Increased Readmission Risk and Healthcare Cost for Delirium Patients without Immediate Hospitalization in the Emergency Department

I Chun Ma,Kao Chin Chen,Wei Tseng Chen,Hsin Chun Tsai,Chien-Chou Su,Ru-Band Lu,Po See Chen,Wei Hung Chang,Yen Kuang Yang 대한정신약물학회 2018 CLINICAL PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE Vol.16 No.4

Objective: Hospitalization of patients with delirium after visiting the emergency department (ED) is often required. However, the readmission risk after discharge from the ED should also be considered. This study aimed to explore whether (i) immediate hospitalization influences the readmission risk of patients with delirium; (ii) the readmission risk is affected by various risk factors; and (iii) the healthcare cost differs between groups within 28 days of the first ED visit. Methods: Using the National Health Insurance Research Database, the data of 2,780 subjects presenting with delirium at an ED visit from 2000 to 2008 were examined. The readmission risks of the groups of patients (i.e., patients who were and were not admitted within 24 hours of an ED visit) within 28 days were compared, and the effects of the severities of different comorbidities (using Charlson’s comorbidity index, CCI), age, gender, diagnosis and differences in medical healthcare cost were analyzed. Results: Patients without immediate hospitalization had a higher risk of readmission within 3, 7, 14, or 28 days of discharge from the ED, especially subjects with more severe comorbidities (CCI≥3) or older patients (≥65 years). Subjects with more severe comorbidities or older subjects who were not admitted immediately also incurred a greater healthcare cost for re-hospitalization within the 28-day follow-up period. Conclusion: Patients with delirium with a higher CCI or of a greater age should be carefully considered for immediate hospitalization from ED for further examination in order to reduce the risk of re-hospitalization and cost of healthcare.

Dermal Lipogenesis Inhibits Adiponectin Production in Hs68 Fibroblasts

( Kai-chen Hu ),( Tsung-yan Tsai ),( Chu-wen Shao ),( Hsin-i Chang ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Adiponectin is one of the most abundant adipokines from the subcutaneous fat, and regulates multiple activities through endocrine, paracrine, or autocrine mechanisms. However, its expression in adipogenic induced fibroblasts, and the potential role in photoaging has not been determined. Here, human dermal fibroblasts, Hs68, were presented as a cell model of dermal lipogenesis through stimulation of adipogenic differentiation medium (ADM). Similar to other studies in murine pre-adipocyte models (i.e., 3T3-L1), Hs68 fibroblasts showed a tendency to lipogenesis based on lipid accumulation, triglyceride formation, and the expressions of PPAR-γ, lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and FABP4 mRNA. As expected, ADM-treated fibroblasts displayed a reduction on adiponectin expression. Overall, these results suggest that dermal lipogenesis may inhibit the expression of adiponectin.

Numerical simulation of 2-D fluid-structure interaction with a tightly coupled solver and establishment of the mooring model

Tsai I-Chen,Li Sing-Ya,Hsiao Shih-Chun,Yu Hsiao 대한조선학회 2021 International Journal of Naval Architecture and Oc Vol.13 No.1

In this study, a newly enhanced Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI) model which incorporates mooring lines was used to simulate a floating structure. The model has two parts: a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model and a mooring model. The open-source CFD OpenFOAM® v1712 toolbox was used in the present study, and the convergence criteria and relaxation method were added to the computational procedure used for the OpenFOAM multiphase flow solver, interDyMFoam. A newly enhanced, tightly coupled solver, CoupledinterDyMFoam, was used to decrease the artificial added mass effect, and the results were validated through a series of benchmark cases. The mooring model, based on the finite element method, was established in MATLAB® and was validated against a benchmark analytical elastic catenary solution and numerical results. Finally, a model which simulates a floating structure with mooring lines was successfully constructed by connecting the mooring model to CoupledinterDyMFoam.

Special Report: A 21-Year Publication Analysis of Congenital Heart CT and MRI Articles

Tsai I-Chen,구현우 아시아심장혈관영상의학회 2021 Cardiovascular Imaging Asia Vol.5 No.4

A previous 1999 to 2010 analysis showed that Asia is the only continent publishing more congenital heart CT articles than those concerning MR imaging. A 1999 to 2020 follow-up, 21-year analysis shows the same trend. Among the 16 countries that published more than 21 congenital heart CT and 21 congenital heart MR articles in this period, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and China were the only four countries with CT/MR ratios of at least 1. As compared with 12 countries with CT/MR publication ratios of less than 1, these four countries have significantly lower health expenditures per capita (2395 USD vs. 5225 USD; p=0.029). On the citation map of congenital heart CT, South Korea, Taiwan, and Japan pioneered this field, but recent growth in the prominence of this imaging modality has been observed in China. Several researchers are at the center of the citation map, indicating the key roles they play in the accumulation and growth of the literature.

A Study on the Perception and Preference of the Wuxing Image Integrated into the Lucky Charm

TSAI I-CHEN,Chen, Chun-Chih,Chia-Hui Huang 한국일러스트레이션학회 2021 일러스트레이션 포럼 Vol.22 No.66

