Total factor productivity growth accounting in the construction industry of Singapore

Total factor productivity (TFP) determines long‐term economic growth and is a comprehensive industry‐level productivity measure. This paper proposes Jorgenson's method as an appropriate TFP measurement for the construction industry. The method is less restrictive than the conventional Chau's approach, as it does not impose the Hick Neutral Technical Change assumption. Jorgenson's method is then applied to estimate TFP growth in the construction industry of Singapore over 1984–1998. TFP growth is found down by 1.53% per annum over this period, indicating that the performance of TFP in the construction industry lags behind the rest of economy. TFP growth is also found to be fluctuating over time and tends to move in tandem with the construction business cycle.

As a monitor of progress towards TFP achievement, factors influencing TFP growth in the construction industry of Singapore over 1984–1997 are identified. Seven factors are found to be significantly related to TFP growth. Among them, economies of scale, R&D by the industry, investment allowance granted and labour unions are leading contributors to TFP growth; while foreign worker, construction accidents and pre‐cast are major hampers.

The general methodology presented in this study can be applied to other countries. Future studies are required to find appropriate indicators for factors unquantified.     

非离子纤维素醚改性水泥浆的孔结构

通过表现密度测试及宏观、微观孔结构观察,研究不同分子结构非离子纤维素醚对水泥浆孔结构的影响.结果表明,非离子纤维素醚会导致水泥浆孔隙率增加;非离子纤维素醚改性水泥浆黏度相近时,羟乙基纤维素醚(HEC)改性水泥浆的孔隙率比羟丙基甲基纤维素醚(HPMC)和甲基纤维素醚(MC)改性水泥浆小;基团含量相似的HPMC纤维素醚,黏度/相对分子质量越低,其改性水泥浆孔隙率越小.非离子纤维素醚掺入水泥浆后,降低了液相表面张力,使得水泥浆容易形成气泡;非离子纤维素醚分子定向吸附在气泡气-液界面,同时还增加了水泥浆液相黏度,使得水泥浆稳定气泡的能力增强.     

Correlations of Hepatic Hemodynamics,Liver Function,and Fibrosis Markers in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Comparison with Chronic Hepatitis Related to Hepatitis C Virus

The progression of chronic liver disease differs by etiology. The aim of this study was to elucidate the difference in disease progression between chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by means of fibrosis markers, liver function, and hepatic tissue blood flow (TBF). Xenon computed tomography (Xe-CT) was performed in 139 patients with NAFLD and 152 patients with CHC (including liver cirrhosis (LC)). The cutoff values for fibrosis markers were compared between NAFLD and CHC, and correlations between hepatic TBF and liver function tests were examined at each fibrosis stage. The cutoff values for detection of the advanced fibrosis stage were lower in NAFLD than in CHC. Although portal venous TBF (PVTBF) correlated with liver function tests, PVTBF in initial LC caused by nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH-LC) was significantly lower than that in hepatitis C virus (C-LC) (p = 0.014). Conversely, the liver function tests in NASH-LC were higher than those in C-LC (p < 0.05). It is important to recognize the difference between NAFLD and CHC. We concluded that changes in hepatic blood flow occurred during the earliest stage of hepatic fibrosis in patients with NAFLD; therefore, patients with NAFLD need to be followed carefully.     

The FKBP5 Gene Affects Alcohol Drinking in Knockout Mice and Is Implicated in Alcohol Drinking in Humans

FKBP5 encodes FK506-binding protein 5, a glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-binding protein implicated in various psychiatric disorders and alcohol withdrawal severity. The purpose of this study is to characterize alcohol preference and related phenotypes in Fkbp5 knockout (KO) mice and to examine the role of FKBP5 in human alcohol consumption. The following experiments were performed to characterize Fkpb5 KO mice. (1) Fkbp5 KO and wild-type (WT) EtOH consumption was tested using a two-bottle choice paradigm; (2) The EtOH elimination rate was measured after intraperitoneal (IP) injection of 2.0 g/kg EtOH; (3) Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was measured after 3 h limited access of alcohol; (4) Brain region expression of Fkbp5 was identified using LacZ staining; (5) Baseline corticosterone (CORT) was assessed. Additionally, two SNPs, rs1360780 (C/T) and rs3800373 (T/G), were selected to study the association of FKBP5 with alcohol consumption in humans. Participants were college students (n = 1162) from 21–26 years of age with Chinese, Korean or Caucasian ethnicity. The results, compared to WT mice, for KO mice exhibited an increase in alcohol consumption that was not due to differences in taste sensitivity or alcohol metabolism. Higher BAC was found in KO mice after 3 h of EtOH access. Fkbp5 was highly expressed in brain regions involved in the regulation of the stress response, such as the hippocampus, amygdala, dorsal raphe and locus coeruleus. Both genotypes exhibited similar basal levels of plasma corticosterone (CORT). Finally, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in FKBP5 were found to be associated with alcohol drinking in humans. These results suggest that the association between FKBP5 and alcohol consumption is conserved in both mice and humans.     

Calcification-Based Cancer Diagnosis and Therapy

In nature, calcium deposition is a common biological process in mammals that shapes mechanical structures and creates the functions of bones and teeth, and causes calculi formation. Spontaneous tumor calcification and regional lymph node calcification in colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and glioblastoma have been proven to be benign prognostic factors in the clinic. In line with this concept, we introduce the idea and lead the compound development of artificially inducing bionic calcification around the surface of cancer cells. This process is shown to have excellent effects in the inhibition of growth and metastases of cervical, breast, and lung tumors, as well as superb performance in early-stage diagnosis. Therefore, we predict that this concept may open the door for cancer targeting calcification therapy and diagnosis and provide an outlook for a new avenue in anticancer drug development.     

一种基于移动代理的SIP移动性结构设计

研究了移动代理的预先执行认证程序技术,提出了在无线局域网中采用基于EAP-SIM的AAA关键字管理方式,实现在无线局域网(WLAN)与移动通信网(UMTS)环境中的无缝语音漫游服务的方法。     

EPON在用户接入网的应用研究

本文简单介绍了中国电信集团采用EPON试验的情况,然后分析了目前新兴运营商在写字楼内的组网方案及存在的问题,有针对性地制定了EPON应用于写字楼的系统测试方案,测试结果表明EPON能够较好地满足写字楼客户需求.在此测试基础上,文章对EPON在写字楼和小区的应用模型和经济性进行了分析,并提出EPON近期的应用策略.     

Cytoskeletal Protein 4.1G Is Essential for the Primary Ciliogenesis and Osteoblast Differentiation in Bone Formation

The primary cilium is a hair-like immotile organelle with specific membrane receptors, including the receptor of Hedgehog signaling, smoothened. The cilium organized in preosteoblasts promotes differentiation of the cells into osteoblasts (osteoblast differentiation) by mediating Hedgehog signaling to achieve bone formation. Notably, 4.1G is a plasma membrane-associated cytoskeletal protein that plays essential roles in various tissues, including the peripheral nervous system, testis, and retina. However, its function in the bone remains unexplored. In this study, we identified 4.1G expression in the bone. We found that, in the 4.1G-knockout mice, calcium deposits and primary cilium formation were suppressed in the trabecular bone, which is preosteoblast-rich region of the newborn tibia, indicating that 4.1G is a prerequisite for osteoblast differentiation by organizing the primary cilia in preosteoblasts. Next, we found that the primary cilium was elongated in the differentiating mouse preosteoblast cell line MC3T3-E1, whereas the knockdown of 4.1G suppressed its elongation. Moreover, 4.1G-knockdown suppressed the induction of the cilia-mediated Hedgehog signaling and subsequent osteoblast differentiation. These results demonstrate a new regulatory mechanism of 4.1G in bone formation that promotes the primary ciliogenesis in the differentiating preosteoblasts and induction of cilia-mediated osteoblast differentiation, resulting in bone formation at the newborn stage.     

热声系统跳频现象研究

进行了带声压放大器的驻波型热声驱动RC负载的实验研究,在实验中观察到频率跳变现象,根据驻波型热声系统的运行模式,对跳频现象出现的声阻范围、跳频现象随加热功率的变化关系以及跳频现象和声压放大器长度的关系进行了归纳和总结.     

降低转炉石灰消耗生产实践

对安钢第二炼钢厂转炉石灰消耗高的原因及对生产的影响进行了分析.通过铁水分兑、控制废钢搭配比例、改善渣料结构,优化工艺技术等措施,降低了转炉石灰消耗,实现了转炉造渣低成本运行.