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Deep X-ray lithography is a well known technique used for making high aspect ratio structures (HARS). However, well known difficulties arise in the creation of some HARS; adhesion of the developed resist structures to the plating base commonly fails, and when resist structures are densely packed features can clump together. This in turn can exacerbate adhesion failure. The problem of clumping is sometimes known as stiction. In this paper we describe an idea involving a low dose UV second exposure that can help overcome stiction in certain designs and thus promote adhesion and the retention of the designed structure.

Economic theory has failed to provide sufficient explanation of the dynamic path of price movement over time. Therefore, the use of any linear or non-linear functional form to model the gold price movement is bound to be arbitrary in nature. Neural Networks equipped with genetic algorithm have the advantage of simulating the non-linear models when little a priori knowledge of the structure of problem domains exist. Studies suggest that such a system provides better predictions when compared with traditional econometric models. The NeuroGenetic Optimizer software is applied to the NYMEX database of daily gold cash price covering 12/31/1974–12/31/1998 period. Among different methods, back-propagation neural networks with genetic algorithms is used to predict gold price movement. The results indicate that prices in the past, up to 36 days, strongly affect the gold prices of the future. This confirms the fact that there is short-term time dependence in gold price movements.

We report the development of a transferable force field for the accurate modelling of perfluoroethers. The potential model takes the general form in which separate bond bending and torsional terms describe the intramolecular interactions, with the addition of van der Waals and electrostatic terms to describe the non-bonded interactions. Ab initio quantum mechanical calculations were carried out to obtain the partial charges and intramolecular torsional and bending potentials. The van der Waals interactions are described by Lennard-Jones potentials, the parameters of which are optimized to reproduce the available experimental vapour-liquid equilibrium data. An extension of the Gibbs-Duhem method was used to speed up the optimization.

Superconducting NdBa2Cu3O7−δ (NBCO) thin films with Tc=89 K have been successfully grown on bare (1\(\overline 1\)02) sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The X-ray diffraction results show that the as-grown NBCO films are all c-axis oriented with no observable second phase. The c-axis parameter decreases monotonically with increasing the deposition temperature (Ts), suggesting that the corresponding degradation of Tc for Ts>790°C might not originate from oxygen deficiency. It is conceived that the film-substrate reaction that occurring at the interface may cause Ba-deficiency and hence enhance Nd-Ba antisite substitutions.

A first step towards the development of a general, realistic potential model for perfluoroether compounds has been to parameterize a united atom model for a short chain perfluoroether perfluoromethylpropyl ether (CF3CF2CF2OCF3). The potential model takes the usual form in which separate bond bending and torsional terms describe the intramolecular interactions with the addition of van der Waals and electrostatic terms to describe the non-bonded interactions. Ab initio quantum calculations have been carried out to obtain the partial charges and intramolecular torsional and bending potentials. Phase equilibrium data were then used to optimize the van der Waals interaction parameters through Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo simulations. The resulting model reproduces vapour-liquid equilibrium densities, the critical temperature and the critical density of perfluoromethylpropyl ether, in good agreement with those from experiment.

Recommissioning the 700-W helium cryogenic system was completed in 2014 and it entered service in 2015. The main target of this system is a stable supply of liquid helium to the superconducting RF cavities at Taiwan Photo Source. The annual maintenance of the compressor of the plant causes operation of the system to be suspended at least two weeks. To avoid such a long suspension for the cryogenic plant, we installed a redundant compressor system for the cryogenic plant in 2015. We can switch to this redundant compressor system and restart the cryogenic system in a few minutes. In this paper we present the configuration, local testing and long-term operation of this redundant compressor system.

In this study, we reconstructed the paleoenvironmental changes from a sediment archive of the floodplain lake in Ilan Plain of NE Taiwan on multi-decadal resolution for the last ca. 1900 years. On the basis of pollen and diatom records, we evaluated the record of past vegetation, floods, typhoons and agriculture activities of this area, which is sensitive to the hydrological conditions of the West Pacific. High sedimentation rates with low microfossil preservations reflected multiple flood events and humid climatic conditions during 100–1400 AD. A shortly interrupted dry phase can be found during 940–1010 AD. The driest phase corresponds to the Little Ice Age phase 1 (LIA1, 1400–1620 AD) with less disturbance by flood events, which enhanced the occurrence of wetlands (Cyperaceae) and diatom depositions. Humid phases with frequent typhoons are inferred by high percentages of Lagerstroemia and high ratios of planktonic/benthic diatoms, respectively, during 500–700 AD and Little Ice Age phase 2 (LIA2, 1630–1850 AD). The occurrences of cultivated Poaceae (Oryza) during 1250–1300 AD and the last ~400 years, reflect agriculture activities, which seems to implicate strongly with the environmental stability. Finally, we found flood events which dominated during the El Niño-like stage, but dry events as well as frequent typhoon events happened during the La Niña-like stage. After comparing our results with the reconstructed proxy for tropical hydrological conditions, we suggested that the local hydrology in coastal East Asia were strongly affected by the typhoon-triggered heavy rainfalls which were influenced by the variation of global temperature, expansion of the Pacific warm pool and intensification of ENSO events.

Highlight: this paper focuses on the climate variability in central China since 1300 AD, involving: 1. A well-dated, 1.5 year resolution stalagmite δ18O record from Lianhua Cave, central China; 2. Links of the δ18O record with regional dry-wet condition, monsoon intensity, and temperature over eastern China; 3. Correlations among drought events in the Lianhua record, solar irradiation, and ENSO index. We present a highly precisely 230Th/U dated, 1.5 year resolution δ18O record of an aragonite stalagmite (LHD1) collected from Lianhua Cave in Wuling mountain area of central China. The comparison of the δ18O record with the local instrumental record and historical documents exhibits at least 15 drought events in the Wuling mountain and adjacent areas during the Little Ice Age, in which some of them were corresponding to megadrought events in the broad Asian monsoonal region of China. Thus, the stalagmite δ18O record reveals variations in the summer monsoon precipitation and dry-wet condition in Wuling mountain area. The eastern China temperature varied with the solar activity, showing higher temperature under stronger solar irradiation which produces stronger summer monsoon. During Maunder, Dalton and 1900 sunspot minima, more severe drought events occurred, indicating weakening of the summer monsoon when solar activity decreased on decadal time scales. On interannual time scale, dry conditions in the studying area were prevailing under El Niño condition, which is also supported by the spectrum analysis. Hence, our record illustrates the linkage of Asian summer monsoon precipitation to solar irradiation and ENSO: wetter condition under stronger summer monsoon during warm periods and vice versa; During cold periods, the Walker circulation will shift toward central Pacific under El Niño condition, resulting further weakening of Asian summer monsoon. However, the δ18O of LHD1 record is positively correlated with temperature after ~1940 AD which is opposite to the δ18O – temperature relationship in earlier time. This anomaly relationship might be caused by the greenhouse-gas forcing.

In previous work, a generalized quartic equation of state has been developed and extended to polar fluids. There are forty general regressed coefficients used in the four parameters in the equation of state. Simplification of the quartic equation of state has been done by setting fifteen of those coefficients to zero and obtaining the remaining twenty-five coefficients from regression on the original data base of non-polar and polar fluids. The results of simplification show that the quartic equation of state can achieve similar accuracy with fewer coefficients. The quartic equation of state was tested on thirty-five binary systems and four ternary systems to see the performance of the quartic equation of state on mixtures. The results show that the performance of the quartic equation of state on mixtures is generally comparable to that of the Peng-Robinson equation of state.

Bipolar disorder is often misdiagnosed as major depressive disorder. Such misdiagnosis partly depends on the type of treatment setting. This study compared general hospital psychiatric units with psychiatric hospitals in China with respect to basic demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with unrecognised bipolar disorder who are treated for major depressive disorder.Patients treated for major depressive disorder were consecutively examined in 13 health centres (6 general hospital psychiatric units and 7 psychiatric hospitals) in China. Their socio-demographic and clinical features were recorded using a standardised protocol and data collection procedure. The DSM-IV diagnoses were established using the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview.Of the 1487 patients included in the study, 309 (20.8%) were diagnosed with bipolar disorder. There was no significant difference between general hospital psychiatric units and psychiatric hospitals in the ratio of all types of unrecognised bipolar disorders (χ2 = 0.008, degrees of freedom = 1, p = 0.9) and bipolar II disorders (χ2 = 3.1, degrees of freedom = 1, p = 0.08). The proportions of unrecognised bipolar I disorders (χ2 = 4.1, degrees of freedom = 1, p = 0.04) differed significantly between the 2 types of study site. Multivariate analyses showed that patients with bipolar I disorders with more seasonal depressive episodes were more likely to receive treatment in general hospital psychiatric units (odds ratio = 3.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.1-9.8).Patients with bipolar I disorders receiving treatment in general hospital psychiatric units had different clinical characteristics compared to their counterparts treated in psychiatric hospitals in China.

I. INTRODUCTION In a broad sense, technology is defined as the differences in productivity across nations (Fuhrer and Little, 1996). It is well known that technologies are embodied in physical capital. The adoption of the definition also suggests that technologies are embodied in human capital, which includes technical knowledge and labor skills, and organizational and managerial abilities as well as economic culture. Technology can be created domestically through innovation. International transfer of technology can be made through contractual arrangements such as licensing, direct foreign investments, and joint ventures. Such arrangements are made not only between businesses to transfer commercial technology but also between countries to transfer military technology (Cole and Cooper, 1996). One country also can obtain technology from another country through technology diffusion, which can be viewed as a spillover process. Jaffe (1996) suggests that there are three types of spillovers: (i) knowledge spillovers, (ii) market spillovers, and (iii) network spillovers. Knowledge spillover refers to the use of the knowledge of one agent by another with or without compensation minus the value of the knowledge. An example of this type of spillover is the departure of an economic agent from one firm to assume a position in another firm or to create a business. The career change of the agent is accompanied by a flow of knowledge from one firm to another. The impact of market spillovers occurs when new products, improved products, or existing products are marketed below their respective intrinsic value. Thus, market spillovers are expected to result in consumer surplus and cost saving. A product has a network spillover effect if its arrival is critical to the development of many technology-related products or businesses. The economic impact of arms trade on the importing countries is difficult to measure (Ferrari et al., 1987). Benoit (1973) and Neuman (1979, 1985, and 1993) suggest that arms trade accelerates economic growth, while Ball (1981, 1983) and Lim (1983) take the opposite view. The controversy is far from settled (Ferrari et al., 1987; Chatterji, 1992). Philosophical, cultural, and political differences aside, the use of different database, variables, and analytical tools contributes to this long lasting controversy. Surprisingly, none of the above-cited studies links arms trade to recent theoretical developments in technology transfer and economic growth. Thus, their conclusions lack theoretical underpinning and justification. The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical framework to estimate the impact of arms trade on economic growth. These impacts are measured in terms of technical changes, efficiency changes, and Malmquist indices. Because the model adopted for this study is non-stochastic, the impacts of arms trade on economic growth cannot be expressed in statistical terms. II. LITERATURE REVIEW The general technology level of an arms-importing country may be upgraded through the transfer of defense technology. This transfer may lead to human capital improvement, infrastructure construction, and installation of dual-use equipment in the recipient country (Neuman et al., 1979; Neuman, 1985; Neuman and Sahu, 1993). Estimating the impact of arms trade on economic growth requires an understanding of how the transfer of military technology affects the growth rate. The first attempt to link growth theory to military spending was made by Lim (1983), who incorporated the defense expenditure into the Harrod-Domar model. Because technology is not specifically taken into consideration in this strain of growth theory, the use of the Harrod-Domar growth model, in retrospect, might be questionable theoretically. However, this issue of technology and growth has been addressed by the neoclassical growth theory. The growth models proposed by Solow (1956) and Swan (1956) explicitly takes technology into consideration. …

The I – V curves of GdBa 2 Ca 3 Cu 7− δ film were measured at temperatures near the vortex-glass transition temperature T g . For T T g the temperature dependence of the glassy exponent μ, the collective pinning energy U c and the critical current density J c are derived from I – V curves. It is found that μ changes with temperature and field. The experimental results can be described with vortex-glass or collective pinning and creep theory. For T > T g , we determined the critical exponents by scaling the nonlinear I – V curves. These exponents are consistent with values expected for freezing into a superconducting vortex-glass phase.

Using the rat tumour cell line LY80, a subline of Yoshida sarcoma, the effects of AGM-1470 on the growth of primary tumour and the incidence of regional lymph node metastasis were evaluated. AGM-1470 (30 mg kg(-1)) was administered subcutaneously or intravenously. Subcutaneous (s.c.) and intravenous (i.v.) injections were repeated for 8 days and 7 days respectively. Tumour growth of a primary region tended to be suppressed by AGM-1470. The s.c. tumours after sacrifice were much smaller in the AGM-1470-treated group (s.c. injection) than in the control groups. However, the growth of metastatic foci in the lymph nodes was prompted markedly by AGM-1470. All six of the AGM-1470-treated rats had developed swollen axillary lymph nodes and/or brachial lymph nodes on day 19 after tumour implantation (the 7th day after the last treatment) compared with one of six saline-injected rats and three of six vehicle-alone treated rats with swollen axillary lymph nodes. The weight of lymph nodes after sacrifice in the AGM-1470-treated rats was much heavier than that of the other two groups. Histological examination showed that in the AGM-1470-treated group, the cortex and the medulla of the axillary lymph nodes were almost entirely replaced by tumour cells while, in the vehicle alone group, a notable hyperplasia of the lymph nodes due to BT cell proliferation tended to be induced. In the saline group, although a slight hyperplasia of lymph nodes was observed, there were only a few lymph node metastases. In the case of i.v. injection of AGM-1470, similar results were obtained. It is thought that LY80 cells spread to regional lymph nodes at a comparatively early stage by some change or other in which AGM-1470 participated. From the present experiment, it is concluded that application of AGM-1470 alone to patients should be carried out with great caution. Images Figure 3 Figure 4

To determine the phenotypic expression of cementoblasts responsible for acellular cementum, an immunohistochemical study was performed using a polyclonal antibody raised against the aminoterminal peptide of rat osteocalcin (OC). Maxillary first molars of Wistar male rats aged 2 and 3 wk were used for observations. Serial sections of decalcified paraffin embedded specimens were stained either with hematoxylin and eosin or with the anti-OC antibody. In 2-wk-old rats, apical roots were lined with the epithelial root sheath. A thin layer of acellular cementum was seen at most of the root surface, but was not seen near to root apex. In 3-wk-old rats, cellular cementum began to be formed at root apex, and acellular cementum became more thick than in 2-wk-old rats. Acellular and cellular cementum were lined with the fibroblast-like cells. Osteocalcin staining was detected in cells lining root surface in both 2- and 3-wk-old rats. Almost all cells lining cellular cementum were positive for OC. In contrast OC positive cells lining acellular cementum and root surface devoid of cementum appeared at a specific site of the root. The cells at the interradicular area of root surface were positive but the cells at the outer area (the opposite side of the interradicular area) were negative for OC. Osteoblasts and odontoblasts were positive with the antibody. The present results suggest that the OC expression of cementoblasts forming acellular cementum is similar to that of cells forming cellular cementum as well as osteoblasts and odontoblasts, and has a role for calcification of acellular cementum.

Previous research has focused on physician's perspectives of end-of-life (EOL) decision making as well as patient and family EOL decision making. There is a lack of research pertaining to the EOL treatment preferences of nurses and especially nurses working in a variety of care settings.The aim of this study was to compare nurses' EOL treatment preferences in Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy and the USA.A comparative descriptive design was used with a convenience sample of nurses (n = 1089). A survey questionnaire using EOL hypothetical clinical case scenarios was used to collect data between June 2011 and July 2012.Nurses in every country consistently chose a more aggressive option for patients than for themselves or for a parent. The treatment preferences of nurses varied from country to country. Lack of knowledge of patients' wishes and duty of care were the main influencing factors on treatment preferences.The study was limited to the hypothetical nature of the scenarios; however, the study highlights numerous future research questions.This study is the first to examine and compare nurses' preferred EOL treatment choices in five countries from three different continents. The findings of this study raise several important questions for healthcare researchers, for policy development, and highlight the need for further international collaboration.

