Recanalization of an Occluded Intrahepatic Portosystemic Covered Stent via the Percutaneous Transhepatic Approach

Chih-Yang Chan,Po-Chin Liang 대한영상의학회 2010 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.11 No.4

A 41-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis had recurrent portal hypertension and bleeding from esophageal varices due to complete occlusion of a previously inserted transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt stent. Because recanalization of the stent by the transjugular approach was unsuccessful, ultrasound-guided entry to the splenic vein and portal vein was used. After catheter-directed intrathrombus thrombolysis, successful opening of the stent was achieved and a stent was placed. We herein report a rare case in which thrombolysis and recanalization of a TIPS stent were performed via a percutaneous transhepatic approach.

Dynamics of rate of returns for postgraduate education in Taiwan: the impact of higher education expansion

Chih-Hai Yang,Chun-Hung A. Lin,Chien-Ru Lin 서울대학교 교육연구소 2011 Asia Pacific Education Review Vol.12 No.3

This paper analyzes the dynamics of rate of returns for postgraduate education and the determinants of wage premiums for postgraduate labor, especially for the impact of higher education expansions, in terms of quantity and quality, since the late 1990s in Taiwan. Utilizing quasi-panel data over the 1990-2004 period and employing the double fixed effect model, the empirical results first confirm the existence of wage premiums for workers with postgraduate degrees. However, the analysis on the dynamics of wage premiums finds that it ranged from only 1.40 to 11.67% and decreased sharply in 2004, indicating that the pecuniary reward for postgraduate qualification seems not to be as high as expected. Along with the rapid expansion of higher education, the concern about its negative impact on rate of returns to education is witnessed in this study. The sharp increase in the supply of postgraduate labors appears to have a negative impact on an individual's wage premium. Similarly, a decline in the postgraduate labor quality along with higher education expansion has contributed to a negative wage effect.

Antiproliferative and Antitumorigenic Activity of Toona sinensis Leaf Extracts in Lung Adenocarcinoma

Chih-Jen Yang,Yu-Jung Huang,Cheng-Yuan Wang,Chuan-Sheng Wang,Pei-Hui Wang,Jen-Yu Hung,Tung-Heng Wang,Hseng-Kuang Hsu,Hurng-Wern Huang,S.P. Anand Kumar,Ming-Shyan Huang,Ching-Feng Weng 한국식품영양과학회 2010 Journal of medicinal food Vol.13 No.1

Toona sinensis is a traditional Chinese herb, and the extracts of T. sinensis leaf possess a variety of biological functions. This study attempted to test the antiproliferative effect of TSL-1 (a bioactive fraction of T. sinensis) in H441 cells (lung adenocarcinoma). The data showed that the antiproliferative effect of TSL-1 on H441 cells is prominent using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. TSL-1-induced apoptosis was confirmed by cell morphology, sub-G1 peak accumulation, cleavage of poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase, and propidium iodide-annexin V double staining. Furthermore, decreased Bcl-2 accompanied by increased Bax (in western blotting) was found with TSL-1 treatment of H441 cells. TSL-1 treatment-induced G1 arrest was concurrent with the down-regulation of protein levels of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 4 in H441 cells. Peroral and intraperitoneal administrations of TSL-1 were performed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy, and peroral administration of TSL-1 was also used to elucidate the therapeutic efficacy in the H441 cell xenograft model in vivo. The data revealed that TSL-1 treatment inhibited H441 tumor growth in both therapeutic and preventive experiments. Taken together, these results demonstrate that TSL-1 possesses the capability of preventing and alleviating lung cancer proliferation in vitro and in vivo with proven nephrological and hepatic safety and has the potential to be developed as an anti–lung cancer drug.

Shipping Policy of Taiwanese government on FOC

Yang, Yi-chih 한국해운물류학회 2001 해운물류:이론과실천 Vol.- No.1

As Taiwan government cancelled a series of financial aids and cargo reservation systems for national fleet, many national carriers has transferred their vessel into flag of convenience in term of FOC, registering in foreign tax heaven countries such as Liberia, Panama, etc. Accordingly, the number of gross tons and dead weight tonnages of national fleet were seriously lessening the past ten year, there will be no commercial vessels available for national mobilization if the issue can't be solved at present. Despite our government had laid out a number of alternatives to deal with FOC issues such as vessel construction fund and foreign seaman number allowances, however it seems to be no any attractive points for our national shipping companies. The paper attempts figure out the issues of national fleet flagging out, and find out some reasonable schemes for Taiwan government as a reference. The methodology is to adopt National Aids Model argued by Masao Oda(1979) to make a comparison between domestic and major maritime countries on shipping policy of FOC. The conclusion is to offer a number of Shipping aid measures for national fleet, for example shipping tax incentives, easing restriction of foreign seafarer number, adopting shipcargo cooperative system, shipping policy deregulation, across Taiwan straits shipping routes preference, shipping construction fund, etc.

Serum and Pleural Fluid Procalcitonin in Predicting Bacterial Infection in Patients with Parapneumonic Effusion

Yang-Ching Ko,Wen-Pin Wu,Chi-Sen Hsu,Mong-Ping Dai,Chien-Chih Ou,Chih-Hsiung Kao 대한의학회 2009 Journal of Korean medical science Vol.24 No.3

This study evaluated the value of procalcitonin (PCT) levels in pleural effusion to differentiate the etiology of parapneumonic effusion (PPE). Forty-one consecutive PPE patients were enrolled and were divided into bacterial and non-bacterial PPE. Blood and pleural effusion samples were collected for PCT measurement on admission and analyzed for diagnostic evaluation. PCT of pleural fluid was significantly increased in the bacterial PPE group (0.24 ng/mL) compared to the non-bacterial PPE group (0.09 ng/mL), but there was no significant difference for serum PCT. A PCT concentration of pleural fluid >0.174 ng/mL (best cut-off value) was considered positive for a diagnosis of bacterial PPE (sensitivity, 80%; specificity, 76%; AUC, 0.84). Pleural effusion PCT in the bacterial PPE is significantly different from those of the non-bacterial PPE and control groups, so the diagnostic use of PCT still warrants further investigation.

The Impact of Taiwanese free port plan on local economic

Yang Yi-chih(양옥지) 한국무역학회 2004 한국무역학회 국제학술대회 Vol.2004 No.4

Keelung port and Kahoshiung port were granted by government to be designated two free ports in 2004, majority of Taiwanese people has no idea about this brand new term. In deed, Free port system has prevailed in a number of countries and districts such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai port for attracting transit and exporting drivenlogistics activities and trading business. For clarifyingthe function, incentive, economic impact and problem of Taiwan free ports we take advantage of personal interview and relevant regulation review method to approach. The finding of this paper can be concluded five main problems waiting for good solution by government.

Turning Dynamics and Equilibrium of Two-Wheeled Vehicles

Chih-Keng Chen,Thanh-Son Dao,Chih-Kai Yang 대한기계학회 2005 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.19 No.1S

The equations of motion of two-wheeled vehicles, e g bicycles or motorcycles, are developed by using Lagrange's equations for quasi-coordinates The pure rolling constraints between the ground and the two wheels ale considered m the dynamical equations of the system For each wheel, two nonholonomic and two holonomic constraints are introduced in a set of differentials algebraic equations (DAE) The constraint Jacobian matrix is obtained by collecting all the constraint equations and converting them into the velocity form Equilibrium, an algorithm for searching for equilibrium points of two-wheeled vehicles and the associated problems are discussed Formulae for calculating the radii of curvatures of ground-wheel contact paths and the reference point are also given<br/>

Common Neurological Disorders Involving Inpatient Liaisons at a Secondary Referral Hospital in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Chih-Yang Liu,Han-Lin Chiang,Ser-Chen Fu,Yu-Chin Su,Cheng-Lun Hsiao,Fu-Yi Yang,Shinn-Kuang Lin 대한신경과학회 2016 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.12 No.1

Background and Purpose Te requirement for neurology liaison is increasing in accordance with the growing health care demands associated with aging populations. Te aim of this study was to characterize the nature of neurological inpatient liaisons (NILs) to help plan for the appropriate use of neurology resources. Methods Tis was a retrospective cross-sectional study of NILs in a secondary referral hospital over a 12-month period. Results Tere were 853 neurological consultations with a liaison rate of 3% per admission case. Chest medicine, gastroenterology, and infectious disease were the three most frequent specialties requesting liaison, and altered consciousness, seizure, and stroke were the three most frequent disorders for which a NIL was requested. Infection was the most common cause of altered consciousness. Epilepsy, infection, and previous stroke were common causes of seizure disorders. Acute stroke accounted for 44% of all stroke disorders. Electroencephalography was the most recommended study, and was also the most frequently performed. Ninety-fve percent of emergency consultations were completed within 2 hours, and 85% of regular consultations were completed within 24 hours. Te consult-to-visit times for emergency and regular consultations were 44±47 minutes (mean±standard deviation) and 730±768 minutes, respectively, and were shorter for regular consultations at intensive care units (p=0.0151) and for seizure and stroke disorders (p=0.0032). Conclusions Altered consciousness, seizure, and stroke were the most common reasons for NILs. Half of the patients had acute neurological diseases warranting immediate diagnosis and treatment by the consulting neurologists. Balancing increasing neurologist workloads and appropriate health-care resources remains a challenge.

Design Customization of Respiratory Mask based on 3D Face Anthropometric Data

Chih-Hsing Chu,Szu-Hao Huang,Chih-Kai Yang,Chun-Yang Tseng 한국정밀공학회 2015 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

This study presents a machine learning based method for design customization of a 3D respiratory mask. A parametric model of a3D human face was constructed from an anthropometric database consisting of 495 facial models. An AdaBoost.R algorithm wasapplied to identify a set of measurable parameters most related to the facial geometry. The correlation between parameters wasestimated using principal component analysis and linear regression. With those parameter values as input, the parametric modelgenerates 3D meshes of a human face that serve as a design reference for the construction of a customized respiratory mask of agood fit. We conducted a series of experiments with 10-fold cross-validation to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Green and sustainable applications of energetic plasmon-activated water

Chih-Ping Yang,Shih-Hao Yu,Yu-Chuan Liu 한국공업화학회 2022 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.111 No.-

This review describes the use of bulk deionized water (DIW) treatment to become plasmon-activatedwater (PAW) with reduced hydrogen bonds (HBs). PAW with special properties can be used in innovativeapplications and development of environmental protection science and sustainable energy management. PAW is a natural water solvent, but PAW subverts the public’s idea that hydrophobic solutes are difficultto dissolve in water. PAW can dissolve more-hydrophobic solutes than ordinary water, and can also interactwith water-soluble alcohol molecules to form stronger HBs. Moreover, in the application of certainreduction reactions, no chemical reducing agent is needed, and the catalytic reduction effect can beachieved using natural PAW. A characteristic application of PAW can also be extended to seawater desalination. Due to weak HBs among PAW molecules, high water evaporation rates can be produced, and ahigher chemical potential can also be applied to the innovative development of solar energy storage. In electrochemical applications, PAW itself can promote water oxidation, oxygen reduction reactions,hydrogen and oxygen evolution reactions, and the efficient capacitor production of H2O2. Furthermore,PAW can delay the melting of sea ice in the habitat of polar bears, so it may be applied to the issue ofsaving polar bears.