Glucose Transporters and Glucose Utilization in Rat Brain after Acute Ethanol Administration

In the normal adult brain, glucose provides 90% of the energy requirements as well as substrate for nucleic acid and lipid synthesis. In the present study, effects of ethanol on glucose transporters (GLUT) and glucose utilization were examined in rat brain. Male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 250-300 gms were given either ethanol 3 gm/kg BW or saline IP 4 hrs prior to the animal sacrifice and removal of the cerebral cortical tissue. The cortical plasma membranes analyzed by cytochalasin B binding assay showed a decrease in GLUT number but not in GLUT affinity in the ethanol treated rats as compared to the control rats. The estimated Ro values were 70 ± 8.9 Vs 91 ± 8.9 pmoles/mg protein (p < 0.05 N=4) and the estimated Kd values were 0.37 ± 0.03 and 0.28 ± 0.05 M (p: NS) in ethanol and control experiments respectively. Immunoblots of purified cerebral plasma membranes and low density microsomal fraction showed 17% and 71% decrease for GLUT1 and 54% and 21% (p<0.05 or less; n=6) for GLUT3 respectively in ethanol treated rats than in control animals. Immunofluoresence studies also showed reduction of GLUT1 immunoreactively in choroid plexus and cortical microvessels of ethanol treated rats as compared to control rats. The effect of ethanol on regional cerebral metabolic rates for glucose (CMR_Gle) was studied using [6-¹⁴C] glucose and showed statistically insignificant decrease in brain glucose utilization. These data suggest that ethanol invivo decrease GLUT number and protein content in rat cerebral cortex     

Effect of clot removal on cerebrovascular contraction after subarachnoid hemorrhage in the monkey: Pharmacological study

Summary Clot removal at early surgery has been reported to be clinically effective for the prevention of cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to rupture of an intracranial aneurysm. We examined the most efficacious timing of mechanical clot removal on pharmacological responses in a monkey SAH model. Cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were randomized into five groups: sham-operated, clot removal in which the clot was removed 48, 72, or 96h after SAH, and clot groups. An autologous blood clot was placed around the bilateral major cerebral arteries after craniectomy to mimic the hemorrhage. Seven days after the SAH, proximal and successively distal parts of the middle cerebral arteries were cut into rings for isometric tension measurement. The contractile responses to potassium chloride, 5-hydroxytryptamine, norepinephrine, adenosine triphosphate, prostaglandin F₂, and hemoglobin were greater in the proximal parts than in the distal parts in each group. Compared with the sham-operated group, the responses of the clot-removal and clot groups to the drugs were progressively attenuated. The maximum responses to 5-hydroxytryptamine in the proximal parts and to adenosine triphosphate in the distal parts started to decrease, significantly, in the clot-removal group 48h after SAH, while most of the responses to the other agonists began to decrease in the clot-removal groups later than 72h after SAH. These results suggest that the attenuation of cerebrovascular contractile responses 7 days after SAH is pharmacologically inevitable, even if the clot is removed as early as 48h after the SAH. Clot removal may thus be recommended within 48h after SAH to ameliorate the severity of cerebral vasospasm following SAH.     

Network Analysis of Internet Addiction Symptoms Among a Clinical Sample of Japanese Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - In the present study, we employed network analysis that conceptualizes internet addiction (IA) as a complex network of mutually influencing symptoms...     

A new protocol for the preparation of superconducting KBi2

A superconducting KBi₂ sample was successfully prepared using a liquid ammonia (NH₃) technique. The temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility (M/H) showed a superconducting transition temperature (T_c) as high as 3.6 K. In addition, the shielding fraction at 2.0 K was evaluated to be 87%, i.e., a bulk superconductor was realized using the above method. The T_c value was the same as that reported for the KBi₂ sample prepared using a high-temperature annealing method. An X-ray diffraction pattern measured based on the synchrotron X-ray radiation was analyzed using the Rietveld method, with a lattice constant, a, of 9.5010(1) Å under the space group of Fd$\bar{3}$m (face-centered cubic, no. 227). The lattice constant and space group found for the KBi₂ sample using a liquid NH₃ technique were the same as those reported for KBi₂ through a high-temperature annealing method. Thus, the superconducting behavior and crystal structure of the KBi₂ sample obtained in this study are almost the same as those for the KBi₂ sample reported previously. Strictly speaking, the magnetic behavior of the superconductivity was different from that of a KBi₂ sample reported previously, i.e., the KBi₂ sample prepared using a liquid NH₃ technique was a type-II like superconductor, contrary to that prepared using a high-temperature annealing method, the reason for which is fully discussed. These results indicate that the liquid NH₃ technique is effective and simple for the preparation of a superconducting KBi₂. In addition, the topological nature of the superconductivity for KBi₂ was not confirmed.

A superconducting KBi₂ sample was successfully prepared using a liquid ammonia (NH₃) technique.     

