Acceptance of VR Shopping: Examining the Role of Technological Characteristics and Consumer Fashion Involvement

The present study examined the effect of vividness and interactivity, the two technological characteristics of VR, and fashion involvement, a consumer characteristic, on consumer’s intent to use VR stores under the framework of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The subjects of the present study were asked to experience a commercially available fashion-brand VR store through a computer monitor and their responses were measured. The results revealed the effects of the technological characteristics of the VR store on consumer beliefs. The higher the perceived vividness of the VR store, the greater the perception that it is easy to use and playful. A higher level of perceived interactivity meant a higher degree of perceived usefulness, ease of use, and playfulness. The results also showed that consumer fashion involvement had a significant impact on perceived playfulness but not on perceived usefulness and ease of use. In addition, a higher degree of perceived ease of use translated into a higher level of perceived usefulness. Regarding the effect of consumer beliefs on usage intention, the more the VR store was perceived as being useful and the greater the playfulness derived from the experience, the higher the consumer intention to adopt the shopping platform. However, the perceived ease of use had a significantly negative impact on consumer usage intention. This shows that, even if VR stores are perceived as easy to use, a lack of perceived benefits, such as usefulness or playfulness, will negate their positive impact on consumer usage intention

MOVIN: Real-time Motion Capture using a Single LiDAR

Recent advancements in technology have brought forth new forms of interactive applications, such as the social metaverse, where end users interact with each other through their virtual avatars. In such applications, precise full-body tracking is essential for an immersive experience and a sense of embodiment with the virtual avatar. However, current motion capture systems are not easily accessible to end users due to their high cost, the requirement for special skills to operate them, or the discomfort associated with wearable devices. In this paper, we present MOVIN, the data-driven generative method for real-time motion capture with global tracking, using a single LiDAR sensor. Our autoregressive conditional variational autoencoder (CVAE) model learns the distribution of pose variations conditioned on the given 3D point cloud from LiDAR.As a central factor for high-accuracy motion capture, we propose a novel feature encoder to learn the correlation between the historical 3D point cloud data and global, local pose features, resulting in effective learning of the pose prior. Global pose features include root translation, rotation, and foot contacts, while local features comprise joint positions and rotations. Subsequently, a pose generator takes into account the sampled latent variable along with the features from the previous frame to generate a plausible current pose. Our framework accurately predicts the performer's 3D global information and local joint details while effectively considering temporally coherent movements across frames. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our architecture through quantitative and qualitative evaluations, comparing it against state-of-the-art methods. Additionally, we implement a real-time application to showcase our method in real-world scenarios. MOVIN dataset is available at \url{https://movin3d.github.io/movin_pg2023/}

Transplantation of Adipose Derived Stromal Cells into the Developing Mouse Eye

Adipose derived stromal cells (ADSCs) were transplanted into a developing mouse eye to investigate the influence of a developing host micro environment on integration and differentiation. Green fluorescent protein-expressing ADSCs were transplanted by intraocular injections. The age of the mouse was in the range of 1 to 10 days postnatal (PN). Survival dates ranged from 7 to 28 post transplantation (DPT), at which time immunohistochemistry was performed. The transplanted ADSCs displayed some morphological differentiations in the host eye. Some cells expressed microtubule associated protein 2 (marker for mature neuron), or glial fibrillary acid protein (marker for glial cell). In addition, some cells integrated into the ganglion cell layer. The integration and differentiation of the transplanted ADSCs in the 5 and 10 PN 7 DPT were better than in the host eye the other age ranges. This study was aimed at demonstrating how the age of host micro environment would influence the differentiation and integration of the transplanted ADSCs. However, it was found that the integration and differentiation into the developing retina were very limited when compared with other stem cells, such as murine brain progenitor cell

Characteristics of DSSC Panels with Silicone Encapsulant

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) allow light transmission and the application of various colors that make them especially suitable for building-integrated PV (BIPV) application. In order to apply DSSC modules to windows, the module has to be panelized: a DSSC module should be protected with toughened glass on the entire surface. Up to the present, it seems to be common to use double glazing with DSSC modules, with air gaps between the glass pane and the DSSC modules. Few studies have been conducted on the characteristics of various glazing methods with DSSC modules. This paper proposes a paneling method that uses silicone encapsulant, analyzing the performance through experimentation. Compared to a multilayered DSSC panel with an air gap, the encapsulant-applied panel showed 6% higher light transmittance and 7% higher electrical efficiency. The encapsulant also prevented electrolyte leakage by strengthening the seals in the DSSC module

Vav1 inhibits RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation and bone resorption

Vav1 is a Rho/Rac guanine nucleotide exchange factor primarily expressed in hematopoietic cells. In this study, we investigated the potential role of Vav1 in osteoclast (OC) differentiation by comparing the ability of bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMCs) obtained from Vav1-deficient (Vav1−/−) and wild-type (WT) mice to differentiate into mature OCs upon stimulation with macrophage colony stimulating factor and receptor activator of nuclear kappa B ligand in vitro. Our results suggested that Vav1 deficiency promoted the differentiation of BMMCs into OCs, as indicated by the increased expression of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, cathepsin K, and calcitonin receptor. Therefore, Vav1 may play a negative role in OC differentiation. This hypothesis was supported by the observation of more OCs in the femurs of Vav1−/− mice than in WT mice. Furthermore, the bone status of Vav1−/− mice was analyzed in situ and the femurs of Vav1−/− mice appeared abnormal, with poor bone density and fewer number of trabeculae. In addition, Vav1-deficient OCs showed stronger adhesion to vitronectin, an αvβ3 integrin ligand important in bone resorption. Thus, Vav1 may inhibit OC differentiation and protect against bone resorption

The lipoxygenase gene family: a genomic fossil of shared polyploidy between Glycine max and Medicago truncatula

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Soybean lipoxygenases (<it>Lxs</it>) play important roles in plant resistance and in conferring the distinct bean flavor. <it>Lxs </it>comprise a multi-gene family that includes <it>GmLx1</it>, <it>GmLx2 </it>and <it>GmLx3</it>, and many of these genes have been characterized. We were interested in investigating the relationship between the soybean lipoxygenase isozymes from an evolutionary perspective, since soybean has undergone two rounds of polyploidy. Here we report the tetrad genome structure of soybean <it>Lx </it>regions produced by ancient and recent polyploidy. Also, comparative genomics with <it>Medicago truncatula </it>was performed to estimate <it>Lxs </it>in the common ancestor of soybean and <it>Medicago</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two <it>Lx </it>regions in <it>Medicago truncatula </it>showing synteny with soybean were analyzed. Differential evolutionary rates between soybean and <it>Medicago </it>were observed and the median Ks values of Mt-Mt, Gm-Mt, and Gm-Gm paralogs were determined to be 0.75, 0.62, and 0.46, respectively. Thus the comparison of Gm-Mt paralogs (Ks = 0.62) and Gm-Mt orthologs (Ks = 0.45) supports the ancient duplication of <it>Lx </it>regions in the common ancestor prior to the <it>Medicago</it>-<it>Glycine </it>split. After speciation, no <it>Lx </it>regions generated by another polyploidy were identified in <it>Medicago</it>. Instead tandem duplication of <it>Lx </it>genes was observed. On the other hand, a lineage-specific duplication occurred in soybean resulting in two pairs of <it>Lx </it>regions. Each pair of soybean regions was co-orthologous to one <it>Lx </it>region in <it>Medicago</it>. A total of 34 <it>Lx </it>genes (15 <it>MtLxs </it>and 19 <it>GmLxs) </it>were divided into two groups by phylogenetic analysis. Our study shows that the <it>Lx </it>gene family evolved from two distinct <it>Lx </it>genes in the most recent common ancestor.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study analyzed two pairs of <it>Lx </it>regions generated by two rounds of polyploidy in soybean. Each pair of soybean homeologous regions is co-orthologous to one region of <it>Medicago</it>, demonstrating the quartet structure of the soybean genome. Differential evolutionary rates between soybean and <it>Medicago </it>were observed; thus optimized rates of Ks per year should be applied for accurate estimation of coalescence times to each case of comparison: soybean-soybean, soybean-<it>Medicago</it>, or <it>Medicago</it>-<it>Medicago</it>. In conclusion, the soybean <it>Lx </it>gene family expanded by ancient polyploidy prior to taxon divergence, followed by a soybean- specific duplication and tandem duplications, respectively.</p

