Exploring Individuals’ Loyalty To Online Support Groups From the Perspective Of Social Support

Prior research indicates that social support allows individuals to have additional skills to handle stresses, enhance self-esteem, and increase psychological well-being. Online social networks have become an emerging and important source of social support. However, little research has been done to explore how IT usage may improve the well-being and life quality of individuals, especially patients. Little research has been done to empirically examine individuals’ loyalty toward online social groups from the perspective of social support. This study aims to develop an integrated research model to the impact of online social support on psychological well-being and group identification, and individuals’ subsequent loyalty toward online social groups. Online social support group was operationalized as a second-order construct with four components: informational, emotional, esteem, and network supports. Data collected from 537 users of online support groups for mothers in Taiwan provide strong support for the research model. The results indicate that online social support is positively associated with psychological well-being and group identification, which in turn have a positive effect on moms’ loyalty toward online social groups. Implications for theory and practice and suggestions for future research are provided

Charge-Trapping Devices Using Multilayered Dielectrics for Nonvolatile Memory Applications

Charge-trapping devices using multilayered dielectrics were studied for nonvolatile memory applications. The device structure is Al/Y2O3/Ta2O5/SiO2/Si (MYTOS). The MYTOS field effect transistors were fabricated using Ta2O5 as the charge storage layer and Y2O3 as the blocking layer. The electrical characteristics of memory window, program/erase characteristics, and data retention were examined. The memory window is about 1.6 V. Using a pulse voltage of 6 V, a threshold voltage shift of ~1 V can be achieved within 10 ns. The MYTOS transistors can retain a memory window of 0.81 V for 10 years

DreaMo: Articulated 3D Reconstruction From A Single Casual Video

Articulated 3D reconstruction has valuable applications in various domains, yet it remains costly and demands intensive work from domain experts. Recent advancements in template-free learning methods show promising results with monocular videos. Nevertheless, these approaches necessitate a comprehensive coverage of all viewpoints of the subject in the input video, thus limiting their applicability to casually captured videos from online sources. In this work, we study articulated 3D shape reconstruction from a single and casually captured internet video, where the subject's view coverage is incomplete. We propose DreaMo that jointly performs shape reconstruction while solving the challenging low-coverage regions with view-conditioned diffusion prior and several tailored regularizations. In addition, we introduce a skeleton generation strategy to create human-interpretable skeletons from the learned neural bones and skinning weights. We conduct our study on a self-collected internet video collection characterized by incomplete view coverage. DreaMo shows promising quality in novel-view rendering, detailed articulated shape reconstruction, and skeleton generation. Extensive qualitative and quantitative studies validate the efficacy of each proposed component, and show existing methods are unable to solve correct geometry due to the incomplete view coverage.Comment: Project page: https://ttaoretw.github.io/DreaMo

以數值方法探討卵礫石層的力學行為

Gravel formation involves the mixture of hard gravel and a soil matrix. Knowing the integrated mechanical characteristics of gravel formation is beneficial for engineering constructions and disaster prevention. This study adopts the software PFC2D, which is based on the discrete element method, to investigate the mechanical behavior of gravel formations. First, simulation is carried out through a biaxial test to adjust the micro parameters in PFC2D, and then multiple regression analysis is performed to establish the relationship between macro and micro parameters. Furthermore, with the reasonable micro parameters obtained, the particle size and content of gravel can changed to investigate how they influence mechanical behavior. The results show that the bigger particle size and the greater the content of gravel, the higher the values of shear strength, elastic modulus, Poisson’s ratio and friction angle, but the lower the value of cohesion. In other words, this kind of material has higher shear strength and stronger deformation resistance. These findings correspond with previous research results.卵礫石層是混合堅硬卵礫石與基質土壤之綜合體，了解卵礫石層整體力學性質，對工程建設與災害防治有極大幫助。本研究以台灣中部卵礫石層為對象，運用分離元素法為基礎之軟體PFC2D 探討卵礫石材料力學行為。首先進行雙軸試驗之模擬，校正PFC2D 微觀參數，接著利用複迴歸分析 (multiple regression model)建立宏觀參數與微觀參數間之關係。另外，以得到的合理微觀參數，改變卵礫石粒徑大小與含量，探討粒徑大小和含量對力學性質的影響。結果顯示當卵礫石粒徑越大與含量越多，其剪力強度、彈性模數、柏松比、摩擦角也會越大，但凝聚力略為下降。表示卵礫石粒徑大、含量高之材料，其抗剪強度大，變形性小，此結果與前人研究結果相符

An Outbreak of Coxsackievirus A16 Infection: Comparison With Other Enteroviruses in a Preschool in Taipei

Background/PurposeThe transmission rate of enteroviruses in young children remains unclear. Therefore, we carried out active surveillance in preschool children to investigate the transmission rate and clinical manifestation of enteroviruses.MethodsFrom September 2006 to December 2008, we monitored infectious diseases in children 2(–3 years of age) in a preschool in Taipei. If any child had a febrile illness or symptoms/signs of enteroviral infection [e.g. herpangina or hand-foot-and-mouth disease (HFMD)], we performed viral isolation and enterovirus polymerase chain reaction. VP1 sequencing was performed to define their serotypes. We also collected clinical data and analyzed transmission rates.ResultsThere were eight episodes of enterovirus infection during the study period. The serotypes included coxsackievirus A4 (CA4), CA2 and CA16. The transmission rates of CA4 and CA2 among children in same class were 26% and 35%, respectively. Between November 28 and December 12, 2008, 13/21 (61.9%) children contracted herpangina and/or HFMD. The average age was 2.82 (range, 2.43–3.39) years. CA16 was detected in 10/13 (76.9%) of the throat swabs by polymerase chain reaction VP1 genotyping. Compared with previous CA2 and CA4 outbreaks, CA16 had a significantly higher transmission rate (p = 0.035) and resulted in more cases of HFMD (p < 0.001). The transmission duration of coxsackie A viruses within the same class ranged from 12 to 40 days.ConclusionCompared with CA2 and CA4, CA16 infections resulted in more cases of HFMD and had significantly higher transmission rates in preschoolers

Charge-Trapping Devices Using Multilayered Dielectrics for Nonvolatile Memory Applications

Charge-trapping devices using multilayered dielectrics were studied for nonvolatile memory applications. The device structure is Al/Y 2 O 3 /Ta 2 O 5 /SiO 2 /Si (MYTOS). The MYTOS field effect transistors were fabricated using Ta 2 O 5 as the charge storage layer and Y 2 O 3 as the blocking layer. The electrical characteristics of memory window, program/erase characteristics, and data retention were examined. The memory window is about 1.6 V. Using a pulse voltage of 6 V, a threshold voltage shift of ∼1 V can be achieved within 10 ns. The MYTOS transistors can retain a memory window of 0.81 V for 10 years

The dimer interface of the SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein adapts a porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus-like structure

AbstractWe have employed NMR to investigate the structure of SARS coronavirus nucleocapsid protein dimer. We found that the secondary structure of the dimerization domain consists of five α helices and a β-hairpin. The dimer interface consists of a continuous four-stranded β-sheet superposed by two long α helices, reminiscent of that found in the nucleocapsid protein of porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome virus. Extensive hydrogen bond formation between the two hairpins and hydrophobic interactions between the β-sheet and the α helices render the interface highly stable. Sequence alignment suggests that other coronavirus may share the same structural topology