Convergence Theorem for a Family of New Modified Halley’s Method in Banach Space

We establish convergence theorems of Newton-Kantorovich type for a family of new modified Halley’s method in Banach space to solve nonlinear operator equations. We present the corresponding error estimate. To show the application of our theorems, two numerical examples are given

The change of intimate relationship between people with Alzheimer's disease and their adult child caregivers : An interpretative phenomenological analysis

This study aims to explore the change of intimate relationship between people with Alzheimer’s disease and their adult child caregivers as the disease progresses. Twelve adult child caregivers were recruited through purposive sampling. Explanatory phenomenological analysis was conducted to analyse data collected by semi-structured in-depth interviews. This study found a dynamically changing relationship between adult child caregivers and their parents with Alzheimer’s disease during care giving that evolved with the progress of the disease. The relationship was the most intimate in the middle stage of the disease for most caregivers and a new reciprocal relationship developed due to caregiving. Caregivers experienced different degrees of self-growth when providing care, though caregiver burdens were common. The positive experience and perception of caregivers were important for improving the quality of life for adult child caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease

Influencing factors of psychological well-being of the non-designated hospital staff in China during the COVID-19 pandemic

Background: Recent studies report that hospital staff at the forefront of caring for COVID-19 patients experience increased psychological distress. To effectively manage the outbreak of COVID-19, China established COVID-19 designated and non-designated hospitals. To date, few studies have examined the impacts of COVID-19 on psychological health of staff working at non-designated hospitals. This study is to explore factors affecting psychological health of non-designated hospital staff in China during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Data were collected through an online questionnaire between February and March 2020. The questionnaire consists of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20), Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ), sociodemographic characteristics, employment history, health status, and contact history of COVID-19. The questionnaire was distributed through hospital WeChat groups and work colleague referrals. A total of 470 non-designated hospital staff members completed the questionnaire. Multiple Linear Regression analysis was used to interpret the associations among social support, coping styles, sociodemographic factors, job roles, and psychological status. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0.Results: The non-designated hospital staff differed significantly in anxiety and depression subscores of the GHQ-20 by their job roles, levels of social support, and history of mental disorders. Staff with medical job roles, good self-reported health status, no previous mental disorders, adequate social support, and positive coping styles scored lower in GHQ-20 total score, which indicated healthier psychological status. Conclusions: The results indicate that history of mental health disorders, non-medical job roles, and inadequate social support are associated with greater psychological distress. Personalized support should be provided to those who are vulnerable and in need of social and psychological support

Some topics in the statistical analysis of forensic DNA and genetic family data

abstractpublished_or_final_versionStatistics and Actuarial ScienceDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph

Evaluation of DNA Mixtures from Database Search

With the aim of bridging the gap between DNA mixture analysis and DNA database search, a novel approach is proposed to evaluate the forensic evidence of DNA mixtures when the suspect is identified by the search of a database of DNA profiles. General formulae are developed for the calculation of the likelihood ratio for a two-person mixture under general situations including multiple matches and imperfect evidence. The influence of the prior probabilities on the weight of evidence under the scenario of multiple matches is demonstrated by a numerical example based on Hong Kong data. Our approach is shown to be capable of presenting the forensic evidence of DNA mixtures in a comprehensive way when the suspect is identified through database search

Familial database search on two-person mixture

This work presents how the familial database search can be applied to forensic investigations in which the DNA evidence is a mixture. The forensic identification is based on a ranked list of the likelihood ratios for each candidate in the DNA database of being the relative of the contributor of the forensic sample. A simulation study using Hong Kong Chinese data demonstrated the comparable effectiveness of our approach that in 90% of the cases, the sibling of the contributor can be found in the top 50 profiles, and the parent/child can be found in the top 10 profiles. We also discuss the prediction on the performance of the search that can guide the decision of the police force to initiate the investigation

Development of substituted N-[3-(3-methoxylphenyl)propyl] amides as MT2-selective melatonin agonists: Improving metabolic stability

A series of novel and selective N-[3-(6-benzyloxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propyl] amides has recently been shown to possess sub-nanomolar range binding affinity to the type 2 melatonin receptor (MT2). Pharmacokinetics studies suggested that these compounds were subject to vigorous CYP450-mediated metabolism, resulting in a series of metabolites with significantly decreased or diminished binding affinities toward MT2 receptor. The ether bonds were found to be the major positions susceptible to metabolism. In this study, the benzyl ether bond was either removed or replaced with a carbon-carbon bond in an attempt to improve metabolic stability and enhance their resistance towards phase I oxidation. The synthesis, receptor binding affinity, intrinsic potency and metabolic stability of modified structures are reported in this article. By removal or replacement of metabolic labile ether linkerage with carbon linkers, a novel compound was identified with good potency and MT2 selectivity, and with increased metabolic stability. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A framework to identify critical dynamics of water quality for diagnosing river basin ecosystem resilience and management

This study proposed a novel framework to identify critical water quality dynamics as early warning signals for diagnosing changes in the resilience of river basin ecosystems. We established empirical linkages between the theoretical background of three resilience capacities (robustness, adaptability and transformability) and water quality dynamics. Then, the processes of resilience degradation and their risk transfer or accumulation have been identified based on the shifts among different states. The methods of time-domain analysis and frequency-domain analysis were integrated into this framework, aiming to identify gradual and transient responses of water quality and its periodic fluctuation characteristics at multiple temporal scales. The time-domain analysis methods obtained the trend, cumulative periodic fluctuation of water quality by extracting the key characteristic parameters from the time-series data. The wavelet transform methods were introduced into the frequency-domain analysis to reveal the water quality fluctuation patterns at specific temporal scales. We tested the proposed framework in a typical agriculture-intensive watershed in eastern China. The results showed that this framework can be effectively used to identify three resilience states of river basin ecosystems. The degraded resilience regions were mainly distributed in the downstream area, which was influenced by their specific land use/cover and different agricultural soil health conditions. Particularly, urban sewage discharge was the main cause of periodic fluctuation in water quality time series at multiple high-frequency scales. The theoretical background of resilience capacities was elaborated in non-equilibrium dynamics before resilience degradation. Thus, this novel framework could reveal the pollution processes and driving mechanisms in different river reaches, and it also can provide adaptive management suggestions according to resilience dynamics traits

Design, synthesis and evaluation of novel heterodimers of donepezil and huperzine fragments as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors

Four series of novel heterodimers comprised of donepezil and huperzine A (HupA) fragments were designed, synthesized, and evaluated in search of potent acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors as potential therapeutic treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Heterodimers comprised of dimethoxyindanone (from donepezil), hupyridone (from HupA), and connected with a multimethylene linker, were identified as potent and selective inhibitors of AChE. Diastereomeric heterodimers (RS,S)-17b (with a tetramethylene linker) exhibited the highest potency of inhibition towards AChE with an IC50 value of 9 nM and no detectable inhibitory effect on butyrylcholinesterase at 1 mM. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved