The purpose of this research is twofold: firstly, we aim to understand the role of virtual reality (VR) in influencing tourism consumers’ attitudes toward a tourist destination and, secondly, ...understand the influence of different levels of sensory information presented through VR experiences on the development of mental imagery, attitudes toward the destination, and visit intention. We tackle this through a multistudy experimental approach. First, in study 1, we demonstrate that VR plays a positive role in enhancing previously held consumer attitudes toward a tourist destination. Second, we affirm that VR has a greater positive effect on attitudes toward a destination in comparison to a less immersive technology (i.e., website). Third, in study 2, we find that different levels of sensory information in VR experiences result in significant differences with regard to the developed mental imagery, sense of presence in the experience, attitudes toward the destination and visit intentions.
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is the most common monogenic periodic fever syndrome and characterized by recurrent episodes of fever, serositis, arthritis, dermal manifestations, and long-term ...renal complications. The MEFV gene was described in 1997 as the gene responsible for FMF and is inherited in autosomal recessive manner. It encodes mutated protein pyrin, an important player in the innate immune system and the component of inflammasome which leads to exaggerated inflammatory response through uncontrolled production of interleukin-1. The recent progress in molecular genetics and understanding of pathogenesis showed a more complicated picture of FMF inheritance, penetrance, and pathogenesis. The pathogenesis is not completely understood although the gene responsible for FMF has been identified. Whether the pyrin mutation effect in FMF is due to a loss of function or a gain of function is still controversial. The diagnosis is mainly clinical and the genetic testing is indicated to support it. Colchicine remains the mainstay of treatment of FMF since 1972. It decreases the attacks, improves quality of life, and prevents amyloidosis. The recent advances in genetic testing and molecular studies has led to the development of new therapies of interleukin-1 inhibitors; anakinra, canakinumab, and rilonacept.
•Non-linear 3D finite element model (FEM) was constructed using ABAQUS/standard.•The FEM was verified using FRP-strengthened RC beams with/without openings.•The interfacial surface was modeled using ...perfect bond and cohesive surface model.•Impacts of opening location, opening area and FRP layout were investigated.•Strengthening RC beams over the whole RC beam height exhibited the highest load.
Web openings are usually constructed in continuous reinforced concrete (RC) beams to accommodate the utility pipes and cables. This paper investigates numerically shear strengthening of continuous RC beams having web openings with FRP layers. The finite element analysis software ABAQUS/standard was used to construct non-linear finite element model (FEM) to analyze continuous RC beams having web openings strengthened with different schemes of fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) layers. The FEM was verified using the available experimental studies of both FRP-strengthened simply supported and continuous RC beams with/without openings found in literature before conducting the numerical investigation. The numerical investigation was carried out using the validated numerical FEM to investigate the impacts of crucial parameters such as opening location, opening area and strengthening configuration on the shear behavior of continuous RC beams strengthened with FRP layers. Three different locations were suggested along the length of the RC beam to construct the web openings. On the other hand, the effects of five different opening area on the load capacity and failure patterns were investigated. Moreover, two different FRP strengthening configurations were considered either strengthening above and below the opening or strengthening the whole RC beam height. Results showed that continuous RC beams containing openings at zone II group was the most affected among analyzed locations. The reduction in load capacities of this group ranged from 7.3 to 66.1% compared to the solid beam. The ultimate loads of specimens strengthened over the whole RC beam height exhibited the highest values among analyzed specimens.
Ubiquitination: Friend and foe in cancer Mansour, Mohammed A.
International journal of biochemistry & cell biology,
August 2018, 2018-08-00, 20180801, Volume:
101
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
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Dynamic modulation and posttranslational modification of proteins are tightly controlled biological processes that occur in response to physiological cues. One such dynamic modulation ...is ubiquitination, which marks proteins for degradation via the proteasome, altering their localization, affecting their activity, and promoting or interfering with protein interactions. Hence, ubiquitination is crucial for a plethora of physiological processes, including cell survival, differentiation and innate and adaptive immunity. Similar to kinases, components of the ubiquitination system are often deregulated, leading to a variety of diseases, such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. In a context-dependent manner, ubiquitination can regulate both tumor-suppressing and tumor-promoting pathways in cancer. This review outlines how components of the ubiquitination systems (e.g. E3 ligases and deubiquitinases) act as oncogenes or tumor suppressors according to the nature of their substrates. Furthermore, I interrogate how the current knowledge of the differential roles of ubiquitination in cancer lead to technical advances to inhibit or reactivate the components of the ubiquitination system accordingly.
Abstract
In this paper, novel compact high-efficiency multi-band rectifiers that supply positive and negative output voltages are demonstrated for energy harvesting applications. The proposed voltage ...doubler circuits are used as real DC voltage supplies of radio frequency mm-wave CMOS receivers. Operating multi-band rectifiers have a complicated structure that required more resonance networks to force the rectifier to work in multi-band. Novel series and parallel resonance networks are implemented to force the rectifier to operate in dual-band at frequencies of 850 and 1400 MHz. The proposed resonance network eliminates the Schottky diode impedance variation as the input power or frequency changes and supports the impedance matching and minimizes the insertion loss. A novel high-quality sine-shape micro-strip inductor that obtains a quality factor above 65 over the frequency band from 200 to 1400 MHz and inductance equal to 14 ± 2 nH is designed to improve efficiency and enhance performance at low power levels. The first suggested RF voltage doubler rectifier with series resonance feedback between the input and cathode of the diode and parallel resonance operates at two frequency bands of 850 and 1400 MHz and obtains a peak conversion efficiency of 59%, a saturated output DC voltage is 2.5 V, and the conversion efficiency is 40% at RF-input-power of − 10 dBm. This voltage doubler achieves the required DC supply parameter (1.1 V and 450 uA) for biasing the mm-wave receiver at an RF input power of 0 dBm. Otherwise, the second suggested negative voltage rectifier has a maximum simulated conversion efficiency of 65%, saturated negative DC-voltage is − 3.5 V, and the conversion efficiency is 45% at an RF input power of − 10 dBm. The negative voltage rectifier obtains DC supply parameters (− 0.5 V and no current condition used for a gate bias) at − 10 dBm input power.
Chronic pain is associated with neuronal plasticity. Here we use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate functional changes in patients suffering from chronic back pain ...(CBP), complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and knee osteoarthritis (OA). We isolated five meaningful resting-state networks across the groups, of which only the default mode network (DMN) exhibited deviations from healthy controls. All patient groups showed decreased connectivity of medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) to the posterior constituents of the DMN, and increased connectivity to the insular cortex in proportion to the intensity of pain. Multiple DMN regions, especially the MPFC, exhibited increased high frequency oscillations, conjoined with decreased phase locking with parietal regions involved in processing attention. Both phase and frequency changes correlated to pain duration in OA and CBP patients. Thus chronic pain seems to reorganize the dynamics of the DMN and as such reflect the maladaptive physiology of different types of chronic pain.
With the antibiotic development pipeline running dry, many fear that we might soon run out of treatment options. High-density infections are particularly difficult to treat due to their adaptive ...multidrug-resistance and currently there are no therapies that adequately address this important issue. Here, a large-scale in vivo study was performed to enhance the activity of antibiotics to treat high-density infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It was shown that synthetic peptides can be used in conjunction with the antibiotics ciprofloxacin, meropenem, erythromycin, gentamicin, and vancomycin to improve the treatment outcome of murine cutaneous abscesses caused by clinical hard-to-treat pathogens including all ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter cloacae) pathogens and Escherichia coli. Promisingly, combination treatment often showed synergistic effects that significantly reduced abscess sizes and/or improved clearance of bacterial isolates from the infection site, regardless of the antibiotic mode of action. In vitro data suggest that the mechanisms of peptide action in vivo include enhancement of antibiotic penetration and potential disruption of the stringent stress response.
The short-term rainfall climatology regime over Saudi Arabia is obtained from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) data for the period 1998–2009. The TRMM rainfall amounts are calibrated ...with respect to the rain-gauge data recorded at 29 stations across the country. Day-to-day rainfall comparisons show that the TRMM rainfall trends are very similar to the observed data trends, even if a general overestimation in the satellite products must be highlighted. Besides, especially during the wet season, some of the TRMM algorithm runs tend to underestimate the retrieved rainfalls. The TRMM rainfall data also closely follow the observed annual cycle on a monthly scale. The correlation coefficient for rainfall between the TRMM and the rain-gauge data is about 0.90, with a 99% level of significance on the monthly scale.
The spatio-temporal distributions of rainfall over Saudi Arabia are analyzed. Besides the four conventional seasons, this analysis consider the wet (November–April) and dry (June–September) seasons, based on the rainfall amounts recorded. Spring is the highest and winter is the second highest rainfall-occurring season, resulting in large amounts of rainfall during the wet season over most of the country. Regional variations in the rainfall climatology over Saudi Arabia are studied through defining four regions. The false alarm ratio, probability of detection, threat score, and skill score are calculated to evaluate the TRMM performance. The country's average annual rainfall measured by the TRMM is 89.42mm, whereas the observed data is 82.29mm. Thus, the rainfall in Saudi Arabia is suggested as being the TRMM value multiplied by 0.93 plus 0.04. After this calibration, the TRMM-measured rainfall is almost 100% of the observed data, thereby confirming that TRMM data may be used in a variety of water-related applications in Saudi Arabia.
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► Rainfall was obtained from TRMM data for the period 1998 -2009 over Saudi Arabia. ► Between the TRMM and the rain-gauge data r is 0.90 with a 99% level of significance. ► TRMM overestimates rainfall over Saudi Arabia, particularly over the coastal areas. ► After calibration, TRMM-measured rainfall is almost close to the observed data.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease that causes chronic inflammation of the joints. RA is a heterogeneous disorder caused by an abnormal autoimmune response triggered by the ...complex interactions of genetic and environmental factors that contribute to RA etiology. However, its underlying pathogenic mechanisms are yet to be fully understood. In this review, I provide an overview of the pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapeutic insight in the clinical management of RA in light of the recent updates to classification criteria and recent discoveries of genetic loci associated with susceptibility for RA.
The interest in installing photovoltaic (PV)-based microgrids has increased significantly in the last few years due to the urgent need for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving the ...reliability as well as the quality of power supply, particularly in developing countries. The design of a microgrid is challenging since multiple components and complicated operating conditions have to be taken into account. In this article, a comprehensive method for optimal design of a class of residential PV-battery microgrids is proposed to determine the optimal number of lead-acid batteries and PV panels, the optimal battery bank depth of discharge (DOD) value, and the optimal tilt angle of the PV panels. The aim of the optimization is to minimize the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) where the limitation of the annual total loss of the power supply and the operational constraints are considered. In addition, a detailed model for battery lifetime estimation is introduced based on the physico-chemical mechanism of the lead-acid battery. Moreover, the effect of design parameters, e.g., the size and DOD of the battery bank on the battery capacity degradation, the PV-panel number and battery lifetime on LCOE, is investigated. Computation results demonstrate that the proposed method is capable of optimizing the size of the microgrid components and the other design parameters while satisfying all technical and operational constraints.
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