Depth Profiling Photoelectron-Spectroscopic Study of an Organic Spin Valve with a Plasma-Modified Pentacene Spacer

[[abstract]]We report an enhanced magnetoresistance (MR) in an organic spin valve with an oxygen plasma-treated pentacene (PC) spacer. The spin valve containing PC without the treatment shows no MR effect, whereas those with moderately plasma-treated PC exhibit MR ratios up to 1.64% at room temperature. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy with depth profiling is utilized to characterize the interfacial electronic properties of the plasma-treated PC spacer which shows the formation of a derivative oxide layer. The results suggest an alternative approach to improve the interface quality and in turn to enhance the MR performance in organic spin valves.[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]電子

Multiplex Brain Proteomic Analysis Revealed the Molecular Therapeutic Effects of Buyang Huanwu Decoction on Cerebral Ischemic Stroke Mice

Stroke is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, and tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is the only drug used for a limited group of stroke patients in the acute phase. Buyang Huanwu Decoction (BHD), a traditional Chinese medicine prescription, has long been used for improving neurological functional recovery in stroke. In this study, we characterized the therapeutic effect of TPA and BHD in a cerebral ischemia/reperfusion (CIR) injury mouse model using multiplex proteomics approach. After the iTRAQ-based proteomics analysis, 1310 proteins were identified from the mouse brain with <1% false discovery rate. Among them, 877 quantitative proteins, 10.26% (90/877), 1.71% (15/877), and 2.62% (23/877) of the proteins was significantly changed in the CIR, BHD treatment, and TPA treatment, respectively. Functional categorization analysis showed that BHD treatment preserved the integrity of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) (Alb, Fga, and Trf), suppressed excitotoxicity (Grm5, Gnai, and Gdi), and enhanced energy metabolism (Bdh), thereby revealing its multiple effects on ischemic stroke mice. Moreover, the neurogenesis marker doublecortin was upregulated, and the activity of glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) and Tau was inhibited, which represented the neuroprotective effects. However, TPA treatment deteriorated BBB breakdown. This study highlights the potential of BHD in clinical applications for ischemic stroke

Study on Yang-Xu Using Body Constitution Questionnaire and Blood Variables in Healthy Volunteers

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formulates treatment according to body constitution (BC) differentiation. Different constitutions have specific metabolic characteristics and different susceptibility to certain diseases. This study aimed to assess the Yang-Xu constitution using a body constitution questionnaire (BCQ) and clinical blood variables. A BCQ was employed to assess the clinical manifestation of Yang-Xu. The logistic regression model was conducted to explore the relationship between BC scores and biomarkers. Leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV) and K-fold cross-validation were performed to evaluate the accuracy of a predictive model in practice. Decision trees (DTs) were conducted to determine the possible relationships between blood biomarkers and BC scores. According to the BCQ analysis, 49% participants without any BC were classified as healthy subjects. Among them, 130 samples were selected for further analysis and divided into two groups. One group comprised healthy subjects without any BC (68%), while subjects of the other group, named as the sub-healthy group, had three BCs (32%). Six biomarkers, CRE, TSH, HB, MONO, RBC, and LH, were found to have the greatest impact on BCQ outcomes in Yang-Xu subjects. This study indicated significant biochemical differences in Yang-Xu subjects, which may provide a connection between blood variables and the Yang-Xu BC

Glycyrrhetinic Acid Suppressed NF-kappa B Activation in TNF-alpha-Induced Hepatocytes

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a crucial inflammatory cytokine when hepatocytes are damaged. Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. (Chinese licorice) has been widely used in Chinese herbal prescriptions for the treatment of liver diseases and as a food additive. Nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kappa B) reporter gene assay in TNF-alpha-induced HepG2 was used as a screening platform. I kappa B alpha phosphorylation and p6S translocation were measured by Western blotting, and nitric oxide (NO) production and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression were further confirmed in rat primary hepatocytes. Results showed that TNF-a enhanced NF-kappa B activity was significantly attenuated by glycyrrhetinic acid in a concentration-dependent manner in the NF-kappa B reporter gene assay. Glycyrrhetinic acid decreased the gene expression of iNOS through inhibited I kappa B alpha phosphorylation and p65 translocation in protein level. Furthermore, NO production and iNOS expression were reduced by glycyrrhetinic acid in TNF-alpha-induced rat primary hepatocytes. These results suggest that glycyrrhetinic acid may provide hepatoprotection against chronic liver inflammation through attenuating NF-kappa B activation to alleviate the inflammation

Allergic Immune-regulatory Effects of Adlay Bran and Isolation and Identification of Bioactive Components

過敏性疾病是免疫失調所造成的過敏反應，包括有異位性皮膚炎、過敏性鼻炎及氣喘…等。在台灣地區過敏症狀的盛行率逐年增高，除了以藥物立即性的遏止不良過敏反應發生，如何藉由日常飲食養生上來調節免疫力，減少過敏症狀以避免藥物資源的浪費是重要的課題。過敏反應的發生包括早期肥大細胞釋放組織胺等過敏介質，晚期肥大細胞分泌細胞激素及後續巨噬細胞的發炎反應，因此本研究首先探討薏苡籽實乙醇萃取物對老鼠嗜鹼性白血球細胞株RBL-2H3及老鼠巨噬細胞RAW 264.7其抗過敏及抗發炎之功效。 以1 μM A23187誘導肥大細胞RBL-2H3產生過敏反應的實驗中，除了精白薏仁外，薏苡籽實各部位乙醇萃取物皆有效抑制A23187誘導細胞去顆粒化釋放β-hexosaminidase的程度，以薏仁麩皮乙醇萃取物乙酸乙酯層其EC50 為40.8 μg/mL最佳。進一步實驗發現薏仁麩皮乙醇萃取物乙酸乙酯層40~100% EtOAc/Hex極性區分物抑制組織胺釋放的EC50在71~87 μg/mL之間，此外亦可有效抑制細胞分泌IL-4、IL-6及TNF-α，顯示薏仁麩皮不僅抑制細胞去顆粒化，也同時抑制了細胞激素的分泌。薏仁中含有palmitic acid、4-hydroxybenzaldehyde、6-methoxy-3H-benzoxazol、4-hydroxyacetophenone、p-coumaric acid及quercetin等抗過敏物質，可藉由抑制胞內ROS生成，抑制Akt及ERK的磷酸化，降低PKC蛋白質的表現，進而影響肥大細胞的訊息傳遞而達到抗過敏的功效。以1 μg/mL LPS誘導巨噬細胞RAW 264.7產生發炎反應的實驗中，薏仁麩皮乙醇萃取物乙酸乙酯層40~100% EtOAc/Hex極性區分物在50 μg/mL濃度下不影響細胞生存率，可抑制細胞釋放一氧化氮。當濃度在6~30 μg/mL之間，更可有效降低細胞分泌IL-6及TNF-α等發炎性細胞激素的含量，顯示薏仁麩皮具有抗發炎的功效。 利用體外初代細胞培養探究薏仁麩皮萃取物對動物體的免疫調節作用，實驗結果發現薏仁麩皮萃取物可藉由降低IL-6及TNF-α的含量來抑制小鼠腹腔細胞發炎反應。對於小鼠脾臟細胞，薏仁麩皮萃取物則可顯著增加IL-2的含量，並降低IL-4及IL-5的細胞激素分泌，推測薏仁麩皮萃取物可調節Th1/Th2免疫反應。進一步確認薏仁麩皮萃取物的抗過敏活性，實驗利用OVA致敏鼠的模式，以管餵薏仁麩皮乙醇萃取物乙酸乙酯層區分物進行動物實驗。結果顯示，薏仁麩皮樣品可顯著降低動物體內特異性IgE抗體的生成，並藉由提升IFN-γ且顯著減少IL-4及IL-5的分泌，達到調節Th1/Th2免疫反應之功效，進而減緩動物體內過敏症狀。 為探究薏仁麩皮中可能之抗過敏成分，進一步針對薏仁麩皮乙醇萃取物乙酸乙酯層40~100% EtOAc/Hex沖提物進行分離純化，結果由分離純化出22個化合物，其中有16個化合物為首次自薏苡分離純化而得，包括12個類黃酮tangeretin (FL1)、new flavonoid (FL2)、formononetin (FL3)、davidigenin (FL4)、homoeriodictyol (FL5)、hesperetin (FL6)、isoliquiritigenin (FL8)、liquiritigenin (FL9)、3,5,6,7,8,3'',4''-heptamethoxyflavone (FL10)、chrysoeriol (FL11)、3,5,7,3'',4''-pentamethoxyflavone (FL12)和3,5,7,4''-tetramethoxyflavone (FL13)；2個色酮類5-hydroxy-7-methoxychromone (C1)、5,7-dihydroxychromone (C2)、1個酚酸酯類ethyl ferulate (PE1)及1個固醇類6α-hydroxystigmast-4-en-3-one (S1)。更進一步建立HPLC/MS的系統，以利於分析薏仁中類黃酮類成分。 綜上所述，薏仁麩皮中含有多樣性的類黃酮成分，推測這類化合物在過敏免疫反應的調節，抑制早期肥大細胞的過敏反應，減緩晚期巨噬細胞的發炎反應，及調節動物體內Th1/Th2免疫反應上可能扮演著功能性成分。綜合以上結果，薏仁麩皮乙醇萃取物具有調節免疫並減緩過敏的保健功效。Allergy is an immune dysfunction, including atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, asthma, etc. In Taiwan, the allergic disease is more and more prevalent. In addition to the usage of drugs to stop the allergic responses, taking advantage of dietary regimen is more important to regulate the immune system, to reduce the allergic symptom and avoid the waste of drugs. The inflammatory response is caused by allergic mediators such as histamine released and cytokine secretion by the mast cell, and the inflammatory response activated by macrophage. Therefore, we first investigated the anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effects of ethanolic extracts of adlay on the RBL-2H3 cells and RAW 264.7 cells. Except the polished adlay, the ethanolic extracts from different parts of adlay can suppress the β-hexosaminidase released from RBL-2H3 cells stimulated with 1 μM A23187. The ethyl-acetate fraction from ethanolic extracts of adlay bran (ABE-EtOAc) presents more effective inhibition with an EC50 at 40.8 