Efficacy of different types of aerobic exercise in fibromyalgia syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Introduction  

The efficacy and the optimal type and volume of aerobic exercise (AE) in fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) are not established. We therefore assessed the efficacy of different types and volumes of AE in FMS.     

Identifying Metal Nanoparticle Size Effect on Sensing Common Human Plasma Protein by Counting the Sensitivity of Optical Absorption Spectra Damping

Colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) interact with biological fluids such as human plasma to form a protein coating (corona) on the surface of NPs (NP-protein complex). However, the impact of size and type of NPs on binding of the hard corona to the surface of NPs as well as damping of their optical spectra has not been systematically explored. To elucidate the interaction between biological environment (human plasma) and NPs, a photophysical measurement was conducted to quantify the interaction of two different types of NPs (gold (Au) and silver (Ag)) with common human plasma proteins. The colloidal AuNPs and AgNPs were electrostatically stabilized and varied in diameter from 10 to 80 nm in the presence of common human plasma. The sizes of the NPs were determined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Optical absorption spectra were obtained for the complexes. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurement and zeta potential were used to characterize the sizes, hydrodynamic diameters, and surface charges of the protein-NPs complexes. Protein separation was performed using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to isolate and identify the protein bands. The absorption of proteins to the NPs was found to be strongly dependent on the size and type of NPs. The distance between surface of NPs by absorbed protein bound to the NPs gradually increased with size of NPs, particularly for AgNPs with primary diameter of < 50 nm. The chi-square test proved that AgNPs are a good candidate in sensing the protein complex in human plasma compared with AuNPs mainly for the AgNPs with diameter sized 50 nm.

     

The next step of neurogenesis in the context of Alzheimer’s disease

Molecular Biology Reports - Among different pathological mechanisms, neuronal loss and neurogenesis impairment in the hippocampus play important roles in cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s...     

Characterization of archaeal symbionts of sponges from the coral reef ecosystems of the Gulf of Mannar,Southeast coast of India

Sponges accommodate a diverse group of microorganisms with varied metabolic capabilities. The bacterial associates of sponges are widely studied while our understanding of archaeal counterparts is scanty. In the present study, we report the archaeal associates of two sponges, Pseudoceratina purpurea (NCBI barcode: KX454492) and Cinachyra sp. (NCBI barcode: KX454495), found in the coral reef ecosystems of Gulf of Mannar, India. Archaea in the water column was predominated by members of class Halobacteria of Phylum Euryarchaeota (97%) followed by a minor fraction (3%) of Nitrosopumilus sp. of phylum Thaumarchaeota. Interestingly, Thaumarchaeota was identified as the sole archaeal population associated with the two sponges studied, among which Nitrosopumilus sp. occuppied 80 and 100% of the sequences in the clone library of P. purpurea and Cinachyra sp. respectively. Other archaea found in the P. purpurea were Nitrososphaera (10%) and unclassified ones (10%). The study identified Nitrosopumilus sp. as a unique symbiotic archaeon of sponges, P. purpurea and Cinachyra sp. The existence of host driven factors in selecting specific associates from a diverse group of archaea in the environment may need further investigations.     

Gap junction blockers: a potential approach to attenuate morphine withdrawal symptoms

Background

The exact mechanisms of morphine-induced dependence and withdrawal symptoms remain unclear. In order to identify an agent that can prevent withdrawal syndrome, many studies have been performed. This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of gap junction blockers; carbenoxolone (CBX) or mefloquine (MFQ); on morphine withdrawal symptoms in male rat.Adult male Wistar rats (225 – 275 g) were selected randomly and divided into 10 groups. All groups underwent stereotaxic surgery and in order to induce dependency, morphine was administered subcutaneously) Sc) at an interval of 12 hours for nine continuous days. On the ninth day of the experiment, animals received vehicle or CBX (100, 400, 600 μg/10 μl/rat, icv) or MFQ (50, 100 and 200 μg/10 μl/rat, icv) after the last saline or morphine (Sc) injection. Morphine withdrawal symptoms were precipitated by naloxone hydrochloride 10 min after the treatments. The withdrawal signs including: jumping, rearing, genital grooming, abdomen writhing, wet dog shake and stool weight, were recorded for 60 minutes.

Results

Results showed that CBX and MFQ decreased all withdrawal signs; and the analysis indicated that they could attenuate the total withdrawal scores significantly.

Conclusion

Taking together it is concluded that gap junction blockers prevented naloxone-precipitated withdrawal symptoms.     

Determination of sulpiride in pharmaceutical preparations and biological fluids using a Cr (III) enhanced chemiluminescence method

A highly sensitive and simple method for identifying sulpiride in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids is presented. The method is based on increased chemiluminescence (CL) intensity of a luminol–H₂O₂ system in response to the addition of Cr (III) under alkaline conditions. The CL intensity of the luminol–H₂O₂–Cr (III) system was greatly enhanced by the addition of sulpiride and the CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of sulpiride in a sample solution. Various parameters affecting the CL intensity were systematically investigated and optimized for determination of the sulpiride in a sample. Under the optimum conditions, the CL intensity was proportional to the concentration of sulpiride in the range of 0.068–4.0 µg/mL, with a good correlation coefficient of 0.997. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were found to be 8.50 × 10^‐6 µg/mL and 2.83 × 10^‐5 µg/mL, respectively. The method presented here produced good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.70% (n = 7). The effects of common excipients and metal ions were studied for their interference effect. The method was validated statistically through recovery studies and successfully applied for the determination of sulpiride in pure form, pharmaceutical preparations and spiked human plasma samples. The percentage recoveries were found to range from 99.10 to 100.05% for pure form, 98.12 to 100.18% for pharmaceutical preparations and 97.9 to 101.4% for spiked human plasma. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Structure of a Bimodular Botulinum Neurotoxin Complex Provides Insights into Its Oral Toxicity

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by Clostridium botulinum and cause the fatal disease botulism, a flaccid paralysis of the muscle. BoNTs are released together with several auxiliary proteins as progenitor toxin complexes (PTCs) to become highly potent oral poisons. Here, we report the structure of a ∼760 kDa 14-subunit large PTC of serotype A (L-PTC/A) and reveal insight into its absorption mechanism. Using a combination of X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy, and functional studies, we found that L-PTC/A consists of two structurally and functionally independent sub-complexes. A hetero-dimeric 290 kDa complex protects BoNT, while a hetero-dodecameric 470 kDa complex facilitates its absorption in the harsh environment of the gastrointestinal tract. BoNT absorption is mediated by nine glycan-binding sites on the dodecameric sub-complex that forms multivalent interactions with carbohydrate receptors on intestinal epithelial cells. We identified monosaccharides that blocked oral BoNT intoxication in mice, which suggests a new strategy for the development of preventive countermeasures for BoNTs based on carbohydrate receptor mimicry.