Nutritional intervention for diabetes mellitus with Alzheimer's disease.

The combined disease burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasing, and the two diseases share some common pathological changes. However, the pharmacotherapeutic approach to this clinical complexity is limited to symptomatic rather than disease-arresting, with the possible exception of metformin. Whether nutritional intervention might extend or synergize with these effects of metformin is of interest. In particular, dietary patterns with an emphasis on dietary diversity shown to affect cognitive function are of growing interest in a range of food cultural settings. This paper presents the association between diabetes and AD. In addition, the cross-cultural nutritional intervention programs with the potential to mitigate both insulin resistance (IR) and hyperglycemia, together with cognitive impairment are also reviewed. Both dietary patterns and nutritional supplementation showed the effects of improving glycemic control and reducing cognitive decline in diabetes associated with AD, but the intervention specificity remained controversial. Multi-nutrient supplements combined with diverse diets may have preventive and therapeutic potential for DM combined with AD, at least as related to the B vitamin group and folate-dependent homocysteine (Hcy). The nutritional intervention has promise in the prevention and management of DM and AD comorbidities, and more clinical studies would be of nutritional scientific merit.

Resveratrol improves meat quality, muscular antioxidant capacity, lipid metabolism and fiber type composition of intrauterine growth retarded pigs.

This study investigated whether resveratrol could improve meat quality, muscular antioxidant capacity, lipid metabolism and fiber type composition of intrauterine growth retarded pigs. Thirty-six pairs of male normal birth weight and intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) piglets were orally fed with 80 mg resveratrol/kg body weight/d or vehicle during the sucking period (7-21 d). Then the offspring were fed with a basal diet containing 300 mg resveratrol/kg or a basal diet from weaning to slaughter (150 d). The IUGR-impaired meat quality (luminance and yellowness) was associated with muscular oxidative stress via increased Keap1 protein level, fat accumulation, and higher MyHC IIb gene expression. Expectedly, resveratrol increased glutathione peroxidase activity and MyHC I gene expression, reduced protein carbonyl and malondialdehyde contents, enhanced fatty acid oxidation via upregulated PPARα and targeted genes expression, and thereby improving drip loss and yellowness. Results indicate that resveratrol improved meat quality of IUGR pigs through enhancing antioxidant capacity, increasing oxidative fiber composition, and suppressing lipid accumulation.

Effects of Early Resveratrol Intervention on Skeletal Muscle Mitochondrial Function and Redox Status in Neonatal Piglets with or without Intrauterine Growth Retardation.

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial malfunction of offspring induced by intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) may be a contributor to growth restriction and metabolic disorder at various periods of life. This study explored the effects of IUGR and resveratrol (RSV) on mitochondrial function and redox status in the longissimus dorsi muscle (LM) of piglets during the sucking period. A total of 36 pairs of IUGR and normal birth weight male piglets were orally fed with either 80 mg RSV/kg body weight/d or 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose sodium during days 7-21 after birth. The results showed that RSV treatment improved anomalous mitochondrial morphology, increased adenosine triphosphate and glycogen contents, and enhanced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide/reduced form of nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide ratio in the LM of IUGR piglets. Moreover, the IUGR-induced increased malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl concentrations, abnormal mtDNA number, and suppressed genes expression of mitochondrial biogenesis such as nuclear respiratory factor 1, estrogen-related receptor alpha, and polymerase gamma in the LM were restored to some extent by RSV treatment. Additionally, RSV increased mitochondrial complex V activity in the LM of piglets. Collectively, RSV administration alleviated the LM mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative damage of IUGR piglets.

Effects of resveratrol on intestinal oxidative status and inflammation in heat-stressed rats.

Heat stress, experienced by humans and animals under high ambient temperatures, is known to induce oxidative stress and inflammation, which endangers human health as well as animal welfare and production. The gastrointestinal tract is predominantly responsive to heat stress and compromised intestinal functions can contribute to multi-organ injury under heat environment. Resveratrol (RSV) has significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential effects of RSV on intestinal function (digestion and barrier), oxidative stress and inflammation in heat-stressed rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally fed with 100 mg RSV/kg body weight/day prior to daily heat stress (40 °C per day for 1.5 h) exposure for 3 consecutive days. The results showed that RSV reversed the increased serum cortisol level and diamine oxidase activity, the altered jejunal morphology, the decreased jejunal disaccharidase activities, the elevated malondialdehyde and tumor necrosis factor alpha concentrations and antioxidant enzymes activities in the jejunum, as well as the increased jejunal mRNA expression of toll-like receptor 4, cytokines, antioxidant enzymes and tight junction proteins in heat-stressed rats, to various degrees. In conclusion, RSV could alleviate intestinal injury and dysfunctions by improving oxidative status and suppressing inflammation in heat-stressed rats.

