Background
The liver is an important organ for its ability to transform xenobiotics, making the liver tissue a prime target for toxic substances. The carotenoid bixin present in annatto is an antioxidant that can protect cells and tissues against the deleterious effects of free radicals. In this study, we evaluated the protective effect of bixin on liver damage induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in rats.Results
The animals were divided into four groups with six rats in each group. CCl4 (0.125 mL kg-1 body wt.) was injected intraperitoneally, and bixin (5.0 mg kg-1 body wt.) was given by gavage 7 days before the CCl4 injection. Bixin prevented the liver damage caused by CCl4, as noted by the significant decrease in serum aminotransferases release. Bixin protected the liver against the oxidizing effects of CCl4 by preventing a decrease in glutathione reductase activity and the levels of reduced glutathione and NADPH. The peroxidation of membrane lipids and histopathological damage of the liver was significantly prevented by bixin treatment.Conclusion
Therefore, we can conclude that the protective effect of bixin against hepatotoxicity induced by CCl4 is related to the antioxidant activity of the compound. 相似文献Background
Streptococcus suis infection, an emerging zoonosis, is an increasing public health problem across South East Asia and the most common cause of acute bacterial meningitis in adults in Vietnam. Little is known of the risk factors underlying the disease.Methods and Findings
A case-control study with appropriate hospital and matched community controls for each patient was conducted between May 2006 and June 2009. Potential risk factors were assessed using a standardized questionnaire and investigation of throat and rectal S. suis carriage in cases, controls and their pigs, using real-time PCR and culture of swab samples. We recruited 101 cases of S. suis meningitis, 303 hospital controls and 300 community controls. By multivariate analysis, risk factors identified for S. suis infection as compared to either control group included eating “high risk” dishes, including such dishes as undercooked pig blood and pig intestine (OR1 = 2.22; 95%CI = [1.15–4.28] and OR2 = 4.44; 95%CI = [2.15–9.15]), occupations related to pigs (OR1 = 3.84; 95%CI = [1.32–11.11] and OR2 = 5.52; 95%CI = [1.49–20.39]), and exposures to pigs or pork in the presence of skin injuries (OR1 = 7.48; 95%CI = [1.97–28.44] and OR2 = 15.96; 95%CI = [2.97–85.72]). S. suis specific DNA was detected in rectal and throat swabs of 6 patients and was cultured from 2 rectal samples, but was not detected in such samples of 1522 healthy individuals or patients without S. suis infection.Conclusions
This case control study, the largest prospective epidemiological assessment of this disease, has identified the most important risk factors associated with S. suis bacterial meningitis to be eating ‘high risk’ dishes popular in parts of Asia, occupational exposure to pigs and pig products, and preparation of pork in the presence of skin lesions. These risk factors can be addressed in public health campaigns aimed at preventing S. suis infection. 相似文献The frequently observed discrepancy between estimations of N2O emissions at regional or global scale based either on field data or inventories (bottom-up) or on direct atmospheric observations (top-down) suggests that riparian areas and river surfaces play a significant role as hot spots of emission. We developed a modeling procedure to assess N2O emissions occurring during the transfer of water masses from the subroot water pool of the watershed to the outlet of the river drainage network, including their passage through riparian wetlands. The model was applied to three river basins of increasing size located in the sedimentary geological area of the Paris basin (France) and validated by its capability to predict river N2O concentrations and fluxes across the river–atmosphere interface. At the scale of the Seine watershed, indirect emissions, i.e. emissions linked to agricultural practices but occurring elsewhere than directly at the field plot, are estimated to represent approximately 20% of the direct emissions from the watershed soils, in good agreement with previous estimates based on empirical accounting approaches. Denitrification in riparian zones is responsible for the largest share of these indirect emissions. The model results are very sensitive to the value of the ratio of N2O versus (N2 + N2O), in the final products of denitrification in rivers and wetlands. By calibration on river N2O concentrations, a value of 0.015 ± 0.05 is proposed for this ratio, in agreement with recent studies. This represents the main uncertainty factor of the model. In basins with conditions prone to increasing the value of this ratio, higher proportions of indirect N2O emissions might possibly be observed.
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