Strength estimation for FRP wrapped reinforced concrete columns

Hsiao-Lin Cheng,Elisa D. Sotelino,Wai-Fah Chen 국제구조공학회 2002 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.2 No.1

Fiber-Reinforced Plastics (FRP) have received significant attention for use in civil infrastructure due to their unique properties, such as the high strength-to-weight ratio and stiffness-to-weight ratio, corrosion and fatigue resistance, and tailorability. It is well known that FRP wraps increase the load-carrying capacity and the ductility of reinforced concrete columns. A number of researchers have explored their use for seismic components. The application of concern in the present research is on the use of FRP for corrosion protection of reinforced concrete columns, which is very important in cold-weather and coastal regions. More specifically, this work is intended to give practicing engineers with a more practical procedure for estimating the strength of a deficient column rehabilitated using FRP wrapped columns than those currently available. To achieve this goal, a stress-strain model for FRP wrapped concrete is proposed, which is subsequently used in the development of the moment-curvature relations for FRP wrapped reinforced concrete column sections. A comparison of the proposed stress-strain model to the test results shows good agreement. It has also been found that based on the moment-curvature relations, the balanced moment is no longer a critical moment in the interaction diagram. Besides, the enhancement in the loading capacity in terms of the interaction diagram due to the confinement provided by FRP wraps is also confirmed in this work.

Professionals’ experiences and attitudes toward use of Traditional Chinese Medicine in hospice palliative inpatient care units: A multicenter survey in Taiwan

Yu-Jia Lin,Hsiao-Ting Chang,Ming-Hwai Lin,Ru-Yih Chen,Ping-Jen Chen,Wen-Yuan Lin,Jyh-Gang Hsieh,Ying-Wei Wang,Chung-Chieh Hu,Yi-Sheng Liou,Tai-Yuan Chiu,Chun-Yi Tu,Yi-Jen Wang,Bo-Ren Cheng,Tzeng-Ji Ch 한국한의학연구원 2021 Integrative Medicine Research Vol.10 No.2

Background: Medical staff may have difficulties in using conventional medicine to manage symptoms among terminally ill patients, including adverse effects of the treatment. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is regarded as a complementary or alternative medicine, and has been increasingly used in the field of palliative medicine in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of and attitudes toward using TCM among palliative care professionals, and to provide preliminary information about its use in palliative care. Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey study conducted in eight inpatient hospice wards in Taiwan between December 2014 and February 2016. The questionnaire was self-administered, and was analyzed with descriptive statistics including Pearson’s Chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test. Results: A total of 251 palliative care professionals responded to the questionnaire, of whom 89.7% and 88.9% believed that the use of TCM could improve the physical symptoms and quality of life in terminally ill patients, respectively. Overall, 59.8%, of respondents suggested that TCM had rare side effects, and 58.2% were worried that TCM could affect the liver and kidney function of patients. In total, 89.7% and 88.0% of professionals agreed there were no suitable clinical practice guidelines and educational programs, respectively, for TCM use in palliative care. Conclusions: Most of the respondents agreed there was insufficient knowledge, skills-training, and continuing education on the use of TCM in terminally ill patients in Taiwan. These results show that to address patient safety considerations, guidelines about use of TCM in palliative care should be established.

Effect of Free-range Rearing on Meat Composition, Physical Properties and Sensory Evaluation in Taiwan Game Hens

Lin, Cheng-Yung,Kuo, Hsiao-Yun,Wan, Tien-Chun Asian Australasian Association of Animal Productio 2014 Animal Bioscience Vol.27 No.6

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of an outdoor-grazed raising model on meat composition, physical properties and sensory attributes of Taiwan game hens. Six hundred 1-d old female chicks were raised on a floor for 8 weeks. On day 57, 600 healthy birds, with similar body weight, were selected and randomly assigned to three treatment groups (cage, floor-pen and free-range). The results showed that different feeding models had no effect on drip loss, cooking loss, moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude ash, zinc and calorie contents in breast meat and moisture content in thigh meat. The free-range group had the lowest fat content in both breast and thigh meat, and the lowest calorie content in thigh meat. The firmness and toughness in both thigh and breast of the free-range group were the highest values (p<0.05). The crude protein, total collagen, zinc and iron contents in thigh meat and total collagen content in breast meat of the free-range group were significantly higher than those of the cage-feeding group (p<0.05). The meat sensory scores of flavor, chewiness and overall acceptability of both thigh and breast meat of the free-range group were significantly (p<0.05) better than those of the other two groups. Moreover, the current findings also indicate that the Taiwan game hens of the free-range feeding model displayed well-received carcass traits and meat quality, with higher scores for flavor, chewiness and overall acceptability for greater sensory satisfaction in both breast and thigh meat. In addition, the thigh meat contained high protein and total collage but low fat, offering a healthier diet choice.

Credit Rating Anomaly in Taiwan Stock Market

Kuan-Cheng Ko,Shinn-Juh Lin,Hsiang-Hui Chu,Hsiao-Wei Ho 한국재무학회 2012 한국재무학회 학술대회 Vol.2012 No.09

Rational asset-pricing theory asserts that higher risk should be accompanied by higher expected return. The credit-risk puzzle, however, states a negative cross- sectional relationship between credit risk and future stock returns (Dichev, 1998; Grin and Lemmon, 2002; Campbell et al., 2008; Avramov et al., 2009). This pa- per examines the credit-risk puzzle using an independent dataset from Taiwan's stock market. We document the existence of the credit-risk premium in both portfolios and individual stocks, and demonstrate that it can not be explained by well-known asset-pricing models which include the CAPM, Fama and French's (1993) three-factor model, and Liu's (2006) liquidity-augmented CAPM. Unlike the evidence in the U.S. market, rating downgrades only have limited impact on stock returns in Taiwan. Further analysis indicates that credit rating serves as a better proxy for distress risk, and is thus priced in Taiwan's stock market.

Credit Rating Anomaly in the Taiwan Stock Market

Kuan-Cheng Ko,Hsiang-Hui Chu,Shinn-Juh Lin,Hsiao-Wei Ho 한국증권학회 2013 Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies Vol.42 No.3

Rational asset-pricing theory asserts that higher risk should be accompanied by higher expected return. The credit risk puzzle, however, states a negative cross-sectional relationship between credit risk and future stock returns (Journal of Finance, 53, 1998, 1131; Journal of Finance, 57, 2002, 2317; Journal of Finance, 63, 2008, 2899; Journal of Financial Markets, 12, 2009, 469). This paper examines the credit risk puzzle using an independent dataset from Taiwan’s stock market. We document a significantly positive premium between highest- and lowest-rated stocks in both portfolios and individual stocks, and demonstrate that it cannot be explained by well-known asset-pricing models, including the CAPM, Journal of Financial Economics, 33, 1993, 3 three-factor model, and Journal of Financial Economics 82, 2006, 631 liquidity-augmented CAPM. Unlike the evidence collected from the US market, rating downgrades only have limited impact on the cross-sectional variation of stock returns in Taiwan. Further analysis indicates that credit rating serves as a better proxy for distress risk, and is thus priced in Taiwan’s stock market.

Comparison on the Methane Emission from Different Cropping Seasons of Paddy Rice in Central Taiwan

Chiling Chen,Jeng-Lin Tsai,Pu-Jie Feng,Cheng-Hsiao Cheng,Chong-Yi Liao,Ben-Jei Tsuang,Ping-Yu Wu 한국토양비료학회 2014 한국토양비료학회 학술발표회 초록집 Vol.2014 No.6

Common Neurological Disorders Involving Inpatient Liaisons at a Secondary Referral Hospital in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study

Chih-Yang Liu,Han-Lin Chiang,Ser-Chen Fu,Yu-Chin Su,Cheng-Lun Hsiao,Fu-Yi Yang,Shinn-Kuang Lin 대한신경과학회 2016 Journal of Clinical Neurology Vol.12 No.1

