• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.304-308
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• 2008

Noble Poly (lithium 2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonate) and its copolymer with N-vinyl formamide based on trihexyl (tetradecyl) phosphonium acetate [$(C_6H_{13})_3$ P ($C_{14}H_{29}$) $CH_3COO$; $P_{66614}$ $CH_3COO$] and trihexyl (tetradecyl)phosphonium bis(trifluoromethane sulfonyl) amide ([$(C_6H_{13})_3P(C_{14}H_{29})$] [TFSA];$P_{66614}TFSA$) were prepared and analyzed to determine their characteristics and properties. The ionic conductivity of a copolymer based $P_{66614}TFSA$ ionic liquid system exhibits a higher conductivity ($8.9{\times}10^{-5}Scm^{-1}$) than that of a copolymer based $P_{66614}CH_3COO$ system ($1.57{\times}10^{-5}Scm^{-1})$. The charge on the TFSA anion is spread very diffusely through the S-N-S core and particularly in the trifluoromethane groups, and this diffusion results in a decreased interaction between the cation and the anion. The viscosity of $P_{66614}TFSA$ (39 cP at 343 K) and $P_{66614}CH_3COO$ (124 cP at 343 K), which is very hydrophobic, was fairly high. High viscosity leads to a slow rate of diffusion of redox species. The ionic conductivity of copolymer of a phosphonium ionic liquid system also exhibits higher conductivity than that of a homopolymer system. Phosphonium ionic liquids were thermally stable at temperatures up to $400^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2005

The $F_1$ hybrid Red Coat is one of the most highly sought after cultivars of tomato in Australia and yields up to 7.5 $\cal{kg/plant}$. An experiment was conducted to de-termine the optimal strength and type of growth medium and sucrose concentration for shoot organogenesis of the Red Coat cultivar using cotyledonary explants. Two basal growth media, viz. MS and Gamborg' s $B_5$ at 0, 1/4, 1/2, full or double strength along with sucrose concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1.5, 3 or $5\%$, were evaluated using 25 replications. The main effects of treatment and their mutual interactions were evaluated for the proportion of explants that produced callus and/or shoots, number of shoots produced per explant, callus diameter and shoot height. The explants failed to produce shoots in the absence of mineral nutrient. Only a small proportion of the explants ($6\%$ with $B_5\;and\;3\%$ with MS) regenerated shoots in the absence of sucrose. Lower sucrose concentrations ($0.5-1.5\%$) along with full strength media were optimal for most of the traits studied. The $B_5$ medium outperformed MS medium for shoot organogenesis. For all the traits examined, significant differences in main effects (P < 0.05) and two-way interactions were detected, but no three-way interactions (medium type $\times$ medium concentration $\times$ sucrose concentration) were observed. Sucrose was found essential for the development of chlorophyll. Chlorophyll content increased with an increase in sucrose concentration up to $3\%$ and decreased at $5\%$ sucrose.

• Asia pacific journal of information systems
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.211-238
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• 2015

Despite longstanding concern with the dimensionality of the service quality construct as measured by ServQual and IS-ServQual instruments, variations on the IS-ServQual instrument have been enduringly prominent in both academic research and practice in the field of IS. We explain the continuing popularity of the instrument based on the salience of the item set for predicting overall customer satisfaction, suggesting that the preoccupation with the dimensions has been a distraction. The implicit mutual exclusivity of the items suggests a more appropriate conceptualization of IS-ServQual as a formative index. This conceptualization resolves the paradox in IS-ServQual research, that of how an instrument with such well-known and well-documented weaknesses continue to be very influential and widely used by academics and practitioners. A formative conceptualization acknowledges and addresses the criticisms of IS-ServQual, while simultaneously explaining its enduring salience by focusing on the items rather than the "dimensions." By employing an opportunistic sample and adopting the most recent IS-ServQual instrument published in a leading IS journal (virtually, any valid IS-ServQual sample in combination with a previously tested instrument variant would suffice for study purposes), we demonstrate that when re-specified as both first-order and second-order formatives, IS-ServQual has good model quality metrics and high predictive power on customer satisfaction. We conclude that this formative specification has higher practical use and is more defensible theoretically.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1675-1682
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• 2012

Aim: The study aim was to determine the frequency with which women decline clinicians' treatment recommendations and variations in this frequency by age, cancer and service descriptors. Design: The study included 36,775 women diagnosed with early invasive breast cancer in 1998-2005 and attending Australian and New Zealand breast surgeons. Rate ratios for declining treatment were examined by descriptor, using bilateral and multiple logistic regression analyses. Proportional hazards regression was used in exploratory analyses of associations with breast cancer death. Results: 3.4% of women declined a recommended treatment of some type, ranging from 2.6% for women under 40 years to 5.8% for those aged 80 years or more, and with parallel increases by age presenting for declining radiotherapy (p<0.001) and axillary surgery (p=0.006). Multiple regression confirmed that common predictors of declining various treatments included low surgeon case load, treatment outside major city centres, and older age. Histological features suggesting a favourable prognosis were often predictive of declining various treatments, although reverse findings also applied with women with positive nodal status being more likely to decline a mastectomy and those with larger tumours more likely to decline chemotherapy. While survival analyses lacked statistical power due to small numbers, higher risks of breast cancer death were suggested, after adjusting for age and conventional clinical risk factors, (1) for women not receiving breast surgery for unstated reasons (RR=2.29; p<0.001); and (2) although not approaching statistical significance $p{\geq}0.200$), for women declining radiotherapy (RR=1.22), a systemic therapy (RR1.11), and more specifically, chemotherapy (RR=1.41). Conclusions: Women have the right to choose their treatments but reasons for declining recommendations require further study to ensure that choices are well informed and clinical outcomes are optimized.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1158-1164
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• 2003

In two feeding experiments male and mixed-sex broiler chicks were offered diets based on sorghum and a wheatsorghum blend with two tiers of nutrient specifications, without and with microbial phytase (600 and 800 FTU/kg), from 7-25 and 1-42 days post-hatch, respectively. The nutrient specifications for protein, amino acids, energy density and phosphorus (P) of standard diets were reduced to formulate the modified diets on a least-cost basis. Calculated differences in nutrient specifications between standard and modified diets ranged from 14.3 to 17.1 g/kg crude protein, 0.24 to 0.40 MJ/kg apparent metabolisable energy (AME) and 1.06 to 1.20 g/kg available P. In both experiments, reduced nutrient specifications had a negative impact on growth rates and feed efficiency and phytase supplementation had a positive influence on growth performance and protein efficiency ratios (PER). Phytase addition to the less expensive, modified diets either partially or entirely compensated for reduced growth performance and, consequently, feed costs per kg of live weight gain were reduced. In Experiment 1, phytase increased (p<0.001) nitrogen-corrected AME (AMEn) from 15.39 to 15.89 MJ/kg dry matter. For nitrogen (N) retention there was an interaction (p<0.05) between diet type and phytase as the effects of phytase on N retention were more pronounced in the modified diets, with an increase from 0.512 to 0.561. These results demonstrate the positive effects of phytase on protein and energy utilisation, in addition to its established liberation of phytate-bound P and illustrate the feasibility of assigning nutrient replacement values to the feed enzyme for consideration in least-cost ration formulations. Further work is, however, required to define the most appropriate reductions in nutrient specifications in association with phytase supplementation.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.325-333
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• 1994

This study was undertaken at Gowa, South Sulawesi, Indonesia as part of a larger forage genetic resource evaluation project. The experimental program consisted of a field experiment where grasses and legume species were grown in monocultures and the yield, N content and rumen bag digestibility using goats were measured. The field experiment was conducted from December 1985 to October 1986. Eight species of legumes (Desmodium heterophyllum cv. John-stone, Desmodium triflorum from Gowa, South Sulawesi, Arachis sp. from Maiwa, South Sulawesi, Clitoria ternalea CPI 50973, Macroptilium atropurpureum ev. Siratro, Neonotonia wightii cv. Tinaroo, Centrosema pubescens CPI 58575, Centrosema plumeri CPI 58568) were grown as monocultures. After establishment all plants were cut to a uniform height of 5 cm, and subsequent cuts were made on regrowth after 14, 28, 42, and 56 days (cycle 1). Cycle 2 commenced towards the end of the wet season and continued for 157 days into the dry season. The highest yielding legumes were C. ternatea in the wet season and Arachis sp. in the dry season. The mean rumen bag dry matter digestibility (RBDMD) of legumes of 67.6% for leaf material (averaged over all cycles and ages) was 7.6% higher than for stem material. The RBDMD of Arachis was significantly higher than all other species. The RBDMD of all legumes declined with age. Calculation of yield of digestible DM (yield $\times$ RBDMD) showed that Arachis sp. was the best legume. The combination of plant "quality" with yield measures is a valuable adjunct to routine agronomic survey procedures in plant evaluation programs. Arachis sp. appears to offer considerable promise and should be more widely evaluated.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.53 no.3
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• pp.180-188
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• 2020

Objectives: The Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire is increasingly being used to measure health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in Indonesia. However, evidence that it is valid for use in Indonesian adults is lacking. This study assessed the validity and reliability of the SF-36 in Indonesian middle-aged and older adults. Methods: Adults aged 46-81 years (n=206) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia completed the SF-36, another measure of HRQoL (the EuroQoL visual analogue scale [EQ-VAS]), and measures assessing their demographic characteristics. Fifty-four percent (n=121) completed the SF-36 measure again 1 week later. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to confirm the factor structure of the SF-36. Internal consistency reliability was estimated using Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest reliability was assessed using intraclass correlations. Convergent and discriminant validity were assessed by computing correlations among SF-36 subscales, between subscales and the 2 component scores, and between component scores and EQ-VAS scores. Results: Most scaling assumptions were met. The hypothetical factor structure fit the data poorly (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA]=0.108) and modification was required for a good fit (RMSEA=0.060). Scores on all subscales demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (α>0.70) and test-retest reliability (r>0.70). Divergent validity was supported by weak to moderate interscale correlations (r=0.19 to 0.64). As expected, the 2 summary scores were moderately to strongly correlated with the EQ-VAS (r>0.60). Conclusions: The findings adequately support the use of SF-36 in Indonesian middle-aged and older adults, although the optimal algorithm for computing component scores in Indonesia warrants further investigation.

• BMB Reports
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.320-327
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• 2005

Five ripening-related ACC synthase cDNA isoforms were cloned from 80% ripe papaya cv. 'Sinta' by reverse transcription-PCR using gene-specific primers. Clone 2 had the longest transcript and contained all common exons and three alternative exons. Clones 3 and 4 contained common exons and one alternative exon each, while clone 1, the most common transcript, contained only the common exons. Clone 5 could be due to cloning artifacts and might not be a unique cDNA fragment. Thus, there are only four isoforms of ACC synthase mRNA. Southern blot analysis indicates that all five clones came from only one gene existing as a single copy in the 'Sinta' papaya genome. Multiple sequence alignment indicates that the four isoforms arise from a single gene, possibly through alternative splicing mechanisms. All the putative alternative exons were present at the 5'-end of the gene comprising the N-terminal region of the protein. 'Sinta' ACC synthase cDNAs were of the capacs 1 type and are most closely related to a 1.4 kb capacs 1-type DNA(AJ277160) from Eksotika papaya. No capacs 2-type cDNAs were cloned from 'Sinta' by RT-PCR. This is the first report of possible alternative splicing mechanism in ripening-related ACC synthase genes in hybrid papaya, possibly to modulate or fine-tune gene expression relevant to fruit ripening.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.207-222
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• 2010

Fire incident in buildings is common, so the fire safety design of the framed structure is imperative, especially for the unprotected or partly protected bare steel frames. However, software for structural fire analysis is not widely available. As a result, the performance-based structural fire design is urged on the basis of using user-friendly and conventional nonlinear computer analysis programs so that engineers do not need to acquire new structural analysis software for structural fire analysis and design. The tool is desired to have the capacity of simulating the different fire scenarios and associated detrimental effects efficiently, which includes second-order P-D and P-d effects and material yielding. Also the nonlinear behaviour of large-scale structure becomes complicated when under fire, and thus its simulation relies on an efficient and effective numerical analysis to cope with intricate nonlinear effects due to fire. To this end, the present fire study utilizes a second-order elastic/plastic analysis software NIDA to predict structural behaviour of bare steel framed structures at elevated temperatures. This fire study considers thermal expansion and material degradation due to heating. Degradation of material strength with increasing temperature is included by a set of temperature-stress-strain curves according to BS5950 Part 8 mainly, which implicitly allows for creep deformation. This finite element stiffness formulation of beam-column elements is derived from the fifth-order PEP element which facilitates the computer modeling by one member per element. The Newton-Raphson method is used in the nonlinear solution procedure in order to trace the nonlinear equilibrium path at specified elevated temperatures. Several numerical and experimental verifications of framed structures are presented and compared against solutions in literature. The proposed method permits engineers to adopt the performance-based structural fire analysis and design using typical second-order nonlinear structural analysis software.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.135-154
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• 2008

The moving vehicle loads on a bridge deck is one of the most important live loads of bridges. They should be understood, monitored and controlled before the bridge design as well as when the bridge is open for traffic. A MOM-based algorithm (MOMA) is proposed for identifying the timevarying moving vehicle loads from the responses of bridge deck in this paper. It aims at an acceptable solution to the ill-conditioning problem that often exists in the inverse problem of moving force identification. The moving vehicle loads are described as a combination of whole basis functions, such as orthogonal Legendre polynomials or Fourier series, and further estimated by solving the new system equations developed with the basis functions. A number of responses have been combined, some numerical simulations on single axle, two axle and multiple-axle loads, being either constant or timevarying, have been carried out and compared with the existing time domain method (TDM) in this paper. The illustrated results show that the MOMA has higher identification accuracy and robust noise immunity as well as producing an acceptable solution to ill-conditioning cases to some extent when it is used to identify the moving force from bridge responses.