Feeding Bottles Usage and the Prevalence of Childhood Allergy and Asthma

This study aimed to examine the association between the length of use of feeding bottles or pacifiers during childhood and the prevalence of respiratory and allergic morbidities. A large-scale questionnaire survey was performed in day care centers and kindergartens (with children's ages ranging from 2 to 7 years) in southern Taiwan, and a total of 14,862 questionnaires completed by parents were finally recruited for data analysis. Effects of using feeding bottles on children's wheezing/asthma (adjusted OR: 1.05, 95% CI 1.00–1.09), allergic rhinitis (adjusted OR: 1.04, 95% CI 1.00–1.08), and eczema (adjusted OR: 1.07, 95% CI 1.01–1.2) were found. Moreover, significant dose-dependent relationships were further established after an adjustment for confounders was performed that included children's ages, gender, gestational age, birth weight, length of breastfeeding, the age when first given infant formula or complementary foods, family history, parental educational levels, and smoking status, as well as the problem of indoor water damage. This study was the first to reveal the potential risk of using plastic consumer products such as feeding bottles on the reported health status of preschool children in Asian countries

Feeding Bottles Usage and the Prevalence of Childhood Allergy and Asthma

This study aimed to examine the association between the length of use of feeding bottles or pacifiers during childhood and the prevalence of respiratory and allergic morbidities. A large-scale questionnaire survey was performed in day care centers and kindergartens (with children's ages ranging from 2 to 7 years) in southern Taiwan, and a total of 14,862 questionnaires completed by parents were finally recruited for data analysis. Effects of using feeding bottles on children's wheezing/asthma (adjusted OR: 1.05, 95% CI 1.00-1.09), allergic rhinitis (adjusted OR: 1.04, 95% CI 1.00-1.08), and eczema (adjusted OR: 1.07, 95% CI 1.01-1.2) were found. Moreover, significant dose-dependent relationships were further established after an adjustment for confounders was performed that included children's ages, gender, gestational age, birth weight, length of breastfeeding, the age when first given infant formula or complementary foods, family history, parental educational levels, and smoking status, as well as the problem of indoor water damage. This study was the first to reveal the potential risk of using plastic consumer products such as feeding bottles on the reported health status of preschool children in Asian countries

Study of the Optical Spectra Affected by the Distribution of the Ge Dots within the MOS Structure

