Effect of dietary supplementation of Bacillus subtilis TLRI 211-1 on laying performance, egg quality and blood characteristics of Leghorn layers

Tsai Ming-Yang,Shih Bor-Ling,Liaw Ren-Bao,Chen Wen-Tsen,Lee Tsung-Yu,Hung Hsi-Wen,Hung Kuo-Hsiang,Lin Yih-Fwu 아세아·태평양축산학회 2023 Animal Bioscience Vol.36 No.4

Objective: TLRI 211-1 is a novel Bacillus subtilis strain. This experiment was to investigate dietary supplementation of TLRI 211-1 on laying performance, egg quality and blood characteristics of layers. Methods: One hundred and twenty 65-wk-old Leghorn layers were divided into four treatment groups for 8 weeks experiment. Each treatment had three replicates. The basal diet was formulated as control group with crude protein 17% and metabolizable energy 2,850 kcal/kg and supplemented with TLRI 211-1 0.1%, 0.3%, and commercial Bacillus amyloliquefaciens 0.1% as treatment 2, 3 and 4 groups, respectively. Both TLRI 211-1 and commercial Bacillus amyloliquefaciens were adjusted to contain 1×109 colony-forming unit (CFU)/mL (g), hence the 0.1% supplemental level was 1×109 CFU/kg. Results: The results showed that TLRI 211-1 0.3% and commercial B. amyloliquefaciens groups had higher weight gain than the other groups; TLRI 211-1 0.1% group had better feed to eggs conversion ratio than the control and commercial B. amyloliquefaciens groups (p<0.05). Bacillus subtilis supplementation increased yolk weight (p<0.05). In egg quality during storage, TLRI 211-1 0.1% had higher breaking strength than the control group at the second week of storage (p<0.05). At the third week of storage, TLRI 211-1 0.3% had higher Haugh unit (p<0.05). Hens fed diets supplemented with TLRI 211-1 0.3% significantly decreased blood triglyceride levels and increased blood calcium levels (p< 0.05). TLRI 211-1 0.3% group had lower H2S (p<0.05) and hence had less unpleasant odor in excreta of hens. Conclusion: In conclusion, supplementation with 0.1% TLRI 211-1 can significantly improve feed to eggs conversion ratio. TLRI 211-1 supplementation also can maintain eggs at their optimum quality level during storage. The study showed that B. subtilis TLRI 211-1 can be used as feed additives for improving egg production performance and egg quality.

Interpretation and Use of Natriuretic Peptides in Non-Congestive Heart Failure Settings

Shih-Hung Tsai,Yen-Yue Lin,Shi-Jye Chu,Ching-Wang Hsu,Shu-Meng Cheng 연세대학교의과대학 2010 Yonsei medical journal Vol.51 No.2

Natriuretic peptides (NPs) have been found to be useful markers in differentiating acute dyspneic patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) and emerged as potent prognostic markers for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). The best-established and widely used clinical application of BNP and NT-proBNP testing is for the emergent diagnosis of CHF in patients presenting with acute dyspnea. Nevertheless, elevated NPs levels can be found in many circumstances involving left ventricular (LV) dysfunction or hypertrophy; right ventricular (RV) dysfunction secondary to pulmonary diseases; cardiac inflammatory or infectious diseases;endocrinology diseases and high output status without decreased LV ejection fraction. Even in the absence of significant clinical evidence of volume overload or LV dysfunction, markedly elevated NP levels can be found in patients with multiple comorbidities with a certain degree of prognostic value. Potential clinical applications of NPs are expanded accompanied by emerging reports regarding screening the presence of secondary cardiac dysfunction;monitoring the therapeutic responses, risk stratifications and providing prognostic values in many settings. Clinicians need to have expanded knowledge regarding the interpretation of elevated NPs levels and potential clinical applications of NPs. Clinicians should recognize that currently the only reasonable application for routine practice is limited to differentiation of acute dyspnea, rule-out-diagnostic-tests, monitoring of therapeutic responses and prognosis of acute or decompensated CHF. The rationales as well the potential applications of NPs in these settings are discussed in this review article.

Hypoglycemia Revisited in the Acute Care Setting

Shih-Hung Tsai,Der-Ming Chu,Yen-Yue Lin,Chin-Wang Hsu,Chien-Sheng Cheng 연세대학교의과대학 2011 Yonsei medical journal Vol.52 No.6

Hypoglycemia is a common finding in both daily clinical practice and acute care settings. The causes of severe hypoglycemia (SH) are multi-factorial and the major etiologies are iatrogenic, infectious diseases with sepsis and tumor or autoimmune diseases. With the advent of aggressive lowering of HbA1c values to achieve optimal glycemic control, patients are at increased risk of hypoglycemic episodes. Iatrogenic hypoglycemia can cause recurrent morbidity, sometime irreversible neurologic complications and even death, and further preclude maintenance of euglycemia over a lifetime of diabetes. Recent studies have shown that hypoglycemia is associated with adverse outcomes in many acute illnesses. In addition, hypoglycemia is associated with increased mortality among elderly and non-diabetic hospitalized patients. Clinicians should have high clinical suspicion of subtle symptoms of hypoglycemia and provide prompt treatment. Clinicians should know that hypoglycemia is associated with considerable adverse outcomes in many acute critical illnesses. In order to reduce hypoglycemia-associated morbidity and mortality, timely health education programs and close monitoring should be applied to those diabetic patients presenting to the Emergency Department with SH. ED disposition strategies should be further validated and justified to achieve balance between the benefits of euglycemia and the risks of SH. We discuss relevant issues regarding hypoglycemia in emergency and critical care settings.

