Hybrid Vibration and UV Fluorescence Technology for Rapid Imaging and Guidance for Manual Removal of Fish Bones from Fish Floss.

The objective of the proposed human-machine cooperation (HMC) workstation is to both rapidly detect calcium-based fish bones in masses of minced fish floss and visually guide operators in approaching and removing the detected fish bones by hand based on the detection of fingernails or plastic-based gloves. Because vibration is a separation mechanism that can prevent absorption or scattering in thick fish floss for UV fluorescence detection, the design of the HMC workstation included a vibration unit together with an optical box and display screens. The system was tested with commonly used fish (swordfish, salmon, tuna, and cod) representing various cooking conditions (raw meat, steam-cooked meat, and fish floss), their bones, and contaminating materials such as derived from gloves made of various types of plastic (polyvinylchloride, emulsion, and rubber) commonly used in the removal of fish bones. These aspects were each investigated using the spectrum analyzer and the optical box to obtain and analyze the fluorescence spectra and images. The filter was mounted on a charge-coupled device, and its transmission-wavelength window was based on the characteristic band for fish bones observed in the spectra. Gray-level AI algorithm was utilized to generate white marker rectangles. The vibration unit supports two mechanisms of air and downstream separation to improve the imaging screening of fish bones inside the considerable flow of fish floss. Notably, under 310 nm ultraviolet B (UVB) excitation, the fluorescence peaks of the raw fillets, steam-cooked meat, and fish floss were observed at for bands at longer wavelengths (500-600 nm), whereas those of the calcium and plastic materials occurred in shorter wavelength bands (400-500 nm). Perfect accuracy of 100% was achieved with the detection of 20 fish bones in 2 kg of fish floss, and the long test time of around 10-12 min results from the manual removal of these fish bones.

Design and semisynthesis of oleanolic acid derivatives as VEGF inhibitors: Inhibition of VEGF-induced proliferation, angiogenesis, and VEGFR2 activation in HUVECs.

Angiogenesis inhibitors targeting the VEGF signaling pathway are developed into drugs for the treatment of vaious diseases, such as cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and age-related macular degeneration. Recent studies have revealed that oleanolic acid (OA), a natural pentacyclic triterpenoid, inhibited the VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling pathway and angiogenesis in HUVECs, which may represent an attractive VEGF inhibitor. In this paper, rational structural modification towards OA was performed in order to improve its inhibitory effects aganist VEGF and anti-angiogenesis potential. As a result, a series of novel OA derivatives, possessing α,ß-unsaturated ketone system in ring A and amide functional group at C-28, were prepared and evaluated for cytotoxicity and their ability to inhibit VEGF-induced abnormal proliferation of HUVECs. The results showed that two promising derivatives, OA-1 and OA-16, exhibited no in vitro cytotoxicity against HUVECs but showed more potent inhibitory activity against VEGF-induced proliferation and angiogenesis in HUVECs, compared with OA. The results of Western blot indicated that OA-1 and OA-16 inhibited VEGF-induced VEGFR2 activation. Furthermore, small interfering RNA experiments were performed to confirm that both compounds inhibited VEGF-induced angiogenesis via VEGFR2. Thus, the present study resulted in the discovery of new promising OA-inspired VEGF inhibitors, which can serve as potential lead compounds for the treatment of angiogenesis-related diseases.

Protective Effect of Flavonoids from a Deep-Sea-Derived Arthrinium sp. against ox-LDL-Induced Oxidative Injury through Activating the AKT/Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway in Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced oxidative injury in vascular endothelial cells is crucial for the progression of cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerosis. Several flavonoids have been shown cardiovascular protective effects. Recently, our research group confirmed that the novel flavonoids isolated from the deep-sea-derived fungus Arthrinium sp., 2,3,4,6,8-pentahydroxy-1-methylxanthone (compound 1) and arthone C (compound 2) effectively scavenged ROS in vitro. In this study, we further investigated whether these compounds could protect against ox-LDL-induced oxidative injury in endothelial cells and the underlying mechanisms. Our results showed that compounds 1 and 2 inhibited ox-LDL-induced apoptosis and adhesion factors expression in human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells (HUVECs). Mechanistic studies showed that these compounds significantly inhibited the ROS level increase and the NF-κB nuclear translocation induced by ox-LDL. Moreover, compounds 1 and 2 activated the Nrf2 to transfer into nuclei and increased the expression of its downstream antioxidant gene HO-1 by inducing the phosphorylation of AKT in HUVECs. Importantly, the AKT inhibitor MK-2206 2HCl or knockdown of Nrf2 by RNA interference attenuated the inhibition effects of these compounds on ox-LDL-induced apoptosis in HUVECs. Meanwhile, knockdown of Nrf2 abolished the effects of the compounds on ox-LDL-induced ROS level increase and the translocation of NF-κB to nuclei. Collectively, the data showed that compounds 1 and 2 protected endothelial cells against ox-LDL-induced oxidative stress through activating the AKT/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway. Our study provides new strategies for the design of lead compounds for related cardiovascular diseases treatment.