Enhancement of motor functional recovery in thoracic spinal cord injury: voluntary wheel running versus forced treadmill exercise

Spinal cord injury necessitates effective rehabilitation strategies, with exercise therapies showing promise in promoting recovery. This study investigated the impact of rehabilitation exercise on functional recovery and morphological changes following thoracic contusive spinal cord injury. After a 7-day recovery period after spinal cord injury, mice were assigned to either a trained group(10 weeks of voluntary running wheel or forced treadmill exercise) or an untrained group. Bi-weekly assessments revealed that the exercise-trained group, particularly the voluntary wheel exercise subgroup, displayed significantly improved locomotor recovery, more plasticity of dopaminergic and serotonin modulation compared with the untrained group. Additionally, exercise interventions led to gait pattern restoration and enhanced transcranial magnetic motor-evoked potentials. Despite consistent injury areas across groups, exercise training promoted terminal innervation of descending axons. In summary, voluntary wheel exercise shows promise for enhancing outcomes after thoracic contusive spinal cord injury, emphasizing the role of exercise modality in promoting recovery and morphological changes in spinal cord injuries. Our findings will influence future strategies for rehabilitation exercises, restoring functional movement after spinal cord injury.

Carbonylative Coupling of 4,4’-Diiodobiphenyl Catalyzed by Pd(NHC) Complex

To develop a luminescent material with high color purity, luminous efficiency, and stability, we synthesized diketone by carbonylative Suzuki coupling in the presence of Pd(NHC) complex as the catalyst. Carbonylative coupling of 4,4’-diiodobiphenyl and phenylboronic acid was investigated to study in detail the catalytic ability of the Pd(NHC) complex. Reactions were carried out using both CO and metal carbonyls. Bis-(1,3-dihydro-1,3-dimethyl-2H-imidazol- 2-ylidene) diiodo palladium was used as the catalytic complex. Reaction products biphenyl-4,4’-diylbis (phenyl- methanone) 3 and (4’-iodobiphenyl-4-yl)(phenyl) methanone 4 were obtained as a result of CO insertion into the palladium(II)-aryl bond. However, when pyridine-4-yl boronic acid was used in place of phenylboronic acid as the starting reagent, synthetic reaction yielding 3 and 4 were found not to occur.

Animal models of axon regeneration after spinal cord injury

With advances in genetic and imaging techniques, investigating axon regeneration after spinal cord injury in vivo is becoming more common in the literature. However, there are many issues to consider when using animal models of axon regeneration, including species, strains and injury models. No single particular model suits all types of experiments and each hypothesis being tested requires careful selection of the appropriate animal model. In this review, we describe several commonly-used animal models of axon regeneration in the spinal cord and discuss their advantages and disadvantages.

Examining global warming factors using self-organizing map and Granger causality network:a case from South Korea

Background Understanding and patterning the possible causal variables of global warming is attributed to the development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies for climate change.Therefore,we aimed to pattern and visualize the possible causal variables of global warming and measure the causality between them.Methods We patterned and visualized the time series(103 years,from 1918 to 2020)of global surface temperature(GTemp)data with the gross domestic product(GDP)per capita,human population(Pop),and carbon dioxide(CO_(2))emissions of South Korea using a self-organizing map(SOM)and examined the causable local feature of global warming using the Granger causality(GC)test.The time-series data were trained and mapped in 4×4 SOM grids,and causality networks between variables were examined using multivariate Granger test statistics.Results SOM patterned 103 years of data,and a dominant cluster contained continuous time-series data from 2007 to 2020.Similarly,the CO_(2)emissions of South Korea were obtained as a predictable unidirectional causal variable for GTemp from GC analysis.Based on data from the past 34 years,significant causality(p-value=0.01)was observed with the integrated effect of Pop,GDP,and CO_(2)on GTemp.Conclusion This study patterned the time-series data using SOM and examined the causal relationship between variables using the GC test.The study framework could be used as a reference by future scholars,ecologists,and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.