miRNA Repertoires of Demosponges Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria

KAUST Repository

Liew, Yi Jin

2016-02-12

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that are involved in many biological process in eukaryotes. They play a crucial role in modulating genetic expression of their targets, which makes them integral components of transcriptional regulatory networks. As sponges (phylum Porifera) are commonly considered the most basal metazoan, the in-depth capture of miRNAs from these organisms provides additional clues to the evolution of miRNA families in metazoans. Here, we identified the core proteins involved in the biogenesis of miRNAs, and obtained evidence for bona fide miRNA sequences for two marine sponges Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria (11 and 19 respectively). Our analysis identified several miRNAs that are conserved amongst demosponges, and revealed that all of the novel miRNAs identified in these two species are specific to the class Demospongiae.

miRNA Repertoires of Demosponges Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria

KAUST Repository

Liew, Yi Jin; Ryu, Tae Woo; Aranda, Manuel; Ravasi, Timothy

2016-01-01

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small regulatory RNAs that are involved in many biological process in eukaryotes. They play a crucial role in modulating genetic expression of their targets, which makes them integral components of transcriptional regulatory networks. As sponges (phylum Porifera) are commonly considered the most basal metazoan, the in-depth capture of miRNAs from these organisms provides additional clues to the evolution of miRNA families in metazoans. Here, we identified the core proteins involved in the biogenesis of miRNAs, and obtained evidence for bona fide miRNA sequences for two marine sponges Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria (11 and 19 respectively). Our analysis identified several miRNAs that are conserved amongst demosponges, and revealed that all of the novel miRNAs identified in these two species are specific to the class Demospongiae.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal impacts on competitive interactions between Acacia etbaica and Boswellia papyrifera seedlings under drought stress

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Birhane, E.; Sterck, F.J.; Bongers, F.; Kuyper, T.W.

2014-01-01

Aims Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi can have a substantial effect on the water and nutrient uptake by plants and the competition between plants in harsh environments where resource availability comes in pulses. In this study we focus on interspecific competition between Acaia etbaica and Boswellia

The genus Clathria from the Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean, with redescription and resurrection of Clathria carteri (Poecilosclerida: Microcionidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Patricia

2014-04-16

The present study deals with the morphologic variability of eight Clathria species from the southern Gulf of Mexico and Mexican Caribbean. Clathria (Clathria) foliacea, C. (C.) carteri, C. (Microciona) calla, C. (M.) echinata, C. (M.) spinosa, C. (Thalysias.) venosa, and C. (T.) virgultosa were collected by scuba diving and dredging from the southern Gulf of Mexico (Veracruz, Campeche Bank, Yucatan) to the Caribbean coast (Quintana Roo) from shoreline to 120 m depth. The population of Clathria seems to be neither abundant nor diverse in the studied area. However, the seven species considered here are presumed to have a slight morphologic variability, and the interspecific relationships had not been fully resolved. The present study focuses on their differentiation through comparison of external morphology, skeletal architecture, spiculation and measurements of characters as well as scanning electronic microscopy.    Comparisons were made among intra- and interspecific material and with the available type material. In particular, C. carteri Topsent (1889), previously synonymized with C. foliacea, is resurrected by establishing a neotype from material from the type locality, Campeche Bank; this has not been studied since its original description and is here redescribed for the first time. Another neotype is assigned for C. foliacea from Campeche also, since the original material is no longer available, and this species is redescribed also. Significant differences in spiculation between C. foliacea and C. carteri were found by one-way ANOVA. Although C. (T.) venosa resembles C. (T.) raraechelae in spiculation, these two species differ in measurements and skeletal organization. C. (T.) virgultosa is typified by a peculiar acanthostyle that is markedly spined on distal parts of the shaft, and by two types of tiny microscleres. This study has extended the known geographic distribution of each of these Clathria spp. within the lower Gulf of Mexico.

The Antioxidant Capacity and Anti-diabetic Effect of Boswellia serrata Triana and Planch Aqueous Extract in Fertile Female Diabetic Rats and the Possible Effects on Reproduction and Histological Changes in the Liver and Kidneys.

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Azemi, Mohamad Ebrahim; Namjoyan, Foroogh; Khodayar, Mohammad Javad; Ahmadpour, Forouzan; Darvish Padok, Azam; Panahi, Marziyeh

2012-01-01

Boswellia serrata has been used in a wide variety of diseases, including diabetes mellitus and inflammatory diseases. This study focused on the effects of Boswellia serrata aqueous extract on blood glucose and the complications of diabetes in the liver and kidneys and examined the impact of plant on reproduction in diabetic rats. The antioxidant capacity of plant extract was performed using FRAP assay. Diabetic and control rats were administered 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg Boswellia serrata extract. Vaginal plaque was mentioned as a positive sign of pregnancy ;and treatment started with extract or vehicle from 1th to 17th day of gestation by gastric gavage. Blood glucose was measured during 17 days. The Administration of Boswellia serrata in diabetic rats significantly decreased the level of blood glucose and HbA1c after 17th days (P ≤ 0.01). In diabetic group that received no treatment, the abortion of fetus spontaneous was 19.14%. The percentage of absorptions significantly was elevated in vehicle-treated diabetic rats, in comparison with vehicle- treated healthy rats. In the diabetic group, separated necrosis of hepatocytes, anarchism of liver plates, and lymphocytic inflammation were improved. Diabetic complications were not seen and the severity of damage was reduced. These damages include: lymphocytic inflammation in the port areas, irregularities, apoptosis of liver cells, and dilatation of the sinusoids. The results suggest that Boswellia serrata extract has the antidiabetic effects and can prevent the complications of diabetes in the kidneys and liver.

Age and growth in the Australian freshwater mussel, Westralunio carteri , with an evaluation of the fluorochrome calcein for validating the assumption of annulus formation

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Michael W. Klunzinger; Stephen J. Beatty; David L. Morgan; Alan J. Lymbery; Wendell R. Haag

2014-01-01

Growth and longevity of freshwater mussels (Unionida) are important for defining life-history strategies and assessing vulnerability to human impacts. We used mark–recapture and analysis of shell rings to investigate age and growth of the hyriid, Westralunio carteri, at 5 sites in southwestern Australia. We tested the utility of the in situ marker...

Novel polymorphic microsatellite markers developed for a common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri

KAUST Repository

Giles, E.C.; Saenz-Agudelo, P.; Berumen, Michael L.; Ravasi, Timothy

2013-01-01

Despite the ubiquitous role sponges play in reef ecosystem dynamics, little is known about population-level connectivity in these organisms. The general field of population genetics in sponges remains in its infancy. To date, microsatellite markers have only been developed for few sponge species and no sponge population genetics studies using microsatellites have been conducted in the Red Sea. Here, with the use of next-generation sequencing, we characterize 12 novel polymorphic loci for the common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri. The number of alleles per loci ranged between three and eight. Observed heterozygosity frequencies (Ho) ranged from 0.125 to 0.870, whereas expected (He) heterozygosity frequencies ranged from 0.119 to 0.812. Only one locus showed consistent deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in both populations and two loci consistently showed the possible presence of null alleles. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected for any pairs of loci. These microsatellites will be of use for numerous ecological studies focused on this common and abundant sponge. 2013 The Author(s).

Novel polymorphic microsatellite markers developed for a common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri

KAUST Repository

Giles, E.C.

2013-04-04

Despite the ubiquitous role sponges play in reef ecosystem dynamics, little is known about population-level connectivity in these organisms. The general field of population genetics in sponges remains in its infancy. To date, microsatellite markers have only been developed for few sponge species and no sponge population genetics studies using microsatellites have been conducted in the Red Sea. Here, with the use of next-generation sequencing, we characterize 12 novel polymorphic loci for the common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri. The number of alleles per loci ranged between three and eight. Observed heterozygosity frequencies (Ho) ranged from 0.125 to 0.870, whereas expected (He) heterozygosity frequencies ranged from 0.119 to 0.812. Only one locus showed consistent deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) in both populations and two loci consistently showed the possible presence of null alleles. No significant linkage disequilibrium was detected for any pairs of loci. These microsatellites will be of use for numerous ecological studies focused on this common and abundant sponge. 2013 The Author(s).

Hydrodynamic synchronization of flagella on the surface of the colonial alga Volvox carteri

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Brumley, Douglas; Polin, Marco; Goldstein, Raymond; Pedley, Timothy

2012-11-01

Whether on the surface of unicellular ciliates or in the respiratory epithelium, groups of eukaryotic cilia and flagella are capable of coordinating their beating over large scales. The mechanism responsible for the emergence of these metachronal waves is still unclear, mostly because finding an experimental system in which the beating filaments can be followed individually is challenging. We propose the multicellular green alga Volvox carteri as an ideal model system to study metachronal coordination, and report the existence of robust metachronal waves on its surface. Inspired by flagellar tip trajectories of Volvox somatic cells, we model a flagellum using a sphere of radius a elastically bound to a circular orbit of radius r0, perpendicular to a no-slip plane. This elastohydrodynamic model of weakly-coupled self-sustained oscillators can be recast in terms of interacting phase oscillators, offering an intuitive understanding of the mechanism driving the emergence of coordination. Our results confirm that elasticity is fundamental to guarantee fast and robust synchronization, and that sufficiently compliant trajectories lead to the emergence of metachronal waves in a manner essentially independent of boundary conditions.

Frankincense and myrrh essential oils and burn incense fume against micro-inhabitants of sacral ambients. Wisdom of the ancients?

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Ljaljević Grbić, Milica; Unković, Nikola; Dimkić, Ivica; Janaćković, Peđa; Gavrilović, Milan; Stanojević, Olja; Stupar, Miloš; Vujisić, Ljubodrag; Jelikić, Aleksa; Stanković, Slaviša; Vukojević, Jelena

2018-03-09

Essential oils obtained from resins of Boswellia carteri Birdw. and Commiphora myrrha (Nees) Engl., commonly known as frankincense and true myrrh respectively, have been used extensively since 2800 BCE for the treatment of skin sores, wounds, teeth, inflammation, and urinary tract diseases in traditional medicine; for preparation of mummification balms and unguents; and also as incense and perfumes. Since ancient times, burning of frankincense and myrrh in places of worship for spiritual purposes and contemplation (a ubiquitous practice across various religions) had hygienic functions, to refine the smell and reduce contagion by purifying the indoor air. The general purpose of the study was to assess the in vitro antimicrobial potential of the liquid and vapour phases of B. carteri and C. myrrha essential oils and burn incense, as well as to test the effectiveness of their in situ application to cleanse microbially-contaminated air within the ambient of an investigated 17th-century church. The chemical composition of B. carteri and C. myrrha essential oils, obtained by hydrodistillation of frankincense and true myrrh oleo gum resins was determined using GC/MS, and antimicrobial properties of their liquid and vapour phases were assessed by the broth microdilution and microatmosphere diffusion methods. Chemical analysis of burn incense fume obtained using bottle gas washing with dichloromethane as a solvent was performed by GC/MS, while its antimicrobial activity was evaluated using a modified microatmosphere diffusion method to evaluate germination inhibition for fungi and CFU count reduction for bacteria. The in situ antimicrobial activity of B. carteri burn incense and essential oil vapour phase was assessed in the sealed nave and diaconicon of the church, respectively. The dominant compounds of B. carteri EO were α-pinene (38.41%) and myrcene (15.21%), while C. myrrha EO was characterized by high content of furanoeudesma-1,3-diene (17.65%), followed by curzerene

A simple high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the estimation of boswellic acids from the market formulations containing Boswellia serrata extract.

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Shah, Shailesh A; Rathod, Ishwarsinh S; Suhagia, Bhanubhai N; Pandya, Saurabh S; Parmar, Vijay K

2008-09-01

A simple, rapid, and reproducible reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method is developed for the estimation of boswellic acids, the active constituents in Boswellia serrata oleo-gum resin. The chromatographic separation is performed using a mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile-water (90:10, % v/v) adjusted to pH 4 with glacial acetic acid on a Kromasil 100 C18 analytical column with flow rate of 2.0 mL/min and detection at 260 nm. The elution times are 4.30 and 7.11 min for 11-keto beta-boswellic acid (11-KBA) and 3-acetyl 11-keto beta-boswellic acid (A-11-KBA), respectively. The calibration curve is linear in the 11.66-58.30 microg/mL and 6.50-32.50 microg/mL range for 11-KBA and A-11-KBA, respectively. The limits of detection are 2.33 microg/mL and 1.30 microg/mL for 11-KBA and A-11-KBA, respectively. The mean recoveries are 98.24% to 104.17% and 94.12% to 105.92% for 11-KBA and A-11-KBA, respectively. The inter- and intra-day variation coefficients are less than 5%. The present method is successfully applied for the estimation of boswellic acids from the market formulations containing Boswellia serrata extract.

Morphological alteration, lysosomal membrane fragility and apoptosis of the cells of Indian freshwater sponge exposed to washing soda (sodium carbonate).

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Mukherjee, Soumalya; Ray, Mitali; Dutta, Manab Kumar; Acharya, Avanti; Mukhopadhyay, Sandip Kumar; Ray, Sajal

2015-12-01

Washing soda is chemically known as sodium carbonate and is a component of laundry detergent. Domestic effluent, drain water and various anthropogenic activities have been identified as major routes of sodium carbonate contamination of the freshwater ecosystem. The freshwater sponge, Eunapius carteri, bears ecological and evolutionary significance and is considered as a bioresource in aquatic ecosystems. The present study involves estimation of morphological damage, lysosomal membrane integrity, activity of phosphatases and apoptosis in the cells of E. carteri under the environmentally realistic concentrations of washing soda. Exposure to washing soda resulted in severe morphological alterations and damages in cells of E. carteri. Fragility and destabilization of lysosomal membranes of E. carteri under the sublethal exposure was indicative to toxin induced physiological stress in sponge. Prolonged exposure to sodium carbonate resulted a reduction in the activity of acid and alkaline phosphatases in the cells of E. carteri. Experimental concentration of 8 mg/l of washing soda for 192 h yielded an increase in the physiological level of cellular apoptosis among the semigranulocytes and granulocytes of E. carteri, which was suggestive to possible shift in apoptosis mediated immunoprotection. The results were indicative of an undesirable shift in the immune status of sponge. Contamination of the freshwater aquifers by washing soda thus poses an alarming ecotoxicological threat to sponges. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Efficient preparation of incensole and incensole acetate, and quantification of these bioactive diterpenes in Boswellia papyrifera by a RP-DAD-HPLC method.

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Paul, Michael; Jauch, Johann

2012-03-01

Incensole and incensole acetate, found in incense, are encouraging potent bioactive diterpenic cembrenoids, inhibiting Nuclear Factor-kappaB activation. Furthermore, incensole acetate elicits psycho-activity in mice by activating the TRPV3 channels in the brain. Starting from crude extracts of the incense species Boswellia papyrifera Hochst., a convenient procedure for the efficient large-scale synthesis of incensole and its acetate is presented. Additionally, a reversed-phase, diode-array-detection, high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-DAD-HPLC) method for the quantification of incensole and incensole acetate is reported, indicating that these two compounds are typical biomarkers for B. papyrifera.

Antioxidant and Ex Vivo Immune System Regulatory Properties of Boswellia serrata Extracts

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Daniela Beghelli

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Boswellia serrata (BS is an important traditional medicinal plant that currently represents an interesting topic for pharmaceutical research since it possesses several pharmacological properties (e.g., anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antitumour. The safety and versatility of this dietary supplement should allow for its use in numerous pathological conditions; however the quality of the extracts needs to be standardized to increase the clinical success rate resulting from its use. In the present study, different commercially available B. serrata extracts were employed to compare their AKBA content and in vitro antioxidant power. Furthermore, their ability to modulate the immune system regulatory properties was investigated. Our results showed that the AKBA content varied from 3.83±0.10 to 0.03±0.004%, with one sample in which it was not detectable. The highest antioxidant power and phenolic content were shown by the same extract, which also exhibited the highest AKBA concentration. Finally, the BS extracts showed the ability to influence the regulatory and effector T-cell compartments. Our results suggest that frankincense should be further investigated for its promising potentiality to modulate not only inflammation/oxidative stress but also immune dysregulation, but attention should be paid to the composition of the commercial extracts.

Application of NIRS coupled with PLS regression as a rapid, non-destructive alternative method for quantification of KBA in Boswellia sacra

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Al-Harrasi, Ahmed; Rehman, Najeeb Ur; Mabood, Fazal; Albroumi, Muhammaed; Ali, Liaqat; Hussain, Javid; Hussain, Hidayat; Csuk, René; Khan, Abdul Latif; Alam, Tanveer; Alameri, Saif

2017-09-01

In the present study, for the first time, NIR spectroscopy coupled with PLS regression as a rapid and alternative method was developed to quantify the amount of Keto-β-Boswellic Acid (KBA) in different plant parts of Boswellia sacra and the resin exudates of the trunk. NIR spectroscopy was used for the measurement of KBA standards and B. sacra samples in absorption mode in the wavelength range from 700-2500 nm. PLS regression model was built from the obtained spectral data using 70% of KBA standards (training set) in the range from 0.1 ppm to 100 ppm. The PLS regression model obtained was having R-square value of 98% with 0.99 corelationship value and having good prediction with RMSEP value 3.2 and correlation of 0.99. It was then used to quantify the amount of KBA in the samples of B. sacra. The results indicated that the MeOH extract of resin has the highest concentration of KBA (0.6%) followed by essential oil (0.1%). However, no KBA was found in the aqueous extract. The MeOH extract of the resin was subjected to column chromatography to get various sub-fractions at different polarity of organic solvents. The sub-fraction at 4% MeOH/CHCl3 (4.1% of KBA) was found to contain the highest percentage of KBA followed by another sub-fraction at 2% MeOH/CHCl3 (2.2% of KBA). The present results also indicated that KBA is only present in the gum-resin of the trunk and not in all parts of the plant. These results were further confirmed through HPLC analysis and therefore it is concluded that NIRS coupled with PLS regression is a rapid and alternate method for quantification of KBA in Boswellia sacra. It is non-destructive, rapid, sensitive and uses simple methods of sample preparation.

Exploring seascape genetics and kinship in the reef sponge Stylissa carteri in the Red Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Giles, Emily C; Saenz-Agudelo, Pablo; Hussey, Nigel E; Ravasi, Timothy; Berumen, Michael L

2015-01-01

A main goal of population geneticists is to study patterns of gene flow to gain a better understanding of the population structure in a given organism. To date most efforts have been focused on studying gene flow at either broad scales to identify barriers to gene flow and isolation by distance or at fine spatial scales in order to gain inferences regarding reproduction and local dispersal. Few studies have measured connectivity at multiple spatial scales and have utilized novel tools to test the influence of both environment and geography on shaping gene flow in an organism. Here a seascape genetics approach was used to gain insight regarding geographic and ecological barriers to gene flow of a common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri in the Red Sea. Furthermore, a small-scale (Red Sea correlates strongly with environmental heterogeneity. At the scale of a 50-m transect, spatial autocorrelation analyses and estimates of full-siblings revealed that there is no deviation from random mating. However, at slightly larger scales (100–200 m) encompassing multiple transects at a given site, a greater proportion of full-siblings was found within sites versus among sites in a given location suggesting that mating and/or dispersal are constrained to some extent at this spatial scale. This study adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that environmental and ecological variables play a major role in the genetic structure of marine invertebrate populations. PMID:26257865

Rhizospheric microbial communities associated with wild and cultivated frankincense producing Boswellia sacra tree.

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Abdul Latif Khan

Full Text Available Boswellia sacra, a frankincense producing endemic tree, has been well known for its cultural, religious and economic values. However, the tree has been least explored for the associated microsymbiota in the rhizosphere. The current study elucidates the fungal and bacterial communities of the rhizospheric regions of the wild and cultivated B. sacra tree populations through next generation sequencing. The sequence analysis showed the existence of 1006±8.9 and 60.6±3.1 operational taxonomic unit (OTUs for bacterial and fungal communities respectively. In fungal communities, five major phyla were found with significantly higher abundance of Ascomycota (60.3% in wild population and Basidiomycota (52% in cultivated tree rhizospheres. Among bacterial communities, 31 major phyla were found, with significant distribution of Actinobacteria in wild tree rhizospheres, whereas Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria were highly abundant in cultivated trees. The diversity and abundance of microbiome varied significantly depending upon soil characteristics of the three different populations. In addition, significantly higher glucosidases, cellulases and indole-3-acetic acid were found in cultivated tree's rhizospheres as compared to wild tree populations. for these plants to survive the harsh arid-land environmental conditions. The current study is a first comprehensive work and advances our knowledge about the core fungal and bacterial microbial microbiome associated with this economically important tree.

Effects of Boswellia Papyrifera Gum Extract on Learning and Memory in

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Amir Farshchi

2010-04-01

Full Text Available Objective(sLearning is defined as the acquisition of information and skills, while subsequent retention of that information is called memory. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extract of Boswellia papyrifera on learning and memory paradigms in mice and rats.Materials and MethodsThis study was held at the Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kermanshah University of Medical Science, Kermanshah, Iran from September 2006 to March 2008. Male Wistar rats and male NMRI mice were randomly divided into control, B. papyrifera treated (50, 100, 150 mg/kg, p.o., and piracetam (150 mg/kg groups. Radial arm maze (RAM and Morris water maze (MWM were the screening tests used to assess the activity of B. papyrifera extract.ResultsThe mice treated with B. papyrifera (50, 100 and 150 mg/kg or piracetam (150 mg/kg showed a decrease in number of days required to learned (P< 0.05 and time taken to find food by the learned mice in radial arm maze (P< 0.01. In Morris water maze, rats treated with the above mentioned doses showed dose dependent improvement in spatial learning. Escape latency during swimming in water maze in piracetam and B. papyrifera treated animals was significantly lower (P< 0.01 than control. Swimming distance was also significantly lower (P< 0.05 in the treated groups.Conclusion The results show facilitation of spatial learning and memory processes and thereby validate B. papyrifera traditional use of intelligence improving. The presence of alkaloids, flavonoids and saponins might be responsible for this activity of B. papyrifera.

Exploring seascape genetics and kinship in the reef sponge Stylissa carteri in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Giles, Emily C.

2015-06-01

A main goal of population geneticists is to study patterns of gene flow to gain a better understanding of the population structure in a given organism. To date most efforts have been focused on studying gene flow at either broad scales to identify barriers to gene flow and isolation by distance or at fine spatial scales in order to gain inferences regarding reproduction and local dispersal. Few studies have measured connectivity at multiple spatial scales and have utilized novel tools to test the influence of both environment and geography on shaping gene flow in an organism. Here a seascape genetics approach was used to gain insight regarding geographic and ecological barriers to gene flow of a common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri in the Red Sea. Furthermore, a small-scale (<1 km) analysis was also conducted to infer reproductive potential in this organism. At the broad scale, we found that sponge connectivity is not structured by geography alone, but rather, genetic isolation in the southern Red Sea correlates strongly with environmental heterogeneity. At the scale of a 50-m transect, spatial autocorrelation analyses and estimates of full-siblings revealed that there is no deviation from random mating. However, at slightly larger scales (100–200 m) encompassing multiple transects at a given site, a greater proportion of full-siblings was found within sites versus among sites in a given location suggesting that mating and/or dispersal are constrained to some extent at this spatial scale. This study adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that environmental and ecological variables play a major role in the genetic structure of marine invertebrate populations.

Exploring seascape genetics and kinship in the reef sponge Stylissa carteri in the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Giles, Emily C.; Saenz Agudelo, Pablo; Hussey, Nigel E.; Ravasi, Timothy; Berumen, Michael L.

2015-01-01

A main goal of population geneticists is to study patterns of gene flow to gain a better understanding of the population structure in a given organism. To date most efforts have been focused on studying gene flow at either broad scales to identify barriers to gene flow and isolation by distance or at fine spatial scales in order to gain inferences regarding reproduction and local dispersal. Few studies have measured connectivity at multiple spatial scales and have utilized novel tools to test the influence of both environment and geography on shaping gene flow in an organism. Here a seascape genetics approach was used to gain insight regarding geographic and ecological barriers to gene flow of a common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri in the Red Sea. Furthermore, a small-scale (<1 km) analysis was also conducted to infer reproductive potential in this organism. At the broad scale, we found that sponge connectivity is not structured by geography alone, but rather, genetic isolation in the southern Red Sea correlates strongly with environmental heterogeneity. At the scale of a 50-m transect, spatial autocorrelation analyses and estimates of full-siblings revealed that there is no deviation from random mating. However, at slightly larger scales (100–200 m) encompassing multiple transects at a given site, a greater proportion of full-siblings was found within sites versus among sites in a given location suggesting that mating and/or dispersal are constrained to some extent at this spatial scale. This study adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that environmental and ecological variables play a major role in the genetic structure of marine invertebrate populations.

Curcumin and Boswellia serrata gum resin extract inhibit chikungunya and vesicular stomatitis virus infections in vitro.

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von Rhein, Christine; Weidner, Tatjana; Henß, Lisa; Martin, Judith; Weber, Christopher; Sliva, Katja; Schnierle, Barbara S

2016-01-01

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that causes chikungunya fever and has infected millions of people mainly in developing countries. The associated disease is characterized by rash, high fever, and severe arthritis that can persist for years. CHIKV has adapted to Aedes albopictus, which also inhabits temperate regions including Europe and the United States of America. CHIKV has recently caused large outbreaks in Latin America. No treatment or licensed CHIKV vaccine exists. Traditional medicines are known to have anti-viral effects; therefore, we examined whether curcumin or Boswellia serrata gum resin extract have antiviral activity against CHIKV. Both compounds blocked entry of CHIKV Env-pseudotyped lentiviral vectors and inhibited CHIKV infection in vitro. In addition, vesicular stomatitis virus vector particles and viral infections were also inhibited to the same extent, indicating a broad antiviral activity. Although the bioavailability of these compounds is rather poor, they might be used as a lead structure to develop more effective antiviral drugs or might be used topically to prevent CHIKV spread in the skin after mosquito bites. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Toxicity of Boswellia dalzielii (Burseraceae) Leaf Fractions Against Immature Stages of Anopheles gambiae (Giles) and Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) (Diptera: Culicidae)

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Younoussa, Lame; Nukenine, Elias Nchiwan; Esimone, Charles Okechukwu

2016-01-01

Mosquitoes are vectors of several human pathogens, and great attention has recently been placed on insecticides from plant-derived products, in search for mosquito control agents. This study, thus, investigated the potency of Boswellia dalzielii methanol leaf extract and its four fractions as mosquito ovicide, larvicide, and pupicide against Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus. The plant products were tested at the following concentrations: 125, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 ppm on eggs and 312.5, 625, 1250, and 2500 ppm on the larvae and pupae of the mosquitoes. For results, hatchability of A. gambiae eggs was reduced to 5% with n-hexane fraction at 2000 ppm. Among the plant products tested, n-hexane fraction was most toxic against A. gambiae (LC50 = 385.9 ppm) and C. quinquefasciatus (LC50 = 3394.9 ppm). The n-hexane fraction of B. dalzielii might be used as a mosquitocidal agent in the breeding sites of A. gambiae and C. quinquefasciatus. PMID:27279752

Curcumin and Boswellia serrata Modulate the Glyco-Oxidative Status and Lipo-Oxidation in Master Athletes

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Nino Cristiano Chilelli

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Chronic intensive exercise is associated with a greater induction of oxidative stress and with an excess of endogenous advanced glycation end-products (AGEs. Curcumin can reduce the accumulation of AGEs in vitro and in animal models. We examined whether supplementation with curcumin and Boswellia serrata (BSE gum resin for 3 months could affect plasma levels of markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and glycation in healthy master cyclists. Methods. Forty-seven healthy male athletes were randomly assigned to Group 1, consisting of 22 subjects given a Mediterranean diet (MD alone (MD group, and Group 2 consisted of 25 subjects given a MD plus curcumin and BSE (curcumin/BSE group. Interleukin-6 (IL-6, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα, high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP, total AGE, soluble receptor for AGE (sRAGE, malondialdehyde (MDA, plasma phospholipid fatty acid (PPFA composition, and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA were tested at baseline and after 12 weeks. Results: sRAGE, NEFA, and MDA decreased significantly in both groups, while only the curcumin/BSE group showed a significant decline in total AGE. Only the changes in total AGE and MDA differed significantly between the curcumin/BSE and MD groups. Conclusions. Our data suggest a positive effect of supplementation with curcumin and BSE on glycoxidation and lipid peroxidation in chronically exercising master athletes.

Chemical composition and biological activities of extracts and essential oil of Boswellia dalzielii leaves.

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Kohoude, Midéko Justin; Gbaguidi, Fernand; Agbani, Pierre; Ayedoun, Marc-Abel; Cazaux, Sylvie; Bouajila, Jalloul

2017-12-01

Boswellia dalzielii Hutch. (Burseraceae) is an aromatic plant. The leaves are used for beverage flavouring. This study investigates the chemical composition and biological activities of various extracts. The essential oil was prepared via hydrodistillation. Identification and quantification were realized via GC-MS and GC-FID. Consecutive extractions (cyclohexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate and methanol) were carried out and various chemical groups (phenolics, flavonoids, tannins, antocyanins and sugar) were quantified. The volatile compounds of organic extracts were identified before and after derivatization. Antioxidant, antihyperuricemia, anti-Alzheimer, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities were evaluated. In the essential oil, 50 compounds were identified, including 3-carene (27.72%) and α-pinene (15.18%). 2,5-Dihydroxy acetophenone and β-d-xylopyranose were identified in the methanol extract. Higher phenolic (315.97 g GAE/kg dry mass) and flavonoid (37.19 g QE/kg dry mass) contents were observed in the methanol extract. The methanol extract has presented remarkable IC 50  =   6.10 mg/L for antiDPPH, 35.10 mg/L for antixanthine oxidase and 28.01 mg/L for anti-5-lipoxygenase. For acetylcholinesterase inhibition, the best IC 50 (76.20 and 67.10 mg/L) were observed, respectively, with an ethyl acetate extract and the essential oil. At 50 mg/L, the dichloromethane extract inhibited OVCAR-3 cell lines by 65.10%, while cyclohexane extract inhibited IGROV-1 cell lines by 92.60%. Biological activities were fully correlated with the chemical groups of the extracts. The ethyl acetate and methanol extracts could be considered as potential alternatives for use in dietary supplements for the prevention or treatment of diseases because of these extracts natural antioxidant, antihyperuricemic and anti-inflammatory activities.

Larvicidal activity of Annona senegalensis and Boswellia dalzielii leaf fractions against Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae

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Younoussa Lame

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the larvicidal activity of leaf fractions of Annona senegalensis and Boswellia dalzielii against fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti. Fourth instar larvae of Ae. aegypti were exposed for 24 hours to various concentrations (312.5-2500 mg/L of methanolic crude extract and its fractions obtained with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl-acetate and methanol solvents, following WHO method. The mortalities recorded were subjected to ANOVA test for mean comparison and Probit analysis to determine LC50. Preliminary phytochemical screening test for some components of the plants assessed were also evaluated. The phytochemical screening of the two plants revealed the presence of alkaloids, steroids, phenolic compounds, terpenoids, fats and oils in the crude extracts which, after splitting were most distributed in n-hexane and chloroform fractions. Apart from methanol fraction, all products used showed a significant (P<0.001 concentration-dependent toxicity against Ae. aegypti larvae. The LC50 recorded with crude extract were 759.6 and 830.4 mg/L for A. senegalensis and B. dalzielli respectively. After fractionation, n-hexane and chloroform fractions of A. senegalensis revealed more effective activity than others with CL50 values of 379.3 and 595.2 mg/L respectively. As for B. dalzielli, n-hexane (LC50=537.1 mg/L and chloroform (LC50=585.5 mg/L fractions were also the most effective. These results suggest that the n-hexane and chloroform fractions of these plants as a promising larvicide against Ae. aegypti and can constitute the best basic and vital step in the development of a botanical insecticide source.

Adsorption kinetics, isotherm, and thermodynamics studies of acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acids (AKBA) from Boswellia serrata extract using macroporous resin.

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Niphadkar, Sonali S; Rathod, Virendra K

2017-09-14

An acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA) is potent anti-inflammatory agent found in Boswellia serrata oleogum resin. Adsorption characteristics of AKBA from B. serrata were studied using macroporous adsorbent resin to understand separation and adsorption mechanism of targeted molecules. Different macroporous resins were screened for adsorption and desorption of AKBA and Indion 830 was screened as it showed higher adsorption capacity. The kinetic equations were studied and results showed that the adsorption of AKBA on Indion 830 was well fitted to the pseudo first-order kinetic model. The influence of two parameters such as temperature (298, 303, and 308 K) and pH (5-8) on the adsorption process was also studied. The experimental data was further investigated using Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin isotherm models. It was observed that Langmuir isotherm model was found to be the best fit for AKBA adsorption by Indion 830 and highest adsorption capacity (50.34 mg/g) was obtained at temperature of 303 K. The values of thermodynamic parameters such as the change of Gibbs free energy (ΔG*), entropy (ΔS*), and enthalpy (ΔH*), indicated that the process of adsorption was spontaneous, favourable, and exothermic.

Shift in aggregation, ROS generation, antioxidative defense, lysozyme and acetylcholinesterase activities in the cells of an Indian freshwater sponge exposed to washing soda (sodium carbonate).

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Mukherjee, Soumalya; Ray, Mitali; Ray, Sajal

2016-09-01

Washing soda, chemically identified as anhydrous sodium carbonate, is a popular cleaning agent among the rural and urban populations of India which often contaminates the freshwater ponds and lakes, the natural habitat of sponge Eunapius carteri. Present investigation deals with estimation of cellular aggregation, generation of ROS and activities of antioxidant enzymes, lysozyme and acetylcholinesterase in the cells of E. carteri under the environmentally realistic concentrations of washing soda. Prolonged treatment of washing soda inhibited the degree of cellular aggregation. Experimental exposure of 8 and 16mg/l of sodium carbonate for 48h elevated the physiological level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in the agranulocytes, semigranulocytes and granulocytes of E. carteri, whereas, treatment of 192h inhibited the ROS generation in three cellular morphotypes. Activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione-S-transferase were recorded to be inhibited under prolonged exposure of washing soda. Washing soda mediated inhibition of ROS generation and depletion in the activities of antioxidant enzymes were indicative to an undesirable shift in cytotoxic status and antioxidative defense in E. carteri. Inhibition in the activity of lysozyme under the treatment of sodium carbonate was suggestive to a severe impairment of the innate immunological efficiency of E. carteri distributed in the washing soda contaminated habitat. Washing soda mediated inhibition in the activity of acetylcholinesterase indicated its neurotoxicity in E. carteri. Washing soda, a reported environmental contaminant, affected adversely the immunophysiological status of E. carteri with reference to cellular aggregation, oxidative stress, antioxidative defense, lysozyme and acetylcholinesterase activity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Ühendriikide endise presidendi juudikriitika vihastab ameeriklasi / Neeme Raud

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Raud, Neeme, 1969-

2007-01-01

USA endise presidendi Jimmy Carteri raamatus "Palestiina: rahu, mitte apartheid" kirjutab autor Lähis-Ida rahosobitamisest ja peab rahukõneluste takerdumises süüdlaseks Iisraeli. Lisa: Katke Jimmy Carteri raamatust; Arvustus

Synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of the antimicrobial efficacy of Boswellia ovalifoliolata stem bark-extract-mediated zinc oxide nanoparticles

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Supraja, N.; Prasad, T. N. V. K. V.; Krishna, T. Giridhara; David, E.

2016-04-01

Synthesis of metal nanoparticles using biological systems is an expanding research area in nanotechnology. Moreover, search for new nanoscale antimicrobials is been always attractive as they find numerous avenues for application in medicine. Biosynthesis of metallic nanoparticles is cost effective and eco-friendly compared to those of conventional methods of nanoparticles synthesis. Herein, we present the synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles using the stem bark extract of Boswellia ovalifoliolata, and evaluation of their antimicrobial efficacy. Stable ZnO nanoparticles were formed by treating 90 ml of 1 mM zinc nitrate aqueous solution with 10 ml of 10 % bark extract. The formation of B. ovalifoliolata bark-extract-mediated zinc oxide nanoparticles (BZnNPs) was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopic analysis and recorded the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) at 230 nm. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic (FT-IR) analysis revealed that primary and secondary amine groups in combination with the proteins present in the bark extract are responsible for the reduction and stabilization of the BZnNPs. The morphology and crystalline phase of the nanocrystals were determined by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The hydrodynamic diameter (20.3 nm) and a positive zeta potential (4.8 mV) were measured using the dynamic light scattering technique. The antimicrobial activity of BZnNPs was evaluated (in vitro) against fungi, Gram-negative, and Gram-positive bacteria using disk diffusion method which were isolated from the scales formed in drinking water PVC pipelines.

Hand 'stress' arthritis in young subjects: effects of Flexiqule (pharma-standard Boswellia extract). A preliminary case report.

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Belcaro, G; Feragalli, B; Cornelli, U; Dugall, M

2015-10-22

This case report (supplement registry study) evaluated subjects with painful 'stress' arthritis of the hand mainly localized at the joints. The patients received a suggestion to follow a rehabilitation plan (standard management; SM). A second group also used the same SM in association with the oral, pharma-standard supplement FlexiQule (Alchem) a new standardized, phytosomal preparation manufactured from the Boswellia plant, which can be used for self-management in inflammatory conditions (150 mg / 3 times daily). The two resulting registry groups included 12 subjects using SM+Flexiqule and and 11 controls (SM only). The groups were comparable. Serology showed no significant alterations: only ESR was slightly elevated (minimal elevation). After 2 weeks, the ESR was normal in the supplement group and mildly elevated in controls (p<0.05%). The decrease in hypertermic areas was greater/faster (p<0.05) in the supplement group. The identification of a working stress and the localization to the dominant hand was comparable in both groups. At 2 weeks, the decrease in pain was significantly faster and more important with the supplement (p<0.05). The hand became more usable in time and the score was better with the supplement (p<0.05). No supplemented patient had to use other drugs, while in the control group 3 subjects eventually used NSAIDs to control pain and stiffness and one used corticosteroids. In conclusion, the natural extract Flexiqule was effective in controlling work-related stress arthritis (without inflammaìtory signs) over a 2 weeks period, better than only Standard Management. More prolonged and larger studies are needed.

Management of osteoarthritis (OA) with the pharma-standard supplement FlexiQule (Boswellia): a 12-week registry.

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Belcaro, G; Dugall, M; Luzzi, R; Ledda, A; Pellegrini, L; Hu, S; Ippolito, E

2015-10-22

This registry study assessed the pharma-standard supplement FlexiQule (Boswellia extract in capsules) in the management of symptoms associated to osteoarthritis (OA) also managed with the 'standard management' (SM) in comparison with a group of patients managed only with SM. The 12- week registry included patients with symptomatic knee arthrosis. They were able to walk on a treadmill for a walking test and to complete the WOMAC questionnaire. 32 patients used the supplement and 34 acted as controls (SM). No safety problems were observed. At 12 weeks, the Karnofsky scale was significantly improved in both groups: the variation was higher (p<0.05) in the supplement group. The WOMAC score was decreased significantly more in the supplement+SM group in comparison with controls considering pain, stiffness and physical functions (p<0.05). For social and emotional functions the decrease in score was also more evident in the supplement group (p<0.05). Both groups improved in pain-free and total walking distance at 12 weeks. Pain-free walking distance (treadmill) was higher (p<0.05) with the supplement (from 93.4;11.6 m to 271.3;19.3 m) than in controls (from 90.5;13.5 m to 158.3;22.3)(p<0.05). The improvement in total walking distance was also higher in the supplement group (p<0.05) (from 164.3;23.2 to 322.3;22.3 m) in comparison with the SM- only group ( from 158.3;18,4 to 240.2;19.3 m). The need for concomitant drugs and medical attention during the registry was reduced more in the supplement group (p<0.05). In conclusion the difference between SM and the Flexiqule+SM was in favor of the management with the supplement for all target measurements. The product is safe and well tolerated.

Estimation of boswellic acids from market formulations of Boswellia serrata extract and 11-keto beta-boswellic acid in human plasma by high-performance thin-layer chromatography.

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Shah, Shailesh A; Rathod, Ishwarsinh S; Suhagia, Bhanubhai N; Patel, Dharmesh A; Parmar, Vijay K; Shah, Bharat K; Vaishnavi, Vikas M

2007-04-01

A rapid and sensitive high-performance thin-layer chromatographic (HPTLC) method was developed and validated for the quantitative estimation of boswellic acids in formulation containing Boswellia serrata extract (BSE) and 11-keto beta-boswellic acid in human plasma. Simple extraction method was used for isolation of boswellic acid from formulation sample and acidified plasma sample. The isolated samples were chromatographed on silica gel 60F(254)-TLC plates, developed using ternary-solvent system (hexane-chloroform-methanol, 5:5:0.5, v/v) and scanned at 260 nm. The linearity range for 11-KBA spiked in 1 ml of plasma was 29.15-145.75 ng with average recovery of 91.66%. The limit of detection and limit of quantification for 11-KBA in human plasma were found to be 8.75 ng/ml and 29.15 ng/ml. The developed method was successfully applied for the assay of market formulations containing BSE and to determine plasma level of 11-keto beta-boswellic acid in a clinical pilot study.

Specificity and transcriptional activity of microbiota associated with low and high microbial abundance sponges from the Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Moitinho-Silva, Lucas

2013-08-20

Marine sponges are generally classified as high microbial abundance (HMA) and low microbial abundance (LMA) species. Here, 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing was applied to investigate the diversity, specificity and transcriptional activity of microbes associated with an LMA sponge (Stylissa carteri), an HMA sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria) and sea water collected from the central Saudi Arabia coast of the Red Sea. Altogether, 887 068 denoised sequences were obtained, of which 806 661 sequences remained after quality control. This resulted in 1477 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) that were assigned to 27 microbial phyla. The microbial composition of S. carteri was more similar to that of sea water than to that of X. testudinaria, which is consistent with the observation that the sequence data set of S. carteri contained many more possibly sea water sequences (~24%) than the X. testudinaria data set (~6%). The most abundant OTUs were shared between all three sources (S. carteri, X. testudinaria, sea water), while rare OTUs were unique to any given source. Despite this high degree of overlap, each sponge species contained its own specific microbiota. The X. testudinaria-specific bacterial taxa were similar to those already described for this species. A set of S. carteri-specific bacterial taxa related to Proteobacteria and Nitrospira was identified, which are likely permanently associated with S. carteri. The transcriptional activity of sponge-associated microorganisms correlated well with their abundance. Quantitative PCR revealed the presence of Poribacteria, representing typical sponge symbionts, in both sponge species and in sea water; however, low transcriptional activity in sea water suggested that Poribacteria are not active outside the host context. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effect of phospholipid-based formulations of Boswellia serrata extract on the solubility, permeability, and absorption of the individual boswellic acid constituents present.

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Hüsch, Jan; Gerbeth, Kathleen; Fricker, Gert; Setzer, Constanze; Zirkel, Jürgen; Rebmann, Herbert; Schubert-Zsilavecz, Manfred; Abdel-Tawab, Mona

2012-10-26

Boswellia serrata gum resin extracts are used widely for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. However, very low concentrations in the plasma and brain were observed for the boswellic acids (1-6, the active constituents of B. serrata). The present study investigated the effect of phospholipids alone and in combination with common co-surfactants (e.g., Tween 80, vitamin E-TPGS, pluronic f127) on the solubility of 1-6 in physiologically relevant media and on the permeability in the Caco-2 cell model. Because of the high lipophilicity of 1-6, the permeability experiments were adapted to physiological conditions using modified fasted state simulated intestinal fluid as apical (donor) medium and 4% bovine serum albumin in the basolateral (receiver) compartment. A formulation composed of extract/phospholipid/pluronic f127 (1:1:1 w/w/w) increased the solubility of 1-6 up to 54 times compared with the nonformulated extract and exhibited the highest mass net flux in the permeability tests. The oral administration of this formulation to rats (240 mg/kg) resulted in 26 and 14 times higher plasma levels for 11-keto-β-boswellic acid (1) and acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (2), respectively. In the brain, five times higher levels for 2 compared to the nonformulated extract were determined 8 h after oral administration.

HYPOGLYCAEMIC EFFECT~ OF BOSWELL/A DALZIEL/I ST E ,1

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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Key Words: Blood Glucose, Glucose Tolerance Test. ... Boswellia gum resin was shown to be a safe and effective therapy in colitis, ... designed to investigate the acti\\ ity of 11 dal:iellii stem bark in normal and .... Some plants have been reported to induce pancreatic beta cells regeneration and ..... Oral hypoglycaemic drugs.

Author Details

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Gyutorwa, Joseph Samson. Vol 12, No 4 (2017) - Articles In vivo ameliorative effect of methanolic extract of Boswellia dalzielli Hutch (Mebdh) stem bark on Triton X-100 induced hyperlipidaemia. Abstract PDF. ISSN: 1597-6343. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors ...

Micropropagation and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic agent boswellic acid production in callus cultures of Boswellia serrata Roxb.

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Nikam, Tukaram D; Ghorpade, Ravi P; Nitnaware, Kirti M; Ahire, Mahendra L; Lokhande, Vinayak H; Chopra, Arvind

2013-01-01

Micropropagation through cotyledonary and leaf node and boswellic acid production in stem callus of a woody medicinal endangered tree species Boswellia serrata Roxb. is reported. The response for shoots, roots and callus formation were varied in cotyledonary and leafy nodal explants from in vitro germinated seeds, if inoculated on Murshige and Skoog's (MS) medium fortified with cytokinins and auxins alone or together. A maximum of 8.0 ± 0.1 shoots/cotyledonary node explant and 6.9 ± 0.1 shoots/leafy node explants were produced in 91 and 88 % cultures respectively on medium with 2.5 μM 6-benzyladenine (BA) and 200 mg l(-1) polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Shoots treated with 2.5 μM IBA showed the highest average root number (4.5) and the highest percentage of rooting (89 %). Well rooted plantlets were acclimatized and 76.5 % of the plantlets showed survival upon transfer to field conditions. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis of the micropropagated plants compared with mother plant revealed true-to-type nature. The four major boswellic acid components in calluses raised from root, stem, cotyledon and leaf explants were analyzed using HPLC. The total content of four boswellic acid components was higher in stem callus obtained on MS with 15.0 μM IAA, 5.0 μM BA and 200 mg l(-1) PVP. The protocol reported can be used for conservation and exploitation of in vitro production of medicinally important non-steroidal anti-inflammatory metabolites of B. serrata.

Scientific evaluation of medicinal plants used for the treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding by Avicenna.

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Mobli, Masumeh; Qaraaty, Marzieh; Amin, Gholamreza; Haririan, Ismaeil; Hajimahmoodi, Mannan; Rahimi, Roja

2015-07-01

Abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) is one of the prevalent gynecological disorders that cause considerable morbidity and management of that plays an important role in protecting women's health. This review focuses on medicinal plants mentioned by Avicenna, a great Iranian philosopher and physician (A.D. 980-1037), in his book Canon for treatment of AUB. Medicinal plants mentioned in Canon for treatment of AUB were elicited and searched in electronic databases including PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar and Cochrane library to find studies that confirmed their efficacy. Data were collected for the years 1980-2014. The findings included 23 plants belonging to 18 families. Scientific findings have revealed that these plants control AUB through four mechanisms of action including inhibition of inflammatory process, inhibition of prostaglandins production, antiproliferative activity on human cervical cancer cells (HeLa), and estrogenic activity. All of the plants exhibited anti-inflammatory activity in vitro and/or in vivo. Cuscuta chinensis and Portulaca oleracea exhibited estrogenic activity. Boswellia carteri, Lens culinaris, Myrtus communis, Polygonum aviculare, Pistacia lentiscus, and Punica granatum have revealed inhibitory activity on biosynthesis of prostaglandins. Some of the mentioned plants including: Ceratonia siliqua, Cuscuta chinensis, Cuscuta epithymum, Cydonia oblonga, Paeonia sp., Portulaca oleracea, Solanum nigrum, Rumex acetosa and Onopordum acanthium have shown antiproliferative activity on HeLa cells. Investigation of traditional Iranian medicine literatures can lead to the identification of effective natural medicines for the management of AUB; however, conclusive confirmation of the efficacy and safety of these treatments needs more evaluations.

Composition and antibacterial activity of the essential oils of four commercial grades of Omani luban, the oleo-gum resin of Boswellia sacra FLUECK.

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Al-Saidi, Salim; Rameshkumar, K B; Hisham, Abdulkhader; Sivakumar, Nallusamy; Al-Kindy, Salma

2012-03-01

The essential oil compositions of four botanically certified and commercially available samples of Omani lubans (oleo-gum resins of Boswellia sacra Flueck.), locally known as Hoojri, Najdi, Shathari, and Shaabi in Jibali Arabic, obtained from plants growing in four different geographic locations of the Dhofar region of Oman, were analyzed by GC-FID, GC/MS, and (13) C-NMR spectroscopy. The market price of these four grades of lubans differed considerably, according to their color, clump size, and texture. However, this study revealed that Hoojri, the first grade luban, and Shaabi, the fourth grade luban, which greatly differed in their price, closely resembled each other in their essential oil composition, yield, and physicochemical characteristics, except the color and texture. The composition, yield, and specific rotation of the oils of Najdi and Shathari, the second and the third grade lubans, respectively, were different from those of Hoojri and Shaabi, but they both had high limonene contents. Najdi oil was different from the other three oils in terms of its high myrcene content. α-Pinene was the principal component in all the oils and can be considered as a chemotaxonomical marker that confirms the botanical and geographical source of the resins. All the oils showed pronounced activity against a panel of bacteria, and the trend in their bioactivity and their mode of action are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta AG, Zürich.

Repellent activity of the creams formulated from Annona senegalensis and Boswellia dalzielii leaf fractions and essential oils against Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae

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Lame Younoussa

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Objective: To investigate the repellent efficacy of the creams formulated from methanol extract and n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol fractions as well as essential oils of Annona senegalensis (A. senegalensis and Boswellia dalzielii (B. dalzielii leaves against the malarial vector Anopheles gambiae (An. gambiae in the laboratory. Methods: The efficacies of 25% w/w active ingredient creams formulated from the plant-based products were tested. Different concentrations of the creams, ranging from 2.0 to 12.0 mg/ cm²were applied on the exposed dorsal hand area (25 cm2 of volunteers. The treated hands were submitted to 50 caged blood-starved females of An. gambiae for 3 min after every 30 min until 180 min. Results: Total protection of up to 120 and 60 min without bites of An. gambiae were recorded with n-hexane creams applied at 12 mg/cm2 respectively for A. senegalensis and B. dalzielii. The essential oil creams of the two tested plants applied at 6 mg/cm2 protected volunteers up to 120 min without mosquito bites. The commercial Odomos cream (12% N,N-diethyl- 3-methylbenzamide tested as the positive control at 6 mg/cm2 protected volunteers from mosquito bites up to180 min. Conclusions: These results suggest that the cream formulated from the n-hexane fraction of A. senegalensis and essential oil creams of A. senegalensis and B. dalzielii leaves have the potential of a natural herbal source for the development of new, safe and eco-friendly repellent products to prevent An. gambiae bites.

Stable nuclear transformation of Eudorina elegans

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Lerche Kai

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background A fundamental step in evolution was the transition from unicellular to differentiated, multicellular organisms. Volvocine algae have been used for several decades as a model lineage to investigate the evolutionary aspects of multicellularity and cellular differentiation. There are two well-studied volvocine species, a unicellular alga (Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and a multicellular alga with differentiated cell types (Volvox carteri. Species with intermediate characteristics also exist, which blur the boundaries between unicellularity and differentiated multicellularity. These species include the globular alga Eudorina elegans, which is composed of 16–32 cells. However, detailed molecular analyses of E. elegans require genetic manipulation. Unfortunately, genetic engineering has not yet been established for Eudorina, and only limited DNA and/or protein sequence information is available. Results Here, we describe the stable nuclear transformation of E. elegans by particle bombardment using both a chimeric selectable marker and reporter genes from different heterologous sources. Transgenic algae resistant to paromomycin were achieved using the aminoglycoside 3′-phosphotransferase VIII (aphVIII gene of Streptomyces rimosus, an actinobacterium, under the control of an artificial promoter consisting of two V. carteri promoters in tandem. Transformants exhibited an increase in resistance to paromomycin by up to 333-fold. Co-transformation with non-selectable plasmids was achieved with a rate of 50 - 100%. The luciferase (gluc gene from the marine copepod Gaussia princeps, which previously was engineered to match the codon usage of C. reinhardtii, was used as a reporter gene. The expression of gluc was mediated by promoters from C. reinhardtii and V. carteri. Heterologous heat shock promoters induced an increase in luciferase activity (up to 600-fold at elevated temperatures. Long-term stability and both constitutive and

In Vitro Screening for the Tumoricidal Properties of International Medicinal Herbs

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Mazzio, Elizabeth A.; Soliman, Karam F. A.

2009-01-01

There is growing use of anticancer complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) worldwide. The purpose of the current study is to assess a sizeable variety of natural and plant sources of diverse origin, to ascertain prospective research directives for cancer treatment and potential new chemotherapy drug sources. In this study, 374 natural extracts (10 μg/mL-5 mg/mL) were evaluated for dose-dependent tumoricidal effects using immortal neuroblastoma of spontaneous malignant origin. The findings indicate no pattern of tumoricidal effects by diverse plants with similar families/genus under the classes Pinopsida, Equisetopsida, Lycopodiosida, Filicosida, Liliopsida Monocotyledons or Magnoliopsida Dicotyledons. The results indicate that many of the most commonly used CAMs exhibited relatively weak tumoricidal effects including cats claw, astragalus, ginseng, echinacea, mistletoe, milk thistle, slippery elm, cayenne, chamomile, don quai, meadowsweet, motherwort and shepherd's purse. The data demonstrate that the most potent plant extracts were randomly dispersed within the plantae kingdom (LC50 = 31-490 μg/mL) in order of the lowest LC50 Dioscorea villosa (Dioscoreaceae) > Sanguinaria canadensis (Papaveraceae) > Dipsacus asper (Dipsacaceae) > Populus balsamifera (Salicaceae) > Boswellia carteri (Burseraceae) > Cyamopsis psoralioides (Fabaceae) > Rhamnus cathartica (Rhamnaceae) > Larrea tridentate (Zygophyllaceae) > Dichroa febrifuga (Hydrangeaceae) > Batschia canescens (Boraginaceae) > Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae) > Solanum xanthocarpum (Solanaceae) > Opoponax chironium (Umbelliferae) > Caulophyllum thalictroides (Berberidaceae) > Dryopteris crassirhizoma (Dryopteridaceae) > Garcinia cambogia (Clusiaceae) > Vitex agnus-castus (Verbenaceae) > Calamus draco (Arecaceae). These findings show tumoricidal effect by extracts of wild yam root, bloodroot, teasel root, bakuchi seed, dichroa root, kanta kari, garcinia fruit, mace, dragons blood and the biblically referenced

In vitro screening for the tumoricidal properties of international medicinal herbs.

Science.gov (United States)

Mazzio, Elizabeth A; Soliman, Karam F A

2009-03-01

There is growing use of anticancer complementary and alternative medicines (CAMs) worldwide. The purpose of the current study is to assess a sizeable variety of natural and plant sources of diverse origin, to ascertain prospective research directives for cancer treatment and potential new chemotherapy drug sources. In this study, 374 natural extracts (10 microg/mL-5 mg/mL) were evaluated for dose-dependent tumoricidal effects using immortal neuroblastoma of spontaneous malignant origin. The findings indicate no pattern of tumoricidal effects by diverse plants with similar families/genus under the classes Pinopsida, Equisetopsida, Lycopodiosida, Filicosida, Liliopsida Monocotyledons or Magnoliopsida Dicotyledons. The results indicate that many of the most commonly used CAMs exhibited relatively weak tumoricidal effects including cats claw, astragalus, ginseng, echinacea, mistletoe, milk thistle, slippery elm, cayenne, chamomile, don quai, meadowsweet, motherwort and shepherd's purse. The data demonstrate that the most potent plant extracts were randomly dispersed within the plantae kingdom (LC(50) = 31-490 microg/mL) in order of the lowest LC(50) Dioscorea villosa (Dioscoreaceae) > Sanguinaria canadensis (Papaveraceae) > Dipsacus asper (Dipsacaceae) > Populus balsamifera (Salicaceae) > Boswellia carteri (Burseraceae) > Cyamopsis psoralioides (Fabaceae) > Rhamnus cathartica (Rhamnaceae) > Larrea tridentate (Zygophyllaceae) > Dichroa febrifuga (Hydrangeaceae) > Batschia canescens (Boraginaceae) > Kochia scoparia (Chenopodiaceae) > Solanum xanthocarpum (Solanaceae) > Opoponax chironium (Umbelliferae) > Caulophyllum thalictroides (Berberidaceae) > Dryopteris crassirhizoma (Dryopteridaceae) > Garcinia cambogia (Clusiaceae) > Vitex agnus-castus (Verbenaceae) > Calamus draco (Arecaceae). These findings show tumoricidal effect by extracts of wild yam root, bloodroot, teasel root, bakuchi seed, dichroa root, kanta kari, garcinia fruit, mace, dragons blood and the biblically

Evaluating the efficacy of mixture of Boswellia carterii, Zingiber officinale, and Achillea millefolium on severity of symptoms, anxiety, and depression in irritable bowel syndrome patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Kazemian, Afarin; Toghiani, Ali; Shafiei, Katayoun; Afshar, Hamid; Rafiei, Rahmatollah; Memari, Mahnaz; Adibi, Peyman

2017-01-01

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) that affects in different aspects of life and patients experienced depression and anxiety more than others. There are several herbal medicines with positive effects in these patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of mixture of Boswellia carterii , Zingiber officinale , and Achillea Millefolium on severity of symptoms, anxiety, and depression in IBS patients. This clinical trial study was done in sixty IBS patients (with mild-to-moderate symptoms) divided into two case and control groups. Patients were assessed at the beginning, 1 month, and 3 months after by IBS-severity scoring system (IBS-SSS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. IBS-SSS is used for quality of life evaluation too. Sixty IBS patients (with mild to moderate symptoms) with a mean age of 38.75 ± 11.74 participated that 55.4% of cases and 72.8% of controls were men. The most prevalent type of IBS was the mixed type of IBS. The mean score of abdominal pain severity and frequency, bloating score, and depression and anxiety score were decreased in patients administered herbal medication, but changes in these variables in controls were not statistically significant. The changes in quality of life score between cases and controls were significant in men ( P = 0.01) although it was not significant in women. A mixture of B. Carterii , Z. officinale , and A. millefolium is effective in eliminating IBS symptoms and its related depression and anxiety and using herbal medicine in IBS treatment is suggested.

Evaluation of the aqueous extract of Boswellia dalzielii stem bark for ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Fred

properties using aspirin-induced ulceration in rats, gastrointestinal motility in mice and castor oil- induced diarrhoea in ..... Drugs affecting gastrointestinal function. Pp. 1264-. 1310. ... methacholine and dibutylyl cyclic AMP. Brit. J. Pharmacol.

Protein (Viridiplantae): 302831798 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 18 3068:3318 hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_120454 Volvox carteri f. nagariensis MLVTTRSHRQVSLDGGVLPPEEIKQLASLRRQQQADLAKDSNIVQGALEEAQLITWPTREKALLDTVLVLFIVAGSGAMIFGMNVLLAELSEWWYHLA ...

Studies of the in vitro anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of selected Yemeni medicinal plants from the island Soqotra

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bednarski Patrick J

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recent years have witnessed that there is a revival of interest in drug discovery from medicinal plants for the maintenance of health in all parts of the world. The aim of this work was to investigate 26 plants belonging to 17 families collected from a unique place in Yemen (Soqotra Island for their in vitro anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Methods The 26 plants were extracted with methanol and hot water to yield 52 extracts. Evaluation for in vitro anticancer activity was done against three human cancer cell lines (A-427, 5637 and MCF-7 by using an established microtiter plate assay based on cellular staining with crystal violet. Antimicrobial activity was tested against three Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria, one yeast species and three multiresistant Staphylococcus strains by using an agar diffusion method and the determination of MIC against three Gram-positive bacteria with the broth micro-dilution assay. Antioxidant activity was investigated by measuring the scavenging activity of the DPPH radical. Moreover, a phytochemical screening of the methanolic extracts was done. Results Notable cancer cell growth inhibition was observed for extracts from Ballochia atro-virgata, Eureiandra balfourii and Hypoestes pubescens, with IC50 values ranging between 0.8 and 8.2 μg/ml. The methanol extracts of Acanthospermum hispidum, Boswellia dioscorides, Boswellia socotrana, Commiphora ornifolia and Euphorbia socotrana also showed noticeable antiproliferative potency with IC50 values Acacia pennivenia, Boswellia dioscorides, Boswellia socotrana, Commiphora ornifolia, Euclea divinorum, Euphorbia socotrana, Leucas samhaensis, Leucas virgata, Rhus thyrsiflora, and Teucrium sokotranum with inhibition zones > 15 mm and MIC values ≤ 250 μg/ml. In addition, the methanolic extracts of Acacia pennivenia, Boswellia dioscorides, Boswellia socotrana and Commiphora ornifolia showed good antioxidant potential

Evaluating the efficacy of mixture of Boswellia carterii, Zingiber officinale, and Achillea millefolium on severity of symptoms, anxiety, and depression in irritable bowel syndrome patients

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Afarin Kazemian

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS is the most prevalent functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs that affects in different aspects of life and patients experienced depression and anxiety more than others. There are several herbal medicines with positive effects in these patients. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of mixture of Boswellia carterii, Zingiber officinale, and Achillea Millefolium on severity of symptoms, anxiety, and depression in IBS patients. Materials and Methods: This clinical trial study was done in sixty IBS patients (with mild-to-moderate symptoms divided into two case and control groups. Patients were assessed at the beginning, 1 month, and 3 months after by IBS-severity scoring system (IBS-SSS and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. IBS-SSS is used for quality of life evaluation too. Results: Sixty IBS patients (with mild to moderate symptoms with a mean age of 38.75 ± 11.74 participated that 55.4% of cases and 72.8% of controls were men. The most prevalent type of IBS was the mixed type of IBS. The mean score of abdominal pain severity and frequency, bloating score, and depression and anxiety score were decreased in patients administered herbal medication, but changes in these variables in controls were not statistically significant. The changes in quality of life score between cases and controls were significant in men (P = 0.01 although it was not significant in women. Conclusion: A mixture of B. Carterii, Z. officinale, and A. millefolium is effective in eliminating IBS symptoms and its related depression and anxiety and using herbal medicine in IBS treatment is suggested.

Immunomodulatory effects of temperature and pH of water in an Indian freshwater sponge.

Science.gov (United States)

Mukherjee, Soumalya; Bhunia, Anindya Sundar; Bhunia, Niladri Sekhar; Ray, Mitali; Ray, Sajal

2016-07-01

Eunapius carteri, a freshwater sponge of India, inhabits the ponds and lakes and experiences variations of temperature and pH of water throughout the year. Sponges bear evolutionary and ecological importance with limited information on their immunological attribute and adaptational resilience in a changing environment. This paper reports temperature and pH specific responses of immune related parameters in sponge maintained in the experimental conditions of laboratory. Innate immunological parameters like phagocytosis and generation of cytotoxic molecules like superoxide anion, nitric oxide and phenoloxidase activity were estimated in E. carteri at different environmentally realistic water temperatures (10, 20, 30 and 40°C) and pH (6.4, 7.4 and 8.4). Phagocytosis and cytotoxicity are established as important immune parameters of invertebrates. Calalase, an antioxidant enzyme and phosphatases are involved in pathogen destruction and are considered as components of innate immunity. Activities of catalase, acid and alkaline phosphatases were estimated in E. carteri at different thermal regimes and pH. Modulation of phagocytic and cytotoxic responses and the activities of catalase and phosphatases at different water temperatures and pH indicated temperature and pH specific immunological status of E. carteri. Present investigation deals with the effects of selected hydrological parameters on the fundamental immune related parameters in sponge indicating its adaptational plasticity. Immunological resilience of this species in the face of variation of water temperature and pH is thought to be a special adaptive feature of sponge, a reported "living fossil". Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Behavioural Effects of Methanol Stem Bark Extract of Boswellia

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Dr Olaleye

respectively and observed for signs of toxicity and death within. 24 hours. The LD50 was determined by calculating the geometric mean of the lowest dose that caused death and the highest dose for which the animal survived. Behavioural studies. Diazepam-induced sleep test in mice: The method described by Rakotonirina ...