Evidence shows that smoking is a major cause of cancer, and cancer patients who continue smoking are at greater risk for all causes of mortality, cancer recurrence, and second primary cancers. Nevertheless, many cancer patients still smoke and are not willing to quit. This study aimed at understanding the needs and concerns of current and ex-smoking cancer patients, including their risk perceptions, and the behavior and attitudes related to smoking.A qualitative research was conducted in an oncology outpatient clinic. A one-to-one semi-structured interview was conducted with current Chinese smokers and ex-smokers after they had been diagnosed with cancer. Data saturation was achieved after interviewing a total of 20 current smokers and 20 ex-smokers.A total of 241 patients who were smokers prior to their diagnosis of cancer were identified. Of 241 patients, 208 (86.31%) quitted and 33 (13.69%) continued smoking after receiving a cancer diagnosis. In general, patients who refused to quit smoking subsequent to a cancer diagnosis thought that the perceived barriers to quitting outweighed the perceived benefits of quitting. In contrast, most cancer patients who quit after their cancer diagnoses thought that the perceived benefits of quitting greatly outweighed the perceived barriers to quitting.It is vital that healthcare professionals should help cancer patients to quit smoking. Understanding how current smokers and ex-smokers perceive the risks of smoking, and their behavior, attitudes, and experiences related to smoking is an essential prerequisite for the design of an effective smoking cessation intervention.

Many individuals with familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) have mutations in a gene termed S182 or presenilin I (PS-I). Currently, the PS-I gene product has not been identified and its function remains unknown. Here we report that affinity purified antibodies against the predicted amino acid sequence of the PS-I gene product detected in homogenates of human, mouse, and rat brains a single antigen of approximately 48 kDa. This antigen was also present in immortalized human and mouse neuronal cell cultures. Brain tissue fractionation showed that all PS-I antigen was found in the membrane fraction. In stained tissue sections of mouse central nervous system (CNS), PS-I antigen was found only in neurons throughout brain and spinal cord and was located within cell bodies, axons, and dendrites. Remarkably the relative partition among these three compartments varied dramatically. A striking feature of PS-I expression was its intense concentration in some (but not all) dendrites, at levels substantially above those in the parent perikarya. In most of the cerebrum, PS-I staining in axons was very weak or undetectable. By contrast, many axons in portions of the brainstem and in the spinal cord showed marked PS-I immunoreactivity. Similarly, staining of sections from human temporal cortex showed that PS-I was present mainly in neuronal cell bodies and dendrites. These data show that in the CNS, PS-I is expressed mainly in neurons and suggests that this protein may perform a neuron specific function. The pattern of PS-I expression in the CNS would suggest that the premature neurodegeneration associated with PS-I mutations involves a primary neuronal process rather than a secondary effect of PS-I produced in non-neuronal cells. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A new apparatus using the inductance method has been built to test the homogeneity of large area high‐Tc superconducting thin films. The apparatus has an X–Y scanning probe that can be moved at liquid nitrogen temperature to test the different regions of the films. The sample chamber of the apparatus can provide large area with high temperature homogeneity. The maximum sample size that can be measured is 50×50 mm2. A small size of high‐Tc superconducting thin film is applied to test the temperature homogeneity of the testing system and the sameness of the gap distance between the surface of the film and probe. A method for testing the apparatus is illustrated, and some experiments for the test of the apparatus have been performed. Experimental results find that the maximum temperature difference is 0.05 K at the surface of the sample mounter, and the drive field remains constant within the error of 5% in the process of X–Y scanning. The apparatus can test the homogeneity of high‐Tc superconducting films n...

Magnetic measurements have been performed on a GdBa2Cu3O6+x superconducting thin film. The paramagnetism carried by rare earth Gd3+ ions in the film tilts the magnetic hysteresis loop and broadens the width of the magnetic hysteresis Delta M, then the magnetization critical current density and the volume flux pinning force density based on the Bean critical state model deviate from intrinsic values. Therefore, in order to get useful information on the pinning mechanism, correction for the paramagnetism is essential. And after correction for the paramagnetism, a scaling law of the volume flux pinning force density is obtained as f(b)=(b/4)(0.5)(1-b/4)(1.5), based on which the possible pinning mechanism in the film is discussed. In the end, deviation from the scaling law at high fields is interpreted by the collective pinning theory. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.

To determine whether tumour growth is influenced by circadian variations in tumour tissue blood flow, we measured changes in area doubling time of tumours (Sato lung carcinoma) within transparent chambers and changes in tissue blood flow of rat subcutaneous tumour during a light-dark cycle. Rats were subjected to an artificial light-dark cycle with light from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tumour doubling times (TDTs) during the dark and the light spans were 33.5 +/- 11.9 h (n = 38, 20 rats) and 70.6 +/- 36.9 h (n = 39, 20 rats) respectively. The former was significantly shorter than the latter (P < 0.001). In addition, the larger the tumour became, the longer was the TDT during the light span (P < 0.05). Tumour tissue blood flow during the night (10 p.m.-4 a.m.) was approximately 1.5 times greater than that during the day (10 a.m.-4 p.m.). The time during which tumours actively grow and that during which tissue blood flow in tumours increases coincided. These results strongly suggest that tumour tissue blood flow is a determining influence on tumour proliferative activity and that tumour growth is influenced by circadian variations in tumour tissue blood flow. Images Figure 1 Figure 6

Magnetization measurements have been performed onc-axis oriented Y- and Gd-based superconductive films in a wide range of the temperaturesT (4.2–85 K) and magnetic fieldsH (0–8 T) withH∥ c-axis. The influence of flux creep on both the temperature dependence of critical current densityJ cm and the scaling behavior of flux pinning forceF p has been discussed in detail. The experimental results show that Y and Gd films have different pinning mechanism. Flux pinning-force peaks in high fields are observed in Gd film at high temperatures and can be considered as evidence for collective pinning.

