Fructooligosaccharides Intake during Pregnancy Improves Metabolic Phenotype of Offspring in High Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice

SCOPE

Obesity and metabolic diseases are closely associated, and individuals who become obese are also prone to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. Gut microbiota is mediated by diet and can influence host metabolism and the incidence of metabolic disorders. Recent studies have suggested that improving gut microbiota through a fructooligosaccharide (FOS)-supplemented diet may ameliorate obesity and other metabolic disorders. Although accumulating evidence supports the notion of the developmental origins of health and disease, the underlying mechanisms remain obscure.

METHODS AND RESULTS

ICR mice are fed AIN-93G formula-based cellulose -, FOS-, acetate-, or propionate-supplemented diets during pregnancy. Offspring are reared by conventional ICR foster mothers for 4 weeks; weaned mice are fed high fat diet for 12 weeks and housed individually. The FOS and propionate offspring contribute to suppressing obesity and improving glucose intolerance. Gut microbial compositions in FOS-fed mothers and their offspring are markedly changed. However, the beneficial effect of FOS diet on the offspring is abolished when antibiotics are administered to pregnant mice.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the link between the maternal gut environment and the developmental origin of metabolic syndrome in offspring. These results open novel research avenues into preemptive therapies for metabolic disorders by targeting the maternal gut microbiota.

Stochastic power processing through logic operation of power packets

This article presents an application of the recently proposed logic operation of power based on power packetization. In a power packet despatching system, the power supply can be considered as a sequence of power pulses, where the occurrence of pulses follows a probability that corresponds to the capacity of the power sources or power lines. In this study, we propose a processing scheme to reshape a stream of power packets from such stochastic sequences to satisfy the load demand. The proposed scheme is realized by extending the concept of stochastic computing to the power domain. We demonstrate the operation of the proposed scheme through experiments and numerical simulations by implementing it as a function of a power packet router, which forms a power packet despatching network. The stochastic framework proposed in this study provides a new design foundation for low-power distribution networks as an embodiment of the close connection between the cyber and physical components.

General Design Concepts for CAPodes as Ionologic Devices

Capacitive analogues of semiconductor diodes (CAPodes) present a new avenue for energy-efficient and nature-inspired next-generation computing devices. Here, we disclose the generalized concept for bias-direction-adjustable n- and p-CAPodes based on selective ion sieving. Controllable-unidirectional ion flux is realized by blocking electrolyte ions from entering sub-nanometer pores. The resulting CAPodes exhibit charge-storage characteristics with a high rectification ratio (96.29 %). The enhancement of capacitance is attributed to the high surface area and porosity of an omnisorbing carbon as counter electrode. Furthermore, we demonstrate the use of an integrated device in a logic gate circuit architecture to implement logic operations ('OR', 'AND'). This work demonstrates CAPodes as a generalized concept to achieve p-n and n-p analogue junctions based on selective ion electrosorption, provides a comprehensive understanding and highlights applications of ion-based diodes in ionologic architectures.