Antioxidant activity of the dihydrochalcones Aspalathin and Nothofagin and their corresponding flavones in relation to other Rooibos ( Aspalathus linearis ) Flavonoids, Epigallocatechin Gallate, and Trolox.

The antioxidant activity of rooibos flavonoids, including the dihydrochalcones aspalathin and nothofagin and their corresponding flavone glycosides, was evaluated using the ABTS radical cation, metal chelating, and Fe(II)-induced microsomal lipid peroxidation assays. Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and Trolox were used as reference standards. Optimized geometric conformers of aspalathin and nothofagin, in addition to calculated physicochemical properties, were considered to explain interaction with the microsomal membrane structure and thus relative potency of the dihydrochalcones.

Factors affecting the concentration in seven-spotted ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata L.) of Cd and Zn transferred through the food chain.

The transfer of Cd and Zn from soils amended with sewage sludge was followed through a food chain consisting of wheat, aphids and the predator Coccinella septempunctata. Multiple regression models were generated to predict the concentrations of Cd and Zn in C. septempunctata.

Laparoscopic hysterectomy.

The use of laparoscopy to perform all or part of hysterectomy has become widely accepted, with laparoscopic hysterectomy accounting for up to 15% of all hysterectomies performed in the United States. A recent Cochrane analysis has clearly shown that laparoscopic hysterectomy is associated with decreased length of stay and faster recovery time compared with laparotomy. There is no evidence to support a supracervical hysterectomy over a total hysterectomy in terms of frequency of pelvic support disorders or sexual function.

[Development of an evidence-based managerial decision aid to assist in the provision of secondary medical services in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)].

Background: Increasing global expenditures on health, together with increased patient demand for quality and service, have created a need for health care management tools based on economic and quaLity-based criteria. Despite the recognition of this need, decision-support tools are Lacking. In the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), policy change and budgetary and quality constraints necessitated the development of an evidence-based managerial decision aid, to assist in providing medical services at acceptable quality and availability leveLs, while addressing economic concerns.

Pro-apoptotic activities of novel synthetic quinones in human cancer cell lines.

Four novel quinonoid compounds are evaluated for their apoptotic potential against three cancer cell lines, i.e. MCF-7, HeLa and MG-63.

["Oh no, not him again" frequent attenders: the range of the phenomenon and how to cope with it?].

Frequent attenders (FA) pose a significant issue to a family practice and are considered to be a major burden on the physician and on resources utilization. The socioeconomic and psychological characteristics of FA are well known, however we know little about the management of these patients. The authors reviewed the literature on the bio-psychosocial characteristics of these patients and the approach to frequent attenders.

Evaluation of lipoxygenase inhibitory activity of anacardic acids.

6-Alkylsalicylic acids inhibit the linoleic acid peroxidation catalyzed by soybean lipoxygenase-1 (EC 1.13.11.

An oxidative burst of superoxide in embryonic axes of recalcitrant sweet chestnut seeds as induced by excision and desiccation.

Recalcitrant seeds are intolerant of desiccation and cannot be stored in conventional seed banks. Cryopreservation allows storage of the germplasm of some recalcitrant seeded species, but application to a wide range of plant diversity is still limited. The present work aimed at understanding the stresses that accompany the first steps in cryopreservation protocols, wounding and desiccation, both of which are likely to lead to the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Midurethral sling outcomes: tension-free vaginal tape versus Pelvilace.

We sought to compare the complications and efficacy of tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) and Pelvilace. Chart reviews and telephone questionnaires documented complications, urinary symptoms [Urogenital Distress Inventory short form (UDI-6) and Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGII)], and re-operations. Failure was defined as PGII > or = 4 (no change or worse) or reoperation for urinary incontinence.

The availability and content of dental instrument manufacturers' decontamination information.

Objective: The effective decontamination of reusable dental instruments is essential to reduce the risks from onward transmission of infectious diseases. There are therefore a number of legislative requirements placed upon manufacturers of medical devices (which includes dental instruments) to provide validated methods for the reprocessing of such devices. The aim of this study was to determine the availability and content of manufacturer's instructions for the reprocessing of reusable dental instruments.

Differential uptake, partitioning and transfer of Cd and Zn in the soil-pea plant-aphid system.

The biomagnification of trace metals during transfer from contaminated soil to higher trophic levels may potentially result in the exposure of predatory arthropods to toxic concentrations of these elements. This study examined the transfer of Cd and Zn in a soil-plant-arthropod system grown in series of field plots that had received two annual applications of municipal biosolids with elevated levels of Cd and Zn. Results showed that biosolids amendmentsignificantly increased the concentration of Cd in the soil and the shoots of pea plants and the concentration of Zn in the soil, pea roots, shoots, and pods.

Antimicrobial prenylated dihydrochalcones from Eriosema glomerata.

Two new natural dihydrochalcones exhibiting antimicrobial properties together with six known compounds were isolated from the Cameroonian medicinal plant Eriosema glomerata. The structures of the new dihydrochalcones were elucidated as 2',4'-dihydroxy-4-methoxy-3'-( gamma, gamma-dimethylallyl)dihydrochalcone and 2',4'-dihydroxy-3'-( gamma, gamma-dimethylallyl)dihydrochalcone by detailed spectroscopic analysis. The two new dihydrochalcones, named erioschalcones A ( 1) and B ( 2), demonstrated significant inhibitory activity against the microbial strains Bacillus megaterium, Escherichia coli, Chlorella fusca and Microbotryum violaceum.

Design and evaluation of anacardic acid derivatives as anticavity agents.

