Characterization of polyphenol oxidase activity in Ataulfo mango.

Crude extracts of Ataulfo exhibited polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity with pyrogallol, 3-methylcatechol, catechol, gallic acid, and protocatechuic acid. The substrate dependent pH optima ranged from pH 5.4 to 6.

Adolescent prediabetes in a high-risk Middle East country: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of prediabetes in adolescents living in a high-risk country and to detect risk factors associated with this disorder.

Design: Survey questionnaire combined with physical measurements and blood sugar determination.

Setting: Doha, capital city of Qatar.

An analysis of deformities in revision surgeries for secondary unilateral cleft lip.

Objective: To analyze the secondary cleft lip deformities and the possible causes in a cohort of cases.

Study Design: A case series.

Place And Duration Of Study: Services Institute of Medical Sciences and WAPDA Teaching Hospital Complex, Lahore, from September 2008 to March 2012.

The effect of dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on plasma lipids and lipoproteins of C57BL/6 mice is age and sex specific.

There is clear evidence of the effects of sex and age on the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. We investigated the interactions of dietary omega (n)-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), sex, and age on plasma lipids and lipoproteins in the offspring of C57BL/6 mice exposed to high, medium, or low n-3 PUFA at weaning and 16 weeks postweaning. There was an increase in plasma triglycerides from weaning to 16 weeks in male and female offspring; however, the high n-3 PUFA group showed a reduction in triglycerides in both sexes at 16 weeks.

The expression of neurotrophins is differentially regulated by ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids at weaning and postweaning in C57BL/6 mice cerebral cortex.

Omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and neurotrophins are pivotal to the proper functioning of the central nervous system. We investigated the effects of perinatal and postweaning n-3 PUFA diets on cerebral cortical phospholipid fatty acid composition, and the expression of neurotrophins at weaning and 16 weeks postweaning of the male offspring of C57BL/6 mice. Female C57BL/6 mice were fed semi-purified diets (20%w/w fat) containing 10% (high) and 2% (low) n-3 PUFA before mating, during pregnancy, and until weaning.

Novel regulatory roles of omega-3 fatty acids in metabolic pathways: a proteomics approach.

Background: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) have been shown to alleviate the symptoms of metabolic disorders, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and insulin resistance. Several putative mechanisms by which n-3 PUFA elicit beneficial health effects have been proposed; however, there is still a shortage of knowledge on the proteins and pathways that are regulated by n-3 PUFA.

Methods: Using two dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, we investigated the effects of diets high or low in n-3 PUFA on hepatic proteomic profile of C57BL/6 mice.

Dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids alter the fatty acid composition of hepatic and plasma bioactive lipids in C57BL/6 mice: a lipidomic approach.

Background: Omega (n)-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are converted to bioactive lipid components that are important mediators in metabolic and physiological pathways; however, which bioactive compounds are metabolically active, and their mechanisms of action are still not clear. We investigated using lipidomic techniques, the effects of diets high in n-3 PUFA on the fatty acid composition of various bioactive lipids in plasma and liver.

Methodology And Principal Findings: Female C57BL/6 mice were fed semi-purified diets (20% w/w fat) containing varying amounts of n-3 PUFA before mating, during gestation and lactation, and until weaning.

Glycogen phosphorylase-a is a common target for anti-diabetic effect of iridoid and secoiridoid glycosides.

Purpose: Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, action or both. The use of medicinal plants for the treatment of diabetes mellitus dates back from the Ebers papyrus of about 1550 B.C.

Finite element modeling of embolic coil deployment: multifactor characterization of treatment effects on cerebral aneurysm hemodynamics.

Endovascular coiling is the most common treatment for cerebral aneurysms. During the treatment, a sequence of embolic coils with different stiffness, shapes, sizes, and lengths is deployed to fill the aneurysmal sac. Although coil packing density has been clinically correlated with treatment success, many studies have also reported success at low packing densities, as well as recurrence at high packing densities.

A Time Off Incentive Was Not Associated with Influenza Vaccination Acceptance among Healthcare Workers.

Objectives. The national influenza vaccination rate among healthcare workers (HCWs) remains low despite clear benefits to patients, coworkers, and families. We sought to evaluate formally the effect of a one-hour time off incentive on attitudes towards influenza vaccination during the 2011-2012 influenza season.

A battery of bioassays for the evaluation of phenanthrene biotoxicity in soil.

A battery of bioassays was used to assess the ecotoxicological risk of soil spiked with a range of phenanthrene levels (0.95, 6.29, 38.

Interaction of constitutive photomorphogenesis 1 protein with protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B suppresses protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1B activity and enhances insulin signaling.

Recent studies reveal that COP1 suppresses the expression of gluconeogenetic genes and prohibits hepatic glucose production. To get more insight into COP1 in hepatic cells, we examined the impact of COP1 on insulin-responsive genes and insulin signaling. We found that COP1 increased the responsiveness of insulin-modulated genes to insulin in that it promoted the expression of insulin-induced genes and inhibited that of insulin-suppressed genes and that COP1 enhanced insulin signaling as it promoted phosphorylation of Akt and ERK as well as tyrosine phosphorylation of IRβ induced by insulin.

The effect of insulin intensification in children and young persons with Type 1 diabetes differs in relation to ethnic group; a prospective observational study.

Aims: We prospectively evaluated the effect of insulin intensification on glycaemic control and lipid levels in children and young persons with Type 1 diabetes in relation to ethnicity.

Methods: In the first 2 years of a 3-year observation period, as part of routine clinical care, 231 children and young persons (40% white, 28% South Asian, 32% black) from a single clinic were offered intensive insulin therapy. After 2 years, 222 were on intensive therapy and their data were compared between ethnic groups at the end of year 3.

Biotoxicity assessment of pyrene in soil using a battery of biological assays.

A test battery, composed of a range of biological assays, was applied to evaluate the ecological health of soil aged for 69 days and spiked with a range of pyrene levels (1.04, 8.99, 41.

Comparison of outcomes between linear versus triangular flap repair techniques at vermilion in unilateral cleft lip repair.

Background: Surgery for unilateral cleft lip repair has evolved over centuries. Many studies give detailed inside to this process of evolution of various techniques and their modifications. Objectives were to compare linear repair of Millard rotation advancement technique and triangular flap technique of Nordhoff, at vermilion in unilateral cleft lip repair.

Anti-diabetic activity of swertiamarin is due to an active metabolite, gentianine, that upregulates PPAR-γ gene expression in 3T3-L1 cells.

We have previously shown the anti-diabetic effects of swertiamarin; however, pharmacokinetic analysis showed that swertiamarin had a plasma half-life of 1.3 h. Gentianine is an active metabolite of swertiamarin that possesses a pharmacophoric moiety.

The association of ClipR-59 protein with AS160 modulates AS160 protein phosphorylation and adipocyte Glut4 protein membrane translocation.

ClipR-59 is a membrane-associated protein and has been implicated in membrane signaling and vesicle trafficking. Recently, we have identified ClipR-59 as an Akt-interacting protein, and we have found that, by interacting with Akt, ClipR-59 modulates Akt subcellular compartmentalization and Akt substrate AS160 phosphorylation, thereby promoting Glut4 membrane translocation. Here, we have further investigated the regulatory effects of ClipR-59 on AS160 phosphorylation and subsequent adipocyte glucose transport.

Fish oil induced hyperlipidemia and oxidative stress in BioF1B hamsters is attenuated by elderberry extract.

We have previously reported fish oil induced hyperlipidemia in BioF1B hamsters compared with Golden Syrian (GS) hamsters. Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) extract is abundant in anthocyanins and is believed to exert cardioprotective effects primarily by virtue of its hypolipidemic and antioxidant potential.

Anaesthesia and epilepsy.

Epilepsy is the most common serious neurological disorder, with a prevalence of 0.5-1% of the population. While the traditional antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) still play a significant role in treatment of seizures, there has been an influx of newer agents over the last 20 yr, which are now in common usage.

Transcutaneous bilirubin measurement at the time of hospital discharge in a multiethnic newborn population.

Background: Severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia continues to occur in healthy newborns. Recent guidelines have supported using transcutaneous devices in estimating bilirubin levels. Previous studies using these devices are limited.

Frequency of sensory deficit in terms of two point discrimination in split thickness skin grafts and local flaps for soft tissue defects of fingers.

Background: The minimum distance between two stimulus points on the skin, which are perceived as distinct points, is defined as two point discrimination (TPD). Among the two types of TPD, i.e.