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This work aims to provide a new Galerkin algorithm for solving the fractional RayleighStokes equation (FRSE). We select the basis functions for the Galerkin technique to be appropriate orthogonal combinations of the second kind of Chebyshev polynomials (CPs). By implementing the Galerkin approach, the FRSE, with its governing conditions, is converted into a matrix system whose entries can be obtained explicitly. This system can be obtained by expressing the derivatives of the basis functions in terms of the second-kind CPs and after computing some definite integrals based on some properties of CPs of the second kind. A thorough investigation is carried out for the convergence analysis. We demonstrate that the approach is applicable and accurate by providing some numerical examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Activated microglia release harmful substances to retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), but may also benefit by removing cellular debris and secreting neurotrophic factors. These paradoxical roles remain controversial because the nature and time-course of the injury that defines their role is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine if pharmacological manipulation of microglia to acquire a pro-inflammatory or pro-survival phenotype will exacerbate or enhance neuronal survival after injury.Material and methods: Treated HAP I (highly aggressively proliferating immortalized) microglia were injected into the vitreous or tail vein (T V) of female Sprague-Dawley rats. Retinas were examined at 4-14 days following optic nerve crush (ONC) and the number of surviving RGCs was determined.Results: Injection of untreated HAP I cells resulted in the greater loss of RGCs early after ONC when injected into the vitreous and later after ONC when injected into the T V. LP S activated HAP I cells injected into the vitreous resulted in greater RGC loss with and without injury. When injected into the T V with ONC there was no loss of RGCs 4 days after ONC but greater loss afterwards. Minocycline treated HAP I cells injected into the vitreous resulted in greater RGC survival than untreated HAP I cells. However, when injected into the T V with ONC there was greater loss of RGCs. These results suggest that optic nerve signals attract extrinsic microglia to the retina, resulting in a proinflammatory response.Conclusion: Neuroprotection or cytotoxicity of microglia depends on the type of activation, time course of the injury, and if they act on the axon or cell body. HAPI microglia migrate to the retina or optic nerve following optic nerve injury when injected into the vitreous or tail vein, respectively. Pretreatment with LPS or minocycline differentially effects retinal ganglion cell survival. In most cases, the result late in the injury process is greater retinal ganglion cell loss. We show here that neuroprotection is not solely determined by the microglial activation state but factors such as the environment and time-course of the injury. Culture microglia can be treated in vitro and then injected in vivo. The cells migrate to the site of injury, cell body of retinal ganglion cells if in the vitreous or to the optic nerve if injected in the tail vein. Retinal ganglion cell death is dependent on the location the microglia act, time-course of injury, and activation state. Proinflammatory microglia can be neuroprotective early in the injury when the primary site of action is on the axons whereas hypoactivated microglia are neuroprotective early in injury when they act on the soma. Later in the injury, both become detrimental. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Esophageal carcinoma is the sixth-leading cause of cancer death worldwide. A precursor to esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) is Barrett's Esophagus (BE). Early-stage diagnosis and treatment of esophageal neoplasia (Barrett's with high-grade dysplasia/intramucosal cancer) increase the five-year survival rate from 10% to 98%. BE is a global challenge; however, current endoscopes for early BE detection are costly and require extensive infrastructure for patient examination and sedation. We describe the design and evaluation of the first prototype of ScanCap, a high-resolution optical endoscopy system with a reusable, low-cost tethered capsule, designed to provide high-definition, blue-green illumination imaging for the early detection of BE in unsedated patients. The tethered capsule (12.8 mm diameter, 35.5 mm length) contains a color camera and rotating mirror and is designed to be swallowed; images are collected as the capsule is retracted manually via the tether. The tether provides electrical power and illumination at wavelengths of 415 nm and 565 nm and transmits data from the camera to a tablet. The ScanCap prototype capsule was used to image the oral mucosa in normal volunteers and ex vivo esophageal resections; images were compared to those obtained using an Olympus CV-180 endoscope. Images of superficial capillaries in intact oral mucosa were clearly visible in ScanCap images. Diagnostically relevant features of BE, including irregular Z-lines, distorted mucosa, and dilated vasculature, were clearly visible in ScanCap images of ex vivo esophageal specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spinal cord has a poor ability to regenerate after an injury, which may be due to cell loss, cyst formation, inflammation, and scarring. A promising approach to treating a spinal cord injury (SCI) is the use of biomaterials. We have developed a novel hydrogel scaffold fabricated