Spatial trends of noncollinear exchange coupling mediated by itinerant carriers with different Fermi surfaces

We study the exchange coupling mediated by itinerant carriers with spin-orbit interaction by both analytic and numeric approaches. The mediated exchange coupling is noncollinear and its spatial trends depend on the Fermi-surface topology of the itinerant carriers. Taking Rashba interaction as an example, the exchange coupling is similar to the conventional Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida type in weak coupling. On the other hand, in the strong coupling, the spiral interaction dominates. In addition, inclusion of finite spin relaxation always makes the noncollinear spiral exchange interaction dominant. Potential applications of our findings are explained and discussed

Investigating the Relationship between Dietary Sodium Intake and Severity Levels of Fluid Overload Symptoms in Patients with Heart Failure

Aim: This study aimed to investigate dietary sodium intake levels and to explore the relationship between those levels and the severity of fluid overload symptoms.Background: The management of dietary sodium is an important nursing intervention in the care of patients with heart failure stemming from fluid overload. Recommendations for the intake of dietary sodium among heart failure patients were discussed. If a heart failure patient’s dietary sodium intake habits are understood, then the relationship between this intake and fluid overload can be elucidated. This knowledge would be beneficial for nursing intervention in cases of heart failure.Methods: A total of 98 patients selected from cardiology wards who had a diagnosis of heart failure were enrolled in this study. Their dietary sodium intake level was estimated from a 24-hour urinary sodium excretion analysis. The severity of fluid overload symptoms was assessed using the fluid volume overload symptoms scale. Results: This study showed that the mean dietary sodium intake for patients with heart failure was 2.49 g/day and that this intake had no correlation with the severity levels of fluid overload symptoms. Conclusions: Using the patients’ own perceptions of the severity of fluid overload symptoms as a reference, adopting more relaxed sodium dietary intake restrictions may lead patients to have better food consumption habits

Taiwanese teachers' beliefs about student self-determination: Implications for multicultural education.

A critical ethnographic methodology based on constructive epistemological assumptions was used to investigate the perspectives of five Taiwanese teachers from different ethnic/language groups. Interview data were further sustained by an observation and a survey. The findings suggest that: (1) unexamined connections exist between social domination, education, and self-determination, and (2) these conditions influence teachers' abilities and willingness to promote self-determination among themselves and their students. In light of these findings, I recommend a multicultural educational approach that promotes: (1) critical consciousness of the destructive relationships between domination, self-determination, and education, and (2) critical pedagogical action that supports the promotion of multicultural appreciation, negotiated autonomy, and meaningful intragroup and intergroup interaction.This study explores Taiwanese teachers' perspectives on existing relationships between domination, education, and self-determination, and it considers implications for autonomous identity development in and through education in general. The findings were interpreted through a lens of critical multicultural education, which holds that critical consciousness is essential to the development of autonomously negotiated human identity. Although the study was located in Taiwan, the investigation addressed a widespread historical phenomenon with implications for educators throughout a variety of international social and political settings

Comparative analysis of binocular summation of pattern visual evoked potential before and after the surgery of concomitant strabismus

AIM: To investigate the opportunity of the concomitant strabismus operation and the function in the treatment of strabismic amblyopia through analyzing the changes of binocular summation of pattern visual evoked potential(P-VEP)before and after the surgery of concomitant strabismus. <p>METHODS: In this retrospective study we investigated 67 cases admitted in our hospital. All patients were less than 18a and the postoperation squint angle was less than ±10^△. Patients were divided into three groups according to the strabismus type, age, and amblyopia degree. P-VEP binocular summation response was recorded in all cases, to observe the changes of the binocular summation response of P-VEP before strabismus surgery and 1mo, 3mo after surgery. The P-VEP response of binocular /monocular(B/M)ratio was taken as an evaluation index. <p>RESULTS: B/M value of three groups all improved obviously 1mo after surgery, which the difference showed statistical significant(<i>P</i><0.01). 1)After 3mo surgery, B/M value in esotropia group was higher than that in exotropia group(<i>P</i><0.05). 2)After 3mo surgery, B/M value in ≤6a group was higher than that in >12a group(<i>P</i><0.05). 3)After 1mo surgery, B/M value in severe amblyopia group was higher than that in mild group(<i>P</i><0.05). After 3mo surgery, B/M value in severe amblyopia group was higher than that in mild group significantly(<i>P</i><0.01). <p>CONCLUSION: Concomitant strabismus surgery is suggested to be performed before 6 years old when the patients are difficult to improve the vision after amblyopia treatment, especially with the severe amblyopia and esotropia(accommodative esotropia must be excluded). The early operation is better to amblyopia treatment and binocular vision recovery

BIOMECHANICS OF ACCURATE INSTEP KICK IN FUTSAL

The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical parameters of instep kicking towards specific targets of the goal in Futsal. Twelve females from national soccer team in Taiwan were recruited in this study. Each subject was asked to perform instep kick of a stationary ball (size 4) toward targets in the four corners of the goal in Futsal. VICON motion analysis system and Kistler force plateform were used to collect the kinematics of the lower limb and the ground reaction forces and moments, respectively. The results showed that kicks towards the bottom targets demonstrated significantly greater ball velocity than towards the top targets (p= 0.00). In addition, the hip joint moment of supporting leg was significantly greater when kicking towards top targets of the goal (p= 0.01). The results of this study could provide training guidelines for coaches and players

Ixeridium sagittarioides (Asteraceae-Cichorieae) revisited: range extension and molecular evidence for its systematic position in the Lactuca alliance

Our first record of the rare and scatteredly distributed Ixeridium sagittarioides for Guizhou, China, triggered a study to assess its systematic position. The species was placed in four different genera in the course of its taxonomic history and was recently treated with doubts as a member of Ixeridium in the Flora of China. Comparative morphological investigation and phylogenetic analyses based on the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and five non-coding plastid DNA regions (petD region, psbA-trnH, trnL-trnF, rpl32-trnL (UAG) and 5´rps16-trnQ (UUG) spacers) provided evidence that the species is not a member of Ixeridium and the Crepidinae but has evolved by ancient hybridisation of members of the Lactuca alliance (Lactucinae). It is reinstated as Lactuca sagittarioides and a comprehensive morphological description is provided, based on material from its entire range of distribution

Anserine Reverses Exercise-Induced Oxidative Stress and Preserves Cellular Homeostasis in Healthy Men

The study tested whether anserine (beta-alanyl-3-methyl-l-histidine), the active ingredient of chicken essence affects exercise-induced oxidative stress, cell integrity, and haematology biomarkers. In a randomized placebo-controlled repeated-measures design, ten healthy men ingested anserine in either a low dose (ANS-LD) 15 mg&middot;kg&minus;1&middot;bw&minus;1, high dose (ANS-HD) 30 mg&middot;kg&minus;1&middot;bw&minus;1, or placebo (PLA), following an exercise challenge (time to exhaustion), on three separate occasions. Anserine supplementation increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) by 50% (p &lt; 0.001, effect size d = 0.8 for both ANS-LD and ANS-HD), and preserved catalase (CAT) activity suggesting an improved antioxidant activity. However, both ANS-LD and ANS-HD elevated glutathione disulfide (GSSG), (both p &lt; 0.001, main treatment effect), and consequently lowered the glutathione to glutathione disulfide (GSH/GSSG) ratio compared with PLA (p &lt; 0.01, main treatment effect), without significant effects on thiobarbituric acid active reactive substances (TBARS). Exercise-induced cell damage biomarkers of glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and myoglobin were unaffected by anserine. There were slight but significant elevations in glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and creatine kinase isoenzyme (CKMB), especially in ANS-HD (p &lt; 0.05) compared with ANS-LD or PLA. Haematological biomarkers were largely unaffected by anserine, its dose, and without interaction with post exercise time-course. However, compared with ANS-LD and PLA, ANS-HD increased the mean cell volume (MCV), and decreased the mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (p &lt; 0.001). Anserine preserves cellular homoeostasis through enhanced antioxidant activity and protects cell integrity in healthy men, which is important for chronic disease prevention. However, anserine temporal elevated exercise-induced cell-damage, together with enhanced antioxidant activity and haematological responses suggest an augmented exercise-induced adaptative response and recovery