Nanoparticles of Selenium as Species with Stronger Physiological Effects in Sheep in Comparison with Sodium Selenite

The present study was designed to compare the effects of nano red selenium and sodium selenite on the antioxidative activities of neutrophils and the hematological parameters in sheep. Fifteen sheep were randomly allocated into three groups. Groups 1 and 2 received selenium nanoparticles orally at 1 mg/kg and sodium selenite at 1 mg Se/kg for 10 consecutive days; group 3 served as the control. To assess the degrees of oxidative stress and of lipid peroxidation of the cellular membranes, the levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were determined in serum samples that were collected at different supplementation intervals, i.e., after 0, 10, 20, and 30 days. In addition, hematological parameters in the serum samples were measured by routine procedures. It was found that TBARS levels in groups 1 and 2 were significantly higher on days 20 and 30 compared to the basal level on day 0. It was also found that on day 30, the TBARS activities in both treated groups were significantly higher than those of the controls (P < 0.05). These findings may explain the seemingly paradoxical effects of supplemental selenium on the indicators of oxidative stress, as the levels of TBARS were generally expected to decrease in the presence of selenium. There were no significant differences between the PCV and RBC values in the three groups. The white blood cell count (WBC) in group 1 showed a significant increase on days 20 and 30 in comparison with the control group. However, in group 2, there was a significant increase of the WBC value just on day 20 in comparison with the control group. Also, there were significant increases of the neutrophil counts and significant decreases of the lymphocyte counts on day 10 in group 1, in comparison with those in group 2 and controls, and on days 20 and 30 in groups 1 and 2 in comparison with those in the control group

Pure seminoma: A review and update

Pure seminoma is a rare pathology of the young adult, often discovered in the early stages. Its prognosis is generally excellent and many therapeutic options are available, especially in stage I tumors. High cure rates can be achieved in several ways: standard treatment with radiotherapy is challenged by surveillance and chemotherapy. Toxicity issues and the patients' preferences should be considered when management decisions are made. This paper describes firstly the management of primary seminoma and its nodal involvement and, secondly, the various therapeutic options according to stage

Hepatitis D double reflex testing of all hepatitis B carriers in low-HBV- and high-HBV/HDV-prevalence countries

Hepatitis D virus (HDV) infection occurs as a coinfection with hepatitis B and increases the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, decompensated cirrhosis, and mortality compared to hepatitis B virus (HBV) monoinfection. Reliable estimates of the prevalence of HDV infection and disease burden are essential to formulate strategies to find coinfected individuals more effectively and efficiently. The global prevalence of HBV infections was estimated to be 262,240,000 in 2021. Only 1,994,000 of the HBV infections were newly diagnosed in 2021, with more than half of the new diagnoses made in China. Our initial estimates indicated a much lower prevalence of HDV antibody (anti-HDV) and HDV RNA positivity than previously reported in published studies. Accurate estimates of HDV prevalence are needed. The most effective method to generate estimates of the prevalence of anti-HDV and HDV RNA positivity and to find undiagnosed individuals at the national level is to implement double reflex testing. This requires anti-HDV testing of all hepatitis B surface antigen-positive individuals and HDV RNA testing of all anti-HDV-positive individuals. This strategy is manageable for healthcare systems since the number of newly diagnosed HBV cases is low. At the global level, a comprehensive HDV screening strategy would require only 1,994,000 HDV antibody tests and less than 89,000 HDV PCR tests. Double reflex testing is the preferred strategy in countries with a low prevalence of HBV and those with a high prevalence of both HBV and HDV. For example, in the European Union and North America only 35,000 and 22,000 cases, respectively, will require anti-HDV testing annually

Homology Modeling of Human c-Butyric Acid Transporters and the Binding of Pro-Drugs 5-Aminolevulinic Acid and Methyl Aminolevulinic Acid Used in Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a safe and effective method currently used in the treatment of skin cancer. In ALA-basedPDT, 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), or ALA esters, are used as pro-drugs to induce the formation of the potent photosensitizerprotoporphyrin IX (PpIX). Activation of PpIX by light causes the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and toxicresponses. Studies have indicated that ALA and its methyl ester (MAL) are taken up into the cells via c-butyric acid (GABA)transporters (GATs). Uptake via GATs into peripheral sensory nerve endings may also account for one of the few adverseside effects of ALA-based PDT, namely pain. In the present study, homology models of the four human GAT subtypes wereconstructed using three x-ray crystal structures of the homologous leucine transporter (LeuT) as templates. Binding of thenative substrate GABA and the possible substrates ALA and MAL was investigated by molecular docking of the ligands intothe central putative substrate binding sites in the outward-occluded GAT models. Electrostatic potentials (ESPs) of theputative substrate translocation pathway of each subtype were calculated using the outward-open and inward-openhomology models. Our results suggested that ALA is a substrate of all four GATs and that MAL is a substrate of GAT-2, GAT-3and BGT-1. The ESP calculations indicated that differences likely exist in the entry pathway of the transporters (i.e. inoutward-open conformations). Such differences may be exploited for development of inhibitors that selectively targetspecific GAT subtypes and the homology models may hence provide tools for design of therapeutic inhibitors that can beused to reduce ALA-induced pain.<p><em>©</em>2013 Baglo et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.</p