Dietary patterns, dietary biomarkers, and kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes: a repeated-measure study in Taiwan

Western dietary patterns have been linked with kidney disease. This study investigated the association between Chinese dietary patterns and kidney disease in a Taiwanese population with type 2 diabetes and evaluated dietary fatty acid patterns, a kidney-related dietary biomarker.We recruited 838 patients with type 2 diabetes and used their dietary and renal data obtained from three repeated measures in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Diet was assessed using food-frequency questionnaires, and factor analysis was performed to identify dietary patterns. Albuminuria was defined by having an albumin-to-creatinine ratio >=30 mg/g and kidney dysfunction by estimated glomerular filtration rat

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis

Search for supersymmetry in events with one lepton and multiple jets in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

Peer reviewe

Search for anomalous couplings in boosted WW/WZ -> l nu q(q)over-bar production in proton-proton collisions at root s=8TeV

Peer reviewe

Phytophthora cinnamomi: its survival in soil and relation to ohia decline

Title on cover reads - Ohia decline: the role of Phytophthora cinnamomi. Reports were scanned in black and white at a resolution of 600 dots per inch and were converted to text using Adobe Paper Capture Plug-in.The population of Phytophthora cinnamomi in soils and the amount of ohia rootlets infested with this fungus were determined at four locations, each with healthy and decline forest located close together. The fungus was detected in 34% of soil samples collected from healthy areas and 29% of those from decline areas. Average population of P. cinnamomi in healthy areas (0.1-1.7 propagules/g soil) was not significantly different from that in decline areas (0.1-2.2 propagules/g soil). About 37% of declining tress and also 37% of healthy trees had rootlets infested with P. cinnamomi. Declining trees had an average of 5.2% rootlet segments infested with P. cinnamomi, and healthy trees had 9.4% with this fungus. For a total of 199 ohia trees surveyed, there was no correlation between percentage of rootlets infested with P. cinnamomi and severity of tree decline. There was no indication that P. cinnamomi in decline areas was more pathogenic than that in healthy areas. These results suggest that P. cinnamomi is not a major cause of ohia decline. By contrast, in avocado tree decline caused by -P. cinnamomi, the population of P. cinnamomi in soil collected from the root zone of declining trees was significantly higher than that collected from healthy trees. The fungus was isolated from 97% of the declining trees. Moreover, the severity of tree decline was directly correlated with the percentage of roots infested with -P. cinnamomi. Declining trees had an average of 29.2% of root segments infested with -P. cinnamomi while healthy trees had only 8.7% with this fungus. Colonies of -P. cinnamomi recovered from Natural soil originated mainly from chlamydospores, and occasionally from zoospores. Chlamydospores occurred as free spores or imbedded in organic matter. Results of this study indicated that sporangia of P. cinnamomi also existed in natural soil, and zoospores found on the isolation plates were released from sporangia during incubation. Among the three spore types of P. cinnamomi tested, chlamydospores were the most persistent in soil, sporangia were intermediate, while zoospores were the least persistent. Survival of -P. cinnamomi in soil was better under moist than submerged conditions. The population of chlamydospores remained detectable for one year in moist soil, while only for 3 months in submerged soil. Similarly, over a 12-month period the population of P. cinnamomi in a naturally infested avocado soil declined faster under submerged than moist conditions. Results of survival studies also showed that P. cinnamomi in the root tissue was more persistent than as free chlamydospores in soil. Under moist conditions, the percentage of root tissues from which the fungus was recovered declined only slightly after one year of incubation, while the population of chlamydospores in soil decreased to undetectable level in the same period. Phytophthora cinnamomi is a good saprophyte. It was able to colonize about 52% of ohia stem segments at a population as low as 10 chlamydospores/g of soil. Among the three spore types of P. cinnamomi tested, chlamydospores were also the most effective in colonizing dead ohia stems, while colonization potential of motile and encysted zoospores was about the same. Motility of zoospores is important in disease development. At inoculum level of 2.5 x lo3 propagules/g of soil or above, encysted zoospores were the least infective to ohia seedlings, while infection potential of chlamydospores and motile zoospores was about the same. At inoculum levels below 2.5 x 103 propagules/g of soil, however no significant difference in infection potential was found among these three spore types tested.National Park Servic

Research and Development of Banana in Taiwan

香蕉為我國最大宗之外銷新鮮農產品。在亞熱帶氣候條件孕育之下，台蕉香甜可口，風味為其他熱帶產蕉國家所生產者望塵莫及，廣被國內外消費者喜愛，數十年來外銷日本一直持續不斷，於民國五十六年曾有外銷量達二千六百萬箱之最高紀錄。惟自六○年以來，外因菲律賓蕉的帽起，內有若干栽培問題發生，導致台蕉外銷一蹶不振，至七十九年外銷量降至三百萬箱。基於往昔台蕉在日本市場建立良好信譽，近年又打開韓國市場，未來台蕉產業尤其在外銷方面仍具發展潛力。青果社己研擬發展方案，期能於三年內達到年外銷八百萬箱之目標。重振台蕉產業之關鍵，則有賴研究解決下列重要產銷問題：黃葉病、兩段著色、產銷失調、生產成本太高、及因集運不當引起的標壓傷問題等。本文探討上述問題的解決對策，並提出未來台蕉的研究發展方針，俾提昇栽培技術，使台蕉外銷業務在激烈的國際香蕉市場競爭下長久立於不敗之地。 Banana is the most important fresh commodity for export in Taiwan. Grown under the subtropical climatic conditions, Taiwanese banana has a flavor superior to those produced in tropical countries. A large amount of Taiwanese bananas has been exported to Japan continuously in the past three decades, peaked in 1967 with an amount of 26 millions boxes per annum. However the banana industry in Taiwan has shrunken dramatically since 1970 due to competition of the Philippine banana and the occurrence of cultivation problems that are seriously affecting banana production currently. The amount of banana entering into the export trade was reduced to 3 millions in 1990. Due to its wide popularity in the Japanese market and an additional Korean market open recently, there is a great potential of increasing export trade of Taiwanese banana in the future. The Taiwan Provincial Fruit and Marketing Cooperative has made a production plan to boost export of banana up to 8 millions boxes per annum within three years. To accomplish this goal, researches are needed to solve the following major production problems : the Panama disease, ripening disorder, imbalance in production and market demand, high cost of production, and mechanical damage to the skin of fruit as a result of inadequate postharvest handling. This paper discusses the ways for the solution of these problems, and underlines the research priorities in the future. Advancement of technology in banana cultivation is essential to maintain a prosperous banana business under increasingly competitive conditions of international banana export trade

華蕉體細胞變異之抗黃葉病選種

Somaclonal variants of Giant Cavendish derived from meristem culture were used for screening for resistance to fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Race 4. As a result of this screening program, 9 somaclones showing resistant reaction had been obtained. Four of them (GCTCV-44, -104, -105, -119) were highly resistant to the disease, while the others (GCTCV-46, -53, -62, -201, -215) were. moderately resistant. Somaclones with high level of resistance had a percentage of disease incidence of less than 10% and those with moderate level of resistance had 11-30%, compared with over 70% in Giant Cavendish. All resistant clones differed from the parent, Giant Cavendish, by possessing combinations of inferior agronomic characters. Improved variants were obtained from a large planting in the field of plantlets of these resistant clones. The majority of improved variants retained wilt resistance. GCTCV-215-1 appears to be the most promising resistant variety because of having both acceptable horticultural characteristics and marketable fruit qualities. Disease incidence of GCTCV-215-1 was 17.2% when 2-month-old plantlets were used as planting material and it was 5.2% for suckers, compared with about 75% in Giant Cavendish. Plantlets of GCTCV-2154 had been planted in 700 ha of infested banana fields during the period of March-May 1990 for further evaluation of the stability of disease resistance under a wide range of environmental conditions. 從北蕉（Giant Cavendish）之組織培養變異品系（Somaclonal variant）篩選已獲 得9個品系對香蕉黃葉病病原菌（Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 4）具有抗病性，其中4個品系（GCfCV-44，-104，-105，-119）呈高度抗病性，於重病蕉園測定其平均發病率低於10%;5個品系（GCTCV-46，-53，-62，-201，-215）呈中度抗病性，其平均發病率介於11~30％之間；對照一般北蕉之發病率為70％以上。所有抗病品系均帶有不良的園藝變異性狀，從其大量種植之後代植株中可尋獲改良型品系。大多數改良型品系仍維持與原母系相同的抗病程度。田間試種結果顯示改良型品系之中以GCTCV-215-1之園藝性狀及香蕉產量品質較為理想，具有推廣種植潛力。在重病蕉園種植GCTCV-215-1組織培養苗之發病率為17.2%，吸芽苗之發病率為5,2%，對照一般北蕉之發病率為75％。79年3~5月期間於本省中南部香蕉黃葉病區種植GCTCV-215-1之組織培養苗700公頃，俾進一步探討其種植在不同環境條件下之抗病穩定程度

Processing Effects on the Through-Plane Electrical Conductivities and Tensile Strengths of Microcellular-Injection-Molded Polypropylene Composites with Carbon Fibers

Polymers reinforced with conducting fibers to achieve electrical conductivity have attracted remarkable attention in several engineering applications, and injection molding provides a cost-effective way for mass production. However, the electrical performance usually varies with the molding conditions. Moreover, high added content of conducting fibers usually results in molding difficulties. In this study, we propose using microcellular (MuCell) injection molding for polypropylene (PP)/carbon fiber (CF, 20, and 30 wt%) composites and hope that the MuCell injection molding process can improve both electrical and mechanical performance as compared with conventional injection molded (CIM) parts under the same CF content. Both molding techniques were also employed with and without gas counter pressure (GCP), and the overall fiber orientation, through-plane electrical conductivity (TPEC), and tensile strength (TS) of the composites were characterized. Based on the various processing technologies, the results can be described in four aspects: (1) Compared with CIM, microcellular foaming significantly influenced the fiber orientation, and the TPECs of the samples with 20 and 30 wt% CF were 18–78 and 5–8 times higher than those of the corresponding samples molded by CIM, respectively; (2) when GCP was employed in the CIM process, the TPEC of the samples with 20 and 30 wt% CF increased by 3 and 2 times, respectively. Similar results were obtained in the case of microcellular injection molding—the TPEC of the 20 and 30 wt% composites increased by 7–74 and 18–32 times, respectively; (3) although microcellular injection molding alone (i.e., without GCP) showed the greatest influence on the randomness of the fiber orientation and the TPEC, the TS of the samples was the lowest due to the uncontrollable foaming cell size and cell size uniformity; (4) in contrast, when GCP was employed in the microcellular foaming process, high TS was obtained, and the TPEC was significantly enhanced. The high foaming quality owing to the GCP implementation improved the randomness of fiber orientation, as well as the electrical and mechanical properties of the composites. Generally speaking, microcellular injection combined with gas counter pressure does provide a promising way to achieve high electrical and mechanical performance for carbon-fiber-added polypropylene composites