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Additive manufacturing (AM) of H13 tool steel using the powder bed fusion (PBF) method is often limited by issues such as porosity (including lack of fusion, gas, and keyhole porosity), balling formation, and elemental segregation. These factors significantly impact the mechanical properties of the final product. This research investigates how volumetric energy density (VED) influences these issues and their subsequent effects on mechanical properties. VED affects the mechanical properties in multifaceted ways. An optimized VED prevents a lack of fusion and minimizes gas and keyhole porosities, especially near edges, ultimately reducing the material's susceptibility to fracture under tensile load. Additionally, VED influences elemental segregation within a single laser track during the process; lower VED leads to less elemental segregation. This reduced segregation minimizes oxide formation, which are crack initiation sites after heat treatment, thereby enhancing mechanical strength. The study also identifies that an optimal VED minimizes balling formation, further reducing elemental segregation and improving mechanical properties. A VED range of 57–59 J/mm3 is found to be optimal for preventing a lack of fusion, minimizing segregation, and reducing near-surface defects. Furthermore, a relationship is established between these defects, the microhardness profile, and the mechanical properties, suggesting that microhardness can serve as a predictive tool for the mechanical properties of PBF-ed metal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health budget over the past five years has experienced a significant increase in 2020, a budget of 119.9 trillion (T) increased to 124.4 trillion (T) in 2021, 134.8 trillion (T) in 2022, and 172.5 trillion (T) in 2023. In 2024, this budget is projected at 186.4 trillion (T), or 5.6% of the state budget. This budget increased by 8.1% or 13.9 trillion compared to 2023. Of the total state budget for the Ministry of Health of 186.4 trillion, it is projected that the distribution will flow to Rp2,537,921,988,000.00 for Vertical Hospitals (RS) and Rp2,021,730,483,000.00 for Regional General Hospitals. The purpose of this research is to see how much potential this business has for the Jakarta and Banten areas. This method uses a working framework for this business plan, which consists of marketing objectives, marketing strategy, mix management, sales volume and company revenue plan. The results of this study are goals and objectives in the pende, long-term and long-term which are the benchmarks for the study in achieving the targets in each division. The conclusion of this study explains how the company achieves the predetermined targets by using methods in marketing planning by using the maximum number of sales and budget. This research explains that the method or way of achieving the company's target needs continuity between each division. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of additive manufacturing, powder bed fusion (PBF) is recognized as an innovative and highly effective technique for manufacturing titanium-based materials. With an understanding of and regulation for the complex microstructural evolution that occurs during the PBF process, several previous studies have been conducted to enhance the reliability, efficiency, and performance of the PBF through investigation and optimization of microstructure evolution in PBF. These studies have examined various aspects, including feedstock materials, process parameters, and post-processing techniques, in order to gain a comprehensive understanding and control over the progression of microstructure in the PBF. Process parameters are widely acknowledged as critical determinants in the PBF process for titanium-based materials, significantly influencing the quality in 3D printed components. Previous studies have provided an in-depth discussion of the effects of process parameters, such as laser power, scanning speed, and hatching space, on the microstructure evolution of Ti-based materials. The primary objective of this review paper is, therefore, to provide a comprehensive and clear explanation of recent efforts, with a particular focus on investigating the complex evolution of microstructures in Ti-based materials during the PBF process. This thorough discussion is devoted to providing a comprehensive understanding of the effects of process parameters on the evolution of microstructures in Ti-based materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry service health in Indonesia is very important important during life in the world still There is so service health still very much needed. This year budget Health in Indonesia has greatly improved. matter This chance big for business company big pharmaceuticals and tools health for supplying the needs of the house hospital Deni Erlangga, Tantri Rahmat Syah, Edi Hamdi, Dihin Septyantos, clinics and non-health institutions. The role of the company big pharmaceuticals and tools health this is very important to use meet the existing needs of each agency health. This research done for know how much big opportunity business This especially in Banten province and DKI Jakarta Province by using human resources in accordance with company characteristics. Research methods This use method qualitative by using technique studies literature and interviews and documentation. results from study This showing that for reach a specified target company must have human resources who have good abilities and analysis, p This For guard connection good with suppliers. role peting from a sales and marketing person is very supportive from sale. Conclusion on research This In order to achieve the company's targets, PT JPA strives increase quality from every employee. with the number such a budget big from government naturally This becomes very big opportunity for company, of course company must prepare talents employees who have capabilities in every field position work. No only PT JPA will to try increase abilities of each employee through training that will be given to every employee and of course level interesting career for employees, p This to provide positive motivation for employee for always increase performance his. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two compounds, (S)-8-{[(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)oxy]methyl}-1-[(2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)sulfonyl]-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-1-ium trifluoromethanesulfonate, C27H46N3O4SSi+·CF3O3S−, (1) and (S)-8-(iodomethyl)-1-tosyl-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-a]pyrimidin-1-ium iodide, C15H21IN3O2S+·I−, (2), have been synthesized and characterized. They are bicyclic guanidinium salts and were synthesized from N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-L-methionine (Boc-L-Met-OH). The guanidine is protected by a 2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyldihydrobenzofuran-5-sulfonyl (Pbf, 1) or a tosyl (2) group. In the crystals of both compounds, the guanidinium group is almost planar and the N–H forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond in a six-membered ring to the oxygen atom of the sulfonamide protecting group.

Two compounds, (S)-8-{[(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)oxy]methyl|-1-[(2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofuran-5-yl)sulfonyl]-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2H-pyrimido[1,2-α]pyrimidin-1-ium trifluoromethanesulfonate, C27H46N3O4SSi+⋅-CF3O3S-, (1) and (S)-8-(iodomethyl)-1-tosyl-1,3,4,6,7,8-hexahydro-2#-pyri-mido[1,2-α]pyrimidin-1-ium iodide, C15H21IN3O2S⋅+I-, (2), have been synthesized and characterized. They are bicyclic guanidinium salts and were synthesized from N-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-L-methionine (Boc-L-Met-OH). The guanidine is protected by a 2,2,4,6,7-pentamethyldihydrobenzofuran-5-sulfonyl (Pbf, 1) or a tosyl (2) group. In the crystals of both compounds, the guanidinium group is almost planar and the N-H forms an intramolecular hydrogen bond in a six-membered ring to the oxygen atom of the sulfonamide protecting group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background During pregnancy, the placenta plays an important role in the development of the fetus by supplying it with oxygen and nutrition, eliminating waste, and acting as an immunological barrier. Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) MRI was recently shown to be a promising sequence for measuring perfusion in the placenta. The aim was to obtain the perfusion measurements of the placenta in normal pregnancies using 3 Tesla MRI from 19 to 38 weeks of gestational age. Results This was a cohort observational study. One hundred and sixty (160) singleton pregnancies from 19 to 38 weeks of gestational age were included. A 3D pCASL sequence was performed in the axial plane for placental blood flow (PBF). Data post-processing was performed on a workstation using Ready View software for 3D ASL with automated generation of quantitative placental pattern-based morphometry (PBM). The mean values of placental perfusion were extracted by averaging the data obtained. A significant positive correlation was observed between the PBF and increasing GA using Karl Pearson’s coefficient of correlation values (r-value 0.77, p-value

We previously identified papillomavirus binding factor (PBF) as an osteosarcoma antigen recognized by an autologous cytotoxic T lymphocyte clone. Vaccination with PBF‐derived peptide presented by HLA‐A24 (PBF peptide) elicited strong immune responses. In the present study, we generated T cell receptor‐engineered T cells (TCR‐T cells) directed against the PBF peptide (PBF TCR‐T cells). PBF TCR was successfully transduced into T cells and detected using HLA‐A*24:02/PBF peptide tetramer. PBF TCR‐T cells generated from a healthy donor were highly expanded and recognized T2‐A24 cells pulsed with PBF peptide, HLA‐A24+ 293T cells transfected with PBF cDNA, and sarcoma cell lines. To establish an adoptive cell therapy model, we modified the PBF TCR by replacing both α and β constant regions with those of mice (hybrid PBF TCR). Hybrid PBF TCR‐T cells also showed reactivity against T2‐A24 cells pulsed with PBF peptide and to HLA‐A24+ 293T cells transfected with various lengths of PBF cDNA including the PBF peptide sequence. Subsequently, we generated target cell lines highly expressing PBF (MFH03‐PBF [short] epitope [+]) containing PBF peptide with in vivo tumorigenicity. Hybrid PBF TCR‐T cells exhibited antitumor effects compared with mock T cells in NSG mice xenografted with MFH03‐PBF (short) epitope (+) cells. CD45+ T cells significantly infiltrated xenografted tumors only in the hybrid PBF TCR T cell group and most of these cells were CD8‐positive. CD8+ T cells also showed Ki‐67 expression and surrounded the CD8‐negative tumor cells expressing Ki‐67. These findings suggest that PBF TCR‐T cell therapy might be a candidate immunotherapy for sarcoma highly expressing PBF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work mainly focuses on investigating the microstructural and indentation creep behaviour of heat-treated AlSi10Mg alloy processed via the laser-assisted powder bed fusion (PBF) route. The as-built AlSi10Mg samples were initially solutionized at 520 °C for 2 h. Then, the solutionized samples were aged at 180 °C for 2 h. Indentation creep tests were conducted on the aged sample at three different loads 55, 92 and 129 MPa at 100 °C for 2 h. The steady-state creep rate was calculated from the slope of time vs indentation depth graph. In order to supplement the indentation creep results, detailed microstructural analysis has been carried out through optical and scanning electron microscopy. XRD study was carried out for phase analysis. AlSi10Mg in the as-built condition revealed the eutectic mixture at the melt pool boundaries and ultrafine Al cells in the interior. XRD pattern confirmed the presence of Mg2Si in the age-hardened condition. Several defects were seen in the age-hardened condition. As-built alloy showed the highest hardness, whereas age hardening reduced the hardness due to the spheroidization of Si particles. The primary creep region showed an increase in indentation depth increased with respect to time. The depth of indentation remained constant in the secondary creep region. Age-hardened samples subjected to 92 MPa stress showed better creep resistance compared to 55 and 129 MPa. As-built condition showed the highest hardness due to the extremely fine microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During pregnancy, the placenta plays an important role in the development of the fetus by supplying it with oxygen and nutrition, eliminating waste, and acting as an immunological barrier. Pseudo-continuous arterial spin labelling (pCASL) MRI was recently shown to be a promising sequence for measuring perfusion in the placenta. The aim was to obtain the perfusion measurements of the placenta in normal pregnancies using 3 Tesla MRI from 19 to 38 weeks of gestational age. Results: This was a cohort observational study. One hundred and sixty (160) singleton pregnancies from 19 to 38 weeks of gestational age were included. A 3D pCASL sequence was performed in the axial plane for placental blood flow (PBF). Data post-processing was performed on a workstation using Ready View software for 3D ASL with automated generation of quantitative placental pattern-based morphometry (PBM). The mean values of placental perfusion were extracted by averaging the data obtained. A significant positive correlation was observed between the PBF and increasing GA using Karl Pearson's coefficient of correlation values (r-value 0.77, p-value < 0.001), respectively. Average PBF values from 19 to 38 weeks were (89.4 ± 13.5 to 155.3 ± 2.8 ml/100 g/min). According to our intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), inter-observer reproducibility of placental blood flow shows good agreement between observers (0.98). Conclusions: Normal PBF values using ASL in 3 T MRI from 19 to 38 weeks of gestational age were provided. Statistical analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between gestational age and placental blood flow. In the future, it may help to identify placental perfusion abnormalities like placental insufficiency, preeclampsia, and fetal growth restriction (FGR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent advances in manufacturing methods have accelerated the exploration of new materials and advantageous shapes that could not be produced by traditional methods. In this context, additive manufacturing is gaining strength among manufacturing methods for its versatility and freedom in the geometries that can be produced. Taking advantage of these possibilities, this research presents a case study involving an electric aerospace actuator manufactured using additive manufacturing. The main objectives of this research work are to assess the feasibility of additively manufacturing electric actuators and to evaluate potential gains in terms of weight, volume, power consumption and cost over conventional manufacturing technologies. To do so and in order to optimise the actuator design, a thorough material study is conducted in which three different magnetic materials are gas-atomised (silicon iron, permendur and supermalloy) and test samples of the most promising materials (silicon iron and permendur) are processed by laser powder bed fusion. The final actuator design is additively manufactured in permendur for the stator and rotor iron parts and in 316L stainless steel for the housing. The electric actuator prototype is tested, showing compliance with design requirements in terms of torque production, power consumption and heating. Finally, a design intended to be manufactured via traditional methods (i.e., punching and stacking for the stator laminations and machining for the housing) is presented and compared to the additively manufactured design. The comparison shows that additive manufacturing is a viable alternative to traditional manufacturing for the application presented, as it highly reduces the weight of the actuator and facilitates the assembly, while the cost difference between the two designs is minimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is a popular additive manufacturing technology due to its high build resolution and ability to produce microscale geometries without the use of additional support. Despite the many benefits of PBF, there are still some limitations associated with the materials to be built. A critical industrial limit is the aging of PA12 powder, which is the degradation of its physical and chemical properties due to high temperatures and long building cycles of the powder that is not directly fused into the final part but supports the part under construction. This powder is now being used to make another part in order to reduce manufacturing costs. The mechanical properties of the built parts are reduced due to the reused powder. The current study aims to characterize powder aging using experimental tests such as Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis, and Thermogravimetric Analysis to define the physical and chemical parameters of the powder that will be used inside a simulation software to optimize the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The one-step AM process is considered the goal many researchers seek in the field of Additive Manufacturing (AM) of high-technology ceramics. Among the several AM techniques, only Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) can directly print high-technology ceramics using one step. However, the PBF technique faces numerous challenges to efficiently be employed in the PBF of ceramics. These challenges include the formation of cracks, generated thermal stress, effective laser–powder interaction, and low acquired relative density. This study developed a new preheating mechanism for ceramic materials using two laser systems to surpass beyond these challenges and successfully print ceramics with a single-step AM method. One laser is used to preheat the powder particles before the second laser is utilised to complete the melting/sintering process. Both lasers travel along the same scanning path. There is a slight delay (0.0001 s) between the preheating laser and the melting/sintering laser to guarantee that the melting/sintering laser