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Coffee is one of the main economic crops in the world and is now widely grown throughout Taiwan. The process of roasting coffee begins with the heating and smooth expansion of raw beans, which leads to changes in appearance and color while affecting the flavor and taste of coffee. So far, most coffee manufacturers have used visual inspection or colorimeter methods to identify differences in coffee quality. Moreover, there is no literature discussing the correlation of roasted bean color with caffeine and chlorogenic acid content. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to analyze the chlorogenic acid and caffeine content and their correlation with bean color under different roasting degrees and from different sources to establish basic data for the rapid identification of coffee quality in the future. In this experiment, the coffee Coffea arabica typica from Dongshan, Gukeng, and Sumatra’s Indonesian rainforest was used, and the beans were roasted into four degrees: raw bean, light, medium, and dark roast, to investigate the appearance of the coffee beans and its correlation with caffeine and chlorogenic acid content. The results showed that with a higher roasting degree, caffeine content increased gradually, except for Indonesian beans, but the chlorogenic acid content in all samples showed a declining trend with the increase in roasting degree. The correlation between the chlorogenic acid content and the color space value of the coffee bean color shows that L*, a*, and h° in both ground and unground coffee are highly correlated. The C* value of the ground and unground coffee showed a correlation coefficient of r = 0.159 ns and 0.299 ns, respectively. The correlation between the caffeine content and the color space value of the unground coffee bean shows that the a*, b*, and C* value is highly correlated with the caffeine content. The color space values of ground coffee beans show no correlation with caffeine.

This study investigates the catechin composition and protective effect of green tea extract on senescence-mediated redox imbalance in the livers and kidneys of aged mice. The results showed that the seven catechins in the green tea extract analyzed in this study could be completely separated within 30 min and the main components of catechins in green tea extract were EGCG, EGC and ECG. In terms of the anti-senescence effects of green tea extract, green tea extract supplementation at doses of 125, 625 and 1250 mg/kg for 4 weeks significantly alleviated the senescence-mediated redox imbalance, as exhibited from significantly (p < 0.05) reduced thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyls levels in the serum, and increased glutathione (GSH) and total thiols contents in the plasma. Additionally, hepatic and renal protein carbonyls levels were significantly diminished (p < 0.05) and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glutathione reductase (GSH-Rd) in the liver and kidney were remarkably elevated (p < 0.05). Overall, these results clearly show that green tea extract exhibits extremely potent protective effects against senescence-mediated redox imbalance in the livers and kidneys of mice by inhibiting oxidative damage of lipids and proteins and increasing the activities of antioxidant enzymes in organs.

With the widespread establishment of universities and technical colleges in Taiwan, having a university degree is no longer a privilege of the few. However, it has also led to the emergence of many socially inexperienced people with higher education degrees who need more workplace competitiveness. Therefore, students’ employability is a topic worth exploring. Equally, the number of students in hospitality-related departments is still very high in the current conditions, while the employment situation in the tourism and hospitality industry is relatively challenging and unstable, making students’ employability even more critical. This study examines the relationship between self-efficacy, creativity, employability, and personality traits in the hospitality and tourism industry. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis confirm the previous research findings. In addition, testing of the scale reliability and validity is needed. A structural equation modeling (SEM) approach and mediation analysis are adopted to test the research hypotheses and explore gender differences. The study aims to understand how individual characteristics contribute to career success and identify any unique challenges or advantages based on gender. The research results show that personality traits can affect and influence employability in terms of self-efficacy. Furthermore, personality traits can affect self-efficacy, and self-efficacy can enhance creativity and improve employability.

BackgroundThe soil quality and health of the tea plantations are dependent on agriculture management practices, and long-term chemical fertilizer use is implicated in soil decline. Hence, several sustainable practices are used to improve and maintain the soil quality. Here, in this study, changes in soil properties, enzymatic activity, and dysbiosis in bacterial community composition were compared using three agricultural management practices, namely conventional (CA), sustainable (SA), and transformational agriculture (TA) in the tea plantation during 2016 and 2017 period. Soil samples at two-months intervals were collected and analyzed.ResultsThe results of the enzyme activities revealed that acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, β-glucosidase, and urease activities differed considerably among the soils representing the three management practices. Combining the redundancy and multiple regression analysis, the change in the arylsulfatase activity was explained by soil pH as a significant predictor in the SA soils. The soil bacterial community was predominated by the phyla Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Actinobacteria, Chloroflexi, and Bacteroidetes in the soil throughout the sampling period. Higher Alpha diversity scores indicated increased bacterial abundance and diversity in the SA soils. A significant relationship between bacterial richness indices (SOBS, Chao and ACE) and soil pH, K and, P was observed in the SA soils. The diversity indices namely Shannon and Simpson also showed variations, suggesting the shift in the diversity of less abundant and more common species. Furthermore, the agricultural management practices, soil pH fluctuation, and the extractable elements had a greater influence on bacterial structure than that of temporal change.ConclusionsBased on the cross-over analysis of the bacterial composition, enzymatic activity, and soil properties, the relationship between bacterial composition and biologically-driven ecological processes can be identified as indicators of sustainability for the tea plantation.

