Search

Background and aims Because the sex difference in outcomes of fracture was incompletely understood, we evaluated the post-fracture complications and mortality of female and male patients. Methods We conducted a nationwide study of 498,586 fracture patients who received inpatient care using Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Research Database 2008–2013 claims data. Female and male fracture patients were selected for comparison by using a propensity-score matching procedure. Age, low income, types of fracture, fracture with surgery, several medical conditions, number of hospitalization and emergency visits were considered as potential confounding factors. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to calculate the adjusted odds ratios (OR), the 95% CI of post-fracture complications and 30-day in-hospital mortality differences between women and men. Results Male patients had a higher risk of post-fracture pneumonia (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.83–2.11), acute renal failure (OR 1.85, 95% CI 1.60–2.15), deep wound infection (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.51–1.77), stroke (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.49–1.67), septicemia (OR 1.51, 95% CI 1.42–1.61), acute myocardial infarction (OR 1.38, 95% CI 1.09–1.75) and 30-day in-hospital mortality (OR 1.69, 95% CI 1.48–1.93) compared with female patients. However, a lower risk of post-fracture urinary tract infection (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.65–0.72) was found in men than in women. Male patients also had longer hospital stays and higher medical expenditures due to fracture admission than did the female patients. Higher rates of post-fracture adverse events in male patients were noted in all age groups and all types of fractures. Conclusion We raised the possibility that male patients showed more complications and higher mortality rates after fracture admission compared with female patients, with the exception of urinary tract infections.

Objective: To examine the factors affecting pregnant women's decisions to accept or decline the prenatal pertussis (Tdap) vaccination in Taiwan. Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey, recruiting pregnant women who had received prenatal care from eight maternity hospitals between January and December 2018. We examined the participants’ demographic characteristics, perceptions of pertussis disease risk and vaccination effectiveness, beliefs regarding vaccine information, physician recommendation, and other potential factors affecting decision-making regarding prenatal vaccination. Results: The complete survey response rate among eligible women was 78%. Among the participants, 74% accepted and 26% declined prenatal Tdap vaccination. Most women accepted Tdap during pregnancy because of perceived severity of pertussis in their infants, perceived effectiveness of the prenatal Tdap in preventing neonatal pertussis, and perceived safety of the prenatal Tdap vaccine for the fetus, as well as a provider's recommendation, which was the factor strongly associated with actual Tdap reception. Most of the participants who accepted Tdap vaccination during pregnancy and who believed that the Tdap vaccine could protect their infants from pertussis reported the receiving sufficient information to make an informed decision and trust in the information. By contrast, a large proportion of the participants who declined Tdap and who did not want to experience possible fetal side effects of Tdap reported not getting sufficient information to make an informed decision and a lack of trust in the information. Conclusion: Developing a comprehensive strategy involving government policy, the health care system, public media, health professionals, and pregnant women to launch a successful campaign may improve the nationwide acceptance of the prenatal pertussis vaccination. Keywords: Pertussis, Vaccine, Prenatal

Species of Cirsium (Asteraceae family) have been used in folk hepatoprotective medicine in Taiwan. We collected four Cirsium species—including the aerial part of Cirsium arisanense (CAH), the aerial part of Cirsium kawakamii (CKH), the flower part of Cirsium japonicum DC. var. australe (CJF), and Cirsii Herba (CH)—and then made extractions from them with 70% methanol. We compared the antioxidant contents and activities of these four Cirsium species extracts by a spectrophotometric method and high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD). We further evaluated the hepatoprotective effects of these extracts on CCl4-induced acute liver damage in C57BL/6 mice. The present study found CAH possesses the highest antioxidant activity among the four Cirsium species, and these antioxidant activities are closely related to phenylpropanoid glycoside (PPG) contents. The extracts decreased serum ALT and AST levels elevated by injection with 0.2% CCl4. However, only CJF and CH decreased hepatic necrosis. Silibinin decreased serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels and hepatic necrosis caused by CCl4. CJF and CH restored the activities of hepatic antioxidant enzymes and decreased hepatic malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. CJF further restored the expression of hepatic antioxidant enzymes including Cu/Zn-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD), Mn-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD), and glutathione S-transferase (GST) proteins. HPLC chromatogram indicated that CKH, CJF, and CH contained silibinin diastereomers (α and β). Only CJF contained diosmetin. Hence, the hepatoprotective mechanism of CJF against CCl4-induced acute liver damage might be involved in restoring the activities and protein expression of the hepatic antioxidant defense system and inhibiting hepatic inflammation, and these hepatoprotective effects are related to the contents of silibinin diastereomers and diosmetin.

Levobupivacaine has been developed as a safer alternative to bupivacaine because of its reduced systemic toxicity. However, the effect of directly delivering levobupivacaine into tracheal smooth muscle has not been adequately explored. We performed this study to determine the in vitro effects of levobupivacaine on isolated rat tracheal smooth muscle. A portion of rat trachea 5 mm in length was mounted in 30 ml of Krebs solution in a muscle bath at 37 °C. The following effects of levobupivacaine were assessed: (1) the effect on tracheal smooth muscle resting tension (n = 6), (2) the effect on contraction caused by 10(-6) M methacholine (n = 6) and (3) the effect on electrically induced tracheal smooth muscle contractions (n = 6). Levobupivacaine caused dose-dependent relaxation in the trachealis muscle precontracted with 10(-6) M methacholine. Contraction inhibition was statistically significant when 10(-5) and 10(-4) M levobupivacaine were applied, compared with the contraction inhibition that occurred in the control groups (p < 0.01). A high dose of levobupivacaine also decreased the spike contraction induced by electrical field stimulation. This study indicated that high concentrations of levobupivacaine might antagonize the cholinergic receptors and inhibit parasympathetic function of the trachea.

