Effects of butylated hydroxytoluene on blood liver enzymes and liver glutathione and glutathione-dependent enzymes in rats

This study was aimed to detect the effect of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) on the liver glutathione level and glutathione-dependent enzyme activities in female Wistar albino rats. BHT was adminis-tered by oral gavage at a dose of 250 mg/kg (Group I) and 500 mg/kg (Group II) for 28 days, 1000 mg/kg (Group III) and 1500 mg/kg (Group IV) for 4 days. The serum ALT, AST and LDH activities were measured on an autoanalyzer, and liver gluthathione (GSH), gluthathione peroxidase (GPx), gluthathione S-transferase (GST), and gluthathione reductase (GR) activities were analysed with commercial ELISA kits. The ALT activity was significantly higher in Groups III and IV (P<0.05 and P<0.001, respectively) compared to the control group. Blood AST and LDH activities were signifi-cantly increased in Group IV (P<0.05). The GSH, GPx, GST and GR in the liver tissue were deter-mined to be statistically low in Groups II, III and IV (P<0.001) in comparison with control group. In microscopic examination, BHT caused histopathological changes in the rat liver tissue in Groups II, III and IV depending on the dose and duration of exposure. It can be concluded that BHT plays a role in producing liver damage in rats with depressed hepatic antioxidant defense. The hepatotoxic re-sponse seemed to be dose- and time-dependent

Mass and angular momentum of asymptotically AdS or flat solutions in the topologically massive gravity

We study the conserved charges of supersymmetric solutions in the topologically massive gravity theory for both asymptotically flat and constant curvature geometries.Comment: REVTEX4, 8 pages, no figures, added 2 references and a few clarifying remark

The association of anti-CCP antibodies with disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis

Antibodies to citrullinated proteins have been described in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and these appear to be the most specific markers of the disease. Our objective was to determine the frequency of antibodies to cyclic citrullinated peptides (CCPs) in patients with RA and the association of anti-CCP antibodies with disease activity, radiological erosions and HLA DR genotype. Forty patients with RA and 38 patients with fibromyalgia were included in this study. Serum samples were collected from both patient groups with RA and fibromyalgia. Anti-CCP was measured by the corresponding enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Additionally, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), rheumatoid factor (RF), disease activity score (DAS), visual analog scala (VAS), HLA genotype and radiographic information were determined in patients with RA. The rate of sensitivity and specificity of anti-CCP reactivity for the diagnosis RA were measured (sensitivity 50%, specificity100%). There is no significant difference between anti-CCP (+) and anti-CCP (−) RA patients for DAS28, VAS, ESR, CRP, disease duration, HLA genotype, and radiological assessment of hand. However, there was a significant difference between anti-CCP (+) and anti-CCP (−) RA patients for RF and the radiological assessment of left and right wrists (respectively, P < 0.05, P = 0.04, P = 0.01). There was no significant correlation between anti-CCP antibody and ESR, CRP, VAS, DAS 28 or radiological assessment. A small but significant correlation was found between RF and anti-CCP antibody (P = 0.02, r = 0.35)

Effects of kefir on coccidial oocysts excretion and performance of dairy goat kids following weaning

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of kefir, a traditional source of probiotic, on coccidial oocysts excretion and on the performance of dairy goat kids following weaning. Twin kids were randomly allocated to one of two groups at weaning. Kids of the first group received 20 ml of kefir daily for 6 weeks (KEF), while kids in the control group were given a placebo (CON). Individual faecal samples were regularly (n = 18 per kid) taken to quantify the number of coccidial oocysts per gram of faeces (OpG). There were no differences between the groups in terms of body weight development (P > 0.05) and feed consumption. Kids of both groups were not able to consume enough feed to meet their nutrient requirements during the first 3 weeks following weaning. KEF had a lower frequency of OpG positive samples than CON (P = 0.043). Kefir did not affect the maximum oocyst excretion and age of the kids at the highest oocyst excretion (P > 0.05). KEF shed numerically 35% lower coccidial oocysts than the controls, which corresponded to a statistical tendency (P = 0.074) in lowering Log-OpG in comparison to CON. While KEF had a lower frequency of OpG positive samples and tended to shed lower OPG by around one-third, the frequency of diarrhea, level of highest oocyst excretion, and performance of the kids remained unaffected. Therefore, it is concluded that overall effects of kefir do not have a significant impact on sub-clinical infection and performance in weaned kids under relatively high-hygienic farming conditions

Uncovering the Importance of Selenium in Muscle Disease

A connection between selenium bioavailability and development of muscular disorders both in humans and livestock has been established for a long time. With the development of genomics, the function of several selenoproteins was shown to be involved in muscle activity, including SELENON, which was linked to an inherited form of myopathy. Development of animal models has helped to dissect the physiological dysfunction due to mutation in the SELENON gene; however the molecular activity remains elusive and only recent analysis using both in vivo and in vitro experiment provided hints toward its function in oxidative stress defence and calcium transport control. This review sets out to summarise most recent findings for the importance of selenium in muscle function and the contribution of this information to the design of strategies to cure the diseases

Plasma Lipoprotein(a) and Its Relationship with Disease Activity in Patients with Behçet’s Disease

Peer Reviewe