Protein (Viridiplantae): 302830920 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 058 3068:3058 hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_87241 Volvox carteri f. nagariensis MPNPLAEMELLGFWGLKLVATVTDCHMSDSGRVMTAFVFKVVSYRNEAAST...LAEMELLGFWGLKLVATVTDCHMSDSGRVMTAFVFKVVSYRNEAASTMLTPEPLPESLEYLQAQVERALDERRELERVMWA...AREGRGGPSMLSCKQLETIELSTMGEAAELEVKRALEAITVVQYSMPNPLAEMELLGFWGLKLVATVTDCHMSDSGRVMTAFVFKVVSYRNEAASTMLTPEPLPESLEYLQAQVERALDERRELERVMWAAREGRGGPSMLSCKQLETIELSTMGEAAELEVKRALEEMFH ...

Hologenome analysis of two marine sponges with different microbiomes

KAUST Repository

Ryu, Tae Woo

2016-02-29

Background Sponges (Porifera) harbor distinct microbial consortia within their mesohyl interior. We herein analysed the hologenomes of Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria, which notably differ in their microbiome content. Results Our analysis revealed that S. carteri has an expanded repertoire of immunological domains, specifically Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich (SRCR)-like domains, compared to X. testudinaria. On the microbial side, metatranscriptome analyses revealed an overrepresentation of potential symbiosis-related domains in X. testudinaria. Conclusions Our findings provide genomic insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying host-symbiont coevolution and may serve as a roadmap for future hologenome analyses.

Supplementary Material for: Hologenome analysis of two marine sponges with different microbiomes

KAUST Repository

Ryu, Tae Woo; Seridi, Loqmane; Moitinho-Silva, Lucas; Oates, Matthew; Liew, Yi; Mavromatis, Charalampos Harris; Wang, Xiaolei; Haywood, Annika; Lafi, Feras; Kupresanin, Marija; Sougrat, Rachid; Alzahrani, Majed A.; Giles, Emily; Ghosheh, Yanal; Schunter, Celia Marei; Baumgarten, Sebastian; Berumen, Michael; Gao, Xin; Aranda, Manuel; Foret, Sylvain; Gough, Julian; Voolstra, Christian; Hentschel, Ute; Ravasi, Timothy

2016-01-01

Abstract Background Sponges (Porifera) harbor distinct microbial consortia within their mesohyl interior. We herein analysed the hologenomes of Stylissa carteri and Xestospongia testudinaria, which notably differ in their microbiome content. Results Our analysis revealed that S. carteri has an expanded repertoire of immunological domains, specifically Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich (SRCR)-like domains, compared to X. testudinaria. On the microbial side, metatranscriptome analyses revealed an overrepresentation of potential symbiosis-related domains in X. testudinaria. Conclusions Our findings provide genomic insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying host-symbiont coevolution and may serve as a roadmap for future hologenome analyses.

Protein (Viridiplantae): 108124 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 065:363 ... 3066:363 ... 3067:363 ... 3068:363 ... hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_99209 Volvox carteri f. nagariensis MQMHAHTYNISHIVYCISH...IAYCISHIAYRISHIAYRISHIVYRVSHIAYRILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYRISHIAAYMAYRISHTAYRISQIAYRCISHIAAYRCILHITYMHIIYAHI

Protein (Viridiplantae): 108120 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 065:363 ... 3066:363 ... 3067:363 ... 3068:363 ... hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_100737 Volvox carteri f. nagariensis MYNISHIVYCISHIAYCISH...IAYRISHIAYRILHIAYCISHIAYCISHIAYCISHIAYRISHIPYRCTISLHMAYRISHTARISHIANCISLHIAYCILHIAYCISHIAYPISLHHIAAYGISHITYRTHIAYRKLHIAAYRISLHIAAYCISHIHICIYAHI

Protein (Viridiplantae): 108121 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 065:363 ... 3066:363 ... 3067:363 ... 3068:363 ... hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_90903 Volvox carteri f. nagariensis MQMHIVYCISH...IAYCILHIAYRILHIAYCISHIAYRILHIAYCILHIAYCISHVAYCISHIPYRCIWHIARISHTAYRIPQITYRCISHIAAYRCILHITYTYMYIYAHI

Protein (Viridiplantae): 108123 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 065:363 ... 3066:363 ... 3067:363 ... 3068:363 ... hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_71945 Volvox carteri f. nagariensis MRICLHIAYVCISH...IAYRICACLHIAISHIIHIAYRILPIAYCISHIAYCISHIAYCILHIAYCISHIAYRISHIAYCISHIAYCISHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAAYGILHIAYAYRSQHSIA

Protein (Viridiplantae): 653014 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 3065:1239 ... 3066:1239 ... 3067:1239 ... 3068:1239 ... hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_66785 Volvox carteri f. nagariensis MRVGERDCPRVGERD...CPGVGERDCPGVGERDCPRVGERDCPGVGERDCPGVGERDCPRVGERDCPGVGERDCPRVGERDCPGVGERDCPGVGERDCPGVGERDCWPNVDSWTNLSNGRLMRVGER...DCPRVGERDCPGVGERDCPGVGERDCPRVGERDCPGVGERDCPGVGERDCPRVGERDCPGVGERDCPRVGERDCPGVGERDCPGVGERDCPGVGERDCWPNVDSWTNVCVVFRFLNLGPN

Protein (Viridiplantae): 108125 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 065:363 ... 3066:363 ... 3067:363 ... 3068:363 ... hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_35996, partial Volvox carteri f. nagariensis HIAYCISH...IAYCISHIAYCISHIAYCILHIAYCISHIAYCVSHIAYRILHIAYRILHIAYRILHIAYCILHIAYCILHIAYRISHIAYCISHPYRCIWHIAY

Protein (Viridiplantae): 688657 [PGDBj - Ortholog DB

Lifescience Database Archive (English)

Full Text Available 65:2039 ... 3066:2039 ... 3067:2039 ... 3068:2039 ... hypothetical protein VOLCADRAFT_35179, partial Volvox carteri f. nagariensis EDRG...PRTEDRGPRTEDRGPRTEDRGPRTEDRGPRTEDRGPRTEDRGPRTEDRGPRTEDRGPRTEDRG

Kolonizatsija Palestinõ prepjatstvujet miru / Jimmy Carter

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Carter, Jimmy

2006-01-01

Iisraeli poliitika vastuolulisus, Palestiina koloniseerimine takistab rahulepingu sõlmimist, olenemata sellest, kes Palestiina riiki parajasti juhib. USA ekspresident Jimmy Carteri hinnang protsessidele regioonis

In vivo ameliorative effect of methanolic extract of Boswellia dalzielli ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Twenty five male albino rats 2-3 months old (150-210) g were distributed randomly into five groups [Group 1: normal control received 200 μL normal saline daily for 3 weeks, Group 2: hyperlipidemic control induced by a single dose of Triton X-100 (150 mg/kg body weight) subcutaneously, followed by oral administration of ...

Survey on the Quality of the Top-Selling European and American Botanical Dietary Supplements Containing Boswellic Acids.

Science.gov (United States)

Meins, Jürgen; Artaria, Christian; Riva, Antonella; Morazzoni, Paolo; Schubert-Zsilavecz, Manfred; Abdel-Tawab, Mona

2016-04-01

In consideration of the increasing popularity of frankincense and the widely published quality problems associated with botanical dietary supplements, a survey was conducted for the first time on the quality of frankincense containing botanical dietary supplements. Six US products representing 78 % of the units sold and 70 % of the market value, and 11 European products representing 30 % of the units sold and 40 % of the market value were tested for their boswellic acid composition profile, label compliance, and claimed health benefits. Special focus was also set on the statements made with regard to the frankincense applied.Only five products out of seventeen disclosed all relevant information for the Boswellia extract, mentioning the species, the part of plant used, and the boswellic acid content. Whereas all products but one claimed to use Boswellia serrata, three products did not mention the resin as the part applied and 10 products did not declare the boswellic acid content. Apart from the different boswellic acid composition determined with a sensitive LC/MS method, 41 % of the products did not comply with the label declaration. Hence, one product from Italy did not contain any of the six characteristic boswellic acids (KBA, AKBA, αBA, βBA, AαBA, AβBA) at all and another US product contained only traces, suggesting the absence of frankincense or the use of Boswellia frereana instead of B. serrata. In another product, the ratios of the individual boswellic acids were different from B. serrata gum resin, indicating the use of another species such as Boswellia sacra or Boswellia carterii. Furthermore, two products revealed different boswellic acid contents from those declared on the label. Further, two products did not declare the use of manipulated Boswellia gum resin extract being enriched in acetyl-11-keto-boswellic acid content reaching up to 66 %. In addition, consumers could be misled by outdated literature or references to in vitro studies

Muusikamaailm : Aasta valitud Opernweltis. John Adamsi uus jõuluoratoorium. Händeli "Alceste" Londonis. Elliott Carter 92 / Priit Kuusk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kuusk, Priit, 1938-

2000-01-01

Ajakiri Opernwelt valis aasta parima laulja, lavastaja ja etenduse. J. Adamsi "Jõuluoratooriumi" esiettekandest 15. dets. Pariisis. Händeli oratooriumi "Alceste" lavastusest Londoni Kuninglikus Ooperis. E. Carteri viimastest teostest

Hologenome analysis of two marine sponges with different microbiomes

KAUST Repository

Ryu, Tae Woo; Seridi, Loqmane; Moitinho-Silva, Lucas; Oates, Matthew; Liew, Yi Jin; Mavromatis, Charalampos Harris; Wang, Xiaolei; Haywood, Annika; Lafi, Feras Fawzi; Kupresanin, Marija; Sougrat, Rachid; Alzahrani, Majed A.; Giles, Emily; Ghosheh, Yanal; Schunter, Celia Marei; Baumgarten, Sebastian; Berumen, Michael L.; Gao, Xin; Aranda, Manuel; Foret, Sylvain; Gough, Julian; Voolstra, Christian R.; Hentschel, Ute; Ravasi, Timothy

2016-01-01

analysis revealed that S. carteri has an expanded repertoire of immunological domains, specifically Scavenger Receptor Cysteine-Rich (SRCR)-like domains, compared to X. testudinaria. On the microbial side, metatranscriptome analyses revealed

Muusikamaailm : Elliott Carter ikka veel loomishoos. Maris Jansons lahkub Oslost. Aaron Copland ئ 100. Menukas "Fidelio" Helsingis / Priit Kuusk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kuusk, Priit, 1938-

2000-01-01

E. Carteri uudisteoste esiettekannetest. M. Jansons lahkus Oslo Filharmoonia Orkestri peadirigendi kohalt. A. Coplandi 100. sünniaastapäeva tähistamisest Ameerikas ja Euroopas. Beethoveni ooperi "Fidelio" lavastusest Soome Rahvusooperis

Evolution of sexes from an ancestral mating-type specification pathway.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sa Geng

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Male and female sexes have evolved repeatedly in eukaryotes but the origins of dimorphic sexes and their relationship to mating types in unicellular species are not understood. Volvocine algae include isogamous species such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, with two equal-sized mating types, and oogamous multicellular species such as Volvox carteri with sperm-producing males and egg-producing females. Theoretical work predicts genetic linkage of a gamete cell-size regulatory gene(s to an ancestral mating-type locus as a possible step in the evolution of dimorphic gametes, but this idea has not been tested. Here we show that, contrary to predictions, a single conserved mating locus (MT gene in volvocine algae-MID, which encodes a RWP-RK domain transcription factor-evolved from its ancestral role in C. reinhardtii as a mating-type specifier, to become a determinant of sperm and egg development in V. carteri. Transgenic female V. carteri expressing male MID produced functional sperm packets during sexual development. Transgenic male V. carteri with RNA interference (RNAi-mediated knockdowns of VcMID produced functional eggs, or self-fertile hermaphrodites. Post-transcriptional controls were found to regulate cell-type-limited expression and nuclear localization of VcMid protein that restricted its activity to nuclei of developing male germ cells and sperm. Crosses with sex-reversed strains uncoupled sex determination from sex chromosome identity and revealed gender-specific roles for male and female mating locus genes in sexual development, gamete fitness and reproductive success. Our data show genetic continuity between the mating-type specification and sex determination pathways of volvocine algae, and reveal evidence for gender-specific adaptations in the male and female mating locus haplotypes of Volvox. These findings will enable a deeper understanding of how a master regulator of mating-type determination in an ancestral unicellular species was

Alkaloids from sponge, scaffolds for the inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)

KAUST Repository

O'Rourke, Aubrie; Kremb, Stephan; Voolstra, Christian R.

2016-01-01

Anti-viral compounds with low cytotoxicity are identified from screening of products found in Red Sea sponges, including the sponge Stylissa carteri. The identified compounds can be brominated pyrrole-2- aminoimidazole alkaloids and derivatives

Brzezinski : USA otsib ajendit sõjaks Iraaniga kas või provotseerides

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2007-01-01

President Jimmy Carteri aegne riikliku julgeolekunõukogu juht Zbigniew Brzezinski on seisukohal, et sõda Iraagis on ajalooline, strateegiline ja moraalne õnnetus. Ta esitas ka mõeldava stsenaarium, kuidas võidakse jõuda sõjani Iraaniga

Kuidas Helena Bonham Carter ahviks muutus

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

2001-01-01

Taas on ekraanile jõudnud "Ahvide planeet" ("Planet of the Apes") : režissöör Tim Burton : Ameerika Ühendriigid 2001. Kuidas tehti näitlejatele ahvide grimmi. Lähemalt Helena Bonham Carteri grimmist

Boswellia Da/zielii Hutch

African Journals Online (AJOL)

BSN

The dishes were then dipped in each of the various extracts and placed on labded pans accord1ngl~ using u forceps. I he 1n11l>rn1atcd pl,1tc. containing the e\\tracts ''~h 1nu1batcd for 2-1 hours. I hL·rcalkr. otisen"ltl\\lll .:um prising thL· dialllL'tcr nr disk and zone or inhibition were liell.'.r1111ned .is dcsrnbed b~ l3ansu I.'/ ui.

A single-dose, randomized, cross-over, two-way, open-label study for comparing the absorption of boswellic acids and its lecithin formulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Riva, Antonella; Morazzoni, Paolo; Artaria, Christian; Allegrini, Pietro; Meins, Jürgen; Savio, Daniele; Appendino, Giovanni; Schubert-Zsilavecz, Manfred; Abdel-Tawab, Mona

2016-11-15

The oral administration of the gum resin extracts of Indian frankincense (Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr) results in very low plasma concentrations of boswellic acids (BAs), being far below the pharmacologically active concentrations required in vitro for anti-inflammatory activity. For that reason the use of Indian frankincense in clinical practice and pharmaceutical development has substantially lagged behind. Recently the application of new formulation technologies resulted in a formulation of frankincense extract with lecithin, which revealed improved absorption and tissue penetration of BAs in a rodent study, leading for the first time to plasma concentrations of BAs in the range of their anti-inflammatory activity. In order to verify these encouraging results in humans, the absorption of a standardized Boswellia serrata extract (BE) and its lecithin formulation (CSP) was comparatively investigated in healthy volunteers. According to a randomized cross-over design with two treatments, two sequences and two periods, 12 volunteers alternatively received the lecithin-formulated Boswellia extract (CSP) or the non-formulated Boswellia extract (BE) at a dosage of 2×250mg capsules. The plasma concentrations of the six major BAs (KBA, AKBA, βBA, αBA, AβBA, AαBA) were determined using LC/MS. With the exception of KBA, a significantly higher (both in terms of weight-to-weight and molar comparison) and quicker absorption of BAs from the lecithin formulation was observed, leading to C max in the range required for the interaction with their molecular targets. These findings pave the way to further studies evaluating the clinical potential of BAs, and verify the beneficial effect of lecithin formulation to improve the absorption of poorly soluble phytochemicals. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.

Molecular evolutionary analysis of a gender-limited MID ortholog from the homothallic species Volvox africanus with male and monoecious spheroids.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kayoko Yamamoto

Full Text Available Volvox is a very interesting oogamous organism that exhibits various types of sexuality and/or sexual spheroids depending upon species or strains. However, molecular bases of such sexual reproduction characteristics have not been studied in this genus. In the model species V. carteri, an ortholog of the minus mating type-determining or minus dominance gene (MID of isogamous Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is male-specific and determines the sperm formation. Male and female genders are genetically determined (heterothallism in V. carteri, whereas in several other species of Volvox both male and female gametes (sperm and eggs are formed within the same clonal culture (homothallism. To resolve the molecular basis of the evolution of Volvox species with monoecious spheroids, we here describe a MID ortholog in the homothallic species V. africanus that produces both monoecious and male spheroids within a single clonal culture. Comparison of synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions in MID genes between V. africanus and heterothallic volvocacean species suggests that the MID gene of V. africanus evolved under the same degree of functional constraint as those of the heterothallic species. Based on semi quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analyses using the asexual, male and monoecious spheroids isolated from a sexually induced V. africanus culture, the MID mRNA level was significantly upregulated in the male spheroids, but suppressed in the monoecious spheroids. These results suggest that the monoecious spheroid-specific down regulation of gene expression of the MID homolog correlates with the formation of both eggs and sperm in the same spheroid in V. africanus.

Studies of the in vitro anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant potentials of selected Yemeni medicinal plants from the island Soqotra

Science.gov (United States)

2009-01-01

Background Recent years have witnessed that there is a revival of interest in drug discovery from medicinal plants for the maintenance of health in all parts of the world. The aim of this work was to investigate 26 plants belonging to 17 families collected from a unique place in Yemen (Soqotra Island) for their in vitro anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Methods The 26 plants were extracted with methanol and hot water to yield 52 extracts. Evaluation for in vitro anticancer activity was done against three human cancer cell lines (A-427, 5637 and MCF-7) by using an established microtiter plate assay based on cellular staining with crystal violet. Antimicrobial activity was tested against three Gram-positive bacteria, two Gram-negative bacteria, one yeast species and three multiresistant Staphylococcus strains by using an agar diffusion method and the determination of MIC against three Gram-positive bacteria with the broth micro-dilution assay. Antioxidant activity was investigated by measuring the scavenging activity of the DPPH radical. Moreover, a phytochemical screening of the methanolic extracts was done. Results Notable cancer cell growth inhibition was observed for extracts from Ballochia atro-virgata, Eureiandra balfourii and Hypoestes pubescens, with IC50 values ranging between 0.8 and 8.2 μg/ml. The methanol extracts of Acanthospermum hispidum, Boswellia dioscorides, Boswellia socotrana, Commiphora ornifolia and Euphorbia socotrana also showed noticeable antiproliferative potency with IC50 values 15 mm and MIC values ≤ 250 μg/ml. In addition, the methanolic extracts of Acacia pennivenia, Boswellia dioscorides, Boswellia socotrana and Commiphora ornifolia showed good antioxidant potential at low concentrations (more than 80% at 50 μg/ml). Conclusion Our results show once again that medicinal plants can be promising sources of natural products with potential anticancer, antimicrobial and antioxidative activity. The results will guide

Willow Bark

Science.gov (United States)

... willow bark extract, ginger root concentrate, boswellia extract, turmeric root extract, cayenne, and hyaluronic acid (Instaflex Joint ... Sensitivity to aspirin: People with ASTHMA, STOMACH ULCERS, DIABETES, GOUT, HEMOPHILIA, HYPOPROTHROMBINEMIA, or KIDNEY or LIVER DISEASE ...

SHORT COMMUNICATION TERPENOIDS OF BOSWELLIA ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

CH3CO. Glc. 1'. 2'. 3'. 4'. 5'. 6'. 36.2. 24.8. 75.6. 44.0. 50.4. 18.3. 34.0. 41.9. 58.0. 35.0. 205.3. 132.7. 165.5. 44.3. 30.7. 26.6. 34.4. 56.5. 40.0. 43.0. 26.9. 36.9. 24.1. 182.1. 16.0. 17.2. 20.3. 68.8. 16.9. 28.8. 169.8. 20.5. 37.1. 27.7. 70.1. 43.0. 48.0. 20.0. 33.5. 39.4. 47.9. 36.9. 72.1. 122.5. 141.4. 42.1. 29.5. 25.5. 33.8. 55.7. 38.0.

27-36, 2014 27 Quality assessment of essential oils of Eucalyptus

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In the course of this study, essential oils of Eucalyptus globulus and three Boswellia rivae species were analyzed using ... parts of the plant, including leaves, flowers, seeds, rhizomes ..... oil and its major component 1,8-cineole against fungal.

Arbuscular mycorrhiza and water and nutrient supply differently impact seedling performance of dry woodland species with different acquisition strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Emiru Birhane, E.B.; Kuyper, T.W.; Sterck, F.J.; Gebrehiwot, K.; Bongers, F.

2015-01-01

Background: Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi increase seedling survival and performance through enhancement of nutrient and water uptake under stress conditions. Acacia etbaica, A. senegal and Boswellia papyrifera dominate large areas in African drylands where both moisture and nutrients are

The Sacred Frankincense

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Methods: Sub-fractionation of the crude methanol extract of Hougari regular (HR) grade resin of. Boswellia sacra was ..... production of energy to fuel the biological processes. ... which can lead to cell injury and tissue damage. [15]. B. sacra ...

Biodiversity of Macrofauna Associated with Sponges across Ecological Gradients in the Central Red Sea

KAUST Repository

Kandler, Nora

2015-12-01

Between 33 and 91 percent of marine species are currently undescribed, with the majority occurring in tropical and offshore environments. Sponges act as important microhabitats and promote biodiversity by harboring a wide variety of macrofauna and microbiota, but little is known about the relationships between the sponges and their symbionts. This study uses DNA barcoding to examine the macrofaunal communities associated with sponges of the central Saudi Arabian Red Sea, a drastically understudied ecosystem with high biodiversity and endemism. In total, 185 epifaunal and infaunal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were distinguished from the 1399 successfully-sequenced macrofauna individuals from 129 sponges representing seven sponge species, one of which (Stylissa carteri) was intensively studied. A significant difference was found in the macrofaunal community composition of Stylissa carteri along a cross-shelf gradient using relative OTU abundance (Bray-Curtis diversity index). The abundance of S. carteri also follows a cross-shelf gradient, increasing with proximity to shore. The difference in macrofaunal communities of several species of sponges at one location was found to be significant as well, using OTU presence (binary Jaccard diversity index). Four of the seven sponge species collected were dominated by a single annelid OTU, each unique to one sponge species. A fifth was dominated by four arthropod OTUs, all species-specific as well. Region-based diversity differences may be attributed to environmental factors such as reef morphology, water flow, and sedimentation, whereas species-based differences may be caused by sponge morphology, microbial abundances, and chemical defenses. As climate change and ocean acidification continue to modify coral reef ecosystems, understanding the ecology of sponges and their role as microhabitats may become more important. This thesis also includes a supplemental document in the form of a spreadsheet showing the number of

Connectivity in a Red Sea Sponge across an Environmental Gradient

KAUST Repository

Giles, Emily C.

2014-08-01

While geographic distance is a variable often used to explain population genetic differentiation, dynamic processes leading to stochastic population structure are more likely driving factors. The following thesis presents the population structure of a common reef sponge, Stylissa carteri, and yields hypotheses on the influence of environmental heterogeneity as a predictor of the observed population structure. This project represents the largest population genetics study thus conducted in the Red Sea and also includes the first population genetics data gathered for sites off the coast of Sudan and Soccotra. The study herein presented includes both a large scale (36 reef sites covering over 1000km of coastline) and small-scale (16 transects of 50m each) analysis of gene flow in a benthic dwelling organism. The variable effect of geography and environmental conditions on S. carteri population structure is assessed using a seascape genetics approach. Environmental factors from a nine-year dataset accessed from the NASA Giovanni website including chlorophyll a, sea surface temperature, dissolved and particulate organic matter for both the annual and winter temporal scale were considered.

Antiglycation and Antioxidant Activities and HPTLC Analysis of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Furthermore, high performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) analysis of Boswellia sacra resins was also carried out. Results: Polar fractions of the extract obtained exhibited the highest antiglycation activity while nonpolar fractions showed more than 50 % inhibition in superoxide anion scavenging assay.

Frankincense production is determined by tree size and tapping frequency and intensity

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Eshete, A.; Sterck, F.J.; Bongers, F.

2012-01-01

Resin production in trees probably depends on trade-offs within the tree, its environment and on tapping activities. Frankincense, the highly esteemed resin from dry woodland frankincense trees of Boswellia papyrifera is exploited in traditional ways for millennia. New exploitation practices lead to

Dryland resources, livelihoods and institutions : diversity and dynamics in use and management of gum and resin trees in Ethiopia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Teshale Woldeamanuel Habebo, Teshale

2011-01-01

Dry woodlands comprise the largest forest resources in Ethiopia. An important feature of these forests is their richness in Acacia, Boswellia and Commiphora (ABC) species that produce gum and resin. Gums/resins significantly contribute to rural livelihoods, the national economy, and ecosystem

Dendrochronology and bark anatomy of the frankincense tree

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tolera Feyissa, M.

2013-01-01

Boswellia papyrifera(Burseraceae) trees grow in drylands south of the Sahara. In Ethiopia, it grows in seasonally dry Combretum-Terminalia woodlands. It is a source of frankincense, an economically important olio-gum resin used for cultural and religious ceremonies throughout

Ethnomedicine Claim Directed in Silico Prediction of Anticancer ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2018-01-01

Jan 1, 2018 ... Punica granatum. Punicaceae. Roman. -Rind of the fruit is boiled with water and taken orally. Abdomen. 9836. Boswellia papyrifera. Burseraceae. Habeket. -Gum of the plant is macerated in cold water which forms a thick gel taken orally. Abdomen. 2053. Osyridocarpus schimperanus. Santacaceae.

Britid võitlevad ELile väejuhatuse loomise ideega / Evelyn Kaldoja

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Kaldoja, Evelyn, 1980-

2011-01-01

Nn Weimari kolmikusse kuuluvad Saksamaa, Prantsusmaa ja Poola tahavad rajada ELile oma sõjalise väejuhatuse, kuid Suurbritannia leiab, et see dubleeriks NATO struktuure ning eraldaks ELi ja NATO planeerimise üksteisest püsivalt. Suurbritannia suursaadiku Eestis Peter Carteri ja kaitseminister Mart Laari arvamusi. Poola eurosaadik räägib oma raportist "Finantskriisi mõju ELi liikmesriikide kaitsesektorile"

Physiological ecology of the frankincense tree

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mengistu Woldie, T.

2011-01-01

Keywords: Boswellia papyrifera, carbon balance, drylands, Ethiopia,

Download this PDF file

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Proff.Adewunmi

Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (GC-MS) Analysis of Extract. For performing the GC-MS analysis, the water extract of Boswellia sacra was extracted using dichloromethane and this extract was injected into GC-MS system (Shimadzu-QP2010S). For GC-MS detection, an electron impact ionization system was used.

Antifungal evaluation and phytochemical screening of methanolic ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The objective of the study was to further examine the medicinal value of Boswellia dalzielii plant by evaluating the antifungal activity and carrying out phytochemical screening of methanolic extract, hexane, ethyl acetate, aqueous fractions and the sub-fractions of the stem bark of the plant. Standard methods were used for ...

Flowering Trees

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Flowering Trees. Boswellia serrata Roxb. ex Colebr. (Indian Frankincense tree) of Burseraceae is a large-sized deciduous tree that is native to India. Bark is thin, greenish-ash-coloured that exfoliates into smooth papery flakes. Stem exudes pinkish resin ... Fruit is a three-valved capsule. A green gum-resin exudes from the ...

Effect of a Herbal-Leucine mix on the IL-1β-induced cartilage degradation and inflammatory gene expression in human chondrocytes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haqqi Tariq M

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Conventional treatments for the articular diseases are often effective for symptom relief, but can also cause significant side effects and do not slow the progression of the disease. Several natural substances have been shown to be effective at relieving the symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA, and preliminary evidence suggests that some of these compounds may exert a favorable influence on the course of the disease. The objective of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory/chondroprotective potential of a Herbal and amino acid mixture containing extract of the Uncaria tomentosa, Boswellia spp., Lepidium meyenii and L-Leucine on the IL-1β-induced production of nitric oxide (NO, glycosaminoglycan (GAG, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs, aggrecan (ACAN and type II collagen (COL2A1 in human OA chondrocytes and OA cartilage explants. Methods Primary OA chondrocytes or OA cartilage explants were pretreated with Herbal-Leucine mixture (HLM, 1-10 μg/ml and then stimulated with IL-1β (5 ng/ml. Effect of HLM on IL-1β-induced gene expression of iNOS, MMP-9, MMP-13, ACAN and COL2A1 was verified by real time-PCR. Estimation of NO and GAG release in culture supernatant was done using commercially available kits. Results HLM tested in these in vitro studies was found to be an effective anti-inflammatory agent, as evidenced by strong inhibition of iNOS, MMP-9 and MMP-13 expression and NO production in IL-1β-stimulated OA chondrocytes (p Leucine mixture (HLM up-regulation of ACAN and COL2A1 expression in IL-1β-stimulated OA chondrocytes was also noted (p Conclusion Our data suggests that HLM could be chondroprotective and anti-inflammatory agent in arthritis, switching chondrocyte gene expression from catabolic direction towards anabolic and regenerative, and consequently this approach may be potentially useful as a new adjunct therapeutic/preventive agent for OA or injury recovery.

Author Details

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Ojerinde, Stephen O. Vol 2, No 2 (2005) - Articles Brine shrimp toxicity of acidic fractions of Boswellia dalzielii gum resin. Abstract. ISSN: 0189-8442. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's Partners · Terms and Conditions of Use ...

[Herbalism, botany and components analysis study on original plants of frankincense].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Lei; Xu, Jimin; Jin, Hongyu; Tian, Jingai; Lin, Ruichao

2011-01-01

In order to clarify original plants of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) frankincense, a GC method for determination essential oils and a HPLC method for determination boswellic acids were carried out together with analysis of herbalism, botany, components and pharmacology papers of frankincense. It was concluded that original plants of TCM frankincense include at least Boswellia sacra, B. papyrifera and B. serrata.

Kahn jõudis Eestisse tagasi, Komendant mitte veel / Toivo Tammik

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Tammik, Toivo

2006-01-01

Louis Kahni päevad Kuressaares 6. ja 7. X. Arhitekti tütar Alexandra Tyng kinkis Kuressaare linnale Louis Kahni portree. Philadelphia ülikooli arhiivide juhataja William Whitaker ja Ingrid Mald-Villandi korraldasid L. Kahni tööde näituse, kujundas Peeter Laurits. Kuressaare Linnateatris näidati 6. X arhitekti poja Nathaniel Kahni filmi "My architect", 7. X toimus konverents. Robert McCarteri, Anne Tyngi, Vilen Künnapu ja Thomas Leslie (L. Kahni ja August Komendandi suhted) ettekannetest

Coccolithophore response to climate and surface hydrography in Santa Barbara Basin, California, AD 1917–2004

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Grelaud

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The varved sedimentary AD 1917–2004 record from the depositional center of the Santa Barbara Basin (SBB, California was analyzed with monthly to triannual resolution to yield relative abundances of six coccolithophore species representing at least 96% of the coccolithophore assemblage. Seasonal/annual relative abundances respond to climatic and surface hydrographic conditions in the SBB, whereby (i the three species G. oceanica, H. carteri and F. profunda are characteristic of the strength of the northward flowing warm California Counter Current, (ii the two species G. ericsonii and G. muellerae are associated with the cold equatorward flowing California Current, (iii and E. huxleyi appears to be endemic to the SBB. Spectral analyses on relative abundances of these species show that all are influenced by the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO and/or by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO. Increased relative abundances of G. oceanica and H. carteri are associated with warm ENSO events, G. muellerae responds to warm PDO events and the abundance of G. ericsonii increases during cold PDO events. Morphometric parameters measured on E. huxleyi, G. muellerae and G. oceanica indicate increasing coccolithophore shell carbonate mass from ~1917 until 2004 concomitant with rising pCO₂ and sea surface temperature in the region of the SBB.

Distribution of coccolithophores as a potential proxy in paleoceanography: The case of the Oman Sea monsoonal pattern

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mojtahedin Elham

2015-02-01

Full Text Available High abundances of coccoliths have been observed in surface sediment samples from near the coasts of the Oman Sea in February 2011. At the end of the NE monsoon, the locally observed high Gephyrocapsa oceanica production is hypothesized to respond to local injections of nutrient-rich deep water into the surface water due to sea-surface cooling leading to convection. The most abundant coccolithophore species are G. oceanica followed by Emiliania huxleyi, Helicosphaera carteri, Calcidiscus leptoporus. Some species, such as Gephyrocapsa muellerae, Gephyrocapsa ericsonii, Umbilicosphaera sibogae, Umbellosphaera tenuis and Florisphaera profunda, are rare. The G. oceanica suggested a prevalence of upwelling conditions or high supply of nutrients in the Oman Sea (especially West Jask at the end of the NE monsoon. E. huxleyi showed low relative abundances at the end of the NE monsoon. Due to the location of the Oman Sea in low latitudes with high temperatures, we have observed low abundances of G. muellerae in the study area. Additionally, we have identified low abundances of G. ericsonii at the end of the NE monsoon. Helicosphaera carteri showed a clear negative response with decreasing amounts (relative abundances at the end of the NE monsoon. C. leptoporus, U. sibogae and U. tenuis have very low relative abundances in the NE monsoon and declined extremely at the end of the NE monsoon. F. profunda, which is known to inhabit the lower photic zone (<100 m depht was rarely observed in the samples.

Distribution of coccolithophores as a potential proxy in paleoceanography: The case of the Oman Sea monsoonal pattern

Science.gov (United States)

Mojtahedin, Elham; Hadavi, Fatemeh; Lak, Razyeh

2015-02-01

High abundances of coccoliths have been observed in surface sediment samples from near the coasts of the Oman Sea in February 2011. At the end of the NE monsoon, the locally observed high Gephyrocapsa oceanica production is hypothesized to respond to local injections of nutrient-rich deep water into the surface water due to sea-surface cooling leading to convection. The most abundant coccolithophore species are G. oceanica followed by Emiliania huxleyi, Helicosphaera carteri, Calcidiscus leptoporus. Some species, such as Gephyrocapsa muellerae, Gephyrocapsa ericsonii, Umbilicosphaera sibogae, Umbellosphaera tenuis and Florisphaera profunda, are rare. The G. oceanica suggested a prevalence of upwelling conditions or high supply of nutrients in the Oman Sea (especially West Jask) at the end of the NE monsoon. E. huxleyi showed low relative abundances at the end of the NE monsoon. Due to the location of the Oman Sea in low latitudes with high temperatures, we have observed low abundances of G. muellerae in the study area. Additionally, we have identified low abundances of G. ericsonii at the end of the NE monsoon. Helicosphaera carteri showed a clear negative response with decreasing amounts (relative abundances) at the end of the NE monsoon. C. leptoporus, U. sibogae and U. tenuis have very low relative abundances in the NE monsoon and declined extremely at the end of the NE monsoon. F. profunda, which is known to inhabit the lower photic zone (<100 m depht) was rarely observed in the samples.

CARBONIFEROUS CORALS AND CHAETETIDS FROM EXOTIC LIMESTONE BLOCK OF THE CRIMEA

OpenAIRE

OGAR, VICTOR; KLEVTSOVSKYI, ANDREY

2015-01-01

A chaetetid sponge and coral fauna from a Carboniferous exotic limestone block in the Lower Jurassic Esciorda olistostrome on the Bodrak River (Crimean Mountains) are described for the first time. The Bodrak exotic block is composed of massive limestone. It contains the chaetetid Chaetetes (Boswellia) sp., the tabulate coral Multithecopora sp., and poorly preserved rugose corals, including Dibunophyllum? sp., Cordibia? sp. and gen. et sp. indet. Only the fasciculate colonies of the rugose cor...

Screening of plant extracts for antimicrobial activity against bacteria and yeasts with dermatological relevance.

Science.gov (United States)

Weckesser, S; Engel, K; Simon-Haarhaus, B; Wittmer, A; Pelz, K; Schempp, C M

2007-08-01

There is cumulative resistance against antibiotics of many bacteria. Therefore, the development of new antiseptics and antimicrobial agents for the treatment of skin infections is of increasing interest. We have screened six plant extracts and isolated compounds for antimicrobial effects on bacteria and yeasts with dermatological relevance. The following plant extracts have been tested: Gentiana lutea, Harpagophytum procumbens, Boswellia serrata (dry extracts), Usnea barbata, Rosmarinus officinalis and Salvia officinalis (supercritical carbon dioxide [CO2] extracts). Additionally, the following characteristic plant substances were tested: usnic acid, carnosol, carnosic acid, ursolic acid, oleanolic acid, harpagoside, boswellic acid and gentiopicroside. The extracts and compounds were tested against 29 aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and yeasts in the agar dilution test. U. barbata-extract and usnic acid were the most active compounds, especially in anaerobic bacteria. Usnea CO2-extract effectively inhibited the growth of several Gram-positive bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (including methicillin-resistant strains - MRSA), Propionibacterium acnes and Corynebacterium species. Growth of the dimorphic yeast Malassezia furfur was also inhibited by Usnea-extract. Besides the Usnea-extract, Rosmarinus-, Salvia-, Boswellia- and Harpagophytum-extracts proved to be effective against a panel of bacteria. It is concluded that due to their antimicrobial effects some of the plant extracts may be used for the topical treatment of skin disorders like acne vulgaris and seborrhoic eczema.

Alkaloids from sponge, scaffolds for the inhibition of human immunodeficiency virus (hiv)

KAUST Repository

O'Rourke, Aubrie

2016-05-06

Anti-viral compounds with low cytotoxicity are identified from screening of products found in Red Sea sponges, including the sponge Stylissa carteri. The identified compounds can be brominated pyrrole-2- aminoimidazole alkaloids and derivatives thereof. Specific examples of identified compounds include oroidin, hymenialdisine, and debromohymenialdisine, as well as derivatives thereof. The compounds also can be useful scaffolds or pharmacores for further chemical modification and derivatization. Selected compounds, particularly oroidin, show selective anti-viral HIV-1 activity coupled with reduced cytotoxicity. The compounds can function as HIV reverse-transcriptase inhibitors, and molecular modeling can be used to confirm inhibition.

Triterpenes from the resin of Boswellia neglecta | Dekebo | Bulletin ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 16, No 1 (2002) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

Frankincense tapping reduces the carbohydrate storage of Boswellia trees

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mengistu, T.; Sterck, F.J.; Fetene, M.; Bongers, F.

2013-01-01

Carbohydrates fixed by photosynthesis are stored in plant organs in the form of starch or sugars. Starch and sugars sum to the total non-structural carbohydrate pool (TNC) and may serve as intermediate pools between assimilation and utilization. We examined the impact of tapping on TNC

Determination of Growth Rate and Age Structure of Boswellia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Bheema

Department of Land Resource Management and Environmental Protection, ... seasonality in climate, in many tropical areas there is seasonality in rainfall which ... seasonal growth of trees thereby produce annual growth rings (Fichtler et al., 2003). ... ring boundaries, concentric growth rings around the entire cross-section of ...

Phytochemistry and potential therapeutic actions of Boswellic acids: A mini-review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farah Iram

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The pentacyclic triterpenic acids isolated from the oleo gum resin of various Boswellia species are collectively called as Boswellic acids (BA. The oleo gum resin obtained from Indian variety i.e. Boswellia serrata (Family – Burseraceae is commonly known as Salai guggal. The resin fraction of Salai guggal is rich in Boswellic acids and its essential oil is composed of a mixture of mono, di and sesquiterpenes while gum fraction chiefly contains pentose and hexose sugars. This oleo-gum resin is quite popular among traditional practitioners of traditional Chinese and Indian Systems of medicine owing to their wide range of useful biological properties such as anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, anti-rheumatic, anti-diarrheal, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-asthmatic, anti-cancer, anti-microbial anti-fungal, anti-complementary and analgesic activity, etc. It has been used as a herbal medicine since the prehistoric time to cure acute and chronic ailments including inflammatory diseases. Phytochemical investigation of this herbal medicine lead to identification of Boswellic acids which are found to be novel, potent, specific anti-inflammatory agents due to non-redox inhibition of 5-lipoxygenase (5-LO enzyme. However, the other important targets of Boswellic acids also include topoisomerases, angiogenesis, and cytochrome p450 enzymes. This review is a sincere attempt to discuss and present the current status of therapeutic potential, phytochemical as well as pharmacological profile of Boswellic acids primarily obtained from B. serrata.

In Vivo Ameliorative Effect Of Methanolic Extract Of Boswellia Dalzielli

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Nwokem et al.

and 4: hyperlipidemic rats treated orally with MEBDH (200 and. 400 mg/kg body ..... of Cancer Prevention, 15(20), 8571-8576. Baigent, C., Keech, A., ... Hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and age-related macular degeneration. Archives of.

Evaluation of the Binding Effect of Local Gum of Boswellia papyrifera ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

In this work, B. papyrifera gum has been evaluated for its binding effect in paracetamol granules and tablet formulations in comparison with the commonly used binders, Acacia BP and PVP K-30. Some physicochemical properties of the extracted gum indicated that the gum exhibited solubility in water, absence of tannin and ...

Mycorrhizal symbiosis and seedling performance of the frankincense tree (Boswellia papyrifera)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hizikias, E.B.

2011-01-01

Arid areas are characterized by a seasonal climate with a long dry period. In such stressful

environment, resource availability is driven by longterm and shorterm rainfall pulses.

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) fungi enhance access to moisture and nutrients and thereby

Genomics of Volvocine Algae

Science.gov (United States)

Umen, James G.; Olson, Bradley J.S.C.

2015-01-01

Volvocine algae are a group of chlorophytes that together comprise a unique model for evolutionary and developmental biology. The species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Volvox carteri represent extremes in morphological diversity within the Volvocine clade. Chlamydomonas is unicellular and reflects the ancestral state of the group, while Volvox is multicellular and has evolved numerous innovations including germ-soma differentiation, sexual dimorphism, and complex morphogenetic patterning. The Chlamydomonas genome sequence has shed light on several areas of eukaryotic cell biology, metabolism and evolution, while the Volvox genome sequence has enabled a comparison with Chlamydomonas that reveals some of the underlying changes that enabled its transition to multicellularity, but also underscores the subtlety of this transition. Many of the tools and resources are in place to further develop Volvocine algae as a model for evolutionary genomics. PMID:25883411

Holy smoke in medieval funerary rites: chemical fingerprints of frankincense in southern Belgian incense burners.

Science.gov (United States)

Baeten, Jan; Deforce, Koen; Challe, Sophie; De Vos, Dirk; Degryse, Patrick

2014-01-01

Frankincense, the oleogum resin from Boswellia sp., has been an early luxury good in both Western and Eastern societies and is particularly used in Christian funerary and liturgical rites. The scant grave goods in late medieval burials comprise laterally perforated pottery vessels which are usually filled with charcoal. They occur in most regions of western Europe and are interpreted as incense burners but have never been investigated with advanced analytical techniques. We herein present chemical and anthracological results on perforated funerary pots from 4 Wallonian sites dating to the 12-14th century AD. Chromatographic and mass spectrometric analysis of lipid extracts of the ancient residues and comparison with extracts from four Boswellia species clearly evidence the presence of degraded frankincense in the former, based on characteristic triterpenoids, viz. boswellic and tirucallic acids, and their myriad dehydrated and oxygenated derivatives. Cembrane-type diterpenoids indicate B. sacra (southern Arabia) and B. serrata (India) as possible botanical origins. Furthermore, traces of juniper and possibly pine tar demonstrate that small amounts of locally available fragrances were mixed with frankincense, most likely to reduce its cost. Additionally, markers of ruminant fats in one sample from a domestic context indicate that this vessel was used for food preparation. Anthracological analysis demonstrates that the charcoal was used as fuel only and that no fragrant wood species were burned. The chars derived from local woody plants and were most likely recovered from domestic fires. Furthermore, vessel recycling is indicated by both contextual and biomarker evidence. The results shed a new light on funerary practices in the Middle Ages and at the same time reveal useful insights into the chemistry of burned frankincense. The discovery of novel biomarkers, namely Δ2-boswellic acids and a series of polyunsaturated and aromatic hydrocarbons, demonstrates the high

Revealing microbial functional activities in the Red Sea sponge S tylissa carteri by metatranscriptomics

KAUST Repository

Moitinho-Silva, Lucas

2014-07-09

The persistence of coral reef ecosystems relies on the symbiotic relationship between scleractinian corals and intracellular, photosynthetic dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium. Genetic evidence indicates that these symbionts are biologically diverse and exhibit discrete patterns of environmental and host distribution. This makes the assessment of Symbiodinium diversity critical to understanding the symbiosis ecology of corals. Here, we applied pyrosequencing to the elucidation of Symbiodinium diversity via analysis of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region, a multicopy genetic marker commonly used to analyse Symbiodinium diversity. Replicated data generated from isoclonal Symbiodinium cultures showed that all genomes contained numerous, yet mostly rare, ITS2 sequence variants. Pyrosequencing data were consistent with more traditional denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approaches to the screening of ITS2 PCR amplifications, where the most common sequences appeared as the most intense bands. Further, we developed an operational taxonomic unit (OTU)-based pipeline for Symbiodinium ITS2 diversity typing to provisionally resolve ecologically discrete entities from intragenomic variation. A genetic distance cut-off of 0.03 collapsed intragenomic ITS2 variants of isoclonal cultures into single OTUs. When applied to the analysis of field-collected coral samples, our analyses confirm that much of the commonly observed Symbiodinium ITS2 diversity can be attributed to intragenomic variation. We conclude that by analysing Symbiodinium populations in an OTU-based framework, we can improve objectivity, comparability and simplicity when assessing ITS2 diversity in field-based studies.

Revealing microbial functional activities in the Red Sea sponge S tylissa carteri by metatranscriptomics

KAUST Repository

Moitinho-Silva, Lucas; Seridi, Loqmane; Ryu, Tae Woo; Voolstra, Christian R.; Ravasi, Timothy; Hentschel, Ute

2014-01-01

The persistence of coral reef ecosystems relies on the symbiotic relationship between scleractinian corals and intracellular, photosynthetic dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium. Genetic evidence indicates that these symbionts are biologically diverse and exhibit discrete patterns of environmental and host distribution. This makes the assessment of Symbiodinium diversity critical to understanding the symbiosis ecology of corals. Here, we applied pyrosequencing to the elucidation of Symbiodinium diversity via analysis of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region, a multicopy genetic marker commonly used to analyse Symbiodinium diversity. Replicated data generated from isoclonal Symbiodinium cultures showed that all genomes contained numerous, yet mostly rare, ITS2 sequence variants. Pyrosequencing data were consistent with more traditional denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) approaches to the screening of ITS2 PCR amplifications, where the most common sequences appeared as the most intense bands. Further, we developed an operational taxonomic unit (OTU)-based pipeline for Symbiodinium ITS2 diversity typing to provisionally resolve ecologically discrete entities from intragenomic variation. A genetic distance cut-off of 0.03 collapsed intragenomic ITS2 variants of isoclonal cultures into single OTUs. When applied to the analysis of field-collected coral samples, our analyses confirm that much of the commonly observed Symbiodinium ITS2 diversity can be attributed to intragenomic variation. We conclude that by analysing Symbiodinium populations in an OTU-based framework, we can improve objectivity, comparability and simplicity when assessing ITS2 diversity in field-based studies.

CARBONIFEROUS CORALS AND CHAETETIDS FROM EXOTIC LIMESTONE BLOCK OF THE CRIMEA

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VICTOR OGAR

2015-11-01

Full Text Available A chaetetid sponge and coral fauna from a Carboniferous exotic limestone block in the Lower Jurassic Esciorda olistostrome on the Bodrak River (Crimean Mountains are described for the first time. The Bodrak exotic block is composed of massive limestone. It contains the chaetetid Chaetetes (Boswellia sp., the tabulate coral Multithecopora sp., and poorly preserved rugose corals, including Dibunophyllum? sp., Cordibia? sp. and gen. et sp. indet. Only the fasciculate colonies of the rugose coral Lytvophyllum askynensis (Kossovaya, 2009 are confidently identified. The studied association of fossils is similar to that of the Donets Basin and the Urals and confirms the Lower Bashkirian age of the Bodrak limestone block. 

First draft genome sequencing of indole acetic acid producing and plant growth promoting fungus Preussia sp. BSL10.

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Khan, Abdul Latif; Asaf, Sajjad; Khan, Abdur Rahim; Al-Harrasi, Ahmed; Al-Rawahi, Ahmed; Lee, In-Jung

2016-05-10

Preussia sp. BSL10, family Sporormiaceae, was actively producing phytohormone (indole-3-acetic acid) and extra-cellular enzymes (phosphatases and glucosidases). The fungus was also promoting the growth of arid-land tree-Boswellia sacra. Looking at such prospects of this fungus, we sequenced its draft genome for the first time. The Illumina based sequence analysis reveals an approximate genome size of 31.4Mbp for Preussia sp. BSL10. Based on ab initio gene prediction, total 32,312 coding sequences were annotated consisting of 11,967 coding genes, pseudogenes, and 221 tRNA genes. Furthermore, 321 carbohydrate-active enzymes were predicted and classified into many functional families. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Induced Abortion

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... Education & Events Advocacy For Patients About ACOG Induced Abortion Home For Patients Search FAQs Induced Abortion Page ... Induced Abortion FAQ043, May 2015 PDF Format Induced Abortion Special Procedures What is an induced abortion? What ...

Molecular evolution of glutamine synthetase II: Phylogenetic evidence of a non-endosymbiotic gene transfer event early in plant evolution

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Tartar Aurélien

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Glutamine synthetase (GS is essential for ammonium assimilation and the biosynthesis of glutamine. The three GS gene families (GSI, GSII, and GSIII are represented in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. In this study, we examined the evolutionary relationship of GSII from eubacterial and eukaryotic lineages and present robust phylogenetic evidence that GSII was transferred from γ-Proteobacteria (Eubacteria to the Chloroplastida. Results GSII sequences were isolated from four species of green algae (Trebouxiophyceae, and additional green algal (Chlorophyceae and Prasinophytae and streptophyte (Charales, Desmidiales, Bryophyta, Marchantiophyta, Lycopodiophyta and Tracheophyta sequences were obtained from public databases. In Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses, eubacterial (GSIIB and eukaryotic (GSIIE GSII sequences formed distinct clades. Both GSIIB and GSIIE were found in chlorophytes and early-diverging streptophytes. The GSIIB enzymes from these groups formed a well-supported sister clade with the γ-Proteobacteria, providing evidence that GSIIB in the Chloroplastida arose by horizontal gene transfer (HGT. Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analyses suggest that GSIIB and GSIIE coexisted for an extended period of time but it is unclear whether the proposed HGT happened prior to or after the divergence of the primary endosymbiotic lineages (the Archaeplastida. However, GSIIB genes have not been identified in glaucophytes or red algae, favoring the hypothesis that GSIIB was gained after the divergence of the primary endosymbiotic lineages. Duplicate copies of the GSIIB gene were present in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Volvox carteri f. nagariensis, and Physcomitrella patens. Both GSIIB proteins in C. reinhardtii and V. carteri f. nagariensis had N-terminal transit sequences, indicating they are targeted to the chloroplast or mitochondrion. In contrast, GSIIB proteins of P. patens lacked transit sequences, suggesting

Acute and Chronic Toxicity, Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Inhibition, and hERG Channel Blockade Studies with a Polyherbal, Ayurvedic Formulation for Inflammation

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Debendranath Dey

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Ayurvedic plants are known for thousands of years to have anti-inflammatory and antiarthritic effect. We have recently shown that BV-9238, a proprietary formulation of Withania somnifera, Boswellia serrata, Zingiber officinale, and Curcuma longa, inhibits LPS-induced TNF-alpha and nitric oxide production from mouse macrophage and reduces inflammation in different animal models. To evaluate the safety parameters of BV-9238, we conducted a cytotoxicity study in RAW 264.7 cells (0.005–1 mg/mL by MTT/formazan method, an acute single dose (2–10 g/kg bodyweight toxicity study and a 180-day chronic study with 1 g and 2 g/kg bodyweight in Sprague Dawley rats. Some sedation, ptosis, and ataxia were observed for first 15–20 min in very high acute doses and hence not used for further chronic studies. At the end of 180 days, gross and histopathology, blood cell counts, liver and renal functions were all at normal levels. Further, a modest attempt was made to assess the effects of BV-9238 (0.5 µg/mL on six major human cytochrome P450 enzymes and 3H radioligand binding assay with human hERG receptors. BV-9238 did not show any significant inhibition of these enzymes at the tested dose. All these suggest that BV-9238 has potential as a safe and well tolerated anti-inflammatory formulation for future use.

Induced Seismicity

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Keranen, Katie M.; Weingarten, Matthew

2018-05-01

The ability of fluid-generated subsurface stress changes to trigger earthquakes has long been recognized. However, the dramatic rise in the rate of human-induced earthquakes in the past decade has created abundant opportunities to study induced earthquakes and triggering processes. This review briefly summarizes early studies but focuses on results from induced earthquakes during the past 10 years related to fluid injection in petroleum fields. Study of these earthquakes has resulted in insights into physical processes and has identified knowledge gaps and future research directions. Induced earthquakes are challenging to identify using seismological methods, and faults and reefs strongly modulate spatial and temporal patterns of induced seismicity. However, the similarity of induced and natural seismicity provides an effective tool for studying earthquake processes. With continuing development of energy resources, increased interest in carbon sequestration, and construction of large dams, induced seismicity will continue to pose a hazard in coming years.

Genetic Variation in Past and Current Landscapes: Conservation Implications Based on Six Endemic Florida Scrub Plants

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Eric S. Menges

2010-01-01

Full Text Available If genetic variation is often positively correlated with population sizes and the presence of nearby populations and suitable habitats, landscape proxies could inform conservation decisions without genetic analyses. For six Florida scrub endemic plants (Dicerandra frutescens, Eryngium cuneifolium, Hypericum cumulicola, Liatris ohlingerae, Nolina brittoniana, and Warea carteri, we relate two measures of genetic variation, expected heterozygosity and alleles per polymorphic locus (APL, to population size and landscape variables. Presettlement areas were estimated based on soil preferences and GIS soils maps. Four species showed no genetic patterns related to population or landscape factors. The other two species showed significant but inconsistent patterns. For Liatris ohlingerae, APL was negatively related to population density and weakly, positively related to remaining presettlement habitat within 32 km. For Nolina brittoniana, APL increased with population size. The rather weak effects of population area/size and both past and current landscape structures suggest that genetic variation needs to be directly measured and not inferred for conservation planning.

Genetic Variation in Past and Current Landscapes: Conservation Implications Based on Six Endemic Florida Scrub Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Menges, E.S.; Pickert, R.; Dolan, R.W.; Yahr, R.; Gordon, D.R.

2010-01-01

If genetic variation is often positively correlated with population sizes and the presence of nearby populations and suitable habitats, landscape proxies could inform conservation decisions without genetic analyses. For six Florida scrub endemic plants (Dicerandra frutescens, Eryngium cuneifolium, Hypericum cumulicola, Liatris ohlingerae, Nolina brittoniana, and Warea carteri), we relate two measures of genetic variation, expected heterozygosity and alleles per polymorphic locus (APL), to population size and landscape variables. Presettlement areas were estimated based on soil preferences and GIS soils maps. Four species showed no genetic patterns related to population or landscape factors. The other two species showed significant but inconsistent patterns. For Liatris ohlingerae, APL was negatively related to population density and weakly, positively related to remaining presettlement habitat within 32 km. For Nolina brittoniana, APL increased with population size. The rather weak effects of population area/size and both past and current landscape structures suggest that genetic variation needs to be directly measured and not inferred for conservation planning.

Exercise-Induced Asthma

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... Videos for Educators Search English Español Exercise-Induced Asthma KidsHealth / For Parents / Exercise-Induced Asthma What's in ... Exercise-Induced Asthma Print What Is Exercise-Induced Asthma? Most kids and teens with asthma have symptoms ...

Diet induced thermogenesis

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Westerterp KR

2004-08-01

Full Text Available Objective Daily energy expenditure consists of three components: basal metabolic rate, diet-induced thermogenesis and the energy cost of physical activity. Here, data on diet-induced thermogenesis are reviewed in relation to measuring conditions and characteristics of the diet. Methods Measuring conditions include nutritional status of the subject, physical activity and duration of the observation. Diet characteristics are energy content and macronutrient composition. Results Most studies measure diet-induced thermogenesis as the increase in energy expenditure above basal metabolic rate. Generally, the hierarchy in macronutrient oxidation in the postprandial state is reflected similarly in diet-induced thermogenesis, with the sequence alcohol, protein, carbohydrate, and fat. A mixed diet consumed at energy balance results in a diet induced energy expenditure of 5 to 15 % of daily energy expenditure. Values are higher at a relatively high protein and alcohol consumption and lower at a high fat consumption. Protein induced thermogenesis has an important effect on satiety. In conclusion, the main determinants of diet-induced thermogenesis are the energy content and the protein- and alcohol fraction of the diet. Protein plays a key role in body weight regulation through satiety related to diet-induced thermogenesis.

Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction (EIB)

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... Conditions & Treatments ▸ Conditions Dictionary ▸ Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction Share | Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction (EIB) « Back to A to Z Listing Exercise-Induced Bronchoconstriction, (EIB), often known as exercise-induced ...

Induced pluripotency with endogenous and inducible genes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duinsbergen, Dirk; Eriksson, Malin; Hoen, Peter A.C. 't; Frisen, Jonas; Mikkers, Harald

2008-01-01

The recent discovery that two partly overlapping sets of four genes induce nuclear reprogramming of mouse and even human cells has opened up new possibilities for cell replacement therapies. Although the combination of genes that induce pluripotency differs to some extent, Oct4 and Sox2 appear to be a prerequisite. The introduction of four genes, several of which been linked with cancer, using retroviral approaches is however unlikely to be suitable for future clinical applications. Towards developing a safer reprogramming protocol, we investigated whether cell types that express one of the most critical reprogramming genes endogenously are predisposed to reprogramming. We show here that three of the original four pluripotency transcription factors (Oct4, Klf4 and c-Myc or MYCER TAM ) induced reprogramming of mouse neural stem (NS) cells exploiting endogenous SoxB1 protein levels in these cells. The reprogrammed neural stem cells differentiated into cells of each germ layer in vitro and in vivo, and contributed to mouse development in vivo. Thus a combinatorial approach taking advantage of endogenously expressed genes and inducible transgenes may contribute to the development of improved reprogramming protocols

Copper Induces Vasorelaxation and Antagonizes Noradrenaline -Induced Vasoconstriction in Rat Mesenteric Artery

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Yu-Chun Wang

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Copper is an essential trace element for normal cellular function and contributes to critical physiological or pathological processes. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of copper on vascular tone of rat mesenteric artery and compare the effects of copper on noradrenaline (NA and high K+ induced vasoconstriction. Methods: The rat mesenteric arteries were isolated and the vessel tone was measured by using multi wire myograph system in vitro. Blood pressure of carotid artery in rabbits was measured by using physiological data acquisition and analysis system in vivo. Results: Copper dose-dependently blunted NA-induced vasoconstriction of rat mesenteric artery. Copper-induced vasorelaxation was inhibited when the vessels were pretreated with NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME. Copper did not blunt high K+-induced vasoconstriction. Copper preincubation inhibited NA-evoked vasoconstriction and the inhibition was not affected by the presence of L-NAME. Copper preincubation showed no effect on high K+-evoked vasoconstriction. Copper chelator diethyldithiocarbamate trihydrate (DTC antagonized the vasoactivity induced by copper in rat mesenteric artery. In vivo experiments showed that copper injection (iv significantly decreased blood pressure of rabbits and NA or DTC injection (iv did not rescue the copper-induced hypotension and animal death. Conclusion: Copper blunted NA but not high K+-induced vasoconstriction of rat mesenteric artery. The acute effect of copper on NA-induced vasoconstriction was depended on nitric oxide (NO, but the effect of copper pretreatment on NA-induced vasoconstriction was independed on NO, suggesting that copper affected NA-induced vasoconstriction by two distinct mechanisms.

Enhanced stimulus-induced gamma activity in humans during propofol-induced sedation.

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Neeraj Saxena

Full Text Available Stimulus-induced gamma oscillations in the 30-80 Hz range have been implicated in a wide number of functions including visual processing, memory and attention. While occipital gamma-band oscillations can be pharmacologically modified in animal preparations, pharmacological modulation of stimulus-induced visual gamma oscillations has yet to be demonstrated in non-invasive human recordings. Here, in fifteen healthy humans volunteers, we probed the effects of the GABAA agonist and sedative propofol on stimulus-related gamma activity recorded with magnetoencephalography, using a simple visual grating stimulus designed to elicit gamma oscillations in the primary visual cortex. During propofol sedation as compared to the normal awake state, a significant 60% increase in stimulus-induced gamma amplitude was seen together with a 94% enhancement of stimulus-induced alpha suppression and a simultaneous reduction in the amplitude of the pattern-onset evoked response. These data demonstrate, that propofol-induced sedation is accompanied by increased stimulus-induced gamma activity providing a potential window into mechanisms of gamma-oscillation generation in humans.

Laser-induced interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, W.R.

1979-01-01

This dissertation discusses some of the new ways that lasers can be used to control the energy flow in a medium. Experimental and theoretical considerations of the laser-induced collision are discussed. The laser-induced collision is a process in which a laser is used to selectively transfer energy from a state in one atomic or molecular species to another state in a different species. The first experimental demonstration of this process is described, along with later experiments in which lasers were used to create collisional cross sections as large as 10 - 13 cm 2 . Laser-induced collisions utilizing both a dipole-dipole interaction and dipole-quadrupole interaction have been experimentally demonstrated. The theoretical aspects of other related processes such as laser-induced spin-exchange, collision induced Raman emission, and laser-induced charge transfer are discussed. Experimental systems that could be used to demonstrate these various processes are presented. An experiment which produced an inversion of the resonance line of an ion by optical pumping of the neutral atom is described. This type of scheme has been proposed as a possible method for constructing VUV and x-ray lasers

Diet-induced obesity attenuates fasting-induced hyperphagia.

Science.gov (United States)

Briggs, D I; Lemus, M B; Kua, E; Andrews, Z B

2011-07-01

Obesity impairs arcuate (ARC) neuropeptide Y (NPY)/agouti-releated peptide (AgRP) neuronal function and renders these homeostatic neurones unresponsive to the orexigenic hormone ghrelin. In the present study, we investigated the effect of diet-induced obesity (DIO) on feeding behaviour, ARC neuronal activation and mRNA expression following another orexigenic stimulus, an overnight fast. We show that 9 weeks of high-fat feeding attenuates fasting-induced hyperphagia by suppressing ARC neuronal activation and hypothalamic NPY/AgRP mRNA expression. Thus, the lack of appropriate feeding responses in DIO mice to a fast is caused by failure ARC neurones to recognise and/or respond to orexigenic cues. We propose that fasting-induced hyperphagia is regulated not by homeostatic control of appetite in DIO mice, but rather by changes in the reward circuitry. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Flagella-Driven Flows Circumvent Diffusive Bottlenecks that Inhibit Metabolite Exchange

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Short, Martin; Solari, Cristian; Ganguly, Sujoy; Kessler, John; Goldstein, Raymond; Powers, Thomas

2006-03-01

The evolution of single cells to large and multicellular organisms requires matching the organisms' needs to the rate of exchange of metabolites with the environment. This logistic problem can be a severe constraint on development. For organisms with a body plan that approximates a spherical shell, such as colonies of the volvocine green algae, the required current of metabolites grows quadratically with colony radius whereas the rate at which diffusion can exchange metabolites grows only linearly with radius. Hence, there is a bottleneck radius beyond which the diffusive current cannot keep up with metabolic demands. Using Volvox carteri as a model organism, we examine experimentally and theoretically the role that advection of fluid by surface-mounted flagella plays in enhancing nutrient uptake. We show that fluid flow driven by the coordinated beating of flagella produces a convective boundary layer in the concentration of a diffusing solute which in turn renders the metabolite exchange rate quadratic in the colony radius. This enhanced transport circumvents the diffusive bottleneck, allowing increase in size and thus evolutionary transitions to multicellularity in the Volvocales.

Development of inducer-free expression plasmids based on IPTG-inducible promoters for Bacillus subtilis.

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Tran, Dinh Thi Minh; Phan, Trang Thi Phuong; Huynh, Thanh Kieu; Dang, Ngan Thi Kim; Huynh, Phuong Thi Kim; Nguyen, Tri Minh; Truong, Tuom Thi Tinh; Tran, Thuoc Linh; Schumann, Wolfgang; Nguyen, Hoang Duc

2017-07-25

Besides Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis is an important bacterial species for the production of recombinant proteins. Recombinant genes are inserted into shuttle expression vectors which replicate in both E. coli and in B. subtilis. The ligation products are first transformed into E. coli cells, analyzed for correct insertions, and the correct recombinant plasmids are then transformed into B. subtilis. A major problem using E. coli cells can be the strong basal level of expression of the recombinant protein which may interfere with the stability of the cells. To minimize this problem, we developed strong expression vectors being repressed in E. coli and inducer-free in B. subtilis. In general, induction of IPTG-inducible expression vectors is determined by the regulatory lacI gene encoding the LacI repressor in combination with the lacO operator on the promoter. To investigate the inducer-free properties of the vectors, we constructed inducer-free expression plasmids by removing the lacI gene and characterized their properties. First, we examined the ability to repress a reporter gene in E. coli, which is a prominent property facilitating the construction of the expression vectors carrying a target gene. The β-galactosidase (bgaB gene) basal levels expressed from Pgrac01-bgaB could be repressed at least twice in the E. coli cloning strain. Second, the inducer-free production of BgaB from four different plasmids with the Pgrac01 promoter in B. subtilis was investigated. As expected, BgaB expression levels of inducer-free constructs are at least 37 times higher than that of the inducible constructs in the absence of IPTG, and comparable to those in the presence of the inducer. Third, using efficient IPTG-inducible expression vectors containing the strong promoter Pgrac100, we could convert them into inducer-free expression plasmids. The BgaB production levels from the inducer-free plasmid in the absence of the inducer were at least 4.5 times higher than that of

Uterine contraction induced by Tanzanian plants used to induce abortion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nikolajsen, Tine; Nielsen, Frank; Rasch, Vibeke

2011-01-01

Women in Tanzania use plants to induce abortion. It is not known whether the plants have an effect.......Women in Tanzania use plants to induce abortion. It is not known whether the plants have an effect....

Protective immunity to UV radiation-induced skin tumours induced by skin grafts and epidermal cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ronald Sluyter; Kylie S Yuen; Gary M Halliday

2001-01-01

There is little evidence that cutaneous dendritic cells (DC), including epidermal Langerhans cells (LC), can induce immunity to UV radiation (UVR)-induced skin tumours. Here, it is shown that cells within skin can induce protective antitumour immunity against a UVR-induced fibrosarcoma. Transplantation of the skin overlying subcutaneous tumours onto naive recipients could induce protective antitumour immunity, probably because the grafting stimulated the tumour Ag-loaded DC to migrate to local lymph nodes. This suggests that cutaneous APC can present tumour Ag to induce protective antitumour immunity. Previously, it has been shown that immunization of mice with MHC class II+ epidermal cells (EC) pulsed with tumour extracts could induce delayed-type hypersensitivity against tumour cells. Here, this same immunization protocol could induce protective immunity against a minimum tumorigenic dose of UVR-induced fibrosarcoma cells, but not higher doses. Epidermal cells obtained from semiallogeneic donors and pulsed with tumour extract could also induce protective immunity. However, presentation of BSA Ag from the culture medium was found to contribute to this result using semiallogeneic EC. The results suggest that LC overlying skin tumours may be able to induce protective immunity to UVR-induced tumours if stimulated to migrate from the skin. Copyright (2001) Australasian Society of Immunology Inc

Radiation-induced apoptosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohyama, Harumi

1995-01-01

Apoptosis is an active process of gene-directed cellular self-destruction that can be induced in many cell types via numerous physiological and pathological stimuli. We found that interphasedeath of thymocytes is a typical apoptosis showing the characteristic features of apoptosis including cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation and DNA degradation. Moderate dose of radiation induces extensive apoptosis in rapidly proliferating cell population such as the epithelium of intestinal crypt. Recent reports indicate that the ultimate form of radiation-induced mitotic death in several cells is also apoptosis. One of the hallmarks of apoptosis is the enzymatic internucleosomal degradation of chromatin DNA. We identified an endonuclease responsible for the radiation-induced DNA degradation in rat thymocytes. The death-sparing effects of interrupting RNA and protein synthesis suggested a cell genetic program for apoptosis. Apoptosis of thymocytes initiated by DNA damage, such as radiation and radio mimetic substance, absolutely requires the protein of p53 cancer suppresser gene. The cell death induced by glucocorticoid, or aging, has no such requirement. Expression of oncogene bcl-2 rescues cells from the apoptosis. Massive apoptosis in radiosensitive cells induced by higher dose radiation may be fatal. It is suggested that selective apoptotic elimination of cells would play an important role for protection against carcinogenesis and malformation through removal of cells with unrepaired radiation-induced DNA damages. Data to evaluate the significance of apoptosis in the radiation risk are still poor. Further research should be done in order to clarify the roles of the cell death on the acute and late effects of irradiation. (author)

Trauma-induced systemic inflammatory response versus exercise-induced immunomodulatory effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Fehrenbach, Elvira; Schneider, Marion E

2006-01-01

Accidental trauma and heavy endurance exercise, both induce a kind of systemic inflammatory response, also called systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Exercise-related SIRS is conditioned by hyperthermia and concomitant heat shock responses, whereas trauma-induced SIRS manifests concomitantly with tissue necrosis and immune activation, secondarily followed by fever. Inflammatory cytokines are common denominators in both trauma and exercise, although there are marked quantitative differences. Different anti-inflammatory cytokines may be involved in the control of inflammation in trauma- and exercise-induced stress. Exercise leads to a balanced equilibrium between inflammatory and anti-inflammatory responses. Intermittent states of rest, as well as anti-oxidant capacity, are lacking or minor in trauma but are high in exercising individuals. Regular training may enhance immune competence, whereas trauma-induced SIRS often paves the way for infectious complications, such as sepsis.

Shock-induced electrical activity in polymeric solids. A mechanically induced bond scission model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Graham, R.A.

1979-01-01

When polymeric solids are subjected to high-pressure shock loading, two anomalous electrical phenomena, shock-induced conduction and shock-induced polarization, are observed. The present paper proposes a model of mechanically induced bond scission within the shock front to account for the effects. An experimental study of shock-induced polarization in poly(pyromellitimide) (Vespel SP-1) is reported for shock compressions from 17 to 23% (pressures from 2.5 to 5.4 GPa). Poly(pyromellitimide) is found to be a strong generator of such polarization and the polarization is found to reflect an irreversible or highly hysteretic process. The present measurements are combined with prior measurements to establish a correlation between monomer structure and strength of shock-induced polarization; feeble signals are observed in the simpler monomer repeat units of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) and polyethylene while the strongest signals are observed in more complex monomers of poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(pyromellitimide). It is also noted that there is an apparent correlation between shock-induced conduction and shock-induced polarization. Such shock-induced electrical activity is also found to be well correlated with the propensity for mechanical bond scission observed in experiments carried out in conventional mechanochemical studies. The bond scission model can account for characteristics observed for electrical activity in shock-loaded polymers and their correlation to monomer structure. Localization of elastic energy within the monomer repeat unit or along the main chain leads to the different propensities for bond scission and resulting shock-induced electrical activity

Apoptosis-inducing factor (Aif1) mediates anacardic acid-induced apoptosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Science.gov (United States)

Muzaffar, Suhail; Chattoo, Bharat B

2017-03-01

Anacardic acid is a medicinal phytochemical that inhibits proliferation of fungal as well as several types of cancer cells. It induces apoptotic cell death in various cell types, but very little is known about the mechanism involved in the process. Here, we used budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model to study the involvement of some key elements of apoptosis in the anacardic acid-induced cell death. Plasma membrane constriction, chromatin condensation, DNA degradation, and externalization of phosphatidylserine (PS) indicated that anacardic acid induces apoptotic cell death in S. cerevisiae. However, the exogenous addition of broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK or deletion of the yeast caspase Yca1 showed that the anacardic acid-induced cell death is caspase independent. Apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF1) deletion mutant was resistant to the anacardic acid-induced cell death, suggesting a key role of Aif1. Overexpression of Aif1 made cells highly susceptible to anacardic acid, further confirming that Aif1 mediates anacardic acid-induced apoptosis. Interestingly, instead of the increase in the intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) normally observed during apoptosis, anacardic acid caused a decrease in the intracellular ROS levels. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed downregulation of the BIR1 survivin mRNA expression during the anacardic acid-induced apoptosis.

Filament-induced remote surface ablation for long range laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rohwetter, Ph.; Stelmaszczyk, K.; Woeste, L.; Ackermann, R.; Mejean, G.; Salmon, E.; Kasparian, J.; Yu, J.; Wolf, J.-P.

2005-01-01

We demonstrate laser induced ablation and plasma line emission from a metallic target at distances up to 180 m from the laser, using filaments (self-guided propagation structures ∼ 100 μm in diameter and ∼ 5 x 10 13 W/cm 2 in intensity) appearing as femtosecond and terawatt laser pulses propagating in air. The remarkable property of filaments to propagate over a long distance independently of the diffraction limit opens the frontier to long range operation of the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique. We call this special configuration of remote laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy 'remote filament-induced breakdown spectroscopy'. Our results show main features of filament-induced ablation on the surface of a metallic sample and associated plasma emission. Our experimental data allow us to estimate requirements for the detection system needed for kilometer-range remote filament-induced breakdown spectroscopy experiment

Chemical-induced Vitiligo

Science.gov (United States)

Harris, John E.

2016-01-01

Synopsis Chemical-induced depigmentation of the skin has been recognized for over 75 years, first as an occupational hazard but then extending to those using household commercial products as common as hair dyes. Since their discovery, these chemicals have been used therapeutically in patients with severe vitiligo to depigment their remaining skin and improve their appearance. The importance of recognizing this phenomenon was highlighted during an outbreak of vitiligo in Japan during the summer of 2013, when over 16,000 users of a new skin lightening cosmetic cream developed skin depigmentation at the site of contact with the cream and many in remote areas as well. Depigmenting chemicals appear to be analogs of the amino acid tyrosine that disrupt melanogenesis and result in autoimmunity and melanocyte destruction. Because chemical-induced depigmentation is clinically and histologically indistinguishable from non-chemically induced vitiligo, and because these chemicals appear to induce melanocyte autoimmunity, this phenomenon should be known as “chemical-induced vitiligo”, rather than less accurate terms that have been previously used. PMID:28317525

Insecticidal and Repellent Properties of Subtropical Plant Extracts Against Pulse Beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis

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H.T. AI Lawati

2002-01-01

Full Text Available Extracts of eight plants local to Oman, namely Qarat (Acacia nilotica, Mustafal (Annona squamosa, Shereesh (Azadirachta indica, Luban (Boswellia sacra, Kheshkhash (Crotolaria juncea, Zebrot (Jatropha dhofarica Yas, (Myrtus communis and Suwwad (Suaeda aegyptiaca were prepared by steeping shaded dried leaf/ seed powder of each plant in water and solvent (methanol or ethanol. The extracts were tested for their insecticidal and repellent properties against the pulse beetles, Callosobruchus chinensis. The extracts from the seeds of A. squamosa recorded l00% mortality of beetles within twenty and four hours of their exposure to methanol and ethanol extracts, respectively. The other extracts that caused high mortality were from A. nilotica, C. juncea, M. communis and S. aegzptiaca in methanol and B. sacra, J. dhofarica, S. aegptiaca and commercial neem in ethanol. Extracts of M. communis in methanol were highly repellent to the beetles compared to other extracts. Legume seeds treated with extracts of A. squamosa were not repellent, rather the beetles were attracted to them.

Toxicity of (Burseraceae Leaf Fractions against Immature Stages of (Giles and (Say (Diptera: Culicidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lame Younoussa

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Mosquitoes are vectors of several human pathogens, and great attention has recently been placed on insecticides from plant-derived products, in search for mosquito control agents. This study, thus, investigated the potency of Boswellia dalzielii methanol leaf extract and its four fractions as mosquito ovicide, larvicide, and pupicide against Anopheles gambiae and Culex quinquefasciatus . The plant products were tested at the following concentrations: 125, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 ppm on eggs and 312.5, 625, 1250, and 2500 ppm on the larvae and pupae of the mosquitoes. For results, hatchability of A. gambiae eggs was reduced to 5% with n -hexane fraction at 2000 ppm. Among the plant products tested, n -hexane fraction was most toxic against A. gambiae (LC 50 = 385.9 ppm and C. quinquefasciatus (LC 50 = 3394.9 ppm. The n -hexane fraction of B. dalzielii might be used as a mosquitocidal agent in the breeding sites of A. gambiae and C. quinquefasciatus .

Aboriginal uses and management of ethnobotanical species in deciduous forests of Chhattisgarh state in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kala Chandra

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract A study on the native uses of ethnobotanical species was carried out in the south Surguja district of Chhattisgarh state in India with the major objective of identifying different food and medicinal plant species and also to understand their ongoing management and conservation. Through questionnaire and personal interviews, a total of 73 ethnobotanical species used by tribal and non-tribal communities were documented, of these 36 species were used in curing different types of diseases and 22 were used as edible food plants. This rich traditional knowledge of local people has an immense potential for pharmacological studies. The outside forces, at present, were mainly blamed to change the traditional system of harvesting and management of ethnobotanical species. The destructive harvesting practices have damaged the existing populations of many ethnobotanical species viz., Asparagus racemosus, Dioscorea bulbifera, Boswellia serrata, Buchnania lanzan, Sterculia urens and Anogeissus latifolia. The sustainable harvesting and management issues of ethnobotanical species are discussed in view of their conservation and management.

Photosynthetic bark: use of chlorophyll absorption continuum index to estimate Boswellia papyrifera bark chlorophyll content

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Girma, A.; Skidmore, A.K.; Bie, de C.A.J.M.; Bongers, F.; Schlerf, M.

2013-01-01

Quantification of chlorophyll content provides useful insight into the physiological performance of plants. Several leaf chlorophyll estimation techniques, using hyperspectral instruments, are available. However, to our knowledge, a non-destructive bark chlorophyll estimation technique is not

Photosynthetic bark : use of chlorophyll absorption continuum index to estimate Boswellia papyrifera bark chlorophyll content

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Girma Gebrekidan, A.; Skidmore, A.K.; de Bie, C.A.J.M.; Bongers, Frans; Schlerf, Martin; Schlerf, M.

2013-01-01

Quantification of chlorophyll content provides useful insight into the physiological performance of plants. Several leaf chlorophyll estimation techniques, using hyperspectral instruments, are available. However, to our knowledge, a non-destructive bark chlorophyll estimation technique is not

Pump, sodium, inducer, intermediate size (ISIP) (impeller/inducer/diffuser retrofit)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paradise, D.R.

1978-01-01

This specification defines the requirements for the Intermediate-Size Inducer Pump (ISIP), which is to be made by replacing the impeller of the FFTF Prototype Pump with a new inducer, impeller, diffuser, seal, and necessary adapter hardware. Subsequent testing requirements of the complete pump assembly are included

Flow-induced and acoustically induced vibration experience in operating gas-cooled reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halvers, L.J.

1977-03-01

An overview has been presented of flow-induced and acoustically induced vibration failures that occurred in the past in gas-cooled graphite-moderated reactors, and the importance of this experience for the Gas-Cooled Fast-Breeder Reactor (GCFR) project has been assessed. Until now only failures in CO 2 -cooled reactors have been found. No problems with helium-cooled reactors have been encountered so far. It is shown that most of the failures occurred because flow-induced and acoustically induced dynamic loads were underestimated, while at the same time not enough was known about the influence of environmental parameters on material behavior. All problems encountered were solved. The comparison of the influence of the gas properties on acoustically induced and flow-induced vibration phenomena shows that the interaction between reactor design and the thermodynamic properties of the primary coolant precludes a general preference for either carbon dioxide or helium. The acoustic characteristics of CO 2 and He systems are different, but the difference in dynamic loadings due to the use of one rather than the other remains difficult to predict. A slight preference for helium seems, however, to be justified

Drug-induced thrombocytopenia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen-Bjergaard, U; Andersen, M; Hansen, P B

1997-01-01

induced by non-cytotoxic drugs is characterised by heterogeneous clinical picture and recovery is generally rapid. Although corticosteroids seem inefficient, we still recommend that severe symptomatic cases of drug-induced thrombocytopenia are treated as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura due...

Diet induced thermogenesis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Westerterp, K.R.

2004-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Daily energy expenditure consists of three components: basal metabolic rate, diet-induced thermogenesis and the energy cost of physical activity. Here, data on diet-induced thermogenesis are reviewed in relation to measuring conditions and characteristics of the diet. METHODS: Measuring

Bleomycin-induced pneumonitis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Sleijfer (Stefan)

2001-01-01

textabstractThe cytotoxic agent bleomycin is feared for its induction of sometimes fatal pulmonary toxicity, also known as bleomycin-induced pneumonitis (BIP). The central event in the development of BIP is endothelial damage of the lung vasculature due to bleomycin-induced

Induced abortion in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, P D; Lin, R S

1995-04-01

Induced abortion is widely practised in Taiwan; however, it had been illegal until 1985. It was of interest to investigate induced abortion practices in Taiwan after its legalization in 1985 in order to calculate the prevalence rate and ratio of induced abortion to live births and to pregnancies in Taiwan. A study using questionnaires through personal interviews was conducted on more than seventeen thousand women who attended a family planning service in Taipei metropolitan areas between 1991 and 1992. The reproductive history and sexual behaviour of the subjects were especially focused on during the interviews. Preliminary findings showed that 46% of the women had a history of having had an induced abortion. Among them, 54.8% had had one abortion, 29.7% had had two, and 15.5% had had three or more. The abortion ratio was 379 induced abortions per 1,000 live births and 255 per 1,000 pregnancies. The abortion ratio was highest for women younger than 20 years of age, for aboriginal women and for nulliparous women. When logistic regression was used to control for confounding variables, we found that the number of previous live births is the strongest predictor relating to women seeking induced abortion. In addition, a significant positive association exists between increasing number of induced abortions and cervical dysplasia.

Paliperidone palmitate-induced sialorrhoea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cengiz Cengisiz

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Extrapyramidal, metabolic, and cardiac side effects were reported for atypical antipsychotics; although a few resources show paliperidone-induced sialorrhea, there are no resources that show paliperidone palmitate-induced sialorrhea. In this paper, we present the paliperidone palmitate-induced sialorrhea side effects of a patient who applied on our clinic [Cukurova Med J 2016; 41(0.100: 8-13

Chemical Detection Based on Adsorption-Induced and Photo-Induced Stresses in MEMS Devices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Datskos, P.G.

1999-04-05

Recently there has been an increasing demand to perform real-time in-situ chemical detection of hazardous materials, contraband chemicals, and explosive chemicals. Currently, real-time chemical detection requires rather large analytical instrumentation that are expensive and complicated to use. The advent of inexpensive mass produced MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) devices opened-up new possibilities for chemical detection. For example, microcantilevers were found to respond to chemical stimuli by undergoing changes in their bending and resonance frequency even when a small number of molecules adsorb on their surface. In our present studies, we extended this concept by studying changes in both the adsorption-induced stress and photo-induced stress as target chemicals adsorb on the surface of microcantilevers. For example, microcantilevers that have adsorbed molecules will undergo photo-induced bending that depends on the number of absorbed molecules on the surface. However, microcantilevers that have undergone photo-induced bending will adsorb molecules on their surfaces in a distinctly different way. Depending on the photon wavelength and microcantilever material, the microcantilever can be made to bend by expanding or contracting the irradiated surface. This is important in cases where the photo-induced stresses can be used to counter any adsorption-induced stresses and increase the dynamic range. Coating the surface of the microstructure with a different material can provide chemical specificity for the target chemicals. However, by selecting appropriate photon wavelengths we can change the chemical selectivity due to the introduction of new surface states in the MEMS device. We will present and discuss our results on the use of adsorption-induced and photo-induced bending of microcantilevers for chemical detection.

Second-order nonlinearity induced transparency.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Y H; Zhang, S S; Shen, H Z; Yi, X X

2017-04-01

In analogy to electromagnetically induced transparency, optomechanically induced transparency was proposed recently in [Science330, 1520 (2010)SCIEAS0036-807510.1126/science.1195596]. In this Letter, we demonstrate another form of induced transparency enabled by second-order nonlinearity. A practical application of the second-order nonlinearity induced transparency is to measure the second-order nonlinear coefficient. Our scheme might find applications in quantum optics and quantum information processing.

An evaluation of a hubless inducer and a full flow hydraulic turbine driven inducer boost pump

Science.gov (United States)

Lindley, B. K.; Martinson, A. R.

1971-01-01

The purpose of the study was to compare the performance of several configurations of hubless inducers with a hydrodynamically similar conventional inducer and to demonstrate the performance of a full flow hydraulic turbine driven inducer boost pump using these inducers. A boost pump of this type consists of an inducer connected to a hydraulic turbine with a high speed rotor located in between. All the flow passes through the inducer, rotor, and hydraulic turbine, then into the main pump. The rotor, which is attached to the main pump shaft, provides the input power to drive the hydraulic turbine which, in turn, drives the inducer. The inducer, rotating at a lower speed, develops the necessary head to prevent rotor cavitation. The rotor speed is consistent with present main engine liquid hydrogen pump designs and the overall boost pump head rise is sufficient to provide adequate main pump suction head. This system would have the potential for operating at lower liquid hydrogen tank pressures.

Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction: Excessive Dynamic Airway Collapse vs. Inducible Laryngeal Obstruction

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-20

REPORT TYPE 10/20/2017 Poster 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Inducible Laryngeal Obstrnction: Excessive Dynamic Airway Collapse vs. Inducible Laryngeal...REPORT b.ABSTRACT c. THIS PAGE ABSTRACT OF PAGES 3. DATES COVERED (From - To) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER

Traffic forecasts ignoring induced demand

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Næss, Petter; Nicolaisen, Morten Skou; Strand, Arvid

2012-01-01

the model calculations included only a part of the induced traffic, the difference in cost-benefit results compared to the model excluding all induced traffic was substantial. The results show lower travel time savings, more adverse environmental impacts and a considerably lower benefitcost ratio when...... induced traffic is partly accounted for than when it is ignored. By exaggerating the economic benefits of road capacity increase and underestimating its negative effects, omission of induced traffic can result in over-allocation of public money on road construction and correspondingly less focus on other...... performance of a proposed road project in Copenhagen with and without short-term induced traffic included in the transport model. The available transport model was not able to include long-term induced traffic resulting from changes in land use and in the level of service of public transport. Even though...

Effects of scallop shell extract on scopolamine-induced memory impairment and MK801-induced locomotor activity.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasegawa, Yasushi; Inoue, Tatsuro; Kawaminami, Satoshi; Fujita, Miho

2016-07-01

To evaluate the neuroprotective effects of the organic components of scallop shells (scallop shell extract) on memory impairment and locomotor activity induced by scopolamine or 5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo (a,d) cyclohepten-5,10-imine (MK801). Effect of the scallop shell extract on memory impairment and locomotor activity was investigated using the Y-maze test, the Morris water maze test, and the open field test. Scallop shell extract significantly reduced scopolamine-induced short-term memory impairment and partially reduced scopolamine-induced spatial memory impairment in the Morris water maze test. Scallop shell extract suppressed scopolamine-induced elevation of acetylcholine esterase activity in the cerebral cortex. Treatment with scallop shell extract reversed the increase in locomotor activity induced by scopolamine. Scallop shell extract also suppressed the increase in locomotor activity induced by MK801. Our results provide initial evidence that scallop shell extract reduces scopolamine-induced memory impairment and suppresses MK-801-induced hyperlocomotion. Copyright © 2016 Hainan Medical College. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Drug induced diarrhea].

Science.gov (United States)

Morard, Isabelle; Hadengue, Antoine

2008-09-03

Diarrhea is a frequent adverse event involving the most frequently antibiotics, laxatives and NSAI. Drug induced diarrhea may be acute or chronic. It may be due to expected, dose dependant properties of the drug, to immuno-allergic or bio-genomic mechanisms. Several pathophysiological mechanisms have been described resulting in osmotic, secretory or inflammatory diarrhea, shortened transit time, or malabsorption. Histopathological lesions sometimes associated with drug induced diarrhea are usually non specific and include ulcerations, inflammatory or ischemic lesions, fibrous diaphragms, microscopic colitis and apoptosis. The diagnosis of drug induced diarrhea, sometimes difficult to assess, relies on the absence of other obvious causes and on the rapid disappearance of the symptoms after withdrawal of the suspected drug.

Differences between Drug-Induced and Contrast Media-Induced Adverse Reactions Based on Spontaneously Reported Adverse Drug Reactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ryu, JiHyeon; Lee, HeeYoung; Suh, JinUk; Yang, MyungSuk; Kang, WonKu; Kim, EunYoung

2015-01-01

We analyzed differences between spontaneously reported drug-induced (not including contrast media) and contrast media-induced adverse reactions. Adverse drug reactions reported by an in-hospital pharmacovigilance center (St. Mary's teaching hospital, Daejeon, Korea) from 2010-2012 were classified as drug-induced or contrast media-induced. Clinical patterns, frequency, causality, severity, Schumock and Thornton's preventability, and type A/B reactions were recorded. The trends among causality tools measuring drug and contrast-induced adverse reactions were analyzed. Of 1,335 reports, 636 drug-induced and contrast media-induced adverse reactions were identified. The prevalence of spontaneously reported adverse drug reaction-related admissions revealed a suspected adverse drug reaction-reporting rate of 20.9/100,000 (inpatient, 0.021%) and 3.9/100,000 (outpatients, 0.004%). The most common adverse drug reaction-associated drug classes included nervous system agents and anti-infectives. Dermatological and gastrointestinal adverse drug reactions were most frequently and similarly reported between drug and contrast media-induced adverse reactions. Compared to contrast media-induced adverse reactions, drug-induced adverse reactions were milder, more likely to be preventable (9.8% vs. 1.1%, p contrast media-induced adverse reactions (56.6%, p = 0.066). Causality patterns differed between the two adverse reaction classes. The World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre causality evaluation and Naranjo algorithm results significantly differed from those of the Korean algorithm version II (p contrast media-induced adverse reactions. The World Health Organization-Uppsala Monitoring Centre and Naranjo algorithm causality evaluation afforded similar results.

Troglitazone induced apoptosis via PPARγ activated POX-induced ROS formation in HT29 cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Lv, XiaoWen; Shi, JiePing; Hu, XiaoSong; DU, YuGuo

2011-08-01

In order to investigate the potential mechanisms in troglitazone-induced apoptosis in HT29 cells, the effects of PPARγ and POX-induced ROS were explored. [3- (4, 5)-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Annexin V and PI staining using FACS, plasmid transfection, ROS formation detected by DCFH staining, RNA interference, RT-PCR & RT-QPCR, and Western blotting analyses were employed to investigate the apoptotic effect of troglitazone and the potential role of PPARγ pathway and POX-induced ROS formation in HT29 cells. Troglitazone was found to inhibit the growth of HT29 cells by induction of apoptosis. During this process, mitochondria related pathways including ROS formation, POX expression and cytochrome c release increased, which were inhibited by pretreatment with GW9662, a specific antagonist of PPARγ. These results illustrated that POX upregulation and ROS formation in apoptosis induced by troglitazone was modulated in PPARγ-dependent pattern. Furthermore, the inhibition of ROS and apoptosis after POX siRNA used in troglitazone-treated HT29 cells indicated that POX be essential in the ROS formation and PPARγ-dependent apoptosis induced by troglitazone. The findings from this study showed that troglitazone-induced apoptosis was mediated by POX-induced ROS formation, at least partly, via PPARγ activation. Copyright © 2011 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Baby universes with induced gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gao Yihong; Gao Hongbo

1989-01-01

In this paper some quantum effects of baby universes with induced gravity are discussed. It is proved that the interactions between the baby-parent universes are non-local, and argue that the induced low-energy cosmological constant is zero. This argument does not depend on the detail of the induced potential

Geraniin suppresses RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in vitro and ameliorates wear particle-induced osteolysis in mouse model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xiao, Fei; Zhai, Zanjing; Jiang, Chuan; Liu, Xuqiang; Li, Haowei; Qu, Xinhua [Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai (China); Ouyang, Zhengxiao [Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai (China); Department of Orthopaedics, Hunan Provincial Tumor Hospital and Tumor Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410013 (China); Fan, Qiming; Tang, Tingting [Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai (China); Qin, An, E-mail: dr.qinan@gmail.com [Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai (China); Gu, Dongyun, E-mail: dongyungu@gmail.com [Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Orthopedic Implant, Shanghai Ninth People' s Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai (China); Engineering Research Center of Digital Medicine and Clinical Translation, Ministry of Education of PR China (China); School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030 (China)

2015-01-01

Wear particle-induced osteolysis and subsequent aseptic loosening remains the most common complication that limits the longevity of prostheses. Wear particle-induced osteoclastogenesis is known to be responsible for extensive bone erosion that leads to prosthesis failure. Thus, inhibition of osteoclastic bone resorption may serve as a therapeutic strategy for the treatment of wear particle induced osteolysis. In this study, we demonstrated for the first time that geraniin, an active natural compound derived from Geranium thunbergii, ameliorated particle-induced osteolysis in a Ti particle-induced mouse calvaria model in vivo. We also investigated the mechanism by which geraniin exerts inhibitory effects on osteoclasts. Geraniin inhibited RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis in a dose-dependent manner, evidenced by reduced osteoclast formation and suppressed osteoclast specific gene expression. Specially, geraniin inhibited actin ring formation and bone resorption in vitro. Further molecular investigation demonstrated geraniin impaired osteoclast differentiation via the inhibition of the RANKL-induced NF-κB and ERK signaling pathways, as well as suppressed the expression of key osteoclast transcriptional factors NFATc1 and c-Fos. Collectively, our data suggested that geraniin exerts inhibitory effects on osteoclast differentiation in vitro and suppresses Ti particle-induced osteolysis in vivo. Geraniin is therefore a potential natural compound for the treatment of wear particle induced osteolysis in prostheses failure. - Highlights: • Geraniin suppresses osteoclasts formation and function in vitro. • Geraniin impairs RANKL-induced nuclear factor-κB and ERK signaling pathway. • Geraniin suppresses osteolysis in vivo. • Geraniin may be used for treating osteoclast related diseases.

Contribution of radiation-induced, nitric oxide-mediated bystander effect to radiation-induced adaptive response.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, H.; Ohnishi, T.

There has been a recent upsurge of interest in radiation-induced adaptive response and bystander effect which are specific modes in stress response to low-dose low-dose rate radiation Recently we found that the accumulation of inducible nitric oxide NO synthase iNOS in wt p53 cells was induced by chronic irradiation with gamma rays followed by acute irradiation with X-rays but not by each one resulting in an increase in nitrite concentrations of medium It is suggested that the accumulation of iNOS may be due to the depression of acute irradiation-induced p53 functions by pre-chronic irradiation In addition we found that the radiosensitivity of wt p53 cells against acute irradiation with X-rays was reduced after chronic irradiation with gamma rays This reduction of radiosensitivity of wt p53 cells was nearly completely suppressed by the addition of NO scavenger carboxy-PTIO to the medium This reduction of radiosensitivity of wt p53 cells is just radiation-induced adaptive response suggesting that NO-mediated bystander effect may considerably contribute to adaptive response induced by radiation

Vaccination with IL-6 analogues induces autoantibodies to IL-6 and influences experimentally induced inflammation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Galle, Pia; Jensen, Lene; Andersson, Christina

2007-01-01

; yet they appear healthy and do not exhibit overt clinical or laboratory abnormalities. We induced comparable levels of aAb-IL-6 in different mouse strains by vaccination with immunogenic IL-6 analogues. We observed that the induced aAb-IL-6 protected against collagen-induced arthritis and experimental...

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

Science.gov (United States)

... Home » Health Info » Hearing, Ear Infections, and Deafness Noise-Induced Hearing Loss On this page: What is ... I find additional information about NIHL? What is noise-induced hearing loss? Every day, we experience sound ...

Drug-induced apnea.

Science.gov (United States)

Boutroy, M J

1994-01-01

Drugs have been in the past and will in the future still be liable to induce apnea in neonates, infants and older children. At these different stages of development, the child may be abnormally vulnerable to respiratory disorders and apnea, and doses of drugs, without any abnormal side effects in adult patients, can be harmful in younger subjects. Drugs responsible for apnea during development are numerous, but more than half of the problems are induced by sedatives and hypnotics, among which phenothiazines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines (included transplacentally acquired) and general anesthetics are a few. Other pharmacological families are apnea inducers in the neonatal period and childhood: analgesics and opioid narcotics, agents acting at the levels of neuromuscular function and autonomic ganglia, and cardiovascular agents. The pathogenesis of these apneas depends on the disturbance of any mechanism responsible for the respiratory activity: medullary centers and brain stem structures, afferent influx to CNS, sleep stages, upper airways, lungs and respiratory muscles. At key stages such as birth and infancy, drugs may emphasize the particular sensitivity of the mechanisms responsible for inducing apnea. This might explain unexpected respiratory disorders during development.

Irradiation-Induced Nanostructures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Birtcher, R.C.; Ewing, R.C.; Matzke, Hj.; Meldrum, A.; Newcomer, P.P.; Wang, L.M.; Wang, S.X.; Weber, W.J.

1999-08-09

This paper summarizes the results of the studies of the irradiation-induced formation of nanostructures, where the injected interstitials from the source of irradiation are not major components of the nanophase. This phenomena has been observed by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in a number of intermetallic compounds and ceramics during high-energy electron or ion irradiations when the ions completely penetrate through the specimen. Beginning with single crystals, electron or ion irradiation in a certain temperature range may result in nanostructures composed of amorphous domains and nanocrystals with either the original composition and crystal structure or new nanophases formed by decomposition of the target material. The phenomenon has also been observed in natural materials which have suffered irradiation from the decay of constituent radioactive elements and in nuclear reactor fuels which have been irradiated by fission neutrons and other fission products. The mechanisms involved in the process of this nanophase formation are discussed in terms of the evolution of displacement cascades, radiation-induced defect accumulation, radiation-induced segregation and phase decomposition, as well as the competition between irradiation-induced amorphization and recrystallization.

Dioscin induces caspase-independent apoptosis through activation of apoptosis-inducing factor in breast cancer cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Eun-Ae; Jang, Ji-Hoon; Lee, Yun-Han; Sung, Eon-Gi; Song, In-Hwan; Kim, Joo-Young; Kim, Suji; Sohn, Ho-Yong; Lee, Tae-Jin

2014-07-01

Dioscin, a saponin extracted from the roots of Polygonatum zanlanscianense, shows several bioactivities such as antitumor, antifungal, and antiviral properties. Although, dioscin is already known to induce cell death in variety cancer cells, the molecular basis for dioscin-induced cell death was not definitely known in cancer cells. In this study, we found that dioscin treatment induced cell death in dose-dependent manner in breast cancer cells such as MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-453, and T47D cells. Dioscin decreased expressions of Bcl-2 and cIAP-1 proteins, which were down-regulated at the transcriptional level. Conversely, Mcl-1 protein level was down-regulated by facilitating ubiquitin/proteasome-mediated Mcl-1 degradation in dioscin-treated cells. Pretreatment with z-VAD fails to attenuate dioscin-induced cell death as well as caspase-mediated events such as cleavages of procaspase-3 and PARP. In addition, dioscin treatment increased the population of annexin V positive cells and induced DNA fragmentation in a dose-dependent manner in MDA-MB-231 cells. Furthermore, apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) was released from the mitochondria and translocated to the nucleus. Suppression in AIF expression by siRNA reduced dioscin-induced apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 cells. Taken together, our results demonstrate that dioscin-induced cell death was mediated via AIF-facilitating caspase-independent pathway as well as down-regulating anti-apoptotic proteins such as Bcl-2, cIAP-1, and Mcl-1 in breast cancer cells.

Diet induced thermogenesis

OpenAIRE

Westerterp KR

2004-01-01

Objective Daily energy expenditure consists of three components: basal metabolic rate, diet-induced thermogenesis and the energy cost of physical activity. Here, data on diet-induced thermogenesis are reviewed in relation to measuring conditions and characteristics of the diet. Methods Measuring conditions include nutritional status of the subject, physical activity and duration of the observation. Diet characteristics are energy content and macronutrient composition. Resu...

Quinine-induced tinnitus in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Jastreboff, P J; Brennan, J F; Sasaki, C T

1991-10-01

Quinine ingestion reportedly induces tinnitus in humans. To expand our salicylate-based animal model of tinnitus, a series of conditioned suppression experiments was performed on 54 male-pigmented rats using quinine injections to induce tinnitus. Quinine induced changes in both the extent of suppression and recovery of licking, which followed a pattern that paralleled those produced after salicylate injections, and which may be interpreted as the result of tinnitus perception in animals. These changes depended on the dose and time schedule of quinine administration. Additionally, the calcium channel blocker, nimodipine, abolished the quinine-induced effect in a dose-dependent manner.

Magistritööde kaitsmine : [Kaja Tiisel jt.

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

1999-01-01

3. veebr. '99 kaitses Kaja Tiisel TPÜ infoteaduste magistrikraadi kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Tallinna Toomkooli raamatukogu arengulugu ning koostis"; 4. märtsil Uno Ilm TPÜ psühholoogia magistrikraadi kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Süüdimõistetute kriminaalne subkultuur slängis ja tätoveeringutes"; 11. mail Katri Laurimaa TPÜ filoloogiateaduste magistrikraadi kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Muinasjutu "Vahetatud naine" (AT 403B) eesti teisendid rahvusvahelises kontekstis" ja Julia Šamarina TPÜ filoloogiateaduste magistrikraadi kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Sugupoolte küsimus Angela Carteri loomingus (Gender Issues in Angela Carters' Writing)"; 13. mail Tatjana Gramušnjak TPÜ matemaatika magistritööde kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Positiivselt määratud ruutvormide C-tüüpide leidmise probleemidest"; 25. mail Ljudmila Dubjeva TPÜ infoteaduste osakonna magistrikraadi kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Traditsiooniliste infosüsteemide kujunemine Tartu Ülikooli raamatukogus"; 26. mail Ülle Saarits TPÜ kasvatusteaduste ja pedagoogika magistrikraadi kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Vanavanema roll linnaperekonnas : lapsevanema refleksioon" ja Enn Siim TPÜ kasvatusteaduste ja pedagoogika magistrikraadi kaitsmisnõukogus magistritööd "Isiksuse arengu põhimõte aktiivõppes (põhikooli algastmes)"

Chronic lead exposure induces cochlear oxidative stress and potentiates noise-induced hearing loss.

Science.gov (United States)

Jamesdaniel, Samson; Rosati, Rita; Westrick, Judy; Ruden, Douglas M

2018-08-01

Acquired hearing loss is caused by complex interactions of multiple environmental risk factors, such as elevated levels of lead and noise, which are prevalent in urban communities. This study delineates the mechanism underlying lead-induced auditory dysfunction and its potential interaction with noise exposure. Young-adult C57BL/6 mice were exposed to: 1) control conditions; 2) 2 mM lead acetate in drinking water for 28 days; 3) 90 dB broadband noise 2 h/day for two weeks; and 4) both lead and noise. Blood lead levels were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis (ICP-MS) lead-induced cochlear oxidative stress signaling was assessed using targeted gene arrays, and the hearing thresholds were assessed by recording auditory brainstem responses. Chronic lead exposure downregulated cochlear Sod1, Gpx1, and Gstk1, which encode critical antioxidant enzymes, and upregulated ApoE, Hspa1a, Ercc2, Prnp, Ccl5, and Sqstm1, which are indicative of cellular apoptosis. Isolated exposure to lead or noise induced 8-12 dB and 11-25 dB shifts in hearing thresholds, respectively. Combined exposure induced 18-30 dB shifts, which was significantly higher than that observed with isolated exposures. This study suggests that chronic exposure to lead induces cochlear oxidative stress and potentiates noise-induced hearing impairment, possibly through parallel pathways. Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research progress of exercise-induced fatigue

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng-yi DAI

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Exercise-induced fatigue is a comprehensive response to a variety of physiological and biochemical changes in the body, and can affect people's quality of life to different extents. If no timely recovery after occurrence of fatigue, accumulated gradually, it can lead to "burnout", a "overtraining syndrome", "chronic fatigue syndrome", etc., which will cause endocrine disturbance, immune suppression, even physical illness. Exercise-induced fatigue becomes an important factor endangering human health. In recent years, many experts and scholars at home and abroad are committed to the research of exercise-induced fatigue, and have put forward a variety of hypothesis to explain the cause of exercise-induced fatigue. They expect to find out the methods for preventing and eliminating exercise-induced fatigue. This article discusses mainly the pathogenesis, model building, elimination/ relief, etc. of exercise-induced fatigue to point out the research achievements of exercise-induced fatigue and its existing problems. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2016.11.14

Terahertz Induced Electromigration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Strikwerda, Andrew; Zalkovskij, Maksim; Iwaszczuk, Krzysztof

2014-01-01

We report the first observation of THz-field-induced electromigration in subwavelength metallic gap structures after exposure to intense single-cycle, sub-picosecond electric field transients of amplitude up to 400 kV/cm.......We report the first observation of THz-field-induced electromigration in subwavelength metallic gap structures after exposure to intense single-cycle, sub-picosecond electric field transients of amplitude up to 400 kV/cm....

Beam induced RF heating

CERN Document Server

Salvant, B; Arduini, G; Assmann, R; Baglin, V; Barnes, M J; Bartmann, W; Baudrenghien, P; Berrig, O; Bracco, C; Bravin, E; Bregliozzi, G; Bruce, R; Bertarelli, A; Carra, F; Cattenoz, G; Caspers, F; Claudet, S; Day, H; Garlasche, M; Gentini, L; Goddard, B; Grudiev, A; Henrist, B; Jones, R; Kononenko, O; Lanza, G; Lari, L; Mastoridis, T; Mertens, V; Métral, E; Mounet, N; Muller, J E; Nosych, A A; Nougaret, J L; Persichelli, S; Piguiet, A M; Redaelli, S; Roncarolo, F; Rumolo, G; Salvachua, B; Sapinski, M; Schmidt, R; Shaposhnikova, E; Tavian, L; Timmins, M; Uythoven, J; Vidal, A; Wenninger, J; Wollmann, D; Zerlauth, M

2012-01-01

After the 2011 run, actions were put in place during the 2011/2012 winter stop to limit beam induced radio frequency (RF) heating of LHC components. However, some components could not be changed during this short stop and continued to represent a limitation throughout 2012. In addition, the stored beam intensity increased in 2012 and the temperature of certain components became critical. In this contribution, the beam induced heating limitations for 2012 and the expected beam induced heating limitations for the restart after the Long Shutdown 1 (LS1) will be compiled. The expected consequences of running with 25 ns or 50 ns bunch spacing will be detailed, as well as the consequences of running with shorter bunch length. Finally, actions on hardware or beam parameters to monitor and mitigate the impact of beam induced heating to LHC operation after LS1 will be discussed.

The ovarian DNA damage repair response is induced prior to phosphoramide mustard-induced follicle depletion, and ataxia telangiectasia mutated inhibition prevents PM-induced follicle depletion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ganesan, Shanthi, E-mail: shanthig@iastate.edu; Keating, Aileen F., E-mail: akeating@iastate.edu

2016-02-01

Phosphoramide mustard (PM) is an ovotoxic metabolite of cyclophosphamide and destroys primordial and primary follicles potentially by DNA damage induction. The temporal pattern by which PM induces DNA damage and initiation of the ovarian response to DNA damage has not yet been well characterized. This study investigated DNA damage initiation, the DNA repair response, as well as induction of follicular demise using a neonatal rat ovarian culture system. Additionally, to delineate specific mechanisms involved in the ovarian response to PM exposure, utility was made of PKC delta (PKCδ) deficient mice as well as an ATM inhibitor (KU 55933; AI). Fisher 344 PND4 rat ovaries were cultured for 12, 24, 48 or 96 h in medium containing DMSO ± 60 μM PM or KU 55933 (48 h; 10 nM). PM-induced activation of DNA damage repair genes was observed as early as 12 h post-exposure. ATM, PARP1, E2F7, P73 and CASP3 abundance were increased but RAD51 and BCL2 protein decreased after 96 h of PM exposure. PKCδ deficiency reduced numbers of all follicular stages, but did not have an additive impact on PM-induced ovotoxicity. ATM inhibition protected all follicle stages from PM-induced depletion. In conclusion, the ovarian DNA damage repair response is active post-PM exposure, supporting that DNA damage contributes to PM-induced ovotoxicity. - Highlights: • PM exposure induces DNA damage repair gene expression. • Inhibition of ATM prevented PM-induced follicle depletion. • PKCδ deficiency did not impact PM-induced ovotoxicity.

Induced mutations in sesame breeding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashri, A.

2001-01-01

The scope of induced mutations in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) breeding is reviewed. So far in Egypt, India, Iraq, Rep. of Korea, and Sri Lanka, 14 officially released varieties have been developed through induced mutations: 12 directly and 2 through cross breeding (one using the 'dt45' induced mutant from Israel). For another variety released in China there are no details. The induced mutations approach was adopted primarily in order to obtain genetic variability that was not available in the germplasm collection. The mutagens commonly applied have been gamma rays, EMS and sodium azide. Sesame seeds can withstand high mutagen doses, and there are genotypic differences in sensitivity between varieties. The mutants induced in the above named countries and others include better yield, improved seed retention, determinate habit, modified plant architecture and size, more uniform and shorter maturation period, earliness, resistance to diseases, genic male sterility, seed coat color, higher oil content and modified fatty acids composition. Some of the induced mutants have already given rise to improved varieties, the breeding value of other mutants is now being assessed and still others can serve as useful markers in genetic studies and breeding programmes. (author)

Holographic Two-Photon Induced Photopolymerization

Data.gov (United States)

Federal Laboratory Consortium — Holographic two-photon-induced photopolymerization (HTPIP) offers distinct advantages over conventional one-photon-induced photopolymerization and current techniques...

Involvement of inducible nitric oxide synthase in radiation-induced vascular endothelial damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Chang-Won; Lee, Joon-Ho; Kim, Suwan; Noh, Jae Myoung; Kim, Young-Mee; Pyo, Hongryull; Lee, Sunyoung

2013-01-01

The use of radiation therapy has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. To understand the mechanisms underlying radiation-induced vascular dysfunction, we employed two models. First, we examined the effect of X-ray irradiation on vasodilation in rabbit carotid arteries. Carotid arterial rings were irradiated with 8 or 16 Gy using in vivo and ex vivo methods. We measured the effect of acetylcholine-induced relaxation after phenylephrine-induced contraction on the rings. In irradiated carotid arteries, vasodilation was significantly attenuated by both irradiation methods. The relaxation response was completely blocked by 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one, a potent inhibitor of soluble guanylate cyclase. Residual relaxation persisted after treatment with L-N ω -nitroarginine (L-NA), a non-specific inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), but disappeared following the addition of aminoguanidine (AG), a selective inhibitor of inducible NOS (iNOS). The relaxation response was also affected by tetraethylammonium, an inhibitor of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor activity. In the second model, we investigated the biochemical events of nitrosative stress in human umbilical-vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). We measured iNOS and nitrotyrosine expression in HUVECs exposed to a dose of 4 Gy. The expression of iNOS and nitrotyrosine was greater in irradiated HUVECs than in untreated controls. Pretreatment with AG, L-N 6 -(1-iminoethyl) lysine hydrochloride (a selective inhibitor of iNOS), and L-NA attenuated nitrosative stress. While a selective target of radiation-induced vascular endothelial damage was not definitely determined, these results suggest that NO generated from iNOS could contribute to vasorelaxation. These studies highlight a potential role of iNOS inhibitors in ameliorating radiation-induced vascular endothelial damage. (author)

Systemic resistance induced by rhizosphere bacteria

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Loon, L.C. van; Bakker, P.A.H.M.; Pieterse, C.M.J.

1998-01-01

Nonpathogenic rhizobacteria can induce a systemic resistance in plants that is phenotypically similar to pathogen-induced systemic acquired resistance (SAR). Rhizobacteria-mediated induced systemic resistance (ISR) has been demonstrated against fungi, bacteria, and viruses in Arabidopsis, bean,

Induced radioactivity at CERN

CERN Multimedia

1970-01-01

A description of some of the problems and some of the advantages associated with the phenomenon of induced radioactivity at accelerator centres such as CERN. The author has worked in this field for several years and has recently written a book 'Induced Radioactivity' published by North-Holland.

Mastication-induced vertigo and nystagmus.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Seong-Ho; Kim, Hyo-Jung; Kim, Ji-Soo; Koo, Ja-Won; Oh, Seo Won; Kim, Dong-Uk; Kim, Joon-Tae; Welgampola, Miriam; Deriu, Franca

2014-03-01

Even though trigeminovestibular connections are well established in animals, mastication-induced dizziness has been described only as a vascular steal phenomenon in humans. We determined induction or modulation of nystagmus in two index patients with mastication-induced vertigo, 12 normal controls, and 52 additional patients with peripheral (n = 38, 26 with vestibular neuritis/labyrinthitis and 12 with Meniere's disease) or central (n = 14, 11 with Wallenberg syndrome, two with cerebellar infarction, and one with pontine infarction) vestibulopathy during their acute or compensated phase. Both index patients developed mastication-induced vertigo after near complete resolution of the spontaneous vertigo from presumed acute unilateral peripheral vestibulopathy. The nystagmus and vertigo gradually built up during mastication and dissipated slowly after cessation of mastication. Brain MRI and cerebral angiography were normal in these patients. Mastication did not induce nystagmus in normal controls. However, mastication induced nystagmus in five (24 %) of the 21 patients without spontaneous nystagmus (SN) but with a previous history of a vestibular syndrome, and either increased (21/31, 68 %) or decreased (7/31, 23 %) the SN in almost all the patients (28/31, 90 %) with SN. Mastication may induce significant vertigo and nystagmus in patients with a prior history of acute vestibulopathy. The induction or modulation of nystagmus by mastication in both peripheral and central vestibulopathies supports trigeminal modulation of the vestibular system in human. The gradual build-up and dissipation suggest a role of the velocity storage mechanism in the generation of mastication-induced vertigo and nystagmus.

Mechanistic review of drug-induced steatohepatitis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schumacher, Justin D.; Guo, Grace L.

2015-01-01

Drug-induced steatohepatitis is a rare form of liver injury known to be caused by only a handful of compounds. These compounds stimulate the development of steatohepatitis through their toxicity to hepatocyte mitochondria; inhibition of beta-oxidation, mitochondrial respiration, and/or oxidative phosphorylation. Other mechanisms discussed include the disruption of phospholipid metabolism in lysosomes, prevention of lipid egress from hepatocytes, targeting mitochondrial DNA and topoisomerase, decreasing intestinal barrier function, activation of the adenosine pathway, increasing fatty acid synthesis, and sequestration of coenzyme A. It has been found that the majority of compounds that induce steatohepatitis have cationic amphiphilic structures; a lipophilic ring structure with a side chain containing a cationic secondary or tertiary amine. Within the last decade, the ability of many chemotherapeutics to cause steatohepatitis has become more evident coining the term chemotherapy-associated steatohepatitis (CASH). The mechanisms behind drug-induced steatohepatitis are discussed with a focus on cationic amphiphilic drugs and chemotherapeutic agents. - Highlights: • Reviewed the mechanisms underlying drug-induced steatohepatitis for many compounds • Mitochondrial dysfunction is critical in the development of drug-induced steatohepatitis. • Majority of drugs that induce steatohepatitis are cationic amphiphilic drugs. • Chemotherapeutics that induce CASH are cationic amphiphilic drugs. • Majority of drugs that induce steatohepatitis are carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I inhibitors.

Mechanistic review of drug-induced steatohepatitis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, Justin D., E-mail: Justin.d.schumacher@rutgers.edu; Guo, Grace L.

2015-11-15

Drug-induced steatohepatitis is a rare form of liver injury known to be caused by only a handful of compounds. These compounds stimulate the development of steatohepatitis through their toxicity to hepatocyte mitochondria; inhibition of beta-oxidation, mitochondrial respiration, and/or oxidative phosphorylation. Other mechanisms discussed include the disruption of phospholipid metabolism in lysosomes, prevention of lipid egress from hepatocytes, targeting mitochondrial DNA and topoisomerase, decreasing intestinal barrier function, activation of the adenosine pathway, increasing fatty acid synthesis, and sequestration of coenzyme A. It has been found that the majority of compounds that induce steatohepatitis have cationic amphiphilic structures; a lipophilic ring structure with a side chain containing a cationic secondary or tertiary amine. Within the last decade, the ability of many chemotherapeutics to cause steatohepatitis has become more evident coining the term chemotherapy-associated steatohepatitis (CASH). The mechanisms behind drug-induced steatohepatitis are discussed with a focus on cationic amphiphilic drugs and chemotherapeutic agents. - Highlights: • Reviewed the mechanisms underlying drug-induced steatohepatitis for many compounds • Mitochondrial dysfunction is critical in the development of drug-induced steatohepatitis. • Majority of drugs that induce steatohepatitis are cationic amphiphilic drugs. • Chemotherapeutics that induce CASH are cationic amphiphilic drugs. • Majority of drugs that induce steatohepatitis are carnitine palmitoyltransferase-I inhibitors.

Full scale measurement of wind induced pressures : 1 configuration of wind induced pressures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Geurts, C.P.W.; Wijen, H.L.M.

1994-01-01

A research project 10 the spectral characteristics of wind induced pressures is in progress in Eindhoven. This project includes both wind tunnel and full scale measurements. Wind induced pressures are measured in full scale at the main building of Eindhoven University of Technology. This paper

TCDD Induces the Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF-1α Regulatory Pathway in Human Trophoblastic JAR Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tien-Ling Liao

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The exposure to dioxin can compromise pregnancy outcomes and increase the risk of preterm births. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD has been demonstrated to induce placental hypoxia at the end of pregnancy in a rat model, and hypoxia has been suggested to be the cause of abnormal trophoblast differentiation and placental insufficiency syndromes. In this study, we demonstrate that the non-hypoxic stimulation of human trophoblastic cells by TCDD strongly increased hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α stabilization. TCDD exposure induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS and nitric oxide. TCDD-induced HIF-1α stabilization and Akt phosphorylation was inhibited by pretreatment with wortmannin (a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K inhibitor or N-acetylcysteine (a ROS scavenger. The augmented HIF-1α stabilization by TCDD occurred via the ROS-dependent activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway. Additionally, a significant increase in invasion and metallomatrix protease-9 activity was found in TCDD-treated cells. The gene expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and placental growth factor was induced upon TCDD stimulation, whereas the protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ, PPARγ coactivator-1α, mitochondrial transcription factor, and uncoupling protein 2 were decreased. Our results indicate that an activated HIF-1α pathway, elicited oxidative stress, and induced metabolic stress contribute to TCDD-induced trophoblastic toxicity. These findings may provide molecular insight into the TCDD-induced impairment of trophoblast function and placental development.

Study of vitamin D serum level in patients with epilepsy treated with enzyme-inducing and non enzyme-inducing medications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

sima Hashemipour

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background : Changes of serum minerals and vitamin D have been reported in anticonvulsant drugs user patients. The present study aimed at comparing the changes of serum minerals and vitamin D among two groups of enzyme-inducing and non enzyme-inducing anticonvulsant drug users. Methods: In this study 22 patients treated with enzyme-inducing drugs (carbamazepin, phenytoin, phenobarbital were compared to 25 patients of matched sex, age, and BMI treated with non enzyme-inducing drugs (sodium evaporate, lamotrigine. Serum calcium, phosphate, parathormone, and 25-hydroxy vitamin D were calculated in both groups. Calcium was measured by Calorimetery method. Parathormone and vitamin D were measured using ELISA method. Results: The mean serum vitamin D level was lower in enzyme-inducing than non enzyme-inducing drugs users (15.9±8.3 and 24.2±14.8, P=0.02. Frequency of vitamin D deficiency was higher in enzyme-inducing compared to non enzyme-inducing drugs users, 84% and 48% , respectively (P=0.016. The mean serum calcium level was significantly lower in enzyme-inducing drugs users. (8.7±0.2 vs. 9.0± 0.7, p= 0.05. Four percent in enzyme-inducing group compared to twenty four percent of non enzyme-inducing group had secondary hyperparathyroidism (P=0.016. Conclusion: While vitamin D deficiency is more frequent in enzyme-inducing drug users, secondary hyperparathyroidism is less frequent.

Morphine potentiates seizures induced by GABA antagonists and attenuates seizures induced by electroshock in the rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Foote, F; Gale, K

1983-11-25

In a naloxone-reversible, dose-dependent manner, morphine (10-50 mg/kg i.p.) protected against seizures induced by maximal electroshock and increased the incidence and severity of seizures induced by bicuculline, in rats. Morphine also potentiated seizures induced by isoniazid and by picrotoxin. Thus, opiate activity influences the expression of seizures in contrasting ways depending upon the mode of seizure induction. Since morphine consistently potentiated seizures induced by interference with GABA transmission, it appears that GABAergic systems may be of particular significance for the elucidation of the varied effects of morphine on seizure susceptibility.

Cisplatin-Induced Eosinophilic Pneumonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hideharu Ideguchi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A 67-year-old man suffering from esophageal cancer was admitted to our hospital complaining of dyspnea and hypoxemia. He had been treated with cisplatin, docetaxel, and fluorouracil combined with radiotherapy. Chest computed tomography revealed bilateral ground-glass opacity, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid showed increased eosinophils. Two episodes of transient eosinophilia in peripheral blood were observed after serial administration of anticancer drugs before the admission, and drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test to cisplatin was positive. Thus cisplatin-induced eosinophilic pneumonia was suspected, and corticosteroid was effectively administered. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of cisplatin-induced eosinophilic pneumonia.

The transition time induced narrow linewidth of the electromagnetically induced transparency in caesium vapour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Luming; Peng Xiang; Liu Cheng; Guo Hong; Chen Xuzong

2004-01-01

We observed a narrow linewidth (∼60 kHz) in a Doppler-broadened system showing electromagnetically induced transparency in caesium atomic vapour. The transition time induced reduction of the linewidth is illustrated both theoretically and experimentally

Prevalence of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction in a general adolescent population.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansson, Henrik; Norlander, Katarina; Berglund, Lars; Janson, Christer; Malinovschi, Andrei; Nordvall, Lennart; Nordang, Leif; Emtner, Margareta

2015-01-01

Exercise-induced respiratory symptoms are common among adolescents. Exercise is a known stimulus for transient narrowing of the airways, such as exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) and exercise-induced laryngeal obstruction (EILO). Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of EIB and EILO in a general population of adolescents. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire on exercise-induced dyspnoea was sent to all adolescents born in 1997 and 1998 in Uppsala, Sweden (n=3838). A random subsample of 146 adolescents (99 with self-reported exercise-induced dyspnoea and 47 without this condition) underwent standardised treadmill exercise tests for EIB and EILO. The exercise test for EIB was performed while breathing dry air; a positive test was defined as a decrease of ≥10% in FEV1 from baseline. EILO was investigated using continuous laryngoscopy during exercise. The estimated prevalence of EIB and EILO in the total population was 19.2% and 5.7%, respectively. No gender differences were found. In adolescents with exercise-induced dyspnoea, 39.8% had EIB, 6% had EILO and 4.8% had both conditions. In this group, significantly more boys than girls had neither EIB nor EILO (64.7% vs 38.8%; p=0.026). There were no significant differences in body mass index, lung function, diagnosed asthma or medication between the participants with exercise-induced dyspnoea who had or did not have a positive EIB or EILO test result. Both EIB and EILO are common causes of exercise-induced dyspnoea in adolescents. EILO is equally common among girls and boys and can coexist with EIB. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Delayed brain ischemia tolerance induced by electroacupuncture pretreatment is mediated via MCP-induced protein 1

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Emerging studies have demonstrated that pretreatment with electroacupuncture (EA) induces significant tolerance to focal cerebral ischemia. The present study seeks to determine the involvement of monocyte chemotactic protein-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1), a recently identified novel modulator of inflammatory reactions, in the cerebral neuroprotection conferred by EA pretreatment in the animal model of focal cerebral ischemia and to elucidate the mechanisms of EA pretreatment-induced ischemic brain tolerance. Methods Twenty-four hours after the end of the last EA pretreatment, focal cerebral ischemia was induced by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) for 90 minutes in male C57BL/6 mice and MCPIP1 knockout mice. Transcription and expression of MCPIP1 gene was monitored by qRT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry. The neurobehavioral scores, infarction volumes, proinflammatory cytokines and leukocyte infiltration in brain and NF-κB signaling were evaluated after ischemia/reperfusion. Results MCPIP1 protein and mRNA levels significantly increased specifically in mouse brain undergoing EA pretreatment. EA pretreatment significantly attenuated the infarct volume, neurological deficits, upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines and leukocyte infiltration in the brain of wild-type mice after MCAO compared with that of the non-EA group. MCPIP1-deficient mice failed to evoke EA pretreatment-induced tolerance compared with that of the control MCPIP1 knockout group without EA treatment. Furthermore, the activation of NF-κB signaling was significantly reduced in EA-pretreated wild-type mice after MCAO compared to that of the non-EA control group and MCPIP1-deficient mice failed to confer the EA pretreatment-induced inhibition of NF-κB signaling after MCAO. Conclusions Our data demonstrated that MCPIP1 deficiency caused significant lack of EA pretreatment-induced cerebral protective effects after MCAO compared with the control group and that MCPIP1 is

Characterization of Chemically-Induced Bacterial Ghosts (BGs Using Sodium Hydroxide-Induced Vibrio parahaemolyticus Ghosts (VPGs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hyun Jung Park

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Acellular bacterial ghosts (BGs are empty non-living bacterial cell envelopes, commonly generated by controlled expression of the cloned lysis gene E of bacteriophage PhiX174. In this study, Vibrio parahaemolyticus ghosts (VPGs were generated by chemically-induced lysis and the method is based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC of sodium hydroxide (NaOH, acetic acid, boric acid, citric acid, maleic acid, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid. The MIC values of the respective chemicals were 3.125, 6.25, <50.0, 25.0, 6.25, 1.56, and 0.781 mg/mL. Except for boric acid, the lysis efficiency reached more than 99.99% at 5 min after treatment of all chemicals. Among those chemicals, NaOH-induced VPGs appeared completely DNA-free, which was confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR. Besides, lipopolysaccharides (LPS extracted from the NaOH-induced VPGs showed no distinctive band on SDS-PAGE gel after silver staining. On the other hand, LPS extracted from wild-type bacterial cells, as well as the organic acids-induced VPGs showed triple major bands and LPS extracted from the inorganic acids-induced VPGs showed double bands. It suggests that some surface structures in LPS of the NaOH-induced VPGs may be lost, weakened, or modified by the MIC of NaOH. Nevertheless, Limulus amoebocyte lysate assay revealed that there is no significant difference in endotoxic activity between the NaOH-induced VPGs and wild-type bacterial cells. Macrophages exposed to the NaOH-induced VPGs at 0.5 × 106 CFU/mL showed cell viability of 97.9%, however, the MIC of NaOH did not reduce the cytotoxic effect of wild-type bacterial cells. Like Escherichia coli LPS, the NaOH-induced VPGs are an excellent activator of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and iNOS, anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-10, and dual activities (IL-6 in the stimulated macrophage cells. On the other hand, the induction of TNF-α mRNA was remarkable in the macrophages exposed with wild-type cells. Scanning

Incensole acetate reduces depressive-like behavior and modulates hippocampal BDNF and CRF expression of submissive animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Moussaieff, Arieh; Gross, Moshe; Nesher, Elimelech; Tikhonov, Tatiana; Yadid, Gal; Pinhasov, Albert

2012-12-01

Incensole acetate (IA), a constituent of Boswellia resin ('frankincense'), was previously demonstrated to exhibit an antidepressive-like effect in the Forced Swim Test (FST) in mice following single dose administration (50 mg/kg). Here, we show that acute administration of considerably lower dose (10 mg/kg) IA to selectively bred mice, showing prominent submissive behavior, exerted significant antidepressant-like effects in the FST. Furthermore, chronic administration of 1 or 5 mg/kg per day of IA for three consecutive weeks dose- and time-dependently reduced the submissiveness of the mice in the Dominant-Submissive Relationship test, developed to screen the chronic effect of antidepressants. This behavioral effect was concomitant to reduced serum corticosterone levels, dose-dependent down-regulation of corticotropin releasing factor and up-regulation of brain derived neurotrophic factor transcripts IV and VI expression in the hippocampus. These data suggest that IA modulates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and influences hippocampal gene expression, leading to beneficial behavioral effects supporting its potential as a novel treatment of depressive-like disorders.

