Tag: National Taiwan University

Heart failure affects 23 million people globally, with limited treatment options. Unlike adult human hearts, which lack regenerative capacity, neonatal hearts retain the ability to repair damage. A research team led by Professor Kai-Jen Yang at NTU’s Institute of Pharmacology discovered that N-Cadherin, a neural cadherin protein, plays a crucial role in cardiomyocyte proliferation and heart regeneration.

Their study found that N-Cadherin levels are 2–3 times higher in neonatal cardiomyocytes than in adults and decline with age. Following heart injury, N-Cadherin expression increased, promoting cardiomyocyte proliferation. Loss of N-Cadherin reduced regeneration, while its overexpression reactivated cell cycling in adult mouse hearts, improving cardiac function post-myocardial infarction.

Mechanistically, N-Cadherin binds to β-Catenin, stabilizing its protein levels and activating Wnt signaling, which regulates genes essential for cardiac repair. These findings suggest that modulating N-Cadherin could serve as a novel heart failure therapy.

Observational data from Taiwan’s dense rainfall network reveal that tropical island mountain regions exhibit multiple precipitation peaks during summer afternoon convection—a finding that contrasts with the previously assumed single-peak behavior and suggests more intricate underlying processes. To investigate these multi-peak characteristics, NTU researchers designed an idealized terrain setup integrating ocean, plain, and mountainous features. Using a high-resolution (100-meter) Vector Vorticity Equation Model (VVM) developed by Professor Jianming Wu’s team, the study successfully reproduced the dual-peaked precipitation pattern locked by local topography.

The simulation results indicate that the first peak is predominantly driven by convective available potential energy (CAPE), while the second peak results from enhanced low-level moist static energy (MSE) transport by island-scale circulations. Notably, the study found that under drier free-atmosphere conditions, local circulations can intensify the second peak’s precipitation—a sensitivity that diverges from previous expectations. Furthermore, the interaction between the two convective peaks appears critical: the initial convective burst modifies environmental humidity and energy distribution, thereby influencing the intensity and structure of subsequent convection.

This research provides a novel perspective on tropical island afternoon convection and has significant implications for future studies on the impacts of climate change on extreme precipitation events. The NTU team plans to extend this work by integrating real-world topography and field observations to further validate their findings and offer more accurate scientific support for mitigating extreme weather challenges.

Professor Hsien-Ho Lin, Director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at National Taiwan University’s College of Public Health, is leading a collaborative tuberculosis prevention project with the University of Namibia, Namibia’s Ministry of Health, and Harvard Medical School. The project, aimed at reducing the spread and economic burden of tuberculosis (TB), has received generous support from the Acer Foundation, which donated 300 tablets to assist with economic burden surveys and enhance local public health strategies, aligning with the goals of University Social Responsibility (USR).

Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s most serious infectious diseases, particularly in developing countries. While effective drug treatment can cure nearly 100% of cases, failure to diagnose and treat the disease in time can lead to a 50% mortality rate within three years. Namibia, classified by the World Health Organization as a high TB burden country, ranks ninth globally in TB incidence, with approximately 460 cases per 100,000 people annually—a rate 16 times higher than that of Taiwan.

The international team is currently working on the project “Hotspots, Hospitals, and Households: Enhanced Case Finding of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Namibia” (H3TB). This initiative focuses on proactive TB screening among household contacts of drug-resistant TB patients, hospital visitors, and members of community hotspot areas, aiming to identify and treat cases early, break transmission chains, improve treatment outcomes, and reduce the economic burden on affected families.

To assess the economic impact of proactive TB screening, the team will conduct a household TB burden survey to determine whether the intervention reduces the incidence of catastrophic economic hardship. In Namibia, where transportation is often difficult, these tablets with communication capabilities will greatly improve the efficiency of the survey and are expected to enhance TB control efforts.

On August 23, 2024, Acer Foundation CEO Jensen Kuo and Acer\’s Director of Tablet Computing, Chiang-Tsun Chen, visited NTU, where they were hosted by Dean Shou-Hsia Cheng and Director Lin. The meeting deepened mutual understanding and provided an opportunity for the Acer Foundation to learn more about the importance of public health and global health initiatives, with discussions on future collaborative opportunities.

The Acer Foundation’s commitment to social responsibility and significant contributions to global health and sustainable development goals are deeply appreciated. This partnership has opened new avenues for dialogue, and both parties look forward to further interdisciplinary collaboration and research.

For millions of years, the Earth has experienced cyclical periods of ice ages and warm periods. Currently, we are in a warm period influenced by human activities. As greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increase, global warming intensifies, accelerating the melting of continental glaciers, raising sea levels, and posing serious climate crises to global ecosystems and human societies. To better understand the process and drivers of global warming, it is crucial to study the causes of past extreme warm periods, providing insights into present climate issues.

Geological records show that around 400,000 years ago, the global ice volume was less than today, and sea levels were about 10 meters higher. This warm period lasted approximately 30,000 years, making it the hottest warm period in Earth’s history over millions of years. Typically, summer solar radiation is the primary energy source for the Earth’s surface and a key driver of warm periods. However, during this period, solar radiation was relatively weak, and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations were lower than today, making this extreme warm period a famous mystery in Earth’s history, known as the “MIS 11c Paradox.” MIS stands for Marine Isotope Stage, used to describe the codes of alternating warm and ice periods in Earth’s geological history. The stages are numbered sequentially from the present, with odd numbers indicating warm periods and even numbers indicating ice periods. The Earth is currently in the MIS 1 warm period, while MIS 11c refers to the initial stage of the MIS 11 warm period about 420,000 years ago.

Dr. Hsun-Ming Hu, a postdoctoral researcher in NTU‘s Department of Geosciences, led an international team under the guidance of National Chair Professor Chuan-Chou (River) Shen. They utilized speleothem records from Mediterranean caves and North Atlantic marine records to reveal the key factors behind the anomalous warm period 400,000 years ago. This international research was published on July 15 in the top-tier journal Nature Communications.

Dr. Hu pointed out that solving the “MIS 11c Paradox” lies in understanding the response sequence of Earth’s ice shelves, oceans, and atmosphere to solar radiation during the warming process. However, due to the lack of precise absolute ages in most oceanic and terrestrial records, this issue remained unsolved. In 2014, NTU’s geoscience department and European partners drilled speleothem cores from the Witch Cave in northern Italy. Using high-precision uranium-thorium dating techniques from NTU’s HISPEC Laboratory, they analyzed the deposition time of the specimens, providing precise age control for geological records. Combining detailed carbon-oxygen isotope and trace element data, they reconstructed the environmental changes in southern Europe from 480,000 to 360,000 years ago. The team further compared solar radiation, global sea level changes, and climate records from various regions, including the Atlantic, finally unraveling the “MIS 11c Paradox.”

Professor Shen stated that the international team, led by NTU’s geoscience department, has been working in the Mediterranean region for over a decade. They discovered that the speleothem carbonate records from the Witch Cave in northern Italy are closely related to the climate changes in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Therefore, the paleoclimate records of the North Atlantic region can be dated accurately by comparing them with the speleothem records from the Witch Cave.

The research results indicate that the extreme warmth during MIS 11c was caused by a combination of factors. About 420,000 years ago, summer solar radiation in the Northern Hemisphere increased, causing mid- and low-latitude Atlantic regions to reach peak temperatures. Coincidentally, as ocean warming occurred, Earth’s axial tilt gradually increased, leading to even hotter summers. These warm waters continuously transported large amounts of heat to higher latitudes through ocean currents over tens of thousands of years, causing sustained ice shelf melting and resulting in the hottest MIS 11c warm period in Earth’s history.

Dr. Hu further explained that MIS 11c is an important example for understanding global warming. Similar to the present, this period did not experience particularly strong solar radiation. The research team found that to cause widespread ice shelf collapse and significant sea-level rise in the Northern Hemisphere, high greenhouse gas concentrations are not necessarily required; prolonged ocean warming can achieve this. This reveals the critical role of oceanic forces in driving global warming and ice shelf collapse mechanisms, providing significant reference value for predicting Earth’s future climate.

This research was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Excellent Talent Program, the Ministry of Education’s Deep Cultivation Program, the Advanced Scientific Research Center for Sustainable Earth, and NTU’s Core Research Groups Program. The international project, led by NTU’s geoscience department, involved over twenty research units from Europe, the Americas, and Asia. NTU’s participating researchers included Dr. Hu, Professor Shen, and former students Hsien-Chen (Emerson) Tsai, Wei-Yi Chien, Wen-Hui (Ellen) Sung, and Chia-How Hsu.

Full research article: Nature Communications

In the face of energy challenges, the world relies on batteries as power storage, especially lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), which are both cost-effective and portable. However, despite the significant progress made in LIB technology, there is still a pressing demand for higher energy and power densities and improved safety features to make LIBs more practical for future transportation systems and large-scale grid power storage. One way to enhance the energy density of a LIB is by incorporating a Li metal anode (LMA), which is considered the ideal choice due to its exceptional properties such as high specific capacity (3861 mA h g–1) and low anode potential (approximately –3.04 V vs SHE).

The use of LMA is hindered by significant issues such as the growth of Li dendrites, low Coulombic efficiency, poor cycle life, and safety concerns when organic liquid electrolytes are employed. To address these limitations, researchers have been actively exploring non-flammable inorganic solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) as an alternative. The one that has attracted significant research attention is the garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 SSEs, owing to its fascinating properties such as a good room-temperature ionic conductivity (1 mS cm–1, state of the art) and wide electrochemical stability window (∼ 0 – 5 V vs Li+/Li); however, the interfacial resistance remains an issue to be addressed.

Recently, Distinguished Professor of NTU’s Department of Chemistry, Advanced Research Center for Green Materials Science and Technology, and Graduate School of Advanced Technology in the March 2024 Issue of EnergyChem, titled “Interfacial Engineering for High-performance Garnet-based Lithium Metal Batteries: A Perspective on Lithiophilicity and Lithiophobicity.” Applying suitable interfacial engineering solutions is crucial for solid-state lithium metal batteries, especially for garnet-solid electrolytes due to their brittle nature, which cannot withstand high stack pressure. This review, therefore, focuses on the recent developments in interface engineering solutions and broadly classifies them based on the interface modification approach/fabrication routes using various classes of materials. Certain vital electrochemical performance parameters have been compared closely, which gives an appropriate estimation of what types of interlayers will be suitable along with the possible mechanistic route. Moreover, the role of lithium affinity at the interface in terms of lithiophilicity and its importance, along with the presence of lithiophobic phases, is discussed as it amplifies the critical current density of the anode/solid-electrolyte interface and reduces the area-specific resistance. This article comprehensively analyzes the anode-solid-state electrolyte interface in garnet-based lithium metal batteries. It aims to provide a clear perspective on lithiophilicity and lithiophobicity to achieve high-performance batteries.

Full text of the article：https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S258977802400006X

National Taiwan University (NTU) has announced a generous $20 million donation from Min Kao, founder of the satellite navigation and wearable technology brand Garmin. This donation will establish a named professorship fund and assist in the construction and renovation of faculty housing, supporting NTU’s efforts to attract and retain top talent.

In a press release today, NTU highlighted Min Kao’s background as a 1971 graduate of the Department of Electrical Engineering. After completing his military service, he pursued further studies in the United States, where he eventually co-founded Garmin. Through the Kao Family Foundation in the US, he has recently donated $20 million (approximately NT$630 million) to his alma mater to establish the “Garmin Distinguished Professorship and Scholar Award Fund” and the “Garmin Faculty Housing Construction and Maintenance Fund.”

NTU President Chen Wen-Chang remarked that upon learning about the university’s centennial plans, Min Kao proactively inquired about NTU’s needs, expressing his hope that the donation would help elevate his alma mater to new heights as it approaches its 100th anniversary.

President Chen noted that Min Kao recognized the university’s need to attract and retain talent. In addition to supporting faculty through the establishment of the professorship fund, Kao specifically increased the donation amount to assist with the construction and renovation of faculty housing, creating a more comprehensive support package.

Through NTU, Min Kao emphasized that faculty is the core competitive advantage of a university, with compensation being a critical factor. He aims to create 22 Garmin Distinguished Professorships through the endowment, paired with new, well-located housing to ensure the sustainability of this initiative.

According to NTU’s plans, recipients of the Garmin Distinguished Professorship and Scholar Award will receive an annual stipend of $30,000, with a three-year term renewable once. Additionally, $6.25 million of the total donation will be allocated to the construction and related maintenance or renovation of the “Garmin Faculty Housing.”

Info: https://my.ntu.edu.tw/professorships/professorships11.html

National Taiwan University (NTU) and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (the Association) concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cultivate Taiwanese talents in Japanese studies on July 16, 2024. This MoU initiates the “Support Plan for Researchers in Japanese Studies,” under which the Association sponsors NTU’s Colleges of Law, Social Sciences, and Liberal Arts to employ postdoctoral fellows specializing in Japanese studies.

Kazuyuki Katayama, the Representative of the Association, expressed the Association’s expectation that this collaboration with NTU would nurture Japan-related research and deepen mutual understanding between Japan and Taiwan. Wen-Chang Chen, the President of NTU, highlighted that NTU has already received donations from entrepreneurs to set up scholarships such as the “NTU Nitori International Scholarship” and the “NTU Chung-Te Study-in-Japan Scholarship,” aimed at supporting students conducting Japanese studies and those pursuing master’s and doctoral programs in Japan. The signing of this MoU, supported by the Association for postdoctoral researchers, completes the talent cultivation chain. President Chen believes that future collaboration between NTU and the Japanese academic community will become more profound and extensive, further strengthening the ties between the two nations.

Following the speeches, President Chen and Representative Katayama jointly signed the MoU, witnessed by Dean Huang-Yu Wang of the College of Law, Dean Yu-Yu Cheng of the College of Liberal Arts, Vice Dean Yeun-Wen Ku of the College of Social Sciences, Vice Dean Sieh-Chuen Huang of the College of Law, and Director Jing-Huei Tsau of the Department of Japanese Language and Literature.

A delegation led by Ms. Claire Giry, Director General of Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR), visited National Taiwan University (NTU) with representatives from top French research institutes including The French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), among others. They were warmly welcomed by President Chen and explored NTU’s research achievements and international collaboration projects.

One of the highlights of the visit was the introduction of the “One Health”, concept by Professor Fang-Chia Chang from the School of Veterinary Medicine, emphasizing the interconnectedness between human beings, animals, plants, and the environment. The delegation also toured the Green Health Research Center, where Prof. Hui-Mei Chen and Prof. Chun-Yen Chang presented innovative research rooms, showcasing the integration of AIoT technology to provide precise and innovative contributions to Taiwan in the fields of environment, biology, and human health.

The collaboration between NTU and France is growing rapidly, with a solid foundation on student exchanges, dual degrees, and joint research initiatives. President Chen and Director-General Claire Giry underscored the pivotal role that NTU plays in fostering Taiwan-France cooperation. To solidify their long-term objectives, both parties are keen on establishing joint laboratories and centers to facilitate enduring and robust exchanges between the institutions. This visit signifies a promising era of enhanced academic and research cooperation between NTU and France.

NTU Diversified Health Center: https://diversifiedhealth.ntu.edu.tw/
Prof. Chang’s “Healthy Landscape and Healthy People” website： https://cychang.hort.ntu.edu.tw/