Towards resolving the identities of the Graphium butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) of Peninsular Malaysia

John-James Wilson,Huey-Min Karen-Chia,Kong-Wah Sing,Mohd Sofian-Azirun 한국응용곤충학회 2014 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.17 No.3

Graphiumbutterflies are famous in PeninsularMalaysia for their colourfulwings, yet their taxonomy remains unresolved. The popular guides to Malaysian butterflies, place the species in one, two or three genera and identificationto species using obscuremorphological characters can be difficult, especially for the closely related species,G. bathycles bathycloides and G. chironidesmalayanum.We sequenced the COI mtDNA barcode for Graphiumspecimensin the Museumof Zoology, University ofMalaya to test the utility of DNA barcoding for the identification ofGraphium species. Additionally, we sequenced 28S rRNA to examine, in conjunction with COI, the phylogeneticrelationships of these species and investigate the validity of Pathysa and Paranticopsis as distinct genera. Wefound that all species of Graphium possessed a distinctive cluster of DNA barcodes with the exception of specimensoriginally identified as G. bathycles bathycloides and G. chironides malayanum which shared DNA barcodes. On further examination we found that the morphological determinations were ambiguous as the specimensoverlapped for diagnostic characters reported for each species. The COI and 28S rRNA phylogenetic trees showeda similar topology with Paranticopsis species forming a clade nested within a larger clade also comprising Pathysaspecies. Based on this topology, in order for Pathysa to be a valid genus, at least three other clades withinGraphium s.l. would also have to be raised as genera.

Academic Self-Concept: A Cross-Sectional Study of Grade and Gender Differences in a Singapore Secondary School

Woon Chia Liu,Chee Keng John Wang 서울대학교 교육연구소 2005 Asia Pacific Education Review Vol.6 No.1

Many studies support the existence of a significant decline in students’ academic self-concept from early to mid-adolescence. In comparison, the findings on gender effect are less conclusive. This study aimed to determine whether there is any grade or gender effect on adolescents’ academic self-concept in the Singapore context. Specifically, the cross-sectional study was conducted with Secondary 1, 2 and 3 students (N = 656) in a government co-educational school. The results established a significant main effect according to grade, with Secondary 3 students having significantly lower academic self-concept (scale and subscales) than Secondary 1 and 2 students. In addition, there was a significant main effect for gender, with female students having significantly higher perceived academic effort (academic self-concept subscale) than their male counterparts.

Pulsed-terahertz reflectometry for health monitoring of ceramic thermal barrier coatings

Chen, Chia-Chu,Lee, Dong-Joon,Pollock, Tresa,Whitaker, John F. The Optical Society 2010 Optics express Vol.18 No.4

<P>Terahertz time-domain reflectometry was used to monitor the progress of a thermally grown oxide layer and stress-induced, air-filled voids at the interface of an Yttria-stabilized-zirconia ceramic thermal-barrier coating and a metal surface. The thicknesses of these internal layers, observed in scanning-electron-microscope images to increase with thermal-exposure time, have been resolved - even when changing on the order of only a few micrometers - by distinguishing not only increased delays in the arrival times of terahertz pulses reflected from this multilayer structure, but also changes in the width and shape of the pulses. These unique features can be used to predict the lifetime of thermal-barrier coatings and to indicate or warn of spallation conditions. The trends of the experimental results are also confirmed through Fresnel-reflection time-domain simulations.</P>

Cervical Vagal Nerve Stimulation Activates the Stellate Ganglion in Ambulatory Dogs

이경석,Chia-Hsiang Hsueh,Jessica A. Hellyer,박형욱,이영수,Jason Garlie,Patrick Onkka,Anisiia T. Doytchinova,John B. Garner,Jheel Patel,Lan S. Chen,Michael C. Fishbein,Thomas Everett 4th,Shien-Fong Lin,Peng-She 대한심장학회 2015 Korean Circulation Journal Vol.45 No.2

Background and Objectives: Recent studies showed that, in addition to parasympathetic nerves, cervical vagal nerves contained significantsympathetic nerves. We hypothesized that cervical vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) may capture the sympathetic nerves within the vagalnerve and activate the stellate ganglion. Materials and Methods: We recorded left stellate ganglion nerve activity (SGNA), left thoracic vagal nerve activity (VNA), and subcutaneouselectrocardiogram in seven dogs during left cervical VNS with 30 seconds on-time and 30 seconds off time. We then compared theSGNA between VNS on and off times. Results: Cervical VNS at moderate (0.75 mA) output induced large SGNA, elevated heart rate (HR), and reduced HR variability, suggestingsympathetic activation. Further increase of the VNS output to >1.5 mA increased SGNA but did not significantly increase the HR, suggestingsimultaneous sympathetic and parasympathetic activation. The differences of integrated SGNA and integrated VNA between VNSon and off times (ΔSGNA) increased progressively from 5.2 mV-s {95% confidence interval (CI): 1.25–9.06, p=0.018, n=7} at 1.0 mA to13.7 mV-s (CI: 5.97–21.43, p=0.005, n=7) at 1.5 mA. The difference in HR (ΔHR, bpm) between on and off times was 5.8 bpm (CI: 0.28–11.29, p=0.042, n=7) at 1.0 mA and 5.3 bpm (CI 1.92 to 12.61, p=0.122, n=7) at 1.5 mA. Conclusion: Intermittent cervical VNS may selectively capture the sympathetic components of the vagal nerve and excite the stellateganglion at moderate output. Increasing the output may result in simultaneously sympathetic and parasympathetic capture.

Survival outcome of women with synchronous cancers of endometrium and ovary: a 10 year retrospective cohort study

Yong Kuei Lim,Rama Padma,Lilian Foo,Yin Nin Chia,Philip Yam,John Chia,HS Khoo-Tan,Swee Peng Yap,Richard Yeo 대한부인종양학회 2011 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.22 No.4

Objective: Synchronous occurrence of endometrial and ovarian tumors is uncommon, and they affect less than 10% of women with endometrial or ovarian cancers. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and clinical factors; and survival outcomes of women with these cancers. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study in a large tertiary institution in Singapore. The sample consists of women with endometrial and epithelial ovarian cancers followed up over a period of 10 years from 2000 to 2009. The epidemiological and clinical factors include age at diagnosis, histology types, grade and stage of disease. Results: A total of 75 patients with synchronous ovarian and endometrial cancers were identified. However, only 46 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median follow-up was 74 months. The incidence rate for synchronous cancer is 8.7% of all epithelial ovarian cancers and 4.9% of all endometrial cancers diagnosed over this time frame. Mean age at diagnosis was 47.3 years old. The most common presenting symptom was abnormal uterine bleeding (36.9%) and 73.9% had endometrioid histology for both endometrial and ovarian cancers. The majority of the women (78%) presented were at early stages of 1 and 2. There were 6 (13.6%) cases of recurrence and the 5 year cumulative survival rate was at 84%. Conclusion: In our cohort, we found that majority of women afflicted with synchronous cancer of the endometrium and ovary were younger at age of diagnosis, had early stage of cancer and good survival. Objective: Synchronous occurrence of endometrial and ovarian tumors is uncommon, and they affect less than 10% of women with endometrial or ovarian cancers. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and clinical factors; and survival outcomes of women with these cancers. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study in a large tertiary institution in Singapore. The sample consists of women with endometrial and epithelial ovarian cancers followed up over a period of 10 years from 2000 to 2009. The epidemiological and clinical factors include age at diagnosis, histology types, grade and stage of disease. Results: A total of 75 patients with synchronous ovarian and endometrial cancers were identified. However, only 46 patients met the inclusion criteria. The median follow-up was 74 months. The incidence rate for synchronous cancer is 8.7% of all epithelial ovarian cancers and 4.9% of all endometrial cancers diagnosed over this time frame. Mean age at diagnosis was 47.3 years old. The most common presenting symptom was abnormal uterine bleeding (36.9%) and 73.9% had endometrioid histology for both endometrial and ovarian cancers. The majority of the women (78%) presented were at early stages of 1 and 2. There were 6 (13.6%) cases of recurrence and the 5 year cumulative survival rate was at 84%. Conclusion: In our cohort, we found that majority of women afflicted with synchronous cancer of the endometrium and ovary were younger at age of diagnosis, had early stage of cancer and good survival.