Ethanol Ablation of a Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor Presenting as a Small Bowel Obstruction.

Ethanol has historically been used as an ablative agent for a variety of lesions. One of the more common applications of this technique is celiac plexus neurolysis; however, recent reports have suggested a role for the endoscopic alcohol ablation of a variety of solid and cystic lesions. We report a novel case of endoscopic ethanol ablation of a peripheral nerve sheath tumor presenting as a small bowel obstruction

Numerical Evaluation of Bell-Shaped Proportional Damping Model for Softening Structures

A new type of proportional damping models, called bell-shaped proportional damping model, has recently been proposed. This new model has not only addressed the spurious damping forces, but also maintained the same order of computational efficiency as the Rayleigh model. This model has also been further improved such that, by using the tangent stiffness approach, it becomes suitable for structures experiencing softening response with negative stiffness. The improved model allows users to have flexible control of modal damping ratio for all interested frequency intervals, including those associated with negative stiffness. In this study, the performance of bell-shaped damping model is evaluated numerically in a response history analysis of a multi-storey building under seismic loading. The results show that, compared to the Rayleigh model, the bell-shaped model performs excellently in terms of always giving desirable positive energy dissipation even when the structure is experiencing softening response

Participant Network Patterns in Enhancing Online Community Interactivity

Social media is having an increasing impact on businesses. In particular, the explosive growth of online brand communities has attracted organizations and marketers’ attentions. However, despite the increasing importance of online community for marketing, it is noticed that relatively few of them are successful in attracting community members and enhancing interactivity. In this study, we argue that it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding regarding how the community members participate in the communal context and interact with each other, and thereby the community interactivity can be continued. To this end, we collected a large amount of data from an online discussion forum where we found that the participants were highly interactive across the discussion topics, thus forming robust communities. Currently, the data analysis pertaining to this study is work in progress, but we will be in a position to offer more in-depth analysis of the rich findings that the research has generated by the time of the conference

Effects of natto extract on endothelial injury in a rat model

Vascular endothelial damage has been found to be associated with thrombus formation, which is considered to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. A diet of natto leads to a low prevalence of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of natto extract on vascular endothelia damage with exposure to laser irradiation. Endothelial damage both in vitro and in vivo was induced by irradiation of rose bengal using a DPSS green laser. Cell viability was determined by MTS assay, and the intimal thickening was verified by a histological approach. The antioxidant content of natto extract was determined for the free radical scavenging activity. Endothelial cells were injured in the presence of rose bengal irradiated in a dose-dependent manner. Natto extract exhibits high levels of antioxidant activity compared with purified natto kinase. Apoptosis of laser-injured endothelial cells was significantly reduced in the presence of natto extract. Both the natto extract and natto kinase suppressed intimal thickening in rats with endothelial injury. The present findings suggest that natto extract suppresses vessel thickening as a synergic effect attributed to its antioxidant and anti-apoptosis properties

An Evaluation of Container Development Strategies in the Port of Taichung

AbstractThe objective of this study is to examine the container development strategies in the port of Taichung from the viewpoints of carriers, port authorities and shipping academics. The six most important strategic attributes from the all respondents perceptions are Enhancing the services of direct shipping with Mainland China, simplified customs procedures, simplified administrative procedures, developing service routes with Hong Kong and Mainland China, improving port information systems, and flexible rate to response market change. Based on a factor analysis, the findings reflect that price and incentive strategic dimension was the most import strategic dimension, followed by marketing and direct shipping with Mainland China as well as reorganization and information service strategic dimensions. In addition, the perceived implemented period for container development strategic attributes for the Taichung Port was also investigated in this study. Results indicated that four development strategies stood out as being short-term need to perform to all respondents were providing one-stop shopping services for carriers, flexible rate to response market change, enhancing employee training and knowledge, and strengthening port marketing and promotion. Theoretical and managerial implications of the research findings are discussed