Effects of plant growth regulators and polyamines on bract longevity in Bougainvillea buttiana

Kuan-Hung Lin,Jui-Mei Li,Chun-Wei Wu,Yu-Sen Chang 한국원예학회 2021 Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology Vol.62 No.2

There are no reports on plant growth regulators (PGR) or polyamines being used to stimulate bract longevity in bougainvilleaspecies, yet understanding how PGR and polyamines infl uence bougainvillea bract phenology is important for fl owerprofi tability. Potted bougainvillea plants in four diff erent bract development stages based on bract diameter were pre-treatedwith salicylic acid (SA) at a concentration of 0.5 mM combined with 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA, 0.13 mM), gibberellicacid (GA, 0.29 mM), and 6-benzylaminopurine (BA, 0.22 mM) in 100 mL mixtures. Three 100 mL polyamine treatments[diamine putrescine (Put), triamine spermidine (Spd), and tetraamine spermine (Spm)] at 1 mM were also individuallysprayed on bougainvillea bracts. Control bracts were sprayed only with water. Diff erent PGR combinations and singlepolyamine treatments acted diff erently on bract longevity and endogenous 1-aminocylopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC)content, and each combination and single polyamine was not equally signifi cant in regard to coordinating a response toACC regulation. In combined chemical treatments, maximum and signifi cantly prolonged bract longevity in all stages weredetected in the SA + NAA + GA + BA treatment compared to controls and other combinations, and longevity increased asbract stage progressed. A strong synergistic interaction was observed between SA and NAA regarding bract longevity andACC levels. Moreover, Put also signifi cantly prolonged bract longevity and remarkably reduced endogenous ACC contentat all stages, this eff ect increasing as bract stage progressed compared to Spd, Spm, and controls. Therefore, the eff ects ofSA + NAA + GA + BA and single Put (1 mM) applied to bougainvillea bracts for increasing longevity in the nursery off ersinsight into re-vegetation, landscaping programs, and cultivation in gardens.

Using Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Vegetation Indices to Predict the Timing of Nitrogen Demand in Pentas lanceolata

Wu, Chun-Wei,Lin, Kuan-Hung,Lee, Ming-Chih,Peng, Yung-Liang,Chou, Ting-Yi,Chang, Yu-Sen Korean Society of Horticultural Science 2015 원예과학기술지 Vol.33 No.6

The objective of this study was to predict the timing of nitrogen (N) demand through analyzing chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF), soil-plant analysis development (SPAD), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which are positively correlated with foliar N concentration in star cluster (Pentas lanceolata). The plants were grown in potting soil under optimal conditions for 30 d, followed by weekly irrigation with five concentrations (0, 4, 8, 16, and 24 mM) of N for an additional 30 d. These five N application levels corresponded to leaf N concentrations of 2.62, 3.48, 4.00, 4.23, and 4.69%, respectively. We measured 13 morphological and physiological parameters, as well as the responses of these parameters to various N-fertilizer treatments. The general increases in Dickson's quality index (DQI), above-ground dry weight (DW), total DW, flowering rate, ${\Delta}F/Fm$', and qP in response to treatment with 0 to 8 mM N were similar to those of SPAD, NDVI, and Fv/Fm. Consistent and strong correlations ($R^2$= 0.60 to 0.85) were observed between leaf N concentration (%) and SPAD, NDVI, ${\Delta}F/Fm$', and above-ground DW. Validation of leaf S PAD, NDVI, and ${\Delta}F/Fm$' revealed that these vegetation indices are accurate predictors of leaf N concentration that can be used for non-destructive estimation of the proper timing for N-solution irrigation of P. lanceolata. Moreover, irrigation with 8 mM N-fertilizer i s recommended w hen leaf N concentration, SPAD, NVDI, and ${\Delta}F/Fm$' ratios are reduced from their saturation values of 4.00, 50.68, 0.64, and 0.137%, respectively.

A collaborative model between dialysis clinics and a hospital center improves the quality of vascular access care and intervention for hemodialysis patients

( Chung-kuan Wu ),( Yu-wei Fang ),( Chia-hsun Lin ) 대한신장학회 2024 Kidney Research and Clinical Practice Vol.43 No.2

Background: This study reports the outcomes of a collaborative program between dialysis clinics and a referral hospital, which consisted of clinical monitoring and supplementary routine surveillance, for improving the quality of vascular access care. Methods: This retrospective observational study was performed at five dialysis clinics as part of a 2-year collaborative program (2019-2020) in conjunction with a hospital-based dialysis access management center. A total of 392 hemodialysis patients (arteriovenous fistula [AVF], n = 339 and arteriovenous graft [AVG], n = 53) were included. Outcome measures included the prognosis of vascular access, clinic satisfaction, and referral rate to the hospital. Results: Increased vascular access flow was observed and critical flow events decreased from the first to the second year (AVF: 18.3% vs. 12.7%, p < 0.001; AVG: 26.2% vs. 20.1%, p = 0.30). There were fewer percutaneous transluminal angioplasty events in the AVG group (0.77 per person-year vs. 0.51 per person-year, p = 0.005). New AVF or AVG creation events also remained low. All dialysis clinics were satisfied with the program. The overall referral rate from the participating clinics increased (65.7% vs. 72.0%) during the study period independently of the physical distance between the dialysis clinic and the hospital. Conclusion: The collaboration between dialysis clinics and a referral hospital for improving the quality of vascular access care was successful in this study, and the model can be used by other clinics and hospitals looking to improve care coordination in dialysis patients.

The Interaction of Oxytocin and Social Support, Loneliness, and Cortisol Level in Major Depression

Tsung-Yu Tsai,Huai-Hsuan Tseng,Mei Hung Chi,Hui Hua Chang,Cheng-Kuan Wu,Yen Kuang Yang,Po See Chen 대한정신약물학회 2019 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.17 No.4

Objective: Loneliness is a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. The present study examined whether the serum oxytocin level would interact with social support and buffers loneliness and hypothalamic-pituitary- adrenal (HPA)-axis activity in drug-naïve patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Twenty-six patients with MDD (male:female = 3:23; mean age, 45.54 ± 12.97 years) were recruited. The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale and self-reported Measurement of Support Function Questionnaire were administered. Serum oxytocin and cortisol levels were assessed using a commercial immunoassay kits. Results: In MDD patients, a negative association was found between degrees of social support and loneliness ( = −0.39, p = 0.04). The interaction between social support and serum oxytocin level was negatively associated with loneliness ( = −0.50, p = 0.017) and serum cortisol level ( = −0.55, p = 0.020) after adjusting for age. Follow-up analyses showed that the association between higher social support and lower loneliness was observed only in the higher-oxytocin group (r = −0.75, p = 0.003) but not in the lower group (r = −0.19, p = 0.53). The significance remained after further adjusting for sex and depression severity. Conclusion: Low oxytocin level is a vulnerability factor for the buffering effect of social support for loneliness and aberrant HPA-axis activity in MDD patients.

Reference gene selection for transcriptional profiling by RT-qPCR in the 28-spotted larger potato ladybird

Zhang Yu-Xing,Tan Qiao,Shen Chen-Hui,Wu Jian-Jian,Wu Yi-Kuan,Li Wen-Ze,Jin Lin,Li Guo-Qing 한국응용곤충학회 2022 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.25 No.2

Henosepilachna vigintioctomaculata is one of the most serious defoliates attacking potatoes. However, studies on functional genes have greatly been limited due to the insufficiency of effective and stable endogenous references to normalize RT-qPCR data. In this report, nine housekeeping genes (RPL4, RPL6, RPL13, RPL32, RPS18, ACT, EF1α, GAPDH and α-TUB) involved in different biological processes were selected. Their expression levels under diverse experimental conditions including developmental stages, tissues, temperatures and host plants were determined using RT-qPCR technology. The tested candidate genes were comprehensively ranked based on five alternative stability analysis methods (Ct value, geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper and ReFinder). The results revealed that the optimal internal reference genes varied under different experimental conditions. Any gene pair among the five candidates (RPL4, RPL13, RPL32, RPS18 and EF1α) was a suitable reference gene set under different temperatures and on different host plants. A combination of RPL6 and RPL13 was recommended as the best reference gene set across different developmental stages. A pair of RPS18 and EF1α was ranked as the optimal reference gene combination within different tissues. The most suitable reference genes were RPS18 and RPL13 under four different experimental conditions. Our findings not only establish an accurate and reliable normalization of RT-qPCR data, but also lay a solid foundation for further functional gene researches in H. vigintioctomaculata

Using Chlorophyll Fluorescence and Vegetation Indices to Predict the Timing of Nitrogen Demand in Pentas lanceolata

Chun-Wei Wu,Kuan-Hung Lin,Ming-Chih Lee,Yung-Liang Peng,Ting-Yi Chou,Yu-Sen Chang 한국원예학회 2015 원예과학기술지 Vol.33 No.6

The objective of this study was to predict the timing of nitrogen (N) demand through analyzing chlorophyll fluorescence (ChlF), soil-plant analysis development (SPAD), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), which are positively correlated with foliar N concentration in star cluster (Pentas lanceolata). The plants were grown in potting soil under optimal conditions for 30 d, followed by weekly irrigation with five concentrations (0, 4, 8, 16, and 24 mM) of N for an additional 30 d. These five N application levels corresponded to leaf N concentrations of 2.62, 3.48, 4.00, 4.23, and 4.69%, respectively. We measured 13 morphological and physiological parameters, as well as the responses of these parameters to various N-fertilizer treatments. The general increases in Dickson’s quality index (DQI), above-ground dry weight (DW), total DW, flowering rate, △F/Fm’, and qP in response to t reatment with 0 to 8 mM N were similar to those of SPAD, NDVI, and Fv/Fm. Consistent and s trong correlations (R² = 0.60 to 0.85) were observed between leaf N concentration (%) and SPAD, NDVI, △F/Fm’, and above-ground DW. Validation of leaf S PAD, NDVI, and △F/Fm’ revealed that these vegetation indices are accurate predictors of leaf N concentration that can be used for non-destructive estimation of the proper timing for N-solution irrigation of P. lanceolata. Moreover, irrigation with 8 mM N-fertilizer i s recommended w hen leaf N concentration, SPAD, NVDI, and △F/Fm’ ratios are reduced from their saturation values of 4.00, 50.68, 0.64, and 0.137%, respectively.

Risk of Diabetic Retinopathy between Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists

Tzu-Yi Lin,Eugene Yu-Chuan Kang,Shih-Chieh Shao,Edward Chia-Cheng Lai,Sunir J. Garg,Kuan-Jen Chen,Je-Ho Kang,Wei-Chi Wu,Chi-Chun Lai,Yih-Shiou Hwang 대한당뇨병학회 2023 Diabetes and Metabolism Journal Vol.47 No.3

Background: To compare risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) between patients taking sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) and those taking glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP1-RAs) in routine care.Methods: This retrospective cohort study emulating a target trial included patient data from the multi-institutional Chang Gung Research Database in Taiwan. Totally, 33,021 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using SGLT2is and GLP1-RAs between 2016 and 2019 were identified. 3,249 patients were excluded due to missing demographics, age <40 years, prior use of any study drug, a diagnosis of retinal disorders, a history of receiving vitreoretinal procedure, no baseline glycosylated hemoglobin, or no follow-up data. Baseline characteristics were balanced using inverse probability of treatment weighting with propensity scores. DR diagnoses and vitreoretinal interventions served as the primary outcomes. Occurrence of proliferative DR and DR receiving vitreoretinal interventions were regarded as vision-threatening DR.Results: There were 21,491 SGLT2i and 1,887 GLP1-RA users included for the analysis. Patients receiving SGLT2is and GLP-1 RAs exhibited comparable rate of any DR (subdistribution hazard ratio [SHR], 0.90; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.79 to 1.03), whereas the rate of proliferative DR (SHR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.42 to 0.68) was significantly lower in the SGLT2i group. Also, SGLT2i users showed significantly reduced risk of composite surgical outcome (SHR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.48 to 0.70).Conclusion: Compared to those taking GLP1-RAs, patients receiving SGLT2is had a lower risk of proliferative DR and vitreoretinal interventions, although the rate of any DR was comparable between the SGLT2i and GLP1-RA groups. Thus, SGLT2is may be associated with a lower risk of vision-threatening DR but not DR development.

Predicting the surgical reparability of large-to-massive rotator cuff tears by B-mode ultrasonography: a cross-sectional study

Po-Cheng Chen,Kuan-Ting Wu,Yi-Cun Chen,Yu-Chi Huang,Ching-Di Chang,Wei-Che Lin,Wen-Yi Chou 대한초음파의학회 2022 ULTRASONOGRAPHY Vol.41 No.1

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the ability of B-mode ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the repairability of large-to-massive rotator cuff tears (RCTs). Methods: This cross-sectional study included participants with large-to-massive RCTs who underwent arthroscopic repair. B-mode ultrasonography and MRI were conducted prior to arthroscopic repair. B-mode ultrasonography was used to evaluate the echogenicity of the rotator cuff muscle using the Heckmatt scale. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities were examined for two independent physicians. MRI was used to evaluate the degrees of tendon retraction, fatty infiltration of rotator cuff muscles, and muscle atrophy. Finally, two experienced orthopedic surgeons performed surgery and decided whether the torn stump could be completely repaired intraoperatively. Results: Fifty participants were included, and 32 complete repairs and 18 partial repairs were performed. B-mode ultrasonography showed good intra-rater reliability and inter-rater reliability for assessment of the muscle echogenicity of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles. The correlation coefficients between B-mode ultrasound findings and MRI findings showed medium to large effect sizes (r=0.4-0.8). The Goutallier classification of the infraspinatus muscles was the MRI predictor with the best discriminative power for surgical reparability (area under the curve [AUC], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81 to 0.98), while the Heckmatt scale for infraspinatus muscles was the most accurate ultrasound predictor (AUC, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74 to 0.96). No significant differences in AUCs among the MRI and ultrasound predictors were found. Conclusion: B-mode ultrasonography was a reliable examination tool and had a similar ability to predict surgical reparability to that of MRI among patients with large-to-massive RCTs. Purpose: This study aimed to compare the ability of B-mode ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the repairability of large-to-massive rotator cuff tears (RCTs).Methods: This cross-sectional study included participants with large-to-massive RCTs who underwent arthroscopic repair. B-mode ultrasonography and MRI were conducted prior to arthroscopic repair. B-mode ultrasonography was used to evaluate the echogenicity of the rotator cuff muscle using the Heckmatt scale. Intra-rater and inter-rater reliabilities were examined for two independent physicians. MRI was used to evaluate the degrees of tendon retraction, fatty infiltration of rotator cuff muscles, and muscle atrophy. Finally, two experienced orthopedic surgeons performed surgery and decided whether the torn stump could be completely repaired intraoperatively.Results: Fifty participants were included, and 32 complete repairs and 18 partial repairs were performed. B-mode ultrasonography showed good intra-rater reliability and inter-rater reliability for assessment of the muscle echogenicity of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles. The correlation coefficients between B-mode ultrasound findings and MRI findings showed medium to large effect sizes (r=0.4-0.8). The Goutallier classification of the infraspinatus muscles was the MRI predictor with the best discriminative power for surgical reparability (area under the curve [AUC], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81 to 0.98), while the Heckmatt scale for infraspinatus muscles was the most accurate ultrasound predictor (AUC, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.74 to 0.96). No significant differences in AUCs among the MRI and ultrasound predictors were found.Conclusion: B-mode ultrasonography was a reliable examination tool and had a similar ability to predict surgical reparability to that of MRI among patients with large-to-massive RCTs.

Wide Area Object Tracking using Multiple Cameras with Mixed Configuration of Over-lapping and Non-Overlapping FOV

Daw-Tung Lin,Kuan-Yu Wu 보안공학연구지원센터 2016 International Journal of Multimedia and Ubiquitous Vol.11 No.3

Seamless object tracking in wide area is an important and yet challenging issue of intelligent visual surveillance multi-camera collaboration tracking approach has been becoming attractive. In this work, a flexible and integrated system is constructed for object tracking using multiple cameras either with overlapping fields of views (FOVs), non-overlapping FOVs or mixed configurations for wide areas surveillance. The Kalman filter is applied for object tracking in a single camera and object motion prediction is implemented across blind regions for non-overlapping FOVs. Furthermore, a client and server architecture is constituted using TCP/IP network. The FOV lines are used to guide camera switching. In addition, we integrate various features for object matching. Finally, this system can track objects in a wide area no matter the FOVs are overlapping, non-overlapping or mixed situations.

Local Structure Distortion in LiCu₂O₂ Single Crystal at Low Temperature

Tzu-Wen Huang,Kuo-Wei Yeh,Kuan-Li Yu,Yen-Fa Liao,Maw-Kuen Wu 한국자기학회 2008 한국자기학회 학술연구발표회 논문개요집 Vol.- No.-