Changes of Myogenic Reactive Oxygen Species and Interleukin-6 in Contracting Skeletal Muscle Cells

The aim of this study was to measure changes in myotube reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the production of interleukin (IL)-6 in electrically stimulated mouse C2C12 skeletal muscle cells. After five days of differentiation, myotubes were stimulated using an electrical stimulator set at 45 V at a frequency of 5 Hz, with a pulse width of 20 ms. Acute stimulations were performed for 45, 60, 75, 90, or 120 min in each dish. ROSs were detected in the extracted cells directly using a fluorescent probe. IL-6 mRNA expression in C2C12 myotubes and IL-6 concentration in C2C12 myotube supernatants were determined using real-time PCR and ELISA, respectively. Compared with control cells, ROS generation was significantly increased at 45 min after the onset of stimulation (P < 0.01) and continued to increase, reaching a maximum at 120 min. IL-6 mRNA expression and IL-6 concentration in C2C12 cells were significantly increased after 75 min (P < 0.01) and 120 min (P < 0.05) of electrical stimulation (ES) compared with the control cells. Our data show that a specific ES intensity may modulate ROS accumulation and affect IL-6 gene expression in contracting skeletal muscle cells

Effect of Laser Irradiation on sIg A and Mucosa Structure of Upper Respiratory Tract with Six-week Incremental Exercise

[Objective] Mucosal immune suppression, with chronic intensive exercise, can be associated with an increased risk of upper respiratory tract infections, which should be related to the deterioration of the nasal mucosa structure. This study aimed to observe the change of nasal mucosa structure with 6-week incremental exercise, and to explore the effect of low level laser irradiation on nasal mucosa structure and mucosal immune function. [Methods] 40 Sprague–Dawle rats, aged 8 weeks, were divided into 4 groups : Control, Exercise, Low power (4mw, 12.23 J/cm2) and High power laser (6mw, 18.34J/cm2) groups. Incremental treadmill exercise protocols: successive 6 weeks, 6 days/week, 30min /day. 10 m/min velocity during wk1, 20 m for wk2, with 5m/min/wk increment following weeks. The treatment of low level laser as following: He-Ne laser (0.19625 cm2 ), two irradiation point of nasal ala, 6-week duration, 6 days/wk, 2 times/day; 5min/time. Samples were taken pre and post 6-week exercise. Structure of mucosa of nose was observed by HE staining and sIgA tested by ELISA. [Results] 1) following changes occurred in Exercise group after 6-wk exercise: nasal mucosa was seriously damaged and cilia layer of free edge fell essentially off. And mucous degeneration, necrosis and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed. 2）compared with exercise group, significant improvement was found with laser treatment. 3) sIgA with different groups saw as Table 1. Table 1 sIgA changes after 6-wk exercise groups Control Exercise Low dose laser High dose laser sIgA(μg/ml) 52.92±6.69 50.20±4.76 70.77±4.24 73.71±3.91* * P\u3c0.05 [Conclusion] The long-term high-intensity exercise training would lead to destruction of nasal mucosa structure, and low energy laser irradiation had a beneficial effect on sIgA and nasal mucosa structure

Electroacupuncture at LI11 promotes jejunal motility via the parasympathetic pathway

Background: Gastrointestinal motility disorder has been demonstrated to be regulated by acupuncture treatment. The mechanisms underlying the effects of acupuncture stimulation of abdominal and lower limb acupoints on gastrointestinal motility have been thoroughly studied; however, the physiology underlying the effects of acupuncture on the forelimbs to mediate gastrointestinal motility requires further exploration. The aim of this study was to determine whether electroacupuncture (EA) at LI11 promotes jejunal motility, whether the parasympathetic pathway participates in this effect, and if so, which somatic afferent nerve fibres are involved.Methods: A manometric balloon was used to observe jejunal motility. The effects and mechanisms of EA at LI11 were explored in male Sprague-Dawley rats with or without drug administration (propranolol, clenbuterol, acetylcholine, and atropine) and with or without vagotomy. Three types of male mice (β1β2 receptor-knockout [β1β2 −/−] mice, M2M3 receptor-knockout [M2M3 −/−] mice and wild-type [WT] mice) were also studied by using different EA intensities (1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 mA). A total of 72 rats and 56 mice were included in the study.Results: EA at LI11 increased the contractile amplitude of jejunal motility in the majority of both rats and mice. However, EA at LI11 did not enhance jejunal motility in rats administered atropine, rats that underwent vagotomy, and M2M3 −‍‍/− mice (at all intensities). In WT mice, EA at LI11 significantly increased jejunal motility at all intensities except 1 mA, and a plateau was reached at intensities greater than 4 mA.Conclusion: Our results suggest that EA at LI11 promotes jejunal motility primarily by exciting the parasympathetic pathway, and that Aδ-fibres and C-fibres may play important roles in the process

A photo-responsive F-box protein FOF2 regulates floral initiation by promoting FLC expression in Arabidopsis.

