In-situ biochar application conserves nutrients while simultaneously mitigating runoff and erosion of an Fe-oxide-enriched tropical soil

Lee, Chia-Hsing,Wang, Chung-Chi,Lin, Huan-Hsuan,Lee, Sang Soo,Tsang, Daniel C.W.,Jien, Shih-Hao,Ok, Yong Sik Elsevier 2018 The Science of the total environment Vol.619 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Climate change gives rise to rapid degradation of rural soils in sloping subtropical and tropical areas and might further threaten environmental sustainability. In this study, we conducted an integrated evaluation of the effects of wood biochar (WB) application mixed with a green waste dreg compost (GWC) on runoff quality, soil losses, and agricultural productivity for a highly weathered tropical soil. A conventional agriculture method, in which soils are treated with anionic polyacrylamide (PAM), was also conducted for comparison. The amounts of runoff and soil loss, and nutrient retention were evaluated a year after WB application. Soil fertility was also investigated through a year pot experiment with rape (<I>Brassica campestris</I> L.) cultivation. Our results showed that the WB application not only effectively increased soil pH, soil organic carbon (SOC) and exchangeable K<SUP>+</SUP> but also increased the production of rape plants. Significant reduction of runoff and the increases of inorganic nitrogen (IN) and total phosphorus (TP) were found in the WB-treated soil. Compared to the control, the co-application of WB and GWC, particularly for the WB at 4%, decreased runoff by 16.8%, soil loss by 25%, and IN loss (via runoff) by 41.8%. Meanwhile, compared to the control and PAM treatments, the co-application of WB and GWC improved soil acidity and the contents of SOC, IN, TP, and exchangeable K<SUP>+</SUP>. The co-application of WB and GWC could be an alternative agricultural strategy to obtain benefits to agricultural productivity and environmental sustainability.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Co-applying biochar and compost notably reduced runoff and soil loss by 16%–25% in a tropical soil. </LI> <LI> In-situ biochar applying increased inorganic N, available P and K by 1.5–2.5 times in slopelands. </LI> <LI> Crop productivity was enhanced by biochar applying 1.5–2 times at least in a tropical slopeland. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

Enhancing the Correct Rate of Nasopharyngeal Fiberscope Reprocessing

Wen-Hsuan Li,Cheng-Chien Chen,Chia-Ling Yeh,Chia-Lun Lee 한국간호과학회 2019 한국간호과학회 학술대회 Vol.2019 No.10

Enhancing elderly long-term care service using Kinect exergame

Tien-Lung Sun,Ta-Min Hung,Chia-Hsuan Lee,Chien-Hua Huang,Chun Pei 대한인간공학회 2014 대한인간공학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2014 No.5

Kinect based somatosensory exergame is useful to support long-term care as it can motivate chronic rehabilitation patients or elderly with decreasing motor ability to do physical exercise in a pleasant and interesting gaming environment. Dynamic game difficulty adjustment (DDA) technique is implemented in all games to keep players engaged and adhered to the game. For long-term care service, game difficulty has to be manually adjusted as players are not able to or not willing to adjust game settings by themselves. To support manually difficulty adjustment, it is important to conduct player experience study to understand the impact of different game settings or gaming parameters on game difficulty. This paper evaluates the difficulty of a Kinect exergame using objective player experiences derived from Kinect sensor and gameplay based player experience. Specifically, a Kinect exergame for upper arm exercise is developed and deployed to a nursing center at central Taiwan. The challenge (psychological difficulty) and intensity (physiological difficulty) of the game are analyzed using hand movement speed derived from Kinect sensor (objective player experience) and game score (gameplay based experience). The results show that the objective player experience derived from Kinect sensor can help understand the exergame intensity. With cross reference to game performance, subjects who are more engaged in the exergame can be identified. Specifically, analysis of the hand movement speed shows that the Kinect exergame considered in this work does not present enough physiological difficulty (intensity) to elderly with level-4 muscle power but does present difficulty to elderly with level-3 muscle power. Subjects with level-3 muscle power who are engaged in the game can be identified from their game scores. As the optimum difficulty level as well as other game settings varies from individual to individual, an important task in exergame design is to dynamically adjust its challenge and intensity so that elderly players can be engaged in and adhered to the game. The results of this paper show that player experiences derived from Kinect sensor and gameplay performance can help game developers better understand, and hence adjust, the game difficulty levels.

Impact of Interleukin-10 Gene Polymorphisms on Survival in Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Wen-Chien Ting,Lu-Min Chen,Li-Chia Huang,Mann-Jen Hour,Yu-Hsuan Lan,Hong-Zin Lee,Bang-Jau You,Ta-Yuan Chang,Bo-Ying Bao 대한의학회 2013 Journal of Korean medical science Vol.28 No.9

Chronic inflammation is thought to be the leading cause of colorectal cancer, and interleukin-10 (IL10) has been identified as a potent immunomodulatory cytokine that regulates inflammatory responses in the gastrointestinal tract. Although several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in IL10 have been associated with the risk of colorectal cancer, their prognostic significance has not been determined. Two hundred and eightytwo colorectal cancer patients were genotyped for two candidate cancer-associated SNPs in IL10. The associations of these SNPs with distant metastasis-free survival and overall survival were evaluated by Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox regression model. The minor homozygote GG genotype of IL10 rs3021094 was significantly associated with a 3.30-fold higher risk of death compared with the TT+TG genotypes (P = 0.011). The patients with IL10rs3021094 GG genotype also had a poorer overall survival in Kaplan-Meier analysis (log-rank P = 0.007) and in multivariate Cox regression model (P = 0.044) adjusting for age, gender,carcinoembryonic antigen levels, tumor differentiation, stage, lymphovascular invasion,and perineural invasion. In conclusion, our results suggest that IL10 rs3021094 might be a valuable prognostic biomarker for colorectal cancer patients.

