VOCs absorption in rotating packed beds equipped with blade packings

Chia-Chang Lin,Yu-Chiao Lin,Kuo-Shin Chien 한국공업화학회 2009 Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Vol.15 No.6

This work investigated the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) removal efficiency of the RPB equipped with blade packings using absorption. Methanol, methyl ethyl ketone and methyl acetate were used as the model VOCs herein. The VOCs removal efficiency (E) was observed to increase with the rotational speed and the liquid flow rate but decrease with the gas flow rate. Moreover, methanol absorption provided the largest E values owing to that the solubility of methanol in water was the highest among three VOCs, implying that the centrifugal force induced from the RPB equipped with blade packings did not affect the thermodynamic property of VCOs. In addition, when the gas flow rate was 50 L/min, the highest E values for methanol, methyl ethyl ketone and methyl acetate absorption were 89.8, 77.6, and 68.9, respectively. Consequently, the RPB equipped with blade packings would be more applicable to the removal of more soluble VOCs from gaseous streams of huge flow rate.

New Strategy of Using Atosiban for Tocolysis: NTUH Experience (초)

( Tzu Hung Lin ),( Shin Yu Lin ),( Chia Hui Lin ),( Chien Nan Lee ) 대한산부인과학회 2010 서울심포지움 Vol.15 No.-

Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor-α Subunit Targeting Suppresses Metastasis in Advanced Thyroid Cancer In Vitro and In Vivo

( Ching-ling Lin ),( Ming-lin Tsai ),( Yu-hsin Chen ),( Wei-ni Liu ),( Chun-yu Lin ),( Kai-wen Hsu ),( Chien-yu Huang ),( Yu-jia Chang ),( Po-li Wei ),( Shu-huey Chen ),( Li-chi Huang ),( Chia-hwa Lee 한국응용약물학회 2021 Biomolecules & Therapeutics(구 응용약물학회지) Vol.29 No.5

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy. Patients with well-differentiated thyroid cancers, such as papillary and follicular cancers, have a favorable prognosis. However, poorly differentiated thyroid cancers, such as medullary, squamous and anaplastic advanced thyroid cancers, are very aggressive and insensitive to radioiodine treatment. Thus, novel therapies that attenuate metastasis are urgently needed. We found that both PDGFC and PDGFRA are predominantly expressed in thyroid cancers and that the survival rate is significantly lower in patients with high PDGFRA expression. This finding indicates the important role of PDGF/PDGFR signaling in thyroid cancer development. Next, we established a SW579 squamous thyroid cancer cell line with 95.6% PDGFRA gene insertion and deletions (indels) through CRISPR/Cas9. Protein and invasion analysis showed a dramatic loss in EMT marker expression and metastatic ability. Furthermore, xenograft tumors derived from PDGFRA geneedited SW579 cells exhibited a minor decrease in tumor growth. However, distant lung metastasis was completely abolished upon PDGFRA gene editing, implying that PDGFRA could be an effective target to inhibit distant metastasis in advanced thyroid cancers. To translate this finding to the clinic, we used the most relevant multikinase inhibitor, imatinib, to inhibit PDGFRA signaling. The results showed that imatinib significantly suppressed cell growth, induced cell cycle arrest and cell death in SW579 cells. Our developed noninvasive apoptosis detection sensor (NIADS) indicated that imatinib induced cell apoptosis through caspase-3 activation. In conclusion, we believe that developing a specific and selective targeted therapy for PDGFRA would effectively suppress PDGFRA-mediated cancer aggressiveness in advanced thyroid cancers.

Male Infertility Increases the Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan

Chen Peng-Ciao,Chen Yu-Ju,Yang Chia-Chen,Lin Ting-Ti,Huang Chien-Chu,Chung Chi-Hsiang,Sun Chien-An,Chien Wu-Chien 대한남성과학회 2022 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.40 No.3

Purpose: Some evidence suggests that male infertility increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). However, the evidence in Asian populations is relatively scarce. The aim of this study is to determine whether male infertility increases the risk of CVDs. Materials and Methods: We used inpatient and outpatient data for the years 2000 to 2015 from the Taiwanese Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. We enrolled 7,016 males over 18 years old and diagnosed with male infertility. Of these, 2,326 matched our inclusion criteria and were assigned to the study group. For each infertility patient, four comparison patients were frequency-matched by age and index date to form a control cohort comprising 9,304 patients. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to estimate the association between male infertility and CVDs. Results: After a 15-year follow-up, the incidence rate of CVDs was higher in the infertility group than the control group (1,460.23 and 1,073.70 per 100,000 person-years, respectively). The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that the adjusted HR for CVDs was 1.472 for the infertility group (95% CI, 1.288–1.683; p<0.001) relative to the control group. The Kaplan–Meier analysis of the cumulative incidence of CVDs in the two groups showed that the cumulative risk curve for CVDs was significantly higher for the infertility group than the control group. Conclusions: This study shows that men with infertility have a higher risk of developing incident CVDs. In the future, healthcare providers should pay attention to these patients because of their higher health risks.

Prediction of the Duration to Next Admission for an Acute Affective Episode in Patients with Bipolar I Disorder

Pao-Huan Chen(Pao-Huan Chen),Chun-Ming Shih(Chun-Ming Shih),Chi-Kang Chang(Chi-Kang Chang),Chia-Pei Lin(Chia-Pei Lin),Yung-Han Chang(Yung-Han Chang),Hsin-Chien Lee(Hsin-Chien Lee),El-Wui Loh(El-Wui Lo 대한정신약물학회 2023 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.21 No.2

Objective: Predicting disease relapse and early intervention could reduce symptom severity. We attempted to identify potential indicators that predict the duration to next admission for an acute affective episode in patients with bipolar I disorder. Methods: We mathematically defined the duration to next psychiatric admission and performed single-variate regressions using historical data of 101 patients with bipolar I disorder to screen for potential variables for further multivariate regressions. Results: Age of onset, total psychiatric admissions, length of lithium use, and carbamazepine use during the psychiatric hospitalization contributed to the next psychiatric admission duration positively. The all-in-one found that hyperlipidemia during the psychiatric hospitalization demonstrated a negative contribution to the duration to next psychiatric admission; the last duration to psychiatric admission, lithium and carbamazepine uses during the psychiatric hospitalization, and heart rate on the discharge day positively contributed to the duration to next admission. Conclusion: We identified essential variables that may predict the duration of bipolar I patients’ next psychiatric admission. The correlation of a faster heartbeat and a normal lipid profile in delaying the next onset highlights the importance of managing these parameters when treating bipolar I disorder.

Human-Oriented Recognition for Intelligent Interactive Office Robot

Chia-Ming Wang,Shin-Huan Tseng,Pei-Wen Wu,Yuan-Han Xu,Chien-Ke Liao,Yu-Chi Lin,Yi-Shiu Chiang,Chung-Dial Lim,Ting-Sheng Chu,Li-Chen Fu 제어로봇시스템학회 2013 제어로봇시스템학회 국제학술대회 논문집 Vol.2013 No.10

This paper presents our new intelligent interactive robot, which is constructed to eagerly provide multi-functional services in an office environment. In order to endow a full interactive capability of our robots for realizing so-called human-robot interaction (HRI), we propose sensor fusion based human detection and tracking system and human pose estimation to deal with a number of situations which may take place in the office environment. Not only by these perceptions, human interact with the robot also by some natural way, such as touching the interface screen and talking with the robot through microphone. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed work is tested and validated by some of experiments.

