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Purpose: The accurate and timely assessment of the collateral perfusion status is crucial in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Previous works have shown that collateral imaging, derived from CT angiography, MR perfusion, and MR angiography, aids in evaluating the collateral status. However, such methods are time-consuming and/or sub-optimal due to the nature of manual processing and heuristics. Recently, deep learning approaches have shown to be promising for generating collateral imaging. These, however, suffer from the computational complexity and cost. Methods: In this study, we propose a mobile, lightweight deep regression neural network for collateral imaging in acute ischemic stroke, leveraging dynamic susceptibility contrast MR perfusion (DSC-MRP). Built based upon lightweight convolution and Transformer architectures, the proposed model manages the balance between the model complexity and performance. Results: We evaluated the performance of the proposed model in generating the five-phase collateral maps, including arterial, capillary, early venous, late venous, and delayed phases, using DSC-MRP from 952 patients. In comparison with various deep learning models, the proposed method was superior to the competitors with similar complexity and was comparable to the competitors of high complexity. Conclusion: The results suggest that the proposed model is able to facilitate rapid and precise assessment of the collateral status of patients with acute ischemic stroke, leading to improved patient care and outcome.

Muscle wasting in chronic kidney disease is associated with increased cardiovascular events, morbidity, and mortality. However, whether pretransplantation skeletal muscle mass affects kidney transplantation (KT) outcomes has not been established. We analyzed 623 patients who underwent KT between 2004 and 2019. We measured the cross-sectional area of total skeletal muscle at the third lumbar vertebra level on pretransplantation computed tomography scan. The patients were grouped into low and normal skeletal muscle mass groups based on the sex-specific skeletal muscle mass index lowest quartile. During the entire follow-up period, 45 patients (7.2%) died and 56 patients (9.0%) experienced death-censored graft loss. Pretransplantation low skeletal muscle mass was independently associated with all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 2.269; 95% confidence interval, 1.232-4.182). Low muscle mass was also associated with an increased risk of hospital readmission within 1 year after transplantation. Death-censored graft survival rates were comparable between the 2 groups. The low muscle group showed higher creatinine-based estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) than the normal muscle group. Although cystatin C-based eGFRs were measured in only one-third of patients, cystatin C-based eGFRs were comparable between the 2 groups. Pretransplantation low skeletal muscle mass index is associated with an increased risk of mortality and hospital readmission after KT.

ABSTRACTAlthough we have entered the new normal created by the COVID-19 crisis, few studies have offered guidance for the future of hospitality and tourism education. This study attempts to fill this gap by adopting two theories – curriculum theory and stakeholder theory. Thirty participants, consisting of hospitality and tourism students, faculty members, and industry professionals, were interviewed in focus groups. The results demonstrate curricula with a heavy emphasis on technology (artificial intelligence, virtual reality, or big data), marketing, culture/diversity, safety/crisis management, and entrepreneurship; and soft competencies focusing on creativity, self-confidence/positivity, self-care/wellness, critical thinking, leadership and teamwork. Many of these hard and soft skills reflect a greater need for new innovative business ideas and safety/health concerns in the post-COVID era. We hope these results serve as a foundation for educators and other stakeholders involved in setting plans and strategies for hospitality and tourism education in the years to come.

When examining the joint associations of obesity and cardiorespiratory fitness with indices of coronary artery calcification, the fit-obese combination was not associated with coronary artery calcification scores, which could potentially reinforce the fat-but-fit paradigm.

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic performance among hospitality Master students. Using data on 60 hospitality Master students from an Australian University, EI scores, measured using the Trait Emotional Intelligence scale are regressed against self-reported grade point average (GPA) scores. The regression is significant, underlining that EI indeed plays an important role in academic performance. The four components of the Trait EI scale, namely Well-being, Self-control, Emotionality, and Sociability were distinguished, and each component was modeled as an independent driver of the GPA score. Of the four components, Emotionality was significant implying that hospitality Master students’ ability to perceive and express emotions and use them to develop and maintain relationships is a critical predictor of GPA.

