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The presence of gas hydrates is well known in the marine realm southwest off Taiwan due to the widespread distribution of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic records. To learn more about gas hydrate systems and their dynamics at passive and active margins, we drilled boreholes with MARUM-MeBo200 seafloor drill rig at areas where geophysical indications for gas hydrates have been detected in the past. Several gas hydrate proxies like negative chloride anomalies in the pore water, cold spots detected by infrared thermal scans on cores, increased resistivity, and lithological parameters clearly showed the presence of hydrates in the drilled sections. However, gas hydrate was not recovered by MeBo most likely because of small crystal sizes which dissociated during recovery from the seafloor. Three holes were drilled at southern summit of Formosa Ridge down to 126 m below seafloor (mbsf) and recovered sediments from which in situ hydrate saturation values were estimated between 1 and 10% at 15–42 mbsf and even higher values of up to 38% below 100 mbsf. The latter are probably related to the sealing effect of carbonate precipitation which occur at 85–95 mbsf directly above the hydrate-enriched layer. Four holes were drilled at Four-Way Closure Ridge where a maximum drilling depth of 143.90 m was reached. Hydrate presence starts in 65 mbsf continuing down-core with a range of 1–29% gas hydrate saturation in fine-grained homogenous clay. An abrupt change to higher gas hydrate saturation values of up to 80% occurs below 109 mbsf where silty and sandy turbidite layers are often intercalated. Such high gas hydrate contents only occur in the sand layers and not in the fine-grained sediments intercalated to the sand deposits.

BACKGROUND: Riociguat and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (PDE5i), approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), act on the same pathway via different mechanisms. Riociguat might be an alternative option for patients with PAH who do not respond sufficiently to treatment with PDE5i, but comparisons of the potential benefits of riociguat and PDE5i in these patients are needed. The aim of this trial was to assess the effects of switching to riociguat from PDE5i therapy versus continued PDE5i therapy in patients with PAH at intermediate risk of 1-year mortality.METHODS: Riociguat rEplacing PDE5i therapy evaLuated Against Continued PDE5i thErapy (REPLACE) was an open-label, randomised controlled trial in 81 hospital-based pulmonary hypertension centres in 22 countries. The study enrolled patients aged 18-75 years with symptomatic PAH at intermediate risk of 1-year mortality (based on the European Society for Cardiology-European Respiratory Society guideline thresholds for WHO functional class and 6-min walk distance [6MWD]) who were receiving treatment with a PDE5i with or without an endothelin receptor antagonist for at least 6 weeks before randomisation. Patients were excluded if they had been previously treated with riociguat, had used prostacyclin analogues or prostacyclin receptor agonists within 30 days before randomisation, had clinically significant restrictive or obstructive parenchymal lung disease, or had left heart disease. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to remain on PDE5i treatment (oral sildenafil [≥60 mg per day] or oral tadalafil [20-40 mg per day]; the PDE5i group) or to switch to oral riociguat (up to 2·5 mg three times per day; the riociguat group), using an interactive voice and web response system, stratified by cause of PAH. The primary endpoint was clinical improvement by week 24, defined as an absence of clinical worsening and prespecified improvements in at least two of three variables (6MWD, WHO functional class, and N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide), analysed using last observation carried forward in all randomly assigned patients with observed values at baseline and week 24 who received at least one dose of study medication (the full analysis set). Secondary endpoints included clinical worsening events. The trial has been completed and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02891850.FINDINGS: Between Jan 11, 2017, and July 31, 2019, 293 patients were screened, of which 226 patients were randomly assigned to the riociguat group (n=111) or to the PDE5i group (n=115). 211 patients completed the study and 14 patients discontinued (seven in each group). One patient assigned to the PDE5i group did not receive treatment, so 225 patients were included in the safety analysis, and one further patient in the PDE5i group had missing components of the composite primary endpoint at baseline, so 224 patients were included in the full analysis set. The primary endpoint was met by 45 (41%) of 111 patients in the riociguat group and 23 (20%) of 113 patients in the PDE5i group; odds ratio [OR] 2·78 (95% CI 1·53-5·06; p=0·0007). Clinical worsening events occurred in one (1%) of 111 patients in the riociguat group (hospitalisation due to worsening PAH) and 10 (9%) of 114 patients in the PDE5i group (hospitalisation due to worsening PAH [n=9]; disease progression [n=1]; OR 0·10 [0·01-0·73]; p=0·0047). The most frequently occurring adverse events were hypotension (15 [14%]), headache (14 [13%]), and dyspepsia (10 [9%]) in the riociguat group, and headache (eight [7%]), cough (seven [6%]), and upper respiratory tract infection (seven [6%]) in the PDE5i group. Serious adverse events were reported in eight (7%) of 111 patients in the riociguat group and 19 (17%) of 114 patients in the PDE5i group. During the study, four patients died in the PDE5i group, one of them during the safety follow-up period.INTERPRETATION: Switching to riociguat from PDE5i treatment, both of which act via the nitric oxide-soluble guanylate cyclase-cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway, could be a strategic option for treatment escalation in patients with PAH at intermediate risk of 1-year mortality.FUNDING: Bayer AG, Merck Sharp & Dohme.

In this paper, the effect of channel annealing and oxygen flow rate in

Background The combination of fat grafting and negative pressure (VAC) therapy represents a synergistic interaction of all essential components for wound healing. The aim of this experimental study was to determine whether it could promote healing of wounds with exposed bone. Methods Full-thickness wounds with denuded bone in Sprague–Dawley rats were treated with either polyurethane foam dressing, fat grafting alone, polyurethane foam dressing with VAC, or polyurethane foam dressing with VAC combined with a single, or two administrations of fat graft. Wound healing kinetics, tissue growth, cell proliferation (Ki-67) and angiogenesis (platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 and α-smooth muscle actin) were investigated. Messenger RNA levels related to angiogenesis (vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (b-FGF)), profibrosis (platelet-derived growth factor A and transforming growth factor β), adipocyte expression (fatty acid-binding protein (FABP) 4 and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ), and extracellular matrix remodelling (collagen I) were measured in wound tissues. Results Wounds treated by VAC combined with fat grafting were characterized by cell proliferation, neoangiogenesis and maturation of functional blood vessels; they showed accelerated granulation tissue growth over the denuded bone compared with VAC- or foam dressing-treated wounds. Fat grafting alone over denuded bone resulted in complete necrosis. Expression of angiogenesis markers (VEGF and b-FGF) and adipocyte expression factors (FABP-4) was upregulated in wounds treated with VAC combined with fat grafting. Conclusion Fat grafting with VAC therapy may represent a simple but effective clinical solution for a number of complex tissue defects, and warrants testing in clinical models. Surgical relevanceThe combination of fat grafting and vacuum therapy represents a synergistic interaction of regenerative cells, hospitable wound matrix and stimulating micromechanical forces. It could accelerate complex wound healing through cell proliferation, neoangiogenesis and maturation of functional blood vessels. The efficacy of a multimodal wound healing approach is established in this experimental model; it could easily be translated into clinical trials of treatment for difficult wounds.

On 27 October 2013, a Rhincodon typus was apparently chased by a group of Caranx ignobilis into nearshore waters near Green Island (Ludao), east of Taiwan. A fisherman brought it back to port where it was kept in a small sea pen until release. The R. typus was 78 cm total length, and was tagged and released on 29 October 2013.

An out-of-core block Lanczos method with the OpenMP parallel scheme was developed to solve large spare damped eigenproblems. The symmetric generalized eigenproblem is first solved using the block Lanczos method with the preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) method, and the condensed damped eigenproblem is then solved to obtain the complex eigenvalues. Since the PCG solvers and out-of-core schemes are used, a large-scale eigenproblem can be solved using minimal computer memory. The out-of-core arrays only need to be read once in each Lanczos iteration, so the proposed method requires little extra CPU time. In addition, the second-level OpenMP parallel computation in the PCG solver is suggested to avoid using a large block size that often increases the number of iterations needed to achieve convergence.

Along with increasing speed and acceleration of numerically controlled machine tools, the influence of thermal dynamics characteristics on operating accuracy becomes more and more important. Improvement of thermal dynamics characteristics has turned out to be one of the crucial problems to develop machine tool of high performance. The positioning error of a feed drive system, mostly caused by the thermal deformation of a ball screw shaft, can directly affect the working accuracy of the machine tool. In this study, we applied the computational approach using the finite element method (FEM) to simulate the thermal expansion process for estimating the deformation of the ball screw system. In the numerical analysis, the deformation of the ball screw shaft and nut was modeled via a linear elasticity approach along with the assumption that the material was elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic. To model the reciprocating motions of the nut at a speed of 60m/min respecting to the screw shaft, we utilized the three-dimensional unsteady heat conduction equation with the frictional heat from the sources of the ball screw shaft, nut and bearings to calculate the temperature distributions for determining the temperature rises and axial thermal deformations in a ball screw shaft under operating situations. Simulations were conducted to explore the connection between the temperature increase of nut and the thermal deformation of the ball screw drive system, revealing the need of a compensation scheme for thermal error to improve the operating accuracy of machine tools.

In this work, we fabricate IGZO TFT devices on flexible substrate at room temperature. The IGZO/TiO2 TFT has small subthreshold swing of 0.16 V/dec, but suffers large gate leakage and negative threshold voltage. However, the TiO2 TFT with Y2O3 buffer layers shows improved characteristics including a low threshold voltage of 0.55 V, a small sub-threshold swing of 0.175 V/decade and high field-effect mobility of 43 cm2/Vs. Such good performance can be attributed to the enhanced capacitance density and lowered gate leakage owing to the integration of large band gap Y2O3 and low-temperature higher-κ TiO2.

ZusammenfassungZur medizinischen Behandlung großer Knochendefekte oder Verletzungen werden als Alternative zu etablierten Behandlungs-methoden neue Konzepte des Tissue Engineering (TE) diskutiert. Beim Knochen-TE ist es das Ziel, eine mit Zellen besiedelte drei-dimensionale (3D), biologisch abbaubare Struktur am Ort der Verletzung zu implantieren. Techniken für die organotypische Kultivierung von Knochenzellen in vitro beruhen auf der Kultivierung von Gewebezellen in Bioreaktoren in einem definierten Kultur-medium auf porösen Matrizes (Scaffolds), um ein gewebeähnliches Wachstum in 3D-Strukturen zu ermöglichen. Ein wichtiger Faktor für die erfolgreiche 3D-Kultur ist die Schaffung adäquater Strömungsbedingungen, die wiederum Einfluss auf die biochemischen und biophysikalischen (z. B. mechanische) Reize haben, denen die Zellen ausgesetzt sind. Hier müssen neben Schereffekten auch Stofftransportlimitierungen berücksichtigt werden. Der Beitrag fasst den aktuellen Stand bei der Entwicklung von Bioreaktoren für die Generierung von Knochenersatzmaterialien zusammen.

A comprehensive analysis of fin profile effect on bulk FinFET device characteristics is described in this paper. Optimal fin profile and anti-punch-through (APT) implant profile are important to DC performance and multiple-Vt offering capability, which are essential for system-on-chip (SoC) applications. This study provides practical device design guidelines for bulk FinFET technology.

The Taiwanese government introduced a catch-and-report system for the whale shark Rhincodon typus in 2001, and in the following year limited the total allowable catch (TAC) to 80 individuals. This limit was reduced over the following years, reaching a low of 30 individuals in 2007. In November 2007, a comprehensive ban on R. typus fishing came into effect and protection measures were adopted for the species. This study measured and recorded the total length (L(T) ), body mass and sex of 810 R. typus, using fisheries and other released data for the period 1995-2008. The mean L(T) of individuals caught from June to October was smaller than that for individuals caught from November to May. Mean annual catches in set nets were higher in south-western Taiwan than in other regions of Taiwan. The sex ratio showed that males were caught more frequently than females in Taiwanese waters, indicating sex segregation. For the first time, the stock structure, conservation and management regulation of R. typus in the north-west Pacific Ocean have been reviewed. The results provide a useful resource for future assessment of the possible development of R. typus ecotourism in Taiwan.

Background and purpose: Previous studies demonstrated that post-stroke hyperglycemia was associated with poor outcome in non-diabetic patients. However, evidence was inconclusive amongst patients with diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between initial glucose levels and mortality amongst patients with acute ischaemic stroke, and further, to assess whether the association varied by diabetes mellitus and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. Methods: Data were collected from the medical records of 1277 first-ever stroke patients admitted to the emergency room between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Cox regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between initial glucose level and mortality. Results: Compared with the lowest quartile of initial glucose level, a significant association with all-cause death [hazard ratio (HR), 2.18; 95% CI, 1.36–3.48] and cardiovascular death (HR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.01–3.61) was seen in the highest quartile. In non-diabetic subgroup, those patients within the highest quartile of initial glucose level had a 3.29-fold relative risks (RR) [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.62–6.68] for all-cause and a 2.54-fold RR (95% CI, 1.43–8.77) for cardiovascular death compared with those within the lowest quartile. However, the association between initial glucose levels and the risk of death was not significant amongst those with diabetes (P for interaction = 0.01). In addition, the risk amongst patients with diabetes varied by the HbA1c levels. Conclusions: A significant association was confirmed between initial glucose level and mortality in non-diabetic ischaemic stroke patients. The possible relationship between initial glucose level, HbA1c level, and mortality amongst ischaemic stroke patients with diabetes warrants further research.

Using oxygen vacancy rich (VO-rich) TiO(x) dielectric with high work function Ni electrode, large resistance window of10x and narrow current distribution were realized in the Ni/VO-rich TiO(x)/TaN resistive random access memory (RRAM) device. It can be ascribed to the formation and rupture of conducting filaments by the percolation of VOs and Ti interstitials. Moreover, the effects of annealing treatment and top electrode on resistive switching properties were investigated. The device with VO-deficient TiO(x) after annealing reduces the defects and exhibits small window and low switching currents. The device with low work function Ti top electrode provides low barrier to increase reset currents and the randomly distributed filamentary paths forms near the Ti causes wide current distribution.

A new TDDB lifetime model is proposed to predict lifetime for AC inverter-like stress in FinFET device. The AC lifetime is governing by four mechanisms, including voltage switching, electron detrapping, HCI and hole injection. Among them, voltage switching and electron detrapping improve TDDB lifetime; while HCI and hole injection degrade the lifetime.

The adenovirus E1A protein has been shown to be involved in the potentiation of apoptosis induced by chemotherapeutic agents, yet the molecular events of E1A-mediated apoptosis are not very clear. A recent report has suggested that deamidation of the Bcl-X(L) protein inhibits its antiapoptotic ability and leads to apoptosis induced by alkylating agents in Rb-deficient tumor cells. Since Rb is known to interact with E1A, which interrupts Rb's normal function, we examined Bcl-X(L) deamidation and cell death induced by cisplatin in E1A transfectants. We found that the E1A transfectants became sensitive to cisplatin-induced apoptosis compared to the parental cells, SKOV3.ip1. Our data show that cisplatin treatment induced the modification of Bcl-X(L) in the E1A transfectants in dosage and time-dependent manner. Furthermore, phosphatase treatment had no effect on the level of Bcl-X(L) modification, whereas alkaline lysis buffer appeared to induce the same modification of Bcl-X(L). Ectopic expression of the deamidated forms of Bcl- X(L) in SKOV3.ip1 cells revealed that the modification to the Bcl- X(L) protein molecules was deamidation. Expression of the E1A mutant (dl1108) which contains deletion at CR2 domain suppressed Bcl-X(L) deamidation and apoptosis induced by cisplatin. We also found that expression of the nondeamidated Bcl-X(L) protected E1A transfectants from apoptosis. These findings suggest that Bcl-X(L) deamidation contributes to E1A-mediated cisplatin sensitization in SKOV3.ip1 cells.

Cone penetration tests (CPT) performed in a conventional cavity-wall calibration chamber are inevitably affected by boundary conditions. The authors have developed an axisymmetric field simulator whereby CPT calibration tests can be conducted under substantially reduced boundary effects. The simulator consists of a cylindrical, physical sand specimen and a stack of expandable rings to simulate the soil from beyond the physical boundary. A series of CPT calibration tests has been performed in a clean, uniformly graded quartz sand using this simulator system. For a given relative density, the cone tip resistance (qc) was found to be most closely related to mean normal stress. The horizontal stress at the physical boundary increased during CPT under simulated field conditions. This increased horizontal stress had a much more significant and consistent effect on qc than the initial horizontal stress existing in the soil prior to CPT. The paper describes the results of CPT in the simulator, and discusses implications for the performance of CPT in a chamber and their interpretation.

The two-step fission-product target concept is analyzed to design a prototype target for testing at the ISAC facility. A two-step target consists of an inner cylinder of heavy metal irradiated by an energetic light ion beam; neutrons produced emerge from the target into a coaxial secondary target (blanket) of fissionable material. With this approach, the production of fission product activities is enhanced compared to other products that can interfere in experiments, and significantly less energy is deposited in the secondary target than for direct irradiation. The design is mechanically simple and provides independent control of operating temperatures. The analysis determined appropriate target and blanket dimensions, and energy deposition profiles, temperature distributions and fission production rates. The production rates of some neutron-rich isotopes for selected elements are summarized. A conceptual design is presented, along with issues on cooling the primary target and heating of the secondary target.

This investigation presents an initial attempt to analyze a full year of daily ionosonde observations relevant to the determination of plasma densities, tidal structures, and ion transports in the equatorial anomaly region of the lower ionosphere. Particular focus is on the intermediate layers, their seasonal and diurnal variations, and cause-effect relationships. The ionogram database was recorded using a digisonde portable sounder (DPS) at National Central University (NCU, 24 °58' N, 121°11' E) during 1996. Statistical results indicate that the intermediate layers appear primarily during the daytime of the spring/winter months. The monthly median height characteristics reveal that the layers descend from high to low altitudes and different tidal motions control the layers in different months. Generally, the semi-diurnal and quarter-diurnal tides, which cause ionization convergence, are mainly in the spring/winter and summer/autumn months, respectively. Variations in the electron densities of the layers also indicate that the density increases could result from a great number of molecular and metallic ions. Furthermore, a novel approach to ionogram presentation is introduced to investigate the intermediate layers. This approach allows the DPS to characterize the detailed daily information of the intermediate layers.Key words. Ionosphere (equatorial ionosphere; ionosphere-atmosphere interactions; ionospheric irregularities)

The factors contributing to variation in lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] was studied in a Melbourne Chinese population. The plasma Lp(a) levels were highly skewed towards low levels in this population, with a median of 79 mg/L and a mean of 145 mg/L. Approximately 13% had plasma Lp(a) above the threshold value of 300 mg/L, while 57% had Lp(a) levels below 100 mg/L. The most commonly occurring phenotype was apolipoprotein(a) )] S4 which is usually inversely correlated with plasma Lp(a) levels but not S1 and S2, which are usually with higher levels of Lp(a). In this phenotype, Lp(a) concentrations ranged from 4 to 228 mg/L. The positive association of Lp(a) levels with BMI and LDL cholesterol was observed in women and men, respectively. Taken together, these observations indicate that the Lp(a) genotype, and its expressed phenotype, in Chinese may offer protection against CHD, unless in women there is an associated increase in BMI, and in men an associated increase in LDL. The stepwise regression analyses showed that in those over 60 years of age, about 29% of the variance of in Lp(a) was explained by diet and 12% by non-dietary factors. Thus, the apo(a) phenotypes clearly influence Lp(a) concentrations, but are not the only factors, which determine the variation in Lp(a) concentrations, environmental or other biochemical factors may contribute to Lp(a) status.

A short review is presented of target cooling approaches suggested for targets irradiated by intense high-energy proton beams to produce radioactive species for use in a broad range of physics studies. This work reports on conductive cooling approaches for operation at temperatures lower than effective for radiative cooling. The possibilities for conductive cooling are discussed, and a prototype test target is described. This target was constructed for an experiment, designed to validate the numerical analysis approaches, at the TRIUMF/ISAC facility. Fabrication issues and the results of the experiment are presented, followed by a discussion of the implications of the experiment outcome for future development of targets to produce intense beams of radioactive ions.

We investigate 3-D mountain effects on solar flux distributions and their impact on surface hydrology over the Western United States, specifically the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada using CCSM4 (CAM4/CLM4) global model with a 0.23° × 0.31° resolution for simulations over 6 years. In 3-D radiative transfer parameterization, we have updated surface topography data from a resolution of 1 km to 90 m to improve parameterization accuracy. In addition, we have also modified the upward-flux deviation [3-D − PP (plane-parallel)] adjustment to ensure that energy balance at the surface is conserved in global climate simulations based on 3-D radiation parameterization. We show that deviations of the net surface fluxes are not only affected by 3-D mountains, but also influenced by feedbacks of cloud and snow in association with the long-term simulations. Deviations in sensible heat and surface temperature generally follow the patterns of net surface solar flux. The monthly snow water equivalent (SWE) deviations show an increase in lower elevations due to reduced snowmelt, leading to a reduction in cumulative runoff. Over higher elevation areas, negative SWE deviations are found because of increased solar radiation available at the surface. Simulated precipitation increases for lower elevations, while decreases for higher elevations with a minimum in April. Liquid runoff significantly decreases in higher elevations after April due to reduced SWE and precipitation.

On 27 October 2013, a Rhincodon typus was apparently chased by a group of Caranx ignobilis into nearshore waters near Green Island (Ludao), east of Taiwan. A fisherman brought it back to port where it was kept in a small sea pen until release. The R. typus was 78 cm total length, and was tagged and released on 29 October 2013.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a new epidemic among Australian women, especially those with Asian backgrounds. The 1998 Australia National Diabetes Strategy and Implementation Plan recognises GDM as an independent glucose metabolic disorder affecting sub-groups of Australians. Gestational diabetes mellitus is an Australian national diabetes priority area, along with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). This paper reviews the many issues relating to GDM that continue to be debated by researchers and clinical service providers. These issues include the diagnosis of GDM, the effect of GDM on fetal outcomes, the long-term health effects on the offspring of GDM mothers, the effect of GDM on maternal outcomes and the long-term health effects on women with a history of GDM.

Trials of nutritional intervention in a wide range of health and disease states, preventive and therapeutic, are required. Not only has the emergence of chronic non-communicable disease (CNCD) with acknowledged nutritional pathogenesis created this imperative need, but so also have other conditions which, previously, had not been regarded as nutritionally based. Among the latter are health problems associated with ageing: the menopause, a decline in immune function, and a decline in cognitive function. At the same time, there is a new set of materno-foetal and infant nutrition issues for investigation which relate to new food exposures and the long-term effects of nutritionally mediated gene expression. The emergence of the new food science of phytochemicals with human biological importance also sets the scene for their evaluation in traditional diets and novel foods. Such trials are more complex than comparable pharmacotherapeutic studies because of the complexity of food chemistry, as well as the food behavioural changes which may accompany a nutritional intervention, and the general problem of there not being a 'gold standard' for food intake methodology. Choice of study population is also a key issue in relation to the extrapolation of findings from a particular trial, with population representativeness being an advantage. In order to obtain useful information on manageable sample sizes, either intermediate end-points (short of morbidity and mortality) need to be studied or high-risk groups (such as the aged) need to be recruited. There are some unique ethical issues which must inform clinical nutrition trials. These include certain preventive imperatives like the right to be fed, the risks in disruption of food cultures and the need for food security and sustainability. Rapid changes in the food supply do, however, make such trials more important, while the value of food-health knowledge that cannot be obtained by trial must still be appreciated.

The position error of a feed drive system is mostly caused by thermal deformation of a ball screw shaft. A high-speed ball screw system can generate massive heat with greater thermal expansion produced, and consequently have a negative effect on the positioning accuracy. In this study, we applied the computational approach using the finite element method (FEM) to simulate the thermal expansion process for estimating the deformation of the ball screw system. In the numerical analysis, the deformation of the ball screw shaft and nut was modeled via a linear elasticity approach along with the assumption that the material was elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic. To emulate the reciprocating movements of the nut at the speeds of 20, 40 and 60 m/min corresponding to the screw shaft, we also employed a three-dimensional unsteady heat conduction equation with the heat generation from the main sources including the ball screw shaft, nut and bearings as the heat transfer model to solve the temperature distributions for determining the temperature rises and axial thermal deformations in a ball screw shaft under composite operating conditions. The simulated results demonstrated that the countermeasures must be taken to thermally compensate great deterioration of the positioning accuracy due to vast heat production at high rotating speeds of shaft for a ball screw system.

SUMMARY The state of health of South-East Asian nations depends as much or more on extranational forces beyond their control —global warming, economic boom and bust—as it does on their own policies and practices. Nonetheless, the political systems of the region, the scope that these allow for community participation, and their attitudes to human rights, are also key determinants of health status. Governments in the region hold different attitudes to the desirability of a monopoly of effective power in government hands, and therefore vary in their commitment to concepts of community empowerment for health promotion and the involvement of non-governmental organizations. Health promotion in these nations is inextricably linked with the creation of social capital.

Objectives The aim of this health promotion project is to introduce students to appropriate skills and attitudes – as well as knowledge about health promotion strategies and methods. As part of this process, standardized procedures have been established to ensure that the projects are scientifically and ethically appropriate and adequately supervised. This project-centred course introduces the discipline of health promotion to third-year medical students at Monash University. It is aimed at introducing students to the range of health promotion concepts, providing them with experience of health promotion activities and involving them in consideration of the scientific, political and ethical issues arising from doctors’ participation in health promotion. Design As the major learning and assessment component of the unit, students participate in self-selected project groups of three to five students. Each group develops a topic for a health promotion activity in the community, carries out that project and presents the results as a poster as well as a written report. Setting Monash University. Subjects Third-year medical students. Results Sixty per cent of each student’s mark for the unit is based on the project. The posters produced by the project groups are placed on public display in a major teaching hospital for a week at the end of the unit. Public display of the posters helps each student to appreciate the variety of possible health promotion activities, and to appreciate health promotion as a scientific discipline. It also makes the project findings available to the public. Conclusions Student evaluation of the project, and community response to the projects – especially the poster display – indicate that the project is both a highly effective learning experience and a health-promoting activity in its own right.

Recognition of the biological and health importance of abdominal fatness has stimulated researchers, clinicians and public health workers. Most work and interest so far has focussed on how it might account for health outcomes, with increasing attention to its preferred measurement. Its aetiology and pathogenesis is thought to reflect gender, age and energy balance which, if positive, leads to increased total body fatness, including abdominal fatness. But these contributors themselves, when considered mechanistically, raise possibilities about other potentially important modulators of abdominal fatness, such as adipocyte differentiation and apoptosis, the kinetics of cell fat content, its hormonal and neural control, along with underlying genetic predisposition and expression. In turn, the ways in which environmental factors may influence fat distribution come into focus; these include nutritional factors, which may be as broad as the food cultural (given ethnic differences in abdominal fatness) or as located as specific food factors like those which are thermogenic (eg. capsaicin-like), hormone-like (notably the candidate phyto-estrogens) or essentiall fatty acids which affect receptor function (like omega-3 fatty acids). There is a prima facie case for food intake, aside from its energy value, in its own right, or in conjunction with early life events and/or physical activity and/or substance abuse having a determinant role in the development of abdominal fatness. To what extent, and how, it is now opportune to ask.

In order to enhance the sensitivity (ethanol) of the ZnO films, Fe3+ was incorporated onto the ZnO (Fe/ZnO) thin films. The least square fitted the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra show that the main species in the ZnO–Fe thin film are ZnO, Fe2O3 and Fe3O4. When sensing of 300 ppm ethanol, the in situ extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra indicate that the bond distances of Zn O and Fe O are 1.90 and 1.98 A, respectively and restored to 1.91 and 1.97 A in the absence of ethanol.

The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to compare the urinary excretion of phytoestrogens in Australians of Chinese and Anglo-Celtic origins. Urine samples from individuals already participating in two cross-cultural studies on food habits and health status, were used in order to measure excretion of the two isoflavonoid phytoestrogens genistein and daidzein. The mean (± SEM) 24 h excretion of genistein and daidzein, was 614 ± 202 nmol and 688 ± 218 nmol in the Chinese population and 107 ± 31 nmol and 164 ± 63 nmol in the Anglo-Celtic population (p

For many years, Los Alamos National Laboratory has used Eberline HP-260 beta detectors to measure skin dose. However, this detector has a limitation in that it does not measure the beta spectrum, and skin dose can be determined only if the contaminating radioactive isotope is known. A new product, MICROSPEC-2, has been developed, which contains a small, portable computer with a multichannel analyzer and a beta probe consisting of a phoswich detector. The new system measures the beta spectrum and automatically folds in the beta fluence-to-dose conversion function to yield skin dose. The measured spectra are in good agreement with theoretical curves for different kinds of beta sources and for beta energies down to about 200 keV. The spectroscopic method allows the derivation of skin doses with more reliable accuracy than the normal integrated dose method.

Thermal analyses are presented of a cylindrical target concept for the production of radioactive beams by intense, high-energy proton production beams. The basic principle is to extract heat generated internally by the production beam interactions with the target material through appropriate thermal barriers. This approach allows the target material to be operated at an elevated temperature to enhance the release of radioactivities produced by the production beam bombardment, yet remove the heat generated initially. Three classes of targets are considered: high temperature and moderate heat generation; moderate temperature and low heat generation; and low temperature and high heat generation. Various thermal barriers approaches appropriate to the combined temperature and heat removal constraints are included, such as contact thermal resistance, refractory material interfaces, and porous metal interfaces. It is shown that suitable thermal barrier approaches exist to encompass the range of target conditions expected for the production of intense beams of radioactive ions.

The Committee on Nutrition and Aging of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS) organized a project entitled Food Habits in Later Life (FHLL) that studied the nutritional and health problems of the elderly from 13 communities in six countries. Demographic, food intake, anthropometric, and health-related data were obtained from a total of 2,013 individuals who participated in this cross-cultural, multicentre study. The methods developed and used in this project will be useful for other groups interested in designing cross-cultural, multicentre studies.

(1996). Population control in Singapore: a case study of health strategy and implementation. Asian Studies Review: Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 119-134.

Cylindrical targets used for the production of radioactive beams by high-energy protons are analyzed in terms of target interaction length for some typical target systems. The analysis, using the Monte Carlo based LAHET code system, first determined applicable parameters of the beam/target interaction at 500 MeV incident proton energy. The analysis was then extended to other commonly-available proton energies up to 1000 MeV.

An electron beam generated X-ray spectrum consists of characteristic X-rays of the target and continuous bremsstrahlung. The percentage of characteristic X-rays over the entire energy spectrum depends on the beam energy and the filter thickness. To determine the optimal electron beam energy and filter thickness, one can either conduct many experimental measurements, or perform a series of Monte Carlo simulations. Monte Carlo simulations are shown to be an efficient tool for determining the optimal target-filter system for electron beam generated X-ray spectra. Three of the most commonly used low-energy X-ray metal targets (Cu, Zn and Mo) are chosen for this study to illustrate the power of Monte Carlo simulations.

The deuterium-tritium (D-T) \ensuremath{\gamma}-to-neutron branching ratio [${}^{3}$H($d$,\ensuremath{\gamma})${}^{5}$He/${}^{3}$H(d,n)${}^{4}$He] was determined under inertial confinement fusion (ICF) conditions, where the center-of-mass energy of 14--24 keV is lower than that in previous accelerator-based experiments. A D-T branching ratio value of (4.2 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 2.0) \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} 10${}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$ was determined by averaging the results of two methods: (1) a direct measurement of ICF D-T \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray and neutron emissions using absolutely calibrated detectors, and (2) a separate cross-calibration against the D-${}^{3}$He \ensuremath{\gamma}-to-proton branching ratio [${}^{3}$He($d$,\ensuremath{\gamma})${}^{5}$Li/${}^{3}$He(d,p)${}^{4}$He]. Neutron-induced backgrounds were significantly reduced as compared to traditional beam-target accelerator-based experiments due to the short pulse nature of ICF implosions and the use of gas Cherenkov \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray detectors with fast temporal responses and inherent energy thresholds. These measurements of the D-T branching ratio in an ICF environment test several theoretical assumptions about the nature of $A$ = 5 systems, including the dominance of the 3/2${}^{+}$ resonance at low energies, the presence of the broad first excited state of ${}^{5}$He in the spectra, and the charge-symmetric nature of the capture processes in the mirror systems ${}^{5}$He and ${}^{5}$Li.

Previous studies demonstrated that post-stroke hyperglycemia was associated with poor outcome in non-diabetic patients. However, evidence was inconclusive amongst patients with diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between initial glucose levels and mortality amongst patients with acute ischaemic stroke, and further, to assess whether the association varied by diabetes mellitus and glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c) ) levels. Data were collected from the medical records of 1277 first-ever stroke patients admitted to the emergency room between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Cox regression analysis was performed to assess the relationship between initial glucose level and mortality.Compared with the lowest quartile of initial glucose level, a significant association with all-cause death [hazard ratio (HR), 2.18; 95% CI, 1.36-3.48] and cardiovascular death (HR, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.01-3.61) was seen in the highest quartile. In non-diabetic subgroup, those patients within the highest quartile of initial glucose level had a 3.29-fold relative risks (RR) [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.62-6.68] for all-cause and a 2.54-fold RR (95% CI, 1.43-8.77) for cardiovascular death compared with those within the lowest quartile. However, the association between initial glucose levels and the risk of death was not significant amongst those with diabetes (P for interaction = 0.01). In addition, the risk amongst patients with diabetes varied by the HbA(1c) levels. A significant association was confirmed between initial glucose level and mortality in non-diabetic ischaemic stroke patients. The possible relationship between initial glucose level, HbA(1c) level, and mortality amongst ischaemic stroke patients with diabetes warrants further research.

The effect of β-carotene supplementation on major serum carotenoid fractions (lutein/zeaxanthin, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, α-carotene, and β-carotene) was investigated in 224 people with colorectal adenomas (139 men, 85 women) recruited for the Australian Polyp Prevention Project (APPP). Each subject was randomly assigned to take either 20 mg β-carotene/d or placebo over 24 mo. Besides the expected increase in serum concentration of β-carotene (1073% in men, 839% in women), lycopene (176% in men) and α- carotene (211% in men and 166% in women) concentrations were also increased after body mass index, baseline concentration, change in respective carotenoid intake, and other confounding factors were adjusted for. The increase in serum concentrations of these carotenoids after β-carotene supplementation suggests that β-carotene may interact biologically with other carotenoids and such interaction would need to be taken into consideration when the protective effect of β-carotene supplementation for cancer or other diseases is examined.

A dietary guideline, which has been assumed by several countries, is to achieve the inclusion of a variety of foods in the diet. The major reason for inclusion of food variety as a dietary guideline is the generally accepted concept that eating a wider variety of foods improves nutrient adequacy. There may also be other reasons why food variety relates to health status. An approach for the development and use of food variety scores is presented together with a basis and logic for scoring food variety. Food variety scores quantify the number of different foods (individual foods, food mixtures, food categories, or a combination of these) consumed, and are expressed over a time period or base which may be a day, a week, a month, or a year. The ultimate approach used to calculate food variety may reflect the method by which food intake is assessed, the culture within which the score is to be applied, the definition of a distinct food, and the hypotheses and objectives of the study. If a food is consumed, a sc...

Calculations have been made of energy deposition distributions for “thick” targets (∼1 mole/cm 2 ) employed in on-line production of exotic nuclei using the Monte Carlo based LAHET code system for high-energy charged particle transport. A variety of target materials and incident proton beam energies have been examined. For 600 MeV protons, the results are compared to those from a similar study reported in the literature. The agreement between the two studies for total energy deposition is reasonably good for monatomic targets, but the results differ in some details of the energy deposition distributions. Target cooling, both radiative and conductive, is examined to assess the suitability of existing target concepts exposed to bombardment by intense (up to 100 μA), energetic (500 MeV to 1.2 GeV) proton beams to produce exotic nuclei. Implications of cooling requirements to target material selection and design are discussed.

Spontaneous tumour lysis syndrome (STLS) inducing acute uric acid nephropathy, a rare and neglected disease, presents more insidiously than conventional post-treatment tumour lysis syndrome. Although STLS is a serious and potentially fatal complication in patients with neoplastic disorders, few investigations have addressed the relevance of clinical and laboratory features in assessing prognosis. A retrospective study was conducted, reviewing the records of all patients who developed acute renal failure (ARF) at Chang Gung memorial hospital between 1 July 1999 and 30 June 2003. STLS-induced acute uric acid nephropathy was identified in 12 of 1072 ARF patients (1.1%) during the study period. All patients had advanced stage tumours with large tumour burden, and 66.7% of cases had abdominal organ involvement. All 12 hyperuricemic patients became oliguric despite conservative therapy, and remained hyperuricemic (21.6 +/- 5.2 mg/dl) before dialysis therapy. Diuresis developed in eight patients (66.7%), with associated resolution of hyperuricemia, azotemia and metabolic derangements following dialysis initiation. Overall hospital mortality was 58.3%. Death in most patients was related to hyponatremia and hypoalbuminemia on admission. The serum sodium was found to have the best Youden index (0.86) and highest overall prediction accuracy (93%). Moreover, serum sodium and serum albumin for individual patients were significantly and positively correlated (r = 0.617, p = 0.032). This investigation confirms a grave prognosis for cancer patients with STLS inducing acute uric acid nephropathy. Hyponatremia and hypoalbuminemia on the first day of admission indicate poor prognosis in such patients.

Sensing of ethanol with iron doped ZnO (Fe-ZnO) thin films has been studied in this work. By X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, it is found that ZnO is the main compound in the low-iron (ZnFe2O4is also found as 20–50% of iron are doped on the thin films. The 5% Fe-ZnO thin film has a very high sensitivity (Rair/Rethanol>70) to 1000 ppm of ethanol at 300 K. It seems that iron can promote the sensivity of the ZnO thin film. The thin film doped with a greater amount (20–50%) of iron has, however, a much less sensitivity (