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Taiwan is an aging society, and building good social interactions and interpersonal relationships with others is a key element for aging people to realize the status of “successful aging”. Social interaction can actually empower the elderly to reach this status. This study examines social interaction building among aging people who play mobile games with an augmented function. The qualitative research methods adopted are in-depth interviews, focus groups, and field research spanning six months. Sixteen aging people accepted our invite for an interview. The research questions are divided into “Gaming behavior”, “Social interaction”, and “Life re-thinking”. The results reveal the following. First, leisure capital is needed in order to maintain the social interaction built up through mobile game playing by aging people. It is not achieved suddenly, but rather through personal investment. Second, aging people are unfamiliar with the Internet and find it hard to trust others easily; however, augmented reality games can combine exercising with fun, so that the elderly can play games with their friends at the same place and same time in a sort of social ritual. In this way, aging people not only consolidate relationships with acquaintances, but have the possibility of getting to know strangers through regular face-to-face encounters. Third, games blur the generation gap and social class boundaries. Games also help consolidate older adults’ original interpersonal relationships and assist them at broadening new interpersonal ties with others. If social welfare policy wants to set up a suitable leisure activity for the elderly in the future, then our findings suggest that the concept of cultivating mutual interests without age barriers can help aging people to build relationships with others and embark on the road to successful aging.

This study aimed to understand the correlation between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic syndrome in nurses. Questionnaires were used to eliminate individuals with a daily drinking habit, hepatitis B or C, or incomplete data. A total of 706 valid samples were obtained. The prevalence of NAFLD among nurses was 36.8%. Nurses with a greater age (OR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.01–1.16), obese BMI (OR = 23.30, 95% CI: 8.88–61.10), overweight BMI (OR = 3.89, 95% CI: 2.15–7.04), waist circumference exceeding the standard (OR = 2.10, 95% CI: 1.14–3.87), fasting blood glucose 100–125 mg/dL (OR = 4.09, 95% CI: 1.19–14.03), and overly low HDL-C (OR = 2.01, 95% CI: 1.05–3.85) were at greater risk of NAFLD. Furthermore, male nurses (OR = 6.42, 95% CI: 1.07–38.70), nurses with triglycerides over 150 mg/dL (OR = 4.80; 95% CI: 1.05–21.95), and nurses with HDL-C lower than the standard (OR = 5.63, 95% CI: 1.35–23.49) were at greater risk of moderate/severe NAFLD. Among younger nurses, those of greater age, male nurses, obese and overweight nurses, and those with a waist circumference exceeding the standard, 100–125 mg/dL, overly low HDL-C, and triglycerides over 150 mg/dL should consider the possibility that they have NAFLD.

Key message Elevated expression of nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat proteins led to closer vein spacing and higher vein density in rice leaves. Abstract To feed the growing global population and mitigate the negative effects of climate change, there is a need to improve the photosynthetic capacity and efficiency of major crops such as rice to enhance grain yield potential. Alterations in internal leaf morphology and cellular architecture are needed to underpin some of these improvements. One of the targets is to generate a “Kranz-like” anatomy in leaves that includes decreased interveinal spacing close to that in C4 plant species. As C4 photosynthesis has evolved from C3 photosynthesis independently in multiple lineages, the genes required to facilitate C4 may already be present in the rice genome. The Taiwan Rice Insertional Mutants (TRIM) population offers the advantage of gain-of-function phenotype trapping, which accelerates the identification of rice gene function. In the present study, we screened the TRIM population to determine the extent to which genetic plasticity can alter vein density (VD) in rice. Close vein spacing mutant 1 (CVS1), identified from a VD screening of approximately 17,000 TRIM lines, conferred heritable high leaf VD. Increased vein number in CVS1 was confirmed to be associated with activated expression of two nucleotide-binding and leucine-rich repeat (NB-LRR) proteins. Overexpression of the two NB-LRR genes individually in rice recapitulates the high VD phenotype, due mainly to reduced interveinal mesophyll cell (M cell) number, length, bulliform cell size and thus interveinal distance. Our studies demonstrate that the trait of high VD in rice can be achieved by elevated expression of NB-LRR proteins limited to no yield penalty.

Cancer treatments may affect the sleep quality and even future quality of life of women with breast cancer. A meta-analysis was performed to understand the changes in the sleep quality of women with breast cancer during their treatment period. In a systematic literature review in compliance with the PRISMA guidelines, we searched for articles published between 2000 and 2018 in databases. A total of 12 study articles were included. The standardized mean differences of the pooling effect size of sleep quality between the period before treatment and 1–8 weeks, 9–16 weeks, 17–24 weeks, and 25–56 weeks after the commencement of treatment were –0.020, –0.162, 0.075, and 0.216, respectively. Although the differences were not statistically significant, in view of the heterogeneity among the studies, we conducted further analysis using a linear mixed effect model. The overall results indicated poorer sleep quality as time passed from the start of the first treatment (p = 0.014). The results of this study revealed that patients experienced better sleep quality in the initial months after the beginning of treatment; however, their sleep quality became poorer between 4 months to approximately 1 year after the beginning of treatment, compared with the sleep quality before treatment, and continued to decline rather than improve during the follow-up period.

This study was to investigate the impact of job satisfaction as the independent variable and the type of shift as the moderator variable on the sleep quality of female shift-working nurses. The Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) short form and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were used as evaluation tools. The subjects in the study were female shift-working nurses from teaching hospitals in northern Taiwan. A total of 178 valid questionnaires were recovered. A hierarchical multiple regression (HMR) was used to test for the moderating effect of shift type. The results demonstrated that there was a negative correlation between the total score for general job satisfaction and the Global PSQI scores. The Global PSQI scores were higher for nurses working night shifts than for those working day and evening shifts. HMR showed significant variances in the interaction between general job satisfaction of female shift-working nurses and the day/night shift as well as the evening/night shift. The type of shift had a moderating effect on the ways in which general job satisfaction impacts sleep quality. Furthermore, the moderating effect of night shift on the impact of job satisfaction on sleep quality was weaker in nurses working the night shift.

Background: Rotating shift work can cause abnormalities in their endocrine system. We conducted a meta-analysis to gain a better understanding of the differences between women working rotating shif...

This article presents a self-report inventory, the “Emotion Scale”, conducted on the basis of Dabrowski’s theory (1964) to understand the emotional development of the gifted. Two subscales, “Emotional Functions” and “Emotional Cognition” were included with 26 items. The coefficients of internal consistency (Cronbach α =.769), stability(.657~.769) and the expert validity(.714~1.000) were well reported. The formal study included 123 mathematically gifted students and 132 regular students from senior high schools in Northern Taiwan. The participants were administered with three instruments: “The Emotion Scale”, “The Me Scale” (OEs Scale), and “The Basic Personality Inventory”. The research findings indicated that the gifted students had better emotional adjustment than the regular students on three scales. There was positive correlation (t=.33, p

The cytotoxic activity of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) flower ethanolic extract (LFEE) against A549 (human lung adenocarcinoma), KB (human nasopharyngeal carcinoma), MCF-7 (human breast adenocarcinoma) and HepG2 (human hepatocellular carcinoma) cells was evaluated. LFEE exhibited better anti-proliferative action against HepG2 cells, which induced G2/M phase arrest and apoptosis in HepG2 cells. HepG2 cells treated with LFEE (0.3 mg/mL) enhanced expressions of p53, tBid, Bad and Bax, along with decreased expressions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL, and induced the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol. That also accompanied by activation of caspases-3, -8 and -9 and cleavage of poly (adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-ribose) polymerase (PARP); furthermore, down-regulations of phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K), Akt, Akt phosphorylation and Bad phosphorylation could also be observed. Five flavonoids (total amount, 101.07 mg/g dried extract (g DE)), nine phenolic acids (total amount, 55.07 mg/ g DE) and proanthocyanidin A2 (81.20 mg/ g DE) could be determined in LFEE.

Pseudaminic acid (Pse) has been known for participating in crucial bacterial virulence and thus is an attractive target in the development of glycoconjugate vaccine. Particularly, this therapeutic alternative was suggested to be a potential solution against antibiotic resistant Acinetobacter baumannii that poses a serious global health threat. Also, Pse was found to be involved in the exopolysaccharide (EPS) of mild antibiotic resistant A. baumannii strain 54149 ( Ab-54149) of which specific glycosyl linkage can be depolymerized by phage ΦAB6 tailspike protein (ΦAB6TSP). In this study, we found that the antibodies induced by Ab-54149 EPS was capable of recognizing a range of EPS of other clinical A. baumannii strains, and deemed as a great potential material for vaccination. To efficiently acquire homogeneous EPS-derived oligosaccharide with significant immunogenic activity for the production of glycoconjugate, we used the ΦAB6TSP for the fragmentation of Ab-54149 EPS instead of chemical methods. Moreover, insight into the ligand binding characterization of ΦAB6TSP suggested the branched Pse on the Ab-54149 EPS served as a recognition site of ΦAB6TSP. The serum boosted by ΦAB6TSP-digested product and carrier protein CRM197 conjugate complex displayed specific sensitivity toward Ab-54149 EPS with bacterial killing activity. Strikingly, Pse is an ideal epitope with strong antigenicity, profiting the application of the probe for pathogen detection and glyco-based vaccine.

