Impacts of physical-chemical property of polyethylene on depolymerization and biodegradation in yellow and dark mealworms with high purity microplastics.

Yellow and dark mealworms (Tenebrio molitor and Tenebrio obscurus) biodegrade commercial polyethylene (PE) materials at a high rate. We examined the impact of physical and chemical properties on biodegradation using high purity microplastics (MPs). These included high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), all with different weight average molecular weights (M) and different crystallinity degrees in T.

Effects of magnolol on impairment of learning and memory abilities induced by scopolamine in mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), one of the most common forms of dementia, is primarily ascribed to the cholinergic deficits and neuronal dysfunction. Magnolol (Mag), a bioactivator extracted from Magnolia officinalis, has protective effects on cholinergic neurons, but the specific mechanism remains unknown. To further evaluate the therapeutic effects of Mag on the learning and memory impairment in a scopolamine (Scop)-induced mouse model, the passive avoidance and the Morris water maze tests, the measurement of the ratio of brain/hippocampus to body weight, activities of acetyl cholinesterase (AChE), superoxide dismutase (SOD), total nitric oxide synthase (total NOS) and the content of methane dicarboxylic aldehyde (MDA) in hippocampus homogenate as well as the immunefluorescence staining of the AChE positive nerve fibers were performed.