Assessment of vascular and endothelial dysfunction in nutritional studies

Vascular and endothelial dysfunction (VED) is emerging as a potential set of early markers of cardiovascular disease risk and tests for its measurement have been widely used in clinical research. The aim of this viewpoint is to describe and discuss the current usage of these measures in well-designed nutritional trials, using the potential relationship between fruit juice intake and VED as example. A search was conducted using the NHS evidence portal including studies published in English between January 1980 and October 2013. Only 10 suitable studies were selected, which investigated the effect of fruit juice intake on VED, among which 4 interventions used flow-mediated dilatation, 2 arterial stiffness, 2 a combination of arterial stiffness and flow-mediated dilatation, 2 carotid intimal media thickness and 1 iontophoresis with laser Doppler. Despite minimal effects reported on classical CVD markers, such as lipids, 8 out of the 10 identified studies reported an effect on endothelial function following juice consumption, indicating that VED tests can be effectively used in human dietary interventions to identify relationships between bioactive compounds from fruit and CVD risk. However, paucity of available data, scarcity of compound bioavailability and metabolism information, strong heterogeneity among experimental methodologies and a number of limitations to study designs, still limit the interpretation of the results obtained through these measures. Future, well-designed studies with greater attention to consider use of VED measures are needed to strengthen the utility of VED tests in nutrition research such as those investigating the impact of polyphenol-rich juices and CVD risk.

Cholinergic nerve fibers in bone defects of a rat osteoporosis model and their regulation by implantation of bone substitution materials

OBJECTIVES

Bone is innervated by autonomic nervous system that consists of sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves that were recently identified in bone. Thus we asked whether parasympathetic nerves occur in bone defects and at the interface of substitution materials that were implanted for stabilization and improvement of healing in an osteoporosis animal model.

METHODS

Osteoporosis was induced in rats by ovariectomy and deficiency diet. A wedge-shaped osteotomy was performed in the metaphyseal area of femur. Eight different implants were inserted that were based on calcium phosphate cement, iron, silica-mineralized collagen, and modifications with strontium. Nerves were identified by immunohistochemistry with antibodies against vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) as neuronal marker.

RESULTS

Cholinergic nerves identified with VAChT immunostaining were detected in defects filled with granulation tissue and in surrounding mast cells. No immunolabeling of cholinergic nerves was found after implantation. The general presence of nerves was reduced after implantation as shown by PGP 9.5. Sympathetic nerves identified by TH immunolabeling were increased in strontium functionalized materials.

CONCLUSION

Since cholinergic innervation was diminished after implantation a further increase in the compatibility of substitution materials to nerves could improve defect healing especially in osteoporotic bone.

PKCλ/ι signaling promotes triple-negative breast cancer growth and metastasis

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a distinct breast cancer subtype defined by the absence of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2/neu), and the patients with TNBC are often diagnosed with higher rates of recurrence and metastasis. Because of the absence of ER, PR and HER2/neu expressions, TNBC patients are insensitive to HER2-directed and endocrine therapies available for breast cancer treatment. Here, we report that expression of atypical protein kinase C isoform, PKCλ/ι, significantly increased and activated in all invasive breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma or IDC) subtypes including the TNBC subtype. Because of the lack of targeted therapies for TNBC, we choose to study PKCλ/ι signaling as a potential therapeutic target for TNBC. Our observations indicated that PKCλ/ι signaling is highly active during breast cancer invasive progression, and metastatic breast cancers, the advanced stages of breast cancer disease that developed more frequently in TNBC patients, are also characterized with high levels of PKCλ/ι expression and activation. Functional analysis in experimental mouse models revealed that depletion of PKCλ/ι significantly reduces TNBC growth as well as lung metastatic colonization. Furthermore, we have identified a PKCλ/ι-regulated gene signature consisting of 110 genes, which are significantly associated with indolent to invasive progression of human breast cancer and poor prognosis. Mechanistically, cytokines such as TGFβ and IL1β could activate PKCλ/ι signaling in TNBC cells and depletion of PKCλ/ι impairs NF-κB p65 (RelA) nuclear localization. We observed that cytokine-PKCλ/ι-RelA signaling axis, at least in part, involved in modulating gene expression to regulate invasion of TNBC cells. Overall, our results indicate that induction and activation of PKCλ/ι promote TNBC growth, invasion and metastasis. Thus, targeting PKCλ/ι signaling could be a therapeutic option for breast cancer, including the TNBC subtype.

Menopause-specific quality of life of a group of urban women, West Bengal, India

OBJECTIVE

To find out the association of menopause-specific quality of life of women with menopausal status.

METHODS

In this cross-sectional study, we involved 250 Bengali-speaking women of Hindu ethnic group (118 perimenopausal and 132 postmenopausal), aged 40-65 years from urban areas of North 24 Paraganas, a district of West Bengal, India. The Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire (MENQOL) consisting of 29 menopausal symptoms, grouped under four menopausal domains (vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual), was used to assess menopause-specific quality of life. Scores of four menopausal domains generated a composite score of 'Quality of Life'. Additionally, participants were also interviewed for their sociodemographic characteristics.

RESULTS

Bivariate analyses showed significant difference in all the domains of menopause-specific quality of life (barring vasomotor domain) when compared for menopausal status. Results of ANCOVA showed that menopausal status was significantly associated only with the physical domain after removing the effects of sociodemographic characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Menopausal status had a significant association with the physical domain of menopause-specific quality of life of women.

Bioaccumulation of resveratrol metabolites in myocardial tissue is dose-time dependent and related to cardiac hemodynamics in diabetic rats

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Trans-resveratrol (RSV) is a natural compound occurring in different foods and plants, which in vivo is rapidly conjugated with glucuronic acid and sulfate. Despite its demonstrated cardioprotective activity, the bioaccumulation of RSV or its metabolites in cardiac tissue is still unknown.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Diabetic rats were randomized to 1, 3 or 6 weeks of RSV treatment at two different doses (1 or 5 mg/kg/day). A dose and time-dependent accumulation was observed, with no detectable levels of RSV metabolites found in heart tissues after 1 week and significant concentrations of RSV-3-sulfate and RSV-3-glucuronide after 6 weeks of treatment (0.05 nmol/g of tissue and 0.01 nmol/g of tissue, respectively). Tissue accumulation of RSV metabolites was accompanied by an improvement of cardiac function in long-term diabetes, when myocardial morpho-functional damage is more evident, with an almost complete recovery of all hemodynamic parameters, at the highest RSV dose.

CONCLUSION

Even if a higher concentration of RSV in tissues cannot be ruled out after constant oral administration, an accumulation coherent with what is usually evaluated in cell based mechanistic studies is largely unattainable and the RSV unconjugated form would not be present in this paradigm. The current investigation provides data on myocardial tissue concentrations of RSV metabolites, after short/medium term RSV treatment. This knowledge constitutes a basic requirement for future studies aimed at reliably defining the molecular pathways underlying RSV-mediated cardioprotective effects and opens up new perspectives for research focused on testing phenolic compounds as adjuvants in degenerative heart diseases.

Perpendicular fibre tracking for neural fibre bundle analysis using diffusion MRI

Information on the directionality and structure of axonal fibres in neural tissue can be obtained by analysing diffusion-weighted MRI data sets. Several fibre tracking algorithms have been presented in the literature that trace the underlying field of principal orientations of water diffusion, which correspond to the local primary eigenvectors of the diffusion tensor field. However, the majority of the existing techniques ignore the secondary and tertiary orientations of diffusion, which contain significant information on the local patterns of diffusion. In this paper, we introduce the idea of perpendicular fibre tracking and present a novel dynamic programming method that traces surfaces, which are locally perpendicular to the axonal fibres. This is achieved by using a cost function, with geometric and fibre orientation constraints, that is evaluated dynamically for every voxel in the image domain starting from a given seed point. The proposed method is tested using synthetic and real DW-MRI data sets. The results conclusively demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of our method.

Simulation Study of Thermotropic LCPs and Prediction of Normal Stress Difference at High Shear Rate

The shear viscosity and normal stress difference of two filled and two unfilled thermotropic liquid crystal polymer (TLCPs) were studied. The rigid and rod like molecules of TLCPs orientate differently at different shear rates. Under low shear rate, the molecules tend to align in the direction of the flow but also tumble and wagging on their own axis. The abnormal orientation of the molecules also depends upon temperature, fillers contents, aspect ratio and elastic nature of LCP molecules. These behaviors lead to unusual rheological properties of LCPs, such as negative first normal stress difference for filled LCPs at low shear rates. But with the increase of shear rate, the molecules are oriented in the direction of flow, which lead to isotropic flow at high shear rates. The complicated rheological properties and characteristic anisotropic properties of LCPs are modelled by recently developed Leonov's viscoselastic constitutive equations. Simulation has been carried out using Mathematica software and the characteristic anisotropic properties of LCPs have been identified. The experimentally measured viscosities at high shear rate have been compared with model predictions. Moreover, the normal stress differences using at high shear rates have been estimated using Leonov's model, which is experimentally not accessible.

Alcohol Consumption by workers in automobile repair shops of a slum of Kolkata: An assessment with AUDIT instrument

Background   National Household Survey of Drug Use in the India in its systematic effort to document the nationwide prevalence of drug use including alcohol consumption reported that almost 21% of the adult male Indian consume alcohol in a year. To find out prevalence, pattern and consequences of drinking and determine the relationship of  alcohol use with demographic and socio-economic factors among auto-mobile repair workers. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among auto-mobile repair workers in the urban field practice area of All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata. Results Prevalence of alcoholism in the community of automobile repair workers was found to be as high as 79%.  More than 50% of the alcoholics belonged to the hazardous and dependent variety according to the WHO developed AUDIT instrument.53.01% of the alcoholics consumed foreign liquor predominantly and 87.95% bought them from licensed liquor shops. Mean age of initiation of drinking was 18.67 years. Taking loan OR (95% CI) 3.51(1.56-7.92), gambling OR (95% CI) 3.38(1.48-7.69) and clinical signs of alcoholism OR (95% CI) 5.52 (2.13 - 14.29) were significantly associated with chronic alcohol abuse. A multivariate logistic regression model was created for socio-economic variables which showed education AOR (95%CI) 4.65(1.34- 16.31) and total number of family members AOR (95%CI) 5.33(1.31-25.02) were significantly associated with drinking status (Nagelkerke R2 for this model is 0.2585). ConclusionThe prevalence of alcoholism is high in the automobile repair workers and therefore all efforts must be made to reduce, if not eliminate, alcohol consumption among the workers of auto-mobile service centres.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nje.v3i3.9188 Nepal Journal of Epidemiology 2013;3(3): 269-274

Metaphase arrest and delay in cell cycle kinetics of root apical meristems and mouse bone marrow cells treated with leaf aqueous extract of Clerodendrum viscosum Vent

OBJECTIVES

To study cell cycle delay and metaphase arresting activity of leaf aqueous extract of Clerodendrum viscosum Vent. (LAECV) in root apical meristems and mouse bone marrow cells.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cell cycle delay and metaphase arresting activities of LAECV were analysed, in root apical meristems of onion and wheat, and in mouse bone marrow cells, by scoring mitotic index, metaphase frequency and transition of cells from metaphase to anaphase. Colchicine was used as the standard metaphase arresting drug. Phytochemicals present in LAECV were detected and their phytotoxic activity was evaluated by analysing green-gram (Vigna radiata) seedling's root growth retardation and branch root swelling phenomenon.

RESULTS

LAECV treatment resulted in dose-dependent root growth retardation of green-gram seedling root length (P < 0.01) and half maximal growth inhibitory concentration (IC(50) ) of LAECV was 0.87 mg/ml at 144 h. In onion and wheat root meristem cells the mitotic index decreased, metaphase frequency increased and transition from metaphase to anaphase reduced. Experimentation with mouse bone marrow cells indicated that LAECV induced metaphase arrest (164.3% increase in arrested metaphases per 300 mg/kg body weight, over 2.5 h). Phytochemicals like carbohydrates, glycosides, saponins, terpenoids, triterpenoids, tannins and trace amounts of alkaloids were detected in LAECV.

CONCLUSION

It may be said that LAECV contains mitostatic and metaphase arresting components that are able to induce significant metaphase arrest in root apical meristems and also in mouse bone marrow cells.

Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns amongst group B streptococci from women in Harare, Zimbabwe

As part of a larger study of vaginal pathogens in women in Harare, we have examined the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of 130 isolates of group B streptococci (GBS). These organisms are important because of their association with preterm labour, premature rupture of membranes and neonatal sepsis. All of the isolates in Harare were fully sensitive to beta-lactams, with an MIC(90) for ampicillin of 0.38 mg/l, but five isolates were resistant in vitro to erythromycin, and each of these had an MIC >4 mg/l. Seven isolates showed resistance to clindamycin. Some isolates showed an intermediate sensitivity to gentamicin, but the great majority were resistant to this antibiotic. Studies in developed countries have shown that an intervention strategy, using intrapartum chemoprophylaxis, is effective in reducing the incidence of complications of GBS colonization in pregnant women. Our data suggest that ampicillin would be a suitable antibiotic for use in an intervention programme of intrapartum chemoprophylaxis in Harare.

Amebic Liver abscess Complicated by Inferior Vena Cava Thrombosis: A Case Report

Amebic liver abscess is the most common extraintestinal manifestation of infection with Entamoeba histolytica. It is a common disease, especially in endemic areas, but it is a rare cause of inferior vena cava (IVC) obstruction, with only a few cases appearing in the literature. The authors describe a case of amebic liver abscess in a patient who developed a rare vascular complication of inferior vena cava thrombosis. The case responded to conservative treatment and radiological intervention.

Evaluation of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis by Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID3) and its correlation to Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI): an Indian experience

Serial objective assessment of disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is imperative to achieve remission. Routine Assessment of Patient Index Data 3 (RAPID3), an index without formal joint counts, appears attractive for evaluation of disease activity in RA patients in a busy clinical setting. This study aims to evaluate correlation and agreement of RAPID3 with Disease Activity Score 28 (DAS28) and Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI) in RA patients. All patients completed a Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire (MDHAQ) at each visit. A physician/assessor 28-joint count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate were completed in 200 literate patients with RA to score DAS28, CDAI, and RAPID3. RAPID3 includes the three MDHAQ patient self-report RA core dataset measures for physical function, pain, and patient global estimate. Proposed RAPID3 (range, 0-30) severity categories of high (>12), moderate (6.1-12.0), low (3.1-6.0), and near remission (≤3) were compared to DAS28 (0-10) activity categories of high (> 5.1), moderate (3.21-5.1), low (2.61-3.2), and remission (≤ 2.6), and CDAI (0-76) categories of >22, 10.1-22.0, 2.9-10.0, and ≤2.8. Statistical significance was analyzed using Spearman correlations, cross-tabulations, and kappa statistics. Comparison of RAPID3 with DAS28 and CDAI indicated Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients for DAS28 with RAPID3 of 0.910, and for CDAI with RAPID3 of 0.907, all highly significant (P < 0.001). There was substantial agreement between RAPID3 and DAS28 (kappa value = 0.634, P < 0.001) and also between RAPID3 and CDAI (kappa value = 0.690, P < 0.001). Overall, 89-94 % of patients who met DAS28 or CDAI moderate/high activity criteria met similar RAPID severity criteria and 84-88 % who met DAS28 or CDAI remission/low activity criteria also met similar RAPID criteria. RAPID3 scores provide similar quantitative information to DAS28 and CDAI, and hence, is an informative index for evaluation of disease activity in RA in busy clinical settings.