International Cooperative Research Project Research Articles

Randomized Controlled Trial of Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Younger Pediatric Patients with Intractable Epilepsy

Background: Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) may control seizures of pediatric intractable epilepsy (PIE) as a clinically adjunctive therapy. However, high-evidence level data for younger children are needed. Methods: In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial (VNS-PIE), we recruited children aged 3-6 years with PIE from eleven hospitals specialized in epilepsy in China. Enrolled children underwent computer-generated randomization at 1:1 ratio. Within first 12-week double-blind period, children in stimulation group received active electrical stimulation while others in control group received sham treatment. Children, their parents and investigators assessing outcomes were masked to random allocation; unmasked investigators were responsible for stimulation parameter programming. After unblinding, all children received active electrical stimulation for the subsequent 12 weeks. The primary outcome was the reduction percentage of seizure frequency between two groups at the end of the double-blind period. Findings: Between Sep 29, 2017, and May 29, 2018, 93 children were enrolled and randomly assigned to 47(51%) in stimulation group and 46(49%) in control group (Dropout: one (2%) in stimulation group). At the end of the double-blind period, the median reduction in seizure from baseline was 40·0%(IQR:[0, 71·7%]) in stimulation group, compared to 21·2%(IQR:[-15·9, 68·0%]) in control group (Adjusted median difference(AMD), 12·6%; 95% CI, 10·3% to 34·7%; p=0·23; n=93, FAS); Between-group difference of seizure decrease significantly favored electrical stimulation with respect to subgroup analysis without surgery honeymoon effect (AMD: 21·6 %; 95% CI, -4·2% to 43·3%; p=0·043; n=78, PPS). There was no significant difference in the efficacy of mental development on Gesell scale. Incision infection was common in 9 severe adverse events and cough was most frequent in 41 adverse events. Interpretation: The results from this trial of VNS supported its clinical use for younger children with PIE. Trial Registration: This trial was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03062514. Funding: Pins Medical Ltd; NKRDPC; NSFC; SICRP. Declaration of Interests: ZY, JD, XYQ, TYC, XF, YY and ZYW reports grants from The National Key Research and Development Program of China, grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, grants from Shenzhen International Cooperative Research Project during the conduct of the study. TYJ, QZL, JXL, FY, YHC, LPZ, BML, YXG, XMS, SPH, FG, JML, SFL, JP, SWS, JW, CC, WXS, MQT, LY, YH, YPH, YW, HX, LXC and YWJ reports institution remunerated for recruitment of patients from Pins Medical during the conduct of the study. HWH reports grants from The National Key Research and Development Program of China, grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, grants from Shenzhen International Cooperative Research Project during the conduct of the study; grants for advisory broad outside the submitted work. LML reports grants from The National Key Research and Development Program of China, grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China, grants from Shenzhen International Cooperative Research Project during the conduct of the study; grants for neuromodulation research outside the submitted work. Ethics Approval Statement: The trial was approved by each ethical committee of participating hospitals (Trial protocol number: G112L31101; version date: 7/31/2017) and was performed in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Problems and Countermeasures of International Cooperative Education in Industrial Design

The general trend of design globalization has given rise to profound education reform, which requires institutions of higher learning to promote international communication and cooperation in the process of discipline construction. International cooperative teaching & research project, setting of Chinese and foreign courses, international academic exchange and exchange student are the main forms of international cooperative education. The core of international cooperative education in industrial design is communication, cooperation, reciprocity and mutual benefit. It’s a reform which covers cross-cultural, global and applied courses and teaching activities. This paper introduces in detail problems existing in international cooperative education in industrial design, and proposes means of its reform in such aspects as resource integration, major reform, course setting, regional characteristic development and internal management mechanism.

Análisis del Proceso de Enseñanza y Aprendizaje en Educación Bilingüe en Madrid, España: Un Proyecto de Colaboración Fulbright Scholar

El presente estudio se llevó a cabo dentro del marco de un proyecto de investigación colaborativo internacional, apoyado por una beca Fulbright, con el objetivo de investigar las actitudes y percepciones hacia la educación bilingüe y extraer los principales resultados sobre una metodología de prácticas pedagógicas eficientes en colegios bilingües de la región de Madrid, donde la implantación de los programas bilingües ha aumentado exponencialmente en las últimas décadas. El estudio pretendía identificar las actitudes de los profesores, asistentes de idiomas y estudiantes hacia el bilingüismo y el desarrollo del programa bilingüe. Además se identificaron ejemplos de buenas prácticas docentes y estrategias eficientes de enseñanza-aprendizaje en contextos bilingües. Los resultados obtenidos ponen de manifiesto hallazgos fundamentales y sus posibles implicaciones que, se deberían tener en consideración para facilitar el futuro desarrollo y consolidación de programas bilingües que promuevan la excelencia educativa.

