Grassroots Emergency Health Risk Communication and Transmedia Public Participation: H1N1 Flu, Travelers from Epicenters, and Cyber Vigilantism

Grassroots risk reduction tactics took new forms in the era of social media. Chinese netizens mobilized human flesh searches (HFS), or cyber vigilantism, to reduce the risks posed by international travelers who might import the H1N1 flu virus into China. My study suggests that at the beginning of the H1N1 flu epidemic, rigorous transmedia intervention efforts were made to discipline the early irresponsible overseas Chinese who traveled extensively after arriving in China, but much less attention was paid to risks posed by foreign travelers. The grassroots risk tactics employed emotional appeals, valuative judgment, and moral condemnation to criticize the irresponsible travel of the earliest imported H1N1 flu cases. These transmedia risk tactics got quickly appropriated by regional and national governments to reduce alienation of overseas Chinese and to discipline overseas returnees. Analysis of the HFS episodes reveals the need to create an interface of interaction between authorities and the public for open systems of communication and to consider local public health practices, emotion needs, and values and beliefs when designing health risk communication messages

Singapore’s Quarantine Rhetoric and Human Rights in Emergency Health Risks

When Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) began spreading in Asia in March 2003, many affected countries and areas scrambled to mobilize public health resources and rushed to find effective ways to contain the virus within their territories. In late March and April of the same year, the World Health Organization (WHO) added numerous East and Southeast Asian countries and regions to its list of areas affected by SARS: mainland China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, and Taiwan. Singapore was among the first countries to eradicate SARS and was taken off the WHO list on May 30, 2003

Access, Oppression, and Social (In)Justice in Epidemic Control: Race, Profession, and Communication in SARS Outbreaks in Canada and Singapore

This article investigates issues of social injustice experienced by various oppressed groups in SARS outbreaks in 2003, paying particular attention to medical care workers in Canada and Singapore, with many of them being immigrants from East Asia and Southeast Asia. It identifies communication strategies employed by civic networks, especially nonprofit organizations, to help marginalized groups acquire institutional and literacy accesses so that they could respond more effectively to such injustices in complicated and multicultural contexts. Through combined use of Jost and Kay’s work on the three types of social justice (2010), oppression (Young, 1990), and access (Porter, 1998), this study produces rich and multifaceted insights about issues of social injustice in SARS outbreaks. More importantly, it elaborates on the theoretical connections among the three social justice theories and shows possible entry points, particularly the conjunction between process control and informational justice, for professional communicators to produce constructive responses to social injustices and to promote social justice and access for marginalized groups

A new Approach to Erdos Collaboration Network using PageRank

Using the data on Paul Erdos, his co-authors and their co-authors, we can construct a network called the Erd?s Collaboration network. Then we do reduction, analysis and visualization with it using program Pajek. In this paper, we develop a reasonable academic influence measuring method applying PageRank algorithm on the case of the Erd?s Collaboration network. We find that ALON, NOGA M is the most influential mathematician in the network. In addition, to measure impact, we construct a dynamic model, whereas it needs too much data for us to calculate the dynamic index. Keywords: PageRank, Collaboration network, Network analysis

Capacity Sizing Method and Economic Analysis of Energy Storage in Substations Meeting N-1 Criterion of Main Transformers

[Introduction] In order to solve the problem of the short-term heavy load of main transformers in substations caused by the high peak load of the power grid with the relatively reasonable average-load-rate and increasing utilization hours of the substations, delay the construction investment of the power grid and ensure the economic operation of the power grid, a capacity sizing method of energy storage in substations is proposed in this paper, which meets the power supply requirements with N-1 main transformers. [Method] Firstly, a capacity sizing mathematical model of energy storage was built for peak load shaving of the load operation curve and reducing the maximum load rate of the transformer. Then, the capacity sizing economic objective function of lithium ion electrochemical energy storage was constructed to compare the construction investment of lithium ion electrochemical energy storage and main transformer expansion and analyze the economy of energy storage capacity sizing. Finally, in combination with the actual condition of substations, the energy storage capacity and its feasible construction cost in economy is proposed. [Result] Through analysis, with the decreasing of unit cost of lithium ion electrochemical energy storage in the future, the energy storage power can be considered in accordance with the substation capacity of 15% and charging and discharging time of 2 hours. When the unit cost of the energy storage system is decreased to about RMB 1 200/ kWh, the economic advantage of energy storage construction is obvious. [Conclusion] The capacity sizing method of energy storage proposed can solve the problem of short-term heavy load in substations effectively, and has better economy than conventional power transmission and transformation projects

Specific frequency bands of amplitude low-frequency fluctuations in memory-related cognitive impairment: predicting Alzheimer’s disease

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was utilized to measure the amplitude low frequency fluctuations (ALFF) in human subjects with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and normal control (NC). Two specific frequency bands (Slow5: 0.01-0.027Hz and Slow4: 0.027-0.073Hz) were analysed in the main cognitive control related four subregions of the right ventral lateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), i.e. IFJ, posterior-VLPFC, mid-VLPFC, and anterior-VLPFC. Differences in ALFF values between the AD and the NC group were found throughout the subregions of the right VLPFC. Compared to normal control group, decreased ALFF values were observed in AD patients in the IFJ (in two given frequency bands), and the mid-VLPFC (in Slow5). In contrast, increased ALFF valued were observed in AD patients in the posterior- and anterior-VLPFC (in both Slow5 and Slow4), and also in the mid-VLPFC in Slow4. Moreover, significant ALFF differences between the IFJ and three other subregions of the right VLPFC were found. Furthermore, ALFF values in the right VLPFC showed significant correlations with the time course of disease. Taken together, our findings suggest that AD patients have largely abnormalities in intrinsic neural oscillations which are in line with the AD pathophysiology, and further reveal that the abnormalities are dependent on specific frequency bands. Thus, frequency-domain analyses of the ALFF may provide a useful tool to investigate the AD pathophysiology

Effects of L-proline on the Growth Performance, and Blood Parameters in Weaned Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged Pigs

This trail was conducted to study the effect of L-proline on the growth performance, and blood parameter in the weaned lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged pigs. Thirty six pigs (9.13±0.85 kg) were assigned randomly to dietary treatments in a 2×3 factorial arrangement in a 20-d growth assay. Factors were intraperitoneal injection with saline or LPS, and three dietary L-proline supplement levels (0%, 0.5%, or 1.0%). On d 10, blood samples were collected at 3 h after LPS (100 μg LPS/kg body weight [BW]) or saline injection. On d 20 of the trial, all pigs were orally administrated D-xylose (0.1 g/kg BW) at 2 h, and blood samples were collected at 3 h after LPS or saline injection. As a result, dietary supplementation with 0.5% proline had a tendency to increase average daily gain (ADG) in piglets during d 10 to 20 (p = 0.088). Without LPS challenge, dietary supplementation with 1.0% proline had no effect on growth hormone (GH) concentrations on d 10 (p>0.05), but decreased it after LPS challenge (p<0.05). There was LPS challenge×proline interaction for GH concentrations on d 10 (p<0.05). Dietary supplementation with 1.0% proline decreased glucagon concentration on d 10 after LPS challenge (p<0.05). In addition, dietary supplementation with proline increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity significantly on d 10 and 20 (p<0.05), and 1.0% proline increased heat shock proteins-70 concentration on d 10 (p<0.05). Moreover, proline supplementation increased diamine oxidase (DAO) concentrations after LPS challenge (p<0.05). There was LPS challenge×proline interaction for DAO (p<0.05). Furthermore, dietary supplementation with 1.0% proline increased the D-xylose level when no LPS challenge (p<0.05). These results indicate that proline supplementation could improve growth performance, increase SOD activities, and has a positive effect on the gastrointestinal tract digestibility in early weaned pigs

High-risk genotypes for type 1 diabetes are associated with the imbalance of gut microbiome and serum metabolites

BackgroundThe profile of gut microbiota, serum metabolites, and lipids of type 1 diabetes (T1D) patients with different human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes remains unknown. We aimed to explore gut microbiota, serum metabolites, and lipids signatures in individuals with T1D typed by HLA genotypes.MethodsWe did a cross-sectional study that included 73 T1D adult patients. Patients were categorized into two groups according to the HLA haplotypes they carried: those with any two of three susceptibility haplotypes (DR3, DR4, DR9) and without any of the protective haplotypes (DR8, DR11, DR12, DR15, DR16) were defined as high-risk HLA genotypes group (HR, n=30); those with just one or without susceptibility haplotypes as the non-high-risk HLA genotypes group (NHR, n=43). We characterized the gut microbiome profile with 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and analyzed serum metabolites with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.ResultsStudy individuals were 32.5 (8.18) years old, and 60.3% were female. Compared to NHR, the gut microbiota of HR patients were characterized by elevated abundances of Prevotella copri and lowered abundances of Parabacteroides distasonis. Differential serum metabolites (hypoxanthine, inosine, and guanine) which increased in HR were involved in purine metabolism. Different lipids, phosphatidylcholines and phosphatidylethanolamines, decreased in HR group. Notably, Parabacteroides distasonis was negatively associated (p ≤ 0.01) with hypoxanthine involved in purine metabolic pathways.ConclusionsThe present findings enabled a better understanding of the changes in gut microbiome and serum metabolome in T1D patients with HLA risk genotypes. Alterations of the gut microbiota and serum metabolites may provide some information for distinguishing T1D patients with different HLA risk genotypes