Progesterone Prevents Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Intestinal Nuclear Factor kappa B Activation and Proinflammatory Cytokines Expression in Male Rats

We have previously shown that traumatic brain injury (TBI) can induce an upregulation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and proinflammatory cytokines in the gut, which play an important role in the pathogenesis of acute gut mucosal injury mediated by inflammation. In this work, we investigated whether progesterone administration modulated intestinal NF-κB activity and proinflammatory cytokines expression after TBI in male rats. As a result, we found that administration of progesterone following TBI could decrease NF-κB binding activity, NF-κB p65 protein expression, and concentrations of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the gut. TBI-induced damages of gut structure were ameliorated after progesterone injections. The results of the present study suggest that the therapeutic benefit of post-TBI progesterone injections might be due to its inhibitory effects on intestinal NF-κB activation and proinflammatory cytokines expression

High and low molecular weight crossovers in the longest relaxation time dependence of linear cis-1,4 polyisoprene by dielectric relaxations

The dielectric relaxation of cis-1,4 Polyisoprene [PI] is sensitive not only to the local and segmental dynamics but also to the larger scale chain (end-to-end) fluctuations. We have performed a careful dielectric investigation on linear PI with various molecular weights in the range of 1 to 320 kg/mol. The broadband dielectric spectra of all samples were measured isothermally at the same temperature to avoid utilizing shift factors. For the low and medium molecular weight range, the comparisons were performed at 250 K to access both the segmental relaxation and normal mode peaks inside the available frequency window (1 mHz–10 MHz). In this way, we were able to observe simultaneously the effect of molecular mass on the segmental dynamics—related with the glass transition process—and on the end-to-end relaxation time of PI and thus decouple the direct effect of molecular weight on the normal mode from that due to the effect on the monomeric friction coefficient. The latter effect is significant for low molecular weight (M w < 33 kg/mol), i.e., in the range where the crossover from Rouse dynamics to entanglement limited flow occurs. Despite the conductivity contribution at low frequency, careful experiments allowed us to access to the normal mode signal for molecular weights as high as M w = 320 kg/mol, i.e., into the range of high molecular weights where the pure reptation behavior could be valid, at least for the description of the slowest chain modes. The comparison between the dielectric relaxations of PI samples with medium and high molecular weight was performed at 320 K. We found two crossovers in the molecular weight dependence of the longest relaxation time, the first around a molecular weight of 6.5 ± 0.5 kg/mol corresponding to the end of the Rouse regime and the second around 75 ± 10 kg/mol. Above this latter value, we find a power law compatible with exponent 3 as predicted by the De Gennes theory

Smaller baseline subcortical infarct volume predicts good outcomes in patients with a large core in early acute ischemic stroke after endovascular treatment

BackgroundPatients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and a large core may benefit from endovascular treatment (EVT) in the early time window.PurposeTo examine the prognostic factors for good outcomes in patients with a large core (70–130 ml) after EVT.Materials and methodsWe retrospectively reviewed 40 patients who met the criteria from October 2019 to April 2021. Based on the modified Rankin Score (mRS) at 90 days, the patients were divided into a good outcome group (mRS 0–2) and a poor outcome group (mRS 3–6). Baseline and procedural characteristics were collected for unilateral and multivariate regression analyses to explore the factors that influence good outcomes. In particular, the infarct territories were quantified as subcortical infarct volume (SIV) and cortical infarct volume (CIV).ResultsOf the 40 patients included, good outcomes were observed in 11 (27.5%) patients. Younger age, smaller SIV and larger mismatch volume were noted in the good outcome group than in the poor outcome group (all P &lt; 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that only a smaller SIV [odds ratio (OR) 0.801; 95% CI 0.644–0.996; P = 0.046] was an independent predictor for good outcomes. The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated a moderate value of SIV for predicting good outcomes, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.735 (95% CI 0.572–0.862; P = 0.007).ConclusionSubcortical infarct volume was a potential useful predictor of good outcomes in patients with a large core after EVT in the early time window

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Quantitative Trait Loci for Rice Phyllochron in Lemont × IR36 Cross

In rice, genetic variation in “phyllochron” (the time interval between the appearance of successive leaves) affects many aspects of shoot system development. The objective of our study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that control phyllochron in a Lemont (japonica) × IR36 (indica) F2 population. Composite interval mapping detected four phyllochron QTLs located on chromosomes 1, 2, 9 and 11. Individually, these QTLs accounted for 8-14% of the phenotypic variation, indicating that phyllochron is controlled by multiple QTLs rather than by a major gene system. At these QTLs, the presence of a Lemont allele increased phyllochron. The only exception was for the QTL on chromosome 9, where the Lemont allele decreased phyllochron. Based on the synteny between rice and maize genomes, the ortholog of the maize terminal ear 1 gene was considered a candidate gene for the QTL on chromosome 1

Targeted removal of interfacial adventitious carbon towards directional charge delivery to isolated metal sites for efficient photocatalytic H-2 production

Creation of clean interfaces without contamination of adventitious carbon and robust single active sites are highly desirable for delivery and utilization of electrons in sunlight-driven hydrogen production but still remains challenging in part owing to the lack of understanding in junction nature. Herein, we tackle this challenge by targeted removing of interfacial adventitious carbon between photoharvester CdS and novel single-cobalt co-catalyst (Co-NC). It's found that surface-trapped electrons can readily migrate to the closely attached Co-NC across the cleared interface between CdS and Co-NC. The small-resistance interfacial carrier path and the robust single-cobalt sites work in a cooperative way and hence achieve a superior visible-light driven H-2 generation activity with a rate of 4.34 mmol/h, an apparent quantum yield (AQY) of 63.9% at 400 nm and a ultrahigh turnover frequency (TOF) of up to 16714.7 h(-1). Our finding will motivate future work in creating clean interfaces and unique single active sites for high performance photocatalysis