Interaction Between Selenium and Mercury in Biological Samples of Pakistani Myocardial Infarction Patients at Different Stages as Related to Controls

It has been speculated that trace elements may a play role in the pathogenesis of heart diseases. In the present study, we aimed to assess the levels of selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) in biological samples (whole blood, urine, and scalp hair) of myocardial infarction (MI) patients of both genders (age range 45–60 years) at the first, second, and third heart attack (n?=?130), hospitalized in a cardiac ward of a civil hospital of Hyderabad City (Pakistan). For comparison, healthy age-matched referent subjects (n?=?61) of both genders were also selected. Se and Hg in biological samples were measured by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry, prior to microwave acid digestion, respectively. The validity of the methodology was checked by biological certified reference materials. During this study, 78 % of the 32 registered patients of third MI attack (aged >50 years) died. The concentration of Se was decreased in scalp hair and blood samples of MI patients, while Hg was higher in all biological samples as compared to referent subjects. Se concentration was inversely associated with the risk of MI attacks in both genders. These results add to an increasing body of evidence that Se is a protective element for cardiovascular health.     

Formulation and Evaluation of a Salted-out Isoniazid-loaded Nanosystem

The purpose of this study was to develop a drug-loaded nanosystem that has the ability to achieve flexible yet rate-controlled release of model drug isoniazid (INH) employing either an aqueous or emulsion-based salting-out approach. Formulation conditions were aimed at reducing the polymeric size with subsequent rate-modulated INH release patterns from the polymeric nanosystem. The emulsion-based salted-out nanosystems had particle sizes ranging from 77–414 nm and a zeta potential of −24 mV. The dispersant dielectric constant was set at 78.5 and a conductivity of 3.99 mS/cm achieved. The reduced nanosystem size of the aqueous-based approach has demonstrated an intrinsically enhanced exposure of methacrylic acid-ethyl acrylate to zinc sulphate which was employed as a crosslinking reagent. This resulted in robustly interconnected polymeric supports in which INH was efficiently embedded and subsequently released. The multi-layer perceptron data obtained showed that the aqueous and emulsion-based salting out approaches had Power (law) (MSE = 0.020) and Linear (MSE = 0.038) relationships, respectively. Drug release from the nanosystems occurred in two phases with an initial burst-release in aqueous-based nanosystems (30–100%) and significantly lower bursts observed in emulsion-based nanosystems (20–65%) within the first 2 h. This was followed by a gradual exponential release phase over the remaining 12 h. The nanosystems developed demonstrated the ability to control the release of INH depending on the formulation approach adopted.     

Hydroferrate Fluid,MRN-100, Provides Protection against Chemical-Induced Gastric and Esophageal Cancer in Wistar Rats

In the current study, we examined the protective effect of hydroferrate fluid MRN-100 against the carcinogen methylnitronitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-induced gastric and esophageal cancer in rats. MRN-100 is an iron-based compound composed of bivalent and trivalent ferrates. At 33 weeks post treatment with MNNG, rats were killed and examined for the histopathology of esophagus and stomach; liver, spleen, and total body weight; and antioxidant levels in the blood and stomach tissues. Results showed that 17/20 (85%) gastroesophageal tissues from carcinogen MNNG-treated rats developed dysplasia and cancer, as compared to 8/20 (40%) rats treated with MNNG plus MRN-100. In addition, MRN-100 exerted an antioxidant effect in both the blood and stomach tissues by increasing levels of GSH, antioxidant enzymes SOD, CAT, and GPx, and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) level. This was accompanied by a reduction in the total free-radical and malondialdehyde levels. Furthermore, MRN-100 protected against body and organ weight loss. Thus, MRN-100 exhibited significant cancer chemopreventive activity by protecting tissues against oxidative damage in rats, which may suggest its effectiveness as an adjuvant for the treatment of gastric/esophageal carcinoma.     

Aerobic granular sludge formation for high strength agro-based wastewater treatment

The present study investigates the formation of aerobic granular sludge in sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with palm oil mill effluent (POME). Stable granules were observed in the reactor with diameters between 2.0 and 4.0 mm at a chemical oxygen demand (COD) loading rate of 2.5 kg COD m⁻³ d⁻¹. The biomass concentration was 7600 mg L⁻¹ while the sludge volume index (SVI) was 31.3 mL g SS⁻¹ indicating good biomass accumulation in the reactor and good settling properties of granular sludge, respectively. COD and ammonia removals were achieved at a maximum of 91.1% and 97.6%, respectively while color removal averaged at only 38%. This study provides insights on the development and the capabilities of aerobic granular sludge in POME treatment.     

Production and partial characterization of biosurfactant produced by Streptomyces sp. R1

The present study focused on developing a wild-type actinomycete isolate as a model for a non-pathogenic filamentous producer of biosurfactants. A total of 33 actinomycetes isolates were screened and their extracellular biosurfactants production was evaluated using olive oil as the main substrate. Out of 33 isolates, 32 showed positive results in the oil spreading technique (OST). All isolates showed good emulsification activity (E₂₄) ranging from 84.1 to 95.8%. Based on OST and E₂₄ values, isolate R1 was selected for further investigation in biosurfactant production in an agitated submerged fermentation. Phenotypic and genotypic analyses tentatively identified isolate R1 as a member of the Streptomyces genus. A submerged cultivation of Streptomyces sp. R1 was carried out in a 3-L stirred-tank bioreactor. The influence of impeller tip speed on volumetric oxygen transfer coefficient (k _L a), growth, cell morphology and biosurfactant production was observed. It was found that the maximum biosurfactant production, indicated by the lowest surface tension measurement (40.5 ± 0.05 dynes/cm) was obtained at highest k _L a value (50.94 h⁻¹) regardless of agitation speed. The partially purified biosurfactant was obtained at a concentration of 7.19 g L⁻¹, characterized as a lipopeptide biosurfactant and was found to be stable over a wide range of temperature (20–121 °C), pH (2–12) and salinity [5–20% (w/v) of NaCl].

     

Triple Negative Breast Tumors in African-American and Hispanic/Latina Women Are High in CD44+, Low in CD24+, and Have Loss of PTEN

Background

African-American women have higher mortality from breast cancer than other ethnic groups. The association between poor survival and differences with tumor phenotypes is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to assess the clinical significance of (1) Stem cell-like markers CD44 and CD24; (2) PI3K/Akt pathway associated targets PTEN, activation of Akt, and FOXO1; and (3) the Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-I) and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP3) in different breast cancer subtypes, and compare the differences between African-American and Hispanic/Latina women who have similar social-economic-status.

Methods

A total of N=318 African-American and Hispanic/Latina women, with clinically-annotated information within the inclusion criteria were included. Formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissues from these patients were tested for the different markers using immunohistochemistry techniques. Kaplan-Meier survival-curves and Cox-regression analyses were used to assess Relative Risk and Disease-Free-Survival (DFS).

Results

The triple-negative-breast-cancer (TNBC) receptor-subtype was more prevalent among premenopausal women, and the Hormonal Receptor (HR) positive subtype was most common overall. TNBC tumors were more likely to have loss of PTEN, express high Ki67, and have increased CD44+/CD24- expression. TNBC was also associated with higher plasma-IGF-I levels. HR-/HER2+ tumors showed high pAkt, decreased FOXO1, and high CD24+ expression. The loss of PTEN impacted DFS significantly in African Americans, but not in Hispanics/Latinas after adjusted for treatment and other tumor pathological factors. The CD44+/CD24- and CD24+/CD44- phenotypes decreased DFS, but were not independent predictors for DFS. HER2-positive and TNBC type of cancers continued to exhibit significant decrease in DFS after adjusting for the selected biomarkers and treatment.

Conclusions

TNBC incidence is high among African-American and Hispanic/Latino women residing in South Los Angeles. Our study also shows for the first time that TNBC was significantly associated with PTEN loss, high Ki67 and the CD44+/CD24- phenotype. The loss of PTEN impacts DFS significantly in African Americans.     

Population genetic structure of turbot (Scophthalmus maximus L., 1758) in the Black Sea

Turbot, Scophthalmus maximus, is a commercially important demersal flatfish species distributed throughout the Black Sea. Several studies performed locally with a limited number of specimens using both mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and microsatellite markers evidenced notable genetic variation among populations. However, comprehensive population genetic studies are required to help management of the species in the Black Sea. In the present study eight microsatellite loci were used to resolve the population structure of 414 turbot samples collected from 12 sites across the Black Sea. Moreover, two mtDNA genes, COI and Cyt-b, were used for taxonomic identification. Microsatellite markers of Smax-04 and B12-I GT14 were excluded from analysis due to scoring issues. Data analysis was performed with the remaining six loci. Loci were highly polymorphic (average of 17.8 alleles per locus), indicating high genetic variability. Locus 3/20CA17, with high null allele frequency (>30%), significantly deviated from HW equilibrium. Pairwise comparison of the F_ST index showed significant differences between most of the surveyed sampling sites (P < 0.01). Cluster analysis evidenced the presence of three genetic groups among sampling sites. Significant genetic differentiation between Northern (Sea of Azov and Crimea) and Southern (Turkish Black Sea Coast) Black Sea sampling sites were detected. The Mantel test supported an isolation by distance model of population structure. These findings are vital for long-term sustainable management of the species and development of conservation programs. Moreover, generated mtDNA sequences would be useful for the establishment of a database for S. maximus.