In vitro antioxidant properties of polysaccharides from Armillaria mellea in batch fermentation

Antioxidant properties of exopolysaccharides (EPS) and intracellular polysaccharides (IPS) obtained respectively from mycelia and filtrates of submerged culture by Armillaria mellea in a 20-L stirred tank bioreactor were investigated. Effective production of EPS and IPS is available by submerged culture of A. mellea with respective number average molecular weights and protein/polysaccharide ratios as 7.68×106 Da and 7.68% as well as 5.65×106 Da and 5.26%. Both EPS and IPS exhibit powerful antioxidant activities by conjugated diene method, chelating effect on ferrous ions and scavenging effect on superoxide anion, as evidenced by their quite low EC50 values (< 5 mg/mL). Results confirmed that fermented A. mellea polysaccharides are potential antioxidant sources of both healthy medicine and food industries.Key words: Armillaria mellea, intracellular polysaccharide, exopolysaccharide, antioxidant activity

Generating a fuzzy rule-based brain-state-drift detector by riemann-metric-based clustering

© 2017 IEEE. Brain-state drifts could significantly impact on the performance of machine-learning algorithms in brain computer interface (BCI). However, less is understood with regard to how brain transition states influence a model and how it can be represented for a system. Herein we are interested in the hidden information of brain state-drift occurring in both simulated and real-world human-system interaction. This research introduced the Riemann metric to categorize EEG data, and visualized the clustering result so that the distribution of the data can be observable. Moreover, to defeat subjective uncertainty of electroencephalography (EEG) signals, fuzzy theory was employed. In this study, we built a fuzzy rule-based brain-statedrift detector to observe the brain state and imported data from different subjects to testify the performance. The result of the detection is acceptable and shown in this paper. In the future, we expect that brain-state drifting can be connected with human behaviors via the proposed fuzzy rule-based classification. We also will develop a new structure for a fuzzy rule-based brain-statedrift detector to improve the detection accuracy

Multimodal fuzzy fusion for enhancing the motor-imagery-based brain computer interface

© 2005-2012 IEEE. Brain-computer interface technologies, such as steady-state visually evoked potential, P300, and motor imagery are methods of communication between the human brain and the external devices. Motor imagery-based brain-computer interfaces are popular because they avoid unnecessary external stimuli. Although feature extraction methods have been illustrated in several machine intelligent systems in motor imagery-based brain-computer interface studies, the performance remains unsatisfactory. There is increasing interest in the use of the fuzzy integrals, the Choquet and Sugeno integrals, that are appropriate for use in applications in which fusion of data must consider possible data interactions. To enhance the classification accuracy of brain-computer interfaces, we adopted fuzzy integrals, after employing the classification method of traditional brain-computer interfaces, to consider possible links between the data. Subsequently, we proposed a novel classification framework called the multimodal fuzzy fusion-based brain-computer interface system. Ten volunteers performed a motor imagery-based brain-computer interface experiment, and we acquired electroencephalography signals simultaneously. The multimodal fuzzy fusion-based brain-computer interface system enhanced performance compared with traditional brain-computer interface systems. Furthermore, when using the motor imagery-relevant electroencephalography frequency alpha and beta bands for the input features, the system achieved the highest accuracy, up to 78.81% and 78.45% with the Choquet and Sugeno integrals, respectively. Herein, we present a novel concept for enhancing brain-computer interface systems that adopts fuzzy integrals, especially in the fusion for classifying brain-computer interface commands

Adiposity, its related biologic risk factors, and suicide: a cohort study of 542,088 Taiwanese adults

