Morphological and biochemical characteristics associated with autophagy in gastrointestinal diseases

Autophagy is a cellular catabolic process characterized by the formation of double-membrane autophagosomes.Transmission electron microscopy is the most rigorous method to clearly visualize autophagic engulfment and degradation.A large number of studies have shown that autophagy is closely related to the digestion,secretion,and regeneration of gastrointestinal(GI)cells.However,the role of autophagy in GI diseases remains controversial.This article focuses on the morphological and biochemical characteristics of autophagy in GI diseases,in order to provide new ideas for their diagnosis and treatment.

Cellulose Fibre from Schinus molle and Its Characterization

The exploitation of biomass represents a major environmental challenge related to the protection of the environment and the progressive exhaust of fossil resources.In this perspective,the main objective of this work is the extraction and the characterization of natural lignocellulosic fibers from the Schinus molle.The cellulose fibre extraction was investigated employing conditions of alkali treatment.After the alkaline steps,a bleaching treatment was done and let to a yield about 45%pure cellulose.The identification of the chemical composition of Schinus molle reveals that this raw material contains a high level of biopolymers with a cellulose rate of 53.2%.Extracted cellulose fibers have been characterized by several techniques such as scanning electron microscopy,Fourier transform infrared,X-ray diffraction,Morfi,and by the determination of their degree of polymerization.FT-IR results confirm the purity of the cellulosic fibers,and XRD analysis reveals that the crystallinity increases after the delignification and bleaching treatments.

MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF FETAL NEOCORTICAL TRANSPLANT GRAFTED TO THE CEREBRAL CORRESPONDING AREA IN YOUNG RATS DIFFERENTIATION OF IMMATURE NEURONS AND RECIPROCAL CONNECTIONS OF FIBERS BETWEEN GRAFT-HOST BRAIN

The fetal neocortical transplant (E15-17 days gestation) of Wistar rat was grafted to the corresponding neocortical region (frontal-parietal lobe) of the same strain in young rats (4-5 weeks old). On the 7th, 15th, 30th, 60th, 150th day after transplantation, the sections cut through the middle area of graft-ost brain were examined by HE, Nissl, Glees stain, immunohistochemical technique for GFAP and NF, Nissl, Glees stain, immunohistochemical technique for GFAP and NF, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry as well as horseradish peroxidase (HRP) retrograde tracing with light microscope. Some of the sections were also examined with TEM. The result showed that most immature neurons within the graft can survive, grow, differentiate and mature, and are similar to the structure of the neocortical neurons of host brain. This study also provides patterns of integration of the interface between graft-host brain varying with the proliferation of reactive astrocyte as well as graft-host reciprocal connection of fibers.

DEGENERATIVE MECHANISM OF ARTICULAR CARTILAGE INDUCED BY LOW STRESS A MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY

Immobilization leads not only to diminished joint movement but also low stress of articular cartilage. The present investigation was undertaken to observe the morphological changes which arose in articular cartilage with low stress. The joint motion remained intact. Articular cartilage from the left knees of 66 rats whose left calcaneal tendons had been transected was examined under transmission electron microscope and light microscope. The degenerative changes were observed: decreased functional activity of chondrocytes progressively degenerated cartilage and lack of compensatory proliferation of chondrocytes at the early stage. We propose that the degeneration of articular cartilage induced by immobilization is the result of combination of low stress and lack of joint motion. The following degenerative mechanism begins with chondrocytes. Chondrocyte and matrix influence each other in a vicious cycle. Low stress may restrain the repair activities.

Mechanical and Physical Properties of Pineapple Leaf and Sun Hemp Fibre Reinforced Hybrid Natural Composite Fabricated by Compression Moulding Method

The implementation of natural fibres in polymer composites will result in biodegradable,low cost,recyclable materials for automobile and structural applications.In the process of making natural fibre composites viable in the global market,it is essential to understand its mechanical and physical properties.In the present investigation,mechanical and physical properties of pineapple Leaf(PALF)and Sun Hemp(SH)Fibre reinforced with epoxy matrix was studied in terms of weight(wt)%of fibre loading and chemical treatment.The composites were fabricated by compression moulding technique with PALF fibre content varying from 10,15 and 20%of weight fraction.The PALF and SHF were treated with NaOH solution for 1 h at room temperature.The various mechanical properties such as tensile,compression,flexural and impact strength were measured as per ASTM standard.The density and water absorption were also measured to study the physical properties of the fabricated composites.The treated composites exhibit a rough surface because of the removal of the cellulose layer which results in better adhesion between the matrix/fibre interface than untreated composites.The NaOH treated fibres composites outperformed untreated fibre composites in terms of mechanical and physical properties except for impact strength.The morphological studies of the worn surfaces are examined using Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM).