High ambient-contrast-ratio display using tandem reflective liquid crystal display and organic light-emitting device

A high ambient-contrast-ratio (A-CR) and large aperture-ratio display is conceptually demonstrated and experimentally validated by stacking a normally black reflective liquid crystal display (NB-RLCD) and an organic light-emitting device (OLED). Such a tandem device can be switched between the NB-RLCD mode and the OLED mode under bright and dark ambient light, respectively. The normally black characteristic of the RLCD also helps to boost the A-CR under OLED-mode operation. To obtain a better image quality in the RLCD mode, a bumpy and transmissive structure is used to eliminate the specular reflection and to increase the viewing angle performance that results in CR \u3e 2:1 over 55 degrees viewing cone. Besides, such a structure can also increase the external quantum efficiency of the OLED by 49.4%. In our experiments, regardless of the ambient intensity the A-CR is kept higher than 100:1

Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is becoming an effective therapeutic modality for a variety of diseases. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can be used to enhance hematopoietic engraftment, accelerate lymphocyte recovery, reduce the risk of graft failure, prevent and treat graft-versus-host disease, and repair tissue damage in patients receiving HSCT. Till now, most MSCs for human clinical application have been derived from bone marrow. However, acquiring bone-marrow-derived MSCs involves an invasive procedure. Umbilical cord is rich with MSCs. Compared to bone-marrow-derived MSCs, umbilical cord-derived MSCs (UCMSCs) are easier to obtain without harm to the donor and can proliferate faster. No severe adverse effects were noted in our previous clinical application of UCMSCs in HSCT. Accordingly, application of UCMSCs in humans appears to be feasible and safe. Further studies are warranted

Predicting the Severity and Prognosis of Trismus after Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy for Oral Cancer Patients by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

To develop magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicators to predict trismus outcome for post-operative oral cavity cancer patients who received adjuvant intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), 22 patients with oral cancer treated with IMRT were studied over a two-year period. Signal abnormality scores (SA scores) were computed from Likert-type ratings of the abnormalities of nine masticator structures and compared with the Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA test between groups. Seventeen patients (77.3%) experienced different degrees of trismus during the two-year follow-up period. The SA score correlated with the trismus grade (r = 0.52, p<0.005). Patients having progressive trismus had higher mean doses of radiation to multiple structures, including the masticator and lateral pterygoid muscles, and the parotid gland (p<0.05). In addition, this group also had higher SA-masticator muscle dose product at 6 months and SA scores at 12 months (p<0.05). At the optimum cut-off points of 0.38 for the propensity score, the sensitivity was 100% and the specificity was 93% for predicting the prognosis of the trismus patients. The SA score, as determined using MRI, can reflect the radiation injury and correlate to trismus severity. Together with the radiation dose, it could serve as a useful biomarker to predict the outcome and guide the management of trismus following radiation therapy

Molecular signature of clinical severity in recovering patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)

BACKGROUND: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a recent epidemic human disease, is caused by a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV). First reported in Asia, SARS quickly spread worldwide through international travelling. As of July 2003, the World Health Organization reported a total of 8,437 people afflicted with SARS with a 9.6% mortality rate. Although immunopathological damages may account for the severity of respiratory distress, little is known about how the genome-wide gene expression of the host changes under the attack of SARS-CoV. RESULTS: Based on changes in gene expression of peripheral blood, we identified 52 signature genes that accurately discriminated acute SARS patients from non-SARS controls. While a general suppression of gene expression predominated in SARS-infected blood, several genes including those involved in innate immunity, such as defensins and eosinophil-derived neurotoxin, were upregulated. Instead of employing clustering methods, we ranked the severity of recovering SARS patients by generalized associate plots (GAP) according to the expression profiles of 52 signature genes. Through this method, we discovered a smooth transition pattern of severity from normal controls to acute SARS patients. The rank of SARS severity was significantly correlated with the recovery period (in days) and with the clinical pulmonary infection score. CONCLUSION: The use of the GAP approach has proved useful in analyzing the complexity and continuity of biological systems. The severity rank derived from the global expression profile of significantly regulated genes in patients may be useful for further elucidating the pathophysiology of their disease

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Expression Analysis of Goat β-Casein/Human Serum Albumin Fusion Gene in Transgenic Mice

以本實驗室所選殖之山羊β-酪蛋白基因pGB5-1為模版，構築高表現能力之啟動子（promoter）序列，設計DNA引子，以β-酪蛋白5’端調節序列至exon 2為目標，利用PCR增殖出含exon 2之5’端β-酪蛋白基因調節序列。將其所增殖出之片段選殖入載體內，形成新質體pGB528（2.8 kb），pGB538（3.8 kb），pGB552（5.2 kb）及pGB565（6.5 kb）。經限制酶切割與南方吸漬分析，證實其序列之正確性，做為後續基因轉殖研究所需。 酪蛋白基因之表現具有組織與階段專一性，可在泌乳相關內泌素及細胞外基質（extracellular matrix）之刺激下，在乳腺上皮細胞中表現。選殖5’端調節序列並包含exon 1、intron 1及exon 2的山羊β-酪蛋白基因（-4044至 +2123），與綠色螢光蛋白（green fluorescent protein, GFP）報導基因構築成新載體pGB562/GFP。將之以脂質體（liposome）轉染至小鼠乳腺上皮細胞株NMuMG中，觀察融合基因表現能力。pGB562/GFP轉染之NMuMG細胞經過24，48及72 h培養後，其GFP之表現明顯高出控制組分別有25，55及42倍之多。另以電穿孔法（electroporation）轉形至離體培養之泌乳母鼠乳腺組織，觀察融合基因表現能力，以螢光顯微鏡或雷射共軛焦顯微鏡（laser scanning confocal microscope）觀察，結果顯示離體培養24 h之乳腺組織中出現明顯綠色螢光。由此證明所選殖之6.2 kb山羊β-酪蛋白基因5’端調節序列GB562具有優越的啟動基因表現能力，可供後續連結其他外源蛋白基因之用。 另一研究主題則是嘗試以體外受精（in vitro fertilization; IVF）技術與改變體外受精培養液成分，提高受精率，作為產製基因轉殖鼠所需受精卵之來源。試驗探討影響BALB/c小鼠IVF之因素，及改變培養液葡萄糖濃度，以提高其受精率之可行性。取BALB/cByJ 與FVB/NCrl 公小鼠精子，與母小鼠經超數排卵處理之卵子，進行體外受精，評估其受精率。實驗結果顯示，以FVB/NCrl公鼠為精子供應者，其受精率平均為69.6%；而BALB/cByJ公鼠為精子供應者，其受精率平均為12.1%。再者，培養液組成分中葡萄糖為提供精子能量的主要來源，故本研究探討改變培養液葡萄糖濃度對BALB/cByJ小鼠IVF之影響。試驗結果顯示，在TYH培養液含有0、2.7、5.5、11.1及22.2 mM葡萄糖組中，BALB/cByJ小鼠體外受精後發育至2-細胞期胚之比率分別為6.8、9.9、13.9、32.7及22.2%。故適度增加培養液中葡萄糖濃度，可增加BALB/cByJ精子IVF之效率。 應用所選殖的山羊β-酪蛋白基因5’端調節序列產製基因轉殖鼠。試驗以選殖自人類肝臟cDNA基因庫，涵蓋1830 bp完整胺基酸轉譯序列之人類血清白蛋白（human serum albumin, HSA）基因，與山羊β-酪蛋白基因5’端調節序列GB562連接構築成pGB562/HSA （12.5 kb）重組質體。以含-酪蛋白啟動子、HSA及SV40 polyadenylation signals之片段（9.6 kb）進行小鼠受精卵之顯微注射，以產製基因轉殖小鼠，並觀察轉殖之人類血清白蛋白基因在小鼠之表現。經由PCR及南方吸漬雜交(Southern blot)，證實3隻小鼠（2母1公）為基因轉殖小鼠。轉殖基因嵌入的套數在＃21，＃26族系超過10個套數，在＃31族系超過50個套數。收集母鼠乳汁進行西方吸漬雜交(Western blot)，確認基因轉殖小鼠乳汁中含有HSA之蛋白產物，其濃度介於0.05 ~ 0.4 mg/mL之間。基因轉殖小鼠乳腺之切片經免疫化學染色，可於乳腺泡內出現明顯HSA抗原反應。HSA基因轉殖鼠子代母鼠，取其乳腺組織，抽取RNA進行RT-PCR，結果確定基因可傳遞至子代並可轉錄HSA轉殖基因。The purpose of this study was to amplify DNA sequences by PCR to generate the regulatory sequence of goat β-casein gene for serial studies of gene expression in mammalian cells or transgenic animals. Several primers were designed for PCR to amplify DNA sequences from 5' end to exon 2 of goat β-casein gene according to the template plasmid pGB5-1. The 2.8, 3.8, 5.2 and 6.5 kb DNA fragments were obtained in the PCR products to form new vectors pGB528, pGB538, pGB552 and pGB565, respectively. In mammary epithelial cells, the stage and tissue-specific expression of the β-casein gene is under the control of lactogenic hormone prolactin, glucocorticoids and dependent on extracellular matrix components. The 5' regulative sequence and intron 1 of the goat β-casein gene from -4044 to +2123 bp, was cloned and fused with the reporter gene of green fluorescent protein (GFP) to create a plasmid termed pGB562/GFP. To detect GFP expression, pGB562/GFP was transfected in vitro via liposomes into the mammary epithelial cell line NMuMG. Cells could not express GFP unless the transfected NMuMG cells lined up to create functional alveoli. These functional cells were cultured with lactogenic hormones, including insulin, dexamethasone and prolactin, and were grown on a layer of the extracellular matrix Matrigel. Green fluorescent protein expression levels in NMuMG cells were 25-, 55- and 42-fold those in the control group at 24, 48, and 72 h after pGB562/GFP transfection respectively. In addition, pGB562/GFP was transfected ex vivo by electroporation into mammary gland fragments and cells were then cultured in vitro with a