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Eurycoma longifolia is an herbal medicinal plant popularly used in Southeast Asian countries. In the present study, we show that 7-methoxy-(9H-β-carbolin-1-il)-(E)-1-propenoic acid (7-MCPA), a β-carboline alkaloid isolated from E. longifolia, exerted anti-inflammatory effects by activating the nuclear factor-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) pathway. 7-MCPA inhibited lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced production of nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in RAW264.7 cells and rescued C57BL/6 mice from LPS-induced lethality in vivo. LPS-induced expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and IL-6 was also significantly suppressed by treatment of 7-MCPA in RAW264.7 cells. 7-MCPA induced nuclear translocation of Nrf2 and increased transcription of its target genes, such as HO-1. Treating RAW264.7 cells with 7-MCPA increased the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the phosphorylation level of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK); however, co-treatment with the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) blocked 7-MCPA-induced p38 MAPK phosphorylation. Moreover, NAC or SB203580 (p38 MAPK inhibitor) blocked 7-MCPA-induced nuclear translocation of Nrf2, suggesting that 7-MCPA activated Nrf2 via a ROS-dependent p38 pathway. 7-MCPA induced HO-1 protein and mRNA expression and knockdown of Nrf2 with siRNA or SB203580 blocked 7-MCPA-mediated induction of HO-1 expression. Inhibiting Nrf2 or HO-1 abrogated the anti-inflammatory effects of 7-MCPA in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. We also demonstrated that 7-MCPA suppressed LPS-induced nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation. These results provide the first evidence that 7-MCPA exerts its anti-inflammatory effect by modulating the Nrf2 and NF-κB pathways and may be a potential Nrf2 activator to prevent or treat inflammatory diseases.

The design of stabilizing model predictive control laws for discrete-time linear periodic systems with state and control constraints is considered. Two algorithms are presented. The first one is based on interpolation between several unconstrained periodic controllers. Among them, one controller is chosen for the performance while the rest are used to extend the domain of attraction. The second algorithm aims to improve the performance by combining model predictive control and interpolating control. The proposed approaches not only guarantee recursive feasibility and asymptotic stability but also are optimal for states near the origin.

A differential cyclic 10-bit DAC with multi-bit conversion per cycle architecture is presented. Passive conversion is done within 1μs and the output is driven during the rest of 1-H time. Designed in differential scheme, the switched-capacitor circuit is robust to charge injection, clock feedthrough and capacitive noise coupling. The DAC has been designed for a high voltage 0.18-μm CMOS technology.