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Background/purpose Gay and bisexual men are at a higher risk of mental and physical health problems than heterosexual men, reporting higher frequencies of harassment and discrimination in both housing and employment domains. Psychological inflexibility/experiential avoidance (PI/EA) refers to behaviors that are rigidly guided by psychological reactions rather than direct contingencies or personal values; PI/EA referring to a key psychopathology behavior related to greater mental illness. The objective of the study was to examine the association of various types of harassment with PI/EA and the effects of multiple types and site harassment on PI/EA among Taiwanese emergent adult gay and bisexual men. Methods A total of 305 gay and bisexual men aged between 20 and 25 years were recruited into this study. The level of PI/EA and types of harassment were evaluated and further analysis the effect of harassment on PI/EA. Results Findings indicated that various types of harassment exerted significant effects on PI/EA in emergent adult gay and bisexual men; furthermore, the effect was cumulative. The result also revealed that victims of verbal ridicule and relational exclusion, victims of physical aggression and theft of belongings, and victims of cyber harassment had significantly higher PI/EA. Conclusion Harassment experiences appeared to be significantly associated with PI/EA, and the effects could be cumulative. It would be beneficial to construct a friendly world for emergent adult gay and bisexual men. Evaluation and intervention with PI/EA improvement should be considered for emergent adult gay and bisexual men with traditional and cyber harassment experiences.

Reading directions vary across writing systems. Through long-term experience readers adjust their visual systems to the dominant reading direction in their writing systems. However, little is known about the neural correlates underlying these adjustments because different writing systems do not just differ in reading direction, but also regarding visual and linguistic properties. Here, we took advantage that Chinese is read to different degrees in left-right or top-down directions in different regions. We investigated visual word processing in participants from Taiwan (both top-down and left-right directions) and from mainland China (only left-right direction). Combined EEG/eye tracking was used together with a saccade-contingent parafoveal preview manipulation to investigate neural correlates, while participants read 5-word lists. Fixation-related potentials (FRPs) showed a reduced late N1 effect (preview positivity), but this effect was modulated by the prior experience with a specific reading direction. Results replicate previous findings that valid previews facilitate visual word processing, as indicated by reduced FRP activation. Critically, the results indicate that this facilitation effect depends on experience with a given reading direction, suggesting a specific mechanism how cultural experience shapes the way people process visual information.

In order to improve individual research achievements (IRA), this study investigates which affiliated countries and authors earn the most cited IRAs and whether those types of articles are associated with the number of cited papers on schizophrenia from a leading journal in the field. The Kano model was used for displaying the IRAs. Clusters of medical subject headings (MeSH) were applied to explore the core concepts of a given journal. This study aimed to apply social network analysis (SNA) and an authorship-weighted scheme (AWS) to inspect the association between MeSH terms and IRA. About 2,008 abstracts published between 2012 and 2016 in the journal Schizophrenia Research were downloaded from Pubmed Central using the keyword (Schizophr Res)[Journal] on September 20, 2018. The MeSH terms were clustered by using SNA to separate the core concepts and compare the differences in bibliometric indices (i.e., h, Ag, x and author impact factor or AIF). Visual dashboards were shown on Google Maps. Results indicate that (1) the US, the UK, and Canada earn the highest x-index; (2) the top one author from the US has the highest x-index (= 5.73 with x-core at cited = 16.44 and citable = 2); (3) the article type of schizophrenic psychology shows distinctly higher frequencies than others; and (4) article types are associated with the number of cited papers. Four approaches of the Kano model, SNA, MeSH terms, and AWS can be accommodated to display IRAs, classify article types, and quantify coauthor contributions in the article byline, respectively, and applied to other scientific disciplines in the future, not just in this specific journal.

Children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) with mild and moderate symptom levels have significant differences in applied theory of mind (ToM) competence. However, their mediators of applied ToM competence have not been documented.This study aimed to identify the mediators of applied ToM competence in these two clinically distinct groups.A total of 163 children with ASD aged 3-12 years old (88 and 75 children respectively in the mild and moderate groups) and their caregivers participated in this study. Data of children's verbal comprehension, explicit ToM knowledge and applied ToM competence were collected and then analyzed using mediation analysis.The results of mediation analysis showed that verbal comprehension (95% confidence interval [CI] of indirect effect: 0.02 - 0.19) and explicit ToM knowledge (95% CI of indirect effect: 0.01 - 0.07) were the mediators of applied ToM competence in children with mild and those with moderate symptoms, respectively.Our findings demonstrate that the mediators of applied ToM competence differ by symptom level in children with ASD. Applied ToM competence and the mediators should be assessed for designing tailored and effective intervention plans for these children according to their symptom level.

Experimental studies were done with a small pipe with a diameter of 0.043 m and a large pipe with a diameter of 0.49 m to demonstrate the flame propagation suppression with inertia isolation in a long duct. Tests were carried in an ignition section containing propylene/air mixture near stoichiometric concentration and generating a peak flame propagation speed of approximately 100 m/s. The ignition section is connected to a section filled with an inert gas, another section with flammable mixtures, and finally a sufficiently long, ambient section to accommodate flame propagation. The critical length of the inert gas section required for successful suppression of flame from the igniting the flammable section is found to be 0.6 m for CO2 and 0.9 m for N2 in the large pipe and 0.2 m for CO2 and 0.3 m for N2 in the small pipe. Additional tests with a 3 m of ignition section and peak flame propagation speed of 225 m/s showed that the critical length for successful suppression by CO2 is only increased slightly to 0.9 m, confirming that the suppression is a result of inertia isolation rather than inert gas dilution. Finally, application of the results in responding to large-scale leak into a long, underground duct is discussed.

Sectoral management has long dominated the use of coastal zones in Taiwan. This approach addresses concerns faced by individual sectors. However, it fails to offer a holistic view to see the whole picture of interactions between various uses as well as a mechanism to engage in coordination among sectors and between levels of governments. In order to solve this failure, Taiwan's government stipulated a new dedicated law, the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), in 2015 to supplement existing sectoral management and promote sustainable development of coastal zones in an integrated way. This paper aims to examine Taiwan's coastal management framework with an emphasis on the CZMA. It specifically illustrates the practical application of the CZMA on offshore wind farms, which have recently gained momentum in Taiwan's pursuit of renewable energy. Finally, while the paper argues that the CZMA is conducive to an enhanced coastal management framework, it identifies areas deserving attention and proposed recommendations, including: encouraging public participation, employing living shoreline installations wherever appropriate, enhancing human resource capacity and conducting a complete survey of coastal resources so as to make an overall coastal spatial plan.

In light of a gap in the area of fishery harbor greening, the objective of this paper is to identify potential environmental issues associated with fishery harbor operations and establish a multi-criteria evaluation structure for green fishery harbors. This structure is intended to bring an environmental dimension into the management of fishery harbors and facilitate informed decision-making in achieving environmental sustainability. A review of literature related to harbor environments, the modified Delphi technique and the AHP method were used to establish an evaluation structure for high-use fishery harbors in Taiwan. Results show that vessel and harbor management, hygiene, and waste and energy management are considered relatively important criteria at the second level. Among 15 indicators, safety of equipment and facilities, management of vessels and catches, clean harbors, catch hygiene, a management committee, fish market sanitation, controlled waste discharge, and energy saving and green energy are the top half rankings at the third level. Management implications from the findings were discussed, with an emphasis on feasible options to advance green fishery harbors, including managing harbors in an integral manner, implementing a HACCP system to enhance catch hygiene levels, controlling waste, developing green energy and establishing harbors an education and outreach outposts. At last, a three-step model was highlighted as a practical way to assist policy makers to find priority factors and engage in effective management to achieve fishery harbor greening.

Bone tissue engineering holds great promise and clinical efficacy for the regeneration of bone defects. In this study, an amphoteric N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (NOCC) and fucoidan (FD) were covalently cross-linked via an amidation reaction to synthesize NOCC/FD composite hydrogels. The hydrogels were lyophilized and then three-dimensional scaffolds with interconnected macropores were obtained. To enhance the mechanical properties and osteogenic activity, the NOCC/FD scaffolds were biomineralized for the growth of hydroxyapatite crystals. A comparative assessment of the structures, morphologies, and physical properties of the original and mineralized scaffolds were performed by SEM, EDS, X-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis. FD regulated the growth of hydroxyapatite nanocrystallites (n-HAp) and thus the NOCC/FD scaffolds showed better mineralization efficiency than NOCC scaffolds. The compressive strength of the scaffolds was greatly enhanced after mineralization with n-HAp. The n-HAp/NOCC/FD scaffolds enhanced the proliferation, ALP activity, and mineralization of osteoblast cells more strongly than the original and mineralized NOCC scaffolds. Hence, the n-HAp-mineralized NOCC/FD scaffolds may prove to be an excellent and versatile scaffold for bone tissue engineering.

To investigate alterations in structural brain networks due to chronic diabetic neuropathic pain.The current study recruited 24 patients with painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) to investigate the influences of chronic pain on the brain. Thirteen patients with painless diabetic neuropathy (PLDN) and 24 healthy adults were recruited as disease and healthy controls. White matter connectivity of the brain networks constructed by diffusion tractography was compared across groups using the Network-based statistic (NBS) method. Graph theoretical analysis was further applied to assess topological changes of the brain networks.The PDN patients had a significant reduction in white matter connectivity compared with PLDN and controls in the limbic and temporal regions, particularly the insula, hippocampus and parahippocampus, the amygdala, and the middle temporal gyrus. The PDN patients also exhibited an altered topology of the brain networks with reduced global efficiency and betweenness centrality.The current findings indicate that topological alterations of brain networks may serve as a biomarker for pain-induced maladaptive reorganization of the brain in PDN. Given the high prevalence of diabetes worldwide, novel insights from network sciences to investigate the central mechanisms of diabetic neuropathic pain are warranted.

Styrofoam buoy marine debris from oyster farming presents a tough management issue in Taiwan. It is an environmental externality but its associated environmental costs have long been neglected. In the pursuit of environmental sustainability, efforts by authorities have been made; yet the problem remains. In an attempt to enhance Styrofoam buoy marine debris management, this paper used document analysis, participative workshops and interviews to identify areas of concern regarding current management measures and propose recommendations. The results found that failure to impose buoy recovery, inevitable loss of buoys and unavailability of equally competitive, eco-friendly alternative buoys are major areas of concern. Built on the modes of governance (hierarchical, market and participative), the paper proposed recommendations, including enhancing farmer self-governance units' capacity to manage derelict fishing gear (DFG), strengthening Styrofoam buoy recovery, increasing farmers' awareness of DFG, developing eco-friendly buoys, instituting an ecolabeling program for Styrofoam-free oysters. The recommendations involve participation of farmers, decision makers and consumers and mostly rely on the government's initiation and support. The paper particularly highlighted the political sensitivity of a recommendation regarding phasing out the use of Styrofoam buoys and suggested it serve as a last resort and be practiced depending on fulfillment of circumstantial situations. Finally, the paper advised extra attention be paid on public participation in regulation-making, a mismatch between the scope of the problem and the jurisdiction of a local city and adaptive management, if any change to the status quo occurs.

Objective Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Specific AGEs and related autoantibodies may be early AD markers. Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1) and its post-translational modifications (PTMs) are associated with neurodegeneration and thus selected to test the hypothesis. Methods Serum samples from totally 64 AD or health control (HC) Taiwanese were analyzed. ApoA1 was isolated from the serum and examined through LC-MS/MS and PTM analyses. A specific AGE and its autoantibodies were determined using Western blotting or ELISA. Results Ne-(Carboxyethyl)lysine (CEL) modification, a kind of AGEs, was identified on ApoA1 peptide 141-QKVEPLR-147 (ApoA1141–147) from AD serum. Total CEL adducts and autoantibodies against CEL on ApoA1141–147 were significantly increased in AD samples. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.965 for anti-CEL-ApoA1141–147 IgM. Mini Mental State Examination scores of the AD patients were positively correlated with anti-CEL-ApoA1141–147 IgM, suggesting that the IgM level is high in early AD pathology and decreased with disease progression. Conclusion CEL modification was increased on AD serum proteins including ApoA1, leading to an elevated anti-CEL IgM in early disease state. Both CEL and anti-CEL IgM may serve as AD biomarkers.

Punching is an efficient and economical process for producing a hole in structures for functional requirements, repair, maintenance, and so forth. Toward extending the use of punching to new materials, the punching of multilayer CFRP laminates and CFRP/metal hybrid composites was investigated. In this paper, the effect of the unidirectional (UD) prepreg size on the shear behavior of pseudo-ductile CFRP laminates and CFRP/metal hybrid composites is discussed on the basis of experimental observations. CFRP laminates were individually fabricated using standard (149 g/m 2 ) and thin-ply (62 g/m 2 ) prepregs, and were bonded with three metals (aluminum alloy A6061, magnesium alloy AZ31, and advanced high-strength steel SPFC980) by utilizing an autoclave (co-curing) and adhesive glue for hybrid composite application , then punched by a circular die and punch tool at room temperature. The effects of the UD prepreg size on the punch force, punching resistance (Ks), quality, and sheared surfaces of the through-holes are discussed. The shear behavior for punching in different composites was also studied by microscopic examination. Our results are expected to enable quantitative design for the development of punched CFRP laminates and CFRP/metal hybrid composites.

Nitroxide-functionalized polymers are attractive macroinitiators for nitroxide mediated polymerization (NMP) and further modification of polymers. In this work, a facile reaction method to chemically bond nitroxide groups to polymer chains has been demonstrated with incorporation of 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperydinyl-1-oxyl (TEMPO) groups into poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) through the atom transfer radical coupling reaction. The TEMPO-functionalized PPO (PPO-TEMPO) has been used as a macroinitiator for NMP of styrene to result in the corresponding PPO-g-PS graft copolymers. Moreover, PPO-TEMPO could be used to carry out a thermally-induced self-crosslinking reaction through radical coupling. The crosslinked PPO displays enhanced mechanical properties, reduced oxygen permeability coefficient (from 22.5 barrer to 3.5 barrer), low dielectric constant (2.40 at 10 GHz) and low dissipation factor (0.008 at 10 GHz), so as to have high potential for application in dielectric layers of microelectronics.

Clinically available agents that promote the suppression of inflammatory processes with minimal adverse effects are highly desired. An FDA-approved nutrition supplement, Intralipid ® , has shown its immunomodulatory potential. However, its influence on organ transplant rejection has not been tested. Here, we have investigated whether Intralipid ® affect allograft outcome in a fully major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-mismatched rat model of heterotopic working-heart transplantation. Recipients were treated intravenously with Intralipid ® (1.5 g/kg, clinical dosage) or saline (untreated control) on post-transplantation days (PODs) 1, 3, and 6. Treatment with Intralipid ® results in a significant prolongation of median graft survival from 7 days to 12 days. On POD 7, while the allografts from our untreated (i.e., control) group exhibit severe rejection, the allografts from Intralipid ® -treated group show milder rejection demonstrating preserved myocardium integrity and decreasing infiltration of inflammatory cells (ED1 + and CD3 + cells). Flow cytometry analysis reveals a marked increase of CD4 + CD25 + Foxp3 + regulatory T-cells (Tregs) in the peripheral blood of Intralipid ® -treated recipients beginning on POD 3 (7.0% vs. 14.4%, untreated vs. Intralipid ® -treated). Intralipid ® treatment also promotes Tregs in the spleens and allograft hearts. Toll-like receptor 4 expression is markedly suppressed in the Intralipid ® -treated allografts. Our results suggest a new use of Intralipid ® to modulate immune responses in the setting of heart transplantation. This study could stimulate further mechanistic as well as treatment studies leading to the clinical application of Intralipid ® as an adjunctive therapy with current immunosuppression agents to manage organ rejection.

Background Although we've made big strides in perinatal and neonatal care, auditory handicap remains a serious complication in those who were born very premature. Objectives The aim was to determine the prevalence and analyze possible risk factors of hearing impairment in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants. Materials and methods This was a retrospective study by reviewing medical records of all VLBW infants (BW ≤ 1500 g) admitted to NICU of Chang Gung Children's Hospital over 2 years period from Jan. 2010 to 2011. Brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) hearing screening was performed at 3 months postnatal corrective age and repeated if failed the 1st time, then refer to ENT doctor if BAEP confirmed abnormal. All VLBW infants examined for hearing impairment were included and data were retrieved retrospectively and analyzed for neonatal risk factors using logistic regression. Results Over the period, 309 VLBW infants were screened. Prevalence of uni- or bilateral hearing impairment was 3.9% (12/309; 95% CI 2.6–4.1). The mean corrective age on diagnosed of hearing impairment was 2.9 ± 1.1 (range 1–5) months. Mean gestational age was 27.9 weeks (SD 1.4) and mean birth weight was 1028 g (SD 180). By univariant analysis for hearing impairment, severe birth asphyxia, craniofacial anomalies, ventilator dependence, patent ductus arteriosus ligation, and use of postnatal ototoxins yielded good prediction of hearing impairment in this population. However, using multivariate analysis revealed that the only independent risk factors for hearing impairment were ototoxins (OR: 3.62; CI: 1.67–7.82), PDA ligation (OR: 4.96; CI: 2.34–10.52), craniofacial anomalies (OR: 3.42; CI: 1.70–6.88)and assisted prolonged use of oxygen at gestational age of >36 weeks (OR: 5.94; CI: 2.61–13.54). Conclusion The incidence of hearing impairment among VLBW infants was 3.9%. Prolonged supplemental oxygen use is a marker for predicting hearing impairment; this requires detailed analysis of the pathophysiologic features, to reduce the prevalence of hearing impairment.

