Effects of vitamin E supplementation on renal non-enzymatic antioxidants in young rats submitted to exhaustive exercise stress

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exercise stress was shown to increase oxidative stress in rats. It lacks reports of increased protection afforded by dietary antioxidant supplements against ROS production during exercise stress. We evaluated the effects of vitamin E supplementation on renal non-enzymatic antioxidants in young rats submitted to exhaustive exercise stress.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were divided into three groups: 1) control group; 2) exercise stress group and; 3) exercise stress + Vitamin E group. Rats from the group 3 were treated with gavage administration of 1 mL of Vitamin E (5 mg/kg) for seven consecutive days. Animals from groups 2 and 3 were submitted to a bout of swimming exhaustive exercise stress. Kidney samples were analyzed for Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances to (TBARS) by malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and vitamin-E levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The group treated with vitamin E and submitted to exercise stress presented the lowest levels of renal MDA (1: 0.16+0.02 mmmol/mgprot vs. 2: 0.34+0.07 mmmol/mgprot vs. 3: 0.1+0.01 mmmol/mgprot; p < 0.0001), the highest levels of renal GSH (1: 23+4 μmol/gprot vs. 2: 23+2 μmol/gprot vs. 3: 58+9 μmol/gprot; p < 0.0001) and the highest levels of renal vitamin E (1: 24+6 μM/gtissue vs. 2: 28+2 μM/gtissue vs. 3: 43+4 μM/gtissue; p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Vitamin E supplementation improved non-enzymatic antioxidant activity in young rats submitted to exhaustive exercise stress.</p

Modern management of pyogenic hepatic abscess: a case series and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pyogenic hepatic abscesses are relatively rare, though untreated are uniformly fatal. A recent paradigm shift in the management of liver abscesses, facilitated by advances in diagnostic and interventional radiology, has decreased mortality rates. The aim of this study was to review our experience in managing pyogenic liver abscess, review the literature in this field, and propose guidelines to aid in the current management of this complex disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Demographic and clinical details of all patients admitted to a single institution with liver abscess over a 5 year period were reviewed. Clinical presentation, aetiology, diagnostic work-up, treatment, morbidity and mortality data were collated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over a 5 year period 11 patients presented to a single institution with pyogenic hepatic abscess (55% males, mean age 60.3 years). Common clinical features at presentation were non-specific constitutional symptoms and signs. Aetiology was predominantly gallstones (45%) or diverticular disease (27%). In addition to empiric antimicrobial therapy, all patients underwent radiologically guided percutaneous drainage of the liver abscess at diagnosis and only 2 patients required surgical intervention, including one 16-year old female who underwent hemi-hepatectomy for a complex and rare Actinomycotic abscess. There were no mortalities after minimum follow-up of one year.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Pyogenic liver abscesses are uncommon, and mortality has decreased over the last two decades. Antimicrobial therapy and radiological intervention form the mainstay of modern treatment. Surgical intervention should be considered for patients with large, complex, septated or multiple abscesses, underlying disease or in whom percutaneous drainage has failed.</p

Sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) degradation by nitrate-reducing bacteria

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00253-017-8212-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.The surfactant sodium lauryl ether sulfate (SLES) is widely used in the composition of detergents and frequently ends up in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). While aerobic SLES degradation is well studied, little is known about the fate of this compound in anoxic environments, such as denitrification tanks of WWTPs, nor about the bacteria involved in the anoxic biodegradation. Here, we used SLES as sole carbon and energy source, at concentrations ranging from 50 to 1000 mg L1, to enrich and isolate nitrate-reducing bacteria from activated sludge of a WWTP with the anaerobic-anoxic-oxic (A2/O) concept. In the 50 mg L1 enrichment, Comamonas (50%), Pseudomonas (24%), and Alicycliphilus (12%) were present at higher relative abundance, while Pseudomonas (53%) became dominant in the 1000 mg L1 enrichment. Aeromonas hydrophila strain S7, Pseudomonas stutzeri strain S8, and Pseudomonas nitroreducens strain S11 were isolated from the enriched cultures. Under denitrifying conditions, strains S8 and S11 degraded 500 mg L1 SLES in less than 1 day, while strain S7 required more than 6 days. Strains S8 and S11 also showed a remarkable resistance to SLES, being able to grow and reduce nitrate with SLES concentrations up to 40 g L1. Strain S11 turned out to be the best anoxic SLES degrader, degrading up to 41% of 500 mg L1. The comparison between SLES anoxic and oxic degradation by strain S11 revealed differences in SLES cleavage, degradation, and sulfate accumulation; both ester and ether cleavage were probably employed in SLES anoxic degradation by strain S11.This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (contract project CTQ2007-64324 and 447 CONSOLIDER-CSD 2007-00055). The Regional Government of Castilla y Leon (Ref. GR76) is also gratefully acknowledged. MRD is supported by the WIMEK graduate school (project BAdaptive capacity and functionality of multi-trophic aquatic ecosystems^). AJMS is supported by the Gravitation grant (project 024.002.002) of the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Netherlands Science Foundation (NWO). AJMS and AJC are supported by an European ResearchCouncil (ERC) Grant (Project 323009).Thisstudywassupported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. This study was alsosupportedbythePortugueseFoundationforScienceandTechnology (FCT) under the scope of the Project RECI/BBB-EBI/0179/2012 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462). Joana Alves from University of Minho (Portugal) is acknowledged for support with the molecular techniques.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparison of CT and PET-CT based planning of radiation therapy in locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma

Abstract Background To compare computed tomography (CT) with co-registered positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) as the basis for delineating gross tumor volume (GTV) in unresectable, locally advanced pancreatic carcinoma (LAPC). Methods Fourteen patients with unresectable LAPC had both CT and PET images acquired. For each patient, two three-dimensional conformal plans were made using the CT and PET-CT fusion data sets. We analyzed differences in treatment plans and doses of radiation to primary tumors and critical organs. Results Changes in GTV delineation were necessary in 5 patients based on PET-CT information. In these patients, the average increase in GTV was 29.7%, due to the incorporation of additional lymph node metastases and extension of the primary tumor beyond that defined by CT. For all patients, the GTVCT versus GTVPET-CT was 92.5 ± 32.3 cm3 versus 104.5 ± 32.6 cm3 (p = 0.009). Toxicity analysis revealed no clinically significant differences between two plans with regard to doses to critical organs. Conclusion Co-registration of PET and CT information in unresectable LAPC may improve the delineation of GTV and theoretically reduce the likelihood of geographic misses.</p

Annual and seasonal movements of migrating short-tailed shearwaters reflect environmental variation in sub-Arctic and Arctic waters

The marine ecosystems of the Bering Sea and adjacent southern Chukchi Sea are experiencing rapid changes due to recent reductions in sea ice. Short-tailed shearwaters Puffinus tenuirostris visit this region in huge numbers between the boreal summer and autumn during non-breeding season, and represent one of the dominant top predators. To understand the implications for this species of ongoing environmental change in the Pacific sub-Arctic and Arctic seas, we tracked the migratory movements of 19 and 24 birds in 2010 and 2011, respectively, using light-level geolocators. In both years, tracked birds occupied the western (Okhotsk Sea and Kuril Islands) and eastern (southeast Bering Sea) North Pacific from May to July. In August–September of 2010, but not 2011, a substantial proportion (68 % of the tracked individuals in 2010 compared to 38 % in 2011) moved through the Bering Strait to feed in the Chukchi Sea. Based on the correlation with oceanographic variables, the probability of shearwater occurrence was highest in waters with sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of 8–10 °C over shallow depths. Furthermore, shearwaters spent more time flying when SST was warmer than 9 °C, suggesting increased search effort for prey. We hypothesized that the northward shift in the distribution of shearwaters may have been related to temperature-driven changes in the abundance of their dominant prey, krill (Euphausiacea), as the timing of krill spawning coincides with the seasonal increase in water temperature. Our results indicate a flexible response of foraging birds to ongoing changes in the sub-Arctic and Arctic ecosystems

Multilocus Genotyping of Human Giardia Isolates Suggests Limited Zoonotic Transmission and Association between Assemblage B and Flatulence in Children

Giardia intestinalis is a protozoan parasite found world-wide and it is a major cause of diarrhea in humans and other mammals. The genetic variability within G. intestinalis is high with eight distinct genotypes or assemblages (A-H). Here we performed sequence-based multilocus genotyping of around 200 human Giardia isolates. We found evidence of limited zoonotic transmission of certain A subtypes and an association between flatulence and assemblage B infection in children. This shows that it is important to investigate different assemblages and sub-assemblages of G. intestinalis in human infections in order to understand the clinical significance, zoonotic potential, sequence divergence, and transmission pathways of this parasite

DNA Fragmentation Simulation Method (FSM) and Fragment Size Matching Improve aCGH Performance of FFPE Tissues

Whole-genome copy number analysis platforms, such as array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays, are transformative research discovery tools. In cancer, the identification of genomic aberrations with these approaches has generated important diagnostic and prognostic markers, and critical therapeutic targets. While robust for basic research studies, reliable whole-genome copy number analysis has been unsuccessful in routine clinical practice due to a number of technical limitations. Most important, aCGH results have been suboptimal because of the poor integrity of DNA derived from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. Using self-hybridizations of a single DNA sample we observed that aCGH performance is significantly improved by accurate DNA size determination and the matching of test and reference DNA samples so that both possess similar fragment sizes. Based on this observation, we developed a novel DNA fragmentation simulation method (FSM) that allows customized tailoring of the fragment sizes of test and reference samples, thereby lowering array failure rates. To validate our methods, we combined FSM with Universal Linkage System (ULS) labeling to study a cohort of 200 tumor samples using Agilent 1 M feature arrays. Results from FFPE samples were equivalent to results from fresh samples and those available through the glioblastoma Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). This study demonstrates that rigorous control of DNA fragment size improves aCGH performance. This methodological advance will permit the routine analysis of FFPE tumor samples for clinical trials and in daily clinical practice