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The mechanisms of immune protection against human TB, a disease that causes 2 million deaths world-wide each year, are not fully known. T cell immunity is critical for protection [1,2]; [...]

This paper presents the results of the activities related to the subtask “Building and process optimization” of the IEA SHC Task 65. The main topic of this activity was the integration of solar cooling in retrofitted HVAC systems. Based on the current conventional HVAC systems, the integration may present difficulties concerning cold distribution and refrigerants. Cold supply systems can also reduce airflow in air-based systems and enhance thermal comfort in buildings. The best technical actions for specific scenarios were mentioned considering both technical and economic aspects. Unfortunately, not all the analyses that were planned provide useful data. Results show that there are few recent projects that consider the application of solar cooling systems in buildings and most of them are based on simulation. Moreover, not much data about the characteristics of the buildings (envelope, other cooling systems, comfort conditions, etc.) are reported in the studies. This is because many of them are more focused on the plants’ configurations, and the performance of the different plants is in general assessed by testing the prototype in a single room. Despite this, the information provided could be used as baseline cases in order to study the potential energy savings achievable by applying solar cooling systems.

Rapid progression through the cell cycle and a very short G1 phase are defining characteristics of embryonic stem cells. This distinct cell cycle is driven by a positive feedback loop involving Rb inactivation and reduced oscillations of cyclins and cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk) activity. In this setting, we inquired how ES cells avoid the potentially deleterious consequences of premature mitotic entry. We found that the pluripotency transcription factor Oct4 (octamer-binding transcription factor 4) plays an unappreciated role in the ES cell cycle by forming a complex with cyclin-Cdk1 and inhibiting Cdk1 activation. Ectopic expression of Oct4 or a mutant lacking transcriptional activity recapitulated delayed mitotic entry in HeLa cells. Reduction of Oct4 levels in ES cells accelerated G2 progression, which led to increased chromosomal missegregation and apoptosis. Our data demonstrate an unexpected nontranscriptional function of Oct4 in the regulation of mitotic entry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This workshop brought together a selection of H2020 EU-funded projects involving experts from the biomass, geothermal, solar thermal, and heat pump sectors to discuss a common strategy for increasing the use of renewable energy technologies for heating and cooling for buildings and industry.

This study attempted to explore the influence of causal elements (ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck) as the strongest elements of locus of control predicting students' academic achievement satisfaction among foreign students. Based on locus of control scale invented by Rotter (1966), the findings obtained from 210 foreign students in primary school supported majority of the previous studies. The evidence obtained from descriptive statistics and correlational analysis indicated that the reliability and validity of the locus of control scale were relatively valid and reliable. The results indicated that the majority of the students attribute their causes of success to internal elements that is 96% of the respondents were characterized as internal. Based on correlational analysis, the result revealed that locus of control is significant and positively related to academic achievement satisfaction with moderate strength. The implications of the study were based on the conclusions of the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Using high-throughput RNA sequencing technology, this study aimed to sequence the transcriptome of kidney and liver tissues harvested from Peninsular Malaysia cynomolgus macaque (Macaca fascicularis). M. fascicularis are significant nonhuman primate models in the biomedical field, owing to the macaque's biological similarities with humans. The additional transcriptomic dataset will supplement the previously described Peninsular Malaysia M. fascicularis transcriptomes obtained in a past endeavour., Results: A total of 75,350,240 sequence reads were obtained via Hi-seq 2500 sequencing technology. A total of 5473 significant differentially expressed genes were called. Gene ontology functional categorisation showed that cellular process, catalytic activity, and cell part categories had the highest number of expressed genes, while the metabolic pathways category possessed the highest number of expressed genes in the KEGG pathway analysis. The additional sequence dataset will further enrich existing M. fascicularis transcriptome assemblies, and provide a dataset for further downstream studies.

The cynomolgus macaque ( Macaca fascicularis ) is an extensively utilised nonhuman primate model for biomedical research due to its biological, behavioural, and genetic similarities to humans. Genomic information of cynomolgus macaque is vital for research in various fields; however, there is presently a shortage of genomic information on the Malaysian cynomolgus macaque. This study aimed to sequence, assemble, annotate, and profile the Peninsular Malaysian cynomolgus macaque transcriptome derived from three tissues (lymph node, spleen, and thymus) using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) technology. A total of 174,208,078 paired end 70 base pair sequencing reads were obtained from the Illumina Hi-Seq 2500 sequencer. The overall mapping percentage of the sequencing reads to the M. fascicularis reference genome ranged from 53-63%. Categorisation of expressed genes to Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway categories revealed that GO terms with the highest number of associated expressed genes include Cellular process, Catalytic activity, and Cell part, while for pathway categorisation, the majority of expressed genes in lymph node, spleen, and thymus fall under the Global overview and maps pathway category, while 266, 221, and 138 genes from lymph node, spleen, and thymus were respectively enriched in the Immune system category. Enriched Immune system pathways include Platelet activation pathway, Antigen processing and presentation, B cell receptor signalling pathway, and Intestinal immune network for IgA production. Differential gene expression analysis among the three tissues revealed 574 differentially expressed genes (DEG) between lymph and spleen, 5402 DEGs between lymph and thymus, and 7008 DEGs between spleen and thymus. Venn diagram analysis of expressed genes revealed a total of 2,630, 253, and 279 tissue-specific genes respectively for lymph node, spleen, and thymus tissues. This is the first time the lymph node, spleen, and thymus transcriptome of the Peninsular Malaysian cynomolgus macaque have been sequenced via RNA-Seq. Novel transcriptomic data will further enrich the present M. fascicularis genomic database and provide future research potentials, including novel transcript discovery, comparative studies, and molecular markers development., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

Background: Effective talent development requires robust supervision. However, the effects of supervisory styles (coaching, mentoring and abusive supervision) on talent development and the moderating effects of clinical learning environment in the relationship between supervisory styles and talent development among public hospital trainee doctors have not been thoroughly researched. In this study, we aim to achieve the following, (1) identify the extent to which supervisory styles (coaching, mentoring and abusive supervision) can facilitate talent development among trainee doctors in public hospital and (2) examine whether coaching, mentoring and abusive supervision are moderated by clinical learning environment in predicting talent development among trainee doctors in public hospital., Methods: A questionnaire-based critical survey was conducted among trainee doctors undergoing housemanship at six public hospitals in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Prior permission was obtained from the Ministry of Health Malaysia to conduct the research in the identified public hospitals. The survey yielded 355 responses. The results were analysed using SPSS 20.0 and SEM with AMOS 20.0., Results: The findings of this research indicate that coaching and mentoring supervision are positively associated with talent development, and that there is no significant relationship between abusive supervision and talent development. The findings also support the moderating role of clinical learning environment on the relationships between coaching supervision-talent development, mentoring supervision-talent development and abusive supervision-talent development among public hospital trainee doctors. Overall, the proposed model indicates a 26 % variance in talent development., Conclusion: This study provides an improved understanding on the role of the supervisory styles (coaching and mentoring supervision) on facilitating talent development among public hospital trainee doctors. Furthermore, this study extends the literature to better understand the effects of supervisory styles on trainee doctors' talent development are contigent on the trainee doctors' clinical learning environment. In summary, supervisors are stakeholders with the responsibility of facilitating learning conditions that hold sufficient structure and support to optimise the trainee doctors learning.

Grape-derived proteins can form haze in wine. Some cell-wall glycoproteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae are capable of reducing protein haze formation. The basis of their haze protective activity is not yet understood. One of the S. cerevisiae cell-wall proteins, Hpf2, was produced in Pichia pastoris . An altered glycan structure in the P. pastoris -produced protein was associated with decreased solubility in water and reduced capacity to mitigate haze formation compared to native Hpf2 protein from S. cerevisiae. alpha-1,2-Linked mannose in the glycan chain was shown to be required for haze protective activity using a series of S. cerevisiae deletion mutants (mnn1-Delta, mnn2-Delta, mnn4-Delta, and mnn5-Delta), defective in different aspects of glycan processing. The effect of media additives phthalate, casamino acids, and yeast nitrogen base on Hpf2 production in P. pastoris were also evaluated. Casamino acids were shown to suppress Hpf2 production in P. pastoris .

While much is known generally about predictions of customer-perceived service quality, their application to health services is rarer. No attempt has been made to examine the impact of social support and patient education on overall service quality perception. Together with six quality dimensions identified from the literature, this study seeks to provide a more holistic comprehension of hospital service quality prediction. Although 79 percent of variation is explained, other than technical quality the impact of the remaining factors on quality perception is far from constant, and socio-economic variables further complicate unpredictability. Contrary to established beliefs, the cost factor was found to be insignificant. Hence, to manage service quality effectively, the test lies in how well healthcare providers know the customers they serve. It is not only crucial in a globalized environment, where trans-national patient mobility is increasingly the norm, but also within homogeneous societies that appear to converge culturally.