• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권22호
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• pp.9831-9834
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• 2014

Background: The prevalence of esophageal cancer (EC) with second primary cancers (SPC) is increasing worldwide. This study was aimed to understand the clinical features of EC patients with SPC in the Taiwanese population. Materials and Methods: Clinical and laboratory data for 180 EC patients with or without SPC were collected between January 2009 and December 2013. Information on treatment approaches, location of SPCs and ABO blood type were also collected and stratified. Results: The most common SPC in EC patients was hypopharyngeal cancer, followed by laryngeal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma in our study. Malignancies of colon, prostate and lung were also found. There was a significant higher portion of blood type A in the EC patients with SPC compared with those without (42.4% vs 19.5%, P=0.006). Conclusions: The frequency and SPC site distribution and blood type A should be considered in clinical evaluation of EC patients with a high risk of developing SPC in the Taiwanese population.

• 자원리싸이클링
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• 제14권3호
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• pp.6-15
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• 2005

대만의 국토면적은 36,006 km$^2$ 이고 2003년 현재 인구는 대략 22,535,000명 으로써, 인구밀도는 625명/km$^2$ 에 달한다. 대만 경제는 1970년 이래로 꾸준히 발전하여 국민총생산이 2004년에는 1981년의 493%까지 증가하였다. 또한, 자동차 보유대수에 있어서도 1981년에 821,862대에서 2004년에 6,389,186대까지 증가하기에 이르렀고, 모터싸이클은 1981년 4,591,547대에서 2004년 12,793,950대로 늘어났다. 이들로부터 발생하는 폐자동차 및 폐모터싸이클의 리싸이클링은 폐기물처리법에 의거 관리를 받고 있으며, 일차적으로 이의 생산자 혹은 수입업자가 최종 처리까지 책임을 지도록 하고 있다. 또한 이들은 일정한 비율의 부담금을 예치하도록 법으로 정하고 있다. 본 논문에서는 현재 대만에서의 폐자동차 및 폐모터싸이클의 처리현황과 특히 향후 이를 관리하게 될 EPA-RMFC의 계획과 처리방향에 대하여 고찰하고자 한다.

• International Journal of Quality Innovation
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• 제6권3호
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• pp.173-189
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• 2005

A life-cycle assessment (LCA) is based on the attention given to the environmental protection and concerning the possible impact while producing, making, and consuming products. It includes all environmental concerns and the potential impact of a product's life cycle from raw material procurement, manufacturing, usage, and disposal (that is, from cradle to grave). This study assesses the environmental impact of the ultra pure water process of semiconductor manufacturing by a life-cycle assessment in order to point out the heavy environmental impact process for industry when attempting a balanced point between production and environmental protection. The main purpose of this research is studying the development and application of this technology by setting the ultra pure water of semiconductor manufacturing as a target. We evaluate the environmental impact of the Precoat filter process and the Cation/Anion (C/A) filter process of an ultra pure water manufacturing process. The difference is filter material used produces different water quality and waste material, and has a significant, different environmental influence. Finally, we calculate the cost by engineering economics so as to analyze deeply the minimized environmental impact and suitable process that can be accepted by industry. The structure of this study is mainly combined with a life-cycle assessment by implementing analysis software, using SimaPro as a tool. We clearly understand the environmental impact of ultra pure water of semiconductor used and provide a promotion alternative to the heavy environmental impact items by calculating the environmental impact during a life cycle. At the same time, we specify the cost of reducing the environmental impact by a life-cycle cost analysis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제16권15호
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• pp.6681-6684
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• 2015

Background: Metastatic cancer with invasion of skin, soft tissue and skeletal muscle is not common. Examples presenting as soft tissue masses could sometimes lead to misdiagnosis with delayed or inappropriate management. The purpose of current study was to investigate clinical characteristics in the involvement of metastatic cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 1,097 patients complaining of skin or soft tissue masses and/or lesions were retrospectively reviewed from January 2012 to June 2013. Tumors involving skin, soft tissue and skeletal muscle of head and neck, chest wall, abdominal wall, pelvic region, back, upper and lower extremities were included in the study. Results: Fifty-seven (5.2%) patients were recognized as having malignancies on histopathological examination. The most common involvement of malignancy was basal cell carcinoma, followed by cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, sarcoma and melanoma. The most common anatomical location in skin and soft tissue malignancies was head and neck (52.6% of the malignancies). Four (0.36%) of the malignant group were identified as metastatic cancer with the primary cancer source from lung, liver and tonsil and the most common site was upper extremities. One of them unexpectedly expired during the operation of metastatic tumor excision at the scalp. Conclusions: Discrimination between benign and malignant soft tissue tumors is crucial. Performance of imaging study could assist in the differential diagnosis and the pre-operative risk evaluation of metastatic tumors involving skin, soft tissue and skeletal muscle.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권2호
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• pp.969-973
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• 2014

Background: The number of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in Taiwan has increased in recent years; therefore, the effective dissemination of information related to symptom care has become especially important. Previous studies indicated that the physical and psychological status of cancer patients can be effectively improved by telephone counseling services (TCS). Thus, determining the most effective means of establishing a TCS to support the clinical practice of oncology has become a crucial goal for nursing. The purposes of this study were to analysis the content of the TCS for CRC and explore stratification of the TCS. Materials and Methods: The study design was retrospective. A total of 850 calls were made to CRC patients in the cancer center of Southern Taiwan during the period of January 2007- December 2011. A structure questionnaire was adopted to analysis satisfaction. Results: Responses provided by the TCS included information regarding nutrition, side effects resulting from chemotherapy and pain. Moreover, 28.7% of CRC patients needed advanced treatment. More than 90% satisfaction with all aspects of the calls was found. Conclusions: The TCS coulkd be shown to provide an effective means by which to expand the reach of nursing care to different times, places and patients, allowing for greater cost efficiency and more rapid service.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제39권12호
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• pp.877-887
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• 2016

Tazarotene-induced gene 1 (TIG1) is a retinoic acid-inducible protein that is considered a putative tumor suppressor. The expression of TIG1 is decreased in malignant prostate carcinoma or poorly differentiated colorectal adenocarcinoma, but TIG1 is present in benign or well-differentiated tumors. Ectopic TIG1 expression led to suppression of growth in cancer cells. However, the function of TIG1 in cell differentiation is still unknown. Using a yeast two-hybrid system, we found that transmembrane protein 192 (TMEM192) interacted with TIG1. We also found that both TIG1A and TIG1B isoforms interacted and co-localized with TMEM192 in HtTA cervical cancer cells. The expression of TIG1 induced the expression of autophagy-related proteins, including Beclin-1 and LC-3B. The silencing of TMEM192 reduced the TIG1-mediated upregulation of autophagic activity. Furthermore, silencing of either TIG1 or TMEM192 led to alleviation of the upregulation of autophagy induced by all-trans retinoic acid. Our results demonstrate that the expression of TIG1 leads to cell autophagy through TMEM192. Our study also suggests that TIG1 and TMEM192 play an important role in the all-trans retinoic acid-mediated upregulation of autophagic activity.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• 제6권8호
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• pp.939-951
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• 2010

A low-cost wireless sensor network (WSN) solution with highly expandable super and simple nodes was developed. The super node was designed as a sensing unit as well as a receiving terminal with low energy consumption. The simple node was designed to serve as a cheaper alternative for large-scale deployment. A 12-bit ADC inputs and DAC outputs were reserved for sensor boards to ease the sensing integration. Vibration and thermal field tests of the Chi-Lu Bridge were conducted to evaluate the WSN's performance. Integral acceleration, temperature and tilt sensing modules were constructed to simplify the task of long-term environmental monitoring on this bridge, while a star topology was used to avoid collisions and reduce power consumption. We showed that, given sufficient power and additional power amplifier, the WSN can successfully be active for more than 7 days and satisfy the half bridge 120-meter transmission requirement. The time and frequency responses of cables shocked by external force and temperature variations around cables in one day were recorded and analyzed. Finally, guidelines on power characterization of the WSN platform and selection of acceleration sensors for structural health monitoring applications were given.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제41권6호
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• pp.562-574
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• 2018

The tazarotene-induced gene 1 (TIG1) protein is a retinoidinducible growth regulator and is considered a tumor suppressor. Here, we show that DnaJ heat shock protein family member C8 (DNAJC8) is a TIG1 target that regulates glycolysis. Ectopic DNAJC8 expression induced the translocation of pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2) into the nucleus, subsequently inducing glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) expression to promote glucose uptake. Silencing either DNAJC8 or PKM2 alleviated the upregulation of GLUT1 expression and glucose uptake induced by ectopic DNAJC8 expression. TIG1 interacted with DNAJC8 in the cytosol, and this interaction completely blocked DNAJC8-mediated PKM2 translocation and inhibited glucose uptake. Furthermore, increased glycose uptake was observed in cells in which TIG1 was silenced. In conclusion, TIG1 acts as a pivotal repressor of DNAJC8 to enhance glucose uptake by partially regulating PKM2 translocation.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.47-62
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• 2020

In this study, free vibration behavior of trapezoidal sandwich plates with porous core and two graphene platelets (GPLs) reinforced nanocomposite outer layers are presented. The distribution of pores and GPLs are supposed to be functionally graded (FG) along the thickness of core and nanocomposite layers, respectively. The effective Young's modulus of the GPL-reinforced (GPLR) nanocomposite layers is determined using the modified Halpin-Tsai micromechanics model, while the Poisson's ratio and density are computed by the rule of mixtures. The FSDT plate theory is utilized to establish governing partial differential equations and boundary conditions (B.C.s) for trapezoidal plate. The governing equations together with related B.C.s are discretized using a mapping- generalized differential quadrature (GDQ) method in the spatial domain. Then natural frequencies of the trapezoidal sandwich plates are obtained by GDQ method. Validity of current study is evaluated by comparing its numerical results with those available in the literature. A special attention is drawn to the role of GPLs weight fraction, GPLs patterns of two faces through the thickness, porosity coefficient and distribution of porosity on natural frequencies characteristics. New results show the importance of this permeates on vibrational characteristics of porous/GPLR nanocomposite plates. Finally, the influences of B.C.s and dimension as well as the plate geometry such as face to core thickness ratio on the vibration behaviors of the trapezoidal plates are discussed.

• Advances in materials Research
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• 제13권4호
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• pp.299-319
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• 2024

Due to higher strength-to-weight ratio of composite laminates, they find uses in many weight-sensitive applications like aerospace, automobile and marine structures. From a reliability point of view, accurate prediction of failure of these structures is important. Due to the complexities in the manufacturing processes of composite laminates, there is a variation in the material properties and geometric parameters. Hence stochastic aspects are important while designing the composite laminates. Many existing works of composite laminate failure analysis are based on the deterministic approach but it is important to consider the randomness in the material properties, geometry and loading to predict accurate failure loads. In this paper the statistics of the ultimate failure load of the [0/θ]_s laminated composite plate (LCP) containing the edge crack and voids subjected to the tensile loading are presented in terms of the mean and coefficient of variance (COV). The objective is to better the efficacy of laminate failure by predicting the statistics of the ultimate failure load of LCP with random material, geometric and loading parameters. The stochastic analysis is done by using the extended finite element method (XFEM) combined with the second-order perturbation technique (SOPT). The ultimate failure load of the LCP is obtained by ply-by-ply failure analysis using the ply discount method combined with the Tsai-Wu failure criterion. The aim is to know the effect of the stacking sequence, crack length, crack angle, location of voids and number of voids on the mean and corresponding COV of the ultimate failure load of LCP is investigated. The results of the ultimate failure load obtained by the present method are in good agreement with the existing experimental and numerical results. It is observed that [0/θ]_s LCPs are very sensitive to the randomness in the crack length, applied load, transverse tensile strength of the laminate and modulus of elasticity of the material, so precise control of these parameters is important. The novelty of the present study is, the stochastic implementation in XFEM for the failure prediction of LCPs containing crack and voids.