A study on the influence of the seat and head restraint foam stiffnesses on neck injury in low speed offset rear impacts

Soft tissue neck injury (STNI) is thought to be related to automotive seat characteristics, and it is important to know how the stiffness of the seatback and head restraint foam affect the occupant’s motions in low speed rear impacts. The combined MADYMO(MAthematical DYnamic MOdel, TNO) 50th percentile facet male human body model with a detailed neck model was selected for this analysis. In order to determine the relationship between the occupant’s motions and seatback and head restraint foam stiffnesses, 40% offset rear impact simulations were performed by changing the stiffness of seatback and head restraint. Simulated results show that the maximum acceleration of head and trunk would tend to increase with those stiffnesses. Increased stiffness of the seatback and head restraint resulted in increased ligament and disc forces. On the other hand a proper combination of seatback and head restraint stiffness can reduce a possible neck injury. It is clear that an appropriate combination of stiffnesses between seatback and head restraint allows to minimize a neck injury.     

Hemp-Derived Nanovesicles Protect Leaky Gut and Liver Injury in Dextran Sodium Sulfate-Induced Colitis

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is used for medicinal purposes owing to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. We evaluated the protective effect of nanovesicles isolated from hemp plant parts (root, seed, hemp sprout, and leaf) in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis in mice. The particle sizes of root-derived nanovesicles (RNVs), seed-derived nanovesicles (SNVs), hemp sprout-derived nanovesicles (HSNVs), and leaf-derived nanovesicles (LNVs) were within the range of 100–200 nm as measured by nanoparticle tracking analysis. Acute colitis was induced in C57BL/N mice by 5% DSS in water provided for 7 days. RNVs were administered orally once a day, leading to the recovery of both the small intestine and colon lengths. RNVs, SNVs, and HSNVs restored the tight (ZO-1, claudin-4, occludin) and adherent junctions (E-cadherin and α-tubulin) in DSS-induced small intestine and colon injury. Additionally, RNVs markedly reduced NF-κB activation and oxidative stress proteins in DSS-induced small intestine and colon injury. Tight junction protein expression and epithelial cell permeability were elevated in RNV-, SNV-, and HSNV-treated T84 colon cells exposed to 2% DSS. Interestedly, RNVs, SNVs, HSNVs, and LNVs reduced ALT activity and liver regeneration marker proteins in DSS-induced liver injury. These results showed for the first time that hemp-derived nanovesicles (HNVs) exhibited a protective effect on DSS-induced gut leaky and liver injury through the gut–liver axis by inhibiting oxidative stress marker proteins.     

Athermal optical gain block in C-band by serial concatenations of erbium-doped antimony oxide silica glass fiber

We report a new novel technique to suppress the temperature-dependent gain (TDG) of erbium-doped fiber amplifier in the C-band by providing a composite optical gain block, conventional erbium-doped fiber (EDF) serially concatenated with Sb-doped silica EDF. Compared with conventional EDFs, Sb-doped silica EDF showed an opposite TDG coefficient in the C-band. Detailed experimental athermalization schemes are reported for various concatenating configurations. The temperature-dependent optical gain variation was suppressed within /spl plusmn/0.35 dB for the temperature range of -40/spl deg/C to +80/spl deg/C from 1530 to 1560 nm.     

Kiwifruit of Actinidia eriantha cv. Bidan has in vitro antioxidative,anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects on macrophages and splenocytes isolated from male BALB/c mice

Food Science and Biotechnology - Kiwifruit is known to contain considerable amount of antioxidative phenolics. The objective of this study was to evaluate the antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and...     

Compositional analyses of diverse phytochemicals and polar metabolites from different-colored potato (Solanum tubersum L.) tubers

Food Science and Biotechnology - Lipophilic bioactive compounds and hydrophilic primary metabolites from potato (solanum tubersum L.) tubers with different-colored flesh (white-, yellow-, red-, and...     

Synthesis of Caffeoyl-Prolyl-Histidyl-Xaa Derivatives and Evaluation of Their Activities and Stability upon Long-Term Storage

Antioxidants play a critical role in the treatment of degenerative diseases and delaying the aging of dermal tissue. Caffeic acid (CA) is a representative example of the antioxidants found in plants. However, CA is unsuitable for long-term storage because of its poor stability under ambient conditions. Caffeoyl-Pro-His-NH₂ (CA-Pro-His-NH₂, CA-PH) exhibits the highest antioxidant activity, free radical scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition activity among the histidine-containing CA-conjugated dipeptides reported to date. The addition of short peptides to CA, such as Pro-His, is assumed to synergistically enhance its antioxidative activity. In this study, several caffeoyl-prolyl-histidyl-Xaa-NH₂ derivatives were synthesized and their antioxidative activities evaluated. CA-Pro-His-Asn-NH₂ showed enhanced antioxidative activity and higher structural stability than CA-PH, even after long-term storage. CA-Pro-His-Asn-NH₂ was stable for 3 months, its stability being evaluated by observing the changes in its NMR spectra. Moreover, the solid-phase synthetic strategy used to prepare these CA-Pro-His-Xaa-NH₂ derivatives was optimized for large-scale production. We envision that CA-Pro-His-Xaa-NH₂ derivatives can be used as potent dermal therapeutic agents and useful cosmetic ingredients.     

Chemical conversion of ginsenosides in puffed red ginseng

The effects of puffing process on chemical conversion of ginsenosides, extraction yields and crude saponin contents in red ginseng were investigated. To reach a maximum extraction yield, puffed red ginseng took only 8 h, while non-puffed red ginseng required at least 20 h showing extraction yields of 45.7 g solid extract/100 g sample and 44.5 g solid extract/100 g sample, respectively. Extraction yield increased slightly with increasing puffing pressure. Puffed red ginseng showed higher crude saponin contents (201.0-219.0 mg/g extract) than non-puffed one (161.7-189.0 mg/g extract). As the puffing pressure increased, minor ginsenosides (Rg3, F2, Rk1 and Rg5) increased but the contents of major ginsenosides (Rb1, Rb2, Rc, Rd, Re and Rg1) decreased. These results indicated that a puffing process may provide an effective method to reduce the extraction time, improve the extraction yield and increase the crude saponin content of red ginseng.     

Preparation of fermented sugar-soaked black soybean snacks (FSBSS) and characterization of their quality changes

Fermented sugar-soaked black soybean snacks (FSBSS) were prepared using optimized conditions at 2 times sugar soaking process to give a desirable form and texture after fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum (LP) and Bacillus subtilis (BS) for 48 h. The prepared FSBSS showed higher total polyphenol and flavonoid contents than an unfermented (NF) sample; total isoflavone content increased approximately 31 and 17% (LP and BS, respectively), as compared to NF. γ-Aminobutyric acid was also contributed by LP and BS, indicating significantly higher contents of 16.9 and 21.6 mg/g (LP and BS, respectively) compared to NF (15.2 mg/g). Moreover, the FSBSS showed antioxidant activities on DPPH, superoxide, and hydroxyl radicals as compared to NF. Based on the results, the newly developed FSBSS using solid-fermentation indicate a useful and convenient way to replace traditional soybean products from the standpoint that also provides an easy means to supply high nutritive and functional properties.     

Development of Microsatellite Markers in Pungtungia herzi Using Next-Generation Sequencing and Cross-Species Amplification in the Genus Pseudopungtungia

Nuclear microsatellite markers for Pungtungia herzi were developed using a combination of next-generation sequencing and Sanger sequencing. One hundred primer sets in the flanking region of dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeat motifs were designed and tested for efficiency in polymerase chain reaction amplification. Of these primer sets, 16 new markers (16%) were successfully amplified with unambiguous polymorphic alleles in 16 individuals of Pungtungia herzi. Cross-species amplification with these markers was then examined in two related species, Pseudopungtungia nigra and Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa. Fifteen and 11 primer pairs resulted in successful amplification in Pseudopungtungia nigra and Pseudopungtungia tenuicorpa, respectively, with various polymorphisms, ranging from one allele (monomorphic) to 11 alleles per marker. These results indicated that developing microsatellite markers for cross-amplification from a species that is abundant and phylogenetically close to the species of interest is a good alternative when tissue samples of an endangered species are insufficient to develop microsatellites.