Cross sections of total single electron loss (SL), single electron loss with single ionization (SLSI) for Li+ + H, He collisions and cross sections of single electron loss with double ionization (SLDI) for Li+ + He collisions in the low- to intermediate-energy range have been calculated using a simple method based on the Bohr-Lindhard (B-L) model. The distributions of both the projectile and target electrons are considered. The calculated results are compared with the available experimental data.

A multistage search method based on fuzzy preference is used to analyze the processes of job search. An employment decision based on fuzzy preference results in an exact choice. The incorporation of fuzzy interval preference into employment decision, however, may lead to multiple choices, which provides a theoretical justification for the existence of fuzzy supply of labor. Thus, fuzziness, in addition to randomness, offers an explanation to wage dispersion.

A thin film of GdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 − x (GBCO) with mainly c -axis orientation prepared by DC magnetron sputtering was examined by transmission electron microscopy. It was revealed that fine a , b -axis-oriented grains with a width of 6 to 15 nm were densely spread in the c -axis-oriented GBCO thin-film matrix. The density is as high as 10 15 grains/m 3 . Twins, dislocations, and translational grain boundaries were also observed in the film. Their densities are smaller than those of fine a , b -axis-oriented grains. CuO x particles with a large size coexisting with large a , b -axis-oriented grains were found, which may decrease the critical current density in the film. A high J c value was maintained even when the magnetic field was applied parallel to the c -axis of the GBCO film. The angular dependence of the critical current density and a calculation result show that the boundaries between fine a , b -axis-oriented grains and c -axis-oriented grains are the key flux-pinning centers in the film.

PURPOSE. To examine the effectiveness and feasibility of using the computerized interactive virtual space in reducing depressive symptoms of children hospitalized with cancer. DESIGN AND METHODS. A nonequivalent control group design was employed. Children (8-16 years of age; n= 122) admitted to a pediatric oncology ward during a 14-month period were recruited. RESULTS. The results support the effectiveness and feasibility of using the computerized interactive virtual space in reducing depressive symptoms of children hospitalized with cancer. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. The results heighten the awareness in nurses of the importance of integrating play activities as an essential component of holistic and quality nursing care.

To examine the effectiveness of therapeutic play, using virtual reality computer games, in minimising anxiety and reducing depressive symptoms in Hong Kong Chinese children hospitalised with cancer.There has been an increase in the use of therapeutic play intervention to help children cope with the stress of hospitalisation. However, it is not clear whether therapeutic play is an appropriate psychological intervention for Chinese children hospitalised with cancer.A non-equivalent control group pretest-post-test, between-subject design was employed.Hong Kong Chinese Children (8-16 years of age), admitted to a paediatric oncology ward for the treatment of cancer during a 14-month period, were invited to participate in the study. Of the 122 children, 70 formed the control group receiving routine nursing care and 52 in the experimental group receiving therapeutic play interventions.The results showed that children in the experimental group reported statistically significant fewer depressive symptoms than children in the control group on day 7. The results, however, find no differences in children's anxiety scores between the two groups on day 7.The study provides empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of therapeutic play, using virtual reality computer games, in the psychological preparation of children hospitalised with cancer, thus charting a path towards promoting holistic and quality care.The findings heighten the awareness in healthcare professionals that play is a very important part of children's life and that they need play even when they are ill.

That nursing students suffer high levels of stress during clinical practice is a common topic in nursing education, but there are some effective strategies for dealing with it.The purpose of this study is to examine the effects that a peer mentoring program has on student nurses' stress levels during clinical practice.A quasi-experimental design was conducted. Forty-nine junior level nursing students (n = 17 in the experimental group; n = 32 in the control group) were enrolled in the same medical-surgical nursing class. Mentors were recruited from students who had received medical-surgical experience before entering university. A 6-point perceived Stress Scale for the nursing students' questionnaire was used to evaluate the stress level.Stress from 'lack of professional knowledge and skills' was the highest score before clinical practice in the experimental (3.78) and control (3.57) group, and also was the highest score after clinical practice in the control group (3.44). Stress from 'assignments and workload' was the highest score after clinical practice in experimental group (3.25). Wilcoxon matched paired signed ranks test revealed that there are no significant differences in stress scores between the two groups.Study findings reveal that there are various advantages and disadvantages to implementing peer mentoring programs. The clinical teacher needs to provide suitable support and encouragement to the mentor and mentee students during this program. These results might provide information that can be used in improving clinical internship experience for the students.

