A Study of Energy Efficiency and Mitigation of Carbon Emission: Implication of Decomposing Energy Intensity of Manufacturing Sector in Taiwan

This paper applies the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) approach to examine aggregate energy intensity of the manufacturing sector in Taiwan from 1982 to 2014. We decompose aggregate energy intensity into three effects, which are the fuel mixed effect, the sectoral energy intensity effect, and the substructural effect. The results show that aggregate energy intensity is highly correlated with carbon intensity in Taiwan. Moreover, the aggregate energy intensity is mainly driven by sectoral energy intensity effect. The influence of the substructural effect and fuel mixed effect on improving the aggregate energy intensity has become larger in the recent years. The policy implication of study results suggests that internalizing the costs of carbon emission, creating incentives to invest energy-saving technology, establishing a fair and efficient electricity market are needed in Taiwan. Keywords: Logarithmic mean Divisia index, Energy intensity, Carbon intensity, Structural change, Fuel mixed effect JEL Classifications: O1, O2, Q4, Q

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

The study of the adsorption of organics and heavy metals in flue gas during incineration processes

焚化排放廢氣中含有粒狀物、酸性氣體及少量的有機污染物，這些污染物 若排放至大氣中，不但造成空氣污染，且對人體有嚴重危害性，尤其是高 分子環狀芳香族化合物及重金屬化合物。其中粒狀物質以占有巨觀體積的 凝集態存在，可用捕集、濾除的方式去除，如袋濾、靜電集塵等。粒狀物 以外之污染物，則是以分子狀態存在，難以濾除，大多使用冷凝、焚化、 觸媒氧化、吸收及吸附的方法加以控制，其中又以吸附為最佳及成熟的操 作方法。 許多學者提到活性碳是目前最常用的吸附劑，其具有非極性 的特性對有機物的吸附效果良好，常用於低溫(<30℃)下去除回收氣相中 的有機物，然而在高溫( >120℃)下吸附氣相中有機物的特性卻甚少被提 及，此外，煙道氣組成之複雜性使吸附劑對有機物及重金屬之吸附行為更 加複雜。目前許多先進國家，已嘗試使用活性碳床來控制焚化爐煙道氣的 排放，結果顯示其去除高分子有機物﹑酸性氣體及重金屬有不錯的效果。 本研究將利用含一﹑二次燃燒室的流體化床焚化爐，探討不同的操作條件 下，包括吸附劑的吸附溫度、吸附劑種類、進料組成中有無重金屬的存在 等，吸附劑對有機物及重金屬之吸附特性及有機物與重金屬在煙道氣中之 分佈情形。ABSTRACTThe VOCs, PAHs, Dioxin and metallic components released from incineration cause a threat to human health. These pollutants, appearing as molecular state, could not be effectively removed by baghouse and ESP through capture and filtration mechanisms. The results of previous studies indicated that activated carbon is conventionally used to remove organics from gaseous phase at low temperature (less than 30℃). However, the adsorption characteristics of organics from gaseous phase at high temperature (larger than 120℃) are rarely mentioned. Moreover, the complex compositions of flue gas cause the adsorption characteristics of organics and heavy metals on adsorbent more complicated. The main objective of this research is to study the adsorption characteristics of organics and heavy metals and their distribution in flue gas at various incineration conditions. The evaluated parameters included (1)the operating temperature, (2) the characteristics of adsorbents, and (3) waste compositions and the presence of heavy metals.Key words : adsorbents, high temperature adsorption, heavy metals, fluidized incinerator

Effects of Positions and Angulations of Titanium Dental Implants in Biomechanical Performances in the All-on-Four Treatment: 3D Numerical and Strain Gauge Methods

In finite element (FE) simulations, the peak bone stresses were higher when loading with a cantilever extension (CE) than when loading without a CE by 33&ndash;49% in the cortical bone. In the in vitro experiments, the highest values of principal strain were all within the range of the minimum principal strain, and those peak bone strains were 40&ndash;58% greater when loading with a CE than when loading without a CE (p &lt; 0.001). This study investigated how varying the implanted position and angulation of anterior implants in the All-on-Four treatment influenced the biomechanical environment in the alveolar bone around the dental implants. Ten numerical simulations of FE models and three in vitro samples of All-on-Four treatment of dental implants were created to investigate the effects of altering the implanted position and angulation type of anterior implants. A single load of 100 N was applied in the molar region in the presence or absence of a CE of the denture. The 3D FE simulations analyzed the von-Mises stresses in the surrounding cortical bone and trabecular bone. For the in vitro tests, the principal bone strains were recorded by rosette strain gauges and statistically evaluated using the Mann&ndash;Whitney U test and the Kruskal&ndash;Wallis test. Loading in the presence of a CE of the denture induced the highest bone stress and strain, which were 53&ndash;97% greater in the FE simulation and 68&ndash;140% in the in vitro experiments (p &lt; 0.008) than when loading without a CE. The bone stresses in the FE models of various implanted positions and angulation types of anterior implants were similar to those in the model of a typical All-on-Four treatment. In vitro tests revealed that the bone strains were significantly higher in the samples with various angulation types of anterior implants (p &lt; 0.008). In the All-on-Four treatment of dental implants, the bone stress and strain were higher when the load was applied to the CE of dentures. Altering the position or angulation of the anterior dental implant in the All-on-Four treatment has no benefit in relieving the stress and strain of the bone around the dental implant

Effects of implant length and 3D bone-to-implant contact on initial stabilities of dental implant: a microcomputed tomography study

Abstract Background The influences of potential bone-to-implant contact (BIC) area (pBICA), BIC area (BICA), and three dimensional (3D) BIC percentage (3D BIC%; defined as BICA divided by pBICA) in relation to the implant length on initial implant stability were studied. Correlations between these parameters were also evaluated. Methods Implants with lengths of 8.5, 10, 11.5, and 13 mm were placed in artificial bone specimens to measure three indexes of the initial implant stability: insertion torque value (ITV), Periotest value (PTV), and implant stability quotient (ISQ). The implants and bone specimens were also scanned by microcomputed tomography, and the obtained images were imported into Mimics software to reconstruct the 3D models and calculate the parameters of 3D bone-to-implant contact including pBICA, BICA, and 3D BIC%. The Kruskal-Wallis test, Wilcoxon rank-sum test with Bonferroni adjustment, and Spearman correlations were applied for statistical and correlation analyses. Results The implant length affected ITV more than PTV and ISQ, and significantly affected pBICA, BICA, and 3D BIC%. A longer implant increased pBICA and BICA but decreased 3D BIC%. The Spearman coefficients were high (>0.78) for the correlations between the three 3D BIC parameters and the three indexes of the initial implant stability. Conclusions pBICA, BICA, and 3D BIC% are useful when deciding on treatment plans related to various implant lengths, since these 3D BIC parameters are predictive of the initial implant stability

CCN1 Induces Oncostatin M Production in Osteoblasts via Integrin-Dependent Signal Pathways

[[abstract]]Inflammatory response and articular destruction are common symptoms of osteoarthritis. Cysteine-rich 61 (CCN1 or Cyr61), a secreted protein from the CCN family, is associated with the extracellular matrix involved in many cellular activities like growth and differentiation. Yet the mechanism of CCN1 interacting with arthritic inflammatory response is unclear. This study finds CCN1 increasing expression of oncostatin m (OSM) in human osteoblastic cells. Pretreatment of αvβ3 monoclonal antibody and inhibitors of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), c-Src, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and NF-κB inhibited CCN1-induced OSM expression in osteoblastic cells. Stimulation of cells with CCN1 increased phosphorylation of FAK, c-Src, PI3K, and NF-κB via αvβ3 receptor; CCN1 treatment of osteoblasts increased NF-κB-luciferase activity and p65 binding to NF-κB element on OSM promoter. Results indicate CCN1 heightening OSM expression via αvβ3 receptor, FAK, c-Src, PI3K, and NF-κB signal pathway in osteoblastic cells, suggesting CCN1 as a novel target in arthritis treatment

Biomechanical evaluation of one-piece and two-piece small-diameter dental implants: In-vitro experimental and three-dimensional finite element analyses

Small-diameter dental implants are associated with a higher risk of implant failure. This study used both three-dimensional finite-element (FE) simulations and in-vitro experimental tests to analyze the stresses and strains in both the implant and the surrounding bone when using one-piece (NobelDirect) and two-piece (NobelReplace) small-diameter implants, with the aim of understanding the underlying biomechanical mechanisms. Methods: Six experimental artificial jawbone models and two FE models were prepared for one-piece and two-piece 3.5-mm diameter implants. Rosette strain gauges were used for in-vitro tests, with peak values of the principal bone strain recorded with a data acquisition system. Implant stability as quantified by Periotest values (PTV) were also recorded for both types of implants. Experimental data were analyzed statistically using Wilcoxon's rank-sum test. In FE simulations, the peak value and distribution of von-Mises stresses in the implant and bone were selected for evaluation. Results: In in-vitro tests, the peak bone strain was 42% lower for two-piece implants than for one-piece implants. The PTV was slightly lower for one-piece implants (PTV = −6) than for two-piece implants (PTV = −5). In FE simulations, the stresses in the bone and implant were about 23% higher and 12% lower, respectively, for one-piece implants than those for two-piece implants. Conclusion: Due to the higher peri-implant bone stresses and strains, one-piece implants (NobelDirect) might be not suitable for use as small-diameter implants

CCN1 induces oncostatin M production in osteoblasts via integrin-dependent signal pathways.

Inflammatory response and articular destruction are common symptoms of osteoarthritis. Cysteine-rich 61 (CCN1 or Cyr61), a secreted protein from the CCN family, is associated with the extracellular matrix involved in many cellular activities like growth and differentiation. Yet the mechanism of CCN1 interacting with arthritic inflammatory response is unclear. This study finds CCN1 increasing expression of oncostatin m (OSM) in human osteoblastic cells. Pretreatment of αvβ3 monoclonal antibody and inhibitors of focal adhesion kinase (FAK), c-Src, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), and NF-κB inhibited CCN1-induced OSM expression in osteoblastic cells. Stimulation of cells with CCN1 increased phosphorylation of FAK, c-Src, PI3K, and NF-κB via αvβ3 receptor; CCN1 treatment of osteoblasts increased NF-κB-luciferase activity and p65 binding to NF-κB element on OSM promoter. Results indicate CCN1 heightening OSM expression via αvβ3 receptor, FAK, c-Src, PI3K, and NF-κB signal pathway in osteoblastic cells, suggesting CCN1 as a novel target in arthritis treatment

Enhancement of CCL2 expression and monocyte migration by CCN1 in osteoblasts through inhibiting miR-518a-5p: implication of rheumatoid arthritis therapy

[[abstract]]Cysteine-rich 61 (Cyr61 or CCN1), a secreted protein from the CCN family, is an important proinflammatory cytokine. Migration and infiltration of mononuclear cells to inflammatory sites play a critical role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2) is the key chemokine that regulates migration and infiltration of monocytes. Here, we examined the role of CCN1 in monocyte migration, and CCL2 expression in osteoblasts. We found higher levels of CCN1 and CCL2 in synovial fluid from RA patients compared with levels from non-RA controls. We also found that the CCN1-induced increase in CCL2 expression is mediated by the MAPK signaling pathway and that miR-518a-5p expression was negatively regulated by CCN1 via the MAPK cascade. In contrast, inhibition of CCN1 expression with lentiviral vectors expressing short hairpin RNA ameliorated articular swelling, cartilage erosion, and infiltration of monocytes in the ankle joints of mice with collagen-induced arthritis. Our study describes how CCN1 promotes monocyte migration by upregulating CCL2 expression in osteoblasts in RA disease. CCN1 could serve as a potential target for RA treatment