Autoantibody profiles in autoimmune hepatitis and chronic hepatitis C identifies similarities in patients with severe disease

Bror Hjerpstedts Foundation, Sweden

Rectal gel application of Withania somnifera root extract expounds anti-inflammatory and muco-restorative activity in TNBS-induced Inflammatory Bowel Disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is marked with chronic inflammation of intestinal epithelium driven by oxidative stress. Traditional treatments with plant extracts gained renewed interest due to their ability to ameliorate the multi factorial conditions like inflammation. We investigated the beneficial effects of <it>Withania somnifera </it>in Trinitro Benzyl Sulfonic Acid (TNBS) induced experimental IBD through a rectally applicable formulation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study included (i) preparation of gel formulation from aqueous <it>Withania somnifera </it>root extract (WSRE), (ii) biochemical assays to determine its performance potential, (iii) testing of formulation efficacy in TNBS-induced IBD rat model, and (iv) histo-patholgical studies to assess its healing and muco-regenerative effect in IBD-induced rats. For this purpose, concentration dependant antioxidant activity of the extracts were evaluated using biochemical assays like (a) inhibition of lipid peroxidation, (b) NO scavenging, (c) H₂O₂scavenging, and (d) ferric reducing power assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The extract, at 500 μg/ml, the highest concentration tested, showed 95.6% inhibition of lipid peroxidation, 14.8% NO scavenging, 81.79% H₂O₂scavenging and a reducing capacity of 0.80. The results were comparable with standard antioxidants, ascorbic acid and curcumin. WSRE treatment positively scored on histopathological parameters like necrosis, edema, neutrophil infiltration. The post treatment intestinal features showed restoration at par with the healthy intestine. In view of these results, gel formulation containing an aqueous extract of <it>W. somnifera</it>, prepared for rectal application was tested for its anti-inflammatory activity in TNBS-induced rat models for IBD. Commercially available anti-inflammatory drug Mesalamine was used as the standard in this assay.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Dose of the rectal gel applied at 1000 mg of WSRE per kg rat weight showed significant muco-restorative efficacy in the IBD-induced rats, validated by histo-pathological studies.</p

Morphological and Pathological Evolution of the Brain Microcirculation in Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease

Key pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including amyloid plaques, cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and neurofibrillary tangles do not completely account for cognitive impairment, therefore other factors such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular pathologies, may contribute to AD. In order to elucidate the microvascular changes that contribute to aging and disease, direct neuropathological staining and immunohistochemistry, were used to quantify the structural integrity of the microvasculature and its innervation in three oldest-old cohorts: 1) nonagenarians with AD and a high amyloid plaque load; 2) nonagenarians with no dementia and a high amyloid plaque load; 3) nonagenarians without dementia or amyloid plaques. In addition, a non-demented (ND) group (average age 71 years) with no amyloid plaques was included for comparison. While gray matter thickness and overall brain mass were reduced in AD compared to ND control groups, overall capillary density was not different. However, degenerated string capillaries were elevated in AD, potentially suggesting greater microvascular “dysfunction” compared to ND groups. Intriguingly, apolipoprotein ε4 carriers had significantly higher string vessel counts relative to non-ε4 carriers. Taken together, these data suggest a concomitant loss of functional capillaries and brain volume in AD subjects. We also demonstrated a trend of decreasing vesicular acetylcholine transporter staining, a marker of cortical cholinergic afferents that contribute to arteriolar vasoregulation, in AD compared to ND control groups, suggesting impaired control of vasodilation in AD subjects. In addition, tyrosine hydroxylase, a marker of noradrenergic vascular innervation, was reduced which may also contribute to a loss of control of vasoconstriction. The data highlight the importance of the brain microcirculation in the pathogenesis and evolution of AD

Improved prosthetic hand control with concurrent use of myoelectric and inertial measurements

