A Study on the Skin Whitening Activity of Digesta from Edible Bird’s Nest: A Mucin Glycoprotein

Edible bird’s nest (EBN) is an unusual mucin glycoprotein. In China, it is popular among consumers due to its skin whitening activity. However, the relationship between protein, sialic acid, and the whitening activity of EBN after digestion is still unclear. In the present work, the whitening activity (antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibitory activity) of digested EBN were studied by HepG2 and B16 cell models. The dissolution rate of protein and sialic acid was 49.59% and 46.45% after the simulated digestion, respectively. The contents of free sialic acid and glycan sialic acid in EBN digesta were 17.82% and 12.24%, respectively. HepG2 cell experiment showed that the digested EBN had significant antioxidant activity, with EC50 of 1.84 mg/mL, and had a protective effect on H2O2-induced oxidative damage cells. The results of H2O2-induced oxidative damage showed that the cell survival rate increased from 40% to 57.37% when the concentration of digested EBN was 1 mg/mL. The results of the B16 cell experiment showed that the digested EBN had a significant inhibitory effect on tyrosinase activity, and the EC50 value of tyrosinase activity was 7.22 mg/mL. Cell experiments showed that free sialic acid had stronger antioxidant activity and tyrosinase inhibitory activity than glycan sialic acid. The contribution rate analysis showed that protein component was the main antioxidant component in digestive products, and the contribution rate was 85.87%; free sialic acid was the main component that inhibited tyrosinase activity, accounting for 63.43%. The products of the complete digestion of EBN are suitable for the development of a new generation of whitening health products.

Attribution of climate change and human activities to streamflow variations with a posterior distribution of hydrological simulations

Hydrological simulations are a main method of quantifying the contribution rate (CR) of climate change (CC) and human activities (HAs) to watershed streamflow changes. However, the uncertainty of hydrological simulations is rarely considered in current research. To fill this research gap, based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model, in this study, we propose a new framework to quantify the contribution rate of climate change and human activities based on the posterior histogram distribution of hydrological simulations. In our new quantitative framework, the uncertainty of hydrological simulations is first considered to avoid the phenomenon of "equifinality for different parameters", which is common in hydrological simulations. The Lancang River (LR) Basin in China, which has been greatly affected by human activities in the past two decades, is then selected as the study area. The global gridded monthly sectoral water use data set (GMSWU), coupled with the dead capacity data of the large reservoirs within the LR basin and the Budyko hypothesis framework, are used to compare the calculation result of the novel framework. The results show that (1) the annual streamflow at Yunjinghong station in the Lancang River Basin changed abruptly in 2005, which was mainly due to the construction of the Xiaowan hydropower station that started in October 2004. The annual streamflow and annual mean temperature time series from 1961 to 2015 in the LR Basin showed a significant decreasing and increasing trend at the α = 0.01 significance level, respectively. The annual precipitation showed an insignificant decreasing trend. (2) The results of quantitative analysis using the new framework showed that the reason for the decrease in the streamflow at Yunjinghong station was 42.6 % due to climate change, and the remaining 57.4 % was due to human activities, such as the construction of hydropower stations within the study area. (3) The comparison with the other two methods showed that the contribution rate of climate change calculated by the Budyko framework and the GMSWU data were 37.2 % and 42.5 %, respectively, and the errors of the calculations of the new framework proposed in this study were within 5 %. Therefore, the newly proposed framework, which considers the uncertainty of hydrological simulations, can accurately quantify the contribution rate of climate change and human activities to streamflow changes. (4) The quantitative results calculated by using the simulation results with the largest Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) indicated that climate change was the dominant factor for streamflow reduction, which was in opposition to the calculation results of our new framework. In other words, our novel framework could effectively solve the calculation errors caused by the “equifinality for different parameters” of hydrological simulations. (5) The results of this case study also showed that the reduction in the streamflow in June and November was mainly caused by decreased precipitation and increased evapotranspiration, while the changes in the streamflow in other months were mainly due to human activities such as the regulation of the constructed reservoirs. In general, the novel quantitative framework that considers the uncertainty of hydrological simulations presented in this study has validated an efficient alternative for quantifying the contribution rate of climate change and human activities to streamflow changes.

Analysis of Higher Education Health Index

To evaluate the health index of education systems in different countries, the is paper establishes a higher education system health index evaluation model through principal component analysis. Five relevant indicators of six countries were selected for principal component analysis. Through annual relevant data of universities in six different countries in the past ten years, we obtained three indicators that mainly affect the health index of higher education, Cumulative contribution rate reached 93.67%, namely, the proportion of education expenditure, the proportion of international students and the rate of higher education enrollment. Then based on the contribution rate of the three main indexes, we constructed a principal component comprehensive evaluation health index model and obtained the health index of the higher education system in six countries. Among them, India and Brazil have the lowest health index scores, respectively 0.4106 and 0.4183. Therefore, the higher education systems of India and Brazil have a lot of room for improvement. Based on the empirical results, we put forward targeted improvement plans and systems.

HUMAN FACTOR ANALYSIS OF CONTAINER VESSEL’S GROUNDING ACCIDENTS

Investigation on maritime accidents is a very important tool in identifying human factor-related problems. This study examines the causes of accidents, in particular the reasons for the grounding of container ships. These are analysed and evaluation according to the contribution rate using the Monte Carlo simulation. The OpenFTA program is used to run the simulation. The study data are obtained from 46 accident reports from 1993 to 2011. The data were prepared by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Global Integrated Shipping Information System (GISIS). The GISIS is one of the organizations that investigate reported accidents in an international framework and in national shipping companies. The Monte Carlo simulation determined a total of 23.96% human error mental problems, 26.04% physical problems, 38.58% voyage management errors, and 11.42% team management error causes. Consequently, 50% of the human error is attributable to human performance disorders, while 50% team failure has been found.

Tracking Sustainable Restoration in Agro-Pastoral Ecotone of Northwest China

Large-scale ecological restoration (ER) projects have been implemented in northwest China in recent decades as a means to prevent desertification and improve ecosystem services. However, previous studies have demonstrated adverse impacts in the form of widespread soil water deficit caused by intensive ER activities. Understanding the role of climate change and ER efforts in vegetation dynamics and soil moisture consumption is essential for sustainable ecosystem management. Here, we used the break for additive season and trend (BFAST) method to analyse spatial patterns in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) variation over the agro-pastoral ecotone of northwest China (APENC) for 2000–2015. From the combined use of generalized additive modelling (GAM) and residual-trend analysis (RESTREND), we distinguished and quantified the effects of climate and human management on vegetation and soil water dynamics. Approximately 78% of the area showed vegetation variations representing a significant change in NDVI, of which more than 68% were categorized as abrupt changes. Large areas of the abrupt change type, interrupted increase and monotonic increase in NDVI were observed before 2006, and small areas of the change type of negative reversals were observed after 2012. Anthropogenic activity was found to be the major driving factor of variation in vegetation (contribution rate of 56%) and soil moisture (contribution rate of 78%). The vegetation expansion, which was mainly related to the large number of ER programs that started in 2000, was found to increase soil moisture depletion. By comparing areas where anthropogenic activities had a high contribution rate to vegetation increase and areas where soil moisture consumption was severely increased, we identify and discuss hotspot areas of soil moisture consumption caused by the ER programs. The current methodological workflow and results represent a novel foundation to inform and support water resource management and ecological-restoration-related policy making.

Psychometric Performance of Learning Burnout Scale for Undergraduates (LBSU) in Guangdong

To analyze the psychometric performance of Learning Burnout Scale for Undergraduates (LBSU) in Guangdong province． LBSU was used to conduct the survey involing 1628 undergraduates who were selcted with stratified random sampling from 7 colleges in Guangdong province. Cronbach's α coefficient and split-half reliability were used to analyze the internal consistency of the questionnaire．Convergent validity, discriminant validity and factor analysis were used to evaluate its structural validity. Celling and floor effect were used to analyze its sensitivity. Cronbach's α coefficient of the total questionniar was 0.89 and cronbach's α coefficient of 3 dimensions were 0.73-0.78, which met with the requirements of the group comparison. Spearman - Brown split-half coefficient of the total questionniar and 3 dimensions were 0.90, 0.85, 0.81, 0.79, respectively, which also met with the requirements of the group comparison. Both the calibration success rate of convergent validity and discriminant validity of each dimension were 100%. Four components obtained from 20 items which cumulative variance contribution rate was 51.924%. The total score and score of each dimension were all normal distribution, without any floor or celling effect in dimensions. The psychometric performance of LBSU for assessing undergraduates in Guangdong province is valid and reliable．

A fast and accurate solution to optimal design of eddy-current PMCs with standard disc type

Although permanent magnet couplings (PMCs) have been under research for many years and have found successful industrial applications, this is still a technology under development. Accurate parameter determination is of significance for performance analysis and critical decisions on PMC design. However, the determination can often lead to an unacceptable increase in computation, especially when finite elements (FE) are used. The study aims to develop an FE model that is used for the structural design of a standard-disc type PMC for optimal torque. For the quick and accurate design, an integration optimal solution of the response surface methodology (RSM) and the Taguchi’s method was proposed. To verify the simulation, a series of experimental investigations were conducted on a self-developed testing platform. Furthermore, for a minimum set of FE analyses (FEA), a quantitative indicator called contribution rate, which can reflect effect level of structure parameters on the torque, was given based on the Taguchi method. Apart from this, the orthogonal matrix was used for the reduction of the FE calculation. Based on the contribution rate, the response surface methodology was adopted for the optimal torque determination with no increase in the PM volume. According to the optimization results, a fitting formula, which considers the contribution rates of the optimization variables, was presented. The results suggest that the FE simulations agree very well with the experiments, and the fitting formula can be used in the PMC design.

Preparation and properties of ice cream flowers Ce/TiO2 photocatalyst

TiO2 composite photocatalysts with doping amounts of Ce (0.5%Ce/TiO2, 1%Ce/TiO2, 2%Ce/TiO2, 3%Ce/TiO2 and 5%Ce/TiO2)were synthesized via a sol-gel method.The structure and morphology of the prepared composites were characterized by XRD, SEM, DRS, XPS. At the same time, the photocatalytic effect of the composite on rhodamine B (RhB) solution under simulated visible light irradiation was explored.The results indicated that the crystal of powder catalyst was anatase type TiO2, and the directional aggregation of Ce/TiO2 composite photocatalyst showed ice cream flowers-shaped structure.The photocatalysis activity was the best when Ce doping amounts were 3%.The degradation rate of RhB was 96% in 120 min, which was 50% higher than pure TiO2.Hydroxyl radical (⋅OH) played a leading role in the whole photodegradation reaction system, and its contribution rate was about 66.4%.

Pengaruh Customer Perceived Value dan Switching Barriers Terhadap Customer Retention

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of Customer Perceived Value and Switching Barriers on Customer Retention with the research object of Majalengka University students using IM3 Ooredoo Cards. This research is a type of survey research with descriptive and verification approaches with a sample size of 100 students. The data source was obtained from primary data where data was taken directly from students, namely through filling out a questionnaire with a Likert scale measurement. Data analysis through multiple regression analysis, coefficient of determination, t test and f test. The results showed that Customer Perceived Value has a positive and significant effect on Customer Retention with a contribution rate of 21.71%. Switching Barriers have a positive and significant effect on Customer Retention with a contribution rate of 21.62%. Customer Perceived Value and Switching Barriers have a positive and significant effect on Customer Retention with a contribution rate of 28.8%. For further research, it is important to conduct research related to customer lifetime value with 2-3 research objects and to use more complex analytical tools.