Uncertain input parameters may result from "fuzziness", "randomness" or "fuzzy randomness". With the use of fuzzy set theory, uncertain input parameters may be described mathematically as fuzzy variables or fuzzy random variables and may be integrated into safety assessment analysis. With the aid of -discretization involving the multiple solution of special optimization problems, fuzzy input pa...

Pine polyphenols (PPs) are bioactive dietary constituents that enhance health and help prevent diseases through antioxidants. Antioxidants reduce the level of oxidative damages caused by ionizing radiation (IR). The main purpose of this paper is to study the protective effect of PPs on peripheral blood, liver and spleen injuries in mice induced by IR. ICR (Institute of Cancer Research) male mic...

Periodic elements play important roles in genomic structures and functions, yet some complex periodic elements in genomes are difficult to detect by conventional methods such as digital signal processing and statistical analysis. We propose a periodic power spectrum (PPS) method for analyzing periodicities of DNA sequences. The PPS method employs periodic nucleotide distributions of DNA sequenc...

This paper addresses issue of sensitivity of efficiency classification of variable returns to scale (VRS) technology for enhancing the credibility of data envelopment analysis (DEA) results in practical applications when an additional decision making unit (DMU) needs to be added to the set being considered. It also develops a structured approach to assisting practitioners in making an appropria...

The research explores the possibilities of biogas extraction from aquaculture waste. Samples fish-farming pool sludge were taken a fish farm, which is located in Krāslava district, Kalnieši rural municipality. Prior to experimental fermentation and biogas, samples analyzed order determine their moisture organic matter content (OMC). For purpose increasing OMC available for fermentation, was mix...

BACKGROUND The Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) was first introduced in1996 as a new tool for measurement of performance status in palliative care. PPS has been used in many countries and has been translated into other languages. METHODS This study evaluated the reliability and validity of PPS. A web-based, case scenarios study with a test-retest format was used to determine reliability. Fi...

Lactic acid bacteria are well known to possess immune-modulating effects, but the mechanisms underlying their modulation of the gut immune system are not fully understood. Here, we examined the localization of heat-killed Lactobacillus pentosus strain b240 (b240) in intestinal tissues and the effect of b240 on adaptive immune cascades in the gut. Histological analysis showed that b240 co-locali...

We defined the function of type I interferons (IFNs) in defense against reovirus strain type 1 Lang (T1L), which is a double-stranded RNA virus that infects Peyer's patches (PPs) after peroral inoculation of mice. T1L induced expression of mRNA for IFN-alpha, IFN-beta, and Mx-1 in PPs and caused localized intestinal infection that was cleared in 10 d. In contrast, T1L produced fatal systemic in...