Improper design in building projects leads to changes in orders, rework, budget overruns, schedule delays, and low constructability, making it a major cause of waste. The objective of this study is to develop a Lean Building Design Model (LBDM) using lean ideas to improve design quality. To improve the design quality, concurrent engineering is used to develop a learning environment that integrates design needs between project stakeholders. Feasibility of the proposed LBDM is validated using system dynamics. The analysis shows that the LBDM could improve the design quality, thus enhancing project performances.

BackgroundUltrasound and computed tomography (CT) are now preferred for use in the diagnosis of acute appendicitis (Ap). This was a retrospective study on the use of ultrasound or CT for preoperative diagnosis and hospital expenditure in patients with Ap.PurposeWe tried to conduct this study to measure the effect of CT on the hospital expenditure of our emergency patients.MethodsWe enrolled 1047 patients with preoperative diagnosis with or without CT or ultrasound and divided them into four groups: Group1, CT and ultrasound; Group 2, CT only; Group 3, ultrasound only; and Group 4, neither CT nor ultrasound. The final operative diagnosis of appendicitis was classified as acute appendicitis (Ap), appendicitis with perforation (Ap-perforation), and appendicitis with peritonitis (Ap-peritonitis) on the basis of the coding from the results of operative and pathological findings. Clinical profiles of patients included age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index, operative procedures, and medical expenditure.ResultsPreoperative diagnosis with ultrasound or CT was found in 139 (13.3%), 180 (17.2%), 383 (36.5%), and 345 (33.0%) patients of Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. The use of CT was more common in patients aged ≥65 years (49.1%) than in those

An aluminum alloy (A6061) reinforced with graphene nanosheets (GNSs) was successfully fabricated by ultrasonic processing, high-frequency induction heat sintering (HFIHS), and hot extrusion. Harmful aluminum carbide (Al4C3) was not formed during HFIHS process as well as GNS particles were found to be able to stimulate recrystallization, restrict grain growth, and disturb the preferential texture in the present work. Enhancements in compressive strength of up to 50.4%, Vickers hardness of 13.3% as well as a 21.7% reduction in the friction coefficient along with a 17.2% reduction in the wear rate compared with those of as-extruded A6061 were measured. These improvements were due to the homogeneous dispersion of 0.25 wt% GNSs in the matrix. In addition, the yield strength predicted using modified model was in good agreement with the experimental results reported in this study. However, deterioration of the mechanical properties of the composites and a discrepancy between the theoretical prediction and experimental values occurred with the addition of 0.5 wt% GNSs owing to GNS agglomeration. This study demonstrated that the incorporation of an appropriate amount of GNSs can enhance the overall properties of a metal matrix, opening up an innovative design concept for fabricating bulk metal matrix composites (MMCs).

Hexachlorodisilane (Si2Cl6, HCDS) is an important precursor used in semiconductor device manufacturing. It is a flammable as well as a water reactive liquid which hydrolyzes rapidly upon contact with water or moisture. The hydrolyzed deposits are also known to be shock-sensitive with explosion energy equivalent to trinitrotoluene (TNT). In this work, two phases of test program including disposal of HCDS and disposal of the shock sensitive HCDS hydrolyzed deposits were conducted. The first phase of the program was to find an agent that can completely dissolve/react the HCDS vapor without forming shock sensitive deposits. The second phase of the program attempted to find a suitable agent to suppress the Si–Si bonds, one of the essential roles of chemical functional groups in shock sensitivity of the HCDS hydrolyzed deposits to suppress the shock sensitivity. A variety of agents such as sulfuric acid solutions, aqueous sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions, aqueous potassium hydroxide (KOH) solutions, KOH/alcohol solutions were utilized as the suppressants in this work. Samples mixed with suppressants were not only tested for shock sensitivity by a Fall-hammer apparatus but also analyzed for chemical functional groups to identify the effect of each agent. Concentrated sulfuric acid was found to suppress the shock sensitivity of the liquid HCDS hydrolyzed deposits by acting as a medium that helps the hydrolyzed deposit to retain moisture. KOH/alcohol solutions can turn HCDS vapor into non-hazardous silica, so that, it provided a safe way to dispose HCDS. Finally, practical recommendations about handling and eliminating the risk of shock sensitivity are given for HCDS liquid spill, HCDS vapor vent and HCDS hydrolyzed deposits.

