Memories of traditional food culture in the kampong setting in Singapore

De Xuan Xiong,Iain A. Brownlee 한국식품연구원 2018 Journal of Ethnic Foods Vol.5 No.2

Background: Singapore is a metropolitan city state that has rapidly transitioned from residents living in traditional multicultural villages known as kampongs to one of the most population-dense and technologically advanced countries in the world. This study aimed to explore the framework of traditional food culture, beliefs and practice in Singaporeans who grew up in kampongs via questionnaire-based interviews. Methods: A convenience sample of participants (n ¼ 34) were recruited through word-of-mouth and interviewed both face to face (n ¼ 29) and by telephone (n ¼ 5). Interviews were conducted in English, Mandarin, and Hokkien using a semistructured questionnaire that included themes preidentified from an exhaustive literature search. Results: A conceptual framework of five major themes was noted as a result of respondent input and the preidentified structural themes of the questionnaire. These were self-sustenance and farming, food and water safety, food and beverage retail, dietary habits and culinary practice, and a culture of sharing (or gotong royong). Of these themes, 64% (n ¼ 22) of participants had noted collecting or maintaining fruit and vegetables or rearing chickens. Participants (29%, n ¼ 10) also noted memories of traditional food storage techniques, general feedback which suggested relatively low levels of concern for food safety. Conclusions: Many of these kampong food practices from a kampong were fondly remembered by participants. Consideration of positive food values from early life (such as a strong culture of sharing and togetherness) could help in the development of government drives to improve dietary intake or benefit food security for older Singaporeans.

중국 무협영화 승려 캐릭터의 역할과 미학적 기능 - 불교 지식체계에 대한 대중의 문화적 승인의 관점에서

曲德煊(De-Xuan Qu),李炳旻(Byoung-Min Lee) 중국어문논역학회 2020 中國語文論譯叢刊 Vol.0 No.47

본 논문은 중국 무협영화에서의 승려 캐릭터의 역할을 분석하고 그 미학적 기능에 대해서 살펴보고자 했다. 행동자 모델, 8개의 캐릭터 원형, 그리고 관객의 심리적 메카니즘 등을 통해 승려 캐릭터는 조력자, 정신적 스승, 예지자, 붇다(Budda)의 대리인 역할을 하고 있다. 승려 캐릭터의 전통 무예는 ‘스펙터클’의 보여주기로 시각적 쾌락을 제공하며 ‘民族化’된 무예 미학이라는 고유한 특성을 지니고 있다. 중국 무협영화에서 승려 캐릭터가 이러한 역할 및 미학적 기능을 수행할 수 있는 데에는 중국역사 속에서 불교가 中國化되고 大衆化되었으며, 수많은 대중들에 의해서 그 문화적 가치가 수용되고 승인된 지식체계라는 점과 승려 캐릭터에 대한 중국인들의 집단 무의식의 반영이나 심리적 메커니즘의 작동이 그 바탕이 되고 있다. This paper tried to analyze the role of monk character in Chinese martial arts film and examine its aesthetic function. Through the activist model, the eight character prototypes, and the audience’s psychological mechanism, the monk’s character serves as an agent for the helper, spiritual teacher, foreman, and Budda. The traditional martial arts of Buddhist characters provide visual pleasure as a demonstration of ‘Spectacle’ and have a unique characteristic of ‘civilized’ martial arts aesthetics. The role and aesthetic function of Buddhist monk characters in Chinese martial arts movies is based on the fact that Buddhism has been established and enlarged in Chinese history, that its cultural value has been accepted and approved by the masses, and the reflection of Chinese collective unconsciousness or the operation of psychological mechanisms on Buddhist monk characters.

Tailoring Hydrogel Composition and Stiffness to Control Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation in Bioprinted Constructs

Xuan Zongzhe,Peng Qiuyue,Larsen Thomas,Gurevich Leonid,de Claville Christiansen Jesper,Zachar Vladimir,Pennisi Cristian Pablo 한국조직공학과 재생의학회 2023 조직공학과 재생의학 Vol.20 No.2

