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Symptoms of depression and high risk of sarcopenia are common among the older population; however, the associations between these remain unclear. Thus, the present study identified whether depressive symptoms are associated with older adults’ sarcopenia risks. This nationally representative study in Taiwan investigated the older adult population (≥ 65 years) using a telephone survey conducted between 2019 and 2020. Design: Self-reported data obtained included depressive symptoms (5-item from Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale), sarcopenia risks (SARC-F questionnaire), and individual characteristics. The generalized additive models were used to examine the nonlinear associations between depressive symptoms and the risk of sarcopenia. A total of 1,068 older Taiwanese adults (72.15 ± 5.71 years; 52.7% women) participated in the survey. In the unadjusted model, the results showed a significant nonlinear association between high scores on the CES-D and sarcopenia scores (p

Due to the ever-increasing population and the price of houses, humans in the future may not have the opportunity to own their own land to build houses. With the change of living patterns, small-house families will become more and more popular, even mobile homes. This research uses market analysis, specification analysis, and according to the project design process, uses brainstorming and KJ method to find out design strategies and execute design projects. This research uses an expert industrial design process to design a residential space design suitable for 2040 and conforms to the following design principles: 1. For tomorrow House design will be aesthetic, smart, modern, and simple. 2. For tomorrow houses should have appropriate dimensions design and have moveable functions. 3. For tomorrow houses should include functions, space-saving and high-tech design. 4. For tomorrow house design should be able to accommodate 2-4 people. 5. In order to be multifunctional, the complexity of furniture design will increase. The expert industrial design process, analysis, and design methods described in this study will provide designers with a better grasp of the principles of future residential design, home furniture, and other related product design.

Synchrotron X-ray diffraction has been used to map the crack tip stress field, load redistribution and the variation in interfacial shear stress along bridging fibres local to a matrix crack during fatigue crack growth in Ti–6Al–4V/unidirectional SCS-6 SiC monofilament composite at elevated temperature. Quasi-static fatigue cycles were applied in a diffractometer at the same stress amplitudes and temperatures (120 and 300 °C) as those used in prior off-line fatigue testing. The elastic fibre strains were measured ply by ply along the fibres and in the matrix in the region of the crack. In this manner the crack affected zone was mapped, and subsequently the interfacial shear stress levels deduced as a function of distance from the crack at these temperatures. The results are compared with previous studies of load redistribution at room temperature and the fibre sliding stresses compared with those needed to slide pristine fibres to evaluate degradation of the interfacial shear strength caused by interfacial wear during fatigue. The implications for the use of such composites at elevated temperatures, for example in aero engines, are discussed.

Background Gabapentin is an anticonvulsant and adjuvant analgesic. It is effective in several pain studies. Neuropathic pain is the most difficult type of pain to treat. In this study, we examined if intrathecal gabapentin could prevent nerve injury-induced pain. Methods Under isoflurane anaesthesia, male Sprague–Dawley rats (200–250 g) underwent right L5/6 spinal nerve ligation and placement of an intrathecal catheter connected to an infusion pump. After surgery, intrathecal saline or gabapentin (20 µg h−1) was given for 7 days (n=8 per group). The right hind paw withdrawal threshold to von Frey filament stimuli and withdrawal latency to radiant heat were determined before (baseline) and once daily for 7 days after surgery. Haematoxylin and eosin and toluidine blue staining were used to evaluate the neurotoxicity of gabapentin (40 µg h−1). Results Seven days after nerve ligation, the affected paw withdrawal threshold and latency of saline-treated rats decreased from the baseline 11.7 (11.7–22.2) [median (inter-quartile range)] to 1.6 (0.9–3.2) g and 10.8 (10.5–11.2) to 4.3 (4.2–7) s, respectively. Rats receiving gabapentin (20 µg h−1) had higher withdrawal threshold [9.9 (9.9–19.3) g] and latency [11.5 (9.7–11.9) s] on day 7 after ligation. No obvious histopathological change or growth retardation was detected after intrathecal gabapentin (40 µg h−1) infusion. Conclusions We showed a preventative effect of intrathecal gabapentin on the development of nerve injury-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Our data suggest that continuous intrathecal gabapentin may be considered as an alternative for the prevention of nerve injury-induced pain.

The full-length cDNA sequence of a putative urea transporter (lfUT) of the facilitated diffusion UT-A type has been cloned from the African lungfish Protopterus annectens. The lfUT cDNA is 1990 bp in length and its open reading frame encodes a 409 amino acid long protein, with a calculated molecular mass of 44,723 Da. The sequence is closest to those of amphibians ( approximately 65% amino acid homology), followed by mammals and elasmobranchs ( approximately 60%), and then teleosts ( approximately 50%). lfUT was clearly expressed in gill, kidney, liver, skeletal muscle and skin. Upon re-immersion in water after 33 days of air exposure ('terrestrialization'), lungfish exhibited a massive rise in urea-N excretion which peaked at 12-30 h with rates of 2000-5000 micromol-N kg(-1) h(-1) (versus normal aquatic rates of

The mechanisms of ammonia excretion at fish gills have been studied for decades but details remain unclear, with continuing debate on the relative importance of non-ionic NH(3) or ionic NH(4)(+) permeation by various mechanisms. The presence of an apical Na(+)/NH(4)(+) exchanger has also been controversial. The present study utilized an in vitro cultured gill epithelium (double seeded insert, DSI) of freshwater rainbow trout as a model to investigate these issues. The relationship between basolateral ammonia concentration and efflux to apical freshwater was curvilinear, indicative of a saturable carrier-mediated component (K(m)=66 micromol l(-1)) superimposed on a large diffusive linear component. Pre-exposure to elevated ammonia (2000 micromol l(-1)) and cortisol (1000 ng ml(-1)) had synergistic effects on the ammonia permeability of DSI, with significantly increased Na(+) influx and positive correlations between ammonia efflux and Na(+) uptake. This increase in ammonia permeability was bidirectional. It could not be explained by changes in paracellular permeability as measured by [(3)H]PEG-4000 flux. The mRNA expressions of Rhbg, Rhcg2, H(+)-ATPase and Na(+)/H(+) exchanger-2 (NHE-2) were up-regulated in DSI pre-exposed to ammonia and cortisol, CA-2 mRNA was down-regulated, and transepithelial potential became more negative. Bafilomycin (1 micromol l(-1)), phenamil (10 micromol l(-1)) and 5-(N,N-hexamethylene)amiloride (HMA, 10 micromol l(-1)) applied to the apical solution significantly inhibited ammonia efflux, indicating that H(+)-ATPase, Na(+) channel and NHE-2 pathways on the apical surface were involved in ammonia excretion. Apical amiloride (100 micromol l(-1)) was similarly effective, while basolateral HMA was ineffective. Pre-treatment with apical freshwater low in [Na(+)] caused increases in both Rhcg2 mRNA expression and ammonia efflux without change in paracellular permeability. These data suggest that Rhesus glycoproteins are important for ammonia transport in the freshwater trout gill, and may help to explain in vivo data where plasma ammonia stabilized at 50% below water levels during exposure to high environmental ammonia ( approximately 2300 micromol l(-1)). We propose an apical ;Na(+)/NH(4)(+) exchange complex' consisting of several membrane transporters, while affirming the importance of non-ionic NH(3) diffusion in ammonia excretion across freshwater fish gills.

