Mediating Effect between Supportive Culture and Job Satisfaction in Administrative Services at Higher Education Institutions

The purpose of this article is to examine halo effect and organizational commitment in relation to employees' job satisfaction and organizational supportive culture at universities in Taiwan. The study used a questionnaire to collect data from 210 female faculty members of Taiwanese universities. The conceptual model was tested mediating the effect of structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation. This study not only found the mediating role of halo effect and organizational commitment between supportive culture and job satisfaction, but also proved that a supportive culture in universities is directly and positively related to job satisfaction and that emotional and identification‐oriented organizational commitment may affect job satisfaction in a positive way among female faculty members. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Polyacrylamide–clay nanocomposite materials prepared by photopolymerization with acrylamide as an intercalating agent

A series of nanocomposite materials consisting of water‐soluble polyacrylamide (PAA) and layered montmorillonite (MMT) clay platelets were prepared by the effective dispersion of the inorganic nanolayers of the MMT clay in the organic PAA matrix via in situ ultraviolet‐radiation polymerization. The acrylamide monomers functioned as both the intercalating agent and the reacting monomers. As a representative procedure for the preparation of the nanocomposites, organic acrylamide monomers were first intercalated into the interlayer regions of acrylamide‐treated organophilic clay hosts, and this was followed by one‐step ultraviolet‐radiation free‐radical polymerization with benzil as a photoinitiator. The as‐prepared polyacrylamide–clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials were subsequently characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, wide‐angle powder X‐ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The effects of the material composition on the thermal stability, optical clarity, and gas‐barrier properties of pristine PAA and PCN materials, in the forms of fine powders and membranes, were also studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, ultraviolet–visible transmission spectroscopy, and gas permeability analysis. The molecular weights of PAA extracted from PCN materials and pristine PAA were determined by gel permeation chromatography with tetrahydrofuran as an eluant. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 3489–3496, 2004     

Pervaporation separation of a water–ethanol mixture by PSF–PEG membrane

For dehydrating a water–ethanol mixture by pervaporation, a polysulfone–And poly(ethylene glycol)(PSF–PEG) membrane was prepared. The separation performance of water and ethanol was found to strongly depend on the diffusion selectivity of permeates. On the other hand, the solubility selectivity of water to ethanol showed only minor change with an increasing PEG composition of the PSF–PEG membrane. This study found that the PEG content in a PSF–PEG membrane showed mobility enhancement of pervaporation properties and that the diffusion difference of permeates increased with increasing PEG content. The effect of PEG content on separation performance was a result of the improvement of the permeate diffusion properties of the PSF/PEG membrane. The diffusion difference in the membrane, not the solubility of water–ethanol in the membrane, was the dominant factor for the separation. Suitable PEG content in PSF/PEG membranes can prepare a high‐performance pervaporation membrane. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 2158–2164, 2003     

Exploring heterogeneous information networks and random walk with restart for academic search

In this paper, we explore heterogenous information networks in which each vertex represents one entity and the edges reflect linkage relationships. Heterogenous information networks contain vertices of several entity types, such as papers, authors and terms, and hence can fully reflect multiple linkage relationships among different entities. Such a heterogeneous information network is similar to a mixed media graph (MMG). By representing a bibliographic dataset as an MMG, the performance obtained when searching relevant entities (e.g., papers) can be improved. Furthermore, our academic search enables multiple-entity search, where a variety of entity search results are provided, such as relevant papers, authors and conferences, via a one-time query. Explicitly, given a bibliographic dataset, we propose a Global-MMG, in which a global heterogeneous information network is built. When a user submits a query keyword, we perform a random walk with restart (RWR) to retrieve papers or other types of entity objects. To reduce the query response time, algorithm Net-MMG (standing for NetClus-based MMG) is developed. Algorithm Net-MMG first divides a heterogeneous information network into a collection of sub-networks. Afterward, the Net-MMG performs a RWR on a set of selected relevant sub-networks. We implemented our academic search and conducted extensive experiments using the ACM Digital Library. The experimental results show that by exploring heterogeneous information networks and RWR, both the Global-MMG and Net-MMG achieve better search quality compared with existing academic search services. In addition, the Net-MMG has a shorter query response time while still guaranteeing good quality in search results.     

Origin of Kern's arc

With the aid of computer-simulated halo patterns, we show that Kern's arc, as seen on the latitude of the circumzenithal arc and on the other side of the zenith, is produced by double-plate ice crystals with a vertical principal axis. Light rays that contribute to Kern's arc are demonstrated by geometric ray tracing. We also discuss the condition under which an arc that is opposite a circumhorizontal arc can appear.     

Approach to common elements of variational inequality problems and fixed point problems via a relaxed extragradient method

In this paper, we introduce an iterative method based on the extragradient method for finding a common element of the set of a general system of variational inequalities and the set of fixed points of a strictly pseudocontractive mapping in a real Hilbert space. Furthermore, we prove that the studied iterative method strongly converges to a common element of the set of a general system of variational inequalities and the set of fixed points of a strictly pseudocontractive mapping under some mild conditions imposed on algorithm parameters.     

A novel active vibration isolator applied for micro-gyro by array of deposited electrodes

Micro-gyroscopes are usually driven into resonance so that the sensitivity and resolution can be enhanced. However, if any substantial vibration of the gyroscope base, over which the seismic proof mass is seated, was present, then the preset resonant frequency would be altered and the performances of the gyroscopes could be much degraded. In this paper, an innovative three degree-of-freedom (DOF) isolation system is proposed to attenuate the undesirable vibrations caused by the ambient environments. The mathematic model of the proposed 3-DOF micro-machined isolation system is established and analyzed such that the transfer function of transmissibility is obtained. The pull-in instability and associated pull-in voltage for the actuators of the isolation system are numerically unveiled so that the interval of the applied voltage to generate the electrostatic control force can be set to ensure the stability of the suspension system. In addition, a fuzzy logic proportion and derivative (PD) controller is synthesized for disturbance rejection. Five sensing electrodes, in cooperation with the isolator, are used to provide the feedback signals of the relative displacements of the proof mass with respect to the base, i.e., pitch, yaw and lateral linear displacement. Ten tuning electrodes are utilized to generate the required electrostatic forces to preserve the seismic proof mass from external disturbance. In comparison with the traditional PD action, the proposed fuzzy logic PD control strategy is verified by intensive simulations to illustrate its superior vibration isolation capability.     

Conformal self-organizing map for a genus-zero manifold

This paper presents the implementation of a surface mesh on a genus-zero manifold with 3D scattered data of sculpture surfaces using the conformal self-organizing map (CSM). It starts with a regular mesh on a sphere and gradually shapes the regular mesh to match its object’s surface by using the CSM. It can drape a uniform mesh on an object with a high degree of conformality. It accomplishes the surface reconstruction and also defines a conformal mapping from a sphere to the object’s manifold.     

Antigen receptor-induced B lymphocyte apoptosis mediated via a protease of the caspase family

An extensive body of data, in a variety of systems, denoted the caspase family of proteases as a key player in the execution of programmed cell death. This family consists of cysteine proteases that cleave after asparagine-containing motifs. It is well established that the caspases are essential for the apoptosis mediated by Fas (CD95) and TNF receptor p55, molecules that contain the "death domain" in the cytoplasmic tail. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying the antigen receptor-mediated cell death in B lymphocytes, a process instrumental in negative selection of potentially autoreactive B cells. Here, we investigated the involvement of caspases in cell death triggered via the antigen receptor in B lymphocytes (BCR) by using specific inhibitors. Initially, we used a well-established cell line, CH31, which is a model of B cell tolerance, to demonstrate that these proteases indeed participate in the BCR-induced apoptotic pathway. Next, we confirmed the physiological relevance of the caspase-mediated cell death pathway in splenic B cell populations isolated ex vivo that were induced to undergo apoptosis by extensive cross-linking of their BCR. Most interestingly, our data demonstrated that caspases regulate not only the nuclear DNA fragmentation, but also the surface membrane phosphatidylserine translocation as well as the degradation of a specific nuclear substrate. Taken together, this report supports the hypothesis that regulation of the caspase family is crucial in controlling the life/death decision in B lymphocytes mediated by the antigen receptor signal transduction.     

Neutron and Raman Scattering Studies of Hgba2CuO4+δ

The HgBa₂CuO₄₊ sample was characterized by Neutron diffraction and magnetic measurements. Both of the measurements indicate a high purity of the sample. Raman measurement was performed on a HgBa₂CuO₄₊ compound of T_c = 96 K. The apical oxygen vibration at 592 cm^–1 was found to show (a) an above T_c anomaly, and (b) frequency hardening and linewidth broadening below the superconducting phase transition. The latter is attributed to the coupling of the phonon to the electronic excitation and related to the opening of the superconducting gap below the phonon frequency.