Nostril in RGB Imaginary by Using NI Vision LabVIEW

Monitoring of breath function is needed for medical science to evaluate condition of patient for some diseases. The patient will be observed continuously on face (nostril). Face recognition is the most important stage to localize the measurement. Because of that need, thermal image is used to record changing temperature on patient face. Thermal image has two type image, gray and RGB image. In this paper, we used RGB image as the raw data and trying to find face, eye and, nostril as breathing indicator. We divided the nostril recognition in three main steps: eyes detection, calculate the center of mass between two eyes, measured the center of mass distance to nose, get nostril location. We applied image processing algorithm such as gray image, binary image and template matching. All those algorithm are programmed in NI Vision LabVIEW. The distance between subject and camera is fixed in 1 meter. The experimental result showed that nostril always detected even though the subjects have some movements during measurement.&nbsp

Effects of Parental Involvement in a Preschool-Based Eye Health Intervention Regarding Children’s Screen Use in China

In this digital era, young children spend a considerable amount of time looking at telephone, tablet, computer and television screens. However, preventative eye health behavior education could help avoid and relieve asthenopia. The effects of parental influence on their children’s eye health behavior through the preschool eye health education intervention program were examined. The Health Belief Model was used to develop parental involvement strategy and eye health curriculum. The study was conducted in a large public preschool with five branches in Beijing, China. A total of 248 parent–child pairs participated in the baseline and follow-up surveys, of which 129 were in the intervention group and 119 were in the comparison group. The generalized estimating equation analysis results indicated that parental involvement in preschool-based eye health intervention on screen uses had positive influence on parents’ eye health knowledge, cues to action, and parenting efficacy. The intervention program also had positive effects on the increasing level of children’s eye health knowledge, beliefs, cues to action, self-efficacy, and behaviors. The results supported the implementation of a preschool-based eye health intervention program with parental involvement, which could potentially enhance children’s and parents’ eye health beliefs and practices

Circumstellar discs: What will be next?

This prospective chapter gives our view on the evolution of the study of circumstellar discs within the next 20 years from both observational and theoretical sides. We first present the expected improvements in our knowledge of protoplanetary discs as for their masses, sizes, chemistry, the presence of planets as well as the evolutionary processes shaping these discs. We then explore the older debris disc stage and explain what will be learnt concerning their birth, the intrinsic links between these discs and planets, the hot dust and the gas detected around main sequence stars as well as discs around white dwarfs.Comment: invited review; comments welcome (32 pages

Approaches in biotechnological applications of natural polymers

Natural polymers, such as gums and mucilage, are biocompatible, cheap, easily available and non-toxic materials of native origin. These polymers are increasingly preferred over synthetic materials for industrial applications due to their intrinsic properties, as well as they are considered alternative sources of raw materials since they present characteristics of sustainability, biodegradability and biosafety. As definition, gums and mucilages are polysaccharides or complex carbohydrates consisting of one or more monosaccharides or their derivatives linked in bewildering variety of linkages and structures. Natural gums are considered polysaccharides naturally occurring in varieties of plant seeds and exudates, tree or shrub exudates, seaweed extracts, fungi, bacteria, and animal sources. Water-soluble gums, also known as hydrocolloids, are considered exudates and are pathological products; therefore, they do not form a part of cell wall. On the other hand, mucilages are part of cell and physiological products. It is important to highlight that gums represent the largest amounts of polymer materials derived from plants. Gums have enormously large and broad applications in both food and non-food industries, being commonly used as thickening, binding, emulsifying, suspending, stabilizing agents and matrices for drug release in pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. In the food industry, their gelling properties and the ability to mold edible films and coatings are extensively studied. The use of gums depends on the intrinsic properties that they provide, often at costs below those of synthetic polymers. For upgrading the value of gums, they are being processed into various forms, including the most recent nanomaterials, for various biotechnological applications. Thus, the main natural polymers including galactomannans, cellulose, chitin, agar, carrageenan, alginate, cashew gum, pectin and starch, in addition to the current researches about them are reviewed in this article.. }To the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfíico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for fellowships (LCBBC and MGCC) and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nvíel Superior (CAPES) (PBSA). This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit, the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462) and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) (JAT)

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

QCD and strongly coupled gauge theories : challenges and perspectives

We highlight the progress, current status, and open challenges of QCD-driven physics, in theory and in experiment. We discuss how the strong interaction is intimately connected to a broad sweep of physical problems, in settings ranging from astrophysics and cosmology to strongly coupled, complex systems in particle and condensed-matter physics, as well as to searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. We also discuss how success in describing the strong interaction impacts other fields, and, in turn, how such subjects can impact studies of the strong interaction. In the course of the work we offer a perspective on the many research streams which flow into and out of QCD, as well as a vision for future developments.Peer reviewe

Searches for the Zγ decay mode of the Higgs boson and for new high-mass resonances in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This article presents searches for the Zγ decay of the Higgs boson and for narrow high-mass resonances decaying to Zγ, exploiting Z boson decays to pairs of electrons or muons. The data analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of pp collisions at √s=13 recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. The data are found to be consistent with the expected Standard Model background. The observed (expected — assuming Standard Model pp → H → Zγ production and decay) upper limit on the production cross section times the branching ratio for pp → H → Zγ is 6.6. (5.2) times the Standard Model prediction at the 95% confidence level for a Higgs boson mass of 125.09 GeV. In addition, upper limits are set on the production cross section times the branching ratio as a function of the mass of a narrow resonance between 250 GeV and 2.4 TeV, assuming spin-0 resonances produced via gluon-gluon fusion, and spin-2 resonances produced via gluon-gluon or quark-antiquark initial states. For high-mass spin-0 resonances, the observed (expected) limits vary between 88 fb (61 fb) and 2.8 fb (2.7 fb) for the mass range from 250 GeV to 2.4 TeV at the 95% confidence level

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

創意創業家人力資本與創業成功：關係網絡之中介效果

As deeply embedded in Chinese culture, Chinese entrepreneurs aggressively develop and maintain their guanxi networks as a strategic tool to gain competitive advantages, valuable resources, and opportunities. Although much empirical evidence has shown that entrepreneurs' guanxi behaviors have profound impacts on new venture performance, little attention has been paid to understand how entrepreneurs' human capital may strengthen their guanxi networks. Therefore, we attempt to investigate how creative entrepreneurs' human capital influences their career success and new venture performance through enriching guanxi networks. This paper focuses on Taiwan's creative industries. Through testing 133 creative entrepreneurs, we examined the effects of three dimensions of entrepreneurial human capital including work experience, entrepreneurial experience, education on firm performance and entrepreneurial career success with the mediating effect of guanxi networks, including family ties, business ties, community ties and government ties. Results reveal that entrepreneurs' human capital indeed impacts new venture performance and their career success through affecting guanxi networks. Remarkably, both business ties and government ties are found to benefit from entrepreneurial experience and educational level, whereas prior work experience of entrepreneurs shows no significant effect on improving guanxi networks.長久以來，華人文化中的關係網絡被視為是達成公司績效、個人成就一項非常重要的策略手段。過去很多研究指出華人創業家積極拓展及利用其關係網絡，藉以獲取有價值的市場資訊、資源、競爭優勢，進而達到更好的公司績效。同樣的，創業家的人力資本代表其知識、經驗、技能等具有創造個人經濟價值的能力，也被過去許多研究指出為創業家成功的關鍵要素。文化創意產業為近年來在台灣非常興盛的小型新創事業型態，研究顯示文化創意產業中的新創事業具有非常高的初期創業失敗率。然而在學術文獻中，目前依舊相當缺乏具體探討文化創業家創業過程之研究。本研結合人力資本與關係網絡之觀點，針對台灣133位創意創業家進行問卷調查，探討台灣創意創業家們如何利用自身的內在人力資本（工作經驗、創業經驗、教育程度），去提升外在四種社會關係的連結（家族關係、商業關係、社群關係與政府關係），進一步創造文創事業之公司績效與事業成功。本研究主要探討在創業活動中四項重要的社會關係，在文化創業家的人力資本與公司績效、事業成功之中介效果。本研究之結果顯示，人力資本的確透過提升創意創業家之外在社會關係，進而影響公司績效。綜觀而論，創意創業家之創業經驗、教育程度有助於為他們拓展更具價值的社會關係（如商業關係、政府關係），而良好的商業關係及政府關係，則為公司帶來競爭優勢及事業成功。但在本研究中，卻意外發現社群關係對於創意創業家在個人事業成就感方面有負向的影響。本論文為相關領域中，少數以實證分析方法探討文創產業之創業活動之研究，亦提出數項重要的實務建議。致謝詞……………………………………………………………………………………i 摘要……………………………………………………………………………………ii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….iii Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………IV List of Table and Figures……………………………………………………………v 1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………….1 1.1 Research Objective and Questions……………………………………………...1 1.2 Research Background…………………………………………………………..3 2 Literature Review and Hypothesis Development………………….5 2.1 Entrepreneurial human capital………………………………………………….5 2.2 Entrepreneur guanxi networks………………………………………………….6 2.3 Entrepreneurs' work experience and guanxi networks…………………………7 2.4 Entrepreneurs' entrepreneurial experience and guanxi networks………………8 2.5 Entrepreneurs' education and guanxi networks………………………………...8 2.6 Guanxi networks and firm performance………………………………………..9 2.7 Guanxi networks and career success…………………………………………..10 3 Research Framework………………………………………………12 4 Research Methodology……………………………………………..13 4.1 Sample and Data Collection…………………………………………………...13 4.1.1 Resech Design and Population Definition……………………………...13 4.1.2 Data Source and Sampling Procedure………………………………….14 4.1.3 Questionnaire Design and Pilot Test…………………………………...16 4.2 Variable Measures……………………………………………………………..17 4.2.1 Firm Performance………………………………………………………19 4.2.2 Entrepreneurial career success………………………………………….19 4.2.3 Entrepreneurial human capital………………………………………….20 4.2.4 Entrepreneurial guanxi networks……………………………………….20 4.3 Reliability and Validity………………………………………………………..20 4.4 Data Analysis………………………………………………………………….21 5 Results………………………………………………………………………….23 5.1 Correlations……………………………………………………………………23 5.2 Measurement Model…………………………………………………………..23 5.3 Structural Model………………………………………………………………23 6 Discussion and Research Findings………………………………...26 6.1 Results of Hypotheses Testing (Hypotheses 1, 2 & Hypotheses 3)…………...26 6.1.1 Key finding 1: Effects of entrepreneurial experience on business ties and government ties. ………………………………………………………..27 6.1.2 Key finding 2: Effects of education background on guanxi networks…28 6.2 Results of Hypotheses Testing (Hypotheses 4)….. …………………………...29 6.2.1 Key finding 3: Effects of guanxi networks (business ties and government ties.) on firm performance. …………………………………………….29 6.3 Results of Hypotheses Testing (Hypotheses 5) ……………………………….30 6.3.1 Key finding 4: Positive relationship between business ties and career success. ………………………………………………………………...31 6.3.2 Key finding 5: Negative relationship between community ties on career achievement. …………………………………………………………...31 7 Conclusion and Contributions…………………………………….32 7.1 Managerial Implications………………………………………………………32 7.2 Contributions of Research……………………………………………………..33 7.3 Limitation and Future Research……………………………………………….36 References……………………………………………………………....3