“
“Objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex chronic inflammatory C188-9 disease involving oxidative stress as well as a wide variety of cells activated from smoking cigarettes. There have been disappointingly few therapeutic advances in drug therapy for COPD. Plant polyphenols have been the topic of much research regarding their antioxidant activities and antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. In the present study, we ask whether

apple polyphenol provides protection against cigarette smoke (CS)-induced acute lung injury.\n\nMethods: ICR mice were exposed to CS for 4 d with increasing exposure time for up to 6 h per day to elicit epithelial cells injury. One hour before smoke exposure, mice were treated

with apple polyphenol (APP) by gavage; all examinations were performed 18 h after the last CS exposure.\n\nResults: APP at 30, 100, or 300 mg not only significantly dose-dependently reduced the CS-induced accumulation of inflammatory cells and gene/protein expression of proinflammatory factors both in the lung and in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, but also significantly reversed oxidative stress in the lungs. Additionally, treatment with APP also significantly APO866 regulated the CS-induced imbalance of matrix metalloproteinases-9/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 expression in the lungs. To investigate further the possible signaling pathway of APP effects, we examined protein expression of p-P38 MAPK by immunohistochemistry that found treatment with APP significantly decreased the CS-induced increases of p-P38 expression in the lungs.\n\nConclusion:

Taken together, APP may be a potential dietary nutrient supplement agent to improve quality of life of COPD patients by inhibiting CS-exposed acute lung injury via P38 MAPK signaling pathway. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“Previous work has found yield-maximizing nitrogen (N) rates in switchgrass production and results have varied widely. Little attention, however, has been given to estimating profit-maximizing N rates. Bromosporine purchase The objectives of this research were to determine the (1) yield- and (2) profit-maximizing N rates for producing switchgrass on four soil types/landscapes in Tennessee. Mixed models were used to perform an analysis of variance on the effects of four N rates on average yield and average net returns for switchgrass grown on the four soil types/landscapes. Data were analyzed from a switchgrass experiment conducted at Milan, Tennessee over a six-year period on: (1) a moderately- to well-drained level upland (WDLU), (2) a moderately- to well-drained flood plain (WDFP), (3) a moderate-to somewhat poorly-drained eroded sloping upland (MDSU), and (4) a poorly-drained flood plain (PDFP). The N rates that maximized average yield were 67, 134, 134, and 200 kg N ha(-1) for the WDFP, WDLU, MDSU, and PDFP soil types/landscapes, respectively.