Floral initiation is regulated by various genetic pathways in response to light, temperature, hormones and developmental status; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying the interactions between different genetic pathways are not fully understood. Here, we show that the photoresponsive gene FOF2 (F-box of flowering 2) negatively regulates flowering. FOF2 encodes a putative F-box protein that interacts specifically with ASK14, and its overexpression results in later flowering under both long-day and short-day photoperiods. Conversely, transgenic plants expressing the F-box domain deletion mutant of FOF2 (FOF2ΔF), or double loss of function mutant of FOF2 and FOL1 (FOF2-LIKE 1) present early flowering phenotypes. The late flowering phenotype of the FOF2 overexpression lines is suppressed by the flc-3 loss-of-function mutation. Furthermore, FOF2 mRNA expression is regulated by autonomous pathway gene FCA, and the repressive effect of FOF2 in flowering can be overcome by vernalization. Interestingly, FOF2 expression is regulated by light. The protein level of FOF2 accumulates in response to light, whereas it is degraded under dark conditions via the 26S proteasome pathway. Our findings suggest a possible mechanistic link between light conditions and the autonomous floral promotion pathway in Arabidopsis

Electrical source of surface plasmon polaritons based on hybrid Au-GaAs QW structures

In this paper, the electrical excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) based on a hybrid metal-semiconductor quantum well (QW) structure is investigated by finite-difference time-domain The hybrid structure could serve as a plasmonic source for integrated plasmonic circuits

Involvement of Fenton chemistry in rice straw degradation by the lignocellulolytic bacterium Pantoea ananatis Sd-1

Additional file 7: Table S2. Primers used for quantitative real time-PCR

Sensitivity enhancement of a Cu (II) metal organic framework-acetylene black-based electrochemical sensor for ultrasensitive detection of imatinib in clinical samples

Imatinib (IMB), an anticancer drug, is extensively used for chemotherapy to improve the quality of life of cancer patients. The aim of therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) is to guide and evaluate the medicinal therapy, and then optimize the clinical effect of individual dosing regimens. In this work, a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor based on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with acetylene black (AB) and a Cu (II) metal organic framework (CuMOF) was developed to measure the concentration of IMB. CuMOF with preferable adsorbability and AB with excellent electrical conductivity functioned cooperatively to enhance the analytical determination of IMB. The modified electrodes were characterized using X-rays diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), ultraviolet and visible spectrophotometry (UV-vis), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS), brunauer‒emmett‒teller (BET) and barrett‒joyner‒halenda (BJH) techniques. Analytical parameters such as the ratio of CuMOF to AB, dropping volumes, pH, scanning rate and accumulation time were investigated through cyclic voltammetry (CV). Under optimal conditions, the sensor exhibited an excellent electrocatalytic response for IMB detection, and two linear detection ranges were obatined of 2.5 nM-1.0 μM and 1.0–6.0 μM with a detection limit (DL) of 1.7 nM (S/N = 3). Finally, the good electroanalytical ability of CuMOF-AB/GCE sensor facilitated the successful determination of IMB in human serum samples. Due to its acceptable selectivity, repeatability and long-term stability, this sensor shows promising application prospects in the detection of IMB in clinical samples

A simple and low-cost combustion method to prepare monoclinic VO2 with superior thermochromic properties

In this approach, the VO2 nanoparticles have been successfully fabricated via combusting the low-cost precursor solution consisted of NH4VO3, C2H6O2 and C2H5OH. By the XRD, TEM and XPS analysis, it can be found that the synthetic monoclinic VO2 is single crystal and no impurity is defined. After dispersing the VO2 nanoparticles into the polymer, the solar modulation of VO2-based composite film is up to 12.5% with luminous transmission and haze around 62.2% and 0.5%, respectively. In other words, the composite films show high performance of thermochromic properties. This could open an efficient way to fabricate low-cost and large-scale VO2 (M) nanoparticles and thermochromic films

A novel method to modify the color of VO2-based thermochromic smart films by solution-processed VO2@SiO2@Au core-shell nanoparticles

In this study, the VO2@SiO2@Au core-shell nanoparticles were synthesized by a solution process to tailor the color of VO2 films on the basis of surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The SiO2 interlayer not only provided more hydroxyl bonding for the silane coupling agent, which was conducive to metal deposition, but also significantly improved the anti-oxidation ability of VO2. We optimized the thickness of silica to maintain the silica layer uniform and thin (14 nm), which would impact on the optical properties. The VO2@SiO2@Au films with various Au particle sizes displayed a series of colors from brick red to purple and blue while maintaining the solar modulation ability (the maximum Delta T-sol is up to 7.52%). Moreover, the phase transition temperature decreased by about 6 degrees C without doping due to electron injection from Au to VO2. This study proposed a novel and facile method to tune the color of VO2-based thermochromic smart films while improving the anti-oxidation ability and decreasing the phase transition temperature. It may constitute a great advance in the development of thermochromic smart films

A cost-effective method to fabricate VO2 (M) nanoparticles and films with excellent thermochromic properties

In this paper, high crystallinity and pure phase VO2 (M) powder is synthesized by a novel and facile method. Aiding by additional manual grinding and etching process, 22 nm high-quality VO2 (M) nanoparticles can be obtained. The structure and properties of the VO2 (M) particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and UV-vis-NIR spectrophotometer. After mixing VO2 (M) nanoparticles with transparent polymer, thin films prepared by grinded VO2 nanoparticles show excellent thermochromic properties. The solar modulation ability is up to 12.4% with luminous transmittance of 62.7%. Moreover, The haze of films prepared by grinded VO2 (M) nanoparticles is down to 1.9%, which is far less than that of films prepared by original VO2 (Haze = 8.5%) and etched VO2 particles (Haze = 4.6%). Dramatical improvement of thermochromic property and definition indicate that it is a promising method to prepare large-scale VO2 nanoparticles and cost-effective smart window. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved