292 research outputs found
Comparative efficacy of two microdoses of a potentized homoeopathic drug, Cadmium Sulphoricum, in reducing genotoxic effects produced by cadmium chloride in mice: a time course study
BACKGROUND: Cadmium poisoning in the environment has assumed an alarming problem in recent years. Effective antimutagenic agents which can reverse or combat cadmium induced genotoxicity in mice have not yet been reported. Therefore, in the present study, following the homeopathic principle of "like cures like", we tested the efficacy of two potencies of a homeopathic drug, Cadmium Sulphoricum (Cad Sulph), in reducing the genotoxic effects of Cadmium chloride in mice. Another objective was to determine the relative efficacy of three administrative modes, i.e. pre-, post- and combined pre and post-feeding of the homeopathic drugs. For this, healthy mice, Mus musculus, were intraperitoneally injected with 0.008% solution of CdCl(2) @ 1 ml/100 gm of body wt (i.e. 0.8 mcg/gm of bw), and assessed for the genotoxic effects through such studies as chromosome aberrations (CA), micronucleated erythrocytes (MNE), mitotic index (MI) and sperm head anomaly (SHA), keeping suitable succussed alcohol fed (positive) and CdCl(2) untreated normal (negative) controls. The CdCl(2) treated mice were divided into 3 subgroups, which were orally administered with the drug prior to, after and both prior to and after injection of CdCl(2) at specific fixation intervals and their genotoxic effects were analyzed. RESULTS: While the CA, MNE and SHA were reduced in the drug fed series as compared to their respective controls, the MI showed an apparent increase. The combined pre- and post-feeding of Cad Sulph showed maximum reduction of the genotoxic effects. CONCLUSIONS: Both Cad Sulph-30 and 200 were able to combat cadmium induced genotoxic effects in mice and that combined pre- and post-feeding mode of administration was found to be most effective in reducing the genotoxic effect of CdCl(2) followed by the post-feeding mode
Sexual relationships among men who have sex with men in Hanoi, Vietnam: a qualitative interview study
Population and Environmental Correlates of Maize Yields in Mesoamerica: a Test of Boserupâs Hypothesis in the Milpa
Using a sample of 40 sources reporting milpa and mucuna-intercropped maize yields in Mesoamerica, we test Boserupâs (1965) prediction that fallow is reduced as a result of growing population density. We further examine direct and indirect effects of population density on yield. We find only mixed support for Boserupian intensification. Fallow periods decrease slightly with increasing population density in this sample, but the relationship is weak. Controlling for other covariates, fallow-unadjusted maize yields first rise then fall with population density. Fallow-adjusted maize yields peak at 390 kg/ha/yr for low population densities (8 persons / km2) and decline to around 280 kg/ha/yr for the highest population densities observed in our dataset. Fallow practices do not appear to mediate the relationship between population density and yield. The multi-level modeling methods we adopt allow for data clustering, accurate estimates of group-level variation, and they generate conditional predictions, all features essential to the comparative study of prehistoric and contemporary agricultural yields
Molecular insights into land snail neuropeptides through transcriptome and comparative gene analysis
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Dihydroxyboryldeoxyuridine (DBDU); can a borated nucleoside deceive the DNA molecule
The possibility of using a boronated analog of thymidine for Neutron Capture Therapy (NCT) is intriguing, as the boron is targeted to the cell's most sensitive location. Such an analog has been synthesized in the form of dihydroxyboryldeoxyuridine (DBDU). Data are presented indicating that DBDU is indeed incorporated in the nucleus, and that significant radiosensitization is produced in cell cultures as a consequence of this uptake. The results demonstrate that cells exposed to DBDU for 1 cell cycle incorporate an amount of boron such that the resultant biological effect is equivalent to a boron concentration of 6 ..mu..g /sup 10/B/g cell. Other studies have shown that it should be possible to effect successful BNCT with a boron concentration of approx.15 ..mu..g /sup 10/B/g cell (with an epithermal neutron beam; thermal beams would require more; reference 1). Thus it would appear that DBDU is capable of delivering boron concentrations approaching that which should be useful for therapy. 7 refs
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Biological efficacy of a boronated porphyrin as measured in cell culture
Attempts to develop a boronated porphyrin analog have suffered from problems associated with toxicity, solubility and, upon occasion, lability of the boron tag. One compound synthesized by one of us (SBK), designated ''SBK-II'', has evidently overcome the above problems, providing therapeutic amounts of boron in animal tumor models (20-40 ..mu..g B/g tumor) with retention times in the order of weeks. As is well known, biological efficacy will depend upon distribution within (or without) the cell. In the experiments detailed here, biological efficacy has been evaluated in Hamster V-79 cells, irradiated at the thermal neutron beam at the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor, using irradiation geometries and techniques as described in detail elsewhere. Cell survival curves obtained with 15 and 29 ..mu..g /sup 10/B per ml from H/sub 3//sup 10/BO/sub 3/ (''ambient'' conditions) were compared to a control (no boron) curve (data not shown). 2 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab
Measurement of Human Erythrocyte Neuraminic Acid: Relationship to Haemolysis and Red Blood Cell Virus Interaction
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