Chang-Feng Dai

National Taiwan University | NTU · Institute of Oceanography

The Condylactis-genus anemones were examined for their proteinaceous poisons over 50 years ago. On the other hand, the current research focuses on isolating and describing the non-proteinaceous secondary metabolites from the invasive Condylactis anemones, which help take advantage of their population outbreak as a new source of chemical candidates...

An investigation of the chemical composition of a Formosan soft coral, Cespitularia sp., led to the discovery of one new verticillene-type diterpenoid, cespitulactam M (1); one new eudesmane sesquiterpenoid, cespilamide F (2); and three new hydroperoxysteroids (3–5) along with twelve known analogous metabolites (6–17). In addition, one new derivati...

The present chemical investigation on the organic extract of the soft coral Sarcophyton cinereum has contributed to the isolation of four new cembranoids: 16β- and 16α-hydroperoxyisosarcophytoxides (1 and 2), 16β- and 16α-methoxyisosarcophytoxides (3 and 4), and a known cembranoid, lobocrasol (5). The structures of all isolates were elucidated by d...

CCCH-type zinc finger proteins (ZFP) are a large family of proteins that play various important roles in plant growth and development; however, the functions of most proteins in this family are uncharacterized. In this study, a CCCH-type ZFP, AaZFP3, was identified in the floral organ of Adonis amurensis. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis...

A persistent study on soft coral Sarcophyton tortuosum resulted in the characterization of two new cembranolides, tortuolides A and B (1 and 2), and a new related diterpene, epi-sarcophytonolide Q. Their structures were determined not only by extensive spectroscopic analysis but also by DFT calculations of ECD and NMR data, the latter of which was...

A molecular phylogenetic analysis of 132 octocoral species reveals a close relationship between specimens collected from the intertidal pools of the Datan Algal Reef, Taoyuan, Taiwan, and Erythropodium caribaeorum (Duchassaing & Michelotti, 1860), but the two species have distinct morphological features. On the basis of morphological differences in...

In an attempt to explore the bioactive metabolites of the soft coral Sarcophyton cinereum, three new cembranolides, cinerenolides A–C (1–3), and 16 known compounds were isolated and identified from the EtOAc extract. The structures of the new cembranolides were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, and the NOE analysis of cinerenolide...

Cinerelolide (1) with an unprecedented tricyclo[9.3.0.02,12]tetradecane scaffold fused with a seven-membered lactone ring, and a new sarsolenone derivative, 11-deoxo-11α-hydroxysarsolenone (2), were isolated from the Formosan soft coral Sarcophyton cinereum. Their structures were rigorously determined by spectroscopic study, chemical transformation...

Marine activities may cause the degradation of coral reefs. The composition of benthic communities and seawater quality have been commonly used as the proxies to assess the impacts of marine activities. However, these proxies may not be able to detect the subtle differences within homogeneous environment. We used photogrammetry to quantify the subt...

Soybean root rot caused by the oomycete Phytophthora sojae is a serious soil-borne disease threatening soybean production in China. Bacillus velezensis FZB42 is a model strain for Gram-positive plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria and is able to produce multiple antibiotics. In this study, we demonstrated that B. velezensis FZB42 can efficiently an...

Further chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of the soft coral Sarcophyton tortuosum has led to the isolation of ten terpenoidal metabolites, including six new compounds, secoditerpenes secotortuosenes A and B (1 and 2), diterpenes tortuosenes C and D (3 and 4) and tortuosumol (5), and a biscembranoid bisotortuolide cyclobutane A (6)...

Adonis amurensis is a perennial herbaceous flower that blooms in early spring in northeast China, where the night temperature can drop to −15 °C. To understand flowering time regulation and floral organogenesis of A. amurensis, the MIKCc-type MADS (Mcm1/Agamous/ Deficiens/Srf)-box genes were identified and characterized from the transcriptomes of t...

Objective To investigate the role of miR-4301 in rotavirus (RV)-infected Caco-2 cells. Methods In this experiment, RNAs of RV-infected Caco-2 cells were extracted, and the high-throughput second-generation sequencing was performed to detect the expression profiles of host miRNAs. Synthetic miRNA mimics and inhibitors were examined (qPCR, crystalli...

Three new polyoxygenated diterpenoids with a rare 4-isopropyl-1,5,8a-trimethylperhydrophenanthrane structure of the klysimplexane skeleton, briarols A‒C (1‒3), and one eunicellin-based diterpenoid, briarol D (4), were isolated from Briareum violaceum, a gorgonian inhabiting Taiwanese waters. The chemical structures of these compounds were determine...

Chemical examination from the cultured soft coral Sarcophyton digitatum resulted in the isolation and structural identification of four new biscembranoidal metabolites, sardigitolides A–D (1–4), along with three previously isolated biscembranoids, sarcophytolide L (5), glaucumolide A (6), glaucumolide B (7), and two known cembranoids (8 and 9). The...

The floating height of the strip in an air cushion furnace is a key parameter for the quality and efficiency of production. However, the high temperature and high pressure of the working environment prevents the floating height from being directly measured. Furthermore, the strip has multiple floating states in the whole operation process. It is th...

3-Hydroxypropionic acid (3-HP) has been recognized as one of the top value-added building block chemicals, due to its numerous potential applications. Over the past decade, biosynthesis of 3-HP via the malonyl-CoA pathway has been increasingly favored because it is balanced in terms of ATP and reducing equivalents, does not require the addition of...

In the context of the rapid development of online shopping, enterprises and consumers realized the importance of an effective online short video display. However, academics rarely explored the content of a short video display and its impacts on consumers’ perceptions. This paper discusses the impacts of this display form on consumers’ perceived qua...

This paper proposes an improved Harmony Search algorithm, and gives the definition of the Global Sharing Factor of the Harmony Search (HS) algorithm. In the definition, the number of creations of the HS algorithm is applied to the sharing factor and calculated. In this algorithm, the natural harmony encoding method is used to encode the initial har...

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive cancer in women, and despite improved treatments, it remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. We and others have demonstrated that different hybrid compounds targeting PARP/MAPK or other pathways to inhibit cancer progression may lead to promising therapeutic results. We introduce...

The green tea catechin epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) exhibits antiviral activity against various viruses. Whether EGCG also inhibits the infectivity of circovirus remains unclear. In this study, we demonstrated the antiviral effect of EGCG on porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2). EGCG targets PCV2 virions directly and blocks the attachment of virions...

Selective laser melting (SLM) is a layer by layer process of melting and solidifying of metal powders. The surface quality of the previous layer directly affects the uniformity of the next layer. If the surface roughness value of the previous layer is large, there is the possibility of not being able to complete the layering process such that the e...

Although research related to avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) has lasted for more than a century, the systematic identification of host immune key factors against ALV-J infection has not been reported. In this study, we establish an infection model in which four-week-old SPF chickens are infected with ALV-J strain CHN06, after which the host...

Nickel laterite ore is divided into three layers and the garnierite examined in this study belongs to the third layer. Garnierite is characterized by high magnesium and silicon contents. The main contents of garnierite are silicates, and nickel, iron, and magnesium exist in silicates in the form of lattice exchange. Silicate minerals are difficult...

The oral mucosa exhibits exceptional healing capability when compared to skin. Recent studies suggest that intrinsic differences in coding genes and regulatory small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) genes (e.g., microRNAs) may underlie the exceptional healing that occurs in the oral mucosa. Here, we investigate the role of a novel class of sncRNA—Piwi-inter...

This study aimed to explore the prevalence and influencing factors of anxiety and depression among human immunodeficiency virus negative (HIV-negative) men who have sex with men (MSM) based on anal sex roles, so as to provide a scientific basis for the management of mental health conditions. Data were obtained from the baseline in a cohort study wi...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common human pathogen that causes several difficult-to-treat infections, including biofilm-associated infections. The biofilm-forming ability of S. aureus plays a pivotal role in its resistance to most currently available antibiotics, including vancomycin, which is the first-choice drug for tr...

Members of the Microvirga genus are metabolically versatile and widely distributed in Nature. However, knowledge of the bacteria that belong to this genus is currently limited to biochemical characteristics. Herein, a novel thermo-tolerant bacterium named Microvirga thermotolerans HR1 was isolated and identified. Based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence...

Petroleum-based plastics, such as PP, PE, PVC, etc., have become an important source of environmental pollution due to their hard degradation, posing a serious threat to the human health. Isolating nanocellulose from abundant biomass waste resources and further integrating the nanocellulose into hydrophobic transparent film (i.e., nanopaper), to re...

To obtain a crumb rubber asphalt mixture with excellent performance, this study combined trans-polyoctenamer rubber (TOR), crumb rubber, and other additives to establish a new type of crumb rubber (CRT). The objective of this study was to design and evaluate the road performance of the new type of crumb rubber asphalt mixture (CRTAM) with a skeleto...

T-2 toxin, the most toxic member of trichothecene mycotoxin, is widely distributed in cereals, and has been extensively studied, but few studies focus on the toxicity of maternal exposure to offspring. This study focused on the effects of maternal exposure to T-2 toxin (during gestation and lactation) on the testicular development of mice offspring...

The navigation and localization of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) in seawater are of the utmost importance for scientific research, petroleum engineering, search and rescue, and military missions concerning the special environment of seawater. However, there is still no general method for AUVs navigation and localization, especially in the f...

The widely distributed lakes, as one of the major components of the inland water system, are the primary available freshwater resources on the earth and are sensitive to accelerated climate change and extensive human activities. Lakes play an important role in the terrestrial water cycle and biogeochemical cycle and substantially influence the heal...

It has long been recognized that grain refinement of Mg-Al alloys is difficult, although various methods have been tried. In the present paper, a novel grain refiner, Al-3.4V-1B master alloy, has been developed to refine the as-cast AZ91 alloy. A comparative study on grain refinement effects of Al-3.4V-1B, Al-5V, and Al-3Ti-1B master alloys was per...

Brassicaceae species employ both self-compatibility and self-incompatibility systems to regulate post-pollination events. Arabidopsis halleri is strictly self-incompatible, while the closely related Arabidopsis thaliana has transitioned to self-compatibility with the loss of functional S-locus genes during evolution. The downstream signaling protei...

Magnetically oriented three-phase composite systems of epoxy resin, aluminum nitride, and nickel have been prepared, the thermal conductivity of composites filled with nickel powder with different particle sizes and content under different applied magnetic fields was studied. The vibrating scanning magnetometer (VSM) and scanning electron microscop...

DNA methylation alteration is frequently observed in exogenous gene silencing and may play important roles in the genetic stability of traits. Cashmere is derived from the secondary hair follicles (SHFs) of cashmere goats, which are morphogenetically distinct from primary hair follicles (PHFs). Here, in light of having initially produced 15 Tβ4 ove...

An effective approach for amino protection and construction of a seven-membered ring has been developed. The method uses imidazolium chloride to carry out the Michael addition reaction at low temperatures and perform amino deprotection or construction of a seven-membered ring at high temperatures.

Basic helix–loop–helix (bHLH) transcription factor (TF) family is commonly found in eukaryotes, which is one of the largest families of regulator proteins. It plays an important role in plant growth and development, as well as various biotic and abiotic stresses. However, a comprehensive analysis of the bHLH family has not been reported in Brassica...

To establish a coccidiosis resistance evaluation model for chicken selection, the different parameters were compared between infected and control Jinghai yellow chickens. Validation parameters were selected for principal component analysis (PCA), and an optimal comprehensive evaluation model was selected based on the significance of a correlation c...

Dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) is a compensation device that can effectively improve power quality, and it is widely used to compensate the voltage sag on sensitive loads. However, DVR will affect the operation of the sensitive loads in parallel at the same busbar (such parallel are defined as adjacent loads) in the process of improving sensitive l...

Concentrating solar power (CSP) station is counted as a promising flexible power supply when the net load power curve is duck-shaped in high photovoltaic (PV) penetration power system, which may lead to the serious phenomenon of PV curtailment and a large-capacity power shortage. This paper presents a mitigation strategy that replaces thermal power...

In order to provide a complete solution for designing and analyzing the axial flux permanent magnet synchronous motor (AFPMSM) for electric vehicles, this paper covers the electromagnetic design and multi-physics analysis technology of AFPMSM in depth. Firstly, an electromagnetic evaluation method based on an analytical algorithm for efficient eval...

Due to various environmental issues caused by resource exploitation, establishing green mines is an essential measure to realize sustainable growth for mining companies. This research aimed to develop a novel methodology to evaluate the performance of green mines within hesitant fuzzy conditions. First, hesitant fuzzy sets (HFSs) were used to expre...

Astragli Radix (AR) is one of the most popular traditional Chinese medicines with chemical constituents including flavonoids and saponins. As recently evidenced, some fungi or their fermentation liquid may have the potential to affect the bioactive constituents and different pharmacological effects of AR. Thus, the composition of fermented AR (FAR)...

Two new capnosane-based diterpenoids, flaccidenol A (1) and 7-epi-pavidolide D (2), two new cembranoids, flaccidodioxide (3) and flaccidodiol (4), and three known compounds 5 to 7 were characterized from the marine soft coral Klyxum flaccidum, collected off the coast of the island of Pratas. The structures of the new compounds were determined by ex...

We have conducted a long-term research on the Taiwanese soft coral Asterospicularia laurae, which resulted in many xenicane-type diterpenoids such as asterolaurins A–M from A. laurae coral tissues during the non-spawning period were isolated. Here, we report a new xenicane diterpenoid, asterolaurin N (1), along with three known xenicane-type monoca...

This study examined the use of high dosages of ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI) (253.7 nm) to deal with various concentrations of air pollutants, such as formaldehyde (HCHO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC), under various conditions of humidity. A number of irradiation methods were applied for various durations in field studies to...

MnFe2O4 NPs are successfully decorated on the surface of SiO2 sheets to form the SiO2-MnFe2O4 composite via one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method. The phase identification, morphology, crystal structure, distribution of elements, and microwave absorbing properties in S-band (1.55~3.4 GHz) of the as-prepared composite were investigated by XRD, SEM,...

To improve the robustness of grid-connected inverter against grid impedance in a weak grid an integrated design method of LCL-filter parameters and controller parameters is proposed. In the method the inherent relation of LCL-filter parameters and controller parameters is taken into consideration to realize their optimized match. A parameter normal...

Effective intelligent fault diagnosis of bearings is important for improving safety and reliability of machine. Benefiting from the training advantages, deep learning method can automatically and adaptively learn more abstract and high-level features without much priori knowledge. To realize representative features mining and automatic recognition...