The purpose of this study is to accurately estimate the wind-induced responses of a tall building structure for using the estimated responses in the process of calculating the optimal force of an active control device. Kalman filter was used for the estimation process and a 3-storied model structure on a shaking table was tested for the verification of the estimation accuracy. The system matrices of the model were constructed based on the mode parameters obtained by the system identification. The estimated displacement matched up well with the measured one. Finally, the wind-induced responses of a real 39-storied building structure excited by the typhoon MUIFA were estimated.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a gentle form of manual lumbar traction could reduce painful lumbar motions associated with lumbar disc degeneration (LDD). This clinical trial incorporated 134 participants with painful active lumbar motion. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental treatment or sham group. 67 participants received sidelying manual lumbar traction while the other 67 participants received a sham treatment. Pre and post treatment NPRS values for the painful active lumbar motion were recorded for each group. There was a statistically significant improvement (P=0.00) for decreased pain intensity during active lumbar motion in the experimental group as compared to the sham treatment group. The average percent decrease in numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) values was 52.1% for the experimental treatment group and 8.1% for the sham group. The results of the study suggest that side-lying manual lumbar traction can improve painful lumbar motion in patients with LDD.

We demonstrate the luminosity dependence of the covering factor (CF) of active galactic nuclei (AGNs), based on AKARI mid-infrared all-sky survey catalog. Combining the AKARI with Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic data, we selected 243 galaxies at 9 m and 255 galaxies at 18 m. We then identied 64 AGNs at 9 μm and 105 AGNs at 18 μm by their optical emission lines. Following that, we estimated the CF as the fraction of type 2 AGN in all AGNs. We found that the CF decreased with increasing 18 μm luminosity, regardless of the choice of type 2 AGN classification criteria.

Combining the AKARI Point Source Catalog and the 37-month Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) catalog, the infrared and X-ray properties of nearby active galactic nuclei were investigated. The 37-month MAXI catalog tabulates 100 nearby Seyfert galaxies, 73 of which are categorized into Seyfert I galaxies. Among these Seyfert galaxies, 69 ones were found to have an AKARI infrared counterpart. For the Seyfert I galaxies in this sample, a well-known correlation was found between the infrared and X-ray luminosities. However, the observed X-ray luminosity of the Seyfert II galaxies tends to be lower for the infrared luminosity than the Seyfert I galaxies. This suggests that the X-ray absorption is significant in the Seyfert II galaxies. The Seyfert II galaxies seem to have a bimodal distribution of the IR color between 18 μm and 90 μm. Especially, a large fraction of the Seyfert II galaxies exhibits a redder IR color than the Seyfert I galaxies. A possible origin of the redder IR color is brie y discussed, in relation to the star formation activity in the host galaxy, and to the X-ray absorption.

In order to reveal physical conditions of molecular gas in active galaxies (active galaxies mean both starbursts and AGNs in this paper), we carried out systematic observations (R = 19 ~ 120) of CO funda- mental band at 4.7 m in absorption with AKARI. We also made follow-up CO absorption observations at higher spectral resolution (R = 5000 ~ 1000) with Subaru. Recently, Herschel made extensive ob- servations of highly-excited CO lines in emission in the far-infrared. The two data sets (absorption and emission) sometimes provide us with apparently inconsistent results. One case is starburst galaxies: Sub- aru observations showed low temperature of molecular gas toward the starburst NGC 253, while Herschel detected highly excited CO lines in the starburst. This suggests that warm molecular clouds are more deeply embedded than newly formed star clusters. The other case is obscured AGNs; Herschel detected highly excited CO lines in emission in nearby AGNs, while AKARI and Subaru observations showed CO absorption only in some of the obscured AGNs. This could re ect the dierence of nature of molecular tori in these AGNs. We propose the combination of the absorption and emission observations as an eective tool to reveal geometry of warm molecular clouds in active galaxies.

