Background: The purpose of the present study was to elucidate the experiences of long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) patients with a portable oxygen unit and to describe the patients' self-assessed health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Methods: The study employed a prospective cross-sectional design. Data collection entailed two questionnaires, namely the MedTech20 (patients' experience of the medic

This article addresses forward motion control for trajectory tracking and mobile formation coordination for a group of nonholonomic vehicles on SE(2). First, by constructing an intermediate attitude variable which involves vehicles' position information and desired attitude, the translational and rotational control inputs are designed in two stages to solve the trajectory tracking problem. Second,

Background: In order to facilitate more effective patient assessment and diagnostic support by improving the flow of information between ambulance nurses (AN) and physicians in the role of regional medical support (RMS), an application was developed for transmitting real-time video images. Objective: The objective of this study was to elucidate the physicians' experiences using a video application

Genome-wide characterization of genetic variants of a large population of individuals within the same species is essential to have a deeper insight into its evolutionary history as well as the genotype-phenotype relationship. Population genomic surveys have been performed in multiple yeast species, including the two model organisms, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. In this c

Communication mechanisms underlying the sexual isolation of species are poorly understood. Using four subspecies of Drosophila mojavensis as a model, we identify two behaviorally active, male-specific pheromones. One functions as a conserved male antiaphrodisiac in all subspecies and acts via gustation. The second induces female receptivity via olfaction exclusively in the two subspecies that prod

In wireless sensor/ad hoc networks, all wireless nodes frequently flood the network channel by transmitting control messages causing “broadcast storm problem”. Thus, inspired by the physical backbone in wired networks, a Virtual Backbone (VB) in wireless sensor/ad hoc networks can help achieve efficient broadcasting. A well-known and well-researched approach for constructing virtual backbone is so

The study investigates the relationship between drought and vegetation variations in three main basins of western and southwestern of Iran, using the comprehensive approach of time-series analysis, Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and anomaly calculation. A total of 30 ground stations’ daily meteorological data and the MODIS 16-day composite NDVI products (2000–2017) were used in this case.

The study aims to understand and explore situations of collaboration between various actors in connection with a university-driven innovation intermediary organisation, and how the intermediary organisation facilitates collaboration in the making. To this end, we employ a case of a university-driven long-lasting intermediary organisation within the agricultural and forestry sectors. We examine thr

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is highly prevalent and causes serious health complications in individuals with and without type 2 diabetes (T2D). Early diagnosis of NAFLD is important, as this can help prevent irreversible damage to the liver and, ultimately, hepatocellular carcinomas. We sought to expand etiological understanding and develop a diagnostic tool for NAFLD usin

In the light of climate change and ever-increasing evidence of the need for urgently changing food production and consumption, how do brands enter and leverage this debate? How can brands become activists by mobilizing debates around a political cause, and how can those debates promote the legitimacy of emerging industry practices? Through a case study of the now-famous food and beverage brand Oat

The pT-differential non-linear flow modes, v4,22, v5,32, v6,33 and v6,222 for π±, K±, KS0 , p + p ¯ , Λ + Λ ¯ and ϕ-meson have been measured for the first time at sNN = 5.02 TeV in Pb-Pb collisions with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The results were obtained with a multi-particle technique, correlating the identified hadrons with reference charged particles from a different pseu

Multicenter clinical and quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) studies require a high degree of reproducibility across different sites and scanner manufacturers, as well as time points. We therefore implemented a multiparameter mapping (MPM) protocol based on vendor's product sequences and demonstrate its repeatability and reproducibility for whole‐brain coverage. Within ~20 min, four MPM

Purpose: The complement system has recently sparked more interest in cancer research. The classical pathway is initiated by activation of the C1 complex, which irreversibly can be bound to and inhibited by C1-INH. We have previously shown that C1-INH is upregulated in human glioblastoma (astrocytoma grade IV) on both gene and protein level. We here examine whether the complement system seems to pl

The extent and composition of the immune response in a breast cancer is one important prognostic factor for the disease. The aim of the current work was to refine the analysis of the humoral component of an immune response in breast tumors by quantifying mRNA expression of different immunoglobulin classes and study their association with prognosis. We used RNA-Seq data from two local population-ba