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When doctors are fatigued, they often make diagnostic errors. Similarly, pharmacists may also make mistakes in dispensing medication. Therefore, object segmentation plays a vital role in many healthcare-related areas, such as symptom analysis in biomedical imaging and drug classification. However, many traditional deep-learning algorithms use a single view of an image for segmentation or classification. When the image is blurry or incomplete, these algorithms fail to segment the pathological area or the shape of the drugs accurately, which can then affect subsequent treatment plans. Consequently, we propose the Fuzzy DBNet, which combines the dual butterfly network and the fuzzy ASPP in a deep-learning network and processes images from both sides of an object simultaneously. Our experiments used multi-category pill and lung X-ray datasets for training. The average Dice coefficient of our proposed model reached 95.05% in multi-pill segmentation and 97.05% in lung segmentation. The results showed that our proposed model outperformed other state-of-the-art networks in both applications, demonstrating that our model can use multiple views of an image to obtain image segmentation or identification.

This study mixed acetylacetone (Acac, 1, 2, and 3 mL) and graphene powder (GP, 0 wt.%, 0.001 wt.%, 0.003 wt.% and 0.005 wt.%) with TiO2 mesoporous (TiO2 powders: 20 g and particle size ~30 nm) to enhance the optoelectronic performances of dye sensitized solar cells (DSSC). Sponge-like structure TiO2 mesoporous layers is a requirement for obtaining high efficiency DSSC, which ia synthesized by spin-coating techniques. The dense TiO2 blocking layer (using peroxo-titanium complex) has a uniform, dense structure and completely adheres to the substrates to avoid charge recombination. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses of the TiO2 films display the anatase type phase with preferred orientation along the (101) direction. After being ball milled, the TiO2 mesoporous particle size almost remains unchanged. For mixing the Acac with TiO2, the Raman intensity relatively increased, and the band gap energy (Eg) value decreased from 3.223 eV (for pure TiO2) to 3.076 eV (for 2 mL Acac). Raman spectroscopy is used to evaluate the GP elements. It can be seen the intensity ratio (ID/IG) and (I2D/IG) was enhanced when the GP concentration increased. Using mixed Acac 2 mL and GP 0.003 wt.% with a TiO2 mesoporous, led to increases in the open circuit voltage (VOC), short circuit current density (JSC) and fill factor (FF). If a fluorine-doped tin oxide is used instead of an indium tin oxide glass substrate, the photovoltaic efficiency of DSSC increases from 5.45% to 7.24%.

A facile approach is developed to easily fabricate field emission (FE) cathodes based on TiO 2 nanotubes with different geometrical structures at low temperature. Planar TiO 2 nanotubes (P-TNTs) are first synthesized using the electrochemical anodization process with applied voltages of 20–50 V for 1 h at room temperature followed by thermal oxidation at 280 °C for 2 h under atmosphere ambient. P-TNTs can be transformed into aggregated TiO 2 nanotubes (A-TNTs) after H 2 O 2 post-treatment for 1 h at room temperature. FESEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy were used to analyze the surface morphology, crystallinity, and chemical binding, respectively. The A-TNTs fabricated with the applied voltages of 30–50 V cathodes possess higher levels of FE properties (lower turn-on electric field and higher current density) than the other cathodes due to their greater number of emission sites and decrement of the screening effect. The A-TNT with an applied voltage of 40 V cathode exhibits the lowest turn-on electric field (4.87 V/μm, 1 μA/cm 2 ) and the highest enhancement factor β (1486). These superior properties indicate that the A-TNTs are promising field cathodes for future FE applications.

A hybrid structure of graphene sheets (GSs)/ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) is developed on glass substrates for applications in field emission (FE) cathodes. ZNRs are grown on glass substrates by a combination of sputtering and hydrothermal processes. Graphene films are synthesized on the Cu foils by the thermal chemical vapor deposition technique, and are transferred onto the ZNRs with various cycles (one, two, and three times) to form GS/ZNR hybrids with different morphology. FESEM, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy are used to analyze the surface morphology, crystallinity, and chemical composition, respectively. It is found that the FE properties of all GS/ZNR cathodes possess a lower turn-on electric field and higher current density than pristine ZNR cathode owing to the presence of the GS. The GSs/ZNRs with two transferred cycle exhibit the lowest turn-on electric field (3.7 V/μm, 1 μA/cm 2 ) and highest enhancement factor β (8723). These superior properties indicate that the GS/ZNR hybrids are promising field cathodes in FE applications.