In this study, the nutritional contents of ready-to-cook (RTC) meals distributed in Korea were compared to those of conventional home-cooked meals to evaluate the nutritional quality of RTC meals. A total of 42 samples of RTC meals were collected in 2021 and prepared according to the recipes provided in the meal packages. They were categorized into five groups and 23 types, which included four types of soup, six types of stew, four types of hot pot, four types of noodles, and five types of braised dishes. A total of 23 samples of home-cooked meals corresponding to individual types of RTC meals were prepared using recipes from the Korean food composition database. Both RTC and home-cooked meals shared similarities in the types and quantities of individual ingredients (grains, vegetables, meats/fishes, and sauces). No distinct differences were observed in the contents of energy, proximate components, total saturated fatty acids, total transfatty acids, and Na between both meals. RTC meals exhibited a significantly higher total sugar content within the groups of stew and noodles and tended to show increased total sugar content within the groups of soup and hot pot when compared to that of home-cooked meals. When compared to the recommended World Health Organization daily intake, the Na content per serving in both home-cooked and RTC meals tended to be greater (17.1–167.3% of the daily intake value) than those of total saturated fatty acids, total transfatty acids, and total sugars (0.8–49.7%, 0–20.0%, and 0–54.7%, respectively).

A fused-deposition modeling (FDM) 3D-printed polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG)–sepiolite composite showed effective synergetic mechanical reinforcement in tensile testing compared to an injection-molded composite. The results showed that the addition of 3 phr sepiolite improved the tensile strength of 3D-printed PETG samples by 35.4%, while the tensile strength of injection-molded PETG samples was improved by 7.2%. To confirm these phenomena, FDM PETG–sepiolite composites were investigated by small-angle X-ray scattering to correlate the nanostructures of the composites with their mechanical strengths. The small-angle X-ray scattering data and transmission electron microscopy observations demonstrated that needle-shaped sepiolite particles were aligned in the printing direction. This fine oriented nanostructure formed during 3D printing created a synergistic effect that improved the material properties of the composite. These novel PETG–sepiolite composites with enhanced mechanical properties can be promising materials fabricated via FDM 3D printing.

An MR angiography collateral map provided patient-specific collateral perfusion information to help inform the prognosis and guide management of acute ischemic stroke through a minimal MRI protocol.

An electron beam was used to mainly utilize for polishing, finishing, welding, a lithography process, etc. However, the drilling process does not develop in the country because it is difficult to make high power parts and backing materials. The backing materials are one of the important factors and decided the quality of machined micro holes according to the constituents. This study considers the preparation of vaporized amplification sheets and the analysis of key factors for improving the electron beam processability and efficiency. We evaluated the defoaming process (for removing pores from the sheets), distribution, processability and hole shape (all based on the type of metal powder), and thermal characteristics (based on the type of silicon). Also, we identified process parameters for the optimization of the electron beam machining process.

Purpose: Acute ischemic stroke is one of the primary causes of death worldwide. Recent studies have shown that the assessment of collateral status could aid in improving the treatment for patients with acute ischemic stroke. We present a 3D deep regression neural network to automatically generate the collateral images from dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance perfusion (DSC-MRP) in acute ischemic stroke. Methods: This retrospective study includes 144 subjects with acute ischemic stroke (stroke cases) and 201 subjects without acute ischemic stroke (controls). DSC-MRP images of these subjects were manually inspected for collateral assessment in arterial, capillary, early and late venous, and delay phases. The proposed network was trained on 205 subjects, and the optimal model was chosen using the validation set of 64 subjects. The predictive power of the network was assessed on the test set of 76 subjects using the squared correlation coefficient (R-squared), mean absolute error (MAE), Tanimoto measure (TM), and structural similarity index (SSIM). Results: The proposed network was able to predict the five phase maps with high accuracy. On average, 0.897 R-squared, 0.581 × 10−1MAE, 0.946 TM, and 0.846 SSIM were achieved for the five phase maps. No statistically significant difference was, in general, found between controls and stroke cases. The performance of the proposed network was lower in the arterial and venous phases than the other three phases. Conclusion: The results suggested that the proposed network performs equally well for both control and acute ischemic stroke groups. The proposed network could help automate the assessment of collateral status in an efficient and effective manner and improve the quality and yield of diagnosis of acute ischemic stroke. The follow-up study will entail the clinical evaluation of the collateral images that are generated by the proposed network.

