Evaluation on Higher Education Using Data Envelopment Analysis

The goal of higher education is to provide students an equal opportunity to access their education for success. With significant competition within the peer group, potential students look for quality, flexibility, and affordability in the educational environment. In addition, the relationship between students and the institution involves a concentrated and more specific set of expectations. In order to improve students’ academic performance and fulfill individual needs, universities aim to enhance the quality of students’ learning environment and academic achievements. The higher education system relies on efficient operation and strategic planning to fulfill students’ needs through an internal emphasis on institutional performance improvement. A study on measuring the performance of higher education is presented. The research was focused on four-year and above, public and not-for-profit private universities in the southern region (AL, AR, KY, LA, MS, OK, TN, and TX) of the United States. The data includes 270 universities which were obtained from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. This study applied the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) approach; the purpose is to use a linear programming model to demonstrate a novel benchmarking process of higher education institutional performance and determine an overall benchmark for institutions within each classified group. From the results, suggestions are provided for the general guidance of planners and decision makers in the higher education system

The Effects of Green Energy Production on Farmland: A Case Study in Yunlin County, Taiwan

Taiwan enacted the Act of Renewable Energy in the year 2009 which promotes energy safety, green economy, and a sustainable environment, and with that the government envisages a contribution of photovoltaic energy of up to 20% by the year 2025. In this study we look into the motivation and background of this energy policy, plans for implementation and associated challenges, and its actual consequences for farmland use and farmers. In addition, we take a look into the implementation of mixed-use farmland in which agricultural activity and photovoltaic installations are planned to coexist in order to increase land value and productivity. We furthermore report on some of our findings related to a field survey conducted in Taiwan’s corn chamber of Yunlin County which has been facing a number of socioeconomic challenges

COMPARISON OF KINESIO TAPING AND SPORTS TAPING IN FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL PLAYERS: A PILOT STUDY

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of kinesio taping and sports taping for collegiate basketball players in functional activities. Seventeen collegiate basketball players were recruited in particapitate this study and divided into three groups(Kinesio taping group, sports taping group and control group) in random. The ankle range of motion, plantarflexor muscle strength and endurance, vertical jump, and dynamic balance were measured before and after taping applied. The results was showed significantly increasing in ankle plantar-flexion range for Kinesio taping group(p=.03). There were no remarkable difference in the other measurements. In conclusion, the Kinesio Taping would not restriction the ankle plantar-flexion range. In future, we may recruited more subjects to identify the effect of Kinesio taping in functional activities for collegiate bsketball players

Deep Learning for Spin-Orbit Torque Characterizations with a Projected Vector Field Magnet

Spin-orbit torque characterizations on magnetic heterostructures with perpendicular anisotropy are demonstrated on a projected vector field magnet via hysteresis loop shift measurement and harmonic Hall measurement with planar Hall correction. Accurate magnetic field calibration of the vector magnet is realized with the help of deep learning models, which are able to capture the nonlinear behavior between the generated magnetic field and the currents applied to the magnet. The trained models can successfully predict the applied current combinations under the circumstances of magnetic field scans, angle scans, and hysteresis loop shift measurements. The validity of the models is further verified, complemented by the comparison of the spin-orbit torque characterization results obtained from the deep-learning-trained vector magnet system with those obtained from a conventional setup comprised of two separated electromagnets. The damping-like spin-orbit torque (DL-SOT) efficiencies (|$\xi_{DL}$|) extracted from the vector magnet and the traditional measurement configuration are consistent, where |$\xi_{DL}$| $\approx$ 0.22 for amorphous W and |$\xi_{DL}$| $\approx$ 0.02 for $\alpha$-W. Our work provides an advanced method to meticulously control a vector magnet and to conveniently perform various spin-orbit torque characterizations

