Effects of Black Soybean on Atherogenic Prevention in Hypercholesterolemic Rabbits and on Adhesion Molecular Expression in Cultured HAECs

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of black soybean (BS) on the susceptibility of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in hypercholesterolemic New Zealand white rabbits. Effects of the BS extract (BSE) and its components on monocyte adhesion of human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs), and adhesion molecule were investigated. Rabbits were divided into four groups, including control, 0.5% cholesterol with 20% casein (either with or without 0.5% vitamin E), and BS groups, all fed for 8 weeks. LDL was treated with 10 μM Cu2+ in vitro to determine the LDL lag time, and the vitamin E content of LDL was determined. The thickness of the tunica intima was measured on paraffin sections of thoracic aortas and aortic arches stained with Movat’s pentachrome. HAECs were pretreated with 100 μg/ml of BSE, and 10 μM of genistein, daidzein, cyanidin, and aspirin for 18 h, followed by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (2 ng/ml) for 6 h, after which U937 cell adhesion was determined. Adhesion molecule expression was examined using ELISAs. The LDL lag time in the BS group was similar to that in the vitamin E group, while its lag time was significantly longer than those in the control and casein groups. The ratio of the intimal area/medial area of the aortic arch of the casein group was significantly higher than those in the control, BS, and vitamin E groups. The vitamin E group had the lowest value, and was closest to the control group. The BS group exhibited a significantly decreased atheroma region in the aortic arch compared to the casein group. Pre-incubation with BSE, genistein, daidzein, cyanidin, and aspirin significantly decreased adhesion by U937 monocytic cells to TNF-α stimulated HAECs. Genistein, daidzein, cyanidin, and aspirin significantly suppressed the expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1. Only genistein and aspirin significantly decreased intracellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 expression compared to TNF-α treatment, while no treatments had any effect on E-selectin expression. BS significantly prolonged the LDL lag time and decreased the atheroma region of the aortic arch in hypercholesterolemic rabbits, thereby exerting an antiatherosclerotic effect. Presumably, the BSE downregulate intracellular redox-dependent signaling pathways in HAECs upon TNF-α stimulation through regulating NF-κB, thereby attenuating the inflammatory response in atherosclerosis. The antiatherogenic and anti-inflammatory effects of BS can be used as a nutraceutical for atherogenesis prevention.

An overview of soil erosion research in China through a lens of international journals

[Background]Soil erosion,the process by which soil is eroded,transported,and deposited by external forces like wind and water,is a widespread global phenomenon with significant environmental and economic impacts.Over the past two decades,China's soil erosion research has made significant strides,reaching a world-class level in both quality and quantity.However,there has been a lack of comprehensive studies summarizing the overall situation and development trends in this field.This study aims to fill that gap by providing an overview of the current status and trends in China's soil erosion research.[Methods]This study employed bibliometric methods to analyze 6588 journal articles on soil erosion in China,collected from the Scopus database.The analysis focused on several key aspects,including the number of publications,subject areas,leading research institutes,funding organizations,key research themes,and patterns of international collaboration.Additionally,network maps were generated using VOSviewer to visualize the intellectual structure and connections within the research field,offering insights into how different research topics and institutes are interconnected.[Results]The findings reveal a significant increase in the number of publications since the 1980s,rising from just 4 articles in 1981 to 699 articles in 2023.While soil erosion research is multidisciplinary in nature,the most popular subject areas were“Environmental Science”“Agriculture and Biological Sciences”and“Earth and Planetary Sciences”.The Chinese Academy of Sciences is the most productive institute,with several universities and government research institutes also making substantial contributions.The primary funding source was government organizations,with the National Natural Science Foundation of China being the largest funder.Journals focusing on water and soil,ecology,and environmental sciences were the primary platforms for publishing soil erosion research in China.Catena,Science of the Total Environment,Transactions of CSAM,and Acta Ecologica Sinica were the most productive journals.Six international collaboration networks were identified in this field.The largest network was from European Union,followed by the network with Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,Singapore,and the United Kingdom,and the rest were cooperation relationships between the two countries(regions).The major research themes identified were“soil erosion and land degradation”“erosion dynamics and drivers”“soil erosion process and mechanism”and“erosion monitoring technology”.Earlier research was heavily focused on topics such as“GIS”“remote sensing”“Cs-137”“landscape pattern”“vegetation restoration”“simulated rainfall”“loess plateau”and“black soil.”In contrast,recent studies have shifted towards“climate change”“ecosystem services”“soil erodibility”“gully erosion”and“RUSLE”.[Conclusions]This study offers a comprehensive overview of China's soil erosion research,serving as a valuable resource for researchers and policy-makers interested in understanding the knowledge structure and development trends in this field.Additionally,the study highlights emerging research topics and potential areas for future exploration,thereby guiding the direction of subsequent studies in soil erosion.

Logistics,Supply Chain Management,and Taiwan residents Immigration Assessed in Light of Globalization

Organizations regardless of size can take advantage of the market dynamics brought about by globalization.Supply chain management is crucial for large organizations,especially with regard to the costs,complexity,and risks of its large,often global,supply chains.From technology to risk management,learning what it takes to navigate transportation and logistics business management in today’s volatile world is critical.Human migration has accelerated in light of globalization and rapid advances in transportation(particularly aviation)technology.This study investigated the connection between logistics and supply chain management in the age of globalization;reviewed the migration,settlement,and naturalization of Taiwan residents immigrants along the West Coast of the United States;and theoretically analyzed the forces that have led to the construction of the Taiwan residents immigrant community.Taiwan residents immigrants and their settlement are affected by global forces,and factors such as their cross-cultural trade,the characteristics of diasporic communities,and their national identity can provide scholarly and pedagogical insights.

Various performance-enhancing effects from the same intensity of whole-body vibration training

Purpose:The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of an 8-week whole-body vibration training program in various frequency and amplitude settings under the same acceleration on the strength and power of the knee extensors.Methods:Sixty-four young participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 groups with the same acceleration(4 g):high frequency and low amplitude(n = 16,32 Hz,1 mm) group,medium frequency and medium amplitude(n = 16,18 Hz,3 mm) group,low frequency and high amplitude(n = 16,3 Hz,114 mm) group,and control(n = 16,no vibration) group.All participants underwent 8 weeks of training with body mass dynamic squats,3 sessions a week.Results:The results showed that the high frequency and low amplitude group increased significantly in isometric contraction strength and 120°/s isokinetic concentric contraction strength;the medium frequency and medium amplitude group increased significantly in 60°/s and 120°/s isokinetic strength of both concentric and eccentric contraction;and the low frequency and high amplitude group increased significantly in 60°/s and 120°/s isokinetic eccentric contraction strength.Conclusion:All frequency and amplitude settings in the 8-week whole-body vibration training increased muscle strength,but different settings resulted in various neuromuscular adaptations despite the same intensity.

Indigenous Purple Vegetable Extracts Protect against Hydrogen Peroxide-Induced DNA Damage in Human Lymphocytes

The objectives of this study were to identify the antioxidants in acid hydrolysates of six of Taiwan’s indigenous purple-leaved vegetables (IPLV), including purple-leaved sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. Lamark), purple-leaved gynura line 1 (Gynura bicolor D.C.), purple-leaved gynura line 2 (Gynura bicolor D.C.), purple-leaved perilla line 1 (Perilla frutescents L. Britton), bicolored-leaved perilla line 2 (Perilla frutescens L. Britton), and heartleaf houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata Thumb.). Their antioxidant activity and ability to protect DNA from oxidative damage was also evaluated. The antioxidants identified included flavonoids, anthocyanidins and flavonols. Both purple-leaved perilla line 1 and bicolored-leaved perilla line 2 were found to be abundant in cynidin, malvidin, and myricetin. Moreover, purple-leaved sweet potato and heartleaf houttuynia were found to be abundant in quercetin. Purple-leaved sweet potato and purple-leaved perilla line 1 contained significantly higher inhibition percentages of conjugated diene formation than other vegetables. Purple-leaved sweet potato, heartleaf houttuynia, purple-leaved perilla line 1, and bicolored-leaved perilla line 2 had better inhibition percentages of tail DNA% and tail moment in the study. In conclusion, the abovementioned four indigenous purple-leaved vegetables abounded in antioxidants had strong antioxidant activity for protecting DNA in lymphocytes from oxidative damages.

Identifying the key factors of subsidiary supervision and management using an innovative hybrid architecture in a big data environment

In a highly intertwined and connected business environment,globalized layout planning can be an effective way for enterprises to expand their market.Nevertheless,conflicts and contradictions always exist between parent and subsidiary enterprises;if they are in different countries,these conflicts can become especially problematic.Internal control systems for subsidiary supervision and management seem to be particularly important when aiming to align subsidiaries’decisions with parent enterprises’strategic intentions,and such systems undoubtedly involve numerous criteria/dimensions.An effective tool is urgently needed to clarify the relevant issues and discern the cause-and-effect relationships among them in these conflicts.Traditional statistical approaches cannot fully explain these situations due to the complexity and invisibility of the criteria/dimensions;thus,the fuzzy rough set theory(FRST),with its superior data exploration ability and impreciseness tolerance,can be considered to adequately address the complexities.Motivated by efficient integrated systems,aggregating multiple dissimilar systems’outputs and converting them into a consensus result can be useful for realizing outstanding performances.Based on this concept,we insert selected criteria/dimensions via FRST into DEMATEL to identify and analyze the dependency and feedback relations among variables of parent/subsidiary gaps and conflicts.The results present the improvement priorities based on their magnitude of impact,in the following order:organizational control structure,business and financial information system management,major financial management,business strategy management,construction of a management system,and integrated audit management.Managers can consider the potential implications herein when formulating future targeted policies to improve subsidiary supervision and strengthen overall corporate governance.

Effects of Edible Micronized Chitosan Coating on Quality and Shelf Life of Sliced Papaya

Papaya pulp is very perishable and has a short shelf life. Manually sliced papayas were treated with 0%, 0.25%, 0.5%, and 1% chitosan (non-micronized and micronized) aqueous solutions;placed into plastic trays, and over-wrapped with PVDC film and then stored at 4°C. Color, soluble solid content, water loss, and total plate count of samples were evaluated. Chitosan coating had the ability to maintain the lightness of the sliced papayas. The a* values of the micronized chitosan-coated sliced papayas were significantly lower than those of the-coated. The sliced papayas that had been treated with 1% MC had a higher total soluble solid content and lower b* value after four days of storage. Also, the chitosan coating on the sliced papaya effectively retarded water loss and inhibited the growth of microorganisms. The results reveal that applying a chitosan coating effectively maintained the quality attributes and prolonged the shelf life of the sliced papayas.

Evaluation and Improvement of a SVD-Based Empirical Atmospheric Model

An empirical atmospheric model(EAM) based on the singular value decomposition(SVD) method is evaluated using the composite El Ni(?)o/Southern Oscillation(ENSO) patterns of sea surface temperature (SST) and wind anomalies as the target scenario.Two versions of the SVD-based EAM were presented for comparisons.The first version estimates the wind anomalies in response to SST variations based on modes that were calculated from a pair of global wind and SST fields(i.e.,conventional EAM or CEAM).The second version utilizes the same model design but is based on modes that were calculated in a region-wise manner by separating the tropical domain from the remaining extratropical regions(i.e.,region-wise EAM or REAM). Our study shows that,while CEAM has shown successful model performance over some tropical areas, such as the equatorial eastern Pacific(EEP),the western North Pacific(WNP),and the tropical Indian Ocean(TIO),its performance over the North Pacific(NP) seems poor.When REAM is used to estimate the wind anomalies instead of CEAM,a marked improvement over NP readily emerges.Analyses of coupled modes indicate that such an improvement can be attributed to a much stronger coupled variability captured by the first region-wise SVD mode at higher latitudes compared with that captured by the conventional one. The newly proposed way of constructing the EAM(i.e.,REAM) can be very useful in the coupled studies because it gives the model a wider application beyond the commonly accepted tropical domain.

Enhancement of matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 accompanied with neurogenesis following collagen glycosaminoglycan matrix implantation after surgical brain injury

Surgical brain injury may result in irreversible neurological deficits. Our previous report showed that partial regeneration of a traumatic brain lesion is achieved by implantation of collagen glycosaminoglycan（CGM）. Matrix metalloproteinases（MMPs） may play an important role in neurogenesis but there is currently a lack of studies displaying the relationship between the stimulation of MMPs and neurogenesis after collagen glycosaminoglycan implantation following surgical brain trauma. The present study was carried out to further examine the expression of MMP2 and MMP9 after implantation of collagen glycosaminoglycan（CGM） following surgical brain trauma. Using the animal model of surgically induced brain lesion, we implanted CGM into the surgical trauma. Rats were thus divided into three groups：（1） sham operation group： craniotomy only;（2） lesion（L） group： craniotomy ＋ surgical trauma lesion;（3） lesion ＋ CGM（L ＋ CGM） group： CGM implanted following craniotomy and surgical trauma lesion. Cells positive for SOX2（marker of proliferating neural progenitor cells） and matrix metalloproteinases（MMP2 and MMP9） in the lesion boundary zone were assayed and analyzed by immunofluorescence and ELISA commercial kits, respectively. Our results demonstrated that following implantation of CGM after surgical brain trauma, significant increases in MMP2^＋/SOX2^＋ cells and MMP9^＋/SOX2^＋ cells were seen within the lesion boundary zone in the L ＋ CGM group. Tissue protein concentrations of MMP2 and MMP9 also increased after CGM scaffold implantation. These findings suggest that implantation of a CGM scaffold alone after surgical brain trauma can enhance the expression of MMP2 and MMP9 accompanied by neurogenesis.

New Material of Zhenyuanopterus(Pterosauria) from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Western Liaoning

A new partial specimen of Zhenyuanopterus from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao city, Liaoning Province is described. This specimen is slightly larger than half the size of the holotype. Although it is not complete, it provides new information on Zhenyuanopterus both in taxonomy and ontogeny： the total number of the caudal vertebrae is 15; the forelimb is more robust than the hindlimb; the growth rate of the humerus and femur is constant, and their ratio is about 1. Compared with the holotype, the scapula and coracoid grow faster than the humerus and the femur. The scapula and coracoid may slow their growth rate after a certain ontogenetic stage. The pectoral girdle, robust forelimb and weak hindlimb of the new material（XHPM1088） together with data from the holotype of Zhenyuanopterus indicate that this taxon spent less time on land than in the sky or other ecological niches such as forests and cliffs.

Colchicine sensitizes human hepatocellular carcinoma cells to damages caused by radiation

AIM： We studied the effect of colchicine combined with radiation on the survival of human hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） HA22T/VGH cells.METHODS： Twenty-four hours after treatment with 0-8 ng/mL colchicine, HA22T/VGH cells were irradiated at various doses （0, 1, 2, 4, and 8 Gy）. Colony assay was performed to assess the surviving cell fraction. Survival curves were fitted by using a linear-quadratic model to estimate the sensitizer enhancement ratio （SER）. Flow cytometry was used for cell cycle analysis.RESULTS： Colchicine at lower concentrations （1 and 2 ng/mL） had obvious synergy with radiation to inhibit HCC cell growth, whereas higher concentrations （4 and 8 ng/mL） had only additive effect to radiation. Pretreatment with 1 and 2 ng/mL colchicine for 24-h enhanced cell killing by radiation with SERs of 1.21 and 1.53, respectively.G2/N arrest was only observed with higher colchicine doses （8 and 16 ng/mL） after 24-h treatment, this effect was neither seen with lower doses （1, 2, and 4 ng/mL）nor with any dose after only 1 h of treatment.CONCLUSION： Our results suggest that colchicine has potential as an adjunct to radiotherapy for HCC treatment.Lower doses of colchicine possess radiosensitizing effects via some mechanism other than G2/M arrest. Further study is necessary to elucidate the mechanism.

The Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Activities of Chlorophylls and Pheophytins

Chlorophylls are important antioxidants found in foods. We explored the mechanisms through which the a and b forms of chlorophyll and of pheophytin (the Mg-chelated form of chlorophyll) reduce oxidation: we used comet assay to measure prevention of H2O2 DNA damage;we tested for quenching of 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH);we measured the ability to chelate Fe(II);and, we tested their ability to prevent formation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) during Cu-mediated peroxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL) in a chemical assay. All chlorophylls and pheophytins showed significant dose-dependent activity in the assays, with the pheophytins being the strongest antioxidants. Thus, these chemicals can prevent oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation both by reducing reactive oxygen species, such as DPPH, and by chelation of metal ions, such as Fe(II), which can form reactive oxygen species.

SUB-ADDITIVE PRESSURE ON A BOREL SET

The goal of this paper is to investigate topological conditional pressure of a continuous transformation as defined for sub-additive potentials. This study presents a vari- ational inequality for sub-additive topological conditional pressure on a closed subset, which is the other form of the variational principle for the sub-additive topological pressure pre- sented by Cao, Feng, and Huang in [9]. Moreover, under some additional assumptions, this result can be generalized to the non-compact case.

Localization and recurrence of a quantum walk in a periodic potential on a line

We present a numerical study of a model of quantum walk in a periodic potential on a line. We take the simple view that different potentials have different affects on the way in which the coin state of the walker is changed. For simplicity and definiteness, we assume that the walker＇s coin state is unaffected at sites without the potential, and rotated in an unbiased way according to the Hadamard matrix at sites with the potential. This is the simplest and most natural model of a quantum walk in a periodic potential with two coins. Six generic cases of such quantum walks are studied numerically. It is found that, of the six cases, four cases display significant localization effect where the walker is confined in the neighborhood of the origin for a sufficiently long time. Associated with such a localization effect is the recurrence of the probability of the walker returning to the neighborhood of the origin.

Anatomizing the Ocean's Role in Maintaining the Pacific Decadal Variability

ABSTRACT The role of ocean dynamics in maintaining the Pacific Decadal Variability （PDV） was investigated based on simulation results from the Parallel Ocean Program （POP） ocean general circulation model developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory （LANL）. A long-term control simulation of the LANL-POP model forced by a reconstructed coupled wind stress field over the period 1949-2001 showed that the ocean model not only simulates a reasonable climatology, but also produces a climate variability pattem very similar to observed PDV. In the Equatorial Pacific （EP） region, the decadal warming is confined in the thin surface layer. Beneath the surface, a strong compensating cooling, accompanied by a basin-wide-scale overturning circulation in opposition to the mean flow, occurs in the thermocline layer. In the North Pacific （NP） region, the decadal variability nonetheless exhibits a relatively monotonous pattern, characterized by the dominance of anomalous cooling and eastward flows. A term balance analysis of the perturbation heat budget equation was conducted to highlight the ocean＇s role in main- taining the PDV-like variability over the EP and NP regions. The analyses showed that strong oceanic adjustment must occur in the equatorial thermocline in association with the anomalous overturning circulation in order to maintain the PDV-like variability, including a flattening of the equatorial thermocline slpoe and an enhancement of the upper ocean＇s stratification （stability）, as the climate shifts from a colder regime toward a warmer one. On the other hand, the oceanic response in the extratropical region seems to be confined to the surface layer, without much participation from the subsurface oceanic dynamics.

Data Hiding in DNA for Authentication of Plant Variety Rights

Hiding data in acid （DNA） can facilitate annotation of important plant the deoxyribose nucleic the authentication and variety rights. A grant of plant variety rights for a new plant variety gives you the exclusive right to produce for sale and sell propagating material of the variety. Digital watermarking techniques have been proposed for a wide range of applications, including ownership protection, copy control, annotation, and authentication. However, existing data hiding methods for DNA change the functionalities of DNA sequences, which induce morphological changes in biological patterns. This paper proposes a high capacity data hiding scheme for DNA without changing the functionalities of DNA sequences. This scheme adaptively varies the embedding process according to the amount of hidden data. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme gives a significantly improved hiding performance than previous schemes. And the robustness and security issues are also analyzed.

Drone for Dynamic Monitoring and Tracking with Intelligent Image Analysis

Traditional monitoring systems that are used in shopping malls or com-munity management,mostly use a remote control to monitor and track specific objects;therefore,it is often impossible to effectively monitor the entire environ-ment.Whenfinding a suspicious person,the tracked object cannot be locked in time for tracking.This research replaces the traditionalfixed-point monitor with the intelligent drone and combines the image processing technology and automatic judgment for the movements of the monitored person.This intelligent system can effectively improve the shortcomings of low efficiency and high cost of the traditional monitor system.In this article,we proposed a TIMT(The Intel-ligent Monitoring and Tracking)algorithm which can make the drone have smart surveillance and tracking capabilities.It combined with Artificial Intelligent(AI)face recognition technology and the OpenPose which is able to monitor the phy-sical movements of multiple people in real time to analyze the meaning of human body movements and to track the monitored intelligently through the remote con-trol interface of the drone.This system is highly agile and could be adjusted immediately to any angle and screen that we monitor.Therefore,the system couldfind abnormal conditions immediately and track and monitor them automatically.That is the system can immediately detect when someone invades the home or community,and the drone can automatically track the intruder to achieve that the two significant shortcomings of the traditional monitor will be improved.Experimental results show that the intelligent monitoring and tracking drone sys-tem has an excellent performance,which not only dramatically reduces the num-ber of monitors and the required equipment but also achieves perfect monitoring and tracking.

Taiwan Yushan Snowfall Activity and Its Association with Atmospheric Circulation from 1979 to 2009

Yushan is the most famous location for snow in Taiwan Willie snowIali in the subtropical zone is rare. When it is snowing in Yushan, people are experiencing unusually cold and wet weather elsewhere in Taiwan. In this study, Yushan snowfall activity from 1979 to 2009 and the related atmosphere circulation were examined with the Taiwan Central Weather Bureau＇s Yushan weather station observations and the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/Department of Energy （NCEP/DOE） reanalysis atmospheric data. To provide a quantitative measure of snowfall events, a snowfall activity index （SAI） was defined in this study. The time series of yearly SAIs shows that Yushan snowfall activity for an active year, such as 1983 （SAI =39 153） was ~118 times larger than for an inactive year, such as 1999 （SAI=331）. Our analyses show that snowfall activity is closely related to the position of the East Asian Trough （EAT） and the strength of the West Pacific High （WPH）. In active years, when the EAT shifted eastward and the strength of WPH increased, an anomalous anticyclone occurred in the West Pacific. This anticyclone introduced anomalous southwesterly flows along the southeastern cost of China's Mainland and over Taiwan, resulting in a wetter-than-normal atmosphere that favored snowfall. Alternatively, in inactive years, a drierhan-normal atmosphere resulted in sluggish snowfall seasons.

Fractional Langevin Equation in Quantum Systems with Memory Effect

In this paper, we introduce the fractional generalized Langevin equation (FGLE) in quantum systems with memory effect. For a particular form of memory kernel that characterizes the quantum system, we obtain the analytical solution of the FGLE in terms of the two-parameter Mittag-Leffler function. Based on this solution, we study the time evolution of this system including the qubit excited-state energy, polarization and von Neumann entropy. Memory effect of this system is observed directly through the trapping states of these dynamics.

Operational and investment efficiency of investment trust companies:Do foreign firms outperform domestic firms?

This study examines the efficiency of investment trust companies(ITCs)from 2011 to 2020 using a meta-frontier two-stage network data envelopment analysis(DEA)based on the directional distance function(DDF).We improved the accuracy of the efficiency measurement and added a network-based ranking component to rank the topperforming entities.In the group-specific technology assessment,foreign ITCs excel in investment efficiency.Meanwhile,in the meta-technology assessment,domestic ITCs outperform foreign ITCs in terms of both investment and operational efficiencies.Group-specific technology efficiency scores were found to be lower than or equal to the meta-technology efficiency scores for both the operational and investment stages.Based on the network-based ranking approach,Yuan Ta,a domestic ITC that ranked fourth in the operational stage and first in the investment stage,can be used as a reliable benchmark.This study will enable practitioners to gain a better understanding of the performance of ITCs operating under heterogeneous technologies.