Photocatalytic study of Zinc Oxide with bismuth doping prepared by spray pyrolysis

Lin, Tzu-Yang,Hsu, Yu-Ting,Lan, Wen-How,Huang, Chien-Jung,Chen, Lung-Chien,Huang, Yu-Hsuan,Lin, Jia-Ching,Chang, Kuo-Jen,Lin, Wen-Jen,Huang, Kai-Feng Techno-Press 2015 Advances in nano research Vol.3 No.3

The unintentionally doped and bismuth (Bi) doped zinc oxide (ZnO) films were prepared by spray pyrolysis at $450^{\circ}C$ with zinc acetate and bismuth nitrate precursor. The n-type conduction with concentration $6.13{\times}10^{16}cm^{-3}$ can be observed for the unintentionally doped ZnO. With the increasing of bismuth nitrate concentration in precursor, the p-type conduction can be observed. The p-type concentration $4.44{\times}10^{17}cm^{-3}$ can be achieved for the film with the Bi/Zn atomic ratio 5% in the precursor. The photoluminescence spectroscopy with HeCd laser light source was studied for films with different Bi doping. The photocatalytic activity for the unintentionally doped and Bi-doped ZnO films was studied through the photodegradation of Congo red under UV light illumination. The effects of different Bi contents on photocatalytic activity are studied and discussed. Results show that appropriate Bi doping in ZnO can increase photocatalytic activity.

Safety and Efficacy of Adalimumab for Patients With Moderate to Severe Crohn`s Disease: The Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (TSIBD) Study

( Chen Wang Chang ),( Shu Chen Wei ),( Jen Wei Chou ),( Tzu Chi Hsu ),( Chiao Hsiung Chuang ),( Ching Pin Lin ),( Wen Hung Hsu ),( Hsu Heng Yen ),( Jen Kou Lin ),( Yi Jen Fang ),( Horng Yuan Wang ),( 대한장연구학회 2014 Intestinal Research Vol.12 No.4

Background/Aims: Only moderate to severe Crohn`s Disease (CD) patients without a satisfactory conventional therapy effect are eligible to get reimbursement from the National Health Insurance of Taiwan for using adalimumab. These are more stringent criteria than in many Western countries and Japan and Korea. We aim to explore the efficacy of using adalimumab in CD patients under such stringent criteria. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted in nine medical centers in Taiwan and we collected the results of CD patients receiving adalimumab from Sep 2009 to Mar 2014. The clinical characteristics, response measured by CDAI (Crohn`s Disease Activity Index), adverse events and survival status were recorded and analyzed. CR-70, CR-100, and CR-150 were defined as attaining a CDAI decrease of 70, 100 or 150 points compared with baseline. Results: A total of 103 CD patient records were used in this study. Sixty percent of these patients received combination therapy of adalimumab together with immunomodulators. CR-70 was 68.7%, 74.5% and 88.4% after week 4, 8 and 12 of treatment, respectively. The steroid-free rate, complications and survival were 47.6%, 9.7% and 99% of patients, respectively. In considering the mucosal healing, only 25% patients achieve mucosal healing after treatment for 6 to12 months. Surgery was still needed in 16.5% of patients. Combination treatment of adalimumab with immunomodulators further decreased the level of CDAI at week 8 when compared with the monotherapy. Conclusions: Even under the stringent criteria for using adalimumab, the response rate was comparable to those without stringent criteria. (Intest Res 2014;12:287-292)

Supplementation with Soybean Peptides, Taurine, Pueraria Isoflavone, and Ginseng Saponin Complex Improves Endurance Exercise Capacity in Humans

Tzu-Shao Yeh,Kuei-Hui Chan,Mei-Chich Hsu,Jen-Fang Liu 한국식품영양과학회 2011 Journal of medicinal food Vol.14 No.3

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a proprietary blend of soybean peptides, taurine,Pueraria isoflavone, and ginseng saponin complex (STPG capsule) on exercise performance in humans. Fourteen male volunteers were randomly assigned to two crossover treatments in which they consumed either four STPG capsules (STPG treatment) or placebo (P treatment) for 15 days before a 75% maximal oxygen uptake (VO_(2 max)) exhaustive cycling test. Blood samples and respiratory gas were collected prior to the exercise (Pre-Ex), at 10 (Ex-10), 15 (Ex-15), 20 (Ex-20), and 25 (Ex-25) minutes during exercise, and immediately after exercise (exhaustion) to assess the blood metabolites, cardiorespiratory responses, and energy substrate utilization. The result showed that exercise time to exhaustion of the 75% VO_(2 max) exhaustive cycling test of the STPG-treated subjects was significantly greater than with the P treatment (30.99 ± 2.01 vs. 28.05 ± 1.48minutes). The plasma lactate concentrations at Ex-20 and Ex-25 in the STPG treatment were significantly lower with STPG treatment than with P treatment (10.5 ± 0.7 vs. 11.5 ± 0.8 and 10.7 ± 0.9 vs.12.3 ± 1.0 mmol=L, respectively). Nonesterified fatty acid levels at Ex-15, Ex-20, Ex-25, and exhaustion in the STPG group (0.27 ± 0.03, 0.32 ± 0.04, 0.32 ± 0.06, and 0.37 ± 0.05 mmol=L, respectively) were significantly higher than those in the P treatment (0.21 ± 0.03, 0.23 ± 0.03, 0.24 ± 0.03,and 0.25 ± 0.03 mmol=L, respectively). It was concluded that supplementation of four capsules (2 g) of STPG complex,consisting of soybean peptides, taurine, Pueraria isoflavone, and ginseng saponin, for 15 days was effective in promoting utilization of free fatty acids and improving exhaustive cycling test performance in humans.

The Real-time Video Stabilization for the Rescue Robot

Jen-Pin Hsiao,Cheng-Chung Hsu,Tzu-Chiang Shih,Pau-Lo Hsu,Syh-Shiuh Yeh,Bor-Chyun Wang 제어로봇시스템학회 2009 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2009 No.8

When rescue robots navigate in a rough terrain, significant vibration of the video occurs unavoidably and a video stabilization system is proposed in this paper to reduce the disturbance on the visual system of the present rescue robots. The Kalman filter is applied to estimate the motion vector of the robot and the false estimation occurrence can be thus greatly reduced by applying analysis of correlation and variance of the motion vector estimation. With a hierarchical searching algorithm implemented on the TI DSP 6437, the frame rate can be improved from 10 fps to 28 fps to realize the real-time video stabilization and furthermore, the cooperative mission of multiple rescue robots has been achieved by applying the developed visual servo technique. The proposed virtual bounded motion control algorithm further leads the robots approaching the target precisely with cooperation of multiple rescue robots. The demo video is available at: http://lab816.cn.nctu.edu.tw/DemoVideo/.

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.

Semi-active leverage-type isolation system considering minimum structural energy

Tzu-Kang Lin,Lyan-Ywan Lu,Chi-Jen Chen 국제구조공학회 2018 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.21 No.3

Semi-active isolation systems based on leverage-type stiffness control strategies have been widely studied. The main concept behind this type of system is to adjust the stiffness in the isolator to match the fundamental period of the isolated system by using a simple leverage mechanism. Although this system achieves high performance under far-field earthquakes, it is unsuitable for near-fault strong ground motion. To overcome this problem, this study considers the potential energy effect in the control law of the semi-active isolation system. The minimal energy weighting (MEW) between the potential energy and kinetic energy was first optimized through a series of numerical simulations. Two MEW algorithms, namely generic and near-fault MEW control, were then developed to efficiently reduce the structural displacement responses. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, a two-degree-of-freedom structure was employed as a benchmark. Numerical results indicate that the dynamic response of the structure can be effectively dampened by the proposed MEW control under both far-field and near-fault earthquakes, whereas the structural responses resulting from conventional control methods may be greater than those for the purely passive control method. Moreover, according to experimental verifications, both the generic and near-fault MEW control modes yielded promising results under impulse-like earthquakes. The practicability of the proposed control algorithm was verified.

The Effect of Glycemic Status on Kidney Stone Disease in Patients with Prediabetes

Tzu-Hsien Lien,Jin-Shang Wu,Yi-Ching Yang,Zih-Jie Sun,Chih-Jen Chang 대한당뇨병학회 2016 Diabetes and Metabolism Journal Vol.40 No.2

Background: While the evidence supporting a positive association between diabetes mellitus and kidney stone disease (KSD) is solid, studies examining the association between impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and KSD show inconsistent results. Currently, there are no studies examining the relationship between impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) and KSD. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of different glycemic statuses on KSD. The results may help to motivate patients with diabetes to conform to treatment regimens. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study of a population that underwent health check-ups between January 2000 and August 2009 at the Health Evaluation Center of National Cheng Kung University Hospital. A total of 14,186 subjects were enrolled. The following categories of glycemic status were used according to the criteria of the 2009 American Diabetes Association: normal glucose tolerance, isolated IGT, isolated IFG, combined IFG/IGT, and diabetes. The existence of KSD was evaluated using renal ultrasonography, and the presence of any hyperechoic structures causing acoustic shadowing was considered to be indicative of KSD. Results: The prevalence of KSD was 7.4% (712/9,621), 9.3% (163/1,755), 10.8% (78/719), 12.0% (66/548), and 11.3% (174/1,543) in subjects with NGT, isolated IGT, isolated IFG, combined IFG/IGT, and diabetes, respectively. Isolated IFG, combined IFG/IGT, and diabetes were associated with KSD after adjusting for other clinical variables, but isolated IGT was not. Age (41 to 64 years vs. ≤40 years, ≥65 years vs. ≤40 years), male gender, hypertension, and hyperuricemia were also independently associated with KSD. Conclusion: Isolated IFG, combined IFG/IGT, and diabetes, but not isolated IGT, were associated with a higher risk of KSD.

Effect of Packet Loss and Delay on V2X Data Fusion

Tzu-Kuang Lee,Jen-Jee Chen,Yu-Chee Tseng,Cheng-Kuan Lin 한국통신학회 2020 한국통신학회 APNOMS Vol.2020 No.09

Sensing data fusion is one of the most important technologies in autonomous driving. Its performance depends on advance communication technology. Cellular-Vehicle to Everything (C-V2X) initially defined as LTE V2X in 3GPP Release 14 is a solution for vehicle communication that includes Vehicle-to- Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle-to-person (V2P), and Vehicle-to- Vehicle (V2V). Although 4G LTE and 5G provides high-speed transmission, packet loss and delay are still inevitable. Packet loss and delay affect the safety of autonomous driving, especially for the judgment of emergency. In this paper, we compare the accuracy of data fusion under different rate of packet loss and broadcast frequency on the simulated platform CALAR. And we propose a skill to improve accuracy. Experiments show that the proposed skill significantly alleviates the effect of communication packet loss and delay on the accuracy of V2X data fusion.

Semi-active leverage-type isolation system considering minimum structural energy

Lin, Tzu-Kang,Lu, Lyan-Ywan,Chen, Chi-Jen Techno-Press 2018 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.21 No.3

Semi-active isolation systems based on leverage-type stiffness control strategies have been widely studied. The main concept behind this type of system is to adjust the stiffness in the isolator to match the fundamental period of the isolated system by using a simple leverage mechanism. Although this system achieves high performance under far-field earthquakes, it is unsuitable for near-fault strong ground motion. To overcome this problem, this study considers the potential energy effect in the control law of the semi-active isolation system. The minimal energy weighting (MEW) between the potential energy and kinetic energy was first optimized through a series of numerical simulations. Two MEW algorithms, namely generic and near-fault MEW control, were then developed to efficiently reduce the structural displacement responses. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, a two-degree-of-freedom structure was employed as a benchmark. Numerical results indicate that the dynamic response of the structure can be effectively dampened by the proposed MEW control under both far-field and near-fault earthquakes, whereas the structural responses resulting from conventional control methods may be greater than those for the purely passive control method. Moreover, according to experimental verifications, both the generic and near-fault MEW control modes yielded promising results under impulse-like earthquakes. The practicability of the proposed control algorithm was verified.

Effect of dietary supplementation of Sargassum meal on laying performance and egg quality of Leghorn layers

Fan Geng-Jen,Shih Bor-Ling,Lin Hui-Chiu,Lee Tzu Tai,Lee Churng-Faung,Lin Yih-Fwu 아세아·태평양축산학회 2021 Animal Bioscience Vol.34 No.3

Objective: Seaweeds could be an alternative and functional feed resource. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of Sargassum meal on laying performance and egg quality of layers. Methods: Two hundred 36-wk-old layers were divided into five treatment groups. Each treatment had four replicates with 10 hens per experimental unit. The corn-soybean meal basal diet was formulated as control group. Sargassum meals were included 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, or 5% to diets for five treatment groups, respectively. Treatment groups were isocaloricisonitrogenous diets. Laying performance and egg quality were measured for eight weeks. Results: Sargassum meal supplementation did not affect daily feed intake. Supplementation 1% to 3% of Sargassum meal in diets increased daily laying rate and egg mass compared with those from control group (p<0.05). Egg qualities among five groups were all similar. Supplementation of 3% Sargassum meal increased the lightness of egg yolk (p<0.05). Eggs produced from layers fed 1% and 2% Sargassum meal had a higher consumer’s acceptability than the control group (p<0.05). In blood characteristics, contents of glucose, nitrogen, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) increased as the increase of supplementation ratio of Sargassum meal (p<0.05). In serum antibody titers, supplementation of 2% Sargassum meal stimulated a higher immunoglobulin M (IgM) level than that from control group (p<0.05). However, IgM content of layers fed diets with Sargassum meal ≥3% were decreased (p<0.05). There was no difference in IgA and IgG titers among groups. Conclusion: Supplementation of 1% to 3% Sargassum meal has shown to increase egg laying rate and egg mass of Leghorn layers. However, high supplementation (5%) would negatively affect laying performance. In consideration of laying performance, egg quality, consumer responses, and blood antibody, supplementation of Sargassum meal was suggested 2% in the diet for layers. Objective: Seaweeds could be an alternative and functional feed resource. The purpose of this experiment is to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of Sargassum meal on laying performance and egg quality of layers.Methods: Two hundred 36-wk-old layers were divided into five treatment groups. Each treatment had four replicates with 10 hens per experimental unit. The corn-soybean meal basal diet was formulated as control group. Sargassum meals were included 0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, or 5% to diets for five treatment groups, respectively. Treatment groups were isocaloric-isonitrogenous diets. Laying performance and egg quality were measured for eight weeks.Results: Sargassum meal supplementation did not affect daily feed intake. Supplementation 1% to 3% of Sargassum meal in diets increased daily laying rate and egg mass compared with those from control group (p<0.05). Egg qualities among five groups were all similar. Supplementation of 3% Sargassum meal increased the lightness of egg yolk (p<0.05). Eggs produced from layers fed 1% and 2% Sargassum meal had a higher consumer’s acceptability than the control group (p<0.05). In blood characteristics, contents of glucose, nitrogen, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) increased as the increase of supplementation ratio of Sargassum meal (p<0.05). In serum antibody titers, supplementation of 2% Sargassum meal stimulated a higher immunoglobulin M (IgM) level than that from control group (p<0.05). However, IgM content of layers fed diets with Sargassum meal ≥3% were decreased (p<0.05). There was no difference in IgA and IgG titers among groups.Conclusion: Supplementation of 1% to 3% Sargassum meal has shown to increase egg laying rate and egg mass of Leghorn layers. However, high supplementation (5%) would negatively affect laying performance. In consideration of laying performance, egg quality, consumer responses, and blood antibody, supplementation of Sargassum meal was suggested 2% in the diet for layers.