Search

An integrated model of cognitive tasks involved in the process of a technological innovation was proposed based on these theories: 1. CDIO theory of technological innovation, 2. Wallas’s creative thinking processes, 3. Khalr & Simon’s theory of scientific discovery, and 4. the conceptual combination theory of imagination. The central theme of this model is the proposition that three cognitive conditions are necessary for technological imagination and innovation: 1. cross-domain knowledge, 2. simple heuristics, and 3. pattern recognition ability. Although the required domain knowledge and implementation methods are different across domains, heuristics that lead to a breakthrough at each phase of CDIO in a technological innovation are similar, with conceptual combination as the cognitive engine for generating original and imaginative ideas.

Background The aim of this study was to determine the actual state of the photosynthetic apparatus and exhibit distinguishable differences in the chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) components in different seedling ages of M. oiwakensis plants subjected to different light intensity (LI). Potted 6-month-old greenhouse seedlings and field collected 2.4-year-old seedlings with 5 cm heights were selected and randomly separated into seven groups for photosynthesis measurements illuminated with 50, 100 (assigned as low LI), 300, 500, 1,000 (as moderate LI), 1,500 and 2,000 (as high LI) μmol m–2 s–1 photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) treatments. Results n 6-month-old seedlings, as LI increased from 50 to 2,000 PPFD, the values of non-photochemical quenching and photo-inhibitory quenching (qI) increased but potential quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm) and photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (ΦPSII) values decreased. High electron transport rate and percentage of actual PSII efficiency by Fv/Fm values were observed in 2.4-year-old seedlings at high LI conditions. Furthermore, higher ΦPSII was detected under low LI conditions, with lower energy-dependent quenching (qE) and qI values and photo-inhibition % decreased as well. However, qE and qI increased as ΦPSII decreased and photo-inhibition% increased under high LI treatments. Conclusions These results could be useful for predicting the changes in growth and distribution of Mahonia species grown in controlled environments and open fields with various combinations of varying light illuminations, and ecological monitoring of their restoration and habitat creation is important for provenance conservation and helps to formulate better conservation strategies for the seedlings.

Conceptual combination is proposed as the mental activity by which imagination produces new ideas in creative processes. Two parallel forms of the imagination test were constructed based on concept...

Sod culture (SC) and no tillage (NT) are modern orchard management systems, and are two different bases for the sustainable development and production of citrus orchards in Taiwan. However, there is no information about the efficiency of either NT or SC on the photosynthetic physiology of farmed citrus under different seasons and varying light intensities. The objective of this study was to clarify the impacts of SC and NT under eco-friendly farming management on the photosynthetic apparatus of an important plantation citrus species in response to varying light intensities over the seasons. The results showed that Rd (dark respiration rate of CO2), Qy (light quantum yield of CO2), LCP (light compensation point), Amax (maximum net assimilation of CO2), and Fv/Fm values of citrus plants under SC were somewhat higher under NT in the same season, particularly in the fall and in winter. As light intensity increased from 200 to 2000 μmol photon m−2 s−1 PPFD, higher Pn (net photosynthesis rate), Gs (stomatal conductance), ETR (electron transport rate), NPQ (non-photochemical quenching), and Fv/Fm (potential quantum efficiency of PSII) values were observed in spring and summer compared to the fall and winter, and increasing NPQ and decreasing Fv/Fm values were observed in all seasons. Positive and significant correlations were shown between the Pn and Gs under NT and SC in all seasons with all light illuminations, whereas significant and negative relationships were observed between the ETR and NPQ under NT in fall and winter at 1200~2000 PPFD. In short, ETR was useful for non-destructive estimations of Pn and NPQ since these indices were significantly and positively correlated with ETR in citrus leaves exposed to 0~1200 PPFD in all seasons and 1200~2000 PPFD in spring, the fall, and winter, providing a quick means to identify the physiological condition of plants under various seasons and tillages. The precise management of photosynthetic parameters such as ETR in response to light irradiances under varied seasons also provides implications for sustainable citrus production for tillage cropping systems in future higher CO2 and potentially wetter or drier environments. The tillages may hold promise for maximizing the economic efficiency of the growth and development of citrus plants grown in the field.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which is designed to facilitate employee well-being by managing their personal work-related issues, plays an important role in human resource management. Yet, the development of EAP has encountered difficulties in the recent decades and one of the key reasons is the lack of a valid instrument to assess its effectiveness. The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable instrument for organizations to evaluate their EAP performance. Drawing on the IPOO (input-process-output-outcome) performance evaluation model, we generate the scale dimensions and items through a multi-method data collection approach, including literature review, panel discussion and a series of qualitative interviews with program practitioners. Then, by surveying EAP practitioners from 135 government units in Taiwan, we confirmed the reliability, content and predictive validity of the instrument which consists of 27 items. There are five dimensions in the instrument, namely resource allocation, management support, plan making, program introduction, and service provision. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed at the end.

As anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions intensify global climate change, plantations have become an important tool to mitigate atmospheric CO2. Our aim in this study was to estimate carbon assimilation and clarify the impact of environmental factors on the photosynthesis of Zelkova serrata (Thunb.) Makino, an important plantation species that is extensively planted in low altitude regions of East Asia. We measured monthly gas exchange parameters and leaf area index to estimate carbon assimilation. The results showed that gas exchange was significantly affected by vapor pressure deficit and temperature, especially in the dry season, and both photosynthetic rate and carbon assimilation decreased. Lower daytime assimilation and higher nighttime respiration during the dry season, which caused a 43% decrease in carbon assimilation in Z. serrata plantations. Z. serrata exhibited lower photosynthetic rate and lower carbon assimilation following planting in a tropical monsoon climate area. Therefore, the effects of extreme weather such as high temperature and vapor pressure deficit on Z. serrata forest carbon budget could be stronger in the future. Leaf area showed seasonal variation, and severe defoliation was caused by a typhoon in the summer. The annual carbon assimilation was estimated at 3.50 Mg C ha−1 year−1 in the study area.

Background: As anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions intensify global climate change, plantations have become an important tool to mitigate atmospheric CO2. Our aim in this study was to estimate carbon assimilation and clarify the impact of environmental factors on the photosynthesis of Zelkova serrata, an important plantation species, which extensively planted in low altitude of East Asia.Results: We measured monthly gas exchange parameters and leaf area to estimate carbon assimilation. The results showed that gas exchange was significantly affected by vapor pressure deficit and temperature, especially in the dry season, and both photosynthetic rate and carbon assimilation decreased. However, drought led to lower daytime assimilation and higher night-time respiration, which caused a 43% decrease in carbon assimilation. Additionally, the poor site quality and environmental stress may impact the growth and carbon assimilation of this species.Conclusions: Z. serrata may not be suitable for planting in a tropical monsoon climate area. Therefore, the effects of extreme weather on the forest carbon budget may be stronger in the future. Leaf area showed seasonal variation and serious defoliation caused by a typhoon in the summer. The monthly leaf assimilation rate was 0.88–4.17 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1, which was estimated to assimilate 3.50 Mg C ha-1 yr-1 in the study area.

Stomatopods, or so-called mantis shrimps, are the only animal group known to possess circular polarization vision along with linear polarization vision. By using the rhabdomere of a distally located photoreceptor as a wave retarder, the eyes of mantis shrimps are able to convert circularly polarized light into linearly polarized light. As a result, their circular polarization vision is based on the linearly polarized light-sensitive photoreceptors commonly found in many arthropods. To investigate how linearly and circularly polarized light signals might be processed, we presented a dynamic polarized light stimulus while recording from photoreceptors or lamina neurons in intact mantis shrimps Haptosquilla pulchella. The results indicate that all the circularly polarized light-sensitive photoreceptors also showed differential responses to the changing e-vector angle of linearly polarized light. When stimulated with linearly polarized light of varying e-vector angle, most photoreceptors produced a concordant sinusoidal response. In contrast, some lamina neurons doubled the response frequency in reacting to linearly polarized light. These responses resembled a rectified sum of two-channel linear polarization-sensitive photoreceptors indicating that polarization visual signals are processed at or before the first optic lobe. Noticeably, within the lamina, there was one type of neuron that showed a steady depolarization response to all stimuli except right-handed circularly polarized light. Together, our findings suggest that, between the photoreceptors and lamina neurons, linearly and circularly polarized light may be processed in parallel and different from one another.

Stomatopods, or mantis shrimp, are the only animal group known to possess circular polarization vision along with linear polarization vision. By using the rhabdomere of a distally located photoreceptor as a wave retarder, the eyes of mantis shrimp are able to convert circularly polarized light into linearly polarized light. As a result, their circular polarization vision is based on the linearly polarized light-sensitive photoreceptors commonly found in many arthropods. To investigate how linearly and circularly polarized light signals might be processed, we presented a dynamic polarized light stimulus while recording from photoreceptors or lamina neurons in intact mantis shrimp

The objective of this work was to study changes in the chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF) components of two sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas L. Lam) cultivars ‘Taoyaun 2’ (green leaf) and ‘CN1927’ (yellow leaf) in response to varying light intensities and temperatures. Cuttings were grown in potting soil under a controlled greenhouse for 4 weeks and moved to a dark room overnight. Plants were then illuminated with 1,000 and 2,000 μmol m−2 s−1 of photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) at 10, 25, and 35°C for 30 min with a cool light source, followed by a 30 min dark recovery period at each measured temperature. ChlF was measured immediately before illumination and every 2~5 min during illumination until the end of dark recovery. All measurements were performed at 2 min intervals during the temperature exposure period. The accumulation of chlorophyll affected the leaf colors, and those ChlF indices of yellow- and green-leaved plants treated under various temperatures in response to various light intensities over time, showing wide variations in maximal chlorophyll fluorescence Fv/Fm (in darkness), Fv’/Fm’ (in the light), and non-photochemical fluorescence quenching (NPQ) levels. Moreover, green-leaved plants showed greater the fraction of excess energy in PS II (E) and fraction of light absorbed in PSII antennae (P) than yellow-leaved plants, but lower the fraction of light absorbed in PSII antennae that is dissipated thermally (D) than yellow-leaved plants at 35°C under 1,000 μmol m−2 s−1. As temperature increased, P values of all plants increased but D values decreased. The values of qE% in green leaves were significantly higher than those in yellow leaves, whereas qI% in yellow leaves was significantly higher than in green leaves under 2,000 μmol m−2 s−1 at all temperatures. There were significant and negative correlations of NPQ with Fv’/Fm’ and ΔF/Fm’, and of D with P of green leaves, but significant and positive relationship was detected between E and P of green-leaved plants. Manipulation of light harvesting and its regulation by photo-protection might be a key to increase bioenergy and food crop yields. The effective management of ChlF parameters in response to the light intensity provides a better understanding of the photosynthetic characteristics of leafy vegetables grown in controlled environments with various combinations of varying temperatures and high light intensities.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is not only to investigate the impact of self-determined motivation on counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs), but also to examine the moderating role of perceived job insecurity in CWB. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized Partial Least Squares analysis to examine the data. In total, 292 private bank employees that experienced bank mergers and acquisitions before were invited to participate in this study. Findings The study findings have indicated that perceived autonomy will be positively linked to perceived competence and relatedness, and perceived competence and relatedness will be negatively associated with organizational and interpersonal CWB. Moreover, it has been found that perceived job insecurity could play a key role in moderating the link between self-determined motivation and CWB. Originality/value Although several researchers have highly focused on the critical roles of self-determined motivation and perceived job insecurity in organizational competitiveness, little is known about whether perceived job insecurity could play a key role in moderating the relationship between self-determined motivation and CWBs.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a model explaining the roles of right-hand person and the factors contributing to the successful relationship between the top executive and the right-hand person. Design/methodology/approach – In-depth qualitative case studies are conducted. Longitudinal observations, interviews with six right-hand persons and the top executives in three organizations are conducted to test the propositions of the model. Findings – Results indicate that different types of congruence between the top executive and the right-hand person are required when the right-hand person is performing the roles of an implementer and joint decision maker. Research limitations/implications – This study extends the leadership literature by investigating the phenomenon of right-hand person of the top executive, which has seldom been studied systematically or scientifically. It provides insights and serves as a stepping stone for future research in this area. One key limitation is that it is a qualitative study with limited samples under investigation. Practical implications – Practical implications concerning how to build up a successful relationship between the top executive and the right-hand person can be drawn from the proposed model. Insight concerning how to collaborate between the top executive and the right-hand person can be drawn from the in-depth case analyses. Social implications – The phenomenon of right-hand person is not limited to business organizations. The collaboration between the key decision maker and his chief assistant should be applicable to other contexts such as non-government organizations. Originality/value – To the best of the knowledge, this is the first paper that investigates the right-hand person phenomenon in the literature. As the right-hand person of the top executive can have important influence on organizational performance, the study may serve as the stepping stone for further understanding of this important phenomenon.

