by Haruka Sawamura  , Kurumi Taniguchi  , Yuka Ikeda  , Ai Tsuji  , Yasuko Kitagishi  and Satoru Matsuda

Received: 16 November 2021;  Published: 08 March 2022;  doi: 10.21926/rpn.2201007

Immune checkpoints have been aggressively investigated for anti-cancer immunotherapy. The power of microbiota on the outcome of this immunotherapy has attracted much attention. For example, intestinal microorganisms play a key role in the effectiveness of programmed cell death 1 (PD1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA4) blockade. Additionally, short-chain fatty acids produced in the gut may modulate anti-CTLA4 and anti-PD1 stimulated immune responses and their anti-tumor efficacy. Enhancing the [...]

by Daming Zhang

Received: 21 January 2022;  Published: 07 March 2022;  doi: 10.21926/jept.2201008

In this paper, a method for operating AC microgrids in both off-grid or standalone and grid-connected modes is proposed to minimize the use of energy storage by increasing the number of PV panels and curtailing their output power. When the intensity of daylight decreases, power is imported from the main grid through an AC/DC/AC converter or solid-state transformers in parallel to compensate for the shortage. By using a three-phase transformer in Δ-Y connection with Y’s neutral connected to its local grounding syste [...]

by Fabio Robusto  , Giovanni Colucci  , Maria Zamparella  , Enrico Maria Pellegrini  , Brigida Martucci  , Pasquale Iacovazzo  , Enza Colucci  , Martino Minardi  , Cristina Giliberti  , Vito Bossone  , Vito Lepore  and Stefano Ivis

Received: 08 September 2021;  Published: 04 March 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2201192

Frailty is a chronic condition that increases the vulnerability to stressogenic factors and prevents the patient from returning to the preceding condition of homeostasis. This increases the risk of negative outcomes and progressively brings the patient toward disability, leading to higher use of healthcare resources. Clinical risk stratification systems can generally be useful for identifying frail patients from the standpoint of a healthcare system, though General Practitioners (GPs) assume a key and irreplaceable [...]

by Maria Victoria Tejada-Simon  and Sara Lodhi

Received: 14 November 2021;  Published: 04 March 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.icm.2201009

Mindfulness is a form of meditation that can be defined as one’s ability to be present to the surroundings and environment, and not overreact to what is happening around us. With the recent pandemic still affecting the world, more studies have recently become known describing the suitability of mindfulness to prevent and manage mental health. This fact alone offers grounds for mindfulness practices to be added to any stressful environment, including Institutions of higher education and the workforce. Even more, min [...]

by Tatsuya Nogami  , Makoto Arai  and Koh Iwasaki

Received: 12 January 2022;  Published: 28 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2201191

Several countries have entered the super-aging era. In Japan, the recently reported average life expectancy is approximately 90 years. Kampo medicine (a form of traditional Japanese medicine) is a part of the official medical service in Japan and is widely used for treating various illnesses of older people. However, although general physicians often prescribe Kampo preparations, most Japanese general physicians do not have an intimate understanding of the iatrology of Kampo. Kampo is based on traditional Chinese m [...]

by Yaser Banadaki  , Nariman Razaviarab  , Hadi Fekrmandi  , Guoqiang Li  , Patrick Mensah  , Shuju Bai  and Safura Sharifi

Received: 24 November 2021;  Published: 28 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/rpm.2201005

Additive Manufacturing (AM) is a crucial component of the smart manufacturing industry. In this paper, we propose an automated quality grading system for the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process as one of the major AM processes using a developed real-time deep convolutional neural network (CNN) model. The CNN model is trained offline using the images of the internal and surface defects in the layer-by-layer deposition of materials and tested online by studying the performance of detecting and grading the failure [...]

by Suman Mishra  , Kerry Bentley-Hewitt  , Alex Lubransky  , Bernard Venn  , Duncan Hedderley  , Hannah Dinnan  , Sheridan Martell  , Jillian Haszard  and John Monro

Received: 22 December 2021;  Published: 25 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/rpn.2201006

People with pre-diabetes may be reluctant to add fruit to their diets due to concerns around sugars. Our objective was to measure outcomes associated with potential adverse effects of ingesting fruit sugars while assessing metabolic benefits from eating nutrient-rich kiwifruit. Thirty-four people with pre-diabetes were randomized to receive two kiwifruit or 250 mL bottled water per day for 12-weeks; two people withdrew. The primary outcomes were between-group differences for glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) and plasma [...]

by Carine Vassy  , Laurence Brunet  and Christine Noiville

Received: 02 September 2021;  Published: 25 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.genet.2201149

This article examines the regulation of the screening of fetal abnormalities in France before and after the implementation of the new technique of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in 2013. In addition, this article evaluates the effectiveness of the regulatory framework in addressing the ethical and social issues raised by this technique from a legal and sociological perspective. The analysis reveals that the regulations, consistent with that applied to other prenatal screening techniques, fail to take proper a [...]

by Darcy A Hille  , Sverre E Kjeldsen  , Stevo Julius  , Kristian Wachtell  , Peter M Okin  and Richard B Devereux

Received: 30 December 2021;  Published: 24 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2201189

We aimed to assess some readily available patient characteristics such as urinary albumin excretion as predictors of a primary composite event of myocardial infarction, cerebral stroke, and cardiovascular death among patients with hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy, and develop risk algorithms for the outcomes. A “Cox proportional hazards” model identified the baseline variables that significantly affected the occurrence of the composite endpoint in 9193 elderly hypertensive patients with lef [...]

by Takeshi Hatta  , Taketoshi Hatta  , Junko Hatta  , Akihiko Iwahara  , Kazumi Fujiwara  , Kimiko Kato  and Yukiharu Hasegawa

Received: 15 October 2021;  Published: 24 February 2022;  doi: 10.21926/obm.geriatr.2201190

In the present study, we identified the factors of cognitive and physical performances predicting self-rated health perception (SRH) using an SRH questionnaire in 660 (298 men and 362 women) upper-middle-aged community dwellers. In addition, neuropsychological test battery and physical ability tests were applied. A multiple regression analysis was conducted using the forced entry method; digit cancellation test (D-CAT1), logical memory test, verbal fluency test, back strength, timed-up and-go (TUG), balancing test, [...]