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This study developed a scale for evaluating how well students understand marine-resource conservation and sustainability; it evaluated the scale’s psychometric properties and investigated the gende...

In recent years, marine science education has received increasing attention around the world, but the integration of STEM education into the marine curriculum is rarely applied to lower-secondary schools. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of a teaching module on the topic of marine science, developed using a STEM approach, on the motivation, interest, and marine science achievements. The 9th-grade students from two classes in a Taiwanese public school were recruited in this study. Students in the experimental group were taught using the STEM course. Students in the control group were taught in a traditional didactic teaching course. Pre- and post-tests were used to determine marine science achievement, interest, and learning motivation. The experimental group gained significantly superior scores in three out of four dimensions towards motivation and two out of three dimensions interest. A significant difference was found between the experimental group and the control group, with the former showing increased marine science achievement over the latter in higher-order thinking; however, no significant differences were with respect to cognition. It is concluded that involving STEM-based implementations in teaching, the subject “Marine Science” increases the success rate and attitude towards the subject of students. Keywords: learning interest, learning motivation, marine science achievement, STEM

Background. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) relieves associated symptoms of hyperthyroidism such as heat intolerance, palpitations, tremor, anxiety, weight loss, increased frequency of bowel movements, and shortness of breath. However, there are no studies regarding the core prescription patterns of herbal formula and single herbs for hyperthyroidism in Taiwan. Materials and Methods. This is a retrospective, observational study using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) in Taiwan to analyze the prescription patterns of TCM. Demographic factors, such as sex, age, occupational status, and residential area, and the risk factors for hyperthyroidism were also studied. Results. The outpatient or/and inpatient services for hyperthyroidism receive 17,707 cases in a year. Overall, there were 13,394 newly diagnosed patients. TCM was used in 73% of the patients, and 77.3% of the patients were females. The acceptability of TCM was higher among female patients. Most patients were diagnosed with hyperthyroidism between the ages of 30 and 49 years. The most common comorbidity identified was diabetes mellitus. The most commonly prescribed Chinese herbal product (CHP) formula was Jia-Wei-Xia-Yao-San, while Xia-Ku-Cao was the most commonly prescribed single CHP. There was a high coprescription rate for Xuan-Shen, Bei-Mu, and Mu-Li. Conclusion. This study describes the core prescription pattern of TCM used in the treatment of patients with hyperthyroidism in Taiwan. The most frequently used CHPs could be potential candidates for future pharmacologic studies or clinical trials.

In this study, we used propositional concept maps with different ocean-related conceptual sentences to assess the ocean literacy of maritime vocational high school students in Grades 10–12 in Indonesia. Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic country, and many aspects of people’s lives, including their jobs, are related to the ocean. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the ocean literacy and related knowledge of students, especially maritime vocational high school students. Thus, in this study, an open-ended questionnaire was employed to acquire data from 255 students at the National Vocational High School 1 Temon in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. A total of 215 males and 40 females participated in this study. In addition to descriptive analysis, we used a one-way analysis of variance and a t-test for statistical inference. The results showed that 11th and 12th graders scored significantly higher in ocean literacy than 10th graders, and female students significantly outperformed male students. Furthermore, student learning was teacher-centered. In this paper, we summarize the results and provide suggestions and references concerning ocean literacy for teachers and high school students.

Science learning requires visuospatial thinking. Accordingly, spatial ability is regarded as the key to learning science well, but its effects are sometimes not as significant as expected. To this end, this research aims to conceptualize spatial abilities and to clarify their relation to science learning based on an analysis of empirical studies. Content analysis of 39 studies showed that (1) intrinsic-dynamic skills are the most frequently measured, (2) the explored science topics mostly involve well-established knowledge, (3) the effects of spatial ability on science achievement are inconsistent, and (4) educational interventions are not always effective in improving students’ spatial abilities or science achievement. It is argued that domain knowledge interferes with the study results and that domain-specific spatial ability exists, referring to apply spatial-type and domain-specific knowledge. Supported by cognitive theories and empirical evidence, a model is constructed to exhibit the relations between domain-general and domain-specific spatial ability as well as their effects on science achievement. According to the model, the two spatial abilities functionally partially overlap in the operations of spatial skills, and educational experience and malleable spatial skills are reciprocal; however, improvement in general spatial ability, involving the function of the central executive system, is likely limited. Keywords: domain-generality, domain-specificity, spatial ability, domain knowledge, science learning, educational intervention

