Exploring the Effectiveness of Hypermedia Glosses for Second Language Reading

Shufang Wang,Chang-In Lee 아시아영어교육학회 2020 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.17 No.4

The aim of the study is to investigate whether hypermedia glosses (i.e., text only, text plus audio, and text plus video clips) promote EFL learners’ reading comprehension and examine learners’ preferences for using hypermedia glossing modes when they are reading a hypermedia text. The participants were 77 intermediate-level EFL learners from a university in China. Data were collected through pre- and post- reading comprehension tests, a questionnaire, and interviews. The reading comprehension findings reveal that all three glossing modes significantly promote learners’ comprehension of the text, but no significant differences were found among these three types. In addition, the questionnaire and interviews data indicate that learners hold positive attitudes towards glosses and hypermedia reading. They preferred text coupled with video glossing mode more than text only and text plus audio glosses. The pedagogical implications were provided.

Secure Outsourced Computation of Multiple Matrix Multiplication Based on Fully Homomorphic Encryption

( Shufang Wang ),( Hai Huang ) 한국인터넷정보학회 2019 KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Syst Vol.13 No.11

Fully homomorphic encryption allows a third-party to perform arbitrary computation over encrypted data and is especially suitable for secure outsourced computation. This paper investigates secure outsourced computation of multiple matrix multiplication based on fully homomorphic encryption. Our work significantly improves the latest Mishra et al.’s work.We improve Mishra et al.’s matrix encoding method by introducing a column-order matrix encoding method which requires smaller parameter. This enables us to develop a binary multiplication method for multiple matrix multiplication, which multiplies pairwise two adjacent matrices in the tree structure instead of Mishra et al.’s sequential matrix multiplication from left to right. The binary multiplication method results in a logarithmic-depth circuit, thus is much more efficient than the sequential matrix multiplication method with linear-depth circuit. Experimental results show that for the product of ten 32×32 (64×64) square matrices our method takes only several thousand seconds while Mishra et al.’s method will take about tens of thousands of years which is astonishingly impractical. In addition, we further generalize our result from square matrix to non-square matrix. Experimental results show that the binary multiplication method and the classical dynamic programming method have a similar performance for ten non-square matrices multiplication.

The Gap between Teachers’ and Students’ P erceptions of Motivation in Chinese EFL Classrooms : A Study Based on Self Determination Theory and the 5Ts Framework

Shufang Wang,이창인 아시아테플 2019 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.16 No.4

Motivation plays an import ant role in learning foreign la nguages and many scholars have conducted research on how to maintain and enhance students’ motivation in the EFL class. But few studies have analyzed whether there are mismatches between what teacher s and learners define as t he important factors to motivat e students. This study aims to rectify this gap in our knowledge by analyzing university students’ and teachers’ perceptions of students’ English learning motivation based on self determination theor y (SDT) and the ‘5Ts’ whic h affect motivation (Teacher, T eaching Methodology, Text, Task and Te s t). In order to have a better understanding of students’ and teachers’ perceptions, two questionnaires were designed. Participants were 190 Chinese university s tudents and 122 English te achers. Results show that teach ers and learners have different perspectives for Task and Teacher. To be specific, teachers gave more weight to the Task factor, whereas students focus more on the Teacher factor, including good char acteristics of their teach er. However, teachers and stude nts agree that Teaching methodology and Text play a vital role in motivating students. They also agree that Test is less important. These findings have pedagogical implications for current and prospe ctive English teachers in China and elsewhere.

In Vitro and In Vivo Studies on the Complexes of Vinpocetine with Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

Shufang Nie,Xiaowen Fan,Ying Peng,Xingang Yang,Chao Wang,Weisan Pan 대한약학회 2007 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.30 No.8

The purpose of this study was to evaluate complexes of vinpocetine (VIN), a poorly water-soluble base type drug, with hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) in aqueous environment and in solid state, with or without citric acid (CA) as an acidifier of the complexation medium. The apparent stability constant (Kc) calculated by phase solubility was 282 M-1 and the complexation in solution was structurally characterized by 1H-NMR which showed VIN was likely to fit into the cyclodextrin cavity with its phenyl ring and ethyl ester bond. Solid complexes of VIN and HP-β-CD were prepared by kneading (KE), co-evaporating (CE) and freeze-drying (FD) methods. Physical mixtures were prepared for comparison. The study in the solid state included the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and infrared absorption spectroscopy (IR). From these analyses, CE and FD products were found in amorphous state, allowing to the conclusion of strong evidences of inclusion complex formation. However, the dissolution test showed that only VIN/HP-β-CD+CA complexes by CE and FD method could provide satisfying dissolution behavior (rapid, complete and lasting) when compared to that of VIN/HP-β-CD complexes. Interestingly, the addition of CA in inclusion complexes could significantly decrease the amount of HP-β-CD needed to solubilize the same amount of VIN and thereby reducing the formulation bulk. Furthermore, in-vivo study revealed that the bioavailability of VIN after oral administration to rabbits (n=6) was significantly improved by VIN/HP-β-CD+CA inclusion complex.

Preparation of the Water-Soluble Fluorene-Containing Fluorescent Polymer by One-Pot Method

Yuan Wang,Hongchi Zhao,Haijian Tan,Xiaomeng Li,Yunxia Qian,Libin Bai,Yonggang Wu,Shufang Lv 한국고분자학회 2015 Macromolecular Research Vol.23 No.10

A water-soluble fluorescent polymer, 2,7-di{4'-[3''-(S-poly(acryloyl ethylene diamine hydrochloride)-2'''- methyl propionic acid)propionyloxy hexyloxy]phenyl}-9,9-di(n-octyl)fluorene (P3) with regular and ordered structure, was designed and synthesized with high conversion using click reaction between thiols and carbon-carbon double bonds. Because the S-H bond is relatively weak, thiol groups are subject to rapid oxidation during purification and storage and thereby result in the low conversion in the following click reaction. To circumvent this limitation, the synthesis of thiol groups and click reaction were simultaneously performed in one system (one-pot method). The intermediate products P1 (S-1-dodecyl-S'-[poly(N-Boc-acryloyl ethylene diamine)-2'-methyl propionic acid]trithiocarbonate) and M2 (2,7-di[4-(acryloyloxy hexyloxy)phenyl]-9,9-di(n-octyl)fluorene) were prepared via reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and Williamson synthesis, respectively. Then, 2,7- di{4'-[3''-(S-poly(N-Boc-acryloyl ethylene diamine)-2'''-methyl propionic acid)propionyloxy hexyloxy]phenyl}- 9,9-di(n-octyl)fluorene (P2) was synthesized with high conversion (83%) by employing a click reaction with P1 and M2 as starting materials. Finally, water-soluble fluorescent polymer P3 was obtained after the deprotection of P2. M2, P1, P2 and P3 were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), high-resolution mass spectroscopy (MS), gel permeation chromatograph (GPC), UV-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrum, and fluorescence, respectively. The results revealed that P3 displayed good solubility in water and not only exhibited a blue fluorescence emission band in water but also had a similar photoluminescent spectra to those of M2 and P2 in dichloromethane. The fluorescence quantum yield of P3 in aqueous solution could reach 0.10. In addition, the result of cell cytotoxicity indicates that P3 has low cytotoxicity and exhibits potential for biomedical applications. This work provides a new insight into the study of water-soluble fluorescent polymer.

Candidate Genes with Ovulation by Differential Display PCR in Small Tail Han Sheep

Liu, Shufang,Li, Hongbin,Song, Xuemei,Wang, Aihua,Wei, Caihong,Du, Lixin Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2006 Animal Bioscience Vol.19 No.9

To find the candidate genes concerned with ovulation rate of sheep, Differential Display Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction was employed to find the differently expressed cDNA controlling ovulation in the Small Tail Han sheep of polyembryony and in Tan sheep of single birth. Twenty-four primer pairs of three anchored primers and eight arbitrary primers were assembled to amplify the specialized bands from these sheep. Positive cross tests were applied to optimize the ascertainable PCR conditions in which different special bands can be identified by silver strain in one PCR tube. After eliminating the false positive PCR products by Northern hybridization, 24 differential display bands were acquired from the ovary in the Small Tail Han sheep. These EST bands were sequenced and 18 different ESTs were found in which five ESTs had several copies and 13 ESTs had only one copy. Comparing these ESTs with homologous sequences by BLAST in the GenBank, there were six ESTs with known open reading frame (ORF) and function, three ESTs with known ORF and no function, and 9 ESTs without homologous sequence. These ESTs partly represent several genes such as NOS2, tensin, TCRA, CDKN1A, ESR1 and ACTB which express especially in Small Tail Han sheep.