Phytomedicine in Joint Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorin Dragos

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Chronic joint inflammatory disorders such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have in common an upsurge of inflammation, and oxidative stress, resulting in progressive histological alterations and disabling symptoms. Currently used conventional medication (ranging from pain-killers to biological agents is potent, but frequently associated with serious, even life-threatening side effects. Used for millennia in traditional herbalism, medicinal plants are a promising alternative, with lower rate of adverse events and efficiency frequently comparable with that of conventional drugs. Nevertheless, their mechanism of action is in many cases elusive and/or uncertain. Even though many of them have been proven effective in studies done in vitro or on animal models, there is a scarcity of human clinical evidence. The purpose of this review is to summarize the available scientific information on the following joint-friendly medicinal plants, which have been tested in human studies: Arnica montana, Boswellia spp., Curcuma spp., Equisetum arvense, Harpagophytum procumbens, Salix spp., Sesamum indicum, Symphytum officinalis, Zingiber officinalis, Panax notoginseng, and Whitania somnifera.

Characterization and inhibitive study of gel-grown hydroxyapatite crystals at physiological temperature

Science.gov (United States)

Parekh, Bharat; Joshi, Mihir; Vaidya, Ashok

2008-04-01

Hydroxyapatite is very useful for various biomedical applications, due to its chemical similarity with mineralized bone of human. Hydroxyapatite is also responsible for arthropathy (joint disease). In the present study, the growth of hydroxyapatite crystals was carried out by using single-diffusion gel growth technique in silica hydro gel media, at physiological temperature. The growth of hydroxyapatite crystals under slow and controlled environment in gel medium can be simulated in a simple manner to the growth in human body. The crystals, formed in the Liesegang rings, were characterized by powder XRD, FTIR and dielectric study. The diffusion study is also carried out for the hydroxyapatite crystals using the moving boundary model. The inhibitive influence of various Ayurvedic medicinal plant extracts such as Boswellia serrata gum resin , Tribulus terrestris fruits, Rotula aquatica roots, Boerhaavia diffusa roots and Commiphora wightii, on the growth of hydroxyapatite was studied. Roots of R. aquatica and B. diffusa show some inhibition of the hydroxyapatite crystals in vitro. This preclinical study will be helpful to design the therapy for prevention of hydroxyapatite-based ailments.

Statin-induced autoimmune necrotizing myositis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna Ząber

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Myositides comprise a large group of disorders involving limb muscle weakness. In differential diagnosis we have to consider idiopathic myositides, myositides associated with other diseases, and those induced by external factors, e.g. drug-induced. Statins are commonly used drugs, but many patients experience a broad spectrum of adverse effects including symptoms from skeletal muscle. Physicians should pay special attention to patients reporting muscle weakness lasting longer than 12 weeks, despite statin withdrawal, as well as other symptoms: dysphagia, disturbed grip function, elevated creatinine kinase (CK levels and abnormal electromyography. The reported case deals with the problem of differential diagnosis of drug-induced muscle injury, polymyositis with a recently reported myopathy – statin-induced autoimmune necrotizing myositis, related to anti-HMGCR antibodies.

Collision-induced destructive quantum interference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xihua; Sun Zhenrong; Zhang Shi'an; Ding Liang'en; Wang Zugeng

2005-01-01

We conduct theoretical studies on the collision-induced destructive quantum interference of two-colour two-photon transitions in an open rhomb-type five-level system with a widely separated doublet by the density matrix approach. The effects of the collision-induced decay rates, the ratio of the transition dipole moments and the energy separation of the doublet on the interference are analysed. It is shown that a narrow dip appears in the excitation spectrum due to the collision-induced destructive interference, and that the narrow interference dip still exists even when the collision broadening is comparable to the energy separation of the doublet. The physical origin of the collision-induced destructive quantum interference is analysed in the dressed-atom picture

Molecular mechanisms of induced-mutations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Takeshi

1985-01-01

The outcome of recent studies on mechanisms of induced-mutations is outlined with particular emphasis on the dependence of recA gene function in Escherichia coli. Genes involved in spontaneous mutation and x-ray- and chemical-induced mutation and genes involved in adaptive response are presented. As for SOS mutagenesis, SOS-induced regulation mechanisms and mutagenic routes are described. Furthermore, specificity of mutagens themselves are discussed in relation to mechanisms of base substitution, frameshift, and deletion mutagenesis. (Namekawa, K.)

Effects of Depilation-Induced Skin Pigmentation and Diet-Induced Fluorescence on In Vivo Fluorescence Imaging

OpenAIRE

Kwon, Sunkuk; Sevick-Muraca, Eva M.

2017-01-01

Near-infrared fluorescence imaging (NIRFI) and far-red fluorescence imaging (FRFI) were used to investigate effects of depilation-induced skin pigmentation and diet-induced background fluorescence on fluorescent signal amplitude and lymphatic contraction frequency in C57BL6 mice. Far-red fluorescent signal amplitude, but not frequency, was affected by diet-induced fluorescence, which was removed by feeding the mice an alfalfa-free diet, and skin pigmentation further impacted the amplitude mea...

Laser-induced nuclear fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jablon, Claude

1977-01-01

Research programs on laser-induced thermonuclear fusion in the United States, in Europe and in USSR are reviewed. The principle of the fusion reactions induced is explained, together with the theoretical effects of the following phenomena: power and type of laser beams, shape and size of the solid target, shock waves, and laser-hydrodynamics coupling problems [fr

Neutron-induced fission cross sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weigmann, H.

1991-01-01

In the history of fission research, neutron-induced fission has always played the most important role. The practical importance of neutron-induced fission rests upon the fact that additional neutrons are produced in the fission process, and thus a chain reaction becomes possible. The practical applications of neutron-induced fission will not be discussed in this chapter, but only the physical properties of one of its characteristics, namely (n,f) cross sections. The most important early summaries on the subject are the monograph edited by Michaudon which also deals with the practical applications, the earlier review article on fission by Michaudon, and the review by Bjornholm and Lynn, in which neutron-induced fission receives major attention. This chapter will attempt to go an intermediate way between the very detailed theoretical treatment in the latter review and the cited monograph which emphasizes the applied aspects and the techniques of fission cross-section measurements. The more recent investigations in the field will be included. Section II will survey the properties of cross sections for neutron-induced fission and also address some special aspects of the experimental methods applied in their measurement. Section Ill will deal with the formal theory of neutron-induced nuclear reactions for the resolved resonance region and the region of statistical nuclear reactions. In Section IV, the fission width, or fission transmission coefficient, will be discussed in detail. Section V will deal with the broader structures due to incompletely damped vibrational resonances, and in particular will address the special case of thorium and neighboring isotopes. Finally, Section VI will briefly discuss parity violation effects in neutron-induced fission. 74 refs., 14 figs., 3 tabs

Rosuvastatin-induced pemphigoid.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murad, Aizuri A

2012-01-01

Statins are widely prescribed medications and very well tolerated. Rosuvastatin is another member of this drug used to treat dyslipidaemia. It is a competitive inhibitor of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase. Immunobullous disease is usually idiopathic but can be drug-induced. Both idiopathic and iatrogenic forms share common clinical and immunohistological features. The authors report a case of pemphigoid induced by rosuvastatin, a commonly prescribed medication. To our knowledge, there is limited report on rosuvastatin associated with pemphigoid in the literature.

Small Molecular TRAIL Inducer ONC201 Induces Death in Lung Cancer Cells: A Preclinical Study

OpenAIRE

Feng, Yuan; Zhou, Jihong; Li, Zhanhua; Jiang, Ying; Zhou, Ying

2016-01-01

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) selectively targets cancer cells. The present preclinical study investigated the anti-cancer efficiency of ONC201, a first-in-class small molecule TRAIL inducer, in lung cancer cells. We showed that ONC201 was cytotoxic and anti-proliferative in both established (A549 and H460 lines) and primary human lung cancer cells. It was yet non-cytotoxic to normal lung epithelial cells. Further, ONC201 induced exogenous apoptosis act...

Smad7 induces tumorigenicity by blocking TGF-beta-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Halder, Sunil K; Beauchamp, R Daniel; Datta, Pran K

2005-07-01

Smad proteins play a key role in the intracellular signaling of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) superfamily of extracellular polypeptides that initiate signaling to regulate a wide variety of biological processes. The inhibitory Smad, Smad7, has been shown to function as intracellular antagonists of TGF-beta family signaling and is upregulated in several cancers. To determine the effect of Smad7-mediated blockade of TGF-beta signaling, we have stably expressed Smad7 in a TGF-beta-sensitive, well-differentiated, and non-tumorigenic cell line, FET, that was derived from human colon adenocarcinoma. Smad7 inhibits TGF-beta-induced transcriptional responses by blocking complex formation between Smad 2/3 and Smad4. While Smad7 has no effect on TGF-beta-induced activation of p38 MAPK and ERK, it blocks the phosphorylation of Akt by TGF-beta and enhances TGF-beta-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun. FET cells expressing Smad7 show anchorage-independent growth and enhance tumorigenicity in athymic nude mice. Smad7 blocks TGF-beta-induced growth inhibition by preventing TGF-beta-induced G1 arrest. Smad7 inhibits TGF-beta-mediated downregulation of c-Myc, CDK4, and Cyclin D1, and suppresses the expression of p21(Cip1). As a result, Smad7 inhibits TGF-beta-mediated downregulation of Rb phosphorylation. Furthermore, Smad7 inhibits the apoptosis of these cells. Together, Smad7 may increase the tumorigenicity of FET cells by blocking TGF-beta-induced growth inhibition and by inhibiting apoptosis. Thus, this study provides a mechanism by which a portion of human colorectal tumors may become refractory to tumor-suppressive actions of TGF-beta that might result in increased tumorigenicity.

Physalis minima Leaves Extract Induces Re-Endothelialization in Deoxycorticosterone Acetate-Salt-Induced Endothelial Dysfunction in Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dian Nugrahenny

2018-02-01

Full Text Available The administration of deoxy-corticosterone acetate (DOCA-salt can induce oxidative stress leading to decrease the bioavailability of nitric oxide (NO, increase senescence of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs, thus contributing to endothelial dysfunction. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of Physalis minima L. leaves extract on serum NO levels, circulating EPCs number, and histopathology of tail artery endothelial cells in DOCA-salt-induced endothelial dysfunction in rats. Twenty-five male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: rats without any treatment (normal, rats treated with DOCA (10 mg/kgBW s.c. twice weekly and given 0.9% NaCl to drink ad libitum for 6 weeks, and DOCA-salt-induced rats orally supplemented with P. minima leaves extract at doses of 500, 1500, or 2500 mg/kgBW for 4 weeks. Serum NO levels were measured by colorimetry. The number of circulating EPCs (CD34+/CD133+ cells was determined by flow cytometry. The tail artery sections were histologically processed with hematoxylin-eosin staining. DOCA-salt-induced rats showed significantly (p<0.05 decrease in serum NO levels and circulating EPCs number compared to the normal. There was also more detached tail artery endothelial cells in DOCA-salt-induced rats. P. minima leaves extract at a dose of 500 mg/kgBW significantly (p<0.05 increased serum NO level and circulating EPCs number, and also induced an optimal re-endothelialization in DOCA-salt-induced rats. P. minima leave extract dose-dependently increases NO bioavailability contributing to enhanced EPCs mobilization, thereby promoting re-endothelialization in DOCA-salt-induced endothelial dysfunction in rats.

Induced Current Characteristics Due to Laser Induced Plasma and Its Application to Laser Processing Monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madjid, Syahrun Nur; Idris, Nasrullah; Kurniawan, Koo Hendrik; Kagawa, Kiichiro

2011-01-01

In laser processing, suitable conditions for laser and gas play important role in ensuring a high quality of processing. To determine suitable conditions, we employed the electromagnetic phenomena associated with laser plasma generation. An electrode circuit was utilised to detect induced current due to the fast electrons propelled from the material during laser material processing. The characteristics of induced current were examined by changing parameters such as supplied voltage, laser pulse energy, number of laser shots, and type of ambient gas. These characteristics were compared with the optical emission characteristics. It was shown that the induced current technique proposed in this study is much more sensitive than the optical method in monitoring laser processing, that is to determine the precise focusing condition, and to accurately determine the moment of completion of laser beam penetration. In this study it was also shown that the induced current technique induced by CW CO 2 laser can be applied in industrial material processing for monitoring the penetration completion in a stainless steel plate drilling process.

Self-Reports of Induced Abortion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasch, V; Muhammad, H; Urassa, E

2000-01-01

OBJECTIVES: This study estimated the proportion of incomplete abortions that are induced in hospital-based settings in Tanzania. METHODS: A cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in 2 phases at 3 hospitals in Tanzania. Phase 1 included 302 patients with a diagnosis of incomplete abortion......, and phase 2 included 823 such patients. RESULTS: In phase 1, in which cases were classified by clinical criteria and information from the patient, 3.9% to 16.1% of the cases were classified as induced abortion. In phase 2, in which the structured interview was changed to an empathetic dialogue...... and previously used clinical criteria were omitted, 30.9% to 60.0% of the cases were classified as induced abortion. CONCLUSIONS: An empathetic dialogue improves the quality of data collected among women with induced abortion....

Diffuse Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (DTES)-induced ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Higher voltages were needed to induce convulsion in pretreated animals than in normal animals. It is therefore suggestive that DTES-induced hypermotility can be used as an animal model for testing drugs that can be of advantage in the management of non convulsive (petit mal) status epilepticus (SE), and DTES induced ...

Effect of atorvastatin on hyperglycemia-induced brain oxidative stress and neuropathy induced by diabetes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nastaran Faghihi

2015-04-01

Conclusion: The findings of the present study reveal that atorvastatin is able to prevent hyperglycemia-induced diabetic neuropathy and inhibit brain oxidative stress during diabetes. It is probable that reduction of urea is one of the reasons for atorvastatin prevention of hyperglycemia-induced neuropathy.

Characterization of 5-hydroxytryptamine-induced contraction and acetylcholine-induced relaxation in isolated chicken basilar artery.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, F; Watanabe, Y; Obi, T; Islam, M Z; Yamazaki-Himeno, E; Shiraishi, M; Miyamoto, A

2012-05-01

The aim of the present study was to clarify the responsiveness of the chicken basilar artery to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and acetylcholine (ACh) and to characterize the related receptor subtypes in vitro. Basilar arteries were obtained from freshly slaughtered broiler chickens. The 5-HT induced concentration-dependent contraction of the arteries. The concentration-response curves for 5-HT were shifted 30-fold to the right by methiothepin (a 5-HT(1) and 5-HT(2) receptor antagonist) and 3-fold to the right by ketanserin (a 5-HT(2) receptor antagonist). In the presence of ketanserin, the concentration-response curve for 5-HT was shifted 10-fold to the right by methiothepin. The pA(2) value for methiothepin was 8.26. The ACh induced concentration-dependent relaxation under conditions of precontraction by 5-HT. The concentration-response curve for ACh was shifted to the right by atropine [a nonselective muscarinic (M) receptor antagonist] and hexahydro-sila-difenidol hydrochloride, a p-fluoroanalog (pFHHSiD, an M(3) receptor antagonist), but not by pirenzepine (an M(1) receptor antagonist) or methoctramine (an M(2) receptor antagonist). The pA(2) value for pFHHSiD was 7.55. Nω-Nitro-l-arginine (a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor) inhibited ACh-induced relaxation by approximately 50%. These results suggest that 5-HT induces contraction via activation of 5-HT(1) and 5-HT(2) receptors and that ACh induces relaxation via activation of the M(3) receptor. The 5-HT(1) receptor might play a dominant role in 5-HT-induced contraction. One of the factors involved in ACh-induced relaxation is probably nitric oxide released from endothelial cells.

Mechanisms of the hepatoprotective effects of tamoxifen against drug-induced and chemical-induced acute liver injuries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yoshikawa, Yukitaka; Miyashita, Taishi; Higuchi, Satonori [Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920‐1192 (Japan); Tsuneyama, Koichi [Department of Diagnostic Pathology, Graduate School of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Science for Research, University of Toyama, Sugitani, Toyama 930‐0194 (Japan); Endo, Shinya [Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920‐1192 (Japan); Tsukui, Tohru [Research Center for Genomic Medicine, Saitama Medical University, Yamane, Hidaka 350‐1241 (Japan); Toyoda, Yasuyuki; Fukami, Tatsuki; Nakajima, Miki [Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920‐1192 (Japan); Yokoi, Tsuyoshi, E-mail: tyokoi@p.kanazawa-u.ac.jp [Drug Metabolism and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920‐1192 (Japan)

2012-10-01

Although estrogen receptor (ER)α agonists, such as estradiol and ethinylestradiol (EE2), cause cholestasis in mice, they also reduce the degree of liver injury caused by hepatotoxicants as well as ischemia–reperfusion. The functional mechanisms of ERα have yet to be elucidated in drug-induced or chemical-induced liver injury. The present study investigated the effects of an ERα agonist, selective ER modulators (SERMs) and an ER antagonist on drug-induced and chemical-induced liver injuries caused by acetaminophen, bromobenzene, diclofenac, and thioacetamide (TA). We observed hepatoprotective effects of EE2, tamoxifen (TAM) and raloxifene pretreatment in female mice that were exposed to a variety of hepatotoxic compounds. In contrast, the ER antagonist did not show any hepatoprotective effects. DNA microarray analyses suggested that monocyte to macrophage differentiation-associated 2 (Mmd2) protein, which has an unknown function, is commonly increased by TAM and RAL pretreatment, but not by pretreatment with the ER antagonist. In ERα-knockout mice, the hepatoprotective effects of TAM and the increased expression of Mmd2 mRNA were not observed in TA-induced liver injury. To investigate the function of Mmd2, the expression level of Mmd2 mRNA was significantly knocked down to approximately 30% in mice by injection of siRNA for Mmd2 (siMmd2). Mmd2 knockdown resulted in a reduction of the protective effects of TAM on TA-induced liver injury in mice. This is the first report of the involvement of ERα in drug-induced or chemical-induced liver injury. Upregulation of Mmd2 protein in the liver was suggested as the mechanism of the hepatoprotective effects of EE2 and SERMs. -- Highlights: ► Liver injury induced by drugs or chemicals was investigated in mice. ► Liver injury was suppressed by pretreatment with tamoxifen in female mice. ► Mmd2, whose function was unknown, could be a candidate gene for liver protection. ► Tamoxifen up-regulated Mmd2 mRNA expression

Mechanisms of the hepatoprotective effects of tamoxifen against drug-induced and chemical-induced acute liver injuries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshikawa, Yukitaka; Miyashita, Taishi; Higuchi, Satonori; Tsuneyama, Koichi; Endo, Shinya; Tsukui, Tohru; Toyoda, Yasuyuki; Fukami, Tatsuki; Nakajima, Miki; Yokoi, Tsuyoshi

2012-01-01

Although estrogen receptor (ER)α agonists, such as estradiol and ethinylestradiol (EE2), cause cholestasis in mice, they also reduce the degree of liver injury caused by hepatotoxicants as well as ischemia–reperfusion. The functional mechanisms of ERα have yet to be elucidated in drug-induced or chemical-induced liver injury. The present study investigated the effects of an ERα agonist, selective ER modulators (SERMs) and an ER antagonist on drug-induced and chemical-induced liver injuries caused by acetaminophen, bromobenzene, diclofenac, and thioacetamide (TA). We observed hepatoprotective effects of EE2, tamoxifen (TAM) and raloxifene pretreatment in female mice that were exposed to a variety of hepatotoxic compounds. In contrast, the ER antagonist did not show any hepatoprotective effects. DNA microarray analyses suggested that monocyte to macrophage differentiation-associated 2 (Mmd2) protein, which has an unknown function, is commonly increased by TAM and RAL pretreatment, but not by pretreatment with the ER antagonist. In ERα-knockout mice, the hepatoprotective effects of TAM and the increased expression of Mmd2 mRNA were not observed in TA-induced liver injury. To investigate the function of Mmd2, the expression level of Mmd2 mRNA was significantly knocked down to approximately 30% in mice by injection of siRNA for Mmd2 (siMmd2). Mmd2 knockdown resulted in a reduction of the protective effects of TAM on TA-induced liver injury in mice. This is the first report of the involvement of ERα in drug-induced or chemical-induced liver injury. Upregulation of Mmd2 protein in the liver was suggested as the mechanism of the hepatoprotective effects of EE2 and SERMs. -- Highlights: ► Liver injury induced by drugs or chemicals was investigated in mice. ► Liver injury was suppressed by pretreatment with tamoxifen in female mice. ► Mmd2, whose function was unknown, could be a candidate gene for liver protection. ► Tamoxifen up-regulated Mmd2 mRNA expression

Induced quantum conformal gravity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novozhilov, Y.V.; Vassilevich, D.V.

1988-11-01

Quantum gravity is considered as induced by matter degrees of freedom and related to the symmetry breakdown in the low energy region of a non-Abelian gauge theory of fundamental fields. An effective action for quantum conformal gravity is derived where both the gravitational constant and conformal kinetic term are positive. Relation with induced classical gravity is established. (author). 15 refs

Sleep-inducing factors.

Science.gov (United States)

García-García, Fabio; Acosta-Peña, Eva; Venebra-Muñoz, Arturo; Murillo-Rodríguez, Eric

2009-08-01

Kuniomi Ishimori and Henri Piéron were the first researchers to introduce the concept and experimental evidence for a chemical factor that would presumably accumulate in the brain during waking and eventually induce sleep. This substance was named hypnotoxin. Currently, the variety of substances which have been shown to alter sleep includes peptides, cytokines, neurotransmitters and some substances of lipidic nature, many of which are well known for their involvement in other biological activities. In this chapter, we describe the sleep-inducing properties of the vasoactive intestinal peptide, prolactin, adenosine and anandamide.

Mifepristone inhibits MPA-and FGF2-induced mammary tumor growth but not FGF2-induced mammary hyperplasia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan P. Cerliani

2010-12-01

Full Text Available We have previously demonstrated a crosstalk between fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2 and progestins inducing experimental breast cancer growth. The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of FGF2 and of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA on the mouse mammary glands and to investigate whether the antiprogestin RU486 was able to reverse the MPA- or FGF2-induced effects on both, mammary gland and tumor growth. We demonstrate that FGF2 administered locally induced an intraductal hyperplasia that was not reverted by RU486, suggesting that FGF2-induced effects are progesterone receptor (PR-independent. However, MPA-induced paraductal hyperplasia was reverted by RU486 and a partial agonistic effect was observed in RU486-treated glands. Using C4-HD tumors which only grow in the presence of MPA, we showed that FGF2 administered intratumorally was able to stimulate tumor growth as MPA. The histology of FGF2-treated tumors showed different degrees of gland differentiation. RU486 inhibited both, MPA or FGF2 induced tumor growth. However, only complete regression was observed in MPA-treated tumors. Our results support the hypothesis that stromal FGF2 activates PR inducing hormone independent tumor growth.

Gemcitabine-induced CXCL8 expression counteracts its actions by inducing tumor neovascularization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Yao; Baba, Tomohisa; Li, Ying-Yi; Furukawa, Kaoru; Tanabe, Yamato; Matsugo, Seiichi; Sasaki, Soichiro; Mukaida, Naofumi

2015-01-01

Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are frequently complicated with metastatic disease or locally advanced tumors, and consequently need chemotherapy. Gemcitabine is commonly used for PDAC treatment, but with limited efficacy. The capacity of gemcitabine to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human pancreatic cancer cells, prompted us to examine its effects on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. We observed that gemcitabine enhanced selectively the expression of CXCL8 in human pancreatic cancer cells through ROS generation and NF-κB activation. In vitro blocking of CXCL8 failed to modulate gemcitabine-mediated inhibition of cell proliferation in human pancreatic cancer cells. Gemcitabine also enhanced CXCL8 expression in pancreatic cancer cells in xenografted tumor tissues. Moreover, anti-CXCL8 antibody treatment in vivo attenuated tumor formation as well as intra-tumoral vascularity in nude mice, which were transplanted with Miapaca-2 cells and treated with gemcitabine. Thus, gemcitabine-induced CXCL8 may counteract the drug through inducing neovascularization. - Highlights: • Gemcitabine induced CXCL8 expression in human pancreatic cancer cells. • CXCL8 expression required ROS generation and NF-κB activation. • CXCL8 did not affect in vitro proliferation of human pancreatic cancer cells. • CXCL8 in vivo counteracted gemcitabine by inducing neovascularization

Gemcitabine-induced CXCL8 expression counteracts its actions by inducing tumor neovascularization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Yao; Baba, Tomohisa [Division of Molecular Bioregulation, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192 (Japan); Li, Ying-Yi [Cancer Research Institute, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai (China); Furukawa, Kaoru; Tanabe, Yamato [Division of Molecular Bioregulation, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192 (Japan); School of Natural System Bioengineering Course, College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa (Japan); Matsugo, Seiichi [School of Natural System Bioengineering Course, College of Science and Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa (Japan); Sasaki, Soichiro [Division of Molecular Bioregulation, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192 (Japan); Mukaida, Naofumi, E-mail: mukaida@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp [Division of Molecular Bioregulation, Cancer Research Institute, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192 (Japan)

2015-03-06

Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) are frequently complicated with metastatic disease or locally advanced tumors, and consequently need chemotherapy. Gemcitabine is commonly used for PDAC treatment, but with limited efficacy. The capacity of gemcitabine to generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) in human pancreatic cancer cells, prompted us to examine its effects on the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. We observed that gemcitabine enhanced selectively the expression of CXCL8 in human pancreatic cancer cells through ROS generation and NF-κB activation. In vitro blocking of CXCL8 failed to modulate gemcitabine-mediated inhibition of cell proliferation in human pancreatic cancer cells. Gemcitabine also enhanced CXCL8 expression in pancreatic cancer cells in xenografted tumor tissues. Moreover, anti-CXCL8 antibody treatment in vivo attenuated tumor formation as well as intra-tumoral vascularity in nude mice, which were transplanted with Miapaca-2 cells and treated with gemcitabine. Thus, gemcitabine-induced CXCL8 may counteract the drug through inducing neovascularization. - Highlights: • Gemcitabine induced CXCL8 expression in human pancreatic cancer cells. • CXCL8 expression required ROS generation and NF-κB activation. • CXCL8 did not affect in vitro proliferation of human pancreatic cancer cells. • CXCL8 in vivo counteracted gemcitabine by inducing neovascularization.

Mitochondrial Swelling Induced by Glutathione

Science.gov (United States)

Lehninger, Albert L.; Schneider, Marion

1959-01-01

Reduced glutathione, in concentrations approximating those occurring in intact rat liver, causes swelling of rat liver mitochondria in vitro which is different in kinetics and extent from that yielded by L-thyroxine. The effect is also given by cysteine, which is more active, and reduced coenzyme A, but not by L-ascorbate, cystine, or oxidized glutathione. The optimum pH is 6.5, whereas thyroxine-induced swelling is optimal at pH 7.5. The GSH-induced swelling is not inhibited by DNP or dicumarol, nor by high concentrations of sucrose, serum albumin, or polyvinylpyrrolidone, in contrast to thyroxine-induced swelling. ATP inhibits the GSH swelling, but ADP and AMP are ineffective. Mn-+ is a very potent inhibitor, but Mg++ is ineffective. Ethylenediaminetetraacetate is also an effective inhibitor of GSH-induced swelling. The respiratory inhibitors amytal and antimycin A do not inhibit the swelling action of GSH, but cyanide does; these findings are consistent with the view that the oxidation-reduction state of the respiratory chain between cytochrome c and oxygen is a determinant of GSH-induced swelling. Reversal of GSH-induced swelling by osmotic means or by ATP in KCl media could not be observed. Large losses of nucleotides and protein occur during the swelling by GSH, suggesting that the action is irreversible. The characteristically drastic swelling action of GSH could be prevented if L-thyroxine was also present in the medium. PMID:13630941

Induced gravity and gauge interactions revisited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Broda, Boguslaw; Szanecki, Michal

2009-01-01

It has been shown that the primary, old-fashioned idea of Sakharov's induced gravity and gauge interactions, in the 'one-loop dominance' version, works astonishingly well yielding phenomenologically reasonable results. As a byproduct, the issue of the role of the UV cutoff in the context of the induced gravity has been reexamined (an idea of self-cutoff induced gravity). As an additional check, the black hole entropy has been used in the place of the action. Finally, it has been explicitly shown that the induced coupling constants of gauge interactions of the standard model assume qualitatively realistic values.

Radiation-induced instability of human genome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ryabchenko, N.N.; Demina, Eh.A.

2014-01-01

A brief review is dedicated to the phenomenon of radiation-induced genomic instability where the increased level of genomic changes in the offspring of irradiated cells is characteristic. Particular attention is paid to the problems of genomic instability induced by the low-dose radiation, role of the bystander effect in formation of radiation-induced instability, and its relationship with individual radiosensitivity. We believe that in accordance with the paradigm of modern radiobiology the increased human individual radiosensitivity can be formed due to the genome instability onset and is a significant risk factor for radiation-induced cancer

Uridine prevents fenofibrate-induced fatty liver.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thuc T Le

Full Text Available Uridine, a pyrimidine nucleoside, can modulate liver lipid metabolism although its specific acting targets have not been identified. Using mice with fenofibrate-induced fatty liver as a model system, the effects of uridine on liver lipid metabolism are examined. At a daily dosage of 400 mg/kg, fenofibrate treatment causes reduction of liver NAD(+/NADH ratio, induces hyper-acetylation of peroxisomal bifunctional enzyme (ECHD and acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX1, and induces excessive accumulation of long chain fatty acids (LCFA and very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA. Uridine co-administration at a daily dosage of 400 mg/kg raises NAD(+/NADH ratio, inhibits fenofibrate-induced hyper-acetylation of ECHD, ACOX1, and reduces accumulation of LCFA and VLCFA. Our data indicates a therapeutic potential for uridine co-administration to prevent fenofibrate-induced fatty liver.

Terbinafine-induced lichenoid drug eruption.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Yue; Zhang, Jie; Chen, Haiyan; Lai, Wei; Maibach, Howard I

2017-03-01

Drug-induced lichen planus has been induced by antibiotics, anticonvulsants, antidiabetics, antimalarials, antitubercular drugs, antihypertensives, psychiatric drugs, chemotherapeutic agents, diuretic, heavy metals, NSAIDs, etc. Terbinafine, an antifungal agent, is widely used for dermatophyte infections and onychomycosis. Cutaneous adverse effects of terbinafine are rarely reported. Here, we report a case of terbinafine-induced lichenoid drug eruption in a 22-year-old who presented with generalized lichenoid eruption 2 weeks after terbinafine initiation of. The body and lip cleared completely after 8 weeks of drug withdrawal; nail change cleared after 12 weeks.

Moderately delayed post-insult treatment with normobaric hyperoxia reduces excitotoxin-induced neuronal degeneration but increases ischemia-induced brain damage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haelewyn Benoit

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The use and benefits of normobaric oxygen (NBO in patients suffering acute ischemic stroke is still controversial. Results Here we show for the first time to the best of our knowledge that NBO reduces both NMDA-induced calcium influxes in vitro and NMDA-induced neuronal degeneration in vivo, but increases oxygen and glucose deprivation-induced cell injury in vitro and ischemia-induced brain damage produced by middle cerebral artery occlusion in vivo. Conclusions Taken together, these results indicate that NBO reduces excitotoxin-induced calcium influx and subsequent neuronal degeneration but favors ischemia-induced brain damage and neuronal death. These findings highlight the complexity of the mechanisms involved by the use of NBO in patients suffering acute ischemic stroke.

Hydroxyurea-Induced Replication Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenza Lahkim Bennani-Belhaj

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Bloom's syndrome (BS displays one of the strongest known correlations between chromosomal instability and a high risk of cancer at an early age. BS cells combine a reduced average fork velocity with constitutive endogenous replication stress. However, the response of BS cells to replication stress induced by hydroxyurea (HU, which strongly slows the progression of replication forks, remains unclear due to publication of conflicting results. Using two different cellular models of BS, we showed that BLM deficiency is not associated with sensitivity to HU, in terms of clonogenic survival, DSB generation, and SCE induction. We suggest that surviving BLM-deficient cells are selected on the basis of their ability to deal with an endogenous replication stress induced by replication fork slowing, resulting in insensitivity to HU-induced replication stress.

Polarization-induced interference within electromagnetically induced transparency for atoms of double-V linkage

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Yuan; Liu, Chang; Chen, Ping-Xing; Liu, Liang

2018-02-01

People have been paying attention to the role of atoms' complex internal level structures in the research of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) for a long time, where the various degenerate Zeeman levels usually generate complex linkage patterns for the atomic transitions. It turns out, with special choices of the atomic states and the atomic transitions' linkage structure, clear signatures of quantum interference induced by the probe and coupling light's polarizations can emerge from a typical EIT phenomena. We propose to study a four-state system with double-V linkage pattern for the transitions and analyze the polarization-induced interference under the EIT condition. We show that such interference arises naturally under mild conditions on the optical field and atom manipulation techniques. Moreover, we construct a variation form of double-M linkage pattern where the polarization-induced interference enables polarization-dependent cross modulation between incident weak lights that can be effective even at the few-photon level. The theme is to gain more insight into the essential question: how can we build a nontrivial optical medium where incident lights experience polarization-dependent nonlinear optical interactions, valid for a wide range of incidence intensities down to the few-photon level?

Induced abortion and subsequent pregnancy duration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhou, Wei Jin; Sørensen, Henrik Toft; Olsen, Jørn

1999-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether induced abortion influences subsequent pregnancy duration. METHODS: Women who had their first pregnancies during 1980, 1981, and 1982 were identified in three Danish national registries. A total of 15,727 women whose pregnancies were terminated by first-trimester ind......OBJECTIVE: To examine whether induced abortion influences subsequent pregnancy duration. METHODS: Women who had their first pregnancies during 1980, 1981, and 1982 were identified in three Danish national registries. A total of 15,727 women whose pregnancies were terminated by first......-trimester induced abortions were compared with 46,026 whose pregnancies were not terminated by induced abortions. All subsequent pregnancies until 1994 were identified by register linkage. RESULTS: Preterm and post-term singleton live births were more frequent in women with one, two, or more previous induced...... abortions. After adjusting for potential confounders and stratifying by gravidity, the odds ratios of preterm singleton live births in women with one, two, or more previous induced abortions were 1.89 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.70, 2.11), 2.66 (95% CI 2.09, 3.37), and 2.03 (95% CI 1.29, 3...

Drug-induced cholestasis: mechanisms, models, and markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chatterjee, Sagnik; Annaert, Pieter

2018-04-27

Drug-induced cholestasis is a risk factor in progression of drug candidates, and poses serious health hazard if not detected before going into human. Intrahepatic accumulation of bile acids (BAs) represents a characteristic phenomenon associated with drug-induced cholestasis. The major challenges in obtaining a complete understanding of drug-induced cholestasis lies in the complexity of BA-mediated toxicity mechanisms and the impact of bile acids at different 'targets' such as transporters, enzymes and nuclear receptors. At the same time, it is not trivial to have a relevant in vitro system that recapitulates these features. In addition, lack of sensitive and early preclinical biomarkers, relevant to the clinical situation, complicates proper detection of drug-induced cholestasis. Significant overlap in biomarker signatures between different mechanisms of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) precludes identification of specific mechanisms. Over the last decade the knowledge gaps in drug-induced cholestasis are closing due to growing mechanistic understanding of BA-mediated toxicity at (patho)physiologically relevant BA concentrations. Significant progress has been made in the mechanistic understanding of drug-induced cholestasis and associated toxicity, biomarkers and susceptibility factors. In addition, novel in vitro models are evolving which provide a holistic understanding of processes underlying drug-induced cholestasis. This review summarizes the challenges and recent understandings about drug-induced cholestasis with a potential path forward. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Magnetic-flutter-induced pedestal plasma transport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Callen, J.D.; Hegna, C.C.; Cole, A.J.

2013-01-01

Plasma toroidal rotation can limit reconnection of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields δB on rational magnetic flux surfaces. Hence it causes the induced radial perturbations δB ρ to be small there, thereby inhibiting magnetic island formation and stochasticity at the top of pedestals in high (H-mode) confinement tokamak plasmas. However, the δB ρ s induced by RMPs increase away from rational surfaces and are shown to induce significant sinusoidal radial motion (flutter) of magnetic field lines with a radial extent that varies linearly with δB ρ and inversely with distance from the rational surface because of the magnetic shear. This produces a radial electron thermal diffusivity that is (1/2)(δB ρ /B 0 ) 2 times a kinetically derived, electron-collision-induced, magnetic-shear-reduced, effective parallel electron thermal diffusivity in the absence of magnetic stochasticity. These low collisionality flutter-induced transport processes and thin magnetic island effects are shown to be highly peaked in the vicinity of rational surfaces at the top of low collisionality pedestals. However, the smaller but finite level of magnetic-flutter-induced electron heat transport midway between rational surfaces is the primary factor that determines the electron temperature difference between rational surfaces at the pedestal top. The magnetic-flutter-induced non-ambipolar electron density transport can be large enough to push the plasma toward an electron density transport root. Requiring ambipolar density transport is shown to determine the radial electric field, the plasma toroidal rotation (via radial force balance), a reduced electron thermal diffusivity and increased ambipolar density transport in the pedestal. At high collisionality the various flutter effects are less strongly peaked at rational surfaces and generally less significant. They are thus less likely to exhibit flutter-induced resonant behaviour and transition toward an

Magnetic-flutter-induced pedestal plasma transport

Science.gov (United States)

Callen, J. D.; Hegna, C. C.; Cole, A. J.

2013-11-01

Plasma toroidal rotation can limit reconnection of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields δB on rational magnetic flux surfaces. Hence it causes the induced radial perturbations δBρ to be small there, thereby inhibiting magnetic island formation and stochasticity at the top of pedestals in high (H-mode) confinement tokamak plasmas. However, the δBρs induced by RMPs increase away from rational surfaces and are shown to induce significant sinusoidal radial motion (flutter) of magnetic field lines with a radial extent that varies linearly with δBρ and inversely with distance from the rational surface because of the magnetic shear. This produces a radial electron thermal diffusivity that is (1/2)(δBρ/B0)2 times a kinetically derived, electron-collision-induced, magnetic-shear-reduced, effective parallel electron thermal diffusivity in the absence of magnetic stochasticity. These low collisionality flutter-induced transport processes and thin magnetic island effects are shown to be highly peaked in the vicinity of rational surfaces at the top of low collisionality pedestals. However, the smaller but finite level of magnetic-flutter-induced electron heat transport midway between rational surfaces is the primary factor that determines the electron temperature difference between rational surfaces at the pedestal top. The magnetic-flutter-induced non-ambipolar electron density transport can be large enough to push the plasma toward an electron density transport root. Requiring ambipolar density transport is shown to determine the radial electric field, the plasma toroidal rotation (via radial force balance), a reduced electron thermal diffusivity and increased ambipolar density transport in the pedestal. At high collisionality the various flutter effects are less strongly peaked at rational surfaces and generally less significant. They are thus less likely to exhibit flutter-induced resonant behaviour and transition toward an electron

Evaluation of nefazodone-induced cardiotoxicity in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sujeong, E-mail: crystalee@gmail.com [Next-generation Pharmaceutical Research Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyang-Ae, E-mail: hyangaelee@gmail.com [Next-generation Pharmaceutical Research Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 110-799 (Korea, Republic of); Human and Environmental Toxicology Program, University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-350 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Sung Woo, E-mail: djmaya@snu.ac.kr [Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 110-799 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Sung Joon, E-mail: sjoonkim@snu.ac.kr [Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, 110-799 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Ki-Suk, E-mail: idkks00@gmail.com [Next-generation Pharmaceutical Research Center, Korea Institute of Toxicology, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-343 (Korea, Republic of); Human and Environmental Toxicology Program, University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-350 (Korea, Republic of)

2016-04-01

The recent establishment of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs), which express the major cardiac ion channels and recapitulate spontaneous mechanical and electrical activities, may provide a possible solution for the lack of in vitro human-based cardiotoxicity testing models. Cardiotoxicity induced by the antidepressant nefazodone was previously revealed to cause an acquired QT prolongation by hERG channel blockade. To elucidate the cellular mechanisms underlying the cardiotoxicity of nefazodone beyond hERG, its effects on cardiac action potentials (APs) and ion channels were investigated using hiPSC-CMs with whole-cell patch clamp techniques. In a proof of principle study, we examined the effects of cardioactive channel blockers on the electrophysiological profile of hiPSC-CMs in advance of the evaluation of nefazodone. Nefazodone dose-dependently prolonged the AP duration at 90% (APD{sub 90}) and 50% (APD{sub 50}) repolarization, reduced the maximum upstroke velocity (dV/dt{sub max}) and induced early after depolarizations. Voltage-clamp studies of hiPSC-CMs revealed that nefazodone inhibited various voltage-gated ion channel currents including I{sub Kr}, I{sub Ks}, I{sub Na}, and I{sub Ca}. Among them, I{sub Kr} and I{sub Na} showed relatively higher sensitivity to nefazodone, consistent with the changes in the AP parameters. In summary, hiPSC-CMs enabled an integrated approach to evaluate the complex interactions of nefazodone with cardiac ion channels. These results suggest that hiPSC-CMs can be an effective model for detecting drug-induced arrhythmogenicity beyond the current standard assay of heterologously expressed hERG K{sup +} channels. - Highlights: • Nefazodone prolonged APD and decreased upstroke velocity of APs in hiPSC-CMs. • Nefazodone inhibited cardiac ion channels, especially I{sub Kr} and I{sub Na}, in hiPSC-CMs. • Nefazodone-induced AP changes are mainly the result of I{sub Kr} and I{sub Na} inhibition

The role of hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha in bypassing oncogene-induced senescence.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mehtap Kilic Eren

Full Text Available Oncogene induced senescence (OIS is a sustained anti-proliferative response acutely induced in primary cells via activation of mitogenic oncogenes such as Ras/BRAF. This mechanism acts as an initial barrier preventing normal cells transformation into malignant cell. Besides oncogenic activation and DNA damage response (DDR, senescence is modulated by a plethora of other factors, and one of the most important one is oxygen tension of the tissue. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of hypoxia on RasV12-induced senescence in human diploid fibroblasts (HDFs. We showed here that hypoxia prevents execution of oncogene induced senescence (OIS, through a strong down-regulation of senescence hallmarks, such as SA- β-galactosidase, H3K9me3, HP1γ, p53, p21CIP1 and p16INK4a in association with induction of hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α. In addition, hypoxia also decreased marks of H-RasV12-induced DDR in both cell lines through down-regulation of ATM/ATR, Chk1 and Chk2 phosphorylation as well as decreased γ-H2AX positivity. Utilizing shRNA system targeting HIF-1α we show that HIF-1α is directly involved in down regulation of p53 and its target p21CIP1 but not p16INK4a. In line with this finding we found that knock down of HIF-1α leads to a strong induction of apoptotic response, but not restoration of senescence in Ras expressing HDFs in hypoxia. This indicates that HIF-1α is an important player in early steps of tumorigenesis, leading to suppression of senescence through its negative regulation of p53 and p21CIP1. In our work we describe a mechanism through which hypoxia and specifically HIF-1α preclude cells from maintaining senescence-driven anti proliferative response. These findings indicate the possible mechanism through which hypoxic environment helps premalignant cells to evade impingement of cellular failsafe pathways.

Congruence properties of induced representations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mayer, Dieter; Momeni, Arash; Venkov, Alexei

In this paper we study representations of the projective modular group induced from the Hecke congruence group of level 4 with Selberg's character. We show that the well known congruence properties of Selberg's character are equivalent to the congruence properties of the induced representations...

Catecholamine induced cardiomyopathy in pheochromocytoma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ron Thomas Varghese

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Catecholamine induced cardiomyopathy in the setting of pheochromocytoma is an unusual clinical entity. Earlier studies have reported left ventricular dysfunction in around 10% of subjects with pheochromocytoma. [1] Catecholamine induced vasoconstriction, direct toxic effect of byproducts of catecholamine degradation and direct receptor-mediated mechanisms are thought to contribute to cardiomyopathy in subjects with pheochromocytoma. The presentation remains a diagnostic challenge as patients may already have hypertensive heart disease and acute coronary syndrome on account of uncontrolled secondary hypertension. We report a case of a 42-year-old male, who presented with features of pheochromocytoma induced cardiomyopathy.

Fermion-induced quantum critical points.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zi-Xiang; Jiang, Yi-Fan; Jian, Shao-Kai; Yao, Hong

2017-08-22

A unified theory of quantum critical points beyond the conventional Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson paradigm remains unknown. According to Landau cubic criterion, phase transitions should be first-order when cubic terms of order parameters are allowed by symmetry in the Landau-Ginzburg free energy. Here, from renormalization group analysis, we show that second-order quantum phase transitions can occur at such putatively first-order transitions in interacting two-dimensional Dirac semimetals. As such type of Landau-forbidden quantum critical points are induced by gapless fermions, we call them fermion-induced quantum critical points. We further introduce a microscopic model of SU(N) fermions on the honeycomb lattice featuring a transition between Dirac semimetals and Kekule valence bond solids. Remarkably, our large-scale sign-problem-free Majorana quantum Monte Carlo simulations show convincing evidences of a fermion-induced quantum critical points for N = 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, consistent with the renormalization group analysis. We finally discuss possible experimental realizations of the fermion-induced quantum critical points in graphene and graphene-like materials.Quantum phase transitions are governed by Landau-Ginzburg theory and the exceptions are rare. Here, Li et al. propose a type of Landau-forbidden quantum critical points induced by gapless fermions in two-dimensional Dirac semimetals.

Photobiological implications of melanin photoprotection after UVB-induced tanning of human skin but not UVA-induced tanning.

Science.gov (United States)

Coelho, Sergio G; Yin, Lanlan; Smuda, Christoph; Mahns, Andre; Kolbe, Ludger; Hearing, Vincent J

2015-03-01

Repetitive suberythemal UVA and/or UVB exposures were used to generate comparable UV-induced tans in human skin over the course of 2 weeks. To evaluate the potential photoprotective values of those UVA- and/or UVB- induced tans and to avoid the confounding issue of residual UV-induced DNA damage, we waited 1 week before challenging those areas with a 1.5 MED of UVA+UVB after which we measure DNA damage. The results show that the type of UV used to induce skin pigmentation affects the redistribution of melanin in the skin and/or de novo melanin synthesis. The UVA-induced tans failed to even provide a minimal SPF of 1.5, which suggests that producing a tan with UVA-rich sunlamps prior to a holiday or vacation is completely counterproductive. Published 2014. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Overexpression of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α Exacerbates Endothelial Barrier Dysfunction Induced by Hypoxia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pei Wang

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: The mechanisms involved in endothelial barrier dysfunction induced by hypoxia are incompletely understood. There is debate about the role of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α in endothelial barrier disruption. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of genetic overexpression of HIF-1α on barrier function and the underlying mechanisms in hypoxic endothelial cells. Methods: The plasmid pcDNA3.1/V5-His-HIF-1α was stably transfected into human endothelial cells. The cells were exposed to normoxia or hypoxia. The mRNA and protein expressions of HIF-1α were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot respectively. The barrier function was assessed by measuring the transendothelial electrical resistance (TER. The Western blot analysis was used to determine the protein expression of glucose transporter-1 (GLUT-1, zonular occludens-1 (ZO-1, occludin, and myosin light chain kinase (MLCK in endothelial cells. The mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines was detected by qRT-PCR. Results: Genetic overexpression of HIF-1α significantly increased the mRNA and protein expression of HIF-1α in endothelial cells. The overexpression of HIF-1α enhanced the hypoxia-induced increase of HIF-1α and GLUT-1 protein expression. HIF-1α overexpression not only exacerbated hypoxia-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction but also augmented hypoxia-induced up-regulation of MLCK protein expression. HIF-1α overexpression also enhanced IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α mRNA expression. Conclusion: We provide evidence that genetic overexpression of HIF-1α aggravates the hypoxia-induced endothelial barrier dysfunction via enhancing the up-regulation of MLCK protein expression caused by hypoxia, suggesting a potential role for HIF-1α in the pathogenesis of endothelial barrier dysfunction in hypoxia.

Exercise induced asthma and endogenous opioids.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaillard, R C; Bachman, M; Rochat, T; Egger, D; de Haller, R; Junod, A F

1986-01-01

Concentrations of endogenous opioid peptides in the plasma are increased during exercise and these substances have been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma induced by chloropropramide and alcohol in diabetic patients. This work was undertaken to determine whether exercise induced asthma might be mediated by endogenous opioids. Plasma beta endorphin, met-enkephalin, and adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) concentrations were measured in five asthmatic patients and five normal volunteers breathing cold air during exercise. In four of the patients the effect of an infusion of naloxone on FEV1 was also measured during exercise induced asthma. Exercise produced acute bronchoconstriction in all asthmatics, characterised by a fall in FEV1; whereas no change occurred in normal subjects. There was no difference in plasma met-enkephalin, beta endorphin, and ACTH concentration between the two groups. Infusion of naloxone neither prevented nor worsened exercise induced asthma. These data suggest that endogenous opioids probably do not play a part in the development of exercise induced asthma. PMID:2944240

The origin of electromagnetically induced absorption

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jong Dae; Hwang, Sung Tae; Lee, Ho Seong; Park, Sung Jong; Cho, Hyuck; Choi, Won Sik

2000-01-01

Recently, there have been a lot of interests in the coherence superposition of atomic states which are formed by laser fields. Coherent population trapping(CTP), electromagnetically induced transparency(EIT), enhancement of the refractive index without absorption, lasing without inversion(LWI), and electromagnetically induced absorption(EIA) are the examples where coherence effects are important. Previously, the spontaneous transfer of the light-induced coherence from the excited level to the ground one was emphasized for the essential ingredient for electromagnetically induced absorption. In this paper, we have considered a case where linearly polarized coupling laser and probe laser are applied to the same degenerated ground and excited levels. We have solved the master equations for density matrix using time varying Hamiltonian and studied the absorption spectra at various conditions. We demonstrate that EIA can be observed without spontaneous transfer of the light-induced coherence in F g = 1 -> F e = 2 D2 transitions of Hydrogen atoms

Single Low-Dose Radiation Induced Regulation of Keratinocyte Differentiation in Calcium-Induced HaCaT Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Hyung Jin; Youn, Hae Jeong; Cha, Hwa Jun; Kim, Karam; An, Sungkwan

2016-01-01

Background We are continually exposed to low-dose radiation (LDR) in the range 0.1 Gy from natural sources, medical devices, nuclear energy plants, and other industrial sources of ionizing radiation. There are three models for the biological mechanism of LDR: the linear no-threshold model, the hormetic model, and the threshold model. Objective We used keratinocytes as a model system to investigate the molecular genetic effects of LDR on epidermal cell differentiation. Methods To identify keratinocyte differentiation, we performed western blots using a specific antibody for involucrin, which is a precursor protein of the keratinocyte cornified envelope and a marker for keratinocyte terminal differentiation. We also performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We examined whether LDR induces changes in involucrin messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein levels in calcium-induced keratinocyte differentiation. Results Exposure of HaCaT cells to LDR (0.1 Gy) induced p21 expression. p21 is a key regulator that induces growth arrest and represses stemness, which accelerates keratinocyte differentiation. We correlated involucrin expression with keratinocyte differentiation, and examined the effects of LDR on involucrin levels and keratinocyte development. LDR significantly increased involucrin mRNA and protein levels during calcium-induced keratinocyte differentiation. Conclusion These studies provide new evidence for the biological role of LDR, and identify the potential to utilize LDR to regulate or induce keratinocyte differentiation. PMID:27489424

Andrographolide alleviates imiquimod-induced psoriasis in mice via inducing autophagic proteolysis of MyD88.

Science.gov (United States)

Shao, Fenli; Tan, Tao; Tan, Yang; Sun, Yang; Wu, Xingxin; Xu, Qiang

2016-09-01

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with excessive activation of toll-like receptors (TLRs), which play important roles in developing psoriasis. Targeting TLR signaling remains a challenge for treating psoriasis. Here, we found that andrographolide (Andro), a small-molecule natural product, alleviated imiquimod- but not interleukin 23 (IL-23)-induced psoriasis in mice with reducing expressions of IL-23 and IL-1β in the skin. The improvement in imiquimod-induced psoriasis by Andro was not observed in microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 beta (MAP1LC3B) knockout mice. Furthermore, Andro inhibited mRNA expressions of IL-23, IL-6 and IL-1β but not CD80 and CD86 in bone-marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in a MAP1LC3B-dependent manner. In addition, Andro inhibited imiquimod-induced mRNA expressions of IL-23, IL-6, IL-1β, CD80 and CD86 in BMDCs from mice. Interestingly, Andro induced a degradation of myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and blocked the recruitment of TNF receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) to MyD88 upon LPS stimulation in BMDCs from mice. Blockade of autophagic proteolysis using NH4Cl or MAP1LC3B(-/-) BMDCs abolished the Andro-induced MyD88 degradation. In conclusion, Andro controls activation of MyD88-dependent cytokines and alleviates psoriasis in mice via inducing autophagic proteolysis of MyD88, which could be a novel strategy to treat psoriasis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

UV-induced skin damage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ichihashi, M.; Ueda, M.; Budiyanto, A.; Bito, T.; Oka, M.; Fukunaga, M.; Tsuru, K.; Horikawa, T.

2003-01-01

Solar radiation induces acute and chronic reactions in human and animal skin. Chronic repeated exposures are the primary cause of benign and malignant skin tumors, including malignant melanoma. Among types of solar radiation, ultraviolet B (290-320 nm) radiation is highly mutagenic and carcinogenic in animal experiments compared to ultraviolet A (320-400 nm) radiation. Epidemiological studies suggest that solar UV radiation is responsible for skin tumor development via gene mutations and immunosuppression, and possibly for photoaging. In this review, recent understanding of DNA damage caused by direct UV radiation and by indirect stress via reactive oxygen species (ROS) and DNA repair mechanisms, particularly nucleotide excision repair of human cells, are discussed. In addition, mutations induced by solar UV radiation in p53, ras and patched genes of non-melanoma skin cancer cells, and the role of ROS as both a promoter in UV-carcinogenesis and an inducer of UV-apoptosis, are described based primarily on the findings reported during the last decade. Furthermore, the effect of UV on immunological reaction in the skin is discussed. Finally, possible prevention of UV-induced skin cancer by feeding or topical use of antioxidants, such as polyphenols, vitamin C, and vitamin E, is discussed

Food-Induced Acute Pancreatitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Manohar, Murli; Verma, Alok K; Upparahalli Venkateshaiah, Sathisha; Goyal, Hemant; Mishra, Anil

2017-12-01

Food allergy, a commonly increasing problem worldwide, defined as an adverse immune response to food. A variety of immune-related effector cells such as mast cells, eosinophils, neutrophils, and T cells are involved in food-related allergic responses categorized as IgE mediated, non-IgE mediated, and mixed (IgE and non-IgE) depending upon underlying immunological mechanisms. The dietary antigens mainly target the gastrointestinal tract including pancreas that gets inflamed due to food allergy and leads acute pancreatitis. Reports indicate several food proteins induce pancreatitis; however, detailed underlying mechanism of food-induced pancreatitis is unexplored. The aim of the review is to understand and update the current scenario of food-induced pancreatitis. A comprehensive literature search of relevant research articles has been performed through PubMed, and articles were chosen based on their relevance to food allergen-mediated pancreatitis. Several cases in the literature indicate that acute pancreatitis has been provoked after the consumption of mustard, milk, egg, banana, fish, and kiwi fruits. Food-induced pancreatitis is an ignored and unexplored area of research. The review highlights the significance of food in the development of pancreatitis and draws the attention of physicians and scientists to consider food allergies as a possible cause for initiation of pancreatitis pathogenesis.

Olfactory-Induced Synesthesias: A Review and Model

Science.gov (United States)

Stevenson, Richard J.; Tomiczek, Caroline

2007-01-01

Recent reviews of synesthesia concentrate upon rare neurodevelopmental examples and exclude common olfactory-induced experiences with which they may profitably be compared. Like the neurodevelopmental synesthesias, odor-induced experiences involve different sensory modalities; are reliable, asymmetric (concurrents cannot induce), and automatic;…

Cowhage-induced itch as an experimental model for pruritus. A comparative study with histamine-induced itch.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandru D P Papoiu

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Histamine is the prototypical pruritogen used in experimental itch induction. However, in most chronic pruritic diseases, itch is not predominantly mediated by histamine. Cowhage-induced itch, on the other hand, seems more characteristic of itch occurring in chronic pruritic diseases.We tested the validity of cowhage as an itch-inducing agent by contrasting it with the classical itch inducer, histamine, in healthy subjects and atopic dermatitis (AD patients. We also investigated whether there was a cumulative effect when both agents were combined.Fifteen healthy individuals and fifteen AD patients were recruited. Experimental itch induction was performed in eczema-free areas on the volar aspects of the forearm, using different itch inducers: histamine, cowhage and their combination thereof. Itch intensity was assessed continuously for 5.5 minutes after stimulus application using a computer-assisted visual analogue scale (COVAS.In both healthy and AD subjects, the mean and peak intensity of itch were higher after the application of cowhage compared to histamine, and were higher after the combined application of cowhage and histamine, compared to histamine alone (p<0.0001 in all cases. Itch intensity ratings were not significantly different between healthy and AD subjects for the same itch inducer used; however AD subjects exhibited a prolonged itch response in comparison to healthy subjects (p<0.001.Cowhage induced a more intense itch sensation compared to histamine. Cowhage was the dominant factor in itch perception when both pathways were stimulated in the same time. Cowhage-induced itch is a suitable model for the study of itch in AD and other chronic pruritic diseases, and it can serve as a new model for testing antipruritic drugs in humans.

Methylphenidate Actively Induces Emergence from General Anesthesia

Science.gov (United States)

Solt, Ken; Cotten, Joseph F.; Cimenser, Aylin; Wong, Kin F.K.; Chemali, Jessica J.; Brown, Emery N.

2011-01-01

Background Although accumulating evidence suggests that arousal pathways in the brain play important roles in emergence from general anesthesia, the roles of monoaminergic arousal circuits are unclear. In this study we tested the hypothesis that methylphenidate (an inhibitor of dopamine and norepinephrine transporters) induces emergence from isoflurane anesthesia. Methods Using adult rats we tested the effect of methylphenidate IV on time to emergence from isoflurane anesthesia. We then performed experiments to test separately for methylphenidate-induced changes in arousal and changes in minute ventilation. A dose-response study was performed to test for methylphenidate–induced restoration of righting during continuous isoflurane anesthesia. Surface electroencephalogram recordings were performed to observe neurophysiological changes. Plethysmography recordings and arterial blood gas analysis were performed to assess methylphenidate-induced changes in respiratory function. Droperidol IV was administered to test for inhibition of methylphenidate's actions. Results Methylphenidate decreased median time to emergence from 280 to 91 s. The median difference in time to emergence without compared to with methylphenidate was 200 [155, 331] s (median, [95% confidence interval]). During continuous inhalation of isoflurane, methylphenidate induced return of righting in a dose-dependent manner, induced a shift in electroencephalogram power from delta to theta, and induced an increase in minute ventilation. Administration of droperidol (0.5 mg/kg IV) prior to methylphenidate (5 mg/kg IV) largely inhibited methylphenidate-induced emergence behavior, electroencephalogram changes, and changes in minute ventilation. Conclusions Methylphenidate actively induces emergence from isoflurane anesthesia by increasing arousal and respiratory drive, possibly through activation of dopaminergic and adrenergic arousal circuits. Our findings suggest that methylphenidate may be clinically

Radiotherapy-Induced Skin Reactions Induce Fibrosis Mediated by TGF-β1 Cytokine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cherley Borba Vieira de Andrade

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This study aimed to investigate radiation-induced lesions on the skin in an experimental animal model. Methods and Materials: Cutaneous wounds were induced in Wistar rats by 4 MeV energy electron beam irradiation, using a dose rate of 240 cGy/min, for 3 different doses (10 Gy, 40 Gy, and 60 Gy. The skin was observed 5, 10, and 25 days (D after ionizing radiation exposition. Results: Infiltrate inflammatory process was observed in D5 and D10, for the 40 Gy and 60 Gy groups, and a progressive increase of transforming growth factor β1 is associated with this process. It could also be noted a mischaracterization of collagen fibers at the high-dose groups. Conclusion: It was observed that the lesions caused by ionizing radiation in rats were very similar to radiodermatitis in patients under radiotherapy treatment. Advances in Knowledge: This study is important to develop strategies to prevent radiation-induced skin reactions.

Arsenic toxicity induced endothelial dysfunction and dementia: Pharmacological interdiction by histone deacetylase and inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sharma, Bhupesh, E-mail: drbhupeshresearch@gmail.com; Sharma, P.M.

2013-11-15

Arsenic toxicity has been reported to damage all the major organs including the brain and vasculature. Dementia including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are posing greater risk to the world population as it is now increasing at a faster rate. We have investigated the role of sodium butyrate, a selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor and aminoguanidine, a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor in pharmacological interdiction of arsenic toxicity induced vascular endothelial dysfunction and dementia in rats. Arsenic toxicity was done by administering arsenic drinking water to rats. Morris water-maze (MWM) test was used for assessment of learning and memory. Endothelial function was assessed using student physiograph. Oxidative stress (aortic superoxide anion, serum and brain thiobarbituric acid reactive species, brain glutathione) and nitric oxide levels (serum nitrite/nitrate) were also measured. Arsenic treated rats have shown impairment of endothelial function, learning and memory, reduction in serum nitrite/nitrate and brain GSH levels along with increase in serum and brain TBARS. Sodium butyrate as well as aminoguanidine significantly convalesce arsenic induced impairment of learning, memory, endothelial function, and alterations in various biochemical parameters. It may be concluded that arsenic induces endothelial dysfunction and dementia, whereas, sodium butyrate, a HDAC inhibitor as well as aminoguanidine, a selective iNOS inhibitor may be considered as potential agents for the management of arsenic induced endothelial dysfunction and dementia. - Highlights: • As has induced endothelial dysfunction (Edf) and vascular dementia (VaD). • As has increased oxidative stress, AChE activity and decreased serum NO. • Inhibitors of HDAC and iNOS have attenuated As induced Edf and VaD. • Both the inhibitors have attenuated As induced biochemical changes. • Inhibitor of HDAC and iNOS has shown good potential

Arsenic toxicity induced endothelial dysfunction and dementia: Pharmacological interdiction by histone deacetylase and inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Bhupesh; Sharma, P.M.

2013-01-01

Arsenic toxicity has been reported to damage all the major organs including the brain and vasculature. Dementia including Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are posing greater risk to the world population as it is now increasing at a faster rate. We have investigated the role of sodium butyrate, a selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor and aminoguanidine, a selective inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor in pharmacological interdiction of arsenic toxicity induced vascular endothelial dysfunction and dementia in rats. Arsenic toxicity was done by administering arsenic drinking water to rats. Morris water-maze (MWM) test was used for assessment of learning and memory. Endothelial function was assessed using student physiograph. Oxidative stress (aortic superoxide anion, serum and brain thiobarbituric acid reactive species, brain glutathione) and nitric oxide levels (serum nitrite/nitrate) were also measured. Arsenic treated rats have shown impairment of endothelial function, learning and memory, reduction in serum nitrite/nitrate and brain GSH levels along with increase in serum and brain TBARS. Sodium butyrate as well as aminoguanidine significantly convalesce arsenic induced impairment of learning, memory, endothelial function, and alterations in various biochemical parameters. It may be concluded that arsenic induces endothelial dysfunction and dementia, whereas, sodium butyrate, a HDAC inhibitor as well as aminoguanidine, a selective iNOS inhibitor may be considered as potential agents for the management of arsenic induced endothelial dysfunction and dementia. - Highlights: • As has induced endothelial dysfunction (Edf) and vascular dementia (VaD). • As has increased oxidative stress, AChE activity and decreased serum NO. • Inhibitors of HDAC and iNOS have attenuated As induced Edf and VaD. • Both the inhibitors have attenuated As induced biochemical changes. • Inhibitor of HDAC and iNOS has shown good potential in

Polyphosphate induces matrix metalloproteinase-3-mediated proliferation of odontoblast-like cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ozeki, Nobuaki; Hase, Naoko; Yamaguchi, Hideyuki; Hiyama, Taiki; Kawai, Rie [Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8651 (Japan); Kondo, Ayami [Department of Medicinal Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Aichi Gakuin University, 1-100 Kusumoto, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8650 (Japan); Nakata, Kazuhiko [Department of Endodontics, School of Dentistry, Aichi Gakuin University, 2-11 Suemori-dori, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi 464-8651 (Japan); Mogi, Makio, E-mail: makio@dpc.agu.ac.jp [Department of Medicinal Biochemistry, School of Pharmacy, Aichi Gakuin University, 1-100 Kusumoto, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8650 (Japan)

2015-05-01

Inorganic polyphosphate [Poly(P)] may represent a physiological source of phosphate and has the ability to induce bone differentiation in osteoblasts. We previously reported that cytokine-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 accelerates the proliferation of purified odontoblast-like cells. In this study, MMP-3 small interfering RNA (siRNA) was transfected into odontoblast-like cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells to investigate whether MMP-3 activity is induced by Poly(P) and/or is associated with cell proliferation and differentiation into odontoblast-like cells. Treatment with Poly(P) led to an increase in both cell proliferation and additional odontoblastic differentiation. Poly(P)-treated cells showed a small but significant increase in dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) and dentin matrix protein-1 (DMP-1) mRNA expression, which are markers of mature odontoblasts. The cells also acquired additional odontoblast-specific properties including adoption of an odontoblastic phenotype typified by high alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and a calcification capacity. In addition, Poly(P) induced expression of MMP-3 mRNA and protein, and increased MMP-3 activity. MMP-3 siRNA-mediated disruption of the expression of these effectors potently suppressed the expression of odontoblastic biomarkers ALP, DSPP, and DMP-1, and blocked calcification. Interestingly, upon siRNA-mediated silencing of MMP-3, we noted a potent and significant decrease in cell proliferation. Using specific siRNAs, we revealed that a unique signaling cascade, Poly(P)→MMP-3→DSPP and/or DMP-1, was intimately involved in the proliferation of odontoblast-like cells. - Highlights: • Polyphosphate increases proliferation of iPS cell-derived odontoblast-like cells. • Polyphosphate-induced MMP-3 results in an increase of cell proliferation. • Induced cell proliferation involves MMP-3, DSPP, and/or DMP-1 sequentially. • Induced MMP-3 also results in an increase of odontoblastic

Therapeutic Benefits of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei-Chun Huang

Full Text Available Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH is characterized by progressive increases in vascular resistance and the remodeling of pulmonary arteries. The accumulation of inflammatory cells in the lung and elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines in the bloodstream suggest that inflammation may play a role in PAH. In this study, the benefits of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs and iPSC-conditioned medium (iPSC CM were explored in monocrotaline (MCT-induced PAH rats. We demonstrated that both iPSCs and iPSC CM significantly reduced the right ventricular systolic pressure and ameliorated the hypertrophy of the right ventricle in MCT-induced PAH rats in models of both disease prevention and disease reversal. In the prevention of MCT-induced PAH, iPSC-based therapy led to the decreased accumulation of inflammatory cells and down-regulated the expression of the IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12α, IL-12β, IL-23 and IFNγ genes in lung specimens, which implied that iPSC-based therapy may be involved in the regulation of inflammation. NF-κB signaling is essential to the inflammatory cascade, which is activated via the phosphorylation of the NF-κB molecule. Using the chemical inhibitor specifically blocked the phosphorylation of NF-κB, and in vitro assays of cultured human M1 macrophages implied that the anti-inflammation effect of iPSC-based therapy may contribute to the disturbance of NF-κB activation. Here, we showed that iPSC-based therapy could restore the hemodynamic function of right ventricle with benefits for preventing the ongoing inflammation in the lungs of MCT-induced PAH rats by regulating NF-κB phosphorylation.

Nephroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects of aqueous extract of Melissa officinalis L. on acetaminophen-induced and pleurisy-induced lesions in rats

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Denise Pereira Müzell

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This study assessed the bioactive properties of an aqueous extract of M. officinalis for its anti-inflammatory activity and its protection against hepatic and renal lesions induced by acetaminophen (APAP. Animals pre-treated with the crude extract in pleurisy induced by carrageenan showed a reduction in the amounts of exudate, in the numbers of leukocytes and polymorphonuclear cells. Intragastric administration of the extract for seven days prior to the APAP-induced lesion showed no protective effect on the liver. The treatment with the extract induced an increase of serum aspartate aminotransferase, indicating a rise of toxicity. Contrarily, the same treatment reduced the APAP induced lesion in kidney, with respect to ν-glutamyltransferase. The results suggested that the extract was not hepatoprotective and could lead to an increase in the lesions induced by the APAP. On the other hand, the extract was nephroprotective against the lesions induced by the APAP and showed an anti-inflammatory effect on pleurisy carrageenan-induced.

Radiation- induced aneuploidy in mammalian germ cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tease, C.

1989-01-01

The ability of ionizing radiation to induce aneuploidy in mammalian germ cells has been investigated experimentally in the laboratory mouse using a variety of cytogenetic and genetic methods. These studies have provided unambiguous evidence of induced nondisjunction in both male and female germ cells when the effect of irradiation is screened in meiotic cells or preimplantation embryos. In contrast, however, cytogenetic analyses of post-implantation embryos and genetic assays for induced chromosome gains have not found a significant radiation effect. These apparently contradictory findings may be reconciled if (a) radiation induces tertiary rather than primary trisomy, or (b) induces embryo-lethal genetic damage, such as deletions, in addition to numerical anomalies. Either or both of these explanations may account for the apparent loss during gestation of radiation-induced trisomic embryos. Extrapolating from the information so far available, it seems unlikely that environmental exposure to low doses if low dose rate radiation will result in a detectable increase in the rate of aneuploidy in the human population. (author)

Exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, George

2014-11-03

Exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis, or exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER), is a clinical entity typically considered when someone presents with muscle stiffness, swelling, and pain out of proportion to the expected fatigue post exercise. The diagnosis is confirmed by myoglobinuria, and an elevated serum Creatinine Phosphokinase (CPK) level, usually 10 times the normal range. However, an elevation in CPK is seen in most forms of strenuous exercise, up to 20 times the upper normal range. Therefore, there is no definitive pathologic CPK cut-off. Fortunately the dreaded complication of acute renal failure is rare compared to other forms rhabdomyolysis. We review the risks, diagnosis, clinical course and treatment for exercise- induced rhabdomyolysis.

Sociocultural determinants of induced abortion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korejo, R.; Noorani, K.J.; Bhutta, S.

2003-01-01

Objective: To determine the frequency of induced abortion and identity the role of sociocultural factors contributing to termination of pregnancy and associated morbidity and mortality in hospital setting. Subjects and Methods: The patients who were admitted for induced abortion were interviewed in privacy. On condition of anonymity they were asked about the age, parity, family setup and relationships, with particular emphasis on sociocultural reasons and factors contributing to induction of abortion. Details of status of abortionist and methods used for termination of pregnancy, the resulting complications and their severity were recorded. Results: Out of total admissions, 57(2.35%) gave history of induced abortion. All women belonged to low socioeconomic class and 59.6% of them were illiterate. Forty-three (75.5%) of these women had never practiced concentration. Twenty-four (42%) were grandmultiparae and did not want more children. In 29 women (50.9%) the decision for abortion had been supported by the husband. In 25 (43.8%) abortion was carried out by Daiyan (traditional midwives). Serious complications like uterine perforation with or without bowel injury were encouraged in 25 (43.8%) of these women. During the study period illegally induced abortion accounted for 6 (10.5%) maternal deaths. Conclusion: Prevalence of poverty, illiteracy, grand multiparity and non-practice of contraception are strong determinants of induced abortion. (author)

Infrared laser-induced chemical reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katayama, Mikio

1978-01-01

The experimental means which clearly distinguishes between infrared ray-induced reactions and thermal reactions has been furnished for the first time when an intense monochromatic light source has been obtained by the development of infrared laser. Consequently, infrared laser-induced chemical reactions have started to develop as one field of chemical reaction researches. Researches of laser-induced chemical reactions have become new means for the researches of chemical reactions since they were highlighted as a new promising technique for isotope separation. Specifically, since the success has been reported in 235 U separation using laser in 1974, comparison of this method with conventional separation techniques from the economic point of view has been conducted, and it was estimated by some people that the laser isotope separation is cheaper. This report briefly describes on the excitation of oscillation and reaction rate, and introduces the chemical reactions induced by CW laser and TEA CO 2 laser. Dependence of reaction yield on laser power, measurement of the absorbed quantity of infrared ray and excitation mechanism are explained. Next, isomerizing reactions are reported, and finally, isotope separation is explained. It was found that infrared laser-induced chemical reactions have the selectivity for isotopes. Since it is evident that there are many examples different from thermal and photo-chemical reactions, future collection of the data is expected. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Radiation-induced bone neoplasma in facial cranium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zomer-Drozda, J; Buraczewska-Lipinska, H; Buraczewski, J [Instytut Onkologii, Warsaw (Poland)

1976-01-01

Radiation-induced bone neoplasms in the region of facial cranium account for about 40% of all radiation-induced tumours of bones, although the number of cases with lesions irradiated in this area is proportionally much lower than the number of cases treated with radiotherapy in other parts of the body. Four personal cases of radiation-induced tumours with complicated course are reported. Attention is called to the value of radiological investigations in the diagnosis of bone diseases and in differential diagnosis of radiation-induced tumours of bones.

Radiation-induced camptocormia and dropped head syndrome. Review and case report of radiation-induced movement disorders

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seidel, Clemens; Kuhnt, Thomas; Kortmann, Rolf-Dieter; Hering, Kathrin

2015-01-01

In recent years, camptocormia and dropped head syndrome (DHS) have gained attention as particular forms of movement disorders. Camptocormia presents with involuntary forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine that typically increases during walking or standing and may severely impede walking ability. DHS is characterized by weakness of the neck extensors and a consecutive inability to extend the neck; in severe cases the head is fixed in a ''chin to chest position.'' Many diseases may underlie these conditions, and there have been some reports about radiation-induced camptocormia and DHS. A PubMed search with the keywords ''camptocormia,'' ''dropped head syndrome,'' ''radiation-induced myopathy,'' ''radiation-induced neuropathy,'' and ''radiation-induced movement disorder'' was carried out to better characterize radiation-induced movement disorders and the radiation techniques involved. In addition, the case of a patient developing camptocormia 23 years after radiation therapy of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the abdomen is described. In total, nine case series of radiation-induced DHS (n = 45 patients) and - including our case - three case reports (n = 3 patients) about radiogenic camptocormia were retrieved. Most cases (40/45 patients) occurred less than 15 years after radiotherapy involving extended fields for Hodgkin's disease. The use of wide radiation fields including many spinal segments with paraspinal muscles may lead to radiation-induced movement disorders. If paraspinal muscles and the thoracolumbar spine are involved, the clinical presentation can be that of camptocormia. DHS may result if there is involvement of the cervical spine. To prevent these disorders, sparing of the spine and paraspinal muscles is desirable. (orig.) [de

Inducing magneto-electric response in topological insulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeng, Lunwu; Song, Runxia; Zeng, Jing

2013-01-01

Utilizing electric potential and magnetic scalar potential formulas, which contain zero-order Bessel functions of the first kind and the constitutive relations of topological insulators, we obtained the induced magnetic scalar potentials and induced magnetic monopole charges which are induced by a point charge in topological insulators. The results show that infinite image magnetic monopole charges are generated by a point electric charge. The magnitude of the induced magnetic monopole charges are determined not only by the point electric charge, but also by the material parameters. - Highlights: ► Electric potential and magnetic scalar potential which contain zero-order Bessel function of the first kind were derived. ► Boundary conditions of topological insulator were built. ► Induced monopole charges were worked out.

Tsunami Induced Scour Around Monopile Foundations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fuhrman, David R.; Eltard-Larsen, Bjarke; Baykal, Cüneyt

While the run-up, inundation, and destructive potential of tsunami events has received considerable attention in the literature, the associated interaction with the sea bed i.e. boundary layer dynamics, induced sediment transport, and resultant sea bed morphology, has received relatively little...... specific attention. The present paper aims to further the understanding of tsunami-induced scour, by numerically investigating tsunami-induced flow and scour processes around a monopile structure, representative of those commonly utilized as offshore wind turbine foundations. The simulations are based...... a monopile at model (laboratory) spatial and temporal scales. Therefore, prior to conducting such numerical simulations involving tsunami-induced scour, it is necessary to first establish a methodology for maintaining similarity of model and full field scales. To achieve hydrodynamic similarity we...

Ultrasensitive detection of target analyte-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles using laser-induced nanoparticle Rayleigh scattering.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jia-Hui; Tseng, Wei-Lung

2015-01-01

Detection of salt- and analyte-induced aggregation of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) mostly relies on costly and bulky analytical instruments. To response this drawback, a portable, miniaturized, sensitive, and cost-effective detection technique is urgently required for rapid field detection and monitoring of target analyte via the use of AuNP-based sensor. This study combined a miniaturized spectrometer with a 532-nm laser to develop a laser-induced Rayleigh scattering technique, allowing the sensitive and selective detection of Rayleigh scattering from the aggregated AuNPs. Three AuNP-based sensing systems, including salt-, thiol- and metal ion-induced aggregation of the AuNPs, were performed to examine the sensitivity of laser-induced Rayleigh scattering technique. Salt-, thiol-, and metal ion-promoted NP aggregation were exemplified by the use of aptamer-adsorbed, fluorosurfactant-stabilized, and gallic acid-capped AuNPs for probing K(+), S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase-induced hydrolysis of S-adenosylhomocysteine, and Pb(2+), in sequence. Compared to the reported methods for monitoring the aggregated AuNPs, the proposed system provided distinct advantages of sensitivity. Laser-induced Rayleigh scattering technique was improved to be convenient, cheap, and portable by replacing a diode laser and a miniaturized spectrometer with a laser pointer and a smart-phone. Using this smart-phone-based detection platform, we can determine whether or not the Pb(2+) concentration exceed the maximum allowable level of Pb(2+) in drinking water. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mechanisms of caffeine-induced inhibition of UVB carcinogenesis

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Allan H Conney

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Sunlight-induced nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the United States with more than 2 million cases per year. Several studies have shown an inhibitory effect of caffeine administration on UVB-induced skin cancer in mice, and these studies are paralleled by epidemiology studies that indicate an inhibitory effect of coffee drinking on nonmelanoma skin cancer in humans. Strikingly, decaffeinated coffee consumption had no such inhibitory effect.Mechanism studies indicate that caffeine has a sunscreen effect that inhibits UVB-induced formation of thymine dimers and sunburn lesions in the epidermis of mice. In addition, caffeine administration has a biological effect that enhances UVB-induced apoptosis thereby enhancing the elimination of damaged precancerous cells, and caffeine administration also enhances apoptosis in tumors. Caffeine administration enhances UVB-induced apoptosis by p53-dependent and p53-independent mechanisms. Exploration of the p53-independent effect indicated that caffeine administration enhanced UVB-induced apoptosis by inhibiting the UVB-induced increase in ATR-mediated formation of phospho-Chk1 (Ser345 and abolishing the UVB-induced decrease in cyclin B1 which resulted in caffeine-induced premature and lethal mitosis in mouse skin. In studies with cultured primary human keratinocytes, inhibition of ATR with siRNA against ATR inhibited Chk1 phosphorylation and enhanced UVB-induced apoptosis. Transgenic mice with decreased epidermal ATR function that were irradiated chronically with UVB had 69% fewer tumors at the end of the study compared with irradiated littermate controls with normal ATR function. These results, which indicate that genetic inhibition of ATR (like pharmacologic inhibition of ATR via caffeine inhibits UVB-induced carcinogenesis and supports the concept that ATR-mediated phosphorylation of Chk1 is an important target for caffeine’s inhibitory effect on UVB-induced carcinogenesis.

Irisin is a pro-myogenic factor that induces skeletal muscle hypertrophy and rescues denervation-induced atrophy.

Science.gov (United States)

Reza, Musarrat Maisha; Subramaniyam, Nathiya; Sim, Chu Ming; Ge, Xiaojia; Sathiakumar, Durgalakshmi; McFarlane, Craig; Sharma, Mridula; Kambadur, Ravi

2017-10-24

Exercise induces expression of the myokine irisin, which is known to promote browning of white adipose tissue and has been shown to mediate beneficial effects following exercise. Here we show that irisin induces expression of a number of pro-myogenic and exercise response genes in myotubes. Irisin increases myogenic differentiation and myoblast fusion via activation of IL6 signaling. Injection of irisin in mice induces significant hypertrophy and enhances grip strength of uninjured muscle. Following skeletal muscle injury, irisin injection improves regeneration and induces hypertrophy. The effects of irisin on hypertrophy are due to activation of satellite cells and enhanced protein synthesis. In addition, irisin injection rescues loss of skeletal muscle mass following denervation by enhancing satellite cell activation and reducing protein degradation. These data suggest that irisin functions as a pro-myogenic factor in mice.

Apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) mediates lethal redox stress induced by menadione.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiraswati, Hesti Lina; Hangen, Emilie; Sanz, Ana Belén; Lam, Ngoc-Vy; Reinhardt, Camille; Sauvat, Allan; Mogha, Ariane; Ortiz, Alberto; Kroemer, Guido; Modjtahedi, Nazanine

2016-11-22

Mitochondrial apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) is a redox-active enzyme that participates to the biogenesis/maintenance of complex I of the respiratory chain, yet also contributes to catabolic reactions in the context of regulated cell death when AIF translocates to the cytosol and to the nucleus. Here we explore the contribution of AIF to cell death induced by menadione (2-methyl-1,4-naphtoquinone; also called vitamin K3) in conditions in which this pro-oxidant does not cause the mitochondrial release of AIF, yet causes caspase-independent cell killing. Depletion of AIF from human cancer cells reduced the cytotoxicity of menadione. This cytoprotective effect was accompanied by the maintenance of high levels of reduced glutathione (GSH), which are normally depleted by menadione. In addition, AIF depletion reduced the arylation of cellular proteins induced by menadione. This menadione-triggered arylation, which can be measured by a fluorescence assay, is completely suppressed by addition of exogenous glutathione or N-acetyl cysteine. Complex I inhibition by Rotenone did not mimic the cytoprotective action of AIF depletion. Altogether, these results are compatible with the hypothesis that mitochondrion-sessile AIF facilitates lethal redox cycling of menadione, thereby precipitating protein arylation and glutathione depletion.

[Exercise-induced inspiratory stridor. An important differential diagnosis of exercise-induced asthma].

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Pernille; Thomsen, Simon Francis; Rasmussen, Niels; Backer, Vibeke

2007-11-19

Recent studies suggest that exercise-induced inspiratory stridor (EIIS) is an important and often overlooked differential diagnosis of exercise-induced asthma. EIIS is characterised by astma-like symptoms, but differs by inspiratory limitation, fast recovery, and a lack of effect of inhaled bronchodilators. The prevalence of EIIS is reported to be 5-27%, and affects both children and adults. The pathophysiology, the pathogenesis, and the treatment of the condition are not yet clarified. At present, a population-based study is being conducted in order to address these points.

ETHICS IN HEALTH CARE: INDUCEMENT AND HUMAN SUBJECTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MUNIR HOSSAIN TALUKDER

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Currently, most health researchers or donor organizations considerinducement as a vital part in promoting research. They propose benefits, such as post research free medical treatment, food, insurance facilities, or even cash, in order to meet sufficient number of subjects. So, inducement may influence one to participate in a research. Is it ethical to offer inducement to human subjects? What are the risks in such practice? What will happen if the donor agencies use subjects by hiding possible risks from them? When an inducement can satisfy ethical criteria? The CIOMS, FDA, and other ethical guidelines hold that inducement is unethical because it involves enough risk for voluntary informed consent. Supporting this position, a group of ethicists has argued that inducement undermines voluntariness especially when subjects are poor and vulnerable, and thus, unethical. In contrast to them, others argue that inducement contributes to discover new knowledge which can improve miserable condition of the poor. In their view, an inducement maintains all ethical criteria including subject’s autonomy, and therefore, morally permissible. The paper focuses this debate and analyzes both types ofargument. It examines whether inducement invalidate informed consent.Even if inducement may not violate the basic components of informedconsent, the paper concludes, subjects may claim a prima facie right to enjoy research outcomes.

Glucocorticoid-Induced Leucine Zipper Protects the Retina From Light-Induced Retinal Degeneration by Inducing Bcl-xL in Rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Ruiping; Tang, Wenyi; Lei, Boya; Ding, Xinyi; Jiang, Cheng; Xu, Gezhi

2017-07-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the neuroprotective effects of glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) in a light-induced retinal degeneration model and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Intravitreal injection of recombinant GILZ-overexpressing lentivirus (OE-GILZ-rLV) and short hairpin RNA targeting GILZ recombinant lentivirus (shRNA-GILZ-rLV) was performed to up- and downregulate retinal GILZ, respectively. Three days after stable transduction, rats were exposed to continuous bright light (5000 lux) for 2 days. Retinal function was assessed by full-field electroretinography (ERG), and the retinal structure was examined for photoreceptor survival and death in rats kept under a 12-hour light:2-hour dark cycle following light exposure. The expression levels of retinal Bcl-xL, caspase-9, and caspase-3 were examined by Western blotting or real-time PCR at 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after light exposure. Exposure to bright light downregulated retinal GILZ in parallel with the downregulation of Bcl-xL and the upregulation of active caspase-3. Overexpression of retinal GILZ attenuated the decrease of Bcl-xL and the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3 at 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after bright light exposure, respectively. GILZ silencing aggravated the downregulation of Bcl-xL induced by bright light exposure. Bright light exposure reduced the amplitude of ERG, increased the number of apoptotic photoreceptor cells, and decreased retinal thickness; and GILZ overexpression could attenuate all these effects. Overexpression of GILZ by OE-GILZ-rLV transduction protected the retina from light-induced cellular damage by activating antiapoptotic pathways.

Agmatine attenuates silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Agamy, D S; Sharawy, M H; Ammar, E M

2014-06-01

There is a large body of evidence that nitric oxide (NO) formation is implicated in mediating silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis. As a reactive free radical, NO may not only contribute to lung parenchymal tissue injury but also has the ability to combine with superoxide and form a highly reactive toxic species peroxynitrite that can induce extensive cellular toxicity in the lung tissues. This study aimed to explore the effect of agmatine, a known NO synthase inhibitor, on silica-induced pulmonary fibrosis in rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were treated with agmatine for 60 days following a single intranasal instillation of silica suspension (50 mg in 0.1 ml saline/rat). The results revealed that agmatine attenuated silica-induced lung inflammation as it decreased the lung wet/dry weight ratio, protein concentration, and the accumulation of the inflammatory cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Agmatine showed antifibrotic activity as it decreased total hydroxyproline content of the lung and reduced silica-mediated lung inflammation and fibrosis in lung histopathological specimen. In addition, agmatine significantly increased superoxide dismutase (p Agmatine also reduced silica-induced overproduction of pulmonary nitrite/nitrate as well as tumor necrosis factor α. Collectively, these results demonstrate the protective effects of agmatine against the silica-induced lung fibrosis that may be attributed to its ability to counteract the NO production, lipid peroxidation, and regulate cytokine effects. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Effects of Acute Stress-Induced Sleep Disturbance on Acoustic Trauma-Induced Tinnitus in Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yiwen Zheng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Chronic tinnitus is a debilitating condition and often accompanied by anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance. It has been suggested that sleep disturbance, such as insomnia, may be a risk factor/predictor for tinnitus-related distress and the two conditions may share common neurobiological mechanisms. This study investigated whether acute stress-induced sleep disturbance could increase the susceptibility to acoustic trauma-induced tinnitus in rats. The animals were exposed to unilateral acoustic trauma 24 h before sleep disturbance being induced using the cage exchange method. Tinnitus perception was assessed behaviourally using a conditioned lick suppression paradigm 3 weeks after the acoustic trauma. Changes in the orexin system in the hypothalamus, which plays an important role in maintaining long-lasting arousal, were also examined using immunohistochemistry. Cage exchange resulted in a significant reduction in the number of sleep episodes and acoustic trauma-induced tinnitus with acoustic features similar to a 32 kHz tone at 100 dB. However, sleep disturbance did not exacerbate the perception of tinnitus in rats. Neither tinnitus alone nor tinnitus plus sleep disturbance altered the number of orexin-expressing neurons. The results suggest that acute sleep disturbance does not cause long-term changes in the number of orexin neurons and does not change the perception of tinnitus induced by acoustic trauma in rats.

Collagen-induced arthritis in mice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bevaart, Lisette; Vervoordeldonk, Margriet J.; Tak, Paul P.

2010-01-01

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in mice is an animal model for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and can be induced in DBA/1 and C57BL/6 mice using different protocols. The CIA model can be used to unravel mechanisms involved in the development of arthritis and is frequently used to study the effect of new

X-irradiation-induced emesis in Suncus murinus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Torii, Yoshifumi; Saito, Hiroshi; Matsuki, Norio; Shikita, Mikio.

1993-01-01

X-irradiation-induced emesis was investigated in Suncus murinus, a house musk shrew. Whole body X-irradiation caused emesis, and the calculated ED 50 value that induced emesis in 50% of animals was 429 cGy. At the irradiation dose of 800 cGy all the animals vomited 10.0±2.4 times with a latency of 20.0±2.9 min. The emetogenic effect of X-irradiation was dependent on the part of the body exposed. Abdominal X-irradiation at 1000 cGy caused emesis in all animals studied, whereas the same dose to the head had no emetogenic effect. We investigated several prophylactic methods against X-irradiation-induced emesis. Surgical vagotomy completely inhibited the emesis induced by 800 cGy X-irradiation. Emesis was also prevented by the subcutaneous administration of tropisetron (ICS 205-930, a selective serotonergic 5-HT 3 receptor antagonist) with an ID 50 value of 29 μg/kg. These results suggest that (1) suncus is a useful experimental animal for the study of radiation-induced emesis and the development of prophylactic drugs, (2) serotonin plays an important role in X-irradiation-induced emesis, and (3) X-irradiation-induced emesis is very similar to that caused by cancer chemotherapeutic agents. (author)

Impact of mechanical stress induced in silica vacuum windows on laser-induced damage.

Science.gov (United States)

Gingreau, Clémence; Lanternier, Thomas; Lamaignère, Laurent; Donval, Thierry; Courchinoux, Roger; Leymarie, Christophe; Néauport, Jérôme

2018-04-15

At the interface between vacuum and air, optical windows must keep their optical properties, despite being subjected to mechanical stress. In this Letter, we investigate the impact of such stress on the laser-induced damage of fused silica windows at the wavelength of 351 nm in the nanosecond regime. Different stress values, from 1 to 30 MPa, both tensile and compressive, were applied. No effect of the stress on the laser-induced damage was evidenced.

RMP-Flutter-Induced Pedestal Plasma Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Callen, J. D.; Hegna, C., E-mail: callen@engr.wisc.edu [University of Wisconsin, Madison (United States); Cole, A. J. [Columbia University, New York (United States)

2012-09-15

Full text: Plasma toroidal rotation can prevent or limit reconnection of externally applied resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) fields {delta}B on rational magnetic flux surfaces. Hence, it causes the induced radial perturbations to vanish or be small there, and thereby inhibits magnetic island formation and stochasticity in the edge of high (H-mode) confinement tokamak plasmas. However, the radial component of the spatial magnetic flutter induced by RMP fields off rational surfaces causes a radial electron thermal diffusivity of (1/2)({delta}B{sub p}/B){sup 2} times a magnetic-shear-influenced effective parallel electron thermal diffusivity. The resultant RMP-flutter-induced electron thermal diffusivity can be comparable to experimentally inferred values at the top of H-mode pedestals. This process also causes a factor of about 3 smaller RMP-induced electron density diffusivity there. Because this electron density transport is non-ambipolar, it produces a toroidal torque on the plasma, which is usually in the co-current direction. Kinetic-based cylindrical screw-pinch and toroidal models of these RMP-flutter-induced plasma transport effects have been developed. The RMP-induced increases in these diffusive plasma transport processes are typically spatially inhomogeneous in that they are strongly peaked near the rational surfaces in low collisionality pedestals, which may lead to resonant sensitivities to the local safety factor q. The effects can be large enough to reduce the radially averaged gradients of the electron temperature and density at the top of H-mode edge pedestals, and modify the plasma toroidal rotation and radial electric field there. At high collisionality the various effects are less strongly peaked at rational surfaces and thus less likely to exhibit RMP-induced resonant behavior. These RMP-flutter-induced plasma transport processes provide a new paradigm for developing an understanding of how RMPs modify the pedestal structure to stabilize

M-CSF signals through the MAPK/ERK pathway via Sp1 to induce VEGF production and induces angiogenesis in vivo.

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Jennifer M Curry

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: M-CSF recruits mononuclear phagocytes which regulate processes such as angiogenesis and metastases in tumors. VEGF is a potent activator of angiogenesis as it promotes endothelial cell proliferation and new blood vessel formation. Previously, we reported that in vitro M-CSF induces the expression of biologically-active VEGF from human monocytes. METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS: In this study, we demonstrate the molecular mechanism of M-CSF-induced VEGF production. Using a construct containing the VEGF promoter linked to a luciferase reporter, we found that a mutation reducing HIF binding to the VEGF promoter had no significant effect on luciferase production induced by M-CSF stimulation. Further analysis revealed that M-CSF induced VEGF through the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway via the transcription factor, Sp1. Thus, inhibition of either ERK or Sp1 suppressed M-CSF-induced VEGF at the mRNA and protein level. M-CSF also induced the nuclear localization of Sp1, which was blocked by ERK inhibition. Finally, mutating the Sp1 binding sites within the VEGF promoter or inhibiting ERK decreased VEGF promoter activity in M-CSF-treated human monocytes. To evaluate the biological significance of M-CSF induced VEGF production, we used an in vivo angiogenesis model to illustrate the ability of M-CSF to recruit mononuclear phagocytes, increase VEGF levels, and enhance angiogenesis. Importantly, the addition of a neutralizing VEGF antibody abolished M-CSF-induced blood vessel formation. CONCLUSION: These data delineate an ERK- and Sp1-dependent mechanism of M-CSF induced VEGF production and demonstrate for the first time the ability of M-CSF to induce angiogenesis via VEGF in vivo.

Inducing magneto-electric response in topological insulator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zeng, Lunwu, E-mail: 163.sin@163.com [Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Intelligent Agricultural Equipment, College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210031 (China); Song, Runxia [Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Intelligent Agricultural Equipment, College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210031 (China); Zeng, Jing [Faculty of Business and Economics, Macquarie University, NSW 2122 (Australia)

2013-02-15

Utilizing electric potential and magnetic scalar potential formulas, which contain zero-order Bessel functions of the first kind and the constitutive relations of topological insulators, we obtained the induced magnetic scalar potentials and induced magnetic monopole charges which are induced by a point charge in topological insulators. The results show that infinite image magnetic monopole charges are generated by a point electric charge. The magnitude of the induced magnetic monopole charges are determined not only by the point electric charge, but also by the material parameters. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Electric potential and magnetic scalar potential which contain zero-order Bessel function of the first kind were derived. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Boundary conditions of topological insulator were built. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Induced monopole charges were worked out.

Inducing Lactation: Breastfeeding for Adoptive Moms

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... Dynamics > Adoption & Foster Care > Inducing Lactation: Breastfeeding for Adoptive Moms Family Life Listen Español Text Size Email Print Share Inducing Lactation: Breastfeeding for Adoptive Moms Page Content Article Body A growing number ...

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester inhibits 3-MC-induced CYP1A1 expression through induction of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyung Gyun [Department of Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Han, Eun Hee [Division of Life Science, Korea Basic Science Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Im, Ji Hye; Lee, Eun Ji; Jin, Sun Woo [Department of Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Hye Gwang, E-mail: hgjeong@cnu.ac.kr [Department of Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-09-25

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), a natural component of propolis, is reported to have anticarcinogenic properties, although its precise chemopreventive mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we examined the effects of CAPE on 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC)-induced CYP1A1 expression and activities. CAPE reduced the formation of the benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adduct. Moreover, CAPE inhibited 3-MC-induced CYP1A1 activity, mRNA expression, protein level, and promoter activity. CAPE treatment also decreased 3-MC-inducible xenobiotic-response element (XRE)-linked luciferase, aryl hydrocarbons receptor (AhR) transactivation and nuclear localization. CAPE induced hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) protein level and HIF-1α responsible element (HRE) transcriptional activity. CAPE-mediated HIF-1α reduced 3-MC-inducible CYP1A1 protein expression. Taken together, CAPE decreases 3-MC-mediated CYP1A1 expression, and this inhibitory response is associated with inhibition of AhR and HIF-1α induction. - Highlights: • CAPE reduced the formation of the benzo[a]pyrene-DNA adduct. • CAPE inhibited 3-MC-induced CYP1A1 expression. • CAPE induced HIF-1α induction. • CAPE-mediated HIF-1α reduced 3-MC-inducible CYP1A1 expression.

Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuron as a human model for testing environmentally induced developmental neurotoxicity

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Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons as a human model for testing environmentally induced developmental neurotoxicity Ingrid L. Druwe1, Timothy J. Shafer2, Kathleen Wallace2, Pablo Valdivia3 ,and William R. Mundy2. 1University of North Carolina, Curriculum in Toxicology...

Multi-property isotropic intermolecular potentials and predicted spectral lineshapes of collision-induced absorption (CIA), collision-induced light scattering (CILS) and collision-induced hyper-Rayleigh scattering (CIHR) for H2sbnd Ne, -Kr and -Xe

Science.gov (United States)

El-Kader, M. S. A.; Godet, J.-L.; Gustafsson, M.; Maroulis, G.

2018-04-01

Quantum mechanical lineshapes of collision-induced absorption (CIA), collision-induced light scattering (CILS) and collision-induced hyper-Rayleigh scattering (CIHR) at room temperature (295 K) are computed for gaseous mixtures of molecular hydrogen with neon, krypton and xenon. The induced spectra are detected using theoretical values for induced dipole moment, pair-polarizability trace and anisotropy, hyper-polarizability and updated intermolecular potentials. Good agreement is observed for all spectra when the literature and the present potentials which are constructed from the transport and thermo-physical properties are used.

Manganese (II) induces chemical hypoxia by inhibiting HIF-prolyl hydroxylase: Implication in manganese-induced pulmonary inflammation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, Jeongoh; Lee, Jong-Suk; Choi, Daekyu; Lee, Youna; Hong, Sungchae; Choi, Jungyun; Han, Songyi; Ko, Yujin; Kim, Jung-Ae; Mi Kim, Young; Jung, Yunjin

2009-01-01

Manganese (II), a transition metal, causes pulmonary inflammation upon environmental or occupational inhalation in excess. We investigated a potential molecular mechanism underlying manganese-induced pulmonary inflammation. Manganese (II) delayed HIF-1α protein disappearance, which occurred by inhibiting HIF-prolyl hydroxylase (HPH), the key enzyme for HIF-1α hydroxylation and subsequent von Hippel-Lindau(VHL)-dependent HIF-1α degradation. HPH inhibition by manganese (II) was neutralized significantly by elevated dose of iron. Consistent with this, the induction of cellular HIF-1α protein by manganese (II) was abolished by pretreatment with iron. Manganese (II) induced the HIF-1 target gene involved in pulmonary inflammation, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in lung carcinoma cell lines. The induction of VEGF was dependent on HIF-1. Manganese-induced VEGF promoted tube formation of HUVEC. Taken together, these data suggest that HIF-1 may be a potential mediator of manganese-induced pulmonary inflammation

Ganoderma lucidum total triterpenes attenuate DLA induced ascites and EAC induced solid tumours in Swiss albino mice.

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Smina, T P; Mathew, J; Janardhanan, K K

2016-04-30

G. lucidum total triterpenes were assessed for its apoptosis-inducing and anti-tumour activities. The ability of the total triterpenes to induce apoptosis was evaluated in Dalton's lymphoma ascites (DLA) and Ehrlich's ascites carcinoma (EAC) cell lines. Total triterpenes were found to be highly cytotoxic to DLA and EAC cell lines with IC50 values 5 ± 0.32 and 7.9 ± 0.2 µg/ml respectively. Total triterpenes induced apoptosis in both cell lines which is evident from the DNA fragmentation assay. Anti-tumour activity was accessed using DLA induced solid and EAC induced ascites tumour models in Swiss albino mice. Administration of 10, 50 and 100 mg/kg b. wt. total triterpenes showed 11.86, 27.27 and 40.57% increase in life span of animals in ascites tumour model. Treatment with 10, 50 and 100 mg/kg b. wt. total triterpenes exhibited 76.86, 85.01 and 91.03% inhibition in tumour volume and 67.96, 72.38 and 77.90% inhibition in tumour weight respectively in the solid tumour model. The study reveals the significant dose-dependent anti-tumour activity of total triterpenes in both models. Total triterpenes were more active against the solid tumour than the ascites tumour. The anti-oxidant potential and ability to induce cell-specific apoptosis could be contributing to its anti-tumour activities.

Hydroxychloroquine-induced erythroderma.

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Pai, Sunil B; Sudershan, Bhuvaneshwari; Kuruvilla, Maria; Kamath, Ashwin; Suresh, Pooja K

2017-01-01

Erythroderma is characterized by diffuse erythema and scaling of the skin involving more than 90% of the total body skin surface area. Drug-induced erythroderma has rarely been reported with hydroxychloroquine. We report a case of a 50-year-old female patient, with systemic lupus erythematosus, who developed itchy lesions all over the body 1 month after starting treatment with hydroxychloroquine. Drug-induced erythroderma was suspected. Hydroxychloroquine was withdrawn and the patient was treated with emollients, mid-potency corticosteroids, and oral antihistamines. A biopsy was done which confirmed the diagnosis of erythroderma. She recovered with treatment and was discharged. A careful history and clinical examination to search for potential causative factors will help prevent disabling sequelae in erythroderma.

Thiamine deficiency induces endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress in human neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells

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Wang, Xin; Xu, Mei; Frank, Jacqueline A. [Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Ke, Zun-ji [Department of Biochemistry, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China 201203 (China); Luo, Jia, E-mail: jialuo888@uky.edu [Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY 40536 (United States); Department of Biochemistry, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China 201203 (China)

2017-04-01

Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency (TD) plays a major role in the etiology of Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) which is a severe neurological disorder. TD induces selective neuronal cell death, neuroinflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress in the brain which are commonly observed in many aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The progress in this line of research is hindered due to the lack of appropriate in vitro models. The neurons derived for the human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide a relevant and powerful tool for the research in pharmaceutical and environmental neurotoxicity. In this study, we for the first time used human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)-derived neurons (iCell neurons) to investigate the mechanisms of TD-induced neurodegeneration. We showed that TD caused a concentration- and duration-dependent death of iCell neurons. TD induced ER stress which was evident by the increase in ER stress markers, such as GRP78, XBP-1, CHOP, ATF-6, phosphorylated eIF2α, and cleaved caspase-12. TD also triggered oxidative stress which was shown by the increase in the expression 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). ER stress inhibitors (STF-083010 and salubrinal) and antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) were effective in alleviating TD-induced death of iCell neurons, supporting the involvement of ER stress and oxidative stress. It establishes that the iCell neurons are a novel tool to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms for TD-induced neurodegeneration. - Highlights: • Thiamine deficiency (TD) causes death of human neurons in culture. • TD induces both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress. • Alleviating ER stress and oxidative stress reduces TD-induced

Thiamine deficiency induces endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress in human neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xin; Xu, Mei; Frank, Jacqueline A.; Ke, Zun-ji; Luo, Jia

2017-01-01

Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency (TD) plays a major role in the etiology of Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) which is a severe neurological disorder. TD induces selective neuronal cell death, neuroinflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress in the brain which are commonly observed in many aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The progress in this line of research is hindered due to the lack of appropriate in vitro models. The neurons derived for the human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide a relevant and powerful tool for the research in pharmaceutical and environmental neurotoxicity. In this study, we for the first time used human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)-derived neurons (iCell neurons) to investigate the mechanisms of TD-induced neurodegeneration. We showed that TD caused a concentration- and duration-dependent death of iCell neurons. TD induced ER stress which was evident by the increase in ER stress markers, such as GRP78, XBP-1, CHOP, ATF-6, phosphorylated eIF2α, and cleaved caspase-12. TD also triggered oxidative stress which was shown by the increase in the expression 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). ER stress inhibitors (STF-083010 and salubrinal) and antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) were effective in alleviating TD-induced death of iCell neurons, supporting the involvement of ER stress and oxidative stress. It establishes that the iCell neurons are a novel tool to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms for TD-induced neurodegeneration. - Highlights: • Thiamine deficiency (TD) causes death of human neurons in culture. • TD induces both endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress. • Alleviating ER stress and oxidative stress reduces TD-induced

Experimental Study on Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting from Vortex-Induced Vibrations and Wake-Induced Vibrations

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Min Zhang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A rigid circular cylinder with two piezoelectric beams attached on has been tested through vortex-induced vibrations (VIV and wake-induced vibrations (WIV by installing a big cylinder fixed upstream, in order to study the influence of the different flow-induced vibrations (FIV types. The VIV test shows that the output voltage increases with the increases of load resistance; an optimal load resistance exists for the maximum output power. The WIV test shows that the vibration of the small cylinder is controlled by the vortex frequency of the large one. There is an optimal gap of the cylinders that can obtain the maximum output voltage and power. For a same energy harvesting device, WIV has higher power generation capacity; then the piezoelectric output characteristics can be effectively improved.

Induced proteins in human melanomas by γ-ray

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohnishi, T.; Ihara, M.; Utsumi, H.

1992-01-01

When cells are exposed to environmental stresses such as heat, chemicals, radiation, the cells respond to them by synthesizing a characteristic group of proteins, called stress proteins. There are many famous stress proteins: heat shock proteins and metallothionein. Treated cells have a protective mechanism against these environmental stresses. SOS responses in Escherichia coli are most famous. As the mechanisms, when cells are exposed by many kinds of DNA damage agents, various enzymes are induced after the cleavage of repressor protein LexA by activated RecA enzyme. Thereafter, induced proteins act for DNA repair and mutagenesis. In mammalian cells there are many reports about inducible genes such as O 6 -methylguanine methyltransferase gene. This gene was also inducible by alkylating agents. The difference of radiation sensitivities may be reflected by the contents of repair enzymes(s) or the induced proteins. Therefore, this study aims on the differences in inducible proteins between radiosensitive cells and control cells. Since it was hypothesized that induced proteins concerning to DNA damage repair or the proteins to recognize the damage may exist in the nuclei, induced proteins in nuclei of γ-ray irradiated cells were analyzed. (author). 5 refs., 1 tab

Molecular Mechanisms of Antipsychotic Drug-Induced Diabetes

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Jiezhong Chen

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Antipsychotic drugs (APDs are widely prescribed to control various mental disorders. As mental disorders are chronic diseases, these drugs are often used over a life-time. However, APDs can cause serious glucometabolic side-effects including type 2 diabetes and hyperglycaemic emergency, leading to medication non-compliance. At present, there is no effective approach to overcome these side-effects. Understanding the mechanisms for APD-induced diabetes should be helpful in prevention and treatment of these side-effects of APDs and thus improve the clinical outcomes of APDs. In this review, the potential mechanisms for APD-induced diabetes are summarized so that novel approaches can be considered to relieve APD-induced diabetes. APD-induced diabetes could be mediated by multiple mechanisms: (1 APDs can inhibit the insulin signaling pathway in the target cells such as muscle cells, hepatocytes and adipocytes to cause insulin resistance; (2 APD-induced obesity can result in high levels of free fatty acids (FFA and inflammation, which can also cause insulin resistance. (3 APDs can cause direct damage to β-cells, leading to dysfunction and apoptosis of β-cells. A recent theory considers that both β-cell damage and insulin resistance are necessary factors for the development of diabetes. In high-fat diet-induced diabetes, the compensatory ability of β-cells is gradually damaged, while APDs cause direct β-cell damage, accounting for the severe form of APD-induced diabetes. Based on these mechanisms, effective prevention of APD-induced diabetes may need an integrated approach to combat various effects of APDs on multiple pathways.

Sociocultural determinants of induced abortion.

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Korejo, Razia; Noorani, Khurshid Jehan; Bhutta, Shereen

2003-05-01

To determine the frequency of induced abortion and identify the role of sociocultural factors contributing to termination of pregnancy and associated morbidity and mortality in hospital setting. Prospective observational study. The study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi from January 1999 to June 2001. The patients who were admitted for induced abortion were interviewed in privacy. On condition of anonymity they were asked about the age, parity, family setup and relationships, with particular emphasis on sociocultural reasons and factors contributing to induction of abortion. Details of status of abortionist and methods used for termination of pregnancy, the resulting complications and their severity were recorded. Out of total admissions, 57(2.35%) gave history of induced abortion. All women belonged to low socioeconomic class and 59.6% of them were illiterate. Forty-three (75.5%) of these women had never practiced contraception. Twenty-four (42%) were grandmultiparae and did not want more children. In 29 women (50.9%) the decision for abortion had been supported by the husband. In 25 women (43.8%) abortion was carried out by Daiyan (traditional midwives). Serious complications like uterine perforation with or without bowel injury were encountered in 25 (43.8%) of these women. During the study period illegally induced abortion accounted for 6 (10.5%) maternal deaths. Prevalence of poverty, illiteracy, grand multiparity and non-practice of contraception are strong determinants of induced abortion.

Rail-induced Traffic in China

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Nan He

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The rapid development of China’s railway has exerted an enormous influence on the intercity passenger transport structure in recent years. However, it has not satisfied the passengers’ travel demand due to induced traffic. This paper is committed to solving such issue, with the aim of satisfying the current travel demand, and of anticipating the demand of the predicted traffic growth over the next 20 to 30 years. The paper has considered the increase in rail passenger kilometres caused by the growth of rail kilometres as rail-induced traffic. Based on the concept and former research of induced traffic, the panel data of 26 provinces and 3 municipalities of China between the year 2000 and 2014 were collected, and the elasticity models (including elasticity-based model, distributed lag model, high-speed rail (HSR elasticity model and rail efficiency model have been constructed. The results show the importance of model formation incorporation of rail-induced traffic. It is better to get the correct value in divided zones with different train frequencies or incorporation rail efficiency in cities or provinces. The lag time and rail types also need to be considered. In summary, the results analysis not only confirms the existence of rail-induced traffic, but also provides substantial recommendations to train operation planning.

Nitric oxide protects macrophages from hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis by inducing the formation of catalase.

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Yoshioka, Yasuhiro; Kitao, Tatsuya; Kishino, Takashi; Yamamuro, Akiko; Maeda, Sadaaki

2006-04-15

We investigated the cytoprotective effect of NO on H2O2-induced cell death in mouse macrophage-like cell line RAW264. H2O2-treated cells showed apoptotic features, such as activation of caspase-9 and caspase-3, nuclear fragmentation, and DNA fragmentation. These apoptotic features were significantly inhibited by pretreatment for 24 h with NO donors, sodium nitroprusside and 1-hydroxy-2-oxo-3,3-bis-(2-aminoethyl)-1-triazene, at a low nontoxic concentration. The cytoprotective effect of NO was abrogated by the catalase inhibitor 3-amino-1,2,4-triazole but was not affected by a glutathione synthesis inhibitor, L-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine. NO donors increased the level of catalase and its activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, inhibited both the NO-induced increase in the catalase level and the cytoprotective effect of NO. These results indicate that NO at a low concentration protects macrophages from H2O2-induced apoptosis by inducing the production of catalase.

Regulation of radiation-induced protein kinase Cδ activation in radiation-induced apoptosis differs between radiosensitive and radioresistant mouse thymic lymphoma cell lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Tetsuo; Yukawa, Osami; Tsuji, Hideo; Ohyama, Harumi; Wang, Bing; Tatsumi, Kouichi; Hayata, Isamu; Hama-Inaba, Hiroko

2006-01-01

Protein kinase Cδ (PKCδ) has an important role in radiation-induced apoptosis. The expression and function of PKCδ in radiation-induced apoptosis were assessed in a radiation-sensitive mouse thymic lymphoma cell line, 3SBH5, and its radioresistant variant, XR223. Rottlerin, a PKCδ-specific inhibitor, completely abolished radiation-induced apoptosis in 3SBH5. Radiation-induced PKCδ activation correlated with the degradation of PKCδ, indicating that PKCδ activation through degradation is involved in radiation-induced apoptosis in radiosensitive 3SBH5. In radioresistant XR223, radiation-induced PKCδ activation was lower than that in radiosensitive 3SBH5. Cytosol PKCδ levels in 3SBH5 decreased markedly after irradiation, while those in XR223 did not. There was no apparent change after irradiation in the membrane fractions of either cell type. In addition, basal cytosol PKCδ levels in XR223 were higher than those in 3SBH5. These results suggest that the radioresistance in XR223 to radiation-induced apoptosis is due to a difference in the regulation of radiation-induced PKCδ activation compared to that of 3SBH5. On the other hand, Atm -/- mouse thymic lymphoma cells were more radioresistant to radiation-induced apoptosis than wild-type mouse thymic lymphoma cells. Irradiated wild-type cells, but not Atm -/- cells, had decreased PKCδ levels, indicating that the Atm protein is involved in radiation-induced apoptosis through the induction of PKCδ degradation. The decreased Atm protein levels induced by treatment with Atm small interfering RNA had no effect on radiation-induced apoptosis in 3SBH5 cells. These results suggest that the regulation of radiation-induced PKCδ activation, which is distinct from the Atm-mediated cascade, determines radiation sensitivity in radiosensitive 3SBH5 cells

Pump cavitation and inducer design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heslenfeld, M.W.; Hes, M. de

2002-01-01

Details of past work on sodium pump development and cavitation studies executed mainly for SNR 300 were reported earlier. Among the requirements for large sodium pumps are long life (200000 hours up to 300000 hours) and small size of impeller and pump, fully meeting the process and design criteria. These criteria are the required 'Q, H, r characteristics' in combination with a low NPSH value and the avoidance of cavitation damage to the pump. The pump designer has to develop a sound hydraulic combination consisting of suction arrangement, impeller design and diffuser. On the other hand the designer is free to choose an optimal pump speed. The pump speed in its turn influences the rotor dynamic pump design and the pump drive. The introduction of the inducer as an integral part of the pump design is based on following advantages: no tip cavitation; (possible) cavitation bubbles move to the open centre due to centrifugal forces on the fluid; the head of the inducer improves the inlet conditions of the impeller. The aim of an inducer is the increase in the suction specific speed (SA value) of a pump whereby the inducer functions as a pressure source improving the impeller inlet conditions. With inducer-impeller combinations values up to SA=15000 are realistic. With the use of an inducer the overall pump sizes can be reduced with Ca. 30%. Pumps commonly available have SA values up to a maximum of ca. 10000. A development programme was executed for SNR 300 in order to reach an increase of the suction specific speed of the impeller from SA 8200 to SA 11000. Further studies to optimize pumps design for the follow up line introduced the 'inducer acting as a pre-impeller' development. This programme was executed in the period 1979-1981. At the FDO premises a scale 1 2.8 inducer impeller combination with a suction specific speed SA=15000 was developed, constructed and tested at the water test rig. This water test rig is equipped with a perspex pipe allowing also visualisation

Differentiation-inducing factor-1 induces cyclin D1 degradation through the phosphorylation of Thr286 in squamous cell carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Jun; Takahashi-Yanaga, Fumi; Miwa, Yoshikazu; Watanabe, Yutaka; Hirata, Masato; Morimoto, Sachio; Shirasuna, Kanemitsu; Sasaguri, Toshiyuki

2005-01-01

Differentiation-inducing factors (DIFs) are morphogens which induce cell differentiation in Dictyostelium. We reported that DIF-1 and DIF-3 inhibit proliferation and induce differentiation in mammalian cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of DIF-1 on oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines NA and SAS, well differentiated and poorly differentiated cell lines, respectively. Although DIF-1 did not induce the expression of cell differentiation makers in these cell lines, it inhibited the proliferation of NA and SAS in a dose-dependent manner by restricting the cell cycle in the G 0 /G 1 phase. DIF-1 induced cyclin D1 degradation, but this effect was prevented by treatment with lithium chloride and SB216763, the inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β). Depletion of endogenous GSK-3β by RNA interference also attenuated the effect of DIF-1 on cyclin D1 degradation. Therefore, we investigated the effect of DIF-1 on GSK-3β and found that DIF-1 dephosphorylated GSK-3β on Ser 9 and induced the nuclear translocation of GSK-3β, suggesting that DIF-1 activated GSK-3β. Then, we examined the effect of DIF-1 on cyclin D1 mutants (Thr286Ala, Thr288Ala, and Thr286/288Ala). We revealed that Thr286Ala and Thr286/288Ala mutants were highly resistant to DIF-1-induced degradation compared with wild-type cyclin D1, indicating that the phosphorylation of Thr 286 was critical for cyclin D1 degradation induced by DIF-1. These results suggest that DIF-1 induces degradation of cyclin D1 through the GSK-3β-mediated phosphorylation of Thr 286

Radiation-induced radical ions in calcium sulfite

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Bogushevich, S. E.

2006-07-01

We have used EPR to study the effect of γ radiation on calcium sulfite. We have observed and identified the radiation-induced radical ions SO 2 - (iso) with g = 2.0055 and SO 2 - (orth-1) with g1 = 2.0093, g2 = 2.0051, g3 = 2.0020, identical to the initial and thermally induced SO 2 - respectively, SO 3 - (iso) with g = 2.0031 and SO 3 - (axial) with g⊥ = 2.0040, g∥ = 2.0023, identical to mechanically induced SO 3 - . We have established the participation of radiation-induced radical ions SO 3 - in formation of post-radiation SO 2 - .

Evaluation of induced seismicity forecast models in the Induced Seismicity Test Bench

Science.gov (United States)

Király, Eszter; Gischig, Valentin; Zechar, Jeremy; Doetsch, Joseph; Karvounis, Dimitrios; Wiemer, Stefan

2016-04-01

Induced earthquakes often accompany fluid injection, and the seismic hazard they pose threatens various underground engineering projects. Models to monitor and control induced seismic hazard with traffic light systems should be probabilistic, forward-looking, and updated as new data arrive. Here, we propose an Induced Seismicity Test Bench to test and rank such models. We apply the test bench to data from the Basel 2006 and Soultz-sous-Forêts 2004 geothermal stimulation projects, and we assess forecasts from two models that incorporate a different mix of physical understanding and stochastic representation of the induced sequences: Shapiro in Space (SiS) and Hydraulics and Seismics (HySei). SiS is based on three pillars: the seismicity rate is computed with help of the seismogenic index and a simple exponential decay of the seismicity; the magnitude distribution follows the Gutenberg-Richter relation; and seismicity is distributed in space based on smoothing seismicity during the learning period with 3D Gaussian kernels. The HySei model describes seismicity triggered by pressure diffusion with irreversible permeability enhancement. Our results show that neither model is fully superior to the other. HySei forecasts the seismicity rate well, but is only mediocre at forecasting the spatial distribution. On the other hand, SiS forecasts the spatial distribution well but not the seismicity rate. The shut-in phase is a difficult moment for both models in both reservoirs: the models tend to underpredict the seismicity rate around, and shortly after, shut-in. Ensemble models that combine HySei's rate forecast with SiS's spatial forecast outperform each individual model.

Neogambogic acid prevents silica-induced fibrosis via inhibition of high-mobility group box 1 and MCP-1-induced protein 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Wei [Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); Department of Respiration, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Zhang, Mei, E-mail: meizhang1717@163.com [Department of Respiration, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Wang, Zhongjiang [Department of Radiology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Cheng, Yusi; Liu, Haijun [Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Zhou, Zewei [Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Han, Bing [Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Chen, Baoan [Department of Hematology and Oncology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Yao, Honghong, E-mail: yaohh@seu.edu.cn [Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); Chao, Jie, E-mail: chaojie@seu.edu.cn [Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China); Key Laboratory of Developmental Genes and Human Disease, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096 (China); Department of Respiration, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009 (China)

2016-10-15

Background: Silicosis is a systemic disease caused by inhaling silicon dioxide (SiO{sub 2}); early stages are characterized by alveolar inflammation, and later stages are characterized by progressive lung fibrosis. Mounting evidence indicates that high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is involved in pulmonary fibrosis. Whether neogambogic acid (NGA) inhibits macrophage and fibroblast activation induced by SiO{sub 2} by targeting HMGB1 remains unclear. Methods and results: Experiments using cultured mouse macrophages (RAW264.7 cells) demonstrated that SiO{sub 2} treatment induces the expression of HMGB1 in a time- and dose-dependent manner via mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway; in turn, this expression causes macrophage apoptosis and fibroblast activation. Pretreating macrophages with NGA inhibited the HMGB1 expression induced by SiO{sub 2} and attenuated both macrophage apoptosis and fibroblast activation. Moreover, NGA directly inhibited MCP-1-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1) expression, as well as markers of fibroblast activation and migration induced by SiO{sub 2}. Furthermore, the effects of NGA on macrophages and fibroblasts were confirmed in vivo by exposing mice to SiO{sub 2}. Conclusion: NGA can prevent SiO{sub 2}-induced macrophage activation and apoptosis via HMGB1 inhibition and SiO{sub 2}-induced fibrosis via the MCPIP1 pathway. Targeting HMGB1 and MCPIP1 with NGA could provide insights into the potential development of a therapeutic approach for alleviating the inflammation and fibrosis induced by SiO{sub 2}. - Highlights: • The SiO{sub 2} induced HMGB1 in alveolar macrophage and MCPIP1 in fibroblast. • NGA rescued the SiO{sub 2}-induced apoptosis of alveolar macrophages via HMGB1 signaling. • NGA inhibited the fibroblast activation induced by SiO{sub 2} via MCPIP1 signaling. • NGA might represent a potential therapeutic approach for silicosis.

DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) mediates methamphetamine-induced autophagy and apoptosis through mTOR signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Rui; Wang, Bin; Chen, Ling; Cai, Dunpeng; Li, Bing; Chen, Chuanxiang; Huang, Enping; Liu, Chao; Lin, Zhoumeng; Xie, Wei-Bing; Wang, Huijun

2016-01-01

Methamphetamine (METH) is an amphetamine-like psychostimulant that is commonly abused. Previous studies have shown that METH can induce damages to the nervous system and recent studies suggest that METH can also cause adverse and potentially lethal effects on the cardiovascular system. Recently, we demonstrated that DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) regulates METH-induced neurotoxicity. However, the role of DDIT4 in METH-induced cardiotoxicity remains unknown. We hypothesized that DDIT4 may mediate METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. To test the hypothesis, we examined DDIT4 protein expression in cardiomyocytes and in heart tissues of rats exposed to METH with Western blotting. We also determined the effects on METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis after silencing DDIT4 expression with synthetic siRNA with or without pretreatment of a mTOR inhibitor rapamycin in cardiomyocytes using Western blot analysis, fluorescence microscopy and TUNEL staining. Our results showed that METH exposure increased DDIT4 expression and decreased phosphorylation of mTOR that was accompanied with increased autophagy and apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. These effects were normalized after silencing DDIT4. On the other hand, rapamycin promoted METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis in DDIT4 knockdown cardiomyocytes. These results suggest that DDIT4 mediates METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis through mTOR signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes. - Highlights: • METH exposure increases DDIT4 expression in cardiomyocytes. • DDIT4 mediates METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. • DDIT4 silencing protects cardiomyocytes against METH-caused autophagy and apoptosis.

DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) mediates methamphetamine-induced autophagy and apoptosis through mTOR signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Rui [Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Science, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515 (China); Department of Forensic Medicine, Guangdong Medical University, Dongguan 523808 (China); Wang, Bin; Chen, Ling; Cai, Dunpeng; Li, Bing; Chen, Chuanxiang; Huang, Enping [Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Science, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515 (China); Liu, Chao [Guangzhou Forensic Science Institute, Guangzhou 510030 (China); Lin, Zhoumeng [Institute of Computational Comparative Medicine and Department of Anatomy and Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506 (United States); Xie, Wei-Bing, E-mail: xieweib@126.com [Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Science, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515 (China); Wang, Huijun, E-mail: hjwang711@yahoo.cn [Department of Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Science, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510515 (China)

2016-03-15

Methamphetamine (METH) is an amphetamine-like psychostimulant that is commonly abused. Previous studies have shown that METH can induce damages to the nervous system and recent studies suggest that METH can also cause adverse and potentially lethal effects on the cardiovascular system. Recently, we demonstrated that DNA damage-inducible transcript 4 (DDIT4) regulates METH-induced neurotoxicity. However, the role of DDIT4 in METH-induced cardiotoxicity remains unknown. We hypothesized that DDIT4 may mediate METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. To test the hypothesis, we examined DDIT4 protein expression in cardiomyocytes and in heart tissues of rats exposed to METH with Western blotting. We also determined the effects on METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis after silencing DDIT4 expression with synthetic siRNA with or without pretreatment of a mTOR inhibitor rapamycin in cardiomyocytes using Western blot analysis, fluorescence microscopy and TUNEL staining. Our results showed that METH exposure increased DDIT4 expression and decreased phosphorylation of mTOR that was accompanied with increased autophagy and apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. These effects were normalized after silencing DDIT4. On the other hand, rapamycin promoted METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis in DDIT4 knockdown cardiomyocytes. These results suggest that DDIT4 mediates METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis through mTOR signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes. - Highlights: • METH exposure increases DDIT4 expression in cardiomyocytes. • DDIT4 mediates METH-induced autophagy and apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. • DDIT4 silencing protects cardiomyocytes against METH-caused autophagy and apoptosis.

Thymus function in drug-induced lupus.

Science.gov (United States)

Rubin, R L; Salomon, D R; Guerrero, R S

2001-01-01

Autoimmunity develops when a lupus-inducing drug is introduced into the thymus of normal mice, but the relevance of this model to the human disorder is unclear in part because it is widely assumed that the thymus is non-functional in the adult. We compared thymus function in 10 patients with symptomatic procainamide-induced lupus to that in 13 asymptomatic patients who only developed drug-induced autoantibodies. T cell output from the thymus was quantified using a competitive polymerase chain reaction that detects T cell receptor DNA excision circles in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Despite the advanced age of the patient population under study, newly generated T cells were detected in all subjects. Although there was no overall quantitative difference between the symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, we found a positive correlation between the level of T cell receptor excision circles in peripheral lymphocytes and serum IgG anti-chromatin antibody activity in patients with drug-induced lupus. The association between autoantibodies and nascent peripheral T cells supports the requirement for T cells in autoantibody production. Our observations are consistent with findings in mice in which autoreactive T cells derived from drug-induced abnormalities in T cell development in the thymus.

Genetic alterations during radiation-induced carcinogenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kodama, Seiji

1995-01-01

This paper reviews radiation-induced genetic alterations and its carcinogenesis, focusing on the previous in vitro assay outcome. A colony formation assay using Syrian hamster fetal cells and focus formation assay using mouse C3H10T1/2 cells are currently available to find malignant transformation of cells. Such in vitro assays has proposed the hypothesis that radiation-induced carcinogenesis arises from at least two-stage processes; i.e., that an early step induced by irradiation plays an important role in promoting the potential to cause the subsequent mutation. A type of genetic instability induced by radiation results in a persistently elevated frequency of spontaneous mutations, so-called the phenomenon of delayed reproductive death. One possible mechanism by which genetic instability arises has been shown to be due to the development of abnormality in the gene group involved in the maintenance mechanism of genome stability. Another possibility has also been shown to stem from the loss of telomere (the extremities of a chromosome). The importance of search for radiation-induced genetic instability is emphasized in view of the elucidation of carcinogenesis. (N.K.)

Characterization of ion beam induced nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghatak, J.; Satpati, B.; Umananda, M.; Kabiraj, D.; Som, T.; Dev, B.N.; Akimoto, K.; Ito, K.; Emoto, T.; Satyam, P.V.

2006-01-01

Tailoring of nanostructures with energetic ion beams has become an active area of research leading to the fundamental understanding of ion-solid interactions at nanoscale regime and with possible applications in the near future. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and asymmetric X-ray Bragg-rocking curve experimental methods have been used to characterize ion-induced effects in nanostructures. The possibility of surface and sub-surface/interface alloying at nano-scale regime, ion-beam induced embedding, crater formation, sputtering yield variations for systems with isolated nanoislands, semi-continuous and continuous films of noble metals (Au, Ag) deposited on single crystalline silicon will be reviewed. MeV-ion induced changes in specified Au-nanoislands on silicon substrate are tracked as a function of ion fluence using ex situ TEM. Strain induced in the bulk silicon substrate surface due to 1.5 MeV Au 2+ and C 2+ ion beam irradiation is determined by using HRTEM and asymmetric Bragg X-ray rocking curve methods. Preliminary results on 1.5 MeV Au 2+ ion-induced effects in nanoislands of Co deposited on silicon substrate will be discussed

Requirement of the inducible nitric oxide synthase pathway for IL-1-induced osteoclastic bone resorption.