JNM : Original Article ; Relevance of Ultrastructural Alterations of Intercellular Junction Morphology in Inflamed Human Esophagus

( Chia Chin Liu ),( Jeng Woei Lee ),( Tso Tsai Liu ),( Chih Hsun Yi ),( Chien Lin Chen ) 대한소화기기능성질환·운동학회(구 대한소화관운동학회) 2013 Journal of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (JNM Vol.19 No.3

Background/Aims Detailed characterization of the ultrastructural morphology of intercellular space in gastroesophageal reflux disease has not been fully studied. We aimed to investigate whether subtle alteration in intercellular space structure and tight junction proteins might differ among patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Methods Esophageal biopsies at 5 cm above the gastroesophageal junction were obtained from 6 asymptomatic controls, 10 patients with reflux symptoms but without erosions, and 18 patients with erosions. The biopsies were morphologically evaluated by transmission electron microscopy, and by using immunohistochemistry for tight junction proteins (claudin-1 and claudin-2 proteins). Results The expressions of tight junction proteins did not differ between asymptomatic controls and gastroesophageal reflux disease patients. In patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease, altered desmosomal junction morphology was only found in upper stratified squamous epithelium. Dilated intercellular space occurred only in upper stratified squamous epithelium and in patients with erosive esophagitis.Conclusions This study suggests that dilated intercellular space may not be uniformly present inside the esophageal mucosa and predom - inantly it is located in upper squamous epithelium. Presence of desmosomal junction alterations is associated with increased severity of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Besides dilated intercellular space, subtle changes in ultrastructural morphology of intercellular space allow better identification of inflamed esophageal mucosa relevant to acid reflux. (J Neurogastroenterol Motil 2013; 19:324-331)

Angelica dahurica attenuates melanogenesis in B16F0 cells by repressing Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Fang Chien-Liang,Goswami Debakshee,Kuo Chia-Hua,Day Cecilia Hsuan,Lin Mei-Yi,Ho Tsung-Jung,Yang Liang-Yo,Hsieh Dennis Jine-Yuan,Lin Tzu-Kai,Huang Chih-Yang 대한독성 유전단백체 학회 2023 Molecular & cellular toxicology Vol.19 No.1

Background Melanogenesis is a complex process which is tightly regulated by several enzymes. However, abnormal melanogenesis can cause severe dermatological problems. Roots of Angelica dahurica have been used for skin care as a part of traditional Chinese medicine for many generations. However, the role of A. dahurica in melanogenesis remains unclear. Objective Previous in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that NK-1R exerts positive effects in melanogenesis via the Wnt/βcatenin signaling pathway. In this study, we investigated the effects of A. dahurica ethanol extract (ADE) on NK-1R and Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and evaluated the effect of NK-1R on melanogenesis in B16F0 cells. Results Angelica dahurica ethanol extract efficiently downregulated Neurokinin-1 receptor and Wnt/β-catenin signaling by decreasing the expression of β-catenin, MITF, LEF-1, TYR, TRP1, and TRP2 and increasing the expression of GSK3β, which resulted from the weakened expression of the Neurokinin-1 receptor inhibitor [Sar9,Met(O2 )11]-Substance P (SMSP). Furthermore, the intracellular melanin assay and cellular tyrosinase activity confirmed these findings. Conclusion This study suggests that ADE has potential to downregulate Neurokinin-1 receptor in SMSP-induced B16F0 cells, thereby repressing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling and reduces melanin production.

UNDERSTANDING TOURIST SERVICE QUALITY PERCEPTIONS AND LOYALTY INTENTIONS IN THE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL SECTOR: APPLICATION OF DATA MINING METHODS AND KANO’S MODEL

Kuo-Chien Chang,Mu-Chen Chen,Nien-Te Kuo,Chia-Lin Hsu,Yi-Sung Cheng 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.1