Magnetic susceptibility, x-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction and Raman scattering measurements are employed to study the effects of La substitution on the magnetic properties of multiferroic HoMn(2)O(5). 9% and 18% La-substituted compounds crystallize into the same orthorhombic Pbam symmetry as the parent compound. The magnetic responses to an ac driving magnetic field between 40 and 140 K are greatly enhanced by 18% La substitution. The neutron magnetic diffraction patterns reveal the development of short range magnetic correlations below 140 K. In addition, two Raman peaks and a series of new x-ray diffraction peaks suddenly develop below this temperature. Incommensurate long range antiferromagnetic order appears below 38 K. Magnetic frustration could be the main mechanism governing the present observations.

Health care costs are a financial burden for developing and transition economies which have experienced a faster growing demand on their health care systems while aiming to improve efficiency. As costs become more complex, attention has shifted to the efficiency of an entire system. Through system-wide assessments, countries with higher health care efficiency can be identified. These systems can be replicated to allow provision of good care at lower costs. Data Envelopment Analysis is used to measure health care efficiencies and to discuss policy implications.

We search for steady TeV γ-rays from 18 pulsars in the Fermi-LAT pulsar catalog using the Tibet air shower array. We observe 8 sources including the Crab against expected 0.41 sources at a significance of 2σ or more among the 18 pulsars. The chance probability from Poisson statistics is estimated to be 1.4×10-8.With the Crab excluded, it is estimated to be 1.8×10-7. These low chance probabilities clearly show that the Fermi pulsars have a statistically significant correlation with TeV γ-ray excesses observed by the Tibet air shower array.

We analyze the large-scale two-dimensional sidereal anisotropy of multi-TeV cosmic rays by Tibet Air Shower Array, with the data taken from 1999 November to 2008 December. To explore temporal variations of the anisotropy, the data set is divided into nine intervals, each in a time span of about one year. The sidereal anisotropy of magnitude about 0.1% appears fairly stable from year to year over the entire observation period of nine years. This indicates that the anisotropy of TeV Galactic cosmic rays remains insensitive to solar activities since the observation period covers more than a half of the 23rd solar cycle., 18 pages, 2 figures, accepted by The Astrophysical Journal

Mapping the global heliosphere by detecting energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), IBEX derived the semi‐direct information on the structure of the large‐scale magnetic field surrounding the heliosphere. Multi‐TeV galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) also sense the global structure of the magnetic field within the whole heliosphere as well as the field surrounding the heliosphere, and can provide an additional tool to explore the global structure of these fields. We analyze, in this context, the multi‐TeV GCR intensity observed with the Tibet Air Shower (AS) experiment, which clearly shows a midscale component structure observed as the excess intensity along Gurnett’s HDP (Hydrogen Deflection Plane), as well as the global component structure. We find that the amplitude of the midscale component is only weakly dependent on GCR energy, while its angular extension along the HDP plane monotonously decreases with increasing energy. On the basis of these results, we discuss the possible origin of the midscale anisotropy.

This paper described a case study of a randomised controlled trial with the aim to illuminate how the intervention described takes into account the important methodological considerations for enhancing the efficacy of psychoeducational interventions for paediatric patients.Many nursing intervention studies commit a Type II error despite the fact that the intervention is effective. Lack of attention given to the threats of validity of an intervention study may lead to inaccurate inference about the efficacy of the intervention study, thereby precluding any definitive conclusions being drawn.A case study of a randomised controlled trial was described.Two hundred and three Hong Kong Chinese children, admitted for elective surgery, were invited to participate in the study. By using a simple complete randomisation method, 97 children were assigned to the experimental group and received therapeutic play intervention and 106 children were assigned to the control group and received routine information preparation.Children received preoperative therapeutic play intervention experienced lower anxiety levels, fewer negative emotions and lower heart rates and mean arterial blood pressures.This case study illustrates that the more a measure is sensitive to differentiate between the experimental and control groups, the greater the likelihood of documenting intervention efficacy. Besides, the timing of measuring a dependent variable that matches with peak response to an intervention is crucial in evaluating the efficacy of an intervention. Additionally, outcome measures that are sensitive enough to differentiate between the experimental and control groups are extremely important to ensure greater accuracy in evaluating the efficacy of psychoeducational interventions.It is anticipated that designing an effective psychoeducational intervention research design can facilitate the development of holistic and quality care in preparing children for hospitalisation.

Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a well-known neurodegenerative disorders that present parkinsonism syndrome and autonomic dysfunction. Patients with MSA who have the combination of parkinsonism and cerebellar ataxia are referred to as MSA-C. Brain diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) offers the potential for objective criteria in the diagnosis of MSA. We aim to develop an automatic method to segment out the abnormal whole brain area in MSA-C patients based on the 13-direction DWI raw data. The whole brain DWI raw data of fifteen normal subjects and nine MSA-C patients were analyzed. In this study, we proposed a novel method to perform tissue segmentation directly based on the directional information of the DWI images, rather than using the parametric images, such as fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) as in the previous literatures. Specifically, a hierarchical clustering (HC) technique was first applied on the down-sampled data to initialize the model parameters for each tissue cluster followed by automatic segmentation using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm. Our results demonstrate that the HC-EM is effective in multi-tissue classification, namely, the cerebrospinal fluid, gray matter, and several areas of white matters, on the DWI raw data. The segmented patterns and the corresponding intensities of thirteen directions of the cerebellum in MSA-C patients showed the decrease of the anisotropy, which were evidently different from the results in normal subjects.

