What Causes the Volatility of the Balancing Item?

This paper analyzes the impacts of timing errors, capital flows and economic openness on the behavior of the balancing item. We choose Norway, Sweden, Philippines and South Africa as sample countries where the size of the balancing item is often excess the IMF's criterion of ‘smallness'. The empirical results show that the sources of the volatility of the balancing item are different among these four countries.Balancing item, Balance of payments

Hitchhiking motility of Staphylococcus aureus involves the interaction between its wall teichoic acids and lipopolysaccharide of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Staphylococcus aureus, which lacks pili and flagella, is nonmotile. However, it hitchhikes motile bacteria, such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, to migrate in the environment. This study demonstrated that the hitchhiking motility of S. aureus SA113 was reduced after the tagO, which encodes an enzyme for wall teichoic acids (WTA) synthesis, was deleted. The hitchhiking motility was restored after the mutation was complemented by transforming a plasmid expressing TagO into the mutant. We also showed that adding purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to a culture that contains S. aureus SA113 and P. aeruginosa PAO1, reduced the movement of S. aureus, showing that WTA and LPS are involved in the hitchhiking motility of S. aureus. This study also found that P. aeruginosa promoted the movement of S. aureus in the digestive tract of Caenorhabditis elegans and in mice. In conclusion, this study reveals how S. aureus hitchhikes P. aeruginosa for translocation in an ecosystem. The results from this study improve our understanding on how a nonmotile pathogen moves in the environment and spreads in animals

BIOMECHANICS ANALYSIS OF WATER POLO THROWING

The purpose of this study is to investigate the parameters of displacement. velocity, and acceleration of water polo over arm throwing. Six water polo athletes participated in this study. Kwon 3D was utilized to analyze arm movement of water polo shooting, including the displacement, velocity, and acceleration of wrist, elbow, shoulder, and ball. The results indicated, first, the displacement of arm movement was quadratic polynomial at a frequency of 0.6 second with maximum distance of 130.97 cm for ball, 117.17 cm for wrist, 107.04 cm for elbow, and 94.22 cm for shoulder. Second, the velocity of arm movement was a cubic curve with maximum speed of 25.368 m/s for ball, 20.092 m/s for wrist, 19.732 rn/s for elbow, and 23.846 m/s for shoulder. Moreover, the change of maximum velocity of ball and wrist occurred after 1.5 seconds, while the velocity of elbow and shoulder both decreased for 0.5 seconds. Third, the acceleration of arm movement showed a 6th order polynomial at a frequency of 0.2 second with maximum acceleration of 505.082 m/s2 for ball, 545.526 m/s2 for wrist, 401.82 m/s2 for elbow, and 568.26 m/s2 for shoulder

Protection of the Extracts of Lentinus edodes Mycelia against Carbon-Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatic Injury in Rats

Lentinus edodes is the medicinal macrofungus showing potential for therapeutic applications in infectious disorders including hepatitis. In an attempt to develop the agent for handling hepatic injury, we used the extracts of Lentinus edodes mycelia (LEM) to screen the effect on hepatic injury in rats induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4). Intraperitoneal administration of CCl4 not only increased plasma glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) but also decreased hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels in rats. Similar to the positive control silymarin, oral administration (three times daily) of this product (LEM) for 8 weeks significantly reduced plasma GOT and GPT. Also, the activities of antioxidant enzymes of SOD and GPx were elevated by LEM. in liver from CCl4-treated rats, indicating that mycelium can increase antioxidant-like activity. Moreover, the hepatic mRNA and protein levels of SOD and GPx were both markedly raised by LEM. The obtained results suggest that oral administration of the extracts of Lentinus edodes mycelia (LEM) has the protective effect against CCl4-induced hepatic injury in rats, mainly due to an increase in antioxidant-like action

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

Surgical Excision of Tumoral Calcinosis of the Distal End of the Clavicle in a Patient With Uremia

AbstractTumoral calcinosis is an uncommon disease characterized by tumor-like lesions composed of calcium salt. This condition is not a true neoplasm but an imbalance of calcium and phosphorus metabolism resulting from hereditary causes or secondary defects. Medical therapy to balance calcium and phosphorus is the cornerstone of treatment. However, when pain or other compression symptoms occur, surgical excision is indicated. We report a 53-year-old man who presented with a swollen mass over his left shoulder with severe pain and a decreased range of motion for about 6 months. He had a history of chronic renal failure and was on hemodialysis for 20 years. After serial examinations, hyperphosphatemia, hypocalcemia, and secondary hyperparathyroidism were diagnosed. Excision of the mass was performed. The pathological examination results revealed tumoral calcinosis. He was then referred to a nephrologist to adjust the medication, and dialysate was supplied to balance the calcium and phosphorus metabolism. He recovered well without significant complications or recurrence after 5 years of follow-up

A study of the Effects of Information Security Advocacy

This study adopted protection motivation theory, construal-level theory, and regulatory focus theory to build a model to understand the effects of information security advocacy. The purposes are as follows: first, understand the impacts on the threat/coping appraisals that different construal-level of security warning messages have. Second, understand the impacts on the information security compliance intention that threat/coping appraisals have. Lastly, understand the moderating effects of different regulatory foci on the relationship between different construallevel of warning messages and the threat/coping appraisals or between the threat/coping appraisals and the compliance intention. In this study, the experimental method and survey are employed. Eight different scenarios related to mobile phone authority setting are designed to proceed with the experiments. At the beginning of this experiment, the participants will be manipulated to a particular regulatory focus (prevention or promotion), then be assigned to one of eight scenarios randomly

Antidiabetic effect of Tibetan medicine Tang-Kang-Fu-San on high-fat diet and streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic rats

The aim of this study was to investigate the antidiabetic effects of a Tibetan medicine, Tang-Kang-Fu-San (TKFS), on experimental type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats and to explore its underlying mechanisms. Firstly two major chemical compositions of TKFS, gallic acid and curcumin, were characterized by HPLC fingerprint analysis. Next T2DM in rats was induced by high-fat diet and a low-dose streptozotocin (STZ 35 mg/kg). Then oral gavage administration of three different doses of TKFS (0.3 g/kg, 0.6 g/kg, and 1.2 g/kg) was given to T2DM rats. Experimental results showed that TKFS dramatically reduced the levels of fasting blood glucose, fasting blood insulin, triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and HDL cholesterol, even though it did not alter the animal body weight. The downregulation of phosphorylation-AKT (p-AKT) and glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) in skeletal muscle of T2DM rats was restored and abnormal pathological changes in pancreas tissues were also improved. Our work showed that TKFS could alleviate diabetic syndromes, maintain the glucose homeostasis, and protect against insulin resistance in T2DM rats, and the improvement of AKT phosphorylation and GLUT4 translocation in skeletal muscle would be one of its possible underlying mechanisms

Rational Criticism on Technology of Visual Culture's Spreading

Visual culture has been the fact in the field of culture and communicates today. Visual culture communicates has been a great challenge to traditional culture communicate. From the visual change, people’s living surroundings are also be changed. Rational thought depending language gives way to sensible thought depending sight, image displace language become the tool of thought. The image world which focuses on technology hegemony is a world made of message and sign which are dominated by mode, code and control demonstration. Media of “unreality implosion” made illusory equal to the reality is present. There are more and more super-real and super-clear images. Today, people lack of communicate; they dislike talk to each other; there’re lots of misunderstandings in modern society. The day of post-technology provide people with several new Medias and communicative ways. Everyone can be the subject by using the new media of high technology but low-skill operating. At the back of technology, there are many kinds of communication texts. The culture value orientation of Mass communication becomes amusing and ordinary. The communicate bureau’s value conception and behaviors cosmos in post-technology times become more instability. Keywords: visual culture, media technology, post-technology times, amusement Résumé La culture visuelle est déja devenue la réalité dans les domaines de culture et de diffusion. La diffusion de la culture visuelle constitue un défi considérable pour la diffusion culturelle traditionnelle. Le « virage visuel » qu’il s’en suit change l’environnement d’existance de l’homme : la réflexion rationnelle tablant sur la langue fait place à la pensée sensible s’appuyant sur la vision ; l’image devient l’outil de la pensée en remplaçant la langue. Le monde des images fictives ayant pour foyer la suprématie technique est un monde des informations et signes dominé par le modèle, le code, le signe, et la cybernétique. Les médias font égaler la réalité ficfive et la réalité présente par « l’explosion interne » de la réalité. Des images visuelles super-réelles et super-claires arrivent à flot continu. Donc, le grand publique se tait, on manque de communication et s’enferment sur soi-même. La société, pleine de malententus, dépérit faute de feedback. Les nouveaux médias qui demandent peu de technique permettent à chacun de devenir le sujet de l’action de diffusion. La nouvelle ère où la diffusion individuelle et la diffusion de masse s’entremêlent est ainsi créée. Avec le soutien de la technique, des contenus de diffusion de toutes sortes apparaissent sous nos yeux. La diffusion de masse tend au divertissement et sa valeur culturelle diminue. La notion de valeur et l’ordre d’action des groupes sociaux de diffusion à l’époque post-technique prennent une caractéristique instable. Mots-clés : culture visuelle, technique de diffusion, époque post-technique, tendance au divertissement 摘 要 視覺文化己經成為當下文化領域和傳播領域的現實。視覺文化傳播對傳統的文化傳播構成了巨大的挑戰。由此引發的“視覺轉向”改變了人的生存環境，依賴語言的理性思考讓位於視覺的感性思維，圖像取代語言成為思維的工具。以技術霸權為焦點的擬像世界是一個由模型、符碼和控制論所支配的資訊與符號的世界。傳媒以一種“真實的內爆”使虛幻和在場的真實等同。超真實、超清晰的視覺圖像紛至遝來。於是，大眾緘默，當代人缺乏交流、封閉心靈、充滿誤解與誤讀，社會也因缺乏回饋而消隱。 低技能操作的新媒體，每個人都可以成為傳播行為的主體，並由此開創了個人傳播和大眾傳播交融的新局面，在技術支援下，參差不齊的傳播內容頻頻出現在人們眼前，大眾傳播的文化價值取向走向娛樂化、低微化。後技術時代的傳播社群的價值觀念與行為秩序出現不穩定性。關鍵詞：視覺文化；媒介技術；後技術時代；娛樂