Sexual dimorphism of medium-sized neurons with spines in human nucleus accumbens

The nucleus accumbens is a limbic nucleus, representing part of the striatum body, and together with the caudate nucleus and putamen, it lies on the septum. The aim of this study was to examine morphological sexual dimorphism in spine density and also to undertake an immunohistochemical study of expression for estrogen and progesterone receptors in the medium-sized neurons in the nucleus accumbens. The research was conducted on twenty human brains of persons of both sexes, between the age of 20-75 years. The Golgi method was applied to determine the types and subtypes of neurons, morphologies of soma, dendrites and axons, as well as the relations between the cells and glial elements. The following were quantitatively examined: the maximum diameter of the neurons, the minimal diameter of the neurons, and the total length of the dendrites. The expression of receptors for estrogen and progesterone, their distribution and intensity were defined immunohistochemically. The parameters of the bodies of neurons in the shell and core of the nucleus accumbens were studied in both men and women. No statistically significant differences were found. Examination of the spine density showed statistical significance in terms of a higher density of spines in women. Immunohistochemically, in the female brain estrogen expression is diffusely spread in a large number of neurons; it is extra nuclear, of granular appearance and high intensity. In the male brain, expression of estrogen is visible and distributed over about one half of different types of neurons; it is extra nuclear, of granular appearance, mostly of middle and low staining intensity. Expression of progesterone in the female brain was very discreet and on a very small number of neurons; it was extra nuclear and with a weak staining intensity. Expression of progesterone in the male brain was distributed on a small number of neurons. It had a granular appearance, it was extra nuclear, with a very low staining intensity. Our results show differences in the morphology as well as expression of receptors for estrogen and progesterone on medium-sized neurons with spines in the nucleus accumbens of men and women

MDCT: Angiography of anatomical variations of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery

The aim of this study was to detect and describe the existence and incidence of anatomical variations of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery. The study was conducted on 150 persons, who underwent abdominal Multi- Detector Computer Tomography (MDCT) angiography, from April 2010 until November 2012. CT images were obtained with a 64-row MDCT scanner in order to analyze the vascular anatomy and anatomical variations of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery. In our study, we found that 78% of patients have a classic anatomy of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery. The most frequent variation was the origin of the common hepatic artery from the superior mesenteric artery (10%). The next variation, according to frequency, was the origin of the left gastric artery direct from the abdominal aorta (4%). The arc of Buhler as an anastomosis between the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery, was detected in 3% of cases, as was the presence of a common trunk of the celiac trunk and superior mesenteric artery (in 3% of cases). Separate origin of the splenic artery and the common hepatic artery was present in 2% of patients. The MDCT scanner gives us an insight into normal anatomy and variations of the abdominal blood vessels, which is very important in the planning of surgical interventions, especially transplantation, as well as in the prevention of complications due to ischemia

Disulfiram moderately restores impaired hepatic redox status of rats subchronically exposed to cadmium

Examination of cadmium (Cd) toxicity and disulfiram (DSF) effect on liver was focused on oxidative stress (OS), bioelements status, morphological and functional changes. Male Wistar rats were intraperitoneally treated with 1mg CdCl2/kg BW/day; orally with 178.5 mg DSF/kg BW/day for 1, 3, 10 and 21 days; and co-exposed from 22nd to 42nd day. The co-exposure nearly restored previously suppressed total superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and increased glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities; increased previously reduced glutathione reductase (GR) and total glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities; reduced previously increased superoxide anion radical (O-2(center dot-)) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels; increased zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe), and decreased copper (Cu) (yet above control value), while magnesium (Mg) was not affected; and decreased serum alanine aminotransferases (ALT) levels. Histopathological examination showed signs of inflammation process as previously demonstrated by exposure to Cd. Overall, we ascertained partial liver redox status improvement, compared with the formerly Cd-induced impact

