A Study of the Establishment of the Evaluation Index System for Tourist Attraction Disaster Resilience

Tourism industry is highly depended on the natural environment and climate. Compared to other industries, it is more susceptible to environment and climate. Taiwan belongs to a sea island country and located in the subtropical monsoon zone. The events of climate variability, frequency of typhoons and rainfalls raged are caused regularly serious disaster. In traditional disaster assessment, it usually focuses on the disaster damage and risk assessment, which is short of the features from different industries to understand the impact of the restoring force in post-disaster resilience and the main factors that constitute resilience. The object of this study is based on disaster recovery experience of tourism area and to understand the main factors affecting the tourist area of disaster resilience. The combinations of literature review and interviews with experts are prepared an early indicator system of the disaster resilience. Then, it is screened through a Fuzzy Delphi Method and Analytic Network Process for weight analysis. Finally, this study will establish the tourism disaster resilience evaluation index system considering the Taiwan's tourism industry characteristics. We hope that be able to enhance disaster resilience after tourist areas and increases the sustainability of industrial development. It is expected to provide government departments the tourism industry as the future owner of the assets in extreme climates responses

Estimating the central charge from the R\'enyi entanglement entropy

We calculate the von Neumann and R\'enyi bipartite entanglement entropy of the $O(2)$ model with a chemical potential on a 1+1 dimensional Euclidean lattice with open and periodic boundary conditions. We show that the Calabrese-Cardy conformal field theory predictions for the leading logarithmic scaling with the spatial size of these entropies are consistent with a central charge $c=1$. This scaling survives the time continuum limit and truncations of the microscopic degrees of freedom, modifications which allow us to connect the Lagrangian formulation to quantum Hamiltonians. At half-filling, the forms of the subleading corrections imposed by conformal field theory allow the determination of the central charge with an accuracy better than two percent for moderately sized lattices. We briefly discuss the possibility of estimating the central charge using quantum simulators.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

Methyl-CpG-Binding PCR of Bloodspots for Confirmation of Fragile X Syndrome in Males

This study demonstrates that methyl-CpG-binding PCR (MB-PCR) is a rapid and simple method for detecting fragile X syndrome (FXS) in males, which is performed by verifying the methylation status of the FMR1 promoter in bloodspots. Proteins containing methyl-CpG-binding (MB) domains can be freeze-stored and used as stocks, and the entire test requires only a few hours. The minimum amount of DNA required for the test is 0.5 ng. At this amount, detection sensitivity is not hampered, even mixing with excess unmethylated alleles up to 320 folds. We examined bloodspots from 100 males, including 24 with FXS, in a blinded manner. The results revealed that the ability of MB-PCR to detect FMR1 promoter methylation was the same as that of Southern blot hybridization. Since individuals with 2 or more X chromosomes generally have methylated FMR1 alleles, MB-PCR cannot be used to detect FXS in females

Progress towards quantum simulating the classical O(2) model

We connect explicitly the classical $O(2)$ model in 1+1 dimensions, a model sharing important features with $U(1)$ lattice gauge theory, to physical models potentially implementable on optical lattices and evolving at physical time. Using the tensor renormalization group formulation, we take the time continuum limit and check that finite dimensional projections used in recent proposals for quantum simulators provide controllable approximations of the original model. We propose two-species Bose-Hubbard models corresponding to these finite dimensional projections at strong coupling and discuss their possible implementations on optical lattices using a $^{87}$Rb and $^{41}$K Bose-Bose mixture.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, uses revtex, new material and one author added, as to appear in Phys. Rev.

Ischemic Stroke in Patients With Intracranial Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas

Background/PurposeIntracranial dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) can be complicated by ischemic stroke. This study investigated the frequency and determinants of ischemic stroke in patients with intracranial DAVF.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective study of consecutive patients with intracranial DAVF. Patients with pure hemorrhagic stroke or without available brain imaging for clarifying stroke type were excluded. DAVF was diagnosed by cerebral catheter angiography. Cognard classification and location of DAVFs were ascertained. The clinical characteristics, outcome, and radiographic findings were recorded. Factors associated with occurrence of ischemic stroke in the patients with DAVFs were determined.ResultsA total of 134 patients were enrolled. Six patients (4.5%) had ischemic stroke (mean age: 53.8 ± 13.4 years) and 128 patients were free from stroke (mean age: 55.4 ± 15.2 years). Men accounted for 83% in the ischemic stroke group and 34% in the non-stroke group. Chemosis, exophthalmos and tinnitus were more frequent in the non-stroke group, whereas seizure and mental decline were more frequent in the ischemic stroke group. DAVF was associated with highest risk of ischemic stroke at locations other than the cavernous sinus or large sinuses. Ischemic stroke also correlated with types of DAVF involving cortical venous drainage, including type IIb (18%), III (15%), and IV (100%). No patient with DAVF type I and IIa had ischemic stroke. The rate of ischemic stroke in patients with concomitant DAVF and cerebral sinus thrombosis was higher than in DAVF patients without cerebral sinus thrombosis. Venous infarct was the major subtype of ischemic stroke in five DAVF patients. Endovascular therapy was the most common choice in both groups, and fewer patients in the ischemic stroke group did not receive any treatment for DAVFs.ConclusionLocation and type of DAVF were two important factors related to the occurrence of ischemic stroke in DAVF patients

The Inhibitory Effect of Ellagic Acid on Cell Growth of Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Ellagic acid (EA) is able to inhibit the growth of several cancer cells; however, its effect on human ovarian carcinoma cells has not yet been investigated. Ovarian carcinoma ES-2 and PA-1 cells were treated with EA (10~100 μM) and assessed for viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, anoikis, autophagy, and chemosensitivity to doxorubicin and their molecular mechanisms. EA inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner by arresting both cell lines at the G1 phase of the cell cycle, which were from elevating p53 and Cip1/p21 and decreasing cyclin D1 and E levels. EA also induced caspase-3-mediated apoptosis by increasing the Bax : Bcl-2 ratio and restored anoikis in both cell lines. The enhancement of apoptosis and/or inhibition of autophagy in these cells by EA assisted the chemotherapy efficacy. The results indicated that EA is a potential novel chemoprevention and treatment assistant agent for human ovarian carcinoma

Antipsychotic Prescription Trends, Patterns and Associated Factors in Taiwanese Children and Adolescents

This study evaluated the prescription trends, patterns and associated factors of antipsychotic medication in children and adolescents. We conducted a retrospective study by using the database of outpatient health insurance files of a psychiatric center in Northern Taiwan from 2004 to 2013. A total of 173,209 outpatient health insurance files were included. The average age of the study patients was 11.3 (±3.9) years. Of all visits of the patients, 13.4% were prescribed antipsychotics. The prescription rate of all antipsychotic medication types in all the outpatients aged ≤18 years increased yearly by 0.6%. The prescription rate of first-generation antipsychotics decreased with an estimated average annual percent change of 5.6% (p < .001). By contrast, the prescription rate of second-generation antipsychotics increased with an estimated average annual percent change of 3.4% (p <.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to examine clinical factors (age, sex and diagnosis) associated with antipsychotic prescription. After adjusting for other variables, antipsychotic prescription was found to be increased by 1.31 times every year with age and by 1.06 times in the male patients. The patients with diagnoses other than schizophrenia appeared less likely to be prescribed antipsychotics. Antipsychotic medications are being increasingly prescribed to children and adolescents in recent years. T he efficacy and safety of antipsychotics in children and adolescents warrant clinical attention

Wnts Enhance Neurotrophin-Induced Neuronal Differentiation in Adult Bone-Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells via Canonical and Noncanonical Signaling Pathways

Wnts were previously shown to regulate the neurogenesis of neural stem or progenitor cells. Here, we explored the underlying molecular mechanisms through which Wnt signaling regulates neurotrophins (NTs) in the NT-induced neuronal differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). NTs can increase the expression of Wnt1 and Wnt7a in hMSCs. However, only Wnt7a enables the expression of synapsin-1, a synaptic marker in mature neurons, to be induced and triggers the formation of cholinergic and dopaminergic neurons. Human recombinant (hr)Wnt7a and general neuron makers were positively correlated in a dose- and time-dependent manner. In addition, the expression of synaptic markers and neurites was induced by Wnt7a and lithium, a glycogen synthase kinase-3β inhibitor, in the NT-induced hMSCs via the canonical/β-catenin pathway, but was inhibited by Wnt inhibitors and frizzled-5 (Frz5) blocking antibodies. In addition, hrWnt7a triggered the formation of cholinergic and dopaminergic neurons via the non-canonical/c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway, and the formation of these neurons was inhibited by a JNK inhibitor and Frz9 blocking antibodies. In conclusion, hrWnt7a enhances the synthesis of synapse and facilitates neuronal differentiation in hMSCS through various Frz receptors. These mechanisms may be employed widely in the transdifferentiation of other adult stem cells

Loss of Protein Arginine Methyltransferase 8 Alters Synapse Composition and Function, Resulting in Behavioral Defects

Diverse molecular mechanisms regulate synaptic composition and function in the mammalian nervous system. The multifunctional protein arginine methyltransferase 8 (PRMT8) possesses both methyltransferase and phospholipase activities. Here we examine the role of this neuron-specific protein in hippocampal plasticity and cognitive function. PRMT8 protein localizes to synaptic sites, and conditional whole-brain Prmt8 deletion results in altered levels of multiple synaptic proteins in the hippocampus, using both male and female mice. Interestingly, these altered protein levels are due to post-transcriptional mechanisms as the corresponding mRNA levels are unaffected. Strikingly, electrophysiological recordings from hippocampal slices of mice lacking PRMT8 reveal multiple defects in excitatory synaptic function and plasticity. Furthermore, behavioral analyses show that PRMT8 conditional knock-out mice exhibit impaired hippocampal-dependent fear learning. Together, these findings establish PRMT8 as an important component of the molecular machinery required for hippocampal neuronal function