Objective To evaluate the usefulness of quantitative electroencephalogram （QEEG）, flash visual evoked potential （F-VEP） and auditory brainstem responses （ABR） as indicators of general neurological status. Method...Objective To evaluate the usefulness of quantitative electroencephalogram （QEEG）, flash visual evoked potential （F-VEP） and auditory brainstem responses （ABR） as indicators of general neurological status. Methods Comparison was conducted on healthy controls （N=30） and patients with brain concussion （N=60） within 24 h after traumatic brain injury. Follow-up study of patient group was completed with the same standard paradigm 3 months later. All participants were recorded in multi-modality related potential testing in both early and late concussion at the same clinical setting. Glasgow coma scale, CT scanning, and physical examinations of neuro-psychological function, optic and auditory nervous system were performed before electroencephalogram （EEG） and evoked potential （EEG-EP） testing. Any participants showed abnormal changes of clinical examinations were excluded from the study. Average power of frequency spectrum and power ratios were selected for QEEG testing, and latency and amplitude of F-VEP and ABR were recorded. Results Between patients and normal controls, the results indicated： （1） Highly significance （P 〈 0.01） in average power of α1 and power ratios of θ/α1, 0/α2, α1/α2 of EEG recording; （2） N70-P 100 amplitude of F-VEP in significant difference at early brain concussion; and （3） apparent prolongation of Ⅰ～Ⅲ inter-peak latency of ABR appeared in some individuals at early stage after concussion. The follow-up study showed that some patients with concussion were also afflicted with characteristic changes of EEG components for both increments of α1 average power and θ/α2 power ratio after 3 months recording. Conclusion EEG testing has been shown to be more effective and sensitive than evoked potential tests alone on detecting functional state of patients with mild traumatic brain injury （MTBI）. Increments of α1 average power and θ/α2 power ratio are the sensitive EEG parameters to determining early concussion and evaluating outcome of postconcussion symptoms （PCS）. Follow-up study associated with persistent PCS may be consistent with the postulate of substantial biological, rather than psychological origin. The study suggests that combination of EEG and EP parameters can contribute to the evaluation of brain function as a whole for clinical and forensic applications.展开更多
Drugs are traditionally been identified on basis of chromatographic-spectroscopic hyphenated techniques in instrumental analysis. Gas chromatography (GC) and Liquid chromatography (LC) hyphenated with mass spectroscop...Drugs are traditionally been identified on basis of chromatographic-spectroscopic hyphenated techniques in instrumental analysis. Gas chromatography (GC) and Liquid chromatography (LC) hyphenated with mass spectroscopy (MS) i.e. GC-MS and LC-MS give reliable and confirmatory results in drugs identification. In the present work the novel hyphenated technique High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (HPTLC-MS) has been used. This technique provides efficient, quick and simple method for identification and separation of Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The drugs under study are Papaverine, Methadone, Cocaine, Ketamine, Caffeine, Codeine, Diazepam, Thebaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, Carbamazepine, Morphine, Narcotine and Ephedrine. The present study comprising of sixteen drugs has been carried out on CAMAG HPTLC instrument with automatic sampling. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) plates were developed in various solvent systems, scanned under TLC scanner and the results in terms of Retention Factor (Rf value) and UV spectrum (λmax) are presented in the manuscript. Using hyphenated technique of HPTLC-MS (MS 2020 SHIMADZU) spots of these drugs from TLC plate was lifted with CAMAG TLC-MS interface and confirmed by the mass spectrum of the individual drugs by their m/z values thus delivering fast and accurate confirmatory result on the TLC plate.展开更多
Objective Population genetic analysis based on genetic markers harbors valuable forensic applications.In this regard,it is informative and imperative to explore Han groups as they are the largest population of China.I...Objective Population genetic analysis based on genetic markers harbors valuable forensic applications.In this regard,it is informative and imperative to explore Han groups as they are the largest population of China.In particular,there is a largely underrepresented amount of information from recent decades regarding the southeast costal Han Chinese.Therefore,the aim of this study is to investigate the available genetic characteristics of the Han population living in the Jinjiang,Fujian Province,Southeastern China.Methods We sampled 858 saliva samples and used the commercially available Microreader^(TM) Y Prime Plus ID System to identify population data of Y-short tandem repeat(STR)loci of this region.Results A total of 822 different haplotypes were observed.The overall haplotype diversity,discriminatory power and haplotype match probability were 0.9999,0.9999 and 0.0012,respectively.Conclusion Our results showed that the Jinjiang Han population was closely genetically related to Han groups of China.Overall,we identified a set of 37 Y-STRs that are highly polymorphic,and that can provide meaningful information in forensic practice and human genetic research.展开更多
Aims and Objectives:The plan of study was the evaluation of genetic diversity in the tribal populations of Northern West Bengal,tribal populations of southern West Bengal and the Muslim population of West Bengal,India...Aims and Objectives:The plan of study was the evaluation of genetic diversity in the tribal populations of Northern West Bengal,tribal populations of southern West Bengal and the Muslim population of West Bengal,India,using 15 autosomal STR markers.Further investigation was done to find out the genetic relatedness of the studied populations with other previously documented Indian populations.Result:The studied tribal population of Northern West Bengal and Southern West Bengal showed a wide range of observed heterozygosity values,viz,from 0.667 to 0.878 and 0.699 to 0.863 respectively.Same was the case with the tribal population of Southern Bengal where the observed heterozygosity values ranged between 0.699 to 0.863.For the Muslim population the observed heterozygosity value was in the range of 0.742 to 0.885.The combined value of non-exclusion probability for all the studied loci was 0.00000550 for the tribal population of Northern West Bengal,0.00004445 for the Muslim population of West Bengal and 0.00000806 for the tribal population of Southern West Bengal.The neighbor joining(NJ)tree and principal component analysis(PCA)resulted in the clustering of our studied populations with other previously studied Indian populations.Conclusion:The data thus obtained demonstrated high forensic efficacy and will be therefore helpful in several population genetics studies and forensic applications.展开更多
BACKGROUND：Various molecular mechanisms of cell death following traumatic brain injury have been previously described.However,the time course of cell death remains unclear.TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B labeling have been w...BACKGROUND：Various molecular mechanisms of cell death following traumatic brain injury have been previously described.However,the time course of cell death remains unclear.TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B labeling have been widely used to label apoptotic cells and neuronal degeneration.Propidium iodide （PI） functions as a biomarker of cell death in vivo.OBJECTIVE：To explore the role of PI labeling compared to TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B staining for detecting neural cell death,and to observe time course of traumatic brain injury-induced cell death in mice.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING：A randomized,controlled,animal experiment was performed at the Laboratory of Aging and Nervous Diseases,Soochow University from September 2007 to December 2008.MATERIALS：PI （B1221） was purchased from Sigma,USA.TUNEL kit was purchased from Roche Molecular Biochemicals,USA.Fluoro-Jade B was purchased from Chemicon,USA.METHODS：A total of 70 healthy,male,Kunming mice were randomly assigned to sham-surgery （n = 5） and model （n = 65） groups.Traumatic brain injury was established using the controlled cortical impact method.PI was intraperitoneally injected at 1 hour prior to animal sacrifice.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES：TUNEL,Fluoro-Jade B,and Pl-positive cells were quantified using a double-labeling method to determine the time course of traumatic brain injury-induced cell death.RESULTS：PI labeled cells in an earlier phase of cell death than TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B labeling.Pl-positive cells were observed immediately following injury,and the numbers rapidly increased in injured brain areas at 1 hour,peaked at 24-48 hours,and subsequently decreased at 3-21 days post-injury.TUNEL-labeled cells were significantly increased at 12 hours,while Fluoro-Jade B-labeled cells were increased at 6 hours after injury,with cells still visible at 6-48 hours post-injury.Moreover,a greater number of Pl-positive cells were observed compared to TUNEL- and Fluoro-Jade B-labeled cells.CONCLUSION：PI labeling is more sensitive and reliable than TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B staining for detecting cell death following traumatic brain injury.Moreover,PI labeling can function as a reliable marker to estimate the entire time course of cell death.展开更多
We genotyped 23 Y-STR loci（DYS576, DYS389 I, DYS448, DYS389 II, DYS19, DYS391, DYS481, DYS549, DYS533, DYS438, DYS437, DYS570, DYS635, DYS390, DYS439, DYS392, DYS643, DYS393, DYS458, DYS385a/b, DYS456, and GATA-H4） ...We genotyped 23 Y-STR loci（DYS576, DYS389 I, DYS448, DYS389 II, DYS19, DYS391, DYS481, DYS549, DYS533, DYS438, DYS437, DYS570, DYS635, DYS390, DYS439, DYS392, DYS643, DYS393, DYS458, DYS385a/b, DYS456, and GATA-H4） in a sample of 109 unrelated male Chinese people residing in Minnan area and compared the results with those from our previous study on 12 Y-STR. The haplotype diversity and the discrimination capacity of the 23 Y-STR reached 0.9903 and 0.9725, respectively, and the genetic diversity for each locus ranged from 0.321（DYS391） to 0.955（DYS385）. Besides, we observed a strong correlation between the number of Y-STR markers and the substantial improvement of forensic parameters used to discriminate between individuals. The results indicated that these highly polymorphic Y-STR markers were useful for human identification in forensic cases and paternity tests within the Minnan Han Chinese population.展开更多
In this study, the corrosion behavior of Ni47Ti49Co4 shape memory alloy（SMA） was investigated in simulated saliva solution with the binary alloy Ni（51）Ti49 as a reference. The surface morphology and the chemical c...In this study, the corrosion behavior of Ni47Ti49Co4 shape memory alloy（SMA） was investigated in simulated saliva solution with the binary alloy Ni（51）Ti49 as a reference. The surface morphology and the chemical composition of the oxide films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy before and after immersion in the test solutions, respectively. The results showed that the ternary alloy was less affected by the test solution,owning to the formation of passive layer composed mainly of the oxides of titanium and cobalt in several oxidation states.Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization measurements affirmed that the passive oxide film significantly improved the corrosion resistance of Ni47Ti49Co4 SMAs as demonstrated by the smaller corrosion current density, larger resistance and smaller capacitance. Consequently, alloying with cobalt, which has paramount importance in enhancing the passive layer, expands the use of Ni47Ti49Co4 SMAs in dental work as new nitinol alloys with high corrosion resistances.展开更多
Objective To systemically explore the range of visual angles that affect visual acuity, and to establish the relationship between the P 1 component （peak latency -100 ms） of the pattern-reversal visual-evoked potent...Objective To systemically explore the range of visual angles that affect visual acuity, and to establish the relationship between the P 1 component （peak latency -100 ms） of the pattern-reversal visual-evoked potential （PRVEP） and the visual acuity at particular visual angles. Methods Two hundred and ten volunteers were divided into seven groups, according to visual acuity as assessed by the standard logarithmic visual acuity chart （SLD-II）. For each group, the PRVEP components were elicited in response to visual angle presentations at 8°, 4°, 2°, 1°/60＇, 30＇, 15＇, and 7.5＇, in the whiteblack chess-board reversal mode with a contrast level of 100% at a frequency of 2 Hz. Visual stimuli were presented monocularly, and 200 presentations were averaged for each block of trials. The early and stable component P1 was recorded at the mid-line of the occipital region （Oz） and analyzed with SPSS 13.00. Results （1） Oz had the maximum Pl amplitude; there was no significant difference between genders or for interocular comparison in normal controls and subjects with optic myopia. （2） The P1 latency decreased slowly below 30＇, then increased rapidly. The P1 amplitude initially increased with check size, and was maximal at -1° and -30＇. （3） The P1 latency in the group with visual acuity 〈0.2 was signifi- cantly different at 8°, 15＇ and 7.5＇, while the amplitude differed at all visual angles, compared with the group with normal vision. Differences in P1 for the groups with 0.5 and 0.6 acuity were only present at visual angles 〈1°. （4） Regression analysis showed that the P1 latency and amplitude were associated with visual acuity over the full range of visual angles. There was a moderate correlation at visual angles 〈30＇. Regression equations were calculated for the P1 components and visual acuity, based on visual angle. Conclusion （1） Visual angle should be taken into consideration when exploring the function of the visual pathway, especially visual acuity. A visual angle -60＇ might be appropriate when using PRVEP com- ponents to evaluate poor vision and to identify malingerers. （2） Increased P1 amplitude and decreased P1 latency were as- sociated with increasing visual acuity, and the P1 components displayed a linear correlation with visual acuity, especially in the range of optimal visual angles. Visual acuity can be deduced from P 1 based on visual angle.展开更多
After a prolonged debate and discussion,the World Health Organization(WHO)relisted'snakebite'under Category'A'of'Neglected Tropical Diseases'(NTDs)in June 2017 hoping to diminish its burden on ...After a prolonged debate and discussion,the World Health Organization(WHO)relisted'snakebite'under Category'A'of'Neglected Tropical Diseases'(NTDs)in June 2017 hoping to diminish its burden on people.Earlier,in March 2009,WHO added snakebite to its official list of NTDs but later downgraded to'Other Neglected Conditions',a list reduced in importance[1,2].Obviously,the recent inclusion of snakebite in NTDs was due to the estimation of huge toll of deaths due to snake envenomation in tropical countries as supported by the multiple reports.This inclusion will expedite the process of developing better management protocols and infusing funds for such affected countries.展开更多
This study aims to measure the radiation dose over several steel-making factories in Khartoum region, Sudan. The authors used different techniques to detect the harmful Natural Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) em...This study aims to measure the radiation dose over several steel-making factories in Khartoum region, Sudan. The authors used different techniques to detect the harmful Natural Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) emitting through the steel-making process. While, an X-ray Diffractometer was utilized to detect the NORM in the isotopes clay elite and magnesio-ferrite over slag steel waste and soil. The worker dose was measured by using polimaster device and it was detected 56.448 mSv per year. And backpack mobile monitored the background over the waste and it was 0.048 μSv/h in accounting mode. In another hand gamma spectrometer with a high purity germanium detector detected the average of activity concentration of natural radionuclide over the slag steel waste and K-40 of it is 321 ± 3 Bq/Kg, Th-232 is 20.6 ± 5 Bq/Kg, Ra-226 is 15.2 ± 4 bq/Kg, Cs-137 is 3.33 ± 7 Bq/Kg, and over soil around the waste the concentration of K40, Ra226, Th232 was (185 ± 3, 12.6 ± 7, and 12.0 ± 5) Bq/Kg, respectively.展开更多
Background:The breast cancer has been the most common form of cancer among women.The triple negative subtype represents 20%of all breast cancer cases in the world and is standing out by affecting young women and being...Background:The breast cancer has been the most common form of cancer among women.The triple negative subtype represents 20%of all breast cancer cases in the world and is standing out by affecting young women and being aggressive.The main cause of death of patients with cancer is due to metastasis,which can reach the liver and lungs.Objective:The activities of ID7 fraction of the stems of Bauhinia variegata L.on breast cancer,lung metastasis and liver inflammatory process were evaluated.Method:ID7 was characterized by mass-spectrometry.The viability of murine mammary cells(4T1)treated with ID7 was assessed by MTT,trypan blue and fluorescence assay and viability of BT-20,MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer tumor lines by MTS.The cell migration,invasion using matrigel and adhesion were performed.The expression of cell death proteins was quanitified by western blot and the gelatinases by zimogram.The ID7 activity of the tumor(4T1)and metastatic progession in vivo was evaluated.Results:ID7 reduced the 4T1 and MDA-MB-231viability and increased the late apoptosis,inhibited the 4T1 migration and invasion,increased the 4T1 adhesion and decreased the secreted active gelatinases.ID7 also increased the expression of PARP,caspase-7 and caspase-8,RIP and TNF-R1.In vivo,the ID7 decreased the volume and weight of the tumors and decreased lung metastasis and inflammation in the liver.The characterization showed mainly the presence of oleic acid,myricetin,quercetin and kaempferol in ID7.Conclusion:Thus,it was found that ID7 fraction exhibits selective antitumor and on the mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis activity,preventing lung metastasis and inflammation in the liver.It is suggested that fatty acids and flavonoids are correlated with such activities.展开更多
Diatoms are unicellular plant algae which are found in almost all the waterbodies. Different diatoms respond differently to different environmental changes, there existence depending on the environmental factor of a p...Diatoms are unicellular plant algae which are found in almost all the waterbodies. Different diatoms respond differently to different environmental changes, there existence depending on the environmental factor of a particular place. A new diatom type was discovered in the lake Rani of Jind District of Haryana for the first time. Jind is an important district lying in the north of Haryana state located 75。53' and 76。47' East longitudes and between 29。03’ and 29。51’ North latitudes. It has a beautiful lake named as Rani Talab (Lake) which is famous for tourist visit and is located in the centre of the city. The pH of this water body ranges between 6.5 to 8.3, conductivity between 0.21 to 0.294 m?mho?cm-1 with temperature ranging between 19.5℃ to 35℃ for two consecutive years 2008-2009 and 2009 - 2010. The newly discovered diatom is the only diatom which inhabits one particular Lake Rani of Haryana, it is not found elsewhere in India and any other database of diatoms generated so far in any other part of the world. The new genus was discovered by Vinayak V. et al in the process of creation of diatom database from Haryana State of India for the first time. The new genus was named as Eunocymbellarania vandana for its genus name derived from Eunotia and Cymbella and its close affinity to these two diatoms and its origin place ‘Lake Rani’, but the species name ‘vandana ‘ is from Diatomist展开更多
Many Organothallium Compounds have been used in medicine, industry and antibacterial activity. Optical properties are among the most fascinating and useful properties of many complexes and have been extensively studie...Many Organothallium Compounds have been used in medicine, industry and antibacterial activity. Optical properties are among the most fascinating and useful properties of many complexes and have been extensively studied using a variety of optical spectroscopic techniques. A basic understanding of the optical properties and related spectroscopic techniques is essential for characterization about semiconductors, insulators or metal. Optical properties are related to other properties and functionalities (e.g. electronic, magnetic, and thermal) that are of fundamental importance to many technological applications, such as energy conversion, chemical analysis, biomedicine, opto-electronics, communication, and radiation detection. The fundamental importance of Thallium is the ability to accept electrons due to empty d-orbitals and thus establish additional bonds (σ bond and π bond) in chemistry. The Thallium metal, which has outer electronic configuration 6 s2, 6 p1 shows oxidation states of Thallium (III) and Thallium (I). This research paper explains that Thallium (III) and Thallium (I) accepts lone pairs from various bi-dentate tetra-dentate Schiff base ligands due to p-orbital and vacant d-orbital. This research paper explains the Characterization, XPS and Toxicological Study of Or- ganothallium (III) Compounds with Schiff base ligands by physiochemical technique. X-Ray photoelectron spectrogra- phy (XPS) study of Thallium (III) complexes with Schiff Base ligands also reported in this paper. XPS study shows a single symmetrical peak without any splitting in photoelectron peak, which confirms diamagnetic nature of all prepared molecular adducts. All prepared complexes with Schiff base ligands show toxicological effect.展开更多
Use of new amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) as designer drugs is a serious problem worldwide. ATS are used in tablet, capsule, and powder forms, and can be mixed with other drugs. There is little information availabl...Use of new amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) as designer drugs is a serious problem worldwide. ATS are used in tablet, capsule, and powder forms, and can be mixed with other drugs. There is little information available on how these new drugs are metabolized or their ability to inhibit the metabolism of co-administered drugs. This study aimed to investigate the metabolism of six 4-substituted analogs of methamphetamine (MA), and their potential inhibition of MA metabolism. The metabolism of MA and the 4-substituted MAs was examined in vitro using human metabolic enzymes. Metabolite analyses were performed using trifluoroacetyl derivatization and GC-MS. The experiments showed that cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) was involved in the major metabolic pathway of MA, where it catalyzed N-demethylation of 4-fluoromethamphetamine (4-FMA), 4-chloromethamphetamine (4-CMA), 4-bromomethamphetamine (4-BMA), 4-iodomethamphetamine (4-IMA) and 4-nitromethamphetamine (4-NMA), and O-demethylation of 4-methoxymethamphetamine (4-MMA). The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for CYP2D6 using MA as substrate were different for each of the 4-substituted MAs. The strongest inhibitors of amphetamine production from MA were, in order, 4-IMA, 4-BMA, 4-CMA, 4-MMA, 4-FMA, and 4-NMA. The same order was observed for the IC50 values for inhibition of p-hydroxymethamphetamine production from MA, except for the IC50 of 4-MMA. The IC50 values of 4-IMA were lower than the IC50 values of fluoxetine and higher than that of quinidine. The results of this study imply that the risk of illicit drug interactions fluctuates so widely that unintentional fatal drug poisonings could occur.展开更多
A dark and lead to silver grey soft irregular-shaped with heavy weight stone has been analysed as a part of research work for determining the components of the stone thereby leading to identify curiously to pinpoint w...A dark and lead to silver grey soft irregular-shaped with heavy weight stone has been analysed as a part of research work for determining the components of the stone thereby leading to identify curiously to pinpoint whether the stone is in a category of gemstone, radioactive elements, raw or ingredients for making a powerful bomb or otherwise. In addition to the physical and optical parameters measured such as specific gravity, hardness, luster, transparency, cleavage, streak and other associated minerals for identification of unknown stone, Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) is one of the primary techniques in identification of minerals to examine the physico-chemical make-up of unknown materials, and has also been employed using Philips, DY993 X-ray Powder Diffractometer. The diffraction spectrum has been measured with the proportional counter in the 2°to 100°range at room temperature 300 K. This study reveals that the stone is not a category of precious stone;instead it is a category of mineral deposition, PbS, Galena.展开更多
Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) project that is being conducted at the National Oilseed Processing Research Institute (NOPRI) aims at exploiting the genetic diversity and associated phenotypic variation in the inves...Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) project that is being conducted at the National Oilseed Processing Research Institute (NOPRI) aims at exploiting the genetic diversity and associated phenotypic variation in the investigated basil germplasm and evaluating key factors such as variety, plant ontogeny and plant parts that affect yield, chemical constituents, aroma and flavor of essential oils. This paper discussed the variability inessential oils content and chemical constituents of the aerial plant parts of the basil. An open-air pot experiment was carried out using three accessions provided by Agricultural Research Corporation-Genetic Resources Unit, Sudan. The essential oils were hydro distilled from the aerial parts, flowers, leaves, stems, using Clevenger apparatus. The chemical constituents of the essential oils were determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). As the hydro distillation yielded no oil from the stem, we present only the results for leaves and flowers. The results revealed that the essential oil content varied with a range of 0.29% to 0.33% for flowers and 0.32% to 0.48% for leaves. As usual, the content of essential oils was higher in leaves than in flowers. The Silate-Egyptian accession had the lowest essential oil content obtained from leaves and flowers. However, South Darfur accession from Sudan had the highest oil content but did not significantly differ from Kennana accession. Several oil components were identified based upon comparison of their mass spectral data with those of reference compounds published in literature or stored in a computer library. The combined GC-MS analysis showed that methyl eugenol was the major constituent of the essential oil of Kennana accession. While the major constituent of essential oil of South-Darfur and Silate-Egyptian accessions were germacrene and linalool, respectively.展开更多
Epidemiological studies have reported an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease(PD)development in amphetamine-type stimulant users during their lifetime(Garwood et al.,2006;Rumpf et al.,2017).Protein inclusions mainly...Epidemiological studies have reported an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease(PD)development in amphetamine-type stimulant users during their lifetime(Garwood et al.,2006;Rumpf et al.,2017).Protein inclusions mainly composed of misfolded and aggregatedα-synuclein are the pathological hallmark of PD and other disorders known as synucleinopathies.Molecular studies present evidence that amphetamine upregulatesα-synuclein synthesis in substantia nigra.The increment ofα-synuclein levels promotes its aggregation and amyloid fibril formation,increasing reactive oxygen species(ROS),and consequently dopamine oxidation(Wang and Witt,2014),known to be toxic for dopaminergic neurons involved in motor function and limbicmotor integration.Over the years,these damaged cells lose their functionality and may die precociously,depleting the reserve of neural cells necessary for the normal neurological function which contributes to the onset of PD,when a critical number of cells are lost(Garwood et al.,2006).Therefore,the use of amphetamine-type stimulants may be a trigger event in the development of PD and parkinsonism,in conjugation to other risk factors that a given individual may hold.Despite the evidence,a previous study suggests that there is not enough data to corroborate the loss of dopamine neurons due to human amphetamine-type stimulant exposure,and consequently its implication in the PD development(Kish et al.,2017).展开更多
Experimental scenario of the world being successful in planting water molecule at binary level in fullerene C70 is of utmost importance to pursue the theoretical properties of predictive triple water molecules and pol...Experimental scenario of the world being successful in planting water molecule at binary level in fullerene C70 is of utmost importance to pursue the theoretical properties of predictive triple water molecules and poly water molecules in Vander Waals confined space like fullerenes. Here, we present a paper in these lines of exploration of embedding triple water molecules in a Carbon confined space through the studies of behavior of three water molecules in Fullerene C60 by ab-initio methods. This heterogeneous system manifests cyclic hydrogen bonds which may be working with flipping actions. The unusual structural property of water trimers is reported. There exists a dipole moment of 0.9 ± 0.1 Debye which indicates the probable semiconductor properties.展开更多
<span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">This study was aimed to establish whether the skin preparation using ethanol-containing skin antiseptics causes ethan...<span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">This study was aimed to establish whether the skin preparation using ethanol-containing skin antiseptics causes ethanol contamination through blood collection. Venous blood was collected from 40 healthy volunteers according to the national guidelines for blood sampling, with four sequential procedures as follows: 1) collecting blood immediately (within 5 seconds) after cleaning the skin with an individually packaged type of ethanol-containing wipe, 2) collecting blood 1 minute after cleaning the skin with an individually packaged type of ethanol-containing wipe, 3) collecting immediately (within 5 seconds) after cleaning the skin with a traditional cleaning method (thoroughly ethanol-impregnated wipe, and 4) collecting 1 minute after cleaning the skin with a traditional cleaning method. Each sequential procedure was p</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">erformed with and without the ethanol-containing wipe used for sk</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">in cleaning on the puncture site on their right and left arms at the time the needle was withdrawn, respectively. The collected specimens were subjected to the determination of ethanol by using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In every 80 blood specimens obtained from 40 participants, ethanol was undetectable (<0.001 mg/mL). This study demonstrates that disinfection using ethanol-containing skin antiseptics is unlikely to cause ethanol contamination through blood collection regardless of skin preparation technique according to the guidelines for blood sampling. This may have implications in forensic science.展开更多
基金This work was supported in part by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China （No. 30571909） China Postdoctoral Science Foundation （No. 32134006） Foundation of Soozhow University （No. Q4134405）.
文摘Objective To evaluate the usefulness of quantitative electroencephalogram （QEEG）, flash visual evoked potential （F-VEP） and auditory brainstem responses （ABR） as indicators of general neurological status. Methods Comparison was conducted on healthy controls （N=30） and patients with brain concussion （N=60） within 24 h after traumatic brain injury. Follow-up study of patient group was completed with the same standard paradigm 3 months later. All participants were recorded in multi-modality related potential testing in both early and late concussion at the same clinical setting. Glasgow coma scale, CT scanning, and physical examinations of neuro-psychological function, optic and auditory nervous system were performed before electroencephalogram （EEG） and evoked potential （EEG-EP） testing. Any participants showed abnormal changes of clinical examinations were excluded from the study. Average power of frequency spectrum and power ratios were selected for QEEG testing, and latency and amplitude of F-VEP and ABR were recorded. Results Between patients and normal controls, the results indicated： （1） Highly significance （P 〈 0.01） in average power of α1 and power ratios of θ/α1, 0/α2, α1/α2 of EEG recording; （2） N70-P 100 amplitude of F-VEP in significant difference at early brain concussion; and （3） apparent prolongation of Ⅰ～Ⅲ inter-peak latency of ABR appeared in some individuals at early stage after concussion. The follow-up study showed that some patients with concussion were also afflicted with characteristic changes of EEG components for both increments of α1 average power and θ/α2 power ratio after 3 months recording. Conclusion EEG testing has been shown to be more effective and sensitive than evoked potential tests alone on detecting functional state of patients with mild traumatic brain injury （MTBI）. Increments of α1 average power and θ/α2 power ratio are the sensitive EEG parameters to determining early concussion and evaluating outcome of postconcussion symptoms （PCS）. Follow-up study associated with persistent PCS may be consistent with the postulate of substantial biological, rather than psychological origin. The study suggests that combination of EEG and EP parameters can contribute to the evaluation of brain function as a whole for clinical and forensic applications.
文摘Drugs are traditionally been identified on basis of chromatographic-spectroscopic hyphenated techniques in instrumental analysis. Gas chromatography (GC) and Liquid chromatography (LC) hyphenated with mass spectroscopy (MS) i.e. GC-MS and LC-MS give reliable and confirmatory results in drugs identification. In the present work the novel hyphenated technique High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography-Mass Spectroscopy (HPTLC-MS) has been used. This technique provides efficient, quick and simple method for identification and separation of Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The drugs under study are Papaverine, Methadone, Cocaine, Ketamine, Caffeine, Codeine, Diazepam, Thebaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine, Carbamazepine, Morphine, Narcotine and Ephedrine. The present study comprising of sixteen drugs has been carried out on CAMAG HPTLC instrument with automatic sampling. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) plates were developed in various solvent systems, scanned under TLC scanner and the results in terms of Retention Factor (Rf value) and UV spectrum (λmax) are presented in the manuscript. Using hyphenated technique of HPTLC-MS (MS 2020 SHIMADZU) spots of these drugs from TLC plate was lifted with CAMAG TLC-MS interface and confirmed by the mass spectrum of the individual drugs by their m/z values thus delivering fast and accurate confirmatory result on the TLC plate.
基金This study was supported by the Shaanxi Basic Research Program of Natural Science(No.2021JQ-392).
文摘Objective Population genetic analysis based on genetic markers harbors valuable forensic applications.In this regard,it is informative and imperative to explore Han groups as they are the largest population of China.In particular,there is a largely underrepresented amount of information from recent decades regarding the southeast costal Han Chinese.Therefore,the aim of this study is to investigate the available genetic characteristics of the Han population living in the Jinjiang,Fujian Province,Southeastern China.Methods We sampled 858 saliva samples and used the commercially available Microreader^(TM) Y Prime Plus ID System to identify population data of Y-short tandem repeat(STR)loci of this region.Results A total of 822 different haplotypes were observed.The overall haplotype diversity,discriminatory power and haplotype match probability were 0.9999,0.9999 and 0.0012,respectively.Conclusion Our results showed that the Jinjiang Han population was closely genetically related to Han groups of China.Overall,we identified a set of 37 Y-STRs that are highly polymorphic,and that can provide meaningful information in forensic practice and human genetic research.
