Improvement of Acetoin Production in Bacillus subtilis by the Cre-Cas 2.0 System

Po-Hsun CHOU,Po-Ting CHEN 한국생물공학회 2023 한국생물공학회 학술대회 Vol.2023 No.10

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.

THE UPDATED ORBITAL PERIOD OF LOW MASS X-ray BINARY 4U 1323-62

CHUANG, PO-SHENG,CHOU, YI,HU, CHIN-PING,YANG, TING-CHANG,SU, YI-HAO,LIAO, NAI-HUI,HSIEH, HUNG-EN,LIN, CHING-PING The Korean Astronomical Society 2015 天文學論叢 Vol.30 No.2

4U 1323-62, a low mass X-ray binary with an orbital period of 2.94 hr, exhibits periodic X-ray dips, which are due to absorption by the bulge of the outer accretion disk. The purpose of this study is to search for orbital period changes using archived X-ray data over a time span of 20 years. We present our preliminary results from analyzing light curves observed by RXTE, BeppoSAX, XMM-Newton and Suzaku. We used the method proposed by Hu et al. (2008) to estimate dip center time and adopted the Observed - Calculated method to measure changes in period. We obtained an orbital period of 2.941917(36) hr and a period derivative of $\dot{P}_{orb}/P_{orb}=(-9.9{\pm}3.5){\times}10^{-7}yr^{-1}$. The F-test result shows that the quadratic ephemeris is describes the evolution of the dip phases better than the linear ephemeris at a greater than 95% confidence level. More X-ray data collected from the early 80s will be included to further refine the orbital ephemeris.

LONG-TERM VARIATION STUDY OF CATACLYSMIC VARIABLES WITH PALOMAR TRANSIENT FACTORY

YANG, MICHAEL TING-CHANG,CHOU, YI,HU, CHIN-PING,SU, YI-HAO,HSIEH, HUNG-EN,LIN, CHING-PING,CHUANG, PO-SHENG,LIAO, NAI-HUI The Korean Astronomical Society 2015 天文學論叢 Vol.30 No.2

The Palomar Transient Factory is a project making use of a Schmidt 48 inch telescope located on the Palomar Mountain, which is surveying the sky with dynamical cadences. It was deployed in 2009 and the observed sky region is over 1200 square degrees. We have studied the long-term periodic variabilities of the known galactic cataclysmic variables (CVs). More than 20 of the sources had been found to have long term periodic signals, ranging from several tens of days to several hundreds of days. Some possible scenarios are proposed to explain the results, such as a magnetic field change of the companion star, precession of the accretion disk, triple systems and superoutburst cycles. Some preliminary discussion will be presented in this article.

CHARACTERIZING THE TIME-FREQUENCY PROPERTIES OF THE 4 Hz QUASI-PERIODIC OSCILLATION AROUND THE BLACK HOLE X-ray BINARY XTE J1550-564

SU, YI-HAO,CHOU, YI,HU, CHIN-PING,YANG, TING-CHANG,HSIEH, HUNG-EN,CHUANG, PO-SHENG,LIN, CHING-PING,LIAO, NAI-HUI The Korean Astronomical Society 2015 天文學論叢 Vol.30 No.2

We present the results from analysis of the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) for the 4 Hz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPO) around the black hole X-ray binary XTE J1550-564. The resultant Hilbert spectra demonstrate that the QPO is composed of a series of intermittent signals appearing occasionally. From the analysis of the HHT, we further found the distribution of the lifetimes for the intermittent oscillations and the distribution for the time intervals with no significant signal (the break time). The mean lifetime is 1.45 s and 90% of the oscillation segments have lifetimes less than 3.1 s whereas the mean break time is 0.42 s and 90% of break times are less than 0.73 s. We conclude that the intermittent feature of the QPO could be explained by the Lense-Thirring precession model and rules out interpretations of continual frequency modulation.

Feasibility Study of Detecting Eggshell Crack with Thermography

( Jeng-liang Lin ),( Po-ting Chou ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

A nondestructive technology based on thermal imaging, which could be operated in association with the washing and drying procedures in the egg handling process, to detect egg crack was developed in this study. Since there should be a temperature difference between crack and intact area of eggshell due to their thermal characteristics during cooling and heating procedures, thermographic detection could be used to analyze the display effect of egg cracks on thermal images. A set of experimental procedures was conducted to investigate the display effect of egg cracks on thermal images. The experimental parameters consisted of soaking time in water as well as heating temperature and duration for hot air at different speeds. Experimental results indicated that egg cracks could be displayed on thermal images at cooling stage after soaking for 2 minutes and then heating with hot air of temperature 50℃and speed 3.67 m/s for 65 seconds; however, the success rate was merely 60%.

THE ORBITAL EPHEMERIS OF THE PARTIAL ECLIPSING X-ray BINARY X1822-371

HSIEH, HUNG-EN,CHOU, YI,HU, CHIN-PING,YANG, TING-CHANG,SU, YI-HAO,LIN, CHING-PING,CHUANG, PO-SHENG,LIAO, NAI-HUI The Korean Astronomical Society 2015 天文學論叢 Vol.30 No.2

X1822-371 is a low mass X-ray binary with an accretion disk corona exhibiting partial eclipses and pulsations in the X-ray band. We update its orbital ephemeris by combining new RXTE observations and historical records, with a total time span of 34 years. There were 11 RXTE observations in 2011 but the eclipsing profile can be seen in only 4 of them. The eclipsing center times were obtained by fitting the profile with the same model as previous studies. Combined with the eclipsing center times reported by Iaria et al. (2011), the O-C analysis was processed. A quadratic model was applied to fit the O-C results and produced a mean orbital period derivative of $\dot{P}_{orb}=1.339(25){\times}10^{-10}s/s$, which is slightly smaller than previous records. In addition to the orbital modulation from the orbital profile, we also present our preliminary results for measuring the orbital parameters using the orbital Doppler effect from the pulsation of the neutron star in X1822-371. The updated orbital parameters from eclipsing profiles will be further compared with the ones from pulsar timing.

