MicroRNA expression profile in patients with cystic echinococcosis and identification of possible cellular pathways.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a neglected tropical disease, caused by metacestode (larval) form of the Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato (sl) in humans. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, stable, tissue-specific RNA molecules encoded by the genome that are not translated into proteins. Circulating miRNA expression profiles vary in health and disease. The aim of this study is to determine the altered cellular pathways in CE by comparing the miRNA profiles of controls and CE patients with active or inactive cysts. Following abdominal ultrasonography (US) examination, 20 patients diagnosed with active CE (CE1, CE2, CE3a and CE3b) or inactive CE (CE4 and CE5) and three healthy controls were included in the study. The expression profiles of 372 biologically relevant human miRNAs were investigated in serum samples from CE patients and healthy controls with miScript miRNA HC PCR Array. Compared with the control group, expression of 6 miRNAs (hsa-miR-4659a-5p, hsa-miR-4518, hsa-miR-3977, hsa-miR-4692, hsa-miR-181b-3p, hsa-miR-4491) and one miRNA (hsa-miR-4687-5p) were found to be downregulated in CE patients with active and inactive cysts, respectively (p < 0.05). For downregulated miRNAs in this study, predicted targets were found to be associated mainly with cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell-cell interactions and cell cycle regulation. Further studies in this direction may elucidate the pathogenesis of human CE and the relationship between CE and other pathologies.

Comparison of the effects of dexmedetomidine and remifentanil on potential extreme haemodynamic and respiratory response following mask ventilation and laryngoscopy in patients with mandibular fractures.

OBJECTIVE: The safety profile and efficacy were compared for remifentanil and dexmedetomidine with respect to haemodynamic and respiratory response during mask ventilation and laryngoscopy in patients with mandibular fractures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy patients undergoing elective mandibular fracture surgery were randomly assigned to the remifentanil group (Group R, n = 35) or the dexmedetomidine group (Group D, n = 35). The primary outcomes were preoperative pain scores caused by jaw movement; haemodynamic response; intubation score; and side effects, such as the incidence of oxygen desaturation and muscle rigidity. Other side effects, such as tachycardia, bradycardia, hypertension and hypotension, were also compared. RESULTS: Preoperative pain scores caused by jaw movement were significantly high for both groups, but there were no statistically significant differences between the groups. The incidence of oxygen desaturation and muscle rigidity was significantly lower in Group D than in Group R (p = 0.025). No significant differences existed between the groups in terms of intubation score, haemodynamics, and other side effects (p > 0.05). DISCUSSION: Dexmedetomidine and remifentanil had equal effectiveness on the control of haemodynamic response due to mask ventilation and intubation in patients with mandibular fractures. However, at the doses used in this study, dexmedetomidine had a significant advantage over remifentanil in terms of respiratory stability.

Obstructive sleep apnoea, cigarette smoking and plasma orexin-A in a sleep clinic cohort.

Orexin-A is a neuropeptide involved in the regulation of food intake and the sleep-wake cycle. This study investigated plasma orexin-A levels in a sleep clinic cohort, adjusting for smoking habits, in 76 participants comprising 41 with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) (apnoea-hypopnoea index [AHI] 44.1 +/- 19.1 events/h) and 35 without OSA (AHI 6.3 +/- 4.7 events/h). Plasma orexin-A levels were significantly lower in OSA patients (15.0 +/- 4.6 ng/ml) compared with those without OSA (31.4 +/- 6.5 ng/ml). In non-OSA subjects, there was no significant difference between never smokers and ex/current smokers in plasma orexin-A levels (32.9 +/- 9.5 versus 29.7 +/- 8.9 ng/ml, respectively) whereas, in the OSA sub-group, orexin-A levels were significantly lower in never smokers than in ex/current smokers (4.0 +/- 1.2 versus 21.4 +/- 7.0 ng/ml). A significant inverse relationship was found between plasma orexin-A levels and AHI amongst never smokers, but there was no significant relationship amongst ex/current smokers. These results confirm previous studies demonstrating lower levels of plasma orexin-A in OSA patients and indicate that smoking may affect orexin-A levels and AHI.

Changes in serum selenium, copper, zinc levels and cu/zn ratio in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis during therapy.

The effectiveness and success of antituberculosis therapy is mainly measured by its ability to identify the organism in the sputum. In certain cases, available tuberculosis tests are not satisfactory and do not provide enough information on the effectiveness of antituberculosis therapy. Copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and selenium (Se) are the essential elements that play a crucial role in the immune system. The serum levels of these elements vary in many diseases including tuberculosis. In this study, we investigate whether the serum levels of Cu, Zn, and Se change during antituberculosis therapy. We have included 22 pulmonary tuberculosis cases that were newly diagnosed with positive sputum and 18 healthy subjects. At the beginning and 2 mo after therapy, serum levels of Cu, Zn, and Se were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry. Despite Se and Cu levels not being affected during the treatment, we found that there was a significant increase in the levels of Zn and a decrease in the Cu/Zn ratio. Serum Zn levels and the Cu/Zn ratio could be used as a valuable laboratory tool for the clinicians to assess response to therapy or effectiveness of the ongoing antituberculosis therapy.

Comparative analysis of hexaene antibiotics.

A study of nine hexaene antibiotics resulted in their assignment to three subgroups on the basis of their bioactivities. Separation of individual components of the nine antibiotic complexes was accomplished by thin-layer chromatography. Similarities and differences among members of the subgroups were established by thin-layer chromatography, spectrophotometry and high performance liquid chromatography. Two antibiotics (endomycin and hexafungin) were found to be similar.

Optimization of conditions and cell feeding procedures for alcohol fermentation.

Alcohol fermentation was studied with an emphasis on the separation of cell growth and alcohol production stages. Experiments were conducted to establish the optimal conditions for alcohol production in batch fermentations and to simulate continuous fermentations with cell feeding at various stages. It was found that the glucose concentration should be kept under 10% (w/v), and the temperature should be between 40 and 42.5 degrees C for maximum specific alcohol productivity. If the cell concentration is increased, a decrease in specific alcohol productivity is observed. Higher cell concentrations are needed for higher final alcohol concentrations. Among the cell feeding procedures into alcohol production stages, a cocurrent design was found to be better than recycle and countercurrent designs.

Modeling of cell viability and specific alcohol productivity.

A model has been proposed to correlate two viability tests and specific alcohol productivity of a yeast culture. Two viable populations with different activity are assumed to coexist. The difference between two populations is the ability to reproduce. Satisfactory agreement between the model and the experimental data has been observed.

Transport models of the neurotransmitter-receptor interaction.

Recently, in membrane transport studies, we have observed the duality of ligand-binding site interactions in a structural protein membrane. Separately, the role of membrane anisotropy in the transport/catalytic behavior of an enzyme-membrane was investigated and modeled by the present authors. In this work, we are combining the ideas of duality and anisotropy in a diffusional analysis of the phenomenon of migration of the neurotransmitter species acetylcholine (ACh) in the post-synaptic region of the neuromuscular junction. Employing the principle of mass conservation, a transient diffusion equation was formulated for ACh migration in this region; it was solved by numerical computation for the appropriate boundary conditions. Concentration profiles were generated and, with the aid of a simple linear coupling expressing regulation of the ion channel function by the ACh species bound to receptor sites in the active conformation, successful simulations of the nerve-muscle end-plate potential were obtained. Two subcases were considered: (a) static unilayer diffusional zone or "membrane." (b) moving active layer (multilayer or envelope membrane). Both models are capable of closely matching the normalized concentration profiles of the actively bound neurotransmitter species to the profile of normalized end-plate potential in reduced scale. A transport basis for the familiar two-state receptor-transmitter interaction is demonstrated and a plausible explanation of the role of geometry of the synaptic cleft and the function of junctional cholinesterases is provided. Arguments utilizing results from the literature, together with our simulation results, are employed in critical reexamination of the key concepts (diffusion, duality, anisotropy) and their validity is strengthened.