Oxidative stress biomarkers in Cyprinus carpio exposed to commercial herbicide bispyribac-sodium

Cyprinus carpio were exposed under field conditions to 20.87 microg l(-1) of commercial herbicide bispyribac-sodium (Nominee, SC), during 7, 21 and 72 days. Enzymatic parameters such as catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activities, as well as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and protein carbonyl contents were studied in different tissues. After 7 days of exposure, GST activity decreased. At the same period, brain AChE activity increased, but a reduction of activity was observed in muscle tissue. Brain TBARS levels increased at 7 days. After 21 days of exposure liver CAT levels and muscle AChE activities decreased. In the same period, liver protein carbonyl and muscle TBARS increased. After 72 days of exposure in the field, AChE activity was reduced in both brain and muscle. Protein carbonyl contents in liver and brain TBARS levels increased. Muscle AChE activity, TBARS and protein carbonyl can be used as biomarkers of exposure to the herbicide bispyribac-sodium. This study demonstrates effects of exposure to bispyribac-sodium under rice field conditions on oxidative stress parameters in tissues of Cyprinus carpio.

Exposure to tebuconazol in rice field and laboratory conditions induces oxidative stress in carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Pesticides can have an effect on the biochemical and physiological functions of living organisms. The changes seen in fish and their response to pesticides can be used as an example for vertebrate toxicity. In this study, carp fish (Cyprinus carpio) were exposed to different concentrations of tebuconazol fungicide, by rice field (31.95 μg/L) and laboratory (33.47 and 36.23 μg/L) conditional testing, during a 7 day period. Parameters such thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance levels (TBARS), protein carbonyl, catalase, glutathione S-transferase and acetylcholinesterase activities were studied, using the liver, brain and white muscle of the fish. The field experiment showed that the TBARS levels were increased in all the analyzed tissues. Similarly, the protein carbonyl of the liver and the brain AChE activity increased after 7 days. The laboratory experiment demonstrated that the TBARS levels in the liver were increased in both of the concentration tests. TBARS levels in the muscle increased only by the lowest test concentration. On the other hand, the protein carbonyl was increased only by the highest concentration. The results indicate that the tebuconazol exposure from the field and laboratory conditions directly affected the health of the fish, showing the occurrence of oxidative stress.

Association between thyroid hormones, lipids and oxidative stress biomarkers in overt hypothyroidism

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of hypothyroidism on lipid peroxidation and the antioxidant profile, as well as to evaluate the interaction between thyroid hormones and biomarkers of oxidative stress in patients with overt hypothyroidism. We also evaluated the influence of cholesterol concentrations on biomarkers of oxidative stress in these same patients.

METHODS

Total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and vitamin E were measured in 20 subjects with overt hypothyroidism (OH) and 20 controls.

RESULTS

TC, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, TBARS, SOD, CAT, and vitamin E were significantly higher in the OH group. Significant correlation was observed for TSH and SOD, CAT, vitamin E and TBARS. Correlation was observed for triiodothyronine (T3) and SOD, CAT, vitamin E and TBARS. Significant correlation was also observed for free thyroxine and vitamin E and TBARS. However, correlation between T3 and CAT remained significant after controlling for TC concentrations.

CONCLUSIONS

Overt hypothyroidism is associated with an increase in oxidative stress, and hypercholesterolemia has a stronger influence on development of oxidative stress in hypothyroid conditions compared with thyroid hormones.

The role of physical identity of the sample and correct comparison stimulus in matching-to-sample paradigms

Pigeons were trained in a higher-order conditional discrimination paradigm to assess the role of physical identity in a within-subjects design. A line orientation which was super-imposed on all response keys signalled whether a response to the matching color or a response to the nonmatching color was correct. Following training under this paradigm, stimulus control gradients were obtained by varying the angularity of the lines. Orderly gradients of stimulus control were obtained and no bias toward or away from the physically identical comparison stimulus was observed. The data were interpreted as indicating that the pigeons acquired a discrimination for each specific stimulus configuration or a set of specific stimulus-response chains based on compound stimuli in which physical identity played no special role.

Detection of West Nile virus infection in horses, Italy, September 2008

Six confirmed and five suspected cases of West Nile virus infection in horses have been reported in the vicinity of Ferrara in Italy. To verify the diffusion of viral circulation and to prevent the spread of disease, the regional authorities of Emilia-Romagna adopted a special plan of West Nile fever surveillance.

Bluetongue control using vaccines: the experience of Emilia Romagna, Italy

In 2003, thirty municipalities of the provinces of Parma, Reggio Emilia and Modena in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, bordering the region of Tuscany, were included in the national bluetongue (BT) vaccination programme, using monovalent live-attenuated type 2 vaccine. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the organisation of a vaccination programme designed by the Regional Veterinary Service and the relative cost of the campaign, as a large number of animals were involved. To better evaluate the real cost of the campaign, costs sustained by the Reggio Emilia Local Sanitary Unit were specifically analysed. BT vaccination of all domestic ruminants is a very expensive operation (euro9.20 per vaccinated animal). Consequently, to evaluate the need for a vaccination campaign in a new area, the risk of disease spread, as well as the cost of the operation, should be considered.

Metabolism of tilmicosin by rabbit liver microsomes and hepatocytes

We investigated tilmicosin (TIM) metabolism, at 25, 50 or 100 microM, in cultures of primary hepatocytes from rabbits bred commercially for food and in liver microsomes prepared from both untreated and rifampicin (RIF)-treated rabbits. RIF is a well-known cytochrome P4503A (CYP 3A) inducer in rabbits and most macrolides are known to be substrates of CYP 3A. No peaks in addition to those of the cis and trans forms of TIM were observed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in extracts of microsomes from untreated rabbits. When TIM was incubated with induced microsomes, at least two peaks were found by HPLC and an additional peak, eluting at shorter retention time was isolated from hepatocytes incubated for 24h with the macrolide. The structures of the metabolites were then estimated by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in concentrated extracts from induced microsomes. Five metabolites were separated and putatively identified: cis and trans demethylated tilmicosin, tilmicosin N-oxide and cis and trans tilmicosin epoxide. The overall amount of metabolites produced in vitro using livers of untreated and RIF treated rabbits was very low, has also been observed in vivo and in vitro in cattle, chickens and pigs.

Dynamic visual speech perception in a patient with visual form agnosia

To examine the role of dynamic cues in visual speech perception, a patient with visual form agnosia (DF) was tested with a set of static and dynamic visual displays of three vowels. Five conditions were tested: (1) auditory only which provided only vocal pitch information, (2) dynamic visual only, (3) dynamic audiovisual with vocal pitch information, (4) dynamic audiovisual with full voice information and (5) static visual only images of postures during vowel production. DF showed normal performance in all conditions except the static visual only condition in which she scored at chance. Control subjects scored close to ceiling in this condition. The results suggest that spatiotemporal signatures for objects and events are processed separately from static form cues.

Biotransformation of benzydamine by microsomes and precision-cut slices prepared from cattle liver

1. Benzydamine (BZ), a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in human and veterinary medicine, is not licensed for use in food-producing species. Biotransformation of BZ in cattle has not been reported previously and is investigated here using liver microsomes and precision-cut liver slices. 2. BZ was metabolized by cattle liver microsomes to benzydamine N-oxide (BZ-NO) and monodesmethyl-BZ (Nor-BZ). Both reactions followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics (Km = 76.4 +/- 16.0 and 58.9 +/- 0.4 microM Vmax = 6.5 +/- 0.8 and 7.4 +/- 0.5 nmolmg(-1) min(-1) respectively); sensitivity to heat and pH suggested that the N-oxidation is catalysed by the flavin-containing monooxygenases. 3. BZ-NO and Nor-BZ were the most abundant products derived from liver slice incubations, and nine other BZ metabolites were found and tentatively identified by LC-MS. Desbenzylated and hydroxylated BZ-NO analogues and a hydroxylated product of BZ were detected, which have been reported in other species. Product ion mass spectra of other metabolites, which are described here for the first time, indicated the formation of a BZ N- -glucuronide and five hydroxylated and N+-glucuronidated derivatives of BZ, BZ-NO and Nor-BZ. 4. The results indicate that BZ is extensively metabolized in cattle. Clearly, differences in metabolism compared with, for example, rat and human, will need to be considered in the event of submission for marketing authorization for use in food animals.

