A Pyrrole-Based Triazolium-Phane with Nh and Cationic Ch Donor Groups as a Receptor for Tetrahedral Oxyanions that Functions in Polar Media

The pyrrole-based triazolium-phane 1(4+)center dot 4BF(4)(-) has been prepared via the tetraalkylation of a macrocycle originally prepared via click chemistry. It displays a high selectivity for tetrahedral oxyanions relative to various test monoanions and trigonal planar anions in mixed polar organic-aqueous media. This selectivity is solvent dependent and is less pronounced in acetonitrile. Theoretical calculations were carried out in with the chloride anion in an effort to understand the influence of solvent on the intrinsic hydrogen bonding ability of the donor groups (pyrrole N-H, benzene C-H and triazolium C-H). The host-guest interactions between receptor 1(4+)center dot 4BF(4)(-) and representative tetrahedral oxyanions were further analysed by H-1 NMR spectroscopy, and the findings proved consistent with the differences in the intrinsic strength of the various H-bond donor groups inferred from the electronic structure calculations carried out in methanol, namely that (CH)(+)-anion interactions are less important in an energetic sense than neutral CH-anion interactions in polar media. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of the mixed salts 1(4+)center dot HP2O73-center dot BF4- and 31(4+)center dot 4H(2)PO(4)(-)center dot 8BF(4)(-) confirmed that receptor 1(4+) can bind the pyrophosphate and phosphate anions in the solid state.Cai, Jiajia, Benjamin P. Hay, Neil J. Young, Xiaoping Yang, and Jonathan L. Sessler. "A pyrrole-based triazolium-phane with NH and cationic CH donor groups as a receptor for tetrahedral oxyanions that functions in polar media." Chemical Science 4, no. 4 (Jan., 2013): 1560-1567.Chemistr

Cross Cultural Comparative Research of Online Consumer Reviews Intentions

A detailed literature review on motives of knowledge sharing in virtual communities is conducted. Moreover, the comparative study on intentions of consumer reviews between Amazon.com and Amazon.cn, based on an online open-ended survey through content analysis, is done. The analytical results show that users contribute their consumption experiences are mainly depended upon social motives, psychological motives and economic motives, which are deeply correlated and influenced by their national culture dimensions

Characterization of Food Structures and Functionalities

Some functional properties such as texture and nutrition are the most important attributes used by consumers to assess food qualities, which have been used for in nearly all kinds of food products, from beverage, yoghurt, and ice cream to bread and noodles. Nowadays, there is a desire tomake foods healthier and at the same time not diminish sensory quality. This requires an understanding of key elements of food structure associated with texture and nutritional perception. In terms of taste perception, texture is perceived during oral processing of food

Cost X-efficiency and Loan Loss Provision Decision: Evidence from Mainland China and Hong Kong Listed Banks

This paper examined Loan Loss Provision (LLP) determinants: business cycle, income smoothing, capital management, signalling effect and also cost X-efficiency, using 18 Mainland Chinese and 9 Hong Kong(HK) listed banks from 2006 to 2013 within two stages. To test the impact of efficiency on LLP, the first stage is carried out generating cost efficiency scores for individual banks in each year using cost translog function. The second stage then tests the determinacy of LLP using main determinants variables via the feasible efficient GMM model. Empirical results support countercyclical behaviour and income smoothing however fail to support capital management and signalling effect. More interestingly, cost efficiency is found its influence on LLP determinacy: a negative relationship

Audiovisual n-Back Training Alters the Neural Processes of Working Memory and Audiovisual Integration: Evidence of Changes in ERPs

(1) Background: This study investigates whether audiovisual n-back training leads to training effects on working memory and transfer effects on perceptual processing. (2) Methods: Before and after training, the participants were tested using the audiovisual n-back task (1-, 2-, or 3-back), to detect training effects, and the audiovisual discrimination task, to detect transfer effects. (3) Results: For the training effect, the behavioral results show that training leads to greater accuracy and faster response times. Stronger training gains in accuracy and response time using 3- and 2-back tasks, compared to 1-back, were observed in the training group. Event-related potentials (ERPs) data revealed an enhancement of P300 in the frontal and central regions across all working memory levels after training. Training also led to the enhancement of N200 in the central region in the 3-back condition. For the transfer effect, greater audiovisual integration in the frontal and central regions during the post-test rather than pre-test was observed at an early stage (80-120 ms) in the training group. (4) Conclusion: Our findings provide evidence that audiovisual n-back training enhances neural processes underlying a working memory and demonstrate a positive influence of higher cognitive functions on lower cognitive functions

Stimulus Intervals Modulate the Balance of Brain Activity in the Human Primary Somatosensory Cortex: An ERP Study

Neuronal excitation and inhibition occur in the brain at the same time, and brain activation reflects changes in the sum of excitation and inhibition. This principle has been well-established in lower-level sensory systems, including vision and touch, based on animal studies. However, it is unclear how the somatosensory system processes the balance between excitation and inhibition. In the present ERP study, we modified the traditional spatial attention paradigm by adding double stimuli presentations at short intervals (i.e., 10, 30, and 100 ms). Seventeen subjects participated in the experiment. Five types of stimulation were used in the experiment: a single stimulus (one raised pin for 40 ms), standard stimulus (eight pins for 40 ms), and double stimuli presented at intervals of 10, 30, and 100 ms. The subjects were asked to attend to a particular finger and detect whether the standard stimulus was presented to that finger. The results showed a clear attention-related ERP component in the single stimulus condition, but the suppression components associated with the three interval conditions seemed to be dominant in somatosensory areas. In particular, we found the strongest suppression effect in the ISI-30 condition (interval of 30 ms) and that the suppression and enhancement effects seemed to be counterbalanced in both the ISI-10 and ISI-100 conditions (intervals of 10 and 100 ms, respectively). This type of processing may allow humans to easily discriminate between multiple stimuli on the same body part

平林たい子と彼女の「満洲」体験物語 : 作品における空間の意味と機能をめぐって

This paper discusses Hirabayashi Taiko’s self-representation novels of "Nagesuteyo!"（Throw it away!, 1927） and "Seryōshitsu nite" （In the Charity ward, 1927） which reproduce her Manchuria experience, by analyzing through a compound-eye perspective of gender, class, and ethnicity. Considering the two novels as a continuous story, this study pays attention to the arrangement of the space and protagonist’s movement between different spaces described in fictions. It declares 3 aspects about the meaning and function of space in her works. Firstly, the space of railroad company in "Nagesuteyo!" symbolizes an obvious colonial space, in which the protagonist was oppressed by class and gender, and coolies were oppressed by class and ethnicity. In this space, the representation of coolies interlocks to the representation of Hirabayashi Taiko herself. Secondly, the space of Charity ward in "Seryōshitsu nite" implies the potential colonial space within the Japanese, in which the protagonist was treated like an animal, and this is similar to the coolies’ situation in the obvious colonial space mentioned above. Thirdly, the scenes of intercultural encounter and movement between different spaces promote the change of protagonist’s identity from an inferior female labor / wife / mother to be a socialist warrior. In her works, it shows a complex composition about imperialism and colonialism which are inherent in capitalism and patriarchy. It is apparent that Hirabayashi Taiko demonstrated a critical attitude to the framework of the empire, and represented the subalterns who were sacrificed and excluded from this framework. Thus, Hirabayashi Taiko’s self-representation novels are not only a self-speaking work, but also a work for the subalterns such as coolies and female labors. Her Manchurian experience story is a subaltern rewrite of a female writer with a compound eye of ethnicity, class, and gender, requesting the unequally allocated framework itself. The Manchuria experience in the 1920s was an opportunity for Hirabayashi Taiko to discover the subalterns, and the starting point for her to create subaltern stories