This paper revisits two previous studies that addressed the integrated production–inventory problem for deteriorating items in a two-echelon supply chain, where the item’s deterioration rate is a constant or follows a continuous probability distribution function. The aim of this study is to present an improved solution procedure to determine the delivery lot size and the number of deliveries per production batch cycle that minimizes the total cost of the entire supply chain. The performance of the proposed methodology is illustrated analytically and numerically.

In this study, we demonstrate the antioxidant and protective properties of the aqueous extract of two commercial Polydiaceae plants - Drynaria fortunei (DF) and Pseudodrynaria coronans (PC) against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced oxidative damage in B35 neuroblastoma cells. The contents of their phytochemical profiles were determined by spectrophotometric methods and high performance liquid chromatography using a photodiode array detector. DF extract showed better effects than PC extract in scavenging ROS and inhibiting 6-OHDA autoxidation. Following exposure to 6-OHDA, B35 cells showed a marked decrease in cell survival and the activation of intracellular antioxidant enzymes and the PI3K/AKT pathway, and then an increased level of lipid peroxidation. Pretreatment with DF extract blocked these 6-OHDA-induced cellular events. Naringin and epicatechin are major components of DF extract. These results show that DF extract exerts protective effects against 6-OHDA toxicity via radical scavenging activity and an increase in the activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway to elevate the levels of intracellular antioxidant enzymes including HO-1, NQO-1 and glutathione-related enzymes.

Background/Purpose Intranasally administered dexmedetomidine, a highly selective α2-adrenoceptor agonist, has been found to an effective premedication in children. However, the effect of delivering dexmedetomidine directly into the tracheal smooth muscle through inhalation has not been adequately explored. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dexmedetomidine on the isolated rat tracheal smooth muscle in vitro. Methods A portion of rat trachea (5 mm in length) was mounted in a muscle bath filled with 30 mL of Krebs solution at 37°C. The following effects of dexmedetomidine were assessed: (1) effect on the tracheal smooth muscle resting tension, (2) effect on contraction caused by 10−6 M methacholine, and (3) effect on electrically induced tracheal smooth muscle contractions. Results Dexmedetomidine elicited a negligible effect on the basal tension of the trachea as its concentration was increased. Dexmedetomidine caused a concentration-dependent relaxation in the trachealis muscle precontracted with 10−6 M methacholine, but did not affect the contractile response to electrical field stimulation. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that high concentrations of dexmedetomidine might have an antispasmodic effect on the tracheal smooth muscle.

In this study, we revisit research contributed by Burwell et al. (1997. International Journal of Production Economics 48, 141–155), where an economic lot size model for price-dependent demand under quantity and freight discounts was proposed. Specifically, for the cases of mixed discounts in which the quantity discounts are either of the incremental or all-units variety and the freight discounts are of the opposite type, we first provide counterexamples to show that adopting the existing algorithm to determine overall optimal lot size and selling price may not achieve the goal of maximizing profit. We then propose an easy to understand computational algorithm to obtain an exact solution.

Plants and fungi provide a vast range of natural products including pharmaceuticals with diverse chemical structures and a broad array of biological activities. In the past few decades, there has been a worldwide resurgence of interest in the study and use of medicinal plants and fungi in the health-care system. Several medicinal plants and fungi are involved in the industrial processing of profitable products used in human medicines. However, due to severe constraints on the availability of desired plant and fungus materials, different strategies, including tissue culture, have been extensively studied. The present chapter focuses on the application of various in vitro culture systems in the production of bioactive secondary metabolites in medicinal herbs and fungi in Taiwan. All the species described in this article are sources of traditional Chinese medicines. The review article includes the research work carried out in our laboratory on the production of plant secondary metabolites in callus cultures of Saussurea involucrata, Solanum melongena, and Salvia miltiorrhiza and in cell suspension cultures of Taxus mairei, Gnetiana davidii var. formosana, and Angelica dahurica var. formosana. Also, plant metabolites were obtained from in vitro shoots of Glossogyne tenuifolia, Saussurea involucrata, and Polygonum multiflorum, aerial parts of Scrophularia yoshimurae, tubers of Corydalis yanhusuo, tissue culture plants, and hairy roots of Gentiana scabra. Also, we could achieve the production of terpenoids in Antrodia cinnamomea, a medicinal fungus, and tanshinones in Salvia miltiorrhiza using T-DNA activation-tagging technique (Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation).

Lin [T.Y. Lin, An economic order quantity with imperfect quality and quantity discounts, Appl. Math. Model. 34 (10) (2010) 3158–3165] recently proposed an EOQ model with imperfect quality and quantity discounts, where the lot-splitting shipments policy is adopted. In this note we first rectify the holding cost terms showed in Lin to obtain a new objective function, then resolve the problem and develop an easy to implement algorithm to find the overall optimal solutions for the model. Besides, we present a new model for items with imperfect quality, where lot-splitting shipments and different holding costs for good and defective items are considered. The closed-form formulas for determining the optimal ordering and shipping policies are derived. Also, the results are examined analytically and numerically to gain more insights of the solutions.

The majority of breast cancer patients are resistant to chemotherapy or radiotherapy due to the down-regulation or lack of caspase-3 expression. Capsaicin was found to inhibit cancer cell growth in caspase-3-deficient human breast cancer cells. This study aimed to investigate the growth-inhibitive effect of capsaicin and its mechanisms in human breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7 and BT-20. The results showed that cell viability decreased in a dose-dependent manner in both the caspase-3-deficient and non-deficient cells through inducing cell apoptosis and arresting the cell cycle in the S phase. Capsaicin significantly decreased mitochondria membrane potential, induced the cleavage of PARP-1, and decreased procaspase-7 expression in both cells. Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) was distinctly released from mitochondria and translocated into the cytoplasm and nucleus in MCF-7 cells (52.9%), but not in BT-20 cells (2%) after treatment with 200 μM of capsaicin for 24 hours. Capsaicin inhibited breast cancer cell growth through inducing cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in the S phase. This apoptotic effect could be induced through the mitochondrial pathway, and PARP-1 subsequently cleaved by activation of caspase-7. The application of capsaicin in clinical therapy could be useful for breast cancer patients.

Sophora species are used as dietary medicines in aging-associated symptoms. Sophora tomentosa L. (ST) is a native medicinal plant in Southeast Asia, however, there is no pharmacological literature about ST extract. The present study evaluates the antioxidant phytoconstituent contents and radical scavenging capacities of ST extract. The further investigation was to clarify the neuroprotective mechanism of ST extract against 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced Parkinsonism by assaying the activities of the dopaminergic system and antioxidant defenses, glycogen synthase kinase 3&beta, (GSK3-&beta, ) phosphorylation, and &alpha, synuclein levels in C57BL/6 mice. The results show that ST extract alleviated the motor deficits in MPTP-induced Parkinsonism with four behavioral tests, including a rearing locomotor, catalepsy test, balance beam walking test, and pole test. ST extract reversed the number of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive neurons in substantia nigra (SN) that had decreased by MPTP. ST extract also restored the decreased levels of dopamine and the expression of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in the striatum. Furthermore, ST extract restored the levels of glutathione (GSH) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, and decreased the elevated levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) in mouse striatum. ST extract also decreased &alpha, synuclein overexpression and GSK-3&beta, phosphorylation in mouse striatum. In vitro, ST extract exerted higher 2,2&prime, azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging capacities through its higher phenolic contents, especially protocatechuic acid and epicatechin. These results suggest that ST extract has the potential to counteract MPTP-induced motor deficit. The neuroprotective mechanism of ST extract against MPTP-induced Parkinsonism might be related to decreasing GSK-3&beta, phosphorylation and restoring the activities of striatal antioxidant defenses to restore the nigrostriatal dopaminergic function and decrease &alpha, synuclein accumulation.

We investigate a immunoassay biosensor that employs a Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) to detect the specific binding reaction of the (Human IgG1)-(Anti-Human IgG1) protein pair under physiological conditions. In addition to experiments, a three dimensional time domain finite element method (FEM) was used to perform simulations for the biomolecular binding reaction in microfluidic channels. In particular, we discuss the unsteady convective diffusion in the transportation tube, which conveys the buffer solution containing the analyte molecules into the micro-channel where the QCM sensor lies. It is found that the distribution of the analyte concentration in the tube is strongly affected by the flow field, yielding large discrepancies between the simulations and experimental results. Our analysis shows that the conventional assumption of the analyte concentration in the inlet of the micro-channel being uniform and constant in time is inadequate. In addition, we also show that the commonly used procedure in kinetic analysis for estimating binding rate constants from the experimental data would underestimate these rate constants due to neglected diffusion processes from the inlet to the reaction surface. A calibration procedure is proposed to supplement the basic kinetic analysis, thus yielding better consistency with experiments.

The medicinal ferns of Polydiaceae and Davalliaceae species are called “Gusuibu” by Chinese physicians and used as antiaging dietary medicines. Our previous report revealed that Drynaria fortunei (Polydiaceae) protected against 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced oxidative damage via the PI3K/AKT pathway in B35 neuroblastoma cells. The present study compares the antioxidant phytoconstituent contents and radical scavenging capacities of five Davalliaceae species. The further aim was to clarify the protective mechanism of Davallia mariesii (DM) against 6-OHDA-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis in B35 cells. The results show that Araiostegia perdurans (AP) and DM extracts have better radical scavenging capacities against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryhydrazyl (DPPH) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) than other Davalliaceae species. However, only DM extract inhibited 6-OHDA autoxidation under cell-free systems and increased cell viability, compared to B35 cells solely exposed to 6-OHDA. DM extract decreased apoptosis and restored mitochondrial expression in 6-OHDA-treated B35 cells. Additional data indicated that DM extract decreased intracellular ROS and nitric oxide levels generated by 6-OHDA exposure. DM extract also restored glutathione (GSH) levels and the activities of glutathione peroxidase and reductase, and then decreased the elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Finally, DM extract regulated the protein expression of the caspase cascade and PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathways. These results suggest that the protective mechanism of DM extract against 6-OHDA-induced oxidative damage and apoptosis might be related to its radical scavenging capacity, maintaining the mitochondrial function to inhibit the Bcl-2/caspase cascade pathway and activating intracellular antioxidant defenses (GSH recycling, HO-1 and NQO-1) by modulating the activation of the PI3K/AKT/GSK-3β pathway.

Many authors emphasize the advantages of laparoscopic techniques in their experience, including the excellent cosmetic results, reduced postoperative pain, rapid functional recovery, lower incidence of adhesions, wound infections and believe that laparoscopic appendectomy is a reliable operation for treating acute appendicitis. Laparoscopic appendectomy has become a standard procedure in the treatment of acute appendicitis in our department since it was introduced in 2003. There are 414 patients underwent laparoscopic appendectomy and 37 patients underwent open appendectomy in our department in 2008. More than 2000 laparoscopic appendectomies were performed in our department during 2003–2009. However, open appendectomy is still the standard procedure in many Taiwan and worldwide hospitals. One of the reasons is that the operating costs incurred for laparoscopic appendectomy are higher than that of open appendectomy. We describe, herein, an access technique utilizing existing instrumentation that is reliable and easy.

Background/Purpose The addition of ultra-low-dose naloxone to patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) with morphine reduces opioid-related side effects. Nalbuphine, a mixed opioid agonist–antagonist, may be able to attenuate opioid-related side effects. The goal of the present study was to investigate the effect of combined low-dose nalbuphine and morphine in PCA for postoperative pain control after gynecological surgery. Methods This randomized, double-blind, controlled study enrolled 174 female patients who were undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy, myomectomy, or ovarian tumor excision. In the control group, the PCA formula was 1 mg/mL pure morphine. In the study group, the PCA formula was 1 mg/mL morphine and 10μg/mL nalbuphine (1:100). Numerical rating score, PCA requirement, nausea, vomiting, use of antiemetics, pruritus, use of antipruritics, and opioid-related adverse events were investigated at 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours postoperatively. Results One hundred and sixty-nine patients completed the study: 86 in the control group and 83 in the study group. The incidence of nausea was lower in the study group (41%) than in the control group (65%). The incidence of vomiting, use of antiemetics, pruritus, and use of antipruritics did not differ between the two groups. The numerical rating pain score and PCA requirements were not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusion Combination of low-dose nalbuphine and morphine in PCA decreases the incidence of opioid-related nausea, without affecting the analgesia and PCA requirement. This novel combination can improve the quality of PCA used for postoperative pain control after gynecological surgery.

In traditional inventory models, it is implicitly assumed that the buyer must pay for the purchased items as soon as they have been received. However, in many practical situations, the vendor is willing to provide the buyer with a permissible delay period when the buyer’s order quantity exceeds a given threshold. Therefore, to incorporate the concept of vendor–buyer integration and order-size-dependent trade credit, we present a stylized model to determine the optimal strategy for an integrated vendor–buyer inventory system under the condition of trade credit linked to the order quantity, where the demand rate is considered to be a decreasing function of the retail price. By analyzing the total channel profit function, we developed some useful results to characterize the optimal solution and provide an iterative algorithm to find the retail price, buyer’s order quantity, and the numbers of shipment per production run from the vendor to the buyer. Numerical examples and sensitivity analysis are given to illustrate the theoretical results, and some managerial insights are also obtained.

This case report describes a 61-year-old man who developed reexpansion pulmonary edema (RPE) of the collapsed left lung after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery because of left thoracic empyema, complicated with secondary contralateral pulmonary edema later. The left lung was gently reexpanded after surgery under one-lung ventilation anesthesia for 2.5 hours. The patient developed RPE of the left lung immediately after surgery, and required mechanical ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure support. RPE was resolved within 24 hours. Nevertheless, delayed onset of contralateral pulmonary edema manifested on chest radiography 4 days later without clinical symptoms such as tachypnea or dyspnea. There was no evidence of pulmonary infection, fluid overload, postoperative renal insufficiency or cardiogenic onslaught. Late manifestation of contralateral pulmonary edema in the wake of previous left-sided RPE was suspected from exclusion of possible culprits. Response to steroid therapy made inflammation-related pulmonary edema a likely diagnosis. This case demonstrates that delayed contralateral pulmonary edema with only radiographic evidence can emerge 4 days after resolution of RPE of a collapsed lung. Methods to prevent RPE and management of one-lung ventilation are described.

The cytoplasmic enzyme dihydrodiol dehydrogenase (DDH) plays an important role in detoxification. Patients with DDH overexpression have a significantly higher incidence of early tumor recurrence and distant metastasis. This study evaluated the correlation between clinicopathological data and DDH expression and the prognostic significance of DDH expression in patients with resected gastric cancer. Between January 1998 and September 2004, we retrospectively enrolled 81 patients who received surgical treatment for gastric cancer. Pathology samples were immunostained with monoclonal antibody to DDH. The relationship between DDH expression and clinicopathological data (age, gender, histological type, stage) was analyzed by chi-square analysis. Survival curves were plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using a log-rank test. The overexpression rate of DDH was 41.9%. Of patients with overexpressed DDH, 13% had stage I, 24% had stage II, 52% had stage III, and 78% had stage IV tumors. Among patients who died, DDH expression level differed significantly between high and low-expression groups (P = 0.042). Survival was significantly better in patients with low DDH expression (P = 0.048). Thus, DDH expression may be useful in identifying high-risk gastric cancer patients and distinguishing future candidates for curative and palliative treatment.

Medicinal plants have played a significant role in maintaining human health and improving the quality of life for thousands of years. In the past few decades, there has been an exponential rise in demand for herbal medicines, which in turn has resulted in an overexploitation and dwindling supply of medicinal plants in the wild. Therefore, it is imperative to explore all possible modes of plant propagation and large-scale cultivation. Taiwan is the home of many highly valued medicinal herbs used in the traditional Chinese medicines. In our laboratories, for more than two decades, tissue culture techniques have been used successfully for the propagation of several medicinally important plant species. The present article reviews the studies carried out on in vitro propagation of selected medicinal plants in Taiwan (Glossogyne tenuifolia, Saussurea involucrata, Gentiana scabra, and Drynaria fortunei). The article also includes the studies on induction of somatic embryogenesis in medicinal herb Peucedanum japonicum and influence of different ventilation closures on hyperhydricity (vitrification) in cultures of Scrophularia yoshimurae, Bupleurum kaoi, Gentiana scabra, and Glossogyne tenuifolia.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) constitute an essential family of pattern recognition molecules that, through the direct recognition of conserved microbial components, initiate inflammatory responses after infection. Phylogenetic evidence suggests that vertebrate TLRs are under strong purifying selection for the maintenance of function. Our lab is focused on a related group of vertebrate TLRs that comprise the TLR2 subfamily. The most closely related members, TLRs 1 and 6, appear to have arisen from a recent gene duplication event and have acquired differential microbial recognition specificity. We have characterized two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), P315L, and I602S, in human TLR1 that effect receptor function through different mechanisms. The 315L variant is associated with deficient recognition of microbial products whereas the 602S variant is associated with aberrant trafficking of the receptor to the cell surface. It is surprising to note that the 602S allele is associated with a decreased incidence of leprosy suggesting that Mycobacterium leprae subverts the TLR system as a mechanism of immune evasion. TLR1 I602S exhibits strikingly different allele frequencies among different races suggesting that if strong purifying selection took place, it was restricted by either additional genetic or environmental factors that were geographically constrained.High expression of transgenes is desired for molecular farming. However, transgenes are often subjected to gene silencing pathways in plant cells. Gene silencing may be triggered by the production of aberrant (hairpin) RNA molecule from a complex integration locus in plant genome or by the overexpression of transgene. Excessively transcribed RNA are subject to gene silencing even if they are produced from a single-copy locus. Therefore, we sought to determine how highly a transgene can be expressed before its transcript is subjected to gene silencing. In a previous study, we demonstrated that precise single-copy locus generated by Cre/lox-mediated site-specific integration (SSI) in rice is stably expressed at predictable levels through subsequent generations, and that its expression invariably doubled in homozygous progenies. To further explore the stability of the SSI locus and determine the expression-threshold of rice genomic sites, we generated transformation vectors containing 1–3 copies of 35S-GUS and 35S-GFP transgenes. These vectors were used to develop SSI locus containing 1–3 copies of each transgene in two different varieties of rice, Nipponbare and Taipei 309. SSI lines will be analyzed by PCR and Southern blotting to ascertain the presence of precise integration structures consisting of 1–3 copies of each trans-gene. The precise SSI lines will be subjected to quantitative GUS and GFP assay to determine if gene expression indeed increased with the increase in gene dosage. Molecular and expression data of SSI lines will be presented.Tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L.) were transformed with a construct based on pCAMBIA 2301 containing a “hairpin” inverted repeat of 598 nucleotides derived from the Potato Virus Y (PVY) replicase (NIb gene) of the N strain (Robaglia et al., J. Gen. Virol. 70, 935, 1989). Such constructs confer virus resistance by a post translational gene silencing mechanism. Homozygous (T3) plants were challenged with a range of PVY strains and resistance was measured by symptom expression, ELISA titer, and back inoculation of controls with extracts from resistant plants. The nucleotide homology of PVY strains to the transgene was: WP (99.5%) PVY-NTN (96.3), PVY-H (95.6%), PVY-O (88.9%), strain 52 (88.3%), and local field isolates from tomato (86.8%), and pepper (86.3%). A transgenic tobacco line was immune to the five PVY strains with which the transgene had the greatest homology (WP, NTN, H, O, 52). Infection with the PVY isolates from tomato and pepper, which had the lowest degree of homology with the transgene, caused delayed symptom appearan

Based on a Pd/oxide/AlGaAs pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor (PHEMT) structure, an interesting three-terminal-controlled field-effect resistive hydrogen sensor is fabricated and studied. The influences of gate-source bias (VGS) on the hydrogen sensing properties are presented in this work. Experimental results show that the VGS bias significantly affects the resistance sensitivity, conductance variation, current variation, transient response, pressure-dependent and -independent rate constants, and response and recovery time constants. At 30 °C, a significant resistance response ( S R = 100 × ( R air − R H 2 ) / R air ) of 33.3% (82.8%) to 4.3 (9970) ppm H2/air is obtained at VGS = −0.6 V. Nevertheless, the largest conductance variation (ΔG) appears to be in the range between VGS = −0.3 and −0.4 V. An empirical equation is derived to explain the consistency between the calculated data and experimental results. Good linear relationship is observed between current variation and temperature under different VGS biases. The transient response at VGS = −0.3 V shows larger current variations, accompanying the longer response and recovery time constants than those at VGS = 0 V. Furthermore, on the basis of a kinetic adsorption analysis, the hydrogen pressure-dependent and –independent rate constants are obtained.

Interesting hydrogen-sensing properties of catalytic Pt/In0.5Al0.5P metal-oxide–semiconductor (MOS) and metal–semiconductor (MS) Schottky diodes are comprehensively studied and compared. The effects of hydrogen adsorption are investigated on the device performance such as the current–voltage characteristics, relative sensitivity ratio, Schottky barrier height variation, and built-in electric field. Experimentally, both the hydrogen sensors can be operated systematically under bi-polarity biases. The detecting sensitivity of the MOS-type hydrogen sensor is superior to that of the MS-type. It is believed that a high-quality oxide layer effectively increases the amount of hydrogen atoms adsorbed. Also, the hydrogen effects are found on both the Schottky barrier height lowering and the modulation in the electric field at the Pt-oxide and Pt–InAlP interfaces. In addition, the influence of the oxygen partial pressure in synthetic air and the existence of an oxygen layer between the Pt metal and the InAlP material are also studied.

A new and interesting field-effect resistive hydrogen sensor, based on the current-voltage characteristics in the linear region of an AlGaAs-based pseudomorphic high-electron-mobility transistor structure and high hydrogen sensitivity of a palladium (Pd) metal, is studied and demonstrated. An oxide layer between Pd and AlGaAs is used to increase the number of hydrogen adsorption sites, and improve hydrogen detection sensitivity. A simple model is employed to interpret the hydrogen adsorption and sensing mechanism. The dissociation of H2, diffusion of H atoms and formation of a dipolar layer cause a significant decrease in channel resistance. In comparison with other resistor-type hydrogen sensors, the studied device demonstrates the considerable advantages of lower detection limit (< 4.3 ppm H2 /air) and higher sensitivity (24.7% in 9970 ppm H2/air) at room temperature. Also, the studied device exhibits a smaller resistance (several 10 Omega) and a smaller operating voltage (les 0.3 V) which are superior to other resistive sensors with typically larger resistances (ranged from kiloohms to megaohms) and larger voltages (ges 1 V). Consequentially, the studied resistive sensor provides the promise for low-power GaAs-based electronic and microelectromechanical-system applications

This study reports spore germination, early gametophyte development and change in the reproductive phase of Drynaria fortunei, a medicinal fern, in response to changes in pH and light spectra. Germination of D. fortunei spores occurred on a wide range of pH from 3.7 to 9.7. The highest germination (63.3%) occurred on ½ strength Murashige and Skoog basal medium supplemented with 2% sucrose at pH 7.7 under white light condition. Among the different light spectra tested, red, far-red, blue, and white light resulted in 71.3, 42.3, 52.7, and 71.0% spore germination, respectively. There were no morphological differences among gametophytes grown under white and blue light. Elongated or filamentous but multiseriate gametophytes developed under red light, whereas under far-red light gametophytes grew as uniseriate filaments consisting of mostly elongated cells. Different light spectra influenced development of antheridia and archegonia in the gametophytes. Gametophytes gave rise to new gametophytes and developed antheridia and archegonia after they were transferred to culture flasks. After these gametophytes were transferred to plastic tray cells with potting mix of tree fern trunk fiber mix (TFTF mix) and peatmoss the highest number of sporophytes was found. Sporophytes grown in pots developed rhizomes.

Background Saussurea involucrata (Kar. et Kir.) commonly known as ‘snow lotus’ or ‘Xue Lian’ is an important plant in the traditional Chinese system of medicine. The plant contains flavonoids such as syringin and rutin. These compounds have been reported to be anti-rheumatic, anti-inflammatory and dilate blood vessels, lower blood pressure, prevent cardiovascular diseases, enhance immunity, and act as anti-aging, anti-cancer, and anti-fatigue agents. The species has become endangered due to the excessive collection of S. involucrata plants in the wild, slower plant growth and ecological destruction of natural habitats. There is a severe shortage of plant material, while the market demand is ever increasing. Hence, it is very important to apply tissue culture technique for plant propagation and production of the bioactive compounds of this species. Results Multiple shoot induction and proliferation in shoot base explants derived from in vitro raised seedlings of S. involucrata was achieved on 3/4 strength of Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) basal medium (MSBM) supplemented with 1.0 mg/L−1 BA and 1.5 mg/L−1 NAA. Rooting was induced in 100 % shoots cultured on 1/2X MSBM supplemented with 1.0 mg/L−1 IBA for one week and then transfer to auxin free medium. The plantlets could be acclimatized successfully by sachet technique and established in the greenhouse. Maximum callus induction and proliferation in leaf segments was achieved on 1/2X MSBM supplemented with 0.5 mg/L−1 BA, 0.5 mg/L−1 NAA, 0.4 % gelrite and on incubation at 20 °C. Container closures had an influence on the quality and quantity of callus and production of the active compounds. The HPLC analysis showed much higher syringin content in in vitro shoots and callus as compared to commercially available market crude drug. Conclusion The present study describes an in vitro culture protocol of Saussurea involucrata. The bioactive compounds, syringin and rutin could be produced through tissue culture technique without sacrificing the endangered Saussurea involucrata plants in the wild.

Summary Although several complications with central venous catheters have been discussed extensively, intravascular migration is uncommon and often goes unrecognized during surgery. We present a case of central venous catheter looping into the left innominate vein after cardiopulmonary bypass during pediatric cardiac surgery. The clinical signs of a lack of backflow from the central venous catheter and different catheter tip positions on transesophageal echocardiography should alert clinicians to the possibility of intravascular migration.

In this note, we correct some typos that appeared in Yassine et al. {Yassine, A., Maddah, B., Salameh M., Disaggregation and consolidation of imperfect quality shipments in an extended EPQ model, International Journal of Production Economics 135 (2012) 345–352}, specifically, for one of their models that considered consolidating shipments of imperfect quality items across multiple production cycles. In addition, we present a heuristic approach to find a good solution for this model. The performance of heuristic solution is illustrated with numerical examples.

Summary Introduction Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is widely accepted as the standard treatment for acute cholecystitis. Emergency LC is associated with significantly high morbidity and mortality rates in high-risk patients, including those who are critically ill, those who are elderly, end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients, and those with septicemia. Purpose To evaluate the safety and outcomes of emergency LC in ESRD patients on maintenance hemodialysis. Methods Between January 2006 and December 2011, the medical records of 22 ESRD patients with acute calculous cholecystitis who were undergoing maintenance hemodialysis and had received emergency LC were reviewed retrospectively. Results The patients were 10 men and 12 women with a mean age of 69.3 years. Emergency LC was successfully performed on 20 patients, and two patients converted to open cholecystectomy. The conversion rate was 9% and the mean hospital stay was 4.8 (range 3–8) days. Wound infection occurred in two patients and common bile duct injury in one; no other complications and no perioperative mortality occurred in this study. Conclusion Emergency LC can be performed safely in ESRD patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis. The duration of hospital stay, outcomes, and surgical conversion rate of patients undergoing this procedure are similar to those of the general population not undergoing emergency LC.

This article considers the fuzzy problems for the mixture inventory model involving variable lead-time with backorders and lost sales. `Ve first use the probabilistic fuzzy set to construct a new random variable for lead-time demand, and derive the total expected annual cost in the fuzzy sense. Then, the average demand per year is fuzzified as the triangular fuzzy number. For this case, two methods of defuzzification, namely signed distance and centroid, are employed to find the value of total expected annual cost in the fuzzy sense. Next, the backorder rate of the demand during the stock-out period is also fuzzified as the triangular fuzzy number, and the value of total expected annual cost in the fuzzy sense is derived using the signed distance. For the proposed models, we provide a solution procedure to find the optimal lead-time and the optimal order quantity such that the total expected annual cost in the fuzzy sense has a minimum value.

This paper investigates the inventory problems for two mutually complementary merchandises. We first consider the merchandises in a monopoly market, and then in a perfect competitive market. With the fuzzy sets concept, we discuss how to determine the optimal ordering policy for the aforementioned inventory problem such that the total related cost is minimum. Three results are obtained and the numerical examples are provided to illustrate these results. In contrast with the previous studies that employed the extension principle and centroid method to derive the estimate of the total cost in the fuzzy sense, we show that using the decomposition principle and the signed distance can attain it easier.

For inventory systems in which shortages are allowed, the amount of backorders (or lost sales) often incurs disturbance due to various uncertainties. This article extends the variable lead time, periodic review inventory models to include this situation, specifically, the lost sales rate is fuzzified to be a fuzzy number. We investigate the optimal inventory strategy in the fuzzy sense for the cases where information of the demand distribution during the protection interval (i.e., lead time plus review period) is complete and incomplete.

The Just-In-Time (JIT) philosophy has received a great deal of attention. Several actions such as improving quality, reducing setup cost and shortening lead time have been recognized as effective ways to achieve the underlying goal of JIT. This paper considers the partial backorders, lot size reorder point inventory system with an imperfect production process. The objective is to simultaneously optimize the lot size, reorder point, process quality, setup cost and lead time, constrained on a service level. We assume the explicit distributional form of lead time demand is unknown but the mean and standard deviation are given. The minimax distribution free approach is utilized to solve the problem and a numerical example is provided to illustrate the results. .

In this paper, we incorporate the effects of inflation and time-value of money in inventory decision making when demand, at each time moment rather than being constant, is considered to be dependent upon current stock level. In addition, the shortages are neither completely backlogged nor completely lost assuming the backlogging rate to be linearly dependent on the amount of demand backlogged. We shall be concerned with finding the optimal number of replenishments and service rate to minimize the total relevant costs over a finite planning horizon. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed models.

This chapter describes the different methodologies used for in vitro micropropagation and cell suspension culture in Gentiana sp. Low concentrations of auxins and kinetin enhanced the growth of suspension cells. Maximum growth in suspension cultures of Gentiana sp. was obtained at shaker speed of 80–100 rpm, pH 4.2–5.2, and a light intensity of 2.33 μE m−2 s−1. Attention is also given to the metabolite content of different plant organs of Gentiana sp. The aerial and underground parts of G. davidii contain the greatest amounts of gentiopicroside and swertiamarin. These findings may be implemented for micropropagation, germplasm conservation, and commercial cultivation, and their active principles analysis in other members of the Gentianaceae.

This paper investigates the lot size, reorder point inventory model involving variable lead time with partial backorders, where the production process is imperfect. The options of investing in process quality improvement and setup cost reduction are included, and lead time can be shortened at an extra crashing cost. The objective is to simultaneously optimize the lot size, the reorder point, the process quality, the setup cost, and the lead time. We first assume that lead-time demand follows a normal distribution and develop an algorithm to find the optimal solution. Then, we relax the assumption of normality to consider a distribution-free case where only the mean and standard deviation of lead-time demand are known. We apply the minimax distribution-free procedure to solve this problem. Furthermore, two numerical examples are given to illustrate the results.

Recently, the continuous review inventory models with allowable shortages have been extended to include variable lead time, where a fixed fraction of the demand during the stockout period is backordered. However, in practice, the backorder (or lost sales) rate may change slightly due to some uncertainties. To incorporate this reality, this article attempts to apply the fuzzy set concepts to deal with the uncertain lost sales rate. For a situation where information about the lead time demand distribution is partial, we utilize the minimax distribution free procedure to find the optimal inventory strategy in the fuzzy sense. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the results.

Tsou [Appl. Math. Model. 31 (2) (2007) 283–291] previously proposed an economic order quantity model with Taguchi’s cost of poor quality. In this note, we correct an error appearing in their numerical results and provide some simple formulas that can be applied to numerical studies with the specific objective of calculating the defective rate and the total profit of his model.

Purpose.The purpose of this study was to compare the analgesic properties of levobupivacaine with or without fentanyl for patient-controlled epidural analgesia after Cesarean section in a randomized, double-blinded study.Methods.We enrolled American Society of Anesthesiologists class I/II, full-term pregnant women at National Taiwan University Hospital who received patient-controlled epidural analgesia after Cesarean section between 2009 and 2010. Eighty women were randomly assigned into two groups. In group A, the 40 subjects received drug solutions made of 0.6 mg/ml levobupivacaine plus 2 mcg/ml fentanyl, and in group B the 40 subjects received 1 mg/ml levobupivacaine. Maintenance was self-administered boluses and a continuous background infusion.Results.There were no significant differences in the resting and dynamic pain scales and total volume of drug used between the two groups. Patient satisfaction was good in both groups.Conclusion.Our study showed that pure epidural levobupivacaine can provide comparative analgesic properties to the levobupivacaine-fentanyl combination after Cesarean section. Pure levobupivacaine may serve as an alternative pain control regimen to avoid opioid-related adverse events in parturients.

Background Glossogyne tenuifolia Cassini (Hsiang-Ju in Chinese) is a perennial herb native to Penghu Islands, Taiwan. The herb is a traditional anti-pyretic and hepatoprotective used in Chinese medicine. Several studies on G. tenuifolia have demonstrated its pharmacological values of antioxidation, anti-inflammation, immunomodulation, and cytotoxicity on several human cancer cell lines. Active compounds, oleanolic acid and luteolin in G. tenuifolia are affected by several factors, including climatic change, pathogens and agricultural practices. Plant population of G. tenuifolia has been severely affected and reduced considerably in natural habitat due to the use of herbicides by farmers. Also, collection of plant material from the natural habitat is restricted to a few months in a year. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to develop an efficient micropropagation protocol for G. tenuifolia. The study also aimed to investigate the influence of in vitro growth environment on the active compounds in in vitro shoots, tissue culture raised greenhouse plants; compare the values with wild plants and commercially available crude drug. Results Half-strength MS (Murashige and Skoog) basal medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/L 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 0.1 mg/L α-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) induced the maximum average number of shoots (7.3) per shoot tip explant excised from in vitro grown seedlings. Induction of rooting in cent percent in vitro shoots with an average number of 6.6 roots/shoot was achieved on ½ strength MS medium supplemented with 3.0 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). The rooted plantlets acclimatized successfully in the greenhouse with a 100% survival rate. HPLC analysis revealed that the quantity of oleanolic acid and luteolin in in vitro shoots, tissue culture plants in the greenhouse, wild type plants and commercial crude drug varied depending upon the source. The oleanolic acid and luteolin contents were found to be significantly higher (16.89 mg/g and 0.84 mg/g, respectively) in 3-month old tissue culture raised plants in greenhouse compared to commercially available crude drug (6.51 mg/g, 0.13 mg/g, respectively). Conclusions We have successfully developed an in vitro propagation protocol for G. tenuifolia which can expedite its plant production throughout the year. The contents of oleanolic acid and luteolin in the tissue culture raised plants in the greenhouse were significantly higher than the marketed crude drug demonstrating the practical application of the tissue culture technology. These findings may be very useful in micropropagation, germplasm conservation and commercial cultivation of G. tenuifolia. So far, there is no published report on tissue culture propagation of this important medicinal plant species.

This paper considers the continuous review, stochastic demand inventory model with a mixture of backorders and lost sales. It investigates the feasibility of investing in reducing the lost sales caused by stockout. We first assume that the lead time demand follows a normal distribution, then relax this assumption to consider the distribution free case where only the mean and standard deviation of lead time demand are known. An algorithm is developed to find the optimal ordering policy and the optimal investment strategy. Also, two numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the results.

This paper modifies Paknejad et al.’s inventory model by relaxing the assumption that the stochastic demand during lead time follows a specific probability distribution, and by considering that the unsatisfied demands are partially backordered. Also, instead of having a stockout cost in the objective function, a service level constraint is employed. In this new model, we investigate the feasibility of setup cost reduction and derive the closed-form expression of the optimal policy. The criticai points of some interested Parameters for which investment on setup cost reduction is warranted are included, and some numerical examples are given to illustrate the results derived.

This paper considers a modified lot size reorder point model with imperfect production process, where the unsatisfied demand is assumed to be a mixture of backorders and lost sales. It investigates the effects of investing in process quality improvement on the model. Specifically, we discuss the case where only partial information of lead time demand is known, and solve the problem by applying the minimax distribution free approach. An algorithm procedure is established to obtain the optimal lot size, reorder point and process quality level. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the results derived.

This paper investigates the impact of quality improvement on the modified lot size reorder point models involving variable lead time and partial backorders. The formulated models include the imperfect production process and an investing option of improving the process quality. The objective is simultaneously optimizing the lot size, reorder point, process quality level and lead time. We first assume that the lead time demand follows a normal distribution, then relax this assumption to consider the distribution-free case where only the mean and standard deviation of lead time demand are known. An algorithm procedure of finding the optimal solution is developed, and two numerical examples are given to illustrate the results.