2022 Taiwan clinical multicenter expert consensus and recommendations for thyroid radiofrequency ablation

Wei-Che Lin,Wen-Chieh Chen,Pei-Wen Wang,Yi-Chia Chan,Yen-Hsiang Chang,Harn-Shen Chen,Szu-Tah Chen,Wei-Chih Chen,Kai-Lun Cheng,Shun-Yu Chi,Pi-Ling Chiang,Chen-Kai Chou,Feng-Fu Chou,Shun-Chen Huang,Feng 대한초음파의학회 2023 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.42 No.3

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a minimally invasive management strategy that has been widely applied for benign and recurrent malignant thyroid lesions as an alternative to surgery in Taiwan. Members of academic societies for specialists in interventional radiology, endocrinology, and endocrine surgery collaborated to develop the first consensus regarding thyroid RFA in Taiwan. The modified Delphi method was used to reach a consensus. Based on a comprehensive review of recent and valuable literature and expert opinions, the recommendations included indications, pre-procedural evaluations, procedural techniques, post-procedural monitoring, efficacy, and safety, providing a comprehensive review of the application of RFA. The consensus effectively consolidates advice regarding thyroid RFA in clinical practice for local experts.

Issues in Simulating Falling Weight Deflectometer Test on Concrete Pavements

Chen-Ming Kuo,Chih-Chiang Lin,Cheng-Hao Huang,Yi-Cheng Lai 대한토목학회 2016 KSCE JOURNAL OF CIVIL ENGINEERING Vol.20 No.2

Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) produces pavement responses using a falling mass drop. This study investigated the features involved in the finite element modeling of FWD tests to help in the calibration of backcalculation. Falling mass, model size, subgrade damping, and boundary conditions were studied to reveal the significances of these factors on pavement responses. By modeling the falling mass in finite element models, this study has justified the idea that field-measured time history of impact force can be used as an alternative to falling mass. It is also concluded that subgrade damping, self-weight of slab, and boundary conditions are significant in modeling and interpretation of FWD finite element analysis. Finite element model with at least six times radius of relative stiffness is required to simulate dynamic responses of a continuously reinforced concrete slab.

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.

Smart monitoring system with multi-criteria decision using a feature based computer vision technique

Chih-Wei Lin,Wen-Ko Hsu,Dung-Jiang Chiou,Cheng-Wu Chen,Wei-Ling Chiang 국제구조공학회 2015 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.15 No.6

When natural disasters occur, including earthquakes, tsunamis, and debris flows, they are often accompanied by various types of damages such as the collapse of buildings, broken bridges and roads, and the destruction of natural scenery. Natural disaster detection and warning is an important issue which could help to reduce the incidence of serious damage to life and property as well as provide information for search and rescue afterwards. In this study, we propose a novel computer vision technique for debris flow detection which is feature-based that can be used to construct a debris flow event warning system. The landscape is composed of various elements, including trees, rocks, and buildings which are characterized by their features, shapes, positions, and colors. Unlike the traditional methods, our analysis relies on changes in the natural scenery which influence changes to the features. The “background module” and “monitoring module” procedures are designed and used to detect debris flows and construct an event warning system. The multi-criteria decision-making method used to construct an event warring system includes gradient information and the percentage of variation of the features. To prove the feasibility of the proposed method for detecting debris flows, some real cases of debris flows are analyzed. The natural environment is simulated and an event warning system is constructed to warn of debris flows. Debris flows are successfully detected using these two procedures, by analyzing the variation in the detected features and the matched feature. The feasibility of the event warning system is proven using the simulation method. Therefore, the feature based method is found to be useful for detecting debris flows and the event warning system is triggered when debris flows occur.

Competitive Hydrogen-Bonding-Induced Microphase Separation in Thermosets with Triblock Copolymer

Chen-Yu LIAO,Wen-Hua CHEN,Yeo-Wan CHIANG,Chih-Feng HUANG 한국고분자학회 2016 한국고분자학회 학술대회 연구논문 초록집 Vol.41 No.2

ANALYZING ISUAL SPECTROPHOTOMETER DATA USING A TWO-COLOR DIAGRAM METHOD

CHEN ALFRED BING-CHIH,CHIANG PO-SHIH,HUANG TIAN-HSIANG,KUO CHENG-LING,WANG SHI-CHUN,SU HAN-TZONG,HSU RUE-RoN,CHANG MING-HUI,CHANG YEOU-SHIN,LIU TIE-YUE,MENDE STEPHEN B.,FREY HARALD U.,FUKUNISHI HIROSH The Korean Astronomical Society 2005 Journal of The Korean Astronomical Society Vol.38 No.2

Transient luminous events (TLEs; sprites, elves, jets and etc.) are lightning-related optical flashes occurring above thunderstorms. Since the first discovery of sprites in 1989, scientists have learned a great deal about the morphological, spectroscopic and electromagnetic characteristics of TLEs through ground and spacecraft campaigns. However, most of the TLE studies were based on events recorded over US High Plains. To elucidate the possible biasing effects, space-borne observations are needed and have their merits. Imager of sprites and Upper Atmospheric Lightning (ISUAL) on the FORMOSAT-2 satellite is the first instrument to carry out a true global measurement of TLEs from a low- earth orbit. In this short paper, we apply a common astronomical data analysis technique, two-color diagram, on the ISUAL spectrophotometer (SP) data. By choosing appropriated bandpasses and converting the measured flux of TLEs into the unit of magnitude, two-color diagrams of TLEs can be constructed. We demonstrate that two-color diagrams, which were constructed from the narrow-band spectrophotometer data, can be used to classify different types of TLEs and trace their temporal evolution. The amount of reddening due to Earth's atmosphere can also be estimated from two-color diagrams assembled from the broad-band spectrophotometer data.

An investigation on dicing 28-nm node Cu/low-k wafer with a Picosecond Pulse Laser

Hsu, Hsiang-Chen,Chu, Li-Ming,Liu, Baojun,Fu, Chih-Chiang The Korean Microelectronics and Packaging Society 2014 마이크로전자 및 패키징학회지 Vol.21 No.4

For a nanoscale Cu/low-k wafer, inter-layer dielectric (ILD) and metal layers peelings, cracks, chipping, and delamination are the most common dicing defects by traditional diamond blade saw process. Sidewall void in sawing street is one of the key factors to bring about cracks and chipping. The aim of this research is to evaluate laser grooving & mechanical sawing parameters to eliminate sidewall void and avoid top-side chipping as well as peeling. An ultra-fast pico-second (ps) laser is applied to groove/singulate the 28-nanometer node wafer with Cu/low-k dielectric. A series of comprehensive parametric study on the recipes of input laser power, repetition rate, grooving speed, defocus amount and street index has been conducted to improve the quality of dicing process. The effects of the laser kerf geometry, grooving edge quality and defects are evaluated by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB). Experimental results have shown that the laser grooving technique is capable to improve the quality and yield issues on Cu/low-k wafer dicing process.

THE DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMER’S INTENTION TO CONTINUE TO USE OR APPLY FOR THE DEPARTMENT STORE CO-BRANDED CREDIT CARD

Mei-Fang Chen,Chih-Hao Chiang 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.10

Marketers commence to use types of brand alliance strategies including co-branding. Many previous studies focused on the strategic performance of the co-branded credit card or loyalty programs. The introduction of the department store co-branded credit card successfully increases revenues and expands the market shares for both the banking industry and the department store industry in Taiwan. In view of the importance of co-branding strategy to extend market share for both the banking industry and the retailing industry in Taiwan, it is worthy to have a better understanding of whether or not consumer’s affective loyalty to the bank and/or consumer’s affective loyalty to the department store will influence his/her attitude toward the department store co-branded credit card, which in turn influence his/her intention to continue to use or apply for the co-branding credit card. This study aims to ascertain what factors determine consumer’s intention to continue to use and/or to apply for the department store co-branded credit card. This study collected data on the Internet Website from December 8, 2013 to January 30, 2014. A total of 444 valid data were used in this study. The two-stage procedure of structural equation model (SEM) analysis was conducted to examine the hypothetical causal relationship in the proposed theoretical model. The results indicate that for those who had applied for the department store co-branded credit card, consumer’s affective loyalty to the bank and consumer’s affective loyalty to the department store indeed exert positive impacts on his/her attitude toward department store co-branded credit card, which in turn influence his/her intention to continue to use the co-branded credit card. In addition, for those who did not have the department store co-branded credit card, consumer’s affective loyalty to the department store can induce his/her attitude toward department store co-branded credit card, which in turn influences his/her intention to apply for co-branding credit card. The implications and suggestions for both the banking industry and the retailing industry are also provided in this study.

THE DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMER’S INTENTION TO CONTINUE TO USE OR APPLY FOR THE DEPARTMENT STORE CO-BRANDED CREDIT CARD

Mei-Fang Chen,Chih-Hao Chiang 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

Marketers commence to use types of brand alliance strategies including co-branding. Many previous studies focused on the strategic performance of the co-branded credit card or loyalty programs. The introduction of the department store co-branded credit card successfully increases revenues and expands the market shares for both the banking industry and the department store industry in Taiwan. In view of the importance of co-branding strategy to extend market share for both the banking industry and the retailing industry in Taiwan, it is worthy to have a better understanding of whether or not consumer’s affective loyalty to the bank and/or consumer’s affective loyalty to the department store will influence his/her attitude toward the department store co-branded credit card, which in turn influence his/her intention to continue to use or apply for the co-branding credit card. This study aims to ascertain what factors determine consumer’s intention to continue to use and/or to apply for the department store co-branded credit card. This study collected data on the Internet Website from December 8, 2013 to January 30, 2014. A total of 444 valid data were used in this study. The two-stage procedure of structural equation model (SEM) analysis was conducted to examine the hypothetical causal relationship in the proposed theoretical model. The results indicate that for those who had applied for the department store co-branded credit card, consumer’s affective loyalty to the bank and consumer’s affective loyalty to the department store indeed exert positive impacts on his/her attitude toward department store co-branded credit card, which in turn influence his/her intention to continue to use the co-branded credit card. In addition, for those who did not have the department store co-branded credit card, consumer’s affective loyalty to the department store can induce his/her attitude toward department store co-branded credit card, which in turn influences his/her intention to apply for co-branding credit card. The implications and suggestions for both the banking industry and the retailing industry are also provided in this study.

Malignant transformation of ovarian mature cystic teratoma into squamous cell carcinoma: a Taiwanese Gynecologic Oncology Group (TGOG) study

An Jen Chiang,Min-Yu Chen,Chia-Sui Weng,Hao Lin,Chien-Hsing Lu,Peng-Hui Wang,Yu-Fang Huang,Ying-Cheng Chiang,Mu-Hsien Yu,Chih-Long Chang 대한부인종양학회 2017 Journal of Gynecologic Oncology Vol.28 No.5

Objective: The malignant transformation (MT) of ovarian mature cystic teratoma (MCT)to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is very rare. This study analyzed cases from multiplemedical centers in Taiwan to investigate the clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment, andprognostic factors of this disease and reviewed related literature. Methods: Pathological reports of 16,001 patients with primary ovarian cancer who weretreated at Taiwan medical centers from 1990 to 2011 were reviewed. In total, 52 patients withMT of MCT to SCC were identified. Results: Among all ovarian MCTs, the incidence of MT to SCC is 0.2%. The median age ofpatients was 52 years (range, 29–89 years), and the mean tumor size was 10.5 cm (range, 1–40cm). We analyzed the patients in our study and those in the literature and determined thatearly identification and complete surgical resection of the tumor are essential for long-termsurvival. In addition, adjuvant chemotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy can be usedto treat this malignancy. Old age, large tumor size (≥15.0 cm), and solid components in MCTsare suitable indicators predicting the risk of MT of MCT to SCC. Conclusion: Similar to general epithelial ovarian cancers, the early detection of MT of MCTto SCC is critical to long-term survival. Therefore, older patients with a large tumor or those with a tumor containing a solid component in a clinically diagnosed MCT should beevaluated to exclude potential MT to SCC.