Liquiritin alleviates spinal cord injury through suppression of inflammation, oxidative stress, and cell apoptosis in a rat model

Purpose: Liquiritin is an extract from Glycyrrhiza Radix, one of the oldest traditional Chinese herbal medicines, which is commonly used to treat various injuries and swellings. This study is aimed to determine whether liquiritin can protect spinal cord injuries (SCIs) from secondary injuries. Methods: A rat SCI model was established. After liquiritin treatment, the neural-function of Rats was determined by Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scores, paw withdrawal threshold (PWT), and thermal withdrawal latency (PWL). The effects of anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, and anti-apoptosis of liquiritin were also examined in the rats with SCI. Moreover, the activities of several signaling elements, such as, inflammation-associated nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NFκB), toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), proliferative-related p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) and myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88) which was involved in the TLR4 signaling, were used for further investigation of the underlying molecular mechanisms. Results: Liquiritin improved locomotor function recovery, alleviated allodynia and hyperalgesia, and decreased water content of spinal cord in SCI rats. Also, liquiritin reduced SCI–induced inflammatory responses by decreasing the levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), and IL-6. Liquiritin inhibited SCI–induced oxidative stress by decreasing malondialdehyde (MDA) level and increasing the levels of uperoxide dismutase (SOD) (p < 0.05), glutathione (GSH) (p < 0.01), and GSH-PX (p < 0.001). In addition, liquiritin alleviated spinal cord injury (SCI) –induced apoptosis of neural cells by decreasing the expression of cleaved caspase-9, -3 and cleaved poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP). Finally, liquiritin decreased spinal cord injury (SCI) -induced up-regulation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB and p38 MAPK signaling cascades. Conclusion: Liquiritin exerts protective role in SCI by reducing excessive inflammation, suppressing oxidative stress, and inhibiting neural cell apoptosis in a rat model of SCI. Thus, the agent can potentially be used for the management of SC

Effect of superabsorbent polymer on mechanical properties of cement stabilized base and its mechanism

Superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) are cross-linked polymers that can absorb and retain large amounts of water. In recent years, a growing interest was seen in applying SAPs in concrete to improve its performance due to its efficiency in mitigating shrinkage. This paper presents findings in a study on effect of SAPs on performance of cement-treated base (CTB), using the experience of internal curing of concrete. CTB specimens with and without SAPs were prepared and tested in the laboratory. Tests conducted include mechanical property testing, dry shrinkage testing, differential thermal analysis, mercury intrusion porosimetry and scanning electron microscope testing. It was found that 7-day and 28-day unconfined compressive strength of CTB specimens with SAPs was higher than regular CTB specimens. 28d compressive strength of CTB specimens with SAPs made by Static pressure method was 5.87 MPa, which is 27% higher than that of regular CTB specimens. Drying shrinkage of CTB specimens with SAPs was decreased by 52.5% comparing with regular CTB specimens. Through the microstructure analysis it was found that CTB specimens with SAPs could produce more hydration products, which is also the reason for the strength improvement

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

A critical role of RBM8a in proliferation and differentiation of embryonic neural progenitors

BACKGROUND: Nonsense mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is an RNA surveillance mechanism that controls RNA stability and ensures the speedy degradation of erroneous and unnecessary transcripts. This mechanism depends on several core factors in the exon junction complex (EJC), eIF4A3, RBM8a, Magoh, and BTZ, as well as peripheral factors to distinguish premature stop codons (PTCs) from normal stop codons in transcripts. Recently, emerging evidence has indicated that NMD factors are associated with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID). However, the mechanism in which these factors control embryonic brain development is not clear. RESULT: We found that RBM8a is critical for proliferation and differentiation in cortical neural progenitor cells (NPCs). RBM8a is highly expressed in the subventricular zone (SVZ) of the early embryonic cortex, suggesting that RBM8a may play a role in regulating NPCs. RBM8a overexpression stimulates embryonic NPC proliferation and suppresses neuronal differentiation. Conversely, knockdown of RBM8a in the neocortex reduces NPC proliferation and promotes premature neuronal differentiation. Moreover, overexpression of RBM8a suppresses cell cycle exit and keeps cortical NPCs in a proliferative state. To uncover the underlying mechanisms of this phenotype, genome-wide RNAseq was used to identify potential downstream genes of RBM8a in the brain, which have been implicated in autism and neurodevelopmental disorders. Interestingly, autism and schizophrenia risk genes are highly represented in downstream transcripts of RBM8a. In addition, RBM8a regulates multiple alternative splicing genes and NMD targets that are implicated in ASD. Taken together, this data suggests a novel role of RBM8a in the regulation of neurodevelopment. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies provide some insight into causes of mental illnesses and will facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies for neurodevelopmental illnesses. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13064-015-0045-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users