Plos One
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Resveratrol have been known to possess many pharmacological properties including antioxidant, cardioprotective and anticancer effects. Although current studies indicate that resveratrol produces neuroprotection against neurological disorders, the precise mechanisms for its beneficial effects are still not fully understood. We investigate the effect of anti-inflammatory and mechamisms of resveratrol by using lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated murine microglial BV-2 cells. ⋯ This study indicates that resveratrol inhibited LPS-induced proinflammatory enzymes and proinflammatory cytokines via down-regulation phosphorylation of NF-κB, CREB and MAPKs family in a mTOR-dependent manner. These findings reveal, in part, the molecular basis underlying the anti-inflammatory properties of resveratrol.
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Comparative Study
Genotypic and PFGE/MLVA analyses of Vibrio cholerae O1: geographical spread and temporal changes during the 2007-2010 cholera outbreaks in Thailand.
Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor dominated the seventh cholera pandemic which occurred in the 1960s. For two decades, variants of V. cholerae O1 El Tor that produce classical cholera toxin have emerged and spread globally, replacing the prototypic El Tor biotype. This study aims to characterize V. cholerae O1 isolates from outbreaks in Thailand with special reference to genotypic variations over time. ⋯ MLVA provided a high-throughput genetic typing tool for understanding the in-depth epidemiology of cholera outbreaks. Our epidemiological surveys suggest that some clones of V. cholerae O1 with similar but distinctive genetic traits circulate in outbreak sites, while others disappear over time.
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Whether face perception involves domain-specific or domain-general processing is an extensively debated issue. Relative to non-face objects and alphabetical scripts, Chinese characters provide a good contrast to faces because of their structural configuration, requirement for high level of visual expertise to literate Chinese people, and unique appearance and identity for each individual stimulus. To examine potential categorical differences in their neural processing, event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to blocked face and Chinese character stimuli. ⋯ Moreover, faces elicited a larger and later P1 and a larger adaptation-by-rate effect on P1 relative to characters. The adaptation-by-orientation effect was illustrated by a larger P1 under the same relative to the alternated orientation condition. Therefore, evidence from the amplitude and the lateralization of N170, the stimulus inversion effect on N170 latency, and the neural adaptation between faces and Chinese characters on P1 and N170 components support the notion that the processing of faces and Chinese characters involve categorically different neural mechanisms.
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Conservation investment, particularly for charismatic and wide-ranging large mammal species, needs to be evidence-based. Despite the prevalence of this theme within the literature, examples of robust data being generated to guide conservation policy and funding decisions are rare. We present the first published case-study of tiger conservation in Indochina, from a site where an evidence-based approach has been implemented for this iconic predator and its prey. ⋯ Based on these results and similar findings from neighbouring sites, Eastern Cambodia does not currently constitute a Tiger Source Site nor meet the criteria of a Global Priority Tiger Landscape. However, SPF retains global importance for many other elements of biodiversity. It retains high regional importance for ungulate populations and potentially in the future for Indochinese tigers, given adequate prey and protection.
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Bcr and Abr are GTPase activating proteins that specifically downregulate activity of the small GTPase Rac in restricted cell types in vivo. Rac1 is expressed in smooth muscle cells, a critical cell type involved in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. The molecular mechanisms that underlie hypoxia-associated pulmonary hypertension are not well-defined. ⋯ Bcr and Abr play a critical role in down-regulating hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension by deactivating Rac1 and, through this, reducing both oxidative stress generated by leukocytes as well as p38 phosphorylation, IL-6 production and proliferation of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells.