The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of isolated lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on the quality of high moisture rye silage. Rye forage (Secale cereale L.) was harvested at the heading stage (27.3% of dry matter (DM)) and cut into approximately 3-5 cm lengths. Then, the forage divided into 4 treatments with different inoculants: 1) No additives (CON); 2) Lactobacillus brevis strain 100D8 at a 1.2 x 105 colony-forming unit (cfu)/g of fresh forage (LBR); 3) Leuconostoc holzapfelii strain 5H4 at a 1.0 x 105 cfu/g of fresh forage (LHO); and 4) Mixture of LBR and LHO (1:1 ratio) applied at a 1.0 x 105 cfu/g of fresh forage (MIX). About 3 kg of forage from each treatment was ensiled into a 20 L mini-bucket silo in quadruplicate for 100 days. After silo opening, silage was collected for analyses of chemical compositions, in vitro nutrient digestibilities, fermentation characteristics, and microbial enumerations. The CON silage had the highest concentrations of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber (p = 0.006; p = 0.008) and a lowest in vitro DM digestibility (p < 0.001). The pH was highest in CON silage, while lowest in LBR and MIX silages (p < 0.001). The concentrations of ammonia-N, lactate, and acetate were highest in LBR silage (p = 0.008; p < 0.001; p < 0.001). Propionate and butyrate concentrations were highest in CON silage (p = 0.004; p < 0.001). The LAB and yeast counts were higher in CON and LHO silages compare to LBR and MIX silages (p < 0.001). However, the mold did not detect in all treatments. Therefore, this study could conclude that L. brevis 100D8 and Leu. holzapfelii strain 5H4 can improve the digestibility and anti-fungal activity of high moisture rye silage.

Aralia elata, Chaenomeles sinensis fruit, and Glycyrrhizae radix have been widely used as oriental medicinal plants in Korea, China and Japan and found to possess anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. The current study was conducted to investigate the neuroprotective effect of an ethanol extract of a mixture of A. elata, C. sinensis fruit, and Glycyrrhizae radix (ACG) against ischemia-induced brain injury in rats and excitotoxic and oxidative neuronal death in primarily cultured rat cortical neurons. Transient focal cerebral ischemia was induced by 2 h middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by 24 h reperfusion (MCAO/R) in rats. Oral administration of ACG (10, 25, and 50 mg/kg) 30 min before MCAO, after 1 h of MCAO, and after 1 h of reperfusion reduced MCAO/R-induced brain infarct and edema formation. ACG also inhibited development of behavioral disabilities in MCAO/R-treated rats. Exposure of cultured cortical neurons to 500 μM glutamate for 12 h resulted in neuronal cell death. ACG (1, 10, and 50 μg/mL) inhibited glutamate-induced neuronal death. Furthermore, ACG inhibited 100 μM hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)- and hypoxia-induced neuronal death. These results suggest that the neuroprotective effect of ACG against ischemia-induced brain damage might be associated with its anti-excitotoxic and anti-oxidative activity and that ACG may have a therapeutic role for prevention of neurodegeneration in stroke.

The present study was aimed to estimate the effect of ensiling period and bacterial inoculants on chemical compositions and fermentation characteristics on rye silage harvested at delayed stage. Rye (Secale cereale L.) was harvested after 20 days of heading stage (29.4% dry matter, DM). The harvested rye forage was applied with different inoculants following: applications of distilled water (CON), Lactobacillus brevis (LBB), Leuconostoc holzapfelii (LCH), or mixture of LBB and LCH at 1:1 ratio (MIX). Each forage was ensiled into 20 L mini bucket silo (5 kg) for 50 (E50D) and 100 (E100D) days in triplicates. The E50D silages had higher in vitro digestibilities of DM (IVDMD, p<0.001) and neutral detergent fiber (IVNDFD, p=0.013), and lactate (p=0.009), and acetate (p=0.011) than those of E100D, but lower pH, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and yeast. By inoculant application, LCH had highest IVDMD and IVNDFD (p<0.05), while MIX had highest lactate and lowest pH (p<0.05). The CON and LCH in E50D had highest LAB and yeast (p<0.05), whereas LBB in E100D had lowest (p<0.05). Therefore, this study concluded that LCH application improved the nutrient digesbility (IVDMD and IVNDFD) of lignified rye silage, and longer ensiling period for 100 days enhanced the fermentation characteristics of silage compared to ensiling for 50 days.

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) metastasis is characterized by distant metastasis and local recurrence. Combined chemotherapy with cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil is routinely used to treat patients with OSCC, and the combined use of gefitinib with cytotoxic drugs has been reported to enhance the sensitivity of cancer cells in vitro . However, the development of drug resistance because of prolonged chemotherapy is inevitable, leading to a poor prognosis. Therefore, understanding alterations in signaling pathways and gene expression is crucial for overcoming the development of drug resistance. However, the altered characterization of Ca2+ signaling in drug-resistant OSCC cells remains unclear. In this study, we investigated alterations in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) mobilization upon the development of gefitinib resistance in human tongue squamous carcinoma cell line (HSC)-3 and HSC-4 using ratiometric analysis. This study demonstrated the presence of altered epidermal growth factor- and purinergic agonist-mediated [Ca2+]i mobilization in gefitinib-resistant OSCC cells. Moreover, Ca2+ content in the endoplasmic reticulum, store-operated calcium entry, and lysosomal Ca2+ release through the transient receptor potential mucolipin 1, were confirmed to be significantly reduced upon the development of apoptosis resistance. Consistent with [Ca2+]i mobilization, we identified modified expression levels of Ca2+ signaling-related genes in gefitinib-resistant cells. Taken together, we propose that the regulation of [Ca2+]i mobilization and related gene expression can be a new strategy to overcome drug resistance in patients with cancer.