Abstract Background Myoelectric pattern recognition systems can decode movement intention to drive upper-limb prostheses. Despite recent advances in academic research, the commercial adoption of such systems remains low. This limitation is mainly due to the lack of classification robustness and a simultaneous requirement for a large number of electromyogram (EMG) electrodes. We propose to address these two issues by using a multi-modal approach which combines surface electromyography (sEMG) with inertial measurements (IMs) and an appropriate training data collection paradigm. We demonstrate that this can significantly improve classification performance as compared to conventional techniques exclusively based on sEMG signals. Methods We collected and analyzed a large dataset comprising recordings with 20 able-bodied and two amputee participants executing 40 movements. Additionally, we conducted a novel real-time prosthetic hand control experiment with 11 able-bodied subjects and an amputee by using a state-of-the-art commercial prosthetic hand. A systematic performance comparison was carried out to investigate the potential benefit of incorporating IMs in prosthetic hand control. Results The inclusion of IM data improved performance significantly, by increasing classification accuracy (CA) in the offline analysis and improving completion rates (CRs) in the real-time experiment. Our findings were consistent across able-bodied and amputee subjects. Integrating the sEMG electrodes and IM sensors within a single sensor package enabled us to achieve high-level performance by using on average 4-6 sensors. Conclusions The results from our experiments suggest that IMs can form an excellent complimentary source signal for upper-limb myoelectric prostheses. We trust that multi-modal control solutions have the potential of improving the usability of upper-extremity prostheses in real-life applications

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Not AvailableA 45-day feeding experiment was carried out to evaluate the growth, conversion efficiency and body composition of zebrafish by altering the protein-carbohydrate ratio in the diet. One hundred and Eighty Zebrafish (Danio rerio) having an average weight of 0.20 ±0.03g were randomly distributed in three experimental groups with 20 fish in each replicate. Fish were fed with three iso-lipidic diets (crude lipid 8%) that contained three different levels of protein and in each protein level, three different levels of carbohydrate (T1:25% protein, 45% carbohydrate; T2- 35% protein and 45% carbohydrate; -T3-45% protein, 25% carbohydrate) were included. The growth performance of the experimental fish was evaluated. The results demonstrated that T1 group exhibited higher growth rate (SGR), feed efficiency ratio (FER) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) but lowest weight gain (% WG), as compared to T2 and T3. Feed conversion ratio was also significantly higher in T1 as compared to T2 and T3 groups. However, there was no significant difference in the protein efficiency ratio between T1 and T2, whereas it was significantly reduced in T3 group. A significant decrease in the whole body moisture, protein content, and increase in whole-body lipid content was observed in group T1. The present study shows that optimum protein levels in the diets may be reduced to 25% protein while carbohydrate levels can be increased up to 45% to formulate the feed with more inclusion of digestible carbohydrate based on the growth performance and protein utilization in zebrafishNot Availabl

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Not AvailableImmunomodulatory properties of fucoidan have been extensively studied in fish. However the effect of dietary fucoidan on the metabolic enzymes is not studied in detail with respect to aquatic organisms. An investigation of the effect of dietary fucoidan on the metabolic and haematological status of Labeo rohita fingerlings is presented. One hundred and eighty fingerlings were distributed into four experimental groups in triplicates. Each group was fed isonitrogenous and isoenergetic diets containing 0% fucoidan (T1), 1% fucoidan (T2), 2% fucoidan (T3) and 3% (T4) seaweed powder to satiation for a period of sixty days. Dietary fucoidan was found to significantly (P < 0.05) reduce malate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase activity in the liver tissue. Alanine aminotransferase activity in the muscle tissue of fucoidan fed groups was significantly higher than the control. The liver and gill superoxide dismutase activity was significantly reduced in the fucoidan fed groups compared to the control. The catalase activity in the liver and gill was significantly lowered in the T3 group. The blood profile of the different experimental groups also revealed beneficial effects of dietary fucoidan yielding a superior haematological status in the groups fed with fucoidanNot Availabl