Colloidal processing of Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, Part I-Pb dissolution

Wen-Cheng J. Wei,Wen-Ting Hsu,Bang-Ying Yu 한양대학교 세라믹연구소 2006 Journal of Ceramic Processing Research Vol.7 No.3

The dissolution behavior of aqueous Pb(Zr,Ti) O3(PZT) suspensions were studied by Atomic Adsorption (AA) and Inductively Coupling Plasma (ICP) spectroscopies, specially emphasizing the change of solution acidity within pH 2 to 12, the effects of polymeric dispersant, and comparing with the dissolution behavior of PbO. The iso-electric-point (IEP) of a 2.0 wt % PZT solution was measured and compared to the minimal dissolution case (less than 10 ppm) to be in the range of pH 7 to 10. The effects of one dispersants, poly (α-N,N-dimethyl-N-acryloxyethyl) ammonium ethnate acrylamide (PMAA/DAAE) was investigated in comparison with a commercial anionic dispersant, an ammonium salt of polymethylacrylic acid (PMAAN). A possible dissolution model and the thickness of the Pb depletion zone on PZT particles are proposed based on the experimental observation. The dissolution behavior of aqueous Pb(Zr,Ti) O3(PZT) suspensions were studied by Atomic Adsorption (AA) and Inductively Coupling Plasma (ICP) spectroscopies, specially emphasizing the change of solution acidity within pH 2 to 12, the effects of polymeric dispersant, and comparing with the dissolution behavior of PbO. The iso-electric-point (IEP) of a 2.0 wt % PZT solution was measured and compared to the minimal dissolution case (less than 10 ppm) to be in the range of pH 7 to 10. The effects of one dispersants, poly (α-N,N-dimethyl-N-acryloxyethyl) ammonium ethnate acrylamide (PMAA/DAAE) was investigated in comparison with a commercial anionic dispersant, an ammonium salt of polymethylacrylic acid (PMAAN). A possible dissolution model and the thickness of the Pb depletion zone on PZT particles are proposed based on the experimental observation.

Incidentally Detected Enhancing Breast Lesions on Chest Computed Tomography

Wen-Chiung Lin,Hsian-He Hsu,Chao-Shiang Li,Jyh-Cherng Yu,Giu-Cheng Hsu,Cheng-Ping Yu,Tsun-Hou Chang,Guo-Shu Huang 대한영상의학회 2011 Korean Journal of Radiology Vol.12 No.1

Objective: To evaluate the nature and imaging appearance of incidental enhancing breast lesions detected on a routine contrast-enhanced chest CT. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three patients with incidental enhancing breast lesions on contrast-enhanced chest CT were retrospectively reviewed. The breast lesions were reviewed by unenhanced and enhanced CT, and evaluated by observing the shapes, margins, enhancement patterns and backgrounds of breast lesions. A histopathologic diagnosis or long-term follow-up served as reference standard. Results: Sixteen (70%) patients had malignant breast lesions and seven (30%) had benign lesions. In 10 patients, the breast lesions were exclusively detected on contrast-enhanced CT. Using unenhanced CT, breast lesions with fi broglandular backgrounds were prone to be obscured (p < 0.001). Incidental primary breast cancer showed an non-signifi cant trend of a higher percentage irregular margin (p = 0.056). All of the four incidental breast lesions with non-mass-like enhancement were proven to be malignant. Conclusion: Routine contrast-enhanced chest CT can reveal suffi cient details to allow for the detection of unsuspected breast lesions, in which some cases may be proven as malignant. An irregular margin of incidental enhancing breast lesion can be considered a suggestive sign of malignancy. Objective: To evaluate the nature and imaging appearance of incidental enhancing breast lesions detected on a routine contrast-enhanced chest CT. Materials and Methods: Twenty-three patients with incidental enhancing breast lesions on contrast-enhanced chest CT were retrospectively reviewed. The breast lesions were reviewed by unenhanced and enhanced CT, and evaluated by observing the shapes, margins, enhancement patterns and backgrounds of breast lesions. A histopathologic diagnosis or long-term follow-up served as reference standard. Results: Sixteen (70%) patients had malignant breast lesions and seven (30%) had benign lesions. In 10 patients, the breast lesions were exclusively detected on contrast-enhanced CT. Using unenhanced CT, breast lesions with fi broglandular backgrounds were prone to be obscured (p < 0.001). Incidental primary breast cancer showed an non-signifi cant trend of a higher percentage irregular margin (p = 0.056). All of the four incidental breast lesions with non-mass-like enhancement were proven to be malignant. Conclusion: Routine contrast-enhanced chest CT can reveal suffi cient details to allow for the detection of unsuspected breast lesions, in which some cases may be proven as malignant. An irregular margin of incidental enhancing breast lesion can be considered a suggestive sign of malignancy.

