Safety evaluation of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) leaves in Japanese quail

Aim: The present study was designed to evaluate the safety of seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L. Elaeagnaceae) leaves added in the diet of Japanese quail. Materials and Methods: A total of ninety quail chicks were randomly divided into 2 groups and fed a standard quail chick mash added with or without 2% SBT leaf powder (Group SX), and a standard quail chick mash (Group CX, control) for 21 days. Six animals from each group were randomly sacrificed at 7, 14 and 21 day post feeding. Blood and tissue samples were collected for biochemical and histopathological studies.Results: The inclusion of SBT in quail diet did not affect the weekly body weights, clinical signs or mortality among the birds. The serum biochemical parameters like alanine transaminase, total protein, albumin, cholesterol and uric acid values in SBT treated group were found at par with those in the control group. Gross and histopathological studies of various internal organs such as liver, kidneys, heart, spleen, proventriculus, small intestine, bursa and thymus did not reveal any significant lesions in the tissue sections. However, proliferation of lymphoid tissue was a prominent finding noted in different lymphoid organs.Conclusion: In conclusion, the addition of seabuckthorn leaf powder at 2% level in the diet of Japanese quail was found to be safe and it can be used as a feed additive

Pojava bruceloze na farmi mliječnih krava i mogućnost njenog prijenosa na ljude u Himachal Pradesh, Indija.

Brucellosis is an important disease of livestock species and wild animals, as well as a significant health hazard in contact human beings, causing a variety of reproductive disorders in cattle under intensive farming. This report is about an outbreak of brucellosis in an organized dairy farm, leading to abortions, retained placenta and stillbirths in cows. The Brucella abortus biotype-I was isolated from placentas, uterine discharges, vaginal swabs and foetal stomach contents collected from infected animals. The serological study, employing rose bengal plate test (RBPT) and serum agglutination test (SAT), revealed involvement of both B. abortus and B. melitensis in all affected cows. Seropositive cases for B. melitensis were also found among 10% of contact animal handlers, having a history of human brucellosis-like symptoms. The isolates were found sensitive to streptomycin, chlortetracycline, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, tetracycline and gentamicin. The haematological study revealed severe monocytosis averaging 33% and lymphocytosis averaging 32.8% in all infected animals.Bruceloza je važna bolest domaćih i divljih životinja, koja predstavlja prijetnju za zdravlje ljudi u dodiru s inficiranim životinjama. Očituje se različitim reprodukcijskim poremećajima. Opisana je pojava bruceloze na farmi mliječnih krava, gdje je uzrokovala pobačaje, zaostajanje posteljice i mrtvorođenja. Brucella abortus biotip I bila je izdvojena iz posteljica, materničnih iscjedaka i vaginalnih obrisaka te sadržaja sirišta pobačenih plodova. Serološkim pretragama pomoću aglutinacijskog i serum aglutinacijskog testa u zaraženih životinja bile su dokazane vrste B. abortus i B. melitensis. Serološki pozitivni nalazi za B. melitensis dokazani su u 10% osoba koje su bile u dodiru sa životinjama, a u anamnezi je bilo ustanovljeno da su imale kliničke znakove slične brucelozi. Izdvojene brucele bile su osjetljive na streptomicin, klortetraciklin, ciprofloksacin, ampicilin, tetraciklin i gentamicin. Hematološkom pretragom dokazana je monocitoza u 33% te limfocitozu u 32,8% svih inficiranih životinja

Traditional therapeutic uses of some important medicinal and aromatic plants of the tribal area of Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh, India

761-775Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh is inhabited by the tribal communities who believe in Amchi system of medicine which is being practiced in this region from a long time. The Amchi system of medicine is similar to the Ayurvedic medicine as this system involves the use of plants as the main source of drug or treatment strategy. Considering the importance of this system of medicine, an extensive field work was conducted in 8 different villages of Lahaul valley to explore the information on usage of ethnomedicinal plants by tribal communities and traditional healers. Questionnaire based interviews of 150 informants were conducted. The data generated were analysed using quantitative tools, i.e., use-value (UV), factor informant consensus (Fic) and fidelity level (Fl). Information related to 64 plants was collected which possess effectiveness against 35 ailment categories. The maximum number of medicinal plants were recorded from the family Compositae followed by Lamiaceae, Apiaceae and Rosaceae. On the basis of use value, the most important medicinal plants were Arnebia euchroma, Artemisia maritima, Asparagus filicinus, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Taraxacum officinale and Thymus linearis. On the basis of factor informant consensus, important ailment categories of this region were related to respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders. This research involves the documentation of medicinal and aromatic plants used by tribal communities and traditional healers of the Lahaul valley. However, further phytochemical and pharmacological research is required for scientific validation of this information so as to determine the efficacy and safety of these ethnomedicinal plants for curing various ailments

Traditional therapeutic uses of some important medicinal and aromatic plants of the tribal area of Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh, India

Lahaul valley of Himachal Pradesh is inhabited by the tribal communities who believe in Amchi system of medicine which is being practiced in this region from a long time. The Amchi system of medicine is similar to the Ayurvedic medicine as this system involves the use of plants as the main source of drug or treatment strategy. Considering the importance of this system of medicine, an extensive field work was conducted in 8 different villages of Lahaul valley to explore the information on usage of ethnomedicinal plants by tribal communities and traditional healers. Questionnaire based interviews of 150 informants were conducted. The data generated were analysed using quantitative tools, i.e., use-value (UV), factor informant consensus (Fic) and fidelity level (Fl). Information related to 64 plants was collected which possess effectiveness against 35 ailment categories. The maximum number of medicinal plants were recorded from the family Compositae followed by Lamiaceae, Apiaceae and Rosaceae. On the basis of use value, the most important medicinal plants were Arnebia euchroma, Artemisia maritima, Asparagus filicinus, Picrorhiza kurrooa, Podophyllum hexandrum, Taraxacum officinale and Thymus linearis. On the basis of factor informant consensus, important ailment categories of this region were related to respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders. This research involves the documentation of medicinal and aromatic plants used by tribal communities and traditional healers of the Lahaul valley. However, further phytochemical and pharmacological research is required for scientific validation of this information so as to determine the efficacy and safety of these ethnomedicinal plants for curing various ailments

Epigenomic profiling of newborns with isolated orofacial clefts reveals widespread DNA methylation changes and implicates metastable epiallele regions in disease risk.

Cleft lip with or without cleft palate (CL/P) is a common human birth defect whose etiologies remain largely unknown. Several studies have demonstrated that periconceptional supplementation of folic acid can reduce risk of CL/P in offspring. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the preventive effect of folic acid is manifested through epigenetic modifications by determining whether DNA methylation changes are associated with CL/P. To more readily observe the potential effects of maternal folate on the offspring epigenome, we focused on births prior to mandatory dietary folate fortification in the United States (i.e. birth year 1997 or earlier). Genomic DNA methylation levels were assessed from archived newborn bloodspots in a 182-member case-control study using the Illumina® Human Beadchip 450K array. CL/P cases displayed striking epigenome-wide hypomethylation relative to controls: 63% of CpGs interrogated had lower methylation levels in case newborns, a trend which held up in racially stratified sub-groups. 28 CpG sites reached epigenome-wide significance and all were case-hypomethylated. The most significant CL/P-associated differentially methylated region encompassed the VTRNA2-1 gene, which was also hypomethylated in cases (FWER p = 0.014). This region has been previously characterized as a nutritionally-responsive, metastable epiallele and CL/P-associated methylation changes, in general, were greater at or near putative metastable epiallelic regions. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis of CL/P-associated DMRs showed an over-representation of genes involved in palate development such as WNT9B, MIR140 and LHX8. CL/P-associated DNA methylation changes may partly explain the mechanism by which orofacial clefts are responsive to maternal folate levels

Model for End‐Stage Liver Disease‐Lactate and Prediction of Inpatient Mortality in Patients With Chronic Liver Disease

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163652/3/hep31199.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163652/2/hep31199_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163652/1/hep31199-sup-0001-Supinfo.pd

Comparative study of the stability of bimatoprost 0.03% and latanoprost 0.005%: A patient-use study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The stability of ophthalmic preparations in multidose containers is influenced by the preservative as well as the stability of the active ingredient. Unstable drugs may require refrigeration to preserve their active ingredient level and they are more likely to degrade over time, therefore becoming more susceptible to degradation based on patient mishandling. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of molecular degradation that occurs in bimatoprost and latanoprost in a patient-use setting.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was an open-label, laboratory evaluation of the relative stability of bimatoprost and latanoprost. Patients presently using bimatoprost (n = 31) or latanoprost (n = 34) were identified at 2 clinical sites in Brazil. Patients were instructed to use and store their drops as usual and return all used medication bottles between day 28 and day 34 after opening.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Bimatoprost demonstrated no degradation, but latanoprost degraded at various levels. The mean age of bimatoprost was 43.0 ± 3.4 days and the mean age of latanoprost was 43.9 ± 2.8 days (P = .072). The mean percentage of labeled concentration was 103.7% in the bimatoprost bottles and 88.1% in the latanoprost bottles (P < 001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed that bimatoprost maintained ≥100% concentration throughout the study period while latanoprost did not.</p

Cochlin, Intraocular Pressure Regulation and Mechanosensing

Fluid shear modulates many biological properties. How shear mechanosensing occurs in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and is transduced into cytoskeletal change remains unknown. Cochlin is an ECM protein of unknown function. Our investigation using a comprehensive spectrum of cutting-edge techniques has resulted in following major findings: (1) over-expression and down-regulation of cochlin increase and decrease intraocular pressure (IOP), respectively. The overexpression was achieved in DBA/2J-Gpnmb+/SjJ using lentiviral vectors, down-regulation was achieved in glaucomatous DBA/2J mice using targeted disruption (cochlin-null mice) and also using lentiviral vector mediated shRNA against cochlin coding region; (2) reintroduction of cochlin in cochlin-null mice increases IOP; (3) injection of exogenous cochlin also increased IOP; (4) increasing perfusion rates increased cochlin multimerization, which reduced the rate of cochlin proteolysis by trypsin and proteinase K; The cochlin multimerization in response to shear stress suggests its potential mechanosensing. Taken together with previous studies, we show cochlin is involved in regulation of intraocular pressure in DBA/2J potentially through mechanosensing of the shear stress

Cochlin Induced TREK-1 Co-Expression and Annexin A2 Secretion: Role in Trabecular Meshwork Cell Elongation and Motility

Fluid flow through large interstitial spaces is sensed at the cellular level, and mechanistic responses to flow changes enables expansion or contraction of the cells modulating the surrounding area and brings about changes in fluid flow. In the anterior eye chamber, aqueous humor, a clear fluid, flows through trabecular meshwork (TM), a filter like region. Cochlin, a secreted protein in the extracellular matrix, was identified in the TM of glaucomatous patients but not controls by mass spectrometry. Cochlin undergoes shear induced multimerization and plays a role in mechanosensing of fluid shear. Cytoskeletal changes in response to mechanosensing in the ECM by cochlin will necessitate transduction of mechanosensing. TREK-1, a stretch activated outward rectifying potassium channel protein known to act as mechanotransducer was found to be expressed in TM. Cochlin expression results in co-expression of TREK-1 and filopodia formation. Prolonged cochlin expression results in expression and subsequent secretion of annexin A2, a protein known to play a role in cytoskeletal remodeling. Cochlin interacts with TREK-1 and annexin A2. Cochlin-TREK-1 interaction has functional consequences and results in changes in cell shape and motility. Annexin A2 expression and secretion follows cochlin-TREK-1 syn-expression and correlates with cell elongation. Thus cytoskeleton changes in response to fluid shear sensed by cochlin are further mediated by TREK-1 and annexin A2

Assessment of dried blood spots for DNA methylation profiling

Background: DNA methylation reflects health-related environmental exposures and genetic risk, providing insights into aetiological mechanisms and potentially predicting disease onset, progression and treatment response. An increasingly recognised need for large-scale, longitudinally-profiled samples collected world-wide has made the development of efficient and straightforward sample collection and storage procedures a pressing issue. An alternative to the low-temperature storage of EDTA tubes of venous blood samples, which are frequently the source of the DNA used in such studies, is to collect and store at room temperature blood samples using purpose built filter paper, such as Whatman FTA® cards. Our goal was to determine whether DNA stored in this manner can be used to generate DNA methylation profiles comparable to those generated using blood samples frozen in EDTA tubes. Methods: DNA methylation profiles were obtained from matched EDTA tube and Whatman FTA® card whole-blood samples from 62 Generation Scotland: Scottish Family Health Study participants using the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip. Multiple quality control procedures were implemented, the relationship between the two sample types assessed, and epigenome-wide association studies (EWASs) performed for smoking status, age and the interaction between these variables and sample storage method. Results: Dried blood spot (DBS) DNA methylation profiles were of good quality and DNA methylation profiles from matched DBS and EDTA tube samples were highly correlated (mean r = 0.991) and could distinguish between participants. EWASs replicated established associations for smoking and age, with no evidence for moderation by storage method. Conclusions: Our results support the use of Whatman FTA® cards for collecting and storing blood samples for DNA methylation profiling. This approach is likely to be particularly beneficial for large-scale studies and those carried out in areas where freezer access is limited. Furthermore, our results will inform consideration of the use of newborn heel prick DBSs for research use