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In recent years, the Arctic Ocean has been experiencing the impacts of climate change. Global warming has led to the melting of ice caps and a significant reduction in ice coverage. As a result, the Arctic Ocean has indirectly opened up two new shipping routes known as the "Northeast Passage" and the "Northwest Passage." The opening of these new routes has the potential to transform Northeast Asia into a major transshipment hub, linking the Indo-Pacific and Europe regions. Novel business models are also generated and investigated within the maritime industry. This study involved conducting semi-structured interviews with potential stakeholders from industry, government, and academia. Additionally, qualitative analysis software- NVivo11 was utilized along with grounded theory for data analysis. The rationale supporting this view includes the advantages of Taiwan's shipping industry, its strategic geographic location, and the potential for shorter shipping routes through the Arctic. Additionally, Taiwan can establish conducive conditions to enhance its international standing and diplomatic relationships concerning Arctic Ocean matters. This initiative will facilitate the sustainable development of Taiwan's maritime industry in the Arctic region. • The evolving perspectives of Taiwan's maritime and transportation industry in balancing economic and environmental considerations. • Incorporating stakeholders' feedback into policy formulation: Perspectives and insights. • Positioning and reflections on Taiwan's development strategy for the Arctic sea routes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation is key in the pathogenesis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) – a common progressive liver disease. The soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE) attenuates inflammatory signaling; low levels of sRAGE are correlated with increased inflammation. We sought to describe associations between sRAGE and NAFLD. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of 1088 Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study participants and used logistic regression to investigate the associations between sRAGE and NAFLD defined by elevated liver enzymes and fibrosis score. In this community-based sample (n = 1,088, mean age 56 years, 61% female, 78% Caucasian), persons in the lowest vs. highest quartile of sRAGE had significantly higher odds of elevated ALT (OR 2.82, 95% CI 1.18-6.76) but not elevated AST (OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.45-2.99); persons in the lowest vs. highest quartile had significantly lower odds of elevated FIB-4 index (OR 0.56, 95% CI 0.37-0.84). We found an inverse cross-sectional association between sRAGE and liver inflammation; this is consistent with prior studies linking low sRAGE to inflammatory states. However, we observed a direct association between sRAGE and fibrosis. Our findings suggest that sRAGE is dynamic in NAFLD and patterns may vary with different stages of disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty-five percent of the United States population is enrolled in Medicaid. Rates of Crohn's disease (CD) have not been estimated in the Medicaid population since the Affordable Care Act expansion in 2014. We aimed to estimate the incidence and prevalence of CD by age, sex, and race. We identified all 2010-2019 Medicaid CD encounters using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modification versions 9 and 10. Individuals with ≥2 CD encounters were included. Sensitivity analyses were performed on other definitions (eg, ≥1 CD encounter). Incidence required ≥1 year of Medicaid eligibility prior to first CD encounter date (2013-2019). We calculated CD prevalence and incidence using the entire Medicaid population as the denominator. Rates were stratified by calendar year, age, sex, and race. Poisson regression models examined CD-associated demographic characteristics. We compared demographics and treatments of the entire Medicaid population with the multiple CD case definitions using percent and median. A total of 197,553 beneficiaries had ≥2 CD encounters. The CD point prevalence per 100,000 persons rose from 56 (2010) to 88 (2011) to 165 (2019). CD incidence per 100,000 person-years was 18 (2013) and 13 (2019). Higher incidence and prevalence rates correlated with female, white, or multiracial beneficiaries. Prevalence rates rose in later years. Incidence decreased over time. From 2010 to 2019, Medicaid population CD prevalence increased while incidence decreased from 2013 to 2019. Overall Medicaid CD incidence and prevalence ranges align with prior large administrative database studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low-cost airlines irregularly launch ticket promotions, where fares may differ by day of the week and departure dates. The timing for purchasing air tickets is thus closely associated with fares. Airlines should analyze booking timing for tickets and increase the accuracy of demand forecasts to achieve efficient use of airplane seating and plan for promotional activities. Therefore, this study develops a continuous choice model for timing decision making regarding bookings. A trigonometric function is used and interacts with trip and socioeconomic characteristics to capture the heterogeneous preferences of air passengers. Data were collected from low-cost airline passengers traveling from Taiwan to Singapore. The results of the continuous multinomial logit model indicate that lower fares increase the number of bookings and heterogeneous preferences in booking timing are present. Some travelers tend to book flights earlier than the other groups: these are the price-sensitive customers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mangrove habitats are important carbon(C) reserve sites. However, the overgrowth or overexpansion of mangroves may increase the risk of flooding, thus affecting human wellbeing. To decrease the flood risks, partial mangrove removal has been proposed as a managerial action, which would decrease the C stocks. Using the Danshuei River as a case study, the objective of this study was to determine the optimal removal area to allow the mangroves to meet the demands of reducing the loss of mangrove C stocks and adequately controlling the flood risks. Our results show that the ratios of the effective reduction in flood level (benefit) and the loss of mangrove C stocks (cost) were only higher under the condition of the removal of aboveground structures of mangrove trees than the ratios under the condition of the removal of both above- and belowground structures. The highest ratio of the effective reduction in flood level and the loss of mangrove C stocks occurred under the condition of removal of 20% of aboveground structures of mangrove trees, indicating the optimal removal area for mangrove management in the Danshuei River. This study provides a case study exhibiting the tradeoffs between ecosystem services in mangrove management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Video coding is a key technology for multimedia communication and storage areas. [•] A mean difference sorting motion estimation technique for video coding is proposed. [•] A better matching order for a normalized partial distortion search is acquired. [•] It shows skip impossible candidates earlier and reduced the computations a lot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel approach of combination of radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) is proposed to achieve the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in this study. The measured data of the small wind generator (250W), including wind speed, generator speed and output power of wind power generator, are applied to estimate the wind speed and output power by the proposed wind speed ANN wind and power estimation ANN Pe-PSO modules, respectively. Using the predicted results by the two modules of Matlab/Simulink, the MPPT point can be obtained by manipulating the generator speeds. The experimental results show that the proposed RBFNN-based approach can increase the maximum output power of the wind power generator even if the wind speed and load varies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While abstinence-promoting behavioral and pharmacotherapies are part of the therapeutic foundation for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), these therapies, along with alcohol screening and education, are often underutilized. Our aim was to examine provider attitudes and practices for alcohol screening, treatment and education in patients with liver disease. We conducted a survey of primarily (89%) hepatology and gastroenterology providers within (80%) and outside the United States (20%). Surveys were sent to 921 providers with 408 complete responses (44%), of whom 343 (80%) work in a tertiary liver transplant center. While alcohol screening rates in liver disease patients was nearly universal, less than half of providers reported practicing with integrated addiction providers, using alcohol biomarkers and screening tools. Safe alcohol use by liver disease patients was felt to exist by 40% of providers. While 60% of providers reported referring AUD patients for behavioral therapy, 71% never prescribed AUD pharmacotherapy due to low comfort (84%). Most providers (77%) reported low addiction education and 90% desired more during GI/hepatology fellowship training. Amongst prescribers, baclofen was preferred, but with gaps in pharmacotherapy knowledge. Overall, there was low adherence to the 2019 AASLD practice guidance for ALD, although higher in hepatologists and experienced providers. While our survey of hepatology and gastroenterology providers demonstrated higher rates of alcohol screening and referrals for behavioral therapy, we found low rates of prescribing AUD pharmacotherapy due to knowledge gaps from insufficient education. Further studies are needed to assess interventions to improve provider alignment with best practices for treating patients with AUD and ALD. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present the design and implementation of an electric foot rehabilitation machine that uses an advanced RISC (reduced instruction set computer) machine (ARM) microcontroller based brushless dc (BLDC) motor drive. The function of the electric foot rehabilitation machine is to help patients who need physical therapy for a foot. The goal is for patients to have increased muscle strength after rehabilitation. The system hardware and software are designed and programmed. The proportion, integration and derivation (PID) control algorithm is employed to the motor drive for the speed and torque control. A user interface is also developed and implemented to provide a user-friendly experience. Finally, a prototype of the foot rehabilitation machine is built and tested. The experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and integrity of the complete system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Micro-heat sink based on silicon nanowires formed by MACE. • Silicon nanowires with diameter of 100 nm and height of 9 µm. • Micro-heat sink effectiveness of heat transfer rate is enhanced by 8.3 times. • Improve performance of the micro-thermoelectric generator. • Other potential applications: micro-supercapacitor, micro-sensor, and biological processes. This work demonstrates the micro-heat sink based on silicon nanowires formed by metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) for heat dissipation enhancement to improve the performance of the micro-thermoelectric generator (µ-TEG). The heat dissipation through the micro-heat sink is enhanced by increasing the surface-to-volume ratio, which can be achieved by combining deep reactive ion etching (RIE) and MACE. Silicon nanowires with a diameter of 100 nm and a height of 9 µm are successfully formed in both horizontal and vertical surface directions. The micro-heat sink