Continuous research into the availability of phosphorus (P) in forest soil is critical for sustainable management of forest ecosystems. In this study, we used sequential chemical extraction and 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P-NMR) to evaluate the form and distribution of inorganic P (Pi) and organic P (Po) in Casuarina forest soils of a subtropical coastal sand dune at Houlong in Taiwan. The soil samples were collected from humic (+2-0 cm) and mineral layers (mineral-I: 0-10, mineral-II: 10-20 cm) at two topographic locations (upland and lowland) by elevation. Sequential chemical extraction revealed that the NaOH-Po fraction, as moderately recalcitrant P, was the dominant form in humic and mineral-I layers in both upland and lowland soils, whereas the cHCl-Pi fraction was the dominant form in the mineral-II layer. Resistant P content, including NaOH-Pi, HCl-Pi, cHCl-Pi, and cHCl-Po fractions, was higher in the upland than lowland in the corresponding layers; however, labile P content, NaHCO3-Po, showed the opposite pattern. Content of resistant Pi (NaOH-Pi, HCl-Pi, and cHCl-Pi) increased significantly with depth, but that of labile Pi (resin-Pi and NaHCO3-Pi) and recalcitrant Po (NaHCO3-Po, NaOH-Po, and cHCl-Po) decreased significantly with depth at both locations. 31P-NMR spectroscopy revealed inorganic orthophosphate and monoesters-P as the major forms in this area. The proportions of Pi and Po evaluated by sequential chemical extraction and 31P-NMR spectroscopy were basically consistent. The results indicated that the soils were in weathered conditions. Furthermore, the P distribution and forms significantly differed between the upland and lowland by variation in elevation and eolian aggradation effects in this coastal sand dune landscape.

The productivity of forests is often considered to be limited by the availability of phosphorus (P). Knowledge of the role of organic and inorganic P in humid subtropical forest soils is lacking. In this study, we used chemical fractionation and 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to characterize the form of P and its distribution in undisturbed perhumid Chamaecyparis forest soils. The toposequence of transects was investigated for the humic layer from summit to footslope and lakeshore. The clay layer combined with a placic-like horizon in the subsoil may affect the distribution of soil P because both total P and organic P (Po) contents in all studied soils decreased with soil depth. In addition, Po content was negatively correlated with soil crystalline Fe oxide content, whereas inorganic P (Pi) content was positively correlated with soil crystalline Fe oxide content and slightly increased with soil depth. Thus, Pi may be mostly adsorbed by soil crystalline Fe oxides in the soils. Among all extractable P fractions, the NaOH-Po fraction appeared to be the major component, followed by NaHCO3-Po; the resin-P and HCl-Pi fractions were lowest. In addition, we found no typical trend for Pi and Po contents in soils with topographical change among the three sites. From the 31P-NMR spectra, the dominant Po form in soils from all study sites was monoesters with similar spectra. The 31P-NMR findings were basically consistent with those from chemical extraction. Soil formation processes may be the critical factor affecting the distribution of soil P. High precipitation and year-round high humidity may be important in the differentiation of the P species in this landscape.

: In the realm of data management, data preservation stands as a critical undertaking aimed at preserving and upholding the integrity of data. Regardless of whether it concerns personal or enterprise data, the detrimental effects of malicious alterations implemented by attackers cannot be overlooked. Particularly in conventional industrial control environments, the prevalent practice involves the transmission of data from sensors to databases for storage purposes. However, it is essential to recognize that this process exposes the data to various vulnerabilities. Thus, to ensure the long-term security and reliability of the data, it becomes imperative to implement robust data preservation strategies within these industrial control systems. However, the reliance of these databases on physical hard disks introduces inherent vulnerabilities, including the potential for data loss due to disk damage or targeted malicious attacks. Consequently, it becomes imperative to prioritize the implementation of robust data preservation measures. These measures are crucial in mitigating the risk of disruptions and protecting critical data from compromise. By establishing effective data backup systems, employing advanced security protocols, and implementing proactive monitoring mechanisms, organizations can bolster their data preservation capabilities and safeguard against potential threats to data integrity and availability. As a result, many enterprises opt to store their data with third-party providers to ensure data integrity. However, this approach carries inherent risks. If the third-party service experiences an attack or if the data is tampered with, it becomes challenging to verify the integrity of the data. To address these concerns and ensure data preservation within the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), a growing number of individuals are integrating IoT with Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT). By leveraging DLT, the integrity of data can be ensured, reducing reliance on centralized third-party storage and enhancing security in the IoT ecosystem. In this article, IOTA is the DLT, which employs Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) to store transaction information. Compared to Ethereum or other blockchain technologies, IOTA offers notable advantages in terms of transaction verification speed, making it highly suitable for real-time IoT environments. However, the conventional transmission path from sensors to IOTA nodes entails a complex route, involving multiple hardware devices before reaching the intended destination. This complexity poses challenges in ensuring data integrity during transmission and introduces vulnerabilities such as man-in-the-middle attacks or SQL injection attacks. To address these issues, we propose a method to streamline the transmission path between sensors and IOTA, specifically tailored for industrial fields with numerous IoT devices. Our approach involves preprocessing the data stored on the server using our method before uploading, ensuring data confidentiality, and leveraging IOTA to guarantee data integrity. To achieve the shortest path between IoT and DLT nodes, it becomes necessary to establish IOTA nodes on lower-level devices, such as Raspberry Pi or IoT controllers. By simplifying the transmission path, we can reduce the potential for tampering and enhance overall data security. Implementing our proposed method enables the assurance of data confidentiality and integrity during both transmission and storage on the server, strengthening the trustworthiness of the IoT, and IOTA integration.

The research fills the policy research gap for the women entrepreneurship and sustainability performance for examining key successful factors. Previous women entrepreneurship research fails to offer policy recommendations. The research purpose is to investigate these factors affect women entrepreneurship capabilities and sustainability performance by using SEM analysis and making policy recommendation. This research employs online and mail survey and obtains 175 women entrepreneur sample. The study finds that family support and motivation have positive effect on women entrepreneurship capabilities and sustainability performance. Barriers have no effect on performance. Hopefully, the research can provide the guidance to contribute to women’s entrepreneurship opportunities for achieving SDGs. Policy recommendation and managerial implication are discussed in the article.

Technology can be seen everywhere and has been integrated into our lives.We are always using technology and enjoying the convenience brought by technology. However, physical retailers and e-commerce companies are also gradually adopting advanced technologies. Technology improves the purchasing environment and purchasing experience. Virtual reality and augmented reality have been hotly discussed in recent years. Technology, although virtual reality and augmented reality technology have not yet matured, it can be said that they will in the future It has great development potential. Virtual reality and augmented reality are also beginning to sprout in the retail industry. However, research on the acceptance of the use of virtual reality and augmented reality in the apparel shopping process is still lacking because This study explores how usefulness, ease of use, hedonicity, customer experience, customer engagement and satisfaction. To influence customer loyalty, this study adopted questionnaire survey and convenience sampling methods, and collected a total of 308 valid questionnaires. The analysis method used confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model to verify the research hypothesis relationship. The results of this study found. Hedonic has a significant impact on customer loyalty, while usefulness, ease of use, customer experience, customer engagement and satisfaction Satisfaction does not have a significant impact on customer loyalty. This study explains the academic contribution of the research results. The practical implications in marketing are put forward, and specific suggestions and directions for future research are given.

This paper presents a deep learning-based multi-guidance line detection approach, enabling an autonomous four-wheeled agricultural robot to navigate strip farmland. The integration of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) and Fuzzy Logic Control (FLC) systems optimizes the velocity and heading angle of robot, facilitating smooth navigation along identified guidance line. Enhance cornering maneuverability with real-time kinematics (RTK)-assisted Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (RTK-GNSS) positioning. Additionally, the spraying system combined with deep learning can effectively identify weeds and crop nutrient deficiencies to achieve precise spraying. The guidance system prioritizes irrigation lines for navigation, with additional guidance from crop and furrow lines. Trigonometric analysis determines the angular deviation between the identified guidance line and the vertical line of the top view image. Experiments under diverse weather conditions demonstrate the stable navigation of robot at 12.5 cm/s, achieving up to 90% accuracy in weed and nutrient deficiency identification. The spraying accuracy for weeds and deficiencies averages 87% and 73%, respectively, underscoring the system's contribution to sustainable and precision horticulture practices.

The quality of healthcare services is a very important indicator of social welfare in developed and emerging countries. Good quality levels are critical to ensuring patient safety, improving health outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, optimizing resource utilization, and meeting regulatory requirements. The stable and sustainable operation of medical institutions urgently requires the establishment of a reliable and effective medical quality performance evaluation platform. However, the complexity of the evaluation process, involving numerous evaluators and the consideration of different subjective and objective criteria, poses significant challenges and essentially constitutes a group multi-criteria decision-making problem. This article uses the overall medical environment of the institution, medical service attitude, medical security, administrative service measures, etc. as measurement standards to deal with this challenge. It proposes a medical service quality measurement model suitable for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. In view of the heterogeneity of information, the two-tuple fuzzy language calculation method is introduced to enable evaluators to skillfully manage diverse information and effectively avoid potential information omission problems in the subjective evaluation integration process. The effectiveness and feasibility of the model were demonstrated by applying it to the operational framework of a medical institution in central Taiwan.

Urbanization is considered as a main indicator of regional economic development due to its positive effect on promoting industrial development; however, many regions, especially developing countries, are troubled by its negative effect — the aggravating environmental pollution. Many researchers have indicated that rapid urbanization stimulated the expansion of industrial production scale and increased industrial pollutant emissions. However, this judgement contains a grave deficiency in that urbanization not only expands industrial production scales but can also increase industrial labour productivity and change the industrial structure. To modify this deficiency, we first decompose the influence which urbanization impacts on industrial pollutant emissions into the scale effect, the intensive effect and the structure effect by using the Kaya Identity and the LMDI Method; second, we perform an empirical study of the three effects’ impacts by applying the spatial panel model with data from 282 Chinese cities between 2003 and 2013. Our results indicate that (1) there are significant reverse U-shapes between Chinese urbanization rate and its industrial pollutant emissions; (2) the scale effect and the structure effect have aggravated Chinese industrial waste water discharge, sulphur dioxide emissions and soot (dust) emissions, while the intensive effect has generated a decreasing and ameliorative impact on that aggravated trend. The definite relationship between urbanization and industrial pollutant emissions depends on the combined influence of the scale effect, the intensive effect and the structure effect; (3) there are significant spatial autocorrelations of industrial pollutant emissions between Chinese cities, but the spatial spillover effect from other cities does not aggravate local urban industrial pollutant emissions, we offer an explanation to this contradiction that the vast rural areas surrounding Chinese cities have served as sponge belts and have absorbed the spatial spillover of cities’ industrial pollutant emissions. According to the results, we argue that this type of decomposition of the influence into three effects is necessary and meaningful, it establishes a solid foundation for understanding the relationship between urbanization and industrial pollutant emissions, and effectively helps to meet relative policy making.

Background and Objectives: In the literature, relationships between being married and having prediabetes or diabetes are inconsistent. We aimed to investigate whether marriage is a protective or risk factor for prediabetes and to uncover new insights into its impact on prediabetes. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional observational study, questionnaires were distributed by email to 1,039 staff members who participated in an employee health check from a hospital affiliated with a medical university in Taiwan. Fasting blood glucose and triglyceride (TG) levels were checked and the questionnaires elicited basic demographic characteristics and included the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire. The chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, logistic regression, and mediation analysis were conducted for statistical analysis. Results: Among the group aged 20–37 years, married, obesity, neck and shoulder pain, and elevated TG levels were independent risk factors for prediabetes (impaired fasting glucose). For those >38 years old, overweight, obesity, and elevated triglyceride (TG) were the independent risk factors for impaired fasting glucose. Increased TG levels serve as a mediating factor linking marriage to an increased risk of prediabetes for the group aged 20–37 years. Conclusions: TG play a significant role in the association between marriage and prediabetes among the group aged 20–37 years. Therefore, dietary habits, especially those of young adult couples should be considered. Our findings connect marital status to prediabetes, facilitating advances in diabetes prevention.

The Epithelial-Mesenchymal-Transition (EMT) phenotype, identified as a significant clinical indicator in cancer, manifests as a biological process where cells transition from epithelial to mesenchymal characteristics. Physiologically, EMT plays a crucial role in tissue remodeling, promoting healing, repair, and responding to various tissue damages. This study investigates the impact of BNE-RRC on oral cancer cells (KB) and reveals its significant effects on cancer cell growth, migration, invasion, and EMT. BNE-RRC induces the epithelial-like morphology in KB cells, effectively reversing EMT to Mesenchymal-Epithelial Transition (MET). Extraordinarily, sustained culture of cancer cells with BNE-RRC for 14 days maintains an epithelial status even after treatment withdrawal, suggesting BNE-RRC as a potential therapeutic agent for cancer. These findings highligh the promise of BNE-RRC as a comprehensive therapeutic agent in cancer treatment by inhibiting cancer cell growth, migration, and invasion, while also orchestrating a reversal of the EMT process. The study proposes that BNE-RRC could be effective agent for cancer treatment.

This study aims to develop novel automated computer vision algorithms and systems for component replacement inspection for Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). The proposed algorithms are able to identify locations as well as sizes of different components. They are object detection algorithms based on keypoints of the target components. The algorithms can be implemented as neural networks consisting of two portions: frontend networks and backend networks. The frontend networks are used for the feature extractions of input images. The backend networks are adopted for producing component inspection results. Each component class can has its own frontend and backend networks. In this way, the neural model for the component class can be effectively reused for different PCBs. To reduce the computation time for the inference of the networks, different component classes can share the same frontend networks. A two-stage training process is proposed for effectively exploring features of different components for accurate component inspection. The proposed algorithm has the advantages of the simplicity for training data collection, high accuracy for defect detection, and high reusability and flexibility for online inspection. The algorithm is an effective alternative for the automated inspection in smart factory with growing demand for product quality and diversification.

This study was to identify clinical cancer biomarkers for recurrent gastric cancer survivors using artificial intel-ligence. From a hospital-based cancer registry database in Taiwan, the datasets of the incidence of recurrence and clinical risk features were included in 2476 gastric cancer survivors. We benchmarked Random forest with MLP, C4.5, AdaBoost, and Bagging algorithms on metrics and leveraged synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) for imbalanced dataset issues, cost-sensitive learning for risk assessment, and SHapley Additive ex-Planations (SHAP) for feature importance analysis in this study. Our proposed Random forest outperformed the other models with an accuracy of 87.9%, a recall rate of 90.5%, an accuracy rate of 86% and F1 of 88.2% on re-current category by a 10-fold cross-validation in a balanced dataset. We identified clinical features of recurrent gastric cancer, which are the top five features, stage, number of regional lymph node involvement, Helicobacter pylori, BMI(body mass index), and gender, which significantly affect the prediction model's output, are worth paying attention to in the following causal effect analysis. Using an artificial intelligence model, the risk factors for recurrent gastric cancer could be identified and cost-effectively ranked according to their feature importance. In addition, they should be crucial clinical features to provide physicians with the knowledge to screen high-risk patients in gastric cancer survivors as well.

The adaptive identification method developed to evaluate the parameters of the Bouc-Wen hysteresis (BWH). The adaptive approach based on the use of adaptive observers. We synthesize adaptive identification algorithms using the second Lyapunov method. The boundedness of adaptive system processes shown in coordinate and parametric spaces. We prove exponential dissipativity of processes in an adaptive system. Estimating method proposed for signaling uncertainty in the system.

Due to the rapid development and popularity of the Internet, cloud computing has become an indispensable application service. However, how to assign various tasks to the appropriate service nodes is an important issue. Based on the reason above, an efficient scheduling algorithm is necessary to enhance the performance of system. Therefore, a Three-Layer Cloud Dispatching (TLCD) architecture is proposed to enhance the performance of task scheduling. In first layer, the tasks need to be distinguished to different types by their characters. Subsequently, the Cluster Selection Algorithm is proposed to dispatch the task to appropriately service cluster in the secondly layer. Besides, a new scheduling algorithm is proposed to dispatch the task to a suitable server in a server cluster to improve the dispatching efficiency in the thirdly layer. Basically, the TLCD architecture can obtain better task completion time than previous works. Besides, our algorithm and can achieve load-balancing and reliability in cloud computing network.

This paper presents a comprehensive study on the application and optimization of automotive thermoelectric generators (ATEGs), focusing on the crucial role of heat exchangers in enhancing energy conversion efficiency. Recognizing the substantial waste of thermal energy in internal combustion engines, our research delves into the potential of TEGs to convert engine waste heat into electrical energy, thereby improving fuel efficiency and reducing environmental impact. We meticulously analyze various heat exchanger designs, assessing their influence on the TEG's output power under different exhaust gas flow rates and temperatures. Furthermore, we explore the impact of TEG material properties on the overall energy conversion effectiveness. Our findings reveal that specific heat exchanger designs significantly enhance the efficiency of waste gas heat exchange, leading to an improved performance of the TEG system. We also highlight the importance of thermal insulation in maximizing TEG output. This study not only contributes to the ongoing efforts to develop more sustainable and efficient vehicles but also provides valuable insights into the practical application of thermoelectric technology in automotive engineering. Through this research, we aim to pave the way for more environmentally friendly transportation solutions, aligning with global efforts to reduce fossil fuel dependence and mitigate environmental pollution.

The risk of lung exposure to silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) and related lung inflammatory injury is increasing with the wide application of SiNPs in a variety of industries. A growing body of research has revealed that cyclooxygenase (COX)-2/ prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) up-regulated by SiNPs toxicity has a role during pulmonary inflammation. The detailed mechanisms underlying SiNPs-induced COX-2 expression and PGE2 synthesis remain unknown. The present study aims to dissect the molecular components involved in COX-2/PGE2 up-regulated by SiNPs in human pulmonary alveolar epithelial cells (HPAEpiCs) which are one of the major targets while SiNPs are inhaled. In the present study, we demonstrated that SiNPs induced COX-2 expression and PGE2 release, which were inhibited by pretreatment with a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger (edaravone) or the inhibitors of proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (Pyk2, PF-431396), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR, AG1478), phosphatidylinositol 3‑kinase (PI3K, LY294002), protein kinase B (Akt, Akt inhibitor VIII), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (p38 MAPK inhibitor VIII), c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNK)1/2 (SP600125), Forkhead Box O1 (FoxO1, AS1842856), and activator protein 1 (AP-1, Tanshinone IIA). In addition, we also found that SiNPs induced ROS-dependent Pyk2, EGFR, Akt, p38 MAPK, and JNK1/2 activation in these cells. These signaling pathways induced by SiNPs could further cause c-Jun and FoxO1 activation and translocation from the cytosol to the nucleus. AP-1 and FoxO1 activation could increase COX-2 and PGE2 levels induced by SiNPs. Finally, the COX-2/PGE2 axis might promote the inflammatory responses in HPAEpiCs. In conclusion, we suggested that SiNPs induced COX-2 expression accompanied by PGE2 synthesis mediated via ROS/Pyk2/EGFR/PI3K/Akt/p38 MAPK- and JNK1/2-dependent FoxO1 and AP-1 activation in HPAEpiCs.

The morphological and compositional complexities of keratinized components make feathers ingenious skin appendages adapted to diverse ecological needs. Frizzling feathers, characterized by their distinct curling phenotypes, offer a unique model to explore the intricate morphogenesis in developing a keratin-based bioarchitecture over a wide range of morphospace. Here, we investigated the heterogeneous allocation of α- and β-keratins in flight feather shafts of homozygous and heterozygous frizzle chickens by analyzing the medulla-cortex integrations using quantitative morphology characterizations across scales. Our results reveal intriguing construction of frizzling feather shaft through modified medulla development, leading to a perturbed balance of the internal biomechanics and, therefore, introducing the inherent natural frizzling compared to those from wild-type chickens. We elucidate how the localized developmental suppression of the α-keratin in the medulla interferes with the growth of the hierarchical keratin organization by changing the internal stress in the frizzling feather shaft. This research not only offers insights into the morphogenetic origin of the inherent bending of frizzling feathers but also facilitates our in-depth understanding of the developmental strategies toward the diverse integuments adapted for ecological needs.

Acellular bacterial ghosts (BGs) are empty non-living bacterial cell envelopes, commonly generated by controlled expression of the cloned lysis gene E of bacteriophage PhiX174. In this study, Vibrio parahaemolyticus ghosts (VPGs) were generated by chemically induced lysis and the method is based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), acetic acid, boric acid, citric acid, maleic acid, hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid. The MIC values of the respective chemicals were 3.125, 6.25, < 50.0, 25.0, 6.25, 1.56 and 0.781 mg/ml. Except boric acid, the lysis efficiency was reached more than 99.99% at 5 min after treatment of all chemicals. Among those chemicals, NaOH-induced VPGs showed completely DNA-free that was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Besides, lipopolysaccharides (LPS) extracted from the NaOH-induced VPGs showed no distinctive band on SDS-PAGE gel after silver staining. On the other hand, LPS extracted from wild-type bacterial cells as well as the organic acids-induced VPGs showed triple major bands and LPS extracted from the inorganic acids-induced VPGs showed double bands. It suggests that some surface structures in LPS of the NaOH-induced VPGs may be lost, weakened or modified by the MIC of NaOH. Nevertheless, Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay revealed that there is no significant difference in endotoxic activity between the NaOH-induced VPGs and wild-type bacterial cells. Macrophages exposed to the NaOH-induced VPGs at 0.5 × 106 CFU/mL showed cell viability of 97.9%, however the MIC of NaOH did not reduce the cytotoxic effect of wild-type bacterial cells. Like Escherichia coli LPS, the NaOH-induced VPGs are an excellent activator of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and iNOS), anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10) and dual activities (IL-6) in the stimulated macrophage cells. On the other hand, the induction of TNF-α mRNA was remarkable in the macrophages exposed with wild-type cells. Scanning electron microscopy showed the formation of trans-membrane lysis tunnel structures in the NaOH-induced VPGs. SDS-PAGE and agarose gel electrophoresis also confirmed that cytoplasmic proteins and genomic DNA released from the VPGs to culture medium through the lysis tunnel structures. Taken together, all these results indicated that the NaOH-induced VPGs show the potency of safe, economical and effective inactivated bacterial vaccine candidate.

Due to the impacts from climate change, the allocation of water resources must urgently be optimized worldwide to ensure that the needs of both water managers and farmers are balanced. In this study, manager-oriented and farmer-oriented assessment models were developed for irrigation water optimization and allocation. The distance from water sources and hydraulic head were the main factors in the manager-oriented assessment model; crop value, water demand of crops, and soil type were additional factors in the farmer-oriented assessment model. The developed assessment models were used to assess irrigation water allocation in five villages in Neimen District. Cadasters at high elevation were discovered to not be suitable for cultivation of crops because of the difficulties in constructing irrigation facilities and the loss of irrigation water during transportation. The result obtained from the manager-oriented assessment system was related to the costs involved in the construction and maintenance of irrigation facilities, which indicated that cadasters located at long distances from water sources and at high elevation are unsuitable for cultivation. By contrast, the result obtained from the farmer-oriented assessment system was related to the profits of farmers and revealed that more cadasters would be suitable for cultivation if suitable crops were chosen.

This paper discusses a passive control issue for Nonlinear Time-Varying (NTV) systems subject to stability and attenuation performance. Based on the modeling approaches of Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model and the Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) model, a Parameter-Dependent Polynomial Fuzzy (PDPF) model is constructed to represent the NTV systems. According to Parallel Distributed Compensation (PDC) concept, a parameter-dependent polynomial fuzzy controller is built to achieve robust stability and passivity of PDPF model. Furthermore, the passive theory is applied to achieve the performance constraining the disturbance effect on the PDPF systems. To develop the stability criteria, by introducing a parameter-dependent polynomial Lyapunov function, one can derive some stability conditions which belong to the term of Sum-Of-Squares (SOS) form. Based on the Lyapunov function, two stability criteria are proposed to design the corresponding PDPF controller such that the NTV system is robustly stable and passive. Finally, a numerical example is applied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed stability criterion.

Vascular calcification (VC) is associated with increased cardiovascular risks in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, like empagliflozin, can improve cardiovascular and renal outcomes. We assessed the expression of Runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2), interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor (Nrf2), and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) in inorganic phosphate–induced VC in mouse VSMCs to investigate the mechanisms underlying empagliflozin’s therapeutic effects. We evaluated biochemical parameters, mean artery pressure (MAP), pulse wave velocity (PWV), transcutaneous glomerular filtration rate (GFR), and histology in an in vivo mouse model with VC induced by an oral high-phosphorus diet following a 5/6 nephrectomy in ApoE−/− mice. Compared to the control group, empagliflozin-treated mice showed significant reductions in blood glucose, MAP, PWV, and calcification, as well as increased calcium and GFR levels. Empagliflozin inhibited osteogenic trans-differentiation by decreasing inflammatory cytokine expression and increasing AMPK, Nrf2, and HO-1 levels. Empagliflozin mitigates high phosphate–induced calcification in mouse VSMCs through the Nrf2/HO-1 anti-inflammatory pathway by activating AMPK. Animal experiments suggested that empagliflozin reduces VC in CKD ApoE−/− mice on a high-phosphate diet.

In IP networks, packet forwarding is destination-based and hop-by-hop, and routes are built as needed. Kwong et al. introduced a protection routing in which packet delivery to the destination node can proceed uninterrupted in the event of any single node or link failure. He then shows that “whether there is a protection routing to the destination” is NP-complete. Tapolcai find that two completely independent spanning trees, abbreviated as CISTs, can be used to configure the protection routing. In this paper, we propose dual protection routing trees, denoted as dual-PRTs to replace CISTs, which are less restrictive than CISTs. Next, we propose a transformation algorithm that uses dual-PRTs to configure the protection routing. Taking complete graphs Kn, complete bipartite graphs Km,n, hypercubes Qn, locally twisted cubes LTQn as examples, we provide a recursive method to construct dual-PRTs on them. This article will show that there are no two CISTs on K3,3, Q3, and LTQ3, but there exist dual-PRTs that can be used to configure the protection routing. As shown in the performance evaluation of simulation results, for both Qn and LTQn, we get the average path length of protection routing configured by dual-PRTs is shorter than that by two CISTs.

Oral cancer ranks sixth among Taiwan's top 10 cancers, and most patients with poor prognosis acquire metastases. The essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) has been found to diminish many cancer properties. However, the anti-cancer activity of ALA in oral cancer has yet to be determined. Migration and invasion assays confirmed OSCC cells' EMT capabilities, whereas flow cytometry and Western blotting identified the molecular pathways. ALA dramatically reduced cell growth in a concentration dependent manner, according to the findings. Low concentrations of ALA (100 or 200 μM) inhibit colony formation, expression of Twist and EMT-related proteins, expression of MMP2/-9 proteins and enzyme activity, as well as cell migration and invasion. Treatment with high concentrations of ALA (200 or 400 μM) greatly increases JNK phosphorylation and c-jun nuclear accumulation, then upregulates the FasL/caspase8/caspase3 and Bid/cytochrome c/caspase9/caspase3 pathways, leading to cell death. Low concentrations of ALA inhibit SAS and GNM cell migration and invasion by suppressing Twist and downregulating EMT-related proteins, or by decreasing the protein expression and enzyme activity of MMP-2/-9, whereas high concentrations of ALA promote apoptosis by activating the JNK/FasL/caspase 8/caspase 3-extrinsic pathway and the Bid/cytochrome c/caspase 9 pathway. ALA demonstrates potential as a treatment for OSCC patients.

Bat feces were reported in ancient Chinese medicine books to have the effect of reducing heat and improving eyesight, but the mechanism of vision improvement still needs further research. To this end, we used 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to analyze the antioxidant capacity of and the types of vitamins in bat feces. We hoped to screen the pharmacological components of bat feces, and to explain the role that these components may play in the treatment of visual deterioration. Our results found that bat feces had a good antioxidant capacity and mainly contain vitamins B1 (thiamine), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (nicotinamide), B3 (nicotinic acid), and B5 (pantothenic acid). Although these vitamins may help maintain the health of the optic nerve and cornea, the vitamin content of bat feces is low, but the heavy metal content is high, as shown using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis. Therefore, we suggest that the use of bat feces as traditional Chinese medicine to improve vision should be strictly restricted.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has a significant role in fibrinolysis, atherogenesis, cellular senescence, and chronic inflammation. OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) leads to increased PAI-1 levels and the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of CPAP therapy in patients with severe OSA on coagulation parameters and PAI-1. This prospective, controlled study enrolled 57 patients who were newly diagnosed with severe OSA, 37 of whom had had a good CPAP adherence after 6 months of therapy (usage of the device for at least 4 h per night), and their data were analyzed. The analysis showed a statistically significant increase in D-dimer values (415 (316.5-537.5) before CPAP therapy vs. 499 (327-652) after therapy, p = 0.0282) and a decrease in fibrinogen values (3.665 ± 0.752 before CPAP therapy vs. 3.365 ± 0.771) after therapy, p = 0.0075)). The PAI-1 concentration values before and after CPAP therapy did not differ significantly (17.35±7.01 ng/ml before CPAP therapy vs. 17.42±6.99 ng/ml after therapy, p = 0.9367). This study shows a tendency to improve the fibrinolytic capacity in patients with OSA after CPAP therapy although PAI-1 levels did not differ significantly.

Recent preclinical studies have shown the potential benefits of short-term calorie reduction (SCR) on cancer treatment. In this integrative review, we aimed to identify and synthesize current evidence regarding the feasibility, process, and effects of SCR in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. PubMed, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Ovid Medline, PsychINFO, and Embase were searched for original research articles using various combinations of Medical Subject Heading terms. Among the 311 articles identified, seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The majority of the reviewed studies was small randomized controlled trials or cohort study with fair quality. The results suggest that SCR is safe and feasible. SCR is typically arranged around the chemotherapy with the duration ranging from 24 to 96 hours. Most studies examined the protective effects of SCR on normal cells during chemotherapy. The evidence supports that SCR had the potential to enhance both physical and psychological wellbeing of patients during chemotherapy. SCR is a cost-effective intervention with great potential. Future well-controlled studies with sufficient sample sizes are needed to examine the full and long-term effects of SCR and its mechanism of action.

Micro plasma devices (MPD) with power gains are of interest in applications involving operations in the presence of ionizing radiations, in propulsion, in control, amplification of high power electromagnetic waves, and in metamaterials for energy management. Here we review and discuss MPDs with an emphasis on new architectures that have evolved during the past 7 years. Devices with programmable impact ionization rates and programmable boundaries are developed to control the plasma ignition voltage and current to achieve power gain. Plasma devices with 1-10 μm gaps are shown to operate in the sub-Paschen regime in atmospheric pressures where ion-assisted field emission results in a breakdown voltage that linearly depends on the gap distance in contrast to the exponential dependence dictated by the Paschen curve. Small gap devices offer higher operation frequencies at low operation voltages with applications in metamaterial skins for energy management and in harsh environment inside nuclear reactors and in space. In addition to analog plasma devices, logic gates, digital circuits, and distributed amplifiers are also discussed.

All living cells maintain a charge distribution across their cell membrane (membrane potential) by carefully controlled ion fluxes. These bioelectric signals regulate cell behavior (such as migration, proliferation, differentiation) as well as higher-level tissue and organ patterning. Thus, voltage gradients represent an important parameter for diagnostics as well as a promising target for therapeutic interventions in birth defects, injury, and cancer. However, despite much progress in cell and molecular biology, little is known about bioelectric states in human stem cells. Here, we present simple methods to simultaneously track ion dynamics, membrane voltage, cell morphology, and cell activity (pH and ROS), using fluorescent reporter dyes in living human neurons derived from induced neural stem cells (hiNSC). We developed and tested functional protocols for manipulating ion fluxes, membrane potential, and cell activity, and tracking neural responses to wounding and re-innervation in vitro. Finally, using morphology sensor, we tested and quantified the ability of physiological actuators (neurotransmitters and pH) to manipulate nerve wound re-innervation. These methods are not specific to a particular cell type and should be broadly applicable to the study of bioelectrical controls across a wide range of combinations of models and endpoints.

In manual maintenance inspections of large-scaled photovoltaic (PV) or rooftop PV systems, several days are required to survey the entire PV field. To improve reliability and shorten the amount of time involved, this study proposes an electrical examination based method for locating multiple faults in the PV array. The maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm is used to estimate the maximum power of each PV panel; this is then compared with metering the output power of PV array. Power degradation indexes are parameterized to quantify the degradation between maximum power and metered output power. Bidirectional hetero-associative memory (BHAM) networks are then used to locate multiple faults within the entire PV field. For a rooftop PV system with two strings, as seen in Figure 1, experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model has computational efficiency for real-time applications and that its algorithm is easily implemented in a mobile intelligent vehicle.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, patients infected with COVID-19 may experience abnormal heart rates, posing potential health risks. This study proposes a non-contact method for measuring heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) to effectively reduce the risk of infection and assist healthcare professionals in more accurate diagnosis and treatment. In this study, except for the different image acquisition method, other research processes and methods are similar to the research methods in [15]. The image acquisition method is changed from forehead image to palm image. The new non-contact measurement performance of the proposed method can effectively not only avoid infection concerns but also obtain heart rate and HRV quickly and conveniently, providing higher accuracy for physiological parameters, root mean square error (RMSE), and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) compared to those in recently published papers.

Silicon (Si) is the major material of semiconductor element. For semiconductor element producing, Si need to refined into high-purity silicon crystals, which has the approximate characteristics of intrinsic semiconductor, then doping 13th group or 15th group trace element. Producing the high-purity silicon crystals with well-lattice structure need a lot of energy and highly cost. Besides, the high-purity silicon is very hard and fragile which limits the scope of application. For this reason, this study added low-grade non-complete lattice silicon in the elastic polymer, and then doped with high concentrations of fine carbon powder. This material can be conductive by physisorption;therefore, it can be used to making semiconductors. Using this material to produce electronic components can significantly reduce the cost of purification and crystallization, saving energy at the same time. Moreover, because this elastic polymer materials containing silicon, which has soft, warm, and durable physical properties. With those properties, the design of the device could be more flex, full scalability and close to the skin.

(1) Background: This retrospective study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of one-stage computed tomography (OSCT)- to that of two-stage computed tomography (TSCT)-guided localization for the surgical removal of small lung nodules. (2) Methods: We collected data from patients with ipsilateral pulmonary nodules who underwent localization before surgical removal at Veteran General Hospital Kaohsiung between October 2017 and January 2022. The patients were divided into the OSCT and TSCT groups. (3) Results: We found that OSCT significantly reduced the localization time and risky time compared to TSCT, and the success rate of localization and incidence of pneumothorax were similar in both groups. However, the time spent under general anesthesia was longer in the OSCT group than in the TSCT group. (4) Conclusions: The OSCT-guided approach to localize pulmonary nodules in hybrid operation room is a safe and effective technique for the surgical removal of small lung nodules.

The open burning of sugarcane residue is commonly used as a low-cost and fast method during pre-harvest and post-harvest periods. However, this practice releases various pollutants, including dioxins. This study aims to predict polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs, or dioxins) emissions using the Grey Model (GM (1,1)) and to map the annual flux spatial distribution at the provincial level from 2023 to 2028. Using the activity rate of dry crop residue from national agencies and literature, and following the guidelines set by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), an annual emission inventory was developed at the provincial level. The distribution of emissions from 2016 to 2022 was then mapped. The average PCDD/Fs emission values exhibit significant variation among the provinces, averaging 309 pg TEQ/year. Spatially, in line sugarcane production, South Sumatra and East Jawa consistently show high emissions, often exceeding 400 pg/m². Emissions based on the UNEP emission factor tend to be higher compared to other factors, due to its generic nature and lack of regional specificity. The emission predictions using the Grey Model GM (1,1) indicate that North Sumatra is expected to experience a steady increase in PCDD/Fs emissions, whereas South Sumatra and Lampung are projected to see a slight decline. This forecast assumes there will be any changes in regional intervention strategies. Most regions in Jawa Island show a gradual increase in emissions, except for East Jawa, which is predicted to have a slight decline from 416 pg/year in 2023 to 397 pg/year in 2028. Additionally, regions like Gorontalo and parts of East Jawa are projected to remain "hotspots" with consistently high emissions, suggesting the need for targeted interventions. Future studies should consider developing monthly emissions profiles to account for local agricultural practices and seasonal conditions. The emission data generated in this study, which includes both spatial and temporal distributions, is valuable for air quality modeling studies. Utilizing this data can help assess the impact of current and future emissions on ambient air quality.

A case-crossover study examined how PM_2.5 from Asian Dust Storms (ADS) affects the number of emergency room (ER) admissions for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and respiratory diseases (RDs). Our data indicated that PM_2.5 concentration from ADS was highly correlated with ER visits for CVDs and RDs. The odds ratios (OR) increased by 2.92 (95% CI: 1.22-5.08) and 1.86 (95% CI: 1.30-2.91) per increase 10 µg/m³ in PM_2.5 levels, for CVDs and RDs, respectively. A 10 µg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 from ADSs was significantly associated with increase in ER visits for CVDs among those 65 years of age and older (an increase of 2.77 in OR) and for females (an increase of 3.09 in OR). In contrast, PM_2.5 levels had a significant impact on RD ER visits among those under 65 years of age (OR=1.77). The risk of ER visits for CVDs increased on the day when the ADS occurred in Taiwan and the day after (lag 0 and lag 1); the corresponding risk increase for RDs only increased on the fifth day after the ADS (lag 5). In Taiwan’s late winter and spring, the severity of ER visits for CVDs and RDs increases. Environmental protection agencies should employ an early warning system for ADS to reduce high-risk groups’ exposure to PM_2.5.

Betel quid (BQ) use disorder (BUD) is prevalent in many Asian countries, impacting approximately 600 million people. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to analyze the impact of MAOA genetic variations on the severity of BQ craving. This was measured using DSM-5 criteria and Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for betel-quid (Y-BOCS-BQ). Participants were grouped according to the severity of BUD and MAOA gene single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs5953210 genotypes. Y-BOCS-BQ were assessed at baseline (week 0) and during follow-up at weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8. The AA genotype group showed significantly greater reductions in Y-BOCS-BQ at weeks 2 (p=0.0194), 4 (p=0.0078), 6 (p=0.0277), and 8 (p=0.0376) compared to the GG genotype group. Additionally, within the antidepressant group, the AA genotype showed significant reductions in Y-BOCS-BQ at weeks 2 (p=0.0313), 4 (p=0.0134), 6 (p=0.0061), and 8 (p=0.0241) compared to the GG genotype. Statistical analysis revealed a significant interaction between the treatment and placebo groups based on MAOA genotypes, with the AA genotype in the treatment group exhibiting a more pronounced decrease in Y-BOCS-BQ (p interaction <0.05) at week 6. These findings highlight the importance of considering genetic factors when developing personalized treatment plans for BUD.

This study aimed to elucidate the antibacterial efficacy and unique chemical compositions generated from plasma-activated water (PAW) when utilized a novel vaginal cleansing device. We conducted an analysis of antibacterial activity against probiotics and several chemical compositions including ions under various operational parameters of PAW, including electrical power (12 and 24 V), treatment duration (1, 10, and 20 min), and stay duration (immediate, 30 and 60 min). Our findings revealed that as treatment duration increased, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), Ca2+, and Mg2+ concentrations increased and Cl−concentrations decreased. Higher electrical power and longer treatment duration resulted in increased HOCl levels, which acts to prevent the growth of general microorganisms. Notably, PAW exhibited no antibacterial effects against a type of probiotic, Lactobacillus reuteri that produces lactic acid for vaginal health. This result demonstrated the ability of the vaginal cleaning device to generate ions, primarily HOCl and some cations (Ca2+ and Mg2+), thereby providing vaginal mucosa protecting and cleansing effects with the vaginal environment.

Reactions of Co(OAc)24H2O, N‚N'-bis(3-pyridylmethyl)oxalamide (L) and 4,4’-sulfonyldibenzoic acid (H2SDA) afforded four coordination polymers with the same mixed ligands, {[Co(L)(SDA)(H2O)2]·H2O·CH3OH}n, 1, {[Co(L)0.5(SDA)]·2H2O·0.5L}n, 2, {[Co(L)1.5(SDA)(H2O)]·H2O}n, 3, and {[Co2(L)1.5(SDA)2(H2O)2]·4H2O}n, 4, which have been structurally characterized by using single crystal X-ray crystallography. Complexes 1 – 4 are 2D layers, revealing the topologies of sql, 2,6L1, (4,4)Ia and 6L12, respectively, and demonstrating that the metal to ligand ratio, solvent system and reaction temperature are important in determining the structural diversity. Immersion of these complexes into various solvents show that the structural types govern the chemical stabilities of 1 – 4. Reversible structural transformation can be shown for complexes 1 and 2 upon solvent removal and adsorption, while those of 3 and 4 are irreversible.

A novel five-surface phosphor-in-glass (FS-PiG) for high illumination and excellent color uniformity in larger-scale LEDs for sensor light source application is demonstrated. YAG phosphor (Y3Al5O12:Ce3+) was uniformly mixed with ceramic and sintered at 680°C to form a phosphor wafer. A sophisticated laser engraving was employed on the phosphor wafer to form a saddle-shaped large-scale FS-PiG LEDs. The performance of the FS-PiG LEDs exhibited the illumination of 401lm, average color temperature (CCT) of 5488K±110K, and color coordinates (CIE) of (0.3179±0.003, 0.3352±0.003). In contrast to convention single-surface phosphor-in-glass (SS-PiG) LEDs, the performance exhibited the illumination of 380lm, average CCT of 5830K±758K, and CIE of (0.3083±0.07, 0.3172±0.07). These indicated that the performance of the FS-PiG LEDs was higher than the SS-PiG LEDs for illumination, CCT, and CIE of 1.7, 7, and 23 times, respectively. Furthermore, the FS-PiG LEDs demonstrate lower lumen loss of 2% and less chromaticity shift of 5.4x10-3 under accelerated aging at 350°C for 1008 hours, owing to the high ceramic melting temperature of up to 510°C. In this study, the proposed FS-PiG larger-scale LEDs having excellent optical performance and high reliability may be the promising candidates to replace the convention phosphor-in-organic silicone material used in high-power LEDs for the next generation of sensor light sources, display, and headlight applications.

