Critical Factors of the Buyer Decision Process Model in Business-to-Customer (B2C) E-Commerce in Taiwan

The purpose of this study is to identify the critical factors involved in each stage of the Buyer Decision Process model, developed by Kotler and Armstrong (1997), as this study relates to online retail shopping in the country of Taiwan. This study explored whether and to what extent these factors influence consumers making online purchase decisions. The Buyer Decision Process model consists of five stages: (a) need recognition; (b) information search; (c) alternatives evaluation; (d) purchase decision; and (e) post-purchase decision. This research study attempted to design a framework based on this model to explore the perceived consumer value of online purchase through the entire consumption process in a B2C e-commerce setting in the country of Taiwan. There are many problems in this research area, such as: (a) B2C e-commerce is very competitive; (b) online shoppers have different characteristics from traditional shoppers; (c) most B2C Websites are ignored by Internet users; and (d) online shoppers are unable to touch, feel, or see real products to evaluate quality. Therefore, how to attract worldwide potential customers to Websites is a challenge for global e-retailers; and how to analyze and understand consumer preferences is a challenge for global e-retailers in the fast-changing digital marketing as well. There are five research questions in this research study, based on the five stages of the Buyer Decision Process model to measure consumer online behavior in Taiwan. In order to answer the five research questions, the researcher identified 14 critical factors for consumer online purchase decisions based on the five stages. These critical factors include: Free Trials, Internet Advertisements, Search Engines, Online Shopping Malls, Auction Websites, Convenience, Price, Brand, Security, Promotion, Refund, Satisfaction, Customized Information, and Discount. In general, the study results supported the inference of relationships between the 14 critical factors and Internet users\u27 receptivity to online shopping, with Satisfaction ranking first, Online Shopping Malls ranking second, and Convenience ranking third

How to Backdoor Diffusion Models?

Diffusion models are state-of-the-art deep learning empowered generative models that are trained based on the principle of learning forward and reverse diffusion processes via progressive noise-addition and denoising. To gain a better understanding of the limitations and potential risks, this paper presents the first study on the robustness of diffusion models against backdoor attacks. Specifically, we propose BadDiffusion, a novel attack framework that engineers compromised diffusion processes during model training for backdoor implantation. At the inference stage, the backdoored diffusion model will behave just like an untampered generator for regular data inputs, while falsely generating some targeted outcome designed by the bad actor upon receiving the implanted trigger signal. Such a critical risk can be dreadful for downstream tasks and applications built upon the problematic model. Our extensive experiments on various backdoor attack settings show that BadDiffusion can consistently lead to compromised diffusion models with high utility and target specificity. Even worse, BadDiffusion can be made cost-effective by simply finetuning a clean pre-trained diffusion model to implant backdoors. We also explore some possible countermeasures for risk mitigation. Our results call attention to potential risks and possible misuse of diffusion models

Ontology-Based Privacy Protection in Location Commerce

Location commerce extends e-commerce through the provision of location-related activities, but this gives rise to greater concerns about privacy invasion. To encourage the smooth growth of location commerce, it is suggested that control over the sharing of intimate information be given back to the consumer. This study proposes an ontology-based privacy protection (OPP) framework that allows consumers to specify their own privacy preferences and then uses these preferences to determine whether or not a message from a merchant can be delivered to a consumer. We use ontology to structure the knowledge to simplify the framework and allow for the possibility of automation. The system is believed to be context-aware, as the location, time, service type, information type, and other contextual data are taken into consideration. We develop a prototype system for demonstration and experiment, and show that the framework design is feasible and has a reasonable performance

Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction Frame Count in Single-Vessel Disease After Angioplasty

SUMMARYBackgroundWe compared the thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame count and examined the impact of angioplasty on the count between patients with normal coronary angiograms and those with single-vessel disease (SVD).MethodsIn 780 consecutive patients referred for coronary angiography, TIMI frame count was measured for 149 patients who had SVD and 32 patients with normal angiograms who underwent the procedure for electro-physiologic study or valvular heart disease survey.ResultsComparison of each of the three vessels in the normal vessel group with the corresponding non-stenotic vessels in the SVD group showed similar counts in each of the left anterior descending artery (LAD), left circumflex artery (LCX), and right coronary artery (RCA). For the stenotic vessels, after successful angioplasty, the counts were all reduced (LAD, 54.5 ±28.8 vs. 34.0 ±19.3; LCX, 67.3 ±31.1 vs. 34.1 ±19.0; RCA, 33.2 ±28.1 vs. 19.3 ±7.9; all p <0.05). In addition, the count in the RCA after angioplasty was lower, compared with the RCA of the normal group (19.3 ±7.9 vs. 29.1 ±14.6, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the use of oral calcium channel blockers was the only independent predictor for the reduction in RCA after angioplasty.ConclusionIn patients with SVD, the data of TIMI frame count in the nonstenotic vessels were similar to those without the disease, suggesting that the count in the normal artery is not affected by the adjacent stenotic artery. For the stenotic vessels, angioplasty had differential effects on each of the three arteries, indicating the existence of distinct properties, which is affected by calcium channel blockers, for individual coronary arteries in response to atherosclerosis and/or angioplasty

Comparative global immune-related gene profiling of somatic cells, human pluripotent stem cells and their derivatives: implication for human lymphocyte proliferation.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), including embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced PSCs (iPSCs), represent potentially unlimited cell sources for clinical applications. Previous studies have suggested that hPSCs may benefit from immune privilege and limited immunogenicity, as reflected by the reduced expression of major histocompatibility complex class-related molecules. Here we investigated the global immune-related gene expression profiles of human ESCs, hiPSCs and somatic cells and identified candidate immune-related genes that may alter their immunogenicity. The expression levels of global immune-related genes were determined by comparing undifferentiated and differentiated stem cells and three types of human somatic cells: dermal papilla cells, ovarian granulosa cells and foreskin fibroblast cells. We identified the differentially expressed genes CD24, GATA3, PROM1, THBS2, LY96, IFIT3, CXCR4, IL1R1, FGFR3, IDO1 and KDR, which overlapped with selected immune-related gene lists. In further analyses, mammalian target of rapamycin complex (mTOR) signaling was investigated in the differentiated stem cells following treatment with rapamycin and lentiviral transduction with specific short-hairpin RNAs. We found that the inhibition of mTOR signal pathways significantly downregulated the immunogenicity of differentiated stem cells. We also tested the immune responses induced in differentiated stem cells by mixed lymphocyte reactions. We found that CD24- and GATA3-deficient differentiated stem cells including neural lineage cells had limited abilities to activate human lymphocytes. By analyzing the transcriptome signature of immune-related genes, we observed a tendency of the hPSCs to differentiate toward an immune cell phenotype. Taken together, these data identify candidate immune-related genes that might constitute valuable targets for clinical applications

Novel polythiophene derivatives functionalized withconjugated side-chain pendants comprisingtriphenylamine/carbazole moieties for photovoltaic cellapplications†

We synthesized a series of polythiophenes (PTs) featuring 2-ethylhexyl-substituted terthiophene (T) orquaterthiophene (BT) as the conjugated unit in the polymer backbone with pendant conjugated tertbutyl-substituted triphenylamine (tTPA)- or carbazole (tCz)-containing moieties as side chains, namelyPTtTPA, PBTtTPA, PTtCz and PBTtCz. Incorporating T and BT moieties into the polymer backbone andattaching tTPA or tCz units promoted efficient conjugation within the extended conjugated frameworksof the polymers, resulting in lower band-gap energies and red-shifting of the maximal UV-Visabsorption wavelength. The higher electron-donating ability of tTPA resulted in broader absorptionbands and lower band-gap energies of PTtTPA and PBTtTPA as compared with PTtCz and PBTtCz.Incorporation of the T and BT moieties into the polymer backbone enhanced the compatibility of PTand the fullerene derivative by reducing the side-chain density of PT, thus providing sufficient freevolume for efficient incorporation of [6,6]phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) into thepolymer chains. Polymer solar cells (PSCs) were fabricated by spin-coating a blend of each PT with thefullerene derivative (PC61BM) as a composite film-type photoactive layer; PBTtTPA/PC61BM-based PSCsshowed superior photovoltaic (PV) performance to PTtTPA/PC61BM-based PSCs in terms of conjugationand absorption band broadness. However, PBTtCz/PC61BM-based PSCs showed inferior PV performanceto PTtCz/PC61BM-based PSCs. The lower HOMO level led to a higher open-circuit voltage (Voc; 0.74 V)and larger photo-energy conversion efficiency (h; 2.77%) of PTtCz/PC61BM-based PSCs

Comparison of neostigmine and sugammadex for hemodynamic parameters in neurointerventional anesthesia

IntroductionHemodynamic stability is important during neurointerventional procedures. However, ICP or blood pressure may increase due to endotracheal extubation. The aim of this study was to compare the hemodynamic effects of sugammadex and neostigmine with atropine in neurointerventional procedures during emergence from anesthesia.MethodsPatients undergoing neurointerventional procedures were allocated to the sugammadex group (Group S) and the neostigmine group (Group N). Group S was administered IV 2 mg/kg sugammadex when a train-of-four (TOF) count of 2 was present, and Group N was administered neostigmine 50 mcg/kg with atropine 0.2 mg/kg at a TOF count of 2. We recorded heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure (MAP), and peripheral arterial oxygen saturation during administration of the reverse agent and at 2, 5, 10, 15, 30, 120 min, and 24 h thereafter. The primary outcome was blood pressure and heart rate change after the reversal agent was given. The secondary outcomes were systolic blood pressure variability standard deviation (a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion of a set of values), systolic blood pressure variability-successive variation (square root of the average squared difference between successive blood pressure measurements), nicardipine use, time-to-TOF ratio ≥0.9 after the administration of reversal agent, and time from the administration of the reversal agent to tracheal extubation.ResultsA total of 31 patients were randomized to sugammadex, and 30 patients were randomized to neostigmine. Except for anesthesia time, there were no significant differences in any of the clinical characteristics between the two groups. The results demonstrated that the increase in MAP from period A to B was significantly greater in Group N than in Group S (regression coefficient = −10, 95% confidence interval = −17.3 to −2.7, P = 0.007). The MAP level was significantly increased from period A to B in the neostigmine group (95.1 vs. 102.4 mm Hg, P = 0.015), but it was not altered in Group S. In contrast, the change in HR from periods A to B was not significantly different between groups.ConclusionWe suggest that sugammadex is a better option than neostigmine in interventional neuroradiological procedures due to the shorter extubation time and more stable hemodynamic change during emergence

Abdominal Tuberculosis in Adult: 10-Year Experience in a Teaching Hospital in Central Taiwan

Background/PurposeTuberculosis (TB) is an important communicable disease worldwide. The clinical presentation of abdominal TB often mimics various gastrointestinal disorders and may delay accurate diagnosis. In this study, we conducted a 10-year retrospective study to investigate the clinical manifestations, treatment responses and outcomes of abdominal TB.MethodsThis retrospective study recruited patients presenting between January 1998 and December 2007; all patients ≥ 18 years of age with a diagnosis of abdominal TB were enrolled. Patient charts were thoroughly reviewed and clinical specimens were processed in the laboratory using the BBL MycoPrep System and BACTEC MGIT 960 Mycobacterial Detection System. Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex was confirmed by acid fast stain and the BD ProbeTec ET System.ResultsDuring the study period, 34 patients were diagnosed with abdominal TB. The mean age was 55+18 years. Fourteen patients (41%) had no risk factors; however, 20 patients (59%) had at least one risk factor. Abdominal pain (94.1%), abdominal fullness (91.2%), anorexia (88.2%) and ascites (76.5%) were the most common presenting symptoms. The peritoneum (88%) was the most commonly involved site. Patients with risk factors such as liver cirrhosis, end-stage renal disease and diabetes mellitus had a higher positive rate of acid-fast stain and mycobacterial culture from abdominal specimens (p = 0.02 and 0.05, respectively). The crude mortality rate was 9% and the attributed mortality rate was 3%.ConclusionIn an endemic area like Taiwan, regardless of whether a patient has risk factors for TB, abdominal TB should be seriously considered as a differential diagnosis when a patient presents with gastrointestinal symptoms and unexplained ascites

miRNA arm selection and isomiR distribution in gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-protein-coding RNAs. miRNA genes need several biogenesis steps to form function miRNAs. However, the precise mechanism and biology involved in the mature miRNA molecules are not clearly investigated. In this study, we conducted in-depth analyses to examine the arm selection and isomiRs using NGS platform. METHODS: We sequenced small RNAs from one pair of normal and gastric tumor tissues with Solexa platform. By analyzing the NGS data, we quantified the expression profiles of miRNAs and isomiRs in gastric tissues. Then, we measured the expression ratios of 5p arm to 3p arm of the same pre-miRNAs. And, we used Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test to examine isomiR pattern difference between tissues. RESULTS: Our result showed the 5p arm and 3p arm miRNA derived from the same pre-miRNAs have different tissue expression preference, one preferred normal tissue and the other preferred tumor tissue, which strongly implied that there could be other mechanism controlling mature miRNA selection in addition to the known hydrogen-bonding selection rule. Furthermore, by using the KS test, we demonstrated that some isomiR types preferentially occur in normal gastric tissue but other types prefer tumor gastric tissue. CONCLUSIONS: Arm selections and isomiR patterns are significantly varied in human cancers by using deep sequencing NGS data. Our results provided a novel research topic in miRNA regulation study. With advanced bioinformatics and molecular biology studies, more robust conclusions and insight into miRNA regulation can be achieved in the near future