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With the rapid development of AR technology, the need for lightweight and high‐brightness displays has become crucial. MicroLED technology is one of the few feasible solutions for this. The requirements of achieving ultra‐high PPI, integrating RGB full colors, and reducing the chip size to less than 3μm on a CMOS backplane present significant challenge. This paper will discuss the fabrication of a full‐color, high‐PPI micro‐display. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of the 2022 Russian–Ukrainian war, Taiwan experienced economic shocks that prompted the government to initiate the happiness lunchbox program, aimed at fostering sustainable development and zero hunger concerns. Despite these efforts, economically disadvantaged university students faced challenges due to the unconventional outsourcing of campus meals. This study, conducted by leveraging campus culinary facilities, adopts an inferred value approach as opposed to the subjective willingness-to-pay (WTP) method, providing a more conservative assessment of students' willingness to contribute. Through regression analysis, this study highlights the positive correlation between student engagement in charitable activities and WTP for student-led events. This involvement not only enhances food safety and hygiene but also reflects a genuine commitment to supporting financially challenged students. The comprehensive nature of this approach effectively tackles issues related to campus nutrition, emphasizing the significance of establishing a sustainable campus environment to achieve objectives such as "zero hunger" and "responsible consumption and production" on campus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for acute ischemic stroke associated with tandem lesion is challenging. Achieving rapid intracranial revascularization and managing the extracranial lesion without complications are the main challenges. Materials and Methods: The balloon angioplasty followed by aspiration of large-vessel occlusion (BAFALO) technique was used to address this clinical issue. A review of a prospectively maintained stroke registry from January 2015 to April 2020 was performed. Patients had stroke with TO and treated with the BAFALO technique were included. Results: Twelve patients were enrolled: 11 had anterior circulation stroke, and 1 had posterior circulation stroke. There were 10 ipsilateral internal carotid artery stenosis/occlusion, one left common carotid artery to subclavian artery bypass stenosis, and 1 vertebral artery orifice stenosis. The median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score was 16 (interquartile range [IQR]: 14–16). Revascularization with a Modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction score of 2b or more was achieved in 11 (92%) patients. The median puncture-to-revascularization time was 25 min (IQR: 19.5–31). Emergent stent implantation was performed in five (42%) patients. Three had distal protection devices (DPDs) with no distal embolization. Two patients did not use a DPD, and one had intracranial reocclusion. Eight (67%) proximal stenotic vessels remained patent. No symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage occurred. Eight (67%) patients had favorable clinical outcomes (modified Rankin Score 0–2 at 90 days). Conclusion: While managing TO, the BAFALO technique could achieve rapid intracranial revascularization and treat extracranial lesions under embolic protection. These merits translate into favorable clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, reinforcement learning (RL) has achieved a remarkable achievement and it has attracted researchers’ attention in modeling real-life scenarios by expanding its research beyond conventional complex games. Prediction of optimal treatment regimens from observational real clinical data is being popularized, and more advanced versions of RL algorithms are being implemented in the literature. However, RL-generated medications still need careful supervision of expertise parties or doctors in healthcare. Hence, in this paper, a Supervised Optimal Chemotherapy Regimen (SOCR) approach to investigate optimal chemotherapy-dosing schedule for cancer patients was presented by using Offline Reinforcement Learning. The optimal policy suggested by the RL approach was supervised by incorporating previous treatment decisions of oncologists, which could add clinical expertise knowledge on algorithmic results. Presented SOCR approach followed a model-based architecture using conservative Q-Learning (CQL) algorithm. The developed model was tested using a manually constructed database of forty Stage-IV colon cancer patients, receiving line-1 chemotherapy treatments, who were clinically classified as ‘Bevacizumab based patient’ and ‘Cetuximab based patient’. Experimental results revealed that the supervision from the oncologists has considered the effect to stabilize chemotherapy regimen and it was suggested that the proposed framework could be successfully used as a supportive model for oncologists in deciding their treatment decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate the mixed plastic waste from the production of light carbon ash bricks performance. The mixed waste plastic pyrolysis process generated waste - Carbon ash. After extrusion, a Lightweight brick was made by carbon ash, additive and Cement mortar. In general, the set compressive strength and insulation effect of lightweight bricks with carbon ash proportion for significant impact. The set water absorption and thermal conductivity of lightweight bricks with carbon ash proportion for significant impact. The set density of lightweight brick ameliorates with M3824 additive and CM3 cement mortar for significant impact. Under conditions of technology and economic, the results of this study as reference for market-oriented marketing and commercialization of production.

This study effect of carbon ash content on the thermal stability and combustion behavior of waste wood particle / recycled polypropylene composites was investigated using TGA, DTG, LOI and cone calorimeter. The TGA shows that, as carbon ash content increases, the thermal stability of composites increases, while the residual weight significantly increases, with the residual weight rate of waste wood particle / recycled polypropylene composites increases from 13.97% to 41.02% at 800 ℃ According to cone calorimeter results, in the 50 kW/M2 thermal flow, when carbon ash adding to 70%, peak heat release rate and total heat release quantity, decreases by 68% and 52%, respectively. The LOI of waste wood particle / recycled polypropylene composites improves by about 34%, Conforming UL-94 flammability standard, V-0 rating. The residual weight rate increases by 202.8%, which the significant role of carbon ash in flame retardant.

From the popularity of flipped teaching in United States primary and high schools, it is thought that students have more learning control to adjust to the learning progress and are assisted in problem solving and learning guidance during class period. It is believed that flipped teaching could prompt underachieving learners' active learning and thereby enhance learning effectiveness. A total of 386 high school students in Chungli, Taiwan, were part of an experimental study and the research results are summarized below: (1) Students who participated in the flipped teaching models demonstrated better comprehension levels with the teaching content due to this change in learning style and attitude, which in turn, enhanced learning effectiveness. (2) To eliminate poor language performance of underachieving students, it is necessary to lay solid foundations to gradually enhance language learning effectiveness regarding this particular group of students. Films suitable for students' individual ability could be combined with new language learned in the unit to genuinely assist underachieving learners' language learning effectiveness. (3) For students who care about their performance, a "system of play" style grouping should be determined in order to enable the tracking of group performance and term performance. According to the results, further developments regarding active learning ability, boosts in learning interests, enhanced learning effectiveness, and the prompting of creativity resulting in a shift from passive learner to active learner have been proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Carcinoma of unknown primary site (CUP) has a poor prognosis and the prognostic factors in these patients are not well established. Furthermore, there are no selection criteria for patients who should benefit from chemotherapy. Methods The medical records of 179 CUP patients who were treated at Taipei Veterans General Hospital from 2000 to 2009 were reviewed. Factors associated with survival were determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. Differences between the groups with and without palliative chemotherapy were analyzed. Results Univariate analysis revealed multiple prognostic factors, including performance status, lung metastasis, number of metastatic organs, serum albumin, corrected serum calcium, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), sodium, and cholesterol levels, palliative chemotherapy, and white blood cell and lymphocyte counts. Multivariate analysis showed that performance status < 2, serum albumin level ≥ 3.5 g/dl, corrected serum calcium level < 10.7 mg/dl, single metastatic organ, and palliative chemotherapy were independent factors of better prognosis. Patients with better performance status, higher serum albumin, and lower serum LDH levels had significantly greater benefit from palliative chemotherapy. Conclusions Certain patients with unfavorable CUP will have better survival. Identification of patients with unfavorable CUP who could benefit from palliative chemotherapy warrants future prospective studies.

