Colour Design for Carton-Packed Fruit Juice Packages

The present research studies the relationships between observers’ expectations for 7 fruit juice packages and the colour design of the package. To do this, a two-stage experiment was conducted. At the first stage, we studied perceived colours for the fruit images shown on each package. At the second stage, fruit juice packages with 20 package colours were rated using 5 bipolar scales: colour harmony, preference, freshness, naturalness and product quality. The experimental results show that the observers tended to perceive fruit image colours lighter and more saturated than those measured using colour measuring instruments. Using factor analyses, we classified the 5 bipolar scales into 2 factors: Product Preference and Freshness. Package colour design was found to have significant impacts on both factors: similarity in chroma and hue between package colour and perceived fruit colour would lead to high product expectations. Keywords: colour design; colour harmony; product expectation; perceived image colour</p

Neuroprotection of Catalpol for Experimental Acute Focal Ischemic Stroke: Preclinical Evidence and Possible Mechanisms of Antioxidation, Anti-Inflammation, and Antiapoptosis

Neuroprotection is defined as using a therapy that affects the brain tissue in the still-viable ischemic penumbra to salvage or delay the infarction. Catalpol, the main active principle of the root of Radix Rehmanniae, was reported to have pleiotropic neuroprotective effects in neurodegenerative diseases including ischemic stroke. Here, we evaluated the neuroprotective effects of catalpol in experimental acute ischemic stroke. Studies on catalpol in animal models of acute ischemic stroke were identified from 6 databases. Twenty-five studies involving 805 animals were included. Twelve comparisons showed significant effects of catalpol on decreasing infarct size according to 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining compared with the control (P<0.05). One study reported significant effect of catalpol on reducing infarct size according to magnetic resonance imaging scan compared with the control (P<0.05). Meta-analysis of these studies indicated that catalpol significantly improved the neurological function score according to Zea Longa score, Bederson score, balance beam-walking test, adhesive removal test, bar-grasping score, and corner test compared with the control (P<0.05). In conclusion, catalpol exerted neuroprotective effects for experimental acute focal ischemic stroke, largely through reducing oxidative reactions, inhibiting apoptosis, and repressing inflammatory reactions and autophagy. However, these apparently positive findings should be interpreted with caution because of the methodological flaws

1,2-Bis[amino­(pyrimidin-2-yl)methyl­ene]hydrazine dihydrate

The centrosymmetric organic molecule in the title compound, C10H10N8·2H2O, is essentially flat and has a trans configuration. The mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular O—H⋯N, N—H⋯O and N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds to form a linear chain structure

Implementation of Intelligent Green Energy Management System

In this work, we mainly apply the cloud infrastructure (IaaS) and virtualization technology to provide the construction services of a green energy management system. First of all, we used MySQL Cluster database technology to build a data storage system which can solve the challenge of large demand. Digital electricity meter data and environmental information are collected efficiently and quickly in the proposed green energy management system. Next, a virtualized user-interface is provided by graphical presentation to facilitate data analysis. Finally, we control the electricity equipment to reduce Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and the overall power consumption target-based on this virtualized user-interface of the data analysis

Effects of Transplanting Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Transfected with CXCL13 on Fracture Healing of Diabetic Rats

Background/Aims: Diabetic fracture have poor treatment and serious complications. Therefore, how to treat diabetic fracture is receiving increasing attention. This study aimed to investigate the effects of transplanting CXCL13-stimulated bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) on the fracture healing in diabetic rats. Methods: In vitro, RT-PCR was employed to examine the expression of CXCL13 in BMSCs in high glucose environment. MTT assay and apoptosis assay were utilized to determine the effects of CXCL13 overexpression on the proliferation and apoptosis of BMSCs respectively. ALP staining was applied to detect the ALP activity. In vivo, CXCL13-stimulated BMSCs were transplanted into the fracture sites of diabetic rats. At the 1st week, 2nd weeks, 4th week and 6th week after the operation, bone mineral density (BMD) and callus area measurement, ELISA detection, and HE staining were performed to evaluate the fracture healing. Results: Low BMD and less area of callus in diabetic rats showed that the recovery after fracture was worse in diabetic rats than in non-diabetic rats. Meanwhile, the expression of CXCL13 in serum was lower in diabetic rats than in non-diabetic rats. Overexpression of CXCL13 promoted the proliferation of BMSCs in vitro high glucose environment. After BMSCs transfected with CXCL13 being transplanted into the fracture sites of diabetic rats, it was found that the fracture healing was enhanced and ALP expression in serum became higher. HE staining results further verified the effects of transplantation of BMSCs transfected with CXCL13 on fracture healing in diabetic rats. Conclusion: These finding indicated that CXCL13 may play a critical role in the process of fracture healing, which could provide a deeper insight into molecular targets for the fracture healing in diabetic people

