Internet Self-Efficacy, Self-Regulation, and Student Performance: African-American Adult Students in Online Learning

The paper intended to investigate adult students’ Internet self-efficacy, self-regulation, and performance in online learning environments. The relationships between these variables and the effect of student characteristics on Internet self-efficacy and self-regulation were explored. The participants of this study were African American students from a university in the United States. They participated in two web-based research courses offered in summer. Data were collected through an online survey and were analyzed by a quantitative approach. The results showed Internet self-efficacy was positively related to self-regulation at a significant level. Internet selfefficacy and self-regulation differed in terms of student performance. The differences of gender and age did not have a significant impact on Internet self-efficacy and self-regulation. Discussions and implications were addressed according to the major findings of this study

Exploring factors influencing minority students’ perceived learning in collaborative Wiki-based learning environments

This study examined the factors affecting minority students’ learning experience in Wiki-based environments. These factors included perceived collaborative learning, sense of community, Wiki self-efficacy, and perceived learning experience. The relationships of these factors were explored. The participants were 45 African American students enrolled in two undergraduate-level management courses in which Wiki was used to facilitate the process of group work. A mixed methods approach was applied to analyze the collected data. Results indicated that sense of community and collaborative learning significantly contributed to perceived learning in Wiki-based environments. However, Wiki self-efficacy was not a good predictor of perceived learning. Most of the minority students were positive about their group learning experience that involved collaborative processes as well as the development of knowledge and skills. Emotional support and support for cognitive or meta-cognitive processing were identified as factors that had potential influences on Wiki based collaborative group learning

Shallow Subsurface Structure in the Hualien Basin and Relevance to the Damage Pattern and Fault Rupture during the 2018 Hualien Earthquake

The 2018 M[w] 6.4 Hualien earthquake generated a large peak-to-peak velocity of over 2  m/s, with a period of 3 s at the south end of the Milun fault, which resulted in the collapse of five buildings. To investigate the shallow subsurface soil structure and evaluate possible effects on the ground motion and building damage, we performed microtremor measurements in the Hualien basin. Based on the velocity structure jointly inverted from both Rayleigh-wave dispersion curves and microtremor horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio data, we found that the shallow subsurface structure generally deepens from west to east. Close to the Milun fault, the structure becomes shallower, which is consistent with faulting during the 2018 earthquake and the long-term tectonic displacement. There is no significant variation for the site conditions in the north–south direction that can explain the large peak ground velocity in the south. As a result of the dense measurements in the heavily damaged area, where three high-rise buildings totally collapsed, these locations have the average S-wave velocity of the upper 30 m (AVs₃₀) values and are relatively high compared to the more distant area from the Meilun River. This is somewhat unusual, because lower AVs₃₀ values indicating softer ground conditions are expected close to the river. We did not find any characteristic subsurface soil structure that may contribute to the building collapses. The large 3 s pulse was probably generated by source effects, rather than subsurface soil amplification

Mechanism and kinetics for both thermal and electrochemical reduction of N_2 catalysed by Ru(0001) based on quantum mechanics

The conversion of N_(2(g)) to NH_(3(g)) is an important industrial process that plays a vital role in sustaining the current human population. This chemical transformation relies heavily on the Haber–Bosch process (N2 thermal reduction, N_2TR), which requires enormous quantities of energy (2% of the world supply) and extreme conditions (200 atm and 500 °C). Alternatively, N_(2(g)) can be reduced to NH_(3(g)) through electrochemical means (N_2ER), which may be a less energy intensive and lower-capital approach since the H atoms come from H_2O not H_2. However, N_2ER efficiency is far from satisfactory. In order to provide the basis for developing a new generation of energy efficient processes, we report the detailed atomistic mechanism and kinetics for N_2ER on Ru(0001) along with a comparison to N2TR. We obtained these results using a new electrochemical model for quantum mechanics (QM) calculations to obtain free energy surfaces for all plausible reaction pathways for N_2ER under a constant electrode potential of 0.0 V_(SHE). For both processes, the elementary steps involve several steps of breaking of the NN bonds, hydrogenation of surface N_2H_X or NH_X, and NH_3 release. We find similar energetics for the NN cleavage steps for both systems. However, the hydrogenation steps are very different, leading to much lower free energy barriers for N_2ER compared to N_2TR. Thus, N_2ER favors an associative route where successive hydrogen atoms are added to N_2 prior to breaking the NN bonds rather than the dissociative route preferred by N_2TR, where the NN bonds are broken first followed by the addition of Hs. Our QM results provide the detailed free energy surfaces for N_2ER and N_2TR, suggesting a strategy for improving the efficiency of N_2ER

