Intratracheal Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuates Hyperoxia-Induced Microbial Dysbiosis in the Lungs,Brain, and Gut in Newborn Rats

We attempted to determine whether intratracheal (IT) transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could simultaneously attenuate hyperoxia-induced lung injuries and microbial dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut in newborn rats. Newborn rats were exposed to hyperoxia (90% oxygen) for 14 days. Human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (5 × 10⁵) were transplanted via the IT route on postnatal day (P) five. At P14, the lungs were harvested for histological, biochemical, and microbiome analyses. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes from the lungs, brain, and large intestine were amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed. IT transplantation of MSCs simultaneously attenuated hyperoxia-induced lung inflammation and the ensuing injuries, as well as the dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut. In correlation analyses, lung interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly positively correlated with the abundance of Proteobacteria in the lungs, brain, and gut, and it was significantly inversely correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes in the gut and lungs and that of Bacteroidetes in the lungs. In conclusion, microbial dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut does not cause but is caused by hyperoxic lung inflammation and ensuing injuries, and IT transplantation of MSCs attenuates dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut, primarily by their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.     

Magnetization reversal mechanism of chemically synthesized linear chains of α-Fe nanospheres

Journal of Materials Science - We report upon synthesis of stable chains of magnetically aligned zero-valent α-Fe nanoparticles and investigation of their magnetization reversal mechanism. The...     

Protective effect of the fruits of Terminalia arjuna against cadmium-induced oxidant stress and hepatic cell injury via MAPK activation and mitochondria dependent pathway

Cadmium (Cd), a highly toxic environmental pollutant, induces hepatic disorders. The present study has been undertaken to investigate the protective role of the fruit extract of Terminalia arjuna (AE) against Cd-induced oxidative liver impairment using a murine model. Cadmium reduced hepatocytes viability, activated MAPKs, disturbed Bcl-2 family protein balance, increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and induced apoptotic cell death by mitochondria dependent caspases-3 activation. AE treatment, however, suppressed all the apoptotic actions of cadmium. Similarly, mice treated with cadmium altered a number biomarkers related to hepatic oxidative stress and other apoptotic indices. Oral administration of AE both pre and post prevented all the Cd-induced hepatic damages.     

Damage evolution in polymer due to exposure to high-pressure hydrogen gas

The use of hydrogen as a fuel is increasing exponentially, and the most economical way to store and transport hydrogen for fuel use is as a high-pressure gas. Polymers are widely used for hydrogen distribution and storage systems because they are chemically inert towards hydrogen. However, when exposed to high-pressure hydrogen, some hydrogen diffuses through polymers and occupies the preexisting cavities inside the material. Upon depressurization, the hydrogen trapped inside polymer cavities can cause blistering or cracking by expanding these cavities. A continuum mechanics–based deformation model was deployed to predict the stress distribution and damage propagation while the polymer undergoes depressurization after high-pressure hydrogen exposure. The effects of cavity size, cavity location, and pressure inside the cavity on damage initiation and evolution inside the polymer were studied. The stress and damage evolution in the presence of multiple cavities was also studied, because interaction among cavities alters the damage and stress field. It was found that all these factors significantly change the stress state in the polymer, resulting in different paths for damage propagation. The effect of adding carbon black filler particles and plasticizer on the damage was also studied. It was found that damage tolerance of the polymer increases drastically with the addition of carbon black fillers, but decreases with the addition of the plasticizer.     

Effect of ultraviolet‐B irradiation on antioxidative properties of aqueous extracts from shiitake (Lentinus edodes) mushrooms

Antioxidant properties of aqueous extracts from Lentinus edodes treated with UV‐B irradiation were examined in vitro systems including DPPH, ABTS and oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assays and in riboflavin‐photosensitised oil‐in‐water (O/W) emulsions. Changes in total phenolics, total flavonoids and vitamin C were also analysed. Lentinus edodes receiving 25 kJ m^?2 UV‐B treatment showed high radical scavenging ability based on DPPH and ABTS assays compared with samples with 0, 50 and 75 kJ m^?2, while those with 50 kJ m^?2 had higher antioxidant capacities than other samples from ORAC assays. Samples with 25 kJ m^?2 UV treatment had significantly 7.1% higher total phenolic content, 12.0% higher total flavonoid content and 8.0% higher vitamin C content than UV‐B‐untreated sample (P < 0.05), respectively. In O/W emulsions under riboflavin photosensitisation, 25 and 50 kJ m^?2 UV treatment significantly increased the oxidative stability compared with other samples based on headspace oxygen content and lipid hydroperoxide analyses (P < 0.05). Aqueous extracts of UV‐B‐treated mushrooms possessed enhanced antioxidant properties compared with untreated mushrooms.     

Taurine protects murine hepatocytes against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis by tert-butyl hydroperoxide via PI3K/Akt and mitochondrial-dependent pathways

The present study aims to investigate the beneficial role of taurine in tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP)-induced oxidative stress, cytotoxicity and cell death using murine hepatocytes as the working model. TBHP caused a time-dependent increase in alkaline phosphatase leakage, extensive ROS formation and alteration in antioxidant machineries. Moreover, TBHP upregulated NF-κB phosphorylation, caused injury to cellular mitochondria by reciprocal regulation of Bcl2 family proteins; incapacitated cellular respiration, accelerated cytochrome c release from mitochondria and induced apoptotic death in hepatocytes. Taurine treatment prevented TBHP-induced oxidative insult and decreased the activation of NF-κB as well as apoptotic signalling pathways. Signal transduction studies with specific inhibitors PS1145 (IκB inhibitor) and LY294002 (PI3K inhibitor) showed that the mechanism of the protective action of taurine involves the upregulation of Akt and inhibition of NF-κB. Combining, our result suggest that taurine supplementation in regular diet may provide a potential therapeutic choice against TBHP-induced hepatic oxidative injury.     

Landcover classification in MRF context using Dempster-Shafer fusion for multisensor imagery.

This work deals with multisensor data fusion to obtain landcover classification. The role of feature-level fusion using the Dempster-Shafer rule and that of data-level fusion in the MRF context is studied in this paper to obtain an optimally segmented image. Subsequently, segments are validated and classification accuracy for the test data is evaluated. Two examples of data fusion of optical images and a synthetic aperture radar image are presented, each set having been acquired on different dates. Classification accuracies of the technique proposed are compared with those of some recent techniques in literature for the same image data.     

Demonstration of Time‐ and Wavelength‐Division Multiplexed Passive Optical Network Based on VCSEL Array

We demonstrate a time‐ and wavelength‐division multiplexed passive optical network system employing a vertical‐cavity surface‐emitting laser array–based optical line terminal transceiver and a tunable bidirectional optical subassembly–based optical network terminal transceiver. A packet error–free operation is achieved after a 40 km single‐mode fiber bidirectional transmission. We also discuss an arrayed waveguide grating, a photo detector array based on complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor photonics technologies, and low‐cost key devices for deployment in access networks.