supplement of lactogenic hormones. Strong GFP expression localized in fragments of the mammary gland was observed 24 h after gene transfer. The novel strategy of ex vivo gene transfer into mammary tissue using GFP as a reporter gene to detect the function of a tissue-specific promoter is efficient and convenient. The data obtained herein reveal that the 5' regulative sequence and intron 1 including exon1 and 2 of the 6.2 kb goat β-casein gene can enhance the efficiency of transgene expression. Thus, the GB562 sequence may act as a good promoter and effectively elevate the production of exogenous protein in mammary glands. To provide fine quality fertilize eggs for generating high rate of transgenic mice, meanwhile, to probe into the genetic effect of mice in vitro fertilization (IVF) efficiency, we try to modify IVF technique and culture medium. BALB/c mice are widely used in genetic, tumour and immunological studies. Based on IVF, a routine technique for biomedical studies, it is worth to compare the effects of BALB/c mice with FVB/N on IVF efficiency. Four reciprocal IVF tests of BALB/cByJ and FVB/NCrl mice were performed. The results showed that the average fertility of IVF sponsored by FVB/NCrl spermatozoa was 69.6%, but only 12.1% was obtained from BALB/cByJ strain. Effect of glucose contained in the culture medium to the IVF efficiency of BALB/cByJ was also evaluated. The results showed that the fertility of BALB/cByJ spermatozoa incubated with 0, 2.7, 5.5, 11.1 and 22.2 mM of glucose in the TYH medium were 6.8, 9.9, 13.9, 32.7 and 22.2%, respectively. It is showed that IVF efficiency of BALB/cByJ spermatozoa could be improved depending on the increasing concentration of glucose in the IVF medium. The gene encoding human serum albumin (HSA) was cloned from human liver cDNA library by PCR. The HSA cDNA in size of 2,176 bp, including 1,830 bp of open reading frame, was cloned into the plasmid carried with the 5' flanking sequence of goat β-casein gene GB562 to form a tissue specific expression vector in mammary gland named pGB562/HSA (12.5 kb). A 9.6 kb DNA fragment in which the sequence is in order of goat β-casein gene regulatory sequence, HSA cDNA and SV40 polyadenylation signals was isolated from the pGB562/HSA, and used to microinject into the pronuclei of mouse fertilized eggs to produce transgenic mice. Three transgenic mice (2 female and 1 male) were identified by PCR and dot Southern blot analysis. The copy numbers of integrated transgene were more than 10 copies in line #21 and #26 as well as over 50 copies in line #31 of transgenic mice. HSA protein collected from the milk of lactating transgenic mice was confirmed by immuno-detection of Western and slot blot. The concentrations of HSA in the milk were from 0.05 to 0.4 mg/mL. An obvious antigen and antibody conjugate was seen at immunohistochemical stain of mammary gland tissue from lactating day 11 of HSA transgenic mice. The transmission of transgene and its expression was recognized according to the results of RT-PCR and sequences analyses of their progeny.圖 次 表 次 摘 要 緒 言 文獻檢討 一、乳中酪蛋白之性質 二、β-酪蛋白基因及其結構 三、影響乳蛋白基因表現之轉錄調節因子 四、人類血清白蛋白 第一章 山羊β-酪蛋白基因5’端調節序列之選殖與表現 第一節 山羊β-酪蛋白基因5’端調節序列之選殖 第二節 山羊β-酪蛋白/綠色螢光蛋白基因在乳腺細胞（in vitro） 及乳腺組織（ex vivo）之表現 第二章 培養液中葡萄糖濃度對小鼠體外受精之影響 第三章 山羊β-酪蛋白/人類血清白蛋白融合基因之基因轉殖小鼠產製 與基因表現測定 參考文獻 英文摘要 附

Interplay between Asian Monsoon and Tides Affects the Plume Dispersal of the New Hu-Wei River off the Coast of Midwest Taiwan

In the coupled estuary–shelf system, plumes originating from the New Hu-Wei and Choshui rivers, consisting of many terrestrial materials, could contaminate the water of the Mailiao industrial harbor. To determine the contribution of the two rivers to pollution, the interaction between river-forced, tide-generating, and monsoon-driven water motions in and around the Mailiao industrial zone harbor was examined by performing a series of numerical model experiments. We used a three-dimensional general circulation model to examine the interplay between Asian monsoon-driven, river-forced, and tide-induced water motions, one of which could primarily affect the plume. The model-derived results for different river discharges revealed that almost all of the ammonium entering the harbor had a slope-positive trend, with oscillations in response to flood–ebb tidal cycles. The ammonium increased with time and flux, except for the 10 m3/s flux. Although the river discharge flux exceeded 200 m3/s, the ammonium entering the harbor was the same as that of the 200 m3/s flux; the ammonium concentration did not increase significantly with time after the flux exceeded 200 m3/s. In addition, irrespective of flood or ebb tidal currents being suppressed by strong Asian monsoons, this mechanism avoided contaminating the water quality of the harbor while northeasterly winds prevailed. By contrast, the southwesterly monsoon drove the geostrophic current northward along the coast; concurrently, the coastal sea level increased to form the surface isobar slope up toward the coast, producing a secondary flow to accelerate geostrophic alongshore currents. The northward geostrophic currents compressed the plumes shoreward, forming a relatively narrow-band plume; the coupling model demonstrated that the southwesterly monsoon-driven current pushed plumes favorably along the west pier into the harbor

Interplay between Asian Monsoon and Tides Affects the Plume Dispersal of the New Hu-Wei River off the Coast of Midwest Taiwan

In the coupled estuary&ndash;shelf system, plumes originating from the New Hu-Wei and Choshui rivers, consisting of many terrestrial materials, could contaminate the water of the Mailiao industrial harbor. To determine the contribution of the two rivers to pollution, the interaction between river-forced, tide-generating, and monsoon-driven water motions in and around the Mailiao industrial zone harbor was examined by performing a series of numerical model experiments. We used a three-dimensional general circulation model to examine the interplay between Asian monsoon-driven, river-forced, and tide-induced water motions, one of which could primarily affect the plume. The model-derived results for different river discharges revealed that almost all of the ammonium entering the harbor had a slope-positive trend, with oscillations in response to flood&ndash;ebb tidal cycles. The ammonium increased with time and flux, except for the 10 m3/s flux. Although the river discharge flux exceeded 200 m3/s, the ammonium entering the harbor was the same as that of the 200 m3/s flux; the ammonium concentration did not increase significantly with time after the flux exceeded 200 m3/s. In addition, irrespective of flood or ebb tidal currents being suppressed by strong Asian monsoons, this mechanism avoided contaminating the water quality of the harbor while northeasterly winds prevailed. By contrast, the southwesterly monsoon drove the geostrophic current northward along the coast; concurrently, the coastal sea level increased to form the surface isobar slope up toward the coast, producing a secondary flow to accelerate geostrophic alongshore currents. The northward geostrophic currents compressed the plumes shoreward, forming a relatively narrow-band plume; the coupling model demonstrated that the southwesterly monsoon-driven current pushed plumes favorably along the west pier into the harbor