Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2016-11-29"

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In vivo amelioration of endogenous antitumor autoantibodies via low-dose P4N through the LTA4H/activin A/BAFF pathway
(2016-11-29)
Lin, Yu-Ling
;
Tsai, Nu-Man
;
Hsieh, Cheng-Hao
;
Ho, Shu-Yi
;
Chang, Jung
Cancer progression is associated with the development of antitumor autoantibodies in patients\' sera. Although passive treatment with antitumor antibodies has exhibited remarkable therapeutic efficacy, inhibitory effects on tumor progression by endogenous antitumor autoantibodies (EAAs) have been limited. In this study, we show that P4N, a derivative of the plant lignan nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), enhanced the production of EAAs and inhibited tumor growth at low noncytotoxic concentrations via its immunoregulatory activity. Intratumoral injection of P4N improved the quantity and quality of EAAs, and passive transfer of P4N-induced EAAs dramatically suppressed lung metastasis formation and prolonged the survival of mice inoculated with metastatic CT26 tumor cells. P4N-induced EAAs specifically recognized two surface antigens, 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) and F1F0 ATP synthase, on the plasma membrane of cancer cells. Additionally, P4N treatment led to B-cell proliferation, differentiation to plasma cells, and high titers of autoantibody production. By serial induction of autocrine and paracrine signals in monocytes, P4N increased B-cell proliferation and antibody production via the leukotriene A4 hydrolase (LTA4H)/activin A/B-cell activating factor (BAFF) pathway. This mechanism provides a useful platform for studying and seeking a novel immunomodulator that can be applied in targeting therapy by improving the quantity and quality of the EAAs.
Proarrhythmic risk and determinants of cardiac autonomic dysfunction in collagen-induced arthritis rats
(2016-11-29)
Lin, Ting-Tse
;
Sung, Yen-Ling
;
Wu, Chih-En
;
Zhang, Hong
;
Liu, Yen-Bin
Backgrounds: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), which is two-fold higher than general population. The driving cause of SCD was considered due to lift-threatening arrhythmia where systemic inflammation acts as the pathophysiological basis linking RA to autonomicdysfunction. Methods: To assess the sympathetic over-activity of "inflammatory reflex", we measured heart rate variability (HRV) in a rat collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model, whose arthritis is induced in Lewis rats by intradermal injection of emulsion of type II collagen. Single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded for 30 min every two days. Time and frequency-domain parameters, detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), deceleration (DC) and acceleration capacity (AC) were analyzed. Results: Compared with 9 control rats, many of HRV parameters of 9 CIA rats revealed significant different. At the beginning of arthritis, LF/HF was significant higher than controls (1st week: 2.41 +/- 0.7 vs. 1.76 +/- 0.6, p < 0.05; 2nd week: 2.24 +/- 0.5 vs. 1.58 +/- 0.5, p < 0.05) indicating intensive inflammatory reflex at the initial phase of inflammation but no significant difference was observed in the following recover phase. The similar trend of DFA parameters was noted. However, the DC appeared progressive lower despite of no significant increase of the LF/HF compared with controls since 4th week. Conclusions: We observed sympathetic over-activation of inflammatory reflex during early stage of arthritis in CIA rats. The ongoing decline of DC indicated advanced cardiac autonomic dysfunction regardless of remission of acute arthritis.
Optically Evolved Assembly Formation in Laser Trapping of Polystyrene Nanoparticles at Solution Surface
(2016-11-29)
Wang, Shun-Fa
;
Kudo, Tetsuhiro
;
Yuyama, Ken-ichi
;
Sugiyama, Teruki
;
Masuhara, Hiroshi
Assembling dynamics of polystyrene nanoparticles by optical trapping is studied with utilizing transmission/reflection microscopy and reflection microspectroscopy. A single nanoparticle assembly with periodic structure is formed upon the focused laser irradiation at solution surface layer and continuously grows up to a steady state within few minutes. By controlling nanoparticle and salt concentrations in the colloidal solution, the assembling behavior is obviously changed. In the high concentration of nanoparticles, the assembly formation exhibits fast growth, gives large saturation size, and leads to dense packing structure. In the presence of salt, one assembly with the elongated aggregates was generated from the focal spot and 1064 nm trapping light was scattered outwardly with directions, while a small circular assembly and symmetrical expansion of the 1064 nm light were found without salt. The present nanoparticle assembling in optical trapping is driven through multiple scattering in gathered nanoparticles and directional scattering along the elongated aggregates derived from optical association of nanoparticles, which dynamic phenomenon is called optically evolved assembling. Repetitive trapping and release processes of nanoparticles between the assembly and the surrounding solution always proceed, and the steady state at the circular assembly formed by laser trapping is determined under optical and chemical equilibrium.
