Antral and duodenal disaccharidases in patients of duodenal ulcer and non-ulcer dyspepsia

Duodenal ulcer is a common disease and is considered acid-peptic disease. Duodenal ulcer patients are known to have higher incidence of antral gastritis and duodentitis than general population. Thus one can expect some alteration in the enzyme products of mucosal cells of antrum and duodenum in this condition. The present study was planned in 30 patients of duodenal ulcer and 30 of non-ulcer dyspepsia. After overnight fast, upper gastrointestinal endoscopy was done using forward viewing fibreoptic endoscope. Two pairs of biopsies were taken from the antrum and two from the descending duodenum using standard biopsy forceps. One pair of biopsy from each site was taken in 10% formal saline for histopathological examination. One pair of biopsies from each site was collected in saline for the measurement of disaccharidases by Dahlquist method. Activities of lactase, sucrase and maltase were significantly higher in descending duodenum mucosa as compared to antral mucosa in both groups. Activities of these enzymes in antrum and duodenum of both groups did not differ significantly. No significant difference was found in disaccharidases in antrum and descending duodenum in patients with or without histological gastritis. This study suggests that the disaccharidases do not change in antrum and duodenum of ulcer patients as compared to the patients with non-ulcer dyspepsia.     

Focused Activities and the Development of Social Capital in a Distributed Learning “Community”

This study examined the development of individual social capital in a distributed learning community. Feld's theory of focused choice predicts that the formation of network ties is constrained by contextual factors that function as foci of activities. In our research, we examined how group assignment and location could function as such foci to influence the development of individual social capital in a distributed learning community. Given that networks with different content flows may possess different properties, we examined two different types of networks—task-related instrumental networks and non-task-related expressive networks. A longitudinal research design was used to evaluate the evolution of networks over time. Hypotheses were tested using a sample of 32 students enrolled in a distributed learning class. The results show strong support for Feld's theory. While serving as foci of activities to organize social interactions, both group assignment and geographic separation can also function to fragment a learning community.     

菰黑粉菌科(Yeniaceae)的确认问题

 菰黑粉菌科(Yeniaceae)是刘慎谔(1949)根据阎玫玉(1935)对菰黑粉菌(Yenia esculenta) 冬孢子**萌发方式的研究结果而建立的。但是20多年来,似还没有得到有关工作者的承认, 主要是由于黑粉菌冬孢子萌发方式受环境因素的影响很大,性状不太稳定的缘故。  为了确认 此科建立的必要性和合理性,在前人研究的基础上,对菰黑粉菌冬孢子的萌发方式和条件作了 进一步的研究。结果表明：菰黑粉菌冬孢子在形态上和生理上几乎同时成熟,孢子形成后便 可立即大量萌发。冬孢子的存活力较短暂,在室温下10个月完全丧失萌发力。     菰黑粉菌冬孢子在9-33℃下均能萌发,萌发的适温范围为24-30℃,30℃下8小时便 开始萌发。孢子在pH 2.0-11.0均能萌发,以pH3.5-7.0较好,最适pH为4.0-5.0。合 成培养基和植物性煎汁培养基有利于孢子的萌发,在动物性煎汁培养基和缺乏养料的蒸馏水 培养基上萌发较差。冬孢子在完全光照和完全黑暗下均能萌发。孢子萌发时对氧的需要量不 大,纯氧或过量的氧对萌发似有抑制作用。菰黑粉菌这种对萌发条件要求不严格的特性,表明 它具有广泛的适应性和顽强的生命力。这种特性是它在长期历史发展过程中所形成的,也是 长期人工选择和自然选择的结果。对这些生物学性状的了解,为在生产实践上争取茭白的丰 产奠定了理论基础。     温度、光照、氢离子浓度、营养条件和氧的供应,对菰黑粉菌冬孢子的萌发方式有一定的影 响,特别是对孢子原菌丝影响较大。但是对短的无隔担子原菌丝影响却不大,一般都没有引起 形态上的较大改变。刘慎谔(1949)根据这一性状所建立的菰黑粉菌属(Yenia)和菰黑粉菌科 (Yeniaceae),是有一定根据的,似应给予承认。        本文还对黑粉菌目的演化和分科问题进行了讨论。     

On the analysis of nonlinear stochastic systems

A comparison is given of two exact methods for the analysis of nonlinear systems with stochastic input and stochastic parameters: the Taylor-Cauchy Transform method and the Volterra-Wiener Functional method. The final results check with each other. Examples are provided.     

Immunomodulation of ovalbumin-specific IgG and other classes of antibody response by honey in mice

It was reported earlier that intraperitoneal administration of honey had immunosuppressive activity on elicitation of allergen-specific murine antibody response as evaluated by passive cutaneous anaphylaxis and double immunodiffusion methods. In this study, the immunomudulatory effect of honey is evaluated by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using ovalbumin as model allergen. It was found that ovalbumin (OVA)-specific IgG antibody responses elicited with various doses of OVA were significantly suppressed by rock bee honey (p<0.01). Honey was also found to have inhibited the production of OVA-specific IgM, IgA, IgG₁, and IgG_2b whereas that of IgG_2a and IgG₃ were not affected. Furthermore, honey also suppressed the OVA-specific total IgG antibody response in various inbred mice with different genetic background. In addition, the suppressive activity of honey was examined in different groups of mice by injecting honey at different time intervals, before and after immunization with OVA. The anti-OVA IgG antibody response was suppressed significantly when honey was injected 12 hours prior/latter to OVA injection. These results confirm the suppressive activity of honey on antibody response and suggest possible clinical application.     

Does maximalist footwear lower impact loading during level ground and downhill running?

A new model of running shoes which features an extreme cushioning and an oversized midsole, known as the maximalist (MAX) was launched. This design claims to provide excellent shock absorption, particularly during downhill running. This study sought to assess the effects of MAX on the external impact loading, footstrike pattern, and stride length during level ground and downhill running on an instrumented treadmill. Twenty-seven distance runners completed four 5-minute running trials in the two footwear conditions (MAX and traditional running shoes (TRS)) on a level surface (0%) and downhill (10%-declination). Average and instantaneous loading rates (ILRs), footstrike pattern and stride length were measured during the last minute of each running trial. A 12% greater ILR was observed in downhill running with MAX (p?=?.045; Cohen’s d?=?0.44) as compared to TRS. No significant difference was found in the loading rates (p?>?.589) and stride length (p?=?.924) when running on a level surface. Majority of runners maintained the same footstrike pattern in both footwear conditions. Findings of this study suggested that MAX might not reduce the external impact loading in runners during level and downhill treadmill running. Instead, this type of footwear may conceivably increase the external impact loading during downhill treadmill running.     

A Compressive Privacy approach to Generalized Information Bottleneck and Privacy Funnel problems

This paper explores a Compressive Privacy (CP) methodology for optimal tradeoff between utility gain and privacy loss. CP represents a dimension-reduced subspace design of optimally desensitized query that may be safely shared with the public. Built upon the information and estimation theory, this paper proposes a “differential mutual information” (DMI) criterion to safeguard the privacy protection (PP). Algorithmically, DMI-optimal solutions can be derived via the Discriminant Component Analysis (DCA). Moreover, DCA has two machine learning variants (one in the original space and another is the kernel space) good for supervised learning applications. By extending the notion of DMI to the utility gain and privacy loss, CP unifies the conventional Information Bottleneck (IB) and Privacy Funnel (PF) and lead to two constrained optimizers, named Generalized Information Bottleneck (GIB) and Generalized Privacy Funnel (GPF). In the supervised learning environments, DCA can be further extended to a DUCA machine learning variant to reach an optimal tradeoff between utility gain and privacy loss. Finally, for fast convergence, a golden-section iterative method is developed particularly for solving the two constrained optimization problems: GIB and GPF.     

RHONN identifier-control scheme for nonlinear discrete-time systems with unknown time-delays

This work presents a neural identifier-control scheme for uncertain nonlinear discrete-time systems with unknown time-delays. This scheme is based on a neural identifier to get a model of the system and a discrete-time block control technique based on sliding modes to generate the control law. The neural identifier is based on a Recurrent High Order Neural Network (RHONN) trained with an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) based algorithm. Applicability is shown using real-time test results for linear induction motors. Also, a Lyapunov analysis is added in order to prove the semi-globally uniformly ultimately boundedness (SGUUB) of the proposed neural identifier-control scheme.     

The distinct signaling effects of R&D subsidy and non-R&D subsidy on IPO performance of IT entrepreneurial firms in China

This study investigates how R&D subsidy and non-R&D subsidy affect entrepreneurial firms’ initial public offering (IPO) performance in an emerging economy like China. Analyzing data from 269 IT (information technology) entrepreneurial firms in China, we found that R&D subsidy has an inverted U-shape effect on IPO performance, while non-R&D subsidy has a positive effect on IPO performance. Furthermore, both state ownership and patent intensity moderate the inverted U-shape relationship between R&D subsidy and IPO performance. In contrast, neither of them moderates the positive relationship between non-R&D subsidy and IPO performance. These findings contribute to the literature on the effectiveness of government subsidy by highlighting the symbolic effect of government subsidy on external financing in emerging economies, and offer important practical implications to entrepreneurial firms and government funding agencies in China.     

In the eyes of the beholder: The effect of participant diversity on perceived merits of collaborative innovations

Technological innovations often involve collaboration among firms from diverse industries. Existing literature has largely viewed participant diversity as a conduit for non-redundant information or complementary resources, thereby affecting the ex-post outcomes of innovation projects. However, it is seldom examined how projects are initially evaluated during the resource competition stage. In this study, we develop a theory of diversity as a cognitive primer, asking how collaborators from diverse backgrounds may affect external reviewers’ ex-ante evaluation of potential merits of an innovation project. We argue that there are two logics at work in the process of evaluating innovations: the logic of technological advancement and the logic of market value. When an innovation project involves firms from diverse industries, it may be perceived as having a fuzzier market identity, hence making it less appealing to reviewers who hold with the strong market value logic. However, the penalty associated with participant diversity should be less pronounced among reviewers who hold the technological advancement logic. We also expect the relationship between participant diversity and reviewers’ ratings to be moderated by project novelty and fuzziness of technology category. We find support for our hypotheses with a sample of collaborative innovation projects funded by the Advanced Technology Program of the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology.