Flexible Electronics Sensors for Tactile Multi-Touching

Flexible electronics sensors for tactile applications in multi-touch sensing and large scale manufacturing were designed and fabricated. The sensors are based on polyimide substrates, with thixotropy materials used to print organic resistances and a bump on the top polyimide layer. The gap between the bottom electrode layer and the resistance layer provides a buffer distance to reduce erroneous contact during large bending. Experimental results show that the top membrane with a bump protrusion and a resistance layer had a large deflection and a quick sensitive response. The bump and resistance layer provided a concentrated von Mises stress force and inertial force on the top membrane center. When the top membrane had no bump, it had a transient response delay time and took longer to reach steady-state. For printing thick structures of flexible electronics sensors, diffusion effects and dimensional shrinkages can be improved by using a paste material with a high viscosity. Linear algorithm matrixes with Gaussian elimination and control system scanning were used for multi-touch detection. Flexible electronics sensors were printed with a resistance thickness of about 32 μm and a bump thickness of about 0.2 mm. Feasibility studies show that printing technology is appropriate for large scale manufacturing, producing sensors at a low cost

Rho Kinases Regulate the Renewal and Neural Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells in a Cell Plating Density–Dependent Manner

[[abstract]]BACKGROUND: Rho kinases (ROCKs) mediate cell contraction, local adhesion, and cell motility, which are considered to be important in cell differentiation. We postulated that ROCKs are involved in controlling embryonic stem (ES) cell renewal and differentiation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: CCE, a murine ES cell, was treated with Y-27632 for 48 to 96 hours and colony formation was evaluated. Y-27632 blocked CCE colony formation and induced CCE to grow as individual cells, regardless of the initial seeding cell density either at 10(4)/cm(2) ("high" seeding density) or 2x10(3)/cm(2) ("low" density). However, at high seeding density, Y-27632-treated cells exhibited reduction of alkaline phosphatase (AP) staining and Oct3/4 expression. They expressed SOX-1, nestin, and MAP2c, but not betaIII-tubulin or NG-2. They did not express endoderm or mesoderm lineage markers. After removal of Y-27632, the cells failed to form colonies or regain undifferentiated state. Silencing of ROCK-1 or ROCK-2 with selective small interference RNA induced CCE morphological changes similar to Y-27632. Silencing of ROCK-1 or ROCK-2 individually was sufficient to cause reduction of AP and Oct3/4, and expression of SOX-1, nestin, and MAP2c; and combined silencing of both ROCKs did not augment the effects exerted by individual ROCK siRNA. Y-27632-treated CCE cells seeded at 2x10(3) or 6.6x10(3) cells/cm(2) did not lose renewal factors or express differentiation markers. Furthermore, they were able to form AP-positive colonies after removal of Y-27632 and reseeding. Similar to ROCK inhibition by Y-27632, silencing of ROCK-1 or ROCK-2 in cells seeded at 2x10(3)/cm(2) did not change renewal factors. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We conclude that ROCKs promote ES cell colony formation, maintain them at undifferentiated state, and prevent them from neural differentiation at high seeding density. ROCK inhibition represents a new strategy for preparing large numbers of neural progenitor cells

A novel smart somatosensory wearable assistive device for older adults’ home rehabilitation during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundDue to the Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) related social distancing measures and health service suspension, physical activity has declined, leading to increased falling risk and disability, and consequently, compromising the older adult health. How to improve the quality of older adult life has become a crucial social issue.ObjectiveIn traditional rehabilitation, manual and repetitive muscle training cannot identify the patient’s rehabilitation effect, and increasing the willingness to use it is not easy. Therefore, based on the usability perspective, this study aims to develop a novel smart somatosensory wearable assistive device (called SSWAD) combined with wireless surface electromyography (sEMG) and exergame software and hardware technology. The older adult can do knee extension, ankle dorsiflexion, and ankle plantar flexion rehabilitation exercises at home. Meanwhile, sEMG values can be digitally recorded to assist physicians (or professionals) in judgment, treatment, or diagnosis.MethodsTo explore whether the novel SSWAD could improve the older adult willingness to use and motivation for home rehabilitation, 25 frail older adult (12 males and 13 females with an average age of 69.3) perform the rehabilitation program with the SSWAD, followed by completing the system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire and the semi-structured interview for the quantitative and qualitative analyses. In addition, we further investigate whether the factor of gender or prior rehabilitation experience would affect the home rehabilitation willingness or not.ResultsAccording to the overall SUS score, the novel SSWAD has good overall usability performance (77.70), meaning that the SSWAD makes older adult feel interested and improves their willingness for continuous rehabilitation at home. In addition, the individual item scores of SUS are shown that female older adult with prior rehabilitation experience perform better in “Learnability” (t = 2.35, p = 0.03) and “Confidence” (t = −3.24, p = 0.01). On the contrary, male older adult without rehabilitation experience are more willing to adopt new technologies (t = −2.73, p = 0.02), and perform better in “Learnability” (t = 2.18, p = 0.04) and “Confidence” (t = −3.75, p < 0.001) with the SSWAD. In addition, the result of the semi-structured interview shows that the operation of the SSWAD is highly flexible, thus reducing older adult burden during the rehabilitation exercise and using them long-term.ConclusionThis novel SSWAD receives consistently positive feedback regardless of the gender or prior rehabilitation experience of elders. The SSWAD could be used as a novel way of home rehabilitation for elders, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adult can do rehabilitation exercises at home, and physicians could make proper judgments or adjust suitable treatments online according to the sEMG data, which older adult can know their rehabilitation progress at the same time. Most importantly, older adult do not have to go to the hospital every time for rehabilitation, which significantly reduces time and the risk of infection

