The Effect of Herbal Diet on Skeletal Muscle Mass After Resistance Training in Rats

Resistance training has been well established as an effective strategy for muscle hypertrophy, increase in skeletal muscle mass and strength. Herbal diet has been introduced as an alternative treatment to alleviate muscle atrophy and therapeutic intervention. However, there is little evidence on the effect of herbal diet on skeletal muscle mass. To investigate whether herbal diet affects skeletal muscle mass after resistance training in rats. Twenty-four rats were randomly divided into 3 groups: 1) Control (CON, N=8), 2) Resistance training (RT, N=8), 3) RT+Herb (RTH, N=8). Resistance training was performed every other day for 8 weeks using ladder climbing. The ladder climbing exercise consisted of 3 sets of 5 repetitions with a 1 min rest interval between the repetitions and a 2 min rest between the sets. Huang Qi (Radix Astragali Membranceus) was given via oral gavage once a day for 8 weeks (1 ml mixed with water based on concentration of 368 mg/kg). All rats received sham treatment, same as treatment groups. All data were analyzed using One-way ANOVA. After 8 weeks of interventions, muscle mass of Gastrocnemius, Plantaris, and Flexor hallucis longus showed significant increases in RT and RTH groups compared to CON (

Effect of Exercise Intervention on Flow-Mediated Dilation in Overweight and Obese Adults: Meta-Analysis

The objective of this meta-analysis is to summarize the effect of exercise intervention on flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) in overweight and obese adults. We searched four electronic databases (PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and CINAHL) through June 2016 for relevant studies pertaining to the effectiveness of exercise intervention on FMD. Seventeen of the 91 studies identified met the inclusion criteria. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software (version 3) was used to compute the standardized mean difference effect size (ES) and 95% CI using a random effects model. We calculated 34 ESs. We found that exercise intervention had medium and positive effects on FMD, with an overall ES of 0.522 (95% CI = 0.257, 0.786). Heterogeneity of ESs was observed ( = 239, ≤ 0.001, 2 = 86.19), and the effect was moderated by comorbidity ( = 6.39, df = 1, = 0.011). A large ES for the combination exercise, low intensity exercise, and comorbidity subgroups (ES = 0.82∼1.24) was found. We conclude that while exercise intervention significantly improves FMD in overweight and obese adults, the effect may depend on the different characteristics of exercise intervention and on participants’ demographics

Effects of Acupuncture, Electroacupuncture, and Electrostimulation Treatments on Plantaris by Casting Model

It is essential to seek the therapeutic strategy for attenuating muscle atrophy because muscle atrophy diminishes the quality of life. Acupuncture and electrostimulation have been used as a therapeutic intervention to control pain under pathological conditions. However, little is known about the effects of acupuncture and electrostimulation on skeletal muscle mass and function. PURPOSE: To test whether acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and electrostimulation affect muscle mass and contractile properties METHODS: Forty female Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into 5 groups: 1) Control (CON), 2) Cast (CT), 3) CT+ Acupuncture (AC), 4) CT+ Electroacupuncture (EA), and 5) CT+ Electrostimulation (ES) (n=8 each). The plaster casting material was wrapped from the trunk to the middle of one hind paw. Acupuncture and Electro-Acupuncture treatment (2-15 Hz, 2-4 Voltage) was applied by needling ST36 and GB34 (acupoints). Electrostimulation (2-15 Hz, 2-4 Voltage) was conducted by needling in the lateral and medial Gastrocnemius. All treatments were conducted 15 minutes with 3 times/wk for 14 days. Two major atrophy markers, muscle-specific E3 ubiquitin ligases, MAFbx/atrogin1 and muscle ring Finger -1 (MuRF1), were measured using the Western blot method. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with the Least Significant Difference post hoc test. RESULTS: After 2 weeks of casting, plantaris showed significant atrophy in CT compared to the CON group (143.94±13.08 vs. 223.9±20.93 mg; p\u3c0.05). MAFbx/atrogin1 and MuRF1 were significantly increased with CT, while decreased with treatments (AC, EA, and ES). The peak twitch tension was significantly decreased in CT, while increased in AC and ES. However, AC, EA, ES did not alleviate muscle atrophy associated with casting. CONCLUSION: Acupuncture and electrostimulation can be used as effective therapeutic interventions for decreased muscle strength that is associated with casting-induced muscle atrophy