14C Chronostratigraphy for Qinghai Lake in China

Radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) techniques were used to date total organic carbon and plant seeds in the lFs core sequence (36°48′N, 100°08′E) from Qinghai Lake, China. This core was drilled ∼18 m into Qinghai Lake sediments as part of an international cooperative research project, “Scientific Drilling at Qinghai Lake in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau: High-Resolution Paleoenvironmental Records of Eastern Asia Linked to Global Change,” which began in 2004. Based on the differences in lithology and total organic content (TOC) in core lFs, the core was divided into 3 sections for age-modeling purposes: the upper ∼499 cm lacustrine silty clay to clay; the middle unit of silty clay with silt layers from 499–901 cm; and the lower 901–1861 cm silty clay, loess-like silt, and fine sand layers. Three different approaches are applied to the reservoir age problem. First, a simple linear regression gives an offset of 1342 yr. If the core is divided into three sections, linear regressions can be applied separately for the three segments, which results in an age estimate for the average hardwater effect of ∼135 yr BP for the surface section up to 499 cm. If extrapolated for deeper sections, these results imply a higher reservoir offset for those two sections, which may be as much as 1143 and 2523 yr, but this assumes that there are no discontinuities in the core. A third approach using a wiggle-matching approach gave an offset of 196 yr. This study concludes that the reservoir age of Qinghai Lake is complex, but these new data add to our understanding of the 14C chronology of Qinghai Lake for the last 32 ka.

Significance of Topographic Gradient in Stem Diameter - Height Allometry for Precise Biomass Estimation of a Tropical Moist Forest in the Central Amazon

We developed a stem diameter D-height H allometric model that included variability in the D-H relationship along a topographic gradient. The study site was located along a belt transect (2500 × 20 m) established in a primary tropical forest near Manaus, Brazil. The transect included typical topography of the region, characterized by plateaus and valleys called “baixios”. The D-H allometric model (n = 1307) indicated that potential tree height increased significantly, from 28 m at the lowest baixio plot to 35 m at the highest plateau plot. Consequently, by combining the D-H allometric model and an allometric equation with the variable DH, biomass was estimated for trees (D > 10 cm) in each sub-plot (20 × 20 m). Ignoring variability in the D-H relationship introduced wide-ranging error to biomass estimation; error values ranged from -5% at a baixio plot to +6% at a plateau plot. Average biomass was 317 ± 28 (SE) Mg ha, and tree density and biomass fell significantly with decreasing relative elevation. Discipline: Forestry and forest products Additional key words: asymptotic height , Brazilian Amazon , REDD+ This study was part of the international cooperative research project of “Carbon Dynamics of Amazonian Forests (CADAF; FY2010-2014)”; supported by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development Program of Japan Science and Technology Agency and Japan International Cooperation Agency. It was conducted by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (FFPRI), Japan and the National Institute for Amazon Research (INPA), Brazil in an experimental forest of INPA near Manaus, Brazil. * Corresponding author: e-mail swrmp2005@yahoo.co.jp Received 12 December 2011; accepted 10 April 2012. 109 JARQ 47 (1), 109 – 114 (2013) http://www.jircas.affrc.go.jp

TOUGH2 code를 이용한 처분장 절리암반 내 벤토나이트 완충재의 포화도 변화

This paper briefly introduces the scope and objectives of SKB Task 8, which is an international cooperative research project. In addition, the hydraulic behaviors of bentonite buffer focusing on the interactions between bentonite and a rock mass with a joint were investigated using TOUGH2 code as part of a sub-mission of Task 8a. The effects of a rock joint and high capillary pressure of bentonite on the re-saturation properties and pressure distribution in a buffer were identified and successfully incorporated in the TOUGH2 code. Based on the numerical results, it was found that the speed of re-saturation in bentonite surrounded by a rock mass with a joint is 2.5 to 12 times faster than that in a condition without a rock joint, while the degree of saturation in the lower part of the buffer material is generally higher than in the upper part in both the cases of with and without a joint. It can be anticipated that the results obtained from this study can be applied to an estimation of the full saturation time and a determination of optimum thickness with regard to the design of the bentonite buffer in a high level waste disposal system.