Mangiferin is a naturally occurring polyphenol, widely distributed in Thymeraceae families, and presents pharmacological activity, including anti‐cancer activities in many human cancer cell lines. Mangiferin has also been reported to affect immune responses; however, no available information concerning the effects of mangiferin on immune reactions in leukemia mice in vivo. In the present study, we investigated the effects of mangiferin on leukemia WEHI‐3 cell generated leukemia BLAB/c mice. Overall, the experiments were divided into two parts, one part was immune responses experiment and the other was the survival rate experiment. The immune responses and survival rate study, 40 mice for each part, were randomly separated into five groups (N = 8): Group I was normal animals and groups II‐V WEHI‐3 cell generated leukemia mice. Group II mice were fed normal diet as a positive control; group III, IV, and V mice received mangiferin at 40, 80, and 120 mg/kg, respectively, by intraperitoneal injection every 2 days for 20 days. Leukocytes cell population, macrophage phagocytosis, and NK cell activities were analyzed by flow cytometry. Isolated splenocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and concanavalin A (Con A) were used to determine the proliferation of B and T cells, respectively, and subsequently were analyzed by flow cytometry. Results indicated that mangiferin significantly increased body weight, decreased the liver and spleen weights of leukemia mice. Mangiferin also increased CD3 T‐cell and CD19 B cell population but decreased Mac‐3 macrophage and CD11b monocyte. Furthermore, mangiferin decreased phagocytosis of macrophages from PBMC and peritoneal cavity at 40, 80, and 120 mg/kg treatment. However, it also increased NK cell activity at 40 and 120 mg/kg treatment. There were no effects on T and B cell proliferation at three examined doses. In survival rate studies, mangiferin significantly elevated survival rate at 40 and 120 mg/kg treatment of leukemia mice in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vector graphics with gradient mesh can be attributed to their compactness and scalability; however, they tend to fall short when it comes to real-time editing due to a lack of real-time rasterization and an efficient editing tool for image details. In this paper, we encode global manipulation geometries and local image details within a hybrid vector structure, using parametric patches and detailed features for localized and parallelized thin-plate spline interpolation in order to achieve good compressibility, interactive expressibility, and editability. The proposed system then automatically extracts an optimal set of detailed color features while considering the compression ratio of the image as well as reconstruction error and its characteristics applicable to the preservation of structural and irregular saliency of the image. The proposed real-time vector representation makes it possible to construct an interactive editing system for detail-maintained image magnification and color editing as well as material replacement in cross mapping, without maintaining spatial and temporal consistency while editing in a raster space. Experiments demonstrate that our representation method is superior to several state-of-the-art methods and as good as JPEG, while providing real-time editability and preserving structural and irregular saliency information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ouabain, a cardiotonic steroid and specific Na+/K+‐ATPase inhibitor, has a potential to induce cancer cell apoptosis but the mechanisms of apoptosis induced by ouabain are not fully understand. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic effects of ouabain on human prostate cancer DU 145 cells in vitro. Cell morphological changes were examined by phase contrast microscopy. Cell viability, cell cycle distribution, cell apoptosis, DNA damage, the production of ROS and Ca2+, and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) were measured by flow cytometry assay. Results indicated that ouabain induced cell morphological changes, decreased total cell viability, induced G0/G1 phase arrest, DNA damage, and cell apoptosis, increased ROS and Ca2+ production, but decreased the levels of ΔΨm in DU 145 cells. Ouabain also increased the activities of caspase‐3, ‐8, and ‐9. Western blotting was used for measuring the alterations of apoptosis‐associated protein expressions in DU 145 cells and results indicated that ouabain increased the expression of DNA damage associated proteins (pATMSer1981, p‐H2A.XSer139, and p‐p53Ser15) and ER‐stress‐associated proteins (Grp78, ATF6β, p‐PERKThr981, PERK, eIF2A, GADD153, CaMKIIβ, and caspase‐4) in time‐dependently. Furthermore, ouabain increased apoptosis‐associated proteins (DR4, DR5, Fas, Fas Ligand, and FADD), TRAIL pathway, which related to extrinsic pathway, promoted the pro‐apoptotic protein Bax, increased apoptotic‐associated proteins, such as cytochrome c, AIF, Endo G, caspase‐3, ‐8, and ‐9, but reduced anti‐apoptotic protein Bcl‐2 and Bcl‐x in DU 145 cells. In conclusion, we may suggest that ouabain decreased cell viability and induced apoptotic cell death may via caspase‐dependent and mitochondria‐dependent pathways in human prostate cancer DU 145 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Posttraumatic cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is a major complication after head injury. Impaired venous outflow caused by CVST leads to increased intracranial pressure (IICP) refractory to medications and surgical decompression and often results in devastating consequences. Currently, there is no consensus on the treatment strategy. Here we report a case of posttraumatic CVST in a young male motorcyclist involved in a high-speed traffic accident. On admission, the patient immediately underwent decompressive hemicraniectomy. However, refractory malignant IICP developed within 24 hours after the operation. Computed tomography venography revealed compression of the right sigmoid sinus by the fractured temporal bone and extensive thrombosis toward the jugular bulb. Dural sinus thrombectomy and stenting were performed accordingly. After the procedure, IICP was alleviated immediately and the sedatives and medications were tapered off within days. The patient gradually recovered from deep comatose status and underwent cranioplasty 5 weeks later. Finally, the patient was discharged with only mild left wrist weakness. Acute cerebral sinus thrombosis caused by trauma may result in malignant IICP refractory to medications and surgical decompression. We have demonstrated that endovascular angioplasty and sinus stenting are effective in restoring venous outflow and reducing intracranial pressure. We have also demonstrated that appropriate and timely interventions are important to ensure quick and good recovery in patients with CVST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cardamonin, the chalcone class, is one of the natural components from the spicy herbaceous plant (Alpinia conchigera Griff) and has anticancer activities in many human cancer cell lines. There is, however, no information to show that cardamonin induces cell apoptosis and alters apoptosis associated gene expressions in mouse leukemia cells. Thus, we investigated the effects of cardamonin on the apoptotic cell death and associated gene expression in mouse leukemia WEHI-3 cells in vitro. Results indicated that cardamonin decreased total viable cell number via induced cell morphological changes and apoptotic cell death in WEHI-3 cells that were assay by contrast-phase microscopy and flow cytometry examinations, respectively. The flow cytometry assay indicated that cardamonin increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Ca 2 + production, decreased the levels of mitochondrial membrane potential (Δ Ψ m) and increased caspase-3, -8 and -9 activities in WEHI-3 cells. Western blotting was performed to analyze expression of relevant pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins and results showed that cardamonin decreased anti-apoptotic protein of Bcl-2 but increased pro-apoptotic protein of Bax in WEHI-3 cells. Furthermore, cardamonin increased cytochrome c, AIF and Endo G release, increased GRP78, caspase-12 that were associated with ER stress and increased Fas, Fas-Ligand and FADD expression. Furthermore, cardamonin increased the gene expressions of DAP (death-associated protein), TMBIM4 transmembrane (BAX inhibitor motif containing 4), ATG5 (autophagy related 5) but decreased the gene expression of DDIT3 (DNA-damage inducible transcript 3), DDIT4 (DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4), BAG6 (BCL2-associated athanogene 6), BCL2L13 [BCL2-like 13 (apoptosis facilitator)] and BRAT1 (BRCA1-associated ATM activator 1) that are associated with apoptosis pathways. Based on those findings, we may suggest cardamonin induced apoptotic cell death through Fas and Fas-Ligand-, caspase- and mitochondria-dependently pathways and also affects the apoptotic gene expression in WEHI-3 cells in vitro. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ouabain, a cardiotonic steroid, was used for the treatment of heart failure and atrial fibrillation and induces cancer cell apoptosis in many human cancer cells including human leukemia cells. However, there are no reports to show the effects on immune responses in a leukemia mouse model. In this study, WEHI‐3 cell generated leukemia mice were developed and treated by oral ouabain at 0, 0.75, 1.5, and 3 mg/kg for 15 days. Results indicated that ouabain did not affect body appearance, but decreased liver and spleen weights, B‐ and T‐cell proliferation at all three doses treatment and increased CD19 cells at 3.0 mg/kg treatment, decreased CD3, CD11b, and Mac‐3 cells levels compared with positive control. Furthermore, ouabain increased the macrophage phagocytosis from peripheral blood mononuclear cell and peritoneal cavity at all three doses treatment and increased NK cell activities. Ouabain restored GOT, GPT and LDH levels in WEHI‐3 leukemia mice in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the analysis of electron transport through an Aharonov–Bohm interferometer with laterally coupled triple quantum dots. Analytical expressions for the linear conductance and density of states with an indirect coupling parameter α are obtained. The conductance spectrum shows the Breit–Wigner and the Fano resonances. The suppression of the resonance at α=1 is ascribed to the existence of a bound state in the continuum. This resonance is well resolved and clearly observed as α decreases. For particular values of the magnetic flux, two antiresonances are observed due to the destructive quantum interference. They disappear due to the localization of the bonding and antibonding states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spin accumulation and the out-of-plane spin current in two-dimensional (x-y plane) electron gas with the Rashba spin-orbit interaction are examined. Employing the real-space Landauer–Keldysh Green’s function formalism and considering the two-terminal Landauer setup with leads locally contacting the sample, we show that the accumulation patterns for the three components of the spins can be identified from their unique symmetries. With increasing lateral sample length, the out-of-plane spin accumulation oscillates by generating bubbles with alternating signs on the lateral edges. The out-of-plane spin currents are patterned by global vortices, and within the locally biased region of the sample, the direction of the current flow also oscillates as a function of the lateral sample length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spin-Hall effect in the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) generates symmetric out-of-plane spin Sz accumulation about the current axis in the absence of external magnetic field. Here we employ the real space Landauer-Keldysh formalism [B. K. Nikolic et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 046601 (2005); Phys. Rev. B 73, 075303 (2006)] by considering a four-terminal setup to investigate the circumstances in which this symmetry is broken. For the absence of Dresselhaus interaction, starting from the applied out-of-plane B corresponding to Zeeman splitting energy Δ=0–0.5 times the Rashba hopping energy tSOR, the breaking process is clearly seen. The influence of the Rashba interaction on the magnetization of the 2DEG is studied herein. For coexisted Rashba tSOR and Dresselhaus tSOD spin-orbit couplings in the absence of B, interchanging tSOR and tSOD reverses the entire accumulation pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) signaling format is commonly associated with guard subintervals to reject interblock interference (IBI) and enable simple one-tap frequency-domain equalization (FDE) at the receiver when received over dispersive channels. Despite the advantages, the insertion of guard subintervals expands the signal spectrum and thus trades off the spectral efficiency significantly. In this paper, the nonguarded OFDM (NG-OFDM) signaling format, which is exactly OFDM without inserting guard subintervals, is considered to avoid the spectrum expansion and combined with spectral precoding to further achieve high spectrum compactness. In particular, spectral precoders are designed for NG-OFDM to provide very small spectral sidelobes, and thus extremely compact signal spectrum, and associate the transmitted waveform with low peak-to-average power ratio. To reject IBI among received NG-OFDM blocks over dispersive channels, a guard subinterval in each received block is removed at the receiver, and this turns the resultant receiver as nonorthogonal over subcarrier subchannels, thus resulting in intercarrier interference (ICI). The corresponding channel capacity and linear minimum-mean-square-error (LMMSE) data estimation are analyzed. It is shown that the proposed spectrally precoded NG-OFDM (SP-NG-OFDM) system can provide channel capacity very close to nonprecoded and spectrally precoded OFDM using the cyclic prefix (CP-OFDM) when the removal guard ratio is small, and much higher channel capacity per unit bandwidth than spectrally precoded CP-OFDM conveying the same data rate provided that a small out-of-band power proportion is required. When a sufficiently small precoding rate is adopted, the SP-NG-OFDM receiver, using guard removal and