Protective effect of resveratrol against hepatic damage induced by heat stress in a rat model is associated with the regulation of oxidative stress and inflammation.

Heat stress jeopardizes humans and animals health, and results in enormous economic loss in public health care and livestock production. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of resveratrol on hepatic oxidative stress and inflammation in heat-stressed rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were orally fed with 100 mg resveratrol/kg body weight/day prior to heat stress (40 ∘C per day for 1.5 h) exposure for 3 consecutive days. Serum and liver samples were collected for the analysis of hepatic injury, redox status and immune response. The results showed that the heat-stress-induced increased aspartate aminotransferase activities in the serum, aberrant hepatic histology, excessive hepatic malondialdehyde and tumor necrosis factor alpha concentrations, and up-regulation of heat shock protein 70, superoxide dismutase 1, glutathione peroxidase 1, toll-like receptor 4 and interleukin 10 mRNA expression in the liver were mitigated by oral resveratrol treatment. Collectively, the beneficial effects of resveratrol on hepatic damage induced by heat stress were associated with the regulation of oxidative stress and inflammation.

The therapeutic effects of resveratrol on hepatic steatosis in high-fat diet-induced obese mice by improving oxidative stress, inflammation and lipid-related gene transcriptional expression.

So far, the majority of the previous animal studies have focused on the preventive effects of resveratrol (RSV) on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) rather than the therapeutic effects. In this study, the therapeutic effects of RSV on hepatic oxidative stress (OS), inflammation, and lipid metabolism-related gene expression of obese mice induced by a high-fat diet (HFD) were investigated. Male C57BL/6 mice were fed a HFD for 8 weeks to induce obesity-related NAFLD model. And then, NAFLD mice were treated with daily RSV oral gavage at the dose of 100 mg/kg body weight for an additional 4 weeks. HFD-induced the elevation of serum total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, glucose, insulin, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase levels, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, hepatic histology changes, the increases in hepatic triglyceride, malondialdehyde and tumor necrosis factor alpha concentrations, as well as the higher mRNA expression of hepatic toll-like receptor 4 and cluster of differentiation 36 in mice, were restored by RSV. The therapeutic effects of RSV against hepatic steatosis of HFD obese mice were attributed to the reduction of OS, inflammation and free fatty acid uptake.

Resveratrol Protects Against Renal Damage via Attenuation of Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in High-Fat-Diet-Induced Obese Mice.

Oxidative stress and inflammation play an important role in the chronic kidney disease associated with obesity. Resveratrol (RSV) has been reported to exhibit a wide range of biological activities including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of RSV on renal inflammation and oxidative stress in obese mice induced by high-fat diet. Male C57BL/6 mice were induced to have nephropathy associated obesity by high-fat diet for 12 weeks. After 8 weeks of feeding, oral supplementation with 100 mg RSV/kg body weight/day was applied with the high-fat-diet feeding for another 4 weeks. The results showed that RSV treatment protected against renal damage induced by high-fat diet, as evidenced by the decreased serum creatinine and urea nitrogen levels, alleviation of glomerular damage, and tubular vacuolization. In addition, RSV enhanced the antioxidant enzyme activity; improved the expression of genes related to inflammation; and decreased the malondialdehyde, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interleukin-6 concentrations in the kidney of high-fat-diet mice. In conclusion, RSV could alleviate renal damage in obese mice induced by high-fat diet via suppressing inflammation and oxidative stress.

Study on the crystallization process of GaSb-Sb2Te3 pseudobinary films for phase-change random access memory.

Non-isothermal change in electrical resistance was used to investigate the crystallization process of GaSb-Sb2Te3 pseudobinary films prepared by co-sputtering using GaSb and Sb2Te3 targets. The crystallization parameters were determined directly by in-situ electrical resistance-temperature measurements. The activation energy of crystallization and rate factor were deduced from the Kissinger's plot. The kinetics exponent was calculated using the Ozawa's method. The crystallization temperature (185-228 degrees C) and activation energy (2.01-5.65 eV) increased monotonically with increasing Ga concentration from 5 to 34 mol%, while the average kinetics exponent decreased from 1.63 to 1.02. The crystallization mechanism of the compositions with Ga concentration more than 10 mol% was one-dimensional growth from the nuclei due to the average kinetics exponent smaller than 1.5. Crystallization time of the studied compositions was estimated theoretically by the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation and measured experimentally by the reflectivity change induced by the laser pulse. It is shown that Ga27Sb47Te26 film exhibited the shortest crystallization time, suggesting a potential candidate for phase-change random access memory application.

Femtosecond laser-irradiated crystallization of amorphous Si2Sb2Te3 films and its in-situ characterization by coherent phonon spectroscopy.

Femtosecond laser-irradiation-induced phase change of a new amorphous Si(2)Sb(2)Te(3) film with a good thermal stability and low reset current is studied by coherent phonon spectroscopy. New coherent optical phonons (COP) occur as laser irradiation fluence reaches some threshold, implying laser-induced phase change emerged. The compositions in phase-changed area revealed by COP modes agree well with ones in reported annealed crystallized film, implying laser-induced phase change as crystallization. Pump fluence dependence of COP dynamics reveals good crystallization quality of the phase-changed film, exhibiting promising application of Si(2)Sb(2)Te(3) films in optical phase change memory. Acoustic phonons are also found and identified.

Effect of periodic number of [Si/Sb80Te20]x multilayer film on its laser-induced crystallization studied by coherent phonon spectroscopy.

The periodic number dependence of the femtosecond laser-induced crystallization threshold of [Si(5nm)/Sb80Te20(5nm)]x nanocomposite multilayer films has been investigated by coherent phonon spectroscopy. Coherent optical phonon spectra show that femtosecond laser-irradiated crystallization threshold of the multilayer films relies obviously on the periodic number of the multilayer films and decreases with the increasing periodic number. The mechanism of the periodic number dependence is also studied. Possible mechanisms of reflectivity and thermal conductivity losses as well as the effect of the glass substrate are ruled out, while the remaining superlattice structure effect is ascribed to be responsible for the periodic number dependence. The sheet resistance of multilayer films versus a lattice temperature is measured and shows a similar periodic number dependence with one of the laser irradiation crystallization power threshold. In addition, the periodic number dependence of the crystallization temperature can be fitted well with an experiential formula obtained by considering coupling exchange interactions between adjacent layers in a superlattice. Those results provide us with the evidence to support our viewpoint. Our results show that the periodic number of multilayer films may become another controllable parameter in the design and parameter optimization of multilayer phase change films.

Femtosecond laser-induced crystallization of amorphous Ga-Sb-Se films and coherent phonon dynamics.

Femtosecond laser-irradiation-induced phase change of new environment friendly Te-free amorphous Ga-Sb-Se films is studied by coherent phonon spectroscopy. New coherent optical phonons (COP) occur when laser irradiation power reaches some threshold, implying laser-induced phase change taken place. Pump power dependence of COP dynamics reveals the phase change as crystallization and crystallization quality is comparable to one of annealing crystallization, showing application potential of Ga-Sb-Se films in optical phase change memory. The laser-irradiated crystallization of different component Ga-Sb-Se films is studied. It is found crystallization threshold power depends on Sb content, implying Sb-content control of the crystallization temperature of Ga-Sb-Se films.

Characterization of Femtosecond laser-irradiation crystallization and structure of multiple periodic Si/Sb80Te20 nanocomposite films by coherent phonon spectroscopy.

Multiple parameters of nanocomposite Si/Sb80Te20 multilayer films are possibly optimized simultaneously to satisfy the development of ideal phase-change memory devices by adjusting chemical composition and physical structure of multilayer films. The crystallization and structure of the films are studied by coherent phonon spectroscopy. Laser irradiation power dependence of coherent optical phonon spectroscopy reveals laser-induced crystallization of the amorphous multilayer film, while coherent acoustic phonon spectroscopy reveals the presence of folded acoustic phonons which suggests a good periodic structure of the multilayer films. Laser irradiation-induced crystallization shows applicable potentials of the multilayer films in optical phase change storage.