Food fraud in high-value seafood products, particularly mislabeling of geographic origin and production method, poses a growing challenge to market transparency and consumer protection. Mullet (Mugil cephalus) roe is a representative case, as products of different origins are difficult to visually distinguish, and conventional DNA-based approaches are insufficient to resolve intra-species variation. In this study, high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS)-based small-molecule fingerprinting was applied to discriminate mullet roe by production method (wild vs farmed) and geographic origin (Taiwan wild vs imported). Partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) successfully discriminated imported, Taiwan wild, and Taiwan farmed mullet roe, while orthogonal PLS-DA (OPLS-DA) further resolved differences between the two wild sources (imported vs Taiwan wild). A total of 26 and 10 compounds were statistically selected, structurally annotated with Schymanski Level 2 confidence, and retained as markers of production method and geographic origin, respectively. The identified markers included lipid derivatives, vitamin A derivatives, algal-associated metabolites, and anthropogenic compounds, reflecting differences in diet, habitat, and environmental exposure. These findings demonstrate that small-molecule fingerprinting captures origin-specific biochemical signatures and provides a scientific basis for developing rapid screening or targeted analytical methods for origin authentication in regulatory, food control, and industrial settings, contributing to the prevention of food fraud and the protection of consumer rights.
The generation of harmonic waves in the laboratory using a wavemaker is often accompanied by unavoidable transient effects during the start-up process. To further understand these transient effects, this study revisits the transient wavemaker theory, with the aim of extending existing formulations and addressing unresolved issues. Small-amplitude transient waves generated by a wavemaker in uniform-depth wave flumes of both infinite and finite length are considered. Asymptotic analysis is conducted to investigate the leading waves under impulsive and harmonic forcing, both of which can be expressed in Airy-function form. Moreover, under harmonic forcing, the temporal evolution of the wave envelope is studied analytically. An asymptotic expression for the wave envelope, formulated in terms of a Fresnel integral, is obtained. It exhibits a monotonic increase to a local maximum, followed by damped oscillations towards a constant asymptotic value. A new series of experiments under harmonic forcing is conducted to support the findings, and the time-series data show that the two asymptotic solutions can accurately capture different stages of the transient waves. Furthermore, using a sliding-window approach, the temporal evolution of the wave envelope is extracted from the experimental data to validate the asymptotic solutions and the transition towards quasi-steady-state motion. The resulting waiting-time estimate provides a theory-based indicator for determining when waves generated by harmonic wavemaker motion become sufficiently periodic and stable for measurement at a fixed location.
Intersection safety is a major policy concern worldwide. Governments implement a variety of interventions, such as signal-timing optimization, to improve traffic safety. While the effectiveness of these measures is well documented, the existing literature predominantly focuses on vehicle-to-vehicle safety. A smaller strand of research examines pedestrian-protective infrastructure, such as refuge islands. However, these studies typically rely on virtual-reality simulations to infer speed reductions rather than measure actual reductions in crash incidence, and their highly controlled experimental settings raise concerns regarding external validity. This study addresses these limitations by exploiting Taiwan's large-scale Pedestrian-Protective Infrastructure (PPI) initiative in a quasi-experimental setting. Using nationwide administrative traffic accident records and an inverse probability weighting difference-in-differences framework, this study estimates the causal impact of the PPI on traffic accidents. The analysis finds that the PPI significantly reduces non-fatal traffic accidents, with particularly pronounced benefits for pedestrians. The effects are heterogeneous across road-user types, and townships that implement more substantial improvements experience the largest reductions in accidents. The benefit-cost analysis further shows that each dollar spent on PPI construction yields a return of approximately NT$3.5. The findings of this paper demonstrate that although the PPI is designed primarily to enhance pedestrian safety, its benefits extend to reducing vehicle-related accidents as well.
Background: Transformation of biomass waste into catalyst supports for upgrading bio-based chemicals has attracted significant attention. This approach not only mitigates the detrimental environmental impacts of agricultural wastes but also produces valuable functionalized materials for catalytic conversion of biomass to fine chemicals. Method: The activated biochar-anchored Ni nanoparticles (Ni@ABC) catalyst was synthesized via a two steps process. First, activated biochar (ABC) was prepared through pyrolysis of a mixture of water hyacinth and H3PO4. Then, Ni nanoparticles (Ni NPs) were embedded into the synthesized ABC structure using an impregnation method. The physical and chemical characteristics of Ni@ABC catalyst were measured using various techniques. Significant findings: The characterization results reveals that the Ni@ABC catalyst exhibited a mesoporous structure, high Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area, uniformly dispersed and small Ni nanoparticles, and abundant oxygen- and phosphorous-containing functional groups. The 10Ni@ABC catalyst efficiently converted furfural (FA) to tetrahydrofurfural alcohol (THFA), achieving a high yield of 98.8% at 50 degrees C for 5 h using NaBH4 as a hydrogen source, outperforming the convention metal oxides-supported Ni catalysts. The enhanced catalytic activity is attributed to the synergistic effects between Ni NPs and functional groups within the ABC support. Moreover, the reaction kinetics and mechanism were systematically investigated.
Backgrounds Cognitive flexibility deficits contribute substantially to functional disability in individuals with schizophrenia, yet existing neuropsychological measures remain limited in clinical utility, as they lack ecological connection and rarely distinguish spontaneous (sCF) from reactive (rCF) cognitive flexibility. To address this gap, this study developed and validated the Instrumental Activities of Daily Living-context-based Cognitive Flexibility Assessment (ICFA), a novel instrument designed to separately and simultaneously assess both rCF and sCF in real-life contexts. Methods The ICFA was developed based on literature reviews, then content-validated via the Delphi method. Reliability and validity were subsequently examined in a clinical sample of individuals with schizophrenia (n = 112). Results The ICFA demonstrated good internal consistencies (Cronbach’s α = 0.83 for sCF and 0.86 for rCF) and moderate to good test–retest reliabilities (ICC2,1 = 0.73 for sCF and 0.80 for rCF). Adequate criterion, convergent, discriminant, and ecological validities were also supported by moderate to strong correlations between ICFA scores and conceptually relevant references (ρ = 0.29∼0.78). Furthermore, known-groups validity was established through significantly large differences (Cohen’s d = 0.81–1.34, p < 0.001) between propensity score–matched samples of individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls (n = 54 per group). Conclusions Our results suggest that ICFA offers a psychometrically sound and ecologically grounded approach to assessing cognitive flexibility in schizophrenia, with direct relevance to real-world functional outcomes. Its ability to distinguish sCF from rCF makes it as an encouraging tool for guiding intervention planning and monitoring recovery.
