Family images in modern society: pictures from Taiwan

In Taiwan, world lowest birth-rate was caused by economic and social environment. Family-friendly policies and benefits from government were conducted in years. The birth-rate, however, were still not raise gradually. Aims of this study were present family images of happiness and challenge from Taiwan and gather voice from parents who lived in this context. Iconology was adopted as the methodology to conduct data collection. Research data were gathered from 50 Taiwanese families which included family pictures and semi-structure interviews. Two main findings were as follow: (1)Most pictures that parents named as ‘happiness moment’ were going out because of the precious moment of ‘being together’. (2)Most challenging moment exited when children were sick or parents’ transition in new parenthood. Policy of ‘home care day off’ in most enterprise is not good enough to support parents. Family friendly policies or systems in Taiwan are either complicated or short term only

A Teacher\u27s Guide in Creating Linguistic Diverse Classroom: Code-Meshing and Translingual Practice in First-Year Composition

This thesis and portfolio are inspired by the recent code-meshing pedagogy movement to promote linguistic justice in the composition classroom along with the author’s personal journey in English learning. The traditional, monolingual practice in the composition classroom often isolates international students who have multilingual abilities above the rest of the students. The idea that there is only one correct use of English—standard English—assumes that one type of English is better than others. However, most native speakers cannot explain the rules and mechanism of standard English, which leaves international students often feeling frustrated and lowers their confidence in English writing and speaking. Code-meshing and translingual pedagogies advocate that all Englishes are equally important, and the rhetorical practices of the language should be the focus of English language learning. This project focuses on three principles for teachers to practice code-meshing pedagogy and translingualism in their own classroom. First, students are language experts that can navigate through their own language learning journey. Second, teachers can offer opportunities for students to perform their language abilities and reflect on the practice of monolingualism. Lastly, assigning low stake, self-directed writing and reading assignments can develop students’ rhetorical sensibility and explore the rhetorical purpose of the author

Microbiota and bile acid profiles in retinoic acid-primed mice that exhibit accelerated liver regeneration.

Background & aimsAll-trans Retinoic acid (RA) regulates hepatic lipid and bile acid homeostasis. Similar to bile acid (BA), RA accelerates partial hepatectomy (PHx)-induced liver regeneration. Because there is a bidirectional regulatory relationship between gut microbiota and BA synthesis, we examined the effect of RA in altering the gut microbial population and BA composition and established their relationship with hepatic biological processes during the active phases of liver regeneration.MethodsC57BL/6 mice were treated with RA orally followed by 2/3 PHx. The roles of RA in shifting gut microbiota and BA profiles as well as hepatocyte metabolism and proliferation were studied.ResultsRA-primed mice exhibited accelerated hepatocyte proliferation revealed by higher numbers of Ki67-positive cells compared to untreated mice. Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla dominated the gut microbial community (>85%) in both control and RA-primed mice after PHx. RA reduced the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes, which was associated with a lean phenotype. Consistently, RA-primed mice lacked transient lipid accumulation normally found in regenerating livers. In addition, RA altered BA homeostasis and shifted BA profiles by increasing the ratio of hydrophilic to hydrophobic BAs in regenerating livers. Accordingly, metabolic regulators fibroblast growth factor 21, Sirtuin1, and their downstream targets AMPK and ERK1/2 were more robustly activated in RA-primed than unprimed regenerating livers.ConclusionsPriming mice with RA resulted in a lean microbiota composition and hydrophilic BA profiles, which were associated with facilitated metabolism and enhanced cell proliferation

Function annotation of hepatic retinoid x receptor α based on genome-wide DNA binding and transcriptome profiling.

BackgroundRetinoid x receptor α (RXRα) is abundantly expressed in the liver and is essential for the function of other nuclear receptors. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing and mRNA profiling data generated from wild type and RXRα-null mouse livers, the current study identifies the bona-fide hepatic RXRα targets and biological pathways. In addition, based on binding and motif analysis, the molecular mechanism by which RXRα regulates hepatic genes is elucidated in a high-throughput manner.Principal findingsClose to 80% of hepatic expressed genes were bound by RXRα, while 16% were expressed in an RXRα-dependent manner. Motif analysis predicted direct repeat with a spacer of one nucleotide as the most prevalent RXRα binding site. Many of the 500 strongest binding motifs overlapped with the binding motif of specific protein 1. Biological functional analysis of RXRα-dependent genes revealed that hepatic RXRα deficiency mainly resulted in up-regulation of steroid and cholesterol biosynthesis-related genes and down-regulation of translation- as well as anti-apoptosis-related genes. Furthermore, RXRα bound to many genes that encode nuclear receptors and their cofactors suggesting the central role of RXRα in regulating nuclear receptor-mediated pathways.ConclusionsThis study establishes the relationship between RXRα DNA binding and hepatic gene expression. RXRα binds extensively to the mouse genome. However, DNA binding does not necessarily affect the basal mRNA level. In addition to metabolism, RXRα dictates the expression of genes that regulate RNA processing, translation, and protein folding illustrating the novel roles of hepatic RXRα in post-transcriptional regulation

IVIG Delays Onset in a Mouse Model of Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker Disease

Our previous studies showed that intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) contained anti-Aβ autoantibodies that might be able to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recently, we identified and characterized naturally occurring autoantibodies against PrP from IVIG. Although autoantibodies in IVIG blocked PrP fibril formation and PrP neurotoxicity in vitro, it remained unknown whether IVIG could reduce amyloid plaque pathology in vivo and be used to effectively treat animals with prion diseases. In this study, we used Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS)-Tg (PrP-A116V) transgenic mice to test IVIG efficacy since amyloid plaque formation played an important role in GSS pathogenesis. Here, we provided strong evidence that demonstrates how IVIG could significantly delay disease onset, elongate survival, and improve clinical phenotype in Tg (PrP-A116V) mice. Additionally, in treated animals, IVIG could markedly inhibit PrP amyloid plaque formation and attenuate neuronal apoptosis at the age of 120 days in mice. Our results indicate that IVIG may be a potential, effective therapeutic treatment for GSS and other prion diseases

OMMA enables population-scale analysis of complex genomic features and phylogenomic relationships from nanochannel-based optical maps.

BackgroundOptical mapping is an emerging technology that complements sequencing-based methods in genome analysis. It is widely used in improving genome assemblies and detecting structural variations by providing information over much longer (up to 1 Mb) reads. Current standards in optical mapping analysis involve assembling optical maps into contigs and aligning them to a reference, which is limited to pairwise comparison and becomes bias-prone when analyzing multiple samples.FindingsWe present a new method, OMMA, that extends optical mapping to the study of complex genomic features by simultaneously interrogating optical maps across many samples in a reference-independent manner. OMMA captures and characterizes complex genomic features, e.g., multiple haplotypes, copy number variations, and subtelomeric structures when applied to 154 human samples across the 26 populations sequenced in the 1000 Genomes Project. For small genomes such as pathogenic bacteria, OMMA accurately reconstructs the phylogenomic relationships and identifies functional elements across 21 Acinetobacter baumannii strains.ConclusionsWith the increasing data throughput of optical mapping system, the use of this technology in comparative genome analysis across many samples will become feasible. OMMA is a timely solution that can address such computational need. The OMMA software is available at https://github.com/TF-Chan-Lab/OMTools

Highly efficient influenza virus production: A MDCK-based high-cell-density process

Seasonal vaccination campaigns for influenza in developed and developing countries create a massive demand for 500 million (2015) vaccine doses every year [1]. Besides egg-based vaccine manufacturing, production platforms based on animal cell culture increasingly contribute to this overall growing market. In order to intensify cell culture-based influenza virus production, high-cell-density (HCD) cultivation of suspension cells can be applied to improve virus titer, process productivity and production costs [2]. For process optimization and evaluation of HCD conditions, cells cultivated using semi-perfusion approaches in small shakers can be used as a scale-down model for bioreactors operating in full perfusion mode [3]. In this study, a previously developed MDCK suspension cell line [4] was adapted to a new serum free medium [5] to facilitate higher growth rate, cell density and virus titer both in batch and in HCD. Therefore, MDCK cells cultivated in Smif-8 medium were slowly adapted to a new cultivation medium (Xeno™) by stepwise increasing the Xeno content. Fully adapted cells were cultivated in shaker flasks to evaluate the performance of influenza A virus production in batch and HCD. Cell densities exceeding 2∙107 cells/mL were achieved in shakers using semi-perfusion, where cell free medium was manually replaced with fresh medium. Volume and time interval of media replacement were chosen to achieve a constant cell-specific perfusion rate of 2.5 pL/(cell h). Cell cultures were infected with influenza virus (A/PR/8/34 H1N1 RKI) with trypsin addition. Cell count, viability, main metabolites and virus titer (HA-assay & TCID50) were monitored pre and post infection. Medium adaptation resulted in a MDCK suspension cell line with morphological, growth, and metabolic characteristics different from parental cells. Cells fully adapted to Xeno medium were growing to higher cell densities (1.4∙107 vs 6∙106 cells/mL) with higher specific growth rate (µmax: 0.036 vs 0.026 1/h), cells were bigger (15-16 vs 13-14 µm) and grew without aggregate formation. Due to higher cell densities at time of infection, virus titers up to 3.6 log10(HAU/100µL) were reached. In semi-perfusion, adapted MDCK cells were grown up to 6∙107 cells/mL, however, maximum virus titer and productivity were observed with 4∙107 cells/mL. In multiple harvests, very high virus titer exceeding 4 log10(HAU/100µL) and up to 9∙109 virions/mL (TCID50) were measured, which corresponded to an accumulated titer of 4.5 log10(HAU/100µL). Cell-specific virus titer was similar or higher compared to the reference batch infections, depending on perfusion and infection strategy. Overall, results in this semi-perfusion scale-down model for influenza A virus production suggest a highly efficient and productive upstream process for influenza virus production, with an up to six-fold improved space time yield compared to batch mode. [1] Palache A. et al., Vaccine 35 (2017): 4681–4686. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.07.053 [2] Genzel Y. et al., Vaccine 32 (2014): 2770–2781. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2014.02.016 [3] Vázquez-Ramírez D. et al., Vaccine (2018): article in press. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2017.10.112 [4] Lohr V. et al., Vaccine 28 (2010): 6256–6264. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.07.004 [5] Xeno™-S001S MDCK Cell Serum Free Medium (#FG0100402), Bioengine, Shanghai, Chin

Efficient influenza vaccine manufacturing: Single MDCK suspension cells in chemically defined medium

Facing the constant global high demand for influenza vaccines, improving production capacity is most important. For influenza vaccine production, cell culture-based processes have advantages regarding flexibility, efficiency, and safety in comparison with the traditional egg-based processes. To avoid problems related to microcarrier-based approaches and serum containing media, growth of suspension cells in chemically-defined media is favoured. In addition, such a process has advantages regarding the improvement of virus titers, the scale-up of the production process, and overall productivity in up- and downstream processing. In this study, a previously developed MDCK suspension cell line [1] was cultivated in an in-house chemically defined medium to evaluate cell growth and virus production. For the purpose of process intensification, virus adaptation and infection strategies were investigated to achieve high cell densities and to maximize virus titers. Therefore, an adapted influenza virus strain (A/PR/8/34 H1N1 RK1) was generated by a series of virus passages with low multiplicity of infection (MOI). Virus infections were carried out by supplementing 100% of fresh medium, infecting cells with a MOI of 10-3, and with trypsin addition at 72 h of cell cultivations in shake flasks and bioreactors. For scale-up, MDCK cells were cultivated in a DASGIP bioreactor system, optimizing stirring speed, time of infection, pH and DO levels both for cell growth and virus infection. Cell count, viability, main extracellular metabolites, and virus titers were measured to compare productivity between shake flasks and bioreactors. In batch culture (shake flasks and bioreactors), single MDCK cells were grown to maximum cell densities of 1.2 x107 cells/ml with cell viabilities exceeding 98% at high cell specific growth rates of 0.036 h-1. Virus adaptation to the MDCK suspension cell line led to a fast infection and stable virus titers over time. Regarding process optimization, optimal pH (cell growth: 7.00, infection: 7.20), DO (40%) and agitation speed (80 rpm) were chosen for influenza A virus production in three parallel bioreactors. Cell densities of 1.0 x107 cells/ml were achieved at time of infection (72 h) before performing a dilution step. Post infection, similar virus infection dynamics were observed in shake flasks and bioreactors. For both cultivation systems maximal HA titers of 3.6 log10(HAU/100µl) were achieved without reduction of cell-specific virus titer (12,000 virions/cell). Overall, a highly efficient and scalable upstream process was realized by cultivation of MDCK suspension cells as single cells in chemically defined medium. This is a strong basis for a promising application in large-scale influenza vaccine manufacturing and potential process intensification towards high cell density virus production. [1] Huang D. et al., PloS One 10 (2015): e0141686. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.014168