Anti-lipoapoptotic effect of Artemisia capillaris extract on free fatty acids-induced HepG2 cells

BACKGROUND: Artemisia capillaris (AC) has been recognized as one of the promising candidates for hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, antiobesitic and anti-inflammatory therapeutic effectiveness. This study evaluated the inherent mechanism and anti-apoptotic activity of 30% ethanol extract of AC (AC extract) 100 μg/ml on free fatty acids (FFAs)-induced HepG2 cellular steatosis and lipoapoptosis. METHODS: Hepatic steatosis was induced by culturing HepG2 cells with a FFAs mixture (oleic and palmitic acid at the proportion of 2:1) for 24 h, thus ultimately giving rise to lipoapoptosis. Cell viability and lipid accumulation were detected by MTT assay and Oil Red O staining method respectively and Caspase-3, −9, Bax, Bcl-2, p-JNK and PUMA were measured for lipoapoptosis after 24 hours. RESULTS: AC extract significantly improved the FFAs-induced steatosis without cytotoxicity and Caspase-3, −9, Bax and Bcl-2 were modulated profitably to HepG2 cells after AC treatment. In addition, AC extract inhibited the activation of c-Jun NH(2) terminal kinase (JNK) and PUMA, which mechanism is related to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). CONCLUSIONS: Combined together, AC extract exerted an obvious hypolipidemic and anti-apoptotic effect, indicating that AC extract might have potential therapeutic herb against NASH

Deep tissue space-gated microscopy via acousto-optic interaction

© 2020, The Author(s).To extend the imaging depth of high-resolution optical microscopy, various gating operations—confocal, coherence, and polarization gating—have been devised to filter out the multiply scattered wave. However, the imaging depth is still limited by the multiply scattered wave that bypasses the existing gating operations. Here, we present a space gating method, whose mechanism is independent of the existing methods and yet effective enough to complement them. Specifically, we reconstruct an image only using the ballistic wave that is acousto-optically modulated at the object plane. The space gating suppresses the multiply scattered wave by 10–100 times in a highly scattering medium, and thus enables visualization of the skeletal muscle fibers in whole-body zebrafish at 30 days post fertilization. The space gating will be an important addition to optical-resolution microscopy for achieving the ultimate imaging depth set by the detection limit of ballistic wav

Acousto-optic volumetric gating for reflection-mode deep optical imaging within a scattering medium

The imaging depth of deep-tissue optical microscopy is governed by the performance of the gating operation that suppresses the multiply scattered waves obscuring the ballistic waves. Although various gating operations based on confocal, time-resolved/coherence-gated, and polarization-selective detections have proven to be effective, each has its own limitation; certain types of multiply scattered waves can bypass the gating. Here, we propose a method, volumetric gating, that introduces ultrasound focus to confocal reflectance imaging to suppress the multiply scattered waves traveling outside the ultrasonic focal volume. The volumetric gating axially rejects the multiply scattered wave traveling to a depth shallower than the object plane while suppressing the deeper penetrating portion that travels across the object plane outside the transversal extent of the ultrasonic focus of 30${\times}$90${\mu}m^2$. These joint gating actions along the axial and lateral directions attenuate the multiply scattered waves by a factor of 1/1000 or smaller, thereby extending the imaging depth to 12.1 times the scattering mean free path while maintaining the diffraction-limited resolution of 1.5 ${\mu}$m. We demonstrated an increase in the imaging depth and contrast for internal tissue imaging of mouse colon and small intestine through their outer walls. We further developed theoretical and experimental frameworks to characterize the axial distribution of light trajectories inside scattering media. The volumetric gating will serve as an important addition to deep-tissue imaging modalities and a useful tool for studying wave propagation in scattering media.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure