• Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia
• /
• v.3 no.2
• /
• pp.121-142
• /
• 2024

What should death be like for a deeply venerated or highly prominent Buddhist monastic? This question itself does not just pertain to death rituals, funerals, or cremations but also to the entire process, as understood within the tradition, of leaving this realm and entering into another. It is in all of these aspects that something exceptional should be highlighted to exemplify accomplishments of the given individual's religious life, and draw attention to the profound spiritual attainment of that figure that devotees believe lies beyond what is achievable by ordinary humans. The recent death of Venerable Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan, led to plentiful discussions in Taiwanese society from people of all walks of life, spanning scholars to media and citizens. This study will reveal the peculiarities of this interesting case, mainly as it relates to the late master's mortuary rites. In doing so, other monastics who passed away in contemporary times will be brought up for comparison. In addition to its notable innovations and creativity, the focal case of the mortuary rites for Hsing Yun manifests the tension between traditional and modern Buddhist ideologies and practices; especially as these tensions unfold within the Humanistic Buddhist context.

• Journal of Distribution Science
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.73-85
• /
• 2018

Purpose - The beauty salon industry is a highly competitive market. Every beauty salon shop aims to keep its customers satisfied and hopes that they will revisit several times. Hence, this paper investigates the key factors affecting the repurchase intention of consumers in the beauty salon industry in Taiwan. Research design, data, and methodology - We first use the content analysis of free-response narratives from beauticians to classify the key factors objectively and develop the questionnaire accordingly. We then distribute the questionnaire to 130 beauty salon consumers to complete the questionnaire. Next, the Grey Relation Analysis is employed to identify the key factors that affect the repurchase intention of consumers in the beauty salon industry. Results - From the perspectives of the beauty salon customers, the factors affecting the repurchase intention of consumers are (1) obvious treatment results, (2) the treatment space considers personal privacy, (3) the offer of promotional prices for treatment/product trials, and (4) the product knowledge of the beauticians. From the perspectives of the beauticians, the factors include (1) the treatment space is well-designed and makes the customers feel relaxed, (2) enhancement of the customer relationship, (3) the treatment space considers personal privacy, and (4) the positive service attitude of the beauticians. Conclusions - We analyze all the key factors and offer some suggestions as a conclusion.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.33 no.11
• /
• pp.1797-1808
• /
• 2020

Objective: This study assessed the effects of probiotics on cecal microbiota, gene expression of intestinal tight junction proteins, and immune response in the cecal tonsil of broiler chickens challenged with Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica. Methods: One-day-old broiler chickens (n = 240) were randomly allocated to four treatments: negative control (Cont), multi-strain probiotic-treated group (Pro), Salmonella-infected group (Sal), and multi-strain probiotic-treated and Salmonella-infected group (ProSal). All chickens except those in the Cont and Pro groups were gavaged with 1×10⁸ cfu/mL of S. enterica subsp. enterica 4 days after hatching. Results: Our results indicated that body weight, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio of birds were significantly reduced (p<0.05) by Salmonella challenge. Chickens challenged with Salmonella decreased cecal microbial diversity. Chickens in the Sal group exhibited abundant Proteobacteria than those in the Cont, Pro, and ProSal groups. Salmonella infection downregulated gene expression of Occludin, zonula occludens-1 (ZO1), and Mucin 2 in the jejunum and Occludin and Claudin in the ileum. Moreover, the Sal group increased gene expression of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, and lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha factor (LITAF) and reduced levels of transforming growth factor-β4 and IL-10 compared with the other groups (p<0.05). However, chickens receiving probiotic diets increased Lactobacillaceae abundance and reduced Enterobacteriaceae abundance in the ceca. Moreover, supplementation with probiotics increased the mRNA expression of Occludin, ZO1, and Mucin 2 in the ileum (p<0.05). In addition, probiotic supplementation downregulated the mRNA levels of IFN-γ (p<0.05) and LITAF (p = 0.075) and upregulated IL-10 (p = 0.084) expression in the cecal tonsil. Conclusion: The administration of multi-strain probiotics modulated intestinal microbiota, gene expression of tight junction proteins, and immunomodulatory activity in broiler chickens.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.34 no.7
• /
• pp.1157-1168
• /
• 2021

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different amounts of wheat bran (WB) inclusion and postbiotics form by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and phytase co-fermented wheat bran (FWB) on the growth performance and health status of broilers. Methods: Study randomly allocated a total of 300 male broilers to a control and 4 treatment groups (5% WB, 5% FWB, 10% WB, and 10% FWB inclusion, respectively) with each pen having 20 broilers and 3 pens per treatment. Results: The WB does not contain enzymes, but there are 152.8, 549.2, 289.5, and 147.1 U/g dry matter xylanase, protease, cellulase and β-glucanase in FWB, respectively. Furthermore, FWB can decrease nitric oxide release of lipopolysaccharide stimulated chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells by about two times. Results show that 10% FWB inclusion had significantly the highest weight gain (WG) at 1 to 21 d; 5% FWB had the lowest feed conversion rate at 22 to 35 d; 10% WB and 10% FWB inclusion have the highest villus height and Lactobacillus spp. number in caecum; and both 5% and 10% FWB can increase ash content in femurs. Compared to control group, all treatments increase mucin 2, and tight junction (TJ), such as occludin, claudin-1, zonula occludens-1, and mRNA expression in ileum by at least 5 folds. In chicken peripheral blood mononuclear cells, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-oxidase-1 mRNA expression decreases from 2 to 5 times, and glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit mRNA expression also increases in all treatment groups compared to control group. The mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), nuclear factor-κB, and IL-1β, decreases in 5% and 10% FWB groups compared to control group. Conclusion: To summarize, both WB and FWB inclusion in broilers diets increase TJ mRNA expression and anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation, but up to 10% FWB groups have better WG in different stages of broiler development.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
• /
• v.4 no.4
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2016

This paper has studied the impacts of the exchange rate, government debt as a percent of GDP and other relevant macroeconomic variables on aggregate output in the Philippines. A simultaneous-equation model consisting of aggregate demand and short-run aggregate supply is applied. The dummy variable technique is employed to detect whether the slope and intercept of the real effective exchange rate may have changed. Real depreciation during 1998.Q1 - 2006.Q3, real appreciation during 2006.Q4 - 2016.Q1, a lower domestic debt as a percent of GDP, a lower real interest rate, a higher stock price or a higher lagged real oil price would raise aggregate output. Recent trends of real peso appreciation, declining domestic debt as a percent of GDP, lower real interest rates, and rising stock prices are in line with the empirical results and would promote economic growth. The authorities may need to continue to pursue fiscal prudence and maintain a stronger peso as the positive effect of real appreciation dominates its negative effect in recent years.