Investigation of the teratogenic potential of ochratoxin A and B using the FETAX system.

Background: Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin produced by certain Aspergillus and Penicillium species. It has been observed to be teratogenic in a number of animal models including rat, mouse, hamster, and chick, with reduced birth weight and craniofacial abnormalities being the most commonly observed malformations. Neither the potential of OTA to cause malformations in humans nor its teratogenic mode of action is known.

Mild hypothermia protects auditory function during cochlear implant surgery.

Objective/hypothesis: Loss of auditory function after cochlear implant (CI) electrode insertion occurs in two stages in the laboratory rat. An immediate loss is followed by a progressive loss over 7 days. Similar stages of acute and progressive neuronal loss occur after trauma in the central nervous system where hypothermia has been shown to have a protective effect.

In vitro investigation of individual and combined cytotoxic effects of ochratoxin A and other selected mycotoxins on renal cells.

Hundreds of mycotoxins are known to date and many of them are of great interest with regard to human and animal health since they are detected frequently in plant-derived products. Various mycotoxins may occur simultaneously, depending on the environmental and substrate conditions. Considering this coincident production, it is very likely, that humans and animals are always exposed to mixtures rather than to individual compounds.

Water-borne diclofenac affects kidney and gill integrity and selected immune parameters in brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario).

The detection of residues of various pharmaceuticals in surface waters during the last two decades has prompted concerns about possible adverse effects of this kind of pollution on aquatic organisms. The objective of the present study was to investigate effects of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac, one of the pharmaceuticals most prevalent in surface waters, on brown trout (Salmo trutta f. fario), a salmonid species native to German rivers.

Perceived risk for developing stroke among older adults.

Background: Persons who perceive their risk for stroke accurately may be more likely to engage in prevention practices to reduce their risk.

Methods: In 2004, 800 adults aged 45 years and older in two counties participated in a telephone survey to assess their perceived risk for stroke and their history of stroke risk factors.

Results: Overall, 39% of respondents perceived themselves to be at risk for having a stroke.

Recovery of MC-LR in fish liver tissue.

Cyanotoxins, particularly microcystins (MCs), have been shown to be a hazard to human health. MCs accumulate in aquatic organisms probably as a result of irreversible binding to liver protein phosphatases. The aim of this study was to describe the recovery of MC from fish liver using various detection methods, with MC-LR as the representative congener.

Sex and low-level sampling stress modify the impacts of sewage effluent on the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) immune system.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of chronic exposure to municipal sewage treatment effluent at environmentally relevant concentrations on immune parameters in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), including the assessment of potential differences in reactivity between sexually mature male and female fish. Trout were exposed to 1.5 and 15% (v/v) secondary treated municipal sewage effluent for 32 weeks.

Rural community knowledge of stroke warning signs and risk factors.

Introduction: Rapid identification and treatment of ischemic stroke can lead to improved patient outcomes. Public education campaigns in selected communities have helped to increase knowledge about stroke, but most data represent large metropolitan centers working with academic institutions. Much less is known about knowledge of stroke among residents in rural communities.

The accuracy of individual self-reported items to determine periodontal disease history.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the validity of self-reported periodontal disease and symptoms to predict periodontal disease history in a German population. We analysed data from 246 patients who answered a self-administered questionnaire on self-perceived periodontal disease and self-reported symptoms of periodontal disease. Actual periodontal status was assessed from panoramic radiographs and periodontal disease was defined as > or = 3 teeth with radiographic alveolar bone loss (ABL) > 5 mm (prevalence 39%).

Diversity within cyanobacterial mat communities in variable salinity meltwater ponds of McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica.

This study investigated the diversity of cyanobacterial mat communities of three meltwater ponds--Fresh, Orange and Salt Ponds, south of Bratina Island, McMurdo Ice Shelf, Antarctica. A combined morphological and genetic approach using clone libraries was used to investigate the influence of salinity on cyanobacterial diversity within these ecosystems without prior cultivation or isolation of cyanobacteria. We were able to identify 22 phylotypes belonging to Phormidium sp.

The role of extracellular adenosine in regulating mossy fiber synaptic plasticity.

Hippocampal mossy fiber synapses show unique molecular features and dynamic range of plasticity. A recent paper proposed that the defining features of mossy fiber synaptic plasticity are caused by a local buildup of extracellular adenosine (Moore et al., 2003).

Ochratoxin A: the continuing enigma.

The mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) has been linked to the genesis of several disease states in both animals and humans. It has been described as nephrotoxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, immunotoxic, and hepatotoxic in laboratory and domestic animals, as well as being thought to be the probable causal agent in the development of nephropathies (Balkan Endemic Nephropathy, BEN and Chronic Interstitial Nephropathy, CIN) and urothelial tumors in humans. As a result, several international agencies are currently attempting to define safe legal limits for OTA concentration in foodstuffs (e.

Guidance values for microcystins in water and cyanobacterial supplement products (blue-green algal supplements): a reasonable or misguided approach?

This article reviews current scientific knowledge on the toxicity and carcinogenicity of microcystins and compares this to the guidance values proposed for microcystins in water by the World Health Organization, and for blue-green algal food supplements by the Oregon State Department of Health. The basis of the risk assessment underlying these guidance values is viewed as being critical due to overt deficiencies in the data used for its generation: (i) use of one microcystin congener only (microcystin-LR), while the other presently known nearly 80 congeners are largely disregarded, (ii) new knowledge regarding potential neuro and renal toxicity of microcystins in humans and (iii) the inadequacies of assessing realistic microcystin exposures in humans and especially in children via blue-green algal food supplements. In reiterating the state-of-the-art toxicology database on microcystins and in the light of new data on the high degree of toxin contamination of algal food supplements, this review clearly demonstrates the need for improved kinetic data of microcystins in humans and for discussion concerning uncertainty factors, which may result in a lowering of the present guidance values and an increased routine control of water bodies and food supplements for toxin contamination.

Organic anion transporting polypeptides expressed in liver and brain mediate uptake of microcystin.

Microcystins are toxins produced by freshwater cyanobacteria. They are cyclic heptapeptides that exhibit hepato- and neurotoxicity. However, the transport systems that mediate uptake of microcystins into hepatocytes and across the blood-brain barrier have not yet been identified.

Occurrence and elimination of cyanobacterial toxins in drinking water treatment plants.

Toxin-producing cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are abundant in surface waters used as drinking water resources. The toxicity of one group of these toxins, the microcystins, and their presence in surface waters used for drinking water production has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to publish a provisional guideline value of 1.0 mug microcystin (MC)-LR/l drinking water.

Calbindin-D28k content and firing pattern of hippocampal granule cells in amygdala-kindled rats: a perforated patch-clamp study.

The dentate gyrus is believed to play an important pathophysiological role during experimentally induced kindling. In this study, we investigated whether an altered content of the calcium binding protein calbindin-D(28k) or an increased intrinsic excitability of hippocampal granule cells contribute to the induction of the kindling phenomenon. We determined the firing pattern of granule cells in hippocampal slices using perforated patch-clamp recordings in current clamp mode.

A randomized phase II trial of capecitabine and two different schedules of irinotecan in first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer: efficacy, quality-of-life and toxicity.

Background: To determine the efficacy, impact on quality-of-life (QoL) and tolerability of two different irinotecan administration schedules in combination with capecitabine as first-line treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Patients And Methods: We carried out a randomized phase II trial to select one of the following treatment regimens for further investigation: weekly irinotecan at a dose of 70 mg/m(2) days 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 (arm A) or 3-weekly irinotecan at a dose of 300/240 mg/m(2) day 1 and days 22 (arm B) in combination with capecitabine 1000 mg/m(2) twice daily days 1-14 and days 22-35 every 6 weeks.

Results: Seventy-five patients with good performance status entered the trial.

Endogenous Ca2+ buffer concentration and Ca2+ microdomains in hippocampal neurons.

Ca2+-binding proteins are ubiquitously expressed throughout the CNS and serve as valuable immunohistochemical markers for certain types of neurons. However, the functional role of most Ca2+-binding proteins has to date remained obscure because their concentration in central neurons is not known. In this study, we investigate the intracellular concentration of the widely expressed Ca2+-binding protein calbindin-D28k in adult hippocampal slices using patch-clamp recordings and immunohistochemistry.

Qualitative and quantitative histomorphologic assessment of fathead minnow Pimephales promelas gonads as an endpoint for evaluating endocrine-active compounds: a pilot methodology study.

Although histopathology is routinely employed as a tool for the detection and assessment of xenobiotic-mediated effects in mammals, it is less frequently applied to fish. In part, this is due to a lack of method standardization regarding study design, tissue preservation, tissue sectioning, histopathological evaluation, reporting, and statistical analysis. The objectives of the present study were: (1) to test and refine a method for the microsurgical excision of fathead minnow (FHM) Pimephales promelas gonads for the purpose of histopathologic examination; (2) to determine the optimal combination of fixation and embedding procedures for the histopathologic and morphometric analysis of FHM gonads following exposure to a known estrogenic compound, 17beta-estradiol (E2); and (3) to provide a method for the categorization and quantification of cell types in FHM gonads by manually counting cells in digitized images using image analysis software.

Effects of treated sewage effluent on immune function in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

In this study, the immune reactions of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were examined, after exposure to 10, 30 and 70% of tertiary-treated municipal sewage effluent for 27 days. Exposures were conducted concurrently with and without an immune challenge using intraperitoneal injections of inactivated Aeromonas salmonicida salmonicida. Due to the time required to prepare and analyse samples, fish sampling was conducted over two consecutive days.

Statistical evaluation of time-dependent metabolite concentrations: estimation of post-mortem intervals based on in situ 1H-MRS of the brain.

Knowledge of the time interval from death (post-mortem interval, PMI) has an enormous legal, criminological and psychological impact. Aiming to find an objective method for the determination of PMIs in forensic medicine, 1H-MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS) was used in a sheep head model to follow changes in brain metabolite concentrations after death. Following the characterization of newly observed metabolites (Ith et al.

Rapid analysis of CpG methylation patterns using RNase T1 cleavage and MALDI-TOF.

Here, we introduce a method for the fast and accurate analysis of DNA methylation based on bisulfite-treated DNA. The target region is PCR amplified using a T7 RNA polymerase promoter-tagged primer. A subsequent in vitro transcription leads to a transcript which contains guanosine residues only at sites that contained methylated cytosines before bisulfite treatment.