Sequential synchrotron X-ray microtomography and diffraction have been applied to follow the growth of fatigue cracks and the associated load redistribution in a Ti/SiC fibre composite. A sequence of micron resolution tomographs reveal for the first time how the cracks progress from ply to ply around the fibres. Complementary high spatial resolution (40 μm) diffraction scans interleaved between the tomographic image acquisitions during the fatigue experiment have enabled the fibre strains and thereby the interfacial shear stress to be mapped as a function of crack growth. The matrix crack front was found to bow out between fibres, eventually reconnecting further downstream. This leads to the prolonged retention of bridging matrix ligaments and increased crack path tortuosity. The rate of crack growth was found to slow somewhat as a fibre is approached. As the crack grew past the fibres under observation the extent of the sliding region and the level of the fibre bridging stress increased. The interfacial shear strength after fatigue was around 60 MPa in the crack-tip region, in common with previous experiments.

A field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based adaptive backstepping control system with radial basis function network (RBFN) observer is proposed to control the mover position of a linear induction motor (LIM). First, the indirect field-oriented mechanism is adopted for controlling the LIM. Next, a backstepping control law is designed step by step for the tracking control of periodic reference trajectories, in which the uncertainties are lumped by a conservative constant. However, the lumped uncertainty is unknown and difficult to obtain in advance in practical applications. Therefore an RBFN is derived to observe the lumped uncertainty in real-time, and an adaptive backstepping control system with RBFN observer is resulted. Then, an FPGA chip is adopted to implement the indirect field-oriented mechanism and the developed control algorithms for possible low-cost, high-performance industrial applications. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified by some simulated and experimental results. By using the adaptive backstepping control system with RBFN observer, the FPGA-based LIM drive possesses the advantages of good transient control performance and robustness to uncertainties in the tracking of periodic reference trajectories.

An interval type-2 fuzzy neural network (IT2FNN) is developed for the position control of a Θ-axis motion-control stage using a linear ultrasonic motor to confront the uncertainties of the motion-control stage. A T2FNN consists of a type-2 fuzzy linguistic process as the antecedent part and a three-layer interval neural network as the consequent part. A general T2FNN is computationally intensive due to the complexity of reducing type 2 to type 1. Therefore an IT2FNN is adopted to simplify the computational process. Moreover, the developed IT2FNN combines the merits of an interval type-2 fuzzy logic system and a neural network. Furthermore, the parameter-learning of the IT2FNN, which is based on the supervised gradient decent method using a delta adaptation law, is performed on line. Experimental results show that the dynamic behaviours of the proposed IT2FNN control system are more effective and robust with regard to uncertainties than the type-1 FNN control system.

SUMMARYThe mechanism(s) of ammonia excretion in the presence of elevated external ammonia are not well understood in fish. Recent studies in other organisms have revealed a new class of ammonia transporters, Rhesus glycoprotein genes(Rh genes), which may also play a role in ammonia excretion in fish. The first objective of this study was to clone and characterize Rhgenes in a fish species with a relatively high tolerance to environmental ammonia, the mangrove killifish Kryptolebias marmoratus (formerly Rivulus marmoratus). We obtained full-length cDNAs of three Rh genes in K. marmoratus: RhBG (1736 bp), RhCG1 (1920 bp) and RhCG2 (2021 bp), which are highly homologous with other known Rh gene sequences. Hydropathy analysis revealed that all three Rh genes encode membrane proteins with 10–12 predicted transmembrane domains. RhBG, RhCG1 and RhCG2 are highly expressed in gill tissue, with RhBG also present in skin of K. marmoratus. Exposure to elevated environmental ammonia (2 mmol l–1 NH4HCO3) for 5 days resulted in a modest (+37%) increase in whole-body ammonia levels, whereas gill RhCG2 and skin RhCG1 mRNA levels were upregulated by 5.8- and 7.7-fold, respectively. RhBG mRNA levels were also increased in various tissues, with 3- to 7-fold increases in the liver and skeletal muscle. In a separate group of killifish exposed to air for 24 h, RhCG1 and RhCG2 mRNA levels were elevated by 4- to 6-fold in the skin. Thus, the multifold induction of Rh mRNA levels in excretory tissues (gills and skin) and internal tissues in response to conditions that perturb normal ammonia excretion suggests that RhBG, RhCG1 and RhCG2 may be involved in facilitating ammonia transport in this species. Furthermore, the findings support earlier studies demonstrating that the skin is an important site of ammonia excretion in K. marmoratus.

Summary Chinese-type noodles were prepared from wheat flour fortified with 7–21% defatted peanut and 4–12% cowpea flours. A full factorial 4X4 design was used. Fifteen supplemented Chinese-type noodle formulae and a control sample were analysed for protein content and physical and sensory qualities. The protein content of noodles was increased as the level of peanut/cowpea flours increased. Colour and cutting force of supplemented noodles were affected negatively by cowpea and peanut flours, respectively. Sensory scores for firmness and yellowness of supplemented Chinese-type noodles were decreased as the level of peanut/cowpea flours increased. Computer-generated response surface and contour plot interpretations revealed that up to 15% peanut flour and 8% cowpea flour supplementation will produce acceptable supplemented Chinese noodles with high protein content (21%).

Background T-type Ca 2+ channels (TCC) are important for pain transmission, especially the Ca V 3.2 subtype. In this study, we examined the effects of intrathecal TCC blockers in the L5/6 spinal nerve ligation pain rat model. Methods Under isoflurane anaesthesia, rats received right L5/6 spinal nerve ligation and intrathecal catheters (attached to an infusion pump) were sited. After surgery, saline, mibefradil, ethosuximide or NiCl 2 were given intrathecally for seven days. The right hindpaw withdrawal thresholds to von Frey hair stimuli and withdrawal latencies to radiant heat were measured before and once daily for seven days after surgery. Double immunofluorescence and western blotting were used to examine the expression of Ca V 3.2 in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord. Results On post-ligation day seven, rats receiving mibefradil, ethosuximide or NiCl 2 had significant higher median withdrawal thresholds (15.0, 10.2, and 10.9 g) and latencies (8.0, 7.6 and 7.6 s) than saline-treated rats (1.6 g and 4.3 s, respectively). Ca V 3.2 was expressed in parvalbumin + , IB4 + , CGRP + and VR1 + neurones in DRG and most neurones in spinal dorsal horn. Ca V 3.2 was up-regulated in the right L5/6 DRG and spinal cord seven days after nerve ligation. Conclusions In this study, we demonstrated that intrathecal TCC blockers attenuate the development of nerve injury-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia. Our data suggest that continuous intrathecal infusion of TCC or Ca V 3.2 blockers may be a promising alternative for the management of nerve injury-induced pain.

The effect of association reaction length on the substantial increase of molecular motion as well as entropy (−TΔSm) of phenolic–polyamide blends is investigated with the 13C solid-state NMR and DSC. The H-bonding strength by forming the phenolic–polyamide interaction is great enough to overcome the breaking off the self-association of phenolic. With respect to decreasing the association reaction, the polyamide resonance intensity of 13C solid-state NMR spectra is weakened due to the reduction of the cross-polarization efficiency at a high mobile sample. The glass transition temperature of phenolic–polyamide blend as well as TH1ρ value from NMR experiments is also decreased. The decreasing strength of H-bonding resulting from blending causes higher entropy (−TΔSm) and higher molecular mobility of the phenolic–polyamide blends. Accordingly, the polyamide-66 possesses higher H-bonding force and exhibits more mobile role in this phenolic/polyamide blends family. It can be concluded that the molecular segmental motion and entropy are progressively decreased while increasing the inter-association force of the polyamide within the miscible window.

There are various types of foundation structure for offshore wind power, engineers may assess the condition of ocean at wind farm, and arrange the transportation, installation of each structure members, furthermore, considering the ability of manufacture steel structure as well, then make an optimum design. To design jacket offshore structure, unlike onshore cases, offshore structure also need to estimate the wave excitation effect. The aim of this paper is to study the difference of natural frequency between different kinds of structural stiffness and discuss the effect of different setting of boundary condition during analysis, besides, compare this value with the natural frequency of sea wave, in order to avoid the resonance effect. In this paper, the finite element analysis software ABAQUS is used to model and analyze the natural vibration behavior of the jacket structure.