effectiveness is 8.3 times better than that of without employing the micro-heat sink. In addition, the performance of the µ-TEG has been significantly enhanced by utilizing the micro-heat sink. The maximum output power of the µ-TEG with and without the micro-heat sink are 93 µW and 18.5 µW, respectively, under the same evaluation conditions. The findings in this work may be useful not only for the µ-TEG, but also other applications such as micro-supercapacitors, micro-sensors, chemical analysis, and biological processes, which require a large surface-to-volume ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the interfacial behavior at FM-OSC-FM hybrid structures for both the bottom contact (Alq 3 adsorption on Co, Co/Alq 3 ) and the top contact (Co atop Alq 3 , Alq 3 /Co) is crucial for efficient spin filtering with transport of spin-polarized charge carriers through these interfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra indicate a symmetry of charge transfer from Co to Alq 3 and the corresponding orbital hybridization to a certain extent at both contacts. The alignment of energy levels at both Alq 3 /Co and Co/Alq 3 heterostructures is depicted with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). Through magnetic images acquired with a X-ray photoemission electron microscope (XPEEM), the strong hybridization of the top contact presents no micromagnetic domain but still shows magnetic coupling, to some extent, to the bottom contact in the Co–Alq 3 –Co trilayer structure. Measurements of X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) demonstrate the induced spin-polarization of non-magnetic Alq 3 at both contacts, proving Alq 3 a unique and promising organic material for spin filtering in OSV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, epithelial ovarian cancer is viewed as a heterogeneous disease with five major histological subtypes. Clear cell carcinoma represents a specific histological subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer that demonstrates more aggressive clinical behavior and drug resistance compared with other subtypes. Nevertheless, clear cell carcinoma is treated in the same manner as the other subtypes without any particular consideration to its unique clinical characteristics. To improve the therapeutic efficacy of the current liposomal doxorubicin approach for the treatment of clear cell carcinoma, we aimed to develop a novel peptide-conjugated liposomal doxorubicin to actively target this subtype. Two phage clones (OC-6 and OC-26) that specifically bound to clear cell carcinoma were isolated from a phage peptide display library after biopanning procedures. The peptide sequences were translated and aligned (OCSP-6 for OC-6, and OCSP-26 for OC-26, respectively). Peptide-conjugated nanoparticles demonstrated better tumor endocytosis and time-dependent gradual increase of intracellular drug uptake than non-targeting liposomal nanoparticles. Furthermore, peptide-conjugated liposomal doxorubicin better controlled tumors than did non-targeting liposomal doxorubicin. The current work may pave a new way for the development of drugs that target each subtype of epithelial ovarian cancer in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The secreted glycol-phosphoprotein OPN not only plays important roles in immune responses and tissue remodeling but is also intimately involved in tumorigenesis. It is up-regulated in various cancers and correlated with poor prognosis. It is evident by enhancing growth and migration of cancer cells. However, the mechanisms that participate in up-regulation of OPN in lung cancer are largely unknown. Up-regulation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR), a transcription factor activated by xenobiotics, has been observed in lung cancer as well as premalignant lesions. In this study we demonstrated that AhR positively regulates OPN expression in lung cancer. We observed positive correlation of OPN and AhR expression in lung cancer specimen. Knockdown or overexpression of AhR exhibited down- or up-regulation of OPN expression in lung cancer cells. We identified an OPN promoter region between positions −268 and +435 that was activated by both ligand-independent and ligand-activated AhR. However, this region does not contain AhR response element/dioxin response element (DRE/XRE). Further truncations and internal deletions of the promoter revealed that the ligand-independent and ligand-activated AhR function through different regions of OPN promoter. The region between −268 and −100 was required for ligand-independent AhR activity. This region contains several cis-elements including AP2, C/EBP, SP1 and AP1 sites. On the other hand, the ligand-activated AhR up-regulates OPN activity through two regions of OPN promoter; one contains NFκB site at +137 and the other is between positions −100 and +126. This study suggested that both overexpression of un-induced AhR (in cases of non-smokers with high level of AhR) and ligand-activated AhR (such as smokers) contribute to up-regulation of OPN that in turn leads to lung tumorigenesis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A synthetic route for preparing novel PANI–PSS@Fe3O4 nanoparticles with both conductive and magnetic properties was demonstrated. The approach employed involves the following sequence of procedures: surface modification of Fe3O4 particles using a surfactant-like molecule of (2-bromo-2-methylpropanoate)octylphosphonic acid (Br-MPOP), surface-initiated polymerization of styrene from the terminal bromide on the surface-bonded Br-MPOP, sulfonation of polystyrene chains and template-guided oxidative polymerization of aniline. This new route ensures that each core–shell particle contains only a single magnetic particle, and the polymer shell evenly encapsulates the core. The thus-prepared materials were characterized by various methods, including TEM, TGA, IR, UV/vis, PPMS and conductivity measurement methods. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]