Showing papers by "Sungkyunkwan University published in 2007"
TL;DR: It is shown that normal and cancer human mammary epithelial cells with increased aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (ALDH) have stem/progenitor properties and these cells contain the subpopulation of normal breast epithelium with the broadest lineage differentiation potential and greatest growth capacity in a xenotransplant model.
3,766 citations
TL;DR: Flexible transparent conducting films with sodium dodecyl sulfate-dispersed singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were prepared by a spray method and were further immersed in various acids to improve the cross-junction resistance between SWCNT networks and enhanced metallicity of SWC NTs.
Abstract: Flexible transparent conducting films with sodium dodecyl sulfate-dispersed singlewalled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) were prepared by a spray method and were further immersed in various acids. The film conductivity was enhanced by a factor of ∼4 with a negligible change in the transmittance in the visible range. This enhancement was attributed to the removal of remaining SDS and the subsequent densified film formation to improve the cross-junction resistance between SWCNT networks and enhanced metallicity of SWCNTs.
916 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors propose a model of co-production with which they investigate the links between coproduction and customer loyalty and the factors likely to increase the level of coproduction in a financial services context, with support from an investigation in the medical services context.
847 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the low temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH 3 in the presence of excess O 2, and the active MnOx catalysts, precipitated with sodium carbonate and calcined in air at moderate temperatures such as 523 K and 623 K, have the high surface area, the abundant Mn 4+ species, and the high concentration of surface oxygen on the surface.
Abstract: Manganese oxide catalysts prepared by a precipitation method with various precipitants were investigated for the low temperature selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx with NH 3 in the presence of excess O 2 . Various characterization methods such as N 2 adsorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) were conducted to probe the physical and chemical properties of MnOx catalysts. The active MnOx catalysts, precipitated with sodium carbonate and calcined in air at moderate temperatures such as 523 K and 623 K, have the high surface area, the abundant Mn 4+ species, and the high concentration of surface oxygen on the surface. The amorphous Mn 3 O 4 and Mn 2 O 3 were mainly present in this active catalyst. The carbonate species appeared to help adsorb NH 3 on the catalyst surface, which resulted in the high catalytic activity at low temperatures.
730 citations
TL;DR: It is reported that neurons express several TLRs, and that the levels of TLR2 and -4 are increased in neurons in response to IFN-γ stimulation and energy deprivation, establishing a proapoptotic signaling pathway for TLR1 and -3 in neurons that may render them vulnerable to ischemic death.
Abstract: The innate immune system senses the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms and tissue injury through Toll-like receptors (TLR), a mechanism thought to be limited to immune cells. We now report that neurons express several TLRs, and that the levels of TLR2 and -4 are increased in neurons in response to IFN-γ stimulation and energy deprivation. Neurons from both TLR2 knockout and -4 mutant mice were protected against energy deprivation-induced cell death, which was associated with decreased activation of a proapoptotic signaling cascade involving jun N-terminal kinase and the transcription factor AP-1. TLR2 and -4 expression was increased in cerebral cortical neurons in response to ischemia/reperfusion injury, and the amount of brain damage and neurological deficits caused by a stroke were significantly less in mice deficient in TLR2 or -4 compared with WT control mice. Our findings establish a proapoptotic signaling pathway for TLR2 and -4 in neurons that may render them vulnerable to ischemic death.
710 citations
TL;DR: There is much room for performance improvement in the log buffer block scheme, and an enhanced log block buffer scheme, called FAST (full associative sector translation), is proposed, which improves the space utilization of log blocks using fully-associative sector translations for the log block sectors.
Abstract: Flash memory is being rapidly deployed as data storage for mobile devices such as PDAs, MP3 players, mobile phones, and digital cameras, mainly because of its low electronic power, nonvolatile storage, high performance, physical stability, and portability. One disadvantage of flash memory is that prewritten data cannot be dynamically overwritten. Before overwriting prewritten data, a time-consuming erase operation on the used blocks must precede, which significantly degrades the overall write performance of flash memory. In order to solve this “erase-before-write” problem, the flash memory controller can be integrated with a software module, called “flash translation layer (FTL).” Among many FTL schemes available, the log block buffer scheme is considered to be optimum. With this scheme, a small number of log blocks, a kind of write buffer, can improve the performance of write operations by reducing the number of erase operations. However, this scheme can suffer from low space utilization of log blocks. In this paper, we show that there is much room for performance improvement in the log buffer block scheme, and propose an enhanced log block buffer scheme, called FAST (full associative sector translation). Our FAST scheme improves the space utilization of log blocks using fully-associative sector translations for the log block sectors. We also show empirically that our FAST scheme outperforms the pure log block buffer scheme.
