Isoflavone-enriched soybean leaves attenuate ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats by anti-inflammatory activity.

BACKGROUND: With an increasing aging population, postmenopausal osteoporosis has become a global public health problem. Previous evidence has shown that postmenopausal osteoporosis is a skeletal disease mainly caused by estrogen deficiency, generally accompanied by inflammation, and dietary isoflavones may ameliorate postmenopausal osteoporosis by anti-inflammatory activity. We have generated isoflavone-enriched soybean leaves (IESLs), but their anti-inflammatory activity and effect on attenuating osteoporosis are still obscure. Here, we determined the isoflavone profiles of IESLs and evaluated their anti-inflammatory activity in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells and anti-osteoporotic effects on ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats. RESULTS: IESLs had a high content of total isoflavone. Hydrolysate of IESLs (HIESLs) was rich with the aglycones daidzein and genistein, and HIESLs can significantly inhibit lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation by reducing messenger RNA expression of iNOS, COX-2, IL6, and IL1ß. Moreover, ovariectomized rats receiving aqueous extracts of IESLs (HIESLs) orally maintained more bone mass than control rats did, which was attributed to inhibition of osteoclastogenesis by downregulating the messenger RNA expression of the bone-specific genes RANKL/OPG, OC, and cathepsin K, and the inflammation-related genes IL6, NFκB, and COX-2. CONCLUSION: IESLs may attenuate postmenopausal osteoporosis by suppressing osteoclastogenesis with anti-inflammatory activity and be a potential source of functional food ingredients for the prevention of osteoporosis. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Analytical Evaluation of Portable and Simple FREND Fluorescent Immunoassay for Rapid Quantification of Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone and Free Thyroxine.

BACKGROUND: The FREND™ thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FT4) assays are newly developed rapid quantitative immunoassays utilizing antibody-conjugated fluorescent nanoparticles in a microfluidic flow system. The FREND system is a simple and portable fluorescence reader with rapid turnaround time (4 - 10 minutes). METHODS: The analytical sensitivity, precision, and linearity were evaluated. For the method comparison, FREND TSH and FT4 levels were compared with those from ADVIA Centaur XP and Abbott ARCHITECT i2000. RESULTS: The limit of detection was 0.047 mIU/L and 5.031 pmol/L in FREND TSH and FT4 assays. FREND system had acceptable linearity and precision of  10% across the assay range (0.05 - 25.0 mIU/L for TSH and 1.4 - 96.8 pmol/L for FT4). The functional sensitivity was 0.057 mIU/L for the TSH assay and 4.644 pmol/L for the FT4 assay. Passing-Bablok regression analysis of TSH data showed good correlation among the three assays. For the FT4 assay, FREND FT4 displayed good correlation with the ARCHITECT FT4 assay, but the intercepts and slopes significantly differed between FREND and Centaur results: [FREND FT4] = 4.799 + 0.600 [Centaur FT4]. CONCLUSIONS: The analytical performance of FREND TSH and FT4 assays was satisfactory for use in the clinical laboratory. The FREND FT4 assay was in concordance with ARCHITECT FT4, but it needs further investigation and harmonization.

Period prevalence and incidence of optic disc haemorrhage in normal tension glaucoma and primary open-angle glaucoma.

BACKGROUND: To investigate and compare the period prevalences and incidences of optic disc haemorrhages in normal tension glaucoma and primary open-angle glaucoma. DESIGN: Hospital-based retrospective study. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred and four patients with normal tension glaucoma and 210 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma that underwent consecutive disc examinations at least quarterly for at least 1 year and stereoscopic optic disc photographs at intervals of 6 to 12 months between 1992 and 2007. METHODS: The period prevalence of disc haemorrhages, gender predominance among patients with disc haemorrhage, and cumulative incidence of normal tension glaucoma and primary open-angle glaucoma were compared. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Period prevalence, cumulative incidence, and gender predominance of DHs in patients with NTG and POAG. RESULTS: Three hundred and eighty-seven patients (387 eyes) of normal tension glaucoma patients and 205 patients (205 eyes) of primary open-angle glaucoma patients were finally enrolled in the study. The period prevalence and incidence rates of the stereoscopic optic disc photograph-confirmed glaucomatous disc haemorrhages were 33.3% (129/387), 0.46 ± 0.18 times/year in the normal tension glaucoma group, and 17.6% (36/205), 0.34 ± 0.23 times/year in the primary open-angle glaucoma group, respectively. The absolute values and ratios of primary open-angle glaucoma and normal tension glaucoma in period prevalences and incidence rates in the present study were higher than in previous studies. No significant difference in gender ratios was found between patients that did or did not develop disc haemorrhage for both types of open-angle glaucoma (P > 0.05, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The primary open-angle glaucoma group had higher period prevalences and incidence rates of disc haemorrhage than those reported previously. Disc haemorrhages were found to develop independent of gender.

Luminescence spectroscopic observation of singlet oxygen formation in extra virgin olive oil as affected by irradiation light wavelengths, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, irradiation time, and oxygen bubbling.

A spectrofluorometer equipped with a highly sensitive near-IR InGaAs detector was used for the direct visualization of singlet oxygen emission at 1268 nm in olive oil during light irradiation with various different wavelengths. The virgin olive oil in methylene chloride (20% w/v, oxygen saturated) was irradiated at the 301, 417, 454, 483, and 668 nm, then the emission at 1268 nm, singlet oxygen dimole decaying was observed. The result showed the highest production of (1)O(2) with light irradiation at 417 nm, and followed by at 668 nm in virgin olive oil, indicating that pheophytin a and chlorophyll a were the most responsible components for the production of singlet oxygen. The UV light irradiations at the wavelength of 200, 250, and 300 nm did not induce any detectable luminescence emission at 1268 nm, but 350 nm produced weak emission at 1269 nm. The quantity of (1)O(2) produced with excitation at 350 nm was about 1/6 of that of irradiation at 417 nm. Addition of an efficient (1)O(2) quencher, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, in virgin olive oil in methylene chloride greatly decreased the luminescence emission at 1268 nm, confirming the singlet oxygen production in olive oil. Singlet oxygen production was more efficient in oxygen-purged virgin olive oil than in oxygen non-purged olive oil. This represents first report on the direct observation of singlet oxygen formation in olive oil as well as in real-food system after visible light illumination. Practical Application: The present results show the positive evidence of the singlet oxygen involvement in rapid oxidative deterioration of virgin olive oil under visible light. This paper also shows the effects of different wavelength of light irradiation on the formation of singlet oxygen in olive oil. The present results would provide important information for the understanding of the mechanism involved in rapid oxidative quality deterioration of virgin olive oil under light illumination and for searching the preventive methods of deterioration of olive oil quality under light.