Lucky charms are mainly derived from people's wish to bring good luck or get rid of misfortune through the power of faith. Confronted by obstacles and disappointments, modern people would turn to traditional cultural beliefs to help them get over difficulties. Consumers in Taiwan are showing growing interests in lucky charms, while manufacturers are working hard to develop various types of lucky charms to meet the diverse needs of consumers. In recent years, most of the lucky charms are based on tangible or intangible images from religions, geomantic omen, folklore, etc. Also, in response to consumers' aesthetic needs, more aesthetic elements are incorporated into the design. Besides fundamental elements of religion, geomantic omen, folklore and other beliefs, manufacturers also need to understand consumers' perception and preferences to better meet their needs. The study aimed to explore the perception and preference of consumers for Wuxing lucky charms, and analyze consumers’ preferences of the geomantic omen images. This paper collected data through literature review and questionnaire survey of 79 people based on their identity and preference to identify important factors that influence consumers' preference so as to facilitate the design of lucky charms. The study analyzed the respondents' preferences of typical Wuxing lucky charms through the questionnaire survey, and found consumers prefer traditional, refined and delicate design. Also, they like products that could bring them good luck, revealing consumers' preference for geomantic omen image. This study will help manufacturers determine the focus of design, and provide references in this regard. From the study, we found that products with explicit colors can arouse more resonance from consumers. Therefore, it is suggested that when designing the Wuxing products, we can increase the use of Wuxing colors to highlight its characteristics and charms, and better meet the needs of consumers.

Evolution of Medical Conferences for Congenital Heart Disease Imagers in the Era of COVID-19: From Onsite to Virtual Meetings

Tsai I-Chen,Goo Hyun Woo,Latiff Haifa Abdul,Goo Seon Young,Park Sang Joon 아시아심장혈관영상의학회 2022 Cardiovascular Imaging Asia Vol.6 No.3

Due to COVID-19, onsite medical conferences were converted to virtual or hybrid formats, which have been widely accepted and successful. However, hands-on training and workshops among groups studying congenital heart disease imaging were hardly available due to their unique features requiring a high degree of interactivity. Virtual conferences are speculated to remain after the pandemic to enrich sharing ideas, concepts, and clinical experiences. Additionally, strategies utilizing augmented reality, virtual reality, and the metaverse may help reduce barriers in conducting hands-on workshops. This review illustrates various academic activities during past onsite small group conferences, suggests tips and tricks for virtual conferences, and introduces currently available innovative platforms, including the personal three-dimensional display program, hologram, and metaverse for medical education and conferences.

Application of Convolution Neural Network Analysis on Intra-row Weeding System for Vegetables

( I-chen Liu ),( Suming Chen ),( Chao-yin Tsai ),( Yung-huei Chang ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Weeds play an important, non-negligible role in crop cultivation because their competition for sunlight, moisture, nutrients, space and other resources directly affects the growth of crops. Application of chemical treatment on weed control will pollute the environment and agricultural products, while physical treatments is time-consuming and laborious, which leads to low efficiency. This research intends to develop an intelligent vegetable intra-row weeding system using image positioning technology to conduct physical weeding. Total of 474 cabbage images with weeds were captured in the field with camera, in which 379 of these images were used as training data, and the other 95 images were used as testing data. Through the image processing method of Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), the features were extracted and classified between identify cabbages and weeds. There were 381 cabbages in the verified images in total, only 3 of which were unidentified, with a success rate of 99.2%. No weed was identified as cabbage, and the positions of cabbages were also obtained. Field tests were conducted using this built model to identify cabbage and had good recognition rates even when weeds were more than training samples.

Clinical Features of Patients with Esophageal and Second Primary Cancers

Tsai, Huang-Wen,Chang, Chih-Chun,Sun, Jen-Tang,Liou, Ching-Biau,Lin, Hsiu-Chen,Lin, I-Hsin,Yu, Yun-Chieh,Weng, Wei-Ling,Leong, Ka-I,Yen, Tzung-Hai,Wu, Jiann-Ming Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.22

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.

Post-Traumatic Cerebral Infarction Following Low-Energy Penetrating Craniocerebral Injury Caused by a Nail

Chen, Po-Chuan,Tsai, Shih-Hung,Chen, Yu-Long,Liao, Wen-I The Korean Neurosurgical Society 2014 Journal of Korean neurosurgical society Vol.55 No.5

Post-traumatic cerebral infarction (PTCI) is a secondary insult which causes global cerebral hypoxia or hypoperfusion after traumatic brain injury, and carries a remarkable high mortality rate. PTCI is usually caused by blunt brain injury with gross hematoma and/or brain herniation. Herein, we present the case of a 91-year-old male who had sustained PTCI following a low-energy penetrating craniocerebral injury due to a nail without evidence of hematoma. The patient survived after a decompressive craniectomy, but permanent neurological damage occurred. This is the first case of profound PTCI following a low-energy penetrating craniocerebral nail injury and reminds clinicians of possibility this rare dreadful complication for care of head-injured patients.

Research on Near Infrared Spectroscopy Application for Aflatoxin Testing on Rice

( I-chun Tung ),( Tsung-hsin Wu ),( Han-chun Hsu ),( Suming Chen ),( Chao-yin Tsai ),( Yung-kun Chuang ) 한국농업기계학회 2018 한국농업기계학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.23 No.1

Rice is one of the most important staple food in the world. In many countries, environments with high temperature/humidity may provide favorable conditions for fungal propagation and production of aflatoxins during rice storage. Aflatoxin B₁ (AFB₁), one of the secondary metabolites produced by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus, is particularly carcinogenic to humans. People might very likely cause severe illness once rice is contaminated by aflatoxins. Therefore, the objective of this study is to develop a nondestructive method for rapid and accurate detection of the AFB₁ content in rice. In the present study, evaluation of AFB₁ contaminated rice were conducted by using near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technique with chemometrics. NIR Spectra and the AFB₁ contents of the artificially contaminated rice samples were measured by FOSS NIRS 6500 spectrometer and LC-MS/MS, respectively. Modified partial least square regression (MPLSR), a commonly used multivariate analysis method was then used to build calibration models. In summary, NIRS associated with chemometrics could provide a useful tool for rapid and accurate detection of AFB₁ content in rice.