Wheat Germ Oil Restores Testicular Function Through Modulation of Oxidative Stress in Male Adult Rats Exposed to Chromium VI

This research was outlined to assess the protective and therapeutic role of wheat germ oil against chromium VI -induced oxidative stress and testicular dysfunction in male adult rats through evaluation of semen picture, measuring the sex hormone levels, oxidative stress markers, DNA fragmentation percentage and histopathological changes in the testes. Twenty-eight adult Wister male rats were assigned into four equal groups: Group 1; Control, group 2; Cr VI, group 3; Cr VI + WGO, and group 4; WGO. WGO showed a significant increment in the RBC, Hb, Ht, WBC and Plts. WGO restored the levels of testicular antioxidant enzymes, NO, MDA as well as GSH. Also, WGO in-combination with Cr VI showed a significant (p<0.05) increase in the levels of testosterone, LH, GnRH hormones and 17β-HSD enzyme, while, FSH was decreased. Data showed that treatment of male rats with WGO and Cr VI caused an increase in sperm count, motility, and decrease in sperm abnormality. Combination of WGO with Cr VI revealed a decrease in the levels of TL, TC, TG and LDL–C, while, HDL–C was increased. Rats administrated with WGO in-combination with Cr VI exhibited a slight improvement in testicular DNA integration compared to Cr VI-treated group. Further, co-administration of WGO + Cr VI revealed a slight improvement in the pathological alterations; the cellular layers of the seminiferous tubules more or less near to the normal structure. It was concluded that wheat germ oil can be an effective antioxidant in modulating Cr VI-induced male infertility, and may lead to improve the male reproductive performance

Ladakh: Diverse, high-altitude extreme environments for off-earth analogue and astrobiology research

This paper highlights unique sites in Ladakh, India, investigated during our 2016 multidisciplinary pathfinding expedition to the region. We summarize our scientific findings and the site's potential to support science exploration, testing of new technologies and science protocols within the framework of astrobiology research. Ladakh has several accessible, diverse, pristine and extreme environments at very high altitudes (3000-5700 m above sea level). These sites include glacial passes, sand dunes, hot springs and saline lake shorelines with periglacial features. We report geological observations and environmental characteristics (of astrobiological significance) along with the development of regolith-landform maps for cold high passes. The effects of the diurnal water cycle on salt deliquescence were studied using the ExoMars Mission instrument mockup: HabitAbility: Brines, Irradiance and Temperature (HABIT). It recorded the existence of an interaction between the diurnal water cycle in the atmosphere and salts in the soil (which can serve as habitable liquid water reservoirs). Life detection assays were also tested to establish the best protocols for biomass measurements in brines, periglacial ice-mud and permafrost melt water environments in the Tso-Kar region. This campaign helped confirm the relevance of clays and brines as interest targets of research on Mars for biomarker preservation and life detection.The team would like to express its gratitude to BirbalSahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Department of Science and Technology,Office of Chief Wildlife Warden of Ladakh, Government of India for helpingarrange the requisite clearances and permits for the conducted work. Projectmentoring and guidance provided by Spaceward Bound members at NASAAmes Research Center. Financial and logistics support provided by TataMotors Ltd, Inspired Journeys Co, Pearl Travels Ltd and NationalGeographic Traveller India. Website and IT support provided by the BlueMarble Space Institute of Science. Audio-video documentation support pro-vided by Astroproject India and The H

The impact of signal-to-noise ratio, diffusion-weighted directions and image resolution in cardiac diffusion tensor imaging - insights from the ex-vivo rat heart

Background: Cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is limited by scan time and signal-to-noise (SNR) restrictions. This invariably leads to a trade-off between the number of averages, diffusion-weighted directions (ND), and image resolution. Systematic evaluation of these parameters is therefore important for adoption of cardiac DTI in clinical routine where time is a key constraint. Methods: High quality reference DTI data were acquired in five ex-vivo rat hearts. We then retrospectively set 2 ≤ SNR ≤ 97, 7 ≤ ND ≤ 61, varied the voxel volume by up to 192-fold and investigated the impact on the accuracy and precision of commonly derived parameters. Results: For maximal scan efficiency, the accuracy and precision of the mean diffusivity is optimised when SNR is maximised at the expense of ND. With typical parameter settings used clinically, we estimate that fractional anisotropy may be overestimated by up to 13% with an uncertainty of ±30%, while the precision of the sheetlet angles may be as poor as ±31°. Although the helix angle has better precision of ±14°, the transmural range of helix angles may be under-estimated by up to 30° in apical and basal slices, due to partial volume and tapering myocardial geometry. Conclusions: These findings inform a baseline of understanding upon which further issues inherent to in-vivo cardiac DTI, such as motion, strain and perfusion, can be considered. Furthermore, the reported bias and reproducibility provides a context in which to assess cardiac DTI biomarkers

Validation of a small-animal PET simulation using GAMOS: a Geant4-based framework

onte Carlo-based modelling is a powerful tool to help in the design and optimization of positron emission tomography (PET) systems. The performance of these systems depends on several parameters, such as detector physical characteristics, shielding or electronics, whose effects can be studied on the basis of realistic simulated data. The aim of this paper is to validate a comprehensive study of the Raytest ClearPET small-animal PET scanner using a new Monte Carlo simulation platform which has been developed at CIEMAT (Madrid, Spain), called GAMOS (GEANT4-based Architecture for Medicine-Oriented Simulations). This toolkit, based on the GEANT4 code, was originally designed to cover multiple applications in the field of medical physics from radiotherapy to nuclear medicine, but has since been applied by some of its users in other fields of physics, such as neutron shielding, space physics, high energy physics, etc. Our simulation model includes the relevant characteristics of the ClearPET system, namely, the double layer of scintillator crystals in phoswich configuration, the rotating gantry, the presence of intrinsic radioactivity in the crystals or the storage of single events for an off-line coincidence sorting. Simulated results are contrasted with experimental acquisitions including studies of spatial resolution, sensitivity, scatter fraction and count rates in accordance with the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) NU 4-2008 protocol. Spatial resolution results showed a discrepancy between simulated and measured values equal to 8.4% (with a maximum FWHM difference over all measurement directions of 0.5 mm). Sensitivity results differ less than 1% for a 250–750 keV energy window. Simulated and measured count rates agree well within a wide range of activities, including under electronic saturation of the system (the measured peak of total coincidences, for the mouse-sized phantom, was 250.8 kcps reached at 0.95 MBq mL−1 and the simulated peak was 247.1 kcps at 0.87 MBq mL−1). Agreement better than 3% was obtained in the scatter fraction comparison study. We also measured and simulated a mini-Derenzo phantom obtaining images with similar quality using iterative reconstruction methods. We concluded that the overall performance of the simulation showed good agreement with the measured results and validates the GAMOS package for PET applications. Furthermore, its ease of use and flexibility recommends it as an excellent tool to optimize design features or image reconstruction techniques

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.