Bleomycin Concentration in Patients’ Plasma and Tumors after Electrochemotherapy. A Study from InspECT Group

The plasma concentration profile of bleomycin in the distribution phase of patients younger than 65 years is needed to determine the suitable time interval for efficient application of electric pulses during electrochemotherapy. Additionally, bleomycin concentrations in the treated tumors for effective tumor response are not known. In this study, the pharmacokinetic profile of bleomycin in the distribution phase in 12 patients younger than 65 years was determined. In 17 patients, the intratumoral bleomycin concentration was determined before the application of electric pulses. In younger patients, the pharmacokinetics of intravenously injected bleomycin demonstrated a faster plasma clearance rate than that in patients older than 65 years. This outcome might indicate that the lowering of the standard bleomycin dose of 15,000 IU/m2 with intravenous bleomycin injection for electrochemotherapy is not recommended in younger patients. Based on the plasma concentration data gathered, a time interval for electrochemotherapy of 5–15 min after bleomycin injection was determined. The median bleomycin concentration in tumors 8 min after bleomycin injection, at the time of electroporation, was 170 ng/g. Based on collected data, the reduction of the bleomycin dose is not recommended in younger patients; however, a shortened time interval for application of electric pulses in electrochemotherapy to 5–15 min after intravenous bleomycin injection should be considered.

An Integrated Model for the Harvest, Storage, and Distribution of Perishable Crops

Coordination of the production and distribution activities represents a significant opportunity to cut costs and limit waste in the food supply chains. In this paper, we propose two mathematical models. The first one aims to integrate the harvesting, storage, and distribution activities of an agricultural company dealing with perishable products. The second one promotes horizontal collaboration between heterogeneous agri-companies for the distribution phase, in order to achieve cost savings. Computational experiments, conducted on a set of real-life instances, confirm the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed models, which provide multi-level support. At the tactical level, managerial insights suggest the most profitable parameter setting, in terms of harvesting frequency and quality of service. At the operational level, the use of a heuristic framework can support the decision-making of the companies, suggesting when collaboration is profitable.

Preparation and characterization of new red luminescent fibers based on a multilayer structure

Composite red luminescent material SMED/LCA (Sr2MgSi2O7:Eu2+,Dy3+/light conversion agent) is a phosphor with long afterglow, which was prepared by LCA and SMED at a certain mass ratio. It has excellent characteristics, such as high lightness and emitting red light, but poor stability properties because LCA falls off easily from the surface of SMED. Here, SiO2 (Al2O3 or MgF2) was coated on the surface of SMED/LCA through the heterogeneous deposition method to prepare a stable composite phosphor, adding coated phosphor into a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fiber-forming polymer and wet spinning to form SMED/LCA-PAN (composite red light-emitting fiber). The surface element distribution, phase structure and luminescence properties of SMED/LCA-PAN were characterized. The results show that SiO2 (Al2O3 or MgF2) is successfully coated on the surface of the material, and the coating has no effect on the phase of SMED in the fibers. The intensity red/blue ratio (Int.600 nm versus Int.470 nm) of coated SMED/LCA fiber in the afterglow emission spectrum increases by about 1.9 times; the increase in energy conversion efficiency indicates the enhancement of the red light effect. In addition, the afterglow initial brightness is up to 0.148 cd/m2 after 15 min of ultraviolet light excitation, and the luminous fiber still has high afterglow brightness.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF COPOLYMERS EXEMPLIFIED BY COMMERCIAL NITRIL-BUTADIENE RUBBERS

Commercial nitril-butadiene rubbers were comprehensively studied by GPC, DSC, TGA, phase contrast microscopy and surface free energy determination via Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kiellble method. Specific features were found for molecular mass distribution, phase transitions in negative and positive temperature intervals, the character of supramolecular assembly and microblock distribution of functional groups in BNKS-18AN and BNKS-18AMN rubber brands. A set of differences in initial rubbers macromolecular characteristics was shown, as well as the evolution of the latter during mechanical activaction of BNKS-18AN and BNKS-18AMN rubber brands

Food supplement consumption does not related to self-reported symptoms of covid-19 among students in Binawan University

The world is facing a pandemic of COVID-19. Multivitamin and other supplement is already known can improve immunity and prevent infected by the virus. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of multivitamin/supplement intake with the appearance of COVID-19 symptoms. The method of this study was analytic surveys with cross-sectional designs. The questionnaire was distributed twice, the first distribution phase involved 423 respondents to determine the consumption habits of supplements and the appearance of COVID-19 symptoms. Then, from the respondents who consumed supplements, the second questionnaire was sent again, to find out the type of supplements consumed, and only 127 respondents returned completely. As a respondent, we involved students of Binawan University, Jakarta, Indonesia. We used Pearson Chi-Square and Fischer exact test for statistical analysis. The results of this study noted that 67.7% of respondents consumed supplements/multivitamin, 94.8% of respondents did not show symptoms of COVID-19. The type of supplement consumed by most respondents was vitamin C (51.2%), while multivitamins / other vitamins were 20.1%. In conclusion, based on statistical analysis, there was no significant relationship between supplement consumption with the appearance of COVID-19 and conditions in carrying out daily activities on respondents who show COVID-19 symptoms

The influence of combined VVTsystems on polluting emissions and dynamic performance in SIE

One of the modern methods of reducing pollutantemissions and increasing dynamic performance is the implementation of distribution phase variation systems for both the intake valve and the exhaust valve, called combined VVT, applied over a wide range of engine operation regimes. The paper aims to highlight how such a solution leads to improved dynamic performance and reduced chemical pollution. Achieving this goal involved experimental investigations into a small class cars SIE. The variants of combined VVT (intake & exhaust), research methodology and an analysis of experimental results on a wide range of functional regimes are presented. It is concluded that such a solution can lead by implementation on engines to remarkable results both in terms of NOx reduction and in terms of dynamic performance (torque and power).