Facing the economic downturn, the central bank of U.S. and Japan adopts the unconventional monetary policy to stimulate their economy. This paper studies the quantitative easing policy effectiveness via the tail risks of stock markets in the U.S., Japan and the other 74 countries. Although the stock markets of U.S. and Japan reveals the announcement-day effects of the QE policy, this study finds an asymmetric tail risk of return distribution on the QE policy effect. The post-period right-tail and left-tail risks of the stock markets are significantly smaller and larger than that of the pre-period of the QE programs, respectively. This implies that the tail risks of stock returns have dissimilar interdependence with the QE programs. Furthermore, the geographical dependence is the major factor that determines the contagion of stock market, and the fragility of foreign stock market caused by the US QE policy is larger than that of the Japan.

To support employees' work and health, organizations should help employees cope with common problems. Previous studies have focused primarily on work-related problems across multiple industries rather than on evaluating industry-specific issues. Here, two approaches identified common work and nonwork employee problems in the technology industry with the strongest correlations with psychosomatic health and life satisfaction. Study 1 used questionnaires to identify the problems that were perceived as the most frequent by lower-level employees ( N=355) working in the technology industry. Study 2 evaluated employees' coping behaviors by analyzing (with permission) counseling records collected from an employee assistance service company ( N=276). Employees reported a variety of problems; work problems were the only problems (of the top 5 problems) reported in both studies. Several problems emerged in the counseling records (e.g., legal issues, career development, family and marriage problems, and emotional problems) but not in the surveys. Future research should apply these observations to develop scales for measuring employee stressors.

Purpose– Virtual teams are becoming a norm in current knowledge-based society and offer a wide range of organizational benefits. This paper aims to investigate the effects of leaders’ motivating language (ML) and feedback approach on virtual team members’ creativity performance.Design/methodology/approach– A 2×2 with pre-test and post-test experimental design was employed to explore how to stimulate virtual team members’ creativity performance using a group decision support system.Findings– The results show that leaders’ ML and feedback approach via e-mail instructions have different interaction effects on members’ creativity and idea generation performance. Team members receiving direction-giving instructions generate more ideas under the demanding feedback approach and team member receiving instructions with more empathetic language exhibit higher creativity performance under the encouraging feedback approach.Research limitations/implications– Shortcomings of virtual environment and leadership remain the major factors influencing such findings. Since the results are also restrained by the functionality of the utilized software tool, tools for virtual teams are recommended to include features that can support the effective use of team leaders’ motivational language.Social implications– Virtual team leaders should provide proper guidance to members using understanding and empathetic wording approach. For task-oriented work, leaders should consider giving more specific instructions and provide constant feedback for completed work. For creative work, leaders should give positive encouragement as feedback or even challenge team members to stimulate their creativity. Additionally, facilitation rules can be set up in advance so that the intelligent agent can timely send out follow-up instructions/feedback.Originality/value– The gained insights beneficially help tool developers for virtual teams build/enhance their tools based on the need of team leaders. This paper also usefully offers important implications regarding how to motivate virtual team members’ creative thinking.

This letter examines edge-illuminated silicon photodiodes (PDs) fabricated using standard CMOS technology operated at 850-nm wavelength. A micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process was employed to expose the illuminated surface and achieve edge illumination. A single-mode lensed fiber is employed to inject light into the depletion region of the PD directly, limiting and reducing the diffusive carriers within the bulk Si substrate. Through employing this procedure, this letter achieved a superior performance in the 3-dB bandwidth compared with that yielded by vertically illuminated PDs. The 5.4 GHz high bandwidth was obtained using an edge-illuminated PD with a 20 μm× 15.6 μm active region.

In this letter, we present an 850-nm Si octagonal photodiode (PD) with deep n-well implantation formed using the CMOS process without process modifications. Two different bias schemes (normal bias and extra bias) on the deep n-well were used to analyze the effects of deep n-well bias on the bandwidth and gain-bandwidth performances of Si PDs. The avalanche gain, frequency response, and optical pulse measurements in this letter demonstrate that the extra bias on deep n-well improves the PD performance. To the best of our knowledge, this design achieves the highest bandwidth (8.7 GHz) and a large gain-bandwidth product of 542 GHz with a reverse bias of 11.45 V and an extra voltage of 11.45 V in standard CMOS technology.

This study presents a design of the body contact in an 850 nm Si photodiode (PD) fabricated using standard 0.18-μm CMOS technology, and presents a systematic investigation of its effects on PD performance. This study confirms a good PD performance within 3 V bias and the establishment of the body current by directly measuring the body current, PD capacitance, and photocurrents. The body current from the biasing body contact was designed to eliminate the slow diffusion photocarriers in the substrate and increase bandwidth. The highest responsivity of 1.2 A/W was obtained from the PD without the body current, with biasing in the avalanche region. Adding the body bias increased the optimal bandwidth from 2.51 to 3.11 GHz, but reduced responsivity. However, the operating bias of the Si PD in the avalanche region was high, making it unsuitable for practical applications. While biasing PD at a low 3 V with a coordinated body bias, a bandwidth of 2.46 GHz was obtained with an acceptable responsivity of 0.1 A/W to allow low-voltage operation.

Silicon photodiodes (PDs) of 850-nm-wavelength, in standard 0.18-μm CMOS technology, are systematically presented and discussed in this study. A basic p-n PD can obtain high responsivity of 0.3 A/W and response of 1.6 GHz while biasing in the avalanche process. However, Si PDs from different CMOS foundries would result in different performance due to the different n-/p-well doping profile. A basic p-n PD with body contact can effectively remove the slow diffusion carrier in the Si substrate and demonstrate improved response. Both body contact and deep n-well design in an octagonal PD can improve the performance of basic p-n PD significantly. The response is improved to 8.7 GHz with 0.8 A/W before breakdown. The improvement is due to the block and elimination of slow diffusion carriers in the Si substrate. Finally, Si PD with built-in n-p-n bipolar junction transistor and edge-coupled PD are proposed to further improve responsivity and response.

This study investigates the loyalty-based investment behavior in Taiwan. The link between team associations and loyalty has been examined to understand the characteristics of loyalty-based investors. The results revealed that both behavioral loyalty and attitudinal loyalty have significant positive effects on fans' investment intentions. Moreover, both attributes and benefits are significantly and positively related to either aspect of loyalty. In specific, behavioral loyalty has a higher influence on investment intentions than attitudinal loyalty does. It is the benefits provided by the team to fans, not the attributes alone that have strong impacts on loyalty.

Distributed teams can carry out critical tasks with appropriate decision support technologies. The architecture and detailed design of a Web-based GDSS, called TeamSpirit, are discussed to address the challenges of building a Web-based GDSS. A series of empirical studies are reported to assess the effectiveness of TeamSpirit in supporting distributed group problem solving when in-person facilitation is not possible. Results indicate that giving creative problem solving training to TeamSpirit participants had positive impacts on team performance. Users who received brief TeamSpirit training were able to design and facilitate virtual meetings by themselves and achieved better team performance than control groups.

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been an emerging topic for psychological, educational, and management researchers and consultants in recent years. However, existing literature has concentrated on demonstrating the effects of EI on either the mental health or on job outcomes such as job attitudes and performance. There is relatively little discussion concerning how EI, as a set of interrelated abilities about handling emotions, is developed. Understanding how EI is developed may be the significant first step for organizations to develop effective EI training programs. As an exploratory effort, we borrowed the basic argument from theories in human development to argue that life experiences affect EI development. Based on samples of university students from Singapore and Hong Kong, whether one of the parents was a full-time parent was a significant predictor of the students' EI. This finding was cross-validated with a sample of graduate students in Taiwan. Furthermore, age as a proxy for life experiences for this graduate student sample was found to be a significant predictor of EI. Implications for EI research and training are discussed.

Although the induction of neovascularization by cell-based approaches has demonstrated substantial potential in treating myocardial infarction (MI), the process of cell-mediated angiogenesis and its correlation with therapeutic mechanisms of cardiac repair remain elusive. In this work, three-dimensional (3D) aggregates of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and cord-blood mesenchymal stem cells (cbMSCs) are constructed using a methylcellulose hydrogel system. By maximizing cell-cell and cell-ECM communications and establishing a hypoxic microenvironment in their inner cores, these cell aggregates are capable of forming widespread tubular networks together with the angiogenic marker αvβ3 integrin; they secret multiple pro-angiogenic, pro-survival, and mobilizing factors when grown on Matrigel. The aggregates of HUVECs/cbMSCs are exogenously engrafted into the peri-infarct zones of rats with MI via direct local injection. Multimodality noninvasive imaging techniques, including positron emission tomography, single photon emission computed tomography, and echocardiography, are employed to monitor serially the beneficial effects of cell therapy on angiogenesis, blood perfusion, and global/regional ventricular function, respectively. The myocardial perfusion is correlated with ventricular contractility, demonstrating that the recovery of blood perfusion helps to restore regional cardiac function, leading to the improvement in global ventricular performance. These experimental data reveal the efficacy of the exogenous transplantation of 3D cell aggregates after MI and elucidate the mechanism of cell-mediated therapeutic angiogenesis for cardiac repair.

The aims of the present study were to determine (i) the long-term immunogenicity and the decay rate of hepatitis B virus (HBV) surface antibody (anti-HBs) from universal hepatitis B vaccination at infancy for a healthy population in an area of hyperendemicity and (ii) whether the anti-HBs levels measured by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) were closely correlated with those assayed by radioimmunoassay (RIA) methods during long-term monitoring. A total of 1,337 apparently healthy children (696 boys and 641 girls) who were vaccinated against HBV at infancy and monitored for anti-HBs annually from 7 to 16 years of age entered the study. Serum samples were analyzed for anti-HBs by RIA at 7 to 15 years of age and were also analyzed by EIA at 13 to 16 years of age. Antibody titers were quantified in mIU/ml by EIA as well as by the ratio of the count in the sample to the count for a negative control (S/N) by RIA. In nonboosted children, the average decay of anti-HBs from 7 to 16 years of ages indicated that approximately 20% of the geometric mean titer decays per year. There was a good correlation between serum anti-HBs levels measured by the RIA and the EIA methods ( r = 0.91; P < 0.0001). An equation for RIA to EIA level conversion was established: log EIA titer = −0.12 + (1.31 · log RIA S/N). The anti-HBs titers measured by EIA correlate well with the S/N assayed by RIA. The annual decay rate of the log anti-HBs level may help in planning booster immunizations for hyporesponders or individuals at risk in adolescence.

A mixture of viruses with variations in virulence is likely present within a low-pathogenicity avian influenza virus (LPAIV) population. An H6N1 AIV was isolated from a field case showing 3.8% weekly mortality and a 33% egg production drop in Taiwan. The pathologic lesions included proventricular hemorrhage and urate deposition in the kidneys and on visceral organs. From the field isolate, a done (2838N) that caused no lesions or death was obtained using limit dilution in chicken embryos and a done (2838V) that caused renal lesions and death was obtained using contact infection in chicks. Both clones were inoculated intranasally in 4-week-old specific pathogen free (SPF) chickens to test their virulence. Renal urate deposition was found in chickens inoculated with 2838V but not in chickens inoculated with 2838N. In situ hybridization, polymerase chain reaction, and virus isolation were used to confirm the spread of 2838V from the respiratory tract to the renal tissue. We found that contact infection in chickens is a good method to obtain a more virulent done from a heterogeneous virus population.

Primary cultures of cerebellar granule cells (CGCs) grown in high-K+ (25 mM; K25) medium progressively differentiate in vitro. Differentiation is noticeable after 3-4 days in vitro (DIV) and reach a mature stage after 8 DIV. Longer cultivation of CGCs (>13 DIV) triggers the processes of spontaneous cell death. However, if cultured in normal physiological K concentration (5 mM; K5), a significant proportion of the cells dies by the end of the first week in culture. To address the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the development of CGCs, we measured the kinase activity as well as the protein level of the kinase isoforms. As the K25 CGC culture proceeded, the PKC activity time-dependently increased by 3.2-fold, reaching a steady state at 8 DIV. Western blot analysis using PKC isoform-specific antibodies revealed an increase in levels of PKC alpha, gamma, mu, lambda, and iota from 2 to 8 DIV. A slight increase or decrease at 4 DIV was observed for PKC epsilon and betaII, respectively, whereas no significant change was observed for betaI. The isoforms of delta, theta, eta, and zeta were not detected. Comparing the 14 DIV cultures with the 10 DIV cultures, the immunoreactivities of PKC iota and epsilon were decreased, those of PKC alpha, betaI, betaII, gamma, and lambda were unchanged, whereas that of PKC mu was still increased. In K5 cultures, the immunoreactivity of each PKC isoform at 2-4 DIV was similar to that observed in K25 cells, although no remarkable differentiation features were observed. Coordinated with the appearance of cell death at 8 DIV in low-K+ cultures, levels of PKC alpha, mu, lambda, and iota, but not the others, were markedly decreased. The NMDA receptor antagonists MK-801 and 2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid markedly prevented the age-induced apoptosis of CGCs, and the cells survived >18 DIV under these conditions. The cytoprotective effect of MK-801 was concomitant with the increases in levels of PKC gamma, lambda, iota, and mu at 10 and 14 DIV. In addition, the PKC epsilon level was increased at 14 DIV but decreased at early stages, whereas PKC alpha, betaI, and betaII levels were unchanged, as compared with K25 culture alone. Taken together, induction and up-regulation of PKC isoforms may play an important role in the maintenance of CGC survival by depolarization and MK-801.

The effects of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) training on creativity, cognitive type, and R&D performance were investigated with 106 R&D workers of a large government–owned manufacturing company in Taiwan. Seventy–one of them volunteered to participate in the CPS training and were divided into three groups. Each group received 12 hours of CPS training and two follow–up training sessions over a one–year long period in a time–series design. The ‘Circle Test of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking’, and the ‘Myers–Briggs Type Indicator’ were administered before and after the CPS training. R&D performance averaged over the past three years before the CPS training and one year after the pretest were obtained from the company. Results showed that participant’s scores on fluency and flexibility of ideas were higher after the CPS training. There was also an increase in the number of persons being classified as extrovert or feeling type of cognition. In terms of R&D performance, the participants’ number of co–authored service projects increased significantly from pretest to posttest, whereas no such change was observed among those 35 R&D workers who did not participated in the CPS.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the contributions of creative thinking ability and cognitive type to research and development (R&D) performance. One hundred and six researchers in an R&D institute of a petroleum company in Taiwan were given the Circle Test of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking and Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. Their R&D performance was measured in terms of assigned technical reports, completed service projects, published papers, and a supervisor’s performance rating. Results showed that there was a low but positive correlation between creativity and the first-authored paper and the technical report. The cognitive type was on the other hand associated with the performance rating and the first-authored service project assignment. Implications for R&D management are discussed.

In this study, we demonstrate a GaN-based phosphor-free white-light light-emitting diode (LED), which is composed of GaN-based dual-wavelength (blue and yellow-green) multiple-quantum-wells (MQWs) and a transverse p-n junction. The device was realized by the regrowth of n-type GaN layers on the sidewall of p-type GaN and undoped MQWs. The problems related to the bias-dependent shape of the electroluminescence spectra that occur in traditional phosphor-free white-light LEDs (with vertical p-n junctions) are greatly minimized. The current-voltage performance of our device is comparable to that of the commercially available phosphor white-light LEDs. In addition, the dynamic measurement results indicate that we can attain a much higher modulation bandwidth (22 versus 3 MHz) with this device than with the currently available commercial ones.

In the following study, we demonstrated linear cascade GaN-based light-emitting-diode (LED) arrays at a wavelength of approximately 520 nm. Experimental LEDs were analyzed with the goal to improve the output power and differential efficiency of a single LED. The study shows that using arrays with up to four LEDs connected in series, we can achieve four times the improvement in output power (differential quantum efficiency) under the same bias current as compared to a single LED apparatus. We have also measured the modulation-speed performance of experimental LEDs, and both devices exhibit similar 3-dB bandwidth (90 MHz) under the same bias currents. Experimental results indicate that the cascade connection offers the advantages of significantly enhanced external differential efficiency and provision of a method to use a constant-voltage power supply. The current crowding problem and resistance-capacitance-limited bandwidth degradation issues in a large active area LED can also be minimized using the connection demonstrated in our experiment.

We demonstrate a simple method to synthesize silver wires by thermal reduction of aqueous AgNO(3) droplet with catalytic anatase TiO(2) nanoparticles which were spin-coated on Si wafer. Structural characterization of the silver wires shows that the nanowires grow primarily along the [011] direction. SEM image of the silver wires clearly shows the catalytic TiO(2) nano-cluster attached to the end of the each silver wire. Since the process was surfactant-free, the silver nanowires prepared by our method retain the excellent electrical conductivity. The intrinsic resistivity calculated from the current-voltage curve for a wire with 12880.41 nm(2) cross-section area was 18.72 microohm cm, which is about 11.6 times higher than that of bulk silver (1.61 microohm cm). Our simple method can be also applied to generate CuO with ring-shaped microstructure by using ITO conducting glass as matrix. We have found that the size and reproducibility are well-controllable. A single phase of CuO ring-shaped microstructure with outer diameters ranging from approximately 13 to 17 microm and inner diameters ranging from approximately 1.4 to 3.3 microm was obtained. The composition of CuO microring was confirmed by thin-film XRD and XPS analyses.

Results: After the implementation of hospital-wide CVC bundle, we have experienced twice eighteen consecutive months of zero CRBSI in the ICU, and nine consecutive months of zero CRBSI for the entire hospital. Periodical CRBSI cases were seen in the third and the fourth quarter of year 2012, and the third quarter of 2014. Conclusions: Hospital-wide CVC bundle effectively reduces CRBSI incidence in the ICU and in the entire cancer hospital; however periodical breakthrough infections can occur.

A novel design of Viterbi (1965) decoder based on in-place state metric update and hybrid survivor path management is presented. For those Viterbi applications with large constraint length, the proposed design methodology can result in high-speed and modular architectures by exploiting the in-place computation feature of the Viterbi algorithm. This feature is not only applied to the design of highly regular add-compare-select (ACS) units, but also exploited in the design of trace-back units for the first time. The proposed hybrid survivor path management based on the combination of register-exchange and trace-back schemes cannot only reduce the number of memory operations, but also the size of memory required. Compared with the general hybrid trace-back structure, the overhead of the register-exchange circuit in our architecture is significantly less. Therefore, the proposed architecture can find promising applications in digital communication systems where high-speed large state Viterbi decoders are desirable.