Wave Height Transformation and Set-up Between A Submerged Permeable Breakwater and A Seawall

In this study, we investigated wave transformation and wave set-up between a submerged permeable breakwater and a seawall. Modified time-dependent mild-slope equations, which involve parameters of the porous medium, were used to calculate the wave height transformation and the mean water level change around a submerged breakwater. The numerical solution is verified with experimental data. The simulated results show that modulations of the wave profile and wave set-up are clearly observed between the submerged breakwater and the seawall. In contrast to cases without a seawall, the node or pseudo-node of wave height evolution can be found between the submerged breakwater and the seawall. Higher wave set-up occurs if the nodal or pseudo-nodal point appears near the submerged breakwater. We also examined the influence of the porosity and friction factor of the submerged permeable breakwater on wave transformation and set-up

Estrogen receptor alpha polymorphism is associated with pelvic organ prolapse risk

Estrogen and estrogen receptors are known to play important roles in the pathophysiology of pelvic organ prolapse (POP). We investigated whether estrogen receptor alpha (ER alpha) gene polymorphisms were associated with POP risk by conducting a case-control association study in 88 women with POP and 153 women without POP. Genotypes of the ER alpha (ESR1) gene polymorphisms (rs17847075, rs2207647, rs2234693, rs3798577, and rs2228480) were determined by polymerase chain reaction, followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. There was significant difference between women with and those without POP in the distribution of the ESR1 rs2228480 genotypes evaluated. By using multivariable logistic regression, age and ESR1 rs2228480 genotype GA were significantly associated with POP risk. Although the sample size of women with POP studied is small, the present study shows that ER alpha genotype may be associated with POP risk

Not So Lonely Surfers: Loneliness, Social Support, Internet Use and Life Satisfaction in Older Adults

Older adults often encounter diminished social support, loneliness and lower life satisfaction levels. Many of these struggles stem from a loss of social interaction with social network ties that are important to them. Information and communication technology (ICT) use offers promise in helping them maintain their social ties. In this longitudinal study, participants included 306 older adults in 19 different assisted and independent living communities. Through random assignment at the community level, residents were offered ICT training, interaction with trainees (placebo), and a survey only control condition with no interaction. Residents in each group were surveyed at pretest, posttest, and 3, 6, and 12 months post training. This analysis examines the use of the Internet as a tool for stress buffering to maintain and enrich social ties, reducing the impact of loneliness and improving life satisfaction measures. Significant interactions were found between ICT attitudes and loneliness, social support and life satisfaction.ye

The quantum cryptographic switch

We illustrate using a quantum system the principle of a cryptographic switch, in which a third party (Charlie) can control to a continuously varying degree the amount of information the receiver (Bob) receives, after the sender (Alice) has sent her information. Suppose Charlie transmits a Bell state to Alice and Bob. Alice uses dense coding to transmit two bits to Bob. Only if the 2-bit information corresponding to choice of Bell state is made available by Charlie to Bob can the latter recover Alice's information. By varying the information he gives, Charlie can continuously vary the information recovered by Bob. The performance of the protocol subjected to the squeezed generalized amplitude damping channel is considered. We also present a number of practical situations where a cryptographic switch would be of use.Comment: 7 pages, 4 Figure

A quantitative risk assessment model to evaluate effective border control measures for rabies prevention

Border control is the primary method to prevent rabies emergence. This study developed a quantitative risk model incorporating stochastic processes to evaluate whether border control measures could efficiently prevent rabies introduction through importation of cats and dogs using Taiwan as an example. Both legal importation and illegal smuggling were investigated. The impacts of reduced quarantine and/or waiting period on the risk of rabies introduction were also evaluated. The results showed that Taiwan's current animal importation policy could effectively prevent rabies introduction through legal importation of cats and dogs. The median risk of a rabid animal to penetrate current border control measures and enter Taiwan was 5.33 X 10(-8) (95th percentile: 3.20 x 10(-7)). However, illegal smuggling may pose Taiwan to the great risk of rabies emergence. Reduction of quarantine and/or waiting period would affect the risk differently, depending on the applied assumptions, such as increased vaccination coverage, enforced custom checking, and/or change in number of legal importations. Although the changes in the estimated risk under the assumed alternatives were not substantial except for completely abolishing quarantine, the consequences of rabies introduction may yet be considered to be significant in a rabies-free area. Therefore, a comprehensive benefit-cost analysis needs to be conducted before recommending these alternative measures

Comparison of Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV)-a new method of carbamazepine analysis-with Fluorescence Polarization Immunoassay (FPIA)

Carbamazepine is a widely used anti-epileptic drug with narrow therapeutic range. Many methods have been developed for monitoring the serum drug level. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), an electrochemical method advantaged by simple, inexpensive, and relatively short analysis time, has recently been developed for carbamazepine detection. We used a newly developed DPV method with glassy carbon as a working electrode to determine the carbamazepine level. The performance of DPV is compared with the widely used fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) technique in precision, accuracy, linearity and detection limit. The precision, linearity and accuracy of the DPV and FPIA techniques were comparable at most clinical used levels. The detection limit was 1 mu g/mL for the DPV technique and 0.5 mu g/mL for the FPIA technique. The performance of the DPV technique was within the FDA guidelines for bioanalytical methods, which ensures the clinical applicability of the DPV technique. The DPV technique may have the potential to be a good alternative for carbamazepine analysis

The relative efficacy of different strain combinations of lactic acid bacteria in the reduction of populations of Salmonella enterica Typhimurium in the livers and spleens of mice

Multispecies probiotics have been reported to be more effective than monostrain probiotics in health promoting for the host. In this study, 12 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains were selected based on the level of induction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha in RAW 264.7 macrophage cells. Their adherence to Caco-2 cells and inhibitory effects on Salmonella invasion of Caco-2 cells were compared. Strains with different probiotic properties were then combined and BALB/c mice were fed with LAB strains for 63 days; then the mice were challenged with Salmonella on day 64. For Salmonella-unchallenged mice that received a multistrain combination of LAB strains that have greater TNF-alpha production in macrophages, greater adherence and inhibit Salmonella invasion of Caco-2 cells to a greater extent, their peritoneal macrophages had greater phagocytic activity. For Salmonella-challenged mice, a significant reduction of Salmonella cells in the livers and spleens of the mice was observed 8 days post challenge. The addition of 12% skim milk powder together with LAB strain combinations significantly enhanced the reduction of Salmonella cells in the mice livers and spleens. In conclusion, we have shown that LAB strain combinations with particular probiotic properties when fed to mice can inhibit Salmonella invasion of the liver and spleen

Charmless Three-Body Baryonic B Decays

Motivated by recent data on B-> p pbar K decay, we study various charmless three-body baryonic B decay modes, including Lambda pbar pi, Sigma0 pbar pi, p pbar pi, p pbar Kbar0, in a factorization approach. These modes have rates of order 10^{-6}. There are two mechanisms for the baryon pair production, current-produced and transition. The behavior of decay spectra from these baryon production mechanisms can be understood by using QCD counting rules. Predictions on rates and decay spectra can be checked in the near future.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures; version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Acute anal stretch inhibits NMDA-dependent pelvic-urethra reflex potentiation via spinal GABAergic inhibition in anesthetized rats

The impact of acute anal stretch on the pelvic-urethra reflex potentiation was examined in urethane-anesthetized rats by recording the external urethra sphincter electromyogram activity evoked by the pelvic afferent stimulation. Test stimulation (1 stimulation/30 s) evoked a baseline reflex activity with a single action potential that was abolished by gallamine (5 mg/kg iv). On the other hand, the repetitive stimulation (1 stimulation/1 s) induced spinal reflex potentiation (SRP) that was attenuated by intrathecal 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline- 2,4-dione (a glutamatergic alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl- 4-isoxazoleproprionat receptor antagonist, 100 mu M, 10 mu l) and D-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate [a glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) antagonist, 100 mu M, 10 mu l]. Acute anal stretch using a mosquito clamp with a distance of 4 mm exhibited no effect, whereas distances of 8 mm attenuated and 12 mm abolished the repetitive stimulation-induced SRP. Intrathecal NMDA (100 mu M, 10 mu l) reversed the abolition on SRP caused by anal stretch. On the other hand, pretreated bicuculline [gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) A receptor antagonist, 100 mu M, 10 mu l] but not hydroxysaclofen (GABA(B) receptor antagonist) counteracted the abolition on the repetitive stimulation-induced SRP caused by the anal stretch. All of the results suggested that anal stretch may be used as an adjunct to assist voiding dysfunction in patients with overactive urethra sphincter and that GABAergic neurotransmission is important in the neural mechanisms underlying external urethra sphincter activity inhibited by anal stretch

Atrophin proteins: an overview of a new class of nuclear receptor corepressors

The normal development and physiological functions of multicellular organisms are regulated by complex gene transcriptional networks that include myriad transcription factors, their associating coregulators, and multiple chromatin-modifying factors. Aberrant gene transcriptional regulation resulting from mutations among these elements often leads to developmental defects and diseases. This review article concentrates on the Atrophin family proteins, including vertebrate Atrophin-1 (ATN1), vertebrate arginine-glutamic acid dipeptide repeats protein (RERE), and Drosophila Atrophin (Atro), which we recently identified as nuclear receptor corepressors. Disruption of Atrophin-mediated pathways causes multiple developmental defects in mouse, zebrafish, and Drosophila, while an aberrant form of ATN1 and altered expression levels of RERE are associated with neurodegenerative disease and cancer in humans, respectively. We here provide an overview of current knowledge about these Atrophin proteins. We hope that this information on Atrophin proteins may help stimulate fresh ideas about how this newly identified class of nuclear receptor corepressors aids specific nuclear receptors and other transcriptional factors in regulating gene transcription, manifesting physiological effects, and causing diseases