Patients with Peripheral-artery-disease (PAD) are prone to risks of major-adverse-limb-events (MALE), and major-adverse-cardiovascular-events (MACE). CHA2DS2-VASc is a prognostic score for Atrial fibrillation stroke risk, however, no study exists that evaluated its predictability for MALE and MACE in PAD patients. In this study, patients with PAD were stratified into four risk groups based on CHA2DS2-VASc score. Cox-proportional hazards models,10-fold cross-validation and Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses were utilized to evaluate the predictability of CHA2DS2-VASc for predicting MALE, MACE, and MALE+MACE. Kaplan-Meier analysis estimated the survival-probability of risk-groups. CHA2DS2-VASc was found to be a significant predictor of MACE (hazard ratio (95% confidence interval; P) = 3.47 (0.99 - 12.18; 0.052), 4.12 (1.19 - 14.14; 0.024), and 5.06 (1.48 – 17.28; 0.009), for moderate-, high- and very-high-risk groups, respectively, while for MALE and MALE+MACE significance was achieved only for high-risk group. MACE demonstrated AUC > 0.8, good-discrimination (c-index > 0.8) and good-calibration. However, MALE and MALE+MACE models failed to achieve good performances. Based on all findings, CHA2DS2-VASc could potentially serve as a risk stratification score for predicting MACE in patients with PAD but failed to qualify as a good predictor for MALE.

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting the colonic mucosa. UC is a subtype of inflammatory bowel disease along with Crohn’s disease and presents with varying extraintestinal manifestations. No single etiology for UC has been found, but a combination of genetic and environmental factors is suspected. Research has focused on the role of intestinal dysbiosis in the pathogenesis of UC, including the effects of dysbiosis on the integrity of the colonic mucosal barrier, priming and regulation of the host immune system, chronic inflammation, and progression to tumorigenesis. Characterization of key microbial taxa and their implications in the pathogenesis of UC and colitis-associated cancer (CAC) may present opportunities for modulating intestinal inflammation through microbial-targeted therapies. In this review, we will discuss the microbiota-immune crosstalk in UC and CAC, as well as the evolution of microbiota-based therapies.

Study design: Retrospective observational study. Objectives: To evaluate the change in adjacent segment disease (ASD) after hybrid dynamic stabilization with Dynesys-Transition-Optima (DTO). Methods: In 2012–2020, 115 lumbar spinal stenosis patients with spondylolisthesis re-fractory to nonsurgical management received hybrid dynamic stabilization with DTO system in a single medical center from a single neurosurgeon. After excluding those who did not receive L3–L4 dynamic stabilization and L4–L5 transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion fixation and those with incomplete postoperative data (n = 84), the 31 patients studied received follow-up vis-its at 6, 12 and 24 months postoperatively. Radiological assessment applied at the L2–L3, L3–L4 and L5–S1 segments separately included disc height, listhesis distance and angular change while in motion. Implant failure and screw loosening sign were both documented. Results: In the L3–L4 segment, the listhesis distance appeared 1 year after the operation; however, alterations in other segments showed at 6 months. At 2 years, the L3–L4 segment showed significantly less increase in listhesis distance and relatively less disc height reduction than other segments. In motion an-gular change, only the L3–L4 segment had a significant decrease at 2 years. Only the L3–L4 seg-ment maintained negative growth over 2 years in time-dependent assessment of motion angular change. Conclusions: In our study, disc height decreased, listhesis distance increased less and ASD changed later at the index level than the L2–L3 and L5–S1 levels. Angular change was re-duced at the index level while in motion. Although ASD was not significantly prevented, index level degeneration was both minor

Cancer immunotherapy reaches a remarkable achievement in various cancer types and brings new possibilities to improve cancer patients’ long-term survival. However, outcomes vary from case to case, and the present protocol benefits a small fraction of patients. One notable factor is the tumor microenvironment, especially the immune cell components, that may reflect the immune response's status quo on site. Thus, understanding the content of infiltrating immune cells in tumors is not only for research interesting but also a crucial subject toward precision medicine. We implement an algorithm for resolving relative proportions of twenty-one immune cell subclasses from a human tissue profiled transcriptome by microarray technology to reach the goal above. By selecting gene features and then adopting ?-Support Vector Regression, we can construct a deconvolution model and resolve the immune cell context. The excellent consistency between the estimated values and the correct immune-cell composition further demonstrates this approach provides a more natural alternative to revealing samples' immune cell content and reliable results like recent single-cell technologies. Based on this algorithm, the web-based deconvolution tool implemented named mySORT provides a user-friendly interface for estimating the immune cell content by uploading gene expression profiling. We also present comprehensive visualization 2D/3D plots in mySORT so that users can easily make a comparison between different samples. Finally, we synthesized pseudo-bulk expression data from single-cell transcriptomic datasets of 17 melanoma and 16 head and neck cancer patients. The deconvolution results of microarray-based data in the previous study and synthetic pseudo-bulk data all proved the excellent performance of mySORT. We believe that mySORT can help researchers in all fields easily understand complex immune microenvironment. The website of mySORT is freely accessible on https://symbiosis.iis.sinica.edu.tw/mySORT/.

In most countries, the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is no more than 1 per 100,000 for both men and women; however, it is much higher for men and women in Taiwan. The use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as complementary and alternative medicine for the treatment of NPC and its treatment-related side effects has been increasing. The National Health Insurance (NHI) covers 99.6% of Taiwan’s residents. In the present population-based cohort study, we aimed to investigate the pattern of utilization of Chinese herbal products (CHPs) for NPC from 2001 through 2011 in Taiwan. We identified a total of 30294 patients with newly diagnosed NPC from the Registry for Catastrophic Illnesses Patient Database (RCIPD). Descriptive statistics and multiple logistic regression analysis were employed to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for CHP utilization. From 2001 through 2011, 17816 patients aged ≥20 years were newly diagnosed with NPC. Of these, 4749 patients used TCM outpatient services for NPC treatment. TCM users were more likely to be women, young, residents of Central Taiwan, and white-collar workers. The most commonly prescribed formula CHP was Gan-Lu-Yin, followed by Xin-Yi-Qing Fei-Tang and Shan-Shen-Mai-Men-Dong-Tang. The most commonly prescribed single CHP was Hedyotis diffusa, followed by Radix Scrophulariae and Radix Ophiopogonis. These findings provide information regarding personalized therapies for NPC and can promote further clinical experiments and pharmacological research on CHPs for NPC treatment in Taiwan. Further well-designed randomized controlled studies and basic mechanistic studies should assess the safety and effectiveness of CHPs for NPC treatment.

A novel five-surface phosphor-in-ceramic (FS-PiC) for high illumination and excellent color uniformity in larger-scale LEDs for sensor light source application is demonstrated. YAG phosphor (Y3Al5O12:Ce3+) was uniformly mixed with ceramic and sintered at 680°C to form a phosphor wafer. A sophisticated laser engraving was employed on the phosphor wafer to form a saddle-shaped large-scale FS-PiC LEDs. The performance of the FS-PiC LEDs exhibited the illumination of 401lm, average color temperature (CCT) of 5488K±110K, and color coordinates (CIE) of (0.3179±0.003, 0.3352±0.003). In contrast to convention single-surface phosphor-in-ceramic (SS-PiC) LEDs, the performance exhibited the illumination of 380lm, average CCT of 5830K±758K, and CIE of (0.3083±0.07, 0.3172±0.07). These indicated that the performance of the FS-PiC LEDs was higher than the SS-PiC LEDs for illumination, CCT, and CIE of 1.1, 7, and 23 times, respectively. Furthermore, the FS-PiC LEDs demonstrate lower lumen loss of 2% and less chromaticity shift of 5.4x10-3 under accelerated aging at 350°C for 1008 hours, owing to the high ceramic melting temperature of up to 510°C. In this study, the proposed FS-PiC larger-scale LEDs having excellent optical performance and high reliability may be the promising candidates to replace the convention phosphor-in-organic silicone material used in high-power LEDs for the next generation of sensor light sources, display, and headlight applications.

The open hole tensile and flexural test of composites holds immense importance in aerospace and structural engineering. These tests provide critical insights into how composites perform under real-world conditions, allowing for the development of materials that meet rigorous standards, thereby ensuring the safety and durability of aircraft and other applications. This study investigates the influence of hole size on the open hole tensile (OHT) and flexural properties (OHF) of plane woven aramid/epoxy (AFRP), basalt/epoxy (BFRP), and aramid-basalt/epoxy (ABFRP) sandwiched laminates. Specimens with three different hole sizes viz., 4 mm, 6 mm, 8 mm were prepared and tested according to ASTM D5766 and ASTM D7264 for OHT and OHF performance respectively. Results indicated that the hybridization of aramid-basalt layers in a sandwich lay up significantly improved the mechanical performance when compared to only aramid laminate. However, with the increase in hole size the mechanical properties declined irrespective of the material. Basalt fibres showed higher hole sensitivity under tensile loading due to its brittle fracture mechanism while aramid fibres exhibited higher hole sensitivity under flexural loading which can be attributed to its the poor compressive strength. The effect of hole size on the damage mechanism has also been highlighted through scanning electron microscope (SEM). Major failure modes observed are delamination around the hole edges, ductile and brittle fibre fractures, and delamination.

To assist Java programming learning of novice students, we have developed the web-based Java programming learning assistant system (JPLAS). JPLAS provides several types of exercise problems to cultivate code reading/writing skills at various levels. In JPLAS, the code writing problem (CWP) asks a student to write a source code that will pass the test code given in the assignment where the correctness is verified by running them on JUnit. In this paper, to reduce the teacher load at marking process, we present the answer code validation program that verifies all the source codes from a lot of students for each assignment at a time and reports the number of passing tests for each source code in the CSV file. Besides, to test a source code with various input data, we implement the test data generation algorithm that identifies the data type, generates a new data, and replaces it for each test data in the test code. Furthermore, to verify the correctness of the implemented procedure in the source code, we introduce the intermediate state testing in the test code. For evaluations, we applied the proposal to source codes and test codes in a Java programming course in Okayama university, Japan, and confirmed the validity and effectiveness.

In this study, we demonstrate a high luminous efficacy of 118 lm/W and high reliability through 450°C thermal aging of white LEDs (WLEDs) utilizing four-inch YAG: Ce3+ phosphor-in-glass (PiG) plates designed for vehicle headlights. The sintering process of mixing glass and phosphor typically generates pores, which can scatter light and reduce the luminous efficacy of the fabricated PiG. In this study, we produced four-inch PiG plates under four different fabrication conditions to evaluate their luminous efficacy. Our results revealed that the PiG plate with a thin thickness of 0.08 mm exhibited a 16.83% increase in luminous efficacy compared to the 0.15 mm plate, attributed to reduced light interaction with the pores. Unlike silicone-based phosphor WLEDs, which offer high performance but lower reliability due to the silicone resin's low transition temperature (150°C), our novel thin PiG plate achieves high performance and reliability. This advancement suggests that the proposed thin PiG plate could replace traditional silicone-based phosphors, enabling the development of high-quality WLEDs for vehicle headlights in automotive applications.

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is among the most common healthcare-associated infections in Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICUs). Because of the lack of a gold-standard diagnostic test, early diagnosis of VAP is challenging. We investigated whether bronchial biomarkers interleukin-4 (IL-4), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) could contribute in early VAP diagnosis through their fluctuation in time in critically ill pediatric patients. Methods: Bronchial secretions were collected from PICU patients with VAP on days 1 and 6. PAI-1, RAGE and IL-4 levels were measured by ELISA. Protein concentrations between high and low VAP suspicion patients were compared using unpaired Student’s t or Mann–Whitney U tests. Results: Twenty PICU patients, with median age 7.75yrs (range 0.5-15.3), mechanically ventilated for ≥48hrs with increased oxygenation requirements and VAP clinical/laboratory signs were enrolled. They were divided in VAP high-suspicion (n=12) or low-suspicion (n=8) groups based on Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (cutoff:6). ΡΑΙ-1 και RAGE levels did not differ between high- or low-VAP suspicion groups the 1st or 6th days (p-value&gt;0.05). IL-4 was not detected in bronchial secretions. Conclusion: Bronchial concentrations of IL-4, PAI-1 and RAGE in critically ill children are not correlated with high- or low-VAP suspicion.

Cachexia is a complex metabolic syndrome characterized by loss of skeletal muscle, leading to a significant weight loss that impacts patient morbidity and mortality. Given the complexity of gene regulatory networks that control gene expression, our objective was to perform an integrative mRNA and miRNA profiling to identify genetic programs that capture essential mechanistic details that promote muscle atrophy in cancer cachexia. Here, we used RNA sequencing to analyze miRNAs and mRNAs expression profiles in tibialis anterior (TA) muscles of the Lewis lung carcinoma model of cancer cachexia. In addition, we compared these findings with RNA-Seq data from C2C12 myotubes treated in vitro with the cachectic factors tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ). Extracellular matrix (ECM) alterations were validated by picrosirius staining, western blot, and fractal dimension analyses. We found 1,008 mRNAs and 18 miRNAs differentially expressed in cachectic mice. This set of genes was associated with the ECM, proteolysis, and inflammatory response. Enrichment analysis of transcriptional factor binding sites revealed activation of the atrophy-related transcriptional factors: NF-κB, Stat3, AP-1, and FoxO. Furthermore, the integration of mRNA and miRNA expression profiles identified post-transcriptional regulation by miRNAs of genes involved in ECM organization, cell migration, transcription factors binding, ion transport, and FoxO signaling pathway. C2C12 myotubes treated with TNF-α and IFN-γ similarly down-regulate subsets of ECM genes, including collagens. Our integrative analysis of miRNA-mRNA co-profiles comprehensive characterized regulatory relationships of molecular pathways and revealed miRNAs targeting ECM-associated genes in cancer cachexia. We also confirmed in C2C12 myotubes that changes in ECM-associated genes are dependent on inflammatory signaling of the cytokines TNF-α and IFN-γ.

Land use and cover change (LUCC) is an important method to investigate the causes of global environment change. We utilized the emergy ecological footprint (EEF) model to construct a land-use change model to be used as a systematic measuring tool for monitoring sustainable development trends. In particular, we estimated the eco-security of the Cing-jing region as a case study so that responsible agencies can use it to maintain a balance between ecological preservation and tourism development. The results indicated the following: First, the ecological environment of the Cing-jing region satisfied the safety standard in 2008–2014; however, the related indices increased considerably. Second, the grey model predicted a decrease in 2015–2024 ecological carrying capacities of Cing-jing and a large increase in capita EFs, resulting in a larger ecological deficit and higher EFI. The eco-security from 2015–2024 was higher compared to 7 years ago and is predicted to reach the Grade 2 intermediate level in 2022; thus the Cing-jing region is gradually becoming ecologically unsustainable. Strengths of our study included the use of EEF theory in a quantitative analysis of slope lands for the effective evaluation of ecological security. Finally, we expanded our research to include ecological security issues.

Red djulis (Chenopodium formosanum) is a native cereal plant in Taiwan; it contains abundant polyphenols, betalian and dietary fiber. The appearance of red djulis is bright red. Therefore, it is also called the “ruby of cereals”. The antioxidative activity of red djulis extract is well-understood. However, the antiaging function still remains unclear. This study examined the potential of red djulis extract for enhancing collagen secretion and preventing cutaneous aging using red djulis extracts. The red djulis extracts are comprised of an abundant active component that can effectively enhance the ability of collagen secretion of dermal fibroblasts, prevent the glycation of collagen and resist the damage of ultraviolet light exposure. After fibroblast treatment with red djulis extracts, TGM1, KRT1, KRT10 and SOD2 genes were up-regulated significantly by 2.3, 4.3, 4.4 and 27.3 times, respectively, compared to those of the control group. Additionally, it can increase COL1A2 gene expression by 43% and decrease MMP9 gene expression 33%. Therefore, it was demonstrated that red djulis extracts affect gene expressions related to the skin barrier, antioxidation and collagen. Moreover, we found positive effects on skin barrier integrity, endogenous antioxidant activity and skin collagen-preservation. The preparation of the red djulis extracts is environmental friendly and can promote the economic value of Chenopodium formosanum; thus, the proposed extract is suitable for applications in the development of food products, especially beverages, skin care and cosmetic products.

We explored the trends and the diversity of the mortality and risk factors of age-standardized cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cerebrovascular disease (CBD) from 2000 to 2020 in five advanced Asian countries, including China, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Data were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) report. Overall, the CVD mortality rates decreased gradually in all five Asian countries. Singapore had the highest rates before 2011, but Taiwan replaced Singapore as the nation of the highest mortality rates after 2012. Additionally, South Korea had the highest CBD mortality rates before 2016, while Taiwan experienced a peak in 2011 and remained high thereafter. The absolute difference (AD) and relative difference (RD) for CVD mortality rates showed clear declining trends in all five countries, with South Korea and China displaying the highest reductions, respectively. It is noteworthy that overweight and obesity exhibited an increasing trend in all these five Asian countries, with China demonstrating the highest AD and RD. Except for Taiwan, where a negative association of r=-0.732 was observed, CVD mortality was positively associated with CBD, hypertension, and DM mortality in all other four countries, therefore, further investigation into these relationships are needed.

It is well established that the reaction cycles involving some halogenated alkanes (so-called ozone-depleting substances, ODS) contribute to the depletion of ozone in the stratosphere, thus causing the Montreal Protocol (initially signed in 1987) and later amendments. The Protocol called for the scheduled phase-out of ODS, including chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), hydrochloro-fluorocarbons (HCFC), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), halon, methyl chloroform (CH3CCl3), me-thyl chloride (CH3Cl), and even hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). In view of the urgent importance of ozone layer protection to the globally ecological environment, the Taiwan government took regulatory actions on reducing ODS consumption since 1993 by the joint-venture of the central competent authorities. Under the regulatory requirements and the industry’s efforts by adopt-ing the alternatives to ODS and abatement technologies, the phase-out of some ODS (i.e., CFC, CCl4, halon, and CH3CCl3) have been achieved prior to 2010. The consumptions of HCFCs and methyl chloride have been significantly declined over the past three decades (1993-2022). However, HFC emission indicated a V-type variation during the period. Due to the local pro-duction and extensive use of HFC in Taiwan, its emissions increased from 663 kilotons of carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2eq) in 1993 to 2,330 kilotons of CO2eq in 2001, and then decreased to 373 kilotons of CO2eq in 2011. Since then, the emissions of HFC largely used as the alternatives to ODS showed an upward trend, increasing to 1,555 kilotons of CO2eq in 2022. To be in compliance with the Kigali Amendment (KA-2015) to the Montreal Protocol for mitigating global warming, the Taiwan government has taken regulatory actions in reducing the consumption of some HFC substances with high global warming potential (GWP) under the authorization of the Climate Change Response Act in 2023, aiming at the baseline consumption in 2024 by 80 % reduction by 2045.

For semiconducting two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenides, carrier transport proper-ties of the material are affected by strain engineering. In this work, we investigate the carrier mo-bility of monolayer hafnium disulphide (HfS2) under different biaxial strains by first-principles calculations combined with Kubo-Greenwood mobility approach and compact band model. The decrease/increase in effective mass of conduction band of monolayer HfS2 caused by biaxial ten-sile/compressive strain is the major reason for the enhancement/degradation of its electron mobil-ity. Lower hole effective mass of valence bands in the monolayer HfS2 under biaxial compressive strain results in the better hole transport performance of monolayer HfS2 than the one with biaxial tensile strain. In summary, biaxial compressive strain decreases both effective mass and phonon scattering rate of monolayer HfS2, resulting in an increase in carrier mobility. When the biaxial compressive strain reaches 4%, for the conduction band of monolayer HfS2, electron mobility en-hancement ratio is ~90%. For the valence band of monolayer HfS2, the maximum hole mobility enhancement ratio appears ~13% at biaxial compressive strain of 4%. Our results indicate that the carrier transport performance of monolayer HfS2 can be greatly improved by the strain engineer-ing.

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine has gradually evolved as a promising therapeutic strategy to the modern healthcare of the aging and diseased population. In this study, we developed a novel nano-fibrous scaffold and verified its application in the critical bone defect regeneration. The metformin-incorporated nano-gelatin/hydroxyapatite fibers (NGF) was produced by electrospinning, cross-linked, and then characterized by XRD and FTIR. Cytotoxicity, cells adhesion, cell differentiation, and quantitative osteogenic gene and protein expression were analyzed by bone marrow stem cells from rat. Rat forearm critical bone defect model was performed for the in vivo study. The nano-gelatin/hydroxyapatite fibers (NGF) were characterized by their porous structures with proper interconnectivity without significant cytotoxic effects; the adhesion of bone marrow stem cells on the nano-gelatin/hydroxyapatite fibers (NGF) could be enhanced. The osteogenic gene and protein expression were upregulated. Post implantation, the new regenerated bone in bone defect was well demonstrated in the NGF samples. We demonstrated that the metformin-incorporated nano-gelatin-hydroxyapatite fibers greatly improved healing potential on the critical sized bone defect. Although metformin-incorporated nano-gelatin/hydroxyapatite fibers had advantageous effectiveness during bone regeneration, further validation is required before it can be applied to clinical applications.

Objectives: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) negatively affects the quality of life and sexual function in women. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of radiofrequency (RF) therapy in reducing SUI symptoms and its impact on sexual function. Methods: Thirty-four women with SUI were enrolled and underwent a single RF treatment session using the Viveve® System (Viveve Medical Inc., USA) with parameters of 90 J/cm² and 220 pulses per hour. Assessments at baseline and 6 months post-treatment included perineal ultrasound and personal interviews to evaluate lower urinary tract symptoms and sexual function. Urodynamic studies, voiding diaries, and questionnaires such as the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Overactive Bladder Symp-tom Score (OABSS), Urogenital Distress Inventory-6 (UDI-6), Incontinence Impact Question-naire-7 (IIQ-7), and International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF) measured outcomes. Results: RF therapy significantly improved sexual function, with higher FSFI scores in all domains except pain at 6 months. SUI symptoms were significantly re-duced, as indicated by improved scores on OABSS, UDI-6, IIQ-7, and ICIQ-SF, alongside better voiding diary results. Anatomical changes included reduced bladder neck mobility, decreased vaginal width, and a reduced rotation angle of the proximal urethra. Conclusions: RF therapy is effective and safe for treating mild to moderate SUI and enhances sexual function, potentially due to changes in vaginal topography. These results suggest RF therapy as a viable non-surgical op-tion for managing SUI and improving sexual health.

Host immunological pathways have been proposed including TH1, TH2, TH3, TH9, TH17, TH22, TH1-like, and THαβ immune reactions. Besides TH2 and TH9 immune responses which are against multicellular parasites, host immunological pathways against viruses, intracellular micro-organisms (bacteria, protozoa, and fungi), and extracellular micro-organisms can use programmed cell death pathways to trigger immune reactions or to execute effective strategies to eliminate these pathogens. These programmed cell deaths include apoptosis, autophagic death, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, necroptosis, and NETosis. Apoptosis is related to host anti-virus eradicable THαβ immunity. Autophagic death is related to host anti-virus tolerable TH3 immunity. Pyroptosis is related to host anti-intracellular micro-organism eradicable TH1 immunity. Ferroptosis is related to host anti-intracellular micro-organism tolerable TH1-like immunity. Necroptosis is related to host anti-extracellular micro-organism eradicable TH22 immunity. NETosis is related to host anti-extracellular micro-organism tolerable TH17 immunity.

Pancreatitis and alcoholic pancreatitis are serious health concerns, and there is an urgent need for effective treatment strategies. Alcohol is a known etiological factor for pancreatitis, including acute pancreatitis (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP). Excessive alcohol consumption induces many pathological stress responses; of particular note is endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and adaptive unfolded protein response (UPR). ER stress results from the accumulation of unfolded/misfolded protein in the ER and is implicated in the pathogenesis of alcoholic pancreatitis. Here we summarize the possible mechanisms by which ER stress contributes to alcoholic pancreatitis. We also discuss potential approaches targeting ER stress and UPR for developing novel therapeutic strategies for the disease.

Refractive index measurements have been an important task for a long time because that index plays an essential role in describing the optical properties of a material. Many methods have been developed to perform that task. Some of them use interferometry to achieve high precision, however these configurations are complicated. Some measure the critical angle using simple structures, but the accuracy is not satisfactory because it is difficult to judge the exact critical angle with intensity variations. Here we propose several new schemes based on measuring the polarization change in the total internal reflection. The proposed method has the merits of simple structure and easy incident angle determination that gives the maximum phase change. Additionally, it is possible to find the material dispersion by measuring the wavelength dependence of the polarization ellipticity. Some useful formulas relating the refractive index with the maximum phase change are obtained. This work can provide valuable alternatives for index measurement.

This research studies the impact of shopping tourism on retail sales and rents, using the Covid-19 pandemic as a quasi-experiment. Shopping tourism refers to individuals who travel primarily for shopping purposes, and their spending patterns can have significant effects on the retail sector. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted global travel and resulted in a decline in shopping tourist arrivals, leading to a downturn in sales for retailers dependent on shopping tourism. Additionally, the decline in shopping tourism affected retail rents, as the reduced demand for retail spaces posed challenges for property owners in attracting tenants. The study focuses on Hong Kong, a prominent shopping destination, which experienced a significant decline in tourist arrivals and retail sales during the pandemic. The research analyzes the relationship between tourist arrivals, retail sales, and rents using time series analysis and identifies the impact of shopping tourism on retail spaces and rents. The findings suggest a positive association between tourist arrivals and retail sales, particularly during the period of shopping tourism growth. However, the pandemic severely reduced this effect, revealing the impact of shopping tourists on the retail sector. The study concludes by discussing the implications on retail resilience and highlighting the need for further research on the impacts of shopping tourists on retail sales and rents.

： Anti-MDA5 antibody bearing (anti-MDA5+)-dermatomyositis (DM) or polymyositis (PM) is notorious for causing rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RPILD) &amp;/or cancers with high mortality rate. However, anti-MDA5 antibodies (Abs) are also found in other connective tissue diseases and their link with RPILD especially with regards to the mortality rate are unknown. We retrospectively recruited 71 patients bearing anti-MDA5-Abs in serum, stratified them in terms of a presence or absence of RPILD, and evaluated their clinical features, laboratory findings, associated myositis antibodies, concurrent connective tissue disease (CTD) as well as newly developed malignancies. Thirty-nine (55%) patients presented with DM/PM but 32 (45%) didn’t. Twenty-two of the former and 11 of the latter developed RPILD eventually, accounting for a total of 46% of all MDA5 bearing patients. On the other hand, 15 of all 71 (21.1%) patients had cancers. Among 32 patients who didn’t have DM/PM, 27 (38.0% of all 71) had other CTDs, indicating that only 5 (7.0% of 71) patients did not have CTDs. Senility (odds ratio [OR]=1.816, P=0.032), presence of anti-Ro-52 antibody (OR=1.676, P=0.018), elevated C-reactive protein (CRP, OR= 4.354, P&lt;0.001) and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA, OR=2.625, P=0.005) posed risks for RPILD. High lactose dehydrogenase (LDH, p=0.009), CRP (p=0.001), CEA (p=0.001), ferritin (p ≤ 0.001) and low albumin (p ≤ 0.001) were significantly associated with mortality. Anti-SAE antibodies were negatively correlated with RPILD as analyzed by univariate (OR=0.245, P=0.017) and multivariate (OR= 0.058, P=0.036) regressions, indicating that they may be a protective factor from RPILD (OR= 0.543, P=0.008) or fatality (OR= 0.707, P=0.012), which was also demonstrated in subgroup analyses. In contrast to various risk factors for RPILD or mortality, anti-SAE antibodies might be conversely a protective factor in anti-MDA5+ patients.

The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of brain activity. Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology formed by the EEG signal has become one of the hotspots at present. How to extract the feature signal of EEG is the most basic research of BCI technology. In this paper, A new method of recognizing fatigue, conscious, concentrated state of human brain is proposed by the combination of discrete wavelet transform and the neural network based on EEG signal. First of all, the law signal is preprocessed by the wavelet denoising method because the law EEG signal contains a large number of high frequency noise, which is decomposed into multi-layer high frequency signal and low frequency signal. thus, δ wave, θ wave, α wave, β wave are obtained by the wavelet transform. And then, frequency band energy of the different wave is regards as the feature signal of EEG. In the experiment, the feature signal is classified by radial basic function (RBF) and annealed chaotic competitive learning network (ACCLN). RBF and ACCLN networks are trained with 500 sets of sample data and are tested by 100 sets of samples in different mental states. The experimental results show that the average accuracy of RBF network under three conditions are 88.75%, 88.25%, 88.5%, respectively, and the correct rate of ACCLN network is 97%, 98%, 98%, respectively.

Regulatory T cells are key immune cells to initiate tolerable immune responses. TGFβ is the key cytokine of regulatory T cells. TGFβ is also the master cytokine to stimulate tissue fibrosis. Systemic sclerosis is an autoimmune disease related to overt organ fibrosis. Thus, systemic sclerosis is a disease related to regulatory T cell over-representation. Besides, many end stage organ failures including heart failure, liver cirrhosis, uremia, and pulmonary fibrosis also related to tissue fibrosis. Thus, TGFβ producing regulatory T cells are also involved in the pathogenesis of these end stage organ failure. Once we know the significance of TGFβ and it induced tolerable immune reactions in the pathophysiology of end organ failure, we can develop better prevention or therapeutic strategies to combat these detrimental disorders.

Minimally invasive surgery for adult spinal deformities (MIS deformity surgery) utilizes MIS lumbar interbody fusion and percutaneous pedicle screw fixation (PPSF) without posterior corrective osteotomy. While MIS reduces issues associated with open deformity surgery, it has limitations in correcting sagittal imbalance. This review discusses the limitations and solutions of lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) and introduces our experience in addressing marked sagittal deformities. We reviewed the literature and incorporated our clinical experience to evaluate the efficacy of recent MIS techniques, particularly focusing on oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) at L1-5 and L5-S1. The use of higher profile and greater angle cages and the application of PPSF with curved rods and percutaneous rod compression were discussed. Advances in MIS techniques, such as OLIF, have enabled significant improvements in increasing disc height and angle. Combining these new techniques and concepts, we successfully corrected marked sagittal deformities using MIS deformity surgery. Early onset of proximal junctional kyphosis was identified as a notable complication. Although recent advancements in MIS deformity surgery have shown promise in correcting sagittal deformities, further clinical experience and data are necessary to enhance outcomes and mitigate complications such as proximal junctional kyphosis.

In previous researches, Job Crafting questionnaire to develop is consists of 3 factors which are Task Crafting, Cognitive Crafting, and Relationship Crafting with 12 to 17 items. The purpose of study is to develop JCQ for leisure sports instructor of Korean. 274 valid samples are used for analysis. Data collecting is purposeful sampling. At result, for Korean Sports Instructor Job Crafting Scale is constructed 3 factors with 12 items is constructed by 3 step procedure. KSIJCQ is confirmed on convergent discriminant validity evidence. In conclusion, KSIJCQ is a valid scale of the measuring and distributes Job Crafting of generalization in sports.

Cachexia is a syndrome characterized by an ongoing loss of skeletal muscle mass associated with poor patient prognosis in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, prognostic cachexia biomarkers in NSCLC are unknown. Here, we analyzed computed tomography (CT) images and tumor transcriptome data to identify potentially secreted cachexia biomarkers (PSCB) in NSCLC patients with low-muscularity. We integrated radiomics features (pectoralis muscle, sternum, and T10 vertebra) from CT of 89 NSCLC patients, which allowed us to identify an index for screening muscularity. Next, a tumor transcriptomic-based secretome analysis from these patients (discovery set) was evaluated to identify potential cachexia biomarkers in patients with low-muscularity. The prognostic value of these biomarkers for predicting recurrence and survival outcome was confirmed using expression data from eight lung cancer datasets (validation set). Finally, C2C12 myoblasts differentiated into myotubes were used to evaluate the ability of the selected biomarker, IL-8, in inducing muscle cell atrophy. We identified 75 over-expressed transcripts in patients with low-muscularity, which included IL6, CSF3, and IL8. Also, we identified NCAM1, CNTN1, SCG2, CADM1, IL8, NPTX1, and APOD as PSCB in the tumor secretome. These PSCB were capable of distinguishing worse and better prognosis (recurrence and survival) in NSCLC patients. IL8 was confirmed as a predictor of worse prognosis in all validation sets. In vitro assays revealed that IL-8 promoted C2C12 myotube atrophy. Tumors from low-muscularity patients presented a set of upregulated genes encoding for secreted proteins, including pro-inflammatory cytokines that predict worse overall survival in NSCLC. Among these up-regulated genes, IL8 expression in NSCLC tissues was associated with worse prognosis and the recombinant IL-8 was capable of triggering atrophy in C2C12 myotubes.

Currently, conventional spark-ignition engines face challenges in meeting the ever-growing demands of customers and increasingly stringent regulations regarding pollutant emissions. A combination of innovative strategies and carbon-neutral fuels is deemed necessary in order to further reduce fuel consumption and minimize engine emissions. The present work aims to assess the performance of combustion strategies using low-carbon content fuel, such as methanol M100, ignited by a plasma-assisted igniter (PAI) under ultra-lean conditions. The experimental campaign is conducted on a single-cylinder research engine at different engine speeds and low loads, moving up to the engine lean stable limits. To determine the benefits brought by the proposed strategy, referred to as M100-PAI, the obtained outcomes are compared with the ones obtained using market gasoline E5 ignited by the PAI system and conventional spark. The synergy between M100 (methanol) and Plasma Assisted Ignition (PAI) in internal combustion engines yielded notable benefits. This combination significantly improved combustion stability if compared to the other combinations tested, by extending the lean stable limit to λ=2.0, reducing cycle-to-cycle variability, and facilitating faster flame front acceleration, resulting in enhanced homogeneity. These enhancements, obtained with the combination M100-PAI, contributed to higher fuel efficiency showing a 10% efficiency gain over the combination E5-gasoline spark ignition.

This study explores the public library service evaluation domain through user-generated content on Google Maps, highlighting digital feedback's significant yet underexplored potential in understanding public library patronage across Taiwan's six major cities. Utilizing a mixed-methods research design, this study integrates Google Maps review content analysis with Social Network Analysis to delineate public perceptions and identify areas for service enhancement in public libraries. It innovatively leverages personal experiences extracted from over 60,000 Google Maps reviews to evaluate public library services in cities such as Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung. The research taps into the National Library of Taiwan's National Library Statistics System to provide a robust analysis of library performance and user satisfaction, offering a novel perspective by emphasizing user-centric feedback from Google Maps as a primary data source. This approach provides quantitative data on library usage and geographic distribution and enriches our understanding of the qualitative experiences of library users. In analyzing the keywords from Google Maps reviews of public libraries, we categorize and interpret these under the three core LibQUAL+ dimensions—Affect of Service, Information Control, and Library as Place. The findings expose variances in perceived service quality among the cities, with Kaohsiung and Taichung receiving the highest accolades for service satisfaction. Simultaneously, the study identifies potential areas for improvement, particularly in cities with lower satisfaction ratings like Taipei. This personalized feedback illustrates the intimate relationship between public libraries and their communities, offering invaluable insights for policymakers and library management to enhance service delivery and user experience.

The reactions of the angular ligand 4,4’-oxybis(N-(pyridin-3-yl)benzamide (L1) and 1,4-naphthalenedicarboxylic acid (1,4-H2NDC) with divalent metal salts yielded three distinct coordination polymers (CPs): {[Zn2(L1)(1,4-NDC)2]MeOH}n, 1, {[Cu(L1)(1,4-NDC)(H2O)]3H2O}n, 2, and {[Cd(L1)(1,4-NDC)]2H2O}n, 3. Complex 1 features a 2-fold interpenetrated 3D framework with the (412.63)-pcu topology, while complex 2 reveals a 1D triple-strained helical chain, and complex 3 displays a 3-fold interpenetrated 3D framework with (66)-dia topology. Additionally, the reactions of the flexible ligand N‚N’-bis(3-methylpyridyl)adipoamide (L2) afforded {[Co4(L2)0.5(1,4-NDC)3(H2O)3(µ3-OH)2]·EtOH·2H2O}n, 4, {[Zn2(L2)(1,4-NDC)2]·2CH3OH}n, 5, and [Cd(L2)(adipic)(H2O)]n (H2adipic = adipic acid), 6, exhibiting a self-catenated 3D framework with the (420.68)-8T32 topology, a 2D layer with the (413·62)-(4,4)IIb topology, and a 2D layer with the (44·62)-sql topology, respectively. The structural diversity observed in complexes 1 - 6 highlights the pivotal influence of the metal center on the degree of entanglement in CPs within mixed-ligand systems. The thermal stability and luminescent properties of complexes 1 - 3, 4, and 6 are also discussed.

The mechanism of immune activation and de-activation is very important. Host should trigger effective immunity against pathogen infection. And, host cannot trigger immunity against self-antigens that will lead to detrimental autoimmune disorders. Spleen and liver have opposite roles in mediating immune responses. Spleen is the organ involving in immune activation, and liver is the organ involving in immune de-activation. Sympathetic nerve system and parasympathetic nerve system have opposite roles in mediating immune responses. Sympathetic nerve system is involving in pro-inflammatory, and parasympathetic nerve system is involving in anti-inflammatory. ACTH and glucocorticosteroid have opposite roles in mediating immune responses. ACTH is involving in activating adaptive immunity with inhibiting innate immunity, and glucocorticosteroid is involving in activating innate immunity with inhibiting adaptive immunity. The molecular chaperons, heat shock proteins, which are induced by fever, have the vital roles in immune activation. On the contrary, IgD B cells and gamma-delta T cells are causing immune de-activation via the mechanism of clonal anergy. These mechanism can help us the know the work of immunological pathways better for better control of infectious diseases and autoimmune disorders.

This study aims to implement a SSDBI (single-stage differential boost inverter, SSDBI) applying in a single-stage BESS (battery energy storage system, BESS) topology, which can supply power from lower voltage battery module to AC load. Compared with the common two-stage topology, which has a two-stage converter and higher voltage battery module array, the single-stage topology can reduce the number of cells and components, and improve the power density. In addition, a modified SPWM control was proposed to reduce the control complexity of the SSDBI while improving the THD of the inverter. The modified SPWM control can reduce the duty ratio of the SSDBI and the stress on the components to improve the AC voltage output waveform and reduce the THD value about 2.654%.

Angiostrongylus cantonensis, a zoonotic parasite, can invade the human central nervous system (CNS) and cause acute eosinophilic meningitis or eosinophilic meningoencephalitis. Mice infected with A. cantonensis show elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, plasminogen activators, and matrix metalloproteinase-9, resulting in disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and immune cell infiltration into the CNS. Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) regulates the permeability of the BBB, which affects immune cells and cerebrospinal fluid. This intricate interaction ultimately fuels the progression of brain damage and edema. This study aims to investigate the regulatory role of Cav-1 in the pathogenesis of meningoencephalitis induced by A. cantonensis infection. We investigate pathological alterations by triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride, brain water content, BBB permeability, Western blot analysis, and gelatin zymography in BALB/c mice after A. cantonensis. The study evaluates the critical role of Cav-1 regulation through the TLR4 / MyD88 signaling pathway, modulates tight junction proteins, influences BBB permeability, and contributes to brain damage in A. cantonensis-induced meningoencephalitis.

Energy-efficient microprocessors are essential for a wide range of applications. While near-threshold computing is a promising technique to improve energy efficiency, optimal supply demands from logic core and on-chip memory are conflicting. In this paper, we perform static reliability analysis of 6T SRAM and discover the variance among different sizing configuration and asymmetric minimum voltage requirements between read and write operations. We leverage this asymmetric property in near-threshold processors equipped with voltage boosting capability by proposing an opportunistic dual-supply switching scheme with a write aggregation buffer. Our results show that proposed technique improves energy efficiency by more than 21.45% with approximate 10.19% performance speed-up.

Abstract: This study estimates consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainability turfgrass attributes such as low-input and stress-tolerance attributes, while considering potential trade-off relationships between aesthetic attributes and sustainability attributes. To address our objectives, our study conducts a choice experiment and estimates two mixed logit models. The first model includes low-input, winter kill, and shade-tolerance attributes as predictor variables, and the second model extends the first model by adding interaction terms between aesthetic and sustainability attributes. Another choice experiment is conducted under water policies with various water rate increase and watering restriction scenarios. Results from the mixed logit models show that overall, higher low-input cost reduction, less winter-damaged, and more shade-tolerance grasses are preferred, the direct effect of aesthetic attributes on consumers’ preference is strong, but the indirect effect represented by the interaction terms are generally statistically insignificant. Our results indicate that consumers like to have a pretty lawn, but no strong consideration is given to the aesthetics of their lawn when selecting low-input and stress-tolerance turfgrasses. Our choice experiment under water policy scenarios suggests that water pricing is more effective than watering restriction in increasing consumer demand for water-conserving turfgrasses.

With recent advancements in network technology and spread of Internet, use of social network services and Internet of Things devices has flourished, leading to a continuous generation of large volumes of graph stream data, where changes, such as additions or deletions of vertices and edges occur over time. Additionally, owing to the need for efficient use of storage space and security requirements, graph stream data compression has become essential in various applications. Even though various studies on graph compression methods have been conducted, most of them do not fully reflect the dynamic characteristics of graph streams and complexity of large graphs. In this paper, we propose a compression scheme using provenance data to efficiently process and analyze large graph stream data. It obtains provenance data by analyzing graph stream data and builds a pattern dictionary based on this to perform dictionary-based compression. By improving the existing dictionary-based graph compression methods, it enables more efficient dictionary management through tracking pattern changes and evaluating their importance using provenance. Furthermore, it considers the relationships among sub-patterns using an FP-tree and performs pattern dictionary management that updates pattern scores based on time. Our experiments show that the proposed scheme outperforms existing graph compression methods in key performance metrics, such as compression rate and processing time.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a rare disease with high mortality despite recent therapeutic advances. The disease is caused by both genetic and environmental factors, and likely gene x environment interactions. While PAH can manifest across the lifespan, pediatric-onset disease is particularly challenging because it is frequently associated with a more severe clinical course and comorbidities including lung/heart developmental anomalies. In light of these differences, it is perhaps not surprising that emerging data from genetic studies of pediatric-onset PAH indicate that the genetic basis is different than that of adults. There is a greater genetic burden in children, with rare genetic factors contributing to at least 36% of pediatric-onset idiopathic PAH (IPAH) compared to ~11% of adult-onset IPAH. De novo variants are frequently associated with PAH in children, and contribute to at least 15% of all pediatric cases. The standard of medical care for pediatric PAH patients is based on extrapolations from adult data. However, the increased etiologic heterogeneity, poorer prognosis and increased genetic burden for pediatric-onset PAH calls for a dedicated pediatric research agenda to improve molecular diagnosis and clinical management. A genomics-first approach will improve the understanding of pediatric PAH and how it is related to other rare pediatric genetic disorders.

To avoid loss of information and incorrect ranking, this paper proposes a method for ranking generalized fuzzy numbers, which guarantees both horizontal and vertical values are important parameters affecting the final ranking score. In this method, the normalized height coefficient is introduced to evaluate the influence of the height of fuzzy numbers on the final ranking score. The higher the normalized height coefficient of a fuzzy number is, the higher its ranking. The left area and the right area are presented to calculate the impact of vertical value on the final ranking score. The left area is considered the benefit area. The right area is considered the cost area. The fuzzy number is preferred if the benefit area is larger and the cost area is smaller. The proposed method can be employed to rank both normal and non-normal fuzzy numbers without normalization or height minimization. Numerical examples and comparison with other methods highlight the feasibility and robustness of the proposed method, which can overcome the shortcomings of some existing methods and can support decision-makers to select the best alternative.

The size of seeds is particularly important for agricultural development, as it is a key trait that determines yield. It is controlled by the coordinated development of the integument, endosperm, and embryo. Large seeds are one of the important ways to improve the ultimate “sink strength” of crops, providing more nutrients for early plant growth and showing certain tolerance to abiotic stresses. There are several pathways for regulating plant seed size, including the HAIKU (IKU) pathway, ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, G (Guanosine triphosphate) protein regulatory pathway, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, transcriptional regulators pathway, phytohormone regulatory pathways including auxin, brassinosteroid (BR), gibberellin (GA), jasmonic acid (JA), cytokinin (CK), Abscisic acid (ABA), and MicroRNAs (miRNAs) regulatory pathway. This article summarized the seed size regulatory network and prospected ways to improve yield. We expect to provide valuable reference to researcher in the related field.

In this paper we present the exploration of indoor positioning technologies for UAVs, and navigation techniques for path planning and obstacle avoidance. The objective is to perform warehouse inventory tasks using a drone to search for barcodes or markers to identify the objects. For the indoor positioning techniques, we employ Visual-Inertial Odometry (VIO), Ultra-Wideband (UWB), AprilTag fiducial markers, and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). These algorithms encompass global positioning, local positioning, and pre-mapping positioning, comparing the merits and drawbacks of various techniques and trajectories. In UAV navigation, we combine SLAM-based RTAB-Map indoor mapping and navigation path planning of the ROS for indoor environments. This system enables precise drone positioning indoors and utilizes global and local path planners to generate flight paths that avoid dynamic, static, unknown, and known obstacles, demonstrating high practicality and feasibility. To achieve the warehouse inventory inspection, a reinforcement learning approach is proposed to recognize the markers by adjusting the UAV's viewpoint. We address several main problems in inventory management, including efficiently planning paths while ensuring a certain level of detection rate. Two reinforcement learning techniques, AC (Actor-Critic) and PPO (Proximal Policy Optimization), are implemented based on AprilTag identification. Testing is performed in both simulated and real-world environments, and the effectiveness of the proposed method is validated.Code is available at https://github.com/kellen080/Navigation and https://github.com/kellen080/Indoor\_Positioning.

Longitudinal image registration of pulmonary computed tomography (PCT) images may serve as an essential tool for investigating the relationship between radiation dose distribution and the occurrence and phenotype of radiation-induced lung disease (RILD). Although numerous longitudinal registration algorithms have been developed for PCT, most similarity-based approaches are not suitable for PCT involving RILD due to the complex tissue variation between two PCT images. Moreover, conventional feature-based approaches might fail to find a sufficient number of matched pairs of feature points due to the disparate lung deformation caused by breathing and RILD. To overcome the challenges resulting from RILD, component structure coherence point drift (CSCPD) was proposed to establish a deformation model by decomposing the chest into several components and matching them with individual parameters based on coherence point drift (CPD). Moreover, a regional vascular point matching (RVPM) algorithm was proposed to generate a vascular subtree and to substantially increase the number of corresponding pairs between two images. Eventually, the components were recomposed and aligned by a thin plate spline algorithm. A performance assessment on 15 pairs of PCT images of patients with RILD yielded recall and precision values of 0.85 and 0.89 for RVPM, respectively. Moreover, the target registration error of CSCPD with RVPM (2.3 ± 1.79) was significantly better than that of conventional CPD with RVPM (2.95 ± 1.89) and conventional CPD (5.04 ± 2.87). Therefore, the proposed registration system is robust enough to address the disparate deformation of lungs with RILD, and it improves registration accuracy within the parenchyma.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prevalent autoimmune condition, yet its alignment with a specific host immunological pathway remains unclear. The THαβ host immunological pathway, recognized for its defense against viruses and prions, has recently emerged as a response to DNA, RNA, and protein pathogens. SLE patients often produce anti-double strand DNA antibodies and anti-nuclear antibodies, suggesting a potential association with the THαβ host immune reaction. Throughout the course of SLE, elevated levels of type 1 interferons, type 3 interferons, interleukin-10, IgG1, and IgA1 are commonly observed. These cytokines and antibody isotypes are indicative of the THαβ host immunological pathway. Similarly, Myasthenia gravis, Grave’s disease, Graft versus host disease, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, immune thrombocytopenia, dermatomyositis, and Sjogren’s syndrome are also linked to THαβ-related type 2 hypersensitivities. Considering the potential association of these diseases with dysregulated THαβ immune responses, therapeutic strategies such as anti-interleukin-10 or anti-interferons α/β could be explored to manage these disorders effectively.

Dry eye syndrome (DES) has become increasingly prevalent due to the prolonged use of digital devices in modern society. Individual supplementation with lutein or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) demonstrated potential benefits for eye health. This study aimed to investigate the effects of lutein plus DHA complex supplementation on DES, visual function, and memory in healthy individuals. Thirty-four participants, aged 40~60 years, received lutein/DHA complex supplements (containing 10 mg free-form lutein, 200 mg DHA, 30 mg red algae extract (astaxanthin), phosphatidylserine, and vitamin A) for 12 weeks. Ophthalmological examinations and memory tests were carried out, and a questionnaire was administered at weeks 0, 6, and 12 of the study. After 12 weeks of the intervention, the tear break-up time had significantly increased, and intraocular pressure (IOP) had significantly decreased. This suggests that lutein/DHA complex supplementation may reduce the IOP and offer potential benefits for DES, as indicated by improved tear stability.

Background: During pregnancy, major physiological changes occur in every system. Understanding the hemodynamic changes in different stages of pregnancy can help to identify abnormal states during pregnancy. Harmonic analysis could be a useful tool in monitoring the state of the ventricular-arterial system during pregnancy. The aim of this study was to investigate the specific statistical relationships between changes in harmonic indices during different stages of pregnancy. Methods: A Total of 380 women (190 pregnant women and 190 age-matched non-pregnant women), with ages ranging from 20 to 45, were enrolled in the study. The visit measured the subject’s hemodynamic parameters including heart rate, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and photoplethysmography (PPG). SBP and DBP were evaluated by an automatic blood pressure monitor. PPG signal were continuously recorded for 12-seconds using a PPG sensor. Spectrum analysis of the PPG signal was performed to evaluate the first five harmonic components (C1 – C5) and harmonic phases (P1 – P5). Result: A comparison between pregnant women and non-pregnant women showed that the non-pregnant women had lower DBP, C3, C5 and P5 (p<0.05). Waist Circumference, Heart rate, C2, C4 and P2 were higher in pregnant women. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the associations between pregnancy and harmonics indices. C2, C4 and P3 were positively and P1 and P4 were negatively associated with pregnancy after controlling age, BMI, waist circumference, heart rate, SBP and DBP. Conclusion: The results of this study provide information on the changes in the harmonic frequency components during various stages of pregnancy. The harmonic components of the PPG signal have independent predictive value for changes in a woman's physiology during pregnancy. Since non-invasive PPG measurements can be performed frequently and easily, in the future, it is possible that the hemodynamic changes from some pregnancy-related disorders could be studied by harmonic analysis.

This paper proposes a single-stage asymmetrical half-bridge fly-back (AHBF) converter with resonant mode using dual-mode control. The presented converter has an integrated boost converter and asymmetrical half-bridge fly-back converter and operates in resonant mode. The boost-cell always operates in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) to achieve high power factor. The presented converter operates simultaneously using a variable-frequency-controller (VFC) and pulse-width-modulation (PWM) controller. Unlike the conventional single-stage design, the intermediate bus voltage of this controller can be regulated depending on the main power switch duty ratio. The asymmetrical half-bridge fly-back converter utilizes a variable switching frequency controller to achieve the output voltage regulation. The asymmetrical half-bridge fly-back converter can achieve zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) operation and significantly reduce the switching losses. Detailed analysis and design of this single-stage asymmetrical half-bridge fly-back converter with resonant mode is described. A wide AC input voltage ranging from 90 to 264 Vrms and output 19 V/ 120 W prototype converter was built to verify the theoretical analysis and performance of the presented converter.

The coronavirus disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 (known as COVID 19) is highly contagious and has spread rapidly over 200 countries over last three months. WHO suggested urgent escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, as the "backbone" of managing the pandemic. Globally, the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in patients are done by RT-PCR and blood antibody-based testing. In addition to the existing processes, flow-cytometry could be used as a high-throughput and efficient diagnostic method for detection of COVID 19. The suspected COVID 19 samples can be analyzed using ‘Indirect flow cytometry’, with the specific primary antibody and fluorescent tagged secondary antibodies. The fluorescence signal can distinguish the infected v/s non-infected samples. In the present article, we have summarized the applications of Flow virometry to study various viruses and have proposed possible application in the detection of COVID 19.

Recently, design of electric scooters (ESs) has commonly adopted brushless DC motors (BLDCMs) in place of brushed DC motors. This invention develops a new anti-lock braking system (ABS), based on a slip-ratio estimator, for ES utilizing the braking force generated by the BLDCM when electrical energy releases to the load yielding an analogous effect of ABS control in gas-engine vehicles. Comparing to mechanical ABS, the design possesses the advantages of rapid torque responses due to fast actuating response. The electrical ABS is realized by associating with kinematic and Short-circuit braking. A current controller is used to adjust the braking force, while the sliding mode control strategy is adopted to regulate the slip ratio for best road adhesion while braking. Real-world experiments have been conducted for functional and performance verification.

Gymnema sylvestre is a pharmacological plant which has a rich source of bioactive compounds specifically gymnemic acid (GA) and phenolic compounds (PC) that used for pharmaceutical industries. Sources for naturally occurring bioactive compounds are limited, due to geographical and seasonal variations; on the other hand, it is commercially in demand. Biosynthesis of G. sylvestre phytochemicals through in vitro culture often enhanced by elicitation. The use of cell suspension cultures (CSC) has interested serious attention on the production of essential phytochemicals. The current study is aimed at improving the contents of GA and PC in G. sylvestre CSC using the copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs). Callus was obtained on MS medium with 2.0 mg/L 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), 0.1 mg/L kinetin (KIN), phytoagar (8.0 g/L), and sucrose (30 g/L). The above medium devoid of agar was used for the initiation of CSC. The CSC was treated with three levels of CuO NPs (1, 3 or 5 mg/L) to enhance the production of GA and PC. The greatest amount of GA (89.25 mg/g dry cell mass, DCM), total phenolic (245.10 mg/g), and flavonoid (4.57 mg/g) in CSC were achieved when G. sylvestre cells were treated for 48 h with 3 mg/L CuO NPs. Also, the biomedical potential (antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer activities) were also high in the CuO NPs (3 mg/L) treated CSC extracts of G. sylvestre. CuO NPs elicitation of CSC significantly increased production of GA (9-fold), and PC than non-elicited CSC in G. sylvestre.

Due to their independent structure, piping, and access, townhouses offer great flexibility in floor plan changes and high spatial autonomy, making them the mainstream housing type in Taiwan. This study focuses on row houses and examines 2022 completion cases in Kaohsiung City. It collects floor plans from 14 newly constructed buildings, totaling 227 units, and analyzes spatial dimensions including facade width, depth, habitable room, staircases, bathrooms, and total floor area for each case. The objective of this study is to examine the spatial layout of row houses in Kaohsiung City, with the aim of providing reference for future planning and design of such structures. The study resulted showed that 81.8% of the row houses analyzed have a total floor area per unit ranging from 136 to 192 m², a facade width between 4.1 and 6.38 meters, and a building depth from 7.67 to 12.68 meters. In addition, low negative correlation between facade width and total floor area, a high positive correlation between building depth and total floor area, and a moderate negative correlation between facade width and building depth. The spatial distribution within these houses includes 78% allocated to habitable room, 13.1% to staircases, and 8.7% to bathrooms. The total area of habitable room and bathrooms increases with the total floor area of the building. However, the total area of staircases remains almost constant as the area of habitable room increases. Furthermore, the most common location for staircase planning is the rear-right (RB) position, while the least common is the rear-left (LB) position. Among various staircase types, the C-shaped staircase has the largest average area per floor and the highest average proportion. Conversely, the I-shaped staircase has the smallest average area and the lowest average proportion. The U-shaped staircase is the most frequently planned, whereas the C-shaped staircase is the least frequently used.

Autophagy is a highly conserved self-degradation process involving the degradation and recycling of cellular components and organelles. Although the involvement of autophagy in metabolic changes during fruit ripening has been preliminarily demonstrated, the variations in autophagic flux and specific functional roles in fruit ripening remain to be elucidated. In this study, we analyzed the occurrence of autophagy during tomato fruit ripening. The results revealed differential expression of SlATG8 family member during tomato fruit ripening. Transmission electron microscopy observations and dansylcadaverine (MDC) staining confirmed the presence of autophagy at the cellular level in tomato fruits. Furthermore, the overexpression of SlATG8f induced the formation of autophagosomes, increased autophagic flux within tomato fruits, effectively enhanced the expression of ATG8 proteins during the color transition phase of fruit ripening, thereby promoting tomato fruit maturation. This overexpression also led to the accumulation of vitamin C (VC) and soluble solids while reducing acidity in the fruit. Collectively, our findings highlight the pivotal role of SlATG8f in enhancing tomato fruit ripening, providing insights into the mechanistic involvement of autophagy in this process. This research contributes to a better understanding of key factors regulating tomato fruit quality and offers a theoretical basis for tomato variety improvement.

The application of Virtual Reality in a driving simulation is not novel, yet little is known about the use of this technology by senior populations. The effects of age, sex, control device (joystick or handlebar), and task type on wayfinding proficiency using a virtual reality (VR) driving simulation were explored. The driving experimental model involved 96 randomly recruited participants, including 48 young people and 48 seniors (split evenly by gender in each group). The experimental results and statistical analyses indicate that in a VR driving scenario task type significantly affected VR driving performance. Navigational scores were significantly higher for the straight (easy) task than for the curved (difficult) task. The aging effect was the main reason for significant and interacting effects of sex and control device. It was found that interactions between age and sex difference indicated that the young group exhibited better wayfinding performance than the senior group, and in the young group males had better performance than females. Similarly, interactions between age and control device indicated that the handlebar control device type resulted in better performance than the joystick device in the young group, but no difference was found in the senior group due to age or learning effects. Findings provide an understanding of the evaluation of the interface designs of navigational support systems, taking into consideration any effects of age, sex, control device, and task type within three-dimensional VR games and driving systems. With a VR driving simulator, seniors can test drive inaccessible products, such as electric bicycles or cars, using a computer at home.

Concrete cracks and local damage can affect the bond performance between concrete and steel bars, thereby reducing the durability of reinforced concrete structures. Compared with general concrete crack repair methods, biomineralization repair not only has effective bonding capabilities but is also particularly environmentally friendly. In view of this, this study aimed to apply biomineralization technology to repair damaged fiber-reinforced lightweight aggregate concrete (LWAC). Two groups of LWAC specimens were prepared. The control group used lightweight aggregates (LWAs) without bacterial spores and nutrient sources, and the experimental group used LWAs containing bacterial spores and nutrient sources. These specimens were first subjected to compression tests and pull-out tests, respectively, and thus were damaged. After the damaged specimen healed itself in different ways for 28 days, secondary compression and pull-out tests were conducted. The self-healing method of the control group involved placing the specimens in an incubator. The experimental group was further divided into experimental group I and experimental group II. The self-healing method of experimental group I was the same as that of the control group. The self-healing method of experimental group II involved soaking the specimen in a mixed solution of urea and calcium acetate for two days, and then taking it out and placing it in an incubator for two days, with a cycle of four days. The test results showed that, compared with the control group specimens, the relative bond strength ratio of the experimental group II specimens increased by 17.9%. Moreover, the EDS and XRD analysis results confirmed that the precipitate formed at the crack was calcium carbonate, which improved the compressive strength and bond strength after self-healing. This indicates that the biomineralization maintenance method used in experimental group II is more effective.

Since 2007, highly pathogenic clade 2.3.2 H5N1 avian influenza A [A(H5N1)] viruses have evolved to clade 2.3.2.1a, b and c, and currently only 2.3.2.1c A(H5N1) viruses circulate in wild birds and poultry. During antigenic evolution, clade 2.3.2.1a and c A(H5N1) viruses acquired both S144N and V223I mutations around the receptor binding site of hemagglutinin (HA), with S144N generating an N-glycosylation sequon. We introduced single or combined reverse mutations, N144S and/or I223V, into the HA gene of clade 2.3.2.1c A(H5N1) virus and generated PR8-derived, 2 + 6 recombinant A(H5N1) viruses. When we compared replication efficiency in embryonated chicken eggs, mammalian cells and mice, the recombinant virus containing both N144S and I223V mutations showed increased replication efficiency in avian and mammalian hosts and pathogenicity in mice. The N144S mutation significantly decreased avian receptor affinity and egg white inhibition, but not all mutations increased mammalian receptor affinity. Interestingly, the combined reverse mutations dramatically increased the thermostability of HA. Therefore, the adaptive mutations possibly acquired to evade avian immunity may decrease viral thermostability as well as mammalian pathogenicity.

Gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors in adults. Despite multidisciplinary treatment approaches, the survival rates for patients with malignant glioma have only improved marginally, and few prognostic biomarkers have been identified. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a crucial regulator of cancer metabolism, playing a vital role in cancer cell adaptation to fluctuating energy demands. In this study, the clinicopathological roles of PGC-1α in gliomas were evaluated. Employing immunohistochemistry, cell culture, siRNA transfection, cell viability assays, western blot analyses, and in vitro and in vivo invasion and migration assays, we explored the functions of PGC-1α in glioma progression. High PGC-1α expression was significantly associated with an advanced pathological stage in patients with glioma and with poorer overall survival. The downregulation of PGC-1α inhibited glioma cell proliferation, invasion, and migration and altered the expression of oncogenic markers. These results conclusively demonstrated that PGC-1α plays a critical role in maintaining the malignant phenotype of glioma cells and indicated that targeting PGC-1α could be an effective strategy to curb glioma progression and improve patient survival outcomes.

Background: Only few studies have studied the link between risk perception and sleep in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigates the effect of two distinct risk appraisals—risk perception and perception of collective coordinated defense (PCCD) on Chinese adults’ sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic, and tested COVID-19-related fear and rumination as potential mediators of the relationships. Methods: Data were collected using a self-report online questionnaire from a sample of 224 Chinese adults during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong. Results: COVID-19 risk perception and PCCD were related to poor sleep quality. Mediation analysis showed that both fear and rumination mediated the relationship between risk perception and sleep quality, whereas only fear mediated the relationship between PCCD and sleep quality. The model showed an excellent fit to the data and accounted for 44% of the variance in sleep quality in Chinese adults. Conclusions: This study demonstrates the distinct perceptual processes—risk appraisals in particular—contributed to poor sleep quality in Chinese adults during the COVID-19 public emergencies. These findings would be helpful for policy makers to address the sleep problems induced by psychological consequences of the pandemic.

This study focused on the precise detection and concordant analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) to verify the usefulness of CTCs as promising clinical markers. CTCs are traditionally achieved using immune-fluorescence and morphological techniques. By combining two prostate cancer-specific genes (PSA and PSMA) and two epithelial-specific genes (EpCAM and KRT19), the CTC detection efficiency can be enhanced. The detection rates of localized prostate cancer (LPC), locally advanced prostate cancer (LAPC), metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC), and metastatic castration-resistive prostate cancer (mCRPC) were 63.04 % (29/46), 70.59% (34/51), 94.34% (50/53), and 90% (126/140), respectively. Subsequent correlation analysis between the four genes, baseline PSA, and CTC count revealed that only the CTC count correlated with baseline PSA in the localized stages of prostate cancer, whereas all four genes were correlated with baseline PSA and CTC count in the metastatic stages of prostate cancer. The precise detection of CTCs using both numerical and transcriptomic analyses can improve the accuracy of biomarker investigations. This study provides valuable insights into the limitations of serum PSA testing and offers a promising alternative to diagnose and manage prostate cancer via the CTC number and specific genes for prostate cancer.

Bisphenol A (BPA) has been identified as one of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Due to its massive production (over 700,000 tons per year) and the extensive use of BPA-based plastics (i.e., polycarbonate and epoxy resin) in Taiwan, it was thus included into a toxic substance by the Ministry of Environment. This work surveyed the updated information about the production of BPA and its environmental distributions in Taiwan over the past decade. Furthermore, the regulatory strategies and countermeasures for managing the environmental risks of BPA by the Taiwan government were summarized to show the cross-ministerial efforts under the relevant acts, including the Toxic and Concerned Chemical Substances Control Act (TCCSCA), the Food Sanitation Management Act (FSMA) and the Commodity Inspection Act (CIA). The findings showed that most of the monitoring data showed far below the acceptable risks. However, the people may pose an adverse threat to the aquatic environment and human health via ecological and food chains. In addition, some countermeasures were further recommended to echo the international actions on environmental endocrine disruptors in recent years.

According to many research groups, high glucose induces over production of superoxide anions, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) in general is the link between high glucose levels and the toxicities seen at cellular levels. Respiratory complex anomalies could lead to the production of ROS. Calcium [Ca2+], at physiological levels serves as a second messenger in many physiological functions. Accordingly, mitochondrial calcium [Ca2+]m overload leads to ROS production which could be lethal to the mitochondria through various mechanisms. The F1F0-ATPase (ATP syn-thase or complex V) is the enzyme that is responsible for catalyzing the final step of oxidative phosphorylation. It does so by coupling the translocation of protons in the mitochondrial in-termembrane space and shuttling them to the mitochondrial matrix for ATP synthesis to take place. Mitochondrial complex V T8993G mutation specifically blocks the translocation of protons across the intermembrane space thereby blocking ATP synthesis leading to Neuropathy, Ataxia and Retinitis Pigmentosa Syndromes (NARP). This study seeks to explore the possibility of [Ca2+]m overload mediating the pathological roles of high glucose in defective respiratory chain mediated mitochondrial stress. The NARP cybrids are the in vitro experimental models for the cells with F1FO-ATPase defects, these cells harbor 98% of mtDNA T8993G mutation. Their coun-terparts 143B osteosarcoma cell lines are the parental cell lines used for comparisons. We uncov-ered that, NARP cells mediated and enhanced the death of the cells (apoptosis) when incubated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and high glucose respectively as depicted by the MTT assay of cell viability. Furthermore, using the fluorescence probe-coupled laser scanning confocal imag-ing microscopy, NARP cells significantly enabled mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS) formation and enhanced the depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Elucidating the mechanisms of sugar enhanced toxicity on mitochondria would help in the fu-ture to alleviate the symptoms of patients associated with (NARP) syndromes.

In this review, the following information describes the manifestation of sleep deprivation by human beings and its adverse effect on their health. Sleep deprivation has been demonstrated into namely two types known as REM sleep and NREM sleep affecting our health in so a problematic way that it is making our body immune to many diseases leading to lethal problems. Therefore, great research by many scientists has discovered that the turmeric “Curcuma longa” which is been used in every Indian kitchen since ancient times, has shown a remarkable effect on the problem caused by sleep deprivation but due to its poor solubility and low bioavailability drawn it into a great disadvantage. But the help of the study of nanotechnology and the evolution of curcumin into nano–curcumin made the possibility of the remarkable effect by making the curcumin more potent and enhancing its stability. Immunological changes due to sleep deprivation lead to Alzheimer’s disease, glioma, neuropathic pains, and many more. Therefore, this review has been summarized as it is been providing information related to curcumin and its affection for sleep deprivation.

Construction using earth materials demonstrates ecological sustainability using locally sourced natural materials and environmentally friendly demolition methods. In this study, the environmental impact of adding cement to soil materials for rammed-earth farmhouse construction in rural China was investigated and comparatively simulated using the One Click LCA database, focusing on the conflict between sustainability objectives and the practical aspects of cement addition. By analyzing how the addition of cement aligns with local construction practices and by addressing the debate surrounding the inclusion of cement in rammed earth construction, our objective is to provide insights into achieving a balance between the environmental impact and the pragmatic considerations of using cement in earthen building practices. Three local structure scenarios are evaluated via simulations: a cement-stabilized rammed earth wall, a fired brick wall, and a localized reinforced concrete frame structure. The quantitative environmental impacts are assessed, and the qualitative differences in adaptation, economic sustainability, and other factors are examined in the context of present-day development in rural China. The results show that the use of cement-stabilized rammed earth wall-supported structures is associated with higher embodied carbon emissions compared to structures supported by reinforced concrete frames and enclosed by brick walls; however, these emissions are lower than those for brick wall-supported structures, while effectively meeting the structural requirements. In addition, the use of cement-stabilized earth for perimeter walls simplifies material management and disposal throughout the building's life cycle, and the cost-effectiveness of cement has been found to be substantially greater than that of reinforced concrete frames and brick structures, improving economic viability and social acceptability, especially among low-income communities in rural areas.

In this work, we report the electric energy storage properties of (1-x)Bi0.5(Na0.8K0.2)0.5TiO3-xBi0.2Sr0.7TiO3 (BNKT-BST; x = 0.15-0.50) relaxor ferroelectric ceramics enhanced via a domain engineering method. A rhombohedral–tetragonal phase, the formation of highly dynamic PNRs, and a dense microstructure are confirmed from XRD, Raman vibrational spectra, and microscopic investigations. The relative dielectric permittivity (2664 at 1 kHz) and loss factor (0.058) were gradually improved with BST (x=0.45). The incorporation of BST into BNKT can disturb the long-range ferroelectric order, lowering the dielectric maximum temperature Tm and inducing the formation of highly dynamic polar nano-regions. In addition, the Tm shifts toward high temperature with frequency and a diffuse phase transition, indicating relaxor ferroelectric characteristics of BNKT-BST ceramics, which is confirmed by the modified Curie Weiss law (γ=1.83). The rhombohedral–tetragonal phase, fine grain size, and lowered Tm with relaxor properties synergistically contribute to a high recoverable energy density Wrec of 0.81 J/cm3 and a high energy efficiency η of 86.95% at 90 kV/cm for x = 0.45.