Impact of L-carnitine and selenium treatment on testicular apoptosis in rats exposed to 2.45 GHz microwave energy

Objective: It has been suggested that electromagnetic radiation (EMR) by wireless devices (2.45 GHz) induces testicular apoptosis. We investigated if supplemental selenium (Se) and L-carnitine may reduce this adverse effect. Material: Twelve-week old maleWistar albino rats were used in this study. Twenty-four rats were equally divided into four groups which were named as: sham group, EMR-only, EMR+L-carnitine (1.5 mg L-carnitine/ kg/day) and EMR+Se (1.5 mg Se/kg/ every other day). Results: The level of Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3 and -8 were compared and a significant difference was found between the sham and EMR-only groups (p < 0.05), and Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3 and -8 expressions increased in the EMR-only group. The level of Bcl-2, Bax, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), caspase- 3 and -8 were compared and a significant difference was found between the sham and EMR+L-carnitine groups (p < 0.05) and Bcl-2, Bax, TNF-α, caspase-3 and -8 expressions increased in the EMR+L-carnitine group. The level of Bcl-2, Bax, TNF-α, caspase-3 and -8 were compared and a significant difference was found between the sham and EMR+Se groups (p < 0.05) and Bcl-2, Bax, TNF-α, caspase-3 and -8 expressions increased in the EMR+Se group. When the expression of caspase-8 was compared, a significant difference was found between the EMR-only and EMR+Se groups (p < 0.05). Caspase-8 expression decreased in EMR+Se group compared with EMR-only group. Conclusion: Electromagnetic radiation exposure resulted in testicular apoptosis in rats, mainly by the intrinsic pathways by down-regulated expression of caspase-8. Reduction in the activation of the intrinsic pathway of apoptosis was found higher with selenium administration compared with L-carnitine administration

An assessment of serum leptin levels in patients with chronic viral hepatitis: a prospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The role of leptin in the course of liver disease due to chronic viral hepatitis (CVH) remains controversial. Our aims were to investigate the relationship between serum leptin concentrations and the severity of liver disease in a cohort of subjects with HBeAg negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and C (CHC) and to analyze the effect of body composition, the leptin system and insulin resistance together with viral factors on virologic response to antiviral treatment.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 50 (36 men) consecutive patients suffering from biopsy-proven CVH due to HBV (n = 25) or HCV (n = 25) infection. Thirty-two (17 men) healthy volunteers served as controls. Levels of serum leptin and insulin were determined by immunoassays at baseline and at the end of the treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A significant association between serum leptin levels and the stage of hepatic fibrosis was noted; patients with cirrhosis presented higher serum leptin levels compared to those with lower fibrosis stage [CHB patients (17436 pg/ml vs 6028.5 pg/ml, p = 0.03), CHC patients (18014 pg/ml vs 4385 pg/ml, p = 0.05]. An inverse correlation between lower leptin levels and response to lamivudine monotherapy was noted in patients with CHB; those with a virologic response presented lower serum leptin levels (5334 vs 13111.5 pg/ml; p-value = 0.003) than non-responders. In genotype 1 CHC patients, insulin resistance played a significant role in the response to antiviral therapy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our data clearly suggest that cirrhosis due to CHB or CHC is associated with higher leptin levels. Increased serum leptin levels represent a negative prognostic factor for response to lamivudine monotherapy in patients with CHB. In CHC patients insulin resistance strongly influences the response to antiviral treatment in patients infected with genotype 1.</p

LEADER 5: prevalence and cardiometabolic impact of obesity in cardiovascular high-risk patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: baseline global data from the LEADER trial

Background: Epidemiological data on obesity are needed, particularly in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and high cardiovascular (CV) risk. We used the baseline data of liraglutide effect and action in diabetes: evaluation of CV outcome results—A long term Evaluation (LEADER) (a clinical trial to assess the CV safety of liraglutide) to investigate: (i) prevalence of overweight and obesity; (ii) relationship of the major cardiometabolic risk factors with anthropometric measures of adiposity [body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC)]; and (iii) cardiometabolic treatment intensity in relation to BMI and WC. Methods: LEADER enrolled two distinct populations of high-risk patients with T2DM in 32 countries: (1) aged ≥50 years with prior CV disease; (2) aged ≥60 years with one or more CV risk factors. Associations of metabolic variables, demographic variables and treatment intensity with anthropometric measurements (BMI and WC) were explored using regression models (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01179048). Results: Mean BMI was 32.5 ± 6.3 kg/m2 and only 9.1 % had BMI &lt;25 kg/m2. The prevalence of healthy WC was also extremely low (6.4 % according to International Joint Interim Statement for the Harmonization of the Metabolic Syndrome criteria). Obesity was associated with being younger, female, previous smoker, Caucasian, American, with shorter diabetes duration, uncontrolled blood pressure (BP), antihypertensive agents, insulin plus oral antihyperglycaemic treatment, higher levels of triglycerides and lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusions: Overweight and obesity are prevalent in high CV risk patients with T2DM. BMI and WC are related to the major cardiometabolic risk factors. Furthermore, treatment intensity, such as insulin, statins or oral antihypertensive drugs, is higher in those who are overweight or obese; while BP and lipid control in these patients are remarkably suboptimal. LEADER confers a unique opportunity to explore the longitudinal effect of weight on CV risk factors and hard endpoints

AN EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN APPROACH ON GEOREFERENCING

Georeferencing is one of the most important stages of digitizing analogue maps. It is affected by many factors such as; scales and resolutions of maps, the number of control points, etc. In this study, four of these factors were investigated using 24 factorial design in two dimensional georeferencing of cadastral maps. Factorial design determines, whether the selected factors have main and/or interaction effects on a response variable or not. Map scale, resolution of raster map, the number of control points and the coordinate transformation method were selected as experimental factors. Then, main effects and interactions between these factors were investigated. The results were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), and a regression model was suggested to consider the significant main and interaction effects of factors. It was observed that the two dimensional georeferencing of maps were affected by each of the selected experimental factors and by the interaction between the map scale and coordinate transformation method

Effect of sitagliptin on cardiovascular outcomes in type 2 diabetes

BACKGROUND: Data are lacking on the long-term effect on cardiovascular events of adding sitagliptin, a dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitor, to usual care in patients with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. METHODS: In this randomized, double-blind study, we assigned 14,671 patients to add either sitagliptin or placebo to their existing therapy. Open-label use of antihyperglycemic therapy was encouraged as required, aimed at reaching individually appropriate glycemic targets in all patients. To determine whether sitagliptin was noninferior to placebo, we used a relative risk of 1.3 as the marginal upper boundary. The primary cardiovascular outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 3.0 years, there was a small difference in glycated hemoglobin levels (least-squares mean difference for sitagliptin vs. placebo, -0.29 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.32 to -0.27). Overall, the primary outcome occurred in 839 patients in the sitagliptin group (11.4%; 4.06 per 100 person-years) and 851 patients in the placebo group (11.6%; 4.17 per 100 person-years). Sitagliptin was noninferior to placebo for the primary composite cardiovascular outcome (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.09; P<0.001). Rates of hospitalization for heart failure did not differ between the two groups (hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.20; P = 0.98). There were no significant between-group differences in rates of acute pancreatitis (P = 0.07) or pancreatic cancer (P = 0.32). CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with type 2 diabetes and established cardiovascular disease, adding sitagliptin to usual care did not appear to increase the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events, hospitalization for heart failure, or other adverse events

Encapsulation of linseed oil and linseed oil based alkyd resin by urea formaldehyde shell for self-healing systems

WOS: 000438479500022In the present study, linseed oil based alkyd resin and linseed oil have been encapsulated to propose the alkyd resin as a prospective material for being used in epoxy coating system for corrosion protection through self-healing. The superiority of the present systems as Linseed oil and its alkyd resin evolves from the utilization of the environmentally friendliness thanks to their film formation by auto-oxidation. The encapsulation of healing agents by means of in-situ polymerization of urea formaldehyde has been studied with the parameters as the amount of surfactant and the rate of stirring. The experimental design has been modeled by using Response Surface Method to investigate the effect of surfactant (poly(vinyl alcohol), PVA) amount and stirring rate effect on the microcapsules (MC) size. Optical microscopy has been utilized to follow the reaction and size change of MCs. The chemical structure, thermal properties and capsule morphology has been illuminated by using FTIR spectroscopy, TGA and SEM analysis, respectively. The capsules obtained have had 51 and 56 tun diameter at high levels of the parameters (60 ml PVA, 1500 rpm stirring rate) and 97 and 261 pm diameter at low levels of the parameters (20 ml PVA, 800 rpm stirring rate) for LO and LO-Alkyd respectively.TUBITAK, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of TurkeyTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [114M114]; EBILTEM, Ege University Science and Technology CenterEge University [2015 BIL 017]This study was supported by TUBITAK, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, with the grant number of 114M114 and EBILTEM, Ege University Science and Technology Center, with 2015 BIL 017 project number

Acquired self-healing ability of an epoxy coating through microcapsules having linseed oil and its alkyd

WOS: 000460495800033In the present study, microcapsules (MCs) having either linseed oil (LO) or its alkyd (LO-Alkyd) have been incorporated into an epoxy matrix to produce self-healing coating. The epoxy film itself has a Yellowness Index (YI) of 2.81, while LO and LO-Alkyd MCs loaded epoxy films have YI 44.87 and 21.98, respectively. Their SEM micrographs reveal that capsule embedding do not disturb the continuity of the film thanks to the successful interfacial capsule-epoxy adhering. LO and LO-Alkyd MCs incorporation reduced the strength of adhesion of the epoxy coating to the metal surface up to 34% and 39%, respectively. The water vapor permeability of epoxy film increased 8% and decreased 43%, by addition of LO and LO-Alkyd MCs, respectively. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy revealed that the impedance of the films increased by the addition of capsules into the epoxy. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy revealed that the impedance of the films increased by the addition of capsules into the epoxy.TUBITAK, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of TurkeyTurkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Arastirma Kurumu (TUBITAK) [114M114]; EBILTEM, Ege University Science and Technology CenterEge University [2015 BIL 017]This study was supported by TUBITAK, The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, with the grant number of 114M114 and EBILTEM, Ege University Science and Technology Center, with 2015 BIL 017 project number

Role of hardener, crosslinker, and pH in bare process of urea-formaldehyde polymerization and for in situ encapsulation of linseed oil

WOS: 000450564300002In this study, urea-formaldehyde polymerizations in bare process and for in situ encapsulation of linseed oil (LO) have been scrutinized either at pH 3.5 or in inherently developing acidic pH. The solid-state carbon nuclear magnetic resonance (C-13-NMR) revealed that the hardener and the crosslinker (NH4Cl and resorcinol) resulted in the formation of methylene linkage. The addition of NH4Cl and resorcinol slightly decreased the thermal stability of poly(urea formaldehyde) (PUF) resin. Optical microscopy (OM) images and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs show that most regular shapes of capsules were obtained when NH4Cl and resorcinol were used in the regular reaction medium. The increment of NH4Cl amount up to 0.124 mol resulted in a 41% decrement of capsule size, whereas increment resorcinol amount up to 0.062 mol increased the size by 14%. The capsule size range was found to be between 60 and 100 mu m. The capsules had a hardness of 22-74 MPa and an elasticity of 0.5-1.5 GPa. (c) 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 46947.Scientific Research Projects of Turkey, Ege University Chemical Engineering Department [14 MUH 035]This study was supported by The Scientific Research Projects of Turkey, Ege University Chemical Engineering Department with project number 14 MUH 035