Effect of aspartame on biochemical and oxidative stress parameters in rat blood

Aspartame (ASP) is one of the most widely used nonnutritive sweeteners. This study investigates the chronic effects of ASP on hematological and biochemical parameters, and its effects on the oxidative/antioxidative status in the red blood cells of Wistar albino rats. Rats were provided with ASP (40 mg/kg/daily for six weeks) in drinking water. Increased food and fluid intake was observed in the ASP-treated rats. Total body mass was significantly decreased in the ASP-treated rats. Treatment with ASP caused an increase in the concentrations of glucose, cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and in the activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), as well as a decrease in the levels of HDL-cholesterol in the serum. A significant decline in the number of white blood cells (WBC) was observed after ASP uptake. Based on the results we conclude that ASP induces oxidative stress, observed as an alteration of the glutathione redox status, which leads to increased concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) and lipid peroxides (LPO) in the red blood cells. Changes in biochemical parameters, lipid metabolism, as well as changes in the levels of oxidative stress markers and the appearance of signs of liver damage indicate that chronic use of ASP can lead to the development of hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia and associated diseases.Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia {[}173041

Morphology of Human Nucleus Accumbens Neurons Based on the Immunohistochemical Expression of Gad67

The nucleus accumbens is a part of the ventral striatum along with the caudate nucleus and putamen. The role of the human nucleus accumbens in drug addiction and other psychiatric disorders is of great importance. The aim of this study was to characterize medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens according to the immunohistochemical expression of GAD67

Inkjet-Printed Carbon Nanotube Electrodes Modified with Dimer-captosuccinic Acid-Capped Fe3O4 Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphene Oxide Nanosheets for Single-Drop Determination of Trifluoperazine

Here, we report the design of a disposable single-drop voltammetric sensor for the quantitative determination of antipsychotic drug trifluoperazine (TFP). The sensor was built using inkjet-printed carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes, which were modified with dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA)-coated magnetite nanoparticles uniformly dispersed over reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (DMSA/Fe3O4/RGO). The used modifying materials were characterized by electron microscopy techniques (transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission-scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM)), X-ray powder diffraction, \u3b6-potential measurements, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and electrochemical methods (cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)). The developed sensor, best operated at pH 7 in the Britton\u2013Robinson buffer solution (BRBS), shows linear electrocatalytic activity with TFP in the concentration range of 1\u201350 \u3bcM, a low detection limit of 0.54 \u3bcM, and excellent selectivity, repeatability, and reproducibility with an relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.4%. A voltammetric approach using square wave voltammetry (SWV) is a sensitive technique under optimized conditions for the analytical determination of submicromolar amounts of TFP. Bare CNT and RGO- and DMSA/Fe3O4-modified CNT electrodes showed lower electrocatalytic activity than the DMSA/Fe3O4/RGO/CNT electrode. The development of this kind of TFP sensor based on nanoparticle-decorated graphene nanosheets can offer a tool for point-of-care applications as sensors in biomedicine

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of iron manganite (FeMnO 3 ) particles against the environmental bacterium Bacillus subtilis †

Nanocrystalline iron manganite powder was synthesized using the sol-gel combustion process, with glycine as fuel. It was further calcined at 900 C for 8 h, resulting in the formation of a loose cubic FeMnO 3 powder with a small specific surface area, net-like structure and plate-like particles as confirmed by XRD, N 2 physisorption, FESEM and TEM analyses. The metal ion release was studied by ICP-OES and showed that less than 10 ppb of Fe or Mn ions were released by leaching in water, but 0.36 ppm Fe and 3.69 ppm Mn was found in LB (Luria-Bertani) bacterial medium. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was monitored in distilled water and bacterial medium and showed that FeMnO 3 particles do not generate O 2 c À ions with or without UV irradiation, but synthesize H 2 O 2 and show an antioxidative effect. Besides the higher stability of FeMnO 3 particles in aqueous solution they showed an inhibitory effect on Bacillus subtilis growth in LB medium even at low concentrations (0.01 mg ml À1), but not in BHI medium even at 1 mg ml À1. This study points out that the mechanism of antibacterial action of engineered metal oxides needs continued investigation and specific experimental controls