Synthesize palladium nanoparticles from the macroalgae Sargassum fusiforme: An eco-friendly tool in the fight against Plasmodium falciparum?

Although numerous drugs are practiced to control malaria and its vectors, more recently, eco-friendly control tools have been proposed to battle its etiologic agents. Thus, using green bionanotechnology approaches, we aimed to synthesize palladium nanoparticles (Pd NPs) from the macroalgae Sargassum fusiforme (Sf), its potential antiparasitic activity against P. falciparum, as well as its possible cytotoxicity, in HeLa cells. After the biosynthesis of the PdSf NPs, their characterization was carried out by UV-Vis, FESEM, and EDX analyses, and their hydrodynamic size, zeta potential, and surface area were determined. Furthermore, the functional groups of the PdSf NPs were analyzed by FT-IR and GC-MS. While PdSf NPs had an IC50 of 7.68 µg/mL (Chloroquine (CQ)-s) and 16.42 µg/mL, S. fusiforme extract had an IC50 of 14.38 µg/mL (CQ-s) and 35.27 µg/mL (CQ-r). With an IC50 value of 94.49 µg/mL, PdSf NPs exhibited the least toxic effect on the HeLa cells. The Lipinski rule of five and ADMET prediction were used to assess the in silico models of caffeine acid hexoside and quercetin 7-O-hexoside for the presence of drug-like properties. Pathogenic proteins, primarily responsible for motility, binding, and disease-causing, were the target of the structurally based docking studies between plant-derived compounds and pathogenic proteins. Thus, our study pioneered promising results that support the potential antiplasmodial activity of eco-friendly synthesized PdSf NPs using S. fusiforme extract against P. falciparum, opening perspectives for further exploration into the use of these NPs in malaria therapy.

Sustainable development through the bio-fabrication of ecofriendly ZnO nanoparticles and its approaches to toxicology and environmental protection.

Mosquito control is becoming more difficult as a result of the rise in resistance to toxic chemical insecticides. The insecticides of bio-fabrication sources may serve as a convenient alternative to environmentally acceptable methods in the future. The larvicidal and pupicidal activities of bio-fabricated zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on the different instar larvae and pupae of Anopheles subpictus Grassi (Malaria vector) and Culex quinquefasciatus Say (lymphatic filariasis) were investigated in this study. The results recorded from XRD, FTIR, SEM-EDX, and TEM analyses confirmed the bio-fabrication of ZnO NPs. Such nanoparticles were nearly spherical and agglomerated with a size of 34.21 nm. GC-MS analysis of methanol extract revealed the compound, stigmasterol (C29H48O) as major one. Mosquito larvae and pupae of targeted mosquito were tested against varied concentrations of the bio-fabricated ZnO NPs and methanol extract of Vitex negundo for 24 h. The maximum activity was recorded from ZnO NPs against the larvae and pupae of A. subpictus LC50 which were 1.70 (I), 1.66 (II), 1.93 (III), 2.48 (IV), and 3.63 mg/L (pupa) and C. quinquefasciatus LC50 were 1.95 (I), 2.63 (II), 2.90 (III), 4.32 (IV), and 4.61 mg/L (pupa) respectively. ZnO NPs exhibited strong DPPH radical and FRAP scavengers compared to the aqueous extract of V. negundo. Also, V. negundo leaf methanol extract (VNLME) and ZnO NPs were evaluated for their cytotoxicity on HeLa cells, which exhibited the IC50 values of 72.35 and 43.70µg/mL, respectively. The methylene blue (MB) dye, which is harmful to both aquatic and terrestrial life, was degraded using the biosynthesized ZnO nanoparticles. At 664 nm, 81.2% of the MB dye had degraded after 120 min of exposure to sunlight. Overall, our results revealed that ZnO NPs are the perfect biological agent and economical for the control of malaria, filariasis vectors, antioxidant, HeLa cells, and MB blue dye degradation under sunlight irradiation.

Bright, NIR-emitting Au23 from Au25: characterization and applications including biolabeling.

A novel interfacial route has been developed for the synthesis of a bright-red-emitting new subnanocluster, Au(23), by the core etching of a widely explored and more stable cluster, Au(25)SG(18) (in which SG is glutathione thiolate). A slight modification of this procedure results in the formation of two other known subnanoclusters, Au(22) and Au(33). Whereas Au(22) and Au(23) are water soluble and brightly fluorescent with quantum yields of 2.5 and 1.3 %, respectively, Au(33) is organic soluble and less fluorescent, with a quantum yield of 0.1 %. Au(23) exhibits quenching of fluorescence selectively in the presence of Cu(2+) ions and it can therefore be used as a metal-ion sensor. Aqueous- to organic-phase transfer of Au(23) has been carried out with fluorescence enhancement. Solvent dependency on the fluorescence of Au(23) before and after phase transfer has been studied extensively and the quantum yield of the cluster varies with the solvent used. The temperature response of Au(23) emission has been demonstrated. The inherent fluorescence of Au(23) was used for imaging human hepatoma cells by employing the avidin-biotin interaction.

17Beta-estradiol modulates age-dependent binding of 40 kDa nuclear protein to androgen receptor promoter in mouse cerebral cortex.

Androgen influences the function of central and peripheral nervous system and plays a crucial role in maintaining reproductive behaviors and neuroendocrine regulation. Such action is mediated by interaction of androgen receptor (AR) promoter with nuclear proteins, which are involved in transcriptional regulation of androgen responsive genes. We have analyzed the binding of AR core promoter to nuclear proteins from the cerebral cortex of adult and old mice of both sexes by electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) and characterized the bound protein by Southwestern blotting. EMSA showed that the binding of nuclear proteins declined in the cerebral cortex of intact old mice as compared to adult. Following gonadectomy, the binding was reduced in old male and adult female but increased in old female. In contrast, estradiol supplementation increased the binding in old male and adult female but decreased in old female. Southwestern blotting analysis revealed that a 40 kDa nuclear protein bound to the promoter and the binding pattern was similar to that observed in EMSA. Further characterization of this protein may help to explore the intricate mechanism that underlies the transcriptional regulation of androgen responsive genes during aging.

Sex steroids reduce DNaseI accessibility of androgen receptor promoter in adult male mice brain.

We have previously reported that androgen receptor (AR) expression is inversely correlated to its promoter methylation and is regulated by sex steroids. As chromatin structure plays an important role in transcriptional regulation, the effect of sex steroids on DNaseI accessibility of chromatin of AR promoter was examined in the brain cortex of adult and old mice of both sexes. Nuclei were digested with different concentrations of DNaseI and the extracted DNA was further cleaved by PstI and analyzed by Southern hybridization with DIG-labeled 695-bp AR promoter. With 50 U DNaseI, the intensity of PstI-specific 1.45-kb band was lower in intact female as compared to male groups, suggesting increased nuclease accessibility in female than male. Although gonadectomy increased DNaseI accessibility remarkably in male and female of both ages, testosterone decreased the accessibility in adult but increased in old male. Estradiol, on the other hand, decreased DNaseI accessibility in both adult male and old female but increased in old male and adult female. Thus, these findings suggest that the chromatin conformation of AR promoter varies with age and sex and its accessibility to DNaseI is reduced by testosterone and estradiol in the brain cortex of adult male mice.

Androgen receptor mRNA is inversely regulated by testosterone and estradiol in adult mouse brain.

Androgen receptor (AR) is expressed in different tissues including the brain and is under regulation by sex steroid hormones. It mediates the action of androgen which plays a key role in learning, memory, and other brain functions that deteriorate with increasing age. We have correlated the expression of AR mRNA with its promoter methylation and their regulation by testosterone and estradiol in the brain cortex of adult and old male and female mice. Results revealed that (i) AR mRNA expression was significantly higher in male than in female mice. (ii) In both sexes, AR mRNA level was down-regulated by testosterone in adult and old, but up-regulated by estradiol only in adult mice. (iii) Methylation of AR core promoter was increased by testosterone, but decreased by estradiol. These findings show that AR mRNA expression and its core promoter methylation are inversely regulated by testosterone and estradiol in the adult mice brain cortex. Such regulation of AR expression might influence androgen action during aging of the mice brain.

High EPDS scores in women from ethnic minorities living in London.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine whether women from ethnic minorities and/or birth in a non-English speaking country were at increased risk for postnatal depression. METHOD: The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) was used to screen a sample of 830 primiparous women 4 weeks after delivery. Ethnicity data was available on 743, and from these, 530 responses were received (71.3%). RESULTS: Two independent variables were found to be significantly associated with high EPDS scores. These were being non White (especially Asian; adjusted Odds Ratio 2.7, 95% CI 1.3-5.8) and being born in a non-English speaking country (Odds Ratio 1.9; 95% CI 1.0-3.5). LIMITATIONS: The study was conducted using self rating questionnaires. There was only a 71% response overall, and a 50% response rate among the ethnic minority group. CONCLUSIONS: Women from ethnic minorities or from a non-English speaking background should be regarded at high risk group for postnatal depression.

Menstrual cycle effects on hypothalamic dopamine receptor function in women with a history of puerperal bipolar disorder.

Neuroendocrine challenge tests of hypothalamic dopamine receptor function in the early postpartum period suggest that the sensitivity of these receptors is increased in women with a history of bipolar disorder after childbirth. We tested the hypothesis that, in women predisposed to bipolar disorder in the puerperium, hypothalamic dopamine receptor function is more sensitive to changes in circulating ovarian hormone concentrations than in women without such histories. Eight fully recovered and drug-free women who had had at least one episode of bipolar illness following childbirth were compared with nine normal controls. Growth hormone (GH) responses to apomorphine (APO 0.005 mg s.c.) were measured in the early follicular phase, when plasma concentrations of ovarian hormones are low, and in the mid-luteal phase, when they are relatively high. The recovered bipolar subjects and the controls did not differ from each other in their follicular and midluteal oestrogen and progesterone concentrations. In the midluteal phase, both groups had increased oestrogen and progesterone levels. The recovered bipolar subjects did not differ from controls in baseline concentrations of GH in either of the menstrual phases. The APO-GH responses of the two groups did not differ in the follicular phase, but in the midluteal phase, when female sex steroids are relatively increased, the recovered group had significantly enhanced APO-GH responses [MANOVA for repeated measures: (i) area under the curve, group by phase effect: p < 0.04; (ii) GH peak rise after APO, group by phase effect: p < 0.056] and the responses were not related to concurrent measures of mood. The results of this small study of women predisposed to bipolar disorder in the puerperium shows an increased dopaminergic receptor sensitivity in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. It suggests that their dopaminergic systems have increased sensitivity to changes in circulating female sex steroids. This may be aetiologically relevant to the pathogenesis of puerperal bipolar disorder.

The maternal brain as a model for investigating mental illness.

The idea that a particular type of severe mental illness, puerperal or post-partum psychosis, is a disease entity and that its causes lie in some kind of physiological disturbance of the reproductive process, can be traced back to antiquity. Epidemiological studies provide strong support for such an hypothesis, but, despite the powerful methodological attractions of using childbirth as a model for research, there has been surprisingly little neuroendocrine research into this subject. There have been preliminary reports of prospective research into women with histories of affective psychosis who are pregnant and who are at particularly high risk of recurrence of illness. This work suggests that it may be very fruitful to investigate interactions between the massive changes that occur in sex hormones around parturition and the activity of selected neurotransmitter systems. Because of the prospective research paradigm, it becomes possible to test whether the measures can predict who will become ill and who will stay well.

Age- and sex-related expression of norbin in the brain cortex of mice.

Norbin is a novel neuron specific protein that extends the neurites of neuronal cells. It is expressed in neural tissues like brain cortex, hippocampus, spinal cord and cerebellum. In this paper, we have studied the expression of norbin mRNA and protein in the brain cortex of male and female mice of different ages. Northern blot analysis showed that the level of norbin mRNA increased in both sexes during aging. However, Western blotting revealed that the protein increased in male but decreased in female with advancing age. These findings suggest that norbin is involved in brain function which is dependent on age and sex.

Infant massage improves mother-infant interaction for mothers with postnatal depression.

BACKGROUND: Postnatal depression can have long term adverse consequences for the mother-infant relationship and the infant's development. Improving a mother's depression per se has been found to have little impact on mother-infant interaction. The aims of this study were to determine whether attending regular massage classes could reduce maternal depression and also improve the quality of mother-infant interaction. METHOD: Thirty-four primiparous depressed mothers, median 9 weeks postpartum, identified as being depressed following completion of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) at 4 weeks postpartum, were randomly allocated either to an infant massage class and a support group (massage group) or to a support group (control group). Each group attended for five weekly sessions. Changes in maternal depression and mother-infant interaction were assessed at the beginning and the end of the study by comparing EPDS scores and ratings of videotaped mother-infant interaction. RESULTS: The EPDS scores fell in both groups. Significant improvement of mother-infant interaction was seen only in the massage group. LIMITATION: The sample size was small and had relatively high dropout. It was not possible to distinguish which aspects of the infant massage class contributed to the benefit. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that learning the practice of infant massage by mothers is an effective treatment for facilitating mother-infant interaction in mothers with postnatal depression.

The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the detection of major depressive disorders in early postpartum: some concerns about false negatives.

This paper presents a phenomenological study of three false negative cases according to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) of major depressive disorder identified by a semi-structured clinical interview. In a study of 87 unselected women with 23 of them suffering from a major depressive disorder (according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria), three cases of major depressive disorders were not identified as potential cases by the EPDS. The symptomatology of these three false negative cases was also assessed by a semi-structured interview (Present State Examination). Comparisons between EPDS scores and the scores of two other self report questionnaires (the General Health Questionnaire-28 and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale) suggest that EPDS is better at identifying depressed postnatal women with anhedonic and anxious symptomatology rather than those whose depression presents mainly with psychomotor retardation.

Psychotropic drugs in breast milk: no evidence for adverse effects on prepulse modulation of startle reflex or on cognitive level in infants.

Reversals in modulation of the startle reflex probably reflect maturational processes in the central nervous system. This study has investigated the longitudinal changes in prepulse modulation of the blink reflex in three groups of individual infants: (a) breast-fed infants of mentally ill mothers who were prescribed selected psychotropic drugs, (b) bottle-fed infants of similarly ill and medicated mothers, and (c) breast-fed infants of healthy control mothers. The acoustic stimulation paradigm and neurophysiological methods were similar to those used in previous studies and, in addition, the infants' development was simultaneously assessed using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. All the infants were found to be developing normally and across all three groups we observed a clear transition in prepulse modulation of the eye-blink reflex from small inhibition or facilitation in early infancy (1-4 months) to a robust facilitation in middle infancy (5-8 months). This reversal probably reflects the changing balance of developing neural function in normal infants. There were, therefore, no discernible effects in breast-fed infants of exposure to small doses of antidepressant or neuroleptic drugs.

Fluoxetine in breast-milk and developmental outcome of breast-fed infants.

BACKGROUND: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are currently the most widely prescribed antidepressant drugs. There are only four published studies of breast-feeding mothers and their infants in which the mothers were taking fluoxetine. METHOD: Four mothers who took fluoxetine and their breast-fed infants were studied. Samples of plasma, breast-milk and urine were taken from the mothers and of plasma and urine from infants for assays of drug and metabolite concentrations. Bayley Scales of Infant Development were repeatedly used to assess cognitive and psychomotor development of the infants. RESULTS: Fluoxetine and norfluoxetine were detected in all samples of maternal plasma (range of total concentration 138-427 ng/ml) and in breast-milk (range 39-177 ng/ml). Amounts of both fluoxetine and norfluoxetine in infants' plasma and urine were below the lower limit of detection. All infants were observed to be developing normally and showed no abnormal findings on neurological examination. CONCLUSIONS: Much larger databases are needed but these four cases do not provide any evidence to suggest that women who are maintained on therapeutic doses of fluoxetine should discontinue breast-feeding their infants if they wish to breast-feed.

"Anybody's child": severe disorders of mother-to-infant bonding.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes severe, disorders of maternal affection and behaviour and suggests that there is an early process of mother-to-infant bonding which can go seriously wrong. METHOD: Forty-four self-selected women who had suffered from at least one episode of postnatal mental illness described an unexpected and often catastrophic failure to love one or more of their babies. RESULTS: These women reported absent affection, sometimes hate, rejection, neglect or impulses to harm, in relation to at least one of their children. These feelings often began immediately or very shortly after the birth, and with one exception, were specific to one child; such characteristics are best encapsulated by the term 'maternal bonding disorder'. Twenty-nine of the women were multiparae; first-borns were not significantly more likely to be the focus for such feelings. There was no direct evidence of predisposing maternal personality traits or previous experiences. Postnatal mental illness and recalled severe pain during labour were significantly associated with such disorders which, in their severe forms, did not occur in the absence of postnatal mental illness. CONCLUSIONS: The nature of the link between postnatal mental illness and disorders of maternal bonding remains unclear. Because, in multiparae, the disorder often 'missed' the first child, factors such as maternal personality traits or early childhood experiences cannot be regarded as sufficient causes.

