NBF2, an Algal Fiber-Rich Formula, Reverses Diabetic Dyslipidemia and Hyperglycemia In Vivo.

, known as Aonori in Japan, is an edible alga species that is mass-cultivated in Japan. Supplementation with Aonori-derived biomaterials has been reported to enhance metabolic health in previous studies. This was an experimental study that evaluated the metabolic health effects of NBF2, a formula made of algal and -derived biomaterials, on obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM).

Blood pressure alteration associated with abnormal body electrolyte and water balance in colitis mice.

Previous studies reported that there is an association between abnormal body fluid balance and prognosis in colitis patients. However, it remains to be clarified the effects of colitis on characteristics of body electrolytes or water content, including alternation in blood pressure. In this study, we examined the effects of colon injury on body water balance and blood pressure in the dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced colitis mouse model.

Microplastics increase cadmium absorption and impair nutrient uptake and growth in red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor L.) in the presence of cadmium and biochar.

Microplastic (MP) pollution in terrestrial ecosystems is gaining attention, but there is limited research on its effects on leafy vegetables when combined with heavy metals. This study examines the impact of three MP types-polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polystyrene (PS)-at concentrations of 0.02, 0.

Optimizing biochar, vermicompost, and duckweed amendments to mitigate arsenic uptake and accumulation in rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivated on arsenic-contaminated soil.

The accumulation of arsenic (As) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) grain poses a significant health concern in Bangladesh. To address this, we investigated the efficacy of various organic amendments and phytoremediation techniques in reducing As buildup in O.

Association of Antihypertensive Effects of Esaxerenone with the Internal Sodium Balance in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Hypertensive Rats.

Background: The nonsteroidal mineralocorticoid receptor blocker esaxerenone is effective in reducing blood pressure (BP).

Objective: In this study, we investigated esaxerenone-driven sodium homeostasis and its association with changes in BP in Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) hypertensive rats.

Methods: In the different experimental setups, we evaluated BP by a radiotelemetry system, and sodium homeostasis was determined by an approach of sodium intake (food intake) and excretion (urinary excretion) in DSS rats with a low-salt diet (0.

Cardioprotective Effects of a Nonsteroidal Mineralocorticoid Receptor Blocker, Esaxerenone, in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Hypertensive Rats.

We investigated the effects of esaxerenone, a novel, nonsteroidal, and selective mineralocorticoid receptor blocker, on cardiac function in Dahl salt-sensitive (DSS) rats. We provided 6-week-old DSS rats a high-salt diet (HSD, 8% NaCl). Following six weeks of HSD feeding (establishment of cardiac hypertrophy), we divided the animals into the following two groups: HSD or HSD + esaxerenone (0.

D-Tagatose Effectively Reduces the Number of Streptococcus mutans and Oral Bacteria in Healthy Adult Subjects: A Chewing Gum Pilot Study and Randomized Clinical Trial.

We examined the effect of D-Tagatose on the growth of oral bacteria including Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans). Saliva collected from 10 healthy volunteers was plated on BHI medium (to culture total oral bacteria) and MBS medium (to culture S.

Both Ser361 phosphorylation and the C-arrestin domain of thioredoxin interacting protein are important for cell cycle blockade at the G1/S checkpoint.

Thioredoxin interacting protein (TXNIP) is a novel tumor suppressor that is down-regulated in several cancer tissues and tumor cell lines. Overexpression of TXNIP causes cell cycle arrest at the G1/S checkpoint in the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line HuH-7. TXNIP contains putative phosphorylation sites, but the effects of its phosphorylation have not been fully characterized.

Additive antitumour effect of D‑allose in combination with cisplatin in non-small cell lung cancer cells.

D‑allose is a rare sugar which has been shown to have growth inhibitory effects in several kinds of malignancies. However, the effect of D‑allose on lung cancer progression has not been previously studied. To investigate the antitumour effect of D‑allose in lung cancer cells and its mechanism, human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines (squamous cell carcinomas: EBC1 and VMRC‑LCD; adenocarcinomas: A549, HI1017, RERF‑LC‑A1 and NCI-H1975) were treated with D‑allose (50 mM) with or without cisplatin (5 µM).

Seroprevalence of brucellosis in patients with prolonged fever in Bangladesh.

Introduction: This study describes the seroprevalence of human brucellosis among pyretic patients and detection of Brucella abortus DNA from seropositive pyretic patients using real-time polymerase chain reaction (rtPCR) for the first time in Bangladesh.

Methodology: Blood samples were collected from 300 pyretic patients from October 2007 to May 2008 and subjected to three serological tests: Rose-Bengal plate test (RBT), standard tube agglutination test (STAT), and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). Risk factors were identified by multivariate Firth's logistic regression analysis.

Inhibitory effect of isoamericanol A from Jatropha curcas seeds on the growth of MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line by G2/M cell cycle arrest.

Although various parts of J. curcas (Jatropha curcas L., Euphorbiaceae) have long been used as traditional folk medicines for their antiviral, analgesic, and/or antidotal efficacies, we are the first to investigate the role of anti-carcinogenicity of isoamericanol A (IAA) from the seed extract.

D-Allose Inhibits Cancer Cell Growth by Reducing GLUT1 Expression.

Glucose is a major energy source for mammalian cells and is transported into cells via cell-specific expression of various glucose transporters (GLUTs). Especially, cancer cells require massive amounts of glucose as an energy source for their dysregulated growth and thus over-express GLUTs. d-allose, a C-3 epimer of d-glucose, is one of rare sugars that exist in small quantities in nature.

Beneficial effect of D-allose for isolated islet culture prior to islet transplantation.

Background: Pretransplant restoration of islets damaged during isolation remains to be solved. In this study, we examined the effect of D-allose on islets isolated from rat pancreata prior to islet transplantation.

Methods: Rat islets isolated from fresh pancreata were cultured overnight in Roswell Park Memorial Institute 1640 solution in the absence (group 1) or presence (group 2) of D-allose.

Rare sugar D-allulose: Potential role and therapeutic monitoring in maintaining obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are the leading worldwide risk factors for mortality. The inextricably interlinked pathological progression from excessive weight gain, obesity, and hyperglycemia to T2DM, usually commencing from obesity, typically originates from overconsumption of sugar and high-fat diets. Although most patients require medications, T2DM is manageable or even preventable with consumption of low-calorie diet and maintaining body weight.

Beneficial Effects of Supplementation of the Rare Sugar "D-allulose" Against Hepatic Steatosis and Severe Obesity in Lep(ob)/Lep(ob) Mice.

A rare sugar, D-allulose (also called D-psicose), has recently been applied as a food supplement in view of controlling diabetes and obesity in Japan. D-allulose has been proven to have unique effects against hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia in a number of studies using several species of rats and mice. However, the antiobesity effects of D-allulose have not yet been assessed in Lep(ob)/Lep(ob) (ob/ob) mice.

Rare sugar D-psicose prevents progression and development of diabetes in T2DM model Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty rats.

Background: The fundamental cause of overweight and obesity is consumption of calorie-dense foods. We have introduced a zero-calorie sweet sugar, d-psicose (d-allulose), a rare sugar that has been proven to have strong antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects, and could be used as a replacement of natural sugar for the obese and diabetic subjects.

Aim: Above mentioned efficacy of d-psicose (d-allulose) has been confirmed in our previous studies on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) model Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats with short-term treatment.

Intestinal absorption, organ distribution, and urinary excretion of the rare sugar D-psicose.

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate intestinal absorption, organ distribution, and urinary elimination of the rare sugar D-psicose, a 3-carbon stereoisomer of D-fructose that is currently being investigated and which has been found to be strongly effective against hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia.

Methods: This study was performed using radioactive D-psicose, which was synthesized enzymatically from radioactive D-allose. Concentrations in whole blood, urine, and organs were measured at different time points until 2 hours after both oral and intravenous administrations and 7 days after a single oral administration (100 mg/kg body weight) to Wistar rats.

Evaluation of three immunological tests for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in a rural endemic area of Bangladesh.

Objective: Bangladesh is a high tuberculosis burden country. It is always challenging to diagnose active pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases in rural areas where the setting up of conventional microscopic and cultural diagnostic tools is difficult. The objective of the present study is to find a feasible, reliable and easily accessible alternative diagnostic approach for PTB in the rural areas of Bangladesh.

FOXO/TXNIP pathway is involved in the suppression of hepatocellular carcinoma growth by glutamate antagonist MK-801.

Background: Accumulating evidence has suggested the importance of glutamate signaling in cancer growth, yet the signaling pathway has not been fully elucidated. N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor activates intracellular signaling pathways such as the extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and forkhead box, class O (FOXO). Suppression of lung carcinoma growth by NMDA receptor antagonists via the ERK pathway has been reported.

The rare sugar D-allose has a reducing effect against ischemia-reperfusion injury on the rat abdominal skin island flap model.

Background: Recently, one of the rare sugars, D-allose, has received attention from many researchers because of its availability for mass production and its various physiological functions. Among these, an antioxidative effect has been strongly suggested. In this study, we investigated whether this effect is also applicable to the field of skin surgery.

Rare sugar D-psicose protects pancreas β-islets and thus improves insulin resistance in OLETF rats.

Rare sugar D-psicose has cropped up as a non-toxic and effective compound to protect and preserve pancreatic β-islets in the growing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats through the regulation of glucose and fat metabolism. The present study was undertaken to examine the effect of rare sugar D-psicose on the protection of pancreatic β-islets using Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, a T2DM model. Treated rats were fed with 5% D-psicose or 5% D-glucose supplemented drinking water, and only water in the control for 13 weeks.

Seroprevalence and risk factors for brucellosis in a high-risk group of individuals in Bangladesh.

Brucellosis is an occupational hazard of livestock farmers, dairy workers, veterinarians, slaughterhouse workers, and laboratory personnel, all of whom are considered to belong to the high-risk occupational group (HROG). A study was undertaken to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis, identify risk factors associated with brucellosis seropositivity, and detect Brucella at genus level using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) among people in the HROG in the Dhaka division of Bangladesh. A sample of 500 individuals from the HROG was collected from three districts of Dhaka division of Bangladesh.

Genetic characterization of Staphylococcus aureus isolates carrying Panton-Valentine leukocidin genes in Bangladesh.

To assess the spread and genetic characteristics of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) gene-carrying Staphylococcus aureus in Bangladesh, we investigated 59 strains (49 isolates from clinical specimens and 10 isolates colonized in the nasal cavities of medical staff), including 26 methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains. The PVL gene was detected only in methicillin-susceptible S.