BACKGROUND Endothelial dysfunction is a major underlying mechanism for the elevated cardiovascular risk associated with increased body weight. We aimed to assess the impact of weight loss induced by an intensive very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) on arterial wall function in severely obese patients (SOP). METHODS Thirty-four SOP were admitted to the metabolic ward of the hospital for a 3-week perio...

The atonal (ato) proneural gene specifies different numbers of sensory organ precursor (SOP) cells within distinct regions of the Drosophila embryo in an epidermal growth factor-dependent manner through the activation of the rhomboid (rho) protease. How ato activates rho, and why it does so in only a limited number of sensory cells remains unclear. We previously identified a rho enhancer (RhoBA...

Appropriate cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of reusable medical equipments (RMEs) in the Sterile Processing Department (SPD) are important to reduce healthcare acquired infections (HAIs) and person-to-person transmission. Currently, healthcare facilities utilize Standard Operating Procedures (SOP‟s) following manufacturer‟s instructions to guide staffs in SPD to complete the reprocessi...

We study a supply chain that consists of buyer and two suppliers. The faces stochastic demand has different sources for the same product: slower regular supplier more expensive expedited supplier. Such dual sourcing inventory systems have been widely studied in literature, evaluating what is best buyer. As decisions may adversely affect costs suppliers, also, potentially, profit, we adopt persp...

BACKGROUND Assessment of the gluten-induced small-intestinal mucosal injury remains the cornerstone of celiac disease diagnosis. Usually the injury is evaluated using grouped classifications (e.g. Marsh groups), but this is often too imprecise and ignores minor but significant changes in the mucosa. Consequently, there is a need for validated continuous variables in everyday practice and in aca...

Notch signalling regulates a wide range of developmental processes. In the Drosophila peripheral nervous system, Notch regulates a series of binary fate decisions that lead to the formation of regularly spaced sensory organs. Each sensory organ is generated by single sensory organ precursor cell (SOP) via a series of asymmetric cell divisions. Starting from a SOP-specific Cis-Regulatory Module ...