Anti-anxiety effect of methanol extract of Pericarpium zanthoxyli using a strychnine-sensitive glycine receptor model

Purpose: To determine if the methanol extract of Pericarpium zanthoxyli exerts anti-anxiety effects and also to explore any probable anti-anxiety mechanism in vivo.Methods: The staircase test, elevated plus maze test, rota-rod treadmill test and convulsions induced by strychnine and picrotoxin on mice were tested to identify potential mechanism of anti-anxiety activity of the plant extract.Results: The plant extract (10 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly reduced rearing numbers in the staircase test while it increased the time spent in the open arms as well as the number of entries to the open arms in the elevated plus maze test, suggesting that it has significant anti-anxiety activity. Furthermore, the extract inhibited strychnine-induced convulsion. However, it had little effect on picrotoxin-induced convulsion, suggesting that its anti-anxiety activity may be linked to strychnine-sensitive glycine receptor and not GABA receptor.Conclusion: These results suggest that the Pericarpium zanthoxyli extract may be beneficial for the control of anxiety.Keywords: Anti-anxiety, Pericarpium zanthoxyli, Glycine Receptor, GABA Recepto

Dedicated preparation for in situ transmission electron microscope tensile testing of exfoliated graphene

Graphene, which is one of the most promising materials for its state-of-the-art applications, has received extensive attention because of its superior mechanical properties. However, there is little experimental evidence related to the mechanical properties of graphene at the atomic level because of the challenges associated with transferring atomically-thin two-dimensional (2D) materials onto microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. In this study, we show successful dry transfer with a gel material of a stable, clean, and free-standing exfoliated graphene film onto a push-to-pull (PTP) device, which is a MEMS device used for uniaxial tensile testing in in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Through the results of optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and TEM, we demonstrate high quality exfoliated graphene on the PTP device. Finally, the stress???strain results corresponding to propagating cracks in folded graphene were simultaneously obtained during the tensile tests in TEM. The zigzag and armchair edges of graphene confirmed that the fracture occurred in association with the hexagonal lattice structure of graphene while the tensile testing. In the wake of the results, we envision the dedicated preparation and in situ TEM tensile experiments advance the understanding of the relationship between the mechanical properties and structural characteristics of 2D materials

Učinci gama-zračenja na folikule jajnika

In order to observe the morphological and endocrinological changes of the rat and mouse ovarian follicles by gamma-radiation, rats were whole-body irradiated with doses of 3.2 Gy and 8.0 Gy and mice with 2.9 Gy and 7.2 Gy. Sections of ovaria were examined by light microscopy. Concentrations of progesterone, testosterone, and estradiol in ovarian homogenate were determined by radioimmunoassay techniques. Gamma-radiation resulted in the increased percentage of atretic follicles in the groups killed on day 0, day 4, and day 8 after irradiation. The decrease in granulosa cell viability was found in animals killed on day 4 after irradiation. The finding of the high ratio of testosterone to estradiol compared to that of progesterone to testosterone suggests that aromatase activity — steroid biosynthesis from testosterone to estradiol — in granulosa cell could be affected by gamma-radiation.U radu su procjenjivane strukture i endokrinološke promjene u folikulima jajnika štakorica i mišica izazvane gama-zračenjem. Štakorice su bile izložene zračenju od 3,2 Gy ili 8,0 Gy, a mišice od 2,9 Gy ili 7,2 Gy. Životinje su usmrćene dana 0, dana 4, odnosno dana 8 nakon ozračenja. Rezovi debljine 7 µm pripremljeni su za mikroskopiranje. Koncentracije progesterona, testosterona i estradiola u homogenatu jajnika određene su specifičnim radioimunoesejem. Gama-zračenje uzrokovalo je povećanje broja atretičnih folikula u obje skupine životinja usmrćenih 4 odnosno 8 dana nakon ozračivanja. Gama-zračenje također je smanjilo životni vijek granuloza stanica u skupinama usmrćenim 4. dan nakon ozračivanja. Utvrđeno povećanje omjera testosterona prema estradiolu u usporedbi s omjerom progesterona prema testosteronu upućuje na to da gama-zračenje utječe na aktivnost aromataze u steroidnoj biosintezi testosterona u estradiol u granuloza stanicama

Turbo Warrants under Hybrid Stochastic and Local Volatility

This paper considers the pricing of turbo warrants under a hybrid stochastic and local volatility model. The model consists of the constant elasticity of variance model incorporated by a fast fluctuating Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process for stochastic volatility. The sensitive structure of the turbo warrant price is revealed by asymptotic analysis and numerical computation based on the observation that the elasticity of variance controls leverage effects and plays an important role in characterizing various phases of volatile markets

Function of COP9 Signalosome in Regulation of Mouse Oocytes Meiosis by Regulating MPF Activity and Securing Degradation

The COP9 (constitutive photomorphogenic) signalosome (CSN), composed of eight subunits, is a highly conserved protein complex that regulates processes such as cell cycle progression and kinase signalling. Previously, we found the expression of the COP9 constitutive photomorphogenic homolog subunit 3 (CSN3) and subunit 5 (CSN5) changes as oocytes mature for the first time, and there is no report regarding roles of COP9 in the mammalian oocytes. Therefore, in the present study, we examined the effects of RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated transient knockdown of each subunit on the meiotic cell cycle in mice oocytes. Following knockdown of either CSN3 or CSN5, oocytes failed to complete meiosis I. These arrested oocytes exhibited a disrupted meiotic spindle and misarranged chromosomes. Moreover, down-regulation of each subunit disrupted the activity of maturation-promoting factor (MPF) and concurrently reduced degradation of the anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) substrates Cyclin B1 and Securin. Our data suggest that the CSN3 and CSN5 are involved in oocyte meiosis by regulating degradation of Cyclin B1 and Securin via APC/C

β-Caryophyllene attenuates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice via modulation of gene expression associated mainly with colon inflammation

AbstractWe examined the modulatory activity of β-caryophyllene (CA) and gene expression in colitic colon tissues in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model. Experimental colitis was induced by exposing male BALB/c mice to 5% DSS in drinking water for 7 days. CA (30 or 300mg/kg) was administered orally once a day together with DSS. CA administration attenuated the increases in the disease activity index, colon weight/length ratio, inflammation score, and myeloperoxidase activity in DSS-treated mice. Microarray analysis showed that CA administration regulated the expression in colon tissue of inflammation-related genes including those for cytokines and chemokines (Ccl2, Ccl7, Ccl11, Ifitm3, IL-1β, IL-28, Tnfrsf1b, Tnfrsf12a); acute-phase proteins (S100a8, Saa3, Hp); adhesion molecules (Cd14, Cd55, Cd68, Mmp3, Mmp10, Sema6b, Sema7a, Anax13); and signal regulatory proteins induced by DSS. CA significantly suppressed NF-κB activity, which mediates the expression of a different set of genes. These results suggest that CA attenuates DSS-induced colitis, possibly by modulating the expression of genes associated mainly with colon inflammation through inhibition of DSS-induced NF-κB activity