Applications of Infrared Spectroscopy and Microscopy in Diagnosis of Obesity

Infrared (IR) spectroscopy is a vibrational spectroscopic technique based on the absorption of infrared radiation by matters that excite vibrations of molecular bonds. It is a powerful method for investigating structural, functional, and compositional changes in biomolecules, cells, and tissues. In recent years, scientific researchers have continued to increase the performance of this technique on clinical cases such as cancers and metabolic disorders. Obesity is one of the main factors that increases the risk of many diseases and contributes to functional disabilities in tissues such as adipose, liver, and muscle. Applications of IR spectroscopic techniques allow identifying molecular changes due to obesity, to understand the molecular mechanism of the disease, to identify specific spectral biomarkers that can be used in diagnosis. In addition, these spectral biomarkers can be used to identify the appropriate drugs and their doses for treatment. In this chapter, applications of IR spectroscopic and microscopic techniques to the characterization and understanding the obesity metabolism will be presented. The discriminatory power of these techniques in diagnosis of obesity will be discussed. In future, these novel approaches will shed light on the internal diagnosis of obesity in clinical application

Squamous Cell Lung Carcinoma Presenting with Erythema Annulare Centrifugum

Erythema annulare centrifugum (EAC) is a permanent or migrating eruption characterized by annular, arcuate, or polycyclic erythematous lesions that expand to the periphery when the medial parts fade.  The pathogenesis of erythema annulare centrifugum is unknown, but it is probably due to a hypersensitivity reaction to a variety of agents, including drugs, arthropod bites, infections, ingestion, and malignancy.. We describe here a 52 year-old man affected by EAC; who upon further examination was diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCL). This is the first case of EAC presented with SCCL to our knowledge. Etiology oriented research performed on EAC patients will help in early diagnosis and treatment of malignancies.</p

ATR-FTIR spectroscopy reveals genomic loci regulating the tissue response in high fat diet fed BXD recombinant inbred mouse strains

Background: Obesity-associated organ-specific pathological states can be ensued from the dysregulation of the functions of the adipose tissues, liver and muscle. However, the influence of genetic differences underlying gross-compositional differences in these tissues is largely unknown. In the present study, the analytical method of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy has been combined with a genetic approach to identify genetic differences responsible for phenotypic alterations in adipose, liver and muscle tissues. Results: Mice from 29 BXD recombinant inbred mouse strains were put on high fat diet and gross-compositional changes in adipose, liver and muscle tissues were measured by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. The analysis of genotype-phenotype correlations revealed significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosome 12 for the content of fat and collagen, collagen integrity, and the lipid to protein ratio in adipose tissue and on chromosome 17 for lipid to protein ratio in liver. Using gene expression and sequence information, we suggest Rsad2 (viperin) and Colec11 (collectin-11) on chromosome 12 as potential quantitative trait candidate genes. Rsad2 may act as a modulator of lipid droplet contents and lipid biosynthesis; Colec11 might play a role in apoptopic cell clearance and maintenance of adipose tissue. An increased level of Rsad2 transcripts in adipose tissue of DBA/2J compared to C57BL/6J mice suggests a cis-acting genetic variant leading to differential gene activation. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the analytical method of ATR-FTIR spectroscopy effectively contributed to decompose the macromolecular composition of tissues that accumulate fat and to link this information with genetic determinants. The candidate genes in the QTL regions may contribute to obesity-related diseases in humans, in particular if the results can be verified in a bigger BXD cohort

Computerized Dynamic Assessment as a Potential Inclusive Assessment Tool for Reading Comprehension

The dynamic assessment concept dates back to the sociocultural understating of Vygotsky. Dynamic assessment is a new perspective that combines instruction and assessment procedures while assessing students. In a more recent perspective, computerized dynamic assessment provides electronic mediations to the students when the wrong answer emerges. In this regard, C-DA offers an inclusive way of assessment. This study aims to investigate the effect of C-DA on the reading comprehension performances of the students. To achieve this goal, the C-DA application was implemented for 92 participants, and their performances were recorded. After the implementation, the actual, mediated, and learner potential scores of participants were calculated and then tabulated to the SPSS program. Wilcoxon signed-rank and descriptive analysis were used to analyze the results. The findings of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between the actual and mediated scores of students

Dose-Dependent Differentiation of Gamma-Irradiated Hazelnut Samples by Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometrics

Gamma irradiation is used as a food preservation method. It is known that high-dose irradiation causes several structural and functional damages. Therefore, the detection of high-dose irradiated food samples is a critical issue in international trade. The objective of this work is to evaluate the potential of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the differentiation of γ-irradiated hazelnuts at higher doses (3 kGy and 10 kGy) from the lower (1.5 kGy) and nonirradiated ones using multivariate statistical analysis, namely, principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA). This study showed that high-dose irradiated hazelnut samples can be clearly differentiated from the low-dose irradiated samples using unsupervised methods based on the spectral differences. Furthermore, dose-dependent discrimination was also achieved. In conclusion, FTIR spectroscopy combined with multivariate statistical analysis has potential for the development of a reliable and fast methodology for separation of high-dose irradiated food samples

FTIR spectroscopic characterization of irradiated hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.)

Radiation induced molecular changes in macromolecular components of hazelnut tissues were investigated by mid-Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Irradiation dose of 1.5 kGy (low) and 10 kGy (high) were applied. The changes in frequency, signal intensity and intensity ratio of IR bands revealed that the unsaturated lipid concentration increased for low dose treated samples whereas it decreased and peroxidation appeared at high dose treatment. The low dose irradiation treatment, slightly increased the total lipid content whereas it dramatically decreased for high dose treatment. A slight increase in the lipid to protein ratio was observed for low dose treatment, whilst this ratio significantly decreased for high dose treatment. In addition, the high dose gamma-irradiation caused alterations in the structure of hazelnut proteins, as cross-linking and aggregation occured in protein molecules. These results indicate that FTIR spectroscopy can be successfully used to monitor food irradiation

Evaluation of disseminated candidiasis on an experimental animal model: A Fourier transform infrared study

Invasive candidiasis, defined as candidemia and disseminated candidiasis, is the most common fungal infection in hospitalized patients. In the current study, we used Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy as a rapid, non-perturbing technique to investigate the effects of disseminated candidiasis on mouse liver tissues at the molecular level. The results revealed that the infection caused compositional changes in the tissues by decreasing the lipid content and the ratio of the saturated lipids to unsaturated lipids. An increase in the lipid/protein ratio was also observed. In addition, investigation of the olefinic band at 3014 cm(-1), showed that lipid peroxidation took place in the infected samples. These results indicate that FT-IR spectroscopy is a promising technique for the evaluation and diagnosis of disseminated candidiasis

Hydrogen sulfide is synthesized endogenously in both retinal artery and retina mostly via CSE

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an important gasotransmitter expressed in various tissues of the organism, including the eye. It is known that H2S is localized especially in the retina and corneal layers in bovine eye. The enzymes that mediate H2S synthesis are 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (3-MST), cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine gamma-lyase (CSE). Herein, we aimed to investigate the concentration levels and distribution profiles of these enzymes in bovine retina and retinal artery. Enzyme levels were measured by ELISA and distribution were determined by immunofluorescence microscopic analysis. Much higher concentrations of CBS and CSE have been detected in the retinal artery compared to the retina. In both tissues, particulary 3-MST was found at the lowest level while, CSE was determined to be the most abundant enzyme among the others. CBS distribution was shown in both endothelial and smooth muscle layers, while CSE was seen especially in the endothelial layer of the retinal artery. In the retina, CBS and CSE were expressed in cone-basil cells and retinal ganglion cells, while CSE was also present in bipolar cells. Our results indicated that H2S is synthesized endogenously in ocular tissues. The widespread expression of H2S synthesizing enzymes in the retina and retinal artery of the bovine eye, which has anatomical similarities with the human eye, may suggest a protective role for H2S against retinal vascular diseases as well as a regulatory role in the retinal vascular tone