This paper focuses on the use of pulse functions and point matching method to construct the impedance matrix needed for the characteristic mode analysis of dielectric bodies. Taking the results given by a commercial Method of Moments (MoM) solver as a benchmark, the proposed method is shown to facilitate accurate characteristic eigenvectors and eigenvalues on these structures using low order basis

A new European Union policy could increase the supply of legitimate pharmaceuticals in developing countries and thereby minimize the problem of counterfeit medicines, but many challenges remain. This paper describes the proposed European legislation and discusses its' potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Ultimately, we consider if the United States should consider similar po

The practice of using quantitative risk assessments (QRAs) for managing risks in land-use planning varies between countries. Some regulatory regimes are highly prescriptive in terms of explicit requirements on methodology, assumptions, modelling tools, input data, risk criteria, etc. Others require risk analyses to support decision-making without regulating the details. The present study seeks to

African countries such as Nigeria are anticipated to be more susceptible to the impacts of climate change due to reliance on rainfed agriculture. In this regard, the impacts of climate change on crop water requirements (CWR), yields and crop water productivity (CWP) of soybean in the Ogun-Ona River Basin, Nigeria, were evaluated for the baseline period (1986–2015) and future period (2021–2099) und

Apolipoprotein M (apoM) participates in both high-density lipoprotein and cholesterol metabolism. Little is known about how apoM affects lipid composition of the liver and serum. In this study, we systemically investigated the effects of apoM on liver and plasma lipidomes and how apoM participates in lipid cycling, via apoM knockout in mice and the human SMMC-7721 cell line. We used integrated mas

It is well recognized that human periodontal ligament cells (PDL cells) may represent local immune cells of the periodontal tissues. However, it is unclear whether they represent “true” immune cells, since they can produce pro-inflammatory cytokines not only after stimulation with bacterial lipopolysaccharides but also in response to other stimuli such as mechanical stress. Stimulation with bacter

Objective To compare the risk and severity of prostate cancer between men achieving fatherhood by assisted reproduction and men conceiving naturally.Design National register based cohort study.Setting Sweden from January 1994 to December 2014.Participants 1 181 490 children born alive in Sweden during 1994-2014 to the same number of fathers. Fathers were grouped according to fertility status by mo

Sustainable tourism (ST) has recently become the mainstream of the tourism industry and, accordingly, has influenced contemporary tourism research. However, ST is not just theories about indications and contraindications of global travel, but also a specific language that needs mastering to take sustainability work forward. In other words, what research receives recognition depends on the proficie

BACKGROUND: Brevican and neurocan are central nervous system-specific extracellular matrix proteoglycans. They are degraded by extracellular enzymes, such as metalloproteinases. However, their degradation profile is largely unexplored in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).OBJECTIVE: The study aim was to quantify proteolytic peptides derived from brevican and neurocan in human CSF of patients with Alzheimer

Summary: In elderly ambulatory men, high platelet and high neutrophil counts are related to low bone mineral density (BMD), after adjustment for relevant covariates. Low hemoglobin (hgb) is even associated with low BMD, but this relationship seems to be dependent on estradiol and osteocalcin. Purpose: Blood and bone cells exist in close proximity to each other in the bone marrow. Accumulating evid

The kynurenine pathway of tryptophan degradation produces several neuroactive metabolites suggested to be involved in a wide variety of diseases and disorders, however, technical challenges in reliably detecting these metabolites hampers cross-comparisons. The main objective of this study was to develop an accurate, robust and precise bioanalytical method for simultaneous quantification of ten pla

Aim: To assess the prevalence of neurodevelopmental problems in adolescents with severe obesity and their associations with binge eating and depression. Methods: Data were collected at inclusion in a randomised study of bariatric surgery in 48 adolescents (73% girls; mean age 15.7 ± 1.0 years; mean body mass index 42.6 ± 5.2 kg/m2). Parents completed questionnaires assessing their adolescents’ sym

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) is a widely consumed tropical fruit. UV-C irradiation reduces the microbial load of fruits and contributes to the increase their content of phenolic compounds (PCs). Snack-bars were prepared batch using UV-C irradiated pineapple slices (irradiated pineapple bar, IPB) or with non-irradiated pineapple slices (non-irradiated pineapple bar, NIPB). Both snacks-bar samples wer

Statins, commonly used to treat hypercholesterolemia, have also been proposed as anti-cancer agents. The identification of a predictive marker is essential. The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme-A reductase (HMGCR), which is inhibited by statins, might serve as such a marker. Thorough antibody validation was performed for four different HMGCR antibodies. Tumor expression of HMGCR (#AMAb90619, CL

PURPOSE: To estimate the excess healthcare use and work disability attributable to knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the first five years following diagnosis.METHODS: Among individual aged 40-80 years who resided in Skåne on 31st December 2008, we identified those with a main diagnosis of knee OA during 2009-2014 and no previous diagnosis of any OA from 1998 (n=16,888). We created a comparison cohort ma

A general framework for determining fundamental bounds in nanophotonics is introduced in this paper. The theory is based on convex optimization of dual problems constructed from operators generated by electromagnetic integral equations. The optimized variable is a contrast current defined within a prescribed region of a given material constitutive relations. Two power conservation constraints anal

BACKGROUND: In December 2013, it was discovered that drinking water supplied to one third of the households in Ronneby, southern Sweden, was highly contaminated by PFAS (sum level >10,000 ng/L) originated from firefighting foams used at a nearby military airport.OBJECTIVES: To report serum PFAS levels of Ronneby residents participating in a biomonitoring program, and to describe the variation by a

River suspended sediment load (SSL) estimation is of importance in water resources engineering and hydrological modeling. In this study, a novel hybrid approach is recommended for SSL estimation in which multi-layer perceptron (MLP) is hybridized with particle swarm optimization (PSO) and then, integrated with differential evolution algorithm (DE) called as MLP-PSODE. The hybrid MLP-PSODE model is