National Chung-Hsing University Research Articles

Monitoring the Season-Prevalence Relationship of Vairimorpha ceranae in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) over One Year and the Primary Assessment of Probiotic Treatment in Taichung, Taiwan.

Microsporidiosis, which is caused by the pathogen Vairimorpha ceranae, is a prevalent disease in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and might lead to significant adult honey bee mortality. In this study, we conducted an annual survey of the mature spore load of V. ceranae in the guts of nurse bees and forager bees in the apiary of National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) in Taiwan. The results indicated that, on average, honey bees hosted approximately 2.13 × 106 mature spore counts (MSCs)/bee in their guts throughout the entire year. The highest number of MSCs was 6.28 × 106 MSCs/bee, which occurred in April 2020, and the lowest number of MSCs was 5.08 × 105 MSCs/bee, which occurred in November 2020. Furthermore, the guts of forager bees had significantly higher (>58%) MSCs than those of nurse bees. To evaluate the potential of the probiotic to treat microsporidiosis, the lactic acid bacterium Leuconostoc mesenteroides TBE-8 was applied to honey bee colonies. A significant reduction (>53%) in MSCs following probiotic treatment was observed, indicating the potential of probiotic treatment for managing microsporidiosis. This research provided information on V. ceranae MSCs in the honey bee gut at NCHU in Taiwan and the MSCs' correlation with the annual season. Furthermore, a potential probiotic treatment for microsporidiosis was assessed for future management.

Preface

The development of Geotechnical Engineering goes together through the Case Histories considering the geological and geotechnical condition of the site. The most primitive geotechnical case histories may be dated back to 4000 BC in Egypt and until today; Geotechnical case histories have been the backbone of the sustainable growth of the infrastructures for the city and other purposes. The conference on Case Histories in Geotechnical Engineering reflects the motivations of our engineers to exchange knowledge and ideas due to the many problems that arise in the last decade. The growth of the economy of Indonesia recently is amazing, and the same for most Asian countries. Together all these factors have caused the increasing need of geotechnical advisory. The awareness of the demand for keeping up with the geotechnical technology motivated our university with series of workshop and conference about Case histories in Geotechnical Engineering. In conjunction with this conference AsRTC6 (Asian Regional Technical Committee) of GeoUrban Engineering take part in the GEOCASE 2023 Conference to enhance the meaningful of this conference theme.Many universities, research institutions, contractors and geotechnical consultants have gained experience and knowledge which are suitable for particular site. Case histories are also of significant values for the state of the art practice. Hence the seminar is very important event for exchange of ideas and experience and for contribution all over the world..I would like to extend my appreciation to all of you who have been travelling from far distance and specially to the Keynote Speakers and authors who made their efforts to share their knowledge and experience to the audience. This conference cannot be successful without the support of Universitas Katolik Parahyangan – Indonesia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia – Malaysia, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology – Taiwan, National Chung Hsing University (NCHU), Taiwan, and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn – Malaysia. Also Himpunan Ahli Teknik Tanah Indonesia (HATTI), Himpunan Ahli Konstruksi Indonesia (HAKI), International Society for Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Housing (PUPR), and Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) for the cooperation and continuous support.Last but not least, to all members of the committee for their endless hard work and dedication, I have to acknowledge that they are the people behind the scene, for without them, this event will not come to reality.Finally to all participants, I wish you find this conference useful and beneficial to you, and your institution.Thank you.Prof. Ir. Paulus P. Rahardjo, Ph.D.Chairman of GEOCASE 2023 ConferenceList of Conference Co-Chair, Advisory Committee, Organizing Committee are available in this pdf.

First Report of Tomato Leaf Curl Cebu Virus Associated with Stachytarpheta jamaicensis Golden Yellow Mosaic Disease in Taiwan.