Print-Scan Resilient Watermarking for the Chinese Text Image

Zhihua Xia,Shufang Wang,Xingming Sun,Jin Wang 보안공학연구지원센터(IJGDC) 2013 International Journal of Grid and Distributed Comp Vol.6 No.6

In Vitro and In Vivo Studies on the Complexes of Vinpocetine with $Hydroxypropyl-{\beta}-cyclodextrin$

Fan, Xiaowen,Peng, Ying,Yang, Xingang,Wang, Chao,Pan, Weisan,Nie, Shufang 대한약학회 2007 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.30 No.8

The purpose of this study was to evaluate complexes of vinpocetine (VIN), a poorly water-soluble base type drug, with $Hydroxypropyl-{\beta}-cyclodextrin$ ($HP-{\beta}-CD$) in aqueous environment and in solid state, with or without citric acid (CA) as an acidifier of the complexation medium. The apparent stability constant ($K_c$) calculated by phase solubility was 282 $M^{-1}$ and the complexation in solution was structurally characterized by $^1H-NMR$ which showed VIN was likely to fit into the cyclodextrin cavity with its phenyl ring and ethyl ester bond. Solid complexes of VIN and $HP-{\beta}-CD$ were prepared by kneading (KE), co-evaporating (CE) and freeze-drying (FD) methods. Physical mixtures were prepared for comparison. The study in the solid state included the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and infrared absorption spectroscopy (IR). From these analyses, CE and FD products were found in amorphous state, allowing to the conclusion of strong evidences of inclusion complex formation However, the dissolution test showed that only $VIN/HP-{\beta}-CD+CA$ complexes by CE and FD method could provide satisfying dissolution behavior (rapid, complete and lasting) when compared to that of $VIN/HP-{\beta}-CD$ complexes. Interestingly, the addition of CA in inclusion complexes could significantly decrease the amount of $HP-{\beta}-CD$ needed to solubilize the same amount of VIN and thereby reducing the formulation bulk. Furthermore, in-vivo study revealed that the bioavailability of VIN after oral administration to rabbits (n=6) was significantly improved by $VIN/HP-{\beta}-CD+CA$ inclusion complex.

Total ginsenosides suppress monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats: involvement of nitric oxide and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways

Qin, Na,Yang, Wei,Feng, Dongxu,Wang, Xinwen,Qi, Muyao,Du, Tianxin,Sun, Hongzhi,Wu, Shufang The Korean Society of Ginseng 2016 Journal of Ginseng Research Vol.40 No.3

Background: Ginsenosides have been shown to exert beneficial pharmacological effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems. We sought to determine whether total ginsenosides (TG) inhibit monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension and to elucidate the underlying mechanism. Methods: MCT-intoxicated rats were treated with gradient doses of TG, with or without $N^G$-nitro-$\small{L}$-arginine methyl ester. The levels of molecules involving the regulation of nitric oxide and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways were determined. Results: TG ameliorated MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension in a dose-dependent manner, as assessed by the right ventricular systolic pressure, the right ventricular hypertrophy index, and pulmonary arterial remodeling. Furthermore, TG increased the levels of pulmonary nitric oxide, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, and cyclic guanosine monophosphate. Lastly, TG increased mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 expression and promoted the dephosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases 1/2, p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase 1/2. Conclusion: TG attenuates MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension, which may involve in part the regulation of nitric oxide and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways.

Non-decoupling MSSM Higgs sector and light superpartners

Han, Tao,Li, Tong,Su, Shufang,Wang, Lian-Tao Springer-Verlag 2013 Journal of high energy physics Vol.2013 No.11