Browsing by Author "Wang X."

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    Airport selection criteria of low-cost carriers: A fuzzy analytical hierarchy process
    (Elsevier Ltd, 2020) Loh H.S.; Yuen K.F.; Wang X.; Surucu-Balci E.; Balci G.; Zhou Q.
    The selection of airport is an important consideration for low-cost carriers (LCCs) to remain cost competitive. The objective of this study is to identify and rank the airport selection criteria of LCCs. Based on reviewing the existing literature, five main factors comprising 16 sub-factors were developed. The factors were first validated by three industry experts from the aviation industry. Thereafter, a survey questionnaire requiring a comparison of the factors was administered on 28 executives who were involved in the strategy planning and formulation of LCCs based in China or Korea. The collected data were analysed using fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP). In descending order of their importance, the main factors influencing LCCs' selection of airport are (1) airport charges, (2) airport performance, (3) airport growth opportunities, (4) catchment area and (5) airport infrastructure. The top three sub-factors are airport costs, demand for LCC services and passenger throughput. The research contributes to academic research by providing a holistic assessment of the key considerations influencing LCCs' selection of airport. In addition, it implicates policy formulation of LCCs by providing a framework for assessment of airports that are suitable for LCCs’ operations. © 2019
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    Polygenic Risk Scores have high diagnostic capacity in ankylosing spondylitis
    (BMJ Publishing Group, 2021) Li Z.; Wu X.; Leo P.J.; De Guzman E.; Akkoc N.; Breban M.; MacFarlane G.J.; Mahmoudi M.; Marzo-Ortega H.; Anderson L.K.; Wheeler L.; Chou C.-T.; Harrison A.A.; Stebbings S.; Jones G.T.; Bang S.-Y.; Wang G.; Jamshidi A.; Farhadi E.; Song J.; Lin L.; Li M.; Wei J.C.-C.; Martin N.G.; Wright M.J.; Lee M.; Wang Y.; Zhan J.; Zhang J.-S.; Wang X.; Jin Z.-B.; Weisman M.H.; Gensler L.S.; Ward M.M.; Rahbar M.H.; Diekman L.; Kim T.-H.; Reveille J.D.; Wordsworth B.P.; Xu H.; Brown M.A.
    Objective We sought to test the hypothesis that Polygenic Risk Scores (PRSs) have strong capacity to discriminate cases of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) from healthy controls and individuals in the community with chronic back pain. Methods PRSs were developed and validated in individuals of European and East Asian ethnicity, using data from genome-wide association studies in 15 585 AS cases and 20 452 controls. The discriminatory values of PRSs in these populations were compared with other widely used diagnostic tests, including C-reactive protein (CRP), HLA-B27 and sacroiliac MRI. Results In people of European descent, PRS had high discriminatory capacity with area under the curve (AUC) in receiver operator characteristic analysis of 0.924. This was significantly better than for HLA-B27 testing alone (AUC=0.869), MRI (AUC=0.885) or C-reactive protein (AUC=0.700). PRS developed and validated in individuals of East Asian descent performed similarly (AUC=0.948). Assuming a prior probability of AS of 10% such as in patients with chronic back pain under 45 years of age, compared with HLA-B27 testing alone, PRS provides higher positive values for 35% of patients and negative predictive values for 67.5% of patients. For PRS, in people of European descent, the maximum positive predictive value was 78.2% and negative predictive value was 100%, whereas for HLA-B27, these values were 51.9% and 97.9%, respectively. Conclusions PRS have higher discriminatory capacity for AS than CRP, sacroiliac MRI or HLA-B27 status alone. For optimal performance, PRS should be developed for use in the specific ethnic groups to which they are to be applied. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
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    Preparation and Characterization of Hydroxyethyl Cellulose/Nanolignin Composite Films
    (North Carolina State University, 2024) Zor M.; Yazici H.; Şen F.; Eroğlu E.; Candan Z.; Rodrigue D.; Wang X.
    Hydroxyethyl cellulose/nanolignin composite films were prepared and characterized. The composite films were produced via casting of synthesized nanolignin added to hydroxyethyl cellulose at different concentrations (2.5%, 5%, 10%, and 20% by mass). A control film without nanolignin was also prepared for comparison. The thermal properties of the composite films were examined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), while the mechanical properties were determined by tensile testing and the surface properties were determined by water contact angle measurements. In addition, the morphologies of the samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that with the addition of nano lignin, the glass transition temperature of the composite films increased from 109 °C to 262 °C; the elongation at break increased from 19% to 51%; and the contact angles increased from 53 °C to 73 °C. The results showed that the presence of nanolignin produced materials being more flexible and more hydrophobic with higher glass transition temperatures. © 2024, North Carolina State University. All rights reserved.