from oligo(poly(ethylene glycol) fumarate) (OPF) as a 0.08 mm thick sheet containing polymer ridges and a cell-attractive surface on the other side. When the cells are cultured on OPF via chemical patterning, the cells attach, align, and deposit ECM along the direction of the pattern. Animals implanted with the rolled scaffold sheets had greater hindlimb recovery compared to that of the multichannel scaffold control, which is likely due to the greater number of axons growing across it. The immune cell number (microglia or hemopoietic cells: 50–120 cells/mm2 in all conditions), scarring (5–10% in all conditions), and ECM deposits (Laminin or Fibronectin: approximately 10–20% in all conditions) were equal in all conditions. Overall, the results suggest that the scaffold sheets promote axon outgrowth that can be guided across the scaffold, thereby promoting hindlimb recovery. This study provides a hydrogel scaffold construct that can be used in vitro for cell characterization or in vivo for future neuroprosthetics, devices, or cell and ECM delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle-size distribution plays an important role in synthesis cost and overall structural parameters of geopolymeric membrane. In this research work, the effect of particle-size distribution on the pore size, porosity, and compressive strength was investigated in the synthesis of geopolymeric membranes. The average particle-size distribution of 4.30, 23.30, 46.20, 65.32, 86.24, and 98.53 μm of fly ash was investigated separately based on pore size, porosity, and compressive strength of prepared geopolymeric membrane using sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) as a chemical activator and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (10 v/v %) as a pore-forming agent. Compressive strength of 13 MPa with 48% porosity and more uniform pore size has been obtained at source material with a particle-size distribution of 23.30 μm. No significant change in the compressive strength of the prepared membrane has been observed for source material particle sizes below 23.30 μm. The results show that there is no need for energy and cost-intensive very fine grinding below 23.30 μm as the particles were completely dissolved in an alkaline solution. A permeate flux of 40.53 L/m² h and 93% rejection of total solids were reported for the membrane prepared from 23.30 μm particle size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder that limits social and cognitive abilities. ASD has no cure so early diagnosis is important for reducing its impact. The current behavioral observation-based subjective-diagnosis systems (e.g., DSM-5 or ICD-10) frequently misdiagnose subjects. Therefore, researchers are attempting to develop automated diagnosis systems with minimal human intervention, quicker screening time, and better outreach. This paper is a PRISMA-based systematic review examining the potential of automated autism detection system with Human Activity Analysis (HAA) to look for distinctive ASD characteristics such as repetitive behavior, abnormal gait and visual saliency. The literature from 2011 onward is qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed to investigate whether HAA can identify the features of ASD, the level of its classification accuracy, the degree of human intervention, and screening time. Based on these findings, we discuss the approaches, challenges, resources, and future directions in this area. According to our quantitative assessment of the dataset Zunino et al. (IEEE: 3421–3426, 2018 [1]), Inception v3 and LSTM Zunino et al. (IEEE: 3421–3426, 2018 [1]) give the highest accuracy (89%) for repetitive behavior. For abnormal gait-based approach, the multilayer perceptron gives 98% accuracy based on 18 features from dataset Abdulrahman et al. (COMPUSOFT: An International Journal of Advanced Computer Technology 9(8):3791–3797, 2020 [2]). For gaze pattern, a saliency-metric feature-based learning Rahman et al. (Int Conf Pattern Recognit, 2020 [3]) gives 99% accuracy on dataset Duan et al. (Proceedings of the 10th ACM Multimedia Systems Conference: 255–260, 2019 [4]), while an algorithm involving statistical features and Decision Trees yields an accuracy of 76% on dataset Yaneva et al. (Proceedings of the Internet of Accessible Things. W4A '18, Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 1–10, 2018 [5]). In terms of the state of the art, fully automated HAA systems for ASD diagnosis show promise but are still in developmental stages. However, this is an active research field, and HAA has good prospects for helping to diagnose ASD objectively in less time with better accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, new emerging 2D Mxene nanosheets (MXNSs) were synthesized from MAX phase powders of Ti3AlC2 and then characterized using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to explore the chemical and physical properties of the prepared MXNS. The characterization of the synthesized MXNS indicated the formation of exfoliated 2D MXene nanosheets (Ti3C2) as a result of the HF treatment of the MAX phase, which was confirmed by XRD measurements, as the characteristic peaks of 2D MXene nanosheets were only observed. The synthesized MXNS was then used as a solid adsorbent for removing malachite green dye (MG) from water. The effects of different operational factors such as MXNS dose, solution temperature, time, MG concentration, solution pH, and ionic strength have also been evaluated. The adsorption results showed that the temperature of the solution, as well as its pH, significantly influenced MG removal when using MXNS. The optimum removal was obtained within 150 min, with 20 mg of MXNS at ambient temperature and a pH value of 6.0. The maximum removal capacity obtained was 4.6 mg MG per g of MXNS using 5 mg of MXNS with a removal efficacy of 46.0%, and the minimum removal capacity obtained was 2.5 mg MG per g of MXNS using 20 mg of MXNS with a removal efficacy of 99.1%. Finally, the results displayed that the MXNS solid adsorbent was able to absorb a high percentage of MG and maintained reasonable efficiency for four consecutive cycles, indicating that MXNS could be a promising adsorbent in wastewater remediation and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence from preclinical and clinical research suggest that neuromodulation technologies can facilitate the sublesional spinal networks, isolated from supraspinal commands after spinal cord injury (SCI), by reestablishing the levels of excitability and enabling descending motor signals via residual connections. Herein, we evaluate available evidence that sublesional and supralesional spinal circuits could form a translesional spinal network after SCI. We further discuss evidence of translesional network reorganization after SCI in the presence of sensory inputs during motor training. In this review, we evaluate potential mechanisms that underlie translesional circuitry reorganization during neuromodulation and rehabilitation in order to enable motor functions after SCI. We discuss the potential of neuromodulation technologies to engage various components that comprise the translesional network, their functional recovery after SCI, and the implications of the concept of translesional network in development of future neuromodulation, rehabilitation, and neuroprosthetics technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Non-physician health workers play an important role in identifying and treating pneumonia in children in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this systematic review, we summarized the evidence on whether health workers can accurately measure respiratory rate (RR) and identify fast breathing to diagnose pneumonia in children under five years of age. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus from January 1990 to August 2020 without any language restrictions. Reference lists of included studies were also screened for additional records. Studies evaluating the performance of health workers in measuring RR and/or identifying fast breathing compared to a reference standard were included. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. A meta-analysis was conducted to report pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity. Hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic curve (HSROC) models were fitted, and subgroup and sensitivity analyses were performed to examine the effects of study variables. Results We included 16 studies, eight of which reported the agreement in RR count between health workers and a reference standard. The median agreements were 39%, 47%, and 67% within ±2, ±3, and ±5 breaths per minute, respectively. Among the 16 included studies, we identified 15 studies that reported the accuracy of a health worker classifying breathing into either fast or normal categories compared to a reference standard. The median sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and kappa value were 77%, 86%, 81%, and 0.75, respectively. Seven studies reporting the accuracy of identifying fast breathing were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity were 78% (95% CI = 72-82) and 86% (95% CI = 78-91), respectively. Conclusions Despite the problematic nature of reference standards and their variability across studies, our review suggests that the health worker performance in accurately counting RR is relatively poor. However, their performance shows reasonable specificity and moderate sensitivity in identifying fast breathing. Improving the detection of fast breathing in children with suspected pneumonia among health workers is an important child health programme objective and should be given appropriate priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Frontline health care workers use World Health Organization Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) guidelines for child pneumonia care in low-resource settings. IMCI guideline pneumonia diagnostic criterion performs with low specificity, resulting in antibiotic overtreatment. Digital auscultation with automated lung sound analysis may improve the diagnostic performance of IMCI pneumonia guidelines. This systematic review aims to summarize the evidence on detecting adventitious lung sounds by digital auscultation with automated analysis compared to reference physician acoustic analysis for child pneumonia diagnosis. Methods In this review, articles were searched from MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL Plus, Web of Science, Global Health, IEEExplore database, Scopus, and the ClinicalTrial.gov databases from the inception of each database to October 27, 2021, and reference lists of selected studies and relevant review articles were searched manually. Studies reporting diagnostic performance of digital auscultation and/or computerized lung sound analysis compared against physicians' acoustic analysis for pneumonia diagnosis in children under the age of 5 were eligible for this systematic review. Retrieved citations were screened and eligible studies were included for extraction. Risk of bias was assessed using the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2) tool. All these steps were independently performed by two authors and disagreements between the reviewers were resolved through discussion with an arbiter. Narrative data synthesis was performed. Results A total of 3801 citations were screened and 46 full-text articles were assessed. 10 studies met the inclusion criteria. Half of the studies used a publicly available respiratory sound database to evaluate their proposed work. Reported methodologies/approaches and performance metrics for classifying adventitious lung sounds varied widely across the included studies. All included studies except one reported overall diagnostic performance of the digital auscultation/computerised sound analysis to distinguish adventitious lung sounds, irrespective of the disease condition or age of the participants. The reported accuracies for classifying adventitious lung sounds in the included studies varied from 66.3% to 100%. However, it remained unclear to what extent these results would be applicable for classifying adventitious lung sounds in children with pneumonia. Conclusions This systematic review found very limited evidence on the diagnostic performance of digital auscultation to diagnose pneumonia in children. Well-designed studies and robust reporting are required to evaluate the accuracy of digital auscultation in the paediatric population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the effect of newly regenerated axons via scaffolds on reorganization of spinal circuitry and restoration of motor functions with epidural electrical stimulation (EES). Motor recovery was evaluated for 7 weeks after spinal transection and following implantation with scaffolds seeded with neurotrophin producing Schwann cell and with rapamycin microspheres. Combined treatment with scaffolds and EES-enabled stepping led to functional improvement compared to groups with scaffold or EES, although, the number of axons across scaffolds was not different between groups. Re-transection through the scaffold at week 6 reduced EES-enabled stepping, still demonstrating better performance compared to the other groups. Greater synaptic reorganization in the presence of regenerated axons was found in group with combined therapy. These findings suggest that newly regenerated axons through cell-containing scaffolds with EES-enabled motor training reorganize the sub-lesional circuitry improving motor recovery, demonstrating that neuroregenerative and neuromodulatory therapies cumulatively enhancing motor function after complete SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 was first discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has since spread worldwide. An automated and fast diagnosis system needs to be developed for early and effective COVID-19 diagnosis. Hence, we propose two-and three-classifier diagnosis systems for classifying COVID-19 cases using transfer-learning techniques. These systems can classify X-ray images into three categories: healthy, COVID-19, and pneumonia cases. We used two X-ray image datasets (DATASET-1 and DATASET-2) collected from state-of-the-art studies and train the systems using deep learning architectures, such as VGG-19, NASNet, and MobileNet2, on these datasets. According to the validation and testing results, our proposed diagnosis systems achieved excellent results with the VGG-19 architecture. The two-classifier diagnosis system achieved high sensitivity for COVID-19, with 99.5% and 100% on DATASET-1 and DATASET-2, respectively. The three-classifier diagnosis system achieves high sensitivity for COVID-19, with 98.4% and 100% on DATASET-1 and DATASET-2, respectively. The high sensitivity of these diagnostic systems for COVID-19 will significantly improve the speed and precision of COVID-19 diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report the effect of newly regenerated axons via scaffolds on reorganization of spinal circuitry and restoration of motor functions with epidural electrical stimulation (EES). Motor recovery was evaluated for 7 weeks after spinal transection and following implantation with scaffolds seeded with neurotrophin producing Schwann cell and with rapamycin microspheres. Combined treatment with scaffolds and EES-enabled stepping led to functional improvement compared to groups with scaffold or EES, although, the number of axons across scaffolds was not different between groups. Re-transection through the scaffold at week 6 reduced EES-enabled stepping, still demonstrating better performance compared to the other groups. Greater synaptic reorganization in the presence of regenerated axons was found in group with combined therapy. These findings suggest that newly regenerated axons through cell-containing scaffolds with EES-enabled motor training reorganize the sub-lesional circuitry improving motor recovery, demonstrating that neuroregenerative and neuromodulatory therapies cumulatively enhancing motor function after complete SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adaptive immunity is critical for controlling infections, which are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). In rats and mice, compromised peripheral adaptive immune responses, as shown by splenic atrophy and lowered frequencies of peripheral lymphocytes, were shown to result from high-level thoracic SCI. However, whether cervical SCI, which is the most common level of SCI in humans, impairs adaptive immunity remains largely unknown. In the present study, we induced cervical SCI in rats at the C7/T1 level by clip compression and looked at changes in peripheral adaptive immunity at 2-, 10- and 20-weeks post-injury. Specifically, we quantified changes in the frequencies of T- and B- lymphocytes in the blood and the mandibular and deep cervical lymph nodes, which drain the cervical spinal cord. We also assessed changes in serum IgG and IgM immunoglobulin levels, as well as spleen size. We found a significant decline in circulating T- and B- cell frequencies at 10 weeks post-SCI, which returned to normal at 20 weeks after injury. We found no effect of cervical SCI on T- and B- cell frequencies in the draining lymph nodes. Moreover, cervical SCI had no effect on net spleen size, although injured rats had a higher spleen/body weight ratio than sham controls at all time points of the study. Lastly, IgG and IgM immunoglobulin declined at 2 weeks, followed by a significant increase in IgM levels at 10 weeks of injury. These data indicate that cervical SCI causes a significant imbalance in circulating lymphocytes and immunoglobulin levels at 2 and 10 weeks. As we discuss in this article, these findings are largely in line with clinical observations, and we anticipate that this study will fuel more research on the effect of adaptive immunity on SCI recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the combined therapeutic effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) in the treatment of periodontal intrabony defects. Materials and Methods: Fourteen patients with 28 intrabony defects were treated with a combination of PRP and β-TCP. The changes in clinical measurements such as probing depth, clinical attachment level (CAL), and mobility along with radiographic estimation of the amount of bone fill were evaluated 9 months post operatively. Statistical analysis was carried out net difference in measurements and to compare the differences. Results: Combined use of PRP and β-TCP resulted in periodontal regeneration. There were marked reduction in probing pocket depth and significant gain in CAL as compared to baseline values. Summary and Conclusions: In the lateral excursion other than canine protected and group function, there exists some different occlusal contact pattern. No significant difference was found in occlusal pattern in the comparision of males and females. Discussion: The results of this study clearly demonstrate that combination therapy is effective in the treatment of intrabony defects. Combined use of PRP and β-TCP improves different clinical parameters post operatively and triggers defect fill [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Aim of this randomly controlled clinical study was to evaluate the role of antibiotics to prevent postoperative complications after routine periodontal surgery and also to determine whether their administration improved the surgical outcome. Materials and Methods: Forty-five systemically healthy patients with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis requiring flap surgery were enrolled in the study. They were randomly allocated to Amoxicillin, Doxycycline, and control groups. Surgical procedures were carried out with complete asepsis as per the protocol. Postoperative assessment of patient variables like swelling, pain, temperature, infection, ulceration, necrosis, and trismus was performed at intervals of 24 h, 48 h, 1 week, and 3 months. Changes in clinical parameters such as gingival index, plaque index, probing pocket depth, and clinical attachment level were also recorded. Results: There was no incidence of postoperative infection in any of the patients. Patient variables were comparable in all the three groups. Though there was significant improvement in the periodontal parameters in all the groups, no statistically significant result was observed for any group over the others. Conclusion: Results of this study showed that when periodontal surgical procedures were performed following strict asepsis, the incidence of clinical infection was not significant among all the three groups, and also that antibiotic administration did not influence the outcome of surgery. Therefore, prophylactic antibiotics for patients who are otherwise healthy administered following routine periodontal surgery to prevent postoperative infection are unnecessary and have no demonstrable additional benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This case report presents two female patients whose chief complaint was discoloration of teeth. On careful clinical examination it was found that the patients had features of amelogenesis imperfecta and localised aggressive periodontitis. This article will give an insight of clinical and radiographic features of amelogenesis imperfecta with localised aggressive periodontitis, which is a rare clinical entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose - With increasing interest in overseas business expansion, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, expatriate management, including repatriation readjustmenst, has become a critical international human resource development (HRD) issue for multinational enterprises (MNEs). This empirical study therefore aims to investigate the use of HRD interventions relating to training and development for effective readjustment of international managers on repatriation. Design/methodology/approach - The data were collected through a field survey conducted on repatriation experience of international managers from more than five countries, who are working in Singapore. Findings - The study provides valuable insights about repatriation training programmes, training contents, programme duration, delivery modes, and providers of effective training programmes. Research limitations/implications - HRD professionals and senior executives of MNEs will benefit from the findings of this study in making decisions on effective design and implementation of training and career development programmes. Practical implications - The findings have significant implications for career development of managers involved in international business operations. Originality/value - This paper discusses readjustment problems of the repatriating managers and suggests how realistic HRD programmes, mainly based on training, can be developed and implemented for retaining international managers. These findings from the dynamic region of Asia will also help in developing appropriate career development programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

