Search

Voters often rely on informational shortcuts, such as the background traits of politicians, to decide which candidates to support at the ballot box. One such background trait is family composition, particularly parental status. Research, however, has mostly overlooked whether the value-laden choices that politicians make regarding their families—like what neighborhoods they live in, where they worship, and what schools they send their children to—affect how constituents view them. We conduct a survey experiment in the U.S. that presents respondents with hypothetical biographies of politicians that randomly vary one of the most important decisions that politicians make regarding their families: whether to send them to public or private school. We find that: (1) voters are more inclined to vote for politicians with children in public school; and (2) this preference may be due to voters perceiving these politicians as both warmer and more committed to public services.

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between ease of doing business score (EDBS) and cost of business start-up procedures (CBS), age dependency ratio (ADR), strength of legal rights index (SLRI), time required to get electricity (TRGE), domestic credit to private sector (DCPS), and start-up procedures to register a business (SPRB). Since 2004, the World Bank evaluates 190 economies based on business regulatory indicators ignoring other factors that may be related to business environment. This paper investigates new factors related to EDBS ignored by the World Bank since 2004. The results of correlation analysis show a negative and significant correlation between EDB and CBS, ADR, TRGE, and SPRB. Nevertheless, a positive and significant correlation was found between EDB and SLRI and DCPS. The linear regression model finds that SLRI and DGPS affected EDB positively and significantly. However, TRGE and SPRB affected negatively to EDB. Asian policymakers should reinforce SLRI and increase DCPS. However, they should also reduce TRGE and SPRB to improve EDB. Further research should be conducted on other regions and test also other factors.

The Diachronic Corpus of Political Speeches (DCPS) is a collection of 1,500 full-length political speeches in English. It includes speeches delivered in countries where English is an official language (the US, Britain, Canada, Ireland) by English-speaking politicians in various settings from 1800 up to the present time. Enriched with semi-automatic morphosyntactic annotations and with discourse-pragmatic manual annotations, the DCPS is designed to achieve maximum representativeness and balance for political English speeches from major national English varieties in time, preserve detailed metadata, and enable corpus-based studies of syntactic, semantic and discourse-pragmatic variation and change on political corpora. For speeches given from 1950 onwards, video-recordings of the original delivery are often retrievable online. This opens up avenues of research in multimodal linguistics, in which studies on the integration of speech and gesture in the construction of meaning can include analyses of recurrent gestures and of multimodal constructions. This article discusses the issues at stake in preparing the video-recorded component of the DCPS for linguistic multimodal analysis, namely the exploitability of recordings, the segmentation and alignment of transcriptions, the annotation of gesture forms and functions in the software ELAN and the quantity of available gesture data.

Ten years ago, many policy makers viewed the reform of teacher evaluation as a highly promising mechanism to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement. Recently, that enthusiasm has dimmed as the available evidence suggests the subsequent reforms had a mixed record of implementation and efficacy. Even in districts where there was evidence of efficacy, the early promise of teacher evaluation may not be sustainable as these systems mature and change. This study examines the evolving design of IMPACT, the teacher evaluation system in the District of Columbia Public Schools. We describe the recent changes to IMPACT, which include higher performance standards for lower-performing teachers and a reduced emphasis on value-added test scores. Descriptive evidence on the dynamics of teacher retention and performance under this redesigned system indicates that lower-performing teachers are particularly likely to either leave or improve. Corresponding causal evidence similarly indicates that imminent dismissal threats for persistently low-performing teachers increased both teacher attrition and the performance of returning teachers. These findings suggest that teacher evaluation can provide a sustained mechanism for improving the quality of teaching.

International audience; Purpose of review: Evidence for adverse respiratory effects of occupational exposure to disinfectants and cleaning products (DCPs) has grown in the last two decades. The relationship between DCPs and asthma is well-documented, but questions remain regarding specific causal agents. Beyond asthma, associations between DCPs and COPD or chronic rhinitis are plausible and have been examined recently. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent advances on the effect of occupational exposure to DCP and chronic airway diseases. Recent findings: Recent epidemiological studies have often focused on healthcare workers and are characterized by efforts to improve assessment of exposure to specific DCPs. Despite increasing knowledge on the effect of DCPs on asthma, the burden of work-related asthma caused by DCPs has not decreased in the past decade, emphasizing the need to strengthen prevention efforts. Novel data suggest an association between occupational exposure to DCPs and other chronic airway diseases, such as rhinitis, COPD and poor lung function. Summary: Epidemiological and experimental data showed that many chemicals contained in DCPs are likely to cause airway damages, indicating that prevention strategies should target multiple products. Further research is needed to evaluate the impact of DCPs exposure on occupational airway diseases beyond asthma.

