Spatial Patterns and Environmental Settings of Non-reefal Coral Communities Across the Tropic of Cancer in the Penghu Archipelago (Pescadores), Taiwan.

Non-reefal coral communities occurring at the edges of scleractinian coral distribution ranges normally show a sharp gradient in the composition of coral species. Environmental and biological factors such as sea surface temperature (SST), competition with other benthos, and human disturbances might play roles in shaping the structure of coral communities. The Penghu Archipelago is located on the east side of Taiwan Strait straddling the Tropic of Cancer and hosts non-reefal coral communities.

Cyclohexylmethyl Flavonoids Suppress Propagation of Breast Cancer Stem Cells via Downregulation of NANOG.

Breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) are highly tumorigenic and possess the capacity to self-renew. Recent studies indicated that pluripotent gene NANOG involves in regulating self-renewal of breast CSCs, and expression of NANOG is correlated with aggressiveness of poorly differentiated breast cancer. We initially confirmed that breast cancer MCF-7 cells expressed NANOG, and overexpression of NANOG enhanced the tumorigenicity of MCF-7 cells and promoted the self-renewal expansion of CD24(-/low)CD44(+) CSC subpopulation.

Influence of strong monsoon winds on the water quality around a marine cage-culture zone in a shallow and semi-enclosed bay in Taiwan.

Influences of marine cage culture and monsoonal disturbances, northeasterly (NE) and southwesterly (SW) monsoons on the proximal marine environment were investigated across a gradient of sites in a semi-enclosed bay, Magong Bay (Penghu Islands, Taiwan). Elevated levels of ammonia produced by the cages were the main pollutant and distinguished the cage-culture and intermediary zones (1000 m away from the cages) from the reference zone in the NE monsoon, indicating currents produced by the strong monsoon may have extended the spread of nutrient-enriched waters without necessarily flushing such effluents outside Magong Bay. Moreover, the levels of chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity were distinguishable between two seasons, suggesting that resuspension caused by the NE monsoon winds may also influence the water quality across this bay.

Acetogenin and prenylated flavonoids from Helminthostachys zeylanica with inhibitory activity on superoxide generation and elastase release by neutrophils.

One new acetogenin, 6-hydroxy-8-pentadecyloxocane-2,7-dione ( 1), and four new prenylated flavonoids, 4''a,5'',6'',7'',8'',8''a-hexahydro-5,3',4'-trihydroxy-5'',5'',8''a-trimethyl-4 H-chromeno[2'',3'':7,6]flavone ( 2), 4''a,5'',6'',7'',8'',8''a-hexahydro-5,3',4',-trihydroxy-5'',5'',8''a-trimethyl-4 H-chromeno[2'',3'':7,8]flavone ( 3), 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-6-((2,2-dimethyl-6-methylenecyclohexyl)methyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-chroman-4-one ( 4), and 2-(3,4-dihydroxy-2-[(2,6,6-trimethylcyclohex-2-enyl)methyl]phenyl)-3,5,7-trihydroxy-4 H-chromen-4-one ( 5), together with six known compounds, were isolated and purified from the rhizomes of Helminthostachys zeylanica by column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) via bioactivity-guided fractionation isolation. The structures of the new isolates were elucidated by spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1, 3, and 5 showed inhibitory activities on either superoxide anion generation or elastase release by human neutrophils in response to formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-L-phenylalanine/cytochalasin B (FMLP/CB).