Garlic and Resveratrol Attenuate Diabetic Complications, Loss of ß-Cells, Pancreatic and Hepatic Oxidative Stress in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

The study was aimed at finding the effect of garlic and resveratrol on loss of ß-cells and diabetic complication in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced Type-I diabetic rats. Rats were injected with single dose STZ (50 mg/kg, i.p.) for induction of type 1 diabetes (Dia) and compared with control group. Rats from third (Dia+Gar), fourth (Dia+Resv), and fifth (Dia+Met) groups were fed raw garlic homogenate (250 mg/kg/day), resveratrol (25 mg/kg/day), and metformin (500 mg/kg/day) orally, respectively, for a period of 4 weeks. Diabetic group had decreased serum insulin and hydrogen sulfide levels along with increased blood glucose and glycated hemoglobin, triglyceride, uric acid, and nitric oxide levels. Significant (p < 0.05) increase in pancreatic and hepatic TBARS, conjugated dienes, nitric oxide, and AGE level and significant (p < 0.05) decrease in SOD, catalase, H2S, GSH level were observed in diabetic group. Administration of garlic, resveratrol, and metformin significantly (p < 0.05) normalized most of the altered metabolic and oxidative stress parameters as well as histopathological changes. Administration of garlic, resveratrol, and metformin in diabetic rat decreases pancreatic ß-cell damage and hepatic injury. Our data concluded that administration of garlic showed more promising effect in terms of reducing oxidative stress and pathological changes when compared to resveratrol and metformin groups.

Optimization study of 2-hydroxyquinoxaline (2-HQ) biodegradation by Ochrobactrum sp. HQ1.

A novel aerobic gram-negative bacterial strain capable of utilizing 2-hydroxyquinoxaline (2-HQ) as sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from Indian agricultural soil and named as HQ1. Strain HQ1 was identified as Ochrobactrum sp. on the basis of morphology, physico-biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA sequence analysis. The generation time of Ochrobactrum sp. HQ1 on 2-HQ at log phase is 0.71 h or 42.6 min. The degradation of 2-HQ by HQ1 under various physico-chemical parameters was analysed by HPLC and observed to be optimum with a high inoculum density (1.0 OD) at pH 7-8, temperatures 37-40°C and a high concentration of 2-HQ (500 ppm). Degradation of 2-HQ was also improved when additional nitrogen sources were used and this was attributed to the enhanced growth of the bacterium on the readily available nitrogen sources. Analysis of 2-HQ degradation by GC-MS resulted in elucidation of the degradation pathway for HQ1, a novel observation for aerobic Gram-negative bacteria. These findings are a possible indication of the application of HQ1 in the bioremediation of pesticide/metabolite contamination.

Development & validation of a quantitative anti-protective antigen IgG enzyme linked immunosorbent assay for serodiagnosis of cutaneous anthrax.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: Anthrax caused by Bacillus anthracis is primarily a disease of herbivorous animals, although several mammals are vulnerable to it. ELISA is the most widely accepted serodiagnostic assay for large scale surveillance of cutaneous anthrax. The aims of this study were to develop and evaluate a quantitative ELISA for determination of IgG antibodies against B. anthracis protective antigen (PA) in human cutaneous anthrax cases. METHODS: Quantitative ELISA was developed using the recombinant PA for coating and standard reference serum AVR801 for quantification. A total of 116 human test and control serum samples were used in the study. The assay was evaluated for its precision, accuracy and linearity. RESULTS: The minimum detection limit and lower limit of quantification of the assay for anti-PA IgG were 3.2 and 4 µg/ml, respectively. The serum samples collected from the anthrax infected patients were found to have anti-PA IgG concentrations of 5.2 to 166.3 µg/ml. The intra-assay precision per cent CV within an assay and within an operator ranged from 0.99 to 7.4 per cent and 1.7 to 3.9 per cent, respectively. The accuracy of the assay was high with a per cent error of 6.5 - 24.1 per cent. The described assay was found to be linear between the range of 4 to 80 ng/ml (R [2] = 0.9982; slope = 0.9186; intercept = 0.1108). INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that the developed assay could be a useful tool for quantification of anti-PA IgG response in human after anthrax infection or vaccination.

