抑制水果黑色素形成之新理論及研發美白保養品之新概念
PPO 是一種含銅的多酚氧化? (E. C. 1. 14. 18. 1)，主要是將酚類 (phenol) 氧化成二酚類(diphenol)，更近一步的變成quinones，後者是一種不溶於水的褐色聚合物，在植物中造成褐化最主要原因，然而在人類皮膚則產生黑色素 (melanin)。我們提出有一種揮發性的抑制劑存在動植物體內，此種抑制劑會抑制生物體內PPO 的活性。植物在收成後，揮發性的抑制劑逐漸消失，導致內生性的PPO 活性逐漸上升，因此植物便會產生深褐色的斑點。在本研究中，我們以玉蘭花作為例子，以生化酵素動力實驗、部分純化黑色素抑制劑來解釋揮發性抑制劑在植物體內的存在及其作用，更進一步對水果快速褐化提出一種新的理論。研究發現PPO 的褐化反應就像是人體內酪氨酸? (tyrosinase) 的催化反應，酪氨酸?可以使人體產生黑色素而累積在皮膚上形成黑斑，利用〝人工皮膚〞模擬揮發性黑色素抑制物的作用，證明，防止PPO 抑制劑之揮發可能在未來美白保養品工業裡扮演一極具潛力的角色。Polyphenol oxidase (PPO) or tyrosinase (E.C. 1.14.18.1) is an important and ubiquitous enzyme responsible for browning in plants and melanization in animals. PPO is a copper-containing enzyme that catalyzes the chain-oxidation from monophenol or polyphenols to o-diphenols and subsequent o-quinones. The resulting quinones are large wate-insoluble polymers with dark brown color. We proposed that volatile inhibitors are associated with the plant PPO and block the PPO activity in vivo. While post-harvesting the volatile inhibitors evaporate, the endogenous PPO is then activated and therefore instantly produces dark quinone pigment. In the present study using magnolia flowers as an example, we show the presence of a potent volatile inhibitor(s) for PPO in plant. The novel finding clarifies the mechanism involved in the browning phenomenon of post-harvesting for most fruits. Since the PPO is also know present in human as tyrosinase responsible for the formation of “darkening spots” on skin, the finding of evaporation of potent PPO inhibitor may be potentially used as a strategy in developing a novel cosmetic product.
台灣沿岸地形與海嘯的實驗室模擬
本實驗利用喇叭、薄膜電極、波型產生器、鎖相放大器、及750 介面卡組合一套系統,此系統可使偵測精密度大幅提升(±4*10-5cm),使得水槽及地表模型尺度變小(40*22*35cm),因此可節省實驗的成本與時間我們在坡度實驗中,發現坡度在3 度左右,淺化係數都超過3. 對照台灣沿岸發生海嘯的歷史記載,確實在台灣東北角及西南沿岸等坡度為三度之地區都發生較明顯的海嘯危害. 反之,坡度在四度以上的東岸其海嘯波高都非常低.最後再藉著硬體系統及電腦2D 動畫模擬的整合,使我們可方便掌握波浪在不同坡度及位置,其波長及波高變化比,如此有助於預估及說明海嘯隨地形變化的狀況.By using the horn, membranous electrodes, function generator, phase-locked amplifier, and Science Workshop 750, we plan to assemble a tsunami simulation system in which the precision can be getting increased (±4*10-5cm) .Because of the improvement of its precision, the size of the tank and of the surface models will become smaller .As a result, the money and time spent on the experiment will be spare. When experimenting on the influence of inclination of the landforms, we observed that when the inclination reaches about 3 degrees, the shoaling coefficient exceeded 3 .The result of our experiment can provide an explanation to the tsunami on the northeast and southwest coast of Taiwan .According to the historical records, the disastrous tsunami happens frequently on the northeast and southwest coast of Taiwan where its inclination is also about 3 degrees as well .On the other hand, on the eastern coast, the wave height is lower and its inclination exceeds 4 degrees .Apparently, our experimenting result is correspond to the natural phenomena in Taiwan’s coast . Besides, with the help of hardware system and computer 2D animation simulation, we can easily measure the wavelength and wave height scale of the wave in different inclinations and positions. Therefore, this tsunami simulation system can provide a great help to estimate and explain the phenomena of tsunami which may change its condition in different landforms.
鉤盲蛇(Ramphotyphlops braminus)捕獵四部曲
Feeding behavior is the action which animals depend on maintain livelihood. Snakes usually use the three following ways to catch their preys: winding, venom-releasing and pressing their game to death. However, previews study is rare about the feeding behavior of Ramphotyphlops braminus. This puzzles us, prompting us to do in-depth research on it. When performing an experiment, we will use the camera with infrared function to record entire experiment and the obtained data will transform the graph. Our result shows the feeding behavior of R.braminus is a new way to catch their game, and the minute process of this special way is also written down in our report. We hope that the result can let everyone be clear about Ramphotyphlops braminus of soil ecosystem status, and it is an essential contribution for building the archive of Family Typhlopidae. 攝食行為是動物賴以維生的行為。在蛇類中，常見的捕捉方式有：纏繞、 使用毒液、壓斃等三種類型。但，文獻中卻沒有任何有關於鉤盲蛇(Ramphotyphlops braminus)的捕食行為。這使我們感到疑惑，並想深入探討。在實驗進行當中，我們使用紅外線攝影機將實驗全程錄製下來，並將所得的數據轉化成圖表。而其結果顯示鉤盲蛇(Ramphotyphlops braminus)的捕食行為是一種全新的模式，這種模式的詳細過程也被我們全部收錄到報告中。我們希望做出來的結果能讓大家對鉤盲蛇(Ramphotyphlops braminus)在土壤生態系中的地位更加了解，而且對於建立盲蛇科(Typhlopidae)資料庫有實質的貢獻。
外觀數列
The Look and Say sequence is produced by describing the appearance of the previous row. For example, start with “1,” which can be described as “one 1,” and therefore the second row is “11,” which is "two 1s," making the third row “21,” the fourth row “1211,”and so on. The main goal of this study is to work out the exact formula for this sequence, which means given the row number n, we can know at once what the n-th row is without having to start from the first row and doing the look-and-say iteration for n-1 times. Some of the methods used include dividing groups, repetition and cracks. The formula we derived speeds up the calculation and gives us a better understanding of the look and say sequence.「外觀數列」為依照外觀產生下一列的數列，第一列為「1」，第二列描述第一列「1 個1」而為「11」，第三列則描述第二列「2 個1」而為「21」，第四列「1211」，依此類推。本研究針對外觀數列的各項數學性質作研究探討，並由此推導出外觀數列的一般式，即給定第n 列就可知道該列的內容。我們運用了分組、重複性以及裂縫的方法分析數列，最後得到了其一般式，此一般式有助於運算速度的加快以及我們對數列性質的了解。
旋光性介質對電磁波影響的分析與討論
This experiment mainly aims at three kinds of solution - Dextrose, Saccharose, and Fructose. By changing its temperature, density, length of tube, as well as different wave length factor of polarized light, we observe the influence of the direction of polarization by those factors. The experimental result showed as follow. The Dextrose and the Saccharose can cause the polarized light with the rotary direction of clockwise, so both are ‘dextrorotatory’. The Fructose can cause the polarized light with the direction of counterclockwise, so it is the ‘laevorotatory’. For the Dextrose, when the\r temperature is lower than 20℃, the direction of polarization has changed observably, but doesn’t have any rule. When the temperature is higher than 20℃, the direction of polarization increase slowly. For those three kinds of solution, when\r density increased, the polarization increased observably. When the polarized light passed through the solution with longer path, the direction of polarization has more change. When the wave length of the polarized light changed, the direction of polarization has been changed observably. When the wave length of the polarized light is shorter, the direction of polarization change increased.本實驗主要針對葡萄糖、蔗糖、及果糖等三種旋光性溶液，改變其溫度、濃度、容器管長、以及不同波長的偏振光等因子，觀察這些因素對偏振方向所造成的影響。實驗結果顯示：葡萄糖與蔗糖會使得偏振光的偏振方向以順時針旋轉，屬右旋性之光學異構物；果糖會使得偏振光的偏振方向以逆時針旋轉，屬左旋性之光學異構物。若溶液為葡萄糖，當溫度低於20℃時，偏振光的偏振方向會有明顯的改變，但無規則可尋；當溫度大於20℃時，偏振方向旋轉角位移則以非常緩慢的方式增加。當此三種溶液之濃度增加時，偏振光的偏振方向有明顯遞增的現象。此外，當容器長度越長（即偏振光在介質中的行程越長）時，偏振方向的改變亦越明顯。當偏振光的波長改變時，偏振光的偏振方向有明顯的變化，且當偏振光的波長越短，偏振方向的改變越大，似乎與波長呈反比，但此結果與理論值（即旋光度與波長平方成反比）仍有一些差距。
本土藥材金銀花的研究與分析
本實驗以薄膜色層層析（TLC）、高效能液相層析（HPLC）分析等化學方法，進行金銀花品種差異的鑑識；此外，配合生藥學的顯微鏡檢視，如中藥材組織鏡檢、藥材粉末鏡檢等比對，以期找出辨別金銀花品種的方法。研究至目前為止，由金銀花之薄膜色層分析的Rf值（0.225、0.425、0.7、0.85、0.95）可確認出金銀花藥材，並得知金銀花藥材中皆含有綠原酸的成分；以高效能液相層析的圖譜與成分峰的積分面積可用來判別金銀花的品種，並從質譜分析瞭解成分含量；進行生藥學的藥材粉末組織鏡檢，發現無法作為金銀花藥材的分類憑藉。未來將持續延伸實驗，朝向中藥奈米化與一般粉末在藥效、成分上差異的比較，並進行金銀花萃取液的抗菌作用試驗，瞭解不同品種之金銀花藥材在藥理作用的異同，接續著奈米化藥材的應用與實踐。Using thin layer chromatograph (TLC) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), we can study how to differentiate the species variation of honeysuckle; beside, based on the observation of biopharmaceutical microscope, such as comparing the histology of Chinese herbs and its powder, we suggest that we could differentiate the species of honeysuckle. From the present, firstly, we could distinguish the honeysuckle from other herbs by the Rf value of TLC(0.225, 0.425, 0.7, 0.85, 0.95), from which we find that all honeysuckles contain the component of Chlorogenic acid. Secondly, we could tell the species of honeysuckle according to the map of HPLC and the peak area after integration, as well as the integrants of honeysuckle by way of LC-Mass analysis. Thirdly, while studying the histological analysis based on the observation of biopharmaceutical microscope, we found that it shows no difference between all the honeysuckles; thus, it fails to be a scientific method used to distinguish the herb honeysuckle. However, in the biochemical experiments of honeysuckles, we found honeysuckles from different sources and the place of origin shows difference in their antibiotic effect, showing the importance of local medicine. When it comes to my future work, in order to extend my experiments on honeysuckles, I would compare the nano-scale honeysuckle powder with normal-sized one in their clinical effects and components.
Dioscorin 對塵?造成氣管上皮細胞傷害的保護性之研究
古籍上記載山藥益肺氣，養肺陰，且最近研究報告發現山藥含有珍貴的dioscorin，其為山藥貯存養分的重要蛋白質，有抑制胰蛋白水解?之活性。而塵?糞便、屍體中的消化蛋白?會破壞呼吸道上皮細胞緊密連接處引起過敏氣喘反應。我對此甚感興趣，進而利用山藥的萃取蛋白dioscorin、塵?粗萃取蛋白及呼吸道上皮癌細胞A549，藉細胞培養、免疫螢光染色、螢光顯微攝影來實驗山藥是否真能保護上皮細胞緊密連接處。再利用膠體電泳、西方墨點法中抗體的高專一性、二抗的高靈敏度來確知我之前的實驗。另外也用ELISA 來實驗dioscorin或塵?引起A549 發炎的情況是如何。由實驗得知，dioscorin 可抑制及預防塵?引起的過敏氣喘反應；而經由ELISA 實驗發現，dioscorin 對於塵?刺激A549分泌發炎物質Eotaxin 並沒有助長或是降低的效果。It was believed that Chinese yam have benefits in treating asthma. Recently, it was found that the valuable dioscorin can be isolated from Chinese yam. The major function of dioscorin is nutrition-storage, however, it also have activities in inhibiting trypsin-like protease. This inhibitory activities trigger my interests. Because the major allergens, mites, and their stool may destroy the tight junctions of airway epithelium cells through their trypsin-protease activities. I therefore carry out an in vitro study to identify whether dioscorin can be used in protecting epithelium from the attack of mites. My results showed that dioscorin can protect the tight junctions of A549 cells from the attack of mite crude extract protein. I believed that dioscorin can be a good candidate in pharmacology application. The genetic and proteomic information are my further focus. On the other hand, we also investigated the possible activity of dioscorin in inhibiting mites-induced inflammation through using A549 as a model and employing ELISA. We found dioscorin neither inhibited nor enhanced the eotaxin being secreted from A549 under the stimulation of mites.
由Brocard Point 發現幾何不等式
本研究報告以Brocard Point 為核心，所用到的性質均先證明，以確認其正確性，並推演出一些其他的性質，藉由這些性質導出幾何不等式。內容可概分為四部份：(1)以Brocard Angle 及已知的或推演出的基本性質，導出一些不等式。(2)結合「法格乃諾問題」、「費馬點」、「尤拉公式」導出幾個幾何不等式。尤其是三角形邊長與面積，外接、內切圓半徑與邊長間的不等關係，頗為有趣。(3)以向量為工具，分別計算內、重、垂心與Brocard Point 間的距離，並導出邊長的不等關係。其中由內心及重心所導出的不等式，清楚俐落；垂心所導出的不等式則較為複雜。(4)以Brocard Cirle 與內、重心間的關係，導出一系列的不等式。其中Weitgenberk 不等式的無意發現，令我們印象深刻。The Discovery of Geometry Inequalities by Brocard Point This paper takes Brocard Point as a core. We proved some properties about Brocard geometry to confirm its accuracy, and deduce some other properties, and then derive some geometry inequalities by these properties. The content may divide into four parts: a) Derives geometry inequality by Brocard Angle, Crux Mathematicorum and properties which known or deduced. b) Unifies "Fagnano problem", "Fermat Point", "Euler formula" to derive several geometry inequalities. In particular the inequalities between triangle area and length of side, or circumradius inradius and the length of side, is quite interesting. c) Derives geometry inequalities about length of sides in triangle by the distances between incenter centroid circumcenter and Brocard Point. Especially, these inequalities were elegant which derived by incenter and centroid, but it was complicated derived by orthocenter. d) According to the relation about incenter centroid and Brocard Circle derives a series of inequalities. Discover Weitgenberk inequality makes us excited.
Vitamin C in Cold and Flu Drinks
This chemistry project was designed to measure the vitamin C levels within liquid cold and flu remedies, and see if they had been accurately stated on the package. A range of Cold and flu drinks was selected, including one made with only cold water (Lemsip Original, Lemsip Max, Effer-C-Cold Water, Relief and Lemting) .The procedure used to carry out the experiment was a redox titration, each trial required two titrations, with the first being a blank titration to determine a sodium thiosulfate concentration in the absence of vitamin C. The following Drinks had more Vitamin C than stated on the packaging – Lemsip Original (19.4%), Lemsip Max (22.1%), Effer-C (17%) and Relief (8.8%). Lemting was the only drink made to directions that had less Vitamin C than stated by 31.8%. Two conclusions can be drawn from these results, the first being that Lemting has the most inaccurately recorded mass of vitamin C and is also the only drink with less vitamin C than stated. The other interesting result is that Effer-C (the only drink made with cold water) had 170mg of extra vitamin C. Of the other drinks that had more vitamin C, Lemsip Max was next with an extra 22.8mg. Early research had showed that Vitamin C was affected by high temperatures (above approximately 70oC) and, as cold and flu drinks are commonly made with hot water the Vitamin C levels might change when they were made up. This poses a further possible research question which is, in making cold and flu remedies with hot water is some of the available Vitamin C being destroyed?