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), particularly the highly virulent G2b strains, has inflicted substantial economic losses on the global swine industry. This study evaluated the prophylactic effects of three Bacillus strains—B. amyloliquefaciens LN, B. licheniformis CK, and B. velezensis AC—against PEDV infection using in vitro and in vivo models. In vitro experiments with Vero cells demonstrated that B. amyloliquefaciens LN increased cell viability, reduced PEDV-N expression, and modulated proinflammatory cytokine responses. In vivo, piglets supplemented with B. amyloliquefaciens LN exhibited alleviated diarrhea symptoms, suppression of fecal viral RNA shedding to below the detection limit, and restoration of gut microbiota balance by increasing Bacteroidetes and reducing Proteobacteria abundance. Mechanistic studies indicated that the measured interferon (IFN)-related genes were not significantly influenced in this study, suggesting that the protective effects of B. amyloliquefaciens LN may involve the modulation of inflammatory responses and the inhibition of viral replication through reduced PEDV-N expression. This study illustrates the potential of using B. amyloliquefaciens LN as a feed additive to prevent PEDV infection.

BackgroundAgricultural management and temporal change including climate conditions and soil properties can result in the alteration of soil enzymatic activity and bacterial community, respectively. Therefore, different agricultural practices have been used globally to explore the soil quality. In this study, the temporal variations in soil property, enzymatic activity, and bacterial community at three successive trimester sampling intervals were performed in the soil samples of litchi orchards that were maintained under conventional and sustainable agricultural practices.ResultsAgricultural management found to significantly influence arylsulfatase, β-glucosidase, and urease activities across time as observed by repeated-measures analysis of variance. Shannon and Simpson diversity indices, and the relative abundance of predominant Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria were significantly influenced by temporal change but not agricultural management. This suggested that soil enzymatic activity was more susceptible to the interaction of temporal change and agricultural management than that of the bacterial community. Multiple regression analysis identified total nitrogen, EC, and phosphorus as the significant predictors of acid phosphatase, arylsulfatase, and β-glucosidase for explaining 29.5–39% of the variation. Moreover, the soil pH and EC were selected for the SOBS, Chao, ACE, and Shannon index to describe 33.8%, 79% of the variation, but no significant predictor was observed in the dominant bacterial phyla. Additionally, the temporal change involved in the soil properties had a greater effect on bacterial richness and diversity, and enzymatic activity than that of the dominant phyla of bacteria.ConclusionsA long-term sustainable agriculture in litchi orchards would also decrease soil pH and phosphorus, resulting in low β-glucosidase and urease activity, bacterial richness, and diversity. Nevertheless, application of chemical fertilizer could facilitate the soil acidification and lead to adverse effects on soil quality. The relationship between bacterial structure and biologically-driven ecological processes can be explored by the cross-over analysis of enzymatic activity, soil properties and bacterial composition.

Climate change and soil acidification are critical factors affecting crop production and soil quality. This study comprehensively analyzed the impact of fertilization practices, including conventional (CA), sustainable (SA), and unfertilized (BK), on soil properties, enzyme activities, and gene diversity in paddy fields across seasonal changes. Soil pH was significantly influenced by fertilization, with higher pH in BK and a decrease in pH with increased fertilization. Soil enzyme activities and Biolog EcoPlate™ analysis revealed the lowest activities in September, with the highest in December under different practices. Metagenomic analysis showed the highest genetic richness in CA soil, with seasonal variations influencing genetic diversity. From the perspective of genes in species taxonomy, Sorangium cellulosum and Anaeromyxobacter sp. were the most abundant taxa. Soil genes annotated by CAZy, COG, and GO databases revealed highly similar gene structures among different practices. Moreover, the genetic origins of soil enzymes were linked to specific bacterial contributors. While not all gene’s diversity and abundance were associated with soil enzyme activity, arylsulfatase showed an obvious correlation. Enzyme activities proved more sensitive indicators of microbial activity than gene abundance. This study emphasizes the need for rational fertilization strategies to maintain soil enzyme activities, considering agricultural practices and seasonal variations.

