What Conflict Minerals Rules Tell Us about the Legal Transplantation of Corporate Social Responsibility Standards without the State: From the United Nations to the United States to Taiwan

To resolve global political and scholarly concerns over conflict minerals (“CM”) produced in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring regions, two kinds of CM-related disclosure rules (or “CM rules”) come into play in regulating their use: government-mandated laws such as Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States (hereinafter “Sec. 1502”) and transnational voluntary codes such as the Electronic Industry Citizenship Coalition (“EICC”) Code of Conduct. The creation of both of these CM rules could be attributed to the promotion of such concerns by the United Nations. This article is the first attempt to unpack and closely consider the process of two distinct types of CM rules that are probably transplanted into Taiwan through global supply chains. This article joins a growing body of literature that deepens our understanding of the channels and objects of legal transplants. The findings of the Taiwanese case study are important for two reasons. First, in terms of the transplant process or channels, some Taiwanese companies have started to follow CM rules due to their supply contracts, demonstrating that applicable CM rules might have been transplanted into Taiwan through private channels such as supply contracts, rather than through the formal public channels of legal transplantation initiated by the government. Second, but just as importantly, with regard to transplanted objects, what further distinguishes this article from prior studies is that the Taiwanese case study could indicate that Taiwanese suppliers comply with CM rules established by the EICC more prevalently than those promulgated under the Dodd-Frank Act. If so, this would imply that when it comes to adopting or implementing transnational corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) standards in suppliers’ countries or jurisdictions, private CSR standards written by non-governmental organizations (“NGOs”) or industries themselves in a bottom-up approach are more effective or more easily accepted than public standards such as state laws enacted by a foreign/national government in a top-down approach

Solar Distillation System Based on Multiple-Effect Diffusion Type Still

The present study intends to develop a high-performance solar-assisted desalination system (SADS) using multi-effect diffusion type still (MEDS) and the vacuum tube solar collector (VTSC). A MEDS prototype was designed and built. The measured result is very close to the estimation. The 10-effect MEDS will produce pure water at about 13.7 L/day/m2 collector area at a solar irradiation of 600 W/m2 and 19.7 L/day/m2 collector area at solar irradiation 800 W/m2. For 20-effect still, the yield rate increase is 32% compared to 10-effect still

Effects of natto extract on endothelial injury in a rat model

Vascular endothelial damage has been found to be associated with thrombus formation, which is considered to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A diet of natto leads to a low prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of natto extract on vascular endothelia damage with exposure to laser irradiation. Endothelial damage both in vitro and in vivo was induced by irradiation of rose bengal using a DPSS green laser. Cell viability was determined by MTS assay, and the intimal thickening was verified by a histological approach. The antioxidant content of natto extract was determined for the free radical scavenging activity. Endothelial cells were injured in the presence of rose bengal irradiated in a dose-dependent manner. Natto extract exhibits high levels of antioxidant activity compared with purified natto kinase. Apoptosis of laser-injured endothelial cells was significantly reduced in the presence of natto extract. Both the natto extract and natto kinase suppressed intimal thickening in rats with endothelial injury. The present findings suggest that natto extract suppresses vessel thickening as a synergic effect attributed to its antioxidant and anti-apoptosis properties

Influence of electrode thermal conductivity on resistive switching behavior during reset process

Resistive random access memory (RRAM) is the most promising candidate for non-volatile memory (NVM) due to its extremely low operation voltage, extremely fast write/erase speed, and excellent scaling capability. However, an obstacle hindering mass production of RRAM is the non-uniform physical mechanism in its resistance switching process. This study examines the influence of different electrode thermal conductivity on switching behavior during the reset process. Electrical analysis methods and an analysis of current conduction mechanism indicate that better thermal conductivity in the electrode will require larger input power in order to induce more active oxygen ions to take part in the reset process. More active oxygen ions cause a more complete reaction during the reset process, and cause the effective switching gap (dsw) to become thicker. The effect of the electrode thermal conductivity and input power are explained by our model and clarified by electrical analysis methods. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Design and Development of the Reactive BGP peering in Software-Defined Routing Exchanges

The Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is considered to be an improved solution for applying flexible control and operation recently in the network. Its characteristics include centralized management, global view, as well as fast adjustment and adaptation. Many experimental and research networks have already migrated to the SDN-enabled architecture. As the global network continues to grow in a fast pace, how to use SDN to improve the networking fields becomes a popular topic in research. One of the interesting topics is to enable routing exchanges among the SDN-enabled network and production networks. However, considering that many production networks are still operated on legacy architecture, the enabled SDN routing functionalities have to support hybrid mode in operation. In this paper, we propose a routing exchange mechanism by enabling reactive BGP peering actions among the SDN and legacy network components. The results of experiments show that our SDN controller is able to mask as an Autonomous System (AS) to exchange routing information with other BGP routers

Simplified ZrTiOx-based RRAM cell structure with rectifying characteristics by integrating Ni/n + -Si diode

A simplified one-diode one-resistor (1D1R) resistive switching memory cell that uses only four layers of TaN/ZrTiO( x )/Ni/n(+)-Si was proposed to suppress sneak current where TaN/ZrTiO( x )/Ni can be regarded as a resistive-switching random access memory (RRAM) device while Ni/n(+)-Si acts as an Schottky diode. This is the first RRAM cell structure that employs metal/semiconductor Schottky diode for current rectifying. The 1D1R cell exhibits bipolar switching behavior with SET/RESET voltage close to 1 V without requiring a forming process. More importantly, the cell shows tight resistance distribution for different states, significantly rectifying characteristics with forward/reverse current ratio higher than 10(3) and a resistance ratio larger than 10(3) between two states. Furthermore, the cell also displays desirable reliability performance in terms of long data retention time of up to 10(4) s and robust endurance of 10(5) cycles. Based on the promising characteristics, the four-layer 1D1R structure holds the great potential for next-generation nonvolatile memory technology

Increased risk of endometriosis in patients with endometritis — a nationwide cohort study involving 84,150 individuals

Objectives: To evaluate the incidence of endometriosis among endometritis patients and its association with confoundingcomorbidities.Material and methods: A population-based, retrospective cohort study of women aged between 20 to 55 years, who werenewly diagnosed with endometritis between 2000 to 2013. A total of 16,830 endometritis patients and 67,230 non-endometritisindividuals were enrolled by accessing data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan.The comorbidities accessed were uterine leiomyoma, rheumatoid arthritis, ovarian cancer, infertility and allergic diseases.Results: The mean follow-up period was 9.15 years for the non-endometritis cohort and 9.13 years for the endometritiscohort. There were significantly higher percentages of uterine leiomyoma, rheumatoid arthritis, infertility, ovarian cancerand allergic diseases in the endometritis cohort than in the non-endometritis cohort. Patients with endometritis hada 1.5-fold increased risk of their condition advancing to endometriosis (HR 1.58, 95% CI 1.48–1.68).Conclusions: Our results suggest that patients with endometritis exhibited a positive correlation in developing endometriosis

Cost and Benefit Analysis of Line Arresters for a 69kV Transmission System in Taiwan

This paper presents a systematical evaluation experience on the performance and economic studies of line arresters for a 69 kV transmission system in Taiwan. The transient over-voltage phenomenon in high voltage transmission lines under lightning by using the Electro-Magnetic Transients Program (EMTP) package is well modeled and analyzed. The modeling for the simulated system including lightning, transmission line, transmission tower and line arrester are all considered to have more practical results. The cost and benefit evaluation for line arresters installation  is then conducted to provide a reasonable suggestion for lightning protection.  The performance of line arresters is evaluated by considering different installation schemes and lightning currents. Finally, a Taiwan’s experience is illustrated from both of the cost and benefit points of view

The epidemiology of patients with pterygium in southern Taiwanese adults: The Chiayi survey

AbstractPurposeTo investigate patients with pterygium in different geographic regions and the associated risk factors in southern Taiwan.MethodsA clinical observation survey was conducted in Chiayi County, a rural area in southern Taiwan. The subjects aged 40 years and above underwent complete ocular examinations. Associated risks factors were evaluated, including gender, age, occupations, smoking, and geographical living regions by univariant and multivariant logistic regression analysis.ResultsA total of 2197 participants (790 male, 36.0%) from 44 different villages were evaluated. In these, 554 participants (25.2%) have either unilateral or bilateral pterygium. Age is associated with the percentage of pterygium, and those aged between 60 and 69 had the highest percentage of 30.1% (p < 0.0001). The gender effect was higher among men than women (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.08–1.60, p = 0.006). The percentage of pterygium lived in plain, seaside, and mountainous areas were 22.6%, 32.6%, and 14.5% respectively. Geographical regions also showed that seaside area had the highest percentage of pterygium (seaside area OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.35-2.03, and mountainous area OR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.35-0.95 compared with plain areas). Primary outdoor workers and residents with smoking history had relative higher risk for pterygium (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.17-1.86; OR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.02-1.83).ConclusionsThe percentage of pterygium in southern Taiwan is about 25.2% among adults aged over 40 years in this survey. It is significantly higher in the age of 50 or more and in residents living in villages along the seaside than those living in the mountainous and the plain areas

α-Lactosylceramide Protects Against iNKT-Mediated Murine Airway Hyperreactivity and Liver Injury Through Competitive Inhibition of Cd1d Binding.

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which are activated by T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent recognition of lipid-based antigens presented by the CD1d molecule, have been shown to participate in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including asthma and liver injury. Previous studies have shown the inhibition of iNKT cell activation using lipid antagonists can attenuate iNKT cell-induced disease pathogenesis. Hence, the development of iNKT cell-targeted glycolipids can facilitate the discovery of new therapeutics. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated α-lactosylceramide (α-LacCer), an α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) analog with lactose substitution for the galactose head and a shortened acyl chain in the ceramide tail, toward iNKT cell activation. We demonstrated that α-LacCer was a weak inducer for both mouse and human iNKT cell activation and cytokine production, and the iNKT induction by α-LacCer was CD1d-dependent. However, when co-administered with α-GalCer, α-LacCer inhibited α-GalCer-induced IL-4 and IFN-γ production from iNKT cells. Consequently, α-LacCer also ameliorated both α-GalCer and GSL-1-induced airway hyperreactivity and α-GalCer-induced neutrophilia when co-administered in vivo. Furthermore, we were able to inhibit the increases of ConA-induced AST, ALT and IFN-γ serum levels through α-LacCer pre-treatment, suggesting α-LacCer could protect against ConA-induced liver injury. Mechanistically, we discerned that α-LacCer suppressed α-GalCer-stimulated cytokine production through competing for CD1d binding. Since iNKT cells play a critical role in the development of AHR and liver injury, the inhibition of iNKT cell activation by α-LacCer present a possible new approach in treating iNKT cell-mediated diseases