High-Tc superconducting epitaxial thin films of GdBa2Cu3O7-x, (GBCO), grown in situ by DC magnetron sputtering onto substrates of single-crystal (001) oriented LaAlO3, SrTiO3 and yttrium-stabilized ZrO2, have been studied by high resolution double crystal X-ray diffractometry, X-ray white beam Laue topography and scanning electron microscopy. The lattice mismatch between film and substrate in the (001) direction was determined to be 3.0% for the film on the LaAlO3 substrate, while the mismatch in the (110) direction was estimated to be 2.9% from extremely asymmetric X-ray rocking curves exploiting the tunability of synchrotron radiation. The data show that the unit cell of the GBCO film is greater than that of bulk GBCO materials, implying that the film is totally relaxed. It is proven that when grown on an yttrium-stabilized ZrO2 substrate the a and b axes of the unit cell of the film are rotated by 45 degrees with respect to the a axis of the substrate. Scanning electron microscopy observations reveal that there are many micrograins less than one micron in size on the surface of the films, confirming the results of double-crystal topography.

I – V characteristics of epitaxial, c-axis-oriented GdBa 2 Cu 3 O y film was measured between 70 K and 90 K. A magnetic field of 3 T was applied parallel to the basal plane (a – b plane), the angle between the field and one side of the substrate being 0° or 60°. We found that there were differences between the I – V characteristics for the 0° and 60° cases due to the anisotropy of the superconductivity in the a – b plane.

A new cryogenic system was installed on September of the year 2006 at NSRRC. So far, two superconducting magnets and one superconducting cavity for RF are cooled by one 450W liquid Helium system which had already been installed on the year 2002. The new system is planning to supply the liquid helium to five superconducting magnets and being a backup of the first one by transfer valve box. This paper presents the variation of parameters which were precooling temperature (from 87K to 200K), cold turbine outlet temperature (from 10K to 11.5K) and heating power of Dewar to the stability of system performance and liquefaction rate.

Les caracteristiques courant-tension de ces films sont dues au fluage de flux. Certaines differences dans les resultats peuvent etre dus a l'anisotropie. Ainsi ces caracteristiques peuvent etre liees a l'anisotropie des supraconducteurs a haute T c

Decreased expression of tumor suppressor gene PTEN has been reported to be a poor prognostic indicator in a variety of human malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to clarify the roles of PTEN in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and the prognostic significance of PTEN protein expression. Sixty-four patients from a high incidence area of northern China who underwent esophagectomy for ESCC between January 1998 and December 1999 enrolled in this study. PTEN expression was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 64 primary cancers and 64 paired normal esophageal epithelium tissues. The positive rate and staining grade of PTEN protein expression was lower in the esophageal cancers than in paired adjacent normal esophageal epithelium (P < 0.001). PTEN expression correlated with tumor differentiation (P = 0.001), tumor infiltration depth (P = 0.015) and pTNM staging (P = 0.048). The 5-year survival rate in patients with PTEN positive expression was 82% compared to 39% in patients with PTEN negative expression (P = 0.0019). Our results show that the expression of PTEN is decreased in ESCC compared to normal esophageal epithelium. Therefore, PTEN may play an important role in carcinogenesis and the progression of ESCC in a high incidence area of northern China, and PTEN could serve as an important factor to predict clinical outcome and prognosis.

We have identified outflows and bubbles in the Taurus molecular cloud based on the $\sim 100$ deg$^2$ Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory $^{12}$CO(1-0) and $^{13}$CO(1-0) maps and the Spitzer young stellar object catalogs. In the main 44 deg$^2$ area of Taurus we found 55 outflows, of which 31 were previously unknown. We also found 37 bubbles in the entire 100 deg$^2$ area of Taurus, all of which had not been found before. The total kinetic energy of the identified outflows is estimated to be $\bf \sim 3.9 \times 10^{45}$ erg, which is \textbf{1\%} of the cloud turbulent energy. The total kinetic energy of the detected bubbles is estimated to be $\sim 9.2 \times 10^{46}$ erg, which is 29\% of the turbulent energy of Taurus. The energy injection rate from outflows is $\bf \sim 1.3 \times 10^{33}~\rm erg\ s^{-1}$, \textbf{0.4 - 2 times} the dissipation rate of the cloud turbulence. The energy injection rate from bubbles is $\sim 6.4 \times 10^{33}$ erg s$^{-1}$, \textbf{2 - 10 times} the turbulent dissipation rate of the cloud. The gravitational binding energy of the cloud is $\bf \sim 1.5 \times 10^{48}$ {\bf erg}, \textbf{385} and 16 times the energy of outflows and bubbles, respectively. We conclude that neither outflows nor bubbles can \textbf{provide enough energy to balance the overall gravitational binding energy and the turbulent energy of Taurus. However,} in the current epoch, stellar feedback is sufficient to maintain the observed turbulence in Taurus., More figures can be found from the link: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015ApJS..219...20L

Summary TIM-1, a member of T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain (TIM) gene family, was implicated as an asthma susceptibility gene in previous studies. TIM-1 was expressed on CD4+ T cells after activation and its expression was sustained preferentially in T-helper type 2 (TH2) but not in TH1 cells, therefore TIM-1 became a good candidate gene for atopic diseases. Recent studies indicated that two insertion/deletion (ins/del) coding genetic polymorphisms in exon 4 of TIM-1 were associated with asthma susceptibility in some but not in all populations. In order to investigate the relationship between TIM-1 genetic polymorphisms and asthma in Chinese Han population, we performed a case-control study for two insertion/deletion polymorphisms in TIM-1 exon 4 (5383_5397ins/del and 5509_5511delCAA) and a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in intron 8 (IVS 8+9 G/A) between a healthy control group of 309 people and an asthma patient group of 352 people recruited from Chinese Han population. The polymorphisms were genotyped and the allele and genotype frequencies were analysed, but none of the three polymorphisms showed association with asthma susceptibility in single-locus association analyses. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) analyses demonstrated that the two insertion/deletion polymorphisms were in strong LD but the haplotypes constructed from these two polymorphisms showed no significant association with asthma. In conclusion, our findings suggest that 5383_5397ins/del, 5509_5511delCAA and SNP IVS 8+9 G/A polymorphisms are not associated with asthma susceptibility in Chinese Han population.

