Surface Modification of TiO2 Nanoparticles with Phenyltrimethoxysilane in Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) was anchored onto the sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles. This insulating molecular layer effectively inhibited the charge recombination at the interface of TiO2/electrolyte in the dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) without sacrificing the dye-loading capacity of the nanocrystalline TiO2. DSCs using PTMS-modified TiO2 exhibited a short-circuit current (J(SC)) of 15.9 mA/cm(2), an open-circuit voltage (V-OC) of 789 mV, and a fill factor (FE) of 68.2%, yielding an overall conversion efficiency (eta) of 8.55% under 100 mW/cm(2) illumination. The resulting cell efficiency was improved by similar to 10% as compared with the reference cell.X1133Ysciescopu

Adiposity, its related biologic risk factors, and suicide: a cohort study of 542,088 Taiwanese adults

Recent studies in Western nations have shown inverse associations between body mass index (BMI, measured as weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) and suicide. However, it is uncertain whether the association is similar in non-Western settings, and the biologic pathways underlying the association are unclear. The authors investigated these issues in a cohort of 542,088 Taiwanese people 20 years of age or older who participated in a health check-up program (1994-2008); there were 573 suicides over a mean 8.1 years of follow up. There was a J-shaped association between BMI and suicide risk (P for the quadratic term = 0.033) but limited evidence of a linear association (adjusted hazard ratio per 1-standard-deviation increase = 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.85, 1.06)); compared with individuals whose BMI was 18.5-22.9, adjusted hazard ratios for those with a BMI /=35 were 1.56 (95% confidence interval: 1.07, 2.28) and 3.62 (95% confidence interval: 1.59, 8.22), respectively. A high waist-to-hip ratio was associated with an increased risk of suicide. There was some evidence for a reverse J-shaped association of systolic blood pressure and high density lipoprotein cholesterol with suicide and an association of higher triglyceride level with increased suicide risk; these associations did not appear to mediate the associations of BMI and waist-to-hip ratio with suicide.postprin

Efficacy of Functional Magnetic Stimulation in Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction after Spinal Cord Injury

[[abstract]]Objective: The aims of this study were to assess the usefulness of functional magnetic stimulation in controlling neurogenic bowel dysfunction in spinal cord injured patients with supraconal and conal/caudal lesions, and to investigate the efficacy of this regimen with a 3-month follow-up. Design: A longitudinal, prospective before-after trial. Subjects: A total of 22 patients with chronic spinal cord injured and intractable neurogenic bowel dysfunction. They were divided into group 1 (supraconal lesion) and group 2 (conal/caudal lesion). Methods: The colonic transit time assessment and Knowles-Eccersley-Scott Symptom Questionnaire were carried out for each patient before they received a 3-week functional magnetic stimulation protocol and on the day following the treatment. Results and conclusion: Following functional magnetic stimulation, the mean colonic transit time for all patients decreased from 62.6 to 50.4 h (p < 0.001). The patients’ Knowles-Eccersley-Scott Symptom scores decreased from 24.5 to 19.2 points (p < 0.001). The colonic transit time decrement in both group 1 (p = 0.003) and group 2 (p = 0.043) showed significant differences, as did the Knowles-Eccersley-Scott Symptom score in both groups following stimulation and in the 3-month follow-up results (p < 0.01). The improvements in bowel function indicate that functional magnetic stimulation, featuring broad-spectrum application, can be incorporated successfully into other therapies as an optimal adjuvant treatment for neurogenic bowel dysfunction resulting from spinal cord injury.[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]SW

Flood impact assessment under climate change scenarios in central Taipei area, Taiwan

Providing effective information regarding flood control for responding climate change is essential to future flood risk management for cities. This study simulated and assessed the impacts of flooding for future climate change scenarios in Taipei city, Taiwan. We modelled rainfall events, generated by general circulation models, with different return periods. The flood extents and damage in the Central Taipei Area for the A1B climate change scenarios were compared to the ones, caused by the rainfall events with same return periods, without climate change (baseline scenario). The proposed approach provides potential flooding maps and flood damage assessment for climate change scenarios as useful information for flood risk management in urban areas.The work is supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC 99-2915-I-002-120) and the CORFU project, funded by the European Commission through Framework Programme 7, Grant Number 244047