BACKGROUND: Reliable in vitro cellular models are needed to study the phenotypic modulation of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in health and disease. The aim of this study was to optimize gelatin methacrylate (GelMA)/alginate hydrogels for bioprinting three-dimensional (3D) SMC constructs. METHODS: Four different hydrogel groups were prepared by mixing different concentrations (% w/v) of GelMA and alginate: G1 (5/1.5), G2 (5/3), G3 (7.5/1.5), and G4 (7.5/3). GelMA 10% was used as control (G5). A circular structure containing human bladder SMCs was fabricated by using an extrusion-based bioprinter. The effects of the mixing ratios on printability, viability, proliferation, and differentiation of the cells were investigated. RESULTS: Rheological analysis showed that the addition of alginate significantly stabilized the change in mechanical properties with temperature variations. The group with the highest GelMA and alginate concentrations (G4) exhibited the highest viscosity, resulting in better stability of the 3D construct after crosslinking. Compared to other hydrogel compositions, cells in G4 maintained high viability ([80%), exhibited spindle-shaped morphology, and showed a significantly higher proliferation rate within an 8-day period. More importantly, G4 provided an optimal environment for the induction of a SMC contractile phenotype, as evidenced by significant changes in the expression of marker proteins and morphological parameters. CONCLUSION: Adjusting the composition of GelMA/alginate hydrogels is an effective means of controlling the SMC phenotype. These hydrogels support bioprinting of 3D models to study phenotypic smooth muscle adaptation, with the prospect of using the constructs in the study of therapies for the treatment of urethral strictures.

Transcriptome analysis of rice leaves in response to Rhizoctonia solani infection and reveals a novel regulatory mechanism

De Peng Yuan,Xiao Feng Xu,Hong Woo-Jong,Si Ting Wang,Xin Tong Jia,Yang Liu,Shuang Li,Zhi Min Li,Qian Sun,Qiong Mei,Shuai Li,정기홍,Song Hong Wei,Yuan Hu Xuan 한국식물생명공학회 2020 Plant biotechnology reports Vol.14 No.5

Sheath blight disease (ShB) severely afects rice production; however, the details of defense against ShB remain unclear. To understand the rice defense mechanism against ShB, an RNA sequencing analysis was performed using Rhizoctonia solani inoculated rice leaves after 48 h of inoculation. Among them, 3417 genes were upregulated and 2532 were downregulated when compared with the control group (>twofold or<1/2). In addition, the diferentially expressed genes were classifed via Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and MapMan analyses. Fifty-nine GO terms and seven KEGG pathways were signifcantly enriched. A MapMan analysis demonstrated that the phytohormone and metabolic pathways were signifcantly altered. Interestingly, the expression levels of 359 transcription factors, including WRKY, MYB, and NAC family members, as well as 239 transporter genes, including ABC, MFS, and SWEET, were signifcantly changed in response to R. solani AG1-IA inoculation. Additionally, OsWRKY53 and OsAKT1 negatively regulate the defense response in rice against R. solani via gain of function study for OsWRKY53 and loss of function study for OsAKT1, respectively. Furthermore, several diferentially expressed genes contain R. solani-responsive cis acting regulatory elements in their promoter regions. Taken together, our analyses provide valuable information for the additional study of the defense mechanisms against ShB, and the candidate genes identifed in this study will be useful resource for future breeding to enhance resistance against ShB.

언어 독립의 본문 분류법

Huang Xuan-jing,Wu Li-de 한국어정보학회 2002 한국어정보학 Vol.5ㆍ6 No.-

Time-Dependent Optimal Heater Control Using Analytic and Numerical Methods

Yun-De Shen,Zhen-Zhe Li,Dong-Ji Xuan,Kwang-Su Heo,Seoung-Yun Seol 한국정밀공학회 2010 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.11 No.1

Thermoforming is one of the most versatile and economical processes to produce polymer products. The drawback of thermoforming is difficult to control thickness of final products. Temperature distribution affects the thickness distribution of final products, but temperature difference between surface and center of the sheet is difficult to be decreased because of low thermal conductivity of ABS material. In the first step, it was found out that timedependent variation of heat affects to the temperature difference between surface and center. An analytic solution was studied because the optimization time is remarkably large when optimal design is directly carried out using the analysis code developed in a previous study. Duhamel’s Theorem was used in order to solve a one-dimensional heat conduction with a time-dependent boundary condition when neglecting the effect of natural convection, but the analytic solution was difficult to be applied when the boundary condition is complicate or noncontinuous. In the following step, an optimal heating profile expressed by exponential function was recommended from 8 simple optimal cases using Duhamel’s Theorem, but the analysis results show that the effect of natural convection must be considered under the condition of setting the heat fluxes as suitable values. In order to consider the effect of natural convection with suitable heat inputs, Finite Difference Method was used. Through investigation, the optimal results using Finite Difference Method show that the temperature difference between surface and center of the sheet can be remarkably minimized with satisfying Temperature of Forming Window.

