The effect of cocoa supplementation on hepatic steatosis, reactive oxygen species and LFABP in a rat model of NASH

Background Non alcoholic steatohepatitis is hypothesised to develop via a mechanism involving fat accumulation and oxidative stress. The current study aimed to investigate if an increase in oxidative stress was associated with changes in the expression of liver fatty acid binding protein in a rat model of non alcoholic steatohepatitis and whether cocoa supplementation attenuated those changes. Methods Female Sprague Dawley rats were fed a high fat control diet, a high fat methionine choline deficient diet, or one of four 12.5% cocoa supplementation regimes in combination with the high fat methionine choline deficient diet. Results Liver fatty acid binding protein mRNA and protein levels were reduced in the liver of animals with fatty liver disease when compared to controls. Increased hepatic fat content was accompanied by higher levels of oxidative stress in animals with fatty liver disease when compared to controls. An inverse association was found between the levels of hepatic liver fatty acid binding protein and the level of hepatic oxidative stress in fatty liver disease. Elevated NADPH oxidase protein levels were detected in the liver of animals with increased severity in inflammation and fibrosis. Cocoa supplementation was associated with partial attenuation of these pathological changes, although the severity of liver disease induced by the methionine choline deficient diet prevented complete reversal of any disease associated changes. Red blood cell glutathione was increased by cocoa supplementation, whereas liver glutathione was reduced by cocoa compared to methionine choline deficient diet fed animals. Conclusion These findings suggest a potential role for liver fatty acid binding protein and NADPH oxidase in the development of non alcoholic steatohepatitis. Furthermore, cocoa supplementation may have be of therapeutic benefit in less sever forms of NASH

Activator protein transcription factors coordinate human IL-33 expression from noncanonical promoters in chronic airway disease

IL-33 is a cytokine central to type 2 immune pathology in chronic airway disease. This cytokine is abundantly expressed in the respiratory epithelium and increased in disease, but how expression is regulated is undefined. Here we show that increased IL33 expression occurs from multiple noncanonical promoters in human chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and it facilitates production of alternatively spliced isoforms in airway cells. We found that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) can activate IL33 promoters through protein kinase C in primary airway cells and lines. Transcription factor (TF) binding arrays combined with RNA interference identified activator protein (AP) TFs as regulators of baseline and induced IL33 promoter activity. ATAC-Seq and ChIP-PCR identified chromatin accessibility and differential TF binding as additional control points for transcription from noncanonical promoters. In support of a role for these TFs in COPD pathogenesis, we found that AP-2 (TFAP2A, TFAP2C) and AP-1 (FOS and JUN) family members are upregulated in human COPD specimens. This study implicates integrative and pioneer TFs in regulating IL33 promoters and alternative splicing in human airway basal cells. Our work reveals a potentially novel approach for targeting IL-33 in development of therapeutics for COPD

Planning the Minimum Time and Optimal Survey Trajectory for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in Uncertain Current

The authors develop an approach to a “best” time path for Autonomous Underwater Vehicles conducting oceanographic measurements under uncertain current flows. The numerical optimization tool DIDO is used to compute hybrid minimum time and optimal survey paths for a sample of currents between ebb and flow. A simulated meta-experiment is performed where the vehicle traverses the resulting paths under different current strengths per run. The fastest elapsed time emerges from a payoff table. A multi-objective function is then used to weigh the time to complete a mission versus measurement inaccuracy due to deviation from the desired survey path

Consequences of new regulations regarding ship emissions, technologies reducing sulphur emissions

97 σ.Ο διεθνής οργανισμός ναυτιλίας λόγω της επιδείνωσης του περιβάλλοντος τα τελευταία χρόνια, θέσπισε νομοθεσίες για τον περιορισμό των ρύπων από τα πλοία. προς το παρόν έχουν θεσμοθετηθεί περιορισμοί για τα οξείδια του θείου και του αζώτου. τα νέα όρια που τέθηκαν αναμένεται να προκαλέσουν μεγάλες διαταραχές στιν ομαλή λειτουργία των πλοίων. εισάγονται καινούριες πρωτογενείς και δευτερογενείς μέθοδοι για την μείωση των οξειδίων του αζώτου. παρουσιάζονται προτάσεις από κατασκευαστές για την αντιμετώπιση των προβλημάτων που παρουσιάζονται από την χρήση καυσίμων με χαμηλή περιεκτικότητα σε θείαφι και τέλος περιγράφονται τεχνολογίες για την μείωση των οξειδίων του θείου.Κυριάκος A. Κορδαλή

Evidence That Putrescine Modulates the Higher Plant Photosynthetic Proton Circuit

The light reactions of photosynthesis store energy in the form of an electrochemical gradient of protons, or proton motive force (pmf), comprised of electrical (Dy) and osmotic (DpH) components. Both components can drive the synthesis of ATP at the chloroplast ATP synthase, but the DpH component also plays a key role in regulating photosynthesis, downregulating the efficiency of light capture by photosynthetic antennae via the qE mechanism, and governing electron transfer at the cytochrome b6f complex. Differential partitioning of pmf into DpH and Dy has been observed under environmental stresses and proposed as a mechanism for fine-tuning photosynthetic regulation, but the mechanism of this tuning is unknown. We show here that putrescine can alter the partitioning of pmf both in vivo (in Arabidopsis mutant lines and in Nicotiana wild type) and in vitro, suggesting that the endogenous titer of weak bases such as putrescine represents a