DROUGHT-INDUCED BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID AMINOTRANSFERASE enhances drought tolerance in rice.

Plants accumulate several metabolites in response to drought stress, including branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). However, the roles of BCAAs in plant drought responses and the underlying molecular mechanisms for BCAA accumulation remain elusive. Here, we demonstrate that rice (Oryza sativa) DROUGHT-INDUCED BRANCHED-CHAIN AMINO ACID AMINOTRANSFERASE (OsDIAT) mediates the accumulation of BCAAs in rice in response to drought stress. An in vitro enzyme activity assay indicated that OsDIAT is a branched-chain amino acid aminotransferase, and subcellular localization analysis revealed that OsDIAT localizes to the cytoplasm. The expression of OsDIAT was induced in plants upon exposure to abiotic stress. OsDIAT-overexpressing (OsDIATOX) plants were more tolerant to drought stress, whereas osdiat plants were more susceptible to drought stress compared with nontransgenic (NT) plants. Amino acid analysis revealed that BCAA levels were higher in OsDIATOX but lower in osdiat compared with in NT plants. Finally, the exogenous application of BCAAs improved plant tolerance to osmotic stress compared with that in control plants. Collectively, these findings suggest that OsDIAT mediates drought tolerance by promoting the accumulation of BCAAs.

Differences in Treatment Effects of Cognitive-behavioral Therapy for Insomnia Based on Sleep Reactivity: A Preliminary Study.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep reactivity is the trait-like degree to which stress disrupts sleep, resulting in difficulty falling and staying asleep. Although previous studies have suggested that individuals who have high sleep reactivity may be resistant to cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) effects, there have been no studies that have investigated this empirically. This study explored differential treatment responses in CBT-I based on sleep reactivity levels. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Participants for this study were nineteen insomnia patients who met DSM-5 criteria for insomnia disorder. All participants received four weekly sessions of structured cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Individuals completed the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Korean version of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale-Revised (K-CESD-R), Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test (FIRST), Dysfunctional Beliefs and Attitudes about Sleep Scale-16 (DBAS-16), the Daily Inventory of Stressful Events (DISE) and a sleep diary. Participants were classified into two groups based on sleep reactivity level (high and low sleep reactivity). RESULT: Following treatment, significant changes were found for ISI, K-CESD-R, DBAS-16 and FIRST scores, sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency, number of awakenings, sleep quality and feeling refreshed upon awakening in both groups. Improvements in sleep efficiency was lower in the high sleep reactivity group compared to the low sleep reactivity group. No differences in ISI, K-CESD-R, DBAS-16 scores, and stress event frequency during the treatment duration were found between groups. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that sleep reactivity level may be an important factor that affects treatment outcome of CBT-I. Furthermore, the results may suggest that individual response to stress events are more important than the stressor itself.

Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomization controlled and nonrandomized controlled studies on nurse-led nonpharmacological interventions to improve cognition in people with dementia.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate nurse-led nonpharmacological interventions for improving cognition in people with dementia. BACKGROUND: Starting in 2006, donepezil was administered worldwide to improve cognition; however, its side effects limited its therapeutic value for long-term use, prompting a need for nonpharmacological interventions to improve cognition. Nurse-led nonpharmacological interventions are especially important because they are effective in terms of resources and costs, reduce patient latency and improve patient safety and satisfaction. METHODS: A systematic review was identified by searching 10 electronic databases. The search period was between 1 January 2007, and 30 September 2021. Languages were limited to English and Korean. The inclusion criteria were studies of nurse-led interventions that evaluated cognition using validated instruments. The exclusion criteria were qualitative research, scale development studies, abstracts and grey literature. Quality appraisal of research was conducted using the Risk of Bias in Nonrandomized Studies of Interventions for quasi-experimental studies and the Risk of Bias 2.0 for randomised controlled studies. This study was conducted in accordance with PRISMA reporting guideline (Appendix S1). The search protocol was registered in the PROSPERO (CRD 42021229358). RESULTS: A total of 24 studies were included in the systematic review, and 15 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Meta-analysis included 8 RCT and 7 quasi-experimental studies. The studies (11 quasi-experimental studies and 9 randomised controlled studies) demonstrated low to moderate quality of evidence for improving the cognition of people with dementia. The meta-analysis showed that nurse-led single nonpharmacological interventions more effectively improved cognition than complex interventions in people with dementia. CONCLUSION: Nurse-led nonpharmacological interventions were effective for improving cognition in people with dementia. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Nurses are qualified professionals with expertise in providing nonpharmacological interventions to improve cognition in people with dementia. Nurse-led nonpharmacological interventions for this purpose should be developed in future research.

Sex-specific effects of bisphenol S with tissue-specific responsiveness in adult zebrafish: The antiandrogenic and antiestrogenic effects.

This study investigates the adverse effects and the associated underlying mechanism of bisphenol S (BPS) exposure on reproductive endocrine activity in adult zebrafish. Fish were exposed for 21 days to different BPS concentrations (0, 8, 40, and 200 µg/mL) determined via the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL, i.e., < EC15 = 250 µg/mL) for zebrafish embryos. Exposure to 200 µg/mL BPS in female zebrafish in the absence of vitellogenic oocytes or the presence of degenerated oocytes in the ovary significantly decreased the biosynthesis of hepatic vitellogenin (VTG) mRNA, while hepatic VTG mRNA in male fish abundance was significantly elevated (P < 0.05). The levels of gonadal steroids were significantly increased in female zebrafish, while in male zebrafish, the levels of endogenous androgens were reduced (P < 0.05). However, the activities of 17ß-estradiol and aromatase in male zebrafish were significantly elevated in all BPS exposure groups in male zebrafish (P < 0.05). Interestingly, thyroid hormone levels and residual whole-body BPS levels increased in female and male zebrafish with increasing exposure concentrations. A novel finding is that the response to BPS depends on zebrafish sex and tissue-specific responsiveness to the accumulation of BPS, suggesting that BPS may cause long-term environmental problems in adult zebrafish through tissue-specific suppression and hormonal imbalance.

An educational design and development project for pediatric heart transplant recipients and their families.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to systematically derive and develop educational content for children who have undergone heart transplants and their families to improve the families' and caregivers' ability to manage child health in South Korea. DESIGN AND METHODS: This project developed educational content through the first three steps: "Analysis," "Design," and "Development" of the five steps outlined in the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation) model. The educational contents were derived from an analysis of six literature reviews and six studies, seven websites, and interviews with six caregivers of children who have undergone a heart transplant. Based on these analyses, educational items were designed. When a draft of the education contents was developed, the content validity was validated by ten experts. RESULTS: Educational items were designed in nine major categories and 40 sub-categories. All contents were validated with a content validity index of at least 0.8 or higher and included in the education content for pediatric heart transplant families, with recommendations for further modification based on expert advice. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This project is meaningful in that it has developed health management education contents suitable for the situation in South Korea through analyzing previous studies and educational contents of domestic and international medical centers as well as an in-depth interview with caregivers.

Retrospective lumbosacral CT analysis and prospective observational study of the ipsilateral tunnel view technique for fluoroscopy-guided selective S1 transforaminal epidural injection.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively observe the anatomic relationship between dorsal S1 foramen (DS1F) and ventral S1 foramen (VS1F) through computed tomography (CT) analysis and to prospectively determine the optimal angle of ipsilateral tunnel view technique for performing S1 transforaminal epidural steroid injection (S1-TFESI). METHODS: The axial lumbosacral CTs taken between in 208 consecutive patients and the following measurements were obtained on both sides: (1) the α-angle was defined as an angle between a sagittal line passing through the center of the sacrum and an imaginary line passing through the center of DS1F, (2) the largest diameter of DS1F and VS1F. The fluoroscopy was adjusted to show the largest L5/S1 intervertebral disc space, which was defined as the cephalad angle, and tilted to the ipsilateral oblique side until the entrance of DS1F had a well-defined, round shape, which defined as the ß-angle in 40 humans. RESULTS: CT measurements showed that the α-angle was 26.3 ± 3.3 degrees (15-38 degrees) and the diameter of DS1F was 7.1 ± 0.7 mm (4-10.9 mm), which was significantly smaller than the diameter of VS1F, 10.1 ± 1.0 mm (7.2-13.8 mm). The ß-angle was 24 ± 4.6 degrees, which was not much different from the α-angle and the cephalad angle was 23 ± 4.6 degrees. The success rate of S1-TFESI was 100% and there were no procedure-related complications. CONCLUSIONS: The entrance of DS1F is easily identified with an ipsilateral 25 degrees-tunnel view technique while performing S1-TFESI, and it is a clinically applicable approach.

Biomonitoring the effects of urban-stream waters on the health status of pale chub (Zacco platypus): A comparative analysis of biological indexes and biomarker levels.

The objective of this study was to biomonitor the effects of potential environmental pollutants in urban-stream waters, on fish health. Pale chub (Zacco platypus), a dominant species in the Korea urban stream waters, was chosen and biomonitoring indicators for the different spatial characteristics were tailored in an urban watershed. Biological responses including biotic-somatic index as well as gonadal development phase and plasma steroids levels, and the biochemical responses, ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase (EROD) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities, were measured. No significant difference was observed in the length-weight relationship between the up-stream waters and the down-stream waters. However, changes in the gonad-somatic index (GSI) levels, plasma 17ß-estradiol (E2) levels, and mature oocyte frequencies in the female fish collected during the spawning season were observed in the down-stream waters at each monitoring site. Moreover, intersex condition (testis-ova) in the male fish in down-stream waters was recorded, even if it was just one fish. Although no significant difference was observed in the EROD and AChE activities between the up-stream waters and the down-stream waters, changes in the reproductive biomarker levels, including the GSI levels, plasma E2 levels, and gonadal maturation, lead to variable biomonitoring endpoints between the spatial different sites. These results imply that exposure to the down-stream waters can cause reproductive impairment in wild Z. platypus, individual variability in the biological responses further indicate the reproductive health was affected more by the down-stream waters than the up-stream waters. The finding from this study can provide the biomonitoring endpoint on the wild fish health in urban watershed that is crucial to the early risk assessment of its biological impacts. More multi-biomarkers studies reflecting the variation in the biological organization of wild fish and, therefore, the effects of urban-stream waters in the fish health are warranted.

Dual subaperture stitching for large flat mirror testing.

The Ritchey-Common test is a widely used method for testing flat mirrors with a larger reference spherical mirror. However, with the increase in the size of the flat mirror, the fabrication of the spherical mirror becomes more time consuming and expensive. In this study, we developed a novel technique to test a large flat mirror with a smaller reference sphere using a dual subaperture stitching (DSS) method. One part of the DSS technique is a modified Ritchey-Common test, which uses a reference sphere smaller than the flat mirror. The other part involves scanning along the centerline of the flat mirror. The former can be used to determine the surface form error (SFE), except for rotationally symmetric components, such as power and spherical aberrations, which can be measured by the latter. To perform the stitching process using a smaller reference sphere, the flat mirror was repeatedly rotated by a fixed angular step. One of the advantages of the rotation of the flat mirror is that it can be used to identify the errors resulting from the reference sphere, which do not vary during the rotation of the flat mirror. We verified the DSS method using a 152 mm diameter optical flat mirror and determined the root-mean-square (rms) measurement error to be only 0.2 nm, which was comparable to the error of the full-aperture interferometric measurement. In addition, we tested a 1.2 m diameter flat mirror with a reference sphere with an aperture of 0.8 m and measured its SFE to be 11.9±0.5nm rms.

miR-218 and miR-129 regulate breast cancer progression by targeting Lamins.

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed life-threatening cancer in women. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) has an aggressive clinical behavior, but the treatment of TNBC remains challenging. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as a potential target for the diagnosis, therapy and prognosis of breast cancer. However, the precise role of miRNAs and their targets in breast cancer remain to be elucidated. Here we show that miR-218 is downregulated and miR-129 is upregulated in TNBC samples and their expressions confer prognosis to patients. Gain-of-function and loss-of-function analysis reveals that miR-218 has a tumor suppressive activity, while miR-129 acts as an oncomir in breast cancer. Notably, miR-218 and miR-129 directly target Lamin B1 and Lamin A, respectively, which are also found to be deregulated in human breast tumors. Finally, we demonstrate Lamins as the major factors in reliable miR-218 and miR-129 functions for breast cancer progression. Our findings uncover a new miRNA-mediated regulatory network for different Lamins and provide a potential therapeutic target for breast cancer.

Effective experimental validation of miRNA targets using an improved linker reporter assay.

miRNAs are small, non-coding RNAs that play critical roles in various cellular processes. Although there are several algorithms that can predict the potential candidate genes that are regulated by a miRNA, these algorithms require further experimental validation in order to demonstrate genuine targets of miRNAs. Moreover, most algorithms predict hundreds to thousands of putative target genes for each miRNA, and it is difficult to validate all candidates using the whole 3'-untranslated region (UTR) reporter assay. We report a fast, simple and efficient experimental approach to screening miRNA candidate targets using a 3'-UTR linker assay. Critically, the linker has only a short miRNA regulatory element sequence of approximately 22 base pairs in length and can provide a benefit for screening strong miRNA candidates for further validation using the whole 3'-UTR sequence. Our technique will provide a simplified platform for the high-throughput screening of miRNA target gene validation.

Co-exposure to microplastic and plastic additives causes development impairment in zebrafish embryos.

Since the run off of microplastic and plastic additives into the aquatic environment through the disposal of plastic products, we investigated the adverse effects of co-exposure to microplastics and plastic additives on zebrafish embryonic development. To elucidate the combined effects between microplastic mixtures composed of microplastics and plastic additives in zebrafish embryonic development, polystyrene (PS), bisphenol S (BPS), and mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) were chosen as a target contaminant. Based on non-toxic concentration of each contaminant in zebrafish embryos, microplastic mixtures which is consisted of binary and ternary mixed forms were prepared. A strong phenotypic toxicity to zebrafish embryos was observed in the mixtures composed with non-toxic concentration of each contaminant. In particular, the mixture combination with ≤ EC10 values for BPS and MEHP showed a with a strong synergistic effect. Based on phenotypic toxicity to zebrafish embryos, change of transcription levels for target genes related to cell damage and thyroid hormone synthesis were analyzed in the ternary mixtures with low concentrations that were observed non-toxicity. Compared with the control group, cell damage genes linked to the oxidative stress response and thyroid hormone transcription factors were remarkably down-regulated in the ternary mixture-exposed groups, whereas the transcriptional levels of cyp1a1 and p53 were significantly up-regulated in the ternary mixture-exposed groups (P < 0.05). These results demonstrate that even at low concentrations, exposure to microplastic mixtures can cause embryonic damage and developmental malformations in zebrafish, depending on the mixed concentration-combination. Consequently, our findings will provide data to examine the action mode of zebrafish developmental toxicity caused by microplastic mixtures exposure composed with microplastics and plastic additives.

Proteomic analysis of zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos exposed to benzyl benzoate.

Benzyl benzoate (BB) is widely used in the food, cosmetics, agriculture, and pharmaceutical industries and is discharged into the aquatic environment via various water sources, including wastewater. Research on the bioaccumulation and possible toxicity of BB has been conducted, but the biochemical responses to BB toxicity are not fully understood, and the specific molecular pathways by which BB causes toxicity remain unknown. In this study, label-free quantitative proteomics based on mass spectrometry was applied to investigate protein profiles in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos exposed to BB (1 µg/mL) for 7 days. A total of 83 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified, including 49 up-regulated and 34 down-regulated proteins. The biological functions of proteins regulated by BB were grouped into functional categories and subcategories, including the biosynthesis of organonitrogen compound biosynthetic process, translation, amide biosynthetic process, lipid transport, stress response, and cytoskeletal activity. The results provide novel insight into the molecular basis of the ecotoxicity of BB in aquatic ecosystems.

Chemical and isotopic compositions of bottled waters sold in Korea: chemical enrichment and isotopic fractionation by desalination.

A total of 54 Korean bottled waters were investigated to characterize their origins and types using elemental and isotopic composition, as well as to identify elemental and isotopic changes in desalinated marine water that arise due to desalination. The different types of bottled water displayed a wide pH range (3.42 to 7.21). The elemental compositions of still and sparkling waters were quite similar, whereas desalinated marine water was clearly distinguished by its high concentrations of Ca, Mg, B, and Cl. In addition, desalinated marine water had much higher isotope ratios of oxygen and hydrogen (-0.5 and -2‰, respectively) than still and sparkling waters (-8.4 and -57‰). The elemental composition of desalinated marine water was adjusted through post-treatment procedures; in particular, boron was greatly enriched during desalination processes. The carbon isotope compositions of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ(13)C(DIC) values) varied widely according to the origins of the bottled waters (-25.6 to -13.6‰ for still water, -31.2 to -26.7‰ for sparkling water, and -24.1 to -6.3‰ for desalinated marine water). This indicates that carbon isotopes in dissolved inorganic carbon are significantly fractionated by desalination processes and re-modified through post-treatment procedures. The results suggest that combined elemental and stable isotopic tracers are useful for identifying the origin of bottled water, verifying elemental and isotopic modifications during desalination processes, and characterizing various water types of bottled waters.

Ammonia Emissions from NPK Fertilizer Production Plants: Emission Characteristics and Emission Factor Estimation.

Fertilizers are made from manure, but they are also produced through chemical processes. Fertilizer is an ammonia emission source; it releases ammonia when used. Ammonia is also emitted during the production process. Although many studies related to fertilizer application have been conducted, there are few research cases related to the production process and related emissions are not calculated. In this study, the ammonia emissions from NPK (nitrogen phosphorus Potassium oxide) fertilizer production facilities were checked through actual measurement and related characteristics were analyzed. In addition, emission factors were developed, and the necessity of developing emission factors was also confirmed. As a result of the development of the emission factor, it was found to be 0.001 kgNH3/ton, which is like the range of emission factors in related fields. The NPK ammonia emission factor of this study was found to be higher than the minimum emission factor currently applied in South Korea, and it was judged to be a level that can be used as an emission factor.

Multivalent electrostatic pi-cation interaction between synaptophysin and synapsin is responsible for the coacervation.

We recently showed that synaptophysin (Syph) and synapsin (Syn) can induce liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to cluster small synaptic-like microvesicles in living cells which are highly reminiscent of SV cluster. However, as there is no physical interaction between them, the underlying mechanism for their coacervation remains unknown. Here, we showed that the coacervation between Syph and Syn is primarily governed by multivalent pi-cation electrostatic interactions among tyrosine residues of Syph C-terminal (Ct) and positively charged Syn. We found that Syph Ct is intrinsically disordered and it alone can form liquid droplets by interactions among themselves at high concentration in a crowding environment in vitro or when assisted by additional interactions by tagging with light-sensitive CRY2PHR or subunits of a multimeric protein in living cells. Syph Ct contains 10 repeated sequences, 9 of them start with tyrosine, and mutating 9 tyrosine to serine (9YS) completely abolished the phase separating property of Syph Ct, indicating tyrosine-mediated pi-interactions are critical. We further found that 9YS mutation failed to coacervate with Syn, and since 9YS retains Syph's negative charge, the results indicate that pi-cation interactions rather than simple charge interactions are responsible for their coacervation. In addition to revealing the underlying mechanism of Syph and Syn coacervation, our results also raise the possibility that physiological regulation of pi-cation interactions between Syph and Syn during synaptic activity may contribute to the dynamics of synaptic vesicle clustering.

Treatment of phenol wastewater using nitrogen-doped magnetic mesoporous hollow carbon.

Nitrogen-doped magnetic mesoporous hollow carbon (NMMHC) was prepared to realize effective adsorption of phenol from wastewater. The chemical and physical properties of NMMHC were analyzed, and the effects of adsorption time, initial pH, and phenol concentration on the adsorption capacity of NMMHC were studied. Adsorption kinetics and isotherm models were used to explain the adsorption properties. The results showed that the specific surface area, type of nitrogen group, and nitrogen content of NMMHC are related to the carbonization temperature. Chemical interaction was demonstrated to be present in the process of adsorption, which was characterized as monolayer adsorption. In addition, the adsorption mechanism was studied by attenuated total internal reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and analysis of non-covalent interactions. This study found that non-covalent interactions between NMMHC and phenol molecules are van der Waals interactions, and nitrogen-containing groups increase the phenol adsorption capacity by enhancing such interactions. The π-π interactions between the nitrogen groups and phenol molecules also enhanced the adsorption energy.

Cooperative function of synaptophysin and synapsin in the generation of synaptic vesicle-like clusters in non-neuronal cells.

Clusters of tightly packed synaptic vesicles (SVs) are a defining feature of nerve terminals. While SVs are mobile within the clusters, the clusters have no boundaries consistent with a liquid phase. We previously found that purified synapsin, a peripheral SV protein, can assemble into liquid condensates and trap liposomes into them. How this finding relates to the physiological formation of SV clusters in living cells remains unclear. Here, we report that synapsin alone, when expressed in fibroblasts, has a diffuse cytosolic distribution. However, when expressed together with synaptophysin, an integral SV membrane protein previously shown to be localized on small synaptic-like microvesicles when expressed in non-neuronal cells, is sufficient to organize such vesicles in clusters highly reminiscent of SV clusters and with liquid-like properties. This minimal reconstitution system can be a powerful model to gain mechanistic insight into the assembly of structures which are of fundamental importance in synaptic transmission.

A natural compound harmine decreases melanin synthesis through regulation of the DYRK1A/NFATC3 pathway.

BACKGROUND: Melanin plays important roles in determining human skin color and protecting human skin cells against harmful ultraviolet light. However, abnormal hyperpigmentation in some areas of the skin may become aesthetically unpleasing, resulting in the need for effective agents or methods to regulate undesirable hyperpigmentation. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effect of harmine, a natural harmala alkaloid belonging to the beta-carboline family, on melanin synthesis and further explored the signaling pathways involved in its mechanism of action. METHODS: Human MNT-1 melanoma cells and human primary melanocytes were treated with harmine, chemical inhibitors, small interfering RNAs, or mammalian expression vectors. Cell viability, melanin content, and expression of various target molecules were assessed. RESULTS: Harmine decreased melanin synthesis and tyrosinase expression in human MNT-1 melanoma cells. Inhibition of DYRK1A, a harmine target, decreased melanin synthesis and tyrosinase expression. Further studies revealed that nuclear translocation of NFATC3, a potential DYRK1A substrate, was induced via the harmine/DYRK1A pathway and that NFATC3 knockdown increased melanin synthesis and tyrosinase expression. Suppression of melanin synthesis and tyrosinase expression via the harmine/DYRK1A pathway was significantly attenuated by NFATC3 knockdown. Furthermore, harmine also decreased melanin synthesis and tyrosinase expression through regulation of NFATC3 in human primary melanocytes. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that harmine decreases melanin synthesis through regulation of the DYRK1A/NFATC3 pathway and suggest that the DYRK1A/NFATC3 pathway may be a potential target for the development of depigmenting agents.

D-allulose ameliorates adiposity through the AMPK-SIRT1-PGC-1α pathway in HFD-induced SD rats.

BACKGROUND: Adiposity is a major health-risk factor, and D-allulose has beneficial effects on adiposity-related metabolic disturbances. However, the modes of action underlying anti-hyperglycemic and hypolipidemic activity are partly understood. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the in vivo and in vitro effects of D-allulose involved in adipogenesis and activation of the AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α pathway in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rats. DESIGN: In this study, 8-week-old male SD (Sprague Dawley) rats were divided into five groups (n = 8/group), (1) Control (chow diet, 3.5%); (2) 60% HFD; (3) 60% HFD supplemented with allulose powder (AP) at 0.4 g/kg; (4) 60% HFD supplemented with allulose liquid (AL) at 0.4 g/kg; (5) 60% HFD supplemented with glucose (AL) at 0.4 g/kg. All the group received the product through oral gavage for 6 weeks. Control and HFD groups were gavaged with double-distilled water. RESULTS: Rats receiving AP and AL showed reduced body weight gain and fat accumulation in HFD-fed rats. Also, supplementation of AL/AP regulated the cytokine secretion and recovered biochemical parameters to alleviate metabolic dysfunction and hepatic injury. Additionally, AL/AP administration improved adipocyte differentiation via regulation of the PPARγ and C/EBPα signaling pathway and adipogenesis-related genes owing to the combined effect of the AMPK/SIRT1 pathway. Furthermore, AL/AP treatment mediated PGC-1α expression triggering mitochondrial genesis via activating the AMPK phosphorylation and SIRT1 deacetylation activity in adipose tissue. CONCLUSION: The anti-adiposity activity of D-allulose is observed on a marked alleviation in adipogenesis and AMPK/SIRT1/PGC-1α deacetylation in the adipose tissue of HFD-fed rat.

Reproductive dysfunction linked to alteration of endocrine activities in zebrafish exposed to mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP).

This study aimed to investigate the effect of mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), one of the major phthalate metabolites that are widespread in aquatic environments, on reproductive dysfunction, particularly on endocrine activity in adult male and female zebrafish. For 21 days, the zebrafish were exposed to test concentrations of MEHP (0, 2, 10, and 50 µg/mL) that were determined based on the effective concentrations (ECx) for zebrafish embryos. Exposure to 50 µg/mL MEHP in female zebrafish significantly decreased the number of ovulated eggs as well as the hepatic VTG mRNA abundance when those of the control group. Meanwhile, in female zebrafish, the biosynthetic concentrations of 17ß-estradiol (E2) and the metabolic ratio of androgen to estrogen were remarkably increased in all MEHP exposed group compared with those in the control group, along with the elevated levels of cortisol. However, no significant difference was observed between these parameters in male zebrafishes. Therefore, exposure to MEHP causes reproductive dysfunction in female zebrafishes and this phenomenon can be attributed to the alteration in endocrine activities. Moreover, the reproductive dysfunction in MEHP-exposed female zebrafishes may be closely associated with stress responses, such as elevated cortisol levels. To further understand the effect of MEHP on the reproductive activities of fish, follow-up studies are required to determine the interactions between endocrine activities and stress responses. Overall, this study provides a response biomarker for assessing reproductive toxicity of endocrine disruptors that can serve as a methodological approach for an alternative to chronic toxicity testing.