Background and Purpose Te requirement for neurology liaison is increasing in accordance with the growing health care demands associated with aging populations. Te aim of this study was to characterize the nature of neurological inpatient liaisons (NILs) to help plan for the appropriate use of neurology resources. Methods Tis was a retrospective cross-sectional study of NILs in a secondary referral hospital over a 12-month period. Results Tere were 853 neurological consultations with a liaison rate of 3% per admission case. Chest medicine, gastroenterology, and infectious disease were the three most frequent specialties requesting liaison, and altered consciousness, seizure, and stroke were the three most frequent disorders for which a NIL was requested. Infection was the most common cause of altered consciousness. Epilepsy, infection, and previous stroke were common causes of seizure disorders. Acute stroke accounted for 44% of all stroke disorders. Electroencephalography was the most recommended study, and was also the most frequently performed. Ninety-fve percent of emergency consultations were completed within 2 hours, and 85% of regular consultations were completed within 24 hours. Te consult-to-visit times for emergency and regular consultations were 44±47 minutes (mean±standard deviation) and 730±768 minutes, respectively, and were shorter for regular consultations at intensive care units (p=0.0151) and for seizure and stroke disorders (p=0.0032). Conclusions Altered consciousness, seizure, and stroke were the most common reasons for NILs. Half of the patients had acute neurological diseases warranting immediate diagnosis and treatment by the consulting neurologists. Balancing increasing neurologist workloads and appropriate health-care resources remains a challenge.

Implementation of the Land Surface Processes into a Vector Vorticity Equation Model (VVM) to Study its Impact on Afternoon Thunderstorms over Complex Topography in Taiwan

Chien-Ming Wu,Hsiao-Chun Lin,Fang-Yi Cheng,Mu-Hua Chien 한국기상학회 2019 Asia-Pacific Journal of Atmospheric Sciences Vol.55 No.4

In this study, we aim to evaluate the impact of fast land-atmosphere interactions on the afternoon thunderstorm in Taiwan through high-resolution meteorological simulations. For this purpose, the Noah land surface model (LSM) is implemented into the vector vorticity equation cloud-resolving model (VVM) with corresponding realistic land surface data of Taiwan into the coupling system, called TaiwanVVM. Two idealized experiments are conducted by giving the same surface forcing but one with direct land-atmosphere coupling from Noah LSM (called Coupled experiment) and the other with prescribed surface fluxes (called Prescribed experiment). Our results show that the fast land-atmosphere interaction over complex topography has a significant influence on rainfall intensity, especially in the heavy precipitating region where the interaction is strong.Without direct coupling between the land surface and the atmosphere in the Prescribed experiment, the diurnal intensity is suppressed by 50%over whole Taiwan and 70% for East Taiwan. Our findings demonstrate that the intensity of the afternoon thunderstorm is sensitive to fast land-atmosphere interactions by modifying local circulation in the mountainous region of Taiwan.

Characterization of the Structure and DNA Complexity of Mung Bean Mitochondrial Nu-cleoids

Yih-Shan Lo,Lin-June Hsiao,Ning Cheng,Alexandra Litvinchuk,Hwa Dai 한국분자세포생물학회 2011 Molecules and cells Vol.31 No.3

Electron microscopic images of mitochondrial nucleoids isolated from mung bean seedlings revealed a relatively homogeneous population of particles, each consisting of a chromatin-like structure associated with a membrane com-ponent. Association of F-actin with mitochondrial nucleoids was also observed. The mitochondrial nucleoid structure identified in situ showed heterogeneous genomic organization. After pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), a large proportion of the mitochondrial nucleoid DNA remained in the well, whereas the rest migrated as a 50-200 kb smear zone. This PFGE migration pattern was not af-fected by high salt, topoisomerase I or latrunculin B treatments; however, the mobility of a fraction of the fast-moving DNA decreased conspicuously following an in-gel ethidium-enhanced UV-irradiation treatment, suggesting that molecules with intricately compact structures were present in the 50-200 kb region. Approximately 70% of the mitochondrial nucleoid DNA molecules examined via electron microscopy were open circles, supercoils, complex forms, and linear molecules with interspersed sigma-shaped structures and/or loops. Increased sensitivity of mtDNA to DNase I was found after mitochondrial nucleoids were pretreated with high salt. This result indicates that some loosely bound or peripheral DNA binding proteins protected the mtDNA from DNase I degradation.

Label-free Detection of Transport Kinetics and Inhibitor Binding of Membrane Transport Proteins with a Two-mode Plasmonic Sensor

Chia-Wei KUO,Tse-Han KUO,Hui-An LEE,Yu-Ting LIN,Cheng-Jung KUO,Kai-Hung HSIAO,Meng-Hua YANG,Kevin TANADY,Shu-Yu CHANG,Tzy-Rong LIN,Ling CHAO 한국생물공학회 2022 한국생물공학회 학술대회 Vol.2022 No.9