Antidiabetic Activity of Zingiber officinale Roscoe Rhizome Extract: an In Vitro Study

  The potential roles of Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) for treating and preventing diabetes have been investigated in both humans and experimental animals. However, the mode of its action has not yet been elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ginger extract on glucose uptake activity and its activation pathway in L6 myotubes. Cells were co-cultured for 24 h with a variable concentration of either ginger extract or 2 mM metformin or 200 nM insulin or 20 μM Troglitazone (TGZ), followed by a 10-min 2-[3H]-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) uptake. The levels of glucose transporters 1 (GLUT1) and GLUT4 protein and mRNA expression were determined. Ginger extract at 400 μg/ml significantly enhanced glucose uptake in L6 myotubes (208.03 ± 10.65% above basal value, p<0.05) after co-culture for 24 h. The ginger-enhancement of glucose uptake was inhibited by 3.5 μM cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, 1 μM wortmannin (Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase (PI3 kinase) inhibitor) and 15 nM rapamycin (mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor). The enhancement of glucose transport by ginger extract at 400 μg/ml was accompanied with the increased expression of GLUT1 protein (1.60 ± 0.20, 2.03 ± 0.19, and 2.25 ± 0.35 folds of basal at 4, 8, and 24 h, respectively p<0.05) and mRNA (1.22 ± 0.96, 1.45 ± 0.93, 1.91 ± 0.75, 2.32±0.92, and 2.20 ± 0.64 folds of basal at 1, 2, 4, 8, and 24 h, respectively p<0.05) in a time-dependent manner. Z. officinale Roscoe rhizome extract increase glucose transport activity of L6 myotubes by enhancing GLUT1 expression, the results of PI3-Kinase and 5’-AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) stimulation

Being overweight and obese increases suicide risk, the severity of depression, and the inflammatory response in adolescents with major depressive disorders

BackgroundThere is a bidirectional relationship between obesity and depression. We investigated whether the coexistence of obesity and depression increases the risk of having severe depression and a high suicide risk in adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD). Additionally, we explored the potential mechanisms linking the coexistence of obesity and depression to worse outcomes in these patients.MethodsThe odds of high suicide risk and severe depression were compared among MDD patients based on different body mass index (BMI) groups. Complete blood count (CBC) parameters, inflammatory ratios (neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio [NLR], monocyte-lymphocyte ratio [MLR], and platelet-lymphocyte ratio [PLR]), and cytokine levels (IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, MCP-1, TNF-α, and TGF-β1) were evaluated across BMI groups. Additionally, Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were assessed to understand the relationships between the 8Q and 9Q scores, CBC parameters, inflammatory ratios, cytokine levels, and BMI.ResultsA total of 135 antidepressant-naive adolescents with MDD were included. Overweight and obese MDD patients had higher odds of having high suicide risk and severe depression than lean individuals. Furthermore, they exhibited significantly higher white blood cell (WBC), and neutrophil counts. The NLR tended to be higher in obese MDD patients than in leans. Overweight and obese MDD patients had elevated levels of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6 compared to lean individuals, while TGF-β1 levels appeared to decline as body weight increased. BMI showed weak positive correlations with 8Q score, WBC count, neutrophil count, monocyte count, platelet count, neutrophil percentage, and NLR, and a weak negative correlation with lymphocyte percentage. The 8Q score displayed weak positive correlations with BMI, neutrophil percentage, monocyte percentages, NLR, and MLR, and a weak negative correlation with lymphocyte percentage.ConclusionThe findings suggest that coexistence of overweight or obesity with depression heightened inflammatory responses, leading to worse outcomes and increased suicide risk in adolescents MDD patients

Thermal behaviour of metakaolin–bauxite blends geopolymer: microstructure and mechanical properties

This paper investigates the use of bauxite widely available in northern Cameroon as an additive in the optimization of some properties of metakaolin-based geopolymer. To do this, several geopolymer mixtures were prepared by substituting metakaolin (MK) by bauxite (BA) (from 0 to 50%) and partially kept at room temperature (28 °C), while others were sintered at 200, 800 and 1200 °C. The raw materials and resulting products were characterized using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), densification parameters, mechanical properties as well as microstructural morphologies. The results revealed that the setting time of the geopolymer pastes increased with the bauxite content due to its low dissolution in alkaline medium at room temperature. The mechanical strength of samples decreased from 35.20 to 11.10 MPa at room temperature. At 1200 °C, the higher strengths (50, 98 and 70 MPa) were achieved in MKBA10, MKBA20 and MKBA30, respectively. These samples also exhibited dense and compact microstructure partially due to packing particles effect and the nature of bauxite known as refractory material. Thermal shrinkage and relatively high mass losses reflected the decomposition of chemical compounds within the system. Thus, the synthesized materials heated at 1200 °C could be used as a potential candidate for refractory applications

การศึกษาการติดเชื้อไวรัส Epstein-Barr (EBV) ต่อ primary T-lymphocytes ของคนในหลอดทดลอง

Thesis (Ph.D., Biomedical Sciences)--Prince of Songkla University, 200

Industrial potentiality of alluvial clays deposits from Cameroon: influence of lateritic clayey admixture for fired bricks production.

peer reviewe

Identification of Complex Care Needed in Patients with Hypertension Treated at Primary Care (ICNHT) study

This project aims to identification complex care needs of persons with hypertension who are being treated at the first-level primary care facilities in Thailand. The objectives are to; (1) identify risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease, blood pressure control, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and chronic kidney disease among persons with hypertension, (2) develop and test self-care of hypertension measure (Self-care of Hypertension Inventory-Thai version), and (3) examine the association of self-care, and factors-related to hypertension outcomes

Alkali-Activated Copper Slag with Carbon Reinforcement: Effects of Metakaolinite, OPC and Surfactants

Copper slag is an industrial residue with a large unutilized fraction. This study presents the development of alkali-activated composites from a copper slag named Koranel®. The effects of metakaolinite, ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and surfactants were investigated. The reactivity of Koranel with potassium silicate solutions with molar ratio R = SiO2/K2O varying from 1 to 2.75, with 0.25 intervals, was investigated using isothermal calorimetry. The reactivity was relatively low at 20 °C; the reaction started after a few hours with a low silica modulus, to several weeks with the highest silica modulus. The substitution of Koranel by OPC (5 wt.%) or by metakaolinite (10–20 wt.%), both led to higher reaction heat and rate; meanwhile, the addition of 2 wt.% polyethylene glycol/2-methyl 2,4 pentanediol delayed the reaction time in the system containing metakaolinite. Raising the curing temperature from 20 °C to 80 °C shortened the setting time of the low reactive systems, from several days to almost instantaneous, opening perspectives for their application in the production of prepreg composite materials. The use of carbon fabric as reinforcement in the alkali-activated matrix led to composite materials with flexural strength reaching 88 MPa and elastic modulus of about 19 GPa—interesting for engineering applications such as high-strength lightweight panels

Effect of Sodium Disilicate and Metasilicate on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of One-Part Alkali-Activated Copper Slag/Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag

Copper slag (CS) remains a challenging industrial by-product with a relatively small utilization fraction. The present study investigated the development of one-part alkali-activated cements based on CS, ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and a mixture of the two as a precursor. We investigated 5 to 15 wt% solid sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) and disilicate (Na2Si2O5) as alkaline reagents. Isothermal calorimetry showed that the reactivity of the system was higher for the metasilicate based samples, with early reaction and higher cumulative heat released. Metasilicate based samples also presented a more densified microstructure, lower porosity and higher strength. Better performances were observed with 10 wt% metasilicate/disilicate with respect to the 5 and 15 wt%. The 28-day compressive strength and elastic modulus of 10 wt% metasilicate samples reached 75 MPa and 25 GPa, respectively, and, for paste samples, ranged from 100 wt% GGBS to 50/50 wt% CS/GGBS. The microstructure and calorimetry of the pastes showed that GGBS actively participated in the binding process, whereas CS played a smaller role and acted as a filler and catalyst. The substitution of commercial GGBS by CS up to 50 wt% did not affect the overall performance, thus, bringing CS forward as an economically interesting precursor