Improvement of hepatic steatosis and liver insulin signaling.

<p>(A) H&E staining of liver sections. Magnification: 200×. (B) Quantification of the degree of lipid droplets. (C) Liver triglyceride contents (n = 4–6). (D) Relative hepatic mRNA levels of genes related to lipid metabolism (n = 4–6). (E)Western blotting of insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation in liver. Representative western blot images and graphs representing the ratio of the (insulin-stimulated phospho-) protein of interest on Akt as measured by densitometry analysis are shown. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 HF, HFNS and HFPS versus NC. ^#p<0.05, ^##p<0.01 HFPS versus HF. ^$p<0.05, ^$ $p<0.01, HFPS versus HFNS. All data are presented as mean ± SE.</p

Primer sequences for qPCR analysis.

<p>Primer sequences for qPCR analysis.</p

P65 siRNA administration inhibited inflammatory cytokines production in the circulation and tissues of HFD mice.

<p>(A) DNA binding activity of NF- kB (p65) was determined from liver and adipose tissue extracts by ELISA for each sample relative to the normal control. IL-6 and TNF-α levels were determined by ELISA in (B) Serum, (C) Liver, (D) Adipose tissue and (E) Skeletal muscle. (F) RT-qPCR of markers (<i>CD68</i>, <i>F4/80</i>, <i>CD11c</i>) of M1 macrophagesin liver. RT-PCR data are expressed as mean ± SE relative to NC values, arbitrarily set at 1. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 HF, HFNS and HFPS versus NC. ^#p<0.05, ^##p<0.01 HFPS versus HF. ^$p<0.05, ^$ $p<0.01, HFPS versus HFNS. n = 5–6. Data are shown as mean ± SE. NC (normal control group), HF (high-fat diet group), HFNS (high-fat diet with non-silence siRNA group) and HFPS (high-fat diet with P65 siRNA group).</p

Lipid concentrations in blood and tissues.

<p>FFA, free fatty acids; TG, triglycerides; TC, total cholesterol; FA, fatty acid; mM/gprot,mmol/g protein.</p

P65 siRNA partly protects mice from diet-induced systemic metabolic disorders.

<p>(A) Body weight curves of mice in different group over 8 weeks (n = 6–10). (B) Glucose tolerance test (GTT) in overnight fasted mice (n = 6–8). Glucose (2g/Kg BW) were injected intraperitoneally and tail vein blood samples were assessed for glucose concentration at the indicated time points (0min, 30min, 60min, 120min after injection). (C) Insulin tolerance test (ITT, 1U/Kg BW, n = 6–8) in mice fasted for 6h. Tail vein blood samples were assessed for glucose concentration at the indicated time points (0min, 15min, 30min, 60min, 90min after injection). (D) Serum insulin concentration in 6h fasted mice were measured by orbital blood samples (n = 5). (E) Insulin sensitivity was analyzed by HOMA-IR (n = 5). *p<0.05, **p<0.01 HF, HFNS and HFPS versus NC. ^#p<0.05, ^##p<0.01 HFPS versus HF. ^$p<0.05, ^$ $p<0.01, HFPS versus HFNS. All data are presented as mean ± SE.</p

P65 siRNA enhances liver AMPK activation and increases the expression of key autophagy components.

<p>Western blotting of mTOR phosphorylation in liver (A), AMPK phosphorylation in liver (C) and RT-PCR of autophagy components (Atg7, Beclin1) in liver (B). Representative western blot images and graphs representing the ratio of the (insulin-stimulated phospho-) protein of interest on mTOR or AMPK as measured by densitometry analysis are shown. RT-qPCR data are expressed as mean ± SE relative to NC values, arbitrarily set at 1. *p<0.05, **p<0.01 HF, HFNS and HFPS versus NC. ^#p<0.05, ^##p<0.01 HFPS versus HF. ^$p<0.05, ^$ $p<0.01, HFPS versus HFNS. All data are presented as mean ± SE.</p

Geochronology and geochemistry of volcanic rocks in the Arbasay Formation, Xinjiang Province (Northwest China): implications for the tectonic evolution of the North Tianshan

<p>The extensively exposed late Carboniferous volcanic and volcaniclastic successions along the northern margin of the North Tianshan are called the Arbasay Formation. We present field-based mapping, petrography, zircon cathodoluminescence (CL) images, and U–Pb dates, as well as whole-rock geochemical data for these rocks, in order to constrain their formation age and petrogenesis, and understand the geodynamic setting. Conspicuously, the Arbasay Formation shows typical basalt–andesite–dacite–rhyolite volcanic series, and is dominated by andesites with a small amount of basalts and rhyolites based on the geological profile. U–Pb isotopic dating using the LA-ICP-MS method on zircons reveals that the volcanic rocks in the Arbasay Formation formed at 308–305 Ma, that is, late Carboniferous, rather than early Permian as previously proposed. Geochemically, the volcanic rocks mainly belong to the calc-alkaline series and have arc-like geochemical compositions. They are enriched in LREEs ((La/Yb)_N = 2.9–7.5) and LILEs (K, Rb, Ba) and depleted in HFSEs (Nb, Ta, Ti). In the tectonic discrimination diagrams, the basalts mainly fall into the area of continental arc. Given our U–Pb dating results, geochemical characteristics, and the regional geological framework, we propose that the late Carboniferous volcanic rocks originated from the arc-related setting, not the intracontinental rift-related setting. They are possibly the major constituents of a continental arc that is formed with the southward subduction of the North Tianshan Oceanic lithosphere.</p

Phase Behavior of Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Graphene Oxide Sheets and Resins

Graphene oxide is preferable to form stable water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions with crude oil, owing to its exceptional structure, including 1 nm in thickness, several micrometers in diameter, and −COOH, −OH, C-O, C-O-C, and CO groups on the surface. The properties of the as-prepared emulsions are strongly dependent on the GO concentrations (<i>C</i>_GO) and volume fraction of water to oil. At a volume ratio of 1:1, the GO dispersions and crude oil can be miscible into stable W/O emulsions accompanying with largely increased viscosity even when the GO concentration reduces to 0.0001%. Notably, when the concentration of GO ranges from 0.005% to 0.01%, the viscosity of W/O emulsions increases to several hundred mPa·s with the increased shear time, which is ascribed to the coalescence of the emulsions under shear. The volume fraction of water in the mixtures (<i>F</i>_w) also affects the phase behavior of the emulsions. At <i>C</i>_GO = 0.0001%, 0.001%, and 0.01%, GO dispersions and crude oil are miscible into one phase completely at <i>F</i>_w < 0.7. In the range between 0.1 and 0.7, viscosity of the emulsion increases as increasing the volume ratio of water to oil. More interestingly, high internal phase emulsions can be obtained in the range of 0.0005–0.008% at <i>F</i>_w = 0.75, in which case viscosity of the emulsions reaches the maximum, i.e., nearly 200 times higher than that of crude oil, due to the high internal phase volume fractions. These results show that the GO dispersions are favorable to form stable W/O emulsions with high internal phase volume fraction, and have a great potential in improving oil displacement efficiency of chemical flooding

Effect of diet on splenic CD4⁺ T cell polarization.

<p>Splenic CD4⁺ cells were purified by positive selection and cultured for 3 d under A) Th17 or B) Treg polarizing conditions (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0049739#s2" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>, n = 3−4 TNBS treated mice/dietary group). Bars represent mean values ± SEM. Bars not sharing a common letter are significantly different (P≤0.05).</p

Visceral adipose tissue macrophage infiltration.

<p>Stromal vascular cells (SVC) were isolated and quantified from total visceral adipose tissue (HF and HF-FO groups, n = 3 vehicle controls and 6–8 TNBS-treated mice, LF n = 4 pooled samples comprised of 3–4 mice/treatment). A) percentage of F4/80⁺ CD11b⁺ cells (total macrophages), B) percentage of F4/80⁺ CD11c⁺ cells (M1 macrophages), C) percentage of F4/80⁺ CD206⁺ cells (M2 macrophages). Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (main effects: diet and treatment) and bars represent mean values ± SEM. Bars not sharing a common letter are significantly different (<i>P</i>≤0.05).</p