Generational Differences in Household Car Ownership

The stagnation of car demand had been observed in many countries. A similar phenomenon had emerged in Taiwan. From the perspective of socio-demographic characteristics, this study employs quantile regression for count data to investigate generational differences in household car ownership in Taiwan. The results show that the socio-demographic characteristics affected household car ownership. Due to the seniority effects, households in the later life-cycle stages and households with a higher proportion of elderly members would reduce car demand. But, households with the middle-aged heads owned more cars due to their better economic ability. The income effects are greater for higher income households. Household car ownership varied across generations, which was related to the income effects, the life course, and household structure. Hence, the demographic changes and generational differences in travel preferences should be considered in urban transportation planning. Seamless transportation and senior-friendly facilities would be important for transportation demand management

Binary Turbo Coding with Interblock Memory

[[abstract]]We investigate the performance of binary codes T constructed from turbo coding with interblock memory. The encoding of T is implemented by serially concatenating a multiplexer, a multilevel delay processor, and a signal mapper to the encoder of a conventional binary turbo code C. With such a construction, in T, there is some irregularity for the code bits in C. To provide more variety of irregularity, we can construct TC which is obtained by passing only a fraction of C through a multilevel delay processor and a signal mapper. We propose iterative decoding between adjacent codewords (IDAC), which provides error performance much better than the iterative decoding within a single codeword (IDSC). Simulation shows that T can have a lower error floor than C for either short or long code length. In some cases, TC can provide better error floors and waterfall regions than C.[[fileno]]2030133030003[[department]]電機工程學

Effect of Tensile Offset Angles on Micro/Nanoscale Tensile Testing

For one-dimensional (1D) structures such as tubes, wires, and beams, tensile testing is a simple and reliable methodology for measuring their mechanical properties. The tensile offset angle effect on mechanical property measurement has long been ignored. In this study, theoretical and finite-element analysis(FEA) models for analyzing the tensile offset angle effect have been established. It is found that longitudinal stress decreases with increasing offset angles. The theoretically calculated elastic modulus relative errors reach 4.45% at the offset angle of 10°, whereas the experimentally measured elastic modulus relative errors are 45.4% at the offset angle of 15°. The difference in elastic modulus relative errors between the theoreticalanalysis and the experimental results is discussed with reference to the sensing system in the experimental instrumentation. To accurately measure the mechanical properties using the tensile testing technique, perfect alignment with a zero or small offset angle less than 5° is needed. A calibration methodology for aligning specimens has been developed

Autophagy and Coagulation in Liver Cancer and Disorders

The physiological role of autophagy in metabolism of the body involves both protein synthesis and degradation. The autophagy-lysosome and the ubiquitin-proteasome systems are the two major intracellular proteolytic mechanisms. Autophagy in hepatocytes is known to be quite active and contribute to its normal functions and the pathogenesis of liver diseases. The role of autophagy in liver diseases has been widely studied, and growing evidence has now shown that autophagy is involved in the pathogenesis of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the role of autophagy in the progression of liver fibrosis and prognosis of human HCC is not well known. Recent studies have demonstrated that tissue factor (TF) combined with coagulation factor VII (FVII) has a pathological role by activating a protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) for tumor growth. Autophagy-related LC3A/B-II formation induced by the inhibition of TF/FVII/PAR2 coagulation axis, particularly by FVII knockdown, was selectively mediated by the Atg7 induction. These results are consistent with clinical observations that indicate the important role of FVII activation in regulating autophagy in HCC. In this chapter, we discuss our findings in which FVII promotes growth and progression in HCC through ERK-TSC/mTOR signaling to repress autophagy and may play a pivotal role in conferring cirrhosis and other liver diseases

Analysis and realization of pathology diagnosis on intraoperative frozen sections of papillary thyroid carcinoma

目的  探讨术中冷冻切片在甲状腺肿瘤手术中的应用，提高甲状腺乳头状癌术中冷冻病理诊断的准确率。方法  回顾性观察我科43例甲状腺乳头状癌患者的术中冷冻切片。结果  术中冷冻切片诊断甲状腺乳头状癌43例，确诊率为100%。结论  为提高术中冷冻切片病理诊断的准确性，必须加强与临床医师沟通，详细了解患者的临床资料，正确全面的取材，掌握甲状腺乳头状癌的病理诊断及鉴别要点，提高冷冻切片质量。Objective:To explore the application of intraoperative frozen sections in thyroid tumor surgery and to improve its diagnostic accuracy in thyroid tumor surgery. Methods:To respectively analyze the intraoperative frozen sections of 43 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma in our department. Results:By intraoperative frozen sections, 43 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma were diagnosed, the diagnostic accuracy amounting to 100%.Conclusion:Increasing the diagnosis accuracy of intraoperative frozen sections counts in understanding clinical data in detail，drawing materials correctly and comprehensively，commanding common papillary thyroid carcinoma pathologic diagnosis and differentiated points，enhancing the communication with clinicians and improving the quality of frozen sections

Acute Paraparesis Caused by a Giant Cell Tumor of the Thoracic Spine

AbstractGiant cell tumor (GCT) is a benign but locally aggressive skeletal neoplasm of young adults. GCT located in the spine is relatively rare and may need a combination of surgical and adjunctive therapies. Here we present a patient who had intermittent thoracic back pain for two weeks and experienced an acute episode of decreased muscle power of both lower limbs. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging examinations of the thoracic spine revealed that the patient had severe spinal canal compression caused by pathological fracture due to a tumor within the seventh thoracic vertebra. She underwent an emergent surgical intervention for total removal of the tumor and spinal reconstruction with autologous rib grafts and instruments. Postoperatively, the patient made an uneventful recovery of muscle power of bilateral lower limbs. She subsequently received adjuvant radiotherapy. In a follow-up period of 36 months, the patient had no clinical or radiological evidence of tumor recurrence. Even though spinal location for GCT is a rare event, it should be included in the differential diagnosis in patients with osteolytic lesions or pathological fractures of the vertebra, especially in young female patients sustaining no trauma who had a clinical history of persistent low back pain

β-Lapachone induces heart morphogenetic and functional defects by promoting the death of erythrocytes and the endocardium in zebrafish embryos

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>β-Lapachone has antitumor and wound healing-promoting activities. To address the potential influences of various chemicals on heart development of zebrafish embryos, we previously treated zebrafish embryos with chemicals from a Sigma LOPAC1280™ library and found several chemicals including β-lapachone that affected heart morphogenesis. In this study, we further evaluated the effects of β-lapachone on zebrafish embryonic heart development.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Embryos were treated with β-lapachone or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 24 or 48 hours post fertilization (hpf) for 4 h at 28°C. Heart looping and valve development was analyzed by whole-mount <it>in situ </it>hybridization and histological analysis. For fractional shortening and wall shear stress analyses, AB and Tg (<it>gata1</it>:<it>DsRed</it>) embryos were recorded for their heart pumping and blood cell circulations via time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. Dextran rhodamine dye injection into the tail reticular cells was used to analyze circulation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) was analyzed by incubating embryos in 5-(and 6-)-chloromethyl-2',7'-dichloro-dihydrofluorescein diacetate (CM-H₂DCFDA) and recorded using fluorescence microscopy. <it>o</it>-Dianisidine (ODA) staining and whole mount <it>in situ </it>hybridization were used to analyze erythrocytes. TUNEL assay was used to examine DNA fragmentation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We observed a linear arrangement of the ventricle and atrium, bradycardia arrhythmia, reduced fractional shortening, circulation with a few or no erythrocytes, and pericardial edema in β-lapachone-treated 52-hpf embryos. Abnormal expression patterns of <it>cmlc2</it>, <it>nppa</it>, <it>BMP4</it>, <it>versican</it>, and <it>nfatc1</it>, and histological analyses showed defects in heart-looping and valve development of β-lapachone-treated embryos. ROS production was observed in erythrocytes and DNA fragmentation was detected in both erythrocytes and endocardium of β-lapachone-treated embryos. Reduction in wall shear stress was uncovered in β-lapachone-treated embryos. Co-treatment with the NQO1 inhibitor, dicoumarol, or the calcium chelator, BAPTA-AM, rescued the erythrocyte-deficiency in circulation and heart-looping defect phenotypes in β-lapachone-treated embryos. These results suggest that the induction of apoptosis of endocardium and erythrocytes by β-lapachone is mediated through an NQO1- and calcium-dependent pathway.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The novel finding of this study is that β-lapachone affects heart morphogenesis and function through the induction of apoptosis of endocardium and erythrocytes. In addition, this study further demonstrates the importance of endocardium and hemodynamic forces on heart morphogenesis and contractile performance.</p