Significance In eukoryotes, 3′ to 5′ mRNA degradation is a major pathway to reduce mRNA levels and, thus, an important means to regulate gene expression. Herein, messenger RNA (mRNA) is hydrolyzed from the 3′ end by the exosome complex, producing short capped RNA fragments, which are decapped by DcpS. Our data show that DcpS is only active on mRNA that have undergone prior processing by the exosome. This DcpS selection mechanism is conserved from yeast to humans and is caused by the inability of the enzyme to undergo structural changes that are required for the formation of a catalytically active state around long mRNA transcripts. Our work thus reveals the mechanistic basis that ensures an efficient interplay between DcpS and the exosome., The 5′ messenger RNA (mRNA) cap structure enhances translation and protects the transcript against exonucleolytic degradation. During mRNA turnover, this cap is removed from the mRNA. This decapping step is catalyzed by the Scavenger Decapping Enzyme (DcpS), in case the mRNA has been exonucleolyticly shortened from the 3′ end by the exosome complex. Here, we show that DcpS only processes mRNA fragments that are shorter than three nucleotides in length. Based on a combination of methyl transverse relaxation optimized (TROSY) NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, we established that the DcpS substrate length-sensing mechanism is based on steric clashes between the enzyme and the third nucleotide of a capped mRNA. For longer mRNA substrates, these clashes prevent conformational changes in DcpS that are required for the formation of a catalytically competent active site. Point mutations that enlarge the space for the third nucleotide in the mRNA body enhance the activity of DcpS on longer mRNA species. We find that this mechanism to ensure that the enzyme is not active on translating long mRNAs is conserved from yeast to humans. Finally, we show that the products that the exosome releases after 3′ to 5′ degradation of the mRNA body are indeed short enough to be decapped by DcpS. Our data thus directly confirms the notion that mRNA products of the exosome are direct substrates for DcpS. In summary, we demonstrate a direct relationship between conformational changes and enzyme activity that is exploited to achieve substrate selectivity.

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influence of diversity climate perceptions (DCPs) on team member’s contribution to team innovation and team performance in a multicultural team (MCT). The authors also investigate the moderating effect of cultural intelligence on these relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe authors draw upon the interactional model for cultural diversity to build their hypotheses. Data was gathered from 43 teams consisting of 217 members using a structured questionnaire. Ratings were obtained from both team members and supervisors. The data collected was analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsResults indicated that when team members have positive DCPs, it had a positive impact on their innovation and performance in the team. Cultural intelligence was also found to have a direct impact on team member innovation but not on team member performance. Furthermore, cultural intelligence was found to positively moderate the DCPs – team member performance relationship but not the DCPs – team member innovation relationship.Practical implicationsManaging diversity is a key concern for organizations worldwide given the exponentially rising cultural diversity within the workforce. This study would enable practitioners to understand that developing positive DCPs and cultural intelligence of team members are critical to the success of MCTs.Originality/valueLiterature has documented mixed results pertaining to team diversity and its effect on performance, resulting in scholars urging the need to explore how the negative effects of team diversity can be mitigated. This research establishes that positive DCPs and cultural intelligence as two key factors contributing to the performance of MCTs.

Decapping scavenger enzymes (DcpSs) are important players in mRNA degradation machinery and conserved in eukaryotes. Importantly, human DcpS is the recognized target for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy, and has recently been connected to development of intellectual disability. Most recombinant DcpSs used in biochemical and biophysical studies are prepared as tagged proteins, with polyhistidine (His-tag) at the N-terminus or C-terminus. Our work is the first report on the parallel characterization of three versions of DcpSs (native and N- or C-terminally tagged) of three species (humans, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Ascaris suum). The native forms of all three enzymes were prepared by N-(His)10 tag cleavage. Protein thermal stability, measured by differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF), was unaffected in the case of native and tagged versions of human and A. suum DcpS; however, the melting temperature (Tm) of C. elagans DcpS of was significantly influenced by the presence of the additional N- or C-tag. To investigate the impact of the tag positioning on the catalytic properties of DcpS, we tested the hydrolytic activity of native DcpS and their His-tagged counterparts toward cap dinucleotides (m7GpppG and m32,2,7GpppG) and m7GDP. The kinetic data indicate that dinucleotide substrates are hydrolyzed with comparable efficiency by native human and A. suum DcpS and their His-tagged forms. In contrast, both His-tagged C. elegans DcpSs exhibited higher activity toward m7GpppG than the native enzyme. m7GDP is resistant to enzymatic cleavage by all three forms of human and nematode DcpS.

