Quantifying coloring skills among preschoolers

Importance: Coloring is popular with preschool children and reveals their developmental state. However, interpreting coloring performances is challenging because descriptive and subjective evaluations are commonly used with large variations. Objective: To develop a scoring method to objectively quantify children’s coloring skills. Design: Colored blank train templates were analyzed using four indicators (entropy, complexity, coloring outside the lines, and unexpected blank areas) to form a summed score. Setting: Kindergarten in a urban city (Tainan, Taiwan). Participants: Two hundred thirty-nine typically developing children ages 3 to 6 yr. Outcome and Measures: A newly developed method to assess coloring skill on the basis of a colored picture of a train. Results: The summed score exhibited good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α = .80), discriminative validity (p = .04), convergent validity (rs = .66 and .59 with age and visual–motor integration), and acceptable factorial validity (comparative fit index = .99, standardized root-mean-square residual = .04, and root-mean-square error of approximation = .13). Moreover, three coloring patterns (mature, transitional, and immature) were identified. Conclusions and Relevance: The new method provides objective, reliable, and valid scores representing coloring skills in typically developing children. In addition, the coloring patterns can be recognized. This method can be used to facilitate comparisons of children’s coloring skills with peers and provide valuable insight into children’s development. Plain-Language Summary: This study proposes a new method to objectively quantify children’s coloring skills with sound reliability and validity in typically developing children. The method can be used to evaluate children’s coloring skills and patterns to shed light on their developmental stages

Analysis and Monitoring Results of a Building Integrated Photovoltaic Façade Using PV Ceramic Tiles in Taiwan

Single-crystal silicon-based solar cells laminated with tempered-glass and ceramic tiles for use in a building’s façade have been developed. The optical, thermal, and electrical properties of the proposed PV module are first evaluated, and then a wind-resistance test is carried out to evaluate the feasibility of installing it in Taiwan. The electrical and deflection characteristics of the proposed PV module did not change significantly after a 50 thermal cycling test and a 200-hour humidity-freeze test, based on IEC 61215 and a wind-resistance test. Finally, the electrical power generation ability of the proposed BIPV system with 1 kWp electrical power capacity was examined. Building information modeling software tools were used to simulate the BIPV system and carry out the energy analysis. The simulation results show a very consistent trend with regard to the actual monthly electricity production of the BIPV system designed in this work. The BIPV system was able to produce an accumulative electrical power of 185 kWh during the 6-month experimental period. In addition, the exterior temperature of the demonstration house was about 10°C lower than the surface of the BIPV system, which could reduce indoor temperature

Proteomic analysis of rhein-induced cyt: ER stress mediates cell death in breast cancer cells

Rhein is a natural product purified from herbal plants such as Rheum palmatum, which has been shown to have anti-angiogenesis and anti-tumor metastasis properties. However, the biological effects of rhein on the behavior of breast cancers are not completely elucidated. To evaluate whether rhein might be useful in the treatment of breast cancer and its cytotoxic mechanism, we analyzed the impact of rhein treatment on differential protein expression as well as redox regulation in a non-invasive breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, and an invasive breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, using lysine- and cysteine-labeling two-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) combined with MALDI-TOF/TOF mass spectrometry. This proteomic study revealed that 73 proteins were significantly changed in protein expression; while 9 proteins were significantly altered in thiol reactivity in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cells. The results also demonstrated that rhein-induced cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells mostly involves dysregulation of cytoskeleton regulation, protein folding, the glycolysis pathway and transcription control. A further study also indicated that rhein promotes misfolding of cellular proteins as well as unbalancing of the cellular redox status leading to ER-stress. Our work shows that the current proteomic strategy offers a high-through-put platform to study the molecular mechanisms of rhein-induced cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells. The identified differentially expressed proteins might be further evaluated as potential targets in breast cancer therapy