Multiregional Satellite Precipitation Products Evaluation over Complex Terrain

An extensive evaluation of nine global-scale high-resolution satellite-based rainfall (SBR) products is performed using a minimum of 6 years (within the period of 2000-13) of reference rainfall data derived from rain gauge networks in nine mountainous regions across the globe. The SBR products are compared to a recently released global reanalysis dataset from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The study areas include the eastern Italian Alps, the Swiss Alps, the western Black Sea of Turkey, the French Cévennes, the Peruvian Andes, the Colombian Andes, the Himalayas over Nepal, the Blue Nile in East Africa, Taiwan, and the U.S. Rocky Mountains. Evaluation is performed at annual, monthly, and daily time scales and 0.25° spatial resolution. The SBR datasets are based on the following retrieval algorithms: Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multisatellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA), the NOAA/Climate Prediction Center morphing technique (CMORPH), Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information Using Artificial Neural Networks (PERSIANN), and Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP). SBR products are categorized into those that include gauge adjustment versus unadjusted. Results show that performance of SBR is highly dependent on the rainfall variability. Many SBR products usually underestimate wet season and overestimate dry season precipitation. The performance of gauge adjustment to the SBR products varies by region and depends greatly on the representativeness of the rain gauge network

Chemotherapy of tuberculosis in Hong Kong: a consensus statement

This consensus statement is prepared primarily as a concise reference for tuberculosis chemotherapy in Hong Kong. Treatment should be tailored to patients individually, expert advice should be sought when necessary, and 'directly observed treatment' should be used where possible. A 6-month regimen is recommended as the initial treatment of uncomplicated pulmonary tuberculosis and a 9-month regimen is recommended for retreatment. Patients with disease that is resistant to isoniazid or rifampicin may require modified regimens. Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis should be managed in specialised centres, using multiple drugs as guided by in vitro susceptibility tests. Recommended regimens to treat extrapulmonary tuberculosis are based on limited current evidence, although shorter regimens may be acceptable when better evidence emerges. A longer duration of treatment is required for diabetic, immuno-compromised, or silicotic patients. During pregnancy, streptomycin should be avoided; the safety profiles of second-line drugs have not yet been ascertained. Hepatotoxic drugs should be used with caution in patients with liver dysfunction, and extra caution and dosage reductions are required if streptomycin and ethambutol are used in patients with renal impairment.published_or_final_versio

In vitro antioxidant properties of polysaccharides from Armillaria mellea in batch fermentation

Antioxidant properties of exopolysaccharides (EPS) and intracellular polysaccharides (IPS) obtained respectively from mycelia and filtrates of submerged culture by Armillaria mellea in a 20-L stirred tank bioreactor were investigated. Effective production of EPS and IPS is available by submerged culture of A. mellea with respective number average molecular weights and protein/polysaccharide ratios as 7.68×106 Da and 7.68% as well as 5.65×106 Da and 5.26%. Both EPS and IPS exhibit powerful antioxidant activities by conjugated diene method, chelating effect on ferrous ions and scavenging effect on superoxide anion, as evidenced by their quite low EC50 values (&lt; 5 mg/mL). Results confirmed that fermented A. mellea polysaccharides are potential antioxidant sources of both healthy medicine and food industries.Key words: Armillaria mellea, intracellular polysaccharide, exopolysaccharide, antioxidant activity

Rare B Decays with a HyperCP Particle of Spin One

In light of recent experimental information from the CLEO, BaBar, KTeV, and Belle collaborations, we investigate some consequences of the possibility that a light spin-one particle is responsible for the three Sigma^+ -> p mu^+ mu^- events observed by the HyperCP experiment. In particular, allowing the new particle to have both vector and axial-vector couplings to ordinary fermions, we systematically study its contributions to various processes involving b-flavored mesons, including B-Bbar mixing as well as leptonic, inclusive, and exclusive B decays. Using the latest experimental data, we extract bounds on its couplings and subsequently estimate upper limits for the branching ratios of a number of B decays with the new particle. This can serve to guide experimental searches for the particle in order to help confirm or refute its existence.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures; discussion on spin-0 case modified, few errors corrected, main conclusions unchange

Testing the theory of immune selection in cancers that break the rules of transplantation

Modification of cancer cells likely to reduce their immunogenicity, including loss or down-regulation of MHC molecules, is now well documented and has become the main support for the concept of immune surveillance. The evidence that these modifications, in fact, result from selection by the immune system is less clear, since the possibility that they may result from reorganized metabolism associated with proliferation or from cell de-differentiation remains. Here, we (a) survey old and new transplantation experiments that test the possibility of selection and (b) survey how transmissible tumours of dogs and Tasmanian devils provide naturally evolved tests of immune surveillance