Preparation and characterization of Artemisia Capillaris Thunb Extracts Embedded Electrospun PVA Nanofiber

This study seeks to use the Artemisia capillaris Thunb extracts, which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidation effects, to manufacture a nanoweb and seeks to contemplate the form and change of characteristics of the nanofiber according to the content of Artemisia capillaris Thunb extracts

In vitro antioxidative activity of moss extract, and effect of moss on serum lipid level of mice fed with high-fat diet

Purpose: To evaluate the potential of active compounds derived from moss in the prevention and treatment of various diseases.Methods: Three species of moss were extracted with deionized water at 95 °C, and with 70.5 % ethanol at 85 °C. Analysis of total phenolic contents (TPC) of the extracts were performed by Folin- Ciocalteu (FC) method. The antioxidant activity of the extracts were determined using three methods, namely, by 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic) acid (ABTS), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). In vivo effects were evaluated in mice fed high fat diet (HFD) supplemented with 20 % ground moss. Cholesterol levels in HFD were evaluated by ophthalaldehyde method. Serum triglyceride levels were measured using triglyceride (TG) kit, while blood insulin level and leptin concentration were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit.Results: The moss extracts exhibited antioxidative effects, as evidenced of . TPC of 47.20 ± 11.20 to 119.87 ± 11.51 mg GAE/mg, respectively. ABTS scavenging activity was 1078.11 ± 18.95 to 2587.33 ± 46.19 μmol Trolox/mg, DPPH scavenging activity of were 42.11 ± 8.22 to 298.78 ± 20.02 μmol Trolox/mg, and FRAP value of 393.19 ± 24.64 to 1070.14 ± 17.92 μmol Trolox/mg, respectively. Mice fed with 20 % ground moss did not show any significant effect (p < 0.05) on visceral weight and blood lipid levels of HFD, while leptin concentrations reduced significantly to 4.74 ± 0.00 and 0.20 ± 0.00 ng/dL) relative to HFD alone (26.72 ± 6.53 ng/dL).Conclusion: Moss can potentially be used as an antioxidative ingredient, for the improvement of overall human health, suggesting that important medical benefits associated with moss consumption. However, further investigations are required to ascertain this.Keywords: Moss, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, insulin, lepti

UbiqStor: Server and Proxy for Remote Storage of Mobile Devices

Abstract. Mobile devices have difficulty in sustaining various services as in a wired environment, due to the storage shortage of the mobile device. The re-search[8] which provides remote storage service for mobile appliances using iSCSI has been conducted to overcome the storage shortage in mobile appli-ances. In research the proposed cache server performed well with relatively small files of sizes, however, did not perform well with large files such as data-base files, multimedia files, etc. The reason was the mobile device could not grasp the file as a whole and thus the cache server encountered frequent cache miss in spite of its huge buffer. In this paper we propose a proxy server that ac-commodates large files for mobile devices thus attains very high hit ratio.

Overexpression of Arabidopsis thaliana brassinosteroid-related acyltransferase 1 gene induces brassinosteroid-deficient phenotypes in creeping bentgrass

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are naturally occurring steroidal hormones that play diverse roles in various processes during plant growth and development. Thus, genetic manipulation of endogenous BR levels might offer a way of improving the agronomic traits of crops, including plant architecture and stress tolerance. In this study, we produced transgenic creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.) overexpressing a BR-inactivating enzyme, Arabidopsis thaliana BR-related acyltransferase 1 (AtBAT1), which is known to catalyze the conversion of BR intermediates to inactive acylated conjugates. After putative transgenic plants were selected using herbicide resistance assay, genomic integration of the AtBAT1 gene was confirmed by genomic PCR and Southern blot analysis, and transgene expression was validated by northern blot analysis. The transgenic creeping bentgrass plants exhibited BR-deficient phenotypes, including reduced plant height with shortened internodes (i.e., semi-dwarf), reduced leaf growth rates with short, wide, and thick architecture, high chlorophyll contents, decreased numbers of vascular bundles, and large lamina joint bending angles (i.e., erect leaves). Subsequent analyses showed that the transgenic plants had significantly reduced amounts of endogenous BR intermediates, including typhasterol, 6-deoxocastasterone, and castasterone. Moreover, the AtBAT1 transgenic plants displayed drought tolerance as well as delayed senescence. Therefore, the results of the present study demonstrate that overexpression of an Arabidopsis BR-inactivating enzyme can reduce the endogenous levels of BRs in creeping bentgrass resulting in BR-deficient phenotypes, indicating that the AtBAT1 gene from a dicot plant is also functional in the monocot crop.111Ysciescopu

Inhibition of hepatic stellate cells by bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in hepatic fibrosis

Background/AimsTherapies involving bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) have considerable potential in the management of hepatic disease. BM-MSCs have been investigated in regenerative medicine due to their ability to secrete various growth factors and cytokines that regress hepatic fibrosis and enhance hepatocyte functionality. The aim of this study was to determine the antifibrosis effect of BM-MSCs on activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and the mechanism underlying how BM-MSCs modulate the function of activated HSCs.MethodsWe used HSCs in both direct and indirect co-culture systems with BM-MSCs to evaluate the antifibrosis effect of BM-MSCs. The cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated by a direct co-culture system of activated HSCs with BM-MSCs. The activations of both HSCs alone and HSCs with BM-MSCs in the direct co-culture system were observed by immunocytochemistry for alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). The levels of growth factors and cytokines were evaluated by an indirect co-culture system of activated HSCs with BM-MSCs.ResultsThe BM-MSCs in the direct co-culture system significantly decreased the production of α-SMA and the viability of activated HSCs, whereas they induced the apoptosis of activated HSCs. The BM-MSCs in the indirect co-culture system decreased the production of transforming growth factor-β1 and interleukin (IL)-6, whereas they increased the production of hepatocyte growth factor and IL-10. These results confirmed that the juxtacrine and paracrine effects of BM-MSCs can inhibit the proliferative, fibrogenic function of activated HSCs and have the potential to reverse the fibrotic process by inhibiting the production of α-SMA and inducing the apoptosis of HSCs.ConclusionsThese results have demonstrated that BM-MSCs may exert an antifibrosis effect by modulating the function of activated HSCs

Under-reporting of Energy Intake from 24-hour Dietary Recalls in the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

AbstractObjectivesChronic degenerative diseases are closely related to daily eating habits, nutritional status, and, in particular, energy intake. In clarifying these relationships it is very important for dietary surveys to report accurate information about energy intake. This study attempted to identify the prevalence of the under-reporting of energy intake and its related characteristics based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted in the years 2007–2009.MethodsThe present study analyzed dietary intake data from 15,133 adults aged ≥19 years using 24-hour dietary recalls. Basal metabolic rates were calculated from the age- and gender-specific equations of Schofield and under-reporting was defined as an energy intake <0.9, represented by the ratio of energy intake to estimated basal metabolic rate.ResultsUnder-reporters (URs) accounted for 14.4% of men and 23.0% of women and the under-reporting rate was higher in the age group 30–49 years for both men and women. The results from an analysis of the age-specific socioeconomic characteristics of participants classified as URs showed that under-reporting was high in women living alone and in women with only elementary school education or no education. The results from an analysis of the health-specific characteristics of URs showed that a large proportion of URs had poor self-rated health or were obese, or both, compared with non-URs. The proportion of participants who consumed less than the estimated average requirements for nutrients was significantly higher in URs compared with non-URs.ConclusionThe under-reporting of energy intake was associated with age, gender, education level, income level, household status (single-person or multi-person), self-rated health, physical activity, and obesity