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Higher education plays a key role in national economic development. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education (MOE), there were 166 higher education institutions (HEIs) in Taiwan in 2014. This form of mass education provides more educational opportunities for students, but also causes problems like low teaching quality and competitiveness which decrease students' learning outcomes. Using multilevel models, this study examined the strength of the association between student engagement and the development of student learning outcome based on data from 1,226 students. This study examined how learning and institutional scales contribute to the narrative on academic rigor at a medium, private teaching institution. The results indicate that a specific type of engagement is linked to a particular learning outcome, which means that not every engagement type has an equal impact thereon.

The waxy protein primarily controls the synthesis of amylose, which is a key determinant of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cooking and processing qualities. Knowledge of the diversity of waxy gene in Chinese rice is essential to validate molecular markers for marker-assisted selection and to trace the origin of Chinese glutinous rice. The waxy (Wx) gene in the wild rice has rarely been studied, and the origin of Chinese glutinous rice is not well understood. The objectives of our investigation were (i) to identify the diversity of Wx and molecular markers for marker-assisted breeding and (ii) trace the origin of Chinese glutinous rice. We examined the sequence variations for the waxy gene of 98 accessions of cultivated rice and 134 accessions of wild rice from a previously established microcore collection of Chinese rice germplasm. A total of 51 and 226 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) or insertions or deletions were found in the cultivated rice and the wild rice, respectively. Wild rice accessions had much higher diversity than cultivated rice and nonglutinous rice had much higher diversity than glutinous rice whereas the genetic diversity of indica rice was similar to that of japonica rice. Polymorphisms of CTn microsatellite, G/T SNP, and 23-bp insertion in the waxy gene and their relationship to amylose content were explored using cultivated rice. The G/T allele and 23-bp insertion were better associated with amylose content than with the CTn alleles, and they were validated as molecular markers for markerassisted selection. All the wild rice accessions with 23-bp insertion or Τ allele came from South China and the glutinous rice originated from wild rice of South China parallel with indica and japonica differentiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This phase II randomised trial was designed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy and feasibility of radio frequency regional hyperthermia in combination with chemotherapy for patients with advanced non-small lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Eighty patients with pathologically proven advanced NSCLC, were enrolled and divided into two groups. Group A patients were treated by radio frequency regional hyperthermia in combination with the regimen of gemcitabine and cisplatin (GP). Group B patients were treated with the GP regimen alone. Results: In group A, one patient achieved a complete response (CR), 18 achieved a partial response (PR), 18 achieved a stable disease and three experienced a progression of the disease. Thirty-three patients had a positive Clinical Benefit Response (CBR). In group B, no patient achieved CR, 17 achieved PR, 19 achieved a stable disease and four experienced a progression of the disease. Nineteen patients had a positive CBR. Significant differences between the two groups were observed for the CBR ( P < 0.05), but not for RR. Major toxicities included bone marrow depression, nausea, vomiting, without significant differences between the two groups ( P > 0.05). Conclusions: Radio-frequency regional hyperthermia in combination with chemotherapy (GP) is a safe, well tolerated, and effective therapeutic modality for patients with advanced NSCLC. The addition of hyperthermia improved quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To assess the efficacy of sequential treatment with lamivudine and interferon-alpha monotherapies in Chinese patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B.Methods: One hundred and sixty-two patients with HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B were included in this study. Ninety-eight were treated with lamivudine alone (100 mg per day) for 48 weeks (group B). Sixty-four were treated with lamivudine alone (100 mg per day) for 20 weeks, then combined with interferon-alpha-2b (5 million units three times per week) for 4 weeks and then treated for another 24 weeks with interferon-alpha-2b alone (5 million units three times per week) (group A). All patients were followed for an additional 24 weeks.Results: After 48 weeks of treatment, the percentage of patients with normalization of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels or hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA levels below 1000 copies/mL was not significantly different between the lamivudine monotherapy group (55.10% and 55.10%, respectively) and the sequential treatment group (59.36% and 56.25%, respectively). The percentage of patients with normalized ALT levels was significantly higher in group A (53%) than in group B (36%) at week 72 (P<0.05). The percentage of patients with lamivudine-resistant mutations was significantly higher with lamivudine monotherapy (22.45%) than with sequential therapy (P<0.05).Conclusions: Sequential treatment of chronic hepatitis B with lamivudine and interferon-alpha monotherapies is as effective as lamivudine-alone treatment in Chinese patients. However, sequential treatment can significantly suppress the emergence of lamivudine-resistant mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To study the immunomodulatory effects of spleenic cells added by souble IL-15Ralpha on the regulation of melanoma cell growth., Methods: The spleenic cells of mice were prepared for culture for 48 hours by adding or not adding soluble IL-15Ralpha (sIL-15Ralpha). Then the adherent cells and non- adherent cells were separated. FACS was used to detect the expression of CD4, CD8, B220, CD11c and CD1a; as mentioned above, the four groups (non-adherent cells of spleenic cells, adherent cells of spleenic cells, non-adherent cells of spleenic cells added by sIL-15Ralpha, adherent cells of spleenic cells added by sIL-15Ralpha) were mixed with melanoma cells separately, then injected intraperitoneally into the cells to mice to observe the tumor volume of the mice, control group was only injected intraperitoneally into melanoma cells., Results: The melanoma growth rate of mice with adherent cells added by sIL-15Ralpha was significantly less than that of the other groups. FACS showed the molecules of this group were possibly dendritic cells., Conclusion: sIL-15Ralpha added by spleenic cells can make an immunomodulatory effets possibly mainly by the effects of dendritic cells and inhibit the growth of tumor cells.