Health Care Utilization and Expenditures of Patients with Diabetes Comorbid with Depression Disorder: A National Population-Based Cohort Study

Chun-Jen Huang,Hui-Min Hsieh,Herng-Chia Chiu,Peng-Wei Wang,Mei-Hsuan Lee,Chih-Yi Li,Ching-Hua Lin 대한신경정신의학회 2017 PSYCHIATRY INVESTIGATION Vol.14 No.6

Objective: The study investigated to compare health care utilization and expenditures between diabetic patients with and without depression in Taiwan. Methods: Health care utilization and expenditure among diabetic patients with and without depression disorder during 2000 and 2004 were examined using Taiwan’s population-based National Health Insurance claims database. Health care utilization included outpatient visits and the use of inpatient services, and health expenditures were outpatient, inpatient, and total medical expenditures. Moreover, general estimation equation models were used for analyzing the factors associated with outpatient visits and expenditures. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied for identifying the factors associated with hospitalization. Results: The average annual outpatient visits and annual total medical expenditures in the study period were 44.23–52.20; NT$87,496–133,077 and 30.75–32.92; NT$64,411–80,955 for diabetic patients with and without depression. After adjustment for covariates, our results revealed that gender and complication were associated with out-patient visits. Moreover, the time factor was associated with the total medical expenditure, and residential urbanization and complication factors were associated with hospitalization. Conclusion: Health care utilization and expenditures for diabetic patients with depression were significantly higher than those without depression. Sex, complications, time, and urbanization are the factors associated with health care utilization and expenditures.

A Systemic Review and Experts’ Consensus for Long-acting Injectable Antipsychotics in Bipolar Disorder

Yuan-Hwa Chou,Po-Chung Chu,Szu-Wei Wu,Jen-Chin Lee,Yi-Hsuan Lee,I-Wen Sun,Chen-Lin Chang,Chien-Liang Huang,I-Chao Liu,Chia-Fen Tsai,Yung-Chieh Yen 대한정신약물학회 2015 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.13 No.2

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a major psychiatric disorder that is easily misdiagnosed. Patient adherence to a treatment regimen is of utmost importance for successful outcomes in BD. Several trials of antipsychotics suggested that depot antipsychotics, including long-acting first- and second-generation agents, are effective in preventing non-adherence, partial adherence, and in reducing relapse in BD. Various long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics are available, including fluphenazine decanoate, haloperidol decanoate, olanzapine pamoate, risperidone microspheres, paliperidone palmitate, and aripiprazole monohydrate. Due to the increasing number of BD patients receiving LAI antipsychotics, treatment guidelines have been developed. However, the clinical applicability of LAI antipsychotics remains a global cause for concern, particularly in Asian countries. Expert physicians from Taiwan participated in a consensus meeting, which was held to review key areas based on both current literature and clinical practice. The purpose of this meeting was to generate a practical and implementable set of recommendations for LAI antipsychotic use to treat BD; target patient groups, dosage, administration, and adverse effects were considered. Experts recommended using LAI antipsychotics in patients with schizophrenia, rapid cycling BD, BD I, and bipolar-type schizoaffective disorder. LAI antipsychotic use was recommended in BD patients with the following characteristics: multiple episodes and low adherence; seldom yet serious episodes; low adherence potential per a physician’s clinical judgment; preference for injectable agents over oral agents; and multiple oral agent users still experiencing residual symptoms.

Enhancing Elderly Long-Term Care Service Uing Kinect Exergame

( Tien Lung Sun ),( Ta Min Hung ),( Chien Hua Huang ),( Chia Hsuan Lee ),( Chun Pei ) 한국감성과학회 2014 춘계학술대회 Vol.2014 No.-

Kinect based somatosensory exergame is useful to support long-term care as it can motivate chronic rehabilitation patients or elderly with decreasing motor ability to do physical exercise in a pleasant and interesting gaming environment. Dynamic game difficulty adjustment (DDA) technique is implemented in all games to keep players engaged and adhered to the game. For long-term care service, game difficulty has to be manually adjusted as players are not able to or not willing to adjust game settings by themselves. To support manually difficulty adjustment, it is important to conduct player experience study to understand the impact of different game settings or gaming parameters on game difficulty. This paper evaluates the dif-ficulty of a Kinect exergame using objective player experiences derived from Kinect sensor and gameplay based player experience. Specifically, a Kinect exergame for upper arm exercise is developed and deployed to a nursing center at central Taiwan. The challenge (psychological difficulty) and intensity (physiological difficulty) of the game are analyzed using hand movement speed derived from Kinect sensor (objective player experience) and game score (gameplay based experi-ence). The results show that the objective player experience derived from Kinect sensor can help understand the exergame intensity. With cross reference to game performance, subjects who are more engaged in the exergame can be identified.