The unliganded tetrameric Hb S has axial and lateral contacts with neighbors and can polymerize in solution. Novel recombinants of Hb S with single amino acid substitutions at the putative axial (recombinant Hb (rHb) (βE6V/αH20R) and rHb (βE6V/αH20Q)) or lateral (rHb (βE6V/αH50Q)) or double amino acid substitutions at both the putative axial and lateral (rHb (βE6V/αH20R/αH50Q) and rHb (βE6V/αH20Q/αH50Q)) contact sites were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified for structural and functional studies. The (1)H NMR spectra of the CO and deoxy forms of these mutants indicate that substitutions at either αHis-20 or αHis-50 do not change the subunit interfaces or the heme pockets of the proteins. The double mutants show only slight structural alteration in the β-heme pockets. All mutants have similar cooperativity (n50), alkaline Bohr effect, and autoxidation rate as Hb S. The oxygen binding affinity (P50) of the single mutants is comparable with that of Hb S. The double mutants bind oxygen with slightly higher affinity than Hb S under the acidic conditions. In high salt, rHb (βE6V/αH20R) is the only mutant that has a shorter delay time of polymerization and forms polymers more readily than Hb S with a dextran-Csat value of 1.86 ± 0.20 g/dl. Hb S, rHb (βE6V/αH20Q), rHb (βE6V/αH50Q), rHb (βE6V/αH20R/αH50Q), and rHb (βE6V/αH20Q/αH50Q) have dextran-Csat values of 2.95 ± 0.10, 3.04 ± 0.17, 11.78 ± 0.59, 7.11 ± 0.66, and 10.89 ± 0.83 g/dl, respectively. rHb (βE6V/αH20Q/αH50Q) is even more stable than Hb S under elevated temperature (60 °C).

Execution results of public construction projects are a critical concern for the general public. However, submittal review for public construction projects is currently conducted using the push system, resulting in significant submittal inventory. Under this system, change orders require amendments to the submittal inventory, resulting in waste through unnecessary resubmission and re-review. Furthermore, the current construction inspection method uses hold points, thus design or construction problems may be hidden in the inspection inventory, producing defective work and resulting in further waste. The purpose of this research is to develop an Integrated Review and Inspection System (IRIS) using a pull system and Concurrent Engineering (CE). IRIS integrates the requirements of submittal review and construction inspection standards for government quality regulations including the Three Levels Quality Management System (TLQMS). A stable construction flow is established by removing waste from current review and inspection processes. Concurrent submittal review is pulled by the construction status to reduce submittal inventory, with the knock-on effect of reducing the impact of change orders on construction flow, while concurrent construction inspection shortens inspection intervals. Design and construction errors are immediately revealed and amended to avoid defective construction and its ensuing rework. To verify the feasibility of the proposed IRIS, eM-Plant simulation software is used to analyze a construction case. The conventional review/inspection systems and IRIS are compared using computer simulations. Simulation results show that the proposed IRIS could reduce submittal inventory, decrease the impact of change orders on project duration, establish an on-site culture of quality control, and create a stable construction flow. This research presents one of the first attempts to apply pull systems and CE to improve submittal review and construction inspection processes. Research results could provide guidance for the establishment of a collaboration platform for project stakeholders.

The carbohydrate polymer, hyaluronan, is a major component of the extracellular matrix in animal tissues. Exogenous hyaluronan has been used to treat osteoarthritis (OA), a degenerative joint disease involving inflammatory changes. The underlying mechanisms of hyaluronan in OA are not fully understood. Pro-inflammatory interleukin (IL)-1β downregulates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), and increases expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) which are responsible for the degeneration of articular cartilage. The effects of low- and high-molecular-weight hyaluronan (oligo-HA and HMW-HA) on the inflammatory genes were determined in human SW-1353 chondrosarcoma cells. HMW-HA antagonized the effects of IL-1β by increasing PPARγ and decreasing cyclooxygenase (COX)-2, MMP-1, and MMP-13 levels. It promoted Akt, but suppressed mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and nuclear factor kappa B (NFκB) signaling, indicating anti-inflammatory effects. In contrast, the cells had overall opposite responses to oligo-HA. In conclusion, HMW-HA and oligo-HA exerted differential inflammatory responses via PPARγ in IL-1β-treated chondrosarcoma cells.

