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Melamine sponge (MS) is a commercial material with low density, high porosity, and superior elasticity, which has been utilized to design and produce three‐dimensional (3D) porous sponge-like sensors. Notably, this material is environment‐friendly and inexpensive. In the present study, an MS filled with various hybrid source bridges, as 3D porous sponges, was designed and prepared by using a simple and low-cost immerse-filling method and then submerged into various hybrid source mixtures with the support of an MS framework with a hole-opened structure. The structurally morphological, chemical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the as-obtained 3D porous sponges were further determined for potential changes in the structure of these sponges after filling the hybrid source mixtures in/on the MS framework. The presence of functional hybrid sources in the 3D porous sponges indicated that such sponges have reached a good sensitivity, stretch ability, and repeatability under compressing, stretching, bending, and twisting deformations. In addition, these sponges were effectively applied for detecting and monitoring concomitantly small- and large-scale movements of the human body, that is, the various motions of the knee, elbow, finger, wrist, and foot insole. Therefore, the 3D porous sponges prepared in this study can be considered as a promising candidate for practical applications as flexible or wearable devices.

Rotor field and damper windings are critical components of wound field synchronous machines (WFSM), where faults can degrade the performance and lead to forced outage of the machine. This necessitates timely and reliable fault detection as false positive indications can cause unwarranted economic losses in case the machine is disassembled prematurely. Applying multiple offline test methods in tandem with online monitoring can minimize the likelihood of false indications. In this letter, a simple offline test method based on the ac impedance of the rotor winding is presented. It is shown that field and damper winding faults can be detected and differentiated without machine disassembly. Experimental testing on three WFSMs verifies that the proposed method can provide a simple test for identifying field and damper winding faults with high sensitivity, and also complement existing tests for improving the reliability of fault diagnosis.

To the best of our knowledge, there have been no investigations of longitudinal asthma trajectories based on asthma exacerbation frequency and medications required for asthma control in children.

Semiconductor–metal nanocomposites have been widely investigated to modify the intrinsic properties of materials used for optoelectronic devices and sensing applications. In this study, a method for rapid synthesis of MoS2–Ag nanocomposites vialaser-assisted photoreduction was proposed. For the photoreduction process, we used AgNO3solution as a metal source. Under laser irradiation, Ag ions were easily reduced on MoS2by photo-generated electrons from MoS2. The optical properties of MoS2–Ag nanocomposites were easily controlled by simple adjustment of the photoreduction time. To investigate the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) effect of the MoS2–Ag nanocomposites, the SERS spectra of methylene blue (MB) on MoS2–Ag nanocomposites were measured, and the nanocomposites were found to enhance the Raman scattering intensity of MB up to ∼106. Therefore, the laser-assisted photoreduction method has great potential for rapid synthesis and optical tuning of semiconductor–metal nanocomposites.

Utilization of the interaction between spin and heat currents is the central focus of the field of spin caloritronics. Chiral phonons possessing angular momentum arising from the broken symmetry of a non-magnetic material create the potential for generating spin currents at room temperature in response to a thermal gradient, precluding the need for a ferromagnetic contact. Here we show the observation of spin currents generated by chiral phonons in a two-dimensional layered hybrid organic–inorganic perovskite implanted with chiral cations when subjected to a thermal gradient. The generated spin current shows a strong dependence on the chirality of the film and external magnetic fields, of which the coefficient is orders of magnitude larger than that produced by the reported spin Seebeck effect. Our findings indicate the potential of chiral phonons for spin caloritronic applications and offer a new route towards spin generation in the absence of magnetic materials.

The epoxidation reaction of the vegetable oil derivative methyl oleate with tert-butyl hydroperoxide in the presence of amorphous Ti–SiO2catalysts prepared by different methods using various silica sources was carried out. The reaction conditions were optimized. The relation between the properties of the catalysts such as specific surface area as well as titanium dispersion and the catalytic performance was in focus of the investigation. Based on the catalytic results in small batch reactors, the reaction was scaled up in a larger 4 L batch-reactor. Thereby similar conversions and selectivities were obtained in comparison with the small scale experiments.

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Smart biosensors attract significant interest due to real‐time monitoring of user health status, where bioanalytical electronic devices designed to detect various activities and biomarkers in the human body have potential applications in physical sign monitoring and health care. Bioelectronics can be well integrated by output signals with wireless communication modules for transferring data to portable devices used as smart biosensors in performing real‐time diagnosis and analysis. In this review, the scientific keys of biosensing devices and the current trends in the field of smart biosensors, (functional materials, technological approaches, sensing mechanisms, main roles, potential applications and challenges in health monitoring) will be summarized. Recent advances in the design and manufacturing of bioanalytical sensors with smarter capabilities and enhanced reliability indicate a forthcoming expansion of these smart devices from laboratory to clinical analysis. Therefore, a general description of functional materials and technological approaches used in bioelectronics will be presented after the sections of scientific keys to bioanalytical sensors. A careful introduction to the established systems of smart monitoring and prediction analysis using bioelectronics, regarding the integration of machine‐learning‐based basic algorithms, will be discussed. Afterward, applications and challenges in development using these smart bioelectronics in biological, clinical, and medical diagnostics will also be analyzed. Finally, the review will conclude with outlooks of smart biosensing devices assisted by machine learning algorithms, wireless communications, or smartphone‐based systems on current trends and challenges for future works in wearable health monitoring. This review summarizes key issues and offers suggestions for the novel use and integration of smart biosensors in real‐time health monitoring process, as well as provides insight into their material functionality and technological approaches. With smart established systems, bioelectronics can be able to accurately provide capabilities for diagnosing health conditions.