μg/mL. The 40~100% EtOAc/Hex sub-fractions of ABE-EtOAc can significantly inhibit the release of histamine with EC50 between 71~87 μg/mL. Moreover, ABE-EtOAc suppresses IL-4, IL-6 and TNF-α secreted from RBL-2H3 cells indicates that the adlay bran can inhibit not only the cell degranulation but also the cytokine secretion. The alday contains anti-allergic compounds, such as palmitic acid, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, 6-methoxy-3H-benzoxazol, 4-hydroxyacetophenone, p-coumaric acid and quercetin, can reduce ROS production, inhibit the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK, and decrease the PKC protein expression. These combined effects influence the signaling transduction in RBL-2H3 cells, and showing the anti-allergic effect. The 40~100 % EtOAc/Hex sub-fractions of ABE-EtOAc at 50 μg/mL has no toxicity on the RAW 264.7 cells and inhibit the NO release. Furthermore, ABE-EtOAc suppresses the IL-6 and TNF-α secretion in LPS (1 μg/mL)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells in concentration dependent manner at 6~30 μg/mL. From above results demonstrate that the adlay bran has an anti-inflammatory effect. In the primary cells isolated from mice study, ABE-EtOAc suppresses the IL-6 and TNF-α secretion from peritoneal macrophages revealing the anti-inflammatory effects ex vivo. Furthermore, ABE-EtOAc can regulate the Th1/Th2 immune reaction via up-regulating IL-2 and down-regulating IL-4 and IL-5. Moreover, ABE-EtOAc reduces the anti-OVA IgE production, increased IFN-γ secretion and decreased IL-4 and IL-5 secretion in OVA immunized BALB/c mice. The ABE-EtOAc affects allergic reaction through balances of Th1/Th2 immune responses. To explore the anti-allergic components, the ABE-EtOAc-40~100% EtOAc/Hex fraction was isolated. There are 22 compounds isolated from adlay bran. Among them, 16 compounds were first isolated from the adlay including 12 flavonoids, tangeretin (FL1)、new flavonoid (FL2)、formononetin (FL3)、davidigenin (FL4)、homoeriodictyol (FL5)、hesperetin (FL6)、isoliquiritigenin (FL8)、liquiritigenin (FL9)、3,5,6,7,8,3'',4''-heptamethoxyflavone (FL10)、chrysoeriol (FL11)、3,5,7,3'',4''-pentamethoxyflavone (FL12)和3,5,7,4''-tetramethoxyflavone (FL13), and two chromones, 5-hydroxy-7-methoxychromone (C1), 5,7-dihydroxychromone (C2) and a phenolic ester, ethyl ferulate (PE1), and one steroids, 6α-hydroxystigmast-4-en-3-one (S1). Furthermore, a high performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometer (HPLC/MS) method was successfully applied to screen flavonoids in adlay extracts. In conclusion, various flavonoids are found in the active fractions of adlay bran. They are suggested to correlate with the allergic response of mast cell in early phase and the inflammatory reaction of macrophage in late phase. Moreover, ABE-EtOAc can balance the Th1/Th2 immune responses. As a consequence the ethanolic extracts of adlay bran strengthen the modulation of immune system and alleviate allergic symptoms

Novel Polyprenylated Phloroglucinols from Hypericum sampsonii

Hypericum sampsonii Hance (Clusiaceae) is a folk medicine used in Taiwan to treat blood stasis, relieve swelling, and as an anti-hepatitis drug. Two new polyprenylated phloroglucinol derivatives, hypersampsone R (1) and hypersampsone S (2), and a known prenylated benzophenone, hyperibone K (3) were isolated from the aerial parts of H. sampsonii. Their structures were determined by extensive 1D and 2D NMR, and MS spectral analyses

Type 2 Fuzzy Neural Controller for Navigation Control of an Ackermann Steering Vehicle

In this study, we proposed a type 2 fuzzy neural controller (FNC) based on Bayesian dynamic group particle swarm optimization (BDGPSO) for the navigation control of Ackermann steering vehicles. The type 2 FNC has a five-layer network architecture. The advantages of the proposed BDGPSO algorithm are that it prevents PSO from falling into a local optimum, and it uses the Bayesian algorithm to determine the optimal inertia weight and learning factor combination. To evaluate the proposed type 2 FNC on the basis of the distance information returned by lidar, we used a new fitness function from the reinforcement-learning strategy. In an unknown testing environment, the fitness value and time required for the proposed type 2 FNC with angular and linear velocity outputs were 0.973510 and 25.555 s, respectively. These values indicated that the proposed approach outperforms other wall-following control methods. In addition, the proposed controller could successfully control the navigation of an Ackerman steering vehicle in an unknown actual environment

Learning Performance Assessment for Culture Environment Learning and Custom Experience with an AR Navigation System

Culturally sustainable environmental education is a crucial issue that is inseparable from our society and environment; and closely linked to our life. Taiwan’s cultural environment and family activities are characterized by religious beliefs and temple architectures. Incorporating digital technology into learning about the cultural environment of Taiwan can be an effective way to achieve sustainability. To have a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s culture and aesthetics, this study uses AR (augmented reality) technology to bring interactive experiences to the temple, so that the public can interactively experience arts in the temple. Through the AR navigation system, people can ascertain cultural connotations and understand the power of Taiwan’s beliefs. This study will take the Wumiao (martial temple) in Yanshui District, Tainan, Taiwan, as the research field to examine the learning experiences and performance with an AR navigation system. The empirical method is used to collect data of users’ behaviors and feelings; the statistics approach is also used to testify to the AR usability that is if with AR technology people can have a better understanding and learning performance on the culture aspect. Research finding proves one can have a better learning experience with AR tech with a positive result. According to the correlation coefficient analysis, only perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use are moderately correlated, the other differences are highly correlated. It is thus clear that AR navigation systems should be applied for having better folk beliefs, cultural etiquette learning experiences, and learning performance, more, for not merely having faith, but also loyalty as well