Cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities of Cu(II), Co(II), Pt(II) and Zn(II) Complexes with N,O-chelating heterocyclic carboxylates.

A series of Cu(II), Co(II), Pt(II) and Zn(II) coordination compounds has been prepared by the reaction of the metal chlorides with pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid, pyridine-2-carboxylic acid, imidazole-4-carboxylic acid, benzimidazole-2-carboxylic acid and 1-methylimidazole-2-carboxylic acid. The complexes were characterized by IR, UV-VIS, elemental analysis, and some by (1) H-NMR, X-ray crystallography, HPLC and LC/MS spectroscopy. All complexes consist of a 2:1 ratio of ligand to metal ion.

PGD2 and PGE2 regulate gene expression of Prx 6 in primary macrophages via Nrf2.

Peroxiredoxin 6 (Prx 6) is a bifunctional enzyme with both glutathione peroxidase and acidic Ca(2+)-independent phospholipase A(2) activities. We have recently shown that exposure of murine bone marrow-derived macrophages to LPS and IFN-γ leads to induction of COX-2 expression and secretion of PGE(2), up-regulating Prx 6 mRNA levels. This study was designed to investigate various prostaglandins (PGs) for their ability to induce gene expression of Prxs, in particular Prx 6, and to determine the underlying regulatory mechanisms.

Immunohistological markers for proliferative events, gliogenesis, and neurogenesis within the adult hippocampus.

Biologists long believed that, once development is completed, no new neurons are produced in the forebrain. However, as is now firmly established, new neurons can be produced at least in two specific forebrain areas: the subventricular zone (SVZ) and the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampal formation. Neurogenesis within the adult DG occurs constitutively throughout postnatal life, and the rate of neurogenesis within the DG can be altered under various physiological and pathophysiological conditions.

Crashes involving motorised rickshaws in urban India: characteristics and injury patterns.

Introduction: Motorised three-wheeled vehicles (motorised rickshaw) are popular in Asian countries including India. This study aims to describe the crash characteristics and injury patterns for motorised rickshaw occupants and the road users hit-by-motorised rickshaw in urban India.

Methods: Consecutive cases of road traffic crashes involving motorised rickshaw, irrespective of injury severity, whether alive or dead, presenting to the emergency departments of two large government hospitals and three branches of a private hospital in Hyderabad city were recruited.

Improved culture-based detection and quantification of Burkholderia pseudomallei from soil.

Environmental surveillance of the Gram-negative soil bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, the aetiological agent of melioidosis, is important in order to define human populations and livestock at risk of acquiring the infection. This study aimed to develop a more sensitive method for the detection of B. pseudomallei from soil samples in endemic areas compared with the currently used culture method based on soil dispersion in water.

Acupuncture does not influence brainstem auditory evoked potentials: a volunteer crossover study.

Background: Although acupuncture is effective for treating several conditions, its site specificity is questionable.

Objective: To investigate whether acupuncture influences the brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP).

Methods: 10 healthy volunteers were enrolled according to inclusion criteria.

How to judge a book by its cover? How useful are bibliometric indices for the evaluation of "scientific quality" or "scientific productivity"?

How to pre-select the most promising candidates for an open position out of several applications? One of the possibilities is to check the personal bibliometric indices of these candidates by looking into appropriate databases. In these databases the number of publications, the total number of citations, the average number of citations per paper and the h-index are easy to find. Thus, it is easy to use these parameters for a pre-election.

Examination of the inflammatory response following implantation of titanium plates coated with phospholipids in rats.

Implantation of biomaterials like titanium (Ti) causes inflammatory reactions possibly affecting implant functionality. Surface modifications could improve biocompatibility and functionality of implants. Biomembrane-derived phospholipids might be useful as implant coating due to their biomimetic properties.

Streptococcus pneumoniae infection of host epithelial cells via polymeric immunoglobulin receptor transiently induces calcium release from intracellular stores.

The pneumococcal surface protein C (PspC) is a major adhesin of Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococci) that interacts in a human-specific manner with the ectodomain of the human polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) produced by respiratory epithelial cells. This interaction promotes bacterial colonization and bacterial internalization by initiating host signal transduction cascades. Here, we examined alterations of intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) levels in epithelial cells during host cell infections with pneumococci via the PspC-hpIgR mechanism.

All-cause mortality and serum insulin-like growth factor I in primary care patients.

Objective: Previous population-based studies provided conflicting results regarding the association of total serum insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and mortality. The aim of the present study was to assess the relation of IGF-I levels with all-cause mortality in a prospective study.

Design: DETECT (Diabetes Cardiovascular Risk-Evaluation: Targets and Essential Data for Commitment of Treatment) is a large, multistage, and nationally representative study of primary care patients in Germany.

In vitro anticancer activity and evaluation of DNA duplex binding affinity of phenyl-substituted indoloquinolines.

Phenyl-substituted indoloquinolines were studied for their biological activity and their DNA binding affinity. Water-soluble aminoalkyl derivatives were prepared and have shown significant in vitro anticancer activity. Unlike previous reports on the potential role of duplex DNA as target for various indoloquinoline based drugs, duplex UV melting experiments and fluorescence titrations suggest only weak and moderately strong binding of the phenyl-substituted indoloquinolines at 120 mM and 20 mM Na(+) concentrations, respectively.

Drug delivery through the skin barrier enhanced by treatment with tissue-tolerable plasma.

Most treatments in dermatology and cosmetology are based on the penetration of topically applied drugs into the skin or through the skin barrier to the target structure in the living tissue. In the case of healthy skin, scarcely 1% of the applied drugs pass the skin barrier, depending on their chemical properties. Therefore, different physical and chemical methods have been developed to stimulate the penetration process.

The stigma of alcohol dependence compared with other mental disorders: a review of population studies.

Aims: Stigma is likely to aggravate the severe medical and social consequences of alcohol dependence. We aim to explore the characteristics of the alcohol dependence stigma by comparing it with the stigma of other conditions.

Methods: On the basis of a systematic literature search, we identified 17 representative population studies published before July 2010 that examine aspects of the stigma of alcoholism and simultaneously of other mental, medical or social conditions.

Immunolocalization of glycodelin in human adenocarcinoma of the lung, squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and lung metastases of colonic adenocarcinoma.

Glycodelin (Gd), which is localized in cells of bronchial epithelium, type II pneumocytes and alveolar macrophages in rats and humans, plays an important role in the pulmonary immune response in asthmatic inflammation. In this study, sections of paraffin-embedded tumor adjacent lung tissue and sections of adenocarcinoma of the lung, squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and metastases of colonic adenocarcinoma were investigated for the distribution and expression of Gd using a polyclonal anti-Gd antibody. Glycodelin protein is located in the cytoplasm of bronchial epithelial cells, pneumocytes and alveolar macrophages.

Effects of propofol on electrocorticography in patients with intractable partial epilepsy.

Background: Propofol's potential to trigger generalized tonic-clonic seizures and epileptic discharges is still controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of epileptic discharges and epileptic seizures in epilepsy patients anesthetized with propofol.

Methods: Thirty three patients with intractable partial epilepsy selected for video electrocorticography-monitoring were studied.

In vitro and in vivo evidence for the importance of breast cancer resistance protein transporters (BCRP/MXR/ABCP/ABCG2).

The breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2) is a member of the G-subfamiliy of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC)-transporter superfamily. This half-transporter is assumed to function as an important mechanism limiting cellular accumulation of various compounds. In context of its tissue distribution with localization in the sinusoidal membrane of hepatocytes, and in the apical membrane of enterocytes ABCG2 is assumed to function as an important mechanism facilitating hepatobiliary excretion and limiting oral bioavailability, respectively.

Dendritic spine abnormalities in mental retardation.

Abnormalities in dendritic spine morphologies are often associated with mental retardation. Since dendritic spines are thought to represent a morphological correlate of neuronal plasticity, altered spine morphologies may underlie or contribute to cognitive deficits seen in mental retardation. Signaling cascades that are important for cytoskeletal regulation may have an impact upon spine morphologies.

Involvement of BDNF in age-dependent alterations in the hippocampus.

It is known since a long time that the hippocampus is sensitive to aging. Thus, there is a reduction in the hippocampal volume during aging. This age-related volume reduction is paralleled by behavioral and functional deficits in hippocampus-dependent learning and memory tasks.

Influence of iNOS and COX on peroxiredoxin gene expression in primary macrophages.

Peroxiredoxins (Prxs) are a family of multifunctional antioxidant thiol-dependent peroxidases. This study aimed to examine the regulatory mechanisms of Prx gene expression in murine bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMMs) using standardized serum-free conditions. Stimulation with LPS and IFNγ increased mRNA levels of Prx 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 in BMMs of both C57BL/6 and BALB/c mice, with Prx 1, 2, 4, and 6 more strongly induced in C57BL/6 BMMs.

Frequency of inappropriate drugs in primary care: analysis of a sample of immobile patients who received periodic home visits.

Background: drug intake is associated with the risk of drug-related problems (DRPs), e.g. the intake of PIM.

Common carotid intima-media thickness and framingham risk score predict incident carotid atherosclerotic plaque formation: longitudinal results from the study of health in Pomerania.

Background And Purpose: Cross-sectional studies describe a positive association between common carotid artery intima-media thickness (CCA-IMT) and carotid plaques (CP). However, longitudinal data on the predictive value of CCA-IMT for occurrence of CP are limited. Therefore, the role of increasing CCA-IMT in the atherosclerotic process is still discussed controversially.

The redox-sensing regulator YodB senses quinones and diamide via a thiol-disulfide switch in Bacillus subtilis.

The MarR/DUF24-type repressor YodB controls the azoreductase AzoR1, the nitroreductase YodC and the redox-sensing regulator Spx in response to quinones and diamide in Bacillus subtilis. Previously, we showed using a yodBCys6-Ala mutant that the conserved Cys6 apparently contributes to the DNA-binding activity of YodB in vivo. Here, we present data that mutation of Cys6 to Ser led to a form of the protein that was reduced in redox-sensing in response to diamide and 2-methylhydroquinone (MHQ) in vivo.

Association of serum IGF1 with endothelial function: results from the population-based study of health in Pomerania.

Objective: IGF1 mediates multiple physiological and pathophysiological responses in the cardiovascular system. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between serum IGF1 as well as IGF-binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) levels and endothelial function measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD).

Design: Cross-sectional population-based observational study.