An Improvement on Robust H<SUB>∞</SUB> Control for Uncertain Continuous-Time Descriptor Systems

Hung-Jen Lee,Shih-Wei Kau,Yung-Sheng Liu,Chun-Hsiung Fang,Jian-Liung Chen,Ming-Hung Tsai,Li Lee 대한전기학회 2006 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.4 No.3

This paper proposes a new approach to solve robust H∞ control problems for uncertain continuous-time descriptor systems. Necessary and sufficient conditions for robust H∞ control analysis and design are derived and expressed in terms of a set of LMIs. In the proposed approach, the uncertainties are allowed to appear in all system matrices. Furthermore, a couple of assumptions that are required in earlier design methods are not needed anymore in the present one. The derived conditions also include several interesting results existing in the literature as special cases.

Positive Symptoms in Antipsychotic-naïve Schizophrenia are Associated with Increased Body Mass Index after Treatment

Shih-Hsien Lin,Huai-Hsuan Tseng,Hsin Chun Tsai,Mei Hung Chi,I Hui Lee,Po See Chen,Kao Chin Chen,Yen Kuang Yang 대한정신약물학회 2021 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.19 No.1

Objective: Weight gain is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality among patients with schizophrenia. We speculated that positive symptoms, related to dopaminergic hyperactivity and altered mesolimbic function, are associated with weight gain. Methods: Twenty-two antipsychotic-naïve, first-episode patients with schizophrenia were enrolled. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was completed at enrollment and follow-up. Body mass index (BMI) was also measured. Results: The increase in BMI, after 6.04 ± 2.16 years of follow-up, was associated with positive symptoms, but not negative symptoms, before treatment with antipsychotics in antipsychotic-naïve patients with schizophrenia. Conclusion: This finding implied that dopaminergic hyperactivity could be an important factor to predict the treatment outcome. Body weight control is important for the health management of patients with schizophrenia with more severe positive symptoms.

The Characteristics of Acute Aortic Dissection among Young Chinese Patients: A Comparison between Marfan Syndrome and Non-Marfan Syndrome Patients

Shih-Hung Tsai,Yen-Yue Lin,Chin-Wang Hsu,Yu-Long Chen,Min-Tser Liao,Shi-Jye Chu 연세대학교의과대학 2009 Yonsei medical journal Vol.50 No.2

Purpose: Aortic dissection (AoD) is one of the most common catastrophes involving the aorta. Nevertheless, early diagnosis remains to be a challenge in the Emergency Department (ED), particularly in young individuals. In this study, we attempted to identify the characteristics of acute AoD among young individuals, particular in patients with Marfan syndrome. Materials and Methods: This was an retrospective chart-review study conducted in a tertiary referring hospital. The hospital database was queried for the combination of AoD and patients under age of 40 years. The medical charts were reviewed to obtain demographic data, clinical data and laboratory characteristics by using a standardized data collection sheet. A comparison between Marfan syndrome and non-Marfan syndrome patients was performed. Results: During the 10- years period, 18 of 344 patients with acute AoD were younger than 40 years-old. Patients with Marfan syndrome developed acute AoD at a younger age than patients without Marfan syndrome. The mean diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower in patients with Marfan syndrome upon presenting to the ED than those without. Patients with Marfan syndrome had trends toward higher risk of development of type A AoD, increased recurrence rate and higher mortality rate than those without. However, statistical significance was not present. Conclusion: ED physicians should have high alert to acute AoD in young patients presenting with severe unexplained chest and back pain, particularly in those patients with a history of heart diseases, hypertension, and Marfan syndrome or featuring Marfanoid habitus. Acute coronary syndrome, unexplained abdominal symptoms, and sudden cardiac arrest could be the initial manifestation of AoD in young patients. A low threshold to perform enhanced computed tomography may facilitate early diagnosis and timely treatment in this patient population. Purpose: Aortic dissection (AoD) is one of the most common catastrophes involving the aorta. Nevertheless, early diagnosis remains to be a challenge in the Emergency Department (ED), particularly in young individuals. In this study, we attempted to identify the characteristics of acute AoD among young individuals, particular in patients with Marfan syndrome. Materials and Methods: This was an retrospective chart-review study conducted in a tertiary referring hospital. The hospital database was queried for the combination of AoD and patients under age of 40 years. The medical charts were reviewed to obtain demographic data, clinical data and laboratory characteristics by using a standardized data collection sheet. A comparison between Marfan syndrome and non-Marfan syndrome patients was performed. Results: During the 10- years period, 18 of 344 patients with acute AoD were younger than 40 years-old. Patients with Marfan syndrome developed acute AoD at a younger age than patients without Marfan syndrome. The mean diastolic blood pressure was significantly lower in patients with Marfan syndrome upon presenting to the ED than those without. Patients with Marfan syndrome had trends toward higher risk of development of type A AoD, increased recurrence rate and higher mortality rate than those without. However, statistical significance was not present. Conclusion: ED physicians should have high alert to acute AoD in young patients presenting with severe unexplained chest and back pain, particularly in those patients with a history of heart diseases, hypertension, and Marfan syndrome or featuring Marfanoid habitus. Acute coronary syndrome, unexplained abdominal symptoms, and sudden cardiac arrest could be the initial manifestation of AoD in young patients. A low threshold to perform enhanced computed tomography may facilitate early diagnosis and timely treatment in this patient population.

Where Are Landscape Designers' Spatial Abilities in the Brain? An fMRI Study

Shih-Han Hung,Chia-Yi Huang,Tsung-Ren Huang,Shih-An Tang,Yu-Ping Tsai,Chun-YenChang 인간식물환경학회 2023 인간식물환경학회지 Vol.26 No.5

Background and objective: To effectively understand and communicate their work, landscape designers should possessexcellent spatial abilities. Neurological methods have confirmed that activation of the occipital lobe, parietal cortex, andprefrontal cortex affect the judgment of space; however, few studies have measured spatial abilities in landscape design. This study aimed to identify the potential role of various brain regions during spatial interpretation processes by landscapedesigners, particularly the effect of stimulating the frontal lobe on enhancing design capabilities. Methods: This study tested the spatial abilities of landscape designers when transforming a planar drawing into a sectionaldrawing and the brain regions activated in this process. The subjects were asked to identify the correct option whenmatching given section lines in a planar drawing. The correct answer rate and response time were used to score brainactivation during spatial task processes. A total of 16 valid subjects were divided into high- and low-accuracy groupsaccording to the correct answer rate. Results: The results for the high-accuracy group showed that the left inferior frontal gyrus was activated during spatialdesign tasks. In contrast, the findings for the low-accuracy group revealed that the left middle occipital gyrus was activatedfor processing visual information. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the frontal lobe plays a role in allowing landscape designers to make planar tocross-sectional inferences via mental rotations and categorical spatial relations. The findings offer implications forlandscape designers in stimulating the frontal lobe and enhancing their design capabilities.

Observer-Based Adaptive FNN Controller Optimized by NAPSOSA for Nonlinear Time-delay Systems

Shun-Hung Tsai,Kai-Shiuan Shih 제어·로봇·시스템학회 2012 International Journal of Control, Automation, and Vol.10 No.5

This study presents an observer-based adaptive fuzzy-neural network controller based on novel adaptive particle swarm optimization simulated annealing (NAPSOSA) for a class of uncertain nonlinear time-delay systems. Firstly, NAPSOSA is used to adjust the weighting function. Then, adap-tive laws are adopted to approximate unknown nonlinear functions with unknown uncertainties, re-spectively. By examining the controller design, the observer-based control law and the weighting up-date law of the fuzzy-neural-network (FNN) controller are proposed for a class of nonlinear systems. In addition, based on strictly-positive-real (SPR) Lyapunov theory, the stabilization conditions for the closed-loop system are propounded. Furthermore, for obtaining a better performance, an algorithm consists of the adaptive FNN with NAPSOSA is presented to adjust the membership function of the controller. Finally, one simulation example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed ap-proach.

The Development of the Distribution/VMI Game Based on Theory of Constraints

Zheng, Kai-Wen,Tsai, Chih-Hung,Li, Rong-Kwei,Chen, Ching-Piao,Tsai, Shih-Chieh The Korean Society for Quality Management 2009 The Asian Journal on Quality Vol.10 No.1

As the flourish of today's supply chain, the traditional model of replenishment will cause accumulation of excessive inventory to the retailers and customers, or cause shortages and inability to meet the demands. To solve this problem, Theory of Constraints (TOC) proposed the replenishment model of demand-pull, combined with the establishment of factory-ware-house to achieve performance improvement. In the absence of empirical research, this study applied the Bean Game developed by Dr. Goldratt to design a supply chain system for different scenarios, in order to allow players and managers better understanding and supporting the TOC replenishment method through the operations of the game.

The Development of the Distribution/VMI Game Based on Theory of Constraints

Kai Wen Zheng,Chih Hung Tsai,Rong Kwei Li,Ching Piao Chen,Shih Chieh Tsai 한국품질경영학회 2009 The Asian Journal on Quality Vol.10 No.1