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In this paper, a new three-dimensional network coordination polymer {[Co(TPTC)(HBPDPE)2·2H2O]·3H2O}n [[[(1:1′:4′,1″-terphenyl)-3,3″,5,5″-tetracarboxylic cobalt (II)] dipyridine dihydrate] trihydrate] (Complex 1) was generated under solvothermal synthesis by rigid conjugated ligand H4TPTC ([1:1′:4′,1″-terphengl]-3,3″,5,5″-tetracarboxylic), V-shaped BPDPE (4,4′-bis (pyridyl) diphenyl ether) and Co(II) ion. In complex 1, the neighboring Co(II) ions are linked by deprotonated TPTC4- to achieve a 1D zigzag chain [Co(TPTC)(HBPDPE)2]n, then the adjacent [Co(TPTC)(HBPDPE)2]n chains linked each other by various H-bondings to extend the structure from 1D chain to 3D network. Complex 1 has excellent fluorescence sensing performance and exhibits high sensitivity and selectivity for detecting 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), the quenching constant Ksv is up to 2.08 × 105 M−1 along with the correlation coefficient R2 of 0.993. Furthermore, the quench mechanisms of this Co-MOF as a sensor to detect nitro- aromatic explosives were studied as well. A new three-dimensional coordination polymer {[Co(TPTC)(HBPDPE)2·2H2O]·3H2O}n (1), constructed by 1D zigzag chains and H-bondings interactions, was synthesized under solvothermal condition by a rigid conjugated ligand H4TPTC ([1:1′:4′,1″-terphengl]-3,3″,5,5″-tetracarboxylic), BPDPE (4,4′-bis (pyridyl) diphenyl) and Co(II) ion. Complex 1 has excellent fluorescence sensing performance for detecting Nitroaromatic explosive (NAE) 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP), the quenching constant Ksv is up to 2.08 × 105 M−1, and the quenching mechanism was studied as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Fatty acids may integrate into cell membranes to change physical properties of cell membranes, and subsequently alter cell functions in an unsaturation number-dependent manner. To address the roles of fatty acid unsaturation numbers in cellular pathways of Alzheimer''s disease (AD), we systematically investigated the effects of fatty acids on cell membrane fluidity and α-secretase-cleaved soluble amyloid precursor protein (sAPPα) secretion in relation to unsaturation numbers using stearic acid (SA, 18:0), oleic acid (OA, 18:1), linoleic acid (LA, 18:2), α-linolenic acid (ALA, 18:3), arachidonic acid (AA, 20:4), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6). Treatments of differentiated human neuroblastoma (SH-SY5Y cells) with AA, EPA and DHA for 24h increased sAPPα secretion and membrane fluidity, whereas those treatments with SA, OA, LA and ALA did not. Treatments with AA and DHA did not alter the total expressions of amyloid precursor protein (APP) and α-secretases in SH-SY5Y cells. These results suggested that not all unsaturated fatty acids but only those with 4 or more double bonds, such as AA, EPA and DHA, are able to increase membrane fluidity and lead to increase in sAPPα secretion. This study provides insights into dietary strategies for the prevention of AD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recent studies have suggested the involvement of secretory phospholipase A2-IIA (sPLA2-IIA) in neuroinflammatory diseases. Although sPLA2-IIA is transcriptionally induced through the NF-κB pathway by pro-inflammatory cytokines, whether this induction pathway is affected by other intracellular signaling pathways has not been investigated in detail. In this study, we demonstrated the induction of sPLA2-IIA mRNA and protein expression in astrocytes by cytokines and detected the protein in the culture medium after stimulation. We further investigated the effects of oxidative pathways and botanical antioxidants on the induction pathway and observed that IL-1β-induced sPLA2-IIA mRNA expression in astrocytes is dependent on ERK1/2 and PI-3 kinase, but not p38 MAPK. In addition to apocynin, a known NADPH oxidase inhibitor, botanical antioxidants, such as resveratrol and epigallocatechin gallate, also inhibited IL-1β-induced sPLA2-IIA mRNA expression. These compounds also suppressed IL-1β-induced ERK1/2 activation and translocation of the NADPH oxidase subunit p67 phox from cytosol to membrane fraction. Taken together, these results support the involvement of reactive oxygen species from NADPH oxidase in cytokine induction of sPLA2-IIA in astrocytes and promote the use of botanical antioxidants as protective agents for inhibition of inflammatory responses in these cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

An important task in big data integration is to derive accurate data records from noisy and conflicting values collected from multiple sources. Most existing truth finding methods assume that the reliability is consistent on the whole data set, ignoring the fact that different attributes, objects and object groups may have different reliabilities even wrt the same source. These reliability differences are caused by the hardness differences in obtaining attribute values, non-uniform updates to objects and the differences in group privileges. This paper addresses the problem how to compute truths by effectively estimating the reliabilities of attributes, objects and object groups in a multi-source heterogeneous data environment. We first propose an optimization framework TFAR, its implementation and Lagrangian duality solution for Truth Finding by Attribute Reliability estimation. We then present a Bayesian probabilistic graphical model TFOR and an inference algorithm applying Collapsed Gibbs Sampling for Truth Finding by Object Reliability estimation. Finally we give an optimization framework TFGR and its implementation for Truth Finding by Group Reliability estimation. All these models lead to a more accurate estimation of the respective attribute, object and object group reliabilities, which in turn can achieve a better accuracy in inferring the truths. Experimental results on both real data and synthetic data show that our methods have better performance than the state-of-art truth discovery methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Activation of glial cells, including astrocytes and microglia, has been implicated in the inflammatory responses underlying brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Although cultured astrocytes and microglia are capable of responding to pro-inflammatory cytokines and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the induction and release of inflammatory factors, no detailed analysis has been carried out to compare the induction of iNOS and sPLA2-IIA. In this study, we investigated the effects of cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IFN-gamma) and LPS + IFN-gamma to induce temporal changes in cell morphology and induction of p-ERK1/2, iNOS and sPLA₂-IIA expression in immortalized rat (HAPI) and mouse (BV-2) microglial cells, immortalized rat astrocytes (DITNC), and primary microglia and astrocytes.Methods/results: Cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IFN-gamma) and LPS + IFN-gamma induced a time-dependent increase in fine processes (filopodia) in microglial cells but not in astrocytes. Filopodia production was attributed to IFN-gamma and was dependent on ERK1/2 activation. Cytokines induced an early (15 min) and a delayed phase (1 ~ 4 h) increase in p-ERK1/2 expression in microglial cells, and the delayed phase increase corresponded to the increase in filopodia production. In general, microglial cells are more active in responding to cytokines and LPS than astrocytes in the induction of NO. Although IFN-gamma and LPS could individually induce NO, additive production was observed when IFN-gamma was added together with LPS. On the other hand, while TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and LPS could individually induce sPLA₂-IIA mRNA and protein expression, this induction process does not require IFN-gamma. Interestingly, neither rat immortalized nor primary microglial cells were capable of responding to cytokines and LPS in the induction of sPLA2-IIA expression.Conclusion: These results demonstrated the utility of BV-2 and HAPI cells as models for investigation on cytokine and LPS induction of iNOS, and DITNC astrocytes for induction of sPLA2-IIA. In addition, results further demonstrated that cytokine-induced sPLA2-IIA is attributed mainly to astrocytes and not microglial cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Oligomeric amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) is known to induce cytotoxic effects and to damage cell functions in Alzheimer''s disease. However, mechanisms underlying the effects of Aβ on cell membranes have yet to be fully elucidated. In this study, Aβ 1–42 (Aβ42) was shown to cause a temporal biphasic change in membranes of astrocytic DITNC cells using fluorescence microscopy of Laurdan. Aβ42 made astrocyte membranes became more molecularly-disordered within the first 30 min to 1 h, but gradually changed to more molecularly-ordered after 3 h. However, Aβ42 caused artificial membranes of vesicles made of rat whole brain lipid extract to become more disordered only. The trend for more molecularly-ordered membranes in astrocytes induced by Aβ42 was abrogated by either an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, apocynin, or an inhibitor of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2), but not by an inhibitor of calcium-independent PLA2 (iPLA2). Apocynin also suppressed the increased production of superoxide anions (O2 −) and phosphorylation of cPLA2 induced by Aβ42. In addition, hydrolyzed products of cPLA2, arachidonic acid (AA), but not lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) caused astrocyte membranes to become more molecularly-ordered. These results suggest (1) a direct interaction of Aβ42 with cell membranes making them more molecularly-disordered, and (2) Aβ42 also indirectly makes membranes become more molecularly-ordered by triggering the signaling pathway involving NADPH oxidase and cPLA2 in astrocytes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Betaine, a highly valuable feed additive, has been observed to alter the distribution of protein and fat in the bodies of ruminants and to exhibit strong antioxidant properties. However, the effects of dietary betaine supplementation on the biochemical parameters of blood and on testicular oxidative stress remain unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary betaine supplementation on lipid metabolism, immunity, and testicular oxidative status in Hu sheep. Experimental sheep (n=3, three sheep per group) were fed betaine-containing diets, a basal diet supplemented with 0 g/day (control group), 1 g/day (B1), and 3 g/day betaine (B2). There were no differences in the serum concentrations of triglycerides and cholesterol in Hu sheep receiving diets supplemented with betaine. The ratio of basophils significantly increased in the B1 and B2 groups. ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) results showed that testicular superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity were significantly higher, whereas malondialdehyde (MDA) content significantly decreased, after feeding betaine-supplemented diets. qPCR results showed that the mRNA expression levels of CAT , SOD2 , and GSH-Px were significantly upregulated in both the B1 and B2 groups compared to those in the control group. Furthermore, the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) was significantly lower in the testes of betaine-treated Hu sheep than in the control group. Moreover, LKB1 (liver kinase B1) expression significantly increased, and mRNA expression of AMPK (AMP-activated serine/threonine protein kinase) significantly decreased in the B1 group. The relative gene expression of mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) was significantly higher in the B2 group than in the control group. RAPTOR expression significantly increased in the B1 group. Western blot revealed that the ratio of P-mTOR and mTOR significantly increased after feeding betaine-supplemented diets. In conclusion, betaine supplementation improved serum lipid metabolism, immune response, and increased the testicular antioxidant capacity of Hu sheep, which might be regulated via mTOR signaling pathway. • Dietary betaine supplementation improved concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and granulocytes of Hu sheep. • Testicular antioxidant capacity is increased with betaine-containing diets of Hu sheep. • Dietary betaine supplementation regulated mTOR signaling pathway in Hu sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The bark of magnolia has been used in Oriental medicine to treat a variety of remedies, including some neurological disorders. Magnolol (Mag) and honokiol (Hon) are isomers of polyphenolic compounds from the bark of Magnolia officinalis, and have been identified as major active components exhibiting anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective effects. In this study, we investigate the ability of these isomers to suppress oxidative stress in neurons stimulated by the ionotropic glutamate receptor agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and oxidative and inflammatory responses in microglial cells activated by interferon-γ (IFNγ) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We also attempt to elucidate the mechanism and signaling pathways involved in cytokine-induced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in microglial cells.Methods: Dihydroethidium (DHE) was used to assay superoxide production in neurons, while CM-H2DCF-DA was used to test for ROS production in murine (BV-2) and rat (HAPI) immortalized microglial cells. NADPH oxidase inhibitors (for example, diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), AEBSF, and apocynin) and immunocytochemistry targeting p47phox and gp91phox were used to assess the involvement of NADPH oxidase. Western blotting was used to assess iNOS and ERK1/2 expression, and the Griess reaction protocol was employed to determine nitric oxide (NO) concentration.Results: Exposure of Hon and Mag (1-10 μM) to neurons for 24 h did not alter neuronal viability, but both compounds (10 μM) inhibited NMDA-stimulated superoxide production, a pathway known to involve NADPH oxidase. In microglial cells, Hon and Mag inhibited IFNγ±LPS-induced iNOS expression, NO, and ROS production. Studies with inhibitors and immunocytochemical assay further demonstrated the important role of IFNγ activating the NADPH oxidase through the p-ERK-dependent pathway. Hon and, to a lesser extent, Mag inhibited IFNγ-induced p-ERK1/2 and its downstream pathway for ROS and NO production.Conclusion: This study highlights the important role of NADPH oxidase in mediating oxidative stress in neurons and microglial cells and has unveiled the role of IFNγ in stimulating the MAPK/ERK1/2 signaling pathway for activation of NADPH oxidase in microglial cells. Hon and Mag offer anti-oxidative or anti-inflammatory effects, at least in part, through suppressing IFNγ-induced p-ERK1/2 and its downstream pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]