Synthesis of novel azo compounds containing 5(4H)-oxazolone ring as potent tyrosinase inhibitors

Six new azo dyes containing of 5(4H)-oxazolone ring were prepared by diazotization of 4-aminohippuric acid and coupling with N,N-dimethylaniline, 1-naphthol and 2-naphthol and condensation with 4-fluoro benzaldehyde or 4-trifluoromethoxy benzaldehyde. The new compounds were fully characterized by spectroscopic techniques. All synthesized compounds exhibited high tyrosinase inhibitory behavior. The results of mushroom tyrosinase inhibition assays indicate that the 4-trifluoromethoxy derivatives have high degrees of inhibition and N,N-dimethylaniline derivatives are better for tyrosinase inhibition than 1-naphthol and 2-naphthol derivatives. All synthesized azo compounds (4a-4f) showed the most potent mushroom tyrosinase inhibition, comparable to that of Kojic acid and l-mimosine, as reference standard inhibitors. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Gastroprotective effects of ethanolic extract of Satureja bachtiarica against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in rats

Background & Aim: Free radicals play an important role in the development of some diseases, including gastrointestinal ulcers. Current gastric ulcer drugs have side effects, so the tendency to use herbs and replace them with synthetic drugs has increased. In this regard, plants of the Satureja family have been studied in terms of healing and antioxidant properties. The aim of this study was to evaluate the protective effects of Satureja bachtiarica ethanolic extract on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal ulcers in rats. Experimental: Thirty rats were divided into 5 equal groups. Group 1 received 200 mg / kg of ethanolic extract of Satureja bachtiarica (EESB), group 2 received 400 mg / kg EESB, group 3 received 20 mg / kg omeprazole, group 4 received 1 mL of CMC and group 5 received 1 mL of normal saline. One hour after treatment, each animal received absolute ethanol (1ml / rat) orally by gavage. The other 30 mice were treated with oral ethanol after induction of gastric ulcer as described above, but all treatments were once a day for 14 days. At the end of both tests, ulcer index, histopathologic exams, Malonedialdehyde (MDA) and Superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. Results: Ethanolic extract of Satureja bachtiarica (400 mg/kg) and omeprazole had a significant effect on reducing ulcer index and increasing ulcer inhibition. It significantly preserved the gastric wall mucosa and reduced the formation of ethanol-induced gastric lesions. Also in this study a significant increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and a significant decrease in Malonedialdehyde (MDA) in gastric tissue were observed. Recommended applications/industries: The anti-ulcer effect of this plant seems to be due to the reduction of oxidative stress, which is probably due to the presence of thymol and carvacrol in the plant extract. This plant may be considered officially in the treatment and prevention of stomach ulcers in the future

Room-temperature far-infrared emission from a self-organized InGaAs/GaAs quantum-dot laser

Far-infrared spontaneous emission at 300 K and lower temperatures, due to intersubband transitions in self-organized In0.4Ga0.6As/GaAsIn0.4Ga0.6As/GaAs quantum dots, has been characterized. Measurements were made with a multidot layer near-infrared (∼1 μm) interband laser. The far-infrared signal, centered at 12 μm, was enhanced after the interband transition reached threshold at 300 K. The results are explained in terms of the carrier dynamics in the dots. © 2000 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70976/2/APPLAB-76-23-3355-1.pd

Effect of Teucrium polium and Boswellia serrata extracts on cotaneus burn wound healing in Balb/C mice

زمینه و هدف: از قدیم، چزکوهی و کندر برای ترمیم زخم سوختگی مورد استفاده قرار می گرفتند، ولی این موضوع از نظر علمی مورد بررسی قرار نگرفته است. این مطالعه به منظور بررسی اثرات درمانی ترکیب چز کوهی و کندر بر فرآیند التیام زخم سوختگی در موش Balb/c انجام شد. روش بررسی: این مطالعه تجربی بر روی 84 سر موش Balb/c به وزن تقریبی 3±30 گرم انجام شد. پس از ایجاد زخم سوختگی به مساحت 5/1 سانتیمتر مربع به وسیله ی فلز داغ بر پشت موش و تایید سوختگی درجه دو، موش ها به هفت گروه تحت درمان با عصاره کندر 2، چز کوهی 20، چز کوهی 20 و عصاره کندر 20، چز کوهی 20 و عصاره کندر 2، کرم سولفادیازین نقره 1، وازلین و گروه کنترل تقسیم شدند. در گروه های تحت درمان یک گرم پماد روزی دو بار، تا التیام کامل زخم استعمال شد. سپس هفت گروه از نظر درصد بهبودی و سرعت بهبودی کامل زخم مقایسه شدند. داده ها با استفاده از آزمون های آماری ANOVA و تعقیبی دانت تجزیه و تحلیل شد. یافته ها: در روز بیست و یکم از نظر میزان بهبودی،اختلاف معنا داری بین گروه های اول، دوم، سوم و چهارم با گروه شاهد وجود داشت و میزان بهبودی در این گروه ها بیشتر از گروه شاهد بود (01/0

Effects of Urtica dioica hydro-alcoholic extract on blood serum glucose and lipid profiles of female Wistar rats with long-term estrogen deficiency

In this study, the effects of Urtica dioica hydro-alcoholic extract were investigated on the blood glucose and lipid profiles of female ovariectomized and non-ovariectomized rats. In total, 32 adult female rats were divided into four groups (eight each) including control and ovariectomy groups as well as non-ovariectomy and ovariectomy groups treated with 200 mg kg-1 of Urtica dioica extract orally in the last five weeks of the study starting from the week 56th. The duration of the study was 60 weeks. Glucose, serum lipid profiles and pancreatic pathological alterations were determined in these groups at the end of experiment. Serum glucose, triglyceride (TG), very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and TG/high-density lipoprotein (HDL) ratio indicated a significant increase in the healthy female rats under treatment with Urtica dioica extract compared to others. The TG, cholesterol, HDL, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and VLDL showed a significant increase in menopaused rats compared to others. The interaction of consuming Urtica dioica extract and ovariectomy caused significant decreases in glucose, TG, VLDL, HDL/LDL ratio and TG/HDL ratio. Consumption of Urtica dioica extract by non-menopaused rats damaged the beta cells in Langerhans islets. Results of the present study revealed that the consumption of Urtica dioica extract is not beneficial and has diabetogenic effects in female non-ovariectomized rats compared to ovariectomized ones

The Antidepressant Activity of Matricaria chamomilla and Melissa officinalis Ethanolic Extracts in Non-Reserpinized and Reserpinized Balb/C Mice

Background: Matricaria chamomilla and Melissa officinalis have been used as antidepressants in traditional Iranian medicine. Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of Matricaria chamomilla and Melissa officinalis extracts compared to the classic antidepressant drug, imipramine, in adult non-reserpinized and reserpinized mice through the forced swim test. Methods: In the current experimental study, 80 mice were divided into 10 groups. The first group received normal saline and the second and third groups received 25 and 50 mg/kg of Matricaria chamomilla extract, respectively. The fourth and the fifth groups received 25 and 50 mg/kg of Melissa officinalis extract. The sixth group received imipramine at a dose of 15 mg/kg. The seventh group received 5 mg/kg of reserpine and normal saline. The eighth and ninth groups received 25 and 50 mg/kg of Melissa officinalis and Matricaria chamomilla extracts, respectively. The tenth group was given imipramine through intraperitoneal (I.P) injection. Statistical analyses were performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Tukey's post hoc test in SPSS. Results: Matricaria chamomilla (50 mg/kg), Melissa officinalis (25 mg/kg), and imipramine (15 mg/kg) in non-reserpinized mice significantly decreased the duration of immobility in the forced swim test compared to the control group (P < 0.01). There was a reduction in the duration of immobility in the reserpinized mice administered Matricaria chamomilla at a dose of 50 mg/kg compared to the positive control group (P < 0.01). Conclusions: Matricaria chamomilla and Melissa officinalis have antidepressant effects and maybe taken into consideration in treating patients suffering from depressio

Mid-Infrared Silicon Photonics

A mid-infrared silicon nanophotonic integrated circuit platform can have broad impact upon environmental monitoring, personalized healthcare, and public safety applications. Development of various mid-IR components, including optical parametric amplifiers, sources, modulators, and detectors, is reviewed

EMR-linked GWAS study: investigation of variation landscape of loci for body mass index in children

Common variations at the loci harboring the fat mass and obesity gene (FTO), MC4R, and TMEM18 are consistently reported as being associated with obesity and body mass index (BMI) especially in adult population. In order to confirm this effect in pediatric population five European ancestry cohorts from pediatric eMERGE-II network (CCHMC-BCH) were evaluated. Method: Data on 5049 samples of European ancestry were obtained from the Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) of two large academic centers in five different genotyped cohorts. For all available samples, gender, age, height, and weight were collected and BMI was calculated. To account for age and sex differences in BMI, BMI z-scores were generated using 2000 Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth charts. A Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed with BMI z-score. After removing missing data and outliers based on principal components (PC) analyses, 2860 samples were used for the GWAS study. The association between each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and BMI was tested using linear regression adjusting for age, gender, and PC by cohort. The effects of SNPs were modeled assuming additive, recessive, and dominant effects of the minor allele. Meta-analysis was conducted using a weighted z-score approach. Results: The mean age of subjects was 9.8 years (range 2–19). The proportion of male subjects was 56%. In these cohorts, 14% of samples had a BMI ≥95 and 28 ≥ 85%. Meta analyses produced a signal at 16q12 genomic region with the best result of p = 1.43 × 10-7 [p(rec) = 7.34 × 10-8) for the SNP rs8050136 at the first intron of FTO gene (z = 5.26) and with no heterogeneity between cohorts (p = 0.77). Under a recessive model, another published SNP at this locus, rs1421085, generates the best result [z = 5.782, p(rec) = 8.21 × 10-9]. Imputation in this region using dense 1000-Genome and Hapmap CEU samples revealed 71 SNPs with p < 10-6, all at the first intron of FTO locus. When hetero-geneity was permitted between cohorts, signals were also obtained in other previously identified loci, including MC4R (rs12964056, p = 6.87 × 10-7, z = -4.98), cholecystokinin CCK (rs8192472, p = 1.33 × 10-6, z = -4.85), Interleukin 15 (rs2099884, p = 1.27 × 10-5, z = 4.34), low density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1B [LRP1B (rs7583748, p = 0.00013, z = -3.81)] and near transmembrane protein 18 (TMEM18) (rs7561317, p = 0.001, z = -3.17). We also detected a novel locus at chromosome 3 at COL6A5 [best SNP = rs1542829, minor allele frequency (MAF) of 5% p = 4.35 × 10-9, z = 5.89]. Conclusion: An EMR linked cohort study demonstrates that the BMI-Z measurements can be successfully extracted and linked to genomic data with meaningful confirmatory results. We verified the high prevalence of childhood rate of overweight and obesity in our cohort (28%). In addition, our data indicate that genetic variants in the first intron of FTO, a known adult genetic risk factor for BMI, are also robustly associated with BMI in pediatric population

Phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) in EMR-linked pediatric cohorts, genetically links PLCL1 to speech language development and IL5-IL13 to Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Objective: We report the first pediatric specific Phenome-Wide Association Study (PheWAS) using electronic medical records (EMRs). Given the early success of PheWAS in adult populations, we investigated the feasibility of this approach in pediatric cohorts in which associations between a previously known genetic variant and a wide range of clinical or physiological traits were evaluated. Although computationally intensive, this approach has potential to reveal disease mechanistic relationships between a variant and a network of phenotypes. Method: Data on 5049 samples of European ancestry were obtained from the EMRs of two large academic centers in five different genotyped cohorts. Recently, these samples have undergone whole genome imputation. After standard quality controls, removing missing data and outliers based on principal components analyses (PCA), 4268 samples were used for the PheWAS study. We scanned for associations between 2476 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) with available genotyping data from previously published GWAS studies and 539 EMR-derived phenotypes. The false discovery rate was calculated and, for any new PheWAS findings, a permutation approach (with up to 1,000,000 trials) was implemented. Results: This PheWAS found a variety of common variants (MAF > 10%) with prior GWAS associations in our pediatric cohorts including Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA), Asthma, Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and Type 1 Diabetes with a false discovery rate < 0.05 and power of study above 80%. In addition, several new PheWAS findings were identified including a cluster of association near the NDFIP1 gene for mental retardation (best SNP rs10057309, p = 4.33 × 10−7, OR = 1.70, 95%CI = 1.38 − 2.09); association near PLCL1 gene for developmental delays and speech disorder [best SNP rs1595825, p = 1.13 × 10−8, OR = 0.65(0.57 − 0.76)]; a cluster of associations in the IL5-IL13 region with Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) [best at rs12653750, p = 3.03 × 10−9, OR = 1.73 95%CI = (1.44 − 2.07)], previously implicated in asthma, allergy, and eosinophilia; and association of variants in GCKR and JAZF1 with allergic rhinitis in our pediatric cohorts [best SNP rs780093, p = 2.18 × 10−5, OR = 1.39, 95%CI = (1.19 − 1.61)], previously demonstrated in metabolic disease and diabetes in adults. Conclusion: The PheWAS approach with re-mapping ICD-9 structured codes for our European-origin pediatric cohorts, as with the previous adult studies, finds many previously reported associations as well as presents the discovery of associations with potentially important clinical implications