The Best Gastric Site for Obtaining a Positive Rapid Urease Test

Background Rapid urease tests (RUTs) provide a simple, sensitive method of detecting Helicobacter pylori infection.
Objectives. Our aim, therefore, was to determine whether the yield of detecting H. pylori infection by RUT varied depending on the site of gastric biopsy.
Materials and Methods. Gastric biopsies were obtained from 50 patients for RUT by use of hp fast (GI Supply, Camp Hill, PA). Biopsies were taken from the prepyloric greater curve antrum, from the gastric angle, and from the greater curve in mid-corpus. One biopsy specimen was placed in the RUT gel, and the biopsy from the adjacent mucosa was placed in formalin for subsequent histological evaluation by using the Genta stain. RUTs were examined and scored at intervals of 5, 10, 15, 30, and 45 minutes and after 1, 2, 4, and 24 hours.
Results. Fifty patients were entered in the test (150 RUTs), 32 having H. pylori infection. There were no false-positive RUTs (specificity, 100%). The gastric angle site was positive in 100%. The prepyloric site was positive in 87%, and the corpus site was positive in 84.4% ( p < .052 for angle or prepyloric antrum versus corpus). The most common pattern was for all to be positive (74%). The median time to positivity was similar with angle and prepyloric sites (37.5 and 60 minutes, respectively, p = not significant) and shorter than the corpus biopsy (180 minutes); ( p < .05 for angle or prepyloric antrum versus corpus).
Conclusion. The maximum probability for detecting H. pylori infection using a RUT is to obtain a biopsy from the gastric angle. To prevent missing a positive result when intestinal metaplasia is present, we recommend that (at a minimum) biopsies be taken from both the angle and the corpus.     

Total Tocopherols,Carotenoids, and Fatty Acids Content Variation of Pistacia atlantica from Different Organs’ Crude Oils and Their Antioxidant Activity during Development Stages

The current study investigated the effect of developmental stages on the chemical composition and the antioxidant activity of fifteen crude oil samples obtained from Pistacia atlantica Desf. leaves, galls, and fruits. Twelve fatty acids were detected by GC/FID, linolenic acid (C18 : 3) was the major fatty acid detected in leaves crude oils that registered [41.73 % (P<0.05)] on the last stage. The best content of tocopherols and carotenoids was recorded at the last stage for leaves and galls oils, respectively, with values of [1.530±0.01, 0.52±0.01 (P<0.05) mg α‐tocopherol equivalent/g DW] and [86.60±0.95, 69.15±0.13 (P<0.05) μg β‐carotene equivalent/g DW]. For fruits oils, the content varied depending on the levels of fruits maturation. The results from DPPH, FRAP, and ABTS assays revealed that the antioxidant activity increased with the increasing content of tocopherols and carotenoids in leaves and galls oils during development stages, and varied for fruits oils depending on the ripening stages. Moreover, according to PCA analysis, the best phytoconstituent content and antioxidant activity were attributed to P. atlantica Desf. fruit's crude oils. Also, a strong relationship was found between the antioxidant activity and bioactive phytochemical components, such as tocopherols, carotenoids, and omega‐three fatty acid, which confirmed that P. atlantica Desf. crude oils present a valuable source of natural antioxidant that could be used for pharmaceutical and food industries purposes.     

One night of partial sleep deprivation affects biomarkers of cardiac damage,but not cardiovascular and lipid profiles,in young athletes

Sleep loss is among the most common yet frequently overlooked problems. This disruptive influence is associated with an adverse lipid profile (LP) and consequently results in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, it has been well established that athletes are increasingly confronted with sleep problems. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of one night of partial sleep deprivation (PSD) on the cardiovascular profile and LP in young, trained athletes. Ten male Taekwondo athletes were randomized for three sleep conditions in a counterbalanced order: (i) following a baseline sleep night (BN), (ii) following PSD at the beginning of the night (PSDBN), and (iii) following PSD at the end of the night (PSDEN). Basal cardiovascular physiological measures were recorded, and blood samples were taken in the fasted state following each sleep session (i.e., in the morning at 07:00 h). The results showed that myoglobin and creatine phosphokinase increased significantly after PSDEN but not after PSDBN. By contrast, no alteration was observed in the LP and physiological parameters following the two types of PSD. In conclusion, these results show that PSDEN increases cardiac damage biomarkers significantly, even though they do not reach clinical significance. Thus, one night of PSD does not affect the physiological responses and biomarkers of LP in Taekwondo athletes.     

Effect of salt on physiological responses of barley to iron deficiency.

Iron chlorosis is very common on alkaline soils such as calcareous ones, since iron availability is limited by high pH. Under these conditions of iron deficiency, graminaceous plant species induce special mechanisms for iron acquisition, involving enhanced release of iron chelators called phytosiderophores. On the other hand, it is known that most of salt soils have alkaline pH. So, plants growing on this kind of soils are often subjected simultaneously to salinity and iron deficiency. This work aimed at (i) studying the physiological responses of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) to iron deficiency, and (ii) evaluating the effect of salt on the iron nutrition and the phytosiderophore release. For this purpose, seedlings of Hordeum vulgare L. were cultivated under controlled conditions, either in a complete nutrient solution with or without NaCl, or in an iron free nutrient solution containing or not NaCl. The plant morphological aspect, chlorophyll content of young leaves, iron status, biomass production, and phytosiderophore release by roots were assessed. Plants subjected to Fe deficiency exhibited a severe chlorosis, accompanied by a significant biomass reduction. These plants developed more lateral roots than the control with a highly stimulated phytosiderophore release. However, the latter was greatly diminished when iron deficiency was associated to salinity. A depressive effect of salt on iron acquisition in plants subjected only to salt stress which was also observed and further confirmed by the important decrease of efficiency in iron acquisition. These results suggest that salinity may reduce capacity of plants to acquire iron from alkaline soils by inhibiting phytosiderophore release.     

The biofilm mode of life boosts the anti‐inflammatory properties of Lactobacillus

The predominant form of life for microorganisms in their natural habitats is the biofilm mode of growth. The adherence and colonization of probiotic bacteria are considered as essential factors for their immunoregulatory function in the host. Here, we show that Lactobacillus casei ATCC334 adheres to and colonizes the gut of zebrafish larvae. The abundance of pro‐inflammatory cytokines and the recruitment of macrophages were low when inflammation was induced in probiotic‐fed animals, suggesting that these bacteria have anti‐inflammatory properties. We treated human macrophage‐differentiated monocytic THP‐1 cells with supernatants of L. casei ATCC334 grown in either biofilm or planktonic cultures. TNF‐α production was suppressed and the NF‐κB pathway was inhibited only in the presence of supernatants from biofilms. We identified GroEL as the biofilm supernatant compound responsible, at least partially, for this anti‐inflammatory effect. Gradual immunodepletion of GroEL demonstrated that the abundance of GroEL and TNF‐α were inversely correlated. We confirmed that biofilm development in other Lactobacillus species affects the immune response. The biofilms supernatants of these species also contained large amounts of GroEL. Thus, our results demonstrate that the biofilm enhances the immunomodulatory effects of Lactobacillus sp. and that secreted GroEL is involved in this beneficial effect.     

Effect of flavonoids from various Mediterranean plants on enzymatic activity of intestinal carboxylesterase

Flavonol compounds of three Mediterranean plants from the Algerian Atlas used traditionally in Arab folk medicine, Arenaria serpyllifolia, Rhamnus alaternus and Thapsia garganica, were found to inhibit the enzymatic activities of both rat intestine and purified porcine liver carboxylesterase in a concentration-dependent manner. Results indicate that the flavonol compounds from the aerial part of these plants lead to the inactivation of the CE pI = 5.1 with Ki of micromolar range. These results encourage us to perform further biological investigation.     

The Impact of Tumor Nitric Oxide Production on VEGFA Expression and Tumor Growth in a Zebrafish Rat Glioma Xenograft Model

To investigate the effect of nitric oxide on tumor development, we established a rat tumor xenograft model in zebrafish embryos. The injected tumor cells formed masses in which nitric oxide production could be detected by the use of the cell-permeant DAF-FM-DA (diaminofluorophore 4-amino-5-methylamino-2’-7’-difluorofluorescein diacetate) and DAR-4M-AM (diaminorhodamine-4M). This method revealed that nitric oxide production could be co-localized with the tumor xenograft in 46% of the embryos. In 85% of these embryos, tumors were vascularized and blood vessels were observed on day 4 post injection. Furthermore, we demonstrated by qRT-PCR that the transplanted glioma cells highly expressed Nos2, Vegfa and Cyclin D1 mRNA. In the xenografted embryos we also found increased zebrafish vegfa expression. Glioma and zebrafish derived Vegfa and tumor Cyclin D1 expression could be down regulated by the nitric oxide scavenger 2-(4-Carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide or CPTIO. We conclude that even if there is a heterogeneous nitric oxide production by the xenografted glioma cells that impacts Vegfa and Cyclin D1 expression levels, our results suggest that reduction of nitric oxide levels by nitric oxide scavenging could be an efficient approach to treat glioma.