EFFECT OF METFORMIN AND SIMVASTATIN IN DIAZEPAM-AND SODIUM NITRITE-INDUCED ANTEROGRADE AMNESIA IN MALE SWISS ALBINO MICE

Objective: To study the effect of metformin and simvastatin on diazepam-and sodium nitrite-induced anterograde amnesia in male Swiss albino mice.Methods: A total of 56 healthy male Swiss albino mice weighing 20–30 g were included in the study Mice were divided into seven groups (n=8) and received a specific dosage of drugs including metformin and simvastatin. Anterograde amnesia was induced by diazepam and sodium nitrite. Morris water maze paradigm was used to study amnesia in which the mice were trained to locate a hidden platform by releasing them into the opaque water for four times a day for four consecutive days. The acquisition of this task was evaluated by measuring escape latency time on all the days of study and by measuring the index of retrieval on day 5 of the study. These observations were compared among the test groups and drug-induced amnesia groups. The time was expressed as mean±standard error of the mean.Results: Significant reduction in the mean escape latency time (25.25 ± 5.09 s) and index of retrieval (52.38 ± 3.55 s) was observed in groups administered with sodium nitrite and metformin (p<0.001). In groups administered with sodium nitrite and simvastatin, the mean escape latency time and index of retrieval were 47.66 ± 7.69 s and 40.75 ± 4.13 s, respectively (p<0.05)). In addition, metformin completely ameliorated sodium nitrite-induced anterograde amnesia.Conclusion: Metformin and simvastatin ameliorated sodium nitrite-induced anterograde amnesia pointing toward a possible antioxidant role and can, therefore, be used to potentially inhibit oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration. However, the pleiotropic roles of metformin and simvastatin are the areas that warrant further investigation before their clinical use

Argamassas aditivadas com dióxido de titânio: uma solução eficaz no combate aos graffitis

No presente artigo são apresentados resultados de uma investigação experimental relativa à eficácia da capacidade de auto-limpeza de argamassas contendo TiO2. Foram estudadas argamassas de cimento com traços respectivamente de 1:3 e 1:4 e com diferentes percentagens de TiO2 (2, 5 e 8%). Foi também estudada uma argamassa de cal e metacaulino ao traço 1:4 com duas percentagens de TiO2 (2 e 5%). Os provetes de argamassa foram pintados com uma tinta sintética, tendo-se registado fotograficamente a descoloração da mesma ao longo do tempo. Os resultados obtidos apontam para o facto da capacidade de auto-limpeza das argamassas, ser mais eficaz para uma argamassa à base de cimento, no traço 1:3 e contendo 2% de TiO2

Effect of fenofibrate on acute and subacute inflammation in male Wistar rats

Background: The objective of the study was to investigate the effect of fenofibrate on acute and subacute models of inflammation in adult male Wistar rats.Methods: After obtaining clearance from Institutional Animal Ethics Committee, six adult male Wistar rats were allocated to each of the three groups i.e. control, aspirin and fenofibrate. Acute inflammation was studied using carrageenan induced rat paw oedema and the volume displacement due to paw oedema was measured using the plethysmograph. Subacute inflammation was studied using foreign body insertion (cotton pellet and grass pith) models. Dry granuloma weight and histopathological examination of the granuloma were the outcome measures for measuring subacute inflammation. The percentage inhibition of inflammation with aspirin and fenofibrate was calculated in both acute and subacute models. The experiments were conducted according to the guidelines of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision on Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA). The mean volume displacement obtained with a plethysmograph, the mean dry weight of granuloma and the percentage inhibition with aspirin and fenofibrate were analyzed by one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Graph pad prism software.Results: Aspirin and fenofibrate significantly reduced both acute and subacute inflammation (p<0.001). Dunnet’s test showed a significant difference in the study groups when compared to the control. The reduction of inflammation with fenofibrate was comparable to aspirin.Conclusions: Oral fenofibrate showed significant anti-inflammatory activity, which was comparable to aspirin, in both acute as well as sub-acute models of inflammation. This anti-inflammatory effect may benefit atherosclerosis in patients receiving fenofibrate for hyperlipidemia

Capacidade de auto-limpeza de argamassas contendo dióxido de titânio (TiO2)

No presente artigo são apresentados resultados de uma investigação experimental relativa à eficácia da capacidade de auto-limpeza de argamassas contendo TiO2. Foram estudadas argamassas de cimento com traços respectivamente de 1:3 e 1:4 e com diferentes percentagens de TiO2 (2, 5 e 8%). Foi também estudada uma argamassa de cal e metacaulino ao traço 1:4 com duas percentagens de TiO2 (2 e 5%). Os provetes de argamassa foram pintados com uma tinta sintética, tendo-se registado fotograficamente a descoloração da mesma ao longo do tempo. Os resultados obtidos apontam para o facto da capacidade de auto-limpeza das argamassas, ser mais eficaz para uma argamassa à base de cimento, no traço 1:3 e contendo 2% de TiO2

Produtos de hidratação em argamassas geopoliméricas à base de argila da Tunísia para reparação de estruturas de concreto

A reparação de estruturas degradadas de concreto representa uma oportunidade para a indústria da construção mas também um desafio para a comunidade científica. O desenvolvimento de novas argamassas de reparação constitui por isso uma importante área de investigação. Os geopolímeros são ligantes inovadores alternativos ao cimento Portland pelo que as argamassas à base destes materiais, geopolíméricas, apresentam algumas potencialidades no campo da reparação das estruturas de concreto. O presente artigo apresenta resultados de uma investigação sobre o desenvolvimento de argamassas geopoliméricas à base de uma argila da Tunísia sujeita a tratamento térmico. É incluída uma análise da argila e também dos produtos de hidratação da argamassa os quais apresentam fases geopoliméricas típicas

Biotechnologies and bioinspired materials for the construction industry : an overview

Published online: 16 Oct 2013Looking back to less than three centuries of industrialization, responsible for alarming levels of pollution and consumption of non-renewable resources that has led to the exhaustion of the earth’s capacity, the humankind only now begins to grasp the overwhelming potential of natural systems. During almost 40 million centuries, Nature has developed materials and processes with optimal performance which are totally biodegradable. Analysis of bioinspired materials requires the knowledge of both biological and engineering principles which are being a part of a large research area termed biotechnology. This hot area is one of the six strategic Key Enabling Technologies that will be funded under the EU Framework Programme Horizon 2020. This paper reviews the current knowledge on the potential of this emerging field, particularly in the development of materials and technologies for the construction industry. It covers the use of bacteria for enhancing concrete durability and for soil stabilization. It also covers bioinspired tough composite materials, bioinspired adhesives and coatings, and self-cleaning materials. Incorporation of biology basics in the civil engineering curriculum would ease the communication between biologists and civil engineers, helping to foster research on biotechnologies and bioinspired materials for the construction industry

Shrinkage and mechanical performance of geopolymeric mortars based on calcined Tunisian clay

Infrastructure rehabilitation represents a multitrillion dollar opportunity for the construction industry. Since the majority of the existent infrastructures are Portland cement concrete based this means that concrete infrastructure rehabilitation is a hot issue to be dealt with. Geopolymers are novel inorganic binders with high potential to replace Portland cement based ones. Geopolymerization is a complex chemical process evolving various aluminosilicate oxides with silicates under highly alkaline conditions, yielding polymeric units, similar to those of an aluminosilicate glass. So far very few studies in the geopolymer field have addressed the rehabilitation of deteriorated concrete structures. This paper discloses some results of an investigation concerning the development geopolymeric repair mortars based on a calcined Tunisian clay. The results show that Tunisian calcined clay based mortars have hydration products with typical geopolymeric phases. Results also show that the geopolymeric mortar shows a high unrestrained shrinkage behavior and that its modulus of elasticity is below the threshold required for this repair mortars

Mechanical performance of geopolymeric mortars based on tunisian calcined clay, fly ash and metakaolin

Infrastructure rehabilitation represents a multitrillion dollar opportunity for the construction industry. Since the majority of the existent infrastructures are Portland cement concrete based this means that concrete infrastructure rehabilitation is a hot issue to be dealt with. Geopolymers are novel inorganic binders with high potential to replace Portland cement based ones. So far very few studies in the geopolymer field have addressed the rehabilitation of deteriorated concrete structures. This paper discloses results of an investigation concerning the development geopolymeric repair mortars. The mortars are based on Tunisian clay coming from Medenine region, plus calcium hydroxide, sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide. Results show that the geopolymeric mortar has a high compressive strength and a lower unrestrained shrinkage performance as long as partial replacement by metakaolin is carried out. The results also show that Tunisian calcined clay based mortars have hydration products with typical geopolymeric phases

New In Vitro studies on the bioprofile of Genista tenera antihyperglycemic extract

The inhibition of a-glucosidase and glucose-6-phosphatase, two enzymes involved in the carbohydrate metabolism, is an important target to control glycaemia on individuals with type 2 diabetes. In this work we report for the first time the inhibition of both enzymes by the antihyperglycemic n-butanol extract from Genista tenera (Fabaceae). This extract decreased a-glucosidase and glucose-6-phosphatase activities to 0.97 and 80.25 %, respectively, being more effective than acarbose, and phlorizin, the positive controls, which reduced enzymes activities only to 17.39 and 96.06 %. Once inflammation and oxidative stress are related to diabetic impairments, the anti-inflammatory activity of the extract was also evaluated, through its inhibitory activity over COX-1 enzyme (47.5 % inhibition). Moreover, after induction of oxidative stress by UV radiation, the viability of irradiated rat liver hepatoma cells exposed to the extract was significantly higher (67.82 %) than that promoted by ascorbic acid, the positive control (45.05 %). In addition, the stability of the extract under gastrointestinal conditions was evaluated by HPLC–DAD-ESI–MS/MS. Flavonoid diglycosides were identified as the main constituents of the extract, and no alterations in the chemical composition nor in the antioxidant activity were observed after in vitro digestion with artificial gastric and pancreatic juices.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia e Comissão Europeiainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio