Time-dependent changes in the serum levels of prolactin, nesfatin-1 and ghrelin as a marker of epileptic attacks young male patients

A relationship between hormones and seizures has been reported in animals and humans. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the association between serum levels of prolactin, nesfatin-1 and ghrelin measured different times after a seizure or non-epileptic event and compared with controls. The study included a total of 70 subjects, and of whom 18 patients had secondary generalized epilepsy (SGE), 16 patients had primary generalized epilepsy (PGE), 16 patients exhibited paroxysmal event (psychogenic) and 20 healthy males were control subjects. The first sample was taken within 5 min of a seizure, with further samples taken after 1, 24, and 48 h so long as the patient did not exhibit further clinically observable seizures; blood samples were taken once from control subjects. Prolactin was measured immediately using TOSOH Bioscience hormone assays. Nesfatin-1 and ghrelin peptides were measured using a commercial immunoassay kit. Patients suffering from focal epilepsy with secondary generalization and primary generalized epilepsy presented with significantly higher levels of serum prolactin and nesfatin-1 and lower ghrelin levels 5 min, 1 and 24 h after a seizure than patients presenting with paroxysmal events (psychogenic) and control subjects; the data were similar but not statistically significant after 48 h. The present study suggests that increased serum prolactin and nesfatin-1 concentrations, decreased ghrelin concentrations could be used as markers to identify patients that have suffered a recent epileptic seizure or other paroxysmal event (psychogenic).     

Effect of stabilization on biomass activity

The study aimed to compare aerobic and aerobic/anoxic stabilization processes in terms of organic matter and the biomass removal efficiencies using a municipal sludge sample. The efficiency of stabilization process was assessed monitoring suspended solids (SS), volatile suspended solids (VSS), total and dissolved organic carbon (TOC, DOC), nitrate, nitrite, and phosphate parameters. The oxygen uptake rate (OUR) measurements were conducted to determine active biomass concentration. On the 30th day of the aerobic stabilization, the SS, VSS and TOC removal efficiencies were 22%, 28% and 55%, respectively. Under aerobic/anoxic conditions, removal efficiencies for SS, VSS and TOC were 25%, 27% and 67%. On the 17th day of the stabilization, SS and VSS removal rates were 60 mg SS/L day and 47 mg VSS/L day for aerobic and 102 mg SS/L day and 63 mg VSS/L day for aerobic/anoxic conditions, respectively. These findings reflected the higher stabilization performance of the aerobic/anoxic conditions. Based on respirometric results, the ratios of the active biomass were decreased to 30% and 24% for the 17th and 30th day of the aerobic stabilization, respectively. Such results have significant implications relative to the activity decrease quantification of the biomass as well as its further application potentials after aerobic or aerobic/anoxic sludge stabilization.     

Obestatin is present in saliva: alterations in obestatin and ghrelin levels of saliva and serum in ischemic heart disease

Ghrelin and obestatin are a single gene products and are a multiple functional peptides that regulates energy homeostasis, and food intake. In the present work, we studied the secretion of ghrelin and its co-secreted peptide obestatin in 44 patients with ischemic heart disease with that of 27 healthy matched controls. Here we first conducted using an immunohistochemistry assay to screen whether human salivary glands have any obestatin immunoreactivity. Then, serum and saliva obestatin and acylated ghrelin levels were determined by using Radioimmunoassay. Our immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that obestatin was localized in the striated and excretory duct of human salivary gland. We also report for the first time that obestatin, like ghrelin, is present in human salivary gland and saliva. No evidence of the role of obestatin or ghrelin saliva levels in the context of ischemic heart disease was found. Salivary ghrelin and obestatin levels are correlated in controls with the blood levels. Determination of salivary values could represent a non-invasive alternative to serum ones that can be useful in clinical practice.     

A case of Lemierre's syndrome following Epstein-Barr virus infection

Lemierre's syndrome, or necrobacillosis, is a life-threatening septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein. The causative organism is Fusobacterium necrophorum. Here we report a case of Lemierre's syndrome in a young male and describe the clinical presentations and treatment. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was a suspected predisposing factor in this case.     

Gastroprotective and Antioxidant Effects of Lobaria pulmonaria and Its Metabolite Rhizonyl Alcohol on Indomethacin‐Induced Gastric Ulcer

Two lichen metabolites, rhizonaldehyde ( 1 ) and rhizonyl alcohol ( 2 ), were isolated from the acetone extract of Lobaria pulmonaria by chromatographic methods, and their chemical structures were determined by UV/VIS, IR, and 1D‐ and 2D‐NMR spectroscopic methods. The gastroprotective and in vivo antioxidant activities of extracts of L. pulmonaria and its metabolites, 1 and 2 , were investigated in indomethacin‐induced ulcer models in rats. The gastric lesions were significantly reduced by acetone, hexane, and CHCl₃ extracts, with 75.3–41.5% inhibition. Rhizonyl alcohol ( 2 ) significantly reduced the gastric lesions with an inhibition rate of 84.6–42.8%, whereas rhizonaldehyde ( 1 ) significantly increased the gastric lesions. Antioxidant parameters and myeloperoxidase activities were also evaluated in the gastric tissues of the rats. Indomethacin caused oxidative stress, which resulted in lipid peroxidation in gastric tissues by decreasing the levels of the antioxidants as compared to healthy rat tissues. In contrast to indomethacin, all extracts and rhizonyl alcohol ( 2 ) caused a significant decrease in lipid peroxidation levels and an increase in antioxidant parameters, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione‐S‐transferase, and reduced glutathione in gastric tissues. The administration of rhizonyl alcohol ( 2 ) also resulted in a decrease in gastric myeloperoxidase activity increased by indomethacin. The gastroprotective effect of rhizonyl alcohol ( 2 ) can be attributed to its antioxidant properties and its suppressing effect on neutrophil infiltration into gastric tissues.     

Association between Gene Polymorphism of Manganese Superoxide Dismutase and Prostate Cancer Risk

Manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) is the most effective antioxidant enzyme in mitochondria and protects cells from reactive oxygen species‐induced oxidative damage. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between MnSOD Ala‐9Val gene polymorphism and prostate cancer (PCa) risk in Turkish men with prostate cancer. 33 patients with PCa and 81 control individuals were included in the study. We observed an association between MnSOD Ala/Ala frequency and a higher PCa risk. In addition, we found that the increased risk of early‐onset PCa (under age of 65) in the men homozygous for Ala allele was higher than the men homozygous for Val allele. However, we determined that MnSOD Ala‐9Val genotype was not associated with the aggressiveness of the disease. The results of our study suggest that MnSOD Ala/Ala genotype may influence on early‐onset of PCa patients, but no effect on subsequent development of the disease in Turkish men. However, our study has a limitation that is small numbers of individuals for cases and controls. Therefore, the presented study limited our statistical power to fully investigate the gene polymorphism on cancer risk. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J BiochemMol Toxicol 27:213‐218, 2013; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/jbt.21472     

Probing the roles of two tryptophans surrounding the unique zinc coordination site in lipase family I.5

A unique zinc domain found in all of the identified members of the lipase family I.5 is surrounded by two conserved tryptophans (W61 and W212). In this study, we investigated the role of these hydrophobic residues in thermostability and thermoactivity of the lipase from Bacillus thermocatenulatus (BTL2) taken as the representative of the family. Circular dichroism spectroscopy revealed that the secondary structure of BTL2 is conserved by the tryptophan mutations (W61A, W212A, and W61A/W212A), and that W61 is located in a more rigid and less solvent exposed region than is W212. Thermal denaturation and optimal activity analyses pointed out that zinc induces thermostability and thermoactivity of BTL2, in which both tryptophans W61 and W212 play contributing roles. Molecular explanations describing the roles of these tryptophans were pursued by X‐ray crystallography of the open form of the W61A mutant and molecular dynamics simulations which highlighted a critical function for W212 in zinc binding to the coordination site. This study reflects the potential use of hydrophobic amino acids in vicinity of metal coordination sites in lipase biocatalysts design. Proteins 2016; 84:129–142. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Microbial calcium carbonate precipitation with high affinity to fill the concrete pore space: nanobiotechnological approach

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - Despite the advantages of concrete, it has a pore structure and is susceptible to cracking. The initiated cracks as well as pores and their connectivity...     

Anisotropic stiffness and tensional homeostasis induce a natural anisotropy of volumetric growth and remodeling in soft biological tissues

Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology - Growth in soft biological tissues in general results in anisotropic changes of the tissue geometry. It remains a key challenge in biomechanics to...