Acute brucella melitensis M16 infection model in mice treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors

Introduction: There is limited data in the literature about brucellosis related to an intracellular pathogen and anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNFα) medication. The aim of this study was to evaluate acute Brucella infections in mice receiving anti-TNFα drug treatment. Methodology: Anti-TNFα drugs were injected in mice on the first and fifth days of the study, after which the mice were infected with B. melitensis M16 strain. Mice were sacrificed on the fourteenth day after infection. Bacterial loads in the liver and spleen were defined, and histopathological changes were evaluated. Results: Neither the liver nor the spleen showed an increased bacterial load in all anti-TNFα drug groups when compared to a non-treated, infected group. The most significant histopathological findings were neutrophil infiltrations in the red pulp of the spleen and apoptotic cells with hepatocellular pleomorphism in the liver. There was no significant difference among the groups in terms of previously reported histopathological findings, such as extramedullary hematopoiesis and granuloma formation. Conclusions: There were no differences in hepatic and splenic bacterial load and granuloma formation, which indicate worsening of the acute Brucella infection in mice; in other words, anti-TNFα treatment did not exacerbate the acute Brucella spp. infection in mice. © 2015 Kutlu et al

Snow metamorphism: a fractal approach

Snow is a porous disordered medium consisting of air and three water phases: ice, vapour and liquid. The ice phase consists of an assemblage of grains, ice matrix, initially arranged over a random load bearing skeleton. The quantitative relationship between density and morphological characteristics of different snow microstructures is still an open issue. In this work, a three-dimensional fractal description of density corresponding to different snow microstructure is put forward. First, snow density is simulated in terms of a generalized Menger sponge model. Then, a fully three-dimensional compact stochastic fractal model is adopted. The latter approach yields a quantitative map of the randomness of the snow texture, which is described as a three-dimensional fractional Brownian field with the Hurst exponent H varying as continuous parameter. The Hurst exponent is found to be strongly dependent on snow morphology and density. The approach might be applied to all those cases where the morphological evolution of snow cover or ice sheets should be conveniently described at a quantitative level

Diamond burs versus curettes in root planing: a randomized clinical trial

Aim: This study compares diamond burs and curettes by clinical, microbiological, biochemical, scanning electron microscopic parameters and treatment time data in the non-surgical periodontal treatment of patients with chronic periodontitis. Methods: Two quadrants of each of the 12 patients received root planing with diamond burs whereas other 2 quadrants were treated with curettes. Clinical periodontal measurements were recorded at baseline and then 1, 3, 6 months after completion of non-surgical periodontal treatment. Subgingival plaque, gingival crevicular fluid samples were obtained at baseline and 1-month control. Twenty-one hopeless teeth received root planing with diamond burs or curettes or no treatment at all and then extracted for microscopic evaluations. Results: Clinical periodontal parameters improved similarly with both treatment modalities. Microbiological analyses revealed similar findings for the bacterial load (16S gene copy numbers), ratio of each bacterium to the total bacterial count at baseline, 1-month control. Cytokine levels in the gingival crevicular fluid samples exhibited differences between the two treatments. Scanning electron microscopic analyses indicated that diamond burs were better in terms of calculus removal, loss of tooth substance indices, but roughness index values were better for curettes. Conclusion: As a conclusion, diamond burs provide findings comparable with curettes in root planing

Assessment of Austrian contribution toward EU 2020 target sharing: Responding to the energy and climate package of the European Commission

The overarching implications of the EU 2020 targets for Austria call for a fundamental restructuring of the Austrian energy sector towards increased energy efficiency. Two guiding principles for this restructuring are required in order to be compatible with the targets for greenhouse gas emissions and renewables (RES) expected for Austria: final energy consumption needs to be stabilised at the levels of 2005; renewable energy sources need to be expanded at least by 40 percent. For the final negotiations on phase 3 of the EU Emissions Trading System we propose contributions on three issues: 1. operational procedures for dealing with carbon leakage and competitiveness in all sectors that provide criteria for allocating free allowances: 2. empowering the carbon market by extending the task of the emissions allowances issuing carbon authority to control the liquidity of the carbon market in view of stabilising the carbon price; 3. designing the auctioning mechanism by considering timing and auctioning as a strategic instrument for enhancing the carbon market and considering unified auc-tioning with revenues split among EU countries. Similarly we suggest for the final negotiations on the RES Directive improvements that overcome discrepancies between national RES targets and available resources for implementation. This requires in particular improved cooperation between EU countries for a better mapping of targets and potentials

Online gaming addiction and basic psychological needs among adolescents: the mediating roles of meaning in life and responsibility

Individuals whose basic needs are naturally satisfied are much less dependent on their environment and more autonomous. Basic psychological needs (i.e., the general motivators of human actions) are significant predictors of online gaming addiction. Moreover, it has been posited that meaning and responsibility in life are at the center of life from an existential point of view. Therefore, a hypothetical model was tested to examine the relationships between basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness), online gaming addiction, responsibility, and meaning in life. Data were collected from a sample of 546 participants. Mediation analysis was conducted, and the results indicated that basic psychological needs, online gaming addiction, responsibility, and meaning in life had significant negative and positive relationships. The findings indicated that responsibility and meaning in life had a serial mediating effect in the relationship between basic psychological needs and online gaming addiction. The findings also showed that the inverse relationship between online gaming addiction and basic psychological needs was at least partially explained by meaning in life and responsibility. The results of the present study are of great importance and suggest that interventions to satisfy the basic psychological needs of adolescents may help prevent online gaming addiction

Geo-Biological Investigations on Azooxanthellate Cold-Water Coral Reefs on the Carbonate Mounds Along the Celtic Continental Slope

Northeast Atlantic 2004 Cruise No. 61, Leg 1 April 19 to May 4, 2004, Lisbon – Cor

Design of vitamin E d-α-Tocopheryl Polyethylene Glycol 1000 Succinate-Emulsified Poly (D,L–Lactide–co-Glycolide) Nanoparticles: Influence of Duration of Ultrasonication Energy

The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of the duration of ultrasonication energy on the physicochemical characteristics of the nano–sized particulate drug delivery systems. For this purpose, meloxicam-loaded vitamin E d-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS)-emulsified poly (D,L–lactide–co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles were designed by using ultrasonication-solvent evaporation technique and were characterized by photon correlation spectroscopy for size and size distribution, scanning electron microscopy for surface morphology and laser Doppler anemometry for surface charge. Ultraviolet -spectrophotometer was used to measure the drug encapsulation efficiency and to obtain in vitro drug release profile. The results showed that the physicochemical properties of the prepared nanoparticles are effectively controlled by the amount of shear stress transferred from the energy source to the emulsion, which is strongly correlated to the ultrasonication time

Diffüz büyük B-hücreli lenfomanın farklı immünofenotipik profillerinde apoptozis, proliferasyon durumu ve O6 metilguanin DNA metiltransferaz metilasyon profillerinin tespiti

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the expression of apoptosis-associated proteins (bcl-2, bcl-xl, bax, bak, bid), apoptotic index (AI) and proliferation index (PI) in germinal center B-cell-like immunophenotypic profile (GCB) and non-GCB of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Materials and Methods: The methylation status of the promoter region of O6-methylguanine-DNA yerine O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) gene and its relation with immunophenotypic differentiation of DLBCLs were also investigated. 101 cases were classified as GCB (29 cases) or non-GCB (72 cases). Apoptosis-associated proteins and PI were determined by IHC, and TUNEL method was used to determine AI. MGMT methylation analysis was performed by real-time PCR. Results: The PI was significantly higher in GCB compared with non-GCB (p=0.011). Percentage of cells stained with bcl-6 was positively correlated with the percentage of cells expressing bcl-2 (p=0.023), AI (p=0.006) and PI (p<0.001), while a significant negative correlation was observed with the percentage of cells expressing bax (p=0.027). The percentage of cells stained with MUM1 showed a significantly positive correlation with the percentage of cells expressing bcl-xl (p=0.003), bid (p=0.002), AI (p<0.001), and PI (p=0.001). MGMT methylation analysis was performed in 95 samples, and methylated profile was found in 31 cases (32.6%). GCB was found in 6 cases (22.2%) and non-GCB was determined in 25 cases (36.8%) out of 31 with MGMT methylated samples. There was no significant association between MGMT methylation status and immunophenotypic profiles (p=0.173). Conclusion: These results suggest that bcl-6 protein expression may be responsible for the high PI in GCB. Additionally, we found that apoptosis-associated proteins were not significantly associated with immunophenotypic profiles

A dietary carbohydrate–gut Parasutterella–human fatty acid biosynthesis metabolic axis in obesity and type 2 diabetes

Recent rodent microbiome experiments suggest that besides Akkermansia, Parasutterella sp. are important in type 2 diabetes and obesity development. In the present translational human study, we aimed to characterize Parasutterella in our European cross-sectional FoCus cohort (n = 1,544) followed by validation of the major results in an independent Canadian cohort (n = 438). In addition, we examined Parasutterella abundance in response to a weight loss intervention (n = 55). Parasutterella was positively associated with BMI and type 2 diabetes independently of the reduced microbiome α/β diversity and low-grade inflammation commonly found in obesity. Nutritional analysis revealed a positive association with the dietary intake of carbohydrates but not with fat or protein consumption. Out of 126 serum metabolites differentially detectable by untargeted HPLC-based MS-metabolomics, L-cysteine showed the strongest reduction in subjects with high Parasutterella abundance. This is of interest, since Parasutterella is a known high L-cysteine consumer and L-cysteine is known to improve blood glucose levels in rodents. Furthermore, metabolic network enrichment analysis identified an association of high Parasutterella abundance with the activation of the human fatty acid biosynthesis pathway suggesting a mechanism for body weight gain. This is supported by a significant reduction of the Parasutterella abundance during our weight loss intervention. Together, these data indicate a role for Parasutterella in human type 2 diabetes and obesity, whereby the link to L-cysteine might be relevant in type 2 diabetes development and the link to the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway for body weight gain in response to a carbohydrate-rich diet in obesity development

Advanced Technologies for Oral Controlled Release: Cyclodextrins for oral controlled release

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are used in oral pharmaceutical formulations, by means of inclusion complexes formation, with the following advantages for the drugs: (1) solubility, dissolution rate, stability and bioavailability enhancement; (2) to modify the drug release site and/or time profile; and (3) to reduce or prevent gastrointestinal side effects and unpleasant smell or taste, to prevent drug-drug or drug-additive interactions, or even to convert oil and liquid drugs into microcrystalline or amorphous powders. A more recent trend focuses on the use of CDs as nanocarriers, a strategy that aims to design versatile delivery systems that can encapsulate drugs with better physicochemical properties for oral delivery. Thus, the aim of this work was to review the applications of the CDs and their hydrophilic derivatives on the solubility enhancement of poorly water soluble drugs in order to increase their dissolution rate and get immediate release, as well as their ability to control (to prolong or to delay) the release of drugs from solid dosage forms, either as complexes with the hydrophilic (e.g. as osmotic pumps) and/ or hydrophobic CDs. New controlled delivery systems based on nanotechonology carriers (nanoparticles and conjugates) have also been reviewed