The synaptic vesicle is a specialized structure in presynaptic terminals that stores various neurotransmitters. The actin filament has been proposed for playing an important role in mobilizing synaptic vesicles. To understand the role of actin filament on synaptic vesicle pooling, we characterized synaptic vesicles and actin filament after treatment of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) or Latrunculin A on primary cultured neuron from rat embryo hippocampus. Western blots revealed that BDNF treatment increased the expression of synapsin I protein, but Latrunculin A treatment decreased the synapsin I protein expression. The increased expression of synapsin I after BDNF disappeared by the treatment of Latrunculin A. Three-dimensional (3D) tomography of synapse showed that more synaptic vesicles localized near the active zone and total number of synaptic vesicles increased after treatment of BDNF. But the number of synaptic vesicle was 2.5-fold reduced in presynaptic terminals and the loss of filamentous network was observed after Latrunculin A application. The treatment of Latruculin A after preincubation of BDNF group showed that synaptic vesicle number was similar to that of control group, but filamentous structures were not restored. These data suggest that the actin filament plays a significant role in synaptic vesicles pooling in presynaptic terminals.

This study investigated the anti-obesity effect of a pear (Fructus Pyri Pyrifoliae) extract fermented by lactic-acid bacteria on obesity induced by a high-fat diet in rats. Body-weight measurement, blood analysis, and light microscope observation of adipose tissue in liver and epididymis were conducted after 8 weeks. Gene expression of leptin, adiponectin, and tumor necrosis $factor-{\alpha}$ ($TNF-{\alpha}$) in liver cells were also investigated. Compared to CON, PFA and PFB showed 8% weight reduction along with weight reduction of adipose tissue in liver and epididymis. Observing the microstructure of liver cells showed that lipid droplets were smaller in PFA and PFB than in CON. We confirmed that Fructus Pyri Pyrifoliae extract fermented by lactic-acid bacteria can affect gene expression of leptin, adiponectin, and $TNF-{\alpha}$ in liver cells, showing an obesity treatment effect. From the results above, it was observed that weight gain from increased gene expression in adipose cells as well as from the increased proportion of adipose cells caused by a high-fat diet can be statistically significantly reduced by taking Fructus Pyri Pyrifoliae extract fermented by lactic-acid bacteria. Therefore, Fructus Pyri Pyrifoliae extract fermented by lactic-acid bacteria can be effective for preventing and treating obesity by reducing weight and adipose cells.

Ductile cast iron is widely used for many automotive components due to its high wear resistance and fatigue resistance in addition to the low cost of fabrication. The improvement of wear resistance and fatigue properties is key to the life time extension and performance increase of the automobile parts. Surface nanocrystallization is a very efficient way of improving the performance of materials including the wear- and fatigue-resistance. Shot peening treatment, as one of the popular and economic surface modification methods, has been widely applied to various materials. In this study, ductile cast iron specimens were ultrasonic shot peening (USP) treated for 5 to 30 min using different ball size. The microstructures were then microscopically analyzed for determination of the microstructural evolution. After the USP treatment, the hardness of pearlite and ferrite increased, in which ball size is more effective than treatment time. With USP treatment, the graphite nodule count near the surface was decreased with grain refinement. The lager balls resulted in an increased deformation, whereas the smaller balls induced more homogenously refined grains in the deformation layer. In addition, formation of nanoparticles was formed in the surface layer upon USP.