Practice of tasks in an interleaved order generally induces superior retention compared to practicing in a repetitive order. Younger and older adults practiced serial reaction time tasks that were arranged in a repeated or an interleaved order on 2 successive days. Retention was tested on Day 5. For both groups, reaction times in the interleaved condition were slower than the repetitive condition during practice, but the reverse was true during retention on Day 5. After interleaved practice, changes in M1 excitability measured by paired-pulse TMS were greater than after repetitive practice, and this effect was more pronounced in older adults. Moreover, the increased M1 excitability correlated with the benefit of interleaved practice. BOLD signal was also increased for interleaved compared to repetitive practice in both groups. However, the pattern of correlations between increased BOLD during practice and subsequent benefit of the interleaved condition differed by group. In younger adults, dorsolateral-prefrontal activity during practice was related to this benefit, while in older adults, activation in sensorimotor regions and rostral prefrontal cortex during practice correlated with the benefit of interleaving on retention. Older adults may engage compensatory mechanisms during interleaved practice such as increasing sensorimotor recruitment which in turn benefits learning.

The purpose of this study was to identify the genes induced early in murine oral carcinogenesis. Murine tongue tumors induced by the carcinogen, 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO), and paired non-tumor tissues were subjected to microarray analysis. Hierarchical clustering of upregulated genes in the tumor tissues revealed an association of induced genes with inflammation. Cytokines/cytokine receptors induced early were subsequently identified, clearly indicating their involvement in oral carcinogenesis. Hierarchical clustering also showed that cytokine-mediated inflammation was possibly linked with Mapk6. Cox2 exhibited the greatest extent (9-18 fold) of induction in the microarray data, and its early induction was observed in a 2h painting experiment by RT-PCR. MetaCore analysis showed that overexpressed Cox2 may interact with p53 and transcriptionally inhibit expression of several downstream genes. A painting experiment in transgenic mice also demonstrated that NF-κB activates early independently of Cox2 induction. MetaCore analysis revealed the most striking metabolic alterations in tumor tissues, especially in lipid metabolism resulting from the reduction of Pparα and Rxrg. Reduced expression of Mapk12 was noted, and MetaCore analysis established its relationship with decreased efficiency of Pparα phosphorylation. In conclusion, in addition to cytokines/cytokine receptors, the early induction of Cox2 and NF-κB activation is involved in murine oral carcinogenesis.

To elevate chemo-resistance of human cancer cells is a major obstacle in the treatment and management of malignant cancers. Diallyl sulfide (DAS), diallyl disulfide (DADS) and diallyl trisulfide (DATS) are presented in the Alliaceae family particularly in garlic. Although DAS, DADS and DATS have been shown to exhibit anticancer activities, there is little information on effects of these compounds on drug resistant genes in human colon cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Herein, we are the first to show that DAS, DADS and DATS at 25 μM for 24-h and 48-h incubations promoted expression of drug resistant genes in colo 205 human colon cancer cells. In vitro experiments indicated that DATS promoted gene expression of multidrug resistant 1 (Mdr1) (p

Accurate predictions of future pavement conditions are essential for determining the most cost-effective maintenance strategy. The current methods for assessing pavement conditions involve either equipment measures or visual inspections. Equipment measures are not extensively implemented because of high cost; thus, subjective evaluations by road inspectors are often used as a replacement. Nevertheless, visual inspections could draw in errors and variations due to subjectivity and uncertainty. The present serviceability index (PSI), one of the most common indicators used to evaluate pavement performance, is incapable of transforming one's imprecise judgment into an exact number between 0 (the worst) and 5 (the best). Conventional regression cannot deal with visual inspection data that are linguistic or non-crisp. In contrast, fuzzy regression is capable of handling such fuzzy data. In this paper, pavement conditions are exemplified by five membership functions and estimated by using fuzzy regression to better account the uncertainties of the traditional method. Also, a similarity indicator is applied to measure the goodness of fit. A case study using pavement inspection data is presented to establish estimated fuzzy regression equations. The results demonstrate the capability of the model, which is able to assist road administration units to determine desirable repair actions regarding the predicted pavement conditions.