Schistosoma japonicum is prevalent in Asia with a wide mammalian host range, which leads to highly harmful zoonotic parasitic diseases. Most previous transcriptomic studies have been performed on this parasite, but mainly focus on stages inside the mammalian host. Moreover, few larval transcriptomic data are available in public databases. Here we mapped the detailed transcriptome profiles of four S. japonicum larval stages including eggs, miracidia, sporocysts and cercariae, providing a comprehensive development picture outside of the mammalian host. By analyzing the stage-specific/enriched genes, we identified functional genes associated with the biological characteristic at each stage: e.g. we observed enrichment of genes necessary for DNA replication only in sporocysts, while those involved in proteolysis were upregulated in sporocysts and/or cercariae. This data indicated that miracidia might use leishmanolysin and neprilysin to penetrate the snail, while elastase (SjCE2b) and leishmanolysin might contribute to the cercariae invasion. The expression profile of stem cell markers revealed potential germinal cell conversion during larval development. Additionally, our analysis indicated that tandem duplications had driven the expansion of the papain family in S. japonicum. Notably, all the duplicated cathepsin B-like proteases were highly expressed in cercariae. Utilizing our 3rd version of S. japonicum genome, we further characterized the alternative splicing profiles throughout these four stages. Taken together, the present study provides compressive gene expression profiles of S. japonicum larval stages and identifies a set of genes that might be involved in intermediate and definitive host invasion.
Backgrounds Several academic performance studies during the COVID-19 pandemic on education outside medicine showed varying results. This scoping review aims to identify research trends in medical education that focus on the academic performance of medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic to enable available research to be mapped and summarized, and gaps in research results can be identified. Methods The authors applied the Arksey and O’Malley framework to conduct the scoping review. This review was conducted from January to 30 May 2022. Comprehensive article searches were conducted on six databases (PubMed, ProQuest, EBSCOhost, ERIC, Science Direct, Google Scholar) using keywords of COVID-19, academic performance, academic achievement, medical education, and medical students. Results A literature search identified 24 publications eligible for analysis. The cohort is the most chosen research design. The publications were only taken from three continents; those were from Asia, America, and Europe. Most of the publications came from the Asian continent, and most of the participants involved in the studies were undergraduates. Eleven out of 24 publications reported on the impact of research before and during the COVID-19 pandemic on academic performance. Six out of 11 studies showed differences in results. Three studies indicated that students achieved lower grades during the COVID-19 pandemic. In contrast, three other studies reported that students got higher grades during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty studies reported the influencing factors of the academic performance. Conclusion The literatures reported differences in medical students’ academic performance before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve variables affected medical students’ academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
R. Satrio, Isna Arofatun Nikmah, M. Fendiyanto
et al.
Abstract. Satrio RD, Nikmah IA, Fendiyanto MH, Pratami MP, Awwanah M, Sari NIP, Farah N, Nurhadiyanta. 2022. Construction of an ultra-high-density consensus genetic map and analysis of recombination rate variation in Sorghum bicolor. Asian J Agric 6: 47-54. Sorghum is one of the most widely grown cereal crops on a global scale. A consensus map is a method for combining genetic information from multiple populations, and it is an effective way to increase genome coverage and marker density. This study constructed a consensus map by combining publicly available marker data from four mapping populations. A total of 3449 non-redundant polymorphic markers at the nucleotide level were used to construct a single consensus map on 10 sorghum chromosomes. This study generated an ultra-high-density sorghum consensus map consisting of a large number of markers spanning 1571.68 cM and averaging one marker per 0.46 cM. Due to the high density of the markers, it is only 0.06% of the markers had an interval greater than 5 cM. The rates of local recombination were estimated using a set of all markers genetic and physical positions along each of the 10 chromosomes. The analysis of the recombination rate on 10 sorghum chromosomes revealed that it decreased as the centromere position was getting closer. The consensus map generated in this study can be used to integrate information related to sorghum genetic resources and QTLs to the genome sequence, thereby accelerating the discovery of novel potential genes in sorghum.
