Hepatoprotective effects of pecan nut shells on ethanol-induced liver damage

The hepatoprotective activity of the aqueous extract of the shells of pecan nut was investigated against ethanol-induced liver damage. This by-product of the food industry is popularly used to treat toxicological diseases. We evaluated the phytochemical properties of pecan shell aqueous extract (AE) and its in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant activity. The AE was found to have a high content of total polyphenols (192.4 ± 1.9 mg GAE/g), condensed tannins (58.4 ± 2.2 mg CE/g), and antioxidant capacity, and it inhibited Fe²⁺-induced lipid peroxidation (LP) in vitro. Rats chronically treated with ethanol (Et) had increased plasmatic transaminases (ALT, AST) and gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) levels (96%, 59.13% and 465.9%, respectively), which were effectively prevented (87; 41 and 383%) by the extract (1:40, w/v). In liver, ethanol consumption increased the LP (121%) and decreased such antioxidant defenses as glutathione (GSH) (33%) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (47%) levels, causing genotoxicity in erythrocytes. Treatment with pecan shell AE prevented the development of LP (43%), GSH and SOD depletion (33% and 109%, respectively) and ethanol-induced erythrocyte genotoxicity. Catalase activity in the liver was unchanged by ethanol but was increased by the extract (47% and 73% in AE and AE + Et, respectively). Therefore, pecan shells may be an economic agent to treat liver diseases related to ethanol consumption.     

Age-related changes in rostral basal forebrain cholinergic and GABAergic projection neurons: relationship with spatial impairment

Both cholinergic and GABAergic projections from the rostral basal forebrain contribute to hippocampal function and mnemonic abilities. While dysfunction of cholinergic neurons has been heavily implicated in age-related memory decline, significantly less is known regarding how age-related changes in codistributed GABAergic projection neurons contribute to a decline in hippocampal-dependent spatial learning. In the current study, confocal stereology was used to quantify cholinergic (choline acetyltransferase [ChAT] immunopositive) neurons, GABAergic projection (glutamic decarboxylase 67 [GAD67] immunopositive) neurons, and total (neuronal nuclei [NeuN] immunopositive) neurons in the rostral basal forebrain of young and aged rats that were first characterized on a spatial learning task. ChAT immunopositive neurons were significantly but modestly reduced in aged rats. Although ChAT immunopositive neuron number was strongly correlated with spatial learning abilities among young rats, the reduction of ChAT immunopositive neurons was not associated with impaired spatial learning in aged rats. In contrast, the number of GAD67 immunopositive neurons was robustly and selectively elevated in aged rats that exhibited impaired spatial learning. Interestingly, the total number of rostral basal forebrain neurons was comparable in young and aged rats, regardless of their cognitive status. These data demonstrate differential effects of age on phenotypically distinct rostral basal forebrain projection neurons, and implicate dysregulated cholinergic and GABAergic septohippocampal circuitry in age-related mnemonic decline.     

Effects of transmembrane region variability on cell surface expression and allorecognition of HLA-DP3

The functional relevance of polymorphisms outside the peptide binding groove of HLA molecules is poorly understood. Here we have addressed this issue by studying HLA-DP3, a common antigen relevant for functional matching algorithms of unrelated hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) encoded by two transmembrane (TM) region variants, DPB1^*03:01 and DPB1^*104:01. The two HLA-DP3 variants were found at a overall allelic frequency of 10.4% in 201 volunteer stem cell donors, at a ratio of 4.2:1. No significant differences were observed in cell surface expression levels of the two variants on B lymphoblastoid cell lines (BLCL), primary B cells or monocytes. Three different alloreactive T cell lines or clones showed similar levels of activation marker CD107a and/or CD137 upregulation in response to HLA-DP3 encoded by DPB1^*03:01 and DPB1^*104:01, either endogenously on BLCL or after lentiveral-vector mediated transfer into the same cellular background. These data provide, for the first time, direct evidence for a limited functional role of a TM region polymorphism on expression and allorecognition of HLA-DP3 and are compatible with the notion that the two variants can be considered as a single functional entity for unrelated stem cell donor selection.     

Pseudomembranous collagenous colitis with superimposed drug damage

Pseudomembranous collagenous colitis is a rare pathological condition, not related to infectious agents, and characterized by thickening of the subepithelial collagen and formation of pseudomembranes. We report one such case, which responded to budesonide treatment after failures of previous approaches given, being unaware of the correct diagnosis.     

Metabolic transitions at menopause: In post-menopausal women the increase in serum uric acid correlates with abdominal adiposity as assessed by DXA

Objectives

The present study aimed to investigate any associations between parameters of body fat mass distribution and levels of serum uric acid (sUA), a well-documented cardiovascular risk factor, among non-obese women ranging from pre- to post-menopausal status.

Methods

In this cross-sectional population-based study we assessed body fat distribution by dual-energy-X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and sUA levels in 101 pre- and 134 post-menopausal non-obese apparently healthy women.

Results

Multivariate stepwise regression analysis revealed that sUA was independently associated to the indicators of overall fatness, i.e. body mass index (β = 0.339, p < 0.001) and DXA-assessed total and percentage body fat (β = 0.366, p < 0.001 and β = 0.412, p < 0.001, respectively), only among post-menopausal women. Within this sample subset, trunk (i.e. central) fat mass emerged as a strong predictor of sUA (β = 0.408, p < 0.001), after taking the potential confounders (including body mass index) into account.

Conclusion

Central fat accumulation was found to be independently associated with higher sUA levels among non-obese women in post- but not among those in pre-menopause.     

Waterborne parasites and physico-chemical assessment of selected lakes in Malaysia

The objective of this study was to assess the physico-chemical parameters and waterborne parasites in selected recreational lakes from Malaysia. Samples were collected from seven stations of Recreational Lake A (RL-A) and six stations of Recreational Lake B (RL-B). The samples were processed to detect the presence of Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. using immunomagnetic separation kit, helminth eggs or ova by bright field microscopy and Acanthamoeba spp. by cultivation in non-nutrient agar. Chemical parameters such as ammonia, chlorine, fluoride, nitrate and nitrite and physical parameters such as dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, pH, salinity, temperature and total dissolved solid were also measured. Both lakes were freshwater with salinity ranging from 0.05 to 0.09 ppt. Most stations of these lakes were contaminated with Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., Ascaris spp. and hookworm. Schistosoma spp. was found in RL-B only, while Acanthamoeba spp. was found in all stations. Of all sampling sites, station 5 of RL-B is the most contaminated. Linear regression and correlation analysis revealed that Giardia spp. and Schistosoma spp. showed a significant negative correlation with turbidity (p?<?0.01). Based on the preliminary data obtained, it is clearly shown that there is a necessity to implement the detection of waterborne parasites and physico-chemical analysis in Malaysia. Future work on heavy metals (chromium, copper, mercury and zinc) is recommended to enhance the overall water quality monitoring and to take appropriate safety measures to ensure maintenance of good water standards.     

Maternal attachment influences mother–infant styles of regulation and play with objects at nine months

We examined the association between the quality of maternal representations of attachment evaluated by the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) and mother styles of regulating attention and emotion during free play with objects in 41 mother dyads when infants were nine months old. The secure mother dyads showed a greater duration of engagement matches, with more positive matches, and a greater capacity to move from non-matched to matched states. Secure mother dyads demonstrated greater involvement in play with objects than insecure mother dyads. Insecure mother dyads showed a greater duration of mismatches and spent more time in negative matches. Correlations between maternal AAI scores and the variables studied also showed that the maternal Passivity and Unresolved scales were associated with less adequate dyadic attention and emotion regulation, while the maternal Coherence scale was associated with more adequate dyadic attention and emotion regulation.     

Factors associated with menopausal symptom severity in middle-aged Brazilian women from the Brazilian Western Amazon

Objective

To determine the frequency and severity of menopausal symptoms and associated factors in middle-aged Brazilian women.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 1415 women aged 35–65 years attended at the Outpatient unit of the Clinicas Hospital of Rio Branco, Acre state, Brazil. The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess the severity of menopause symptoms. The Stata 10 statistical package was used for all data analysis whereas Pearson's x² nonparametric association test was used for bivariate analysis, adopting a level of statistical significance of 5%. On the multivariate analysis, independent variables positively associated with the dependent model were retained in the final model (p < 0.005).

Results

Overall, 54.1% of participants were premenopausal, 10.1% perimenopausal, and 35.8% postmenopausal. Irritability was the most frequent symptom (78.3%), followed by joint and muscular discomfort (74.8%), and anxiety (72.7%). Mean total MRS score was 15.6 + 8.8 (median 15). After adjusting for confounding factors, the logistic regression analysis found low educational level (OR:1.53; [95% CI:1.21–1.95]; p < 0.001); self-perceived poor/very poor health (OR:4.48; [95% CI: 3.53–5.69]; p < 0.001), and menopausal transition phase (OR:1.73; [95% CI:1.18–2.53]; p = 0.005) to be statistically significantly associated with more severe menopausal symptoms.

Conclusion

Among Brazilian women, atypical symptoms of the menopause were the most frequently reported. Severe menopausal symptoms were more likely in women with low educational level, self-perceived poor health and at the menopausal transition phase.     

Molecular epidemiology,resistance profiles and clinical features in clinical plasmid-mediated AmpC-producing Enterobacteriaceae

During the 30 months of surveillance period, 85 pAmpC-producing isolates were detected (prevalence 0.56% overall): bla_CMY-2 gene in 70 E. coli, 2 K. pneumoniae and 6 P. mirabilis isolates; and the bla_DHA-1 gene in 4 E. coli and 3 K. pneumoniae. In 8.23% of them, other β-lactamases (predominantly OXA-1) were identified. All pAmpC-producing isolates were susceptible to carbapenems, whereas high resistance to nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was observed among pAmpC-producing isolates (80%, 60%, and 44.7%, respectively). In hospital patients, predisposing factors such as prior antibiotic use, previous hospitalization, presence of an indwelling device, invasive urinary tract procedures and mechanical ventilation were observed. In the community setting, urinary tract infection was the most common type of infection related to pAmpC-producing isolates. A wide heterogeneity of clones was found among our E. coli isolates by PFGE, suggesting that this mechanism of resistance is not due to the dissemination of a clonal strain. Surveillance of these resistance mechanisms in the community is thus needed. Awareness of pAmpC dynamic is required to prevent introduction into hospitals and to control the spread of this emerging resistance within the community.