Evaluation of Site Response Using Downhole Array Data from a Liquefied Site

Downhole array ground motions recorded at Port Island during the mainshock and aftershocks of the Hyogoken-Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake of January 17, 1995, were used in this study for evaluating the reasonableness of commonly used site response analysis techniques (both nonlinear effective stress and equivalent linear total stress techniques). The nonlinear effective stress analyses were performed using the computer code SUMDES; the equivalent linear total stress analyses were performed using the computer code SHAKE. Dynamic soil properties as well as other data for characterizing nonlinear stress-strain, cyclic strength, and pore pressure generation and dissipation of the Masado till that liquefied during the mainshock of the Kobe earthquake were derived from published papers

Dynamic Soil-Foundation-Structure Interaction Analyses of Large Caissons

Large cellular reinforced concrete caissons exist as foundations of major long-span bridges across waterways in many parts of the country. This study was conducted to evaluate the important factors affecting the seismic response of large caissons. The paper presents the results of equivalent linear and non-linear analyses performed for a typical caisson idealized based on the cellular caisson at Pier W3 of the West San Francisco Bay Bridge subject to ground motion with a peak rock acceleration of 0.6 g. This caisson is 38.7 m (127 fi) long by 22.9 m (75 ft) wide submerged in about 32.6 m (107 ft) of water. It is embedded in 33.5 m (110 fi) of soil deposits and is founded on rock. Equivalent linear 3-D and 2-D analyses conducted in the direction of the short axis (longitudinal) were performed using a modified version of computer program SASSI. The results of these 3-D and 2-D analyses are similar. Non-linear analyses were performed for 2-D models using computer program FLAC. The results indicate that side gapping, base lifting, interface sliding, and soil yielding reduce the earth pressure, base bearing stress, caisson shear and bending moment, and caisson motions. However, the frequency characteristics of the responses appear to be relatively unaffected

Negotiating The Maze: Confronting Dysphagia Together With My Stroke-Afflicted Family Member

Aim: To generate a descriptive theory grounded in the responses of family caregivers caring for their family stroke survivors with dysphagia during hospitalization. Design and Method: A qualitative study employing the grounded theory method was used. Fifteen family caregivers participated in comprehensive interviews. The interview data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Findings: ‘Negotiating the maze: Confronting dysphagia with my stroke-afflicted family member’ was the core category guiding the care process for dysphagia family members among caregivers. After surviving stroke, the caregivers felt ‘more confusion less rejoicing’ as the antecedent condition. The following three interaction categories were identified: (1) ‘being overwhelmed by nasogastric (NG) tube issues’; (2) ‘searching for the right helper and information’; and (3) ‘food culture conflicts with the formula diet administered through the NG tube’. Additionally, ‘Maintaining positivity’ described the consequence of this process. Conclusions: This study highlights the critical perspective of family members who care for dysphagia stroke survivors in the hospital. Participants were under tremendous pressure during the disease treatment process. However, all attempted to maintain a positive attitude and treasured the chance to accompany their family members. Clinical Relevance: These findings can assist health professionals in charting the effects of dysphagia and in understanding the problems and needs according to the subjective perspectives of family caregivers. They can also provide a necessary foundation for comprehensive care interventions for family caregivers of stroke survivors with dysphagia

Long-term evaluation of palm oil mill effluent (POME) steam reforming over lanthanum-based perovskite oxides

To replace the obsolete ponding system, palm oil mill effluent (POME) steam reforming (SR) over net-acidic LaNiO3 and net-basic LaCoO3 were proposed as the POME primary treatments, with promising H2-rich syngas production. Herein, the long-term evaluation of POME SR was scrutinized with both catalysts under the optimal conditions (600 °C, 0.09 mL POME/min, 0.3 g catalyst, & 74–105 μm catalyst particle size) to examine the catalyst microstructure changes, transient process stability, and final effluent evaluation. Extensive characterization proved the (i) adsorption of POME vapour on catalysts before SR, (ii) deposition of carbon and minerals on spent SR catalysts, and (iii) dominance of coking deactivation over sintering deactivation at 600 °C. Despite its longer run, spent LaCoO3 (50.54 wt%) had similar carbon deposition with spent LaNiO3 (50.44 wt%), concurring with its excellent coke resistance. Spent LaCoO3 (6.12 wt%; large protruding crystals) suffered a harsher mineral deposition than spent LaNiO3 (3.71 wt%; thin film coating), confirming that lower reactivity increased residence time of reactants. Transient syngas evolution of both SR catalysts was relatively steady up to 4 h but perturbed by coking deactivation thereafter. La2O2CO3 acted as an intermediate species that hastened the coke removal via reverse Boudouard reaction upon its decarbonation. La2O2CO3 decarbonation occurred continuously in LaCoO3 system but intermittently in LaNiO3 system. LaNiO3 system only lasted for 13 h as its compact ash blocked the gas flow. LaCoO3 system lasted longer (17 h) with its porous ash, but it eventually failed because KCl crystallites blocked its active sites. Relatively, LaCoO3 system offered greater net H2 production (72.78%) and POME treatment volume (30.77%) than LaNiO3 system. SR could attain appreciable POME degradation (>97% COD, BOD5, TSS, & colour intensity). Withal, SR-treated POME should be polished to further reduce its incompliant COD and BOD5

Risk factors for poor outcomes of children with acute acalculous cholecystitis

BACKGROUND: Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is generally considered to be a mild disease in children; however, if left untreated or treated without caution, AAC can lead to severe outcomes, such as death. The objectives of this study were to present the clinical features and identify the predictors of mortality in pediatric AAC. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with AAC between 2005 and 2012 were enrolled. AAC was defined by the presence of fever and an echo-proven thickened gallbladder wall exceeding 4 mm. A poor health outcome was defined as death. Further information related to the demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory results, ultrasound findings, and pathogens present in the AAC patients was also collected. Predictors of mortality were identified by association analyses and confirmed by multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 147 pediatric AAC patients (male/female = 1.01, mean age = 5.2 years) were included in this retrospective study. The most common clinical presentation was an elevated C-reactive protein level (84%) followed by hepatomegaly (80%) and anorexia (78%). AAC in children was associated with various diseases, including infectious diseases (70%), systemic diseases (13%), and malignancy (11%). Fourteen of the 147 (9.25%) patients died during the study period. The presences of thrombocytopenia, anemia, gallbladder sludge, hepatitis, and/or sepsis plus hepatitis were found to be the important predictors of AAC mortality. CONCLUSIONS: The factors associated with AAC mortality were anemia, thrombocytopenia, gallbladder sludge, hepatitis, and sepsis plus hepatitis. These predictors are likely to help clinicians identify patients who are at a high risk of poor prognoses and make appropriate clinical decisions

An assessment of how bio-E10 will impact the vehicle-related ozone contamination in China

Bio-E10 is short for the biofuel made up of 90% gasoline in volume and 10% bio-ethanol, which is the ethanol made from commercially-grown crops such as corn and wheat by the sugar fermentation process. In China, bio-E10 will be supplied nationwide from 2020 as an alternative to conventional gasoline, aiming at ensuring greater energy security and lowering the greenhouse gas emissions. In order to assess the impacts of the upcoming bio-E10 application on the ozone forming potential (OFP) of the emissions from in-use vehicles, this paper examined the carbonyls and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the evaporative and tailpipe emissions of three China-4 certified in-use vehicles fueled with a market-available gasoline and two match-blend bio-E10s, and calculated their OFPs using the Maximum Incremental Reactivity (MIR) method. The results revealed that for the evaporative emissions, the use of bio-E10s increased the carbonyl and VOC emissions released within the diurnal-loss stage by 8.5–17.6% and 11.1–78.6% respectively, but decreased the carbonyl and VOC emissions in the hot-soak stage by 47.4%–61.5% and 4.8%–20.6% respectively. Regarding the tailpipe emissions, in comparison to the gasoline baseline, burning bio-E10s increased the carbonyls by 15%–46% while reducing the VOCs by 37%–56% over the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). Reductions in the tailpipe OFPs up to 47.3% were seen with the application of the bio-E10s, however, there were no clear conclusions with respect to the evaporative OFPs, which varied from −15% to ＋25% compared to the gasoline baseline. Based on the test results and census data, the application of bio-E10 in China is shown to help remove part of ozone contamination from the in-use vehicle sector

The impact of compassion from others and self-compassion on psychological distress, flourishing, and meaning in life among university students

Objectives: Research shows that compassion from others and from the self may enable university students to face, overcome, and bounce back from adversity and generate a greater sense of thriving and meaning in life. However, the underlying processes are largely unknown. The present study aimed to examine the associations of compassion with psychological distress, flourishing, and meaning in life among university students and explore the mechanisms underlying these associations. Methods: A total of 536 Hong Kong university students completed questionnaires measuring their experiences of compassion from others, self-compassion, resilience, psychological distress, flourishing, and meaning in life. Results: Serial mediation analyses showed that compassion from others was associated positively with self-compassion, which was, in turn, linked to greater resilience and consequently lower levels of psychological distress and higher levels of flourishing and meaning in life. Conclusions: Our findings reveal the associations of compassion from others and self-compassion with the well-being and life meaning of university students. The findings highlight the importance of being open and receptive to love and kindness from others. The findings also point to the importance of developing a caring attitude toward oneself

The impact of self-efficacy, alexithymia and multiple traumas on posttraumatic stress disorder and psychiatric co-morbidity following epileptic seizures: A moderated mediation analysis

This study investigated the incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric co-morbidity following epileptic seizure, whether alexithymia mediated the relationship between self-efficacy and psychiatric outcomes, and whether the mediational effect was moderated by the severity of PTSD from other traumas. Seventy-one (M=31, F=40) people with a diagnosis of epilepsy recruited from support groups in the United Kingdom completed the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 and the Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale. They were compared with 71 people (M=29, F=42) without epilepsy. For people with epilepsy, 51% and 22% met the diagnostic criteria for post-epileptic seizure PTSD and for PTSD following one other traumatic life event respectively. For the control group, 24% met the diagnostic criteria for PTSD following other traumatic life events. The epilepsy group reported significantly more anxiety and depression than the control. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis showed that self-efficacy was significantly correlated with alexithymia, post-epileptic seizure PTSD and psychiatric co-morbidity. Alexithymia was also significantly correlated with post-epileptic seizure PTSD and psychiatric co-morbidity. Mediation analyses confirmed that alexithymia mediated the path between self-efficacy and post-epileptic seizure PTSD and psychiatric co-morbidity. Moderated mediation also confirmed that self-efficacy and PTSD from one other trauma moderated the effect of alexithymia on outcomes. To conclude, people can develop posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and psychiatric co-morbidity following epileptic seizure. These psychiatric outcomes are closely linked with their belief in personal competence to deal with stressful situations and regulate their own functioning, to process rather than defend against distressing emotions, and with the degree of PTSD from other traumas. © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Chronic intermittent hypoxia induces local inflammation of the rat carotid body via functional upregulation of proinflammatory cytokine pathways

Maladaptive changes in the carotid body (CB) induced by chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) account for the pathogenesis of cardiovascular morbidity in patients with sleep-disordered breathing. We postulated that the proinflammatory cytokines, namely interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and cytokine receptors (IL-1r1, gp130 and TNFr1) locally expressed in the rat CB play a pathophysiological role in IH-induced CB inflammation. Results showed increased levels of oxidative stress (serum 8-isoprostane and nitrotyrosine in the CB) in rats with 7-day IH treatment resembling recurrent apneic conditions when compared with the normoxic control. Local inflammation shown by the amount of ED1-containing cells (macrophage infiltration) and the gene transcripts of NADPH oxidase subunits (gp91phox and p22phox) and chemokines (MCP-1, CCR2, MIP-1α, MIP-1β and ICAM-1) in the CB were significantly more in the hypoxic group than in the control. In addition, the cytokines and receptors were expressed in the lobules of chemosensitive glomus cells containing tyrosine hydroxylase and the levels of expressions were significantly increased in the hypoxic group. Exogenous cytokines elevated the intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) response to acute hypoxia in the dissociated glomus cells. The effect of cytokines on the [Ca2+]i response was significantly greater in the hypoxic than in the normoxic group. Moreover, daily treatment of IH rats with anti-inflammatory drugs (dexamethasone or ibuprofen) attenuated the levels of oxidative stress, gp91phox expression and macrophage infiltration in the CB. Collectively, these results suggest that the upregulated expression of proinflammatory cytokine pathways could mediate the local inflammation and functional alteration of the CB under chronic IH conditions

Guanxi, IT Systems, and Innovation Capability: The Moderating Role of Proactiveness

In Chinese exporting, small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) need to be innovative to develop a competitive advantage. This research explored how these organizations can use two resources: 1) guanxi with customers, distributors, suppliers, and government officials; and 2) IT systems to enhance their innovation capabilities and new product performance. The moderating role of an organization’s proactiveness with respect to new product development is also examined. The resource-based view provides the theoretical support for the research. A conceptual model is developed and tested using survey data gathered from 210 Chinese SMEs in manufacturing industries that were analyzed using SmartPLS 2.0. Results show that IT systems are positively related to innovation capability. The relationship between guanxi and innovation capability is significant for firms that exhibit high levels of proactiveness but not when proactiveness is low