本論文在探索鍺在金氧半元件中的發光特性，主要分成兩個部分。第一個部分為利用高溫爐管退火的方法，將電子束蒸鍍的鍺在金氧半結構中製成多層鍺奈米粒子的元件。第二部分是在矽的表面運用Ebeam製程製作奈米光柵結構，再將鍺量子點長上，形成有光柵結構的鍺量子點MOS元件。並在實驗中觀察其電激發光特性與且運用拉曼頻譜分析鍺結晶情形與介面的特性。多層鍺量子點元件的拉曼譜線中可以發現，當元件在高溫退火時，鍺會開始從非晶系(amorphous)慢慢結晶化(crystalization)，直到退火溫度為900℃時其拉曼頻譜的半高寬達到最小，晶格缺陷密度最低，進一步量測退火900℃的鍺量子點元件之電激發光，但只有觀察到矽的發光，沒有量測到鍺的發光。為了分析鍺與氧化層介面的特性，我們將穿隧氧化層去掉，製作氧化層-鍺-矽元件，讓足夠的載子到達鍺量子點，發現其電激發光光譜在波長較大的地方有缺陷所放出的光，顯示氧化層與鍺的介面存在許多缺陷，使得鍺無法有效放光。二部分探討奈米光柵對鍺量子點MOS 元件光學特性之影響。元件之製作係利用電子束微影技術設計並曝光出奈米線寬之光柵，利用ICP-RIE 乾蝕刻技術蝕刻出光柵結構。首先將製作出之樣品光柵量測矽的增強拉曼散射訊號，接著量測鍺的拉曼譜線。實驗中，我們改變的參數為光柵之週期，實驗得知此週期越小，矽的拉曼譜線的增強效果就越強，在週期400 奈米的拉曼增強效果可達到七倍，另外在TM 模態的增強效應也比TE 模態大。接著量測在光柵上成長鍺量子點的拉曼譜線，發現在週期為800 奈米的拉曼增強效應最大，增強倍率約為兩，雖然在製作成元件後沒有量測到鍺的發光訊號，但由光柵來增強拉曼訊號，對未來矽鍺元件光學特性的研究提供更多發展空間。實驗深入的探討鍺量子點在氧化層中成長過程的拉曼頻譜特性，並分析出鍺量子點難以在氧化層中發光的原因。第二部分運用光柵結構增強拉曼散射是一個前驅性的研究，其物理機制雖然尚待研究，但是如此不錯的成果給了我們繼續研究的力量，也希望能夠結合半導體製程製作出方便且精確性高之整合性光學量測元件，並能做更多的應用。In the thesis the optical spectra affected by the distribution of the Ge dots within the MOS structure are reported. There are mainly two series of experiments in this thesis. First, the multi-layer Ge dots within the MOS structure are manufactured by E-gun evaporation and high temperature annealing. Second, grating on the Si bulk are manufactured by E-beam lithography and Ge dots are formed on the grating. To analyze the device characteristics, electro-luminescence (EL) measurement and Raman system are used in these experiments.y analyzing the Raman spectra, the multi-layer amorphous Ge films begin to crystallize at high annealing temperature, and when the annealing temperature reaches 900℃, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) is the minimum, it means the defect density of the device is small. The EL spectra of the device, annealed 900℃, only show the light from Si. In order to find the reasons that the Ge film did not emit light, the devices with Oxide-Ge-Si structure are fabricated. These Oxide-Ge-Si devices emit light at longer wavelength and we believe that the light is emitted by the defects at the interface between Ge and Oxide.o improve the optical characteristics, the grating structure is introduced to the Ge dots MOS structure. The grating enhances the intensity of Si and Ge Raman spectra. Although the light emitted from Ge is not found in the thesis, the advantages of grating we stated in the thesis are helpful in the research of Ge and Si optical properties in the future.n the second section, the effect of the grating on the Si bulk and Ge dots is investigated. Grating on the Si bulk are manufactured by E-beam lithography and ICP-RIE. While the pitch becomes smaller, the intensity of the Si Raman spectrum becomes larger. The intensity is enhanced 7 times while the pitch is 400 nm. The enhancement effect of TM mode is better than TE mode. Furthermore, the Raman of the Ge dots on the Si grating is discussed. The enhancement is the largest when the pitch is 800 nm.he Raman spectra of the Ge dots in the MOS structure are investigated. Although the light emitted from Ge is not found in the thesis, the mechanism which causes the lack of the light from Ge is found. In the second section, the enhancement of the Raman scattering with grating is a forerunner research. Consequently there are lots of researches are going to be done. In the future, we hope to understand the mechanism, and to integrate the semiconductor processes to fabricate the integrated optical detection devices.誌謝 I要 II錄 VI一章 1言 1.1研究動機 1.2 電子束微影技術的發展 2.3 拉曼光譜檢測 3.4論文簡介 5二章 6程與量測介紹 6.1鍺量子點之MOS結構樣品製程 6.1.1 鍺量子點製程簡介 6.2有矽光柵之鍺量子點元件製程 11.2.1 簡介 11.2.2有矽光柵之鍺量子點元件製程 12.3 量測儀器架設 17.3.1 電激發光量測 17.3.2 拉曼量測 18三章 20驗結果與討論 20.1鍺量子點MOS特性研究 20.1.1鍺量子點MOS元件實驗結果 20.1.2鍺量子點MOS元件結果討論 27.2光柵對矽與鍺量子點光學特性之影響 29.2.1光柵對矽與鍺量子點光學特性之影響 31.2.2結果討論 39四章 40論 40考文獻 4

Influence of Indoor Temperature Exposure on Emergency Department Visits Due to Infectious and Non-Infectious Respiratory Diseases for Older People