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

A multilevel analysis of neighborhood and individual effects on individual smoking and drinking in Taiwan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We assessed direct effects of neighborhood-level characteristics and interactive effects of neighborhood-level characteristics and individual socioeconomic position on adult smoking and drinking, after consideration of individual-level characteristics in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on individual sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, and drinking were obtained from Taiwan Social Change Survey conducted in 1990, 1995, and 2000. The overall response rate was 67%. A total of 5883 women and men aged over 20 living in 434 neighborhoods were interviewed. Participants' addresses were geocoded and linked with Taiwan census data for measuring neighborhood-level characteristics including neighborhood education, neighborhood concentration of elderly people, and neighborhood social disorganization. The data were analyzed with multilevel binomial regression models.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Several interaction effects between neighborhood characteristics and individual socioeconomic status (SES) were found in multilevel analyses. Our results indicated that different neighborhood characteristics led to different interaction patterns. For example, neighborhood education had a positive effect on smoking for low SES women, in contrast to a negative effect on smoking for high SES women. This result supports the hypothesis of "relative deprivation," suggesting that poor people living in affluent neighborhoods suffer from relative deprivation and relative standing. On the other hand, neighborhood social disorganization has positive effects on drinking for low SES individuals, but not for high SES individuals. These interactive effects support the hypothesis of the double jeopardy theory, suggesting that living in neighborhoods with high social disorganization will intensify the effects of individual low SES.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The findings of this study show new evidence for the effects of neighborhood characteristics on individual smoking and drinking in Taiwan, suggesting that more studies are needed to understand neighborhood effects in Asian societies.</p

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Taiwan quality indicator project and hospital productivity growth

The Taiwan Quality Indicator Project (TQIP) is a quality management program that measures and monitors the healthcare quality of hospitals in Taiwan. This paper examines the impact of TQIP participation on hospital productivity growth with the application of the Malmquist productivity change index based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). Analyzing operations data from 31 TQIP regional hospitals over the period 1998-2004, we find that TQIP hospitals improved their productivity in the post-TQIP period. This improvement is attributable to quality change and relative efficiency progress. The simultaneous enhancement in both quality and relative efficiency coincides with the philosophy of total quality management (TQM) spirit, and confirms the efficiency improvement and quality assurance functions of TQIP.Taiwan Quality Indicator Project (TQIP) Malmquist productivity change index Data envelopment analysis (DEA)

Radar interferometry for 3-D mining deformation monitoring

Geodetic information of terrain can be measured using remote sensing techniques such as photogrammetry, airborne laser scanner (ALS) and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). They are considered to be relatively more cost-effective than and complementary to conventional ground-based surveying methods. Our previous studies demonstrated the capability of using differential InSAR for underground longwall mining subsidence monitoring in New South Wales, Australia. The mining subsidence (vertical surface deformation) was measured using DInSAR with the assumption of negligible horizontal deformation. However, the ground surveying data shows that the underground mining activity may induce horizontal surface deformation. Therefore, both ascending and descending orbits and different swath modes of ENVISAT/ASAR data are used in this paper to quantify the vertical and horizontal vectors of mining deformation.3 page(s

Radar Interferometry for 3-D Mining Deformation Monitoring

Abstract — Geodetic information of terrain can be measured using remote sensing techniques such as photogrammetry, airborne laser scanner (ALS) and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR). They are considered to be relatively more cost-effective than and complementary to conventional ground-based surveying methods. Our previous studies demonstrated the capability of using differential InSAR for underground longwall mining subsidence monitoring in New South Wales, Australia. The mining subsidence (vertical surface deformation) was measured using DInSAR with the assumption of negligible horizontal deformation. However, the ground surveying data shows that the underground mining activity may induce horizontal surface deformation. Therefore, both ascending and descending orbits and different swath modes of ENVISAT/ASAR data are used in this paper to quantify the vertical and horizontal vectors of mining deformation. Keywords-DInSAR; 3D; deformation; mining I