How Do People Process Ambiguous Strings

This article combines ambiguity phenomenon with Chinese word segmentation to observe how human being conduct language processing to clarify ambiguity between overlapping ambiguity and combination ambiguity. Artificial intelligence will easily missegment these two strings, while the study tries to introduce optimality theory to discover possible base of these two types of ambiguity comprehended by general people. According to the result, the key to clarify ambiguity is context, idiomaticity and word frequency

The Inhibitory Effect of Ellagic Acid on Cell Growth of Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Ellagic acid (EA) is able to inhibit the growth of several cancer cells; however, its effect on human ovarian carcinoma cells has not yet been investigated. Ovarian carcinoma ES-2 and PA-1 cells were treated with EA (10~100 μM) and assessed for viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, anoikis, autophagy, and chemosensitivity to doxorubicin and their molecular mechanisms. EA inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner by arresting both cell lines at the G1 phase of the cell cycle, which were from elevating p53 and Cip1/p21 and decreasing cyclin D1 and E levels. EA also induced caspase-3-mediated apoptosis by increasing the Bax : Bcl-2 ratio and restored anoikis in both cell lines. The enhancement of apoptosis and/or inhibition of autophagy in these cells by EA assisted the chemotherapy efficacy. The results indicated that EA is a potential novel chemoprevention and treatment assistant agent for human ovarian carcinoma

Weight Stigma Model on Quality of Life Among Children in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Modeling Study

We proposed amodel to examine the relationship among different types of weight-related stigmas and their relationship to quality of life (QoL). We recruited 430 dyads of elementary school children [mean age = 10.07 years; nboy = 241 (56.0%); noverweight = 138 (32.1%)] and their parents. Parents completed QoL instruments about their children assessing generic QoL and weight-related QoL. Children completed QoL instruments assessing generic QoL and weight-related QoL and stigma scales assessing experienced weight stigma, weight-related self-stigma, and perceived weight stigma. Experienced weight stigma was significantly associated with perceived weight stigma, and in turn, perceived weight stigma was significantly associated with weight-related self-stigma. However, experienced weight stigma was not directly associated with weight-related self-stigma. In addition, experienced stigma was negatively associated with both child-rated and parent-rated QoL. Perceived weight stigma was associated only with parent-rated weight-related QoL but not child-rated QoL. Self-stigma was associated with child-rated QoL but not parent-rated QoL. Moreover, perceived weight stigma and weight-related self-stigma were significant mediators in the association between body weight and children’s QoL; experienced weight stigma was not a significant mediator. The study findings can be used to inform healthcare providers about the relationship among different types of stigmas and their influence on child-rated and parent-rated QoL and help them develop interventions to address the global trend of overweight/obesity in youth and pediatric populations

EBV-encoded small RNA1 and nonresolving inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis

AbstractRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by perpetuated inflammation in multiple joints. To date, there is no cure for RA, and the causal factor for non-resolving inflammation in RA remains unclear. In this study, we initially observed expression of Epstein–Barr virus-encoded small RNA1 (EBER1) in the synovial tissue of all five patients who showed nonresolving RA inflammation. By contrast, EBER1 was detected in the synovial tissue of only one out of seven patients with advanced osteoarthritis (OA; p < 0.01, Fisher’s exact test). To confirm this finding, we conducted a second study on synovial tissue samples taken from 23 patients with nonresolving RA inflammation and 13 patients with OA. All synovial samples from patients with nonresolving inflammation of RA showed positive expression of EBER1 (23/23, 100%), whereas none of the synovial samples from patients with OA showed expression of EBER1 (0/13, 0%; p < 0.001, by Fisher’s exact test). In vitro, transfection of RA synovial fibroblasts with EBER1 induced the production of interleukin-6. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that nonresolving RA inflammation is strongly related to the presence of EBER1, which might be, at least partially, responsible for synovial fibroblast interleukin-6 production

The first discovery of amber resin in Lichi Mélange, Eastern Taiwan

Amber is fossilized tree resin produced by the metabolism of vascular plants that has experienced various geological processes, including burial, compression, and heating. Therefore, most of the previously reported amber pieces were unearthed from sedimentary rocks. The record of amber in tectonic active regions, e.g., Taiwan, is extremely poor and has not been scientifically certified, leading to a poor understanding of the history of prehistoric flora in this region. This study reports a 1-cm yellow-brown amorphous resin interspersed in sandstone blocks in the Lichi Mélange at the southernmost tip of the Coastal Range in eastern Taiwan, representing the first official record of amber from the mélange unit and as well as in Taiwan. The results, in addition to the affirmation of the amber, show that the amber is composed of sesquiterpenes and triterpenoids, indicating a possible origin of dipterocarp trees that are absent in the paleobotanic record and modern flora in Taiwan. Furthermore, infrared spectra analysis shows its compositional similarity to the amber from Sumatra, Indonesia, which boasts modern dipterocarp forests. Petrographic analysis of the surrounding sandstone suggests that the amber was deposited into the continental margin and allocated to Taiwan through the arc-continental collision in ∼6–7 Ma. In summary, this study represents the first report of amber unearthed in the mélange unit and Taiwan. It shows that amber is a durable and reliable information carrier in accordance with biogeographic and tectonic evidence

Comparing Fear of COVID-19 and Preventive COVID-19 Infection Behaviors Between Iranian and Taiwanese Older People: Early Reaction May Be a Key

This study assessed fear of the novel coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19), preventive COVID-19 infection behaviors, and the association between fear of COVID-19 and preventive COVID-19 infection behaviors among older people in Iran and Taiwan. Older people aged over 60 years (n = 144 for Iranians and 139 for Taiwanese) completed the Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and two items on preventive COVID-19 infection behaviors (i.e., hand washing and mouth covering when sneezing). Iranian older people had a significantly higher level of fear of COVID-19 than did Taiwanese older people. Moreover, Iranian older people had significantly lower frequencies of preventive COVID-19 infection behaviors than did Taiwanese older people. Different timings in implementing COVID-19 infection control policies in Iran and Taiwan may explain why Iranian older people had greater fear of COVID-19 and lower preventive COVID-19 infection behaviors than did Taiwanese older people

Electromagnetic Wave Theory and Applications

Contains table of contents for Section 3, reports on six research projects and a list of publications and conference papers.Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant ECS 86-20029Schlumberger- Doll ResearchU.S. Army Research Office Contract DAAL03 88-K-0057U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-90-J-1002National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NAGW-1617U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-89-J-1107National Aeronautics and Space Administration Grant NAGW-1272National Aeronautics and Space Administration Agreement 958461U.S. Army - Corps of Engineers Contract DACA39-87-K-0022U.S. Air Force - Electronic Systems Division Contract F19628-88-K-0013U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-89-J-1019Digital Equipment CorporationIBM CorporationU.S. Department of Transportation Contract DTRS-57-88-C-00078Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency Contract MDA972-90-C-002