Trypsin-induced proteome alteration during cell subculture in mammalian cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>It is essential to subculture the cells once cultured cells reach confluence. For this, trypsin is frequently applied to dissociate adhesive cells from the substratum. However, due to the proteolytic activity of trypsin, cell surface proteins are often cleaved, which leads to dysregulation of the cell functions.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, a triplicate 2D-DIGE strategy has been performed to monitor trypsin-induced proteome alterations. The differentially expressed spots were identified by MALDI-TOF MS and validated by immunoblotting.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>36 proteins are found to be differentially expressed in cells treated with trypsin, and proteins that are known to regulate cell metabolism, growth regulation, mitochondrial electron transportation and cell adhesion are down-regulated and proteins that regulate cell apoptosis are up-regulated after trypsin treatment. Further study shows that bcl-2 is down-regulated, p53 and p21 are both up-regulated after trypsinization.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In summary, this is the first report that uses the proteomic approach to thoroughly study trypsin-induced cell physiological changes and provides researchers in carrying out their experimental design.</p

Assessing trends and predictors of tuberculosis in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Variety of environmental and individual factors can cause tuberculosis (TB) incidence change. The purpose of this study was to assess the characteristics of TB trends in the period 2004 - 2008 in Taiwan by month, year, gender, age, temperature, seasonality, and aborigines.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The generalized regression models were used to examine the potential predictors for the monthly TB incidence in regional and national scales.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that (<it>i</it>) in Taiwan the average TB incidence was 68 per 100,000 population with mortality rate of 0.036 person^-1yr^-1, (<it>ii</it>) the highest TB incidence rate was found in eastern Taiwan (116 per 100,000 population) with the largest proportion of TB relapse cases (8.17%), (<it>iii</it>) seasonality, aborigines, gender, and age had a consistent and dominant role in constructing TB incidence patterns in Taiwan, and (<it>iv</it>) gender, time trend, and 2-month lag maximum temperature showed strong association with TB trends in aboriginal subpopulations.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The proposed Poisson regression model is capable of forecasting patterns of TB incidence at regional and national scales. This study suggested that assessment of TB trends in eastern Taiwan presents an important opportunity for understanding the time-series dynamics and control of TB infections, given that this is the typical host demography in regions where these infections remain major public health problems.</p

An Evaluation of Speaking Activities in Junior High School English Textbooks for the Nine-year Integrated Curriculum

教科書為老師及學生在課堂中學習英語的一個主要依據，所以教科書的內容和活動設計都會直接影響教學過程的進行方式和學生的學習狀況。本論文針對現行國民中學英語教科書中的口說活動進行探討，比較其中兩家出版社所出版的英語教科書如何設計口說活動及相關練習。本論文將教科書中的口說練習活動分別依照(1)活動類型、(2)溝通前之練習(pre-communicative activities)/溝通式活動(communicative activities)及(3)溝通程度(communicativeness)作分析，然後進一步去討論該活動設計是否符合九年一貫課程綱要中所敘述的方向準則。 根據資料分析結果，兩套教科書所採用的活動類型與進行方式相當類似，且集中在發音、句型練習、對話三種活動類型；所採用的口說活動類型中，以「在溝通前之練習」為主，「溝通式活動」則是相對少了很多；在溝通程度的分佈上，也都是以Category 4 (new information being transferred)和Category 6 (no information being processed)為主要。整體而言，此兩套教科書的活動設計不夠符合溝通式教學法的精神，在口說練習活動的設計上，雖然提供學生開口練習的機會，可惜份量不多，並且常缺乏語境，仍偏重傳統結構式的教學法，藉由反覆練習讓學生熟記文法句型。此與九年一貫課程綱要中所敘述之相關口說能力的準則相比較，仍有值得思考再進一步改善的空間。In the language classroom, textbooks are the primary resources which teachers and students rely on, so the content and the activity design would have direct influence on how the teaching/learning process proceeding. The present study analyzes speaking activities in two sets of English textbooks, trying to evaluate how they design the speaking activities and what similarities and differences are found between these two sets. These speaking activities are investigated from the perspectives of activity types, pre-communicative and communicative activities, and communicativeness, and then are discussed and evaluated based on the Nine-year Integrated Curriculum Guidelines. According to the results, it is found that both two sets of textbooks apply similar types of speaking activities, where pronunciation, drills, and dialogue are used most. Moreover, most of these activities are pre-communicative and fall into Category 4 (new information being transferred) and Category 6 (no information being processed). Overall, the design of speaking activities is not communicative enough. Although both sets try to provide more opportunities for students’ verbal practice, the proportion is not high, and meaningful contexts are usually ignored. Furthermore, the structural method is emphasized, using repetition and memorization as main techniques for language teaching and learning. Finally, with regard to the Nine-year Integrated Curriculum Guidelines, it seems that activities in the textbooks are not closely in compliance with the guidelines for the large proportion of less communicative activities. Also, definitions of each guideline are not precise or clear enough, and this situation results in influences on how textbook writers realize and interpret these guidelines, and how they design the activities

