and can consider taking part in the decommissioning work. The key lies in how we can contribute to the reconstruction of Fukushima through the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and we will continue to take responsibility for decommissioning of the power plant and contaminated water management under the principle of 'striking a balance of reconstruction and decommissioning'.
  This study aimed to investigate the prognostic value of N-terminal B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in pregnancies with isolated chronic hypertension (HT).
 
  34 pregnant women with chronic HT and 40normotensive controls were enrolled. The association between plasma NT-proBNP levels obtained in the first trimester and perinatal complications were evaluated.
 
  NT-proBNP levelsstrongly predicted low birth weight (AUC=0.842, p<0.001). NT-proBNP and birth weight were negatively correlated (r= -0.323, p=0.005). NT-proBNP was found to be an individual determinant of low birth weight in univariate analysis (OR1.03; 95%CI1.01-1.04).
 
  NT-proBNP levels can be useful to predict low birth weight in pregnancies with chronic HT.
 NT-proBNP levels can be useful to predict low birth weight in pregnancies with chronic HT.IntroductionBenralizumab, amonoclonal antibody for human interleukin-5, has been associated with adecrease in asthma exacerbations. The introduction of this drug raises concerns about the economic impact in scenarios with constraints. This study aimed to estimate the cost-utility of benralizumab plus standard care (SoC) vs. SoC alone in adults with severe uncontrolled asthma with evidence of eosinophilic phenotype.MethodsWe constructed aMarkov model with three health states (asthma on benralizumab and SOC, asthma on SOC alone, and death) from ahealthcare system perspective over alifetime horizon. The model was populated using local costs while utilities were derived from international literature. Cost and transition probabilities were obtained from amixture of Colombian-specific and internationally published data.ResultsThe incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) per patient peryear was $US 42,746per QALY gained. Benralizumab treatment would be cost-effective at the recommended societal US 18,000 WTP threshold if the cost of benralizumab is reduced by 41% more than the base case value.ConclusionBenralizumab is not cost-effective using WTP of US$18,000per QALY threshold in Colombia. Our study provides evidence that should be used by decision-makers to improve clinical practice guidelines.Wildlife trading and the illegal hunting of wildlife are contributing factors to the biodiversity crisis that is presently unfolding across the world. The inability to control the trade of animal body parts or available biological materials is a major challenge for those who investigate wildlife crime. The effective management of this illegal trade is an important facet of wildlife forensic sciences and can be a key factor in the enforcement of effective legislation surrounding the illegal trade of protected and endangered species. However, the science of wildlife forensics is limited by the absence of a comprehensive database for wildlife investigations. Inter-simple sequence repeat markers (ISSR) coupled with high resolution melting analysis (HRM) have been effectively used for species identification of 38 mammalian species. Six primers of the ISSR markers were chosen for species identification analysis. From six ISSR primers resulting in a range of accuracy of 33.3%-100% and 100% in terms of precision in every primer. Furthermore, 161 mammalian samples were 100% distinguished to the correct species using these six ISSR primers. ISSR-HRM analysis was successfully employed in determining mammal identification among varying mammalian species, and thus could serve as an effective alternative tool or technique in the species identification process. This option would offer researchers a heightened level of convenience in terms of its performance and the ease with which researchers or field practice veterinarians would be able to interpret results in effectively identifying animal parts at wildlife investigation crime scenes.Aiming at the problem of bus voltage control in DC microgrid, a dynamic compensation control strategy based on a residual generator is designed to complete the voltage compensation of DC-DC converter. Firstly, based on the DC microgrid system architecture, the bus voltage fluctuations are analyzed theoretically, and then the DC-DC converter state-space mathematical models of the DC microgrid system are established to obtain the input-output relationship of the control system.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/jzl184.html  Based on the theory of double coprime decomposition and Youla parameterization stable controller, the proposed control architecture based on the residual generator is obtained, and the output value generated by the current disturbance is compensated in reverse by applying model matching theory. The voltage loop compensation controller Q(s) is obtained by the linear matrix inequality method (LMI), and the current loop compensation controller H(s) is designed according to the dynamic structure diagram of the DC-DC converter. Hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) results show that the architecture can improve the dynamic performance of the DC-DC converter without changing the original system structure parameters, and suppress the DC bus voltage fluctuations caused by load switching, power fluctuations, and AC-side load imbalances, and enhance the robustness of the system.
  Bronchial thermoplasty (BT) is an endoscopic therapy used for the treatment of refractory asthma. Some predictive factors, for example the number of activations and severity of disease at baseline, have been used to determine the effectiveness of BT in treating patients with asthma. The aim of the present study was to comprehensively analyze RNA samples from the airway bronchial tissues of patients with severe asthma treated by BT, and to characterize each patient as a BT responder or non-responder.
 
  Eight patients with severe asthma scheduled to undergo BT and bronchus biopsies were recruited before the procedures were conducted. Extracted RNA samples from bronchial tissues were sequenced and differential gene expression analysis was carried out.Results/discussion Subjects with Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire score changes ≥0.5 for a period of 12 months were considered BT responders. Non-responders had score changes <0.5 for 12 months. Histopathology findings were similar to those reported previously, and no significant differences in the expression of α-smooth muscle actin and protein gene product 9.