Unveiling the Potential of Natural Compounds: A Comprehensive Review on Adipose Thermogenesis Modulation.

The process of adipocyte browning has recently emerged as a novel therapeutic target for combating obesity and obesity-related diseases. Non-shivering thermogenesis is the process of biological heat production in mammals and is primarily mediated via brown adipose tissue (BAT). The recruitment and activation of BAT can be induced through chemical drugs and nutrients, with subsequent beneficial health effects through the utilization of carbohydrates and fats to generate heat to maintain body temperature. However, since potent drugs may show adverse side effects, nutritional or natural substances could be safe and effective as potential adipocyte browning agents. This review aims to provide an extensive overview of the natural food compounds that have been shown to activate brown adipocytes in humans, animals, and in cultured cells. In addition, some key genetic and molecular targets and the mechanisms of action of these natural compounds reported to have therapeutic potential to combat obesity are discussed.

Structural Characteristics of a Conical-Frustum-Patterned Stretchable Heater in an External-Force Environment.

Stretchable heaters are mechanically and biomedically advantageous because they are more flexible than the conventional microheaters. To determine the way that a heater can be used appropriately in a wide range of application fields, studies on the mechanical and thermal characteristics regarding various film configurations are underway. In this study, the mechanical characteristics of conical-frustum-patterned stretchable heaters with various configurations with upper-radius (R1), bottom-radius (R2), and height (h) aspect ratios were numerically investigated when tensile forces and bending moments were applied to the film of heater. The temperature and von Mises stress of the film were analyzed using the commercial software COMSOL ver. 5.2. The structural characteristics of a conical-frustum-patterned stretchable heater were evaluated under external load, and results are graphically depicted.

Wide-baseline stereo matching based on the line intersection context for real-time workspace modeling.

Line matching in widely separated views is challenging because of large perspective distortion and violation of the planarity assumption in local regions. We introduce a novel method of wide-baseline image matching based on the coplanar line intersections for poorly textured and/or nonplanar structured scenes. The local areas of the coplanar line pairs are normalized into canonical frames by rectifying the coplanar line pairs to be orthogonal. Then, the 3D interpretation of the intersection context of the coplanar line pairs helps to match the nonplanar local regions. Furthermore, for calibrated stereo cameras, we propose a matching criterion based on 3D planar homography to improve the matching accuracy while reconstructing most likely physically existing planar patches. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for real-world scenes.

Effects of CH4893237, a new orally active estrogen receptor downregulator, on breast cancer xenograft models with low serum estrogen levels.

We compared the antitumor efficacy and estrogen receptor (ER) degradation of CH4893237, a new orally active selective ER downregulator, with fulvestrant and tamoxifen in human breast cancer xenografts with low levels of serum estrogen (E2) (50.6, 22.9 and <16.7 pg/ml), equivalent to the ranges in postmenopausal or aromatase inhibitor-treated breast cancer patients. In addition, using proteolysis assays, we tested the conformational changes induced in ERalpha and ERbeta by CH4893237, fulvestrant, and 4-OH tamoxifen (4OHT). In ZR-75-1 xenografts with 50.6 pg/ml E2, CH4893237 (100 and 300 mg/kg/day p.o.) as well as fulvestrant (1 and 3 mg/body/week s.c.) showed complete growth inhibition (>90%) and tamoxifen (30 and 100 mg/kg/day p.o.) showed moderate tamoxifen resistance. The antitumor activity of CH4893237 (300 mg/kg) was the same as that of fulvestrant (3 mg/body) but the rate of ER degradation induced by CH4893237 (300 mg/kg) was significantly stronger than that of fulvestrant (3 mg/body) (94.3 vs. 85.5%, P<0.01). In Br-10 xenografts with 22.9 pg/ml E2, CH4893237 (30 mg/kg) and fulvestrant (1 mg/body) showed potent growth inhibition (>70%) whereas tamoxifen (1, 10 and 100 mg/kg) showed strong tamoxifen resistance. In Br-10 xenografts with ovariectomized-level E2 (<16.7 pg/ml), tamoxifen (30 mg/kg) increased the tumor volume but CH4893237 (30 mg/kg) showed no agonistic activity. In the ERalpha and ERbeta proteolysis assays, the band pattern for CH4893237 was different from fulvestrant. Thus, CH48793237 showed potent antitumor efficacies without agonistic activity and superior ER degradation in human breast cancer xenografts with low serum E2. Furthermore, the proteolysis studies suggest that CH4893237 induces conformational changes of ER different from those induced by fulvestrant. Therefore, CH4893237 alone or in combination with an aromatase inhibitor may be an efficient treatment for postmenopausal breast cancer patients.