Dengue Meteorological Determinants during Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Periods in Taiwan

The identification of the key factors influencing dengue occurrence is critical for a successful response to the outbreak. It was interesting to consider possible differences in meteorological factors affecting dengue incidence during epidemic and non-epidemic periods. In this study, the overall correlation between weekly dengue incidence rates and meteorological variables were conducted in southern Taiwan (Tainan and Kaohsiung cities) from 2007 to 2017. The lagged-time Poisson regression analysis based on generalized estimating equation (GEE) was also performed. This study found that the best-fitting Poisson models with the smallest QICu values to characterize the relationships between dengue fever cases and meteorological factors in Tainan (QICu = &minus;8.49 &times; 10&minus;3) and Kaohsiung (&minus;3116.30) for epidemic periods, respectively. During dengue epidemics, the maximum temperature with 2-month lag (&beta; = 0.8400, p &lt; 0.001) and minimum temperature with 5-month lag (0.3832, p &lt; 0.001). During non-epidemic periods, the minimum temperature with 3-month lag (0.1737, p &lt; 0.001) and mean temperature with 2-month lag (2.6743, p &lt; 0.001) had a positive effect on dengue incidence in Tainan and Kaohsiung, respectively

Recent advances in photoluminescent polymer optical fibers

Polymer optical fibers (POFs) have been utilized in several applications since the late 1950s. Adding photoluminescence (PL) to the fiber considerably widens the optical functionality of POFs and opens new application fields. In recent years, the availability of laboratory-scale production methods with industrialization potential has triggered a surge of new studies and developments in the promising area of PL-POFs. These applications, profiting from the addition of PL to fibers, are identified in this review as: light harvesting, sensing, color illumination, anti-counterfeiting, and random lasing. Progress in these fields is foreseen to generate a need for larger quantities of fibers, therefore large-scale manufacturing and processing methods are becoming more relevant. This review thus provides an overview of the most important developments in this emerging area, together with a description of the key parameters describing PL-POF performance and efficiency

我國禁止行賄外國公務員法制之探討 Reviewing Anti-Bribery Law on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials

近年有關禁止行賄外國公務員之議題已受到國際社會重視，尤其當美國政府對於違反海外反貪腐法（Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, FCPA）之執法地域範圍從歐美擴及於亞洲時，我國企業及科技公司應更加重視企業行賄外國公務員之防制，以降低相關法律風險。然而，過去我國肅貪政策係以公部門貪腐防制為重心。雖然我國於 2003 年將行賄外國公務員行為刑罰化，惟從防制跨國賄賂犯罪與提升企業競爭力之角度而言，現行法存有許多疑義尚待釐清，並使得我國企業無妥適之法律制度可資遵循。本文旨在探討我國禁止行賄外國公務員規範與實務之相關問題，除說明有關 FCPA 之企業遵法議題外，並嘗試從美國法觀點與實證質性研究分析我國防制行賄外國公務員及企業遵法應有之制度內涵，以及提出立法政策建議，以兼顧打擊跨國行賄與保障企業利益之目的。 In recent years, anti-bribery of foreign public officials has received high attention by the international community. While the U.S. government expands the enforcement region of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) from Europe and America to Asia, the enterprises and technology industries in Taiwan should pay more attention to the prohibition against bribing foreign officials in order to decrease legal risk. In the past, the main regulate focus of the corruption prohibition laws in Taiwan were mainly on the public sector. Although the bribery of foreign officials became criminalized in Taiwan in 2003, from the perspective of implementing the anti-bribery policy and enhancing the competitiveness edge of the enterprises, the laws currently in force leave many problems to be solved, and the enterprises was left no clear rules to comply. For the first part of this article, it will introduce the issues currently existed in the anti-bribery laws in Taiwan. In the sec-ond part, this article will clarify the recent issues regarding the corporate compliance program of the FCPA. Finally, it will consider and provide legislative suggestions that may improve Taiwan’s anti-bribery policy from the perspective of U.S. law and on the basis of qualitative research conducted