An Automatic Environmental Monitoring and Cooling System to Reduce Heat Stress in Dairy Cows

( Yu-chi Tsai ),( Chen-yu Cheng ),( Jih-tay Hsu ),( Shih-torng Dnig ),( Ta-te Lin ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

In tropical and subtropical regions with high temperature and humidity conditions, one of the problems in dairy farm management is the effect of heat stress on animal productivity. Due to this problem, the utilization of an automatic environmental monitoring system for cooling, labor-saving and heat stress reduction is necessary. In this study, an environmental monitoring and automatic cooling system based on an embedded system for dairy farms was designed. The system aims to regulate the environmental condition by means of direct feedback depending on the monitoring of heat stress index (HSI) augmented by dairy cow drinking behavior. The system is composed of two sub-systems: data acquisition and environmental control. The data acquisition module collects images, temperature and humidity data. The cooling system is controlled based on the real-time environmental data, and the historical data are recorded and uploaded to the server for display and analysis. The data are analyzed on the environmental monitoring panel on the farm and on the website, which can be remotely accessed. The control parameters are adjusted using the image results from the dairy cow drinking behavior with a fixed time interval. The results of the conducted experiments show that there is labor saving improvement and an increment in milk production compared to the same period in the previous year when the system was not installed. The automatic environmental monitoring cooling system exhibits high efficiency and can perform real-time control and self-adjustment. The system can be used for fully automated dairy cow system application, as well as dairy cow behavior analysis through both environmental and image information.

Viability and Functions of Alginate-microencapsulated Islets Isolated from Neonatal Pigs

Lin, Yi-Juain,Wang, Jui-Ping,Chung, Yu-Tung,Sun, Yu-Ling,Chou, Yu-Chi Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2007 Animal Bioscience Vol.20 No.5

Patients with Type I diabetes mellitus have been treated with porcine insulin for several decades and pigs have recently been deemed an ideal source of microencapsulated islet cells for clinical xenotransplantation. In this study, neonatal pigs were anesthetized and sacrificed prior to a pancreatectomy. Islet cells were isolated from pancreas via collagenase digestion. Islet cells were separated and collected by hand under microscopic guidance. These cells were suspended in 1.4% sodium alginate solution and encapsulated by dropping them into 1.1% calcium chloride solution and in which the round gel in size was 250-400 ${\mu}m$ in diameter. Viability of the microencapsulated islet cells cultured in medium at $37^{\circ}C$ was assessed by MTT assay. Furthermore, insulin released in response to glucose challenge was investigated using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Secretion of insulin was low in response to the basal glucose solution (4.4 mM) in medium and was significantly higher in response to the high glucose solution (16.7 mM). The viability of microencapsulated islet cells did not differ significantly over a period of 7 days; that is, the increasing pattern of insulin concentration in the culture medium after glucose stimulation interval day was similar throughout the 7 days cultivation. In summary, experimental evidences indicated that the effects of alginate-microencapsulation prolonged survival of the neonatal porcine islets in vitro cultures and the insulin response to glucose of the islets was maintained.

A Temperature-Responsive Carrier System That Can Form Micellar Depots Containing Nitric Oxide Bubbles in Situ for Reversing Osteoporosis

Yu-Jung LIN,Nai-Wen CHI,Trang NGUYEN,Chun-Chieh CHEN,Hung-Lin LU,Hsing-Wen SUNG 한국고분자학회 2016 한국고분자학회 학술대회 연구논문 초록집 Vol.41 No.2

A retrospective analysis of 20-year data of the surgical management of ulcerative colitis patients in Taiwan: a study of Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

( Chun-chi Lin ),( Shu-chen Wei ),( Been-ren Lin ),( Wen-sy-tsai ),( Jinn-shiun Chen ),( Tzu-chi Hsu ),( Wei-chen Lin ),( Tien-yu Huang ),( Te-hsin Chao ),( Hung-hsin Lin ),( Jau-min Wong ),( Jen-kou 대한장연구학회 2016 Intestinal Research Vol.14 No.3

Background/Aims: With the recent progress in medical treatment, surgery still plays a necessary and important role in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. In this study, we analyzed the surgical results and outcomes of UC in Taiwan in the recent 20 years, via a multi-center study through the collaboration of Taiwan Society of IBD. Methods: A retrospective analysis of surgery data of UC patients from January 1, 1995, through December 31, 2014, in 6 Taiwan major medical centers was conducted. The patients’ demographic data, indications for surgery, and outcome details were recorded and analyzed. Results: The data of 87 UC patients who received surgical treatment were recorded. The median post-operative follow-up duration was 51.1 months and ranged from 0.4 to 300 months. The mean age at UC diagnosis was 45.3±16.0 years and that at operation was 48.5±15.2 years. The 3 leading indications for surgical intervention were uncontrolled bleeding (16.1%), perforation (13.8%), and intractability (12.6%). In total, 27.6% of surgeries were performed in an emergency setting. Total or subtotal colectomy with rectal preservation (41.4%) was the most common operation. There were 6 mortalities, all due to sepsis. Emergency operation and low pre-operative albumin level were significantly associated with poor survival (P =0.013 and 0.034, respectively). Conclusions: In the past 20 years, there was no significant change in the indications for surgery in UC patients. Emergency surgeries and low pre-operative albumin level were associated with poor survival. Therefore, an optimal timing of elective surgery for people with poorly controlled UC is paramount.

An Imaging System for Monitoring the Feeding Behavior of Dairy Cows

( Cheng-yu Kuan ),( Yu-chi Tsai ),( Chen-yu Cheng ),( Jih-tay Hsu ),( Shih-torng Dnig ),( Ta-te Lin ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

In sub-tropical countries, dairy cows tend to experience heat stress problems. This phenomenon may lead to declines in feed intake, milk production, and fertility. Under normal conditions, the dairy cows have a regular feeding and drinking time. For this reason, changes in feeding behavior can be a possible indicator to detect heat stress phenomena that can help farm owners monitor dairy cow health. In order to monitor and record the feeding behavior of dairy cows, an imaging system is proposed herein. The imaging system uses Raspberry Pi 3, as the embedded system, and a camera module to acquire images for dairy cow face detection in front of the feeding area to confirm if the dairy cow is eating. The dairy cow faces are detected through cascade-AdaBoost algorithms which can automatically select weak classifiers to form a strong classifier with fast processing speed in an embedded system. The factors affecting the performance of the dairy cow face detection algorithm have been tested and optimized. The system has been tested in a feeding area in National Taiwan University’s dairy farm, which has 25 dairy cows in total. By converting the frequency of dairy cow face detection into feeding time, the feeding behavior of grouped dairy cows can be analyzed. Furthermore, combining the temperature humidity index (THI) and feeding behavior can provide the farm owners with an index to evaluate the level heat stress of dairy cows.

Towards an Omni-directional Orientation Manipulation of Spherical Piezoelectric Motor: A Torque Vector Composition Method

Tai-Chi Hwang,Yu-Ting Sung,Yu-Hsi Huang,Chi-Ying Lin 제어로봇시스템학회 2021 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2021 No.10

This paper presents the application of a torque vector composition method realizing omni-directional rotor orientations for a novel standing wave spherical piezoelectric motor (SPM). The developed SPM system comprises four stators where each stator can provide three fundamental orientations or torque vectors implemented with the technique of electrode configuration. The concept of vector composition applied to the SPM system is illustrated with two stator actuation configurations: symmetrical and adjacent actuation stator pairs. The proposed method has the advantage of easy generation of new rotor orientations by adjusting the magnitude ratio of the excitation signals given to the stators. Composited vector analysis shows that the use of all stator pairs is able to offer omni-directional rotor orientations in the xy, yz, and xz planes. The estimated orientations in the experiments demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed torque vector composition method and the potentials of expanding omni-directional orientations to the whole 3D space with more than two actuating units.

Sofosbuvir/Ledipasvir in the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis C - A Subgroup Analysis from A Nationwide Real-World HCV Registry Program (TACR) in Taiwan

( Ming-Lung Yu ),( Chi-Yi Chen ),( Kuo-Chih Tseng ),( Ching-Chu Lo ),( Pin-Nan Cheng ),( Cheng-Yuan Peng ),( Ming-Jong Bair ),( Chih-Lang Lin ),( Chi-Ming Tai ),( Chi-Chieh Yang ),( Chih-Wen Lin ),( C 대한간학회 2020 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2020 No.1

Aims: TASL HCV Registry (TACR) is a nationwide registry program organized and supervised by Taiwan Association for the Study of the Liver (TASL), which aims to setup the database and biobank of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) in Taiwan. The present study aimed to evaluate the treatment outcome of sofosbuvir (SOF)/ledipasvir (LDV) in Taiwanese CHC patients in TACR. Methods: By May 2020, 19 tertiary hospitals, 23 community hospitals and one primary care clinic join the TACR program. The baseline characteristics, prior liver and non-liver related medical history, DAA regimens, laboratory results, treatment course and outcome were recorded. The primary objective was sustained virological response, defined as undetectable HCV RNA 3 months after end-of-treatment (SVR12). Results: A total of 4742 SOF/LDV+ ribavirin treated CHC patients with available SVR12 data from 39 sites were enrolled in the current analysis. The mean age was 61.3 years, and female accounted for 54.8% of the population. The dominant viral genotypes were GT1b (52.6%) and GT2 (35.6%). 1354 (28.6%) patients had liver cirrhosis, including 156 (3.3%) with liver decompensation, 552 (11.6%) had preexisting hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) before DAAs treatment and 413 (8.7%) had hepatitis B virus dual infections. The overall SVR12 rate was 98.5%, with 98.5%, 98.2%, 99.7% and 98.6% in treatment- naïve non-cirrhotics, treatment-naïve cirrhotics, treatment- experienced non-cirrhotics and treatment-experienced cirrhotics patients, respectively. While patients were stratified by HCV genotype, the SVR12 was 98.5%, 98.4% and 98.5% among those with GT1, GT2 and GT6 infection, respectively. The strongest factor independent associated with treatment failure was DAA adherence < 60% (odds ratio [OR]/95% confidence intervals [CI]: 125.4/25.7-612.4, P<0.0001), followed by active HCC (OR/CI: 6.20/2.57-14.97, P<0.0001), HIV co-infection (OR/CI: 3.01/1.14-7.92, P=0.026), and male gender (OR/ CI: 1.85/1.09-3.13, P=0.023). The eGFR decreased significantly at the end of treatment (EOT) (89.3 ml/min/1.73㎡ vs. 93.2 ml/min/1.73㎡, P< 0.001) and remained stable 3 months after EOT (89.3 ml/min/1.73㎡). However, the decreased eGFR was observed only in patients whose baseline eGFR > 90 ml/ min/1.73㎡. Instead, patients with chronic kidney diseases whose pretreatment eGFR < 60 ml/min/1.73㎡ had improved eGFR after SOF/LDV. Conclusions: SOF/LDV is highly effective in treating CHC patients in real-world setting of Taiwan. The satisfactory result could be explicitly generalized to patients with different viral genotypes and liver disease severities.

Development of novel microsatellite markers to analyze the genetic structure of dog populations in Taiwan

Lai Fang-Yu,Lin Yu-Chen,Ding Shih-Torng,Chang Chi-Sheng,Chao Wi-Lin,Wang Pei-Hwa 아세아·태평양축산학회 2022 Animal Bioscience Vol.35 No.9

Objective: Alongside the rise of animal-protection awareness in Taiwan, the public has been paying more attention to dog genetic deficiencies due to inbreeding in the pet market. The goal of this study was to isolate novel microsatellite markers for monitoring the genetic structure of domestic dog populations in Taiwan. Methods: A total of 113 DNA samples from three dog breeds—beagles (BEs), bichons (BIs), and schnauzers (SCs)—were used in subsequent polymorphic tests applying the 14 novel microsatellite markers that were isolated in this study. Results: The results showed that the high level of genetic diversity observed in these novel microsatellite markers provided strong discriminatory power. The estimated probability of identity (P(ID)) and the probability of identity among sibs (P(ID)sib) for the 14 novel microsatellite markers were 1.7×10–12 and 1.6×10–5, respectively. Furthermore, the power of exclusion for the 14 novel microsatellite markers was 99.98%. The neighbor-joining trees constructed among the three breeds indicated that the 14 sets of novel microsatellite markers were sufficient to correctly cluster the BEs, BIs, and SCs. The principal coordinate analysis plot showed that the dogs could be accurately separated by these 14 loci based on different breeds; moreover, the Beagles from different sources were also distinguished. The first, the second, and the third principal coordinates could be used to explain 44.15%, 26.35%, and 19.97% of the genetic variation. Conclusion: The results of this study could enable powerful monitoring of the genetic structure of domestic dog populations in Taiwan. Objective: Alongside the rise of animal-protection awareness in Taiwan, the public has been paying more attention to dog genetic deficiencies due to inbreeding in the pet market. The goal of this study was to isolate novel microsatellite markers for monitoring the genetic structure of domestic dog populations in Taiwan.Methods: A total of 113 DNA samples from three dog breeds—beagles (BEs), bichons (BIs), and schnauzers (SCs)—were used in subsequent polymorphic tests applying the 14 novel microsatellite markers that were isolated in this study.Results: The results showed that the high level of genetic diversity observed in these novel microsatellite markers provided strong discriminatory power. The estimated probability of identity (P(ID)) and the probability of identity among sibs (P(ID)sib) for the 14 novel microsatellite markers were 1.7×10–12 and 1.6×10–5, respectively. Furthermore, the power of exclusion for the 14 novel microsatellite markers was 99.98%. The neighbor-joining trees constructed among the three breeds indicated that the 14 sets of novel microsatellite markers were sufficient to correctly cluster the BEs, BIs, and SCs. The principal coordinate analysis plot showed that the dogs could be accurately separated by these 14 loci based on different breeds; moreover, the Beagles from different sources were also distinguished. The first, the second, and the third principal coordinates could be used to explain 44.15%, 26.35%, and 19.97% of the genetic variation.Conclusion: The results of this study could enable powerful monitoring of the genetic structure of domestic dog populations in Taiwan.

Heart Rate Variability Biofeedback Increased Autonomic Activation and Improved Symptoms of Depression and Insomnia among Patients with Major Depression Disorder

I-Mei Lin,Sheng-Yu Fan,Cheng-Fang Yen,Yi-Chun Yeh,Tze‐Chun Tang,Mei-Feng Huang,Tai-Ling Liu,Peng-Wei Wang,Huang-Chi Lin,Hsin-Yi Tsai,Yu-Che Tsai 대한정신약물학회 2019 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.17 No.2

Objective: Autonomic imbalance is considered a psychopathological mechanism underlying major depressive disorder (MDD). Heart rate variability (HRV) is an index for autonomic activation. Poor sleep quality is common among patients with MDD. HRV biofeedback (BF) has been used for regulating autonomic balance among patients with physical illness and mental disorders. The purpose of present study was to examine the effects of HRV-BF on depressive symptoms, sleep quality, pre-sleep arousal, and HRV indices, in patients with MDD and insomnia. Methods: In this case-controlled study, patients with MDD and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) score higher than 6 were recruited. The HRV-BF group received weekly 60-minute protocol for 6 weeks, and the control group who have matched the age and sex received medical care only. All participants were assessed on Beck Depression Inventory-II, Back Anxiety Inventory, PSQI, and Pre-Sleep Arousal Scale. Breathing rates and electrocardiography were also performed under resting state at pre-testing, and post-testing conditions and for the HRV-BF group, also at 1-month follow-up. Results: In the HRV-BF group, symptoms of depression and anxiety, sleep quality, and pre-sleep arousal were significantly improved, and increased HRV indices, compared with the control group. Moreover, in the HRV-BF group, significantly improved symptoms of depression and anxiety, decreased breathing rates, and increased HRV indices were detected at post-testing and at 1-month follow-up, compared with pre-testing values. Conclusion: This study confirmed that HRV-BF is a useful psychosocial intervention for improving autonomic balance, baroreflex, and symptoms of depression and insomnia in MDD patients.

Fabrication of alignment layer free flexible liquid crystal cells using thermal nanoimprint lithography

Tzu-Chieh Lin,Shao-Chi Yu,Pei-Shiang Chen,Kai-Yuan Chi,Han-Chang Pan,Chih-Yu Chao 한국물리학회 2009 Current Applied Physics Vol.9 No.3

In this article, thermal nanoimprint lithography (thermal-NIL) has been utilized to transfer the microgroove pattern onto the plastic substrate. Without coating alignment polymer, the microgrooves on the flexible substrates can align liquid crystals (LCs) directly. The flexible LC cell is shown to maintain comparable electro-optical properties while bending. The plastic film and the alignment layer integrated into an alignment substrate could effectively prevent cracks of the additional polymer alignment layer during the bending process. This method is applicable to the roll-to-roll process to increase the production efficiency. In this article, thermal nanoimprint lithography (thermal-NIL) has been utilized to transfer the microgroove pattern onto the plastic substrate. Without coating alignment polymer, the microgrooves on the flexible substrates can align liquid crystals (LCs) directly. The flexible LC cell is shown to maintain comparable electro-optical properties while bending. The plastic film and the alignment layer integrated into an alignment substrate could effectively prevent cracks of the additional polymer alignment layer during the bending process. This method is applicable to the roll-to-roll process to increase the production efficiency.