Estimation of 16S RNA gene copy number in several probiotic Lactobacillus strains isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of chicken.

The copy numbers of 16S rRNA genes in 12 probiotic Lactobacillus strains of poultry origin were analyzed. Genomic DNA of the strains was digested with restriction endonucleases that do not cut within the 16S rRNA gene of the strains. This was followed by Southern hybridization with a biotinylated probe complementary to the 16S rRNA gene. The copy number of the 16S rRNA gene within a Lactobacillus species was found to be conserved. From the hybridization results, Lactobacillus salivarius I 24 was estimated to have seven copies of the 16S rRNA gene, Lactobacillus panis C 17 to have five copies and Lactobacillus gallinarum strains I 16 and I 26 four copies. The 16S rRNA gene copy numbers of L. gallinarum and L. panis reported in the present study are the first record. Lactobacillus brevis strains I 12, I 23, I 25, I 211, I 218 and Lactobacillus reuteri strains C 1, C 10, C 16 were estimated to have at least four copies of the 16S rRNA gene. In addition, distinct rRNA restriction patterns which could discriminate the strains of L. reuteri and L. gallinarum were also detected. Information on 16S rRNA gene copy number is important for physiological, evolutionary and population studies of the bacteria

Anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulatory activities of caffeic acid and ellagic acid in cardiac tissue of diabetic mice

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Caffeic acid (CA) and ellagic acid (EA) are phenolic acids naturally occurring in many plant foods. Cardiac protective effects of these compounds against dyslipidemia, hypercoagulability, oxidative stress and inflammation in diabetic mice were examined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Diabetic mice were divided into three groups (15 mice per group): diabetic mice with normal diet, 2% CA treatment, or 2% EA treatment. One group of non-diabetic mice with normal diet was used for comparison. After 12 weeks supplement, mice were sacrificed, and the variation of biomarkers for hypercoagulability, oxidative stress and inflammation in cardiac tissue of diabetic mice were measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The intake of CA or EA significantly increased cardiac content of these compounds, alleviated body weight loss, elevated plasma insulin and decreased plasma glucose levels in diabetic mice (<it>p </it>< 0.05). These treatments also significantly enhanced plasma antithrombin-III and protein C activities (<it>p </it>< 0.05); and decreased triglyceride content in cardiac tissue and plasma (<it>p </it>< 0.05), in which the hypolipidemic effects of EA were significantly greater than that of CA (<it>p </it>< 0.05). CA or EA significantly lowered cardiac levels of malondialdehyde, reactive oxygen species, interleukin (IL)-beta, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 (<it>p </it>< 0.05); and retained cardiac activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPX), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (<it>p </it>< 0.05). These compounds also significantly up-regulated cardiac mRNA expression of GPX1, SOD and catalase; and down-regulated IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha and MCP-1 mRNA expression in diabetic mice (<it>p </it>< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results support that CA and EA could provide triglyceride-lowering, anti-coagulatory, anti-oxidative, and anti-inflammatory protection in cardiac tissue of diabetic mice. Thus, the supplement of these agents might be helpful for the prevention or attenuation of diabetic cardiomyopathy.</p

Anti-Campylobacter, anti-aerobic, and anti-oxidative effects of roselle calyx extract and protocatechuic acid in ground beef

[[abstract]]Abstract The inhibitory effect of roselle calyx extract and protocatechuic acid against susceptible and antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli and C. fetus in agar plate and ground beef was examined. The minimal inhibitory concentrations of roselle calyx extract and protocatechuic acid against susceptible and antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter species were in the range of 96–152 and 20–44 μg/ml, respectively. Temperature treatments from 25 to 100 °C did not affect the anti-Campylobacter activity of protocatechuic acid. In ground beef stored at 15 °C for 6 days, roselle calyx extract and protocatechuic acid inhibited the survival and growth of aerobes, and susceptible and antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter species, in which protocatechuic acid exhibited dose-dependent effect. Both roselle calyx extract and protocatechuic acid decreased lipid oxidation levels in ground beef, in which protocatechuic acid also exhibited dose-dependent effect. The addition of roselle calyx extract or protocatechuic acid did not affect cooking loss, pH value, sensory attributes and content of fat, protein and moisture of beef samples during storage at 4 °C for 15 days. These data support that roselle calyx extract and protocatechuic acid may be used for muscle foods to prevent contamination from Campylobacter and aerobes, as well as delay lipid oxidation

Apoptotic Effects of Protocatechuic Acid in Human Breast, Lung, Liver, Cervix, and Prostate Cancer Cells: Potential Mechanisms of Action

[[abstract]]Apoptotic effects of protocatechuic acid (PCA) at 1, 2, 4, 8 mu mol/L on human breast cancer MCF7 cell, lung cancer A549 cell, HepG2 cell, cervix HeLa cell, and prostate cancer LNCaP cell were examined. Results showed that PCA concentration-dependently decreased cell viability, increased lactate dehydrogenase leakage, enhanced DNA fragmentation, reduced mitochondrial membrane potential, and lowered Na+-K+-ATPase activity for these cancer cells (P < 0.05). PCA also concentration-dependently elevated caspase-3 activity in five cancer cells (P<0.05), but this agent at 2-8 mu mol/L significantly increased caspase-8 activity (P<0.05). PCA concentration-dependently decreased intercellular adhesion molecule level in test cancer cells (P < 0.05) but significantly inhibited cell adhesion at 2-8 mu mol/L (P < 0.05). PCA also concentration-dependently lowered the levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 in five cancer cells (P < 0.05), but this agent at 2-8 mu mol/L significantly suppressed vascular endothelial growth factor production (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that PCA is a potent anticancer agent to cause apoptosis or retard invasion and metastasis in these five cancer cells

The effect of adding a home program to weekly institutional-based therapy for children with undefined developmental delay: A pilot randomized clinical trial

AbstractBackgroundEarly rehabilitation for children with developmental delay without a defined etiology have included home and clinic programs, but no comparisons have been made and efficacy is uncertain. We compared a weekly visit for institutional-based therapy (IT) to IT plus a structured home activity program (HAP).MethodsSeventy children who were diagnosed with motor or global developmental delay (ages 6-48 months and mean developmental age 12.5 months) without defined etiology were recruited (including 45 males and 23 females). The outcomes included the comprehensive developmental inventory for infants and toddlers test and the pediatric evaluation of disability inventory.ResultsChildren who received only IT improved in developmental level by 2.11 months compared with 3.11 months for those who received a combination of IT and HAP (p = 0.000). On all domains of the comprehensive developmental inventory for infants and toddlers test, except for self-help, children who participated in HAP showed greater improvements, including in cognition (p = 0.015), language (p = 0.010), motor (p = 0.000), and social (p = 0.038) domains. Except on the subdomain of self-care with caregiver assistance, the HAP group showed greater improvement in all the pediatric evaluation of disability inventory subdomains (p < 0.05).ConclusionEarly intervention programs are helpful for these children, and the addition of structured home activity programs may augment the effects on developmental progression

Serologic Status for Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Virus, Taiwan

We studied preexisting immunity to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus in persons in Taiwan. A total of 18 (36%) of 50 elderly adults in Taiwan born before 1935 had protective antibodies against currently circulating pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus. Seasonal influenza vaccines induced antibodies that did not protect against pandemic (H1N1) 2009 virus

Trajectory pattern mining via clustering based on similarity function for transportation surveillance

Recently, surveillance on moving vehicles for traffic flow monitoring has emerging in rapid rate. A comprehensive traffic data, that is vehicle trajectory, is selected as reliable data for discovering the underlying pattern via trajectory mining. As the task of monitoring moving vehicles via vehicle trajectory dataset can be tedious, researchers are keen to provide solutions that reducing the tedious task performed by the traffic operators. One of the solutions is to group the vehicle trajectory data according to the shape of the patterns. This grouping task is called as clustering. Each of the clusters formed represents a pattern. In this paper, the analysis of the implemented clustering algorithm on the trajectory data with similarity function is presented. Discussion on the issues concerning the trajectory clustering is also presented

Areca Users in Combination with Tobacco and Alcohol Use Are Associated with Younger Age of Diagnosed Esophageal Cancer in Taiwanese Men

BACKGROUND: Whether the habitual use of substances (tobacco, alcohol, or areca nut (seed of the Areca palm)) can affect the age of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) presentation has rarely been examined. METHODS: The study subjects were those who were males and the first time to be diagnosed as ESCC (ICD-9 150) and who visited any of three medical centers in Taiwan between 2000 and 2009. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect substance uses and other variables. RESULTS: Mean age (±SD) at presentation of ESCC was 59.2 (±11.3) years in a total of 668 cases. After adjusting for other covariates, alcohol drinkers were 3.58 years younger to have ESCC than non-drinkers (p = 0.002). A similar result was found among areca chewers, who were 6.34 years younger to have ESCC than non-chewers (p<0.0001), but not among cigarette smokers (p = 0.10). When compared to the group using 0-1 substances, subjects using both cigarettes and alcohol were nearly 3 years younger to contract ESCC. Furthermore, those who use areca plus another substance were 7-8 years younger. Subjects using all three substances had the greatest age difference, 9.20 years younger (p<0.0001), compared to the comparison group. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that habitually consuming tobacco, alcohol, and areca nut can influence the age-onset of ESCC. Since the development of ESCC is insidious and life-threatening, our observation is worthy to be reconfirmed in the large-scale and long-term follow-up prospective cohort studies to recommend the screening strategy of this disease

Trends in cataract surgery and healthcare system response during the COVID-19 lockdown in Malaysia: Lessons to be learned

Background: Elective surgeries were suspended during the national lockdown in March 2020 to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. We sought to evaluate the impact of the lockdown on cataract surgeries and suggest lessons for future outbreaks. Study design: We conducted an interrupted time series analysis to examine rates of cataract surgery before and during the lockdown. Methods: We used national cataract surgical data between 2015 and 2021 from the Malaysian Cataract Surgery Registry. Segmented regression with a seasonally adjusted Poisson model was used for the analysis. Stratified analyses were performed to establish whether the effect of the lockdown on cataract surgeries varied by hospital designation, type of cataract service, sex, and age groups. Results: Cataract surgeries began falling in March 2020 at the onset of the lockdown, reached a trough in April 2020, and subsequently increased but never recovered to pre-lockdown levels. Cataract surgical rates in December 2021 were still 43 % below the expected surgical volume, equivalent to 2513 lost cataract surgeries. There was no evidence of a differential effect of the lockdown between COVID-19 designated and non-COVID-19 designated hospitals. The relative decrease in cataract surgical rates appears to have been greatest in outreach services and in people 40 years and older. Conclusions: The lockdown caused an immediate reduction in cataract surgical rates to nearly half of its baseline rate. Despite its gradual recovery, further delays remain to be expected should there be no redistribution or increase in resources to support backlogs and incoming new cases

Excavatoids O and P, New 12-Hydroxybriaranes from the Octocoral Briareum excavatum

Two new 12-hydroxybriarane diterpenoids, designated as excavatoids O (1) and P (2), were isolated from the octocoral Briareum excavatum. The structures of briaranes 1 and 2 were established on the basis of extensive spectral data analysis. Excavatoid P (2) is the first metabolite which possesses a 6β -chlorine atom in briarane analogues