Exploring the biofunctionalities of lactic fermented cactus pear (Opuntia elatior Mill.) fruit beverage: an exotic superfood.

Cactus pear fruit is known with many health benefits in ethnomedicine of countries like Mexico, Portugal, Chine, India etc. The study was aimed to develop biofunctional lactic fermented cactus pear fruit beverage to add values to the medicinal fruit. The processing parameters such as quantity of freeze dried cactus pear fruit powder, sucrose and incubation time were optimised using response surface methodology. The optimized product was then subjected to proximate compositional, physicochemical, biofunctional and microbial analysis. The lactic fermented cactus pear fruit beverage was prepared by mixing 12% [w/v] freeze dried cactus pear fruit powder and 3% sucrose in water, then pasteurised and inoculated with 3% Lactobacillus fermentum MTCC 25515 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus M9, then incubated at 37 °C for 6 h. The moisture content of the beverage was 87.77% and major constituent was carbohydrate (9.58% per wet matter basis). The 100 mL beverage contains 89.84 mg GAE phenolic compounds, 5.86 mg QE flavonoids, 71.82 mg betacyanin, 28.08 mg betaxanthin, 10.59 mg ascorbic acid. The beverage also exhibited 58% ABTS antioxidant activity. The beverage was shelf stable for 20 days at 7 ± 1 °C. Such a biofunctional beverage loaded with antioxidant potential can be consumed as refreshing drink.

Efficacy of Type-1 Fish Collagen Membrane v/s Human Amniotic Membrane as a Surgical Dressing Material in Maxillofacial Wounds: A Comparative Study.

Management of maxillofacial wounds holds a major challenge for surgeons due to aesthetic concerns. Type I Fish Collagen Membrane and Human Amniotic Membrane (HAM), biologic materials have attained importance in various clinical fields, especially in wound healing. Though both materials have their own unique properties, there is a need to compare and evaluate the efficacy of Type I Fish Collagen Membrane and HAM as a surgical dressing material for soft tissue defects in Head and Neck region. A study encompassed total of 60 patients with maxillofacial wounds resulted either from trauma or by wide excision or ablation therapy of various benign pathologies in head and neck region. They were randomly divided into two groups, with 30 patients in each group. The groups were evaluated using following parameters like ease of operability, pain relief, wound healing, and safety of the membrane. The results indicated that pain relief and healing were much better in HAM cases and like operability and safety of the membranes were equally good. No complications such as infection, burning sensation, or graft rejection were noted. HAM dressing may be considered as safe, cheap and effective alternative method for treating head and neck wounds.

Understanding the Probiotic Bacterial Responses Against Various Stresses in Food Matrix and Gastrointestinal Tract: A Review.

Probiotic bacteria are known to have ability to tolerate inhospitable conditions experienced during food preparation, food storage, and gastrointestinal tract of consumer. As probiotics are living cells, they are adversely affected by the harsh environment of the carrier matrix as well as low pH, bile salts, oxidative stress, osmotic pressure, and commensal microflora of the host. To overcome the unfavorable environments, many probiotics switch on the cell-mediated protection mechanisms, which helps them to survive, acclimatize and remain operational in the harsh circumstances. In this review, we provide comprehensive understanding on the different stresses experienced by the probiotic when added in carrier food as well as during human gastrointestinal tract transit. Under such situation how these health beneficial bacteria protect themselves by activation of several defense systems and get adapted to the lethal environments.

An Analysis of Xpert Test for Diagnosing Maxillofacial Tuberculosis.

Background: Maxillofacial tuberculosis is a diagnostic challenge for surgeons. The aim of this study was to present a detailed analysis of Xpert test in diagnosing maxillofacial tuberculosis and to analyse the accuracy of Xpert test results for various tissues of maxillofacial region. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients were selected randomly from outpatient department. The patients who had clinical picture and differential diagnosis highly suggestive of maxillofacial tuberculosis were included. Patients were divided into three different groups depending upon the site of involvement. The samples collected from the patients were further subdivided depending upon the type of specimen. Patients were screened first by routine tests, and the negative cases were followed by Xpert test for tuberculosis. Results: A total of 54 patients were enrolled in the study, 13 patients were found to be positive for maxillofacial tuberculosis on routine screening tests for tuberculosis, and 41 tested negative on routine test and were evaluated further through Xpert test. Specimens from bone (n12), soft tissue and skin biopsy (n15) and aspirates from lymph nodes (n14) were obtained and tested. Twenty-one samples were found to be positive, and 20 were negative upon Xpert testing. There was a statistically significant difference seen between the test groups (p < 0.01) with higher frequency of negative results in routine test. The p value for various specimens containing pus, biopsies and aspirates was 0.045, 0.023 and 0.067, respectively. Conclusion: Xpert test is more accurate when compared to routine test for diagnosing maxillofacial tuberculosis. Although accuracy of Xpert test is better for pus and biopsy samples in the specimens from bone and soft tissue, it gives poor accuracy for aspirated cells. The aspirates from lymph nodes were more susceptible for false negative test.

Antioxidant network expression abrogates oxidative posttranslational modifications in mice.

Antioxidant enzymatic pathways form a critical network that detoxifies ROS in response to myocardial stress or injury. Genetic alteration of the expression levels of individual enzymes has yielded mixed results with regard to attenuating in vivo myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, an extreme oxidative stress. We hypothesized that overexpression of an antioxidant network (AON) composed of SOD1, SOD3, and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx)-1 would reduce myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by limiting ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation and oxidative posttranslational modification (OPTM) of proteins. Both ex vivo and in vivo myocardial ischemia models were used to evaluate the effect of AON expression. After ischemia-reperfusion injury, infarct size was significantly reduced both ex vivo and in vivo, ROS formation, measured by dihydroethidium staining, was markedly decreased, ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation, measured by malondialdehyde production, was significantly limited, and OPTM of total myocardial proteins, including fatty acid-binding protein and sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(²+)-ATPase (SERCA)2a, was markedly reduced in AON mice, which overexpress SOD1, SOD3, and GSHPx-1, compared with wild-type mice. These data demonstrate that concomitant SOD1, SOD3, and GSHPX-1 expression confers marked protection against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, reducing ROS, ROS-mediated lipid peroxidation, and OPTM of critical cardiac proteins, including cardiac fatty acid-binding protein and SERCA2a.

RNA polymerase III transcription from the human U6 and adenovirus type 2 VAI promoters has different requirements for human BRF, a subunit of human TFIIIB.

Mammalian TFIIIB can be separated into two fractions required for transcription of the adenovirus type 2 VAI gene, which have been designated 0.38M-TFIIIB and 0.48M-TFIIIB. While 0.48M-TFIIIB has not been characterized, 0.38M-TFIIIB corresponds to a TBP-containing complex. We describe here the purification of this complex, which consists of TBP and a closely associated polypeptide of 88 kDa, and the isolation of a cDNA corresponding to the 88-kDa polypeptide. The predicted protein sequence reveals that the 88-kDa polypeptide corresponds to a human homolog of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae BRF protein, a subunit of yeast TFIIIB. Human BRF (hBRF) probably corresponds to TFIIIB90, a protein previously cloned by Wang and Roeder (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92:7026-7030, 1995), although its predicted amino acid sequence differs from that reported for TFIIIB90 over a stretch of 67 amino acids as a result of frameshifts. Immunodepletion of more than 90 to 95% of the hBRF present in a transcription extract severely debilitates transcription from the tRNA-type VAI promoter but does not affect transcription from the TATA box-containing human U6 promoter, suggesting that the 0.38M-TFIIIB complex, and perhaps hBRF as well, is not required for U6 transcription.

Simian virus 40 large T antigen interacts with human TFIIB-related factor and small nuclear RNA-activating protein complex for transcriptional activation of TATA-containing polymerase III promoters.

The TATA-binding protein (TBP) is common to the basal transcription factors of all three RNA polymerases, being associated with polymerase-specific TBP-associated factors (TAFs). Simian virus 40 large T antigen has previously been shown to interact with the TBP-TAFII complexes, TFIID (B. Damania and J. C. Alwine, Genes Dev. 10:1369-1381, 1996), and the TBP-TAFI complex, SL1 (W. Zhai, J. Tuan, and L. Comai, Genes Dev. 11: 1605-1617, 1997), and in both cases these interactions are critical for transcriptional activation. We show a similar mechanism for activation of the class 3 polymerase III (pol III) promoter for the U6 RNA gene. Large T antigen can activate this promoter, which contains a TATA box and an upstream proximal sequence element but cannot activate the TATA-less, intragenic VAI promoter (a class 2, pol III promoter). Mutants of large T antigen that cannot activate pol II promoters also fail to activate the U6 promoter. We provide evidence that large T antigen can interact with the TBP-containing pol III transcription factor human TFIIB-related factor (hBRF), as well as with at least two of the three TAFs in the pol III-specific small nuclear RNA-activating protein complex (SNAPc). In addition, we demonstrate that large T antigen can cofractionate and coimmunoprecipitate with the hBRF-containing complex TFIIIB derived from HeLa cells infected with a recombinant adenovirus which expresses large T antigen. Hence, similar to its function with pol I and pol II promoters, large T antigen interacts with TBP-containing, basal pol III transcription factors and appears to perform a TAF-like function.

The effect of some new platinum (II) and palladium (II) coordination complexes on rat hepatic nuclear transcription in vitro.

Several new L-amino acid derivatives of 2,2'-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline complexes of platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd) and a few binuclear 2,2'-bipyridine complexes of these metals were tested for their potential to inhibit rat hepatic nuclear transcription in vitro. Pd complexes were generally more effective inhibitors of transcription than the corresponding Pt complexes. Among Pd-diimine chlorides, the 2,2'-bipyridine complex was nearly 10 times more active than the corresponding 1,10-phenanthroline complex. Both Pt-diimine chlorides, however, showed same level of inhibitory activity. Amino acid derivatives were less inhibitory with respect to the parent metal diimine chlorides except for 1,10-phenanthroline complexes of Pd. For binuclear 2,2'-bipyridine complexes of Pt, the increase in length of linking hydrocarcon chain increased the inhibitory potential of the complex. The mechanism of inhibition of transcription by these metal complexes was sought to be understood by use of actinomycin-D and poly[d(I-C)] to differentiate effect on the two major components of transcription machinery viz. the template and the enzyme. These studies along with studies on reconstituted system of transcription using either pretreated template or enzyme indicate that these metal complexes displayed dual effect on transcription by inhibiting both the template and the enzymes.

Synthesis, characterization, and DNA binding studies of some mixed-ligand platinum(II) complexes of 1,10-phenanthroline and amino acids.

A series of complexes of the type [Pt(phen)(AA)]+ (where AA is the anion of glycine, L-alanine, L-leucine, L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, or L-tryptophan) has been synthesized. These complexes have been characterized by electronic absorption, infrared, and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The interaction of these complexes with calf thymus DNA has been studied using fluorescence spectroscopy. They inhibit the intercalation of ethidium bromide in DNA by intercalative binding at low concentrations and show nonintercalative binding at higher concentrations.

Study of binding of some amino acid derivatives of 2,2'-bipyridineplatinum(II) to calf thymus DNA.

The interactions of glycine, alanine, valine, leucine, proline, methionine, and asparagine derivatives of 2,2'-bipyridineplatinum(II) with calf thymus DNA, polyadenylic acid, and polyguanylic acid have been studied by difference absorption spectral technique. The association constants (Kapp) and number of binding sites per 100 nucleotides (n) have been obtained from binding isotherms which were constructed by treatment of data according to Scatchard equation. The Kapp values (2.2 X 10(4) to 4.6 X 10(5) M-1) of binding of platinum complexes with DNA are comparable to Kapp values (5.6 X 10(4) to 2.9 X 10(5) M-1) of binding of platinum complexes with polyguanylic acid. However, the polyadenylic acid does not exhibit any binding to platinum complexes. The hydrogen bonding is, however, the most probable mode of bonding involved in stabilizing the DNA-amino acid complexes.

Synthesis, characterization, DNA binding, and cytotoxic studies of some mixed-ligand palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes of alpha-diimine and amino acids.

The syntheses of nine palladium(II) complexes of type [Pd(phen)(AA)]+ (where AA is an anion of glycine, L-alanine, L-leucine, L-phenylalanine, L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan, L-valine, L-proline, or L-serine) have been achieved. These palladium(II) complexes have been characterized by ultraviolet-visible, infrared, and 1H NMR spectroscopy. The binding studies of several complexes [M(NN)(AA)]+ (where M is Pd(II) as Pt(II), NN is 2,2'-bipyridine or 1,10-phenanthrodine, and AA is an anion of amino acid) with calf thymus DNA have been carried out using UV difference absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. The mode of binding of the above complexes to DNA suggests the involvement of the hydrogen bonding between them. Several complexes [M(phen)(AA)]+ (where M is Pd(II) or Pt(II) and AA is an anion of amino acid) have also been screened for cytotoxicity in P388 lymphocytic cells. Of them, only two complexes, [Pd(Phen)(Gly)]+ and [Pd(phen)(Val)]+, show comparable cytotoxicity, as cisplatin does.

Synthesis, spectroscopic, mutagenic, and cytotoxicity studies of some mixed-ligand platinum(II) complexes of 2,2'-bipyridine and amino acids.

Seven platinum(II) complexes of the type [Pt(bipy)(AA)]n+ (where n = 1 or 0 and AA is anion of L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-aspartic acid (dianion), L-glutamic acid (dianion), L-glutamine, L-proline, or S-methyl-L-cysteine) have been prepared and characterized. The modes of binding of amino acids in these complexes have been ascertained particularly by infrared and 1H NMR spectral studies. The L-glutamine complex shows a ID50 value (50% inhibitory dose) in the range of greater than 20 micrograms/ml to 100 micrograms/ml of the complex. However, the complexes of L-valine, L-isoleucine, L-aspartic acid, L-glutamic acid, L-proline, and S-methyl-L-cysteine show ID50 values greater than 100 micrograms/ml of the complex. The above complexes also show inferior growth inhibition of P-388 cells than platinum(II) complexes of 2,2'-bipyridine with L-alanine, L-leucine, L-methionine, and L-aspargine as reported earlier. The platinum(II) complexes of 2,2'-bipyridine with glycine (Gly), L-alanine (Ala), L-leucine (leu), L-valine (Val), L-methionine (Met), L-phenylalanine (Phe), L-serine (Ser), L-tyrosine (Tyr) and L-tryptophan (Trp) have been tested for mutagenesis using TA 100 and TA 98 strains. They show nonmutagenicity. This is in contrast to the cis-[Pt(NH3)2Cl2] showing a base pair substitution mutagenesis.

Synthesis, characterization, and cytotoxic studies of alpha-diimine/1,2-diamine platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes of selenite and tellurite and binding of some of these complexes to DNA.

Eleven new complexes of formula [M(NN)(XO3)] (where M is Pd(II) or Pt(II); NN is 2,2'-bipyridine, 1,10-phenanthroline, 2,2'-dipyridylamine, ethylenediamine or (+-)trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane, and XO3(2-) is SeO3(2-) or TeO3(2-)) have been synthesized. These water soluble complexes have been characterized by chemical analysis and conductivity measurements as well as ultraviolet-visible and infrared spectroscopy. In these complexes the selenite or tellurite ligand coordinates to platinum(II) or palladium(II) as bidentate with two oxygen atoms. These complexes inhibit the growth of P 388 lymphocytic leukemia cells, their targets are DNA. The selenite complexes invariably show I.D.50 values less than cisplatin. However, the I.D.50 values of the tellurite complexes are usually higher than cisplatin, except that of [Pd(dach)(TeO3)] which has comparable I.D.50 values, as compared to cisplatin. [Pt(bipy)(SeO3)] and [Pd(bipy)(SeO3)] have been interacted with calf thymus DNA and bind to DNA through a coordinate covalent bond.

Condensation products of 2-amino-3-cyano-4,6-disubstituted pyridine with carbon disulfide, thiourea, urea & formamide and their antibacterial activity.

Some new 5,7-disubstituted pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives have been synthesized by the condensation of 2-amino-3-cyano-4,6-disubstituted pyridine with carbon disulfide, thiourea, urea and formamide. The structure of these products are supported by their IR and 1H-NMR spectra as well as by elemental analysis. The compounds have been tested for their antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus.

Pediatric asthma quality of life questionnaire: validation in children from Singapore.

"Quality of Life" is a multidimensional measure encompassing the physical, emotional and social functioning of the child. The asthma specific questionnaire contains 23 questions (items) in three areas (domains) of activity, symptoms and emotions. The objective of the present study was to validate the Paediatric Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire "PAQLQ"(copyright 1991 McMaster University). If the questionnaire is valid, a change in the child's asthma will be accompanied by a change in the "Quality of Life" questionnaire score. The questionnaire was administered twice over four weeks and the child's asthma status was assessed concurrently. Two groups were thus identified; Group A = unchanged asthma, Group B = changed asthma. Forty-seven children, aged 7 to 14 years, completed the study. Reliability of the questionnaire shows an intraclass-correlation coefficient of only 0.71. Cross-sectional construct validity was demonstrated by a significant correlation between the whole questionnaire and the clinical asthma score (p<0.001) but not in the separate domains. Longitudinal construct validity was also demonstrated by the significant correlation between change in the total questionnaire score, but not separate domains, with change in the child's asthma score (p<0.05). Responsiveness was shown by a significant difference in the magnitude of the change in the questionnaire score between the two groups (p<0.001), but again not in the separate domains. It was concluded that the questionnaire was validated as a whole but not in as convincing a manner, as has been done by others, and we are therefore in a position to advise caution in its application in our population.

Agmatine, an endogenous imidazoline receptor ligand modulates ethanol anxiolysis and withdrawal anxiety in rats.

Present study investigated the role of agmatine in ethanol-induced anxiolysis and withdrawal anxiety using elevated plus maze (EPM) test in rats. The anxiolytic-like effect of ethanol was potentiated by pretreatment with imidazoline I(1)/I(2) receptor agonist agmatine (10-20 mg/kg, i.p.), imidazoline I(1) receptor agonists, moxonidine (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.) and clonidine (0.015 mg/kg, i.p.), imidazoline I(2) receptor agonist, 2-BFI (5 mg/kg, i.p.) as well as by the drugs known to increase endogenous agmatine levels in brain viz., L-arginine, an agmatine biosynthetic precursor (100 microg/rat, i.c.v.), ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, DFMO (125 microg/rat, i.c.v.), diamine oxidase inhibitor, aminoguanidine (65 microg/rat, i.c.v.) and agmatinase inhibitor, arcaine (50 microg/rat, i.c.v.). Conversely, prior administration of I(1) receptor antagonist, efaroxan (1 mg/kg, i.p.), I(2) receptor antagonist, idazoxan (0.25mg/kg, i.p.) and arginine decarboxylase inhibitor, D-arginine (100 microg/rat, i.c.v.) blocked the anxiolytic-like effect of ethanol. Moreover, ethanol withdrawal anxiety was markedly attenuated by agmatine (10-20 mg/kg, i.p.), moxonidine (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.), clonidine (0.015 mg/kg, i.p.), 2-BFI (5 mg/kg, i.p.), L-arginine (100 microg/rat, i.c.v.), DFMO (125 microg/rat, i.c.v.), aminoguanidine (65 microg/rat, i.c.v.) and arcaine (50 microg/rat, i.c.v.). The anti-anxiety effect of agmatine in ethanol-withdrawn rats was completely blocked by efaroxan (1 mg/kg, i.p.) and idazoxan (0.25 mg/kg, i.p.). These results suggest that agmatine and imidazoline receptor system may be implicated in ethanol-induced anxiolysis and withdrawal anxiety and strongly support further investigation of agmatine in ethanol dependence mechanism. The data also project agmatine as a potential therapeutic target in overcoming alcohol withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety.