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The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of perceived vulnerability to disease, emotions (disgust, anger), and perceived norms in predicting moral judgments of anti-COVID-19-preventive behaviors in US and Japan. A total of 442 Japanese and 365 American participants completed an online survey. Disgust and anger mediated the link between perceived vulnerability to disease (germ aversion) and moral judgments of preventive behaviors across both cultures. Perceived social norms among friends and family were associated with harsh judgments of anti-preventive behaviors for Japanese but not for American participants. Overall, our results suggest that effective strategies for promoting preventive behaviors may be culturally valid if they focus on the fear for infectious disease and related aversive affect. We also discussed the possibility that some strategies could be characteristic of collectivistic cultures, warranting further cross-cultural comparisons.

This paper is to shed light on the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and cash value at family businesses using 3630 firm-year observations representing 395 listed Taiwanese companies. The results indicate that CSR has a significantly positive impact on cash value at family businesses, but no apparent relationship is supported at non-family businesses. Regarding the CSR activities, environmental protection, corporate commitment and corporate governance are consistently and significantly confirm the positive effects on corporate cash value at the family business, but social participation does not confirm this finding. The above results imply that conflict resolution view/or socio-emotional wealth view is evidenced at the relationship between family firm’s CSR and cash value. To the best of our knowledge, our results are firstly documented on the relationship between cash value and CSR of family business and thus make major contributions to related literature of family business. JEL classification numbers: G32, G34, M14. Keywords: Family Business, Corporate Social Responsibility, Cash Value.

Additional file 3: Fig. S3. Controlled condition grown Col-0, T3-12, T3-18 Arabidopsis thaliana plants.

Additional file 4: Fig. S4. Various abiotic stress conditions imposed to control vs overexpressed lines and their root length and biomass data. Values are means and bars indicate SDs (n=6) statistically significant difference at P< 0.05 (t-test).

Supplementary tables

Additional file 1: Fig. S1. PCR2 gene regulatory network analyzed by co-expression analysis.

Additional file 2: Fig. S2. Expression analysis of Arabidopsis PCR2 gene responses todifferentstress conditions in the shoot and root tissues. Microarray expression data for AtPCR2 gene was retrieved from TAIR (ver 9) during various abiotic stresses, i.e. salt, drought, osmotic, cold, heat, oxidative, genotoxic, wounding and UV/B stress. The datasets obtained for various time points of stress, namely 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h, were analyzed with respect to the control. The colour bar below represents relative expression values; wherein green represents lowest, black represents medium and red signifies highest expression levels. The hierarchical clustering is performed, and heat maps have been generated using TIGR MeV software package.

Background The clinical features of pediatric rhabdomyolysis differ from those of the adults with rhabdomyolysis; however, multicenter studies are lacking. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of pediatric rhabdomyolysis and reveal the risk factors for acute kidney injury (AKI) in such cases. Methods This retrospective study analyzed the medical records of children and adolescents diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis at 23 hospitals in South Korea between January 2007 and December 2016. Results Among 880 patients, those aged 3 to 5 years old composed the largest subgroup (19.4%), and all age subgroups were predominantly male. The incidence of AKI was 11.3%. Neurological disorders (53.6%) and infection (39.0%) were the most common underlying disorder and cause of rhabdomyolysis, respectively. The median age at diagnosis in the AKI subgroup was older than that in the non-AKI subgroup (12.2 years vs. 8.0 years). There were no significant differences in body mass index, myalgia, dark-colored urine, or the number of causal factors between the two AKI-status subgroups. The multivariate logistic regression model indicated that the following factors were independently associated with AKI: multiorgan failure, presence of an underlying disorder, strong positive urine occult blood, increased aspartate aminotransferase and uric acid levels, and reduced calcium levels. Conclusions Our study revealed characteristic clinical and laboratory features of rhabdomyolysis in a Korean pediatric population and highlighted the risk factors for AKI in these cases. Our findings will contribute to a greater understanding of pediatric rhabdomyolysis and may enable early intervention against rhabdomyolysis-induced AKI.

This study investigated the relationship between different domains of cultural adaptation among international students in Japan and the moralization of culture-specific norms. Newcomers may adapt certain norms of the host culture and ascribe moral meanings to initially nonmoral activities or objects. Building on the existing model of sociocultural adaptation, we investigated how different types of sociocultural adaptation are associated with the moralization of Japanese cultural norms. For international students in Japan, there are three aspects of sociocultural adaptation: academic, daily living, and interpersonal. Our results showed that cultural adaptation in the interpersonal domain, but not in the academic and daily living domains, predicted harsher moral judgments of behaviors that violated Japanese cultural norms. These findings suggest that international students who are well adjusted in the interpersonal domain gain an understanding of what is sanctioned in the Japanese cultural context and come to see certain behaviors as morally appropriate. We discuss several implications for further investigating the moralization of certain behaviors within the context of acculturation.

Patients’ perspectives on the conventional synthetic cast vs a newly developed open cast for ankle sprains

Background: Fontan-associated liver disease (FALD) is a hepatic disorder caused by hemodynamic changes and systemic venous congestion following the Fontan procedure. FALD includes liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), both of which may require liver transplantation (LT). However, the Fontan circulation, characterized by elevated central venous pressure and reduced cardiac output, is a challenging issue for surgeons and anesthesiologists.Case: We report a living-donor LT for the treatment of HCC. The patient was a 24-year-old male who underwent the Fontan procedure for pulmonary atresia and right ventricle hypoplasia. We focused on maintaining enough blood volume for cardiac output without causing pulmonary edema, as the patient is not well adapted to changes in volume. Owing to a multidisciplinary approach, the surgery was successfully performed without fatal adverse events.Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first case of isolated LT in a recipient who became an adult after having undergone the Fontan procedure.

Background Smartphone usage is indispensably beneficial to people's everyday lives. However, excessive smartphone usage has been associated with physical and mental health problems. This study aimed to evaluate the association of smartphone usage with depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts in Korean adolescents. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in 54,603 Korean adolescent participants (26,930 male and 27,673 female) in the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey in 2017 who reported their smartphone use. We performed multiple logistic regression analysis to evaluate the association of smartphone use with mental health after adjusting for relevant covariates. Results Among the participants, 25.6% of male students and 38.4% of female students reported using their smartphone for at least 30 hours per week. As time duration of smartphone usage increased, the risk of experiencing depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempt tended to increase, with odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of 1.18 (1.10-1.26), 1.18 (1.08-1.29), and 1.34 (1.11-1.60), respectively, for high smartphone usage compared with low smartphone usage. These associations remained significant with only slight change in odds ratios after consideration of problems that may be caused by smartphone usage, such as conflicts with family members or peers, or disturbance in school work. Conclusion Smartphone overuse was independently associated with an increased risk of mental health problems, which did not seem to be mediated by the problems caused by smartphone usage.

Background Distinguishing prostatic stromal invasion (PSI) by urothelial carcinoma (UC) from in situ UC involving prostatic ducts or acini with no stromal invasion (in situ involvement) may be challenging on hematoxylin and eosin stained sections. However, the distinction between them is important because cases with PSI show worse prognosis. This study was performed to assess the utility of double cocktail immunostains with high molecular weight cytokeratin (HMWCK) and GATA-3 to discriminate PSI by UC from in situ UC involvement of prostatic ducts or acini in the prostate. Methods Among 117 radical cystoprostatectomy specimens for bladder UCs, 25 cases showed secondary involvement of bladder UC in prostatic ducts/acini only or associated stromal invasion and of these 25 cases, seven cases revealed equivocal PSI. In these seven cases with equivocal PSI, HMWCK, and GATA-3 double immunohistochemical stains were performed to identify whether this cocktail stain is useful to identify the stromal invasion. Results In all cases, basal cells of prostate glands showed strong cytoplasmic staining for HMWCK and UC cells showed strong nuclear staining for GATA-3. In cases with stromal invasion of UC, GATA-3-positive tumor cells in the prostatic stroma without surrounding HMWCK-positive basal cells were highlighted and easily recognized. Among seven equivocal cases, two cases showed PSI and five in situ UC in the prostate. In two cases, the original diagnoses were revised. Conclusions Our study suggested that HMWCK and GATA-3 double stains could be utilized as an adjunct method in the distinction between PSI by UC from in situ UC involving prostatic ducts or acini.

Breakthroughs in molecular medicine have positioned the amyloid-β (Aβ) pathway at the center of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology. While the detailed molecular mechanisms of the pathway and the spatial-temporal dynamics leading to synaptic failure, neurodegeneration, and clinical onset are still under intense investigation, the established biochemical alterations of the Aβ cycle remain the core biological hallmark of AD and are promising targets for the development of disease-modifying therapies. Here, we systematically review and update the vast state-of-the-art literature of Aβ science with evidence from basic research studies to human genetic and multi-modal biomarker investigations, which supports a crucial role of Aβ pathway dyshomeostasis in AD pathophysiological dynamics. We discuss the evidence highlighting a differentiated interaction of distinct Aβ species with other AD-related biological mechanisms, such as tau-mediated, neuroimmune and inflammatory changes, as well as a neurochemical imbalance. Through the lens of the latest development of multimodal in vivo biomarkers of AD, this cross-disciplinary review examines the compelling hypothesis- and data-driven rationale for Aβ-targeting therapeutic strategies in development for the early treatment of AD.

Measurements of the electronic circular dichroism (CD) are highly sensitive to the absolute configuration and conformation of chiral molecules and supramolecular assemblies and have therefore found widespread application in the chemical and biological sciences. Here, we demonstrate an approach to simultaneously follow changes in the CD and absorption response of photoexcited systems over the ultraviolet−visible spectral range with 100 fs time resolution. We apply the concept to chiral polyfluorene copolymer thin films and track their electronic relaxation in detail. The transient CD signal stems from the supramolecular response of the system and provides information regarding the recovery of the electronic ground state. This allows for a quantification of singlet−singlet annihilation and charge-pair formation processes. Spatial mapping of chiral domains on femtosecond time scales with a resolution of 50 μm and diffraction-limited steady-state imaging of the circular dichroism and the circularly polarised luminescence (CPL) of the films is demonstrated., Time-resolved circular dichroism spectra can reveal changes in chirality on ultrashort time scales, but achieving sub-picosecond time resolution is still a challenge. Here the authors demonstrate 100-femtosecond time-resolved CD mapping of polyfluorene copolymer thin films, revealing a supramolecular origin of their chiroptical response.

We report energy selective tunneling readout-based Hamiltonian parameter estimation of a two-electron spin qubit in a GaAs quantum dot array. Optimization of readout fidelity enables a single-shot measurement time of 16 on average, with adaptive initialization and efficient qubit frequency estimation based on real-time Bayesian inference. For qubit operation in a frequency heralded mode, we observe a 40-fold increase in coherence time without resorting to dynamic nuclear polarization. We also demonstrate active frequency feedback with quantum oscillation visibility, single-shot measurement fidelity, and state initialization fidelity up to 97.7%, 99%, and over 99.7%, respectively. By pushing the sensitivity of the energy selective tunneling-based spin to charge conversion to the limit, the technique is useful for advanced quantum control protocols such as error mitigation schemes, where fast qubit parameter calibration with a large signal-to-noise ratio is crucial., Comment: 24 pages, 7 figures, 1 table

A boundary integral equation method for the 3-D Helmholtz equation in multilayered media with many quasi-periodic layers is presented. Compared with conventional quasi-periodic Green's function method, the new method is robust at all scattering parameters. A periodizing scheme is used to decompose the solution into near- and far-field contributions. The near-field contribution uses the free-space Green's function in an integral equation on the interface in the unit cell and its immediate eight neighbors; the far-field contribution uses proxy point sources that enclose the unit cell. A specialized high-order quadrature is developed to discretize the underlying surface integral operators to keep the number of unknowns per layer small. We achieve overall linear computational complexity in the number of layers by reducing the linear system into block tridiagonal form and then solving the system directly via block LU decomposition. The new solver is capable of handling a 100-interface structure with 961.3k unknowns to $10^{-5}$ accuracy in less than 2 hours on a desktop workstation., Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 table

본 연구의 목적은 한국 빈곤 노인의 일평생 노동시장 이행 과정과 빈곤 간 관계를 분석함으로써 노인 빈곤과 관련된 이론 축적에 기여하고, 노년기 빈곤 진입을 완화 · 예방할 수 있는 정책 대안을 제시함으로써 사회문제 해결에 기여하고자 하는 것이다. 빈곤 노인의 일평생 노동시장 이행 과정을 살펴보기 위해 당사자인 빈곤 노인과 직접 접촉하여 인터뷰를 수행했다. 인터뷰 대상 집단의 대표성을 담보하기 위해 한국복지패널(KoWePS)로부터 빈곤 노인 유형을 도출한 뒤, 각 유형의 특성을 나타내는 노인을 선별하여 질적 자료를 수집하고 분석했다. 분석 결과, 여성 빈곤 노인의 경우, 가부장제 사회 기조로 인해 교육과 직업 기회를 갖지 못한 채, 배우자 리스크-경제 무능력, 이혼, 사별-와 가계 경제 곤란의 이유로 매우 늦은 나이에 저숙련 노동자로서 노동시장에 진입하게 된다. 생애 주된 일자리에서 비자발적으로 퇴직함과 동시에 소득의 급격한 하락과 노후 대비 부족으로 인해 빈곤에 진입하게 된다. 남성 빈곤 노인의 경우, 이른 나이에 노동시장에 진입하여 첫 직장 이후 몇 군데의 직장을 거쳐 노동시장 전성기에 이르게 된다. 그러나 질병, 재해, 급격한 산업 환경 변화, 사회 · 경제적 변화로 인해 비자발적으로 직업을 잃고, 과도한 부채를 부담하게 되어 소득의 급격한 하락과 노후 대비 부족으로 인해 빈곤에 진입하게 된다. 본 연구는 빈곤 노인을 대상으로, 빈곤 노인의 생애 주된 일자리와 일평생 노동시장 이행 과정에 초점을 맞추어, 이들의 노동시장 이행 과정과 빈곤 간 관계를 분석했다는 점에서 의의를 갖는다.

The primary goal of this study was to investigate how the degree of internationalization affects firms' investment-cash flow sensitivity (ICFS) using a sample of Taiwanese listed firms. Our empirical results indicate that a higher degree of internationalization tends to lower its ICFS. Moreover, our findings also suggest that there is no significant difference between group-affiliated firms and unaffiliated firms in the relationship between internationalization and firms’ ICFS. The findings contribute to the financial literature by clarifying internationalization, ICFS and business groups.

This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of using natural calcium mixtures and various binding ingredients as replacers for synthetic phosphate in ground pork products. We performed seven treatments: control (0.3% phosphate blend), treatment 1 (0.5% natural calcium mixtures [NCM, which comprised 0.2% oyster shell calcium and 0.3% egg shell calcium powder] and 0.25% egg white powder), treatment 2 (0.5% NCM and 0.25% whey protein concentrate), treatment 3 (0.5% NCM and 0.25% concentrated soybean protein), treatment 4 (0.5% NCM and 0.25% isolated soybean protein), treatment 5 (0.5% NCM and 0.25% carrageenan), and treatment 6 (0.5% NCM and 0.25% collagen powder). All the treatment mixtures had higher pH and lower cooking loss than the control, which was treated with phosphate. We found that NCM and binding ingredients had no negative effects on the moisture content, lightness, and yellowness of the cooked ground pork products. Treatments 3 and 4 showed significantly lower CIE a* values than the control. Treatments 2 and 6 improved the textural properties of the products. In conclusion, the combination of NCM with whey protein concentrate or collagen powder could be suitable for producing phosphate-free meat products.

