Chung Yuan Christian University

About: Chung Yuan Christian University is a education organization based out in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Membrane & Fuzzy logic. The organization has 9819 authors who have published 11623 publications receiving 213139 citations. The organization is also known as: Tiong-gôan-tāi-ha̍k & CYCU.

Single FDCCII-based mixed-mode biquad filter with eight outputs

Abstract: The transconductance and the transresistance modes might act as the bridge transferring from voltage-mode to current-mode and vice versa, respectively. A novel mixed-mode (including voltage, current, transconductance, and transresistance modes) biquad filter with one input and seven outputs or two inputs and eight outputs is presented. The proposed filter structure only uses a single fully differential current conveyor (FDCCII), three resistors and two grounded capacitors, which are the least components necessary for realizing voltage, current, transresistance modes all five standard filter functions and transconductance-mode band-pass, high-pass filter functions from eight output terminals. Moreover, the new mixed-mode biquad filter still enjoys (i) the employment of two grounded capacitors (attractive for absorbing shunt parasitic capacitance and ideal for IC implementation), (ii) orthogonal control of ω 0 and Q (easy for tunability), and (iii) high output impedance of three current outputs (good for cascadability). H-Spice simulation results verify the theoretical analysis.

Electrical Conductivity Enhancement of Polymer/Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) Composites by Thermally-Induced Defunctionalization of MWCNTs

Abstract: We report a thermally-induced increase of electrical conductivity of polymer/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composites using Diels–Alder-adduct-modified MWCNTs as additives. Thermal treatments of the composites induce the defunctionalization of the modified MWCNTs through retro-DA reaction, consequently to recover the electrical conductivity of MWCNTs and to increase the conductivity of PVDF/MWCNT composites. For the composites possessing 0.5 wt % of MWCNTs, thermal treatment increases the electrical conductivity from 2 × 10–12 S cm–1 to 4 × 10–8 S cm–1 and significantly reduces the value of percolation threshold. Meanwhile, the thermal treatment does not alter the mechanical properties of the composites.

Content analysis of online discussion on a senior-high-school discussion forum of a virtual physics laboratory

Abstract: In this study we content analyzed the online discussion of several senior-high-school groups on a forum of a virtual physics laboratory in Taiwan. The goal of our research was to investigate the nature of non-course-based online discussion and to find out some useful guidelines in developing such discussion forums for learning purposes. We adapted Henri’s framework and models (1992) for our analysis. The content analysis was conducted in terms of participation rate, social cues, interaction types, and cognitive and metacognitive skills. In this study, we compared the result patterns of two discussion conditions (‘required’ (R-) condition versus ‘non-required’ (NR-) condition) of a non-course-based discussion forum and investigated how the quality of message content changed in the processes of discussion. In the R-condition, participants were required to reply to the thread before they were allowed to read other messages on the forum, whereas participants in the NR-condition were not restricted to this demand. The results showed that for both conditions, the most frequently involved interaction type was ‘direct response’, and the most frequently used cognitive skill was ‘elementary clarification’. Fewer participants of the R-condition strayed from the subject under discussion in comparison to the NR-condition. However, larger percentage of message content containing metacognitive components was found in the NR-condition. When taking the sequences of postings into account, we found that for the R-condition, the percentage of metacognitive component in the message content tended to increase in the up-third postings, whereas for the up-third postings of the NR-condition the percentage of non-cognitive components substantially increased. Overall, the results of our study indicated that the way in which participants used cognitive and metacognitive skills during the discussions was related to the discussion conditions. The initial requirement of reply fostered the use of cognitive skills, but it did not necessarily induce the use of high-level cognitive or metacognitive skills. We concluded that beside the discussion conditions the moderators’ guidance would be influential in determining the quality of online discussion on a non-course-based discussion forum.

Inhibition of citrinin-induced apoptotic biochemical signaling in human hepatoma G2 cells by resveratrol.

Abstract: The mycotoxin citrinin (CTN), a natural contaminant in foodstuffs and animal feeds, exerts cytotoxic and genotoxic effects on various mammalian cells. CTN causes cell injury, including apoptosis, but its precise regulatory mechanisms of action are currently unclear. Resveratrol, a member of the phytoalexin family found in grapes and other dietary plants, possesses antioxidant and anti-tumor properties. In the present study, we examined the effects of resveratrol on apoptotic biochemical events in Hep G2 cells induced by CTN. Resveratrol inhibited CTN-induced ROS generation, activation of JNK, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), as well as activation of caspase-9, caspase-3 and PAK2. Moreover, resveratrol and the ROS scavengers, NAC and α-tocopherol, abolished CTN-stimulated intracellular oxidative stress and apoptosis. Active JNK was required for CTN-induced mitochondria-dependent apoptotic biochemical changes, including loss of MMP, and activation of caspases and PAK2. Activation of PAK2 was essential for apoptosis triggered by CTN. These results collectively demonstrate that CTN stimulates ROS generation and JNK activation for mitochondria-dependent apoptotic signaling in Hep G2 cells, and these apoptotic biochemical events are blocked by pretreatment with resveratrol, which exerts antioxidant effects.

IKZF1 deletions predict a poor prognosis in children with B-cell progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A multicenter analysis in Taiwan

Abstract: Despite current risk-directed therapy, approximately 15–20% of pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have relapses. Recent genome-wide analyses have identified that an alteration of IKZF1 is associated with very poor outcomes in B-cell progenitor ALL. In this study, we determined the prognostic significance of IKZF1 deletions in patients with childhood ALL. This study analyzed 242 pediatric B-cell progenitor ALL patients in Taiwan. We developed a simple yet sensitive multiplex quantitative PCR coupled with capillary electrophoresis to accurately determine the allele dose of IKZF1, and high resolution melting was used for mutation screening for all coding exons of IKZF1. Twenty-six (10.7%) pediatric B-cell progenitor ALL patients were found to harbor these deletions. Most of the deletions were broader deletions that encompassed exon 3 to exon 6, consistent with previous reports. Genomic sequencing of IKZF1 was carried out in all cases and no point mutations were identified. Patients with IKZF1 deletions had inferior event-free survival (P < 0.001), and overall survival (P = 0.0016). The association between IKZF1 deletions and event-free survival was independent of age, leukocyte count at presentation, and cytogenetic subtype by multivariate Cox analysis (P = 0.003, hazard ratio = 2.45). This study indicates that detection of IKZF1 deletions upon diagnosis of B-cell progenitor ALL may help to identify patients at risk of treatment failure. IKZF1 deletions could be incorporated as a new high-risk prognostic factor in future treatment protocols. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the poor prognosis of IKZF1 deletions in an Asian population. (Cancer Sci 2011; 102: 1874–1881)