TheScientificWorldJournal
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2014
Ecological effects of roads on the plant diversity of coastal wetland in the Yellow River Delta.
The 26 sample sites in 7 study plots adjacent to asphalt road and earth road in coastal wetland in the Yellow River Delta were selected to quantify plant diversity using quadrat sampling method in plant bloom phase of July and August 2012. The indice of β T and Jaccard's coefficient were applied to evaluate the species diversity. The results showed that the plant diversities and alien plants were high in the range of 0-20 m to the road verge. ⋯ The similarity of plant communities in studied plots of asphalt roadsides and earth roadsides increased with increasing the distance to road verge. The effect range of roads for plant diversity in study region was about 20 m to road verge. Our results indicate that the construction and maintenance of roads in wetland could increase the plant species diversities of communities and risk of alien species invasion.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2014
A novel wide-area backup protection based on fault component current distribution and improved evidence theory.
In order to solve the problems of the existing wide-area backup protection (WABP) algorithms, the paper proposes a novel WABP algorithm based on the distribution characteristics of fault component current and improved Dempster/Shafer (D-S) evidence theory. When a fault occurs, slave substations transmit to master station the amplitudes of fault component currents of transmission lines which are the closest to fault element. ⋯ The simulation examples based on IEEE 10-generator-39-bus system show that the proposed WABP algorithm has an excellent performance. The algorithm has low requirement of sampling synchronization, small wide-area communication flow, and high fault tolerance.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2014
The influence of education on Chinese version of Montreal cognitive assessment in detecting amnesic mild cognitive impairment among older people in a Beijing rural community.
To assess the influence of education on the performance of Chinese version of Montreal cognitive assessment (C-MoCA) in relation to the mini-mental state examination (MMSE) in detecting amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) among rural-dwelling older people C-MoCA and MMSE was administered and diagnostic interviews were conducted among community-dwelling elderly in two villages in Beijing. The performance of C-MoCA and MMSE in detecting aMCI was evaluated by the area under the ROC curve (AUC). Effect size of education on variations in C-MoCA scores was estimated with general linear model. ⋯ The performance of both C-MoCA and MMSE was especially poorer among those with low (0-6 years) education. After controlling for gender and age, education ( η(2) = 0.204) had a surpassing effect over aMCI diagnosis ( η(2) = 0.052) on variations in C-MoCA scores. Among rural older people, the MoCA showed modest accuracy and was no better than MMSE in detecting aMCI, especially in those with low education, due to the overwhelming effect of education relative to aMCI diagnosis on variations in C-MoCA performance.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2014
Towards a low-cost mobile subcutaneous vein detection solution using near-infrared spectroscopy.
Excessive venipunctures are both time- and resource-consuming events, which cause anxiety, pain, and distress in patients, or can lead to severe harmful injuries. We propose a low-cost mobile health solution for subcutaneous vein detection using near-infrared spectroscopy, along with an assessment of the current state of the art in this field. The first objective of this study was to get a deeper overview of the research topic, through the initial team discussions and a detailed literature review (using both academic and grey literature). ⋯ Although the reviewed commercial devices have demonstrated usefulness and value for peripheral veins visualization, other evaluated clinical outcomes are less conclusive. Previous studies regarding low-cost near-infrared systems demonstrated the general feasibility of developing cost-effective vein detection systems; however, their limitations are restricting their applicability to clinical practice. Finally, based on the current findings, we outline the future research direction.
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TheScientificWorldJournal · Jan 2014
The societal impact of herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia on patients, life partners, and children of patients in Germany.
The aim of this study was to assess the impact of herpes zoster (HZ) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) on the daily activities of patients and family members who care for them. Some former patients and family members participated in face-to-face interviews or in a T-group meeting (qualitative phase) and some participated in telephone interviews (quantitative phase). They all expressed feelings of helplessness and frustration mixed with depression, sadness, or rage. ⋯ Although former patients appreciated the psychological and emotional support given by their family members, they underestimated the impact that their disease had on them. Former patients and their family never forgot this illness and its considerable impact on their lives, particularly when PHN occurred. We need to raise the awareness of the general public about the real life impact of HZ and PHN and their often severe, debilitating consequences and the potential benefits from vaccination.