Preparation of cross-linked nanoporous poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate membrane in hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystal phases

Cross-linked poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) membranes were prepared by polymerization in periodic nanostructured lyotropic liquid crystals (LLC) hexagonal phases under UV light. A series of membranes were prepared under different purification treatment conditions. Polarized light microscope was employed to determine the LLC phase texture of LLC system before and after polymerization. It is found that the LLC hexagonal structure retained to some degree after polymerization. The interior structures of final membranes were investigated with scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results suggested that purification process affect the structure retention.<br /

La Comunicación Persuasiva : electronic Word-of-Mouth. Estudio de Casos

Internet ha transformado la forma en que buscamos información, la forma en que interactuamos entre nosotros. En consecuencia, el comportamiento tradicional del boca a boca (WOM) ahora tiene un elemento electrónico que da como resultado un flujo de investigación sustancial: el WOM electrónico (eWOM) subsumió estos métodos y se volvió más común; en algunos casos, se ha convertido en el método preferido de comunicación. Por lo tanto, el eWOM permite a los consumidores interactuar socialmente entre sí, intercambiar información relacionada con el producto y tomar decisiones de compra informadas a través de una conversación mediada por ordenador. Como forma de boca a boca electrónico (eWOM), las reseñas de consumidores en línea han atraído una enorme atención por parte de investigadores y profesionales. Aunque la investigación existente nos ha ayudado a desarrollar una buena comprensión de una serie de temas relacionados con el eWOM, quedan por resolver varias cuestiones de investigación y gestión..

Heme oxygenase-1 prevents non-alcoholic steatohepatitis through suppressing hepatocyte apoptosis in mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), the rate-limiting enzyme in heme catabolism, has been reported to have potential antioxidant properties. However, the role of HO-1 on hepatocyte apoptosis remains unclear. We aim to elucidate the effects of HO-1 on oxidative stress related hepatocellular apoptosis in nutritional steatohepatitis in mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>C57BL/6J mice were fed with methionine-choline deficient (MCD) diet for four weeks to induce hepatic steatohepatitis. HO-1 chemical inducer (hemin), HO-1 chemical inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP-IX) and/or adenovirus carrying HO-1 gene (Ad-HO-1) were administered to mice, respectively. Hepatocyte apoptosis was evaluated by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, the mRNA and protein expression of apoptosis related genes were assayed by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Hepatocyte signs of oxidative related apoptotic injury were presented in mice fed with MCD diet for 4 weeks. Induction of HO-1 by hemin or Ad-HO-1 significantly attenuated the severity of liver histology, which was associated with decreased hepatic lipid peroxidation content, reduced number of apoptotic cells by TUNEL staining, down-regulated expression of pro-apoptosis related genes including Fas/FasL, Bax, caspase-3 and caspase-9, reduced expression of cytochrome p4502E1 (CYP2E1), inhibited cytochrome c (Cyt-c) release, and up-regulated expression of anti-apoptosis gene Bcl-2. Whereas, inhibition of HO-1 by ZnPP-IX caused oxidative stress related hepatic injury, which concomitant with increased number of TUNEL positive cells and up-regulated expression of pro-apoptosis related genes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The present study provided evidences for the protective role of HO-1 in preventing nutritional steatohepatitis through suppressing hepatocyte apoptosis in mice.</p

Fenofibrate Enhances the In Vitro Differentiation of Foxp3+ Regulatory T Cells in Mice

Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) play a critical role in maintaining immune self-tolerance. Reduced number and activity of Tregs are usually found in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and enhancing the differentiation of Tregs may be a promising therapeutic strategy. Some reports suggested an anti-inflammatory and anti-autoimmune potential for fenofibrate, a hypolipidemic drug used worldwide, whose lipid effects are mediated by the activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα). In the present paper, we found that fenofibrate dose-dependently increased transforming growth factor-β and interleukin-2-induced Treg differentiation in vitro, by 1.96-fold from 0 to 20 μM (12.59 ± 1.34% to 24.69 ± 3.03%, P < 0.05). Other PPARα activators, WY14643 (100 μM), gemfibrozil (50 μM), and bezafibrate (30 μM), could not enhance Treg differentiation. In addition, PPARα could not upregulate the promoter activity of the Treg-specific transcription factor Foxp3. Fenofibrate might exert its function by enhancing Smad3 phosphorylation, a critical signal in Treg differentiation, via Akt suppression. Our work reveals a new PPARα independent anti-inflammatory mechanism of fenofibrate in up-regulating mouse Treg differentiation

Macrophyte identity shapes water column and sediment bacterial community

By assembling mesocosms and utilizing high-throughput sequencing, we aim to characterize the shifts of the bacterial community in freshwaters driven by two contrasting submerged macrophyte species, Ceratophyllum demersum L. and Vallisneria spiralis L. Although the microbe in both the water column and sediment were largely modulated by the macrophyte, the effect varied considerably depending on bacterial locations and macrophyte species. Actinobacteria was the most abundant taxa in the water column of all the three treatments, but its abundances were significantly higher in the two planted treatments. Moreover, Alphaproteobacteria showed high abundance only in the unplanted control. For bacterial taxa in the sediment, C. demersum significantly increased the relative abundance of Anaerolineae but reduced the relative abundance of Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, while V. spiralis increased the relative abundance of Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. Additionally, in the C. demersum treatment, the water column bacterial community increased more dramatically in richness, alpha diversity, and the relative abundance of the dominant taxa than those in the V. spiralis treatment. Taken together, the findings from this study reveal that the two species of submerged macrophyte modified the bacterial community in waters, despite the obvious interspecific performance differences

Changes of functional connectivity in the left frontoparietal network following aphasic stroke

Language is an essential higher cognitive function supported by large-scale brain networks. In this study, we investigated functional connectivity changes in the left frontoparietal network (LFPN), a language-cognition related brain network in aphasic patients. We enrolled 13 aphasic patients who had undergone a stroke in the left hemisphere and age-, gender-, educational level-matched controls and analyzed the data by integrating independent component analysis (ICA) with a network connectivity analysis method. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and clinical evaluation of language function were assessed at two stages: 1 and 2 months after stroke onset. We found reduced functional connectivity between the LFPN and the right middle frontal cortex, medial frontal cortex, and right inferior frontal cortex in aphasic patients as compared to controls. Correlation analysis showed that stronger functional connectivity between the LFPN and the right middle frontal cortex and medial frontal cortex coincided with more preserved language comprehension ability after stroke. Network connectivity analysis showed reduced LFPN connectivity as indicated by the mean network connectivity index of key regions in the LFPN of aphasic patients. The decreased LFPN connectivity in stroke patients was significantly associated with the impairment of language function in their comprehension ability. We also found significant association between recovery of comprehension ability and the mean changes in intrinsic LFPN connectivity. Our findings suggest that brain lesions may influence language comprehension by altering functional connectivity between regions and that the patterns of abnormal functional connectivity may contribute to the recovery of language deficits