P300 values in patients diagnosed with primary Sjogren syndrome

Purpose: Primary Sjogren syndrome (PSS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by symptoms of a dry mouth and eyes, in which other organs and systems are widely involved. Central nervous system (CNS) involvement in PSS is reported in a wide range between 2.5–60%. The reason is that the clinical picture can remain asymptomatic despite the presence of CNS involvement in the disease process. In this study, our aim was to evaluate subclinical cognitive impairment in patients with PSS by investigating P300 potential parameters.

Method: Forty-three female patients with PSS (mean age: 52.6?±?11.4 years) and 35 healthy female controls (mean age: 54.5?±?8.09 years) were included in the study. Mini-Mental State evaluations (MMSE) and brain MRI were performed in the patient and control groups. An event-related evoked potentials test (P300) was applied to those with normal MMSE.

Results: The P300 latencies of patients with PSS were significantly longer compared with the control group (p?=?.019). In patients with PSS, there was no difference in P300 parameters between ANA, Anti-SSA, Anti-SSB-positive and negative patients, and patients with or without sedimentation and CRP elevation. In addition, brain MRI revealed no statistically significant difference between patients with PSS with and without ischemic gliotic lesions (p=.48).

Conclusion: In our study, P300 latency was also found to be significantly longer in patients who had no white matter change. We believe that prolonged P300 potential latencies without associated white matter lesions in brain imaging may be associated with subclinical CNS involvement.     

Thermally stimulated luminescence glow curve structure of β‐irradiated CaB4O7:Dy

Thermally stimulated luminescence glow curves of CaB₄O₇:Dy samples after β‐irradiation showed glow peaks at ~335, 530 and 675 K, with a heating rate of 2 K/s. The main peak at 530 K was analyzed using the T_max–T_stop method and was found to be composed of at least five overlapping glow peaks. A curve‐fitting program was used to perform computerized glow curve deconvolution (CGCD) analysis of the complex peak of the dosimetric material of interest. The kinetic parameters, namely activation energy (E) and frequency factor (s), associated with the main glow peak of CaB₄O₇:Dy at 520 K were evaluated using peak shape (PS) and isothermal luminescence decay (ILD) methods. In addition, the kinetics was determined to be first order (b =1) by applying the additive dose method. The activation energies and frequency factors obtained using PS and ILD methods are calculated to be 0.72 and 0.72 eV and 8.76 × 10⁵ and 1.44 × 10⁶/s, respectively. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Effects of Boron on Arsenic‐Induced Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Status in Male and Female Rats

The aim of the present study was to investigate the possible protective effects of boron, an antioxidant agent, against arsenic‐induced oxidative stress in male and female rats. In total, 42 Wistar albino male and female rats were divided into three equal groups: The animals in the control group were given normal drinking water, the second group was given drinking water with 100 mg/L arsenic, and the third group was orally administered drinking water with 100 mg/kg boron together with arsenic. At the end of the 28‐day experiment, arsenic increased lipid peroxidation and damage in the tissues of rats. However, boron treatment reversed this arsenic‐induced lipid peroxidation and activities of antioxidant enzymes in rats. Moreover, boron exhibited a protective action against arsenic‐induced histopathological changes in the tissues of rats. In conclusion, boron was found to be effective in protecting rats against arsenic‐induced lipid peroxidation by enhancing antioxidant defense mechanisms.     

Electrochemical based detection of microRNA, mir21 in breast cancer cells

Hemagglutinin (HA) is a trimeric glycoprotein expressed on the influenza virus membrane. HA of influenza viruses binds to the host's cell surface complex glycans via a terminal sialic acid (Sia), as the first key step in the process of infection, transmission and virulence of influenza viruses. It is important to monitor and evaluate the receptor (glycan) binding preferences of the HAs derived from influenza A viruses, especially those originating from birds and swine, to understand their potential ability for interspecies transmission. From this viewpoint, in the present study, we have developed a protocol for analyzing the glycan-HA interactions efficiently and kinetically, based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Our results showed that glycan-HA binding analyses can be performed reliably and efficiently on Biacore-chips in the SPR system, using chemically synthesized biotinylated multivalent-glycans. Using the CAP-chip, we were able to regenerate the surface for multiple analyses, allowing us to derive, for the first time, the precise kinetic parameters for different HA-glycan complexes of newly emerging influenza viruses. These studies suggested that this SPR-based method is suitable for influenza surveillance to define the pandemic scenario as well as to screen of synthetic glycans and other compounds that may interfere with glycan-HA interactions.     

Antiproliferative and newly attributed apoptotic activities from an invasive marine alga: Caulerpa racemosa var. cylindracea

Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskål) is a green marine alga which spreads from tropical to warm-water regions. Due to having invasive capacity C. racemosa var. cylindracea is a well-known biological pollution in Mediterranean Sea. One of the most important secondary metabolites of C. racemosa is Caulerpenyne (CPN). In the present study, antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of C. racemosa var. cylindracea extract and purified CPN on two well-known neuroblastoma cell lines, SHSY5Y and Kelly, are investigated. The antiproliferative and, additionally, newly attributed apoptotic effects of both C. racemosa var. cylindracea extract and purified CPN on SHSY5Y and Kelly cell lines have been shown in the present study. IC₅₀ values are 0.59 ± 0.06; 1.06 ± 0.23 g wet alga/methanol and 5.64 ± 0.09; 6.02 ± 0.09 μM CPN for C. racemosa var. cylindracea extract and purified CPN on SHSY5Y and Kelly cell lines, respectively. Percentages of apoptotic cells of SHSY5Y and Kelly in 0, 0.1 and 1 μM CPN conditions were 1.00 ± 0.71, 3.00 ± 0.71 and 49.40 ± 3.78, 39.60 ± 6.19 and 78.00 ± 2.74, 69.40 ± 3.78, respectively. In conclusion, the present study shows the antiproliferative effect of C. racemosa var. cylindracea extract and newly attributed apoptotic effects of C. racemosa var. cylindracea this extract. Compared to other alkylating anticancer drugs, CPN and also C. racemosa var. cylindracea extract might be considered as an alternative native source of antitumor drugs. Inasmuch as both C. racemosa extract and CPN have shown both antiproliferative and apoptotic effects on SHSY5Y and Kelly cell lines, the CPN and CPN derivatives might be considered as multifunctional agents in cell metabolism.     

Oxidative Stress in Helicobacter pylori Infection: Does Supplementation with Vitamins C and E Increase the Eradication Rate?

Aim: This study aims to assess the antioxidant property of vitamins E and C in Helicobacter pylori infection, and to determine if adding them to standard triple therapy plus bismuth subcitrate increases the H. pylori eradication rate. Methods: This study included 160 patients infected with H. pylori, who were randomized into one of two groups. Patients in group A (n = 80) received lansoprazole (30 mg, b.i.d.), amoxicillin (1000 mg, b.i.d.), clarithromycin (500 mg, b.i.d.), and bismuth subcitrate (300 mg, q.i.d.) for 14 days, while patients in group B (n = 80) received vitamin C (500 mg, b.i.d.) and vitamin E (200 IU, b.i.d.) for 30 days, in addition to lansoprazole (30 mg, b.i.d.), amoxicillin (1000 mg, b.i.d.), clarithromycin (500 mg, b.i.d.), and bismuth subcitrate (300 mg, q.i.d.) for 14 days. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was evaluated with a Randox kit. Success rate was calculated using both intention‐to‐treat (ITT) and per‐protocol (PP) analyses. Results: One hundred and sixty patients were analyzed using ITT analysis. One hundred and fifty‐three patients completed the study. In group A, H. pylori eradication was achieved in 48 (60%) of the 80 patients included in the ITT analysis, and in 48 (64%) of the 75 patients included in the PP analysis. In group B, H. pylori eradication was achieved in 73 (91.25%) of the 80 included in the ITT analysis and in 73 (93.5%) of the 78 patients included in the PP analysis. The eradication rate was significantly higher in group B than in group A (p < .005). TAC was at the lower limit of normal in both groups and the difference between them was not statistically significant (p > .05). Conclusion: In group B, H. pylori eradication rate was 91.25%, which is higher than the ideal 80% eradication rate. The results of the present study show that adding the prescribed doses of vitamins E and C to antimicrobial therapy is effective in eradicating H. pylori infection.     

