Conduction mechanism of grain oriented Bi3.15Nd0.85Ti3O12 ceramics fabricated by a hot-forging method

We have fabricated ordinary fired (OF) and grain oriented Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂ (HF[⊥], HF[//]) samples by a hot-forging technique. The grain orientation factor F calculated from X-ray diffraction patterns of the c-axis oriented Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂-HF[//] sample is determined to be above 90%. The dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂ ceramics with different grain orientation have been investigated as a function of temperature. The a-b axis oriented Bi_3.15Nd_0.85Ti₃O₁₂-HF[⊥] sample had an enhanced dielectric constant (1163 at T _c) and ferroelectric properties (P _r ∼ 32 μC/cm²). The electrical conductivity of BNT ceramic has been studied as a function of temperature in order to investigate the conduction mechanism with different grain orientations.     

A Novel NOX Inhibitor Treatment Attenuates Parkinson’s Disease-Related Pathology in Mouse Models

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative motor disorder without an available therapeutic to halt the formation of Lewy bodies for preventing dopaminergic neuronal loss in the nigrostriatal pathway. Since oxidative-stress-mediated damage has been commonly reported as one of the main pathological mechanisms in PD, we assessed the efficacy of a novel NOX inhibitor from AptaBio Therapeutics (C-6) in dopaminergic cells and PD mouse models. The compound reduced the cytotoxicity and enhanced the cell viability at various concentrations against MPP+ and α-synuclein preformed fibrils (PFFs). Further, the levels of ROS and protein aggregation were significantly reduced at the optimal concentration (1 µM). Using two different mouse models, we gavaged C-6 at two different doses to the PD sign-displaying transgenic mice for 2 weeks and stereotaxically PFF-injected mice for 5 weeks. Our results demonstrated that both C-6-treated mouse models showed alleviated motor deficits in pole test, hindlimb clasping, crossbeam, rotarod, grooming, and nesting analyses. We also confirmed that the compound treatment reduced the levels of protein aggregation, along with phosphorylated-α-synuclein, in the striatum and ventral midbrain and further dopaminergic neuronal loss. Taken together, our results strongly suggest that NOX inhibition can be a potential therapeutic target for PD.     

Chrysin-Induced G Protein-Coupled Estrogen Receptor Activation Suppresses Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC) has a high mortality rate due to its poor prognosis and the possibility of surgical resection in patients with the disease. Importantly, adjuvant chemotherapy is necessary to improve PC prognosis. Chrysin, a natural product with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties, has been studied for several years. Our previous study demonstrated that chrysin induced G protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER) expression and regulated its activity in breast cancer. Herein, we investigated whether chrysin-induced GPER activation suppresses PC progression in MIA PaCa-2 cells and a xenograft model. To determine its mechanism of action, cytotoxicity and clonogenic assays, a FACS analysis, and Western blotting were performed. Furthermore, the delay in tumor growth was evaluated in the MIA PaCa-2-derived xenograft model. Tumor tissues were investigated by Western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and a proteomic analysis. Chrysin caused cell cycle arrest and significantly decreased cell viability. Following co-treatment with chrysin and 17β-estradiol, the inhibitory effect of chrysin on cell proliferation was enhanced. In the xenograft model, chrysin and G1 (a GPER agonist) significantly delayed tumor growth and reduced both Ki-67 (a proliferation marker) and c-Myc expressions in tumor tissues. The proteomic analysis of tumor tissues identified that rho-associated coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1), transgelin 2 (TAGLN2), and FCH and Mu domain containing endocytic adaptor 2 (FCHO2) levels were significantly reduced in chrysin-treated tumor tissues. High ROCK1, TAGLN2, and FCHO2 expressions were indicative of low overall PC survival as found using the Kaplan–Meier plotter. In conclusion, our results suggest that chrysin suppresses PC progression through the activation of GPER and reductions in ROCK1, TAGLN2, and FCHO2 expressions.     

Anti-Amnesic Effect of Synbiotic Supplementation Containing Corni fructus and Limosilactobacillus reuteri in DSS-Induced Colitis Mice

This study was conducted to compare the synbiotic activity between Corni fructus (C. fructus) and Limosilactobacillus reuteri (L. reuteri) on dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and cognitive dysfunction in C57BL/6 mice. C. fructus (as prebiotics, PRE), L. reuteri (as probiotics, PRO), and synbiotics (as a mixture of L. reuteri and C. fructus, SYN) were fed to mice for 3 weeks. Consumption of PRE, PRO, and SYN ameliorated colitis symptoms in body weight, large intestinal length, and serum albumin level. Moreover, SYN showed a synergistic effect on intestinal permeability and intestinal anti-inflammation response. Also, SYN significantly improved cognitive function as a result of measuring the Y-maze and passive avoidance tests in DSS-induced behavioral disorder mice. Especially, SYN also restored memory function by increasing the cholinergic system and reducing tau and amyloid β pathology. In addition, PRE, PRO, and SYN ameliorated dysbiosis by regulating the gut microbiota and the concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in feces. The bioactive compounds of C. fructus were identified with quinic acid, morroniside, loganin, and cornuside, using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF-MS²). In conclusion, synbiotic supplementation alleviated DSS-induced colitis and cognitive dysfunction by modulating gut microbiota, proinflammatory cytokines, and SCFAs production.     

Use of a genetic algorithm in the search for a near-optimal shielding design

An optimization method based on genetic algorithm (GA), which is referred as MACroscopic Near-Optimal Shielding design (MACNOS), is proposed for the search for an optimal radiation shield configuration subject to a given set of constraints. In MACNOS, a GA is used to search for the optimal shielding design and the penalty strategy is employed to deal with the constraints. In order to confirm its capability to search for the optimal shielding design, MACNOS is applied for solving a simple problem with regard to radiation shielding optimization of a hypothetical spaceship reactor. The application shows that, keeping the constraints satisfied, MACNOS is able to seek for the shielding design that minimizes the total weight by changing the thickness and the material of the shield. Therefore, it is expected that MACNOS is potentially useful in the search for the optimal design configuration in the conceptual design phase, where the selection of the shielding material and the estimate of the thickness are necessary.     

Enhancement on stability criteria for linear systems with interval time-varying delays

In this paper, the problem of stability for linear systems with interval time-varying delays is investigated. By constructing a suitable augmented Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and utilizing Wirtinger-based integral inequality, two sufficient conditions for guaranteeing the asymptotic stability of the concerned systems are derived within the framework of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The superiority and validity of the proposed criteria are verified by comparing maximum delay bounds under various conditions via two numerical examples.