National Cheng Kung University

About: National Cheng Kung University is a education organization based out in Tainan City, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Thin film. The organization has 49723 authors who have published 69799 publications receiving 1437420 citations. The organization is also known as: NCKU.

Material characterization and electrochemical performance of hydrous manganese oxide electrodes for use in electrochemical pseudocapacitors

Abstract: Hydrous manganese oxide with promising pseudocapacitive behavior was deposited on a carbon substrate at anodic potentials of 0.5-0.95 V vs. saturated calomel electrode ~SCE! in 0.25 M Mn(CH3COO)2 solution at 25°C. The effects of the deposition potential on the material characteristics and electrochemical performances of the hydrous manganese oxide prepared were investigated. Porous manganese oxide with higher crystallinity was formed at a lower deposition potential. When the deposition potential was 0.8 VSCE or higher, the deposited oxide consisted of an inner layer with a laminated structure and a rough outer layer with nodules on the surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was also carried out to examine the chemical state of the deposited oxide. Analytical results indicated that the oxide was composed of both trivalent and tetravalent manganese oxides at a deposition potential of 0.5 VSCE. However, the tetravalent manganese oxide became the dominant species in the film deposited at above 0.65 VSCE. The manganese oxide formed at 0.5 VSCE exhibited a specific capacitance as high as 240 F/g, as evaluated by cyclic voltammetry ~CV! with a potential scan rate of 5 mV/s in 2 M KCl at 25°C. Increasing the CV scan rate reduced the specific capacitance. Only about 70% of the capacitance at 5 mV/s could be maintained when the CV scan rate was increased to 100 mV/s, for all the manganese oxide electrodes prepared. Moreover, a high deposition potential gave rise to a low specific capacitance of the manganese oxide formed.

The Apostasia genome and the evolution of orchids

Abstract: Constituting approximately 10% of flowering plant species, orchids (Orchidaceae) display unique flower morphologies, possess an extraordinary diversity in lifestyle, and have successfully colonized almost every habitat on Earth. Here we report the draft genome sequence of Apostasia shenzhenica, a representative of one of two genera that form a sister lineage to the rest of the Orchidaceae, providing a reference for inferring the genome content and structure of the most recent common ancestor of all extant orchids and improving our understanding of their origins and evolution. In addition, we present transcriptome data for representatives of Vanilloideae, Cypripedioideae and Orchidoideae, and novel third-generation genome data for two species of Epidendroideae, covering all five orchid subfamilies. A. shenzhenica shows clear evidence of a whole-genome duplication, which is shared by all orchids and occurred shortly before their divergence. Comparisons between A. shenzhenica and other orchids and angiosperms also permitted the reconstruction of an ancestral orchid gene toolkit. We identify new gene families, gene family expansions and contractions, and changes within MADS-box gene classes, which control a diverse suite of developmental processes, during orchid evolution. This study sheds new light on the genetic mechanisms underpinning key orchid innovations, including the development of the labellum and gynostemium, pollinia, and seeds without endosperm, as well as the evolution of epiphytism; reveals relationships between the Orchidaceae subfamilies; and helps clarify the evolutionary history of orchids within the angiosperms.

Applications of remote sensing to alien invasive plant studies.

Abstract: Biological invasions can affect ecosystems across a wide spectrum of bioclimatic conditions. Therefore, it is often important to systematically monitor the spread of species over a broad region. Remote sensing has been an important tool for large-scale ecological studies in the past three decades, but it was not commonly used to study alien invasive plants until the mid 1990s. We synthesize previous research efforts on remote sensing of invasive plants from spatial, temporal and spectral perspectives. We also highlight a recently developed state-of-the-art image fusion technique that integrates passive and active energies concurrently collected by an imaging spectrometer and a scanning-waveform light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system, respectively. This approach provides a means to detect the structure and functional properties of invasive plants of different canopy levels. Finally, we summarize regional studies of biological invasions using remote sensing, discuss the limitations of remote sensing approaches, and highlight current research needs and future directions.

Global stability for cellular neural networks with time delay

Abstract: A sufficient condition related to the existence of a unique equilibrium point and its global asymptotic stability for cellular network networks with delay (DCNNs) is derived. It is shown that the condition relies on the feedback matrices and is independent of the delay parameter. Furthermore, this condition is less restrictive than that given in the literature.