Fisetin Protects Against Hepatic Steatosis Through Regulation of the Sirt1/AMPK and Fatty Acid β-Oxidation Signaling Pathway in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice

Background/Aims: Fisetin is a naturally abundant flavonoid isolated from various fruits and vegetables that was recently identified to have potential biological functions in improving allergic airway inflammation, as well as anti-oxidative and anti-tumor properties. Fisetin has also been demonstrated to have anti-obesity properties in mice. However, the effect of fisetin on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is still elusive. Thus, the present study evaluated whether fisetin improves hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese mice and regulates lipid metabolism of FL83B hepatocytes in vitro. Methods: NAFLD was induced by HFD in male C57BL/6 mice. The mice were then injected intraperitoneally with fisetin for 10 weeks. In another experiment, FL83B cells were challenged with oleic acid to induce lipid accumulation and treated with various concentrations of fisetin. Results: NAFLD mice treated with fisetin had decreased body weight and epididymal adipose tissue weight compared to NAFLD mice. Fisetin treatment also reduced liver lipid droplet and hepatocyte steatosis, alleviated serum free fatty acid, and leptin concentrations, significantly decreased fatty acid synthase, and significantly increased phosphorylation of AMPKα and the production of sirt-1 and carnitine palmitoyltransferase I in the liver tissue. In vitro, fisetin decreased lipid accumulation and increased lipolysis and β-oxidation in hepatocytes. Conclusion: This study suggests that fisetin is a potential novel treatment for alleviating hepatic lipid metabolism and improving NAFLD in mice via activation of the sirt1/AMPK and β-oxidation pathway

A Comprehensive Survey on Two Associative Memory Models

本文討論並比較三種聯想記憶模式，分別是陶卿等所著的模式[8]，etAM(容錯聯想記憶)，和mECR(錯誤更正規則)。在本文中整理分析這三種記憶模式，並依照這三種模式對於所有的輸入可能的收斂性作比較。 本文取材自國科會計畫(NSC 93-2213-E-002-081)與類神經網路課程(922 U1180)講義討論三個聯想記憶結構，其中一個結構為陶卿等所著[8]，另二結構請參考作品[5]。陶的程式由助理吳泰輝同學提供，[5]的程式取材自講義。作者自 94 年 3 月下旬開始比較這三個記憶結構，並將結果整理記載成文。This paper discusses three associative memory models. The three models are Tao's AM, etAM and mECR. Tao's AM is based on projection on a closed convex set spanned by patterns. etAM and mECR are based on tuning hyperplanes to get the desired error tolerance. The three models are analyzed, and then compared based on the convergence of all possible binary inputs.Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Theorem 4 2.1 Tao’s AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2.2 etAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 2.3 mECR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3 Analysis and Comparison 11 3.1 Tao’s AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 3.2 etAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 3.3 mECR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3.4 Conparison among AMs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 3.5 Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 4 Conclusion 37 4.1 Future works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 A The large tables for comparison between AMs 38

Quasi-Phase-Matching Second Harmonic Generation Green Laser with Large Temperature Bandwidth On PPMgO:LiNbO3

本篇論文主要以摻雜氧化鎂鈮酸鋰為材料，研製週期性極化反轉倍頻雷射晶片，目標為利用此晶片達成輸入1064nm紅外光準相位匹配倍頻產生532nm綠光。 製程部分以未摻雜共熔鈮酸鋰(CLN)高電壓致極化反轉經驗為基礎加以改良，在厚度為0.5um摻雜氧化鎂鈮酸鋰(MgO:LN)晶片成功研製出最小週期為6.91um第一階一維和多週期第一階一維週期性結構；在厚度為1um摻雜氧化鎂鈮酸鋰(MgO:LN)晶片也成功研製出13.8um第二階一維及6.94um第一階準一維的週期性結構。 光學實驗部分只對0.5um厚摻雜氧化鎂鈮酸鋰(MgO:LN)晶片做討論。單週期結構、長度5um，以170MW/cm2(180mW) 光腰半徑60um奈秒泵浦條件下，產生80mW的綠光輸出、轉換效率約在46%；並在區段啁啾結構設計下，於多週期結構、長度5um，以195MW/cm2(350mW)光腰半徑75um之奈秒泵浦條件下，產生63mW的綠光輸出，轉換效率約20%，且可接受溫度頻寬達50度。相較於同樣長度單週期設計，雖然轉換效率降低了2.3倍，但提升了10倍的可接受溫度頻寬。This thesis reports the fabrication of periodically poled magne-sium-oxide-doped congruent lithium niobate (PPMgLN), to convert the 1064nm infrared laser into 532nm green light by using the technique of quasi-phase matching second harmonic generation(QPM-SHG). We improved the fabrication technique on electric poling method of congruent lithium niobate. This method leads to the realization of periodically poled QPM structures on 0.5mm and 1mm thick MgO:LiNbO3 substrates. The smallest periods achieved in this work are (i) 6.91um for the 1st - order 、(ii) chirped-gratings for the 1st-order QPM device. For the 1mm thick substrate , the smallest periods we can make are (i) 6.96um for the 1st-order quasi-1D、(ii)13.8um for the 2nd–order QPM device. For the characterization we measured SHG on PPMgLN with 5mm crystal length when pumped by a pulsed 1064nm laser of 159 MW/cm2 (180mW) with 5ns pulse width of 60um beam waist. The device exhibits 80mW green light output with conversion efficiency attain 46% . Second, the design of chirped grating structure with 5mm long are tested by a pulsed 1064 nm laser of 195 MW/cm2 (350mW) with beam radius 75um. The device exhibits 63mW green light output with the conversion efficiency 20%, and the acceptance temperature bandwidth is about 50 degree. In the same length, the acceptance temperature bandwidth for the segment-chirped design exceeds that of single period by a factor of 10, whereas the conversion efficiency is reduced only by a factor of 2.3

ECG Approximate Entropy in the Elderly during Cycling Exercise

Approximate entropy (ApEn) is used as a nonlinear measure of heart-rate variability (HRV) in the analysis of ECG time-series recordings. Previous studies have reported that HRV can differentiate between frail and pre-frail people. In this study, EEGs and ECGs were recorded from 38 elderly adults while performing a three-stage cycling routine. Before and after cycling stages, 5-min resting-state EEGs (rs-EEGs) and ECGs were also recorded under the eyes-open condition. Applying the K-mean classifier to pre-exercise rs-ECG ApEn values and body weights revealed nine females with EEG power which was far higher than that of the other subjects in all cycling stages. The breathing of those females was more rapid than that of other subjects and their average heart rate was faster. Those females also presented higher degrees of asymmetry in the alpha and theta bands (stronger power levels in the right frontal electrode), indicating stressful responses during the experiment. It appears that EEG delta activity could be used in conjunction with a very low ECG frequency power as a predictor of bursts in the heart rate to facilitate the monitoring of elderly adults at risk of heart failure. A resting ECG ApEn index in conjunction with the subject’s weight or BMI is recommended for screening high-risk candidates prior to exercise interventions

Acacetin from Traditionally Used Saussurea involucrata Kar. et Kir. Suppressed Adipogenesis in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes and Attenuated Lipid Accumulation in Obese Mice

Acacetin, a flavone that can be isolated from the Saussurea involucrata plant, has anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory properties that ameliorate airway hyperresponsiveness in asthmatic mice. This study investigated whether acacetin has anti-adipogenic effects in 3T3-L1 adipocytes and whether it regulates the inflammatory response in adipocytes and macrophages. It also investigated whether acacetin ameliorates lipid accumulation in high-fat diet- (HFD) induced obese mice. Differentiated 3T3-L1 cells were treated with acacetin. The glycerol levels in the culture medium were measured, and the expression of proteins and genes involved in adipogenesis and lipolysis were assayed by Western blot and real-time PCR, respectively. Inflammatory cytokine signaling pathway activity was assessed in macrophages that were treated with acacetin and cultured with differentiated medium from 3T3-L1 cells. Intraperitoneal injections of acacetin were administered to HFD-induced obese mice twice a week for 10 weeks. Acacetin significantly increased the levels of glycerol in the culture medium and significantly inhibited lipid accumulation in adipocytes. Acacetin reduced the expression of adipogenesis-related transcription factors, including the expression of the CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein; it also increased sirtuin 1 expression and AMPK phosphorylation in adipocytes. In macrophages cultured with differentiated media from 3T3-L1 adipocytes, acacetin reduced the levels of inflammatory mediators and the activity of the mitogen-activated protein kinase and NF-κB pathways. In obese mice, acacetin reduced both body weight and visceral adipose tissue weight. These results demonstrate that acacetin inhibited adipogenesis in adipocytes and in obese mice. Acacetin also reduced the inflammatory response of macrophages that were stimulated with differentiated media from 3T3-L1 cells

Protective Effects of Casticin From Vitex trifolia Alleviate Eosinophilic Airway Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in a Murine Asthma Model

Casticin has been isolated from Vitex trifolia and found to have anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. We also previously discovered that casticin can reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines and ICAM-1 expression in inflammatory pulmonary epithelial cells. In the present study, we evaluated whether casticin reduced airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR), airway inflammation, and oxidative stress in the lungs of a murine asthma model and alleviated inflammatory and oxidative responses in tracheal epithelial cells. Female BALB/c mice were randomly divided into five groups: normal controls, ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma, and OVA-induced asthma treated with intraperitoneal injection of casticin (5 or 10 mg/kg) or prednisolone (5 mg/kg). Casticin reduced AHR, goblet cell hyperplasia, and oxidative responses in the lungs of mice with asthma. Mechanistic studies revealed that casticin attenuated the levels of Th2 cytokine in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids and regulated the expression of Th2 cytokine and chemokine genes in the lung. Casticin also significantly regulated oxidative stress and reduced inflammation in the lungs of mice with asthma. Consequently, inflammatory tracheal epithelial BEAS-2B cells treated with casticin had significantly suppressed levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and eotaxin, and reduced THP-1 monocyte cell adherence to BEAS-2B cells via suppressed ICAM-1 expression. Thus, casticin is a powerful immunomodulator, ameliorating pathological changes by suppressing Th2 cytokine expression in mice with asthma