Diurnal changes in microclimate in a greenhouse are often greater than changes in daily averages over weeks or months. Thus, one may hypothesize that changing the nutrient solution concentration supplied to plants at intervals less than one day would improve tomato yield and quality. To test this hypothesis research was conducted to compare four nutrient control strategies for their effects on plant growth, fruit yield, fruit quality, and root characteristics of `Counter' tomato [Lycopersicon esculentum (L.) Mill.]. The four strategies were 1) ECvariable, adjustment of nutrient solution electrical conductivity (EC) at 15-min intervals according to greenhouse microclimate over the previous 15-min and empirical models of photosynthesis and transpiration; 2) ECdaily, daily adjustment of nutrient solution EC based on each morning's 24-hour weather forecast; 3) EC3.7, supply of a single high nutrient solution of 3.7 dS·m-1; or 4) EC1.5, low nutrient solution EC of 1.5 dS·m-1 for the entire growth period. Mean effluent EC levels were 1.8 dS·m-1 for treatment EC1.5, 5.1 dS·m-1 for treatment EC3.7, 3.6 dS·m-1 for treatment ECdaily, and 3.4 dS·m-1 for treatment ECvariable. Except for fresh weight (FW) of roots, growth characteristics did not differ significantly among treatments. Total production averaged 12.2 kg·m-2 FW and 1.0 kg·m-2 dry weight (DW); and fruit yield averaged 6.7 kg·m-2. Dry matter content, yield loss to blossom-end rot, and firmness responded linearly to treatment EC. In general, ECdaily yielded higher fruit quality and ECvariable lower fruit quality than that predicted by linear regression. Although our strategy of short-term dynamic changes of nutrient solution EC according to changes in climate variables did not increase yield, daily adjustment of nutrient solution EC improved external fruit quality characteristics and may be practical for grower adoption.

Treatment of aflatoxin-contaminated peanut kernels in 0.075% hydrogen peroxide for 1 min has been proposed to reduce aflatoxin contamination by 90%. The effect of hydrogen peroxide treatment on the flavor quality, texture and color was, therefore, investigated. Two hundred grams of peanuts were submerged in a solution containing 0, 0.075 or 0.225% hydrogen peroxide for 1 and 3 min. Treated peanuts were dried to 8-9% moisture, blanched and stored in plastic bags for 0, 1, 2 and 3 weeks at 39 C. Peak areas identified as hexanal increased with increasing hydrogen peroxide concentration, regardless of the treatment and storage time. No significant differences in peak areas identified as ethanol were observed after a 3-week storage time, regardless of the concentration of hydrogen peroxide and treatment time. Hydrogen peroxide treatment and storage of treated peanuts did not significantly affect the lightness (L), chroma (C) and texture of the treated peanuts. Furthermore, sensory analysis conducted on peanut brittle prepared from raw peanuts and peanuts treated with 0.075% hydrogen peroxide for 1 min showed no significant difference between the two samples evaluated.

The synthesis and crystal structure of the low-tempterature polymorph of barium zirconium sulfide is reported. The title compound contains double BaZrS3 perovskite layers separated by BaS layers. The compound is the n = 2 member of the Ban+1ZrnS3n+1 Ruddlesden-Popper sulfides. This polymorph of Ba3Zr2S7 was crystallized at 1203 K in a BaCl2/CsCl eutectic flux and has P42/mnm cystal symmetry in contrast to the high-temperature polymorph which has I4/mmm crystal symmetry.

The effects of cowpea seed drying temperature and wet-milling on the viscosity of moin-moin paste and texture (rheology) of moin-moin gel were studied. The large brown eye Kano white cowpea seeds were soaked in water at 250C for 5 min, drained and dried at temperatures between 30 and 120oC, decorticated and dry milled into flour. Decorticated cowpea seeds dried at 30oC were soaked in cold water at 250C for 1.5hr and wet milled into paste. The cowpea flours and paste were reconstituted with water and prepared into moin-moin with and without addition of salt, pepper, tomato paste, onions, vegetable oil and beef flavour. Determination of the moin-moin paste viscosity prior to steaming showed that all the pastes exhibited pseudoplastic flow behaviour. The moin-moin from the wet milled paste had higher viscosity than the samples from flours due to higher swelling of the starch, protein and cell wall materials. The moin-moin pastes containing additional ingredients had higher viscosity than the plain samples due to the additional solid matter. Drying at temperatures between 80 and 120oC increased the viscosity of the plain moin-moin paste but decreased those of samples with added ingredients. Texture studies showed that drying temperature, wet milling and addition of ingredients decreased the hardness of the moin-moin gel at 50% double compression and relaxation. Key words: Cowpea, moin-moin, viscosity, and texture

A 17-year-old male patient was brought to our clinic because of sudden onset of headache, vomiting, followed by transient loss of consciousness during a strenuous exercise. Neurologic examinations revealed that the patient had severe sensorimotor and brain stem dysfunction. Examinations of cranial CT and MR imaging showed a huge heterogeneously enhanced tumor originated from the pineal region with tumoral hemorrhage. The tumor markers were found to be high in AFP but not the beta-HCG and CEA. A clinical diagnosis highly suggestive of germ cell tumor was made. Prior to the planned emergency radiation therapy, he received an external ventricular drainage (EVD) and open biopsy of the tumor. Due to a postoperative complication of cerebellar hemorrhage observed 8 hours later, another maneuver was therefore required to extirpate the pineal tumor and cerebellar hematoma. The histological diagnosis proved to be a mixed germ cell tumor with tumoral hemorrhage. Spontaneous intratumoral hemorrhage in germ cell tumor of the pineal region is rare, probably due to compromised venous circulation within the tumor. The bleeding propensity, which may contribute to the formation of cerebellar hematoma, warrants a special attention when a biopsy procedure is to be performed.

Cerebral mucormycosis is a rare fungal infection that occurs mostly in association with diabetic ketoacidosis. This central nervous system infection is characterized by a rapid decline in clinical status, and has been recognized as a uniformly fatal event if aggressive therapy is not instituted. We report a diabetic child who presented with blurred vision, chemosis, and pain in the left periorbital region noted for about 1 week during an episode of ketocidosis. Neurologic examinations revealed that there was a decreased range of motion in the upward and lateral gaze, along with incomplete pupillary dilatation and papilledema of the left eye. Imaging studies demonstrated left-side orbital cellulitis, paranasal sinusitis, and a large lobulated abscess in the left frontal lobe. Two surgical procedures, including functional endoscopic sinus surgery for sinus debridement and a subsequent open craniotomy for abscess resection were performed. Pathologic specimens obtained from the abscess wall revealed necrotic inflammation and wide, nonseptate hyphae with right angle branching, which are typical characteristics of the family Mucoraceae. Postoperatively, the patient was treated with 1.5 g of amphotericin B over a 7-week period, and aggressive diabetic control for 2 months. Through the combination of medical and surgical treatment the child made an uneventful recovery.

A spherical domain within an anisotropic crystalline material is considered to have elastic constants differing from those of the remainder of the material; the particular case where the constants vanish within the sphere represents a cavity. The elastic fields inside and immediately outside the spherical domain, together with the interaction energy, are calculated for the case of a uniform stress applied at infinity. Specific examples are given for aluminum, copper, and pyrite, and numerical results are compared with those for isotropic material. The tensile stress concentration is larger for aluminum than for isotropic material while the opposite is true for pyrite. Similarly, the interaction energy of the inhomogeneity is larger for an anisotropic material than an isotropic material, but in pyrite the reverse is found.