Interleukin-4 Aggravates LPS-Induced Striatal Neurodegeneration In Vivo via Oxidative Stress and Polarization of Microglia/Macrophages

The present study investigated the effects of interleukin (IL)-4 on striatal neurons in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-injected rat striatum in vivo. Either LPS or PBS as a control was unilaterally injected into the striatum, and brain tissues were processed for immunohistochemical and Nissl staining or for hydroethidine histochemistry at the indicated time points after LPS injection. Analysis by NeuN and Nissl immunohistochemical staining showed a significant loss of striatal neurons at 1, 3, and 7 days post LPS. In parallel, IL-4 immunoreactivity was upregulated as early as 1 day, reached a peak at 3 days, and was sustained up to 7 days post LPS. Increased levels of IL-4 immunoreactivity were exclusively detected in microglia/macrophages, but not in neurons nor astrocytes. The neutralizing antibody (NA) for IL-4 significantly protects striatal neurons against LPS-induced neurotoxicity in vivo. Accompanying neuroprotection, IL-4NA inhibited activation of microglia/macrophages, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), ROS-derived oxidative damage and nitrosative stress, and produced polarization of microglia/macrophages shifted from M1 to M2. These results suggest that endogenous IL-4 expressed in LPS-activated microglia/macrophages contributes to striatal neurodegeneration in which oxidative/nitrosative stress and M1/M2 polarization are implicated

Combustion Simulation of a Diesel Engine with Split Injections by Lagrangian Conditional Moment Closure Model

The Lagrangian conditional moment closure (CMC) model is applied to combustion simulation of a diesel engine at different load conditions. Calculation is performed by the free open-source computational fluid dynamics (CFD) package, OpenFOAM (Jasak, 1996). In Lagrangian CMC total injected fuel is divided into a given number of fuel groups with each group assumed to have the same residence time, consequently the same conditional flame structure. The Favre mean quantities are obtained by local conditional flame structures weighted by an assumed probability density function (PDF) through the improved beta-PDF integration method. Calculated pressure traces are compared with measurements in five operating conditions involving a single or multiple injections with different fuel mass ratios, rpms, swirl ratios, and exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) rates. The Lagrangian CMC model showed acceptable agreement with measured pressure traces and apparent heat release rates for all test cases. There was no improvement in the results by flame group interaction, which is considered not relevant in the given engine conditions.11sciescopu

Growth and physiological responses of Panax ginseng seedlings as affected by light intensity and photoperiod

The effects of light intensity and photoperiod, and their combination as daily light integrals (DLI) on the growth and physiological traits of Panax ginseng seedlings were investigated to establish a light environment for seedling production. Stratified seeds of Panax ginseng 'Chunpoong' were sown. The seedlings were cultivated for 20 weeks using warm-white LEDs with DLI from 1.44 to 10.94 mol m(-2) d(-1), which are combinations of three light intensities (50, 120, and 190 mu mol m(-2) s(-1)) and three photoperiods (8, 12, and 16 h d(-1)) in a plant factory with artificial lighting (PFAL). As the DLI increased, the shoot length and leaf area were exponentially reduced after shoot development at both nine and 20 weeks of treatments. At nine weeks of treatment, the greater light intensity and longer photoperiod treatments, where the shoot established fastest, the photosynthetic products were translocated to the roots first and the dry weight distribution in the root increased as DLI increased. In the high light intensity and long photoperiod treatments, SPAD value, maximum (F-v/F-m), and minimum (F-v/F-o) quantum efficiency tended to decrease, and the photosynthetic traits were negatively affected over time with leaf senescence. The root growth rate in high light intensity with long photoperiod treatments seemed to lag behind that in low light intensity with short photoperiod treatments. As a result, this study found that a light intensity of 50 mu mol m(-2) s(-1) with a 12 h d(-1) photoperiod (DLI of 2.16 mol m(-2) d(-1)) was a suitable light environment for both shoot and root growth of ginseng seedlings. Further, the shoot establishment should be considered to design a light environment for ginseng seedling production in a PFAL.N