LMMSE-FDE, is also shown to counteract ICI effectively and exploit frequency diversity over dispersive channels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is a necessary but challenging task for creative producers to have an idea of the depth perception of the target audience when watching a stereoscopic film in a cinema during production. This paper proposes a novel metric, geometric perceived depth percentage (GPDP), to numerate and depict the depth perception of a scene before rendering. In addition to the geometric relationship between the object depth and focal distance, GPDP takes the screen width and viewing distance into account. As a result, it provides a more intuitive means for predicting stereoscopy and is universal across different viewing conditions. Based on GPDP, we design a practical tool to visualize the stereoscopic perception without the need for any 3-D device or special environment. The tool utilizes the stereoscopic comfort volume, GPDP-based shading schemes, depth perception markers, and GPDP histograms as visual cues so that animators can set stereoscopic parameters more easily. The tool is easily implemented in any modern rendering pipeline, including interactive Autodesk Maya and offline Pixar’s RenderMan renderer. It has been used in several production projects including commercial ones. Finally, two user studies show that GPDP is a proper depth perception indicator and the proposed tool can make the stereoscopic parameter setting process easier and more efficient. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present research will be involved in molding condition of temperature, pressure etc. in addition to improve strength and heat of combustion test of the solid fuel product by the adhesives with barley husk after pyrolysis. The results can serve as a reference to the barley husk solid fuel production process design. In sequence, take extrusion molding technique and sintering, the lightweight Buildings are produced for the carbon ash from the solid fuel after combustion utilization. More than finding a suitable formula, this study also conducted analysis on product performance and developed technique to improve process and product performance, as an important reference for future studies. In this study, the variation factors of the solid fuel produced from the barley husk was 3 × 3 × 3. The solid fuel produced from the barley husk used chemically modified starch adhesive, molding temperature and pressure as variation factors. ANOVA multifactor analysis of variance was conducted for the significance level of below 5%. Response to commercial demand, In this study the best formula for the A: S:C= 0.9: 0.4: 6. and sintering temperature 850°C. The surface area and strength is not significant impact. However, the sintering temperature for the surface area and the strength of the impact is significant. However, lightweight building materials is an important consideration for density basis, when low sintering temperature, the lower the density of help on the production of lightweight building material assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: To observe the clinicopathologic and resistance profiles of the Nocardia brasiliensis causing cutaneous nocardiosis in Taiwan, 12 N. brasiliensis isolates were prospectively collected from patients with cutaneous nocardiosis in a hospital during 2002–2012. Clinicopathologic data were obtained, and isolates were identified by biochemical methods and 16S rRNA sequencing. Susceptibilities to 14 antimicrobial compounds were tested. Isolates were further genotyped by sequencing of 16S rRNA, secA1, hsp65, and gyrB genes. The nodulopustular pyoderma associated with sporotrichoid spreading was the most common skin presentations caused by N. brasiliensis. All of the isolates were susceptible to amikacin, gentamicin, tobramycin, piperacillin/tazobactam, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and resistant to kanamycin, erythromycin, and oxacillin, while susceptibilities to imipenem, vancomycin, penicillin-G, tetracycline, clindamycin, and ciprofloxacin varied among the 12 isolates. GyrB genotyping delineated the 12 isolates into 2 major groups, which was coincident with different single nucleotide substitutions at position 160 (G versus T) of 16S rRNA, different levels of imipenem minimum inhibition concentration (4–32 versus 0.25–0.75 mg/L), and prevalence of lymphadenitis (66.7 versus 16.7%). We have noted that tiny pustular lesions can be the first sign of cutaneous nocardiosis, which we believe has not been previously emphasized. No resistance to trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole was found; therefore, sulphonamide drugs remain effective for treatment of cutaneous nocardiosis in Taiwan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]