Quantitative characteristics and chemical composition in Caspian roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus) sperm

In this study, quantitative characteristics and chemical composition of in roach (Rutilus rutilus caspicus) sperm were investigated. Sperm traits included sperm movement duration, percentage of motile spermatozoa, sperm density, spermatocrit and sperm volume. Some seminal plasma characteristics (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chloride) were investigated. In addition, some metabolites of seminal plasma (glucose, cholesterol and protein) were measured. The Na+ and K+ ions correlated negatively with spermatozoa motility (r = -0.0518, p<.05 and r =-0.3597, p<.01) respectively. Also, there were significant positive correlations between Ca2+ and Cl- ions with spermatozoa motility (r = 0.2945, p<.05 and r= 0.1379, p<.01), respectively. Mg+2 was positively correlated with glucose and protein (r = 0.046, p<.05 and r = 0.694, p<.05), respectively. On the other hand, a significant positive relationship was found between Na+ and K+ (r = 0.548, p<.01). These parameters can be used to evaluation of sperm quality and collecting information about developing procedures for artificial fertilization of roach

The influence of ovarian fluid on the sperm physiology of Rutilus kutum

Motility parameters of the spermatozoa in most fish species spawning in fresh water like Rutilus kutum lasts for a short time after activation. Ovarian fluid significantly influenced sperm motility (motility duration period) and percent motility (progressive forward motile sperm). Both of these variables generally increased as the concentration of ovarian fluid increased from 33% to 50%, respectively. It is concluded that ovarian fluid enhances sperm movement in this species at appropriate level and thus has the potential to influence fertilization capacity

Cytokines as potential novel therapeutic targets in severe inflammatory cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Despite currently available state-of-the art therapies, a substantial proportion of patients with inflammatory cardiomyopathy progresses to advanced heart failure. There is an urgent need for novel therapies to improve outcomes. We hypothesized that elevated cyto-kine levels in inflammatory cardiomyopathy may lead to cardiac injury and that specific cyto-kines are associated with severely decreased left ventricular function consequently, thereby suggesting their potential as therapeutic targets. METHODS AND RESULTS: Blood samples collected from 529 patients at 2 registries were inves-tigated. First, in a derivation cohort of inflammatory cardiomyopathy from our medical center (n=63), we discovered cytokines that correlate inversely with severely decreased left ventricu-lar ejection fraction (LVEF). We confirmed reproducibility of our results in an independent cohort from a national registry (n=425) and to some degree generalizability in a small cohort of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM, n=41). In total, we identified 82 cytokines asso-ciated with severely decreased LVEF (FDR < 0.05); a small portion had been previously pro-posed as therapeutic targets, while others emerged as novel discoveries. Finally, real-world data from electronic medical records further indicated the potential of inhibitors targeting cy-tokines of interest to confer a cardioprotective effect. CONCLUSIONS: We identified 82 cytokines associated with severe inflammatory cardiomyopa-thy. Our data were highly significant, reproducible, and generalizable to IDCM. The fact that some of the cytokines had been suggested as potential targets in prior literature supports va-lidity and plausibility of our data. Given that inhibition of cytokines is technically feasible, the identified proteins are compelling potential novel therapeutic targets

Energetic and exergetic analysis of a convective drier: A case study of potato drying process

This research work focused on the evaluation of energy and exergy in the convective drying of potato slices. Experiments were conducted at four air temperatures (40, 50, 60 and 70 ºC) and three air velocities (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m/s) in a convective dryer, with circulating heated air. Freshly harvested potatoes with initial moisture content of 79.9% wet basis were used. The influence of temperature and air velocity was investigated in terms of energy and exergy (energy utilization and energy utilization ratio, exergy losses and exergy efficiency). The calculations for energy and exergy were based on the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics . Results indicated that energy utilization (EU), energy utilization ratio (EUR) and exergy losses decreased along drying time, while exergy efficiency increased. The specific energy consumption (SEC) varied from 1.94×105 to 3.14×105 kJ/kg. The exergy loss varied in the range of 0.006 to 0.036 kJ/s and the maximum exergy efficiency obtained was 85.85% at 70 ºC and 0.5 m/s, while minimum exergy efficiency was 57.07% at 40 ºC and 1.5 m/s. Moreover, the values of exergetic improvement potential rate (IP) changed between 0.0016-0.0046 kJ/s and the highest value occurred for drying at 70 ºC and 1.5 m/s, whereas the lowest value was for 70 ºC and 0.5 m/s. As a result, this knowledge will allow the optimization of convective dryers, when operating for the drying of this food product or others, as well as choosing the most appropriate operating conditions that cause reduction of energy consumption, irreversibilities and losses in the industrial convective drying processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Royal jelly is an effective and relatively safe alternative approach to blood lipid modulation: A meta-analysis

Royal jelly is a functional food with several health promoting properties. The aim of present meta-analysis was to examine the role of royal jelly in blood lipid profiles. We systemically searched PUBMED, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify eligible studies up to July 2017. Clinical trials which investigated the efficacy of royal jelly on adult blood lipid parameters were included. A random effects model was used for quantitative data synthesis. The pooled analysis of six trials suggested that royal jelly reduces total cholesterol blood levels. No significant change was observed in triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol blood concentrations. Subgroup analysis revealed a greater impact of RJ on the decrease of Total cholesterol and the increase of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in studies with a long-term follow-up (�90). This meta-analysis suggested that Royal jelly consumption might effective on improvement of lipid parameters. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Royal jelly is an effective and relatively safe alternative approach to blood lipid modulation: A meta-analysis

Royal jelly is a functional food with several health promoting properties. The aim of present meta-analysis was to examine the role of royal jelly in blood lipid profiles. We systemically searched PUBMED, the Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar to identify eligible studies up to July 2017. Clinical trials which investigated the efficacy of royal jelly on adult blood lipid parameters were included. A random effects model was used for quantitative data synthesis. The pooled analysis of six trials suggested that royal jelly reduces total cholesterol blood levels. No significant change was observed in triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol blood concentrations. Subgroup analysis revealed a greater impact of RJ on the decrease of Total cholesterol and the increase of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in studies with a long-term follow-up (�90). This meta-analysis suggested that Royal jelly consumption might effective on improvement of lipid parameters. © 2017 Elsevier Lt

Effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on inflammation, angiogenesis, and oxidative stress in breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled- trials

Background/objective: Systemic inflammation and oxidative stress (OS) are associated with breast cancer. CoQ10 as an adjuvant treatment with conventional anti-cancer chemotherapy has been demonstrated to help in the inflammatory process and OS. This systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) aimed to evaluate the efficacy of CoQ10 supplementation on levels of inflammatory markers, OS parameters, and matrix metalloproteinases/tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (MMPs/TIMPs) in patients with breast cancer. Methods: A systematic literature search was carried out using electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Embase, up to December 2020 to identify eligible RCTs evaluating the effect of CoQ10 supplementation on OS biomarkers, inflammatory cytokines, and MMPs/TIMPs. From 827 potential reports, 5 eligible studies consisting of 9 trials were finally included in the current meta-analysis. Quality assessment and heterogeneity tests of the selected trials were performed using the PRISMA checklist protocol and the I2 statistic, respectively. Fixed and random-effects models were assessed based on the heterogeneity tests, and pooled data were determined as the standardized mean difference (SMD) with a 95 confidence interval (CI). Results: Our meta-analysis of the pooled findings for inflammatory biomarkers of OS and MMPs showed that CoQ10 supplementation (100 mg/day for 45�90 days) significantly decreased the levels of VEGF SMD: � 1.88, 95% CI: (� 2. 62 to � 1.13); I2 = 93.1%, p &lt; 0.001, IL-8 SMD: � 2.24, 95% CI: (� 2.68 to � 1.8); I2 = 79.6%, p = 0.001, MMP-2 SMD: � 1.49, 95% CI: (� 1.85 to � 1.14); I2 = 76.3%, p = 0.005 and MMP-9 SMD: � 1.58, 95% CI: (� 1.97 to � 1.19); I2 = 79.6%, p = 0.002, but no significant difference was observed between CoQ10 supplementation and control group on TNF-α SMD: � 2.30, 95% CI: (� 2.50 to � 2.11); I2 = 21.8%, p = 0.280, IL-6 SMD: � 1.56, 95% CI: (� 1.73 to � 1.39); I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.683, IL-1β SMD: � 3.34, 95% CI: (� 3.58 to � 3.11); I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.561, catalase (CAT) SMD: 1.40, 95% CI: (1.15 to 1.65); I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.598, superoxide dismutase (SOD) SMD: 2.42, 95% CI: (2.12 to 2.71); I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.986, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) SMD: 2.80, 95% CI: (2.49 to 3.11); I2 = 0.0%, p = 0.543, glutathione (GSH) SMD: 4.71, 95% CI: (4.26 to 5.16); I2 = 6.1%, p = 0.302 and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) SMD: � 3.20, 95% CI: (� 3.53 to � 2.86); I2 = 29.7%, p = 0.233. Conclusion: Overall, the findings showed that CoQ10 supplementation reduced some of the important markers of inflammation and MMPs in patients with breast cancer. However, further studies with controlled trials for other types of cancer are needed to better understand and confirm the effect of CoQ10 on tumor therapy. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG