The Relationships between Communication Patterns and Peer Interactions of a Young Child born to Vietnamese Immigrants in Taiwan

Wen-Feng Lai,Hsuei-Yi Chen 환태평양유아교육연구학회 2007 Asia-Pacific journal of research in early childhoo Vol.1 No.1

This study investigated the relationships between communication patterns and peer interactions of a six-year-old child born to V ietnamese immigrant parents in Taiwan. By case-study methodology, this study aimed to answer the following questions: (1) what are the characteristics of the child's communication patterns? And (2) what are the relationships of her communi - cation patterns and her peer interactions? The data were collected by obser - vations in the class and at home, and interviews with parents and teachers. To measure the child's language development and temperament, the following instruments were conducted: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, Test of Children's Expression Ability, and Temperament Assessment Battery for Children. Results suggested that, constrained by language experience at home, the child's communication skills were underdeveloped. She had limited vocabulary at her disposal and her speech was often incomprehensible. T he communication patterns included avoidance, verbal threats, and reporting to the teachers. Although her social status in the classroom was normal, the peer interactions were negatively affected by her communication patterns. T he implications of the findings were discussed and suggestions for future research were included.

A Comparative Study in the Drawings of Self by Taiwanese and Malaysian Chinese Preschool Children

( Wen-feng Lai ) 한국유아교육학회 2023 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION Vol.29 No.1

This study examined the characteristics of self-drawings by Taiwanese and Malaysian Chinese preschoolers. The 104 participants comprised four- and five-year-old Taiwanese (n = 54) and Malaysian Chinese (n = 50) children with comparable sociodemographic backgrounds. The self-drawings were analyzed quantitatively in three aspects: basic figure elements, emotional expression, and visual appearance. There were three primary findings: (1) regarding basic figure elements, the Taiwanese children were more likely to draw larger figures with more facial details; (2) regarding emotional expression, the Malaysian Chinese children were more likely to draw neutral emotion: and the Taiwanese children tended to draw positive emotion; (3) regarding visual appearance, the Taiwanese children emphasized on drawing more clothing items with more diverse colors, whereas the Malaysian Chinese children tended to draw more decorative accessories. The results are discussed in relation to the cultural differences in local values and conventions, and the implications of the results are proposed.

Daclatasvir plus Asunaprevir in Interferon (± Ribavirin)- Ineligible/Intolerant Asian Patients with Chronic HCV Genotype-1b Infection

( Lai Wei ),( Mingxiang Zhang ),( Min Xu ),( Wan-Long Chuang ),( Wei Lu ),( Wen Xie ),( Zhansheng Jia ),( Guozhong Gong ),( Yueqi Li ),( Si Hyun Bae ),( Yong-Feng Yang ),( Qing Xie ),( Shumei Lin ),( 대한간학회 2016 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2016 No.1

Aims: The efficacy/safety of daclatasvir (pan-genotypic NS5A inhibitor) plus asunaprevir (NS3 protease inhibitor) in interferon (± ribavirin)- ineligible/intolerant patients with chronic HCV genotype-1b infection from mainland China, Korea and Taiwan was investigated in a phase 3, open-label study. Methods: Patients received daclatasvir 60 mg (tablet) once daily plus asunaprevir 100 mg (soft capsule) twice daily for 24 weeks. The primary endpoint was sustained virologic response at post-treatment Week 24 (SVR24). Results: This study treated 159 patients from mainland China (80%), Korea (11%) and Taiwan (9%), including patients with cirrhosis (33%), IL28B non-CC genotypes (40%), and aged ≥70 years (4%). SVR24 was achieved by 91% of patients (100% concordance with SVR12) and was similarly high in all subgroups, e.g. cirrhotic patients (90%), and in patients from mainland China (91%), Korea (94%) and Taiwan (87%). SVR24 was higher in patients without baseline NS5A (L31M/Y93H) resistance-associated variants (RAVs) (n=137/139 [99%]), regardless of the presence (98%) or absence (99%) of cirrhosis, and lower in patients with baseline NS5A RAVs (n=8/19 [42%]). All serious adverse events (AEs) (n=5/159 [3.1%]), grade 4 laboratory abnormalities (n=3/159 [1.9%]) and deaths (n=1/159 [0.6%]) that occurred on-treatment were unrelated to the study drugs; two patients discontinued due to AEs. Treatment was generally well tolerated regardless of cirrhosis status. Conclusions: Daclatasvir plus asunaprevir achieved a high SVR24 rate of 91%, rising to 99% in patients without baseline NS5A RAVs, and was generally well tolerated in cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic interferon (± ribavirin)-ineligible/intolerant patients with HCV genotype-1b infection from mainland China, Korea and Taiwan.

Biosynthesis of Isoprenoids: Characterization of a Functionally Active Recombinant 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate Cytidyltransferase (IspD) from Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv

( Wen Jun Shi ),( Jian Fang Feng ),( Min Zhang ),( Xu Hui Lai ),( Sheng Feng Xu ),( Xue Lian Zhang ),( Hong Hai Wang ) 생화학분자생물학회 2007 BMB Reports Vol.40 No.6

Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes/Polypropylene-based Coating Layer on the Composite Metal Filaments: Characteristic Evaluations and Radiation-shielded Fabric

Mei-Feng Lai,Chen-Hung Huang,Ching-Wen Lou,Yu-Chun Chuang,Cyun-Yu Wei,Jia-Horng Lin 한국섬유공학회 2022 Fibers and polymers Vol.23 No.3

In this study, polypropylene (PP) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are used to coat stainless steel(SS) wrapped yarns, the product of which is then fabricated into conductive textiles. Afterwards, the tensile properties,surface resistivity, and electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) of conductive textiles are evaluated, therebydetermining the influences of the MWCNTs content. The test results show that using MWCNT can effectively improve themechanical properties of the coated yarns and conductive woven fabrics. In addition, 5 wt % of MWCNT provides the wovenfabrics with a lower surface resistivity and higher EMSE. The influences of the lamination angle and number of laminationlayers on EMSE are investigated, and the maximum EMSE of -49.89 dB occurs when the lamination angle is 0 °/90 °/0 °.

Polypropylene/Carbon Fiber Composite Layered Materials: Electromagnetic Interference Shielding Effect and Mechanical Performance

Mei-Feng Lai,Chen-Hung Huang,Jia-Horng Lin,Yu-Chun Chuang,Ching-Hua Wang,Ching-Wen Lou 한국섬유공학회 2021 Fibers and polymers Vol.22 No.9

In this study, conductive polymer composites and conductive functional fabrics are combined to serve aselectromagnetic shielding planks. Polypropylene (PP), carbon black (CB), and short carbon fibers (SCF) are blended atdifferent ratios to form conductive polymer composites (i.e. PCS series). The mechanical property, electrical property,morphology, and electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) of the PCS series are evaluated. The testresults show that with 20 wt% of conductive fillers (i.e. CB and SCF), PCS20 exhibits the optimal tensile strength, flexuralstrength, and electrical property that is 7 order of magnitude higher than that of pure PP plates. Moreover, the EMI SE of thisgroup also reaches -30 dB, which meets level one of civil EMI SE standard. Therefore, PCS20 is used to combine with fourconductive sandwiches. The resulting multilayered functional PCS-sandwich planks are tested in terms of mechanicalproperty, morphology, and EMI SE. The test results show that the planks composed of a pure conductive woven sandwichhave the maximum tensile property and significantly improved impact resistance. All of the multilayered functional plankshave EMI SE that is higher than -50 dB and are qualified for the protection level of standard EMI SE electronic devices.

Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Interactive Play for Children During Intravenous Placement: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Hsu Mei-Feng,Whu Yew-Wha,Lin I-Chen,Liu Chieh-Yu,Lai Fei-Chen,Liu Pei-Ching,Chen Chi-Wen 한국간호과학회 2022 Asian Nursing Research Vol.16 No.2

Purpose This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of an interactive virtual reality (VR) play intervention including instructional play and emotional catharsis play sessions in reducing children's pain and fear during intravenous placement. Methods A randomized controlled trial with parallel groups was conducted. The sample consisted of 134 hospitalized children aged 6–12 years (intervention group: n = 69; comparison group: n = 65). The intervention involved one immersive intravenous scene in VR before the actual intravenous placement and one emotional catharsis VR play after injection. The comparison group received an educational photo book about intravenous placement before receiving intravenous placement. The children and their caregivers rated their pain and fear by using the Wong–Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale and the Children's Fear Scale. The time required for successful intravenous insertion was also compared between the two groups. Results Children's pain (p = .028) and fear scores (p = .004) were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the comparison group. Their caregivers' pain and fear scores (both p < .001) were significantly lower in the intervention group. The time required for successful intravenous insertion did not differ significantly between the intervention and comparison groups. Conclusions The interactive play intervention with VR effectively reduced children's levels of pain and fear during the intravenous placement procedure. The results of this study can serve as a reference for the implementation of a feasible, child-friendly care practice for clinical intravenous placement in school-aged children.