ABSTRACTHalls of fame can recognize and honor the contributions of organizational members and have been used widely across various fields, including sports, entertainment, business, and academia. Although the utility of a hall of fame is clear, much less is known regarding how to select the inductees. This study demonstrates a transparent, effective way to select honorees for a hall of fame using the example of the School of Hospitality Business Management at Washington State University. The process successfully selected 9 inaugural Hall of Fame inductees as part of the celebration of the 85th anniversary of the program. The results can serve as a guide for other hospitality programs considering a hall of fame or similar programs to honor alumni. Recommendations and future research directions are discussed.

ABSTRACTWith the importance of hospitality internships being universally recognized, this study examines the salient impact of internal branding on hospitality student interns’ brand-supportive behaviors through the mediation of value congruence. This study reveals that internal branding has direct positive effects on all three brand-supportive behaviors (hospitality interns’ brand service performance, intention to work for the brand after graduation, and positive word of mouth) and indirect effects through value congruence on the two outcome variables (intention to work for the brand after graduation and positive word of mouth). This study contributes to the literature by enhancing researchers’ understanding of the influence of internal branding on a brand and assists hospitality practitioners with marketing and human resource management practices associated with student interns.

Metaplastic carcinoma is a rare subtype of breast cancer that comprises histologically diverse malignancies. Metaplastic carcinoma tends to have an aggressive clinical presentation, high metastatic potential, and more chances of local recurrence, as compared with intraductal carcinoma. Although many clinical and pathologic finding have been reported, to our knowledge, there are few reports of imaging findings for this type of tumor.In this study, we reviewed data of 5 patients with histopathologically proven metaplastic breast carcinoma. Multimodality imaging findings including those from mammography, ultrasonography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography–computed tomography were recorded.The results indicated that metaplastic carcinomas tend to show more benign imaging features such as round or oval shape with circumscribed margins and less axillary lymph node metastasis compared with invasive ductal carcinoma. High signal intensity on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging due to its cystic or necrotic component may be useful for diagnosis of metaplastic carcinoma.

Peripheral nerve injury can induce pathological conditions that lead to persistent sensitized nociception. Although there is evidence that plastic changes in the cortex contribute to this process, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unclear. Here, we find that activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) induced by peripheral nerve injury increases the turnover of specific synaptic proteins in a persistent manner. We demonstrate that neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) is one of the molecules involved and show that it mediates spine reorganization and contributes to the behavioral sensitization. We show striking parallels in the underlying mechanism with the maintenance of NMDA-receptor- and protein-synthesis-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in the ACC. Our results, therefore, demonstrate a synaptic mechanism for cortical reorganization and suggest potential avenues for neuropathic pain treatment.

The education-related topics that have been favored by hospitality and tourism scholars in recent years are presented in this opinion paper. We categorized them into six groups: leadership and human capital development, teaching methods with the emphasis on active and experiential learning, online education, diversity education, internationalization, and industry experience. In addition, we shared our thoughts on additional research topics, reflecting the emerging trends in the hospitality and tourism industry as well as hospitality and tourism academia. Specifically, those thoughts include the development of undergraduate students' cultural competency, issues on hospitality and tourism PhD programs, full-fledged online curricula, and relationships with alumni and advisory board. It is our hope that this article provides some insights regarding the current status of hospitality and tourism education, and stirs up interest in education-related research within hospitality and tourism.

This study was designed to examine the moderating roles of perceived supervisor, coworker, and organizational support in the relationship between emotional labor and job performance in the airline service context. A sample of flight attendants working for one major airline company in South Korea participated in this study. The flight attendants’ official job performance data were provided by the airline company. For data analyses, a series of hierarchical moderated regression analyses were employed. The results showed differential moderation effects of the three sources of support at work. Specifically, the positive relationship between deep acting and job performance was strengthened by perceived supervisor and coworker support. The negative relationship between surface acting and job performance was exacerbated by perceived supervisor support, indicating the reverse buffering effect. Perceived organizational support showed only main effects on employee performance with no moderation effects.