The inhibitory effects of epicatechin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of pro-inflammatory mediators in RAW264.7 cells were estimated in the study. The results show that epicatechin could down-regulate the expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 as well as the productions of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-1β [IL-1β], IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α [TNF-α]) in LPS-induced RAW264.7 cells. The attenuation of LPS-induced inflammatory responses in RAW264.7 cells by epicatechin was found to be closely correlated with inhibition of activation of an inhibitor of κB kinase α/β and sequential translocation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) p50/P65 subunits. Moreover, the suppression of activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) (including extracellular signal-regulated kinase [ERK], Jun N-terminus kinase [JNK] and p38) and Janus kinase 2 (JAK2)/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) was also involved in the anti-inflammatory effects of epicatechin. Practical Applications Epicatechin is a major polyphenolic component with effective antioxidant activity in litchi flowers. Antioxidant and radical scavenging activities of phytochemicals might contribute to their anti-inflammatory actions. The results of our study suggest that epicatechin effectively attenuates the production of inflammatory mediators including NO, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in the LPS-induced macrophages through inactivation of NF-κB, MAPKs (ERK, JNK and p38) and JAK2/STAT3 pathways. Litchi flowers might have the potential for anti-inflammation through suitable treatment.

This article proposes that the social and local contexts of gamers should be considered to explain the signifi cations of gamers’ behaviours. For that reason, the concept of ‘leisure capital’ is taken as the key concept and methodology for an integrated approach linking location and social context as the major analysis structure for online game play. The framework of leisure capital in the game generation is divided into macro and micro levels. In the macro context, political forces (education policy and internet infrastructure construction) and commercial forces (low-priced promotion) are two main factors of social context to create affordable and easy access to online games for youth. In the micro context, leisure capital refers to the set of usable resources of individual gamers and contains three dimensions: economic capital, social capital and cultural capital. The volume of capital, composition of capital, and changes in these two properties are explored in this article.

The present study challenges the popular notion that overly controlling or restrictive parenting is the primary pathway to academic achievement for Chinese Americans. Although traditional Chinese values require parents to make good choices for their children by supervising and asserting strict limits using guǎn (safeguarding) and jiao xun (demandingness of excellence), such parental duties do not preclude the use of autonomy support or noncoercive discipline to promote children’s academic success. In this study, we examined the processes or mechanisms underlying the linkages between parental autonomy support, emotion-related self-regulation, adaptive skills, and academic achievement in 92 Chinese American adolescents (mean age 16 years, SD 1.4) and their first-generation immigrant parents. Study results indicate that parental autonomy support and emotion-related self-regulation are both promotive factors in adaptive and academic competencies. We propose that guǎn (管), or safeguarding, and jiao xun (教訓), or demandingness of excellence, represent parental strictness-supervision, which when counterbalanced by autonomy support, could be considered the yin and yang in parenting that promotes adolescents’ academic success without harming their social–emotional or psychological well-being.

Quick Response (QR) code is a widely used matrix bar code with the increasing population of smart phones. However, QR code usually consists of random textures which are not suitable for incorporating with other visual designs (e.g. name card and business advertisement poster). In order to overcome the shortcomings of noise-like looks of QR codes, we propose a systematic QR code beautification framework where the visual appearance of QR code is composed of visually meaningful patterns selected by users, and more importantly, the correctness of message decoding is kept intact. Our work makes QR code from machine decodable only (i.e. standardized random texture) to a personalized form with human visual pleasing appearance. We expect the proposed QR code beautifier can inspire more visual-pleasant mobile multimedia applications.

A vertical, two-dimensional heavy metal (lead) transport model incorporated into the hydrodynamic, salt, and sediment transport modules was developed to simulate the lead concentration in the tidal Keelung River estuary of northern Taiwan. We validated the developed model with measured data, including longitudinal velocity, salinity, suspended sediment, and heavy metal (lead) concentration, obtained in 1998. An exponential relationship relating the salinity and suspended-sediment concentrations was established to calculate the partition coefficient of lead in the estuary. The simulated results of dissolved, particulate, and total lead concentrations agreed well with the measured data. A model sensitivity analysis indicated that the partition coefficient plays an important role in the distribution of dissolved and particulate lead concentrations along the tidal Keelung River estuary.

The amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the water column is of fundamental importance in determining the growth of aquatic plant and aquatic primary production. Light attenuation in aquatic ecosystems has important ecological implication and water quality applications. In the present study, the light attenuation through the water column in the Shihmen Reservoir, Taiwan was measured. A light attenuation coefficient (Ke) can be derived from the PAR measurements at each stations. The linear regression analysis reveals that Secchi disk depth is a sample alternative measure of light transmitability and provides a reasonable estimate of the light attenuation coefficient in the Shihmen Reservoir. We conducted multiple-regression analysis for the Ke, chlorophyll a, and total suspended solids (TSS). Because the concentration of chlorophyll a is roughly

Writable Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Display and the algorithm used to detect its image were developed. We could use any hard tip, ex: the tip of a forefinger, to directly write an image on the surface of Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Display (CHLCD). By measuring the capacitance of one pixel of test cell (12mm × 15mm/ 1×1), F-state or P-state could be detected. By measuring the capacitance of one pixel of 4.1″ CHLCD (241um × 241um/ 320×320), F-state or P-state could not be detected, due to the effect of parasitic capacitance. Therefore, high frequency measurement and the algorithm were developed to detect the image on CHLCD.

We developed a n -hexane/surfactant-containing water solvent system in counter-current chromatography (CCC) in order to separate hydrophobic compounds. By using the upper phase as the mobile phase, we have separated steroid samples. Retention times of steroids progesterone and Δ 4 -androstene-3,17-dione increased slightly by increasing the concentration below the critical micellar concentration (CMC) of surfactant sodium 1-heptanesulfonate. However, the retention times increased drastically while the SHS concentrations were above the CMC. The partition of these two steroids in the two phases was significantly dependent on the interaction with micelles. Aromatic hydrocarbons were not retained by the lower phase no matter what the surfactant concentrations were. Their hydrophobic interaction with n -hexane greatly exceeded that with the micellar solution. The retention times of esters, however, were only slightly affected by the surfactant addition even above the CMC. The weaker interaction between esters and the micellar solution was probably due to their higher polarity. The micellar solvent systems provide an alternative way for hydrophobic sample separations in CCC, but the performance is limited.

Electrode dimension effects on the electro-optic properties of a polymer-stabilized blue-phase liquid crystal (PS-BPLC) are investigated experimentally. By reducing the width and gap of the in-plane-switching (IPS) electrodes, the operating voltage of the PS-BPLC is decreased significantly while keeping over 80% transmittance. This unexpected high transmittance results from fringing field migration into the electrode region, which in turn activates more BPLC material and enlarges the aperture ratio. Further reducing electrode dimension to 2 m would cause some undesirable effects, such as increased response time and hysteresis due to electrostriction effect and phase transition, and ultimately damage the polymer networks.

This study developed an ink-jet printing method capable of producing multi-domain alignment liquid crystal displays. Based on the drop-on-demand characteristics of ink jet printing, the ink's location in different alignment manners could be defined in one pixel. This paper describes two practical applications. The first involves integrating the hybrid aligned zone with the homeotropic aligned area in one pixel to create a multi-domain alignment when the voltage is applied. This proposed method achieved a wide viewing angle. The second, similar approach using ink jet printing was performed on a single-cell-gap transflective liquid crystal display. A 2.4-in 170-ppi prototype demonstrates mass-production feasibility.

A direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) with a BOP system is introduced. The DMFC stack operating with this BOP system is characterized. The DMFC stack performance gradually degrades as flooding occurs. A series of experiments under different environmental conditions were carried out to determine the ways for minimizing flooding. The results show that the water flooding more easily occurs when the DMFC stack operating in a closed system than in an open system. In a closed system, the temperature is the most important control factor to maintain the DMFC stack sustainable operation. Lower temperature differences among the airflow entrance, the exterior side DMFC module, and the DMFC sidewall temperature could reduce the possibility of water flooding occurs inside the DMFC stack. In addition, a large temperature difference between airflow entrance and exit of the DMFC stack would also lead the water flooding inside the stack.Copyright © 2008 by ASME

A panel manufacturing process for multi-color electrowetting display (EWD) by using ink-jet printing (IJP) technique had been developed. To achieve multi-color, two strategies were used, i.e., by using black oil with color filter and by using various colored oils without adopting color filter. for colored oils, various dyes had been used to blend with alkane solution. Then, the jetting behavior of different colored oil for IJP was investigated. Here, a 6-inch multi-color EWD prototype with black oil and color filter was successfully fabricated, and a dual color EWD panel with black and red oils had also been first evaluated.

A 10.4-inch flexible single layer color cholesteric liquid crystal display (ChLCD) is demonstrated. The display is realized by the development of the pixelized vacuum filling (PVF) technique. The performance of the display is 3-bit color and the resolution is QVGA. The display had passed the bending test over 10,000 times with 3 cm curvature.

A large size panel manufacturing process for electrowetting display (EWD) by using surface treatment and ink-jet printing (IJP) techniques had been developed. for hydrophilic rib fabrication, surface treatment technique was adopted to reinforce the adhesion of hydrophilic material on hydrophobic layer to achieve large-Sized panel manufacturing. Also, for dosing of non-polar liquid, IJP technique was used to dose the liquid into the unit pixel individually. By using IJP technique to dose the red, green, and blue oils, full color of EWD can be achieved without adopting color filter in the future. Here, a 6-inch monochrome EWD prototype was successfully fabricated by using our proposed techniques.