Neoagarooligosaccharide Protects against Hepatic Fibrosis via Inhibition of TGF-β/Smad Signaling Pathway

Hepatic fibrosis occurs when liver tissue becomes scarred from repetitive liver injury and inflammatory responses; it can progress to cirrhosis and eventually to hepatocellular carcinoma. Previously, we reported that neoagarooligosaccharides (NAOs), produced by the hydrolysis of agar by β-agarases, have hepatoprotective effects against acetaminophen overdose-induced acute liver injury. However, the effect of NAOs on chronic liver injury, including hepatic fibrosis, has not yet been elucidated. Therefore, we examined whether NAOs protect against fibrogenesis in vitro and in vivo. NAOs ameliorated PAI-1, α-SMA, CTGF and fibronectin protein expression and decreased mRNA levels of fibrogenic genes in TGF-β-treated LX-2 cells. Furthermore, downstream of TGF-β, the Smad signaling pathway was inhibited by NAOs in LX-2 cells. Treatment with NAOs diminished the severity of hepatic injury, as evidenced by reduction in serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, in carbon tetrachloride (CCl₄)-induced liver fibrosis mouse models. Moreover, NAOs markedly blocked histopathological changes and collagen accumulation, as shown by H&E and Sirius red staining, respectively. Finally, NAOs antagonized the CCl₄-induced upregulation of the protein and mRNA levels of fibrogenic genes in the liver. In conclusion, our findings suggest that NAOs may be a promising candidate for the prevention and treatment of chronic liver injury via inhibition of the TGF-β/Smad signaling pathway.     

Changes in the content and antioxidative activity of β-carotene and its metabolite vitamin A during gastrointestinal digestion and absorption and optimisation of HPLC-based detection

The β-Carotene (BC), an important precursor of vitamin A (VA), possesses antioxidant activity but is fat-soluble and has low bioavailability. In previous in-vitro assays evaluating antioxidant and 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) free radical scavenging, both BC and VA showed a strong ability to scavenge radicals and protected cells from oxidative stress. Here, we used artificially simulated gastrointestinal digestion and Caco-2 cell absorption models to evaluate the bioavailability of the BC during gastrointestinal digestion and absorption using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. We observed high absorptive and transfer rates of BC and detected retinol metabolites (Vitamin A). Therefore, BC can be detected in the acidic gastrointestinal environment using HPLC. Optimised method provided better separation of BC and VA in the column, improving the accuracy of the test results.     

A new smart smudge attack using CNN

International Journal of Information Security - This paper deals with a well-known problem in the area of the smudge attacks: when a user draws a pattern to unlock the pattern lock on a smartphone...     

Comparison of yield and metabolites according to the types of hilling materials utilized during Glehnia littoralis sprout vegetable cultivation

Food Science and Biotechnology - Various hilling materials (rice hulls, pine sawdust, and perlite) were compared to produce sprout vegetables using beach silvertop (Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schm. ex...     

Evaluating differentially private decision tree model over model inversion attack

International Journal of Information Security - Machine learning techniques have been widely used and shown remarkable performance in various fields. Along with the widespread utilization of...     

Surface Reconstruction Engineering with Synergistic Effect of Mixed-Salt Passivation Treatment toward Efficient and Stable Perovskite Solar Cells

Surface passivation treatment is a widely used strategy to resolve trap-mediated nonradiative recombination toward high-efficiency metal-halide perovskite photovoltaics. However, a lack of passivation with mixture treatment has been investigated, as well as an in-depth understanding of its passivation mechanism. Here, a systematic study on a mixed-salt passivation strategy of formamidinium bromide (FABr) coupled with different F-substituted alkyl lengths of ammonium iodide is demonstrated. It is obtained better device performance with decreasing chain length of the F-substituted alkyl ammonium iodide in the presence of FABr. Moreover, they unraveled a synergistic passivation mechanism of the mixed-salt treatment through surface reconstruction engineering, where FABr dominates the reformation of the perovskite surface via reacting with the excess PbI₂. Meanwhile, ammonium iodide passivates the perovskite grain boundaries both on the surface and top perovskite bulk through penetration. This synergistic passivation engineer results in a high-quality perovskite surface with fewer defects and suppressed ion migration, leading to a champion efficiency of 23.5% with mixed-salt treatment. In addition, the introduction of the moisture resisted F-substituted groups presents a more hydrophobic perovskite surface, thus enabling the decorated devices with excellent long-term stability under a high humid atmosphere as well as operational conditions.     

Dysprosium doped copper oxide (Cu1-xDyxO) nanoparticles enabled bifunctional electrode for overall water splitting

The production of hydrogen, a favourable alternative to an unsustainable fossil fuel remains as a significant hurdle with the pertaining challenge in the design of proficient, highly productive and sustainable electrocatalyst for both oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Herein, the dysprosium (Dy) doped copper oxide (Cu_1-xDy_xO) nanoparticles were synthesized via solution combustion technique and utilized as a non-noble metal based bi-functional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting. Due to the improved surface to volume ratio and conductivity, the optimized Cu_1-xDy_xO (x = 0.01, 0.02) electrocatalysts exhibited impressive HER and OER performance respectively in 1 M KOH delivering a current density of 10 mAcm^?2 at a potential of ?0.18 V vs RHE for HER and 1.53 V vs RHE for OER. Moreover, the Dy doped CuO electrocatalyst used as a bi-functional catalyst for overall water splitting achieved a potential of 1.56 V at a current density 10 mAcm^?2 and relatively high current density of 66 mAcm^?2 at a peak potential of 2 V. A long term stability of 24 h was achieved for a cell voltage of 2.2 V at a constant current density of 30 mAcm^?2 with only 10% of the initial current loss. This showcases the accumulative opportunity of dysprosium as a dopant in CuO nanoparticles for fabricating a highly effective and low-cost bi-functional electrocatalyst for overall water splitting.     

Diphenyl-Methane Based Thyromimetic Inhibitors for Transthyretin Amyloidosis

Thyromimetics, whose physicochemical characteristics are analog to thyroid hormones (THs) and their derivatives, are promising candidates as novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative and metabolic pathologies. In particular, sobetirome (GC-1), one of the initial halogen-free thyromimetics, and newly synthesized IS25 and TG68, with optimized ADME-Tox profile, have recently attracted attention owing to their superior therapeutic benefits, selectivity, and enhanced permeability. Here, we further explored the functional capabilities of these thyromimetics to inhibit transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis. TTR is a homotetrameric transporter protein for THs, yet it is also responsible for severe amyloid fibril formation, which is facilitated by tetramer dissociation into non-native monomers. By combining nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, computational simulation, and biochemical assays, we found that GC-1 and newly designed diphenyl-methane-based thyromimetics, namely IS25 and TG68, are TTR stabilizers and efficient suppressors of TTR aggregation. Based on these observations, we propose the novel potential of thyromimetics as a multi-functional therapeutic molecule for TTR-related pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases.