A new phenotype of TUBB4A mutation in a family with adult-onset progressive spastic paraplegia and isolated hypomyelination leukodystrophy: A case report and literature review

Pei-Chen Hsieh,Yih-Ru Wu 대한파킨슨병및이상운동질환학회 2024 Journal Of Movement Disorders Vol.17 No.1

Tubulin beta 4A class IVa (TUBB4A) spectrum disorders include autosomal dominant dystonia type 4 or hypomyelination with atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum (H-ABC syndrome). However, in rare cases, only mild hypomyelination in the cortex with no basal ganglia atrophy may be observed. We report a case of a family with TUBB4A mutation and complicated hereditary spasticity paraplegia (HSP). We performed quadro whole-exome sequencing (WES) on the family to identify the causative gene of progressive spastic paraparesis with isolated hypomyelination leukodystrophy. We identified a novel TUBB4A p.F341L mutation, which was present in all three affected patients but absent in the unaffected father. The affected patients presented with adult-onset TUBB4A disorder, predominant spastic paraparesis with/without ataxia, and brain hypomyelination with no cognitive impairment or extrapyramidal symptoms. In the literature, HSP is considered a TUBB4A spectrum disorder.

Servo control strategy for uni-axial shake tables using long short-term memory networks

Pei-Ching Chen,Kui-Xing Lai 국제구조공학회 2023 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.32 No.6

Servo-motor driven uniaxial shake tables have been widely used for education and research purposes in earthquake engineering. These shake tables are mostly displacement-controlled by a digital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller; however, accurate reproduction of acceleration time histories is not guaranteed. In this study, a control strategy is proposed and verified for uniaxial shake tables driven by a servo-motor. This strategy incorporates a deep-learning algorithm named Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network into a displacement PID feedback controller. The LSTM controller is trained by using a large number of experimental data of a self-made servo-motor driven uniaxial shake table. After the training is completed, the LSTM controller is implemented for directly generating the command voltage for the servo motor to drive the shake table. Meanwhile, a displacement PID controller is tuned and implemented close to the LSTM controller to prevent the shake table from permanent drift. The control strategy is named the LSTM-PID control scheme. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed LSTM-PID improves the acceleration tracking performance of the uniaxial shake table for both bare condition and loaded condition with a slender specimen.

Nickel-Tin Solid-Liquid Inter-Diffusion Bonding

Chen-Chiang Yu,배성재,Pei-Chen Su,Tung-Han Chuang 한국정밀공학회 2014 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.15 No.1

This paper presents a solid liquid inter-diffusion (SLID) bonding process using nickel-tin. By using two metals with different melting points, Ni3Sn4, an intermetallic compound (IMC) at 523K was formed. Unlike pure metal, the IMC can be used in high temperature applications of up to 800K without failure. The formation energy of Ni3Sn4 IMC was calculated to be 23.15 kJ/mol from the experimental result. Compared to the traditional soldering technique, a higher temperature resistance bonding joint can be achieved using the nickel-tin SLID bonding technique.

Leaching characteristics and kinetics of the metal impurities present in rice husk during pretreatment for the production of nanosilica particles

Pei Chen,Haipei Bie,Rushan Bie 한국화학공학회 2018 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.35 No.9

Fundamental studies on the removal of metal impurities are essential for the production of nanosilica by combustion. This study reports the leaching characteristics, leaching kinetics and occurrence form of the metal impurities present in rice husk based on acid pretreatment. Acid pretreatment removes most of the metal impurities present in rice husk. In particular, 98wt% removal of potassium can be reached. The acid concentration, leaching time and reagent type have significant effects on the leaching of metal impurities, and optimal conditions exist for the acid pretreatment process. Furthermore, the leaching of metal impurities occurs through two stages, and parts of the metal impurities exist in organic-bound form, which can be leached through ion exchange. The results show that the pseudosecond- order model is suitable for describing the leaching kinetics of the metal impurities present in rice husk, and empirical formulas for predicting the metal contents leached from rice husk during acid pretreatment at ambient temperature are also obtained. Additionally, the different occurrence form and quantities of metal impurities in rice husk lead to different leaching effects, which strongly influences the chemical properties and quality of the obtained silica particles.

Color Congruency between Text and Graphics Improves Reading Fluency and Comprehension

Pei-Chen, Wang,Tsuei-Ju, Hsieh,Da-Lun, Tang 한국색채학회 2017 AIC 2017 Jeju Vol.2017 No.10

In layout design, color helps not only to decorate but also to index important messages across texts. In this study, we used eye movement data and a reading comprehension test to examine how different color schemes could affect reading behavior when applied in various infographics composed graphics and corresponding explanation text. Three types of infographics were designed: a tour map, a data diagram and an explanatory graph. Each infographic was varied in four coloring schemes that used in highlighting important messages mutually in the texts and the graphics within a infographic. The messages appear in both graphic and the explanatory text were colored in gray scale (no color highlights), a single red color, multiple colors congruently highlight the text and graphics, and multiple colors incongruently highlight the text and graphics. Twenty participants were recruited for the tests. Two-way ANOVA and analyses indicated that different coloring schemes of highlights in text and graphics would impact the readers comprehending process, as well as use different coloring schemes in different information types.

Screening and Evaluation of Yeast Antagonists for Biological Control of Botrytis cinerea on Strawberry Fruits

( Pei-hua Chen ),( Rou-yun Chen ),( Jui-yu Chou ) 한국균학회 2018 Mycobiology Vol.46 No.1

Gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) is one of the most common diseases of strawberries (Fragaria×ananassa Duchesne) worldwide. Although many chemical fungicides are used for controlling the growth of B. cinerea, the risk of the fungus developing chemical resistance together with consumer demand for reducing the use of chemical fungicides have necessitated an alternative method to control this pathogen. Various naturally occurring microbes aggressively attack plant pathogens and benefit plants by suppressing diseases; these microbes are referred to as biocontrol agents. However, screening of potent biocontrol agents is essential for their further development and commercialization. In this study, 24 strains of yeast with antagonistic ability against gray mold were isolated, and the antifungal activity of the volatile and diffusible metabolites was evaluated. Putative mechanisms of action associated with the biocontrol capacity of yeast strains against B. cinerea were studied through in vitro and in vivo assays. The volatile organic compounds produced by the Galactomyces candidum JYC1146 could be useful in the biological control of plant pathogens and therefore are potential alternative fungicides with low environmental impact.

Pathogenesis and Prevention of Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Preterm Infants

Pei-Chen Tsao 대한신경외과학회 2023 Journal of Korean neurosurgical society Vol.66 No.3

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is a serious concern for preterm infants and can predispose such infants to brain injury and poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. IVH is particularly common in preterm infants. Although advances in obstetric management and neonatal care have led to a lower mortality rate for preterm infants with IVH, the IVH-related morbidity rate in this population remains high. Therefore, the present review investigated the pathophysiology of IVH and the evidence related to interventions for prevention. The analysis of the pathophysiology of IVH was conducted with a focus on the factors associated with cerebral hemodynamics, vulnerabilities in the structure of cerebral vessels, and host or genetic predisposing factors. The findings presented in the literature indicate that fluctuations in cerebral blood flow, the presence of hemodynamic significant patent ductus arteriosus, arterial carbon dioxide tension, and impaired cerebral venous drainage; a vulnerable or fragile capillary network; and a genetic variant associated with a mechanism underlying IVH development may lead to preterm infants developing IVH. Therefore, strategies focused on antenatal management, such as routine corticosteroid administration and magnesium sulfate use; perinatal management, such as maternal transfer to a specialized center; and postnatal management, including pharmacological agent administration and circulatory management involving prevention of extreme blood pressure, hemodynamic significant patent ductus arteriosus management, and optimization of cardiac function, can lower the likelihood of IVH development in preterm infants. Incorporating neuroprotective care bundles into routine care for such infants may also reduce the likelihood of IVH development. The findings regarding the pathogenesis of IVH further indicate that cerebrovascular status and systemic hemodynamic changes must be analyzed and monitored in preterm infants and that individualized management strategies must be developed with consideration of the risk factors for and physiological status of each preterm infant.

Morphological Responses of Grapevine Root to Copper Stress Given Different Calcium Nutritional Levels

Pei-Yi Chen,Kai-Wei Juang,Bo-Ching Chen,Yung-I Lee 한국토양비료학회 2014 한국토양비료학회 학술발표회 초록집 Vol.2014 No.6

Numerical modelling of a shear-thickening fluid damper using optimal transit parameters

Pei-Ching Chen,Chung-Han Yu,Yohanes K. Surjanto,Shen-Kai Peng,Kuo-Chun Chang 국제구조공학회 2022 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.30 No.5

The viscosity of a shear-thickening fluid damper (STFD) can increase dramatically when the STFD undergoes highrate of excitation. Therefore, accurate numerical modelling of the STFD has been considered difficult due to this distinct feature. This study aims to develop a numerical model to accurately simulate the response of the STFD. First, a STFD is designed, fabricated, and installed in the laboratory. Then, performance tests are conducted in which sine waves with nine frequencies at three amplitude levels are adopted as the displacement excitations to the STFD. A novel numerical model which contains two parameter sets of the discrete Bouc-Wen model as well as two parameters for transiting the two parameter sets. Therefore, a total number of eighteen parameters need to be identified in the damper model. The symbiotic organisms search is applied to optimize the parameters. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the proposed STFD model with transit parameter sets outperforms the conventional discrete Bouc-Wen model. The proposed STFD model can be applied to analyses of structures in which STFDs are installed in the future.

Performance-based optimization of LQR for active mass damper using symbiotic organisms search

Pei-Ching Chen,Bryan J. Sugiarto,Kai-Yi Chien 국제구조공학회 2021 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.27 No.4

The linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) has been applied to structural vibration control for decades; however, selection of the weighting matrices of an LQR mostly depends on trial and error. In this study, a novel metaheuristic optimization method named as symbiotic organisms search (SOS) algorithm is applied to tuning LQR weighting matrices for active mass damper (AMD) control systems. A 10-story shear building with an active mass damper installed at the top is adopted as a benchmark for numerical simulation in order to realize the optimization performance considering three objective functions for mitigation of structural acceleration. Two common optimization methods including genetic algorithm (GA), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) are also applied to this benchmark for comparison purposes. Numerical simulation results indicate that SOS is superior to GA and PSO on searching the minimized solution of the three objective functions. Meanwhile, minimizing the square root of the sum of the squares of peak modal acceleration achieves the best control performance of structural acceleration among the three objective functions. In addition, force saturation is proposed and applied in the optimization process such that the control force level is close to the force capacity of AMD under specified earthquake intensity. Furthermore, the control performance of the optimized LQR is compared with that of the LQR designed by applying three common weighting selection methods when the 10-story building is subjected to various earthquake excitations. Simulation results demonstrate that the optimized LQR significantly outperforms the three LQRs on structural acceleration responses as expected and reduces story drift slightly better than the three LQRs. Finally, the performance-based optimized LQR is experimentally validated by conducting shake table testing in the laboratory. The experimental results and structural control performance are discussed and summarized thoroughly.