Proarrhythmic risk and determinants of cardiac autonomic dysfunction in collagen-induced arthritis rats
(2016-11-29)
Lin, Ting-Tse
;
Sung, Yen-Ling
;
Wu, Chih-En
;
Zhang, Hong
;
Liu, Yen-Bin
Backgrounds: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), which is two-fold higher than general population. The driving cause of SCD was considered due to lift-threatening arrhythmia where systemic inflammation acts as the pathophysiological basis linking RA to autonomicdysfunction. Methods: To assess the sympathetic over-activity of "inflammatory reflex", we measured heart rate variability (HRV) in a rat collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model, whose arthritis is induced in Lewis rats by intradermal injection of emulsion of type II collagen. Single-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded for 30 min every two days. Time and frequency-domain parameters, detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), deceleration (DC) and acceleration capacity (AC) were analyzed. Results: Compared with 9 control rats, many of HRV parameters of 9 CIA rats revealed significant different. At the beginning of arthritis, LF/HF was significant higher than controls (1st week: 2.41 +/- 0.7 vs. 1.76 +/- 0.6, p < 0.05; 2nd week: 2.24 +/- 0.5 vs. 1.58 +/- 0.5, p < 0.05) indicating intensive inflammatory reflex at the initial phase of inflammation but no significant difference was observed in the following recover phase. The similar trend of DFA parameters was noted. However, the DC appeared progressive lower despite of no significant increase of the LF/HF compared with controls since 4th week. Conclusions: We observed sympathetic over-activation of inflammatory reflex during early stage of arthritis in CIA rats. The ongoing decline of DC indicated advanced cardiac autonomic dysfunction regardless of remission of acute arthritis.
Oxide Heteroepitaxy for Flexible Optoelectronics
(2016-11-30)
Bitla, Yugandhar
;
Chen, Ching
;
Lee, Hsien-Chang
;
Do, Thi Hien
;
Ma, Chun-Hao
The emerging technological demands for flexible and transparent electronic devices have compelled researchers to look beyond the current silicon-based electronics. However, fabrication of devices on conventional flexible substrates with superior performance are constrained by the trade-off between processing temperature and device performance. Here, we propose an alternative strategy to circumvent this issue via the heteroepitaxial growth of transparent conducting oxides (TCO) on the flexible mica substrate with performance comparable to that of their rigid counterparts. With the examples of ITO and AZO as a case study, a strong emphasis is laid upon the growth of flexible yet epitaxial TCO relying muscovite\'s superior properties compared to those of conventional flexible substrates and its compatibility with the present fabrication methods. Besides excellent optoelectro-mechanical properties, an additional functionality of high-temperature stability, normally lacking in the current state-of-the-art transparent flexitronics, is provided by these heterostructures. These epitaxial TCO electrodes with good chemical and thermal stabilities as well as mechanical durability can significantly contribute to the field of flexible, light-weight, and portable smart electronics.
Reduced parasitic contact resistance and highly stable operation in a-In-Ga-Zn-O thin-film transistors with microwave treatment
(2016-11-30)
Liu, Po-Tsun
;
Chang, Chih-Hsiang
;
Zheng, Guang-Ting
;
Fuh, Chur-Shyang
;
Teng, Li-Feng
In this work, we studied the effects of microwave annealing process on amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) and demonstrated a high performance and reliable device characteristics. The characteristic trapping time (tau) derived from stretched-exponential model was extracted to exhibit the quality improvement of a-IGZO thin film. The microwave annealing features a selective heating and potentially avoids the damage to materials neighboring the a-IGZO channel layer in TFT device structure during thermal processes, resulting in lower parasitic source to drain resistance. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
A computational study on the adsorption configurations and reactions of SiHx(x=1-4) on clean and H-covered Si(100) surfaces
(2016-11-30)
Le, Thong N-M
;
Raghunath, P.
;
Huynh, Lam K.
