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Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease with no currently approved treatment. The natural compound silybin (SLN) has versatile hepatoprotective efficacy with negligible adverse effects; however, poor absorption limits its clinical applications. Gut microbiota has been proposed to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of NAFLD and targeted for disease control. Cyclodextrins, the cyclic oligosaccharides, were documented to have various health benefits with potential prebiotic properties. This study aimed to develop a silybin-2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin inclusion (SHβCD) to improve the therapeutic efficacy of SLN and elucidate the mechanisms of improvement. The results showed that SLN formed a 1:1 stoichiometric inclusion complex with HP-β-CD. The solubility of SLN was increased by generating SHβCD, resulting in improved drug permeability and bioavailability. In high-fat diet (HFD)-fed hamsters, SHβCD modulated gut health by restoring the gut microbiota and intestinal integrity. SHβCD showed superior anti-lipid accumulation, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects compared with SLN alone. Transcriptome analysis in the liver tissue implied that the improved inflammation and/or energy homeostasis was the potential mechanism. Therefore, SHβCD may be a promising alternative for the treatment of NAFLD, attributing to the dual functions of HβCD on drug absorption and gut microbial homeostasis.

Background and aim: The sedative role of dexmedetomidine (DEX) in gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures is unclear, highlighting the need to compare DEX with conventional sedatives for a full evaluation. We performed this systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of sedation with DEX alone or in combination during gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures with a view to providing guidance for clinical application. Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases were searched for randomized controlled trials from inception to July 1, 2022. Standardized mean difference and weighted mean difference with 95% confidence interval or pooled risk ratios with 95% CI was used for continuous outcomes or dichotomous outcomes, respectively, and a random-effect model was selected regardless of the significance of the heterogeneity. Results: Forty-one studies with 3,015 patients were assessed, of which 1,363 patients were in the DEX group and 1,652 patients were in the control (without DEX) group. We found that DEX administration decreased the risk of body movements or gagging, hypoxia, and cough, reduced the additional requirement for other sedatives, and increased the endoscopist satisfaction level, however, induction time, and risk of bradycardia, and without statistical differences in RSS score, patient satisfaction level, recovery time, hypotension, nausea, and vomiting. Conclusion: DEX may benefit patients undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures in some clinical outcomes, whilst some potential disadvantages also exist. Remarkably, DEX was non-inferior to midazolam and propofol in terms of sedation level. In conclusion, DEX is an alternative option for sedation in gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures.

The reduction of soil strength and stiffness caused by soil liquefaction is an important issue in designing pile or shallow foundations on liquefiable soils. In practice, strength and stiffness reduction is considered via a reduction factor ([Formula: see text]) approach in seismic design. Different sets of values of [Formula: see text] are available according to the factor of safety against liquefaction ([Formula: see text]) of the liquefiable soil; these ([Formula: see text]) values are usually calculated using simplified liquefaction analysis procedures. Each set of [Formula: see text] is calibrated and constructed for specific simplified liquefaction analysis procedures or soil conditions. Thus, engineers have difficulty in selecting [Formula: see text] when using a simplified liquefaction analysis procedure without a corresponding set of [Formula: see text]. In this study, values of [Formula: see text] for simplified liquefaction analysis procedures commonly used in Taiwan are obtained using a single element test via FLAC program and UBCSAND model. In addition, a novel application of [Formula: see text] is introduced to improve the usability of the simplified numerical procedure used to predict the liquefaction-induced settlement of a shallow foundation. Simulation results show that the simplified numerical procedure with [Formula: see text] approach yields a convincing and conservative result.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), recently renamed metabolic-dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), affects a quarter of the worldwide population. Natural products have been extensively utilized in treating NAFLD because of their distinctive advantages over chemotherapeutic drugs, despite the fact that there are no approved drugs for therapy. Notably, the limitations of many natural products, such as poor water solubility, low bioavailabilityiin vivo/i, low hepatic distribution, and lack of targeted effects, have severely restricted their clinical application. These issues could be resolvedivia/ihepatic targeted drug delivery systems (HTDDS) that boost clinical efficacy in treating NAFLD and decrease the adverse effects on other organs. Herein an overview of natural products comprising formulas, single medicinal plants, and their crude extracts has been presented to treat NAFLD. Also, the clinical efficacy and molecular mechanism of active monomer compounds against NAFLD are systematically discussed. The targeted delivery of natural productsivia/iHTDDS has been explored to provide a different nanotechnology-based NAFLD treatment strategy and to make suggestions for natural-product-based targeted nanocarrier design. Finally, the challenges and opportunities put forth by the nomenclature update of NAFLD are outlined along with insights into how to improve the NAFLD therapy and how to design more rigorous nanocarriers for the HTDDS. In brief, we summarize the up-to-date developments of the NAFLD-HTDDS based on natural products and provide viewpoints for the establishment of more stringent anti-NAFLD natural-product-targeted nanoformulations.

New luminescent Pb(II)-coordination polymers (Pb(II)-CPs), [Pb(2-anc)2]n (1) and [Pb(3-qlc)2(H2O)2]n (2) (2-anc = 2-aminonicotinate, 3-qlc = 3-quinolinecarboxylate), were synthesized by a solvothermal reaction and characterized using microanalysis, IR spectrometry and thermogravimetric analysis. Single crystal structure analysis revealed that the Pb2+ ion displays a hemi-directed coordination geometry in 1 and a holo-directed coordination geometry in 2. The difference between the coordination spheres of 1 and 2 is related to the steric hindrance effect of the ligands. A two-dimensional (2D) corrugated layer structure is formed in 1, and the neighboring layers are further extended into a three-dimensional (3D) van der Waals crystal by π⋯π interactions between the pyridyl rings in the neighboring layers. In contrast, a one-dimensional (1D) coordination polymeric chain is formed in 2, and the adjacent chains are connected in a 2D network by hydrogen bonds. The photophysical properties of 1 and 2 were studied at ambient conditions, disclosing that 1 emits phosphorescence at 548 nm with a millisecond-scale emission lifetime and an absolute quantum yield of 2.2%; 2 emits only blue fluorescence with an absolute quantum yield of 3.5% and nanosecond-scale emission lifetime. The reasons for the difference in the photophysical nature of 1 and 2 are discussed in regards to the electron band structure and density of states analysis.

In the past two decades, attracting highly skilled foreign individuals has been proposed in many countries as a viable approach to redressing labour and skill shortages arising from falling fertility rates and an ageing population. Within this context, international graduates - more specifically - have been deemed a convenient and advantageous source of skilled labour owing to their local academic credentials and experiences. The desirability of attracting and retaining international graduates has contributed to the development and maintenance of post-study migration and employment pathways in many countries to retain these graduates following course completion. Nevertheless, international graduates have received less attention than other migrant groups in the scholarly literature. This thesis aims to advance current knowledge of international graduate retention by systematically documenting and examining the labour market performance of international graduates who remained in Australia between 1998 and 2015.Australia offers an interesting case study to examine the retention of international graduates and their experiences in transitioning to the host labour market. In addition to being a major destination country for international students, Australia maintains a front-running immigration framework designed to provide post-study migration and employment pathways. Further, there is rich and readily available Australian survey data on the employment and career progression of its tertiary graduates that remains under-utilised. Recent research has generated preliminary empirical evidence collectively pointing to an unfavourable labour market position of international graduates in Australia. Notwithstanding, little is known about patterns, trends and changes to their labour market experiences against a backdrop of evolving socio-political and economic environment. In addition, limited scholarly efforts have been dedicated to exploring their labour market integration from a geographical perspective. In this respect, this thesis studies the temporal evolution of international graduate retention in Australia with a focus on the labour market experiences of international graduates following the introduction of post-study migration and employment pathways in 1999. It also examines the influence of geographic mobility in shaping the integration of international graduates into the Australian labour market.Drawing on the Australian Graduate Survey, this thesis revealed that the number and percentage of international graduates who remained in Australia with the intention to work increased appreciably between 1998 and 2015. Nevertheless, recent waves of international graduates tended to come from non-English-speaking backgrounds, stay on with temporary visas and lack work experience, all of which have been reported to contribute to disadvantageous outcomes in the Australian labour market. Consistent with prior studies, this thesis pointed to poorer labour market outcomes amongst international graduates compared to domestic graduates, including higher levels of economic inactivity, unemployment, part-time employment and education-job mismatch. Importantly, the relative labour market standing of international graduates further worsened over the 18-year period, with a clear trend of rising economic inactivity, unemployment, part-time employment and education-job mismatch.Using Blinder-Oaxaca regression decompositions, this thesis linked the deteriorating labour market performance of international graduates to compositional changes in their Australian citizenship and residency status and paid work experience, as well as changes in the behavioural responses associated with these characteristics. The recent influx of non-native English-speakers also played a role, though the effect was relatively modest. Gaps in the labour market performance of international and domestic graduates primarily stemmed from compositional differences in their paid work experience, field-of-study choices and, to a smaller extent, language background. Specifically, the analysis attributed the disadvantageous labour market position of international graduates to their relative lack of paid work experience, in addition to their over-representation in Management and Commerce and under-representation in Education and Health.Given their deteriorating outcomes, the thesis subsequently tested the capacity of geographic mobility to enhance the integration of international graduates into the Australian labour market using treatment effects regression models. The flexibility to move across labour market regions was shown to help reduce the risk of education-job mismatch amongst international graduates, after accounting for the possible positive selection of mobile graduates. No evidence of gender differences was found. The effect of geographic mobility, however, was conditional on the socio-economic characteristics of the destination labour market. Specifically, international graduates who moved to Melbourne were more susceptible to field-of-study mismatch due to the large labour market and large migrant population in this metropolis.The empirical evidence gathered throughout this thesis highlights a need to review and strengthen existing policies and interventions to help international graduates integrate into the Australian labour market. Specifically, approaches aimed at improving discipline-related work experience amongst international graduates and informing their mobility and workplace decisions should be prioritised. More broadly, the empirical insights into the integration of international graduates into the host labour market generated in this project constitute a stepping stone for future work on international graduate retention in Australia and internationally.

