Enhanced Gas-Flow-Induced Voltage in Graphene

We show by systemically experimental investigation that gas-flow-induced voltage in monolayer graphene is more than twenty times of that in bulk graphite. Examination over samples with sheet resistances ranging from 307 to 1600 {\Omega}/sq shows that the induced voltage increase with the resistance and can be further improved by controlling the quality and doping level of graphene. The induced voltage is nearly independent of the substrate materials and can be well explained by the interplay of Bernoulli's principle and the carrier density dependent Seebeck coefficient. The results demonstrate that graphene has great potential for flow sensors and energy conversion devices

Gamma-tocotrienol stimulates the proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells

Gamma-tocotrienol, a major component of tocotrienol-rich fraction of palm oil, has been suggested to exhibit bone protective effects in vivo. However, the effects of γ-tocotrienol on osteoblast cells are still unclear. In this study, the effects of γ-tocotrienol on the proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells were investigated. Our results showed that γ-tocotrienol (2–8 μmol/L) significantly improved the cell proliferation (), but it did not affect cell cycle progression. γ-Tocotrienol significantly increased alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity (), secretion levels of osteocalcin (OC) and osteonectin (ON), and mRNA levels of collagen type I (Col I) of MC3T3-E1 cells. Meanwhile, we found that γ-tocotrienol is promoted in differentiation MC3T3-E1 cells by upregulation of the expression of Runx2 protein. Moreover, the number of bone nodules increased over 2.5-fold in cells treated with γ-tocotrienol (2–8 μmol/L) for 24 d compared to control group. These results indicated that γ-tocotrienol at low dose levels, especially 4 μmol/L, could markedly enhance the osteoblastic function by increasing the proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. Moreover, our data also indicated that Runx2 protein may be involved in these effects. Further studies are needed to determine the potential of γ-tocotrienol as an antiosteoporotic agent

Effects of Comparative Metabolism on Tomato Fruit Quality under Different Levels of Root Restriction

In a soilless culture (perlite substrate), root restriction cannot only reduce production costs but also improve fruit quality. Therefore, this study used different levels of root restriction [T1: 0.5 L, T2: 4 L, nonrestriction treatment (CK): 35 L] on tomatoes to explore their impact on quality. Results showed that total soluble solids (TSS), glucose, fructose, and sucrose contents were increased, whereas L-tryptophan, L-tyrosine, and titratable acidity were decreased under two restriction treatments. Meanwhile, root restriction also promoted the accumulation of phenylalanine and proline. For lycopene and flavonoid biosynthesis (prunin, naringin, naringenin), the restriction groups were significantly higher than those in the control group. Overall, T1 and T2 treatment had a better effect than CK treatment. This study provided an idea for improving substrate use efficiency and tomato quality

Network evolution of regional brain volumes in young children reflects neurocognitive scores and mother's education

The maturation of regional brain volumes from birth to preadolescence is a critical developmental process that underlies emerging brain structural connectivity and function. Regulated by genes and environment, the coordinated growth of different brain regions plays an important role in cognitive development. Current knowledge about structural network evolution is limited, partly due to the sparse and irregular nature of most longitudinal neuroimaging data. In particular, it is unknown how factors such as mother’s education or sex of the child impact the structural network evolution. To address this issue, we propose a method to construct evolving structural networks and study how the evolving connections among brain regions as reflected at the network level are related to maternal education and biological sex of the child and also how they are associated with cognitive development. Our methodology is based on applying local Fréchet regression to longitudinal neuroimaging data acquired from the RESONANCE cohort, a cohort of healthy children (245 females and 309 males) ranging in age from 9 weeks to 10 years. Our findings reveal that sustained highly coordinated volume growth across brain regions is associated with lower maternal education and lower cognitive development. This suggests that higher neurocognitive performance levels in children are associated with increased variability of regional growth patterns as children age.publishedVersio

Health-related quality of life and its association with socioeconomic status and diet diversity in Chinese older adults

ObjectivesThe study aimed at examining the combined association of socioeconomic status (SES) and diet diversity (DD) with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and exploring whether DD played a mediating role in the relationship between varied SES and HRQoL among Chinese older persons.MethodA multi-stage random sampling method was conducted in Shanxi Province of China, with 3,250 older adults participating in this cross-sectional survey. SES was divided into groups by quartiles and DD by means, and these variable groups were combined in pairs to generate a total of eight combinations. The PROCESS macro developed by Hayes was employed for the simple mediation analysis.ResultsCompared with the reference group (those with both high SES and high DD), older adults who were classified to have lower SES or DD had elevated odds of having worse HRQoL: low SES/ low DD (OR = 1.65, 95% CI 1.41–2.92); low SES/ high DD (OR = 1.45, 95% CI 1.17–1.80); middle low SES/ low DD (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.24–1.65); middle low SES/ high DD (OR = 1.23, 95% CI 1.03–1.47); upper high SES/ low DD (OR = 1.41, 95% CI 1.21–1.65); and high SES/ low DD (OR = 1.30, 95%CI 1.10–1.53). The mediation analysis revealed that DD mediated the relationship between SES and HRQoL (B=0.011, 95% CI 0.008–0.013), with its indirect effects accounting for 39.29% of the total effects.ConclusionsThese findings highlighted the role of DD as a mediator of the relationship between SES and HRQoL. As DD could be protective, modifiable, and easy for older adults to understand and implement, village clinics and community health stations should work collaboratively to design proper DD intervention measures for better HRQoL

Osteoblasts mediate the adverse effects of glucocorticoids on fuel metabolism

Long-term glucocorticoid treatment is associated with numerous adverse outcomes, including weight gain, insulin resistance, and diabetes; however, the pathogenesis of these side effects remains obscure. Glucocorticoids also suppress osteoblast function, including osteocalcin synthesis. Osteocalcin is an osteoblast-specific peptide that is reported to be involved in normal murine fuel metabolism. We now demonstrate that osteoblasts play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of glucocorticoid-induced dysmetabolism. Osteoblast-targeted disruption of glucocorticoid signaling significantly attenuated the suppression of osteocalcin synthesis and prevented the development of insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and abnormal weight gain in corticosterone-treated mice. Nearly identical effects were observed in glucocorticoid-treated animals following heterotopic (hepatic) expression of both carboxylated and uncarboxylated osteocalcin through gene therapy, which additionally led to a reduction in hepatic lipid deposition and improved phosphorylation of the insulin receptor. These data suggest that the effects of exogenous high-dose glucocorticoids on insulin target tissues and systemic energy metabolism are mediated, at least in part, through the skeleton.NHMRC Grants 402462 and 63281