Analysis of Binding Interaction Between Antibacterial Ciprofloxacin and Human Serum Albumin by Spectroscopic Techniques

To develop an efficient method for extracting and purifying the active ingredient, arctiin, from Fructus arctii and to investigate the protective effect of arctiin against glucose-induced rat aortic endothelial cell (RAEC) injury was investigated. Using a L9 (34) orthogonal array and two-step column chromatography (with AB-8 macroporous resin) arctiin extraction was optimized using a reflux method with 70 % ethanol. The RAECs were then treated with different concentrations of arctiin (1, 10, or 100 μg/ml). The effects of arctiin on cell viability in a high glucose medium, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and lactate dehydrogenase were measured using commercially available assays. After extraction, the purity of arctiin reached 95.7 %. In rats, arctiin was shown to stimulate the proliferation of RAECs in a high glucose medium in a dose-dependent manner. Exposure of RAECs to high glucose resulted in a significant increase in MDA and release of lactate dehydrogenase. This was accompanied by significant increase in nitric oxide release and expression of antiendothelial nitric oxide synthase. This technique resulted in relatively pure arctiin extraction. Furthermore, the results from this study suggest that arctiin could potentially function as a protector against vascular endothelial cell injury and further investigation is warranted.     

Sporotrichosis Successfully Treated with Terbinafine and Potassium Iodide: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Sporotrichosis is rare in Turkey. We report a 40-year-old woman who had subcutaneous sporotrichosis caused by sporothrix schenckii that was successfully treated with terbinafine (250 mg, twice a day) for a period of 6 months. She received a saturated solution of potassium iodide orally for two months. Terbinafine and potassium iodide are suggested to be the agents of choice for treatment of subcutaneous sporotrichosis.     

Single Mutation in Shine-Dalgarno-Like Sequence Present in the Amino Terminal of Lactate Dehydrogenase of Plasmodium Effects the Production of an Eukaryotic Protein Expressed in a Prokaryotic System

One of the most important step in structure-based drug design studies is obtaining the protein in active form after cloning the target gene. In one of our previous study, it was determined that an internal Shine-Dalgarno-like sequence present just before the third methionine at N-terminus of wild type lactate dehydrogenase enzyme of Plasmodium falciparum prevent the translation of full length protein. Inspection of the same region in P. vivax LDH, which was overproduced as an active enzyme, indicated that the codon preference in the same region was slightly different than the codon preference of wild type PfLDH. In this study, 5′-GGAGGC-3′ sequence of P. vivax that codes for two glycine residues just before the third methionine was exchanged to 5′-GGAGGA-3′, by mimicking P. falciparum LDH, to prove the possible effects of having an internal SD-like sequence when expressing an eukaryotic protein in a prokaryotic system. Exchange was made by site-directed mutagenesis. Results indicated that having two glycine residues with an internal SD-like sequence (GGAGGA) just before the third methionine abolishes the enzyme activity due to the preference of the prokaryotic system used for the expression. This study emphasizes the awareness of use of a prokaryotic system to overproduce an eukaryotic protein.     

The Mangrove Nursery Paradigm Revisited: Otolith Stable Isotopes Support Nursery-to-Reef Movements by Indo-Pacific Fishes

Mangroves and seagrass beds have long been perceived as important nurseries for many fish species. While there is growing evidence from the Western Atlantic that mangrove habitats are intricately connected to coral reefs through ontogenetic fish migrations, there is an ongoing debate of the value of these coastal ecosystems in the Indo-Pacific. The present study used natural tags, viz. otolith stable carbon and oxygen isotopes, to investigate for the first time the degree to which multiple tropical juvenile habitats subsidize coral reef fish populations in the Indo Pacific (Tanzania). Otoliths of three reef fish species (Lethrinus harak, L. lentjan and Lutjanus fulviflamma) were collected in mangrove, seagrass and coral reef habitats and analyzed for stable isotope ratios in the juvenile and adult otolith zones. δ¹³C signatures were significantly depleted in the juvenile compared to the adult zones, indicative of different habitat use through ontogeny. Maximum likelihood analysis identified that 82% of adult reef L. harak had resided in either mangrove (29%) or seagrass (53%) or reef (18%) habitats as juveniles. Of adult L. fulviflamma caught from offshore reefs, 99% had passed through mangroves habitats as juveniles. In contrast, L. lentjan adults originated predominantly from coral reefs (65–72%) as opposed to inshore vegetated habitats (28–35%). This study presents conclusive evidence for a nursery role of Indo-Pacific mangrove habitats for reef fish populations. It shows that intertidal habitats that are only temporarily available can form an important juvenile habitat for some species, and that reef fish populations are often replenished by multiple coastal habitats. Maintaining connectivity between inshore vegetated habitats and coral reefs, and conserving habitat mosaics rather than single nursery habitats, is a major priority for the sustainability of various Indo Pacific fish populations.     

