Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at high risk for developing critical illness and for admission to intensive care units (ICU). 'Critically ill CKD patients' frequently develop an acute worsening of renal function (i.e. acute-on-chronic, AoC) that contributes to long-term kidney dysfunction, potentially leading to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD). An integrated multidisciplinary eff...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the potential protective effect of ischemic post-conditioning (Post-con) on ischemia-reperfusion injury of the rabbit spinal cord, and to determine if there is an additive neuroprotective effect when ischemic preconditioning (IPC) and Post-con are combined. METHODS Forty New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into four groups: group Control (C; n=10), aortic...

This study compared the short-term efficacies of different chemotherapy regimens in the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer (AOC) through pair-wise and network meta-analyses (NMA). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) identified in a comprehensive online literature search met our inclusion criteria. Direct and indirect evidence was combined to compare odds ratios (OR) and surfaces under the cum...

Graphene, a 2D crystal bonded by π and σ orbitals, possesses excellent electronic properties that are promising for next-generation optoelectronic device applications. For these a precise understanding of quasiparticle behaviour near the Dirac point (DP) is indispensable because the vanishing density of states (DOS) near the DP enhances many-body effects, such as excitonic effects and the Ander...

Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves provide a powerful tool for visualizing and comparing classification results. Regression Error Characteristic (REC) curves generalize ROC curves to regression. REC curves plot the error tolerance on the xaxis versus the percentage of points predicted within the tolerance on the y-axis. The resulting curve estimates the cumulative distribution funct...

The concentration of easily assimilable organic carbon (AOC) largely determines the microbiological stability of drinking water. However, AOC determination is often neglected in practice due to the complex and tedious nature of the conventional bioassay. The three major drawbacks of the conventional method are (1) a long assay time of 9-12 days, (2) the use of a labor-intensive enumeration tech...

This paper describes an operational concept for airline operations centers (AOC) to implement desired arrival sequences and spacing over an en route arrival merge fix and reports the results of an initial field-test. The operational concept is termed Airline Based En route Sequencing and Spacing (ABESS). ABESS allows the AOC to set up arrival flows for transition into advanced flight procedures...

This research investigated a membrane bioreactor (MBR) process for removing biodegradable organic matter (BOM) and trihalomethane (THM) precursors from pre-ozonated water. Bench-scale and mini-pilot-scale MBR experiments were conducted using powdered activated carbon (PAC) and acclimated biomass. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was removed through a combination of adsorption and biodegradation m...

The degree to which a water sample can potentially support the growth of human pathogens was evaluated. For this purpose, a pathogen growth potential (PGP) bioassay was developed based on the principles of conventional assimilable organic carbon (AOC) determination, but using pure cultures of selected pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli O157, Vibrio cholerae, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa) as the...

Avian eggs are rich in carotenoids, which derive from maternal diet where they may be available in limiting amounts. Egg carotenoids may accomplish major roles in antioxidant protection or modulate physiological functions and growth, interfering with offspring redox status, potentially in a sex-dependent way. In this study of maternal effects in relation to sex and laying order of yellow-legged...