Mechanism and kinetics for both thermal and electrochemical reduction of N_2 catalysed by Ru(0001) based on quantum mechanics

The conversion of N_(2(g)) to NH_(3(g)) is an important industrial process that plays a vital role in sustaining the current human population. This chemical transformation relies heavily on the Haber–Bosch process (N2 thermal reduction, N_2TR), which requires enormous quantities of energy (2% of the world supply) and extreme conditions (200 atm and 500 °C). Alternatively, N_(2(g)) can be reduced to NH_(3(g)) through electrochemical means (N_2ER), which may be a less energy intensive and lower-capital approach since the H atoms come from H_2O not H_2. However, N_2ER efficiency is far from satisfactory. In order to provide the basis for developing a new generation of energy efficient processes, we report the detailed atomistic mechanism and kinetics for N_2ER on Ru(0001) along with a comparison to N2TR. We obtained these results using a new electrochemical model for quantum mechanics (QM) calculations to obtain free energy surfaces for all plausible reaction pathways for N_2ER under a constant electrode potential of 0.0 V_(SHE). For both processes, the elementary steps involve several steps of breaking of the NN bonds, hydrogenation of surface N_2H_X or NH_X, and NH_3 release. We find similar energetics for the NN cleavage steps for both systems. However, the hydrogenation steps are very different, leading to much lower free energy barriers for N_2ER compared to N_2TR. Thus, N_2ER favors an associative route where successive hydrogen atoms are added to N_2 prior to breaking the NN bonds rather than the dissociative route preferred by N_2TR, where the NN bonds are broken first followed by the addition of Hs. Our QM results provide the detailed free energy surfaces for N_2ER and N_2TR, suggesting a strategy for improving the efficiency of N_2ER

Protective Effects of Morus Root Extract (MRE) Against Lipopolysaccharide-Activated RAW264.7 Cells and CCl4-Induced Mouse Hepatic Damage

Background/Aims: Inflammation is one of the main contributors to chronic diseases such as cancer. It is of great value to identify the potential activity of various medicinal plants for regulating or blocking uncontrolled chronic inflammation. We investigated whether the root extract of Morus australis possesses antiinflammatory and antioxidative stress potential and hepatic protective activity. Methods: The microwave-assisted extractionwere was used to prepare the ethanol extract from the dried root of Morus australis (MRE), including polyphenolic and flavonoid contents. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells was examined the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative potential of MRE. CCl4-induced mouse hepatic damage were performed to detect the hepatic protective potential in vivo. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western blot assays were used to detect target proteins. Results: MRE contained approximately 23% phenolic compounds and 3% flavonoids. The major flavonoid component of MRE was morusin. MRE and morusin inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced production of nitrite and prostaglandin E2 in RAW264.7 cells. MRE and morusin also suppressed the formation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and the expression of iNOS and COX-2. In an in vivo study, a thiobarbituric acid reactive substances assay showed that MRE inhibited CCl4-induced oxidative stress and expression of nitrotyrosine. MRE also decreased CCl4-induced hepatic iNOS and COX-2 expression, as well as CCl4-induced hepatic inflammation and necrosis in mice. Conclusion: MRE exhibited antiinflammatory and hepatic protective activity

Transgenic Expression of Decoy Receptor 3 Protects Islets from Spontaneous and Chemical-induced Autoimmune Destruction in Nonobese Diabetic Mice

Decoy receptor 3 (DCR3) halts both Fas ligand– and LIGHT-induced cell deaths, which are required for pancreatic β cell damage in autoimmune diabetes. To directly investigate the therapeutic potential of DCR3 in preventing this disease, we generated transgenic nonobese diabetic mice, which overexpressed DCR3 in β cells. Transgenic DCR3 protected mice from autoimmune and cyclophosphamide-induced diabetes in a dose-dependent manner and significantly reduced the severity of insulitis. Local expression of the transgene did not alter the diabetogenic properties of systemic lymphocytes or the development of T helper 1 or T regulatory cells. The transgenic islets had a higher transplantation success rate and survived for longer than wild-type islets. We have demonstrated for the first time that the immune-evasion function of DCR3 inhibits autoimmunity and that genetic manipulation of grafts may improve the success and survival of islet transplants

Insights on Distinct Left Atrial Remodeling Between Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Background: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) commonly coexist with overlapping pathophysiology like left atrial (LA) remodeling, which might differ given different underlying mechanisms. Objectives: We sought to investigate the different patterns of LA wall remodeling in AF vs. HFpEF. Methods: We compared LA wall characteristics including wall volume (LAWV), wall thickness (LAWT), and wall thickness heterogeneity (LAWT[SD]) and LA structure, function among the controls (without AF or HFpEF, n = 115), HFpEF alone (n = 59), AF alone (n = 37), and HFpEF+AF (n = 38) groups using multi-detector computed tomography and echocardiography. Results: LA wall remodeling was most predominant and peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) was worst in HFpEF+AF patients as compared to the rest. Despite lower E/e' (9.8 ± 3.8 vs. 13.4 ± 6.4) yet comparable LA volume, LAWT and PALS in AF alone vs. HFpEF alone, LAWV [12.6 (11.6–15.3) vs. 12.0 (10.2–13.7); p = 0.01] and LAWT(SD) [0.68 (0.61–0.71) vs. 0.60 (0.56–0.65); p &lt; 0.001] were significantly greater in AF alone vs. HFpEF alone even after multi-variate adjustment and propensity matching. After excluding the HFpEF+AF group, both LAWV and LAWT [SD] provided incremental values when added to PALS or LAVi (all p for net reclassification improvement &lt;0.05) in discriminating AF alone, with LAWT[SD] yielding the largest C-statistic (0.78, 95% CI: 0.70–0.86) among all LA wall indices. Conclusions: Despite a similar extent of LA enlargement and dysfunction in HFpEF vs. AF alone, larger LAWV and LAWT [SD] can distinguish AF from HFpEF alone, suggesting the distinct underlying pathophysiological mechanism of LA remodeling in AF vs. HFpEF.</p

Insights on Distinct Left Atrial Remodeling Between Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

BACKGROUND: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and atrial fibrillation (AF) commonly coexist with overlapping pathophysiology like left atrial (LA) remodeling, which might differ given different underlying mechanisms. OBJECTIVES: We sought to investigate the different patterns of LA wall remodeling in AF vs. HFpEF. METHODS: We compared LA wall characteristics including wall volume (LAWV), wall thickness (LAWT), and wall thickness heterogeneity (LAWT[SD]) and LA structure, function among the controls (without AF or HFpEF, n = 115), HFpEF alone (n = 59), AF alone (n = 37), and HFpEF+AF (n = 38) groups using multi-detector computed tomography and echocardiography. RESULTS: LA wall remodeling was most predominant and peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) was worst in HFpEF+AF patients as compared to the rest. Despite lower E/e' (9.8 ± 3.8 vs. 13.4 ± 6.4) yet comparable LA volume, LAWT and PALS in AF alone vs. HFpEF alone, LAWV [12.6 (11.6–15.3) vs. 12.0 (10.2–13.7); p = 0.01] and LAWT(SD) [0.68 (0.61–0.71) vs. 0.60 (0.56–0.65); p < 0.001] were significantly greater in AF alone vs. HFpEF alone even after multi-variate adjustment and propensity matching. After excluding the HFpEF+AF group, both LAWV and LAWT [SD] provided incremental values when added to PALS or LAVi (all p for net reclassification improvement <0.05) in discriminating AF alone, with LAWT[SD] yielding the largest C-statistic (0.78, 95% CI: 0.70–0.86) among all LA wall indices. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a similar extent of LA enlargement and dysfunction in HFpEF vs. AF alone, larger LAWV and LAWT [SD] can distinguish AF from HFpEF alone, suggesting the distinct underlying pathophysiological mechanism of LA remodeling in AF vs. HFpEF