9,325 research outputs found
Electro-Acupuncture in Relieving Labor Pain
To study the efficacy of electro-acupuncture for the relief of labor pain, and to build a better understanding of how electro-acupuncture might influence the neuroendocrine system, 36 primiparas were randomly divided into an electro-acupuncture group and a control group. Assessments of pain intensity and degree of relaxation during labor were analyzed. The differences between the electro-acupuncture group and the control group on the concentration of Ξ²-endorphin (Ξ²-EP) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the peripheral blood were compared. The electro-acupuncture group was found to exhibit a lower pain intensity and a better degree of relaxation than the control group (p = 0.018; p = 0.031). There existed a significant difference in the concentration of Ξ²-EP and 5-HT in the peripheral blood between the two groups at the end of the first stage (p = 0.037; p = 0.030). Electro-acupuncture was found to be an effective alternative or complementary therapy in the relief of pain during labor. The benefit of electro-acupuncture for relieving labor pain may be based on the mechanism of producing a synergism of the central nervous system (CNS) with a direct impact on the uterus through increasing the release of Ξ²-EP and 5-HT into the peripheral blood
Possible atomic structures for the sub-bandgap absorption of chalcogen hyperdoped silicon
Single-crystal silicon wafers were hyperdoped respectively by sulfur,
selenium, and tellurium element using ion implantation and nanosecond laser
melting. The hyperdoping of such chalcogen elements endowed the treated silicon
with a strong and wide sub-bandgap light absorptance. When these hyperdoped
silicons were thermally annealed even at low temperatures (such as 200~400 oC),
however, this extra sub-bandgap absorptance began to attenuate. In order to
explain this attenuation of absorptance, alternatively, we consider it
corresponding to a chemical decomposition reaction from optically absorbing
structure to non-absorbing structure, and obtain a very good fitting to the
attenuated absorptances by using Arrhenius equation. Further, we extract the
reaction activation energies from the fittings and they are 0.343(+/- 0.031) eV
for S-, 0.426(+/-0.042) eV for Se-, and 0.317(+/-0.033) eV for Te-hyperdoped
silicon, respectively. We discuss these activation energies in term of the bond
energies of chalcogen-Si metastable bonds, and finally suggest that several
high-energy interstitial sites instead of the substitutional site, are very
possibly the atomic structures that are responsible for the sub-bandgap
absorptance of chalcogen hyperdoped silicon.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Network Pharmacology and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Gynaecology & obstetric
Development of Theory of Mind in English-speaking Chinese Singaporean Preschoolers
The current study examines Theory of Mind (ToM) development in English-speaking ethnically Chinese 3- to 6-year-old children raised in Singapore, a country influenced by both eastern and western cultures. All tasks were administered in English. Study 1 investigated the vertical development of ToM in 3- to 6-year-olds (N = 65) with five tasks, including diverse desires, diverse beliefs, knowledge access, content false-belief, and explicit false-belief tasks. Results revealed that like English-speaking preschoolers growing up in the West, English-speaking Chinese Singaporean preschoolers develop the understanding of diverse desires and diverse beliefs earlier than the understanding of knowledge access and false beliefs; however, contrary to previous findings in both the West and East, even 5-year-olds had not fully developed the understanding of false beliefs. Study 2 specifically examined the understanding of beliefs through the appearance-reality, deceptive pointing, false belief, and non-mental states control tasks. Results (N = 127) showed that in terms of the development of beliefs, English-speaking Chinese Singaporean preschoolers develop the understanding of the difference between appearance and reality earlier than deception, the understanding of false beliefs regarding location and content. In addition, Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 by showing that even 5 year old English-speaking Chinese Singaporean preschoolers had not fully developed the understanding of false beliefs. Together, these results suggest that the developmental pattern of ToM in English-speaking Chinese Singaporean children is unique, possibly reflecting a mix of East and West, and their unique linguistic experience
Proximity effect at superconducting Sn-Bi2Se3 interface
We have investigated the conductance spectra of Sn-Bi2Se3 interface junctions
down to 250 mK and in different magnetic fields. A number of conductance
anomalies were observed below the superconducting transition temperature of Sn,
including a small gap different from that of Sn, and a zero-bias conductance
peak growing up at lower temperatures. We discussed the possible origins of the
smaller gap and the zero-bias conductance peak. These phenomena support that a
proximity-effect-induced chiral superconducting phase is formed at the
interface between the superconducting Sn and the strong spin-orbit coupling
material Bi2Se3.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure
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