Adsorbent supplemented biological treatment of pre-treated landfill leachate by fed-batch operation

Biological treatment of landfill leachate usually results in low COD removals because of high chemical oxygen demand (COD), high ammonium-N content and presence of toxic compounds. Coagulation-flocculation with lime addition and air stripping of ammonia were used as pre-treatment in this study in order to improve biological treatability of the leachate. Pre-treated leachate was subjected to adsorbent supplemented biological treatment in an aeration tank operated in fed-batch mode. COD and NH(4)-N removal performances of powdered activated carbon (PAC) and powdered zeolite (PZ) were compared during biological treatment. Adsorbent concentrations varied between 0 and 5 gl(-1). Percent COD and ammonium-N removals increased with increasing adsorbent concentrations. Percent COD removals with PAC addition were significantly higher than those obtained with the zeolite. However, zeolite performed better than the PAC in ammonium-N removal from the leachate. Nearly 87% and 77% COD removals were achieved with PAC and zeolite concentrations of 2 gl(-1), respectively. Ammonium-N removals were 30% and 40% with PAC and zeolite concentrations of 5 gl(-1), respectively at the end of 30 h of fed-batch operation.     

Effect of flunixin meglumine or prostaglandin E2 treatment 15 days after breeding on fertility in Saanen does

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of timely injections of flunixin meglumine (FM) or vaginal application of prostaglandin E2 (PgE₂) on pregnancy, fertility, fecundity, and prolificacy rates in Saanen goats. One hundred and sixty-three nonlactating Saanen does were treated with a flugestone acetate (20 mg)-containing intravaginal sponge for 12 days. They also received eCG (400 IU) and a PGF_2α analogue (50 μg) 10 days after progestagen priming. Does detected in estrus were mated and assigned randomly to one of three treatment groups. The PgE₂ group (N = 40) received PgE₂ (2.5 mg) intravaginally 15 days after mating. The FM group (N = 54) received flunixin meglumine (total dose, 100 mg) intramuscularly 15 days after mating. Flunixin meglumine was administered at 9:00 AM. Animals in the control group (N = 69) received no treatment. Pregnancy was diagnosed using transrectal ultrasonography (B-mode at 8 MHz) 30 days after mating. The pregnancy rate was significantly greater (P < 0.01) after 30 days in goats treated with PgE₂ and also in the control group than in those treated with FM (67.5%, 59.4%, and 42.5%, respectively). The pregnancy rate did not differ between the PgE₂ and the control group. The pregnancy and fertility rate were lowest in the FM group compared with the other groups. There was no significant difference in the prolificacy rate among experimental groups. In conclusion, our results showed that FM administration during a late luteal phase is detrimental to early pregnancy in goats.     

Differential effect of growth factors on invasion and proliferation of endocrine resistant breast cancer cells

We have established several breast cancer cell lines that exhibit a permanent ER-depleted phenotype, induced by shRNA transfection of MCF-7 cells, which afford a useful model for studying acquired endocrine resistance. Previously we showed that MDA-231 as well as ER-silenced cells could invade through simulated extracellular matrix components. However, the contribution of individual serum components responsible for cell invasion was not determined. In the present study, an under-agarose gel assay was used to quantitatively assess the invasive movement of two ER-silenced cell lines (pII and YS2.5) in comparison to the parental MCF-7, the ER negative MDA-231, and normal HBL100 cells, as well as a line that was ER-shRNA transfected but failed to exhibit ER down-regulation (YS1.2). We also examined the effect of the growth factors EGF, IGF-1, TGFβ, PDGFC and RANTES on pII cell invasion and proliferation. All breast cancer cell lines which had reduced ER expression exhibited a serum-dependent invasive ability related to the degree of induced ER loss. TGFβ treatment inhibited pII cell proliferation and enhanced their invasive ability but at a relatively high dose. IGF-1 and EGF enhanced pII cell proliferation, with the latter playing the major role in promoting cell invasion. PDGFC did not affect either process although it is highly expressed in pII cells. Differential effects were observed on activation of Akt and ERK1/2 suggesting their involvement as intracellular mediators of EGF induced invasion, in part through the regulation of matrix metalloproteinase activity. Targeting EGF receptor tyrosine kinase activity by erlotinib resulted in significant inhibition of both pII cell proliferation and directional invasion towards EGF suggesting that this drug has potential therapeutic usefulness for preventing spread of particularly endocrine resistant breast cancer.     

Dermatophytes Isolated from the Mosques in Tokat, Turkey

Dermatophytes are a group of fungi that invade keratinized tissues such as the skin, hair and nails. The aim of this study was to investigate the existence of the potential causative agents of dermatophytosis in the mosque area in Tokat, Turkey. Thirty mosques were included in the study. A total of two hundred samples were collected from various parts of carpets and slippers in the mosques. Positive cultures were obtained in 144 samples (113 from carpets, 31 from slippers). Among the species isolated, Epidermophyton floccosum (n?=?114) (79.2?%) was the most frequent, followed by Trichophyton mentographytes (n?=?13) (9?%), Trichophyton tonsurans (n?=?9) (6.3?%), Trichophyton rubrum (n?=?5) (3.5?%), and Trichophyton verrucosum (n?=?3) (2?%). Contamination of carpets and slippers with dermatophytes may act as a reservoir for transmission of these fungi. Educational health programs, appropriate treatment, and management of disease may provide to control of the spread of fungal organisms.