;
Lin, M. C.
;
應用化學系
Possible adsorption configurations of H and SiHx (x= 1 4) on clean and H-covered Si(100) surfaces are determined by using spin-polarized DFT calculations. The results show that, on the clean surface, the gas-phase hydrogen atom and SiH3 radicals effectively adsorb on the top sites, while SiH and SiH2 prefer the bridge sites of the first layer. Another possibility for SiH is to reside on the hollow sites with a triple-bond configuration. For a partially H-coverd Si(100) surface, the mechanism is similar but with higher adsorption energies in most cases. This suggests that the surface species become more stable in the presence of surface hydrogens. The minimum energy paths for the adsorption/migration and reactions of H/SiHx species on the surfaces are explored using the climbing image-nudged elastic band method. The competitive surface processes for Si thin-film formation from SiHx precursors are also predicted. The study reveals that the migration of hydrogen adatom is unimportant with respect to leaving open surface sites because of its high barriers (>29.0 kcal/mol). Alternatively, the abstraction of hydrogen adatoms by H/SiHx radicals is more favorable. Moreover, the removal of hydrogen atoms from adsorbed SiHx, an essential step for forming Si layers, is dominated by abstraction rather than the decomposition processes. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Energy-Efficient Joint Sensing Duration, Detection Threshold, and Power Allocation Optimization in Cognitive OFDM Systems
(2016-12)
Xu, Wenjun
;
Zhou, Xuemei
;
Lee, Chia-Han
;
Feng, Zhiyong
;
Lin, Jiaru
This paper investigates an energy efficiency optimization problem in cognitive orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems. The goal is to maximize the energy efficiency by adapting the sensing duration, detection threshold, and transmit power to the constraints of the energy consumption of the secondary network and the interference to the primary network in a statistical manner. First, the case of identical detection threshold for all subcarriers is considered. In order to circumvent the intractability of the resulting problem, an alternate iteration framework is proposed to iteratively solve the three decoupled subproblems: sensing duration optimization, detection threshold optimization, and power allocation optimization. By exploiting the characteristics of each subproblem, the proposed framework is proved to be convergent. Then, the case with individual detection threshold for each subcarrier is explored. By proving that the optimal detection threshold is the root of a quadratic equation with one unknown variable, the proposed framework can be applied with minor modification. Simulation results show that the proposed alternating optimization framework can approach rapidly to the optimal solution, with less than 1% gap. Compared with the existing schemes, both the cases with identical and individual detection thresholds can achieve a considerable energy efficiency gain, with the latter further outperforming the former.
The impact of electrical contacts and contact-induced ultralow noise amplitudes in layered transistors
(2016-12)
Hsu, Chih-Kai
;
Lin, Chi-Yi
;
Li, Wenwu
;
Sun, Huabin
;
Xu, Yong
Electrical contacts made of conducting channels with external circuitry significantly impact electronic performances, in particular for two-dimensional semiconductors. This work presents a systematic study of back-to-back Schottky contacts to a layered compound of semiconducting flakes through static and dynamic electrical measurements and the first demonstration of Schottky barrier-dominated, p-type PbSnS2 field-effect transistors. In the static analysis, the Schottky barrier height of the layered transistors can be modulated by applied electrostatic fields, while the contact-dominated fluctuations render to the 1/f electric noise and induce a normalized noise amplitude in the order of 10(-9)-10(-8). Such an ultralow-noise amplitude, which is never observed in other layered semiconducting transistors, is ascribed to the existence of Schottky barriers. Our experimental results provide a nuanced perspective for advancing the understanding of performance limit with increasing numbers of layers for electronic development.
Simple median-based EP PP scheme for enhancement of reconstructed Bayer colour filter array images
(2016-12)
Yang, Yi-Hong
;
Wang, Peng-Hua
;
Chen, Po-Ning
;
電機工程學系
;
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
In this study, the median-based edge-preserving (EP) modification is revisited and has been shown to improve effectively the quality of a reconstructed Bayer colour filter array image in terms of the composite peak signal-to-noise ratio (CPSNR) performance index. Along this research direction, the authors propose an EP-modified signal-correlation-based (SCB) post-processing (PP), called EP-SCB, as an enhancement to any existing interpolation method. The Bayer image reconstruction system they consider thus consists of two operational phases. The first phase performs an initial estimation of the missing red, green and blue colours by using an existing interpolation method, whereas the second phase applies EP-SCB PP. Since a certain class of images may not fulfil the premise of having small variations in local colour difference, which is assumed by SCBtype interpolation, thereby resulting in a deterioration in CPSNR after EP-SCB PP, a threshold test on local variance ratio is also devised to conditionally switch off the second phase. Experimental results show that the EP-SCB PP with variance-ratio test gives a worst average CPSNR than the original interpolation methods tested in none of the Kodak and IMAX image groups experimented.
