Preventing effect of vitamin E on oocytes apoptosis in morphinetreated mice

Several studies have shown that Morphine Sulfate affects on fertility, embryogenesis and consequent pregnancy loss and ultrastructural alterations of oocytes in animal model. This study was done to determine the effect of morphine sulfate on oocytes apoptosis and preventive role of daily supplementation of Vitamin E on oocytes apoptosis in morphine sulfate -treated mice. Twenty-four NMARI female mice were randomly allocated into four experimental groups. For 15 days, control group received saline (0.2 ml/day by subcutaneous injection), group I Vitamin E (60 mg/kg/day orally), group II Morphine Sulfate (10 mg/kg/day by subcutaneous injection) and group III Morphine Sulfate with Vitamin E (60 mg/kg/day orally). Then, animals were superovulated with PSMG (10 Units) and 10 Unites of HCG. The next day the animals were sacrificed, oocytes were flushed from each fallopian tube. The collected oocytes were subjected to determine apoptosis by Tunnel assay with using Fluorescent Microscope. According to our results, the number of retrieved oocytes were 121, 132, 86 and 114 in control, experimental group I, II and III, respectively. Morphine Sulfate treatment increased apoptosis in oocytes to 17.44% whereas oocytes apoptosis was 4.13% in Controls. Supplementation with Vitamin E in Morphine Sulfate -treated mice reduced the oocytes apoptosis to 7.01%. This study showed that Morphine can increase apoptosis in oocytes and Vitamin E treatment significantly reduces oocytes apoptosis in the Morphine Sulfate -treated mice

Can formaldehyde exposure induce histopathologic and morphometric changes on rat kidney? [¿la exposición al formaldehído puede inducir cambios histopatológicos y morfométricos sobre el riñón de rata?]

Formaldehyde is used traditionally for fixing the cadaver, and vaporized during dissection and practical studying on cadaver. This study was designed to determine the histopathologic and morphometric changes of rat kidney while all of the experiments were exposed to formaldehyde for 18 weeks. 28 male albino Wistar rats were divided into the following three experimental groups (E1: 2hrs/d, 2d/w; E2: 2hrs/d, 4d/w; E3: 4hrs/d, 4d/w) and one control group (C). when the exposure period was expired the animals were anaesthetized with chloroform. After cervical dislocation, the abdomen was dissected and the kidneys were taken. The kidney specimens were sectioned and stained with Haematoxylin and Eosin technique for histologic and morphometric study. Data were obtained from an Olympus light microscope and the analyzed with spss (version 11.5) and ANOVA test. In all histopathology sections of groups E1, E2 and E3, these similar changes were seen: mild glumerolar congestion, focal congestion, and vacuolar degeneration of tubular cells. There were no evidences of inflammatory cells infiltration or fibrotic changes of interstitial tissue. Only mild, non-specific congestion was seen in cortical vessels. Also there were not any abnormalities in the staining of nucleus and cytoplasm. According to Morphometric study, Mean ±SD of glomerulus's area in control, E1, E2 and E3 group were 10802.66±1038.18, 10759.50±1971.88, 10434.73±1763.76 and 10077.64±2068.78 micrometer, respectively. Mean ±SD inner proximal tubule diameter in control, E1, E2 and E3 group were 16.16±2.49, 16.92±2.90, 16.31±2.79 and15.66±4.11 μm, respectively. Mean ±SD of inner distal tubule diameter in control, E1, E2 and E3 group were 15.96±4.47, 16.20±1.66, 16.96±1.63 and17.45±3.26 μm, respectively. These differences were not significant between cases and control. This study showed that formaldehyde inhalation in 1.5 ppm can not make specific Histopathologic and Morphometric changes in rat kidney

Protective effect of Urtica dioica L. (Urticaceae) on morphometric and morphologic alterations of seminiferous tubules in STZ diabetic rats

Objective(s): Urtica dioica L. has been known as a medicinal plant in the world. This study was conducted to determine the effects of the hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica leaves on seminiferous tubules of diabetic rats. Materials and Methods: Animals were allocated to control, diabetic and protective groups. Treated animals received extract of U. dioica (100 mg/ kg/ day) IP for the first 5 days and STZ injection on the 6th day. After 5 weeks, testes removed and stained with H&E technique. Results: Tubular cell disintegration, sertoli and spermatogonia cell vacuolization, and decrease in sperm concentration observed in diabetic in comparison with control and protective groups. External seminiferous tubular diameter and seminiferous epithelial height significantly reduced (P< 0.05) in diabetic compared with controls, and these parameters increased (P< 0.05) in the treated compared with diabetics. Conclusion: Hydroalcoholic extract of U. dioica, before induction of diabetes; has protective role on seminiferous tubules alterations

