Curcumin exhibits therapeutic effect against spinal cord injury via inhibition of neuronal inflammation and apoptosis

Purpose: To investigate the effect of curcumin on spinal cord injury (SCI) in a rat model. Methods: SCI was induced in the rats using mid thoracic spinal cord compression, after which curcumin was injected intraperitoneally. Western blotting was used for assay of expressions of apoptotic proteins, viz, IL-1β, NF-κB p65, TLR4, TNF-α, LC3, Bax and Bcl-2. Malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase were measured using standard methods. Neuronal loss in spinal cord tissues was determined with TUNEL staining and NeuN labelling. Results: Curcumin treatment significantly (p < 0.05) suppressed SCI-mediated upregulation of myeloperoxidase activity and increase in MDA level in rat spinal cord. The reduction of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in the spinal cord of SCI rats were suppressed by curcumin treatment. Curcumin treatment also led to a significant (p < 0.02) increase in the proportion of NeuN positive cells and marked reduction in TUNEL positive cells, but it decreased caspase-3 in the spinal cord tissues of SCI rats. Moreover, curcumin reversed the effect of SCI on protein expressions of Bax and Bcl 2 in a dose-based manner. There was marked curcumin-induced decline in CD11b and GFAP levels in the spinal cord tissues of the SCI rats. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that curcumin protects rats against SCI via inhibition of oxidative stress-mediated neuronal apoptosis. Therefore, curcumin may be useful for the development of an effective treatment for spinal cord injury

Human impacts on the cladoceran community of Jili Lake, arid NW China, over the past century

Deterioration of aquatic ecosystems, as a consequence of human-induced disturbances, is a critical global concern. To fully understand the responses of aquatic systems to anthropogenic impacts, it is crucial to assess long-term changes in lakes. The water quality of Jili Lake, a large water body in northwest China, has deteriorated recently, owing to the growing impacts of regional warming and human activities. Thus, Jili Lake was a prime candidate for evaluation of historical multi-stressor impacts. Meteorological data, historical documents, and assemblages of cladoceran microfossils in the sediments of Jili Lake were employed to investigate changes in the cladoceran community over the past century, and to evaluate the response of that aquatic community to human activities. From the 1920s to the 1950s, species richness of the cladoceran community was high, which reflected conditions of relatively low human impact. From the 1960s to 1970s, a sharp decrease in Bosmina longirostris, a planktonic cladoceran species, suggested a decrease in water level as a result of dam construction and intensified water exploitation. Since the 1980s, the water level in the lake has been restored, but increased fish farming and construction of a water storage facility caused salinisation and eutrophication of Jili Lake. Accordingly, the cladoceran community displayed distinct signs of a regime shift, with a gradual transition to dominance of B. longirostris and a sharp decrease in littoral species (e.g. Leydigia leydigi, L. acanthocercoides, Alona quadrangularis, Alona affinis). Our results suggest that human-induced disturbances were the main factor that drove changes in the cladoceran community since about the mid-20th century.Peer reviewe

More income, less depression? Revisiting the nonlinear and heterogeneous relationship between income and mental health

This paper uses a large-scale nationally representative dataset to examine the nonlinear effect of income on mental health. To investigate their causal relationship, the exogenous impact of automation on income is utilized as the instrument variable (IV). In addition, to explore their nonlinear relationship, both income and its quadratic term are included in regressions. It is found that the impact of income on mental health is U-shaped rather than linear. The turning point (7.698) of this nonlinear relation is near the midpoint of the income interval ([0, 16.113]). This suggests that depression declines as income increases at the lower-income level. However, beyond middle income, further increases in income take pronounced mental health costs, leading to a positive relationship between the two factors. We further exclude the possibility of more complex nonlinear relationships by testing higher order terms of income. In addition, robustness checks, using other instrument variables and mental health indicators, different IV models and placebo analysis, all support above conclusions. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that males, older workers, ethnic minorities and those with lower health and socioeconomic status experience higher levels of depression. Highly educated and urban residents suffer from greater mental disorders after the turning point. Religious believers and Communist Party of China members are mentally healthier at lower income levels, meaning that religious and political beliefs moderate the relationship between income and mental health

Tritium and trees: A bomb peak perspective on soil water dynamics in semi-arid apple orchards

Understanding the relationship between agroforest age and soil water dynamics is crucial for effective land and water resources management. However, the complexities of these dynamics, such as soil water recharge and depletion, hamper in-depth understanding, particularly in water-scarce regions. In this study, we examined soil water recharge and depletion in relation to the stand age of apple trees, a widely planted and representative deep-rooted agroforest, over four years in a semi-arid region on China’s Loess Plateau (CLP). We collected soil cores to >20 m depth from four apple orchards (referred to as ‘agroforests’) with variable stand ages (established in 2008, 2005, 1998, and 1994). For comparison, we selected adjacent cropland as land use prior to agroforestry practices (‘control’). We measured soil water content and tritium distributions to model soil water dynamics and estimate water ages across different soil profiles. Our results show that recharge amounts (and depths) in shallow soils were 298.4 mm (7 m), 303.4 mm (6.6 m), 300.6 mm (5.4 m), and 483.1 mm (7.6 m), whereas deep soils had net depletions of 111.1 mm, 391.9 mm, 192.8 mm, and 108.9 mm for AP2008, AP2005, AP1998, and AP1994, respectively. The tritium peak depths, which indicate the 1963 bomb peak depth, significantly differed between agroforested and non-agroforested plots. In particular, agroforestation reduced the seepage velocity of soil water over 20 years. Furthermore, our tritium tracer water age model suggests that the age of transpired deep soil water exceeded 200 years in the oldest orchard. These findings highlight a complex interaction between newly infiltrated water and existing water, possibly due to variations in soil pore size distributions. The results of this study offer valuable insights into the ecohydrological impacts of agroforestation on the CLP and in similar climatic regions

STUDY ON ANTI-OSTEOSARCOMA ACTIVITY OF ETHANOL EXTRACT OF VENENUM BUFONIS IN VITRO

Background: Venenum bufonis is the dried white secretion of the auricular and skin glands of Bufo gargarizans Cantor, or Bufo melanostictus Schneider, Bufonidae. It is used in the treatment of deep-rooted carbuncle, boils and swelling; pain in the throat, heart stroke, coma, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. The objective of this paper is to preliminarily observe the effects of ethanol extract of Venenum bufonis on growth, and proliferation of human osteosarcoma U2OS cell lines, and to provide a theoretical basis for an in-depth study of the clinical application of Venenum bufonis for osteosarcoma inhibition, with its mechanism of action. Materials and Methods: SRB assay was used to determine the effect of Venenum bufonis ethanol extract on U2OS cell line activity, and to detect its inhibitory dose-effect on osteosarcoma cells. FCM was applied to determine the effect of Venenum bufonis ethanol extract on U2OS cell apoptosis and to perform cell cycle analysis. Results: As results, different Venenum bufonis ethanol extracts showed apparent concentration-effect relationships on U2OS cell lines. FCM analysis showed that it had a U2OS apoptosis promoting effect, which increased with increasing concentration. Cell cycle analysis revealed that the Venenum bufonis ethanol extract mainly arrested U2OS in the G0/G1 phase, preventing the cells from progressing to the S phase. Conclusion: The study concluded that Venenum bufonis ethanol extract has an inhibitory effect on proliferation of osteosarcoma U2OS cells

ieee access special section editorial recent advances on radio access and security methods in 5g networks

Serviceability is the ability of a network to serve user equipments (UEs) within desired requirements (e.g., throughput, delay, and packet loss). High serviceability is considered as one of the key foundational criteria towards a successful fog radio access infrastructure satisfying the Internet of Things paradigm in the 5G era. In the article by Dao et al. , "Adaptive resource balancing for serviceability maximization in fog radio access networks," the authors propose an adaptive resource balancing (ARB) scheme for serviceability maximization in fog radio access networks wherein the resource block (RB) utilization among remote radio heads (RRHs) is balanced using the backpressure algorithm with respect to a time-varying network topology issued by potential RRH motilities. The optimal UE selection for service migration from a high-RB-utilization RRH to its neighboring low RB-utilization RRHs is determined by the Hungarian method to minimize RB occupation after moving the service. Analytical results reveal that the proposed ARB scheme provides substantial gains compared to the standalone capacity-aware, max-rate, and cache-aware UE association approaches in terms of serviceability, availability, and throughput