Efficacy,safety, and pharmacokinetics of oral valganciclovir in patients with congenital cytomegalovirus infection

ObjectivesValganciclovir (VGCV) has been shown to improve sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and neurological outcomes in patients with neonatal symptomatic congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection. However, reports on the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of oral VGCV are limited. The aim of this study is to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of VGCV for use in the treatment of cCMV.MethodsThis was a single-center, retrospective observational study conducted at Saitama Children's Medical Center in Japan between 2012 and 2017. CMV DNA copy number, maximum plasma VGCV concentration (Cmax), and adverse events (ADEs) during treatment were evaluated.ResultsA total of 26 patients with cCMV who received VGCV were included in this study. The median age at VGCV initiation was 9.5 months (range 0–46). Twenty-one patients (81%) had SNHL at baseline. Of these, five patients (19%) presented with improved SNHL, and none experienced worsened SNHL during treatment. The mean VGCV Cmax was 3.5 μg/mL (range 2–5.3), with no significant variation among individual values, and the values were maintained during treatment. Furthermore, there were no correlations between the Cmax values and age, sex, SNHL improvement or ADEs. Neutropenia (<1000/mm³) was observed in six patients (23%); however, no serious ADEs occurred.ConclusionsVGCV prevented the progression of SNHL without serious ADEs due to its stable pharmacokinetics. This study provides safety and tolerability of VGCV for the treatment of cCMV patients.     

Bio-elastomer nanocomposites reinforced with surface-modified graphene oxide prepared via in situ coordination polymerization

This article proposes a method to produce bio-elastomer nanocomposites, based on polyfarnesene or polymyrcene, reinforced with surface-modified graphene oxide (GO). The surface modification is performed by grafting alkylamines (octyl-, dodecyl-, and hexadecylamine) onto the surface of GO. The successful grafting was confirmed via spectroscopic (FTIR and Raman) and X-ray diffraction techniques. The estimated grafted amines appear to be around 30 wt%, as calculated via thermogravimetric analysis, increasing the inter-planar spacing among the nanosheets as a function of alkyl length in the amine. The resulting modified GOs were then used to prepare bio-elastomer nanocomposites via in situ coordination polymerization (using a ternary neodymium-based catalytic system), acting as reinforcing additives of polymyrcene and polyfarnesene. We demonstrated that the presence of the modified GO does not affect significantly the catalytic activity, nor the microstructure-control of the catalyst, which led to high cis-1,4 content bio-elastomers (>95%). Moreover, we show via rheometry that the presence of the modified-GO expands the capacity of the elastomer to store deformation or applied stress, as well as exhibit an activation energy an order of magnitude higher.

This article proposes a method to produce bio-elastomer nanocomposites, based on polyfarnesene or polymyrcene, reinforced with surface-modified graphene oxide (GO).     

Effects of gonadectomy and hormone replacement on steroid hormone receptors and 5 alpha-reductase activity in pituitaries of male rhesus macaques

We measured androgen, estrogen, and progestin receptors and 5 alpha-reductase activity in the anterior and posterior pituitary gland of intact and 6-week castrate adult male rhesus monkeys and castrate males which were treated with testosterone (T) or estradiol (E) from time of surgery. Saturation analysis of anterior pituitary tissues from monkeys receiving various treatments revealed an apparent mean dissociation constant (Kd) of 0.53 +/- 0.17 (+/- SE) X 10(-10) mol/L (n = 3) for [3H]R1881 (androgen) binding to cytosol, 2.6 +/- 0.50 X 10(-10) mol/L (n = 3) for [3H]R2858 (estrogen) binding to cytosol, 1.7 X 10(-10) mol/L (n = 2) for [3H]R5020 (progestin) binding to cytosol, and 6.2 X 10(-10) mol/L (n = 2) for [3H )R1881 binding to cell nuclear extract. The highest levels of nuclear androgen receptor (AR) were found in intact males [37.1 +/- 3.5 (+/- SE) fmol/mg DNA; n = 7] and castrated males treated with T for 6 weeks (89.7 +/- 30.2 fmol/mg DNA; n = 5). High levels of nuclear AR corresponded to serum T levels and low serum LH levels. Nuclear AR was undetectable in castrated males and castrated males treated with E. Significantly greater levels of cytosolic AR were detected in intact males (27.5 +/- 1.6 fmol/mg protein) compared to all other groups (P less than 0.05). T or E treatment had no effect on cytosolic AR. Increased levels of cytosolic progestin receptor were found in intact monkeys and after E or T treatment compared to levels in untreated castrates. No differences in 5 alpha-reductase activity were found between any treatment groups. These data indicate that anterior pituitary nuclear androgen receptor is correlated with serum LH levels and support the hypothesis of a direct action of T on anterior pituitary LH secretion. In addition, it appears that cytosolic progestin receptor, but not AR, is regulated by estrogen in intact male rhesus monkeys. In the posterior pituitary, AR dynamics followed a profile in which cytosolic AR increased after castration and decreased after T treatment. Nuclear AR decreased after castration and increased after T treatment. The presence of a dynamic AR system in the posterior pituitary suggests hormonal regulation of its function by androgens.