Science.gov (United States)

van't Hof, R J; Armour, K J; Smith, L M; Armour, K E; Wei, X Q; Liew, F Y; Ralston, S H

2000-07-05

Nitric oxide has been suggested to be involved in the regulation of bone turnover, especially in pathological conditions characterized by release of bone-resorbing cytokines. The cytokine IL-1 is thought to act as a mediator of periarticular bone loss and tissue damage in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. IL-1 is a potent stimulator of both osteoclastic bone resorption and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in bone cells and other cell types. In this study, we investigated the role that the iNOS pathway plays in mediating the bone-resorbing effects of IL-1 by studying mice with targeted disruption of the iNOS gene. Studies in vitro and in vivo showed that iNOS-deficient mice exhibited profound defects of IL-1-induced osteoclastic bone resorption but responded normally to calciotropic hormones such as 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 and parathyroid hormone. Immunohistochemical studies and electrophoretic mobility shift assays performed on bone marrow cocultures from iNOS-deficient mice showed abnormalities in IL-1-induced nuclear translocation of the p65 component of NFkappaB and in NFkappaB-DNA binding, which were reversed by treatment with the NO donor S-nitroso-acetyl penicillamine. These results show that the iNOS pathway is essential for IL-1-induced bone resorption and suggest that the effects of NO may be mediated by modulating IL-1-induced nuclear activation of NFkappaB in osteoclast precursors.

Requirement of the inducible nitric oxide synthase pathway for IL-1-induced osteoclastic bone resorption

Science.gov (United States)

van't Hof, R. J.; Armour, K. J.; Smith, L. M.; Armour, K. E.; Wei, X. Q.; Liew, F. Y.; Ralston, S. H.

2000-01-01

Nitric oxide has been suggested to be involved in the regulation of bone turnover, especially in pathological conditions characterized by release of bone-resorbing cytokines. The cytokine IL-1 is thought to act as a mediator of periarticular bone loss and tissue damage in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. IL-1 is a potent stimulator of both osteoclastic bone resorption and expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in bone cells and other cell types. In this study, we investigated the role that the iNOS pathway plays in mediating the bone-resorbing effects of IL-1 by studying mice with targeted disruption of the iNOS gene. Studies in vitro and in vivo showed that iNOS-deficient mice exhibited profound defects of IL-1-induced osteoclastic bone resorption but responded normally to calciotropic hormones such as 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 and parathyroid hormone. Immunohistochemical studies and electrophoretic mobility shift assays performed on bone marrow cocultures from iNOS-deficient mice showed abnormalities in IL-1-induced nuclear translocation of the p65 component of NFκB and in NFκB-DNA binding, which were reversed by treatment with the NO donor S-nitroso-acetyl penicillamine. These results show that the iNOS pathway is essential for IL-1-induced bone resorption and suggest that the effects of NO may be mediated by modulating IL-1-induced nuclear activation of NFκB in osteoclast precursors. PMID:10869429

Prevention and Treatment of Noise-Induced Tinnitus

Science.gov (United States)

2014-09-01

Tinnitus PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Richard A. Altschuler CONTRACTING ORGANIZATION: University of Michigan REPORT DATE: 2014...3 Ju 2014 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Prevention and Treatment of Noise-Induced Tinnitus 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM...prevent or treat noise induced tinnitus . Our studies showed a military relevant small arms fire-like noise will induce tinnitus in approximately 33

Snake antivenom for snake venom induced consumption coagulopathy

OpenAIRE

Maduwage, Kalana; Buckley, Nick A.; Janaka de Silva, H.; Lalloo, David; Isbister, Geoffrey K.

2015-01-01

Background\\ud \\ud Snake venom induced consumption coagulopathy is a major systemic effect of envenoming. Observational studies suggest that antivenom improves outcomes for venom induced consumption coagulopathy in some snakebites and not others. However, the effectiveness of snake antivenom in all cases of venom induced consumption coagulopathy is controversial.\\ud \\ud Objectives\\ud \\ud To assess the effect of snake antivenom as a treatment for venom induced consumption coagulopathy in people...

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuate Cigarette Smoke-Induced Cardiac Remodeling and Dysfunction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yingmin Liang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The strong relationship between cigarette smoking and cardiovascular disease (CVD has been well-documented, but the mechanisms by which smoking increases CVD risk appear to be multifactorial and incompletely understood. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs are regarded as an important candidate for cell-based therapy in CVD. We hypothesized that MSCs derived from induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC-MSCs or bone marrow (BM-MSCs might alleviate cigarette smoke (CS-induced cardiac injury. This study aimed to investigate the effects of BM-MSCs or iPSC-MSCs on CS-induced changes in serum and cardiac lipid profiles, oxidative stress and inflammation as well as cardiac function in a rat model of passive smoking. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly selected for exposure to either sham air (SA as control or 4% CS for 1 h per day for 56 days. On day 29 and 43, human adult BM-MSCs, iPSC-MSCs or PBS were administered intravenously to CS-exposed rats. Results from echocardiography, serum and cardiac lipid profiles, cardiac antioxidant capacity, cardiac pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and cardiac morphological changes were evaluated at the end of treatment. iPSC-MSC-treated group showed a greater effect in the improvement of CS-induced cardiac dysfunction over BM-MSCs-treated group as shown by increased percentage left ventricular ejection fraction and percentage fractional shortening, in line with the greater reversal of cardiac lipid abnormality. In addition, iPSC-MSCs administration attenuated CS-induced elevation of cardiac pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as restoration of anti-inflammatory cytokines and anti-oxidative markers, leading to ameliorate cardiac morphological abnormalities. These data suggest that iPSC-MSCs on one hand may restore CS-induced cardiac lipid abnormality and on the other hand may attenuate cardiac oxidative stress and inflammation via inhibition of CS-induced NF-κB activation, leading to improvement of cardiac remodeling and

Induced disease resistance signaling in plants

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhagen, B.W.M.; Loon, L.C. van; Pieterse, C.M.J.

2006-01-01

To protect themselves from disease, plants have evolved sophisticated inducible defense mechanisms in which the signal molecules salicylic acid, jasmonic acid and ethylene often play crucial roles. Elucidation of signaling pathways controlling induced disease resistance is a major objective in

Radiation-induced gene expression in human subcutaneous fibroblasts is predictive of radiation-induced fibrosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rødningen, Olaug Kristin; Børresen-Dale, Anne-Lise; Alsner, Jan

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Breast cancer patients show a large variation in normal tissue reactions after ionizing radiation (IR) therapy. One of the most common long-term adverse effects of ionizing radiotherapy is radiation-induced fibrosis (RIF), and several attempts have been made over the last...... years to develop predictive assays for RIF. Our aim was to identify basal and radiation-induced transcriptional profiles in fibroblasts from breast cancer patients that might be related to the individual risk of RIF in these patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fibroblast cell lines from 31 individuals......-treated fibroblasts. Transcriptional differences in basal and radiation-induced gene expression profiles were investigated using 15K cDNA microarrays, and results analyzed by both SAM and PAM. RESULTS: Sixty differentially expressed genes were identified by applying SAM on 10 patients with the highest risk of RIF...

Drug-induced hair loss.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-05-01

Hair loss can have major psychological consequences. It can be due to a wide variety of causes, including hormonal disorders, dietary factors, infections, inflammation, trauma, emotional factors, and cancer. Drugs can also induce hair loss, by interacting with the hair growth cycle. Drug-induced hair loss may be immediate or delayed, sudden or gradual, and diffuse or localised. It is usually reversible after drug discontinuation. The drugs most often implicated in hair loss are anticancer agents, interferon, azole antifungals, lithium, immunosuppressants, and many other drugs belonging to a variety of pharmacological classes.

Cyclophosphamide-induced pulmonary toxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siemann, D.W.; Macler, L.; Penney, D.P.

1986-01-01

Unlike radiation effects, pulmonary toxicity following drug treatments may develop soon after exposure. The dose-response relationship between Cyclophosphamide and lung toxicity was investigated using increased breathing frequency assays used successfully for radiation induced injury. The data indicate that release of protein into the alveolus may play a significant role in Cy induced pulmonary toxicity. Although the mechanism responsible for the increased alveolar protein is as yet not identified, the present findings suggest that therapeutic intervention to inhibit protein release may be an approach to protect the lungs from toxic effects. (UK)

Role of neurotensin in radiation-induced hypothermia in rats

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kandasamy, S.B.; Hunt, W.A.; Harris, A.H.

1991-01-01

The role of neurotensin in radiation-induced hypothermia was examined. Intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of neurotensin produced dose-dependent hypothermia. Histamine appears to mediate neurotensin-induced hypothermia because the mast cell stabilizer disodium cromoglycate and antihistamines blocked the hypothermic effects of neurotensin. An ICV pretreatment with neurotensin antibody attenuated neurotensin-induced hypothermia, but did not attenuate radiation-induced hypothermia, suggesting that radiation-induced hypothermia was not mediated by neurotensin

Flow-induced vibration -- 1994. PVP-Volume 273

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Au-Yang, M.K.; Fujita, K.

1994-01-01

Flow-induced vibration is a subject of practical interest to many engineering disciplines, including the power generation, process, and petrochemical industries. In the nuclear industry, flow-induced vibration reaches a higher level of concern because of safety issues and the huge cost associated with down time and site repair. Not surprisingly, during the last 25 years a tremendous amount of effort has been spent in the study of flow-induced vibration phenomena related to nuclear plant components, notably nuclear steam generator tube banks and nuclear fuel bundles. Yet, in spite of this concentrated effort, the industry is still not free from flow-induced vibration-related problems. This explains why in this volume almost half of the papers address the issue of cross-flow induced vibration in tube bundles, with applications to the nuclear steam generator and nuclear fuel bundles in mind. Unlike 10 or 15 years ago, when flow-induced vibration studies almost always involved experimentation and empirical studies, the advent of high-speed computers has enabled numerical calculation and simulation of this complex phenomenon to take place. Separate abstracts were prepared for 27 papers in this volume

Curvature-Induced Instabilities of Shells

Science.gov (United States)

Pezzulla, Matteo; Stoop, Norbert; Steranka, Mark P.; Bade, Abdikhalaq J.; Holmes, Douglas P.

2018-01-01

Induced by proteins within the cell membrane or by differential growth, heating, or swelling, spontaneous curvatures can drastically affect the morphology of thin bodies and induce mechanical instabilities. Yet, the interaction of spontaneous curvature and geometric frustration in curved shells remains poorly understood. Via a combination of precision experiments on elastomeric spherical shells, simulations, and theory, we show how a spontaneous curvature induces a rotational symmetry-breaking buckling as well as a snapping instability reminiscent of the Venus fly trap closure mechanism. The instabilities, and their dependence on geometry, are rationalized by reducing the spontaneous curvature to an effective mechanical load. This formulation reveals a combined pressurelike term in the bulk and a torquelike term in the boundary, allowing scaling predictions for the instabilities that are in excellent agreement with experiments and simulations. Moreover, the effective pressure analogy suggests a curvature-induced subcritical buckling in closed shells. We determine the critical buckling curvature via a linear stability analysis that accounts for the combination of residual membrane and bending stresses. The prominent role of geometry in our findings suggests the applicability of the results over a wide range of scales.

Cellular Responses to Cisplatin-Induced DNA Damage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alakananda Basu

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Cisplatin is one of the most effective anticancer agents widely used in the treatment of solid tumors. It is generally considered as a cytotoxic drug which kills cancer cells by damaging DNA and inhibiting DNA synthesis. How cells respond to cisplatin-induced DNA damage plays a critical role in deciding cisplatin sensitivity. Cisplatin-induced DNA damage activates various signaling pathways to prevent or promote cell death. This paper summarizes our current understandings regarding the mechanisms by which cisplatin induces cell death and the bases of cisplatin resistance. We have discussed various steps, including the entry of cisplatin inside cells, DNA repair, drug detoxification, DNA damage response, and regulation of cisplatin-induced apoptosis by protein kinases. An understanding of how various signaling pathways regulate cisplatin-induced cell death should aid in the development of more effective therapeutic strategies for the treatment of cancer.

Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling of Fluid-Induced Seismicity

Science.gov (United States)

Broccardo, M.; Mignan, A.; Wiemer, S.; Stojadinovic, B.; Giardini, D.

2017-11-01

In this study, we present a Bayesian hierarchical framework to model fluid-induced seismicity. The framework is based on a nonhomogeneous Poisson process with a fluid-induced seismicity rate proportional to the rate of injected fluid. The fluid-induced seismicity rate model depends upon a set of physically meaningful parameters and has been validated for six fluid-induced case studies. In line with the vision of hierarchical Bayesian modeling, the rate parameters are considered as random variables. We develop both the Bayesian inference and updating rules, which are used to develop a probabilistic forecasting model. We tested the Basel 2006 fluid-induced seismic case study to prove that the hierarchical Bayesian model offers a suitable framework to coherently encode both epistemic uncertainty and aleatory variability. Moreover, it provides a robust and consistent short-term seismic forecasting model suitable for online risk quantification and mitigation.

Ubiquitin-dependent system controls radiation induced apoptosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delic, J.; Magdelenat, H.; Glaisner, S.; Magdelenat, H.; Maciorowski, Z.

1997-01-01

The selective proteolytic pathway, dependent upon 'N-end rule' protein recognition/ubiquitination and on the subsequent proteasome dependent processing of ubiquitin conjugates, operates in apoptosis induced by γ-irradiation. The proteasome inhibitor peptide aldehyde, MG132, efficiently induced apoptosis and was also able (at doses lower than those required for apoptosis induction) to potentiate apoptosis induced by DNA damage. Its specificity is suggested by the induction of the ubiquitin (UbB and UbC) and E1 (ubiquitin activating enzyme) genes and by an altered ubiquitination pattern. More selectively, a di-peptide competitor of the 'N-end rule' of ubiquitin dependent protein processing inhibited radiation induced apoptosis. This inhibition is also followed by an altered ubiquitination pattern and by activation of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP). These data strongly suggest that early apoptosis radiation induced events are controlled by ubiquitin-dependent proteolytic processing. (author)

Mild induced hypothermia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Maria E; Jensen, Jens-Ulrik; Bestle, Morten H

2014-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Coagulopathy associates with poor outcome in sepsis. Mild induced hypothermia has been proposed as treatment in sepsis but it is not known whether this intervention worsens functional coagulopathy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Interim analysis data from an ongoing randomized controlled...... trial; The Cooling And Surviving Septic shock (CASS) study. Patients suffering severe sepsis/septic shock are allocated to either mild induced hypothermia (cooling to 32-34°C for 24hours) or control (uncontrolled temperature). TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01455116. Thrombelastography (TEG) is performed three....... At enrollment, 3%, 38%, and 59% had a hypocoagulable, normocoagulable, and hypercoagulable TEG clot strength (MA), respectively. In the hypothermia group, functional coagulopathy improved during the hypothermia phase, measured by R and MA, in patients with hypercoagulation as well as in patients...

Inducible limb-shaking transitory ischemic attacks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rosenbaum, Sverre; Ovesen, Christian; Futrell, Nancy

2016-01-01

with exercise-induced weakness associated with tremor in his right arm. His left internal carotid artery was occluded at the bifurcation. Administration of statin and antiplatelet did not relieve his symptoms, and his stereotypic, exercise-induced "limb-shaking" episodes persisted. He underwent successful...

Curcumin-induced histone acetylation inhibition improves stress-induced gastric ulcer disease in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Ping; Zhou, Renmin; Hu, Guorui; Liu, Zhifeng; Jin, Yu; Yang, Guang; Li, Mei; Lin, Qian

2015-03-01

Curcumin is known to possess anti‑inflammatory properties. Despite the fact that curcumin is known to be a strong inhibitor of H+, K+‑ATPase activity, the mechanism underlying the curcumin‑induced inhibition of the transcription of the H+, K+‑ATPase α subunit in gastric mucosal parietal cells remains unclear. The present study investigated the possible mechanism by which curcumin inhibits stomach H+, K+‑ATPase activity during the acute phase of gastric ulcer disease. A rat model of stress‑induced gastric ulcers was produced, in which the anti‑ulcer effects of curcumin were examined. Curcumin‑induced inhibition of the H+, K+‑ATPase promoter via histone acetylation, was verified using a chromatin immunoprecipitation assay. The results showed that curcumin improved stress‑induced gastric ulcer disease in rats, as demonstrated by increased pH values and reduced gastric mucosal hemorrhage and ulcer index. These effects were accompanied by a significant reduction in the level of histone H3 acetylation at the site of the H+, K+‑ATPase promoter and in the expression of the gastric H+,K+‑ATPase α subunit gene and protein. In conclusion, curcumin downregulated the acetylation of histone H3 at the site of the H+, K+‑ATPase promoter gene, thereby inhibiting the transcription and expression of the H+, K+‑ATPase gene. Curcumin was shown to have a preventive and therapeutic effect in gastric ulcer disease.

Electromagnetically induced absorption via incoherent collisions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xihua; Sheng Jiteng; Xiao Min

2011-01-01

We conduct theoretical studies on electromagnetically induced absorption via incoherent collisions in an inhomogeneously broadened ladder-type three-level system with the density-matrix approach. The effects of the collision-induced coherence decay rates as well as the probe laser field intensity on the probe field absorption are examined. It is shown that with the increase of the collisional decay rates in a moderate range, a narrow dip due to electromagnetically induced transparency superimposed on the Doppler-broadened absorption background can be turned into a narrow peak under the conditions that the probe field intensity is not very weak as compared to the pump field, which results from the enhancement of constructive interference and suppression of destructive interference between one-photon and multiphoton transition pathways. The physical origin of the collision-assisted electromagnetically induced absorption is analyzed with a power-series solution of the density-matrix equations.

Mechanisms of chemotherapy-induced behavioral toxicities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elisabeth G Vichaya

2015-04-01

Full Text Available While chemotherapeutic agents have yielded relative success in the treatment of cancer, patients are often plagued with unwanted and even debilitating side-effects from the treatment which can lead to dose reduction or even cessation of treatment. Common side effects (symptoms of chemotherapy include (i cognitive deficiencies such as problems with attention, memory and executive functioning; (ii fatigue and motivational deficit; and (iii neuropathy. These symptoms often develop during treatment but can remain even after cessation of chemotherapy, severely impacting long-term quality of life. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms responsible for the development of these behavioral toxicities, however, neuroinflammation is widely considered to be one of the major mechanisms responsible for chemotherapy-induced symptoms. Here, we critically assess what is known in regards to the role of neuroinflammation in chemotherapy-induced symptoms. We also argue that, based on the available evidence neuroinflammation is unlikely the only mechanism involved in the pathogenesis of chemotherapy-induced behavioral toxicities. We evaluate two other putative candidate mechanisms. To this end we discuss the mediating role of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs activated in response to chemotherapy-induced cellular damage. We also review the literature with respect to possible alternative mechanisms such as a chemotherapy-induced change in the bioenergetic status of the tissue involving changes in mitochondrial function in relation to chemotherapy-induced behavioral toxicities. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie the emergence of fatigue, neuropathy, and cognitive difficulties is vital to better treatment and long-term survival of cancer patients.

Overexpression of BAG3 Attenuates Hypoxia-Induced Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis by Inducing Autophagy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiankai Zhang

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Background: Hypoxia is a well-known factor in the promotion of apoptosis, which contributes to the development of numerous cardiac diseases, such as heart failure and myocardial infarction. Inhibiting apoptosis is an important therapeutic strategy for the treatment of related heart diseases caused by ischemia/hypoxic injury. Previous studies have demonstrated that BAG3 plays an important role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis and survival. However, the role of BAG3 in hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis remains to be clarified. Here, we demonstrate that BAG3 is induced by hypoxia stimuli in cultured cardiomyocytes. Methods: BAG3 expression level was measured in H9c2 cells treated with hypoxia for 48 h. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were tested using MTT assay and Annexin V FITC-PI staining assay, respectively. The mRNA or protein expression level of BAG3, LC3-I, LC3-II, Atg5, NF-κB p65 and phosphorylated NF-κB p65 were assessed by qRT-PCR and western blot assay, respectively. Resluts: Overexpression of BAG3 inhibited cell apoptosis and promoted proliferation in hypoxia-injured H9c2 cells. Furthermore, autophagy and NF-κB were activated by BAG3 overexpression, and the NF-κB inhibitor PDTC could inhibit the activation of autophagy induced by BAG3 overexpression. In addition, the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA partly impeded the inhibitory effect of BAG3 on hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Conclusion: these results suggested that overexpression of BAG3 promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis by activating autophagy though the NF-κB signaling pathway in hypoxia-injured cardiomyocytes.

Induced abortion: a means of postponing childbirth? Changes in maternal age at induced abortion and child birth in Norway during 1979-2007.

Science.gov (United States)

Vlietman, Marianne; Sarfraz, Aashi Ambareen; Eskild, Anne

2010-12-01

the maternal age at child birth is increasing. If induced abortion is an important means of postponing childbirth in a population, it is to be expected that in young women the rate of conceived pregnancies is stable over time, but the induced abortion rate is increasing. We studied birth rates, induced abortion rates and the sum of these rates by maternal age during four decades. register-based study. all women 15-49 years living in Norway. we present temporal changes in birth rates and induced abortion rates within age groups during the period 1979-2007. We also estimated the sum rate of births and induced abortions. Data were obtained from national statistics. live births and induced abortions per 1000 women per year. the induced abortion rates have been relatively stable within age groups, except for a decrease in women 15-19 years (from 24.2 in 1979 to 17.0 in 2007) and an increase in women 20-24 years (from 23.2 to 29.5). The birth rates however, have decreased dramatically in women 20-24 years old (from 113.6 to 60.5). Hence, the sum rate of births and induced abortions in women 20-24 years old has decreased from 136.8 to 90.0. In women 30 years old or older, the birth rates have increased. the induced abortion rate has been relatively stable in all age groups over time, suggesting a limited influence of induced abortions on the postponement of childbearing.

Antitumor bystander effect induced by radiation-inducible target gene therapy combined with α particle irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Hui; Jin Chufeng; Wu Yican; Ge Shenfang; Wu Lijun; FDS Team

2012-01-01

In this work, we investigated the bystander effect of the tumor and normal cells surrounding the target region caused by radiation-inducible target gene therapy combined with α-particle irradiation. The receptor tumor cell A549 and normal cell MRC-5 were co-cultured with the donor cells irradiated to 0.5 Gy or the non-irradiated donor cells, and their survival and apoptosis fractions were evaluated. The results showed that the combined treatment of Ad-ET and particle irradiation could induce synergistic antitumor effect on A549 tumor cell, and the survival fraction of receptor cells co-cultured with the irradiated cells decreased by 6%, compared with receptor cells co-cultured with non-irradiated cells, and the apoptosis fraction increased in the same circumstance, but no difference was observed with the normal cells. This study demonstrates that Ad-ET combined with α-particle irradiation can significantly cause the bystander effect on neighboring tumor cells by inhibiting cell growth and inducing apoptosis, without obvious toxicity to normal cells. This suggests that combining radiation-inducible TRAIL gene therapy and irradiation may improve tumor treatment efficacy by specifically targeting tumor cells and even involving the neighboring tumor cells. (authors)

Induced Abortion: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Dastgiri, Saeed; Yoosefian, Maryam; Garjani, Mehraveh; Kalankesh, Leila R

2017-03-01

Induced abortion accounts for 1 in 8 of approximately 600000 maternal deaths that occur annually worldwide. Induced abortion rate can be considered as one of the indicators for assessing availability of the appropriate reproductive health plans for women and identifying needs for appropriate related health policies and programs. Researchers searched Pubmed, Google Scholar, CINAHL, Embase, PsycINFO, Cochrane, Iranian Scientific Information Database (SID), Iranian biomedical journals (Iranmedex), and Iranian Research Institute of Information and Documentation (Irandoc) between January 2000 and June 2013, which reported induced abortion. Search terms from two categories including abortion and termination of pregnancy were compiled. The search terms were "induced abortion", "illegal abortion", "illegal abortion", "unsafe abortion", and "criminal abortion". The search was also conducted with "induced termination of pregnancy", "illegal termination of pregnancy", "illegal termination of pregnancy", "unsafe termination of pregnancy" and "criminal termination of pregnancy". Meta-analysis was carried out by using OpenMeta software. Induced abortion rates were calculated based on the random effect model. Overall induced abortion rate was obtained 58.1 per 1000 women (95%CI: 55.16-61.04). In continental level, rate of induced abortion was 14 per 1000 women (95%CI: 11-16). Nation-wide and local rates were obtained 67.27 per 1000 women (95% CI: 60.02-74.23) and 148.92 (95% CI: 140.06-157.79) respectively. Induced abortion is a major public health problem that occurs worldwide whether under the legal restriction or freedom, and it remains as reproductive health concern globally. To eliminate the need for induced abortion is at the core of any effort for preventing this issue. Option with the highest priority is to prevent unwanted pregnancies through promoting reproductive health plans for women of reproductive age. In case the prevention strategies fail, universal provision of

Laser-induced damage in optical materials

CERN Document Server

Ristau, Detlev

2014-01-01

Dedicated to users and developers of high-powered systems, Laser-Induced Damage in Optical Materials focuses on the research field of laser-induced damage and explores the significant and steady growth of applications for high-power lasers in the academic, industrial, and military arenas. Written by renowned experts in the field, this book concentrates on the major topics of laser-induced damage in optical materials and most specifically addresses research in laser damage that occurs in the bulk and on the surface or the coating of optical components. It considers key issues in the field of hi

Molecular analysis of radiation-induced experimental tumors in mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niwa, O.; Muto, M.; Suzuki, F.

1992-01-01

Molecular analysis was made on mouse tumors induced by radiation and chemicals. Expression of oncogenes was studied in 12 types of 178 mouse tumors. Southern blotting was done on tumors in which overexpression of oncogenes was noted. Amplification of the myc oncogene was found in chemically induced sarcomas, but not those induced by radiations. Radiogenic thymomas were studied in detail. These thymomas were induced in two different ways. The first was thymomas induced by direct irradiation of F1 mice between C57BL/6NxC3H/He. Southern analysis of DNA revealed deletion of specific minisatellite bands in these tumors. DNA from directly induced thymomas induced focus formation when transfected into normal Golden hamster cells. The mouse K-ras oncogene was detected in these transformants. The second type of thymomas was induced by X-irradiation of thymectomized B10.thy1.2 mice in which normal thymus from congenic B10,thy1.1. mice was grafted. Thymomas of the donor origin was analysed by transfection and the transformants by DNA from those indirectly induced thymomas did not contain activated ras oncogenes. (author)

Beam induced rf cavity transient voltage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, S.L.; Wang, J.M.

1998-10-01

The authors calculate the transient voltage induced in a radio frequency cavity by the injection of a relativistic bunched beam into a circular accelerator. A simplified model of the beam induced voltage, using a single tone current signal, is generated and compared with the voltage induced by a more realistic model of a point-like bunched beam. The high Q limit of the bunched beam model is shown to be related simply to the simplified model. Both models are shown to induce voltages at the resonant frequency ω r of the cavity and at an integer multiple of the bunch revolution frequency (i.e. the accelerating frequency for powered cavity operation) hω ο . The presence of two nearby frequencies in the cavity leads to a modulation of the carrier wave exp(hω ο t). A special emphasis is placed in this paper on studying the modulation function. These models prove useful for computing the transient voltage induced in superconducting rf cavities, which was the motivation behind this research. The modulation of the transient cavity voltage discussed in this paper is the physical basis of the recently observed and explained new kinds of longitudinal rigid dipole mode which differs from the conventional Robinson mode

Hydrogen-Induced Cracking of the Drip Shield

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

F. Hua

2004-01-01

Hydrogen-induced cracking is characterized by the decreased ductility and fracture toughness of a material due to the absorption of atomic hydrogen in the metal crystal lattice. Corrosion is the source of hydrogen generation. For the current design of the engineered barrier without backfill, hydrogen-induced cracking may be a concern because the titanium drip shield can be galvanically coupled to rock bolts (or wire mesh), which may fall onto the drip shield, thereby creating conditions for hydrogen production by electrochemical reaction. The purpose of this report is to analyze whether the drip shield will fail by hydrogen-induced cracking under repository conditions within 10,000 years after emplacement. Hydrogen-induced cracking is a scenario of premature failure of the drip shield. This report develops a realistic model to assess the form of hydrogen-induced cracking degradation of the drip shield under the hydrogen-induced cracking. The scope of this work covers the evaluation of hydrogen absorbed due to general corrosion and galvanic coupling to less noble metals (e.g., Stainless Steel Type 316 and carbon steels) under the repository conditions during the 10,000-year regulatory period after emplacement and whether the absorbed hydrogen content will exceed the critical hydrogen concentration value, above which the hydrogen-induced cracking is assumed to occur. This report also provides the basis for excluding the features, events, and processes (FEPs) related to hydrogen-induced cracking of the drip shield with particular emphasis on FEP 2.1.03.04.OB, hydride cracking of drip shields (DTN: M00407SEPFEPLA.000 [DIRS 170760]). This report is prepared according to ''Technical Work Plan (TWP) for: Regulatory Integration Modeling and Analysis of the Waste Form and Waste Package'' (BSC 2004 [DIRS 169944])

Interaction of alpha radiation with thermally-induced defects in silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Akbar; Majid, Abdul

2008-01-01

The interaction of radiation-induced defects created by energetic alpha particles and thermally-induced defects in silicon has been studied using a Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS) technique. Two thermally-induced defects at energy positions E c -0.48 eV and E c -0.25 eV and three radiation-induced defects E2, E3 and E5 have been observed. The concentration of both of the thermally-induced defects has been observed to increase on irradiation. It has been noted that production rates of the radiation-induced defects are suppressed in the presence of thermally-induced defects. A significant difference in annealing characteristics of thermally-induced defects in the presence of radiation-induced defects has been observed compared to the characteristics measured in pre-irradiated samples

Smoke-induced seed germination in California chaparral

Science.gov (United States)

Keeley, J.E.; Fotheringham, C.J.

1998-01-01

The California chaparral community has a rich flora of species with different mechanisms for cuing germination to postfire conditions. Heat shock triggers germination of certain species but has no stimulatory effect on a great many other postfire species that are chemically stimulated by combustion products. Previous reports have shown that charred wood will induce germination, and here we report that smoke also induces germination in these same species. Smoke is highly effective, often inducing 100% germination in deeply dormant seed populations with 0% control germination. Smoke induces germination both directly and indirectly by aqueous or gaseous transfer from soil to seeds. Neither nitrate nor ammonium ions were effective in stimulating germination of smoke-stimulated species, nor were most of the quantitatively important gases generated by biomass smoke. Nitrogen dioxide, however, was very effective at inducing germination in Caulanthus heterophyllus (Brassicaceae), Emmenanthe penduliflora (Hydrophyllaceae), Phacelia grandiflora (Hydrophyllaceae), and Silene multinervia (Caryophyllaceae). Three species, Dendromecon rigida (Papaveraceae), Dicentra chrysantha, and Trichostema lanatum (Lamiaceae), failed to germinate unless smoke treatment was coupled with prior treatment of 1 yr soil storage. Smoke-stimulated germination was found in 25 chaparral species, representing 11 families, none of which were families known for heat-shock-stimulated germination. Seeds of smoke-stimulated species have many analogous characteristics that separate them from most heat-shock-stimulated seeds, including: (1) outer seed coats that are highly textured, (2) a poorly developed outer cuticle, (3) absence of a dense palisade tissue in the seed coat, and (4) a subdermal membrane that is semipermeable, allowing water passage but blocking entry of large (molecular mass > 500) solutes. Tentative evidence suggests that permeability characteristics of this subdermal layer are altered by

Sulforaphane induces phase II detoxication enzymes in mouse skin and prevents mutagenesis induced by a mustard gas analog

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abel, E.L. [Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park, Smithville, TX 78957 (United States); Boulware, S. [Division of Pharmacy and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd., Austin, TX 78723 (United States); Fields, T.; McIvor, E.; Powell, K.L. [Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park, Smithville, TX 78957 (United States); DiGiovanni, J.; Vasquez, K.M. [Division of Pharmacy and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Dell Pediatric Research Institute, 1400 Barbara Jordan Blvd., Austin, TX 78723 (United States); MacLeod, M.C., E-mail: mcmacleod@mdanderson.org [Department of Molecular Carcinogenesis, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Science Park, Smithville, TX 78957 (United States)

2013-02-01

Mustard gas, used in chemical warfare since 1917, is a mutagenic and carcinogenic agent that produces severe dermal lesions for which there are no effective therapeutics; it is currently seen as a potential terrorist threat to civilian populations. Sulforaphane, found in cruciferous vegetables, is known to induce enzymes that detoxify compounds such as the sulfur mustards that react through electrophilic intermediates. Here, we observe that a single topical treatment with sulforaphane induces mouse epidermal levels of the regulatory subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase, the rate-limiting enzyme in glutathione biosynthesis, and also increases epidermal levels of reduced glutathione. Furthermore, a glutathione S-transferase, GSTA4, is also induced in mouse skin by sulforaphane. In an in vivo model in which mice are given a single mutagenic application of the sulfur mustard analog 2-(chloroethyl) ethyl sulfide (CEES), we now show that therapeutic treatment with sulforaphane abolishes the CEES-induced increase in mutation frequency in the skin, measured four days after exposure. Sulforaphane, a natural product currently in clinical trials, shows promise as an effective therapeutic against mustard gas. -- Highlights: ► Sulforaphane induces increased levels of glutathione in mouse skin. ► Sulforaphane induces increased levels of GSTA4 in mouse skin. ► Sulforaphane, applied after CEES-treatment, completely abolishes CEES-mutagenesis. ► The therapeutic effect may suggest a long biological half-life for CEES in vivo.

Photon induced reactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mecking, B.A.

1982-04-01

Various aspects of medium energy nuclear reactions induced by real photons are reviewed. Special emphasis is put on high accuracy experiments that will become possible with the next generation of electron accelerators. (orig.)

Guanidinium-induced denaturation by breaking of salt bridges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meuzelaar, H.; Panman, M.R.; Woutersen, S.

2015-01-01

Despite its wide use as a denaturant, the mechanism by which guanidinium (Gdm+) induces protein unfolding remains largely unclear. Herein, we show evidence that Gdm+ can induce denaturation by disrupting salt bridges that stabilize the folded conformation. We study the Gdm+-​induced denaturation of

Xylitol prevents NEFA-induced insulin resistance in rats

Science.gov (United States)

Kishore, P.; Kehlenbrink, S.; Hu, M.; Zhang, K.; Gutierrez-Juarez, R.; Koppaka, S.; El-Maghrabi, M. R.

2013-01-01

Aims/hypothesis Increased NEFA levels, characteristic of type 2 diabetes mellitus, contribute to skeletal muscle insulin resistance. While NEFA-induced insulin resistance was formerly attributed to decreased glycolysis, it is likely that glucose transport is the rate-limiting defect. Recently, the plant-derived sugar alcohol xylitol has been shown to have favourable metabolic effects in various animal models. Furthermore, its derivative xylulose 5-phosphate may prevent NEFA-induced suppression of glycolysis. We therefore examined whether and how xylitol might prevent NEFA-induced insulin resistance. Methods We examined the ability of xylitol to prevent NEFA-induced insulin resistance. Sustained ~1.5-fold elevations in NEFA levels were induced with Intralipid/heparin infusions during 5 h euglycaemic–hyperinsulinaemic clamp studies in 24 conscious non-diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats, with or without infusion of xylitol. Results Intralipid infusion reduced peripheral glucose uptake by ~25%, predominantly through suppression of glycogen synthesis. Co-infusion of xylitol prevented the NEFA-induced decreases in both glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis. Although glycolysis was increased by xylitol infusion alone, there was minimal NEFA-induced suppression of glycolysis, which was not affected by co-infusion of xylitol. Conclusions/interpretation We conclude that xylitol prevented NEFA-induced insulin resistance, with favourable effects on glycogen synthesis accompanying the improved insulin-mediated glucose uptake. This suggests that this pentose sweetener has beneficial insulin-sensitising effects. PMID:22460760

Globular Adiponectin Attenuated H2O2-Induced Apoptosis in Rat Chondrocytes by Inducing Autophagy Through the AMPK/ mTOR Pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Junzheng; Cui, Weiding; Ding, Wenxiao; Gu, Yanqing; Wang, Zhen; Fan, Weimin

2017-01-01

Chondrocyte apoptosis is closely related to the development and progression of osteoarthritis. Global adiponectin (gAPN), secreted from adipose tissue, possesses potent anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic properties in various cell types. This study aimed to investigate the role of autophagy induced by gAPN in the suppression of H2O2-induced apoptosis and the potential mechanism of gAPN-induced autophagy in chondrocytes. H2O2 was used to induce apoptotic injury in rat chondrocytes. CCK-8 assay was performed to determine the viability of cells treated with different concentrations of gAPN with or without H2O2. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and TUNEL staining. Mitochondrial membrane potential was examined using JC-1 fluorescence staining assay. The autophagy inhibitors 3-MA and Bafilomycin A1 were used to treat cells and then evaluate the effect of gAPN-induced autophagy. To determine the downstream pathway, chondrocytes were preincubated with the AMPK inhibitor Compound C. Beclin-1, LC3B, P62 and apoptosis-related proteins were identified by Western blot analysis. H2O2 (400 µM)-induced chondrocytes apoptosis and caspase-3 activation were attenuated by gAPN (0.5 µg/mL). gAPN increased Bcl-2 expression and decreased Bax expression. The loss of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by H2O2 was also abolished by gAPN. Furthermore, the antiapoptotic effect of gAPN was related to gAPN-induced autophagy by increased formation of Beclin-1 and LC3B and P62 degradation. In particular, the inhibition of gAPN-induced autophagy by 3-MA prevented the protective effect of gAPN on apoptosis induced by H2O2. Moreover, gAPN increased p-AMPK expression and decreased p-mTOR expression. Compound C partly suppressed the expression of autophagy-related proteins and restored the expression of p-mTOR suppressed by gAPN. Thus, the AMPK/mTOR pathway played an important role in the induction of autophagy and protection of H2O2-induced chondrocytes apoptosis by gAPN. g

Globular Adiponectin Attenuated H2O2-Induced Apoptosis in Rat Chondrocytes by Inducing Autophagy Through the AMPK/ mTOR Pathway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junzheng Hu

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background/Aims: Chondrocyte apoptosis is closely related to the development and progression of osteoarthritis. Global adiponectin (gAPN, secreted from adipose tissue, possesses potent anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic properties in various cell types. This study aimed to investigate the role of autophagy induced by gAPN in the suppression of H2O2-induced apoptosis and the potential mechanism of gAPN-induced autophagy in chondrocytes. Methods: H2O2 was used to induce apoptotic injury in rat chondrocytes. CCK-8 assay was performed to determine the viability of cells treated with different concentrations of gAPN with or without H2O2. Cell apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry and TUNEL staining. Mitochondrial membrane potential was examined using JC-1 fluorescence staining assay. The autophagy inhibitors 3-MA and Bafilomycin A1 were used to treat cells and then evaluate the effect of gAPN-induced autophagy. To determine the downstream pathway, chondrocytes were preincubated with the AMPK inhibitor Compound C. Beclin-1, LC3B, P62 and apoptosis-related proteins were identified by Western blot analysis. Results: H2O2 (400 µM-induced chondrocytes apoptosis and caspase-3 activation were attenuated by gAPN (0.5 µg/mL. gAPN increased Bcl-2 expression and decreased Bax expression. The loss of mitochondrial membrane potential induced by H2O2 was also abolished by gAPN. Furthermore, the antiapoptotic effect of gAPN was related to gAPN-induced autophagy by increased formation of Beclin-1 and LC3B and P62 degradation. In particular, the inhibition of gAPN-induced autophagy by 3-MA prevented the protective effect of gAPN on apoptosis induced by H2O2. Moreover, gAPN increased p-AMPK expression and decreased p-mTOR expression. Compound C partly suppressed the expression of autophagy-related proteins and restored the expression of p-mTOR suppressed by gAPN. Thus, the AMPK/mTOR pathway played an important role in the induction of autophagy and protection of

Thiamine deficiency induces endoplasmic reticulum stress and oxidative stress in human neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xin; Xu, Mei; Frank, Jacqueline A; Ke, Zun-Ji; Luo, Jia

2017-04-01

Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency (TD) plays a major role in the etiology of Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) which is a severe neurological disorder. TD induces selective neuronal cell death, neuroinflammation, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and oxidative stress in the brain which are commonly observed in many aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). However, the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms remain unclear. The progress in this line of research is hindered due to the lack of appropriate in vitro models. The neurons derived for the human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) provide a relevant and powerful tool for the research in pharmaceutical and environmental neurotoxicity. In this study, we for the first time used human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)-derived neurons (iCell neurons) to investigate the mechanisms of TD-induced neurodegeneration. We showed that TD caused a concentration- and duration-dependent death of iCell neurons. TD induced ER stress which was evident by the increase in ER stress markers, such as GRP78, XBP-1, CHOP, ATF-6, phosphorylated eIF2α, and cleaved caspase-12. TD also triggered oxidative stress which was shown by the increase in the expression 2,4-dinitrophenyl (DNP) and 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE). ER stress inhibitors (STF-083010 and salubrinal) and antioxidant N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) were effective in alleviating TD-induced death of iCell neurons, supporting the involvement of ER stress and oxidative stress. It establishes that the iCell neurons are a novel tool to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms for TD-induced neurodegeneration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fish oil prevents sucrose-induced fatty liver but exacerbates high-safflower oil-induced fatty liver in ddy mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamazaki, Tomomi; Nakamori, Akiko; Sasaki, Eriko; Wada, Satoshi; Ezaki, Osamu

2007-12-01

Diets high in sucrose/fructose or fat can result in hepatic steatosis (fatty liver). We analyzed the effects of dietary fish oil on fatty liver induced by sucrose, safflower oil, and butter in ddY mice. In experiment I, mice were fed a high-starch diet [70 energy% (en%) starch] plus 20% (wt/wt) sucrose in the drinking water or fed a high-safflower oil diet (60 en%) for 11 weeks. As a control, mice were fed a high-starch diet with drinking water. Fish oil (10 en%) was either supplemented or not. Mice supplemented with sucrose or fed safflower oil showed a 1.7-fold or 2.2-fold increased liver triglyceride content, respectively, compared with that of control mice. Fish oil completely prevented sucrose-induced fatty liver, whereas it exacerbated safflower oil-induced fatty liver. Sucrose increased SREBP-1c and target gene messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and fish oil completely inhibited these increases. In experiment II, mice were fed a high-safflower oil or a high-butter diet, with or without fish oil supplementation. Fish oil exacerbated safflower oil-induced fatty liver but did not affect butter-induced fatty liver. Fish oil increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) and target CD36 mRNA in safflower oil-fed mice. These increases were not observed in sucrose-supplemented or butter-fed mice. The effects of dietary fish oil on fatty liver differ according to the cause of fatty liver; fish oil prevents sucrose-induced fatty liver but exacerbates safflower oil-induced fatty liver. The exacerbation of fatty liver may be due, at least in part, to increased expression of liver PPARgamma.

Spaceflight-Induced Intracranial Hypertension.

Science.gov (United States)

Michael, Alex P; Marshall-Bowman, Karina

2015-06-01

Although once a widely speculated about and largely theoretical topic, spaceflight-induced intracranial hypertension has gained acceptance as a distinct clinical phenomenon, yet the underlying physiological mechanisms are still poorly understood. In the past, many terms were used to describe the symptoms of malaise, nausea, vomiting, and vertigo, though longer duration spaceflights have increased the prevalence of overlapping symptoms of headache and visual disturbance. Spaceflight-induced visual pathology is thought to be a manifestation of increased intracranial pressure (ICP) because of its similar presentation to cases of known intracranial hypertension on Earth as well as the documentation of increased ICP by lumbar puncture in symptomatic astronauts upon return to gravity. The most likely mechanisms of spaceflight-induced increased ICP include a cephalad shift of body fluids, venous outflow obstruction, blood-brain barrier breakdown, and disruption to CSF flow. The relative contribution of increased ICP to the symptoms experienced during spaceflight is currently unknown, though other factors recently posited to contribute include local effects on ocular structures, individual differences in metabolism, and the vasodilator effects of carbon dioxide. This review article attempts to consolidate the literature regarding spaceflight-induced intracranial hypertension and distinguish it from other pathologies with similar symptomatology. It discusses the proposed physiological causes and the pathological manifestations of increased ICP in the spaceflight environment and provides considerations for future long-term space travel. In the future, it will be critical to develop countermeasures so that astronauts can participate at their peak potential and return safely to Earth.

Mutations induced in plant breeding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barriga B, P.

1984-01-01

The most significant aspects of the use of ionizing radiations in plant breeding are reviewed. Aspects such as basic principles of mutation, expression and selection in obtention of mutants, methods for using induced mutations and sucess achieved with this methodology in plant breeding are reviewed. Results obtained in a program of induced mutation on wheat for high content of protein and lysine at the Universidad Austral de Chile are presented. (Author)

Mutations induced in plant breeding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barriga B, P. (Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia. Inst. de Produccion y Sanidad Vegetal)

1984-10-01

The most significant aspects of the use of ionizing radiations in plant breeding are reviewed. Aspects such as basic principles of mutation, expression and selection in obtention of mutants, methods for using induced mutations and sucess achieved with this methodology in plant breeding are reviewed. Results obtained in a program of induced mutation on wheat for high content of protein and lysine at the Universidad Austral de Chile are presented.

Non-equilibrium fluctuation-induced interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dean, David S

2012-01-01

We discuss non-equilibrium aspects of fluctuation-induced interactions. While the equilibrium behavior of such interactions has been extensively studied and is relatively well understood, the study of these interactions out of equilibrium is relatively new. We discuss recent results on the non-equilibrium behavior of systems whose dynamics is of the dissipative stochastic type and identify a number of outstanding problems concerning non-equilibrium fluctuation-induced interactions.

Trauma hemorrhagic shock-induced lung injury involves a gut-lymph-induced TLR4 pathway in mice.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego C Reino

Full Text Available Injurious non-microbial factors released from the stressed gut during shocked states contribute to the development of acute lung injury (ALI and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS. Since Toll-like receptors (TLR act as sensors of tissue injury as well as microbial invasion and TLR4 signaling occurs in both sepsis and noninfectious models of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R injury, we hypothesized that factors in the intestinal mesenteric lymph after trauma hemorrhagic shock (T/HS mediate gut-induced lung injury via TLR4 activation.The concept that factors in T/HS lymph exiting the gut recreates ALI is evidenced by our findings that the infusion of porcine lymph, collected from animals subjected to global T/HS injury, into naïve wildtype (WT mice induced lung injury. Using C3H/HeJ mice that harbor a TLR4 mutation, we found that TLR4 activation was necessary for the development of T/HS porcine lymph-induced lung injury as determined by Evan's blue dye (EBD lung permeability and myeloperoxidase (MPO levels as well as the induction of the injurious pulmonary iNOS response. TRIF and Myd88 deficiency fully and partially attenuated T/HS lymph-induced increases in lung permeability respectively. Additional studies in TLR2 deficient mice showed that TLR2 activation was not involved in the pathology of T/HS lymph-induced lung injury. Lastly, the lymph samples were devoid of bacteria, endotoxin and bacterial DNA and passage of lymph through an endotoxin removal column did not abrogate the ability of T/HS lymph to cause lung injury in naïve mice.Our findings suggest that non-microbial factors in the intestinal mesenteric lymph after T/HS are capable of recreating T/HS-induced lung injury via TLR4 activation.

Necrostatin-1 protects against reactive oxygen species (ROS-induced hepatotoxicity in acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenji Takemoto

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Excessive acetaminophen (APAP use is one of the most common causes of acute liver failure. Various types of cell death in the damaged liver are linked to APAP-induced hepatotoxicity, and, of these, necrotic cell death of hepatocytes has been shown to be involved in disease pathogenesis. Until recently, necrosis was commonly considered to be a random and unregulated form of cell death; however, recent studies have identified a previously unknown form of programmed necrosis called receptor-interacting protein kinase (RIPK-dependent necrosis (or necroptosis, which is controlled by the kinases RIPK1 and RIPK3. Although RIPK-dependent necrosis has been implicated in a variety of disease states, including atherosclerosis, myocardial organ damage, stroke, ischemia–reperfusion injury, pancreatitis, and inflammatory bowel disease. However its involvement in APAP-induced hepatocyte necrosis remains elusive. Here, we showed that RIPK1 phosphorylation, which is a hallmark of RIPK-dependent necrosis, was induced by APAP, and the expression pattern of RIPK1 and RIPK3 in the liver overlapped with that of CYP2E1, whose activity around the central vein area has been demonstrated to be critical for the development of APAP-induced hepatic injury. Moreover, a RIPK1 inhibitor ameliorated APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in an animal model, which was underscored by significant suppression of the release of hepatic enzymes and cytokine expression levels. RIPK1 inhibition decreased reactive oxygen species levels produced in APAP-injured hepatocytes, whereas CYP2E1 expression and the depletion rate of total glutathione were unaffected. Of note, RIPK1 inhibition also conferred resistance to oxidative stress in hepatocytes. These data collectively demonstrated a RIPK-dependent necrotic mechanism operates in the APAP-injured liver and inhibition of this pathway may be beneficial for APAP-induced fulminant hepatic failure.

The role of natural and UV-induced skin pigmentation on low-fluence IPL-induced side effects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thaysen-Petersen, Daniel; Lin, Jennifer Y; Nash, Jf

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The risk of adverse skin effects following light-based hair removal is greater in pigmented skin based on the theory of selective photothermolysis. Thus sunlight-induced pigment i.e., facultative pigmentation, increases the risk of adverse skin effects, perhaps dispropo...... pigmentation regardless of the origin, i.e., constitutive versus UV induced....

On the reliability of retrieval-induced forgetting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher eRowland

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Memory is modified through the act of retrieval. Although retrieving a target piece of information may strengthen the retrieved information itself, it may also serve to weaken retention of related information. This phenomenon, termed retrieval-induced forgetting, has garnered substantial interest for its implications as to why forgetting occurs. The present study attempted to replicate the seminal work by Anderson, Bjork, and Bjork (1994 on retrieval-induced forgetting, given the apparent sensitivity of the effect to certain deviations from the original paradigm developed to study the phenomenon. The study extends the conditions under which retrieval-induced forgetting has been examined by utilizing both a traditional college undergraduate sample (Experiment 1, along with a more diverse internet sample (Experiment 2. In addition, Experiment 3 details a replication attempt of retrieval-induced forgetting using Anderson and Spellman’s (1995 independent cue procedure. Retrieval-induced forgetting was observed when using the traditional retrieval practice paradigm with undergraduate (Experiment 1 and internet (Experiment 2 samples, though the effect was not found when using the independent cue procedure (Experiment 3. Thus, the study can provide an indication as to the robustness of retrieval-induced forgetting to deviations from the traditional college undergraduate samples that have been used in the majority of existing research on the effect.

Lithium protects ethanol-induced neuronal apoptosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong Jin; Yang Xianlin; Yao Weiguo; Lee Weihua

2006-01-01

Lithium is widely used for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Recent studies have demonstrated its neuroprotective effect. Ethanol is a potent neurotoxin that is particularly harmful to the developing nervous system. In this study, we evaluated lithium's neuroprotection against ethanol-induced apoptosis. Transient exposure of infant mice to ethanol caused apoptotic cell death in brain, which was prevented significantly by administering a low dose of lithium 15 min later. In cultured cerebellar granule neurons, ethanol-induced apoptosis and activation of caspase-3/9, both of which were prevented by lithium. However, lithium's protection is not mediated by its commonly known inhibition of glycogen synthase3β, because neither ethanol nor lithium has significant effects on the phosphorylation of Akt (ser473) or GSK3β (ser9). In addition, the selective GSK-3β inhibitor SB-415286 was unable to prevent ethanol-induced apoptosis. These data suggest lithium may be used as a potential preventive measure for ethanol-induced neurological deficits

Ionizing radiation induced malignancies in man

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutrillaux, B.

1997-01-01

Using data on gene and chromosome alterations in human cancers, it is proposed that most radiation induced cancers are a consequence of recessive mutations of tumor suppressor genes. This explains the long delay between radiation exposure and the cancer onset. As a consequence, radiation induced cancers belong to groups of tumors where no specific translocations (forming or activating oncogenes) but multiple unbalanced chromosome rearrangements (deletions unmasking recessive mutations) exist. This explains why osteosarcomas, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, chondrosarcomas are frequently induced, but not liposarcoma, Ewing sarcomas and rhabdomyosarcomas, among others. A single exception confirms this rule: papillary thyroid cancer, frequently induced in exposed children, in which structural rearrangements frequently form a RET/PTC3 fusion gene. This fusion gene is the results of the inversion of a short segment of chromosome 10, and it is assumed that such rearrangement (small para-centric inversion) can easily occur after exposure to radiations, at contrast with translocations between to genes belonging to different chromosomes. (author)

The obesity-induced transcriptional regulator TRIP-Br2 mediates visceral fat endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced inflammation.

Science.gov (United States)

Qiang, Guifen; Kong, Hyerim Whang; Fang, Difeng; McCann, Maximilian; Yang, Xiuying; Du, Guanhua; Blüher, Matthias; Zhu, Jinfang; Liew, Chong Wee

2016-04-25

The intimate link between location of fat accumulation and metabolic disease risk and depot-specific differences is well established, but how these differences between depots are regulated at the molecular level remains largely unclear. Here we show that TRIP-Br2 mediates endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-induced inflammatory responses in visceral fat. Using in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo approaches, we demonstrate that obesity-induced circulating factors upregulate TRIP-Br2 specifically in visceral fat via the ER stress pathway. We find that ablation of TRIP-Br2 ameliorates both chemical and physiological ER stress-induced inflammatory and acute phase response in adipocytes, leading to lower circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines. Using promoter assays, as well as molecular and pharmacological experiments, we show that the transcription factor GATA3 is responsible for the ER stress-induced TRIP-Br2 expression in visceral fat. Taken together, our study identifies molecular regulators of inflammatory response in visceral fat that-given that these pathways are conserved in humans-might serve as potential therapeutic targets in obesity.

Angiogenic effect induced by mineral fibres

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carbonari, Damiano; Campopiano, Antonella; Ramires, Deborah; Strafella, Elisabetta; Staffolani, Sara; Tomasetti, Marco; Curini, Roberta; Valentino, Matteo; Santarelli, Lory; Amati, Monica

2011-01-01

Highlights: → In this study we described the angiogenetic effect of some mineral fibres. → Wollastonite fibres induce blood vessel formation. → The size and shape of the fibres were important factors for the cell signalling. → Wollastonite induce ROS-NFκB activation and EGFR signalling. → Involvement of wollastonite exposure in the development of pathological conditions. -- Abstract: Due to the toxic effect of asbestos, other materials with similar chemical-physical characteristics have been introduced to substitute it. We evaluate the angiogenic effect of certain asbestos substitute fibres such as glass fibres (GFs), ceramic fibres (CFs) and wollastonite fibres (WFs) and then compare angiogenic responses to those induced by crocidolite asbestos fibres (AFs). An in vitro model using human endothelial cells in small islands within a culture matrix of fibroblasts (Angio-Kit) was used to evaluate vessel formation. The release of IL-6, sIL-R6, IL-8, VEGF-A and their soluble receptors, sVEGFR-1, sVEGFR-2, was determined in the conditioning medium of Angio-Kit system after fibre treatment. ROS formation and cell viability were evaluated in cultured endothelial cells (HUVEC). To evaluate the involvement of intracellular mechanisms, EGFR signalling, ROS formation and nuclear factor-κB (NFκB) pathway were then inhibited by incubating HUVEC cells with AG1478, NAC and PDTC respectively, and the cytokine and growth factor release was analyzed in the culture medium after 7 days of fibre incubation. Among the mineral fibres tested, WFs markedly induced blood vessel formation which was associated with release of IL-6 and IL-8, VEGF-A and their soluble receptors. ROS production was observed in HUVEC after WFs treatment which was associated with cell cytotoxicity. The EGFR-induced ERK phosphorylation and ROS-mediated NFκB activation were involved in the cytokine and angiogenic factor release. However, only the EGFR activation was able to induce angiogenesis. The WFs

Ethnopharmacological survey of medicinal plants used for the management of pediatric ailments in Kano State, Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

U.S. Abubakar

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background and objectives: The knowledge of traditional uses of plant species used in the management of pediatric diseases in Kano State is still intact with the traditional healers; thus, the present study was aimed to collect, identify and document plant species used traditionally for the management of pediatric diseases in the study area. Methods: The ethnobotanical data was collected through informal interviews with the traditional medicine practitioners, traditional birth attendants, herb sellers and some health workers. Results: A total number of sixty eight plant species belonging to thirty five families were reported to be used in the disease management among children in the study area. Most of the plants species belonged to the Fabaceae, Poaceae, Anarcadiaceae, Asteraceae, Combretaceae and Solanaceae families, while Anogeissus leiocarpus, Boswellia dalzielii and Citrus sinensis were the most frequently mentioned plant species. Leaves and stem bark were the most used plant parts in this study. Conclusions: Further studies should be conducted to evaluate the pharmacological activities of the plant species that have not yet been investigated and also to identify the phytochemical constituents responsible for their activities.

Favorable results from the use of herbal and plant products in inflammatory bowel disease: evidence from experimental animal studies

Science.gov (United States)

Triantafillidis, John K.; Triantafyllidi, Aikaterini; Vagianos, Constantinos; Papalois, Apostolos

2016-01-01

The use of herbal therapy for inflammatory bowel disease is increasing worldwide. The aim of this study was to review the available literature on the efficacy of herbal therapy in experimental colitis. All relevant studies published in Medline and Embase up to June 2015 have been reviewed. The results of bowel histology and serum parameters have been recorded. A satisfactory number of published experimental studies, and a quite large one of both herbal and plant products tested in different studies have been reported. The results showed that in the majority of the studies, herbal therapy reduced the inflammatory activity of experimental colitis and diminished the levels of many inflammatory indices, including serum cytokines and indices of oxidative stress. The most promising plant and herbal products were tormentil extracts, wormwoodherb, Aloe vera, germinated barley foodstuff, curcumin, Boswellia serrata, Panax notoginseng, Ixeris dentata, green tea, Cordia dichotoma, Plantago lanceolata, Iridoidglycosides, and mastic gum. Herbal therapies exert their therapeutic benefit via various mechanisms, including immune regulation, anti-oxidant activity, inhibition of leukotriene B4 and nuclear factor-κB, and antiplatelet activity. Large, double-blind clinical studies assessing these natural substances should be urgently conducted. PMID:27366027

An evaluation of fuelwood properties of some Aravally mountain tree and shrub species of Western India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nirmal Kumar, J.I.; Patel, Kanti; Bhoi, Rohit Kumar [P.G. Department of Environmental Science and Technology, Institute of Science and Technology for Advanced Studies and Research (ISTAR), Vallabh Vidyanagar 388 120, Gujarat (India); Kumar, Rita N. [Department of Biological and Environmental Science, N.V. Patel college of Pure and Applied Sciences, Vallabh Vidyanagar 388 120, Gujarat (India)

2011-01-15

The study analyses the fuelwood characteristics of 26 trees including shrub species from the dry deciduous forest in Aravally region, Rajasthan, Western India was carried out to explore trees with potential for fuelwood production. Fuelwood value index (FVI) based on the properties of calorific value, wood density and ash. Calorific value was ranged between 18.54 {+-} 0.04 and 27.44 {+-} 0.09 KJ g{sup -1} in Jatropha curcus and Wrightia tinctoria respectively. Wood density varied from 0.538 {+-} 0.01 to 0.966 {+-} 0.07 g/cm{sup 3} in J. curcus and Acacia nilotica. Same way ash and moisture content was highest in J. curcus (3.38 {+-} 0.19%) and Sterculia urens (70.28 {+-} 7.52%) and lowest in Miliusa tomentosa (0.85 {+-} 0.06%) and Azadirachta indica (30.7 {+-} 10.02%) respectively. On the basis, of the 26 species analyzed, M. tomentosa has the highest FVI, followed by Lannea coromandelica, Acacia leucophloea, Madhuca indica, A. nilotica, W. tinctoria, Butea monosperma, Zizyphus nummularia, S. urens, Boswellia serrata, A. indica, Grewia tenax, Syzygium cuminii, Tectona grandis and Dalbergia sissoo were shown to have promising fuelwood production. (author)

Airbag induced corneal ectasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Mearza, Ali A; Koufaki, Fedra N; Aslanides, Ioannis M

2008-02-01

To report a case of airbag induced corneal ectasia. Case report. A patient 3 years post-LASIK developed bilateral corneal ectasia worse in the right eye following airbag deployment in a road traffic accident. At last follow up, best corrected vision was 20/40 with -4.00/-4.00 x 25 in the right eye and 20/25 with -1.25/-0.50 x 135 in the left eye. This is a rare presentation of trauma induced ectasia in a patient post-LASIK. It is possible that reduction in biomechanical integrity of the cornea from prior refractive surgery contributed to this presentation.

Electron-irradiation-induced phase transformation in alumina

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, C.L.; Arakawa, K.; Lee, J.-G.; Mori, H.

2010-01-01

In this study, electron-irradiation-induced phase transformations between alumina polymorphs were investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the electron-irradiation-induced α → κ' phase transformation occurred in the alumina under 100 keV electron irradiation. It is likely that the knock-on collision between incident electrons and Al 3+ cations is responsible for the occurrence of electron-irradiation-induced phase transformation from α-alumina to κ'-alumina.

Flow-induced elastic anisotropy of metallic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Y.H.; Concustell, A.; Carpenter, M.A.; Qiao, J.C.; Rayment, A.W.; Greer, A.L.

2016-01-01

As-cast bulk metallic glasses are isotropic, but anisotropy can be induced by thermomechanical treatments. For example, the diffraction halo in the structure function S(Q) observed in transmission becomes elliptical (rather than circular) after creep in uniaxial tension or compression. Published studies associate this with frozen-in anelastic strain and bond-orientational anisotropy. Results so far are inconsistent on whether viscoplastic flow of metallic glasses can induce anisotropy. Preliminary diffraction data suggest that the anisotropy, if any, is very low, while measurements of the elastic properties suggest that there is induced anisotropy, opposite in sign to that due to anelastic strain. We study three bulk metallic glasses, Ce 65 Al 10 Cu 20 Co 5 , La 55 Ni 10 Al 35 , and Pd 40 Ni 30 Cu 10 P 20 . By using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy to determine the full elasticity tensor, the effects of relaxation and rejuvenation can be reliably separated from uniaxial anisotropy (of either sign). The effects of viscoplastic flow in tension are reported for the first time. We find that viscoplastic flow of bulk metallic glasses, particularly in tension, can induce significant anisotropy that is distinct from that associated with frozen-in anelastic strain. The conditions for inducing such anisotropy are explored in terms of the Weissenberg number (ratio of relaxation times for primary relaxation and for shear strain rate). There is a clear need for further work to characterize the structural origins of flow-induced anisotropy and to explore the prospects for improved mechanical and other properties through induced anisotropy.

Aspirin-induced asthma in children.

Science.gov (United States)

Botey, J; Navarro, C; Marín, A; Eseverri, J L

1988-01-01

Since Cooke first described bronchospasm induced by acetyl salicylic acid in asthmatic patients in 1919, numerous studies have been done with the objective of understanding the pathology, treatment and incidence of aspirin-induced asthma. The incidence is difficult to establish but according to two recent studies, the percentage in the infantile asthmatic population was estimated at 13% and 28%. This prevalence is greater than that suspected at first and reveals the necessity of reviewing this problem. In this study we present 4 pediatric patients, 2 atopics and 2 non-atopics affected with aspirin-induced asthma. A detailed clinical history, oral provocation test to acetyl salicylic acid, other non-steroid anti-inflammatory analgesics and additives was performed. The oral provocation test with acetyl salicylic acid was positive in all 4 cases. The oral provocation with non-steroid anti-inflammatory analgesics and other additives was negative in 2 patients. In the remaining 2 patients, one demonstrated sensitivity only to tartrazine and the other to tartrazine, red coccine, mefenamic acid and benorylate. In conclusion, aspirin-induced asthma is not infrequent in infancy. Therefore, it is important to bear it always in mind and to diagnose it through oral provocation besides looking for possible cross reactions.