A polyphasic taxonomic approach was used to characterise two presumably novel bacteria, designated strains CC-YHH838T and CC-YHH848T isolated from termite nest and rhizosphere of Ficus religiosa, respectively. These two nitrogen-fixing strains were observed to be Gram-staining-negative, aerobic rod, and colonies were yellowish in color. Growth of strains was observed at 20–37 °C, pH 7–8, and in the presence of 1–2% NaCl. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA genes revealed a distinct taxonomic position attained by strain CC-YHH838T and CC-YHH848T associated with Thauera hydrothermalis (97.1% sequence identity), and formed a separate branch with Azoarcus indigens (95.4%), Aromatoleum aromaticum (96.2%), and lower sequence similarity to other species. The calculation of OrthoANI values pointed out strains CC-YHH838T and CC-YHH848T gave 78.9% and 79.8% compared to Thauera hydrothermalis, respectively. The major fatty acids (> 5%) were C16:0, C17:0 cyclo, C10:0 3-OH, C16:1ω7c/C16:1ω6c and C18:1ω7c/C18:1ω6c. The polar lipid profile comprised phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and unidentified aminophospholipid and phospholipids; the predominant polyamines were putrescine and spermidine. The predominant respiratory system was ubiquinone (Q-8) and the DNA G + C contents were 61.4 ± 0.1 mol% and 60.2 ± 1.3 mol%, respectively. Based on the phylogenetic and polyphasic comparisons, strains CC-YHH838T and CC-YHH848T are proposed to represent two novel species within the genus Azoarcus in the family Rhodocyclaceae, for which the name Azoarcus nasutitermitis sp. nov. (type strain CC-YHH838T = BCRC 81059T = JCM 32001T) and Azoarcus rhizosphaerae sp. nov. (type strain CC-YHH848T = BCRC 81060T = JCM 32002T) were proposed.

The protective effects of chlorogenic acid (CGA) against liver injury were evaluated by its reduction in carbon tetrachloride (CCl4)-induced hepatic damage in ICR mice. The animals were orally given CGA (60, 100, and 200 mg/kg, respectively) or silymairn (200 mg/kg) daily with 0.3% CCl4 administration (3 mL/kg, dissolved in olive oil) after medicament treatment on the 7th day. Compared with the normal group, CCl4 caused severe impairment in liver according to the evidence of significant reduction in the level of total albumin and expansion (p < 0.05) of the activities in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), cholesterol, triglyceride (TG), and total albumin in serum, decreased the level of glutathione (GSH), and diminished the activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GSH-Rd), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in liver while increasing the level of hepatic thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS). However, oral administration of CGA or silymarin could significantly (p < 0.05) decrease the serum levels of AST, ALT, cholesterol, TG, and total albumin and elevated the serum total albumin and the activities of GSH, catalase, SOD, GSH-Rd, and GSH-Px while leading to decline the TBARS in liver compared with CCl4-intoxicated group. Moreover, histopathology displayed that CGA decreased the formation of lesions in liver resulted from CCl4. The outcomes indicate that CGA shows the efficiency hepatoprotective consequences for CCl4-incited liver injuries in mice by the elevation of the activities of antioxidant enzymes and hindrance of lipid peroxidation.

An auxin-producing bacterial strain, CC-SYL302T, was isolated from paddy soil in Taiwan and identified using a polyphasic taxonomic approach. The cells were observed to be aerobic, non-motile, non-spore-forming rods, and tested positive for catalase and oxidase. Produced carotenoid but flexirubin-type pigments were absent. Optimal growth of strain CC-SYL302T was observed at 25 °C, pH 7.0, and with 2% (w/v) NaCl present. Based on analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences, it was determined that strain CC-SYL302T belongs to the genus Flavobacterium of the Flavobacteriaceae family. The closest known relatives of this strain are F. tangerinum YIM 102701-2 T (with 93.3% similarity) and F. cucumis R2A45-3 T (with 93.1% similarity). Digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values were calculated to assess the genetic distance between strain CC-SYL302T and its closest relatives, with mean values of 21.3% for F. tangerinum and 20.4% for F. cucumis. Strain CC-SYL302T exhibited the highest orthologous average nucleotide identity (OrthoANI) values with members of the Flavobacterium genus, ranging from 67.2 to 72.1% (n = 22). The dominating cellular fatty acids (> 5%) included iso-C14:0, iso-C15:0, iso-C16:0, iso-C15:0 3-OH, iso-C17:0 3-OH, C16:1 ω6c/C16:1 ω7c and C16:0 10-methyl/iso-C17:1 ω9c. The polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified aminolipid, an unidentified aminophospholipid, and nine unidentified polar lipids. The genome (2.7 Mb) contained 33.6% GC content, and the major polyamines were putrescine and sym-homospermidine. Strain CC-SYL302T exhibits distinct phylogenetic, phenotypic, and chemotaxonomic characteristics, as well as unique results in comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence, OrthoANI, dDDH, and phylogenomic placement. Therefore, it is proposed that this strain represents a new species of the Flavobacterium genus, for which the name Flavobacterium agricola sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CC-SYL302T (= BCRC 81320 T = JCM 34764 T).