回到萬隆／第三世界國際主義的路上：「一帶一路」民間版二十年階段性報告
(深河出版有限公司, 2016-12-01)
陳光興
Aerosol-Assisted Plasma Deposition of Biocomposite Coatings: Investigation of Processing Conditions on Coating Properties
(2016-12)
Hsiao, Chun-Ping
;
Wu, Cheng-Chen
;
Liu, Yung-Hsin
;
Yang, Yi-Wei
;
Cheng, Yun-Chien
The aerosol-assisted atmospheric-pressure planar dielectric-barrier-discharge-type plasma deposition (AA-APPD) system can polymerize monomers and immobilize biomolecules simultaneously. In this paper, we used this technology to deposit biocomposite thin films of polyethylene (PE) along with lysozyme (Lyz) under different aerosol solution temperatures and at different coating positions in the discharge region. In addition, we compared the deposition efficacy of two kinds of Lyz solution using deionized (DI)-water and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as solvents, respectively. The results show that deposition rate of thin films increases with increasing solution temperature at most coating positions. In addition, coatings from Lyz-PBS perform higher deposition rates, but with weaker Lyz viability as compared with that of Lyz DI-water. Finally, we also verified that this DBD-type AA-APPD system can not only successfully deposit Lyz in PE thin film, but also maintain Lyz viability after plasma process under different solution temperatures and positions.
爺爺講的村子的歷史
(深河出版有限公司, 2016-12-01)
宋霞
Resolution enhancement of pump-probe microscopy with an inverse-annular spatial filter
(2016-12-01)
Kobayashi, T.
;
Kawasumi, K.
;
Miyazaki, J.
;
Nakata, K.
;
電子物理學系
We have introduced a pupil filter, an inverse-annular pupil filter in a pump-probe photothermal microscope, which provides resolution enhancement in three dimensions. The resolution is probed to be improved in lateral and axial resolution by imaging experiment using 20 nm gold nanoparticles. The improvement in X (perpendicular to the common pump and probe polarization direction), Y (parallel to the polarization direction), and Z (axial direction) are by 15 +/- 6, 8 +/- 8, and 21 +/- 2 % from the resolution without a pupil filter. The resolution enhancement is even better than the calculation using vector field, which predicts the corresponding enhancement of 11, 8, and 6 %. The discussion is made to explain the unexpected results. We also demonstrate the photothermal imaging of thick biological samples (cells from rabbit intestine and kidney) stained with hematoxylin and eosin dye with the inverse-annular filter. (C) 2016 Author(s).
莆田仙游紀行
(深河出版有限公司, 2016-12-01)
莫艾
A qualitative study on perceived value and loyalty: A moderated-mediation framework
(交通大學, 2016-12-01)
Cheng-Kai Chou
;
Mei-Liang Chen
This research conducts a qualitative study by proposing a conceptual framework that explains customer loyalty, as well as its mediators and moderator based on the signaling theory. The signaling theory was originally derived from information economics under conditions in which buyers and sellers possess asymmetric information during their interactions in the market. This study refers to perceived brand prestige as the underlying and unobservable signal that fulfills the needs or demands of consumers observing the signal. In the proposed framework of this study, loyalty is indirectly related to CSR disclosure quality and perceived brand prestige through the full mediation of customer satisfaction and desirable expectation of new products. Moreover, the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty and between desirable expectation of new products and loyalty are both moderated by perceived brand prestige. This study is a pioneer in proposing the desirable expectation of new products as a mediator and perceived brand prestige as a moderator in the loyalty formation. This study suggests that marketers successfully shaping brand prestige can reduce the mutable influence of customer satisfaction on loyalty, leading to stable loyalty. Lastly, managerial implications for marketers based on the propositions of this study are provided.
