Evaluation of Anti-inflammatory property of Melanin from marine Bacillus sp BTCZ31

 Objectives: To evaluate the anti-inflammatory property of melanin from marine Bacillus spp. BTCZ31.Methods: Radical scavenging property of melanin was determined by 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl and metal chelation assays, which was furtherconfirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Anti-inflammatory property of melanin was explored in vitro in RAW264.7cell line using cyclooxygenase (COX), Lipoxygenase (LOX), Myleoperoxidase (MPO), cellular nitrite inhibitory assays. Cytotoxicity of melanin wasdetermined using 3-(4,5 dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide assay.Results: BTCZ31 melanin showed radical scavenging activity of 67.55% and ferrous ion chelating activity of 97.88%. EPR spectrum showed sharppeaks indicating the presence of unpaired electrons. Melanin inhibited the activity of COX and LOX enzyme with IC50 values of 104.34 μg/mL and10.5 μg/mL, respectively. It also reduced the activity of MPO and cellular nitrite levels. Cytotoxic concentration of melanin was found to be 105.4 μg/mL(IC50).Conclusion: Bacillus spp. BTCZ10 melanin can be a potential anti-inflammatory agent. Further in vivo evaluations are needed for confirming theactivity, leading to therapeutic applications.Keywords: Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, Bacillus spp., Bacteria, Marine, Melanin

How do I sound to me? Perceived changes in communication in Parkinson's disease

Objective: To examine self and carer perceived changes in communication associated with Parkinson's disease and relate these to speech intelligibility, gender, age and other disease measures. Design: Cross-sectional survey of a hospital- and community-based sample of 176 people with Parkinson's disease and their carers using a questionnaire based on semantic differential techniques. Participants: One hundred and four people with Parkinson's disease with no history of communication difficulties prior to onset of their Parkinson's disease and 45 primary carers who returned completed questionnaires. Main outcome measures: Differences in ratings for `before' the onset of Parkinson's disease versus present status. Results: There was a strong perception of negative impact on communication between `before' and `now', irrespective of age and gender and largely independent of disease severity and duration, intelligibility and cognitive status. Activities of daily living (assessed by Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) II) and depression rating scale scores had the strongest association with change (adjusted R 2 0.27). There was a significant correlation between the rank order of perceived change in features examined in people with Parkinson's disease versus their carers, though in general carers rated change as having less impact. Conclusions: Parkinson's disease exercises a strong influence on communication even before apparent alterations to intelligibility or motor status

Galaxy Merger Candidates in High-Redshift Cluster Environments

We compile a sample of spectroscopically- and photometrically-selected cluster galaxies from four high-redshift galaxy clusters ($1.59 < z < 1.71$) from the Spitzer Adaptation of the Red-Sequence Cluster Survey (SpARCS), and a comparison field sample selected from the UKIDSS Deep Survey. Using near-infrared imaging from the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope} we classify potential mergers involving massive ($M_* \geq 3\times 10^{10}\mathrm{M}_\odot$) cluster members by eye, based on morphological properties such as tidal distortions, double nuclei, and projected near neighbors within 20 kpc. With a catalogue of 23 spectroscopic and 32 photometric massive cluster members across the four clusters and 65 spectroscopic and 26 photometric comparable field galaxies, we find that after taking into account contamination from interlopers, $11.0 ^{+7.0}_{-5.6}\%$ of the cluster members are involved in potential mergers, compared to $24.7^{+5.3}_{-4.6}\%$ of the field galaxies. We see no evidence of merger enhancement in the central cluster environment with respect to the field, suggesting that galaxy-galaxy merging is not a stronger source of galaxy evolution in cluster environments compared to the field at these redshifts.Comment: Accepted by Ap

Detection of a Substantial Molecular Gas Reservoir in a brightest cluster galaxy at z = 1.7

We report the detection of CO(2-1) emission coincident with the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) of the high-redshift galaxy cluster SpARCS1049+56, with the Redshift Search Receiver (RSR) on the Large Millimetre Telescope (LMT). We confirm a spectroscopic redshift for the gas of z = 1.7091+/-0.0004, which is consistent with the systemic redshift of the cluster galaxies of z = 1.709. The line is well-fit by a single component Gaussian with a RSR resolution-corrected FWHM of 569+/-63 km/s. We see no evidence for multiple velocity components in the gas, as might be expected from the multiple image components seen in near-infrared imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope. We measure the integrated flux of the line to be 3.6+/-0.3 Jy km/s and, using alpha_CO = 0.8 Msun (K km s^-1 pc^2)^-1 we estimate a total molecular gas mass of 1.1+/-0.1x10^11 Msun and a M_H2/M_star ~ 0.4. This is the largest gas reservoir detected in a BCG above z > 1 to date. Given the infrared-estimated star formation rate of 860+/-130 Msun/yr, this corresponds to a gas depletion timescale of ~0.1Gyr. We discuss several possible mechanisms for depositing such a large gas reservoir to the cluster center -- e.g., a cooling flow, a major galaxy-galaxy merger or the stripping of gas from several galaxies -- but conclude that these LMT data are not sufficient to differentiate between them.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Randomised trial of glutamine, selenium, or both, to supplement parenteral nutrition for critically ill patients

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Using museum objects to improve wellbeing in mental health service users and neurological rehabilitation clients

Background: This study sought to determine the effects of a heritage-in-health intervention on well-being. Benefits of arts-in-health interventions are relatively well-documented yet little robust research has been conducted using heritage-in-health interventions, such as those involving museum objects. Method: Hospital patients (n = 57) participated in semi-structured, 30–40 minute facilitated interview sessions, discussing and handling museum objects comprising selections of six artefacts and specimens loaned from archaeology, art, geology and natural history collections. Well-being measures (Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale, Visual Analogue Scales) evaluated the sessions while inductive and deductive thematic analysis investigated psycho-educational features accounting for changes. Results: Comparison of pre- and post-session quantitative measures showed significant increases in well-being and happiness. Qualitative investigation revealed thinking and meaning-making opportunities for participants engaged with objects. Conclusion: Heritage-in-health sessions enhanced positive mood and social interaction, endorsing the need for provision of well-being-related museum and gallery activities for socially excluded or vulnerable healthcare audiences