimizing ADF detector inner angle.
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Since the incidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) may depend on the intensity of the pretreatment, we studied the incidence of CMV ...infections after reduced-intensity compared to myeloablative conditioning. A total of 82 patients with matched related or unrelated donors were prospectively monitored for CMV infections after HSCT by CMV-PCR techniques, CMV-antigenemia and clinical observation. A total of 45 patients received reduced-intensity conditioning consisting of fludarabine, busulfan and ATG and 37 patients received myeloablative conditioning. Leukocyte engraftment occurred after a median of 15 vs 18 days (P=0.012) and platelet engraftment after 12 days vs 20 days (P=0.001), respectively. Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) grade II-IV was observed in 58 vs 54% patients (P=0.737), respectively. The onset and peak values of CMV-antigenemia and DNAemia and the incidence of CMV infections did not differ statistically significantly between the two treatment groups. Multivariate analysis confirmed CMV seropositivity of the recipient (P=0.035), acute GVHD II-IV (P=0.001) but not the type of conditioning as significant risk factors for CMV-antigenemia. In conclusion, the kinetics of CMV-antigenemia and DNAemia and the incidence of CMV infections were not statistically different in patients who received HSCT after reduced-intensity conditioning with fludarabine, busulfan and ATG compared to myeloablative conditioning.
The adoption rate of Electric Vehicles (EV's) is influenced by a considerable number of factors on both local and national levels. Most of the research aimed at understanding under what conditions ...that adoption thrives focuses on either level. There is also relatively little attention for the configurational nature of its uptake. We present a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) of e-mobility policies in 15 European cities in order to identify policy configurations on the national and local, urban level that lead to favorable results, i.e. the successful promotion and consequent adoption of EV's.
The results confirm the configurational characteristic of e-mobility policies. We identified in particular one configuration that is sufficient for the favorable outcome to occur: policies that have a stronger effect on the total cost of ownership of EV's in conjunction with incentivizing the installation of home chargers or charging points on private parking space in addition to the setting-up of a public charging grid in conjunction with push-factors that de-incentivize the usage of conventional cars lead to favorable results. Thus, our findings lead the focus on policy approaches that treat EV adoption in a holistic and dynamic way by properly linking incentives with de-incentives.
•We analyse under which conditions the promotion and subsequent adoption of Electric Vehicles (EV's) can be successful.•Our findings show that three alternative, mutually non-exclusive combinations of conditions lead to the favorable outcome.•Results refer to a systemic policy approach that incentivizes EV's by simultaneously de-incentivizing conventional cars.•Single, uncombined measures do not achieve the uptake of EV's.
Abstract Introduction Due to the lack of human donors, several strategies have sought to expand the organ pool. Efforts to characterize donation after cardiac death (DCD) have included studies of ...cell viability, histological and immunohistochemical changes, and oxidative stress, which is known to negatively impact graft survival. A large animal model would be useful for these inquiries. Therefore, we sought to establish a DCD animal model in pigs. Methods We simulated non–heart-beating donation Maastricht II and III conditions in 24 pigs. Cardiac fibrillation was induced using 9-V direct current. After various times of ventricular fibrillation (1–10 minutes) with no mechanical and/or medical treatment to achieve cardiac output, reanimation was performed for 30 minutes prior to multiorgan donation. Then, a neurological status was performed. Blood samples were obtained at defined times tissue samples were stored in liquid nitrogen and subsequently embedded in paraffin and subjected to further analysis. Results We established a DCD pig model in our laboratory by inducing cardiac fibrillation. Up to now, only DCD donation according to the Maastricht criteria II and III has been performed, but establishing all Maastricht criteria of DCDs seems to be feasible. Conclusion A DCD model in pigs enables us to characterize organ quality more precisely as well as evaluate amelioration of storage conditions and donor treatments in a large-animal model.
Titanium nitride has attracted attention for its plasmonic properties as a thermally stable, biocompatible, and cost-effective alternative to gold. In this work, we synthesized titanium nitride ...nanocrystals in a nonthermal plasma using tetrakis (dimethylamino) titanium (TDMAT) and ammonia as the titanium and nitrogen precursors. Extinction measurements of as-produced 6–8 nm titanium nitride nanocrystals exhibit a broad plasmon resonance peaking near 800 nm, possibly suitable for photothermal therapy treatments. Ammonia flow rate and plasma power were found to affect nanocrystal morphology and chemical composition, and therefore significantly impact the plasmonic properties. A moderate ammonia flow rate of 1.2 sccm and relatively high nominal plasma power of 100 W produced samples with the best plasmon resonances, narrower than those previously reported for plasma-synthesized titanium nitride nanocrystals.
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