2,677 research outputs found

    Associations of parental bonding and adolescent internet addiction symptoms with depression and anxiety in parents of adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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    Objectives: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the associations of parental bonding and adolescentsā€™ Internet addiction symptoms with depression and anxiety in parents of adolescents with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Methods: Parental depression and anxiety symptoms, parental bonding, and adolescentsā€™ Internet addiction symptoms were assessed in 46 parent-child dyads using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and Chen Internet Addiction Scale, respectively. Forward stepwise multiple regression analysis was used to examine the associations of parental bonding and adolescentsā€™ Internet addiction symptoms with parental depression and anxiety. Results: Low care/affection on the PBI was significantly associated with parental depression, and overprotection on the PBI and adolescentsā€™ Internet addiction were significantly associated with parental anxiety. Discussion: Parental bonding and adolescentsā€™ Internet addiction are related to depression and anxiety in parents of adolescents with ADHD

    QoS multicast tree construction in IP/DWDM optical internet by bio-inspired algorithms

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    Copyright @ Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.In this paper, two bio-inspired Quality of Service (QoS) multicast algorithms are proposed in IP over dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical Internet. Given a QoS multicast request and the delay interval required by the application, both algorithms are able to find a flexible QoS-based cost suboptimal routing tree. They first construct the multicast trees based on ant colony optimization and artificial immune algorithm, respectively. Then a dedicated wavelength assignment algorithm is proposed to assign wavelengths to the trees aiming to minimize the delay of the wavelength conversion. In both algorithms, multicast routing and wavelength assignment are integrated into a single process. Therefore, they can find the multicast trees on which the least wavelength conversion delay is achieved. Load balance is also considered in both algorithms. Simulation results show that these two bio-inspired algorithms can construct high performance QoS routing trees for multicast applications in IP/DWDM optical Internet.This work was supported in part ny the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/1, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant no. 60673159 and 70671020, the National High-Tech Reasearch and Development Plan of China under Grant no. 2007AA041201, and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education under Grant no. 20070145017

    Optimization model for construction project resource leveling using a novel modified symbiotic organisms search

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    In the construction industry, determining project schedules has become one of the most critical subjects among project managers. These schedules oftentimes result in significant resource fluctuations that are costly and impractical for the construction company. Thus, construction managers are required to adjust the resource profile through a resource leveling process. In this paper, a novel optimization model is presented for resource leveling, called the ā€œmodified symbiotic organisms searchā€ (MSOS). MSOS is developed based on the standard symbiotic organisms search, but with an improvement in the parasitism phase to better tackle complex optimization problems. A case study is employed to investigate the performance of the proposed optimization model in coping with the resource leveling problem. The experimental results show that the proposed model can find a better quality solution in comparison with existing optimization models

    Epidemiology and risk factors for Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae carriage in the hospital: a population-based nested case-control study

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    Objective: This study aims to study the epidemiology of Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in Hong Kong. / Methods: This is a longitudinal population-based study reporting monthly CPE incidence rate and a nested case-control study for identifying risk factors for CPE carriage. The cases were patients with at least one CPE positive genotypic test, while the controls were randomly selected from the cohort with negative tests. Up to four controls per case were matched by sex, age group, and admission year-month. The independent risk factors were identified from a conditional logistic regression with potential covariates. / Results: From 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2019, 8,588 patients received CPE genotyping tests, and 2,353 had at least one positive result. Class B carbapenemase was the predominant enzyme in the samples (78.6%). The incidence rate increased from 0.04 in 2015 to 1.62 in 2019 per 10,000 person-year. In the nested case-control study, 1709 cases and 6664 controls were matched. Previous use of any beta-lactam antibiotics [Odds ratio:1.37 (1.22-1.53), p<.001] was found as an independent risk factor for carriage of CPE. / Conclusion: The carriage of CPE was found with an increasing trend in Hong Kong. Previous use of any beta-lactam antibiotics is a risk factor for CPE. / Summary: The incidence rate of Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae is increasing in Hong Kong, with the predominant enzyme of class B carbapenemase. With multivariable conditional logistic regression, the previous use of any beta-lactam antibiotics was found as an independent risk factor for CPE carriage

    Anti-malarial drug artesunate restores metabolic changes in experimental allergic asthma

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    The anti-malarial drug artesunate possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative actions in experimental asthma, comparable to corticosteroid. We hypothesized that artesunate may modulate disease-relevant metabolic alterations in allergic asthma. To explore metabolic profile changes induced by artesunate in allergic airway inflammation, we analysed bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum from naĆÆve and ovalbumin-induced asthma mice treated with artesunate, using both gas and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics. Pharmacokinetics analyses of serum and lung tissues revealed that artesunate is rapidly converted into the active metabolite dihydroartemisinin. Artesunate effectively suppressed BALF total and differential counts, and repressed BALF Th2 cytokines, IL-17, IL-12(p40), MCP-1 and G-CSF levels. Artesunate had no effects on both BALF and serum metabolome in naĆÆve mice. Artesunate promoted restoration of BALF sterols (cholesterol, cholic acid and cortol), phosphatidylcholines and carbohydrates (arabinose, mannose and galactose) and of serum 18-oxocortisol, galactose, glucose and glucouronic acid in asthma. Artesunate prevented OVA-induced increases in pro-inflammatory metabolites from arginineā€“proline metabolic pathway, particularly BALF levels of urea and alanine and serum levels of urea, proline, valine and homoserine. Multiple statistical correlation analyses revealed association between altered BALF and serum metabolites and inflammatory cytokines. Dexamethasone failed to reduce urea level and caused widespread changes in metabolites irrelevant to asthma development. Here we report the first metabolome profile of artesunate treatment in experimental asthma. Artesunate restored specific metabolic perturbations in airway inflammation, which correlated well with its anti-inflammatory actions. Our metabolomics findings further strengthen the therapeutic value of using artesunate to treat allergic asthma

    Seminar Report From the 2014 Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (TSIBD) Spring Forum (May 24th, 2014): Crohn's Disease Versus Intestinal Tuberculosis Infection

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    Since Taiwan is an endemic area for tuberculosis (TB), differential diagnosis between the intestinal TB and Crohn's disease is an important issue. The steering committee of Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (TSIBD) has arranged a seminar accordingly on May 24th, 2014 and the different point of views by gastroenterologist, radiologist, pathologist and infectious disease specialist were suggested to help the proper diagnosis and management of these two diseases

    The CDEX-1 1 kg Point-Contact Germanium Detector for Low Mass Dark Matter Searches

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    The CDEX Collaboration has been established for direct detection of light dark matter particles, using ultra-low energy threshold p-type point-contact germanium detectors, in China JinPing underground Laboratory (CJPL). The first 1 kg point-contact germanium detector with a sub-keV energy threshold has been tested in a passive shielding system located in CJPL. The outputs from both the point-contact p+ electrode and the outside n+ electrode make it possible to scan the lower energy range of less than 1 keV and at the same time to detect the higher energy range up to 3 MeV. The outputs from both p+ and n+ electrode may also provide a more powerful method for signal discrimination for dark matter experiment. Some key parameters, including energy resolution, dead time, decay times of internal X-rays, and system stability, have been tested and measured. The results show that the 1 kg point-contact germanium detector, together with its shielding system and electronics, can run smoothly with good performances. This detector system will be deployed for dark matter search experiments.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure
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