APPLICATIONS OF THE HILBERT-HUANG TRANSFORM ON THE NON-STATIONARY ASTRONOMICAL TIME SERIES

HU, CHIN-PING,CHOU, YI,YANG, TING-CHANG,SU, YI-HAO,HSIEH, HUNG-EN,LIN, CHING-PING,CHUANG, PO-SHENG,LIAO, NAI-HUI The Korean Astronomical Society 2015 天文學論叢 Vol.30 No.2

The development of time-frequency analysis techniques allow astronomers to successfully deal with the non-stationary time series that originate from unstable physical mechanisms. We applied a recently developed time-frequency analysis method, the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT), to two non-stationary phenomena: the superorbital modulation in the high-mass X-ray binary SMC X-1 and the quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) of the AGN RE J1034+396. From the analysis of SMC X-1, we obtained a Hilbert spectrum that shows more detailed information in both the time and frequency domains. Then, a phase-resolved analysis of both the spectra and the orbital profiles was presented. From the spectral analysis, we noticed that the iron line production is dominated by different regions of this binary system in different superorbital phases. Furthermore, a pre-eclipse dip lying at orbital phase ~0:6-0:85 was discovered during the superorbital transition state. We further applied the HHT to analyze the QPO of RE J1034+396. From the Hilbert spectrum and the O-C analysis results, we suggest that it is better to divide the evolution of the QPO into three epochs according to their different periodicities. The correlations between the QPO periods and corresponding fluxes were also different in these three epochs. The change in periodicity and the relationships could be interpreted as the change in oscillation mode based on the diskoseismology model.

ON THE COMPLEX VARIABILITY OF THE SUPERORBITAL MODULATION PERIOD OF LMC X-4

HU, CHIN-PING,LIN, CHING-PING,CHOU, YI,YANG, TING-CHANG,SU, YI-HAO,HSIEH, HUNG-EN,CHUANG, PO-SHENG,LIAO, NAI-HUI The Korean Astronomical Society 2015 天文學論叢 Vol.30 No.2

LMC X-4 is an eclipsing high-mass X-ray binary exhibiting a superorbital modulation with a period of ~ 30:5 days. We present a detailed study of the variations of the superorbital modulation period with a time baseline of ~ 18 years. The period determined in the light curve collected by the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI) significantly deviates from that observed by the All Sky Monitor (ASM) onboard the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE). Using the data collected by RXTE/ASM, MAXI, and the Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) onboard Swift, we found a significant period derivative, $\dot{P}=(2.08{\pm}0.12){\times}10^{-5}$. Furthermore, the O{C residual shows complex short-term variations indicating that the superorbital modulation of LMC X-4 exhibits complicated unstable behaviors. In addition, we used archive data collected by the Proportional Counter Array (PCA) on RXTE to estimate the orbital and spin parameters. The detected pulse frequencies obtained in small time segments were fitted with a circular orbital Doppler shift model. In addition to orbital parameters and spin frequency for each observation, we found a spin frequency derivative of $\dot{v}=(6.482{\pm}0.011){\times}10^{-13}Hz{\cdot}s^{-1}$. More precise orbital and spin parameters will be evaluated by the pulse arrival time delay technique in the future.

Scaling up the in-hospital hepatitis C virus care cascade in Taiwan

( Chung-feng Huang ),( Pey-fang Wu ),( Ming-lun Yeh ),( Ching-i Huang ),( Po-cheng Liang ),( Cheng-ting Hsu ),( Po-yao Hsu ),( Hung-yin Liu ),( Ying-chou Huang ),( Zu-yau Lin ),( Shinn-cherng Chen ),( 대한간학회 2021 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.27 No.1

Background/Aims: Obstacles exist in facilitating hepatitis C virus (HCV) care cascade. To increase timely and accurate diagnosis, disease awareness and accessibility, in-hospital HCV reflex testing followed by automatic appointments and a late call-back strategy (R.N.A. model) was applied. We aimed to compare the HCV treatment rate of patients treated with this strategy compared to those without. Methods: One hundred and twenty-five anti-HCV seropositive patients who adopted the R.N.A. model in 2020 and another 1,396 controls treated in 2019 were enrolled to compare the gaps in accurate HCV RNA diagnosis to final treatment allocation. Results: The HCV RNA testing rate was significantly higher in patients who received reflex testing than in those without reflex testing (100% vs. 84.8%, P<0.001). When patients were stratified according to the referring outpatient department, a significant improvement in the HCV RNA testing rate was particularly noted in patients from non-hepatology departments (100% vs. 23.3%, P<0.001). The treatment rate in HCV RNA seropositive patients was 83% (83/100) after the adoption of the R.N.A. model, among whom 96.1% and 73.9% of patients were from the hepatology and non-hepatology departments, respectively. Compared to subjects without R.N.A. model application, a significant improvement in the treatment rate was observed for patients from non-hepatology departments (73.9% vs. 27.8%, P=0.001). The application of the R.N.A. model significantly increased the in-hospital HCV treatment uptake from 6.4% to 73.9% for patients from non-hepatology departments (P<0.001). Conclusions: The care cascade increased the treatment uptake and set up a model for enhancing in-hospital HCV elimination. (Clin Mol Hepatol 2021;27:136-143)