The comparative effects of erythromycin and amikacin on acute respiratory Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection.

BACKGROUND: One of the most common causes of pneumonia is Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). As with other microbial pathogens, this bacterium tends to develop resistance to various antibiotics. Amikacin and erythromycin, which are from the aminoglycoside and macrolide antibiotic families, are used to treat respiratory infections caused by P. aeruginosa. OBJECTIVES: This study explored whether amikacin, erythromycin or a combination of both works better against P. aeruginosa acute lung infection. METHODS: For this study, 32 rats were used. The trachea of rats was exposed aseptically and their lung was infected with P. aeruginosa through trachea. Then, according to the group, they received amikacin, erythromycin or a combination of both for 1 week. Finally, they were euthanised on the 3rd and 7th days post-infection. The macroscopic and microscopic evaluations of the lungs, kidney and liver were performed. The right lung was collected for in vivo bacteriological analysis. RESULTS: The amikacin group (A group) had a statistically significantly lower macroscopic and microscopic scores than the other groups (p < 0.05). In vivo bacteriological test revealed that the A group had significantly lower lung bacterial load (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, it was concluded that amikacin could help alleviate the respiratory infection caused by P. aeruginosa solely, and it was more effective than erythromycin.

Graphene-MoS2 polyfunctional hybrid hydrogels for the healing of transected Achilles tendon.

Healing of injured tendon is a major clinical challenge in orthopaedic medicine, due to the poor regenerative potential of this tissue. Two-dimensional nanomaterials, as versatile scaffolds, have shown a great potential to support, trigger and accelerate the tendon regeneration. However, weak mechanical properties, poor functionality and low biocompatibility of these scaffolds as well as post-surgery infections are main drawbacks that limit their development in the higher clinical phases. In this work, a series of hydrogels consisting polyglycerol functionalized reduced graphene oxide (PG), polyglycerol-functionalized molybdenum disulfide (PMoS2) and PG/PMoS2 hybrid within the gelatin matrix are formulated in new scaffolds and their ability for the healing of injured Achilles tendon, due to their high mechanical properties, low toxicity, cell proliferation enhancement, and antibacterial activities is investigated. While scaffolds containing PG and PMoS2 showed a moderate tendon regeneration and anti-inflammatory effect, respectively, their hybridization into PG/PMoS2 demonstrated a synergistic healing efficiency. Along the same line, an accelerated return of tendon function with low peritendinous adhesion and low cross-sectional area in animal group treated with scaffold containing PG/PMoS2 was observed. Taking advantage of the high biocompatibility, high strength, straightforward construction and fast tendon regeneration, PG/PMoS2 can be used as a new scaffold for the future tissue engineering.

Exercise Improves Spatial Learning and Memory Performance through the Central GLP-1 Receptors.

The glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is a hormone which is produced in the enteroendocrine L-cells in the ileum and the neurons of nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) in the brain which has numerous metabolic effects. The central GLP-1R's role in cognitive functioning is well known. On the contrary, it has been shown that exercise has positive effects on brain function. So, we decided to elucidate whether the central GLP-1 has a role in memory and learning. Thirty-two rats were used in this experiment in 4 groups. After anesthetizing the rats, the right lateral ventricle was detected, and a cannula was directed to the ventricle. Ten micrograms of exendin-3 or sterile saline, according to the group, was injected via ICV once daily for seven days. The rats in the exercise group considered an exercise period of one hour each day (17 meters per minute) for seven consecutive days. To evaluate the performance of memory and learning, a standard Morris water maze (MWM) tank was utilized. According to the results, the TE-exendin group showed a statistically significant difference from the TE-SAL group in both parameters of latency and time in the zone. In summary, memory and learning were improved by GLP-1R in the exercise group, but not in the sedentary group, which we can hypothesize that exercise can affect memory and learning through this pathway.