Natural products modulate NLRP3 in ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a clinically common, progressive, devastating, chronic inflammatory disease of the intestine that is recurrent and difficult to treat. Nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) is a protein complex composed of multiple proteins whose formation activates cysteine aspartate protease-1 (caspase-1) to induce the maturation and secretion of inflammatory mediators such as interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18, promoting the development of inflammatory responses. Recent studies have shown that NLRP3 is associated with UC susceptibility, and that it maintains a stable intestinal environment by responding to a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms. The mainstay of treatment for UC is to control inflammation and relieve symptoms. Despite a certain curative effect, there are problems such as easy recurrence after drug withdrawal and many side effects associated with long-term medication. NLRP3 serves as a core link in the inflammatory response. If the relationship between NLRP3 and gut microbes and inflammation-associated factors can be analyzed concerning its related inflammatory signaling pathways, its expression status as well as specific mechanism in the course of IBD can be elucidated and further considered for clinical diagnosis and treatment of IBD, it is expected that the development of lead compounds targeting the NLRP3 inflammasome can be developed for the treatment of IBD. Research into the prevention and treatment of UC, which has become a hotbed of research in recent years, has shown that natural products are rich in therapeutic means, and multi-targets, with fewer adverse effects. Natural products have shown promise in treating UC in numerous basic and clinical trials over the past few years. This paper describes the regulatory role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in UC and the mechanism of recent natural products targeting NLRP3 against UC, which provides a reference for the clinical treatment of this disease

Optimal cutoff of the triglyceride to highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol ratio to detect cardiovascular risk factors among Han adults in Xinjiang

Background: To determine whether TG/HDL-C ratio, which has been shown to be an indicator of the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and insulin resistance (IR), can predict cardiovascular risk factors in the Chinese Han population in Xinjiang. Methods: The cardiovascular risk survey (CRS) was conducted from October 2007 to March 2010. A total of 14,618 representative participants were selected using a four-stage stratified sampling method. A total of 5757 Han participants were included in the study. The present statistical analysis was restricted to the 5595 Han subjects who had complete anthropometric data. The sensitivity, specificity, and distance on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve in each TG/HDL level were calculated. The shortest distance in the ROC curves was used to determine the optimal cutoff of the TG/HDL-C ratio for detecting cardiovascular risk factors. Results: The prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and hypertriglyceridemia was higher with higher TG/HDL-C ratio for both men and women. The TG/HDL-C ratio was positively associated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and serum concentrations of total cholesterol. The optimal TG/HDL-C ratio cutoffs for predicting hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and 652 of these risk factors for Han adults in Xinjiang were 1.3, 1.3, 1.4, and 1.4 in men and 0.9, 1.0, 1.0, and 1.1 in women, respectively. Conclusions: The evaluation of TG/HDL-C ratio should be considered for one of cardiovascular risk factor predictors among Han adults in Xinjiang

Fatty acid synthase mediates EGFR palmitoylation in EGFR mutated non‐small cell lung cancer

Abstract Metabolic reprogramming is widely known as a hallmark of cancer cells to allow adaptation of cells to sustain survival signals. In this report, we describe a novel oncogenic signaling pathway exclusively acting in mutated epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with acquired tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) resistance. Mutated EGFR mediates TKI resistance through regulation of the fatty acid synthase (FASN), which produces 16‐C saturated fatty acid palmitate. Our work shows that the persistent signaling by mutated EGFR in TKI‐resistant tumor cells relies on EGFR palmitoylation and can be targeted by Orlistat, an FDA‐approved anti‐obesity drug. Inhibition of FASN with Orlistat induces EGFR ubiquitination and abrogates EGFR mutant signaling, and reduces tumor growths both in culture systems and in vivo. Together, our data provide compelling evidence on the functional interrelationship between mutated EGFR and FASN and that the fatty acid metabolism pathway is a candidate target for acquired TKI‐resistant EGFR mutant NSCLC patients

Loss of Cofilin 1 Disturbs Actin Dynamics, Adhesion between Enveloping and Deep Cell Layers and Cell Movements during Gastrulation in Zebrafish

During gastrulation, cohesive migration drives associated cell layers to the completion of epiboly in zebrafish. The association of different layers relies on E-cadherin based cellular junctions, whose stability can be affected by actin turnover. Here, we examined the effect of malfunctioning actin turnover on the epibolic movement by knocking down an actin depolymerizing factor, cofilin 1, using antisense morpholino oligos (MO). Knockdown of cfl1 interfered with epibolic movement of deep cell layer (DEL) but not in the enveloping layer (EVL) and the defect could be specifically rescued by overexpression of cfl1. It appeared that the uncoordinated movements of DEL and EVL were regulated by the differential expression of cfl1 in the DEL, but not EVL as shown by in situ hybridization. The dissociation of DEL and EVL was further evident by the loss of adhesion between layers by using transmission electronic and confocal microscopy analyses. cfl1 morphants also exhibited abnormal convergent extension, cellular migration and actin filaments, but not involution of hypoblast. The cfl1 MO-induced cell migration defect was found to be cell-autonomous in cell transplantation assays. These results suggest that proper actin turnover mediated by Cfl1 is essential for adhesion between DEL and EVL and cell movements during gastrulation in zebrafish