Neural Correlates of Causal Inferences and Semantic Priming in People with Williams Syndrome: An fMRI Study

This study aimed at examining the ability of causal inferences and semantic priming of people with Williams syndrome (WS). Previous studies pointed out that people with WS showed deviant sentence comprehension, given advantageous lexical semantics. This study investigated the impairment in connecting words in the semantic network by using neuroimaging techniques to reveal neurological deficits in the contextual integration of people with Williams syndrome. Four types of word pairs were presented: causal, categorical, associative, and functional. Behavioural results revealed that causal word pairs required heavier cognitive processing than functional word pairs. Distinct neural correlates of semantic priming confirmed atypical semantic linkage and possible cause of impairment of contextual integration in people with WS. The findings of normal behaviours and atypical neural correlates in people with WS provide evidence of atypical development resulted from early gene mutations

Contextual Integration of Causal Coherence in People with Down Syndrome: Evidence from Figurative Comprehension

Contextual integration is seldom explored in people with Down syndrome (DS). This study aimed to investigate this ability by comparing causal inferences made by people with DS who were presented with homonyms embedded within sentences and asked to choose which of three interpretations (figurative meaning, literal meaning, or unrelated meaning) was correct. Accuracy was the dependent variable. Each homonym was presented in a scenario familiar to the participants. The results revealed that the participants with DS were the least accurate in responding to figurative meanings and erred most compared to matched controls in chronological age and mental age. It was concluded that people with DS were developmentally delayed in causal inferences and weak central coherence is indeed a syndrome-general phenotype across populations with developmental disorders

SOURCING DECISIONS TO MITIGATE SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION RISKS: CASE STUDY OF A LEATHER MANUFACTURER

Modern supply chains are international, complex, dynamic networks that are subject to uncertainty, vulnerability, large time-lags, and variability in delivery. One of the main reasons that have made supply chain networks more vulnerable is the raise of lean or JIT manufacturing practices. Those approaches are to eliminate all the wastes in supply chains and focus greatly on cost reduction by centralising the assets, reducing the supplier base or decreasing the stocks dramatically. However, the benefits must be weighed and balanced against the future risks of disruptions and costs. Furthermore, since sourcing policy is closely relative to supply chain continuity and security, this study examines how sourcing decisions in one large-scale leather manufacturing organisation could help mitigate supply chain disruption risks, focusing on identifying and examining key factors which have great impact on sourcing decision making processes to figure out the most appropriate sourcing policy for organisations to mitigate supply chain disruption risks. It is suggested from this study that organisations should examine external and internal potential risks to build a risk awareness culture across the networks and to introduce flexibility for more resilient supply chain networks. Since disruption risks are unpredictable and inevitable, organisations should embrace them and tackle them properly. Proper preparation before occurrences would mitigate the harm brought along by supply chain disruptions. In addition, from the research and the case study of Prime Asia Group, it is concluded that (i) sourcing policy and sourcing decisions play a significant role in protecting supply chain against disruption risks; (ii) the essential variables derived from the case study are quite different from what literature proposed. (iii) However, the variables identified and analysed do help decision makers ponder on how to find a more appropriate sourcing policy to mitigate disruption risks after the evaluation of trade-offs

SOURCING DECISIONS TO MITIGATE SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION RISKS: CASE STUDY OF A LEATHER MANUFACTURER

Modern supply chains are international, complex, dynamic networks that are subject to uncertainty, vulnerability, large time-lags, and variability in delivery. One of the main reasons that have made supply chain networks more vulnerable is the raise of lean or JIT manufacturing practices. Those approaches are to eliminate all the wastes in supply chains and focus greatly on cost reduction by centralising the assets, reducing the supplier base or decreasing the stocks dramatically. However, the benefits must be weighed and balanced against the future risks of disruptions and costs. Furthermore, since sourcing policy is closely relative to supply chain continuity and security, this study examines how sourcing decisions in one large-scale leather manufacturing organisation could help mitigate supply chain disruption risks, focusing on identifying and examining key factors which have great impact on sourcing decision making processes to figure out the most appropriate sourcing policy for organisations to mitigate supply chain disruption risks. It is suggested from this study that organisations should examine external and internal potential risks to build a risk awareness culture across the networks and to introduce flexibility for more resilient supply chain networks. Since disruption risks are unpredictable and inevitable, organisations should embrace them and tackle them properly. Proper preparation before occurrences would mitigate the harm brought along by supply chain disruptions. In addition, from the research and the case study of Prime Asia Group, it is concluded that (i) sourcing policy and sourcing decisions play a significant role in protecting supply chain against disruption risks; (ii) the essential variables derived from the case study are quite different from what literature proposed. (iii) However, the variables identified and analysed do help decision makers ponder on how to find a more appropriate sourcing policy to mitigate disruption risks after the evaluation of trade-offs

Constructing HVS-Based Optimal Substitution Matrix Using Enhanced Differential Evolution

Least significant bit (LSB) substitution is a method of information hiding. The secret message is embedded into the last k bits of a cover-image in order to evade the notice of hackers. The security and stego-image quality are two main limitations of the LSB substitution method. Therefore, some researchers have proposed an LSB substitution matrix to address these two issues. Finding the optimal LSB substitution matrix can be conceptualized as a problem of combinatorial optimization. In this paper, we adopt a different heuristic method based on other researchers’ method, called enhanced differential evolution (EDE), to construct an optimal LSB substitution matrix. Differing from other researchers, we adopt an HVS-based measurement as a fitness function and embed the secret by modifying the pixel to a closest value rather than simply substituting the LSBs. Our scheme extracts the secret by modular operations as simple LSB substitution does. The experimental results show that the proposed embedding algorithm indeed improves imperceptibility of stego-images substantially

Critical quality attributes (CQAs) of a therapeutic antibody produced from integrated continuous bioprocessing

The integrated continuous bioprocess provides an innovative way to produce protein drugs with flexibility and efficiency. However, during the long-term cultivation and complicated production, how to ensure the process stability and product quality is critically important. In this study, the monoclonal antibody (mAb) was produced in a bioreactor operated in a perfusion mode utilizing the ATF cell retention system for up to 32 days. The 2L harvest per day starting at day 10 was continuously purified using the 3-column periodic counter-current (PCC) chromatography system. The first protein A capture purification was performed with the dynamic binding capacity of 50% breakthrough around 60 mg mAb/mL of resin (vs 20 mg/mL resin for batch purification) for 120 cycles or 360 column operations followed by a polishing step of mixed mode chromatography for 20 cycles. The process and quality attributes were monitored daily. The results demonstrate consistency in both the purification process and the mAb qualities (in the aspects of product integrity, aggregates, and glycan profile) between PCC and batch purifications. Culture-related charge heterogeneity was observed accompanied by an increase of bioreactor harvest time using both batch and PCC purification processes. In addition, the impurities such as endotoxin and HCP were also monitored while under this high capacity utilization of chromatography resins. By sharing the insights of process and quality attributes, we hope to provide better understanding on the process-related heterogeneity between batch and continuous production and/or purification

Use of Rubber Dams During Root Canal Treatment in Taiwan

Background/PurposeIsolation of teeth with rubber dams is an important procedure for infection control in dentistry, especially in endodontic treatment. This study surveyed the prevalence of rubber dam usage in nonsurgical root canal treatment (RCT) by dentists under the National Health Insurance system in Taiwan.MethodsA total of 1,332 completed RCT cases were randomly selected from a large database from the Bureau of National Health Insurance in Taiwan in 2004. The radiographs and dental charts of the selected cases were evaluated for the prevalence of rubber dam usage in RCT. The frequencies of rubber dam usage for RCT by dentists were compared between hospitals and private dental clinics and among six different regions in Taiwan.ResultsThe overall prevalence of rubber dam usage for RCT by dentists under the National Health Insurance system in Taiwan was 16.5%. The frequency of rubber dam usage for RCT by dentists in hospitals (32.8%) was significantly higher than that (10.3%) in private dental clinics (p < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference in the frequency of rubber dam usage for RCT by dentists among six different geographic regions in Taiwan.ConclusionThe prevalence of rubber dam usage for RCT by dentists in Taiwan is relatively low. Because rubber dam isolation of an endodontically-treated tooth can provide better infection control, increase patient protection, and improve treatment efficiency, there is an urgent need to advise dentists in Taiwan to use rubber dams for every RCT case

Seabed gas emissions and submarine landslides off SW Taiwan

Methane emissions out of the seabed could seriously affect Earthâs climate and are usually associated with the dissociation of gas hydrates stored in marine sediments on the continental margins. Spatially, gas emissions out of the seafloor are not evenly distributed in continental margins. Gas emissions out of the seabed generally occur through submarine mud volcanoes and gas seeps. To understand the seabed gas emissions off SW Taiwan, we investigate the distributions of active submarine mud volcanoes, gas seeps, and gas plumes off SW Taiwan. We examine all of the available sub-bottom profiler and EK echo sounder data. We identified 19 submarine mud volcanoes, 220 gas seeps, and 295 gas plumes. The gas emissions are generally distributed at the crests of mud diapiric ridges. Most of the active mud volcanoes and gas seeps cluster at the KASMVG (Kaoping submarine mud volcanoes group) area. We speculate that the intensive mud volcanism and gas seepage at the KASMVG area are ascribed to submarine channel erosion along the continental slope base. The erosion causes a deep V-shaped channel and a steep BSR (Bottom-Simulating Reflector) slope curve across the continental margin. The upward migration rate of free gas beneath the BSR is thus increased and intensifies mud volcanism and gas seepage at the KASMVG area. The gas seeps can reduce the slope stability and generate small-scale slides. The development of mud volcanoes in an area could effectively disturb the seabed morphology so that large-scale submarine landslides cannot easily happen