文摘Aims and Objectives:The plan of study was the evaluation of genetic diversity in the tribal populations of Northern West Bengal,tribal populations of southern West Bengal and the Muslim population of West Bengal,India,using 15 autosomal STR markers.Further investigation was done to find out the genetic relatedness of the studied populations with other previously documented Indian populations.Result:The studied tribal population of Northern West Bengal and Southern West Bengal showed a wide range of observed heterozygosity values,viz,from 0.667 to 0.878 and 0.699 to 0.863 respectively.Same was the case with the tribal population of Southern Bengal where the observed heterozygosity values ranged between 0.699 to 0.863.For the Muslim population the observed heterozygosity value was in the range of 0.742 to 0.885.The combined value of non-exclusion probability for all the studied loci was 0.00000550 for the tribal population of Northern West Bengal,0.00004445 for the Muslim population of West Bengal and 0.00000806 for the tribal population of Southern West Bengal.The neighbor joining(NJ)tree and principal component analysis(PCA)resulted in the clustering of our studied populations with other previously studied Indian populations.Conclusion:The data thus obtained demonstrated high forensic efficacy and will be therefore helpful in several population genetics studies and forensic applications.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No. 30571909,30872666,30870808the Foundation of Shanghai Forensic Key Laboratory,No. KF0904
文摘BACKGROUND：Various molecular mechanisms of cell death following traumatic brain injury have been previously described.However,the time course of cell death remains unclear.TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B labeling have been widely used to label apoptotic cells and neuronal degeneration.Propidium iodide （PI） functions as a biomarker of cell death in vivo.OBJECTIVE：To explore the role of PI labeling compared to TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B staining for detecting neural cell death,and to observe time course of traumatic brain injury-induced cell death in mice.DESIGN,TIME AND SETTING：A randomized,controlled,animal experiment was performed at the Laboratory of Aging and Nervous Diseases,Soochow University from September 2007 to December 2008.MATERIALS：PI （B1221） was purchased from Sigma,USA.TUNEL kit was purchased from Roche Molecular Biochemicals,USA.Fluoro-Jade B was purchased from Chemicon,USA.METHODS：A total of 70 healthy,male,Kunming mice were randomly assigned to sham-surgery （n = 5） and model （n = 65） groups.Traumatic brain injury was established using the controlled cortical impact method.PI was intraperitoneally injected at 1 hour prior to animal sacrifice.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES：TUNEL,Fluoro-Jade B,and Pl-positive cells were quantified using a double-labeling method to determine the time course of traumatic brain injury-induced cell death.RESULTS：PI labeled cells in an earlier phase of cell death than TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B labeling.Pl-positive cells were observed immediately following injury,and the numbers rapidly increased in injured brain areas at 1 hour,peaked at 24-48 hours,and subsequently decreased at 3-21 days post-injury.TUNEL-labeled cells were significantly increased at 12 hours,while Fluoro-Jade B-labeled cells were increased at 6 hours after injury,with cells still visible at 6-48 hours post-injury.Moreover,a greater number of Pl-positive cells were observed compared to TUNEL- and Fluoro-Jade B-labeled cells.CONCLUSION：PI labeling is more sensitive and reliable than TUNEL and Fluoro-Jade B staining for detecting cell death following traumatic brain injury.Moreover,PI labeling can function as a reliable marker to estimate the entire time course of cell death.
基金supported by grants from the Li Ka-Shing Foundation(Hong Kong,China),Cambridge University,UK(No.432034)the Key Research Project of Shantou Science and Technology Bureau(No.2005116)the Shantou University Research and Development Fund(No.L00007)
文摘We genotyped 23 Y-STR loci（DYS576, DYS389 I, DYS448, DYS389 II, DYS19, DYS391, DYS481, DYS549, DYS533, DYS438, DYS437, DYS570, DYS635, DYS390, DYS439, DYS392, DYS643, DYS393, DYS458, DYS385a/b, DYS456, and GATA-H4） in a sample of 109 unrelated male Chinese people residing in Minnan area and compared the results with those from our previous study on 12 Y-STR. The haplotype diversity and the discrimination capacity of the 23 Y-STR reached 0.9903 and 0.9725, respectively, and the genetic diversity for each locus ranged from 0.321（DYS391） to 0.955（DYS385）. Besides, we observed a strong correlation between the number of Y-STR markers and the substantial improvement of forensic parameters used to discriminate between individuals. The results indicated that these highly polymorphic Y-STR markers were useful for human identification in forensic cases and paternity tests within the Minnan Han Chinese population.
基金the financial support of Chemistry Department (Taif University, Saudi Arabia)
文摘In this study, the corrosion behavior of Ni47Ti49Co4 shape memory alloy（SMA） was investigated in simulated saliva solution with the binary alloy Ni（51）Ti49 as a reference. The surface morphology and the chemical composition of the oxide films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy before and after immersion in the test solutions, respectively. The results showed that the ternary alloy was less affected by the test solution,owning to the formation of passive layer composed mainly of the oxides of titanium and cobalt in several oxidation states.Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and potentiodynamic polarization measurements affirmed that the passive oxide film significantly improved the corrosion resistance of Ni47Ti49Co4 SMAs as demonstrated by the smaller corrosion current density, larger resistance and smaller capacitance. Consequently, alloying with cobalt, which has paramount importance in enhancing the passive layer, expands the use of Ni47Ti49Co4 SMAs in dental work as new nitinol alloys with high corrosion resistances.
基金supported by grants from the National Nature Science Foundation of China(30872666,81172911 and 81271379)Shanghai Key Lab of Forensic Medicine(KF1005)
文摘Objective To systemically explore the range of visual angles that affect visual acuity, and to establish the relationship between the P 1 component （peak latency -100 ms） of the pattern-reversal visual-evoked potential （PRVEP） and the visual acuity at particular visual angles. Methods Two hundred and ten volunteers were divided into seven groups, according to visual acuity as assessed by the standard logarithmic visual acuity chart （SLD-II）. For each group, the PRVEP components were elicited in response to visual angle presentations at 8°, 4°, 2°, 1°/60＇, 30＇, 15＇, and 7.5＇, in the whiteblack chess-board reversal mode with a contrast level of 100% at a frequency of 2 Hz. Visual stimuli were presented monocularly, and 200 presentations were averaged for each block of trials. The early and stable component P1 was recorded at the mid-line of the occipital region （Oz） and analyzed with SPSS 13.00. Results （1） Oz had the maximum Pl amplitude; there was no significant difference between genders or for interocular comparison in normal controls and subjects with optic myopia. （2） The P1 latency decreased slowly below 30＇, then increased rapidly. The P1 amplitude initially increased with check size, and was maximal at -1° and -30＇. （3） The P1 latency in the group with visual acuity 〈0.2 was signifi- cantly different at 8°, 15＇ and 7.5＇, while the amplitude differed at all visual angles, compared with the group with normal vision. Differences in P1 for the groups with 0.5 and 0.6 acuity were only present at visual angles 〈1°. （4） Regression analysis showed that the P1 latency and amplitude were associated with visual acuity over the full range of visual angles. There was a moderate correlation at visual angles 〈30＇. Regression equations were calculated for the P1 components and visual acuity, based on visual angle. Conclusion （1） Visual angle should be taken into consideration when exploring the function of the visual pathway, especially visual acuity. A visual angle -60＇ might be appropriate when using PRVEP com- ponents to evaluate poor vision and to identify malingerers. （2） Increased P1 amplitude and decreased P1 latency were as- sociated with increasing visual acuity, and the P1 components displayed a linear correlation with visual acuity, especially in the range of optimal visual angles. Visual acuity can be deduced from P 1 based on visual angle.
文摘After a prolonged debate and discussion,the World Health Organization(WHO)relisted'snakebite'under Category'A'of'Neglected Tropical Diseases'(NTDs)in June 2017 hoping to diminish its burden on people.Earlier,in March 2009,WHO added snakebite to its official list of NTDs but later downgraded to'Other Neglected Conditions',a list reduced in importance[1,2].Obviously,the recent inclusion of snakebite in NTDs was due to the estimation of huge toll of deaths due to snake envenomation in tropical countries as supported by the multiple reports.This inclusion will expedite the process of developing better management protocols and infusing funds for such affected countries.
文摘This study aims to measure the radiation dose over several steel-making factories in Khartoum region, Sudan. The authors used different techniques to detect the harmful Natural Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) emitting through the steel-making process. While, an X-ray Diffractometer was utilized to detect the NORM in the isotopes clay elite and magnesio-ferrite over slag steel waste and soil. The worker dose was measured by using polimaster device and it was detected 56.448 mSv per year. And backpack mobile monitored the background over the waste and it was 0.048 μSv/h in accounting mode. In another hand gamma spectrometer with a high purity germanium detector detected the average of activity concentration of natural radionuclide over the slag steel waste and K-40 of it is 321 ± 3 Bq/Kg, Th-232 is 20.6 ± 5 Bq/Kg, Ra-226 is 15.2 ± 4 bq/Kg, Cs-137 is 3.33 ± 7 Bq/Kg, and over soil around the waste the concentration of K40, Ra226, Th232 was (185 ± 3, 12.6 ± 7, and 12.0 ± 5) Bq/Kg, respectively.
文摘Background:The breast cancer has been the most common form of cancer among women.The triple negative subtype represents 20%of all breast cancer cases in the world and is standing out by affecting young women and being aggressive.The main cause of death of patients with cancer is due to metastasis,which can reach the liver and lungs.Objective:The activities of ID7 fraction of the stems of Bauhinia variegata L.on breast cancer,lung metastasis and liver inflammatory process were evaluated.Method:ID7 was characterized by mass-spectrometry.The viability of murine mammary cells(4T1)treated with ID7 was assessed by MTT,trypan blue and fluorescence assay and viability of BT-20,MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 human breast cancer tumor lines by MTS.The cell migration,invasion using matrigel and adhesion were performed.The expression of cell death proteins was quanitified by western blot and the gelatinases by zimogram.The ID7 activity of the tumor(4T1)and metastatic progession in vivo was evaluated.Results:ID7 reduced the 4T1 and MDA-MB-231viability and increased the late apoptosis,inhibited the 4T1 migration and invasion,increased the 4T1 adhesion and decreased the secreted active gelatinases.ID7 also increased the expression of PARP,caspase-7 and caspase-8,RIP and TNF-R1.In vivo,the ID7 decreased the volume and weight of the tumors and decreased lung metastasis and inflammation in the liver.The characterization showed mainly the presence of oleic acid,myricetin,quercetin and kaempferol in ID7.Conclusion:Thus,it was found that ID7 fraction exhibits selective antitumor and on the mechanisms of breast cancer metastasis activity,preventing lung metastasis and inflammation in the liver.It is suggested that fatty acids and flavonoids are correlated with such activities.
文摘Diatoms are unicellular plant algae which are found in almost all the waterbodies. Different diatoms respond differently to different environmental changes, there existence depending on the environmental factor of a particular place. A new diatom type was discovered in the lake Rani of Jind District of Haryana for the first time. Jind is an important district lying in the north of Haryana state located 75。53' and 76。47' East longitudes and between 29。03’ and 29。51’ North latitudes. It has a beautiful lake named as Rani Talab (Lake) which is famous for tourist visit and is located in the centre of the city. The pH of this water body ranges between 6.5 to 8.3, conductivity between 0.21 to 0.294 m?mho?cm-1 with temperature ranging between 19.5℃ to 35℃ for two consecutive years 2008-2009 and 2009 - 2010. The newly discovered diatom is the only diatom which inhabits one particular Lake Rani of Haryana, it is not found elsewhere in India and any other database of diatoms generated so far in any other part of the world. The new genus was discovered by Vinayak V. et al in the process of creation of diatom database from Haryana State of India for the first time. The new genus was named as Eunocymbellarania vandana for its genus name derived from Eunotia and Cymbella and its close affinity to these two diatoms and its origin place ‘Lake Rani’, but the species name ‘vandana ‘ is from Diatomist
文摘Many Organothallium Compounds have been used in medicine, industry and antibacterial activity. Optical properties are among the most fascinating and useful properties of many complexes and have been extensively studied using a variety of optical spectroscopic techniques. A basic understanding of the optical properties and related spectroscopic techniques is essential for characterization about semiconductors, insulators or metal. Optical properties are related to other properties and functionalities (e.g. electronic, magnetic, and thermal) that are of fundamental importance to many technological applications, such as energy conversion, chemical analysis, biomedicine, opto-electronics, communication, and radiation detection. The fundamental importance of Thallium is the ability to accept electrons due to empty d-orbitals and thus establish additional bonds (σ bond and π bond) in chemistry. The Thallium metal, which has outer electronic configuration 6 s2, 6 p1 shows oxidation states of Thallium (III) and Thallium (I). This research paper explains that Thallium (III) and Thallium (I) accepts lone pairs from various bi-dentate tetra-dentate Schiff base ligands due to p-orbital and vacant d-orbital. This research paper explains the Characterization, XPS and Toxicological Study of Or- ganothallium (III) Compounds with Schiff base ligands by physiochemical technique. X-Ray photoelectron spectrogra- phy (XPS) study of Thallium (III) complexes with Schiff Base ligands also reported in this paper. XPS study shows a single symmetrical peak without any splitting in photoelectron peak, which confirms diamagnetic nature of all prepared molecular adducts. All prepared complexes with Schiff base ligands show toxicological effect.
文摘Use of new amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) as designer drugs is a serious problem worldwide. ATS are used in tablet, capsule, and powder forms, and can be mixed with other drugs. There is little information available on how these new drugs are metabolized or their ability to inhibit the metabolism of co-administered drugs. This study aimed to investigate the metabolism of six 4-substituted analogs of methamphetamine (MA), and their potential inhibition of MA metabolism. The metabolism of MA and the 4-substituted MAs was examined in vitro using human metabolic enzymes. Metabolite analyses were performed using trifluoroacetyl derivatization and GC-MS. The experiments showed that cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) was involved in the major metabolic pathway of MA, where it catalyzed N-demethylation of 4-fluoromethamphetamine (4-FMA), 4-chloromethamphetamine (4-CMA), 4-bromomethamphetamine (4-BMA), 4-iodomethamphetamine (4-IMA) and 4-nitromethamphetamine (4-NMA), and O-demethylation of 4-methoxymethamphetamine (4-MMA). The half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values for CYP2D6 using MA as substrate were different for each of the 4-substituted MAs. The strongest inhibitors of amphetamine production from MA were, in order, 4-IMA, 4-BMA, 4-CMA, 4-MMA, 4-FMA, and 4-NMA. The same order was observed for the IC50 values for inhibition of p-hydroxymethamphetamine production from MA, except for the IC50 of 4-MMA. The IC50 values of 4-IMA were lower than the IC50 values of fluoxetine and higher than that of quinidine. The results of this study imply that the risk of illicit drug interactions fluctuates so widely that unintentional fatal drug poisonings could occur.
文摘A dark and lead to silver grey soft irregular-shaped with heavy weight stone has been analysed as a part of research work for determining the components of the stone thereby leading to identify curiously to pinpoint whether the stone is in a category of gemstone, radioactive elements, raw or ingredients for making a powerful bomb or otherwise. In addition to the physical and optical parameters measured such as specific gravity, hardness, luster, transparency, cleavage, streak and other associated minerals for identification of unknown stone, Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) is one of the primary techniques in identification of minerals to examine the physico-chemical make-up of unknown materials, and has also been employed using Philips, DY993 X-ray Powder Diffractometer. The diffraction spectrum has been measured with the proportional counter in the 2°to 100°range at room temperature 300 K. This study reveals that the stone is not a category of precious stone;instead it is a category of mineral deposition, PbS, Galena.
文摘Sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) project that is being conducted at the National Oilseed Processing Research Institute (NOPRI) aims at exploiting the genetic diversity and associated phenotypic variation in the investigated basil germplasm and evaluating key factors such as variety, plant ontogeny and plant parts that affect yield, chemical constituents, aroma and flavor of essential oils. This paper discussed the variability inessential oils content and chemical constituents of the aerial plant parts of the basil. An open-air pot experiment was carried out using three accessions provided by Agricultural Research Corporation-Genetic Resources Unit, Sudan. The essential oils were hydro distilled from the aerial parts, flowers, leaves, stems, using Clevenger apparatus. The chemical constituents of the essential oils were determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). As the hydro distillation yielded no oil from the stem, we present only the results for leaves and flowers. The results revealed that the essential oil content varied with a range of 0.29% to 0.33% for flowers and 0.32% to 0.48% for leaves. As usual, the content of essential oils was higher in leaves than in flowers. The Silate-Egyptian accession had the lowest essential oil content obtained from leaves and flowers. However, South Darfur accession from Sudan had the highest oil content but did not significantly differ from Kennana accession. Several oil components were identified based upon comparison of their mass spectral data with those of reference compounds published in literature or stored in a computer library. The combined GC-MS analysis showed that methyl eugenol was the major constituent of the essential oil of Kennana accession. While the major constituent of essential oil of South-Darfur and Silate-Egyptian accessions were germacrene and linalool, respectively.
基金supported by Egas Moniz Cooperativa de Ensino Superior.ST was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia project 02/SAICT/2017/029656 and iNOVA4Health-UIDB/04462/2020a program financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/Ministério da Educação e Ciência,Portugal,through national funds and co-funded by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement.
文摘Epidemiological studies have reported an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease(PD)development in amphetamine-type stimulant users during their lifetime(Garwood et al.,2006;Rumpf et al.,2017).Protein inclusions mainly composed of misfolded and aggregatedα-synuclein are the pathological hallmark of PD and other disorders known as synucleinopathies.Molecular studies present evidence that amphetamine upregulatesα-synuclein synthesis in substantia nigra.The increment ofα-synuclein levels promotes its aggregation and amyloid fibril formation,increasing reactive oxygen species(ROS),and consequently dopamine oxidation(Wang and Witt,2014),known to be toxic for dopaminergic neurons involved in motor function and limbicmotor integration.Over the years,these damaged cells lose their functionality and may die precociously,depleting the reserve of neural cells necessary for the normal neurological function which contributes to the onset of PD,when a critical number of cells are lost(Garwood et al.,2006).Therefore,the use of amphetamine-type stimulants may be a trigger event in the development of PD and parkinsonism,in conjugation to other risk factors that a given individual may hold.Despite the evidence,a previous study suggests that there is not enough data to corroborate the loss of dopamine neurons due to human amphetamine-type stimulant exposure,and consequently its implication in the PD development(Kish et al.,2017).
文摘Experimental scenario of the world being successful in planting water molecule at binary level in fullerene C70 is of utmost importance to pursue the theoretical properties of predictive triple water molecules and poly water molecules in Vander Waals confined space like fullerenes. Here, we present a paper in these lines of exploration of embedding triple water molecules in a Carbon confined space through the studies of behavior of three water molecules in Fullerene C60 by ab-initio methods. This heterogeneous system manifests cyclic hydrogen bonds which may be working with flipping actions. The unusual structural property of water trimers is reported. There exists a dipole moment of 0.9 ± 0.1 Debye which indicates the probable semiconductor properties.
文摘<span style="font-family:""><span style="font-family:Verdana;">This study was aimed to establish whether the skin preparation using ethanol-containing skin antiseptics causes ethanol contamination through blood collection. Venous blood was collected from 40 healthy volunteers according to the national guidelines for blood sampling, with four sequential procedures as follows: 1) collecting blood immediately (within 5 seconds) after cleaning the skin with an individually packaged type of ethanol-containing wipe, 2) collecting blood 1 minute after cleaning the skin with an individually packaged type of ethanol-containing wipe, 3) collecting immediately (within 5 seconds) after cleaning the skin with a traditional cleaning method (thoroughly ethanol-impregnated wipe, and 4) collecting 1 minute after cleaning the skin with a traditional cleaning method. Each sequential procedure was p</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">erformed with and without the ethanol-containing wipe used for sk</span><span style="font-family:Verdana;">in cleaning on the puncture site on their right and left arms at the time the needle was withdrawn, respectively. The collected specimens were subjected to the determination of ethanol by using headspace gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In every 80 blood specimens obtained from 40 participants, ethanol was undetectable (<0.001 mg/mL). This study demonstrates that disinfection using ethanol-containing skin antiseptics is unlikely to cause ethanol contamination through blood collection regardless of skin preparation technique according to the guidelines for blood sampling. This may have implications in forensic science.