Protection and utilization of genetic resources in international cooperative study

Human genetic resource is a special kind of resource,which is an important media through which people understand about their life. Its protection and utilization is particularly significant.To understand the current situation,the author analyzed the international cooperative research projects that involved human genetic resource and approved during 1999 and 2010 at Chinese Academy of Medicine. Problems were identified and suggestions were proposed so as to provide reference for proper management. Key words: International cooperation; Genetic resources; Protection and utilization

Earthquake response analysis of the Hualien soil-structure interaction system based on updated soil properties using forced vibration test data

This paper presents results of the earthquake response analysis on a large-scale seismic test (LSST) structure which was built at Hualien in Taiwan for an international cooperative research project. The analysis is carried out using a computer program which has been developed based on axisymmetric finite element method incorporating dynamic infinite elements for far-field soil region and a substructured wave input technique. The non-linear behaviour of the soil medium is taken into account using an iterative equivalent linearization procedure. Two sets of the soil and structural properties, namely the unified and the FVT-correlated models, are utilized as the initial linear values. The unified model was provided by a group of experts in charge of the geotechnical experiments, and the correlated model was obtained through a system identification procedure using the forced vibration test (FVT) results by the present authors. Three components of ground accelerations are artificially generated through an averaging process of the Fourier amplitude spectra of the ground accelerations measured near the test structure, and they are used as the control input motions for the earthquake analysis. It has been found that the earthquake responses predicted using the generated control motions and with the FVT-correlated model as the initial linear properties in the equivalent linearization procedure compare very well with the observed responses. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

DECOVALEX — an international co-operative research project on mathematical models of coupled THM processes for safety analysis of radioactive waste repositories: L. Jing, C.-F. Tsang & O. Stephansson, International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, 32(5), 1995, pp 389–398

DECOVALEX — an international co-operative research project on mathematical models of coupled THM processes for safety analysis of radioactive waste repositories: L. Jing, C.-F. Tsang & O. Stephansson, International Journal of Rock Mechanics & Mining Sciences, 32(5), 1995, pp 389–398

DECOVALEX—An international co-operative research project on mathematical models of coupled THM processes for safety analysis of radioactive waste repositories

An international co-operative research project has been established under the name DECOVALEX for theoretical and experimental studies of coupled thermal, hydrological and mechanical processes in hard rocks. The capability of modelling coupled phenomena is of particular importance to the safety assessment of geologic disposal of radioactive waste materials. Different mathematical models and computer codes have been developed by different national research teams and these are used to study the so-called bench mark test and test case problems developed within this project. Bench mark tests are defined as initial-boundary value problems of a generic nature, and test cases are experimental investigations of part or full aspects of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical processes in hard rocks. Presented in this introductory paper are the motivation, organization and approaches of the project, definitions of bench mark tests and test case problems and descriptions of mathematical models used in Phase I of the DECOVALEX project. A brief introduction to the Phase II and Phase III of the project is also presented.

Nuclear Engineering Data Bases, Standards and Numerical Analysis

"Nuclear Engineering Data Bases, Standards and Numerical Analysis." Nuclear Technology, 73(1), pp. 130–131 Additional informationNotes on contributorsWalter LoewensteinWalter B. Loewenstein is the deputy director of the Nuclear Power Division and director of the safety technology department of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in Palo Alto, California. Throughout his professional career at EPRI and earlier at Argonne National Laboratory he has been concerned with the development and practice of large-scale computational methods. He is a fellow of the American Nuclear Society and the American Physical Society and served on the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission’s advisory committee on reactor physics and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s EuropeanAmerican committee on reactor physics. In recent years he has been active in international cooperative safety research projects that support and feature large-scale computations. His responsibilities at EPRI include the development and testing of computational packages for the U.S. electric utilities in real-time and off-line environments.

Technical problems of international co-operative research projects

Technical problems of international co-operative research projects