Little is known about temporal trends of pregnant women’s exposures to environmental phenols and parabens. We quantified four phenols [bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F, bisphenol S, and triclosan), four parabens [butyl paraben, ethyl paraben (ETPB), methyl paraben (MEPB), and propyl paraben (PRPB)], and triclocarban in 760 urine samples collected during 2007–2014 from 218 California pregnant women participating in a high-familial risk autism spectrum disorder cohort. We applied multiple regression to compute least square geometric means of urinary concentrations and computed average annual percent changes. We compared our urinary concentrations with those of other study populations to examine geographic variations in pregnant women’s exposure to these target compounds. Urinary concentrations of BPA, MEPB, ETPB, and PRPB in this study population decreased over the study period [percent change per year (95% confidence interval): −5.7% (−8.2%, −3.2%); −13.0% (−18.1%, −7.7%); −5.5% (−11.0%, 0.3%); and −13.3% (−18.3%, −8.1%), respectively] and were consistently lower than those in pregnant women in other U.S. regions during the same study period. In recent years, certain phenols and parabens with known adverse health effects are being regulated or replaced with alternatives, which explains decreased body burdens observed in this study population. Either the national regulations or the advocacy campaigns in California may have influenced exposures or consumer product choices.

The challenges in achieving a green and scalable integration of two-dimensional (2D) materials with flexible polymer substrates present a major barrier for the application of 2D materials, such as graphene, MoS2, and h-BN for flexible devices. Here, we create a sono-assisted surface energy driven assembly (SASEDA) method that can achieve foot-scale to micrometer-scale assembly of 2D materials, form a conductive network in as short as 10 s, and build hierarchical and hybrid flexible devices such as sensors, resistors, and capacitors by using water as the dispersion solvent. SASEDA highlights two counterintuitive innovations. First, we use an “unfavorable” solvent (i.e., water) for both 2D materials (e.g., graphene, MoS2, and h-BN) and polymer substrates (e.g., polydimethylsiloxane) to drive the assembly process. Second, we use a weak sono-field (0.3 W/cm2) generated by a regular sonication bath cleaner to enhance the assembly efficiency and reorganize and unify the assembly network. This method and its principle pave the way toward affordable large-scale 2D material-based flexible devices.

This study aimed to evaluate the pretransplant diffusing capacity as a predictor of outcomes in pediatric allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Retrospective cohort study of 176 children followed outcomes for 5 years after allo-HSCT. We conducted an analysis of PFTs include spirometry, body plethysmography, and diffusing capacity prior to allo-HSCT. We analyzed the probabilities of overall survival (OS), disease-related mortality (DRM), and non-relapse mortality (NRM). Of all carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLCO) parameters obtained using the Global Lung Function Initiative (GLI)-2017, univariate analysis showed that the grade 3, 4 of DLCOadj and Category III, IV of LFS significantly increase NRM (p= 0.003 and p= 0.008). Multivariate analysis indicated that a significant increase in the risk of NRM is associated with grades 3, 4 DLCOadj (hazard ratio [HR] = 4.90, p= 0.020). Kaplan–Meier analyses showed that a significant stepwise increase in NRM was observed with both worse pretransplant DLCOadj grades and LFS categories (p< 0.001 and p= 0.003). A compromised pretransplant diffusing capacity and a high LFS significantly increase the risk of NRM. Especially, DLCOadj before transplantation can be used as an important predictor of NRM after allo-HSCT in children with malignancy.

Obstructive lung disease (OLD) that develops after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has a significant impact on morbidity and mortality. We investigated the role of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in the prediction of prognosis of OLD in children who have undergone HSCT. We retrospectively reviewed 538 patients who underwent allogenic HSCT in the Department of Pediatrics, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, South Korea, from April 2009 to July 2017. OLD was identified on PFTs or chest computed tomography scans obtained from 3 months after HSCT onwards. OLD developed after HSCT in 46 patients (28 male individuals, median age: 11.2 y). The group that developed OLD with an unfavorable prognosis (n=23) had a lower forced vital capacity (FVC) (% of predicted, 78.53±24.00 vs. 97.71±16.96, P=0.01), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (% of predicted, 52.54±31.77 vs. 84.44±18.59, P=0.00), FEV1/FVC (%, 59.28±18.68 vs. 79.94±9.77, P=0.00), and forced expiratory flow at 25% to 75% of forced vital capacity (FEF25-75) (% of predicted, 30.95±39.92 vs. 57.82±25.71, P=0.00) at diagnosis than the group that developed OLD with a favorable prognosis (n=23). The group that developed OLD with an unfavorable prognosis had significant reductions in FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and FEF25-75at 2 years after diagnosis. Children who develop OLD with an unfavorable prognosis after HSCT already have poor lung function at the time of diagnosis. Additional treatment should be considered in patients who develop OLD after HSCT according to their PFTs at diagnosis.

This study characterized the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and ionic components of PM2.5(particles less than 2.5 µm in diameter) from April to June 2016, at Baengnyeong Island The study utilized a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) coupled with a total organic carbon (TOC) analyzer and ion chromatography (PILS-TOC-IC). The PM2.5mean concentration in this study was 23.8±16.7 µg m-3, and the mean of WSOC concentration was 1.6±1.5 µg m-3. Ionic compounds increased by 3.8% in the period in which the air quality standard of PM2.5(35 µg m-3) was exceeded because the concentration of ionic components increased due to generation by chemical reactions and emissions from a primary source in a nearby urban area. The wind direction and speed were mostly in the northwest and southwest directions and the higher concentration of PM2.5was also shown in the same directions. In comparison with the previous study, the WSOC/OC ratio was 0.5±0.3 in Baengnyeong Island, which was higher than that at roadside and urban sites and lower than at the background site (Sweden, Aspvreten). It was considered that insoluble OC constituted a major proportion of primary OC that was emitted in urban areas, and the higher WSOC/OC ratios of rural and background sites were affected by inflow. The ratio of nitrate and sulfate in Baengnyeong Island was lower than urban areas in China in other studies, because of emitted aerosols from coal combustion or vehicle emission. The results indicate that Baengnyeong Island was affected by formation of secondary aerosols by chemical reactions and inflow from China as well as domestic emissions. The slope of H+Aersol/SO42-in Baengnyeong Island was 0.079, which was a result of neutralized particle acidity in ambient air. The molar ratio of nitrate and ammonium with sulfate in Baengnyeong Island showed ammoniumrich conditions because ammonium nitrate was increased to homogeneous reaction of ammonia and nitric acid in the gas-phase.

Carbon nanotube (CNT) has excellent properties as a coating material. However, most methods for CNT coating have limitations. Recent studies have shown that polydopamine (PDA) can be used as a good and eco-friendly corrosion resistance coating material. However, the effect of PDA/CNT nanocomposite coating on the corrosion mitigation property of carbon steel (CS) remains unknown. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of PDA/CNT nanocomposite coating on the corrosion mitigation property of carbon steel (CS). A dopamine (DA)/CNT composite was first synthesized. CNT length was controlled by sonication. Based on dynamic light scattering, field emission transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy analyses, average lengths of CNTs in long and short DA-CNTs were 500 and 50 nm, respectively. Carbon steel specimens were subjected to corrosion resistance analysis using electrochemical methods. Results of electrochemical tests showed that corrosion resistance of CS coated with PDA and PDA/CNTs were dramatically higher than those of bare CS. This corrosion mitigation was attributed to two mechanisms. First, PDA decreased the corrosion rate due to the generation of a thin and dense layer on the surface. Second, CNTs suppressed the cathodic partial reaction due to oxygen adsorption at defect sites of CNTs.

This study aimed to identify the factors causing NH3emissions in the South Korean Peninsula and West Sea region. To analyze the trends of NH3and other air pollutants, such as NOx, CO, and NR-PM1, we collected samples from six supersites across the peninsula, a roadside in Seoul, and the West Sea over different sampling periods, ranging from 1 month to 1 year. The highest NH3concentrations were found at rural areas, ascribed to agricultural activities, particularly NH4NO3decomposition at high summer temperatures. Areas with low population densities recorded the lowest NH3concentrations, attributed to the lack of anthropogenic activities. A roadside field experiment confirmed the close link between ambient NH3and vehicle emissions in urban regions by showing a strong correlation between CO and NOxconcentrations and that of NH3. Moreover, we examined oceanic emissions near the eastern coast of South Korea in the West Sea. Long-range transportation studies confirmed that most of the pollutants (NH3, CO, and PM1) were transported by wind from the northeastern region of China. A maritime origin study showed that oceanic emissions and NH4NO3decomposition in the atmosphere owing to high temperatures were the causing NH3pollution. These findings provided valuable insights into the emission sources of NH3in primary air pollutants in South Korea, highlighting the contributions of land-based and oceanic sources. Our study can help inform policymakers and stakeholders for developing effective regional air pollution control strategies.

While two-dimensional layered nanomaterials including transition metal oxides and transition metal dichalcogenides have been widely researched because of their unique electronic and optical properties, they still have some limitations. To overcome these limitations, transition metal oxides and transition metal dichalcogenides based nanocomposites have been developed using various methods and have exhibited superior properties. In this paper, we introduce the photodeposition method and review the photodeposition of metal nanoparticles on the surface of transition metal oxide and transition metal dichalcogenides. Their current applications are also explained, such as photocatalysis, hydrogen evolution reaction, surface enhanced Ramanscattering, etc. This approach for nanocomposites has potential for future research areas such as photocatalysis, hydrogen evolution reaction, surface enhanced Raman scattering, and other applications. This approach for nanocomposite has the potential for future research areas.

In this research, to improve photocatalytic organic pollutant removal, we synthesized amorphous MoSx(a-MoSx) and Ag on TiO2via a two-step photodeposition method. The As-synthesized TiO2/a-MoSx/Ag (TMA) photocatalyst exhibited a highly enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance of methylene blue which showed 3.6 times higher reaction rate constant than that of TiO2photocatalyst. Furthermore, TMA photocatalyst was applied to the ultrafiltration (UF) membrane to mitigate fouling of the membrane. To realize a stable immobilization of photocatalyst on the membrane surface, polydopamine (PDA), which is a biocompatible mussel-inspired adhesive material, was utilized to form an adhesive layer. After PDA coating, TMA photocatalyst was stably deposited on the UF membrane, resulting to increased hydrophilicity. Fouling was successfully mitigated by photocatalytic self-cleaning property of TMA deposited UF membrane and flux recovery ratio was improved by 28% under irradiation. Owing to the simple and easy approach of both photodeposition-based heterostructure photocatalyst synthesis and post-processing of photocatalyst coating on the membrane, we present that our strategy for membrane fouling mitigation is suitable for future membrane technology.

Supported lipid bilayers (SLBs) are commonly used to investigate interactions between cell membranes and their environment. These model platforms can be formed on electrode surfaces and analyzed using electrochemical methods for bioapplications. Carbon nanotube porins (CNTPs) integrated with SLBs have emerged as promising artificial ion channel platforms. In this study, we present the integration and ion transport characterization of CNTPs in in vivoenvironments. We combine experimental and simulation data obtained from electrochemical analysis to analyze the membrane resistance of the equivalent circuits. Our results show that carrying CNTPs on a gold electrode results in high conductance for monovalent cations (K+and Na+) and low conductance for divalent cations (Ca2+).

In the present study, the interfacial surface of glass fiber, i.e., GF-like inorganic membrane, was modified using the functional groups of graphene oxide (GO)/chitosan (CTS) hybrid network for the first time. It is considered as a successful incorporation to fabricate the GO/CTS-GF-GO/CTS (GC-GF-GC) composite membrane for wastewater treatment applications, using a very simple and low-cost casting process, which can become a promising adsorptive membrane (AM). More obviously, the adsorption performance of the AM in removing cationic and anionic dyes was excellent, and it exhibited superb recycling performance compared to other existing types of AM. In addition, the adsorption performance was shown to be consistent with the pseudo-second-order and Langmuir models, regard with a chemical adsorption and a monolayer approach, respectively. Due to the additional linking bond formations and interactions between the GF surface and the active GC hybrid network through their functional groups, the dye adsorption and desorption capacities were significantly enhanced. The interfacial GF surface was formed by its interfacial linking bridges, as well as it sustained the composite membrane and provided an outstanding performance in the recycling approach. Thus, the GC-GF-GC membrane is a superb adsorbent for wastewater treatment that may contribute to build an eco-friendly AM in this field, i.e., the organic dye removal in textile industries wastewater.

Ginsenoside Re (Re) is one of the main ginsenosides which are known to be responsible for diverse pharmacological properties of ginseng, widely used as a dietary supplement and a general tonic. The present work was undertaken to evaluate the antioxidative property of Re by analyzing reactive oxygen species (ROS), nitric oxide (NO), pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 (proMMP-2) and -9 (proMMP-9), total glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in normal, unstressed HaCaT keratinocytes. When HaCaT cells were subjected to Re, Re suppressed the ROS and NO levels in a concentration-dependent manner. Re at concentrations used exhibited no cytotoxicity on the cellular viabilities of HaCaT cells. It was also able to attenuate proMMP-2 and -9 at both activity and protein levels. On the contrary, Re was capable of enhancing the total GSH and SOD activity levels. The findings suggest that Re has an antioxidative property through the upregulation of some antioxidant components, including total GSH and SOD, in HaCaT keratinocytes, which then can play its underlying role in maintaining the cellular redox homeostasis.

Proton transport plays an important role in many biological processes due to the ability of protons to rapidly translocate along chains of hydrogen-bonded water molecules. Molecular dynamics simulations have predicted that confinement in hydrophobic nanochannels should enhance the rate of proton transport. Here, we show that 0.8-nm-diameter carbon nanotube porins, which promote the formation of one-dimensional water wires, can support proton transport rates exceeding those of bulk water by an order of magnitude. The transport rates in these narrow nanotube pores also exceed those of biological channels and Nafion. With larger 1.5-nm-diameter nanotube porins, proton transport rates comparable to bulk water are observed. We also show that the proton conductance of these channels can be modulated by the presence of Ca2+ions. Our results illustrate the potential of small-diameter carbon nanotube porins as a proton conductor material and suggest that strong spatial confinement is a key factor in enabling efficient proton transport.

This work aimed to evaluate the skin anti-photoaging properties of ginsenoside Rb3 (Rb3), one of the main protopanaxdiol-type ginsenosides from ginseng, in HaCaT keratinocytes. The skin anti-photoaging activity was assessed by analyzing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), pro-matrix metalloproteinase-2 (proMMP-2), pro-matrix metalloproteinase-9 (proMMP-9), total glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity as well as cell viability in HaCaT keratinocytes under UV-B irradiation. When HaCaT keratinocytes were exposed to Rb3 prior to UV-B irradiation, Rb3 exhibited suppressive activities on UV-B-induced ROS, proMMP-2, and proMMP-9 enhancements. On the contrary, Rb3 displayed enhancing activities on UV-B-reduced total GSH and SOD activity levels. Rb3 could not interfere with cell viabilities in UV-B-irradiated HaCaT keratinocytes. Rb3 plays a protective role against UV-B-induced oxidative stress in human HaCaT keratinocytes, proposing its potential skin anti-photoaging properties.

Ginsenoside Ro (Ro), an oleanolic acid-type ginsenoside, exhibited suppressive activities on reactive oxygen species (ROS) and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) elevation in UV-B-irradiated fibroblasts. Ro could overcome the reduction of the total glutathione (GSH) contents in UV-B-irradiated fibroblasts. Ro could not interfere with cell viabilities in UV-B-irradiated fibroblasts. Collectively, Ro possesses a potential skin anti-photoaging property against UV-B radiation in fibroblasts.

Ginsenosides, also known as ginseng saponins, are the principal bioactive ingredients of ginseng, which are responsible for its diverse pharmacological activities. The present work aimed to assess skin anti-photoaging properties of ginsenoside Rb2 (Rb2), one of the predominant protopanaxadiol-type ginsenosides, in human epidermal keratinocyte HaCaT cells under UV-B irradiation. When the cultured keratinocytes were subjected to Rb2 prior to UV-B irradiation, Rb2 displayed suppressive activities on UV-B-induced reactive oxygen species elevation and matrix metalloproteinase-2 expression and secretion. However, Rb2 at the used concentrations was unable to modulate cellular survivals in the UV-B-irradiated keratinocytes. In brief, Rb2 possesses a protective role against the photoaging of human keratinocyte cells under UV-B irradiation.

Ginsenoside Re (Re), a major ginsenoside of ginseng, enhanced the cornified cell envelope (CE) formation in HaCaT keratinocytes under normal conditions. In HaCaT keratinocytes, Re was also able to upregulate filaggrin protein and caspase-14 activity in a concentration-dependent manner. These findings reasonably imply that Re possesses a desirable property of improving skin barrier function.

Artificial membrane systems allow researchers to study the structure and function of membrane proteins in a matrix that approximates their natural environment and to integrate these proteins in ex vivo devices such as electronic biosensors, thin-film protein arrays, or biofuel cells. Given that most membrane proteins have vectorial functions, both functional studies and applications require effective control over protein orientation within a lipid bilayer. In this work, we explored the role of the bilayer surface charge in determining transmembrane protein orientation and functionality during formation of proteoliposomes. We reconstituted a model vectorial ion pump, proteorhodopsin, in liposomes of opposite charges and varying charge densities and determined the resultant protein orientation. Antibody-binding assay and proteolysis of proteoliposomes showed physical evidence of preferential orientation, and functional assays verified the vectorial nature of ion transport in this system. Our results indicate that the manipulation of lipid composition can indeed control orientation of an asymmetrically charged membrane protein, proteorhodopsin, in liposomes.

AbstractThis research study aims to discover the relationships among the fashion of characters, storytelling, and game satisfaction in Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games(MMORPG) in order to examine the influence of the fashion of characters in games on storytelling and game satisfaction, and to identify the following constructs: fashion of characters, storytelling, and game satisfaction.The global game market has grown rapidly every year since the introduction of computer games. The size of the global game market in 2010 was 6 billion dollars, and the online game market captured 64.2% of the total market. The competition in the online game market has become increasingly fierce in South Korea. Millions of people now spend several hours per week on MMORPGs, which have several features that attract a large number of users. First, the world of MMORPGs is open and user-oriented. Many game users interact with each other in the same space and play games in their own way. MMORPGs also have continuous updates, which allow for the dissemination of sequence stories and provides new content to game users.Many MMORPGs are released each year, and each has its own story, characters, and system to attract and satisfy game users. However, due to the maturity of the game market, there are a few differences among the games (particularly in reference to game systems and services). Therefore, the fashion of characters in the game can serve as one of the important elements that provide enjoyment for users who partake in the online game industry. As is the case in the real world, game users in the virtual world prefer beautiful and chic characters to ugly characters.Good-looking people are likely to have better interpersonal interactions and thus develop more satisfying interpersonal relationships, while ugly people frequently fail in interpersonal interactions. Regardless of age, people like to make friends with others who are outwardly attractive.In online games, the characters represent all of the players, even though players are free to choose what role they want to play. In addition, many gamers spend money to purchase items in order to have unique character appearances and fashion styles.People who play games desire to express their identity and aesthetic sensibilities through their characters. The apperance of the characters is the main component that game users use to express their own personalities within the MMORPG environment.Stories and storytelling are the most efficient means by which to understand customer psychology. Using the Internet, many people upload their experiences and other useful information onto their blogs or community sites and share these information pieces with friends as well as with unknown community members. People naturally think in narratives rather than in arguments or in paradigms, and stories that include rousing incidents, experiences, and summaries/nuances of person-to-person and person-and-brand relationships within specific contexts enhance strong feelings of presence while playing a game.An existing game user’s story can influence new game users. Game users share their experiences and the pros and cons of the game with other game users through blogs or gaming community websites. Through these postings, those who were not initially interested in a particular game eventually develop an interest.Game users tend to share their useful information with other game users by using game communities and do so without any monetary profit. In visiting these gaming community websites, game users look for new and/or humorous information. An online gaming community consists of a group of users who interact with each other via the Internet, create fantasy roles, develop online relationships, share common interests, and indulge their need for entertainment by playing their own virtual roles. As new users gather more information regarding a particular game and increase their level of experience within this realm, the probability of them choosing said particular game increases.The satisfaction that customers attain from online games is an emotional reaction that occurs in response to an assessment from the experiences of playing said games. Many influential factors exist that correspond with product features and affect the satisfaction level of consumers with regard to online games. These include the connection speed, stability of server connectors, emotional experience, services, challenges presented within the games themselves and interpersonal relationships formed with other players. Online games use an international set of standards (reliability, usability, functionality, efficiency, maintainability, and portability) for their evaluation, which is suitable for a given purpose such as software quality characteristics (ISO/ICE 9126, 2001).Visual stimulation can more easily lead to immersion than other forms of stimulation, and online gaming mainly uses this visual stimulation through the gamer’s monitor so that gamers tend to be immersed in a game and feel satisfied.Data collection resulted in 235 usable responses from MMORPG users, and the accompanying demographic information included age, gender, education, employment, and time spent per day on gaming.The user age in the sample ranges from 15 to 44, and there were 178 respondents (75.7%) ages 21 to 31 (average 27) and 51 respondents over 35 years of age (10.2%). Males made up 91.1% of the sample, and females made up 8.9% (21 in total). The majority of participants reported spending approximately 2.4 hours playing games each day.The mean score of each sub-construct is calculated and used for further analysis, and the measurement model provides a satisfactory fit to the data. The fit indices are as follows: χ2 (11) = 34.151, which is statistically significant (p < .001); goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = (.958); normed fit index (NFI) = (.947); incremental fit index (IFI) = (.963); comparative fit index (CFI) = (.963); and root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = (.095), indicating a high level of validity for the measures. Thus, the measures of the gaming customers’ data demonstrate adequate convergent validity.Examination of the overall model fit reveals the Chi-square standard coefficient of fashion of character on storytelling, which is found to be .805 (t=7.716) and which is significant (p < .001). The standard coefficient of fashion of character on game satisfaction is found to be .556 (t=3.111), which is significant (p < .005). The standard coefficient of storytelling on game satisfaction is found to be .516 (t = 2.997), which is significant (p < .005). Thus, all hypotheses are supported based on the results of the analyses.The fashion of character in MMORPGs is an important element for game satisfaction even though it differs from one game to another. Many games provide various options for fashioning one’s game character. However, online game companies should increase game satisfaction further by providing services such as altering a character’s appearance, clothes, and fashion. In addition, the game environment should support players’ desires to manage the fashion of their characters. In this research model, the storytelling of game users has a positive influence on game satisfaction in MMORPGs, as has been shown to be the case by many previous research studies in this field.For further research, it is necessary to conduct the same survey in several countries as well as across other online game genres.

AbstractAs leisure time is extended, the time that consumers spend at one shopping space increases, and complex shopping malls are taking center stage as a new type of retail venue, channeling family-focused shopping culture by allowing, the whole family to enjoy themselves at the same time in a space with both shopping space and entertainment facilities. With their new combination of traditional retail activities with entertainment elements, these complex shopping malls satisfy a variety of consumer’ needs, changing buying patterns, in the competitive distribution market. Complex shopping malls are evolving into a living space that offers goods, service, entertainment facilities, and a variety of experiences.Companies have been increasingly employing SNS as a new marketing communication tool. Companies can appeal to consumers and cut marketing costs through use of SNS. Companies use SNS as an important means of marketing to form, keep, and develop relations with consumers. These social network service marketing activities influence complex shopping malls and the malls form relationships with consumers with Twitter, Facebook, and blogs.The final purpose of this study is to suggest a marketing strategy for complex shopping malls by categorizing consumers according to customer equity and lifestyle and by discovering their characteristics through mall image and awareness of users of SNS of complex shopping malls.An online survey of followers of Twitter operated by Mall A and Mall B.The questionnaire was conducted in October 2011 among Twitter followers of Mall A, and the 220 questionnaires that were returned were used in statistical analysis. The 261 questionnaires returned by Twitter followers of Mall B from October 2011 to November 2011 were also used in the statistical analysis.The data of this study were analyzed using the Amos 18, SPSS 18.0 program.Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to analyze the validity and reliance of the study parameters and reliance analysis was conducted to confirm the consistency of the questions in the criteria. The structured equation model was used for hypothesis testing and cluster analysis was conducted to analyze the lifestyle of SNS users and to separate groups. Multiple group analysis was conducted to investigate the relationships of each parameter in each cluster.The outcomes of the study are summarized as follows:First, a survey of social network service users of complex shopping malls was performed to identify mall awareness and image.Second, the effect of mall image on self-congruity was confirmed. Customers acknowledged the shopping mall as a self-extension or part of themselves when they feel that self-image and mall image correspond.Third, mall awareness proved to have no effect on mall commitment. A customer’s mere awareness of a shopping mall can hardly be extended to commitment to that shopping mall.Fourth, self-congruity has a significant, positive effect on shopping mall commitment, because self-congruity makes customers more dependent on the shopping mall, continuous commitment results, not to mention emotional commitment.Fifth, the hypothesis that the higher is the customer’s commitment to the shopping mall, the higher is the loyalty, proved to be correct.Sixth, loyalty proved to have an effect on customer equity.Seventh, shopping mall awareness was found to have an effect on customer equity.Eighth, this study classified customer groups into the three categories of fashion-oriented, sociability-oriented, and rationality-oriented, according to the lifestyles of users of multipurpose shopping malls’ SNS.Implications obtained from the study include the following:In a bid to provide assistance in developing marketing strategies for complex shopping malls using social network services, social network service users were categorized by characteristics, and the differences in the use and awareness of SNS were identified.This study reviewed previous studies on SNS and lifestyle at home and abroad, but the questions on lifestyle focusing on fundamental SNS users have yet to be developed, presenting difficulties in fully describing the lifestyles of SNS users. Thus, further study to develop the more specific and reliable questions regarding the lifestyles of SNS users should be pursued.

AbstractThe purposes of this study are 1) to understand the roles of product attributes (i.e., intrinsic cues: aesthetic and functional cues, extrinsic cues: brand image) with regard to perceptions of value and repurchase decisions and 2) to understand the moderating effects of price and consumer nationality on the relationships between product attributes (i.e., aesthetic and functional cues, brand image), perceived values (i.e., psychological value, economical value), and repurchase intention.A sampling plan was developed to ensure that the study included certain types of respondents. Data collection was conducted at three universities located in the Midwestern United States, in Seoul in the Republic of Korea, and in Paris, France. The samples consisted of undergraduate and graduate students who volunteered for the study. This study investigated cross-cultural differences in the consumption of jeans in three countries, the USA, France and Korea.Questionnaires were distributed to 1,000 respondents between January 4 and March 20, 2010. Of the 778 returned, 269 were collected from Seoul, 172 from the US Midwest, and 307 from Paris. For the data analysis, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), path analysis for modeling test, mediation analysis, multi-group analysis were estimated using Amos 17.0.The following conclusions have been drawn from the results of this research:First, in postpurchase contexts, the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic cues on repurchase intentions is different. The intrinsic cues (i.e., aesthetics and functionality) affected repurchase intentions indirectly, mediated by perceived psychological and economic value. The extrinsic cues (e.g., brand image) influenced repurchase intentions directly. These results suggest that extrinsic cues such as brand image are more important than intrinsic cues in postpurchase contexts.Second, price plays a significant role in moderating the relationships between product attributes, perceived value and repurchase intentions. Functional cues had a greater impact on perceived economic value for products in the low-price category. Brand image had a greater impact on repurchase intentions for low-price products. These findings suggest that brand image is important to consumers in purchasing low-priced jeans, but that price may be an important determinant for consumers in deciding whether to purchase high-priced jeans.Third, consumers in Korea, the USA, and France differed with regard to the relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic cues, perceived value and repurchase intentions in their purchasing decisions. For Korean consumers, functional cues did not have a strong influence on perceived value and repurchase intentions. Korean consumers may not consider functional cues to be as important as aesthetic cues in their repurchase decision-making process. American consumers infer economic value from aesthetic and functional cues. French consumers infer economic value from functional cues, but Korean consumers infer economic value from emotional aspects such as aesthetic cues.For American consumers, functional cues played a more important role in determining perceived value than other cues, brand image had a more significant influence on perceived economic value, and perceived economic value significantly influenced repurchase intentions. This result may be because brand image influences perceived economic value and repurchase intentions directly for American consumers. This finding is consistent with the research of Chen-Yu et al. (2010), who found that American consumers tended to consider how well-known a brand was to be more important than Korean consumers did.For French consumers, aesthetic cues influenced perceived psychological value and functional cues influenced perceived economic value. They evaluated the psychological value of jeans on the basis of aesthetic cues and their economic value on the basis of functional cues. They formed their repurchase intentions on the basis of perceived psychological value and brand image. This study has suggested that aesthetic cues and brand image are the most important predictor variables in jeans-repurchase decision-making processes for French consumers. Their repurchase intentions with regard to jeans are formed only on the basis of their perceptions of the jeans' psychological value. The results of this study have a number of managerial implications for global jeans-producing companies.

AbstractThe concept of customer equity brings together customer value management, brand management, and relationship/retention management. However, the model put forth by Rust, Lemon, and Zeithaml (2000) does not include a consideration of the concept of loyalty, as in Vogel, Evanschitzky, and Ramaseshan (2008). In contrast to customer equity, customer loyalty involves an intention to engage in future purchase behavior with the same firm or brand. Its drivers are complex and dynamic, usually changing over time. Although plenty of researchers have studied those factors, the present study follows that of Johnson, Herrmann, and Huber (2006) and Vogel et al. (2008), which suggest that customer equity drivers can also drive customer loyalty.Thus, the present paper sets out to support this conclusion in the sports shoes industry, and to discover the differences in the influence customer equity drivers have on customer loyalty in Korea and China. This is because the product choices of consumers and their preferences for a particular product or brand are generally influenced by complex social factors (Yau, 1994). From 450 respondents in the countries’ capitals who answered the study questionnaire, the Korean sample included 125 university students and 75 fashion industry employees from Seoul, while the Chinese sample included 150 university students and 59 fashion industry employees from Beijing.To test the hypotheses, we first employed structural equation modeling with the maximum likelihood estimation method using the model without moderator. Then, for testing the differences between the two groups, a multi-group analysis with AMOS 7.0 was used to assess the moderating variable effects on the structural model (Byrne, 2001).Our research extends the literature on the outcomes of the three drivers of customer equity: value equity, relationship equity, and brand equity. The survey data of the study were used to examine their effects on customer loyalty, and the effect of customer loyalty on customer equity. The study’s focus on a specific industry, sports shoes, also extends the customer equity research into a different area.Our findings show that the customer equity model can be only partly supported. Relationship equity and brand equity can drive customer equity in the sports shoes industry. Results also show that value equity, relationship equity, and brand equity positively influence customers’ loyalty toward sports shoes brands, whereas customer loyalty has a positive effect on customer equity in that industry. Thus, value equity, relationship equity, and brand equity are not only the drivers of customer equity, but can drive customer loyalty as well. In the sports shoe industry, firms should keep investing in marketing activities targeted toward increasing the perceived equity of value, relationships, and brand. However, different nationalities can show different relationships among the customer equity drivers, customer loyalty and customer equity.Our study, though subject to several limitations, can provide several managerial implications for sports shoe firms. First, findings from testing customer equity in the sports shoe market show that value equity, relationship equity, and brand equity are the drivers of customer loyalty, suggesting that a sports shoes firm must meet customer expectations, create better relationships with customers, and increase the equity of the brands. Second, when managers make decisions about how to enter a new market, or how to improve customer loyalty, cultural and market differences should be considered.

AbstractDuring the past 10 years, sales of luxury goods increased significantly to more than US$ 130 billion in 2007. In this industry, more than half of the revenue comes from Asia where the average income has risen significantly, and the demand for luxury products is forecast to grow rapidly. Purchasing luxury brands appears to be an intriguing social phenomenon that is profitable for companies in this region. As a newly developed country, Korea is one of the most attractive luxury markets in Asia. Currently, a total of 120 luxury fashion brands have entered the Korean market, primarily in luxury districts in Seoul where the competition is fierce.The purposes of this study are to: (1) identify antecedents of attitude toward luxury brands, (2) examine the effect of attitudes toward luxury brands on customer equity, (3) determine the impact of attitudes toward luxury brands on customer lifetime value, and (4) investigate the influence of customer equity on customer life time value.Previous studies have examined materialism, social need, experiential need, need for uniqueness, conformity, and fashion involvement as antecedents of attitude toward luxury brands. Richins and Dowson (1992) suggested that that materialism influences consumption behavior relative to quantity of goods purchased. Nueno and Queich (1998) reported that the ownership of luxury brands conveys information related to the owner's social status, communicates an image of success and prestige, and is a determinant of purchase behavior.Experiential need is recognized as an important aspect of consumption, especially for new products developed to meet consumer demand. Since luxury goods, by definition are relatively scarce, ownership of these types of products may fulfill consumers' need for uniqueness. In this study, value equity, relationship equity, and brand equity are examined as drivers of customer equity.The sample (n = 114) was undergraduate and graduate students at two private women's universities in Seoul, Korea. Data collection was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire survey in March, 2009. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis using SPSS 15.0 software.Data analysis resulted in a number of conclusions. First, experiential need and fashion involvement positively influence participants' attitude toward luxury brands. Second, attitude toward luxury brands positively influences brand equity, followed by value equity and relationship equity. However, there is no significant relationship between attitude toward luxury brand and customer lifetime value. Finally, relationship equity positively influences customer lifetime value.In conclusion, young consumers are an important potential consumer group that tries different brands to discover the ones most suitable for them. Luxury marketers that use effective marketing strategies to attract and engender loyalty among this potentially lucrative consumer group may increase customer equity and lifetime value.

AbstractThis article provides training exercises for executives into interpreting subroutine maps of executives’ thinking in processing business and industrial marketing problems and opportunities. This study builds on premises that Schank proposes about learning and teaching including (1) learning occurs by experiencing and the best instruction offers learners opportunities to distill their knowledge and skills from interactive stories in the form of goal-based scenarios, team projects, and understanding stories from experts. Also, (2) telling does not lead to learning because learning requires action—training environments should emphasize active engagement with stories, cases, and projects.Each training case study includes executive exposure to decision system analysis (DSA). The training case requires the executive to write a “Briefing Report” of a DSA map. Instructions to the executive trainee in writing the briefing report include coverage in the briefing report of (1) details of the essence of the DSA map and (2) a statement of warnings and opportunities that the executive map reader interprets within the DSA map. The length maximum for a briefing report is 500 words—an arbitrary rule that works well in executive training programsFollowing this introduction, section two of the article briefly summarizes relevant literature on how humans think within contexts in response to problems and opportunities. Section three illustrates the creation and interpreting of DSA maps using a training exercise in pricing a chemical product to different OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers. Section four presents a training exercise in pricing decisions by a petroleum manufacturing firm. Section five presents a training exercise in marketing strategies by an office furniture distributer along with buying strategies by business customers. Each of the three training exercises is based on research into information processing and decision making of executives operating in marketing contexts. Section six concludes the article with suggestions for use of this training case and for developing additional training cases for honing ‘executives’ decisionmaking skills.Todd and Gigerenzer propose that humans use simple heuristics because they enable adaptive behavior by exploiting the structure of information in natural decision environments. “Simplicity is a virtue, rather than a curse”. Bounded rationality theorists emphasize the centrality of Simon's proposition, “Human rational behavior is shaped by a scissors whose blades are the structure of the task environments and the computational capabilities of the actor”. Gigerenzer's view is relevant to Simon's environmental blade and to the environmental structures in the three cases in this article, “The term environment, here, does not refer to a description of the total physical and biological environment, but only to that part important to an organism, given its needs and goals.”The present article directs attention to research that combines reports on the structure of task environments with the use of adaptive toolbox heuristics of actors. The DSA mapping approach here concerns the match between strategy and an environment—the development and understanding of ecological rationality theory. Aspiration adaptation theoty is central to this approach. Aspiration adaptation theoiy models decision making as a multi-goal problem without aggregation of the goals into a complete preference order over all decision alternatives. The three case studies in this article permit the learner to apply propositions in aspiration level rules in reaching a decision. Aspiration adaptation takes the form of a sequence of adjustment steps. An adjustment step shifts the current aspiration level to a neighboring point on an aspiration grid by a change in only one goal variable. An upward adjustment step is an increase and a downward adjustment step is a decrease of a goal variable. Creating and using aspiration adaptation levels is integral to bounded rationality theory .The present article increases understanding and expertise of both aspiration adaptation and bounded rationality theories by providing tearner experiences and practice in using propositions in both theories. Practice in ranking CTSs and writing TOP gists from DSA maps serves to clarify and deepen Selten's view, “Clearly, aspiration adaptation must enter the picture as an integrated part of the search for a solution.”The body of “direct research” by Mintzberg, Gladwin's ethnographic decision tree modeling, and Huffs work on mapping strategic thought are suggestions on where to look for research that considers both the structure of the environment and the computational capabilities of the actors making decisions in these environments. Such research on bounded rationality permits both further development of theory in how and why decisions are made in real - life and the development of learning exercises in the use of heuristics occurring in natural environments. The exercises in the present article encourage learning skills and principles of using fast and frugal heuristics in contexts of their intended use. The exercises respond to Schank's wisdom, “In a deep sense, education isn't about knowledge or getting students to know what has happened. It is about getting them to feel what has happened. This is not easy to do. Education, as it is in schools today, is emotionless. This is a huge problem.” The three cases and accompanying set of exercise questions adhere to Schank's view, “Processes are best taught by actually engaging in them, which can often mean, for mental processing, active discussion.”

A study for identifying the relationship between turbulent parameters and local wall thinning inside a carbon steel piping was performed. Experiments and numerical analyses for several types of downscaled piping components were conducted, and the obtained results were compared. Based on the results indicating that flow behaviors inside piping components can be sufficiently simulated by numerical analysis, numerical analyses for the models magnified to the actual sizes of plants were carried out. To determine the relationship between turbulent parameters and local wear rates, numerical analyses were performed for 17 piping components of 7 types installed in a feedwater system. Turbulent parameters resulting from numerical analyses were compared with the local wear rates based on the measured thickness data. From thecomparison of the results, the vertical flow velocity component (Vr) flowing again to the wall after separation due to geometrical configurations or direct collision against the wall at an angle of some degrees was found to be analogous to the configuration of local wall thinning. From the least-squares fitting result, it was derived that the average relationship between Vrand the local wear rate is proportional to 0.55-fold Vradding 0.1 to the standard deviation of 0.65.

AbstractThe marketing environment has become competitive to an extent that requires firms to target their products at markets that span national boundaries. However, competitive clout cannot be achieved in global consumer markets unless firms thoroughly understand and adequately respond to the core values and needs of those consumers.Brand equity is one of the most important assets to a company. Especially in sportswear markets, brand equity is the crucial value added to a product by its brand name. Factors such as country of origin also influence customer's attitude towards brand equity. Therefore, this paper discusses the relationship between country of origin effect and brand equity, and how they influence consumers’ loyalty for respective brands. This paper focused on the sports shoes market, because it is an increasing area of opportunity for world manufacturers.The objectives of this study were the following.(1) Test the effect of country of origin on brand equity.(2) Test how brand equity influences consumers’ brand loyalty.(3) Find whether there are differences in the effects of country of origin and brand equity among the three countries.(4) Find whether there are differences in the effects of country of origin and brand equity among the different lifestyles.Based on the review of literature results, the hypotheses are concluded as the following:HI-a: Country image has positive influence on country of origin.Hl-b: Product perception has positive influence on country of origin.H2-a: Perceived quality has positive effect on brand equity.H2-b: Perceived price has positive effect on brand equity.H3: Country of origin has positive effect on brand equity.H4: Brand equity has a positive impact on brand loyalty.Research model was constructed (see Fig. 1).After data analysis, the following results were concluded: sports shoes purchase behavior showed significant differences among Korean, Chinese, and American consumers for favorite brand, purchased brand, purchased place, information usage, and favorite sports games. The results of this study also extend the research of the relationship among country of origin, brand equity and brand loyalty to the sports shoes market. Brand equity was proven to have a significant relationship with brand loyalty for all countries. The factors which can influence brand equity are different for different countries. The third finding of this paper is that we identified different three lifestyles, adventurer, follower, and laggard, for Korean, Chinese and American consumers. Without the nationality boundary, seeing the emergence of a new group of consumers who have similar preferences and buy similar brands is more important. All of the consumers consider brand equity to keep their brand loyalty. Perceived price is the only factor which can influence brand equity for adventurers; brand is more important for them. The laggards were not influenced by any factor. All of the factors expect perceived price are important for the followers.Marketing managers should consider brand equity when introducing their brand into a new market. Also localization is the basic strategy that all the sports shoes companies should understand. But as a global brand, understanding the same characteristics for each country is more important to build global strategy.

Ammonia (NH3) is an important, albeit sticky, precursor for producing secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA), especially in the form of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) and ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4). To reduce SIAs, many researchers have attempted to measure the concentration of ambient NH3using real-time or passive methods. However, NH3is a highly sticky gas and is therefore difficult to measure using real-time methods without incurring losses during measurement. In this study, four different tubing materials, semi seamless tubes, perfluoroalkoxy (PFA), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), were used to ascertain the adsorption of NH3in inlets using real-time instruments. Without heating sample tubes and at 0% relative humidity (RH), this study shows that PTFE had the least adsorption(i.e., 0% at 1 and 2m of sample tube), and semi-seamless tubes had the highest adsorption (i.e., 27.5% at 1 m of sample tube). To calculate the adsorption of NH3under ambient conditions, at various inlet lengths, the RH of NH3was varied from 20% to 80%, which showed that shorter inlets and higher RH lower NH3adsorption at inlets (i.e., 1.74 ppb m-1at 80% RH and 7.48 ppb m-1at 20% RH). Additionally, inlet heating was effective in reducing the adsorption of NH3as the RH decreased. Applying the inlet system (i.e., 2 m of PTFE tube with heating) showed excellent correlation (slope: 0.995 and coefficient: 0.992) between two different real-time measurements while measuring ambient air.

AbstractSportswear, including sports shoes, becomes a common and popular category because it gives youngpeople a more relax lifestyle and greater versatility and comfort. lt is believed that consumers preferproducts of developed countries to products of developing or underdeveloped countries. This study tries tocompare consumer behaviors for sports shoes in China and Korea. Our research model analyzedrelationships among country-of-origin, perceived quality, perceived price, brand image and purchase intentionfor sports shoes in Korea and China. The country-of-origin was not found to play a significant role inKorea. But it was found to positively influence perceived quality in China. Brand image was found to playan important role in influencing perceived quality and perceived price in Korea and China. Perceived qualitywas found to influence positively purchase intention in both countries. Perceived price was found tonegatively influence purchase intention in China. Implications drawn from this study were discussed.