Human leukocyte antigens class II play an important role in immune response against HCV. We investigated whether HLA class II alleles influence susceptibility to HCV infection and response to interferon therapy. HLA-DRB1 and -DQB1 loci were genotyped using PCR-SSO Luminex technology. According to our regimen, 41 (66%) of patients achieved sustained virological response to combined treatment of ...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the safety of S-1 in Japanese in inoperable or recurrent breast cancer patients. METHODS A prospective post-marketing surveillance was performed at 313 sites in Japan in patients with inoperable or recurrent breast cancer treated with S-1. We examined 1361 patients between January 2006 and December 2007 with regard to the incidence of adverse ...

It has been proposed that the elimination of electronic-service quality (e-SQ) gaps holds the key to a better website experience when dealing with organizations on-line. In turn, this leads to increased perceived e-SQ, perceived value, and importantly purchases and repurchases. In this paper a method of measuring e-SQ gaps is proposed. Regression and coefficient analysis are used to analyse dat...

Wixom and Todd (2005) integrated the user satisfaction and the technology acceptance literatures to theorize about and account for the influence of the information technology artifact on usage. Based on Wixom and Todd’s integrated model of technology usage, we propose the 3Q model by investigating the role of service quality (SQ), in addition to system quality (SysQ) and information quality (IQ...

BACKGROUND Although fascial bands within the subcutaneous (SQ) layer are commonly seen in ultrasound images, little is known about their functional role, much less their structural characteristics. This study's objective is to describe the morphological features of SQ fascial bands and to systematically evaluate the bands using image analyses tools and morphometric measures. METHODS In 28 hea...

BACKGROUND Supplementing pregnant and lactating mothers with small quantity lipid-based nutrient supplements (SQ-LNS) has resulted in improvements in birth outcomes in some low-income settings. In order to be effective, SQ-LNS must be consumed regularly over sustained periods. METHODS The objective was to assess and compare acceptability of and adherence to SQ-LNS consumption among pregnant a...

Futures studies is a value knowledge and has a two-way communication with the worldview, ideology and culture of nations. Humanities is one of the factors that influence the field of futures studies. Hence the human sciences itself could be the subject of future studies. In this study, we have tried to discuss the role of future studies in knowledge management in the field of humanities. Theref...

We present a survey for bright Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) and Centaurs, conducted at the Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) 0.9 m telescope with the KPNO 8k Mosaic CCD. The survey imaged 164 sq deg near opposition to a limiting red magnitude of 21.1. Three bright KBOs and one Centaur were found, the brightest KBO having red magnitude 19.7, about 700 km in diameter assuming a dark Centaur-lik...

INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1359 I. SANDEL’S THEORY OF JUSTICE: A “THICK REPUBLICANISM” ........... 1361 II. COMMON OWNERSHIP: LIBERAL AUTONOMY OR SUBSTANTIVE VALUES?............................................................................................ 1363 III. A NEW APPROACH TO THE COMMONS: RESOURCES, VALUES,...