Enforcing safety in the presence of stochastic uncertainty is a challenging problem. Traditionally, researchers have proposed safety in the statistical mean as a safety measure for systems subject to stochastic uncertainty. However, ensuring safety in the statistical mean is only reasonable if system’s safe behavior in the large number of runs is of interest, which precludes the use of mean safety in practical scenarios. In this letter, we propose a risk sensitive notion of safety called conditional-value-at-risk (CVaR) safety. We introduce CVaR barrier functions as a tool to enforce CVaR-safety and propose conditions for their Boolean compositions. Given a legacy controller, we show that we can design a minimally interfering CVaR-safe controller via solving difference convex programs (DCPs). We elucidate the proposed method by applying it to a bipedal robot locomotion case study.

Dinucleotide analogs of the messenger RNA cap (m7GpppN) are useful research tools and have potential applications as translational inhibitors or reagents for modification of in vitro transcribed mRNAs. It has been previously reported that replacing the methyl group at the N7-position with benzyl (Bn) produces a dinucleotide cap with superior properties. Here, we followed up on this finding by synthesizing 17 novel Bn7GpppG analogs and determining their structure–activity relationship regarding translation and translational inhibition. The compounds were prepared in two steps, including selective N7-alkylation of guanosine 5′-monophosphate by arylmethyl bromide followed by coupling with imidazole-activated GDP, with total yields varying from 22% to 62%. The compounds were then evaluated by determining their affinity for eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E), testing their susceptibility to decapping pyrophosphatase, DcpS—which is most likely the major cellular enzyme targeting this type of compound—and determining their translation inhibitory properties in vitro. We also synthesized mRNAs capped with the evaluated compounds and tested their translational properties in A549 cells. Our studies identified N7-(4-halogenbenzyl) substituents as promising modifications in the contexts of either mRNA translation or translational inhibition. Finally, to gain more insight into the consequences at the molecular level of N7-benzylation of the mRNA cap, we determined the crystal structures of three compounds with eIF4E.

Graphical abstract In the past few decades, nanotechnology has been employed to provide breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of several diseases using drug-carrying particles (DCPs). In such an endeavor, the optimal design of DCPs is paramount, which necessitates the use of an accurate and trustworthy constitutive model in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulators. We herein introduce a continuum model for elaborating on the rheological implications of adding particles in blood. The model is developed using non-equilibrium thermodynamics to guarantee thermodynamic admissibility. Red blood cells are modeled as deformed droplets with a constant volume that are able to aggregate, whereas particles are considered rigid spheroids. The model predictions are compared favorably against rheological data for both spherical and non-spherical particles immersed in non-aggregating blood. It is expected that the use of this model will allow for the testing of DCPs in virtual patients and for their tailor-design in treating various diseases. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00397-021-01289-x.

Drop-carrier particles (DCPs) are solid microparticles designed to capture uniform microscale drops of a target solution without using costly microfluidic equipment and techniques. DCPs are useful for automated and high-throughput biological assays and reactions, as well as single-cell analyses. Surface energy minimization provides a theoretical prediction for the volume distribution in pairwise droplet splitting, showing good agreement with macroscale experiments. We develop a probabilistic pairwise interaction model for a system of such DCPs exchanging fluid volume to minimize surface energy. This leads to a theory for the number of pairwise interactions of DCPs needed to reach a uniform volume distribution. Heterogeneous mixtures of DCPs with different sized particles require fewer interactions to reach a minimum energy distribution for the system. We optimize the DCP geometry for minimal required target solution and uniformity in droplet volume.

