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The Community Care Station (CCS) service was initiated by the Taiwanese government as a part of its elderly social services programs. This study aimed to investigate the effects of using an inexpensive exercise toolkit, containing a stick, theraband, sandbag and a small ball, led by a physical therapist among community-dwelling older adults participating in CCS. A total of 90 participants (aged 77.0 ± 6.8 years) were recruited and divided into an intervention group (n = 45) and a comparison group (n = 45). The intervention group regularly participated in a health promotion program with the exercise toolkit for approximately 90 min per twice-weekly session for 3 months, and the comparison group maintained their usual CCS activity program. Both groups were assessed before and after the 3-month intervention period. Outcome measures included the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), one-leg stance, functional reach (FR), Timed Up and Go (TUG), and 10 m walk tests; 83 participants completed the study. No significant between-group differences were found at baseline in general characteristics or outcome variables. After 3 months, the intervention group showed the significant group x time interaction effects in SPPB, one-leg stance, FR, TUG and 10 m walk tests compared to the comparison group (p < 0.05).; A structured group-based health promotion program using a low-cost exercise toolkit could be effective in improving the physical performances, balance, and walking ability of community-dwelling older adults receiving CCS program services. Furthermore, the comparison group maintained most of their physical performances, even showing significant progress on FR.

Flexible manipulation of the carrier transport behaviors in two-dimensional materials determines their values of practical application in logic circuits. Here, we demonstrated the carrier-type manipulation in field-effect transistors (FETs) containing α-phase molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe

Over the last decade, various rating systems and indicators have been proposed for evaluating or certifying roadway sustainability. However, there is no systematic method for the roadway projects to adopt the indicators of the rating systems to enhance sustainability for certification. This study developed a strategy for adopting indicators in a roadway rating system for sustainability certification. First, the framework and rules for prioritizing the indicators were established from literature review. Then, carbon emissions, costs, and the difficulties of employing the indicators were analyzed in a roadway case study. Finally, the priorities for adopting the indicators were determined. The results revealed that the indicators with higher score–unit ratios should have higher priorities in the project. By using the developed framework, the simultaneous analysis of multiple dimensions enables appropriate investigation into roadway sustainability problems. The score–unit ratio is a simple but effective metric to evaluate whether a project has incorporated appropriate indicators to enhance sustainability.

Warm-mix asphalt (WMA) is one technology that has been found to have potential in minimizing the environmental harm caused by road construction activities. Its low mixing and compacting temperatures have opened great opportunities for more sustainable development. However, because WMA is mixed at low temperatures, the drying process of the aggregate may fail to dry the WMA completely. The binder-aggregate adhesion property can be damaged by moisture remaining from incomplete drying. The present study investigated the effects of aggregate moisture on the binder-aggregate interfacial characteristics of WMA by evaluating its surface free energy and adhesive bond strength. The results showed that for the Pen 60-70 binder type, the aggregate AG in general showed the higher bond energy and aggregate SD showed the lowest bond energy among three aggregate types. Also, the bond energy diminishes with increasing aggregate moisture contents but the percent drops in bond energy is less when WMA additives was included. For the PM binder, SL aggregate group showed the highest bond energy and SD aggregate group showed the lowest bond energy. For the work of adhesion, the results showed that with aggregate with 10% moisture contents has destructive effects on the work of adhesion which may decrease to 50% compare to dry aggregate condition. Finally, the four quadrant diagrams can be used to combine two distinct property of the bond energy and the work of adhesion as the hybrid performance indicator to rank the effect of moist aggregate to the adhesion properties at binder-aggregate interface.

Although indicators in rating systems have been initiated to measure and promote the sustainability performance of roadway projects in some developed countries, applying those indicators to other regions/countries may still be difficult. In response to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals, local road agencies in Taiwan urgently need to establish systematic and quantifiable sustainable roadway strategies. As part of the project to develop a green urban road rating system in Taiwan, this study aims to develop transportation livability-related indicators (TLIs) and identify critical barriers to TLI application in Taiwan’s urban road system. To this end, the research employed an adaptive approach that integrates top-down and bottom-up approaches. The top-down approach included the comprehensive literature review and panel discussion to derive four TLIs and 21 corresponding requirements, and nine potential barriers to hold the indicator adoption. Four TLIs are pedestrian facilities, universal design, multimodal transportation, and utility facilities. The bottom-up approach used the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assign weights to proposed indicators/requirements. Four critical barriers were also investigated through the Weighted Sum Model (WSM) method, namely unfavorable in-situ conditions, lack of stakeholders’ coordination, unsupported government policy and regulation, and limited budget and schedule. The findings can be beneficial to engineers and decisionmakers to enhance the livability standard of urban streets. The framework proposed in this research can be applied to other roadway characteristics aspects in different regions/countries.

This work was supported by the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology (Grant No. MOST 108-2112-M-005-012-MY3 and 109-2112-M-005-013-MY3), and also supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. 61974070 and 61874074, 1311 Talent Plan, and Start-Up Fund from Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications under Grant No. NY219003, and Shenzhen Peacock Plan (Grant No. KQTD2016053112042971).

Summary Purpose To validate a conceptual short-form health literacy 12 items questionnaire (HL-SF12) in patient populations. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted via a convenient sample of 403 patients from three departments of a community general hospital in the northern Taiwan. Patients' health literacy was assessed with a validated HL-SF12, derived from the full scale, the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q), as well as a single-item from Chew's Set of Brief Health Literacy Question. A reference population in Northern Taiwan ( n =928) via the HLS-EU-Q in 2013–2014 was used as a reference to compare the health literacy between that of the general public and the patients. Data was analyzed by confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal consistency analysis, correlation analysis, and linear regression models. Results Patients' health literacy assessed with the HL-SF12 was shown with high internal consistency (Cronbach α=.87), and moderately correlated with the single-item from Chew's Set of Brief Health Literacy Question, with satisfactory item-scale convergent validity (item-scale correlation ≥ .40), without floor/ceiling effect, and with satisfactory goodness of fit indices of the three-factor construct model for most of the patients. Their health literacy was significantly positively associated with female gender, higher income, and more often watching health-related TV programs. On the other hands, patients were reported with significantly higher healthcare health literacy than the general public, but not in general health literacy, disease prevention health literacy, or health promotion health literacy. Conclusion The comprehensive HL-SF12 was a valid and easy to use tool for assessing patients' health literacy in the hospitals to facilitate healthcare providers in enhancing patients' health literacy and healthcare qualities.

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Currently, road and airport pavement construction uses approximately 90% asphalt, most of which is mainly derived from fossil fuels. However, with the improvement in oil refinery technology, the quality of asphalt binders is degrading gradually. Moreover, from the environment standpoint, fossil fuels are the main source of greenhouse gases, which lead to global warming. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop a more sustainable binding material from renewable or other alternative resources to replace or modify the existing petroleum-based asphalt binder for the highway industry. The main objective of this study was to investigate the potential use of a bio-oil byproduct as a partial replacement for a bitumen-based binder. The properties of various blending combinations of a biobinder and asphalt binder were compared with those of an unmodified asphalt binder through several physical and rheological tests. The specific gravity of the biobinder was found to be higher than that of the petroleum-based binder. In general, biobinder blends have a higher viscosity than that of the unmodified binder at temperatures higher than 60 °C. Binders containing the biobinder at 25% and 50% have lower temperature susceptibility than that of the unmodified binder. Adding the biobinder at up to 25% does not significantly change the complex shear modulus of unaged binders, whereas rolling thin-film oven-aged biobinder blends show a higher complex modulus and greater viscosity than those of the unmodified binder. Moreover, the biobinder blends show higher G ∗ /sin δ, lower nonrecoverable compliance and greater recovery ability than those of conventional AC-20.

Frequent mill and overlay activities result in the production of a considerable amount of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) materials. Many pavements that incorporated RAP exhibit a shorter service life than do those without RAP. One of the possible reasons is that certain RAP materials have already undergone multiple recycling processes during the past decade. This results in severe aging of the reclaimed asphalt binder (RAB). In this study, three severely aged RABs, two RAP blending scenarios, two virgin binders, and two commercial rejuvenators were used to investigate the feasibility of using severely aged binders for constructing pavements. The chemical and rheological properties of the rejuvenated severely aged binders were evaluated using high-performance gel permeation chromatography and a dynamic shear rheometer. The molecular size distributions of rejuvenated RABs revealed that the rejuvenators used in this study could rebalance the proportions of large, medium, and small molecular components among the rejuvenated RABs. However, the polydispersity values still enabled clearly distinguishing between virgin binders and rejuvenated RABs. Two performance parameters were used to evaluate the potential of age-induced damage as well as permanent rutting in the binders. A Glover–Rowe damage zone was evaluated, and it revealed promising results to distinguish among severely aged binders, virgin binders, and rejuvenated binders. Oscillation and multiple stress creep and recovery tests were performed to obtain rutting potential parameter G ∗ /sin( δ ) and J nr , respectively. The results indicated that all rejuvenated aged binders exhibited higher G ∗ /sin( δ ) values and lower J nr values compared with the control virgin binders.

This study applied Garrison, Anderson, and Archer's (2000) community of inquiry (CoI) framework to teacher learning by designing and investigating online participatory practice in which 14 prospective teachers (PT) were engaged in collectively evaluating and reconstructing their written feedback in their teaching, cognitive, and social presences. Data included the PTs' action logs in the three presences, their observation notes on fellow teachers' feedback practice, their feedback on students' different versions of texts, and transcripts of discussion forums and chat rooms. Results showed that in an online teacher learning community, the teaching presence reinforced and sustained the cognitive and social presences in the virtual community as the PTs learned to serve as subject matter experts. Through these three presences, the PTs provided micro- and macro-level feedback and observed each other's practices in the teaching presence. An online participatory practice allowed the PTs to recognize problems in feedback practice and develop principles of effective written feedback through collaborative efforts. Practical implications and useful functionalities of an online system for teacher learning were also discussed. Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has the potential for exploring teacher learning.Design in the teaching presence reinforces and sustains the cognitive and social presences in the online virtual community.Teachers develop principles of effective written feedback through collaborative efforts.

This work reveals the intrinsic carrier transport behavior of 2D organolead halide perovskites based on phase-pure homologous (n = 1, 2, and 3) Ruddelsden-Popper perovskite (RPP) (BA)2 (MA)n-1 Pbn I3n+1 single crystals. The 2D perovskite field effect transistors with high-quality exfoliated 2D perovskite bulk crystals are fabricated, and characteristic output and transfer curves are measured from individual single-crystal flakes with various n values under different temperatures. Unipolar n-type transport dominated the electrical properties of all these 2D RPP single crystals. The transport behavior of the 2D organolead halide hybrid perovskites exhibits a strong dependence on the n value and the mobility substantially increases as the ratio of the number of inorganic perovskite slabs per organic spacer increases. By extracting the effect of contact resistances, the corrected mobility values for n = 1, 2, and 3 are 2 × 10-3 , 8.3 × 10-2 , and 1.25 cm2 V-1 s-1 at 77 K, respectively. Furthermore, by combining temperature-dependent electrical transport and optical measurements, it is found that the origin of the carrier mobility dependence on the phase transition for 2D organolead halide perovskites is very different from that of their 3D counterparts. Our findings offer insight into fundamental carrier transport behavior of 2D organic-inorganic hybrid perovskites based on phase-pure homologous single crystals.

Display Omitted The Ir-gate AlSb/InAs HEMT on Si substrate has been studied with reliability evaluation.The Ir-gate exhibited a superior metal work function.The Schottky barrier height of InAs/AlSb on silicon was improved.TEM, SIMS, and low frequency noise measurement were adopted to proof device stability. In this work, the 6-inch AlSb/InAs on Si (001) substrate is used to increase device integration and cost-effective purpose. The iridium (Ir)-gate was used for the InAs/AlSb on silicon substrate and temperature-dependent characteristics were also studied. The Ir-gate exhibited a superior metal work function which was beneficial for increasing the Schottky barrier height of InAs/AlSb on silicon heterostructures. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy, secondary ion mass spectrometry, and low frequency noise measurements were conducted to proof that the Ir-gated AlSb/InAs HEMT achieved the better stability of characteristics after self-heating and hot-carrier stresses.

Yield loss caused by via failures is unacceptably high in many semiconductor manufacturing processes. Redundant via insertion (RVI) is a typical approach for improving manufacturing competitiveness. The double-via insertion in concurrent routing or post-routing stage is introduced to improve yield and reliability. However, RVI with double-via patterns requires a considerable routing resource, which limits the enhancement of RVI rate, especially in congested designs. In this paper, an efficient and effective post-layout RVI approach is proposed. The proposed RVI method is the first to overcome the limitation of double-via insertion by combining double-via and rectangle-via patterns. The proposed RVI method determines the via configuration used in a two-phase flow which can effectively increase the insertion rate of total via which is dominated by via1. Experimental results show that the proposed method uses multi-via mechanisms to improve the total via insertion rate in RVI designs from 86.8 to 92.7 % and to improve the via1 insertion rate from 73.5 to 85.1 %.

A scanning light probe can locally dope two-dimensional molybdenum ditelluride, allowing monolithically integrated circuits (ICs) to be quickly written on the material.

Electrical contacts often dominate charge transport properties at the nanoscale because of considerable differences in nanoelectronic device interfaces arising from unique geometric and electrostatic features. Transistors with a tunable Schottky barrier between the metal and semiconductor interface might simplify circuit design. Here, germanium nanowire (Ge NW) transistors with Cu3 Ge as source/drain contacts formed by both buffered oxide etching treatments and rapid thermal annealing are reported. The transistors based on this Cu3 Ge/Ge/Cu3 Ge heterostructure show ambipolar transistor behavior with a large on/off current ratio of more than 105 and 103 for the hole and electron regimes at room temperature, respectively. Investigations of temperature-dependent transport properties and low-frequency current fluctuations reveal that the tunable effective Schottky barriers of the Ge NW transistors accounted for the ambipolar behaviors. It is further shown that this ambipolarity can be used to realize binary-signal and data-storage functions, which greatly simplify circuit design compared with conventional technologies.

An all-inkjet-printed organic thin film transistor (OTFT) with a double-layer dielectric structure is proposed and implemented in this study. By using the double-layer structure with different dielectric materials (i.e., polyvinylphenol with poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene)), the threshold-voltage of OTFT can be adjusted. The threshold-voltage shift can be controlled by changing the composition of dielectric layers. That is, an enhancement-mode OTFT can be converted to a depletion-mode OTFT by selectively printing additional dielectric layers to form a high-k/low-k double-layer structure. The printed OTFT has a carrier mobility of 5.0 × 10 − 3 cm 2 /V-s. The threshold-voltages of the OTFTs ranged between − 13 V and 10 V. This study demonstrates an additional design parameter for organic electronics manufactured using inkjet printing technology.

Despite the rapid advances in process technology, via failure is still problematic in nanometer-scale semiconductor manufacturing. Adding redundant vias is a typical approach for improving yield and reliability. Cell-based design methodologies are widely adopted in the industry for application-specific integrated circuits. Standard cells are effective for increasing the insertion rate of redundant via1s in cell-based designs. This study proposes an efficient library check and staggered pin arrangement approach that compares redundant via1 insertion rate in different configurations such as double-via and rectangle-via. To compare the variability in standard cell (SC) libraries, accurate characterization results are provided. Moreover, the proposed SC library is easily implemented in all currently available routers. The experimental results reveal that the proposed library improves total inserted redundant vias, total inserted redundant via1s, and total run time by 20.2%, 51.9%, and 42.3%, respectively. In double-via pattern, the proposed approach improves average via1 insertion rate by 14.6%. In rectangle-via pattern, the proposed approach achieves a 100% via1 insertion rate.

In recent years, researchers have conducted various studies on applying wireless networking technology and mobile devices in education settings. However, research on behavioral patterns in learners' online asynchronous discussions with mobile devices is limited. The purposes of this study are to develop a mobile learning system, mobile interactive teaching feedback system (MITFS), linked to both mobile devices and the internet, to support learners with online asynchronous discussion, and combine content analysis and sequential analysis to compare and contrast the social knowledge construction behavioral patterns of problem-based asynchronous discussion in e-learning and m-learning environments. This study investigated four weeks of online discussions in an ''Introduction to Computer Science'' course involving forty first year university students. The control group (online asynchronous discussion without mobile devices) and the experimental group (online asynchronous discussion with mobile devices) in the group discussions were explored. By using content analysis and sequential analysis for the problem-based online asynchronous discussion of the behavioral patterns and differences between students in control and experimental group, the results showed that using mobile devices in online asynchronous discussion influenced students' learning performance. Some interesting results were found. Firstly, when the students used mobile devices in discussion situations, they could more engage in reflecting thinking, sharing more information, and further facilitating social knowledge construction among group members. Secondly, the experimental group performed better than the control group in terms of participation and diversity in knowledge construction behavioral patterns. Finally, based upon the findings, some implications are proposed for further research.

We describe the preparation of vinyl-terminated benzoxazine-functionalized graphene using free radical grafting. The resulting functionalized graphene (f-graphene) was incorporated into bis(3-allyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-1,3-benzoxazinyl)methane (V-BF-a) monomer in order that nanocomposites could be prepared. Results of scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy revealed that the sheets of f-graphene were well dispersed throughout the matrix, and there was a strong interfacial interaction between the f-graphene and polyV-BF-a. The inclusion of f-graphene into the nanocomposites resulted in a material with a high thermal stability and a low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE); increasing the content of f-graphene reduced the CTE significantly more. A reduction in the CTE of up to 48% was produced by adding just 1 wt% of f-graphene; this corresponded to an increase of 12 °C in the glass transition temperature. These results suggest that f-graphene nanocomposites can be ‘tuned’ to give materials with both a low CTE and a high thermal stability, and that graphene composites of this type can thus be manufactured to withstand a wider range of temperatures.

To understand the behavior of hot-poured bituminous-based crack sealants at low service temperatures and to predict their field performance, a constitutive stress-strain relationship must be described. This would allow predicting in situ crack sealant response to both thermal and traffic loading. This paper verifies the linear viscoelastic behavior of crack sealants. Ten sealants having high polymer contents were tested at −4 to −40°C using a Crack Sealant Bending Beam Rheometer (CSBBR). The convolution integral principle was used to obtain relaxation moduli from measured creep compliance data. A Prony series viscoelastic model was used to characterize mechanical behavior of crack sealant at low temperatures. The sealant’s linear response was checked by implementing two conditions of linearity described by Marasteanu and Anderson. Simulation for the sealant linear viscoelastic deflection response during the loading and unloading was conducted using a three-dimensional finite-element model. This study conc...

Tunability and stability in the electrical properties of 2D semiconductors pave the way for their practical applications in logic devices. A robust layered indium selenide (InSe) field-effect transistor (FET) with superior controlled stability is demonstrated by depositing an indium (In) doping layer. The optimized InSe FETs deliver an unprecedented high electron mobility up to 3700 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature, which can be retained with 60% after 1 month. Further insight into the evolution of the position of the Fermi level and the microscopic device structure with different In thicknesses demonstrates an enhanced electron-doping behavior at the In/InSe interface. Furthermore, the contact resistance is also improved through the In insertion between InSe and Au electrodes, which coincides with the analysis of the low-frequency noise. The carrier fluctuation is attributed to the dominance of the phonon scattering events, which agrees with the observation of the temperature-dependent mobility. Finally, the flexible functionalities of the logic-circuit applications, for instance, inverter and not-and (NAND)/not-or (NOR) gates, are determined with these surface-doping InSe FETs, which establish a paradigm for 2D-based materials to overcome the bottleneck in the development of electronic devices.

Bilateral subthalamic nuclei deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been shown to be effective in treating motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Numerous studies confirm the safety and efficacy of DBS. Complications of subthalamic nuclei DBS show a 1.2% risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage. There are few studies concerning the benefits of rehabilitation after occurrence of intracerebral hemorrhage related to DBS. We report a patient who underwent an inpatient rehabilitation program because of complicated intracerebral hemorrhage after a DBS procedure. We observed significant improvement in locomotion and independence of daily activities after the program. We also review the current literature reporting complications following DBS.

In wireless sensor networks (WSNs), localization has many important applications, among which wireless sensor retrieval bears special importance for cost saving, data analysis and security purposes. Localization for sensor retrieval is especially challenging due to the fact that the number and locations of these sensors are both unknown. In this paper, we propose two probabilistic localization algorithms that iteratively identify the locations of multiple wireless sensors in WSNs, one of which calculates location information offline, and the other online. In both algorithms, we implement a two-step localization process — the first step is called Grid-LEGMM (grid location estimation based on the Gaussian mixture model), a coarse-grain location search using grids by choosing the proper number and locations of the wireless sensors that maximize a likelihood estimation, and the second step is called EM-LEGMM (expectation maximization based on the Gaussian mixture model), which uses the EM-method to refine the results of Grid-LEGMM. An additional step in the online localization algorithm is a credit-based filtering mechanism that removes spurious sensor locations. The performance of both offline and online localization algorithms are analyzed using the Cramer–Rao lower bound (CRLB), and evaluated using simulations and real testbed experiments.

In this study, super-hydrophobic films were deposited in a one-step simple process by pulsed RF C6F6 plasma, and the influence of the duty-cycle (DC) on the surface structure and chemical characteristics of depositing fluorocarbon films was examined. The deposited coatings were analyzed by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometry (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Contact Angle Analyzer. It was found that by decreasing the DC from 1 to 0.1, the rough structure of the film with a lot of particles was obtained. In addition, the super-hydrophobic property was obtained on this composite fluorocarbon film. Finally, the adhesion of fluorocarbon films could be increased by deposited on the cotton fiber substrates instead of Si wafer.

China's economic performance over the past few decades has put China in a position where it now accounts for one-third of global economic growth, twice as much as America. The large-scale growth of China's economy has attracted attentionfrom businesses and investors worldwide [Morrison (2006). China ’ s economic conditions . Congressional Research Service: The Library of Congress]. With the continuing growth of China's economy, more and more people from all over the world are learning Chinese in order to conduct business and access China's huge markets. Correspondingly, an increase in the demand for Chinese speakers is being matched by an increase in available Chinese language teaching jobs globally. This has led many Chinese native speakers to consider teaching Chinese as a second language either in China or overseas. This study is a narrative inquiry into the transformation of thinking about language education, based on the author's experience of teaching Chinese while pursuing a doctorate program at a major university in the United States. The data used in this study are qualitative in nature, consisting of self-observations and journal writing. Narrative inquiry serves as a conceptual framework to this study and was adopted as a tool for data analysis. The analysis focused on how the author, as a teaching assistant from Taiwan, dealt with issues of teaching Chinese as a second language and how he drew on pedagogical theories and methodologies. The author's experience with students in the East Asian Language and Culture Department with their different assumptions and motivations highlighted the importance of teaching strategies and pedagogies in class. Elements like cultural diversity and learning styles are also discussed in this paper.

Using geotextiles in secondary roads to stabilize and reinforce weak subgrades has been a well-accepted practice over the past 30 years. However, from an economics point of view, a complete life-cycle cost analysis, which includes not only costs to agencies but also costs to users of the road, is urgently needed to assess the benefits of using geotextiles in secondary road flexible pavements. This paper presents a cost analysis process that includes costs for the initial construction, each rehabilitation, work-zone queue delays, moving delays, accidents, and fuel consumption. Two of the most practical design methods, developed by Al-Qadi and Perkins, were adopted to quantify the cost–benefits provided by geotextiles when incorporated in secondary road flexible pavements. Although both methods showed significant traffic benefit ratio (TBR) at very low California Bearing Ratio (CBR), the benefits suggested by Perkins diminished as the CBR became greater than 2%. This study also shows that, when user costs are considered, a greater TBR value may not result in the most effective life-cycle cost. Hence, for an optimum secondary road flexible pavement design with geotextile incorporated in the system, a life-cycle cost analysis that includes user cost must be performed.