Protective Effect of Wheat Peptides Against Small Intestinal Damage Induced by Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Rats

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs（NSAIDs） were able to produce tissue damage and oxidative stress in animal models of small intestinal damage. In this study, the putative protective effect of wheat peptides was evaluated in a NSAID-induced small intestinal damage model in rats, different doses of wheat peptides or distilled water were administered daily by intragastric administration for 30 d until small intestinal damage was caused. Before sacrificing, NSAIDs（aspirin and indomethacin） or physiological saline were infused into the digestive tract twice. Wheat peptides administration reduced edema and small intestinal damage, and significantly decreased the level of tumor necrosis factor（TNF）-α in mucous membrane of small intestine. Oxidative stress was significantly increased after NSAID infusion and was reduced by wheat peptides. Wheat peptides increased glutathione peroxidase（GSH-Px） activity in mucous membrane of small intestine. μ-Opioid receptor mRNA expression decreased more significantly in wheat peptides treated rats than in the model control group. Overall, the results suggest that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs induced small intestinal damage in rats and wheat peptides administration may be an effective tool for protecting small intestinal tissue against NSAID-induced small intestinal damage and oxidative stress.

Effect of dual and new generation wide-base tire assembly on inverted pavements

The conventional flexible pavements have been constructed such that the stiffness of the layer reduces with depth.The crust thickness becomes significantly high for heavy traffic corridors resulting in the consumption of large quantities of construction materials and also increasing environmental pollution.Inverted pavements with the aggregate interlayer(AIL)or stress absorbing membrane interlayer(SAMI)are considered to be one of the alternatives for thick conventional flexible pavements for heavy traffic corridors.The AIL or SAMI is placed between a stiff cement-treated base and asphalt concrete layer to function as crack relief layers.This change in the composition alters the behaviour of inverted pavements compared to the conventional flexible pavements.On the other hand,wide-base tires are being increasingly preferred by trucking industries due to increased fuel economy and cargo capacity.However,the effect of wide-base tires on the performance of inverted pavements is yet to be investigated.In this study,the 3D finite element(FE)models of inverted pavements considering different crack relief layers were developed,and load from dual-wheel and wide-base tires were applied.The stress-strain evolution in the various layers of inverted pavements was investigated and discussed in this study.The results indicated the higher stress and strains due to wide base tires compared to the dual-wheel assembly.Further,pavement with SAMI was found to result in lower stress and strains in the asphalt concrete layer compared to AIL pavements.