Eriodictyol attenuates spinal cord injury by activating Nrf2/HO-1 pathway and inhibiting NF-κB pathway

Purpose: To investigate the effect of eriodictyol on spinal cord injury (SCI) and its underlying mechanism of action.Methods: Thirty Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to sham, SCI, and eriodictyol-treated groups (SCI + Eri; 10, 20, and 50 mg/kg). Moderate spinal cord contusion injury was induced to model SCI. Locomotor recovery was assessed based on Basso, Beattie, and Bresnahan (BBB) score. Pain wasevaluated by paw withdrawal threshold (PWT) and latency (PWL), and spinal cord water content was measured. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Immunoassay was used to determine malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) levels while Western blotting was employed to evaluate nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB), and phosphorylated NF-κB (p-NF-κB) levels.Results: Eriodictyol elevated BBB score, PWT, and PWL in SCI rats but reduced spinal cord water content (p < 0.05). Eriodictyol treatment down-regulated TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and MDA, whereas SOD, GSH, and GSH-PX levels were elevated (p < 0.05). Eriodictyol administration increased Nrf2 and HO-1 levels but reduced p-NF-κB/NF-κB.Conclusion: This study provides a potential therapy to promote long-term functional recovery following SCI. Keywords: Spinal cord injury, Eriodictyol, Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, NF-κB signaling pathway, Polymerase chain reaction, Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan scor

Phase-Dependent Spontaneous Spin Polarization and Bifurcation Delay in Coupled Two-Component Bose-Einstein Condensates

The spontaneous spin polarization and bifurcation delay in two-component Bose-Einstein condensates coupled with laser or/and radio-frequency pulses are investigated. We find that the bifurcation and the spontaneous spin polarization are determined by both physical parameters and relative phase between two condensates. Through bifurcations, the system enters into the spontaneous spin polarization regime from the Rabi regime. We also find that bifurcation delay appears when the parameter is swept through a static bifurcation point. This bifurcation delay is responsible for metastability leading to hysteresis.Comment: Improved version for cond-mat/021157

Biological control of Fusarium crown rot of wheat with Chaetomium globosum 12XP1-2-3 and its effects on rhizosphere microorganisms

Chaetomium globosum is a common plant endophytic fungi that exhibits great biocontrol potential in plant disease. Fusarium crown rot (FCR) is an important disease in wheat that seriously threatens wheat production worldwide. The control effect of C. globosum against wheat FCR remains unclear. In this study, we introduced an identified C. globosum 12XP1-2-3 and tested its biological control potential against wheat FCR. The hypha and fermentation broth exhibited an antagonistic effect against Fusarium pseudograminearum. Results from indoor experiments showed that C. globosum 12XP1-2-3 might delay the onset of symptoms of brown stem base and significantly reduced the disease index (37.3%). Field trials showed that wheat seeds coated with a spore suspension of 12XP1-2-3 grew better than the control seeds, had control effects of 25.9–73.1% on FCR disease, and increased wheat yield by 3.2–11.9%. Analysis of rhizosphere microorganisms revealed that seeds coated with C. globosum (‘Cg’ treatment) had a greater effect on fungal rather than on bacterial alpha diversity and may improve the health state of rhizosphere microorganisms, as reflected by the significantly increased fungal Shannon index at Feekes 11 and the increased complexity of the bacterial co-occurrence network but decreased complexity of the fungal network. Moreover, the accumulation of beneficial bacteria such as Bacillus and Rhizobium at Feekes 3, and Sphingomonas at Feekes 7 in the ‘Cg’ treatment may be the important contributions to healthier wheat growth state, significantly reduced relative abundance of Fusarium at Feekes 11, and reduced occurrence of FCR disease. These results provide a basis for further research on the mechanism of action of C. globosum and its application in the biological control of FCR in the field