ALBERT

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of two-hour exposure to a forest environment on cytokine, anti-oxidant and stress levels among university students and to compare the results to those measured in urban environments. Forty-one subjects were recruited. For our crossover design, subjects were divided into two groups based on similar demographic characteristics. Group A remained in the urban environment and was asked to perform regular breathing for 2 h. Blood samples were collected and the serum levels of cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were examined. Subjects were moved to a small town in a rural area for an equal amount of time to exclude carryover effects, and then remained for another 2 h in a forest environment. The second set of blood samples was collected to assess the effect of exposure to the forest environment. Using the same method, Group B was first exposed to the forest environment, followed by exposure to the urban environment. Blood samples collected after the subjects were exposed to the forest environment showed significantly lower levels of IL-8 and TNF-α compared to those in samples collected after urban environment exposure (10.76 vs. 9.21, t = 4.559, p 〈 0.001, and 0.97 vs. 0.87, t = 4.130, p 〈 0.001). The GPx concentration increased significantly after exposure to the forest environment (LnGPx = 5.09 vs. LnGPx = 5.21, t = −2.039, p 〈 0.05).

Description: The radial artery pulse is one of the major diagnostic indices used clinically in both Eastern and Western medicine. One of the prominent methods for measuring the radial artery pulse is the piezoresistive sensor array. Independence among channels and an appropriate sensor arrangement are important for effectively assessing the spatial-temporal information of the pulse. This study developed a circular-type seven-channel piezoresistive sensor array using face-down bonding (FDB) as one of the sensor combination methods. The three-layered housing structure that included independent pressure sensor units using the FDB method not only enabled elimination of the crosstalk among channels, but also allowed various array patterns to be created for effective pulse measurement. The sensors were arranged in a circular-type arrangement such that they could estimate the direction of the radial artery and precisely measure the pulse wave. The performance of the fabricated sensor array was validated by evaluating the sensor sensitivity per channel, and the possibility of estimating the blood vessel direction was demonstrated through a radial artery pulse simulator. We expect the proposed sensor to allow accurate extraction of the pulse indices for pulse diagnosis.

Description: In order to prevent drug abuse or misuse cases and avoid over-prescriptions, it is necessary for medicine taker to be provided with detailed information about the medicine. In this paper, we propose a drug information system and develop an application to provide information through drug image recognition using a smartphone. We designed a contents-based drug image search algorithm using the color, shape and imprint of drug. Our convenient application can provide users with detailed information about drugs and prevent drug misuse.

Description: An all-digital on-chip delay sensor (OCDS) circuit with high delay-measurement resolution and low supply-voltage sensitivity for efficient detection and diagnosis in high-performance electronic system applications is presented. Based on the proposed delay measurement scheme, the quantization resolution of the proposed OCDS can be reduced to several picoseconds. Additionally, the proposed cascade-stage delay measurement circuit can enhance immunity to supply-voltage variations of the delay measurement resolution without extra self-biasing or calibration circuits. Simulation results show that the delay measurement resolution can be improved to 1.2 ps; the average delay resolution variation is 0.55% with supply-voltage variations of ±10%. Moreover, the proposed delay sensor can be implemented in an all-digital manner, making it very suitable for high-performance electronic system applications as well as system-level integration.

Description: Energies, Vol. 11, Pages 1456: Esterification of Jatropha Oil with Isopropanol via Ultrasonic Irradiation Energies doi: 10.3390/en11061456 Authors: Chia-Chi Chang Syuan Teng Min-Hao Yuan Dar-Ren Ji Ching-Yuan Chang Yi-Hung Chen Je-Lueng Shie Chungfang Ho Sz-Ying Tian Cesar Augusto Andrade-Tacca Do Van Manh Min-Yi Tsai Mei-Chin Chang Yen-Hau Chen Michael Huang Bo-Liang Liu The reduction of high acid value (AV) of inedible jatropha oil (JO) by esterification with isopropanol (IPA), which is a common alcohol solvent waste in Taiwan’s high-tech industry, was studied. The decrease of AV is beneficial for the subsequent transesterification to produce JO biodiesel (i.e., biodiesel of fatty acid isopropyl ester (FAIE)). Acid catalyst (H2SO4) and a novel mixing/emulsion technique using ultrasound irradiation (UI) were applied to promote and facilitate the esterification process. The results showed that increased IPA/oil molar ratio (MIOE) can significantly reduce the AV, kinematic viscosity (KV), density (ρLO), and water content (MW) of esterified JO, while also providing the benefit of enhancing the yield (YF) of biodiesel of FAIE. For example, with MIOE = 5 at esterification temperature (TE) = 394.2 K (393.8–394.7 K), a reduction of AV of 99.25% with YF of 67.15% can be achieved. Free fatty acid (FFA) was reduced from 18.06 wt.% to 0.14 wt.%, indicating 17.92 wt.% out of 18.06 wt.% of FFA was esterified to FAIE. As a result, among the YF of 67.15%, 49.23% (= 67.15 wt.% deducting 17.92 wt.%) was contributed by the transesterification of triglycerides. By esterification of high FFA-containing raw JO with acid catalyst, one can not only avoid saponification, but also reduce the loading of the subsequent alkali-catalyzed transesterification. Moreover, increasing TE from 394.2 to 454.4 K further reduced AV (from 0.27 to 0.084 mg KOH/g) and MW (from 0.27 to 0.043 wt.%), but, on the other hand, it increased KV (from 14.62 to 25.2 mm2/s) and ρLO (from 901.6 to 913.3 kg/m3), while it decreased YF (from 67.15 to 25.84%). In sum, IPA was successfully used as a replacement for methanol in the esterification of JO while UI provided mixing/emulsion along with heating resulting from cavitation for the system.

Description: Water, Vol. 10, Pages 1273: Trend and Change-Point Analysis of Streamflow and Sediment Discharge of the Gongshui River in China during the Last 60 Years Water doi: 10.3390/w10091273 Authors: Li-Ping Guo Qiang Yu Peng Gao Xiao-Fei Nie Kai-Tao Liao Xiu-Long Chen Jian-Min Hu Xing-Min Mu The Gongshui River basin exhibits one of the most serious soil erosion areas in southern China, and has always been the key control area of national soil and water conservation programs. This study used daily precipitation, streamflow, and sediment concentration data collected from 1957 to 2015 from the main hydrological stations of the Gongshui River to investigate streamflow and sediment discharge variations and their responses to precipitation and human activities. The Mann-Kendall and Pettitt’s test were used for trend and change-point detection. The double mass curve (DMC) method was employed to quantify the effects of precipitation change and human activities on hydrological regime shifts. The results showed insignificant trends of both annual precipitation and streamflow for all stations, while the sediment discharge of most stations exhibited significant decreasing trends. Change-point analyses revealed that all hydrologic stations except Mazhou had transition years. The estimation via DMC indicated that after the change point years, there was a rapid reduction in sediment discharge at Hanlinqiao, Fengkeng, Julongtan, Xiashan, and Chawu stations, but not at Mazhou, Ruijin, and Yangxinjian stations. Human activity provided a significantly greater contribution to sediment discharge than precipitation. The evidence clearly indicates that the degree and extension of conservation or destruction measures and the construction of large- and medium-sized reservoirs were the major factors significantly decreasing or increasing annual sediment discharge of the Gongshui River. This work could serve as the basis for decision making regarding river basin water resources management to estimate the effects of anthropogenic impacts on water and sediment discharge variations during the last few decades, thereby guiding adaptation and protection of the water resources of the Gongshui River flowing into the Poyang Lake.

Description: Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 3378: Fit between Organizational Culture and Innovation Strategy: Implications for Innovation Performance Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su10103378 Authors: Zhi Chen Shenglan Huang Chong Liu Min Min Liying Zhou Although prior studies have indicated the interrelationships between specific types of innovation strategy and specific elements of organizational culture, few studies simultaneously evaluate the relationship between the two multi-dimensional constructs in holistic perspective. Based on configuration theory, we conceptualize fit as ‘profile deviation’, and investigate the fit between an organization’s culture and its innovation strategy. Data were collected from 183 Chinese organizations. We examine the hypothesis that greater fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy encourages superior innovation speed and innovation quality. Our results provide evidence that in the group of organizations exhibiting either exploratory or exploitative innovation strategy, the more similar the organizational culture configurations are to those of the top performers, the higher their innovation speed and innovation quality are. In the group of organizations exhibiting ambidextrous innovation strategy, the fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy is insignificantly associated with innovation speed and innovation quality. Implications for applying the culture–strategy fit in innovation management are discussed.

Description: Water, Vol. 9, Pages 617: Recent Sedimentation Rates of Shallow Lakes in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River: Patterns, Controlling Factors and Implications for Lake Management Water doi: 10.3390/w9080617 Authors: Min Xu Xuhui Dong Xiangdong Yang Xu Chen Qinghui Zhang Qian Liu Rong Wang Min Yao Thomas Davidson Erik Jeppesen Significantly increased sedimentation rates (SRs) in lakes worldwide in recent decades due to higher inputs of silt and eutrophication have led to significant environmental problems such as lake size diminishment and degraded water quality. Many lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin (MLYB) have followed this pattern. For effective lake management, it is essential to understand the pattern and drivers of SRs in these lakes. Fourteen typical lakes in the MLYB were chosen to examine the spatiotemporal patterns of SRs and identify the drivers over different time periods. Since 1900, SRs increased from <0.2 to 0.3–0.6 g·cm−2·year−1, particularly notable during 1930–1990. Combined with climatic factors, SR correlated negatively with lake (catchment) size and abundance of aquatic vegetation, whereas other lake features including nutrient status did not contribute significantly to the variation in SRs, due to the fast decomposition processes of organic matter in shallow lakes. Detrimental land use practices especially reclamation for croplands and rapid urbanization was revealed to elevate SRs pronouncedly. We propose various management strategies aiming to maintain SR reference condition at ~0.16 ± 0.08 g·cm−2·year−1, which is analogous to the SR value between 1850 and 1900.

Description: Phthalate exposure was reported to be associated with diabetes mellitus (DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Yet, reported associations and the potential sex differences are inconsistent. We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 2330 participants in the Fall of 2012. Urinary metabolites of 10 phthalates were measured. The status of having DM and CVD-related outcomes were self-reported. In the overall study population, the logistic regression analyses showed that the urinary levels of mono-2-ethyl-5-oxohexyphthalate (MEOHP), mono-2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexylphthalate(MEHHP) and mono-2-ethyl-5-carboxypentylphthalate (MECPP) were positively associated with DM. Higher urinary levels of monomethyl phthalate (MMP) and mono-2-carboxymethyl-hexyl phthalate (MCMHP) were associated with increased odds of hyperlipidemia, while mono-2-ethylhexylphthalate (MEHP) was significantly inverse-associated with hyperlipidemia. We did not observe significant associations for other CVD-related outcomes with phthalate metabolites. When stratifying by sex, MEHHP, MEOHP, MECPP, MCMHP and the micromolar sums of the oxidative metabolites of DEHP (ΣDEHPox) were all significantly related to DM in males, but not in females. No significant sex differences were found in CVD-related outcomes, except the sporadic associations between phthalates and hyperlipidemia. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the sex-specific relationship between phthalates exposure and DM.

Description: Sensors, Vol. 17, Pages 1654: Enhanced Strain Measurement Range of an FBG Sensor Embedded in Seven-Wire Steel Strands Sensors doi: 10.3390/s17071654 Authors: Jae-Min Kim Chul-Min Kim Song-Yi Choi Bang Yeon Lee FBG sensors offer many advantages, such as a lack of sensitivity to electromagnetic waves, small size, high durability, and high sensitivity. However, their maximum strain measurement range is lower than the yield strain range (about 1.0%) of steel strands when embedded in steel strands. This study proposes a new FBG sensing technique in which an FBG sensor is recoated with polyimide and protected by a polyimide tube in an effort to enhance the maximum strain measurement range of FBG sensors embedded in strands. The validation test results showed that the proposed FBG sensing technique has a maximum strain measurement range of 1.73% on average, which is 1.73 times higher than the yield strain of the strands. It was confirmed that recoating the FBG sensor with polyimide and protecting the FBG sensor using a polyimide tube could effectively enhance the maximum strain measurement range of FBG sensors embedded in strands.