Quantitative thermal testing as a screening and follow-up tool for diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy in patients with type 2 diabetes and prediabetes

IntroductionThe diagnosis and assessment of neuropathy severity of diabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy (DSPN) are mainly based on clinical neuropathy scores and electrophysiologic studies. This study aimed to determine whether quantitative thermal testing (QTT) can be used as a screening and follow-up tool for DSPN of prediabetes and type 2 diabetes at baseline and at 1-year follow-up.MethodsAll patients were assessed using the Toronto Clinical Neuropathy Score (TCNS) and underwent electrophysiological testing, including a nerve conduction study (NCS) and QTT, at baseline and at a 1-year follow-up. The TCNS and the composite scores of nerve conduction were used to assess the severity of DSPN. The DSPN status at the 1-year follow-up was classified as remaining no DSPN, remaining DSPN, regression to no DSPN, or progression to DSPN.ResultsDiabetic sensorimotor polyneuropathy was initially diagnosed in 89 patients with prediabetes and type 2 diabetes (22%). The regressed to no DSPN in 29 patients and progressed to DSPN in 20 patients at the 1-year follow-up. TCNS was significantly correlated with composite scores of nerve conduction, hand cold detection threshold (CDT), hand warm detection threshold (WDT), foot CDT, and foot WDT. Stepwise logistic regression demonstrated that the foot CDT (p < 0.0001) was independently associated with the presence of DSPN. The TCNS, composite scores of the nerve conduction, hand WDT, hand CDT, foot WDT, and foot CDT were all statistically significant among the four different DSPN status groups at two different time periods (baseline and the 1-year follow-up).ConclusionThe foot CDT can be used as an initial screening tool for DSPN alternatively. The characteristics of nerve damage after 1 year of DSPN can be progressive or reversible, and the neurological functions of large and small fibers have a parallel trend, which can be objectively measured by NCS and QTT

Genomic Signatures of Human versus Avian Influenza A Viruses

Fifty-two species-associated amino acid residues were found between human and avian influenza viruses

Ultralight vector dark matter search using data from the KAGRA O3GK run

Among the various candidates for dark matter (DM), ultralight vector DM can be probed by laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors through the measurement of oscillating length changes in the arm cavities. In this context, KAGRA has a unique feature due to differing compositions of its mirrors, enhancing the signal of vector DM in the length change in the auxiliary channels. Here we present the result of a search for U(1)B−L gauge boson DM using the KAGRA data from auxiliary length channels during the first joint observation run together with GEO600. By applying our search pipeline, which takes into account the stochastic nature of ultralight DM, upper bounds on the coupling strength between the U(1)B−L gauge boson and ordinary matter are obtained for a range of DM masses. While our constraints are less stringent than those derived from previous experiments, this study demonstrates the applicability of our method to the lower-mass vector DM search, which is made difficult in this measurement by the short observation time compared to the auto-correlation time scale of DM

The Role of the Notch Signaling Pathway during Postembryonic Retinal Neurogenesis in Danio rerio

The retina of teleost fish, such as zebrafish (Danio rerio), exhibits remarkable capacity for continuous neurogenesis throughout life – unlike mammalian retina. Postembryonic retinogenesis in zebrafish is mainly contributed by active stem/progenitor cells in ciliary marginal zone (CMZ). Notch signaling has been reported to regulate embryonic retinogenesis and Notch pathway components are expressed in adult zebrafish CMZ. Here I address the functions of Notch signaling during postembryonic retinogenesis in zebrafish. My research revealed that: (1) Notch signaling is activated in the transition zone of CMZ and differentiated retina; (2) CMZ cells do not exhibit Notch activity and do not require Notch signaling for maintenance; and (3) Notch signaling is required and sufficient for proper differentiation of Müller glia, cone photoreceptor and bipolar cells. These studies demonstrate how different levels of Notch activity regulate retinal stem cell behavior and provide insight into how to reactivate mammalian adult retinal stem cells in vivo.M.Sc

台灣高等專業音樂教育之領航者：師大音樂系1946~1985

[[abstract]]台灣光復後，本土的教育體制及師資面臨一重大轉折，在日籍教師遣返與中國化政策的實施下，中小學師資嚴重短缺，而台灣省立師範學院，即是在這樣的時代背景之下所成立的專責師資培養機構。民國三十五年，省立師範學院音樂專修科成立，為國內第一所高等專業音樂學府。三十七年八月，省立台灣師範學院音樂學系正式成立。六十年來，師大音樂系的教師以及所培養出上千位的畢業系友，廣佈於台灣的各個角落，除了擔任中等學校的音樂教師、各大專院校音樂相關科系之教授之外，國內外各大職業樂團或音樂機構等皆有著師大人的足跡。伴隨著時代的變遷、台灣的進步，師大音樂系亦在台灣的音樂史中留下不可磨滅的痕跡。直至今日，師大音樂系在台灣音樂界仍具有一定的影響力及份量，亦是許多音樂學子們嚮往的目標，而這樣一所高等專業音樂教育機構，不論是其萌芽時期，抑或是發展過程，這些歷史確實是值得被回溯保存及研究探討。 此篇論文將分成五章，除了第一章為緒論之外，第二章為時代背景之鋪陳，以及概述並比較四所間接影響了師大音樂系發展的音樂學校：國立福建音樂專科學校、國立上海音樂專科學校、東京音樂學校(上野音樂學校)及武藏野音樂學校；第三章則是本論文之重點部份，以音樂系的歷屆系主任作為分期點分成六節論述，內容為師大音樂系的創立、發展及革新；第四章將從中等學校音樂教育師資培育、台灣早期及中生代重要音樂家之培養以及社會功能三方面，探討師大音樂系在台灣音樂發展中所扮演的角色及歷史定位；第五章結論則包含了音樂系六十年來的發展重要階段，並探究過去的種種危機和突破，以及結合受訪教師系友的期許與筆者淺見，對於現今所面臨的危機與未來展望給予建議。

Designing Rainwater Harvesting Systems Cost-Effectively in a Urban Water-Energy Saving Scheme by Using a GIS-Simulation Based Design System

Current centralized urban water supply depends largely on energy consumption, creating critical water-energy challenge especially for many rapid growing Asian cities. In this context, harvesting rooftop rainwater for non-potable use has enormous potential to ease the worsening water-energy issue. For this, we propose a geographic information system (GIS)-simulation-based design system (GSBDS) to explore how rainwater harvesting systems (RWHSs) can be systematically and cost-effectively designed as an innovative water-energy conservation scheme on a city scale. This GSBDS integrated a rainfall data base, water balance model, spatial technologies, energy-saving investigation, and economic feasibility analysis based on a case study of eight communities in the Taipei metropolitan area, Taiwan. Addressing both the temporal and spatial variations in rainfall, the GSBDS enhanced the broad application of RWHS evaluations. The results indicate that the scheme is feasible based on the optimal design when both water and energy-savings are evaluated. RWHSs were observed to be cost-effective and facilitated 21.6% domestic water-use savings, and 138.6 (kWh/year-family) energy-savings. Furthermore, the cost of per unit-energy-saving is lower than that from solar PV systems in 85% of the RWHS settings. Hence, RWHSs not only enable water-savings, but are also an alternative renewable energy-saving approach that can address the water-energy dilemma caused by rapid urbanization

Concurrent Observation of Bulk and Protein Hydration Water by Spin-Label ESR under Nanoconfinement

Under nanoconfinement the formation of crystalline ice is suppressed, allowing the study of water dynamics at subfreezing temperatures. Here we report a temperature-dependent investigation (170–260 K) of the behavior of hydration water under nanoconfinement by ESR techniques. A 26-mer-long peptide and the Bax protein are studied. This study provides site-specific information about the different local hydrations concurrently present in the protein/peptide solution, enabling a decent comparison of the hydration moleculesthose that are buried inside, in contact with, and detached from the protein surface. Such a comparison is not possible without employing ESR under nanoconfinement. Though the confined bulk and surface hydrations behave differently, they both possess a transition similar to the reported fragile-to-strong crossover transition around 220 K. On the contrary, this transition is absent for the hydration near the buried sites of the protein. The activation energy determined under nanoconfinement is found to be lower in surface hydration than in bulk hydration. The protein structural flexibility, derived from the interspin distance distributions <i>P</i>(<i>r</i>) at different temperatures, is obtained by dipolar ESR spectroscopy. The <i>P</i>(<i>r</i>) result demonstrates that the structural flexibility is strongly correlated with the transition in the surface water, corroborating the origin of the protein dynamical transition at subfreezing temperatures

Dynamic expression of cathepsin L in the black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) gut during Escherichia coli challenge.

The black soldier fly (BSF), Hermetia illucens, has the potential to serve as a valuable resource for waste bioconversion due to the ability of the larvae to thrive in a microbial-rich environment. Being an ecological decomposer, the survival of BSF larvae (BSFL) relies on developing an efficient defense system. Cathepsin L (CTSL) is a cysteine protease that plays roles in physiological and pathological processes. In this study, the full-length of CTSL was obtained from BSF. The 1,020-bp open reading frame encoded a preprotein of 339 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 32 kDa. The pro-domain contained the conserved ERFNIN, GNYD, and GCNGG motifs, which are all characteristic of CTSL. Homology revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of BSF CTSL shared 74.22-72.99% identity with Diptera flies. Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis showed the CTSL was predominantly localized in the gut, especially in the midgut. The mRNA expression of CTSL in different larval stages was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR), which revealed that CTSL was expressed in the second to sixth instar, with the highest expression in the fifth instar. Following an immune challenge in vivo using Escherichia coli (E. coli), CTSL mRNA was significantly up-regulated at 6 h post-stimulation. The Z-Phe-Arg-AMC was gradually cleaved by the BSFL extract after 3 h post-stimulation. These results shed light on the potential role of CTSL in the defense mechanism that helps BSFL to survive against pathogens in a microbial-rich environment

Porphyrin Dimers as Hole-Transporting Layers for High-Efficiency and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

In this work, we demonstrate the optimum utilization of porphyrin-based hole-transporting materials (HTMs), namely, WT3 and YR3, for fabricating triple-cation perovskite solar cells. These newly designed HTMs based on dimeric porphyrin structure exhibit a good HOMO level, high hole mobility, and great charge extraction ability for perovskite solar cells. Moreover, through proper molecular engineering, dimeric porphyrins WT3 and YR3 are capable of forming films free of pinholes, with more uniform and dense surfaces leading to enhanced device performance. Perovskite solar cells using a WT3 HTM achieve a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.44%, which is higher than that using YR3 (17.84%) and even spiro-OMeTAD (18.62%) under 1 Sun AM 1.5G illumination. In addition, WT3-based devices show better stability than spiro-based counterparts under moisture, light-soaking, and thermal testing conditions