Additional file 1. Table S1. Number of patients and C-reactive protein levels on each day after surgery. Table S2. Clinical risk factors and postoperative outcomes in patients with intestinal Behçet’s disease

BACKGROUND Orthopedic physicians typically apply a cast to immobilize a body part that has been injured. There have been no significant structural changes or advances in synthetic casts since the development of the modern cast. The Opencast® is a recently developed type of cast that allows ventilation and direct visual inspection of the skin to avoid cast-related complications. Although this novel cast appears to have more benefits than the conventional synthetic cast, its clinical efficacy and advantages have not been established. AIM To investigate the clinical efficacy and advantages of the newly developed Opencast® based on patients’ perspectives in those with ankle inversion injury. METHODS A specifically designed questionnaire consisting of 19 items was used to compare patients’ opinions and concerns of the Opencast® and the conventional synthetic cast. The items were focused on subjective patient satisfaction, discomfort, and adverse effects while wearing the cast. Patients with an ankle inversion injury diagnosed as a high-grade ankle sprain were enrolled. The subjects were randomized and instructed to fill the questionnaire after wearing a synthetic cast or an Opencast® for 2 wk. They were then required to fill the questionnaire again, after switching to the alternative type of cast for 2 more weeks. RESULTS A total of 22 subjects participated in the study. The synthetic cast appeared to be more rigid and stable than the Opencast®, but there was no significant difference in the amount of pain relief. The likelihood of adverse effects when wearing the synthetic cast was significantly higher. Patient satisfaction tended to be rated higher after wearing the Opencast®. Opencast® showed more subjective vulnerability than the synthetic cast, but there was no significant difference in the redo rate. Patients were more anxious about removal of the synthetic cast than of the Opencast®. CONCLUSION The results indicate that the Opencast® could replace the conventional synthetic cast as it offers increased patient satisfaction, which would in turn increase compliance to treatment.

The impact of topological defects associated with grain boundaries (GB defects) on the electrical, optical, magnetic, mechanical and chemical properties of nanocrystalline materials1,2 is well known. However, elucidating this influence experimentally is difficult because grains typically exhibit a large range of sizes, shapes and random relative orientations3-5. Here we demonstrate that precise control of the heteroepitaxy of colloidal polyhedral nanocrystals enables ordered grain growth and can thereby produce material samples with uniform GB defects. We illustrate our approach with a multigrain nanocrystal comprising a Co3O4 nanocube core that carries a Mn3O4 shell on each facet. The individual shells are symmetry-related interconnected grains6, and the large geometric misfit between adjacent tetragonal Mn3O4 grains results in tilt boundaries at the sharp edges of the Co3O4 nanocube core that join via disclinations. We identify four design principles that govern the production of these highly ordered multigrain nanostructures. First, the shape of the substrate nanocrystal must guide the crystallographic orientation of the overgrowth phase7. Second, the size of the substrate must be smaller than the characteristic distance between the dislocations. Third, the incompatible symmetry between the overgrowth phase and the substrate increases the geometric misfit strain between the grains. Fourth, for GB formation under near-equilibrium conditions, the surface energy of the shell needs to be balanced by the increasing elastic energy through ligand passivation8-10. With these principles, we can produce a range of multigrain nanocrystals containing distinct GB defects.

This research focuses on investigating the reasons why an overconfident chief executive officer (CEO) is forced to leave by examining CEO turnover observations from 463 Taiwan-listed companies over the period 2008 to 2016 and using the Cox semi-parametric proportional hazard model to test the reasons for CEOs being laid off. The empirical result shows that overconfidence increases a CEO’s forced turnover risk, but this risk is not significant for an overconfident CEO in a company with a high proportion of controlling shareholders on the board. In addition, an overconfident CEO’s forced turnover risk decreases when he/she has strong business and management ability. This paper contributes to the literature by demonstrating the relationship between a CEO’s forced turnover risk and control-affiliated directors as well as the CEO’s ability.

This study examines the effects of corporate governance and corporate social responsibility (CSR) on credit ratings for firms in Taiwan. We examine this causal relationship using ordered logit regr...