Search

This study applies consistent fuzzy preference relations (CFPR) to evaluate the influential criteria of revitalization strategies (RS) for the hospitality industry in the post-pandemic (COVID-19) era in Taiwan. A real case applies CFPR in order to analyze the relationship between governmental implementation and industrial expectations in Taiwan. The results indicate that “market revitalization”, such as the Taiwanese government’s implementation of various stimulus vouchers and coupons to encourage market consumption and revitalize the overall economy, is considered the most essential/important criteria for RS. This study strengthens the government sector by evaluating the heterogeneity of revitalization strategies best used to formulate the actions to pilot industries as a global contribution to fight the COVID-19 pandemic within a global crisis.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are highly reactive molecules generated in living organisms and an excessive production of ROS culminates in oxidative stress and cellular damage. Notably, oxidative stress plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of a number of oral mucosal diseases, including oral mucositis, which remains one of cancer treatments’ most common side effects. We have shown previously that oral keratinocytes are remarkably sensitive to oxidative stress, and this may hinder the development and reproducibility of epithelial cell-based models of oral disease. Here, we examined the oxidative stress signatures that parallel oral toxicity by reproducing the initial events taking place during cancer treatment-induced oral mucositis. We used three oral epithelial cell lines (an immortalized normal human oral keratinocyte cell line, OKF6, and malignant oral keratinocytes, H357 and H400), as well as a mouse model of mucositis. The cells were subjected to increasing oxidative stress by incubation with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at concentrations of 100 μM up to 1200 μM, for up to 24 h, and ROS production and real-time kinetics of oxidative stress were investigated using fluorescent dye-based probes. Cell viability was assessed using a trypan blue exclusion assay, a fluorescence-based live–dead assay, and a fluorometric cytotoxicity assay (FCA), while morphological changes were analyzed by means of a phase-contrast inverted microscope. Static and dynamic real-time detection of the redox changes in keratinocytes showed a time-dependent increase of ROS production during oxidative stress-induced epithelial injury. The survival rates of oral epithelial cells were significantly affected after exposure to oxidative stress in a dose- and cell line-dependent manner. Values of TC50 of 800 μM, 800 μM, and 400 μM were reported for H400 cells (54.21 ± 9.04, p < 0.01), H357 cells (53.48 ± 4.01, p < 0.01), and OKF6 cells (48.64 ± 3.09, p < 0.01), respectively. Oxidative stress markers (MPO and MDA) were also significantly increased in oral tissues in our dual mouse model of chemotherapy-induced mucositis. In summary, we characterized and validated an oxidative stress model in human oral keratinocytes and identified optimal experimental conditions for the study of oxidative stress-induced oral epithelial toxicity.

The increasing scale and scope of biomedical data is generating tremendous opportunities for improving health outcomes, but also raises new challenges ranging from data acquisition and storage to data analysis and utilization. To meet these challenges, the authors develop the Personal Health Dashboard, which provides an end-to-end solution for deep biomedical data analytics.

Most of the alkaloids are chiral compounds and are clinically administered as the racemic mixture, even though its enantiomers have been known to exert different pharmacological activity. The determination of the enantiomeric composition of alkaloid-containing plants is subject to severe attention from pharmacological and toxicological points of view. This review gives an overview of the chiral analysis of alkaloids that were used in theoretical studies and applications for plants in recent years.

In Vietnam, Physalis angulata L. is a wild species growing throughout the country that is often used in traditional medicine. The aim of study was to quantify seven major compounds, including phenolic acids (chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid) and flavonoids (rutin, quercitrin, quercetin, and kaempferol) in three aerial parts of P. angulata. Chromatographic separation was carried out on a Kromasil C18 column (150 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm) with a gradient elution of 0.1% formic acid in acetonitrile, 0.2% ammonium acetate/0.1% formic acid in water and methanol at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min; detection was at 250 and 300 nm. The limits of detection and quantification were in the ranges of 0.1–0.3 and 0.3–1.0 µg/mL, respectively. The validated method was successfully applied to analyze active compounds in P. angulata and may be a useful tool for quality control of this plant.

This paper aims to evaluate the performance of logistic distribution centers (LDCs) by Quality Function Deployment (QFD) based on the Best-Worst Method (BWM). The originalities of this paper include: (1) exploring five constructs with 20 customer requirement attributes (CRAs) for LDCs' operations based on the SERQUAL model, (2) using the QFD model to identify five primary divisions and 18 corresponding service technical requirements (STRs) for LDCs' operations, (3) recognizing the top five STRs should be prioritized for the allocation of limited resources from House of Quality (HoQ), including cargo order (7.15%), value-added activities (6.68%), document preparation (6.31%), consolidating and assembling (6.10%), and document management (6.00%), (4) applying the Best-Worst Method (BWM) to estimate CRAs' relative weight. The proposed research model can provide a methodological reference to the relevant literature in association with logistics operations and multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huntington's disease and juvenile-onset schizophrenia have long been regarded as distinct disorders. However, both manifest cell-intrinsic abnormalities in glial differentiation, with resultant astrocytic dysfunction and hypomyelination. To assess whether a common mechanism might underlie the similar glial pathology of these otherwise disparate conditions, we used comparative correlation network approaches to analyse RNA-sequencing data from human glial progenitor cells (hGPCs) produced from disease-derived pluripotent stem cells. We identified gene sets preserved between Huntington's disease and schizophrenia hGPCs yet distinct from normal controls that included 174 highly connected genes in the shared disease-associated network, focusing on genes involved in synaptic signalling. These synaptic genes were largely suppressed in both schizophrenia and Huntington's disease hGPCs, and gene regulatory network analysis identified a core set of upstream regulators of this network, of which OLIG2 and TCF7L2 were prominent. Among their downstream targets, ADGRL3 , a modulator of glutamatergic synapses, was notably suppressed in both schizophrenia and Huntington's disease hGPCs. Chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing confirmed that OLIG2 and TCF7L2 each bound to the regulatory region of ADGRL3 , whose expression was then rescued by lentiviral overexpression of these transcription factors. These data suggest that the disease-associated suppression of OLIG2 and TCF7L2-dependent transcription of glutamate signalling regulators may impair glial receptivity to neuronal glutamate. The consequent loss of activity-dependent mobilization of hGPCs may yield deficient oligodendrocyte production, and hence the hypomyelination noted in these disorders, as well as the disrupted astrocytic differentiation and attendant synaptic dysfunction associated with each. Together, these data highlight the importance of convergent glial molecular pathology in both the pathogenesis and phenotypic similarities of two otherwise unrelated disorders, Huntington's disease and schizophrenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, natural radioactivity and radon exhalation rates of 55 stony material samples divided into three groups (Gneiss, Granite and Marble) were estimated by means of laboratory tests. The activity concentration range was found: 5.5 ± 1.3–125.5 ± 6.5 Bq.kg−1 for 226Ra, 4.4 ± 0.6–157.4 ± 8.4 Bq.kg−1 for 232Th and 35.0 ± 0.4–1093 ± 15 Bq.kg−1 for 40K. The data were used to evaluate radiation hazard parameters. The radon exhalation rate ranged from 0.17 ± 0.01 to 2.56 ± 0.20 Bq.m−2.h−1. Granite building materials show the highest radon exhalation rates while the marble group shows the lowest exhalation rates. Positive correlation coefficients of radon exhalation rate with radium concentration and porosity of the samples have been observed. This study also presents radon diffusion coefficient values determined for 50 waterproofing materials. A radon-proof ability comparison of waterproofing materials and a conclusion about material groups which can be considered very effective radon barriers were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the common problem confronting English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher in public schools is over-sized classes. This study investigates the utilization of peer feedback which is believed to reduce the teacher’s workload and increase students’ capability in learning a foreign language. The study recruited 84 EFL students who learn General Business English to be the participants, of whom 42 were in the control group and the rest in the experimental group. They were asked to write a business email after a period of instructions. The participants benefiting from peer feedback outperformed those who received conventional method although both groups had an overall higher mean score in the post-test. Most of the responses to the questions in the questionnaire reached high scales of the five-point Likert scale which showed that the experimental students appreciated peer feedback provided. Some recommendations and limitations are included in the paper for future exploration.