Responding to labour and skills shortages, Australia has developed a comprehensive immigration framework to attract and retain overseas graduates. While prior work has explored the post-graduation settlement patterns and work outcomes of overseas graduates, much less is known about the role of their country of origin on their labour market performances in the context of socio-economic and immigration policy changes. Drawing on the Australian Graduate Survey, this chapter explores the composition and labour market outcomes of overseas graduates who remained in Australia after graduation with a particular focus on the two largest source countries: China and India. Findings show that Chinese and Indian graduates are very highly educated, but they fare poorly in the labour market as compared with the locals, pointing to skill under-utilisation among overseas graduates. Nonetheless, their work and salary outcomes have improved over time, which may be attributed to the relaxation of post-graduation migration and employment pathways in Australia. While Chinese graduates struggle more in securing full-time employment, they are less susceptible to education-job mismatch relative to their Indian counterparts. The Chinese nationals may be working part-time for relevant work experience that may help them to enhance their career prospects. These results are of importance to public policy in their capacity to highlight the issue of skill under-utilisation and the labour market integration patterns of overseas graduates as the socio-economic and immigration policy conditions shift over time.

The number of domestically educated overseas graduates remaining in Australia after graduation has risen significantly since 2007. There is growing evidence to suggest that overseas graduates have a high probability of being employed in lower-skilled jobs that do not match their educational qualifications. A lack of spatial flexibility in terms of geographic mobility underlies this outcome. Prior work has examined the role of long-distance commuting in reducing the chance of experiencing an education_–job mismatch, but there is limited empirical research on the way migration acts as a strategy to overcome this misalignment. Compared to long-distance commuting, migration enables a larger geographical scope of job search and thus is regarded as offering a greater potential in mitigating education–job mismatch. Drawing on annual data from the Australian Graduate Survey between 2008 and 2012, this chapter examines the role of internal migration in lowering the likelihood of overseas graduates experiencing an education–job mismatch. Results highlight that migration leads to a reduction of education–job mismatch among overseas graduates. Nonetheless, the extent of this impact is marginal, lowering the probability by only 2–3 per cent. This modest effect is attributed to the tendency of overseas graduates to echo the settlement patterns of long-standing migrants and relocate to metropolitan regions that typically have a higher incidence of education–job mismatch.

In order to tackle persistent labour and skill shortages, a number of developed countries have implemented visa programmes and development plans to enhance the attraction and retention of domestically educated overseas graduates. While prior work has principally focused on exploring their migratory flows between countries, few studies have empirically examined the career and migration trajectories of overseas graduates within the country of study. This paper redresses this gap by investigating the spatial choices of overseas graduates from Australian Higher Education Institutions for employment after graduation. Drawing on a nationally representative survey of graduates, our analysis focuses on examining the individual characteristics that lead to the settlement of overseas graduates in non-metropolitan locations across Australia given the pronounced labour and skill shortages experienced outside the country's urban centres. Results highlight the importance of possessing education or health qualifications and having previously studied and lived in non-metropolitan areas as the key factors underlying the selection of such locales as post-graduation employment destinations. Age, gender, salary, and an English-speaking background were not found to be significant factors in the decision to locate outside of metropolitan areas. These findings are of significant value for future policy development aimed at attracting and retaining overseas graduates to locales with the greatest labour needs.

In light of pronounced and persistent labour and skill shortages in non-metropolitan areas, Australia has sought to develop and maintain a comprehensive immigration policy framework and development policies to attract and retain overseas graduates from local Higher Education Institutions. While prior work has shed light on the employment outcomes and the individual characteristics that promote settlement outside major cities, less is known about the post-graduation migration patterns and redistribution of overseas graduates following graduation. Drawing on data from the Australian Graduate Survey, this chapter explores the key spatial patterns and redistribution of overseas graduates in Australia. The results highlight the propensity of overseas graduates to cluster in the metropolitan areas of New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland for employment following graduation. Overseas graduates are more likely to study in regional areas than their domestic counterparts, but are also more likely to move to major metropolitan areas after graduation. Overseas graduates are drawn to major metropolitan regions by social and economic ties, particularly to migrant communities within major cities. The clear preference of overseas graduates for metropolitan areas highlights that existing rural development policies have a limited demonstrated capacity to redirect overseas graduates to work in non-metropolitan areas and suggests a need for future policies to consider ways in which particular factors – such as a sense of attachment from previous study and living experience in a non-metropolitan locale – affect desired migratory outcomes.

1 SUMMARY ABSTRACT: In this paper, the point estimate method (including the general expectation estimation method and estimation of population variance method) interval and parameter estimation method for the reliability of auto parts for data analysis. Results show that the total expected estimation method is simple, but its accuracy is related to sample size; the overall variance estimation method is better than the overall expectation estimation method accuracy of estimation can be obtained, and the overall variance unbiased value; and the use of parametric interval estimation method is relatively accurate, but the calculation process is relatively complex. KEYWORD: Automobile; reliability; data analysis