purpose To assess the effect and efficacy of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) at reducing and maintaining eyelid synkinesia in aberrant facial nerve regeneration, while concurrently observing for the presence of side effects to differing treatment doses. methods A prospective interventional study of five patients with eyelid synkinesia resulting from aberrant regeneration of the facial nerve. Patients were treated with injections of either 120, 80 or 40 units of BTX-A (Dysport) into the orbicularis oculi. Objective and subjective reduction in synkinesia, maintenance of response and presence of side effects were recorded. results All five patients had improvement of the synkinesia with BTX-A treatment. Lower doses were found to be as effective as higher doses. Mean duration of abolished synkinesia was three months. Two patients developed a ptosis which resolved spontaneously. None of the patients treated with the lowest dose of 40 units developed a ptosis. conclusion Low-dose BTX-A has a lower incidence of ptosis and is effective in the treatment of aberrant facial nerve regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study which addressed the cross-cultural implications of planned on-the-job training. Cross-cultural training approaches; Details of trainer-trainee relationships; Implications for human resources development research and practice.

Singapore's only resource is its people. It has made HRD as a key strategy for economic development since its inception. Its economic success story is entwined with the training and development of its workforce. A national manpower development infrastructure has been put in place to facilitate training and lifelong learning of its people for the twenty-first century under a master plan called Manpower 21. Continuous training and skills development has been possible through close cooperation between the state, employers and the unions through unique working relationships between several policy-making institutions, such as the National Manpower Council and the National Wages Council. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the findings of a study which examined the international business competitiveness scenario in the Asia-Pacific region. Policies adopted by Asian economies; Foreign investments of Asian countries; Regionalisation of Singapore government; Motives for internationalization and regionalisation.

Discusses the role of human resource development (HRD) in improving the effectiveness of management technology in the competitive global business development. Factors and patterns responsible for the effective and efficient transfer of management technology across national borders; Role of HRD in international technology transfer; Conceptual framework.

This study sought to determine whether managers within a multinational enterprise (MNE) differed in their perceptions of selected human resource development practices in their organization. The study also sought to identify whether the managers' perceptions could be clustered by the countries in which they reside. The study was based on cluster research studies that have been conducted in the field of cross-cultural management. Cluster research has suggested that systematic differences in an individual's perceptions of organizational variables can be expected to occur, which are based on culture and national identity. The results of this study showed that differences in perceptions about human resource development existed among managers and that the managers' responses could be clustered into five relatively distinct country clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

With the rapid economic growth of the East Asian countries, there has been an increasing interest in the education and skill development strategies used in the region. One of the critical features of Singapore's human resource development strategy is the emphasis on regionalization and internationalization of the academic curriculum. The trend of this internationalization may be attributable to three major factors: Singapore government's regionalization policy, distance learning programs offered by foreign universities, and the overseas assignment of Singaporean managers as expatriates. This paper presents an overview of the internationalization of the business curriculum at the graduate and undergraduate level in Singapore, particularly at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The Nanyang Business School, although a young institution, is rapidly moving towards the internationalization process in various areas. At present its student body is drawn from more than 20 countries. About a third of its business faculty come from about 19 countries. At the undergraduate level, students are encouraged to study foreign languages, and required to take the international business course irrespective of their functional specialization. In addition, most functional areas of specialization offer at least one international course as an elective choice. Some of the students also complete their required professional attachment abroad. At the graduate level, the unique feature of it's MBA program is the compulsory International Business Study Mission. The newly introduced MBA specialization in International Business adds another dimension. The school is now focusing on extensive research efforts in the area of regional-ization and globalization of business through its several research centers. The paper also identifies a few concerns such as the rapid changes in the pedagogy due to the overall systemic changes in the curriculum from the traditional British education model and the availability of suitable case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in cell death, demyelination, and axonal loss. The spinal cord has a limited ability to regenerate, and current clinical therapies for SCI are not effective in helping promote neurologic recovery. We have developed a novel scaffold biomaterial that is fabricated from the biodegradable hydrogel oligo(poly(ethylene glycol)fumarate) (OPF). We have previously shown that positively charged OPF scaffolds (OPF+) in an open spaced, multichannel design can be loaded with Schwann cells to support axonal generation and functional recovery following SCI. We have now developed a hybrid OPF+ biomaterial that increases the surface area available for cell attachment and that contains an aligned microarchitecture and extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins to better support axonal regeneration. OPF+ was fabricated as 0.08 mm thick sheets containing 100 μm high polymer ridges that self-assemble into a spiral shape when hydrated. Laminin, fibronectin, or collagen I coating promoted neuron attachment and axonal outgrowth on the scaffold surface. In addition, the ridges aligned axons in a longitudinal bipolar orientation. Decreasing the space between the ridges increased the number of cells and neurites aligned in the direction of the ridge. Schwann cells seeded on laminin coated OPF+ sheets aligned along the ridges over a 6-day period and could myelinate dorsal root ganglion neurons over 4 weeks. This novel scaffold design, with closer spaced ridges and Schwann cells, is a novel biomaterial construct to promote regeneration after SCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Antidepressants are amongst the most widely prescribed medications globally and the rate of their use across populations is increasing. Weight changes during antidepressant treatment was found to create severe public health problems, and weight gain was the most commonly reported side effect in the treatment process. Objectives: To study the association between antidepressant treatment and weight changes in a clinical sample of the Lebanese population. Methods:Achart-based longitudinal study was used to describe the changes in weight in adult outpatients who started newer-generation antidepressants (SSRIs, SNRIs, Vortioxetine) for a period of six months. The weight of each patient was recorded at initiation of the antidepressant and at any subsequent clinical assessment in the following 6 months. Results: In a sample of 198 adult outpatients, results revealed that weight did not significantly change from week 1 to week 4 (T1, p=0.53), but significantly increased by 0.15 kilograms for each additional week after week 4 (T2, p<.01). Furthermore, there was no difference in weight change between patients on fluoxetine versus those on other anti-depressants (p=0.83/p=0.72, for T1 and T2 respectively). Finally, no difference was found between patients diagnosed with depressive disorders and those with other diagnoses in either time intervals (p=0.26/p=0.85, for T1 and T2 respectively). Conclusions: Population-based studies remain the best tool for optimizing psychiatric pharmacotherapy specifically with regards to weight changes. The results of this study advocate for vigilance over weight gain beyond the first 4 weeks of treatment and throughout its course, regardless of external factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented about the first reported case of central serous chorioretinopathy associated with systemic testosterone therapy.

Presents a letter to the editor about endogenous endophthalmitis secondary to Lemierre's syndrome.

Vitamin A deficiency, a known complication after small bowel bypass surgery, is rare after large bowel bypass surgery. Researchers report a case of Bitot spots on the conjunctiva secondary to vitamin A deficiency following right hemicolectomy. An 81-year-old man, a known case of bilateral lower lid ectropions and bilateral age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), was referred to the eye clinic complaining of bilateral sore eyes for the last 4 months. On ophthalmic examination, his best-corrected visual acuity was 6/18 in the right eye and 6/36 in the left eye. An anterior segment examination revealed foamy plaques on the bulbar conjunctiva temporal to limbus. When questioned, the patient did not complain of any night blindness. Serum levels of fat-soluble vitamins were performed. On examination, the Bitot's spots were still present at a follow-up appointment after a month when conjunctival biopsy was performed. At 3 months following the commencement of the oral vitamin A supplements, the serum vitamin A levels became normal and the Bitot's spots regressed completely in 6 months time.

Presents a letter to the editor about variety of option available for the treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma.

Presents a letter to the editor about spontaneous retinal venous pulsation.