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The purpose of this study is to explore the social outcomes of older adult learning in Taiwan. In light of our society's aging population structure, the task of establishing evaluation framework and indicators for the social outcomes of learning (SOL) as applied to older adults is urgent. In order to construct evaluation indicators for older adult SOL based on the framework provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; 2007), the focus group method and Delphi Technique were adopted. Five findings stand out: First, the evaluation framework of older adult SOL includes two domains, seven dimensions, 21 subdimensions, and 58 evaluation indicators. Second, the evaluation indicators were ranged between "important" and "very important." Third, there are 26 evaluation indicators identified as primary indicators. Fourth, the evaluation framework of older adult SOL extends from individual to the external worlds. Fifth, the community and social dimensions of older adult SOL need to be reinforced.

Previous studies with biological and genetic evidence indicate that the myo-inositol monophosphatase 2 ( IMPA2) gene may influence schizophrenia. We performed a genetic association study in Han Chinese cohorts. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms within IMPA2 promoter region (rs971363, rs971362, rs2075824, rs111410794 and rs111610121), as well as one (rs45442994, in intron 1) that was positively associated in another study, were selected for genotyping in 1397 patients with schizophrenia and 1285 mentally healthy controls. Genotype and allele frequencies were assessed by gender stratification. Interestingly, rs2075824 showed a strong association with schizophrenia ( P = 4.1 × 10−4), and the T allele was more frequent in cases than controls [ P = 5.6 × 10−5, OR (95% CI) = 1.26 (1.13-1.41)]. In vitro promoter assay showed that the transcription activity of the T allele promoter was higher than that of the C allele promoter and the T allele of rs2075824 contributed to risk for schizophrenia. By stratifying males and females, we found a gender-specific association for IMPA2 and schizophrenia: the T allele of rs2075824 was more frequent in male cases compared with male controls [ P = 1.4 × 10−4, OR (95% CI) = 1.33 (1.15-1.55)]. Our data suggest that a promoter polymorphism of IMPA2 possibly contributed to risk for schizophrenia by elevating transcription activity in Han Chinese individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore the social outcomes of older adult learning in Taiwan. In light of our society's aging population structure, the task of establishing evaluation framework and indicators for the social outcomes of learning (SOL) as applied to older adults is urgent. In order to construct evaluation indicators for older adult SOL based on the framework provided by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; 2007), the focus group method and Delphi Technique were adopted. Five findings stand out: First, the evaluation framework of older adult SOL includes two domains, seven dimensions, 21 subdimensions, and 58 evaluation indicators. Second, the evaluation indicators were ranged betweenimportantandvery important. Third, there are 26 evaluation indicators identified as primary indicators. Fourth, the evaluation framework of older adult SOL extends from individual to the external worlds. Fifth, the community and social dimensions of older adult SOL need to be reinforced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to explore recognition of the importance of later-life planning and practice of later-life preparation by individuals from different generations. The study utilizes the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) method, in combination with a later-life planning questionnaire, to investigate adults (over 20 years old) across 25 counties and cities in Taiwan. The research design employed proportional stratified random sampling, and it received 1071 valid samples. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, and logistic regression. Five findings stand out: First, later-life planning can be categorized into five domains: physical health, psychological adjustment, social relationships, financial management, and leisure life. Second, the subjects showed their recognition of the importance of later-life planning, especially with respect to physical health. Third, their preparations primarily took the form of following a balanced diet, maintaining a good mood, saving money, maintaining good relationships with family, and planning adequate leisure activities. Fourth, the results show intergenerational differences in recognition of the importance of later-life planning. Fifth, recognition of the importance of later-life planning effectively predicts one's practice of later-life preparation. Policy suggestions are offered for governmental and educational institutions dealing with older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper describes a new automated classification method for Wuyi rock tealeaves based on the best penalty parameter selection for the support vector machine with RBF (Radial Basis Function) kernel. A total of 3590 fresh tealeaf images of the representative Rou Gui and Shui Hsien varieties of Wuyi rock tea are collected in their natural habitat. Fourteen image features are extracted in terms of the leaf shape and texture. The automatic selection method is used to find the optimum RBF kernel parameter sigma, which is then applied to design an automatic parameter selection method to screen the best penalty parameter C for the classification of Wuyi rock tealeaves. In this study, the SVM classifier is used for the automated classification and recognition of the 14 image features. The contribution of the various features to the recognition rate of fresh tealeaves is evaluated to identify the key features for the classification and recognition of fresh Wuyi rock tealeaf images. The experimental results show that the proposed method improves the recognition rate of fresh tealeaves to 91.00%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]