This research sought to explore how teaching utilizing a marine science-related board game affected students’ motivation, interest, and achievement in marine science learning at the high school level. The research utilized an experimental design with pre-test and post-test measurements and a classroom setting, and included an experimental group containing 25 students and a control group containing 26 students. The experiment was carried out over the course of 12 lessons, with various questionnaires, including a marine science learning motivation (MSLM) inventory, a marine science learning interest (MSLI) inventory, and a marine science learning achievement (MSLA) inventory, being used as the measurement instruments. The research analysed the students’ scores on these inventories using one-way analysis of ANCOVA. The main results of this research were as follows: 1) with regard to the MSLM inventory, the ‘relevance’, ‘confidence’, and ‘total score’ were significantly different between the two groups; 2) with regard to the MSLI inventory, the ‘cognitions regarding marine science’ were significantly different between the two groups; and 3) with regard to the MSLA, all of the dimensions including ‘memory’, ‘understanding’, ‘high-level thinking’, and ‘total score’ were significantly different between the two groups. Keywords: board game teaching, learning interest, learning motivation, marine education, science education.

Background Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It is believed that using disease‐modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) to control inflammation can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. In this study, we investigated whether patients who responded differently to DMARDs might sustain different cardiovascular events. Methods and Results We designed a cohort study using the Chang Gung Research Database. We identified 7114 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. After strict exclusion criteria, we collected 663 individuals as an inadequate response to DMARDs group. Then, 2034 individuals were included as the control group. The end point was composite vascular outcomes, including acute coronary syndrome or ischemic stroke. We used the inverse probability of treatment weighting to keep the covariates between these 2 groups well balanced. We compared the risk of these outcomes using the Cox proportional hazards model. The mean follow‐up time was 4.7 years. During follow‐up, there were 7.5% and 6.4% of patients with composite vascular outcomes in the DMARD‐inadequate response and control groups, respectively. There was no significant difference in the risk of composite vascular outcomes (95% CI, 0.94–1.41) and ischemic stroke (95% CI, 0.84–1.36). The risk of acute coronary syndrome was significantly higher in the DMARD‐inadequate response group (hazard ratio, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.02–2.05). Conclusions Patients with DMARD‐inadequate response rheumatoid arthritis have a higher risk of developing acute coronary syndrome than those whose disease can be controlled by DMARDs.

The concept of marine environmental sustainability is essential, and ocean literacy is currently at the core of its development. Comparing ocean literacy principles in curriculum standards is an important thing to do. Ocean literacy (OL) is a key and emerging topic, and its study has adopted a qualitative approach and follows the content analysis approach. It was observed that, on average, OL concepts covered in the educational standards of the USA (Next Generation Science Standards, NGSS) are higher than those of India (Indian National Standards, INSs). The study revealed that the 6th principle is highly accentuated in both countries’ educational standards out of the seven essential principles. Moreover, the results indicate variation in OL alignment across India’s grade bands and the USA’s educational standards. Based on the results mentioned above, the proposed study intends to provide references to marine education researchers, curriculum developers, and educational policymakers in India to suitably adjust OL coverage concepts in schools to cultivate ocean-literate citizens.

This research examines senior high school students’ earth science learning effects, focusing on the influence of science reading beliefs when employing mobile devices. The revision of the Science Reader Belief Inventory (SRBI) was used to examine the connections for high school students’ personal scientific reading beliefs and reading comprehension of earth science learning effectiveness conditions when using mobile devices to learn. The learning outcome was determined using achievement tests. In this research, 97 students from three classes of first-year high school students were enrolled in an eight-week experimental teaching study followed by an achievement test. The major findings are as follows: (1) High school students’ transaction beliefs were stronger than transmission beliefs. Transaction beliefs were significantly correlated with transmission beliefs. (2) Scientific beliefs may take a long time to change. (3) Whereas traditional reading comprehension strategies seem to have relied more heavily on vocabulary development, in an e-learning environment, students tend to rely on sentence-level parsing to understand scientific texts. This research provides a reference for teachers within learning environments in which information is incorporated into technology instruction, and various learning scenarios are used.

This study aims to measure the impact of the Slow Fish Movement (SFM) curriculum regarding the awareness of marine environment conservation (MEC) and marine resource sustainability (MRC). The SFM curriculum was designed for 1007 junior high school students in a seaside city. The UN SDG 14, Taiwan Seafood Guide and the Nine Principles of Consuming Seafood in Taiwan for Ocean Sustainability formed the core of three questionnaires. The results show that students in the seaside city lack an understanding of the marine ecosystem and that SFM lessons can significantly encourage personal responsibility and impact students’ judgments regarding consuming sustainable seafood. These lessons also increase the awareness of MEC and MRS and the self-restoration of organisms in marine ecosystems. These factors could help us to achieve sustainable development for our ocean.

Ocean sustainability and resource use are emphasized globally. The primary goal of ocean preservation is to enhance citizens&rsquo, ocean literacy. In this study, cluster sampling was conducted on students from seven public middle schools in Taiwan to investigate their use of ocean literacy concept words, propositional sentences, and knowledge sources. Qualitative analysis, descriptive statistics, and one-way analysis of variance were conducted on 496 valid questionnaires. The middle school students exhibited an accuracy rate of 63% for ocean literacy sentence-making, which indicated a basic level of performance. The students commonly used terms such as &ldquo, ocean,&rdquo, &ldquo, Atlantic Ocean,&rdquo, and &ldquo, tsunami.&rdquo, Students had common misconceptions when using the terms &ldquo, sea level rising,&rdquo, Kuroshio current,&rdquo, In addition, students who were female, in a higher grade, and who attended a coastal school had higher ocean literacy scores. The students&rsquo, primary sources of ocean literacy knowledge were museums and television. Through an analysis students&rsquo, use of ocean concept words and misconceptions, the aim of this study was to enhance the implementation efficiency of marine education to cultivate students&rsquo, ocean literacy.

Background The influenza virus is a highly infectious disease, with a notably rapid transmission rate. Autophagy is triggered by viral infection and is a survival mechanism exerted to maintain cellular homeostasis. Catechin is a representative phenolic acid which exerts anti-inflammatory responses against influenza A virus infection. The aim of this study is to explore the anti-H1N1 influenza virus effects by catechin associated with the restoration of autophagy. Methods XTT assay was used to detect cellular viability. The inhibitory effects on the H1N1 influenza virus were assessed by hemagglutination assay, neuraminidase activity, and quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The protein levels of H1N1 influenza virulence and autophagic markers were detected by Western blot. Results We herein demonstrated that catechin had no cytotoxic effect on both infected and noninfected A549 cells and exerted protective effects on infected A549 cells. The results of the hemagglutination assay, neuraminidase activity, and qRT-PCR to examine viral load demonstrated that catechin effectively inhibited the replication of the H1N1 influenza virus. The virulent M2 protein and viral nucleoprotein were also inhibited after treatment with catechin. As for the autophagic markers, the LC3B protein was notably decreased by catechin in a dose-dependent manner, while the amount of autophagic vacuoles in H1N1 influenza virus-infected cells also decreased after catechin treatment in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusion Collectively, the autophagy activated by the H1N1 influenza virus could be reversed after catechin treatment. This study indicates that catechin effectively inhibits H1N1 viral proliferation and thus may be applied as an adjuvant in future clinical application.

This study established a Chinese scale for measuring high school students’ ocean literacy. This included testing its reliability, validity, and differential item functioning (DIF) with the aim of c...

Research collected and reviewed a number of empirical studies in the field of educational research regarding the analysis of mathematics textbooks to provide summary and overview the information there in. The questions were identified via Google Scholar and collected from different data sources. A total of 44 papers published from 1953 to 2015 were selected based specific criteria, with 24 articles include in the SSCI database. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate and interpret the results. A perspective on the learning analysis methods was used to collect studies and showed the mathematics textbooks analyzed were investigated under four themes: The analysis of standards, distributive property, language in mathematics, and others. School’s level which is investigated textbooks: Kindergarten, elementary, junior school, and senior school. Subjects covered in the mathematics textbooks included algebra and arithmetic, geometry, measurement, data analysis and probability, number and operations, among others. Research found the most frequently discussed in perspective on learning was the analysis of the standards and the distributive property (15 studies), the most common subject was number and operations (16 studies), and the highest number in school’s level was elementary school (18 studies). Nevertheless, fewer studies have been found to analyzing mathematics textbooks. Future research can pay attention for the relevant theoretical issues and collaborate studies in more perspective learning analysis. Keywords: comparation of study, content analysis, mathematics textbooks.

This study sought to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how the factors of parental education level and student attitude toward the ocean influence the ocean literacy of students in Taiwan after establishing measurement invariance across genders. The analyzed data were collected from self-reported questionnaires filled out by students aged 16&ndash, 18 years old. The students&rsquo, ocean literacy was used as the outcome variable, while parental education level and student attitude toward the ocean were employed as the independent variables. The effects of parental education level and student attitude toward the ocean on ocean literacy were estimated with a multi-group structural equation model. Of the final total of 945 valid respondents in this study, 58.1% were male and 41.9% were female. The results from the multiple-group analysis supported measurement invariance across the genders. After establishing gender invariance, it was further found that higher degrees of parental education level and student attitude toward the ocean were positively related to ocean literacy. A considerable contribution was detected between parental education level and ocean literacy that was indirectly related through student attitude toward the ocean in the female student.

The main purpose of this study was to explore learners' beliefs about science reading and scientific epistemic beliefs, and how these beliefs were associating with their understanding of science texts. About 400 10th graders were involved in the development and validation of the Beliefs about Science Reading Inventory (BSRI). To find the effects of reader beliefs and epistemic beliefs, a new group of 65 10th grade students whose reader and epistemic beliefs were assessed by the newly developed BSRI and an existing SEB questionnaire were invited to take part in a science reading task. Students' text understanding in terms of concept gain and text interpretations was collected and analyzed. By the correlation analysis, it was found that when students had stronger beliefs about meaning construction based on personal goals and experiences (i.e. transaction beliefs), they produced more thematic and critical interpretations of the content of the test article. The regression analysis suggested that stude...

Aging-associated cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have some risk factors that are closely related to oxidative stress.Salvia miltiorrhiza(SM) has been used commonly to treat CVDs for hundreds of years in the Chinese community. We aimed to explore the effects of SM on oxidative stress in aging-associated CVDs. Through literature searches using Medicine, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library, CINAHL, and Scopus databases, we found that SM not only possesses antioxidant, antiapoptotic, and anti-inflammatory effects but also exerts angiogenic and cardioprotective activities. SM may reduce the production of reactive oxygen species by inhibiting oxidases, reducing the production of superoxide, inhibiting the oxidative modification of low-density lipoproteins, and ameliorating mitochondrial oxidative stress. SM also increases the activities of catalase, manganese superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and coupled endothelial nitric oxide synthase. In addition, SM reduces the impact of ischemia/reperfusion injury, prevents cardiac fibrosis after myocardial infarction, preserves cardiac function in coronary disease, maintains the integrity of the blood-brain barrier, and promotes self-renewal and proliferation of neural stem/progenitor cells in stroke. However, future clinical well-designed and randomized control trials will be necessary to confirm the efficacy of SM in aging-associated CVDs.

This study explored the effects of a collaborative computer-based concept mapping strategy on Geographic Science learning outcomes in junior high school students. A quasi-experimental approach was applied to a sample of 85 9th grade students. Class instruction lasted for five weeks, with two classes each week. Using the quasi-experimental research approach, 27 students were assigned to a constructive activities group that received instruction without concept mapping assistance (NCM), 28 students were assigned to a group that received individual computer-based concept mapping (CBCM) assisted instruction, and 30 students were assigned to a group that received collaborative computer-based concept mapping (CCBCM) assisted instruction. We explored the impact of these methods of instruction on students’ memorization, understanding, and application of concepts and on their higher order cognitive ability. The findings revealed that the CCBCM and CBCM groups scored better than the NCM group on the post-test. On the retention test, the CCBCM group outperformed the NCM group on all subtests.

Objective To systematically review scientific reports on the effectiveness of acupuncture to treat male sexual dysfunction. Methods The Medline database was searched for published clinical trials of acupuncture for erectile dysfunction (ED) and premature ejaculation (PE) with English abstracts. Risk of bias was assessed for randomised controlled trials (RCTs). Results Seven studies on two conditions of male sexual dysfunction met the inclusion criteria. Three out of four RCTs were patient-blinded, but all had a high risk of bias. Three suggested that acupuncture has a therapeutic effect as compared with sham acupuncture. Comparisons with paroxetine were inconsistent. Other uncontrolled studies and case series suggested satisfactory improvements of ED and PE after acupuncture. Conclusions Acupuncture appears to have promise for treating male sexual dysfunction, but in view of the small number of studies and their variable quality, doubts remain about its effectiveness. Further studies are justified.

Tanshinone IIA is one of the major diterpenes in Salvia miltiorrhiza. The inhibitory effect of Tanshinone IIA on atherosclerosis has been reported, but the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. The present study aimed to study the anti-atherosclerosis effect of Tanshinone IIA on the adhesion of monocytes to vascular endothelial cells and related mechanism. Results showed that Tanshinone IIA, at the concentrations without cytotoxic effect, dose-dependently inhibited the adhesion of THP-1 monocytes to the TNF-α-stimulated human vascular endothelial cells. The expressions of cell adhesion molecules including VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and E-selectin were induced by TNF-α in HUVECs at both the mRNA and protein levels. The mRNA and protein expressions of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1, but not E-selectin, were both significantly suppressed by Tanshinone IIA in a dose dependent manner. In addition, the TNF-α-induced mRNA expression of fractalkine/CX3CL1 and the level of soluble fractalkine were both reduced by Tanshinone IIA. We also found that Tanshinone IIA significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB which was resulted from the inhibitory effect of Tanshinone IIA on the TNF-α-activated phosphorylation of IKKα, IKKβ, IκB and NF-κB. As one of the major components of Salvia miltiorrhiza, Tanshinone IIA alone exerted more potent effect on inhibiting the adhesion of monocytes to vascular endothelial cells when compared with Salvia miltiorrhiza. All together, these results demonstrate a novel underlying mechanism for the anti-inflammatory effect of Tanshinone IIA by modulating TNF-α-induced expression of VCAM-1, ICAM-1 and fractalkine through inhibition of TNF-α-induced activation of IKK/NF-κB signaling pathway in human vascular endothelial cells.

Davallia bilabiata (D. bilabiata) is also called GuSuiBu in Taiwan and is used as a substitute for Drynaria fortunei J. Sm. It is often used for trauma and bone repair. The inhibitory effect of D. bilabiata on inflammatory activity has not been reported. In the present study, we aimed to study the mechanism of anti-inflammation of D. bilabiata on the adhesion of leukocytes to vascular endothelial cells. The results showed that D. bilabiata, at concentrations without cytotoxic effect, inhibited the adhesion of monocytes (THP-1) to the TNF-α-stimulated human umbilical vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs). D. bilabiata suppressed the expression of the adhesion molecules ICAM, VCAM, and E-selectin at both the mRNA and protein level. In addition, both of the TNF-α-induced mRNA and protein expression of chemokines including fractalkine/CX3CL1, MCP-1 and RANTES as well as the level of secreted soluble fractalkine were decreased by D. bilabiata. We also verified that D. bilabiata inhibited the TNF-α-induced nuclear translocation of NF-κB through the inhibitory process on the TNF-α-activated phosphorylation of IKKα, IKKβ, IκB and NF-κB. All together, we concluded that the D. bilabiata affected the canonical pathway of TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation and down-regulated cell adhesion molecules and chemokine expression through inhibition of the NF-κB/IκBα/IKK signaling pathway. These findings strongly indicated that D. bilabiata might be a promising alternative/adjunct treatment for inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

This study examines nanomeshed Pt and Pt(Au) thin films formed by a dewetting process on a p-GaN surface. With prolonged annealing, the Pt(Au) layer shows more stable contact resistance to p-GaN and lower sheet resistance than the Pt layer. L–I curves show that the GaN light-emitting diode (LED) with the Pt(Au) transparent conducting layer (TCL) produces more light output power than the GaN LED with the Pt TCL. The higher light output of the LED with the Pt(Au) TCL is attributed to the lower sheet resistance, which improves current spreading in the active region.

本研究旨在：一、應用概念圖命題模式及開放性問答評量高中生海洋科學概念與素養之現況。二、以問卷試題診斷高中生海洋科學迷思概念之情形。研究以基隆市5 所公立高級中學學生為對象，共計發出361 份問卷，有效樣本346 份，回收率為96%。研究結果顯示：一、高中生在海洋科學概念詞彙運用前三名為暖化、地震及地球。二、高中生在海洋科學概念詞彙運用產生迷思的三大詞彙為生質能源、黑潮及親潮。三、高中生海洋概念以知識面向的概念最高。四、高中生在海洋科學迷思概念試題評量中，平均答對率只有53%。五、黑潮得名緣由為高中生在海洋科學迷思概念評量中答對率最低的題目，僅有16%。六、「瞭解冰期與間冰期海平面的升降，對全球生物與自然環境可能造成影響」為高中生最常帶有迷思概念的能力指標。研究的結果可供我國海洋教育相關人員及高中教師參考，以提升海洋教育實施之成效與國民海洋科學素養。 The purposes of this study were to examine the literacy of senior high school students regarding marine-science concepts by using the concept-map method (open-ended tasks) and an open-ended question, and to assess their misconceptions about marine science. A survey was conducted among students from five senior high schools in northern Taiwan. A total of 361 questionnaires were distributed and a validity count of 346 was returned. The results of this study were as follows: (1) The terms “warming,” “earthquake,” and “earth” were most commonly used by students to express marine-science concepts. (2) The terms “bioenergy,” “Kuroshio Currents,” and “Oyashio Currents” caused the most confusion among students. (3) The marine concepts described by the students were more in cognitive domain, than in attitude and affective domains. (4) The students’ average correct response rate in the marine-science misconception assessment was 53%. (5) The term “Kuroshio Currents” received the lowest score (16% correct) in the marine-science misconception assessment of students. (6) Students typically misconstrued the following marine-science competence index: “Increases and decreases in sea levels during glacial and interglacial periods may influence global biology and the natural environment.” The results of this study can assist marine-science researchers and senior high school teachers to improve the quality and effectiveness of marine-science education and promote marine-science literacy.

Background:It generally is accepted that concept mapping has a noticeable impact on learning. But literatures show the use of concept mapping is not benefit all learners. The present study explored the effects of incorporating computer-based concept mapping in physics instruction.Material and methods:A total of 61 9th-grade students participated in this study. By using a quasi-experimental research approach, 31 students were assigned to a group that received computer-based concept mapping assisting instruction (CBCM), and 30 students were assigned to a constructive activities group that received “Work, Power, and Energy Curriculum” instruction without concept mapping assistance (NCM). Both groups participated for eight weeks, with four sessions per week and 45 minutes per session. A pre test-post test control group design was employed.Results:The findings revealed that the CBCM group students scored higher than the NCM group students on the cognition understanding and higher order thinking subtests. No significant differences were found in the conception memorization subtest. In the retention test, the students in the CBCM group outperformed the students in the NCM group on all subtests.Conclusions:The results of the current study revealed that concept mapping activities effectively promote higher order thinking abilities and knowledge retention.

Two series of anionic water-borne polyurethanes with alkali resistance and covalent bonds of a reactive dye were synthesized with different molar ratios of poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PTMG). They were classified with respect to PTMG 1000 and PTMG 2000. The fiber blends of polyester/nylon nonwoven fabrics were dipped into silicon-containing, water-borne polyurethane and squeezed to an 80% pickup ratio. Finally, the manmade leather was treated with alkali reduction and dyed with a reactive dye. The alkali reduction and the thermal, mechanical, and dyeing properties of the manmade leather were studied. For alkali reduction, different ratios of NaOH and Na2CO3 concentrations were used. Na2CO3 was used because of its better spreading and buffering properties. The softness and breaking load were measured and related to the weight reduction. For the dyeing properties, a reactive dye with vinyl sulfone groups was found to bond with the OH group of water-borne polyurethane by covalent bonding. On the basis of alkali reduction, a mixture of NaOH and Na2CO3 with a concentration ratio of 0.1N/0.2N could lead to better softness and alkali reduction of leather. For the mechanical properties, leather of the PTMG 1000 series showed a higher breaking load than leather of the PTMG 2000 series. However, less elongation in the PTMG 1000 series resulted. Differential scanning calorimetry showed an endothermic peak at 50–100°C. This indicated that the glass-transition temperature of the hard segment decreased with an increasing amount of the soft segment in leather; meanwhile, both the glass-transition temperature of the soft segment and the melting temperature of the hard segment also decreased as the content of the soft segment increased. For the dyeing properties, the reactive blue dye could reach up to 96.1% dye uptake in the polyurethane part of the leather. Moreover, the washing fastness could be graded as high as 4–5, and the light resistance was also graded to 4–5, in the dyed leather. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 96: 2324–2335, 2005

A high-resolution (∼4–5cm/kyr) giant piston core record (MD962085) retrieved during an IMAGES II-NAUSICAA cruise from the continental slope of the southeast Atlantic Ocean reveals striking variations in planktonic foraminifer faunal abundances and sea-surface temperatures (SST) during the past 600 000 yr. The location and high-quality sedimentary record of the core provide a good opportunity to assess the variability of the Benguela Current system and associated important features of the ocean-climate system in the southeast Atlantic. The planktonic foraminifer faunal abundances of the core are dominated by three assemblages: (1) Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (right coiling)+Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, (2) Globigerina bulloides, and (3) Globorotalia inflata. The assemblage of N. pachyderma (right coiling)+N. dutertrei shows distinctive abundance changes which are nearly in-phase with glacial–interglacial variations. The high abundances of this assemblage are associated with major glacial conditions, possibly representing low SST/high nutrient level conditions in the southwestern Africa margin. In contrast, the G. bulloides and G. inflata assemblages show greater high-frequency abundance change patterns, which are not parallel to the glacial–interglacial changes. These patterns may indicate rapid oceanic frontal movements from the south, and a rapid change in the intensity of the Benguela upwelling system from the east. A single episode of maximum abundances of a polar water species N. pachyderma (left coiling) occurred in the beginning of stage 9 (∼340–330 kyr). The event of the maximum occurrence of this species shown in this record may indicate instability in the Benguela coastal upwelling, or the Antarctic polar front zone position. A winter season SST estimate using transfer function techniques for this record shows primarily glacial–interglacial variations. The SST is maximal during the transitions from the major glacial to interglacial stages (Terminations I, II, IV, V), and is associated with the abundance maxima of a warm water species indicator Globigerinoides ruber. Cross-spectral analyses of the SST record and the SPECMAP stack reveal statistically significant concentrations of variance and coherencies in three major orbital frequency bands. The SST precedes changes in the global ice volume in all orbital frequency bands, indicating a dominant southern Hemispheric climate effect over the Benguela Current region in the southeast Atlantic.

A new low-voltage CMOS tripler is presented in this paper. It is realized by the square-law characteristics of MOS transistors operating in saturation. The proposed circuit has been fabricated in a 0.8 μm CMOS process. Experimental results have been given to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed circuit. It is expected to be useful in low-voltage analog signal-processing applications.

In this paper, according to the Taylor's series expansion, two pseudo-exponential circuits were realized. The proposed circuits provide a simple method to synthesize pseudo-exponential circuits. Both of the circuits were composed of MOS transistors operating in saturation. One of the pseudo-exponential function circuits is voltage-mode and was tested using discrete components. The other one is current-mode, which is verified with the 0.8 /spl mu/m CMOS process by Hspice simulations. The results confirm the feasibility of the proposed circuits.

A low-voltage BiCMOS four-quadrant multiplier using triode-region transistors is presented, this circuit has been fabricated in a 1.0 /spl mu/m BiCMOS process. Experimental results show that for a power supply of /spl plusmn/1.5 V, the linear range is over /spl plusmn/0.6 V with the linearity error of less than 2%. The total harmonic distortion is less than 2% with an input range up to /spl plusmn/0.6 V. The measured -3-dB bandwidth of this proposed BiCMOS multiplier is about 10 MHz. This circuit is expected to be useful in low-voltage analog signal-processing applications.

A new low-voltage low-power BiCMOS four-quadrant multiplier using cascode NPN and NMOS pairs is presented. This circuit has been fabricated in a 1 μm BiCMOS process. Experimental results show that for a power supply of ±1.5 V, the linear range is over ±0.8 V with the linearity error less than 2%. The total harmonic distortion is less than 2% with input range up to ±0.8 V. The measured −3 dB bandwidth of the proposed multiplier is about 10 MHz. Its static power dissipation is about 50 μW. The squarer modified from the proposed multiplier has the input range up to ±1 V. This circuit is expected to be useful in low-voltage analog signal processing applications.

The speed of light is an important physical parameter. Currently it is a common belief of the constance of the speed of light regardless of the relative velocity between the source and the observer. Because the speed of light is very fast, if the relative velocity is small compared with the speed of light, it is difficult to detect the effect of the relative velocity on the measurement of the speed of light. In this paper we present a method of comparing the speeds of starlight and the light emitting from a terrestrial source. We use a telescope to collect the light from the star having significant relative velocity with respect to the earth, e.g. Capella. Then we modulate the starlight and the light emitted from the local source into pulses i.e. these pulses leave the modulator simultaneously. After travelling 4.2 km, these pulses are detected by a receiver. If the starlight and the terrestrial light have the same speed, then these pulses must arrive at the receiver at the same time. Our results show that the arrival times of the pulses of starlight are different from that of the local light. For example, the Capella is leaving away from the earth. The Capella pulses arrive later than the local light pulses. It indicates that the speed of Capella starlight is slower than the common believed value, c. The presented method uses one clock and one stick, so the clock synchronization problem and any physical unit transformation can be avoided.

A CMOS vector summation circuit using the square-law characteristics of MOS transistors in the saturation region is presented. Simulation and experimental results are given to verify the theoretical analyzes. Second-order effects such as mobility reduction and transistor mismatch are also investigated. The proposed circuits are expected to be useful in analog signal-processing applications.

A new CMOS four-quadrant multiplier using active attenuators is presented. Simulation results show that for a power supply of ±5 V, the linear range is over + 1 V with the linearity error less than 0-83%. The total harmonic distortion is less than 1% with an input range up to ± 1 V. The simulated —3dB bandwidth is about 5 MHz. Experimental results show that the linear range is within ± 1 V. The proposed multiplier is expected to be useful in analogue signal processing applications.

A CMOS subthreshold four-quadrant multiplier based on unbalanced source-coupled pairs is presented. Experimental and simulation results are given to verify the theoretical analyses. Simulation results show that the nonlinearity error of the multiplier is less than 1% with an input range up to 70 mV. Its total harmonic distortion is less than 1% with an input range up to 50 mV. The simulated bandwidth is about 330kHz. The proposed 'squarer’ was built and tested using discrete CMOS transistor arrays. The proposed circuits are expected to be useful in analogue signal processing applications.

CMOS divider and four-quadrant multiplier circuits using the pool circuits are presented. Using CMOS differential amplifiers and MOS transistors biased in the saturation region, the new analog divider and multiplier are presented. Experimental and simulation results are given-to verify the theoretical analyses. The proposed circuits are expected to be useful in analog signal processing applications. >

Three new sinusoidal oscillators using ihe curreni feedback amplifier (CFA) pole are presented. Two of the proposed sinusoidal oscillators consist of CFAs and resistors without external capacitances. Their oscillation condition and frequency can be independently controlled by two resistors. Experimental results were given lo demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed circuits. The proposed circuits will be suitable for high-frequency applications and integration in bipolar monolithic lechnology.

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease that can affect a few patients with hyperthyroidism. In this case report, we demonstrated that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) was effective for the patient with hyperthyroidism induced by Graves' disease. The patient also remained in the euthyroid state for several years after the treatment. SUBJECT AND SETTING: A 33-year-old woman had palpitations, fatigability, and weight loss and was diagnosed as having Graves' disease. Urticaria and itching skin appeared after she took an antithyroid drug. Therefore, she sought treatment with TCM.After regular therapy with Jia Wei Xiao Yao San in addition to Xia Ku Cao, Bei Mu, and oyster shell, her symptoms subsided and the thyroid function level returned to normal range with 3 years' treatment. She still remained in the euthyroid state for 3 years after discontinuing the TCM treatment up to the present. Neither complications nor side-effects were noted during the TCM treatment.This case demonstrates that TCM is an effective and alternative option for hyperthyroidism induced by Graves' disease, especially for patients who have an allergic reaction caused by thioamides.