Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2014-05-28"

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Acid-induced hyperalgesia and anxio-depressive comorbidity in rats
(2014-05-28)
Liu, Yu-Ting
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Shao, Yen-Wen
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Yen, Chen-Tung
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Shaw, Fu-Zen
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生醫電子轉譯研究中心
Fibromyalgia is a prevalent disorder characterized by chronic widespread pain (CWP) and complex comorbid symptoms. A CWP model is developed through repeated unilateral intramuscular injections of acid saline resulting in bilateral mechanical hyperalgesia in rats. The present study aims to evaluate whether both anxious and depressive comorbidities exist in this acid-induced pain model, similarly to patients with CWP syndromes. The anxiety-like behaviors were evaluated using the open field and elevated plus maze tests, and depression-like behaviors were measured by the forced swimming, sucrose consumption, and sucrose preference tests. The pain group receiving acidic saline displayed significantly lower paw withdrawal thresholds for 4 weeks than animals in the vehicle group after repetitive intramuscular injections. The pain group showed a significantly shorter duration of exploring the central zone of the open field and the open arms of the elevated plus maze compared to the vehicle group. The pain group had a significantly lower preference for and consumption of the hedonic sucrose. Moreover, rats with chronic pain showed significantly longer immobility than the vehicle group in the forced swimming test. The results indicate that psychiatric behaviors are exacerbated in the CWP model. This study provides evidence for the validity of the acid-induced pain model analogous to patients with CWP syndromes. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Inc.
New Ce3+-Activated Thiosilicate Phosphor for LED Lighting-Synthesis, Luminescence Studies, and Applications
(2014-05-28)
Lee, Szu-Ping
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Huang, Chien-Hao
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Chan, Ting-Shan
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Chen, Teng-Ming
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應用化學系
A new Ce3+-activated thiosilicate phosphor, BaLa2Si2S8:Ce3+, was synthesized by using solid-state methods in a fused silica ampule and found to crystallize in the structure type of La2PbSi2S8. The crystal structure has been characterized by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and refined with Rietveld methods. This novel cyan-emitting phosphor can be excited over a broad range from UV to blue light (380-450 nm) and generates a broadband emission peaking at 471 nm with a quantum efficiency of 36%. Nonradiative transitions between Ce3+ ions in BaLa2Si2S8:Ce3+ have also been demonstrated to be attributable to dipole-dipole interactions, and the critical distance was calculated to be 17.41 angstrom. When BaLa2Si2S8:Ce3+ phosphor was utilized to incorporate with yellow-emitting (Sr,Ca)(2)SiO4:Eu2+ phosphor and red-emitting CaAlSiN3:Eu2+ phosphor on a 430 nm blue LED chip, a warm white light LED device with color rendering index of similar to 96 was obtained. The results indicate that cyan-emitting BaLa2Si2S8:Ce3+ can serve as a potential phosphor for incorporation in fabrication of solid-state lighting. The preparation, spectroscopic characterization, quantum efficiency, decay lifetime, thermal-quenching behavior, and related LED device data are also presented.
Ambipolar MoTe2 Transistors and Their Applications in Logic Circuits
(2014-05-28)
Lin, Yen-Fu
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Xu, Yong
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Wang, Sheng-Tsung
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Li, Song-Lin
;
Yamamoto, Mahito
We report ambipolar charge transport in a-molybdenum ditelluride (MoTe2) flakes, whereby the temperature dependence of the electrical characteristics was systematically analyzed. The ambipolarity of the charge transport originated from the formation of Schottky barriers at the metal/MoTe2 contacts. The Schottky barrier heights as well as the current on/off ratio could be modified by modulating the electrostatic fields of the back-gate voltage (V-bg) and drain-source voltage (V-ds). Using these ambipolar MoTe2 transistors we fabricated complementary inverters and amplifiers, demonstrating their feasibility for future digital and analog circuit applications.
Integrated fuzzy data envelopment analysis to assess transport performance
(2014-05-28)
Lan, Lawrence W.
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Chiou, Yu-Chiun
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Yen, Barbara T. H.
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運輸與物流管理系註：原交通所+運管所
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Department of Transportation and Logistics Management
Previous fuzzy data envelopment analysis (FDEA) models separately solving for the lower- and upper-bound efficiency frontiers under a specific alpha-cut level may lead to inconsistent efficiency rankings, unreasonable efficiency scores, and cumbersome slack computations. To rectify such shortcomings, this paper proposes two novel integrated fuzzy data envelopment analysis (IFDEA) models wherein both efficiency frontiers are incorporated into a single modelling formulation in ways that the slack values for lower- and upper-bound input/output variables are determined simultaneously. A numerical example shows that the proposed IFDEA models are more generalised and with greater simplicity than an existent FDEA model. A case study further demonstrates that the proposed IFDEA models can satisfactorily assess the relative efficiency for bus transport companies provided that a portion of the variables are measured qualitatively with vagueness (passenger satisfaction in this study).
Molecular near-field antenna effect in resonance hyper-Raman scattering: Intermolecular vibronic intensity borrowing of solvent from solute through dipole-dipole and dipole-quadrupole interactions
(2014-05-28)
Shimada, Rintaro
;
Hamaguchi, Hiro-o
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應用化學系
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應用化學系分子科學碩博班
;
Department of Applied Chemistry
We quantitatively interpret the recently discovered intriguing phenomenon related to resonance Hyper-Raman (HR) scattering. In resonance HR spectra of all-trans-beta-carotene (beta-carotene) in solution, vibrations of proximate solvent molecules are observed concomitantly with the solute beta-carotene HR bands. It has been shown that these solvent bands are subject to marked intensity enhancements by more than 5 orders of magnitude under the presence of beta-carotene. We have called this phenomenon the molecular-near field effect. Resonance HR spectra of beta-carotene in benzene, deuterated benzene, cyclohexane, and deuterated cyclohexane have been measured precisely for a quantitative analysis of this effect. The assignments of the observed peaks are made by referring to the infrared, Raman, and HR spectra of neat solvents. It has been revealed that infrared active and some Raman active vibrations are active in the HR molecular near-field effect. The observed spectra in the form of difference spectra (between benzene/deuterated benzene and cyclohexane/deuterated cyclohexane) are quantitatively analyzed on the basis of the extended vibronic theory of resonance HR scattering. The theory incorporates the coupling of excited electronic states of beta-carotene with the vibrations of a proximate solvent molecule through solute-solvent dipole-dipole and dipole-quadrupole interactions. It is shown that the infrared active modes arise from the dipole-dipole interaction, whereas Raman active modes from the dipole-quadrupole interaction. It is also shown that vibrations that give strongly polarized Raman bands are weak in the HR molecular near-field effect. The observed solvent HR spectra are simulated with the help of quantum chemical calculations for various orientations and distances of a solvent molecule with respect to the solute. The observed spectra are best simulated with random orientations of the solvent molecule at an intermolecular distance of 10 angstrom. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.
Directly Thiolated Modification onto the Surface of Detonation Nanodiamonds
(2014-05-28)
Hsu, Ming-Hua
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Chuang, Hong
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Cheng, Fong-Yu
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Huang, Ying-Pei
;
Han, Chien-Chung
An efficient method for modifying the surface of detonation nanodiamonds (5 and 100 nm) with thiol groups (-SH) by using an organic chemistry strategy is presented herein. Thiolated nanodiamonds were characterized by spectroscopic techniques, and the atomic percentage of sulfur was analyzed by elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The conjugation between thiolated nanodiamonds and gold nanoparticles was elucidated by transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis spectrometry. Moreover, the material did not show significant cytotoxicity to the human lung carcinoma cell line and may prospectively be applied in bioconjugated technology. The new method that we elucidated may significantly improve the approach to surface modification of detonation nanodiamonds and build up a new platform for the application of nanodiamonds.
Nano-Seaurchin Contrast Agents With Pore-Filled Gold Nanorods And The Preparation Method Thereof
(2014-05-29)
Chen San-Yuan
;
Chen Po-Jung
;
Liu Dean-Mo
;
Hu Shang-Hsiu
A nano-photoacoustic imaging agent is disclosed. The nano-photoacoustic imaging agent includes a porous carrier and a gold filling material embedded in the porous carrier. A method for the preparation of the nano-photoacoustic imaging agent is also provided.
Theoretical study of cellobiose hydrolysis to glucose in ionic liquids
(2014-05-30)
Nishimura, Yoshifumi
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Yokogawa, Daisuke
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Irle, Stephan
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應用化學系
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應用化學系分子科學碩博班
The S(N)1-type hydrolysis reaction of cellobiose in ionic liquids (ILs) was theoretically investigated. First principles and ab initio quantum chemical methods were used in conjunction with the \'reference interaction site model self-consistent field with spatial electron density distribution\' (RISM-SCF-SEDD) method. Reaction mechanism pathways are discussed and compared to calculations in gas phase and in aqueous solution. Analysis of solvation effects indicates strong interaction between hydrogen atoms of glucose hydroxyl groups and the anions in ILs, contributing to large stabilization of the reaction product. The calculated activation energy in ILs (24.5 kcal/mol) agrees quantitatively with the experimental value (26.5 kcal/mol). (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.
IncRNAMap: A map of putative regulatory functions in the long non-coding transcriptome
(2014-06-01)
Chan, Wen-Ling
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Huang, Hsien-Da
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Chang, Jan-Gowth
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生物科技學系
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生物資訊及系統生物研究所
Background: Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of long non-coding RNAs (IncRNAs) in chromatin remodeling, and in transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. However, only a few specific IncRNAs are well understood, whereas others are completely uncharacterized. To address this, there is a need for user-friendly platform to studying the putative regulatory functions of human IncRNAs. Description: IncRNAMap is an integrated and comprehensive database relating to exploration of the putative regulatory functions of human IncRNAs with two mechanisms of regulation, by encoding siRNAs and by acting as miRNA decoys. To investigate IncRNAs producing siRNAs that regulate protein-coding genes, IncRNAMap integrated small RNAs (sRNAs) that were supported by publicly available deep sequencing data from various sRNA libraries and constructed IncRNA-derived siRNA-target interactions. In addition, IncRNAMap demonstrated that IncRNAs can act as targets for miRNAs that would otherwise regulate protein-coding genes. Previously studies indicated that intergenic IncRNAs (lincRNAs) either positive or negative regulated neighboring genes, therefore, IncRNAMap surveyed neighboring genes within a 1 Mb distance from the genomic location of specific IncRNAs and provided the expression profiles of IncRNA and its neighboring genes. The gene expression profiles may supply the relationship between incRNA and its neighboring genes. Conclusions: lncRNAMap is a powerful user-friendly platform for the investigation of putative regulatory functions of human IncRNAs with producing siRNAs and acting as miRNA decoy. IncRNAMap is freely available on the web at http://IncRNAMap.mbc.nctu.edu.tw/., (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Highly Transparent, High-Performance IGZO-TFTs Using the Selective Formation of IGZO Source and Drain Electrodes
(2014-06-01)
Wu, Hung-Chi
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Chien, Chao-Hsin
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電子工程學系及電子研究所
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Department of Electronics Engineering and Institute of Electronics
In this letter, high-performance, highly transparent amorphous InGaZnO (IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) with IGZO source/drain electrodes were fabricated. Rapid thermal annealing treatment effectively converted IGZO from a semiconductor into a conductor. Using a patterned SiO2 capping layer, highly transparent IGZO-TFTs with selectively formed IGZO electrodes were fabricated on a glass substrate. The mobility of the fabricated IGZO-TFT was 8.3 cm(2)/V s, ON/OFF ratio was 3.1 x 10(6), and subthreshold swing was 0.44 V/decade. Thus, the proposed scheme provides a simple and practical method of fabricating high-performance, highly transparent IGZO TFTs.
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 is involved in a tamoxifen neuroprotective effect in a lateral fluid percussion injury rat model
(2014-06-01)
Tsai, Yin-Tzu
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Wang, Che-Chuan
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Leung, Pak-On
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Lin, Kao-Chang
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Chio, Chung-Ching
Background: The aim of the present study was to determine whether tamoxifen (TMX) causes attenuation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) induced by fluid percussion injury. Materials and methods: Immediately after the onset of fluid percussion TBI, anesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three major groups and intraperitoneally administered the vehicle solution (1 mL/kg), TMX (1 mg/kg), or TMX (1 mg/kg) plus the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 antagonist SL327 (30 mg/kg). Another group of rats were used as sham-operated controls. The functional outcomes, such as motor outcomes, were evaluated using an incline plane. The cellular infarction volume was evaluated by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. Neuronal loss, apoptosis, and p-ERK1/2 and Bcl2 expression in neuronal cortex cells were evaluated by immunofluorescence methods. All the parameters were assessed on day 4 after injury. Results: Compared with the sham-operated controls, the TBI-induced motor deficits and cerebral infarction after TBI were significantly attenuated by TMX therapy. The TBI-induced neuronal loss and apoptosis were also significantly reduced by TMX therapy. The numbers of Bcl2- and phospho-ERK1/2-positive neuronal cells in the ischemic cortex after TBI were significantly increased by TMX therapy. These TMX effects were significantly blocked by SL327 administration. Conclusions: Our results suggest that intravenous injection of TMX may ameliorate TBI in rats by increasing neuronal p-ERK1/2 expression, which might lead to an increase in neuronal Bcl2 expression and a decrease in neuronal apoptosis and cell infarction volume, and it might represent one mechanism by which functional recovery occurred. TMX may be a promising TBI treatment strategy. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Fabrication and characteristics of a GaN-based microcavity laser with shallow etched mesa
(2014-06-01)
Lai, Ying-Yu
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Chou, Yu-Hsun
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Wu, Yu-Sheng
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Lan, Yu-Pin
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Lu, Tien-Chang
In this work, we have developed a simple GaN-based microcavity (MC) with an intracavity shallow etched mesa. The textured GaN-based MC incorporated two high-reflectivity dielectric Bragg mirrors and an InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well with a shallow etched mesa as an optical confined structure. Lasing and transverse optical confinement characteristics have been verified by measuring devices with different mesa diameters. A quality factor (Q) of 2600 and a threshold energy of 30 nJ have been observed in a 10-mu m-diameter device. Such a cavity structure could be implanted into electrically pumped GaN vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers for supporting efficient transverse confinement. (C) 2014 The Japan Society of Applied Physics
一種主動式觸控感測電路裝置
(2014-06-01)
戴亞翔
;
周祿盛
;
邱皓麟
本發明揭露一種主動式觸控感測電路裝置，係適用於一觸控面板，該主動式觸控感測電路包含：感測單元、電阻、電晶體。電阻係連接感測單元，且電阻係連接於第一掃瞄線。電晶體之控制端係連接於感測單元，電晶體之輸入端係連接於第二掃瞄線，電晶體之輸出端連接於讀取線。當一物體觸摸感測單元感測單元之感測值係改變，以使控制端之輸入波形產生改變，並使輸出端輸出開電流，而藉由讀取線傳輸開電流。
Characterization of Oxygen Accumulation in Indium-Tin-Oxide for Resistance Random Access Memory
(2014-06-01)
Zhang, Rui
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Chang, Kuan-Chang
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Chang, Ting-Chang
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Tsai, Tsung-Ming
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Huang, Syuan-Yong
In this letter, we report the oxygen accumulation effect and its influence on resistive switching for gadolinium-doped silicon dioxide (Gd:SiO2) resistance random access memory (RRAM). We find that oxygen absorbance by indium-tin-oxide electrode affects the conduction current mechanism, and remarkably modifies the device performance of RRAM devices. By current fitting, Schottky emission can be observed in both low and high resistance states, from which conduction model is proposed to clarify the oxygen accumulation phenomenon. Reliability tests, including endurance and high temperature retention are further carried out, evaluating the significance of oxygen accumulation effect in redox reaction for RRAM devices.
Novel Noninvasive Approach for Detecting Arteriovenous Fistula Stenosis
(2014-06-01)
Wang, Hsien-Yi
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Wu, Cho-Han
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Chen, Chien-Yue
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Lin, Bor-Shyh
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影像與生醫光電研究所
Hemodialysis is the most common treatment for patients with end-stage renal disease. For hemodialysis, consistently functional vascular access must be surgically created with an anastomosis of artery and vein, referred to as an arteriovenous fistula (AVF). However, AVF dysfunction may occur over time. Angiography and Doppler ultrasound are usually used to detect the flow or the diameter of the AVF. But they require well-trained operators and are expensive, and even angiography is invasive. In this study, a noninvasive approach based on stethoscope auscultation for monitoring AVF stenosis was proposed. Here, a wireless blood flow sound recorder was designed to record blood flow sounds wirelessly. In order to effectively extract the varying feature of blood flow sounds for AVF stenosis, the 2-D feature pattern built from S-transform was also proposed as the feature in the AVF stenosis detecting algorithm. Different from other frequency-related coefficients, the feature pattern can contain the information of blood flow sounds in time and frequency domains simultaneously. Preliminary findings showed that the proposed approach can provide high-quality estimation of AVF stenosis (positive predictive value=87.84% and sensitivity = 89.24%).
脈衝式正反器
(2014-06-01)
李鎮宜
;
宋偉豪
;
李明哲
一種脈衝式正反器，係響應第一及第二時脈訊號，閂鎖資料輸入訊號，以將其轉換為資料輸出訊號，脈衝式正反器包含脈衝產生器以及閂鎖器，脈衝產生器包含第一反相器及訊號延遲電路，用以接收第一時脈訊號並產生第二時脈訊號；而閂鎖器包含傳遞電路、閂鎖電路以及控制電路。閂鎖器響應第一及第二時脈訊號，用以閂鎖資料輸入訊號並輸出資料輸出訊號，其中傳遞電路用以傳遞資料輸入訊號；閂鎖電路電性連接於傳遞電路，用以接收和閂鎖資料輸入訊號，並輸出資料輸出訊號；而控制電路電性連接於閂鎖電路，用以提供電壓控制閂鎖電路的開與關。
Adoption of three new types of computers in Taiwan: Tablet PCs, netbooks, and smart phones
(2014-06-01)
Li, Shu-Chu Sarrina
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傳播研究所
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Institute of Communication Studies
Tablet PCs, netbooks, and smart phones are similar to one another in that they possess the basic functions of computers, but they differ in what functions they emphasize. Rogers\' diffusion of innovation model has been widely recognized as a powerful model for predicting technology adoption. This study adopted Rogers\' model to examine the adoption intentions of the three new types of computers. A telephone survey was conducted to collect data. This study made 1757 telephone calls, from which 1100 valid calls were obtained, representing a response rate of 62.61%. The data analysis demonstrates that the findings are generally congruent with the predictions of Rogers\' model. However, this study\'s results also reveal one limitation of Rogers\' model, its pro-innovation bias, which explains why the diffusion of netbooks was incongruent with Rogers\' model. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Facilitating the implementation and efficacy of health-promoting schools via an action-research approach in Taiwan
(2014-06-01)
Chang, Fong-Ching
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Liu, Chieh-Hsing
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Liao, Li-Ling
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Niu, Yu-Zhen
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Cheng, Chi-Chia
Taiwan launched its evidence-based health-promoting school (HPS) program via an action-research approach in 2010. The program featured a collaborative partnership between schools, local education authorities and university support networks. This study was focused on examining whether an HPS action-research approach was effective in advancing HPS implementation, perceived HPS impact and perceived HPS efficacy in Taiwan. In 2011, questionnaires were sent to 900 sample schools in Taiwan. A total of 621 schools returned the questionnaire, including 488 primary schools and 133 middle schools. The response rate was 69%. This study compared the difference in HPS implementation status, perceived HPS impact and perceived HPS efficacy between those schools that had implemented action-research HPS (138 schools) and those that had not (483 schools). The univariate analysis results indicated that the HPS implementation levels for components that included school health policies, physical environment, social environment, teaching activities and school-community relations were significantly higher in action-research schools than in non-action-research schools. Teachers in action-research schools reported significantly higher levels of HPS impact and HPS efficacy than non-action-research schools. The multivariate analysis results indicated that after controlling for school level and HPS funding, the HPS action-research approach was significantly positively related to greater levels of HPS implementation, perceived HPS impact and perceived HPS efficacy.
多原色色彩色域邊界之建立方法
(2014-06-01)
歐陽盟
;
黃庭緯
;
陳子賢
;
羅明
本發明係揭露一種多原色色彩色域邊界之建立方法，其係在新亮度下，選擇混色重心頂點相鄰之獨立性原色及其色域邊界頂點；先由獨立性原色為圓心，以虛擬線進行旋轉，遇到之相依性原色即可作為與混色重心頂點混色之相依性色域邊界頂點；再以此相依性色域邊界頂點為圓心重複進行相同步驟，直至取得所有相依性原色對應之相依性色域邊界頂點；最後，選擇可以建構最大的色域邊界之色域邊界頂點，並據此建立色域邊界。本發明可找出相依性原色存在最大亮度下之色域邊界，並可增加色彩表現之色域範圍。
Probability-Based Location Aware Design and On-Demand Robotic Intrusion Detection System
(2014-06-01)
Lin, Chia-How
;
Song, Kai-Tai
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電控工程研究所
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Institute of Electrical and Control Engineering
For an on-demand robotic system, a location aware module provides location information of objects, users, and the mobile robot itself. This information supports various intelligent behaviors of a service robot in day-to-day scenarios. This paper presents a novel probability-based approach to building a location aware system. With this approach, the inconsistencies often seen in received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurements are handled with a minimum of calibration. By taking off-line calibration measurement of a ZigBee sensor network, the inherent problem of signal uncertainty of to-be-localized nodes can be effectively resolved. The proposed RSSI-based algorithm allows flexible deployment of sensor nodes in various environments. The proposed algorithm has been verified in several typical environments and experiments show that the method outperforms existing algorithms. The location aware system has been integrated with an autonomous mobile robot to demonstrate the proposed on-demand robotic intruder detection system. In the experiments, three alarm sensors were employed to monitor abnormal conditions. If an intrusion was detected, the robot immediately moves to the location and transmits scene images to the user, allowing the user to respond to the situation in real time.