682 citations
TL;DR: Leaders of robust, sustainable virtual communities find ways to strengthen their members' sense of social identity and motivate their participation in the community's activities.
Abstract: Leaders of robust, sustainable virtual communities find ways tostrengthen their members' sense of social identity and motivate their participation in the community's activities.
499 citations
TL;DR: It is shown in mice that insulin inhibits gluconeogenic gene expression during re-feeding by promoting the phosphorylation and ubiquitin-dependent degradation of TORC2.
Abstract: During feeding, increases in circulating pancreatic insulin inhibit hepatic glucose output through the activation of the Ser/Thr kinase AKT and subsequent phosphorylation of the forkhead transcription factor FOXO1 (refs 1-3). Under fasting conditions, FOXO1 increases gluconeogenic gene expression in concert with the cAMP responsive coactivator TORC2 (refs 4-8). In response to pancreatic glucagon, TORC2 is de-phosphorylated at Ser 171 and transported to the nucleus, in which it stimulates the gluconeogenic programme by binding to CREB. Here we show in mice that insulin inhibits gluconeogenic gene expression during re-feeding by promoting the phosphorylation and ubiquitin-dependent degradation of TORC2. Insulin disrupts TORC2 activity by induction of the Ser/Thr kinase SIK2, which we show here undergoes AKT2-mediated phosphorylation at Ser 358. Activated SIK2 in turn stimulated the Ser 171 phosphorylation and cytoplasmic translocation of TORC2. Phosphorylated TORC2 was degraded by the 26S proteasome during re-feeding through an association with COP1, a substrate receptor for an E3 ligase complex that promoted TORC2 ubiquitination at Lys 628. Because TORC2 protein levels and activity were increased in diabetes owing to a block in TORC2 phosphorylation, our results point to an important role for this pathway in the maintenance of glucose homeostasis.
390 citations
TL;DR: Simvastatin is associated with a strong reduction in the incidence of dementia and Parkinson's disease, whereas atorvastsatin isassociated with a modest reduction in incident dementia and dopamine disease, which shows only a trend towards significance.
Abstract: Statins are a class of medications that reduce cholesterol by inhibiting 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase. Whether statins can benefit patients with dementia remains unclear because of conflicting results. We hypothesized that some of the confusion in the literature might arise from differences in efficacy of different statins. We used a large database to compare the action of several different statins to investigate whether some statins might be differentially associated with a reduction in the incidence of dementia and Parkinson's disease. We analyzed data from the decision support system of the US Veterans Affairs database, which contains diagnostic, medication and demographic information on 4.5 million subjects. The association of lovastatin, simvastatin and atorvastatin with dementia was examined with Cox proportional hazard models for subjects taking statins compared with subjects taking cardiovascular medications other than statins, after adjusting for covariates associated with dementia or Parkinson's disease. We observed that simvastatin is associated with a significant reduction in the incidence of dementia in subjects ≥65 years, using any of three models. The first model incorporated adjustment for age, the second model included adjusted for three known risk factors for dementia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease or diabetes, and the third model incorporated adjustment for the Charlson index, which is an index that provides a broad assessment of chronic disease. Data were obtained for over 700000 subjects taking simvastatin and over 50000 subjects taking atorvastatin who were aged >64 years. Using model 3, the hazard ratio for incident dementia for simvastatin and atorvastatin are 0.46 (CI 0.44–0.48, p < 0.0001) and 0.91 (CI 0.80–1.02, p = 0.11), respectively. Lovastatin was not associated with a reduction in the incidence of dementia. Simvastatin also exhibited a reduced hazard ratio for newly acquired Parkinson's disease (HR 0.51, CI 0.4–0.55, p < 0.0001). Simvastatin is associated with a strong reduction in the incidence of dementia and Parkinson's disease, whereas atorvastatin is associated with a modest reduction in incident dementia and Parkinson's disease, which shows only a trend towards significance.
365 citations
11 Jun 2007
TL;DR: It is shown empirically that the IPL approach can yield considerable performance benefit over traditional design for disk-based database servers, and that the basic design of IPL can be elegantly extended to support transactional database recovery.
