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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the advantages of using the UCLP software for network operators, advanced and regular end users in the research networking community. Design/methodology/approach – This paper provides an example of the deployment of UCLP in the GÉANT2/National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) scenario, and compares how network operators, advanced users and regular end users would do their work, with and without UCLP. Findings – The paper provides high‐level technical information about UCLP as well as depicting the drivers for its use in the European research networking community. Research limitations/implications – This paper does not explain the details of the deployment of the software in the GÉANT2/National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) scenario, it just explains the benefits that the deployment of the software would provide. If the deployment was to be done today, some improvements to UCLP should be done, as well as support for more equipment vendors should be added. Practical implications – UCLP could provide more flexibility to the e‐science community if it was deployed over the European research networking infrastructure, because it would isolate network users from each other while providing them an unprecedented degree of control over the network. Originality/value – Nowadays, several control/management solutions for networks exist, but none that is capable of partitioning a physical network into slices and handoff its management to the users, like UCLP does. This is the first UCLP paper that studies a hypothetical deployment of UCLP in the European research networking scenario, and evaluates the drivers and implications of such a deployment.

This study aims to investigate the potential of pumpkin seed oil (PSO) and zinc to attenuate oxidative stress and neuroinflammation caused by chronic mild stress (CMS) in the cerebral cortex of male rats.

The rats were submitted to stress for six weeks and then the behavior of the rats was tested by forced swimming test (FST) and novel cage test. The treated groups were given venlafaxine (20 mg/kg), pumpkin seed oil (40 mg/kg) and zinc (4 mg/kg). The cortex homogenate was used for the detection of the oxidative stress parameters, the concentration of neurotransmitters, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β), Na+/K+-ATPase activity, and the expression of histamine N-methyltransferase (Hnmt) and tyrosine hydroxylase (Th).

CMS causes a significant increase in immobility time in the FST and a significant decrease in the number of rearing in the novel cage test. CMS group showed a significant increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, levels of cortisol, TNF-α, IL-1β, nitric oxide and malondialdehyde. CMS caused a significant decrease in the concentrations of serotonin, GABA, norepinephrine, and the activities of glutathione peroxidase, catalase, superoxide dismutase and Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase. CMS caused a marked reduction in the expression of Hnmt and Th in the cortex. PSO and zinc attenuated the Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity, oxidative parameters and neuroinflammation induced by the CMS, and this was reflected by the elevation of the concentration of neurotransmitters and reduction of cortisol and ALT, in addition to the behavior normalization. PSO and zinc attenuated the CMS by improving the antioxidant milieu and anti-inflammatory status of the cerebral cortex.

There are no studies on the effect of pumpkin seed oil on depression