Monosodium glutamate induced histological change in the Zona Fasiculata of rats' adrenal and the possible amelioration effect of vitamin C supplementation

Monosodium glutamate in gesting (MSG) is steadily increasing worldwide as a flavour enhancer and food additive. On the other hand, vitamins C has antioxidant properties and can play an important role in preventing or improving many diseases. So, the aim of the present study is to study the impact of MSG administration on the histological structure of the zonafasciculata (ZF) of adult albino rat adrenal cortex and to clarify the possible amelioration effect of vitamin C cosupplementation. Thirty adult male albino rats were divided equally into three groups: group I; negative and positive (received100mg/kg vitamin C) control subgroups. MSG-treated group were administered 2 mg/g body weight MSG via gastric tube andascorbic acid supplemented group were given the same dose of MSG, followed by vitamin C at a dose similar to the positive control group. Tissue sections were obtained and proceeded for light and electron microscope examination. Plasma ACTH and cortisone were estimated. Morphometric and statistical analysis of the results were performed. Plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels in the MSG-treated group were significantly increased comparing to control and MSGtreated group receiving vitamin C. Histologically, in the MSG-treated group, ZF contained highly vacuolated cells and congested blood vessels. The reticular fibres were increased in MSG-treated group decreased in ascorbic acid supplemented group. Ultrastructurally, ZF contained cells with shrunken nuclei and numerous macrophages containing many lysosomes. On the other hand, the cellular architecture of ascorbic acid supplemented group was less affected and congested blood sinusoids were still detected. The reticular fibres were decreased in ascorbic acid supplemented group. Oral administration of MSG caused histological and functional degenerative changes in the ZF of adrenalin adult male albino rat which was ameliorated by supplementation of vitamin C. So, it is recommended to minimize consumption of foodstuffs containing MSG and to eat foods rich in vitamin C after performing more researchers to be sure of these effects on humans.MS

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopic Detection of Ethanol: A Side-by-Side Comparison of ZnO and HKUST-1 MOFs as Sensing Media

The most common gas sensors are based on chemically induced changes in electrical resistivity and necessarily involve making imperfect electrical contacts to the sensing materials, which introduce errors into the measurements. We leverage thermal- and chemical-induced changes in microwave propagation characteristics (i.e., S-parameters) to compare ZnO and surface-anchored metal-organic-framework (HKUST-1 MOF) thin films as sensing materials for detecting ethanol vapor, a typical volatile organic compound (VOC), at low temperatures. We show that the microwave propagation technique can detect ethanol at relatively low temperatures (\u3c100 \u3e°C), and afford new mechanistic insights that are inaccessible with the traditional dc-resistance-based measurements. In addition, the metrological technique avoids the inimical measurand distortions due to parasitic electrical effects inherent in the conductometric volatile organic compound detection

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopic Detection of Ethanol: A Side-by-Side Comparison of ZnO and HKUST-1 MOFs as Sensing Media†,‡

The most common gas sensors are based on chemically induced changes in electrical resistivity and necessarily involve making imperfect electrical contacts to the sensing materials, which introduce errors into the measurements. We leverage thermal- and chemical-induced changes in microwave propagation characteristics (i.e., S-parameters) to compare ZnO and surface-anchored metal–organic-framework (HKUST-1 MOF) thin films as sensing materials for detecting ethanol vapor, a typical volatile organic compound (VOC), at low temperatures. We show that the microwave propagation technique can detect ethanol at relatively low temperatures (<100 °C), and afford new mechanistic insights that are inaccessible with the traditional dc-resistance-based measurements. In addition, the metrological technique avoids the inimical measurand distortions due to parasitic electrical effects inherent in the conductometric volatile organic compound detection

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopic Detection of Aliphatic Alcohol Vapors With Surface-Mounted HKUST-1 MOFs as Sensing Media

We leveraged chemical-induced changes to microwave signal propagation characteristics (i.e., S-parameters) to characterize the detection of aliphatic alcohol (methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol) vapors using TCNQ-doped HKUST-1 metal-organic-framework films as the sensing material, at temperatures under 100 °C. We show that the sensitivity of aliphatic alcohol detection depends on the oxidation potential of the analyte, and the impedance of the detection setup depends on the analyte-loading of the sensing medium. The microwaves-based detection technique can also afford new mechanistic insights into VOC detection, with surface-anchored metal-organic frameworks (SURMOFs), which is inaccessible with the traditional coulometric (i.e., resistance-based) measurements

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopic Detection of Aliphatic Alcohol Vapors with Surface-Mounted HKUST-1 MOFs as Sensing Media †

We leveraged chemical-induced changes to microwave signal propagation characteristics (i.e., S-parameters) to characterize the detection of aliphatic alcohol (methanol, ethanol, and 2-propanol) vapors using TCNQ-doped HKUST-1 metal-organic-framework films as the sensing material, at temperatures under 100 ◦C. We show that the sensitivity of aliphatic alcohol detection depends on the oxidation potential of the analyte, and the impedance of the detection setup depends on the analyte-loading of the sensing medium. The microwaves-based detection technique can also afford new mechanistic insights into VOC detection, with surface-anchored metal-organic frameworks (SURMOFs), which is inaccessible with the traditional coulometric (i.e., resistance-based) measurements

The Protective Properties of the Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) against Carbon Tetrachloride-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Rats Mediated by Anti-Apoptotic and Upregulation of Antioxidant Genes Expression Effects

The strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) has been extensively used to treat a wide range of ailments in many cultures. The present study was aimed at evaluating the hepatoprotective effect of strawberry juice on experimentally induced liver injury in rats. To this end, rats were introperitoneally injected with carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) with or without strawberry juice supplementation for 12 weeks and the hepatoprotective effect of strawberry was assessed by measuring serum liver enzyme markers, hepatic tissue redox status and apoptotic markers with various techniques including biochemistry, ELISA, quantitative PCR assays and histochemistry. The hepatoprotective effect of the strawberry was evident by preventing CCl4-induced increase in liver enzymes levels. Determination of oxidative balance showed that strawberry treatment significantly blunted CCl4-induced increase in oxidative stress markers and decrease in enzymatic and non-enzymatic molecules in hepatic tissue. Furthermore, strawberry supplementation enhanced the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, and restrained the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax and caspase-3 with a marked reduction in collagen areas in hepatic tissue. These findings demonstrated that strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) juice possessed antioxidant, anti-apoptotic and anti-fibrotic properties, probably mediated by the presence of polyphenols and flavonoids compounds

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes in Egyptian pediatric cancer patients with acute and chronic active HBV infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There are eight genotypes of hepatitis B virus (A-H) and subgenotypes are recognized. Genotyping can be accomplished based on a partial sequence of HBV genome such as the pre-S or S gene. Several methods have been developed and used for HBV genotyping. This study was undertaken to determine the HBV genotypes in Egyptian pediatric cancer patients with acute and chronic liver disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HBV genotypes were determined in 22 patients who had acute forms of liver disease (AH) and in 48 patients with chronic active hepatitis (CAH). A type-specific primer based the nested-PCR method was employed in the HBV genotyping.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>This study showed that HBV infections in pediatric cancer patients are attributed predominantly to viral genotypes D and B that constituted 37.1% and 25.7%, respectively of the total infections. In addition, there was a relatively high prevalence of mixed infections of 15.7% among the studied group especially mixed A/D genotype infections. Genotype D was found significantly more often in patients with CAH than in patients with AH [23/48(47.9%) <it>v </it>3/22 (13.6%)].</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings show the distribution of HBV A-D genotypes in pediatric cancer Egyptian patients. Furthermore, our results indicate a markedly high prevalence of mixed A/D genotype infections in subjects with CAH and a possible association of mixed infections with the severity of liver diseases.</p

Genetic profile of Egyptian hepatocellular-carcinoma associated with hepatitis C virus Genotype 4 by 15 K cDNA microarray: Preliminary study

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Observation of Reduced Thermal Conductivity in a Metal-Organic Framework Due to the Presence of Adsorbates

Whether the presence of adsorbates increases or decreases thermal conductivity in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) has been an open question. Here we report observations of thermal transport in the metal-organic framework HKUST-1 in the presence of various liquid adsorbates: water, methanol, and ethanol. Experimental thermoreflectance measurements were performed on single crystals and thin films, and theoretical predictions were made using molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the thermal conductivity of HKUST-1 decreases by 40 – 80% depending on the adsorbate, a result that cannot be explained by effective medium approximations. Our findings demonstrate that adsorbates introduce additional phonon scattering in HKUST-1, which particularly shortens the lifetimes of low-frequency phonon modes. As a result, the system thermal conductivity is lowered to a greater extent than the increase expected by the creation of additional heat transfer channels. Finally, we show that thermal diffusivity is even more greatly reduced than thermal conductivity by adsorption