Flow Experience and Challenge-Skill Balance in E-Learning

Flow is an optimal experience resulting in intense engagement in the activity. People achieved flow state when they perceived balance between challenge of the activity and their skill to the activity. The concept of flow can be used to explore students’ learning performance in e-learning environment. The current research aims to empirically explore the influence of challenge-skill balance on the flow experience and the influence of flow experience on learning satisfaction and learning performance in e-learning environment. The current research conducted a quasi-experimental design with questionnaire survey and carried out an electroencephalography (EEG) analysis, a psychophysiological method. The empirical survey results have shown that challenge-skill balance is an antecedent factor affecting learners’ flow experience. Once learners reach flow experience, their learning performance and learning satisfaction would get improved. Besides, the current research also found that flow experience is relative with learners’ attention measured by EEG brainwave signal. Learners’ perception of challenge-skill balance would influence their attention in e- learning activities. The current research is also in the pioneering position that using non-medical purpose EEG device in e-learning research

Acceptance of Technology with Network Externalities: An Empirical Study of Internet Instant Messaging Services

Many researchers have examined the technology acceptance model (TAM) that Davis (1986) created to predict the voluntary use of information systems. However, TAM\u27s primary focus is on how ease of use and usefulness influence acceptance, without looking at the effects of network externalities. In this study, we examined adoption behavior involving Internet-based instant messaging services (IMS). A questionnaire was used to collect data on perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived number of users for external network utility, and technology utility. The results indicate an acceptable goodness-of-fit statistic for our proposed TAM model, which combines the original TAM concept and network externality theory. The results also support the importance of network externalities in considering IT acceptance

Partially hydrolyzed guar gum supplement reduces high-fat diet increased blood lipids and oxidative stress and ameliorates FeCl3-induced acute arterial injury in hamsters

Increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and hyperlipidemia can promote arterial thrombus. We evaluated the potential of a partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) as dietary fiber on lipid profiles and FeCl3-induced arterial thrombosis in the high fat-diet fed hamsters. Our in vitro results found that PHGG is efficient to scavenge O2-•, H2O2, and HOCl. High fat-diet increased plasma triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL, VLDL, methylguanidine and dityrosine level and accelerated FeCl3-induced arterial thrombosis formation (from 463 ± 51 to 303 ± 45 sec). Low dose PHGG supplement significantly decreased the total cholesterol, LDL, methylguanidine and dityrosine level and delayed the time for arterial thrombosis formation (528 ± 75 sec). High dose PHGG supplement decreased the level in triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL and VLDL and further delayed the time for arterial thrombus (671 ± 36 sec). The increased Bax protein and decreased Bcl-2 and HSP-70 protein expression was found in the carotid and femoral arteries of high fat-diet hamsters. Low and high dose of PHGG supplement decreased Bax expression and increased Bcl-2 and HSP-70 protein expression. We found that FeCl3 significantly enhanced intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and 4-hydroxynonenal expression in the endothelial site of damaged artery after 150-sec FeCl3 stimulation. PHGG supplement decreased the endothelial ICAM-1 and 4-hydroxynonenal expression after 150-sec FeCl3 stimulation. Based on these results, we conclude that PHGG supplement can increase antioxidant protein expression and thus decrease oxidative stress induced arterial injury

An Evolutionary Method for Financial Forecasting in Microscopic High-Speed Trading Environment

The advancement of information technology in financial applications nowadays have led to fast market-driven events that prompt flash decision-making and actions issued by computer algorithms. As a result, today’s markets experience intense activity in the highly dynamic environment where trading systems respond to others at a much faster pace than before. This new breed of technology involves the implementation of high-speed trading strategies which generate significant portion of activity in the financial markets and present researchers with a wealth of information not available in traditional low-speed trading environments. In this study, we aim at developing feasible computational intelligence methodologies, particularly genetic algorithms (GA), to shed light on high-speed trading research using price data of stocks on the microscopic level. Our empirical results show that the proposed GA-based system is able to improve the accuracy of the prediction significantly for price movement, and we expect this GA-based methodology to advance the current state of research for high-speed trading and other relevant financial applications

Cardiovascular diseases morbidity and mortality among children, adolescents and young adults with dialysis therapy

BackgroundThe age-specific burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in pediatric and young adult patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) remains unclear. We aimed to examine the prevalence and incidence of CVD and all-cause mortality in children and adolescents compared with adults with dialysis in Taiwan.MethodsThis retrospective observational cohort study comprised 3,910 patients with more than 2 time point receipts of dialysis therapy in a year, including 156 aged <12 years (children), 250 aged 13–20 years (adolescents), 1,036 aged 21–30 years (young adults) and 2,468 aged 31–40 years (adults) in a large healthcare delivery system in Taiwan (2003–2017). Age groups were classified by the date of first receipt of dialysis therapy. The outcomes include the composite of CVD events and any cause of death. Death-censored Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the composite outcome risk of CVD in the four age groups.ResultsAmong patients receiving dialysis treatment, the risk of composite CVD events [HR, 1.63 (1.22–2.19)] and mortality [HR, 1.76 (1.38–2.25)] was greater in children than the dialysis initiated in older patients. Non-atherosclerotic CVD was more prevalent, especially in younger patients, within the first 6 months after the initiation of dialysis. After 6 months of initial dialysis, the risk of atherosclerotic CVD was higher in adults than those for adolescents and children. The magnitude of CVD risk in adolescents who initiated dialysis therapy was higher in females [HR, 2.08 (1.50–2.88)] than in males [HR, 0.75 (0.52–1.10)].ConclusionYounger patients undergoing chronic dialysis with a higher risk of CVD events than older patients are associated with a faster onset of non-atherosclerotic CVD and a higher risk of both CVD- and non-CVD-related mortality

Novel Codon-optimization Genes Encoded in Chlorella for Triacylglycerol Accumulation

AbstractMicroalgae have been recognized as one of the potential resources for biodiesel production based on its fast growth or its high total lipid content depending on species. Expression of Kennedy pathway genes, which encodes GPAT, LPAAT, PAP, and DGAT for increasing the metabolic flux towards the TAG storage in Chlorella sp. from 20 to 46 wt% and total lipid accumulation from 35 to 60wt.% corresponding to each specific gene combination under autotrophy, compare to the wild type (vector only). The highest TAG content was found in cells expressing a quadruple-gene construct (GPAT-LPAAT-PAP-DGAT) in the Kennedy pathway, corresponding to 46wt.% of TAG and 60wt.% of total lipid content. This work provides the optimization of TAG production in Chlorella sp. can be achieved by manipulating the selected genes, in turns making commercially producing biodiesel practical

Fault Zone Resistivity Structure and Monitoring at the Taiwan Chelungpu Drilling Project (TCDP)

The Taiwan Chelungpu-fault drilling project (TCDP) has undertaken scientific drilling and directly sampled the sub-surface rupture of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake. Audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) measurements were used to investigate electrical resistivity structure at the TCDP site from 2004 - 2006. These data show a geoelectric strike direction of N15°E to N30°E. Inversion and forward modeling of the AMT data were used to generate a 1-D resistivity model that has a prominent low resistivity zone (< 10 ohm-m) between depths of 1100 and 1500 m. When combined with porosity measurements, theAMT measurements imply that the ground water has a resistivity of 0.55 ohm-m at the depth of the fault zone