Abstract Background context The New York University (NYU) impactor and the Infinite Horizon (IH) impactor are used to create spinal cord injury (SCI) models. However, the parameters of these two ...devices that yield equivalent SCI severity remain unclear. Purpose To identify equivalent parameters, rats with SCIs induced by either device set at various parameters were subjected to behavioral and histological analyses. Study design Animal laboratory study. Methods Groups of eight rats acquired SCIs by dropping a 10 g rod from a height of 25 mm or 50 mm by using the NYU device or by delivering a force of 150 kdyn, 175 kdyn, 200 kdyn, or 250 kdyn by using the IH impactor. All injured rats were tested weekly for eight weeks by using the Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) test and the ladder rung test. On the tenth week, the lesion volume of each group was measured by using a 9.4 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the spinal cords were subjected to histological analysis using anterograde biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) tracing and immunofluorescence staining with an anti-protein kinase C-gamma (PKC-γ) antibody. Results BBB test scores between the 25mm and 200kdyn groups as well as the 50mm and 250kdyn groups were very similar. Although it was not statistically significant, the mean scores of the ladder rung test in the 200kdyn group were higher than the 25mm group at all assessment time points. There was a significantly different cavity volume only between the 50mm and 200kdyn groups. Midline sagittal images of the spinal cord on the MRI revealed that the 25mm group predominantly had dorsal injuries, whereas the 200kdyn group had deeper injuries. Anterograde tracing with BDA showed that in the 200kdyn group, the dorsal corticospinal tract of the caudal area of the lesion was labeled. Similar labeling was not observed in the 25mm group. Immunofluorescence staining of PKC-γ also revealed strong staining of the dorsal corticospinal tract in the 200kdyn group but not in the 25mm group. Conclusions The 25 mm injuries generated by the NYU impactor are generally equivalent to the 200 kdyn injuries generated by using the IH impactor. However, differences in the ladder rung test scores, MRI images, BDA traces, and PKC-γ staining demonstrate that the two devices exert qualitatively different impacts on the spinal cord.
Canopy-forming algae are important habitat providers in coastal ecosystems. Several canopy-forming species have spread outside their native geographic range. We investigated the role that these ...invasive non-native algae play in providing habitat for meiofaunal species. Sargassum muticum is a native species in East Asia and has been a successful invasive species of North American and European coasts. The nematode assemblages living in intertidal S. muticum on the English Channel coast in Europe, where it is an invasive species, were compared to those within its native range on the southern coasts of Korea. Nematode assemblages were sampled using a nested survey design (replicates nested within patches within shores within regions within coastlines in each country). Significant differences between countries were found in nematode assemblages in terms of both taxonomic composition and functional traits. Despite differences in assemblage structures between countries, some cosmopolitan nematode species were present in both countries. These nematode species may possibly have come from Asia to Europe with S. muticum.
We have developed down-conversion outcoupling films to enhance the light outcoupling efficiency in white organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). The down-conversion outcoupling films consist of ...outcoupling structures and color conversion materials, which are prepared by a simple solution-based micro-imprint process and are adopted into OLEDs. The down-conversion films successfully realize white light by converting blue rays from blue phosphorescent OLED. The OLEDs based on the down-conversion films with outcoupling structures show a great improvement of power efficiency by a factor of 1.32 compared to the reference OLED based on down-conversion films without outcoupling structures. Furthermore, the influence of a concentration of color conversion materials on color rendering index of OLEDs is investigated. The results strongly indicate that readily fabricated down-conversion light outcoupling films by a simple micro-imprint process are highly promising for enhanced light extraction performance and high color rendering index of white OLEDs.
•A facile approach to enhance the efficiency in white OLEDs based on down-conversion light outcoupling films is demonstrated.•Down-conversion light outcoupling films are prepared with a simple micro-imprint process.•Down-conversion light outcoupling films successfully produce white light with a large enhancement of the efficiency of OLEDs.
Cyperus amuricus (C. amuricus) is one of the most common herbs in Oriental folk medicine for exerting astringent, diuretic, wound healing and other intestinal problems. However, little is known about ...the molecular mechanism of C. amuricus on anticancer activity. In the present study, the underlying mechanism of the anticancer effect of C. amuricus were elucidated. The methyl alcohol extract from the whole plant of C. amuricus exhibited cytotoxicity against Hep3B cells, but not against A549 and HaCaT cells. Consistent with an acceleration of the sub-G1 phase, downregulation of cdc25A, cyclin D1 and cyclin E, CDK4 and 2 as well as E2F-1, phospho-Rb, with concomitant of upregulation of p21CIP1/WAF1, p27KIPI and p16INK4a proteins, as evidenced by the appearance of cell cycle arrest, were detected in C. amuricus-treated Hep3B cells. Additionally, the sequential activation of various caspases (cleaved caspase-8, −9, −3, −7 and −6, and cleaved PARP) and the changed expression of other proteins related to the apoptosis pathway were observed after C. amuricus exposure. An increment in the pro-apoptotic proteins (Bim, tBid, Bax and Bak) and a reduction of anti-apoptotic protein (Bcl-2) regulate Hep3B cell death by controlling the permeability of mitochondrial membranes and the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol with Apaf-1 after C. amuricus treatment. This is the first study indicating the potential of C. amuricus as a complementary agent for prevention and treatment of human liver cancer.
Survivin, an apoptosis inhibitor/cell-cycle regulator, is critically required for suppression of apoptosis and ensuring normal cell division in the G2/M phase of the cell cycle. It is highly ...expressed in a cell cycle-regulated manner and localizes together with caspase-3 on microtubules within centrosomes. Whether survivin is a physiologically relevant caspase inhibitor has been unclear due to the difficulties with obtaining correctly folded survivin and finding the right conditions for inhibition assay. In this study, recombinant, active human survivin was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The protein, existing as a homodimer in solution, binds caspase-3 and -7 tightly with dissociation constants of 20.9 and 11.5 nM, respectively, when evaluated by surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy. Consistently, survivin potently inhibits the cleavage of a physiological substrate poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase and an artificial tetrapeptide by caspase-3 and -7 in vitro with apparent inhibition constants of 36.0 and 16.5 nM, respectively. The data suggest that sequestering caspase-3 and -7 in inhibited states on microtubules is at least one mechanism of survivin in the suppression of default apoptosis in the G2/M phase. The localization of survivin on microtubules, which is essential for its function, should increase the protective activity at the action site.
Cosmopolitan habitat-forming taxa of algae such as the genus Corallina provide an opportunity to compare patterns of biodiversity over wide geographic scales. Nematode assemblages inhabiting ...Corallina turves were compared between the south coasts of the British Isles and South Korea. A fully nested design was used with three regions in each country, two shores in each region and replicate samples taken from three patches on each shore to compare differences in the taxonomic and biological trait composition of nematode assemblages across scales. A biological traits approach, based on functional diversity of nematodes, was used to make comparisons between countries, among regions, between shores and among patches. The taxonomic and biological trait compositions of nematode assemblages were significantly different across all spatial scales (patches, shores, regions and countries). There is greater variation amongst nematode assemblages at the scale of shore than at other spatial scales. Nematode assemblage structure and functional traits are influenced by the local environmental factors on each shore including sea-surface temperature, the amount of sediment trapped in Corallina spp. and tidal range. The sea-surface temperature and the amount of sediment trapped in Corallina spp. were the predominant factors determining nematode abundance and composition of assemblages and their functional diversity.
Sargassum serratifolium was found to contain high concentrations of meroterpenoids, having strong antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective activities. This study aims to investigate the ...anti-inflammatory mechanisms of an ethanolic extract of S. serratifolium (ESS) using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated BV2 microglial cells and to identify the anti-inflammatory components in ESS. The level of proinflammatory cytokines was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of inflammation-related proteins and mRNA was evaluated by Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, respectively. Anti-inflammatory activities of isolated components from ESS were analyzed in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells. ESS inhibited LPS-induced nitric oxide (NO) and prostaglandin E
and the expression of inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenase-2. ESS also decreased the release of proinflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner. LPS-induced nuclear factor-kappa B (κB) transcriptional activity and translocation into the nucleus were remarkably suppressed by ESS through the prevention of inhibitor κB-α degradation. The main anti-inflammatory components in ESS were identified as sargahydroquinoic acid, sargachromenol, and sargaquinoic acid based on the inhibition of NO production using LPS-stimulated BV2 cells. Furthermore, treatment with ESS significantly reduced levels of tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-1β stimulated with LPS in mouse hippocampus. Our results indicate that ESS can be used as a functional food or therapeutic agent for the treatment of neuroinflammatory diseases.
The novel liver protein acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase-2 (ACAT2) is involved in the beta-oxidation and lipid metabolism. Its comprehensive relative expression, in silico non-synonymous single ...nucleotide polymorphism (nsSNP) analysis, as well as its annotation in terms of metabolic process with another protein from the same family, namely, acetyl-CoA acyltransferase-2 (ACAA2) was performed in Sus scrofa. This investigation was conducted to understand the most important nsSNPs of ACAT2 in terms of their effects on metabolic activities and protein conformation. The two most deleterious mutations at residues 122 (I to V) and 281 (R to H) were found in ACAT2. Validation of expression of genes in the laboratory also supported the idea of differential expression of ACAT2 and ACAA2 conceived through the in silico analysis. Analysis of the relative expression of ACAT2 and ACAA2 in the liver tissue of Jeju native pig showed that the former expressed significantly higher (P<0.05). Overall, the computational prediction supported by wet laboratory analysis suggests that ACAT2 might contribute more to metabolic processes than ACAA2 in swine. Further associations of SNPs in ACAT2 with production traits might guide efforts to improve growth performance in Jeju native pigs.
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Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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