2022年

溫熱化學治療(Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy, 簡稱HIPEC)，為將化療藥物加熱後灌注到腹腔內殺死癌細胞，但溫熱化學治療只能在開刀時使用，治療次數有限。為達到多次的熱化療效果，本研究開發奈米氧化鐵藥物磁性複合微粒(Nano iron oxide magnetic drug complex particles, NIOMP)，可利用開刀時包覆複合微粒於腹腔，術後用磁場加熱，加上微粒化療藥物釋放，達到多次溫熱化學治療。NIOMP以鐵氧化物奈米粒子為核心，海藻酸鈉為外殼體，利用電紡法將前其與氯化鈣交聯產生凝聚性微粒。數據顯示最佳製作條件為16 kv高電壓、距離4 cm、噴速5μm/s，可得直徑大小約為200~450 μm穩定性高微粒。藥物釋放實驗顯示，NIOMP於2~7小時藥物釋放速率較穩定。利用可變磁場之電磁效應加熱NIOMP中氧化鐵磁顆粒，可於30分鐘內快速升溫至43℃。細胞相容性測試結果得知，NIOMP對細胞無毒性。本研究改善HIPEC的治療限制，可多次針對腫瘤患部局部熱化學治療，未來將可改善病人存活率。

In this project, we evaluate the effectiveness of Random Shuffling in the Cross Lingual Information Retrieval (CLIR) process. We extended the monolingual Word2Vec model to a multilingual one via the random shuffling process. We then evaluate the cross-lingual word embeddings (CLE) in terms of retrieving parallel sentences, whereby the query sentence is in a source language and the parallel sentence is in some targeted language. Our experiments on three language pairs showed that models trained on a randomly shuffled dataset outperforms randomly initialized word embeddings substantially despite its simplicity. We also explored Smart Shuffling, a more sophisticated CLIR technique which makes use of word alignment and bilingual dictionaries to guide the shuffling process, making preliminary comparisons between the two. Due to the complexity of the implementation and unavailability of open source codes, we defer experimental comparisons to future work.

The number of natural disasters has risen significantly in recent years, and with climate change there is no end in sight. Consequently, the demands on rescue forces around the world are increasing. For this reason, I asked myself what I can do to improve the work of rescue teams. Advances in artificial intelligence and drone technology enable new possibilities for problem solving. Based on the technological advances mentioned above, an autonomous Search and Rescue drone was developed as part of this project. The system assists rescue workers in searching for survivors of natural disasters or missing people. This paper also suggests a method for prioritizing survivors based on their vitality. The system was implemented using a commercial Parrot ANAFI drone and Python. The software was tested on a simulated drone. To simplify the development, the whole system was divided into the following subsystems: Navigation System, Search System and Mission Abort System. These subsystems were tested independently. The testing of solutions and new concepts were performed using smaller test programs on the simulated drone and finally on the physical drone. The Search and Rescue system was successfully developed. The person detection system can detect humans and distinguish them from the environment. Furthermore, based on the movements of a person, the system can distinguish whether the person is a rescuer or a victim. In addition, an area to be flown over can be defined. If something goes wrong during the mission, the mission can be aborted by the Mission Abort System. In the simulation, the predefined area can successfully be flown over. Unfortunately, controlling the physical drone does not work. It stops in the air after takeoff due to the firmware of the drone. It does not change the flight state of the drone, which results in all subsequent commands from the system being ignored. This paper shows that artificial intelligence and drone technologies can be combined to deliver better rescue services. The same system can be applied to other applications.

在程式專案開發中，偵測錯誤常為最耗時的環節，進而影響整個專案的開發時長。而現今雖有些許輔助開發者提升偵錯效能的工具，但這些工具也只能藉由提供編譯執行中的資訊讓開發者省去偵錯時的繁瑣步驟，仍須開發者自行評估每段程式碼的正確性。此研究透過程式段落分析與資訊檢索實現自動錯誤定位，在每個程式段落標記其成為臭蟲（bug）的可能性。在程式段落分析中，執行使用者之原始碼，並透過歸納最終結果為正確及錯誤之執行路徑差異分析出每個程式段落的可疑性。接著運用資訊檢索技術於資料庫中找尋相似之原始碼，並參考其偵錯結果優化現有之可疑性，形成最終之可疑性排名。此研究不只結合了上述兩種技術，更優化可疑程度之計算方法以及資訊檢索中的相似度比對機制，達到更完善的錯誤定位。（此指「臭蟲」非語法錯誤（Syntax Errors），而為邏輯錯誤（Logic Errors）。）

Triage is the process by which nurses manage hospital emergency departments by assigning patients varying degrees of urgency. While triage algorithms such as the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) have been standardized worldwide, many of them are highly inconsistent, which could endanger the lives of thousands of patients. One way to improve on nurses’ accuracy is to use machine learning models (ML), which can learn from past data to make predictions. We tested six ML models: random forest, XGBoost, logistic regression, support vector machines, k-nearest neighbors, and multilayer perceptron. These models were tasked with predicting whether a patient would be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), another unit in the hospital, or be discharged. After training on data from more than 30,000 patients and testing using 10-fold cross-validation, we found that all six models outperformed ESI. Of the six, the random forest model achieved the highest average accuracy in predicting both ICU admission (81% vs. 69% using ESI; p<0.001) and hospitalization (75% vs. 57%; p<0.001). These models were then added to an Android application, which would accept patient data, predict their triage, and then add them to a priority-ordered waiting list. This approach may offer significant advantages over conventional triage: mainly, it has a higher accuracy than nurses and returns predictions instantaneously. It could also stand-in for triage nurses entirely in disasters, where medical personnel must deal with a large influx of patients in a short amount of time.

The number of natural disasters has risen significantly in recent years, and with climate change there is no end in sight. Consequently, the demands on rescue forces around the world are increasing. For this reason, I asked myself what I can do to improve the work of rescue teams. Advances in artificial intelligence and drone technology enable new possibilities for problem solving. Based on the technological advances mentioned above, an autonomous Search and Rescue drone was developed as part of this project. The system assists rescue workers in searching for survivors of natural disasters or missing people. This paper also suggests a method for prioritizing survivors based on their vitality. The system was implemented using a commercial Parrot ANAFI drone and Python. The software was tested on a simulated drone. To simplify the development, the whole system was divided into the following subsystems: Navigation System, Search System and Mission Abort System. These subsystems were tested independently. The testing of solutions and new concepts were performed using smaller test programs on the simulated drone and finally on the physical drone. The Search and Rescue system was successfully developed. The person detection system can detect humans and distinguish them from the environment. Furthermore, based on the movements of a person, the system can distinguish whether the person is a rescuer or a victim. In addition, an area to be flown over can be defined. If something goes wrong during the mission, the mission can be aborted by the Mission Abort System. In the simulation, the predefined area can successfully be flown over. Unfortunately, controlling the physical drone does not work. It stops in the air after takeoff due to the firmware of the drone. It does not change the flight state of the drone, which results in all subsequent commands from the system being ignored. This paper shows that artificial intelligence and drone technologies can be combined to deliver better rescue services. The same system can be applied to other applications.

在這個資訊發達的時代，網路充滿著五花八門的資訊，導致我們在查詢資料時會因為這些雜亂且未經過濾的資料浪費許多時間，其中最為氾濫的便是點擊誘餌（clickbait），此種新聞常常有著吸引人的標題，而內容卻不會與主題相符，人們也常常在讀完整篇文章後才意識到自己浪費了許多時間在無意義的資訊上面。解決此問題很常用的方法之一便是運用摘要演算法來讓讀者先對新聞有一個大概的理解，不過，雖然摘要演算法越來越普及，但產生出來的摘要仍會和人為判斷的結果有所差距，進而造成閱讀理解上的錯誤以及偏差，所以我們想要藉由這次研究，從一個嶄新的角度切入，探討摘要演算法和句型分析之間的關係，融合原本向量建構的方式以及語句結構的分析來測試摘要的準確度，並且由結果研發出一個可以產生出更為精確的主旨之摘要演算法，除此之外，我們也會融合實地調查以及搜集意見的方式來更進一步探討人們思模式與產生出的摘要之關聯性。