This study used the methods of decision tree analysis, association rule analysis, and Kano’s model to explore the behavior patterns of mainland China tourists staying at the international tourist hotels in Taiwan. To this end, the data of their demographics, travel variables, overall satisfaction with the lodging experience, different service quality perceptions, and loyalty intentions were included. The decision tree analysis showed that a tourist’s overall satisfaction with the lodging experience, satisfaction with the quality of core intangible services, and certain demographic characteristics are three important determinants of tourist loyalty towards the hotels. In terms of the effect of demographics, the customers’ monthly income and length of stay at the hotel are two main determinants in this study. In addition, if the customer perceptions of different parts of hotel service quality are taken into account, among the five hotel service quality domains, core intangible services from the receptionist, housekeeping personnel, and food & beverage personnel are found to be important influences on hotel customer loyalty intention. In other words, high quality intangible services are important for luxury hotels to demonstrate their unique ability to help customers experience the service quality that creates loyalty intentions. With regard to the association rule analysis, the results showed that core intangible service aspects from the receptionist, housekeeping personnel, and food & beverage personnel are strongly associated with customer loyalty intentions, as are the tangible aspects of the reception and hotel room facilities. The former indicated that reception in the hotel lobby could be considered one of the most important servicescapes because of its impact in forming many of the first impressions of hotel guests, while the latter is treated as core offerings in hotels that would be encountered by most hotel customers. If the tourists are mainly from package tours, the intangible services and tangible facilities of these areas are the important areas to create customer satisfaction. However, if the tourists are mainly independent tourists because they have more time and free choice to stay at the hotel longer than the package tour tourists, the intangible services and tangible facilities of the entertainment or business centers would be even more important to these tourists than to the package tour tourists. With regard to Kano’s model analysis, the results showed that, based on mainland China tourists’ perceptions, most of the service elements fit into the category of one-dimensional quality attributes. This means that these service elements are positively and linearly related to customer satisfaction, and the greater fulfillment of the attribute results in a greater degree of satisfaction. This also means that hotels should make more effort to innovate their intangible services and tangible facilities to create business advantages in the market.

UNDERSTANDING TOURIST SERVICE QUALITY PERCEPTIONS AND LOYALTY INTENTIONS IN THE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL SECTOR: APPLICATION OF DATA MINING METHODS AND KANO’S MODEL

Kuo-Chien Chang,Mu-Chen Chen,Nien-Te Kuo,Chia-Lin Hsu,Yi-Sung Cheng 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

This study used the methods of decision tree analysis, association rule analysis, and Kano’s model to explore the behavior patterns of mainland China tourists staying at the international tourist hotels in Taiwan. To this end, the data of their demographics, travel variables, overall satisfaction with the lodging experience, different service quality perceptions, and loyalty intentions were included. The decision tree analysis showed that a tourist’s overall satisfaction with the lodging experience, satisfaction with the quality of core intangible services, and certain demographic characteristics are three important determinants of tourist loyalty towards the hotels. In terms of the effect of demographics, the customers’ monthly income and length of stay at the hotel are two main determinants in this study. In addition, if the customer perceptions of different parts of hotel service quality are taken into account, among the five hotel service quality domains, core intangible services from the receptionist, housekeeping personnel, and food & beverage personnel are found to be important influences on hotel customer loyalty intention. In other words, high quality intangible services are important for luxury hotels to demonstrate their unique ability to help customers experience the service quality that creates loyalty intentions. With regard to the association rule analysis, the results showed that core intangible service aspects from the receptionist, housekeeping personnel, and food & beverage personnel are strongly associated with customer loyalty intentions, as are the tangible aspects of the reception and hotel room facilities. The former indicated that reception in the hotel lobby could be considered one of the most important servicescapes because of its impact in forming many of the first impressions of hotel guests, while the latter is treated as core offerings in hotels that would be encountered by most hotel customers. If the tourists are mainly from package tours, the intangible services and tangible facilities of these areas are the important areas to create customer satisfaction. However, if the tourists are mainly independent tourists because they have more time and free choice to stay at the hotel longer than the package tour tourists, the intangible services and tangible facilities of the entertainment or business centers would be even more important to these tourists than to the package tour tourists. With regard to Kano’s model analysis, the results showed that, based on mainland China tourists’ perceptions, most of the service elements fit into the category of one-dimensional quality attributes. This means that these service elements are positively and linearly related to customer satisfaction, and the greater fulfillment of the attribute results in a greater degree of satisfaction. This also means that hotels should make more effort to innovate their intangible services and tangible facilities to create business advantages in the market.