22 research outputs found
Licorice extract inhibits the cGAS-STING pathway and protects against non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
Background: Inflammation and fibrosis are typical symptoms of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is one of the most common chronic liver diseases. The cGAS-STING signaling pathway has been implicated in the progression of NASH, and targeting this pathway may represent a new therapeutic strategy. Licorice is a widely used herb with anti-inflammatory and liver-protective properties. In this study, we assessed the effect of licorice extract on the cGAS-STING pathway.Methods: Bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) were treated with licorice extract and then stimulated with HT-DNA, 2'3'-cGAMP, or other agonists to activate the cGAS-STING pathway. Quantitative real-time PCR and western blot were conducted to analyze whether licorice extract could affect the cGAS-STING pathway. Methionine and choline-deficient diet (MCD) was used to induce NASH in mice, which were treated with licorice extract (500Â mg/kg) by gavage and/or c-176 (15Â mg/kg) by intraperitoneal injection every 2Â days. After 6Â weeks of treatment, histological analysis of liver tissue was performed, along with measurements of plasma biochemical parameters.Results: Licorice extract inhibits cGAS-STING pathway activation. Mechanistically, it might function by inhibiting the oligomerization of STING. Treatment with licorice extract reduced inflammation and fibrosis in MCD diet-induced NASH mice models. Furthermore, we found that the therapeutic effect of combination treatment with licorice extract and C-176 (STING inhibitor) on the pathology and fibrosis of MCD diet-induced NASH models was similar to that of licorice extract or C-176 administered alone.Conclusion: Licorice extract can inhibit the cGAS-STING pathway and improve hepatic inflammation and fibrosis in NASH mice models. It strongly suggests that licorice extract may be a candidate therapeutic for NASH
Electrochemical degradation of nitrofurans furazolidone by cathode: Characterization, pathway and antibacterial activity analysis
A reconfigurable dualâband low noise amplifier for 5G in 65ânm CMOS
Abstract In this paper, a reconfigurable low noise amplifier (LNA) is proposed for 5G dualâbands in a 65ânm CMOS process. The reconfigurable function of LNA is realized by designing reconfigurable matching networks composed of transformers and MOS transistor switches. The pole characteristics of the resonant network composed of the reconfigurable network and the equivalent circuit of the amplifying device are deduced and analyzed in detail. By establishing the relationship between two reconfigurable frequencies and the ratio of transformer coil inductance under two switching states, the position of the switch and the specific parameters of the reconfigurable matching network are determined. Measurement results show smallâsignal gain of 25.5 to 33.9 dB and noise figure of 3.3 to 4.3 dB at 24 to 29.5 GHz bands, and smallâsignal gain of 23.5 to 27.8 dB and noise figure of 4.3 to 4.5 dB at 37 to 40 GHz bands, respectively. The chip area occupied 0.34 mm2 including pads
A Compact Broadband Monolithic Sub-Harmonic Mixer Using Multi-Line Coupler
A compact broadband monolithic sub-harmonic mixer is presented in a 70 nm GaAs Technology for millimeter wave wireless communication application. The proposed mixer adopts a novel multi-line coupler structure; where the two-sided coupling energy of radio frequency (RF) and local oscillation (LO) signals are both collected and efficiently feed to anti-parallel diode pair (APDP) topology; resulting in broadband performance and compact chip size. As a comparison in the same circuit configuration; the five-line coupler can expand the bandwidth of the existing three-line coupler by 85% and reduce the area by 39.5% when the central frequency is 127 GHz. The measured conversion gain is −16.2 dB to −19.7 dB in a wide operation frequency band of 110–170 GHz. The whole chip size is 0.47 × 0.66 mm2 including test pads. The proposed mixer exhibits good figure-of-merits for D-band down-converter application
On-chip sub-terahertz surface plasmon polariton transmission lines with mode converter in CMOS
An on-chip low-loss and high conversion efficiency plasmonic waveguide converter is demonstrated at sub-THz in CMOS. By introducing a subwavelength periodic corrugated structure onto the transmission line (T-line) implemented by a top-layer metal, surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) are established to propagate signals with strongly localized surface-wave. To match both impedance and momentum of other on-chip components with TEM-wave propagation, a mode converter structure featured by a smooth bridge between the Ground coplanar waveguide (GCPW) with 50âΩ impedance and SPP T-line is proposed. To further reduce area, the converter is ultimately simplified to a gradual increment of groove with smooth gradient. The proposed SPP T-lines with the converter is designed and fabricated in the standard 65ânm CMOS process. Both near-field simulation and measurement results show excellent conversion efficiency from quasi-TEM to SPP modes in a broadband frequency range. The converter achieves wideband impedance matching (<â9âdB) with excellent transmission efficiency (averagely â1.9âdB) from 110âGHzâ325âGHz. The demonstrated compact and wideband SPP T-lines with mode converter have shown great potentials to replace existing waveguides as future on-chip THz interconnects. To the best of the authorâs knowledge, this is the first time to demonstrate the (sub)-THz surface mode conversion on-chip in CMOS technology.Published versio
Visible-Light-Assisted Degradation of Dye Pollutants over Fe(III)-Loaded Resin in the Presence of H 2
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Low temperature acclimation with electrical stimulation enhance the biocathode functioning stability for antibiotics detoxification.
Improvement of the stability of functional microbial communities in wastewater treatment system is critical to accelerate pollutants detoxification in cold regions. Although biocathode communities could accelerate environmental pollutants degradation, how to acclimate the cold stress and to improve the catalytic stability of functional microbial communities are remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the structural and functional responses of antibiotic chloramphenicol (CAP) reducing biocathode communities to constant low temperature 10 °C (10-biocathode) and temperature elevation from 10 °C to 25 °C (S25-biocathode). Our results indicated that the low temperature acclimation with electrical stimulation obviously enhanced the CAP nitro group reduction efficiency when comparing the aromatic amine product AMCl2 formation efficiency with the 10-biocathode and S25-biocathode under the opened and closed circuit conditions. The 10-biocathode generated comparative AMCl maximum as the S25-biocathode but showed significant lower dehalogenation rate of AMCl2 to AMCl. The continuous low temperature and temperature elevation both enriched core functional community in the 10-biocathode and S25-biocathode, respectively. The 10-biocathode functioning stability maintained mainly through selectively enriching cold-adapted functional species, coexisting metabolically similar nitroaromatics reducers and maintaining the relative abundance of key electrons transfer genes. This study provides new insights into biocathode functioning stability for accelerating environmental pollutants degradation in cold wastewater system
Low temperature acclimation with electrical stimulation enhance the biocathode functioning stability for antibiotics detoxification
Improvement of the stability of functional microbial communities in wastewater treatment system is critical to accelerate pollutants detoxification in cold regions. Although biocathode communities could accelerate environmental pollutants degradation, how to acclimate the cold stress and to improve the catalytic stability of functional microbial communities are remain poorly understood. Here we investigated the structural and functional responses of antibiotic chloramphenicol (CAP) reducing biocathode communities to constant low temperature 10 degrees C (10-biocathode) and temperature elevation from 10 degrees C to 25 degrees C (S25-biocathode). Our results indicated that the low temperature acclimation with electrical stimulation obviously enhanced the CAP nitro group reduction efficiency when comparing the aromatic amine product AMCl(2) formation efficiency with the 10-biocathode and S25-biocathode under the opened and closed circuit conditions. The 10-biocathode generated comparative AMCl maximum as the S25-biocathode but showed significant lower dehalogenation rate of AMCl(2) to AMCl. The continuous low temperature and temperature elevation both enriched core functional community in the 10-biocathode and S25-biocathode, respectively. The 10-biocathode functioning stability maintained mainly through selectively enriching cold-adapted functional species, coexisting metabolically similar nitroaromatics reducers and maintaining the relative abundance of key electrons transfer genes. This study provides new insights into biocathode functioning stability for accelerating environmental pollutants degradation in cold wastewater system. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Photocatalytic Degradation of Aromatic Pollutants: A Pivotal Role of Conduction Band Electron in Distribution of Hydroxylated Intermediates
The modulation of the yield distribution of intermediates
formed
in the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants is of extreme
importance for the application of photocatalysis in environmental
cleanup, as different intermediates usually exhibit distinct biological
toxicity and secondary reactivity. In this paper, we report that the
distribution of monohydroxylated intermediates (<i>m</i>-, <i>p</i>- and <i>o</i>-) formed during the
photocatalytic oxidation of aromatic compounds changes with the variation
of reaction conditions, such as O<sub>2</sub> partial pressure and
substrate concentration. By detailed product analysis, theoretical
calculation, and oxygen isotope labeling experiments, we show that
these changes are due to the selective reduction of HO-adduct radicals
(the precursors of hydroxylated intermediates) by conduction band
electrons (e<sub>cb</sub><sup>â</sup>) back to the original
substrate, that is, <i>p</i>- and <i>o</i>-HO-adduct
radicals are more susceptible to e<sub>cb</sub><sup>â</sup> than the <i>m</i>- one. Our experiments give an example
that, even under oxidative conditions, the yield distribution of isomeric
intermediates can be modulated by e<sub>cb</sub><sup>â</sup>-initiated reduction. This study also illustrates that the unique
redox characteristics of photocatalysis, that is, both oxidation and
reduction reactions take place on or near the surface of a single
nanoparticle, can provide opportunities for the reaction control