Antioxidant activity of cyanidins isolated from Ogapy (Acanthopanax divaricatus var. albeofructus) fruits in U937 macrophages

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are continuously produced in aerobic organisms. Overproduction of ROS is known to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis and hypertension. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) play critical roles on the removal of excess ROS. In the present study, we investigated the antioxidant activity of cyanidins from ogapy (Acanthopanax divaricatus var. albeofructus, ADA) fruits against oxidative stress in hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂)-pretreated U937 macrophages, and explored the plausibility of the therapeutic effect of cyanidins on atherosclerosis. As a result, H₂O₂ generation and lipid peroxidation induced by H₂O₂-pretreatment was decreased by the treatment of cyanidins in U937 macrophages. In addition, increased activity of SOD and CAT was shown in H₂O₂-pretreated cells when treated with cyanidins. Overall, the results obtained in this study showed that cyanidin 3-galactoside and cyanidin 3-lathyroside from ADA fruits could protect macrophages against the damaging effects of H₂O₂ treatment.     

Consensus for tobacco policy among former state legislators using the policy Delphi method

OBJECTIVE: To test a novel approach for building consensus about tobacco control policies among legislators. DESIGN: A pilot study was conducted using a two-round, face-to-face policy Delphi method. PARTICIPANTS: Randomly selected sample of 30 former Kentucky legislators (60% participation rate). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Consensus on tobacco control and tobacco farming policies. RESULTS: Former state legislators were more supportive of tobacco control policies than expected, and highly supportive of lessening the state's dependence on tobacco. Former state legislators were in agreement with 43% of the second-round items for which there was no agreement at the first round, demonstrating a striking increase in consensus. With new information from their colleagues, former lawmakers became more supportive of workplace smoking restrictions, limitations on tobacco promotional items, and modest excise tax increases. CONCLUSIONS: The policy Delphi method has the potential for building consensus for tobacco control and tobacco farming policies among state legislators. Tobacco control advocates in other states might consider using the policy Delphi method with policymakers in public and private sectors.     

Fast stereo matching based on edge energy information

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Thermal Stability of the Pigments Hydroxysafflor Yellow A, Safflor Yellow B, and Precarthamin from Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius)

ABSTRACT Three major yellow pigments were isolated from safflower petals ( Carthamus tinctorius ) and characterized as hydroxysafflor yellow A (1), safflor yellow B (2), and precarthamin (3) by ¹H-NMR, ¹H-¹H COSY, ¹³C-NMR, HMQC, and HMBC spectral analysis. Thermal degradation reactions of 3 yellow pigments 1 to 3 at temperatures of 70 to 90 °C were carried out at different pH levels within the range of 3.0 to 10.0 by UV-vis spectral measurements. First-order reaction kinetics was observed for the degradation of safflower yellow pigments (1 to 3) at pH 3.0 and 5.0. Activation energies of thermal degradation of 1-3 at pH 5.0 were calculated as 17.0, 15.4, and 20.1 kcal/mol, respectively. At neutral and alkaline conditions, yellow pigments 1-3 did not follow simple first-order kinetics.     

Improved production of ginsenosides in suspension cultures of ginseng by medium replenishment strategy

The objective of this study was to improve the accumulation of ginsenosides by the adventitious root cultures of ginseng, which are important secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical applications. The adventitious roots were cultured in bioreactors for 50 d using 1.5-strength Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 10 mg/l indole acetic acid and 75 g/l sucrose. Kinetic studies of the nutrient composition of the spent medium revealed the gradual depletion of various inorganic nutrients and sugars. Cultures were supplied with fresh nutrient medium (medium exchange or replenishment with 0.75- and 1.0-strength MS medium) after 10 and 20 d of culture initiation to fulfill the nutritional requirements of adventitious roots. Medium replenishment strategy (with 1.0-strength MS medium after 20 d of culture) significantly improved the growth of adventitious roots and the biosynthesis of ginsenosides by the adventitious roots. This work is useful for the large-scale cultivation of adventitious roots for the production of ginsenosides.     

Measurement of radiation emitted from thin vaporizing liquid films for the calculation of surface temperature

Evaporation of liquid films, not subjected to motion, and with a starting thickness of 1 mm, was tested. Solvents dichloromethane and ethanol were used as liquids. Surface temperature during evaporation was measured in a non-intrusive way using pyrometry. The employed pyrometer was calibrated against a black body radiant. Measurement accuracy in the region of the ambient temperature is 0.2 K. Since any principal stray radiation is always measured along with the thermal radiation emitting from the liquid film, the measurement results are at first distorted. A correction calculation is described. With this, the various proportions of stray radiation can be subsequently calculated. In order to do this, the dimensions of the test equipment and the spectral data of the evaporating solvents must be taken into account. The quantity of stray radiation depends mainly on the properties of the surface onto which the liquid film is applied, as well as on the spectral transmissivity of the liquid. This was measured for every tested liquid according to wavelength and layer thickness. Where the spectral transmissivity of a liquid is low, a correction calculation of the measured surface temperature is not necessary, while a high level of accuracy is still retained.     

Lane Detection Based on Contrast Improvement in Foggy Road Image

<正>This paper proposes a lane detection algorithm using sub stretching of histogram.First of all,makes a decision whether the image has foggy or not.For this,sets the interest region and analyzes the histogram of the region. If the image has a fog,applies a contrast enhancement algorithm using sub-stretching of histogram.In order to detect lane information,uses connectivity of edge pixels of road image and finds the straight lines forward to the center of image.To evaluate the performance of proposed algorithm,tested the algorithm on the road image obtained by a driving test and verified its efficiency.     

Efficient Multi-user Similarity Search Over Encrypted Data in Cloud Storage

Wireless Personal Communications - In cloud-assisted data outsourcing systems, the privacy of sensitive data is a major concern. Thus, data are uploaded in encrypted form in many cloud applications...     

Geometric attraction-driven flow for image segmentation and boundary detection

Novel forces in image segmentation based on active contours models are proposed for capturing objects in the image. Contemplating the common functionality of forces in previous active contours models, we propose the geometric attraction-driven flow (GADF), the binary edge function, and the binary balloon forces to detect objects in difficult cases such as varying illumination and complex shapes. The orientation of GADF is orthogonally aligned with the boundary of object and has the opposite direction across the boundary. It prevents the leakage through weak edges of objects, which occur due to illumination. To reduce the interference from other forces, we design the binary edge function using the property of the orientation in the GADF. We also design the binary balloon force based on the four-color theorem. Combining with initial dual level set functions, the proposed model captures holes in objects and multiple junctions from different colors. The result does not depend on positions of initial contours.