Effects of image-sharpening algorithm on surgical field visibility during 3D heads-up surgery for vitreoretinal diseases.

We conducted clinical and experimental studies to investigate the effects of image-sharpening algorithms and color adjustments, which enabled real-time processing of live surgical images with a delay of 0.004 s. The images were processed with image-sharpening intensities of 0%, 12.5%, 25%, and 50% during cataract surgery, vitrectomy, peeling of epiretinal membrane, and peeling of internal limiting membrane (ILM) with the Ngenuity 3D visualization system. In addition, the images obtained with a yellow filter during the ILM peeling were processed with color adjustments. Five vitreoretinal surgeons scored the clarity of the images on a 10-point scale. The images of a 1951 United States Air Force grating target placed in no fluid (control), saline, and 0.1% and 1% milk solution were evaluated. The results showed that the mean visibility score increased significantly from 5.0 ± 0.6 at 0% to 6.4 ± 0.6 at 12.5%, 7.3 ± 0.7 at 25%, and 7.5 ± 0.9 at 50% (P < 0.001). The visibility scores during ILM peeling improved significantly with color adjustments (P = 0.005). In the experimental study, the contrast of the grating targets blurred by the 0.1% and 1% milk solution increased significantly by the image-sharpening procedure. We conclude that the image-sharpening algorithms and color adjustments improved the intraoperative visibility of 3D heads-up surgery.

Effective Timing of Curcumin Ingestion to Attenuate Eccentric Exercise-Induced Muscle Soreness in Men.

Curcumin is known to have potent anti-inflammatory effects. We have reported that acute curcumin ingestion attenuates eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage. This study aimed to examine the effect of curcumin ingestion timing (before or after exercise) on the changes in muscle damage markers after eccentric exercise. In this randomized, single-blind, parallel design study, 24 healthy young men performed 30 maximal isokinetic (120º/s) eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors using an isokinetic dynamometer. Subjects were randomly assigned to ingest 180 mg/d of oral curcumin either 7 d before (PRE) or 4 d after exercise (POST) or 180 mg/d of oral placebo 4 d after exercise (CON). The maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque of the elbow flexors, elbow joint range of motion (ROM), muscle soreness, and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity were measured before, immediately after, and 1-4 d after exercise. Changes in these variables were compared over time. In the POST group, ROM were higher at 3-4 d and muscle soreness was lower at 3 d after exercise compared with the CON group (p<0.05). However, in the PRE group, there were no significant differences compared with the CON group in changes in ROM and muscle soreness. Meanwhile, there were no significant differences among the groups in terms of changes in MVC torque and serum CK activity. Our results suggest that curcumin ingestion after exercise had a more beneficial effect in attenuating muscle soreness.

Effects of oral curcumin ingested before or after eccentric exercise on markers of muscle damage and inflammation.

We examined the effect of curcumin (CUR) ingestion before or after exercise on changes in muscle damage and inflammatory responses after exercise. We conducted two parallel experiments with different CUR ingestion timings using a double-blind crossover. In Exp. 1, ten healthy men ingested 180 mg d-1 of CUR or placebo (PLA) 7 days before exercise. In Exp. 2, ten other healthy men ingested 180 mg d-1 of CUR or PLA 7 days after exercise. They performed 30 maximal isokinetic (120°s-1 ) eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors using an isokinetic dynamometer, and this was repeated with the other arm ≥4 weeks later. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) torque of the elbow flexors, elbow joint range of motion (ROM), muscle soreness, and serum creatine kinase (CK) activity were measured before, immediately after, and 1-7 days after exercise. Plasma interleukin-8 (IL-8) was measured before, immediately after, 12 hours after, and 1-7 days after exercise. The changes were compared over time. In Exp. 1, no significant differences were found between CUR and PLA subjects for each parameter. However, increases in IL-8 were significantly reduced 12 hours after exercise when CUR was ingested before exercise. In Exp. 2, compared to the PLA subjects, MVC torque and ROM were higher 3-7 days and 2-7 days after exercise (P < 0.05), respectively, whereas muscle soreness and CK activity were lower 3-6 days and 5-7 days after exercise (P < 0.05), respectively, in CUR subjects. CUR ingestion before exercise could attenuate acute inflammation, and after exercise could attenuate muscle damage and facilitate faster recovery.

Curcumin ß-D-Glucuronide Plays an Important Role to Keep High Levels of Free-Form Curcumin in the Blood.

Curcumin, a polyphenol derived from the rhizome of the naturally occurring plant Curcuma longa, has various pharmacological actions such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. In this paper, we evaluated the role of its internal metabolite, curcumin ß-D-glucuronide (curcumin monoglucuronide, CMG), by investigating curcumin kinetics and metabolism in the blood. Firstly, we orally administered highly bioavailable curcumin to rats to elucidate its kinetics, and observed not only the free-form of curcumin, but also, curcumin in a conjugated form, within the portal vein. We confirmed that curcumin is conjugated when it passes through the intestinal wall. CMG, one of the metabolites, was then orally administered to rats. Despite its high aqueous solubility compared to free-form curcumin, it was not well absorbed. In addition, CMG was injected intravenously into rats in order to assess its metabolic behavior in the blood. Interestingly, high levels of free-form curcumin, thought to be sufficiently high to be pharmacologically active, were observed. The in vivo antitumor effects of CMG following intravenous injection were then evaluated in tumor-bearing mice with the HCT116 human colon cancer cell line. The tumor volume within the CMG group was significantly less than that of the control group. Moreover, there was no significant loss of body weight in the CMG group compared to the control group. These results suggest that CMG could be used as an anticancer agent without the serious side effects that most anticancer agents have.

Asymmetric Induction by a Nitrogen 14 N/15 N Isotopomer in Conjunction with Asymmetric Autocatalysis.

Chirality arising from isotope substitution, especially with atoms heavier than the hydrogen isotopes, is usually not considered a source of chirality in a chemical reaction. An N2 ,N2 ,N3 ,N3 -tetramethyl-2,3-butanediamine containing nitrogen (14 N/15 N) isotope chirality was synthesized and it was revealed that this isotopically chiral diamine compound acts as a chiral initiator for asymmetric autocatalysis.

Colloidal submicron-particle curcumin exhibits high absorption efficiency-a double-blind, 3-way crossover study.

Curcumin is a major constituent of the spice turmeric and has various biological activities, including anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as alcohol detoxification. However, because of its poor absorption efficiency, it is difficult for orally administered curcumin to reach blood levels sufficient to exert its bioactivities. To overcome this problem, several curcumin preparations with a drug-delivery system (DDS) have been developed to increase the bioavailability of curcumin after oral administration, and tested as functional foods and potential medical agents in humans. We have also produced capsules containing Theracurmin, curcumin dispersed with colloidal submicron-particles. To evaluate the absorption efficiency of three types of DDS curcumin, we performed a double-blind, 3-way crossover study. We compared plasma curcumin levels after the administration of Theracurmin and 2 other capsule types of curcumin with DDS, BCM-95 (micronized curcumin with turmeric essential oils) and Meriva (curcumin-phospholipid). Nine healthy subjects (male/female=5/4, age: 24-32 y old) were administered these 3 preparations of DDS curcumin, at commonly used dosages. Six capsules of Theracurmin, 1 capsule of BCM-95, and 2 capsules of Meriva contain 182.4 ± 1.0, 279.3 ± 10.7, and 152.5 ± 20.3 mg of curcumin, respectively. The maximal plasma curcumin concentration (0-24 h) of Theracurmin was 10.7 to 5.6 times higher than those of BCM-95 and Meriva, respectively. Moreover, the area under the blood concentration-time curve at 0-24 h was found to be 11.0- and 4.6-fold higher with Theracurmin than BCM-95 and Meriva, respectively. These data indicate that Theracurmin exhibits a much higher absorption efficiency than other curcumin DDS preparations.

Asymmetric autocatalysis induced by meteoritic amino acids with hydrogen isotope chirality.

Achiral meteoritic amino acids, glycine and alpha-methylalanine, with hydrogen isotope (D/H) chirality, acted as the source of chirality in asymmetric autocatalysis with amplification of ee to afford highly enantioenriched 5-pyrimidyl alkanols.

Mechanism of tail-mediated inhibition of kinesin activities studied using synthetic peptides.

We used a truncated form of human conventional kinesin (K560) and a set of synthetic tail-derived peptides to investigate the mechanism by which the kinesin tail domain inhibits the protein's ATPase and motor activities. A peptide that spans residues 904-933 (C3) exhibited the strongest inhibitory effect on steady-state motility and ATPase activity. This inhibition reflected diminished binding of the ADP-bound kinesin head to the microtubule. Although peptide C3 bound to both K560 and microtubules, gliding assays using subtilisin-treated microtubules suggested that the binding to the microtubule contributes only little to the inhibition if there is sufficient affinity between the peptide and kinesin. We suggest that tail-mediated inhibition of kinesin activity is mainly the product of allosteric inhibition induced by the intramolecular binding of the kinesin tail domain to the motor domain, but simultaneous binding of the tail to the microtubule also may exert a minor effect.