Large scale simulation of watershed mass transport – a case study of Tsengwen reservoir watershed

The Tenth International Symposium on Mitigation of Geo-disasters in Asia Matsue Symposium Place: Shimane Civil Center, Matsue Date: 8 October 2012We present the large scale simulation of watershed mass transport, including landslide, debris-flow and sediment transport. A case study of Tsengwen reservoir watershed under the extreme rainfall triggered by typhoon Morakot is simulated for verification. This approach starts with volume-area relationship formula with inventory method to predict temporal and regional landslide volume production and distribution. Then, debris flow model, Debris-2D, is used to simulate the mass transport of debris-flow from hillslope to fluvial channel. Finally a sediment transport model, NETSTARS, is used for hydraulic and sediment routing in river and reservoir. The integrated simulation for the whole watershed gives a very good agreement with the temporal variation of sediment concentration recorded at the very downstream location

Antinociceptive actions of honokiol and magnolol on glutamatergic and inflammatory pain

The antinociceptive effects of honokiol and magnolol, two major bioactive constituents of the bark of Magnolia officinalis, were investigated on animal paw licking responses and thermal hyperalgesia induced by glutamate receptor agonists including glutamate, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), and metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor (mGluR5) activator (RS)-2-chloro-5-hydroxyphenylglycine (CHPG), as well as inflammatory mediators such as substance P and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in mice. The actions of honokiol and magnolol on glutamate-induced c-Fos expression in the spinal cord dorsal horn were also examined. Our data showed that honokiol and magnolol blocked glutamate-, substance P- and PGE2-induced inflammatory pain with similar potency and efficacy. Consistently, honokiol and magnolol significantly decreased glutamate-induced c-Fos protein expression in superficial (I-II) laminae of the L4-L5 lumbar dorsal horn. However, honokiol was more selective than magnolol for inhibition of NMDA-induced licking behavioral and thermal hyperalgesia. In contrast, magnolol was more potent to block CHPG-mediated thermal hyperalgesia. These results demonstrate that honokiol and magnolol effectively decreased the inflammatory pain. Furthermore, their different potency on inhibition of nociception provoked by NMDA receptor and mGluR5 activation should be considered

Functional role of NF-IL6β and its sumoylation and acetylation modifications in promoter activation of cyclooxygenase 2 gene

NF-IL6β regulates gene expression and plays function roles in many tissues. The EGF-regulated cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) expression is mediated through p38(MAPK) signaling pathway and positively correlates with NF-IL6β expression in A431 cells. NF-IL6β coordinated with c-Jun on cox-2 transcriptional activation by reporter and small interfering RNA assays. NF-IL6β could directly bind to CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) and cyclic AMP-response element (CRE) sites of the cox-2 promoter by in vitro-DNA binding assay. The C/EBP site was important for basal and, to a lesser extent, for EGF-regulated cox-2 transcription, while the CRE site was a more specific response to EGF inducibility of cox-2 gene. SUMO1 expression attenuated EGF- and NF-IL6β-induced cox-2 promoter activities. NF-IL6β was found to be sumoylated by in vivo- and in vitro-sumoylation assays, and the SUMO1-NF-IL6β (suNF-IL6β) lost its ability to interact with p300 in in vitro-binding assay. NF-IL6β was also acetylated by p300, and acetylation of NF-IL6β enhanced the cox-2 promoter activity stimulated by NF-IL6β itself. In vivo-DNA binding assay demonstrated that EGF stimulated the recruitment of p300 and NF-IL6β to the cox-2 promoter, yet promoted the dissociation of SUMO1-modificated proteins from the promoter. These results indicated that NF-IL6β plays a pivotal role in the regulation of basal and EGF-induced cox-2 transcription

Nested Quantization Index Modulation for Reversible Watermarking and Its Application to Healthcare Information Management Systems

Digital watermarking has attracted lots of researches to healthcare information management systems for access control, patients' data protection, and information retrieval. The well-known quantization index modulation-(QIM-) based watermarking has its limitations as the host image will be destroyed; however, the recovery of medical images is essential to avoid misdiagnosis. In this paper, we propose the nested QIM-based watermarking, which is preferable to the QIM-based watermarking for the medical image applications. As the host image can be exactly reconstructed by the nested QIM-based watermarking. The capacity of the embedded watermark can be increased by taking advantage of the proposed nest structure. The algorithm and mathematical model of the nested QIM-based watermarking including forward and inverse model is presented. Due to algorithms and architectures of forward and inverse nested QIM, the concurrent programs and special processors for the nested QIM-based watermarking are easily implemented

Spatial and temporal EEG dynamics of dual-task driving performance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Driver distraction is a significant cause of traffic accidents. The aim of this study is to investigate Electroencephalography (EEG) dynamics in relation to distraction during driving. To study human cognition under a specific driving task, simulated real driving using virtual reality (VR)-based simulation and designed dual-task events are built, which include unexpected car deviations and mathematics questions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We designed five cases with different stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) to investigate the distraction effects between the deviations and equations. The EEG channel signals are first converted into separated brain sources by independent component analysis (ICA). Then, event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) changes of the EEG power spectrum are used to evaluate brain dynamics in time-frequency domains.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Power increases in the theta and beta bands are observed in relation with distraction effects in the frontal cortex. In the motor area, alpha and beta power suppressions are also observed. All of the above results are consistently observed across 15 subjects. Additionally, further analysis demonstrates that response time and multiple cortical EEG power both changed significantly with different SOA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study suggests that theta power increases in the frontal area is related to driver distraction and represents the strength of distraction in real-life situations.</p

Probing the DNA kink structure induced by the hyperthermophilic chromosomal protein Sac7d

Sac7d, a small, abundant, sequence-general DNA-binding protein from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, causes a single-step sharp kink in DNA (∼60°) via the intercalation of both Val26 and Met29. These two amino acids were systematically changed in size to probe their effects on DNA kinking. Eight crystal structures of five Sac7d mutant–DNA complexes have been analyzed. The DNA-binding pattern of the V26A and M29A single mutants is similar to that of the wild-type, whereas the V26A/M29A protein binds DNA without side chain intercalation, resulting in a smaller overall bending (∼50°). The M29F mutant inserts the Phe29 side chain orthogonally to the C2pG3 step without stacking with base pairs, inducing a sharp kink (∼80°). In the V26F/M29F-GCGATCGC complex, Phe26 intercalates deeply into DNA bases by stacking with the G3 base, whereas Phe29 is stacked on the G15 deoxyribose, in a way similar to those used by the TATA box-binding proteins. All mutants have reduced DNA-stabilizing ability, as indicated by their lower T(m) values. The DNA kink patterns caused by different combinations of hydrophobic side chains may be relevant in understanding the manner by which other minor groove-binding proteins interact with DNA

Enhancing performance of ZnO dye-sensitized solar cells by incorporation of multiwalled carbon nanotubes

A low-temperature, direct blending procedure was used to prepare composite films consisting of zinc oxide [ZnO] nanoparticles and multiwalled carbon nanotubes [MWNTs]. The mesoporous ZnO/MWNT films were fabricated into the working electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells [DSSCs]. The pristine MWNTs were modified by an air oxidation or a mixed acid oxidation treatment before use. The mixed acid treatment resulted in the disentanglement of MWNTs and facilitated the dispersion of MWNTs in the ZnO matrix. The effects of surface property and loading of MWNTs on DSSC performance were investigated. The performance of DSSCs was found to depend greatly on the type and the amount of MWNTs incorporated. At a loading of 0.01 wt%, the acid-treated MWNTs were able to increase the power conversion efficiency of fabricated cells from 2.11% (without MWNTs) to 2.70%

Identification of low-abundance proteins via fractionation of the urine proteome with weak anion exchange chromatography

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Low-abundance proteins are difficultly observed on the two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) maps of urine proteome, because they are usually obscured by high-abundance proteins such as albumin and immunoglobulin. In this study, a novel fractionation method was developed for enriching low-abundance proteins by removing high-abundance proteins and progressive elution with salts of various concentrations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Stepwise weak anion exchange (WAX) chromatography, which applied DEAE-Sephacel resin with non-fixed volume elution, was used to fractionate urine proteome prior to performing 2-DE. Urine proteome was separated into four fractions by progressively eluting the column with 0 M, 50 mM, 100 mM, and 1 M NaCl solutions. Most of the heavy and light immunoglobulin chains appeared in the eluent. After the high-abundance proteins were removed, various low-abundance proteins were enriched and could be easily identified. The potential of this method for obtaining diversified fractionations was demonstrated by eluting the column separately with Na₂SO₄and MgCl₂solutions. The 2-DE maps of the fractions eluted with these different salt solutions of identical ionic strength revealed markedly different stain patterns.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present study demonstrated that this fractionation method could be applied for purposes of enriching low-abundance proteins and obtaining diversified fractionations of urine, and potentially other proteomes.</p

Predictors of betel quid chewing behavior and cessation patterns in Taiwan aborigines

BACKGROUND: Betel quid, chewed by about 600 million people worldwide, is one of the most widely used addictive substances. Cessation factors in betel quid chewers are unknown. The present study explores prevalence and the quit rate of betel quid chewing in Taiwan aborigines. Our goal was to delineate potential predictors of chewing cessation. METHODS: A stratified random community-based survey was designed for the entire aborigines communities in Taiwan. A total of 7144 participants were included between June 2003 and May 2004 in this study. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, such as gender, age, obesity, education years, marital status, ethnicity, and habits of betel quid chewing, smoking and drinking was collected by trained interviewers. RESULTS: The prevalence of betel quid chewers was 46.1%. Betel quid chewing was closely associated with obesity (OR = 1.61; 95% CI: 1.40–1.85). Betel quid chewers were most likely to use alcohol and cigarettes together. Quit rate of betel quid chewers was 7.6%. Betel quid chewers who did not drink alcohol were more likely to quit (OR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.43–2.50). Alcohol use is a significant factor related to cessation of betel quid chewing, but smoking is not. CONCLUSION: Taiwan aborigines have a high prevalence of betel quid chewers and a low quit rate. Alcohol use is strongly association with betel quid chewing. Efforts to reduce habitual alcohol consumption might be of benefit in cessation of betel quid chewing