Effects of oral nutritional supplementation in the management of malnutrition in hospital and post-hospital discharged patients in India: a randomised, open-label, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Hospital malnutrition is a significant problem that still remains under-recognised and under-treated in India. The present study assessed the effects of oral nutritional supplementation (ONS) in conjunction with dietary counselling versus dietary counselling (control) alone in malnourished patients when given in hospital and post-hospital discharge. METHODS: The present study was conducted in nine private and four public hospitals. Patients from various medical wards were screened for malnutrition using modified Subjective Global Assessment (mSGA) and randomised to control (n = 106) or ONS (n = 106) for 12 weeks. Two servings (460 mL) of ONS were prescribed daily, providing 432 kcal, 16 g of protein and 28 micronutrients. The primary outcome was weight gain over 12 weeks. Other outcomes included change in body mass index (BMI), serum pre-albumin, albumin and C-reactive protein levels, energy and nutrient intakes, and handgrip strength at weeks 4, 8 and 12, as well as mSGA score at week 12. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 39 years. Fifty-five percent were males and 90.3% were moderately malnourished (mSGA score B) at baseline. At week 12, ONS significantly improved certain parameters compared to control: weight (2.0 versus 0.9 kg; P < 0.001), BMI (0.76 versus 0.37 kg m(-2) ; P < 0.001) and energy intake per day (560 versus 230 kcal; P < 0.05). There were no differences in biochemical parameters and mSGA score between groups. Additionally, patients on ONS who were more functionally impaired at baseline had significantly greater weight gain and improved handgrip strength scores than controls. CONCLUSIONS: ONS use throughout hospital stay and post-hospital discharge significantly improved energy intake and weight in malnourished Indian patients. Those patients with poorer functional status at baseline demonstrated the most benefit.

Biodegradation of 2-hydroxyquinoxaline (2-HQ) by Bacillus sp.

An aerobic Gram +ve bacterial strain capable of utilizing 2-Hydroxyquinoxaline (2-HQ) as sole source of carbon and energy was isolated from Chrysanthemum indicum Indian agricultural soil and named as HQ2. On the basis of morphology, physico-biochemical characteristics and 16S rRNA sequence analysis, strain HQ2 was identified as Bacillus sp. The generation time of Bacillus sp. in log phase during growth on 2-HQ is 0.79 h or 47.4 min. The optimal conditions for 2-HQ degradation by Bacillus sp. were inoculum density of 1.0 OD, pH of 6-8, temperature of 37-45 °C and 2-HQ concentration of 500 ppm. Among the additional carbon and nitrogen sources, carbon sources did not influence the degradation rate of 2-HQ, but nitrogen sources-yeast extract marginally enhanced the rate of degradation of 2-HQ. GC-MS analysis of the culture Bacillus sp. grown on 2-HQ indicated the formation of dimers from 2 molecules of 2-hydroxyquinoxaline. The formation of dimer for degradation of 2-HQ by the culture appears to be the first report to our scientific knowledge.

Degradation of monocrotophos in soils.

The degradation of a widely used organophosphorus insecticide, monocrotophos (dimethyl (E)-1-methyl-2-methylcarbamoyl vinyl phosphate) in two Indian agricultural soils at two concentration levels, 10 and 100 microg g(-1) soil under aerobic conditions at 60% water-holding capacity at 28+/-4 degrees C was studied in a laboratory. The degradation of monocrotophos at both concentrations in black vertisol and red alfinsol soils was rapid accounting for 96-98% of the applied quantity and followed the first-order kinetics with rate constants (k) of 0.0753 and 0.0606 day(-1) and half-lives (t1/2) of 9.2 and 11.4 days, respectively. Degradation of monocrotophos in soils proceeded by hydrolysis with formation of N-methylacetoacetamide. Even three additions of monocrotophos at 10 microg g(-1) soil did not result in its enhanced degradation. However, there was cumulative accumulation of N-methylacetoacetamide in soils pretreated with monocrotophos to the tune of 7-15 microg g(-1) soil. Both biotic and abiotic factors were involved in degradation of monocrotophos in soils.

Interaction effects of insecticides on microbial populations and dehydrogenase activity in a black clay soil.

Three insecticides, monocrotophos, quinalphos, and cypermethrin, were applied at 0, 5, 10, and 25 microg g(-1) either singly or in combination to a black clay soil to investigate their effects on the soil microflora and dehydrogenase activity. All three insecticides significantly enhanced the proliferation of bacteria and fungi and the soil dehydrogenase activity even at the highest level of 25 microg g(-1). Monocrotophos or quinalphos in combination with cypermethrin at tested levels interacted significantly to yield additive, synergistic, and antagonistic responses toward bacteria and fungi and dehydrogenase activity in soil. Antagonistic interactions were more pronounced toward soil microflora and dehydrogenase activity when the two (monocrotophos or quinalphos + cypermethrin) insecticides were present together in the soil at highest level (25 + 25 microg g(-1)), whereas synergistic or additive responses occurred at lower level with the same combination of insecticides in soil.

Photon-avalanche upconversion in thulium-doped lutetium aluminum garnet.

Strong blue fluorescence at 487 nm corresponding to the (1)G(4) --> (3)H(6) transition was generated from Tm(3+)-doped lutetium aluminum garnet on excitation with a 618-nm dye laser as a result of a photon-avalanche upconversion mechanism.

Site-selective hole burning in Eu3+:Y2SiO5.

We found that the Eu3+ ion occupies several distinct sites in Y2SiO5. We were also able to perform hole-burning studies in more than 40 different transitions.

Prospective evaluation of a microprocessor-assisted cardiac rhythm algorithm: results from one clinical center.

A new microprocessor-assisted cardiac rhythm algorithm (MAC-RHYTHM), based on median QRST subtraction from 10-second electrocardiographic (ECG) data, was prospectively tested on 10,761 ECGs acquired at one of three clinical centers. Atrial waves (P waves, atrial fibrillatory waves, and flutter waves) were detected from the median QRST-subtracted residual signals. Rhythm criteria were applied to the detected atrial waves and their temporal relation to QRS complexes for generating rhythm interpretations. Rhythm statements generated by MAC-RHYTHM were compared against the true rhythm of the ECGs as read by an experienced cardiologist. The results of prospective testing were compared with the results of an earlier retrospective testing using MAC-RHYTHM and a released commercial ECG analysis program on stored ECGs. The prospective results were very similar to the results of MAC-RHYTHM on retrospective data for all the rhythms examined (sinus rhythms, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, junctional rhythms, second degree atrioventricular blocks). For three of the abnormal rhythms, namely, atrial fibrillation, junctional rhythms, and second degree atrioventricular blocks, MAC-RHYTHM gave significantly higher sensitivity in both prospective (87.5%, 92.2%, and 80.8%, respectively) and retrospective (82.0%, 81.2%, and 79.6% respectively) testing than the released commercial ECG analysis program (65.0%, 39.6%, and 12.0% respectively). Similarly, for sinus rhythms, MAC-RHYTHM had significantly higher specificity (prospective, 91.0% and retrospective, 91.7%) than the released commercial program (86.5%). The specificity for the abnormal rhythms remained very high with MAC-RHYTHM (prospective, 99.4% to 99.7% and retrospective, 99.1% to 99.7%) compared to the released commercial program (99.0% to 99.9%). This prospective study also indicated that further work is needed to improve the detection of pacemaker spikes and the interpretation of paced rhythms in 10-second resting ECGs.

Efficient violet upconversion signal from a fluoride fiber doped with erbium.

When an erbium-doped fluoride fiber was pumped with a red dye laser beam that resonantly excites the (4)F(9/2) state, we detected efficient violet upconversion emission from the (2)P(3/2) state that is much stronger than the green upconversion emission from the (4)S(3/2) state. Such unusual violet emission was found to be due to a three-photon excitation process.

Late potential recognition by artificial neural networks.

Ventricular late potentials (LP's) are high-frequency low-amplitude signals obtained from signal-averaged electrocardiograms (ECG's) [SAECG's]. LP's are useful in identifying patients prone to ventricular tachycardia (VT), spontaneous or inducible during electrophysiology testing. A combination of self-organizing and supervised artificial neural network (ANN) models was developed to identify patients with a positive electrophysiology (PEP) test for inducible ventricular tachycardia from patients with a negative electrophysiology (NEP) test using LP's. We have added morphology information of vector magnitude waveform to original set of three time-domain features of LP's, which are total QRS duration (TQRSD), high-frequency low-amplitude signal duration (HFLAD), and root-mean-square voltage (RMSV). Pattern recognition results from an ANN model with this combination feature set are superior to the results from Bayesian classification model based on conventional three time-domain features of SAECG. In order to increase the robustness of the recognition, a filtered QRS offset point is randomly shifted +/- 8 ms to form a fuzzy training set, which was to simulate the possible error in detecting QRS offset point of filtered SAECG. We also found that nonlinear transformation through the hidden layer of developed ANN model could increase Euclidean distance between PEP and NEP patterns.

Analysis of interval measurements on CSE multilead reference ECGs.

As part of the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) efforts to develop standards for interpretive electrocardiographs, electrocardiograms (ECGs) of the Common Standards of Electrocardiography (CSE) multilead measurement database were processed to (1) determine whether original ECG data would offer any advantage over cycle-repeated (artificial) ECGs and (2) compare the "clean" ECGs selected for interval measurement compliance testing (n = 100) with the remaining 25 "noisy" or nonsinus rhythm ECGs. Two sets of CSE measurement ECGs, namely, 125 original ECGs of the MO1 series and 125 artificial ECGs of the MA1 series were divided into 100 IEC-selected clean ECGs with good P and T waves and 25 noisy or nonsinus ECGs and processed for global wave duration and interval measurements (P duration, PR interval, QRS duration, and QT interval). The measured duration and interval values were compared against the CSE reference values (medians of referee values for 25 physician overread ECGs and medians of interpretive programs for the rest) to compute the measurement "differences". Also, the data of the median cardiac complex were evaluated for noise content. The original ECG data gave consistently smaller differences for all of the four measurements than the differences with the artificial ECG data. The noise levels in the median complexes formed from the original ECG data were significantly lower than the noise levels in the median complexes from the artificial ECG data. The noise levels in the medians of the 100 clean ECGs were lower than the noise levels in the medians of the 25 noisy ECGs for both the original and artificial ECG data.

The effect of prostaglandin E1 on liver adenine nucleotides and cytoplasmic enzymes in a porcine model of normothermic hepatic ischemia.

The liver has been judged relatively resistant to ischemia, but prolonged inflow occlusion at normothermic conditions can produce evidence of reversible or irreversible hepatocellular damage. Cytoprotective agents have been used both experimentally and clinically to afford extended viability of hepatocytes under reduced perfusion. One agent, prostaglandin E1, has been described clinically as effective in sustaining liver function under ischemic conditions. We have sought to verify this observation in an experimental model using prolonged normothermic inflow occlusion. Twenty miniature pigs were anesthetized and subjected to subtotal normothermic hepatic inflow occlusion (portal vein, hepatic artery, choledochal vessels) to allow for sufficient splanchnic decompression. Half of the animals received pretreatment with prostaglandin E1 (alprostadil) 500 micrograms intravenously. Inflow occlusion was maintained for 2 hours followed by reperfusion and killing 24 hours later. As a measure of functional preservation, the tissue adenine nucleotides adenosine monophosphate, diphosphate, and triphosphate (AMP, ADP, ATP) were measured in ischemic liver by freeze-clamping and high-performance liquid chromatography during occlusion and after reperfusion. Cytosolic enzyme determinations (aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase) were also made before occlusion and after reperfusion. As a possible indicator of cellular injury, blood ionized Ca++ was measured before inflow occlusion and after reperfusion. Although no difference was found in levels of AMP and ADP between prostaglandin E1 and control animals, ATP levels rose significantly higher during recovery in prostaglandin E1 animals at 60 minutes and 24 hours after reperfusion (13.97 +/- 1.29 and 13.60 +/- 0.91 mumoles/gm dry weight prostaglandin E1 vs. 9.25 +/- 0.97 and 9.80 +/- 0.85 mumoles/gm dry weight co control, P < .01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analysis of high-frequency signal-averaged ECG measurements.

Analysis of high frequency (150-250 Hz) in the signal-averaged electrocardiogram (SAECG) is one of the emerging methods for detecting vessel patency in acute myocardial infarction following thrombolytic therapy and angioplasty. Root-mean-square voltage (RMSV) of the filtered QRS has been used in earlier studies to detect reperfusion; however, previous analysis indicated that RMSV is sensitive to residual noise in the SAECG and errors in QRS delineation (onset/offset). A new measurement is proposed, high-frequency energy (HFQE), and the robustness of the RMSV and HFQE was evaluated for simulated errors in QRS delineation. In this study, two measures (RMSV and HFQE) were tested on 24 control subjects and 21 patients undergoing thrombolytic therapy. Results indicate that unfiltered QRS duration is more stable than filtered QRS duration for the control subjects and patients and that HFQE had less fluctuation than RMSV in thrombolytic therapy patients. In the control group, HFQE was sensitive to the amplitude variation of the filtered SAECG. Therefore, another new measurement is proposed high-frequency integral of absolute value (HFAV), for reducing the sensitivity to amplitude changes in the filtered SAECG. This new feature was tested on control subjects and was found to be more stable than HFQE. In the thrombolitic therapy group, HFAV provided similar information as HFQE. These three measurements-RMSV, HFQE, and HFAV-provide a comprehensive analysis of the high-frequency SAECG for detecting vessel patency and reocclusion. Relative merits of these measures need to be evaluated on a larger database of patients undergoing thrombolysis and angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction.

Two identical copies of IS1246, a 1275 base pair sequence related to other bacterial insertion sequences, enclose the xyl genes on TOL plasmid pWW0.

Two identical direct repeats of a 1275 bp sequence, designated IS1246, encompass the xyl genes, which determine the catabolism of toluene, m- and p-xylenes to central metabolites, on the TOL catabolic plasmid pWW0. IS1246 has a terminal inverted repeat of 12 bp (5'GGGCACCTCGAA3') and contains a major open reading frame of 280 codons. This ORF shows significant homology with ORFs encoded by a number of bacterial insertion sequences from Bacteroides, Neisseria and Escherichia coli.

Extractive spectrophotometric determination of cobalt using Cyanex-272.

Cyanex-272 forms a blue-colored complex with Co(II) in the organic phase. The complex shows three absorption maxima. The peak at 635 nm has been used for developing a spectrophotometric procedure for cobalt determination. Beer's law was found to be obeyed in the range 0.295-2.36 mg of cobalt. The nature of the extracted species was found to be CoR(2).HR. The molar absorptivity was found to be 3.07 x 10(2) l. mol(-1). cm(-1) at 635 nm. The method was applied for cobalt determination in solutions obtained from Beta Cake and a super alloy and was found to give values close to the actual ones. Easy regeneration of the reagent (Cyanex-272) for re-use is the main advantage of the present method.

Signal-averaged ECG parameters in cardiac normals using Frank lead system and Fourier transform filter and gender specific differences: a multicenter study.

There is only limited data on normal reference values for signal-averaged electrocardiograms (SAECGs) using Frank leads and fast Fourier transform filter (FFT). Furthermore, the influence of gender on reference values and their relation to body characteristics was only the subject of a few studies on small series of normals. One hundred eighty-five cardiac normals (85 women and 100 men) were examined in this multicenter study. The obtained SAECG values (mean +/- standard deviation) are as follows: filtered QRS duration (FQRSD) = 108.6 +/- 7.5 msec; low amplitude signal duration < 40 microV (LASD) = 30.4 +/- 8.4 msec; and root mean square voltage in the terminal 40 msec (RMSV) = 43.5 +/- 20.6 microV. Between men and women, significant differences were found in FQRSD (111.7 +/- 6.5 vs 105.0 +/- 7.0 msec, P < 0.001) and in RMSV (38.6 +/- 17.4 vs 49.4 +/- 22.7 microV, P < 0.001). No difference was observed for LASD. After normalizing the three SAECG parameters for body characteristics, FQRSD normalized for height was the only variable where gender differences were eliminated. For FQRSD and LASD the 90th percentile and for RMSV the 10th percentile are proposed as cut-off values. Only for the 90th percentile of FQRSD a clear difference between men and women was observed. The following gender specific normal values for SAECG, at 40-Hz high pass filtering, using Frank leads and an FFT filter are proposed: for males, FQRSD < 122 msec; for females, FQRSD < 115 msec; for both genders, LASD < 41 msec and RMSV > 20 microV.