Inhibitory effects of thioethers on fatty acid synthase and 3T3-L1 cells.

Thioethers are the main flavor compounds found in Liliaceae Allium vegetables and have been shown to have beneficial effects against several diseases correlated with metabolic syndrome. The inhibitory effects of six thioethers on fatty acid synthase (FAS) were investigated. Dose-dependent and time-dependent inhibitions of FAS by one trisulfide and two disulfides were revealed.

Inhibitory effects on bacterial growth and beta-ketoacyl-ACP reductase by different species of maple leaf extracts and tannic acid.

It is important to develop new antibiotics aimed at novel targets. The investigation found that the leaf extracts from five maples (Acer platanoides, Acer campestre, Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum and Acer truncatum Bunge collected in Denmark, Canada and China) and their component tannic acid displayed antibacterial ability against 24 standard bacteria strains with the minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.3-8.

[Improved nitric acid digestion method for detecting diatom in autopsy tissue].

Objective: To investigate the advantages of nitric acid digestion method and its differences with the traditional method.

Methods: Ethanol was used to fully fix the testing sample. About 80-100 g of the testing samples were cut into pieces and digested with nitric acid.

Specific and nonspecific plasticity of the primary auditory cortex elicited by thalamic auditory neurons.

The ventral and medial divisions of the medial geniculate body (MGBv and MGBm) respectively are the lemniscal and nonlemniscal thalamic auditory nuclei. Lemniscal neurons are narrowly frequency tuned and provide highly specific frequency information to the primary auditory cortex (AI), whereas nonlemniscal neurons are broadly frequency tuned and project widely to auditory cortical areas including AI. The MGBv and MGBm are presumably different not only in auditory signal processing, but also in eliciting cortical plastic changes.

Screening cellular proteins involved in the anti-proliferative effect of the ADAM15 disintegrin domain in murine melanoma cells.

A disintegrin and metalloprotease protein 15 (ADAM15), a membrane-anchored glycoprotein, is believed to function in cell-cell interactions via an integrin binding motif within its disintegrin domain. To screen its target proteins, the recombinant ADAM15 disintegrin domain (RADD) was expressed in Escherichia coli, biotinylated and used in a protein pull-down assay in vitro. A total of eight kinds of proteins were identified by 2DE/LC-MS-MS.

Novel and potent inhibitors of fatty acid synthase derived from catechins and their inhibition on MCF-7 cells.

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is a potential target for cancer, but potent inhibitors against FAS are scarce. In this study, we found that activities of catechins on inhibiting FAS increased greatly by heating them in acid. The enhancement was positively correlated to H(+) concentration.

Corticofugal modulation of the paradoxical latency shifts of inferior collicular neurons.

The central auditory system creates various types of neurons tuned to different acoustic parameters other than a specific frequency. The response latency of auditory neurons typically shortens with an increase in stimulus intensity. However, approximately 10% of collicular neurons of the little brown bat show a "paradoxical latency-shift (PLS)": long latencies to intense sounds but short latencies to weak sounds.

Antimicrobial effect by extracts of rhizome of Alpinia officinarum Hance may relate to its inhibition of beta-ketoacyl-ACP reductase.

Inhibitory effects on bacterial growth showed that 40% ethanol extract of galangal (rhizome of Alpinia officinarum Hance) can inhibit Staphylococcus aureus, alpha-Hemolytic streptococcus, beta-Hemolytic streptococcus and Streptococcus pneumoniae. beta-ketoacyl-ACP reductase (FabG, EC.1.

Control of polarization for a broadband dichroic filter at 45 degrees incidence.

A method for the control of polarization for a broadband dichroic filter was reported and some design examples were elaborated. This method could be applied over a wide range of wavelengths and a wide range of polarizations in the transmission region. A nonpolarizing broadband dichroic filter and a broadband dichroic filter with certain polarization were designed and fabricated by electron beam evaporation with ion beam assisted deposition.

Multiparametric corticofugal modulation of collicular duration-tuned neurons: modulation in the amplitude domain.

The subcortical auditory nuclei contain not only neurons tuned to a specific frequency but also those tuned to multiple parameters characterizing a sound. All these neurons are potentially subject to modulation by descending fibers from the auditory cortex (corticofugal modulation). In the past, we electrically stimulated cortical duration-tuned neurons of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, and found that its collicular duration-tuned neurons were corticofugally modulated in the frequency and time (duration) domains.

Isolation of high-purity casticin from Artemisia annua L. by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

Following an initial clean-up step on silica, high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was used to purify a flavone, casticin (5,3'-dihydroxy-3,6,7, 4'-tetramethoxyflavone), from an extract of the dried leaves of Artemisia annua L. The two-phase solvent system used was composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water at an optimized volume ratio of 7:10:7:10 (v/v). HSCCC separation of 226.

The isolation of 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose from Acer truncatum Bunge by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

High-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully used for the isolation and purification of 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose from the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of Acer truncatum Bunge using a two-phase system composed of n-hexane-ethyl acetate-methanol-water at a volume ratio of (0.25:5:1:5, v/v/v/v) for the first time. Each injection of 80 mg crude extract yielded 7.

Potent inhibition of fatty acid synthase by parasitic loranthus [Taxillus chinensis (dc.) danser] and its constituent avicularin.

The medicinal herb parasitic loranthus in a screen was found to inhibit fatty acid synthase (EC 2.3.1.

Inhibitory activity of chlorogenic acid on enzymes involved in the fatty acid synthesis in animals and bacteria.

It was found that chlorogenic acid inhibited in vitro animal fatty acid synthase (FAS I) and the ss-ketoacyl-ACP reductase (FabG) from Escherichia coli in a concentration-dependent manner with respective IC50 of 94.8 and 88.1 microM.

Structure-activity relationship of polyphenols that inhibit fatty acid synthase.

Many flavone derivatives inhibit FAS, and their A and B rings play an important role, but is the C ring necessary for the inhibition of FAS? Here, using nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), with two phenyl rings connected by a four-carbon chain, as a representative, the structural basis for the inhibition of animal fatty acid synthase (FAS) by polyphenols was investigated. NDGA potently inhibits the overall reaction of FAS (IC(50) = 9.3 +/- 0.

[Preparative isolation and purification of calycosin and formononetin from Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao by high-speed counter-current chromatography].

Preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was used for the separation of calycosin and formononetin from the ethyl acetate extract of Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.

Application of preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography for separation of methyl gallate from Acer truncatum Bunge.

Preparative separation of methyl gallate in leaves extract of Acer truncatum Bunge was conducted using high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) with a solvent system composed of ethyl acetate-ethanol-water at volume ratios of 5:1:5 (v/v/v). In a single operation, 57.5 mg of methyl gallate was obtained from 120 mg of the extract.

Long-term cortical plasticity evoked by electric stimulation and acetylcholine applied to the auditory cortex.

Auditory fear conditioning with tone bursts followed by electric leg stimulation activates neurons not only in the auditory and somatosensory systems but also in many other regions of the brain and elicits shifts in the best frequencies (BFs) of collicular and cortical neurons, i.e., reorganization of the frequency (co-chleotopic) maps in the inferior colliculus and auditory cortex (AC).

Isolation of quercetin-3-O-L-rhamnoside from Acer truncatum Bunge by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

Preparative high-speed counter-current chromatography (HSCCC) was successfully used for isolation and purification of quercetin-3-O-L-rhamnoside from the ethyl acetate extract of the leaves of Acer truncatum Bunge using a two-phase-system composed of ethyl acetate-ethanol-water at a volume ratio of 5:1:5 (v/v/v). In a single operation, 41.9mg of quercetin-3-O-L-rhamnoside was obtained from 366mg of the crude extract.

Lateral inhibition for center-surround reorganization of the frequency map of bat auditory cortex.

Repetitive acoustic stimulation, auditory fear conditioning, and focal electric stimulation of the auditory cortex (AC) each evoke the reorganization of the central auditory system. Our current study of the big brown bat indicates that focal electric stimulation of the AC evokes center-surround reorganization of the frequency map of the AC. In the center, the neuron's best frequencies (BFs), together with their frequency-tuning curves, shift toward the BFs of electrically stimulated cortical neurons (centripetal BF shifts).

Preparative isolation and purification of isoflavan and pterocarpan glycosides from Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

(3R)-(-)-7,2'-Dihydroxy-3',4'-dimethyl isoflavan-7-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside and (6aR, 11aR) 9,10-di-methoxypterocarpan-3-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside were separated from the ethyl acetate extract of the root of Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.

HDTIC-1 and HDTIC-2, two compounds extracted from Astragali Radix, delay replicative senescence of human diploid fibroblasts.

Astragalus membranceus (Fish) Bunge Var. mongholicus (Bge) Hsiao is a Chinese herb considered as an effective traditional anti-ageing material. The two isomers of 4-hydroxy-5-hydroxymethyl-[1,3]dioxolan-2,6'-spirane-5',6',7',8'-tetrahydro-indolizine-3'-carbaldehyde (HDTIC), HDTIC-1 and HDTIC-2, were extracted from the herb.

Preparative isolation and purification of two isoflavones from Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao by high-speed counter-current chromatography.

Two isoflavones, calycosin-7-O-beta-D-glycoside and formononetin-7-O-beta-D-glycoside, were separated from n-butanol extract of the root of Astragalus membranaceus Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.

Augmentation of plasticity of the central auditory system by the basal forebrain and/or somatosensory cortex.

Auditory conditioning (associative learning) or focal electric stimulation of the primary auditory cortex (AC) evokes reorganization (plasticity) of the cochleotopic (frequency) map of the inferior colliculus (IC) as well as that of the AC. The reorganization results from shifts in the best frequencies (BFs) and frequency-tuning curves of single neurons. Since the importance of the cholinergic basal forebrain for cortical plasticity and the importance of the somatosensory cortex and the corticofugal auditory system for collicular and cortical plasticity have been demonstrated, Gao and Suga proposed a hypothesis that states that the AC and corticofugal system play an important role in evoking auditory collicular and cortical plasticity and that auditory and somatosensory signals from the cerebral cortex to the basal forebrain play an important role in augmenting collicular and cortical plasticity.