Self-destructive behaviour among Taiwanese young people

This research aims to find out the factors as well as the mechanism of young people’s self-destructive behaviour in Taiwan. The research employed a mixed methodology- both quantitative and qualitative research methods. In the quantitative study, a self-reported questionnaire survey was carried out to investigate the individual and social factors that affected suicidality and self-harm among young people (N= 1043) aged 14-18. In the qualitative study, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals to find out the mechanism of self-destructive behaviour. The results show that females are more vulnerable to self-destructive behaviours than males, but male suicide attempt is increasing. Self-destructive behaviour is shaped by a range of social, cultural and individual factors. General mental health and beliefs about death are the two individual factors that are highly related to young people’s self-destructive behaviour. Better general health and positive belief about death indicate lower risk of self-destructive behaviour. Social factors such as family interaction, peer relationship, traditional value, economic optimism and social-political security are five important factors to affect young people’s self-destructive behaviour. Close and supportive family interactions help reduce the risk of self-destructive behaviour. However, closer peer relationship may increase the likelihood of self-destructive behaviour because of copycat behaviour, imitation or altruistic behaviour. Holding more traditional values, young people may result in bearing many pressures during the current economic recession period

A TIME SERIOUS ANALYSIS OF THE DYNAMIC INFLUENCE OF FEMALE'S MENSTRUAL CYCLE TO SPORT PERFORMANCE

This research uses Cross Correlation Function, C.C.F., as a dynamic relationship evaluation model to study the dynamic influences of the menstrual cycle on sport performances. This research takes females with a regular menstrual cycle to be the test subjects. Their basic body temperatures were recorded every day. A Kistler Quattro Jump force plate was used to record continuously for sixty days the parameters of muscular strength, jump performance, and fatigue index during the subjects performance of a counter-movement Jump (CMJ), squat Jump (SJ), and thirty-second continuous bent leg jumps (CJB). The late stage of the follicular phase and the early stage of the luteal phase have a positive influence on sport performance. This also illustrates that sport performance for female athletes will be varied dynamically in accordance with the time of menstrual cycle

Near-Optimal Evasion of Convex-Inducing Classifiers

Classifiers are often used to detect miscreant activities. We study how an adversary can efficiently query a classifier to elicit information that allows the adversary to evade detection at near-minimal cost. We generalize results of Lowd and Meek (2005) to convex-inducing classifiers. We present algorithms that construct undetected instances of near-minimal cost using only polynomially many queries in the dimension of the space and without reverse engineering the decision boundary.Comment: 8 pages; to appear at AISTATS'201

How to Create Suitable Augmented Reality Application to Teach Social Skills for Children with ASD

Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by a reduced ability to appropriately express social greetings. Studies have indicated that individuals with ASD might not recognize the crucial nonverbal cues that usually aid social interaction. This study applied augmented reality (AR) with tabletop role-playing game (AR-RPG) to focus on the standard nonverbal social cues to teach children with ASD, how to appropriately reciprocate when they socially interact with others. The results showed that intervention system provides an AR combined with physical manipulatives and presents corresponding specific elements in an AR 3D animation with dialogue; thus, it can be used to help them increase their social interaction skills and drive their attention toward the meaning and social value of greeting behavior in specific social situations. We conclude that AR-RPG of social situations helped children with ASD recognize and better understand these situations and moderately effective in teaching the target greeting responses

Fucosyltransferase 1 and 2 play pivotal roles in breast cancer cells.

FUT1 and FUT2 encode alpha 1, 2-fucosyltransferases which catalyze the addition of alpha 1, 2-linked fucose to glycans. Glycan products of FUT1 and FUT2, such as Globo H and Lewis Y, are highly expressed on malignant tissues, including breast cancer. Herein, we investigated the roles of FUT1 and FUT2 in breast cancer. Silencing of FUT1 or FUT2 by shRNAs inhibited cell proliferation in vitro and tumorigenicity in mice. This was associated with diminished properties of cancer stem cell (CSC), including mammosphere formation and CSC marker both in vitro and in xenografts. Silencing of FUT2, but not FUT1, significantly changed the cuboidal morphology to dense clusters of small and round cells with reduced adhesion to polystyrene and extracellular matrix, including laminin, fibronectin and collagen. Silencing of FUT1 or FUT2 suppressed cell migration in wound healing assay, whereas FUT1 and FUT2 overexpression increased cell migration and invasion in vitro and metastasis of breast cancer in vivo. A decrease in mesenchymal like markers such as fibronectin, vimentin, and twist, along with increased epithelial like marker, E-cadherin, was observed upon FUT1/2 knockdown, while the opposite was noted by overexpression of FUT1 or FUT2. As expected, FUT1 or FUT2 knockdown reduced Globo H, whereas FUT1 or FUT2 overexpression showed contrary effects. Exogenous addition of Globo H-ceramide reversed the suppression of cell migration by FUT1 knockdown but not the inhibition of cell adhesion by FUT2 silencing, suggesting that at least part of the effects of FUT1/2 knockdown were mediated by Globo H. Our results imply that FUT1 and FUT2 play important roles in regulating growth, adhesion, migration and CSC properties of breast cancer, and may serve as therapeutic targets for breast cancer

VI-Band Follow-Up Observations of Ultra-Long-Period Cepheid Candidates in M31

The ultra-long period Cepheids (ULPCs) are classical Cepheids with pulsation periods exceeding $\approx 80$ days. The intrinsic brightness of ULPCs are ~1 to ~3 mag brighter than their shorter period counterparts. This makes them attractive in future distance scale work to derive distances beyond the limit set by the shorter period Cepheids. We have initiated a program to search for ULPCs in M31, using the single-band data taken from the Palomar Transient Factory, and identified eight possible candidates. In this work, we presented the VI-band follow-up observations of these eight candidates. Based on our VI-band light curves of these candidates and their locations in the color-magnitude diagram and the Period-Wesenheit diagram, we verify two candidates as being truly ULPCs. The six other candidates are most likely other kinds of long-period variables. With the two confirmed M31 ULPCs, we tested the applicability of ULPCs in distance scale work by deriving the distance modulus of M31. It was found to be $\mu_{M31,ULPC}=24.30\pm0.76$ mag. The large error in the derived distance modulus, together with the large intrinsic dispersion of the Period-Wesenheit (PW) relation and the small number of ULPCs in a given host galaxy, means that the question of the suitability of ULPCs as standard candles is still open. Further work is needed to enlarge the sample of calibrating ULPCs and reduce the intrinsic dispersion of the PW relation before re-considering ULPCs as suitable distance indicators.Comment: 13 pages, with 14 Figures and 4 Tables (one online table). AJ accepte

Missing link in community psychiatry: When a patient with schizophrenia was expelled from her home

Treatment and disposition of homeless patients with schizophrenia represent a great challenge in clinical practice. We report a case of this special population, and discuss the development of homelessness, the difficulty in disposition, their utilization of health services, and possible applications of mandatory community treatment in this group of patients. A 51-year-old homeless female was brought to an emergency department for left femur fracture caused by an assault. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia about 20 years ago but received little help from mental health services over the decades. During hospitalization, her psychotic symptoms were only partially responsive to treatment. Her family refused to handle caretaking duties. The social welfare system was mobilized for long-term disposition. Homeless patients with schizophrenia are characterized by family disruption, poor adherence to health care, and multiple emergency visits and hospitalization. We hope this article can provide information about the current mental health policy to medical personnel. It is possible that earlier intervention and better outcome can be achieved by utilizing mandatory community treatment in the future, as well as preventing patients with schizophrenia from losing shelters