Survey of Theileria parasite infection in cattle in Taiwan

The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate sleep-wake rhythm in active, healthy elderly people residing in their usual habitat. The subjects were thirty-five male volunteers within an age range of 65-95 for 3-4 days. We measured the sleep-wake rhythm of the subjects with an Actillume which is a combined wrist activity monitor and illumination recorder. Analysis of the Actillume recording showed that 24 of the 35 subjects (69%) kept continuous activity indicating good maintenance of wakefulness with high light exposure. The mean mesor of sleep-wake rhythm, however, significantly decreased in the older subjects (aged 80-95; n=15).     

Molecular beam epitaxial growth of P-ZnSe:N using a novel plasma source

We have studied the p-type doping in ZnSe molecular beam epitaxial growth using a novel high-power (5 kW) radio frequency (rf) plasma source. The effect of growth conditions such as the rf power, the Se/Zn flux ratio and the growth temperature on p-ZnSe:N was investigated. The net acceptor concentration (N_A—N_D) of around 1 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ was reproducibly achieved. The activation ratio ((N_A—N_D)/[N]) of p-ZnSe:N with N_A—N_D of 1.2 × 10¹⁸ cm⁻³ was found to be as high as 60%, which is the highest value so far obtained for N_A—N_D ∼ 10¹⁸ cm⁻³. The 4.2K photoluminescence spectra of p-ZnSe:N grown under the optimized growth condition showed well-resolved deep donor-acceptor pair emissions even with high N_A—N_D. On leave from Sumitomo Electric Industry Ltd. On leave from Sony Corp.     

The effects of nonlinearities in the boundary layer characteristics on the fault currents in an MHD channel

An impulse excitation technique is used for the exact two-dimensional analysis of a short circuit between one pair of electrodes in a Faraday channel. The effects of the presence of slag layers and of arcs in the boundary layers on the fault current distributions have been included in the analysis. The results show that the presence of a slag layer tends to reduce the fault current while the arcs tend to increase it.     

Evaluation of hepatitis B and C viral markers: clinical significance in Asian and Caucasian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States of America

In order to evaluate the roles of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) and their clinical significance in Asian-American and Caucasian patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the USA, 110 HCC patients, seen in a community-based teaching hospital in the Los Angeles area over a 10 year period, were enrolled. Seventy-nine (72%) patients were Asian-American and 31 (28%) were Caucasians. Of the 110 HCC patients, 69 (63%) were positive for serum hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), 26 (24%) were positive for serum antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV), five (all Asian-Americans) were positive for both markers; 11 (10%) patients had a history of alcoholism. HBsAg was detected in 63 (80%) Asian-American patients, significantly higher than in the six (19%) Caucasian HCC patients (P < 0.01). Anti-HCV was detected in 10 (32%) Caucasian and in 16 (20%) Asian-American HCC patients (P > 0.05). Among Asian-American HCC patients, anti-HCV was more prevalent in those who were HBsAg-negative than in the HBsAg-positive patients (69 vs 8%; P < 0.01). A history of alcoholism was obtained in nine (29%) Caucasian HCC patients, significantly higher than in the two (3%) Asian-American HCC patients (P < 0.05). Comparing HCC patients with positive HBsAg and with anti-HCV, HBsAg-positive HCC patients were younger, Asian-Americans and predominantly male; 38% had a family history of liver disease. In contrast, anti-HCV-positive HCC patients were older by nearly a decade and 46% had a history of blood transfusion. Using a stepwise logistic regression analysis, Asian race and patient age < 50 years were found to be independent predictors for HBsAg-positivity, while a history of blood transfusion was the only predictor for anti-HCV-positivity in HCC patients. There was no significant difference in the rate of cirrhosis, serum levels of alpha-fetoprotein and survival between HBsAg-positive and anti-HCV-positive HCC patients. In conclusion, chronic HBV infection was the major aetiological factor in Asian-American HCC patients, while chronic HCV infection and alcoholism were major aetiological factors in Caucasian HCC patients in the USA.     

An investigation of volitional control in information ethics

The main motivation of our research is how the issue of volitional control might affect the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to research decisions related to information ethics. Specifically, a TPB-based model provides the best fit to the sample collected for the present study. In this model, the contribution of both the attitude and perceived behavioural control to the intention is shown to fluctuate depending upon the degree of volitional control concerning the targeted behaviour. As the behaviour's degree of volitional control lessens, the weighted influence of perceived behavioural control increases and that of the attitude decreases. Thus, it is confirmed that degree of volitional control concerning an ethical act indeed plays a central role in applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour to information ethics research.     

娘子关泉域水文气象要素演变分析

娘子关泉是我国北方最大的岩溶泉。也是阳泉市的主要水源。选取降雨量、气温、径流量、泉流量4个指标,分别计算各指标5年滑动平均值．并采用最小二乘法拟合趋势线。对序列进行Mann—Kendall检验。结果表明：1951～2000年娘子关泉域面平均雨量、径流量和泉流量均存在显著下降趋势,年均气温存在显著上升趋势。     

鄱阳湖生态经济区农村劳动力转移的对策分析

本文在对农村劳动力转移相关国内外理论文献梳理和研究基础上,结合鄱阳湖生态经济区农村劳动力转移实际情况,通过问卷对该区域76个自然村2000个样本进行调研分析,研究结果发现鄱阳湖生态经济区农村劳动力转移呈现出一些特征和问题,最后通过四个方面提出有针对性的政策建议和意见。