Coprinus comatus Cap Inhibits Adipocyte Differentiation via Regulation of PPARγ and Akt Signaling Pathway

This study assessed the effects of Coprinus comatus cap (CCC) on adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and the effects of CCC on the development of diet-induced obesity in rats. Here, we showed that the CCC has an inhibitory effect on the adipocyte differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells, resulting in a significant decrease in lipid accumulation through the downregulation of several adipocyte specific-transcription factors, including CCAAT/enhancer binding protein β, C/EBPδ, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Moreover, treatment with CCC during adipocyte differentiation induced a significant down-regulation of PPARγ and adipogenic target genes, including adipocyte protein 2, lipoprotein lipase, and adiponectin. Interestingly, the CCC treatment of the 3T3-L1 adipocytes suppressed the insulin-stimulated Akt and GSK3β phosphorylation, and these effects were stronger in the presence of an inhibitor of Akt phosphorylation, LY294002, suggesting that CCC inhibited adipocyte differentiation through the down-regulation of Akt signaling. In the animal study, CCC administration significantly reduced the body weight and adipose tissue weight of rats fed a high fat diet (HFD) and attenuated lipid accumulation in the adipose tissues of the HFD-induced obese rats. The size of the adipocyte in the epididymal fat of the CCC fed rats was significantly smaller than in the HFD rats. CCC treatment significantly reduced the total cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the serum of HFD rats. These results strongly indicated that the CCC-mediated decrease in body weight was due to a reduction in adipose tissue mass. The expression level of PPARγ and phospho-Akt was significantly lower in the CCC-treated HFD rats than that in the HFD obesity rats. These results suggested that CCC inhibited adipocyte differentiation by the down-regulation of major transcription factor involved in the adipogenesis pathway including PPARγ through the regulation of the Akt pathway in 3T3-L1 cells and HFD adipose tissue

High performance dye sensitized solar cells by adding titanate co-adsorbant

The open circuit voltage and the short circuit current density of dye sensitized solar cells were increased by adding a titanate co-adsorbant as a blocking agent. This blocking agent effectively prevents back electron transfer. As a result, DSSCs with titanate co-adsorbant showed significantly increased energy conversion efficiency.close0

Ubiquitous Diabetes Management System via Interactive Communication Based on Information Technologies: Clinical Effects and Perspectives

New diabetes management systems based on interactive communication have been introduced recently, accompanying rapid advances in information technology; these systems are referred to as "ubiquitous diabetes management systems." In such ubiquitous systems, patients and medical teams can communicate via Internet or telecommunications, with patients uploading their glucose data and personal information, and medical teams sending optimal feedback. Clinical evidence from both long-term and short-term trials has been reported by some researchers. Such systems appear to be effective not only in reducing the levels of HbA1c but also in stabilizing glucose control. However, most notably, evidence for the cost-effectiveness of such a system should be demonstrated before it can be propagated out to the general population in actual clinical practice. To establish a cost-effective model, various types of clinical decision supporting software designed to reduce the labor time of physicians must first be developed. A number of sensors and devices for monitoring patients' data are expected to be available in the near future; thus, methods for automatic interconnections between devices and web charts were also developed. Further investigations to demonstrate the clinical outcomes of such a system should be conducted, hopefully leading to a new paradigm of diabetes management

Cost-effectiveness of chuna manual therapy and usual care, compared with usual care only for people with neck pain following traffic accidents: a multicenter randomized controlled trial

This is the first cost-effectiveness analysis of Chuna manual therapy (CMT) plus usual Korean traditional medicine for traffic accident victims using a randomized controlled trial. A total of 132 participants were equally allocated to the intervention group receiving 6–11 sessions of CMT plus usual Korean traditional medicine care for three weeks or usual care including acupuncture, cupping, herbal medicine, moxibustion, and traditional physiotherapy at three hospitals. At 12 weeks, from a healthcare perspective, the intervention group had significantly higher costs (mean (SD), $778 (435) vs.$618 (318); difference, $160; 95$15 to $289; p = 0.005). From a societal perspective, total costs were insignificantly lower in the intervention group (mean (SD),$1077 (1081) vs. $1146 (1485); difference,$−69; 95% CI, $−568 to$377; p = 0.761). The intervention group dominated, with significantly higher QALYs gained at lower overall cost with a 72% chance of being cost-effective. From a societal perspective, the intervention was cost-saving for individuals who had neck pain after car accidents, although it was not cost-effective from the healthcare perspective ($40,038 per QALY gained). Findings support use of CMT as an integrated care treatment for whiplash from a societal perspective. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine cost-effectiveness in other cultural contexts

Generation of Functional Insulin-Producing Cells from Neonatal Porcine Liver-Derived Cells by PDX1/VP16, BETA2/NeuroD and MafA

Abstract Surrogate b-cells derived from stem cells are needed to cure type 1 diabetes, and neonatal liver cells may be an attractive alternative to stem cells for the generation of b-cells. In this study, we attempted to generate insulin-producing cells from neonatal porcine liver-derived cells using adenoviruses carrying three genes: pancreatic and duodenal homeobox factor1 (PDX1)/VP16, BETA2/NeuroD and v-maf musculo aponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog A (MafA), which are all known to play critical roles in pancreatic development. Isolated neonatal porcine liver-derived cells were sequentially transduced with triple adenoviruses and grown in induction medium containing a high concentration of glucose, epidermal growth factors, nicotinamide and a low concentration of serum following the induction of aggregation for further maturation. We noted that the cells displayed a number of molecular characteristics of pancreatic b-cells, including expressing several transcription factors necessary for b-cell development and function. In addition, these cells synthesized and physiologically secreted insulin. Transplanting these differentiated cells into streptozotocin-induced immunodeficient diabetic mice led to the reversal of hyperglycemia, and more than 18% of the cells in the grafts expressed insulin at 6 weeks after transplantation. These data suggested that neonatal porcine liver-derived cells can be differentiated into functional insulin-producing cells under the culture conditions presented in this report and indicated that neonatal porcine liverderived cells (NPLCs) might be useful as a potential source of cells for b-cell replacement therapy in efforts to cure type I diabetes