Effects of manual lymphatic drainage on breast cancer-related lymphedema: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Lymphedema is a common complication of axillary dissection for breast cancer. We investigated whether manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) could prevent or manage limb edema in women after breast-cancer surgery. METHODS: We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effectiveness of MLD in the prevention and treatment of breast-cancer-related lymphedema. The PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro), SCOPUS, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials electronic databases were searched for articles on MLD published before December 2012, with no language restrictions. The primary outcome for prevention was the incidence of postoperative lymphedema. The outcome for management of lymphedema was a reduction in edema volume. RESULTS: In total, 10 RCTs with 566 patients were identified. Two studies evaluating the preventive outcome of MLD found no significant difference in the incidence of lymphedema between the MLD and standard treatment groups, with a risk ratio of 0.63 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 0.14 to 2.82. Seven studies assessed the reduction in arm volume, and found no significant difference between the MLD and standard treatment groups, with a weighted mean difference of 75.12 (95% CI, −9.34 to 159.58). CONCLUSIONS: The current evidence from RCTs does not support the use of MLD in preventing or treating lymphedema. However, clinical and statistical inconsistencies between the various studies confounded our evaluation of the effect of MLD on breast-cancer-related lymphedema

Patients Infected with CRF07_BC Have Significantly Lower Viral Loads than Patients with HIV-1 Subtype B: Mechanism and Impact on Disease Progression

The circulating recombinant form (CRF) 07_BC is the most prevalent HIV-1 strain among injection drug users (IDUs) in Taiwan. It contains a 7 amino-acid deletion in its p6gag. We conducted a cohort study to compare viral loads and CD4 cell count changes between patients infected with subtype B and CRF07_BC and to elucidate its mechanism. Twenty-one patients infected with CRF07_BC and 59 patients with subtype B were selected from a cohort of 667 HIV-1/AIDS patients whom have been followed up for 3 years. Generalized estimated equation was used to analyze their clinical data and the results showed that patients infected with CRF07_BC had significantly lower viral loads (about 58,000 copies per ml less) than patients with subtype B infection (p = 0.002). The replicative capacity of nine CRF07_BC and four subtype B isolates were compared and the results showed that the former had significantly lower replicative capacity than the latter although all of them were CCR5- tropic and non-syncytium inducing viruses. An HIV-1-NL4-3 mutant virus which contains a 7 amino-acid deletion in p6gag (designated as 7d virus) was generated and its live cycle was investigated. The results showed that 7d virus had significantly lower replication capacity, poorer protease-mediated processing and viral proteins production. Electron microscopic examination of cells infected with wild-type or 7d virus demonstrated that the 7d virus had poorer and slower viral maturation processes: more viruses attached to the cell membrane and higher proportion of immature virions outside the cells. The interaction between p6gag and Alix protein was less efficient in cells infected with 7d virus. In conclusion, patients infected with CRF07_BC had significantly lower viral loads than patients infected with subtype B and it may due to the deletion of 7 amino acids which overlaps with Alix protein-binding domain of the p6gag

Streptococcal collagen-like surface protein 1 promotes adhesion to the respiratory epithelial cell

BACKGROUND: Collagen-like surface proteins Scl1 and Scl2 on Streptococcus pyogenes contain contiguous Gly-X-X triplet amino acid motifs, the characteristic structure of human collagen. Although the potential role of Scl1 in adhesion has been studied, the conclusions may be affected by the use of different S. pyogenes strains and their carriages of various adhesins. To explore the bona fide nature of Scl1 in adherence to human epithelial cells without the potential interference of other streptococcal surface factors, we constructed a scl1 isogenic mutant from the Scl2-defective S. pyogenes strain and a Scl1-expressed Escherichia coli. RESULTS: Loss of Scl1 in a Scl2-defective S. pyogenes strain dramatically decreased the adhesion of bacteria to HEp-2 human epithelial cells. Expression of Scl1 on the surface of the heterologous bacteria E. coli significantly increased adhesion to HEp-2. The increase in adhesion was nullified when Scl1-expressed E. coli was pre-incubated with proteases or antibodies against recombinant Scl1 (rScl1) protein. Treatment of HEp-2 cells with rScl protein or pronase drastically reduced the binding capability of Scl1-expressed E. coli. These findings suggest that the adhesion is mediated through Scl1 on bacterial surface and protein receptor(s) on epithelial cells. Further blocking of potential integrins revealed significant contributions of α2 and β1 integrins in Scl1-mediated binding to epithelial cells. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results underscore the importance of Scl1 in the virulence of S. pyogenes and implicate Scl1 as an adhesin during pathogenesis of streptococcal infection