scans a properly preheated powder. To further facilitate testing of the preheating system, a numerical model has been developed to simulate the preheating and melting process and to acquire proper process parameters. The developed numerical model was shown to determine the correct process parameters without needing costly and time-consuming experiments. Alumina samples (10 × 10 × 6 mm3) were successfully printed using alumina powder as feedstock. The surface of the samples was nearly defect-free. The samples' relative densities exceeded 80%, the highest reported relative density for alumina produced by a single-step AM method. This discovery can significantly accelerate the transition to a one-step AM process of ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article deals with issues which occur when using different types of basic print speeds in metal additive manufacturing. It describes their importance, mutual relationships and their influence on the quality of pieces manufactured using this technology. The ability to manage the speed of the additive manufacturing process allows us not only to effectively improve print quality but also, for example, to reduce the volume of necessary support structures. It thus speeds up the whole printing process, minimizes material waste, and reduces the need for any finishing operations which may be necessary for achieving the required final properties of the printed parts. In this context, the connection between the quality and the speed of additive manufacturing is demonstrated in a simple experiment using Powder Bed Fusion technology (PBF) in which the effect of the print speed on various low-angled flat surfaces is observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of the research was to determine the changes in metabolic parameters, leptin, and irisin levels after aerobic and resistance training in type-2 diabetes obese men. Methods: Forty-five participants in the age range of 17–25 years were randomized into three groups: aerobic training (AT), resistance training (RT), and control (CO). All training sessions were fulfilled 4 days per week for two months. The aerobic training began with intensity of 65% of the maximum aerobic power and finished with 90%. The resistance program started with 50% of one-repetition maximum and reached 70% in the 8th week. Results: Factorial analysis of variance and Bonferroni post-hoc test revealed significant decreases in leptin (p =.043), fasting blood sugar (FBS) (p =.023), insulin (p =.001), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p =.022) in AT compared with CO and insulin (p =.006) in AT compared with RT. The change of percent body fat (PBF) was positively correlated only with change of HOMA-IR in AT group (p =.032) at p <.05. Conclusion: The result suggests that, compared to resistance training, aerobic training can control metabolic situations such as insulin resistance through the leptin hormone function, and not irisin in type-2 diabetes obese men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is a popular additive manufacturing technology due to its high build resolution and ability to produce microscale geometries without the use of additional support. Despite the many benefits of PBF, there are still some limitations associated with the materials to be built. A critical industrial limit is the aging of PA12 powder, which is the degradation of its physical and chemical properties due to high temperatures and long building cycles of the powder that is not directly fused into the final part but supports the part under construction. This powder is now being used to make another part in order to reduce manufacturing costs. The mechanical properties of the built parts are reduced due to the reused powder. The current study aims to characterize powder aging using experimental tests such as Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Dynamic Mechanical Analysis, and Thermogravimetric Analysis to define the physical and chemical parameters of the powder that will be used inside a simulation software to optimize the process.

Terjadinya pergeseran paradigma pelayanan kefarmasian dari pelayanan obat (drug oriented) menjadi lebih berfokus kepada pelayanan pasien (patient oriented) dengan berdasar kepada Pharmaceutical Care saat ini sedang terjadi dengan tetap mengkedepankan pedoman patient safety. Salah satu penunjang tercapainya patient safety adalah ketersediaan obat yang dipengaruhi oleh prosess supply chain dari pihak distributor kepada apotek. Tujuan dilakukannya penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui performa supply chain management dari PBF terhadap proses pengadaan di Apotek Kimia Farma Unit Bisnis Sidoarjo dan memberikan rekomendasi terhadap performa supply chain management dari PBF. Rancangan penelitian ini dilakukan dengan mengikuti rancangan penelitian deskriptif non eksperimental dengan pengambilan data secara retrospektif. Kinerja supply chain PBF diukur dengan pendekatan Supply Chain Operations Reference (SCOR). Model hirarki awal disesuaikan dengan kondisi perusahaan. Normalisasi Snorm De Boer berfungsi untuk menyamakan nilai metrik yang digunakan sebagai indikator pengukuran. Aspek performa Supply Chain Management dari PBF di Apotek Kimia Farma Unit Bisnis Sidoarjo ditinjau dari atribut reliability diperolehan nilai sebesar 45,81 dan atribut responsiveness diperoleh nilai sebesar 15,24 atribut agility diperoleh nilai sebesar 14,40 atribut asset management sebesar 5,99. Secara total diperoleh jumlah skor performa PBF sebesar 81,44 dapat dikategorikan baik untuk sebuah sistem supply chain.

Abstract Introduction Numerous sub-Saharan African countries have experimented with performance-based financing (PBF) with the goal of improving health system performance. To date, few articles have examined the implementation of this type of complex intervention in Francophone West Africa. This qualitative research aims to understand the process of implementing a PBF pilot project in Mali's Koulikoro region. Method We conducted a contrasted multiple case study of performance in 12 community health centres in three districts. We collected 161 semi-structured interviews, 69 informal interviews and 96 non-participant observation sessions. Data collection and analysis were guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research adapted to the research topic and local context. Results Our analysis revealed that the internal context of the PBF implementation played a key role in the process. High-performing centres exercised leadership and commitment more strongly than low-performing ones. These two characteristics were associated with taking initiatives to promote PBF implementation and strengthening team spirit. Information regarding the intervention was best appropriated by qualified health professionals. However, the limited duration of the implementation did not allow for the emergence of networks or champions. The enthusiasm initially generated by PBF quickly dissipated, mainly due to delays in the implementation schedule and the payment modalities. Conclusion PBF is a complex intervention in which many actors intervene in diverse contexts. The initial level of performance and the internal and external contexts of primary healthcare facilities influence the implementation of PBF. Future work in this area would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach combining public health and anthropology to better understand such an intervention. The deductive–inductive approach must be the stepping-stone of such a methodological approach.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of Performance-Based Financing (PBF) on effective coverage of child curative health services in primary healthcare facilities in Burkina Faso.Methods: An impact evaluation of a PBF pilot programme, using an experiment nested within a quasi-experimental design, was carried out in 12 intervention and 12 comparison districts in six regions of Burkina Faso. Across the 24 districts, primary healthcare facilities (537 both at baseline and endline) and households (baseline = 7978 endline = 7898) were surveyed. Within these households, 12 350 and 15 021 under-five-year-olds caretakers were interviewed at baseline and endline respectively. Linking service quality to service utilisation, we used difference-in-differences to estimate the impact of PBF on effective coverage of curative child health services.Results: Our study failed to detect any effect of PBF on effective coverage. Looking specifically into quality of care indicators, we detected a positive effect of PBF on structural elements of quality of care related to general service readiness, but not on the overall facility quality score, capturing both service readiness and the content of childcare.Conclusion: The current study makes a unique contribution to PBF literature, as this is the first study assessing PBF impact on effective coverage for curative child health services in low-income settings. The absence of any significant effects of PBF on effective coverage suggests that PBF programmes require a stronger design focus on quality of care elements especially when implemented in a context of free healthcare policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carotid body tumor (CBT) are slow-growing tumors that develop in the cervical region at the carotid bifurcation. . In a randomized study, 33 patients were treated for CBT excision: 10 patients performed preoperative embolization (PE) and 23 were treated only by isolated traditional surgery (N-PE). The first group includes patients undergoing preoperative embolization. The second group of patients (N-PE) included 11 males and 12 females. Intraoperative complications were lower in patients treated with a hybrid procedure (PE): sections of the cranial nerves were recorded in 7% of cases compared to 12% of the surgical procedure (P-value = 0.72); while the reversible nerve lesions (P value = 0.21) and the permanent ones (P value = 0.46), were instead similar in both procedures. The comparative blood loss during the operative procedure shows a P-value of 0.02. Operating times, reversible damage of the cranial nerves , incidence of stroke (0% vs1%, P value> 0.99) and post-operative hospital stay (4.1 vs. 4.2 days, P value = 0.91) did not show differences in the two groups of patients. The analysis of the results detects pre-operative embolization of CBT in reducing intraoperative blood loss and resection of the cranial nerves..

Emerging evidence shows that the pituitary tumour-transforming gene (PTTG)-binding factor (PBF) functions as a proto-oncogene in some tumors. However, the precise functions of PBF in tumorigenesis and its action mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here for the first time we demonstrated that PBF was associated with a tumor-related cell phenotype in esophageal carcinoma (ESCA) and identified the involved signaling pathways. PBF was up-regulated in ESCA tissues (Data from GEPIA) and cells. Then we down-regulated PBF in ESCA cell lines, Eca-109 and TE-1, by using RNAi technology. Cell function analysis suggested that down-regulation of PBF could inhibit tumor-related cell phenotypes, including proliferation, motility, apoptosis and cell cycle, in Eca-109 and TE-1 cells. Mechanism investigation suggested that apoptosis induced by PBF knockdown may be mediated by the activation of the mitochondrial apoptosis pathway and cell cycle arrest. AKT/mTOR and Wnt3a/β-catenin, key pathways in regulating tumor proliferation and metastasis, were found to be inactivated by the down-regulation of PBF in ESCA cells. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that PBF functions as a proto-oncogene in ESCA in vitro, which may be mediated through AKT/mTOR and Wnt3a/β-catenin pathways.

Performance Based Financing (PBF) is an approach to health financing that shifts attention from inputs to outputs, and eventually to the outcomes of health services. The study evaluated the health workers' knowledge, attitude, practice, quality of health care, motivation, infrastructural development as well as addressing the shortage of health work force. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among 315 health workers in Nigeria. The majority of the respondents demonstrated good knowledge, however, there was a statistically significant difference in the knowledge of the respondents in the primary health facilities in terms of their age groups. More than half of the respondents agreed strongly that PBF makes them more proactive in carrying out their daily duties with patient's satisfaction. Qualitative analysis showed that the carrot-stick approach in PBF was a real motivator, the carrot was the bonus (incentives) given or withholding to the health workers for good or poor quality service provided. Most of health workers stayed later than closing time to ensure the health services are provided. On infrastructural development, well-constructed and maintained incinerator for waste disposal and running water were installed at all of the health facilities among many other infrastructures. Also, more health workers were employed including laboratory technicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OpenStreetMap is the largest freely accessible geographic database of the world. The necessary processing steps to extract information from this database, namely reading, converting and filtering, can be very consuming in terms of computational time and disk space. 'esy-osmfilter' is a Python library designed to read and filter OpenStreetMap data under optimization of disc space and computational time. It uses parallelized prefiltering for the OSM pbf-files data in order to quickly reduce the original data size. It can store the prefiltered data to the hard drive. In the main filtering process, these prefiltered data can be reused repeatedly to identify different items with the help of more specialized main filters. At the end, the output can be exported to the GeoJSON format. Funding statement: This work was funded as part of DLR Institute for Networked Energy Systems project 'SciGRID_gas' by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) within the funding of the 6. Energieforschungsprogramm der Bundesregierung. Funding Code: 03ET4063.

Peptide synthesis is often defined as "the suitable combination of protecting groups and coupling reagents." This sentence can also be used to define the scientific career of Professor Louis A. Carpino, who revolutionized peptide synthesis through the development of new paradigms in both protecting groups and coupling reagents. This review addresses the contributions of Professor Carpino to the former, not from a historical perspective but rather with the intention of revisiting his work as inspiration for the development of new chemistries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generating dense parts from laser-based Powder Bed Fusion of metals often requires the adaption of laser scanning speed. Thereby, scanning speed is lost as a degree of freedom for tailoring the microstructure. This paper addresses this issue by using an analytical model from literature to achieve equal melt pool width and depth for a range of factor 12 for laser scanning speeds and by examining the resulting specimen densities for this range of scanning speeds. The melt pool width and the melt pool depth of a dense reference specimen are measured. The measured melt pool width and melt pool depth are defined as the target sizes of the melt pool for all examined scanning speeds, as this is expected to result in dense specimens from a geometrical point of view. The target size shall be achieved by using an analytical model from the literature. This strategy is chosen to estimate the necessary energy input for creating dense specimens while avoiding incomplete fusion and keyholing. Defects mechanisms like splatters and cracks are excluded from this initial examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Numerous sub-Saharan African countries have experimented with performance-based financing (PBF) with the goal of improving health system performance. To date, few articles have examined the implementation of this type of complex intervention in Francophone West Africa. This qualitative research aims to understand the process of implementing a PBF pilot project in Mali's Koulikoro region.Method: We conducted a contrasted multiple case study of performance in 12 community health centres in three districts. We collected 161 semi-structured interviews, 69 informal interviews and 96 non-participant observation sessions. Data collection and analysis were guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research adapted to the research topic and local context.Results: Our analysis revealed that the internal context of the PBF implementation played a key role in the process. High-performing centres exercised leadership and commitment more strongly than low-performing ones. These two characteristics were associated with taking initiatives to promote PBF implementation and strengthening team spirit. Information regarding the intervention was best appropriated by qualified health professionals. However, the limited duration of the implementation did not allow for the emergence of networks or champions. The enthusiasm initially generated by PBF quickly dissipated, mainly due to delays in the implementation schedule and the payment modalities.Conclusion: PBF is a complex intervention in which many actors intervene in diverse contexts. The initial level of performance and the internal and external contexts of primary healthcare facilities influence the implementation of PBF. Future work in this area would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach combining public health and anthropology to better understand such an intervention. The deductive-inductive approach must be the stepping-stone of such a methodological approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peptide-based immunotherapy does not usually elicit strong immunological and clinical responses in patients with end-stage cancer, including sarcoma. Here we report a myxofibrosarcoma patient who showed a strong clinical response to peptide vaccinations and whose immune responses were reboosted by anti-PD1 therapy combined with peptide vaccinations. The 46-year-old man showed a strong response to the peptide vaccinations (papillomavirus binding factor peptide, survivin-2B peptide, incomplete Freund's adjuvant, and polyethylene glycol-conjugated interferon-alpha 2a) and subsequent wide necrosis and massive infiltration of CD8+ T cells in a recurrent tumor. The patient's immune responses weakened after surgical resection; however, they were reboosted following the administration of nivolumab combined with peptide vaccinations. Thus, anti-PD1 therapy combined with peptide vaccinations might be beneficial, as suggested by the observations in this sarcoma patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background PTTG1-interacting protein (PTTG1IP) is an oncogenic protein, which participates in metaphase-anaphase transition of the cell cycle through activation of securin (PTTG1). PTTG1IP promotes the shift of securin from the cell cytoplasm to the nucleus, allowing the interaction between separase and securin. PTTG1IP overexpression has been previously observed in malignant disease, e.g. in breast carcinoma. However, the prognostic value of PTTG1IP in breast carcinoma patients has not previously been revealed. Methods A total of 497 breast carcinoma patients with up to 22-year follow-up were analysed for PTTG1IP and securin immunoexpression. The results were evaluated for correlations with the clinical prognosticators and patient survival. Results In our material, negative PTTG1IP immunoexpression predicted a 1.5-fold risk of breast cancer death (p = 0.02). However, adding securin immunoexpression to the analysis indicated an even stronger and independent prognostic power in the patient material (HR = 2.5, p

OpenStreetMap is the largest freely accessible geographic database of the world. The necessary processing steps to extract information from this database, namely reading, converting and filtering, can be very consuming in terms of computational time and disk space. esy-osmfilter is a Python library designed to read and filter OpenStreetMap data under optimization of disc space and computational time. It uses parallelized prefiltering for the OSM pbf-files data in order to quickly reduce the original data size. It can store the prefiltered data to the hard drive. In the main filtering process, these prefiltered data can be reused repeatedly to identify different items with the help of more specialized main filters. At the end, the output can be exported to the GeoJSON format. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is focused on the manufacturing of fully dense and porous Ti6Al4V parts by Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) method. In the scope of the study, the reasons of the impact of the powder recoating system and internal stress-induced failures in the manufacturing of tensile specimens were investigated and solution proposals were presented. Results that were determined by implementing the most suitable solution were investigated. In this study, failures that occurred during manufacturing were prevented by analyzing the powder recoating system. As a result of the study, the negative effects, which were caused by the impact of the recoater blade on the parts, were prevented. It was observed that the samples were bent due to the forces that were generated by the recoating system movement during manufacturing. The bending conditions were eliminated when the samples were manufactured in a barrel. Thus, no deformation occurred in the part. The negative effects of internal stresses in samples were removed by using the cooling rate concept and FEA analysis. Finally, assumptions of simulations were verified by manufacturing samples with the same machine parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pituitary tumor transforming gene binding factor (PBF) is a proto-oncogene that has a role in many cancers. However, its involvement in prostate cancer (PCa) remains unclear. Herein, we examined PBF expression in clinical specimens and investigated its regulation and function in human PCa cell lines. Immunohistochemical staining of patient tissues revealed higher PBF expression in PCa than in benign prostatic hyperplasia or adjacent normal prostate specimens. In LNCaP and 22Rv1 cells, PBF expression was upregulated by androgen treatment in a manner partially blocked by the androgen receptor (AR) antagonist bicalutamide. We identified a novel androgen response element in the PBF gene promoter and demonstrated its functional relevance using luciferase reporter assays. Androgen treatment of LNCaP cells induced binding between the endogenous AR and the androgen response element in PBF, as measured by chromatin immunoprecipitation assays. Finally, RNA interference of PBF expression significantly reduced androgen-induced LNCaP cell growth and invasion. Thus, PBF is a novel AR target gene and has a role in androgen-induced proliferation and metastatic functions in PCa cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Perfusion-weighted noncontrast-enhanced proton lung MRI during free breathing is maturing as a novel technique for assessment of regional lung perfusion, but has not yet been validated in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.Purpose: To compare pulmonary parenchymal perfusion assessed by noncontrast-enhanced perfusion-weighted phase-resolved functional lung (PREFUL)-MRI with lung perfusion determined with dynamic gadolinium-enhanced (DCE)-MRI and with lung function test parameters.Study Type: Prospective.Population: A single-center subset of the COPD cohort "COPD and SYstemic consequenzes-COmorbidities NETwork" (COSYCONET). Forty-seven patients with COPD (median age 66 [57-70] years) were studied.Field Strength/sequence: For PREFUL-MRI a spoiled gradient echo sequence and for DCE-MRI, a 3D time-resolved spoiled gradient echo sequence was used at 1.5T.Assessment: PREFUL-MRI coronal slices were acquired in free breathing. DCE-MRI was performed in breath-hold with administration of 0.025 mmol/kg bodyweight of gadobutrol i.v. at a rate of 4 ml/s and pulmonary blood flow (PBF) maps were calculated. Slices of PREFUL and DCE-MRI were matched by their ventrodorsal position and corresponding slices were coregistered for evaluation. Perfusion defect percentages (QDP) were calculated for both methods.Statistical Tests: The obtained parameters were correlated using Spearman's correlation coefficient (r) and Bland-Altman plot analysis.Results: PREFUL-QDP showed an absolute and spatial agreement with PBF-QDP on a global (39.3 (31.8-45.5)% vs. 44.7 (35.4-50.0)% with a spatial overlap of 62.2 (57.2-67.2)%)) as well as on a lobar level and correlated with lung function test parameters (PREFUL-QDP vs. FEV1 , r = -0.75, P < 0.0001). There was a systematic overestimation of PREFUL-QDP compared with PBF-QDP, mainly in the lower lobes, resulting in an overall overestimation for the whole lung with a mean difference of 5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.0%; 7.0%; STD 6.8%).Data Conclusion: PREFUL-MRI is a promising noninvasive, radiation-free tool for quantification of regional perfusion in COPD patients.Level Of Evidence: 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2019;49:1122-1132. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma is the most common malignancy of bone that affects young people. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery have significantly improved the prognosis. However, the prognosis of non‐responders to chemotherapy is still poor. To develop peptide‐based immunotherapy for osteosarcoma, we previously identified CTL epitopes derived from papillomavirus binding factor (PBF) in the context of human leukocyte antigen (HLA)‐A2, HLA‐A24 and HLA‐B55. In the present study, we identified two novel CTL epitopes, QVT (QVTVWLLEQK) and LSA (LSALPPPLHK), in the context of HLA‐A11 using a sequence of screenings based on the predicted affinity of peptides, in vitro folding ability of peptide/HLA‐A11 complex, reactivity of peptide/HLA‐A11 tetramer and interferon (IFN)‐γ production of T cells that was induced by mixed lymphocyte peptide culture under a limiting dilution condition. CTL clones directed to QVT and LSA peptides showed specific cytotoxicity against HLA‐A11+PBF+ osteosarcoma (HOS‐A11) cells. In contrast, another epitope, ASV (ASVLSRRLGK), could highly induce cognate tetramer‐positive CTL. This might be because the ASV peptide mimics the peptide ASV (R6Q) (ASVLSQRLGK) derived from bacterial polypeptides, ROK family proteins. However, ASV‐induced CTL did not show cytokine production against the cognate peptide. In conclusion, the CTL epitopes QVT and LSA peptides might be useful for the development of immunotherapy targeting PBF for patients with osteosarcoma. We identified two novel CTL epitopes derived from osteosarcoma antigen PBF in the context of HLA‐A11 using a sequence of screenings based on the predicted affinity of peptides, in vitro folding ability of peptide/HLA‐A11 complex, reactivity of MHC‐tetramer and IFN‐γ production of T cells that were induced by mixed lymphocyte peptide culture under limiting dilution conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is focused on automotive stamping tools and dies as well as the impact of 3D metal printing and metals related 3D-printing on design and production of such tools and dies. The purpose has been to find out the current industrial potential of 3D-printing as far as lead time, costs, shapes, material usage, metal piece size, surface roughness, hardness, strength, and machinability are concerned. The business transformational impact of 3D-printing is also addressed in this paper. The obtained results show that the lead time can be halved, the costs are somewhat higher, and the strength, hardness, surface roughness, and machinability of the 3D-printed metallic tools and dies are as good as those of the conventionally made. The maximum size of a metal piece that can be 3D-printed today by Powder Bed Fusion (PBF) is, in the best case, 500 mm × 500 mm × 500 mm. 3D-printing can also be used for the pattern to make the mold box in iron and steel casting. It is also possible to eliminate the casting pattern, since the mold box can be 3D-printed directly. All this has started to have a large business impact, and it is therefore of great significance to outline and execute an action plan almost immediately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance based financing approach is being tested in four regions of Cameroon, including the Littoral region. Our study aimed to study the effects associated with the implementation of the performance based financing approach within the health facilities based in the health district of Edea in the Littoral region in Cameroon. We’ve carried out a crosssectional analytical study among 178 health personnel from 21 health facilities under PBF-contract within the health district of Edea. We have studied their sociodemographic characteristics, the individual and collective effects resulting from the performance based financing subsidies and the level of job satisfaction. Participants’ job satisfaction was measured with the French version of the Minnesota satisfaction scale. The results were presented in a descriptive and analytical form at the alpha = 5% and the P-value 5%. We recruited 113 women and 65 men. The mean age was 39.19 ± 8.95 years. The individual results of the performance based financing were the regular collection of subsidies between F CFA 20-40.000 (42.1%), the improvement of working conditions (74.2%) and living conditions (67.4%) and the acquisition of new skills (69.7%). Collectively, participants confirmed the increase of the users attendance (65.7%), the improvement of the internal organization (79.8%), the purchase of new equipment (84.3%) and the improved quality of health care (86%). Satisfaction is influenced by age (P=0.016), gender (P=0.01), occupational category (P=0.04), type of health facility (P=0.02) and the amount of subsidies (P=0.03). The healthcare personnel’s were satisfied with the improvement of their social conditions (66.67%), working conditions (62.88%), the transparency in health centers management (69%) and their involvement in the health centers’ functioning (76.6%). Participants were dissatisfied with their salaries (70.2%) and the lack of opportunities for advancement (47.8%). The positive effects of the performance based financing approach contributed to the job satisfaction of the healthcare workers in the Edea health district. These results should prompt the government to extend the performance based financing approach to communities and other health districts in Cameroon.