Gastroprotective and Antioxidative Effects of the Traditional Thai Polyherbal Formula Phy-Blica-D against Ethanol-Induced Gastric Ulcers in Rats

Phy-Blica-D is a traditional Thai polyherbal formula that has reduced oxidative stress in non-communicable diseases. However, evidence supporting the gastroprotective effects of Phy-Blica-D has not been previously reported. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the gastroprotective effects of Phy-Blica-D against gastric ulcers in rats and investigate the potential underlying mechanism. To estimate the possible mechanisms of action, we examined the levels of oxidative stress markers, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as antioxidant enzymes, including catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and glutathione (GSH). According to our results, rats treated with only 80% ethanol (vehicle group) exhibited significant increases in their ulcer area and ulcer index (UI). Moreover, the levels of ROS and MDA markedly increased in the vehicle group compared with the normal control group. Daily oral administration of Phy-Blica-D (500 and 1000 mg/kg) for 7 days not only significantly decreased the ulcer area and UI, but also remarkably decreased the ROS and MDA levels in gastric tissue. Gastric ulcers induced by ethanol had significantly decreased antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT and SOD) and non-enzymatic antioxidant (GSH), whereas pretreatment with Phy-Blica-D significantly improved the activities of CAT, SOD, and GSH. Moreover, after exposure to ethanol, the rats exhibited a significantly increased level of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), which was reduced after treatment with Phy-Blica-D. These findings suggest that Phy-Blica-D potentially exerts its gastroprotective effects by suppressing oxidative stress and stimulating antioxidant enzymes, which is one of the causes of destruction of cell membranes, and it is involved in the pathogenesis of acute gastric ulcers induced by ethanol.     

3'-deoxy-3'-[18F]fluorothymidine positron emission tomography for response assessment in soft tissue sarcoma: a pilot study to correlate imaging findings with tissue thymidine kinase 1 and Ki-67 activity and histopathologic response

BACKGROUND:

This study sought to determine whether [¹⁸F]fluorothymidine (FLT) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging allows assessment of tumor viability and proliferation in patients with soft tissue sarcomas who are treated with neoadjuvant therapy.

METHODS:

Twenty patients with biopsy‐proven, resectable, high‐grade soft tissue sarcoma underwent [¹⁸F]FLT PET/CT imaging before and after neoadjuvant therapy. Histologic subtypes included sarcomas not otherwise specified (n = 5), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (n = 3), gastrointestinal stromal tumors (n = 3), leiomyosarcomas (n = 3), angiosarcomas (n = 2), and others (n = 4). Changes in [¹⁸F]FLT peak standardized uptake value (SUVpeak) were correlated with percent necrosis in excised tissue, whereas posttreatment [¹⁸F]FLT tumor uptake was correlated with thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) expression and Ki‐67 staining indices in excised tumor tissue.

RESULTS:

Tumor FLT SUVpeak averaged 7.1 ± 3.7 g/mL (range, 1.9‐16.1 g/mL) at baseline and decreased significantly to 2.7 ± 1.6 g/mL (range, 0.8‐6.0 g/mL) at follow‐up (P < .001); however, marked reductions in SUV were not specific for histopathological response. The posttreatment SUVpeak did not correlate with TK1 (P = .27) or Ki‐67 expression (P = .21).

CONCLUSIONS:

Marked reductions in [¹⁸F]FLT tumor uptake in response to neoadjuvant treatment were observed in most patients with sarcoma. However, these reductions were not specific for histopathologic response to neoadjuvant therapy. Furthermore, posttreatment [¹⁸F]FLT tumor uptake was unrelated to tumor proliferation by Ki‐67 and TK1 staining. These results question the value of [¹⁸F]FLT PET imaging for treatment response assessments in patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Cancer 2012;118: 3135–44. © 2011 American Cancer Society.     

Nutritional regulation of genome-wide association obesity genes in a tissue-dependent manner

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have recently identified several new genetic variants associated with obesity. The majority of the variants are within introns or between genes, suggesting they affect gene expression, although it is not clear which of the nearby genes they affect. Understanding the regulation of these genes will be key to determining the role of these variants in the development of obesity and will provide support for the role of these genes in the development of obesity. METHODS: We examined the expression of 19 GWAS obesity genes in the brain and specifically the hypothalamus, adipose tissue and liver of mice by real-time quantitative PCR. To determine whether these genes are nutritionally regulated, as may be expected for genes affecting obesity, we compared tissues from fasting and non-fasting animals and tissues from mice consuming a high fat high sucrose diet in comparison to standard rodent chow. RESULTS: We found complex, tissue-dependent patterns of nutritional regulation of most of these genes. For example, Bat2 expression was increased ~10-fold in the brain of fed mice but was lower or unchanged in the hypothalamus and adipose tissue. Kctd15 expression was upregulated in the hypothalamus, brain and adipose tissue of fed mice and downregulated by high fat feeding in liver, adipose tissue and the hypothalamus but not the remainder of the brain. Sh2b1 expression in the brain and Faim2 expression in adipose tissue were specifically increased >20-fold in fed mice. Tmem18 expression in adipose tissue but not the brain was reduced 80 % by high fat feeding. Few changes in the expression of these genes were observed in liver. CONCLUSIONS: These data show nutritional regulation of nearly all these GWAS obesity genes, particularly in the brain and adipose tissue, and provide support for their role in the development of obesity. The complex patterns of nutritional and tissue-dependent regulation also highlight the difficulty that may be encountered in determining how the GWAS genetic variants affect gene expression and consequent obesity risk in humans where access to tissues is constrained.     

Risk of a couple having a child with severe thalassemia syndrome, prevalence in lower northern Thailand

Thalassemia screening in pregnant women and their spouses was performed at Buddhachinaraj Provincial Hospital and 8 community hospitals in Phitsanulok; lower northern Thailand. The prevalence of thalassemic carrier state was determined of 1,198 couples. Of these, 4.8% had heterozygous alpha thalassemia-1, 1.6% had heterozygous beta thalassemia, 12.4% had heterozygous hemoglobin (Hb) E, 2.7% had homozygous Hb E and 0.25% of others had abnormal Hb. Eighteen at risk couples (1.5%) were identified. Fifteen couples were at risk for compound heterozygous Hb E / beta thalassemia and the remaining 3 were at risk for homozygous alpha thalassemia-1. Prenatal diagnosis (cordocentesis) was performed in 4 couples at risk, but no fetuses with severe thalassemic disease were detected.     

The Use of 3D Printed Tooth Preparation to Assist in Teaching and Learning in Preclinical Fixed Prosthodontics Courses

Tooth preparation for fixed dental prostheses is not an easy procedure to understand spatially, especially for first‐year dental students. This technical report describes an innovative technique for assisting learning in preclinical fixed prosthodontics courses. Ideal full‐contour tooth preparations are digitally scanned and 3D printed to the exact specifications of the ideal preparation. Students and faculty use these printed tooth preparations as teaching and learning tools to facilitate in 3D visualization for fixed prosthodontics courses.     

Molecular characterization of mosquitocidal Bacillus sphaericus isolated from Tamil Nadu,India

Forty-two Bacillus sphaericus strains were isolated from soil around Tamil Nadu, India. The phylogenetic relationship among the B. sphaericus isolates was analysed by REP-PCR and multiplex PCR was performed for the detection of mosquito larvicidal genes binA, binB, mtx1, mtx2 and mtx3 in B. sphaericus isolates. According to the REP-PCR band pattern, B. sphaericus isolates were divided into group A comprising I–XI clusters and group B comprising cluster XII. Three of the isolates BSTN01, 23 and 24 were gathered under cluster XII showed a high level of larvicidal activity against Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles stephensi, the other 39 isolates grouped under I–XI clusters were non-toxic or weak or moderately toxic to mosquito larvae. Even though BSTN23 and 24 were isolated from the same location and both contained all the five mosquito larvicidal genes, their intraspecies difference was clearly elucidated by REP-PCR analysis. Among high toxic isolates, BSTN23 and 24 were observed to contain all the five toxin genes and BSTN01 showed the presence of binary toxin and Mtx1 toxin genes. The isolates BSTN02, 03, 07, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21, 25, 31, 36 and 39 were found to contain mtx1 gene with combination of mtx2 and/or mtx3 showed moderate or low toxicity against mosquito larvae. binA, binB and mtx1 genes were not present in non-toxic isolates. The present study revealed the genetic heterogeneity between both toxic and non-toxic isolates and indicates that there is a good correlation between the presence of toxin genes and toxicity of the strains. These techniques could be developed in screening of novel highly toxic B. sphaericus strains from environment without bioassay on mosquito larvae.     

Application of sludge-derived KOH-activated hydrochar in the adsorptive removal of orthophosphate

Hydrochar, a hydrothermally carbonized product, has gained attention recently as an adsorbent, among its wide environmental applications. In this study, sludge from the paper recycling industry, having a lower pollution load, was used to produce hydrochar, followed by pre-activation and post-activation using KOH. Characterizations were performed for structural morphology (SEM and TEM), molecular functionalities (FTIR) and textural features (BET surface area). Furthermore, Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the adsorption parameters for the removal of orthophosphate with different hydrochars. This study aimed at a low-cost, waste-to-wealth, and negative emission technology for simultaneous solid waste management and orthophosphate removal in aqueous solution. It was predicted from the adsorption experiment that an orthophosphate dose of 100 mg L⁻¹ at substrate pH 5.11 will result in the adsorption of 9.59 mg orthophosphate per g of post-activated hydrochar after 28.6 h, which was validated using further confirmation study.

Orthophosphate removal from aqueous solution by sludge-derived hydrochar was standardized and can be applied to prevent eutrophication.     

Prenatal diagnosis of Pompe disease by electron microscopy

Introduction Pompe disease is one of the lysosomal storage disorders caused by -glucosidase deficiency. The disease is characterized by accumulation of glycogen in the lysosome. The accumulation has unique ultrastructural features, which enable a prenatal diagnosis possible by electron microscopy.Materials and methods A prenatal diagnosis of Pompe disease by electron microscopic study of chorionic villus biopsies is described in a fetus of a mother whose previous child had died of the disease.Results Electron microscopy revealed fibrocytes with typical vacuoles filled with glycogen. A prenatal diagnosis of Pompe disease was made and subsequently confirmed by the autopsy study of the abortus.Conclusion We report the usefulness of electron microscopy for prenatal diagnosis in the first trimester of Pompe disease.