Generation of murine induced pluripotent stem cells by using high-density distributed electrodes network

This study reports a robust method of gene transfection in a murine primary cell model by using a high-density electrodes network (HDEN). By demonstrating high cell viability after gene transfection and successful expression of transgenes including fluorescent proteins, the HDEN device shows great promise as a solution in which reprogramming efficiency using non-viral induction for generation of murine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is optimized. High and steady transgene expression levels in host cells of iPSCs can be demonstrated using this method. Moreover, the HDEN device achieved successful gene transfection with a low voltage of less than 180 V while requiring relatively low cell numbers (less than 1.5 × 10⁴ cells). The results are comparable to current conventional methods, demonstrating a reasonable fluorescent-plasmid transfection rate (42.4% in single transfection and 24.5% in triple transfection) and high cell viability of over 95%. The gene expression levels of each iPSC factor was measured to be over 10-fold higher than that reported in previous studies using a single mouse embryonic fibroblast cell. Our results demonstrate that the generation of iPSCs using HDEN transfection of plasmid DNA may be a feasible and safe alternative to using viral transfection methods in the near future.     

Flow characterization of electroconvective micromixer with a nanoporous polymer membrane in-situ fabricated using a laser polymerization technique

Electroconvection is known to cause strong convective mixing in a microchannel near a nanoporous membrane or a nanochannel in contact with an electrolyte solution due to the external electric field. This study addresses micromixer behavior subject to electroconvection occurring near a nanoporous membrane in-situ fabricated by a laser polymerization technique on a microfluidic chip. We found that the micromixer behavior can be categorized into three regimes. Briefly, the weak electroconvection regime is characterized by weak mixing performance at a low applied voltage and KCl concentration, whereas the strong electroconvection regime has a high mixing performance when the applied voltage and KCl concentration are moderately high. Finally, the incomplete electroconvection regime has an incomplete electric double-layer overlap in the nanopores of the membrane when the electrolyte concentration is very high. The mixing index reached 0.92 in the strong electroconvection regime. The detailed fabrication methods for the micromixer and characterization results are discussed in this paper.     

Globalization,Media Imperialism and South Korean Sport

This study tries to understand South Korean sport through the lens of media globalization. It explains what happened when Chan Ho Park gained fame in the Major League Baseball and how the Korean media sport market has changed since then. Due to the oligopolistic media market structure in Korea, and opportunistic behaviour, the sports media industry in Korea was not ready for media globalization and, consequently, the industry has seen indications of its marginalization in the global media market.     

A test for robust Hurwitz stability of convex combinations of complex polynomials

In this paper we present a method for testing the Hurwitz property of a segment of polynomials (1−λ)p₀(s)+λp₁(s), where λ∈[0,1] and p₀(s) and p₁(s) are nth-degree polynomials with complex coefficients. The method consists in constructing a parametric Routh-like array with polynomial entries and generating Sturm sequences for checking the absence of zeros of two real λ-polynomials of degrees 2 and 2n in the interval (0,1). The presented method is easy to implement. Moreover, it accomplishes the test in a finite number of arithmetic operations because it does not invoke any numerical root-finding procedure.     

Effects of an augmented reality-based educational game on students' learning achievements and attitudes in real-world observations

Augmented reality (AR) has been recognized as a potential technology to help students link what they are observing in the real world to their prior knowledge. One of the most challenging issues of AR-based learning is the provision of effective strategy to help students focus on what they need to observe in the field. In this study, a competitive gaming approach is proposed to support AR-based learning activities conducted in real-world contexts. An experiment has been conducted on an elementary school ecology course to explore the effectiveness of the proposed approach in comparison with the conventional AR-based mobile learning approach in field trips. The experimental results show that the AR-based gaming approach can improve not only students' learning attitudes, but also their learning performance on the field trip. Accordingly, discussions and some suggestions for future work are provided.     

Factors influencing university teachers’ use of a mobile technology-enhanced teaching (MTT) platform

Educational technology research and development - The main purpose of this study was to examine the critical factors influencing university teachers’ use of a mobile technology-enhanced...     

Postural tremor and control of the upper limb in air pistol shooters

A postural tremor appears whenever someone attempts to maintain a steady position against gravity. We examined the postural tremor that occurred while air pistol shooters were taking aim so as to compare the coordinative control of the shooters and to identify the features critical to successful shooting. Ten elite and ten pre-elite athletes participated in pistol shooting at 10 m, and the postural tremors in the pistol and upper limb were recorded with lightweight accelerometers. Exploratory analysis showed that the elite shooters had smaller tremor amplitudes than the pre-elite shooters in the pistol and distal arm segments. Compared with the pre-elite shooters, the elite shooters had a smaller tremor amplitude in the lateral direction relative to that in the vertical direction, together with weaker tremor coupling in the lateral direction and stronger vertical coupling of the pistol-hand complex. The resulting shot performance was inversely related to the amplitude of the tremor and to the 8-12 Hz spectral peak of the lateral tremor in the pistol-hand complex. We conclude that the postural tremors of air pistol shooters are associated with the skill of the shooters, and that the elite shooters could optimize the control of the pistol-hand complex, which strongly determined success in shooting.     

Effects of the use of interactive E-books by intensive care unit patients' family members: Anxiety,learning performances and perceptions

In an intensive care unit (ICU), patients' families play a very important role; however, they often lack medical knowledge and are extremely anxious, which could affect their ability to take care of the patients. The effects of giving conventional paper-based instruction are limited in terms of improving patients' families' understanding of the facilities and the rules in the ICU and in reducing their anxiety. Therefore, in this study, an interactive e-book was developed to present the nursing education content to ICU patients' family members. An experiment was conducted to compare the learning performances and perceptions of the patients' family members learning with the interactive e-book and those who learned with the conventional approach. The research results showed that the nursing e-book significantly improved the learning performances of the ICU patients' family members, although their anxiety was not immediately reduced. Moreover, the family members perceived that the e-book was useful and easy to use, and generally showed high satisfaction with its use. This reveals the potential of using interactive e-books to improve the quality of nursing service in hospitals.     

The effect of an MSN agent on learning community and achievement

The use of instant messaging to support e-learning will continue to gain importance because of its speed, effectiveness, and low cost. This study developed an MSN agent to mediate and facilitate students' learning in a Web-based course. The students' acceptance of the MSN agent and its effect on learning community identification and learning achievement were investigated using the technology acceptance model. Results indicated that the MSN agent proved easy to use, and that students recognized its benefits with regard to their learning. In more detail, students perceived that the MSN agent would be beneficial to learning community identification, but this perceived usefulness had less effect on their learning achievement. However, it was found that perceived system usage of the MSN agent was significantly related to learning achievement, which differed from the result of analyzing students' perceived usefulness of the agent. Rather than using a systematic recording log, the perceived system usage of the MSN agent was measured through questionnaires. Interview feedback revealed that effective learning was related to the learners' engagement in the MSN agent and not just from their perceived usefulness of it. Therefore, the MSN agent could have more potential to facilitate students' learning in an online environment if learning activities related to study are designed to promote students' engagement.