On the basis of antibacterial anacardic acids, 6-pentadecenylsalicylic acids, isolated from the cashew apple, Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiaceae), a series of 6-alk(en)ylsalicylic acids were synthesized and tested for their antibacterial activity against Streptococcus mutans ATCC 25175. Among them, 6-(4',8'-dimethylnonyl)salicylic acid was found to exhibit the most potent antibacterial activity against this cariogenic bacterium with the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of 0.

Molecular design of anti-MRSA agents based on the anacardic acid scaffold.

A series of anacardic acid analogues possessing different side chains viz. phenolic, branched, and alicyclic were synthesized and their antibacterial activity tested against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The maximum activity against this bacterium occurred with the branched side-chain analogue, 6-(4',8'-dimethylnonyl)salicylic acid, and the alicyclic side-chain analogue, 6-cyclododecylmethyl salicylic acid, with the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 0.

The antimutagenic activity of the major flavonoids of rooibos (Aspalathus linearis): some dose-response effects on mutagen activation-flavonoid interactions.

The antimutagenic properties of the most prevalent flavonoids in rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) were compared in the Salmonella typhimurium mutagenicity assay using tester strains TA98 and TA100 with, respectively, 2-acetamido-fluorene (2-AAF) and aflatoxin B(1) (AFB(1)) as mutagens in the presence of metabolic activation. The flavonoids included the dihydrochalcones aspalathin and nothofagin and their flavone analogues, orientin and isoorientin, and vitexin and isovitexin, respectively, as well as luteolin, chrysoeriol, (+)-catechin, quercetin, isoquercitrin, hyperoside and rutin. Flavonoid-mutagen interactions ranged from antimutagenic, comutagenic and promutagenic to mutagenic, while dose-response effects were mutagen-specific and ranged from typical to atypical including biphasic and threshold effects.

Anticonvulsant activity of Cotyledon orbiculata L. (Crassulaceae) leaf extract in mice.

The anticonvulsant activity of Cotyledon orbiculata L. (Crassulaceae) was investigated by studying the effects of both aqueous and methanol extracts of the plant species on seizures induced by pentylenetetrazole, bicuculline, picrotoxin and N-methyl-dl-aspartic in mice. Aqueous extract of Cotyledon orbiculata (50-400mg/kg, i.

For comparison: experience with a children's obesity camp.

Background: The alarming rise in childhood obesity has resulted in a number of bariatric surgical initiatives. To interpret the outcomes, a comparison with a nonoperative approach is prudent.

Methods: In 2003, 2004, and 2005, we measured the outcomes produced by an isolated summer camp in North Carolina for 74, 99, and 89 obese children and adolescents with a mean age of 12.

Contrasting behaviour of cadmium and zinc in a soil-plant-arthropod system.

This study investigates the transfer of Cd and Zn from a soil amended with sewage sludge at rates up to 100 t ha(-1) through a multi-trophic system consisting of barley, the aphid Sitobion avenae and the larvae of the lacewing Chrysoperla carnae. Results show marked differences in the transfer of the two metals. Cadmium was freely accumulated in barley roots, but accumulation in the shoot was restricted to a concentration of around 0.

Syntheses in enantiopure form of four diastereoisomeric naphthopyranquinones derived from aphid insect pigments.

The first syntheses are described of the four enantiopure naphthopyranquinones (1R,3R,4S)- and (1R,3R,4R)-3,4-dihydro-4,7,9-trihydroxy-1,3-dimethylnaphtho[2,3-c]pyranquinone (quinone A 1 and quinone A' 2) and their two C-3 epimers, the (1R,3S,4S)- and (1R,3S,4R)-diastereoisomers 5 and 6, using enantiopure lactate as the source of asymmetry. Key factors in these syntheses are the maintenance of stereochemical integrity throughout the sequences and intramolecular diastereoselective cyclisations of the titanium phenolates of phenolic lactaldehydes. For these cyclisations the differing degree of diastereoselectivity is explained as are the stereochemistries of the product 2-benzopyran-4,5-diols.

Repair of cytokine-induced DNA damage in cultured rat islets of Langerhans.

Treatment of cultured rat pancreatic islets of Langerhans with the combined cytokines interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), interferon gamma (IFN gamma) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) leads to DNA damage including strand breakage. We have investigated the nature of this damage and its repairability. When islets are further incubated for 4 h in fresh medium, the level of cytokine-induced strand breakage remains constant.

The synthesis of ventiloquinone L, the monomer of cardinalin 3.

Readily available ethyl-4-acetoxy-6,8-dimethoxynaphthalene-2-carboxylate was converted into 1-[3-allyl-4-(benzyloxy)-6,8-dimethoxy-2-naphthyl)-1-ethanol in seven steps. Subjection of this compound to Wacker oxidation conditions provided 5-benzyloxy-7,9-dimethoxy-1,3-dimethyl-1H-benzo[g]isochromene in good yield. Hydrogenation of the isochromene afforded (+/-)-cis-7,9-dimethoxy-1,3-dimethyl-1H-benzo[g]isochroman-5-ol as the major product, which was readily converted into ventiloquinone L.

Fatty acid protection from palmitic acid-induced apoptosis is lost following PI3-kinase inhibition.

We have previously shown that saturated fatty acids induce DNA damage and cause apoptotic cell death in insulin-producing beta-cells. Here we examine further the effects of single or combined dietary fatty acids on RINm5F survival or cell death signalling. Palmitate and stearate, but not linoleate, oleate or palmitoylmethyl ester, induced growth inhibition and increased apoptosis in RINm5F cells following 24 h exposure.