How Does the Effect Fade over Distance? An Inquiry into the Decay Pattern of Distance Effect on Property Values in the Case of Taipei, Taiwan

It is generally accepted that the perception of homeowners towards certain potential risks or amenities fades as distance from the risk or amenity increases. This study aims to illustrate the distance–decay pattern with an appropriate mathematical function. Distance–decay functions and parameters that yield the minimum residual sum of squares (RSS) for a given regression model are considered to be the optimal approximation for the pattern of decay. The effect of flood risk and mass rapid transit (MRT) accessibility on residential housing prices in Taipei, Taiwan, are used as examples to test the optimization process. The results indicate that the type of distance function affects both the significance and the magnitude of the regression coefficients. In the case of Taipei, concave functions provide better fits for both the flood risk and MRT accessibility. RSS reduction is up to 10% compared to the blank. Surprisingly, the impact range for the flood risk is found to be larger than that for MRT accessibility, which suggested that the impact range of perception for uncertain risks is larger than expected.

Comparison of force decay pattern in orthodontic elastomeric chains and NiTi closed coil springs, affected by five different mouthwashes: An in vitro Study

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the force decay pattern of elastomeric chains and NiTi coil springs which were exposed to five different commercially available mouthwashes.Methods: In this in vitro study, 60 pieces of elastomeric chain (EC) and 60 NiTi closed coil springs (CS) were divided into 6 groups. The specimens were exposed to one of these mouthwashes twice a day for 60 seconds: Listerine, chlorhexidine, Orthokin, Persica, fluoride and artificial saliva as the control group. The elastomeric chains and NiTi springs were stretched so that they exert the initial force of 250 gr. Their force was measured on the 1, 7, 14 and 28 following days by means of a digital gauge.Results: Elastomeric chains and coil springs had force decrease over time, but EC' force reduction was greater with the highest reduction rate in the first week. However, in the CS group, the force decrease wasn't statistically significant in the first two weeks. After 28 days in the control groups, 49.8% of the initial force was remained in ECs while the value was 93.3% for CSs. In comparison between mouthwashes, in EC groups, in all mouthwashes except Persica, the remained force was statistically less than control group.Conclusion: Force degradation of elastomeric chains could be exacerbated by use of mouthwashes. About coil springs, force decay was also observed. However, it was not statistically significant. Force reduction was detectable after four weeks of coil springs usage, but in EC groups, the greatest reduction was after the first week.

Microbial Community Composition in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Bioreactors Follows a Distance Decay Pattern Primarily Controlled by Environmental Heterogeneity

Understanding the spatiotemporal patterns of biodiversity is a central goal of ecology. The distance decay of community similarity is one of the spatial scaling patterns observed in many forms of life, including plants, animals, and microbial communities.

Impact of convection on the damping of an oscillating droplet during viscosity measurement using the ISS-EML facility

Oscillating droplet experiments are conducted using the Electromagnetic Levitation (EML) facility under microgravity conditions. The droplet of molten metal is internally stirred concurrently with the pulse excitation initiating shape oscillations, allowing viscosity measurement of the liquid melts based on the damping rate of the oscillating droplet. We experimentally investigate the impact of convection on the droplet’s damping behavior. The effective viscosity arises and increases as the internal convective flow becomes transitional or turbulent, up to 2–8 times higher than the intrinsic molecular viscosity. The enhanced effective viscosity decays when the stirring has stopped, and an overshoot decay pattern is identified at higher Reynolds numbers, which presents a faster decay rate as the constraint of flow domain size becomes influential. By discriminating the impact of convection on the viscosity results, the intrinsic viscosity can be evaluated with improved measurement accuracy.

Time-dependent study of KS → π+π− decays for flavour physics measurements

Nowadays High Energy Physics experiments can accumulate unprecedented statistics of heavy flavour decays that allows to apply new methods, based on the study of very rare phenomena, which used to be just desperate. In this paper we propose a new method to measure composition of K0-$$ \overline{K} $$ K ¯ 0, produced in a decay of heavy hadrons. This composition contains important information, in particular about weak and strong phases between amplitudes of the produced K0 and $$ \overline{K} $$ K ¯ 0. We consider possibility to measure these parameters with time-dependent K0 → π+π− analysis. Due to C P -violation in kaon mixing time-dependent decay rates of K0 and $$ \overline{K} $$ K ¯ 0 differ, and the initial amplitudes revealed in the CP-violating decay pattern. We perform phenomenological study of K0 decay evolution initially produced as a combination $$ a\left.|{K}^0(t)\right\rangle +b\left.|{\overline{K}}^0(t)\right\rangle $$ a K 0 t + b K ¯ 0 t , where a and b, complex amplitudes, could also be dependent on decay time of heavy mother particle. In particular we consider cases of charmed hadrons decays: D+ → K0π+, $$ {D}_s^{+} $$ D s + → K0K+, Λ → pK0 and with some assumptions D0 → K0π0. This can be used to test the sum rule for charmed mesons and to obtain input for the full constraint of the two body amplitudes of D-mesons.

The Composition of Root-Associated Bacteria and Fungi of Astragalus mongholicus and Their Relationship With the Bioactive Ingredients

Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine, contains several bioactive ingredients. The root-associated microbial communities play a crucial role in the production of secondary metabolites in plants. However, the correlation of root-associated bacteria and fungi with the bioactive ingredients production in A. mongholicus has not been elucidated. This study aimed to examine the changes in soil properties, root bioactive ingredients, and microbial communities in different cultivation years. The root-associated bacterial and fungal composition was analyzed using high-throughput sequencing. The correlation between root-associated bacteria and fungi, soil properties, and six major bioactive ingredients were examined using multivariate correlation analysis. Results showed that soil properties and bioactive ingredients were distinct across different cultivation years. The composition of the rhizosphere microbiome was different from that of the root endosphere microbiome. The bacterial community structure was affected by the cultivation year and exhibited a time-decay pattern. Soil properties affected the fungal community composition. It was found that 18 root-associated bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) and four fungal OTUs were positively and negatively correlated with bioactive ingredient content, respectively. The abundance of Stenotrophomonas in the rhizosphere was positively correlated with astragaloside content. Phyllobacterium and Inquilinus in the endosphere were positively correlated with the calycosin content. In summary, this study provided a new opportunity and theoretical reference for improving the production and quality of in A. mongholicus, which thus increase the pharmacological value of A. mongholicus.

The kinetic variations of anti-nucleocapsid antibody in SARS-CoV-2 infection

The humoral immune response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) plays a pivotal role in controlling coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections. However, little is known about the persistence of the antibody response.We evaluated that the kinetics of anti-nucleocapsid protein antibody of SARS-CoV2 infected healthcare workers in COVID-19 cluster occurred hospital. The long-term kinetics of anti-N antibody was classified high and keep pattern, high and decay pattern, and low and keep pattern. COVID-19 contact and symptomaticity was not related to kinetic patterns.The reason of kinetic difference was still unclear. However natural anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody persistence was not uniform, suggesting inter-individual difference of SARS-CoV2 vaccine efficacy.

Effects of stress relaxation in beta-titanium cantilevers used in orthodontic mechanics

ABSTRACT Objective: This study evaluated the force decay and design shape changes caused by stress relaxation in two different orthodontic cantilever configurations. Methods: Eighty cantilevers made of 0.017 x 0.025-in beta-titanium wires were standardized in a passive position, using real scale templates, and randomly divided into two groups (n = 40): Type 1 and Type 2. Each group received a different design (Type 1 with three bends, and Type 2 with two bends), and both were divided in four subgroups (n = 10) according to the evaluation periods: G1 = 24h, G2 = 1 week, G3 = 4 weeks, and G4 = 8 weeks. Mechanical tests were performed immediately after preactivation and at the end of each period, to evaluate force decay. The cantilevers were also scanned and the angles of the bends were measured to assess shape changes. Results: Cantilever forces decayed over time. Type 1 - G1 showed less force decay than Type 2 (10.83 cN vs 17.87 cN). Type 1 cantilevers showed significant force decay only when G4 was compared to G1 (9.05 cN), G2 (11.73 cN), and G3 (9.78 cN). Type 2 cantilevers presented differences when G1 was compared to G2 (9.57 cN) and G3 (7.89 cN). Regarding to the cantilever angle closest to the bracket insertion, Type 1 cantilevers showed significant decrease for G2 (1.58°) and G4 (1.52°). Conclusions: Cantilevers’ design and proximity of the bends influenced force decay pattern overtime. Type 1 cantilevers presented more stable design at the first weeks than Type 2.

How Common Is the Exponential Decay Pattern of Motor Skill Acquisition? A Brief Investigation

Motor performance is classically described as improving nonlinearly with practice, demonstrating rapid improvements early in practice with stabilization later, which is commonly modeled by exponential decay functions. However, retrospective analyses of our previously collected data challenge this theoretical model of motor skill acquisition, suggesting that a majority of individual learners actually demonstrate patterns of motor improvement different from this classical model. A convenience sample of young adults, older adults, and people with Parkinson disease trained on the same functional upper-extremity task. When fitting three-parameter exponential decay functions to individual participant data, the authors found that only 13.3% of young adults, 40.9% of older adults, and 66.7% of adults with Parkinson disease demonstrated this “classical” skill acquisition pattern. Thus, the three-parameter exponential decay pattern may not well-represent individuals’ skill acquisition of complex motor tasks; instead, more individualized analysis methods may be warranted for advancing a theoretical understanding of motor skill acquisition.

Comparative evaluation of force decay pattern in orthodontic active tiebacks exposed to five different mouth rinses: An in vitro Study

Background. This study compared the force decay pattern of two different orthodontic active tiebacks (ATBs) exposed to five different commercially available mouth rinses. Methods. In this in vitro study, 90 transparent ATBs and 90 gray ATBs were divided into six groups; one was the control group, and the others were exposed to one of these mouth rinses twice a day for 60 seconds: Listerine, chlorhexidine, Orthokin, Persica, and fluoride. The initial force of each ATB was 250 g at a 24-mm extension. The force of ATBs was measured on days 1, 7, 14, and 28 using a digital gauge. Results. The highest percentage of force loss was observed between days 14 and 28 (P<0.05). At the end of the study, the Persica group exhibited the highest force degradation in both ATB types. In the transparent ATBs, it was followed by Orthokin, Listerine, fluoride, chlorhexidine, and control groups, respectively. In the gray ATBs, Orthokin, chlorhexidine, control, Listerine, and fluoride groups exhibited the highest force decay in descending order. In some groups, the differences between transparent and gray ATBs were significant. In the control group, the force of transparent ATB was significantly higher than gray ones on days 7 and 14 but not significantly after four weeks. Conclusion. ATBs’ force degradation could be exacerbated by the use of some mouth rinses. There were some differences between force relaxation patterns of transparent and gray ATBs. The data could be beneficial in choosing appropriate O-rings for making ATBs.