Abstract: The popularity of high-density flash memory as data storage media has increased steadily for a wide spectrum of computing devices such as PDA's, MP3 players, mobile phones and digital cameras. More recently, computer manufacturers started launching new lines of mobile or portable computers that did away with magnetic disk drives altogether, replacing them with tens of gigabytes of NAND flash memory. Like EEPROM and magnetic disk drives, flash memory is non-volatile and retains its contents even when the power is turned off. As its capacity increases and price drops, flash memory will compete more successfully with lower-end, lower-capacity disk drives. It is thus not inconceivable to consider running a full database system on the flash-only computing platforms or running an embedded database system on the lightweight computing devices. In this paper, we present a new design called in-page logging (IPL) for flash memory based database servers. This new design overcomes the limitations of flash memory such as high write latency, and exploits unique characteristics of flash memory to achieve the best attainable performance for flash-based database servers. We show empirically that the IPL approach can yield considerable performance benefit over traditional design for disk-based database servers. We also show that the basic design of IPL can be elegantly extended to support transactional database recovery.
360 citations
TL;DR: The data suggest that angiographic collateral grade and penumbral volume interactively shape tissue fate in patients undergoing endovascular recanalisation therapy, and provide complementary information about residual blood flow that may help guide treatment decision making in acute cerebral ischaemia.
Abstract: Background: Collaterals may sustain penumbra prior to recanalisation yet the influence of baseline collateral flow on infarct growth following endovascular therapy remains unknown. Methods: Consecutive patients underwent serial diffusion and perfusion MRI before and after endovascular therapy for acute cerebral ischaemia. We assessed the relationship between MRI diffusion and perfusion lesion indices, angiographic collateral grade and infarct growth. Tmax perfusion lesion maps were generated and diffusion–perfusion mismatch regions were divided into Tmax ⩾4 s (severe delay) and Tmax ⩾2 but Results: Among 44 patients, collateral grade was poor in 7 (15.9%), intermediate in 20 (45.5%) and good in 17 (38.6%) patients. Although diffusion–perfusion mismatch volume was not different depending on the collateral grade, patients with good collaterals had larger areas of milder perfusion delay than those with poor collaterals (p = 0.005). Among 32 patients who underwent day 3–5 post-treatment MRIs, the degree of pretreatment collateral circulation (r = −0.476, p = 0.006) and volume of diffusion–perfusion mismatch (r = 0.371, p = 0.037) were correlated with infarct growth. Greatest infarct growth occurred in patients with both non-recanalisation and poor collaterals. Multiple regression analysis revealed that pretreatment collateral grade was independently associated with infarct growth. Conclusion: Our data suggest that angiographic collateral grade and penumbral volume interactively shape tissue fate in patients undergoing endovascular recanalisation therapy. These angiographic and MRI parameters provide complementary information about residual blood flow that may help guide treatment decision making in acute cerebral ischaemia.
University of Tokyo1, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics2, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne3, University of Sydney4, University of Melbourne5, Panjab University, Chandigarh6, National United University7, Polish Academy of Sciences8, University of Maribor9, National Taiwan University10, National Central University11, Hanyang University12, Yonsei University13, Gyeongsang National University14, Sungkyunkwan University15, Virginia Tech16, University of Cincinnati17, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research18, Korea University19, Nagoya University20, Nara Women's University21, Osaka University22, Tohoku Gakuin University23, Kyungpook National University24, Saga University25, Tokyo Institute of Technology26, Chiba University27, Niigata University28, Seoul National University29, Graduate University for Advanced Studies30, University of Ljubljana31, University of Giessen32, Austrian Academy of Sciences33, Osaka City University34, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology35, Toho University36, Kanagawa University37, University of Nova Gorica38, Tokyo Metropolitan University39, Tohoku University40, University of Science and Technology of China41
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors presented a method to solve the problem of the EKF problem in PhysRevLett, a Web of Science Record created on 2010-11-05, modified on 2017-12-10.
Abstract: Reference EPFL-ARTICLE-154576doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.99.142002View record in Web of Science Record created on 2010-11-05, modified on 2017-12-10
TL;DR: It is shown that oxidative stress (OS) stimulates BACE1 expression by a mechanism requiring γ‐secretase activity involving the c‐jun N‐terminal kinase (JNK)/c‐jun pathway, thereby promoting production of pathological levels of amyloid β in AD.
Abstract: Sequential cleavages of the beta-amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1) by beta-secretase and gamma-secretase generate the amyloid beta-peptides, believed to be responsible of synaptic dysfunction and neuronal cell death in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Levels of BACE1 are increased in vulnerable regions of the AD brain, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. Here we show that oxidative stress (OS) stimulates BACE1 expression by a mechanism requiring gamma-secretase activity involving the c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/c-jun pathway. BACE1 levels are increased in response to OS in normal cells, but not in cells lacking presenilins or amyloid precursor protein. Moreover, BACE1 is induced in association with OS in the brains of mice subjected to cerebral ischaemia/reperfusion. The OS-induced BACE1 expression correlates with an activation of JNK and c-jun, but is absent in cultured cells or mice lacking JNK. Our findings suggest a mechanism by which OS induces BACE1 transcription, thereby promoting production of pathological levels of amyloid beta in AD.
University of Sydney1, University of Tokyo2, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics3, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne4, University of Cincinnati5, University of Melbourne6, Polish Academy of Sciences7, University of Maribor8, Fu Jen Catholic University9, National Taiwan University10, National Central University11, Hanyang University12, Yonsei University13, Sungkyunkwan University14, Virginia Tech15, University of Ljubljana16, Korea University17, Nagoya University18, Nara Women's University19, Osaka University20, Tohoku Gakuin University21, Kyungpook National University22, Chiba University23, Niigata University24, Graduate University for Advanced Studies25, Panjab University, Chandigarh26, Seoul National University27, Austrian Academy of Sciences28, Princeton University29, Hiroshima Institute of Technology30, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology31, Toho University32, Kanagawa University33, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign34, Tokyo Metropolitan University35, Osaka City University36, National United University37, Tohoku University38, University of Science and Technology of China39
TL;DR: In this article, the authors measured the cross section for e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi {sup -}J/{psi} between 3.8 and 5.5 GeV/c{sup 2} using a 548 fb{sup 1} data sample collected on or near the {upsilon}(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at KEKB.
Abstract: The cross section for e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}J/{psi} between 3.8 and 5.5 GeV/c{sup 2} is measured using a 548 fb{sup -1} data sample collected on or near the {upsilon}(4S) resonance with the Belle detector at KEKB. A peak near 4.25 GeV/c{sup 2}, corresponding to the so called Y(4260), is observed. In addition, there is another cluster of events at around 4.05 GeV/c{sup 2}. A fit using two interfering Breit-Wigner shapes describes the data better than one that uses only the Y(4260), especially for the lower-mass side of the 4.25 GeV enhancement.
TL;DR: In vivo anti-tumor activity of pH-responsive polymeric micelles notably suppressed tumor growth and also prolonged survival of the tumor-bearing mice, compared with mice treated with free DOX.
TL;DR: The aim of this study was to compare efficacy and tolerability of initial combination therapy with vildagliptin/pioglitazone to component monotherapy.
Abstract: Aim: The aim of this study was to compare efficacy and tolerability of initial combination therapy with vildagliptin/pioglitazone to component monotherapy.
Methods: This 24-week, multicentre, randomized, double-blind, active-controlled study assessed the effects of the dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor vildagliptin (100 mg q.d.), pioglitazone (30 mg q.d.) and vildagliptin combined with pioglitazone (100/30 mg q.d. or 50/15 mg q.d.) in 607 drug-naive patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). The primary outcome measure was change from baseline in HbA1c in patients receiving initial combination therapy compared with pioglitazone monotherapy.
Results: After 24-week treatment, adjusted mean changes in HbA1c from baseline (approximately 8.7%) in patients receiving pioglitazone monotherapy, 50/15 mg combination, 100/30 mg combination and vildagliptin monotherapy were −1.4 ± 0.1%, −1.7 ± 0.1%, −1.9 ± 0.1% and −1.1 ± 0.1% respectively. Both low-dose and high-dose combinations were significantly more efficacious than pioglitazone alone (p = 0.039 and p < 0.001 respectively). Adjusted mean changes in fasting plasma glucose were −1.9 ± 0.2, −2.4 ± 0.2, −2.8 ± 0.2 and −1.3 ± 0.2 mmol/l respectively, and both combination groups were significantly more effective than pioglitazone monotherapy (p = 0.022 and p < 0.001 respectively). The overall incidence of adverse events ranged from 45.8% in the low-dose combination to 51.6% in the pioglitazone monotherapy group. The incidence of peripheral oedema was highest in patients receiving pioglitazone monotherapy (9.3%) and lowest in those receiving low-dose combination (3.5%). One mild hypoglycaemic event was reported by one patient receiving high-dose combination and one patient receiving vildagliptin monotherapy.
Conclusions: First-line treatment with vildagliptin/pioglitazone combination in patients with T2DM provides better glycaemic control than either monotherapy component yet has minimal risk of hypoglycaemia and a tolerability profile comparable with component monotherapy.
TL;DR: In this paper, the electrical and optical properties of al-doped ZnO thin films with post-deposition heating temperature were investigated and the preferred c-axis orientation along the (0-0-2) plane was enhanced with increasing postdeposition temperature and the surface of the films showed a uniform and nano-sized microstructure.
TL;DR: A stochastic version of the location model with risk pooling (LMRP) that optimizes location, inventory, and allocation decisions under random parameters described by discrete scenarios is presented.
TL;DR: It is found, using a local density approximation +Hubbard U method, that oxygen vacancies tend to cluster in a linear way in SrTiO(3), a prototypical perovskite oxide, accompanied by strong electron localization at the 3d state of the nearby Ti transition metal ion.
Abstract: We find, using a local density approximation $+\mathrm{\text{Hubbard}}\text{ }U$ method, that oxygen vacancies tend to cluster in a linear way in ${\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$, a prototypical perovskite oxide, accompanied by strong electron localization at the $3d$ state of the nearby Ti transition metal ion. The vacancy clustering and the associated electron localization lead to a profound impact on materials properties, e.g., the reduction in free-carrier densities, the appearance of characteristic optical spectra, and the decrease in vacancy mobility. The high stability against the vacancy migration also suggests the physical reality of the vacancy cluster.
TL;DR: The authors' data indicate that subgroup identification of A. baumannii may aid selection of appropriate antimicrobial agents for the treatment of Acinetobacter infections, and indicates that antimicrobial resistance rates varied markedly between subgroups.
Abstract: Objectives: To investigate antimicrobial resistance in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter spp. from two Korean hospitals. Methods: Two hundred and sixty-five isolates of Acinetobacter spp. from two Korean hospitals were collected and were identified to species level using partial rpoB gene sequences. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using a broth microdilution method. Results: rpoB gene sequences indicated that 214 isolates (80.8%) were Acinetobacter baumannii, and allowed these to be classified into three subgroups (I, II and III); 142 isolates (53.6%) belonged to subgroup I, 54 (20.4%) to subgroup II and 18 (6.8%) to subgroup III. Forty-eight isolates (18.1%) and 74 isolates (27.9%) were resistant to polymyxin B and colistin, respectively. However, antimicrobial resistance rates varied markedly between subgroups. While A. baumannii subgroup I showed low resistance rates to polymyxin B and colistin (2.1% and 7.0%, respectively), subgroups II and III showed high resistance rates to these antibiotics (38.9% and 64.8% in subgroup II and 72.2% and 88.9%, in subgroup III, respectively). Multidrug resistance was also significantly more frequent in subgroup I (45.1%) than in subgroups II and III (13.0% and 16.7%, respectively). Conclusions: Our data indicate that subgroup identification of A. baumannii may aid selection of appropriate antimicrobial agents for the treatment of Acinetobacter infections.
TL;DR: A perspective of NAFLD beyond its hepatic consequences is now warranted; this needs to be considered in relation to management guidelines for affected individuals.
Abstract: The risk factors and settings for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Asians are reviewed comprehensively. Based particularly on large community-based studies using ultrasonography, case-control series and prospective longitudinal studies, the prevalence of NAFLD in Asia is between 12% and 24%, depending on age, gender, locality and ethnicity. Further, the prevalence in China and Japan has nearly doubled in the last 10-15 years. A detailed analysis of these data shows that NAFLD risk factors for Asians resemble those in the West for age at presentation, prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and hyperlipidemia. The apparent differences in prevalence of central obesity and overall obesity are related to criteria used to define waist circumference and body mass index (BMI), respectively. The strongest associations are with components of the metabolic syndrome, particularly the combined presence of central obesity and obesity. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease appears to be associated with long-standing insulin resistance and likely represents the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome. Not surprisingly therefore, Asians with NAFLD are at high risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Conversely, metabolic syndrome may precede the diagnosis of NAFLD. The increasing prevalence of obesity, coupled with T2DM, dyslipidemia, hypertension and ultimately metabolic syndrome puts more than half the world's population at risk of developing NAFLD/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis/cirrhosis in the coming decades. Public health initiatives are clearly imperative to halt or reverse the global 'diabesity' pandemic, the underlying basis of NAFLD and metabolic syndrome. In addition, a perspective of NAFLD beyond its hepatic consequences is now warranted; this needs to be considered in relation to management guidelines for affected individuals.
TL;DR: Findings revealed that word-of-mouth was more influential than offline trust based on a customers' personal experience with the supermarket's physical stores and provided empirical evidence on how and why some pure online retailers outperformed brick and click retailers.
TL;DR: In this paper, a microscopic theory of magnetically induced ferroelectricity and lattice modulation is presented for various electron configurations of Mott-insulating transition metal oxides, and predictions for x-ray and neutron scattering experiments are proposed to clarify the microscopic mechanism of spin-polarization coupling in different materials.
Abstract: A systematic microscopic theory of magnetically induced ferroelectricity and lattice modulation is presented for various electron configurations of Mott-insulating transition metal oxides. The origin of polarization is classified as the spin-orbit interaction effective (i) within the magnetic ${t}_{2g}$ orbitals, (ii) between the ${t}_{2g}$ and ${e}_{g}$ orbitals, and (iii) within the ligand ion's $p$ orbitals. Predictions for x-ray and neutron scattering experiments are proposed to clarify the microscopic mechanism of the spin-polarization coupling in different materials. Semiquantitative agreements with the multiferroic $\mathrm{Tb}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ are obtained.
TL;DR: Results show that offline trust influences all four online perceptions, just as proposed, and offline-to-online transfer should be considered when designing strategies for online channels.
Abstract: Research has provided little evidence that trust in an offline bank can encourage adoption of the bank's online business. Yet, more and more brick-and-mortar banks and other businesses are investing in online Web sites that supposedly ldquoleveragerdquo positive consumer impressions of their offline business. The main purpose of this study is to test empirically whether or not trust in an offline bank transfers (i.e., influences) perceptions about that company's online bank. In order to do so, we analyze how trust in an offline bank influences four perceptions about its online banking counterpart (flow, structural assurance, perceived Web site satisfaction, and perceived extent of future use). The study tests the hypothesized influence of offline trust using a sample of 199 South Korean consumers responding about offline and online banking. Results show that offline trust influences all four online perceptions, just as proposed. These effects were especially prominent among respondents new to online banking. Thus, offline-to-online transfer should be considered when designing strategies for online channels. This study fills a key research gap by examining transfer of cognitive beliefs from an offline to an online setting.
TL;DR: An annelid-like robot driven by soft actuators based on dielectric elastomer is presented, which provides advantageous features of reduction in size, fast response and ruggedness in operation.
Abstract: The annelid provides a biological solution of effective locomotion adaptable to a large variety of unstructured environmental conditions. The undulated locomotion of the segmented body in the annelid is characterized by the combination of individual motion of the muscles distributed along the body, which has been of keen interest in biomimetic investigation. In this paper, we present an annelid-like robot driven by soft actuators based on dielectric elastomer. To mimic the unique motion of the annelid, a novel actuation method employing dielectric elastomer is developed. By using the actuator, a three-degree-of-freedom actuator module is presented, which can provide up-down translational motion, and two rotational degree-of-freedom motion. The proposed actuation method provides advantageous features of reduction in size, fast response and ruggedness in operation. By serially connecting the actuator modules, a micro-robot mimicking the motion of the annelid is developed and its effectiveness is experimentally demonstrated.
TL;DR: Self-tuning experience weighted attraction does as well as EWA in predicting behavior in new games, even though it has fewer parameters, and fits reliably better than the QRE equilibrium benchmark.
KEK1, University of Tokyo2, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics3, University of Tsukuba4, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research5, University of Sydney6, University of Maribor7, Polish Academy of Sciences8, National Taiwan University9, National Central University10, Chonnam National University11, Gyeongsang National University12, Sungkyunkwan University13, Princeton University14, University of Melbourne15, Virginia Tech16, University of Cincinnati17, University of Ljubljana18, Korea University19, Shinshu University20, Nagoya University21, Nara Women's University22, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne23, Tohoku Gakuin University24, Niigata University25, Tokyo Institute of Technology26, Kyungpook National University27, Goethe University Frankfurt28, Austrian Academy of Sciences29, Tokyo Metropolitan University30, Tohoku University31, Hiroshima Institute of Technology32, Osaka City University33, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology34, Toho University35, Kanagawa University36, Peking University37, National United University38, University of Science and Technology of China39
TL;DR: The first observation of a charmonium-like state recoiling from the $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ in the inclusive process was reported in this paper.
Abstract: We report the first observation of a charmoniumlike state recoiling from the $J/\ensuremath{\psi}$ in the inclusive process ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}J/\ensuremath{\psi}+\mathrm{\text{anything}}$ at a mass of $(3.943\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.006\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.006)\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}/{c}^{2}$. We also observe the decay of this state into ${D}^{*}\overline{D}$ and determine its intrinsic width to be less than $52\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MeV}/{c}^{2}$ at the 90% C.L. These results are obtained from a $357\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{fb}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ data sample collected with the Belle detector near the $\ensuremath{\Upsilon}(4S)$ resonance, at the KEKB asymmetric-energy ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ collider.
07 May 2007
TL;DR: The main idea of the concentric clustering scheme is to consider the location of the base station to enhance its performance and to prolong the lifetime of the wireless sensor networks.
Abstract: The wireless sensor network is a type of the wireless ad-hoc networks. It is composed of a collection of sensor nodes. Sensor nodes collect and deliver necessary data in response to user's specific requests. It is expected to apply the wireless sensor network technology to various application areas such as the health, military and home. However, because of several limitations of sensor nodes, the routing protocols used in the wireless ad-hoc network are not suitable for the wireless sensor networks. For this reasons, many novel routing protocols for the wireless sensor networks are proposed recently. One of these protocols, the PEGASIS (power-efficient gathering in sensor information systems) protocol is a chain-based protocol. In general, the PEGASIS protocol presents twice or more performance in comparison with the LEACH (low energy adaptive clustering hierarchy) protocol. However, the PEGASIS protocol causes the redundant data transmission since one of nodes on the chain is selected as the head node regardless of the base station's location. In this paper, we propose the enhanced PEGASIS protocol based on the concentric clustering scheme to solve this problem. The main idea of the concentric clustering scheme is to consider the location of the base station to enhance its performance and to prolong the lifetime of the wireless sensor networks. As simulation results, the enhanced PEGASIS protocol using the concentric clustering scheme performs better than the current PEGASIS protocol by about 35%.
TL;DR: Among the polymers, the PCL/PEO blend meshes showed good morphological stability upon incubation in the buffer solution, resulting in controlled release of lysozyme over an extended period with reduced initial bursts, indicating that entrapped Lysozyme was mainly released out by controlled dissolution of PEO from the blend meshes.
TL;DR: In apparently healthy, nondiabetic Korean men, increased ALT concentration, even within the reference interval, was an independent predictor of incident NAFLD.
Abstract: Background: In nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) concentrations are considered to be a consequence of hepatocyte damage. We performed a prospective study to examine the association between ALT within its reference interval and risk for subsequent development of NAFLD. Methods: The study cohort comprised 5237 healthy men without diagnosed NAFLD and without increases of either ALT (>35 U/L) or -glutamyltransferase (GGT; >40 U/L) above the reference intervals. We assessed alcohol intake via self-reporting (questionnaire) and performed biochemical tests for liver and metabolic function and abdominal ultrasonography. We used the Cox proportional hazards model to calculate the adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) in the model for NAFLD. Results: During 13 276.6 person-years of follow-up over a 4-year period, 984 new incident cases of NAFLD developed. We adjusted for age, weight change, body mass index, glucose, blood pressure, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, smoking, alcohol consumption, regular exercise, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, C-reactive protein, and incident diabetes. Compared with an ALT concentration of <16 U/L, aHR values (95% confidence intervals) for ALT concentrations were 1.53 (1.18–1.98), 1.66 (1.29–2.13), 1.62 (1.26– 2.08), and 2.21 (1.73–2.81) for ALT concentrations of 16–18, 19–21, 22–25, and 26–34 U/L, respectively. This relationship remained significant even among normalweight participants who were still within the reference interval of ALT and GGT at all follow-up examinations. Conclusions: In apparently healthy, nondiabetic Korean men, increased ALT concentration, even within the reference interval, was an independent predictor of incident NAFLD. © 2007 American Association for Clinical Chemistry