Effects of body mass index on maximal work production capacity and aerobic fitness during incremental exercise

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between cardiopulmonary fitness as indicated by maximal work rate (Wmax) production and aerobic capacities (WAT), body mass index (BMI) and heart rate reserve. A total of 60 sedentary subjects (30 males, 30 females, aged 18-25 years) were enrolled in the study. Each subject performed an incremental exercise test (15 W/min) to the limit of tolerance on an electromagnetically-braked cycle ergometer. There was a negative correlation between increased BMI to Wmax capacity per kilogram body weight in male (r=-0.846, P=0.0001) and in female (r=-0.896, P=0.0001) subjects. In addition, W(AT) for each kilogram body weight also negatively correlated with increased BMI in male (r=-0.870, P=0.0001) and in females (r=-0.807, P=0.0001). The heart rate reserve correlated negatively with increasing BMI: r=-0.699, P=0.0001 (males) and r=-0.655, P=0.0001 (females). The results of the present study have suggested that, due to the inverse correlation between BMI, Wmax capacity, aerobic fitness and heart rate reserve, it may be useful to consider BMI in establishing cardiopulmonary fitness in various subjects.     

Susceptibility of Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) life stages to flameless catalytic infrared radiation

The susceptibility of various life stages of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), a pest of stored wheat, Triticum aestivum L., to flameless catalytic infrared radiation in the 3-7-microm range was evaluated in the laboratory. Immature stages were collected from flour infested with T. castaneum adults only for 1 d. Stages collected after 1 d represented eggs (collected on day 0); those collected after 7, 14, and 21 d from day 0 represented larvae in different developmental stages, whereas those collected after 24 d represented pupae. Adults (2 wk old) were collected after 42 d. Each of these stages was exposed for 45 or 60 s in 113.5 or 227.0 g of wheat at a distance of 8.0 or 12.7 cm from a bench top infrared emitter. The mean temperatures attained during exposures were measured continuously using a noncontact infrared thermometer connected to a computer. The mean grain temperatures attained increased with an increase in exposure time and were inversely related to distance from the emitter. Grain quantity least influenced mean temperatures attained. Pupae were the least susceptible stage and larvae collected after 7 d were the most susceptible stage. Variation in probability of death of various life stages decreased with an increase in mean grain temperatures attained. All life stages were killed after a 60-s exposure at a distance of 8.0 cm from the emitter in 113.5 g of wheat, where the mean +/- SE temperatures attained ranged from 107.6 +/- 1.2 to 111.4 +/- 0.5 degrees C. Our laboratory results using small grain quantities and short exposure times showed that flameless catalytic infrared radiation can be a valuable tool for managing insects in stored organic and nonorganic wheat.     

Effect of black cumin (Nigella sativa) on heart rate, some hematological values, and pancreatic β-cell damage in cadmium-treated rats

This study was designed to investigate the effect of Nigella sativa (NS) on the heart rate, some hematological values, and pancreatic β-cell damage in cadmium (Cd)-treated rats. The rats were randomly grouped into one of three experimental groups: Control, Cd treated, and Cd+NS treated. Each group contained 10 animals. The Cd-treated and Cd+NS-treated groups were injected subcutaneously daily with CdCl₂ dissolved in isotonic NaCl in the amount of 2 mL/kg for 30 d, resulting in a dosage of 0.49 mg Cd/kg/d. The control group was injected with only isotonic NaCl (2 mL/kg/d) throughout the experiment (for 30 d). Three days prior to administration of CdCl₂, the Cd+NS-treated group received the daily intraperitoneal (ip) injection of 2 mL/kg NS until the end of the study; animals in all three groups were fasted for 12 h and blood samples were taken for the determination of the glucose and insulin levels, red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) counts, packet cell volume (PCV), and hemoglobin (Hb) concentration. The heart rates of rats were also measured by a direct writing electrocardiograph before the blood withdrawals. It was found that NS treatment increased the lowered insulin levels, RBC and WBC counts, PCV, and neutrophil percentage in Cd-treated rats. However, the WBC count of Cd-treated rats with NS treatment was still lower than those of control values. NS treatment also decreased the elevated heart rate and glucose concentration of Cd-treated rats. Pancreatic tissues were also harvested from the sacrificed animals for morphological and immunohistochemical examinations. Cd exposure alone caused a degeneration, necrosis, and weak degranulation in the β-cells of the pancreatic islets. In Cd+NS-treated rats, increased staining of insulin and preservation of islet cells were apparent. It is concluded that NS treatment might decrease the Cd-treated disturbances on heart rate, some hematological values, and pancreatic β-cell.     

Isolation,Culture, and Imaging of Human Fetal Pancreatic Cell Clusters

For almost 30 years, scientists have demonstrated that human fetal ICCs transplanted under the kidney capsule of nude mice matured into functioning endocrine cells, as evidenced by a significant increase in circulating human C-peptide following glucose stimulation^1-9. However in vitro, genesis of insulin producing cells from human fetal ICCs is low¹⁰; results reminiscent of recent experiments performed with human embryonic stem cells (hESC), a renewable source of cells that hold great promise as a potential therapeutic treatment for type 1 diabetes. Like ICCs, transplantation of partially differentiated hESC generate glucose responsive, insulin producing cells, but in vitro genesis of insulin producing cells from hESC is much less robust^11-17. A complete understanding of the factors that influence the growth and differentiation of endocrine precursor cells will likely require data generated from both ICCs and hESC. While a number of protocols exist to generate insulin producing cells from hESC in vitro^11-22, far fewer exist for ICCs^10,23,24. Part of that discrepancy likely comes from the difficulty of working with human fetal pancreas. Towards that end, we have continued to build upon existing methods to isolate fetal islets from human pancreases with gestational ages ranging from 12 to 23 weeks, grow the cells as a monolayer or in suspension, and image for cell proliferation, pancreatic markers and human hormones including glucagon and C-peptide. ICCs generated by the protocol described below result in C-peptide release after transplantation under the kidney capsule of nude mice that are similar to C-peptide levels obtained by transplantation of fresh tissue⁶. Although the examples presented here focus upon the pancreatic endoderm proliferation and β cell genesis, the protocol can be employed to study other aspects of pancreatic development, including exocrine, ductal, and other hormone producing cells.     

Gene targeting in maize by somatic ectopic recombination

Low transformation efficiency and high background of non‐targeted events are major constraints to gene targeting in plants. We demonstrate here applicability in maize of a system that reduces the constraint from transformation efficiency. The system requires regenerable transformants in which all of the following elements are stably integrated in the genome: (i) donor DNA with the gene of interest adjacent to sequence for repair of a defective selectable marker, (ii) sequence encoding a rare‐cutting endonuclease such as I‐SceI, (iii) a target locus (TL) comprising the defective selectable marker and I‐SceI cleavage site. Typically, this requires additional markers for the integration of the donor and target sequences, which may be assembled through cross‐pollination of separate transformants. Inducible expression of I‐SceI then cleaves the TL and facilitates homologous recombination, which is assayed by selection for the repaired marker. We used bar and gfp markers to identify assembled transformants, a dexamethasone‐inducible I‐SceI::GR protein, and selection for recombination events that restored an intact nptII. Applying this strategy to callus permitted the selection of recombination into the TL at a frequency of 0.085% per extracted immature embryo (29% of recombinants). Our results also indicate that excision of the donor locus (DL) through the use of flanking I‐SceI cleavage sites may be unnecessary, and a source of unwanted repair events at the DL. The system allows production, from each assembled transformant, of many cells that subsequently can be treated to induce gene targeting. This may facilitate gene targeting in plant species for which transformation efficiencies are otherwise limiting.     

The epidemiological and molecular aspects of influenza H5N1 viruses at the human-animal interface in Egypt

With 119 confirmed cases between March 2006 and December 2010, Egypt ranks second among countries reporting human H5N1 influenza virus infections. In 2009–2010, Egypt reported 68 new human cases and became the new epicenter for H5N1 infections. We conducted an epidemiological and molecular analysis in order to better understand the situation in Egypt. The onset of new cases peaked annually during the winter and spring months, with majority of cases reported in the Nile Delta region. Most cases were less than 18 years old (62%) and females (60%). The overall case-fatality rate was 34% and significantly increased by age. There was a significant difference between the case-fatality rates among females and males. We observed a significant drop (p = 0.004) in case fatality rate in 2009 (10%) as compared to higher rates (36%–56%) in other years. Hospitalization within 2 or 3 days after onset of symptoms significantly decreased mortality. Molecular analysis showed that variations do occur among viruses isolated from birds as well as from humans in Egypt, and these mutations were especially noted in 2009 viruses. As the epidemiological profile of Egyptian cases differs from other countries, there is an urgent need to conduct prospective studies to enhance our understanding of incidence, prevalence, and determinants of virulence of human infections with avian H5N1 influenza viruses.     

Detection of Antibodies against Turkey Astrovirus in Humans

Astroviruses are a leading cause of gastroenteritis in mammals and birds worldwide. Although historically thought to be species-specific, increasing evidence suggests that astroviruses may cross species barriers. In this report, we used enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays to screen sera from three distinct human cohorts involved in influenza studies in Memphis, TN or Chapel Hill, NC, and Midwestern poultry abattoir workers for antibodies to turkey astrovirus type 2 (TAstV-2). Surprisingly, 26% of one cohort’s population was TAstV-2 positive as compared to 0 and 8.9% in the other cohorts. This cohort was composed of people with exposure to turkeys in the Midwestern United States including abattoir workers, turkey growers, and non-occupationally exposed participants. The odds of testing positive for antibodies against turkey astrovirus among abattoir workers were approximately 3 times higher than the other groups. These studies suggest that people with contact to turkeys can develop serological responses to turkey astrovirus. Further work is needed to determine if these exposures result in virus replication and/or clinical disease.     

Serum lipid profile paraoxonase and arylesterase activities in psoriasis

Psoriasis is a common chronic and recurrent inflammatory skin disease with unknown etiology that has been associated with abnormal plasma lipid metabolism and oxidative stress. There are controversial results in the previous studies investigating oxidant/antioxidant systems in psoriasis. The aim of this work was to evaluate dyslipidemia, oxidative stress, total antioxidant capacity and serum paraoxonase (PON1) and arylesterase (ARE) activities in psoriasis, and to look for a correlation between these parameters and lesion percentage in psoriasis. Thirty psoriatic patients and twenty three sex‐ and agematched healthy volunteers were included in the study. From blood samples, lipid profile, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, total antioxidant capacity (TAO), serum PON1 and ARE activities were determined. No significant differences between the patients and controls were found in terms of total cholesterol, triacylglycerol (TAG), HDL‐cholesterol, LDL‐cholesterol, VLDL‐cholesterol, MDA and TAO levels. Serum PON1 and sodium‐stimulated PON1 activities (p < 0.05) and ARE activity (p < 0.01) were found significantly higher in the patients than in the controls. There was not any significant correlation between lesion percentage and the parameters studied. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.