Is democratic nomination good for women's candidacy? Examining the case of Taiwan

Wan-Ying Yang,Joyce Gelb 이화여자대학교 아시아여성학센터 2019 Asian Journal of Women's Studies(AJWS) Vol.25 No.1

In order to understand why women tend to be under-nominated even though they are more likely to be elected compared to men in Taiwan, this study focuses on the nomination systems of two major political parties. The country provides a critical case of inter-party and intra-party comparison for women’s nomination, as the two major parties diverge in their practice of candidate selection. Further, the electoral reforms from the SNTV (Single Non-Transferable Vote) system to the SMD (Single-Member District) system have led parties to alter their strategies in selecting women candidates. With the nomination dataset compiled over the past 20 years, this study finds that more centralized nomination is more conducive to women’s candidacy, even under different electoral systems. Under the old SNTV system, the more centralized KMT (Kuomintang) nominated more women candidates than did the decentralized DPP (Democratic Progressive Party). Under the new SMD system, women’s representation as a whole actually increased in Taiwan, which runs contrary to the general expectation, compared to the multimember-district system and so the SMD tends to inhibit women’s representation. The growing centralization in the major parties after the electoral rule changed to the new system, has enhanced women’s candidacies, but the higher male incumbent advantage is a hurdle still to be overcome in the long term. This study argues that although electoral rules have altered the parameters of party competition, party nomination are critical factors for explaining changing women’s representation.

Democratic Values, Collective Security, and Privacy: Taiwan People’s Response to COVID-19

Wan-Ying Yang,Chia-hung Tsai 충남대학교 아시아여론연구소 2020 Asian journal for public opinion research Vol.8 No.3

In the pandemic crisis, many governments implemented harsh interventions that might contradict democratic values and civil liberties. In Taiwan, the debate over whether or not to reveal personal information of infected persons to limit the coronavirus’s spread poses the democratic dilemma between public health and civil liberties. This study examines whether and explains how Taiwan’s people respond to the choice between individual privacy and collective security. We used survey data gathered in May 2020 to show that, first, the democratic values did not deter the pursuit of collective safety at the cost of civil liberty; rather, people with higher social trust were more likely to give up their civil liberties in exchange for public safety. Second, people who support democratic values and pursue collective security tend to avoid violating privacy by opposing the release of personal information. This study proves that democratic values do not necessarily threaten collective safety and that the pursuit of common good can co-exist with personal privacy.

Differences in Gender-Role Attitudes between China and Taiwan

Wan-Ying Yang 숙명여자대학교 아시아여성연구원 2016 Asian Women Vol.32 No.4

This study examines differences in gender-role attitudes between Taiwan and China using data from the 6<SUP>th</SUP> wave of the World Values Survey. The results show Taiwan, which began modernizing earlier, to exhibit more egalitarian gender attitudes than China in the domains of education, political leadership, and economic leadership. However, the mainland Chinese are more likely than the Taiwanese to approve of women working for pay, and less likely to feel that women should adopt a solely domestic role, whereas the Taiwanese are more likely than the Chinese to approve of women both working outside the home and staying at home. The results of a multinomial logit model demonstrate the gap in gender-role attitudes on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to be most pronounced in the oldest cohorts. The differing trajectories of the socioeconomic transformation in the two societies explain the differences in their gender-role attitudes.

Why Are Women Less Likely to Be Nationalistic in Taiwan?

Wan-Ying Yang 숙명여자대학교 아시아여성연구원 2019 Asian Women Vol.35 No.2

This article aims to resolve the paradox as to why, when the literature suggests that no fixed relationship exists between nationalism and gender, women in Taiwan are found in this study to be consistently less likely than men to support either Taiwanese or Chinese nationalism. To resolve this paradox, I first provide a detailed historical contextualization of the state-implemented nationalism to evince the contestation between feminism and nationalism under the authoritarian regime. Second, the long-term survey data available after democratization is employed to examine how men and women, who are asymmetrically affected by different concerns, will identify with the nationalistic projects differently in the current context. Combined with this empirical investigation conducted from a historical perspective, this study argues that women’s attitudes toward nationalism are shaped by the social constructs embedded within each nationalist discourse. Taiwanese experiences and nationalistic discourses have different impacts on women and men under different conditions, and the lesser nationalistic inclinations of women have been born out of this gendering process.

