ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES AND DRYING EFFECTS OF FLAX DENIM AND ANTIBACTERIAL PROPERTIES OF NONWOVEN FLAX FABRIC

A modification of “AATCC Test Method 100-1999” was used for assaying for bacteriostatic/antibacterial properties of denim containing various flax concentrations. Since no direct evidence that increasing the flax content of fabric imparted the fabric with increased bacteriostatic properties was found against the control bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, other possible explanations for the long held presumption that flax fabric exhibited antibacterial properties was sought. Because the appearance of having antibacterial or bacteriostatic properties might be imitated if the flax content would decrease the time fabric would be moist enough for bacterial growth, the effect of drying was evaluated. When flax fabric was saturated and the moisture lost during incubation was measured, there was no improved drying associated with increased flax content. When untreated nonwoven flax was evaluated as possibly containing more ‘antibacterial’ or bacteriostatic components than scoured nonwoven flax material, the population densities increased. This increase suggests that the unscoured nonwoven flax contain compo-nents that support bacterial growth to the extent that bacteriostatic or antibacterial components, if any, are overwhelmed by the components that support bacterial growth. In tests involving the control bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, increasing the flax content of flax fabric did not demonstrate increased antibacterial properties

Development of a Wireless Mesh Sensing System with High-Sensitivity LiNbO₃ Vibration Sensors for Robotic Arm Monitoring

In recent years, multi-axis robots are indispensable in automated factories due to the rapid development of Industry 4.0. Many related processes were required to have the increasing demand for accuracy, reproducibility, and abnormal detection. The monitoring function and immediate feedback for correction is more and more important. This present study integrated a highly sensitive lithium niobate (LiNbO3) vibration sensor as a sensor node (SN) and architecture of wireless mesh network (WMN) to develop a monitoring system (MS) for the robotic arm. The advantages of the thin-film LiNbO3 piezoelectric sensor were low-cost, high-sensitivity and good electrical compatibility. The experimental results obtained from the vibration platform show that the sensitivity achieved 50 mV/g and the reaction time within 1 ms. The results of on-site testing indicated that the SN could be configured on the relevant equipment quickly and detect the abnormal vibration in specific equipment effectively. Each SN could be used more than 10 h at the 80 Hz transmission rate under WMN architecture and the loss rate of transmission was less than 0.01% within 20 m

4-Acetyl-Antroquinonol B Suppresses SOD2-Enhanced Cancer Stem Cell-Like Phenotypes and Chemoresistance of Colorectal Cancer Cells by Inducing hsa-miR-324 re-Expression

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality in both sexes globally. This is not unconnected with the heterogeneity and plasticity of CRC stem cells (CRC-SCs) which stealthily exploit the niche-related and (epi)genetic factors to facilitate metastasis, chemoresistance, tumor recurrence, and disease progression. Despite the accumulating evidence of the role of dysregulated microRNAs in malignancies, the therapeutic efficacy of pharmacological-targeting of CRC-SC-associated microRNAs is relatively under-explored. Experimental approach: In this present study, we employed relatively new bioinformatics approaches, analyses of microarray data, Western blot, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and functional assays to show that hsa-miR-324-5p expression is significantly suppressed in CRC cells, and inversely correlates with the aberrant expression of SOD2. Results: This converse hsa-miR-324-5p/SOD2 relationship is associated with enhanced oncogenicity, which is effectively inhibited by 4-acetylantroquinonol B (4-AAQB), as evidenced by inhibited cell viability and proliferation, as well as attenuated migration, invasion, and clonogenicity in 4-AAQB-treated DLD1 and HCT116 cells. Interestingly, 4-AAQB did not affect the viability and proliferation of normal colon cells. We also showed that 4-AAQB-induced re-expression of hsa-miR-324-5p, akin to short-interfering RNA, reduced SOD2 expression, correlates with the concurrent down-regulation of SOD2, N-cadherin, vimentin, c-Myc, and BcL-xL2, with concomitant up-regulation of E-cadherin and BAX2 proteins. Enhanced expression of hsa-miR-324-5p in the CRC cells suppressed their tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo. Additionally, 4-AAQB synergistically potentiates the FOLFOX (folinate (leucovorin), fluorouracil (5FU), and oxaliplatin) anticancer effect by eliciting the re-expression of SOD2-suppressed hsa-miR-324, and inhibiting SOD2-mediated tumorigenicity. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the pre-clinical anti-CSC efficacy of 4-AAQB, with or without FOLFOX in CRC, and suggest a potential novel therapeutic strategy for CRC patients

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy

In 2008 we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, research on this topic has continued to accelerate, and many new scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Accordingly, it is important to update these guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Various reviews have described the range of assays that have been used for this purpose. Nevertheless, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to measure autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. A key point that needs to be emphasized is that there is a difference between measurements that monitor the numbers or volume of autophagic elements (e.g., autophagosomes or autolysosomes) at any stage of the autophagic process vs. those that measure flux through the autophagy pathway (i.e., the complete process); thus, a block in macroautophagy that results in autophagosome accumulation needs to be differentiated from stimuli that result in increased autophagic activity, defined as increased autophagy induction coupled with increased delivery to, and degradation within, lysosomes (in most higher eukaryotes and some protists such as Dictyostelium) or the vacuole (in plants and fungi). In other words, it is especially important that investigators new to the field understand that the appearance of more autophagosomes does not necessarily equate with more autophagy. In fact, in many cases, autophagosomes accumulate because of a block in trafficking to lysosomes without a concomitant change in autophagosome biogenesis, whereas an increase in autolysosomes may reflect a reduction in degradative activity. Here, we present a set of guidelines for the selection and interpretation of methods for use by investigators who aim to examine macroautophagy and related processes, as well as for reviewers who need to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of papers that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a formulaic set of rules, because the appropriate assays depend in part on the question being asked and the system being used. In addition, we emphasize that no individual assay is guaranteed to be the most appropriate one in every situation, and we strongly recommend the use of multiple assays to monitor autophagy. In these guidelines, we consider these various methods of assessing autophagy and what information can, or cannot, be obtained from them. Finally, by discussing the merits and limits of particular autophagy assays, we hope to encourage technical innovation in the field