Search

Background: Hyperglycemia exacerbates brain damage in cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury. Previous study found that Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) has a neuroprotective effect on hyperglycemia-aggravated ischemic brain injury, which raising the possibility for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the underlying mechanism of LBP-induced protection by ameliorating hyperglycemia-aggravated ischemia/reperfusion injury needs to be tested. This study aimed to investigate the effects of LBP on blood–brain barrier (BBB) integrity with a hyperglycemia-aggravated cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury model. Methods: Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly divided into three groups: normoglycemic (NG), hyperglycemic (HG), and LBP-pretreated hyperglycemic (HG + LBP). Animals underwent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 30 min, followed by 1-, 3-, and 7-day of reperfusion. Results: Our results showed that the neurological deficit, infarct volume, cell apoptosis, and IgG leakage in the HG group significantly increased separately, compared with that of the NG group, (p < 0.05). Pre-treatment with LBP reversed these injury indicators (p < 0.05). And much more severe degree of swelling endothelium, swollen astrocyte, and decreased tight junctions in the micro-vessel were detected in the HG group comparing to that of the NG group. In addition, increased degree of basement membrane degradation, dissociation between the astrocyte endfeet and basement membrane, and tight junction's protein degradation was found in the HG group compared with the NG group (p < 0.05). However, when exposure to LBP therapy could reverse the above alterations (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These results demonstrated that LBP could ameliorate hyperglycemia-exacerbated cerebral ischemia/reperfusion injury via protecting the blood-brain barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on swimming exercise in fish has focused on muscle building and quality of flesh. However, the effects of hepatic amino acid and fatty acid composition, liver gene expression profile, and intestinal microbiota are poorly understood. In this study, channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) were subjected to a 4-week swimming exercise, and liver transcriptome and intestinal microbiota analyses were performed to broaden our understanding of fish under exercise. When compared to non-exercised channel catfish (N-EXF), exercised channel catfish (EXF) had improved arachidonic acid (C20:4n6; ARA), docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n3; DHA), aspartic acid (Asp) and glycine (Gly). The liver transcriptome analysis revealed 2912 differentially expressed genes and numerous enriched signaling pathways including those involved in nutrient synthesis, such as biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids and amino acids; glucose metabolism, such as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, insulin signaling, and AMPK signaling pathways; and oxygen transport, such as HIF-1, PI3K-Akt, and MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing data revealed that long-term exercise increased bacterial diversity and richness, and changed the intestinal microbial composition in channel catfish. In summary, this study provides insights into hepatic metabolic pathways, candidate genes, and intestinal microbiota underlying the long-term exercised channel catfish. [Display omitted] • Exercised fish showed better liver nutritional value than non-exercise fish. • Liver transcriptome database of channel catfish under exercise was established. • Several signaling pathways related to effects of exercise were identified. • Gut microbial database of channel catfish under exercise was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SnSe has attracted much attention from scientific researchers because of its reported high ZT values. In this study, Sm doped p-type SnSe polycrystal is prepared through melting synthesis and high pressure (6.0 GPa) sintering (HPS) method. The composition and microstructure of the samples was analyzed, and the thermoelectric transport properties were investigated in the temperature range of 303 K to 823 K. The results indicate that the electrical conductivity increases as Sm content increases. The Seebeck coefficient shows a decreasing trend with increasing Sm content. Due to the increase of alloy scattering, the total thermal conductivity decreases with increasing Sm content. The maximum power factor ( PF ) and ZT max value are 214 μW m −1 K −2 and 0.55 for Sn 0.97 Sm 0.03 Se at 823 K, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The study of numerical simulation analysis of flow-structure coupling that integrates bile, bile duct, and mesh stent. • The FSI coupling system was numerically analyzed to show the velocity distribution of bile, the wall shear stress distribution of bile, and the Von Mises Stress distribution of the stent and bile duct. • Twelve FSI coupled systems with different stent monofilament diameters and braided heads were established for numerical simulation analysis to determine the optimal stent structure in the 8 mm diameter common bile duct. The performance and effects of 12 different structures of stents in the bile duct were compared and used the finite element method. Numerical models of the 12 kinds of fluid-structure interaction(FSI) coupling systems were established to investigate the relationship between three aspects (velocity distribution of bile, wall shear stress (WSS) distribution of bile, and Von Mises Stress(VMS) distribution on the stent and bile duct) and the structural parameters of the stent (monofilament diameter and the number of braiding heads). After calculating and analyzing the simulation results yielding distributions of velocity, WWS, and VMS and regions of bile duct susceptibility to stenosis, they were consistent with previous findings on the locations of restenosis occurring after stent removal, indicating that the simulation results could provide a useful reference for studying biliary stents. The results of the simulations showed that (i) eddy currents were prone to occur at the stent ends regions; (ii) the WSS distribution of the bile fluid in contact with the stent and bile duct related to the stent structure; (iii) the high VMS on the stent and bile duct was prone to occur at the stent ends. The simulation results of 12 FSI coupling systems were studied and two superior stent model structures were obtained by comprehensive evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipolytic enzymes with unique physico-chemical characteristics are gaining more attention for their immense industrial importance. In this study, a novel lipolytic enzyme (Est11) was cloned from the genomic library of a marine bacterium Psychrobacter pacificensis. The enzyme was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity with molecular mass of 32.9 kDa. The recombinant Est11 was able to hydrolyze short chain esters (C2–C8) and displayed an optimum activity against butyrate ester (C4). The optimal temperature and pH were 25 °C and 7.5, respectively. Est11 retained more than 70% of its original activity at 10 °C, suggesting that it was a cold-active esterase. The enzyme was highly active and stable at high concentration of NaCl (5 M). Further, incubation with ethanol, iso propanol, propanediol, DMSO, acetonitrile, and glycerol rendered remarkable positive effects on Est11 activity. Typically, even at the concentration of 30% (v/v), ethanol, DMSO, and propanediol increased Est11 activity by 1.3, 2.0, and 2.4-folds, respectively. This new robust enzyme with remarkable properties like cold-adaptability, exceptional tolerance to salt and organic solvents provides us a promising candidate to meet the needs of some harsh industrial processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grass carp is one of the most common farmed fish and its growth rate has been the focus of various studies. However, the impact of long-term exercise on growth rate of juvenile grass carp has not been clearly established. In this study, a four-month exercise trial and liver transcriptome analysis were performed to investigate changes in growth, liver molecular regulatory network and key genes in grass carp. When compared to the non-exercised grass carp (N-EXF), the exercised grass carp (EXF) showed a significant improvement in growth. Liver transcriptome analysis revealed 1714 significantly up-regulated and 1672 significantly down-regulated genes. These genes were enriched in various signaling pathways. These pathways included: those associated with growth, such as the PI3K-Akt and mTOR signaling pathways; those associated with glucose metabolism, such as glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, insulin and AMPK signaling pathways as well as those associated with oxygen transport, such as HIF-1, PI3K-Akt, PPAR and MAPK signaling pathways. In addition, growth-associated genes, such as ghr , igf1 and igf1r ; glucose metabolism-associated genes, such as ins and insr as well as oxygen transport-associated genes, such as vhl , pdha and epo were identified. In conclusion, long-term moderate exercise improved the growth rate of grass carp. Our findings elucidate on changes in the liver molecular regulatory network and functional genes that occur during moderate exercise in fish. [Display omitted] • This is the first transcriptional analysis of liver in grass carp under exercise. • A total of 1714 significantly up- and 1672 down-regulated genes were identified. • qPCR analysis of 25 genes confirmed the reliability of RNA-seq. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A novel heteropolysaccharide was isolated from the fruiting bodies of Tricholoma matsutake through DEAE–cellulose column and Sephadex G-100 column. The T. matsutake polysaccharide (TMP-A) had a molecular weight of 8.89×104 Da and was mainly composed of 4-D-Glc:4,6-D-Glc:3-D-Gal:T-D-Xyl and with the ratio of 7:1:1:1. The structural features of TMP-A were investigated by a combination of total hydrolysis, methylation analysis, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), infrared (IR) spectra, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and dynamical analysis of the atomic force microscope (AFM) studies. The results indicated that TMP-A had a backbone of 1,4-β-glucopyranos which branches at O-6 composed of an (1→3)-α-galactopyranose residue and terminated with α-xylopyranose residue. Chain conformation study showed that the polysaccharide took random coil compact conformation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]