Mast Cells Tryptase Promotes Intestinal Fibrosis in Natural Decellularized Intestinal Scaffolds

Wan Jian,Wu Tianqi,Liu Ying,Yang Muqing,Fichna Jakub,Guo Yibing,Yin Lu,Chen Chunqiu 한국조직공학과 재생의학회 2022 조직공학과 재생의학 Vol.19 No.4

BACKGROUND: Standard two-dimensional (2D) culture has confirmed the mechanism of mast cells (MCs) in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but the regulation of signaling responses of MCs may well differ in three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments. The aim of the study was to develop a 3D culture model based on decellularized intestinal scaffolds (DIS) and verify how MCs influenced fibroblasts phenotype in the 3D model. METHODS: DIS were achieved using the detergent technique and extracellular matrix (ECM) components were verified by histologic analysis, quantification and scanning electron microscope. After human colon fibroblasts recellularized into the scaffolds and activated by MCs tryptase and TGFb1, the changes in genes and signaling pathways during fibroblasts activation in 3D were studied and compared with the changes in 2D cell culture on plastic plates. RESULTS: Decellularization process effectively removed native cell debris while retaining natural ECM components and structure. The engrafted fibroblasts could penetrate into the scaffolds and maintain its phenotype. No matter whether fibroblasts were cultured in 2D or 3D, MCs tryptase and transforming growth factor b1 (TGF-b1) could promote the differentiation of fibroblasts into fibrotic-phenotype myofibroblasts through Akt and Smad2/3 signaling pathways. Furthermore, the pro-collagen1a1 and fibronectin synthesis of myofibroblasts in 3D was higher than in 2D culture. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrated that the DIS can be used as a bioactive microenvironment for the study of intestinal fibrosis, providing an innovative platform for future intestinal disease modeling and screening of genes and signaling pathways.

Cellular and ultrastructural changes in the seedling roots of upland rice (Oryza sativa) under the stress of two allelochemicals from Ageratina adenophora

Yang, Guo-Qing,Wan, Fang-Hao,Guo, Jian-Ying,Liu, Wan-Xue The Korean Society of Weed Science and The Turfgra 2011 Weed Biology and Management Vol.11 No.3

Two sesquiterpene-derivative compounds, 4,7-dimethyl-1-(propan-2-ylidene)-1,4,4a,8atetrahydronaphthalene-2,6(1H, 7H)-dione (DTD) and 6-hydroxy-5-isopropyl-3,8-dimethyl-4a,5,6,7,8,8a-hexahydronaphthalen-2(1H)-one (HHO), are the major putative allelochemicals of the aqueous leachates of Ageratina adenophora.A laboratory experiment was conducted, using the hydroponic method, to evaluate the cellular and ultrastructural changes in the seedling roots of upland rice under the stress of DTD and HHO. The subsequent changes were observed in the treated upland rice roots in comparison with their controls. The scanning electron microscopy results showed that the DTD-treated root tip cells turned into an irregular arrangement and shape and that most of them were wizened, with a poor cytoplasm. In the HHO treatment, the root tips had many irregularly shaped cells, with a greater number of sloughing cells, as well as short, wide cells that resulted in spherical and wider, but shorter, roots. At the ultrastructural level, DTD and HHO induced irregularly shaped and lobed nuclei, increased cytoplasmic vacuolation, reduced ribosome density and dictyosomes, and a reduced number of mitochondria in the cells, which indicated limited protein transportation and a reduced capability to export substances for cell development and growth in the upland rice seedling roots. The overall effect of HHO on the upland rice seedlings was more pronounced than that of DTD.

Baicalin attenuates TNBS-induced colitis in rats by modulating the Th17/Treg paradigm

Ying Zou,Shi-Xue Dai,Hong-Gang Chi,Tao Li,Zhi-Wei He,Jian Wang,Cai-Guo Ye,Guo-Liang Huang,Bing Zhao,Wen-Yang Li,Zheng Wan,Jin-Shan Feng,Xue-Bao Zheng 대한약학회 2015 Archives of Pharmacal Research Vol.38 No.10

Baicalin, a flavonoid, has a wide range ofpharmacological properties, including immunomodulation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect ofbaicalin on the balance of T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatoryT (Treg) cells in a colitis model. The rat colitis modelwas induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid(TNBS). Baicalin (10 ml/kg, each) or mesalazine (positivecontrol) was then administered orally for 7 days. Inflammatoryand immunological responses were evaluated bypathology, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, real-timepolymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis, and flowcytometry. Our study showed that baicalin not only significantlyattenuated TNBS-induced colitis by reducing thedisease activity index as well as macroscopic and microscopicscores, but it also improved the weight loss andshortening of the colon. Baicalin treatment also induced asignificant decrease in the levels of inflammatory mediators,including the myeloperoxidase activity, the levels oftumor necrosis factor a, IL-1b, and Th1-related cytokinesIL-12 and IFN-c. Furthermore, the beneficial effects ofbaicalin seem to be associated with regulation of the Th17and Treg paradigm. We found that administration ofbaicalin significantly downregulated the number of Th17cells and the levels of Th17-related cytokines (IL-17 andIL-6) and retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor ct. In contrast, there was an increase in Treg cells numbers,Treg-related cytokines transforming growth factor-b andIL-10, and forkhead box P3. Our results suggest that theanti-inflammatory effect of baicalin may be linked tomodulation of the balance between Th17 and Treg cells inTNBS-induced ulcerative colitis.

Stabilization and improved functionality of three-dimensional perfusable microvascular networks in microfluidic devices under macromolecular crowding

Ho-Ying Wan,Jack Chun Hin Chen,Qinru Xiao,Christy Wingtung Wong,Boguang Yang,Benjamin Cao,Rocky S. Tuan,Susan K. Nilsson,Yi-Ping Ho,Michael Raghunath,Roger D. Kamm,Anna Blocki 한국생체재료학회 2023 생체재료학회지 Vol.27 No.00

Background There is great interest to engineer in vitro models that allow the study of complex biological processes of the microvasculature with high spatiotemporal resolution. Microfluidic systems are currently used to engineer microvasculature in vitro, which consists of perfusable microvascular networks (MVNs). These are formed through spontaneous vasculogenesis and exhibit the closest resemblance to physiological microvasculature. Unfortunately, under standard culture conditions and in the absence of co-culture with auxiliary cells as well as protease inhibitors, pure MVNs suffer from a short-lived stability. Methods Herein, we introduce a strategy for stabilization of MVNs through macromolecular crowding (MMC) based on a previously established mixture of Ficoll macromolecules. The biophysical principle of MMC is based on macromolecules occupying space, thus increasing the effective concentration of other components and thereby accelerating various biological processes, such as extracellular matrix deposition. We thus hypothesized that MMC will promote the accumulation of vascular ECM (basement membrane) components and lead to a stabilization of MVN with improved functionality. Results MMC promoted the enrichment of cellular junctions and basement membrane components, while reducing cellular contractility. The resulting advantageous balance of adhesive forces over cellular tension resulted in a significant stabilization of MVNs over time, as well as improved vascular barrier function, closely resembling that of in vivo microvasculature. Conclusion Application of MMC to MVNs in microfluidic devices provides a reliable, flexible and versatile approach to stabilize engineered microvessels under simulated physiological conditions.

Practical Application of Chinese traditional warrior picture for MMORPG game character design

Yuan Yang,Ying Liu,Byung-Pyo Kyung,Seuc-Ho Ryu,Dong-Lyeor Lee,Wan-Bok Lee,Dong-Hoon Han 한국콘텐츠학회 2008 ICCC International Digital Design Invitation Exhib Vol.2008 No.12

Identification of a Novel Human Zinc Finger Gene, ZNF438, with Transcription Inhibition Activity

Zhong, Zhaomin,Wan, Bo,Qiu, Yun,Ni, Jun,Tang, Wenwen,Chen, Xinya,Yang, Yun,Shen, Suqin,Wang, Ying,Bai, Meirong,Lang, Qingyu,Yu, Long Korean Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biol 2007 Journal of biochemistry and molecular biology Vol.40 No.4

There were many different families of zinc finger proteins that contained multiple cysteine and/or histidine residues and used zinc to stabilize their folds. The classical C2H2 zinc finger proteins were the founding members of this superfamily and were among the most abundant proteins in eukaryotic genomes. C2H2 proteins typically contained several C2H2 fingers that made tandem contacts along the DNA. Here we reported a novel C2H2 type zinc finger gene, ZNF438, which encoded 828 amino acids that formed five zinc finger domains. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that the ZNF438 was mapped to human chromosome 10p11.2 and shared 62% identity with rat and mouse homologues. RT-PCR analysis indicated that it was ubiquitously expressed in 18 human adult tissues. With immunofluorescence assay, it was shown that the exogenous Flag-tagged ZNF438 was located in nucleus of COS-7 cells. To further explore the function of ZNF438, we examined the transcriptional activity of ZNF438 protein by transfecting recombinant pM-ZNF438 into mammalian cells. The subsequent analysis based on the duel luciferase assay system showed that ZNF438 was a transcriptional repressor.