Fucoidan alleviated autoimmune diabetes in NOD mice by regulating pancreatic autophagy through the AMPK/mTOR1/TFEB pathway.

Objectives: The present study investigated the effect and its underlying mechanisms of fucoidan on Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. Materials and Methods: Twenty 7-week-old NOD mice were used in this study, and randomly divided into two groups (10 mice in each group): the control group and the fucoidan treatment group (600 mg/kg. body weight). The weight gain, glucose tolerance, and fasting blood glucose level in NOD mice were detected to assess the development of diabetes. The intervention lasted for 5 weeks. The proportions of Th1/Th2 cells from spleen tissues were tested to determine the anti-inflammatory effect of fucoidan. Western blot was performed to investigate the expression levels of apoptotic markers and autophagic markers. Apoptotic cell staining was visualized through TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL). Results: The results suggested that fucoidan ameliorated T1DM, as evidenced by increased body weight and improved glycemic control of NOD mice. Fucoidan down-regulated the Th1/Th2 cells ratio and decreased Th1 type pro-inflammatory cytokines' level. Fucoidan enhanced the mitochondrial autophagy level of pancreatic cells and increased the expressions of Beclin-1 and LC3B II/LC3B I. The expression of p-AMPK was up-regulated and p-mTOR1 was inhibited, which promoted the nucleation of transcription factor EB (TFEB), leading to autophagy. Moreover, fucoidan induced apoptosis of pancreatic tissue cells. The levels of cleaved caspase-9, cleaved caspase-3, and Bax were up-regulated after fucoidan treatment. Conclusion: Fucoidan could maintain pancreatic homeostasis and restore immune disorder through enhancing autophagy via the AMPK/mTOR1/TFEB pathway in pancreatic cells.

Adhesion and friction behaviors of a γ-Fe/diamond heterogeneous contact interface: a density functional theory study.

Diamond tools play a vital role in precision machining. However, the adhesive wear restricts their application when Fe-based workpieces are cut by diamond tools. Thus, it is significant to theoretically explain the interface binding mechanism between the diamond and Fe alloy matrix. In this study, the adhesion and friction behaviors of a γ-Fe/diamond (denoted as Fe/C) heterogeneous contact interface were investigated employing density functional theory (DFT). The results show that the transfer of the Fe atom to C atom occurs when the interaction energy for a given configuration is larger than the separation energy of the corresponding Fe surface layers. The energy barriers of the Fe/C(100), (110) and (111) sliding interfaces along the minimum energy path are 1.45, 0.48 and 0.42 J m-2, respectively, indicating that the Fe/C(111) interface is the easiest to slide. Furthermore, the friction potential barrier increases with an increase in the load (1-5 nN) according to the potential energy curves. Moreover, the friction coefficient of the Fe/C interface is larger than 0.2 and provides a theoretical minimum friction coefficient for the Fe/C sliding interface.

Microbiome - based agents can optimize composting of agricultural wastes by modifying microbial communities.

Microorganisms that facilitate the decomposition of agricultural wastes are of importance during composting processes. Here, we assessed if microbial agents, comprising Clonostachys rosea, Bacillus amylolyticus and Rhodospirillum photometricum can facilitate the decomposition of a compost mix of vegetable waste, chicken manure, sawdust, and biochar. The results showed that inoculating the compost mix with the microbial agents elevated the compost temperature, increased the thermophilic period, and enhanced cellulose degradation. Microbial agent inoculation also changed the diversity and richness of decomposing microbial communities. Among the microbial agents, the mixture of C. rosea and B. amylolyticus performed better than other mixtures. Taken together, the results confirmed that the microbial agents comprising C. rosea can enhance the composting process by ameliorating the physiochemical conditions of agricultural wastes and promoting the diversity and proliferation of beneficial bacteria involved in the decomposition of cellulose.