Chitosan microfiber fabrication using microfluidic chips of different sheath channel angles and its application on cell culture

AbstractIn this study, we successfully produced the chitosan microfibers using the proposed various angles of microfluidic chip, which was also been simulated. By controlling the core and sheath flow rates, we were able to generate laminar flow of different diameters from 15 μm to 40 μm. And the diameter of chitosan microfiber was measured from 20 μm to 50 μm. The microchannel of angle 30° could produce chitosan laminar flow of a smaller diameter than the angle 60° and angle 45° at the fixed flow rates. Finally, the chitosan microfiber was chosen as scaffold and the schwann cell and fibroblast cell with chitosan microfibers were used for cell culture to test effect in tissue engineering application

A Theoretical Framework For Understanding Aesthetic Experiences In Relation To Website Design And Utilitarian Outcomes

Online affective experiences and their relationships to utilitarian and non-utilitarian outcomes are of growing interest. This study investigates one affective experience – aesthetics – and its impact on online utilitarian values. As the concept of web aesthetic experience has not been well studied or understood, this study proposes a novel theoretical model connecting web aesthetic experiences to online utilitarian values. Based on the prior literature from other disciplines, the study treats the aesthetic experience as a complex and multi-dimensional construct, which contains three distinct sub-dimensions: aesthetic appraisal, aesthetic judgment, and aesthetic emotion. The research process will include making the selection of diverse level of aesthetic websites and a cross-over design experiment. The structural equation modelling technique will be employed to evaluate the relationships between the web aesthetic experience and utilitarian outcome. The expected contributions of this study are: (i) to construct a novel theoretical model based on the psychological and philosophical concepts of aesthetic experience and utilitarian value; (ii) to identify the multi-dimensional evidence of web aesthetic experiences; (iii) to provide theoretical and practical knowledge for predicting the utilitarian outcomes through online users’ aesthetic experiences. The study also points to the need for more research in this complex area

A Necessary And Sufficient Condition of Distillability with unite fidelity from Finite Copies of a Mixed State: The Most Efficient Purification Protocol

It is well known that any entangled mixed state in $2\otimes 2$ systems can be purified via infinite copies of the mixed state. But can one distill a pure maximally entangled state from finite copies of a mixed state in any bipartite system by local operation and classical communication? This is more meaningful in practical application. We give a necessary and sufficient condition of this distillability. This condition can be expressed as: there exists distillable-subspaces. According to this condition, one can judge whether a mixed state is distillable or not easily. We also analyze some properties of distillable-subspaces, and discuss the most efficient purification protocols. Finally, we discuss the distillable enanglement of two-quibt system for the case of finite copies.Comment: a revised versio

Entanglement, quantum phase transition and scaling in XXZ chain

Motivated by recent development in quantum entanglement, we study relations among concurrence $C$, SU$_q$(2) algebra, quantum phase transition and correlation length at the zero temperature for the XXZ chain. We find that at the SU(2) point, the ground state possess the maximum concurrence. When the anisotropic parameter $\Delta$ is deformed, however, its value decreases. Its dependence on $\Delta$ scales as $C=C_0-C_1(\Delta-1)^2$ in the XY metallic phase and near the critical point (i.e. $1<\Delta<1.3$) of the Ising-like insulating phase. We also study the dependence of $C$ on the correlation length $\xi$, and show that it satisfies $C=C_0-1/2\xi$ near the critical point. For different size of the system, we show that there exists a universal scaling function of $C$ with respect to the correlation length $\xi$.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev.

Utterance-final particles in Taiwan Mandarin: contact, context, and core functions

The use of utterance-final particles (UFPs) is a salient feature of Taiwan Mandarin, a Mandarin variety spoken in Taiwan. Despite their widespread use, Taiwan Mandarin UFPs have not attracted much attention in previous research. One reason for this neglect is that previous studies focus on UFPs that can be found in all Mandarin varieties and take the general validity of the findings for granted. By contrast, this study explores regional variation in the use of UFPs. Analyzing spoken Taiwan Mandarin data recorded from spontaneous conversations, it focuses on the three particles a, la and ê. It examines the core function of these particles in the interaction between the participants in various types of conversational contexts. Besides determining their core-function, this study looks into the differences with respect to UFPs between Taiwan Mandarin and in the Mandarin spoken in mainland China. The properties that are specific to Taiwan Mandarin are analyzed as resulting from long-term contact with different Sinitic varieties, especially Southern Mǐn and Jiāng-Huái Mandarin. Hypotheses about language contact influence on the use of Taiwan Mandarin UFPs are tested using actual language data, and discussed against the historical background of migration of Mandarin speakers to Taiwan in the 20th century.Theoretical and Experimental Linguistic

The range of the iterated matrix adjoint operator

AbstractThe following inverse problem is considered: for a given n × n real matrix B, does there exist a real matrix A such that where the classical adjoint operation is intended? The rank of B and the number of applications of the adjoint operator determine the character of this general inverse problem for the iterated adjoint operator. Thus, for given B, the question of interest is whether or not B lies in the range of the iterated matrix adjoint operator. Maple V R5 is used as an aid to obtain results indicated here

Myosin Drives Retrograde F-Actin Flow in Neuronal Growth Cones

AbstractActin filaments assembled at the leading edge of neuronal growth cones are centripetally transported via retrograde F-actin flow, a process fundamental to growth cone guidance and other forms of directed cell motility. Here we investigated the role of myosins in retrograde flow, using two distinct modes of myosin inhibition: microinjection of NEM inactivated myosin S1 fragments, or treatment with 2,3-butanedione-2-monoxime, an inhibitor of myosin ATPase. Both treatments resulted in dose-dependent attenuation of retrograde F-actin flow and growth of filopodia. Growth was cytochalasin sensitive and directly proportional to the degree of myosin inhibition, suggesting that retrograde flow results from superimposition of two independent processes: actin assembly and myosin-based filament retraction. These results provide the first direct evidence for myosin involvement in neuronal growth cone function

Gene functionality's influence on the second codon: A large-scale survey of second codon composition in three domains

AbstractThe second codon of a transcript, besides encoding for an amino acid, is now known to also have multiple molecular functions and is involved in translation efficiency and protein turn-over and maturation processing. These multiple purposes therefore make the selection constraints on this codon's composition more complex. To examine the biological significance of various permutations of the second codon, we conducted a systematic survey of second codon composition from 442 selected genomes across three domains. The amino acid bias of the second codon is associated with specific protein functions. The most common amino acids (S, A, K and T) are significantly avoided in Cell Envelope-related genes but preferred in Translation or Energy Metabolism-related genes, suggesting that the function of a gene product is a significant factor influencing the composition of the second codon

Wisdom, cultural synergy, and social change: A Taiwanese perspective

This study examined the relationships among wisdom, cultural synergy (i.e., incorporating lessons learned from different cultures), and social change by re-analyzing 220 “wisdom incidents” (i.e., real-life displays of wisdom) collected from 1997 to 2003 from 66 Taiwanese adults nominated as wise individuals (Yang, 2008a). We addressed these questions empirically with a mixed-methods approach: (a) “What are the features of cultural synergy involved in the Taiwanese wisdom nominees’ narratives about their displays of wisdom?”; and (b) “How are real-life displays of wisdom related to cultural synergy and social change?” Wisdom is defined as a real-life process that entails three components: (a) cognitive integration—an individual incorporates separate or conflicting ideas to form an integrated idea; (b) embodying actions—the individual acts to implement the unified idea; and (c) positive effects for oneself and others—the individual\u27s actions generate positive effects for the self and others. The 220 wisdom incidents were re-analyzed qualitatively by young Taiwanese for themes related to cultural synergy and lessons learned from culture; the incidents were re-evaluated quantitatively by young Taiwanese for indications of wisdom, cultural synergy, and social change. A model proposing relationships among wisdom, cultural synergy, and social change was then evaluated using path analysis. Results, which may be generalized to young Taiwanese, show that displays of wisdom had (a) a direct relationship with cultural synergy and social change; and (b) an indirect relationship with social change through cultural synergy. Findings suggest that what the Taiwanese wisdom nominees learned from both their own culture and other cultures is significantly related to cultural synergy which, in turn, is significantly related to promoting social change

Self-Esteem, Resilience, Social Support, and Acculturative Stress as Predictors of Loneliness in Chinese Internal Migrant Children: A Model-Testing Longitudinal Study

The present study examined the risk and protective factors of loneliness among Chinese internal migrant children (CIMC) in Beijing, China, including self-esteem, resilience, social support, and acculturative stress. Longitudinal survey data were collected from a large sample of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade CIMC from three schools in Beijing, at four time points (N=862 at T1 to N=837 at T4) over a 20-month period. Grounded in the Cultural and Contextual Model of Coping and the Acculturation Theory, two predictor models of loneliness were tested with path analysis. The results yielded the following: a) the two predictor models fit the data well; b) CIMC’s T1 self-esteem and T1 resilience protected them against loneliness at T4; and c) CIMC’s T2 social support seeking was a significant mediator between self-esteem and loneliness, and between resilience and loneliness; and d) similarly, CIMC’s T3 acculturative stress was a significant mediator between self-esteem and loneliness, and between resilience and loneliness. The study’s results highlight the merit and importance of implementing theoretically-guided, model-testing research grounded in a prospective research design, to help advance CIMC research. Implications for future research on and practical support for CIMC are discussed