CS Treatment Research Articles

The essential oil of Eryngium duriaei subsp. juresianum inhibits IL-1β induced NF-kB and MAPK activation in human chondrocytes

Methods: OA patients were treated with CS (800 mg/day) or paracetamol (4 g/day) for 6 month. Clinical examination was performed at baseline, and after 1.5, 6 and 9 months of treatment, with collection of plasma and synovial fluid. The clinical examination included measurement of the overflow, hypertrophy and vascularisation of the synovia as well as functional study of the articulation (with Lequesne and EVA index). The levels of CXCL16, fractalkine/CX3CL1, MCP-1/CCL-2, RANTES/CCL5 and GRO-a/ CXCL1 were determined by ELISA in the plasma and synovial samples collected. The statistical analysis was performed with SPSS package. We performed two different analyses. In the first one, we studied the difference between the levels of the chemokine between each time and the baseline. We performed this analysis in separate with the paracetamol group and chondroitin one. For this comparison we used a non parametric test (Wilcoxon 2 related samples test). We performed a second analysis in order to analyze if there were differences in the chemokine levels over time, depending on the treatment received. For this analysis an independent sample t-test was performed. Results: Improvements in the clinical signs of inflammation were detected after 6-9 months after CS treatment of OA patients. The comparison of the levels of each chemokine at the different times studied versus the baseline, indicated us that these effects were accompanied bya significant reduction in the synovial levels of MCP-1 at 6 month (p¼0.05), whereas in the paracetamol group there was a significant increased level of RANTES (p¼0.035). In plasma, only MCP-1 concentration was significant diminished (p¼0.023) by CS administration. To study in global the answer to the treatments, we perform a comparison between the effect of each drug to the levels of each chemokine. This analysis showed us that there were significant differences between the response to the treatment in MCP-1, 6 month after treatment (p¼0.016), and in fractalkine, 9 month after treatment (p¼0.036). In both cases the treatment with chondroitin showed a diminution of the levels of the chemokines, while paracetamol didn't affect in the case of MCP-1 or even increased in the case of fractalkine. All these data show that chemokine attraction of macrophage, T-cell, eosinophil and basophil is reduced with a 6 month treatment with chondroitin. Conclusions: These results suggest that CS sulphate may represent an adequate drug to reduce the inflammation associated to the OA process.

Effect of Myrtol standardized on mucus hypersecretion and clearance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a rat model of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

This study aimed to investigate the effect of Myrtol standardized (GeloMyrtol forte) in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in an animal model. A total of 93 experimental rats were randomly divided into 6 groups: control (n = 6), exposure to cigarette smoke (CS, n = 6), CS plus Myrtol standardized treatment (CS + M, n = 6), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) infection (PA, n = 25), CS + PA (n = 25), and CS + PA + M (n = 25). For all 62 CS rats, they were exposed to cigarette smoke for a period of 12 weeks. During this time period the 31 CS + M rats (CS + M; CS + PA + M) received 300 mg/kg/day Myrtol standardized intragastrically always 30 min prior to smoke exposure. For CS + PA and CS + PA + M rats, intratracheal PA inoculation was performed after the 12 weeks of smoke exposure. All intratracheal PA inoculations were followed by a post-infection examination at 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h in each 5 rats. All study animals were euthanized and their lungs were excised; the left lung was homogenized for determination of bacterial load and measurements of TNF-alpha and IL-6, the right lungs were preserved for histo- and immunohistochemical examinations (e. g. MUC5AC). The lungs from CS rats were pathologically similar to those of COPD patients with the characteristics of goblet cell metaplasia and MUC5AC hypersecretion. CS animals had a significantly greater number of MUC5AC positive cells in the bronchial epithelial cells, and significantly increased expression levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 after PA infection. However, the administration of Myrtol standardized significantly (p = 0.002) attenuated MUC5AC hypersecretion, measured as integrity optical density (IOD), in CS + M rats (45.98 +/- 6.25) as compared to CS alone (65.55 +/- 11.18) rats. The same applies at different time points between CS + PA rats (65.15 +/- 11.94, 75.88 +/- 7.42, 81.2 +/- 6.49, 75.14 +/- 6.85 and 67.32 +/- 10.61, respectively) and CS + PA + M rats (47.08 +/- 4.78, 54.22 +/- 6.59, 65.4 +/- 6.12, 59.98 +/- 4.96 and 48.43 +/- 7.29, respectively). Similar effects were found in the production of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in the CS + PA + M lungs. Similarly the bacterial load of 10,980 +/- 4,253 CFU in CS + PA + M was significantly lower compared to 42,400 +/- 3,296 CFU in CS + PA lungs after 72 h PA infection. In conclusion, this experimental study demonstrates a significant therapeutic effect of Myrtol standardized in treating common pathological conditions, such as airway mucus hypersecretion and defect of mucociliary functions in COPD.

Evaluation of Simulated Strategies for Reducing Nitrate–Nitrogen Losses through Subsurface Drainage Systems

The nitrates (NO(3)-N) lost through subsurface drainage in the Midwest often exceed concentrations that cause deleterious effects on the receiving streams and lead to hypoxic conditions in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The use of drainage and water quality models along with observed data analysis may provide new insight into the water and nutrient balance in drained agricultural lands and enable evaluation of appropriate measures for reducing NO(3)-N losses. DRAINMOD-NII, a carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) simulation model, was field tested for the high organic matter Drummer soil in Indiana and used to predict the effects of fertilizer application rate and drainage water management (DWM) on NO-N losses through subsurface drainage. The model was calibrated and validated for continuous corn (Zea mays L.) (CC) and corn-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (CS) rotation treatments separately using 7 yr of drain flow and NO(3)-N concentration data. Among the treatments, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency of the monthly NO(3)-N loss predictions ranged from 0.30 to 0.86, and the percent error varied from -19 to 9%. The medians of the observed and predicted monthly NO(3)-N losses were not significantly different. When the fertilizer application rate was reduced ~20%, the predicted NO(3)-N losses in drain flow from the CC treatments was reduced 17% (95% confidence interval [CI], 11-25), while losses from the CS treatment were reduced by 10% (95% CI, 1-15). With DWM, the predicted average annual drain flow was reduced by about 56% (95% CI, 49-67), while the average annual NO(3)-N losses through drain flow were reduced by about 46% (95% CI, 32-57) for both tested crop rotations. However, the simulated NO(3)-N losses in surface runoff increased by about 3 to 4 kg ha(-1) with DWM. For the simulated conditions at the study site, implementing DWM along with reduced fertilizer application rates would be the best strategy to achieve the highest NO(3)-N loss reductions to surface water. The suggested best strategies would reduce the NO(3)-N losses to surface water by 38% (95% CI, 29-46) for the CC treatments and by 32% (95% CI, 23-40) for the CS treatments.

Effects of Extract from Solid-State FermentedCordyceps sinensison Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus is the most common chronic disease in the world, and a wide range of drugs, including Chinese herbs, have been evaluated for the treatment of associated metabolic disorders. This study investigated the potential hypoglycemic and renoprotective effects of an extract from the solid-state fermented mycelium of Cordyceps sinensis (CS). We employed the KK/HIJ diabetic mouse model, in which the mice were provided with a high-fat diet for 8 weeks to induce hyperglycemia, followed by the administration of CS or rosiglitazone for 4 consecutive weeks. Several parameters were evaluated, including changes in body weight, plasma lipid profiles, oral glucose tolerance tests, insulin tolerance tests, and plasma insulin concentrations. Our results show that the CS extract significantly elevated HDL/LDL ratios at 4 weeks and decreased body weight gain at 8 weeks. Interestingly, CS treatment did not lead to obvious improvements in hyperglycemia or resistance to insulin, while in vitro MTT assays indicated that CS protects pancreatic beta cells against the toxic effects of STZ. CS also enhanced renal NKA activity and reduced the accumulation of mesangial matrix and collagen deposition. In conclusion, CS extract can potentially preserve β-cell function and offer renoprotection, which may afford a promising therapy for DM.

Eosinophilic fasciitis (Shulman disease): new insights into the therapeutic management from a series of 34 patients

To analyse therapeutic management of eosinophilic fasciitis (EF). We reviewed 34 adult patients with biopsy-proven EF. Analyses focused on the therapeutic management, including treatment modalities, responses and associated or predictive factors. Thirty-four patients were included with a diagnosis age of 53 (15) years. They were featured by cutaneous manifestations (88%) including morphoea (41%), myalgia (86%) and hypereosinophilia (85%). Thirty-two patients (94%) were eligible for treatment evaluation and all received CSs as a first-line therapy. Fifteen patients (47%) received methylprednisolone pulses (MPPs) at treatment initiation and 14 patients (44%) received an immunosuppressive drug (ISD), usually MTX (86%), as a second-line therapy. Complete remission was achieved for 69% of patients, remission with disability 19% and failure 12%. A poor outcome was associated with a diagnosis time delay of >6 months [odds ratio (OR) = 14.7] and the lack of MPPs (OR = 12.9). Our study reports new insights into the therapeutic management of EF: (i) CS treatment remains the standard therapy for EF, taken alone or in association with an ISD; (ii) MPPs at initiation of treatment are associated with a better outcome and a lower need of ISD use; (iii) an ISD, usually MTX, might be useful as a second-line therapy, mainly in patients with morphoea-like lesions. Naturally, these practical conclusions should be confirmed by a prospective and multicentre study.

Effects of emotional and physiological stress on plaque instability in apolipoprotein E knockout mice

In the present study, we sought to investigate the effects of emotional and physiological stress on plaque instability in atherosclerosis. We used different stress-treated apolipoprotein E (ApoE)-deficient mice, which have been shown to spontaneously develop atherosclerosis with features similar to those seen in humans, as an animal model. Morphology study showed that emotional stress (ES) obviously promoted the development of atherosclerotic plaques and plaque instability evidenced by significantly increasing plaque size, plaque-to-surface ratio and plaque calcification, and enhancing the frequency of large necrotic core and medial erosion compared with control ApoE(-/-) mice (P<0.01). Physiological stress (PS) treatment alone did not affect the plaque stability compared with control ApoE(-/-) mice (P>0.05). However, the combination of ES and PS treatment (CS) initiated much stronger plaque instability compared with ES treatment alone (P<0.01), increased the frequency of thin fibrous caps, and even triggered plaque rupture and buried fibrous cap. Immunohistochemical analysis indicated that both ES and CS treatment led to an increase in the accumulation of macrophages and T cells and a decrease of smooth muscle cells, reflecting an unstable atherosclerotic plaque phenotype, in the atherosclerotic lesions in ApoE(-/-) mice. PS alone did not affect plaque cellular components. Similarly, CS-mediated changes in atherosclerotic plaque composition were stronger than that caused by ES alone (P<0.01). Taken together, ES treatment alone is sufficient to promote plaque instability. PS alone does not affect atherosclerotic plaque development, but can potentiate ES-mediated plaque destabilization.

Patients with systemic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases are at risk of vaccine-preventable illnesses

To evaluate vaccine coverage and humoral immunity to tetanus, diphtheria and poliomyelitis in adults followed for systemic inflammatory and/or autoimmune diseases (SIADs). A cross-sectional study was conducted between June and August 2006 in a monocentric cohort of adults with SIAD. A standardized questionnaire was administered to collect medical, therapeutic and vaccine coverage data. Blood samples were collected in order to measure antibody titres against diphtheria, tetanus and poliomyelitis (DTP). One hundred and eighty-six patients, 32% males, mean (s.d.) age 51 (16) years, 79% receiving CSs and/or immunosuppressants, were included. The vaccine coverage was 29% for diphtheria, 48% for tetanus and 33% for poliomyelitis. The percentages of patients with no humoral immunity against DTP were 44, 21 and 12%, respectively, decreasing to 37.5, 10 and 0%, respectively, for those who had received a vaccine booster in the last 10 years. In a multivariate analysis, age and CS treatment were associated with the absence of humoral immunity against diphtheria and female sex, CD4(+) T cell <200/mm(3) and an absence of tetanus vaccine booster in the last 10 years with the absence of humoral immunity to tetanus. Vaccine coverage against tetanus, diphtheria and poliomyelitis is low in patients with SIAD despite the risk in this population of severe infection, especially when receiving immunosuppressants. A significant proportion of them had no humoral immunity against diphtheria or tetanus. Specific immunization schedules need to be optimized in these patients.

Optimization of yield and water-use of different cropping systems for sustainable groundwater use in North China Plain

A groundwater crisis is going on in the North China Plain (NCP), due to the excessive water consumption of the traditional winter wheat (WW)/summer maize (SM) double cropping system (two harvests in one year). In order to improve the water use efficiency in this particular cropping system and to evaluate the sustainability of water usage in Chinese agroecosystems, two field experiments were conducted from October 2004 to September 2006 at two sites of the North China Plain. The field experiments included four treatments: (1) farmers’ practice (FP) with two harvests in one year (WW/SM rotation), (2) FP with reduced input (RI) of water and nitrogen (WW/SM rotation), (3) three harvests in two years (TW, 1st year: WW/SM; 2nd year: spring maize), and (4) continuous spring-maize monoculture (CS) with one harvest per year (spring maize). In the treatments RI, TW and CS, the amount and timing of irrigation and nitrogen fertilization was optimized using TDR based soil moisture measurements and the Nmin-method, respectively. Data showed that the utilization efficiency of irrigation water can be improved by optimizing soil water management compared to the traditional water management (FP). However, the groundwater net consumption required for RI still surpassed 300 mm yr−1. Both FP and RI, still overused groundwater resources. The groundwater consumption in the continuous spring maize (CS) was on average 139 mm yr−1. Therefore, the CS system can show the potential to use groundwater sustainably in the long term. Water usage of the TW treatment was in between the water usage of the other treatments. The grain yields in the double cropping systems (FP and RI) were higher than that in the two other systems (TW and CS). But the CS treatment showed the higher WUE than others.

Pharmacoproteomic study of the effects of chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate on human articular chondrocytes.

IntroductionChondroitin sulfate (CS) and glucosamine sulfate (GS) are symptomatic slow-acting drugs for osteoarthritis (OA) widely used in clinic. Despite their widespread use, knowledge of the specific molecular mechanisms of their action is limited. The aim of this work is to explore the utility of a pharmacoproteomic approach for the identification of specific molecules involved in the pharmacological effect of GS and CS.MethodsChondrocytes obtained from three healthy donors were treated with GS 10 mM and/or CS 200 μg/mL, and then stimulated with interleukin-1β (IL-1β) 10 ng/mL. Whole cell proteins were isolated 24 hours later and resolved by two-dimensional electrophoresis. The gels were stained with SYPRORuby. Modulated proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) mass spectrometry. Real-time PCR and Western blot analyses were performed to validate our results.ResultsA total of 31 different proteins were altered by GS or/and CS treatment when compared to control. Regarding their predicted biological function, 35% of the proteins modulated by GS are involved in signal transduction pathways, 15% in redox and stress response, and 25% in protein synthesis and folding processes. Interestingly, CS affects mainly energy production (31%) and metabolic pathways (13%), decreasing the expression levels of ten proteins. The chaperone GRP78 was found to be remarkably increased by GS alone and in combination with CS, a fact that unveils a putative mechanism for the reported anti-inflammatory effect of GS in OA. On the other hand, the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) was significantly decreased by both drugs and synergistically by their combination, thus suggesting a drug-induced decrease of the oxidative stress caused by IL-1β in chondrocytes.ConclusionsCS and GS differentially modulate the proteomic profile of human chondrocytes. This pharmacoproteomic approach unravels the complex intracellular mechanisms that are modulated by these drugs on IL1β-stimulated human articular chondrocytes.

Impact of chondroitin sulphate on health utility in patients with knee osteoarthritis: towards economic analysis

Objectives: The first objective was to assess the effect of the chondroitin 4 and 6 sulphate (CS) on health-related quality of life using utility values in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) during a 24-month treatment course. The second objective was, using these data, to conduct economic analyses.Methods: Data from the STOPP study was used. This study was a randomised, double-blind, placebo (PL) -controlled trial of 2-year duration. In the STOPP study, authors assessed quality of life using the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). WOMAC scores were translated into Health Utility Index (HUI) scores using a specific formula. Incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) was calculated taking into account the cost of CS and its effect on HUI scores, compared to PL.Results: At baseline, the mean (SD) HUI scores were 0.59 (0.17), and 0.59 (0.18) for the PL and CS groups, respectively (p=0.31 between the two groups). The mean (SD) HUI scores changes from baseline to 6 months were 0.02 (0.02), and 0.05 (0.01) for the PL and CS groups, respectively (p=0.03). After 24 months of follow-up, HUI score increases by 0.04 (0.02) in the PL group and by 0.05 (0.02) in the CS group (p=0.37). Using the price bracket of CS in Europe, ICER assessment always resulted in a cost below €30,000 per QALY gained, after 6, 12 and 24 months of treatment.Conclusion: CS treatment increases health utilities in patients with knee OA compared to PL over the first 6 months of treatment. Economic evaluation based on these data suggests that CS treatment could be considered as cost-effective in patients with knee OA up to a period of 24 months. A limitation in this study is the absence of direct utility assessment as well as the absence of effective treatment as comparator.

Target Cell Type-Dependent Modulation of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Capsid Disassembly by Cyclophilin A

The binding of cyclophilin A (CypA) to the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) capsid protein (CA protein) is required soon after virus entry into natural target cells. In Jurkat T lymphocytes, disrupting CypA-CA interaction either by cyclosporine (Cs) treatment or by alteration (e.g., P90A) of the CA inhibits HIV-1 infection. In HeLa cells, however, treatment with Cs or Cs analogues minimally inhibits the early phase of HIV-1 infection but selects for a Cs-dependent virus with a change (A92E) in CA. To understand these phenomena, we examined the effects of the P90A and A92E changes in the HIV-1 CA protein on the stability of capsid complexes assembled in vitro and on capsid disassembly in the cytosol of virus-exposed target cells. The A92E change impaired CA-CA interactions in vitro and decreased the amount of particulate capsids in the cytosol of HeLa target cells. Reducing the binding of CypA to the A92E mutant capsid, either by Cs treatment or by an additional P90A change in the CA protein, increased the amount of particulate capsids and viral infectivity in HeLa cells. In contrast, reduction of the binding of CypA to HIV-1 capsids in Jurkat T lymphocytes resulted in a decrease in the amount of particulate capsids and infectivity. Thus, depending on the capsid and the target cell, CypA-CA binding either stabilized or destabilized the capsid, indicating that CypA modulates HIV-1 capsid disassembly. In both cell types examined, decreased stability of the capsid was associated with a decrease in the efficiency of HIV-1 infection.

Effects of Dietary Synbiotics from Anaerobic Microflora on Growth Performance, Noxious Gas Emission and Fecal Pathogenic Bacteria Population in Weaning Pigs

Synbiotics is the term used for a mixture of probiotics (live microbial feed additives that beneficially affects the host animal) and prebiotics (non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the organism). This study investigated the effect of probiotics from anaerobic microflora with prebiotics on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, noxious gas emission and fecal microbial population in weaning pigs. 150 pigs with an initial BW of 6.80±0.32 kg (20 d of age) were randomly assigned to 5 dietary treatments as follows: i) US, basal diet+0.15% antibiotics (0.05% oxytetracycline 200 and 0.10% tiamulin 38 g), ii) BS, basal diet+0.2% synbiotics (probiotics from bacteria), iii) YS, basal diet+0.2% synbiotics (probiotics from yeast), iv) MS, basal diet+0.2% synbiotics (probiotics from mold), v) CS, basal diet+0.2% synbiotics (from compounds of bacteria, yeast and mold). The probiotics were contained in 10 9 cfu/ml, 10 5 cfu/ml and 10 3 tfu/ml of bacteria, yeast and molds, respectively. The same prebiotics (mannan oligosaccharide, lactose, sodium acetate and ammonium citrate) was used for all the synbiotics. Pigs were housed individually for a 16-day experimental period. Growth performance showed no significant difference between antibiotic treatments and synbiotics-added treatments. The BS treatment showed higher (p<0.05) dry matter (DM) and nitrogen digestibility while ether extract and crude fiber digestibility were not affected by the dietary treatment. Also, the BS treatment decreased (p<0.05) fecal ammonia and amine gas emissions. Hydrogen sulfide concentration was also decreased (p<0.05) in BS, YS and MS treatments compared to other treatments. Moreover, all the synbiotics-added treatments increased fecal acetic acid concentration while the CS treatment had lower propionic acid concentration than the US treatment (p<0.05) gas emissions but decreased in fecal propionate gas emissions. Total fecal bacteria and Escherichia coli populations did not differ significantly among the treatments, while the Shigella counts were decreased (p<0.05) in synbiotics-included treatment. Fecal bacteria population was higher in the YS treatment than other treatments (p<0.05). The BS treatment had higher yeast concentration than YS, MS and CS treatments, while US treatment had higher mold concentrations than MS treatment (p<0.05). Therefore, the results of the present study suggest that synbiotics are as effective as antibiotics on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and fecal microflora composition in weaning pigs. Additionally, synbiotics from anaerobic microflora can decrease fecal noxious gas emission and synbiotics can substitute for antibiotics in weaning pigs.

Effects of carbon disulfide on the expression and activity of nitric oxide synthase in rat hippocampus

Carbon disulfide (CS(2)) is a commonly used organic solvent. Many epidemiological investigations and animal experiments have indicated that learning and memory ability can be affected to different degrees after long-term exposure to CS(2), but the mechanisms are still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the possible mechanisms of CS(2)-related impairment of the learning and memory ability of rats, by investigating the effects of CS(2) on nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity and NOS mRNA expression in rat hippocampus. Rat models of toxicity were generated by inhalation of various doses of CS(2). After two months of inhaling intoxication, the activities of constitutive NOS (cNOS) and induced NOS (iNOS) in the hippocampus were measured. The levels of neuronal NOS (nNOS) mRNA and iNOS mRNA were measured by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). cNOS activity was significantly decreased compared with controls, while iNOS activity was changed only slightly. CS(2) treatment significantly decreased nNOS mRNA levels. iNOS mRNA levels were significantly increased only at higher doses of CS(2). The effect of CS2 on learning and memory ability in rats is related to the activity of NOS and the expression of nNOS in the hippocampus.

Effects of nutritionally induced metabolic acidosis with or without glutamine infusion on acid-base balance, plasma amino acids, and plasma nonesterified fatty acids in sheep1

This study characterized the effects of nutritionally induced metabolic acidosis with or without Gln infusion on acid-base balance, plasma AA, and plasma NEFA in sheep. In a randomized complete block design with a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, 24 fully fleeced sheep (Rideau-Arcott, 63.6 +/- 5.9 kg of BW) were fed a control supplement (CS; 300 g/d of canola meal) or an acidosis supplement (AS; 300 g/d of NutriChlor; HCl-treated canola meal), offered twice daily at 0700 and 1100 h. Sheep were infused at 1400 h daily with 0.3 g of L-glutamine per kg of BW or saline via jugular vein catheters for 7 d. The sheep were individually housed and limit-fed a basal diet of dehydrated alfalfa pellets (1.75 kg/d; 90% DM, 22% CP, and 1.2 Mcal of NE(g)/kg on a DM basis) offered twice daily at 1000 and 1300 h. Blood and urine was sampled daily between 1100 and 1130 h, and blood samples were analyzed for hematocrit, plasma pH, gases, strong ions, AA, and NEFA, whereas urine was analyzed for pH. The AS reduced (P < 0.01) DMI, urine and plasma pH, blood urea, partial pressure of CO(2), strong ion difference, and plasma HCO(3)(-), and increased (P < 0.01) plasma K(+), Ca(2+), and Cl(-). The AS with saline infusion increased (P <or= 0.03) partial pressure of O(2) and plasma glucose, whereas AS with Gln infusion reduced (P < 0.01) partial pressure of O(2) and plasma glucose. The AS increased (P < 0.01) plasma lysine and reduced (P < 0.01) plasma taurine. Glutamine infusion increased (P = 0.04) plasma leucine with the CS treatment but had no effect (P = 0.89) with the AS treatment. Plasma 16:0, 18:2n-6, 18:3n-3, 20:4n-6, and total NEFA were increased and 18:0 was decreased (P < 0.001) in AS sheep compared with CS sheep. Infusion of Gln decreased (P < 0.05) 16:0, 18:2n-6, 18:3n-3, 20:4n-6, and total NEFA compared with saline infusion. Plasma cis-9, trans-11 CLA was elevated (P = 0.001) in AS sheep, whereas plasma cis-9, trans-11 CLA, regardless of the diets, was decreased (P < 0.02) with Gln infusion. These results show that despite some improvement in overall mobilization of NEFA, Gln infusion did not ameliorate the negative responses associated with metabolic acidosis.

No Changes in Serum Concentrations of Interleukin 10 (IL-10) and Interferon γ (IF-γ) Before and After Treatment of the Thyroid Eye Disease (TED)

TED is a severe eye disease leading in rare cases to decrease of sight, optic nerve compression and blindness. Recently, significant progresses in understanding the disease have been done. Nevertheless, the treatment of the disease, especially in its severe form remains challenging. Glucocorticoids (GC) have been the basis of the treatment for a long time. Orbital irradiation (OI) and optical decompression (OD) are also used in managing the severe forms of TED. Somatostatin, intravenous immunoglobulin have been also used, with conflicting results. Regarding the potential for the treatment of TED with cytokine antagonists, controlled clinical studies are not available. Since cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of the TED, they seemed to be logical choice for modern TED treatment. It has been shown that both Th1 (interleukin-2, tumor necrosis factor gamma, interleukin gamma) and Th2 (interleukin -4, -5, -10) profile T cells are activated in the TED. We therefore measured interleukin-gamma, IF-gamma and interleukin -10 (IL-10)(Th1 and Th2 pattern) to assess its relationship to the course of the disease. This paper shows that both Th1 (IL-2) and Th2 (IF-gamma) pathways represented by those two cytokines are not involved (IL-10 before 2.29+/-5.23 and after treatment 3.77+/-8.44; IF gamma before 0.50+/-0.24 and after treatment 0.35+/-0.19). No relationship to the response to treatment was found. GC resulted in positive response in 8/22 patients, OI (12 patients) given after CS therapy, resulted in a response in all patients. Increase in proptosis, loss of visual acuity is spite of CS treatment prompted OD in two patients, who both recovered visual acuity and proptosis fell under 25 mm Hertel.

Influence of Prairie Restoration on CT‐Measured Soil Pore Characteristics

Restored prairies are expected to improve soil physical properties, yet little is known about the extent of change to soil properties and how rapidly these changes take place. The objective of this study was to compare effects of prairie restoration on computed tomography (CT)-measured pore parameters. Undisturbed soil cores (76 mm diam. by 76 mm long) from native prairie (NP), restored prairie (RP), conservation reserve program (CRP), and no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.; CS) sites were collected with six replicates from the 0- to 40-cm depth in 10-cm increments. Five CT images were acquired from each soil core using a medical CT scanner with 0.2 by 0.2 mm pixel resolution with 0.5 mm slice thickness, and then images were analyzed. Soil bulk density and hydraulic conductivity (K(sat)) were also measured. Soils under NP, RP, CRP, and CS areas had 83, 43, 48, and 26 pores on a 2500 mm(2) area, respectively, for the 0- to 40-cm depth. The number of pores, number of macropores (>1000 microm diam.), macroporosity, mesoporosity (200-1000 microm diam.), and fractal dimension were significantly higher and pore circularity was lower for NP, RP, and CRP than the CS treatment. The CT-measured mesoporosity and macroporosity of the CS treatment were 20 and 18% of the values for the NP site. CT-measured number of pores and macropores explained 43 and 40% of the variation for K(sat). The study showed that prairie restoration improves CT-measured soil pore parameters and decreases bulk density which are related to soil water infiltration.

Efeito de indutores no controle de míldio em Vitis labrusca

A cultura da uva, Vitis labrusca, é de grande importância econômica para a região do vale do Siriji - PE. No entanto, nos últimos anos, o míldio da videira vem pondo em risco essa atividade, fazendo com que os produtores invistam bastante recurso com o uso de fungicida visando o seu controle. Visando substituir o uso de agrotóxico foi avaliado nos municípios de São Vicente Férrer - PE (área 1), Natuba - PB (área 2) e Macaparana - PE (área 3) o efeito da indução de resistência promovida por ácido DL- â - aminobutírico (BABA), Agro-Mos (AM) + Crop-set (Cs), Codavit (Cd) e Ecolife (Ec) em videiras da variedade 'Isabel'. Os resultados obtidos em relação à severidade do míldio demonstraram que o indutor AM + Cs destacou-se dos demais tratamentos, não diferindo estatisticamente dos indutores AM + Cs e Cd, na área 2, e de AM + Cs e Cd, e Ec na área 3. Quanto a eficiência de controle o AM + Cs foi capaz de reduzir a severidade da doença em 37,46%, 35,97% e 18, 57% nas áreas 1, 2 e 3, respectivamente. Nas áreas 1, 2 e 3 a severidade da doença desenvolveu-se obedecendo as seguintes equações, gompertz Y= e-3,36 . e -0,019 t-0,0199(R= 0,66**), logístico Y= 1/1 + 14,63 .e 0,037t (R= 0,84**) e gompertz Y= e-4,13 . e-0,034 t-0,034t,(R= 0,62**), respectivamente. A severidade do míldio da videira em função do tempo na área 1, na maioria dos tratamentos, obedeceu ao modelo de gompertz, exceto o tratamento com BABA cujo modelo que se ajustou foi o logístico. Na área 2, o aumento da severidade da doença nos tratamentos estudados não apresentou predominância de um modelo. O modelo monomolecular apareceu com uma freqüência maior do que os demais, nos tratamentos da área 3.

Comparison of initial filtration resistance by pretreatment processes in the nanofiltration for drinking water treatment

This work was performed to evaluate the influence of pretreatment processes on filtration performance of nanofiltration (NF) membranes treating the actual river water for drinking water production. Untreated raw water (RAW water) and three feed waters pretreated by microfiltration (MF), coagulation-sand filtration (CS), and ozonation-activated carbon adsorption after CS treatment (CSOB) were used to compare the performance of three types of polyamide NF membranes. The effectiveness of these pretreatments were different for the three membranes, namely, MF pretreatment was not effective for UTC-70 membrane, which had the lowest molecular weight cut-off (MWCO), whereas MF was as effective as CS pretreatment for UTC-60 and NF-270 membranes, which had the intermediate and highest MWCOs. CSOB pretreatment was effective for UTC-70 and UTC-60; however, the filtration resistance for NF-270 increased quickly due to very high flux for the first 10 h, which indicated that determination of initial flux is very important for the membrane fouling control. The modified fouling index (MFI) values of CS and CSOB waters showed a similar trend, indicating that ozone and biological activated carbon treatment did not reduce MFI values. MF pretreatment was more effective in reducing particles than in removing dissolved organic matter in the raw water. The average ratios of organic foulants to the total amounts of foulants on UTC-70 and UTC-60 membranes were in the sequence of RAW water > MF water > CS water > CSOB water, while the order of the inorganic foulants was CSOB water > CS water > MF water > RAW water. Dissolved organic carbon fractionation using XAD resins, together with the aforementioned results, indicated that the rapid increase of filtration resistance of UTC-70 membrane filtering the MF water was caused by adsorption of hydrophilic fraction of the feed water rather than cake layer formation, which would be minimal among the three tested membranes because of the lowest permeate flux of the membrane.

Effects of Cs treatment on field emission properties of capped carbon nanotubes

Within the methodology [M. Khazaei, A.A. Farajian, Y. Kawazoe, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95 (2005) 177602] based on first-principles electronic structure calculations, the effects of Cs treatment on current emissions and emission patterns of capped carbon nanotubes are considered at low deposition densities when the nanotubes are under an electric field 0.2 V/Å. The results show that the current emission from the cap with one adsorbed Cs is 3.4 times larger than the cap without any Cs. It is 9.6 times larger in the cap with two adsorbed Cs atoms. After Cs deposition the emission patterns become asymmetric (current emission from the carbon atoms located at the topmost pentagon ring close to Cs atoms is larger than the other atomic sites). There are very few localized states on Cs atoms. Hence, although the tunneling probability of electron emission from Cs atoms is significant, there is no current from Cs atoms. In addition, the effect of Cs on work function reduction of nanotubes is explained in terms of Cs deposition densities and the surface dipole moments.

CORDYCEPS SINENSISMYCELIUM INDUCES MA-10 MOUSE LEYDIG TUMOR CELL APOPTOSIS BY ACTIVATING THE CASPASE-8 PATHWAY AND SUPPRESSING THE NF-κB PATHWAY

Cordyceps sinensis has been used as nutritious food and medicine in Chinese society. CS can inhibit tumor growth and induce tumor cell apoptosis. CS induced MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cell death, but the anti-tumor mechanisms are not fully understood. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the apoptotic effect of CS on MA-10 cells and determine the molecular mechanism. CS (2-10 mg/ml) was added to MA-10 cells at different time scales (0-24 h). The condensation of DNA chromatin and apoptotic nuclear fragmentation increased in CS-treated MA-10 cells. Western blot analysis showed that 3 hours of CS treatment caused an increase in caspase-3 and -8 expressions only, which provided further evidence for the involvement of caspase-3 and -8 in CS-induced MA-10-cell apoptosis. CS blocked NF-?B protein expression in a dose-dependent relationship. CS induces MA-10 cell apoptosis by activating caspase-8-dependent and caspase-9-independent pathways and downregulating NF-?B protein expression.