Investigation of pharmacokinetics and of possible adverse effects in infants exposed to tricyclic antidepressants in breast-milk.

We have studied ten breast-feeding mothers who were prescribed tricyclic antidepressant drugs and have also compared their infants' development with a similar group (n = 15) who were bottle-fed. Concentrations of tricyclic drugs in maternal plasma and urine, in fore-milk and hind-milk and in infant plasma (n = 6) and urine (n = 9) were measured by gas chromatography (GC) and by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). The fat concentration in milk was also measured. Infants health and development were monitored by physical examination and by the Bayley Scales of Infant Development up to 30 months. The amounts of tricyclic drugs and their principal metabolites in maternal plasma were significantly correlated with the oral dose and with the amounts in breast-milk. Drug concentrations in fore-milk, but not in hind-milk, increased in line with its fat content, which was maximal in hind-milk. Correlations between gas chromatographic and enzyme immunoassays of maternal samples were high provided that the values for amitriptyline and nortriptyline were excluded; immunoreactivities to these compounds were abnormally high, suggesting that metabolites were also being measured by EIA. The daily doses of drugs ingested by breast-fed infants were about 1% of the maternal dose/kg and the immunoassay detected very small amounts of tricyclics in infants' plasma and urine. No acute toxic effects were found in the ten medicated breast-fed infants and there was no evidence of developmental delays in comparison with bottle-fed infants. Although the number of subjects in this study is small, when taken in conjunction with other published findings, we have not found any reason to prevent mothers who are taking established tricyclic antidepressants from breast-feeding their babies if they want to do so.

Impact of childbirth on a series of schizophrenic mothers: a comment on the possible influence of oestrogen on schizophrenia.

From a series of 180 admissions to a Mother-Baby Unit 45 patients with diagnoses of schizophrenia were identified. Demographic data together with clinical information were noted, and each file was rated using the OPCRIT programme. Two mutually exclusive groups were derived from OPCRIT, a 'narrow group' (n = 16), corresponding to subjects satisfying Feighner's criteria for schizophrenia, and a 'broad group' (n = 21), corresponding to those meeting ICD10 but not Feighner criteria. In addition to significant differences in age on admission, employment, home circumstances, ethnicity and age of onset of illness, there was a marked contrast between broad and narrow groups in course of illness post partum. 43% of the broad group experienced an acute illness episode after delivery compared with none of the narrow group, a contrast not attributable to differences in clinical state or treatment during pregnancy. These data suggests that childbirth may exert a differential effect on the course of illness in severe and more benign forms of schizophrenia, and that more severe schizophrenic illnesses may not be influenced by the changes associated with childbirth, such as the fall in oestrogen levels.

Nicotine-induced place preferences following prior nicotine exposure in rats.

The motivational properties of morphine and nicotine were investigated in an automated conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure using a two-compartment apparatus. The accuracy of the photocell recording system was assessed by correlation with direct observation. In a counterbalanced conditioning design, graded doses of morphine (0.1-3.2 mg/kg SC) produced dose-related CPP. Under similar conditions, a dose of nicotine (0.6 mg/kg SC) previously reported to produce CPP failed to show an effect. Increasing the number of conditioning trials from 4 to 12 did not facilitate CPP with nicotine. After pretreatment with nicotine (0.4 mg/kg SC) daily for 7 days prior to conditioning, nicotine (0.4-0.8 mg/kg) produced increasing magnitudes of CPP. Locomotor activity was assessed during both conditioning and extinction tests. During conditioning, nicotine but not morphine decreased activity in the first conditioning trial, but by the fourth trial, marked stimulation was apparent following administration of either drug. Activity in the drug-paired compartment was not increased during tests for CPP carried out in the undrugged state following 4 conditioning trials with either morphine or nicotine, but there was evidence for conditioned hyperactivity after 12 conditioning trials with nicotine. The results suggest that motivational properties of nicotine can be detected in counterbalanced CPP procedures, but only in subjects with a history of nicotine exposure. The CPP produced by morphine or nicotine does not appear to be an artefact associated with conditioned changes in locomotor activity.