The dusty torus of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) is one of the important components for the unification theory of AGNs. The geometry and properties of the dusty torus are key factors in understanding the nature of AGNs as well as the formation and evolution of AGNs. However, they are still under discussion. Infrared observation is useful for understanding the dusty torus as thermal emission from hot dust with the dust sublimation temperature (~ 1500 K) has been observed in the infrared. We have analyzed infrared spectroscopic data of low-redshift and high-redshift quasars, which are luminous AGNs. For the low-redshift quasars, we constructed the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with AKARI near-infrared and Spitzer mid-infrared spectra and decomposed the SEDs into a power-law component from the nuclei, silicate features, and blackbody components with different temperatures from the dusty torus. From the decomposition, the temperature of the innermost dusty torus shows the range between 900-2000 K. For the high-redshift quasars, AKARI traced rest-frame optical and near-infrared spectra of AGNs. Combining with WISE data, we have found that the temperature of the innermost dusty torus in high redshift quasars is lower than that in typical quasars. The hydrogen Hα emission line from the braod emission line region in the quasars also shows narrow full width at half maximum of 3000-4000 km s-1. These results indicate that the dusty torus and the broad emission line region are more extended than those of typical quasars.

In this study, a finite element analysis approach is proposed to predict the fluid-structure interaction behavior of active materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which are mainly composed of graphite powder. The porous matrix of graphite powder saturated with fluid electrolyte is considered a representative volume element (RVE) model. Three different RVE models are proposed to consider the uncertainty of the powder shape and the porosity. Pwave modulus from RVE solutions are analyzed based on the microstructure and the interaction between the fluid and the graphite powder matrix. From the results, it is found that the large surface area of the active material results in low mechanical properties of LIB, which leads to poor structural durability when subjected to dynamic loads. The results obtained in this study provide useful information for predicting the mechanical safety of a battery pack.

This study compared the stability of odor compounds in three different types of polymer sampling bags. Tedlar, PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and aluminized polyester bag were used. A sample was collected from the interior of a new automobile which was parked in an outdoor parking lot. It was found that the Tedlar bag showed lower stability for odor active compounds than the PET bag. Meanwhile, the PET bag had good stability for odor compounds compared to the aluminized polyester bag. The PET bag showed a stability for the molecules smaller than toluene that was comparable to the canister, but showed a lower recovery for molecules bigger than C7. The FID signal of the sample in the PET bag was reduced by 1.7times after 3days storage compared to 24 h storage. The number of detected odor active compounds was reduced by half, and odor intensity was also decreased by 2~3 degrees. Considering the factors of repeated use, usability and price, a PET bag covered with a black plastic bag was the most appropriate approach for odor sampling in an automobile interior.

The space environment is unique. Natural decay of debris therein is much slower than pollutants in other environments, so that removal is difficult and expensive. Despites the voluntary implementation of mitigation guidelines, the amount of debris has surged in the last two decades due to increase and diversification of space actors, and the continuing militarization of space. Active Debris Removal has thus become a promising responsive scenario. This article examines key legal barriers to the implementation of removal, such as the lack of legal definition of space debris, ambiguities surrounding the jurisdiction and control over space debris, liability for possible damages caused in removal, and implications for space arms control. It further proposes that more comprehensive registration of space objects, an international catalogue of space debris and an international fund for removal should be promoted. Also, international cooperation should be enhanced to cope with space debris, while space arms control should be strengthened.

Human interferon alpha 2b (hIFNα-2b) is an important immune regulator widely used in clinic, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis, hairy cell leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia and multiple myeloma, etc. The clinically used hIFNα-2b is generally produced by E. Coli, which lacks the post-translational O-glycosylation of naturally synthesized protein, and has a short serum half-life. In this study, we report the successful generation of transgenic chickens that produce hIFNα-2b in the egg white using a feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)-based lentiviral vector. In preliminary in vitro study, the hIFNα-2b gene under the control of CMV promoter expressed as much as 2,650 ng/㎖ in CEF-LNC-hIFNα-2bW cell. A FIV vector packaged with vesicular stomatitis virus G glycoprotein (VSV-G) was injected underneath the blastoderm of freshly laid chicken eggs (stage X) to produce a hIFNα -2b transgenic chicken. Out of 187 injected eggs, 55 chicks were hatched after 21 days of incubation, and 27 of the G0 hatched chicks expressed the vector-encoded hIFNα-2b gene. The expression of recombinant hIFNα-2b in transgenic chickens constitutes an important step towards low-cost and full biological activity production of this protein drug in bioreactor. This work was supported by the Bio-industry Technology Development Program, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea, and by a grant from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (No. PJ011178), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

