Effects of citalopram on cognitive performance in passive avoidance, elevated plus-maze and three-panel runway tasks in naïve rats

Recent studies have shown that learning and memory capacity is disturbed in depressive patients, and it is important to reveal the effects of antidepressant drugs on cognitive function in depressive patients with memory problems. Citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), is one of the most widely used drugs for the treatment of disorders related to serotonergic dysfunction like depression and anxiety. Contradictory findings exist regarding the effects of SSRIs on memory. The aim of this study is to investigate whether citalopram affects memory in various models of learning and memory tasks in rats. Citalopram (at 20 and 50 mg/kg) significantly shortened the retention latency in the passive avoidance test and prolonged the transfer latency on the second day at 10 and 50 mg/kg doses in the elevated plus-maze test. Citalopram also significantly increased the number of errors (at the 10 mg/kg dose) and prolonged the latency values compared to the control group in both reference and working memory trials in the three-panel runway test. Citalopram also impaired reference memory trials of animals at the 20 mg/kg dose. In conclusion, citalopram impaired cognitive performance in passive avoidance, elevated plus-maze and three-panel runway tasks in naive rats. These effects might be related to serotonergic and nitrergic mechanisms, which need to be investigated in further studies.     

Fryns syndrome with atypical findings--with large midline cleft on forehead but normal cranial MRI findings

We report a newborn with Fryns syndrome and atypical findings like a large midline cleft on forehead. Abnormal findings included congenital left diaphragmatic hernia, prominent forehead, hypertelorism, broad nasal bridge, anteverted nostrils, cleft palate, low set ears, tapered fingers, macrocephaly, congenital heart defect, midline defects and renal anomalies. This is the first case that has a midline cleft on forehead with normal cranial MRI findings.     

Diepoxide-triggered conformational transition of silk fibroin: formation of hydrogels

Silk fibroin hydrogels with tunable properties could be obtained from aqueous fibroin solutions (4.2 w/v %) in a short period of time. This was achieved by the addition of ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether (EGDE) into the reaction solution. Introduction of EGDE cross-links between the fibroin molecules decreases the mobility of the chains, which triggers the conformational transition from random-coil to β-sheet structure and hence fibroin gelation. Dynamic rheological measurements conducted at 50 °C show the formation of strong to weak hydrogels depending on the pH of the reaction solution. Although EGDE attacks the amino groups of fibroin and forms interstrand cross-links, β-sheets acting as physical cross-links dominate the elasticity of the hydrogels. Mechanical response of low-modulus fibroin hydrogels formed above pH 9.7 is highly nonlinear with strong strain hardening behavior (700%) arising from the alignment of the crystallizable amino acid segments.     

Muscarinic cholinergic binding sites on intact human lymphocytes

Using the muscarinic chalinergic ligand [³H]-quinuclidinyl benzilate, we have demonstrated that intact, viable human lymphocytes possess specific muscarinic binding sites. The binding is saturable, proportional to cell number, and is displaceable by atropine, benztropine, trihexyphenidyl and scopolamine. The apparent kd is 67 nM and the number of binding sites per cell is on the order of 5 × 10⁴. Not only do these findings provide a pharmacological basis for the observed effects of muscarinic agents on lymphocyte function, they also demonstrate the utility of human peripheral blood lymphocytes for investigation of abnormalities of the muscarinic cholinergic system.     

Wing morphology variations in a natural population of Phlebotomus tobbi Adler and Theodor 1930

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is highly endemic in the Cukurova region, located on the crossroads of main refugee routes from the Middle East to Europe on the eastern Mediterranean part of Turkey. Our purpose was to investigate the phenotypic variation of Phlebotomus tobbi, the known vector of CL in the region, during one active season. Sand flies and microclimatic data were collected monthly from May to October, 2011, from five locations in six villages in the study area. A geometric morphometric approach was used to investigate wing morphology. Shape analyses revealed that males collected in May and June comprised one group, while specimens collected in August, September, and October formed a second group. Specimens from July were found to be distributed within these two groups. A similar distribution pattern was observed for females, but specimens from October were represented as the third district group. Significant size variation was detected for both sexes between months. Wing size and temperature were negatively correlated for females, but there was no temperature effect for males. Wing size of both sexes was increased in correlation to increasing relative humidity. Males were found to have smaller wings with increasing population density.     

Assessment of oxidant susceptibility of red blood cells in various species based on cell deformability

The present study was designed to investigate the oxidant susceptibility of red blood cells (RBC) from four species (echidna, human, koala, Tasmanian devil) based on changes in cellular deformability. These species were specifically chosen based on differences in lifestyle and/or biology associated with varied levels of oxidative stress. The major focus was the influence of superoxide radicals generated within the cell (phenazine methosulfate, PMS, 50 μM) or in the extracellular medium (xanthine oxidase-hypoxanthine, XO-HX, 0.1 U/ml XO) on RBC deformability at various shear stresses (SS). RBC deformability was assessed by laser-diffraction analysis using a "slit-flow ektacytometer". Both superoxide-generating treatments resulted in significant increases of methemoglobin for all species (p < 0.01), with Tasmanian devil RBC demonstrating the most sensitivity to either treatment. PMS caused impaired RBC deformability for all species, but vast interspecies variations were observed: human and koala cells exhibited a similar sigmoid-like response to SS, short-beaked echidna values were markedly lower and only increased slightly with SS, while Tasmanian devil RBC were extremely rigid. The effect of XO-HX on RBC deformability was less when compared with PMS (i.e., smaller increase in rigidity) with the exception of Tasmanian devil RBC which exhibited essentially no deformation even at the highest SS; Tasmanian devil RBC response to XO-HX was thus comparable to that observed with PMS. Our findings indicate that ektacytometry can be used to determine the oxidant susceptibility of RBC from different species which varies significantly among mammals representing diverse lifestyles and evolutionary histories. These differences in susceptibility are consistent with species-specific discrepancies between observed and allometrically-predicted life spans and are compatible with the oxidant theory of aging.     

PpGRAS12 acts as a positive regulator of meristem formation in Physcomitrium patens

Plant Molecular Biology - This study focused on the key regulatory function of Physcomitrium patens GRAS12 gene underlying an increasing plant complexity, an important step in plant...     

In vitro activity of sodium benzoate against clinically relevant Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates

The antimicrobial effects of sodium benzoate against Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium were investigated. The MIC(90) of sodium benzoate were 64 mg/L for E. faecalis and 32 mg/L for E. faecium, while the MBC(90) were 128 mg/L and 64 mg/L, respectively. Although further studies are required for clinical evidence, sodium benzoate seems to be effective against Enterococcus spp.