Previous studies have demonstrated that outdoor temperature exposure was an important risk factor for respiratory diseases. However, no study investigates the effect of indoor temperature exposure on respiratory diseases and further assesses cumulative effect. The objective of this study is to study the cumulative effect of indoor temperature exposure on emergency department visits due to infectious (IRD) and non-infectious (NIRD) respiratory diseases among older adults. Subjects were collected from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database in Taiwan. The cumulative degree hours (CDHs) was used to assess the cumulative effect of indoor temperature exposure. A distributed lag nonlinear model with quasi-Poisson function was used to analyze the association between CDHs and emergency department visits due to IRD and NIRD. For IRD, there was a significant risk at 27, 28, 29, 30, and 31 °C when the CDHs exceeded 69, 40, 14, 5, and 1 during the cooling season (May to October), respectively, and at 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 °C when the CDHs exceeded 8, 1, 1, 35, and 62 during the heating season (November to April), respectively. For NIRD, there was a significant risk at 19, 20, 21, 22, and 23 °C when the CDHs exceeded 1, 1, 16, 36, and 52 during the heating season, respectively; the CDHs at 1 was only associated with the NIRD at 31 °C during the cooling season. Our data also indicated that the CDHs was lower among men than women. We conclude that the cumulative effects of indoor temperature exposure should be considered to reduce IRD risk in both cooling and heating seasons and NIRD risk in heating season and the cumulative effect on different gender

Eg5 as a Prognostic Biomarker and Potential Therapeutic Target for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background: The kinesin Eg5, a mitosis-associated protein, is overexpressed in many cancers. Here we explored the clinical significance of Eg5 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: HCC tissues from surgical resection were collected. Total RNA was prepared from tumorous and nontumorous parts. Eg5 expression levels were correlated with overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). In vitro efficacy of LGI-147, a specific Eg5 inhibitor, was tested in HCC cell lines. In vivo efficacy of Eg5 inhibition was investigated in a xenograft model. Results: A total of 108 HCC samples were included. The patients were divided into three tertile groups with high, medium, and low Eg5 expression levels. OS of patients with low Eg5 expression was better than that of patients with medium and high Eg5 expression (median, 155.6 vs. 75.3 vs. 57.7 months, p = 0.002). DFS of patients with low Eg5 expression was also better than that of patients with medium and high Eg5 expression (median, 126.3 vs. 46.2 vs. 39.4 months, p = 0.001). In multivariate analyses, the associations between Eg5 expression and OS (p < 0.001) or DFS remained (p < 0.001). LGI-147 reduced cell growth via cell cycle arrest and apoptosis and induced accumulation of abnormal mitotic cells. In the xenograft model, the tumor growth rate under LGI-147 treatment was significantly slower than under the control. Conclusion: High Eg5 expression was associated with poor HCC prognosis. In vitro and in vivo evidence suggests that Eg5 may be a reasonable therapeutic target for HCC

Influence of thin film thickness of working electrodes on photovoltaic characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells

This paper presents the study of the influence of thin film thickness of working electrodes on the photovoltaic characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films, with the thickness from 7.67 to 24.3 μm, were used to fabricate the working electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A TiO2 film was coated on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass substrate and then sintered in a high-temperature furnace. On the other hand, platinum (Pt) solution was coated onto an FTO substrate for the fabrication of the counter electrode of a DSSC. The working electrode immersed in a dye, the counter electrode, and the electrolyte were assembled to complete a sandwich-structure DSSC. The material analysis of the TiO2 films of DSSCs was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, while the photovoltaic characteristics of DSSCs were measured by an AM-1.5 sunlight simulator. The light transmittance characteristics of the TiO2 working electrode depend on the TiO2 film thickness. The thin film thickness of the working electrode also affects the light absorption of a dye and results in the photovoltaic characteristics of the DSSC, including open-circuited voltage (VOC), short-circuited current density (JSC), fill factor, and photovoltaic conversion efficiency

Influence of thin film thickness of working electrodes on photovoltaic characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells

This paper presents the study of the influence of thin film thickness of working electrodes on the photovoltaic characteristics of dye-sensitized solar cells. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films, with the thickness from 7.67 to 24.3 μm, were used to fabricate the working electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). A TiO2 film was coated on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) conductive glass substrate and then sintered in a high-temperature furnace. On the other hand, platinum (Pt) solution was coated onto an FTO substrate for the fabrication of the counter electrode of a DSSC. The working electrode immersed in a dye, the counter electrode, and the electrolyte were assembled to complete a sandwich-structure DSSC. The material analysis of the TiO2 films of DSSCs was carried out by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, while the photovoltaic characteristics of DSSCs were measured by an AM-1.5 sunlight simulator. The light transmittance characteristics of the TiO2 working electrode depend on the TiO2 film thickness. The thin film thickness of the working electrode also affects the light absorption of a dye and results in the photovoltaic characteristics of the DSSC, including open-circuited voltage (VOC), short-circuited current density (JSC), fill factor, and photovoltaic conversion efficiency