Recent studies in Western nations have shown inverse associations between body mass index (BMI, measured as weight (kg)/height (m)(2)) and suicide. However, it is uncertain whether the association is similar in non-Western settings, and the biologic pathways underlying the association are unclear. The authors investigated these issues in a cohort of 542,088 Taiwanese people 20 years of age or older who participated in a health check-up program (1994-2008); there were 573 suicides over a mean 8.1 years of follow up. There was a J-shaped association between BMI and suicide risk (P for the quadratic term = 0.033) but limited evidence of a linear association (adjusted hazard ratio per 1-standard-deviation increase = 0.95 (95% confidence interval: 0.85, 1.06)); compared with individuals whose BMI was 18.5-22.9, adjusted hazard ratios for those with a BMI /=35 were 1.56 (95% confidence interval: 1.07, 2.28) and 3.62 (95% confidence interval: 1.59, 8.22), respectively. A high waist-to-hip ratio was associated with an increased risk of suicide. There was some evidence for a reverse J-shaped association of systolic blood pressure and high density lipoprotein cholesterol with suicide and an association of higher triglyceride level with increased suicide risk; these associations did not appear to mediate the associations of BMI and waist-to-hip ratio with suicide.postprin

Surface Modification of TiO2 Nanoparticles with Phenyltrimethoxysilane in Dye-sensitized Solar Cells

Phenyltrimethoxysilane (PTMS) was anchored onto the sensitized TiO2 nanoparticles. This insulating molecular layer effectively inhibited the charge recombination at the interface of TiO2/electrolyte in the dye sensitized solar cells (DSCs) without sacrificing the dye-loading capacity of the nanocrystalline TiO2. DSCs using PTMS-modified TiO2 exhibited a short-circuit current (J(SC)) of 15.9 mA/cm(2), an open-circuit voltage (V-OC) of 789 mV, and a fill factor (FE) of 68.2%, yielding an overall conversion efficiency (eta) of 8.55% under 100 mW/cm(2) illumination. The resulting cell efficiency was improved by similar to 10% as compared with the reference cell.X1133Ysciescopu

Efficacy of Functional Magnetic Stimulation in Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction after Spinal Cord Injury

[[abstract]]Objective: The aims of this study were to assess the usefulness of functional magnetic stimulation in controlling neurogenic bowel dysfunction in spinal cord injured patients with supraconal and conal/caudal lesions, and to investigate the efficacy of this regimen with a 3-month follow-up. Design: A longitudinal, prospective before-after trial. Subjects: A total of 22 patients with chronic spinal cord injured and intractable neurogenic bowel dysfunction. They were divided into group 1 (supraconal lesion) and group 2 (conal/caudal lesion). Methods: The colonic transit time assessment and Knowles-Eccersley-Scott Symptom Questionnaire were carried out for each patient before they received a 3-week functional magnetic stimulation protocol and on the day following the treatment. Results and conclusion: Following functional magnetic stimulation, the mean colonic transit time for all patients decreased from 62.6 to 50.4 h (p < 0.001). The patients’ Knowles-Eccersley-Scott Symptom scores decreased from 24.5 to 19.2 points (p < 0.001). The colonic transit time decrement in both group 1 (p = 0.003) and group 2 (p = 0.043) showed significant differences, as did the Knowles-Eccersley-Scott Symptom score in both groups following stimulation and in the 3-month follow-up results (p < 0.01). The improvements in bowel function indicate that functional magnetic stimulation, featuring broad-spectrum application, can be incorporated successfully into other therapies as an optimal adjuvant treatment for neurogenic bowel dysfunction resulting from spinal cord injury.[[journaltype]]國外[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[countrycodes]]SW

Monetary reward and punishment to response inhibition modulate activation and synchronization within the inhibitory brain network

