Febrile seizure (FS) in children is a common complication of infections with respiratory viruses and hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). We conducted a retrospective ecological time-series analysis to determine the temporal relationship between hospital attendances for FS and HFMD or respiratory virus infections. Epilepsy attendance was used as a control. Data from 2004 to 2012 FS and epilepsy hospital attendance, HFMD notifications to the Ministry of Health and from laboratory-confirmed viral respiratory infections among KK Women's and Children's Hospital inpatients were used. A multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationship between FS and the virus time series. Relative risks of FS by age were calculated using Bayesian statistical methods. Paediatric accident and emergency (A&E) attendances for FS were found to be associated with influenza A (extra 0.47 FS per influenza A case), B (extra 0.32 per influenza B case) and parainfluenza 3 (extra 0.35 per parainfluenza type 3 case). However, other viruses were not significantly associated with FS. None of the viruses were associated with epileptic seizure attendance. Influenza A, B and parainfluenza 3 viruses contributed to the burden of FS resulting in A&E attendance. Children at risk of FS should be advised to receive seasonal influenza vaccination.

Nanoscale superlattice-like (SLL) dielectric was employed to reduce the power consumption of the Phase-change random access memory (PCRAM) cells. In this study, we have simulated and found that the cells with the SLL dielectric have a higher peak temperature compared to that of the cells with the SiO2 dielectric after constant pulse activation, due to the interface scattering mechanism. Scaling of the SLL dielectric has resulted in higher peak temperatures, which can be even higher after material/structural modifications. Furthermore, the SLL dielectric has good material properties that enable the cells to have high endurance. This shows the effectiveness of the SLL dielectric for advanced memory applications.

Twelve strains of German cockroach, Blattella germanica (Linnaeus) were collected from various locations in Peninsular Malaysia and tested for their susceptibility to three groups of insecticides applied topically. The levels of resistance were low to high (2.8 to 92x) for carbamates (propoxur and bendiocarb), low (2.0 to 7.6x) for organophosphate (chlorpyrifos) and low to moderate (1.0 to 23x) for pyrethroids (cypermethrin and permethrin) when compared to a susceptible strain. Five strains, resistant to both cypermethrin and permethrin, were also resistant to DDT, phenothrin and deltamethrin. Propoxur resistance in ten strains was suppressed with the synergists, piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and S,S,S-tributylphosphorotrithioate (DEFR), suggesting monooxygenase and esterase involvement in the resistance. However, the levels of resistance for cypermethrin and permethrin were not affected when using either PBO or DEFR.

In Southeast Asian tropical rainforests, two events, severe droughts associated with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and general flowering, a type of community-wide mass flowering, occur at irregular, supra-annual intervals. The relationship between these two supra-annual events and patterns of insect population fluctuations has yet to be clearly elucidated. Leaf beetles (Chrysomelidae) are major herbivores and flower-visitors of canopy trees, affecting their growth and reproduction and, in turn, affected by tree phenology; but their population fluctuations in the Southeast Asian tropics have not been extensively investigated. We examined population fluctuation patterns of the 34 most dominant chrysomelid species in relation to the two supra-annual events by conducting monthly light-trapping over seven years in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Borneo. Our results showed large community variation in population fluctuation patterns and a supra-annual (between-year) variation in abundance for most of the dominant chrysomelids that was significantly larger than the annual (within-year) variation. Specifically, in response to a severe drought in 1998, chrysomelid species exhibited different population responses. These results show that population fluctuations of individual species, rather than the entire assemblage, must be analyzed to determine the effects of changes in environmental conditions on the structure of insect assemblages in the tropics, especially in regions where supra-annual environmental changes are relatively more important than seasonal changes.

Steady supersonic two-dimensional flows governed by the Navier–Stokes equations are considered. For flows past a thin body, the Oseen theory is shown to fail at large distances. An investigation of the equations bridging the linear and non-linear zones is made. From this, it follows that the resulting equations are a system of Burgers and diffusion equations. The Whitham theory is shown to result under the inviscid limit of our analysis. Various other limits are also obtained.

An explicit expression for flows past a thin airfoil is given, and the flow past a double wedge is exhibited in terms of known functions.

Steady, supersonic, dissipative, three-dimensional, axisymmetric flow is considered. A system of Burgers-type equations is shown to govern the flow field. In inviscid regions the Whitham theory gives the limiting form. Dissipative effects ultimately engulf the inviscid zone and at sufficiently large distances from the body the flow is governed by linear dissipative theory. The flow field is divided into zones based on the presence or absence of nonlinearity and dissipation. Estimates and criteria which describe the extent of these zones are given.

The growth temperature and properties of Ge4Sb3Te3 thin films are presented in this paper. The critical growth temperature of Ge4Sb3Te3 is between 300 and 340 °C. The Ge4Sb3Te3 films can only be grown on a substrate below the critical growth temperature. The typical resistivity and carrier density are in the order of 10-4 Ωcm and 1021 cm-3 for crystalline phase. It has a rock salt crystal structure with a lattice constant of 0.602 nm. Ge4Sb3Te3 has a better thermal stability but a lower crystallization speed than Ge2Sb2Te5.

In this paper, a three-dimensional finite-element modeling is performed for the analyses of Chalcogenide Random Access Memory (C-RAM), a non-rotation nonvolatile phase change memory cell. The thermal effect generated by an incident electric pulse was mainly discussed. Thermal performances of the cell as a result of electrical and geometrical variations were quantified. Current density distribution, temperature profiles, temperature history, heating rate, cooling rate, and heat flow characteristics were obtained and analyzed. The study is useful for the failure analysis of the C-RAM.