Using the theories of critical reflection and community of practice, the aim of this paper was to explore the use of blogs as a reflective platform in the training processes of English as a Foreign ...Language (EFL) student teachers, who were learning to teach English for future employment in Taiwan. They made use of blogs as a platform to critically reflect on their learning processes as well as to gauge the impact of blogs on their own professional growth. Forty-three student teachers in two teacher-education programs at two science and technology institutions in central Taiwan participated in this study. Two instructors created a blog for use as a discussion forum so that the student teachers could engage in and examine their own reflection process. The data collected was qualitative in nature, consisting of student teachers' posting messages and comments on the blog, surveys on the student teachers' reflective experiences using blogs as reflection tools, and group reflective dialogues recorded by instructors in class meetings over the implementation of blogs during the course. The results showed that the student teachers actively discussed teaching theories and their implications through blogs. All of the 43 teachers who took part in this study were reflective, and some critically reflected on their thoughts and made significant comments; and the participants considered technology a useful platform for reflecting and communicating with each other. The positive implications for the use of blogs as a medium to provide and promote critical reflection for EFL teachers are discussed.
Exploitation of the oxidation behaviour in an environmentally sensitive semiconductor is significant to modulate its electronic properties and develop unique applications. Here, we demonstrate a ...native oxidation-inspired InSe field-effect transistor as an artificial synapse in device level that benefits from the boosted charge trapping under ambient conditions. A thin InO
layer is confirmed under the InSe channel, which can serve as an effective charge trapping layer for information storage. The dynamic characteristic measurement is further performed to reveal the corresponding uniform charge trapping and releasing process, which coincides with its surface-effect-governed carrier fluctuations. As a result, the oxide-decorated InSe device exhibits nonvolatile memory characteristics with flexible programming/erasing operations. Furthermore, an InSe-based artificial synapse is implemented to emulate the essential synaptic functions. The pattern recognition capability of the designed artificial neural network is believed to provide an excellent paradigm for ultra-sensitive van der Waals materials to develop electric-modulated neuromorphic computation architectures.
Tunability and stability in the electrical properties of 2D semiconductors pave the way for their practical applications in logic devices. A robust layered indium selenide (InSe) field‐effect ...transistor (FET) with superior controlled stability is demonstrated by depositing an indium (In) doping layer. The optimized InSe FETs deliver an unprecedented high electron mobility up to 3700 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature, which can be retained with 60% after 1 month. Further insight into the evolution of the position of the Fermi level and the microscopic device structure with different In thicknesses demonstrates an enhanced electron‐doping behavior at the In/InSe interface. Furthermore, the contact resistance is also improved through the In insertion between InSe and Au electrodes, which coincides with the analysis of the low‐frequency noise. The carrier fluctuation is attributed to the dominance of the phonon scattering events, which agrees with the observation of the temperature‐dependent mobility. Finally, the flexible functionalities of the logic‐circuit applications, for instance, inverter and not‐and (NAND)/not‐or (NOR) gates, are determined with these surface‐doping InSe FETs, which establish a paradigm for 2D‐based materials to overcome the bottleneck in the development of electronic devices.
A robust layered indium selenide (InSe) field‐effect transistor (FET) with superior high mobility (3700 cm2 V−1 s−1 at room temperature) is demonstrated by depositing an indium doping layer. With tunable carrier transport, the surface‐doped InSe FETs present flexible operations to realize various logic circuits, such as inverters and not‐or and not‐and gates.
Buddhism in Tainan was first introduced to Baihe from Chiayi. Due to geographical barriers and a lack of transportation, Baihe had limited contact with other administrative districts in Tainan City, ...except for some interactions with neighboring Dongshan and Houbi. Instead, more frequent contacts took place with inland mountain areas in Chiayi County, which profoundly influenced Baihe's customs and culture. This area has been home to many Buddhist altars and masters, making it a significant center of Buddhism in Taiwan and giving rise to one form of Buddhist culture known as the Chiayi School. The introduction of Buddhism from Chiayi to Baihe could be seen as a natural phenomenon of a strong culture spreading outward. Buddhist masters and Taoist Lingbao priests built a business ecosystem for staging salvation rituals on behalf of Tainan residents. However, the Taoist Lingbao School is dominant, while Buddhism is a relatively small traditional culture scattered in border areas that is now gradually waning. Furt
Background
This study examines the predictive value of a novel systemic immune‐inflammation index (SII, platelet × neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio) in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.
Methods
A ...total of 5602 CAD patients who had undergone a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were enrolled. They were divided into two groups by baseline SII score (high SII vs low SII) to analyse the relationship between SII groups and the long‐term outcome. The primary outcomes were major cardiovascular events (MACE) which includes nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI), nonfatal stroke and cardiac death. Secondary outcomes included a composite of MACE and hospitalization for congestive heart failure.
Results
An optimal SII cut‐off point of 694.3 × 109 was identified for MACE in the CAD training cohort (n = 373) and then verified in the second larger CAD cohort (n = 5602). Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that a higher SII score (≥694.3) was independently associated with increased risk of developing cardiac death (HR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.43‐2.86), nonfatal MI (HR: 1.42; 95% CI: 1.09‐1.85), nonfatal stroke (HR: 1.96; 95% CI: 1.28‐2.99), MACE (HR: 1.65; 95% CI: 1.36‐2.01) and total major events (HR: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.32‐1.77). In addition, the SII significantly improved risk stratification of MI, cardiac death, heart failure, MACE and total major events than conventional risk factors in CAD patients by the significant increase in the C‐index (P < .001) and reclassification risk categories by significant NRI (P < .05) and IDI (P < .05).
Conclusions
SII had a better prediction of major cardiovascular events than traditional risk factors in CAD patients after coronary intervention.
Precisely controllable and reversible p/n‐type electronic doping of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) transistors is achieved by electrothermal doping (E‐doping) processes. E‐doping includes ...electrothermal annealing induced by an electric field in a vacuum chamber, which results in electron (n‐type) doping and exposure to air, which induces hole (p‐type) doping. The doping arises from the interaction between oxygen molecules or water vapor and defects of tellurium at the MoTe2 surface, and allows the accurate manipulation of p/n‐type electrical doping of MoTe2 transistors. Because no dopant or special gas is used in the E‐doping processes of MoTe2, E‐doping is a simple and efficient method. Moreover, through exact manipulation of p/n‐type doping of MoTe2 transistors, quasi‐complementary metal oxide semiconductor adaptive logic circuits, such as an inverter, not or gate, and not and gate, are successfully fabricated. The simple method, E‐doping, adopted in obtaining p/n‐type doping of MoTe2 transistors undoubtedly has provided an approach to create the electronic devices with desired performance.
Precisely controllable and reversible doping of molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) transistors is achieved by electrothermal doping (E‐doping) processes. E‐doping includes electrothermal annealing induced by an electric field in vacuum, which results in electron (n‐type) doping, and exposure to air, which induces hole (p‐type) doping. No dopant or gas is used in the E‐doping processes, E‐doping is a simple and efficient method.
•The vacuum distillation process was used to upgrade the Japanese cedar bio-oil into biobinder.•Biobinder blends showed Newtonian behavior at all testing temperatures and shear rates.•Addition of ...biobinder improves asphalt binder’s high temperature rutting resistance.•The PG binder grade bump from 64 to 70 was observed in the 50% biobinder blend.
Currently, road and airport pavement construction uses approximately 90% asphalt, most of which is mainly derived from fossil fuels. However, with the improvement in oil refinery technology, the quality of asphalt binders is degrading gradually. Moreover, from the environment standpoint, fossil fuels are the main source of greenhouse gases, which lead to global warming. Consequently, there is an urgent need to develop a more sustainable binding material from renewable or other alternative resources to replace or modify the existing petroleum-based asphalt binder for the highway industry. The main objective of this study was to investigate the potential use of a bio-oil byproduct as a partial replacement for a bitumen-based binder. The properties of various blending combinations of a biobinder and asphalt binder were compared with those of an unmodified asphalt binder through several physical and rheological tests. The specific gravity of the biobinder was found to be higher than that of the petroleum-based binder. In general, biobinder blends have a higher viscosity than that of the unmodified binder at temperatures higher than 60°C. Binders containing the biobinder at 25% and 50% have lower temperature susceptibility than that of the unmodified binder. Adding the biobinder at up to 25% does not significantly change the complex shear modulus of unaged binders, whereas rolling thin-film oven-aged biobinder blends show a higher complex modulus and greater viscosity than those of the unmodified binder. Moreover, the biobinder blends show higher G∗/sinδ, lower nonrecoverable compliance and greater recovery ability than those of conventional AC-20.