© 2018 Chikara, Chang, Lu, Lin, Lin and Ko. A reward or punishment can modulate motivation and emotions, which in turn affect cognitive processing. The present simultaneous functional magnetic resonance imaging-electroencephalography study examines neural mechanisms of response inhibition under the influence of a monetary reward or punishment by implementing a modified stop-signal task in a virtual battlefield scenario. The participants were instructed to play as snipers who open fire at a terrorist target but withhold shooting in the presence of a hostage. The participants performed the task under three different feedback conditions in counterbalanced order: a reward condition where each successfully withheld response added a bonus (i.e., positive feedback) to the startup credit, a punishment condition where each failure in stopping deduced a penalty (i.e., negative feedback), and a no-feedback condition where response outcome had no consequences and served as a control setting. Behaviorally both reward and punishment conditions led to significantly down-regulated inhibitory function in terms of the critical stop-signal delay. As for the neuroimaging results, increased activities were found for the no-feedback condition in regions previously reported to be associated with response inhibition, including the right inferior frontal gyrus and the pre-supplementary motor area. Moreover, higher activation of the lingual gyrus, posterior cingulate gyrus (PCG) and inferior parietal lobule were found in the reward condition, while stronger activation of the precuneus gyrus was found in the punishment condition. The positive feedback was also associated with stronger changes of delta, theta, and alpha synchronization in the PCG than were the negative or no-feedback conditions. These findings depicted the intertwining relationship between response inhibition and motivation networks

Flood impact assessment under climate change scenarios in central Taipei area, Taiwan

Providing effective information regarding flood control for responding climate change is essential to future flood risk management for cities. This study simulated and assessed the impacts of flooding for future climate change scenarios in Taipei city, Taiwan. We modelled rainfall events, generated by general circulation models, with different return periods. The flood extents and damage in the Central Taipei Area for the A1B climate change scenarios were compared to the ones, caused by the rainfall events with same return periods, without climate change (baseline scenario). The proposed approach provides potential flooding maps and flood damage assessment for climate change scenarios as useful information for flood risk management in urban areas.The work is supported by the National Science Council, Taiwan (NSC 99-2915-I-002-120) and the CORFU project, funded by the European Commission through Framework Programme 7, Grant Number 244047

ELECTROCHEMICAL STUDIES ON MO - FE PROTEIN

The midpoint potentials and n values of Mo - Fe protein of azotobacter vinelandii ( Avl ) were determined by the coulometry at fixed potentials . The oxidation - reduction states of the Mo-Fe protein were discussed.The oxidation-reduction states of the Mo-Fe protein by the carrier ( methyl viologen ) is studied

Lipopolysaccharide upregulates uPA, MMP-2 and MMP-9 via ERK1/2 signaling in H9c2 cardiomyoblast cells

[[abstract]]Upregulation of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and matrix metallopeptidases (MMPs) is associated with the development of myocardial infarction (MI), dilated cardiomyopathy, cardiac fibrosis, and heart failure (HF). Evidences suggest that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) participates in the inflammatory response in the cardiovascular system; however, it is unknown if LPS is sufficient to upregulate expressions and/or activity of uPA, tPA, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in myocardial cells. In this study, we treated H9c2 cardiomyoblasts with LPS to explore whether LPS upregulates uPA, tPA, MMP-2, and MMP-9, and further to identify the precise molecular and cellular mechanisms behind this upregulatory responses. Here, we show that LPS challenge increased the protein levels of uPA, MMP-2 and MMP-9, and induced the activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. However, LPS showed no effects on the expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, -2, -3, and -4 (TIMP-1, -2, -3, and -4). After administration of inhibitors including U0126 (ERK1/2 inhibitor), SB203580 (p38 MAPK inhibitor), SP600125 (JNK1/2 inhibitor), CsA (calcineurin inhibitor), and QNZ (NF kappa B inhibitor), the LPS-upregulated expression and/or activity of uPA, MMP-2, and MMP-9 in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts are markedly inhibited only by ERK1/2 inhibitors, U0126. Collectively, these results suggest that LPS upregulates the expression and/or activity of uPA, MMP-2, and MMP-9 through ERK1/2 signaling pathway in H9c2 cardiomyoblasts. Our findings further provide a link between the LPS-induced cardiac dysfunction and the ERK1/2 signaling pathway that mediates the upregulation of uPA, MMP-2 and MMP-9