The nature and sources of international variation in formal institutions related to initial coin offerings:preliminary findings and a research agenda

As prior researchers have suggested,a firm’s success in an international market depends on how well its strategy fits the nonmarket environment,such as formal institutions.This paper examines the determinants of formal institutions around new areas of economic activities.Specifically,we propose a framework for understanding how the quality of formal institutions in promoting entrepreneurship drives the focus of such institutions concerning initial coin offering(ICO),which is emerging as a popular fundraising method.The paper uses inductive analysis to examine how nonmarket factors—such as a jurisdiction’s tax haven nature,regulators’perceptions of ICOs as threats to national or political interests,and trade and industry associations—might moderate the relationship between the quality of institutions and the focus of such institutions regarding ICOs.One of this study’s key findings is that an economy’s quality of entrepreneurship-related institutions,perceived threats to national/political interests,and tax haven nature lead to different policy orientations.Consequently,regulators assign different importance when promoting crypto-entrepreneurship and dealing with associated risks.Regulators focusing mainly on promoting crypto-ventures have taken measures to enrich the blockchain ecosystem and provided tax and non-tax incentives to attract such ventures.Regulators focusing mainly on dealing with crypto-venture risks rely on a regulatory sandbox and close regulatory monitoring of such ventures.

The expectancy-value theory:A meta-analysis of its application in physical education

Background:The purpose of motivating students is to enhance their learning achievement.The expectancy-value theory(EVT)has demonstrated its efficacy in motivating students in classrooms and in gymnasia.Understanding student motivation in physical education is needed.This metaanalysis review aimed to reveal the determinants and functions of EVT by evaluating the evidence in physical education research.Methods:We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA)guidelines to identify and meta-analyze the current research literature published from January 2010 to December 2020 by generating and analyzing the effect sizes from the studies.Results:A total of 31 studies were included.The results show that social support,motivation of teachers and peers,and positive class climate can predict student EVT motivation.EVT motivation predicts student learning behaviors,situational interests,fitness performance,health behavior function,out-of-school physical activity,and physical skill development.Conclusion:EVT motivation could facilitate learning behaviors and situational interest development in the gymnasium.It might lead to fitness enhancement,health behavior change,out-of-school physical activity participation,and physical skill development.Fostering a learning environment with a mastery-centered and/or student autonomy approach where students perceived success and the task values can enhance and maximize student EVT motivation and learning achievement.

Exploring Chemovar-Specific Cannabis Extracts Quantification and Evaluation of Cytotoxic Compounds for Targeting Glioblastoma Multiforme

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) represents one of the most aggressive and metastatic brain tumors, with a dismal success rate of less than three percent after five years, particularly in tumors with active immune checkpoints. This necessitates the development of targeted endogenous agents for precise GBM treatment. Previous experiments utilizing Chemovar Specific Cannabis Extractions (CSCEs), fractionated with polar solvents and quantified using Liquid and Gas Column Chromatography combined with Mass Spectrometry (LC/GCMS), have shown reduced viability and motility in human GBM cell lines. However, the complexity of the botanical substance has hindered the personalization of standard cannabis medicines for GBM due to unknown synergistic effects of multiple compounds. To address this limitation, our study focuses on exposing AM251 cells to chemovar fractions extracted using a non-polar solvent, thereby isolating a broader spectrum of constituents. By employing LC/GCMS in conjunction with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), we have identified and quantified nine* compounds present in the non-polar CSCE that exhibit significant efficacy (0.1 μM) in inducing cytotoxicity* in GBM tumor cells. Conversely, the polar fraction in our experiment did not demonstrate efficacy against UM251 cells. The quantification of individual compounds within a cannabis extraction that selectively induces cell death in brain tumors holds promise for guiding future research and facilitating the development of a standardized CSCE for GBM therapy.

The Research of Indoor Positioning Based on Visible Light Communication

The key techniques in indoor positioning based on visible light communication and the state of the art of this research were surveyed. First, the significance of indoor positioning based on visible light communication from two aspects of the limitations of current indoor positioning technology and the advantages of visible light communication was discussed; And then, the main four technology of indoor positioning based on visible light communication were summarized and the triangulation of RSS method and the principle of image positioning were introduced in detail; Next, the performance characteristics of various typical algorithms were compared and analyzed; In the end, several suggestions on future research of indoor positioning based on visible light communication were given.

Alterations of the gut microbiome and metabolome in alcoholic liver disease

Alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of liver diseases and liver-related death worldwide. The gut is a habitat for billions of microorganisms which promotes metabolism and digestion in their symbiotic relationship with the host. Alterations of gut microbiome by alcohol consumption are referred to bacterial overgrowth, release of bacteria-derived products, and/or changed microbiota equilibrium. Alcohol consumption also perturbs the function of gastrointestinal mucosa and elicits a pathophysiological condition. These adverse effects caused by alcohol may ultimately result in a broad change of gastrointestinal luminal metabolites such as bile acids, short chain fatty acids, and branched chain amino acids. Gut microbiota alterations, metabolic changes produced in a dysbiotic intestinal environment, and the host factors are all critical contributors to the development and progression of alcoholic liver disease. This review summarizes recent findings of how alcohol-induced alterations of gut microbiota and metabolome, and discusses the mecha-nistic link between gastrointestinal dyshomeostasis and alcoholic liver injury.

Stream water quality and its influencing factor in lower order streams in upriver sections of Ashihe River

为理解引起了水质的降级在的原因，更低的顺序流，系统的采样在 NortheastForestry 大学的 Maoershan 试验性的福雷斯特里沿着 Ashihe 河连续统的低顺序溪流(第 1st-5 ) 在不同空间地点被进行， Shangzhi 城市， Heilongjiang 省，中国。溪流水质的索引，即， pH ，溶解的氧()，混浊，温度，PO_4^(3-)-P,NO^(3-) -N andNH_4^+-N 集中，全部的溶解的无机的氮( TDIN-N ，包括集中ofNO_3^-- N 和 NH_4^+-N )，并且总计磷(无机、器官磷， TP )被测量并且分析。溪流顺序，相关环境背景和陆地使用类型为每个采样地点被记录。在有不同溪流订单和土地利用类型的不同地点的溪流水质的索引被 ANOVA 分析比较。在不同采样地点的溪流水质的索引被层次簇分析分析。水质有的 Resultshowed 在不同溪流订单和土地利用的重要差别打字；有不同溪流特征(溪流顺序和土地利用类型)的一些地点被组织进一样的簇，显示随机的骚乱在水质生产了变化，它与一般规则使溪流水质的空间变化不一致。

Exercise,cognitive function, and the brain:Advancing our understanding of complex relationships

In recent years,scientists have shown a growing interest in the relationship between exercise,cognitive function,and the brain.The growing body of evidence supporting positive relationships is evidenced by the first mention of the beneficial effects of exercise on cognitive function appearing in the 9th edition of the American College of Sports Medicine's guidelines published in 2014.1 The strength of this evidence is further confirmed by recommendations relative to the benefits of exercise for cognitive performance and mental health being included in the 2nd edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans,a landmark policy statement released by the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services.

Effects of exergaming and the physical education curriculum

From an education perspective,play has always been viewed as an integral part of learning experiences1and physical activity is a major component in many games that children play.In recent two decades,rapid

The Game-Theoretical Model of Using Insecticide-Treated Bed-Nets to Fight Malaria

Malaria infection is a major problem in many countries. The use of the Insecticide-Treated Bed-Nets (ITNs) has been shown to significantly reduce the number of malaria infections;however, the effectiveness is often jeopardized by improper handling or human behavior such as inconsistent usage. In this paper, we present a game-theoretical model for ITN usage in communities with malaria infections. We show that it is in the individual’s self interest to use the ITNs as long as the malaria is present in the community. Such an optimal ITN usage will significantly decrease the malaria prevalence and under some conditions may even lead to complete eradication of the disease.

Reduction of Internal Standard Signals in Quantitative MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

The advantages of combining qualitative and quantitative analysis on a single analytical technique have further extended the applications of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to the quantitation of various biomolecules. To achieve absolute quantitation, it is necessary to perform a calibration with standard dilutions. For the purpose of measuring DNA samples, a pure DNA oligonucleotide at different concentrations was chosen as a standard to perform the calibration of MALDI-TOF MS. In order to overcome the variation of signal intensity from repeated measurements of each DNA standard dilution, fixed amount of an internal standard was added into each DNA standard dilution. Instead of maintaining at a constant level, the signals of fixed amount of internal standard were decreased 73% from its initial level while the signals of DNA standard continued to increase within a linear dynamic range for quantitation from 0.20 μM to 12.5 μM of DNA. Attempts to identify the cause of signal reduction were systematically carried out. This is the first report on the extent of signal reduction in quantitative MALDI-TOF MS. These results represent a limitation on using MALDI-TOF MS to monitor the changes in concentration of two different compounds within a chemical or biological system.

Motor skills matter to physical activity——At least for children

Physical activity(PA) is an effective means of curbing the prevalence of child obesity,and fundamental skills are hypothesized to be an important factor that determines physically active or inactive behavior in children.Research evidence suggests that adolescents and young adults with proficient motor skills in sport-related activities are more likely to have a physically active lifestyle.1 Because

Effects of music and video on perceived exertion during high-intensity exercise

Background: Dissociative attentional stimuli(e.g., music, video) are effective in decreasing ratings of perceived exertion(RPE) during low-tomoderate intensity exercise, but have inconsistent results during exercise at higher intensity. The purpose of this study was to assess attentional focus and RPE during high-intensity exercise as a function of being exposed to music, video, both(music and video), or a no-treatment control condition.Methods: During the first session, healthy men(n = 15) completed a maximal fitness test to determine the workload necessary for high-intensity exercise(operationalized as 125% ventilatory threshold) to be performed during subsequent sessions. On 4 subsequent days, they completed 20 min of high-intensity exercise in a no-treatment control condition or while listening to music, watching a video, or both. Attentional focus, RPE,heart rate, and distance covered were measured every 4 min during the exercise.Results: Music and video in combination resulted in significantly lower RPE across time(partial η~2= 0.36) and the size of the effect increased over time(partial η~2= 0.14). Additionally, music and video in combination resulted in a significantly more dissociative focus than the other conditions(partial η~2= 0.29).Conclusion: Music and video in combination may result in lower perceived exertion during high-intensity exercise when compared to music or video in isolation. Future research will be necessary to test if reductions in perceived exertion in response to dissociative attentional stimuli have implications for exercise adherence.

Exercise facilitates memory:Implications for helping youngsters learn in school

Up to this day I still can vividly remember a routine in my elementary school:the daily school-wide morning calisthenics. It started at about 7:45 am in the school courtyard.Our physical education teacher stood on the concrete stage where our principal would give her talk at school assemblies.All children and teachers would follow the teacher’s lead to do the eight-segment national calisthenics in unison with loud music from loudspeakers affixed on trees around the courtyard.When I visited the school last May,I saw that students still performed the routine faithfully but with a different set of

A clash of fundamental assumptions:Can/should we measure physical literacy?

The special issue of the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education (JTPE)~1 on physical literacy (PL) has provided much needed information about measuring and assessing student learning in terms of the well-defined and yet abstract concept.Multiple authors have elaborated from diverse educational and psychometric perspectives on the development of the construct,the measurement model,and the assessment of the construct.In this attempt,many issues associated with the conception of PL were clarified and insightful information and arguments were brought forward.In this regard,the special issue has moved our understanding of the concept one step further.More importantly,it points to a possibility to actualize the teaching of the concept in physical education (PE).

Variability of emission lines in the optical spectra of the Herbig Be binary system HD 200775

In our previous papers we have improved the value of the orbital period of the binary Herbig Be star HD 200775 and showed that the [O I] and Si II 6347 and 6371 ?A emission lines displayed variations which correlate with the orbital period. In this paper we provide evidences that other broad emission lines of metals in the spectra of HD 200775 also exhibit variability, which is probably related to the orbital cycle of the binary. Analysis was performed based on the high-resolution spectral data collected over a time span of 6 years at the Kourovka Astronomical Observatory of the Ural Federal University(Russia) and the Three College Observatory of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro(USA) as well as archival spectral data compiled since 1994. We report new data points in the radial velocity curve of the He I 5876 ?A line near the extremal values of the radial velocity.

Learners’motivational response to the Science,PE,&Me!curriculum:A situational interest perspective

Background:The Science,PE,&Me!(SPEM)curriculum is a concept-based physical education curriculum that offers students coherent educational experiences for constructing health-related fitness knowledge through movement experiences.The purpose of this study was to evaluate students’motivational response to the SPEM curriculum from the situational interest perspective.Methods:The study used a cluster randomized controlled design in which 30 elementary schools in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the eastern United States were randomly assigned to an experimental or comparison condition.Although all students in the 3rd,4th,and 5th grades in the targeted schools were eligible to participate in the study,a random sample of students from the experimental(n=1749;15 schools)and comparison groups(n=1985;15 schools)provided data.Students’motivational response to the SPEM curriculum or comparison curriculum was measured using the previously validated Situational Interest Scale-Elementary.Data were analyzed using structural mean modeling.Results:The results demonstrated that the experimental group(as reference group)showed significantly higher enjoyment(z=-2.01),challenge(z=-6.54),exploration(z=-12.195),novelty(z=-8.80),and attention demand(z=-7.90)than the comparison group.Conclusion:The findings indicate that the SPEM curriculum created a more situationally interesting context for learning than the comparison physical education curriculum.

gscaLCA in R: Fitting Fuzzy Clustering Analysis Incorporated with Generalized Structured Component Analysis

Clustering analysis identifying unknown heterogenous subgroups of a population(or a sample)has become increasingly popular along with the popularity of machine learning techniques.Although there are many software packages running clustering analysis,there is a lack of packages conducting clustering analysis within a structural equation modeling framework.The package,gscaLCA which is implemented in the R statistical computing environment,was developed for conducting clustering analysis and has been extended to a latent variable modeling.More specifically,by applying both fuzzy clustering(FC)algorithm and generalized structured component analysis(GSCA),the package gscaLCA computes membership prevalence and item response probabilities as posterior probabilities,which is applicable in mixture modeling such as latent class analysis in statistics.As a hybrid model between data clustering in classifications and model-based mixture modeling approach,fuzzy clusterwise GSCA,denoted as gscaLCA,encompasses many advantages from both methods:(1)soft partitioning from FC and(2)efficiency in estimating model parameters with bootstrap method via resolution of global optimization problem from GSCA.The main function,gscaLCA,works for both binary and ordered categorical variables.In addition,gscaLCA can be used for latent class regression as well.Visualization of profiles of latent classes based on the posterior probabilities is also available in the package gscaLCA.This paper contributes to providing a methodological tool,gscaLCA that applied researchers such as social scientists and medical researchers can apply clustering analysis in their research.

Dual‑Wind Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for Stationary Hamilton‑Jacobi Equations and Regularized Hamilton‑Jacobi Equations

This paper develops and analyzes a new family of dual-wind discontinuous Galerkin(DG)methods for stationary Hamilton-Jacobi equations and their vanishing viscosity regularizations.The new DG methods are designed using the DG fnite element discrete calculus framework of[17]that defnes discrete diferential operators to replace continuous differential operators when discretizing a partial diferential equation(PDE).The proposed methods,which are non-monotone,utilize a dual-winding methodology and a new skewsymmetric DG derivative operator that,when combined,eliminate the need for choosing indeterminable penalty constants.The relationship between these new methods and the local DG methods proposed in[38]for Hamilton-Jacobi equations as well as the generalized-monotone fnite diference methods proposed in[13]and corresponding DG methods proposed in[12]for fully nonlinear second order PDEs is also examined.Admissibility and stability are established for the proposed dual-wind DG methods.The stability results are shown to hold independent of the scaling of the stabilizer allowing for choices that go beyond the Godunov barrier for monotone schemes.Numerical experiments are provided to gauge the performance of the new methods.

Effective Thermoelectric Power Generation in an Insulated Compartment

The Seebeck coefficient S is a temperature- and material-dependent property, which linearly and causally relates the temperature difference △T between the “hot” and “cold” junctions of a thermoelectric power generator (TEC-PG) to the voltage difference △V. This phenomenon is the Seebeck effect (SE), and can be used to convert waste heat into usable energy. This work investigates the trends of the effective voltage output △V(t) and effective Seebeck coefficient S'(t) versus several hours of activity of a solid state TEC-PG device. The effective Seebeck coefficient S'(t) here is related to a device, not just to a material’s performance. The observations are pursued in an insulated compartment in various geometrical and environmental configurations. The results indicate that the SE does not substantially depend on the geometrical and environmental configurations. However, the effective Seebeck coefficient S'(t) and the produced effective △V(t) are affected by the environmental configuration, once the temperature is fixed. Heat transfer calculations do not completely explain this finding. Alternative explanations are hypothesized.

A Simple Approach for Evaluating Total MicroRNA Extraction from Mouse Brain Tissues

For the analysis of microRNA, a common approach is to first extract microRNA from cellular samples prior to any specific microRNA detection. Thus, it is important to determine the quality and yield of extracted microRNA. In this study, solid-phase extraction was used to isolate small RNA (? Green II staining. Testing for contamination of any small DNA fragments, RNase and cellular peptides or proteins were systematically carried out. By scanning the gel image obtained from PAGE analysis, the average percentage of total microRNA (19 - 25 nt) in the extracted RNA samples was determined to be equal to 2.3 ± 0.5%. The yield of total microRNA was calculated to be ~0.5ng of microRNA per milligram of frozen mouse brain tissue. In comparison to other methods that require the use of expensive specialized instrumentation, the approach of combining the standard UV absorbance and PAGE analysis represents a simple and viable method for evaluating the quality and yield of microRNA extraction from tissue samples.