缺氧（Hypoxia）在癌症中，影響腫瘤微環境（Tumor microenvironment，TME）的重塑扮演重要的角色。原位癌細胞與欲轉移之遠端器官的微環境間，會透過細胞外囊泡（extracellular vesicles，EVs）進行細胞間相互作用，對於轉移前腫瘤微環境（Pre-metastatic niche，PMN）的形成和轉移過程至關重要。 本研究目的在闡明缺氧條件下，肺腺癌如何透過產生的外囊泡重塑肝臟轉移前微環境。結果顯示缺氧刺激肺癌產生的細胞外泌體（Exosome）增加了肝臟星狀細胞（hepatic stellate cell，HSC）活化和血管生成。由於缺氧肺癌所分泌的EVs含有CD151蛋白，促進HSC的活化和血管新生。缺氧肺癌所產生的Exosome增 加了HSC和內皮細胞中FAK（focal adhesion kinase）、Src（SRC proto-oncogene, non-receptor tyrosine kinase）和AKT（AKT serine/threonine kinase）通路的激活。 總結此實驗證實了缺氧腫瘤衍生的Exosomes，探討其中富含的CD151機制，活化了HSC與特別的訊息傳遞於細胞中，調節肝臟PMN的形成。因此CD151可作為肺腺癌轉移至肝臟的新治療靶點。

The aim of this research was to investigate whether the ecology and biology of the Orange River mudfish Labeo capensis were suitable for the species to be used in fisheries. Three fleets of the gill nets were set, parallel to the shore. One fleet was lifted, and the fish were collected by hand. The two remaining fleets were lifted the next day. The seine net was pulled for 10 metres within the littoral zone. The net was then pulled towards the shore of the dam and the procedure was repeated four times. The four fyke nets were set parallel to the shore and were left for two nettings nights and then lifted. All fish caught were collected by hand and placed into buckets. The majority (82.93%) of the fish caught were within the 0-100 mm size class. The 101-200mm and 201-300mm size classes contain similar numbers of fish, while no fish were caught in the 301-400mm size class. The hypothesis was accepted. Allemanskraal Dam, as of the study period, has a very small juvenile fish population of L. capensis, as only 7 out of 41 fish individuals caught were within the 101- 300mm fork length size class. These results show that the population of L. capensis is not established as of yet, as the research did was right after their breeding season. Historical research has shown that sexually mature individuals of the L. capensis species tend to be a minimum of 300mm SL, 4-6 years after hatching. The population was largely young-of-the-year and may develop into an established population in 3-4 years (after sexual maturity). The L. capensis population in Allemanskraal Dam has the potential to be a fishery species if suitable conditions are maintained. Establishing this species’ potential will therefore allow economically viable fisheries to utilise them sustainably and to their full economic potential.

To investigate the reproduction success and natural recruitment of several Cyprinidae fish and Claridae fish species in the Allemanskraal Dam. The purpose of the project included investigating whether each individual fish species studied has a successful 2020/2021 spawning season in comparison with each other. Sections of the seine net were measured along with a distance of 10 along the shoreline. The ends of the seine nets were attached to one foot and the top of the net was held by hand. Both volunteers moved in unison while covering the 10m. The volunteer in the “deep end” moved towards the shoreline creating a semi-circle while the other volunteer remained stationary. The two ends of the net were then pulled onto the shore and the fish were collected. The results found that the Labeo Umbratus and Cyprinus carpio had the most successful spawning seasons with the highest recorded numbers. These high numbers of the Labeo Umbratus can be due to the fact that the species lays a large number of eggs. The high numbers of the Cyprinus carpio is due to the lower numbers of the other fish species as previous studies have shown that the species negatively impacts the environment which could in turn negatively impact the other fish species. The Claridae gariepinus and Labeobarbus aeneusas were the lowest. The low numbers of the Labeobarbus aneusas may be due to their slow growth and late maturity rate. The Labeo capensis had an average number relative to the other species and this is due to the fact that during the sampling period the dam was at 100% capacity as this is essential for the survival of the juvenile fish. The hypothesis was accepted as the Labeo Umbratus, Cyprinus carpio and Labeo capensis all have a successful spawning season. However, due to the size of the Cyprinus carpio, they would be most suited for a small scale fishery.