Is Neurodegenerative Disease a Long-Latency Response to Early-Life Genotoxin Exposure?

Western Pacific amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and parkinsonism-dementia complex, a disappearing neurodegenerative disease linked to use of the neurotoxic cycad plant for food and/or medicine, is intensively studied because the neuropathology (tauopathy) is similar to that of Alzheimer’s disease. Cycads contain neurotoxic and genotoxic principles, notably cycasin and methylazoxymethanol, the latter sharing chemical relations with nitrosamines, which are derived from nitrates and nitrites in preserved meats and fertilizers, and also used in the rubber and leather industries. This review includes new data that influence understanding of the neurobiological actions of cycad and related genotoxins and the putative mechanisms by which they might trigger neurodegenerative disease

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Proliferation and apoptosis in testicular tissue after / / experimental damage

Carbohydrate-degrading enzymes, arranged by GH family. (XLS 67 kb

Liquid-liquid extraction of ultra trace amounts of technetium produced by ¹⁰⁰Mo (p, 2n) ⁹⁹mTc nuclear reaction in cyclotron

1615-1617A simple, rapid and reliable method for the selective extraction of ultra trace amounts of Tc produced by ¹⁰⁰Mo (p, 2n) ⁹⁹mTc nuclear reaction in cyclotron, using cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide salt, CTAB (a quaternary ammonium salt) is described here. Effect of various experimental parameters, viz., equilibration time, sample matrix, type of organic solvent and diverse ions on the extraction efficiency and selectivity has been investigated. The extraction of Tc has been found to be quantitative after 5 min, upon equilibration from 0.1 mol L⁻¹ HCl solution in presence of milligrams of various diverse ions. However, I⁻ and interfere in the extraction of Tc. The extracted Tc has been stripped into aqueous phase in presence of HClO₄ or sodium dodecyl sulphate and then analyzed for ⁹⁹mTc by ϒ-ray spectrometry. The ⁹⁹m Tc has been measured by ICP-MS in the range from 0.15–5.5 Bq L⁻¹ with detection limit 0.03 m Bq ml⁻¹