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The present study used a mild contusion injury in rat spinal cord to determine that thymoquinone reduces inflammatory response, oxidative stress and apoptosis in a spinal cord injury (SCI) rat model and to demonstrate its possible molecular mechanisms. The rats in the thymoquinone group received 30 mg/kg thymoquinone once daily by intragastric administration from 3 weeks after surgery. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan (BBB) scale and tissue water content detection were used in the present study to analyze the effect of thymoquinone on SCI. The activity of inflammatory response mediators, oxidative stress factors and caspase-3/9 was measured using ELISA kits. Furthermore, western blotting was performed to analyzed the protein expression levels of prostaglandin E2, suppressed cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and activated peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ), PI3K and Akt. The results from the study demonstrated that thymoquinone increased Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan score and decreased water content in spinal cord tissue. Treatment with thymoquinone decreased inflammatory response [measured by levels of tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-18], oxidative stress (measured by levels of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione and malondialdehyde) and cell apoptosis (measured by levels of caspase-3 and caspase-9) in SCI rats. Thymoquinone treatment inhibited prostaglandin E2 activity, suppressed COX-2 protein expression and activated PPAR-γ, PI3K and p-Akt protein expression in SCI rats. These data revealed that thymoquinone reduces inflammatory response, oxidative stress and apoptosis via PPAR-γ and PI3K/Akt pathways in an SCI rat model.

The magnetic anomaly induced by an inhomogeneous velocity field under tsunami waves in open ocean is investigated. With asymptotical analysis, an explicit series solution of the kinematic dynamo problem is established for weak dispersive water waves. The magnetic field induced by typical tsunami models, including single wave and N -wave, can be directly obtained using the proposed series solution. The characteristics of the magnetic field induced by two realistic tsunami events are investigated. By analysis, the magnetic magnitude induced by a 1 m high tsunami is estimated as of the order of 10 nT at the sea surface, which depends on the wave parameters as well as the Earth's magnetic field. The space and time behaviour of the magnetic field shows fair similarity with the field data at Easter Island during the 2010 Chile tsunami.

The dynamics of water waves passing over a vegetation canopy is modelled theoretically. To simplify the geometry, we examine a periodic array of vertical cylinders fixed on a slowly varying seabed. The macroscale behaviour of wave attenuation is predicted based on microscale dynamics between plants. Interstitial turbulence is modelled by Reynolds equations with a locally constant eddy viscosity determined by energy considerations. Using the asymptotic method of multiple-scale expansions, the slow evolution of waves is derived by considering the coupling with the small-scale motion in the canopy. After numerical solution of the canonical boundary-value problem in a few unit cells, predictions of macroscale effects such as wave attenuation are made and compared with laboratory experiments. The counteracting effects of shoaling and dissipation are discussed for different vegetation densities.