Human apolipoprotein A-I gene transfer reduces the development of experimental diabetic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: The hallmarks of diabetic cardiomyopathy are cardiac oxidative stress, intramyocardial inflammation, cardiac fibrosis, and cardiac apoptosis. Given the antioxidative, antiinflammatory, and antiapoptotic potential of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), we evaluated the hypothesis that increased HDL via gene transfer (GT) with human apolipoprotein (apo) A-I, the principal apolipoprotein of HDL, may reduce the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy. METHODS AND RESULTS: Intravenous GT with 3x10(12) particles/kg of the E1E3E4-deleted vector Ad.hapoA-I, expressing human apoA-I, or Ad.Null, containing no expression cassette, was performed 5 days after streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Six weeks after apoA-I GT, HDL cholesterol levels were increased by 1.6-fold (P<0.001) compared with diabetic controls injected with the Ad.Null vector (STZ-Ad.Null). ApoA-I GT and HDL improved LV contractility in vivo and cardiomyocyte contractility ex vivo, respectively. Moreover, apoA-I GT was associated with decreased cardiac oxidative stress and reduced intramyocardial inflammation. In addition, compared with STZ-Ad.Null rats, cardiac fibrosis and glycogen accumulation were reduced by 1.7-fold and 3.1-fold, respectively (P<0.05). Caspase 3/7 activity was decreased 1.2-fold (P<0.05), and the ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax was upregulated 1.9-fold (P<0.005), translating to 2.1-fold (P<0.05) reduced total number of cardiomyocytes with apoptotic characteristics and 3.0-fold (P<0.005) reduced damaged endothelial cells compared with STZ-Ad.Null rats. HDL supplementation ex vivo reduced hyperglycemia-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by 3.4-fold (P<0.005). The apoA-I GT-mediated protection was associated with a 1.6-, 1.6-, and 2.4-fold induction of diabetes-downregulated phospho to Akt, endothelial nitric oxide synthase, and glycogen synthase kinase ratio, respectively (P<0.005). CONCLUSIONS: ApoA-I GT reduced the development of streptozotocin-induced diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Developing Novel Antimicrobial and Antiviral Textile Products.

In conjunction with an increasing public awareness of infectious diseases, the textile industry and scientists are developing hygienic fabrics by the addition of various antimicrobial and antiviral compounds. In the current study, sodium pentaborate pentahydrate and triclosan are applied to cotton fabrics in order to gain antimicrobial and antiviral properties for the first time. The antimicrobial activity of textiles treated with 3 % sodium pentaborate pentahydrate, 0.03 % triclosan, and 7 % Glucapon has been investigated against a broad range of microorganisms including bacteria, yeast, and fungi. Moreover, modified cotton fabrics were tested against adenovirus type 5 and poliovirus type 1. According to the test results, the modified textile goods attained very good antimicrobial and antiviral properties. Thus, the results of the present study clearly suggest that sodium pentaborate pentahydrate and triclosan solution-treated textiles can be considered in the development of antimicrobial and antiviral textile finishes.

Evaluation of Antimicrobial and Antiviral Activities of Different Venoms.

BACKGROUND: Animals' venomous secretions or peptides obtained from those secretions are used in the development of new therapeutic agents. The aims of this study were to investigate antimicrobial and antiviral activity of four different venoms obtained from the frog named Bufo arenarum and the snakes Crotalus atrox, Causus rhombeatus and Naja melanoleuca. METHODS: Antimicrobial activities of the venoms tested against 9 bacteria, 1 yeast, 1 fungal species and 2 viral species based on micro-well dilution assay and antiviral assay. RESULTS: Four different venoms were examined to evaluate the antimicrobial and antiviral activity against 9 bacteria, 1 yeast and 1 fungal and 2 viral species. None of the venoms exhibited anticandidal or antifungal activity. However, all of the four venoms tested were found to have both antibacterial and antiviral activities. CONCLUSION: This is the first study demonstrating that venoms of Crotalus atrox and Bufo arenarum have antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Bacillus subtilis, Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas spp. Antiviral activities of 4 venoms against Poliovirus and Adenovirus were also investigated for the first time.

Health-related factors on tobacco consumption in Turkey / Fatores relacionados com a saúde e o consumo de tabaco na Turquia

ABSTRACT: In this study, we analyzed the role of individuals' health-related factors along with socio-demographic and economic characteristics on both the likelihood of tobacco consumption and quantity demanded levels using two competitive econometric methods: double hurdle model versus hyperbolic sine double-hurdle model. Statistical tests confirmed the dependency errors between the prevalence rate of smoking and the consumption level, whilst the inverse-hyperbolic sine double-hurdle model data fits best in describing the normalization of the data and the two data generating processes: the probability and consumption levels of cigarettes. Also, the variance-covariance of the selected model as a function of additional exogenous variables are confirmed, while the error terms between the likelihood to smoke and the consumption levels are positive and statistically significant, indicating that holding control variables fixed, the uncontrolled variables out of the system that increase the prevalence rate of smoking also boost the consumption level, or vice versa. Many individual disease variables are significant in both equations, breaking new grounds in literature for identifying how both the prevalence rate of smoking and amount have shaped.

RESUMO: Neste estudo, analisamos o papel dos fatores relacionados à saúde dos indivíduos, juntamente com as características sócio-demográficas e econômicas, tanto na probabilidade de consumo de tabaco quanto nos níveis de quantidade demandada, usando dois métodos econométricos competitivos: modelo de obstáculo duplo versus modelo de obstáculo duplo seno hiperbólico. Os testes estatísticos confirmaram os erros de dependência entre a taxa de prevalência de tabagismo e o nível de consumo, enquanto o modelo de seno duplo inverso-hiperbólico se ajusta melhor aos dados para descrever a normalização dos dados e os dois processos geradores de dados: os níveis de probabilidade e consumo de cigarros. Também são confirmadas a covariância de variância do modelo selecionado em função de variáveis exógenas adicionais, enquanto os termos de erro entre a probabilidade de fumar e os níveis de consumo são positivos e estatisticamente significativos, indicando que, mantendo variáveis de controle fixas, as variáveis não controladas são do sistema que aumenta a taxa de prevalência do tabagismo e também cresce o nível de consumo, ou vice-versa. Muitas variáveis individuais da doença são encontradas significativamente em ambas as equações, abrindo novos caminhos na literatura para identificar como a taxa de prevalência de tabagismo e a quantidade se moldaram.