Sleep quality and quality of life among the elderly people

ObjectiveTo determine sleep quality and the quality of life of the elderly people.Materials and methodsThis study sample consisted of 187 elderly people. Data were collected with a personal information form, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Turkish Version of WHOQOL-BREF-quality of life scale.ResultsIt was found out that sleep quality of the elderly people was poor. It was noted that there was a close correlation between age and sleep quality and quality of life of the elderly people, and sleep quality and quality of life decreased as the age of the elderly people increased. It was explored that there was a significant difference between gender, marital status, educational status, the person with whom the elderly people lived, presence of a physical disease, diagnosis of a disease and sleep quality and quality of life (p < 0.05).ConclusionsThe elderly people have a low sleep quality and there is a close relationship between sleep quality and the quality of life. The quality of sleep should be continued by ensuring sleep hygiene among the elderly people and thus the quality of life should be increased.     

Microbial transformation of asiatic acid by Alternaria longipes

Asiatic acid is a major pentacyclic triterpene isolated from Centella asiatica. It shows a variety of bioactivities. In order to obtain its derivatives, potentially useful for detailed pharmacological studies, the substrate was subjected to incubations with selected micro-organisms. In this work, asiatic acid was converted into three new compounds: 2α,3β,23,30-tetrahydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid (1), 2α,3β,22β,23-tetrahydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid (2), and 2α,3β,22β,23,30-pentahydroxyurs-12-ene-28-oic acid (3) by the fungus Alternaria longipes AS 3.2875. The structures of the three metabolites were determined by 1D and 2D NMR spectral data.     

Eight new bibenzyl derivatives from Dendrobium candidum

Eight bibenzyl derivatives, namely dendrocandins J–Q (1–8), were isolated from the stems of Dendrobium candidum. Their structures were elucidated by 1D and 2D NMR experiments and mass spectrometry. Compounds 1–8 were examined for antioxidant activity by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging assay, and the IC₅₀ values were 36.8, 70.2, 45.0, 60.5, 87.6, 50.4, 22.3, and 30.3 μM, respectively.     

A spheroid-based 3-D culture model for pancreatic cancer drug testing,using the acid phosphatase assay

Current therapy for pancreatic cancer is multimodal, involving surgery and chemotherapy. However, development of pancreatic cancer therapies requires a thorough evaluation of drug efficacy in vitro before animal testing and subsequent clinical trials. Compared to two-dimensional culture of cell monolayer, three-dimensional (3-D) models more closely mimic native tissues, since the tumor microenvironment established in 3-D models often plays a significant role in cancer progression and cellular responses to the drugs. Accumulating evidence has highlighted the benefits of 3-D in vitro models of various cancers. In the present study, we have developed a spheroid-based, 3-D culture of pancreatic cancer cell lines MIAPaCa-2 and PANC-1 for pancreatic drug testing, using the acid phosphatase assay. Drug efficacy testing showed that spheroids had much higher drug resistance than monolayers. This model, which is characteristically reproducible and easy and offers rapid handling, is the preferred choice for filling the gap between monolayer cell cultures and in vivo models in the process of drug development and testing for pancreatic cancer.     

The antibody response to Epstein–Barr virions is altered in multiple sclerosis

Infection with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), and patients with MS have an increased antibody response to some EBV antigens. The major antigens of EBV are only partly defined. Our hypothesis is that the antibody response to EBV is altered in MS. With ELISA, we found that antibodies to EB virions were increased in both serum and CSF of MS patients. Western blots demonstrated that there are multiple different antigens recognized. The antibody response was generally higher in MS to all EBV antigens, with particularly significant increases for certain antigens. We conclude that the antibody response to EBV in MS is generally increased with altered specificity.