An Investigation of Responsibility and Learner Autonomy in a Sino-British EAP Program in China

Wen-Cheng Hsu,Ling Xia,Xuelian Xu 아시아테플 2019 The Journal of Asia TEFL Vol.16 No.1

Learner autonomy has become a universally acknowledged benign notion and exercised in all levels of education, especially in tertiary settings, although some doubts have been cast on its suitability in teacher-dependent contexts. Learner autonomy entails capacity to take on responsibility for ones’ own learning. This study aims to investigate students’ perceptions of their own responsibility and their teachers’, and then evaluate students’ autonomy in English learning in an EAP curriculum in a Sino-British university in China. To these aims, a 30-item questionnaire was compiled to administer to 276 year 1 and year 2 students, and T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. It was found that students in this Sino-British context perceived themselves to assume more responsibility for their own learning compared to their Chinese counterparts, but teachers had more responsibility to stimulate their learning inside the classroom. The degree of autonomy increased accordingly by students’ language proficiency level. Female students assumed more responsibility than male students while the latter were more autonomous than the former. Although students had a good understanding of course aims, they had low awareness of setting goals and plans. These findings have implications for promoting autonomy in tertiary settings in this specific context, as well as in other tertiary settings.

Acupuncture Treatment in Feline Horner’s Syndrome: Case Report

Chin-yuan Hsu,Chin-ling Hsu,Chin-hwang Hsu,Jim-cai Liao,Hao-jen Chueh,Han-wen Cheng,Hyung-kyou Jun,Duck-hwan Kim 한국임상수의학회 2007 한국임상수의학회지 Vol.24 No.2

A about 2-month- old, mixed female cat was refered to Yeon Chang Veterinary Clinic in Taiwan. Becausethis patient was wandering cat, precise history was not known. At first admision, miosis, ptosis and protrusion of the nictitating membrane was observed in the right sided eye, and also slight miosis was found in the left sided eye. The patient was diagnosed into feline HS. Oculo-AP and injection-AP with dexamethasone were applied to this patient. minutes. In addition, injection-AP with dexamethasone (0.2 ml/acupoint) at BL01-Jing Ming, BL02-Zan Zhu and ST01-Cheng Qi. After AP treatment, prolapse of the nictitating membrane was amazingly disapeared and pupil was dilatated at sesion 1. Ocular findings at sesion 2 (one day after sesion 1) were maintained with nearly normal state. Accordingly, the present patient was a case with feline HS that showed favorable therapeutic effect by AP treatment.

Comedications and potential drug-drug interactions with direct-acting antivirals in hepatitis C patients on hemodialysis

( Po-yao Hsu ),( Yu-ju Wei ),( Jia-jung Lee ),( Sheng-wen Niu ),( Jiun-chi Huang ),( Cheng-ting Hsu ),( Tyng-yuan Jang ),( Ming-lun Yeh ),( Ching-i Huang ),( Po-cheng Liang ),( Yi-hung Lin ),( Ming-ye 대한간학회 2021 Clinical and Molecular Hepatology(대한간학회지) Vol.27 No.1

Background/Aims: Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have been approved for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis. Nevertheless, the complicated comedications and their potential drug-drug interactions (DDIs) with DAAs might limit clinical practice in this special population. Methods: The number, class, and characteristics of comedications and their potential DDIs with five DAA regimens were analyzed among HCV-viremic patients from 23 hemodialysis centers in Taiwan. Results: Of 2,015 hemodialysis patients screened in 2019, 169 patients seropositive for HCV RNA were enrolled (mean age, 65.6 years; median duration of hemodialysis, 5.8 years). All patients received at least one comedication (median number, 6; mean class number, 3.4). The most common comedication classes were ESRD-associated medications (94.1%), cardiovascular drugs (69.8%) and antidiabetic drugs (43.2%). ESRD-associated medications were excluded from DDI analysis. Sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir had the highest frequency of potential contraindicated DDIs (red, 5.6%), followed by glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (4.0%), sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (1.3%), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (1.3%), and elbasvir/grazoprevir (0.3%). For potentially significant DDIs (orange, requiring close monitoring or dose adjustments), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir had the highest frequency (19.9%), followed by sofosbuvir/ledipasvir (18.2%), glecaprevir/pibrentasvir (12.6%), sofosbuvir/velpatasvir (12.6%), and elbasvir/grazoprevir (7.3%). Overall, lipid-lowering agents were the most common comedication class with red-category DDIs to all DAA regimens (n=62), followed by cardiovascular agents (n=15), and central nervous system agents (n=10). Conclusions: HCV-viremic patients on hemodialysis had a very high prevalence of comedications with a broad spectrum, which had varied DDIs with currently available DAA regimens. Elbasvir/grazoprevir had the fewest potential DDIs, and sofosbuvir/velpatasvir/voxilaprevir had the most potential DDIs. (Clin Mol Hepatol 2021;27:186-196)

Red Bean Extract Inhibits Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation and H2O2-Induced Oxidative Stress in RAW 264.7 Macrophages

Wen-Wan Chao,Yun-Chin Chung,I-Ping Shih,Hsun-Yen Wang,Su-Tze Chou,Cheng-Kuang Hsu 한국식품영양과학회 2015 Journal of medicinal food Vol.18 No.7

Red bean (Phaseolus radiatus L. var. Aurea) is a leguminous seed and mainly used as one of the popular ingredients in oriental desserts. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activity of 50 g/kg ethanolic extract of red bean (RBE) by measuring lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced expressions of nitric oxide (NO), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in RAW 264.7 macrophages. On the other hand, the antioxidant activity of RBE was determined by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances method and comet assay using H2O2-induced macrophages. The results showed that RBE at the concentrations of 50–200 μg/mL can significantly suppress the inflammatory responses in LPS-stimulated macrophages through the reduction of cellular NO and downregulation of the gene expressions of iNOS, COX-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, RBE can diminish H2O2-induced oxidative damage in RAW 264.7 macrophage. Phenolic compounds and cyanidin-3-Oglucoside from BRE may have efficacy as overall in vitro anti-inflammatory and antioxidant agents. Red bean exerts an antiinflammatory response and has potential as a health-promoting ingredient.

Tracing the origin of fish without hatchery information: genetic management of stock enhancement for mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) in Taiwan

Hsu Te-Hua,Huang Chang-Wen,Lin Cheng-Hui,Lee Hung-Tai,Pan Chieh-Yu 한국수산과학회 2020 Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Vol.23 No.2

Stock enhancement is considered to be a valuable approach for restoring fishery resources. Because no specific official institution in Taiwan is responsible for the production of fry, the released fry are purchased directly from the private sector. However, fishermen from the private industry have not established a genetic background, so the genetic composition for each batch of released fry is unclear. Mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), a prominent species released in Taiwan, was collected after its official release. One hundred and two field samples were compared with four batches of hatchery fry (n = 685) by using a microsatellite-based multiplex PCR assay. Four of the field samples (3.9%; 4/102) were revealed to be from a fish farm and most likely from a single batch. This study revealed that wild mangrove red snappers are genetically different from those originating from farms, and their origins can be traced through molecular markers, even without information on breeding stocks.

A case study of damage detection in four-bays steel structures using the HHT approach

Wen-Ko Hsu,Cheng-Wu Chen,Dung-Jiang Chiou,Ming-Yi Liu,Wei-Ling Chiang,Pei-Chiung Huang 국제구조공학회 2014 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.14 No.4

This study aims to investigate the relationship between structural damage and sensitivity indices using the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) method. Two damage detection indices are proposed: the ratio of bandwidth (RB), and the ratio of effective stiffness (RES). The nonlinear four bays multiple degree of freedom models with various predominant frequencies are constructed using the SAP2000 program. Adjusted PGA earthquake data (Japan 311, Chi-Chi 921) are used as the excitations. Next, the damage detection indices obtained using the HHT and the fast Fourier transform (FFT) methods are evaluated based on the acceleration responses of the structures to earthquakes. Simulation results indicate that, the column of the 1st floor is the first yielding position and the RB value is changed when the RES<90% in all cases. Moreover, the RB value of the 1st floor changes more sensitive than those from the top floor. In addition, when the structural response is nonlinear (i.e., RES<100%), the RB and the RES curves indicate the incremental change in the HHT spectra. However, the same phenomenon can be found from FFT spectra only when the stiffness reduction is large enough. Therefore, the RB estimated from the smoothed HHT spectra is an effective and sensitive index for detecting structural damage.

A case study of damage detection in four-bays steel structures using the HHT approach

Hsu, Wen-Ko,Chiou, Dung-Jiang,Chen, Cheng-Wu,Liu, Ming-Yi,Chiang, Wei-Ling,Huang, Pei-Chiung Techno-Press 2014 Smart Structures and Systems, An International Jou Vol.14 No.4

This study aims to investigate the relationship between structural damage and sensitivity indices using the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) method. Two damage detection indices are proposed: the ratio of bandwidth (RB), and the ratio of effective stiffness (RES). The nonlinear four bays multiple degree of freedom models with various predominant frequencies are constructed using the SAP2000 program. Adjusted PGA earthquake data (Japan 311, Chi-Chi 921) are used as the excitations. Next the damage detection indices obtained using the HHT and the fast Fourier transform (FFT) methods are evaluated based on the acceleration responses of the structures to earthquakes. Simulation results indicate that, the column of the 1 st floor is the first yielding position and the RB value is changed when the RES<90% in all cases. Moreover, the RB value of the 1 st floor changes more sensitive than those from the top floor. In addition, when the structural response is nonlinear (i.e., RES<100%), the RB and the RES curves indicate the incremental change in the HHT spectra. However, the same phenomenon can be found from FFT spectra only when the stiffness reduction is large enough. Therefore, the RB estimated from the smoothed HHT spectra is an effective and sensitive index for detecting structural damage.

Tracing the origin of fish without hatchery information: genetic management of stock enhancement for mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus) in Taiwan

Hsu, Te-Hua,Huang, Chang-Wen,Lin, Cheng-Hui,Lee, Hung-Tai,Pan, Chieh-Yu The Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Scienc 2020 Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Vol.23 No.5

Stock enhancement is considered to be a valuable approach for restoring fishery resources. Because no specific official institution in Taiwan is responsible for the production of fry, the released fry are purchased directly from the private sector. However, fishermen from the private industry have not established a genetic background, so the genetic composition for each batch of released fry is unclear. Mangrove red snapper (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), a prominent species released in Taiwan, was collected after its official release. One hundred and two field samples were compared with four batches of hatchery fry (n = 685) by using a microsatellite-based multiplex PCR assay. Four of the field samples (3.9%; 4/102) were revealed to be from a fish farm and most likely from a single batch. This study revealed that wild mangrove red snappers are genetically different from those originating from farms, and their origins can be traced through molecular markers, even without information on breeding stocks.