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) Vahl, also known as snack weed, is an exotic plant in Taiwan. In April 2021, severe golden yellow mosaic leaves (Fig. S1) were observed on S. jamaicensis plants in Taichung City, Taiwan. Samples from eight symptomatic and two asymptomatic plants were collected from the public flowerbed. Total DNA was extracted from each of the collected samples by using a modified CTAB method (Echevarría-Machado et al. 2005). PCR with Begomovirus degenerate primers (PAL1v1978/PAR1c715; Rojas et al. 1993) was conducted. The expected 1.5-kb fragment was amplified only from the 8 symptomatic samples. Two randomly selected amplicons were cloned on pCRII-TOPO TA vector (Invitrogen Co., San Diego, CA, USA) and sequenced with the ABI3730 automatic sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Hammonton, NJ, USA) at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU). After NCBI BLASTn analysis, the sequences were shown to be most closely related to tomato leaf curl Cebu virus (ToLCCeV) isolates (EU487042, EU487025, KU946997), with 92.4-92.5% nucleotide sequence identity by using the CLUSTAL W method of MegAlign program (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, WI, USA). A ToLCCeV specific primer pair (FJJ2021-165 /166 5'-ACTTACAGGCCCATGTATCG-3' / 5'-GAATGGGTATCCGAGCACG-3') was designed to amplify and sequence the remaining half of viral DNA. The expected 1.6-kb amplicon was amplified only from the symptomatic samples. The full-length of DNA-A consisted of 2.7-kb nucleotides (ToLCCeV isolate stachy, ON525110 and ON525111) and contained six open reading frames (two in viral sense, V1 to V2 and four in the viral complementary sense, C1 to C4) and the conserved nonanucleotide motif (TAATATTAC). The full-length DNA-A of ToLCCeV stachy isolates shared 99.9% nucleotide identity to each other and 91.2-92.4% and 91.3-92.5% nucleotide identities to other ToLCCeV isolates (EU487042, EU487025, KU946997) available in NCBI GenBank. Besides, ToLCCeV is a monopartite begomovirus that harbors no DNA-B. Thus, there were no bands amplified from the degenerate primer pair for DNA-B (DNABLC2 / DNABLV2; Green et al. 2001). Furthermore, the infectious clone was constructed by using phi29 DNA polymerase (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA, USA) for rolling circle amplification (RCA). The RCA product was partially digested with ApaI (NEB) and ligated into the binary vector pCambia0380 (AF234290). The resulting recombinant vector was transformed into Agrobacterium tumefaciens C58. A. tumefaciens C58, containing the infectious ToLCCeV-Stachy DNA-A vector, was grown overnight in LB broth containing kanamycine (50 μg/ml) at 28°C. S. jamaicensis and Nicotiana benthamiana (Nb, four to six leaf stage) plants were agroinoculated to confirm the infectivity of the ToLCCeV clone. The leaf curling and blister symptoms were observed on the Nb systemic leaves 17-day post inoculation (dpi) and the golden yellow mosaic symptom noticed on S. jamaicensis systemic leaves 30-dpi. The presence of the viral DNA in the inoculated plants was confirmed by PCR using the specific primer pair of ToLCCeV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the monopartite begomovirus, ToLCCeV, associated with golden yellow mosaic disease in S. jamaicensis in Taiwan. The existence of ToLCCeV might severely impact the tomato and pepper industry because they are the natural hosts of ToLCCeV (Tsai et al. 2011) and ToLCCeV may be transmitted by the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in Taiwan (Ko et al. 2005).

First Report of Bidens Mottle Virus Causing Mild mottle and Leaf Distortion in Stachytarpheta jamaicensis in Taiwan.

Stachytarpheta jamaicensis, a traditional herbal pharmacological plant in the Family Verbenaceae that produces purplish-blue flowers, is mainly used as a garden plant in tropical and subtropical areas, including Taiwan. A begomovirus, stachytarpheta leaf curl virus (StaLCV) that caused disease on S. jamaicensis, has been reported (Xiong et al. 2005). In 2021, five symptomatic plants with mild mottle and leaf distortion (Fig. S1A, B) and three asymptomatic plants were collected in Taichung City, Taiwan. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assays using degenerate primer pairs with expected amplicon sizes of 1.2-1.3 kb (PAL1v1978/PAR1c715; Rojas et al. 1993), 312 bp (dTospo-F2/dTospo-R2; Huang et al. 2018), and 600-750 kb (Hrp5/Pot1; Chen et al. 2006, Colinet and Kummert 1993) for Begomovirus, Orthotospovirus, and Potyvirus, respectively were performed using total DNA and total RNA plant extracts. Results showed the expected fragments were only amplified from the 5 symptomatic plants using Potyvirus degenerate primers. Three out of five randomly picked amplicons, coding the 3'-end of nuclear inclusion b protein (NIb) and 5'-end coat protein (CP) genes, were cloned and sequenced with the ABI3730 automatic sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Hammonton, NJ, USA) in Biotechnology Centre DNA-sequencing facility at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU). After NCBI BLASTN analysis, the sequences were shown to be most closely related to bidens mottle virus (BiMoV). The nucleotide sequence identities analyzed using the CLUSTAL W Methods of MegAlign program (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, WI, USA), showed the three amplicons shared 95.8-99.8% to each other and 94.3-97.1% with 18 BiMoV isolates available in NCBI GenBank. Further RT-PCR with a specific primer (FJJ2021-278) designed from the CP of previously amplified amplicons, paired with oligo d(T) primer, were used for amplification of the 3'-CP gene and 3'-untranslated region (UTR) from total RNAs purified from symptomatic plants. The full-length CPs (804-nt and 268-aa) of the BiMoV isolates described here (Acc. Nos. OM406329 and OM406330; designated as isolate Stachy3 and Stachy7, respectively) shared 96.5-98.5% nucleotide and 97.8-99.3% amino acid identity to other BiMoV isolates. The isolate used for back-inoculation to S. jamaicensis was selected after the completion of triple single chlorotic local lesion isolation in Chenopodium quinoa. Two mechanically-inoculated S. jamaicensis plants exhibited symptoms 14-16 days post-inoculation similar to those observed in field plants and tested positive in RT-PCR using BiMoV-specific primers. In transmission electron microscopy, crude sap extracted from mechanically-inoculated C. quinoa and stained with uranyl acetate (UA) revealed flexuous filamentous virions of approximately 720 × 12 nm (Fig. S1C). A western blot assay using BiMoV antiserum (Chen and Lee 2012) revealed bands of about 34 KDa only from the mechanically-inoculated C. quinoa and the five symptomatic S. jamaicensis plants collected from the field. Taken together, we believe this is the first report of BiMoV infecting and causing mild chlorotic mottle and leaf distortion on S. jamaicensis. S. jamaicensis may serve as a new alternative host of BiMoV that can spread the disease, and consequently may directly impact the producers of horticultural or economical crops, such as lettuce, calendula, sunflower, lisianthus, and garland chrysanthemum in Taiwan.

Peer Review Statement

All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing. • Type of peer review: Double Anonymous • Conference submission management system: Morressier, Zmeeting • Number of submissions received: 38 • Number of submissions sent for review: 38 • Number of submissions accepted: 20 • Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 52.6 • Average number of reviews per paper: 2 • Total number of reviewers involved: 56 • Contact person for queries: Name: Po-Liang Liu Email: pliu@dragon.nchu.edu.tw Affiliation: National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan

First Report of New Guinea Impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) Leaf Spot Caused by Alternaria burnsii - A. tomato species complex in Taiwan.

New Guinea impatiens (Impatiens hawkeri) is a common ornamental crop usually planted in pots and planters, flower beds, home gardens, or parks in Taiwan. In June 2021, leaf spots on 87.1% (27/31) of potted I. hawkeri plants on National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) campus were observed. Initially, tiny chlorotic leaf spots were found, which aged into brown to grayish white necrotic spots with reddish-purple margins. The necrotic spots enlarged, coalesced, and formed concentric rings. To isolate the pathogen, diseased leaves were surface-disinfected with 70% ethanol for 15 seconds and blotted dry with a paper towel. Small pieces (~2×6 mm2) of tissues were excised from the junction of the lesions and healthy areas, placed onto 2% water agar, and incubated at 25°C with 12-h photoperiod for three days. Individual hyphal tips growing out of diseased tissues were transferred onto potato dextrose agar (PDA). Three isolates, OM10, OM43, and OM45, were obtained and grown on half-strength PDA at 28°C in the dark for at least two weeks. Conidia of each isolate produced on the half-strength PDA were washed off in sterile water with 0.01% of Tween 20. Pathogenicity tests were performed by spraying leaves of 2- to 3-month-old potted healthy I. hawkeri plants with 5 ml of conidial suspension (1 × 105 conidia/ml) of the three isolates, respectively. Control plants were sprayed with sterile water. There were four plants per treatment and the experiments were conducted twice. Inoculated plants were covered with plastic bags for two days and incubated in a greenhouse with a temperature range of 19 to 31°C. Leaf spots similar to those observed in the field were observed at 7 to 14 days after inoculation in both trials. The same fungus was isolated from inoculated plants, whereas control plants showed no symptoms. Thereafter, the three isolates were subjected to morphological and molecular identification. Colonies were brown to gray in the center and white in the border with abundant aerial mycelia. Conidia were brown, obclavate to ovoid, produced in single or branched chains, one to seven transverse and zero to three longitudinal septa. Conidial size of the three isolates ranged between 11.2 to 43.1 × 6.0 to 12.7 μm (n = 50 for each isolate). Conidiophores of the three isolates were dark-brown, septate, branched or unbranched, and measured 27.0 to 147.65 × 2.71 to 4.54 μm (n = 50 for each isolate). Based on the morphological characteristics, the three isolates were identified as Alternaria spp. (Simmons 2007). For molecular identification, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2), glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and major allergen Alt-a-1 gene (Alt-a-1) were amplified using primer pairs ITS1/ITS4 (White et al. 1990), RPB2-5F2/RPB2-7cR (Sung et al. 2007), gpd1/gpd2 (Berbee et al. 1999), and Alt-for/Alt-rev (Hong et al. 2005), respectively. Sequence analyses of isolates OM10 (ITS: GenBank Accession no. OP358436; RPB2: OP377483; GAPDH: OP377468; Alt-a-1: OP377471), OM43 (ITS: OP358437; RPB2: OP377484; GAPDH: OP377469; Alt-a-1: OP377472), and OM45 (ITS: OP358438; RPB2: OP377485; GAPDH: OP377470; Alt-a-1: OP377473) showed 100%, 99.61 to 100%, 99.65%, and 100% identities with a reference strain CBS 107.38 of A. burnsii for ITS (KP124420), RPB2 (KP124889), GAPDH (JQ646305), and Alt-a-1 (KP123967), respectively. They also showed 100%, 99.61 to 100%, 99.65%, and 99.58% identities with an A. tomato strain CBS 103.30 for ITS (KP124445), RPB2 (KP124915), GAPDH (KP124294), and Alt-a-1 (KP123991), respectively. Based on the morphological and sequence characteristics, the pathogen causing New Guinea impatiens leaf spot was identified as a member of the Alternaria burnsii - A. tomato species complex. The diseased plants on NCHU campus were destroyed. There have been no reports of the disease in other landscape areas or nurseries. To our knowledge, this is the first report of A. burnsii - A. tomato species complex causing New Guinea impatiens leaf spot in Taiwan. Since the pathogens in the species complex have been documented causing diseases on several important economic crops and the New Guinea impatiens is widely planted in nurseries and landscapes, the host range and the significance of the pathogen in agro-ecosystem may warrant further investigations.

Combining Structural Health Monitoring and Earthquake Early Warning Techniques for an Enhanced Monitoring System

Advancements in Civil Engineering & Technology Combining Structural Health Monitoring and Earthquake Early Warning Techniques for an Enhanced Monitoring System Shieh-Kung Huang* Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan *Corresponding author:Shieh-Kung Huang, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwan Submission: December 16, 2022;Published: January 05, 2023 DOI: 10.31031/ACET.2023.05.000613 ISSN: 2639-0574 Volume5 Issue3

First Report of 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' (16SrI group) Associated with Murraya exotica Witches'-Broom Disease in Taiwan.

Murraya exotica L., commonly known as orange jasmine, is an evergreen shrub belonging to the Rutaceae family. It has long been used as traditional Chinese medicine for treating abdominal pain, toothache, scabies, and other disorders (Liu et al. 2018). M. exotica is widely grown as a garden bush in Taiwan. A prokaryotic pathogen, 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' (Damsteegt et al. 2010), reportedly could infect M. exotica, but there is no reported phytoplasma disease in M. exotica. In June 2020, M. exotica plants exhibiting witches'-broom (WB), leaf yellowing, and small leaves (Fig. s1) were observed in a horticultural landscaping field in Taichung City, Taiwan. It was estimated that more than 70% of M. exotica plants within a single area were affected. DNA was extracted separately from petioles of five symptomatic and one asymptomatic plants using a modified CTAB method (Echevarría-Machado et al. 2005) and used for nested PCR with two universal primers, P1 (Deng and Hiruki 1991)/P7 (Schneider et al. 1995) followed by R16F2n/R16R2 (Gundersen and Lee 1996) to amplify a 1.2-kb 16S rRNA fragment. PCR was also conducted by primers, rp(I)F1A/rp(I)R1A to amplify a partial ribosomal protein S3 and L22 (rplV-rpsC) fragment (Lee et al. 2004). Expected 1.2-kb bands were amplified from DNA extracted from all symptomatic plants, whereas no bands were amplified from that of the asymptomatic plant. The amplicons were cloned, sequenced with an ABI 3730 automatic sequencer (Applied Biosystems, Hammonton, NJ, USA) in Biotechnology Centre DNA-sequencing facility at National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) and deposited in GenBank. BLAST analysis revealed that 16S rDNA sequences (MZ373297 and MZ373298) shared 100% identity to each other and both shared 99.4% identity with those of several phytoplasma strains, e.g., rapeseed phyllody phytoplasma (CP055264), Brassica sp. phyllody phytoplasma (MN877914), Plumbago auriculata leaf yellowing phytoplasma (MN239504), and aster yellows phytoplasma (MK992774), which all belonging to the 16SrI group, by using the CLUSTAL W Methods of MegAlign program (DNASTAR, Inc., Madison, WI, USA). Further analysis using iPhyClassifier tool (https://plantpathology.ba.ars.usda.gov) indicated that the virtual restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns derived from the 16S rDNA F2nR2 fragment of the M. exotica WB phytoplasma was most similar to the reference pattern of the 16SrI-B subgroup, with a pattern similarity coefficient of 0.97 and shared 99.3% sequence identity to 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' (M30790). The partial rplV-rpsC gene sequence (OM275408) showed 99.7% of sequence identities to those of rapeseed phyllody phytoplasma (CP055264), plum witches'-broom phytoplasma (MH061366) and oilseed rape phytoplasma (KX551965), by using the CLUSTAL W Methods of MegAlign program. Taken together, we concluded that the phytoplasma strain associated with M. exotica WB disease was a strain belonging to a 16SrI. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of M. exotica being infected by a phytoplasma in the aster yellows group, and M. exotica may also serve as an intermediate reservoir host to other plants, e.g., wax apple, periwinkle and roselle, of 16SrI phytoplasma.

Peer Review Statement

All papers published in this volume have been reviewed through processes administered by the Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.• Type of peer review: Double Anonymous• Conference submission management system: Morressier• Number of submissions received: 100• Number of submissions sent for review: 100• Number of submissions accepted: 51• Acceptance Rate (Submissions Accepted / Submissions Received × 100): 51• Average number of reviews per paper: 2• Total number of reviewers involved: 43• Contact person for queries: Name: Po-Liang Liu Email: pliu@dragon.nchu.edu.tw Affiliation: National Chung-Hsing University

Preface

Welcome to 2021 11th International Conference on Applied Physics and Mathematics (ICAPM 2021), which should be held in Crowne Plaza Shanghai Fudan, Shanghai, China during February 1-3, 2021. Due to the unfolding coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and travel restrictions, and the safety of the participants, ICAPM 2021 was held virtually. In ICAPM 2021, we ran two keynote sessions of 45 minutes, two invited sessions of 20 minutes, and five online sessions of 90 minutes. The year of 2020 was a hard, sad & disappointing year for all. COVID-19 cases around the world continue to rise, particularly with new variant strains, as a result of updated overseas government border requirements and as a further proactive safety measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Up until now, good news is COVID-19 vaccine has been used in few people, but current COVID-19 vaccine supply is not enough to vaccinate all people immediately. Due to the spread of COVID-19 this is the first virtual conference held by ICAPM. ICAPM 2021 was meetings taking place through a video communication tool with participants attending them remotely. ICAPM is organized by American Society for Research (ASR). It has been successfully held in 10 consecutive years since 2011, respectively. In the past four years, ICAPM 2017, ICAPM 2018, ICAPM 2019, and ICAPM 2020 Conference Proceedings have been archived into IOP Journal of Physics: Conference Series, Volumes 814 (2017), 1039 (2018), 1298 (2019), and 1593 (2020) indexed by ISI Web of Science (Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI), Scopus, Engineering Information (EI), etc. The goals of ICAPM 2021 are threefold. First, it should provide a forum for the exchange of information between participants in this interdisciplinary meeting. Second, it should provide an opportunity to establish and renew personal relationships between participants. Finally, you might learn more about an innovative topic discussed in this meeting. Selected and important results will also publish in the peer-reviewed conference journals “Journal of Physics: Conference Series“.We express our thanks and appreciation to our keynote speaker Naoyuki Ishimura, Conference Chair of ICAPM 2020, Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Chuo University in Japan, and invited speakers Kuo-Chih Chuang, Associate Professor, Zhejiang University, China, Frank Gunzer, Professor and Head, Electronics Engineering Department, German University in Cairo, Egypt, and all the participants and committee members for all support to ICAPM 2021. All the Session Chairs are also appreciated for assisting in the organization of technical sessions.February 2021Po-Liang LiuProfessor and Head, Graduate Institute of Precision Engineering, National Chung-Hsing University, Taiwanpliu@dragon.nchu.edu.twList of Committees, Conference Chairs, Program Chairs, Publicity Chairs, Technical Committees and this titles are available in this pdf.

Construction and Selection of an Entomopathogenic Fungal Library From Soil Samples for Controlling Spodoptera litura

Chemical pesticides have been used for pest control for many decades, but they cause serious problems, including insecticide resistance, secondary pest resurgence, and negative environmental impacts. Therefore, sustainable alternatives to chemical pesticides are necessary for pest control. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are natural epizootic pathogens of insects, and some of them have been used as microbial biocontrol agents. Herein, we attempted to construct an entomopathogenic fungal library (EFLib) via the “Tenebrio molitor pathogenicity-based fungal collection method (TmPC)” to select EPF for control of the serious agricultural pest Spodoptera litura. A total of 172 soil samples were collected in northern and central Taiwan for the EFLib construction. The isolation efficiency of TmPC was 64.02%. The EFLib consisted of 101 isolates and was designated as the National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) EFLib. Among these isolates, 26 showed high virulence (mortality = 100%) to T. molitor larvae. Based on the results of molecular identification, the highly virulent isolates belonged to seven genera, including Beauveria, Clonostachys, Fusarium, Cordyceps, Penicillium, Purpureocillium, and Metarhizium. To evaluate the potential of these isolates for Spodoptera litura control, 12 isolates were selected for pathogenicity screening against S. litura larvae. A total of six EPF isolates belonging to the genera Beauveria and Metarhizium showed rapid eradication of the S. litura larvae. To rank the potential of these fungal strains for pest management, the six isolates were subjected to thermotolerance and conidial production assays, and a novel effective conidia number (ECN) formula was applied. The results indicated that the ECN index of Beauveria australis (NCHU-113) was much higher than that of Metarhizium isolates. However, among the Metarhizium isolates, NCHU-95 showed the highest ECN index. Altogether, NCHU-69 and NCHU-113 should be further tested in field trials. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to integrate pathogenicity or virulence and ECN data into EPF screening and ranking, providing a baseline for mass selection of potential EPF strains for further applications.

International Conference on Fluid Mechanics and Industrial Applications (FMIA 2017)

CommitteesChairmenProf. O. Somei, Hokkaido University, JapanProf. T.W. Fu, Nanjing University, ChinaDr. J. Xiao, Wuhan University of Technology, ChinaMembersProf. H. Zhou, Wuhan University, ChinaProf. P.L. Liu, National Chung-Hsing University, TaiwanProf. J.P. Wang, Beijing Institute of Technology, ChinaProf. S.D. Tan, Beijing Institute of Technology, ChinaProf. J.J. Xu, Northeast Petroleum University, ChinaProf. F. Liu, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, ChinaProf. C.J. Jia, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, ChinaProf. F. Yang, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, ChinaProf. X. Long, Zhejiang University, ChinaProf. C.H. Li, Zhejiang University, ChinaProf. L.L. Deng, Zhejiang University, ChinaProf. Y.D. Shi, Zhejiang University, ChinaDr. X.L. Li, Peking University, ChinaDr. J.W. Yan, Wuhan University of Technology, ChinaProf. H. Chen, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, ChinaAssociate Prof. S. Zhu, Wuhan University, ChinaProf. G.S. Liu, Hunan University, ChinaProf. P. Wang, Guangxi college of Education, ChinaDr. H.Y. Su, Central South University, ChinaDr. T.Q. Liu, Central South University, ChinaDr. J.P. Fang, Chongqing University, ChinaDr. G.P. Pan, Chongqing University, ChinaDr. X.B. Wang, Chongqing University, ChinaDr. D.M. Li, Shandong University of Science and Technology, ChinaMr. W. Jiang, Xiangchen Cultural Development Co., Ltd, ChinaMr. C.P. Wang, Xiangchen Cultural Development Co., Ltd, ChinaMr. G.F. Tan, Xiangchen Cultural Development Co., Ltd, ChinaMs. Z.L. Liu, Xiangchen Cultural Development Co., Ltd, China

Conference Committee

Conference ChairProf. Naoyuki Ishimura, Chuo University, JapanProf. Po-Liang Liu, National Chung-Hsing University, TaiwanProgram ChairProf. Vadim R. Gasiyarov, South Ural State University, RussiaProf. Yoshihiko Uematsu, Gifu University, JapanProf. David Greenhalgh, University of Strathclyde, UKTechnical CommitteeAssoc. Prof. Wael Zaki, Khalifa University, UAEProf. Dongsun Seo, Myongji University, South KoreaAsst. Prof. Yong-Yuk Won, Dept. of Electronic Engineering, Myongji University, South KoreaAssoc. Prof. Jiann Lin Chen, I-Shou University, TaiwanAsst. Prof. Dr. Vikas Malik, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, IndiaProf. Hee-Il Hahn, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, KoreaAsst. Prof. Dr. Yan-Gu Lin, National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, TaiwanProf. Nikolay Sokolov, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaProf. Alexander Balinsky, Cardiff University, UKProf. Dr. Abdur Rashid, Gomal University, PakistanProf. Nan-Wei Chen, Yuan Ze University, TaiwanProf. Roberto Montemanni, University of Applied Sciences of Southern Switzerland, SwitzerlandAssoc. Prof. Kuo-Chih Chuang, Zhejiang University, ChinaAssoc. Prof. Yen Ting Chen, National Taichung University of Education, TaiwanProf. Juei Hsin Wang, National Taichung University of Education, TaiwanProf. Dr. Shurong Zhou, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, ChinaDr. Ayman Abd-Elhamed, Faculty of Engineering at Mataria, Helwan University, EgyptDr. Khushboo Verma, UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW, IndiaDr. Wooi-Nee Tan, Multimedia University, MalaysiaAssoc. Prof. Praveen Agarwal, Anand Intl. College of Engg, IndiaAssoc. Prof. Dr. Feng Xiao, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Yokohama, JapanProf. Marat Akhmet, Middle East Technical University, TurkeyAssoc. Prof. Dr. Dinshaw Balsara, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USAProf. Haydar Akca, College of Arts and Sciences, Abu Dhabi University, UAEAsst. Prof. Thamir Abdul Ameer Hassan, Al-Karkh University of Science Iraq, IraqProf. Xiaodi Li, School of Mathematical Sciences, Shandong Normal University, ChinaProf. Abdelaziz Soufyane, ALHOSN University, Abu Dhabi, UAEAssoc. Prof. S. Joseph Antony, University of Leeds, UKProf. Steven B Damelin, the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USAProf. Rosa Pardo, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

<i>Preface</i>

The Asia Pacific Symposium of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics 2014 (APSAEM 2014) is the eighth symposium devoted to topics on electromagnetic phenomena, both on low and high frequencies, and its applications in electrical, mechanical, communication systems and medical applications. It was first started in 2000 at Adelaide, Australia and then at Kanazawa, Japan in 2001, followed by Auckland, New Zealand (2004), Sydney, Australia (2006), Bangkok, Thailand (2008), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2010), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2012). The symposium is one of a series of events sponsored by the Japanese Society of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (JSAEM). APSAEM 2014 is organized by the Graduate Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Chung Hsing University (NCHU), Taiwan and co-organized by the Japanese Society of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (JSAEM). The symposium provides an excellent biennial opportunity for sharing knowledge, experience and creative ideas among academia from various universities, research institutes, as well as from industries in the area of applied electromagnetic and mechanics, such as the following: Computational electromagnetics, Inverse problems, Characterization and modeling of electromagnetic materials, Magnetic sensors and measurement, Nondestructive testing, Applications of electromagnetic phenomena, MEMS, Electromagnetic and electromechanical devices and systems, Electromagnetic actuator and applications of permanent magnet, Applications in power, electronics, and control systems, Power electronics and drive systems, Electromagnetic environment and control, Electromagnetic compatibility(EMC), Applications of electromagnetic to medical treatments, Microwaves and antennas, terahertz applications, Applications in telecommunication, Electromagnetics and electromechanical education, and Magnetic Fluids. NCHU is one of the top universities in Taiwan and located in Taichung City, Taiwan. Taichung, in a key central Taiwan location, plays an essential role in both Taiwan's economic development and transportation systems. Surrounded by the mountains and sea, it possesses the precious assets of rich cultures of numerous townships and districts. APSAEM 2014 has received more than 100 papers from international and local participants from 9 Asia Pacific and European countries and assembled authoritative keynote speeches, technical presentations, and poster sessions among participants from universities, research institutes and industries for their further collaborations in the future. Out of those submitted papers, 35 are accepted to be published in the Journal of the Japan Society of Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics. Next issue of the journal is the special issue of APSAEM2014. Here, as the chairman of the conference, I would like to express my appreciation to participants of the conference and reviewers of the papers. Without your effort, the conference and the special issue cannot be done. Finally, I would like to remind that the next symposium will take place in Indonesia in 2016.

Detection of haplotype mutations of the MD-2 gene promoter associated with Der p2-induced allergy using a nanostructured biosensor

Group 2 allergens (Der p2) have been reported to be a major cause of the human immune response to dust mite allergens. In this study, we have demonstrated for the first time the effective differentiation between haplotype mutation and normal genes in the MD-2 gene promoter using a nanostructured biosensor. A 70-mer gene fragment containing the haplotype of two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the MD-2 gene promoter region was used as a probe to detect haplotype mutations associated with Der p2-induced allergy. Discrimination was achieved using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The discrimination experiments employed 30 haplotype mutation samples and 30 normal target samples. The haplotype mutation samples and normal target samples could be clearly discriminated, even using samples produced by a five-cycle polymerase chain reaction process. The time and cost of sample preparation for the polymerase chain reaction process in the clinical setting can thus be reduced.

FEATURE POSITIONING ON GOOGLE STREET VIEW PANORAMAS

Abstract. Location-based services (LBS) on web-based maps and images have come into real-time since Google launched its Street View imaging services in 2007. This research employs Google Maps API and Web Service, GAE for JAVA, AJAX, Proj4js, CSS and HTML in developing an internet platform for accessing the orientation parameters of Google Street View (GSV) panoramas in order to determine the three dimensional position of interest features that appear on two overlapping panoramas by geometric intersection. A pair of GSV panoramas was examined using known points located on the Library Building of National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) with the root-mean-squared errors of ±0.522m, ±1.230m, and ±5.779m for intersection and ±0.142m, ±1.558m, and ±5.733m for resection in X, Y, and h (elevation), respectively. Potential error sources in GSV positioning were analyzed and illustrated that the errors in Google provided GSV positional parameters dominate the errors in geometric intersection. The developed system is suitable for data collection in establishing LBS applications integrated with Google Maps and Google Earth in traffic sign and infrastructure inventory by adding automatic extraction and matching techniques for points of interest (POI) from GSV panoramas.

Stage III malignant mixed Müllerian tumor of the fallopian tube: A case of 5-year survival after optimal debulking and adjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel plus carboplatin

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan c Institute of Biomedical Nutrition, Hung Kuang University, Taichung, Taiwan d Institute of Biomedical Sciences, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan

The effects of protein and energy intake levels on the simulated performance and body composition between 30 and 60 kg of a growing pig

The objective of the present simulation was to use the National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) pig growth simulation model to define the relationship between different protein and energy intake levels on the performance and body composition of a growing pig. Fifty diets were used to describe the effects of protein and energy intake levels. The average daily feed intake increases with both protein and energy intake levels. The average daily gain increases with increasing energy intake and dietary ideal protein content. The feed conversion ratio, which is comprised of the feed used and the scaled feed intake, decreases with increasing protein and energy intake levels. Increasing the diet protein content improves daily protein retention and total protein mass. Increasing the diet energy content also improves daily lipid retention and total lipid mass. The ratio of LR to PR decreases with increasing protein contents and decreasing energy contents.

Different immune responses to three different vaccines following H6N1 low pathogenic avian influenza virus challenge in Taiwanese local chicken breeds

BackgroundH6N1 low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV) are frequently isolated in Taiwan and lead to significant economic losses, either directly or indirectly through association with other infectious diseases. This study investigates immune responses to three different vaccines following a H6N1 challenge in different local breeds.MethodsExperimental animals were sampled from six local chicken breeds maintained at the National Chung-Hsing University, namely Hsin-Yi, Ju-Chi, Hua-Tung (Taiwan), Quemoy (Quemoy Island), Shek-Ki (China), Nagoya (Japan) and a specific pathogen free (SPF) White Leghorn line. A total number of 338 chickens have been distributed between a control and a challenge group, H6N1 challenge was performed at 7 weeks of age; vaccination against Newcastle Disease (ND), Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) and Infectious Bronchitis (IB) was performed at 11 weeks. The anti-H6N1 LPAIV antibody titers were measured by ELISA at days 0, 7, 14 and 21 after challenge, and the anti-ND, anti-IBD and anti-IB antibody titers were measured by inhibition of hemagglutination test and ELISA at days 0, 14, 28 after vaccination.ResultsThere was no effect of the H6N1 LPAIV challenge at 7 weeks of age on the subsequent responses to ND and IBD vaccine at 11 weeks of age, but, surprisingly, the H6N1 LPAIV challenge significantly affected antibody levels to IB vaccine in some breeds, since IB0 and IB14 antibody titers were lower in the challenge groups. However, there was no significant difference in IB28 antibody titers among the experimental groups.ConclusionsLocal breeds have different immune response to H6N1 LPAIV challenge and subsequent vaccines. Differences dealt mainly with kinetics of response and with peak values. Quemoy exhibited higher antibody levels to H6N1, ND and IBD. The negative effect of the H6N1 LPAIV challenge on IB vaccine response may be related to the fact that both viruses target the lung tissues, and the type of local immune response induced by LPAIV challenge may not be favourable for birds to make optimum IB-specific antibody response.

Treatment of upper cervical subluxation in pediatric patients

Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, No.160, Chungkang Rd., Taichung 407, Taiwan Department of Life Science, National Chung-Hsing University, No.250, Guoguang Rd., South District, Taichung City 402, Taiwan Department of Physical Therapy, HungKuang University, No.34, Chung-Chie Rd., Salu, Taichung County 433, Taiwan Department of Internal Medicine, Gaomay Clinics, 5F., No.94, Jhongshan Rd., Cingshuei Township, Taichung County 436, Taiwan