•Bumetanide promoted axonal growth after cerebral ischemia in rats.•Bumetanide upregulated KCC2, BDNF, downregulated NKCC1, NogoA after stroke in rats.•Bumetanide improved behavioral outcome after ...cerebral ischemia in rats.
Bumetanide is a selective inhibitor of the Na+-K+-Cl−-co-transporter 1(NKCC1). We studied whether bumetanide could affect axonal growth and behavioral outcome in stroke rats. Adult male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups: sham-operated rats treated with vehicle or bumetanide, and ischemic rats treated with vehicle or bumetanide. Endothelin-1 was used to induce focal cerebral ischemia. Bumetanide administration (i.c.v.) started on postoperative day 7 and continued for 3 weeks. Biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) was injected into the right imotor cortex on postoperative day 14 to trace corticospinal tract (CST) fibers sprouting into the denervated cervical spinal cord. Nogo-A, NKCC1, KCC2 and BDNF in the perilesional cortex and BDA, PSD-95 and vGlut1 in the denervated spinal cord were measured by immunohistochemistry and/or Western blot. Behavioral outcome of rats was assessed by the beam walking and cylinder tests. The total length of CST fibers sprouting into the denervated cervical spinal cord significantly increased after stroke and bumetanide further increased this sprouting. Bumetanide treatment also decreased the expressions of NKCC1 and Nogo-A, increased the expressions of KCC2 and BDNF in the perilesional cortex and enhanced the synaptic plasticity in the denervated cervical spinal cord after cerebral ischemia. The behavioral performance of ischemic rats was significantly improved by bumetanide. In conclusion, bumetanide promoted post-stroke axonal sprouting together accompanied by an improved behavioral outcome possibly through restoring and maintaining neuronal chloride homeostasis and creating a recovery-promoting microenvironment by overcoming the axonal growth inhibition encountered after cerebral ischemia in rats.
The alloying effect of Zr on β (body-centred cubic)-phase stability was investigated in α (hexagonal close packed)-type Ti–Al alloys. According to calculations and experiments, adding Zr ...significantly modified the β-phase stability, because Zr was identified as a β-stabilising element in these Ti–Zr–Al alloys under the solution treatment. However, the water-quenched β-phase did not continue to be preserved after aging. In addition, stress-induced α″ (orthorhombic)-phase martensite transformation would occur during deformation.
Molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown Ga1-xGdxN films were investigated by X-ray diffraction and slow positron beams. From the positron lifetime results, N-vacancy-related defects may be expected in the ...Ga0.9Gd0.1N film grown under Ga-rich conditions which exhibits a lattice expansion in the c-axis direction. In contrast, Ga vacancies more than 1019 cm−3 were detected in the Ga0.9Gd0.1N film grown under N-rich conditions which does not exhibit the lattice expansion, implying that the highly-concentrated Ga vacancies contribute to a relaxation of the lattice distortion caused by incorporating oversized Gd atoms.
GaGdN nanorods were grown on Si (001) substrates with native silicon oxides at a low substrate temperature of 550°C by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy, and the effect of low-temperature growth ...on the structural properties of GaGdN was investigated. It was found that Gd atoms mostly substituted Ga sites in the GaGdN nanorods. A secondary phase, such as NaCl-type GdN and Gd metal, was not observed even in samples with Gd concentration as high as 8.7%. However, with increase in Gd concentration, lattice constant was increased and the coordination environment around the Gd atom was disarranged. Moreover, high Gd fluxes gradually increased the diameter of GaGdN nanorods with the progress of growth.
As China experience unprecedented changes in its social, legal, and economic institutions, on what should foreign firms focus more to overcome this challenge, managerial ties or market orientation? ...This study investigates how managerial ties and market orientation affect competitive advantage and, consequently, firm performance in China. On the basis of a survey of 179 foreign firms in China, we find that both managerial ties and market orientation can lead to firm success—but in different ways. Market orientation enhances firm performance by providing differentiation and cost advantages, whereas managerial ties improve performance through an institutional advantage (i.e., superiority in securing scarce resources and institutional support). Institutional advantage, in turn, leads to differentiation and cost advantages and consequently superior performance.
We studied the effect of Al doping in Zn(0.94)Co(0.05)Al(0.01)O nano-powders from the electronic structure point of view by applying x-ray absorption spectroscopy and resonant inelastic x-ray ...scattering at the oxygen K- and Co L-edges. The intensity of the pre-edge structure of the O-K XAS spectra is enhanced following the introduction of the Al defect. Multiple scattering calculations demonstrate it can be accounted for by the gain of the hybridization strength between O 2p and Al 3p (and/or Co 3d) states. The consensus on the hybridization strength is reached by combining Co-L XAS and RIXS investigations and multiplet calculations. It reveals different spatial substitutions of Al doping can alter the number of shared oxygen atoms between the Co and Al tetrahedrons. These shared ligands are responsible for the Al 3p and Co 3d state hybridization strength as well as the ferromagnetism of the ground state. The magnetic difference is better understood to be governed by various shared oxygen atoms rather than the distance between the Al defect and Co impurities.
An electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometry study was conducted to examine the free radical scavenging properties of bran extracts of Alliance and Wichita wheat using hydroxyl radical (HO•), ...2,2-diphenyl-1-picryhydrazyl radical (DPPH•), and superoxide radical anion (O2 •-) and their chelating capacities against Cu2+. Also reported is the radical cation 2,2‘-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS•+) scavenging activity, oxygen radical absorbing capacity (ORAC), and chelating property against Fe2+ of the bran extracts measured by the spectrophotometric methods. Significant radical scavenging and chelating capacities were detected in the bran extracts, along with significant levels of phenolic acids, tocopherols, and carotenoids. Ferulic acid, with a concentration range of 130.60−146.38 μg/g, was the predominant phenolic acid in all of the tested bran samples and accounted for ∼53−67% of total phenolic acids on a weight basis. Total tocopherol concentration ranged from 1.87 to 2.95 μmol/100 g of bran, whereas total carotenoid level was 0.20−0.33 μmol/100 g of bran. In addition, both wheat variety and growing conditions might significantly alter antioxidant properties and concentrations of beneficial components in wheat bran. Keywords: ESR; wheat; bran; antioxidants; phenolic acid; tocopherol; carotenoid; chelating; radical
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