Proteomic Analysis of the Effect of DHA-Phospholipids from Large Yellow Croaker Roe on Hyperlipidemic Mice

Previously, we found that phospholipids derived from large yellow croaker (<i>Pseudosciaena crocea</i>) roe had a higher level of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA–PL), which had beneficial effects on lipid metabolism. However, the mechanism by which DHA–PL from <i>P. crocea</i> roe exerts these effects has not yet been illuminated. Herein, we investigated the underlying molecular action of DHA–PL by examining changes in liver protein expression in control, hyperlipidemic, and DHA–PL-treated mice. A total of 16 proteins, 9 up-regulated and 7 down-regulated, were identified and classified into several metabolic pathways, such as fat digestion and absorption, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR) signaling, and antigen processing and presentation; the largest functional class found was that of fat digestion and absorption. We revealed Apoa1 to be a biomarker of DHA–PL effects on hyperlipidemic mice by DHA–PL diet. These results not only improve our current understanding of hyperlipidemic regulation by DHA–PL, but also suggest that DHA–PL should be applied as a beneficial food additive

A Ten Liter Stacked Microbial Desalination Cell Packed With Mixed Ion-Exchange Resins for Secondary Effluent Desalination

The architecture and performance of microbial desalination cell (MDC) have been significantly improved in the past few years. However, the application of MDC is still limited in a scope of small-scale (milliliter) reactors and high-salinity-water desalination. In this study, a large-scale (>10 L) stacked MDC packed with mixed ion-exchange resins was fabricated and operated in the batch mode with a salt concentration of 0.5 g/L NaCl, a typical level of domestic wastewater. With circulation flow rate of 80 mL/min, the stacked resin-packed MDC (SR-MDC) achieved a desalination efficiency of 95.8% and a final effluent concentration of 0.02 g/L in 12 h, which is comparable with the effluent quality of reverse osmosis in terms of salinity. Moreover, the SR-MDC kept a stable desalination performance (>93%) when concentrate volume decreased from 2.4 to 0.1 L (diluate/concentrate volume ratio increased from 1:1 to 1:0.04), where only 0.875 L of nonfresh water was consumed to desalinate 1 L of saline water. In addition, the SR-MDC achieved a considerable desalination rate (95.4 mg/h), suggesting a promising application for secondary effluent desalination through deriving biochemical electricity from wastewater

Inosine does not affect lesion size.

<p><b>A</b>. Depth of lesions for all animals in Studies 1 and 2 (bars show group means; dashed lines show exclusion limits). <b>B</b>. lesion depth after excluding rats in which the lesion was either ≤ 50% or > 85% the depth of the spinal cord. <b>C</b>. Area of lesions (percentage of tissue lost within an 8 mm segment of spinal cord centered at the lesion epicenter). Inosine and saline-treated groups did not differ from each other in lesion depth or area (One-way ANOVA, Dunnet <i>a </i><i>priori</i> test). </p

Behavioral outcome depends upon treatment but not depth of lesion.

<p>Scattergrams show open field behavior (<b>A</b>) and ladder rung scores (<b>B</b>) as a function of lesion depth. <i>Blue </i><i>dots</i> represent rats treated with either i.c.v. or i.v. inosine, and <i>red </i><i>dots</i> are rats treated with saline; dotted lines show the upper and lower bounds of our exclusion criteria. Within these bounds, inosine-treated rats out-performed controls, but there is no significant correlation (n.s.) between performance and lesion size. Performance on both tests falls off for lesions outside the lower limit for inclusion in the study.</p

Use of Pyrolyzed Iron Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid Modified Activated Carbon as Air–Cathode Catalyst in Microbial Fuel Cells

Activated carbon (AC) is a cost-effective catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in air-cathode microbial fuel cells (MFCs). To enhance the catalytic activity of AC cathodes, AC powders were pyrolyzed with iron ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (FeEDTA) at a weight ratio of FeEDTA:AC = 0.2:1. MFCs with FeEDTA modified AC cathodes and a stainless steel mesh current collector produced a maximum power density of 1580 ± 80 mW/m², which was 10% higher than that of plain AC cathodes (1440 ± 60 mW/m²) and comparable to Pt cathodes (1550 ± 10 mW/m²). Further increases in the ratio of FeEDTA:AC resulted in a decrease in performance. The durability of AC-based cathodes was much better than Pt-catalyzed cathodes. After 4.5 months of operation, the maximum power density of Pt cathode MFCs was 50% lower than MFCs with the AC cathodes. Pyridinic nitrogen, quaternary nitrogen and iron species likely contributed to the increased activity of FeEDTA modified AC. These results show that pyrolyzing AC with FeEDTA is a cost-effective and durable way to increase the catalytic activity of AC

Inosine increases serotonergic input to the lumbar spinal cord.

<p><b>A</b>. Schematic diagram of the lumbar enlargement. Box delineates area of 5-HT analysis in the ventral horn. <b>B</b>. Integrated intensity of 5-HT immunofluorescence. SCI decreases 5-HT immunofluorescence compared to normal controls. <i>i.v.</i> inosine restores 5-HT levels back to normal (F = 10.93; **P < 0.01 compared to saline treatment, ^†P < 0.05 compared to sham-operated controls: One-way ANOVA, Dunnet <i>a </i><i>priori</i> test). <b>C</b> - <b>E</b>. Photomicrographs show serotonergic fibers in the lumbar enlargement of sham-operated rats (<b>C</b>) and after SCI in rats treated with <i>i.v.</i> saline (<b>D</b>) or <i>i.v.</i> inosine (<b>E</b>).</p

Interruption of the dorsal corticospinal tract (CST) after spinal cord injury (SCI).

<p><b>A</b>. Hindlimb CST axons were labeled by injecting biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) into 9 sites in the hindlimb motor area of each hemisphere 4 weeks after SCI. Rats survived 2 more weeks to allow for BDA transport. <b>B</b>. Identity of brain structures (from the atlas of Paxinos and Watson, 1997). <b>C</b>. Parasagittal section through the thoracic cord shows labeled CST axons (<i>arrowhead</i>) rostral to the lesion (<i>dashed lines</i>). Note the absence of labeled fibers distal to the injury. <b>D</b>, <b>E</b>. Transverse sections of the spinal cord at the cervical (<b>D</b>) and lumbar (<b>E</b>) enlargements. Note heavy labeling at the cervical level (<b>D</b>, <b>D</b>') but absence of labeling in the lumbar cord (<b>E</b>, <b>E</b>'). Scale bar, 500 µm. </p

Inosine increases CST contacts onto LPSNs.

<p><b>A</b>. Transverse section of an inosine-treated animal though the cervical enlargement shows position of LPSNs (<i>boxes</i>). <b>B</b>, <b>C</b>. Enlargement of areas in (<b>A</b>) show LPSNs (<i>red</i>) that project to the lumbar enlargement. <b>B</b>', <b>C</b>'. Higher magnification of cells in B and C. <i>Arrowheads</i> show BDA-labeled CST collaterals (<i>green</i>) contacting an LPSN soma (<b>B</b>') and proximal dendrites (<b>C</b>'). <b>D</b>, <b>E</b>, Quantitation of CST synapses upon LPSN somata and within 20 µm of labeled dendrites. SCI alone increases axosomatic synapses compared to sham-operated controls, and inosine increases the number of these to a greater extent (<b>D</b>). Inosine also increases putative axodendritic contacts compared to normal animals (<b>E</b>). *P < 0.05 compared to saline treatment, ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01 compared to sham-operated controls (Mann-Whitney).</p

Dose-response relationship for intravenous inosine.

<p><b>A</b>, <b>B</b>. Behavioral results 4 weeks after SCI. The effects of inosine reach a plateau at 100 mM in both the open-field (<b>A</b>) and ladder rung walking (<b>B</b>) tests. <b>C</b>, <b>D</b>. Behavioral test results over the 4 week test period. *P < 0.01; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.01 (One-way ANOVA, Dunnet <i>a </i><i>priori</i> test (a, b); two-way ANOVA, Bonferroni <i>a </i><i>priori</i> test (c, d)).</p

Oxygen-Reducing Biocathodes Operating with Passive Oxygen Transfer in Microbial Fuel Cells

Oxygen-reducing biocathodes previously developed for microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have required energy-intensive aeration of the catholyte. To avoid the need for aeration, the ability of biocathodes to function with passive oxygen transfer was examined here using air cathode MFCs. Two-chamber, air cathode MFCs with biocathodes produced a maximum power density of 554 ± 0 mW/m², which was comparable to that obtained with a Pt cathode (576 ± 16 mW/m²), and 38 times higher than that produced without a catalyst (14 ± 3 mW/m²). The maximum current density with biocathodes in this air-cathode MFC was 1.0 A/m², compared to 0.49 A/m² originally produced in a two-chamber MFC with an aqueous cathode (with cathode chamber aeration). Single-chamber, air-cathode MFCs with the same biocathodes initially produced higher voltages than those with Pt cathodes, but after several cycles the catalytic activity of the biocathodes was lost. This change in cathode performance resulted from direct exposure of the cathodes to solutions containing high concentrations of organic matter in the single-chamber configuration. Biocathode performance was not impaired in two-chamber designs where the cathode was kept separated from the anode solution. These results demonstrate that direct-air biocathodes can work very well, but only under conditions that minimize heterotrophic growth of microorganisms on the cathodes