New insights into antioxidant strategies against paraquat toxicity

Free radicals are implicated in many diseases including atherosclerosis, cancer and also in rheumatoid arthritis. Reaction of uric acid with free radicals, such as hydroxyl radical and hypochlorous acid (HOCl) results in allantoin production. In this study, we measured the serum allantoin levels, oxidation products of uric acid, as a marker of free radical generation in rheumatoid arthritis. Fasting blood samples were obtained from 21 rheumatoid patients and 15 healthy controls. In this study, the serum allantoin and uric acid levels were measured by a gas chromatography–mass spectrometry method and the ratios were calculated. The mean allantoin and uric acid levels and ratios in the patient group were 22.1±11.3, 280.5±65.0 and 8.0±3.7?μM, while in the control group they were 13.6±6.3, 278.3±53.6 and 4.9±2.1?μM, respectively. The effects of gender, age, menopausal status, duration of disease and medications on serum allantoin and uric acid levels of the patient and control groups were studied. Our results suggest that uric acid acts as a free radical scavenger and thus is converted to allantoin. Increased allantoin levels suggest the possible involvement of free radicals in rheumatoid arthritis.     

In Vivo and In Vitro Effects of Some Plant Hormones on Rat Erythrocyte Carbonic Anhydrase and Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Activities

The present study was undertaken to determine in vivo and in vitro effects of some plant growth regulators on rat erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase (CA) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) activities. Both in vivo and in vitro, spermidine and kinetin did not affect enzymatic activities of CA and G6PD, whereas putrescine decreased these activities, and abscisic acid increased them. Since plants use such growth regulators, their effects should be considered on mammals consuming them since they may possess important biological effects.     

Calcium hypochlorite on mouse embryonic fibroblast cells (NIH3T3) in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity: MTT and comet assay

Molecular Biology Reports - Antimicrobial irrigation solutions are widely used under clinical settings. Their effect on dental tissue is a subject of recent research, which aims for a safer...     

The relationship between the presence of ADHD and certain candidate gene polymorphisms in a Turkish sample

Due to the high heritability of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), parents of children with ADHD appear to represent a good sample group for investigating the genetics of the disorder. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between ADHD and six polymorphisms in five candidate genes [5-HT2A (rs6311), NET1 (rs2242447), COMT (rs4818), NTF3 (rs6332), SNAP-25 (rs3746544) and (rs1051312)]. We included 228 parents of children diagnosed with ADHD and 109 healthy parents as the control group. The polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays and analyzed using the chi-square test and the multinomial logit model. SNAP-25 (rs3746544) polymorphism was associated with loading for ADHD, while 5-HT2A (rs6311) and NET1 (rs2242447) polymorphisms were associated with ADHD. On the other hand, there was no significant association between the SNAP-25 (rs1051312), NTF3 (rs6332), or COMT (rs4818) gene polymorphisms and ADHD.     

Assessment of post-stroke elbow flexor spasticity in different forearm positions

Abstract

Purpose/Aim: There have been conflicting results regarding which muscle contribute most to the elbow spastic flexion deformity. This study aimed to investigate whether flexor spasticity of the elbow changed according to the position of the forearm, and to determine the muscle or muscles that contributed most to the elbow spastic flexion deformity by clinical examination.

Methods: This study is a single group, observational and cross-sectional study. Sixty patients were assessed for elbow flexor spasticity in different forearm positions (pronation, neutral and supination) with Modified Tardieu Scale. The primary outcome measure was a domain of the Modified Tardieu Scale, the dynamic component of spasticity (spasticity angle).

Results: In general, there was a significant difference between forearm positions regarding spasticity angle (p?<?.001). In pairwise comparisons, median spasticity angles in pronation (70 degrees) and neutral position (60 degrees) were significantly higher than those in supination (57.5 degrees) (adjusted p?<?.001 and adjusted p?=?.003, respectively). However, median spasticity angle in pronation did not differ significantly from those in neutral position in favour of pronation (adjusted p?=?.274).

Conclusions: The severity of spasticity changes according to the elbow position which suggests that the magnitude of contribution of each elbow flexor muscle to spastic elbow deformity is different. Reduction of spasticity from pronation to supination leads us to consider brachialis as the most spastic muscle. Since biceps was suggested to be the least spastic muscle in this study, and also to avoid spastic pronation deformity of the forearm, it should be rethought before performing chemodenervation into biceps muscle.     

On-line preconcentration/determination of zinc from water,biological and food samples using synthesized chelating resin and flame atomic absorption spectrometry

An on-line flow injection pre-concentration-flame atomic absorption spectrometry method was developed to determine trace zinc in water (tap, dam, and well water), biological (hair and nail), and liver samples. As a solid phase extractant, a synthesized new chelating resin, poly(2-thiozylmethacrylamide-co-divinylbenzene-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid) was used. The resin was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and surface area by nitrogen sorption. A pre-concentration factor of 40-fold for a sample volume of 12.6 mL was obtained by using the time-based technique. The detection limit for the pre-concentration method was found to be 2.2 μg L^?1. The precision (as RSD,%) for 10 replicate determinations at the 0.04 μg mL^?1 Zn concentration was 1.2%. The calibration graph using the pre-concentration system for zinc was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 in the concentration range from 0.005 to 0.05 μg mL^?1. The applicability and accuracy of the developed method were estimated by the analysis spiked water, biological, liver samples (83–105%), and also certified reference material TMDA-70 (fortified lake water) and SPS-WW1 Batch 111-Wastewater. The results were in agreement with the certified values.     

Reproducing Authigenic Carbonate Precipitation in the Hypersaline Lake Acıgöl (Turkey) with Microbial Cultures

In the present study, laboratory precipitation experiments using similar water chemistry and two different bacterial cultures from Lake Ac?göl sediments, a hypersaline lake in Turkey, were performed to reproduce mineral assemblages similar to those found in the lake. Two different bacterial cultures induce various calcium/magnesium carbonates precipitation under all the experimental conditions (solid vs. liquid): Hydromagnesite, dypingite, huntite, monohydrocalcite, and aragonite. The geochemical program PHREEQC was used to calculate the mineral saturation indexes in the cultures and in lake water. Carbonate mineral assemblages identified in the experiments seem to be independent of the type of microorganisms but rather controlled by the chemical composition and physical conditions of the media. The relative amounts of monohydrocalcite, hydromagnesite, and dypingite are controlled by varying sulfate concentration from 0 to 56 mM. This demonstrates a kinetic effect that could similarly affect the mineral assemblage in the lake. Also the spherical morphology of hydromagnesite points to growth of these minerals under partial inhibition in the brine under high concentrations of ions and organic polymers produced by the microbial communities. As reproduced by the culture experiments, the authigenic carbonate mineral assemblage of Lake Ac?göl most likely results from interplay of ionic composition of the brine and microbial effects.     

Recovery from hypoxia-induced internalization of cardiac Na+/H + exchanger 1 requires an adequate intracellular store of antioxidants

The heart is highly active metabolically but relatively underperfused and, therefore, vulnerable to ischemia. In addition to acidosis, a key component of ischemia is hypoxia that can modulate gene expression and protein function as part of an adaptive or even maladaptive response. Here, using cardiac-derived HL-1 cells, we investigate the effect of various hypoxic stimuli on the expression and activity of Na⁺/H ⁺ exchanger 1 (NHE1), a principal regulator of intracellular pH. Acute (10 min) anoxia produced a reversible decrease in the sarcolemmal NHE1 activity attributable to NHE1 internalization. Treatment with either 1% O ₂ or dimethyloxaloylglycine (DMOG; 1 mM) for 48-hr stabilized hypoxia-inducible factor 1 and reduced the sarcolemmal NHE1 activity by internalization, but without a change in total NHE1 immunoreactivity or message levels of the coding gene ( SLC9A1) determined in whole-cell lysates. Unlike the effect of DMOG, which was rapidly reversed on washout, reoxygenation after a prolonged period of hypoxia did not reverse the effects on NHE1, unless media were also supplemented with a membrane-permeant derivative of glutathione (GSH). Without a prior hypoxic episode, GSH supplementation had no effect on the NHE1 activity. Thus, posthypoxic NHE1 reinsertion can only take place if cells have a sufficient reservoir of a reducing agent. We propose that oxidative stress under prolonged hypoxia depletes intracellular GSH to an extent that curtails NHE1 reinsertion once the hypoxic stimulus is withdrawn. This effect may be cardioprotective, as rapid postischaemic restoration of the NHE1 activity is known to trigger reperfusion injury by producing an intracellular Na ⁺-overload, which is proarrhythmogenic.