Bakuchiol ameliorates glycolipid homeostasis by reducing inflammation

Inflammatory stimulation plays a significant role in the development and worsening of insulin-resistant diabetes.Therefore,it is crucial to identify therapeutic agents that can alleviate insulin resistance by targeting inflammation.Here,we present evidence that Bakuchiol(BL),a monoterpene phenolic compound first discovered from Psoralea corylifolia L.as traditional Chinese medicine,can effectively improve insulin resistance in diabetic mice through anti-inflammation.Our findings demonstrate that BL alleviates inflammation by inhibiting the toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factorκB/mitogen-activated protein kinase axis,consequently enhancing insulin receptor signaling through the c-Jun N-terminal kinase/suppressors of cytokine signaling 3/insulin receptor substrate1 pathway and improving glucolipid homeostasis.Furthermore,the insulin recovery achieved with BL(60 mg/kg)was comparable to that of metformin(200 mg/kg).These results provide further support for considering BL as a potential treatment option for insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus.

A literature review of MOF derivatives of electromagnetic wave absorbers mainly based on pyrolysis

Growing electromagnetic pollution has plagued researchers in the field of electromagnetic(EM)energy dissipation for many years;it is increasingly important to solve this problem efficiently.Metal-organic frameworks(MOFs),a shining star of functional materials,have attracted great attention for their advantages,which include highly tunable porosity,structure,and versatility.MOF-derived electromagnetic wave(EMW)absorbers,with advantages such as light weight,thin matching thickness,strong capacity,and wide effective bandwidth,are widely reported.However,current studies lack a systematic summary of the ternary synergistic effects of the precursor component-structure-EMW absorption behavior of MOF derivatives.Here we describe in detail the electromagnetic(EM)energy dissipation mechanism and strategy for preparing MOF-derived EMW absorbers.On the basis of this description,the following means are suggested for adjusting the EM parameters of MOF derivatives,achieving excellent EM energy dissipation:(1)changing the metal and ligands to regulate the chemical composition and morphology of the precursor,(2)controlling pyrolysis parameters(including temperature,heating rate,and gas atmosphere)to manipulate the structure and components of derivatives,and(3)compounding with enhancement phases,including carbon nanomaterials,metals,or other MOFs.

Lignans from Patrinia scabiosaefolia improve insulin resistance by activating PI-3K/AKT pathway and promoting GLUT4 expression

Patrinia scabiosaefolia,is used as wild vegetable in China for more than 2000 years,with a variety of pharmacological activities,including anti-inflammatory,anti-tumor and hypoglycemic.Based on our ongoing research on chemical constituents and hypoglycemic activity of P.scabiosaefolia,4 lignan compounds,(+)-isolariciresinol(1),7R,7’R,8S,8’S-(+)-neo-olivil-4-O-β-D-glucopyranoside(2),4-O-methylcedrusin(3)and patrinian A(4),were isolated and identifi ed.The hypoglycemic activity showed that compounds 2 and 3 could extremely signifi cantly improve insulin resistance at 100(P<0.001),50(P<0.001)and 25μmol/L(P<0.01)in IR 3T3-L1 cells.While compound 4 only promoted glucose uptake by IR 3T3-L1 cells at 100μmol/L(P<0.01).Western blotting experiments showed that compounds 2 and 4 up-regulated the protein expressions of p-IRS,PI-3K,p-AKT and glucose transporter 4(GLUT4),and promoted the transcription of GLUT4 mRNA.Therefore,the mechanisms of compounds 2 and 4 were presumed to improve IR by activating PI-3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Fabrication of Crack-Free Flattened Bamboo and Its Macro-/MicroMorphological and Mechanical Properties

This work aimed to help the bamboo industry develop methodology for producing imperfection-free bamboo boards that can serve either decorative or structural benefit to consumers seeking to engage with the bioeconomy.Specifically,softened and slotted bamboo tubes were handled by a roller device with nails to render crack-free flattened bamboo board.Softening temperature and time were optimized herein according to findings regarding chemical composition and board mechanical properties.The optimal softening parameters for saturated steam heat treatment is proved to be 160°C for 8 min.The flattened bamboo board possesses an increased bending strength of 101.5 MPa and a decreased bending modulus of 7.7 GPa,being compared with only-softened bamboo.The corresponding changing mechanism is determined in-depth by the micro-morphological and mechanical results based on in-situ SEM and AFM technologies.Under the action of nails and rolling processes,the bamboo texture becomes compact with crushed and fragmented conduit walls.The resulting cell cavity then becomes stretched and compressed,taking on a morphology which allows for the mechanical penalties associated with flattening to be avoided.According to the micro-mechanical results obtained by AFM,compared with unflatten bamboo,the Young’s modulus of the cell membrane in transverse direction(YT)decreases to 1.00 GPa while the corresponding Young’s modulus in radial direction(YR)increases to 7.29 GPa.

Biomass-Derived Carbon Heterostructures Enable Environmentally Adaptive Wideband Electromagnetic Wave Absorbers

Although advances in wireless technologies such as miniature and wearable electronics have improved the quality of our lives,the ubiquitous use of electronics comes at the expense of increased exposure to electromagnetic(EM)radiation.Up to date,extensive efforts have been made to develop high-performance EM absorbers based on synthetic materials.However,the design of an EM absorber with both exceptional EM dissipation ability and good environmental adaptability remains a substantial challenge.Here,we report the design of a class of carbon heterostructures via hierarchical assembly of graphitized lignocellulose derived from bamboo.Specifically,the assemblies of nanofibers and nanosheets behave as a nanometer-sized antenna,which results in an enhancement of the conductive loss.In addition,we show that the composition of cellulose and lignin in the precursor significantly influences the shape of the assembly and the formation of covalent bonds,which affect the dielectric response-ability and the surface hydrophobicity(the apparent contact angle of water can reach 135°).Finally,we demonstrate that the obtained carbon heterostructure maintains its wideband EM absorption with an effective absorption frequency ranging from 12.5 to 16.7 GHz under conditions that simulate the real-world environment,including exposure to rainwater with slightly acidic/alkaline pH values.Overall,the advances reported in this work provide new design principles for the synthesis of high-performance EM absorbers that can find practical applications in real-world environments.

Top-down strategy for bamboo lignocellulose-derived carbon heterostructure with enhanced electromagnetic wave dissipation

Biomass-derived residue carbonization has been an important issue for"carbon fixation"and"zero emission",and the carbonized products have multiple application potentials.However,there have been no specific research to study the differences in macro-and micro-morphology,electrical properties and many other aspects of the products obtained from carbonization of pure cellulose,pure lignin or their complex,lignocellulose.In this work,lignocellulose with cellulose to lignin mass ratio of 10:1 is obtained using p-toluenesulfonic acid hydrolysis followed by homogenization process at a controlled condition.Then,carbon heterostructure with fibers and sheets(CH-10)are obtained by pyrolysis at 1500℃.Detailed results imply that the fiber-like carbon structure possesses high crystallinity and low defect density,coming from carbonization of the cellulose content in lignocellulose(LC)nanofibers.Correspondingly,the graphite-like carbon sheet with high defect density and low crystallinity comes from carbonization of the lignin content in LCs.Further investigation indicates CH-10 possesses enhanced polarization and moderate impedance matching which makes it an ideal candidate for electromagnetic wave(EMW)absorption.CH-10 exhibits an excellent EMW absorption performance with a minimum RL value of-50.05 dB and a broadest absorption bandwidth of 4.16 GHz at a coating thickness as thin as 1.3 mm.

An angle-insensitive electromagnetic absorber enabling a wideband absorption

Electromagnetic(EM)wave absorbers with wideband absorption capability are proposed as a strategy to mitigate environmental pollution by EM waves.However,designing an EM absorber with its performance capacity independent of the EM wave incident angle remains elusive to date.Resolving this challenge requires development of EM absorbers whose EM absorption performance is insensitive to the EM wave incident angle.Herein,we synthesized EM absorbers with a variety of structures with different symme-tries(including micro-/nanospheres,nanoflakes and nanotubes)to study the effect of the EM absorbers’structure and the EM wave incident angle on the EM absorption performance.Our analysis reveals that non-magnetic EM absorbers with spatially symmetric nanostructures exhibit excellent EM wave incident angle-insensitivity.Finally,we demonstrate that a class of non-magnetic EM absorbers made from bam-boo derived-carbon nanospheres exhibit EM incident angle-insensitivity and wideband EM absorption performance with an effective absorption band up to 3.5 GHz when the thickness is 1.4 mm,a signif-icant improvement from prior studies which used thicknesses as high as 3-4 mm for comparable EM absorption performance.