TCI (Taiwan)

The deformation of large-scale landslides poses a long-term threat to the protected objects in mountainous areas. Recent hazard records show that torrential are critical in triggering the deformation of large-scale landslides. This study investigates the relationship between groundwater variation and deformation kinematics of a large-scale landslide under different rainfall patterns using 3D FEM analysis. The case study of the  Guanghua slope, located in Taoyuan, Taiwan, has been identified as an active large-scale landslide since 2018. A geomechanical model was established based on borehole and outcrop investigations. To correlate the rainfall pattern and groundwater change, the groundwater well data and the rainfall record from 2021 Typhoon In-Fa were used to assess representative groundwater unit hydrographs for the Guanghua slope. Then, different groundwater table scenarios associated with given rainfall return periods can be constructed as the hydraulic boundary condition. The surficial displacement data from GNSS observation and digital image analysis was used to calibrate the performance of 3D FEM models. The results show that the 3D FEM analysis well captured the deformation kinematics of the Guanghua slope, including movement direction and deformation displacement. The current study demonstrates a practical methodology to clarify the changes in the groundwater table and slope movement under different rainfall patterns for assessing the potential disaster scenarios of a large-scale landslide.

With the growing demand for skin-enhancing products in the market, research into edible plants has expanded significantly. Numerous studies have shown that plant extracts rich in phytochemicals can effectively improve skin issues such as wrinkles, pigmentation, and dullness. However, clinical studies focusing on the effects of combined ingredients are still limited. This study combined three plant ingredients known for their skin-beautifying effects and clinically tested their functional properties. Sixty healthy subjects were screened and randomly divided into two groups: a test group (TG) and a placebo group (PG). TG took two tablets of multi-plant concentrated powder daily, while PG took placebo tablets without active ingredients. The study lasted 12 weeks. Plasma Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were measured at week 0 (W0), week 8 (W8), and week 12 (W12). Skin brightness (L* value), skin tone (Individual Typological Angle (ITA°)), erythema (a* value), skin spots, and wrinkles were assessed at week 0 (W0), week 4 (W4), week 8 (W8), and week 12 (W12). The study showed significant improvements in all three antioxidant markers in the blood after consuming the compound ingredient tablets compared to the PG (p < 0.01). L* value and ITA° significantly increased from 8 weeks (p < 0.1). Skin spots significantly decreased at W8 and W12 (p < 0.1). While a* value and skin wrinkles showed noticeable reductions within the group in week 12 (p < 0.1), there were no significant differences compared to the PG. Consumption of multi-plant concentrated powder improved skin whitening, brightened skin tone, reduced skin spots, and showed some improvement in wrinkles and erythema. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05988567.

In the past, when assessing the stability of roadside slopes in mountainous areas of Taiwan, road maintenance and inspection personnel were often limited by steep terrain and vegetation cover. They could only observe damages on the road surface and sides instead of grasping the key points of landslides and disasters. Among them, Sandimen and Wutai located on Highway 24 in Pingtung repeatedly suffer from natural disasters, such as falling rocks, debris avalanche or subsidence of roadbed, after the strike of Typhoon Morakot whenever a typhoon, torrential rain or earthquake event occurs. The government therefore spent a lot of money on road maintenance works. In this area, we have combined topographic features identified from LiDAR-derived 1-m resolution DEM and large-scale ground surface deformation observed using the multitemporal InSAR technique (MT-InSAR) developed based on ALOS-2 / PALSAR-2 images collected between 2015 and 2022. Then Sections 29.5K and 34.5K are selected as the key study area of this investigation. The cumulative deformation results of these key slopes are: -80 mm at 29.5K from ALOS-2 imagery and -103 mm at 34.5K from ALOS-2. As for the section of 29.5K, from May 8, 2016 to December 4, 2016, the overall slope of the road was affected by several heavy rains and typhoons, among which the maximum rainfall on that day reached 303 mm; and the amount of deformation decreased by 16.7 mm; the average deformation of subarea block A decreased by 33.6 mm, and the average deformation of subarea block B decreased by 14.8 mm. As for the section of 34.5K, the overall roadside slopes were affected by several heavy rains and typhoons, among which the maximum accumulation of rainfall on that day reached 303 mm, from May 8, 2016 to December 4, 2016. The amount of deformation decreased by 13.7 mm. Our primary results demonstrate that the cumulative deformation and rainfall of these two key slopes show a positive correlation.

The health-promoting effects of probiotics include maintenance of normal intestinal microbiota, increased nutritional value of foods, and immune system stimulation. Multi-strain probiotics have recently been proposed as health-enhancing foods and functional food ingredients. Fruit-vegetable powders (FVP), being a kind of prebiotic, are food supplements that are non-digestible by the host, but can improve the host's health by selectively stimulating the growth or activities of gastrointestinal tract bacteria. However, the intestinal efficacy of multi-strain probiotics combined with FVP remains unclear. Therefore, the purpose of the present work was to explore the effect of multi-strain probiotics combined with FVP on intestinal inflammation. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was used to treat RAW264.7, which was then co-cultured with Caco-2 cells to mimic the intestinal inflammatory environment. Caco-2 cells were incubated with various probiotics and FVP (0.125 and 0.25 mg/mL). The inflammatory cytokines from the medium were collected for ELISA analysis, and the ZO-1 expression in the Caco-2 cells was examined by fluorescence assay. Probiotics combined with FVP significantly decreased the inflammatory cytokines, IL-6, and TNF-α, and increased ZO-1 expression when compared with the LPS only group. Probiotics combined with FVP could decrease inflammatory cytokines, and protect the intestinal barrier from tight junction dysregulation.

PurposePopulation aging was a global trend, and the most obvious thing after aging was the change in skin appearance. Therefore, the active ingredients that delay skin aging were particularly noticed. Past studies had pointed out that Chinese herbal extracts can improve skin elasticity, reduce wrinkles and melanin precipitation. The purpose of this paper is to explore whether combining hydrolyzed collagen with Chinese herbal extracts can improve skin conditions and achieve anti-inflammatory effects.Design/methodology/approachFifty subjects were randomly divided into collagen or placebo groups, and one bottle of collagen or placebo drink was used every day for four weeks, after which skin and inflammatory factors were tested.FindingsIn comparison with the baseline results, the skin parameters were improving after four-week intervention. In addition, the IL-6, IL-8, TNF-a were significantly decreased and tissue inhibitor matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) was increased after four-week hydrolyzed collagen intervention.Originality/valueThis study showed that hydrolyzed collagen combined with Chinese herbal extracts can improve the condition of the skin, and can also reduce inflammatory associated factors, thereby achieving anti-aging effects.

Abstract A simplified seismic evaluation method using capacity‐based inelastic displacement spectra is proposed for reinforced concrete (RC) bridges. The proposed method can not only estimate the maximum displacements of bridges, but can also discriminate the damage indices between the bridge columns, where the Park and Ang's damage index () is considered a promising performance indicator due to its good relationship with the strength capacity state and actual visual damage condition of the bridge column regardless of the imposed loading history. To realize the accuracy and reliability of the proposed method, a hypothetical case study bridge was constructed and analyzed using various structural analysis programs and seismic evaluation methods. It was found that the proposed method can receive satisfactory estimates of the maximum displacement and for both far‐field and near‐fault ground motions when compared to the nonlinear time history analysis results of the bridge. In contrast, the AASHTO's and Caltrans’ methods cannot reflect the response amplification effects caused by the frequency‐content characteristics of near‐fault ground motions and would therefore significantly underestimate the inelastic responses of bridges. When applying the proposed method to bridges having unequal‐height columns and subjected to longitudinal seismic actions, it was found that for the short column of the bridge, the AASHTO's regularity criteria (maximum bent/pier stiffness ratio of 4 for the three‐span case study bridge) would lead to a of approximately 3.5 times that of the tall column, resulting in significant damage localization and, hence, decreasing the overall lateral deformation capacity of the bridge.

This work unveils a fish collagen drink for improvement of skin aging. Previous studies frequently discussed the skin aging from the angle of the representative characteristics of collagen loss and the oxidative-induced expression of proteolytic enzymes matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), but few groups comprehensively investigated the efficacy of oral hydrolyzed collagen for enhancing protein folding and DNA repair as well as improving notable cell behaviors. To delineate the broad perspective on delaying skin aging, we inspected the collagen drink-treated fibroblast cells from the molecular and cellular aspects. The results show that the collagen drink could perform the compact antiaging effects on ROS inhibition, the facilitation of the synthesis of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, the increase of mitochondrial activity, and improvement of the gene expression regarding correct protein folding, DNA mismatch repair (MMR) and base excision repair (BER). Although the experimental results are built on the cellular models, we believe that the positive outcomes can provide more details on the influence of oral hydrolyzed collagen supplement for antiaging. In short, we have successfully proved that the synergistic effect of the collagen drink could not only reduce the oxidative damage but also ameliorate the cell functionality to compensate the harmful effects induced by UVA.

Engineering properties of soil-cement obtained from the construction site of a liquid natural gas (LNG) station are reported in this paper. To increase the bearing capacity and to reduce settlements of the soft ground under pipeline and building loads, soil-cement columns were fabricated with mechanical deep-mixing method. Fourteen days after construction, 50 mm-diameter cylindrical specimens were drilled from the site and then tested in the laboratory. Based on the experimental results it is found that the recovery ratio varies from 71% to 90%. Shear modulus of the ground increased by about 40–140 times as a result of deep mixing. Uniaxial compressive strengths of the specimens obtained are quite scattered, however, the test results are greater than the design strength 2·0 MPa. Compressibility of the ground has reduced by 45% to 90%, as a result of ground modification. Nous donnons dans cet article les propriétés techniques d'un sol-ciment, relevées sur le chantier de construction d'une station de gaz naturel liquéfié (GNL). Pour augmenter la portance et réduire les tassements du sol tendre sous les pipelines et les charges de construction, des colonnes de sol-ciment ont été fabriquées en utilisant une méthode de mixage profond. Quatorze jours après la construction, des spécimens cylindriques de 50 mm de diamètres ont été extraits du site et testés en laboratoire. Sur la base de ces expériences, il apparaît que le taux de récupération varie entre 71% et 90%. Le module de cisaillement du sol se trouve multiplié par un facteur de 40–140 environ, à cause du mixage profond. Les résistances à la compression uniaxiale des spécimens sont assez dispersées mais les résultats des essais sont supérieurs à la résistance nominale de 2·0 MPa. La compressibilité du sol se trouve réduite de 45 à 90% àcause de la modification du sol.