The effects of centrally administered fluorocitrate via inhibiting glial cells on working memory in rats

Although prefrontal and hippocampal neurons are critical for spatial working memory, the function of glial cells in spatial working memory remains uncertain. In this study we investigated the function of glial cells in rats' working memory. The glial cell

A priori assessment of algebraic flame surface density models in the context of large eddy simulation for nonunity lewis number flames in the thin reaction zones regime

The performance of algebraic flame surface density (FSD) models has been assessed for flames with nonunity Lewis number (Le) in the thin reaction zones regime, using a direct numerical simulation (DNS) database of freely propagating turbulent premixed flames with Le ranging from 0.34 to 1.2. The focus is on algebraic FSD models based on a power-law approach, and the effects of Lewis number on the fractal dimension D and inner cut-off scale η i have been studied in detail. It has been found that D is strongly affected by Lewis number and increases significantly with decreasing Le. By contrast, η i remains close to the laminar flame thermal thickness for all values of Le considered here. A parameterisation of D is proposed such that the effects of Lewis number are explicitly accounted for. The new parameterisation is used to propose a new algebraic model for FSD. The performance of the new model is assessed with respect to results for the generalised FSD obtained from explicitly LES-filtered DNS data. It has been found that the performance of the most existing models deteriorates with decreasing Lewis number, while the newly proposed model is found to perform as well or better than the most existing algebraic models for FSD. © 2012 Mohit Katragadda et al.

The effects of non-unity lewis numbers on turbulent premixed flame interactions in a twin V-flame configuration

The influence of Lewis number on turbulent premixed flame interactions is investigated using automatic feature extraction (AFE) applied to high-resolution flame simulation data. Premixed turbulent twin V-flames under identical turbulence conditions are simulated at global Lewis numbers of 0.4, 0.8, 1.0, and 1.2. Information on the position, frequency, and magnitude of the interactions is compared, and the sensitivity of the results to sample interval is discussed. It is found that both the frequency and magnitude of normal type interactions increases with decreasing Lewis number. Counternormal type interactions become more likely as the Lewis number increases. The variation in both the frequency and the magnitude of the interactions is found to be caused by large-scale changes in flame wrinkling resulting from differences in the thermo-diffusive stability of the flames. During flame interactions, thermo-diffusive effects are found to be insignificant due to the separation of time scales. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Involvement of Fas/FasL system in apoptotic signaling in testicular germ cells of male Wistar rats injected i.v. with microcystins

Previous studies have shown that gonads were the second target organ of microcystins (MCs), and that MCs exposure exerted obvious toxic effects on male reproductive system of mammals. However, relevant molecular evidences are still lacking. Fas-signaling pathway plays a key role in toxicant-induced germ cell apoptosis. This study was to evaluate the responses of Fas/FasL system related genes and proteins in testes of rats injected intravenously with MCs. Enhanced apoptosis of germ cells in the testes of MCs-treated rats was detected by the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxy-UTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) associated with up-regulation of the Fas/FasL system. Both Fas and FasL protein expression were induced evidently from I h post-injection, and this high expression level maintained throughout the experiment. In addition, the activation of caspase-8 and caspase-3 protein was also observed, which were indicators of apoptosis. These results suggested the likely involvement of Fas/FasL system in the MCs-induced germ cell apoptosis. It is also suggested that MCs can cause damage to Sertoli cells directly. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In vivo study on the effects of microcystin extracts on the expression profiles of proto-oncogenes (c-fos, c-jun and c-myc) in liver, kidney and testis of male Wistar rats injected i.v. with toxins

Microcystins (MCs) are a potent liver tumor promoter, possessing potent tumor-promoting activity and weak initiating activity. Proto-oncogenes are known to be involved in the tumor-promoting mechanisms of microcystin-LR. However, few data are available on the effects of MCs oil proto-oncogenes in the whole animal. To investigate the effects of MCs on the expression profile of the proto-oncogenes in different organs, male Wistar rats were injected intravenously with microcystin extracts at a dose of 86.7 mu g MC-LR eq/kg bw (MC-LR eq, MC-LR equivalents). mRNA levels of three proto-oncogenes c-fos, c-jun and c-myc in liver, kidney and testis were analyzed using quantitative real-time PCR at several time points post-injection. Significant induction of these genes at transcriptional level was observed in the three organs. In addition, the increase of mRNA expression of all three genes was much higher in liver than in kidney and testis. Meanwhile, the protein levels of c-Fos and c-Jun were investigated by western blotting. Both proteins were induced in the three organs. However, elevations of protein levels were Much lower than those of mRNA levels. These findings suggest that the expression of c-fos, c-jun and c-myc might be one possible mechanism for the tumor-promoting activity and initiating activity of microcystins. (c) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Morphological variability between wild populations and inbred stocks of a Chinese minnow, Gobiocypris rarus

Gobiocypris rarus, a small, native cyprinid fish, is currently widely used in research on fish pathology, genetics, toxicology, embryology, and physiology in China. To develop this species as a model laboratory animal, inbred strains have been successfully created. In this study, to explore a method to discriminate inbred strains and evaluate inbreeding effects, morphological variation among three wild populations and three inbred stocks of G. rarus was investigated by the multivariate analysis of eight meristic and 30 morphometric characters. Tiny intraspecific variations in meristic characters were found, but these were not effective for population distinction. Stepwise discriminant analysis and cluster analysis of conventional measures and truss network data showed considerabe divergence among populations, especially between wild populations and inbred stocks. The average discriminant accuracy for all populations was 82.1% based on conventional measures and 86.4% based on truss data, whereas the discriminant accuracy for inbred strains was much higher. These results suggested that multivariate analyses of morphometric characters are an effective method for discriminating inbred strains of G. rarus. Morphological differences between wild populations and inbred strains appear to result from both genetic differences and environmental factors. Thirteen characters, extracted from stepwise discriminant analysis, played important roles in morphological differentiation. These characters were mainly measures related to body depth and head size.

Twitching in sensorimotor development from sleeping rats to robots.

It is still not known how the 'rudimentary' movements of fetuses and infants are transformed into the coordinated, flexible and adaptive movements of adults. In addressing this important issue, we consider a behavior that has been perennially viewed as a functionless by-product of a dreaming brain: the jerky limb movements called myoclonic twitches. Recent work has identified the neural mechanisms that produce twitching as well as those that convey sensory feedback from twitching limbs to the spinal cord and brain. In turn, these mechanistic insights have helped inspire new ideas about the functional roles that twitching might play in the self-organization of spinal and supraspinal sensorimotor circuits. Striking support for these ideas is coming from the field of developmental robotics: when twitches are mimicked in robot models of the musculoskeletal system, the basic neural circuitry undergoes self-organization. Mutually inspired biological and synthetic approaches promise not only to produce better robots, but also to solve fundamental problems concerning the developmental origins of sensorimotor maps in the spinal cord and brain.

Lewis酸引发的LLDPE/PS共混体系的原位反应增容及其结构与性能研究

本文以单组分和双组分Lewis酸为催化剂，采用反应加工的方法，制备了原位反应增容的线性低密度聚乙烯/聚苯乙烯共混物（LLDPE/PS），并对原位反应增容的机理、增容体系的结构性能以及Lewis酸对共混组分的降解作用进行了系统研究。 以FTIR和NMR为手段、二甲苯为模拟化合物，确认LLDPE/PS共混体系在Lewis酸为催化剂作用下发生了LLDPE与PS的接枝反应，LLDPE接枝在PS苯环的对位上。形成的原位接枝共聚物对体系起增容作用。 使用溶剂抽提、SEM、DMA、流变和DSC等手段对以单组分Lewis酸AlCl3 为催化剂的LLDPE/PS共混物的结构性能进行了研究。从溶剂抽提前后的重量比计算了接枝物的含量。催化剂用量较低时体系中的接枝物含量随AlCl3的增加而提高，随着AlCl3进一步增加，接枝物含量不会增加反而下降，发现AlCl3导致均聚物的降解。研究结果表明，共混体系中加入适量的AlCl3催化剂后，分散相尺寸减小，分布均匀，储能模量增加，低频区的复数黏度升高。但AlCl3用量过高时使共混物的分散相尺寸增加，分布均匀度下降，储能模量和复数黏度降低。以GPC为手段研究了单组分 Lewis酸AlCl3对共混组分的降解作用，发现对PS的降解作用显著。 由于单组分Lewis酸催化剂会导致共混组分降解，使共混体系的物理机械性能变劣，为此，我们在LLDPE/PS共混物中引入了双组分Lewis酸催化剂（Me3SiCl、InCl3•4H2O）。结果表明双组分Lewis酸催化剂不但能够催化LLDPE和PS的原位接枝反应，获得高性能的LLDPE/PS合金材料，而且不会引发共混组分PS的降解。在催化剂用量固定时，采用双组分催化剂时共混物的拉伸强度随着LLDPE含量的增加几乎保持不变，但冲击强度有十分明显的提高。对比了加入催化剂前后共混物形貌的变化，增容后的共混物中分散相粒子尺寸显著降低，证明了双Lewis酸良好的催化性能。 对以双Lewis酸为催化剂的共混物的流变行为和结晶行为进行了研究。随着催化剂的加入，两相之间的相互作用增强，因此共混物的复数黏度，储能模量和损耗模量都有不同程度的提高。增容后的LLDPE相区变小，因而在冷却过程中出现不同程度的分步结晶现象。 对单组分和双组分Lewis酸催化剂原位反应增容LLDPE/PS共混体系的机理进行了探讨。机理为Friedel-Crafts烷基化反应。在采用单组分Lewis酸催化剂时， AlCl3与体系中含有的微量水等杂质发生反应，形成一个复合物，然后进一步与聚乙烯中的不饱和的双键发生反应形成碳正离子，并攻击LLDPE分子链从而形成大分子的碳正离子LLDPE+，而这些LLDPE+则通过电子的重排而发生剪切断裂。在催化剂的存在下，这些断裂的LLDPE片断取代PS中的苯环上的质子而发生接枝反应，从而形成LLDPE-g-PS共聚物。采用双组分Lewis酸催化剂时，首先发生双Lewis酸的耦合；耦合后的Lewis酸与水等杂质反应生成复合物，然后与非饱和的LLDPE分子反应生成初级碳正离子；初级碳正离子进攻LLDPE主链，生成较大的碳正离子；LLDPE+碳正离子取代PS苯环对位的质子而生成接枝共聚物。

单细胞凝胶电泳技术检测碳离子束和X射线照射对Lewis肺癌细胞的DNA损伤

比较研究了89.63MeV/u的碳离子束和6MeV的X射线照射Lewis肺癌细胞所致的细胞克隆存活和DNA损伤效应,以探讨单细胞凝胶电泳检测细胞辐射敏感性及重离子束治疗肿瘤的优势。结果表明,在10%细胞存活水平上碳离子束的相对生物学效应(Relative biological effectiveness,RBE)值达到1.77。单细胞凝胶电泳检测损伤DNA尾部百分含量(Tail DNA,TD)和Olive尾矩(Olive tail moment,OTM)的剂量效应曲线表明,X射线的剂量效应曲线为线性,而碳离子束诱导出一个包含线性和指数项的双阶段效应曲线。碳离子束辐照剂量大于8Gy后TD和OTM都存在饱和效应。在2Gy的剂量点,高传能线密度(LET)碳离子束比X射线产生更低的存活分数和更高的初始OTM。本研究提示:在Lewis肺癌细胞中,碳离子束照射比X射线产生更为强烈的细胞致死和DNA损伤效应,可使肿瘤治疗具有更高效率。

重离子对小鼠移植性Lewis肺癌分次照射的生物效应

目的　研究重离子不同分次照射的生物效应。方法　除对照组外 ,选择了 2个剂量点 :低剂量为 12Gy,高剂量为 2 4Gy。每个剂量分单次、2和 3次照射组 ,观察Lewis肺癌的肿瘤体积变化、肿瘤生长延迟时间和荷瘤小鼠生存时间。结果　无论高剂量还是低剂量 ,分 3次照射的肿瘤生长延迟和生存时间都显著大于单次和分 2次照射。结论　采用分 3次照射的肿瘤生物效应优于单次和分 2次照射 ,低剂量又优于高剂量。此研究结果为我国重离子束治疗肿瘤的临床试验提供了实验依据。