Pigeons' timing of an arbitrary and a naturalistic auditory stimulus: tone versus cooing

Previous animal research has traditionally used arbitrary stimuli to investigate timing in a temporal bisection procedure. The current study compared the timing of the duration of an arbitrary, auditory stimulus (a 500-Hz tone) to the timing of the duration of a naturalistic, auditory stimulus (a pigeon cooing). In the first phase of this study, temporal perception was assessed by comparing psychophysical functions for the duration of tone and cooing signals. In the first set of tests, the point of subjective equality (PSE) was significantly lower for the tone than for the cooing stimulus, indicating that tones were judged longer than equivalent durations of cooing. In the second set of tests, gaps were introduced in the tone signal to match those present in the cooing signal, and no significant difference in the PSE for the tone or the cooing signal was found. A repetition of the testing conducted with gaps removed from the tone signal, failed to replicate the difference in the PSEs for the tone and cooing signals originally obtained. In the second phase of the study, memory for the duration of tone and cooing was examined, and a choose-long bias was found for both signals. Based on these results, it appears that, for pigeons, there may be no significant differences in either temporal perception or temporal memory for arbitrary, auditory signals and more complex, naturalistic, auditory signals.

Effects of the dopamine D2 agonist, quinpirole, on time and number processing in rats

In Experiment 1, rats were trained to discriminate discrete sound sequences that varied in time or number. On time trials, the number of sounds was held constant at 4 and the duration of the sound sequence was either 2 or 8 s. On number trials, the duration of the sound sequence was held constant at 4 s, and the number of sounds was either 2 or 8. Psychophysical functions for time and number were obtained by presenting unreinforced sequences of intermediate duration or number. In agreement with previous research, sensitivity to variation in time was greater than variation in number. Rats received injections of the specific D2 agonist, quinpirole (0.08 mg/kg), or saline. Quinpirole significantly attenuated control by both time and number, but it did not increase behavioral estimates of time or number. In Experiment 2, rats were given different dosages of quinpirole (0.02, 0.04 or 0.06 mg/kg). The steepness of the psychophysical functions for both time and number was reduced in a dose-related fashion without any evidence of an increase in the estimation of time or number. The similarity of the effect of quinpirole on both time and number processing is consistent with the idea that the same internal mechanism is used for timing and counting. However, it is not consistent with the idea that D2 dopamine agonists selectively increase the rate of the internal clock, which is assumed to underlie performance in a temporal bisection procedure. Quinpirole (at doses between 0.02 and 0.08 mg/kg) reduces sensitivity to time and number in a bisection procedure without altering the speed of the internal clock.

Tylosin depletion in edible tissues of turkeys

The depletion of tylosin residues in edible turkey tissues was followed after 3 days of administration of tylosin tartrate at 500 mg l-1 in drinking water, to 30 turkeys. Immediately after the end of the treatment (day 0) and at day 1, 3, 5 and 10 of withdrawal, six turkeys (three males and three females) per time were sacrificed and samples of edible tissues were collected. Tissue homogenates were extracted, purified and analysed by HPLC according to a method previously published for the analysis of tylosin residues in pig tissues. In all tissues, tylosin residues were already below the detection limits of 50 micrograms kg-1 at time zero. However, in several samples of tissues (skin + fat, liver, kidney, muscle), from the six turkeys sacrificed at that time, one peak corresponding to an unknown tylosin equivalent was detected at measurable concentrations. The identification of this unknown compound was performed by LC-MS/MS analysis of the extracts from incurred samples. The mass fragmentation of the compound was consistent with the structure of tylosin D (the alcoholic derivative of tylosin A), the major metabolite of tylosin previously recovered and identified in tissues and/or excreta from treated chickens, cattle and pigs.

Biotransformation of genistein in the rat: elucidation of metabolite structure by product ion mass fragmentology

Biotransformation of the phytoestrogen [14C]genistein was investigated in male and female rats by application of narrow-bore radio-HPLC-MSn (LCQ, Finnigan) to determine intermediates in metabolism. Urine contained five metabolites, Gm1-Gm5, 24 h after dosing by gavage with [14C]genistein (4 mg kg(-1)). Structural analysis following ESI revealed molecular ions [M+H]+ of m/z 447, 449, 273, and 271 for metabolites Gm2, Gm3, Gm5 and genistein, respectively and an [M-H]- of m/z 349 for Gm4. Metabolite structure was deduced by evaluation of product ion spectra derived from unlabelled and [14C]-labelled ions and sensitivity to treatment with beta-glucuronidase. These studies indicated identity of metabolites with genistein glucuronide (Gm2), dihydrogenistein glucuronide (Gm3), genistein sulphate (Gm4) and dihydrogenistein (Gm5). Detection of the beta-glucuronidase resistant major metabolite Gm1 by ESI was poor and so was analysed by negative ion APCI; this revealed a deprotonated molecular ion of m/z 165 which had chromatographic and mass spectral properties consistent with authentic 4-hydroxyphenyl-2-propionic acid, a novel metabolite of genistein. In vitro metabolism studies with anaerobic caecal cultures derived from male and female rats revealed metabolism of genistein to Gm1 via Gm5 and an additional metabolite (Gm6) which was identified from product ion spectra as 6'-hydroxy-O-desmethylangolensin. Biotransformation of genistein by both isolated hepatocytes and precision-cut liver slices was limited to glucuronidation of parent compound. Commonality of genistein metabolites found in rats with those reported in man suggest similar pathways of biotransformation, primarily involving gut micro-flora.

Benign myoclonic epilepsy: long-term follow-up of 11 new cases

The authors report a long-term follow-up of 11 new subjects with benign myoclonic epilepsy. There were some unusual clinical features such as the need for dual therapy in 45.5% of subjects, and the presence of non-epileptic myoclonus in 54.5%, neither of which influenced the prognosis. Neuropsychological and behavioral evolution was less favorable in 45.5% of patients (mental retardation, school learning problems, attention deficit disorder, hyperkinesia, aggressiveness, irritability, negativism). The less favorable neuropsychological outcome might be related to additional interacting factors such as personal antecedents, seizure onset and antiepileptic treatment.

Familial Unverricht-Lundborg disease: a clinical, neurophysiologic, and genetic study

PURPOSE

Progressive myoclonus epilepsies (PMEs) are a clinically and etiologically heterogeneous group of disorders. The authors report clinical, neurophysiological, and genetic findings of a family from Southern Italy with three members affected with PME.

METHODS

All data about familial and personal antecedents, clinical history, neurologic examination, laboratory tests, neurophysiological findings, brain imaging studies, and DNA analysis were examined.

RESULTS

All results were compatible with the features of Unverricht-Lundborg disease and patients were homozygous for the "Finnish" ancestral haplotype.

CONCLUSIONS

Work is in progress to identify and characterize the common EPM1 mutation in the Finnish patients. Subsequently, it will be possible to verify the hypothesis on the existence of a common mutation in the Finnish patients and the Italian family under study, or even in other Mediterranean EPM1 families.

