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Objective: This study determined the effects of dietary treatments and castration on meat quality, fatty acids (FAs) profiles, and volatile compounds in Korean native black goats (KNBG, Capra hircus coreanae), including the relationship between the population of rumen microbiomes and meat FA profiles.Methods: Twenty-four KNBG (48.6±1.4 kg) were randomly allocated to one of four treatments arranged into a 2×2 factorial structure. The factors were dietary forage to concentrate ratio (high forage [HF, 80:20] and low forage [LF, 20:80]), and a castration treatment (castration [CA] vs non-castration [NCA]).Results: Among meat quality traits, the CA group exhibited a higher percentage of crude fat and water holding capacity (p

Despite the advancement of the knowledge of unsaturated soil behaviour developed over the past decades, the understandings remain largely at the macro or element scale. Existing testing systems allow simultaneous in situ loading and X-ray imaging to facilitate the studies at micro or pore scale, but the soils of concern are normally two-phase (i.e., dry or saturated). This paper develops a new suction-controlled miniature triaxial apparatus for studying the micro-hydro-mechanical behaviour of three-phase unsaturated soils via in situ quantification of the evolutions of soil microstructures, aided by micro-X-ray computer tomography imaging. The apparatus can independently control combinations of net mean stress and matric suction whilst permitting high-resolution full-field imaging of the entire samples through the image analysis via methods of pore network modelling and discrete digital image correction. Results reveal that at equilibrium, suction at the “transition zone” of the soil does not necessarily mean to have both the air and water phases continuous, as otherwise recognized at the element scale. This phenomenon leads to nonuniform distributions of local void ratio and degree of saturation. Post-peak strain localization and shear band development are explained by the movements of pore fluid and the associated influences on local soil void ratio change.

The aim of this study was to estimate older adults’ physical activity level in all types and categories of physical activities and calculate their total physical activity level. This cross-sectional descriptive study estimated the physical activity level of older adults on a quota sample of 500 physically independent older adults living in a densely populated city (in this case, Hong Kong). It used the Physical Activity Questionnaire (Hong Kong version) to assess participants’ physical activity level. Based on the frequency, duration, and intensity of each type of physical activity being performed by the participants, their physical activity level in terms of energy expenditure (in kilocalories per day) for all types and categories of physical activities and the total physical activity level were calculated. Independent t test or analysis of variance, whatever appropriate, was used to examine the difference in the total physical activity level between participants with different individual characteristics. Linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the contribution of individual characteristics to the total physical activity level (p p = .001) with senior older adults warranting additional support. Future research is suggested to confirm the role of specific neighborhood-level factors on the physical activity performance of older adults.

Background: The soft regions of a thrombus tend to be more susceptible to r-tPA (recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator)-mediated thrombolysis and are more easily removed by mechanical thrombectomy than the stiff counterpart. This study aimed to understand the molecular pathological differences between the soft and stiff regions of human arterial thrombus. Methods: We developed a spatial proteomic workflow combining proteomics with laser-captured microdissection to analyze human arterial thrombi with Masson trichrome staining to identify stiff and soft regions from 2 independent cohorts of patients with acute myocardial or cerebral infarction. Dysregulated proteins in a C57BL6/J male mouse model of arterial thrombosis were identified by pathway enrichment and pairwise analyses from the common gene ontology enrichment and dysregulated proteins between carotid and coronary arterial thrombi, and validated by immunohistochemistry. Results: Spatial proteomics of the coronary arterial thrombi collected from 7 patients with myocardial infarct revealed 7 common dysregulated proteins in 2 cohorts of patients, and upregulation of TGF-β1 (transforming growth factor β1) was the most prominent fibrosis-related protein. Inhibition of TGF-β1 resulted in delayed arterial thrombosis and accelerated blood flow restoration in mouse model. We further expanded the spatial proteomic workflow to the carotid artery thrombi collected from 11 patients with cerebral infarction. Pairwise proteomic analysis of stiff and soft regions between carotid and coronary arterial thrombi further revealed 5 common gene ontology clusters including features of platelet activation, and a common dysregulated protein COL1A1 (collagen type 1 alpha 1) that was reported to be influenced by TGF-β1. We also verified the expression in human and mice carotid arterial thrombi. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the spatially distinct composition of proteins in the stiff and soft regions of human arterial thrombi, and suggests that TGF-β1 is a key therapeutic target for promoting arterial thrombolysis.

Indium gallium nitride / gallium nitride (InGaN/GaN) heterostructures were grown by using metal organic vapor deposition technique with four different growth temperatures (740 °C, 760 °C, 780 °C, and 800 °C). The structural properties and crystalline quality were investigated using high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) technique. XRD ω-2θ scan mode at GaN (002) diffraction plane was performed to assess the film’s quality. Through the simulation fitting, the indium composition and the thickness of the thin films were obtained. From the observation, an increase in the growth temperature resulted in higher intensity and smaller full-width at half maximum value of the InGaN (002) diffraction peak, which indicated improvement to the crystalline quality of the InGaN/GaN heterostructure. Moreover, the indium composition of the InGaN epilayer was found to decrease with an increase of the growth temperature due to the thermal decomposition of In-N bond and its re-evaporation from the growing surfaces.

Cancer management has become a major policy goal for the government of the Korea. As such, the government introduced the National Cancer Control Plan (NCCP) to reduce the individual and social burdens caused by cancer and to promote national health. During the past 25 years, 3 phases of the NCCP have been completed. During this time, the NCCP has changed significantly in all aspects of cancer control from prevention to survival. The targets for cancer control are increasing, and although some blind spots remain, new demands are emerging. The government initiated the fourth NCCP in March 2021, with the vision of “A Healthy Country with No Concerns about Cancer Anywhere at Any Time,” which aims to build and disseminate high-quality cancer data, reduce preventable cancer cases, and reduce gaps in cancer control. Its main strategies include (1) activation of cancer big data, (2) advancement of cancer prevention and screening, (3) improvement in cancer treatment and response, and (4) establishment of a foundation for balanced cancer control. The fourth NCCP has many positive expectations, similar to the last 3 plans; however, cross-domain support and participation are required to achieve positive results in cancer control. Notably, cancer remains the leading cause of death despite decades of management efforts and should continue to be managed carefully from a national perspective.

BACKGROUND: Despite an increase in supported employment, a large and growing number people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) still participate in non-work day services. Quality day services that lead to community life engagement (CLE) play an important role in both leading to and complementing competitive integrated employment. OBJECTIVE: Building off guideposts developed in previous research, we aimed to develop and test a new instrument, the CLE Fidelity Scale, for service providers to assess whether their day services and supports are well-designed to support CLE. METHODS: The research involved four steps: item generation based on existing instruments, a self-advocate review panel and Delphi panel for content adequacy assessment, piloting the instrument with service providers, and internal consistency assessment and factor analysis of the pilot data. RESULTS: The end product of these four activities was an 18-item CLEFS that loaded onto three components. The CLEFS also displayed strong content validity (CVR over 0.5 for all items) and interrater reliability (average α = .837). CONCLUSION: The CLEFS can be a useful tool for service providers and state agencies seeking to assess and improve day services and supports.

In order to meet the growing demand for sustainable and renewable energy, significant processes have been achieved in the energy harvesting field in recent years. Due to its strong polarity property and superior mechanical characteristics, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) serves as the most attractive material for a liquid-solid triboelectric nanogenerator (LS-TENG). PVDF-based TENG has come a long way thus far. Hence, we developed a high-performance magnetoelectric (ME) nanocomposite membrane made of PVDF and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles for application in the triboelectric layer of the LS-TENG device. Due to the large magnetic anisotropy of CoFe2O4, a strong interaction between the electromagnetic phase and the crystalline phase could well be established. Moreover, a chemical technique is used to introduce 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane (POTS) with a reasonably extended fluoride chain to increase the dispersion of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles in the PVDF. Thus, the crystalline β phase of the membrane increased to 77.7% with 10 wt.% CoFe2O4 and reached a maximum value of 85.4% with 10 wt.% CoFe2O4@POTS in PVDF matrix, indicating an increase in polarity property and dielectric constant of the nanocomposite membrane. Besides, the CoFe2O4/PVDF-based TENG also delivers a power density of 1.62 W/m2, which is 2.7 higher than the pure PVDF-based TENG. This work demonstrates a novel technique for increasing the β phase of the CoFe2O4/PVDF nanocomposite membrane, which could also improve the LS-TENG output performance for real-life applications in energy harvesting.

Objectives Caregiving for family members at their end of life is stressful. Caregivers’ strain, burden, or stress has been measured in various geographical and sociodemographic contexts. The concept of stress, burden, and strain are sometimes used interchangeably. By analysing the factor structure of the Chinese version of the Modified Caregiver Strain Index (C-M-CSI), this study aimed to examine the caregiving strain concept and its demographic correlates. Methods A sample of 453 family caregivers of patients with a terminal illness in Hong Kong was employed. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed. In addition, generalized linear models (GLM) were used to examine the demographic correlates. Results The EFA yielded a 3-factor model termed “Perception of Caregiving,” “Empathetic Strain,” and “Adjustment Demand.” This 3-factor model explained 50% of the variance and showed good internal consistency. The CFA confirmed the 3-factor construct with satisfactory internal reliability (χ2 [61, N = 226] = 108.86, p Significance of results The results gave insights into the advancement of the conceptualization of caregiver strain, its multidimensional nature, and process of change, which inform directions for future research and practices.

Objective Hypertensive disease during pregnancy increases the risk of maternal morbidity and mortality and leads to the development of multi-organ dysfunction, including kidney dysfunction. Complicated pregnancies require careful postpartum management to prevent sequelae. It is believed that kidney injury can consistently occur even after delivery; therefore, defining the chronicity and endpoint is essential for establishing diagnostic criteria. However, data on the prevalence of persistent renal complications following hypertensive disease during pregnancy are limited. In this study, we evaluated the risk of developing renal disorders in patients with a history of hypertensive disease during pregnancy.Methods Participants who gave birth between 2009 and 2010 were followed up for 8 years after delivery. The risk of renal disorder development after delivery was determined according to a history of hypertensive disease during pregnancy. Different factors that could affect the course of pregnancy, including age, primiparity, multiple pregnancy, preexisting hypertension, pregestational diabetes, hypertensive disease during pregnancy, gestational diabetes, postpartum hemorrhage, and cesarean section, were adjusted for using the Cox hazard model.Results Women with hypertension during pregnancy had a higher risk of developing renal disorders after delivery (0.23% vs. 1.38%; P

Reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) can significantly enhance the service coverage of Tera-Hertz massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication systems. However, obtaining accurate high-dimensional channel state information (CSI) with limited pilot and feedback signaling overhead is challenging, severely degrading the performance of conventional spatial division multiple access. To improve the robustness against CSI imperfection, this paper proposes a deep learning (DL)-based rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) scheme for RIS-aided Tera-Hertz multi-user MIMO systems. Specifically, we first propose a hybrid data-model driven DL-based RSMA precoding scheme, including the passive precoding at the RIS as well as the analog active precoding and the RSMA digital active precoding at the base station (BS). To realize the passive precoding at the RIS, we propose a Transformer-based data-driven RIS reflecting network (RRN). As for the analog active precoding at the BS, we propose a match-filter based analog precoding scheme considering that the BS and RIS adopt the LoS-MIMO antenna array architecture. As for the RSMA digital active precoding at the BS, we propose a low-complexity approximate weighted minimum mean square error (AWMMSE) digital precoding scheme. Furthermore, for better precoding performance as well as lower computational complexity, a model-driven deep unfolding active precoding network (DFAPN) is also designed by combining the proposed AWMMSE scheme with DL. Then, to acquire accurate CSI at the BS for the investigated RSMA precoding scheme to achieve higher spectral efficiency, we propose a CSI acquisition network (CAN) with low pilot and feedback signaling overhead, where the downlink pilot transmission, CSI feedback at the user equipments (UEs), and CSI reconstruction at the BS are modeled as an end-to-end neural network based on Transformer., Comment: Accepted by IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications

Neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were authorized for the treatment of COVID-19 outpatients based on clinical trials completed early in the pandemic, which were underpowered for mortality and subgroup analyses. Real-world data studies are promising for further assessing rapidly deployed therapeutics.Did mAb treatment prevent progression to severe disease and death across pandemic phases and based on risk factors, including prior vaccination status?This observational cohort study included nonhospitalized adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection from November 2020 to October 2021 using electronic health records from a statewide health system plus state-level vaccine and mortality data. Using propensity matching, we selected approximately 2.5 patients not receiving mAbs for each patient who received mAb treatment under emergency use authorization. The primary outcome was 28-day hospitalization; secondary outcomes included mortality and hospitalization severity.Of 36,077 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 2,675 receiving mAbs were matched to 6,677 patients not receiving mAbs. Compared with mAb-untreated patients, mAb-treated patients had lower all-cause hospitalization (4.0% vs 7.7%; adjusted OR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.38-0.60) and all-cause mortality (0.1% vs 0.9%; adjusted OR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.03-0.29) to day 28; differences persisted to day 90. Among hospitalized patients, mAb-treated patients had shorter hospital length of stay (5.8 vs 8.5 days) and lower risk of mechanical ventilation (4.6% vs 16.6%). Results were similar for preventing hospitalizations during the Delta variant phase (adjusted OR, 0.35; 95% CI, 0.25-0.50) and across subgroups. Number-needed-to-treat (NNT) to prevent hospitalization was lower for subgroups with higher baseline risk of hospitalization; for example, multiple comorbidities (NNT = 17) and not fully vaccinated (NNT = 24) vs no comorbidities (NNT = 88) and fully vaccinated (NNT = 81).Real-world data revealed a strong association between receipt of mAbs and reduced hospitalization and deaths among COVID-19 outpatients across pandemic phases. Real-world data studies should be used to guide practice and policy decisions, including allocation of scarce resources.

Khalid Mehmood,1 Yaser Iftikhar,2 Ali Nawaz Khan,1 Ho Kwong Kwan3 1Research Center of Hubei Micro & Small Enterprises Development, School of Economics and Management, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan, 432100, People’s Republic of China; 2AFPGMI, National University of Medical Sciences, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan; 3Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Department, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai, 201206, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ho Kwong Kwan, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management Department, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai, 201206, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-13482520465, Email kwanhokwong@ceibs.edu Ali Nawaz Khan, School of Economics and Management, Hubei Engineering University, Xiaogan, 432000, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-15695656712, Email alisial@mail.ustc.edu.cnPurpose: Public service organizations may improve the quality of services they offer citizens by instilling proactive behavior in their employees. This study aimed to provide insights on how high-involvement work practices may indirectly facilitate proactive behavior in frontline government employees via employee commitment.Methods: A time-lagged approach was used to collect data from 542 frontline employees in three waves at 3-week intervals. We tested the hypothesized moderated mediation model using a PROCESS macro bootstrap approach.Results: A moderated-meditation model was applied in which public service motivation was theorized to increase the mediating effect of employee commitment on the relationship between high-involvement work practices and employee proactive behavior. As predicted, the findings show that supervisor’ deviant behavior attenuated the mediating effect of employee commitment on the relationship between high-involvement work practices and employee proactive behavior.Conclusion: The findings of this research contribute to the emerging literature on public management and have implications for public sector organizations seeking to improve the quality of services they offer citizens.Keywords: public service motivation, supervisors’ deviant behavior, employee commitment, high-involvement work practices, employee proactive behavior, public sector