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The first global stocktake (GST) at 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) pointed out that accelerating the phasing down of fossil fuels has become an important mitigation policy to maintain a maximum temperature limit of 1.5 °C. The optimal power portfolio for achieving Taiwan's net-zero emissions by 2050 is evaluated from the perspective of sustainable development. This study is enhances the 2021 research findings of Wang et al. on the sustainable power model, incorporating homogenized cost and technical constraints for empirical analysis. The results indicated that renewable energy sources play a pivotal role in achieving net-zero emissions. Gas power generation requires careful consideration, including early decommissioning or the adoption of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology to prevent carbon lock-in and compete with hydrogen energy technology. Notably, coal combined with CCS technology offers a viable option for a cost-effective roadmap for a decarburized power generation portfolio by 2050, serving as a reference for national planning strategies for promoting net-zero emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Vitamin D plays a vital role in maintaining homeostasis and enhancing the absorption of calcium, an essential component for strengthening bones and preventing osteoporosis. There are many factors known to relate to plasma vitamin D concentration (PVDC). However, most of these studies were performed with traditional statistical methods. Nowadays, machine learning methods (Mach-L) have become new tools in medical research. In the present study, we used four Mach-L methods to explore the relationships between PVDC and demographic, biochemical, and lifestyle factors in a group of healthy premenopausal Chinese women. Our goals were as follows: (1) to evaluate and compare the predictive accuracy of Mach-L and MLR, and (2) to establish a hierarchy of the significance of the aforementioned factors related to PVDC. Methods: Five hundred ninety-three healthy Chinese women were enrolled. In total, there were 35 variables recorded, including demographic, biochemical, and lifestyle information. The dependent variable was 25-OH vitamin D (PVDC), and all other variables were the independent variables. Multiple linear regression (MLR) was regarded as the benchmark for comparison. Four Mach-L methods were applied (random forest (RF), stochastic gradient boosting (SGB), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), and elastic net). Each method would produce several estimation errors. The smaller these errors were, the better the model was. Results: Pearson's correlation, age, glycated hemoglobin, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and hemoglobin were positively correlated to PVDC, whereas eGFR was negatively correlated to PVDC. The Mach-L methods yielded smaller estimation errors for all five parameters, which indicated that they were better methods than the MLR model. After averaging the importance percentage from the four Mach-L methods, a rank of importance could be obtained. Age was the most important factor, followed by plasma insulin level, TSH, spouse status, LDH, and ALP. Conclusions: In a healthy Chinese premenopausal cohort using four different Mach-L methods, age was found to be the most important factor related to PVDC, followed by plasma insulin level, TSH, spouse status, LDH, and ALP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy transition has become a priority for adaptive policy and measures taken in response to climate change around the world. This is an opportunity and a challenge for the Taiwan government to establish a climate-resilient power generation mixed to ensure electricity security as well as climate change mitigation. This study adopted a sustainable development perspective and applied optimal control theory to establish a cost-effective model to evaluate a long-term (2050), climate-resilient power generation mix for Taiwan. Furthermore, this study applies the STIRPAT approach to predict the demand of electricity by 2050 for the demand side management. The results not only showed the share of various power generation mixed, but also recommended the trajectory of electricity saving by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dual-band metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) photodetectors (PDs) with a Ga2O3/MgZnO heterostructure were fabricated by radio frequency (RF) sputtering, which can detect ultraviolet C (UVC) and ultraviolet B (UVB) bands individually by controlling different bias voltages. A PD with the annealing temperature of Ga2O3 at 600 °C can improve the crystal quality of Ga2O3 thin film and exhibit the least persistent photoconductivity (PPC) effect. However, a PD with the annealing temperature of Ga2O3 at 600 °C cannot achieve a voltage-tunable dual-band characteristic. On the contrary, the PD without annealing can suppress the carriers from the bottom layer of MgZnO thin film at a lower bias voltage of 1 V. At this time, the peak responsivity at 250 nm was mainly dominated by the top layer of Ga2O3 thin film. Then, as the bias voltage increased to 5 V, the peak detection wavelength shifted from 250 (UVC) to 320 nm (UVB). In addition, the PD with a 25 nm–thick SiO2 layer inserted between Ga2O3 and MgZnO thin film can achieve a broader operating bias voltage range for dual-band applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]