網球公開賽女子單打發球技能分析研究
(國立交通大學體育室, 2016-12-01)
邱豐傑
;
李鑑芸
;
詹益欣
;
Chiu Feng-Chieh
;
Chien-Yun Lee
目的：本研究主要目的為分析近三年世界女子職業網球選手在不同網球表面性質場地的發球技能之差異及發展，藉以了解現今世界職業女子網球發球技能之趨勢。方法：本研究是以參與2013-2015 三年間世界四大職業網球公開賽之進入女子32 強的選手做為研究對象、變異數分析比較三年間中9 項攻守技能表現之差異性。結果：1.2013-2015 勝負方之第一發球贏球率、第二發球贏球率及愛司球等技能差異均達顯著水準 (p＜.05)。2.四大網球公開賽競賽時勝負方各項發球技能表現分析後得知2013 年在第一發球成功率及愛司球，2014 年在第一發球贏球率、愛司球、發球最快速度、第一發球平均速度及第二發球平均速度，2015年在第一發球贏球率、第二發球贏球率、愛司球、發球最快速度、第一發球平均速度及第二發球平均速度等項目差異均達顯著水準 (p＜.05)。結論：研究結果顯示四大公開賽在發球贏球率方面是會影響勝負成績的關鍵表現，勝方球員均需具備有較高的第一及第二發球贏球率，獲勝的機率就會提高，而愛司球、第一及第二發球速度對速度較快的溫布頓場地表現更顯突出。
MINKOWSKI PRODUCT OF CONVEX SETS AND PRODUCT NUMERICAL RANGE
(2016-12)
Li, Chi-Kwong
;
Pelejo, Diane Christine
;
Poon, Yiu-Tung
;
Wang, Kuo-Zhong
;
應用數學系
Let K-1, K-2 be two compact convex sets in C. Their Minkowski product is the set K1K2 = {ab : a is an element of K-1, b is an element of K-2}. We show that the set K1K2 is star-haped if K-1 is a line segment or a circular disk. Examples for K-1 and K-2 are given so that K-1 and K-2 are triangles (including interior) and K1K2 is not star-shaped. This gives a negative answer to a conjecture by Puchala et. al concerning the product numerical range in the study of quantum information science. Additional results and open problems are presented.
Large-scale recommender system with compact latent factor model
(2016-12-01)
Liu, Chien-Liang
;
Wu, Xuan-Wei
;
資訊工程學系
;
工業工程與管理學系
;
Department of Computer Science
This work devises a factorization model called compact latent factor model, in which we propose a compact representation to consider query, user and item in the model. The blend of information retrieval and collaborative filtering is a typical setting in many applications. The proposed model can incorporate various features into the model, and this work demonstrates that the proposed model can incorporate context-aware and content-based features to handle context-aware recommendation and cold-start problems, respectively. Besides recommendation accuracy, a critical problem concerning the computational cost emerges in practical situations. To tackle this problem, this work uses a buffer update scheme to allow the proposed model to process data incrementally, and provide a means to use historical data instances. Meanwhile, we use stochastic gradient descent algorithm along with sampling technique to optimize ranking loss, giving a competitive performance while considering scalability and deployment issues. The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm outperforms other alternatives on four datasets. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Bubble characteristics in time periodic evaporation flow of R-134a in a narrow annular pipe due to heat flux oscillation
(2016-12)
Chen, C. A.
;
Lin, T. F.
;
Yan, Wei-Mon
;
機械工程學系
;
Department of Mechanical Engineering
In this work, bubble characteristics of periodic evaporation flow with refrigerant R-134a in a horizontal narrow annular pipe were examined experimentally in details. Attention is focused on the time periodic evaporation flow characteristics affected by the mean levels, amplitudes, and periods of the heat flux oscillation. The photos of the R-134a time periodic evaporating flow taken from the duct side are presented to show the change of the dominant two-phase flow pattern in the duct with the experimental parameters. The results show that at the low vapor quality, the bubbles get smaller with time and become less crowded in the duct in the first half of the cycle in which the R-134a heat flux decreases. The changes of the bubble characteristics with the instantaneous heat flux become more pronounced for an increase in the amplitude of the heat flux oscillation. At the very high mean vapor quality the bubble nucleation can be barely seen in the entire periodic cycle since the liquid film covering the heating surface is very thin. In addition, the duct flow is dominated by the annular two-phase flow at all time. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.