Buildings are responsible for a major share of global final energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. An analysis of the worldwide observed drivers of demand can highlight the policy actions most suited to drive the decarbonization of the building sector. To contribute to such an analysis, we carry out a mapping of the literature on determinants of energy demand and CO2 emissions from buildings. The work includes a list and classification of relevant studies in an on-line geographical map, a description of trends and gaps, and a narrative review. We identify 4080 articles in the Scopus and the Web of Science databases, of which 712 are relevant after screening at the title and abstract level, and 376 are included for data extraction. The literature base mostly addresses electricity and water use, in North America and Europe (57% of the literature) and Asia (27%). Econometric modeling approaches using panel data to calculate demand elasticities, dominate. These findings highlight gaps in terms of the studied variables (only 5% focus on CO2 emissions while a mere 1% have a lifecycle perspective), geographical scope (only 5% of the articles focus on Africa, 7% on Latin America and the Caribbean, and 5% on Oceania), and methodological approach (only 5% use qualitative methods). We confirm that worldwide, income, energy price and outdoor temperature are unequivocal drivers of buildings energy demand and CO2 emissions, followed by other indicators of scale such as population or heated floor area. Our analysis makes it clear that decoupling from rising wealth levels has not been observed. This will continue to challenge reductions in energy use and CO2 emissions from buildings in line with climate targets. Macroeconomic policies focusing on the impacts of income, energy price, population and growing floor area are needed in combination with technical policy to reduce the impact of outdoor climate.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common hepatic disease in western countries and is even more ubiquitous in Asian countries. Our study determined that TH17/Treg cells were imbalanced in animal models. Based on our interest in the mechanism underlying TH17/Treg cell imbalance in nonalcoholic fatty liver mice, we conducted a joint bioinformatics analysis to further investigate this process. Common gene sequencing analysis was based on one trial from one sequencing platform, where gene expression analysis and enrichment analysis were the only analyses performed. We compared different sequencing results from different trials performed using different sequencing platforms, and we utilized the intersection of these analytical results to perform joint analysis. We used a bioinformatics analysis method to perform enrichment analysis and map interaction network analysis and predict potential microRNA sites. Animal experiments were also designed to validate the results of the data analysis based on quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blotting. Our results revealed 8 coexisting differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 7 hinge genes. The identified DEGs may influence nonalcoholic steatosis hepatitis through the interleukin-17 pathway. We found that microRNA-29c interacts with FOS and IGFBP1. Polymerase chain reaction analyses revealed both FOS and microRNA-29c expression in NASH mice, and western blot analyses indicated the same trend with regard to FOS protein levels. Based on these results, we suggest that microRNA-29c acts on FOS via the interleukin-17 signaling pathway to regulate TH17/Treg cells in NASH patients.
K. Silva, Piyawan Krisanungkura, Narakhan Khunsrimek
et al.
Abstract Previous nuclear power plant (NPP) severe accidents have raised great concern in Southeast Asia on the issue of transboundary atmospheric dispersion of an accidental release from an external NPP. This study presents the inter-comparison of atmospheric dispersion calculations performed by different calculation codes employing Lagrangian particle model or Gaussian puff model with Southeast Asia weather data during the northeast monsoon period. The test case is a hypothetical accident in Fangchenggang NPP with a hypothetical source term. Radionuclide concentration and radiation dose distribution maps along with specified values at specific locations are compared to demonstrate the similarities and differences of each calculation code. All calculation codes can generally capture the dispersion pathway, though only those employing Lagrangian particle model can record microscale changes in wind direction. Analysis of predicted exposure extent and lead time shows that radioactive plume contributing to the radiation dose of several μSv/day can reach one or more ASEAN countries within the 24-h timeframe. This information can be used to design appropriate risk communication strategy to dispel unnecessary public anxiety or to plan for more extensive radiation monitoring capability. For this purpose, Gaussian puff model can be used to provide initial information which can be later confirmed by Lagrangian particle model.
The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland sea. The enclosed body of water was mentioned by ancient geographers as early as the sixth century BCE. Like many ancient nodes of Eurasian trade, in contrast to the European histories of the New World, there is no single discovery Europeans celebrate. The Caspian Sea appeared on maps of Renaissance cartographers, even if with less accuracy than Arabic geographers of the tenth century depicted it. Today, Russia flanks its shores on the west, Iran to the south. Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan are the lesser sovereign powers who abut its shore. Turkey, the other regional power, looms large on the other side of the Caucasus. The Caspian Sea is place of ancient and contemporary importance. This inland sea has been a site of shifting geopolitical dynamics for centuries. It has been a site for political rivalries and negotiation just as it has been a site for trade and transit since before East and West became such operative conceptual categories. Merchants from Russian principalities in forested lands far up the Volga ventured south and across the Caspian by the fifteenth century, at least, as the account of the Tver’ merchant Afanasii Nikitin attests. The Muscovite state extended its sovereignty eastward across Eurasia in the mid-sixteenth century, conquering Kazan’ in 1552, followed by the demise of the Khanate of Astrakhan in 1556. Russia’s sovereignty may have been more aspirational than real, not only in the Caspian but along the Volga as well. Nonetheless, its influence was rising in the region. By the seventeenth century, Russia’s merchants were regularly engaged with commerce in the Middle East and Central Asia. Fedot Afanasev syn Kotov, a merchant from Moscow, recorded his impressions of Isfahan, the capital of Iran in 1634. Kotov observed a bustling: “round about the maidan [market] are bazaar streets and coffeehouses and hostelries and mosques, all built of stone, and in front of the storehouses they have all kinds of flowers painted in many colors and in gold and all kinds of people trade in them, Tadjiks, Indians, Turks, Arabs from Armenia, Afghans, Jews, and all manner of people.” Nearby were “about two hundred shops; and alongside that another street and in that RUSSIAN STUDIES IN HISTORY 2022, VOL. 60, NOS. 1–4, 1–7 https://doi.org/10.1080/10611983.2022.2117467
Hingabu Hordofa Koricho, A. D. Seboka, Shaoxian Song
ABSTRACT This study assesses the diversity, composition, structure and abundance of urban forests in Adama city, Central Ethiopia to provide baseline information useful for developing a conservation strategy. The urban forest of Adama has an estimated 525,200 trees with a tree cover of 20%. The three most common species are Azadirachta Indica (14.8%), Carica papaya (6.8%), and Acacia abyssinica (5%). The i-Tree Eco model was used to organise output. A total of 214 sample plots were generated directly in the i-Tree Eco application using the random plots’ generator via the Google Maps function. A 0.1acre circular plot was used. A total of 805 trees were sampled across the 214 plots. Among the 86 species encountered in the sample plots, 68 (79%) were introduced and only 18 (21%) were native species. Most introduced trees originated from Asia (22%). The tree diversity calculated using the Shannon Weiner index (H’) was 3.61 and the dominance of Simpson’s value was 0.95. The evenness index of the plots sampled was 0.80. The study indicates the crucial role that urban forests play in maintaining and conserving urban trees and enhancing ecosystem services in urban areas.
A. Wurjanto, J. A. Mukhti, Hijir Della Wirasti
et al.
Extreme significant wave height is a commonly used parameter for designing offshore structures. ISO provides general extreme significant wave height information of six ocean regions in the world, including the Southern East Asian Sea. However, for the case of Indonesia, ISO only includes the Natuna Sea region. One of the qualified datasets that provide significant wave height data for Indonesian seas is SEAFINE by Oceanweather, Inc. This dataset covers the western and middle part of Indonesia. We analyzed the SEAFINE significant wave height hindcast data in these regions to obtain the extreme values. Extreme significant wave height maps were then produced based on the analyzed data. For the purpose of validation, we compared the extreme value analysis result with ISO 19901-1:2015 in regions where SEAFINE and ISO data intersect. The comparison showed that the analysis result tends to give approximately 25% lower wave height for a 1-year return period compared to ISO 19901-1:2015 but agreement for a 100-year return period. The SEAFINE analysis result also shows agreement with previous studies in the Karimata Strait and the Java Sea.
Abstract. Half of Asian tropical forests were disturbed in the last century resulting in the dominance of secondary forests in Southeast Asia. However, the rate at which biomass accumulates during the recovery process in these forests is poorly understood. We studied a forest landscape located in Khao Yai National Park (Thailand) that experienced strong disturbances in the last century due to clearance by swidden farmers. Combining recent field and airborne laser scanning (ALS) data, we first built a high-resolution aboveground biomass (AGB) map of over 60 km2 of forest landscape. We then used the random forest algorithm and Landsat time series (LTS) data to classify landscape patches as non-forested versus forested on an almost annual basis from 1972 to 2017. The resulting chronosequence was then used in combination with the AGB map to estimate forest carbon recovery rates in secondary forest patches during the first 42 years of succession. The ALS-AGB model predicted AGB with an error of 14 % at 0.5 ha resolution (RMSE=45 Mg ha−1) using the mean top-of-canopy height as a single predictor. The mean AGB over the landscape was 291 Mg ha−1, showing a high level of carbon storage despite past disturbance history. We found that AGB recovery varies non-linearly in the first 42 years of the succession, with an increasing rate of accumulation through time. We predicted a mean AGB recovery rate of 6.9 Mgha-1yr-1, with a mean AGB gain of 143 and 273 Mg ha−1 after 20 and 40 years, respectively. This rate estimate is about 50 % larger than the rate prescribed for young secondary Asian tropical rainforests in the 2019 refinement of the 2006 IPCC guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories. Our study hence suggests that the new IPCC rates, which were based on limited data from Asian tropical rainforests, strongly underestimate the carbon potential of forest regrowth in tropical Asia. Our recovery estimates are also within the range of those reported for the well-studied Latin American secondary forests under similar climatic conditions. This study illustrates the potential of ALS data not only for scaling up field AGB measurements but also for predicting AGB recovery dynamics when combined with long-term satellite data. It also illustrates that tropical forest landscapes that were disturbed in the past are of utmost importance for the regional carbon budget and thus for implementing international programs such as REDD+.
250 | Tsantsa #26 | 2021 easily accessed and travelled by researchers. Photographs, maps, and comprehensive tables depicting quantitative data on cater pillar fungus pricing, ownership of livestock, and household appliances complete this thoroughly researched and enjoyable eth nography. Readers looking for a comparative approach on sudden economic booms and commodity chains might feel that the book lacks a more global perspective, including a discussion of literature on similar phenom ena beyond rural Tibet and China. How ever, the author’s explicit aim was to analyse Golok pastoralists’ everyday lives, the rapid transformation of their livelihoods and, finally, the socioeconomic shifts observed in a region due to a new form of income; in this the book admirably succeeds. Emilia Roza Sulek has produced a beautifully writ ten and accessible monograph that will be of interest to scholars working on pastoralism, shadow economies, and resource extraction, as well as processes of development and statemaking in Tibet, the Himalayas and China. This book is not only an illuminating piece of work for undergraduate and gradu ate courses on Central and East Asia, but also offers a comprehensive case study for courses in economic anthropology. Anne Kukuczka, University of Zurich, anne.kukuczka@uzh.ch
Abstract. Biomass burning (BB) activities have a great impact on the particle number size distribution (PNSD) in the upper troposphere of the Tibetan Plateau, which could affect regional and global climate. An intensive campaign focused on the measurement of the PNSD, gaseous pollutants, and meteorological parameters was conducted at Mt. Yulong, a high-altitude site (3410 m a.s.l.) on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau during the pre-monsoon season (22 March to 15 April). During this period, intensive BB activities in southern Asia were detected by fire maps. The long-range transport of BB pollutants can increase the accumulation mode particles in the background atmosphere at Mt. Yulong. As a consequence, the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentration was found to be 2–8 times higher during BB periods than during clean periods. Apart from BB, variations of the planet boundary layer (PBL) and new particle formation (NPF) were other factors that influenced the PNSD. However, only three NPF events (with a frequency of 14 %) were observed at Mt. Yulong. The occurrence of NPF events during clean episodes corresponded to an elevated PBL or transported BB pollutants. Due to the lack of condensable vapors including sulfuric acid and organic compounds, the newly formed particles were not able to grow to CCN size. Our study emphasizes the influences of BB on the aerosol and CCN concentration in the atmosphere of the Tibetan Plateau. These results also have the potential to improve our understanding of the variation of the particle concentration in the upper troposphere, and provide information for regional and global climate models.
Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is one of the major systems in making the general circulation of atmosphere. Many climatologists believe that the starting point of the general circulation of atmosphere is from this system. It seems that the annual displacement of this system is coordinated with the sun. In this study we have tried to investigate the annual and seasonal displacement of this system within the range of Middle East, especially within the range of longitude of Iran in a long period of time (statistical period of 66 years). This is the first study in the field of ITCZ monthly and annual long-term changes in Iran. In this study, not only his exact position on Africa and South West Asia ITCZ is determined, it also shows the change in the period of 66 years. These results can also be used on regional climate changes. For this purpose topographic and surface level pressure maps are 1000 and 850 hpa and they were approximately extracted monthly for 12 months of the year from 1948 to 2013 and also they were extracted from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-ministration Site in America within the range of 30° west to 110° east, and they were extracted by using the flow map of location (ITCZ). Due to the sudden displacement in the ITCZ bar path in the two seasons of summer and winter, on the Middle East region, the direct impact of this displacement on sudden changes of seasons, the start and end of untimely rains, its impacts on agricultural products and water recourses of the country so all these reasons are essential that this phenomenon should be studied carefully. Studies have shown that ITCZ is not a coordinated solar system and its displacement is not coordinate with the apparent annual displacement of the sun. October is the only month of ITCZ that within the range of 10 northern degrees in all the ranges of longitude 20° west to 110° east has an approximate orbital shape. In 6 months of the year (from November to April) (ITCZ) within the range of 30° east or 110° east, it is entirely located in the Southern Hemisphere and on the contrary in 5 months from May to September (ITCZ) within the range of 30° east to 110° east, it is entirely located in the Northern Hemisphere. And in this period, ITCZ has its highest Northern movement on the Earth. So that at the foot of the Himalayas it moves to 30° north. Within the range of Africa, ITCZ never enters the Southern Hemisphere at any time of the year. And the interesting phenomenon of severe refraction in the way of ITCZ, during the cold period, is within the range of Ethiopia and ITCZ has approximately redirected for Meridian and enters the Southern Hemisphere.
The current paper presents a forensic study that aims to characterize non-invasively the laminated structure of a set of Samurai’s swords, part of the East Asian Collection of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, via strain scanning measurements. Neutron residual stress analyses were undertaken on samples of well-known origin, time period and authorship to create a reference database on the main lamination methods developed by Japanese swordsmiths. The benchmark data were cross-matched with results obtained from a mumei (no-signature) blade in order to attribute its manufacturing tradition based on qualitative and quantitative data rather than stylistic criteria. Maps of two stress components and d0-values in the transverse crosssection of each sword were determined as a result of the neutron diffraction experiment with submillimeter spatial resolution. Since these two material characteristics are induced by the manufacturing process, analysis and comparison of the results allows drawing conclusions about variability or similarity of the actual production techniques of the Japanese swords. Introduction Japanese swords are famed among all others all over the world as the most effective in terms of hardness, resilience and, last but not least, aesthetics [1]. Their forging technique was almost unique; steel lumps, obtained from the furnace, were strongly pre-treated to obtain a homogenous and purified multilayered sheet. Distinctive carbon steels, characterized by different hardness, were shaped and specifically used for different parts of the blade components to optimize their mechanical feature (Fig. 1) [1]. Since the Koto age, 10-17 century AD, five different traditions developed distinctive construction techniques that evolved during the following historical periods [2]. However, the actual techniques that were used by the early sword-smiths were never documented and the necessary information was orally transmitted from the master to his most skilled pupils. In spite of the large amount of studies published on the subject, different manufacturing techniques are still not fully understood. Until recently, only expendable samples were investigated by standard analytical techniques, which mainly require sample cutting or are based on surface analysis. Nowadays, neutron diffraction [4] and neutron imaging methods [5] have been demonstrated to be the most suitable tools to qualitatively and quantitatively characterize composition and micro-structural properties of metal artifacts in a non-destructive way, mandatory for well conserved museum collections. Residual Stresses 2016: ICRS-10 Materials Research Forum LLC Materials Research Proceedings 2 (2016) 443-448 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781945291173-75 444 In the current study we attempted systematic research of the Japanese blades in order to investigate whether the laminated structure of a set of Samurai’s swords can be determined in non-destructive manner by means of neutron tomography, neutron diffraction stress analysis or both. The research is based on part of the East Asian Collection of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney. The Japanese sword collection contains both samples of well-known origin, time period and authorship (group 1) as well as a group of mumei (no-signature) blades (group 2). Group 1 allowed us to build up a reference database on the main lamination methods adopted by Japanese swordsmiths and therefore to be used as benchmark data that can be cross-matched with the results obtained from group 2 in the attempt of attributing the corresponding manufacturing tradition to the unknown blades. Although a number of different blades were analyzed, in the current work we report only the neutron diffraction stress analysis on blades which were classified as katana, while the neutron tomographic data and results on wakizashi will be published separately somewhere else. Samples The attributes of the four katana from of the East Asian Collection of MAAS that were used in the forensic investigation are reported in Table. 1. Origin, time period and authorship are known only for three of them by transliteration of the signature engraved on their hilt. According to stylistic study, only the time period can be assigned for blade H6856 while the manufacturing tradition it belongs to is still uncertain. The physical description of the swords is given in Table 2, where the blades’ total length and thickness and width, measured in the mid length (where neutron diffraction measurement were made) are reported. Experimental: neutron diffraction stress analysis The neutron diffraction stress analysis in objects like Japanese swords is difficult because of two reasons. First, a technical aspect, a high spatial resolution is required, ~0.5 mm, since individual multiple layers can be of sub-millimeter size while a typical thickness of a blade is 5-7 mm. At the same time many points are required to be measured since the exact number and location of layers are not quite known. Therefore a compromise between resolution, number of measurement points and experimental time per point needs to be found. Second, a theoretical aspect, since the experimentally measured peak shift combines two effects, variation of (macrostress-free) d0 and elastic macrostress, and both of them are expected to be present due to manufacturing process, identifying and separation of these two contributions is essential for the aim of the experiment. However, there is no chance for proper resolution of d0 since only non-destructive analysis is allowed for the museum items. Thus, Fig. 1. The most common lamination structures of the Japanese swords. Fig. 2. A generic mesh in the transverse crosssection of the sword for neutron diffraction mapping and a real example of the longitudinal stress map for sword H4839 (min: -446 MPa, max: 291MPa). Residual Stresses 2016: ICRS-10 Materials Research Forum LLC Materials Research Proceedings 2 (2016) 443-448 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781945291173-75 445 the approach described in the following was used as the best possibility to resolve d0 problem. The first problem was solved by use of ANSTO’s neutron residual stress diffractometer KOWARI [6], which can provide necessary sub-millimeter (0.5 mm) spatial resolution and feasibility of that was proved in the past experiments [7]. Although a full 2D mapping would be very desirable, due to time limitations only a number of one-dimensional scans were performed. However, the measurement points are selected in such a manner and such numbers, >50, that would allow distinguishing unambiguously between possible structures as shown in Fig. 2 and at the same time some interpolation can be applied to produce 2D maps. At each mesh point spaced by 0.5 mm through thickness and by 1.0 mm along the central line, strain measurement was carried out in three orthogonal directions (longitudinal, transverse, normal) as in a traditional stress scanning experiment. A nominal gauge volume as small as 0.5×0.5×0.5 mm3 was used for measurements of the longitudinal strain component (symbols in Fig. 2 are scaled to this gauge volume size), while it was enlarged to 0.5×0.5×20 mm3 for measurement of the normal and transverse, since this was allowed by blade geometry, with extension of the gauge volume along the longitudinal direction. Strain measurement has been done using wavelength of 1.67 Å that provides Fe(211) reflection at 2θ = 90° and typical accuracy of ±30 μstrain that was achieved for the normal and transverse components after an acquisition time of 4 minutes. For the longitudinal strain component, however, a typical accuracy was ±50 μstrain with a measurement time of 20 minutes. Overall, approximately 1.5 days of beamtime was used for each blade. In order to resolve the second problem, the following strategy was adopted. In contrast to the traditional stress experiment, where d0 must be provided and three stress components are calculated, in the current experiment, the zero-through-thickness-stress condition was applied enabling calculation of two stress components and one d0-value out of the d-spacings for three measured directions. This plane-stress condition should be fulfilled with good accuracy (within our Table 2: Swords characterisation. Thickness and width are taken at the point of maximum curvature of the blade. The length is measured as a straight line from the point to the notch where the back of the katana meets the mounting of the hilt. ID Dimensions, mm Full view H1360 Thickness = 5.7 Width = 24.5 Length = 69 H5378 Thickness = 7.4 Width = 28.5 Length = 76.6 H4839 Thickness = 5.4 Width = 25.2 Length = 72.5 H6856 Thickness = 5.7 Width = 26.8 Length = 63.5 Residual Stresses 2016: ICRS-10 Materials Research Forum LLC Materials Research Proceedings 2 (2016) 443-448 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.21741/9781945291173-75 446 experimental errors) because of sample planar geometry, but the major concern would be the anisotropic behaviour of d0. Until slicing of a blade is allowed, this is the only practical assumption. However, some checks can be applied to verify the assumption. If the abovementioned assumption is accurate enough and stress and d0 are resolved correctly then the transverse stress component should satisfy with boundary conditions on top and bottom edges of the blades and the longitudinal integral stress balance condition can be (at least approximately) evaluated. Results and Discussion The neutron diffraction experiment resulted in maps of two stress components and d0-values in the transverse cross-section of each sword which were determined with sub-millimeter spatial resolution. These two material characteristics are the imprint of the production process and their study can help to identify the actual manufacturing techniques based on qualitative and quantitative data rather than stylistic criteria. Although 2D maps give a good idea about spatial distribution, in
Orientation: Job characteristics are well accepted as sources of burnout and engagement amongst employees; psychosocial safety climate may precede work conditions. Research purpose: We expanded the Job Demands and Resources (JD-R) model by proposing psychosocial safety climate (PSC) as a precursor to job demands and job resources. As PSC theoretically influences the working environment, the study hypothesized that PSC has an impact on performance via both health erosion (i.e. burnout) and motivational pathways (i.e. work engagement). Motivation for the study: So far, integration of PSC in the JD-R model is only tested in a Western context (i.e. Australia). We tested the emerging construct of PSC in Malaysia, an Eastern developing country in the Asian region. Research design, approach and method: A random population based sample was derived using household maps provided by Department of Statistics, Malaysia; 291 employees (response rate 50.52%) from the State of Selangor, Malaysia participated. Cross-sectional data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Main findings: We found that PSC was negatively related to job demands and positively related to job resources. Job demands, in turn, predicted burnout (i.e. exhaustion and cynicism), whereas job resources predicted engagement. Both burnout and engagement were associated with performance. Bootstrapping showed significant indirect effects of PSC on burnout via job demands, PSC on performance via burnout and PSC on performance via the resources-engagement pathway. Practical managerial implications: Our findings are consistent with previous research that suggests that PSC should be a target to improve working conditions and in turn reduce burnout and improve engagement and productivity. Contribution/value-add: These findings suggest that JD-R theory may be expanded to include PSC as an antecedent and that the expanded JD-R model is largely valid in an Eastern, developing economy setting.