Mangostins stimulate glucose uptake and inhibit adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes

Garcinia mangostana (Guttiferae) has interesting biological activities with potential medicinal application. α-mangostin and β-mangostin are the most abundant xanthones isolated from the species. The paper reported the inhibitory effect of the compounds on triglyceride formation, glucose uptake stimulation and gene expression effects on 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Evaluation of the effect of the compounds on triglyceride accumulation was examined by Oil red O staining. The result showed that all compounds inhibited lipid accumulation on 3T3-L1 adipocytes at concentration of 50 μM (P < 0.05) compared to MDI treated cells in a dose-dependent manner. Effect of the cells on uptake of 2-deoxy-D-[3H]glucose was significantly improved by increasing the concentration of the compounds. Analysis of gene expressions by quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated that the compounds inhibited the expression of early adipogenic transcription factor (PPARγ). In addition, the compounds enhanced the expression and plasma membrane translocation of GLUT4 in mature adipocytes. Analysis by using the adipolysis kit showed that α-mangostin particularly increases the free fatty acid release by stimulating the lipolysis pathway. Therefore, these results suggested that α-mangostin and β-mangostin have been found to have a beneficial action in diabetic complications (antiobesity effect) via stimulation of GLUT4 expression and inhibition of PPARγ expression

Techno-economic feasibility study of solar photovoltaic power plant using RETScreen to achieve Indonesia energy transition.

Indonesia, a key player in the global energy transition, faces surging electricity demand and ambitious renewable energy goals. In response, the government introduced a new regulation about renewable energy tariffs, including tariffs for photovoltaic (PV). However, there remains a gap in the academic literature regarding PV power plant feasibility studies under these tariffs. To address this gap, this study investigates the feasibility of a utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Indonesia, focusing on the newly implemented renewable energy tariffs based on Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and Indonesia's state-owned electricity company (PLN) perspectives. Five scenarios were developed based on the proposed 26 MW solar power plant on Nias Island utilizing RETScreen software. The results showed that based on the IPP perspective, the newly implemented renewable energy tariff was inadequate to make the project feasible, however, an introduction of a 10 USD/t CO2 emission incentive would make the project financially viable for IPPs. Therefore, it is recommended to introduce emission incentives as a strategic approach to attract investors and stimulate investment in Indonesia's PV power plants market, to accelerate Indonesia's energy transition. Conversely, the results also showed that the project is very profitable for PLN due to the significant cost-savings from the de-dieselization, leading to a reduction in the average generation cost for Nias

Insulin mimicking activities of Cycloartane Triterpenoid in 3T3-L1 cells

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder characterized by insulin resistance, insulin action and caused by multifactorial etiology, including environmental factors, particularly diet and genetic components. Recently, most research on diabetes has focus on adipocyte which is used as a model for testing of insulin sensitivity and novel antidiabetic drugs. In this study, we investigated the effects of cycloartane triterpenoid on the adipocyte differentiation and glucose uptake in 3T3-L1 cells together with its underlying gene expression. The cells were treated for triglyceride accumulation with different concentration of the compound using Oil Red O staining assay. After 8-days, morphological changes and increase lipid accumulation were observed in these cells (p<0.05). Indeed, the intracellular lipid accumulation increased by 1.9 fold relative to MDI-treated control cells at concentration of 50 µM. Analysis of insulin-induced 2-deoxy-D-[3H] glucose uptake activities shows that cycloartane triterpenoids significantly (p<0.01) improved the glucose uptake with increasing the concentration of the compounds as compared to the basal. Further evaluation with the quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) shows that mature 3T3-L1 cells treated with cycloart-24-en-3β-ol enhance pparγ and glut4 gene expression. As a result, it demonstrated that cycloartane triterpenoids enhance pparγ and glut4 gene expression. Taken together, these results suggest that cycloart-24-en-3β-ol derived from Garcinia malaccencis could improve insulin sensitivity through the activation of pparγ as a ligand and glut4

In-vitro evaluation of antibacterial potential of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesives for intraoral wound closure

Background: Cyanoacrylate tissue adhesives have been used as a substitute to silk for intraoral wound closure. Placement of sutures provides a corridor for accumulation of microorganisms into tissue which leads to infection. Cyanoacrylate-based adhesives exhibit many properties of an ideal wound closure agent, minimizing the problems generated by suturing thread. The antimicrobial properties of cyanoacrylates have been extensively assessed in other fields of medicine. However, there is a dearth in the literature on the antibacterial effect of cyanoacrylates in oral environment against oral microflora. Aim: To assess the antibacterial properties of two commonly used formulations of cyanoacrylate tissue adhesives against oral pathogens. Materials and Methods: Iso-amyl cyanoacrylate and a blend of n-butyl and 2-Octyl cyanoacrylates were applied on sterile filter paper discs and placed on culture plates. Plates for aerobic & anaerobic bacterial cultures were incubated in blood agar & Brain-Heart infusion agar respectively.Following incubation period, the bacterial inhibitory halos were measured in millimeters. In order to evaluate the bactericidal efficacy, samples were collected from the inhibitory halos and re-cultured on new bacterial culture plates. Antibacterial activity was assessed against five bacteria: A.actinomycetemcomitans, P.gingivalis, T.forsythia, L.amylovorus and S.aureus. Statistical analysis used:  The data collected was analysed using Mann Whitney u test. Results: Cyanoacrylates demonstrated potent inhibitory effects against all test organisms. The zones of inhibition against gram positive bacteria were found to be larger than gram negative bacteria. The bactericidal activity of Iso amyl cyanoacrylate was found to be more potent than n-butyl + 2 octyl cyanoacrylate. Conclusions: Due to its potent antibacterial properties, cyanoacrylate tissue adhesives can be considered as appealing alternatives to silk sutures for intraoral wound closure and help prevent postoperative

A robust binary supramolecular organic framework (SOF) with high CO2 adsorption and selectivity

A robust binary hydrogen-bonded supramolecular organic framework (SOF-7) has been synthesized by solvothermal reaction of 1,4-bis-(4-(3,5-dicyano-2,6 dipyridyl)dihydropyridyl)benzene (1) and 5,5’-bis-(azanediyl)-oxalyl-diisophthalic acid (2). Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis shows that SOF-7 comprises 2 and 1,4-bis-(4-(3,5-dicyano-2,6-dipyridyl)pyridyl)benzene (3), the latter formed in situ from the oxidative dehydrogenation of 1. SOF-7 shows a three-dimensional four-fold interpenetrat-ed structure with complementary O−H···N hydrogen bonds to form channels that are decorated with cyano- and amide-groups. SOF-7 exhibits excellent thermal stability and sol-vent and moisture durability, as well as permanent porosity. The activated desolvated material SOF-7a shows high CO2 sorption capacity and selectivity compared with other po-rous organic materials assembled solely through hydrogen bonding

RNA Polymerase II Pausing Downstream of Core Histone Genes Is Different from Genes Producing Polyadenylated Transcripts

Recent genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled high throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) analyses performed in various eukaryotic organisms, analysed RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) pausing around the transcription start sites of genes. In this study we have further investigated genome-wide binding of Pol II downstream of the 3′ end of the annotated genes (EAGs) by ChIP-seq in human cells. At almost all expressed genes we observed Pol II occupancy downstream of the EAGs suggesting that Pol II pausing 3′ from the transcription units is a rather common phenomenon. Downstream of EAGs Pol II transcripts can also be detected by global run-on and sequencing, suggesting the presence of functionally active Pol II. Based on Pol II occupancy downstream of EAGs we could distinguish distinct clusters of Pol II pause patterns. On core histone genes, coding for non-polyadenylated transcripts, Pol II occupancy is quickly dropping after the EAG. In contrast, on genes, whose transcripts undergo polyA tail addition [poly(A)+], Pol II occupancy downstream of the EAGs can be detected up to 4–6 kb. Inhibition of polyadenylation significantly increased Pol II occupancy downstream of EAGs at poly(A)+ genes, but not at the EAGs of core histone genes. The differential genome-wide Pol II occupancy profiles 3′ of the EAGs have also been confirmed in mouse embryonic stem (mES) cells, indicating that Pol II pauses genome-wide downstream of the EAGs in mammalian cells. Moreover, in mES cells the sharp drop of Pol II signal at the EAG of core histone genes seems to be independent of the phosphorylation status of the C-terminal domain of the large subunit of Pol II. Thus, our study uncovers a potential link between different mRNA 3′ end processing mechanisms and consequent Pol II transcription termination processes

The BCL-2 promoter (-938C &gt; A) polymorphism does not predict clinical outcome in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

The (-938C > A) polymorphism in the promoter region of the BCL-2 gene was recently associated with inferior time to treatment and overall survival in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients displaying the-938A/A genotype and may thus serve as an unfavorable genetic marker in CLL. Furthermore, the-938A/A genotype was associated with increased expression of Bcl-2. To investigate this further, we analyzed the-938 genotypes of the BCL-2 gene in 268 CLL patients and correlated data with treatment status, overall survival and known prognostic factors, for example, Binet stage, immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable (IGHV) mutational status and CD38 expression. In contrast to the recent report, the current cohort of CLL patients showed no differences either in time to treatment or overall survival in relation to usage of a particular genotype. In addition, no correlation was evident between the (-938C > A) genotypes and IGHV mutational status, Binet stage or CD38. Furthermore, the polymorphism did not appear to affect the Bcl-2 expression at the RNA level. Taken together, our data do not support the use of the (-938C > A) BCL-2 polymorphism as a prognostic marker in CLL and argue against its postulated role in modulating Bcl-2 levels