The effects of scopolamine on memory for time in rats and pigeons

In Experiment 1, pigeons were trained to match short (2 s) and long (8 s) sample durations to red and green comparison stimuli and red and green samples to vertical and horizontal line comparisons. They received injections of scopolamine hydrobromide (0.02 mg/kg), scopolamine methylbromide (0.02 mg/kg), or saline, and the delay interval was manipulated (0, 1, 3, and 9 s). In Experiment 2, rats were trained to discriminate short (2 s) or long (12 s) durations of house-light illumination using a choice procedure. During the test phase of each trial, the left and right levers were presented with the cue light on above one of them (cued lever) while the other was off (uncued lever). For half of the rats, the correct response following the short sample was to press the cued lever, whereas following the long sample, it was to press the uncued lever. This was reversed for the remaining rats. The rats received injections of scopolamine hydrobromide (0.15 mg/kg), scopolamine methylbromide (0.15 mg/kg), or saline, and the delay interval was manipulated (0, 1, 3, and 9 s). In pigeons, scopolamine equivalently disrupted both temporal and nontemporal memory. Memory for time, in both rats and pigeons, was significantly poorer following scopolamine injections than following methylscopolamine or saline injections. No choose-short effect was observed in either rats or pigeons during saline test sessions. The data indicate that central cholinergic blockade in both pigeons and rats disrupts the accuracy of delayed temporal discriminations. However, scopolamine does not appear to accelerate the rate at which memory for temporal events is foreshortened.

Gait analysis of the donor foot in microsurgical reconstruction of the thumb

Clinical and step evaluations by a piezoelectric system board were performed in 54 patients who underwent microsurgical reconstruction of the thumb by great or second toe transfer. Forty-four patients were male and 10 were female. In 13 cases, the thumb was reconstructed by the Morrison wrap-around technique. In 27 cases, an extended variant of the Morrison technique was used in which the whole distal phalanx was harvested with skin and nail apparatus. Four patients were treated by great toe transfer and 10 were treated by second toe transfer. Follow-up ranged from 2 to 144 months. The group of patients treated by the wrap-around technique presented hallux rigidus in 38.5% of cases. The group of patients treated by the extended variant of the Morrison technique presented a lesser tendency to hallux rigidus but a clear reduction of the pushing phase of hallux. The group of patients treated by second toe transfer presented a third and fourth metatarsal bone overload that was confirmed by a statistical Wilcoxon test: overload was linked to a plantar hyperkeratosis at the third metatarsal (20%), fourth metatarsal (10%), or fifth metatarsal bone (20%). A claw deformity of the third and fourth toes was observed in 20% of these patients. The four patients who underwent microsurgical reconstruction of the thumb by great toe transfer exhibited an overload of central and lateral metatarsal bones. Second toe transfer is not associated with the functional or cosmetic changes seen in great toe transfer and is therefore preferred.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The effects of scopolamine and cues to forget on pigeons' memory for time

Pigeons were trained with a 0-s delayed symbolic matching-to-sample procedure to indicate whether a houselight sample stimulus was short (2 s) or long (8 s) by pecking a red or a green comparison stimulus. In Experiment 1, the pigeons received injections of scopolamine hydrobromide (0.015 mg/kg), or saline, and the delay interval was manipulated (0, 1, 3, and 9 s). Memory for time was significantly poorer following scopolamine injections than following saline injections. A significant choose-short bias was observed under scopolamine at delays as brief as 3 s, but not under saline. In Experiment 2, a brief postsample cue (a vertical or horizontal line) signaled whether the comparison stimuli would be presented or omitted on each trial. During training, comparison stimuli were always presented following the remember (R) cue, but never following the forget (F) cue. During testing, memory for time was significantly poorer on F-cue trials than on R-cue trials. A significant choose-short bias was observed on F-cue trials at the 5- and 10-s delays, but not on R-cue trials. The results suggest that anticholinergic blockade accelerates the rate at which memory for temporal events is foreshortened in working memory. This effect is similar to that produced by an explicit cue to forget the temporal sample.