Effect of hyperhomocysteinemia on cardiovascular risk factors and initiation of atherosclerosis in Wistar rats.

Hyperhomocysteinemia is considered an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis. The present study was designed to assess the effect of high level of serum homocysteine on other cardiovascular risk factors and markers in rats and to study its mode of action in initiating atherosclerosis. To address this issue, four different doses of methionine (0.

Quantitative structure activity relationship studies of sulfamide derivatives as carbonic anhydrase inhibitor: as antiglaucoma agents.

Selective inhibition of ciliary process enzyme i.e. Carbonic Anhydrase-II is an excellent approach in reducing elevated intraocular pressure, thus treating glaucoma.

Growth and nutritional status of the Bharia--a primitive tribe of Madhya Pradesh.

This study is an attempt to understand the physical growth and nutritional status of Bharia, a primitive tribe of Central India. A cross sectional study was conducted on 551 children (283 boys and 268 girls) aged 4 to 18 years. Body weight, height, sitting height, head circumference, upper arm circumference, chest circumference, biceps, triceps, sub scapular and calf skin fold thickness were measured.

Tin mesoporphyrin in conjunction with retinoic acid reverses the retinoic acid induced enhancement of phospholipase A(2) activity in vivo in rats.

Retinol (Vitamin A) is known to destabilize membranes. The effect of one of its natural derivatives, Retinoic Acid, was therefore studied on membrane stability, by inversely correlating this stability with Phospholipase A(2) activity. Lipid metalloporphyrin interactions have been the object of intense research in recent times.

Transferrin receptor engagement by polymeric IgA1 induces receptor expression and mesangial cell proliferation: role in IgA nephropathy.

IgA nephropathy (IgAN) is characterized by IgA immune complex-mediated mesangial cell proliferation. We have previously identified the transferrin receptor (TfR) as an IgA1 receptor and found that, in kidney biopsies of patients with IgAN, TfR is overexpressed and co-localized with IgA1 mesangial deposits. We also showed that IgA1 binding to TfR was strikingly increased when IgA1 was hypogalactosylated and of high molecular weight, both features found in IgA from IgAN patients.

Nocardia keratitis: species, drug sensitivities, and clinical correlation.

Purpose: To correlate the clinical presentation and treatment outcome of Nocardia keratitis with the time to diagnosis, different species and with the drug sensitivity pattern.

Method: Patients with Nocardia corneal ulcers were studied at a tertiary eye care center. Speciation of Nocardia isolates was done by sequencing the 16s rRNA gene.

Hyperthyroidism induces apoptosis in rat liver through activation of death receptor-mediated pathways.

Background/aims: The molecular basis of hepatic dysfunction in thyrotoxicosis is not fully understood. Here, we investigated the effect of altered thyroidal status on death receptor pathways including p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), a member of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily, in rat liver.

Methods: Hyperthyroidism was induced in Sprague-Dawley rats by daily injections of triiodothyronine in a dose of 12.

Pulsed laser deposition of metal films and nanoparticles in vacuum using subnanosecond laser pulses.

A study of silver, chromium, stainless-steel, and indium thin films prepared by subnanosecond laser deposition in vacuum is reported. We compare the laser ablation in vacuum at the weak- and tight-focusing conditions of a Ti:sapphire laser beam and analyze the nanoparticles synthesized in the latter case using absorption spectroscopy, x-ray fluorescence, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Our results show that the nanoparticle formation can be accomplished using long laser pulses under tight-focusing conditions.

Quantification of olanzapine polymorphs using powder X-ray diffraction technique.

Accurate quantification of crystalline phases present in drug materials is becoming increasingly important, due to stringent regulatory concerns about polymorph characterization and control in drug substances and products. In the present study, a quantification method for polymorphic forms of olanzapine (OLZ) has been developed using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Preferred orientation has been reported to be the major source of error in PXRD analysis, therefore, prior to development of a quantification method, pure polymorphic forms (I and II) of different size ranges were analyzed.

Value of CK14 and CD56 immunostaining in distinguishing small cell carcinoma from squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus.

Primary small cell carcinoma of esophagus (SCC) is a rare disease but has more aggressive behavior than esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SQC). The distinction of SCC from SQC is very important therapeutically. Few systematic studies of immunohistochemical analysis to differentiate primary esophageal SCC with concomitant SQC, and adjacent normal esophageal epithelium have been reported.

Bradykinin-induced chloride conductance in murine proximal tubule epithelial cells.

Despite the recognized role of bradykinin (BK)-induced calcium and chloride conductance in regulating salt transport in the kidney, the signaling pathway involved has not been well examined. Patch clamp of murine proximal tubule (TKPTS) cells revealed that BK (10 nM) produced an increase in an outwardly rectifying current from a basal level of 2.9 +/- 0.

Peritubular capillary dysfunction and renal tubular epithelial cell stress following lipopolysaccharide administration in mice.

The mortality rate for septic patients with acute renal failure is extremely high. Since sepsis is often caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a model of LPS challenge was used to study the development of kidney injury. Intravital video microscopy was utilized to investigate renal peritubular capillary blood flow in anesthetized male C57BL/6 mice at 0, 2, 6, 10, 18, 24, 36, and 48 h after LPS administration (10 mg/kg ip).

Increased pro-nerve growth factor and p75 neurotrophin receptor levels in developing hypothyroid rat cerebral cortex are associated with enhanced apoptosis.

Thyroid hormone insufficiency adversely affects cortical development; however, its effect on apoptosis modulation during cerebral cortex development is not understood. We investigated the effect of perinatal hypothyroidism on apoptosis and its mechanisms during rat cerebral cortex development. Primary hypothyroidism was induced by feeding methimazole (0.

Molecular iodine induces caspase-independent apoptosis in human breast carcinoma cells involving the mitochondria-mediated pathway.

Molecular iodine (I2) is known to inhibit the induction and promotion of N-methyl-n-nitrosourea-induced mammary carcinogenesis, to regress 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced breast tumors in rat, and has also been shown to have beneficial effects in fibrocystic human breast disease. Cytotoxicity of iodine on cultured human breast cancer cell lines, namely MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, MDA-MB-453, ZR-75-1, and T-47D, is reported in this communication. Iodine induced apoptosis in all of the cell lines tested, except MDA-MB-231, shown by sub-G1 peak analysis using flow cytometry.

Mechanism of 4-HPR-induced apoptosis in glioma cells: evidences suggesting role of mitochondrial-mediated pathway and endoplasmic reticulum stress.

N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)retinamide (4-HPR), a synthetic retinoid is under clinical evaluation as a therapeutic agent in a variety of cancers. Its mechanism(s) of action involves multiple overlapping pathways that still remain unclear. In glioma cells its mechanism of action is not well elucidated.

Chromosomal localization, copy number assessment, and transcriptional status of BamHI repeat fractions in water buffalo Bubalus bubalis.

Higher eukaryotes contain a wide variety of repetitive DNA, although their functions often remain unknown. We describe cloning, chromosomal localization, copy number assessment, and transcriptional status of 1378- and 673-bp repeat fractions in the buffalo genome. The pDS5, representing the 1378-bp fragment, showed FISH signals in the centromeric region of acrocentric chromosomes only, whereas pDS4, corresponding to 673 bp, detected signals in the centromeric regions of all the chromosomes.

Influence of extrinsic factors on granulation in UASB reactor.

The aim of this mini-review is to synthesize and analyze information on how the process of granulation is affected by environmental and operational conditions in the reactor. The factors reviewed are temperature, pH, alkalinity, organic loading rate, upflow velocity, nature and strength of substrate, nutrients, multivalent cations and heavy metals, microbial ecology of seed sludge, exo-cellular polymer, and addition of natural and synthetic polymers. Careful temperature control and adequate alkalinity is required for generation and maintenance of granules.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase and apoptosis in murine proximal tubule epithelial cells.

Since inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and proximal tubule injury are known to be critical determinants of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced renal failure, the role of nitric oxide (NO) in proximal tubule cell apoptosis was examined. An 18-h treatment with a combination of LPS (5 microg/ml) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma, 100 units/ml) synergistically induced iNOS and produced a 20-fold increase in NO generation in the TKPTS murine proximal tubule cell line. NO generation by LPS + IFN-gamma was blocked by a specific iNOS blocker, L-N6-(1-iminoethyl)-lysine (L-NIL, 1 mM).

Transcriptional status of known and novel genes tagged with consensus of 33.15 repeat loci employing minisatellite-associated sequence amplification (MASA) and real-time PCR in water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis.

We conducted minisatellite-associated sequence amplification (MASA) with an oligo (5' CACCTCTCCACCTGCC 3') based on consensus of 33.15 repeat loci using cDNA from the testis, ovary, spleen, kidney, heart, liver, and lung of water buffalo Bubalus bubalis and uncovered 25 amplicons of six different sizes (1,263, 846/847, 602, 576, 487, and 324 base pairs). These fragments, cloned and sequenced, were found to represent several functional, regulatory, and structural genes.

Arsenic induced apoptosis in rat liver following repeated 60 days exposure.

Background: Accumulation of the wide spread environmental toxin arsenic in liver results in hepatotoxcity. Exposure to arsenite and other arsenicals has been previously shown to induce apoptosis in certain tumor cell lines at low (1-3 microM) concentration.

Aim: The present study was focused to elucidate the role of free radicals in arsenic toxicity and to investigate the nature of in vivo sodium arsenite induced cell death in liver.

Biochemical characterization of recombinant phosphoglucose isomerase of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI) is a well-characterized ubiquitous enzyme involved in the glycolytic pathway. It catalyzes the reversible isomerization of D-glucopyranose-6-phosphate and D-fructofuranose-6-phosphate and is present in all living cells. However, there is interspecies variation at the level of the primary structure which sometimes produces heterogeneity at the structural and functional levels.

The use of riboflavin and metalloporphyrins in cytochrome P-450 content in Wistar rats.

Phototherapy is commonly used for the treatment of neonatal jaundice. Riboflavin is a photosensitizer that generates singlet oxygen, which promotes bilirubin photodecomposition. Metalloporphyrins are also effective photosensitizers.

Intraspecific application of the mid-domain effect model: spatial and temporal nest distributions of green turtles, Chelonia mydas, at Tortuguero, Costa Rica.

The mid-domain effect (MDE) model was developed to evaluate patterns of species richness. We applied the MDE model to intraspecific distribution patterns - the spatial and temporal nest distributions of green turtles, Chelonia mydas, at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, from 1972 to 2000. Spatial and temporal distributions of green turtle nests at Tortuguero did not exhibit significant annual variation over this time period.