The purpose of this study was to isolate an active constituent from the essential oil of Eugenia caryophyllata leaves and evaluate its insecticidal activity against Pochazia shantungensis nymphs and adults. According to chromatographic and spectroscopic analyses, the active constituent of E. caryophyllata leaves was identified as eugenol. Based on LC50 values and structural analogues of eugenola gainst the P. shantungensis nymphs and adults, isoeugenol (LC50, 83.29 and 91.03 mg/L) exhibited the highest insecticidal activity, followed by methyl isoeugenol (105.61 and 114.48 mg/L), eugenol (124.44 and 143.24 mg/L), methyl eugenol (126.31 and 143.84 mg/L), and acetyl eugenol (165.11 and 170.06 mg/L). Insecticidal activity against P. shantungensis was dependent on the presence of a functional group in 4-ally-2-methoxyphenol. These results indicate that E. caryophyllata oil and eugenol analogues might be potential alternative synthetic insecticidal agents.

A novel nanocomposite LDPE film with UV protective properties was developed for active packaging applications. Initially, undoped and Mn-doped TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the sol-gel method and the resulting particles were characterized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed an agglomerated nature and spherical morphology. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies indicated that all products were crystalline and in the form of rutile. The reflectance spectrum of undoped TiO2 NPs demonstrated a characteristic sharp edge at 410 nm. Subsequently, nanocomposite (NC) LDPE samples were prepared with the NPs by solvent precipitation followed by film casting. The optical and thermal properties of the NC samples were investigated. Incremental increases in Mn concentration from 0.25 mol % to 1.00 mol % were associated with progressive decreases in light transmission in the UV region. The melting and maximum decomposition temperatures of all NCs were 107 and 442-449 °C, respectively. The UV protective LDPE-based NC films exhibited superior photostability. Absorption in the FTIR spectra at 1716 and 1734 cm-1 changed after 4-wk exposure to UV for all film samples as a consequence of photodegradation. Finally, the photooxidation of perilla oil was assessed as an example of a UV protective packaging application. After 12 days, protection with 1.00 mol% Mn-doped TiO2-LDPE was associated with a gradual increase in PV, while protection with TiO2-LDPE was associated with a significant increase and protection with the control treatment was associated with a dramatic increase in PV. Hence, a 1.00 mol% Mn-doped TiO2-LDPE NC showed promise for UV shielding packaging applications.

Antioxidant packaging have been investigated for a very long time, since lipid oxidation may cause a lot of quality problems which are not just on lipids but also to other components of food during storage and transportation. Lipid oxidation of packaged food can be by partly excluded by adding antioxidants to the packaged food, however, in order to make sure sustain release of antioxidant in a relatively long term and avoid food safety problems concerned by consumers, controlled release antioxidant active packaging, on the basis of active packaging, has been introduced and investigated. Controlled release packaging (CRP) means that active compounds release from packaging materials in a controlled manner which offers a prolonged delivery of active compounds at predictable and reproducible release rate. This study focuses on three subject in regard to the realized methods of controlled release of antioxidants in food packaging, which include encapsulation of active compounds with a mesoporous matrix, modification of structure and composition of multilayer film, and preparation of hydrogel bio-based packaging polymers.

Background: Shoulder horizontal adduction (HA) is performed in many activities of daily living. The limited range of motion (LROM) of HA is affected by the tightness of the posterior deltoid, infraspinatus, teres major, and posterior capsule of glenohumeral joint. The LROM of shoulder HA contributes to excessive scapular abduction. Objects: The aim of this study is to compare the scapular abduction distance and three-dimensional displacement of the scapula during shoulder horizontal adduction between subjects with and without the LROM of shoulder HA. Methods: 24 subjects (12 people in LROM group and 12 people in normal ROM group) participated. Subjects with less than 115° of HA ROM were included in LROM group. Shoulder HA was performed 3 times for measuring scapular abduction distance and three-dimensional displacement of the scapula. Tape measure was used for measuring scapular abduction distance. Scapular abduction distance was normalized by dividing the scapular size. Polhemus Liberty was used for measuring the three-dimensional displacement of the scapula. Results: Normalized scapular abduction distance was significantly greater in LROM group than normal ROM group (p<.001). Three-dimensional displacement of the scapula during shoulder HA was greater in LROM group than normal ROM group (p<.05). Conclusion: LROM group had a greater scapular abduction and three-dimensional displacement of the scapula during shoulder HA compared to normal ROM group.

Increasingly, there is a rise of interests from practitioners and academics on the topic of consumer-brand relationships (CBR). It has been argued that consumer build relationship with a brand in consonance with its personalities. Thus, this study investigates the role of brand personality in predicting prominent CBR constructs, such as brand awareness, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Researchers consider brand personality as one of the prominent constructs in predicting consumer preferences and choices (e.g. Eisend & Stokburger-Sauer, 2013; Gordon, Zainuddin, & Magee, 2016; Guèvremont & Grohmann, 2013). It has been established that brands are capable to have personalities (Aaker, 1997; Geuens, Weijters, & De Wulf, 2009). The study of brand personality flourished since Aaker (1997) created a brand personality scale (BPS). According to her, brand personality reflects five main dimensions: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication, and ruggedness. Out of these dimensions, many studies mainly focus on two dimensions, sincerity and excitement respectively (e.g. Aaker, Benet-Martinez, & Garolera, 2001; Hosany, Ekinci, & Uysal, 2006; Ivens & Valta, 2012; Sung, Choi, Ahn, & Song, 2015). These studies consider these two dimensions to be of important since these dimensions appear to capture much of the variance in personality ratings of brands (Aaker, 1997) and are considered prominent to the marketing landscape (Aaker, Fournier, & Brasel, 2004; Guèvremont & Grohmann, 2013; Toldos-Romero & Orozco-Gómez, 2015). Although Aaker's BPS represents the most prominent operationalization of brand personality (Eisend & Stokburger-Sauer, 2013; Matzler, Strobl, Stokburger-Sauer, Bobovnicky, & Bauer, 2016; Freling, Crosno, & Henard, 2011), her model has been the subject of several critiques. Researchers argue that the scale measures brand identity rather than brand personality (Azoulay & Kapferer, 2003), the scale is too general and simplistic (Austin, Siguaw, & Mattila, 2003), the scale does not include negative factors (Bosnjak, Bochmann, & Hufschmidt, 2007), and the scale is non-generalizable and non-replicable cross culturally (Arora & Stoner, 2009; Geuens et al., 2009). These shortcomings led researchers to construct an alternative to Aaker’s BPS. Geuens et al. (2009) develop a new measure of brand personality, which includes five dimensions: responsibility, activity, aggressiveness, simplicity, and emotionality. Although many studies scrutinize on Aaker’s brand personality scale, only limited studies apply Geuens et al.’s BPS (e.g. Garsvaite & Caruana, 2014; Goldsmith & Goldsmith, 2012; Gordon et al., 2016; Matzler et al., 2016). Thus, the present study investigates the relationships between brand personality, using Geuens et al.’s (2009) scale, and three important consumer-brand relationships (CBR) constructs. These three constructs are brand awareness, brand trust, and brand loyalty. Aaker (1991) conceptualize brand equity to include five important constructs, which includes brand awareness and brand loyalty. Meanwhile, Keller (1993) notes that brand knowledge is an important component of brand equity, consists of brand awareness and brand image. In addition, brand trust has been considered to be essential in influencing brand performance (Chaudhuri & Holbrook, 2001). Hence, the focus of the present study lies on these three variables. As it has been discussed above, researchers consider sincerity and excitement to be essential in investigating consumer behavior. In light of a shortage of studies in applying Geuens et al.’s (2009) BPS, the present study examines two personality dimensions, which are conceptually similar to Aaker’s (1997) BPS: responsibility to replace sincerity and activity to replace excitement (see Table 1). To the best of our knowledge, no research has investigated the relationships between these three consumer-brand relationships constructs (i.e. brand awareness, brand trust and brand loyalty) and the two most relevant brand personality dimensions (i.e. responsibility and activity). The present study contributes to the marketing literature in three different ways. First, this study adds to the body of knowledge on the relationship between brand personality and CBR constructs using the new measure of BPS. Second, this study assesses the individual level of the new BPS, particularly responsibility and activity, on the three CBR constructs. In doing so, this study responds Keller and Lehmann’s (2006) and Geuens et al.’s (2009) call to assess the individual capacity of the brand personality dimensions to get consumer preference or loyalty. Third, this study displays which out of the two dimensions of the new BPS (i.e. responsible and active) are more important to predict the three CBR constructs. In this research, data were collected from Spanish respondents using online survey with snowballing technique. In total, 347 respondents participated in the survey. After checking for incomplete questionnaires and missing values, 8 questionnaires were dropped. Hence, 339 questionnaires were used for the analysis. Before conducting multivariate analysis, normality tests were conducted. The measurement and structural models was tested using AMOS 18, employing the Maximum Likelihood (ML) method. We find that brand personality predicts these three CBR constructs. Brand personality explains 56%, 58%, and 45% of the variance in brand awareness, brand trust, and brand loyalty, respectively. The results show that the strongest link is between brand personality and brand trust. Su and Tong (2015) find that there is no relationship between exciting personality and brand awareness. On the contrary, this study displays that being an active brand leads to higher brand awareness. Even the results show that active brands are more likely to build brand awareness compared to responsible brands. However, in order to build brand trust and brand loyalty, responsible brands are more preferred compared to active brands. These results are in line with Eisend and Stokburger-Sauer (2013) that reveal weak relationships between excitement on brand attitude and brand commitment. These days, consumers prefer the brands to be more responsible or sincere. As Kotler (2011) argues that there is a shift in marketing that consumers pay more attention toward social responsibilities. Interestingly, the results show that being too active could negatively affect brand trust and brand loyalty. Although the association is not statistically significant, Banerjee (2016) finds that excitement brand personality has a negative association with brand preference. A study also finds that excitement does not predict employer brand trust (Rampl & Kenning, 2014). One explanation could be that the brands would like to be something that is an opposite of what they are claiming. Guèvremont and Grohmann (2013) argue that when a sincere brand attempts to flatter the consumers, it decreases brand attitude and increases disappointment. However, this does not occur when flattery comes from exciting brands. Brand managers should be very careful in communicating their brands personalities. Communicating to the consumers that their brands are responsible as well as active is good. However, brand managers should understand the interplay between these two opposing personalities. Consumers may believe that the brand is a responsible brand but also a little bit active. However, communicating two different opposing personalities at the same time may confuse the consumers. This is due to consumers’ disconfirmation of expectations (Guèvremont & Grohmann, 2013). Although this study enlightens the literature of brand management, it is not without its limitations. This study collects data from a cross-sectional study in Spain. In order to generalize the results of this study, future studies should replicate the conceptual framework cross culturally. Particularly on the negative effects of active personality toward the three CBR constructs. Furthermore, Spanish has been regarded as individuals with high uncertainty avoidance (Hofstede, 2001). Uncertainty avoidance increases the reliability of the brand personality dimensions, namely sincerity and excitement (Eisend & Stokburger-Sauer, 2013). Thus, it would be interesting to know whether differences occur between high and low uncertainty avoidance respondents. In addition, future studies should also account for other individual differences, such as attachment style. Japutra, Ekinci, Simkin, and Nguyen (2014) note that attachment style plays a prominent role in predicting consumer behaviors.

Evidence indicates that lower levels of obesity among school-age children can be achieved through active school travel modes which include walking. This research aims to empirically investigate the explanatory potential of the Ecological and Cognitive Active Commuting (ECAC) model to explain walking to school behaviour among Queensland children. The results from an online survey of 537 carers in Queensland, Australia indicate that the ECAC explained 53.4% of the variance in walking to school. Distance to school moderates the associations among walking to school behaviours, perceived risks, and social norms. Data indicates that changing carers’ social norms and lowering the perceived risks carers associate with walking to school will increase the incidence of walking to school in Queensland.

The bioactive compound and antioxidant property of Korean yam (Dioscorea batatas DECNE.) were studied using in vitro methods. Yam available in Korea was analyzed for lycopene, chlorophyll a, b, tannin, phytic acid and total saponin contents. 70% Methanol, 70% ethanol and chloroform–methanol mixture (CM, 2:1, v/v) were used to extract yam. Then the antioxidant activity evaluated through ferrous ion chelating activity, β-carotene bleaching method, lipid peroxidation inhibition and nitric oxide (NO) radical scavenging activity. 70% Methanol extract showed the highest ferrous ion chelating activity and NO radical scavenging activity. And CM extract was the most effective in inhibition of linoleic acid peroxidation evaluated by β-carotene bleaching assay and lipid peroxidation inhibition assay. Based on the results obtained, yam is a potential active ingredient that could be applied in antioxidation as well as bio-health functional food to take a good part in prevention of human diseases and aging.