Exercise Training Attenuates Ovariectomy-Induced Alterations in Skeletal Muscle Remodeling, Apoptotic Signaling, and Atrophy Signaling in Rat Skeletal Muscle

Purpose The effects of aerobic exercise training on soleus muscle morphology, mitochondria-mediated apoptotic signaling, and atrophy/hypertrophy signaling in ovariectomized rat skeletal muscle were investigated. Methods Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control (CON), ovariectomy (OVX), and ovariectomy plus exercise (OVX+EX) groups. After ovarian excision, exercise training was performed using a rat treadmill at 20 m/min, 50 min/day, 5 days/week for 12 weeks. Protein levels of mitochondria-mediated apoptotic signaling and atrophy/hypertrophy signaling in the skeletal muscle (soleus) were examined through western immunoblot analysis. Results The number of myocytes and myocyte cross-sectional area (CSA) were increased and the extramyocyte space was decreased in the OVX group compared to those in the CON group. However, aerobic exercise training significantly increased myocyte CSA and decreased extramyocyte space in the OVX+EX group compared to those in the OVX group. The protein levels of proapoptotic signaling and muscle atrophy signaling were significantly increased, whereas the protein levels of muscle hypertrophy signaling were significantly decreased in the OVX group compared to that in the CON group. Aerobic exercise training significantly decreased the protein levels of proapoptotic signaling and increased the protein level of antiapoptotic protein in the OVX+EX group compared to that in the OVX group. Aerobic exercise training significantly increased the protein levels of hypertrophy signaling and decreased protein levels of atrophy signaling in the OVX+EX group compared to those in the OVX group. Conclusions Treadmill exercise improved estrogen deficiency-induced impairment in skeletal muscle remodeling, mitochondria-mediated apoptotic signaling, and atrophy/hypertrophy signaling in skeletal muscle

Magnetically Actuated Helical Microrobot with Magnetic Nanoparticle Retrieval and Sequential Dual-Drug Release Abilities

Cancer is one of the diseases with high mortality worldwide. Various methods for cancer treatment are being developed, and among them, magnetically driven microrobots capable of minimally invasive surgery and accurate targeting are in the spotlight. However, existing medical magnetically manipulated microrobots contain magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), which can cause toxicity to normal cells after the delivery of therapeutic drugs. In addition, there is a limitation in that cancer cells become resistant to the drug by mainly delivering only one drug, thereby reducing the treatment efficiency. In this paper, to overcome these limitations, we propose a microrobot that can separate/retrieve MNPs after precise targeting of the microrobot and can sequentially deliver dual drugs (gemcitabine (GEM) and doxorubicin (DOX)). First, after the proposed microrobot targeting, MNPs attached to the microrobot surface can be separated from the microrobot using focused ultrasound (FUS) and retrieved through an external magnetic field. Second, the active release of the first conjugated drug GEM to the surface of the microrobot is possible using near-infrared (NIR), and as the microrobot slowly decomposes over time, the release of the second encapsulated DOX is possible. Therefore, it is possible to increase the cancer cell treatment efficiency with sequential dual drugs in the microrobot. We performed basic experiments on the targeting of the proposed magnetically manipulated microrobot, separation/retrieval of MNPs, and the sequential dual-drug release and validated the performances of the microrobot through in vitro experiments using the EMA/FUS/NIR integrated system. As a result, the proposed microrobot is expected to be used as one of the methods to improve cancer cell treatment efficiency by improving the limitations of existing microrobots in cancer cell treatment. © 2023 American Chemical Society.FALS

Smart Hydrogel Structure for Microbiome Sampling in Gastrointestinal Tract

Various microbiomes exist in the human body, however, there is an increasing research interest in the microbiomes present in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and related diseases of the human body. In general, a healthy human body can maintain a certain balance in the microbiome of the GI tract. A condition, wherein the microbiome becomes imbalanced, is called “dysbiosis”, and it can increase the probability of diseases in the body, especially in the GI tract. Therefore, various methods of sampling and analyzing the microbiomes have been proposed to diagnose dysbiosis. However, it is difficult to apply the existing methods to the various environments of the GI tract. To overcome this limitation, we propose a smart hydrogel structure for microbiome sampling in the GI tract. The proposed hydrogel structure comprises a core containing magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) where microbiome sampling occurs and two protection layers (cellulose stearoyl esters (CSEs) and myristic acid (MA)) that protect the hydrogel structure from the external environment and allow sampling at the desired location. The hydrogel structure can be taken orally owing to its small size; and because it contains MNPs, it is possible to target and sample the microbiome at the desired location and retrieve the hydrogel structure after sampling via external magnetic actuation. The hydrogel structure is heated by an alternating magnetic field (AMF) so that the microbiome sampling can be actively initiated from the outside. The basic performance of the hydrogel structure was analyzed through various characterizations and fundamental tests. Further, the microbiome sampling tests using the hydrogel structure were performed in in-vitro and ex-vivo environments, and its microbiome sampling performances were verified through various analysis methods, such as scanning electron microscope (SEM), confocal, and 16 s rRNA sequencing. Consequently, the proposed hydrogel structure can be applied as a microbiome sampling device for the GI tract, which can be a useful method for diagnosing dysbiosis. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.FALS

Cerium ferrite @ molybdenum disulfide nanozyme for intracellular ROS generation and photothermal-based cancer therapy

Two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterial hybrid with metal nanoferrite nanoparticles will enhance their catalytic activity and photothermal therapy (PTT) through their synergistic coupling effects. This strategy also increases the photothermal conversion efficiency (PCE), blood circulation time, biostability, and cellular uptake efficiency of 2D materials. Herein, we first time report a new class of cerium ferrite (CeFe2O4) nanoparticles (NPs) decorated onto branched polyethyleneimine (bPEI) coated flower-like molybdenum disulfide nanoflowers (MoS2 NFs). The CeFe2O4 NPs on the MoS2 NF surface could be designed rationally to improve deficiencies and refine the PCE of MoS2 NFs and tumor ablation effectiveness in the treated MDA-MB-231 breast cells. Importantly, MoS2-bPEI-CeFe2O4 NFs consist of MoS2 in the inner core and CeFe2O4 in the outer shell, designed to generate heat efficiently and enhanced intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the tumor environment. Furthermore, using sheep blood cells, bare MoS2 and MoS2-bPEI-CeFe2O4 NFs showed hemolytic activity levels of 6 and 2.7 %, respectively. Moreover, MoS2-bPEI-CeFe2O4 NFs exhibit 53.6 % of PCE, which effectively induced up to 80 % cytotoxicity and higher levels of ROS generation in the MDA-MB-231 cells when exposed to the 808 nm NIR laser (1.5 W/cm2, 5 min). These findings demonstrate the unique CeFe2O4 NPs with MoS2 NF as a powerful nanozyme for dual-performance cancer therapies (PTT and ROS generation) and reveal a novel PCE refinement strategy for MoS2 NFs. It was successfully established as a new cancer therapeutic platform. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.FALS

The (S-1, S) Inventory Model with Order Size Dependent Delivery Times

This paper considers (S-1, S) inventory models which have wide applications in reparable spare parts inventory systems and multi-echelon systems. We assume a discrete compound Poisson demand and order size dependent delivery times: when the replenishment order size is n, we assume the delivery time distribution is arbitrary with finite mean b. On the basis of the fact the outstanding orders follow a certain queueing process, we introduce the results of Fakinos (1982). We develop the efficient recursive formulae to find the optimal S under several performance measures as a function of the decision variable S. The results of this paper can be applied to the multi-echelon systems such as METRIC