Process design decisions in community-based collaboration: implications for implementation and collateral social benefits

Collaborative decision-making processes are conducted widely in public affairs at various scales, from community to metropolitan, regional and national. They vary from highly formalized and prescribed processes, such as “regulatory negotiations”, to collaborative planning processes directed by urban planners or other public agency staff, to rather informal processes within community-based organizations. While substantial effort has been invested in identifying the benefits of collaboration, we ask; do the benefits materialize in each case? We researched one ad hoc community collaborative in Oregon, USA, widely considered a success in the aftermath of agreement. We were interested in the implementation of agreement provisions, as well as in any social benefits from the process. Relying on published documents, surveys and interviews one year after the process ended, and additional interviews and on-site observations five years later, we found that despite the initial enthusiasm and confidence in actions proposed in the final report and social relationships strengthened during the process, evidence of long-term success on these two dimensions was mixed. This case provides a cautionary note to process facilitators, urban planners, public administrators and stakeholder and citizen participants. Participants face many strategic and process design decisions. Among these are choices about institutional linkages, stakeholders, the decision rule, and clarity about the purpose and goal of the process. While the degree of “success” of any collaborative may not be our call as observers, we contend that implementation and social impacts are critical to assessing the value of these processes. Consequently, we propose that participants and facilitators alike should understand and consider appropriately the micro-decisions that can and do add to critical implications on these two important dimensions.     

Sodium Alginate—Natural Microencapsulation Material of Polymeric Microparticles

From the multitude of materials currently available on the market that can be used in the development of microparticles, sodium alginate has become one of the most studied natural anionic polymers that can be included in controlled-release pharmaceutical systems alongside other polymers due to its low cost, low toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and gelatinous die-forming capacity in the presence of Ca²⁺ ions. In this review, we have shown that through coacervation, the particulate systems for the dispensing of drugs consisting of natural polymers are nontoxic, allowing the repeated administration of medicinal substances and the protection of better the medicinal substances from degradation, which can increase the capture capacity of the drug and extend its release from the pharmaceutical form.     

Focus on PD-1/PD-L1 as a Therapeutic Target in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is considered one of the most aggressive and deadliest gynecological malignancies worldwide. Unfortunately, the therapeutic methods that are considered the gold standard at this moment are associated with frequent recurrences. Survival in ovarian cancer is associated with the presence of a high number of intra tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Therefore, immunomodulation is considered to have an important role in cancer treatment, and immune checkpoint inhibitors may be useful for restoring T cell-mediated antitumor immunity. However, the data presented in the literature until now are not sufficient to allow for the identification and selection of patients who really respond to immunotherapy among those with ovarian cancer. Although there are some studies with favorable results, more prospective trials are needed in this sense. This review focuses on the current and future perspectives of PD-1/L1 blockade in ovarian cancer and analyzes the most important immune checkpoint inhibitors used, with the aim of achieving optimal clinical outcomes. Future studies and trials are needed to maximize the efficacy of immune checkpoint blockade therapy in ovarian cancer, as well as in all cancers, in general.     

Mitochondrial DNA Together with miR-142-3p in Plasma Can Predict Unfavorable Outcomes in Patients after Acute Myocardial Infarction

Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, despite numerous efforts to find efficient prognostic biomarkers and treatment targets. In the present study, we aimed to assess the potential of six microRNAs known to be involved in cardiovascular diseases, cell-free DNA (cfDNA), and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) circulating in plasma to be used as prognostic tools for the occurrence of unfavorable outcomes such as major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) after acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Fifty STEMI patients were enrolled and monitored for 6 months for the occurrence of MACE. Plasma was collected at three time points: upon admission to hospital (T₀), at discharge from hospital (T₁), and 6 months post-STEMI (T₆). Plasma levels of miR-223-3p, miR-142-3p, miR-155-5p, miR-486-5p, miR-125a-5p, and miR-146a-5p, as well as of cfDNA and mtDNA, were measured by RT-qPCR. Results showed that the levels of all measured miRNAs, as well as of cfDNA and mtDNA, were the most increased at T₁, compared to the other two time points. In the plasma of STEMI patients with MACE compared to those without MACE, we determined increased levels of miRNAs, cfDNA, and mtDNA at T_1. Hence, we used the levels of all measured parameters at T₁ for further statistical analysis. Statistical analysis demonstrated that all six miRNAs and cfDNA plus mtDNA levels, respectively, were associated with MACE. The minimal statistical model that could predict MACE in STEMI patients was the combination of mtDNA and miR-142-3p levels, as evidenced by ROC analysis (AUC = 0.97, p < 0.001). In conclusion, the increased plasma levels of mtDNA, along with miR-142-3p, could be used to predict unfavorable outcomes in STEMI patients.     

Survey on Diagnosing CORONA VIRUS from Radiography Chest X-ray Images Using Convolutional Neural Networks

Wireless Personal Communications - Corona Virus continues to harms its effects on the people lives across the globe. The screening of infected persons has to be identified is a vital step because...     

De‐embedding of filters in multiplexers via rational approximation and interpolation

In this article, we present a method to recover electrical parameters of filters embedded in a multiplexer for which scattering measurements are given. Unlike other approaches proposed for this problem, this method does not require a priori knowledge of the scattering parameters of the junction. This feature renders the procedure well suited for tuning purposes or for fault diagnosis. Technically, the algorithm starts with a rational approximation step, to derive a rational representation of certain scattering parameters of the multiplexer. This representation is then used in a second step to identify an electrical model of each filter. This second step relies on a rational interpolation technique used to extract the filter's responses. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 25:647–654, 2015.     

Novel sulfonium salts as thermal and photoinitiators for epoxide and acrylate polymerizations

Novel sulfonium salts, 1‐naphthylmethyl‐, cinnamyl‐, 9‐fluorenyl tetramethylene sulfonium hexafluoroantimonates, and dimethylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonates, were synthesized by the reaction of tetrahydrothiophene and dimethylsulfide with the corresponding bromides or chloride, followed by anion exchange with KSbF₆. These sulfonium salts polymerized epoxy monomers at a temperature lower than previously reported for benzyltetramethylenesulfonium hexafluoroantimonate. They initiated radical photopolymerization as well as cationic polymerization. The photopolymerization was accelerated by the addition of aromatic compounds such as p‐methoxyphenol, 4‐methoxy‐1‐naphthol, 2‐ethyl‐9,10‐dimethoxyanthracene, N‐ethylcarbazole, and phenothiazine as photosensitizers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 589–597, 2004