No abstract

P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) is a crucial target for chronic inflammatory diseases. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, as well as neurodegeneration, and there is no known cure. Recent studies on the underlying biology of AD in cellular and animal models have indicated that p38 MAPK is capable of orchestrating diverse events related to AD, such as tau phosphorylation, neurotoxicity, neuroinflammation and synaptic dysfunction. Thus, the inhibition of p38 MAPK is considered a promising strategy for the treatment of AD. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the targeting of p38 MAPK as a potential strategy for the treatment of AD and envision possibilities of p38 MAPK inhibitors as a fundamental therapeutics for AD.

Nutrition value of mealworm, Tenebrio molitor was analyzed due to increasing demand of usage as a protein source for domestic animals and even further for human consumption. The purpose of the present work was to determine the chemical compostion of the Tenebrio molitor larvae, adult that were maintained under standard condition for further usage of mass-rearing system and its exuvium, and excreta. Tenebrio molitor, larvae, adult, exuvium and excreta contained 46.44, 63.34, 32.87, and 18.51% protein respectively, suggested that even excreta could be used as an additional supplement in food recycling process. This protein was also rich in amino acids such as Isoleucine, leucine and Lysine which all met the nutritional value recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Fatty acid composition was detected with high component of oleic acid (C18:1), along with linoleic acid (C18:2) and palmitic acid (C16) in all adult, larvae, exuvium and excreta. These oleic acid (C18:1), linoleic acid (C18:2) and palmitic acid (C16) components were the same or even highly contained in excreta of mealworm 22.29, 47.19 and 19.17% respectively. Longer chains of unsaturated fatty acids consisted of two to three double bonds are known as healthy product was recognized in large amount. These results show new ways to consume mealworms and its waste for animal and human consumption.

The safety of imported seafood products because of the contamination of prohibited substances, including crystal violet (CV) and malachite green (MG), raised a great deal of concern in the United States. In this study, a fractal-like gold nanostructure was developed through a self-assembly process and the feasibility of using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with this nanostructure for detection of CV, MG, and their mixture (1:1) was explored. SERS was capable of characterizing and differentiating CV, MG, and their mixture on fractal-like gold nanostructures quickly and accurately. The enhancement factor of the gold nanostructures could reach an impressive level of approximately 4 x 10(7), and the lowest detectable concentration for the dye molecules was at approximately 0.2 ppb level. These results indicate that SERS coupled with fractal-like gold nanostructures holds a great potential as a rapid and ultra-sensitive method for detecting trace amounts of prohibited substances in contaminated food samples.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) coupled with dendritic silver nanosubstrates was used in this study for rapid detection and characterization of restricted antibiotics. Dendritic silver nanosubstrates were prepared through a simple replacement reaction and stored in deionized water for months. SERS methods with near-IR excitation at 785 nm using silver nanosubstrates were evaluatedfor detection of three restrictedantibiotics (i.e. enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, andchloramphenicol) prepared in standard solutions. SERS was capable of identifying and characterizing three antibiotics quickly and accurately. Silver dendrites exhibit satisfactory and consistent performance with an analytical enhancement factor of ∼10 4 . The limit of detection and limit of quantification for antibiotics could reach the level of 20 ppb. Silver dendrites can be kept in deionized water for up to 6 months with no signs of degradation in SERS performance. These results demonstrate a great potential of using SERS coupled with silver dendrites for rapid detection, classification, and quantification of chemical contaminants. Copyright