Zinc oxide/zinc tungstate (ZnO/ZnWO 4 ) nanorods were synthesized as composite nanostructure on the tungsten/glass substrates by thermal oxidation technique for field emission cathodes. The ZnWO 4 wolframite structure in the ZnO film formed the ZnO/ZnWO 4 composite nanostructure, as indicated by the XRD patterns and Raman spectrum. An ohmic contact was transformed to a Schottky contact between a silver electrode and the ZnO/ZnWO 4 composite nanorods from I–V measurement given that the work function of the ZnO/ZnWO 4 composite nanorods was lower than that of ZnO nanorods. The field emission properties of the ZnO/ZnWO 4 composite nanorods includes a turn-on electric field (E on ) of 2.1 V/μm and a threshold electric field (E th ) of 2.9 V/μm, both much lower than that found in ZnO nanorods without ZnWO 4 nanostructures. The novel ZnO/ZnWO 4 composite nanorod shows excellent potential for application in field emission cathodes and related devices.

A method is developed to easily synthesize hydrogen sensors based on zinc oxide nanotubes (ZNTs) at low temperatures. ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) are first synthesized using the aqueous chemical process at 90 °C for 3 h, and then cools and maintains at 50 °C for 6, 12 and 18 h in three separate batches. ZNRs are then transformed to ZNTs after the low temperature selective self-etching process. SEM, XRD and PL spectroscopy are respectively used to analyze surface morphology, crystallinity and optical properties. The pristine ZNR sensors and ZNT sensors are then measured for hydrogen response in concentrations from 5 to 500 ppm at room temperature. The ZNTs can provide a larger surface area (i.e., through assuming a hollow nanostructure) than the pristine ZNRs for adsorbing additional gas ions, along with more oxygen vacancies to effectively sense gas ions as t increased from 6 to 18 h. It is found that the hydrogen response of all ZNT hydrogen sensors is about 2 times higher than that of the pristine ZNR sensor (13.1%, at 500 ppm) at room temperature. The ZNT sensor for t = 18 h exhibits the highest oxygen vacancies and provide the best response for hydrogen sensing (29.6%, at 500 ppm).

A high aspect ratio silicon nanowire (SiNW) sensing membrane modified with amorphous indium–gallium–zinc–oxide nanoparticles (IGZO NPs) was developed for use in extended-gate field-effect transistor (EGFET) pH sensors. The IGZO/SiNWs sensing membranes were first fabricated using the Ag-assisted electroless etching technique and were then decorated with IGZO NPs by sputtering in five separate batches for 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 min to improve the pH sensing properties. SEM, TEM and FTIR spectroscopy were used to respectively analyze surface morphology, crystallinity and chemical binding. The IGZO NPs provided more oxygen-related binding sites than the pristine SiNWs to adsorb additional H + ions, thus effectively improving pH sensitivity. The 9 min IGZO/SiNW sensor exhibited the best sensitivity of 50 mV/pH, an improvement of about 39% over that of the pristine SiNW sensor (36 mV/pH). The IGZO/SiNW sensor exhibited good pH sensing properties and stability that had potential for mass production in disposable biosensors.

A simple method is used to produce a new zinc oxide/indium oxide (ZnO/In2O3) core–shell nanorod (CS-NR) based hydrogen sensor. ZnO NRs are first formed using the aqueous chemical process and are covered with a shell of In2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) by a combination of sputtering (for 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 min) and low temperature thermal oxidation (at 200 °C). SEM, XRD and UV–visible spectroscopy are used to analyze surface morphology, chemical composition and optical properties. The pristine ZnO NR sensors and ZnO/In2O3 CS-NR sensors are then measured for hydrogen response in concentrations from 5 to 500 ppm at room temperature. It is found that the hydrogen response for all the ZnO/In2O3 CS-NR based hydrogen sensors is almost 2 or 3 times higher than that of the pristine ZnO NRs sensors (7.6%, at 500 ppm). It is noted that the ZnO/In2O3 CS-NRs with a continuous and well-distributed In2O3 NPs (24 nm) shell layer exhibits the best response for hydrogen sensing (20.5%, at 500 ppm).

Urban ecology is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation due to increasing urbanization. Green roofs may act as habitats to compensate for loss of green space at the ground level. Here, we assessed greening variables of 11 green roofs for butterflies in Taipei City. Butterfly number, species, and richness on green roofs were lower than parks, but some less common species were observed on green roofs. The nectar plant area, number of nectar plant species and age of green roof were the main positive effectors of butterfly number. The height above ground of green roof had not impact on butterfly survival; supposed high rise buildings are spreading out over city that would be a potential good habitat for butterflies on skyscape. However, since the scale of green roofs was small in Taipei, we adopted a habitat suitability index (HSI) method to determine optimal value of selected greening variables to attract more butterfly number on green roofs. HSI curves' findings suggested that achieving a nectar plant area of more than 25 m2 and not less than 10 nectar plant species would greatly benefit butterfly number; meanwhile, the age of green roof was higher than 38 months, butterfly number is expected to increase rapidly. We confirmed that carefully design green roof could play a good habitat for butterflies in Taipei city.

Spun films of nitrophenylazo-calix[4]arenes were investigated as gas-phase optical sensors. A red shift of the visible absorption bands was observed as these films were exposed to amine vapors. The magnitude of chromogenic effect depends on the basicity and the steric hindrance of the amine. The highest sensitivity is observed for n-hexylamine, as compared to amines with weaker basicity, e.g. n-pentylamine, n-butylamine and aniline, or amines with branched alkyl groups, e.g. dipropylamine, triethylamine, iso-pentylamine and tert-pentylamine. The chromogenic effect towards n-hexylamine also depends on substitutions on the upper and lower rims of calix[4]arene. A mechanism based on deprotonation of the azophenol group is proposed. This mechanism is consistent with experimental observations as well as results from molecular simulations.

This paper presents a novel Web Service based distributed collaborative CAD system employing feature as its collaborative design element and uses XML to define feature operations and communication protocol between the server and the client. To reduce network load and increase response ability of the system, the feature information is updated incre- mentally on the client. The system supports collaborative designing on heterogeneous platforms. Its framework and com- munication protocols are analyzed in detail. The experimental results from the developed prototype system showed that it can effectively support collaborative design under the distributed environment.

A facile method has been developed to synthesize zinc oxide nanotubes (ZNTs) based hydrogen sensors at low temperature. ZnO nanorods (ZNRs) are first synthesized using the aqueous chemical process at 90 °C for 3 h, and then cooled down and maintained at 50 °C for a certain time (t = 6 h, 12 h and 18 h, respectively). ZNRs are transformed to ZNTs after the low temperature self-etching process. The ZNTs can provide a larger surface area than the pristine ZNRs for adsorbing additional gas ions, along with more oxygen vacancies to effectively sense gas ions with t increased from 6 h to 18 h. It is found that the hydrogen response of all ZNT hydrogen sensors, which is about 2 times higher than that of the pristine ZNR sensor (13.1%, at 500 ppm). It is noted that the ZNTs for t = 18 h possess the highest oxygen vacancies and the best response for hydrogen sensing (29.6%, at 500 ppm).

The term input function usually refers to the tracer plasma time activity curve (pTAC), which is necessary for quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) studies. The purpose of this study was to acquire the pTAC from the independent component analysis (ICA) estimated whole blood time activity curve (wTAC) using our proposed method: FDG blood-cell-two-compartment model (BCM). We also compared published models, which are linear haematocrit (HCT) correction, nonlinear HCT correction, and two-exponential correction. According to the results, the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) and error of area under curve (EAUC) of BCM estimated pTAC were the smallest. Compartmental and graphic analyses were used to estimate metabolic rate of FDG (MR FDG ). The percentage error of MR FDG (PE MRFDG ) estimated from BCM corrected pTAC was also the smallest. The BCM is a better choice to transfer wTAC to pTAC for quantification.

High temperature-induced rice sterility at anthesis is characterized by its organ-specific, high severity, and low predictability of occurrence. This paper summarized the research advances in rice sterility at anthesis under high temperature, including occurrence period, injury temperature regime, differences in responses among varieties, damage mechanisms, evaluation methods, genetics of tolerance traits, and molecular biology of anther dehiscence and pollen abortion, etc. Based on the relevant researches in Japan as well as the studies in Jianghan Plain, China on the climate conditions under which high temperature-induced damage on middle-season rice hybrids occurred, some key points and main options for the further research were suggested.

The term input function usually refers to the tracer plasma time activity curve (pTAC), which is necessary for quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) studies. The purpose of this study was to acquire the pTAC by independent component analysis (ICA) estimation from the whole blood time activity curve (wTAC) using a novel method, namely the FDG blood-cell-two-compartment model (BCM). This approach was compared to a number of published models, including linear haematocrit (HCT) correction, non-linear HCT correction and two-exponential correction. The results of this study show that the normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) and the error of the area under curve (EAUC) for the BCM estimate of the pTAC were the smallest. Compartmental and graphic analyses were used to estimate the metabolic rate of the FDG (MR"F"D"G). The percentage error for the MR"F"D"G (PE"M"R"F"D"G) was estimated from the BCM corrected pTAC and this was also the smallest. It is concluded that the BCM is a better choice when transferring wTAC into pTAC for quantification.

In Taiwan, next to Alsheimer's, vascular dementia (VD) is the second leading cause of dementia in the elderly. Few studies have examined cardiovascular risk factors and their association with VD in Taiwan.This is a case-control study using a sampling of subjects from the outpatient memory clinics of two hospitals. Identified cases were those patients diagnosed with VD based on the DSM-IV criteria. The controls were subjects with Clinical Dementia Rating Scale as 0, i.e. no dementia from the same dementia registry database. Exposure was recorded by means of a risk factor questionnaire or medical examination.There were a total of 190 patients with VD and 155 controls in this study. Significant risk factors were age, hypertension, diabetes and hyperlipidemia. There was no correlation with sex, education, cigarette smoking or alcohol consumption.This study confirmed reported cardiovascular risk factors contributing to VD as in Western countries.