[[alternative]]Production, Distribution, and Development of Sports Program in Digital Television

[[abstract]]Digital Television (DTV) will be a very important broadcasting technique in the future. As long as the government policy of DTV has been ready, the equipments, hardwares, softwares, channel carriers, and the habits of audience will all be on the way. The digital program production environment will be matured, and the development and application of digital techniques will be universal. The relationship between sports and media has been very close for a long time. Popular sports programs have very high rating number. That’s why media industry would like to spend a lot of money to invest sports program. Recently, the professional sports in Taiwan are growing up. Many sport fans turn to be the faithful audience of TV sports program. It is very helpful for the development of sports program in DTV. Therefore, the development of professional sports and a mature environment of DTV will be the base of sports program production in the future. To provide the definition and direction of sports program in DTV, this research emphasized on following subjects: the production of sports program, the application of digital broadcasting techniques, and the development of sports program in DTV. Methods of the research are literature analysis and interview. By integrating these experts’ opinions, this research drew a map for TV sports program stuffs in the digital era, and figured out the development of TV sports program combined with professional sports, business, and audience. The results of this research are : 1.) The characters of Digital broadcast techniques could strengthen the essence of sports program. 2.) The concept of Network Broadcasting Studio could increase efficiency of TV program production. 3.) Diversification of sportscast, advertising representation, and value-added service will be impressed in the future. The suggestions of the research are according to following subjects : the design of sports program, the development of value-add service, and the skills of production staffs.

The Rationality of Four Metrics of Network Robustness: A Viewpoint of Robust Growth of Generalized Meshes

There are quite a number of different metrics of network robustness. This paper addresses the rationality of four metrics of network robustness (the algebraic connectivity, the effective resistance, the average edge betweenness, and the efficiency) by investigating the robust growth of generalized meshes (GMs). First, a heuristic growth algorithm (the Proximity- Growth algorithm) is proposed. The resulting proximity-optimal GMs are intuitively robust and hence are adopted as the benchmark. Then, a generalized mesh (GM) is grown up by stepwise optimizing a given measure of network robustness. The following findings are presented: (1) The algebraic connectivity-optimal GMs deviate quickly from the proximity-optimal GMs, yielding a number of less robust GMs. This hints that the rationality of the algebraic connectivity as a measure of network robustness is still in doubt. (2) The effective resistace-optimal GMs and the average edge betweenness-optimal GMs are in line with the proximity-optimal GMs. This partly justifies the two quantities as metrics of network robustness. (3) The efficiency-optimal GMs deviate gradually from the proximity-optimal GMs, yielding some less robust GMs. This suggests the limited utility of the efficiency as a measure of network robustness.Network Architectures and Service

Spatial variation pattern analysis of hydrologic processes and water quality in three gorges reservoir area

The Three Gorges Project (TGP) has greatly enhanced the heterogeneity of the underlying surface in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA), thereby affecting the hydrologic processes and water quality. However, the influence of the differences of underlying surfaces on the hydrologic processes and water quality in the TGRA has not been studied thoroughly. In this research, the influence of the heterogeneity of landscape pattern and geographical characteristics on the spatial distribution difference of hydrologic processes and water quality in the different tributary basins of the TGRA was identified. The TGRA was divided into 23 tributary basins with 1840 sub-basins. The spatial differentiation of the hydrologic processes and water quality of the 23 tributary basins was examined by the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The observed data between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2013 were used to calibrate and validate the model, after which the SWAT model was applied to further predict the runoffand water quality in the TGRA. There are 25 main model parameters, including CN2, CH_K2 and SOL_AWC, which were calibrated and validated with SWAT-Calibration and Uncertainty Procedures (SWAT-CUP). The landscape patterns and geomorphologic characteristics in 23 tributary basins were investigated and spatially visualized to correlate with surface runoffand nutrient losses. Due to geographical difference, the average total runoffdepth (2010-2013) in the left bank area (538.6 mm) was 1.4 times higher than that in the right bank area (384.5 mm), total nitrogen (TN) loads in the left bank area (6.23 kg/ha) were 1.9 times higher than in the right bank area (3.27 kg/ha), and total phosphorus (TP) loads in the left bank area (1.27 kg/ha) were 2.2 times higher than in the right bank area (0.58 kg/ha). The total runoffdepth decreased from the head region (553.3 mm) to the tail region (383.2 mm), while the loads of TN and TP were the highest in the middle region (5.51 kg/ha for TN, 1.15 kg/ha for TP), followed by the tail region (5.15 kg/ha for TN, 1.12 kg/ha for TP) and head region (3.92 kg/ha for TN, 0.56 kg/ha for TP). Owing to the different spatial distributions of land use, soil and geographical features in the TGRA, correlations between elevation, slope gradient, slope length and total runoffdepth, TN and TP, were not clear and no consistency was observed in each tributary basin. Therefore, the management and control schemes of the water security of the TGRA should be adapted to local conditions.Hydraulic Structures and Flood Ris

Distortion of DNA Origami on Graphene Imaged with Advanced TEM Techniques

While graphene may appear to be the ultimate support membrane for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) imaging of DNA nanostructures, very little is known if it poses an advantage over conventional carbon supports in terms of resolution and contrast. Microscopic investigations are carried out on DNA origami nanoplates that are supported onto freestanding graphene, using advanced TEM techniques, including a new dark-field technique that is recently developed in our lab. TEM images of stained and unstained DNA origami are presented with high contrast on both graphene and amorphous carbon membranes. On graphene, the images of the origami plates show severe unwanted distortions, where the rectangular shape of the nanoplates is significantly distorted. From a number of comparative control experiments, it is demonstrated that neither staining agents, nor screening ions, nor the level of electron-beam irradiation cause this distortion. Instead, it is suggested that origami nanoplates are distorted due to hydrophobic interaction of the DNA bases with graphene upon adsorption of the DNA origami nanoplates.BN/Cees Dekker LabBN/Technici en AnalistenQN/AfdelingsbureauQN/Zandbergen La

The accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural land and the associated potential ecological risks in Shenzhen, China

Accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural land and their ecological risks are key issues in soil security studies. This study investigated the concentrations of six heavy metals-copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and chromium (Cr) in Shenzhen's agricultural lands and examined the potential hazards and possible sources of these metals. Eighty-two samples from agricultural topsoil were collected. Potential ecological risk index was used to calculate the potential risk of heavy metals. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to explore pollution sources of the metals. Finally, Kriging was used to predict the spatial distribution of the metals' potential ecological risks. The concentrations of the heavy metals were higher than their background values. Most of them presented little potential ecological risk, except for the heavy metal cadmium (Cd). Four districts (Longgang, Longhua, Pingshan, and Dapeng) exhibited some degree of potential risk, which tended to have more industries and road networks. Three major sources of heavy metals included geochemical processes, industrial pollutants, and traffic pollution. The heavy metal Cd was the main contributor to the pollution in agricultural land during the study period. It also poses the potential hazard for the future. High potential risk is closely related to industrial pollution and transportation. Since the 1980s, the sources of heavy metals have evolved from parent rock weathering, erosion, degradation of organics, and mineralization to human disturbances resulting in chemical changes in the soil

Characterization of two thymosins as immune-related genes in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

Prothymosin alpha (ProT alpha) and thymosin beta (T beta) belong to thymosin family, which consists of a series of highly conserved peptides involved in stimulating immune responses. ProT alpha b and T beta are still poorly studied in teleost. Here, the full-length cDNAs of ProT alpha b and T beta-like (T beta-l) were cloned and identified in common carp (Cyprinus carpi L). The expressions of carp ProT alpha b and T beta-l exhibited rise-fall pattern and then trended to be stable during early development. After spring viraemia of carp virus (SVCV) infection, the carp ProT alpha b and T beta-l transcripts were significantly up-regulated in some immune-related organs. When transiently over-expressed carp ProT alpha b and T beta-l in zebrafish, these two proteins upregulated the expressions of T lymphocytes-related genes (Rag 1, TCR-gamma, CD4 and CD8 alpha). These results suggest that carp ProT alpha b and T beta may ultimately enhance the immune response during viral infection and modulate the development of T lymphocytes in teleost. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Neural representation of decision confidence

Decision confidence is a person's strength of belief about the optimization or correctness of a prediction, judgment, or choice. A broad range of behavioral data focus on calibration studies, however, little is known about the mechanisms underlying decision confidence. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the neural activity while subjects made optional decisions by estimating the degree of confidence in perception task. Behaviorally, there was a significant increase in the accuracy of optional decisions compared with forced decisions, which proved the effectiveness of inducing the confidence estimation. Confidence process was mainly associated with activity in the superior parietal lobule, anterior cingulate cortex and superior frontal cortex. The behavioral waiving responses were predicted by a measure of neural decision confidence in the left superior parietal lobule. The activation in this region was correlated positively with the waiving rate, indicating the involvement of the representation of the decision confidence. These results suggested that the process of decision confidence might have evolved a more abstract and complicated network and involved in lots of cognitive functions. More importantly, the representation of decision confidence might be associated with the left superior parietal lobule. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Hyunsoonleella rubra sp nov., isolated from coastal sediment

A novel Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, non-flagellated and non-gliding bacterium, designated FA042 T, was isolated from a marine sediment sample collected from the coast of Weihai, China ( 37 degrees 32' 02 '' N 122 degrees 03' 44 '' E). Optimal growth occurred at 33 degrees C, pH 7.0-7.5 and in the presence of 2-3% ( w/ v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence showed that strain FA042 T belonged to the genus Hyunsoonleella. The closest described neighbour, in terms of 16S rRNA gene sequence identity, was Hyunsoonleella jejuensis ( 95.0 %). The major fatty acids were iso-C-15 : 0, iso-C-15 : 1 G, C15 : 0, iso-C-17 : 0 3-OH and iso-C-15 : 0 3-OH. The major respiratory quinone was MK-6. The major polar lipids of strain FA042(T) were phosphatidylethanolamine, three unidentified lipids and two unidentified aminolipids. The DNA G+ C content was 38.5 mol%. Based on its phylogenetic and phenotypic characteristics, strain FA042 T is presented as a representative of a novel species, for which the name Hyunsoonleella rubra sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Hyunsoonleella rubra sp. nov. is FA042(T) (= KCTC 42398(T) = MCCC 1H00110(T))

The Characteristics of Chinese Orthographic Neighborhood Size Effect for Developing Readers

Orthographic neighborhood size (N size) effect in Chinese character naming has been studied in adults. In the present study, we aimed to explore the developmental characteristics of Chinese N size effect. One hundred and seventeen students (40 from the 3rd grade with mean age of 9 years; 40 from the 5th grade with mean age of 11 years; 37 from the 7th grade with mean age of 13 years) were recruited in the study. A naming task of Chinese characters was adopted to elucidate N-size- effect development. Reaction times and error rates were recorded. Results showed that children in the 3rd grade named characters from large neighborhoods faster than named those from small neighborhoods, revealing a facilitatory N size effect; the 5th graders showed null N size effect; while the 7th graders showed an inhibitory N size effect, with longer reaction times for the characters from large neighborhoods than for those from small neighborhoods. The change from facilitation to inhibition of neighborhood size effect across grades suggested the transition from broadly tuned to finely tuned lexical representation in reading development, and the possible inhibition from higher frequency neighbors for higher graders

Morphological alterations and acetylcholinesterase and monoamine oxidase inhibition in liver of zebrafish exposed to Aphanizomenon flos-aquae DC-1 aphantoxins

Aphanizomenon flos-aquae is a cyanobacterium that produces neurotoxins or paralytic shellfish poisons (PSPs) called aphantoxins, which present threats to environmental safety and human health via eutrophication of water bodies worldwide. Although the molecular mechanisms of this neurotoxin have been studied, many questions remain unsolved, including those relating to in vivo hepatic neurotransmitter inactivation, physiological detoxification and histological and ultrastructural alterations. Aphantoxins extracted from the natural strain of A. flos-aquae DC-1 were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The main components were gonyautoxins 1 and 5 (GTX1, GTX5) and neosaxitoxin (neoSTX), which comprised 34.04%, 21.28%, and 12.77% respectively. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) were exposed intraperitoneally to 5.3 or 7.61 mu g STX equivalents (eq)/kg (low and high doses, respectively) of A. flos-aquae DC-1 aphantoxins. Morphological alterations and changes in neurotransmitter conduction functions of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and monoamine oxidase (MAO) in zebrafish liver were detected at different time points 1-24 h post-exposure. Aphantoxin significantly enhanced hepatic alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities and histological and ultrastructural damage in zebrafish liver at 3-12 h post-exposure. Toxin exposure increased the reactive oxygen species content and reduced total antioxidative capacity in zebrafish liver, suggesting oxidative stress. AChE and MAO activities were significantly inhibited, suggesting neurotransmitter inactivation/conduction function abnormalities in zebrafish liver. All alterations were dose- and time-dependent. Overall, the results indicate that aphantoxins/PSPs induce oxidative stress through inhibition of AChE and MAO activities, leading to neurotoxicity in zebrafish liver. The above parameters may be useful as bioindicators for investigating aphantoxins/PSPs and cyanobacterial blooms in nature. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V