464 research outputs found
Game theoretic power aware wireless data access
The paper examines the following wireless data access scenario: a number of clients are interested in a set of data items kept at the server. A client sends a query request to inform the server of its desired data item. The server replies in the common broadcast channel. We first define a utility function that considers the client's power consumption in transmit, receive and idle modes. Specifically, utility is expressed as the number of queries that can be completed given a fixed energy source. Based on the utility function, we formulate our power aware wireless data access scheme as a non-cooperative game, called the WDA game. From our theoretical analysis, we show that clients are not always necessary to send query requests to the server. Instead, each client determines the request probability without any explicit communication with one another. Furthermore, we design and evaluate the server and client algorithms for the WDA game. Simulation results confirm that our proposed scheme, compared with a simple always-request one, increases the utility and lifetime of every client while reducing the number of requests sent, at the cost of a slightly larger average query delay.published_or_final_versio
Glycodelin suppresses endometrial cell migration and invasion but stimulates spheroid attachment
Glycodelin contains four isoforms with diverse biological functions. Glycodelin-A is potentially a diagnostic marker for cancer patients and receptivity marker of the secretory endometrium. Yet, direct evidence for the role of glycodelin in the regulation of endometrial epithelial cell migration, invasion and attachment of trophoblastic spheroids (blastocyst surrogate) is lacking. In this study, the human glycodelin gene was stably transfected into human endometrial (HEC1-B) cells. Forced expression of glycodelin in HEC1-B cells did not affect cell proliferation, cell viability or cell-cycle progression, but significantly reduced migration and invasion of the stably transfected cells (both P < 0.05). The migration rate returned to normal levels when the glycodelin-forced-expressing HEC1-B cells were treated with glycodelin RNAi. Furthermore, forced expression of glycodelin in HEC1-B cells significantly increased the attachment of trophoblastic spheroids onto the endometrial epithelial cells (P < 0.05). In summary, glycodelin suppressed endometrial cell migration and invasion but enhanced spheroid attachment. © 2012, Reproductive Healthcare Ltd.postprin
Optical studies of ZnS:Mn films grown by pulsed laser deposition
Author name used in this publication: C. L. MakAuthor name used in this publication: K. H. Wong2002-2003 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe
SkyApp: a tablet-based e-learning design tool for mathematics teachers to cater for learning diversity
Session: Effect of gamesTheme: Engaging Learners: Games and Flipped LearningLearning diversity is one of the most challenging difficulties encountered by teachers in primary and secondary schools. This project aims at building a design tool for teachers of Mathematics to develop tablet-based e-learning activities and apply different pedagogical actions based on the results of learning analytics. With the analysis of fine grained learners’ behaviors in previous activities, such as the handwriting of calculation in solving multi-step questions, number of attempts in answering each question, answering sequence and thinking time, the design tool will ...postprin
Effects of cold water immersion on muscle oxygenation during repeated bouts of fatiguing exercise : a randomized controlled study
2015-2016 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journalVersion of RecordPublishe
Development and Validation of the Chinese Attitudes to Starting Insulin Questionnaire (Ch-ASIQ) for Primary Care Patients with Type 2 Diabetes
Objectives: To develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of a Chinese questionnaire which assesses the barriers and enablers to commencing insulin in primary care patients with poorly controlled Type 2 diabetes. Research Design and Method: Questionnaire items were identified using literature review. Content validation was performed and items were further refined using an expert panel. Following translation, back translation and cognitive debriefing, the translated Chinese questionnaire was piloted on target patients. Exploratory factor analysis and item-scale correlations were performed to test the construct validity of the subscales and items. Internal reliability was tested by Cronbach's alpha. Results: Twenty-seven identified items underwent content validation, translation and cognitive debriefing. The translated questionnaire was piloted on 303 insulin naïve (never taken insulin) Type 2 diabetes patients recruited from 10 government-funded primary care clinics across Hong Kong. Sufficient variability in the dataset for factor analysis was confirmed by Bartlett's Test of Sphericity (P 0.4 and Eigenvalues >1. Total variance for the 10 factors was 66.22%. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure was 0.725. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the first four factors were ≥0.6 identifying four subscales to which 13 items correlated. Remaining sub-scales and items with poor internal reliability were deleted. The final 13-item instrument had a four scale structure addressing: 'Self-image and stigmatization'; 'Factors promoting self-efficacy; 'Fear of pain or needles'; and 'Time and family support'. Conclusion: The Chinese Attitudes to Starting Insulin Questionnaire (Ch-ASIQ) appears to be a reliable and valid measure for assessing barriers to starting insulin. This short instrument is easy to administer and may be used by healthcare providers and researchers as an assessment tool for Chinese diabetic primary care patients, including the elderly, who are unwilling to start insulin. © 2013 Fu et al.published_or_final_versio
Exploring Characteristics of Fine-Grained Behaviors of Learning Mathematics in Tablet-Based E-Learning Activities
Attributes of teaching and learning contexts provide rich information about how students participate in learning activities. By tracking and analyzing snapshots of these attributes captured continuously throughout the duration of the learning activities, teachers can identify individual students who need special attention and apply different pedagogical actions to them. This paper describes the results of the work-in-progress study in exploring characteristics of fine-grained behaviors of learning mathematics in tablet-based e-learning activities. An experimental platform called SkyApp is built. Through SkyApp, teachers can create e-learning activities and track learning records of students after the delivery of the activities. SkyApp supports capturing, storing and analyzing of fine-grained behaviors of students. Pilot tests have been done in two primary schools for eight months. The review of the tests demonstrates the potential in performing learning analytics. By applying clustering algorithms on multiple learning metrics of marks, time and number of attempts for students in solving mathematics questions, classification of students by learning characteristics of performance and engagement can be formulated. [For the complete proceedings, see ED579335.]published_or_final_versio
Comparative evaluation of a point-of-care immunochromatographic test SNAP 4Dx with molecular detection tests for vector-borne canine pathogens in Hong Kong
There are no comprehensive studies on the performance of commonly used point-of-care diagnostic enzyme immunoassay for common arthropod-borne canine pathogens. A comparative evaluation of an immunochromatographic test for these infections with a comprehensive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test panel was performed on 100 pet dogs and 100 stray dogs without obvious clinical symptoms. Of the 162 positive test results from both immunochromatographic test and PCR, there was 85.2% concordance. The 24 discordant results between serology and PCR occurred in tests involving Ehrlichia canis (14) and Anaplasma platys (10), which may be related to the time of infection. No positive cases of borreliosis or rickettsiosis were detected. One important limitation of the immunochromatographic test was its lack of testing for babesiosis and hepatozoonosis. The former is the most prevalent arthropod-borne canine infection in our cohort (41%). Coinfections were found in 19% stray dogs and 6% of pet dogs with both tests (p<0.01). Seventeen and 8 samples from stray and pet dogs, respectively, were initially positive in the PCR test for Ehrlichia. However, on sequencing of the PCR amplicon, 10 from stray and 2 from pet dogs were found to be Wolbachia sequences instead, with 100% nucleotide identity to the 16S rRNA sequence of Wolbachia endosymbiont of Dirofilaria immitis. The presence of Wolbachia DNAemia (6%) correlated well with the molecular test and immunochromatographic antigen test for D. immitis. © Copyright 2011, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.published_or_final_versio
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