The first discovery of amber resin in Lichi Mélange, Eastern Taiwan

Amber is fossilized tree resin produced by the metabolism of vascular plants that has experienced various geological processes, including burial, compression, and heating. Therefore, most of the previously reported amber pieces were unearthed from sedimentary rocks. The record of amber in tectonic active regions, e.g., Taiwan, is extremely poor and has not been scientifically certified, leading to a poor understanding of the history of prehistoric flora in this region. This study reports a 1-cm yellow-brown amorphous resin interspersed in sandstone blocks in the Lichi Mélange at the southernmost tip of the Coastal Range in eastern Taiwan, representing the first official record of amber from the mélange unit and as well as in Taiwan. The results, in addition to the affirmation of the amber, show that the amber is composed of sesquiterpenes and triterpenoids, indicating a possible origin of dipterocarp trees that are absent in the paleobotanic record and modern flora in Taiwan. Furthermore, infrared spectra analysis shows its compositional similarity to the amber from Sumatra, Indonesia, which boasts modern dipterocarp forests. Petrographic analysis of the surrounding sandstone suggests that the amber was deposited into the continental margin and allocated to Taiwan through the arc-continental collision in ∼6–7 Ma. In summary, this study represents the first report of amber unearthed in the mélange unit and Taiwan. It shows that amber is a durable and reliable information carrier in accordance with biogeographic and tectonic evidence

Reconsidering the Hierarchy and Translation of “Physical Education/Sports” Related Terms: Taiwan Perspective

OBJECTIVES In the past centuries, the concept of “physical education” has changed from a more general concepts including physical activities and sports, to specifically inferring “instruction of physical activity”. Instead, “sports” has become the comprehensive concept of sports, exercise, and physical education. Given to the inconsistent terminologies and English translations of “體育 (ti-yu)” (physical education) and “運 動 (yun-dong)” (sports or exercise) in Mandarin, the purpose of this study was to investigate in the current terminology usage, hierarchy, and the English translation of “體育 (ti-yu)” and “運動 (yun-dong)” in Taiwan. METHODS Three government authorities, two sport related universities, eight top sport and exercise journals, and nighty-six college departments in Taiwan were analyzed. RESULTS “運動 (yun-dong)” was the most widely used terminology as “體育 (ti-yu)” occupied the majority usage among government authorities, sport related universities, and title of top sport and exercise journals. Regarding English translation, despite of “department of physical education”, “sports” remained the most common terminology. Moreover, “體育 (ti-yu)” and “sports” are the highest hierarchy among government authorities, and sport related university; “體育 (ti-yu)” and “physical education” are the highest hierarchy among traditional sport and exercise journals; “運動 (yun-dong)” and “sports” are the highest hierarchy among college departments also the mainstream of current translation and hierarchy. CONCLUSIONS “體育 (ti-yu)” was the highest hierarchy in the past. However, “運動 (yun-dong)” has been the mainstream of the highest hierarchy in Mandarin according to college departments. In English, “sport(s)” is the main term in Taiwan when translating “體育 (ti-yu)” and 運動 (yun-dong)”, also being the highest hierarchy. On the other hand, “體育 (ti-yu)” and “physical education” are utilized regarding those departments focusing on educating PE teachers. This study expects the terminology, English translations, and hierarchy being align with the mainstream of current translation and hierarchy in the future

Complement C1q Activates Tumor Suppressor WWOX to Induce Apoptosis in Prostate Cancer Cells

BACKGROUND:Tissue exudates contain low levels of serum complement proteins, and their regulatory effects on prostate cancer progression are largely unknown. We examined specific serum complement components in coordinating the activation of tumor suppressors p53 and WWOX (also named FOR or WOX1) and kinases ERK, JNK1 and STAT3 in human prostate DU145 cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:DU145 cells were cultured overnight in 1% normal human serum, or in human serum depleted of an indicated complement protein. Under complement C1q- or C6-free conditions, WOX1 and ERK were mainly present in the cytoplasm without phosphorylation, whereas phosphorylated JNK1 was greatly accumulated in the nuclei. Exogenous C1q rapidly restored the WOX1 activation (with Tyr33 phosphorylation) in less than 2 hr. Without serum complement C9, p53 became activated, and hyaluronan (HA) reversed the effect. Under C6-free conditions, HA induced activation of STAT3, an enhancer of metastasis. Notably, exogenous C1q significantly induced apoptosis of WOX1-overexpressing DU145 cells, but not vehicle-expressing cells. A dominant negative and Y33R mutant of WOX1 blocked the apoptotic effect. C1q did not enhance p53-mediated apoptosis. By total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy, it was determined that C1q destabilized adherence of WOX1-expressing DU145 cells by partial detaching and inducing formation of clustered microvilli for focal adhesion particularly in between cells. These cells then underwent shrinkage, membrane blebbing and death. Remarkably, as determined by immunostaining, benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer were shown to have a significantly reduced expression of tissue C1q, compared to age-matched normal prostate tissues. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:We conclude that complement C1q may induce apoptosis of prostate cancer cells by activating WOX1 and destabilizing cell adhesion. Downregulation of C1q enhances prostate hyperplasia and cancerous formation due to failure of WOX1 activation

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Usage Position and Virtual Keyboard Design Affect Upper-Body Kinematics, Discomfort, and Usability during Prolonged Tablet Typing.

The increase in tablet usage allows people to perform computer work in non-traditional office environments. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of changes in tablet keyboard design on postures of the upper extremities and neck, discomfort, and usability under different usage positions during prolonged touch-typing.Eighteen healthy participants familiar with touch-screen devices were randomized into three usage positions (desk, lap, and bed) and completed six, 60-minute typing sessions using three virtual keyboard designs (standard, wide, split). Electrogoniometers continuously measured the postures of the wrists, elbow, and neck. Body discomfort and system usability were evaluated by questionnaires before and immediately after each typing session.Separate linear mixed effects models on various postural measures and subjective ratings are conducted with usage position as the between-subject factors, keyboard design and typing duration as the with-in subject factors were conducted. Using the tablet in bed led to more extended wrists but a more natural elbow flexion than the desk position. The angled split virtual keyboard significantly reduced the extent of wrist ulnar deviation than the keyboard with either standard or wide design. However, little difference was observed across the usage position and keyboard design. When the postural data were compared between the middle and end of typing sessions, the wrists, elbow, and neck all exhibited a substantially increased range of joint movements (13% to 38%). The discomfort rating also increased significantly over time in every upper body region investigated. Additionally, the split keyboard design received a higher usability rating in the bed position, whereas participants had more satisfactory experience while using the wide keyboard in the traditional desk setting.Prolonged use of tablets in non-traditional office environments may result in awkward postures in the upper body that may expose users to greater risks of developing musculoskeletal symptoms. Adequate virtual keyboard designs show the potential to alleviate some postural effects and improve the user experience without changing the tablet form factors

Range of wrist movement (APDF Range) in term of extension/flexion for the (a) left (non-dominant) and (b) right (dominant) hand varied across different positions of tablet usage and virtual keyboard designs.

<p>Error bars represent +/- 1 SE. The conditions observed from the early 10–25 min period (left side) and later 55–60 min period (right side) are separated accordingly in each sub figure. Conditions with the same number (1, 2, 3) denote groups without significant difference across the usage positions within the same virtual keyboard design. Conditions with the same character (A, B, C) denote groups without significant difference across the keyboard designs within the same usage position.</p

Optimizing Capacities of Distributed Generation and Energy Storage in a Small Autonomous Power System Considering Uncertainty in Renewables

This paper explores real power generation planning, considering distributed generation resources and energy storage in a small standalone power system. On account of the Kyoto Protocol and Copenhagen Accord, wind and photovoltaic (PV) powers are considered as clean and renewable energies. In this study, a genetic algorithm (GA) was used to determine the optimal capacities of wind-turbine-generators, PV, diesel generators and energy storage in a small standalone power system. The investment costs (installation, unit and maintenance costs) of the distributed generation resources and energy storage and the cost of fuel for the diesel generators were minimized while the reliability requirement and CO2 emission limit were fulfilled. The renewable sources and loads were modeled by random variables because of their uncertainties. The equality and inequality constraints in the genetic algorithms were treated by cumulant effects and cumulative probability of random variables, respectively. The IEEE reliability data for an 8760 h load profile with a 150 kW peak load were used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method

Least-square mean (SE) of the postural parameters for rANOVA main effects Position, Keyboard, Time, Gender and p-values for the interactions ¹².

<p>1 values are in degrees. Repeated measures ANOVA with Participants as a random effect and Position, Keyboard, Time, and Gender as fixed effects.</p><p>2 For each main dependent variable, the groupings based on the host hoc analyses are indicated by the superscript and ranked in a descending order such as A > B > C. The same superscript means no significant difference.</p><p>3 Negative values represent the wrist deviate toward the radial side.</p><p>Least-square mean (SE) of the postural parameters for rANOVA main effects Position, Keyboard, Time, Gender and p-values for the interactions <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143585#t002fn001" target="_blank">¹</a><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0143585#t002fn002" target="_blank">²</a>.</p

(a) Elbow and (b) neck postures (50^th percentile) varied across different positions of tablet usage and virtual keyboard designs.

<p>Error bars represent +/- 1 SE. Conditions with the same number (1, 2, 3) denote groups without significant difference across the usage positions within the same virtual keyboard design. Conditions with the same character (A, B, C) denote groups without significant difference across the keyboard designs within the same usage position.</p