The sound-induced phosphene illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Bolognini, Nadia; Convento, Silvia; Fusaro, Martina; Vallar, Giuseppe

2013-12-01

Crossmodal illusions clearly show how perception, rather than being a modular and self-contained function, can be dramatically altered by interactions between senses. Here, we provide evidence for a novel crossmodal "physiological" illusion, showing that sounds can boost visual cortical responses in such a way to give rise to a striking illusory visual percept. In healthy participants, a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (sTMS) delivered to the occipital cortex evoked a visual percept, i.e., a phosphene. When sTMS is accompanied by two auditory beeps, the second beep induces in neurologically unimpaired participants the perception of an illusory second phosphene, namely the sound-induced phosphene illusion. This perceptual "fission" of a single phosphene, due to multiple beeps, is not matched by a "fusion" of double phosphenes due to a single beep, and it is characterized by an early auditory modulation of the TMS-induced visual responses (~80 ms). Multiple beeps also induce an illusory feeling of multiple TMS pulses on the participants' scalp, consistent with an audio-tactile fission illusion. In conclusion, an auditory stimulation may bring about a phenomenological change in the conscious visual experience produced by the transcranial stimulation of the occipital cortex, which reveals crossmodal binding mechanisms within early stages of visual processing.

Uterine contraction induced by Ghanaian plants used to induce abortion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Birgitte HV; Soelberg, Jens; Kristiansen, Uffe

2016-01-01

Ethnomedicinal observations from the time of the Atlantic slave trade show women in Ghana historically used plants as emmenagogues (menstruation stimulants) and to induce abortion. This study investigates the effect of four of these plants on uterine contraction. The historically used plants were...

Factors associated with repeat induced abortion in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Maina, Beatrice W; Mutua, Michael M; Sidze, Estelle M

2015-10-12

Over six million induced abortions were reported in Africa in 2008 with over two million induced abortions occurring in Eastern Africa. Although a significant proportion of women in the region procure more than one abortion during their reproductive period, there is a dearth of research on factors associated with repeat abortion. Data for this study come from the Magnitude and Incidence of Unsafe Abortion Study conducted by the African Population and Health Research Center in Kenya in 2012. The study used a nationally-representative sample of 350 facilities (level II to level VI) that offer post-abortion services for complications following induced and spontaneous abortions. A prospective morbidity survey tool was used by health providers in 328 facilities to collect information on socio-demographic charateristics, reproductive health history and contraceptive use at conception for all patients presenting for post-abortion services. Our analysis is based on data recorded on 769 women who were classified as having had an induced abortion. About 16 % of women seeking post abortion services for an induced abortion reported to have had a previous induced abortion. Being separated or divorced or widowed, having no education, having unwanted pregnancy, having 1-2 prior births and using traditional methods of contraception were associated with a higher likelihood of a repeat induced abortion. The findings point to the need to address the reasons why women with first time induced abortion do not have the necessary information to prevent unintended pregnancies and further induced abortions. Possible explanations linked to the quality of post-abortion family planning and coverage of long-acting methods should be explored.

Comparative research on “high currents” induced by single event latch-up and transient-induced latch-up

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Rui; Han Jian-Wei; Zheng Han-Sheng; Yu Yong-Tao; Shangguang Shi-Peng; Feng Guo-Qiang; Ma Ying-Qi

2015-01-01

By using the pulsed laser single event effect facility and electro-static discharge (ESD) test system, the characteristics of the “high current”, relation with external stimulus and relevance to impacted modes of single event latch-up (SEL) and transient-induced latch-up (TLU) are studied, respectively, for a 12-bit complementary metal–oxide semiconductor (CMOS) analog-to-digital converter. Furthermore, the sameness and difference in physical mechanism between “high current” induced by SEL and that by TLU are disclosed in this paper. The results show that the minority carrier diffusion in the PNPN structure of the CMOS device which initiates the active parasitic NPN and PNP transistors is the common reason for the “high current” induced by SEL and for that by TLU. However, for SEL, the minority carrier diffusion is induced by the ionizing radiation, and an underdamped sinusoidal voltage on the supply node (the ground node) is the cause of the minority carrier diffusion for TLU. (paper)

Effect of SOS-induced levels of imuABC on spontaneous and damage-induced mutagenesis in Caulobacter crescentus.

Science.gov (United States)

Alves, Ingrid R; Lima-Noronha, Marco A; Silva, Larissa G; Fernández-Silva, Frank S; Freitas, Aline Luiza D; Marques, Marilis V; Galhardo, Rodrigo S

2017-11-01

imuABC (imuAB dnaE2) genes are responsible for SOS-mutagenesis in Caulobacter crescentus and other bacterial species devoid of umuDC. In this work, we have constructed operator-constitutive mutants of the imuABC operon. We used this genetic tool to investigate the effect of SOS-induced levels of these genes upon both spontaneous and damage-induced mutagenesis. We showed that constitutive expression of imuABC does not increase spontaneous or damage-induced mutagenesis, nor increases cellular resistance to DNA-damaging agents. Nevertheless, the presence of the operator-constitutive mutation rescues mutagenesis in a recA background, indicating that imuABC are the only genes required at SOS-induced levels for translesion synthesis (TLS) in C. crescentus. Furthermore, these data also show that TLS mediated by ImuABC does not require RecA, unlike umuDC-dependent mutagenesis in E. coli. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Doxycycline Impairs Mitochondrial Function and Protects Human Glioma Cells from Hypoxia-Induced Cell Death: Implications of Using Tet-Inducible Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Luger, Anna-Luisa; Sauer, Benedikt; Lorenz, Nadja I; Engel, Anna L; Braun, Yannick; Voss, Martin; Harter, Patrick N; Steinbach, Joachim P; Ronellenfitsch, Michael W

2018-05-17

Inducible gene expression is an important tool in molecular biology research to study protein function. Most frequently, the antibiotic doxycycline is used for regulation of so-called tetracycline (Tet)-inducible systems. In contrast to stable gene overexpression, these systems allow investigation of acute and reversible effects of cellular protein induction. Recent reports have already called for caution when using Tet-inducible systems as the employed antibiotics can disturb mitochondrial function and alter cellular metabolism by interfering with mitochondrial translation. Reprogramming of energy metabolism has lately been recognized as an important emerging hallmark of cancer and is a central focus of cancer research. Therefore, the scope of this study was to systematically analyze dose-dependent metabolic effects of doxycycline on a panel of glioma cell lines with concomitant monitoring of gene expression from Tet-inducible systems. We report that doxycycline doses commonly used with inducible expression systems (0.01⁻1 µg/mL) substantially alter cellular metabolism: Mitochondrial protein synthesis was inhibited accompanied by reduced oxygen and increased glucose consumption. Furthermore, doxycycline protected human glioma cells from hypoxia-induced cell death. An impairment of cell growth was only detectable with higher doxycycline doses (10 µg/mL). Our findings describe settings where doxycycline exerts effects on eukaryotic cellular metabolism, limiting the employment of Tet-inducible systems.

Modulation of 17{beta}-estradiol-induced responses in fish by cytochrome P4501A1 inducing compounds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anderson, M.J.; Hinton, D.E. [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

1995-12-31

Some compounds which induce cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) are antiestrogenic in mammalian bioassay, and this effect is linked to aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor. Liver of fish synthesizes estrogen-inducible egg yolk precursor protein vitellogenin (Vg) which is critical for oocyte maturation and ovarian development. To determine if Ah receptor-linked endocrine modulation could occur in fish liver, primary cultures of juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) liver cells were co-administered 17{beta}-estradiol and CYP1A1 inducing compounds. Vitellogenin and albumin, estimated by ELISA measurement of concentration in the media 48 hrs after treatment, formed the basis for the test. Cellular CYP1A1 protein content and catalytic activity was estimated by ELISA and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity assays respectively. Equivalent viability (mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity) and secretary functional capacity (albumin synthesis) were estimated and correlated with other results. In descending order, 2,3,4,7,8 pentachlorodibenzofuran (10{sup {minus}12} to 10{sup {minus}8} M) > 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin {approx_equal} 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzofuran (10{sup {minus}11} to 10{sup {minus}8} M) > {beta}-naphthoflavone (10{sup {minus}7} to 10{sup {minus}6} M) inhibited Vg synthesis in 17{beta}-estradiol treated liver cells. Potency of inhibition directly related to strength as an inducer of CYP1A1 protein. At 10-8 M, PCB congeners 77, 126, and 156 did not inhibit Vg synthesis and induced no or only moderate CYP1A1 protein. At 10-8 M, PCB congener 114, a weak CYP1A1 inducer, potentiated Vg synthesis relative to cells treated with 17{beta}-estradiol alone. This study increases their understanding of the consequences of hepatic CYP1A1 induction, forewarns of reproductive impairment of sexually maturing fishes exposed to CYP1A1 inducing compounds and argues for further, more detailed in vivo investigation.

Nonacetaminophen Drug-Induced Acute Liver Failure.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Arul M; Lewis, James H

2018-05-01

Acute liver failure of all causes is diagnosed in between 2000 and 2500 patients annually in the United States. Drug-induced acute liver failure is the leading cause of acute liver failure, accounting for more than 50% of cases. Nonacetaminophen drug injury represents 11% of all cases in the latest registry from the US Acute Liver Failure Study Group. Although rare, acute liver failure is clinically dramatic when it occurs, and requires a multidisciplinary approach to management. In contrast with acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure, non-acetaminophen-induced acute liver failure has a more ominous prognosis with a lower liver transplant-free survival. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Radiation-induced centers in inorganic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brekhovskikh, S.M.; Tyul'nin, V.A.

1988-01-01

The nature, structure and formation mechanisms of radiation-induced colour centers, EPR, luminescence, generated ionizing radiation in nonorganic oxide glasses are considered. Experimental material covering both fundamental aspects of radiation physics and glass chemistry, and aspects intimately connected with the creation of new materials with the given radiation-spectral characteristics, with possibilities to prepare radiation-stable and radiation-sensitive glasses is systematized and generalized. Considerable attention is paid to the detection of radiation-induced center binding with composition, glass structures redox conditions for their synthesis. Some new possibilities of practical application of glasses with radiation-induced centers, in particular, to record optical information are reflected in the paper

Arsenic-induced alteration in intracellular calcium homeostasis induces head kidney macrophage apoptosis involving the activation of calpain-2 and ERK in Clarias batrachus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banerjee, Chaitali; Goswami, Ramansu; Datta, Soma; Rajagopal, R.; Mazumder, Shibnath

2011-01-01

We had earlier shown that exposure to arsenic (0.50 μM) caused caspase-3 mediated head kidney macrophage (HKM) apoptosis involving the p38-JNK pathway in Clarias batrachus. Here we examined the roles of calcium (Ca 2+ ) and extra-cellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), the other member of MAPK-pathway on arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis. Arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis involved increased expression of ERK and calpain-2. Nifedipine, verapamil and EGTA pre-treatment inhibited the activation of calpain-2, ERK and reduced arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis as evidenced from reduced caspase-3 activity, Annexin V-FITC-propidium iodide and Hoechst 33342 staining. Pre-incubation with ERK inhibitor U 0126 inhibited the activation of calpain-2 and interfered with arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis. Additionally, pre-incubation with calpain-2 inhibitor also interfered with the activation of ERK and inhibited arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis. The NADPH oxidase inhibitor apocynin and diphenyleneiodonium chloride also inhibited ERK activation indicating activation of ERK in arsenic-exposed HKM also depends on signals from NADPH oxidase pathway. Our study demonstrates the critical role of Ca 2+ homeostasis on arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis. We suggest that arsenic-induced alteration in intracellular Ca 2+ levels initiates pro-apoptotic ERK and calpain-2; the two pathways influence each other positively and induce caspase-3 mediated HKM apoptosis. Besides, our study also indicates the role of ROS in the activation of ERK pathway in arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis in C. batrachus. - Highlights: → Altered Ca 2+ homeostasis leads to arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis. → Calpain-2 plays a critical role in the process. → ERK is pro-apoptotic in arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis. → Arsenic-induced HKM apoptosis involves cross talk between calpain-2 and ERK.

Overexpression of BAG3 Attenuates Hypoxia-Induced Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis by Inducing Autophagy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Jiankai; He, Zhangyou; Xiao, Wenjian; Na, Qingqing; Wu, Tianxiu; Su, Kaixin; Cui, Xiaojun

2016-01-01

Hypoxia is a well-known factor in the promotion of apoptosis, which contributes to the development of numerous cardiac diseases, such as heart failure and myocardial infarction. Inhibiting apoptosis is an important therapeutic strategy for the treatment of related heart diseases caused by ischemia/hypoxic injury. Previous studies have demonstrated that BAG3 plays an important role in cardiomyocyte apoptosis and survival. However, the role of BAG3 in hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis remains to be clarified. Here, we demonstrate that BAG3 is induced by hypoxia stimuli in cultured cardiomyocytes. BAG3 expression level was measured in H9c2 cells treated with hypoxia for 48 h. Cell proliferation and apoptosis were tested using MTT assay and Annexin V FITC-PI staining assay, respectively. The mRNA or protein expression level of BAG3, LC3-I, LC3-II, Atg5, NF-x03BA;B p65 and phosphorylated NF-x03BA;B p65 were assessed by qRT-PCR and western blot assay, respectively. Resluts: Overexpression of BAG3 inhibited cell apoptosis and promoted proliferation in hypoxia-injured H9c2 cells. Furthermore, autophagy and NF-x03BA;B were activated by BAG3 overexpression, and the NF-x03BA;B inhibitor PDTC could inhibit the activation of autophagy induced by BAG3 overexpression. In addition, the autophagy inhibitor 3-MA partly impeded the inhibitory effect of BAG3 on hypoxia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. these results suggested that overexpression of BAG3 promoted cell proliferation and inhibited apoptosis by activating autophagy though the NF-x03BA;B signaling pathway in hypoxia-injured cardiomyocytes. © 2016 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

STING-IRF3 Triggers Endothelial Inflammation in Response to Free Fatty Acid-Induced Mitochondrial Damage in Diet-Induced Obesity

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Yun; Luo, Wei; Zhang, Lin; Wu, Weiwei; Yuan, Liangshuai; Xu, Hao; Song, Juhee; Fujiwara, Keigi; Abe, Jun-ichi; LeMaire, Scott A.; Wang, Xing Li; Shen, Ying. H.

2017-01-01

Objective Metabolic stress in obesity induces endothelial inflammation and activation, which initiates adipose tissue inflammation, insulin resistance, and cardiovascular diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying endothelial inflammation induction are not completely understood. Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is an important molecule in immunity and inflammation. In the present study, we sought to determine the role of STING in palmitic acid (PA)-induced endothelial activation/inflammation. Approach and Results In cultured endothelial cells, PA treatment activated STING, as indicated by its perinuclear translocation and binding to interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), leading to IRF3 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. The activated IRF3 bound to the promoter of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and induced ICAM-1 expression and monocyte–endothelial cell adhesion. When analyzing the upstream signaling, we found that PA activated STING by inducing mitochondrial damage. PA treatment caused mitochondrial damage and leakage of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) into the cytosol. Through the cytosolic DNA sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), the mitochondrial damage and leaked cytosolic mtDNA activated the STING-IRF3 pathway and increased ICAM-1 expression. In mice with diet-induced obesity, the STING-IRF3 pathway was activated in adipose tissue. However, STING deficiency (Stinggt/gt) partially prevented diet-induced adipose tissue inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance, and glucose intolerance. Conclusions The mitochondrial damage-cGAS-STING-IRF3 pathway is critically involved in metabolic stress-induced endothelial inflammation. STING may be a potential therapeutic target for preventing cardiovascular diseases and insulin resistance in obese individuals. PMID:28302626

Annonaceous acetogenin mimic AA005 induces cancer cell death via apoptosis inducing factor through a caspase-3-independent mechanism.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Bing; Wang, Tong-Dan; Shen, Shao-Ming; Yu, Yun; Mao, Chan; Yao, Zhu-Jun; Wang, Li-Shun

2015-03-18

Annonaceous acetogenins are a family of natural products with antitumor activities. Annonaceous acetogenin mimic AA005 reportedly inhibits mammalian mitochondrial NADH-ubiquinone reductase (Complex I) and induces gastric cancer cell death. However, the mechanisms underlying its cell-death-inducing activity are unclear. We used SW620 colorectal adenocarcinoma cells to study AA005 cytotoxic activity. Cell deaths were determined by Trypan blue assay and flow cytometry, and related proteins were characterized by western blot. Immunofluorescence and subcellular fractionation were used to evaluate AIF nuclear translocation. Reactive oxygen species were assessed by using redox-sensitive dye DCFDA. AA005 induces a unique type of cell death in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells, characterized by lack of caspase-3 activation or apoptotic body formation, sensitivity to poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor Olaparib (AZD2281) but not pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD.fmk, and dependence on apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF). AA005 treatment also reduced expression of mitochondrial Complex I components, and leads to accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the early stage. Blocking ROS formation significantly suppresses AA005-induced cell death in SW620 cells. Moreover, blocking activation of RIP-1 by necroptosis inhibitor necrotatin-1 inhibits AIF translocation and partially suppresses AA005-induced cell death in SW620 cells demonstrating that RIP-1 protein may be essential for cell death. AA005 may trigger the cell death via mediated by AIF through caspase-3 independent pathway. Our work provided new mechanisms for AA005-induced cancer cell death and novel clues for cancer treatment via AIF dependent cell death.

Flavonoids-induced accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha/2alpha is mediated through chelation of iron.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sung-Soo; Bae, Insoo; Lee, Yong J

2008-04-15

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1alpha) is the regulatory subunit of the heterodimeric transcription factor HIF-1 that is the key regulator of cellular response to low oxygen tension. Under normoxic conditions, HIF-1alpha is continuously degraded by the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway through pVHL (von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein). Under hypoxic conditions, HIF-1alpha is stabilized and induces the transcription of HIF-1 target genes. Quercetin, a flavonoid with anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and kinase modulating properties, has been found to induce HIF-1alpha accumulation and VEGF secretion in normoxia. In this study, the molecular mechanisms of quercetin-mediated HIF-1alpha accumulation were investigated. Previous studies have shown that, in addition to being induced by hypoxia, HIF-1alpha can be induced through the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt and p53 signaling pathways. But our study revealed, through p53 mutant-type as well as p53 null cell lines, that neither the PI3K/Akt nor the p53 signaling pathway is required for quercetin-induced HIF-1alpha accumulation. And we observed that HIF-1alpha accumulated by quercetin is not ubiquitinated and the interaction of HIF-1alpha with pVHL is reduced, compared with HIF-1alpha accumulated by the proteasome inhibitor MG132. The use of quercetin's analogues showed that only quercetin and galangin induce HIF-1/2alpha accumulation and this effect is completely reversed by additional iron ions. This is because quercetin and galangin are able to chelate cellular iron ions that are cofactors of HIF-1/2alpha proline hydroxylase (PHD). These data suggest that quercetin inhibits the ubiquitination of HIF-1/2alpha in normoxia by hindering PHD through chelating iron ions.

Small Molecular TRAIL Inducer ONC201 Induces Death in Lung Cancer Cells: A Preclinical Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Feng, Yuan; Zhou, Jihong; Li, Zhanhua; Jiang, Ying; Zhou, Ying

2016-01-01

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) selectively targets cancer cells. The present preclinical study investigated the anti-cancer efficiency of ONC201, a first-in-class small molecule TRAIL inducer, in lung cancer cells. We showed that ONC201 was cytotoxic and anti-proliferative in both established (A549 and H460 lines) and primary human lung cancer cells. It was yet non-cytotoxic to normal lung epithelial cells. Further, ONC201 induced exogenous apoptosis activation in lung cancer cells, which was evidenced by TRAIL/death receptor-5 (DR5) induction and caspase-8 activation. The caspase-8 inhibitor or TRAIL/DR5 siRNA knockdown alleviated ONC201's cytotoxicity against lung cancer cells. Molecularly, ONC201 in-activated Akt-S6K1 and Erk signalings in lung cancer cells, causing Foxo3a nuclear translocation. For the in vivo studies, intraperitoneal injection of ONC201 at well-tolerated doses significantly inhibited xenografted A549 tumor growth in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. Further, ONC201 administration induced TRAIL/DR5 expression, yet inactivated Akt-S6K1 and Erk in tumor tissues. These results of the study demonstrates the potent anti-lung cancer activity by ONC201.

Small Molecular TRAIL Inducer ONC201 Induces Death in Lung Cancer Cells: A Preclinical Study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuan Feng

Full Text Available Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL selectively targets cancer cells. The present preclinical study investigated the anti-cancer efficiency of ONC201, a first-in-class small molecule TRAIL inducer, in lung cancer cells. We showed that ONC201 was cytotoxic and anti-proliferative in both established (A549 and H460 lines and primary human lung cancer cells. It was yet non-cytotoxic to normal lung epithelial cells. Further, ONC201 induced exogenous apoptosis activation in lung cancer cells, which was evidenced by TRAIL/death receptor-5 (DR5 induction and caspase-8 activation. The caspase-8 inhibitor or TRAIL/DR5 siRNA knockdown alleviated ONC201's cytotoxicity against lung cancer cells. Molecularly, ONC201 in-activated Akt-S6K1 and Erk signalings in lung cancer cells, causing Foxo3a nuclear translocation. For the in vivo studies, intraperitoneal injection of ONC201 at well-tolerated doses significantly inhibited xenografted A549 tumor growth in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID mice. Further, ONC201 administration induced TRAIL/DR5 expression, yet inactivated Akt-S6K1 and Erk in tumor tissues. These results of the study demonstrates the potent anti-lung cancer activity by ONC201.

Radiation-induced linking reactions in polyethylene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zoepfl, F.J.

1983-01-01

Three types of measurements are reported relating to chemical reactions in polyethylene induced by ionizing radiation: 1) viscometric and low-angle laser light scattering measurements to determine the effect of a radical scavenger on the yield of links; 2) calorimetric measurements to determine the effect of radiation-induced linking on the melting behavior of polyethylene; and 3) high-resolution solution carbon 13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometry measurements to determine the nature of the links and the method of their formation. The NMR results present the first direct detection of radiation-induced long-chain branching (Y links) in polyethylene, and place an apparent upper limit on the yield of H-shaped crosslinks that are formed when polyethylene is irradiated to low absorbed doses. The effect of radiation-induced linking on the melting behavior of polyethylene was examined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was found that radiation-induced links do not change the heat of fusion of polythylene crystals, but decrease the melt entropy and increase the fold surface free energy per unit area of the crystals. The carbon 13 NMR results demonstrate that long-chain branches (Y links) are formed much more frequently than H-shaped crosslinks at low absorbed doses. The Y links are produced by reactions of alkyl free radicals with terminal vinyl groups in polyethylene

Induced-Fission Imaging of Nuclear Material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hausladen, Paul; Blackston, Matthew A.; Mullens, James Allen; McConchie, Seth M.; Mihalczo, John T.; Bingham, Philip R.; Ericson, Milton Nance; Fabris, Lorenzo

2010-01-01

This paper presents initial results from development of the induced-fission imaging technique, which can be used for the purpose of measuring or verifying the distribution of fissionable material in an unopened container. The technique is based on stimulating fissions in nuclear material with 14 MeV neutrons from an associated-particle deuterium-tritium (D-T) generator and counting the subsequent induced fast fission neutrons with an array of fast organic scintillation detectors. For each source neutron incident on the container, the neutron creation time and initial trajectory are known from detection of the associated alpha particle of the d + t → α + n reaction. Many induced fissions will lie along (or near) the interrogating neutron path, allowing an image of the spatial distribution of prompt induced fissions, and thereby fissionable material, to be constructed. A variety of induced-fission imaging measurements have been performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with a portable, low-dose D-T generator, including single-view radiographic measurements and three-dimensional tomographic measurements. Results from these measurements will be presented along with the neutron transmission images that have been performed simultaneously. This new capability may have applications to a number of areas in which there may be a need to confirm the presence or configuration of nuclear materials, such as nuclear material control and accountability, quality assurance, treaty confirmation, or homeland security applications.

Nutritional Interventions for Cancer-induced Cachexia

Science.gov (United States)

Gullett, Norleena P.; Mazurak, Vera; Hebbar, Gautam; Ziegler, Thomas R.

2011-01-01

Cancer-induced cachexia remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in cancer treatment. Cancer research and development continues at an aggressive pace and yet a degree of cancer-induced cachexia is experienced by up to 80% of advanced stage cancer patients. Unfortunately, there are no established treatment regimens for this condition. Weight loss and fatigue consistently appear in patient oncologic histories and progress notes. However, few oncologists fully understand the pathologic mechanisms causing cachexia resulting in well-meaning advice to increase caloric intake with minimal results. Our goal is to describe the pathologic basis of cancer-induced cachexia and to detail accompanying metabolic derangements. Understanding the causes of cachexia sheds light on the subsequent need for multi-modality therapy including clinical intervention with specialized nutrition support, drug therapy, lifestyle and diet changes. In addition to nutrition support modalities, practicing oncologists may prescribe medical therapies designed to increase body weight and lean body mass, including megestrol acetate, tetrahydrocannibinol, oxandrolone, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. A variety of experimental therapies are also being investigated for cancer-induced cachexia including tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors and ghrelin infusions. We review the available data to support nutrition-oriented interventions in cancer-induced cachexia, including omega-3 fatty acids, amino-acid loading/protein supplementation, parenteral and enteral nutrition support, and food-derived compounds such as curcumin, reservatrol, and pomegranate. PMID:21420558

Inducible Clindamycin Resistance in Staphylococcus Species

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Afridi, F. I.; Zeb, M.; Farooqi, B. J.; Murtaza, G.; Hussain, A.

2014-01-01

Objective: To determine the frequency of inducible clindamycin resistance in clinical isolates of Staphylococcus species by phenotypic D-test. Study Design: Observational study. Place and Duration of Study: Ziauddin University Hospital, Karachi, from July to December 2011. Methodology: Consecutive clinical isolates of Staphylococcus species were collected and identified by conventional microbiological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and inducible clindamycin resistance was carried out by performing D-test using CLSI criteria. Methicillin resistance was detected by using Cefoxitin disk as a surrogate marker. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS version-17. Results: A total of 667 clinical isolates of Staphylococcus species were obtained during the study period. In these isolates, 177 (26.5%) were Staphylococcus aureus, and 490 (73.5%) were coagulase negative Staphylococci. The total frequency of inducible clindamycin resistance among isolates of Staphylococcus species was 120/667 (18%). Frequency of inducible clindamycin resistance among coagulase negative Staphylococci group and Staphylococcus aureus group were 18.57% and 16.38% respectively. Median age of patients in D-test positive group was 19.5 (1 - 54) years. Conclusion: The frequency of inducible clindamycin resistance among Staphylococcus species may differ in different hospital setup. Clinical microbiology laboratories should implement testing simple and effective D-test on all Staphylococcus species. D-test positive isolates should be reported clindamycin resistant to decrease treatment failure. (author)

Self-induced free surface oscillations caused by water jet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukaya, M.; Madarame, H.; Okamoto, K.; Iida, M.; Someya, S.

1995-01-01

The interaction between the high speed flow and the free surfaces could induced surface oscillations. Recently, some kinds of self-induced free surface oscillations caused by water jet were discovered, e.g., a self-induced sloshing, 'Jet-Flutter' and a self-induced manometer oscillation. These oscillations have many different characteristics with each other. In this study, the similarities and differences of these oscillations are examined, and the geometrical effects on the phenomena are experimentally investigated. The self-induced sloshing and the Jet-Flutter have different dimensionless traveling times, which suggests a difference in the energy supply mechanism. When the distance between the inlet and the outlet is small in a vessel, the self-induced manometer oscillation could occur in the multi-free-surface system. (author)

Radiation-induced camptocormia and dropped head syndrome. Review and case report of radiation-induced movement disorders

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seidel, Clemens; Kuhnt, Thomas; Kortmann, Rolf-Dieter; Hering, Kathrin [Leipzig University, Department of Radiotherapy and Radiation Oncology, Leipzig (Germany)

2015-10-15

In recent years, camptocormia and dropped head syndrome (DHS) have gained attention as particular forms of movement disorders. Camptocormia presents with involuntary forward flexion of the thoracolumbar spine that typically increases during walking or standing and may severely impede walking ability. DHS is characterized by weakness of the neck extensors and a consecutive inability to extend the neck; in severe cases the head is fixed in a ''chin to chest position.'' Many diseases may underlie these conditions, and there have been some reports about radiation-induced camptocormia and DHS. A PubMed search with the keywords ''camptocormia,'' ''dropped head syndrome,'' ''radiation-induced myopathy,'' ''radiation-induced neuropathy,'' and ''radiation-induced movement disorder'' was carried out to better characterize radiation-induced movement disorders and the radiation techniques involved. In addition, the case of a patient developing camptocormia 23 years after radiation therapy of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the abdomen is described. In total, nine case series of radiation-induced DHS (n = 45 patients) and - including our case - three case reports (n = 3 patients) about radiogenic camptocormia were retrieved. Most cases (40/45 patients) occurred less than 15 years after radiotherapy involving extended fields for Hodgkin's disease. The use of wide radiation fields including many spinal segments with paraspinal muscles may lead to radiation-induced movement disorders. If paraspinal muscles and the thoracolumbar spine are involved, the clinical presentation can be that of camptocormia. DHS may result if there is involvement of the cervical spine. To prevent these disorders, sparing of the spine and paraspinal muscles is desirable. (orig.) [German] In den letzten Jahren haben Bewegungsstoerungen von Wirbelsaeule und paraspinaler Muskulatur in

DNA damage-inducible transcripts in mammalian cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fornace, A.J. Jr.; Alamo, I. Jr.; Hollander, M.C.

1988-01-01

Hybridization subtraction at low ratios of RNA to cDNA was used to enrich for the cDNA of transcripts increased in Chinese hamster cells after UV irradiation. Forty-nine different cDNA clones were isolated. Most coded for nonabundant transcripts rapidly induced 2- to 10-fold after UV irradiation. Only 2 of the 20 cDNA clones sequenced matched known sequences (metallothionein I and II). The predicted amino acid sequence of one cDNA had two localized areas of homology with the rat helix-destabilizing protein. These areas of homology were at the two DNA-binding sites of this nucleic acid single-strand-binding protein. The induced transcripts were separated into two general classes. Class I transcripts were induced by UV radiation and not by the alkylating agent methyl methanesulfonate. Class II transcripts were induced by UV radiation and by methyl methanesulfonate. Many class II transcripts were induced also by H2O2 and various alkylating agents but not by heat shock, phorbol 12-tetradecanoate 13-acetate, or DNA-damaging agents which do not produce high levels of base damage. Since many of the cDNA clones coded for transcripts which were induced rapidly and only by certain types of DNA-damaging agents, their induction is likely a specific response to such damage rather than a general response to cell injury

Resveratrol induces mitochondrial biogenesis in endothelial cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Csiszar, Anna; Labinskyy, Nazar; Pinto, John T; Ballabh, Praveen; Zhang, Hanrui; Losonczy, Gyorgy; Pearson, Kevin; de Cabo, Rafael; Pacher, Pal; Zhang, Cuihua; Ungvari, Zoltan

2009-07-01

Pathways that regulate mitochondrial biogenesis are potential therapeutic targets for the amelioration of endothelial dysfunction and vascular disease. Resveratrol was shown to impact mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle and the liver, but its role in mitochondrial biogenesis in endothelial cells remains poorly defined. The present study determined whether resveratrol induces mitochondrial biogenesis in cultured human coronary arterial endothelial cells (CAECs). In CAECs resveratrol increased mitochondrial mass and mitochondrial DNA content, upregulated protein expression of electron transport chain constituents, and induced mitochondrial biogenesis factors (proliferator-activated receptor-coactivator-1alpha, nuclear respiratory factor-1, mitochondrial transcription factor A). Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) was induced, and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) was upregulated in a SIRT1-dependent manner. Knockdown of SIRT1 (small interfering RNA) or inhibition of NO synthesis prevented resveratrol-induced mitochondrial biogenesis. In aortas of type 2 diabetic (db/db) mice impaired mitochondrial biogenesis was normalized by chronic resveratrol treatment, showing the in vivo relevance of our findings. Resveratrol increases mitochondrial content in endothelial cells via activating SIRT1. We propose that SIRT1, via a pathway that involves the upregulation of eNOS, induces mitochondrial biogenesis. Resveratrol induced mitochondrial biogenesis in the aortas of type 2 diabetic mice, suggesting the potential for new treatment approaches targeting endothelial mitochondria in metabolic diseases.

Serotonergic involvement in stress-induced vasopressin and oxytocin secretion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Henrik; Knigge, Ulrich; Kjaer, Andreas

2002-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the involvement of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine - 5-HT) receptors in mediation of stress-induced arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) secretion in male rats. DESIGN: Experiments on laboratory rats with control groups. METHODS: Different stress paradigms were...... the swim stress-induced OT response. CONCLUSION: 5-HT(2A), 5-HT(2C) and possibly 5-HT(3) and 5-HT(4) receptors, but not 5-HT(1A) receptors, are involved in the restraint stress-induced AVP secretion. 5-HT does not seem to be involved in the dehydration- or hemorrhage-induced AVP response. The restraint...... stress-induced OT response seems to be mediated via 5-HT(1A), 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors. The dehydration and hemorrhage-induced OT responses are at least mediated by the 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors. The 5-HT(3) and 5-HT(4) receptors are not involved in stress-induced OT secretion....

Electrically induced muscle cramps induce hypertrophy of calf muscles in healthy adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Behringer, M; Moser, M; Montag, J; McCourt, M; Tenner, D; Mester, J

2015-06-01

Skeletal muscles usually cramp at short lengths, where the tension that can be exerted by muscle fibers is low. Since high tension is an important anabolic stimulus, it is questionable if cramps can induce hypertrophy and strength gains. In the present study we investigated if electrically induced cramps (EIMCs) can elicit these adaptations. 15 healthy male adults were randomly assigned to an intervention (IG; n=10) and a control group (CG; n=5). The cramp protocol (CP) applied twice a week to one leg of the IG, consisted of 3x6 EIMCs, of 5 s each. Calf muscles of the opposite leg were stimulated equally, but were hindered from cramping by fixating the ankle at 0° plantar flexion (nCP). After six weeks, the cross sectional area of the triceps surae was similarly increased in both the CP (+9.0±3.4%) and the nCP (+6.8±3.7%). By contrast, force of maximal voluntary contractions, measured at 0° and 30° plantar flexion, increased significantly only in nCP (0°: +8.5±8.8%; 30°: 11.7±13.7%). The present data indicate that muscle cramps can induce hypertrophy in calf muscles, though lacking high tension as an important anabolic stimulus.

Fluid injection and induced seismicity

Science.gov (United States)

Kendall, Michael; Verdon, James

2016-04-01

The link between fluid injection, or extraction, and induced seismicity has been observed in reservoirs for many decades. In fact spatial mapping of low magnitude events is routinely used to estimate a stimulated reservoir volume. However, the link between subsurface fluid injection and larger felt seismicity is less clear and has attracted recent interest with a dramatic increase in earthquakes associated with the disposal of oilfield waste fluids. In a few cases, hydraulic fracturing has also been linked to induced seismicity. Much can be learned from past case-studies of induced seismicity so that we can better understand the risks posed. Here we examine 12 case examples and consider in particular controls on maximum event size, lateral event distributions, and event depths. Our results suggest that injection volume is a better control on maximum magnitude than past, natural seismicity in a region. This might, however, simply reflect the lack of baseline monitoring and/or long-term seismic records in certain regions. To address this in the UK, the British Geological Survey is leading the deployment of monitoring arrays in prospective shale gas areas in Lancashire and Yorkshire. In most cases, seismicity is generally located in close vicinity to the injection site. However, in some cases, the nearest events are up to 5km from the injection point. This gives an indication of the minimum radius of influence of such fluid injection projects. The most distant events are never more than 20km from the injection point, perhaps implying a maximum radius of influence. Some events are located in the target reservoir, but most occur below the injection depth. In fact, most events lie in the crystalline basement underlying the sedimentary rocks. This suggests that induced seismicity may not pose a leakage risk for fluid migration back to the surface, as it does not impact caprock integrity. A useful application for microseismic data is to try and forecast induced seismicity

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor induces vascular leakage via autophagy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong-Ru Chen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Vascular leakage is an important feature of acute inflammatory shock, which currently has no effective treatment. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that can induce vascular leakage and plays an important role in the pathogenesis of shock. However, the mechanism of MIF-induced vascular leakage is still unclear. In this study, using recombinant MIF (rMIF, we demonstrated that MIF induced disorganization and degradation of junction proteins and increased the permeability of human endothelial cells in vitro. Western blotting analysis showed that rMIF treatment induced LC3 conversion and p62 degradation. Inhibition of autophagy with a PI3K inhibitor (3-MA, a ROS scavenger (NAC or autophagosomal-lysosomal fusion inhibitors (bafilomycin A1 and chloroquine rescued rMIF-induced vascular leakage, suggesting that autophagy mediates MIF-induced vascular leakage. The potential involvement of other signaling pathways was also studied using different inhibitors, and the results suggested that MIF-induced vascular leakage may occur through the ERK pathway. In conclusion, we showed that MIF triggered autophagic degradation of endothelial cells, resulting in vascular leakage. Inhibition of MIF-induced autophagy may provide therapeutic targets against vascular leakage in inflammatory shock.

Radiation-induced heart injury

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Yoshihiko; Niibe, Hideo

1975-01-01

In order to identify radiation-induced heart injury and to differentiate it from heart disease, an attempt was made to clarify post-irradiation heart injury by investigating the histological changes which occur during the internal between the irradiation and the time of demonstrable histological changes. A study was made of 83 autopsies in which most of the primary neoplasms were breast cancers, lung cancers and mediastinal tumors. In 43 of these autopsies the heart had been irradiated. Sixty eight dd-strain mice were also used for microautoradiographic study. Histological changes in the heart were observed in 27 of the 43 cases receiving irradiation. The limit of the tolerance dose to the heart for indicating histological changes was 1220 ret in humans. The latent period without histological changes was 2.7 months after initiation of radiation therapy. Greater heart injury was observed after re-irradiation or after the combined therapy of radiation and chemotherapy especially mitomycin (MMC). The histological findings after treatment with MMC were similar to those of radiation-induced heart injury. Results of the study indicate that the damage is secondary to radiation-induced changes of the vascula connective tissue. (Evans, G.)

Induced QCD I: theory

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brandt, Bastian B. [Institute for Theoretical Physics, Goethe-University of Frankfurt,60438 Frankfurt (Germany); Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg,93040 Regensburg (Germany); Lohmayer, Robert; Wettig, Tilo [Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Regensburg,93040 Regensburg (Germany)

2016-11-14

We explore an alternative discretization of continuum SU(N{sub c}) Yang-Mills theory on a Euclidean spacetime lattice, originally introduced by Budzcies and Zirnbauer. In this discretization the self-interactions of the gauge field are induced by a path integral over N{sub b} auxiliary boson fields, which are coupled linearly to the gauge field. The main progress compared to earlier approaches is that N{sub b} can be as small as N{sub c}. In the present paper we (i) extend the proof that the continuum limit of the new discretization reproduces Yang-Mills theory in two dimensions from gauge group U(N{sub c}) to SU(N{sub c}), (ii) derive refined bounds on N{sub b} for non-integer values, and (iii) perform a perturbative calculation to match the bare parameter of the induced gauge theory to the standard lattice coupling. In follow-up papers we will present numerical evidence in support of the conjecture that the induced gauge theory reproduces Yang-Mills theory also in three and four dimensions, and explore the possibility to integrate out the gauge fields to arrive at a dual formulation of lattice QCD.

[Drug-induced oral ulcerations].

Science.gov (United States)

Madinier, I; Berry, N; Chichmanian, R M

2000-06-01

Different side effects of drugs have been described in the oral cavity, including oral ulcerations. Direct contact between drugs and oral mucosa may induce chemical burn or local hypersensitivity. Less frequently, these drug-induced oral ulcerations are part of a complex reaction with cutaneous or systemic manifestations. Sometimes, one or more oral ulcerations appear as the main side-effect of a drug, or exceptionally as solitary lesions. Solitary oral ulcerations usually appear after few weeks of treatment. In most of cases, these lesions resist to conventional treatments, with a rapid healing following the suppression of the responsible drug. This diagnosis is usually difficult, particularly with patients receiving multiple drug therapy. Besides, special attention must be paid to new drugs. Oral ulcerations following symptoms of burning mouth, metallic taste, dysgueusia or agueusia are strongly suggestive of a pharmacological origin. Most of the molecules able to induce solitary oral ulcerations are commonly prescribed in a) rheumatology: NSAI (diclofenac, flurbiprofen, indomethacin, naproxen), long-term rheumatoid arthritis therapy (azathioprine, methotrexate, penicillamine, gold compounds, tiopronin); b) cardiology: angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (captopril, enalapril), angiotensin 2-receptor antagonist (losartan), anti-angorous (nicorandil), c) psychiatry: antidepressants (fluoxetine, lithium), d) AIDS therapy (foscarnet, zalcitabine).

Perceptual, not memorial, disruption underlies emotion-induced blindness.

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Briana L; Most, Steven B

2012-04-01

Emotion-induced blindness refers to impaired awareness of stimuli appearing in the temporal wake of an emotionally arousing stimulus (S. B. Most, Chun, Widders, & Zald, 2005). In previous emotion-induced blindness experiments, participants withheld target responses until the end of a rapid stream of stimuli, even though each target appeared in the middle of the stream. The resulting interval between the targets' offset and participants' initiation of a response leaves open the possibility that emotion-induced blindness reflects a failure to encode or maintain target information in memory rather than a failure of perception. In the present study, participants engaged in a typical emotion-induced blindness task but initiated a response immediately upon seeing each target. Emotion-induced blindness was nevertheless robust. This suggests that emotion-induced blindness is not attributable to the delay between awareness of a target and the initiation of a response, but rather reflects the disruptive impact of emotional distractors on mechanisms driving conscious perception. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).

Femtosecond laser-induced herringbone patterns

Science.gov (United States)

Garcell, Erik M.; Lam, Billy; Guo, Chunlei

2018-06-01

Femtosecond laser-induced herringbone patterns are formed on copper (Cu). These novel periodic structures are created following s-polarized, large incident angle, femtosecond laser pulses. Forming as slanted and axially symmetric laser-induced periodic surface structures along the side walls of ablated channels, the result is a series of v-shaped structures that resemble a herringbone pattern. Fluence mapping, incident angle studies, as well as polarization studies have been conducted and provide a clear understanding of this new structure.

Radiation-induced attenuation in integrated optical materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, B.D.

1989-01-01

This paper reports that three materials commonly employed in opto-electronic integrated circuits evaluated for radiation-induced optical attenuation in the range 300 nm to 3000 nm. These include optically clear epoxy and crystalline lithium niobate after Co-60 exposure and crystalline tellurium dioxide after mixed gamma/fast-neutron exposure. In all these materials, however, induced loss was restricted to shorter wavelengths; attenuation induced at the telecommunications windows near 850, 1300 and 1550 nm was <0.1 dB/cm

Glucocorticoid Induced Leucine Zipper inhibits apoptosis of cardiomyocytes by doxorubicin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aguilar, David; Strom, Joshua; Chen, Qin M.

2014-01-01

Doxorubicin (Dox) is an indispensable chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of various forms of neoplasia such as lung, breast, ovarian, and bladder cancers. Cardiotoxicity is a major concern for patients receiving Dox therapy. Previous work from our laboratory indicated that glucocorticoids (GCs) alleviate Dox-induced apoptosis in cardiomyocytes. Here we have found Glucocorticoid-Induced Leucine Zipper (GILZ) to be a mediator of GC-induced cytoprotection. GILZ was found to be induced in cardiomyocytes by GC treatment. Knocking down of GILZ using siRNA resulted in cancelation of GC-induced cytoprotection against apoptosis by Dox treatment. Overexpressing GILZ by transfection was able to protect cells from apoptosis induced by Dox as measured by caspase activation, Annexin V binding and morphologic changes. Western blot analyses indicate that GILZ overexpression prevented cytochrome c release from mitochondria and cleavage of caspase-3. When bcl-2 family proteins were examined, we found that GILZ overexpression causes induction of the pro-survival protein Bcl-xL. Since siRNA against Bcl-xL reverses GC induced cytoprotection, Bcl-xL induction represents an important event in GILZ-induced cytoprotection. Our data suggest that GILZ functions as a cytoprotective gene in cardiomyocytes. - Highlights: • Corticosteroids act as a cytoprotective agent in cardiomyocytes • Corticosteroids induce GILZ expression in cardiomyocytes • Elevated GILZ results in resistance against apoptosis induced by doxorubicin • GILZ induces Bcl-xL protein without inducing Bcl-xL mRNA

Migraine induced by hypoxia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arngrim, Nanna; Schytz, Henrik Winther; Britze, Josefine

2016-01-01

in the visual cortex were measured by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The circumference of cranial arteries was measured by 3 T high-resolution magnetic resonance angiography. Hypoxia induced migraine-like attacks in eight patients compared to one patient after sham (P = 0.039), aura in three...... and possible aura in 4 of 15 patients. Hypoxia did not change glutamate concentration in the visual cortex compared to sham, but increased lactate concentration (P = 0.028) and circumference of the cranial arteries (P ... suggests that hypoxia may provoke migraine headache and aura symptoms in some patients. The mechanisms behind the migraine-inducing effect of hypoxia should be further investigated....

Cervical osteophyte induced dysphagia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davies, R.P.; Sage, M.R.; Brophy, B.P.

1989-01-01

Although cervical spondylosis is a common disorder, dysphagia induced by osteophyte formation is uncommon. Fewer than one hundred cases of cervical osteophyte induced dysphagia have been reported, with little attention to the diagnosis by barium swallow. The radiological features of two cases treated surgically with good results are described. Both cases complained of dysphagia while one had associated respiratory obstruction on forward flexion of his neck. The features on barium study of cervical osteophytes causing dysphagia include deformity at the level of osteophyte formation, in both AP and lateral projections. Tracheal aspirations due to deformity at the laryngeal inlet and interference with epiglottic retroversion may be present. 8 refs., 3 figs

Induced Noise Control

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Maidanik, G

2002-01-01

The induced noise control parameter is defined in terms of the ratio of the stored energy in a master dynamic system, when it is coupled to an adjunct dynamic system, to that stored energy when the coupling is absent...

Radiation-induced brain injury: A review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael eRobbins

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Approximately 100,000 primary and metastatic brain tumor patients/year in the US survive long enough (> 6 months to experience radiation-induced brain injury. Prior to 1970, the human brain was thought to be highly radioresistant; the acute CNS syndrome occurs after single doses > 30 Gy; white matter necrosis occurs at fractionated doses > 60 Gy. Although white matter necrosis is uncommon with modern techniques, functional deficits, including progressive impairments in memory, attention, and executive function have become important, because they have profound effects on quality of life. Preclinical studies have provided valuable insights into the pathogenesis of radiation-induced cognitive impairment. Given its central role in memory and neurogenesis, the majority of these studies have focused on the hippocampus. Irradiating pediatric and young adult rodent brains leads to several hippocampal changes including neuroinflammation and a marked reduction in neurogenesis. These data have been interpreted to suggest that shielding the hippocampus will prevent clinical radiation-induced cognitive impairment. However, this interpretation may be overly simplistic. Studies using older rodents, that more closely match the adult human brain tumor population, indicate that, unlike pediatric and young adult rats, older rats fail to show a radiation-induced decrease in neurogenesis or a loss of mature neurons. Nevertheless, older rats still exhibit cognitive impairment. This occurs in the absence of demyelination and/or white matter necrosis similar to what is observed clinically, suggesting that more subtle molecular, cellular and/or microanatomic modifications are involved in this radiation-induced brain injury. Given that radiation-induced cognitive impairment likely reflects damage to both hippocampal- and non-hippocampal-dependent domains, there is a critical need to investigate the microanatomic and functional effects of radiation in various brain

Proton induced X-ray emission analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Rashiduzzman

1976-09-01

The developments in proton induced X-ray emission analysis are reviewed. Techniques for analyzing thick and thin samples of different origin are described. Discussions on the application of proton induced X-ray emission analysis in different fields, comparison of the sensitivity of this method with other analytical techniques, its limitations and possible improvements are presented

The majority of inducible DNA repair genes in Mycobacterium tuberculosis are induced independently of RecA.

Science.gov (United States)

Rand, Lucinda; Hinds, Jason; Springer, Burkhard; Sander, Peter; Buxton, Roger S; Davis, Elaine O

2003-11-01

In many species of bacteria most inducible DNA repair genes are regulated by LexA homologues and are dependent on RecA for induction. We have shown previously by analysing the induction of recA that two mechanisms for the induction of gene expression following DNA damage exist in Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Whereas one of these depends on RecA and LexA in the classical way, the other mechanism is independent of both of these proteins and induction occurs in the absence of RecA. Here we investigate the generality of each of these mechanisms by analysing the global response to DNA damage in both wild-type M. tuberculosis and a recA deletion strain of M. tuberculosis using microarrays. This revealed that the majority of the genes that were induced remained inducible in the recA mutant stain. Of particular note most of the inducible genes with known or predicted functions in DNA repair did not depend on recA for induction. Amongst these are genes involved in nucleotide excision repair, base excision repair, damage reversal and recombination. Thus, it appears that this novel mechanism of gene regulation is important for DNA repair in M. tuberculosis.

Coconut Oil Aggravates Pressure Overload-Induced Cardiomyopathy without Inducing Obesity, Systemic Insulin Resistance, or Cardiac Steatosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Muthuramu, Ilayaraja; Amin, Ruhul; Postnov, Andrey; Mishra, Mudit; Jacobs, Frank; Gheysens, Olivier; Van Veldhoven, Paul P; De Geest, Bart

2017-07-18

Studies evaluating the effects of high-saturated fat diets on cardiac function are most often confounded by diet-induced obesity and by systemic insulin resistance. We evaluated whether coconut oil, containing C12:0 and C14:0 as main fatty acids, aggravates pressure overload-induced cardiomyopathy induced by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in C57BL/6 mice. Mortality rate after TAC was higher ( p coconut oil diet-fed mice than in standard chow-fed mice (hazard ratio 2.32, 95% confidence interval 1.16 to 4.64) during eight weeks of follow-up. The effects of coconut oil on cardiac remodeling occurred in the absence of weight gain and of systemic insulin resistance. Wet lung weight was 1.76-fold ( p coconut oil mice than in standard chow mice. Myocardial capillary density ( p coconut oil mice than in standard chow mice. Myocardial glucose uptake was 1.86-fold ( p coconut oil mice and was accompanied by higher myocardial pyruvate dehydrogenase levels and higher acetyl-CoA carboxylase levels. The coconut oil diet increased oxidative stress. Myocardial triglycerides and free fatty acids were lower ( p coconut oil mice. In conclusion, coconut oil aggravates pressure overload-induced cardiomyopathy.

Bystander effects in UV-induced genomic instability: Antioxidants inhibit delayed mutagenesis induced by ultraviolet A and B radiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dahle Jostein

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genomic instability is characteristic of many types of human cancer. Recently, we reported that ultraviolet radiation induced elevated mutation rates and chromosomal instability for many cell generations after ultraviolet irradiation. The increased mutation rates of unstable cells may allow them to accumulate aberrations that subsequently lead to cancer. Ultraviolet A radiation, which primarily acts by oxidative stress, and ultraviolet B radiation, which initially acts by absorption in DNA and direct damage to DNA, both produced genomically unstable cell clones. In this study, we have determined the effect of antioxidants on induction of delayed mutations by ultraviolet radiation. Delayed mutations are indicative of genomic instability. Methods Delayed mutations in the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyl transferase (hprt gene were detected by incubating the cells in medium selectively killing hprt mutants for 8 days after irradiation, followed by a 5 day period in normal medium before determining mutation frequencies. Results The UVB-induced delayed hprt mutations were strongly inhibited by the antioxidants catalase, reduced glutathione and superoxide dismutase, while only reduced glutathione had a significant effect on UVA-induced delayed mutations. Treatment with antioxidants had only minor effects on early mutation frequenies, except that reduced glutathione decreased the UVB-induced early mutation frequency by 24 %. Incubation with reduced glutathione was shown to significantly increase the intracellular amount of reduced glutathione. Conclusion The strong effects of these antioxidants indicate that genomic instability, which is induced by the fundamentally different ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B radiation, is mediated by reactive oxygen species, including hydrogen peroxide and downstream products. However, cells take up neither catalase nor SOD, while incubation with glutathione resulted in increased intracellular levels of

CEREBRAL CORTEX DAMAGE INDUCED BY ACUTE ORAL ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2018-02-28

Feb 28, 2018 ... This study examines alcohol-induced cerebral cortex damage and the association with oxidative ... alcohol has profound effects on the function ... Chronic use of ..... Alcohol induced brain damage and liver damage in young.

Magnetomechanically induced long period fiber gratings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Causado-Buelvas, Jesus D.; Gomez-Cardona, Nelson D.; Torres, Pedro

2008-01-01

In this work, we report a simple, flexible method to create long period fiber gratings mechanically by controlling the repulsion/attraction force between two magnets that pressing a plate with a periodic array of small glass cylinders to a short length of optical fiber. Via the photoelastic effect, the pressure points induce the required periodic refractive index modulation to create the LPFG. We found that the induced device exhibits spectral characteristics similar to those of other types of LPFG. As the optical properties of LPFGs are directly related to the nature of the applied perturbations, we show, to our knowledge for the frrst time, how is the evolution of birefringence effects in mechanically induced LPFGs

Impurity-induced states in superconducting heterostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Dong E.; Rossi, Enrico; Lutchyn, Roman M.

2018-04-01

Heterostructures allow the realization of electronic states that are difficult to obtain in isolated uniform systems. Exemplary is the case of quasi-one-dimensional heterostructures formed by a superconductor and a semiconductor with spin-orbit coupling in which Majorana zero-energy modes can be realized. We study the effect of a single impurity on the energy spectrum of superconducting heterostructures. We find that the coupling between the superconductor and the semiconductor can strongly affect the impurity-induced states and may induce additional subgap bound states that are not present in isolated uniform superconductors. For the case of quasi-one-dimensional superconductor/semiconductor heterostructures we obtain the conditions for which the low-energy impurity-induced bound states appear.

Induced Compton-scattering effects in radiation-transport approximations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, D.R. Jr.

1982-02-01

The method of characteristics is used to solve radiation transport problems with induced Compton scattering effects included. The methods used to date have only addressed problems in which either induced Compton scattering is ignored, or problems in which linear scattering is ignored. Also, problems which include both induced Compton scattering and spatial effects have not been considered previously. The introduction of induced scattering into the radiation transport equation results in a quadratic nonlinearity. Methods are developed to solve problems in which both linear and nonlinear Compton scattering are important. Solutions to scattering problems are found for a variety of initial photon energy distributions

Inducement of radionuclides targeting therapy by gene transfection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo Quanyong

2001-01-01

The author presents an overview of gene transfection methods to genetically induce tumor cells to express enhanced levels of cell surface antigens and receptors to intake radiolabeled antibody and peptide targeting and thus increase their therapeutic effect in radiotherapy. The current research include inducement of radioimmunotherapy through CEA gene transfection, inducement of iodine-131 therapy by sodium iodide symporter gene transfection and inducement of MIBG therapy by noradrenaline transporter gene transfection. These studies raise the prospect that gene-therapy techniques could be used to enable the treatment of a wide range of tumors with radiopharmaceuticals of established clinical acceptability

Glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycaemia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerards, M.C.

2018-01-01

This thesis contains studies on current practice, clinical implications and treatment of excess glucocorticoid receptor (GCR) stimulation, with a focus on glucocorticoid-induced hyperglycaemia (GCIH). Chapter 1 is a general introduction to the glucocorticoid hormone. In chapter 2 , we have

Advertising-Induced Embarrassment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Puntoni, S.; Hooge, de I.E.; Verbeke, W.J.M.I.

2015-01-01

Abstract Consumer embarrassment is a concern for many advertisers. Yet little is known about ad-induced embarrassment. The authors investigate when and why consumers experience embarrassment as a result of exposure to socially sensitive advertisements. The theory distinguishes between viewing

Exorcising ghosts in induced gravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narain, Gaurav [Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Key Laboratory of Theoretical Physics, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics China (KITPC), Institute of Theoretical Physics, Beijing (China)

2017-10-15

Unitarity of the scale-invariant coupled theory of higher-derivative gravity and matter is investigated. A scalar field coupled with a Dirac fermion is taken as the matter sector. Following the idea of induced gravity the Einstein-Hilbert term is generated via dynamical symmetry breaking of scale invariance. The renormalisation group flows are computed and one-loop RG improved effective potential of scalar is calculated. The scalar field develops a new minimum via the Coleman-Weinberg procedure inducing the Newton constant and masses in the matter sector. The spin-2 problematic ghost and the spin-0 mode of the metric fluctuation get a mass in the broken phase of the theory. The energy dependence of the vacuum expectation value in the RG improved scenario implies a running for the induced parameters. This sets up platform to ask whether it is possible to evade the spin-2 ghost by keeping its mass always above the running energy scale? In broken phase this question is satisfactorily answered for a large domain of coupling parameter space where the ghost is evaded. The spin-0 mode can be made physically realisable or not depending upon the choice of the initial parameters. The induced Newton constant is seen to vanish in the ultraviolet case. By properly choosing parameters it is possible to make the matter fields physically unrealisable. (orig.)

Resonant neutron-induced atomic displacements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elmaghraby, Elsayed K., E-mail: e.m.k.elmaghraby@gmail.com

2017-05-01

Highlights: • Neutron induced atomic displacements was investigated based on scattering of energy of neutron. • Model for cascade function (multiplication of displacements with increasing energy transfer) was proposed and justified. • Parameterizations for the dpa induced in all elements were performed. • Table containing all necessary parameters to calculate the displacement density induced by neutron is given. • Contribution of non resonance displacement and resonant-neutron induced displacements are distinguished. - Abstract: A model for displacement cascade function was modified to account for the continuous variation of displacement density in the material in response to neutron exposure. The model is based on the Gaussian distribution of displacement energies of atoms in a material. Analytical treatment for moderated epithermal neutron field was given in which the displacement density was divided into two terms, discrete-resonance term and continuum term. Calculation are done for all isotopes using ENDF/B VII.1 data files and temperature dependent cross section library. Weighted elemental values were reported a fitting was performed to obtain energy-dependent formula of displacement density and reduce the number of parameters. Results relevant the present specification of the cascade function are tabulated for each element to enable calculation of displacement density at any value of displacement energy in the between 5 eV and 55 eV.

Study of UV-induced mutagenesis in Bacillus subtilis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filippov, V.D.; Lotareva, O.V.

1978-01-01

The mechanism of UV-induced mutagenesis was studied in Bacillus subtilis departing from the assumption that a lower yield of UV-induced mutations should be found in mutants deficient in the recombination if production of mutations is coupled with the recombination process. Three recombination-deficient strains were used: two (recA and recF) with defects in different recombination pathways and the third (recB) has a block at a stage common for both of them. UV light induced reversions to prototrophy in recB cells and did not in recA and recF strains. Direct mutations, which confer to the cell additional growth requirements, were induced by UV light in recA and recF mutants. It is concluded that UV-induced mutagenesis in B subtilis is independent of the two known recombination mechanisms

Ketamine-induced apoptosis in cultured rat cortical neurons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takadera, Tsuneo; Ishida, Akira; Ohyashiki, Takao

2006-01-01

Recent data suggest that anesthetic drugs cause neurodegeneration during development. Ketamine is frequently used in infants and toddlers for elective surgeries. The purpose of this study is to determine whether glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is involved in ketamine-induced apoptosis. Ketamine increased apoptotic cell death with morphological changes which were characterized by cell shrinkage, nuclear condensation or fragmentation. In addition, insulin growth factor-1 completely blocked the ketamine-induced apoptotic cell death. Ketamine decreased Akt phosphorylation. GSK-3 is known as a downstream target of Akt. The selective inhibitors of GSK-3 prevented the ketamine-induced apoptosis. Moreover, caspase-3 activation was accompanied by the ketamine-induced cell death and inhibited by the GSK-3 inhibitors. These results suggest that activation of GSK-3 is involved in ketamine-induced apoptosis in rat cortical neurons

Clinical importance of voluntary and induced Bennett movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Tupac, R G

1978-07-01

A total of 136 dentulous patients were divided into three groups for purposes of quantitative pantographic comparison of voluntary and induced Bennett movement. The effects of patient age and operator experience on recording the Bennett movement were also studied. The results indicates that for patients studied with Bennett movement iduced in the manner described: 1. Experienced operators can obtain more induced Bennett movement that inexperienced operators. 2. Inducing Bennett movement has a greater effect on the immediate side shift component than it has on the progressive side shift component. 3. For older individuals the amount and direction of induced immediate side shift is greater than for younger patients, statistically highly significant, and therefore clinically important. In conclusion, if the objective of a pantographic survey is to record the complete capacity of the joint to move, *lateral jaw movements must be induced.

Radiation-induced genomic instability and bystander effects: related inflammatory-type responses to radiation-induced stress and injury? A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorimore, S A; Wright, E G

2003-01-01

To review studies of radiation responses in the haemopoietic system in the context of radiation-induced genomic instability, bystander effects and inflammatory-type processes. There is considerable evidence that cells that themselves are not exposed to ionizing radiation but are the progeny of cells irradiated many cell divisions previously may express a high frequency of gene mutations, chromosomal aberrations and cell death. These effects are collectively known as radiation-induced genomic instability. A second untargeted effect results in non-irradiated cells exhibiting responses typically associated with direct radiation exposure but occurs as a consequence of contact with irradiated cells or by receiving soluble signals from irradiated cells. These effects are collectively known as radiation-induced bystander effects. Reported effects include increases or decreases in damage-inducible and stress-related proteins; increases or decreases in reactive oxygen species, cell death or cell proliferation, and induction of mutations and chromosome aberrations. This array of responses is reminiscent of effects mediated by cytokines and other similar regulatory factors that may involve, but do not necessarily require, gap junction-mediated transfer, have multiple inducers and a variety of context-dependent consequences in different cell systems. That chromosomal instability in haemopoietic cells can be induced by an indirect bystander-type mechanism both in vitro and in vivo provides a potential link between these two untargeted effects and there are radiation responses in vivo consistent with the microenvironment contributing secondary cell damage as a consequence of an inflammatory-type response to radiation-induced injury. Intercellular signalling, production of cytokines and free radicals are features of inflammatory responses that have the potential for both bystander-mediated and persisting damage as well as for conferring a predisposition to malignancy. The

Induced surface stress at crystal surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dahmen, K.

2002-05-01

Changes of the surfaces stress Δτ (s) can be studied by observing the bending of thin crystalline plates. With this cantilever method one can gain the induced change of surface stress Δτ (s) from the bending of plates with the help of elasticity theory. For elastic isotropic substrates the relevant relations are known. Here the relations are generalized to elastic anisotropic crystals with a C 2v - Symmetry. The equilibrium shapes of crystalline plates oriented along the (100)-, (110)-, or (111)-direction which are clamped along one edge are calculated with a numeric method under the load of a homogeneous but pure isotropic or anisotropic surface stress. The results can be displayed with the dimensionality, so that the effect of clamping can be described in a systematic way. With these tabulated values one can evaluate cantilever experiments exactly. These results are generalized to cantilever methods for determining magnetoelastic constants. It is shown which magnetoelastic constants are measured in domains of thin films with ordered structures. The eigenshape and the eigenfrequency of plates constraint through a clamping at one side are calculated. These results give a deeper understanding of the elastic anisotropy. The induced surface stress of oxygen on the (110)-surface of molybdenum is measured along the principle directions Δτ [001] and Δτ [ anti 110] . The anisotropy of the surface stress is found for the p(2 x 2)-reconstruction. Lithium induces a tensile surface stress on the Molybdenum (110)-surface up to a coverage of Θ = 0, 3 monolayer. For a higher coverage the induced stress drops and reaches a level of less than -1, 2 N/m at one monolayer. It is shown, that cobalt induces a linear increasing stress with respect to the coverage on the (100)-surface of copper with a value of 2, 4GPa. The copper (100)-surface is bombarded with accelerated ions in the range between 800-2200 eV. The resulting induced compressive stress (Δτ (s) < 0) of the order

Tamoxifen induces regression of estradiol-induced mammary cancer in ACI.COP-Ept2 rat model

OpenAIRE

Ruhlen, Rachel L.; Willbrand, Dana M.; Besch-Williford, Cynthia L.; Ma, Lixin; Shull, James D.; Sauter, Edward R.

2008-01-01

The ACI rat is a unique model of human breast cancer in that mammary cancers are induced by estrogen without carcinogens, irradiation, xenografts or transgenic manipulations. We sought to characterize mammary cancers in a congenic variant of the ACI rat, the ACI.COP-Ept2. All rats with estradiol implants developed mammary cancers in 5–7 months. Rats bearing estradiol-induced mammary cancers were treated with tamoxifen for three weeks. Tamoxifen reduced tumor mass, measured by magnetic resonan...

15,16-Dihydrotanshinone I, a Compound of Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, Induces Apoptosis through Inducing Endoplasmic Reticular Stress in Human Prostate Carcinoma Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mao-Te Chuang

2011-01-01

Full Text Available 5,16-dihydrotanshinone I (DHTS is extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (tanshen root and was found to be the most effective compound of tanshen extracts against breast cancer cells in our previous studies. However, whether DHTS can induce apoptosis through an endoplasmic reticular (ER stress pathway was examined herein. In this study, we found that DHTS significantly inhibited the proliferation of human prostate DU145 carcinoma cells and induced apoptosis. DHTS was able to induce ER stress as evidenced by the upregulation of glucose regulation protein 78 (GRP78/Bip and CAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein/growth arrest- and DNA damage-inducible gene 153 (CHOP/GADD153, as well as increases in phosphorylated eukaryotic initiation factor 2α (eIF2α, c-jun N-terminal kinase (JNK, and X-box-binding protein 1 (XBP1 mRNA splicing forms. DHTS treatment also caused significant accumulation of polyubiquitinated proteins and hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF-1α, indicating that DHTS might be a proteasome inhibitor that is known to induce ER stress or enhance apoptosis caused by the classic ER stress-dependent mechanism. Moreover, DHTS-induced apoptosis was reversed by salubrinal, an ER stress inhibitor. Results suggest that DHTS can induce apoptosis of prostate carcinoma cells via induction of ER stress and/or inhibition of proteasome activity, and may have therapeutic potential for prostate cancer patients.

Suppression of the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α by RNA interference alleviates hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in adult rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ying; Shi, Bo; Huang, Liping; Wang, Xin; Yu, Xiaona; Guo, Baosheng; Ren, Weidong

2016-12-01

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, the potential clinical value of HIF-1α as a therapeutic target in the treatment of PH has not yet been evaluated. In this study, an animal model of hypoxia-induced PH was established by exposing adult rats to 10% O2 for 3 weeks, and the effects of the lentivirus-mediated delivery of HIF-1α short hairpin RNA (shRNA) by intratracheal instillation prior to exposure to hypoxia on the manifestations of hypoxia-induced PH were assessed. The successful delivery of HIF-1α shRNA into the pulmonary arteries effectively suppressed the hypoxia-induced upregulation of HIF-1α, accompanied by the prominent attenuation the symptoms associated with hypoxia-induced PH, including the elevation of pulmonary arterial pressure, hypertrophy and hyperplasia of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs), as well as the muscularization of pulmonary arterioles. In addition, the knockdown of HIF-1α in cultured rat primary PASMCs significantly inhibited the hypoxia-induced acceleration of the cell cycle and the proliferation of the PASMCs, suggesting that HIF-1α may be a direct mediator of PASMC hyperplasia in hypoxia-induced PH. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potent suppressive effects of HIF-1α shRNA on hypoxia-induced PH and PASMC hyperplasia, providing evidence for the potential application of HIF-1α shRNA in the treatment of hypoxic PH.

Silymarin Ameliorates Diabetes-Induced Proangiogenic Response in Brain Endothelial Cells through a GSK-3β Inhibition-Induced Reduction of VEGF Release

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Alhusban

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Diabetes mellitus (DM is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Additionally, it was found to induce a dysfunctional angiogenic response in the brain that was attributed to oxidative stress. Milk thistle seed extract (silymarin has potent antioxidant properties, though its potential use in ameliorating diabetes-induced aberrant brain angiogenesis is unknown. Glycogen synthase kinase-3β is a regulator of angiogenesis that is upregulated by diabetes. Its involvement in diabetes-induced angiogenesis is unknown. To evaluate the potential of silymarin to ameliorate diabetes-induced aberrant angiogenesis, human brain endothelial cells (HBEC-5i were treated with 50 μg/mL advanced glycation end (AGE products in the presence or absence of silymarin (50, 100 μM. The angiogenic potential of HBEC-5i was evaluated in terms of migration and in vitro tube formation capacities. The involvement of GSK-3β was also evaluated. AGE significantly increased the migration and tube formation rates of HBEC-5i by about onefold (p=0.0001. Silymarin reduced AGE-induced migration in a dose-dependent manner where 50 μM reduced migration by about 50%, whereas the 100 μM completely inhibited AGE-induced migration. Similarly, silymarin 50 μg/mL blunted AGE-induced tube formation (p=0.001. This effect was mediated through a GSK-3β-dependent inhibition of VEGF release. In conclusion, silymarin inhibits AGE-induced aberrant angiogenesis in a GSK-3β-mediated inhibition of VEGF release.

Dissection of pathways leading to antigen receptor-induced and Fas/CD95-induced apoptosis in human B cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lens, S. M.; den Drijver, B. F.; Pötgens, A. J.; Tesselaar, K.; van Oers, M. H.; van Lier, R. A.

1998-01-01

To dissect intracellular pathways involved in B cell Ag receptor (BCR)-mediated and Fas-induced human B cell death, we isolated clones of the Burkitt lymphoma cell line Ramos with different apoptosis sensitivities. Selection for sensitivity to Fas-induced apoptosis also selected for clones with

related apoptosis-inducing ligand in transplastomic tobacco

African Journals Online (AJOL)

-inducing ligand (sTRAIL) can, as the whole length TRAIL protein, bind with its receptors and specifically induce the apoptosis of cancer cells; therefore, it has been developed as a potential therapeutic agent for various cancer treatments.

Mechanisms of stress-induced cellular HSP72 release: implications for exercise-induced increases in extracellular HSP72.

Science.gov (United States)

Lancaster, Graeme I; Febbraio, Mark A

2005-01-01

The heat shock proteins are a family of highly conserved proteins with critical roles in maintaining cellular homeostasis and in protecting the cell from stressful conditions. While the critical intracellular roles of heat shock proteins are undisputed, evidence suggests that the cell possess the necessary machinery to actively secrete specific heat shock proteins in response to cellular stress. In this review, we firstly discuss the evidence that physical exercise induces the release of heat shock protein 72 from specific tissues in humans. Importantly, it appears as though this release is the result of an active secretory process, as opposed to non-specific processes such as cell lysis. Next we discuss recent in vitro evidence that has identified a mechanistic basis for the observation that cellular stress induces the release of a specific subset of heat shock proteins. Importantly, while the classical protein secretory pathway does not seem to be involved in the stress-induced release of HSP72, we discuss the evidence that lipid-rafts and exosomes are important mediators of the stress-induced release of HSP72.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in lyssavirus-induced apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gholami, Alireza; Kassis, Raïd; Real, Eléonore; Delmas, Olivier; Guadagnini, Stéphanie; Larrous, Florence; Obach, Dorothée; Prevost, Marie-Christine; Jacob, Yves; Bourhy, Hervé

2008-05-01

Lyssaviruses are highly neurotropic viruses associated with neuronal apoptosis. Previous observations have indicated that the matrix proteins (M) of some lyssaviruses induce strong neuronal apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanism(s) involved in this phenomenon is still unknown. We show that for Mokola virus (MOK), a lyssavirus of low pathogenicity, the M (M-MOK) targets mitochondria, disrupts the mitochondrial morphology, and induces apoptosis. Our analysis of truncated M-MOK mutants suggests that the information required for efficient mitochondrial targeting and dysfunction, as well as caspase-9 activation and apoptosis, is held between residues 46 and 110 of M-MOK. We used a yeast two-hybrid approach, a coimmunoprecipitation assay, and confocal microscopy to demonstrate that M-MOK physically associates with the subunit I of the cytochrome c (cyt-c) oxidase (CcO) of the mitochondrial respiratory chain; this is in contrast to the M of the highly pathogenic Thailand lyssavirus (M-THA). M-MOK expression induces a significant decrease in CcO activity, which is not the case with M-THA. M-MOK mutations (K77R and N81E) resulting in a similar sequence to M-THA at positions 77 and 81 annul cyt-c release and apoptosis and restore CcO activity. As expected, the reverse mutations, R77K and E81N, introduced in M-THA induce a phenotype similar to that due to M-MOK. These features indicate a novel mechanism for energy depletion during lyssavirus-induced apoptosis.

Insulin-Inducible SMILE Inhibits Hepatic Gluconeogenesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ji-Min; Seo, Woo-Young; Han, Hye-Sook; Oh, Kyoung-Jin; Lee, Yong-Soo; Kim, Don-Kyu; Choi, Seri; Choi, Byeong Hun; Harris, Robert A; Lee, Chul-Ho; Koo, Seung-Hoi; Choi, Hueng-Sik

2016-01-01

The role of a glucagon/cAMP-dependent protein kinase-inducible coactivator PGC-1α signaling pathway is well characterized in hepatic gluconeogenesis. However, an opposing protein kinase B (PKB)/Akt-inducible corepressor signaling pathway is unknown. A previous report has demonstrated that small heterodimer partner-interacting leucine zipper protein (SMILE) regulates the nuclear receptors and transcriptional factors that control hepatic gluconeogenesis. Here, we show that hepatic SMILE expression was induced by feeding in normal mice but not in db/db and high-fat diet (HFD)-fed mice. Interestingly, SMILE expression was induced by insulin in mouse primary hepatocyte and liver. Hepatic SMILE expression was not altered by refeeding in liver-specific insulin receptor knockout (LIRKO) or PKB β-deficient (PKBβ(-/-)) mice. At the molecular level, SMILE inhibited hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-mediated transcriptional activity via direct competition with PGC-1α. Moreover, ablation of SMILE augmented gluconeogenesis and increased blood glucose levels in mice. Conversely, overexpression of SMILE reduced hepatic gluconeogenic gene expression and ameliorated hyperglycemia and glucose intolerance in db/db and HFD-fed mice. Therefore, SMILE is an insulin-inducible corepressor that suppresses hepatic gluconeogenesis. Small molecules that enhance SMILE expression would have potential for treating hyperglycemia in diabetes. © 2016 by the American Diabetes Association. Readers may use this article as long as the work is properly cited, the use is educational and not for profit, and the work is not altered.

3 cases of radiation-induced sarcoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shiba, Keiichiro; Fukuma, Hisatoshi; Beppu, Yasuo; Hirota, Teruyuki; Shinohara, Norio.

1982-01-01

Criteria for the diagnosis of radiation-induced sarcoma have been previously described. All cases must have a history of irradiation and the second neoplasm must have arisen in the area of the radiation field. A latent period of several years must have elapsed after irradiation before clinical evidence of a second malignant neoplasm. Most important thing is that, all suspected cases must have been proved histologically. We have experienced 3 cases of radiation-induced sarcoma, they were 42-years-old man who developed an osteosarcoma of the lumbar spine at the field of postoperative irradiation for seminoma 7 years previously, 69-years-old woman who developed a malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the buttock at the field of radical radiation for uterine carcinoma 7 years previously and 59-years-old woman who developed an extraskeletal osteosarcoma of the abdominal wall at the field of postoperative irradiation for uterine sarcoma 7 years previously. The last case is very rare and only 8 cases of radiation-induced extraskeletal osteosarcoma have been reported. Since there has been a definite trend in the treatment of cancer toward employing radiation for more favorable cases, in addition to technical improvements in the administration of radiotherapy and more modern equipment, survival data may have been altered considerably in many malignant tumors. Accordingly, more radiation-induced tumors may be encountered in the future. The clinical presentation and histopathology of these radiation-induced sarcomas are presented with a review of the literature. (author)

Mechanisms of cadmium induced genomic instability

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Filipic, Metka, E-mail: metka.filipic@nib.si [National Institute of Biology, Department for Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, Ljubljana (Slovenia)

2012-05-01

Cadmium is an ubiquitous environmental contaminant that represents hazard to humans and wildlife. It is found in the air, soil and water and, due to its extremely long half-life, accumulates in plants and animals. The main source of cadmium exposure for non-smoking human population is food. Cadmium is primarily toxic to the kidney, but has been also classified as carcinogenic to humans by several regulatory agencies. Current evidence suggests that exposure to cadmium induces genomic instability through complex and multifactorial mechanisms. Cadmium dose not induce direct DNA damage, however it induces increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, which in turn induce DNA damage and can also interfere with cell signalling. More important seems to be cadmium interaction with DNA repair mechanisms, cell cycle checkpoints and apoptosis as well as with epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression control. Cadmium mediated inhibition of DNA repair mechanisms and apoptosis leads to accumulation of cells with unrepaired DNA damage, which in turn increases the mutation rate and thus genomic instability. This increases the probability of developing not only cancer but also other diseases associated with genomic instability. In the in vitro experiments cadmium induced effects leading to genomic instability have been observed at low concentrations that were comparable to those observed in target organs and tissues of humans that were non-occupationally exposed to cadmium. Therefore, further studies aiming to clarify the relevance of these observations for human health risks due to cadmium exposure are needed.

Mechanisms of cadmium induced genomic instability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filipič, Metka

2012-01-01

Cadmium is an ubiquitous environmental contaminant that represents hazard to humans and wildlife. It is found in the air, soil and water and, due to its extremely long half-life, accumulates in plants and animals. The main source of cadmium exposure for non-smoking human population is food. Cadmium is primarily toxic to the kidney, but has been also classified as carcinogenic to humans by several regulatory agencies. Current evidence suggests that exposure to cadmium induces genomic instability through complex and multifactorial mechanisms. Cadmium dose not induce direct DNA damage, however it induces increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, which in turn induce DNA damage and can also interfere with cell signalling. More important seems to be cadmium interaction with DNA repair mechanisms, cell cycle checkpoints and apoptosis as well as with epigenetic mechanisms of gene expression control. Cadmium mediated inhibition of DNA repair mechanisms and apoptosis leads to accumulation of cells with unrepaired DNA damage, which in turn increases the mutation rate and thus genomic instability. This increases the probability of developing not only cancer but also other diseases associated with genomic instability. In the in vitro experiments cadmium induced effects leading to genomic instability have been observed at low concentrations that were comparable to those observed in target organs and tissues of humans that were non-occupationally exposed to cadmium. Therefore, further studies aiming to clarify the relevance of these observations for human health risks due to cadmium exposure are needed.

Human-induced geomorphic change across environmental gradients

Science.gov (United States)

Vanacker, V.; Molina, A.; Bellin, N.; Christl, M.

2016-12-01

Human-induced land cover changes are causing important adverse effects on the ecological services rendered by mountain ecosystems, and the number of case-studies of the impact of humans on soil erosion and sediment yield has mounted rapidly. Anthropogenic disturbance of natural vegetation can profoundly alter the physical, chemical and biological processes within soils. Rapid removal of topsoil during intense farming can result in an imbalance between soil production through chemical weathering and physical soil erosion, with direct implications on nutrient cycling, soil fertility and agricultural production. In this study, we present a conceptual model for assessing human-induced erosion for a wide variety of environmental settings and pose that human-induced geomorphic change cannot be assessed solely based on modern erosion rates as natural or baseline erosion rates can be important in e.g. mountainous terrain. As such, we assess the vulnerability of a given ecosystem to human-induced land cover change by quantifying the change in catchment-wide erosion rates resulting from anthropogenic changes in vegetation cover. Human-induced erosion is here approximated by the ratio of the total specific sediment yield to the natural erosional mass flux, and is dimensionless. The conceptual model is applied to three contrasting environmental settings where data on soil production, physical soil erosion and long-term denudation are available: the tropical Andes, subtropical southern Brazil, and semi-arid Spanish Cordillera. The magnitude of human-induced geomorphic change strongly differs between the three regions. The data suggest that the sensitivity to human-induced erosion is ecosystem dependent, and related to soil erosivity and potential vegetation cover disturbances as a result of human impact. It may therefore be expected that the potential for erosion regulation is larger in well-vegetated ecosystem where strong differences may exist in vegetation cover between

Clinical oversight and the avoidance of repeat induced abortion.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacovetty, Erica L; Clare, Camille A; Squire, Mary-Beatrice; Kubal, Keshar P; Liou, Sherry; Inchiosa, Mario A

2018-06-03

To evaluate the impact of patient counseling, demographics, and contraceptive methods on repeat induced abortion in women attending family planning clinics. A retrospective chart review of repeat induced abortions was performed. The analysis included patients with an initial induced abortion obtained between January 1, 2001, and March 31, 2014, at New York City Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan. The duration of involvement in the family planning program, the use of contraceptive interventions, and 18 patient factors were analyzed for their correlation with the incidence of repeat induced abortions per year of follow-up. A decreased rate of repeat induced abortions was associated with a longer duration of clinical oversight (r 2 =0.449, Pabortions. By determining the patient characteristics that most influence repeat induced abortion rates, providers can best choose the most efficacious method of contraception available. © 2018 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics.

Csk regulates angiotensin II-induced podocyte apoptosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Lu; Ren, Zhilong; Yang, Qian; Ding, Guohua

2016-07-01

Increasing data have shown that angiotensin II (Ang II) perpetuates podocyte injury and promotes progression to end-stage kidney disease. The mechanism underlying Ang II-induced podocyte apoptosis has not been established. C-terminal Src kinase (Csk) is a cytoplasmic kinase that interacts with scaffolding proteins involved in cell growth, adhesion, and polarization, and the role of Csk in regulating cellular apoptosis has gradually attracted attention. This study evaluates the role of Csk in Ang II-induced podocyte apoptosis. In vivo, Wistar rats were randomly subjected to a normal saline or Ang II infusion. In vitro, we exposed differentiated mouse podocytes to Ang II. Ang II increased Csk expression and induced podocyte apoptosis, stimulated Csk translocation and binding to Caveolin-1, and stimulated decreased Fyn pY416, increased Fyn pY529, and nephrin dephosphorylation. Csk knockdown prevented Ang II-induced podocyte apoptosis, reduced Fyn kinase inactivation, and increased the interaction between nephrin and the activated form of Fyn, accompanied by a reduced interaction between Csk and Caveolin-1. These findings indicate that Ang II induces podocyte injury via a Csk-dependent pathway.

PPARα- and DEHP-Induced Cancers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuki Ito

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Di(2-ethylhexylphthalate (DEHP is a widely used plasticizer and a potentially nongenotoxic carcinogen. Its mechanism had been earlier proposed based on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα because metabolites of DEHP are agonists. However, recent evidence also suggests the involvement of non-PPARα multiple pathway in DEHP-induced carcinogenesis. Since there are differences in the function and constitutive expression of PPARα among rodents and humans, species differences are also thought to exist in the carcinogenesis. However, species differences were also seen in the lipase activity involved in the first step of the DEHP metabolism, which should be considered in DEHP-induced carcinogenesis. Taken together, it is very difficult to extrapolate the results from rodents to humans in the case of DEHP carcinogenicity. However, PPARα-null mice or mice with human PPARα gene have been developed, which may lend support to make such a difficult extrapolation. Overall, further mechanical study on DEHP-induced carcinogenicity is warranted using these mice.

Inducible laryngeal obstruction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halvorsen, Thomas; Walsted, Emil Schwarz; Bucca, Caterina

2017-01-01

Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) describes an inappropriate, transient, reversible narrowing of the larynx in response to external triggers. ILO is an important cause of a variety of respiratory symptoms and can mimic asthma. Current understanding of ILO has been hampered by imprecise nomenc...

Contrast induced nephropathy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stacul, Fulvio; van der Molen, Aart J; Reimer, Peter

2011-01-01

PURPOSE: The Contrast Media Safety Committee (CMSC) of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) has updated its 1999 guidelines on contrast medium-induced nephropathy (CIN). AREAS COVERED: Topics reviewed include the definition of CIN, the choice of contrast medium, the prophylactic me...

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 plays a role in phosphate-induced vascular smooth muscle cell calcification.

Science.gov (United States)

Mokas, Sophie; Larivière, Richard; Lamalice, Laurent; Gobeil, Stéphane; Cornfield, David N; Agharazii, Mohsen; Richard, Darren E

2016-09-01

Medial vascular calcification is a common complication of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although elevated inorganic phosphate stimulates vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) osteogenic transdifferentiation and calcification, the mechanisms involved in their calcification during CKD are not fully defined. Because hypoxic gene activation is linked to CKD and stimulates bone cell osteogenic differentiation, we used in vivo and in vitro rodent models to define the role of hypoxic signaling during elevated inorganic phosphate-induced VSMC calcification. Cell mineralization studies showed that elevated inorganic phosphate rapidly induced VSMC calcification. Hypoxia strongly enhanced elevated inorganic phosphate-induced VSMC calcification and osteogenic transdifferentiation, as seen by osteogenic marker expression. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), the key hypoxic transcription factor, was essential for enhanced VSMC calcification. Targeting HIF-1 expression in murine VSMC blocked calcification in hypoxia with elevated inorganic phosphate while HIF-1 activators, including clinically used FG-4592/Roxadustat, recreated a procalcifying environment. Elevated inorganic phosphate rapidly activated HIF-1, even in normal oxygenation; an effect mediated by HIF-1α subunit stabilization. Thus, hypoxia synergizes with elevated inorganic phosphate to enhance VSMC osteogenic transdifferentiation. Our work identifies HIF-1 as an early CKD-related pathological event, prospective marker, and potential target against vascular calcification in CKD-relevant conditions. Copyright © 2016 International Society of Nephrology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The nature and principles of the radiation-induced cancerogenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lips'ka, A.YI.; Serkyiz, Ya.Yi.

2004-01-01

The paper represents the analysis of the authors and literary data concerning the nature and principles of the radiation-induced neoplasms. The mechanisms of the radiation-induced cancerogenesis development are not clear understood. The experimental data altogether do not allow developing the mathematical model of the radiation-induced cancerogenesis at the molecular level. This model has to take into account all necessary indices including radiation factor and the state of the organism. The general principles of the radiation-induced cancerogenesis have been formulated in the present review. It is possible to use these principles in order to predict and calculate the risks of the radiation-induced neoplasms

Prolonged drug-induced hypothermia in experimental stroke

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Flemming Fryd; Jørgensen, Henrik Stig; Reith, Jakob

2007-01-01

In experimental and human stroke, hypothermia is strongly related to a favorable outcome. Previous attempts to manipulate the core temperature in focal cerebral ischemia have been based on mechanical cooling. The purpose of the study is to establish a model for long-term drug-induced hypothermia...... in focal ischemia by pharmacological alteration of the central thermoregulatory set-point. We tested the hypothesis that the dopaminergic agonist Talipexole, which induces hypothermia, reduces infarct size. Body temperature was monitored by a radio-pill-implant. Rats had reversible occlusion of the middle...... that the core body temperature was reduced by 1.7 degrees C for 24 hours after MCAO in rats treated with Talipexole. This treatment induced a significant reduction of infarct volume at 7 days after focal ischemia by 47%. We suggest that the reduction in infarct volume is related to drug-induced hypothermia...

[Hydroxyurea-induced pneumonia].

Science.gov (United States)

Girard, A; Ricordel, C; Poullot, E; Claeyssen, V; Decaux, O; Desrues, B; Delaval, P; Jouneau, S

2014-05-01

Hydroxyurea is an antimetabolite drug used in the treatment of myeloproliferative disorders. Common adverse effects include haematological, gastrointestinal cutaneous manifestations, and fever. Hydroxyurea-induced pneumonitis is unusual. A female patient was treated with hydroxyurea for polycythemia vera. She was admitted 20 days after commencing treatment with a high fever, productive cough, clear sputum and nausea. A chest CT-scan showed diffuse ground-glass opacities. Microbiological investigations were negative. The symptoms disappeared a few days after discontinuation of the drug and rechallenge led to a relapse of symptoms. Our case and 15 earlier cases of hydroxyurea-induced pneumonitis are reviewed. Two patterns of this disease may exist: an acute febrile form occurring within 1 month of introduction of hydroxyurea and a subacute form without fever. Even if uncommon, one should be aware of this complication of hydroxyurea. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.

Neonicotinoid insecticides induce salicylate-associated plant defense responses

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Kevin A.; Casida, John E.; Chandran, Divya; Gulevich, Alexander G.; Okrent, Rachel A.; Durkin, Kathleen A.; Sarpong, Richmond; Bunnelle, Eric M.; Wildermuth, Mary C.

2010-01-01

Neonicotinoid insecticides control crop pests based on their action as agonists at the insect nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, which accepts chloropyridinyl- and chlorothiazolyl-analogs almost equally well. In some cases, these compounds have also been reported to enhance plant vigor and (a)biotic stress tolerance, independent of their insecticidal function. However, this mode of action has not been defined. Using Arabidopsis thaliana, we show that the neonicotinoid compounds, imidacloprid (IMI) and clothianidin (CLO), via their 6-chloropyridinyl-3-carboxylic acid and 2-chlorothiazolyl-5-carboxylic acid metabolites, respectively, induce salicylic acid (SA)-associated plant responses. SA is a phytohormone best known for its role in plant defense against pathogens and as an inducer of systemic acquired resistance; however, it can also modulate abiotic stress responses. These neonicotinoids effect a similar global transcriptional response to that of SA, including genes involved in (a)biotic stress response. Furthermore, similar to SA, IMI and CLO induce systemic acquired resistance, resulting in reduced growth of a powdery mildew pathogen. The action of CLO induces the endogenous synthesis of SA via the SA biosynthetic enzyme ICS1, with ICS1 required for CLO-induced accumulation of SA, expression of the SA marker PR1, and fully enhanced resistance to powdery mildew. In contrast, the action of IMI does not induce endogenous synthesis of SA. Instead, IMI is further bioactivated to 6-chloro-2-hydroxypyridinyl-3-carboxylic acid, which is shown here to be a potent inducer of PR1 and inhibitor of SA-sensitive enzymes. Thus, via different mechanisms, these chloropyridinyl- and chlorothiazolyl-neonicotinoids induce SA responses associated with enhanced stress tolerance. PMID:20876120

Cough-induced rib fractures.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanak, Viktor; Hartman, Thomas E; Ryu, Jay H

2005-07-01

To define the demographic, clinical, and radiological features of patients with cough-induced rib fractures and to assess potential risk factors. For this retrospective, single-center study, we identified all cases of cough-induced rib fractures diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, over a 9-year period between January 1, 1996, and January 31, 2005. Bone densitometry data from patients' medical records were analyzed, and T scores were used to classify patients into bone density categories. The mean +/- SD age of the 54 study patients at presentation was 55+/-17 years, and 42 patients (78%) were female. Patients presented with chest wall pain after onset of cough. Rib fracture was associated with chronic cough (> or =3 weeks' duration) in 85% of patients. Rib fractures were documented by chest radiography, rib radiography, computed tomography, or bone scan. Chest radiography had been performed in 52 patients and revealed rib fracture in 30 (58%). There were 112 fractured ribs in 54 patients. One half of patients had more than one fractured rib. Right-sided rib fractures alone were present in 17 patients (26 fractured ribs), left-sided in 23 patients (35 fractured ribs), and bilateral in 14 patients (51 fractured ribs). The most commonly fractured rib on both sides was rib 6. The fractures were most common at the lateral aspect of the rib cage. Bone densitometry was done in 26 patients and revealed osteopenia or osteoporosis in 17 (65%). Cough-induced rib fractures occur primarily in women with chronic cough. Middle ribs along the lateral aspect of the rib cage are affected most commonly. Although reduced bone density is likely a risk factor, cough-induced rib fractures can occur in the presence of normal bone density.

Recrystallization induced plasticity in austenite and ferrite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang Mingxin; Pineau, André; Bouaziz, Olivier; Vu, Trong-Dai

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► Plasticity can be induced by recrystallization in austenite and ferrite. ► Strain rate is proportional to recrystallization kinetics. ► Overall atomic flux selects a preferential direction may be the origin. - Abstract: New experimental evidences are provided to demonstrate that plastic strain can be induced by recrystallization in austenite and ferrite under an applied stress much smaller than their yield stresses. Such Recrystallization Induced Plasticity (RIP) phenomenon occurs because the overall atomic flux during recrystallization follows a preferential direction imposed by the applied stress.

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor induces in vitro lymphangiogenesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Ae Sin; Kim, Dal; Wagle, Susbin Raj; Lee, Jung Eun; Jung, Yu Jin; Kang, Kyung Pyo; Lee, Sik; Park, Sung Kwang; Kim, Won

2013-01-01

Highlights: •G-CSF induces tube formation, migration and proliferation of lymphatic cells. •G-CSF increases phosphorylation of MAPK and Akt in lymphatic endothelial cells. •MAPK and Akt pathways are linked to G-CSF-induced in vitro lymphangiogenesis. •G-CSF increases sprouting of a lymphatic ring. •G-CSF produces peritoneal lymphangiogenesis. -- Abstract: Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is reported to induce differentiation in cells of the monocyte lineage and angiogenesis in vascular endothelial cells, but its effects on lymphangiogenesis is uncertain. Here we examined the effects and the mechanisms of G-CSF-induced lymphangiogenesis using human lymphatic endothelial cells (hLECs). Our results showed that G-CSF induced capillary-like tube formation, migration and proliferation of hLECs in a dose- and time-dependent manner and enhanced sprouting of thoracic duct. G-CSF increased phosphorylation of Akt and ERK1/2 in hLECs. Supporting the observations, specific inhibitors of phosphatidylinositol 3′-kinase and MAPK suppressed the G-CSF-induced in vitro lymphangiogenesis and sprouting. Intraperitoneal administration of G-CSF to mice also stimulated peritoneal lymphangiogenesis. These findings suggest that G-CSF is a lymphangiogenic factor

The Geological Susceptibility of Induced Earthquakes in the Duvernay Play

Science.gov (United States)

Pawley, Steven; Schultz, Ryan; Playter, Tiffany; Corlett, Hilary; Shipman, Todd; Lyster, Steven; Hauck, Tyler

2018-02-01

Presently, consensus on the incorporation of induced earthquakes into seismic hazard has yet to be established. For example, the nonstationary, spatiotemporal nature of induced earthquakes is not well understood. Specific to the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, geological bias in seismogenic activation potential has been suggested to control the spatial distribution of induced earthquakes regionally. In this paper, we train a machine learning algorithm to systemically evaluate tectonic, geomechanical, and hydrological proxies suspected to control induced seismicity. Feature importance suggests that proximity to basement, in situ stress, proximity to fossil reef margins, lithium concentration, and rate of natural seismicity are among the strongest model predictors. Our derived seismogenic potential map faithfully reproduces the current distribution of induced seismicity and is suggestive of other regions which may be prone to induced earthquakes. The refinement of induced seismicity geological susceptibility may become an important technique to identify significant underlying geological features and address induced seismic hazard forecasting issues.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced acute renal failure in conscious rats

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonassen, Thomas E N; Graebe, Martin; Promeneur, Dominique

2002-01-01

In conscious, chronically instrumented rats we examined 1) renal tubular functional changes involved in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute renal failure; 2) the effects of LPS on the expression of selected renal tubular water and sodium transporters; and 3) effects of milrinone......-alpha and lactate, inhibited the LPS-induced tachycardia, and exacerbated the acute LPS-induced fall in GFR. Furthermore, Ro-20-1724-treated rats were unable to maintain MAP. We conclude 1) PDE3 or PDE4 inhibition exacerbates LPS-induced renal failure in conscious rats; and 2) LPS treated rats develop an escape......, a phosphodiesterase type 3 (PDE3) inhibitor, and Ro-20-1724, a PDE4 inhibitor, on LPS-induced changes in renal function. Intravenous infusion of LPS (4 mg/kg b.wt. over 1 h) caused an immediate decrease in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and proximal tubular outflow without changes in mean arterial pressure (MAP...

Induced γ emission for nuclear isomer long-lived

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Tianli; Hao Fanhua

2007-06-01

It is pointed that the induced 7 emission for long lived isomer 178m2 Hf by low energy X rays has been a topic subject in the nuclear field recently. The background and development status are described. A principle for T ray transitions induced by X rays and the theoretical about magnificent induced emission have been related. In addition, the possible method of 178m2 Hf produce has been introduced also. Although the argument has existed for the experimental results of induced 7 emission, it can push forward in solving energy crisis and in future military field after controlling effectively the releasing of high excited energy for isomer. (authors)

Induced Compton scattering effects in radiation transport approximations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gibson, D.R. Jr.

1982-01-01

In this thesis the method of characteristics is used to solve radiation transport problems with induced Compton scattering effects included. The methods used to date have only addressed problems in which either induced Compton scattering is ignored, or problems in which linear scattering is ignored. Also, problems which include both induced Compton scattering and spatial effects have not been considered previously. The introduction of induced scattering into the radiation transport equation results in a quadratic nonlinearity. Methods are developed to solve problems in which both linear and nonlinear Compton scattering are important. Solutions to scattering problems are found for a variety of initial photon energy distributions

Radiation-induced myelopathy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gaenshirt, H [Heidelberg Univ. (F.R. Germany). Neurologische Klinik

1975-10-01

12 cases of radiation-induced myelopathy after /sup 60/Co teletherapy are reported on. Among these were 10 thoracal lesions, one cerviothoracal lesion, and one lesion of the medulla oblongata. In 9 cases, Hodgkin's disease had been the primary disease, tow patients had been irradiated because of suspected vertebral metastases of cancer of the breast, and one patient had suffered from a glomus tumour of the petrous bone. The spinal doses had exceeded the tolerance doses recommended in the relevant literature. There was no close correlation between the radiation dose and the course of the disease. The latency periods between the end of the radiotherapy and the onset of the neurological symptons varied from 6 to 16 mouths and were very constant in 7 cases with 6 to 9 months. The segmental height of the lesion corresponded to the level of irradiation. The presenting symptons of radiation-induced myelopathy are buruing dysaesthesias and Brown-Sequard's paralysis which may develop into transverse lesion of the cord with paraplegia still accompanied by dissociated perception disorders. The disease developed intermittently. Disturbances of the bladder function are frequent. The fluid is normal in most cases. Myelographic examinations were made in 8 cases. 3 cases developed into stationary cases exhibiting. Brown-Sequard syndrome, while 9 patients developed transverse lesion of the cord with paraplegia. 3 patients have died; antopsy findings are given for two of these. In the pathogenesis of radiation-induced myelopathy, the vascular factor is assumed to be of decisive importance.

Laughter-induced left bundle branch block.

Science.gov (United States)

Chow, Grant V; Desai, Dipan; Spragg, David D; Zakaria, Sammy

2012-10-01

We present the case of a patient with ischemic heart disease and intermittent left bundle branch block, reproducibly induced by laughter. Following treatment of ischemia with successful deployment of a drug-eluting stent, no further episodes of inducible LBBB were seen. Transient ischemia, exacerbated by elevated intrathoracic pressure during laughter, may have contributed to onset of this phenomenon. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Distribution of induced activity in tungsten targets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donahue, R.J.; Nelson, W.R.

1988-09-01

Estimates are made of the induced activity created during high-energy electron showers in tungsten, using the EGS4 code. Photon track lengths, neutron yields and spatial profiles of the induced activity are presented. 8 refs., 9 figs., 1 tab

Taxane-Induced Peripheral Neurotoxicity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roser Velasco

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Taxane-derived agents are chemotherapy drugs widely employed in cancer treatment. Among them, paclitaxel and docetaxel are most commonly administered, but newer formulations are being investigated. Taxane antineoplastic activity is mainly based on the ability of the drugs to promote microtubule assembly, leading to mitotic arrest and apoptosis in cancer cells. Peripheral neurotoxicity is the major non-hematological adverse effect of taxane, often manifested as painful neuropathy experienced during treatment, and it is sometimes irreversible. Unfortunately, taxane-induced neurotoxicity is an uncertainty prior to the initiation of treatment. The present review aims to dissect current knowledge on real incidence, underlying pathophysiology, clinical features and predisposing factors related with the development of taxane-induced neuropathy.

SIRT2 ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in macrophages

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Ae Sin; Jung, Yu Jin; Kim, Dal; Nguyen-Thanh, Tung; Kang, Kyung Pyo; Lee, Sik; Park, Sung Kwang; Kim, Won

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Knockout of SIRT2 attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced iNOS expression. • Lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production is decreased in SIRT2 KO macrophage. • SIRT2 deficiency suppresses lipopolysaccharide-induced ROS production in macrophage. • M1-macrophage related factors are decreased in SIRT2 deficient cells. • SIRT2 deficiency decreases lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of NFκB. - Abstract: Introduction: SIRT2 is a NAD(+)-dependent deacetylases and associated with numerous processes such as infection, carcinogenesis, DNA damage and cell cycle regulation. However, the role of SIRT2 in inflammatory process in macrophage remains unclear. Materials and methods: In the present study, we have evaluated the regulatory effects of SIRT2 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages isolated from SIRT2 knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice or Raw264.7 macrophage cells. As inflammatory parameters, expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), the productions of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and M1-macrophage-related factors were evaluated. We also examined the effects of SIRT2 on activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NFκB) signaling. Results: SIRT2 deficiency inhibits LPS-induced iNOS mRNA and protein expression in bone marrow derived macrophages. SIRT2-siRNA transfection also suppressed LPS-induced iNOS expression in Raw264.7 macrophage cells. Bone marrow derived macrophages isolated from SIRT2 KO mice produced lower nitric oxide and expressed lower levels of M1-macrophage related markers including iNOS and CD86 in response to LPS than WT mice. Decrease of SIRT2 reduced the LPS-induced reactive oxygen species production. Deficiency of SIRT2 resulted in inhibition of NFκB activation through reducing the phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα. The phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of p65 was significantly decreased in SIRT2-deficient macrophages after LPS stimulation. Discussion: Our data suggested that

SIRT2 ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in macrophages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Ae Sin; Jung, Yu Jin; Kim, Dal; Nguyen-Thanh, Tung [Department of Internal Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Kyung Pyo [Department of Internal Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of); Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Chonbuk National University, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sik [Department of Internal Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sung Kwang [Department of Internal Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of); Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Chonbuk National University, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Won, E-mail: kwon@jbnu.ac.kr [Department of Internal Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of); Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Chonbuk National University, Chonbuk National University Hospital, Jeonju (Korea, Republic of)

2014-08-08

Highlights: • Knockout of SIRT2 attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced iNOS expression. • Lipopolysaccharide-induced NO production is decreased in SIRT2 KO macrophage. • SIRT2 deficiency suppresses lipopolysaccharide-induced ROS production in macrophage. • M1-macrophage related factors are decreased in SIRT2 deficient cells. • SIRT2 deficiency decreases lipopolysaccharide-induced activation of NFκB. - Abstract: Introduction: SIRT2 is a NAD(+)-dependent deacetylases and associated with numerous processes such as infection, carcinogenesis, DNA damage and cell cycle regulation. However, the role of SIRT2 in inflammatory process in macrophage remains unclear. Materials and methods: In the present study, we have evaluated the regulatory effects of SIRT2 in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophages isolated from SIRT2 knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) mice or Raw264.7 macrophage cells. As inflammatory parameters, expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), the productions of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species (ROS) and M1-macrophage-related factors were evaluated. We also examined the effects of SIRT2 on activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NFκB) signaling. Results: SIRT2 deficiency inhibits LPS-induced iNOS mRNA and protein expression in bone marrow derived macrophages. SIRT2-siRNA transfection also suppressed LPS-induced iNOS expression in Raw264.7 macrophage cells. Bone marrow derived macrophages isolated from SIRT2 KO mice produced lower nitric oxide and expressed lower levels of M1-macrophage related markers including iNOS and CD86 in response to LPS than WT mice. Decrease of SIRT2 reduced the LPS-induced reactive oxygen species production. Deficiency of SIRT2 resulted in inhibition of NFκB activation through reducing the phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα. The phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of p65 was significantly decreased in SIRT2-deficient macrophages after LPS stimulation. Discussion: Our data suggested that

Production and measurement of dispersion aerosols; application to the transport of deuteron-induced and 84Kr-induced reaction recoils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmidt-Ott, W.-D.; Dincklage, R.-D. von

1977-01-01

Dispersion aerosols were produced from various fluids and mixed with helium, nitrogen, and air. The diameter of the aerosols was estimated from their deflection in a low density micro-jet. These two-phase flows were tested for their transport performance for recoils of deuteron-induced reactions at the Goettingen cyclotron. Transport yields of 70%, 90% and 86% were measured when using n-decane with helium, nitrogen, and air, respectively. In comparison to the earlier use of ethylene the amount of disturbing activity induced on the gases was much smaller. The effect of aerosol formation by condensation is discussed. The system was applied in electron- and γ-ray spectroscopy of deuteron-induced reaction recoils. The mixture of n-decane and helium was used for the transport of 84 Kr-induced reaction recoils at the Darmstadt UNILAC. (Auth.)

A novel potassium deficiency-induced stimulon in Anabaena torulosa

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Unknown

torulosa and of nine proteins in Escherichia coli. These were termed potassium deficiency-induced proteins or. PDPs and constitute hitherto unknown potassium deficiency–induced stimulons. Potassium deficiency also enhanced the synthesis of certain osmotic stress-induced proteins. Addition of K+ repressed the ...

Hyperthermia-induced apoptosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijhuis, E.H.A.

2008-01-01

This thesis describes a number of studies that investigated several aspects of heat-induced apoptosis in human lymphoid malignancies. Cells harbour both pro- and anti-apoptotic proteins and the balance between these proteins determines whether a cell is susceptible to undergo apoptosis. In this

Metronidazole-Induced Pancreatitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. O'Halloran

2010-01-01

Conclusion. This case provides the eighth report of Metronidazole induced pancreatitis. All of the cases were reported in females and ran a benign course.Early diagnosis, discontinuation of the drug and supportive care will lead to a successful recovery in the majority of cases.

XTC-induced hepatitis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oranje, W.A.; van Pol, V.; van der Wurff, A.A.; Zeijen, R.N.; Stockbrügger, R.W.; Arends, J.W.

1994-01-01

XTC-induced hepatitis. Oranje WA, von Pol P, vd Wurff A, Zeijen RN, Stockbrugger RW, Arends JW. Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Maastricht, Netherlands. An increasing number of severe complications associated with the use of XTC is being reported. After 11 earlier case reports

Muon-induced fission

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Polikanov, S.

1980-01-01

A review of recent experimental results on negative-muon-induced fission, both of 238 U and 232 Th, is given. Some conclusions drawn by the author are concerned with muonic atoms of fission fragments and muonic atoms of the shape isomer of 238 U. (author)

State-dependent interaction in the antihistamine-induced disruption of a radiation-induced conditioned taste aversion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rabin, B.M.; Hunt, W.A.; Lee, J.

1982-01-01

Two experiments were run to evaluate the possibility that injection of antihistamine can produce a state-dependent acquisition of a radiation-induced conditioned taste aversion. In the first experiment, pretreating rats with the antihistamine chlorpheniramine maleate prior to their initial exposure to sucrose and to low-level irradiation on the conditioning day did not prevent the acquisition of a taste aversion to sucrose when the antihistamine was also administered prior to a subsequent preference test. In the second experiment, rats were both conditioned and tested for a radiation-induced aversion in a drug-free state. Under these condtions, the rats continued to show an aversion to sucrose despite pretreating them with chlorpheniramine prior to irradiation. Since rats conditioned under the antihistamine do not show the radiation-induced conditioned taste aversion when tested for sucrose preference in a nondrug state, it would seem that pretreating rats with an antihistamine prior to conditioning affects only the retrieval of the previously learned response and not its acquisition

Three cases of radiation-induced cancer in oral regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamura, Hiroshi; Shinoki, Kunihiko; Endo, Yoshitaka; Fujita, Yasushi; Hayashi, Susumu

1985-01-01

Three cases of radiation-induced cancer in the oral regions were reported with relation to radiation therapy. One was the general radiation-induced cancer following radiotherapy for the hemangioma. The other two cases, which belonged in the B-1 group of Sakai and his coworker's diagnostic criteria for radiation-induced cancer, were those occurring after radiotherapy for the malignant tumors. Due to the relatively high dosage exposure by the patient in the radiotherapy it is necessary to look out the latency of the radiation-induced cancer. After radiotherapy, careful and periodical observation is important for immediate treatment in an early stage for the radiation-induced cancer to have a favorable prognosis. In addition careful observation of the changes after radiotherapy helps in discovering the precancerous lesions from the therapy. For the radiation-induced cancer, surgical treatment would be the best, however, radiation therapy is also effective in certain cases. (author)

Laser induced energy transfer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Falcone, R.W.

1979-01-01

Two related methods of rapidly transferring stored energy from one excited chemical species to another are described. The first of these, called a laser induced collision, involves a reaction in which the energy balance is met by photons from an intense laser beam. A collision cross section of ca 10 - 17 cm 2 was induced in an experiment which demonstrated the predicted dependence of the cross section on wavelength and power density of the applied laser. A second type of laser induced energy transfer involves the inelastic scattering of laser radiation from energetically excited atoms, and subsequent absorption of the scattered light by a second species. The technique of producing the light, ''anti-Stokes Raman'' scattering of visible and infrared wavelength laser photons, is shown to be an efficient source of narrow bandwidth, high brightness, tunable radiation at vacuum ultraviolet wavelengths by using it to excite a rare gas transition at 583.7 A. In addition, this light source was used to make the first measurement of the isotopic shift of the helium metastable level at 601 A. Applications in laser controlled chemistry and spectroscopy, and proposals for new types of lasers using these two energy transfer methods are discussed

Preparation of monoclonal antibodies against radiation-induced protein

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nozawa, R.; Tanaka, A.; Watanabe, H.; Kitayama, S.

1992-01-01

We obtained the 6 monoclonal antibodies against gamma-induced proteins of Deinococcus radiodurans, and these antibodies were designated as Mab-3F, 4B, 4D, 4F, 4G and 12G. Using these antibodies, we investigated the relations between gamma-induced proteins and other stress protein in strain R1, and the induction of proteins were compared among strain R1, resistant mutant (rec1) and radiosensitive mutant (rec30). We found new 6 proteins recognized by these monoclonal antibodies which were induced after gamma-irradiation especially in strain R1 and rec 1, but not induced in strain rec30. We suppose that these proteins participate in repair of DNA damages including double strand breaks caused by gamma-irradiation. One of them was around 46kDa protein band recognized by Mab-12G, and this protein was so induced in a large quantity after irradiation that the protein could detect by gold staining. In addition to this observation, we found some proteins which were induced in R1 and rec 1 by gamma-irradiation and other stress, but not in strain rec30, such as 31kDa protein band recognized by Mab-3F, 4B and 4G, and other 11 proteins which were especially induced in irradiated strain R1. The latter proteins might be reinforcement factor to radioresistance such as GroE and DnaK, or participant in repair of damage by gamma-irradiation in strain R1. (author)

The ER stress inducer DMC enhances TRAIL-induced apoptosis in glioblastoma

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Roosmalen, Ingrid A. M.; Dos Reis, Carlos R; Setroikromo, Rita; Yuvaraj, Saravanan; Joseph, Justin V.; Tepper, Pieter G.; Kruyt, Frank A. E.; Quax, Wim J.

2014-01-01

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive malignant brain tumour in humans and is highly resistant to current treatment modalities. We have explored the combined treatment of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress-inducing agent 2,5-dimethyl-celecoxib (DMC) and TNF-related

Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol prevents methamphetamine-induced neurotoxicity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M Paola Castelli

Full Text Available Methamphetamine (METH is a potent psychostimulant with neurotoxic properties. Heavy use increases the activation of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS, production of peroxynitrites, microglia stimulation, and induces hyperthermia and anorectic effects. Most METH recreational users also consume cannabis. Preclinical studies have shown that natural (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, Δ9-THC and synthetic cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptor agonists exert neuroprotective effects on different models of cerebral damage. Here, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of Δ9-THC on METH-induced neurotoxicity by examining its ability to reduce astrocyte activation and nNOS overexpression in selected brain areas. Rats exposed to a METH neurotoxic regimen (4 × 10 mg/kg, 2 hours apart were pre- or post-treated with Δ9-THC (1 or 3 mg/kg and sacrificed 3 days after the last METH administration. Semi-quantitative immunohistochemistry was performed using antibodies against nNOS and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP. Results showed that, as compared to corresponding controls (i METH-induced nNOS overexpression in the caudate-putamen (CPu was significantly attenuated by pre- and post-treatment with both doses of Δ9-THC (-19% and -28% for 1 mg/kg pre- and post-treated animals; -25% and -21% for 3 mg/kg pre- and post-treated animals; (ii METH-induced GFAP-immunoreactivity (IR was significantly reduced in the CPu by post-treatment with 1 mg/kg Δ9-THC1 (-50% and by pre-treatment with 3 mg/kg Δ9-THC (-53%; (iii METH-induced GFAP-IR was significantly decreased in the prefrontal cortex (PFC by pre- and post-treatment with both doses of Δ9-THC (-34% and -47% for 1 mg/kg pre- and post-treated animals; -37% and -29% for 3 mg/kg pre- and post-treated animals. The cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A attenuated METH-induced nNOS overexpression in the CPu, but failed to counteract the Δ9-THC-mediated reduction of METH-induced GFAP-IR both in the PFC and CPu. Our

Induced topological pressure for topological dynamical systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xing, Zhitao; Chen, Ercai

2015-01-01

In this paper, inspired by the article [J. Jaerisch et al., Stochastics Dyn. 14, 1350016, pp. 1-30 (2014)], we introduce the induced topological pressure for a topological dynamical system. In particular, we prove a variational principle for the induced topological pressure

Calorie-induced ER stress suppresses uroguanylin satiety signaling in diet-induced obesity.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, G W; Lin, J E; Snook, A E; Aing, A S; Merlino, D J; Li, P; Waldman, S A

2016-05-23

The uroguanylin-GUCY2C gut-brain axis has emerged as one component regulating feeding, energy homeostasis, body mass and metabolism. Here, we explore a role for this axis in mechanisms underlying diet-induced obesity (DIO). Intestinal uroguanylin expression and secretion, and hypothalamic GUCY2C expression and anorexigenic signaling, were quantified in mice on high-calorie diets for 14 weeks. The role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in suppressing uroguanylin in DIO was explored using tunicamycin, an inducer of ER stress, and tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a chemical chaperone that inhibits ER stress. The impact of consumed calories on uroguanylin expression was explored by dietary manipulation. The role of uroguanylin in mechanisms underlying obesity was examined using Camk2a-Cre-ER(T2)-Rosa-STOP(loxP/loxP)-Guca2b mice in which tamoxifen induces transgenic hormone expression in brain. DIO suppressed intestinal uroguanylin expression and eliminated its postprandial secretion into the circulation. DIO suppressed uroguanylin through ER stress, an effect mimicked by tunicamycin and blocked by TUDCA. Hormone suppression by DIO reflected consumed calories, rather than the pathophysiological milieu of obesity, as a diet high in calories from carbohydrates suppressed uroguanylin in lean mice, whereas calorie restriction restored uroguanylin in obese mice. However, hypothalamic GUCY2C, enriched in the arcuate nucleus, produced anorexigenic signals mediating satiety upon exogenous agonist administration, and DIO did not impair these responses. Uroguanylin replacement by transgenic expression in brain repaired the hormone insufficiency and reconstituted satiety responses opposing DIO and its associated comorbidities, including visceral adiposity, glucose intolerance and hepatic steatosis. These studies reveal a novel pathophysiological mechanism contributing to obesity in which calorie-induced suppression of intestinal uroguanylin impairs hypothalamic mechanisms

Proteasome phosphorylation regulates cocaine-induced sensitization.

Science.gov (United States)

Gonzales, Frankie R; Howell, Kristin K; Dozier, Lara E; Anagnostaras, Stephan G; Patrick, Gentry N

2018-04-01

Repeated exposure to cocaine produces structural and functional modifications at synapses from neurons in several brain regions including the nucleus accumbens. These changes are thought to underlie cocaine-induced sensitization. The ubiquitin proteasome system plays a crucial role in the remodeling of synapses and has recently been implicated in addiction-related behavior. The ATPase Rpt6 subunit of the 26S proteasome is phosphorylated by Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent protein kinases II alpha at ser120 which is thought to regulate proteasome activity and distribution in neurons. Here, we demonstrate that Rpt6 phosphorylation is involved in cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization. Cocaine concomitantly increases proteasome activity and Rpt6 S120 phosphorylation in cultured neurons and in various brain regions of wild type mice including the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. In contrast, cocaine does not increase proteasome activity in Rpt6 phospho-mimetic (ser120Asp) mice. Strikingly, we found a complete absence of cocaine-induced locomotor sensitization in the Rpt6 ser120Asp mice. Together, these findings suggest a critical role for Rpt6 phosphorylation and proteasome function in the regulation cocaine-induced behavioral plasticity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Friction-induced nanofabrication on monocrystalline silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Bingjun; Qian Linmao; Yu Jiaxin; Zhou Zhongrong; Dong Hanshan; Chen Yunfei

2009-01-01

Fabrication of nanostructures has become a major concern as the scaling of device dimensions continues. In this paper, a friction-induced nanofabrication method is proposed to fabricate protrusive nanostructures on silicon. Without applying any voltage, the nanofabrication is completed by sliding an AFM diamond tip on a sample surface under a given normal load. Nanostructured patterns, such as linear nanostructures, nanodots or nanowords, can be fabricated on the target surface. The height of these nanostructures increases rapidly at first and then levels off with the increasing normal load or number of scratching cycles. TEM analyses suggest that the friction-induced hillock is composed of silicon oxide, amorphous silicon and deformed silicon structures. Compared to the tribochemical reaction, the amorphization and crystal defects induced by the mechanical interaction may have played a dominating role in the formation of the hillocks. Similar to other proximal probe methods, the proposed method enables fabrication at specified locations and facilitates measuring the dimensions of nanostructures with high precision. It is highlighted that the fabrication can also be realized on electrical insulators or oxide surfaces, such as quartz and glass. Therefore, the friction-induced method points out a new route in fabricating nanostructures on demand.

A Role for Tubular Necroptosis in Cisplatin-Induced AKI

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Yanfang; Ma, Huabin; Shao, Jing; Wu, Jianfeng; Zhou, Linying; Zhang, Zhirong; Wang, Yuze; Huang, Zhe; Ren, Junming; Liu, Suhuan; Chen, Xiangmei

2015-01-01

Cell death and inflammation in the proximal tubules are the hallmarks of cisplatin-induced AKI, but the mechanisms underlying these effects have not been fully elucidated. Here, we investigated whether necroptosis, a type of programmed necrosis, has a role in cisplatin-induced AKI. We found that inhibition of any of the core components of the necroptotic pathway—receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1), RIP3, or mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL)—by gene knockout or a chemical inhibitor diminished cisplatin-induced proximal tubule damage in mice. Similar results were obtained in cultured proximal tubular cells. Furthermore, necroptosis of cultured cells could be induced by cisplatin or by a combination of cytokines (TNF-α, TNF-related weak inducer of apoptosis, and IFN-γ) that were upregulated in proximal tubules of cisplatin-treated mice. However, cisplatin induced an increase in RIP1 and RIP3 expression in cultured tubular cells in the absence of cytokine release. Correspondingly, overexpression of RIP1 or RIP3 enhanced cisplatin-induced necroptosis in vitro. Notably, inflammatory cytokine upregulation in cisplatin-treated mice was partially diminished in RIP3- or MLKL-deficient mice, suggesting a positive feedback loop involving these genes and inflammatory cytokines that promotes necroptosis progression. Thus, our data demonstrate that necroptosis is a major mechanism of proximal tubular cell death in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxic AKI. PMID:25788533

Role of pirenoxine in the effects of catalin on in vitro ultraviolet-induced lens protein turbidity and selenite-induced cataractogenesis in vivo.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Chao-Chien; Liao, Jiahn-Haur; Hsu, Kuang-Yang; Lin, I-Lin; Tsai, Ming-Hsuan; Wu, Wen-Hsin; Wei, Tzu-Tang; Huang, Yi-Shiang; Chiu, Shih-Jiuan; Chen, Hsiang-Yin; Wu, Shih-Hsiung; Wu, Tzu-Hua

2011-01-01

In this study, we investigated the biochemical pharmacology of pirenoxine (PRX) and catalin under in vitro selenite/calcium- and ultraviolet (UV)-induced lens protein turbidity challenges. The systemic effects of catalin were determined using a selenite-induced cataractogenesis rat model. In vitro cataractogenesis assay systems (including UVB/C photo-oxidation of lens crystallins, calpain-induced proteolysis, and selenite/calcium-induced turbidity of lens crystallin solutions) were used to screen the activity of PRX and catalin eye drop solutions. Turbidity was identified as the optical density measured using spectroscopy at 405 nm. We also determined the in vivo effects of catalin on cataract severity in a selenite-induced cataract rat model. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was applied to analyze the integrity of crystallin samples. PRX at 1,000 μM significantly delayed UVC-induced turbidity formation compared to controls after 4 h of UVC exposure (pturbidity induced by 4 h of UVC exposure was ameliorated in the presence of catalin equivalent to 1~100 μM PRX in a concentration-dependent manner. Samples with catalin-formulated vehicle only (CataV) and those containing PRX equivalent to 100 μM had a similar protective effect after 4 h of UVC exposure compared to the controls (pturbidity formation compared to controls on days 0~4 (pturbidity on day 1 (pturbidity but required millimolar levels to protect against UVC irradiation. The observed inhibition of UVC-induced turbidity of lens crystallins by catalin at micromolar concentrations may have been a result of the catalin-formulated vehicle. Transient protection by catalin against selenite-induced turbidity of crystallin solutions in vitro was supported by the ameliorated cataract scores in the early stage of cataractogenesis in vivo by subcutaneously administered catalin. PRX could not inhibit calpain-induced proteolysis activated by calcium or catalin itself, and may be

Stimulus induced bursts in severe postanoxic encephalopathy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tjepkema-Cloostermans, Marleen C; Wijers, Elisabeth T; van Putten, Michel J A M

2016-11-01

To report on a distinct effect of auditory and sensory stimuli on the EEG in comatose patients with severe postanoxic encephalopathy. In two comatose patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with severe postanoxic encephalopathy and burst-suppression EEG, we studied the effect of external stimuli (sound and touch) on the occurrence of bursts. In patient A bursts could be induced by either auditory or sensory stimuli. In patient B bursts could only be induced by touching different facial regions (forehead, nose and chin). When stimuli were presented with relatively long intervals, bursts persistently followed the stimuli, while stimuli with short intervals (encephalopathy can be induced by external stimuli, resulting in stimulus-dependent burst-suppression. Stimulus induced bursts should not be interpreted as prognostic favourable EEG reactivity. Copyright © 2016 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Aspartame-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Horio, Yukari; Sun, Yongkun; Liu, Chuang; Saito, Takeshi; Kurasaki, Masaaki

2014-01-01

Aspartame is an artificial sweetner added to many low-calorie foods. The safety of aspartame remains controversial even though there are many studies on its risks. In this study, to understand the physiological effects of trace amounts of artificial sweetners on cells, the effects of aspartame on apoptosis were investigated using a PC12 cell system. In addition, the mechanism of apoptosis induced by aspartame in PC12 cells and effects on apoptotic factors such as cytochrome c, apoptosis-inducing factor, and caspase family proteins were studied by Western blotting and RT-PCR. Aspartame-induced apoptosis in PC12 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, aspartame exposure increased the expressions of caspases 8 and 9, and cytochrome c. These results indicate that aspartame induces apoptosis mainly via mitochondrial pathway involved in apoptosis due to oxigen toxicity. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Boswellic acid suppresses growth and metastasis of human pancreatic tumors in an orthotopic nude mouse model through modulation of multiple targets.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Byoungduck Park

Full Text Available Pancreatic cancer (PaCa is one of the most lethal cancers, with an estimated 5-year survival of <5% even when patients are given the best treatment available. In addition, these treatments are often toxic and expensive, thus new agents which are safe, affordable and effective are urgently needed. We describe here the results of our study with acetyl-11-keto-β-boswellic acid (AKBA, an agent obtained from an Ayurvedic medicine, gum resin of Boswellia serrata. Whether AKBA has an activity against human PaCa, was examined in in vitro models and in an orthotopic nude mouse model of PaCa. We found that AKBA inhibited the proliferation of four different PaCa cell lines (AsPC-1, PANC-28, and MIA PaCa-2 with K-Ras and p53 mutations, and BxPC-3 with wild-type K-Ras and p53 mutation. These effects correlated with an inhibition of constitutively active NF-κB and suppression of NF-κB regulating gene expression. AKBA also induced apoptosis, and sensitized the cells to apoptotic effects of gemcitabine. In the orthotopic nude mouse model of PaCa, p.o. administration of AKBA alone (100 mg/kg significantly inhibited the tumor growth; this activity was enhanced by gemcitabine. In addition, AKBA inhibited the metastasis of the PaCa to spleen, liver, and lungs. This correlated with decreases in Ki-67, a biomarker of proliferation, and CD31, a biomarker of microvessel density, in the tumor tissue. AKBA produced significant decreases in the expression of NF-κB regulating genes in the tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis also showed AKBA downregulated the expression of COX-2, MMP-9, CXCR4, and VEGF in the tissues. Overall these results demonstrate that AKBA can suppress the growth and metastasis of human pancreatic tumors in an orthotopic nude mouse model that correlates with modulation of multiple targets.

Differential effects of selective frankincense (Ru Xiang) essential oil versus non-selective sandalwood (Tan Xiang) essential oil on cultured bladder cancer cells: a microarray and bioinformatics study

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Frankincense (Boswellia carterii, known as Ru Xiang in Chinese) and sandalwood (Santalum album, known as Tan Xiang in Chinese) are cancer preventive and therapeutic agents in Chinese medicine. Their biologically active ingredients are usually extracted from frankincense by hydrodistillation and sandalwood by distillation. This study aims to investigate the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activities of frankincense and sandalwood essential oils in cultured human bladder cancer cells. Methods The effects of frankincense (1,400–600 dilutions) (v/v) and sandalwood (16,000–7,000 dilutions) (v/v) essential oils on cell viability were studied in established human bladder cancer J82 cells and immortalized normal human bladder urothelial UROtsa cells using a colorimetric XTT cell viability assay. Genes that responded to essential oil treatments in human bladder cancer J82 cells were identified using the Illumina Expression BeadChip platform and analyzed for enriched functions and pathways. The chemical compositions of the essential oils were determined by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Results Human bladder cancer J82 cells were more sensitive to the pro-apoptotic effects of frankincense essential oil than the immortalized normal bladder UROtsa cells. In contrast, sandalwood essential oil exhibited a similar potency in suppressing the viability of both J82 and UROtsa cells. Although frankincense and sandalwood essential oils activated common pathways such as inflammatory interleukins (IL-6 signaling), each essential oil had a unique molecular action on the bladder cancer cells. Heat shock proteins and histone core proteins were activated by frankincense essential oil, whereas negative regulation of protein kinase activity and G protein-coupled receptors were activated by sandalwood essential oil treatment. Conclusion The effects of frankincense and sandalwood essential oils on J82 cells and UROtsa cells involved different mechanisms leading to

Radiation-induced apoptosis in F9 teratocarcinoma cells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langley, R.E.; Palayoor, S.T.; Coleman, C.N.; Bump, E.A.

1994-01-01

We have found that F9 murine teratocarcinoma cells undergo morphological changes and internucleosomal DNA fragmentation characteristic of apoptosis after exposure to ionizing radiation. We studied the time course, radiation dose-response, and the effects of protein and RNA synthesis inhibitors on this process. The response is dose dependent in the range 2-12 Gy. Internucleosomal DNA fragmentation can be detected as early as 6 h postirradiation and is maximal by 48 h. Cycloheximide, a protein synthesis inhibitor, and 5,6-dichloro-1-β-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole, an RNA synthesis inhibitor, both induced internucleosomal DNA fragmentation in the unirradiated cells and enhanced radiation-induced DNA fragmentation. F9 cells can be induced to differentiate into cells resembling endoderm with retinoic acid. After irradiation, differentiated F9 cells exhibit less DNA fragmentation than stem cells. This indicates that ionizing radiation can induce apoptosis in non-lymphoid tumours. We suggest that embryonic tumour cells may be particularly susceptible to agents that induce apoptosis. (Author)

Radiation-induced apoptosis in F9 teratocarcinoma cells

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