The effect of epigallocatechin-3-gallate on morphine-induced memory impairments in rat: EGCG effects on morphine neurotoxicity.

AIM OF STUDY: This investigation evaluated the capacity of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) as the main polyphenolic compound in the green tea extract against memory impairment and neurotoxicity in morphine-treated rats. METHODS: To measure the EGCG effect (5 and 50 mg/kg, i.p., co-treated with morphine) on spatial learning and memory of morphine-administrated male Wistar rats (45 mg/kg, s.c., 4 weeks), the Morris water maze test was used. Some apoptotic protein levels (Bax, Bcl-2, and cleaved caspase 3) were evaluated in the hippocampus tissue by the Western blot test. Also, oxidative stress status (malondialdehyde level, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activity) was measured in hippocampus tissue. RESULTS: The data presented that EGCG treatment (50 mg/kg) inhibited the morphine-induced memory deficits in rats. Also, EGCG administration reduced the apoptosis and oxidative stress in the hippocampus of morphine-treated rats. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that EGCG can improve memory in morphine-treated rats. Molecular mechanisms underlying the detected effects could be related to the prevention of apoptosis and oxidative stress in the hippocampus of morphine-treated rats.

The Effect of Microstructure, Thickness Variation, and Crack on the Natural Frequency of Solar Silicon Wafers.

Vibration is one of the most common loading modes during handling and transport of solar silicon wafers and has a great influence on the breakage rate. In order to control the breakage rate during handling and facilitate the optimization of the processing steps, it is important to understand the factors which influence the natural frequency of thin silicon wafers. In this study, we applied nonlinear finite element method to investigate the correlation of natural frequency of thin solar silicon wafer with material microstructures (grain size and grain orientation), thickness variation and crack geometry (position and size). It has been found that the natural frequency for anisotropic single crystal silicon wafer is a strong function of material orientation. Less than 10% thickness variation will have a negligible effect on natural frequency. It is also found out that cracks smaller than 20 mm have no dominant effect on the first five natural frequency modes anywhere in the silicon wafer.

Ultrasound-assisted handling force reduction during the solar silicon wafers production.

Surface adhesion between wet wafers poses great challenges for silicon wafer handling. It has been shown that both the shear and normal handling forces of the solar silicon wafers can be dramatically reduced by using the ultrasound energy. Approximately 20 and 5 times reduction in horizontal and vertical forces were achieved by as low power as 10W, and a good agreement was found between the measured values and the predictions of a simple model for the effect of longitudinal vibration we developed.

The significance of addressing trauma in outpatient psychiatry.

Establishing post-traumatic stress disorder as a psychiatric diagnosis has only marginally increased awareness of traumatic experiences. Traumas are inconsistently recorded in initial psychiatric histories and, when observed, rarely reflected in the primary diagnosis and treatment. The present study aimed to investigate if there is an association between sufficiently addressing trauma and long-term outcome and what factors affect whether trauma, according to the patient's view, is sufficiently addressed or not. Socio-demographic data, experiences of trauma and treatment, and outcome, were collected retrospectively from Arabic, Iranian, Turkish and Swedish patients, who had visited a psychiatric clinic 3-4 years earlier. Fifty-one patients whose traumatic experiences had been sufficiently addressed were compared with 39 patients who perceived that their traumas had not been addressed. Logistic regression analyses were performed to examine relationships between clinical variables and whether or not traumas had been addressed. Patients with trauma sufficiently addressed reported high confidence in staff (odds ratio, OR=7.2, p<0.001), high self-rated health (OR=8.0, p<0.01) and low scores on the Self-rating Inventory for PTSD (OR=7.7, p<0.05) and Depression Scale (OR=3.0, p<0.15). Reporting less than five different traumas (OR=4.6, p<0.01) and being an ethnic Swede (OR=2.4, p<0.10) were the background variables independently related to having trauma sufficiently addressed. Addressing trauma may improve patients' confidence in staff, self-rated health and trauma-related symptoms. Multiplicity of traumas and belonging to an ethnic minority implied that trauma was less addressed.

Incidence of Toxoplasma and Toxocara antibodies among out-patients in the Ophthalmic Research Institute, Egypt.

Infection by Toxoplasma gondii and Toxocara canis is getting much important nowadays. Both are soil transmitted infections. The present study was planned to detect the incidence of T. gondii and T. canis antibodies among 100 patients attending the outpatient clinics in Research Institutes of Ophthalmology (RIO), whose urine and stool were free from other parasitic stages. Patients were classified into two groups, group I; (70 ocular cases) and group II, (30 non-occular cases). Control group (group III); 30 healthy persons. Sera from all individuals were subjected to IFAT and IHAT to detect Toxoplasma antibodies and IFAT to detect Toxocara antibodies. By using IFAT for Toxoplasma revealed, 25% as a total incidence, 21.4% in group I, 33.3% in group II and 6.6% in group III. While IHAT revealed 51% as a total incidence, 51.4% in group I, 50% in group II and 23.3% in group III. Among group I, retinochoroiditis cases showed the highest incidence and titre. While hydrocephalic cases showed highest incidence and titre in group II. T. canis antibodies revealed 23% as a total incidence, 14.3% in group I, 43.3% in group II and 5% in group III. Cases presented with retinal detachment showed the highest incidence and titre in group I while in group II hepatomegalic cases gave the highest incidence and titre. Concomitant infection of both Toxoplasma and Toxocara was detected in 8% of positive cases.

[Importance of standardization in the biological monitoring of anti-vitamin K therapy]. / Importance de la standardisation dans la surveillance biologique des traitements par les anti-vitamines K.

The aim of this work was to study certain causes of variation in the results of laboratory monitoring of treatment with vitamin K antagonists. Four centers participated in the study. In the initial phase, each center performed fifteen measurements of prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) on the same standard lyophilized plasma using its own usual reagents and its own methodology (protocol I). In the second phase of this study, each laboratory performed PT and APTT measurements on 30 frozen plasma specimens from patients receiving long term treatment with vitamin K antagonists using protocol I and protocol II (common reagents but own methodology). In the third phase, plasma from 19 patients receiving long term therapy with vitamin K antagonists were tested with common reagents and a standardized methodology (protocol III). the intralaboratory reproductability was very good; however, the use of common reagents and the standardization of methods greatly improved the intercenter reproductability. The use of common reagents allowed a stricter and a less contradictory interpretation of the tests.