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•Electric arc furnace slag can improve the performance of rutting and abrasion resistance in slurry surfacing.•Electric arc furnace slag can reduce the carbon footprint in the slurry ...surfacing mixture.•Aggregate packing degree and asphalt-aggregate bonding value plays important role in the slurry surfacing mixture design.•Electric arc furnace slag can become a potential source for aggregate replacement in slurry surfacing.
Incorporating Electric Arc Furnace Slag (EAFS) into construction materials such as hot-mix asphalt and Portland cement concrete has shown increasing wear and polishing resistance while reducing solid waste and mitigating the carbon footprint of construction engineering. Pavement surface treatment is one of the most used pavement preservation approaches. The slurry surfacing (SS) technique provides the most hot-mix asphalt-like surface texture among the surface treatment techniques. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using EAFS for SS by incorporating various amounts of EAFS and then analyzing the treatment's performance and the resulting carbon footprint reduction. Performance tests of SS, including the wet track abrasion test and loaded wheel test, were performed to evaluate SS's abrasion and deformation resistance. Aggregate packing degree and bonding strength based on the surface charge were also considered to understand the mechanism affecting the performance. The corresponding reduction in carbon footprint is then analyzed using the tiered hybrid life cycle assessment method to understand further the benefits of using EAFS in SS. The results revealed that mixtures incorporating EAFS could be carefully designed to perform better by increasing the packing degree and bonding strength. Also, adding EAFS into SS increased abrasion resistance by up to 18.2%, rutting resistance by up to 72.8%, and reduced the carbon footprint by up to 39.6%.
This study applied Garrison, Anderson, and Archer's (2000) community of inquiry (CoI) framework to teacher learning by designing and investigating online participatory practice in which 14 ...prospective teachers (PT) were engaged in collectively evaluating and reconstructing their written feedback in their teaching, cognitive, and social presences. Data included the PTs' action logs in the three presences, their observation notes on fellow teachers' feedback practice, their feedback on students' different versions of texts, and transcripts of discussion forums and chat rooms. Results showed that in an online teacher learning community, the teaching presence reinforced and sustained the cognitive and social presences in the virtual community as the PTs learned to serve as subject matter experts. Through these three presences, the PTs provided micro- and macro-level feedback and observed each other's practices in the teaching presence. An online participatory practice allowed the PTs to recognize problems in feedback practice and develop principles of effective written feedback through collaborative efforts. Practical implications and useful functionalities of an online system for teacher learning were also discussed.
•Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework has the potential for exploring teacher learning.•Design in the teaching presence reinforces and sustains the cognitive and social presences in the online virtual community.•Teachers develop principles of effective written feedback through collaborative efforts.
Complementary circuits based on 2D materials show great promise for next‐generation electronics. An ambipolar all‐2D ReSe2 field‐effect transistor (FET) with a hexagonal boron nitride gate dielectric ...is fabricated and its electronic characteristics are comprehensively studied by temperature dependence and noise measurements. Ambipolar transfer characteristics are achieved owing to the tunable Fermi level of the graphene contact and negligible and 30 meV Schottky barrier heights for the n‐ and p‐channel regimes, respectively. An inverter is also fabricated to demonstrate ambipolar ReSe2 FET operation in a logic circuit. Furthermore, a p/n switchable unipolar FET is designed and shows potential for building complimentary circuits from a signal device. This work demonstrates the potential of all‐2D ReSe2 FETs and makes available new approaches for designing next‐generation devices.
An all‐2D ReSe2 field‐effect transistor (FET) with graphene contact, which enables switching between n‐ and p‐type behaviors, is fabricated. The transport mechanism is comprehensively studied through both temperature dependence and noise measurements. A “single‐device” ambipolar ReSe2 FET is further applied to build an inverter function. This work demonstrates the promise of all‐2D materials‐based ambipolar FET for analog circuit applications.
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