miRNAs as Regulators of Antidiabetic Effects of Fucoidans

open access articleDiabetes mellitus is a metabolic disease with a high mortality rate worldwide. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), and other small noncoding RNAs, serve as endogenous gene regulators through binding to specific sequences in RNA and modifying gene expression toward up- or down-regulation. miRNAs have become compelling therapeutic targets and play crucial roles in regulating the process of insulin resistance. Fucoidan has shown potential function as an a-amylase inhibitor, which may be beneficial in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. In recent years, many studies on fucoidan focused on the decrease in blood glucose levels caused by ingesting low-glucose food or glucose-lowering components. However, the importance of miRNAs as regulators of antidiabetic effects was rarely recognized. Hence, this review emphasizes the antidiabetic mechanisms of fucoidan through regulation of miRNAs. Fucoidan exerts a vital antidiabetic effect by regulation of miRNA expression and thus provides a novel biological target for future research

Comparative study on the wake dynamics of pump-jet and ducted propeller based on dynamic mode decomposition

A comparative study on the wake dynamics of a pump-jet propulsor (PJP) and a ducted propeller (DP) is conducted to investigate the effects of the pre-swirl stator and corresponding stator-rotor interaction on the wake evolution and destabilization mechanisms of a PJP system. The flow field analysis, vortex structure identification, and dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) analysis are carried out based on the numerical results obtained from delayed detached eddy simulations. The numerical hydrodynamic loading and flow field of the PJP are compared with experimental results, and they are in good agreement. Compared with the DP, the stator trailing vortices of the PJP interact with the rotor trailing vortices as well as the hub vortex, accelerating their diffusion and viscous dissipation. The pre-swirl stator triggers the generation of secondary vortices and moderates the spiral behavior of tip leakage vortices, which dominates the wake instability of PJP. The DMD analysis revealed that the wake field evolution is primarily characterized by the different mode structures at blade passing frequency and its multiples, especially in the PJP due to its strong stator-rotor interaction. The modal energy decays faster in the PJP wake field owing to its more turbulent and earlier instability. The hub vortex plays an important role in the wake dynamics of the DP.</p

Effects of cavitation on the hydrodynamic loading and wake vortex evolution of a pre-swirl pump-jet propulsor

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of cavitation on the hydrodynamic loading and wake vortex evolution in a pre-swirl pump-jet propulsor, and also the cavitation-vortex interaction mechanism. The cavitating flow is simulated by delayed detached eddy simulation coupled with a homogeneous cavitation model. Based on available experimental validation, the cavitation patterns, hydrodynamic loadings, the tip leakage vortex (TLV) evolutions and trailing edge vortex interactions are orderly investigated under two typical cavitation conditions. Results show that the blade sheet cavitation, TLV cavitation and tip clearance cavitation are regard as the main cavitation types of the rotor, where the sheet cavity on adjacent blades is non-uniformly distributed under the perturbations of the stator wakes and phase effects. The interaction between the thickening sheet cavity and stator wakes causes the shift of dominant frequencies of rotor loading from the rotor blade passing frequency fBPF and its harmonics to stator blade passing frequency fs and its harmonics. The relative vorticity transport equation is used to analyze cavitation-vortex interaction of TLV. The TLV cavitation promotes the vorticity production of TLV at the incipient stage and increases its intensity downstream. The instability of TLV is triggered earlier when cavitation is heavy due to the enhanced mutual interaction between consecutive spirals of the TLVs and their interaction with sheet cavity induced shedding vortices. The trailing edge vortices of stator and rotor mutually interacts with blade sheet cavity, which accelerates the breakdown of trailing vortex system downstream.</p

Effects of cavitation on the hydrodynamic loading and wake vortex evolution of a pre-swirl pump-jet propulsor

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of cavitation on the hydrodynamic loading and wake vortex evolution in a pre-swirl pump-jet propulsor, and also the cavitation-vortex interaction mechanism. The cavitating flow is simulated by delayed detached eddy simulation coupled with a homogeneous cavitation model. Based on available experimental validation, the cavitation patterns, hydrodynamic loadings, the tip leakage vortex (TLV) evolutions and trailing edge vortex interactions are orderly investigated under two typical cavitation conditions. Results show that the blade sheet cavitation, TLV cavitation and tip clearance cavitation are regard as the main cavitation types of the rotor, where the sheet cavity on adjacent blades is non-uniformly distributed under the perturbations of the stator wakes and phase effects. The interaction between the thickening sheet cavity and stator wakes causes the shift of dominant frequencies of rotor loading from the rotor blade passing frequency fBPF and its harmonics to stator blade passing frequency fs and its harmonics. The relative vorticity transport equation is used to analyze cavitation-vortex interaction of TLV. The TLV cavitation promotes the vorticity production of TLV at the incipient stage and increases its intensity downstream. The instability of TLV is triggered earlier when cavitation is heavy due to the enhanced mutual interaction between consecutive spirals of the TLVs and their interaction with sheet cavity induced shedding vortices. The trailing edge vortices of stator and rotor mutually interacts with blade sheet cavity, which accelerates the breakdown of trailing vortex system downstream.</p

Tumor promoter TPA activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling in a casein kinase 1-dependent manner.

The tumor promoter 12-O-tetra-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) has been defined by its ability to promote tumorigenesis on carcinogen-initiated mouse skin. Activation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling has a decisive role in mouse skin carcinogenesis, but it remains unclear how TPA activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling in mouse skin carcinogenesis. Here, we found that TPA could enhance Wnt/β-catenin signaling in a casein kinase 1 (CK1) ε/δ-dependent manner. TPA stabilized CK1ε and enhanced its kinase activity. TPA further induced the phosphorylation of LRP6 at Thr1479 and Ser1490 and the formation of a CK1ε-LRP6-axin1 complex, leading to an increase in cytosolic β-catenin. Moreover, TPA increased the association of β-catenin with TCF4E in a CK1ε/δ-dependent way, resulting in the activation of Wnt target genes. Consistently, treatment with a selective CK1ε/δ inhibitor SR3029 suppressed TPA-induced skin tumor formation in vivo, probably through blocking Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Taken together, our study has identified a pathway by which TPA activates Wnt/β-catenin signaling

Application of diffusion kurtosis imaging in neonatal brain development

BackgroundDeviations from the regular pattern of growth and development could lead to early childhood diseases, suggesting the importance of evaluating early brain development. Through this study, we aimed to explore the changing patterns of white matter and gray matter during neonatal brain development using diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI).Materials and methodsIn total, 42 full-term neonates (within 28 days of birth) underwent conventional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and DKI. The DKI metrics (including kurtosis parameters and diffusion parameters) of white matter and deep gray matter were measured. DKI metrics from the different regions of interest (ROIs) were evaluated using the Kruskal–Wallis test and Bonferroni method. Spearman rank correlation analysis of the DKI metrics was conducted, and the age at the time of brain MRI acquisition was calculated. The subjects were divided into three groups according to their age at the time of brain MRI acquisition: the first group, neonates aged ≤7 days; the second group, neonates aged 8–14 days; and the third group, neonates aged 15–28 days. The rate of change in DKI metrics relative to the first group was computed.ResultsThe mean kurtosis (MK), axial kurtosis (Ka), radial kurtosis (Kr), and fractional anisotropy (FA) values showed positive correlations, whereas mean diffusion (MD), axial diffusion (Da), and radial diffusion (Dr) values showed negative correlations with the age at the time of brain MRI acquisition. The absolute correlation coefficients between MK values of almost all ROIs (except genu of the corpus callosum and frontal white matter) and the age at the time of brain MRI acquisition were greater than other metrics. The kurtosis parameters and FA values of central white matter were significantly higher than that of peripheral white matter, whereas the MD and Dr values were significantly lower than that of peripheral white matter. The MK value of the posterior limb of the internal capsule was the highest among the white matter areas. The FA value of the splenium of the corpus callosum was significantly higher than that of the other white matter areas. The kurtosis parameters and FA values of globus pallidus and thalamus were significantly higher than those of the caudate nucleus and putamen, whereas the Da and Dr values of globus pallidus and thalamus were significantly lower than those of the caudate nucleus and putamen. The relative change rates of kurtosis parameters and FA values of all ROIs were greater than those of MD, Da, and Dr values. The amplitude of MK values of almost all ROIs (except for the genu of the corpus callosum and central white matter of the centrum semiovale level) was greater than that of other metrics. The relative change rates of the Kr values of most ROIs were greater than those of the Ka value, and the relative change rates of the Dr values of most ROIs were greater than those of the Da value.ConclusionDKI parameters showed potential advantages in detecting the changes in brain microstructure during neonatal brain development

Fabrication and characteristics of flexible normally-off AlGaN/GaN HEMTs

In this paper, we present a method for removing a high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) silicon substrate using mechanical grinding and deep silicon etching technology and successfully transferred the epitaxial wafer to a PET substrate to achieve the flexible normally-off HEMT. By testing the output characteristics and transfer characteristics of the Si-substrate HEMT and PET-substrate HEMT, we have demonstrated that the PET-substrate HEMT has excellent performance and successfully achieved the mechanical flexibility. Furthermore, we analyzed the physical mechanisms of the change in PET-substrate and Si-substrate HEMT characteristics, as well as flexible HEMT performance under bent and flattened states. The flexible HEMT array demonstrates significant potential in integration with other flexible devices, such as GaN-based micro-LED arrays

MAPT rs242562 and GSK3B rs334558 are associated with Parkinson’s Disease in central China

Background: Microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) is a neuronal protein involved in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3B) catalyzes phosphorylation in multiple sites of tau protein. However, whether or not there is any association between the GSK3B gene alteration, MAPT haplotype and PD remains unexplored in Chinese population, especially in central Chinese population. Results: Here, we aimed at studying the effect of MAPT rs242562 and GSK3B rs334558 on the risk of PD by performing a case-control association study in central China. Our data showed that all PD patients and controls were of MAPT H1/H1 diplotype in our study, thus confirming that the distribution of the MAPT H1 haplotype is common in China. GG genotype of MAPT rs242562 serves protection effect on PD risk in central Chinese population, while genotype of GSK3B rs334558 showed no difference between PD patients and controls. Conclusions: We conclude that the MAPT rs242562 is associated with PD in central China in the background of MAPT H1/H1 diplotype. The GG genotype of rs242562 displays protection against PD in subgroup with GSK3B rs334558 T carrier