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The escalating global scarcity of water resources has amplified the need to develop efficient desalination methods. Electrochemical deionization (ECDI) has emerged as a promising method to solve this pressing issue. Among various ECDI systems, conducting polymers have showcased remarkable potential for electrode materials due to their facile large-scale synthesis and precise control over the removal of anions and cations. We scrutinized the impact of diverse dopant sizes on the intrinsic properties of polypyrrole (PPy) chains, leading to the development of a high-performance ECDI system. Incorporation of para-substituted groups featuring elongated carbon chains, such as dodecylbenzene sulfonate (DBS), the PPy-DBS-1//PPy-ClO4 configuration attained a salt-adsorption capacity (SAC) of 61.7 mg g−1 in NaCl solution (10 mM) and sustained low energy consumption (0.22 kW h/kg-NaCl). Our findings suggest that the size and type of dopant have key roles in enhancing the ion transport and mobility of charge carriers within the conducting-polymer framework. Moreover, fine-tuning the doping ratio enhanced the cation-capture ability of electrodes and sustained their cycling stability. Overall, these insights into the symbiotic relationship between dopants and PPy framework within an ECDI system provide guidance framework for augmenting the electrode performance of conducting polymers with dopants, and expanding the potential applications of conducting polymers in ECDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Benford's law is used to examine whether the negotiation ability of executives can strongly influence the compensation level. In this paper, we analyse the executive compensation data of more than 3,000 Chinese listed companies from 1999 to 2017. The results indicated that Benford's law can be used to distinguish performance-based compensations from basic salaries of executives. Some executives prefer to be paid in the form of integers. This study finds that violation of Benford's law in private enterprises indicate that these executives have negotiating power or strong preferences. However, violation of Benford's law in state-owned enterprises is due to restriction orders by the government to control the compensation of top executives. This result reveals the limitation of Benford's law on manipulated numbers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To determine the association between caregiver characteristics and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients with dementia (PWD) in a Taiwanese community-dwelling population. This cross-sectional study was conducted using the data of 190 patients with Alzheimer's disease/dementia and 190 informal matched caregivers in Taiwan. BPSD were examined using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q). Correlation and regression analyses were used to explore associations between caregiver characteristics and the presence, severity, and distress of NPI-Q items. Only spouse primary caregiver was positively associated with presence of delusions in PWD. Caregiver education was positively correlated to severity of hallucinations, agitation/aggression, and apathy/indifference in PWD, while child primary caregiver was positively related to severity of disinhibition in PWD but negatively related to severity of anxiety in PWD. Spouse primary caregiver was positively related to severity of anxiety and appetite/eating in PWD while sole primary caregiver was positively related to severity of anxiety and nighttime behaviors in PWD. Caregiver education was positively correlated to distress of agitation/aggression in caregivers while child primary caregiver was positively related to distress of disinhibition in caregivers. Spouse primary caregiver was positively related to distress of anxiety and appetite/eating in caregivers while spouse caregiver was positively related to distress of nighttime behaviors in caregivers. Caregiver education, child and spouse primary caregiver were relevant to severity of PWD and distress of caregivers of BPSD. It is suggested that healthcare professionals provide caregivers with proper individualized interventions based on these results to enhance caring quality. Caregiver education was positively correlated to severity of hallucinations, agitation/aggression, and apathy/indifference, and distress of agitation/aggression. Child primary caregiver was positively related to severity and distress of disinhibition but negatively related to severity of anxiety. Spouse primary caregiver was positively related to severity and distress of anxiety and appetite/eating, and distress of nighttime behaviors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The White-breasted Waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus) is the only bird species known to breed on Pratas Island, Taiwan, for the past few decades. Since they are secretive and very difficult to observe, responses to different call playbacks were tested experimentally in the field to determine if call type affects response of birds to improve future surveys. Playbacks of two different call types (advertising call and aggressive call) were carried out at 26 stations in the east region of the island in April, June, July, and August 2016. The frequency of response and behavioral reaction of waterhens to playbacks were recorded within a 6-min test period at each station. Playbacks of the advertising call elicited more responses at stations than did aggressive calls. Two-way Repeated Measures ANOVA revealed a significant difference in response frequencies for the main effect of call type, but no difference was found for monthly effect and an interaction term for call type and month. This study provides evidence that playback experiments of the advertising call during the courtship period can be an effective way to monitor the population size of a secretive species such as the White-breasted Waterhen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]