B7-H4 Expression is Associated with Cancer Progression and Predicts Patient Survival in Human Thyroid Cancer

Zhu, Jian,Chu, Bing-Feng,Yang, Yi-Peng,Zhang, Sheng-Lai,Zhuang, Ming,Lu, Wen-Jie,Liu, Ying-Bin Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2013 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.14 No.5

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the expression of B7-H4 in human thyroid cancer and determine any association with patient clinicopathological parameters and survival. Methods: B7-H4 expression in 64 clinical thyroid cancer specimens was assessed with immunohistochemistry. Moreover, B7-H4 mRNA expression in 10 fresh resected specimens were evaluated by the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Immunohistochemical staining of CD3 was performed to assess the number of tumor infiltrating T lymphocytes (TILs) in thyroid cancers. Results: Positive B7-H4 immunohistochemical staining was observed in 61 out of 64 (95.3%) specimens of thyroid cancer tissues. Significantly more B7-H4 mRNA copies were found in thyroid cancer tissue than that adjacent normal tissue. Moreover, B7-H4 expression in human thyroid cancer tissues was significantly correlated with patient TNM stages and extrathyroidal extension (P<0.05), being inversely correlated with the number of TILs (P<0.05). The overall survival rate of the patients with higher B7-H4 expression was significantly worse than that of the patients with lower B7-H4 expression. Conclusions: This present study suggests that high B7-H4 expression is associated with cancer progression, reduced tumor immunosurveillance and worse patient outcomes in human thyroid cancer.

Responses of Buried Pipelines to Tunnelling Underneath Considering Effect of Gap Formation: an Analytical Approach

Bing-qiang Zhang,Qi-wen Chen,Feng-wen Lai,Fu-Quan Chen,Bin-bin Qi 대한토목학회 2024 KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering Vol.28 No.1

A gap formation underneath pipelines could be observed during tunneling beneath existing buried pipelines, thus altering the pipeline-soil interaction behavior. However, the most existing analytical approaches typically do a full contact assumption for brevity. For such purpose, we aim to present an analytical approach coupling the effect of gap formation underneath pipelines by considering the buried pipeline as an Euler-Bernoulli beam on tensionless foundation. The pipeline can be divided into three segments according to pipeline-soil interaction behavior, and then the bending behaviors of each segment are formulated. The deflection and bending moment of the pipeline caused by tunnelling underneath from the proposed approach are compared and validated with centrifuge testing data and existing analytical solutions. The effects of pipeline-soil stiffness ratio, pipeline buried depth, tunnel buried depth, tunneling induced volume loss, and tunnel-pipeline intersection angle on the pipeline responses are further discussed. The results indicate that gap formation underneath pipeline can be observed indeed for shallowly buried pipeline and/or larger pipeline-soil stiffness ratio. The proposed analytical approach provides a theoretical guideline to predict the responses of existing pipelines to tunnelling underneath.

Delay of Surgery for Spinal Metastasis due to the COVID-19 Outbreak Affected Patient Outcomes

Chia-Jung Hsieh,Chun-Yu Wu,Yen-Heng Lin,Yu-Cheng Huang,Wen-Chi Yang,Tom Wei-Wu Chen,Wei-Li Ma,Wei-Hsin Lin,Feng-Ming Hsu,Furen Xiao,Shih-Hung Yang,Dar-Ming Lai,Chang-Mu Chen,Shin-Yi Chao,Fon-Yih Tsuan 대한척추신경외과학회 2023 Neurospine Vol.20 No.4

Objective: The present study is to analyze the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 2019) outbreak and the subsequent lockdown on the outcomes of spinal metastasis patients. Methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of data from a prospective cohort study. All patients underwent surgical intervention for spinal metastases between January 2019 and December 2021 and had at least 3 months of postoperative follow-up. The primary outcome was overall mortality during the 4 different stages (pre-COVID-19 era, COVID-19 pandemic except in Taiwan, national lockdown, lifting of the lockdown). The secondary outcomes were the oncological severity scores, medical/surgical accessibility, and patient functional outcome during the 4 periods as well as survival/mortality. Results: A total of 233 patients were included. The overall mortality rate was 41.20%. During the Taiwan lockdown, more patients received palliative surgery than other surgical methods, and no total en bloc spondylectomy was performed. The time from surgeon visit to operation was approximately doubled after the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan (75.97, 86.63, 168.79, and 166.91 hours in the 4 periods, respectively). The estimated survival probability was highest after the national lockdown was lifted and lowest during the lockdown. In the multivariate analysis, increased risk of mortality was observed with delay of surgery, with emergency surgery having a higher risk with delays above 33 hours, urgent surgery (below 59 and above 111 hours), and elective surgery (above 332 hours). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic and related policies have altered daily clinical practice and negatively impacted the survival of patients with spinal metastases.