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.

Heterogeneous degradation of organic pollutants by persulfate activated by CuO-Fe3O4: Mechanism, stability, and effects of pH and bicarbonate ions

Abstract: Magnetic CuO-Fe3O4 composite was fabricated by a simple hydrothermal method and characterized as a heterogeneous catalyst for phenol degradation. The effects of pH and bicarbonate ions on catalytic activity were extensively evaluated in view of the practical applications. The results indicated that an increase of solution pH and the presence of bicarbonate ions were beneficial for the removal of phenol in the CuO-Fe3O4 coupled with persulfate (PS) process. Almost 100% mineralization of 0.1 mM phenol can be achieved in 120 min by using 0.3 g/L CuO-Fe3O4 and 5.0 mM PS at pH 11.0 or in the presence of 3.0 mM bicarbonate. The positive effect of bicarbonate ion is probably due to the suppression of copper leaching as well as the formation of Cu(III). The reuse of catalyst at pH0 11.0 and 5.6 showed that the catalyst remains a high level of stability at alkaline condition (e.g., pH0 11.0). On the basis of the characterization of catalyst, the results of metal leaching and EPR studies, it is suggested that pheno...

Carbamazepine-Induced Toxic Effects and HLA-B*1502 Screening in Taiwan

Abstract: Background Carbamazepine, an anticonvulsant and a mood-stabilizing drug, is the main cause of the Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) and its related disease, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), in Southeast Asian countries. Carbamazepine-induced SJS–TEN is strongly associated with the HLA-B*1502 allele. We sought to prevent carbamazepine-induced SJS–TEN by using HLA-B*1502 screening to prospectively identify subjects at genetic risk for the condition. Methods From 23 hospitals in Taiwan, we recruited 4877 candidate subjects who had not taken carbamazepine. We genotyped DNA purified from the subjects' peripheral blood to determine whether they carried the HLA-B*1502 allele. Those testing positive for HLA-B*1502 (7.7% of the total) were advised not to take carbamazepine and were given an alternative medication or advised to continue taking their prestudy medication; those testing negative (92.3%) were advised to take carbamazepine. We interviewed the subjects by telephone once a week for 2 months to monitor them ...

Investigating structural relationships between service quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions for air passengers: Evidence from Taiwan

Abstract: This study aims to investigate the relationships between service quality, perceived value, satisfaction, and behavioral intentions for air passengers through a structural equation model (SEM). The main study’s results are as follows. Service expectation has a significantly positive effect on perceived performance, but not on perceived value and satisfaction. Perceived performance has a significantly positive effect on perceived value, but not on satisfaction. Perceived value has a significantly positive effect on satisfaction. Both perceived value and satisfaction have significantly positive effects on behavioral intentions. In addition, perceived performance reveals the indirect effect on satisfaction moderated by perceived value. Finally, perceived value reveals a larger effect than overall satisfaction on behavioral intentions. Specific theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.