Asthma is a complex polygenic disease with gene-environment interactions being important. It has been previously suggested that ADAM33, which is a member of a gene family that encodes membrane-anchored proteins with a disintegrin and a metalloprotease domain, is primarily expressed in lung fibroblasts and bronchial smooth muscle cells and has been associated with airway remodelling and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. A significant association has previously been demonstrated between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and haplotypes of the ADAM33 and asthma in ethnically diverse populations. To assess whether SNPs or haplotypes of ADAM33 are related to asthma in a Chinese Han population, we genotyped three SNPs of ADAM33 (7575G/A in intron 6, 11188A/T in intron 19, and 12433T/C in exon 20) in a case-control study involving 296 patients with asthma and 270 healthy controls. No significant association was detected between these three SNPs and asthma susceptibility in the Chinese population.

Estrogens can play a critical role in the development of breast cancer. Aromatase which catalyzes the formation of aromatic C18 estrogens from C19 androgens is regarded to be responsible for the cancer local production of estrogen. Studies not only from aromatase transfected breast cancer cells, but also transgenic mouse, which overexpressed aromatase, demonstrated that in situ produced estrogen plays more important roles than circulating estrogens in breast tumor promotion and progression. Matrix-metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in the proeolytic process, which play important roles in the aggressiveness of cancer cells including invasion of adjacent tissue and metastasis to distant sites. Expression of MMP2 and 9 may be stimulated by estrogens in hormonal dependent breast cancers, since tumor aromatase can stimulate breast cancer growth and progression in both an autocrine and a paracrine manner. Theoretically aromatase overexpression, that causes relatively high estrogen concentration in situ, may be positively related to MMP2 and 9 expression, indicate worse prognosis in breast cancers, and maybe insensitive to tamoxifen therapy. In the present study, we studied the expression of aromatase activity and MMPs in human breast carcinoma both in vitro and in vivo. In human breast carcinoma cell lines including MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-435, the expression of aromatase levels both in mRNA and protein activity was related to MMP2 and MMP9. In humam breast cancer samples, we demonstrated that aromatase expressions were strongly associated with MMP2 and MMP9 levels. It was interesting to observe that the positive relationship was only present in the ER and/or PR positive patients. This may indicate that both MMP2 and MMP9 were up regulated by estrogen produced by aromatase through ER. So in endocrine therapy, either blocking the ER by tamoxifen or inhibiting the aromatase by aromatase inhibitors for example letrozole, may both inhibit tumor growth and lower the metastatic potential especially in ER positive breast cancer patients by means of down-regulation of MMP2/9.

A helium cryogenic plant with a maximum cooling power of 450 W at 4.5K was installed at the end of the year 2003. This plant has provide the cooling power for the test of one superconducting cavity and the commission of one superconducting magnet for nine months. In November 2004, we installed one helium transfer system in NSRRC’s storage ring to fulfill the cooling requirement for the operation of one superconducting cavity and two superconducting magnets. This helium transfer system consists of a switch valve box and the nitrogen‐shielding multi‐channel transfer lines. The averaged heat leak to the helium process line (including the straight section, the joint, the elbow, the coupling) at liquid helium temperature is specified to be less than 0.1 W/m at 4.2K; the total heat leak of the switching valve box to helium process lines is less than 16 W at 4.2K. In this paper we present the function, design parameters and test result of the helium transfer system. Commissioning results of both the cavity and the magnets using this helium transfer system will be shown as well.

At NSRRC, an electron accelerator with a beam current of 400 mA at 3 GeV and an emittance of 2 nm‐rad is under planning. Four superconducting cavities are required to keep the electron energy in the storage ring and superconducting insertion magnets are used as the major devices providing the desired photon energy with high brilliance and flux. This paper shows the design features of the helium cryogenic system for superconducting devices. The cryogenic system consists of two cryogenic plants each with 450 W at 4.5 K for the cavities and one cryogenic plant with 600 W at 4.5 K for the magnets. Redundancy is achieved by switching valves and interconnection piping between the three cryogenic plants. Distribution of the liquid helium to the superconducting magnets is planned via two 250 m multichannel lines with up to 24 supplying ports for the candidate positions of superconducting magnets.

This study applies VAR and ANN techniques to make ex-post forecast of U.S. oil price movements. The VAR-based forecast uses three endogenous variables: lagged oil price, lagged oil supply and lagged energy consumption. However, the VAR model suggests that the impacts of oil supply and energy consumption has limited impacts on oil price movement. The forecast of the genetic algorithm-based ANN model is made by using oil supply, energy consumption, and money supply (M1). Root mean squared error and mean absolute error have been used as the evaluation criteria. Our analysis suggests that the BPN-GA model noticeably outperforms the VAR model.