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Attendance at cram schools is an experience that the majority of Taiwanese have while growing up. However, the incidence and impact of cram schooling are still understudied and have yet received much attention. In this paper, I first illustrate the development of cram schools in Taiwan, and demonstrate the important changes on institutional factors and legitimacy of cram schools. Then I use data collected by Taiwan Education Panel Survey to investigate the net effect of cram schooling on students' academic performance, and to test whether the opportunity of cram school participation reflects specific patterns of stratification. Empirical results indicate that cram schooling "does" matter: attending cram schools has a significantly positive effect on a student's analytical ability and mathematical performance. However, cram school participation does "not" reflect specific patterns of social stratification: the opportunity of going to a cram school for a male student is not significantly different from that of a female; the effects of family background on students' cram school participation are not as critical as they were in the past. (Contains 5 tables.)

Introduction: Families increasingly employ foreign domestic workers (FDWs) to care for older loved ones. Caregiver burden reflects FDWs' difficulty adapting to work demands. We test hypothesized associations between burden and six personal characteristics: children, marriage, education, Chinese proficiency, eldercare experience, and non-eldercare experience. Method: In total, 299 Indonesian FDWs in Taiwan completed the Zarit Burden Interview. Exploratory factor analysis identified the dimensions of burden. Multiple and multinomial regressions related the variables to overall burden, burden dimensions, and burden severity. Results: Four dimensions were found: personal strain, role strain, dependency, and guilt. Children were negatively associated with burden, role strain, dependency, and guilt. Chinese proficiency was negatively associated with severity and guilt. Eldercare experience was positively associated with severity and personal strain. Marriage was non-monotonically related to severity. Conclusion: Caregivers whose earnings benefit their children may be more likely to thrive in Taiwan. Language training may boost caregiver performance and host family satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direction-of-arrival (DOA) and range estimation is an important issue of sonar signal processing. In this paper, a novel approach using Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) is proposed for joint bearing and range estimation of multiple targets based on a uniform linear array (ULA) of hydrophones. The structure of this ULA based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology, and thus has attractive features of small size, high sensitivity and low cost, and is suitable for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) operations. This proposed target localization method has the following advantages: only a single snapshot of data is needed and real-time processing is feasible. The proposed algorithm transforms a very complicated nonlinear estimation problem to a simple nearly linear one via time-frequency distribution (TFD) theory and is verified with HHT. Theoretical discussions of resolution issue are also provided to facilitate the design of a MEMS sensor with high sensitivity. Simulation results are shown to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the elastic modulus of metallic bone implants can decrease the stress shielding effect between the implants and bone tissue. Ti alloys containing elements without biological side effects have shown considerable potential as alternatives of biomedical Ti–Al–V alloys in bone implant applications. Ti alloys with porous surface topography have been shown to enhance cell response. This paper developed a rapid electrochemical anodization process for the creation of a low elastic modulus Ti–25Nb–25Zr (Ti25Nb25Zr) alloy with mesoporous topography for bone implant applications. We also investigated the effects of the mesoporous surface topography on bone cell differentiation. The surface mesotopography presented a pore size of <20 nm. Compared to untreated Ti25Nb25Zr alloys, the proposed electrochemical anodization treatment increased the formation of focal adhesion complex protein (vinculin) and the subsequent integrin-mediated pathway (i.e., the expression of focal adhesion kinase). This in-turn enhanced the expression of various osteogenic markers, including the gene and protein expression of osteopontin, bone sialoprotein, and type I collagen, from human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. An increase in osteogenic markers is expected to promote osseointegration on Ti25Nb25Zr alloys used in bone implant applications. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to enhance osteogenic gene and protein expression by producing a low elastic modulus Ti25Nb25Zr alloy with a mesoporous surface structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a high-sensitivity hydrophone fabricated with a Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) process using epitaxial thin films grown on silicon wafers. The evaluated resonant frequency was calculated through finite-element analysis (FEA). The hydrophone was designed, fabricated, and characterized by different measurements performed in a water tank, by using a pulsed sound technique with a sensitivity of −190 dB ± 2 dB for frequencies in the range 50–500 Hz. These results indicate the high-performance miniaturized acoustic devices, which can impact a variety of technological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Adverse pregnancy outcomes (APOs) are associated with periodontal disease owing to the induction of a chronic systemic inflammatory response. Hence, knowledge of periodontal status during pregnancy is important in order to reduce the risk of APOs. The aim of this study was to compare the risk of APOs in women with and without periodontal disease to ascertain whether regular scaling performed prior to pregnancy improves the risk of APOs. Method: This case-control study enrolled1,386,887 pregnant women from the National Health Insurance Research Database who gave birth to their first child between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2014. The study population included mothers who gave birth to low birth weight (LBW) and non-LBW newborns, totaling 86,958 and 1,299,929, respectively. Scaling and periodontal emergency treatment during and before pregnancy were assessed. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the associations between periodontal treatment and LBW risk. Results: Compared with the comparison cohort, the pregnant women who didnot have periodontal emergency treatment or scaling treatment during pregnancy exhibited a significantly increased risk of LBW than those who had treatment. Women who underwent scaling within the2 years before pregnancy or during pregnancy had a lower risk of delivering a LBW baby (odds ratio (OR), 0.93; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.91–0.94). In the normal group, the mothers who had periodontal emergency treatment within the2 years before pregnancy or during pregnancy had a higher risk of delivering a LBW baby (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.02–1.08). In those who had scaling treatment, a lower risk of delivering a LBW baby was noted (OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.93–0.97). Conclusion: The risk of LBW was significantly increased in women who underwent periodontal treatment, and our findings suggested that periodontal disease is an important risk factor for preterm LBW babies in an East Asian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose: Knowledge of root canal anatomy is important for dental practice and for identifying features of anthropological significance. Three-rooted permanent mandibular molars are considered an anatomical variant of the Mongoloid race. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of three-rooted primary mandibular first molars in Taiwanese subjects.Methods: Vertical bite-wing radiographs of 227 subjects, which had been obtained previously in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, from January 2004 to December 2007, were screened retrospectively. Images of 121 subjects [54 boys and 67 girls; mean age (range), 5.8 (2.4-10.4) years] who had bilateral primary mandibular first molars were studied. The sex, symmetry and frequency of occurrence of three-rooted primary mandibular first molars were recorded and statistically analyzed.Results: The overall prevalence of subjects with three-rooted primary mandibular first molars was 5.0% (6/121), and 83.0% of the molars were unilateral. The prevalence of teeth that showed an extra root among all teeth examined was 2.9% (7/242). Such prevalence did not differ significantly between the right and left sides of the mandible, bilateral and unilateral, or with sex.Conclusion: The data presented here indicate that approximately 5% of Taiwanese subjects had a threerooted mandibular primary first molar and 80% of such teeth occurred unilaterally. Dentists should take into account the prevalence of these three-rooted variants in primary mandibular first molars among Taiwanese patients during their daily endodontic and exodontic procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ADP-ribosylation factor-like 6 (Arl6) mutation is linked to human disease and Arl6 interacts with Arl6 interacting protein (Arl6ip). However, the expression pattern and function of Arl6ip during embryogenesis are unknown. To confirm whether abnormal Arl6ip function might result in embryonic defects in zebrafish, we examined the expression patterns of arl6ip during embryogenesis, and they were maternally expressed and exhibited in the brain, optic primordia, hypochord, spinal cord, myotome, heart, fin-bud, kidney, trunk, and retina. Knockdown of Arl6ip revealed the following phenotypic defects: microphthalmia, disorganized pigment pattern, flat head, defective tectum, deficient pectoral fins, abnormal pneumatic duct, pericardial edema, and deformed trunk. Particularly, histological dissection of the retinae of arl6ip-morphants revealed that neuronal differentiation is severely delayed, resulting in no formation of retinal layers. We further confirmed that opsins of arl6ip-morphants were not transcribed. Based on this evidence, Arl6ip may play important roles in zebrafish ocular, heart, and fin-bud development. Developmental Dynamics 238:232-240, 2009. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poststratification is often used in sample survey when the identification of stratum cannot be achieved in advance. Suppose that a random sample of size n is collected from a population, and one wishes to estimate the mean of the population by the poststratification estimator subject to the loss function measured by the sum of squared error due to estimation and cost of observations. When the variance of each stratum is unknown, the optimal fixed sample size for minimizing the risk cannot be used. We therefore apply Hall's three-stage procedure to the problem and study its asymptotic properties of the moments and the risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let X[sub 1], X[sub 2], … be independent observations from a gamma distribution, and suppose that given a sample of size n, the reward is Y[sub n] = max{X[sub 1], …, X[sub n]} - cn[sup η] where c and n are known positive constants. This paper deals with the problem of approximating the optimal fixed sample size expected reward through a two-stage sampling procedure and shows that the difference between the expected reward using the proposed procedure and the optimal expected reward vanishes as c approaches zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this project was to develop a computer vision system (CVS) for objective measurement of pork loin under industry speed requirement. Color images of pork loin samples were acquired using a CVS. Subjective color and marbling scores were determined according to the National Pork Board standards by a trained evaluator. Instrument color measurement and crude fat percentage were used as control measurements. Image features (18 color features; 1 marbling feature; 88 texture features) were extracted from whole pork loin color images. Artificial intelligence prediction model (support vector machine) was established for pork color and marbling quality grades. The results showed that CVS with support vector machine modeling reached the highest prediction accuracy of 92.5% for measured pork color score and 75.0% for measured pork marbling score. This research shows that the proposed artificial intelligence prediction model with CVS can provide an effective tool for predicting color and marbling in the pork industry at online speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to determine the effects of degree of dry-rolled corn processing and dried distiller’s grains with solubles (DDGS) inclusion rate on ruminal pH, NH 3 and volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentration, total in vitro gas and methane production, and enzyme activity in cattle fed high-concentrate diets. Eight ruminally cannulated Holstein steers (526 ± 3.6 kg) were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement consisting of 1) 650 g/kg coarse-rolled corn (2.5 ± 0.008 mm) with 200 g/kg DDGS, 2) 450 g/kg coarse-rolled corn with 400 g/kg DDGS, 3) 650 g/kg fine-rolled corn (1.7 ± 0.002 mm) with 200 g/kg DDGS and 4) 450 g/kg fine-rolled corn with 400 g/kg DDGS. Diets met NRC recommendations and were offered for ad libitum intake. The experimental design was a 4 × 4 Latin square with 17-d periods allowing for 7 d of diet adaptation, 7 d of sample collection, and 3 d of rest in which all steers were offered an intermediate ration. There were no differences in ruminal pH among treatments. However, steers consuming 400 g/kg DDGS tended ( P = 0.07) to have a pH less than 5.5 for a longer period of time (h/d) than those consuming 200 g/kg DDGS. Ruminal NH 3 was greater in steers receiving 200 g/kg DDGS ( P = 0.02). Steers fed fine-rolled corn had greater ( P = 0.02) concentrations of butyric acid while those consuming coarse-rolled corn tended ( P = 0.06) to have greater concentrations of isovaleric acid. No difference in DM degradation rate was noted between treatments. In vitro methane concentration of the headspace was unaffected by treatment. Steers fed diets containing 200 g/kg DDGS had greater ( P < 0.001) ruminal α-amylase activity (U/L ruminal fluid; U/L/kg starch disappearance) while those fed 400 g/kg DDGS had greater ( P = 0.01) trypsin activity (U/L/kg CP disappearance). An interaction between degree of corn processing × DDGS was noted for measurements of trypsin activity (U/L/kg CP disappearance; P = 0.02) and maltase (U/L of ruminal fluid; P = 0.004). In conclusion, the results are likely the result of the final nutrient profile of each treatment. Overall, there were minimal effects on ruminal fermentation and in vitro methane concentration with increasing degree of dry-rolling or DDGS inclusion indicating limited effects on ruminal health and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]