Quantifying the effects of root reinforcement of Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica) on slope stability; a case study: Hillslope of Hyrcanian forests,northern Iran

Forest vegetation is known to enhance the stability of slopes by reinforcing soil and increasing its shear resistance through root system. The effects of root reinforcement depend on the morphological characteristics of the root system, the tensile strength of single roots, and the spatial distribution of the roots in soil. In the present study the results of research carried out in order to evaluate the biotechnical characteristics of the root system of Persian Ironwood (Parrotia persica), in northern Iran are presented. Profile trenching method was used to obtain root area ratio (RAR) values for uphill and downhill sides of the individual trees. For each species, single root specimens were sampled and tested for their tensile strength. It was found that root density generally decreases with depth according to an exponential law. Maximum RAR values were located within the first 0.1 m, with maximum rooting depth at about 0.65 m. RAR values ranged from 0.001% at lower depths to 1.39% near the surface, at upper 0.1 m depth. Significant differences of RAR values, rooting depth and root cohesion between uphill and downhill were observed, however, the differences were not significant for number of roots (ANCOVA). Downhill profiles had higher RAR values, rooting depth and root cohesion. In general, root tensile strength tends to decrease with diameter according to a power law, as observed by other researchers. Downhill roots were significantly stronger in tensile strength than uphill ones. Inter-species variation of tensile strength in downhill roots was also observed. The resulting data were used to evaluate the reinforcing effects in terms of increased shear strength of the soil, using Wu/Waldron Model. The root reinforcement provided by Persian Ironwood is about 46.0 kPa in the upper layers and 0.3 kPa in the deeper horizons. The results of Spearman test revealed a significant correlation between RAR and c_r and that best followed by a power law. The results presented in this paper contribute to expanding the knowledge on biotechnical characteristics of Persian Ironwood on slope reinforcement.     

Antifungal activity of olive leaf (Olea Europaea L.) extracts from the Trilye Region of Turkey

Antimicrobial properties of olive leaf extract on some yeast were examined in this study. Fresh olive leaf extracts were prepared using various solvents (water, ethanol, acetone, ethyl acetate) in Soxhlet apparatus. Antimicrobial effects of these extacts were tested againstSaccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 9763,Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Saccharomyces uvarum, Candida oleophila, Metschnikowia fructicola andKloeckera apiculata. The antifungal activities of these extracts were tested by the disc diffusion assay, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC). All extracts showed various degrees of antifungal effects with 10–28 μg/ml MIC, 20–48 μg/ml MFC and 1.5–9.3 mm inhibitory zone values against yeasts utilised, except water. The results indicated that the tested yeasts were sensitive to acetone and ethyl acetate extracts. It was determined thatSaccharomyces cerevisiae ATCC 9763 was the most resistant among the yeasts.     

Enantioselective transport and liquid-liquid extraction of amino acids as their potassium and sodium salts by optically active diaza-18-crown-6 ethers

Complexation of amino acids as their sodium and potassium salts by optically active diaza crown ethers has been investigated in transport across bulk liquid membranes containing the carriers and in extraction experiments. The observed enantioselectivity was achieved by (noncovalent) steric and repulsive interactions between the side arm of the crown ether and functional group(s) of the amino acids. The highest enantioselectivity was observed in the case of tryptophan.