Experimental modeling of hypoxia in pregnancy and early postnatal life

The important role of equilibrium of environmental factors during the embryo-fetal period is undisputable. Women of reproductive age are increasingly exposed to various environmental risk factors such as hypoxia, prenatal viral infections, use of drugs, smoking, complications of birth or stressful life events. These early hazards represent an important risk for structural and/or functional maldevelopment of the fetus and neonates. Impairment of oxygen/energy supply during the pre- and perinatal period may affect neuronal functions and induce cell death. Thus when death of the newborn is not occurring following intrauterine hypoxia, various neurological deficits, including hyperactivity, learning disabilities, mental retardation, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, dystonia etc., may develop both in humans and in experimental animals. In our animal studies we used several approaches for modeling hypoxia in rats during pregnancy and shortly after delivery, i.e. chronic intrauterine hypoxia induced by the antiepileptic drug phenytoin, neonatal anoxia by decreased oxygen saturation in 2-day-old pups. Using these models we were able to test potential protective properties of natural (vitamin E, melatonin) and synthetic (stobadine) compounds. Based on our results, stobadine was also able to reduce hypoxia-induced hyperactivity and the antioxidant capacity of stobadine exceeded that of vitamin E and melatonin, and contrary to vitamin E, stobadine had no adverse effects on developing fetus and offspring

Mathematical representation of the density of liquid mixtures at various temperatures using Jouyban-Acree model

1553-1560Applicability of a quantitative relationship of density with mixture composition and temperature of liquid mixtures is shown using 98 density data at various temperatures, with an overall average percentage deviation (OAPD) as accuracy criterion. The OAPD of the Jouyban-Acree model is also compared with those of three previously published equations and the OAPD (±SD) of the proposed and previous equations are 0.05 ± 0.06, 0.12 ± 0.15, 0.16 ± 0.22 and 0.15 ± 0.22, respectively. The differences between OAPD of the Jouyban- Acree model with those of previous models are statistically significant (p0.0005). The prediction capability of the proposed model is also compared with that of the best reported correlative equation and the proposed model provides more accurate predictions

The Effect of Regular Resistance Exercise, Vitamin D, and Calcium Supplements on the Gastrocnemius Muscle in Rats in the Post-menopausal Period: an Experimental Study

Background: Menopause is the natural termination of menstruation which affects the quality and important aspects of women's life. Objective: To evaluate the effect of regular resistance training (Ex) with vitamin D (Vit. D) and calcium (Ca) supplements in the postmenopausal period on muscle tissue in rats. Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 72 female Wistar rats (8-10-wk old) were randomly divided into control, placebo, Vit. D, Ca, Ex, Ca + Vit. D, Ex + Ca, Ex + Vit. D, and Ex + Ca + Vit. D groups. Control and placebo groups were fed with a standard diet and sesame oil, respectively. Two months after the ovariectomy, Ex, Ca (35 mg/kg), and Vit. D (10000 IU) were administered in all groups except the control. The number of muscle and inflammatory cells, fiber diameter, endomysium thickness, and degenerative collagen fiber area were assessed through hematoxylin-eosin staining. Results: Muscle cell number was increased in the Ex + Vit. D + Ca, Vit. D + Ex, and Vit. D groups compared to the control group; also, inflammatory cell number showed significant increase in the Ex + Vit. D + Ca (12 ± 5.46), Vit. D + Ex (14 ± 3.25), Ex (13 ± 4.08), Vit. D (11 ± 3.26), Ca + Vit. D (10 ± 1.01), and Ca + Ex (9 ± 2.87) groups. Muscle fiber diameter in the Ex + Vit. D + Ca and Vit. D + Ex groups was higher than the other groups. Endomysium thickness was significantly decreased in the Ex + Vit. D + Ca and Vit. D + Ex groups compared to the control and placebo groups (p < 0.001). Degenerative collagen fiber area showed a significant increase in the Ex + Vit. D + Ca and Vit. D + Ex groups (p ≤ 0.001) comparison with the control group. Conclusion: Regular resistance exercise, Vit. D, and Ca supplements can improve muscle morphological features in the postmenopausal period. Key words: Menopause, Muscle, Vitamin D, Calcium, Exercise

Hepatitis C virus alternative reading frame protein (ARFP): Production, features, and pathogenesis

Earlier observation suggests that hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a single-stranded RNA virus which encodes at least 10 viral proteins. F protein is a novel protein which has been discovered recently. These studies suggest three mechanisms for the production of this protein concerning ribosomal frameshift at codon 10, initial translation at codons 26 and 85 or 87. In this study, the association between protein F and chronicity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been reviewed. Evidence suggests that humoral immune system can recognize this protein and produce antibodies against it. By detecting antibodies in infected people, investigators found that F protein might have a role in HCV infection causing chronic cirrhosis and HCC as higher prevalence was found in patients with mentioned complications. The increment of CD4+, CD25+, and FoxP3+ T cells, along with CD8+ T cells with low expression of granzyme B, also leads to weaker responses of the immune system which helps the infection to become chronic. Moreover, it contributes to the survival of the virus in the body through affecting the production of interferon. F protein also might play roles in the disease development, resulting in HCC. The existence of F protein affects cellular pathways through upregulating p53, c-myc, cyclin D1, and phosphorylating Rb. This review will summarize these effects on immune system and related mechanisms in cellular pathways. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LL

Solubility Prediction of Paracetamol in Water–Ethanol–Propylene Glycol Mixtures at 25 and 30 °C Using Practical Approaches

The solubility of paracetamol in water–ethanol–propylene glycol binary and ternary mixtures at 25 and 30 °C was determined using flask shake method. The generated data extended the solubility database for further computational investigations and also was used to assess the prediction capability of the Jouyban–Acree model. A new version of the model was proposed for modeling the solubility data in water–cosolvent mixtures with the cosolvent concentration of 50% which is required in pharmaceutical formulations. The accuracy of the predicted solubilities was evaluated by the mean percentage deviation (MPD) between the predicted and experimental solubilities. The overall MPD of the Jouyban–Acree model and the log-linear model of Yalkowsky for the entire composition range of the cosolvents were 11.08.7 and 55.417.8%, respectively; the corresponding values for the predicted solubilities in mixtures having a cosolvent concentration of 50% were 12.09.1 and 22.011.0%