Alzheimer's disease (AD), a form of neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ), hyperphosphorylated Tau, and neuroinflammation. The increasing population affected by AD urges for the development of effective treatments. The correlation between AD and gut microbiome remains underexplored, potentially providing a better understanding of the disease. Salvianolic acid A (Sal A) and salvianolic acid B (Sal B) are the active components extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen), and their antioxidant, anti-inflammation and Aβ inhibition activities were shown previously. In this study, these compounds were used to investigate their effects on Aβ toxicity, using Drosophila melanogaster expressing human Aβ42 as the model organism, by examining their lifespan and changes in gut bacterial communities. The study used two batches of flies, reared on food with or without methylparaben (MP) supplementation to evaluate the influence of MP on this animal model during pharmacological studies. MP is a common antimicrobial agent used in flies' food. The treatment of Sal A prolonged the lifespan of Aβ-expressing flies reared on MP-supplemented food significantly (P
The peeling of small-diameter rubberwood logs from the current short-rotation practices undoubtedly will produce lower grade veneers compared to the veneers from conventional planting rotation. Hence, this raises the question of the properties of the produced laminated veneer lumber (LVL) from veneers peeled from small-diameter rubberwood logs using the spindleless lathe technology. Different thicknesses of rubberwood veneers was peeled from rubberwood logs with diameter less than 20 cm using a spindleless lathe. Three-layer LVLs were prepared using phenol formaldehyde (PF) adhesive and hot pressed at different temperatures. During the peeling of veneer, lathe checks as deep as 30-60% of the veneer thickness are formed. Owing to deeper lathe check on 3 mm rubberwood veneer, higher pressing temperature significantly increased the gluebond shear strength of the PF-bonded LVL. In addition, lathe check frequency was also shown to influence the bond strength. The presence of higher lathe check frequency on 2 mm veneer increased the wettability, thus facilitating optimum penetration of adhesive for stronger bonding. These findings stress the importance of measuring and considering the lathe check depth and frequency during the lamination process to get a better understanding of bonding quality in veneer-based products.
The lower termite, Coptotermes curvignathus, is one of the most prominent plantation pests that feed upon, digest, and receive nourishment from exclusive lignocellulose diets. The objective of this study was to examine the utilization of sole carbon sources by isolated culturable aerobic bacteria among communities from the gut and foraging pathway of C. curvignathus. We study the bacteria occurrence from the gut of C. curvignathus and its surrounding feeding area by comparing the obtained phenotypic fingerprint with Biolog's extensive species library. A total of 24 bacteria have been identified mainly from the family Enterobacteriaceae from the identification of Biolog Gen III. Overall, the bacteria species in the termite gut differ from those of foraging pathway within a location, except Acintobacter baumannii, which was the only bacteria species found in both habitats. Although termites from a different study area do not have the same species of bacteria in the gut, they do have a bacterial community with similar role in degrading certain carbon sources. Sugars were preferential in termite gut isolates, while nitrogen carbon sources were preferential in foraging pathway isolates. The preferential use of specific carbon sources by these two bacterial communities reflects the role of bacteria for regulation of carbon metabolism in the termite gut and foraging pathway.