Antilipogenic and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Codonopsis lanceolata in Mice Hepatic Tissues after Chronic Ethanol Feeding

This study evaluated the antilipogenic and anti-inflammatory effects of Codonopsis lanceolata (C. lanceolata) root extract in mice with alcohol-induced fatty liver and elucidated its underlying molecular mechanisms. Ethanol was introduced into the liquid diet by mixing it with distilled water at 5% (wt/v), providing 36% of the energy, for nine weeks. Among the three different fractions prepared from the C. lanceolata root, the C. lanceolata methanol extract (CME) exhibited the most remarkable attenuation of alcohol-induced fatty liver with respect to various parameters such as hepatic free fatty acid concentration, body weight loss, and hepatic accumulations of triglyceride and cholesterol. The hepatic gene and protein expression levels were analysed via RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively. CME feeding significantly restored the ethanol-induced downregulation of the adiponectin receptor (adipoR) 1 and of adipoR2, along with their downstream molecules. Furthermore, the study data showed that CME feeding dramatically reversed ethanol-induced hepatic upregulation of toll-like receptor- (TLR-) mediated signaling cascade molecules. These results indicate that the beneficial effects of CME against alcoholic fatty livers of mice appear to be with adenosine- and adiponectin-mediated regulation of hepatic steatosis and TLR-mediated modulation of hepatic proinflammatory responses

Avoid Contamination in Soybean (Glycine Max, L. [Merrill]) Microspores Culture

Microspore culture is done to obtain pure strains. The purpose of soybean microspore culture to obtainquality seeds. Two important step that must be done is isolation of microspores in starvation medium andsubculture into embryogenesis medium. Many factors contributing to the contamination of soybeanmicrospore culture. Contamination in the B medium temperature 34 0C is more common than 4 0C. Vulnerableto contamination because of embryogenesis medium rich in nutrients. Bacterial contaminationcan be caused by internal contaminants such as shape of the anther. Other internal contaminants thatcause diseases such as fungi Colletotrichum truncatum and Phakopsora pachyrhizi. Antagonistic fungiwhich contaminate cultures that Trichoderma spp., Alternaria spp., Fusarium spp. Handling of contaminationis done by selecting the appropriate methods in order to remain viable microspores. Sterilization soybeanflower buds with 20% Tween for 10 minutes and then rinsed with distilled water. Moreover sterilizationwith 4% Hg Cl2 and 10% NaOCl for 10 minutes, rinsed with distilled water times, followed by 96%alcohol for 1 minute, can press up to 70% contamination

Emodin Regulates Glucose Utilization by Activating AMP-activated Protein Kinase

AMP-activated protein kinase has been described as a key signaling protein that can regulate energy homeostasis. Here, we aimed to characterize novel AMP-activated kinase (AMPK)-activating compounds that have a much lower effective concentration than metformin. As a result, emodin, a natural anthraquinone derivative, was shown to stimulate AMPK activity in skeletal muscle and liver cells. Emodin enhanced GLUT4 translocation and [C-14]glucose uptake into the myotube in an AMPK-dependent manner. Also, emodin inhibited glucose production by suppressing the expression of key gluconeogenic genes, such as phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose-6-phosphatase, in hepatocytes. Furthermore, we found that emodin can activate AMPK by inhibiting mitochondrial respiratory complex I activity, leading to increased reactive oxygen species and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase activity. Finally, we confirmed that a single dose administration of emodin significantly decreased the fasting plasma glucose levels and improved glucose tolerance in C57Bl/6J mice. Increased insulin sensitivity was also confirmed after daily injection of emodin for 8 days using an insulin tolerance test and insulin-stimulated PI3K phosphorylation in wild type and high fat diet-induced diabetic mouse models. Our study suggests that emodin regulates glucose homeostasis in vivo by AMPK activation and that this may represent a novel therapeutic principle in the treatment of type 2 diabetic models.close

Comparable Risk of Suicidal Ideation between Workers at Precarious Employment and Unemployment: Data from the Korean Welfare Panel Study, 2012–2017

Precarious employment and unemployment are important factors that impact suicidal behavior. This study investigated (1) how employment transitions among permanent employment, precarious employment, and unemployment are associated with suicidal ideation in working employees and compared (2) whether individuals transitioning among these three states were more vulnerable than those remaining. Using nationally representative longitudinal data between 2012–2017, a total of 25,862 adults aged 25 to 59 years old without a record of suicidal ideation were included at baseline. Transitions in employment status (permanent work, precarious work, or unemployment) and suicidal ideation were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression models. Compared to the “permanent to permanent” group, individuals in the “permanent to precarious” (odds ratio (OR) 1.74, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.29–2.35], “permanent to unemployment” (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.32–2.96), “precarious to precarious” (OR 1.86, 95% CI 1.21–2.85), and the “precarious to unemployment” (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.05–1.95) groups had higher odds of suicidal ideation. The magnitude of such odds was generally higher than that of individuals at annual unemployment or precarious states. The results show that adults moving in and out of different employment states have higher odds of suicidal ideation than individuals at annually static precarious or unemployment status

Scale-Down and Sr-Doping Effects on La4Ni3O10-?? -YSZ Nanocomposite Cathodes for IT-SOFCs

Among the Ruddlesden-Popper series, Lan+1NinO3n+1 (n = 1, 2, and 3) has attracted tremendous attention as an intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell (IT-SOFC) cathode because of its favorable properties for realizing high performance. Inter alia, La4Ni3O10-?? (n = 3) has in particular gained recognition as a promising cathode material owing to its high electrical conductivity and cell performance in IT-SOFC applications. The fabrication of nano-sized La4Ni3O10-?? composites requires a low sintering temperature process because high sintering temperature gives rise to solid state reactions between the constituents, which leads to the formation of an undesired electrical insulator and the formation of a low surface area thin-film on the surface. The infiltration method is therefore chosen to fabricate nano-sized La4Ni3O10-?? composites because it can provide reduced particle size of La4Ni3O10-?? by separating the sintering process of the cathode from the high temperature sintering process of the electrolyte. In this work, we investigated the electrochemical properties of La4Ni3O10-?? composites prepared by an infiltration method in terms of application as an IT-SOFC cathode material as well as the effect of strontium doping at La sites.close1

Direct Deposition of Highly Conductive Aluminum Thin Film on Substrate by Solution-Dipping Process

A solution-dipping process consisting of 2 steps, including (i) a catalytic treatment of the substrate and (ii) an immersion of the catalytically treated substrate into an aluminum precursor solution of AlH₃{O­(C₄H₉)₂}, is suggested for the low-cost and simple preparation of aluminum thin film. This process can be applied to electric devices in the way of not only various film geometry including large area (□ 100 mm (<i>W</i>) × 100 mm (<i>L</i>)) or patterned structure but also the diverse substrate selectivity including rigid or flexible substrate. More interestingly, preparations of aluminum film in this study can be unprecedentedly accomplished at room temperature with the help of chemical catalyst to decompose AlH₃{O­(C₄H₉)₂} into Al, 1.5H₂, and O­(C₄H₉)₂. Beyond the previously reported processes, the prepared Al films via solution-dipping process are comparable or even superior to Ag, Au, and Al films prepared by other solution processes and furthermore are found to be excellent in mechanical durability against external deformation

Clinical Predictors of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bacteremia in Emergency Department

Objectives. Pseudomonas aeruginosa shows higher mortality rate compared to other bacterial infections and is susceptible to a limited number of antimicrobial agents. Considering inadequate empirical treatment of Pseudomonas bacteremia has been associated with increased mortality, it is important for emergency physicians to identify infections by P. aeruginosa. Methods. This was a single-center retrospective case-control study to investigate the clinical predictors of patients diagnosed as Pseudomonas bacteremia in the emergency department (ED) from June 2012 to December 2016. Patients with blood culture positive for Escherichia coli in the same period were chosen as the control group, and type of infection was matched for each patient. Results. A total of 54 cases with Pseudomonas bacteremia and 108 controls with E. coli bacteremia were included. In the case group, 76% was community-acquired infection, 44% received inappropriate empirical treatment in the ED, and in-hospital mortality was 30%. Multiple logistic regression showed that respiratory tract infection was an independent risk factor for Pseudomonas bacteremia (OR 6.56, 95% CI 1.78-23.06; p = 0.004), whereas underlying diabetes mellitus (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.07-0.61; p = 0.004) and presentation as urinary tract infection (OR 0.06, 95% CI 0.02-0.18; p < 0.001) were negative clinical predictors. Conclusions. We suggest that antipseudomonal antibiotics should be considered beyond simple coverage of Gram-negative bacteria in the ED, especially if the patient is likely to have pneumonia. Having diabetes or presenting with urinary tract infection could be clinical factors unfavorable to use of antipseudomonal antibiotics

Targeted Delivery of Exosomes Armed with Anti-Cancer Therapeutics

Among extracellular vesicles, exosomes have gained great attention for their role as therapeutic vehicles for delivering various active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Exosomes “armed” with anti-cancer therapeutics possess great potential for an efficient intracellular delivery of anti-cancer APIs and enhanced targetability to tumor cells. Various technologies are being developed to efficiently incorporate anti-cancer APIs such as genetic materials (miRNA, siRNA, mRNA), chemotherapeutics, and proteins into exosomes and to induce targeted delivery to tumor burden by exosomal surface modification. Exosomes can incorporate the desired therapeutic molecules via direct exogenous methods (e.g., electroporation and sonication) or indirect methods by modifying cells to produce “armed” exosomes. The targeted delivery of “armed” exosomes to tumor burden could be accomplished either by “passive” targeting using the natural tropism of exosomes or by “active” targeting via the surface engineering of exosomal membranes. Although anti-cancer exosome therapeutics demonstrated promising results in preclinical studies, success in clinical trials requires thorough validation in terms of chemistry, manufacturing, and control techniques. While exosomes possess multiple advantages over synthetic nanoparticles, challenges remain in increasing the loading efficiency of anti-cancer agents into exosomes, as well as establishing quantitative and qualitative analytical methods for monitoring the delivery of in vivo administered exosomes and exosome-incorporated anti-cancer agents to the tumor parenchyma

A New Active and Durable Cathode Enables an SOFC to Operate at Lower Temperature

A solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is a device that converts the chemical energy in fuel to the electrical energy directly, efficiently and eco-friendly. Recently, cation ordered perovskite-related oxides, Sr doped LnBaCo2O5+?? (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd), are known as promising cathode materials for lower-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (LT-SOFCs) because of their superior electrochemical and electrical properties under cathodic conditions. The electrical conductivities of Sr doped LnBaCo2O5+?? are about 1000~3000 Scm-1 at operating temperature. The area specific resistance (ASR) for the Sr doped LnBaCo2O5+?? cathode composite with (GDC) electrolyte are as low as ~0.4 ???cm2 at 500o C, maximum power densities show ~1.5 W/cm2 at 600oC, and long term durability withNi-GDC anode support cell. These compounds show the best cell performance by now