Dimensions of Affecting Factors on the Acceptance of Smartphones regarding Travel Information

With hand-held devices and mobile computing becoming ubiquitous in our lives, it is true that many people are interested inthe usage of smartphones in the tourism industry. However, even though there are lots of studies on technology acceptanceand online travel information, there is little research on smartphone acceptance for travel information. The aim of this study isto investigate the determinants of travelers’ intentions to adopt smartphones within the context of their travel activities. Inthis paper we propose a new approach to examine the intention of travelers to use smartphones by viewing smartphone usagefrom two standpoints: hardware (technology) and software (online travel information). In terms of hardware, the unitedtheory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model is used to investigate the intention to use smartphones, and thetravel websites satisfaction (E-SAT) model is used to investigate the intention to use smartphones in terms of software. Basedon the literature of two research streams, this study proposes an instrument to measure the affecting factors on the acceptanceof smartphones regarding travel information

Effect of neck extension on the advancement of tracheal tubes from the nasal cavity to the oropharynx in nasotracheal intubation: a randomized controlled trial

Background Clinicians sometimes encounter resistance in advancing a tracheal tube, which is inserted via a nostril, from the nasal cavity into the oropharynx during nasotracheal intubation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of neck extension on the advancement of tracheal tubes from the nasal cavity into the oropharynx during nasotracheal intubation. Methods Patients were randomized to the neck extension group (E group) or neutral position group (N group) for this randomized controlled trial. After induction of anesthesia, a nasal RAE tube was inserted via a nostril. For the E group, an anesthesiologist advanced the tube from the nasal cavity into the oropharynx with the patients neck extended. For the N group, an anesthesiologist advanced the tube without neck extension. If the tube was successfully advanced into the oropharynx within two attempts by the same maneuver according to the assigned group, the case was defined as success. We compared the success rate of tube advancement between the two groups. Results Thirty-two patients in the E group and 33 in the N group completed the trial. The success rate of tube passage during the first two attempts was significantly higher in the E group than in the N group (93.8% vs. 60.6%; odds ratio = 9.75, 95% CI = [1.98, 47.94], p = 0.002). Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT03377114, registered on 13 December 2017

Nutritional Status of Vitamin D and the Effect of Vitamin D Supplementation in Korean Breast-fed Infants

We investigated the vitamin D status and the effect of vitamin D supplementation in Korean breast-fed infants. The healthy term newborns were divided into 3 groups; A, formula-fed; B, breast-fed only; S, breast-fed with vitamin D supplementation. We measured serum concentrations of vitamin D (25OHD3), calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), alkaline phosphatase (AP), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and bone mineral density (BMD) at 6 and 12 months of age. Using questionnaires, average duration of sun-light exposure and dietary intake of vitamin D, Ca and P were obtained. At 6 and 12 months of age, 25OHD3 was significantly higher in group S than in group B (P<0.001). iPTH was significantly lower in group S than in group B at 6 months (P=0.001), but did not differ at 12 months. Regardless of vitamin D supplementation, BMD was lower in group B and S than in group A (P<0.05). Total intake of vitamin D differed among 3 groups (P<0.001, A>S>B), but total intake of Ca and P were higher in group A than in group B and S (P<0.001). In conclusion, breast-fed infants show lower vitamin D status and bone mineralization than formula-fed infants. Vitamin D supplementation (200 IU/day) in breast-fed infants increases serum 25-OH vitamin D3, but not bone mineral density

High Content Screening Identifies Decaprenyl-Phosphoribose 2’ Epimerase as a Target for Intracellular Antimycobacterial Inhibitors

A critical feature of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB), is its ability to survive and multiply within macrophages, making these host cells an ideal niche for persisting microbes. Killing the intracellular tubercle bacilli is a key requirement for efficient tuberculosis treatment, yet identifying potent inhibitors has been hampered by labor-intensive techniques and lack of validated targets. Here, we present the development of a phenotypic cell-based assay that uses automated confocal fluorescence microscopy for high throughput screening of chemicals that interfere with the replication of M. tuberculosis within macrophages. Screening a library of 57,000 small molecules led to the identification of 135 active compounds with potent intracellular anti-mycobacterial efficacy and no host cell toxicity. Among these, the dinitrobenzamide derivatives (DNB) showed high activity against M. tuberculosis, including extensively drug resistant (XDR) strains. More importantly, we demonstrate that incubation of M. tuberculosis with DNB inhibited the formation of both lipoarabinomannan and arabinogalactan, attributable to the inhibition of decaprenyl-phospho-arabinose synthesis catalyzed by the decaprenyl-phosphoribose 2\u27 epimerase DprE1/DprE2. Inhibition of this new target will likely contribute to new therapeutic solutions against emerging XDR-TB. Beyond validating the high throughput/content screening approach, our results open new avenues for finding the next generation of antimicrobials

High Content Screening Identifies Decaprenyl-Phosphoribose 2′ Epimerase as a Target for Intracellular Antimycobacterial Inhibitors

A critical feature of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB), is its ability to survive and multiply within macrophages, making these host cells an ideal niche for persisting microbes. Killing the intracellular tubercle bacilli is a key requirement for efficient tuberculosis treatment, yet identifying potent inhibitors has been hampered by labor-intensive techniques and lack of validated targets. Here, we present the development of a phenotypic cell-based assay that uses automated confocal fluorescence microscopy for high throughput screening of chemicals that interfere with the replication of M. tuberculosis within macrophages. Screening a library of 57,000 small molecules led to the identification of 135 active compounds with potent intracellular anti-mycobacterial efficacy and no host cell toxicity. Among these, the dinitrobenzamide derivatives (DNB) showed high activity against M. tuberculosis, including extensively drug resistant (XDR) strains. More importantly, we demonstrate that incubation of M. tuberculosis with DNB inhibited the formation of both lipoarabinomannan and arabinogalactan, attributable to the inhibition of decaprenyl-phospho-arabinose synthesis catalyzed by the decaprenyl-phosphoribose 2′ epimerase DprE1/DprE2. Inhibition of this new target will likely contribute to new therapeutic solutions against emerging XDR-TB. Beyond validating the high throughput/content screening approach, our results open new avenues for finding the next generation of antimicrobials

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality for 282 causes of death in 195 countries and territories, 1980-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.

BACKGROUND: Global development goals increasingly rely on country-specific estimates for benchmarking a nation's progress. To meet this need, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 estimated global, regional, national, and, for selected locations, subnational cause-specific mortality beginning in the year 1980. Here we report an update to that study, making use of newly available data and improved methods. GBD 2017 provides a comprehensive assessment of cause-specific mortality for 282 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1980 to 2017. METHODS: The causes of death database is composed of vital registration (VR), verbal autopsy (VA), registry, survey, police, and surveillance data. GBD 2017 added ten VA studies, 127 country-years of VR data, 502 cancer-registry country-years, and an additional surveillance country-year. Expansions of the GBD cause of death hierarchy resulted in 18 additional causes estimated for GBD 2017. Newly available data led to subnational estimates for five additional countries-Ethiopia, Iran, New Zealand, Norway, and Russia. Deaths assigned International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for non-specific, implausible, or intermediate causes of death were reassigned to underlying causes by redistribution algorithms that were incorporated into uncertainty estimation. We used statistical modelling tools developed for GBD, including the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm), to generate cause fractions and cause-specific death rates for each location, year, age, and sex. Instead of using UN estimates as in previous versions, GBD 2017 independently estimated population size and fertility rate for all locations. Years of life lost (YLLs) were then calculated as the sum of each death multiplied by the standard life expectancy at each age. All rates reported here are age-standardised

What Affects Middle School Students’ English Anxiety in the EFL Context? Evidence from South Korea

This paper examines what affects adolescents&rsquo; English anxiety in the English as Foreign Langauage (EFL) context. A total of 414 adolescents in South Korea participated in the study and the AMOS 20.0 was used in structural equation modeling for statistical analysis. The results are as follows. Girls showed a higher level of English anxiety and self-directed learning ability than boys. Second, adolescents&rsquo; English self-efficacy had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between parental pressure expectation and English anxiety. Third, parental pressure expectation had a significant effect on English anxiety through self-directed learning and English self-efficacy. Fourth, a gender difference in the paths of the models was significant. This provides supporting evidence to many educators and parents for the implementation of effective support practices for adolescents who learn English in EFL contexts similar to Korea to reduce thier English anxiety