Formaldehyde exposure induces histopathological and morphometric changes in the rat testis

Formaldehyde is a chemical which is traditionally used for fixing cadavers and routine histopathology techniques. It is vaponsed during the dissection and practical study of a cadaver. Previous studies have shown that this vapour may cause clinical symptoms such as throat, eye, skin and nasal irritation. This study was designed to determine the histopathology and morphometrics of the rat testis when all the experimental animals were exposed to formaldehyde for 18 weeks. The study was performed in 2004 on 28 albino Wistar rats of 6-7 postnatal weeks. The rats were divided into three case groups (E1: 4 h/d, 4 d/w; E2: 2 h/d, 4 d/w; E3: 2 h/d, 2 d/w) and one control group. The testes specimens were sectioned at 5 μm and stained with the haematoxylin and eosin staining technique for histological and morphometrical studies. We found a severe decrease in germ cells associated with spermatogenesis arrest in the E1 group. A decrease in germ cells and a thickening of the basal membrane of the seminiferous tubules were seen in E2. Displacement of Sertoli and germinal cells were also found in the E3 group. The mean seminiferous tubular diameter and seminiferous epithelial height in the experimental groups were decreased in comparison with the control group and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0. 05). The findings of this study revealed that chronic formaldehyde exposure can cause histopathological and morphometric changes to the seminiferous epithelium in rats and that these changes depend on the duration of the formaldehyde exposure. Copyright © 2007 Via Medica

Morphometric alterations to the rat spleen following formaldehyde exposure

Formaldehyde is commonly used in the production of various industrial and medical products. At room temperature formaldehyde easily evaporates. Exposure to formaldehyde can be hazardous to human health. Studies show that the vapour can be the cause of clinical symptoms such as throat, eye, skin and nasal irritation. It can also decrease the production of IgM in the spleen cells. This study was designed to determine the morphometric changes to the spleen in rats when samples were exposed to formaldehyde for 18 weeks. A total of 28 albino Wistar rats aged 6-7 postnatal weeks were divided into the following three case groups according to their exposure to formaldehyde: E1 (2 h/day, 2 days/week), E2 (2 h/day, 4 days/week), E3 (4 h/day, 4 days/week) and one control group. When the exposure period had expired the animals were anaesthetised with chloroform. After cervical dislocation, the abdomen was dissected and spleen specimens were taken. These were sectioned and stained with the haematoxylin and eosin technique for morphometric study. Data was obtained from an Olympus light microscope and then analysed with SPSS (version 11.5) and one-way ANOVA test. The white pulp area and diameter and the marginal zone diameter were greater in group E3 than those in the other groups. The germinal centre area and diameter and the diameter of the periarterial lymphoid sheaths (PALS) were greater in group E2 than in other groups, although there was no significant difference between groups in the area of white pulp and the PALS diameter (p < 0.05). This study showed that formaldehyde vapour can cause morphometric changes in the white pulp of the spleen in rats. Copyright © 2008 Via Medica

Processing-structure-property relationships of electrospun PLA-PEO membranes reinforced with enzymatic cellulose nanofibers

Three different solvent mixtures were used to prepare electrospun membranes based on polylactic acid (PLA), polyethylene oxide (PEO) and enzymatic cellulose nanofibers (CNF). The materials were characterized from a morphological, spectroscopic, mechanical and rheological point of view. Furthermore, swelling test were performed in order to assess the water uptake of each sample. The results put into evidence that the choice of the solvents affects the structure and the properties of the membranes. Among the protocols tested, using chloroform/acetone/ethanol mixture was found to allow a high degree of CNF dispersion and a good electrospinnability of polymer solutions. These features led to membranes with impressive improvement of mechanical properties (+350% in stiffness, +350% in tensile strength and +500% in toughness) with respect to those of PLA/PEO and dramatically increased the water uptake of these materials (up to +350% within 120 min)

Formaldehyde exposure induces histopathological and morphometric changes in the rat testis

Formaldehyde is a chemical which is traditionally used for fixing cadavers and routine histopathology techniques. It is vaporised during the dissection and practical study of a cadaver. Previous studies have shown that this vapour may cause clinical symptoms such as throat, eye, skin and nasal irritation. This study was designed to determine the histopathology and morphometrics of the rat testis when all the experimental animals were exposed to formaldehyde for 18 weeks. The study was performed in 2004 on 28 albino Wistar rats of 6-7 postnatal weeks. The rats were divided into three case groups (E1: 4 h/d, 4 d/w; E2: 2 h/d, 4 d/w; E3: 2 h/d, 2 d/w) and one control group. The testes specimens were sectioned at 5 &#956;m and stained with the haematoxylin and eosin staining technique for histological and morphometrical studies. We found a severe decrease in germ cells associated with spermatogenesis arrest in the E1 group. A decrease in germ cells and a thickening of the basal membrane of the seminiferous tubules were seen in E2. Displacement of Sertoli and germinal cells were also found in the E3 group. The mean seminiferous tubular diameter and seminiferous epithelial height in the experimental groups were decreased in comparison with the control group and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The findings of this study revealed that chronic formaldehyde exposure can cause histopathological and morphometric changes to the seminiferous epithelium in rats and that these changes depend on the duration of the formaldehyde exposure

Inferring Transmission Bottleneck Size from Viral Sequence Data Using a Novel Haplotype Reconstruction Method

The transmission bottleneck is defined as the number of viral particles that transmit from one host to establish an infection in another. Genome sequence data have been used to evaluate the size of the transmission bottleneck between humans infected with the influenza virus; however, the methods used to make these estimates have some limitations. Specifically, viral allele frequencies, which form the basis of many calculations, may not fully capture a process which involves the transmission of entire viral genomes. Here, we set out a novel approach for inferring viral transmission bottlenecks; our method combines an algorithm for haplotype reconstruction with maximum likelihood methods for bottleneck inference. This approach allows for rapid calculation and performs well when applied to data from simulated transmission events; errors in the haplotype reconstruction step did not adversely affect inferences of the population bottleneck. Applied to data from a previous household transmission study of influenza A infection, we confirm the result that the majority of transmission events involve a small number of viruses, albeit with slightly looser bottlenecks being inferred, with between 1 and 13 particles transmitted in the majority of cases. While influenza A transmission involves a tight population bottleneck, the bottleneck is not so tight as to universally prevent the transmission of within-host viral diversity. IMPORTANCE Viral populations undergo a repeated cycle of within-host growth followed by transmission. Viral evolution is affected by each stage of this cycle. The number of viral particles transmitted from one host to another, known as the transmission bottleneck, is an important factor in determining how the evolutionary dynamics of the population play out, restricting the extent to which the evolved diversity of the population can be passed from one host to another. Previous study of viral sequence data has suggested that the transmission bottleneck size for influenza A transmission between human hosts is small. Reevaluating these data using a novel and improved method, we largely confirm this result, albeit that we infer a slightly higher bottleneck size in some cases, of between 1 and 13 virions. While a tight bottleneck operates in human influenza transmission, it is not extreme in nature; some diversity can be meaningfully retained between hosts.Peer reviewe

Exact Shock Profile for the ASEP with Sublattice-Parallel Update

We analytically study the one-dimensional Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process (ASEP) with open boundaries under sublattice-parallel updating scheme. We investigate the stationary state properties of this model conditioned on finding a given particle number in the system. Recent numerical investigations have shown that the model possesses three different phases in this case. Using a matrix product method we calculate both exact canonical partition function and also density profiles of the particles in each phase. Application of the Yang-Lee theory reveals that the model undergoes two second-order phase transitions at critical points. These results confirm the correctness of our previous numerical studies.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Journal of Physics

Modifying the transition temperature, 120 K ≤ Tc ≤ 1150 K, of amorphous Fe90−xCoxSc10 with simultaneous alteration of fluctuation of exchange integral up to zero

Amorphous (a-) Fe90−xCoxSc10 alloys have been produced by rapid quenching from the melt. The Curie temperature, TC, was determined using both mean field theory and Landau’s theory of second-order phase transitions in zero and non-zero external fields. The dependence of TC on the atomic spacing can be explained by the empirical Bethe-Slater curve. The value of TC of a- Fe5Co85Sc10, determined by the above theoretical approaches is 1150 K, which is the highest TC ever measured for amorphous alloys. The flattening of the measured normalized magnetization, M(T)/M(0), as a function of the reduced temperature, T/TC, is explained within the framework of the Handrich- Kobe model. According to this model the fluctuation of the exchange integral is the main reason for the flattening of M(T)/M(0). In the case of a-Fe90Sc10 without Co, however, the fluctuation of the exchange integral is dominant only at zero external field, Bex = 0. At Bex = 9 T, however, the fluctuation of the exchange integral has no conspicuous effect on the reduction of the magnetization. It is shown that at Bex = 9 T the frozen magnetic clusters control the behaviour of the reduced magnetization as function of T/TC. In contrast to other ferromagnetic alloys, where the flattening of M(T)/M(0) is characteristic for an amorphous structure, the a- Fe5Co85Sc10 does not exhibit any trace of the fluctuation of the exchange integral