Evidence-based assessment of antiosteoporotic activity of petroleum-ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis

The increasing incidence of postmenopausal osteoporosis and its related fractures have become global health issues in the recent days. Postmenopausal osteoporosis is the most frequent metabolic bone disease; it is characterized by a rapid loss of mineralized bone tissue. Hormone replacement therapy has proven efficacious in preventing bone loss but not desirable to many women due to its side-effects. Therefore we are in need to search the natural compounds for a treatment of postmenopausal symptoms in women with no toxic effects. In the present study, we have evaluated the effect of petroleum-ether extract of Cissus quadrangularis Linn. (CQ), a plant used in folk medicine, on an osteoporotic rat model developed by ovariectomy. In this experiment, healthy female Wistar rats were divided into four groups of six animals each. Group 1 was sham operated. All the remaining groups were ovariectomized. Group 2 was fed with an equivolume of saline and served as ovariectomized control (OVX). Groups 3 and 4 were orally treated with raloxifene (5.4 mg/kg) and petroleum-ether extract of CQ (500 mg/kg), respectively, for 3 months. The findings were assessed on the basis of animal weight, morphology of femur, and histochemical localization of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (an osteoblastic marker) and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) (an osteoclastic marker) in upper end of femur. The study revealed for the first time that the petroleum-ether extract of CQ reduced bone loss, as evidenced by the weight gain in femur, and also reduced the osteoclastic activity there by facilitating bone formation when compared to the OVX group. The osteoclastic activity was confirmed by TRAP staining, and the bone formation was assessed by ALP staining in the femur sections. The color intensity of TRAP and ALP enzymes from the images were evaluated by image analysis software developed locally. The effect of CQ was found to be effective on both enzymes, and it might be a potential candidate for prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The biological activity of CQ on bone may be attributed to the phytogenic steroids present in it

Search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for new phenomena in final states with an energetic jet and large missing transverse momentum are reported. The search uses 20.3 fb−1 of √ s = 8 TeV data collected in 2012 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Events are required to have at least one jet with pT > 120 GeV and no leptons. Nine signal regions are considered with increasing missing transverse momentum requirements between Emiss T > 150 GeV and Emiss T > 700 GeV. Good agreement is observed between the number of events in data and Standard Model expectations. The results are translated into exclusion limits on models with either large extra spatial dimensions, pair production of weakly interacting dark matter candidates, or production of very light gravitinos in a gauge-mediated supersymmetric model. In addition, limits on the production of an invisibly decaying Higgs-like boson leading to similar topologies in the final state are presente

Response of Benthic Foraminifera to organic matter quantity and quality and bioavailable concentrations of metals in Aveiro Lagoon (Portugal)

This work analyses the distribution of living benthic foraminiferal assemblages of surface sediments in different intertidal areas of Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), a polihaline and anthropized coastal lagoon. The relationships among foraminiferal assemblages in association with environmental parameters (temperature, salinity, Eh and pH), grain size, the quantity and quality of organic matter (enrichment in carbohydrates, proteins and lipids), pollution caused by metals, and mineralogical data are studied in an attempt to identify indicators of adaptability to environmental stress. In particular, concentrations of selected metals in the surficial sediment are investigated to assess environmental pollution levels that are further synthetically parameterised by the Pollution Load Index (PLI). The PLI variations allowed the identification of five main polluted areas. Concentrations of metals were also analysed in three extracted phases to evaluate their possible mobility, bioavailability and toxicity in the surficial sediment. Polluted sediment in the form of both organic matter and metals can be found in the most confined zones. Whereas enrichment in organic matter and related biopolymers causes an increase in foraminifera density, pollution by metals leads to a decline in foraminiferal abundance and diversity in those zones. The first situation may be justified by the existence of opportunistic species (with high reproduction rate) that can live in low oxic conditions. The second is explained by the sensitivity of some species to pressure caused by metals. The quality of the organic matter found in these places and the option of a different food source should also explain the tolerance of several species to pollution caused by metals, despite their low reproductive rate in the most polluted areas. In this study, species that are sensitive and tolerant to organic matter and metal enrichment are identified, as is the differential sensitivity/tolerance of some species to metals enrichment.CNPq [401803/2010-4]; [PEst-OE/CTE/UI4035/2014]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Environmental Predictors of Diversity in Recent Planktonic Foraminifera as Recorded in Marine Sediments

© 2016 Fenton et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. [4.0 license]. The attached file is the published version of the article

Is the meiofauna a good indicator for climate change and anthropogenic impacts?

Our planet is changing, and one of the most pressing challenges facing the scientific community revolves around understanding how ecological communities respond to global changes. From coastal to deep-sea ecosystems, ecologists are exploring new areas of research to find model organisms that help predict the future of life on our planet. Among the different categories of organisms, meiofauna offer several advantages for the study of marine benthic ecosystems. This paper reviews the advances in the study of meiofauna with regard to climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Four taxonomic groups are valuable for predicting global changes: foraminifers (especially calcareous forms), nematodes, copepods and ostracods. Environmental variables are fundamental in the interpretation of meiofaunal patterns and multistressor experiments are more informative than single stressor ones, revealing complex ecological and biological interactions. Global change has a general negative effect on meiofauna, with important consequences on benthic food webs. However, some meiofaunal species can be favoured by the extreme conditions induced by global change, as they can exhibit remarkable physiological adaptations. This review highlights the need to incorporate studies on taxonomy, genetics and function of meiofaunal taxa into global change impact research

Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of tau leptons in pp collisions

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Measurement of top quark–antiquark pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

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Searches for electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons decaying to leptons and W, Z, and Higgs bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

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Measurement of prompt J/ψ pair production in pp collisions at √s = 7 Tev

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Study of hadronic event-shape variables in multijet final states in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

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