Barium fluoride (BaF 2 ) is a fast inorganic crystal scintillator. Because of its fast scintillation with sub nanosecond decay time it is considered as a candidate crystal for a very fast crystal ...calorimetry for future HEP experiments at the intensity frontier. Two crucial issues of BaF 2 application are its radiation hardness and its slow scintillation component with 600 ns decay time, which causes pile-up. BaF 2 crystals produced by different vendors were irradiated by γ-rays up to 120 Mrad, and show good radiation hardness. A 20 cm long rare earth doped BaF 2 crystal grown by BGRI shows promising performance in slow component suppression.
Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) recognize two different epitopes. This dual specificity opens up a wide range of applications, including redirecting T cells to tumor cells, blocking two different ...signaling pathways simultaneously, dual targeting of different disease mediators, and delivering payloads to targeted sites. The approval of catumaxomab (anti-EpCAM and anti-CD3) and blinatumomab (anti-CD19 and anti-CD3) has become a major milestone in the development of bsAbs. Currently, more than 60 different bsAb formats exist, some of them making their way into the clinical pipeline. This review summarizes diverse formats of bsAbs and their clinical applications and sheds light on strategies to optimize the design of bsAbs.
This article explores the concept of the binge as viewing protocol associated with fan practices, industry practice and linked to ‘cult’ and ‘quality’ serialised content. Viewing binge-watching as an ...intersection of discourses of industry, audience and text, the concept is analysed here as shaped by a range of issues that dominate the contemporary media landscape. In this, factors like technological developments, fan discourses and practices being adopted as ‘mainstream’ media practice, changes in the discursive construction of ‘television’ and an emerging video-on-demand industry contribute to the construction of binge-watching as deliberate, self-scheduled alternative to ‘watching TV’.
Justica/Justice, directed by Maria Augusta Ramos; Juizo/Behave, directed by Maria Augusta Ramos; and Morro dos Prazeres/Hill of Pleasures, directed by Maria Augusta Ramos are reviewed.
A multiplex competitive microimmunoassay for the simultaneous determination of gliadin, casein, β-lactoglobulin, and ovalbumin is presented. The assay in microarray format is performed on a DVD where ...the allergens are physisorbed on the polycarbonate surface of the disc. The immunointeraction is detected using a mixture of specific gold-labeled antibodies and the signal amplified with the silver enhancement method. The optical density of the precipitate, read by a DVD drive, is related to the concentration of the four allergens in sample. An optimized protocol for the simultaneous extraction of the allergen proteins from food samples is also addressed. The suitability of the method is demonstrated for the simultaneous quantitative extraction and determination of the targeted allergens in spiked baby foods, juices, and beers. The sensitivity (EC50) of the multiplexed assay was 0.04, 0.40, 0.08, and 0.16 mg L
−1
for gliadin, casein, β-lactoglobulin, and ovalbumin, respectively, and the recovery results from the analysis of food samples ranged from 72 to 117%. A portable, easy-to-use, array-based bioanalytical method is developed for quantification of food allergens with a limit of detection below the accepted levels of the international legislations, which allows promotion of food safety and quality.
Graphical abstract
GLI
Gliadin,
CAS
Casein,
β-LAC
β-lactoglobulin,
OVA
Ovalbumin
Imparting good flame retardancy and mechanical properties to epoxy resin (EP), while pursuing the sustainable and safe application of EP, we synthesized a novel reactive phosphorus/nitrogen flame ...retardant for biomass through nucleophilic addition reaction, which contains flexible ether bonds and rigid aromatic ring structure (DVD). Owing to the cooperative effect of aryl ether diamine, phosphorus phenanthrene, and biomass vanillin, the DVD exhibited excellent flame retardancy. EP/DVD‐1 (0.4 wt% phosphorus content) achieved UL‐94 V‐0 rating, with an improvement in limiting oxygen index value from 26.5% (pure EP) to 32.5%. In the CCT, the modified DVD EP showed a 44.5% reduction in peak peak of heat release rate (PHRR) and a 38.0% reduction in total heat release compared to pure EPs. And flame retardant epoxy resin (FREP) still had good transparency after the addition of DVD, which indicated the nice compatibility between DVD andEP. What was noteworthiness was that at high levels of addition, the mechanical properties of modified EP for DVD was still improved compared to pure EP. These results demonstrate that DVD is an excellent and multifunctional bio‐based flame retardant with broad application prospects in the field of EP material modification.
A bio based flame retardant improves the flame retardancy and mechanical properties of epoxy resin.
Aims and objectives
We assessed the effects of a spinal cord injury home rehabilitation DVD on patients with spinal cord injury.
Background
Multimedia have been used widely in health care in the ...digital age. The provision of rehabilitation instructions is a major responsibility of the rehabilitation staff.
Design
This study adopted a quasi‐experimental pretest–posttest control group design.
Methods
We collected data from a rehabilitation nursing ward at a medical centre between October 2011–April 2012. The participants were recruited before being discharged from the hospital. The experimental group (n = 28) received multimedia DVD instructions for three months, in addition to teaching sessions conducted by the researcher, whereas the control group (n = 31) received instructions without a DVD. Both groups completed the self‐perception and self‐efficacy scales used in this study before and after the intervention.
Results
The results indicated that, after the multimedia DVD intervention, the experimental group exhibited a considerably greater improvement in self‐perception than did the control group. Although we recorded increased scores for both self‐perception and self‐efficacy for both groups, no marked differences emerged between the control and the intervention groups by using a generalised estimating equation.
Conclusion
These results suggest that the home rehabilitation DVD is an effective instrument for improving self‐perception and self‐efficacy in patients with spinal cord injury. However, monitoring these patients over the long term is necessary.
Relevance to clinical practice
Our study results confirmed that the spinal cord injury home rehabilitation DVD is a practical health education tool. We plan to use the proposed DVD intervention with a larger number of hospitalised patients, and to continuously monitor their improvement.
While immune checkpoint blockade leads to potent antitumor efficacy, it also leads to immune-related adverse events in cancer patients. These toxicities stem from systemic immune activation resulting ...in inflammation of multiple organs, including the gastrointestinal tract, lung, and endocrine organs. We developed a dual variable domain immunoglobulin of anti-CTLA4 antibody (anti-CTLA4 DVD, where CTLA4 is defined as cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4) possessing an outer tumor-specific antigen-binding site engineered to shield the inner anti-CTLA4-binding domain. Upon reaching the tumor, the outer domain was cleaved by membrane type-serine protease 1 (MT-SP1) present in the tumor microenvironment, leading to enhanced localization of CTLA4 blockade. Anti-CTLA4 DVD markedly reduced multiorgan immune toxicity by preserving tissue-resident Tregs in Rag 1-/- mice that received naive donor CD4+ T cells from WT C57BL/6j mice. Moreover, anti-CTLA4 DVD induced potent antitumor effects by decreasing tumor-infiltrating Tregs and increasing the infiltration of antigen-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes in TRAMP-C2-bearing C57BL/6j mice. Treg depletion was mediated through the antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) mechanism, as anti-CTLA4 without the FcγR-binding portion (anti-CTLA4 DANA) spared Tregs, preventing treatment-induced toxicities. In summary, our results demonstrate an approach to anti-CTLA4 blockade that depletes tumor-infiltrating, but not tissue-resident, Tregs, preserving antitumor effects while minimizing toxicity. Thus, our tumor-conditional anti-CTLA4 DVD provides an avenue for uncoupling antitumor efficacy from immunotherapy-induced toxicities.
The failed macular hole is a full-thickness defect involving the fovea that fails to close despite 1 or more surgeries. While many surgical options have been proposed to manage it, none of these ...guarantee complete anatomical success and satisfactory visual recovery. We report postoperative outcomes on 36 patients affected by failed macular hole, treated with a human amniotic membrane plug transplant. Follow-ups were performed with a standard ophthalmological examination and with advanced multimodal diagnostic imaging. Anatomical closure was achieved at 3 months in all patients. Mean best-corrected visual acuity improved statistically significantly at 6 months (p < 0.05). Through microperimetric tests, we assessed a partial recovery of the macular sensitivity on the edges of the plug. Analyzing SD-OCT images, we reported a tissutal ingrowth above the plug, and its segmentation into layers, mimicking normal retinal architecture. OCT-Angiography images non invasively analysed the retinal parafoveal capillary microvasculature; the elaboration of Adaptive Optics images showed the presence of photoreceptors at the edges of the plug. This work demonstrates not only the complete anatomical success of our technique, but also remarkable functional results, and opens the door to a greater understanding of modifications induced by the presence of a human amniotic membrane plug.
This paper extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to incorporate the impact of personal and virtual word‐of‐mouth (pWOM and vWOM). The authors hypothesize that both types of word‐of‐mouth will ...be positively related with consumer perceptions of innovation usefulness and perceived ease of use. In addition, the authors examine two competing hypotheses regarding the relative impact of pWOM and vWOM on perceptions of innovation attributes. One hypothesis argues that potential adopters place more weight on pWOM sources because they perceive relatively more similarity between themselves and pWOM sources. The alternative hypothesis argues that potential adopters place more weight on vWOM sources because those sources (relative to pWOM sources) expose potential adopters to a wider variety of information and a larger number of experts. Finally, the authors argue that symbolic product usage will enhance the relationship between word‐of‐mouth and consumer perceptions of innovation attributes.
These hypotheses are tested using data collected in Japan from over 600 potential adopters of Blu‐ray DVD recorders and smart phones. Findings indicate that, in both product categories, pWOM and vWOM are positively and significantly related with perceived ease of use. Moreover, in both samples pWOM is positively and significantly related with perceived usefulness, while vWOM is significantly related with perceived usefulness only in the smart phone sample. With regard to the relative impact of pWOM and vWOM on perceptions of innovation attributes, results indicate that vWOM has a larger impact on potential adopter perceptions of ease of use. Finally, the estimated model provides support for the hypothesis that symbolic consumption increases the impact of word‐of‐mouth on perceptions of innovation attributes. In particular, findings indicate that the impact of pWOM on perceptions of innovation usefulness is higher among potential adopters of smart phones than among potential adopters of Blu‐ray DVD recorders. Similarly, the impact of vWOM on perceptions of ease of use is higher among potential smart phone adopters than among potential adopters of Blu‐ray DVD recorders.
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