This study was designed to examine the moderating roles of perceived supervisor, coworker, and organizational support in the relationship between emotional labor and job performance in the airline service context. A sample of flight attendants working for one major airline company in South Korea participated in this study. The flight attendants’ official job performance data were provided by the airline company. For data analyses, a series of hierarchical moderated regression analyses were employed. The results showed differential moderation effects of the three sources of support at work. Specifically, the positive relationship between deep acting and job performance was strengthened by perceived supervisor and coworker support. The negative relationship between surface acting and job performance was exacerbated by perceived supervisor support, indicating the reverse buffering effect. Perceived organizational support showed only main effects on employee performance with no moderation effects.

Background and purpose We present a case of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-occult intracranial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) with serious cervical myelopathy and review the pathophysiological background.Summary of case A 61-year-old man had suffered from progressive neurological deterioration. He had demonstrated swollen spinal cord with diffuse enhancement and no dilated vascularity on MRI. Finally, digital subtraction angiography revealed DAVF at the petrous ridge and it was successfully treated by embolization.Conclusion A slow flow DAVF is not readily recognizable on MRI. Whenever a patient presents with unexplainable progressive myelopathy, a possibility of vascular origin has to be considered.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer and is emerging as a therapeutic target. EGFR gene copy number alteration and mutation are highly variable and scientists have been challenged to define their prognostic significance in triple-negative breast cancer. We examined EGFR protein expression, EGFR gene copy number alteration and mutation of exon 18 to 21 in 151 cases of triple-negative breast cancer and correlated these findings with clinical outcomes. In addition, intratumoral agreement of EGFR protein overexpression and gene copy number alteration was evaluated. EGFR overexpression was found in 97 of 151 cases (64%) and high EGFR gene copy number was detected in 50 cases (33%), including 3 gene amplification (2%) and 47 high polysomy (31%). Five EGFR mutations were detected in 4 of 151 cases (3%) and included G719A in exon 18 (n=1), V786M in exon 20 (n=1), and L858R in exon 21 (n=3). One case had two mutations (G719A and L858R). High EGFR copy number, but not EGFR mutation, correlated with EGFR protein overexpression. Intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR protein overexpression and EGFR copy number alteration was not significant. In survival analyses, high EGFR copy number was found to be an independent prognostic factor for poor disease-free survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Our findings showed that EGFR mutation was a rare event, but high EGFR copy number was relatively frequent and correlated with EGFR overexpression in triple-negative breast cancer. Moreover, high EGFR copy number was associated with poor clinical outcome in triple-negative breast cancer, suggesting that evaluation of EGFR copy number may be useful for predicting outcomes in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and for selecting patients for anti-EGFR-targeted therapy.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently overexpressed in triple-negative breast cancer and is emerging as a therapeutic target. EGFRgene copy number alteration and mutation are highly variable and scientists have been challenged to define their prognostic significance in triple-negative breast cancer. We examined EGFR protein expression, EGFRgene copy number alteration and mutation of exon 18 to 21 in 151 cases of triple-negative breast cancer and correlated these findings with clinical outcomes. In addition, intratumoral agreement of EGFR protein overexpression and gene copy number alteration was evaluated. EGFR overexpression was found in 97 of 151 cases (64%) and high EGFRgene copy number was detected in 50 cases (33%), including 3 gene amplification (2%) and 47 high polysomy (31%). Five EGFRmutations were detected in 4 of 151 cases (3%) and included G719A in exon 18 (n=1), V786M in exon 20 (n=1), and L858R in exon 21 (n=3). One case had two mutations (G719A and L858R). High EGFRcopy number, but not EGFRmutation, correlated with EGFR protein overexpression. Intratumoral heterogeneity of EGFR protein overexpression and EGFRcopy number alteration was not significant. In survival analyses, high EGFRcopy number was found to be an independent prognostic factor for poor disease-free survival in patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Our findings showed that EGFRmutation was a rare event, but high EGFRcopy number was relatively frequent and correlated with EGFR overexpression in triple-negative breast cancer. Moreover, high EGFRcopy number was associated with poor clinical outcome in triple-negative breast cancer, suggesting that evaluation of EGFRcopy number may be useful for predicting outcomes in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and for selecting patients for anti-EGFR-targeted therapy.

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) may induce acute kidney injury (AKI). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the resistive index (RI), which reflects renal artery resistance on renal duplex ultrasonography, as a predictor of AKI in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients who are prescribed an ACE inhibitor or ARB.

This study investigated the links between psychological capital, adaptive performance, and change readiness in China's hotel industry, based on the theory of planned behavior and the conservation of resources theory. Recent studies have discovered that employees' attitudes to changes caused by uncertain factors could predict and explain their adaptive performance. This study raises the possibility of change readiness mediating the relationship between psychological capital and adaptive performance. Data were collected from 304 hotel employees in China, and the results revealed that 1) psychological capital can promote adaptive performance, and 2) change readiness completely mediates the association between psychological capital and adaptive performance. These findings contribute to developing a theoretical framework for psychological capital to encourage adaptive performance in the hotel industry and provide a new perspective on human resource management.

Two separate clinical studies of advanced hepatocarcinoma patients recently reported that the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib (nexavar) could extend survival of the patients only by 2-3 months. We also previously demonstrated that 4'-(p-toluenesulfonylamido)-4-hydroxychalcone (TSAHC) blocks the multilayer growth and migration mediated by TM4SF5, which is highly expressed in approximately 80% of Korean hepatocarcinoma patients. Therefore, we wondered how TSAHC might be different from sorafenib to deal with hepatocarcinoma in terms of the therapeutic characteristics including specificity for TM4SF5. TM4SF5 is previously shown to mediate tumorigenesis through cytosolic p27Kip1-mediated inactivation of RhoA, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, multilayer growth, migration, invasion, and tumor angiogenesis. In this study, TSAHC and two derivatives showed similar antagonistic activities against TM4SF5-mediated signaling and multilayer growth in vitro and anti-tumorigenic activity even in early stages of TM4SF5-mediated tumor formation in nude mice. Meanwhile, sorafenib was only effective much later in tumorigenesis in vivo and affected in vitro proliferation in a TM4SF5-independent manner. Altogether, these observations suggest that TSAHC may be a promising anti-tumorigenic reagent, especially against TM4SF5-mediated hepatocarcinoma.

We developed three-dimensional electrospun silk fibroin (ESF) scaffolds with controllable pore size. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ESF scaffolds with pores (P-ESF) for bone regeneration via in vitroand in vivostudies, with a comparison to a commercially available porous three-dimensional polylactic acid (PLA) scaffold. P-ESF supported significantly higher proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of osteoblasts than PLA in vitro(p< 0.05). Moreover, higher expression levels of activated adhesion-related proteins, including focal adhesion kinase, were observed in the P-ESF than in PLA, as confirmed by western blot analyses. Microcomputed tomography revealed that 78.30% of the original bone volume was attained in the P-ESF implantation group at 7 weeks after critical bone defect formation in rat calvaria. Comparatively, the PLA implantation group showed only 49.31%. Histological evaluation also showed new bone tissue formation upon P-ESF implantation. Taken together, the P-ESF scaffold may be a good bone substitute for bone regeneration.

ABSTRACTBy sequence and phylogenetic analyses, the 11 genomic segments of two bovine rotaviruses isolated from clinically infected calves were proven to be derived from the swine-like P[7]G5 genotype. This finding reinforced the hypothesis that interspecies transmission of completely heterologous strains can occur in nature.

Background:

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Even though there is no direct evidence to prove the cellular and molecular changes induced by radiofrequency (RF) radiation itself, we cannot completely exclude the possibility of any biological effect of mobile phone frequency radiation. We established a carousel-type exposure chamber for 849 MHz or 1763 MHz of mobile phone RF radiation to expose RF to the heads of C57BL mice. In this chamber, animals were irradiated intermittently at 7.8 W/kg for a maximum of 12 months. During this period, the body weights of 3 groups-sham, 849 MHz RF, and 1763 MHz RF-did not show any differences between groups. The brain tissues were obtained from 3 groups at 6 months and 12 months to examine the differences in histology and cell proliferation between control and RF exposure groups, but we could not find any change upon RF radiation. Likewise, we could not find changes in the expression and distribution of NeuN and GFAP in hippocampus and cerebellum, or in cell death by TUNEL assay in RF exposure groups. From these data, we conclude that the chronic exposure to 849 MHz and 1763 MHz RF radiation at a 7.8 W/kg specific absorption rate (SAR) could not induce cellular alterations such as proliferation, death, and reactive gliosis.

Huntington's disease is caused by CAG trinucleotide expansions in the gene encoding huntingtin. N- terminal fragments of huntingtin with polyglutamine produce aggregates in the endosome-lysosomal system, where proteolytic fragments of huntingtin is generated. Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) prevents the formation of protein aggregates, but the effect of HSP70 on the huntingtin in the endosome-lysosomal system is unknown. This study was to determine whether HSP70 alters the distribution of huntingtin in endosome-lysosomal system. HSP70 expressing stable cells (NIH/3T3 or cerebral hybrid cell line A1) were generated, and mutant [(CAG)100] huntingtin was transiently overexpressed. Analysis of subcellular distribution by immnuocytochemistry or proteolysis cleavage by Western blotting was performed. 18 CAG repeat wild type [WT; (CAG)18] huntingtin was used as a control. Cells with huntingtin showed patterns of endosome- lysosomal accumulation, from a 'dispersed vacuole (DV)' type into a coalescent 'perinuclear vacuole (PV)' type over time. In WT huntingtin, HSP70 increased the cells with the PV types that enhanced the proteolytic cleavage of huntingtin. However, HSP70 reduced cells of the DV and PV types expressing mutant huntingtin, that result in less proteolysis than that of control. In addition, intranuclear inclusions were formed only in mutant cells, which was not affected by HSP70. These results suggest that HSP70 alters the distribution of huntingtin in the endosome-lysosomal system, and that this contributes to huntingtin proteolysis.

Lysosomes are responsible for the degradation of macromolecules derived from the cell exterior by endocytosis, or from within the cell by autophagy. While our knowledge of the biosynthesis and targeting of lysosomal hydrolases is considerable, much less is known about the lysosomal membrane itself. To identify the lysosomal membrane proteins that mediate these functions, we have isolated lysosomes from amebae and injected them into mice to produce monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). We produced nine MAbs against Dictyostelium lysosomes from the batches of fused cells. Among them, three MAbs were specific to lysosomal membrane and gave a strong signal, and thus used in this study. The MAbs specifically reacted with a single protein band of 27 kd and stained a lysosome-like structure by immunofluorescence microscopy. To identify the antigen that the MAbs recognize, we processed differential centrifugation with whole-cell extract of Dictyostelium and traced p27 protein by activity assay of organelle marker enzyme. We showed that p27 is one component of the lysosomal system on the basis of comigration with a lysosomal marker enzyme. We also demonstrated that the 27-kd lysosomal protein is a tightly bound integral membrane protein by using a phase separation method of Triton X-114.

Abstract: We explored methods of using latent semantic analysis (LSA) to identify reading strategies in students’ self-explanations that are collected as part of a Web-based reading trainer. In this study, college students self-explained scientific texts, one sentence at a time. LSA was used to measure the similarity between the self-explanations andsemantic benchmarks (groups of words and sentences that together represent reading strategies). Three types of semantic benchmarks were compared: content words, exemplars, and strategies. Discriminant analyses were used to classify global and specific reading strategies using the LSA cosines. All benchmarks contributed to the classification of general reading strategies, but the exemplars did the best in distinguishing subtle semantic differences between reading strategies. Pragmatic and theoretical concerns of using LSA are discussed.

AbstractUsing a parametric approach, we establish necessary and sufficient optimality conditions and derive duality theorems for nonsmooth generalized minimax fractional programming containing V- ρ-invex functions.

This study correlates nuclear bone scan findings and measurements of type IV collagenases for the evaluation of bony metastasis in patients with proven breast cancer.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Background:Unlike dividing cells, platelets are usually regarded as unproductive in that they are anuclear fragments of megakaryocyte and incapable of the canonical cell cycle. However, recent evidence showed that platelets could form progeny or at least undergo fission. The observation indicated the existence of a non-hematopoietic mechanism to determine platelet count in peripheral blood. The assessing the kinetic aspects of platelet division is not easy because automated cell counters often give equivocal results after culture not supporting those previous findings. Manual chamber counting is impractical because of the difficulty in differentiating singlets from any small sized clumps.