The liposoluble tanshinones are bioactive components in Salvia miltiorrhiza and are widely investigated as anti-cancer agents, while the molecular mechanism is to be clarified. In the present study, we identified that the human fragile histidine triad (FHIT) protein is a direct binding protein of sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS), a water-soluble derivative of Tanshinone IIA (TSA), with a Kd value of 268.4 ± 42.59 nM. We also found that STS inhibited the diadenosine triphosphate (Ap3A) hydrolase activity of FHIT through competing for the substrate-binding site with an IC50 value of 2.2 ± 0.05 µM. Notably, near 100 times lower binding affinities were determined between STS and other HIT proteins, including GALT, DCPS, and phosphodiesterase ENPP1, while no direct binding was detected with HINT1. Moreover, TSA, Tanshinone I (TanI), and Cryptotanshinone (CST) exhibited similar inhibitory activity as STS. Finally, we demonstrated that depletion of FHIT significantly blocked TSA’s pro-apoptotic function in colorectal cancer HCT116 cells. Taken together, our study sheds new light on the molecular basis of the anti-cancer effects of the tanshinone compounds.

mRNA degradation is a key mechanism of gene expression regulation. In the 3′ → 5′ decay pathway, mRNA is degraded by the exosome complex and the resulting cap dinucleotide or short-capped oligonucleotide is hydrolyzed mainly by a decapping scavenger enzyme (DcpS)—a member of the histidine triad family. The decapping mechanism is similar for DcpS from different species; however, their respective substrate specificities differ. In this paper, we describe experiments exploring DcpS activity from human (hDcps), Caenorhabditis elegans (CeDcpS), and Ascaris suum (AsDcpS) toward dinucleotide cap analogues modified at the N2 position of 7-methylguanosine. Various alkyl substituents were tested, and cap analogues with a longer than three-carbon chain were nonhydrolyzable by hDcpS and CeDcpS. Resistance of the modified cap analogues to hDcpS and CeDcpS may be associated with their weaker binding with enzymes.

Background and Aims Cold snare polypectomy (CSP) and jumbo forceps polypectomy (JFP) have been shown to be effective for removing diminutive colorectal polyps (DCPs) (≤5 mm). However, no study has compared complete resection rates between CSP and JFP for DCPs. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of JFP with CSP for the removal of DCPs. Methods This was a prospective randomized controlled trial from 2 tertiary-care referral centers. A total of 1003 patients were screened, and 169 patients with 196 DCPs were enrolled. The main outcome was complete polyp resection rate. Results Of 196 diminutive polyps, 177 (90.3%) were adenomatous polyps. The overall complete resection rate was 92.1% (163/177). The complete resection rate was not significantly different between JFP and CSP groups (92.0% vs 92.2%; P = .947). JFP achieved complete resection rates comparable with CSP for polyps >3 mm (90.3% vs 89.8%; P = .928). Polypectomy procedure time, tissue retrieval rate, and rate of postpolypectomy adverse events were not significantly different between the 2 groups. Conclusions Both JFP and CSP achieved complete resection rates of >90% for DCPs. Thus, JFP may be considered for polypectomy of DCPs. (International clinical trial registry number: KCT0002805.)

Natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are transcribed from the opposite strand of other genes. Most of them are noncoding RNAs. They have been reported to play important roles in a variety of biological processes. In this study, we identified a novel NAT, NATTD, which is partially complementary to both the TIRAP/Mal and DcpS genes. Interestingly, NATTD only positively regulates the expression of DcpS, a decapping scavenger enzyme which is a promising therapeutic target for spinal muscular atrophy. But it has no obvious effects on the expression of TIRAP/Mal gene. The NATTD transcript primarily resides in the nucleus and does not alter the mRNA stability of DcpS. Instead, it is required for the recruitment of RNA polymerase II at the mouse DcpS promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays revealed that knocking-down NATTD transcript with shRNA enhanced the H3K27-Me3 modification at the DcpS promoter. In summary, our studies identified NATTD as a regulator of DcpS transcription through epigenetic mechanisms.

Livelocks, like deadlocks, can result in serious results in running process of flexible manufacturing systems (FMSs). Current deadlock control policies (DCPs) based on mixed integer programming (MIP) cannot detect siphons that cause and cope with livelocks in Petri nets. This study proposes a revised mixed integer programming (RMIP) method to directly solve the new smart siphons (NSSs) associated with livelocks in a system of sequential systems with shared resources (S4R), a typical subclass of generalized Petri net models. Accordingly, the solved NSSs are max’-controlled by adding the corresponding control places (CPs). As a result, an original S4R system with livelocks can be converted into the live controlled Petri net system. The related theoretical analysis and an example are given to demonstrate the proposed RMIP and the corresponding control algorithm (CA).

The m7 G cap is a unique nucleotide structure at the 5'-end of all eukaryotic mRNAs. The cap specifically interacts with numerous cellular proteins and participates in biological processes that are essential for cell growth and function. To provide small molecular probes to study important cap-recognizing proteins, we synthesized m7 G nucleotides labeled with fluorescent tags via the terminal phosph(on)ate group and studied how their emission properties changed upon protein binding or enzymatic cleavage. Only the pyrene-labeled compounds behaved as sensitive turn-on probes. A pyrene-labeled m7 GTP analogue showed up to eightfold enhanced fluorescence emission upon binding to eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and over 30-fold enhancement upon cleavage by decapping scavenger (DcpS) enzyme. These observations served as the basis for developing binding- and hydrolytic-activity assays. The assay utility was validated with previously characterized libraries of eIF4E ligands and DcpS inhibitors. The DcpS assay was also applied to study hydrolytic activity and inhibition of endogenous enzyme in cytoplasmic extracts from HeLa and HEK cells.

Objectives This project aimed to use education sessions and exercise classes to improve exercise self-efficacy in individuals with type 1 diabetes and in diabetes care providers (DCPs). Methods We recruited 12 adults with type 1 diabetes and 12 DCPs who participated in 4 weekly group sessions to learn about exercise physiology and to experience various exercise types. We provided participants who had type 1 diabetes with real-time continuous glucose monitors and heart rate monitors to enhance experiential learning. Both groups completed questionnaires before and after the study to assess confidence concerning exercise. Following the study, focus groups assessed the impact of the study on knowledge and self-efficacy. Results There was an improvement in DCPs' attitudes toward exercise (p=0.004). DCPs' confidence in providing clients with advice regarding the time, type and intensity of exercise (p=0.005) and strategies for overcoming barriers to exercise (p=0.016) improved significantly. We found no significant changes in results in the questionnaires of participants with type 1 diabetes. Focus group analysis suggested that the study improved awareness of the importance of exercise as well as knowledge about the effects of exercise in type 1 diabetes by both DCPs and participants. Continuous glucose monitor use alleviated fear of hypoglycemia by participants with type 1 diabetes. Conclusions These findings suggest that a 4-week education- and exercise-focused program improves DCPs' self-efficacy in providing exercise advice to patients. People with type 1 diabetes did not experience an improvement in exercise self-efficacy; however, the study supports the use of continuous glucose monitoring and the grouping of DCPs and individuals with type 1 diabetes to facilitate experiential learning.

For laser direct metal deposition (LDMD) process, a general powder distribution model of discontinuous coaxial powder stream (DCPS) was developed based on homogeneous transformation. An image-based powder measurement (IBPM) technique, whose illumination light is a cylindrical light, was used to acquire powder distribution characteristics. A set of data preprocessing methods were proposed to validate the developed model. Correlation analysis indicated that the matching coefficients between the measured and simulated data are above 0.99 on the axial plane of the coaxial powder stream, whereas above 0.95 on the cross-sections near the focal spot. The error of the predicted focal spot position was less than 1%. Mean sensitivity indexes inferred that both the injection radius and the injection angle of the powder-fed head have significant influence on the focal spot characteristics of the DCPS compared to the nozzle exit diameter. Reducing the focal spot diameter can improve the powder utilization efficiency. For achieving safe deposition process and stable powder delivery, the standoff distance at the focal spot should be greater than 6 mm.

Homozygous mutations in the gene encoding the scavenger mRNA-decapping enzyme, DcpS, have been shown to underlie developmental delay and intellectual disability. Intellectual disability is associated with both abnormal neocortical development and mRNA metabolism. However, the role of DcpS and its scavenger decapping activity in neuronal development is unknown. Here, we show that human neurons derived from patients with a DcpS mutation have compromised differentiation and neurite outgrowth. Moreover, in the developing mouse neocortex, DcpS is required for the radial migration, polarity, neurite outgrowth, and identity of developing glutamatergic neurons. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the scavenger mRNA decapping activity contributes to multiple pivotal roles in neural development and further corroborate that mRNA metabolism and neocortical pathologies are associated with intellectual disability.

Introduction Health behaviours result in oral health problems. Behaviour change techniques, informed by behaviour science, are rarely utilised by dental care professionals (DCPs) within routine care.Aim To develop a theory-informed intervention to support DCPs' behaviour change conversations and evaluate its feasibility and acceptability.Intervention A behaviour change toolkit (Toothpicks) comprising 33 behaviour change techniques relevant to dentistry, delivered within an interactive online course.Design Development and mixed-methods evaluation of the intervention.Materials and methods Participants' motivation to discuss behaviour change with patients was measured before and after training using a validated questionnaire. Acceptability was assessed through semi-structured interviews.Results DCPs' (N = 32) motivation increased significantly post-training. Participants found the training acceptable and reported subsequently implementing techniques into their practice. Potential barriers preventing implementation to clinical practice include perceived lack of opportunities to effect change within the constraints of the clinical context.Conclusions Acceptable theory-informed training that is acceptable and accessible can be developed that increases DCPs' motivation to discuss behaviour change with patients. Further research is necessary to establish the longer-term impact of brief behaviour change training on DCPs' clinical practice and patient health behaviours.

All service and professional communities confront challenges and issues on diverse subjects. Some of these have been mentioned earlier in this book. The providers, those serviced or served, and policy-makers in the EU have to make known a solution. In this case, it is the dental care professionals (DCPs), patients, and the decision-makers in the EU and/or the Member States who compose the community. Hopefully, the solution will be consensual. Unfortunately, such does not always occur. When this happens, the community suffers a rupture that can signal adverse consequences.

The paper proposes bright and dark channel priors dependent single image based dehazing in two color spaces. The hazy RGB is first converted into YC b C r space. Transmission maps are estimated using dark channel priors (DCPs) and airlight of intensity (in YC b C r ) and RGB components computed using three window sizes. Bright channel priors (BCPs) and threshold values are also computed for YC b C r and RGB color spaces. The transmission maps are adjusted using DCPs and BCPs and refined using multiscale guided filter to obtain a superior dehazed image. Comparison (both visually and qualitatively) on variety of images exhibits the significance of proposed technique over existing techniques.

An interview with dental nurses and The Dental Care Network founders Hannah Stubbins and Prabjot Mann is presented, with topics covered such as the significance of the network to dental care professionals (DCPs), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the network's development, and whether they believe DCPs lack recognition.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the plasma levels of vitamin K (VK), prothrombin, des-γ-carboxyprothrombin (DCP) by ELISA with two types of monoclonal antibodies (MU-3 and 19B7), and urinary γ-carboxyglutamic acid (γ-Gla) in healthy adults (45 males and 45 females) and 11 patients with liver cirrhosis. VK and γ-Gla were analyzed by reverse-phase HPLC, prothrombin was determined using a method with a synthetic chromogenic substrate, and DCPs were analyzed by immunoaffinity chromatography and reverse-phase HPLC, and measured by ELISA. We were able to detect phylloquinone K (PK) and menaquinones MK-4, -5, -6, -7, -8 and -9, and we isolated several DCPs from plasma. Age had significant positive correlations with levels of urinary γ-Gla, plasma MK-7 and total VK, and VKDPs (prothrombin and DCP using MU-3 antibody) in the healthy adults. Significant positive correlations were also found between urinary γ-Gla and plasma levels of PK, MK-4, MK-7, and total VK and VKDPs (prothrombin and DCP using MU-3 antibody) in the healthy adults. γ-Gla and total VK levels were significantly higher in healthy adults than in patients with liver cirrhosis, and VK components, prothrombin, DCPs, and the MU-3/19B7 ratio showed a tendency to be higher in the healthy adults. We conclude that the status of VK and related proteins may reflect the latent increase in des-γ-carboxylation in healthy aging.

The range resolution of linear frequency modulated continuous wave (LFMCW) radar is limited by the frequency deviation when using traditional signal processing method. In order to solve it, a novel method called "Duplication and Continuous Phase Splicing (DCPS)" method is proposed. Compared with the traditional method, The DCPS method duplicates the beat signal within one modulation period many times and the signals are spliced together without phase jump. The performance of the method is evaluated by simulations. The results show that the range resolution of DCPS method is not limited by the frequency deviation and the ranging error of DCPS method is still less than that of the traditional method at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

Recent control plane solutions in a software-defined network (SDN) setting assume physically distributed but logically centralized control instances: a distributed control plane (DCP). As networks become more heterogeneous with increasing amount and diversity of network resources, DCP deployment strategies must be both fast and flexible to cope with varying network conditions whilst fulfilling constraints. However, many approaches are too slow for practical applications and often address only bandwidth or delay constraints, while control-plane reliability is overlooked and control-traffic routability is not guaranteed. We demonstrate the capabilities of our optimization framework [1]-[3] for fast deployment of DCPs, guaranteeing routability in line with control service reliability, bandwidth and latency requirements. We show that our approach produces robust deployment plans under changing network conditions. Compared to state of the art solvers, our approach is magnitudes faster, enabling deployment of DCPs within minutes and seconds, rather than days and hours. Time Critical Clouds Celtic Plus 5G-PERFECTA