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Planetary boundary layer (PBL) modeling is a primary contributor to uncertainties in a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model due to difficulties in modeling the turbulent transport of surface fluxes. The Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) has provided many PBL schemes that may feature a non‐local transport component driven by large eddies or a one‐and‐half order turbulence closure model, but few of them possess the two features at once. In the present study, a turbulent kinetic energy (TKE)‐based eddy diffusivity/viscosity method is integrated into the non‐local Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2) PBL scheme and implemented in WRF. The original first‐order eddy‐diffusivity term in ACM2 is discarded and an extra prognostic equation for TKE, which considers the tendency of TKE by buoyancy, wind shear, vertical transport, and dissipative processes, is supplied to calculate the diffusivity/viscosity. Non‐local transport is modeled the same as ACM2 using the transilient matrix method. Idealized tests using prescribed surface heat flux and roughness length are performed. TKE‐ACM2 displays advantages over the PBL scheme developed by Bougeault and Lacarrère (hereinafter referred to as Boulac) and ACM2 in the wind speeds (WS) profile because it better matches large‐eddy simulations results in the surface momentum flux. Real case simulations show that TKE‐ACM2 generally outperforms in the diurnal vertical profiles of WS under stable conditions. TKE‐ACM2 also produces a better alignment under moderately unstable conditions in the early nighttime at the urban LiDAR station. However, the model exhibits discrepancies more apparently under a more unstable condition during the winter daytime. Plain Language Summary: Large uncertainties in a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model arise from difficulties in accurately modeling the planetary boundary layer because of the chaotic motions of air. An adequate representation of vertical turbulent mixing processes in an NWP model usually requires the consideration of turbulent transport due to large‐scale buoyant plumes and a realistic while efficient turbulence closure model. The widely used NWP model, the Weather Research and Forecasting model, offers several algorithms to represent the turbulent transport of scalars and momentum in the PBL, but further developments are needed for particular schemes due to their drawbacks. Furthermore, little investigation has been done to assess the simulated vertical structures of wind speeds mainly constrained by the lack of high spatiotemporal resolution Doppler wind LiDAR data. In this research, we derived a new algorithm for modeling the vertical turbulent mixing processes that is based on the turbulent kinetic energy turbulence closure model. Simulations using idealized and real atmospheric conditions are performed to examine the performance of the new PBL scheme. Key Points: A new non‐local planetary boundary scheme, turbulent kinetic energy (TKE)‐Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2), based on the TKE is proposed and evaluated with large‐eddy simulations (LES) and observationsIdealized simulations are conducted for TKE‐ACM2 to examine its sensitivity to key parameters including the weighting factor between local and non‐local fluxes and turbulent Prandtl number. Furthermore, it is shown that TKE‐ACM2 aligns better with LES results than ACM2 and Boulac under a prescribed convective conditionHigh spatiotemporal resolution Doppler LiDAR observations are used to evaluate the performance of the new scheme over the summer and winter seasons in Hong Kong. TKE‐ACM2 shows improvements over ACM2, particularly under stable conditions. TKE‐ACM2 also predicts the surface wind speeds considerably more accurately than other schemes at the urban stations in the summer case simulation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are an estimated 1 billion cases of superficial fungal infection globally. Fungal pathogens form biofilms within wounds and delay the wound healing process. Miconazole and terbinafine are commonly used to treat fungal infections. They induce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in fungi, resulting in the death of fungal cells. ROS are highly reactive molecules, such as oxygen (O2), superoxide anion (O2•−), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radicals (•OH). Although ROS generation is useful for killing pathogenic fungi, it is cytotoxic to human keratinocytes. To the best of our knowledge, the effect of miconazole and terbinafine on HaCaT cells has not been studied with respect to intracellular ROS stimulation. We hypothesized that miconazole and terbinafine have anti-wound healing effects on skin cells when used in antifungal treatment because they generate ROS in fungal cells. We used sulforhodamine B protein staining to investigate cytotoxicity and 2′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate to determine ROS accumulation at the 50% inhibitory concentrations of miconazole and terbinafine in HaCaT cells. Our preliminary results showed that topical treatment with miconazole and terbinafine induced cytotoxic responses, with miconazole showing higher cytotoxicity than terbinafine. Both the treatments stimulated ROS in keratinocytes, which may induce oxidative stress and cell death. This suggests a negative correlation between intracellular ROS accumulation in keratinocytes treated with miconazole or terbinafine and the healing of fungi-infected skin wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare predictive validity of the Wilson Sims Fall Risk Assessment Tool (WSFRAT) with that of the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) in psychogeriatric inpatients. Methods: Psychogeriatric patients from Shatin Hospital, Tai Po Hospital, Castle Peak Hospital, and United Christian Hospital who had fall incident between April 2019 and April 2020 were identified. Their fall risks were assessed by the WSFRAT and the MFS, and their falls incidents during hospitalisation were recorded. Patients were classified as having high fall risk when their MFS score was ≥45 and when their WSFRAT score was ≥7. Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the two scales were calculated. Results: We identified 183 (90 male and 93 female) psychogeriatric patients aged ≥65 years who had fall incident and were assessed by both the WSFRAT and the MFS during the study period. Among the 183 patients, four sustained a fall during hospital stay, giving a prevalence of 2.19%. All four patients were classified as having high risk of fall by WSFRAT, but only two of them were classified so by MFS. The sensitivity of WSFRAT was 100%, which was higher than the 50% by MFS, but specificity of MFS was higher than that of WSFRAT (45.81% vs 54.75%). Conclusion: WSFRAT is a better fall risk assessment scale for psychiatric inpatients than MFS, because of higher sensitivity (100% vs 50%). It has items specific to psychiatric patients and should replace MFS in psychiatric settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM) and surface photovoltage (SPV) microscopy were used to investigate local electronic structure in p-type GaN. C-AFM imaging revealed locally reduced forward- and reverse-bias conductivity near threading dislocations. In addition, regions near threading dislocations demonstrated significantly enhanced surface photovoltage response when compared to regions away from dislocations. Analytical treatment of the surface photovoltage as a function of pertinent material properties indicated that reduced background dopant concentration is the most likely cause for the increased SPV. Both reduced conductivity and enhanced surface photovoltage are shown to be consistent with Mg segregation to dislocation cores that results in regions of locally decreased electrically active Mg concentration surrounding the dislocations. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The optical properties of undoped and modulation-doped A1GaN/GaN single heterostructures (SHs) grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition are investigated at low temperature using photoluminescence measurements. The formation of a two-dimensional electron gas at the heterojunction is verified by temperature-dependent Hall mobility and 300 K capacitance-voltage measurements. Radiative recombination is observed between the electrons in two-dimensional quantum states at the heterointerface and the holes in the flat-band region or bound to residual acceptors both in undoped and modulation-doped A1GaN/GaN SHs. These peaks disappear when the top A1GaN layer is removed by reactive ion etching. In addition, the photoluminescence results under different laser excitation intensity and lattice temperature are also described for undoped and modulation-doped A1GaN/GaN SHs with various A1 compositions and growth interrupt times. c 2001 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.1330767]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Development of a fall prevention programme for psychogeriatric inpatients is required. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate factors associated with falls in psychogeriatric inpatients and compare two fall risk assessment tools. Methods: This study had two parts. First, all fall reports involving psychogeriatric inpatients in United Christian Hospital in 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Factors associated with the falls were identified by comparing patients who had a fall incident and those who did not. Second, in a pilot study, 30 consecutive psychogeriatric inpatients were assessed for fall risk using the Morse Fall Scale (MFS) and the Wilson Sims Fall Risk Assessment Tool (WSFRAT), and outcomes were then compared with the modified Functional Ambulation Classification (MFAC). Results: In 2016, 46 women and 47 men aged 65 to 94 years were admitted to the psychiatric wards (two women and two men were admitted twice). A total of 12 falls involving nine women and two men were reported. Over 66% of falls involved patients with dementia, 75% involved women, and over 50% occurred on the way to the bathroom, mostly during the night shift when the staffing level was low. In the pilot study, of 30 consecutive psychogeriatric inpatients, 20 were classified as high risk by the WSFRAT and 10 of them were also classified as high risk by the MFS. Those classified as high risk by WSFRAT matched perfectly with those classified as high risk by MFAC. However, 30% of those classified as high risk by MFAC were not classified as high risk by MFS. Conclusions: Patients with dementia and women had higher risk of fall. Extra proportion of at-risk patients are able to benefit from additional fall risk interventions when WSFRAT is used instead of MFS. Further studies are needed to calculate the psychometric properties of WSFRAT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The clinical response of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) to a combination of lopinavir/ritonavir and ribavirin was examined after establishing the in vitro antiviral susceptibility of the SARS associated coronavirus to a panel of antiviral agents.Methods: The in vitro susceptibility of the prototype of SARS associated coronavirus to a panel of nucleoside analogues and protease inhibitors currently licensed for clinical use was studied. Forty one patients with SARS followed for 3 weeks were treated with a combination of lopinavir/ritonavir and ribavirin. The clinical progress and virological outcomes were monitored and compared with 111 patients treated with ribavirin only who served as historical controls.Results: In vitro antiviral activity against SARS associated coronavirus was demonstrated for lopinavir and ribavirin at concentrations of 4 micro g/ml and 50 micro g/ml, respectively, only at 48 hours. The adverse clinical outcome (ARDS or death) was significantly lower in the treatment group than in the historical controls (2.4% v 28.8%, p<0.001) at day 21 after the onset of symptoms. The adverse outcome remained significantly lower in the treatment group than in the controls-both those diagnosed early (p<0.001) and those diagnosed later in the course of the epidemic (p = 0.002)-but there was no significant difference in adverse outcome rates between the two time periods (p = 0.548). No time related difference in outcome was observed in the control groups. A reduction in steroid usage and nosocomial infections was seen in patients initially treated with lopinavir/ritonavir, and these patients had a decreasing viral load and rising peripheral lymphocyte count. Multivariate analysis showed that age, hepatitis B carrier status, and lack of treatment with this antiviral combination were independent predictors of an adverse outcome. Lopinavir/ritonavir treatment was associated with a better outcome even when adjusted for baseline lactate dehydrogenase level.Conclusions: The apparent favourable clinical response with lopinavir/ritonavir and ribavirin supports further randomised placebo controlled trials in patients with SARS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess cognitive performance in elderly depressed patients following treatment for 6 months. Remission rate of depression after 6 months of treatment was calculated. Methods: The study was performed in a consecutive group of patients aged > 65 years with late-onset depression. Severity of depression was assessed by the Hamilton Depression Scale, cognitive performance by the Hong Kong Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and functional level by the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale. Results: A total of 52 patients were recruited. In all, 28 (53.8%) were found to have cognitive impairment at baseline and 8 (28.6%) of them had improvement after 6 months. This cognitively impaired group was older and had a lower Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale score. The remission rate of depression was 61.5%. Conclusions: Cognitive impairment constituted a stable feature in a considerable number of elderly patients with depression. About two-thirds of patients achieved remission of depression after 6 months of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese knotweed (Persicaria chinensis) is of ecological and economic importance as a high-risk invasive species and a traditional medicinal herb. However, the insects associated with P. chinensis pollination have received scant attention. As a widespread invasive plant we would expect P. chinensis to be associated with a diverse group of insect pollinators, but lack of taxonomic identification capacity is an impediment to confirm this expectation. In the present study we aimed to elucidate the insect pollinators of P. chinensis in peninsular Malaysia using DNA barcoding. Forty flower visitors, representing the range of morphological diversity observed, were captured at flowers at Ulu Kali, Pahang, Malaysia. Using Automated Barcode Gap Discovery, 17 morphospecies were assigned to 23 species representing at least ten families and four orders. Using the DNA barcode library (BOLD) 30% of the species could be assigned a species name, and 70% could be assigned a genus name. The insects visiting P. chinensis were broadly similar to those previously reported as visiting Persicaria japonica, including honey bees (Apis), droneflies (Eristalis), blowflies (Lucilia) and potter wasps (Eumedes), but also included thrips and ants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the solution stability of a parametric optimal control problem with linear state equation, control constraints, and convex cost functions. By reducing the problem to a parametric programming problem and a parametric variational inequality, we obtain the lower semicontinuity of the solution map to a parametric optimal control problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we derive three novel composite field arithmetic (CFA) Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) S-boxes of the field GF(((2^2)^2)^2). The best construction is selected after a sequence of algorithmic and architectural optimization processes. Furthermore, for each composite field constructions, there exists eight possible isomorphic mappings. Therefore, after the exploitation of a new common subexpression elimination algorithm, the isomorphic mapping that results in the minimal implementation area cost is chosen. High throughput hardware implementations of our proposed CFA AES S-boxes are reported towards the end of this paper. Through the exploitation of both algebraic normal form and seven stages fine-grained pipelining, our best case achieves a throughput 3.49 Gbps on a Cyclone II EP2C5T144C6 field-programmable gate array. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine the risk factors for suicide in elderly Hong Kong Chinese. Methods: Case notes, mortality reports and hospital records of all the patients, who committed suicide from 1 July 2002 to 31 March 2010 whilst under the active care of the Elderly Suicide prevention Programme of the Castle Peak Hospital in Hong Kong, were reviewed. Results: A total of 1230 elderly with high risk of suicide were assessed and treated from 1 July 2002 to March 2010. A total of 8 patients in this programme who committed suicide during this period were identified, of whom 63% were male and the most frequent method employed was jumping from a height.All the suicides ensued within the first 6 weeks of treatment under the programme. All these patients were diagnosed to have a depressive illness, and all but 1 had an associated physical illness that possibly precipitated the suicide. They had all been admitted to either a mental or general hospital, about 1 month before committing suicide. Conclusions: The first 2 months of treatment is associated with the highest risk of suicide. Intensive care and support with proper education about effects of antidepressants, and the building-up of a trusted therapeutic alliance with close relatives are particularly important in this vulnerable period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To examine subjective weight perception of patients with first-episode psychotic disorders, perceived reasons for believing they were overweight, and methods employed for weight reduction (about 1 year) whilst in receipt of antipsychotics. Methods: A total of 160 consecutive participants with a 1-year history of first-episode psychotic disorders were recruited and their body mass index, subjective weight perception, and the wish to do something about their weight were assessed. Results: For patients of both genders with first-episode psychotic disorders, weight control behaviours were more associated with the perceived weight status than their actual weight. Most participants who perceived themselves as overweight believed that their weight problem was caused by the antipsychotics they had been taking. Self-reduction of antipsychotics was the commonest method they resorted to in the belief it would result in weight reduction. Conclusions: There is a need to implement more structured weight loss and physical exercise programmes for patients with first-episode psychotic disorder in order to maintain their physical and mental health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to examine the extent of weight gain in a group of patients with first-episode psychotic disorders after receiving antipsychotic treatment for 1 year, and to examine any relationship with the type of antipsychotics prescribed. Participants and Methods: A total of 160 consecutive participants with 1-year history of first-episode psychotic disorders were recruited, and their body mass index values before and 1 year after antipsychotic treatment were calculated. Results: About half of the participants gained more than 7% of their baseline body weight. In general, the participants gained a median weight of 4.8 kg (interquartile range, 0.7-9.0 kg) after 1 year of treatment. Forty percent of the female and 47% of the male participants were overweight after treatment. Patients taking second-generation antipsychotics had more severe weight gain than those taking first-generation agents. Olanzapine treatment was associated with the greatest weight gain. Conclusions: Weight gain is a significant problem even in the early stages of psychotic disorders. Health care professionals need to be aware of this issue and address it early in the course of management, so as to prevent harmful consequences of weight gain in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Satisfaction with body weight is more closely related to one's perception rather than one's actual body weight. It is important to understand the body weight perceptions of individuals with psychotic disorders to enhance appropriate weight management. Participants and Methods: Information regarding body mass index, attitude towards body weight and figure rating was gathered from 87 young adults with psychotic disorders and 102 age- and educationmatched controls. Results: Patients were significantly heavier than controls and were aware of their overweight status. Members of both groups wished to lose weight even when their body weight was within the normal range. The wish to do something about their weight status correlated highly with their perception of their weight status (rs = 0.96-1.00, p < 0.01) rather than their actual weight status (rs = 0.62-0.68, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Young adults with psychotic disorders are concerned about their weight. As the wish to do something about weight is more closely correlated to how their weight is perceived, it is important to assess the individual's perception of their body weight status. Health care professionals should be aware of this in order to assist body weight management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective viral load study was performed on clinical specimens from 154 patients with laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); the specimens were prospectively collected during patients' illness. Viral load in nasopharyngeal aspirates (n = 142) from day 10 to day 15 after onset of symptoms was associated with oxygen desaturation, mechanical ventilation, diarrhea, hepatic dysfunction, and death. Serum viral load (n = 53) was associated with oxygen desaturation, mechanical ventilation, and death. Stool viral load (n = 94) was associated with diarrhea, and urine viral load (n = 111) was associated with abnormal urinalysis results. Viral replications at different sites are important in the pathogenesis of clinical and laboratory abnormalities of SARS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS] coronavirus as an enteric pathogen was investigated in a cohort of 142 patients with SARS who were treated with a standard treatment protocol. Data from daily hematological, biochemical, radiological, and microbiological investigations were prospectively collected, and the correlation of these findings with diarrhea was retrospectively analyzed. Sixty-nine patients (48.6%) developed diarrhea at a mean (± standard deviation [SD] of 7.6±2.6 days after the onset of symptoms. The diarrhea was most svere at a mean (±SD) of 8.8 ±2.4 days after onset, with a maximum frequency of 24 episodes per day (median, 5 episodes; range, 3--24 episodes). A higher mean virus load in nasopharyngeal specimens obtained on day 10 after the onset of symptoms was significantly associated with the occurrence of diarrhea (3.1 log[sub10] vs. 1.8 log[sub10] copies/mL; P=.01) and mortality (6.2 vs. 1.7 log[sub10] copies/mL; P<.01). However, diarrhea was not associated with mortality. The lung and the gastrointestinal tract may react differently to SARS coronavirus infection. Additional investigation of the role of SARS coronavirus in the pathogenesis of diarrhea in patients with SARS should be conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study examined the relationship of personality, experience while studying, and academic performance. One hundred and seventy talented high-school students (68 males, 102 females) completed the Personality Research Form (PRF) and recorded their experience via the Experience Sampling Method (ESM). The results showed that controlling for ability, work orientation, a PRF factor, was a better predictor of grade than experience. However, an experiential variable,intrinsic motivation while studying, was related to the difficulty level of courses students took over the 4 years of high school. The results supported the notion that there are two kinds of motivation in scholastic achievement, one directed toward long-term goals, the other directed toward ongoing experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fludarabine phosphate (F-ara-AMP, Fludara) is rapidly converted in the circulation to fludarabine (F-ara-A) and is among the most effective single agents in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Although current treatment protocols are well tolerated, severe neurotoxicity was a consequence of high-dose F-ara-AMP regimens used in early phase I trials against adult acute leukemia. The present study showed that in mice implanted with leukemia L1210, fatal neurotoxicity, which initially manifested as hind-limb paralysis, was a consequence of high-dose F-ara-AMP treatment. However, the incidence of neurotoxicity was reduced by the coadministration of NBMPR-P, the 5'-phosphate of nitrobenzylthioinosine, a potent inhibitor of the es equilibrative nucleoside transport (NT) system. NBTGR-P, the 5'-phosphate of nitrobenzylthioguanosine (also a potent NT inhibitor) similarly prevented F-ara-AMP neurotoxicity in this experimental system. Treatment with F-ara-AMP/NBMPR-P combinations was more effective with respect to the fractional yield of "cured" mice than were the same treatment regimens without NBMPR-P. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses how the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) can be used as an outcome measure in clinical settings. Outcome data from two clinical samples are provided: a small community mental health center located in Michigan and a large referred sample from the Fort Bragg Evaluation Project. Outcome indicators for assessing change over time included overall level of dysfunction, percentage of respondents with severe impairment, mean total score, mean scores for individual CAFAS subscales, and change in total score at the client level. Implications of the findings were discussed from several perspectives: improving services to individual clients, developing databases at the local level that can be used for the agency's continuing self-scrutiny, and pooling databases across sites that can be used to study broader issues within a managed care environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a study which determined the presence of an atelectatic state in vivo among premature infants through the measurement of thoracic gas volume. Materials and methods; Results; Discussion.