the following mistakes were found:On page 2947, in Table 1, the units for Energy, Proximate composition, and Mineral were shown as being "kcal kg -1 dry weight", "g kg -1 dry weight" and "mg kg -1 dry weight", respectively.This should read "×10 2 kcal kg -1 dry weight", "×10 2 g kg -1 dry weight" and "×10 2 mg kg -1 dry weight".On page 2948, in Table 2, the units for Amino acid content was shown as being "g kg -1 dry weight".This should read "×10 2 g kg -1 dry weight".
This paper focuses on a simulation study of a newly developed high-pressure fuel pump system for small engine. When an engine is operated at high speed in a typical Gasoline Direct Injection (GDI) system, its pump will perform extra pumping requiring continuous engine work. Because it is driven by the engine’s camshaft, the extra pumping action is both unavoidable and parasitic. In this study, a new GDI pump has been designed and built to only operate at a constant speed, regardless of engine load and speed. The pump is driven by an electric motor via a camshaft and is intended for a four-stroke, 0.2 litre, single-cylinder, spark ignition engine. The electric motor is governed by a control unit called the Engine Control Unit (ECU). The GDI pump will supply fuel to a rail up to its maximum pressure capacity. The pump is developed in accordance with a physical model-based design approach and is simulated using Matlab- SimscapeTM. Based on the calculation and simulation performed, the designed pump pressure is capable of producing discharge exceeding 4.5 MPa. Theoretical calculation also shows that the pressure developed by the pump reaches 10.54 MPa when a two lobe cam is used. In addition, the pressure developed by the pump is recorded to be 11.15 MPa, with an error of 5.8 % when a similar condition is applied to the physical modelling.
The leaf extract of Tamarindus indica L. (T.indica) had been reported to possess high phenolic content and showed high antioxidant activities.In this study, the effects of the antioxidant-rich leaf extract of the T. indica on lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzyme activities, H 2 O 2 -induced ROS production and gene expression patterns were investigated in liver HepG2 cells.Lipid peroxidation and ROS production were inhibited and the activity of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase was enhanced when the cells were treated with the antioxidant-rich leaf extract.cDNA microarray analysis revealed that 207 genes were significantly regulated by at least 1.5fold (p<0.05) in cells treated with the antioxidant-rich leaf extract.The expression of KNG1, SERPINC1, SERPIND1, SERPINE1, FGG, FGA, MVK, DHCR24, CYP24A1, ALDH6A1, EPHX1 and LEAP2 were amongst the highly regulated.When the significantly regulated genes were analyzed using Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software, "Lipid Metabolism, Small Molecule Biochemistry, Hematological Disease' was the top biological network affected by the leaf extract, with a score of 36.The top predicted canonical pathway affected by the leaf extract was the coagulation system (P < 2.80 x 10 -6 ) followed by the superpathway of cholesterol biosynthesis (P < 2.17 x 10 -4 ), intrinsic prothrombin pathway (P < 2.92 x 10 -4 ), immune protection/antimicrobial response (P < 2.28 x 10 -3 ) and xenobiotic metabolism signaling (P < 2.41 x 10 -3 ).The antioxidant-rich leaf extract of T. indica also altered the expression of proteins that are involved in the Coagulation System and the Intrinsic Prothrombin Activation Pathway (KNG1, SERPINE1, FGG), Superpathway of Cholesterol Biosynthesis (MVK), Immune protection/antimicrobial response (IFNGR1, LEAP2, ANXA3 and MX1) and Xenobiotic Metabolism Signaling (ALDH6A1, ADH6).In conclusion, the antioxidant-rich leaf extract of T. indica inhibited lipid peroxidation and ROS production, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities and significantly regulated the expression of genes and proteins involved with consequential impact on the coagulation system, cholesterol biosynthesis, xenobiotic metabolism signaling and antimicrobial response.
In this study, the antioxidant capacities of extracts of Anacardium occidentale were compared with those of Piper betle. Antioxidant activities were evaluated based on their ability to reduce ferric ions and scavenge DPPH·, ABTS· + and nitric oxide radicals. Total phenolic content of these plants were measured by the Folin-Ciocalteau method. The plants were extracted with methanol, ethyl acetate and hexane. With the exception of the ethyl acetate and hexane extracts of A. occidentale, the other extracts showed significant radical scavenging and reducing properties. The ethyl acetate extract of P. betle contained the highest total phenolic content, showed the highest ferric reducing and DPPH· scavenging activities. However, the methanol extract of A. occidentale was potent at scavenging the ABTS· + and nitric oxide radicals. Total phenolic content of the plant extracts showed close correlation with the antioxidant activities, suggesting that phenolic compounds present in the plants may be a major contributor of the observed antioxidant activities. In conclusion, the methanol extract of A. occidentale can be an alternative source of polyphenolics with potent antioxidant activities.
Background: Synthesis of thyroid hormones and regulation of their metabolism involve free radicals that may affect redox balance in the body.Thyroid disorders causing variations in the levels of thyroid hormones may alter cellular oxidative stress.The aim of this study was to measure the antioxidant activities and biomarkers of oxidative stress in serum and red blood cells (RBC) of patients with benign and malignant thyroid disorders and to investigate if changes in the antioxidant activities in these patients were linked to alterations in genes encoding the antioxidant enzymes.Methods: Forty one patients with thyroid disorders from University of MalayaMedical Centre were recruited.Theywere categorised into four groups;multinodulargoitre, MNG (n=18), follicular thyroid adenoma, FTA (n=7), papillary thyroid cancer, PTC (n=10), and follicular thyroid cancer, FTC (n=6).Serum and RBC of patients were analysed for antioxidant activities, antioxidant enzymes and biomarkers of oxidative stress.Alterations in genes encoding the antioxidant enzymes were analysed using whole exome sequencing and PCR-DNA sequencing.Results: Patients with thyroid disorders had significantly higher serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities compared to control, but had lower activities in RBC.There were no significant changes in serum glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity.Meanwhile, GPx activity in RBC was reduced in PTC and FTC, compared to control and the respective benign groups.Antioxidant activities in serum were decreased in the thyroid disorder groups when compared to the control group.The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were elevated in the serum of FTA group when compared to controls, while in the RBC, only the MNG and PTC groups showed higher MDA equivalents than control.Serum reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels in PTC group of both serum and RBC were significantly higher than control group.Whole exome sequencing has resulted in identification of 49 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MNG and PTC patients and their genotypic and allelic frequencies were calculated.Analyses of the relationship between serum enzyme activities and the total SNPs identified in both groups revealed no correlation.Discussion: Different forms of thyroid disorders influence the levels of antioxidant status in the serum and RBC of these patients, implying varying capability of preventing oxidative stress.A more comprehensive study with a larger target population should be done in order to further evaluate the relationships between antioxidant enzymes gene polymorphisms and thyroid disorders, as well as strengthening the minor evidences provided in literatures.
Introduction: Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) accounts for approximately 80% of all thyroid cancer cases. The mechanism of PTC tumourigenesis is not fully understood, but oxidative imbalance is thought to play a role. To gain further insight, this study evaluated antioxidant status, DNA repair capacity and genetic alterations in individuals diagnosed with benign thyroid lesion in one lobe (BTG) and PTC lesion in another. Methods: Individuals with coexisting BTG and PTC lesions in their thyroid lobes were included in this study. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, ABTS radical scavenging activity, ferric reducing antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase activities were measured in the thyroid tissue lysate. The expression of selected genes and proteins associated with oxidative stress defence and DNA repair were analysed through quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Molecular alterations in genomic DNA were analysed through whole-exome sequencing and the potentially pathogenic driver genes filtered through Cancer-Related Analysis of Variants Toolkit (CRAVAT) analysis were subjected to pathway enrichment analysis using Metascape. Results: Significantly higher ROS level was detected in the PTC compared to the BTG lesions. The PTC lesions had significantly higher expression of GPX1, SOD2 and OGG1 but significantly lower expression of CAT and PRDX1 genes than the BTG lesions. Pathway enrichment analysis identified "regulation of MAPK cascade," "positive regulation of ERK1 and ERK2 cascade" and "negative regulation of reactive oxygen species metabolic process" to be significantly enriched in the PTC lesions only. Four pathogenic genetic variants were identified in the PTC lesions; BRAFV600E, MAP2K7-rs2145142862, BCR-rs372013175 and CD24 NM_001291737.1:p.Gln23fs while MAP3K9 and G6PD were among 11 genes that were mutated in both BTG and PTC lesions. Conclusion: Our findings provided further insight into the connection between oxidative stress, DNA damage, and genetic changes associated with BTG-to-PTC transformation. The increased oxidative DNA damage due to the heightened ROS levels could have heralded the BTG-to-PTC transformation, potentially through mutations in the genes involved in the MAPK signalling pathway and stress-activated MAPK/JNK cascade. Further in-vitro functional analyses and studies involving a larger sample size would need to be carried out to validate the findings from this pilot study.
Postprandial hyperglycemia induced by excessive intake of high carbohydrate (CHO) foods and beverages promotes oxidative stress which can cause many health risks such as cardio-metabolic diseases and diabetes. Protein when co-ingested with CHO beverages, has been shown to lower the postprandial glycaemic and insulinemic, which may help to attenuate postprandial reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress. Soybean contains isoflavone which may provide potential benefits in regulating postprandial glucose and insulin levels as well as providing protection against ROS production. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of soybean added CHO beverage on postprandial glycemic, insulinemic and reactive oxygen species responses in healthy men. Eight male [age 20.0 (1.2) years, body weight 59.2 (6.2) kg] consumed 500 ml of CHO added with soybean (SOY + CHO), CHO added with whey protein (WHEY + CHO) and CHO alone (Control) after an overnight fast, in a randomized counterbalanced order crossover design, separated by a one week period. Venous blood samples were collected after overnight fast (baseline) and at 30, 60, 90 and 120 min after consumption of the beverage. The mean area under the insulin curve was lower in SOY + CHO trial compared to CHO + WHEY trial. Similarly, SOY + CHO tended to have a lower postprandial ROS response than CHO + WHEY. However, no significant difference was observed between all beverages in all parameters. Soybean-based beverage may yield lower effect on postprandial ROS suggesting lower oxidative stress due to lower insulinemic responses, compared to whey protein when co-ingested with CHO
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