Similarities and differences of hyperbaric oxygen and medical ozone applications

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment is based on the principle of having the patient breath 100% oxygen in an environment above atmospheric pressure. Ozone (O(3)) is a colourless gas with a specific odour and consists of three oxygen atoms. The classical scientific understanding is that the world has become a place suitable for life for aerobic organisms with the increasing oxygen in the atmosphere billions of years ago. The formation of ozone after oxygen has then protected aerobic creatures from harmful rays. We now use these two gases for treatment purposes. It is noteworthy that the oxygen and ozone molecules that are formed by the same atom in different numbers are used for similar medical indications. We will try to emphasize the similarities and differences of HBO and medical ozone applications in this article.     

Physiological and growth responses of Cedrus libani seedlings to cold storage

The effects of cold storage duration on the physiological characteristics and growth of two-year-old Taurus cedar (Cedrus libani A. Rich) seedlings were studied. Taurus cedar seedlings were lifted in December, January and February and stored at +4 °C (cold storage) for 0, 2, 3 and 4 months. Xylem water potential (Ψ), shoot (SMC) and root moisture (RMC) contents, root growth potential (RGP), root electrolyte leakage (REL) and total carbohydrate contents were determined before and after the cold storage. The survival and growth were also evaluated at the end of the first growing season. Ψ, SMC and RMC, RGP and total carbohydrate contents were dramatically affected by the storage duration. The decrease in total carbohydrate contents during the storage showed a parallelism with RGP and survival. It was also found that storage duration had important effects on survival and growth. While survival was above 85 % even after storage of 4 months in seedlings that were lifted in December and January, this rate was reduced to 30 % after storage of 4 months in seedlings that were lifted in February. Total carbohydrate content and RGP can be used as an indicator of survival after cold storage.     

Chronic hepatitis B and IL28B rs12979860 polymorphism: preliminary study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of IL28B rs12979860 polymorphism on pegylated interferon (peg IFN) and oral antiviral treatment in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients and to investigate the relationship between the severities of illness with this polymorphism. 74 CHB patients who are received treatment, 61 asymptomatic carriers and 40 healthy controls were recruited in this study. Genomic DNA of controls and patients were extracted from whole blood using High Pure PCR Template Preparation Kit (Roche, Mannheim, Germany) according to the manufacturer’s instructions and stored at 4 °C. Genotype distribution of the IL-28B polymorphism at position ?3176C/T (rs12979860) (LightMix Kit IL28B, Cat.-No. 40-0588-32 TIB MOLBIOL, Berlin, Germany) was detected by real time PCR (Roche Diagnostics, Manheim, Germany). Thirty of the patients with CHB received peg IFN-α treatment. There were no significant difference between groups by means of age, gender and IL28B rs12979860 polymorphism (p = 0.122, p = 0.07, p = 0.376 respectively). Patients with chronic hepatitis were categorized as grade and stage (minimal, moderate and severe) and then were analyzed for the polymorphism. There was no effect of IL28B ?3176 C/T polymorphism on severity of illness (p = 0.293 for grade, p = 0.911 for stage). When the CHB treatment monitored in different time arrivals (beginning, 3th, 6th and 12th months of the treatment) in order to see if there was an effect on virological and biological response none of the genotypes of IL28B ?3176C/T polymorphism altered peg IFN or oral antiviral treatment process. There are conflicting results about the role of IL28B rs12979860 polymorphism in CHB in the literature. In this preliminary study, we observed that IL28B rs12979860 polymorphism was not related with severity of illness and also was not effective on treatment response.     

Molecular and clinical evaluation of Turkish patients with lysinuric protein intolerance

Lysinuric protein intolerance is an autosomal recessive metabolic disorder caused by defective transport of the cationic amino acids lysine, arginine and ornithine in the epithelial cells of the basolateral membrane in the small intestine and renal tubules. Mutations in the solute carrier family 7, member 7, SLC7A7, gene cause this multisystemic disease with a variety of clinical symptoms such as hepatosplenomegaly, osteoporosis, hypotonia, developmental delay, pulmonary insufficiency or end-stage renal disease. In the present study, genomic structure of SLC7A7 in six Turkish patients with lysinuric protein intolerance was examined in order to detect disease causing mutations by denaturing high pressure liquid chromatography and direct sequencing. Four novel mutations were identified in SLC7A7: c.223insGTC, p.Val74_Ile75insVal; c.283insTGG, p.Glu94_Thr95insTrp; c.344_347delTTGC, p.Leu115LeufsX53; and c.1099insT, p.Ile367TyrfsX16. Clinical and biochemical findings were evaluated together with these molecular analyses.     

Characterisation of conditioning layers formed by exopolymeric substances of Pseudomonas NCIMB 2021 on surfaces of AISI 316 stainless steel

This investigation aimed to characterise conditioning layers formed on AISI 316 stainless steel by different types of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), i.e. biofilm, planktonic and capsular exopolymers, isolated from continuous cultures of marine Pseudomonas received from the National Collection of Industrial and Marine Bacteria (strain NCIMB 2021). Colorimetric assays and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry analysis confirmed previously obtained results based on a FTIR and SDS‐PAGE study of Pseudomonas NCIMB 2021 EPS demonstrating the presence of protein, neutral and amino sugars and uronic acids. The content and the ratio of these macromolecules differed depending on the type of EPS. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that conditioning layers formed upon exposure of steel to EPS solutions were chemically dissimilar. It is proposed that the observed difference in the chemistry of conditioning layers is the likely reason for reported differences in attachment of Pseudomonas cells to EPS‐conditioned steel surfaces.     

Combination Therapy of Gabapentin and N-Acetylcysteine Against Posttraumatic Epilepsy in Rats

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major public health problem worldwide that is associated with increased mortality and morbidity. Posttraumatic epilepsy (PTE) is one of the sequelae of TBI. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) as an adjuvant on the efficacy of levetiracetam (LEV) and gabapentin (GBP) in PTE model encouraged by pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) after mild-TBI in male Sprague–Dawley rats. Mild-TBI was performed by the weight-drop method in male Sprague–Dawley rats. PTE model was developed by injecting PTZ (30+15+15 mg/kg, 30 min intervals, i.p.) 7 days after head trauma. After the development of posttraumatic seizures, the rats were treated with NAC (100 mg/kg), LEV (50 mg/kg), GBP (100 mg/kg), NAC+LEV and NAC+GBP intraperitoneally for 14 days. Seizures related to PTE were scored by video-EEG recording. Motor performance of the animals was also evaluated in the rotarod test. 50 mg/kg LEV and 100 mg/kg GBP reduced seizures related to PTE. LEV alone (p?=?0.009), but the administration of GBP+NAC (p?=?0.015) was more effective on PTE-related seizure control. However, GBP+NAC application adversely affected the fall latency in the rotarod test. In terms of trauma-related seizure control, there was no statistically significant difference between the use of prophylactic LEV and symptomatic LEV. LEV alone or the combination of GBP with NAC provides more effective seizure control in the PTE facilitated by PTZ. On the other hand, the use of prophylactic LEV did not have any extra effect on posttraumatic seizure development and control.

     

The 8-oxoguanine DNA N-glycosylase 1 (hOGG1) Ser326Cys variant affects the susceptibility to Graves' disease

Oxidative DNA damage, caused by either endogenous or exogenous sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS), has been linked several diseases including Graves' disease (GD). 7,8‐Dihydro‐8‐oxoguanine (8‐oxoG) is a major lesion produced by ROS and is considered a key biomarker of oxidative DNA damage. In humans, 8‐oxoG is mainly repaired by 8‐oxoguanine DNA N‐glycosylase‐1 (hOGG1), which is an essential component of the base excision repair (BER) pathway. The functional studies showed that hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism is associated with the reduced DNA repair activity and increased risk for some oxidative stress‐related diseases. In this study, we firstly investigated hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism in GD. According to our results, Cys/Cys genotype frequency in the GD patients (23.4%) was significantly higher than the controls (9.2%). Cys/Cys genotype had an 3.5‐fold [95% CI (confidence interval): 2.10–6.01, p < 0.001] the Cys allele had 1.83‐fold (95% CI: 1.43–2.34, p < 0.001) increase in the risk for developing GD. Our results suggest that Ser326Cys polymorphism of the hOGG1 gene is associated with GD risk. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dematin, a component of the erythrocyte membrane skeleton, is internalized by the malaria parasite and associates with Plasmodium 14-3-3

The malaria parasite invades the terminally differentiated erythrocytes, where it grows and multiplies surrounded by a parasitophorous vacuole. Plasmodium blood stages translocate newly synthesized proteins outside the parasitophorous vacuole and direct them to various erythrocyte compartments, including the cytoskeleton and the plasma membrane. Here, we show that the remodeling of the host cell directed by the parasite also includes the recruitment of dematin, an actin-binding protein of the erythrocyte membrane skeleton and its repositioning to the parasite. Internalized dematin was found associated with Plasmodium 14-3-3, which belongs to a family of conserved multitask molecules. We also show that, in vitro, the dematin-14-3-3 interaction is strictly dependent on phosphorylation of dematin at Ser(124) and Ser(333), belonging to two 14-3-3 putative binding motifs. This study is the first report showing that a component of the erythrocyte spectrin-based membrane skeleton is recruited by the malaria parasite following erythrocyte infection.     

Toxoplasma gondii RH Ankara: production of evolving tachyzoites using a novel cell culture method

Nitric oxide (NO) and NO-derived reactive nitrogen species (RNS) are present in the food vacuole (FV) of Plasmodium falciparum trophozoites. The product of PFL1555w, a putative cytochrome b₅, localizes in the FV membrane, similar to what was previously observed for the product of PF13_0353, a putative cytochrome b₅ reductase. These two gene products may contribute to NO generation by denitrification chemistry from nitrate and/or nitrite present in the erythrocyte cytosol. The possible coordination of NO to heme species present in the food vacuole was probed by resonance Raman spectroscopy. The spectroscopic data revealed that in situ generated NO interacts with heme inside the intact FVs to form ferrous heme nitrosyl complexes that influence intra-vacuolar heme solubility. The formation of heme nitrosyl complexes within the FV is a previously unrecognized factor that could affect the equilibrium between soluble and crystallized heme within the FV in vivo.     

A one-year aeropalynological study at Ankara, Turkey

Atmospheric pollen was collected with a Burkard sporetrap in Ankara, Turkey from January 1993 to January1994. The sum of the annual totals of the dailyconcentration of pollen, belonging to 44 taxa, was57,735. A relatively high pollen concentration wasrecorded in June which could be caused by higher windspeed and lower rainfall. Pinaceae,Cupressaceae/Taxaceae, Gramineae, Platanus, Populus,Moraceae, Chenopodiaceae/Amaranthaceae, Acer, Quercus,Betula, Salix, Rumex and Plantago are found tobe the dominant pollen types in the atmosphere inAnkara.