Fatigue crack propagation behavior at a notch for needled C/SiC composite under tension-tension loading

Geng Hou,De-Guang Shang,Lin-Xuan Zuo,Lin-Feng Qu,Ming Xia,Yi-Er Guo,Xiang Yin,Shao-Dong Wu 대한기계학회 2022 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.36 No.1

Fatigue test of a needled C/SiC composite with a notch under tension-tension cyclic loading was completed, and the main fatigue crack propagation curve of the needled composite was obtained by the in situ observation of the fatigue process. By analyzing the influence of the failure number and distribution on the tensile loading subjected by 0° fiber bundles, the relationship between the main fatigue crack propagation and the distribution of 0° fiber bundles in the needled composite was established. By observing the fracture microstructure (especially the distribution of 0° fiber bundles) of the needled composite through scanning electron microscopy, the reasons for the varying fatigue resistance of different notched specimens were also explained. In addition, acoustic emission (AE) was also used to analyze the AE energy characteristics during the fatigue crack propagation process of the needled composite.

Optimal Design for Cooling System of Batteries Using DOE and RSM

Zhen-Zhe Li,Yun-De Shen,Tai-Hong Cheng,Dong-Ji Xuan,Ming Ren,Gui-Ying Shen 한국정밀공학회 2012 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol. No.

A hybrid power composed of fuel cell and batteries has become the good strategy for HEV. On the contrary, the produced heat of batteries can affect to the total performance of HEV significantly. In this study, simulation methods with optimization were developed for obtaining the high performance cooling system of batteries. At first, a numerical method for obtaining the temperature distribution of batteries was developed by using CFD. In the following step, several parameters were investigated for selecting design variables with the important effect on the performance of the cooling system of batteries. Finally, an optimization method based on DOE and RSM was obtained through a real optimal design. There was 21.1% reduction on the view of the root mean square temperature between batteries as shown in the optimization result. The developed analysis with optimization can be used to improve the performance of the cooling system of batteries, and these works have made the theoretical basis for simulation and optimization of the cooling system of batteries.

Real-Time Contour-Error Estimation Methods for Three-Dimensional Free-Form Parametric Curves in Contour-Following Tasks

Zhen-yuan Jia,De-Ning Song,Jian-Wei Ma,Xiao-Xuan Zhao,Ning Zhang 한국정밀공학회 2018 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.19 No.2

It is crucial to control the contour error in curved contour-following tasks caused by reasons such as servo delay and external disturbance. Contour-error estimation plays as a precondition for its further control. Existing methods can hardly keep well estimation accuracy for high-speed following of free-form curves with sharp corners, especially for three-dimensional curves. Consequently, this paper presents three high-precision real-time contour-error estimation methods for spatial free-form parametric curved contour following. By generating and updating the backstepping point according to the tangential tracking error, a multiple tangential approximation method is presented first. Then, a spatial circular approximation method is given by means of approximating the actual-position nearby region of the desired contour with a spatial circle. Finally, via modification of the Newton method so as to improve its stability without sacrificing of its fast convergence property, an initial value regeneration-based Newton algorithm is proposed for contour-error estimation. All of the presented methods take both estimation precision and calculation burden into consideration, and possess their own advantages. Using these algorithms, the contour error can be rapidly estimated in vector form with a high accuracy. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and the superiority of the presented algorithms.

Methylation Status of Transcriptional Modulatory Genes Associated with Colorectal Cancer in Northeast China

Han-Lu Gao,Xuan Wang,Hong-Ru Sun,Jun-De Zhou,Shang-Qun Lin,Yu-Hang Xing,Lin Zhu,Hai-Bo Zhou,Ya-Shuang Zhao,Qiang Chi,Yu-Peng Liu 거트앤리버 소화기연관학회협의회 2018 Gut and Liver Vol.12 No.2

Background/Aims: Methylation status plays a causal role in carcinogenesis in targeted tissues. However, the relationship between the DNA methylation status of multiple genes in blood leukocytes and colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility as well as interactions between dietary factors and CRC risks are unclear. Methods: We performed a case-control study with 466 CRC patients and 507 cancer-free controls to investigate the association among the methylation status of individual genes, multiple CpG site methylation (MCSM), multiple CpG site heterogeneous methylation and CRC susceptibility. Peripheral blood DNA methylation levels were detected by performing methylation-sensitive high-resolution melting. Results: Total heterogeneous methylation of CA10 and WT1 conferred a significantly higher risk of CRC (adjusted odds ratio [ORadjusted], 5.445; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.075 to 9.643; ORadjusted, 1.831; 95% CI, 1.100 to 3.047; respectively). Subjects with high-level MCSM (MCSM-H) status demonstrated a higher risk of CRC (ORadjusted, 4.318; 95% CI, 1.529 to 12.197). Additionally, interactions between the high-level intake of fruit and CRH, WT1, and MCSM on CRC were statistically significant. Conclusions: The gene methylation status of blood leukocytes may be associated with CRC risk. MCSM-H of blood leukocytes was associated with CRC, especially in younger people. Some dietary factors may affect hypermethylation status and influence susceptibility to CRC.