Whose Job Is It? Parents’ Perspectives on Volunteering to Help in New Zealand Kindergartens

Qilong Zhang,Louise Keown,Susan Farruggia 환태평양유아교육연구학회 2015 Asia-Pacific journal of research in early childhoo Vol.9 No.2

Volunteering to help is a traditional type of parental involvement in early childhood education. There have been concerns over the justification of teachers’ practice of leaving their work with parents, particularly for routine tasks such as washing and cleaning, however, little research has been conducted to scrutinize the practice and examine parents’ experiences with volunteering to help. Based on a sample of 25 parents from New Zealand public kindergartens, this study investigates parents ‘experiences with three types of volunteering to help at the kindergarten. Analysis of the semi-structured interview data has revealed enhancers (e.g., benefits for the child, justification of fundraising) and impediments (e.g., limited time, school commitment) to parent volunteering to help as well as the tensions in practice(e.g., relying on core parents, limited resource). The findings support the legitimacy of routine tasks and fundraising and highlight the importance of parent volunteering to help.

Safety and antifatigue effect of Korean Red Ginseng: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial

Zhang, Li,Chen, Xiaoyun,Cheng, Yanqi,Chen, Qilong,Tan, Hongsheng,Son, Dongwook,Chang, Dongpill,Bian, Zhaoxiang,Fang, Hong,Xu, Hongxi The Korean Society of Ginseng 2019 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.43 No.4

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is widely used for strengthening the immune system and fighting fatigue, especially in people with deficiency syndrome. However, there is concern that the long-term application or a high dose of KRG can cause "fireness" (上火 in Chinese) because of its "dryness" (燥性 in Chinese). The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of a 4-week treatment with KRG in participants with deficiency syndrome. Methods: This was a 4-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 180 Chinese participants were randomly allocated to three groups: placebo control group, participants were given a placebo, 3.6 g/d; KRG 1.8 g and 3.6 g groups. The primary outcomes were the changes in fireness and safety evaluation (adverse events, laboratory tests, and electrocardiogram). The secondary outcomes were the efficacy of KRG on fatigue, which include the following: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) symptom scale and fatigue self-assessment scale. Results: Of the 180 patients, 174 completed the full study. After 4 weeks of KRG treatment, the Fire-heat symptoms score including Excess fire-heat score and Deficient fire-heat score showed no significant change as compared with placebo treatment, and no clinically significant changes in any safety parameter were observed. Based on the TCM syndrome score and fatigue self-assessment score, TCM symptoms and fatigue were greatly improved after treatment with KRG, which showed a dose- and time-dependent effect. The total effective rate was also significantly increased in the KRG groups. Conclusion: Our study revealed that KRG has a potent antifatigue effect without significant adverse effects in people with deficiency syndrome. Although a larger sample size and longer treatment may be required for a more definite conclusion, this clinical trial is the first to disprove the common conception of "fireness" related to KRG.

Heterogeneous Sensor-Based Target Tracking With Constant Time Delay

Qilong Wang,Yu Zhang 한국항공우주학회 2021 International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sc Vol.22 No.1

Aiming to address the problem of constant-step-lag in-sequence measurements (CISM) in the process of heterogeneous sensor tracking, an Unscented Transformation-based CISM indirect update algorithm is proposed in this paper. First, based on the classical A1 algorithm, Unscented Transformation is applied to the nonlinear measurement equation to solve the computation of nonlinear systems. This method does not need to solve the Jacobian matrix or Hessian matrix of nonlinear equations. Second, combined with the complementarity of information from heterogeneous sensor systems, CISM is further analyzed, and an indirect update algorithm is proposed to obtain the approximate estimate of the current time of the delay information, which is substituted into UT-A1 to complete a delay information update algorithm that is suitable for the heterogeneous sensor system in this paper. Finally, the experimental results show that the UT-CISM indirect update algorithm can effectively improve the real-time capability and accuracy of the time-delay sensor system in this paper.

Safety and antifatigue effect of Korean Red Ginseng: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled clinical trial

Li Zhang,Xiaoyun Chen,Yanqi Cheng,Qilong Chen,Hongsheng Tan,Dongwook Son,Dongpill Chang,Zhaoxiang Bian,Hong Fang,Hongxi Xu 고려인삼학회 2019 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.43 No.4

Background: Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) is widely used for strengthening the immune system andfighting fatigue, especially in people with deficiency syndrome. However, there is concern that the longtermapplication or a high dose of KRG can cause “fireness” (上火in Chinese) because of its “dryness” (燥性in Chinese). The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of a 4-week treatment with KRGin participants with deficiency syndrome. Methods: This was a 4-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 180Chinese participants were randomly allocated to three groups: placebo control group, participants weregiven a placebo, 3.6 g/d; KRG 1.8 g and 3.6 g groups. The primary outcomes were the changes in firenessand safety evaluation (adverse events, laboratory tests, and electrocardiogram). The secondary outcomeswere the efficacy of KRG on fatigue, which include the following: traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)symptom scale and fatigue self-assessment scale. Results: Of the 180 patients, 174 completed the full study. After 4 weeks of KRG treatment, the Fire-heatsymptoms score including Excess fire-heat score and Deficient fire-heat score showed no significantchange as compared with placebo treatment, and no clinically significant changes in any safetyparameter were observed. Based on the TCM syndrome score and fatigue self-assessment score, TCMsymptoms and fatigue were greatly improved after treatment with KRG, which showed a dose- and timedependenteffect. The total effective rate was also significantly increased in the KRG groups. Conclusion: Our study revealed that KRG has a potent antifatigue effect without significant adverse effectsin people with deficiency syndrome. Although a larger sample size and longer treatment may berequired for a more definite conclusion, this clinical trial is the first to disprove the common conceptionof “fireness” related to KRG.

Microstructure Evolution During Continuous Cooling in Niobium Microalloyed High Carbon Steels

Zhaodong Li,Qilong Yong,Zhengyan Zhang,Xinjun Sun,Jianchun Cao,Haiquan Qi,Zhi Liao 대한금속·재료학회 2014 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.20 No.5

Effects of microalloyed niobium (Nb) on the austenite decomposition behaviors and microstructure evolutionduring continuous cooling in the near eutectoid steels were investigated. Compared to the Nb freesteel, the Nb microalloyed steel was refined with regard to polygonal ferrite grain, pearlite block and colonysizes. This was because its austenite grain size was smaller. The volume fraction of polygonal ferrite transformedwas more in the Nb microalloyed steels, which indicated the eutectoid carbon content exceededthat of pure carbon steel. The spheroidization of pearlite during continuous cooling was enhanced by Nbmicroalloying, mainly due to a higher critical transformation temperature and the finer pearlite structurewith smaller colony size and narrower interlamellar spacing. Hot deformation right above the equilibriumeutectoid temperature accelerated the spheroidization kinetics of pearlite, especially in the Nb microalloyedsteel.

Aptamers against ManLAM of Mycobacterium tuberculosis inhibits virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection in mice and rhesus monkeys

Qin Pan,Qilong Wang,Fengling Luo,Min Li,Xianru Xia Dongdong Shi,Xiao-Lian Zhang 한국당과학회 2012 한국당과학회 학술대회 Vol.2012 No.1

Tuberculosis (TB) has been a major world-wide cause of death for centuries. One-third of the world’s population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb), the etiologic agent of TB. The development of potent new anti-TB drugs is urgently needed. The major M.tb surface lipoglycans, mannose-capped Lipoarabinomannan (ManLAM) had immunosuppressive effects during M.tb infection. In this study, aptamer ZXL1 which specifically bound to ManLAM from the virulent strain M.tb H37Rv was screened out by Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment (SELEX). The binding affinity of ZXL1 to ManLAM was measured as 8.907X10-8 M of quilibrium dissociation constant (Kd) value by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis. We found that aptamer ZXL1 prevented the ManLAM-induced immunosuppressive effects on DCs and inhibited M. tb entry into macrophages. More importantly, we found that single injection of aptamer ZXL1 significantly prolonged the survival rate of infected mice, and prevent the infected rhesus monkeys from weight loss. The Bacterial numbers were significantly lower in the lungs and spleens in ZXL1-treated groups. These results suggest that aptamer ZXL1 can be used as antimycobacterial agent or as TB vaccine adjuvent.

The Effects of Maglev Chopper’s Control Cycle on Suspension Performance in EMS System

Da Liang,Kunlun Zhang,Qilong Jiang,Hongyun He 전력전자학회 2019 ICPE(ISPE)논문집 Vol.2019 No.5

The cascade control strategy of current inner loop and airgap outer loop is usually adopted in electromagnetic suspension (EMS) system. The current loop and airgap loop adopt different control cycles in controller design, and the current loop control cycle is required to be shorter than the airgap loop control cycle. In theory, the shorter the control cycle of the inner loop, the better the following effect of the chopper current, and the more beneficial to the suspension system. However, it also needs the higher controller performance and control algorithm efficiency. With the suspension control performance permitted, reducing the current loop control frequency can effectively reduce the requirements of the controller performance and expand the selection range of the controller. In order to determine the appropriate control period of the current loop in the digital suspension system, the mathematical model of the suspension system and the maglev chopper is established, then the quantitative relationship between the current loop control period and the coil current ripple is deduced. Based on Simulink, the coupling simulation model of the maglev chopper and the suspension system is established, where the influence of the chopper control period on the performance of the suspension system is simulated and analyzed.

Aqueous processing of Li1.075Nb0.625Ti0.45O3 green tapes

Shaochun Li,Yongjuan Geng,Qilong Zhang,Hui Yang 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2011 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.12 No.2

An aqueous tape casting of Li1.075Nb0.625Ti0.45O3 (LNT) ceramics was developed using PCA-NH4 as dispersant, PVA as binder and EG as plasticizer. Flexible, defect-free and smooth tapes of LNT were successfully produced. The study focused on obtaining the optimum slurry formulations and on the effects of the processing parameters such as the stability, the rheology on the properties on the tape characteristics. Surface properties of LNT powders in the aqueous suspensions are distinctly influenced by PCA-NH4. The zeta potential measurement showed that the isoelectric point (IEP) of LNT powders in the absence of dispersant corresponds to a pH value of 3.7. The zeta potential values (absolute values) increased with the amount of dispersant and up to its maximum near pH 9-10. The rheology measurements of all the slurries investigated showed the desired shear thinning behavior, indicating that the LNT slurry was homogenous and well stabilized. An optimum formulation for the tape was investigated and it was shown that a high solid loading (50 wt%) would lead to a high relative green density (46.7%). Homogenous, smooth, and defect-free green tapes were successfully obtained by an appropriate slurry formula.

Adsorption behavior of α-tocopheryl succinate and α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate onto weakly basic anion exchange resins

Liyun Kong,Zhiguo Zhang,Huabin Xing,Qiwei Yang,Baogen Su,Zongbi Bao,Yiwen Yang,Qilong Ren 한국화학공학회 2015 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.32 No.3

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) esters are important, nontoxic and biodegradable non-ionic surfactants. A keyprocedure in producing PEG esters is their separation from unreacted or excess acids. We propose an adsorptionmethod using the weakly basic anion exchange resins for the separation of organic acids and PEG esters for the firsttime. With α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) and α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TS) as the examples ofPEG ester and organic acid, respectively, single-component equilibrium experiments revealed the great potential of thismethod. Studies on the adsorption equilibrium, thermodynamics and kinetics of α-TS onto a weakly basic anion exchangeresin were also carried out. This research is not only important for the production of TPGS, but also instructivefor the separation of other PEG-esters from the reaction mixtures.

Ficolin2 defends against virulent Mycobacteria tuberculosis infections in vivo and its insufficiency is associated with infections in human

Fengling Luo,Yubin Wang,Xiaoming Sun,Qilong Wang,Yunfeng Ma,Qin Pan,Xiao-Lian Zhang 한국당과학회 2012 한국당과학회 학술대회 Vol.2012 No.1

Tuberculosis (TB) caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) remains a major global health problem. Human ficolin2 (L-ficolin/P35) is a recently identified lectin complement pathway activator present in normal plasma associated with infectious diseases, however, little is known about the roles and mechanisms of ficolin2 during M.tb infection.We describe in this study for the first time L-ficolin expression levels in tuberculosis (TB) patients. We found that serum levels of ficolin2 of 107 pulmonary TB patients were much lower compared with 107 healthy controls, and recurrence TB patients have even lower levels than onset TB patients. In vitro analysis showed that Ficolin2 bound to virulent M.tb H37Rv strain much stronger than to non-virulent M. bovis BCG and M. smegmatis. Ficolin2/ficolin A bound to the H37Rv surface glycolipid portion and blocked H37Rv infection to human lung A549 cells. We further determined that the extrogenous ficolin2 had remarkable protecting effects against virulent H37Rv strain infections in C57BL/6J mice. FicolinA (ficolin2 like molecule) knockout mice had greatly increased susceptibility to the H37Rv infection. Ficolin2 activated macrophages via phosphorylation of JNK and stimulated IFN-□, IL-17, TNF-□ and nitric oxide (NO) secretions. Ficolin2 also stimulated IFN-□ production of CD8+T cells, but not CD4+T cells. The opsono-phagocytosis was promoted by ficolin2 as well. Our data demonstrate that ficolin2 can defend against virulent M.tb H37Rv infection both in vitro and in vivo mainly via activating macrophage proinflammatory cytokines IFN-□ and NO production and opsonophagocytosis, and its insufficiency is associated with more susceptible infections in human.