Energy-Spectrum Efficient Content Distribution in Fog-RAN Using Rate-Splitting, Common Message Decoding, and 3D-Resource Matching

Multi-objective resource allocations are studied for a multi-level edge-caching enabled fog-radio access network. Notably, joint maximization of the energy-efficiency (EE) and spectrum-efficiency (EE) and interference management for the content distribution phase are investigated. In the envisioned system, the popular contents are cached at both the fog access point (F-AP) and fog user equipments (F-UEs), and the content-requesting devices are grouped into multiple device-clusters based on their locations. Using a rate-splitting with common message decoding based transmission strategy, each device-cluster is simultaneously served by a suitably selected F-UE and the F-AP over the same radio resource blocks. To maximize system EE and SE of the content distribution phase jointly, a multi-objective optimization problem (MOOP) is formulated. By using the $\epsilon$-constraint method, the proposed MOOP is converted to an EE-SE trade-off optimization problem. Leveraging iterative function evaluation based power control and generalized 3D-resource matching, a novel algorithm is devised to obtain near-optimal Pareto front for the proposed MOOP. By inspecting solutions over the Pareto optimal front, a suitable operating EE-SE pair and the corresponding resource allocation variables are obtained. A low-complexity algorithm to obtain a suitable EE-SE trade-off is also devised. The conducted simulations confirm that the proposed algorithms achieve substantial improvement of system EE and SE over the baseline schemes.

Energy-Spectrum Efficient Content Distribution in Fog-RAN Using Rate-Splitting, Common Message Decoding, and 3D-Resource Matching

Multi-objective resource allocations are studied for a multi-level edge-caching enabled fog-radio access network. Notably, joint maximization of the energy-efficiency (EE) and spectrum-efficiency (EE) and interference management for the content distribution phase are investigated. In the envisioned system, the popular contents are cached at both the fog access point (F-AP) and fog user equipments (F-UEs), and the content-requesting devices are grouped into multiple device-clusters based on their locations. Using a rate-splitting with common message decoding based transmission strategy, each device-cluster is simultaneously served by a suitably selected F-UE and the F-AP over the same radio resource blocks. To maximize system EE and SE of the content distribution phase jointly, a multi-objective optimization problem (MOOP) is formulated. By using the $\epsilon$-constraint method, the proposed MOOP is converted to an EE-SE trade-off optimization problem. Leveraging iterative function evaluation based power control and generalized 3D-resource matching, a novel algorithm is devised to obtain near-optimal Pareto front for the proposed MOOP. By inspecting solutions over the Pareto optimal front, a suitable operating EE-SE pair and the corresponding resource allocation variables are obtained. A low-complexity algorithm to obtain a suitable EE-SE trade-off is also devised. The conducted simulations confirm that the proposed algorithms achieve substantial improvement of system EE and SE over the baseline schemes.

Network Anomaly Detection Using Machine Learning Techniques

While traditional network security methods have been proven useful until now, the flexibility of machine learning techniques makes them a solid candidate in the current scene of our networks. In this paper, we assess how well the latter are capable of detecting security threats in a corporative network. To that end, we configure and compare several models to find the one which fits better with our needs. Furthermore, we distribute the computational load and storage so we can handle extensive volumes of data. The algorithms that we use to create our models, Random Forest, Naive Bayes, and Deep Neural Networks (DNN), are both divergent and tested in other papers in order to make our comparison richer. For the distribution phase, we operate with Apache Structured Streaming, PySpark, and MLlib. As for the results, it is relevant to mention that our dataset has been found to be effectively modelable with just a reduced number of features. Finally, given the outcomes obtained, we find this line of research encouraging and, therefore, this approach worth pursuing.

Constructive Learning Model In Sub Material Music Culture Learning In Madrasah Tsanawiyah 1 Semarang

Based on data analysis can be concluded that the implementation of learning the art of music in class VII A MTs Negeri 1 Semarang using the approach of constructivism run organized, this is evidenced by learning already using model arrests have three stages are (a) presentation of advance organizer, educator provides an overview of the terms of supporting about music (b) the presentation of the material or the learning task, create discussion among students and evaluated by educators and (c) strengthen the cognitive organization, frequently asked questions and a deepening of the material. Learning implemented within 2x45 minutes with the distribution phase advance organizer presentation lasted 15 minutes, the stage presentation of the material or the learning task carried out within 60 minutes, and the stage of cognitive organization strengthen lasted 15 minutes. Suggestions can author to convey, among others: (1) educators should be able to take advantage of instructional media such as musical instruments and projectors which is owned schools maximally.